The departure of the shuttles was delayed.
“Stalling, Captain Allison?” Sean had demanded when the US Captain had approached him.
“Hardly.” The Captain frowned. “Governor, I may not like the situation, but you made it perfectly clear that we don’t have many options.” He shook his head. “Safety, Governor. Our little jump did more than just cause external damage. It shook the shit out of us. I have people crawling all over the Striker and every shuttle and tug we have available. None of them are moving until I ma satisfied that they are safe. We don’t need more deaths due to malfunctions or panic. As it stands, we have cleared one shuttle for duty. We used it to get the atmospheric samples for Dr. Simmons and we are preparing to use it to position some satellites for him while we go over the rest of the vehicles. Unfortunately, we have down graded two shuttles as hopeless. We are salvaging them for parts to make repairs on other shuttles that may need them. That leaves us with one serviceable shuttle, two write-offs, and twelve that are still being checked out or repaired. I expect all twelve of those to be certified as serviceable, but I’m not taking chances.” He had tried a smile that didn’t quite work. “Frankly, Governor, I would rather you think I am dragging my feet than have you blame me for an accident that lost lives.”
Sean had looked at the Captain, trying to read him. Finally he nodded.
“You’re right, of course.” He said. “I put you in charge, so you do what you think best…just get the rest of the shuttles moving as quickly as possible.”
Sean made sure he kept up with the various department heads and with Dr. Simmons as everyone worked at a frenzied pace to prepare for evacuation.
When Captain Allison certified four more shuttles, Sean called a meeting with the Captain, Corina, and Dr. Simmons. He was hardly surprised when Major Mey Ling, Steven Barnes, Major Hilien, and Major Stilwick showed up as well.
“First of all, our tests with the atmospheric samples Captain Allison provided have turned out positive. The atmosphere might be a little heavier and more humid than what we are used to, but we can breathe it with no problems.” Dr. Simmons reported. “Also, using the satellites Captain Allison positioned for us, we’ve been able to map the tectonic plates fairly quickly and accurately.” He had an image of the planet displayed on a wall viewer. “That is helping us to eliminate potential colony sites due to volcanic activity. We have also determined that while the planet is basically the same size as earth, it has slightly more mass. That means the gravity will be slightly higher. That might cause a few problems initially, but I believe that we will be able to adapt.”
“Most of the volcanic activity we have discovered is located more in the area that would have been the inner part of the super-continent before it began to break up.” He said, indicated the areas where the landmass had split. “Out here, on the outer edge,” now he indicated the area around the landmasses, “the chances will be less, but not entirely out of the question. So these are the areas we are going to concentrate on first.”
“Why a coastal area?” Corina wanted to know. “Why not further inland or along one of the smaller rivers? Wouldn’t those areas be better suited for grazing animals and crops?”
“Possibly.” Dr. Simmons nodded. “And we’ll look at those, working our way inland from the coasts, if we have to. But if we can find a coastal area that is suitable for that and has a river, we’ll take that first. A ready food and energy source. Thankfully, we have determined that the two moons, while making it a bit more difficult to predict tides, will not cause any undo problems with establishing a colony in a coastal area.”
Sean had learned that the scientists, thanks to the analogy Dr. Simmon’s had made to Earth’s ancient supercontinents, had named the planet Pangea. Keeping with that theme, four of the five large continents had been named after the remaining theorized Supercontinents of Earth’s distant past: Vaalbara, Rodinia, Kenorland, and Columbia. The fifth and smallest continent, the northern most of the five, had been named after one of the proto-continents that had existed when Vaalbara supposedly broke apart: Laurentia.
“Laurentia is no good.” Dr. Simmons announced. “We don’t need to land there to see that it is mostly covered in snow and ice during what should be the northern hemisphere’s summer season.” He had shrugged without apology when Corina had questioned the decision.
“He’s right.” Mey Ling chimed in. “We’re going to have to focus on the more temperate zones. Preferably a place that does not have extreme swings in weather. Most of these people have never set foot on a planet. I think it would be safe to say that it has been four or five generations since anyone from Fargone ever lived on a planet. They’ve lived their entire lives in a controlled environment. It will take them some time to acclimate enough to handle extremes of heat and cold. And some never will be able to handle it. Even those of us that came from Mars may have difficulties. Imagine our anxiety when we step out of a controlled environment without our atmospheric filters!”
