Space Rescue One (37 page)

      Sheila announced, "Russell Gahler is the winner! Congratulations Russell. If you'll report to the desk, I'll see to it that you receive your prize of a bowling shirt! Okay, the event is over. Everyone else may resume bowling, dressed or the way you are if you like."

      Shelly barely heard Sheila's announcement as she overheard Amanda say, "If you want, you can come to my quarters when you're finished bowling. I like what I feel against my legs right now. You're welcome to try a little closer, if you like."

      "I'll think about it. Right now, I really do want to bowl some more," Richard replied.

      "Are you going to stay undressed like everyone else?" Amanda asked.

       "I wasn't thinking of staying naked," he replied.

      "Aw, please? Stay naked so we can all have fun this way. I promise I won't make anymore remarks about you using your dick to aim," Amanda begged.

      The other woman said, "Please, Richard, stay that way to bowl with us."

      Richard glanced around, noticing quite quickly that no one else was bothering to dress yet. Instead, others were bowling in only their shoes.

      Shelly noticed that he appeared to reluctantly nod his head in agreement. Then she remembered that Sheila was back at the desk leaving an opening in Richard's pit. With that in mind, she walked over to him and asked, "Mind if I fill out the fourth on these lanes?"

      "Fine with me. Too bad you didn't win, Shelly. I thought for sure that you would," Richard said.

      "I was trying," Shelly answered.

***

Richard finally said, "Well, it's time for me to part company with you all. I'm tired and I do have a ship to run occasionally. I'll be leaving as soon as I'm dressed. It's been, uh, different tonight bowling with you all."

      "Same here. I better be getting dressed and in bed soon, too," Shelly said.

      Amanda asked, "Richard, would you mind walking me to my quarters so I can talk with you some more?" as she dressed herself.

      Shelly felt her anger returning as she dressed and overheard Amanda's open play toward Richard. It was clear to her that Amanda hadn't forgotten her earlier offer to Richard and was still after him. She wondered if Amanda was trying to be overly grateful or simply a slut. Shelly knew there were certainly enough sluts on board the station to keep the men happy without causing too much trouble. Most of them were thankfully more discreet though than Amanda appeared to be. The more Shelly analyzed Amanda's behavior, the more certain she was that Amanda was just another slut.

      "Well, I'm really tired and wasn't planning on making any detours," Richard said.

      "Well, I guess I could talk to you later about this. I just wanted to ask you a few things since I've learned so much about you these past few nights while bowling. You know so much about everything, I figured you could give me some good advice with my problem," Amanda said.

      Shelly wanted to scream at Amanda that she was a slut. Instead, Shelly held her temper in check. It wouldn't do Richard any good for her to cause a scene around him. Shelly knew that the last thing Richard appreciated was being in the spotlight.

      "What kind of advice?" Richard asked.

      "Well, for one thing, I've heard that you're short-handed in your rescue teams. I wanted to find out what the qualifications are for joining."

      "I guess I could walk with you to your quarters and talk for a few minutes," Richard said.

      Shelly watched as Richard left moments later with Amanda. She followed at a discreet distance to see what might happen. When she saw Richard enter Amanda's room and the door close, she wondered if she had thrown away her chances with Richard. As she stood there in the corridor staring at the closed door behind which Richard had disappeared, she realized that she was jealous of Amanda. However, she still didn't know if she loved Richard or not. Frustrated, Shelly stood there for another five minutes hoping that Richard would soon appear from behind that door and release her jealousy to fly away from her. When he didn't, she reluctantly returned to the ship with tears welled in her eyes.

***

"I thought you wanted advice on rescue team qualifications?" Richard asked.

      "I do. Wouldn't it be better to discuss them in bed seeing as you're so tired? If you want, you can take advantage of me at the same time," Amanda answered.

      "No, I don't think it would be better. I'm well aware that everyone with a job in space is surgically sterile and that you can't get pregnant until it's reversed. That still doesn't make it right for me to hop from one bed to another. Now what do you want to know?"

