Original Work Terra Novae Spes - Epic 2

CHAPTER 19



Nearly a week went by as the mission to the island to dismantle the ASD engines was being planned concurrently with the exploration of the southwest area of the continent that was known to be marshy and had a large population of the clubtail hippo creatures they were interested in. Also, the colony had taken a quick three day trip to the tropical zone where they continued the recon of the island, though still not finding anything dangerous enough to prohibit their continued trips there. Javier, Charity and Kurt took the lead on that trip and came back with smiles on their faces just like the last crew that headed down had.

For the currently planned missions, it was going to be the first time they had done two concurrent missions that far away from the colony. The section heads had convinced Ben they could go at both since the requirements for each were fairly straightforward and one was more of a minor diversion rather than a complete science expedition. However, Ben had insisted Security send out a team to sweep the island even after the dozen drone flights and one manned recon flight of the island showed no signs of large creatures. It was decided only five would stay: Kirk, Cyrus, Samantha and Randy Whitaker and Ryan as their pilot in one of the main shuttles. Kirk had argued for only three, but Ben had overridden him and required at least the pair for security.

Due to the size of the ASD engines, the shuttles had to use the casting method for transporting them to the island, necessitating six individual trips each. Kirk was like a nervous hen as he checked, rechecked and checked each one before they were allowed to fly. It was decided they would unload them in a large meadow area near the west end of the island and leave them unattended until all six were in place before sending out the team to disassemble them. Kirk ended up flying each time as they were depositing them as they left the casting platforms in place to be retrieved later and to give the team a stable platform to work on. Luckily, only three trips were needed as they used four shuttles per trip to deposit the large items.

“We’re all set,” said Ben as he saw the last one landed and the shuttles returning to the colony free of the considerable burden they had been carrying.

“It’s not going to stop Kirk from pinging every minute,” said Allen with a chuckle. “Not until the last one is disassembled, that is.”

“No kidding,” said Ben. “Anything else we’re missing?”

“Nothing I can think of,” said Allen as he typed out a message to Tasha to let her know to have her troopers come to the SIT landing pads. The Whitaker siblings arrived in short order with their packs as well as an assortment of different weapons as well as three teams that would conduct a final sweep before coming back. It didn’t take the shuttles long to arrive since they came back at supersonic speeds, free of the Earthly restrictions on such things and landed. The security teams were briefed by Lieutenant Randy Whitaker on emergency actions as well as their primary duties for the brief mission they would undertake.

“I’m sending out two of the gunships with the teams along with the shuttle,” said Charity as she arrived at the pad with her pilots in tow. “Captain Kingston volunteered to stay behind with the shuttle at the site.”

“No copilot?” asked Ben.

“If these things are as dangerous as Doctor Kirk makes them out to be, I’d prefer to just limit the danger to myself,” said Ryan. “No sense in having two pilots killed when they snip the wrong wire or something.”

“Just that you know the risks,” said Ben as the other pilots quickly did their preflight checks and ensured the weapons were loaded. Larissa, who would be the lead pilot, came over to Ryan before they were set to depart and pulled him to the side.

“Look, we’re the same rank and all, but if you get an emergency call from Kirk, you un-ass that area as soon as he says go,” she stated. “No heroics or waiting on them until the last moment or anything like that; light those engines up and get out of there without delay.”

“We don’t leave anyone behind,” said Ryan. “I’m not leaving them to die.”

“If these things are as fast as Jim Kirk told me, they won’t have but a moment to radio a warning. I mean it, Ryan, you get your cute butt in that seat and get out,” said Larissa.

“I’ll do my best to rescue them,” said Ryan.

“I know you will, but I also don’t want you dying because you tried to be the hero,” she replied.

“It almost seems like you care about me,” he grinned.

“I do care about you as a comrade and a friend,” she stated crossly. “Why do you have to go and make it weird all the sudden?”

“I was joking,” he said. “Look, I know when to hold them and when to fold them. But damned if I’m going to leave them behind to die if there’s a chance to save them.”

“Just bring your backside back alive,” she said as she hugged him.

“I will,” he said as he returned the hug.

“Besides, I’m not writing both those manuals by myself,” she grinned as they released the embrace and stepped back from each other.

“That’s the real reason,” he laughed. “You got my back?”

“Always,” she smiled as she headed for the main group that was gathering around Ben. He gave them a quick pep talk and speech before telling them to be safe and dismissing them to the various craft they would be flying on. Everyone settled in as the three ships lifted off and immediately headed east towards the coast.

“You think they’ll be okay?” asked Ben.

“Knowing how detailed Jim Kirk is, they’ll be fine and I can flat guarantee you he’ll be driving Cyrus up the wall by the time he’s done,” said Allen.

“I would have figured Cyrus would be double careful being an engineer and all,” said Ben.

“Oh, he will be,” said Allen. “But I have this feeling the mother hen in Kirk is going to show out and drive everyone up the wall.”

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“Security teams, you are a go to clear,” said Cyrus after they landed in a separate clearing about a kilometer away from the ASD engines. The island was only about two kilometers long and a kilometer wide and the teams made good progress checking out the local area for any large creatures which might pose a threat. It took almost two hours for them to call it secure as they collapsed back on the landing area at the gunships.

“Okay, you’re clear to return to the colony,” said Cyrus as he was briefed by Captain Jerome Irwin who led the teams.

“Give us a scream if you get into trouble,” said Larissa as she got ready to depart.

“Same for you guys,” said Ryan with a grin.

“Hero,” she scoffed with a slight grin and winked at him before leaving. It didn’t take long for the gunships to depart as the remaining five started setting up the shuttle for the overnight stay.

“We’re staying inside?” asked Randy.

“I think that’s probably wise,” said Cyrus. “I doubt we’ll need the security out as long as we button up overnight.”

“We’ll probably clear the immediate area in the morning just to be safe,” said Randy.

“I know you’re planning on coming with us to the worksite, but you don’t need to,” said Cyrus.

“My orders to accompany you come directly from Commander Nash,” said Randy. “One of us are to be with you at all times.”

“You could disobey that order and we won’t tell,” said Cyrus.

“If it’s all the same to you, Chief, I’m prepared to accept the danger,” said Randy.

“Just that you understand,” said Cyrus as he saw the sun already coming in low and turned to Kirk. “Want to start tomorrow after we get a good night’s sleep?”

“If I’m even capable of doing such a thing,” snorted Kirk. Cyrus went over to Ryan who was finishing setting up the shuttle for a quick start in case they had to leave suddenly.

“I’m going to go ahead and put this out there,” said Cyrus in a low voice. “There will be no repeat of what happened at the coast with you and that pretty security trooper that keeps eyeballing you.”

“Negative, Chief,” said Ryan. “I know better on a mission like this.”

“I just wanted to make sure we were clear on that,” said Cyrus. “Lieutenant Randy will be accompanying us to the site in the morning leaving you two here all by your lonesome. Don’t get any ideas while we’re gone.”

“I promise to be on my best behavior,” said Ryan with a nod.

“Okay, I trust you to do what’s right,” stated Cyrus. “You cooking tonight?”

“I figured ration packs tonight and tomorrow I can whip up something for the victory celebration,” said Ryan. “Or as much as the reheaters will allow me.”

“Are we finished setting up everything?” asked Cyrus.

“Just two more beds to set,” said Ryan.

“I’ll help,” said Cyrus as they finished setting down the last two beds and the crew came in and claimed one each. Ryan headed towards the stores and started grabbing meals for the team while Randy went outside with Sam and started a small fire near the back of the shuttle. Cyrus and Jim headed out eventually and joined them as Ryan finished preparing the meals.

“Gentlemen and lady,” said Ryan after about twenty minutes. “I took the liberty of setting out our five-star cuisine for your approval.”

“Emergency rations?” asked Kirk with a chuckle.

“No, I raided the warehouse before we left,” said Ryan. “Being a part of the SIT team gives me access to quite a few areas. I picked the best military rations we had.”

“Vegetarian options?” asked Kirk as he looked over the pack. “Thoughtful.”

“Rachelle mentioned it,” said Ryan as he got the heating unit running.

“I would have eaten whatever your brought,” said Kirk.

“Have you given up your vegetarian ways?” asked Cyrus.

“No, I’m just pragmatic about it,” said Kirk as he plopped into one of the folding chairs and tossed another piece of wood on the fire. “Basically, I figure we might not have the opportunity to be picky with food down the road and prepared myself for the eventuality I’d have to eat what is put in front of me.”

“Why were you a vegetarian to begin with?” asked Ryan. “If I may ask.”

“I saw the Earth’s animal population dwindling and also knew sometimes food animals were given better living arrangements than those in the Wastelands,” said Kirk. “I was faced with a choice of being part of the problem or part of a solution that allowed a greater number of people to live rather than the elite having personal farms for their indulgences.”

“So, you gave it up for a political reason?” asked Ryan.

“No, more of a personal one,” said Kirk. “We had to have a suitable gene pool to sustain the human population for the coming crisis… well, Earth’s crisis that is, and trying to be selective about who lived and who died is a sure fire way of killing the population entirely.”

“How do you mean?” asked Cyrus.

“Ever see any of the purebred animals like dogs?” asked Kirk.

“Sure,” said Cyrus.

“Any of them jump out as being overly smart?” asked Kirk.

“Some breeds were,” said Cyrus. “But a lot of them seemed pretty dumb.”

“The population selectively bred them, taking the desirable attributes they wanted and discarded the others making a ‘purer’ animal in the end,” said Kirk. “And bred out the intelligence most normal dogs had.”

“Really?” asked Cyrus.

“There were a few breeds that escaped the end results, but mostly dogs are far less intelligent than the ones we had in the 20th century. The mutts, so to speak, without a definitive breed were generally better and healthier dogs,” said Kirk. “Same thing applied to some of the royal families in other nations. Selective breeding caused genetic problems down the road like hemophilia and madness because the lines are too pure rather than having a little mixed in from outside sources.”

“Aren’t we under the same risk?” asked Ryan.

“We’ll have close to 15,000 colonists of varying genetic backgrounds when it’s all said and done. Generally, 10,000 is needed for population growth without nasty side effects,” said Kirk. “Still, we’ll need to be careful about who marries who and whatnot for a while.”

“And that won’t happen on Earth?” asked Ryan.

“Look at the caste system that’s been put into place by many locations,” said Kirk as he took another spoonful of the meal. “We have the elites who all live under domes and the working class. An argument can be made for a ‘middle class’ so to speak with mid level management, but it’s very small. Anyway, the elites would never stoop to marrying off a son or daughter to a middle or lower class individual. Most mid-level or working class families will breed with each other and it will affect the bloodlines down the road creating distinct sub-classes of humans.”

“Sounds very Jules Verne-ish,” said Ryan.

“Actually, that’s H. G. Wells,” said Cyrus. “If you’re talking about The Time Machine.”

“Very good, Chief,” said Kirk. “I’m impressed.”

“I’d dare say most engineers grew up on Wells, Hugo and Verne,” chuckled Cyrus.

“You are correct though, the Eloi and Morlock analogy is a distinct possibility,” said Kirk.

“How come?” asked Randy.

“Because it will take the Earth at least 10,000 years to overcome what humans have done to it and rebalance the ecosystem. Possibly longer if they keep messing with it,” said Kirk. “What will humanity become in that timeframe living under domes or off-world in enclosed colonies?”

“Will the Earth actually recover?” asked Sam.

“Every planet undergoes significant climatic shifts in its lifespan and the Earth has had some shocking shifts before we evolved. Eventually, it’ll self-correct to habitable conditions as long as they don’t continue to try to fix it like they have been,” said Kirk.

“And during that time, the caste system will become even more entrenched in society,” said Cyrus with a nod. “Until the peasants revolt.”

“But the cycle will repeat eventually as it always does,” said Kirk. “Revolutions are relatively short term solutions for long term problems.”

“But don’t the people get what they want during a revolt?” asked Ryan.

“Somewhat,” said Randy. “One of the papers I did at the Academy was on how revolutions normally do little to change the overall system the people revolted against from the start. Basically, a few of the grievances are addressed, but the old ways creep back in over time. Look at the American Revolution in the 18th century. Most of the people’s issues with Great Britain were addressed and a new form of government was established. But eventually, over a long period mind you, an extremely similar oligarchical system set in and the government fell back on the old ways.”

“Which brought about both the Civil Wars and other revolts,” said Kirk with a nod.

