Chapter 37
Elena altered the Storm Chaser’s course slightly to be able to come along side the disabled ship. Mateo and Benjamin were on deck watching the bulk of the strange ship as they approached. They were in protected space so the possibility of a raider attack was slim but Elena monitored the horizon as they approached. She strongly suspected mechanical failure. She shrugged a little as she guided them closer. What ever the cause her course was clear. No channel rider left a stranded ship without helping clear survivors.
Elena glanced to the men on deck. Mateo had a spy glass trained on the ship and was muttering to himself as he tried to spot either details or movement. Benjamin had slung a bright white backpack emblazoned with a big red cross on his back. She knew it was the emergency medical kit stashed in the galley. She returned to studying the ship. She was less concerned with determining markings and more concerned with finding the emergency dock. If she could find the docking area that would allow the ship’s crew to move from the ship to the docking facility she could line up with it and Mateo and Benjamin could use the docking tube to board the floundering ship and retrieve survivors. So far Elena was having no luck spotting it. Soon they would be too close to correct her course. She pushed the window open.
“Do you see the emergency dock?” Elena called down to Mateo. He shook his head.
“It isn’t built like a channel rider. I can’t see any of the normal safeties.” Elena swore under her breath at the response. She couldn’t risk sending the two over without a secure dock.
“Do you see a place we could set a tow line?” They were less than an hour from the channel mouth. If they could secure the ship they could simply tow it earthside and at least not have the complications of space’s vacuum.
“I think so. Keep this course steady and we should be able to secure a tow line.” Elena gave them a thumbs up and watched as they readied the winch. As the ship still had to float when they hit the water of earthside she knew they would risk no damage to the hull.
“Otherwise we’re both sunk.” She told Spin, who had climbed up onto the top of one of the instrument panels in order to have a safe view of the proceedings. The grapple was launched, and Elena was reminded of the old fashioned whaling ships. She rubbed Spin’s ears. “Of course this is a bit more humane.” The grapple caught and the line was secured. Elena moved the Storm Chaser past the disabled ship and held her breath as the line went taut. It held. She exhaled slowly.
“I think quicker would be better for this,” She muttered. Elena gripped the wheel and focused. The open channel was just ahead. At normal speed they would reach it in one hour’s time. She figured she could cut that time in half. She gauged the depth and nodded to herself. The Marta was still at its deepest this time of year. Passage would not be a problem as long as the weight stayed distributed. She called down to Mateo to lengthen the tow line and gave him the measurements. Satisfied that the weight was as it needed to be, Elena concentrated on speed. Her world faded to the ship, its speed and the channel entry. In many ways it was like out running raiders. She had no idea how many of the ships crew were still alive and if they were how much of an oxygen supply they had. Even a few minutes could make a difference. She pushed the thought away.
“Channel entry in five,” She called. Mateo and Benjamin moved away from the railings, following protocol. She dimly noticed that each had slipped on one of the red cross marked vests. The symbol may not be universal but every human would recognize it. If this was a military operated vessel perhaps the vests would keep the men from getting shot. Channel entry was bumpier than usual due to both speed and the drag towing a second ship caused and Elena was glad Mateo and Benjamin had followed procedure. Water swept the deck, the momentum of their entry carried them away from the channel. Elena glanced behind at the other ship. It too was clear of the channel and at the moment did not appear to be in danger of sinking. Not knowing what damage she had taken meant Elena didn’t know how long that would hold true.
“Clear,” She called. Mateo and Benjamin jumped into action. The winch was turned on and slowly the ship was brought closer. When it was along side, Benjamin latched the emergency boarding ramps in place on the Storm Chaser. As there were no corresponding brackets on the other ship is was left somewhat loose.
“Like walking the plank,” Elena said. She leaned heavily on the wheel, her energy drained. She would not be able to help with the rescue but would watch for signs of trouble and give the word if it looked like the other ship needed to be cut loose. Mateo and Benjamin raced across the plank and leapt onto the other ship. From this close Elena could tell they had no markings. The ship was small and it did not take the two men long to search it.
“Apparently there are survivors,” Elena commented to Spin. “Good,” she continued. “Hate to risk my ship for nothing.” Matro and Benjamin used the portable medical stretcher to bring the first one out. Elena blinked hard in surprise. The man was wearing a space suit. Elena watched as they brought him aboard.
“Three,” Mateo called as they passed her position. The man wore the standard looking Michelin man suit with the fishbowl helmet and oxygen tank strapped to his back. While the ship had no insignia, the same could not be said for the suits. Emblazoned on the suit’s left arm in all its glory was the United States flag. Mateo and Benjamin dropped the spaceman off in one of the crew’s bunks and went back for a second load. The second man wore the same suit as did the third.