“We’ll have other problems as well.” Dr. Simmons agreed, his face troubled. “Anxiety attacks as people realize they aren’t in an enclosed environment will probably be the most common.” The look on his face told those present that he was including himself in that group.
“So where are you proposing to land first?” Sean asked, steering the conversation back to the task at hand.
“Here.” Dr. Simmons pointed to an area on the south-western coast of Rodinia, the largest and western most of the continents, where a continent spanning river flowed into the ocean. The entire continent rested in the northern hemisphere and the area Simmons indicated rested just above the planet’s equator. “By all indications, this should be some pretty fertile land, though we won’t know for until we get some soil samples. We should also be able to get some samples of aquatic life from both the sea and the river as well as land based life forms from the surrounding area.” He had spread his hand over the interior of the Continent. “We are going to drop the two shuttles you asked for at the landing site. While we are doing extensive studies in our area, six other teams will be dropping in various areas around the rest of the continent to take samples and see if we can observe any larger animals. I’m sending one team apiece to the other continents to make some initial surveys, but most of our efforts are going to be confined to Rodinia.”
“There is life down there.” He told them, looking around. “We won’t be certain how much, but I can tell you that I have already seen signs of Megafauna!”
“Megafauna?” Steven Barnes looked around, somewhat relieved to see confusion on almost everyone else’s faces.
“Large life forms.” Dr. Simmons explained. “No, we are not talking about dinosaurs. If they ever existed on this planet, they are probably long gone, though some may still exist in the Oceans. No, we’re talking about life forms that would have been common during the Pleistocene period of Earth. Large mammals, birds, etc.”
“We’ll concentrate on Rodinia, at first.” Captain Allison said when Sean looked at him. “We’re loading equipment and our marines are breaking out their field shelters and getting them aboard as well.” As he announced the last, he looked at Corina.
“We know how to set them up.” She assured him. “Thank you, they’ll be a great help.”
He nodded and turned back to Sean.
“We are also loading equipment for the smaller teams on other shuttles and, as we certify them, we’ll send them on their way.” He closed his eyes as he recalled the information. “We’ll launch the remaining three we have ready at the same time Dr. Simmon’s shuttles launch. That will leave us three more that we have to get ready for Rodinia. If any of them finish their tasks before we get shuttles ready for the other continents, we’ll use them.”
“”we’ve determined that each shuttle can handle a team of scientists, their equipment, and a full marine squad.” Corina took over when the Captain finished. “That means we have enough Valkyries to accompany the Rodinia teams, but not enough to accompany the other teams. Even if we add Major Stilwick’s Marines to the roster, it would only give us two more teams. That would leave us with no marines for the two remaining shuttles.” She shrugged. “I have discussed this with my XO and with Major Stilwick, and I think we have found a solution.”
When Sean gestured for her to continue, she went on.
“Rather than assign a full squad to each shuttle, I have decided to send a single team, half a squad, to the auxiliary exploration teams.” She said. “I am still sending two full squads with Dr. Simmons and his team, but by splitting the squads, we’ll be able to cover all the other exploration teams.”
“Okay.” Sean nodded and then looked at Mey Ling, Steven Barnes, Major Hilien, and Major Stilwick. “I assume, since the four of you invited yourselves to this meeting, that you have something to add?”
Mey Ling nodded and, after a getting nods from the other three began.
“We still have a lot of injured and we are getting more as we locate and retrieve those trapped on Two.” She said. “Dr. Garison and his people are needed here. However, with all due respect, Dr. Simmons and his people are not qualified to research the medical aspects of Pangea.”
“She’s right.” Dr. Simmons nodded. “All medical research falls under Dr. Garison’s department.”
“So what you are saying is that, while you’re people can determine if we can live on the planet, they can’t tell us if there are viruses or germs down there that can kill us?”
“Not entirely accurate.” Dr. Simmons smiled. “If it is down there, we’ll detect it. If it is an instant killer, we’ll be able to spot that. It would be the more subtle things that we might miss. An in-depth analysis, however, would require people specialized in that area, and they are part of Dr. Garison’s Department.”