“But at their core, most revolutions don’t end up changing things in the long run,” said Randy.

“And it certainly isn’t changing the genetic problems we encounter,” said Kirk.

“Can’t be any worse than we are here,” said Randy. “We’re of the same ‘stock’ so to speak of what we’re leaving behind.”

“Again, the colonists were picked because of the diverse genetic backgrounds,” said Kirk. “I know that sounds cold, but we had to ensure the continued survival of the species. Under those domes on Earth, the elites will breed with the elites and the working class will breed with the working class and problems will come up.”

“Hemophilia has been eradicated though,” said Cyrus. “Or can be headed off.”

“However, there are always additional problems that pop up,” said Kirk as Ryan gathered their meal packs from the heater and handed them out. “Mongolian Diabetes, Byers Disease, Ocasio Syndrome and others have popped up just when we think we’ve eradicated the latest genetic abnormality.”

“Which we’ve done a good job of heading them off,” said Cyrus.

“Eventually, humans will find a disorder they cannot overcome,” said Kirk. “Or we’re going to screw with the human genome so much we mess it up for eternity. As I told Commander Nash some time ago, it’s a possibility the humans of Novae Spes might be required to repopulate the Earth centuries from now.”

“Except we’re severing all ties with Earth,” said Cyrus.

“So long as we have history books, we’ll always be tied to Earth. It’s the cradle of humanity and still a place that a lot of good things have happened,” said Kirk. “Perhaps in time we’ll even reestablish communication and trade with the Earthlings.”

“And have them bring the same problems we left right to our doorstep?” asked Ryan.

“We can teach them a better way once we find it ourselves,” said Kirk. “I’m not a cult leader follower and never have been as those figures have led us to destruction, but I do believe in what Ben Nash wants to accomplish.”

“He’s a cult leader?” asked Sam with a laugh.

“Not in the traditional sense, no; nor does he want that,” said Kirk. “However, he has amassed quite a following since we’ve been here. Not saying that’s a bad thing as I believe the direction is the right one. But overall, the people follow him without hesitation.”

“Generally, because he’s right,” said Cyrus.

“Not always,” said Kirk. “But the major difference is, he will admit when he’s wrong and change paths if necessary. That’s the difference that I believe will keep us alive.”

“When has he been wrong?” asked Randy.

“By not striking out immediately against the Raptors,” said Kirk. “Even he admits that. A mistake? Yes, but one that he thought he had other options with. But a mistake nonetheless.”

“I still don’t see him as a cult leader,” said Ryan.

“There are obviously different kinds of cults, some good, some bad,” said Kirk. “However, the masses of people need to recognize the bad ones sooner rather than later.”

“Like religions?” asked Sam.

“Religion at its core is generally benign and serves to give a person somewhat of a decent moral compass in living their life. But when human factors get involved at the leadership level, the seven deadly sins if you would, the purpose becomes corrupted and the system fails,” said Kirk. “Just like we saw in the religious wars of the 21st century.”

“Or the Crusades,” said Cyrus.

“Or the Crusades,” agreed Kirk. “People didn’t question the motives behind the scenes until far too late to make a difference.”

“Hopefully, we’re more enlightened,” said Ryan.

“I think we are, young man,” said Kirk. “Regardless, we have a chance to start over and make sure we don’t fall into those same problems.”

“We’ll create new ones,” chuckled Cyrus.

“And learn from them,” said Kirk. “We’ve got a smart group here or in the process of coming here. I think we’re intelligent enough to start over without going to war over ideals.”

“We’re safe for the moment, I think,” said Cyrus.

“Anyway, we have six total units to disassemble,” said Kirk. “I figure we can do three over the next few days and head back for a rest period before returning for the final three.”

“I planned on being here for six days total,” said Cyrus.

“I brought the supplies for a week,” said Ryan.

“I’d prefer to take a break in between the sessions if it’s okay with you two,” said Kirk. “Three are nerve racking enough to need a break.”

“I can’t fault that,” said Ryan.

“Yeah, safety and whatnot,” said Cyrus as one of the madgers came walking towards the fire and growled at the intruding humans.

“Don’t move,” said Ryan as he retrieved his pistol slowly from the holster. The Whitakers picked up their carbines and aimed them at the creature.

“Don’t worry,” said Kirk as he froze in place as he hadn’t seen one of the animals up close yet. However, it was truly fearless when it came to the humans as it sniffed the air at the lingering scents of the meal they had eaten and growled again at them. Ryan aimed carefully and but didn’t fire a shot yet. He growled at the animal and waited for a reaction. It growled a little louder as Ryan’s finger went to the trigger as he growled back at it a little louder and deeper this time. The madger stopped growling for a moment before Ryan let a final growl at the animal. Sensing the threat, the madger slowly backed off into the woods without turning around until it was behind some of the local foliage. They heard it scampering off slowly in the woods as Ryan lowered his weapon and exhaled a deep breath.

“I thought they were joking when they said it was fearless,” said Kirk.

“Chuck Dawson warned me about it,” said Ryan as he holstered the pistol. “Though I’d think sleeping inside the shuttle tonight might be the best idea.”

“Yeah, I’m with you on that,” said Cyrus. “Strange as it wasn’t afraid of the fire.”

“No, it certainly was attracted to whatever we ate,” said Kirk.

“I didn’t think the meatloaf was that good personally,” said Cyrus with a chuckle. “I hope he doesn’t come back with friends.”

“According to Doctor Dawson, they aren’t a pack animal,” said Kirk. “I’d hope we aren’t going to test that theory out here. Those claws are just made for ripping us to shreds.”

“The teeth weren’t much better,” said Ryan as he collected the remaining food packs and took them back into the shuttle. Cyrus and Kirk assisted him in stowing all the gear and making sure their own pistols were on their sides as they should have been.

“Why did you growl at it?” asked Kirk.

“I overheard one of the scientists saying the animals here needed to be shown who was the biggest Alpha on the planet,” said Ryan. “I figured it was worth a shot to growl to show it I was the bigger threat.”

“Without killing it too,” said Kirk.

“No reason to kill it unless it became a threat to us,” said Ryan. “It’s probably used to being able to bully other animals into giving up their food.”

“Very reasonable,” said Kirk as they returned to the campfire. Ryan reached into his bag and produced a small half liter bottle of brown liquid.

“I’m not sure if it’s permitted,” said Ryan. “However, tonight certainly calls for having something to knock off the tension.”

“Is that liquor?” asked Cyrus.

“Some Tennessee whiskey that I brought with me on the trip from Earth,” said Ryan.

“Ben hasn’t really made an issue with the contraband alcohol,” said Cyrus.

“I was meaning this mission specifically,” said Ryan. “Look, being part of the leadership element, I will put it away if you want.”

“I doubt a shot will hurt us tonight,” said Kirk. “Though I don’t want to be hung over for tomorrow, a drink sounds good about now.”

“I agree,” said Cyrus. Ryan grabbed five cups before carefully measuring out the liquid inside and handing over the cups. They took brief sips of the whiskey as it was a shock to those who hadn’t drank in some time.

“That hit the spot,” said Cyrus as he exhaled. “I forgot how much it burns.”

“No kidding,” said Kirk as he coughed slightly.

“Some good whiskey needs age,” said Ryan as he took another sip.

“Best I ever had was on a Trappist run,” said Cyrus. “Someone brought aboard a 70 year old Scotch that we confiscated.”

“Confiscated, huh?” asked Ryan with a chuckle.

“Well, it was given to us by the Marine Commander we had on board,” said Cyrus. “Didn’t want it to go to waste.”

“I’d bet not,” chuckled Kirk. “Anyway, this certainly isn’t bad.”

“Good stuff,” said Sam as she took another sip. “Let me ask you, Doctor Kirk, what are the chances of us succeeding?”

“Pretty good actually,” said Kirk. “We’re determined, have a common goal and are working together towards that end.”

“I meant Novae Spes,” said Sam.

“No, that’s what I meant,” said Kirk. “Ben did plan on the colonists having children even though the corporate bosses thought it was a bad idea for the initial group to do so. He felt, as the Vice President put it, ‘boys will be boys and girls will be girls’ when they get together. So long as we maintain that pursuit of repopulating the species, we should be fine.”

“I’ll do my part,” grinned Ryan.

“You’re playing the field, I assume?” asked Kirk.

“I’m seeing what options are available to me,” said Ryan with a grin as he noticed Sam took notice at that comment and gave him a look before averting her eyes. “And making sure I help in the repopulation if needed.”

“I’d dare say you’ve caught the attention of more than a few of the single women around here,” said Kirk as he nodded at Sam. “Or so the rumor mill has said.”

“He’s certainly caught a few of our eyes,” said Sam with a nod and a distinctive look at Ryan to let him know he had caught hers.

“I figure I could sample what Novae Spes has to offer,” said Ryan with a laugh. “I’ll just need a good marketing strategy.”

“Those blue eyes of yours are about the only marketing strategy you need,” observed Sam.

“You’re a handsome fellow,” said Kirk as he recognized the signals being thrown off by Samantha. “I doubt you’ll need much help finding female attention when it comes down to it.”

“I think it’s already started,” laughed Ryan.

“Which can cause problems as well,” laughed Cyrus. “Having multiple women is trouble for both the women and the men vying for their attention.”

“I’ll be a good boy, I promise,” said Ryan with a grin. “And you, Doctor?”

“I’ll continue to be a good boy,” said Kirk with a chuckle.

“That Assistant Director Angeline is nice looking for a gal of her age,” said Ryan. “Close enough to your age as well.”

“Doctor Weber is very pretty,” said Kirk. “Not my type, though.”

“We’ve got a species to continue,” said Ryan. “Even for the gay members of our expedition.”

“You knew?” asked Kirk after a moment of silence came over them.

“It’s not exactly a state secret,” said Randy.

“I don’t think having a child for the pure sense of continuing the species is logical,” said Kirk.

“What other reason could there be?” asked Sam.

“Love perhaps? Call me old fashioned, but there has to be a mutual, respectful relationship between the two parties in order for it to work,” said Kirk. “I don’t want to be a deadbeat dad.”

“Yeah, you certainly aren’t contributing here,” chuckled Cyrus.

“Not like that,” said Kirk crossly. “I just… I grew up in a house with two parents that just didn’t get along but stayed together for my benefit. I swore I’d never do such a thing to any child.”

“I can understand that,” said Randy. “Principled.”

“Yes, Angeline is an attractive woman with a great personality and certainly not beyond child bearing years yet. But perhaps she wouldn’t mind a boy toy like you,” said Kirk with a grin.

“She’s pretty, but…” said Ryan with a laugh.

“But a little too old for you,” said Kirk.

“Yeah,” said Ryan. “Regardless, you spoke of ensuring our species didn’t get too inbred. You always can help with that. I mean, you’re already prepared to give up your vegetarian ways.”

“Slightly different situation,” laughed Kirk.

“Who knows?” said Cyrus. “Maybe she’ll catch you in a vulnerable moment.”

“Right,” said Kirk with a chuckle as he fed another couple of pieces of wood on the fire. “And you, Cyrus?”

“My wife couldn’t have children,” said Cyrus.

“I’m sorry for bringing it up,” said Kirk.

“No, it’s something we came to terms with a long time ago,” said Cyrus.

“Adoption?” asked Ryan.

“Being that my job took me away for months on end, we never considered that option,” said Cyrus. “We briefly considered it before this trip but didn’t want to expose a child to the unseen dangers a new colony might present.”

“We were reasonably certain of the risks we could and would encounter,” said Kirk.

“But we also have discovered even worse threats like the Raptors,” said Cyrus. “We’ve come off extremely lucky for the most part against them.”

“Skill more than luck,” said Randy.

“What would have happened if we had been attacked during the first days of the excursions when our defenses were extremely light and the heavy weapons weren’t as plentiful?” asked Cyrus. “We had several hundred people down here and defending them all in a panic wouldn’t have been easy had the Raptors come in force.”

“That’s true,” said Randy after thinking about it for a moment. “I guess we were lucky.”

“Those Raptors are a serious threat,” said Ryan. “Though the air strikes are certainly going to be helpful in that regard if we can continue taking the fight into their front yard rather than being reactive when they show up.”

“Which I think the Commander is planning,” said Kirk as Ryan replenished the cups of everyone around the fire. “I applaud his efforts to adopt a live and let live policy, but it was time to strike back with a blow of our own.”

“Which was extremely effective,” said Ryan.

