The Long Way Home

by Darrell Bain

  "Let's get with it, Costa. You can daydream later."

  "Sorry, sir. I've operated the cutter before. Shall I do it?"

  "Go. I'll set the bracing while you cut."

  It took fifteen minutes of work to get Siegfrer's legs free of the beam that lay on them. Fortunately, it was one of the ones running athwartship rather than the heavier keel beams bracing the boat forward and aft. And, like all the support beams, it was constructed of the flexible crystalline alloys that had some give built into them. Once her body was free, blood began running from the wounds where the breaks occurred. Lake produced inflatable casts from the aid kit he carried. They padded the breaks with pressure bandages and got her legs splinted while she gritted her teeth against the pain and then screamed anyway despite the injection she'd been given.

  "Let's go,” Lake said. “I'll hold her body and you take the legs. We'll have to walk crosswise so we don't injure her further.

  Halfway back, they met a two-man team with an empty litter. The team took Siegfrer. After that, Jeremy was put to work supervising emergency repairs. He worked with his subordinates, doing as much physical labor as they, if not more so. It helped keep his worry over Lisa at bay. Other times he took direction from COB Shinzyki or Mr. Teha. She and Lake were the only surviving explorer officers.

  A weary time later, he learned that Lisa's injuries weren't life-threatening and that she was expected to return to duty after a day or so of observation to rule out complications from her severe concussion and bruised lungs.

  Right after that came the all-hands announcement that Commander Brackett had died. His nannites hadn't been able to react fast enough to save him from a broken neck.

  Jeremy didn't know how to respond. When Captain Beauchamp died with the Sam Johnston he had been affected, of course, but she had been greatly removed from the affairs of a low ranking explorer. This was entirely different. Commander Brackett was the very embodiment of Hurricane Jack, his mentor and the guiding presence of his education and elevation to Astrogator and Chief Petty Officer. He was always in the control room in spirit if not materially. Jeremy had never known him to be wrong about anything, and he had no doubts that Brackett would have gotten them home. Now he didn't know. He couldn't think straight. It was as if God had died.

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  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The best prescription for coping with grief is lots of work, or so Jeremy was told. The longboat remained in orbit around the inhabitable moon while the Hurricane was personally examined bow to stern by COB Shinzyki. He never stayed in one spot long, but wherever he went, the repairs speeded up and the cleaning details worked harder at removing the mess from battered compartments and bays. The crew went at it eighteen hours a day, taking time out only to eat and do such bodily maintenance as was necessary. Jeremy himself was part of two excursions outside the boat with Shinzyki in order to patch the hull and check the support columns exposed to vacuum. He marveled, not at the extent of damage, but at how little had been done by the Monkeyclaw missiles.

  "I don't see how it kept from blowing us apart,” Jeremy said while pointing with his gauntleted hand to where a hole had been opened in the side of the ship for a third of its length. “Look at what happened to us when the Sam Johnston was hit, and they had shields. All our boat has is the dinky little anti-meteor deflector, and we're still alive."

  "Their missiles didn't explode. That's why we're still around to talk about it,” Shinzyki said. “Look there. The warhead came in at an angle and plowed a hole in us, but must've bounced off. And right where we're standing is where the second one barely pinged us before going on its way. It bent the hull a bit, but it doesn't look as if it did any permanent damage."

  "But why didn't they explode, sir?"

  "Weren't you watching on your screen, Costa? If you weren't, I'll hang you up by the family jewels while I pound on you with a rifle butt for dereliction of duty."

  "I was watching, sir."

  "Then you must have seen how the energy from our missiles and cannons enveloped their shots as they left their ship. The way I figure it, the triggering mechanism was inactivated. All they were doing from then on was throwing rocks at us."

  Jeremy gazed at the gaping furrow in the boat. “Damn big rocks, COB."

  "Yup. They go fast. Lots of kinetic energy, even though they didn't explode. If we'd been farther apart they might've killed us anyway, even after we blew them to bits."

