He replied, “Thanks, Dave.” Frank left to get some assistance and go over to the alien ship.
I went back outside to look at the Thurman again and see if I had any new ideas of how to raise part of the ship without causing more damage so that we could repair the broken beam. As I walked outside, my mind was thinking of a fulcrum. It was one of the easiest ways to move a large weight, but it also depended on us having a long enough log and counter weight to lift that much. We could also take rope and try to pull the ship back the other way, but what I could see was that we might have to try each method and then combine them if each one wasn’t successful by itself.
It turned out that I didn’t have to solve the problem. Kyle solved it. His solution was even easier than I thought it would be. His proposal was to take a log which just barely fit between the remaining space and then drive a wedge between it and the bulkhead to force the bulkhead back up. Drive a second wedge to force it up a little more. Then substitute a slightly longer log next to it and keep working at the problem with the wedges until the gap between bulkheads was back at the proper spacing. Instead of requiring almost all of us to do the task, his method would only require a few people at a time.
Frank found enough material at the alien ship to replace the now broken beam and brought it back with his volunteers. They also found enough metal sheeting to replace what was lost from our outer hull. It might not look pretty when finished, but it would give us back more aerodynamics and that could be important to our success.
It took almost a week to get the spacing between the bulkheads back to the proper amount. Then the broken beam was removed and the new material was used in its place. When it was welded into place, the logs were removed from the other damaged beam and it was reinforced using the pieces left over from the broken beam. Once the beams were replaced and repaired, the logs were removed completely. We waited a day to see if they were going to hold. The next day, the crew started replacing the missing outer hull with the metal sheeting. That also took a day to do, but when it was finished, the Thurman looked like a whole ship again. Some more of the sheeting was used to cover over where the Mark II single had been destroyed.
We spent two more days putting water into the tanks to be sure we had enough to last until we reached port. Finally, the scaffolding was removed while everything was picked up and stowed away as we prepared to leave.
Chapter 12
Frank was the designated pilot, not so much because I thought he was the best, but because the other pilots thought he was the best. The nuclear isotope engines were powered up. We listened to them for unusual vibrations for a few minutes before Frank nodded that he was satisfied while saying, “We’re as ready as we’re going to be.”
“Okay, Frank, launch,” I replied.
Frank put the engines to turning out full power. We lifted off with a kick that snapped us back into our seats as the Thurman reclaimed its rightful position in the heavens. The ship went into orbit where we held our first battle stations drill in quite a while. It lasted almost two hours before all the officers were satisfied. I was satisfied with the drills after only an hour.
A day later, we came upon an enemy scout. We blasted him to bits just as he began to broadcast his message.
“Communications, why aren’t we giving the score? Our Navy needs its morale lifted. Mason, good shooting back there!” I said.
I listened as Shirley broadcasted the score again, even though it gave away our position. Meanwhile, we were moving towards our port at top speed. I hoped that the message had an impact on both sides of the war.
“Captain! I’ve got a message from Headquarters!” Shirley said.
“What’s their message this time? Am I still under arrest?” I asked.
She said, “Yes sir, but they also said welcome back.”
I replied, “Give them my thanks. We’re glad to be back.”
That time, Shirley didn’t give them a raspberry. She quickly brought them up to date on what happened.
A day later, we blasted one more scout. Evidently, he didn’t believe that we were still alive when he saw us and started broadcasting instead of taking evasive action. Then we entered into familiar space and arrived at our port a day later.
I had expected the Ape-oids to really mount an effort to stop us after Shirley told Headquarters that we had three prisoners. For some reason, only the two scouts were in our way. We had to make a side landing with the Thurman because we didn’t want to damage the ship or lose the prisoners if the repairs didn’t hold up. For that, Frank was again the designated pilot.
When we made the landing, I quickly understood why the other pilots let Frank have the task. It was the first time I was in a ship that made such a landing. It was quite a scary sensation to see the terrain flash by so quickly. When the ship lost its momentum, we were practically at the exact point where Frank intended for us to be. The ship was almost directly beside the river vessel that quickly dispatched divers to attach floatation and lift devices to the hull. Then the Thurman was towed a short distance to shore where a crane was used to lift the ship onto land.
A lot of crew members and officers shook Frank’s hand that day as we left the Thurman for a repair crew to take care of. A truckload of Shore Patrol came rolling up to where we were. I thought at first that they came there for me, but they took charge of our prisoners instead.
A little bit later, a Shore Patrol officer showed up and walked over to me. “Captain Oden?”
I said, “Yes sir, I’m he.”
He said, “Sir, you are restricted to base during the time you’re under arrest. Because we’re at war, you’ll be allowed to keep your weapons, especially since you’ve been quite good at using them on the enemy. You’re to report to Headquarters immediately. I believe your trial will start tomorrow. Good luck. I hope you win. If you like, I can give you a lift over to Headquarters now.”
“Thanks. I accept your offer of a ride,” I said as I followed him to his vehicle.
I walked into Headquarters where the Fleet Admiral was trying to look at me as if he was impartial. To me, he looked like he was caught in a dilemma. He was obviously caught between having to discipline me and congratulate me. I tried not to make his job any harder. “Captain Oden reporting, sir,” I said as I saluted.
He returned my salute and then said, “Sit down. Smoke if you want. I suppose you know the dilemma you’re in?”
“Yes sir,” I replied although I knew it was he who was really caught in the dilemma.
He said, “You’ll have your choice of legal representation. The trial will be tomorrow unless that’s not enough time. I can grant you an additional forty-eight hours if you need the time. I must say, although you produced results, you’re not sitting in a very good situation. Had the other two ships already been destroyed, this proceeding wouldn’t be happening. I’d be congratulating you for extraordinary initiative. However, your squadron commander was still in charge. What you did can be construed by others as leading to his death and the death of the men and women aboard those other two ships.”