“Until our weapons are depleted,” said Kirk. “We can’t continue large scale strikes and risk not having anything in the colony but a pointy stick if they strike again in superior numbers.”

“He brings up a good point,” said Sam as she took a sip. “I would assume Major Hayden is planning on striking the biggest blow she can when we can.”

“Some fighters might have been nice,” said Randy.

“It was considered, but we would have had to add a cargo pod to the ship for all the ‘nice’ things we felt like were needed,” said Cyrus. “Which would have increased the risk to the Santa Maria and would have added 25% more time to an already delayed construction schedule.”

“It’s a towed pod, right?” asked Randy.

“It is but we would have had to design a ship that could handle the stresses of towing a significant mass behind it and bringing it to a stop when we wanted to,” said Cyrus. “Which means more powerful engines, better structural design, an increase in personnel and a whole hoop of additional technical challenges.”

“Remember, we’re the trailblazers here,” said Kirk. “Our job, first and foremost, is to establish a foothold on the planet and prepare it for follow on colonization. We were never given the numbers to do little more than that.”

“Like an amphibious assault,” said Randy. “Just enough to take and secure a beachhead and wait for reinforcements.”

“And small enough numbers that we could be evacuated easily if we had to,” said Sam.

“That consideration was first and foremost as well,” said Kirk with a nod. “I think we are past the large scale threats or can defend ourselves against them for the most part. It’s the little dangers that will pop up that will be more challenging.”

“Such as?” asked Ryan.

“Diseases and viruses we’ll undoubtably stir up with a new host for them to flourish in,” said Kirk. “Each and every planet with life has had microorganisms that have invaded our bodies with harmful effects. Medicine has advanced enough to combat most of them, but the tried and true method of allowing our bodies to adapt and fight them off naturally will be key.”

“Like the bad water infection Major Hayden got?” asked Randy.

“Exactly,” said Kirk. “She managed to fight it off naturally and we learned a lot about it in order to quickly counter it in the future.”

“That virus probably figured out it made a big mistake by taking her on,” chuckled Cyrus.

“There is that as well,” laughed Kirk. “Regardless, we have talented medical staff that should be able to help treat such things in the future.”

“You think that’s the biggest threat?” asked Ryan.

“The original colonists in the Trappist system ran into the same problems,” said Kirk. “Which is why they had to attempt colonization four times before being able to get a foothold.”

“I guess we’re lucky not to have encountered anything bad yet,” said Ryan.

“Key word on being yet,” said Kirk. “They are out there just waiting for the warm host we’ll provide for them.”

“Each day will present a new challenge,” said Cyrus thoughtfully. “But I think we’ll overcome in the end.”

“We certainly have the knowledge to do so,” said Kirk as he finished off his drink. “If it’s all the same to you, I think I’m going to call it an early night since we have a dangerous task ahead of us tomorrow as well.”

“Yeah, good call,” said Cyrus as he tossed off the last of the whiskey. The team collectively grabbed the items outside and allowed the fire to die down naturally. The ground was wet enough that the danger of it spreading were minimal, but Randy and Sam pushed up the dirt around the pit enough to negate even that minor threat. The siblings also did a quick check around the immediate area and didn’t find any threats before heading inside and locking the hatch behind them. Ryan took the bed closest to the cockpit and started getting ready as Samantha took the bed across from him.

“Are we going informal on this trip?” she asked.

“Informal?” asked Cyrus.

“As in comfortable sleeping arrangements,” she stated.

“You’re the only female on this trip,” said Kirk. “Overall, I’d say that is up to you.”

“Informal it is,” said Samantha as she started doffing clothing.

“Luckily for everyone, I also included a portable shower for the morning,” said Ryan as he started removing clothing as well. “The water tanks might have to be filled at some point, but as a minimum, we can at least feel human in the morning.”

“Good thinking,” said Cyrus.

“If you could help with the fittings in the morning?” asked Ryan. “I’ve never hooked it up to the external water tank before.”

“It’s easy,” said Cyrus. “I’ll show you tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” said Ryan as he spread out the sleeping bag. “I’ll dim the lights down tonight, but I think we should keep some on just in case.”

“We can adapt,” said Kirk.

“Need a nightlight for the boogeymen?” asked Sam with a grin as she looked at Ryan.

“Of course,” he laughed.

“It’s a good thing you have me around to protect you from those things,” she grinned back and flashed her brown eyes at him.

“I was thinking the same thing,” said Ryan with a wink as he finished getting ready. She felt her communicator buzz at her and looked at the message from her brother. It was nothing more than an annoyed face emoji, but she gave him a dirty look and shook her head at him as she knew her brother well enough to know he was being protective.

“Just sayin…” said Randy as he tossed the sleeping bag over the top of his body.

“I think I’ll make up my own mind about it,” said Sam with another frown. No further conversation was had between the two as everyone started nodding off and getting the sleep they needed for the coming days.

********************
​

The next morning went by fast as Kirk, Cyrus and Randy headed out to the clearing with the ASD engines waiting for them. Randy did a quick check around the area and saw there was nothing that should be a threat other than the large engines sitting to their front. He took a watchful post on the opposite side as Jim and Cyrus laid out the tools they would need for the day and checked each other’s items.

“It’s amazing that in the 22nd century we have to use hand tools on one of the most advanced pieces of technology we own,” said Cyrus.

“It’s one of those things,” said Kirk as he opened the manual to the checklist for disassembly.

“Ready?” asked Cyrus.

“No better time than now,” said Kirk. “Open Number 5 maintenance panel by removing the top T30 Torx screws first and then the bottom ones.”

“Opening Number 5 maintenance panel,” said Cyrus as he looked at the first item on the checklist, located the panel and found the appropriate driver. “Top screws first.”

Randy saw the work was going to be extremely detailed and resigned himself for a long day of doing little more than infrequent patrols around the area and keeping a watch out. He would hear Jim Kirk state a command which was repeated by Cyrus as they accomplished the tasks and moved to the next one. Eventually, they switched places and continued the tedious task of dismantling the engine eventually breaking for lunch and nibbling at the ration packs provided by Ryan as they continued to review the checklist.

“Getting close,” said Cyrus as he watched as Kirk finished the latest task.

“Most dangerous part though,” said Kirk as he looked over the checklist. “Removing power cable 19A from circuit board A1D.”

“Remove power cable P19A from circuit board A1D,” confirmed Cyrus.

“Steady,” muttered Kirk as he was speaking to himself more than anything. Cyrus saw he finished the task and exhaled slightly before announcing the next task.

“Remove data line D19 from primary processor,” said Cyrus.

“Removing data line D19 from primary processor,” said Kirk as he looked at the primary processor. Cyrus watched him pause before letting out a deep sigh.

“What is it?” asked Cyrus.

“This, Mister Hendrix, is why I didn’t trust anyone else to do this job except me,” said Kirk as he moved back slightly. “No offense intended.”

Cyrus looked into the area where Kirk was working and saw two lines both labeled D19 running into the primary processor. “Okay, two lines?”

“There should only be one,” said Kirk. “The other one is a power line.”

“So…?” asked Cyrus.

“The data line had to be removed from the processor before the power line,” said Kirk.

“It has to be done before the power is cut?” asked Cyrus.

“Yes,” said Kirk. “Long story short, if the primary processor detects the power supply going offline, it will send a command to the emitter to run the last commands given.”

“The last command would have been a shut down,” said Cyrus.

“Let me rephrase, the last operational commands for an ASD window,” said Kirk with a sigh.

“The power is cut to the emitters,” said Cyrus.

“The emitters have enough capacitor charge to open a brief window,” said Kirk. “And before you ask, it’s potentially up to 10 seconds.”

“Why in the world would someone install the same lines to two completely different modules on the processor?” asked Cyrus.

“Laziness, cost cutting, incompetence, time saving… take your pick,” said Kirk as he called up the schematics on his tablet and looked over the diagram for the primary processor. He showed it to Cyrus before pointing at one of the two lines. “That one.”

“Looks correct,” said Cyrus as he studied the diagram. Kirk was reaching in to disconnect the line when Cyrus yelled at him and Kirk yanked his hand back like he had been scalded.

“Stop!” said Cyrus as he looked over the diagram again. “It’s the other one.”

“The diagram shows this one,” said Kirk.

“We’re working on this from the opposite side,” said Cyrus. “The diagram is backwards…or the processor is backwards. Regardless, it’s the other one.”

Cyrus reversed the image on the tablet to show Kirk what he was talking about. After studying the diagram again for almost ten seconds and comparing it to the processor they were working on, Kirk nodded at Cyrus.

“You just saved us from a big mistake,” said Kirk as he got ready to disconnect the other line.

“Hold on a second,” said Cyrus as he called over Randy. He had been bored for almost the entire day until the yelling caused him to take notice.

“Chief?” asked Randy.

“I want you to head back to the shuttle,” said Cyrus. “Long story short, we have identical wires and a 50-50 chance of getting it wrong. You head on back and tell Ryan to get everyone on board and be ready to go just in case.”

“How will we know?” asked Randy.

“Call us when you get to the shuttle and if you don’t hear from us within five minutes, head back to the colony,” said Cyrus.

“We don’t leave anyone behind,” said Randy.

“We would be in a place you can’t get us. An ASD window will open and likely will take us into it where rescue is impossible,” said Cyrus. “Now head on back.”

“Yes, sir,” said Randy as he grabbed his pack and headed back to the shuttle. It took almost 15 minutes to arrive as he found his sister and Ryan sitting around waiting for news.

“Everything go okay?” asked Ryan.

“Cyrus wants you to warm up the engines and be ready to go,” said Randy. “Apparently, this is the most dangerous part of the disassembly.”

“I’d prefer not to leave them behind,” said Ryan.

“There is a possibility of an ASD window getting opened,” said Randy as he stowed his pack onboard the shuttle. “I don’t like it either, but we would have to survive to get the word out it was unsuccessful.”

“Roger that,” said Ryan as he headed inside and got the controls warmed up.

“Chief, we’re ready here,” said Randy over the communicator. “Best of luck.”

“Thank you,” said Cyrus. “It’s now or never.”

“It’s been a pleasure,” said Kirk and looked at Cyrus. “I mean, just in case.”

“Same for me,” said Cyrus as Kirk reached in to disconnect the line and briefly paused. It seemed like an eternity before he unscrewed the fitting and paused again before pulling the line out of the processor. Five beeps were heard as expected and the processor flashed red LED lights before turning to a steady red indicator on the “data input/output” indicator. Kirk let out a deep sigh as Cyrus did the same.

“Four more steps,” said Cyrus. “On the emitter, remove power cable P5 from the main console.”

“Remove power cable P5 from the main console,” said Kirk as they moved to the front of the engine and he looked over the cables before disconnecting the one specified.

“Remove data cable D19 from the console,” said Cyrus as their communicators beeped at them.

“You guys still there?” asked Ryan over the radio a little early.

“Yeah, three more steps,” said Cyrus. “Be on alert just in case.”

“Roger that,” said Ryan as they continued to wait in anticipation for the completion.

“Last three items,” said Cyrus. “Remove ground line G2 from the emitter unit.”

“Removing ground line G2 from the emitter,” said Kirk as he located it and disconnected it.

“Remove data cable D2 from the emitter,” said Cyrus as the process was repeated and completed by Kirk.

“Remove primary power output cable P1 from the power supply,” said Cyrus as they moved back to the power unit near the center of the unit and located the final step in the tedious process.

“Removing primary power cable P1 from the unit,” said Kirk as it took a little more effort as this was the primary means of power going to the engine. He requested a larger wrench and was given one by Cyrus as he disconnected the power line and unplugged it with a sigh.

“We’re done, guys,” said Cyrus over the communicator.

“I think we can start breathing again,” laughed Ryan over the communicator.

“We’ve got some housekeeping stuff to finish up, but we’ll head back when we’re done,” said Cyrus as Kirk stepped back.

“We’ll see you in a bit,” said Ryan as he signed off.

“Five more to go,” said Cyrus.

“Yeah,” said Kirk. “But not today.”

“It went a little quicker than I imagined,” said Cyrus.

“Still detailed, nerve-wracking work,” said Kirk as he wiped his forehead with a bandana.

“You would have made a good engineer,” said Cyrus.

“Science was my thing though,” said Kirk.

“Pretty place they have here,” said Cyrus as he was relieved at getting everything right the first time and they were out of danger.

“Could be a good location for a meteorology station,” said Kirk as he looked around.

