Expeditions of the Mantis

by Jim Henderson

  Judyta said, “Data you sent is interesting.”

  Vir added, “Yes, interesting data prove our tecknik. Ve vill have draft article for you.”

  Ximon, “Would you mind if we looked around and see how the station looks?”

  Vir, “For you, no problem. But first lunch. Kuba make.”

  Rotoz added, “Yes, Kuba should have a small meal ready for us.”

  Vir led them to the station’s common room where a couple folding tables were arranged and where Kuba was working over the stoves.

  Kuba waved, “Hello. Almost ready.”

  Vir motioned them to the table and they all sat down. Their places were already set, including ones for Peter and Raiza.

  The food was served a couple minutes later. It was some kind of spicy, aromatic ethnic dish. It looked good to Ximon, but Elsbeth seemed uncertain. Peter and Raiza only took small, polite servings so they could simulate eating. Then they all ate. Ximon thought it was good, with some mix of unfamiliar spices. Elsbeth ate but was far less enthusiastic.

  While they ate, Vir tried to explain their situation, with Rotoz or Judyta frequently having to explain more fully. They were doing well in general, but they asked for assistance with a powerplant and power transmission issue. Kuba also had some medical issue that he wanted Raiza to look at. Vir also wanted to talk to Ximon about Alzroid’s team and access Mantis for some data.

  So, after dinner they all helped. Elsbeth and Peter helped do some diagnostics on their power plant. Elsbeth found a few configuration issues that caused somewhat variable output. She and Peter also found issues with how the power lines were run that throttled throughput at times. They were able to address both of these things and increase the power flow to the station by about 15% and make it more stable.

  Raiza treated Kuba’s sprain and minutes later Judyta came to see her privately She some other ‘female’ questions. After talking, Raiza did some tests and confirmed that Judyta was, indeed, pregnant. Raiza estimated that she was approximately 6 weeks along. Judyta was happy, but also worried.

  As she told Raiza, “I am nowhere, with no doctor, and 3 crazy men. How do I do this?”

  Raiza, not fully understanding her concerns, showed her how she could use their medical diagnostic equipment to check her progress and fetal health, pointed her to some videos on delivering a baby, suggested some techniques on stress management, and identified some drugs that the medical diagnostic system might use on her as she neared delivery.

  Raiza then said, “This is a natural process which your body is uniquely designed to do. Even the ancients were able to successfully do this most of the time.”

  Judyta became very upset and screamed at Raiza in frustration, “You don’t understand. How could you?” and then stomped out. Raiza was a bit confused and asked Elsbeth to meet her when she came back in.

  When Elsbeth came back in, Raiza discussed this with her.

  Elsbeth said, “Well, crap. Yeah, I’m sure Judyta’s freaked. She’s probably not so worried about the medical; she’s worried about the emotional.”

  Raiza, “I sensed there was an aspect of that and recommended stress management.”

  Elsbeth took her shoulder, “I’m sure you did. Everything you did was right, but that’s not everything she needed. Would you like me to talk to her?”

  “If you think that would be helpful.”

  “Well, I’ve got little experience in this areas, but I’ll see.”

  Elsbeth found Judyta and discussed it with her. Judyta was, indeed, completely ‘freaked out’ and wasn’t sure she could deal with the pregnancy and, then, caring for the baby.

  Judyta eventually apologized to Raiza who apologized right back. Judyta said she needed to think more about it but wanted to discuss again before they left.

  Vir was interested in how Alzroid’s team and seemed excited that system he had designed worked well and self-conscious that things went so smoothly with them. He was excited that techniques the he had developed were useful in detecting the timing of the solar flare in 535-336. Then, he wanted to pull down lots of additional data from Mantis, primarily additional data on solar activity of various stars, and some more schematics on some of their equipment.