“That is where I come in.” Mey Ling continued. “I and two of my people are qualified in those areas. With permission from the Colonel, I have temporarily detached the three of us from Echo Company and attached us to Dr. Simmons team. “Working with Dr. Garison, my assistants are already gathering the equipment we’ll need and having it loaded on the shuttles.”
“So you’ll be going in with the Main team?” Sean asked.
“Yes sir.” Mey Ling answered. “Dr. Simmons has assured me that, if needed, I will be able to consult with Dr. Garison at any time. Which brings me to my second point.” She looked around but carefully did not look at Corina. “Since we are dealing with an unknown at this point, I think we need proceed carefully.” She took a breath and looked Sean in the eye. “I discussed this with Dr. Garison, Major Hilien, Major Stilwick, and Mr. Barnes. We are all in agreement. Using his authority as chief medical officer of Fargone, Dr. Garison is putting a ban on shuttle traffic to and from the planet, with the exception of the initial two.”
“Excuse me?” Sean half stood, his face clouding.
“Until we determine that there is no biological danger, we can’t afford to bring what ever may be down there aboard Fargone.” Mey Ling continued. “Which, of course, means, that the landing teams will be restricted to the planet until it is determined that it is safe. In short, they will be quarantined.” She sighed and rushed ahead before anyone could interrupt. “We realize that these measures may be unnecessary, but until that is determined, we intend to proceed with caution. If there is something down there, and we find it, then those shuttles and everyone aboard them will remain on the planet. They will not be allowed to return to Fargone. That being the case, working with Mr. Barnes, Major Hilien, and Major Stilwick, Dr. Garison and I have come up with a list of personnel that will not be allowed to leave Fargone until it is determined safe.”
“Just who is on this list, Major?” Corina demanded, her face blank of expression.
“You are, Ma’am.” Mey Ling confirmed her suspicions. “The Governor is also on the list, as is Dr. Simmons, Captain Allison, Dr. Garison himself, though he was not pleased with that, and several other critical personnel.”
“Now just a minute!” Sean thundered at the same time both Dr. Simmons and Captain Allison shouted their protests.
“I am afraid this is not open to discussion.” Mey Ling shook her head apologetically. “The people on this list are too important to our over all survival to be risked at this point. Once it is determined to be safe, from a medical stand point, at least, then Dr. Garison will lift the ban. I should note that, according to the Charter of Fargone, Dr. Garison does have the authority to do this and I, as chief medical officer of Echo Company, do have the authority to over ride Colonel Twillian.”
Sean glanced at Corina and she nodded, if somewhat reluctantly.
“It’s true. In medical matters, Major Ling has complete authority.” She said, glaring at the Valkyrie doctor.
“Since the Colonel is temporarily restricted to Fargone.” Major Hilien spoke up now. “I will be going in her place with Fourth Platoon. We’ll set up a temporary camp at the landing area for the scientists and the Medical personnel and one Squad will remain with them at all times while the other squad will continually scout the surrounding area.”
“They’re only talking good sense, Governor.” Major Stilwick spoke up.
“And what if they do find something down there?” Sean demanded. “What then? In case you people have forgotten, we don’t have any other alternatives.”
“Perhaps not.” Mey Ling said. “However, if we do find something, then we can work at it from the surface and Dr. Garison can work on it from here. Without endangering lives unnecessarily.”
“Alright.” Sean grumped “So when are you thinking of launching?”
“As soon as the shuttles are loaded.” Major Hilien answered. “Fourth Platoon already has their equipment on board and are assisting where needed in loading everything else.”
“I have assigned six of my people to the shuttles.” Major Stilwick put in. “Two pilots and a load master per shuttle.”
“Marine pilots?” Sean raised an eyebrow. “I assumed that it would be naval personnel that piloted the shuttles.”
“Ordinarily, if we were shuttling between vessels, it would be.” Captain Allison said. “But in combat scenarios involving a planet drop and armed shuttles, the marines always use their own pilots.”
“Armed?” Sean turned his attention back to the Marine. “Just who do you think you’ll need to shoot at, Major?”
