Space Wrecker Ch. 02

When the first drone cut enough away that SARA could move the tail section without tearing both ships apart, it started cutting a small hole in the wrecker. After ten minutes it broke, though. No atmosphere leaked out. The second one stuck a camera in and looked around. A life form was standing next to several oxygen bottles. It looked up and started motioning. None of the gestures were recognizable, but it was pointing at its oxygen bottle.

'SARA cut a bigger hole for them to EVA out the pilot, and send an emergency oxygen bottle over ASAP!"

The camera backed out and the first drone started cutting the hole bigger. I saw an eight seventy-five drone leave the hanger bay with an oxygen bottle making its way to the boom arm. When it was on the other wrecker, it scurried up and stuck the bottle through the bigger hole.

I saw the person float over and take the bottle from the drone through its camera. They connected the bottle and gave the drone a thumb up gesture. SARA had the drone copy the gesture. The drone pulled its camera and arm out.

The cutter drones started cutting again. With two drones cutting, it took another ten minutes to open a ten by ten foot wide 'C' flap, where they bent the hull back safe enough for someone to pass through without tearing their space suit. The eight seventy-five crawled in and turned around with both arms back, offering the person a ride. They floated over and crawled onto the drone.

I saw the little hand generator connected to the suit's electrical connection. They must have been in the suit for over twenty-four hours. The cutter drone laid next to the hole and lowered three legs. The Eight seventy-five climbed up the cutter drone's legs and onto the hull.

'SARA, send another eight seventy-five over and clear out as much personal belongings as it can find. Best to make our passenger comfortable, and have a cleaning drone tidy up the third bedroom.'

'Yes Captain, Eight seventy-five is on its way. The cleaning drones have finished cleaning the bedroom. And are changing the sheets.'

I did not furnish the third bedroom after buying the Galveston. I was planning to turn it into some sort of entertainment room for myself. But Chree convinced me to set it up as a spare bedroom for that occasional visitor. Even a Percherian. She only flew outbound that one time. I am now glad she talked me into furnishing it.

I missed Chree; she did not emailed me when my order came in for perishables. But the last I heard was that she was still on Checher with the family, setting up a business loan to expand her business into a hub operation. I had offered to bankroll it for her, but she wanted to try it on her own. I had to respect that. I guess I should have seen it, that she was cutting me out of her life.

I watched the eight seventy-five carry our rescue across the boom arm and the second one crawled under it to retrieve as much personal belongings as it could find. It carried several large totes to pack what it could. I got up and walked down to the hanger. The drone walked in a minute later with our rescue.

The drone held the oxygen bottle as our rescue slid off of the drone. As soon as they got off, they released the clamps on their helmet. With their back turned towards me, they pulled the helmet off and set it down, taking a deep breath. Then turned.

I grinned and said, "Welcome aboard the UN Galveston Julie Ann Howfio."

I was not sure of her facial expression she shot me. Her round cat ears swiveled slightly as the right side hanger door opened. Several cutter drones stood and walked out. If she was trying to express her utter distaste, she had that human expression down.

I smiled. "If you would disconnect the oxygen bottle, I will have SARA take it to be refilled and put back into storage."

She looked down and undid the quick disconnect. The drone picked it up and walked away.

"If you would pick up your gear, I will show you where to store it. I do not know if we can clean and recharge it. SARA will analyze it and inform us later."

I turned around and walked towards the elevator. I turned to see Julie following without her helmet. I stopped and pointed at her helmet. "You might want to go back and pick that up. If a drone steps on it, I don't think one of my EVA suits would fit you very well."

I stepped into the hallway and opened the EVA suit closet. "Hang it here, and SARA will clean and analyze it when she has time, then meet me upstairs and I will show you where you can clean up and rest."

As soon as she was out of the way, a dozen drones lit up and stepped off their cradles. Then, in a line, they headed out the side door. I went upstairs and sat down in the command center. I did not know how to email Chokota Howfio. Therefore, I typed a quick email to Captain Moser. I had his IP address since he sent me the technical readouts from his private account.