“Or a camping area,” said Cyrus. “Weather is agreeable as well.”

“I’d dare say there’s plenty of camping spots closer to home,” said Kirk. “If one was so inclined for such a thing.”

“Want to run a test on the power unit to determine how much gas we used?” asked Cyrus.

“Simple test,” said Kirk as he looked at the control panel and pushed a button. “Impossible.”

“What?” asked Cyrus as he saw Kirk casting the screen to his tablet and checking it again.

“If this is correct, we only used about 25% of the fuel,” said Kirk.

“We have 75% left?” asked Cyrus.

“I’ll double check this, but it has to be wrong,” said Kirk.

“Why is that?” asked Cyrus.

“Because the units on the Santa Maria were only designed to be operated for about ten years,” said Kirk. “Unless Novus designed an enhanced unit of some sort.”

“They didn’t share the testing specs with you?” asked Cyrus.

“Not really,” said Kirk. “They were close lipped about them.”

“What kind of power output are we looking at if we adapted it?” asked Cyrus.

“Depends on a couple of things,” said Kirk. “But you could safely adapt the units for a steady flow of electrical power.”

“How much?” asked Cyrus.

“Safely?” asked Kirk as he did a couple of quick calculations. “15 megawatt hours for about sixteen years if my calculations are correct.”

“15 megawatts for sixteen years?” asked Cyrus. “No way.”

“That’s a low end figure without any testing,” said Kirk. “It could be higher.”

“So, we’ve found a possible alternate power source?” asked Cyrus.

“The power units themselves are highly stable and safe,” said Kirk. “No reason we couldn’t adapt them for electrical output.”

“Ben will like that,” said Cyrus.

“Anyone would like that,” said Kirk. “Let’s head back to the shuttle and let the young man know we’re still alive. It’s time for dinner anyway.”

“Right,” said Cyrus as they gathered up the tools and put them back in the bags. Kirk noticed the other items were piled neatly near the device to be ready for a pickup when they got the opportunity to move the items back. The casings would have to be put back together, but overall, the unit they had just worked on was safe for the moment.

“You mentioned the capacitor and it having a charge,” said Cyrus as they walked back.

“It discharged itself into the main power supply capacitor when we removed the data line going into the emitter,” said Kirk. “It’s as dead as we can make it.”

“And now it’s safe for disposal,” said Cyrus.

“Into the bottom of the ocean or a failing orbit,” said Kirk dryly.

“You really hate those things,” chuckled Cyrus.

“It’s a piece of technology that will help our species survive, but overall as I stated to Ben, we are like infants trying to operate a chainsaw,” said Kirk as they arrived at the camp.

“Good to see you,” said Ryan as he shook their hands. “Return of the conquering heroes.”

“Five more dragons to slay,” said Kirk. “Then I get my nerves back.”

 

CHAPTER 20



“You all set?” asked Ben as Kurt took a count of everyone heading out on the expedition he was leading to the marshlands.

“I think so,” said Kurt. “Three days out and back should be a cinch.”

“No Raptors?” asked Ben.

“Plains lions mainly,” said Kurt. “They seem to shy away from us for the most part. But we have ample security where we’re going.”

“Still, keep a watch out,” said Ben.

“We have every intention of doing so,” said Kurt. “How’s everything going out at the coast?”

“They have dismantled the first and are making good progress according to Cyrus,” said Ben. “They probably started on the second one this morning.”

“Hope everything goes smooth for them,” said Kurt as another team came back inside the colony walls. “Someone else out?”

“Quick out and back to the foothills near the lake,” said Ben. “Science found something they wanted to get a sample of so I let them head out at first light.”

“Something good?” asked Kurt.

“I honestly don’t know,” chuckled Ben. “I’m sure they’ll bring it to my attention if it’s exciting.”

“Javier or Angeline?” asked Kurt.

“Chuck Dawson this time actually,” said Ben. “Prodding Javier though.”

“They both can get a little excited,” said Kurt as others showed up and boarded the shuttle. “You know anything about our pilot?”

“Brains?” asked Ben asking about Lieutenant Briana Lang. “Fairly new to the pilot seat if I remember. Charity told me it was her first solo mission, but she had every confidence in her.”

“She’s younger, that’s for sure,” said Kurt.

“Everyone’s younger than you,” said Ben with a laugh.

“Except Grady and Allen,” said Kurt. “Anyway, it’s hard keeping up with the youngsters.”

“We got a whole bunch of youth here,” said Ben. “You be careful out there as well.”

“Will do,” said Kurt as the last person boarded and the pilot gave him the signal they were ready to depart. “I’ll bring you back a steak.”

“That’d be nice,” said Ben. “Good luck.”

“See you in a few days,” said Kurt as he boarded and the shuttle and gunship departed. Ben headed back to his office where he started going over the mission reports as well as the initial plans for other trips. He made some comments on the overall plans and sent it back to the proper Directors for their changes or their arguments in support of their position. His stomach grumbling reminded him it was time for lunch as he headed to the mess hall and got into line.

********************
​

The trip on the island was going well as Cyrus Hendrix and Jim Kirk continued work on dismantling the ASD engines. They finished up the third one just before lunch on the third day and took an extended break while munching on the items sent by Ryan to the work site.

“You know what I’m thinking?” asked Cyrus.

“That perhaps I might have been wrong to take a break after the first three?” asked Kirk.

“It’s up to you, but we’ve gotten more comfortable doing it,” said Cyrus.

“We did plan on an entire week,” said Kirk as he looked over the dead engine.

“I’m for at least starting the next one this afternoon,” said Cyrus. “It’s up to you though.”

“We can get started at least,” said Kirk. “Plenty of daylight.”

“We’ll take them one by one and see if we feel up to finishing,” said Cyrus.

“Sounds good,” said Kirk as they continued eating and Samantha Whitaker took a quick patrol around the site before returning to them.

“What about all the parts and whatnot?” she asked as she sat down with the two.

“The casings will be used for composters,” said Cyrus. “The cables and other boards will likely be reused or recycled. The emitters will probably be destroyed.”

“So, we’ll need another trip back out here?” she asked.

“To pick up the items, yes,” said Kirk. “Are you volunteering already?”

“I get cabin fever for lack of a better term,” she explained. “I like the exploration aspect of what we’re doing here and changing scenery is helpful in that regard.”

“I can understand that,” said Kirk as they finished up and stretched before getting back to dismantling the fourth ASD engine. Again, they were making good progress when they were called by Ryan from the camp area.

“Guys, the colony called and we have bad weather moving in,” he stated over the communicator.

“What kind of bad weather?” asked Kirk as Cyrus removed one of the circuit boards.

“Lightning storm with accompanying rain,” said Ryan. “It’s still a couple of hours from here, but no chance it misses us.”

“I’m to safely assume these things won’t like it when they’re wet?” asked Cyrus.

“I don’t think they’ve ever been tested for that,” said Kirk. “So, better safe than sorry. We can put the casing back together and leave the rest for tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Cyrus as they started locating the parts to seal the engine back up as Kirk was thankful Cyrus had been so orderly in placing them nearby. It didn’t take long to locate everything and in twenty minutes they had the engine sealed back up.

“No worries about the other three?” asked Sam.

“Nah, they’re dead,” said Kirk as they noticed the dark clouds on the horizon and started heading back to the camp. “Though I think we should cover the power units.”

“Good call,” said Cyrus as they located the tarps that had been brought out the first day and used them to cover the power units and used some of the parts to weigh it down. The clouds were moving in quicker as they finished and headed on the direct path back to the camp. They arrived to find Ryan looking over the data sent by the colony as well as the radar on the shuttle itself.

“How did you get an extended radar picture?” asked Kirk.

“Doctor Webber sent out a portable unit for us to test while we’re here,” said Ryan as he pointed at the tether cable for the balloon holding the radar set at around 300 meters. “The thought was to put in an automated weather station out here and we were testing that theory.”

“How long will the storm last?” asked Kirk.

“At least through the afternoon,” said Ryan. “You might be able to get a few hours in after it passes before dusk.”

“Call it a day?” asked Cyrus.

“Yes, I think that’s best,” said Kirk as low thunder was heard in the distance. “No sense in working on one of those things and having water dripping all over it.”

“Let me get the balloon brought back in,” said Ryan as the winds were picking up and the tether was starting to get pulled around. It took several minutes to get the device winched in and stowed as the clouds were coming in faster with pronounced thunder accompanying the winds. Lightning was seen as well on the leading edge of the storm as the others collected the items left outside and tossed them into the shuttle to be sorted later. Just as they were finishing, drops of rain started coming down as the team of five got inside the shuttle and closed the hatches.

“We can leave just in case, right?” asked Samantha.

“Worried?” asked Ryan with a charming grin.

“Just don’t want to get washed away,” said Sam with a grin of her own.

“We’ll be okay,” said Ryan as he went to the cockpit and made sure the shuttle was still configured for a quick departure. The remainder of the team got comfortable as the storm increased and rocked the shuttle from time to time with the wind gusts.

“I don’t know what it is about a rainstorm being so romantic though,” said Sam to Ryan as they were away from the group.

“I know, right?” asked Ryan as he saw where she was heading and generally would have pursued the comments. Though knew having a crowd for such a thing certainly wasn’t in his plans.

“This might make a good vacation spot,” she said. “Quick weekend getaway type of place.”

“I think we are on a vacation to an extent,” said Ryan.

“I mean a vacation where we wouldn’t be attracting an audience,” she said directly.

“We’ve only got a couple more days here,” he stated.

“Well, tomorrow Randy is heading out with the other two leaving us here by ourselves,” she stated as she tapped her fingers on the bed she was sitting on.

“I can’t,” said Ryan after a moment’s pause.

“I understand,” she said dejectedly.

“No, it’s not that,” said Ryan. “I gave Cyrus my word I wasn’t going to do anything like that while on this trip.”

“You’ve done something like that before?” she asked.

“I might tend to incriminate myself if I answer,” he grinned.

“Look, we’ve spent the last few days just talking and you’ve been flirty with me more than a few times. I have this feeling there’s some sort of attraction there,” said Sam directly. “It’s mutual.”

“However, I do want to be on my best behavior,” said Ryan. “Trust me, when we get back, I’ll properly wine and dine you and show you a good time during a rainstorm.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” said Sam with a naughty smile as the lights suddenly flickered and went out followed by an immediate pop from a lightning strike nearby. The emergency lights were still on and Ryan went to the cockpit and found the shuttle had been hit by lightning. He was joined by Cyrus as he looked over the ship’s systems.

“It’s a good thing I put that ground cable in,” said Ryan.

“Trouble?” asked Cyrus as he looked over the data as well.

“No, just the system resetting itself,” said Ryan as he had to manually tell the ship to restart the critical functions. It slowly came back to life as the lights came back on and additional strikes were heard nearby and flashes were seen through the cockpit window.

“We can take off, right?” asked Randy as the others joined them in the crowded cockpit.

“Yeah, we’re good,” said Ryan. “I put in the ground cable when we got here, so we just got a little of the shock.”

“Pretty bad storm,” remarked Kirk.

“Winds have picked up, but we’re going to be okay,” said Ryan. “It’s about time to get started on dinner anyway.”

“This planet does have some pretty bad storms,” said Kirk. “We haven’t seen them at the colony yet, which is one of the reasons why we put it where we did, but other areas can get hammered pretty hard from time to time.”

“I’ve heard of some bad storms on Bounty by Eridani 82,” said Ryan. “Makes Earth storms look like a gentle breeze.”

“For a farming planet, it does get torn up quite frequently,” said Kirk. “Winds over 300 KPH and flooding when it takes a notion? I’ll take Novae Spes storms any day of the week.”

“Perfect planet for growing food though,” said Cyrus.

The group continued chatting as Ryan fixed dinner and they ate in the confines of the shuttle, hearing nearby lightning strikes as the evening came on and the storm started letting up slightly.

“This has been a nice break even though we’re trapped in here,” said Kirk.

“After three days straight, I think we needed it,” said Cyrus. “But I would like to get finished with the others before returning.”

“I think you’re right,” said Kirk. “Better to finish now rather than having to come back.”

“We might even get two done tomorrow,” said Cyrus.

“Maybe,” said Kirk. “We’ll take it one step at a time.”

The team decided they would call it an early night as they prepared for bed and Ryan checked the shuttle systems one last time before reporting in to the colony they were safe and sound from the storm. They received a polite acknowledgment before signing off for the evening and turning in to bed.