  The Mantis hosted the team for dinner that night, Raiza outdoing herself to make a nice meal. Vir’s team ate greedily and happily. During the meal, Judyta announced that she was pregnant and that she would stay but was telling their sponsoring organization that she needed to be retrieved within 4-5 months, by month 7 of her pregnancy. Kuba seemed excited since the baby was clearly his, but it wasn’t clear whether, or how, any relationship might work. Rotoz was excited, but Vir seemed almost upset that something might affect his work.

  After a lot of conversation at dinner, the crew returned to Mantis to sleep. The next morning, Judyta hosted breakfast, they chatted more and had to say goodbye. Vir sent Mantis a draft article and asked that Ximon send it to their organization and the KSF. Elsbeth left them with some things to watch on their power system over time and Raiza left them some additional food. She also left some specific dietary recommendations for Judyta. The station sent them a bunch of additional messages for them to automatically relay when they got to Republic space.

  By mid-morning Mantis had taken off and was heading for a jump point. They jumped away with a final farewell, headed for Edorener.

  Raiza approached Ximon quite seriously one day during the jump, “Ximon, I have a request to make of you.”

  “Of course, anything.”

  Raiza, “I believe that was a flippant response. This is a serious issue. Please listen.”

  “Perhaps flippant but there is little I could refuse you.” She looked at him intently and he held up his hands, “Very well, I’m listening.”

  “Ximon, this has been a challenging series of missions that has tested my abilities and they have been found wanting. In order to enhance my value to this ship, I must request additional training modules and hands-on training. Without these, my medical skills are rudimentary. I was inefficient in caring for the crew of Hope’s End and had to resort to cryo storage because I did not feel I could save one patient otherwise. I handled Judyta’s concerns about her pregnancy poorly and was forced to turn to Elsbeth to provide the kind of interpersonal insight and assurance that the patient needed. Finally, I was not able to properly repair Peter when he was wounded defending Elsbeth and he still bears the scars of my poor attempt. I will continue medical duties if you so direct, but I must request in the strongest terms that I either be provided with additional training or that you hire someone with more skill to assume this responsibility. “

  Ximon took her hand, “Honey, you were nothing short of marvelous on this trip and saved multiple lives. Grayson and his crew expressed great appreciation for your skill and dedication and, while you may not fully have grasped Judyta’s need for emotional assurance, your medical treatment was perfect, and she DID need that too. You provide this ship with FAR, FAR better medical treatment than most ships of anything like this size enjoy. I know I value your care and I’ve never heard anything but high praise for all you’ve done. Multiple people are alive because YOU were there and not just in these last few weeks. You know I cherish you as my wife and I hope you know that I value you exceedingly as a member of this crew. To even attempt to replace you in the latter, I might need several people and they’d likely not be as good. So, I think you’re far beyond adequate as you are.”

  She looked appreciative of his remarks but appeared cross at his last statement.

  He continued quickly, “Nevertheless, I will happily, gladly, willingly, and diligently seek out the training you recommend as soon as we’re back on a system where we both feel that can be well and safely accomplished. I say this because you are my wife, I love you, and could deny you nothing. I also say this because, as an employer, I would be a great fool to not nourish the talents of such a valuable crewmember.”

  “Thank you, Ximon, for listening and understanding.
I will send you the specifications of what I think might be appropriate though I, of course, welcome your recommendations. I will have Mantis search for information on the availability of such courses. Xalanan might be a possibility, but I realize that waiting until we return to Tixaya is the surest course. I will not forget your promise, nor the appreciation I feel for you.”

  She hugged him tightly until he led her toward the bed mumbling, “Let’s talk appreciation …”

  Jaunt Eight: Heading Coreward

  Once in the Edorener System, they transmitted all their data and Ximon reached out to Dr. Belarusk, the contact Vir had given him at the ARCC, the research organization that organized both the Zanerus station project and Alzroid’s team. They set up a call for a few hours later, as Mantis approached the main planet for better reception and less lag.

