Tour of Duty: Stories and Provocation (7 page)

“That’s my cue,” the medic said.

“Good luck.”

He locked out, and his voice came over the net via wire.

“Ready to belay.”

Vela said, “The controls are yours. I’m backup, listening.”

“Roger. Extending.”

Stadter kept his attention on course. They were barely ahead of
Mammy Blue
, barely off her ecliptic outside. Lowther had about eighty seconds of thrust in his harness to keep him at an oblique angle. After that, they’d have to cast off and reel him back fast to avoid irradiating him. Usually they docked with the calling craft. If not, he lined over while both ships were in free flight. Doing it under thrust was known to be dangerous and done only in theory before now.

It was nothing, though, on what the extremists from the Blazer Regiment were doing.

The insertion was terrifying.

Rem Bowden had done several boarding exercises in space, on vessels in orbit. Even from a distance, a vessel in orbit was relatively stationary. This one was under boost and unstable, shedding parts, changing thrust. There was no room for error, and he had little control over those potential errors.

The lock on a stealth boat took one man and one maneuvering sled at a time. Outside, he hooked onto a mounting carefully designed to be flush when not in use. He eased the line to full extension in the current 2 G acceleration, and hung as if off a cliff in open space. He then composed himself in patience, or as close as he could force himself, until the others made their way out. It would be eleven troops on six sleds, because the boat crew were not trained for it, and there were no spare sleds.

Sarendy was next out, even more shapely in a skinsuit. She was also lightly built and had a distinctive lope to her climb. She loosened her tensioner, zipped down, sending a hum through the line, braked, and then climbed over him. After latching onto the sled with two clips, she snaked a hand up and waved.

“Testing,” he said.

“Ready,” she agreed.

The primary crew, save the engineer, all remained aboard to manage recovery. That also left more room in the boat for casualties, though securing some of the more sensitive equipment was going to be a chore. It also meant he and the boarding party would be diverted elsewhere until all the boats could swap around in dock afterward.

That, however, was minor compared to the near-suicide they were about to embark on.

Far aft and out of view,
Mammy Blue
charged on her desperate flight into oblivion. If he could look, he might catch a reflection or a bare glow of her plasma stinger. Space was black with a few dots, when the polarizing helmet didn’t blot them out.

“Boarding Party, report when ready.”

“Ready,” he said simply, eschewing any comments. For a real mission, commo silence would prevail. It would take effort to counter that training.

“Detaching in three, two, one . . . ”

Acceleration stopped and they were in free orbit.
Black Watch
simultaneously cut thrust so they’d not be exposed to her radiation. If the trajectory was correct, they’d be close to
Mammy Blue
in two segs, at similar velocity, assuming her acceleration was reasonably consistent. Then they’d try to board. If it went wrong, they were all lined together and would light a beacon for recovery, though that could take a day. He wasn’t sure what emotional shape the crew would be in after that.

Actually, he wasn’t sure what emotional shape he’d be in, even without having to keep them calm. This was not an exercise with excess manpower standing by for recovery.

None of the team or the crew said anything. He wasn’t sure if it was discipline or fear, but he wanted to minimize the latter.

“Count off again, just so I know you’re awake,” he said. It was as much for his reassurance as theirs.

The team rattled off numbers fast. The crew called their names, some sounding a bit quavery. They all responded, though. “Milton.” “Sarendy.” “Diaken.” “D’Arcy.” “Aufang.”

The projection on his visor said they were close to
Mammy Blue
. Now they had to find it and board. He took his bearings from Iota Persei and his nav system, and faced in the right general direction.

He saw nothing, and instinctively checked his O2 level. Fifteen divs, plus the emergency bottle. They’d be fine. No, it was nothing like an exercise, but they’d be fine. He lowered the ratio slightly. He didn’t want to hyperventilate.

A reflected splash of light indicated Engineer Milton’ s searchlight had caught the derelict. Then he saw the faint glow of the plasma stinger. He used the active sensor retrofitted to his sled to tag the target, and knew Hensley was, too, as was Sarendy. They couldn’t miss.

“I have it, firing grapnel,” he said. He reached up and armed the canister. Once back behind it, he swiveled the gun until the reticle lit, and fired.

