Chapter 23 : Rescue

Ship	UNSS Hunan
Constructed	2415
Shipyard	Harbin
Class	S6
Weight	330,000kg maximum
Length	425m
Drive	clustered singularity
Crew	105
Passengers	4500
Cargo	65000kg
Speed	8000c
Mission	passenger and light cargo

The UNSS Hunan arrived on a misty morning, before most of the habitat was awake. It was of those heavy, soaking mists that tumbled down the hillsides and crept through the forests on still days. A few onlookers were up early, peering through the landing zone’s perimeter fence. They all jumped when a big lump of ice fell from the grey blanket above and landed with a loud crunch only a few meters away, just inside the fence. Then more chunks came down, like some bizarre weather event with hailstones the size of cars.

“That is probably not the best place to stand“, Jack said from the comfort of his Starbase office. “They should have warmed her up for a while in orbit.” The deep cold of interstellar space had penetrated the Hunan’s titanium shell and everything that touched it froze instantly.

The mist swirled and churned. Those in the waiting crowd covered their faces as they were hit by a freezing downdraft. Then, as if by magic, the bulk of the Hunan was almost on top of them. It looked inconceivably big. Worrying noises emanated from it, the sounds of stressed metal and cracking ice; but it landed softly, under exquisite control. There was a palpable sense of relief among the small crowd. Jack looked over the ship with some interest, for this was a new design, the latest and the biggest. Few colonists could question the power of the United Nations when confronted by such a vessel.

A cloud of ice crystals blew out and everyone down by the pad covered their faces as it hit them.

A cargo ramp lowered to the ground and a few grey boxy vehicles drove out with oversized wheels. They kept coming, a dozen or more in tight formation, and turned towards the habitat. At the wheel of each was an impassive, flat-faced robot.

“There must be some food in that convoy”, Jack said. “I think we’ll get something new for breakfast today.”

The arrival of the Hunan put the usually quiet Starbase into a state of turmoil. There was some good news - medical supplies, food, tools, computers, cables, chemical filters, pumps, bacterial cultures, lubricants, components and assorted gadgets. These were the things that would accelerate the production of VIBE. Thousands of neatly labelled dark green crates piled up and overflowed into corridors until they blocked doorways and made getting about the place a struggle. There was new sense of purpose now. Orders were shouted urgently from all directions and people forgot their troubles for a while. They were too busy to question the logic of it.

The team from the Hunan displaced some of the colony’s leaders to a basement, and the upper floor of the Starbase administration building was now the domain of Admiral Kong, commanding officer. He gave a briefing to the colony’s leaders precisely two hours after the Hunan landed.

“We come in peace under the United Nations.”

“Haaa !”. There was short, gutteral cheer of support from the Admiral’s cadres.

“Our objectives here are ONE to supply survival rations to the habitat. TWO to evacuate colonists healthy enough for space-flight. And THREE supply materials for production of VIBE.”

Admiral Kong was short, thin and baggy-eyed. He seemed to stare straight through the audience as he spoke, with a strange disconnected expression. He pointed to the screen behind with the most economical of movements.

“Our plan is provisional and based on reports from President Canterbury. There is only one entrance to the habitat that is large enough for our vehicles. That is here … The materials for supply of the VIBE production facility will be assembled here ...”

The Admiral’s senior officers sat in a neat row to the left of the screen. They stood to attention when Kong mentioned their name.

Commander Wu will lead the evacuation. He will have operational control of the habitat until the evacuation is complete.”

The Commander was young, big and broad-shouldered, a formidable man, and he dwarfed Kong as he stood up. Wu was certainly Chinese, but a few European genes stared out from his cruel and deep set eyes; his bristling black hair framed a tiny forehead. He made a contrast with his superior that was almost comical; like someone from a different species. Was Wu the new improved model, ready to supercede the old ?

Spotting the uniform of a Starfleet Captain, for Jack was wearing his again for the occasion, Wu came over and the two men chatted about their Fleet careers.

“You’re all based at the Harbin spaceport ?”, Jack asked.

“I am, but the Admiral works in Beijing”, Wu replied.

There was some rivalry between Eisenhower and Harbin, home to the two greatest shipyards on Earth.

Commander Wu’s manner in conversation was at odds with his brutal appearance. Close up, Wu seemed like a different person, less military, more urbane. He spoke English in the British style, and it occurred to Jack that Wu might have studied there. The British taught western history, mostly American history, to a lot of StarFleet people. The Commander seemed like an educated, intelligent soldier, perhaps a man being groomed for high command.

“They seem to be reluctant to use sedatives here”, Wu noted.

“Under the laws here there are some protections around that. The medical team would not forcibly inject sedatives. But now the constitution has been suspended … you could use any StarFleet approved drugs. I give Drop24 to my passengers, particularly the ones that irritate me. Do you have enough medics to handle it ?”

“I don’t”, said Wu, “but I have medical droids.”

“I saw a few droids driving out of your ship”, Jack said. “They looked like a new model.”

“We have a new set of cargo, security and medical models. They are only semi-autonomous, they maintain a link to the Hunan’s computer.”

”They will have a tough time in the habitat”, Jack warned. “It’s a bit chaotic in there. Not an ideal environment for droids.”