  There was still substantial lag on the call so that it was essentially them exchanging a series of video messages, but they were able to communicate. Ximon sent all the data that Vir and Alzroid had provided, as well as Vir’s article and Vir’s report. Dr. Belarusk asked for Ximon’s personal observations on both teams. Ximon provided these but was more than generous to Vir and extremely complimentary of Alzroid’s project. He also passed along Judyta’s message that she needed to be relieved in a few months and stressed the importance placed on that.

  Belarusk thanked Ximon for his insights and assistance and stressed that Judyta’s request would not be an issue since the organization would be sending resupply ships every 3 months and she could return on whichever of those she felt was best.

  Since they were in no rush, Ximon opted to land at the main Edorener station and gave the crew 2 days off. Ximon and Raiza relaxed though Raiza and Mantis did both do some research on training.

  The crew was all in better humor after a few days on a nice station and they took off happily.

  From Edorener, Mantis jumped to Zezaho and then back to Xalanan.

  They signaled Xalanan KDF Operations and were directed to a berth and given an appointment to meet with an Operations officer the next day.

  They landed and were glad to be back on solid ground with air they could breathe. They enjoyed a nice dinner out and Elsbeth and Peter headed for a hotel, though Ximon warned them to be ready to respond depending on your orders. Ximon and Raiza relaxed and then Ximon finished a series of reports he had for KSF HQ. He sent them in the morning before he went to Operations.

  He met with a Commander Shackleton and handed over hard copies of the same reports he had sent.

  Shackleton, “Morning, Sabo, welcome back to Xalanan. How was it out there?”

  “Not bad, sir, but we missed regular communication and had some challenges.”

  “I see. Good job on those missions. You’ve helped ‘plant a flag’ in those systems Rimward and the Republic looks to follow up on that in the not too distant future. You also advanced some important research and saved some random folks along the way. Again, good work.”

  “Now, I’m sure you’ve seen the news and intelligence feeds since hitting Republic space. We’ve been under a ceasefire for about a month and the latest is that a draft armistice is being reviewed by both governments while the negotiators work out minor details. So, this war could end at about any time and your activation would probably end shortly thereafter. Nevertheless, the work goes on. So, we’ve got something nearby for you, but you’ll need to leave today. There are several stations in the Sesbirus system and a couple of them are having serious issues. So, we need you to load up some relief supplies and head up there at best speed. Once you get there, deliver those supplies and then see what else you can do to help. If they’ve got wounded that can’t easily be cared for there, you might need to haul a few, either to Esgecu or back here. Anyway, make your way back here and we’ll see what we have for you then. Hit the cargo officer outside and they’ll arrange to get the cargo to your berth.”

  “Understood, we’ll get going as soon as we can.”

  Ximon stepped out and immediately called Elsbeth. He didn’t get an immediate answer, so he sent a message, “We’ve got cargo coming soon and are leaving ASAP thereafter so get your happy butts back to the ship.”

  He got a terse answer back, “Fine. On our way, but you owe me for a massage.”

  Ximon met with the cargo officer and he arranged to deliver the cargo in an hour. He also arranged to have Mantis refueled. Then Ximon rushed back to Mantis. He called Raiza on the way, “My dear, we’ve got to leave shortly. I’ll be back in a few minutes and we need to be ready to receive cargo. So, no time for training now.”

  “Ximon, I understand. I’ll get the cargo bay open and be ready to meet someone if they arrive before you do.”

  They got refueled, loaded the cargo, and took off within 2 hours. Then they burned at high G to get to the jump point and jumped to Esgecu. There, they quickly hit the gas giant and exchanged communications with the station. The station sent them an update that the situation at Sesbirus had apparently worsened, so the urgency increased, and they quickly jumped out.

  After another quiet few days, they jumped out at Sesbirus and immediately pulled the latest data. They were tasked to deliver to the Darek Sesbirus Station and then the station at Sesbirus 7. Darek had suffered a meteor strike that breached their hull in multiple place, while Sesbirus 7 had suffered some breakdowns in their life support systems. However, the data feeds suggested that the other stations had already provided some assistance to both and evacuated some of the people.

