Space Rescue One (41 page)

***

"Our next phase is to actually go out to the wreck and use the Quik-Cut and Quik-Seal as I mentioned before. Team One will do the actual drill while Team Two watches from on board. This is not because we don't trust you. It's standard procedure to always keep one team on board as backup unless circumstances dictate otherwise. There's no way to know ahead of time when some sort of emergency might happen. Occasionally it's been necessary for the ship to leave one team behind to take the other team to another nearby site. Hopefully that won't happen while we're doing this drill. Team One, get your suits out. Prepare to dress and inspect," Isaac said.

      The team members moved purposefully to their lockers, drew their suits, and began undressing before putting their suits on. Shelly narrated as they did.

      "Always move without haste. Never try to hurry. Doing so might cause you or someone else to rip a suit. Once the suit is out, hang it in the common area and make a visual inspection of it from all angles. When you're satisfied, only then do you undress. You'll notice that most technicians only remove their outer uniform. Occasionally a technician will undress a bit further. That's basically a personal preference you'll determine for yourself. If you're going to another ship where you might have to open up your suit, you should keep that in mind before undressing completely prior to putting your space suit on. Otherwise, plan on either being uncomfortable or giving others a free show in such circumstances. Do not express outrage because someone notices part of you. Remember that it happened because of your own decision, so choose wisely."

      Shelly paused in her explanation as she let the technicians catch up with what she had to say next. It was clear by then that one of the team members was stripping down all the way to stand there without shame in front of everyone as he took his suit down from the hook.

      "When you begin to dress, do it slowly and carefully for the same reasons as before. This becomes more important when you're doing this in zero-gravity. Then the slightest movement can set you drifting in the wrong direction. Just take your time in dressing."

      The technicians caught up with her narration once more. Shelly said, "Once you're dressed, turn to your buddy and visually inspect your buddy's suit from every angle possible. Once you both have visually inspected each other, inform the team chief if and when you're ready."

      "If you don't know what to look for, you will before the day is out. Shelly is going to assist Ceriga in inspecting my suit now," Chief Dickson said.

      "We're looking for any rips or punctures that Chief Dickson might have missed or that happened while he dressed. If we see so much as one, we will immediately inform him so he won't be hurt or killed by leaving the ship in an unsafe suit. After inspecting the suit, we'll check the equipment. We'll look to make sure that everything is in the correct place so that nothing will snag on anything. As well, we'll make sure that everything is present. We're not very useful out there without the proper equipment to perform the rescue. Since this is a limited drill, there isn't as much equipment to inventory. Notice how I open each pouch and visually check it. If necessary, I will put my hand inside to make sure that something is there that should be. When I finish each pouch, I will close it and then verify that it closed properly. Okay, Chief. You pass," Shelly said.

      "Thanks, Shelly. Did you follow everything, Ceriga?" Isaac asked.

      "Yes, Chief. Is this only for drills?" she asked.

      He answered, "This is standard procedure for every time we go out. Okay, team assignments. Ceriga, you're with me. Then Alex and Jimmy. Last, George and Marsha. Order of drill is George and Marsha, then Alex and Jimmy, then Ceriga and myself. Follow me."

***

"For this drill, you'll merely be taking a space walk to familiarize yourself with what it feels like to be out there," Isaac said.

      Amanda asked, "I've been out there already. When do we get to practice with the equipment?"

      "When everyone on my team is at the same level. Not before. As I understand it, you got into trouble the last time you were out. Now listen up to Chief Dickson and hold the questions to what we're doing. Team Two, get your suits. Prepare to dress and inspect," Shelly said.

      Part of Shelly's team moved a bit more hastily than what they observed hours before. She called out, "Halt! Put the suits back, return to your places around the table."

      "Awww!"

      "We're going to do this right. That means no hurrying. . . Get your suits. Prepare to dress and inspect," Shelly said.

      Shelly watched her team move more deliberately than before. She didn't stop them though they were still a bit fast. Instead, she let them take their suits out and hang them in the center of the ready room. While her team was watched by Team One, she went about behaving as if it was an actual emergency, taking her time to visually inspect her suit from all angles possible. She glanced around to see that Isaac was nodding his approval.

      "Undress and put your suits on." Shelly stripped down to her underwear. Glancing around her, she wasn't at all surprised to see both Sheila and Amanda strip naked before slipping into their suits. She said nothing as she knew it was a personal choice they were permitted to make. She noticed the hesitancy in Irving's face before he stripped all the way as well, apparently taking his cue from Sheila and Amanda. Shelly wasn't at all concerned to see that one of her technicians doffed everything while the other stopped at his underwear.

      "Team assignments are as follows. Irving is with me. Amanda is with Ashika. Sheila is with Bruno. Begin your inspections. Chief Dickson, please have one of your technicians guide my trainees in their inspections," Shelly said.

      "Right. Alex, take Sheila. Jimmy, Amanda. I'll take Irving," the Chief replied.

***

"Okay, listen up. Keep off your radios unless you have something wrong, see something wrong, or have an important question. Do not chatter just to hear yourself. This may be a drill, but it's meant to keep you alive later. Everyone snap on the tether line. Verify when you're hooked by raising one of your hands," Shelly said.

      Shelly watched until she had five hands showing. She felt grateful that her experienced technicians were going along with the tedious instruction routine though they knew as much as herself.

      "Okay, I'm engaging the airlock now. Our green light will change to red as the process begins," Shelly said.

      The green light changed to red over both hatches inside the airlock.

      "I'm now opening the outer hatch. You'll see a second red light come on. That means one of the hatches is open," Shelly said.

