Last Flight For Craggy (19 page)

There were
internal inspection hatches connecting the sections to allow access
from the flight deck through each one, right to the rear of the
ship and the engines and thrusters. Cragg wanted to try to locate
the problem area and assess the potentially unsafe sections before
letting Dillow venture anywhere near it.

'Look at that.
Precision loading. That, Morgan, is a work of art. All available
space utilised, perfect weight balance and distribution.'

Morgan said,
'Amazing work. Craggy. I don't understand why the computer didn't
diagnose a problem in the full systems check.'

'I don't trust
computers. Even more unreliable than some people. Dillow realised
there's a problem simply using her hands.'

'How is that
possible?'

Cragg said, 'If
there's one thing I can pass on to you, this is it. Unfortunately,
most people think of ships as being soulless machines. To my way of
thinking, anyone thinking that will never make a good pilot. Think
about a ship compared to a human. Does the ship have a brain?'

'It has a
computer.'

'That's its
brain. How about a heart?'

'I suppose it
has fluids circulating like our blood. It has engines, a body,'

Crag said, 'Not
unlike a human. Now, if you made a hundred ships, exactly the same,
identical in every way, over time, they'll develop their own
idiosyncrasies. Call it character. Computers don't recognise
character like we do.' He stood up. 'Come with me.'

Morgan followed
him, wondering what was coming next.

Cragg said,
'Place the palms of your hands on the wall. Now your face. Good.
Close your eyes. Just stay quiet and feel the ship.'

Cragg stood
quietly, letting Morgan feel the ship. Finally he said, 'What are
you getting?'

'Lots of
different tiny vibrations.'

'A happy
ship?'

'I'd say
so.'

'Okay. Come and
sit. That may have seemed a little weird. One day, I'll have that
in the training program. Now, when you have a ship of your own, you
should not just study the manuals about her. Get intimate with her.
I do the touching thing at least three times every shift. I feel
for changes. That way you build up your empathy with her. Time for
me to suit up.'

'And you're
going outside to touch the ship?'

'That's the
plan.'

'Let me
go.'

Cragg said,
'No. I need you here, driving the bus.' Cragg suited up. 'Are we
along side yet?'

'Yes.'

'Right. Close
in to one hundred metres.'

That distance
worried Morgan. 'That close?'

'You can do it.
I'll get ready, you get us nearer.'

Cragg got ready
as the rookie nervously manoeuvred the freighter alongside the
ship. 'I'm out the airlock now. Just remember, you have an old man
out in space on the end of a line. Don't do anything stupid. That's
my department. Nice and steady. Dillow?'

'Craggy?'

'I'm just
popping outside for a moment. Don't get taking off and roasting me
with the thrusters.'

'Understood,
Craggy.'

'Good luck,'
said Morgan.

'A walk in the
park. Or deep space. Same difference without the danger of being
mugged. I'm going outside now and may be some time.'

Cragg jumped
out of the airlock, and Morgan watched as the strange old timer
calmly walked into deep space. The old man in a suit, held by a
safety line, took a walk in the park.

'Is that
Craggy?' said Amethyst.

Rocky watched
Cragg jump out of the airlock. 'Sure is. I hope I have his guts at
his age.'

Cragg let
himself float over to Big Bird, the line trailing behind him. In
typical Craggy style, he went to the pointy end and knocked on the
side.

'Craggy. You
sacred the crap out of me.'

'Can I come
in?'

'Don't be
silly. No room in here.'

'Only kidding.
Any more bumps and bangs?'

'Nothing.'

'I'm going to
feel if there's anything going on in here. Don't go dashing off,
cooking me in your thrusters.'

Cragg “walked”
his hands along the ship, his eyes closed, relying on touch
only.

'What the hell
is he doing?' Amethyst asked.

'Feeling the
ship,' said Rocky. 'I heard he does that.'

'What's he
feeling for?'

'Anything that
doesn't feel right. This is fascinating stuff. I thought it was an
urban myth.'