The next morning, Ryan was the first up and found the camp area had been scattered by the storm and the rains had washed out several areas. He climbed on top of the shuttle and found the lightning strike spot, seeing it had fried several electronic panels in the immediate area, but the brunt of the strike had been directed into the ground like it was supposed to. He was continuing to check the shuttle when he was joined by Cyrus who was wiping his face.

“Anything bad?” asked Cyrus.

“A few circuit boards were fried,” said Ryan. “We won’t be able to go outer-atmospheric on the flight back, but nothing that will keep us from flying.”

“Million in one shot,” said Cyrus as he observed the area where the lighting hit. “Every other place is shielded for strikes and the one spot that wasn’t got hit.”

“It happens,” said Ryan as he completed the inspection. “I suspect you have spares for the boards in the colony?”

“Yeah, we should,” said Cyrus. “Everything else okay?”

“Seems to be,” said Ryan. “I’m going to run a complete system’s diagnostic when you guys head out this morning.”

“We’d prefer the shuttle be flight worthy when we go to work,” said Cyrus.

“I can run it in the background and still be flight ready,” said Ryan.

“That’s not exactly safe,” said Cyrus.

“Neither is dismantling an ASD engine,” said Ryan with a half a smile.

“Touché,” said Cyrus as they climbed off the top of the shuttle and headed inside finding the others save Samantha were awake.

“Anyone want some of that Java this morning?” asked Ryan. His words apparently got Samantha up and running as she immediately got out of the bunk and looked at him.

“Might as well as if we wanted a billion credits,” she smiled.

“I didn’t think there was enough ready to go around,” said Cyrus as he looked at Ryan suspiciously. “Yet, we have some out here?”

“I might have raided those stores before we left,” said Ryan with a grin. “Enough for a single morning at least.”

“I think we’ll keep your secret,” said Kirk as he saw Ryan putting up the coffee pot and getting the water ready. “Speaking of, how is the water filtration system holding up?”

“Working like a champ,” said Ryan. “Running that hose down to the ocean was a pain in the ass, but it’s better than the alternative of stinking the time we were here.”

“I’d check the filters today just in case,” suggest Kirk.

“I’ll make it part of my checks this morning,” said Ryan as he put on the Java and waited for it to properly brew. He happened to notice he’d drawn a crowd behind him with both Sam and Randy waiting impatiently with mugs already in hand.

“Seriously?” asked Ryan with a laugh.

“That stuff is addictive,” said Randy.

“Just a couple more minutes,” laughed Ryan as he prepared the remainder of breakfast. Eventually the Java was ready and he poured each of them a cup before getting his own and putting on a new pot to brew. The team continued their morning wake up schedule as Randy and Samantha wanted to grab a shower prior to breakfast while Cyrus and Kirk checked the immediate area around the encampment. Nothing seemed amiss as they came back just as Ryan was finishing everything up and setting out the plates. The breakfast passed in small talk as the others finished and grabbed their second cup of Java before setting out the tool kits and grabbing their morning showers as well.

Eventually, everything was set as Cyrus, Kirk and Randy headed out to the work site, seeing evidence of additional lightning strikes along the way.

“I’m thinking this storm was a little worse than we thought,” said Cyrus.

“It does appear so, yes,” said Kirk as they approached the remaining engines and Kirk immediately stopped them short of the area.

“What?” asked Randy as he went on alert.

“One of the engines activated,” said Kirk in a low voice as if the sound would start one up again.

“For real?” asked Cyrus. “How can you tell?”

“Look at the area,” said Kirk. “The parts you so neatly stored have been drawn towards the center engine.”

“Could have been the wind,” said Cyrus as he looked and saw some of the power units had been displaced and drawn towards a central point. “Or not. Aren’t there safeguards built in to prevent things like this from happening?”

“There are for electrical surges,” said Kirk. “Though I doubt the designers thought to include lightning strikes as a standard safety protocol.”

“Obviously, the window isn’t active still,” said Cyrus.

“No, we’d notice that,” said Kirk as he walked slowly onto the site. He walked to the suspected engine and heard a low humming from the control panel and said a word he rarely used. “Shit.”

“What?” asked Cyrus.

“This one is active,” said Kirk under his breath.

“I’m sorry?” asked Cyrus.

“This one is alive,” said Kirk a little louder. “The lightning strike activated the systems and opened a brief window sometime during the storm.”

“How do we proceed?” asked Cyrus.

“I’m not even sure we should,” said Kirk. “This is going to take some time to figure out and studying the specifications.”

“Can we dismantle the others before doing so?” asked Cyrus.

“I’m not sure we should,” said Kirk. “Not until we’ve figured out how to shut this one off.”

“Let’s regroup at the shuttle,” said Cyrus as they headed back in silence. Ryan and Samantha weren’t expecting them back so soon and Randy explained the situation while Kirk and Cyrus started digging into the tech manuals to determine how, or more importantly, if the engine could be safely shut down.

“I found it,” said Cyrus after about an hour of studying tech manuals and old designer reports. “Emergency procedures for engine that becomes active during a power surge.”

Kirk set down his tablet and came over to Cyrus looking over his shoulder as a frown grew on Cyrus’s face. “Really?”

“Well, that isn’t possible,” sighed Kirk.

“What’s it say?” asked Ryan.

“It says if the unit was to independently activate because of a power surge, we should eject the engine into space and replace it entirely,” said Cyrus with a frown.

“That’s… a little hard to do in our current situation,” said Ryan. “I mean, we could fly it into space and send it towards the star.”

“Completely unsafe,” said Kirk as they continued reading and he sighed once again. “According to the manual, ‘engines that become independently operational due to environmental and external factors should be considered to be unpredictable and jettisoned immediately.’ It doesn’t say anything about when it happens on the damn ground.”

“So, what do we do, Doctor?” asked Cyrus.

“We’re going to have to dismantle it still,” said Kirk with a sigh. “I mean, we could leave it here and hope for the best, but I’m not sure we should with the amount of power still remaining in the system like we saw with the first three.”

“Same procedures?” asked Cyrus.

“I’ll have to go through the checklist before saying yes,” said Kirk as he retrieved several manuals and reports.

********************
​

“Ben, I need an emergency meeting with you,” said Mary as she appeared in the communicator screen wearing a full Hazmat suit with a powered respirator.

“If you’re wearing a suit, that means something serious,” said Ben. “Where?”

“Come to the hospital but wear your protective mask and avoid contact with anyone on the way,” said Mary.

“I’ll be there as soon as possible,” said Ben as he ended the call and started looking for his protective mask. He left the Headquarters and headed back to his house where he located it at the bottom of the closet. He was unsure if she meant just the mask or the full suit and decided just to go with the respirator for the moment. Pulling it on, it sealed around his neck and started forcing air into the bubble helmet enough to create a slight overpressure. He saw the green line indicating he had good airflow from the small emergency tank and could go up to two hours before having to replace it.

Heading to the hospital, he took the MPMV he was assigned and parked it outside before heading into the reception area. He was met by two med techs who immediately escorted him to a decon chamber where he was given detailed instructions on how to disrobe as well as decontaminate himself. Upon completion, he was given a set of medical scrubs and a new mask to wear before being escorted into a room where they informed him to sit and wait. It didn’t take long for Mary to appear wearing a full biological suit and took three samples of blood.

“What is going on?” asked Ben as he winced at the poke from the needle.

“Hold on,” said Mary as she completed getting the three samples. “Get these to the lab and put them at the top for testing.”

“Yes, Doctor,” said the med tech as she rushed away.

“We’ve potentially got a bad viral outbreak,” said Mary as she covered the needle hole with a cotton dressing and covered that with a waterproof bandage.

“What kind?” asked Ben.

“Possible hemorrhagic fever type,” said Mary. “The lab is still trying to identify it.”

“I’m not familiar with that,” said Ben.

“Ebola or Lassa Fever,” said Mary. “Though on Novae Spes.”

“Those I know,” said Ben. “And they aren’t good at all.”

“No, sir, they are not,” said Mary.

“How?” asked Ben.

“We don’t know yet,” said Mary. “We identified eleven with symptoms so far and another 30 with the virus in their system.”

“Any particular section?” asked Ben.

“Not at the moment,” said Mary. “Again, we just picked it up this morning.”

“You’ve had eleven patients check in this morning?” asked Ben.

“The first two showed up last night,” said Mary. “We weren’t sure what we were dealing with until the others showed this morning.”

“That quickly?” asked Ben.

“It seems extremely communicable,” said Mary. “Either that’s because of the fact our bodies have never been exposed to such a thing or because it’s just that nasty.”

“How do we treat it?” asked Ben.

“I’ve got every medical professional on my staff that’s not treating a patient working to determine that right now,” said Mary.

“Let me get Science involved as well,” said Ben as he retrieved his communicator. However, before he was able to call, he received a call from Angeline.

“Ben?” she asked. “We’ve got a problem here.”

“Let me guess, sudden sickness?” asked Ben.

“How… never mind, I see you’re already in a protective mask,” said Angeline. “Javier came down with it a few minutes ago and we’re getting him sent to the hospital.”

“The rest of your section?” asked Ben.

“Has already initiated contamination procedures and donned all protective gear,” said Angeline.

“Mary is here with me,” said Ben as he turned the communicator onto the 3D mode.

“I can use any and all help you could give me,” said Mary.

“I can get the lab converted in about an hour,” said Angeline.

“We’ve already started studies here,” said Mary.

“We might as well keep that contained to your location,” said Angeline. “I can shift operations to the hospital whenever you need me.”

“How about a couple of hours ago?” asked Mary dryly.

“I’ll get our guys moving,” said Angeline. “Other than Javier, Chuck and a half dozen others came down with it as well. All are being transported to the hospital.”

Ben looked at his communicator as it beeped at him letting him know someone else was trying to call in. He saw it was Grady’s communicator and set up the device for a three way call. He was surprised when he didn’t see Grady in the screen though.

“Mister Nash? This is Drew Collins,” said the Engineer. “We’ve got a problem.”

“Something wrong with Grady?” asked Ben.

“He’s taken sick, sir,” said Drew. “He’s in all kinds of bad sorts right now. We’re getting him to the hospital along with four others.”

“Angeline? Mary? You think it’s related?” asked Ben.

“We’re going to quarantine them just the same,” said Mary.

“Okay, Drew, get them back here ASAP,” said Ben. “And get everyone out there into a protective mask.”

“Yes, sir,” said Drew as he ended the call.

“Good news for a change,” said Mary as the tests came back on Ben. “You appear to be clean.”

“What can I do to help?” he asked.

“Take yourself over to the Control Center and lock the doors,” said Mary.

“Okay, seriously,” he stated.

“I am being serious,” she replied. “We are going to need a leadership function in order to get through this and you are going to be key in that. You get over there, set up the area for contamination and lock the doors until I can get a team over to set up the decon unit.”

“You’re serious?” he asked.

“Deadly serious,” she stated. Ben paused before leaving and turned to look at her.

“I’m not kidding,” she stated forcefully. “We all need you healthy.”

“I…” he started to say. “You be careful, okay? We need you too.”

“I will,” she promised as an alert let her know the Engineers had arrived. “I’ll get you a status update when I can.”

“Thank you,” he said as he departed. He decided at the moment to route Grady’s communications into his device since the Engineers seemed to be dealing with their own crisis at the moment. Heading to his house, he grabbed his go bag and departed for the command center. Heading inside, he locked the airtight door behind him as the two controllers looked up at him curiously.

“Good morning,” said Ben. “We’re officially on lockdown.”

“What is going on?” asked the first controller, Specialist Sue Peters.

“Do not go outside,” said Ben. “Do not allow entry either for anyone but Doctor Blevins.”

“Sir?” asked Staff Sergeant Jodi Walker as she looked at her screen. “We’ve got all sorts of status updates on the sick list.”

“We have a viral outbreak,” said Ben. “Now, I’m going to shower but neither one of you needs to be close to me until I get cleaned up.”

“Yes, sir,” said Walker.

“Keep monitoring the situation though,” said Ben as he headed towards the bathroom built into the section and quickly doffed the scrubs and put them into a plastic bag. He jumped into the shower and started scrubbing while wondering what was going to happen.

********************
​

“I’m going to report in,” said Cyrus as the three arrived back at the shuttle and opened the communications panel. He figured he would alert Grady first who could notify Ben of the particulars before they got everyone on a conference call. Cyrus was surprised when Ben answered Grady’s line.

