I, Spaceman

Space Gang - Welcome Mr Brown

'What in OverMind is going on?' said Ulrika Fayn as she piloted the wedge-shaped B-mover into approach. Pushing back her long blonde hair, a hint of frustration sullied her otherwise good looks.To her front, merchant ships of all shapes and sizes circled Star Base Tiryns. Sat next to Ulrika at his console, Tox opened channel. 'B-mover 14 to Control,' he said. 'What's the problem?''Space controller strike,' came the reply. 'Sorry about this. We'll get you in as soon as possible.'The star base hung in space in front of them, the planet Angeria below, and offered tantalising thoughts of a cool drink and warm bed after their patrol.'If they don't hurry up, I'll blast them out of the way,' said Ulrika.Tox smiled. A Pridian, he had the blue tint of his race. Clearly humanoid, he was, however, hairless, and his bald head ended in a rounded point. A proud race, the Pridians were known for their extreme good looks - looks that were almost psychic in nature as well as physical - but also for their ability to be easily irritated. Luckily for Ulrika, Tox had nonetheless confronted and defeated his temper.'Sometimes you CAN be a Pridian, you know,' Ulrika said.Tox smiled, sending a shiver up her spine. 'I am calm, Ulrika, I am very calm.' But regardless, Ulrika saw his finger hovering over the sonic gun trigger.*****Space Commander Nulyn sat behind his desk on Star Base Tiryns. He had been Sector Commander for many years and knew that it was unlikely he would gain further promotion, ending his career here in some three years time. But in the main he had been happy with his time in the sector.With twelve star systems under his authority, the Confederation entrusted in him a grave responsibility, especially as his sector seemed to be the nearest to the Gred. And although no outright invasion had been attempted for years, he was always aware of their sneak attacks and terrorism. But this said, he also knew it was a promotional graveyard, most of the sector being far too lawless for the sensibilities of the otherwise ordered Confederation. The sector was quite simply the nightmare they could do without.This fact never irritated him more than when new Rangers were assigned to his sector. For in the main, he was lumbered with all the oddballs and rebels the Confederation could send.And he well knew Ranger 'Hercules' Brown was no exception.*****'Hercules' Brown sat on the chair waiting to be called into the Space Commander's office. His nickname was in complete contrast to his physical appearance. With mousy, spiky hair and a slight frame, he was no more than five foot four tall. He was, in fact, the smallest human Ranger in the entire confederation.No, his name had nothing to do with his physicality. Rather, it was to do with his spirit. Unbeatable in anything he attempted, he sailed close to the wind, gaining a reputation as a maverick, but equally as a bit of a genius - which did, of course, get him into trouble on a regular basis. Although he would see it different - rather, he had become convinced that the Central Council back on Earth had consistently conspired against him.He was musing on the reality of this when the Space Commander's door opened and he walked in.Space Commander Nulyn eyed him suspiciously as he did so, automatically taking a seat in front of the desk.'I don't recall asking you to sit down,' said Nulyn, immediately irritated.Normally, this would spook a Ranger, bringing him to immediate attention. But Brown was of different stuff. Rather, he smiled and said: 'Innovation, sir,' he said. 'Drummed into us at Ranger School. Innovation and anticipation.''Of what?''Of being asked to sit down, sir.'And thus the scene was set for 'Hercules' Brown's arrival interview at the Graveyard Sector, never again to be a whizz kid of the Confederation; and damn well aware of it and irritated.Five minutes later, 'Hercules' Brown left the office, a smile on his face, and Nulyn's final words ringing in his ears.'Well I'm warning you, Brown. Any of your tomfoolery in my sector and you're finished. Do you understand that?'But as the explosion from inside the office rocked the Star Base, Brown's thoughts on the matter evaporated as he hit the deck.*****Ulrika Fayn had seen it all. Finally on her approach to the Star Base, she had kept an eye on the freighters circling her space. 'It's a perfect opportunity for an attack,' she had said to Tox, who had to concur. 'Especially if they'd paid one of the union agitators to cause the confusion,' he added.And sure enough, just seconds before docking, it happened. It was a small, ancient freighter that broke out of formation and headed straight for the Command Module of the base. With the obvious intent of the suicidal warrior Gred, it hurtled forward with such speed that it wasn't going to stop before the collision.'Shoot it out of space,' said Tox, excitedly as the inevitability of the explosion struck him.'No,' said Ulrika, thinking even further ahead. 'No time. If we exploded it now we might rupture the sonic core, and the explosion would be greater.'Thus frustrated that there was nothing they could do to stop the attack, Ulrika Fayn gunned her own sonic drive, raced the B-mover into the Space Dock and, with Tox hard on her heels, was already running to the area of the explosion as it came.*****'Hercules' Brown was momentarily stunned by the force of the explosion, but his Ranger training was such that he was soon on his feet and thinking straight. Looking at the office door, he saw the tell-tale sign of hissing air coming from the seal and knew that the explosion must have cracked the outer frame of the office. And as such, Nulyn only had seconds to live, if he hadn't already been sucked out of the Star Base.Looking about him, he was in a small airtight room with no one else around. Hence, holding tight to the wall by the door, he took out his sonic gun and blasted the door away.Immediately he did this, his lungs felt as if they would burst. And with a mighty force trying to suck him to the fracture in the wall, he hung on for all his might long enough to take a quick look inside the office, see Nulyn alive, hanging on but breathless, before letting go of the wall, spread eagling himself in mid air, and mating with the fracture with such force that it took the remainder of his breath away.*****Ulrika Fayn stopped momentarily by the outer door to the Space Commander's office complex. Slowly, she saw the pressure gauge go down, registering that the leak in the outer wall had been sealed. How this had occurred, she had no idea, but the simple fact was that it was enough for her to force the door open and get inside.She felt the cold as she got through the door, and realised it was only a temporary situation. And as she looked round into the Space Commander's office, she realised why.Nulyn was lying on the floor, half comatose - and spread eagled perfectly over the fracture was a little scrawny guy with spiky hair, plugging the leak and screaming: 'Get a move on, Ranger, my spine can't take much more of this.'*****Space Commander Nulyn hated the sick bay, but Dr Fresco had insisted he stayed there over night. Ulrika Fayn, Tox and 'Hercules' Brown stood by him.'Okay, Fayn,' he said, 'meet your new partner.'Ulrika shook hands, saying: 'He'll do for me. It was a brave, imaginative thing he did.' Nulyn said: 'Maybe.'Then, turning to Brown, added: 'But don't think it gets you off the hook, Brown. You may have saved my life. But I'm watching you.'Somehow, 'Hercules' Brown decided it might be an interesting posting after all.