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against any wall available if he was able. The best he could
accomplish was to float listlessly in the space around the hatchway. He still
had his hand on the Hedali he had helped climb aboard and, realizing that might
be insulting, motioned to one of the other Hedali to come over and help.
    As
the other Hedali, Kyle thought it might be Lon, came and escorted his shaken
companion to another area of the crew compartment, Kyle glanced back through
the window of the hatch. Jupiter had swung away from where he was looking, but
he could make out the edge of it slowly getting smaller.
    “Are
you sure?  Nothing hurts?” Jennings was examining Alex’s back.
    “No,
I’m not hurt. I feel fine,” growled Ramirez.
    It
was obvious to Kyle that Alex must have been repeating himself. It was one of
the few things to make Alex frustrated; answering the same question over and
over.
    “If
he says he is fine, then he’s fine Jennings,” Kyle said as he floated over to
where they were. “What happened, Alex? I saw you get hit.”
    “I
did get hit, sir. Clear as day, it felt hot and there was a little pressure to
it. But I’m fine.” Ramirez was calming down a bit, but the adrenalin was still
coursing through his veins.
    “Ok
Alex, but I want you to let me know if you so much as get a hang nail before we
get home.”
    “Yes
sir.”
    Kyle
decided that he needed to take control again. He plugged his com unit into the
shuttle’s intercom system.
    “Let’s
evaluate what has happened and what happens next. We were apparently ambushed
by an enemy force, but we were able to extricate ourselves from it
successfully. We were also able to save several of our Hedali friends in the
process. What I need now is an accurate rundown of our situation. Donovan, is
the torpedo ok?”
    “Yes
sir, we are functioning at 100%”
    “Good.
Cowboy, how is the Shuttle?” Kyle asked the shuttle Commander.
    “Richards,
status report.” Cowboy tossed the question to his chief engineer.
    “Fletcher
is fine, sir, we got the hatch sealed completely before we got under way. 
Systems all look good, nothing out of the ordinary,” Richards reported.
    “Good,
thank you. Ambassador Thomas, what are we looking at diplomatically?” Kyle
asked.
    Ambassador
Thomas looked up at Kyle stunned. He was clearly in shock at what had happened.
    “Mister
Ambassador, what’s the diplomatic situation?”
    This
seemed to finally bring the Ambassador around.
    “I
don’t know, Colonel. I think the first thing we need to do is see to the needs
of the Hedali. Since we rescued their representative, and I have the treaty
tablet in my hand, I think we can still seal this accord.”
    Kyle
looked at what appeared to be a tablet computer in the Ambassador’s hands.
White and sleek looking, it was strangely familiar. Almost like the new Apple
iDesk. That would explain a lot.
    “Ok,
Richards, see if you can find some thermal space suits for our guests. Cowboy,
is there any way we can raise the temperature for them?”
    “I
think we can close off one of the lab rooms and open those heating vents to
full. If we close off the vents in the other labs, we might be able to get it
to 100º or so,” Cowboy replied.
    “With
the thermal suits, I think they will be ok. Chilly, but ok,” Richards added.
    The
three Hedali had been frantically talking together during this time. Finally
one of them made his way over the crew gathered around Kyle.
    “Colonel,
Ambassador, may I speak?” the Hedali asked.
    Ambassador
Thomas took control. “Yes Lon, please. What is it you need to say?”
    “We
are rather cold on your vessel, did I hear you say that you were going to try
and help us stay warm?”
    “Yes,
we will.”
    “Good,
we are fine for a few more hours, but the sooner we can get warm, the better it
will be for us.”
    “Of
course, we will make every effort to be quick in meeting your needs.”
    “Thank
you.”
    Lon
paused for a second, just long enough that Kyle thought he sensed an