Salvage-5: Another Mission (First Contact)

by Brian K. Larson

  “Understood, Parsons. Dillan out.”

  “Nice and easy, now...I said EASY already!” Parsons complained. “Now bring it up. Slowly, slowly...okay, Stop...STOP the lift, okay? You grunts are worthless on a flight deck, now get it together!”

  “Sorry!” the reluctant engineer heard from below.

  “Okay, now that’s better. Let me get it fastened...no, no, NO! Don’t move the lift! Okay, I’ve finished making the connection to the engine...NO! Not yet! I have to take the final bolts out first...just hold off for two more minutes, will ya!”

  Parsons grabbed his socket wrench, clicked on a 16mm socket to the end and began loosening the last three securing bolts. After the last of the threads no longer held the engine, it dropped an inch, the lift straps bearing all its weight.

  “Okay, now, slowly lower the engine...that’s it...nice, okay, slow it some...not too fast...that’s better, keep it coming...now, slow it down the last few inches...and...STOP!”

  Parsons examined the engine and the cradle they had just lowered it to, “Okay, give the cable some slack...there! She’s down! Good job, guys.”

  Dillan placed his headset on, and turned the loud speakers off, “Mathilde-2, Hauler Two-Eight-Niner on final approach; request permission to land.”

  “Permission granted,” Dillan responded, “You are cleared to land in bay 1, that’s the foreword most landing pad, copy?”

  “Copy that, Mathilde-2, landing bay 1.”

  “Parsons,” Dillan relayed, “They’re on final approach. I’m sending them to bay 1. They can offload the payload and you can open the bulkhead between bays.”

  “We’re all ready, Sir!” Parsons replied. “Port engine is down, and they’re moving it to bay 3 as we speak.”

  “Okay, clear out of the bay and secure for landing operations.”

  “Alright men!” Parsons shouted, swinging his arms in circular motion, “Move out, clear the landing bay!”

  “They’re stationed 10 meters above, give me the all clear and I’ll roll the doors,” Dillan ordered.

  “Alright Dillan, all personnel are clear and accounted for. The bay is secure for landing ops.”

  “Roger that, Parsons,” Dillan acknowledged.

  The large bay doors slowly rolled open. Dust and the odd nut or screw spewed out of the landing bay as the vacuum of space replaced any remaining air in the compartment.

  The hauler gently settled down inside the landing bay on its extended landing skids. Parsons watched through the glass picture window as the bay doors rolled closed, sealing the CSMO’s landing bay from the elements of space.

  “Pressurizing compartment,” Dillan reported from the command deck, “Check pressure in bay.”

  “Parsons here...pressurization cycle complete. Open ‘er up!”

  The doors to the landing bay unlocked and a swoosh of air quickly moved over their faces as the pressure in two compartments equalized.

  The door to the hauler lowered. A uniformed man walked down the ramp to greet the engineer.

  “Captain Ross at your service,” the man said, extending a hand to the engineer.

  “Pleased to meet ya, Captain. Engineer Parsons. I’m the one expecting your cargo.”

  Captain Ross looked beyond Parsons toward the damaged salvage ship, “Is that the patient?”

  “Yes, sir, it sure is.”

  “Alright,” Captain Ross nodded, “We got your engine, and we have a port stabilizer. Think you could put them to good use?”

  “Indeed, we could, Sir,” Parsons smiled.

  “Well, we better get unloaded then.” Ross looked around the landing bay, “This all the crew you got? It’ll take you a week just to mount the thing. You sure you don’t need any help?”

  “Well, to be truthful, I could use all the help I can get. However, our foreman doesn’t want anyone else knowing what we’re doing up here.”

  “Ahh, I see,” Ross nodded, “It’s a secret, right?”

  Parsons patted Captain Ross on the shoulder, “You’ve already done more than we could have asked with a brand new engine and stabilizer assembly. Just unload the parts and we’ll take it from here. You probably have more stops to make, and we wouldn’t want the crew to catch you onboard.”

  “Yeah, you’re right about that.” Captain Ross turned to his co-pilot, let’s get this unloaded, shall we?”

  “You got it, Captain.”