  "I guess we were lucky,” Jeremy ventured.

  "Luck, shit!” Shinzyki exploded loudly. “Son, good preparation isn't luck. The Skipper did everything he possibly could to make sure we lived and they died, bless his evil conniving soul. You remember that, when you're commanding a boat. Hear?"

  "Yes, sir. I hear you!” Jeremy answered with unfeigned belief.

  "Good. Now let's get this done so we can get back inside and write it up. The Skipper's called a meeting of officers and Chiefs in two hours. Take notes to download to the computer while I hook up this Allah-be-damned gizmo Sigfrer rigged to connect the grav detector back to the boat's innards. Be damned sure your sketches are exact. Someone else may have to come out here and do maintenance on it. Good woman, that Sieg. Her legs are in casts, but she's still using her hands. And mind."

  "I agree, sir,” he said as he began meticulously entering drawings of Shinzyki's connections into his Reader and recording every word he said for editing and addition to the boat manual, just as he had been taught.

  * * * *

  Lisa poured her cup full and took her place at the head of the table in the officer's lounge. It felt strange to be sitting in Commander Brackett's position, but with his death she had no choice. She was now the longboat's Commanding Officer. It was a much modified gathering from the ones which had gone before. She, Lieutenant Medford, and COB Shinzyki were the only three remaining boat officers after Whistler's suicide. He had slit his wrists with a fingernail file while covered with a sheet in his bunk in the only reinforced cabin in the boat—the one reserved for prisoners. She didn't think it had ever been used for that purpose until his outburst in the control room during the crucial moments of the encounter with the Monkeyclaw starship. It became necessary to confine him after that episode.

  Justin Lake was the only surviving Explorer officer. Casey Dugan was the only permanent Chief present, but Brevet Chiefs Juanita Martinez, Sigfrer Sorenson and Jeremy Costa were at the table, as well as Acting Chiefs Johnny Lann and Sarah Goldwater. The only difference between acting and brevet was that the two acting chiefs were still nominally on probation. Brackett had hesitated for some reason of his own to give them brevet promotions, possibly thinking he was handing out too many of them. She intended to change that. Both of them had been performing admirably before the fight and even more efficiently afterward.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, I see everyone is here, so let's get started. Does everyone here have coffee or something to drink?” While she sipped from her own cup she looked around the table and found that all were well supplied. “Fine. To begin, I'd like Mr. Shinzyki to give us an appraisal of the condition of the boat and its fitness for interstellar travel. Rufus?"

  "Thank you, ma'am.” He glanced down at his Reader for a moment and then back up. The pain of Joyce Chandler's death still lingered in his facial expression, but his voice was still as rough and gravelly as ever. “Hurricane Jack is still structurally intact, but there's no denying we took some damage. The most significant was to the starboard impeller and the starboard organic compressor and mixing tank. We won't be doing any transits until the impeller is repaired, but I'm pleased to say that it can be fixed. All we need are some particular elements, which should be fairly easy to find on the satellite here. As a side note, the moon is well suited for habitation, so a longer than usual stay there while we find the ores and make the repairs shouldn't be too bad, barring inimical life forms. The same goes for the mixing tank and compressor.

  "We did have a fairly big bite taken out o
f our hull, but it's already being fixed. The portion that can't be repaired is simply being walled off. We may have to wait for a landing and gather materials before the job is completed, but I don't see any major problems. What we will have to watch out for is the dynamics of ship handling in atmosphere from now on. The boat is aerodynamically unstable and will have to be nursed into and out of atmospheres. That's unless you want to stay down long enough for a complete repair job, Skipper."

  "No. If we can manage as is, I don't want to spend any unnecessary time in this system."

  "Then that's settled. The rest of the boat was banged up, but its structural integrity is intact. One of the organic tanks is down, of course, but the leaking water tank has been repaired. Transtellar Construction builds ‘em good.” He looked at the assemblage and grinned. “Both fabricators have been working overtime, but they'll have a rest for maintenance from now until we're dirtside and can fill the materials bin. And last, we've got the mess that first missile made pretty well cleaned up and have just about finished our inventory, but that's more Lieutenant Medford's bailiwick than mine."