  So, Ximon reached out Darek Sesbirus to check status. They confirmed that they had received some assistance, but still needed some help, so Ximon headed there.

  He also contacted Sesbirus 7 to check their status. They had made some progress with their systems but said they could use some help too. Ximon told them they’d get there in about 30 hours.

  They arrived at Darek Sesbirus in a few hours and quickly docked after checking with Station Control. As they docked, they could see some of the damage from meteors.

  The whole crew entered the dingy area off the station’s docking bay, with Ximon and Elsbeth bearing weapons. A guy from station operations met them there.

  “If you’re here to help, they could use assistance in medical or section 17. If you’ve got any supplies, I can arrange for an offload team.”

  Ximon, “What help do they need in section 17 and what’s the situation in Medical?”

  “The medical situation has improved a lot in the last couple days, but they could still use more assistance. Section 17 is where they’re working on some of the biggest holes. That’s mainly welding and construction.”

  Ximon conferred briefly with his crew. None of them thought that getting involved in a construction project was necessary.

  Ximon said, “Ok, we’ve got supplies and we’ll need a cargo offload. Elsbeth here will handle that. Raiza, Peter, and I will take the small medical stuff directly to Medical and check out the situation there.”

  “Ok, thanks for the assist. I’ll try to get a cargo handling team here in an hour or so. We’ll message the ship when they’re en route.”

  “Ok. We’ll do what we can, but we can’t stay long.”

  The operations guy headed off, working his tablet.

  Ximon, “Elsbeth, keep her buttoned up until you hear from the cargo team, then offload carefully. We don’t want strays walking around the ship.”

  “Got it and I’ll be packin’.”

  “Good. We’ll go see what medical looks like and go from there.”

  They found medical soon enough. It was a small formal medical office next to a large open office. They found a guy who looked like he was in charge and Ximon let Raiza do the talking.

  Raiza, “Doctor, we are from the KSS Mantis. We can’t stay long, but we brought some supplies if they’re of use and we could help a bit if needed.”

  The doctor looked pretty run down, but also a bit leery. “Who sent ya?”

  “We were sent by the KSF. Do you need supp
lies or help?”

  “OK, yeah, we can certainly use the supplies. We’ve used up almost everything.” Then he pointed out a 30-ish female, “Check with Doctor Johanne there as to where to stow the supplies and see if she needs any short-term help.”

  “Ok, thank you.”

  Dr. Johanne also looked tired but was much more helpful and appreciative. “We appreciate the help. We’re doing ok with the wounded, but we can definitely use the supplies. What we could also use is transport. Would y’all be able to haul a couple folks back to Esgecu?”

  Raiza, “Yes. What condition would they be in?”

  “We’ve got a few moderately wounded that are stable but need operations that we can’t cover here, at least not now. If you can do cryo, we’ve got a couple others in worse shape.”

  “We have cryo chambers.”

  “Oh, wow. That’s great. Can I show you the charts on the couple we’re thinking? Are y’all, uh, doctors?”

  “No, we are not doctors, but I am our ship’s medic and will handle the wounded.”

  “OK” and she pulled up a couple charts on her tablet and discussed them with Raiza just as she would with another doctor.

  Raiza turned to Ximon, “Captain, do you have any issue to me taking two moderately wounded and setting them up in Cabin #6? I’d also like to take 2 of their patients who are in cryo chambers.”

  Ximon, “If it’s medical, you’re the boss. You can certainly use the cabin if you’re comfortable with the cases and the work.”

  “Of course. You realize this proves my point.”

  “I consider it long proven.”

  She turned back to, “Dr. Johanne, we can take these 2 moderately wound and these 2 cryo if someone can help us wheel them to our ship.”

  “That’s good news, doctor. If you’ll drop those supplies over here, I’ll get someone to help with the transport and I’ll send you all the medical records and receipts.”

  Within a few minutes, they’d handed off the medical supplies and a couple orderlies helped them wheel a gurneys and cryo chambers to the Mantis. Raiza supervised everything.