Ringship Discretion Read online

  Ben came back "We heated some of the rods and were able to bend them back straight; well, as straight as we could make them. I think its going to take three more hours to finish this."

  The captain replied with "Roger that. Keep it up. Amelia, can you use the mag drive to take us to the station? For where we are heading next, we're going to need supplies, and a lot of them!"

  She responded "OK. Ben and AJ, did you copy that? I will take it easy, but make sure you are clamped on."

  Ben acknowledged.

  Amelia came back "Attie, where are we going?"

  As he reached the airlock with Doc, he replied. "Apparently, we have to go to Oberon."

  In a raised voice she said, "Uranus?! Holy shit Attie. That is a long haul. Do you really think we can make that?"

  He shut the outer hatch. "Well, we don't have much choice, but we are going to need a literal ton of supplies!"

  Doc reached over to raise the air pressure and the captain stopped him. "No, we are going back out as soon as we get close to the station." Doc retracted his hand.

  As they approached the station, Amelia said over the comms "OK, I am going to take us close to 28W. If I try to dock, I will surely crash this heap. The station looks deserted now. In fact, I don't see a single ship!"

  The Discretion approached the docking port and Amelia tried to stop in front of it, but she over compensated and ship began to accelerate backwards. She reversed the field and it slowed again, but turned into the gantry. The captain cringed as he heard the crunching sound. "Amelia!".

  She shut everything down. "Sorry! This thing is hard as hell to control! The fields are fluctuating and we are attracted to the metal of the station. This wasn't meant to be used as a means of propulsion, you know!"

  The captain came back "OK. OK....but, lets just try to leave some part of the ship intact...please."

  Ben said "And us too please!"

  Amelia growled over the radio.

  Ben said "Duane's wreckage has floated into the station, but it's just sitting there now and the lines are slack. Want me to cut him free?"

  The captain said "Yes. Someone will pick him up. Even if it is Big Sis."

  A minute later Amelia was back on the radio. "OK, we are at a dead stop relative to the station. You are go for your EVA."

  The captain nudged Doc, "Let's go." and he reopened the outer hatch. As they came around the hatch, Atticus could see where Amelia had hit the gantry-way. It was slightly bent and there were scratches down the hull, but no real damage. The Discretion was drifting away from the station very slowly. Atticus looked at Doc. "OK, ready to jump over to the gantry-way?" Doc looked at the 20 meters between them and the station. "Sure..Can't really fall. Can we?" They both pushed off and caught the gantry-way a few seconds later. They made their way around the end to the airlock hatch and pushed the entry button. The door slid open and they proceeded inside. The captain looked through the inner hatch portal. The gantry tunnel looked empty. He remarked "No one here to greet us. Looks empty. Ben, how's the repairs coming?"

  Ben replied "Well, we've got two fixed. Bending the third back into place now."

  The captain pushed the button to pressurize the airlock and he immediately heard the sound of rushing air. "Good, get your ass in here as soon as you are done, and bring your weapons. We don't have any, although I'm not expecting much company, based on what we see outside."

  Ben said "Sure thing captain. It will be about 10 to 15 minutes."

  After about a minute, Atticus could feel his suit beginning to squeeze him. When he looked at the airlock readout it said 80 kPa and rising. "Crap!" and he hit the stop button. "How do you tell this thing we are coming in at 40 kPa?" Doc pointed to the button with the picture of the space suit on it. Atticus rolled his eyes and pushed it. A display with a plus and minus appeared. It read 50 kPa, so he pushed the minus button until it read 40. After another minute, the lock turned green. He looked at the display and at his suit gauges to make sure it was the right pressure. "OK, we can remove our helmets." He then hit the full pressure button and more air flowed in, but at a slower rate this time. When it had completed its cycle the inner handle turned green. He looked at Doc. "Ready?". Doc nodded. The captain took a last look through the portal and opened the hatch. The air smelled terrible and they both winced. Doc said "Its like rotten eggs and burnt matches at the same time!" The captain pointed to the yellow dust on the floor. "Sulfur byproducts from Io's volcanoes. Well, at least it seems they left the gravity on for us. Let's take a look around and see if we can't find some supplies."