  "Thank you, Rufus. Rayne?"

  "Ma'am, we lost some organic supplies, so until we land we're being conservative with rations. I know the crew will be happy to hear that all the Spacerats came through the battle in good shape.” The laughter she expected came right on cue. “Some of our spare parts got banged up a great deal, but we actually lost very few of them and none of the larger ones. The fabricators can replace them as soon as they have the material.

  "We did lose a lot of rations, but so long as the organics of the moon are compatible, we'll be in good shape soon. It will take a few days longer than normal to bring us back up to nominal levels because of the loss and also because we're short of personnel to top off our tanks—shorter than usual."

  She bent her head for a moment. “I've conferred with Mr. Shinzyki. He and I both agree that our worst problem is the lack of trained people. We're short everywhere, now. He and I will do our best, and I'm sure the Chiefs will as well, but there's no getting away from it—we're going to have to impress on the crew how meticulous they have to be with using and maintaining every piece of equipment in the boat. It's just going to take a while. Fortunately, our computers all came through, and we have manuals for everything. The problem will be getting the crew to follow the directions first instead of as a last resort."

  "Amen,” Shinzyki said.

  "Do any of you have any vital concerns right now? Anything that needs taking care of that shouldn't wait?” Having met the gaze of everyone, Lisa nodded. “Since there doesn't appear to be any urgent problems, I have a couple of announcements. First, I'd like to promote acting Explorer Chiefs Johnny Lann and Sarah Goldwater to Brevet Chiefs. They have both been doing a fine job. Johnny and Sarah, the extra pay begins now. Congratulations."

  "Thank you, ma'am,” they uttered in unison. The rest of the table followed with their congratulations.

  "Next, due to the acute shortage of boat officers I'm brevetting Jeremy Costa to Lieutenant Junior Grade. He's done so well in becoming a fully trained astrogator that I believe we can skip Ensign. He will immediately assume the position of Boat Astrogator. As a corollary, he shall immediately begin refreshing my memory of astrogation techniques and begin training another astrogator of his choice, so long as his choice meets with my approval and that of their superiors. Lieutenant Costa, welcome to officer's rank. Let me be the first to congratulate you."

  She shook his hand and winked surreptitiously at him while their faces were close then held back while the others did the same, sans wink. Once they were all settled, she continued, pausing only a moment to take in Jeremy's countenance, which still bore traces of the startled expression that had appeared on it at her announcement. It was amusing to see how he was still trying to accustom himself to the idea of being an officer.

  "The last major item on my agenda, which I'm going to throw out for discussion, is how the boat should be organized—or reorganized, I should say, in light of the casualties we've sustained. We began the exploration voyage with a total of seventy-one persons aboard—four short of authorized strength. As of this moment, we number only forty-three and still have over half the trip to go. I think we shall have to reorganize the Explorers into two squads with a shift on and a shift off, but I'm open to input here if anyone has a better suggestion. Once the boat is back in shape, we can give them a day off occasionally while in hyper, but there's no getting away from how short-handed we are. We're all going to have to work harder, and that includes the spacer crew. They will also work one twelve hour shift on and one off. Comments?"

  "How about officers for the two squads? Is that being considered, ma'am?” Lake asked.

  Lisa knew that would come up after she promoted Jeremy, but she also knew she would have to be careful here. She couldn't have acting officers, but she also didn't intend to brevet anyone to officer if they weren't qualified for the position or capable of continuing as an officer once they were back home. It wouldn't be fair, either to them or to the rest of the crew.

  "I have thought about it, but I'd like to delay consideration for a day or two yet,” she finally said, but added, “I'd like to have your recommendations on this before I act. Can you have your thoughts ready for me by tomorrow?"

