Space Rescue One (44 page)

"Thank you, Captain. We appreciate your comments," Shelly replied.

***

"Sir, we have a problem. Comet T3100 is loose. She's slipped the tether line."

      
Chaser One's
captain asked, "What's the projected course or is it still with us?"

      "Gravitational forces are drawing it away already. It's pulling away from us. Our tether line has recoiled and tangled around our engines. It's going to take an hour or two to get ourselves free before we can chase after it."

      The captain said, "I'll notify headquarters. Try to determine its course. Communications, send a warning out as a precaution to any shipping in the area."

***

"Hi, this is Amy Wexler reporting from the
Liberty.
We're just approaching Mars where some of our passengers will be leaving us. After our stop at Mars, we'll proceed on out to grab a slingshot boost back toward Venus where more of our passengers will disembark. After that, it's back to Earth for us all. So far, it's been a wonderful trip. I wish you could see us now without the delay my reports go through."

      "We've just received word that a comet broke free from
Chaser
One
somewhere ahead of us. We'll be on the lookout for it since none of us have had the opportunity to see one up close yet on the trip. This promises to be quite memorable as we might pass within fifty kilometers of it. Talk about getting an eyeful. That's the closest I've ever been to any comet. For now, I'll be updating my report every hour until we sight the comet. Then we'll begin our continuous broadcast coverage of the Comet That Got Away!"

      Amy sighed, glanced around, and then said, "That's a wrap. Send it. Wake me in an hour."

"This is Amy Wexler live from the
Liberty.
We're about to pass through the tail of the Comet That Got Away. Ever since an hour ago, we've been broadcasting what it's like to be so close to one of the wonders of the universe. From here, the comet's tail appears like the breath of God. Though our ship isn't equipped for research, I understand that every sensor instrument on the bridge is running full out to record this event."

      "I have several passengers near me to help describe the event we're witnessing. I'll tell you folks, this is truly awesome and inspiring. Sandra, the young woman standing beside me is on vacation. Sandra, I understand that you've studied comets in school. Is that correct?"

      "Uh, uh, yes. Am I on?" Sandra asked.

      "So, tell me Sandra, what have you learned about comets in school?" Amy asked.

      "Well, they're, uh, big balls of ice mostly," Sandra said.

      "That's correct. My understanding is that comet T3100 was lassoed by chase ships to be transported to Mars so they'd have the water that's frozen in it. This water will be used to increase the water supply on Mars for irrigation and to moisturize the atmosphere. Can you tell us anything more about this comet, Sandra?"

      Sandra stared at the camera while Amy did her best to be patient. Amy finally signaled for the camera to move in on her.

      Amy said, "It seems that Sandra is a bit camera shy. I have some other folks here . . ."

      "Hi mom!" a boy suddenly said as the camera swept past him.

      Amy continued, " . . . who might be a little less reticent to speak. Well, that youngster certainly wasn't shy. I hope his mother is watching. My next passenger is Mr. Fred Timmons. Mr. Timmons, I understand that you have your own opinion of the comet."

      Fred scowled at the camera for a moment before he said, "I sure do. This comet breaking loose from the chase ship is a sign from God that the war on Earth must end. If it doesn't, God will destroy the Earth in his displeasure."

      Amy gave another signal to the camera which focused back on her. "Well, that's very interesting. Apparently the comet figures into politics and a few other things as well. Isn't it simply amazing what you can learn if you just listen? Rather than hear much more about the comet, why don't we just put the camera on it as we make our approach into the comet's tail and let the pictures tell the story? I think this is one of those moments to enjoy without being reminded of everything else going on."

      Amy checked her mike to see that it was off. She exclaimed, "Damn it! I thought he was going to say something else! Give me a few minutes to think of more to say about this dirty ice cube before you look for me to get back on live. Just keep shooting the comet."

***

Amy watched until the ship was nearly at the tail. Then she opened her mike and said, "We're entering the comet's tail. Everything's becoming blurry outside. It's like being in a fog bank. Some of the ports are crowded with five and six people trying to see out at one time. This is truly an epic event as we pass through the tail of the Comet That Got Away. I understand that
Chaser One
is on its way now to recapture the comet. Somehow, because this comet is so glorious in its appearance, I get the feeling that the passengers are rooting for the comet to make good its escape. I know that the people on Mars need the water from this comet. However, I can't help but feel that the passengers are somehow right. This comet is part of the heavens and rightfully belongs in them. I can see now that our vision is improving slightly. We must be about to exit the comet's tail. We're coming out now. . ."

      The camera picked up a horrible crunching, scraping sound that ran the length of the ship almost. Then there came a sudden hush in the background. Amy's face was gripped in fear while she stood in front of the camera. "I don't know what just happened, but I think we're in serious trouble."

      Passengers screamed.

      "The comet hit us!"

      "We're going to die!"

      "End the war on Earth!"

      A ship's officer went over and whispered to Amy.

      Amy said, "I've just been informed that the bridge is not responding to any intercom calls. I don't know if we're still broadcasting or not. I've been asked to request that any ships in the vicinity please respond to us. This is the
Liberty
requesting help from anyone in the vicinity. God, I hope we're still broadcasting. Please let us still be live."

***

"Attention
Space Rescue One.
This is a level one alert scramble. Repeat, this is a level one alert scramble. Attention
Space Rescue One."

      Richard took his microphone and switched it to send, "This is
Space
Rescue One.
Go ahead."

