Fleet Academy

by M. Scott Cottrell

  “Astor, do you have anyone suited?” He called on the emergency frequency.

  “Negative. We are not prepared to suit.”

  “Ok, I’m going to try to hit your lock on the fly. Once were in close up and do an emergency pressurization.”

  “Affirmative”

  “EVA one, status?” Command called.

  “Not good command. I have Tempe, but her suit is about dead. I have taken a hit and am loosing pressure fast. Sorry Chief, looks like I screwed this one.” Matt finished, his vision starting to become unfocused. His suit said he was down dangerously low on O2 levels, the suit having trouble keeping up with the leakage, but there wasn’t much he could do. Slowly his vision started to cloud and blacken around the outside edges. ‘Damn.’ Matt thought to himself. “I’m not going to make it. Sorry Tempe.” He said to no one in particular as he slid down the dark path to unconsciousness.

  Chapter 4 - Destination Mars

  It was little more than a murmur, growing in intensity ever so slowly. The sounds became more distinguishable, voices, but whose? Where? He didn’t seem to be able to see. Like standing at the bottom of a deep pit he could see a small spark of light. He reached for it, seeming to draw it closer. The spark grew into a circle, continuing to grow. A warm white light filled the darkness as he grew closer to the source. The voices became clearer as well, but he still couldn’t make out what they were saying. The light invited him closer, and he stretched for it, willing it closer with each passing second. He was beginning to see shapes and shadows in the light. There! Yes, movement! He strained to see what was there. The light filled his vision as he struggled to focus on the movement. There it was again. It came closer to him. Slowly the movement grew to a fuzzy image of a face. Matt felt sure he had seen it somewhere, but where? Was he in heaven? He was sure he was dead, but this didn’t seem like the other possibility.

  “Well Ensign, I see you’ve rejoined the living.” The face said.

  Matt tried to ask where he was, but the sounds wouldn’t come out. His voice seemed frozen in his throat as his mouth moved.

  “That’s ok. Give it a few minutes.” The voice said again before drifting back out of his vision.

  Time crawled in his foggy mind as he tried to remember where he was. His vision cleared slightly as he surveyed his surroundings. White ceiling, white wall, bed; he must be home. But how? The face returned. It looked familiar somehow, but it wasn’t his mother. No, he wasn’t at home.

  “Well Ensign. You look a little better now.” The face said.

  “Where?” Matt managed to croak out.

  “In the infirmary. I’m Doctor Clark. Do you remember me?”

  Matt shook his head slightly.

  “That’s ok. You probably don’t.”

  “What happened?” Matt asked in a hoarse, but stronger voice.

  “Well, as I understand it your suit was punctured by a micrometeorite. I’m afraid I don’t know much more than that.”

  Matt nodded. He started to remember going after Tempe when she didn’t report in. The whole thing started coming back in little trickles; bits and pieces slipping together like pieces of a puzzle as his mind collected itself.

  “How’s Tempe?” Matt asked.

  “She’ll be OK. I hope this isn’t a trend. Only two days on the ship and you have three of my beds filled.” The doctor chuckled.

  “Sorry sir.” Matt responded almost automatically.

  “That’s ok Ensign, I was just kidding. I’d much rather see them in my beds than in my morgue.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Now you rest. You should be back up and around in a few hours.”

  “Aye sir.” Matt said as he let his eyes close. Getting more rest wasn’t something he was going to argue with right now.

  Matt's brain was sending it conflicting signals. The shaking of his shoulder didn’t fit into the dream his mind seemed to be working on. He pulled himself from the dream to look up at a very busty young nurse gently shaking his shoulder. Maybe it was still a dream?

  “Ensign.” She said quietly. “You have visitors.”

  Matt looked confused for a second. His confusion left as the nurse tilted the head of the bed up some so he could see. Standing just inside the doorway were Commander Haskel and Captain Seton.

  “Well Ensign.” The Captain said quietly. “I’m not sure if you’re very lucky or very unlucky. Disaster just seems to follow you, but you somehow manage to survive it. I’m not sure how you’re going to manage to get through your tour at this rate.” She finished with a hard look. After a short pause she slowly smiled. “Well, so far your luck has held, at least that’s what two crewmen have told me. You managed to save two for sure, maybe as many as five, thanks to your quick action out there.”

  “Thank you ma’am.” Matt said in a still hoarse voice.

  “Don’t thank me, at least not yet. I've spent most of the last two hours on the comm link with Fleet Command. It seems you’re antics here have already been heard about at the academy. You’re on the way to becoming a legend, and you’ve only been on my ship for two days.”