“You sure don’t look like Grady,” said Cyrus.

“Which is probably a good thing,” said Ben with a brief smile, but Cyrus saw he was worried over something. “What can I help you with?”

“Is Grady around? It’ll be easier to brief the both of you,” said Cyrus.

“Grady is out of pocket,” said Ben evasively. “I can pass on whatever you tell me.”

“Well, we have a problem…” said Cyrus and explained what happened.

“And what did the emergency manual say?” asked Ben.

“Eject it into space,” said Cyrus. “Not exactly an option.”

“No, it certainly isn’t,” said Ben with a sigh. “Leave it and come back. We’ll reevaluate when you get here and have the time to think it over.”

“Not an option, Commander,” said Kirk as he came to the monitor.

“I’m not sure we have all the data we need in order to proceed,” said Ben.

“We have every bit of data we need, Ben,” said Kirk in a rare display of losing his professionalism. “That engine is active, it can start up again and we need to nip it in the bud before it gets a mind of its own and starts up again.”

“Convince me,” said Ben as he recognized Kirk was serious.

“Basically, this thing came active during the night and started pulling in the surrounding area. Long story short and without getting too deep into the technical details, an ASD window is still a vacuum in a different dimension of space time which means matter will move into that space. We have to shut it off before it comes on again and it doesn’t shut down on its own,” said Kirk.

“It stopped once, why not again?” asked Ben.

“Because we don’t know why it came on in the first place,” said Kirk.

“How long could it conceivably be on?” asked Ben.

“Up to 22 years if the available power is the same as the other three units we disassembled,” said Kirk. “An ASD window almost a kilometer wide drawing in everything around it.”

“Which would almost take it to the ocean,” said Ben with a sigh.

“The problem comes from it taking in the land it’s sitting on and eventually getting into the ocean. If that thing goes under water, it becomes impossible to stop without catastrophic consequences on this brand new planet of ours,” said Kirk with a nod.

“The water wouldn’t short it out?” asked Ben.

“I don’t know and to my knowledge, no tests have ever been conducted on an underwater ASD window,” said Kirk truthfully. “The system could potentially continue even with it being under water, I just don’t know.”

“Could we blow it up?” asked Ben.

“And raise the potential of setting off the power module?” asked Kirk. “Are the missiles you have powerful enough to make sure we destroy it completely?”

“I’d have to have a look at the specs, but maybe,” said Ben.

“Cyrus and I can dismantle it,” said Kirk. “I just need a few hours to look over everything and make sure the checklist would permit it.”

“And if it doesn’t?” asked Ben.

“We back off and reevaluate,” said Kirk. “Give us this chance at least.”

“Cyrus?” asked Ben.

“Jim knows more about these things than anyone else here,” said Cyrus. “I think he’s right in saying we should dismantle it before it becomes a threat to the planet.”

“I don’t like this,” said Ben.

“We’ll send the shuttle back to the mainland while we work and you can send out a drone to observe,” said Cyrus. “That way they can be within arm’s reach if something happened and you can still keep an eye on us.”

“That’s fair,” said Kirk.

“I’m still not comfortable with this,” said Ben.

“It’s our only choice,” said Kirk.

“Work on the checklist and I’ll get a drone warmed up,” said Ben after thinking it over for a moment. “You check, double check and run simulations on everything.”

“You know me,” said Kirk. “Doctor Details.”

“Again, I’m not comfortable with this and if you come up with another idea in the meantime, you will bring it to my attention,” said Ben.

“We will,” said Cyrus.

“I’ll let you know when the drone is coming your way,” said Ben. “Until then.”

“Until then,” said Kirk as they signed off and he immediately went to work. Cyrus went to instruct the other three to get everything ready to move and made a list of items they would need to keep behind. Ryan and the Whitaker siblings argued they wanted to stay behind since “we don’t leave anyone in the face of danger voluntarily” but were overruled by a direct order from Ben over their communicators to depart the island and head for the mainland “or else.” While all three silently contemplated asking what the “or else” meant, they wisely decided to follow the orders in hand and got ready to depart. Kirk and Cyrus finished pulling out the items they would need and helped stow the other gear into the shuttle for the trip home.

“Want us to call to check on you?” asked Ryan.

“We’ll call every two hours,” said Kirk. “Regardless, if you see an ASD window moving towards the coast, you get the hell out of there.”

“Why would it be moving?” asked Ryan.

“Because the propulsion unit could activate as well,” said Kirk. “Regardless, it’ll be impossible to miss.”

“Yes, Doctor,” said Ryan as Randy and Sam got on board and stowed their individual gear. “Best of luck.”

“Thank you,” said Kirk as he accepted the outstretched hand as did Cyrus. Ryan headed inside and closed the hatch before lifting off and heading towards the mainland.

“How close is the drone?” asked Cyrus after the shuttle was out of sight.

“Another hour,” said Kirk as he checked his tablet. “I think the checklist we have will work.”

“You’re the expert,” said Cyrus.

“Truth be told, I’d let Commander Nash bomb it if we had a strong enough explosive,” said Kirk.

“We do have an explosive…” said Cyrus.

“Okay, a conventional explosive and not overloading one of the reactors from the other ASD engines,” said Kirk as he knew where Cyrus was heading.

“Look, we need a backup plan,” said Cyrus. “If we can’t disarm that thing, we will need a way of destroying the engine if it comes on again and we can’t shut it off.”

“You realize how large of an explosion that will be?” asked Kirk.

“700 megatons if the manual is correct,” said Cyrus. “And?”

“Probably less with the amount of fuel used,” said Kirk. “Regardless, it’ll be over 500 megatons if we set it off.”

“Which would be enough to vaporize the malfunctioning unit,” said Cyrus. “If this thing happens to come on and we get sucked into the window, the folks on the mainland need a backup plan to shut it down. We have an inert power unit that I can rig in about twenty minutes to overload by remote.”

“A 500 megaton blast on a deserted island or an ASD window that could go on for 20 years with untold consequences to the planet,” said Kirk with a sigh. “Do you need help?”

“I could use a spare pair of eyes, yeah,” said Cyrus as they headed to the worksite. The power units were still sitting inside the casing as Cyrus went to the control panel.

“77% capacity,” he stated. “Tablet please.”

Kirk handed over the tablet and watched as Cyrus overrode every safety protocol built into the power unit and typed in a new series of commands. He looked over the simple program and checked the panel to see if it accepted the new inputs. One additional safety program had to be disabled before he was able to override the systems completely and set up a countdown timer.

“Drone is overhead,” said Kirk as his communicator beeped at him with an incoming call and he saw the feed on his tablet. “Kirk here.”

“We have the drone overhead,” said Ben. “What are you guys doing?”

“Plan B,” said Kirk as he explained.

“Negative,” said Ben. “I will not approve that.”

“Already done, boss,” said Cyrus. “I just linked it with the mainframe in the colony.”

“You just set up an enhanced nuclear bomb?” asked Ben.

“In case we fail,” said Kirk. “If that window opens and we get taken into the window, someone has to be around to turn if off. The only way to turn it off is to destroy it. You don’t have enough conventional explosives to ensure this thing is destroyed without setting off the power pack anyway. So, it’s either let this ASD window go until the thing decides to turn itself off or runs out of fuel in 20 years or you initiate the overload which will destroy the unit.”

“There has to be another way,” said Ben. “Do you realize what that will do?”

“Vaporize the island and probably set a tsunami heading to the mainland?” asked Cyrus. “Yeah, Ben, I’ve already thought of worst case here. And this is the only way it gets shut down before it destroys this planet if we fail.”

“The mountain chain will probably block any tsunami heading your way,” said Kirk as he did a quick calculation on his tablet. “The colony will be safe as a minimum.”

“I can’t believe I’m even considering this,” said Ben with a sigh and a frown.

“You have remote access,” said Cyrus as he passed control to the colony. “Type in Ben Nash, no spaces and enter 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 as the password and hit enter. The reactor will do the rest.”

“I’m not hitting those commands,” said Ben.

“If we get pulled into an open ASD window, that’s your only choice,” said Kirk. “I’d make sure the drone is far enough away from the ground to avoid being pulled into the window.”

“Then let’s make sure we don’t have the problem of getting pulled in,” said Ben as he saw there was no other option available to them.

“Always the optimist,” muttered Kirk as he and Cyrus got everything ready to dismantle the malfunctioning ASD engine. It didn’t take long to find out the unit had been struck by lightning multiple times and several of the circuit boards had been fried in the storm. They worked together, quickly but not missing a step on the checklist as they went through the detailed process once again. Ben watched from the command center at the colony not moving from the monitor as he watched the two work. Mary had a team come by and set up the decon area for the Command Center as well as delivering additional supplies for those inside. Captain Anton Sokolov came in to give a status update on Security Forces and to deliver biological suits for the two trapped inside the Center.

“Where is Tasha?” asked Ben.

“She tested positive,” said Anton. “They have her under observation at the moment.”

“Not symptomatic?” asked Ben.

“Not yet,” said Anton. “She is in good spirits even though she is chained to a bed.”

“She does hate that,” said Ben.

“She understand the threat,” said Anton. “They are progressing well?”

“Ever do bomb disposal?” asked Ben.

“Officially or unofficially?” chuckled Anton.

“Ever do it on a bomb with a silent counter?” asked Ben.

“That I have not done,” said Anton. “We would sit back and blow it up from a distance.”

“Not exactly an option at the moment,” said Ben as he explained the situation with the malfunctioning ASD unit.

“Not a good situation to be in,” remarked Anton. “You have a backup plan?”

“That’s precisely why I’m here,” said Ben as he also explained the power unit rigged to overload and destroy the device as well as the island itself. “You have an update?”

“Other than Major Hayden, we have another dozen heading to the clinic to get checked out,” said Anton. “Everyone in the colony will be tested, but Doctor Blevins felt like Security would need to be at the top of the list behind Medical.”

“But Tasha isn’t showing symptoms yet?” asked Ben.

“No, not yet,” said Anton.

“And you?” asked Ben.

“I am clear at the moment,” said Anton. “As are my wife and child.”

“How far down are we?” asked Ben.

“Roughly a quarter of the security force are in the hospital,” said Anton. “We have tested a third with some of them showing positive, but not showing symptoms.”

“Those numbers suck,” said Ben with a sigh.

“We coordinated with other sections to get backfilled if we need it during an emergency,” said Anton. “We will maintain the perimeter and only call in case we need them.”

“Thank you,” said Ben as he didn’t take his eyes off the screen.

“I would almost say they should be thankful for being out there at the moment,” said Anton.

“That certainly remains to be seen,” said Ben. “They should be glad they are outside the window of our detection.”

“That doesn’t mean they are safe,” said Anton.

“No, but as fast as this came on, one of them would probably have been showing symptoms by now,” said Ben. “They haven’t reported anything.”

“Let’s hope they can get finished with their current duty,” said Anton. “If there is nothing else, Commander, I need to see to my forces.”

“Keep me apprised,” said Ben. He continued to watch the pair as they took a quick break and set up lighting units around the engine as dusk was falling. He knew it was better for them to take a break, but also knew the danger the engine represented if it was to activate again. They hooked their harnesses back in again before letting themselves down into the device and removed the front cover before continuing their work.

“Remove Panel K from the mount,” said Cyrus after the large cover was removed.

“Remove Panel K from the mount,” said Kirk as he moved to the circuit panel and looked it over before letting out a sigh.

“What?” asked Cyrus.

“The panel took a hit from the lightning,” said Kirk. “The fasteners have fused themselves to the shelving units.”

“Really?” asked Cyrus as he moved in to see the problem. “Not good.”

“No,” said Kirk. “Grab a reciprocating saw with a metal cutting blade, a half kilo ball peen hammer, the kilo forging hammer and the chisel set.”

“Got it,” said Cyrus as he moved back to the tool kits and retrieved the objects. He returned and set them next to Kirk who was looking over the board from both sides.

“We could almost do it from this angle,” said Kirk.

“Not a lot of space in there for hands,” said Cyrus.

“You’re right,” said Kirk as he looked over the tools and grabbed the forging hammer. He immediately gave the panel a good hit on the corner and saw it crack before repeating the process on the other corner while Cyrus was screaming at him. Before Cyrus could stop him, he repeated the process two more times and the board came free.

“What the hell are you doing?!” demanded Cyrus.

“Cutting it out would take too long,” said Kirk nonchalantly.