  Ben came over the comm. "OK, Captain, that will do it! We're done. I am on my way to you now. I am sending AJ back into the ship with the equipment. His arm is really hurting him."

  The captain replied "Great! See you in a few minutes. Oh, and make sure you use the spacesuit button and set the airlock to 40 kPa."

  Ben came around from the bottom of the ship. "Right'O, Captain".

  At the end of the gantry was another pressure door. The light above it was flashing red. The captain looked through the window, but didn't see anyone. Red and white strobes were flashing up and down the corridor. The captain hit the hatch button and the door slid open. He stepped through and pointed right. "Let's try that way." Just as they turned, a young man in orange overalls with blue stripes came running around the corner, his hands full of equipment. He stopped "What are you still doing here! Big Sis is comi.." And he stopped and started to back up "Are you them?!" The captain put his hands up. "No. No. We are trying to get away from them too. Our ship is damaged and we need some supplies." The man waved his hand while dropping something electronic. "Sorry, I have to go or they will leave without me!" He looked down at the object, but left it and ran by. Doc yelled after him, "Can you tell us where to get food?!", but there was no response as the foot steps faded.

  The captain picked up the electronic gadget. "Man, we've got the whole station panicked. That definitely works to our advantage." Doc pointed to the captain's hand. "What is that?" The captain handed it to him. "Some kind of video game I think" They began walking down the corridor. The hatch sealed behind them and made both of their hearts jump.

  As they walked the captain said "These are just quarters. Not much here. Not of value to us anyway." Doc hit the captain's arm. "Look, a terminal." They walked over to it and the captain pushed the inquiry button. The terminal asked "How can I help you?" in a sexy British female voice.

  Doc remarked "Nice."

  The captain asked "The way to the Galley?"

  She responded "The nearest galley is down the corridor 120 meters to your left, then left 30 meters. The galley will be on your left. We also have many fine restaurants for your dining pleasure and they are located on leve..." The captain pushed the cancel button. He then pushed the inquiry button again.

  "How may I help you once again?"

  Doc nudged him. "It's a smart one."

  The computer said "Yes, my name is ISIA, Integrated System's Information Assistant and I have the latest AI tools at..." The captain was about to push cancel again and she said "No need to be rude. I will be silent. Unless of course you want something".

  The captain rolled his eyes. "Arms locker"

  She said "I am afraid that information is restricted unless you have clearance. I am not registering you as a known user." Just then the hatch behind them whooshed open. They both turned in an instant, their hearts beginning to pound.

  Ben stepped through with his shotgun in hand. "Hey! Its just me."

  The computer asked "Is there anything else I can help you with?" The captain turned around and hit the cancel button. "Yeah, shut up."

  The captain took a deep breath "OK, the galley is this way. Let's load up and get the hell out of here."

  As they approached the galley, they heard a pan fall. All three of them instinctively backed against the corridor wall. Two men came out hauling a refrigerator. The captain looked at Ben. Ben shrugged and put his finger against his lips. They let
the fridge thieves get down the hallway and around the corner before they moved into the galley. Ben looked around. "Damn, this place has been ransacked. Look there, the freezer. They stepped over all the random kitchen debris and had to lift a large cabinet out of the way to get the freezer door. As they set it upright, someone started beating on the inside of the freezer. Ben signaled for everyone to back up and he went around to the side that would open, then pointed to the captain to open the door. Ben raised his shotgun and nodded. The captain jerked open the door. A cook stepped forward but stopped when he saw the shotgun. Ben said "What the hell are you doing in there?"

  He said "They locked me in here and took everything!" Ben lowered his shotgun and asked "Any food left?"

  The cook, his arm shaking, pointed behind him.

  Ben looked past him to see crates stacked to ceiling. "Bingo. Hey. Do you own this joint?. The cook said "No. Its owned by the OWMC."

  Doc asked "What's that?"

  The captain said "Outer World Mining Consortium. It's owned by Oorters. Hey cook, you.." The cook interrupted "It's Bigel".