By the time the two men got the third survivor on board they looked nearly as wiped as she did. They dropped him in the bunk and returned to deck. Elena walked down to meet them as Benjamin unhooked and stowed the plank and Mateo let out the line in the winch. The ship drifted further away as the line extended. In a few minutes Elena would kick on the motor and the slack line that still dripped in the water would grow taut as they moved to a safe distance. If the other ship started to sink the line could be cut with little risk to the Storm Chaser.
“Any thoughts?” She asked.
“I think the suits were their idea of safety precautions,” Mateo said.
“Crude,” Benjamin added. “But effective as well as damn heavy. The suits probably saved their lives. It looked like their primary mechanical system blew.”
“I would guess they had a small back up system in the room where they stored the suits. It had a burned spot on the wall and floor around it. I have the feeling the back up unit gave them just enough time to get into the suits before it blew. I’d have to take a closer look to be certain.” Elena nodded.
“Even to me the mechanical units the military designed looked off. It seemed to be their biggest weakness after scale,” Elena said.
“Probably didn’t account for the heat differential,” Mateo commented absently. Elena saw him staring off at the tethered ship.
“You aren’t going on board to study it,” Elena said. Mateo looked ready to argue until Elena pointed to the sky in front of them. Benjamin and Mateo turned to look. The sky was dark with storm clouds and the wind that should have calmed when they lost momentum had remained. In the excitement it had gone un noticed.
“We will keep the ship in tow for a little while but if the weather gets worse, we cut the line.”
“Why keep it in tow at all?” Benjamin asked.
“I want it away from the Marta,” Elena replied. “If we can tow it to port Mateo can look at it before we report it to the military’s lost and found. If not we can just report the coordinates where we cut it loose. Would you two mind checking in on our visitors? I want to see if we can get some speed to get some distance between the ships and each other as well as the Marta.” They nodded and took the emergency medical kits to the crew’s bunk.
Elena returned to the pilot house and kicked the engines into gear. The tow line rose out of the water, dripping as it stretched. She adjusted the Storm Chaser’s course to hopefully stay on the edges of the approaching storm rather than barreling directly into it. One glance at the sky told her complete avoidance would not be possible as the dark clouds stretched across the entire expanse of sky. Spin mewled and Elena reached over to rub her ears.
“You’ll be high and dry in here,” Elena told her. Spin turned large eyes to the sky line. “I just hope there were no serious injuries.” Live military personal on her ship was one thing. Dead ones were a whole different ball game.
Elena glanced to the men on deck. Mateo had a spy glass trained on the ship and was muttering to himself as he tried to spot either details or movement. Benjamin had slung a bright white backpack emblazoned with a big red cross on his back. She knew it was the emergency medical kit stashed in the galley. She returned to studying the ship. She was less concerned with determining markings and more concerned with finding the emergency dock. If she could find the docking area that would allow the ship’s crew to move from the ship to the docking facility she could line up with it and Mateo and Benjamin could use the docking tube to board the floundering ship and retrieve survivors. So far Elena was having no luck spotting it. Soon they would be too close to correct her course. She pushed the window open.
“Do you see the emergency dock?” Elena called down to Mateo. He shook his head.
“It isn’t built like a channel rider. I can’t see any of the normal safeties.” Elena swore under her breath at the response. She couldn’t risk sending the two over without a secure dock.
“Do you see a place we could set a tow line?” They were less than an hour from the channel mouth. If they could secure the ship they could simply tow it earthside and at least not have the complications of space’s vacuum.
“I think so. Keep this course steady and we should be able to secure a tow line.” Elena gave them a thumbs up and watched as they readied the winch. As the ship still had to float when they hit the water of earthside she knew they would risk no damage to the hull.
“Otherwise we’re both sunk.” She told Spin, who had climbed up onto the top of one of the instrument panels in order to have a safe view of the proceedings. The grapple was launched, and Elena was reminded of the old fashioned whaling ships. She rubbed Spin’s ears. “Of course this is a bit more humane.” The grapple caught and the line was secured. Elena moved the Storm Chaser past the disabled ship and held her breath as the line went taut. It held. She exhaled slowly.
“I think quicker would be better for this,” She muttered. Elena gripped the wheel and focused. The open channel was just ahead. At normal speed they would reach it in one hour’s time. She figured she could cut that time in half. She gauged the depth and nodded to herself. The Marta was still at its deepest this time of year. Passage would not be a problem as long as the weight stayed distributed. She called down to Mateo to lengthen the tow line and gave him the measurements. Satisfied that the weight was as it needed to be, Elena concentrated on speed. Her world faded to the ship, its speed and the channel entry. In many ways it was like out running raiders. She had no idea how many of the ships crew were still alive and if they were how much of an oxygen supply they had. Even a few minutes could make a difference. She pushed the thought away.
