Gall Force Fan Fiction ❯ Another Journey, Another Story ❯ Chapter 2

Gall Force: Another Journey, Another Story

Part Two

The stars' cold light washed over the debris field as Jame cautiously moved forward in her heavy environmental suit. Her armored gauntlets closed delicately around the large chunk of water ice, carefully moving it towards the container waiting patiently for it. If she shattered it, it would become useless to her, the fragments quickly spreading out into the debris that surrounded her.

"Easy, easy," Jame murmured to herself, absentmindedly blowing a strand of green hair up out of her eyes. With a soft thump the ice floated into the transport, and she sealed the container with a sigh of relief. If it broke in there, it just meant the reclamation teams saved a step.

With a weary sigh Jame grabbed onto a handhold on the hull and called up the list of priority items for salvage onto her helmet visor again, then she blinked in confusion. It looked like the list had changed since the last time she accessed it! With a bit of surprise she read, "Reactor components? Fuel rods? Any additional food and medical supplies?"

Jame felt a sudden moment of vertigo, and was glad that she was holding onto the hull at the time. Clumsily she tapped at a control on her suit's armor sleeve and swore softly. According to the readout she was well past the time she should have returned to the ship, and her exposure to the radiation out here was getting into the danger zone.

Swinging her feet down Jame magnetized herself to the ship's hull, cautiously moving to the airlock. She cycled the outer port, climbed in, then sealed the outside, waiting there impatiently for the chamber to pressurize and the OK signal to be given. She climbed back into the ship and sighed to herself happily, leaning up against the wall.

"Where is my replacement?" Jame muttered to herself softly, popping her suit's clear faceplate up and taking a deep breath of the ship's air.

"I'm so sorry," the little redhead skidded around the corner and nearly slid right into a wall, clearly out of breath from running.

"Katrine," Jame was about to scold her, when the younger woman quivered her lower lip. With a sigh she asked instead, "Could you help me get this off, please?"

"Right," Katrine bounded forward. Working together they got the heavy protective suit off of her, storing it away in it's compartment by the airlock.

Normally, they'd be wearing the standard lightweight extra-vehicular action suits, simple easy to move in protective garments. But the fierce battle had polluted the entire solar system with a wave of excess radiation and pieces of debris. The radiation levels out there would kill an unprotected Solonoid in less than an hour, while all the small pieces of rubble could punch right through a standard suit. So out of necessity they had broken out the heavier suits, and even wearing them there was only so long that they could work out there.

Katrine got a look at Jame's gauntlet readings and paled slightly. "Your rad levels," she blurted worriedly. "You should go check in with medical," she looked up at Jame.

Jame made a face, "You know she's going to bug me about reproduction again." Seeing Katrine's honestly worried look she conceded with a sigh, "All right, I'll make sure to go get the anti-radiation treatment."

"Good," Katrine beamed

Jame paused, adjusting her wrinkled uniform, "The recovery list was changed while I was out there. Do you know anything about it?"

Katrine paused in stepping into her own suit and answered, "Well, I've heard the Cap'n called a staff meeting, so..."

"So we'll find out about it soon enough," Jame nodded. Captain Gail did her best to keep her crew informed, something they appreciated greatly. She looked over at Katrine, "Do you know who's supposed to be replacing you?"

Katrine made a face, "With how thin we're all spread..."

Jame nodded to herself thoughtfully. "Then I'll swing by and check on you before I go off shift," she offered softly.

"You don't need to do that," Katrine said casually.

"I don't need to," Jame agreed firmly, "but I want to." She took off at a jog, adding over her shoulder, "I'll see you then."

'She's so cute,' Jame thought, reaching a motorized walkway and settling down to ride it to the medical bays, 'and so completely clueless.' She smiled a bit sadly, 'One of these days I have to tell her about how I feel about her.'

The ship was oddly quiet as she traveled, the massive ship almost empty of it's full crew. Normally there would be the murmur of conversation, friends greeting each other, officers moving to their duty stations and going off shift. But with their losses the halls were left silent, only a skeleton crew left to run the cruiser Lady Grace.

Jame felt a moment of dread as she reached the medical bays. The regulations required a check up if you exceeded your radiation exposure levels, but normally she'd just skip it. Still, that moment of vertigo had been frightening, so...

The door chimed softly, and a woman's voice called out, "Enter."

The tall blonde turned, her face lighting up in a sudden smile as Jame entered. 'Oh hell,' Jame thought to herself dismally, 'Meris is still on duty.'

"Why, hello Jame," Meris smiled at her happily, "what brings you down here to light up my lonely medical bay?"

Jame had to fight back a sigh. Since transferring aboard Meris had made her attraction to Jame clear, but that kind of aggressiveness was a definite turn off for her. Yes, the blonde was attractive, with her blue eyes, generous figure, and sunny smile, but that personality!

Realizing that Meris had asked her a question Jame flushed, "Sorry, what?"

"You've been overworking again," the nurse scolded her gently. "I was asking if there was something wrong, or if you merely came in for my company," Meris said with a smile.

'Keep it professional,' Jame reminded herself. "High rad exposure," Jame explained quietly, "I got a bit of vertigo while I was outside."

"I was almost hoping that you would say the later," Meris pushed Jame to a seat on one of the examination beds while she filled up a injector with medication before pressing it to Jame's arm. "This should deal with any radiation exposure effects," she said crisply, "but if you feel any other symptoms, please let me know."

"Right," Jame hopped to her feet with a feeling of relief.

Jame almost made it out the door before Meris spoke up softly, "Have you thought about what we discussed before?"

"No, I haven't," Jame answered resentfully.

"If you don't intend to produce progeny," Meris said to her softly, "you should at least consider putting some of your eggs into storage."

"Not interested," Jame crisply answered as she stepped out into the hall, letting the door slide shut behind her.

"You owe it to the Solenoid gene-pool..." Meris' voice started to say before being cut off by the closing door.

Jame made a face as she stepped onto the walkway. She hadn't told Katrine, but Meris had all but volunteered to have her ovum joined with Jame's to produce a child. But Jame had demurred, explaining her belief that a child should be raised by a committed couple. Of course, Meris had instantly volunteered to become part of a committed couple with Jame...

"Why do these things happen to me?" Jame said with a sigh.

There was a soft chime, one that rang up the hallway. Jame recognized the sound of a ship-wide announcement, and stepped off the walkway to listen.

"This is the Captain speaking," Captain Gail's warm voice washed over her, "the Lady Grace will be moving out in two days. We have determined..."

To be continued!