about to pout.
“I'm sure he didn't need you to consult on the trade, but if it makes you feel better I can always make sure you're in the room whenever Captain and I make a big decision.”
“Yer kiddin' right?”
“Yup.”
Frost chuckled. “Just when I think I'm gettin' on yer good side.”
She couldn't help but smile at the exchange as her and her team arrived below the mooring point. She looked at the pictorial directions on the deck and hoped she was reading them right as she pushed a panel open with her foot then tapped a button with her toe. A ramp extended out from the floor all the way up to the three meter wide airlock doors in the ceiling. Railings came up from the sides and after a moment it looked like the ramp had always been there.
“Wow, Earth tech is amazing. Nothing is just for one thing, every space has more than one purpose.” Liz, an energetic new hire who she had just met commented from behind her. “It makes the ship feel like it's twice it's size, as if it weren't big enough.” She was actually shorter than Stephanie, which was a hard thing to accomplish since she herself was only one hundred sixty one centimetres tall.
“They started this whole space travel thing, I'd hope they have it right by now,” another crew member commented.
“Okay, you two get to the bottom of the ramp and be ready to log ID's. Anyone without identification gets put off to the side until the end of each group. I need two more to scan for active weaponry. Take all their ammunition and keep it secure in a storage compartment, there should be a couple in the deck nearby. The rest will walk them to their berth. The teams below have been able to sweep them for explosives, weaponry, dangerous bacteria and other life, but they weren't exactly able to make the beds and sweep the floors. If anyone complains just tell them the TRF Peter will be here in two days. They can be picky about accommodations as much as they like with the rescue teams.”
Grace Templeton and two other crew members marked as medics arrived at a run, each with a full load of medical gear. “Reporting for duty, bring on the masses,” she said, leaning down on her knees and trying to catch her breath. “This place is huge.”
“Good to see you. I was just about to say something to the Captain.”
“We've been listening in on the chatter from medical. We only have three injured so far, considering the damage the Eden ships did we're lucky to have so few.”
“Have you ever done this kind of triage before?”
“Once. A trade convoy was attacked and I was sent along with a rescue vessel. This one is much better so far. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing.”
Thank God someone does. Stephanie thought to herself as she turned from Grace to look up through the transparent hull. Frost was doing a fantastic job of guiding the damaged space liner in with the tractor beams. It was four hundred meters long but thin. She had seen many of them before and knew that there could be as many as five thousand aboard. “They're not starting small,” she said to herself as she ran up the ramp leading to the mooring doors. One of her team followed and took a support position on the other side of the hatch.
The tunnel extended from the Triton and the star liner slowly drifted towards it at a pace of only a few centimetres a second. It slowed down to millimetres by the time it made contact and the mooring frame reported a full on lock with the ship.
Stephanie caught sight of a man in a vacsuit drifting towards an airlock only meters further down the hull. “Liz, go make sure he has a happy landing. I'd hate to see him come through the airlock only to free fall to the deck.”
She had one of the other team members replace her in identification duties and ran to where she thought the ramp or whatever receiving device that was provided for emergency airlocks might be and checked the instructions.
Stephanie checked the mooring lock and saw that it was still pressurizing and checking the seal.
Meanwhile, Liz had moved on to another spot on the floor, and with a satisfied nod, slid a panel to the side, pressed her foot down on a button and activated the retrieval system for the emergency airlock. It was a long, flexible tube that extended along a wire frame that came out of the floor so whoever was coming in through the smaller emergency airlock could slide down to the deck at a reasonable speed. Liz cheered for herself, throwing her arms up before stopping and checking to see if anyone noticed. Everyone had, a few chuckled, and she shrugged in response. “Getting new technology right on the first try is worth celebrating. Even with these instructions.”
“You're telling me,” Stephanie agreed.
The lone entrant came through the smaller emergency airlock and was visible only for a moment before he slid down the yellow tube, causing it to flex and warp. Liz stepped out of the way and the much taller, broad shouldered fellow arrived at the bottom, stopped by a thick pad on the deck. He rolled to his feet slowly and stood up in front of Liz, who looked absolutely tiny compared to the large human. “Thank you very much. I'm Liam,” he shook the young woman's hand.
“I'm Liz. I think you're wanted on the bridge if I heard the chatter right.”
“Aye, thank you for the safe landing.”
“Do you want me to walk him there Stephanie?” Liz asked.
“Don't worry, I can find my way,” Liam interjected calmly.
“You've been aboard a Sol System Carrier before?” Stephanie inquired.
“No, but if my guess is right this is like any other Earth ship and it'll show me the way.” He looked at the floor. “ Triton, show me the quickest way to the bridge,” he requested.
An arrow lit up on the deck to his right. “Yup, just like any Earth ship. I'll get out of your hair and let you help these people. Thank you Liz.” He said with a short bow before jogging off towards the freight express car.
“You're welcome,” she waved after him before looking back down at the controls to the emergency airlock. “Now how do I get the tube and everything back in?” She asked herself. A few moments later she tapped another button with her foot twice and the whole yellow tube and its stopping pad retracted along with the wire frame.
Stephanie watched as the doors leading into the starliner parted and the first of the passengers appeared. “Hold there. If you have any weapons leave them aboard or check them at the bottom. We'll be taking all your ammunition so no firing will take place aboard. I'll direct you down the ramp in groups of four. Go slowly, carefully and present your identification to the officers at the bottom. We have basic accommodations for you until the TRF Peter, a rescue ship, arrives and you will be led to them as soon as possible,” she said through her amplification unit. The ones at the front found the announcement loud, and a few cringed, but she had to make sure she didn't repeat herself too much. She didn't want to lose her voice like she had the last time they performed a rescue operation.
The first groups went by without incident, a few of them taking a second or two to thank her or ask simple questions. After the first nine hundred, which was the longest stream of people she'd ever seen, a gentleman stopped and showed her a pair of pistols. “Lady, I heard your announcement, and I think we have a problem.”
“Yes?” She replied with a smile.
“I take these with me everywhere, and I don't go without ammo either.”
“You'll have to make an exception here.”
“No, you'll have to make an exception, missy.”
Stephanie simply nodded and pointed to the right of the large mooring doors. “If you'll stand right there while I let other people through so we can discuss this in a minute,” she said firmly.
He gave her a surprised look then followed directions, holstering his pistols and crossing his arms.
She let the rest of the passengers through without incident, and the fellow tried to squeeze in with the last of them. Stephanie stopped him, gently touching his shoulder. “Now let's finish our discussion.”
“You're gonna let me through with my ammo miss.”
“No, I'm not. Ship policy states that only registered crew can go armed,” there had been no such policy established, but she decided now was a good time to use her rank and make one. The guard she had brought up with her rested his hands on his rifle, slung across his stomach and chest.
“I don't know what you're trying to prove lady, but-”
“If I had anything to prove, you'd have been on your face ten minutes ago with a hole in your chest.” Stephanie stated plainly, her hand on her sidearm. The safety on her own rifle had been turned on and locked, it