  The captain continued, "OK, Bigel. Do you have a ship you can catch. Big Sis will be here tomorrow."

  Bigel nodded. "Take what you like, I don't care. Do you mind if I go?"

  The captain waved his hand. "No. Take care."

  Bigel hopped over all the debris, grabbed his favorite apron, said "Thanks for letting me out of there." and ran off down the corridor.

  The captain looked at all the frozen food. "OK, we need to get this out of here somehow." They started to look around.

  Ben said "Back here Captain, a pallet jack."

  The captain looked back at Ben. "Great, lets clear all this crap out first." They started pushing everything out of the way and throwing things into corridor to make room. After a few minutes, they had a clear path. Doc pushed the jack around to the door and they loaded everything they could get onto it. Once it was full they carefully backed it out into the corridor and started their way back to the ship. When they turned the corner someone said "Where do you think your going with all that?". Ben stepped around the front of the pallet and cocked his shotgun. Two rough looking, sulfur covered guys immediately backed up while raising their hands. "I guess wherever you want." Ben grinned with the left side of his mouth. "Betch your ass. Doc. Push!"

  Ben walked backwards keeping and eye on the two guys as the captain and Doc pushed the pallet to the airlock. When they opened the first hatch and started going through, the two guys ran off. Ben stepped through the door backwards trying to keep an eye on the corridor in both directions. The captain opened the inner airlock door and started stacking boxes inside. "I hope this stuff is vacuum rated." After about 3 minutes, the pallet was empty. The captain said "OK, let's go!" Ben took one last look down the corridors and shut the first hatch. All three of them climbed in on top of the food and shut the inner airlock door. The captain pushed the spacesuit depressurize button and set it for 40 kPa. The air-pressure started to drop slowly.

  Amelia came over the comms. "Captain! We have new contacts. They coming from the opposite direction of the Big Sis ship. They just started using their radar. It's the only way I knew they were there."

  Attie in a concerned voice "Any idea of who they are? Any more detailed..." Ben hit the captain, yelled and pointed toward the inner airlock window. The captain looked. The two men were back, were armed, and were coming through the first door. They looked at the pallet and then up a them. They lifted their rifles, but then looked around at the airlock and apparently decided not to fire.

  Amelia said "You cut out, Captain. What were you.." Attie interrupted "We have two armed guys that are back for us, but we're jammed in the airlock like sardines with all this food. There isn't shit we can do for...3 more minutes! Shit! They are trying to find a way to override the airlock." A gunshot rang out. "One of them is trying to use a pistol to hit the air lines or controls or something!."

  She came back on "Hold on. So you guys are good in the airlock right?"

  Attie said "Yeah! But I don't know how long".

  She came back "Alright. Hang on. You're not going to like this."

  Attie asked back "What are you going to do?"

  Amelia turned off the gravity plates and turned on the gravity drives. The 30 second alarm went off, but she just hit the emergency override and they switched instantly. She heard AJ yell and she yelled back. "Hold on to something!!"

  Using the grav drive plates, she swung the ship around and applied throttle. The front of the ring smashed into the airlock gantry.

  Attie yelled "Holy Shit! What are you doing crazy woman!"

  She confidently replied. "Saving your asses!"

  Attie yelled "Good! Keep doing it! That really freaked them out!" Both men were scrambling to get to their feet and get out of the gantry-way. The airlock turned green and the captain said "Helmets!" The gantry-way swung again as Amelia rammed the ship into it. A wave went down and back from the airlock to the station. The two men finally retreated to the inner door, and as they crossed its threshold one opened fire back into the gantry-way. Bullets hit the airlock. The inner portal glass shattered and the captain, Doc and Ben's suits crushed in on them. Ben lifted his shotgun and blew out the outer portal window. The pressure dropped fast forcing the two men to close their hatch. The captain cringed. "Goddamn that was loud Ben! But good call. Amelia, they're gone, but we need to get all of us and this food over to you. She said "No problem now. I have the drives back up. I'll dock with you in a second."