***

Ralph paused beside a port and stared out at the beautifully terraformed Venutian landscape. Aware that the corridor was clear, he made his way to the ship's main exit and stepped out onto the surface of Venus. Without wasting anymore time, he walked to the terminal where he hoped that he could verify that the Brump brothers still resided at the same address. As well, he needed a map and instructions on how to find it.

      He reached the terminal and found a public Internet terminal where he found his electronic account was still fully accepted. Within moments, he had the information he wanted. Rather than take a cab, he decided that it was too nice a day to pass up and chose to walk instead. If nothing else, he knew that the slight delay would give him plenty of time to acclimate himself to the atmosphere and gravity of Venus.

Jimmy watched the monitor as it showed the first strikes in what might turn out to be World War III. He didn't much like what he was seeing as the news reports came in from everywhere on the globe. His attention was drawn away from the monitor by the only thing that could as the intercom came to life.

      "This is Captain Saberhagen. In light of the war breaking out on our world,
Earth Station One
is moving to a position of relative safety behind the moon immediately after
Liberty
launches this morning. While the station is moving, we will act as its escort and armed support. All ship's personnel on the station are being scrambled to rejoin us now. As soon as everyone is aboard, we will move away from the station and put ourselves at battle stations. This is necessary because the UN has already received threats against it and expects a possible nuclear strike to be launched at its headquarters and all facilities. Anything approaching within ten kilometers of the station is to be blown out of space if its identity and purpose cannot be verified as friendly."

      "Main hatch reporting, Captain. All hands are aboard now. Hatch is secured."

      "Stand by everyone. Initiate launch procedure. Good luck to us all. We might need it," Richard said.

      Aware that he didn't have anything to do under the circumstances, Jimmy returned to his monitoring of the situation. He soon found a report on the same threat that Richard referenced. It was a very real threat in that the Chinese made it and possessed the weapons and technology to back it up.

***

"Well, it looks like I might have a chance to get Richard after all," Jerrod said.

      "Can't you just forget it?" asked Daniel.

      "Not at all. It's too bad that we got the wrong man, but that doesn't mean that I have to stop. All I have to do is wait for the space war to break out again and be on one of the ships that heads to Earth. I'll get my chance then somehow."

      "Haven't you heard? It's in the news. Captain Saberhagen spoke with General Budakov this morning by radio about the war. Besides moving
Earth
Station One
to safety, he convinced the General that the war can be kept from spreading to space provided that Mars and Venus keep their armed ships away from Earth."

      "Did the General agree?" asked Jerrod.

      "Yes, he felt that Richard was right. He promised that Venusian armed forces would not approach the Earth at all."

      "In that case, I guess I'll have to try something else."

      "Such as?" asked Daniel.

      "Such as convince our people that we ought to be involved in the war. I have to make them believe that it's merely a ruse to send another attack against them. If they don't, then a little sabotage will change their minds."

      Daniel exclaimed, "No, that's not the way! Don't do it, Jerrod!"

      "Who's going to stop me? You?" asked Jerrod.

      "No, but it's not right, Jerrod."

      "Don't tell me what's right or not. I want Saberhagen and I mean to get him. If you're unwilling to help, then don't get in my way. I hope I can trust you as my brother to keep your mouth shut," Jerrod said angrily.

      "No, I'm not going to tell. You're still my brother, even if I do feel you're wrong."

      "It's not a matter of right or wrong. It's a matter of justice. That bastard broke my jaw. He's going to pay for it. Anyone who stands with him is going down as well. I'll see you later. I hope you'll change your mind by then about helping me."

***

Jimmy switched to a relay from the moon as he lost his direct connection to Earth's Internet. Far from wanting to profit on any catastrophe, he was strictly interested because of the safety of his relatives. As well, he wondered what Earth society would soon look like. Would he still have the same freedoms or would those be stomped under by some tyrant's or religious fanatic's heel? Other team members gathered around him. He wondered if they were thinking the same as himself.