  “You’re a good man, Gill, don’t ever let anyone else tell you anything different.”

  Gill smiled at his Captain, “Too late, they already have...that’s why I pulled this duty, remember?”

  “Right...your secret is safe with me, Parsons. We’ll be unloaded and on our way within the hour.”

  “Thank you, Captain.”

  An hour later, Parsons watched the auto-hauler lift off from the cargo landing bay and move out away from the CSMO.

  Dillan put his headset back on, “Hauler Two-Eight-Niner, CSMO Mathilde-2, you are clear for the jump-ring. Your next CSMO location is programmed, and will be fully charged in 10 minutes.”

  “Mathilde-2, Two-Eight-Niner, roger. ETA to jump ring in 15 minutes, thank you for your hospitality.”

  “Right,” Dillan nodded, “Just don’t make it a habit, okay?”

  “No problem, Mathilde-2. Captain Ross for Two-Eight-Niner, have a nice day. Two-Eight-Niner, out.”

  * * *

  Asteroid 253 Mathilde

  CSMO 253 Mathilde-2 Mining Operations

  Earth Date: 03/27/2066 19:00

  ~ One Week Later ~

  Parsons stood next to the shiny new engine. It had taken several days to prep it for proper fitting, as the turbine required full calibration and testing before mounting. It was easier to prep the engine in the cradle than hung to the ships engine mounts.

  The other Marines had already assembled and installed the port stabilizer, in spite of Parsons’ reservations about their inexperience.

  “Okay,” Parsons nodded with a smile, “She’s already to lift...can you guys remember to just take it easy...that’s it, nice...and...slow...STOP!”

  Parsons gasped as one of the securing straps on the high-lift split, “SET IT DOWN, SET IT DOWN!” he yelled, but the strap gave way, sending the front of the engine bouncing to the deck.

  The engine hung by the second strap, pinning one of the Marine’s leg beneath. The man screamed with pain as the others jumped into action to try and free their trapped crewman.

  The man grimaced in agony while another quickly rolled a small floor jack under the engine and began pumping the handle to relieve the pressure. It only took a few handle pumps to expose a deep gash, now filling with the man’s blood.

  “Lower it...lower it back down a minute,” Parsons looked at the suffering man, “Sorry, but that’s the only way I know how to stop the bleeding,” then he looked up and yelled, “WE NEED A MEDIC!”

  “Hold it, Sir!” A Marine unbuckled his belt and stripped it off with incredible speed. He slid the belt onto the man’s leg above the gash and tightened it down until the bleeding stopped.

  “What’s going on down there, Parsons?” Dillan asked from the command deck.

  “Send for the ship’s doc! Right now! We’ve had a little accident.”

  “I’ll be right there!” Dillan tossed his headset to the console and quickly made his way down the corridor that led to the landing bay.

  He rounded the corner, catching himself with one hand to slow him down, “What happened here?”

  “The damn fore-strap on the high-lift tore, sending the front of the engine down. It crushed his leg! We need the doc up here!”

  Dillan ran to a control panel on the outside of the bay and called his men guarding the hatch to the upper deck, “Sims, you need to go for the doc! Medical emergency, I authorize him to come up here! On the double, now!”

  “Yes, Sir,” the man replied.

  Two minutes later, Sims escorted the ship’s doctor to the landing bay.

  “Doctor Glenn
! Thank god!”

  The man on the floor nearly passed out from the excruciating pain of the engine laying on his leg and looked up to the Doctor, “Can you get me something for the pain?”

  Doctor Glenn kneeled down, “We’re gonna gettcha outta there as quickly as we can...you’re a lucky guy. You better place your bets tonight, son.”

  “Lucky?”

  “If the Marine hadn’t gotten this tourniquet placed quickly, you likely would have bled out.”

  The Doctor pointed to two Marines, “Okay, you two grab him and slide him onto the stretcher. We need to get him to surgery stat.”

  “You got it, Doc.”

  The two Marines lifted the man onto the stretcher.

  “There! Okay, get him down below. I need to operate and sew you back up.”

  The two Marines, lifted the stretcher and followed the Doctor to his medical bay.

  Dillan looked at the dropped engine, “Well, that doesn’t look good,” he said, seeing the crushed turbine blades.