      "Titan incorporated liner,
Liberty,
is breaking apart.
Chaser One
's comet broke free and collided with it near Mars. All freighters in the immediate area are responding. What is your status?"

      Richard replied, "We are available though at least one day's travel away from Mars. We will proceed to their assistance at full power." He said to the bridge crew, "Change course for Mars. Proceed at full speed."

      The radio blared, "Affirmative."

      The helmsman replied, "Course set. Going to full speed."

      "What happened? How did they manage to collide with a comet?" Richard asked.

      "Initial information reported to us from
Chaser One
was that comet T3100 slipped its tether line. Their engines were fouled by their own line. They were unable to chase after comet T3100 for two hours. What wasn't known at the time was that comet T3100 broke in two in the process of coming loose.
Liberty
went through the tail of the comet as it drew nearer believing themselves to be over fifty kilometers away from the comet's body. They were unaware that it was in two sections. Their instruments and visibility were blinded by the comet's tail. They emerged from the tail to strike the second piece. That's all that we know of the sequence of events so far. There is now a huge gash down one-third the length of the ship from the nose on back according to the first freighter to respond," the voice on the radio replied.

      Richard replied, "Understood. How bad are the fatalities?"

      "Initial reports are that most of the bridge crew are dead. We got our first information concerning
Liberty
from a news reporter on board who was broadcasting at the time. Somehow her outgoing line in the bridge remained intact so she could continue broadcasting. However, she's not receiving anything from anyone else that we know of. We do know that many of the passengers are in a panic from watching her broadcast. We'll begin transmitting exterior pictures of the
Liberty
to you as soon as a responding ship gets into position."

      "Has anyone evacuated the ship in the life pods?" Richard asked.

      "Affirmative. One life pod was seen leaving by the responding freighter. The freighter is in the process of retrieving it now. We expect to have reports soon from it. Then they'll get us some pictures."

      "Continue to update my communications officer with information as soon as you have it. We're already on our way." As he stood up, Richard said, "First Officer, you have the bridge. Communications, make sure all of this goes to the ready room."

***

Richard walked into the ready room where both teams were already gathered and staring at the piped in scenes from the
Liberty.
It was apparent from the grim looks on their faces that they could tell it was nothing less than a level one emergency. Richard said, "Chiefs, I want to discuss something with you privately somewhere."

      "My quarters?" Isaac asked.

      Richard nodded. He and Shelly followed Isaac the few feet into his quarters. Richard shut the hatch behind them.

      "Why didn't you call us to the conference room?" Isaac asked.

      "This is big. Too big even for just two teams. I have one idea that might help but it's completely against standard procedure. Give me your honest opinions on this," Richard replied.

      "Sure. No punches pulled," Isaac said.

      Shelly nodded.

      "We don't have nearly enough Pneuman Tubes to rescue that many passengers. We don't have any suits for that many people, either, if they can't reach their own. My idea is to let each of our team members enter on his or her own and lead the passengers to the evacuation life pods. That means they'll be on their own for making decisions once they're inside to the point where their suit communications are blocked from us. That's the whole idea," Richard said.

      "I'll sign on if you put one of the regular crew members with each of the trainees or keep the trainees with a team member," Isaac said.

      "They're not ready for that much power," Shelly said.

      "There's a lot of people we can save if we're willing to cut a corner here and bend a few rules," Richard said.

      "You want to bend them too much, Richard. I won't sign on to your idea without someone accompanying each trainee at a minimum," Isaac said.

      "Okay, I'll consider that, Isaac. Anyway, we've got almost a day to prepare ourselves before we reach them. We might be too late to do any good as it is. Let's rejoin the teams and see what else is being reported. Then we'll give them a partial briefing."

      Richard opened the door and stepped out. Isaac and Shelly followed him. Both of their faces showed no sign of what was discussed. Inwardly both felt that Richard was right. They didn't have enough resources to tackle the task provided they arrived in time. They took seats around the monitor that displayed the events as they were received.

      Richard asked, "Are we getting these relayed by
MSO?
Find out."

      Isaac went over to the intercom. He returned a few moments later and nodded. "They're being relayed from
MSO,
all right. How's that affect us?"

      "It means that we can get space tugs to help us. I may have to deploy both teams and leave them while I take
SRO
to
MSO
and get the tugs. Once we have those, we can return to move
Liberty
closer to the station where we can double our resources," Richard said.

      "You don't want to sneak up on the
Liberty
and use our engines?" Isaac asked.

      "That gash looks like the entire ship could go at any moment. We'll have to check the
Liberty
up close before I make any decisions on that. If it appears to be structurally sound, we'll sneak up on her and collar her for transport to
MSO,"
Richard replied.

      "I don't think the tugs are going to be any better than
SRO.
If they waver even just the slightest in their course, they could shove in the hull themselves. It'll just pop open like ripe fruit," Shelly said.

      "She's right about that. The tugs can't move the
Liberty
safely. I'm just glad that we have our extra section in place.
Space Rescue Three
hasn't received theirs yet. They'd be helpless to assist even if they were in the vicinity," Isaac said.

      "I suppose so. However, we can still use the space tugs to move the life pods," Richard said.

      "I'll agree with you on that, Captain. We could certainly use their assistance for that. Might be a good idea to just tell them to move out now on their own. They might be there by the time we arrive," Isaac replied.

      "Yes, I will. Excuse me." Richard went over to the intercom where he placed a call to the bridge. He returned with a smile on his face. "They've already been deployed to reach the
Liberty.
Someone else beat us in thinking about that. There won't be any need for
SRO
to leave the teams."