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Description
Geoff Davis was the General Manager for TexCorp Mining's belt division and on scene Belt Supervisor. This grand title meant that Geoff shared cramped quarters with fifteen other men and women on Dallas 4, an Earth orbit final refining facility and oversaw the work of the seven processing facilities scattered amongst the asteroids. At least while they were on roughly the same side of the sun as he was.

The automatic facility resembled a random assortment of plumbing and ship parts after a giant retarded child had played with it. Dallas 4 technically referred only to the detachable command/living quarters, which was a sleek appendage of the floating aggregate of parts known as the Earth Orbit Final Refining and Delivery Facility. The rock rats, as the miners and prospectors were called, simply referred to it as D4.

D4 for all it's immense proportions had only three docking locks. Two for manned vehicles and one for unmanned re-supply capsules that, until the recent destruction of the Baikonur launch facility, came monthly. A manned lock remained empty for a full barge while the second was currently occupied by the Tug Cyrano and her attendant empty barge. Tugs pulled in, moored on station, switched fresh crews and left on the empty tug already at hand. It was to the second, empty, man capable platform that the skeleton crew had turned their attention.

"Hey Skipper," Dan Mackewzik, Chief Engineer and mineralologist called up the tube to the boss's office, "All done."

Geoff had barely slept and had not left his cramped "office" at all since the stations computer noted the launch from Edo City and thrice encrypted messages to the home office confirmed it. It was a heavy lift vehicle used primarily for putting bulky payloads or full crews in orbit. The lift vehicle had been code name the "Emma-O" after the Japanese god of the underworld. Unless they were putting up another missile satellite in a long list of treaty defying moves, they had only one target in mind. Dallas 4.

"You've tested the whole system?" Geoff asked, looking up the tube that connected his "office" to the central corridor. In micro-gee there is a lot of extra space that can be used for work that is denied to those trapped in a gravity well. The office was essentially a Wallvue turned inside out and formed as a sphere. Geoff was literally surrounded by information.

"Yes, Sir. It's going to be one helluva surprise."

"And the vent holes on the outer hull?'

"Even you couldn't tell them from a meteor impact repair. Right down to the emergency sealant on the outside that some careless crewman failed to clean up."

"Dan, I'm really sorry it had to come to this."

"It's not like you planned this, Skipper. Hell, we were just up here minding our own business"

"Yeah.... yeah. Get the other guys will you? Let's meet in the galley for a final walk through in about ten minutes."

The "other guys" were the medical and systems technician, Dr. (Doc) Katherine Tsakkos and Regina Gustafson general technician and corporate allocated crew entertainment. When Geoff arrived in the galley, he found the others waiting for him. To his surprise, they seemed to be in a cheerful mood, quite in contrast to his own.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said as he floated into the dining area. Without D4's normal compliment, the tiny galley seemed cavernous.

"Nope, just waiting for you." Hilda was beaming.

"So what's up?"

"Nothing. We're just excited about getting into action. I mean after what those fuckers did back home, it's..."

"So, you're okay with this? What we are planning to do?"

Shocked expressions quickly replaced the cheery looks on three faces.

"Well... yeah. Damn right, Boss," Gina spluttered, "I mean it's not like we want to do this, but hey, they brought this on. Nobody invited them up here. Besides, it's not like their selling fucking Girl Scout cookies. They'd just as soon kill a round eye as look at us. Fuck 'em."

"Okay, glad your hearts in the right place," Geoff replied grimly.

"It's them or us," Katherine added, "better them."

"Okay, everybody knows their job. Katherine, as soon as they clear the airlock, you blow those vents. Dan, as soon as Katherine vacs 'em, light the Cyrano. If I were their commander I wouldn't send all of my people in at once. He'll keep a reserve back When they dock, the cargo lock will be in their shadow. That's where I'll be. They'll never see me before I hole them with the hammer. That should take care of their reserve force. Gina be prepared to cast off the barge as soon as I board. Dan, light the torch and we beat feet for the Austin at Ceres. Easy."

"Look Skipper. No one here is denying your bravery, but there is no reason for you to risk yourself punching holes in a spaceship. We could just casually aim the mass driver at the spot that the Nip ship will be in when it docks. We rig up a waldo to fire it and that's it," Katherine noted.

"Don't think I haven't thought of it. I am not looking forward to an EVA against a hostile craft, but these are military men. They will notice a giant fucking gun pointing at their parking space." He took a deep breath, collected his thoughts and continued. "I have given it a lot of thought and this is the only way to get the bastards. They are at their most vulnerable when docking and entering the lock. If we don't get them then, we've had it."

"Like you said Boss; Easy," Dan remarked sarcastically. "On the plus side though, we do have the element of surprise. The yellow bastards will never expect resistance from a bunch of unarmed rock rats."

"How much longer before they get here?" There was a manic gleam in Gina's eye. Her smile was feral.

"Well, it looked like they made final orbital corrections on the last pass. I give our visitors another hour and a half."

"Nothing to do now but wait," Dan said interlocking his fingers behind his head, "whose got the cards?"