“No one, it is to be hoped.” Major Stilwick replied. “But we have no idea what we are going to find down there, do we?” He waved towards the image that was still displayed on the wall viewer. “There doesn’t seem to be any signs of advanced life forms down there, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t there. And despite the efforts of the good Doctor here, they simply haven’t had the time to examine every square mile from orbit.”
“He’s right.” Dr. Simmons reluctantly agreed. “We haven’t seen any signs of cities, towns, roads, or other obvious indicators of intelligent life forms, but we can’t rule out the possibility that there might already be an indigenous sentient species already on the planet. We really have no idea what stage of development this planet is in, at this point.”
“And that brings it around to me, I suppose.” Steven Barnes cut in. “Once Dr. Garison lifts his ban, and it better be quick, we are going to have to move fast. It took me some time to get a handle on it, but I have taken over the Agricultural Department since Gary and his staff was on Three when we jumped. We have enough seed to establish enough of a faming community to feed everyone, but we may run into a problem when it comes to live stock unless we utilize what we have in cryo.”
“What is the problem there?” Sean demanded.
“The cryo units are showing signs of failing. The energy from the jump drive seems to have scrambled their circuits almost as much as it did the Valkyrie’s AI units.” Steven responded.
“My God, the synth-dolphs!” Dr. Simmons gasped.
“Synth-dolphs?”
Sean turned to see stunned expressions on the faces of the Valkyries, Captain Allison, and Major Stilwick.
“You have actual Synth-dolphs on Fargone?” Captain Allison demanded. “Those things were declared illegal over a century ago!”
“By the United System, not by Fargone.” Sean chided him. “Please try to keep in mind that Fargone is not now nor has it ever been part of the US.”
Corina noted that Sean had stopped using the term Earth Gov, or EG, when talking to either the Captain or the Marine Major. It was a derogatory term, insinuating that the United System government was nothing more than a puppet of Earth.
“Point taken.” Captain Allison nodded curtly. “But why on earth would you have those monsters on a Habitat?”
“Only a bigoted EG flunky would think of them as monsters.” Steven snorted, causing the Captain and the Major to stiffen.
“Enough, Steven.” San barked. He turned to the Captain. “When the US outlawed them, an entire pod was placed in Cryo and shipped to Fargone for safekeeping.” He said. “Captain, I understand that those of you that were raised on Earth are indoctrinated to reject genetic manipulation beyond a certain level, but you must recall that we were not so indoctrinated.”
“Those Synth-dolphs might come in handy if they can be revived successfully.” Corina mused.
“Indeed they could.” Dr. Simmons nodded. “If we can determine that they could live and feed in the oceans, they could be instrumental in aquatic exploration.”
“Wait a minute.” Major Stilwick looked confused. “All I know about Synth-dolphs is that they were genetically manipulated to increase intelligence and communication. Not much more is known on Earth these days other than they were classified as extremely dangerous Augments.”
“Synth-doplhs are every bit as intelligent as humans.” Dr. Simmons explained. “Of course, there were those in the past that believed that dolphins were already intelligent before our geneticists began playing around with them. From what I recall reading, altering their vocal apparatus to allow them to utilize human languages was the easy part. It was giving them the ability to manipulate objects that took a lot of time and experimentation. Just before your Eugenics conflict, the geneticists finally succeeded in developing synth-dolphs with human-like arms and hands that could be retracted into the main body so as not to interfere with the dolphins’ natural streamlining.” He shook his head in wonder. “A wonderful piece of work, I would say, since it took several years before they were able to introduce a completely new set of limbs. At first, all they were able to do was to cause the dolphins to regress into a more primitive state when their pectoral fins were actually their forelegs. We…” he caught Sean’s eye and subsided with an embarrassed cough.
“Thank you, Dr. Simmons.” Sean said in his driest tones before turning back to the others. “That is the long and short of it. These synth-dolphs were, according to the information that arrived with them, among the last generation produced. They have human equivalent intelligence, the ability to speak human languages, and the retractable hands and arms Dr. Simmons mentioned.” He looked at Steven. “Are they in danger?”
“Not yet.” Steven shook his head. “But Sean, we can’t just revive them and toss them in the Pangean Seas.”
Sean thought for a moment and tapped an inquiry into the terminal in the table before him. He read for a moment or two and then nodded.