      The red light was joined by a second red light. The hatch slid out of the way leaving them with a broad unobstructed view of endless black space speckled by distant bright stars.

      "Take your time and follow me out onto the hull." Shelly stepped out of the airlock and swung herself around with a handhold to the hull where she planted her feet firmly. The slightly magnetized plates in her soles gripped just enough to keep her from floating away. She moved away from the hatch so the others could follow in a like manner. She backed up slowly as she watched Irving, then Ashika, then Sheila, then Bruno, and lastly Amanda leave the hatch.

      With everyone on the hull, she said, "Okay, walk to the edge of the hatch with me and observe what I do. Unless one of us closes the hatch, no one inside can use this exit without using an override. Under some circumstances, we will leave the hatch open. Under others, we'll close it. Unless someone inside the ship is in communication or visual contact with us, they have no way of knowing if we're clear of the hatch. That's why it's our responsibility to close it when appropriate. I'll demonstrate first. Then I'll open it and let each trainee close and open the hatch once to get the feel of it."

***

      "When we leap into space, we generally leap in pairs or as a team. For now, we will practice in pairs. Once you have a feel for how it feels to jump with someone else, then we'll practice doing it as a team. The senior team member or partner will always give the count when possible. Generally the count is given as a count of three followed by the word 'mark.' You'll leap on that word only unless faced with an emergency. Disconnect into pairs. Bruno, coordinate with Amanda and make your first practice jump," Shelly said.

***

"Well, how did it go?" Richard asked.

      "Better than I expected. There were more dumb questions asked than I remembered from my own training," Shelly replied.

      "I think they were about average. They'll probably work out after all. We'll just have to be patient and repeat ourselves until they're always thinking safety and buddies," Isaac said.

      "Okay, that sounds good. We'll be having another drill in two days. That should give you more time for instruction in the Space Jaws and use of the Air Link," Richard said.

      "Was Ceriga all right with you last night?" Isaac asked.

      "I had no problem with her, Isaac. Did I cause her any problems?" Richard answered.

      "Not really. She wasn't sure if you might want her. It appears that she found you quite tempting and stated that she had to fight herself so you could get your sleep. I was planning on letting her do it again tonight until I heard that from her lips. Now I'm not so sure. Do you have an opinion on this?" Isaac answered.

      "Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later, I suppose. I've already tried to warn Shelly about that," Richard replied.

      "It was on my own initiative that we linked up a tether line between us that one time. I guess I don't have any grounds to complain on if someone else does the same thing," Shelly said.

      "Chief, it's not anything we can do much about. If it isn't Shelly or Ceriga, then it will probably be someone else we least expect it from. I can't see you making it more difficult on yourself by worrying about that. I've already had it pounded into my thick skull that I'm not going to be left alone at night if at all possible, so I'm not going to argue with you or anyone else about that or who you send to spend the night," Richard said.

      "I'm pretty persuasive," Shelly said with a forced grin.

      "That you are," Richard agreed.

      "Well, Ceriga is still ahead of the other trainees so she'll be with you a bit more. That is, if it's all right with you?" Isaac asked.

      "It's all right, Chief. I've no complaints on the matter," Richard answered.

***

Ceriga entered Richard's quarters. She was a bit surprised to see him still awake sitting at his computer. Judging from the look on his face, he'd just received bad news. "Is something wrong?"

      "Well, you might say that something is wrong. I just got the news that Chief Brunner was arrested yesterday for murder on Venus. Unfortunately there's little I can do for him right now though I wish there was."

      "I'm sorry to hear that. Are you ready to go to bed now?" she asked.

      "Not yet. I thought I'd just sit here for a few minutes and gather my thoughts about me. If you're tired, you're welcome to go on and slip into bed now."

      "I'm not that tired. If you don't mind, I'll sit up with you. Would you mind if I removed this to become more comfortable?"

      "I guess not since there's no one in here to see you."

      "Thanks," Ceriga replied as she let the robe fall from her shoulders to splatter in a heap on the deck. "Sometimes I can't stand to wear clothing. Other times I feel totally embarrassed to be without it. I'm not sure why I get conflicting signals."

      "That's interesting. I guess I never thought of it from that point of view. I figured that people almost always had a reason for why they did things."

      "I did, too. I guess that's why I know that it's hard for others to sort out the signals we give them because our own thoughts are often confused. For instance, my brother, genius that he is, still thinks that there's discrimination lurking around every corner. I keep telling him that it's mostly in his mind. After all, he and I both have done well and neither of us have been blocked by any discrimination."

      "He disagrees with that?" asked Richard.

      "Well, not exactly. He knows he's doing well. Still, he sees shadows lurking around corners. You're avoiding looking at me, aren't you? I'm sorry, you truly are embarrassed for me to stand here naked like this," Ceriga answered.

      "It's all right, Ceriga. I said you could. I'm just trying not to leer at you."

      "If I was worried about that, I sure wouldn't be standing here like this. Look if you want," Ceriga said.

***

"Is it true, Captain? About Ralph?" Isaac asked at the breakfast table.

      "It's true. He'll stand trial soon to my understanding. I'm not sure, but I think he has a better chance in their courts than on Earth," Richard answered.

      "How so?" Isaac asked.

      "Well, he won't be facing a stacked jury for one thing. Apparently they're trying something new instead of trying to find an impartial jury since those never are," Richard answered.

      "Yeah, so how's it different?" asked Isaac.

      "His lawyer gets to choose half the jury. The prosecution gets to choose the other half of what will be a ten-person jury. They can each select jurors who believe that he's innocent or guilty to begin with. To reach a guilty or innocent verdict requires a simple majority vote," Richard answered.