Unexpected Encounter 16
06 Apr 2016Rebecca Hail
The Anaconda exited supercruise with a familiar bang and dropped onto two ships rotating around each other. Rebecca pulled the throttle back as she approached the long tether that held the ASP Explorer and the Diamondback Explorer together. Two persons could be seen in the starlight, both floating in the middle of the connector secured with life lines."Alright, we're ready here." the comm crackled as Burwellian's deep voice came through it.
"Copy, deploying connector lines. Disengaging main thrusters."
The conda turned until her belly pointed towards the connector, then two flexible multipart steel rods came out of the corners of the front cargo hatch.
"Alright, a few more meters to the ..." he looked up and took a moment to directions of the conda, "... right." Rebecca ignited two of the right manouvre thrusters and the ship slowly drifted a bit to the right.
"Almost ... almost ... got it." He reached out with a long bar and pulled one of the rods towards the connector. The other man caught the other rod and attached it to the tether.
"Alright, Becci. You can fasten it and deploy the rest."
Rebecca pressed a button and the flexible rods contracted as they solidified.
"Rods are solid. Deploying the rest of the connector. Move a bit." she said into the comm as she pressed a button sequence on the keyboard to her left.
Two more rods came out of the corners and moved together with attached braces along the already established rods towards the tether. When they were finally established, the three ships and the tether formed a large T and slowly circled around each other.
"I'm putting on my atmosuit, then we can begin with transfering the spare parts and the tools I brought with me." she said, as she unfastened her security belts and pushed herself of the pilot seat.
Ria had watched silently since the rescue procedure had begun when they dropped into the system. Now she unfastened her belts and floated up.
"You're staying here." Rebecca looked at her with a little concerned look.
"Why? I can help." Ria sounded a bit disappointed as she talked back.
"Spacewalks aren't like a fun stroll through a park. One mistake and you're gone forever." Rebecca just wanted to avoid the client seeing her. The last thing she needed now was a FSS case investigator who told everything to Enigma as soon as he received the spare parts.
"Aww, come on. I swear I'll be careful."
"No. I doubt that I have a atmosuit fitting for you and they need to fit perfectly." In her mind she was asking herself why she was refusing it.
Ria made a sad face, then she pushed herself back into her seat and remained silent.
"Besides, I need you here in case anything happens. I want you to watch the scanner and report anything strange to me, okay?", Rebecca said as she left through the door of the bridge.
"Yeah, yeah.", Ria answered, then she mumbled under her breath, "As if you couldn't do that with that thing on your wrist."
Transferring the fuel processor from Rebecca's ship to the DBE was a lot more complicated than she had estimated. The processor was about the size of a limpet but very sensible, so it was surrounded with several protective layers which effectively doubled its size. After 90 minutes of trying, Burwellian and Rebecca finally managed to transport it through the hatch, around the bend of the tether and through the hatch of the DBE. The outside protective layers were visibly damaged and both rats were exhausted.
"Now we just need to get the tools." Rebecca said with a grin.
"Are they as bulky as this thing? Please say no." Burwellian said with a slightly annoyed tone.
Rebecca laughed, "They are not. Don't worry. Just two normal toolboxes and a precision plasma cutter."
"Thank, god.", he sighed and a few minutes later he was at work in the engine room of the DBE. Burwellian was a gifted engineer and more than able to handle this alone, so Rebecca went to look after the client.
He was in his bed room, was strapped into his bed and was startled when she opened the bulkhead. He looked pale and ill. Probably an aftereffect of the stasis drugs. He wasn't that old, probably just a few years older than her, but he looked more exhausted than some of the veterans she knew.
"Hey, everything okay?", she asked.
He looked up to her then he answered, "Yeah ... yeah, it's just that I wasn't prepared for all this. Usually I do a desk job. I wasn't prepared for ... all this. Flying fifty thousand lightyears on my own, being alone for months ... I just want to go home."
"Why don't you go home?"
"Uhm, I haven't completed my task yet. I have to ..." Rebecca put a hand over his mouth and bowed down to his ear.
"I understand that you're from the HQ. And I understand that you worked until now always with a team. With people you could talk to. But here we are in the field. And rule number one in the field is: Never ever give away your objective.", she whispered, then she moved her hand and straigtened.
He looked surprised, then he realized who she was.
"So you're Icy Su...", the rest of the sentence was muffled by her hand again.
"No names. Just give me the info and I'll take care of the rest.", she whispered again.
He pointed to his terminal, "There is a datacore in there. If you're the one, HE sent you to decrypt it."
She looked at him in a curious way. "And if I'm not?"
He shrugged, "Then I won't risk my life defending something you can't use."
She stepped to the terminal, opened the drive and took the cube-shaped blue shining crystal out. Then she pressed it into the rectangular shape on her wristband. The wristband opened a comm channel to the Anaconda and not even sixty seconds later an artificial voice said, "File decrypted." She turned to the man who laid still in his bed.
"I guess I'm the one HE sent. In a few hours he's done with the repairs in the engine room, then you can start jumping home." She saluted, then she stepped out of the cabin before he could answer.