Chapter 7

While she consulted the environmental station specs the Andermani engineers provided, Graves and the spacer grumbled about rusty bolts.

"None of this should be rusty in a modern space station," Rachel noted.

"Well, it is humid in here, ma'am," Graves replied.

They managed to get panel bolts off without stripping them and all three worked to pry the panel open. The panel swung out, and the rusty hinges made loud metallic scraping sounds as they tried to force it to open.

"Don't we have any lubricant in our gear?" Rachel mumbled and rummaged through her bag. Something to bust rust wasn't something anyone normally carried, as rust was a rare occurrence on a properly maintained starship or station.

Lt. Patino's voice was heard on her radio. "Mayhew, got rust over there too?"

"Yes sir," she said and winced at the annoying metal-on-metal racket. "We're prying it open now."

"Noted, Patino out."

They got the panel open enough for her to step inside the space. Graves followed and the two pushed on the panel.

"Can you three pull on it while we push?" Rachel called out.

So Nate, Robert, and the spacer pulled while she and Graves pushed the panel open so they could freely walk in and out of the space. In short order, she was examining the circuit boards, runs, and wiring on the panel while Graves was looking over the various pumps, cylinders, and pipes in the space.

"Ma'am, I got the screen cover off, it looks like the main relay is fried," the spacer outside reported.

"Add it to the list, and then check with the station for spares," Rachel instructed.

"Yes ma'am."

She heard Graves chuckling behind her. "Droppings."

"Pardon?" she asked.

"There's droppings over here," he said.

She walked over and looked to where he was pointing and shrugged. "Well, anywhere there's people and food, there's pests. They'll want to ante-up their pest control protocol-"

They looked at each other when they heard a barely perceptible thump from under the deck plating in the corner of the room.

"They said the Marines cleared the station," Graves whispered.

She drew her pistol and pointed it at the deck plate and stepped toward the panel opening, tugging on Grave's sleeve for him to follow, and spoke into her comms.

"Lieutenant? Can we get some security here at 3-A? I think someone is under the deck plating."

"M'lady?" Nate asked from outside.

"Copy that, a team is on the way-"

Quite suddenly, a deck plate flew off and whoever was in the crawlspace poked a weapon out and started firing wildly into the space. She and Graves fired back and dove for the corridor. The person firing poked his head out, and another one started climbing from the hole, firing as well. She heard Nate gasp and saw him go down. No!

Spacer Emmons was on the deck, holding his thigh. She and Graves drug him from the opening, out of the line of fire. Robert was firing into the space, and a team of Marines came running from the adjoining corridor. One of the Marines tossed a flash-bang grenade into the room, the team streamed inside, and the firing stopped.

"Clear!" a Marine called out.

She took a breath and accessed her people. Nate was unconscious and pale, still gripping his pistol. Robert snatched a tourniquet from Nate's first aid kit and applied it above his mangled knee. He glanced up and his lips tightened when he saw the blood from her head and shoulder. "I gave him a pain agent. It was the only way to do this. M'lady, look to yourself."

"What?" she said and put a hand to her bloody right ear that she just realized was stinging.

Come to think of it, her shoulder and bicep hurt too. She took a bandage from her first aid kit and held it to her ear. Graves finished bandaging Spacer's Emmons thigh, patted him on the shoulder, and pressed a pain relief hypospray against his neck. Commander Duffey, Lt. Patino, and two medics trotted from the adjacent corridor. Lt. Patino knelt next to her and lifted the bandage to see her injury. A medic joined him, looked at her ear, and sprayed it with an antibacterial healing mist.

"You were grazed, ma'am," he said and sprayed her shoulder and bicep and before applying bandages.

"Mayhew, can you walk?" Commander Duffey asked.

"Yes ma'am," she said and stood.

"The away teams are mustering in the boat bay while the Marines clear all the crawlspaces," she sighed. "All the wounded are to return to the ship."

"Yes ma'am," Lt. Patino said.

#

In sick bay, Commander Newberry listened to Rachel's account of the station incident without comment or question. She had done nothing wrong, but the Captain wanted everyone's account of the incident. Theresa had brought Hipper, and he was perched on her lap, purring louder than she had ever heard before.

"…and then the Marine announced that the room was clear," she said. "After, the medics patched us up for the trip back to the ship."