  He nodded, although she thought he wasn't satisfied with her answer. There was going to be more to commanding the longboat than she had originally thought possible, once she began having to make decisions. If it were not for Shinzyki, she doubted that she could handle the job. Not when they were as shy of crew as they were now—especially trained crew.

  "How about spacers, ma'am?” Medford asked. “We're short again, as I'm sure you know. Can we move a couple more explorers into boat slots and get them started training?"

  "Yes, I agree that we need to do that. Confer with Rufus and Justin and give me the names of the ones you want. Bear in mind that we can't take all of Justin's best people. He's going to have more than enough to do already, every time we go dirtside. Be aware also that we need to preserve our astrogator, and if memory serves, our remaining qualified microbiologist other than Lieutenant Costa. Those are the two critical specialties, although others are almost as important."

  "They are all critical, ma'am,” Shinzyki said, “but I recommend that Lieutenant Costa not be allowed off the boat until you and someone else are fully qualified to make transitions."

  "Agreed,” Lisa said, while thinking that her decision wasn't going to make Jeremy very happy. He would just have to live with it. He was going to busy enough anyway not to have time for going outside. “Anything else?"

  There were a few other questions, which she answered as best she could. When she sensed they were becoming antsy, she called the conference to a halt.

  "I think we've covered everything useful we can for now. Make plans to deorbit twenty four hours from now. I think it would be a good idea to get your people as rested as possible before we land. Tiredness causes accidents, and I believe we've had more than enough casualties. Dismissed. Lieutenant Costa, please remain seated. I need a moment of your time."

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  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Jeremy gazed across the conference table at Lisa—Lieutenant Commander Trammell, the Skipper, now—and tried to sort out the baffling contradictions running through his mind like a Texas whirlwind, all mixed together. On the one hand, he hadn't fully integrated the fact that Lisa was the Skipper—the person who held ultimate authority over him and the Hurricane. On the other hand, he was now an officer and would be associating with her and the other officers day to day in an entirely different manner. He would no longer be saying “sir” to Mr. Shinzyki. Just the opposite, in fact. The COB would address him with the “sir” after his remarks. In a way, it was harder to grasp that idea than to think of Trammell as their Skipper. And on the gripping hand, he couldn't rid his mind of the fact that he was in love with Lisa. There was nothing more in
the world he would rather do than get up and go around the table and gather her into his arms and make love to her right here in the conference room. For that matter, he didn't have the slightest idea why she had asked him to remain behind.

  "What's wrong, Jeremy? Cat got your tongue?"

  It was exactly the right thing to say to him. He began to relax, if only slightly. “I'm sort of speechless right now, ma'am ... uh, Skipper."

  A ghost of a smile crept across her face. “I suspect you're doing a right bit of heavy thinking, though, aren't you?"

  "Yes, ma'am. I can't deny that. Being brevet commissioned came as a complete surprise. And if you want me to be honest, well ... Skipper, I'm still having a hard time seeing you as the Commander instead of Commander Brackett.” Realizing that she might have taken his statement the wrong way, he hurriedly tried to amend it. “That's no reflection on you, ma'am. I didn't mean it like..."

  She held up a hand, apparently amused at his backtracking. “I know what you meant, Jeremy. In case you're wondering, I'm still feeling a bit strange about it myself. However, let's return to the business at hand, shall we?"

  "My commission?"

  "Your brevet commission,” she corrected. “But yes, that's the matter we need to talk about.” She hesitated for a moment and he knew she was trying to think of the best way to go about what she needed to say. He was watched her, his senses very alert. “It is hard on both the officer and crew when an enlisted person is commissioned and remains in the same unit or the same ship. Ordinarily, there's no need of brevet commissions in exploration ships, simply because they are so huge and carry so many personnel that there are always other officers to take over when one is lost. It does happen on occasion, but a starship is big enough that the new officer can easily be transferred to a different department, so that he has a new environment and new subordinates to work with. He doesn't suddenly have to distance himself from comrades he's been associating with every day.