Rescue
05 Oct 2020maehara_uk
This is an A-side / B-side tale. You can find the other side of the story on CMDR Voetsak's Logbook.After reading the message from her father, maehara dropped her head into her hands and began massaging her temples. Somehow, when his last "be home soon" message had come through, she had just known the something would go wrong. And now the old fool had gotten himself stranded 11,000 light-years away. And was looking for help. "Old fool" didn't even begin to describe what she was thinking of him right now.
She took a deep breath, and thumbed the comms panel. "Yara? Tell me. How would you feel about taking Tweedledum on a 22kylie speed run?"
Her captain responded with a raised eyebrow. Raised so far that her eyebrow nearly left her head. "You are aware I've never taken her outside the Bubble? And that most of the flight crew - myself included - haven't done deep space ops on other ships, either?"
"Yes, and I hate to ask you to do it now. But that old fool of a father of mine has gotten himself stranded in the Norma Expanse, and it's either a rescue flight or a self-destruct event. Not that the second option doesn't have some appeal."
Her captain smiled. "I see. Well, I hate to remind you of the obvious, but you don't need to ask. You own the ship, it goes where you tell us to take it. But for what it's worth.... sounds like fun. Give me his location, I'll plot a route and check we have enough fuel on board, then we'll be on our way."
"Perfect. I can't come with you, unfortunately - company business - but don't take any chances. And it might be good to let him stew out there for a little while, at least."
--==**==--
The Far Reach jumped across the galaxy in 85 light-year leaps - even Beagle Point could be reached in just a few days, at a determined pace, if need be. So reaching Tweedledum's position would take just under 2 hours. She wasn't supposed to be out here, and if Joshua back at base found out there'd be trouble, but needs must - Yara had called through to indicate they had developed a jump drive problem, and maehara felt responsible for having ordered the ship to head that far out in the first place. So 113 minutes after leaving base, she touched down gently on the Carrier's deck and immediately headed up to the bridge.
She greeted Yara with a wry grin. "You had one job!". The face smiled, the voice had a slightly strained tone to it.
"Yes. Murphy's law strikes again. Although you really didn't need to come out here - the Depot crew have it under control. Blockage in the fuel feed, needed a few of them to go in & get dirty clearing it out. We'll be back on the move in an hour or so - won't even miss the estimate I gave your old man." Yara give her a knowing look. "Be careful, you could almost give us the impression you're beginning to care..."
"Don't you start," maehara snapped back. Her crew were getting to know her too well. "Now that I'm here, though, I should make myself useful. I'll head down to the Depot, see if there's anything I can do."
"You appearing there is more likely to scare them. Never good for efficiency, that. Let's just say you've exercised your managerial oversight, and send you back on your way, shall we..?
maehara groused a little at the veiled rebuke from her captain. "Point taken. Any chance of some food before I head back, at least?"
--==*==--
"We've retrieved your father. Fabian's put him to work in the Depot - 'part-payment for the trip home', I believe he called it. Is that punishment enough, or do you want me to leave him in an airlock for a few hours, make sure he gets the point that you're annoyed with him?"
maehara laughed. "No, that'll do. You'll have no problems getting back, I hope?"
"No. Nothing a man with a shovel can't keep at bay, and we've got the free services of one for a while. We'll get a permanent fix when we get back to the Bubble. And it's been a fun little joyride - he picked a wonderful system to get stuck in."
"Glad you enjoyed yourself. Get back in one piece - I'll check in with you then."
She snapped the channel shut. Maybe next time he went out into the Black, her father would be a little more... careful? Considerate? But somehow, she doubted it...