"Yeah, I do. It's a lot better than taking a chance on being killed."
Captain Bones fired one of his stingers at the man. The man's face shield shattered from the shot just as an opening was forced into the ship by the cadet marines. The man's face contorted into a ghastly shape as his oxygen swept out of his suit along with the remaining air from the cabin. The vacuum of space killed him quickly, though painfully.
Shots were exchanged between the cadet marines with their heavier weapons and the pirates inside the cabin. Captain Bones went down in the first exchange. Two pirates who were left standing after the brief exchange quickly dropped their weapons and put their hands up.
***
On the other ship, the marines cut into the hull to avoid any booby traps. The air pressure inside the ship forced the metal plates at the cut to bend outward, making the opening larger and sooner. Several cadet marines entered the ship as soon as they were sure they wouldn't be fired on. They moved about cautiously as they explored the ship for pirates and booby traps.
***
At the pirate ship, one of the cadet marines restrained the pirates' hands and then plugged a communications cable into their suits so they could talk. "You the captain?"
"He's dead on the deck over there."
The cadet said, "Your captain said he had hostages. Where are they? Speak fast or we'll report one less pirate captured."
"The men are locked inside a room on the other ship. The woman is in a cabin on this one."
"Show me which cabin. Now!" the cadet said forcefully.
"Yes sir, please don't kill me. I'm cooperating. She's in that cabin. She doesn't have a suit, either. Captain Bones stripped and raped her before he locked her in there."
The cadet marine toggled his radio, "Captain Herndon, we have a problem here. We have a hostage inside a sealed cabin without a space suit. We're checking now to determine if the hostage is still alive. We were told the other hostages are locked on board the other ship."
Captain Herndon asked, "Can you restore pressure to the ship?"
"Negative. There are too many holes in her to seal up in time. I don't think some of their equipment is operating either. I'm knocking on the bulkhead to get a response now. I'm getting a vibration in response, Captain. The woman is still alive."
Sheila replied, "Okay, keep her from opening the hatch, even if you have to jam it shut. We'll see what we have available on board our ships for getting her out. Attention all squadron ships. Move in to support personnel rescue and transfer operations. Check your stocks to see if you have a Pneuman Tube. If so, notify the marines and get it over to them quickly. Keep me advised of how many we have. I hope we have enough."
"Captain, this is Joel on the other ship. We just found the room with the male hostages. They're still alive, but their room is slowly losing air and they don't have suits. It could rupture at any moment. If there are any Pneuman Tubes, we need a lot of them urgently or we'll lose all of the men."
"Captain Herndon to the marines with the woman hostage. What is the condition of her cabin?"
"Captain, this is Harrison. Her room is intact. I don't think she's in immediate danger so long as she doesn't open the hatch. We're in the process now of jamming it shut so she can't. One of our prisoners has stated that there are thirty men inside that cabin on the other ship."
Captain Herndon radioed, "Okay, Harrison. Set up communications between the woman and yourselves. Explain the situation to her and sit tight. Keep her company. How many prisoners do you have?"
Harrison replied, "Affirmative. Two prisoners. They've been restrained and are volunteering information. Strange, but they're both being very cooperative. Must be the atmospheric conditions, I guess."
"Very well. Transfer them to the Dust Bunny's brig as soon as you can do your job without information from them," said Sheila. "Communications, contact the Everette Dixon. Tell them we need them now. Explain the situation and let them know we're doing our best with what we have."
"Captain Herndon, this is the destroyer Carpenter. We carry only one Pneuman Tube as standard equipment. It's already on its way to the marines."
"Captain Herndon, this is Captain Meryl of the Majel Remm. Our ship carries only one Pneuman Tube. However, we have an idea that might work, but it's going to be tricky. If the cabin holding the men can be cut away from their ship, we should be able to winch it inside the transport. We've got hatches and compartments big enough, I think, to do that. Once inside, they'll be safe as soon as we restore the compartment pressure. That way, you can use one of the Pneuman Tubes to get the woman hostage out."