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"The lacerations itch and part of my ear is missing, but otherwise I'm fine, sir."

"And Captain Tucker?"

Her lips wavered and then tightened. "The doctor is amputating at the knee right now. There was just too much damage."

"He'll live, that's the important part."

She nodded. "Yes sir. He can regenerate, so the doctor will have him transferred to Bassingford for the procedure."

"Do you regenerate?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No sir. I reckon I'll be missing a small part of my ear the rest of my life. That's nothing really, when I think of how close that flechette came to my head."

When the commander left, Lt. Patino arrived bedside. "All things considered, you did well today. I'm sorry for your armsman. I understand that he can regenerate?"

"Yes sir."

"The doctor says that you're good to leave sick bay. Take it easy today and get a good night's sleep."

"Aye, sir."

Before she left sick bay, she looked in on Nate, who was out of surgery but still sedated. She also stopped at Spacer Emmon's bed and wished him a speedy recovery. She realized she was hungry, but it wasn't quite suppertime, but the mess hall would have off-shift rations available. She felt conspicuous walking through the passageways with a bandage over her ear, but she had been directed to wear it the rest of the day for pain and infection control. In the officer's mess, she chewed on a sandwich and stared at the bulkhead, replaying the events of the day in her mind.

#

That night on the Imperator, Matt opened his mail on his tablet. He saw a header from Rachel and opened it, to see a video of her talking to someone to her left and a bandage on her right ear. She faced the camera and smiled, and Hipper faced the camera with an ear flick.

"What did you get yourself into this time?" he murmured.

"We had some excitement today. I was in one of the teams sent to Essen Station, and while we were in a control panel closet, we were fired on by some idiots under the deck plating."

"What? She was involved that?" Angela asked and sat next to Matt, watching the video. "She's hurt!"

Four more middies gathered around Matt's tablet to watch the message and she gestured to her ear. "My ear, shoulder, and arm were grazed, that's all. The top of my ear is no longer there, and I don't regenerate…"

Her lips trembled and she took a deep breath before continuing. "Um…Nate wasn't so lucky. He ended up losing his left leg at the knee."

Hipper nudged her chin with his head and purred loudly.

"Oh no," Angela said.

"He's being taken back to Bassingford day after tomorrow on a merchant marine ship. He can regenerate, so in a couple of months, he'll have a new leg. Robert is fine, and a spacer that was on my team is recovering from his wounds as well."

She scratched her shoulder and a voice from the side said, "Don't scratch!"

The voice sounded familiar, and Jack Kirschner's face leaned into view. "She keeps scratching at it."

Rachel rolled her eyes as Theresa tossed a sock at Kirschner's face. It dropped on top of her tablet, and she snatched it off.

"I hope that was a clean one," Rachel murmured and tossed it back to Theresa. "Anyway, I'm busy with a lot of work and loving almost every minute of it. I say almost because there's scut work that a middy has to do that I'd rather not do, but…" she said and shrugged.

"Ain't that the truth," someone mumbled.

Matt and Angela started laughing when they saw Theresa duck behind Rachel as dozens of socks headed her way, and one got her square in the face. Hipper was crouched on the bed, tail flicking, ready to pounce. Rachel raised an eyebrow at someone and slowly balled up the sock.

"I'll talk to you later, love. A sock war is about to commence in the snotty berth," she said, kissed the ends of her fingers, and pressed them against the screen.

Angela snorted when she heard kissing noises from the other middies behind Rachel's tablet and the video ended.

July 7, 1925, 1800 hours

Rachel, PO Graves, and Spaces Emmons stood at attention in front of Commander Wofford's desk. Commander Duffey gave them each a portfolio awarding them a Manticoran Combat Action Medal, and Rachel and Spacer Emmons received a Wounded In Action sleeve stripe. Additionally, Spacer Emmons was promoted to Spacer First Class.

"Congratulations to you, dismissed," Commander Wofford said. "Miss Mayhew, stay a moment."

Rachel shook Emmons' hand before he left the office.

"You keep this up, and you'll be the most decorated middy anyone's ever seen," Commander Wofford said.

Rachel held up the medal portfolio. "Sir, it was hardly combat. It was seconds of phaser fire in a closet. I'm not a medal chaser."