  “Sorry ma’am. I wasn’t trying to be trouble.”

  “Trouble?” She said quizzically, looking at the Commander. “I don’t think he understands the seriousness of his situation.”

  “No ma’am.” The Commander replied with a smile. “I think he needs a little more direct explanation.”

  “I believe your right Commander.” She said. Then turning back to Matt she looked at him with the same captivating stare she had the first time they met in the mess. “I think the Lieutenant needs more explanation.”

  Matt’s foggy brain reacted without thinking, “Sorry ma’am. I’m only an Ensign.”

  “Not any longer Lieutenant. You have been given a field promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, effective immediately.”

  “Congratulations Lieutenant.” The Commander said with a smile.

  “But I don’t understand.” Matt said, thoroughly confused.

  “It’s really quite simple,” the captain said. “Fleet Command decided that it was inappropriate for an Ensign to hold two Navy Crosses for bravery. I either had to withdraw the request for the second commendation or I had to promote you. I chose to promote you, well ahead of any standards I might add. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you Captain.” Matt replied, confusion still etched on his face.

  “Well, he’s all yours Commander.” The Captain said as she turned to leave.

  “Yes ma’am.” Commander Haskel answered with a smile. Then stepping over to Matt’s bed, “Well Lieutenant, it appears you’ve had a busy couple days. The doc says you need to stay in bed the rest of today, but you should be returned to duty tomorrow.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  “If you get a chance, work up a report on your last Extra-Vehicle Activity, at least the part that you were conscious for.”

  “Aye Sir.”

  “Ok Lieutenant. Get some rest. I’ll check back later.”

  “Yes Sir.” Matt replied as the commander turned and headed out of the room.

  Matt lay in the bed trying to rest for a short time. He looked at the comm station on the wall and saw that it was already sixteen hundred hours. Matt sat his bed up a bit more and picked up the data pad next to the bed, diving in to trying to put as much into the report as his still fuzzy head remembered. He jumped when a voice came from the doorway.

  “Hey there L.T.!” Kevin Ridel called as he stepped into the room. “I hear ya been havin’ an excitin’ time out there.”

  “Kevin! Hey buddy, how you doing?”

  “I think that’s supposed to be my line, ain't it?”

  “Yeah well. I guess I’m ok.”

  “OK? Heck if I just got promoted to L.T. I’d be a lot more than OK; unless it was posthumous, of course.” Kevin joked, the huge grin never leaving his face.

  “Very funny ENSIGN!” Matt prodded back.

  “It’s time for you to leave no
w Ensign.” The very pretty young nurse who had awakened him earlier said authoritatively as she stepped into the room. She stood there waiting with her arms folded, not taking no for an answer. She was fairly short, with a nice figure filling out her white jump suit, even more so in the top, having a surprising large bust for her oriental features.

  “I guess I’d better be goin’.” Kevin said as he backed toward the door.

  “Ok Kevin. I’ll see you later on.”

  “Adios L.T.” Kevin said in parting as he turned and disappeared out the door.

  “Well Lieutenant, since you’re going to be spending the night with us, we need to get you situated. How do you feel about getting cleaned up after all that time in a suit?” The nurse asked, turning back to her patient.

  “I suppose I am a bit rank ma’am.” Matt replied with a sigh, as he put down the data pad. “Which way to the shower?”

  The nurse grinned a bit as she closed the door to the room. “You don’t have to call me ma’am anymore, not since you were promoted. My name is Lieutenant Wong, but you can call me Suzi, and I don’t think you understand; you’re not allowed out of bed yet, so that means a sponge bath.” She said flashing him a bright smile.

  Matt groaned as he lay back on the bed, resigned to his fate. A sponge bath was definitely not what he had in mind, no matter how cute the nurse was.

  “Hey stranger!” A cheerful voice called from the doorway, drawing him from the nap that had snuck up on him.

  “Hey Bounce, Sparks. How are you two doing?”

  “Us?” Sparks exclaimed as they walked over to his bed. “We’re not the ones in a hospital bed wearing a back-less gown.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s not my fault.” Matt replied.

  “So we hear.” Bounce said. “Is there any truth to the rumor?”

  “What rumor?”

  “That you got another Navy Cross.” Bounce said

  “And a promotion?” Sparks finished.

  “Yeah I guess so.” Matt answered with a shake of his head and a wry smile in his face.

  “Well Lieutenant, I guess we have to be nice to you now.” Sparks said.

  “If you guys don’t mind I really don’t want to make a big thing out of this.”