Description
Geoff Davis was the General Manager for TexCorp Mining's belt division and on scene Belt Supervisor. This grand title meant that Geoff shared cramped quarters with fifteen other men and women on Dallas 4, an Earth orbit final refining facility and oversaw the work of the seven processing facilities scattered amongst the asteroids. At least while they were on roughly the same side of the sun as he was.

The automatic facility resembled a random assortment of plumbing and ship parts after a giant retarded child had played with it. Dallas 4 technically referred only to the detachable command/living quarters, which was a sleek appendage of the floating aggregate of parts known as the Earth Orbit Final Refining and Delivery Facility. The rock rats, as the miners and prospectors were called, simply referred to it as D4.

D4 for all it's immense proportions had only three docking locks. Two for manned vehicles and one for unmanned re-supply capsules that, until the recent destruction of the Baikonur launch facility, came monthly. A manned lock remained empty for a full barge while the second was currently occupied by the Tug Cyrano and her attendant empty barge. Tugs pulled in, moored on station, switched fresh crews and left on the empty tug already at hand. It was to the second, empty, man capable platform that the skeleton crew had turned their attention.

"Hey Skipper," Dan Mackewzik, Chief Engineer and mineralologist called up the tube to the boss's office, "All done."

Geoff had barely slept and had not left his cramped "office" at all since the stations computer noted the launch from Edo City and thrice encrypted messages to the home office confirmed it. It was a heavy lift vehicle used primarily for putting bulky payloads or full crews in orbit. The lift vehicle had been code name the "Emma-O" after the Japanese god of the underworld. Unless they were putting up another missile satellite in a long list of treaty defying moves, they had only one target in mind. Dallas 4.

"You've tested the whole system?" Geoff asked, looking up the tube that connected his "office" to the central corridor. In micro-gee there is a lot of extra space that can be used for work that is denied to those trapped in a gravity well. The office was essentially a Wallvue turned inside out and formed as a sphere. Geoff was literally surrounded by information.

"Yes, Sir. It's going to be one helluva surprise."

"And the vent holes on the outer hull?'

"Even you couldn't tell them from a meteor impact repair. Right down to the emergency sealant on the outside that some careless crewman failed to clean up."

"Dan, I'm really sorry it had to come to this."

"It's not like you planned this, Skipper. Hell, we were just up here minding our own business"

"Yeah.... yeah. Get the other guys will you? Let's meet in the galley for a final walk through in about ten minutes."

The "other guys" were the medical and systems technician, Dr. (Doc) Katherine Tsakkos and Regina Gustafson general technician and corporate allocated crew entertainment. When Geoff arrived in the galley, he found the others waiting for him. To his surprise, they seemed to be in a cheerful mood, quite in contrast to his own.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said as he floated into the dining area. Without D4's normal compliment, the tiny galley seemed cavernous.

"Nope, just waiting for you." Hilda was beaming.

"So what's up?"

"Nothing. We're just excited about getting into action. I mean after what those fuckers did back home, it's..."

"So, you're okay with this? What we are planning to do?"

Shocked expressions quickly replaced the cheery looks on three faces.

"Well... yeah. Damn right, Boss," Gina spluttered, "I mean it's not like we want to do this, but hey, they brought this on. Nobody invited them up here. Besides, it's not like their selling fucking Girl Scout cookies. They'd just as soon kill a round eye as look at us. Fuck 'em."

"Okay, glad your hearts in the right place," Geoff replied grimly.

"It's them or us," Katherine added, "better them."

"Okay, everybody knows their job. Katherine, as soon as they clear the airlock, you blow those vents. Dan, as soon as Katherine vacs 'em, light the Cyrano. If I were their commander I wouldn't send all of my people in at once. He'll keep a reserve back When they dock, the cargo lock will be in their shadow. That's where I'll be. They'll never see me before I hole them with the hammer. That should take care of their reserve force. Gina be prepared to cast off the barge as soon as I board. Dan, light the torch and we beat feet for the Austin at Ceres. Easy."

"Look Skipper. No one here is denying your bravery, but there is no reason for you to risk yourself punching holes in a spaceship. We could just casually aim the mass driver at the spot that the Nip ship will be in when it docks. We rig up a waldo to fire it and that's it," Katherine noted.

"Don't think I haven't thought of it. I am not looking forward to an EVA against a hostile craft, but these are military men. They will notice a giant fucking gun pointing at their parking space." He took a deep breath, collected his thoughts and continued. "I have given it a lot of thought and this is the only way to get the bastards. They are at their most vulnerable when docking and entering the lock. If we don't get them then, we've had it."

"Like you said Boss; Easy," Dan remarked sarcastically. "On the plus side though, we do have the element of surprise. The yellow bastards will never expect resistance from a bunch of unarmed rock rats."

"How much longer before they get here?" There was a manic gleam in Gina's eye. Her smile was feral.

"Well, it looked like they made final orbital corrections on the last pass. I give our visitors another hour and a half."

"Nothing to do now but wait," Dan said interlocking his fingers behind his head, "whose got the cards?"