They watched
Cragg move slowly along. After twenty minutes, he was almost
halfway along. Suddenly he stopped at one section. He took his
hands away and stared at the ship, as if his eyes could bore inside
so he could see what was going on. He reached out again and placed
both palms on the ship. He went back to the previous section and
did the same then back to where he was before. He left there and
moved further along and concentrated going back to the area causing
him concern.

'Section
eleven. Morgan. Can you see what's in there?'

'Packed with
metal pipes.'

'Small or
large?'

'Large. Almost
as long as the section. Ten inches in diameter, heavy gauge.'

Cragg said,
'Dillow. Run another check, but only on section eleven.'

'Doing it now,
Craggy.' Seconds later, 'Nothing.'

'Something is
going on in eleven. Dillow. I'm coming in. Open the hatch.'

Cragg climbed
along to the open hatch. 'Hi. Got the kettle on? I could do with a
cuppa.'

It was cramped,
but they were both inside.

'Eleven isn't
right,' said Cragg. 'Something worked loose, perhaps. I want to go
through all the sections and check each one out.'

'The inspection
hatch is above us here.'

'Right. I can
get through that, just about. The whole ship is pressurised, but
you're sure to lose air quality when I open it, so keep your helmet
on.'

There was a
hiss as Cragg opened the hatch. It was easy in the zero gravity to
pull himself through. 'Any inspection lights, Dillow?'

'I have them.
Here goes.'

'I really will
have that tea with you when I get back. Or a beer, if you have
one.'

'You've had
enough beer, from what I heard.'

'That's a
matter of opinion. See you later. Don't go away. You just...'

'Fly the bus. I
know.'

Cragg went
along the inspection passage, stopping at each section. Everything
was in order until he reached eleven. As he approached the hatch
into eleven, he listened. He heard some disturbing sounds. He
checked his suit pressure and air quality. It was all good. He
cranked open the small hatch into eleven. Immediately, the noise
was much louder. Cautiously, he looked inside.

'Oh, Jeez.'

'Craggy?'

'One section of
pipe has come adrift at one end. I don't quite see how...Ah! The
webbing held, but the buckle fractured. The end of the pipe has
been hitting the inner wall. Any pressure loss from eleven?'

'None.'

'Nor should
there be with the sections all self contained and double hulled.
I'm just taking a closer look.' Cragg had a close call as the rogue
pipe suddenly lifted off and swung around. 'Damn.'

'Craggy?'

'Dillow.
Somewhere in your rats nest are some repair tools. The pipe has
fractured the inner wall of the section. Nothing too bad at the
moment, but we need to secure the pipe and plug the breach. There's
only the outer shell keeping the pressure in. I'll have to sit on
the pipe to stop it flapping about. You get me some spare webbing,
yeah?'

'On my
way.'

Cragg settled
on the pipes and waited.

* * *

'You took your
time,' said Cragg. 'Didn't bring tea, I suppose?'

'No. And this
is all the spare webbing I could find.'

'In that case
it will have to do. I'll hold the pipe down. You wrap that around
the bundle.'

'It won't go
all the way around.'

'Tie it to the
existing webbing. Nice and tight. Okay?'

Dillow pulled
hard on the knots. 'As good as I can get it.'

'It just has to
get us home. Now let's look at the damage.'

They both
checked out the series off small slits caused by the end of the
pipe.

Dillow said,
'That's all the rubbing noises I heard.'

'The ship
talking to you,' said Cragg. 'There's no computer keeping an eye on
stuff like this. We need to patch the holes. There's only the outer
skin between us and space, which makes me nervous.'

'I did see
something in the repair kit. I'll be right back.'

'Missing you
already.'

Dillow arrived
with a patch kit. 'Its ready to go. Just pull them out of the
wrapping.'

'Not very big.
You'll need all of those.'

Dillow removed
the patches one at a time, covering the splits. She had to work
fast as they hardened like rock within two minutes. 'Only just
enough.'

'More of a
precaution than anything. Strapping that pipe down was the
important thing. So. How are you managing on your own?'

'I'll go stir
crazy if I'm in here too long. I'll have a few days off on
Mars.'