      "What's that, Jimmy?" Alex asked.

      "I don't know. Looks like someone is too close to the Internet channel or using it to cover their transmission," Jimmy answered.

      The intercom came on. Richard's voice soon followed as he spoke in a calm manner. "The US has just launched a laser-armed satellite for the purpose of knocking out nukes while stating that they will not use any of their nuclear armed missiles. Thought you all might like to know that seeing as we're one of the primary targets."

      "You think that might be their satellite?" Alex asked.

      "Not likely. Too much probability of screwing up a message that close to the Internet frequency," Jimmy answered.

      "Any idea who's on what side yet?" Shelly asked.

      "So far, it's kind of strange. I thought that Russia might be against the US, but they're allied with it like in World War II. They've already taken two nuclear hits by missiles that got through," Jimmy said.

      "Any retaliation by them?" she asked.

      "That's what makes it even stranger. The Russians are abiding by the US decision not to use nukes in reply. They're making surgical air strikes on the enemy's launching facilities only," Alex said.

      "Is that all that's standing with the US?" she asked.

      "No. Most of NATO along with Australia, New Zealand, and Israel are also aligned with them. Most of Central America and the Caribbean are neutral . . . Shit! Israel just took a nuke hit! Anyway, I was saying that they were neutral just like Mars and Venus. Some places are trying to stay out of this along with all the freighters that are following Richard's orders to turn back for Mars and Venus," Jimmy replied.

      "Why'd he do that?" asked Shelly.

      "My guess is that he probably thought it was a good idea to both preserve as much space capability as possible and save more lives. I think he's trying to keep the conflict completely out of space. He's probably caught between a rock and a hard spot with that US laser satellite. I guess he'll ignore it so long as it's only used for defense. Anyway, he's not holding back this time when he sees a chance to do some good," Jimmy replied.

***

Richard walked into the common area for Rescue Team One and glanced about. He noticed that all the members of both teams were present and gathered around Jimmy and Alex who were probably having the time of their lives explaining what was going on. "Excuse me for interrupting, but seeing as you're all here I'll speak my piece now instead of calling a meeting later in a conference room."

      Jimmy turned down the volume on the monitor and turned to look at Richard who had a poor poker face on him. Whatever the news he held, it wasn't all bad he gathered.

      "Seeing as everything on Earth is in turmoil, I've reached a decision on the rescue teams that will give you all some work to do. Since we're not going to have replacements arriving anytime soon from the surface, we're going to have to do one of two things. Either we do without or we train volunteers to be the replacements we need. I've opted to take the latter choice since I've been approached by no fewer than five people wishing to join the rescue teams. As well, I've reached one other decision that I will announce right now. Effective immediately, Technician Shelly Laumer is now Chief Laumer and in charge of Rescue Team Two. If anyone feels that I'm wrong to do so because of a conflict of interest on my part because she's been sleeping in my quarters, they're free to state so to my face later. Their comments will be duly noted in the log. However, I'm not going to change my mind. She's still the best qualified and experienced person for the job. Furthermore, I need a team chief so I can put my attention back on running the overall operation. The fact that she slept in my bed had nothing to do with my decision to promote her. In fact, it was the only reason why I delayed so long in making the promotion to fill the position. I really didn't want to promote her under a cloud. However, I have no choice now considering the circumstances on Earth. That being the case, I will not risk anyone's life with less than the best team leaders in charge. I just hope this doesn't piss anyone off so much that they quit the team. We're all needed and we must work together. Chiefs, I'm not going to saddle either of you with all the new people to train. Isaac, you'll have personnel transferring over from the second team. You'll only have one new team member to train while remaining first response team. Shelly, you'll have the dubious honor of training three personnel while acting as backup response. I'll speak with both of you later to make known exactly what I expect of our training program. That's all I have for now," Richard said.