“Last time we were hit,” I said to her, “they hit the shower. I had to do everything on board for two days without a stitch of clothing on. I guess I got lucky this time that they didn’t hit the shower again.”
She nodded and continued dressing.
We weren’t so lucky that time. We were moving at full speed, though the engines weren’t running. We couldn’t steer or use the engines to reverse the thrust so that we could stay with the convoy. The onboard intercom was in shambles. It took almost a half-hour for the news to reach us all that we were trying to effect repairs. In the meantime, we were headed away from the convoy, whether we wanted to or not. The best we were able to do was notify the convoy by lightbeam radio of our condition and wish them the best of luck as we started working desperately on the damage.
The lead freighter sent back a message wishing us good luck and letting us know they’d inform the company of our actions. There was no way they could possibly catch up to us. Interplanetary engines like ours were too expensive to put on every ship. We were going at a speed they couldn’t even hope to match, so there was no way for them to have sent one or more of themselves along with us to help out with the repairs. I was already beginning to wish the showers had taken the hit again.
For myself, I had considerable work to do in hydroponics if we were to survive over a long term. My job was crucial for such events as that. More than one ship’s crew died for lack of food when they had almost everything else. Anyway, hydroponics wasn’t in too bad a condition because of the battle. Most everything stayed in place. What little that spilled was easily taken care of by me over the next two hours. My report to the Captain indicated that we were in good shape and could depend on our hydroponics to see us through for long term survival.
The other reports weren’t as encouraging. It took almost two days to get the repairs to some of the ship’s systems made. The rest of the needed repairs would require us to set down somewhere to make them if we were to make our way back to our world. We still didn’t have steering but we did have some control of the engines so that we could adjust our speed. I also learned that we lost half a dozen lives in the battle. It might seem cold-hearted, but we recycled their bodies into the ship’s recycling system. Had we been able to return to our port immediately, we would have kept the bodies for next of kin. However, we weren’t in that condition. Under the prevailing laws of space, we did what we had to do. Thankfully, I wasn’t in recycling any longer, but the next time I saw Sarah, I could see a difference in her attitude and behavior. She appeared shocked, saddened, and maybe a little haunted.
Having control over our speed was the only thing that kept us alive for the next week as we dodged a few asteroids by adjusting our speed so that they passed us safely. There was only one direction that couldn’t be avoided, but the chances of a perfect head on collision with an asteroid were very small. All of us pitched in to work on what repairs could be made while still in space. Eventually, after a week, we had enough repairs made so that we would be able to take advantage of the next planet we came across that had a breathable atmosphere and set down to finish our work. All we needed was a planet with a breathable atmosphere and it had to be along our current course. That wasn’t to happen as soon as we wanted.
By the time we had full engine control, we were already out of the known or explored areas of space and those were newly explored at that. Our navigator did her best to keep track of our course. I found myself helping out during my spare time when I pursued my studies. We were almost another four weeks out before we sighted a suitable planet and started slowing down to take advantage of it.
I have to admit, I’ve not quite seen a pilot as good as Frank in getting the Thurman down to where the tiny thruster jets could be used to give us maneuverability. Even so, it was one of the scariest landings I’ve ever made. That was just the prelude to what would happen to us. The Thurman shook and rattled more than it ever did as Frank eased the ship down from orbit with little or no maneuverability to land just shy of a swamp in a small, or so it seemed from above, clearing surrounded by the swamp, a river and forest.
The first thing that Captain Marble did was have atmosphere testing equipment sent out to make sure our readings from space were correct. We didn’t want to go out and find out too late that there was also poison in the otherwise breathable atmosphere which would kill us. If worst came to worst, we could probably lift off again, provided we were careful and lucky.
When she got the readings, the Captain put our plans into action. Frank was concerned about the ground being too soft. For that reason, a lot of us were issued axes and chainsaws. We went to the forest to start chopping away to get enough logs to build a supporting structure to keep the ship upright for launch.
It wasn’t that we couldn’t launch the ship from its side, but to do that, the ship would have to be let down or fall. Since we didn’t have the tools to build anything capable of supporting the ship and easing it down on its side, the only way for that to happen was for it to fall. In the ship’s current condition, a fall would probably maroon us by causing major structural damage that we had no way of repairing. As it was, we knew we would be on the planet for several months just to repair the damage to the steering. That was going to be difficult to do by itself because of our landing. The only advantage the upright landing gave us was the ability to use all our shipboard weapons to defend ourselves with.
It took us the better part of a week to cut the timber and then erect it into a protective scaffolding around the ship. After that, some of us returned to our regular tasks and helped out with the repairs when we were free. For myself, I still had hydroponics to take care of each day. Being on a planet didn’t end that responsibility. However, there wasn’t as much effort needed to care for them.
Week by week, we watched the repairs being made with tools meant for lighter tasks while the rest of us maintained the remainder of the ship and performed guard. This planet wasn’t exactly our best choice for landing. It was inhabited by wildlife that was varied and widespread. There was a resemblance to some wildlife of other worlds and some that was distinctively unique to the planet. Somehow, DNA or whatever seems to have gotten around to many of the hospitable worlds. Somewhat similar creatures have evolved to meet each planet’s environment. This planet had a heavier gravity than Earth, but lighter than Beulah. For that reason, we didn’t feel much hampered by it. The wildlife was obviously used to it and moved quite fast. More than once, the Mark II singles had to open up on some creature that ventured too close and scare it away. We held off on using the heavier weapons. After all, we didn’t want to barbecue the creatures. Although the Mark II singles were capable of doing the same thing to the wildlife, it was also capable of being used at a lighter setting so that it could just sting and drive them away. It wasn’t unusual each day to hear the whine and sharp crack of one of the Mark II singles being used to keep the area clear.