Space Rescue One Read Online Free Page A
Author: Atk. Butterfly
personnel. This is a priority alert scramble. Freighter in distress. Repeat, this is a priority alert scramble."
      Richard entered the Ready Area. Chief Dickson and Shelly were already there dressing and talking.
      Dickson asked, "You want to go on a date when we get back? There's a new cloneo showing. It's a Stallone-Willis-Gable adventure using the latest computer cloning imagery."
      "I guess so, Isaac," Laumer answered.
      "What's the freighter's problem?" Richard asked.
      Chief Isaac Dickson turned toward Richard. "Cargo spill breached the engine rooms. She's using battery power for life support."
      "What kind of cargo spill?" Richard asked.
      "Corn. Nothing hazardous to handle. Flex suits should be sufficient for the task," Dickson answered.
      "How soon will we reach her?" asked Richard.
      "Less than an hour. She left Earth only a few hours ago," the Chief answered.
      Laumer said, "And already in trouble. Well, this should prove interesting to see. Any idea how the corn got into the engine rooms?"
      "They didn't say. All I know is that they shut down their engines to prevent a fire hazard. Then they called us," Isaac replied.
***
" Western Pride to Space Rescue One. We see you approaching. This is Captain Pern speaking. My crew is unable to reach the engine rooms to clear them. Can you take some of my cargo on board?"
      "This is Captain Shortner of the Space Rescue One. That's a negative, Western Pride. We can only assist you on emergency matters. Your cargo is your business. Ours is rescue. What can we do to assist you?"
      Pern asked, "Can you give us a tow back to port then? We don't have anywhere to move the cargo that's in the engine rooms."
      "Captain Pern, I don't understand. Why can't you put the cargo back in the hold it came from?" Shortner replied.
      "We can't because it expanded. Didn't they brief you on our cargo?" replied Pern.
      "We were told you're carrying corn."
      Pern exclaimed, "Damn bureaucrats can't get anything straight. Okay, excuse me for getting upset. Well, for your information, it's not just corn. It's popping corn. The storage hold nearest the engines overheated when one of the engine shields was removed for inspection. A massive amount of the corn popped, breaking and spilling through the inner hatches. That's how it got into the engine rooms. Thank goodness it went there first since that gave us time to react. If the hull had ruptured instead, we'd all be dead now. At least we had a chance this way. We were damn lucky to get the engines shut down before any of the popcorn caught fire."
      "Then you can't get to your engine room at all now?" asked Shortner.
      "No sir. We've got popcorn in just about every cabin and hallway possible. I just hope that keeping the engines shut off will prevent a fire from starting. If one does, we might not all survive since not everyone can reach their suits."
      "I understand. We'll begin our approach from behind to tow your ship."
      "You still don't know the whole story. This is a new ship design, complete with all new problems, which was what necessitated the inspection. Our engines are non-standard and larger than what you're used to dealing with. You can't sneak up on us from behind for a sleeve connection. You'll have to tow us some other way," Captain Pern said.
      "Okay, standby. I'll coordinate with my Rescue Team Chiefs to get some ideas. Have your personnel with suits ready to evacuate in case you do have a fire," Shortner replied.
***
"Why not
      Richard entered the Ready Area. Chief Dickson and Shelly were already there dressing and talking.
      Dickson asked, "You want to go on a date when we get back? There's a new cloneo showing. It's a Stallone-Willis-Gable adventure using the latest computer cloning imagery."
      "I guess so, Isaac," Laumer answered.
      "What's the freighter's problem?" Richard asked.
      Chief Isaac Dickson turned toward Richard. "Cargo spill breached the engine rooms. She's using battery power for life support."
      "What kind of cargo spill?" Richard asked.
      "Corn. Nothing hazardous to handle. Flex suits should be sufficient for the task," Dickson answered.
      "How soon will we reach her?" asked Richard.
      "Less than an hour. She left Earth only a few hours ago," the Chief answered.
      Laumer said, "And already in trouble. Well, this should prove interesting to see. Any idea how the corn got into the engine rooms?"
      "They didn't say. All I know is that they shut down their engines to prevent a fire hazard. Then they called us," Isaac replied.
***
" Western Pride to Space Rescue One. We see you approaching. This is Captain Pern speaking. My crew is unable to reach the engine rooms to clear them. Can you take some of my cargo on board?"
      "This is Captain Shortner of the Space Rescue One. That's a negative, Western Pride. We can only assist you on emergency matters. Your cargo is your business. Ours is rescue. What can we do to assist you?"
      Pern asked, "Can you give us a tow back to port then? We don't have anywhere to move the cargo that's in the engine rooms."
      "Captain Pern, I don't understand. Why can't you put the cargo back in the hold it came from?" Shortner replied.
      "We can't because it expanded. Didn't they brief you on our cargo?" replied Pern.
      "We were told you're carrying corn."
      Pern exclaimed, "Damn bureaucrats can't get anything straight. Okay, excuse me for getting upset. Well, for your information, it's not just corn. It's popping corn. The storage hold nearest the engines overheated when one of the engine shields was removed for inspection. A massive amount of the corn popped, breaking and spilling through the inner hatches. That's how it got into the engine rooms. Thank goodness it went there first since that gave us time to react. If the hull had ruptured instead, we'd all be dead now. At least we had a chance this way. We were damn lucky to get the engines shut down before any of the popcorn caught fire."
      "Then you can't get to your engine room at all now?" asked Shortner.
      "No sir. We've got popcorn in just about every cabin and hallway possible. I just hope that keeping the engines shut off will prevent a fire from starting. If one does, we might not all survive since not everyone can reach their suits."
      "I understand. We'll begin our approach from behind to tow your ship."
      "You still don't know the whole story. This is a new ship design, complete with all new problems, which was what necessitated the inspection. Our engines are non-standard and larger than what you're used to dealing with. You can't sneak up on us from behind for a sleeve connection. You'll have to tow us some other way," Captain Pern said.
      "Okay, standby. I'll coordinate with my Rescue Team Chiefs to get some ideas. Have your personnel with suits ready to evacuate in case you do have a fire," Shortner replied.
***
"Why not
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