  The captain watched out the broken portal. He saw the mangled and crumpled front of the Discretion move past, the secondary hatch appear, and then watched it come at them. The ship and the gantry-way clamped to each other. Atticus opened the outer hatch and the three of them and all the boxes floated free. When he got across he opened the Discretion's outer door. "There won't be enough room for us and these supplies, so lets get all this in there and we'll go on the second cycle." Ben nodded.

  Attie said "Amelia. We've loaded all the food. Have AJ and Helen unload it."

  She said "Already told them to. Attie, about the new contacts, from what our sensors are saying, there are four large ships and they're only 500 kilometers out! We also have the high velocity Big Sis ships about to pass"

  Attie asked "What are the new..."Amelia interrupted "I'm picking up gamma rays reflecting off the new contacts. They must be fighting with the Big Sis ships, although I don't see how they could really hit each other at the speed differential..wait, no! It's not them. It has to be the single Big Sis ship that slowed down after us. The doppler shift from the reflection suggests a much lower velocity.

  Attie asked "Are the new contacts firing back?"

  Amelia said "I don't know. Let me put the sensors on the approaching slow Big Sis ship."

  Helen came over the comms. "OK, Captain everything is in the ship, you guys can come in."

  The captain opened the outer door once more and all three of them stepped in and shut it again.

  Attie said "OK, we are in the lock. I assume you've plotted a course to Uranus, so lets go!"

  Amelia said "OK, here we go!" She released the docking clamps, the ship spun about 45 degrees and everyone was slammed against the edge of the airlock and then the floor. She continued "OK, we are set for Uranus via a slingshot past Ganymede..should give us a little boost. As for the new ships, they are firing back using infrared...lasers, I assume."

  The captain looked through the inner portal and smacked the door "Come on Come on! I've had enough with damn airlocks today!" The lock turned green. Everyone started to remove their helmets and suits and the captain hit the full pressurization button. He waited impatiently, and then looked at Ben. "What the hell is that smell?"

  Ben bit his lower lip as a smile grew. "My waste recycling system didn't quite do its job."

  The captain said "Dammit Ben! What the hell have you been eating!? Jesus!" He banged on the inner hatch "Get me outa here!" AJ who was watch
ing, shrugged, and started to laugh. Even Doc, who was plugging his nose, couldn't help but laugh. All the stress just let go and everyone was falling down in uncontrollable hysterics. The airlock finally reached full pressure and the captain jumped out and then Doc right behind him. The captain started to close the hatch behind him and pointed at Ben. "Hell no! You keep your stinky ass in there!" Ben pushed back, laughing. The captain said "Get yourself cleaned up and service all these suits. I am sure they need their CO2 scrubbers changed anyway and just make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again."

  Ben, still chuckling "Well, we have been using them a hell of lot and they aren't meant for this kind of continuous use."

  AJ waved at his nose "Especially not your kind of continuous use!"

  Attie finally made it to up to the bridge. Amelia looked at him while trying not to laugh anymore. As he sat in the co-pilot's chair, he asked "What's the situation?".

  Amelia tried to straightened her mouth out to speak. "Well, I had to readjust the drives, as the new plates aren't pointed exactly where they were before, but" She paused, trying not to laugh again. "We have plenty of power. Our course takes us on such a trajectory, that it just happens that Ganymede is in a good position to give us a slingshot assist. With that, we should reach Uranus in about 90 days, running the drives at maximum power the entire way."

  Attie watched her still trying not to laugh. He jumped at her and kissed her. "Thanks for saving our asses back there. I love you!" She looked at him, her smile finally fading and she kissed him back. She started to stand, but her seat straps restrained her, so she pulled him in.

  From behind, Helen cleared her throat and they both looked up, lips still locked. When they saw Helen staring at them, they parted. Attie tried getting his composure. "What's up?".

  Helen pointed to the galley. "Everything is stowed and put away." She then pointed to the airlock. "A few cans didn't make all the pressure changes, we will be eating those tonight." There was bean soup and other liquids on the floor around the hatch. The captain hadn't even noticed until she pointed them out.