They were actually very close; no more than two hundred meters. The question then was how well had they matched velocities?

He found out as the grapnel contacted and stuck and the line started spooling out with a thrumming vibration he could feel right through the sled and his suit. The drum friction brake engaged, and acceleration built quickly; blood rushed from his head to his feet.

In theory they were to string out in line, one behind the other. In practice, lines got tangled and they wound up in a clump.

Sarendy tried to grip the side line with a second, hand-held drum, but something didn’t work. He cursed twice, then said, “We’re going to impact. Everyone turn best you can and brace.”

He said it just in time for them to smack into the side of the ship hard enough to bend some hardware and knock the breath out. He gasped and struggled for air, as gear and people buried him. Someone clutched at him, his right leg was pinned painfully at the thigh between two sleds, and he heard grunts, pants and whimpers over the air. It felt like hanging off a mountain, in darkness, while the mountain shook from a low grade earthquake.

Hensley said, “I have a second lock. We’re secure.”

Bowden firmly said, “No one do anything until told. First, I want at least two personal lines on padeyes, if anyone can reach. Four or five would be better.” They were putting a hell of a strain on that harpoon, and it could fail, or the hull could, at any time.

“Linked.” “On line.” “Connected.” “On line.”

“Should I cut loose lines sir?”

“No cutting!” Gods, no. Cut the wrong one and they’d have a Dutchman.

They hung in a tangled mess of suits and sleds, lines all over. It took three concerted segs to weave in and out, disconnect and reconnect one careful line at a time, and ease the sleds aft. Eventually, they had two groups standing off the hull, hanging by line at what felt like 1.5 G. The crew had one attached bundle of their gear, the team another.

Milton asked, “Do you need us to wait on engine shutdown?”

“No, go ahead and do it. Sooner is better, just keep me in the loop. We need to go forward five frames and around two hundred mils.”

“Good luck.”

Just then, Diaken shouted, “Look out!” It wasn’t a practical warning. It did alert everyone to take a look around. Another section was separating, pulling back and ripping free. It appeared to be just a skin plate of sheet polymer and metal, tumbling lazily in the Iolight as it fluttered delicately away. Of course, it was in orbit and might eventually collide with some other ship. The repercussions of this disaster would linger for years.

“And we’re moving,” Bowden said. “Time is short.”

Once free of the sleds, the tangle of lines and the crew, their progress went quickly, even with the subjectively lateral G load. They lined together, swung around in bounds while linking to padeyes as they went. He insisted on at least three padeyes at a time, since he didn’t trust this flying scrapyard.

That should save them against anything except another chunk of hull breaking loose with them on it, or half on it. Which, he tried not to dwell on, was entirely possible.

“Warrant Bowden, this is Sergeant Lowther. I am aboard, over our proposed entry point.”

“Lowther, good to have you,” he replied. It was. More professional help was welcome, as was knowing that area wasn’t in the process of breaking up at this moment.

“Just so you know, I have a relayed message through
Auburn
. Apparently, the owner wants us to avoid excess damage.”

Bowden finally felt emotion other than fear.

“He knowingly operated a bomb; he can suffer. Likely he’s going to die in a duel with one of the victims anyway.”

“Or a victim’s next of kin.”

“Screw that. They’re entitled to take justice out on this sewerweasel personally. I intend to see they all get that chance.” His scowl was dark.

“Just so you know,” Lowther repeated. He didn’t sound particularly concerned about the owner’s plight. “I’m ready when you are, and have marked five padeyes I think are strong enough to hold us.”

“Excellent. We’ll be around in a few seconds.”

A helmet appeared as they swung over the curve of the hull. That had to be Lowther.

He said, “I’m over a lounge that’s designated priority for rescue.”

Bowden said, “Okay. Are the passengers centralized?”

“Some of them. It’s full of kids.”

“Kids?” Bowden asked.

“Yeah, daycare center. Or kids’ lounge. Something.”

“Triff. How are they going to respond to us busting in in gear?” It was largely a rhetorical question, but necessary.

“Either thrilled or terrified. And they’re already terrified.”