'I think we'll
all need that. I had better go and see how Morgan's doing. Come
on.'

They crawled
along the inspection tunnel and through the hatch into the flight
deck. Cragg secured the hatch. 'I never did get that tea.'

'Next time.
Thanks, Craggy.'

'You're
welcome. Keep an eye on eleven. Morgan? Are you awake?'

'Yes, Sir.'

'I'm coming
home. Get the line closer.'

'It's right by
the hatch, Sir.'

'Good job,
Morgan. On my way.'

'See you on
Mars,' said Dillow.

The line was a short leap ahead of him.
Cragg opened the hatch and wriggled out. Dillow sealed it behind
him. A slight push away and he had the end of the line and was
fixing it to his suit. Minutes later, he was on the deck of his own
freighter.

'Syncoff?'
Morgan offered.

'You read my
mind. A beer will go down great.'

'Can you feel
anything?' Amethyst asked.

Rocky was
hugging the wall. 'She's still happy. Don't knock it. This really
works.'

'I wasn't. Now,
leave the other love of your life and come here.'

'Sounds
interesting.'

'Put your hand
on me. A little higher. Feel anything?'

'Your
heart.'

'And that's all
yours. The ship's on auto, isn't it?'

'She's just
doing the boring bits.'

Amethyst took
his hand. 'So let her get on with it while we do the interesting
bits. Come on.'

* * *

Cragg had a
much needed shower and changed into a clean, regulation blue
undie-suit. An awe struck Morgan excelled himself providing a feed
and Cragg decided to limit himself to just two beers. He had fobbed
off Morgan's enthusiasm for his courageous act as just something
freighter captains did.

But once again
he had surprised himself. He must have broken some kind of record
for space walks by now. But his days of crazy antics were coming to
an end. All he wanted to do was to spend time with Misty. No more
space cowboy living. He would have to be training Max Morgan to
take his place. Tomorrow was another day.

'You think that
was dangerous. Did I ever tell you of the time I was about to crash
into Westmont, with a heat seeking missile on my tail? Well. There
I was....'

Morgan listened
to another lightly embellished story, knowing he was on a journey
to Mars with a living legend.

When Cragg put
the call through to Loading Captain Jay Moore, he had already
decided to be as tactful as he could. He liked her and didn't want
to offend her. He kept his voice light and friendly.

'Hi. Jay. Old
Craggy here. How are you doing?'

'Flat out,
Craggy. Is the flight going well?'

'Yeah, not too
bad,' said Cragg, casually. 'Well, we did have a bit of an
incident, as it happens.'

'Loading
related, I take it, seeing as you requested a talk with me. Out
with it, Craggy.'

'A pipe came
loose in section eleven on Dillow's ship. Did a little bit of
damage.'

There was an
uncomfortable pause, not all down to the time delay.

'A pipe we
loaded broke loose?'

'Yes. No other
way to put it.'

Another pause.
'Any idea how it came loose?'

'Yes. The
webbing held, but the buckle broke. I suspect the buckle was faulty
and possibly cracked when the tension was applied. It wouldn't take
much of a movement to let it break completely.'

'At least it
wasn't due to sloppy work.'

'I never
thought it was, Jay. I've always admired the way you and your team
do your job. Always underrated, in my opinion. I just thought you
should check the buckles you have there. Maybe even under a
microscope to look for hairline fractures.'

'I was thinking
the same. I'll get engineering onto it. What damage was done to the
ship?'

Cragg said,
'The end of the pipe breached the inner wall of the section.'

'Shit! That's
pretty serious. Is it fixed?'

'I went over
there and gave Dillow a hand with the repair. We strapped the pipe
down. Not to your high standard, obviously, but good enough to get
the ship and load to Mars.'

'Thanks,
Craggy. I bet Captain Dillow isn't too pleased with me.'

'Look,' said
Cragg. 'Things happen, especially in space. It was fixed, that's
the main thing.'

'I'll give
Dillow a call and apologise for the problem. I'll have all the
buckles tested in engineering, before we use them.'