"We know you're not, but the Navy sees it another way," Commander Duffey replied.

She had viewed Rachel's record at the academy and thought that the young woman had appallingly bad luck. She had never met or heard of anyone, much less a second-year cadet, who had to eject from a flaming aircraft and parachute into the ocean! However, the young woman remained in good spirits and marched through her unfortunate adventures with aplomb.

"And in the Navy's view, you met the standard for combat action when you led a team on an away mission, exchanged fire with enemy forces, and was wounded," Commander Wofford said. "A medal and wound stripe are being sent to your Captain Tucker, and could you give this to Staff Sergeant McDonald?" he said and gave her a medal portfolio.

"Of course, sir."

"How do you like second watch?" Commander Duffey asked.

"I don't feel as rushed, and when I'm on the bridge at the monitoring station, it's quieter."

"Just wait, third watch is even quieter."

"Yes ma'am. I have a friend over on the Imperator, and she says the same."

"If you don't mind my asking, which friend?"

"Midshipwoman Truman."

Commander Wofford nodded and dismissed her to continue her duties. She logged into life support two, where she was joined by Lieutenant Herrera, and they reviewed the monitoring and diagnostics procedures for second watch.

"The Trumans?" Commander Duffey asked.

"Right in one. They were thick as thieves, I tell you. Her second year, there was a fight at her dorm when…"

July 9th, 1925, 2215 hours

Rachel was having her dinner before reporting for second watch. Unbeknownst to her, Captain Wozniak too was eating with his executive and communications officers. He titled his head just enough to see over Commander Newberry's shoulder and a small frown appeared on his face. Middies Mayhew, Meadows, and Kirschner were having their dinner before their watches, chatting over the delight of beef stew. Mayhew seemed more interested in something on her tablet, but she did join the conversation occasionally. That wasn't what got his attention, however. What did get his attention was the bruise that covered her left eye and cheek. He straightened and returned to his dinner.

"Something wrong, sir?" Commander Newberry asked.

The Captain finished his bite and spoke. "Was there an altercation or accident aboard ship recently?"

"Not that we know of, sir," the communications officer replied.

"Lt. Patino is Miss Mayhew's OCTO, isn't he?" the Captain asked.

"Yes sir."

The Captain nodded and continued his dinner. The commanders looked over their shoulder at the middies, wondering what the Captain was concerned about.

#

Commander Wofford had just emerged from a shower when the entry alert for his hatch alerted. He swiped his hair a final time with a towel and pressed a button on the adjacent hatch control panel.

"Commander Wofford."

Captain Wozniak's voice was heard. "Got a minute, Commander?"

He opened the hatch and briefly came to attention. "What can I do for you sir?"

"I was at dinner enjoying my beef stew when I noted Miss Mayhew and her friends across the mess. What drew my concern was the rather large bruise covering Miss Mayhew's eye and cheek."

Commander Wofford processed that for a moment and nodded. "She's a coup de vitesse practitioner. There might have been a match or practice session recently."

"Please have Lt. Patino meet me in my office," the Captain requested.

"Yes sir, right away, but is there something I can help you with?"

The captain waved away his concern. "No need to worry, no one has done anything wrong. Young officers think that they're invincible, and I'm sure Lt. Patino is looking out for his charge. I just want to make sure they're on the same page."

#

I knew I should have requested to move to her watch!

Lt. Patino straightened his uniform one last time and pushed the button for the Captain's office hatch. A few seconds later, Captain Wozniak waved him inside. The lieutenant stepped inside and came to attention.

"Lt. Patino reporting as ordered, sir."

"At ease, lieutenant. No one's in any trouble, I just want to get a few things clear."

"Yes sir."

"Are you on the same watch as Miss Mayhew?"

"No sir. She's on second watch."

"Are you aware of her off duty activities?"

"Some of them, yes sir. Her religious meetings, poker games; things of that nature."

"She's a coup de vitesse practitioner as well."

"Yes sir, she is."

"Are you aware that she's roaming the ship with a very large bruise over her left eye and cheek?"

"No sir."

"As I said, no one has done anything wrong. However, looking in on her might be in order. Young people tend to think they're invincible. Who's her keeper on second watch?"

"Lieutenant Herrera."

"Thank you, lieutenant. Dismissed."

#