“Channel entry in five,” She called. Mateo and Benjamin moved away from the railings, following protocol. She dimly noticed that each had slipped on one of the red cross marked vests. The symbol may not be universal but every human would recognize it. If this was a military operated vessel perhaps the vests would keep the men from getting shot. Channel entry was bumpier than usual due to both speed and the drag towing a second ship caused and Elena was glad Mateo and Benjamin had followed procedure. Water swept the deck, the momentum of their entry carried them away from the channel. Elena glanced behind at the other ship. It too was clear of the channel and at the moment did not appear to be in danger of sinking. Not knowing what damage she had taken meant Elena didn’t know how long that would hold true.
“Clear,” She called. Mateo and Benjamin jumped into action. The winch was turned on and slowly the ship was brought closer. When it was along side, Benjamin latched the emergency boarding ramps in place on the Storm Chaser. As there were no corresponding brackets on the other ship is was left somewhat loose.
“Like walking the plank,” Elena said. She leaned heavily on the wheel, her energy drained. She would not be able to help with the rescue but would watch for signs of trouble and give the word if it looked like the other ship needed to be cut loose. Mateo and Benjamin raced across the plank and leapt onto the other ship. From this close Elena could tell they had no markings. The ship was small and it did not take the two men long to search it.
“Apparently there are survivors,” Elena commented to Spin. “Good,” she continued. “Hate to risk my ship for nothing.” Matro and Benjamin used the portable medical stretcher to bring the first one out. Elena blinked hard in surprise. The man was wearing a space suit. Elena watched as they brought him aboard.
“Three,” Mateo called as they passed her position. The man wore the standard looking Michelin man suit with the fishbowl helmet and oxygen tank strapped to his back. While the ship had no insignia, the same could not be said for the suits. Emblazoned on the suit’s left arm in all its glory was the United States flag. Mateo and Benjamin dropped the spaceman off in one of the crew’s bunks and went back for a second load. The second man wore the same suit as did the third.
By the time the two men got the third survivor on board they looked nearly as wiped as she did. They dropped him in the bunk and returned to deck. Elena walked down to meet them as Benjamin unhooked and stowed the plank and Mateo let out the line in the winch. The ship drifted further away as the line extended. In a few minutes Elena would kick on the motor and the slack line that still dripped in the water would grow taut as they moved to a safe distance. If the other ship started to sink the line could be cut with little risk to the Storm Chaser.
“Any thoughts?” She asked.
“I think the suits were their idea of safety precautions,” Mateo said.
“Crude,” Benjamin added. “But effective as well as damn heavy. The suits probably saved their lives. It looked like their primary mechanical system blew.”
“I would guess they had a small back up system in the room where they stored the suits. It had a burned spot on the wall and floor around it. I have the feeling the back up unit gave them just enough time to get into the suits before it blew. I’d have to take a closer look to be certain.” Elena nodded.
“Even to me the mechanical units the military designed looked off. It seemed to be their biggest weakness after scale,” Elena said.
“Probably didn’t account for the heat differential,” Mateo commented absently. Elena saw him staring off at the tethered ship.
“You aren’t going on board to study it,” Elena said. Mateo looked ready to argue until Elena pointed to the sky in front of them. Benjamin and Mateo turned to look. The sky was dark with storm clouds and the wind that should have calmed when they lost momentum had remained. In the excitement it had gone un noticed.
“We will keep the ship in tow for a little while but if the weather gets worse, we cut the line.”
“Why keep it in tow at all?” Benjamin asked.
“I want it away from the Marta,” Elena replied. “If we can tow it to port Mateo can look at it before we report it to the military’s lost and found. If not we can just report the coordinates where we cut it loose. Would you two mind checking in on our visitors? I want to see if we can get some speed to get some distance between the ships and each other as well as the Marta.” They nodded and took the emergency medical kits to the crew’s bunk.
Elena returned to the pilot house and kicked the engines into gear. The tow line rose out of the water, dripping as it stretched. She adjusted the Storm Chaser’s course to hopefully stay on the edges of the approaching storm rather than barreling directly into it. One glance at the sky told her complete avoidance would not be possible as the dark clouds stretched across the entire expanse of sky. Spin mewled and Elena reached over to rub her ears.
“You’ll be high and dry in here,” Elena told her. Spin turned large eyes to the sky line. “I just hope there were no serious injuries.” Live military personal on her ship was one thing. Dead ones were a whole different ball game.
1 comment:
While the whole military and new ship issue isn't that strange or inexplicable, but I have a hunch it still might be related to at least one of the other recent plots. One thing is strange, there should be no military on this channel, unless they changed plans or dropped false information.
Something completely different though, is the movement through and the movement inside the channel absolutely low tech, I mean directly powered by the pilot?
Post a Comment