  “No, not at all.”

  “Can you fix it?”

  “We’re running out of time, Dillan, I’m not sure what else may be wrong with it now.”

  “Can you replace the blades with ones from the old engine?”

  “That’s one option, but it might take a few days.”

  “Days we just don’t have.”

  “Agreed.”

  “What are the other options?”

  “Well, I could just remove the damaged fins, and remove the ones on the opposite side. Could work at about half power, no more. But, if the engine is even a little out of balance, she’ll blow.”

  “Will the ship function with one and a half engines?”

  “It could...might take some adjustments to the controls, but it’s possible.”

  “Then all you’d have to do is remove the damage, and balance the engine. Worst case is we fly it to the asteroid on half-power. Use full power on the good engine only for emergencies.”

  “She’ll only have about half speed, so if we need to get out fast, we could throttle it up to see how she handles. Might be just enough of a boost to get us out of harm’s way in time.”

  “Okay, get to it. We don’t have any time to waste. I’m going down below to check on our patient.”

  “Right,” Parsons nodded, “I’ll get started,” he finished with a sigh.

  * * *

  Chapter 17

  Salvage-5

  Asteroid 52 Europa

  Earth Date: 03/31/2066 14:00

  ~ Four Days Later ~

  Sam sat at the Salvage-5 flight controls, “...and reverse burn termination in 3...2...1...Mark!”

  “Sam,” Tucker asked, “Give me a position report. And Sarge, can you scan the area for any ships?”

  Sam pressed a few controls. “We’re 25,000 kilometers from the target asteroid.”

  “Excellent! Plot course to the remaining tread section of the CSMO. Set speed to 25,000 KPH.”

  “Roger that, setting engine speed to 25,000 KPH. ETA is 1 hour.”

  “Tuck,” Samuels added, “Not reading any ships in the vicinity. However, I am reading some accelerated gamma wave activity within the complex.”

  “Well, that’s just great...Dillan’s not here yet, and the natives are already restless.”

  “I hope he gets here soon,” Samantha added.

  “At least he’s not early,” Tucker smiled, “That’ll give us enough time to get in, free our guys, and get back out.”

  “We knew this would be a challenging mission, Tuck,” Sam reminded Tucker.

  “Yeah, well, I had hoped for some kind of surprise arrival, though. Unfortunately, it does appear that they’re already awake down there. Sarge, prepare a recon SAT to relay to Dillan’s ship that we’re here, and to proceed.”

  “You got it, Tuck. I’ll have it ready in 5 minutes.”

  “Sam, set auto-pilot, align us up to our target, and join me in back. Let’s get the MECH’s prepped for you guys.”

  “Got it, Tuck,” Sam nodded, as she unbuckled her harness. She floated out of her seat and followed Tucker to the rear of the ship.

  Tucker opened the hatch to the cargo bay and floated through, followed by Sam, “So, Tucker, what if Dillan doesn’t show?”

  “Oh, he’ll show.”

  “How can you be certain?”

  “Because I’ll kick his ass if he doesn’t.”

  “I see...”

  “That is, if we get out of here in one piece.”

  “Tucker? Are you having doubts?”

  “Doubts? Nooo, not me,” Tucker smiled slowing himself down on the cargo bay supports before reaching the first MECH.

  “What’s your back-up plan to ignite the complex if he is a no show?”

  “I’ve got that all covered,” Tucker said, pointing to his side pockets on his flight suit. “I’ve got three detonators.”

  “Okay, but what about the ignition?”

  “I’ll give us a fifteen minute timer on the last detonator. You guys just be sure you get out. Don’t worry about me.”

  “That’s what I’m worried about, Tucker. We didn’t come all this way to leave you and Cass behind.”

  “Not to mention, Hargrove.”

  “Right, let’s not forget about Hargrove.”

  “I’ll be fine...” Tucker looked into Sam’s eyes, “Sam, we’ll all be fine. Trust me, these enhancements that Buster programmed into my chip, well, let’s just say those cyborg-clone things down there are going to have a very bad day.”

  Sam laughed, “I sure hope so, Tucker. I sure hope so.”

