Safe Salvage(Robin Joy Wirth) Safe Salvage...by Robin Joy Wirth

Ed Hammond stretched his limbs and thanked the stars that he was currently free of his cryotank. Only ten minutes passed before Captain Lorette marched briskly into the room. The robust man seemed all business except for the huge cigar he held crushed between two of his chubby fingers. He took a huge drag on it before he spoke.

"Men, we've encountered a derelict vessel off the starboard bow. You know what to do. Well, most of you know, except for the rookie here." The Captain took another drag and blew the smoke right into Ed's face.

"Yes, sir," Ed barked as he suppressed a cough.

"Get yourself suited up for EVA."

"Yes, sir," Ed repeated dutifully, and gave the man a salute.

"No need for theatrics, soldier boy. You're not in the army anymore. This is a civilian vessel. Just you remember that."

"Yes, sir," Ed agreed, almost saluting again.

"Old habits die hard," commented Lorette with a huge, gut-busting laugh as he slapped Ed on the back. "Come along, then."

Ed followed the Captain into the other room, which turned out to be the command center. All hands were busy as the designated crewmen called out their findings.

"No life signs on board, Captain," announced Denton.

"No visible traces of recent activity, sir," Kauffman chimed in.

"Imminent hull breach on the ship's starboard side, sir," Larkin told him.

"Well, men, looks like we've got a safe salvage," said the Captain.

"Safe salvage?" Ed repeated in disbelief. "That thing is going to bust wide open any minute now."

"Best hurry up then, eh, soldier?" he suggested, still puffing away.

"Yes, sir," Ed said with less enthusiasm. He joined the three other men who were running quickly toward the airlock. He checked Denton's suit as Larkin checked his, and they were soon in a small transport docking with the abandoned star cruiser.

Kauffman, the team leader, motioned each man down one of the several corridors to search for anything valuable. Ed dutifully went down his hall even though it happened to be on the starboard side of the ship.

"Figures," he muttered as he moved quickly to the first room with his laser pistol drawn. He had been informed that not all life forms could be found using the scanner, and it was better to be safe than sorry.

A solitary light fixture in the first room blinked on and off periodically. Along the far wall a long shelving unit was still full of food supplies. Ed deftly transferred them all to his bag and moved on.

Room after room Ed plucked goodies, but never anything of great value. When he reached crew quarters his luck changed. Some of the women had left behind their jewelry, and one man had forgotten his wallet as well.

As he rounded the corner after the last room in his hall, he heard a loud hissing noise from somewhere behind him and he instinctively started to run. His recent training told him that if he didn't get out of there with a quickness he could be sucked out into space, or worse.

Trouble was he had no idea where to run to. Relief washed over him when Larkin came into view, also running.

"Hey, rookie, we gotta get out of here," he called.

Ed followed him, but it soon became apparent that they were not going to make it back to the entrance. They started looking for somewhere to hole up.

"Warning! Implosion imminent," droned a computer voice. "Three minutes to total destruction."

"In here," Larkin suggested, then dragged Ed with him into the cargo hold. "Less likely to get killed if we're surrounded by reinforced metal."

Ed nodded as they slammed the door shut. "Safe salvage my ass!" he grumbled. "Did you notice this cargo hold is full of oxygen tanks? What if they explode when the fireworks start?"

"Damn, I never thought of that," Larkin admitted. "We don't have time to go anywhere else."

Suddenly the floor shook violently beneath Ed's feet and he crashed into the oxygen tanks. Several of them rolled off the wall and them nozzle on one of the burst open.

"I can't get it to close," Ed yelled over the noise. "One spark and this cargo hold will go up like a roman candle."

"Great, just great" said Larkin with a irritated grimace. "Then let's make sure we don't cause any."

"Well, now what do we do?" Ed asked

"We wait for the rescue squad," said Larkin. "Didn't you pay any attention in training class?"

"Not much," Ed admitted

"Just what I thought."

There was a sharp pounding on the door, and then the captain burst in.

"Hello gentlemen," he said with a grin, then he opened his helmet so he could take a puff on his cigar.

"Sir, are you insane?" gasped Ed as he made for the door. "That oxygen's going to go sky high!"

"Oxygen?" The captain looked confused. Then he spotted the broken tank, and without hesitation he tossed the cigar inside, pulled out his men, and slammed the door closed. "Let's go!" he yelled as he replaced his mask and made space tracks towards the waiting ship.

Ed didn't need a second invitation. As their ship headed back for home he watched out the window as their so-called safe salvage exploded into bite-sized bits of debris.

---