“Okay, we have the revival procedures right here.” He said. “First, we find out if they could survive in the seas here. If they can, then we’ll wake up the…She’s called the Matriarch of the Pod here…and lay out the alternatives to her and let her make the decision. If she is agreeable then we’ll transport the rest of the pod to the surface and revive them there.”
“And if we decide they won’t be able to live down there?” Steven demanded.
“Then we terminate the cryo without reviving them.” Sean was blunt. “I won’t have them revived just to let them experience a few days of agony before they die since we don’t have the facilities to accommodate them.”
“Why ask them?” Captain Allison demanded. “They’re Ge…uh…Augments.” He cast a side long glance at Corina. “If they can survive in the seas, revive them and be done with it. Better yet, terminate the cryos now and let’s get on with our own survival!”
“Captain Allison, with all due respect sir, will you please shut the fuck up?”
Sean had been prepared to respond but closed his mouth in surprise because Major Stilwick had beaten him to it.
Captain Allison was even more shocked as he turned incredulous eyes on his subordinate. The Major did not look at him, turning instead to Sean.
“Governor, you are correct that those of us born on Earth are indoctrinated with a distrust of Augments. I won’t deny it. But most of us, including the Captain, are fully aware that much of what we’ve been force-fed has been pure propagandist bull-shit.” He said. He jerked a thumb towards the Captain. “We all realize that we are in a different situation now, but it is going to take some time for a lot of us to get over our knee-jerk reactions.”
Captain Allison glared at the Major and then closed his eyes with a heavy sigh, looking at Sean when he opened them.
“The Major is correct.” He admitted. “It is pretty much ingrained in us.”
“Is that going to get in the way of doing your job or taking orders from Colonel Twillian?” Sean demanded, his eyes hard.
“No sir.” Captain Allison shook his head and gave a twisted smile. “I don’t like it; I’ll be honest with you. But then, the US Navy didn’t demand I like my commanding officers, so long as I did what I was told.” He looked at Corina. “I don’t like you or your Valkyries, Colonel. You already know that. But I will do what ever you say to help save my crew and the people on this habitat.”
“It’s a start, Captain.” Corina told him. “For now, that is all I ask.”
“It is not all I ask.” Sean stated. “I will also demand that you keep your anti-augment opinions to yourself, Captain. Even if we find nothing to stop us from colonizing this world, we are going to be struggling just to live for several years. I do not want to have to deal with you spreading your bigotry on top of that. Are we clear?”
“Yes sir.” Captain Allison responded stiffly.
“Good.” Sean turned back to Steven and motioned for him to continue.
“The synth-dolphs are not the only thing in cryo we have to worry about.” Steven took up where he left off. “In addition to the stored human and animal reproductive materials, we also have several hundred individuals…”
He stopped as Sean held up a hand.
“Terminate them, Steven.” He ordered. Seeing the shocked expressions on the faces before him, he shook his head. “I’ve already discussed those individuals with Dr. Garison. In all but three cases, those people have terminal illnesses that we have no cures for. Nor is it likely that we are going to discover cures before we have to evacuate. We’d be doing them no kindness in reviving them. The last three are convicted murderers sentenced to indefinite cryo imprisonment. To hell with them.”
“That’s it then.” Steven finished weakly. “If we terminate them, then we should be able to keep the remainder running until we are ready for them.”
The meeting broke up soon thereafter and Corina returned to her quarters in the company of Mey Ling and Sarah.
“I’m sorry we had to over ride you like that, Cor.” Sarah told her. “But we couldn’t afford to risk you.”
“I am just as expendable as any other Valkyrie, Sarah.” Corina countered.
“No, you’re not, Cor.” Mey Ling countered. “You are our commanding officer and we need you keeping us together. You are the only one that can deal with the Governor and that damned Captain Allison.”
Corina didn’t reply and, hours later, clinched her fists in frustration as the two shuttles were tugged out of the bay and sent on their way.
She had accompanied her people to the hangers and said her good-byes as they boarded. She was not surprised to find Sean there as well.
“I wish I was going myself.” He told her as the two vessels were towed out. He had a wistful look on his face. “Think of it. To be the first humans to set foot on a planet in another solar system.”
Corina laughed, letting the tension fall away.
“Of course, from Captain Allison’s way of thinking, that won’t happen until one of your people step out of the shuttles.” She smiled.
