Humanitarian Effort
01 Mar 2018MMMMMalcolm
Personal Log: Commander Kay Wantz“Kay, what’s our present location?”
“Fuel scooping the Tellus system main star. We are approximately two jumps away from Alioth.”
“Ensure our tank is full,” he ordered, “and then adjust your course to the route I’m plotting now.”
“Bhal?” I asked confused. “That’s nearly 200 Ly away. Why are we going there?”
“To do some real good for a change,” he replied.
I spun around in the pilot’s chair to face his navigation station.
“Care to enlighten your Deputy Commander?”
I’ve stared down some hard criminals in the past. I’ve faced death more than my allotted limit and didn’t blink. But the expression on Malcolm’s face made me shiver. Anger, frustration, desperation, and helplessness all jockeyed for position on an otherwise unflappable visage. His eyes were pointed my direction but he wasn’t looking at me when he spoke.
“Aticus’ story affected me. I was so upset my life with ‘Tom and Nancy’ was a lie. But after listening to him, I realize it still is. We say we’re protecting innocents, making the ‘verse a better place; but are we really? For every pilot we snatch from the clutches of a pirate, how many more like Aticus escape our help? For the first time, I understood how much bigger than me this is. My old tormenting guardian is dead, but I still feel like someone or something is laughing at my futile attempts to bring peace to the galaxy.”
He shook his head; whether to clear his thoughts or fight his feelings of insignificance, I’ll never know. Right then I knew why I loved him. He could have just disappeared after our one-night-stand on Sol, but he wrote that cheesy letter because he considered my feelings. He could have let me wander into the clutches of his guardian when I showed up in HIP 118321, but he warned me because he was concerned. He didn’t become a bounty hunter to impress me or any other woman like so many do. He truly cared. I brought up a holographic map of the galaxy and zoomed out as far as the display would allow.
“Babe,” I answered, “you’re not God. You can’t fix all of this overnight; shoot, not in a lifetime or a billion lifetimes. Many have tried before you and many more will fail after you’re gone.” I zoomed back in to our present location. “You’ve brought joy and excitement to my life. You’ve brought purpose and comradery to Dave and Aticus. You’ve honored the memory of your parents and if they were here, I know they would be proud. You do your best with what you’re given.” A big smile cracked his lips as confidence returned from the depths.
“That’s why we’re going to Bhal, to rescue citizens trapped on Armstrong Enterprise. Faulcon Delacy ships are known for their versatility. We have one. Let’s see what we can do with it. SHAE send a message to the wing informing them of our activities.”
“As you wish commander.”
**************
You ever have someone describe something to you? They feed one dimensional experiences into a brain that is used to processing five. No matter how hard they try no one can ever replicate the real thing.
That’s how I felt when we dropped out of supercruise in front of the burning remains of Armstrong Enterprise. Galnet reporter descriptions failed to capture the devastation I saw. My dreams will forever be haunted by the screams I heard. The only way I could rid myself of the acrid stench, a burnt stench so strong I could taste it, was to cut my hair and throw away my flight suit. I would have asked Malcolm to sell the ship if I thought he would do it. To this day a faint whiff of smoke clings to the corridors.
“Faulcon Delacy, this is a restricted area. Adjust heading to bearing zero four five and give way to emergency personnel.”
“Control, Alpha Whiskey Sierra Zero One requests clearance for an emergency landing.” I replied. ”We heard you guys could use some help so we brought our big empty ship.”
“Are you sure you want to bring that behemoth in here? Debris and unexploded ordinance make maneuvers difficult.”
“You let me worry about that. Do you have a large landing pad that works or not?”
“Copy Zero One. You are cleared to pad One Seven. And thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. Zero One out.”
I guided the ship through the damaged station entrance. The controller may have been right. With all the smoke illuminated by flashing emergency lighting I could barely see the nose of the ship. Large chunks of debris would just appear in my flight path.
“Just bump it out of the way,” Malcolm stated over the ships com. “Let the shields do their job while you do yours.”
I was trying to do my job, but the low visibility was not helping. Neither was the heat. I went from comfortable to drenched in sweat in a matter of seconds. Heat sinks relieved the ship and its components, but they did little to keep stinging sweat out of my eyes. I didn’t see the pad marker until I was almost past it.
“Ship secure Commander,” the com announced. “Commencing emergency protocol Alpha.”
The ship’s engines decreased to a low rumble without completely shutting down. Malcolm had left the bridge the moment we dropped out of supercruise. He lowered the boarding ramp and met the pad’s assigned security officer as it descended into the hangar. The officer asked for Malcolm’s data pad while he produced his own. When the pads were a few inches from each other, the officer’s pad beeped.
“There, your license number and ship ID are now registered. You will be compensated for your assistance. How many bodies can you accommodate?”
“Two hundred,” Malcolm answered.
The officer spun around and signaled his detail. In less than a minute two hundred survivors were counted off and shepherd into the hull of ‘Breathless’. Some walked, some limped, and some were carried. All of them were hurt, broken, and desperate to get off the station. Malcolm retracted the ramp and the pad began to return to the surface. The engines spun back to a high whine.
“Ship released Commander. Take care exiting the station.” I didn’t acknowledge the communication as I concentrated on freeing the ship from the oven.
And then, just like that, we were free. Flashing lights were replaced by twinkling stars. Blaring alarms and booming explosions were exchanged for peaceful silence. Haze and smoke was switched with clear empty space. A voice came back onto the com. “You made it. Good flying Commander. I must admit, I had my doubts. Proceed to rescue ship Delta. Medical personnel are standing by.”
Two million meters away from the station was a mega-ship, waiting to accept Armstrong Enterprise refugees. We escorted them into the caring arms of the med-techs waiting with blankets and water and gurneys, and then prepared to go get another group. After a while, I settled into a routine; the task wasn’t so nerve racking. But it was daunting. They kept coming. Young, old, rich, poor, Federal, or Imperial; they kept pouring out of the holding areas and onto our ship. And their faces; faces I will never forget as long as I live. Dirty, bleeding, down cast, faces. Some were crying. Some were wide eyed in silent shock. Some were hardened with anger and thoughts of revenge. I was about to get overwhelmed when I remembered what I told Malcolm. “You do your best with what you’re given.” I chanted it over and over the days we were there.
************
Malcolm and I were just waking up for another day of rescues when a holo-com request came through the system. It was the commander of the rescue ship, Admiral Voorhees.
“Attention commanders. Your determined efforts have saved the lives of over ten thousand citizens. The Federation is eternally in your debt. Also, I am pleased to report that Armstrong Enterprise has been stabilized. Therefore this ship has been reassigned. I respectfully request that you leave our hangars ASAP. The director of Armstrong has extended an invitation to assist them in their rebuild efforts. Fly safe commanders.”
“Well,” Malcolm said as we entered the bridge, “I guess our work here is done.”