“And hitting it was the best option?!” exclaimed Cyrus.

“The cables are nowhere near the outer edge,” said Kirk. “It’s a standard silicone board that cracked easy enough and came loose.”

“Doctor Kirk, please don’t do that again,” announced Ben over the communicator.

“We need to get to the underside of this board and cutting it out would take too long,” said Kirk.

“All while giving us a damn heart attack,” said Cyrus.

“The board is loose, let’s move on,” said Kirk testily. Cyrus shook his head as he retrieved the tablet and looked at the next item on the checklist.

“Number 91, remove data cable D177 from Panel K,” said Cyrus with a still quaky voice.

“Remove data cable D177 from Panel K,” repeated Kirk. He disconnected the cable from the panel as they continued their work. They went another half an hour before Kirk looked up at the front of the engine with concern.

“You hear that?” asked Kirk.

“Hear what…” asked Cyrus as he heard the low humming coming from the power pack.

“The engine is about to activate!” exclaimed Kirk as the engine sparked several times before an ASD window appeared to the front, growing to 400 square meters.

 

CHAPTER 21



Jim Kirk and Cyrus Hendrix were far too close to the ASD window that suddenly opened and were taken off their feet as the matter in one dimension started rushing through the void to fill the space in the other dimension. Luckily for Kirk, he was still strapped in from where they had lowered themselves inside, but Cyrus had unhooked himself in order to retrieve the tools from before. Loose objects started flying through the portal as the vacuum started pulling both them in. Kirk managed to grab Cyrus’ arm as he was pulled towards the window. Kirk held onto one of the shelving units and strained to hold Cyrus.

“Sir!” shouted Specialist Sue Peters in the Command Center as Ben’s eyes grew wide. He immediately went to the keyboard and brought up the detonation program.

“Let me go! Get it shut down!” yelled Cyrus.

“No!” shouted Kirk as he was straining to hold Cyrus. He saw Cyrus’ feet slip into the window as he tried to pull him back. He noticed his rope was holding at the moment and let go in order to grab Cyrus with both hands. They fell towards the window and Kirk saw Cyrus was in up to his waist, but the rope was holding them both. He strained to pull Cyrus up and managed to get him out of the window enough for him to grab onto the shelving units. Cyrus was able to wrap his arms around the unit and barely kept above the opening of the window.

Ben had entered the command for the detonation just in case as his finger hovered over the “Enter” button on the keyboard. He didn’t want to press it just yet as they were out of the window, but saw few options at the moment.

“They’ve activated the failsafe!” yelled Cyrus as additional objects went through the window and he could see the panel on the power unit to their rear come on. He also noticed the vacuum was starting to pull in heavier objects as the power units were shifting.

“We’ve got to get this shut off!” shouted Kirk. He saw Cyrus starting to slip once again and tried to locate anything that could help keep him out of the window. He spied the forging hammer he had been using wedged against one of the brackets. Coming to a snap decision in his mind, he grabbed the hammer and started pounding the main power cable port connected to the emitter as hard as he could. It sparked several times but he wasn’t deterred and continuing hitting it as hard as he could. He eventually managed to hit it hard enough to break the connection and the plug came out of the emitter. The window took several seconds to die down as the remaining power inside the unit kept it open for an additional ten seconds. It started slowly collapsing on itself and closed as the emitter ran out of power and the vacuum stopped pulling them in.

Both Cyrus and Kirk fell onto the ground out of breath. In the command center, Ben pulled his hand back from the Enter key like it had electrocuted him as he saw the danger had passed. It seemed like an eternity before Cyrus rolled over and looked at Kirk.

“Thank you,” said Cyrus almost breathlessly.

“Are you hurt?” asked Kirk.

“I need to change my shorts, but otherwise, I’m okay,” said Cyrus.

“I’m not finishing this by myself,” said Kirk as he caught his breath. “And yes, I realize I skipped a few steps in the checklist.”

Cyrus looked over at him and started laughing uncontrollably. Kirk did the same as the emotions of the near death experience manifested in their laughter. Eventually, they brought themselves under control as Cyrus looked around for a communicator.

“It appears my communicator was lost,” he said.

“Mine too,” said Kirk as he looked around his belt for the communicator. Luckily, his bag was still hanging and his tablet was inside as he activated the communications portion and contacted the command center.

“What the hell happened?!” demanded Ben.

“Apparently, the machine decided to open a window,” said Kirk.

“Yeah, we saw,” said Ben. “Are you two okay?”

“Yes, I believe so,” said Kirk. “Other than the shower and change of underwear we both need.”

“I think that applies to us all,” said Ben.

“The engine for all intents and purposes is dead,” said Kirk. “At least the emitter portion is.”

“You’re positive,” said Ben.

“No power going to it,” said Kirk as he was still shaken up. “We’ll need to dismantle the rest of it, but for the moment, it cannot form another ASD window.”

“It can wait until tomorrow?” asked Ben.

“I think that’s the best course of action,” said Cyrus. “I think we earned a break.”

“I’ll contact the shuttle to return,” said Ben. “Hopefully, Captain Kingston still has some of the alcohol left.”

“I thought we drank it on the first night,” said Cyrus dryly.

“He’s a pilot and you know he has an additional stash,” said Ben as he saw the command prompt on the computer still flashing at him. “How do I shut down the bomb?”

“Enter Ben Nash, no spaces, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and enter,” said Cyrus.

“Seems deceptively simple,” said Ben as he did so and paused before hitting enter. “You sure this one will shut down?”

“Yes, and you’re the only one that can do it,” said Cyrus. Ben hit the “Enter” key and the system flashed at him before bringing up several quick lines stating c:/cmdfundisarm, c:/cmdfunrelay, c:/cmdfundisarmed, c:/cmdfuninput and bringing back the main prompt screen. Cyrus saw the panel on the object turn green as he went over and started shutting down the unit. It didn’t take long as Kirk started gathering up the objects scattered by the vacuum.

“Ryan is on his way back,” said Ben. “Should be there soon.”

“We’ll call in the morning with a status update,” said Cyrus.

“You guys did great out there,” said Ben as Kirk came back over. “Jim, I don’t use the word hero often, but you certainly earned it tonight.”

“I had to keep him alive,” said Kirk dryly. “Who else was I going to boss around?”

“We’ll see you all in the morning,” said Ben as he signed off. Kirk and Cyrus headed back to the camp area and arrived just as the shuttle was coming in as well. Ryan landed it in exactly the same spot he had before as the rear cargo door came open and the Whitakers came out almost immediately and went to the pair.

“What happened?” asked Randy.

“Little problem with an ASD window,” said Cyrus as Ryan came out. “I hope you’re bringing that spare bottle of booze you have on board.”

“How did you know I had one I was saving for when we finished?” asked Ryan.

“You think you’re the only one that saves stuff for a victory celebration?” asked Cyrus. “Now, bring the bottle please, the good Doctor and I need a drink.”

********************
​

“Under no circumstances is the ASD mission to be contacted with what’s going on in the colony,” said Ben over the small conference call he set up with the section heads or their designated leaders during the crisis. “They have way too much going on to be worried over what’s going on here.”

“What about the team at the swamp?” asked Anton.

“I’m going to call them after we get off here,” said Ben.

“Are they infected?” asked Emilia Tómasdóttir who was running Agriculture in Kurt’s absence and since Janet Carr had become sick. “Both them and the island mission?”

“We believe they were outside the window,” said Mary. “Though I would think one of them would have started showing symptoms by now if they were infected.”

“What are we supposed to do if they ask why they can’t get in touch with Grady?” asked Drew Collins. “I don’t want to lie.”

“You direct them over to me,” said Ben. “They can protest with me all they want, but again, Cyrus and Jim Kirk have way too much going on out there to be worried about here.”

“Yes, sir,” said Drew.

“Do we have a patient zero yet?” asked Ben.

“We’ve identified eight people that came down with it around the same time,” said Mary. “But we’re trying to link them to whatever they were working on.”

“Any section in particular?” asked Angeline.

“Science with four, security with two and two engineers,” said Mary. “That’s the best we can do at the moment.”

“We started the emergency action plans to supplement other sections,” said Ben. “How is that going for everyone?”

“Ag reinforced security as planned,” said Emilia. “However, we also are helping Engineering allowing SIT to focus on Medical.”

“SIT has transitioned to helping Medical,” said Rachelle. “Ag taking some of the Engineering spots has allowed us to relieve many to help at the hospital.”

“Science is taking all their directions from Medical,” said Angeline. “Every person we have here is focused on the virus.”

“Including those in unrelated fields?” asked Ben.

“They are quickly learning microbiology on the fly,” said Angeline. “I mean, it’s a huge divide between geosciences and life sciences, but they are helping in every way they can.”

“I’ve got Science dedicated entirely to that so my people can focus on patient treatment,” said Mary. “We’re observing and directing for the most part.”

“Mary? Can you go through your recommendations for the colony to help prevent the spread and other items we should be doing?” asked Ben.

“Yes,” said Mary who looked tired. She went through the list of items the colony would need to accomplish to hopefully stop the spread of the virus as each of the section heads took notes like mad as she went along. Eventually, she finished up the list and asked for any questions.

“Where do you want these portable decon units?” asked Drew.

“I’ll send out one of my techs to show you,” said Mary. “When will you be in your office?”

“I’ll come to you if that’s okay,” said Drew. “It ain’t easy keeping everything going.”

“List aside, is Charity okay?” asked Rachelle.

“She’s sick at the moment,” said Mary. “But she’s fighting it off.”

“Thank you,” said Rachelle.

“Mary, can the testing protocols be reproduced in the field?” asked Ben.

“Are you asking about the missions outside the colony?” asked Mary as Ben nodded. “We can do a simple test kit that Doctor Chandra should be able to produce. It might take a few hours to come up with what they need to do though.”

“We probably need to get something to Kurt to have his team tested,” said Ben.

“And if they come back positive?” asked Mary.

“We get them back here asap,” said Ben. “Question is, do you have two pilots out there?”

“No,” said Rachelle. “Unfortunately, just the one.”

“That could present a problem if she gets sick,” said Mary.

“We have the capability to operate those shuttles remotely,” said Rachelle. “Or that’s what Charity told me at one point.”

“Get that plan on the board just in case,” said Ben. “But we can hope for the best that they aren’t infected and won’t have to return.”

“Do they have enough provisions to last longer than expected?” asked Anton.

“I intend to find that out,” said Ben. “Any other business?”

The Directors and Acting Directors all shook their heads as Ben finished the meeting.

“I know everyone has a friend or loved one in the hospital right now,” said Ben. “This will not be easy for us to get through, but we will prevail in the end. I need each and every one of you to follow Doctor Blevins’ directions to the letter and make sure we try to contain this virus without getting more infected. Science and Medical are both working on a counter at the moment and hopefully we should have something very soon. But until that time, we need to roll up our sleeves and continue pushing forward.”

The section heads nodded as he concluded the meeting and everyone signed off. Breathing in a deep sigh, he checked the casualty lists again seeing numbers he just didn’t like. Staff Sergeant Jodi Walker was heard rustling around in the cots set up for the command center personnel and moving towards the ration packs.

“Sorry if I woke you,” said Ben.

“It’s okay, sir,” said Jodi as she picked through the rations before finding one to her liking. “I wasn’t getting much sleep anyway.”

“Regardless, I’m sorry,” he stated as he prepared to call Kurt on his mission. It took several moments for the link to be established, but he found Kurt out near the swampy area with a herd of the clubtail creatures in the distant background.

“I wasn’t expecting you until this evening,” said Kurt.

“We’ve got a situation,” said Ben.

“Oh?” asked Kurt. Ben went on to explain the virus and the impact it had on the colony. Kurt just nodded as Ben finished up.

“Nobody is showing signs of infection that I know of,” said Kurt. “At least, nobody has mentioned anything to me.”

“Everyone needs to be tested,” said Ben. “Mary will be sending out the specifics as well as the test you will need to accomplish in the next few hours.”

“I’ll get Doctor Chandra on it as soon as we get the instructions and he puts together the test,” said Kurt. “You need us to come back and help if we are negative?”

“No, the less people we have exposed, the better,” said Ben reaching a snap decision. “I know Doctor Chandra would be helpful, but until we know how this thing spreads, I’d prefer to have those in safety remain in safety.”

“But if any of us show infection?” asked Kurt.

“Get back here ASAP,” said Ben. “I’d also like daily testing to make sure they stay uninfected.”