“You’re probably right.” Sean chuckled. He sighed and, when the shuttles had been towed out of view, turned towards her. “And now we wait.” He gave a rueful grin. “I must warn you, Colonel, patience is not one of my virtues.”
“A trait I think we have in common, then.” Corina nodded as the two of them moved towards the exit. “But I am sure you will have enough to keep you busy.”
“Hardly.” Sean said. “I have been told, in no uncertain terms, to keep my ass out of the way. My keepers won’t even let me help out in the rescue efforts on Two.”
“Well, don’t look at me for answers to that problem.” Corina told him. “Sarah and Doc have made Captain Siku and Sergeant Major McGills my keepers. Siku to keep me updated and McGills to keep me from acting like an officer and messing up her Company.” She paused as a thought occurred to her. “Forgive me for not asking sooner, Governor. Did your daughter…” she trailed off, not knowing how to finish her question.
“She’s fine.” Sean said. “We’ve grouped the younger children together while the adults and older children work on the rescue efforts or prepare for evacuation or care for the injured.” He closed his eyes as they walked. “We haven’t got a complete count yet, but we already know that we’re going to have a lot of orphans.” When Corina raised an eyebrow, he went on.
“The construction shack workers. Their children were cared for here in One during their shifts.” He said. “I guess, technically, they may not be orphans yet, but they may as well be. Mars or the outer colonies might be able to rescue the workers before their emergency supplies run out, but from their point of view, their children and the rest of us are gone forever.”
“I’ve been so busy thinking about our end, I really hadn’t considered how those in the Solar System would react.” Corina admitted.
“Not good, most likely.” Sean grimaced. “According to Dr. Scott, to those outside the Habitat, it probably looked like an explosion when Three sheared off when we dropped into the wormhole. Chances are, they saw nothing that would even hint that the rest of us are still alive. To their way of thinking, Fargone exploded. That could have been the final push needed to send the entire system into war.”
“Gods, I hope not.” Corina shook her head.
“Well, as callous as it may sound,” Sean sighed, “that’s not our problem anymore. We’re out of it.” He shook his head. “I am not going to worry about what may or may not be happening back in the Solar System.” He all but growled. “We’re here now and…”
He stopped walking and looked at Corina, his eyes bright.
“I would never have wanted something like this to happen, Colonel.” He said. “I would have done everything in my power to prevent the deaths of all those on Three and Two. But it happened. We’re here. I am not going to waste time feeling sorry for myself or brooding on what happened. Gods Cor, I’m looking forward to this.”
He turned to face her, his hands grasping her arms and though he made no effort to pull her to him, Corina could not help but recall the incident just before the first council meeting after she had awoken from her Combatant induced coma. Even now her lips seemed to tingle in remembrance of that brief, frantic kiss.
“Governor,” She croaked and cleared her throat. She could feel the heat rushing to her face and knew she was blushing. She started again. “Governor, this isn’t a great adventure. That isn’t just another habitat we’re moving these people to. That is a planet in all its untamed glory. What ever we do, however much we try to prevent it, people are going to die down there, Governor.”
She shook her head and turned away from him, her fists clenched.
“These people aren’t colonists. They’ve spent their entire lives in a controlled environment. And now we’re going to toss them out into the wild and say ‘go live’?”
“You’re
right, Colonel.” Sean nodded, touching her arm. “But what other choices are
left to us?” He demanded. “Absolutely none. Would you rather I cry and moan
about it? Would you rather we sit up here in our tin-can until we fall into the
atmosphere because we’re too scared to try anything else? Believe me, Colonel,
I am scared shitless. I don’t expect life to be easy down there. But our
chances down there are a hell of a lot better than our chances up here.
He gave a bitter laugh. “Of course, since our chances here on Fargone are
absolutely zero, anything is an improvement.”
With a resigned shrug of her shoulders, Corina agreed with his assessment and continued to walk with him as they made their way into the elevators that would take them away from the Hub and back towards the first Ring.
Stepping out of the transfer station, the differences between the at least marginally ordered activity in the Hub and First were stark.