  Samuels interrupted them by invading their comm links, “Hey, Tucker. I just launched the probe. Once it detects their ship on final reverse burn, the message will be transmitted. I’ve isolated our communications. So we’ll be the only ones able to hear it.”

  “Good work, Samuels. Now how’s about comin’ back here with us...”

  Before Tucker could finish, Samuels tapped his shoulder, sending Tucker reeling backward, “Geez, Samuels! How about a warning next time?”

  “Jumpy today, are we?”

  “Never mind that now. Go and get your MECH fired up and checked out while we check this one. Then you two need to help me into my suit.”

  Sam floated upside down and half inside her MECH. She flipped the unit on. Lights and servos began flashing and whirring as she went through the unit’s check list.

  “Running full system wide diagnostic,” Sam reported, “Checking our ammo. We’re full up on that too.”

  “What’s your total compliment?”

  “5,000 rounds of rail shot, four reloads, and 6 high impact missiles.”

  Well,” Tucker smiled with satisfaction, “That should be plenty. Goin’ in guns a-blazing should provide the needed diversion.”

  “And you’re sure that your little plug you injected in us, will prevent us from turning on you?” Sam asked.

  “Well, pretty sure.”

  “Pretty sure?” Sam quizzed, “I’m positive you sold it to us at a higher certainty than that, Tuck.”

  “Well, you know.”

  “No, maybe we don’t,” Samuels added.

  Tucker paused from removing the spacesuit from where it was stowed, and looked over at the two, “You wouldn’t have agreed if I hadn’t, would you?”

  “He does have a point, Sam.”

  “We’ll,” Sam answered with lowered brow, “I for one don’t wish to be chipped to find out.”

  Tucker returned to removing all the suit parts, “Well then, don’t get caught.”

  “Easy for you to say, Mister ‘I’m already chipped up’!” Sam scoffed.

  “Sam, it’s a good plan. Don’t worry.”

  “Care to go over it again for us, Tuck?” Sam begged, “Because the last time I was following your plan in one of these, you nearly got me killed!”

  “Me? Nooo, wasn’t my fault that asteroid was near us.”

  “Well, it was and it nearly did...
not to mention the mess I had to clean up later.”

  “You messed yourself, Samuels?”

  “I don’t wanna talk about it, Tucker.”

  “Oh, please? I’d love to hear all about that.”

  “Oh, you mean the mess you made with trying to fool Vladimir?”

  “It was no mess. Whatever are you talking about?” Tucker shrugged.

  “Nearly losing Major Phillips as a hostage wasn’t a mess?”

  “What? We got her back.”

  “Yeah, you’re welcome,” Samuels bantered in return.

  “Okay, okay...if you hadn’t gone out there with the MECH to his ship and set those explosives, we would have been in a bit of a situation...”

  “You heard it, Sam,” Samuels said, cutting Tucker off.

  “I sure did.”

  “What?”

  Samuels smiled, “That you admit that I saved us all.”

  “Now, I wouldn’t go that far.”

  “I would,” Samantha added.

  “All righty then, how about we go over our plan once more?” Tucker grinned.

  “Oh, conveniently change the subject,” Samantha winked in return.

  “What? You all wanted to discuss the mission.”

  Samuels finished his MECH diagnostics and floated down to help Tucker and Sam, “All systems check complete. The MECH’s ready for action, and I too, have a full weapons compliment. I also packed two more rail guns and a string of concussion grenades inside if we have to ditch these MECH’s.”

  Tucker pointed at the Sergeant, “Good idea. Sam, you might want to do the same.”

  “Way ahead of ya, Tucker. I’ve got two strings of grenades. One is a combo of concussion and smoke, and the other is blast for a really good party favorite.”

  “In addition to the six missiles,” Sam added, “We’ve got a payload of mortar’s that’ll surly inflict a good spread of damage.”

  “Just keep in mind, that they’ll adapt fairly quickly,” Tucker pointed, “Don’t use all your rail shot at once. Yes, go in weapons hot for a great start. I’m saying to mix it up a bit. Fire a mortar, then more rail shot. The more diverse you are with your weapons, the longer it’ll take for them to adapt. I think.”