Sheila thought quickly and replied, "Captain Meryl, move in as close as possible and prepare your hold for the men's cabin. All marines are to cut from the inside out around the men's cabin. Hopefully, that won't disturb the integrity of the room. If you can, get torches to seal the cracks while the cutting is going on. All marines, begin work on Captain Meryl's idea as soon as you have the tools and are in place. Harrison, make arrangements for a Pneuman Tube and get your hostage out to safety."
Admiral Oden continued to sit quietly in his chair in the rear of the bridge and observe as the cadets went about their tasks with almost the polish of professionals. He hadn't seen reason to interfere as yet, even though he knew to begin with that there weren't enough Pneuman Tubes in the squadron to get all the men out safely. Their predicament was such that only a salvage ship should attempt rescue. However, with the men's cabin losing air, there was little else to do other than attempt a risky rescue using what they had available. He didn't bother correcting her, either, to let the Everette Dixon stay with the Q-ship to work on their repairs since it was in no danger. There was still a chance that the salvage ship might be needed here where it was a matter of life and death. If the cadets couldn't get the cut-away cabin into the transport, then the Everette Dixon would be the men's absolute last hope of survival.
***
"Okay, I've got a resonator attached to their bulkhead. I can communicate with the men."
Captain Herndon asked, "Find out their condition and let them guide you to the worst air leaks in their cabin. Explain to them what we're doing. Hopefully, they'll be patient and we'll get them out safely."
"Hello inside. This is Ensign Kocamura. Are you all still well inside?"
"Quiet everyone," Captain Iman ordered as most of the men tried to answer at once. "Quiet! I'm still in command. I'll do the talking." He waited until the men finally followed his orders and quieted down. "This is Captain Iman of the Glade Militia. We're all still alive, but there's no air circulation any longer. I'm not sure how long we can hold out. When are you unlocking the hatch?"
Kocamura replied, "We can't, sir. The ship is open to space. The pirates tried to kill you when we showed up. There's too many holes in the ship to seal off and no air to pump in if we could. What we're going to do instead is cut your cabin away from the ship and winch it inside one of our transports. It has hatches and compartments that we think are large enough to take the entire cabin. We need for you to let us know of any air leaks as soon as you spot them, no matter how small. We've stationed personnel all around to seal off your cabin. Just try to relax and conserve air in the meantime. We've also got a salvage ship on its way here to help out in case we're still working on your cabin. You got that?"
Captain Iman said, "Yes. We caught all that. Thanks for showing up in time, Navy!"
Kocamura replied, "I'm not Navy, sir. Not yet, anyway. I'm a cadet from the Academy. We were on training maneuvers in the area when the Navy asked us to respond since we were closer."
"You took on pirates and you're only cadets? Do I understand you correctly?" Captain Iman asked.
Kocamura replied, "That's correct, sir. We're all cadets."
Captain Iman asked, "Did you get all the pirates or did they escape?"
Kocamura replied, "We captured two. The rest of the pirates are dead, sir."
"There was a woman with us. Did she make it?" Captain
Iman asked.
Kocamura replied, "We found her locked in a cabin on the other ship. We're rescuing her from a similar situation, but we'll use a Pneuman Tube since she's the only person in that cabin. If you want to keep up a conversation, I'm available. Just ask away. I'll do my best to answer. Are any of your men injured?"
***
On the pirate ship, Harrison finally got hold of a resonator and installed it in the bulkhead so that he could talk with the woman inside the cabin. "Hello inside. I'm Ensign Harrison. We've got your door jammed so you won't kill yourself by opening it. The rest of the ship is without air. We'll soon be installing a Pneuman Tube on the outside of the ship to get you out. Have you ever used or seen a Pneuman Tube in action?"
Susan answered, "Uh, no, I haven't. I've read about them since I'm a journalist."
Ensign Harrison disconnected the resonator from his suit for a moment and radioed the Dust Bunny. "Captain Herndon, the woman inside is a journalist. I'll get more information and let you know as soon as I have it."