Being the only ring capable of sustaining an atmosphere, not to mention the smallest, it was quickly becoming crowded as more and more survivors were being extracted from Two. It was fortunate that, despite their dire predictions, the engineers had been able to resume the habitats spin, though at a greatly reduced speed. The end result was that First now had the equivalent of a quarter of Earth’s gravity. A definite improvement over the zero gravity that had greeted Corina when she had awoken.
“There’s another problem.” Sean said when Corina made a sniffing noise, wrinkling her nose. He indicated the mass of people as they made their way through the throngs. “Already First is extremely overcrowded. The oxy-scrubbers are working at capacity but with so many people, they just can’t keep up. Steven is working with work crews to dismantle the air scrubbers from Two and install them on First. That’ll buy us some time so we won’t asphyxiate before we even get started with the evacuation.”
Their progress through the crowded ‘streets’ of First was slow as people, recognizing their governor, constantly approached to ask questions or get or give advice. Corina was surprised to find that most of the people that approached, despite their predicament, showed very little hint of despair and not one seemed to be bothered with her presence.
Shortly after their first meeting, Sean had made the decision to be open and honest with the survivors, letting them know exactly what had happened and what would now have to happen.
To say that the people were happy with their lack of options would be a stretch, but once it had been explained to their satisfaction that continued survival on Fargone was not an option, they had opted to work to help ensure their survival on Pangea rather than give up and die.
As for their reactions to her or the rest of the Valkyries, she could still see a sense of wariness in the faces that approached, but absolutely no hostility.
When she mentioned this to Sean, he nodded.
“It is general knowledge that you lost people trying to help with the evacuation of Three.” He told her. “And though I haven’t said it outright, I have constantly insinuated that our survival on Pangea may well depend on you and your Valkyries.”
“And just how did you come to that conclusion?” Corina demanded.
“Simple. We’re Habitat bred people. You pointed that out earlier. We are not willing colonists, for the most part. You, your ladies, and Major Stilwick’s Marines are going to be all that stands between us and whatever that planet may throw at us until we learn to fend for ourselves. Alyssa and some of the other children are already starting to call you the Protectors and we are subtly encouraging that. Even some adults are starting to accept the name.” He smiled at her. “You have to admit, Protectors sounds a lot better than Valkyries. Especially if you take into account that the original Valkyries were the mythological choosers of the slain.”
“Protectors.” Corina tried the word out, grimacing. “To be honest, I have tried to see where I and my people fit in. I guess this is as good a time to bring it up.”
“Actually, why don’t you hold on to that thought and we’ll discuss it over dinner.” Sean said. He motioned and Corina noticed that they had arrived at a residence set apart from others and guarded by a short squad of Major Stilwick’s Marines. Two stood guard by the front entrance and Corina later learned that another was stationed at the rear entrance and four more patrolled the area.
“Not my idea.” Sean grumbled as they made their way to the entrance. “Major Stilwick offered them and the Council took him up on it when they refused to allow me to open my home up to refugees.”
The guards at the front snapped to attention as they drew near and stepped aside. Both saluted when they recognized Corina’s rank insignia. She returned the salute and followed the governor into his home.
As the door slid shut behind them, Corina was stunned by the extreme differences between Sean’s office and his home. While his office was almost Spartan in appearance, his home was richly decorated in bright colors. Much of the decorations that had probably adorned the walls and various shelves now lay strewn everywhere. Corina could imagine how it must have looked before the habitat had been pulled through the wormhole and lost its spin and, thus, gravity.
Seeing her look around, Sean gave a weak smile.
“With everything that has been going on, cleaning up this mess has taken an extremely low priority.” He told her. “My usual housekeepers are either helping care for the injured or helping with the rescues.”
Corina bent down and retrieved a framed picture from the floor. A family picture featuring Sean, the woman from the picture in his office, and a new born Alyssa.
Taking the picture, Sean gently placed it on an empty shelf.
“Marisa would be throwing a fit about now.” He said, attempting to keep his tone light. “She couldn’t even stand a little bit of clutter. Everything had to be just so.” He indicated the entire residence with a wave of his hand. “She took it on herself to decorate the entire place when we got married. After she…afterwards, I left everything just as it was…for Alyssa.”
“Governor, I should have asked earlier. What became of your aide? Jarred?”