SARA had all the cutter drones separating the UNN ship from the wrecker and the Felidae ship it crashed into during the battle. All four-boom arms held a different part of the three ships at just under two hundred yards from the Galveston, as the drones cut them apart. I was studying SARA's plans of separating the ships when a set of claws on the hard deck told me Julie was behind me.

I slid the seat back and turned it. Her long blonde hair was dis-shelved. She looked like she was in that suit longer than twenty-four hours. She was wearing the padded under bodysuit most EVA suits came with. The tight fitting bodysuit accented her natural curves and left little to one's imagination of what she looked like undressed, except where the special pouches collected body waste. She used the dump station in the EVA closet to clean up before coming upstairs. I smiled, trying not to sniff, nor show that she needed a shower.

I got up saying, "Let me show you where you can clean up and rest." I walked to the third bedroom. "This room is yours until we get back to Domnia."

"What? You will not take me home right now?"

"No, I am sorry but I have a contract to finish bringing in the UNN ships, then I have to stop and pick up half of the Conda, before I can fly her, and you back to Domnia."

Her look went frosty, her cat-like ears pointing straight at me. "I demand you take me back to Domnia right this minute."

"I am sorry Princess, but this is a working wrecker, and a missed tow is a missed paycheck. If a Felidae ship comes by before we leave for Taurus prime, you can transfer to it. If not, then you are along for the ride."

"I am not a Princess, I am not full..., it doesn't matter. I am sure you will be compensated for your time and trouble."

"I sent a message to your Captain Moser, with hopes he can get authorization to bring the Zenfolio, to pick you up. Until then, you are along for the ride. I do not have the time to break off and return you home. I have a contract to finish with a drop-dead timeline. Now I suggest you clean up and rest. I have sent a drone to collect all of your personal stuff it can find. If you have some special stuff in another storage location, just inform SARA and she will see if the Drone can reach it."

"Who is this servant SARA you are talking about?"

"SARA isn't a servant, and don't treat her as one, please. She is my partner and my ship's AI. SARA, please introduce yourself to Princess Julie Ann Howfio, who says she is not a princess."

'Hello Julie Ann Howfio, I am SARA, Semi Automatous Recovery Assistant, I am the ship's AI, I can...,'

I walked back into the command center. SARA had the wrecker separated and was setting up on the pulling the Felidae ship out of the UNN ship. I watched the drones set a cantilever arm and frame to pull the Felidae ship from the side of the UNN ship.

When the drones cut the Felidae-ian ship from the UNN ship, she was floating free. I used some of Julie Ann's mag claps from her ship's storage bins to attach the Felidae ship and her wrecker together. No use in wasting my own when hers are readily available. I was ready to pull the UNN frigate next to the line of wrecks I was going to cable together.

The two drones returned with several boxes of Julie's stuff. SARA warned me about something in one box. I had the drone separate the earth type 1911 Colt service side arm and put it in lock up with my small arms and larger personal rifles.

I thought of how she got hold of such a relic. It was a beautiful old slug thrower. It had to be worth a fortune. Old Colt service guns were rare in the day and age when a hand held laz pistol killed far faster and more accurately. I was looking at the drones video feed of the four hundred-year-old gun before saying, "SARA, restrict Princess Julie Ann's access to level one for voice commands and ship access."

'Yes Captain Walker, level one commands and access.'

Level one command and access limited Julie to the main deck and restricted her access to anything system critical. It also did not allow her to change any settings with SARA or the operations of the Galveston.

When all the drones were aboard, I had SARA move us to the line of UNN ships, holding the broken frigate with just the boom arms. I know a rookie move, but I had three separate boom arms attached to the frigate. SARA arranged the ships according to weight. I started the drones feeding the tow cables through the mass of wrecks. At one point, I argued with SARA when she disapproved of one of my cable routings. She had a valid point, but I just did not want to admit it.

SARA told me to go eat when my stomach rumbled. As I was arguing, she used an antiquated saying that I used on her, 'Mark, go eat a snickers.'

I threw up my hands and hit the chair's retraction button. I had a quick bowl of cereal and I was back at it.

I received an email from an unknown address. SARA said it was safe to open, so I did.

Dear Captain Walker.