Quickly he made the connection to his suit again and resumed talking. "Sorry, I moved out of someone's way and got disconnected. The last I heard you say was that you're a journalist. Did you say anything after that?"
She replied, "Yes, I'm with the Daily Bread and I'll testify against those bastards if you only get me out of here alive. They told the pirates they'd pay a ransom for me if the pirates killed me. They've already raped me. Did you get them all?"
Cadet Ensign Harrison said, "Yes, we got them all. Okay, I'm going to communicate with my ship. I'll be right back with you in a moment. Just be patient. I'm not leaving you."
Again he broke the connection so that what he had to say wouldn't be overheard by her. He called the Dust Bunny again. "Captain, more information on the woman. She's with the Daily Bread and willing to testify against them. She states that the Daily Bread was willing to pay a ransom on her if the pirates killed her. She states that she's already been raped by the pirates."
"Ensign Harrison, stay with her. Keep her calm. We definitely want her out alive. Take your time and do it safely," Sheila replied.
"Affirmative, Captain," said Harrison. He plugged back into the resonator to talk with the woman. "What will happen now is that some of our personnel are going to put some Quik-Cut on the outside of the hull in a circle. Then they'll position the Pneuman Tube over the circle. Once they detonate the Quik-Cut, the plating will pop out and be forced inside the tube where it will lodge at the bottom and seal the tube. You'll need to be far away and holding onto something that's bolted down tight when the Quik-Cut is activated. The air pressure inside your cabin will drop slightly as the tube fills up with air. If you're not holding onto something, you could get knocked about as the air pressure equalizes."
She replied, "There's nothing inside this room. It was totally empty when the pirates locked me in. What should I do now?"
"There's nothing for you to hold onto?" asked Harrison.
"No, nothing! There's nothing at all," Susan exclaimed distressfully.
"What about the hatch mechanism? You should be able to hold onto that," Harrison said.
She replied, "No, I'd been waiting for you all to open the hatch earlier. The pirates must have taken off the mechanism on the inside. They didn't even need a lock to hold me in here."
Harrison replied, "Okay, then there's only one place where you can be. You'll have to stand on the exact center of the plate that we're cutting and ride it into the tube. I think that if you're anywhere else, you're gonna be pulled against one of the edges and cut badly by the air pressure. We'll make a tiny guide hole for you to stand on, so that you know you're centered. You got anything to plug it with inside the room with you?"
She replied, "There's nothing inside here with me."
"What about your clothing or footwear?" he asked.
"They took those from me. I'm naked," she responded.
He said, "Okay, we'll figure out something to guide you. How tall are you?"
"How tall? I'm five-two. Why?" she asked.
He said, "If you can lie against one bulkhead with your feet flat against another, you can see the spot where we'll plan on cutting. We'll locate the edges of the cabin and measure from there."
Susan replied, "That's not so easy to do. I've been floating in here ever since the attack turned off the artificial gravity. Also, it's dark in here and I don't know for sure which wall is which, except for the one with the door when I bump into it."
Harrison grimaced over forgetting that she had no gravity just like himself. He said, "Okay, we'll solve the problem. You just relax. We've got plenty of time and equipment to get you out. I'll contact the ship and have them send over more equipment. I'll be right here, but I've got to disconnect for a moment to talk with the ship."
Susan said, "Okay. I understand. Go ahead and call them."
Ensign Harrison called the Dust Bunny and relayed the problem as he saw it. Then he asked, "What now? What should I tell her? This is something they didn't tell us about before. Usually we're dealing with Navy personnel who know how to cooperate."
"Isn't she cooperating?" asked Sheila.
"She's cooperating, but she doesn't know how to do anything. I feel like I'm dealing with a first year cadet walking in through the gates for the first time," he replied.
"I understand you now. Okay. Keep track of her oxygen. We'll see what we can come up with for now. Otherwise, she might have to wait for the Everette Dixon to arrive. They've got the sophisticated rescue gear on board. You just keep her calm in the meantime," said Sheila.