  “Hear that Bounce? He doesn’t want to make a big thing out of this.” Sparks said squeezing Bounce’s upper arm and pretending to laugh.

  “Yeah I heard. As if that’s going to happen. Some little bird told me you’ve just made history with the fastest promotion from Ensign to JG after getting assigned to their first ship.”

  “Well I didn’t ask for it.” Matt said quietly.

  “We know. But now you got it, and you’ll just have to live with it.” Bounce said with a crooked smile on her cute face.

  “I just have one question.” Matt said.

  “Sure. What?” Bounce asked seriously.

  “The last thing I remember is passing out on the way to the shuttle. What happened?”

  “You mean you don’t know?” Sparks asked surprised.

  “One minute I was dead and the next I was here.”

  “Well!” Sparks said with enthusiasm as she sat on the edge of the bed, ready to tell the tale. “You managed to hit the air lock just as the Master Chief caught up to you. You hit right on the mark, but almost bounced out. He shoved you back in and closed the airlock behind you and took cover under shuttle while they cycled the lock and pulled you inside.”

  “Oh. It seems to me that the Chief deserves the medal, not me.”

  “Oh don’t worry, he got one too.” Bounce grinned.

  Matt talked with his friends for several more minutes before they decided to leave to get some chow. He was starting to get restless lying in bed. It was quiet in the infirmary as Matt swung out of bed. The deck was cold on his bare feet as he padded out of the room. Slipping a plain white cotton robe on over his hospital gown, he headed down the passageway. Three doors down he found crewman Tempe.

  Matt knocked on the door before quietly stepping inside. “Well Tempe. It looks like they have both of us taking some forced rest.”

  Crewman Tempe turned her head when she heard Matt’s voice. “Sir!…” She started to say.

  “Relax Tempe.”

  “Yes sir. Thanks for pulling my can out of the ringer out there.”

  “No problem. You’d have done the same thing if roles were reversed.”

  “I might have tried, but I don’t know if I would have succeeded. I heard you have impeccable aim!”

  “Well, we both just got lucky. To be honest I don’t really remember how we ended up here. I passed out before we got into the airlock.”

  “According to Petty Officer Jenkins and the Master Chief, you aimed us straight for the air lock on the shuttle and hit it almost dead center. Your thruster cut out when you passed out so we just coasted right in, until we smacked the bulkhead that is.”

  “Well, like I said, luck.”

  “If you insist sir, but thank you anyway, I owe you.”

  “Forget it, Tempe, I just did what needed to be done. Now how long do they expect to keep you in here?”

  “I guess they’re going to kick me out tomorrow sir, how about you?”

  “Same thing, back to work tomorrow. You get some rest now, I want to check in on someone else before they figure out I escaped.” Matt finished with a chuckle.

  “Aye Sir. And thank you again.”

  Matt headed down the passageway to Ensign Forester’s room. Looking in he found her awake, reading a data pad. “Hey Forester, how you doing?”

  “Molter! Good to see you! ” she called back with a cheerful sparkle in her eyes. “I heard you wanted to join us down here.”

  “Yeah, you know how it is, any excuse to get some time off.”

  Trina laughed, “Yeah, Right. I’m cooped up in here and you’re out saving the world.”

  “How long they going to keep you caged up?”

  “Doc says I can go back on duty tomorrow.”

  “Good. I’m tired of doing both of our jobs,” Matt said with a grin.

  “There you are Lieutenant!” a voice called from the door.

  “Lieutenant?” Trina mouthed at him as Nurse Wong strode into the room.

  “What are you doing out of bed?” The little oriental nurse asked rhetorically, “Now get back into your room.”

  “See you tomorrow Forester.” Matt said as the nurse pushed him toward the door.

  “See you Molter.” She said in parting, chuckling at the site of the small nurse almost dragging him off down the passageway.

  “You are supposed to be in bed Lieutenant. I expect you to stay there.” The little nurse scolded him as she steered him back to the room. She unceremoniously led him into the room and closed the door behind them. “Now give me the robe please.”

  “Yes ma’am” Matt responded with mock obedience in his voice as he started removing his robe.

  She took the robe from him and pushed him back toward the bed. He sat on the edge and swung his legs up, allowing her to cover him up. She walked to the door with his robe over her arm. Stopping at the door she turned and looked at him with a little twinkle in her eye. “If you can’t keep from roaming the halls you’ll have to do it in your hospital gown, and if I catch you again, I’ll take that away too.” She said with a grin and a wink. Turning, she pulled the door open and walked out. Matt sat silently for a long time before picking up the data pad and going back to his report.