“Dead.” Sean grimaced. “When that impulse knocked out the Valkyries, he grabbed one of their weapons and tried to murder them while they were out. Surprisingly enough, it was Captain Allison that stopped him. They struggled and the weapon fired, killing Jarred instantly.”
“Captain Allison?” Corina was flabbergasted. “I would have thought he would have helped Jarred kill the ‘damned Genies’.”
Sean shrugged. He showed her to the living area and, after clearing a space for her to sit, asked her to wait while he contacted the daycare center.
She could hear him in an adjoining room making the connection and spend a few moments talking first with the care-takers and then with his daughter.
When he returned, he seemed to have lost a bit of the moodiness that had descended upon him when they had entered the residence.
“Do you need to go pick her up or are they bringing her here?” She asked, watching him closely.
“Neither.” He waved at her to follow him into the kitchen area and motioned for her to take a seat at the breakfast bar. “For their safety, we’ve decided that all children under the age of twelve are to stay at the centers until we begin evacuation.”
Though the kitchen sported a stove and an oven, Sean ignored them and removed two food packs from the refrigerator and slid them into the auto food prep unit.
“We’ve cut power to all manual food prep appliances.” He explained. “Cooking in zero-gee is impossible and dangerous. It isn’t much better in low-gee.”
As the auto unit prepared their meals, Sean returned to the refrigerator and retrieved two beverage containers. He popped them both open and placed one on the bar before Corina.
Corina’s eyebrows rose as she caught scent of the fragrances rising from the container before her.
“Beer?” She asked, lifting the container. “You make it here?”
“Made it.” Sean responded sourly. “One thing we never had to import from the inner system was food and drink. With the few exceptions of things like Cocoa or Coffee, of course.” He pulled up a stool and seated himself. He lifted his own container, holding it up to peer at the amber liquid within. “We have the seed so it won’t surprise me if hops and barley aren’t among the first crops planted.”
He placed the container on the bar and rested his elbows on either side.
“We have everything we will need as far as crops and livestock go to start up a viable colony.” He said. “What we don’t have is the equipment we’re going to need. Earth-movers, plows, transportation. And if we did, how would we fuel them?”
“I believe that Dr. Simmons added the location of possible fossil fuel deposits to his list of things to explore.” Corina told him.
“And if he does?” Sean spread his hands. “How do we get at it?”
“I happen to know that you have equipment to drill.” Corina said.
“We had equipment.” Sean corrected. “I will have Steven look into it, but I would imagine that all such equipment was probably kept in the construction shacks.” He stopped, a strange look on his face. “I’ll be damned. We had three shacks attached to the spindle for repairs when the drive activated. If standard procedure was followed, all three would have been vacant except for repair workers. Of course, they might not have the equipment we need, but I would venture to guess that they have machine shops that will dwarf whatever we have in the habitat.”
“Okay.” Corina nodded. “So put people to work now. Start scavenging Two for materials and use two of the shacks to start producing some of the equipment we’ll need on the planet. Don’t worry about personal vehicles. We haven’t got the resources for them. Worry about drilling equipment, farm equipment. Gods man, Two was your agricultural ring. You can’t tell me that they didn’t utilize farming equipment. Equipment that you can use on the surface. All we’ll have to worry about is recharging the equipment. Since it was mentioned in that first meeting that we do have means of generating energy, that shouldn’t be a problem.” She pushed his beer container closer to him, making him grab it before it fell off the bar into his lap. “You have experts in virtually every field working on this. Let them do their jobs and trust them to bring problems to you. Don’t go looking for them or making them up.”
“In other words, stop trying to micro-manage everything.” Sean laughed, sitting back on the stool. He nursed his beer for a moment, looking at Corina over the rim of the container.
“I suppose I owe you an apology.” He said, lowering the beer to the bar again.
“An apology? What for?” Corina scoffed. “Unless, of course you engineered this. They I would say you owe more than me an apology.”
“Well, I can’t take credit for that, thankfully.” Sean snorted. “I meant about kissing you when you woke up.”
Corina could feel her cheeks heat up and she lowered her head, looking into her nearly empty beer container, saying nothing.
Sean was about to add more when a tone sounded, signaling that their food was ready.
To be Continued……..
-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2014 by Clay Clearbrook
-- and may not be reprinted without permission.