Harrison replied, "Yes ma'am. I'm doing that now. She's holding up fairly well, considering. I'll stay with her and keep her calm."
***
"Admiral Oden, with your experience, do you know of any way we can get that woman out before the Everette Dixon arrives?" asked Captain Herndon.
"What's her situation?" he asked.
She explained, "Well, she's in a room without any fixtures to hold on to, no space suit, nothing to plug up a hole with either, not even clothing. The room is dark and she's weightless. That and she doesn't know much about being in space. She's become disoriented in her room and can only recognize by touch the wall with the hatch. If we pop the Pneuman Tube, she'll be thrown around inside that room by the air pressure until the tube seals. You know how those are, sometimes. If the popped plate goes through the tube crooked, it could easily take a minute to get it sealed properly. That would be more than enough time for the air to evacuate completely and kill her."
He replied while nodding and shaking his head for emphasis at some points, "Yes, I know that. I've seen Pneuman rescues go wrong and it's not pretty. Without a suit, she doesn't stand much of a chance. Without anything to hold onto, she might be pulled into the tube and cause it to wedge open. I wouldn't want to be the person floating beside that tube if that happens. You can't help but watch as someone you're trying to save gets their blood boiled and the air ripped from their lungs. If the rescue goes wrong, every bit of her will be visible through the tube. I doubt if the person who sees her die will be able to ever go to space again, even on a passenger liner."
She asked, "You've seen it?"
Dave replied, "I've seen combat videos of it. The rescuers around the man were unable to do anything for him. Lord knows they tried everything imaginable in the half-minute they had to do it in. The problem is that there's no way of knowing ahead of time if it will go smoothly or not. You can already have everything imaginable on hand, but there's almost no time to use it or get the right piece of equipment in place when you figure out exactly what's needed should something go wrong. Personally, I'd approach this as being a rescue of someone who doesn't want to be rescued. That will give you the best chance for success."
"You mean, accept the injuries she might get just to get her out alive?" asked Sheila.
Dave answered, "You might have to. That depends on her air supply. Until that runs low, you can afford to wait on the s
alvage ship's arrival."
***
"This is Ensign Kocamura to Majel Remm. Stand by for cabin. We're cutting through the last portion of hull now. We've got all the ducts and vents cut and sealed. Over."
Two cadets put Quik-Cut on the hull and placed a charge on it. They quickly moved out of the way and shielded their faces. One called out ready. Another cadet activated a switch to ignite the Quik-Cut. A moment later, there was a brief blinding glare. Then darkness set back in.
Kocamura said, "Okay, it's separated. Hook up the winch and haul it in. Everyone stand by to stabilize the cabin so it doesn't twist about. Start hauling!"
Slowly the winch pulled the cabin away from the militia ship. Cadets were all around the cabin, guiding it with their hands so that it didn't snag on the wreck as it pulled loose. Inside the wreck, more cadets did the same thing so that nothing inside caught or put any stress on the cabin that might spring it open suddenly, killing the thirty men inside.
Kocamura said, "It's clear of the ship. Keep it going at the same rate. We're looking good!"
The cabin slowly crossed the small gulf of space between the wreck and the transport that was as close as it dared approach. Within seconds, the cabin entered the transport's open hatch. More cadets, clinging to the sides of the hatch, guided the cabin so that it didn't twist and bang against the hatch frame. Even the slightest jar could still cause the cabin, bereft of the supporting structure of the ship it came from, to rupture open into a catastrophe.
Cadets inside the compartment kept the cabin straight as it continued to enter the transport. One stood ready to plug into the resonator to let the men inside know when it was safe, even though one of the cadets would first have to shear off the locks from the cabin's hatch. When the resonator cleared the hatch, he moved in quickly and efficiently plugged his suit into it.
He said, "You're almost inside the transport now. Just hang on a bit more until we get you inside enough to shut the hatch. Then we'll pump in some air and cut the locks off. You're almost home free, men."
Paravoid (Rust Bucket Universe) Page 9