Thank you for rescuing my daughter. At the moment I can't trust anyone in the Admiralty to send a ship to pick her up. I need the Zenfolio in orbit and under the command of Captain Moser. By now you might have noticed I am facing a power struggle with my Admiralty. I am attempting to prevent a civil war. If they get their hands on a royal daughter, they know they can force me to give up some concessions. At the monument, she is safer with you.

You also might have noticed my Julie Ann is not fully a Felidae. She is a love child of her mother and mine. She is half-human. And on my world, she is not treated like a full Felidae-ian nor a daughter of Royalty. So I have allowed her certain liberties beyond what is allowed of daughters of the royal family.

She has always had her eyes set to the stars, hoping to leave our planet and people that have looked down on her as a half-breed. I had hoped she could pick up the skills needed to pilot a wrecker. A job and the key to her getting off of this world. I was hoping she could handle the simple job of bringing in some wrecks. Since there is no Felidae School or Master, wrecker pilots will teach a half human and a female Felidae-ian how to do the job, let alone fly a ship.

Now I am going to ask a favor, that you keep my precious daughter safe and return her when you bring in the Conda, with hopes you can teach her something along the way. I will compensate for your time and troubles, Captain Walker. I ask this as a father, who rules a people who lack compassion for the different.

Chokota Howfio

I sat and thought about it. I was ready to end this contact. "Fuck you and fuck this shit," I yelled at the screen. "I don't need your fucking contract and having to deal with your blow by."

That is when I heard a gasp behind me. I turned. Julie was standing there in a bathrobe. Her long golden colored hair was wrapped in a towel. She looked a lot better, and smelled so, too. She was reading my email over the top of the chair.

Before I could close it she yelled "How could you, father!" She turned and ran back to her room.

I felt like shit. I did not need to yell like that in front of the girl. Damn it, I thought, this is why I like to fly alone. Fucking people suck. Just thinking about it made me madder. I did not know why I was mad at this situation. It is not like she was extremely beautiful. Full hips and...,

The more I thought about it, the madder I got at myself! For yelling those terrible things, I should not have. I threw myself into cabling the wrecks to get my mind off, of it. I do not know when I stopped for the day and headed back to the galley, but my eyes were burning and my head hurt.

I did not know when I woke and did not care. I walked into the shower and cleaned up, scraping a weeks' worth of whiskers off, of my face. I put on clean clothes and walked into the galley for a cup of coffee. As I rounded the corner, Julie stood by the food dispenser, with SARA instructing her how to program it for food. I grabbed my coffee cup and touched the second dispenser for coffee. I took it over to the table, sitting and watching Julie try to dispense something.

I listened to SARA explain again how to dispense food. I watched the blonde bombshell in leather. Damn it, I thought, she filled those pants as Chree filled her skirts. Sneaking a look as Julie looked at the dispenser. I could see a lot of side boob from her vest. She was stacked, a very full 'D' cup. I watched Julie glare at the ceiling.

"What are you trying to get?" I asked.

Julie looked at me with a hard, blank look.

"Look Julie, you are now stuck on this ship until we dock on Domnia. You can make this trip a pleasant one. Or it can be thirty or so days of living hell on you. Either way, I don't fucking care. But if you look at this as an opportunity to learn something about heavy wrecking, you can come out knowing how to do some of this job."

"What, to be your slave for the next thirty days Captain Walker? I don't think so."

"No, Princess, not to be my slave, but learning how to pull two ships apart and get them into dry dock, without getting your wrecker destroyed for one. That pull you attempted was foolish and could have killed you outright. You tried a direct pull when a cable and cantilever would have spared you and your ship. This job has killed more wrecker pilots than all the wars combined, and it is through their own stupidity or negligence."

"Wake up to the facts Princess. You were on your last bottle of oxygen. How long did you have before you suffocated to death? One stupid mistake and this job will fucking kill you. If you had a crew, you would have taken them with you."

"I am not a Princess. My father already told you that."

"I don't care what your background is, a Princess or a lowly farmer. If you want to be a wrecker pilot, then you have to learn the basics."

"What do you know? Your fancy ship does all the thinking for you? You just sit in your fancy chair and push buttons."