“Right. No adults in there?”

“Maybe. The crewman relaying the info wasn’t sure, and the locks have all sealed.”

“We need some phones on the bulkhead so we can talk.”

Blazer Arvil said, “Will do.”

While he did that, Bowden introduced his team. They each waved as he tagged them. “This is our medic, Sergeant Marchetti. Structural tech, Hensley. Arvil on life support and systems. Lemke on flight controls if we need that. Bulgov on everything else. He’s Combat Air Control, but we don’t need that at the moment.”

“Pleased to meet you. I’ve got all the medical gear we had and fifteen rescue balls.” That explained the bulky pack over his tank.

The acceleration was high and irregular. But it was ceaseless, which was putting a strain on an increasingly damaged craft, and it was a massive inconvenience outside the hull. Inside it might actually prove useful. But they weren’t inside yet. They hung on their harnesses and waited, shifting to keep circulation moving and to minimize pressure numbness in the acceleration.

“Hensley, what’s your take on the structure?”

Hensley was qualified on surface, air and space craft. “Holding for now. I think we can open it here without damaging struts, but any loss of material weakens the whole, and will affect mass ratio and tension under load. I can’t guarantee it won’t shatter what’s left of it.”

“Well, we’re getting farther away fast, so let’s work faster. In, out, done.”

Stadter didn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Exposed?”

The
Black Watch
’s engineer, Milton said, “Yes, the feed lines are exposed, as are some of the valves.”

“How’s the radiation level? Those aren’t made for adjustment in flight.”

“Correct. We’re lowering people by line and cut the line once they reach exposure limits.”

That was too insane for words. Stadter felt nauseated himself, and not just because they were now shifting G to match the derelict.

He said, “They’ll fall through the wash, and be lost as well.”

“Yes, they’ll need to kick off, then cut the line.”

“I can’t order anyone to do that. It’s double suicide.”

Milton said, “We volunteered.”

“Of course you did. I can’t see a logical argument against the shutdown, and it’s less dangerous than doing nothing, may God help us all. Do it.”

“Can you coordinate pickup?”

“Yes.” That was part of the mission profile. However, juggling them aboard ships that could immediately have rad treatment available if needed would be harder. “Vela,” he began.

“I’m looking for boats that will have at least emergency rad treatment,” she said.

“Excellent.”

“Okay,” Bowden announced, “we’re going to place cutting charges here and there,” he splashed the hull with an intensely bright light. It could be a weapon if aimed at eyes, but here it served to illuminate for cameras. “Small for entry. Then we’re going in in fireteam stacks just like a compartment clearing operation. Each troop will carry as many rescue balls as they can manage. Grab the kids, stuff them in, inflate them and bring them out. We blow the entire hull section for that. If you have to stun them or slap them to get compliance, do it. But we’d rather you took some bruising than the kids. Anyone worried about a few scratches?”

“Can’t be worse than my bitch of a little sister,” Arvil said. “Sharp nails.”

“Good. But then we’ve got to clear the rest of the compartments, and do so
fast
. You can see the damage so far. Blowing those holes shouldn’t hurt structural struts, but who knows what else is wrong with this piece of garbage. We can expect pressure cracks at least. There are bound to be more casualties, sorry,
passengers
, elsewhere, and they’ll be going into anoxia fast. Open every hatch, clear every cubby, hit them with oxy and get them out.”

Lemke said, “With active oh two depletion, brain damage starts in under eighty seconds.”

“Correct. The longer they’re in zero pressure, even if they have an oxy mask, the more risk of damage there is, right before death. Hopefully that won’t be a problem.” Even if they all knew it, it was good to go over the details. Every training exercise was a mission, and every mission a training exercise.

“I have phones up,” said Arvil. “Talk away.” He handed over a plugged wire.

Bowden clicked the plug to the patch on his helmet. He paused a moment to decide what to say.

“Hello onboard. This is Warrant Leader Bowden, Blazer Regiment. We are here to rescue you. Let me speak to someone in charge.”

There was some shouting and crying, but not a lot. A teen voice, probably male, said, “There is no one in charge. They went to get help when the explosion happened. Do you want the oldest?”