I grinned, "At least I know what button to push, Princess." I stopped and held up my hands, regretting that last comment. "Look..., this isn't getting us anywhere. You can listen to what advice I can offer, and learn something or you can spend all the time in your room avoiding me."

"It is up to you, but you should know, I spent three years at a specialized school learning everything SARA does for me. I go over every plan and I know if it is safe or not. I do not approve any until I am satisfied. A good wrecker pilot can work with or without a SARA. I spent the first six months on this ship without her help. I even brought in the UNN battleship, the Sri Lanka, without a single input from SARA."

"It is up to you Princess, you can work with me and learn, or you can keep your bitchy attitude and spend the next month hiding in your room, arguing with a computer about how to dispense food. When you could simply ask and learn, like answering my original question," I pointed at the food dispenser, "what are you trying to dispense?"

She looked at me; she wanted to say something, but her stomach rumbled loud enough that I could hear it.

"Cholate."

"Please explain what Cholate is."

She was about to come back with an angry retort. I held up a finger. First off, this ship does not know Felidae-ian, English only or what some call trader language.

Julie looked at me, "why not? A fancy ship like this should speak all languages."

I took a drink of my coffee. I looked up at her smugly. "Because it is my ship. I ordered it and had it built on Earth. I do not need it to speak other languages. Now are you going to tell me what this Cholate is, or wait until I finish my coffee and go to work?"

"It is a bitter morning drink made from Cholate nuts."

"Did you explain it to SARA that way?"

Julie looked down, "No."

"SARA, do you have a cross reference to cholate nuts?"

'A single reference, similar looks and tastes to a cocoa nut. I have several recipes of early Mesoamericanas making an unsweetened cocoa drink. We currently do not have the right ingredients in dry storage.'

"The dispensers do not make food, they only can dispense food it has in storage. We can see if Briggs has some cocoa nuts or powder and try to make it."

She looked at my black coffee. I slid it over and she sniffed it. A single taste had her thinking of another. I opened my hand towards my cup.

"Mine." Then pointed to the cabinet. "Grab a cup and type it in or ask for twenty ounces of black coffee."

She slid my cup back, went, to go get her own. I took a deep breath. Ok, I thought, we just got past bitchiness. Phase one complete. I silently wished I could talk her into changing out of those pants. Her hips moved as Chree's did, moving three extra feet with every step.

Her round bubble butt was just as big as Chree's was. The only difference was her long rope-like tail. The way it moved counter-point to her hips, as she walked stressed her fine looking ass. Fuck, I am going to be taking several cold showers every day until I get her off my ship!

I stood up, finished my coffee, and went to get another cup and a breakfast sandwich. Julie looked at it with hunger. I slid it over and said, 'SARA another sausage and egg breakfast sandwich please.'

In less than a minute, I had mine. I turned to see she had wolfed it down. I knew she had not eaten in that space suit and had to be extremely hungry after spending all night without food, since she was just learning how to use the food dispensers. She was looking at my sandwich. I could see her long fingers with short milk white claws at the tips flex towards it. I would not cater to her. I sat down and took a bite.

I pointed towards the dispenser, "if you want another just type it in or ask SARA for one."

Julie looked at me. She wanted to say something; I was sure it would have been bitchy. I looked down and took another bite. "It is self-serve here and self-clean up." After a few moments, she got up and tried to type it in. The display beeped at her. She looked at it.

Without looking up I said, "You misspelled it or it doesn't know what you asked for. SARA, another sausage and egg sandwich please."

I finished mine and put the plate in the scrubber. I made sure Julie saw how I opened it. I sat and sipped my coffee.

"SARA, video feed and status report on cabling."

Several camera angles appeared on the monitors. The cable tensioners were pulling the cables tight. Several drones were putting plasi-steel plates between two wrecks and mag clamping them together.

SARA gave me the report. 'First pull at six hundred PSI had produced two weak points in two unique ship's structures and allowed significant bowing of the load. Tension released and plating applied. Second pull to six hundred showed stability, per instructions at eight hundred PSI benchmark, two new structural weak points discovered. Plating applied to stabilize. Currently on the third pull benchmark set to twelve hundred PSI for two hours.'