“We can do that,” said Kurt.

“Also, if your pilot comes down with the infection, we’ll make plans to get you back here remotely,” said Ben. “Rachelle will be working that angle if we have to.”

“Rachelle will be flying our shuttle?” asked Kurt with a chuckle.

“I’d imagine she’d have someone qualified piloting it remotely,” said Ben.

“Sorry if humor wasn’t appropriate right then,” said Kurt.

“No… I’m just tired,” said Ben as a half a smile swept across his face. “The thought of Rachelle remotely piloting a shuttle is a bit unsettling.”

“What else?” asked Kurt.

“Just keep an eye on everyone and report back the testing when it gets done,” said Ben. “Anything else to report on your end?”

“We’ve made good progress on the clubtail analysis and planned on having one for dinner tomorrow night,” said Kurt. “It’s entirely edible and one should be able to feed quite a few people so long as they don’t want the choice steaks.”

“Can we herd them here and have them survive?” asked Ben.

“Herding them there would take some doing,” said Kurt. “As for the survival, they seem to require a lot of water to survive like hippos on Earth did. That may call for damming up the river like we talked about and creating another lake.”

“Which is a multi-year project we’ve only discussed informally,” said Ben.

“We’ll know more by the end of the mission, but overall, that may end up being what we have to do,” said Kurt. “I mean, I could get with Grady to discuss alternate marsh areas and how we could create them, but they seem happiest with enough water to dunk their bodies underneath.”

“But they are capable of living on dry land?” asked Ben.

“They spend about a third of the time there anyway foraging on the local vegetation,” said Kurt. “Our resident zoologist thinks they may not have a natural cooling system in their body and use the water to shed excess heat.”

“Okay, keep sending in your reports, but you’ll understand if you don’t get an immediate response,” said Ben.

“Of course,” said Kurt. “There is an obvious question I haven’t asked.”

“What happens when you hit your scheduled departure date?” asked Ben. “Do you have enough supplies to stick around just in case?”

“We can live off the land if we need to,” said Kurt. “Some of the fruits and vegetables we identified are growing locally so we can sustain ourselves a little longer if we have to.”

“No problems with that?” asked Ben.

“Obviously, the clubtail will provide us protein and SIT tends to toss in a couple of extra days of food since the tropical mission, so we aren’t going to starve,” said Kurt. “Add in what we can find locally and we can sustain ourselves far longer than planned.”

“Please don’t establish another colony out there yet,” chuckled Ben.

“Too many bugs for my taste,” said Kurt.

“Are the clubtails aggressive?” asked Ben.

“About the same temperament as cattle on Earth,” said Kurt.

“Hopefully not as ornery as old bulls,” chuckled Ben.

“Not that we’ve seen,” chuckled Kurt. “Anything else?”

“Can’t think of a thing,” said Ben. “Just keep sending in your progress reports. I think we can forego the daily calls unless absolutely necessary.”

“I figure you’ve got a bunch of stuff you’re dealing with at the moment,” said Kurt.

“I know how to fight things I can see,” said Ben with a sigh. “This is a whole new dimension for me and most of the people with a security background.”

“Let Mary fight the ones you can’t,” said Kurt reasonably.

“Yeah, it’s just frustrating,” said Ben as he vented for a moment. “Anyway.”

“We’ll keep at it out here and start doing the things we didn’t think we’d have time for when we started this mission,” said Kurt.

“Let your folks know that even if they want to come back, it’s not smart to introduce them into a situation where they could get infected,” said Ben.

“I’ll break it to them gently,” said Kurt. “Stay safe.”

“You too,” said Ben as he signed off. He wiped at his face tiredly as he sighed at the situation as a whole. He was deep in thought when a cup of hot chocolate appeared to his front.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“You look like you could use a pick me up,” said Specialist Sue Peters. “Chocolate tends to pep me up.”

“Thank you,” said Ben with a smile as he took a sip. “You know whether you’re having a boy or a girl yet?”

“I was scheduled to find out today,” said Peters. “I guess I’ll have to wait a little longer to pick out baby room colors.”

“You have a preference?” asked Ben.

“Either one will be fine if they are healthy,” said Sue. “My boyfriend wants a girl; I wouldn’t mind a boy. But I think we’re going to be happy either way.”

“You thinking of marriage?” asked Ben. “I mean, it’s okay no matter what.”

“We’ve talked about it, but we really aren’t sure of the procedures for getting married,” said Sue. “It’s not something that’s been done has it?”

“Actually, no,” said Ben. “Something I hadn’t put much thought into actually.”

“As soon as we know how, we’re going to do it,” said Sue.

“I think that’s something we should have thought about before now,” said Ben.

“I have this feeling you’ve dealt with far larger issues since being here,” said Sue. “We have dedicated ourselves to each other and that’s good enough for now.”

“Still, it’s something that’ll come up again,” said Ben.

“Not for this girl,” said Jodi. “I’m going to be free as long as I can.”

“Unless that cute pilot proposes to you,” said Sue with a laugh.

“Yeah, about that…” said Jodi.

“Are you talking about Ryan?” asked Ben.

“He’s… I’d find it hard ever being married to a player,” said Jodi with a sigh.

“You had a date with him once,” said Sue.

“Along with quite a few other girls around here,” said Jodi. “Regardless, I’m not on the market at the moment for a serious relationship.”

“It’s not something you should jump into,” said Ben as he turned to Sue. “No offense intended.”

“No offense taken,” said Sue. “Antonio and I just hit it off almost immediately.”

“Thanks, sir,” said Jodi sarcastically. “Now we’re going to get this sappy love story.”

“You’re just jealous,” said Sue with a laugh.

“I’ll find someone to settle down with eventually,” said Jodi. “Until that time, I’m just going to have a little fun.”

“Looks like you got a tan on the last tropical mission,” said Ben.

“As much as I could,” said Jodi. “Captain Sokolov kept us hopping while we were there.”

“No built in down time?” asked Ben.

“Some, but obviously a day off like the last trip might have been nice,” said Jodi. “I mean, I had a new bikini made and everything.”

“I’ll mention it on the next trip,” said Ben. “Anything you saw that you think would pose a danger to anyone?”

“Not that I noticed, sir,” said Jodi who wasn’t comfortable being called on for questions above her pay grade. “The bees’ nest was interesting though.”

“That it was,” said Ben. “Hopefully when we’re past this little outbreak, we’ll be able to resume missions down there and the remainder of the island can be covered.”

“I’d gladly volunteer, Commander,” said Jodi with a half hidden smile.

“I think you should take that up with your commanding officer,” said Ben.

“Oh, of course, sir,” said Jodi. “However, the Expedition Commander putting in a good word on my behalf might help get me picked as well.”

“I’d bet it would,” chuckled Ben. “We’re going to have to take that day by day.”

“You think the Medical section will find a cure?” asked Sue.

“I think we have the most talented doctors in the galaxy,” said Ben. “And I think we should all be thankful for them.”

********************
​

“Let’s start back at the beginning,” said Mary with a sigh as she erased what they had been working on and started over. “We’re going in circles here.”

“The virus hasn’t appeared to have mutated through the second and third generation cases,” said Angeline tiredly. “Maybe it’s more resilient than other viruses we’ve found?”

“Or everyone got infected at nearly the same time and it just took longer for the symptoms to show up,” said Doctor Etsu Ogawa. “People fight off infections differently.”

“No, I think we’re dealing with multiple transmissions,” said Mary. “The only way for everyone to have been infected is if they contracted it at the same time. And the only way that might have happened would have been if it was airborne in the colony as a whole. Which we all would have gotten infected.”

“Have you checked the instruments in that regard?” asked Angeline.

“Yes, we do daily checks of the instruments checking for pollen and other harmful items in the air,” said Mary with a sigh. “We checked back almost a month and didn’t find any trace of the virus in the airborne particulates.”

“What about the team that came back from checking out near the foothills?” asked Ogawa.

“You were with them,” said Mary. “You aren’t showing any signs of infection.”

“Perhaps I wasn’t exposed?” asked Ogawa.

“You were with Doctors Dawson and Santiago when you returned,” said Angeline. “In the same vehicle even. If this thing is as virulent as we think, you certainly were exposed.”

“Why am I different then?” asked Ogawa.

“That’s the million credit question,” said Mary. “Nothing seems to have set those who weren’t infected apart from the others.”

“Have we dug into their medical histories?” asked Angeline.

“Not to the extent we probably should,” said Mary. “You thinking it’s something in their medical past that’s making them immune?”

“Maybe so,” said Angeline. “Why don’t we set up a team to look into that?”

“We’ve already got some research done on that,” said Mary as she pulled up the files and transferred them over to Angeline. “Nothing is jumping out at us but a fresh set of eyes on this kind of thing never hurts.”

“Paging Doctor Blevins,” announced the PA system. “Doctor Blevins to OR 2 please.”

“That’s my call,” said Mary tiredly. “Let me know if something comes up.”

“You’ll be the first to know,” said Angeline. “Doctor Ogawa?”

“Doctor?” she asked in return.

“Care to give another blood sample so we can check for any new antibodies?” asked Angeline.

“I am beginning to think you all are vampires,” chuckled Ogawa. “But yes.”

“We can’t leave any stone unturned,” said Angeline.

********************
​

“I still can’t believe you smashed that thing with a hammer,” chuckled Cyrus as they sat around the fire that evening thinking of the day’s events.

“Truth be told, I wasn’t really thinking about that,” said Kirk. “Honestly, I was waiting for Ben to blow the spare reactor and destroy the unit.”

“He was going to wait until there was no chance of us finishing the job,” said Cyrus.

“I’m not sure I would have waited,” said Kirk as he took another sip of the whiskey provided by Ryan. “But I’m pretty glad he did.”

“You and me both,” said Cyrus.

“Are you going to finish up the work or were you thinking of a break again?” asked Ryan.

“You can see how unpredictable and dangerous those things are,” said Kirk. “I’d rather finish them this trip than worry about another getting hit by lightning.”

“I’ll second that,” said Cyrus as he tossed off the last of his whiskey.

“More?” asked Ryan.

“No, I think I’ll wait until we finish up,” said Cyrus. “I wonder what Grady was into that Ben answered his communicator today?”

“You called Grady?” asked Kirk. “I thought you called Commander Nash.”

“No, I figured if we explained it to Grady and got him on our side, it would have been an easier sell to Ben,” said Cyrus. “But the call went directly to Ben.”

“Maybe you hit the wrong contact?” suggested Samantha.

“Maybe so,” said Cyrus.

“Check your communicator,” suggested Randy.

“I would except for the fact it was lost into the ASD window today,” said Cyrus.

“Oh,” said Randy. “That could cause problems.”

“Yeah, I get to fill out the form on how it was lost and have Rachelle give me the evil eye for losing a valuable piece of equipment,” chuckled Cyrus.

“I’d tend to think she’ll be pragmatic about it,” said Kirk as he looked at his watch and determined it wasn’t too late for a quick call. He pulled up Javier’s number on his tablet to see if anything was going on in the colony they should be concerned with. However, as soon as he called, it went straight to Angeline’s voicemail.

“Now that’s strange,” said Kirk as he checked and made sure he was calling Javier. He dialed the number again and found again it went to Angeline’s mailbox. He was about to pick her number when a text appeared on his screen.

Yes? Busy was the simple reply given to him by Angeline.

“Anything going on we need to be worried about?” he asked out loud as he typed the message onto the tablet and sent it.

Challenging new project, no worries

Anything I can help with? he replied.

Not at the moment, just finish the ASD and get back home.

Kirk realized right then she was being purposely evasive over something. He knew Angeline well enough to know she would never purposely ignore a call nor would she not explain what the project was they were working on. On a hunch, he called Doctor Riker as well, but like the others it went straight to voicemail.

I tried calling Javier, why did I get your voicemail, he asked fishing for information. It took several moments before she answered, far longer than she should have.

Comm system is wonky right now, Rachelle is working it

“Hmm,” said Kirk to himself as he looked over the texts. He almost considering pushing the matter, but decided on another hunch to call Ben.

“Yes, sir?” asked Ben almost immediately. Kirk could see he was in the Command Center as he had been with nearly all the previous calls.

“I was just making sure we were clear to continue our work and finish up,” said Kirk. “You don’t need us back in the colony for anything right now, do you?”

“Nothing I can think of,” said Ben wondering why Kirk was asking specifically about the colony. “Are you comfortable with finishing?”

“I’d rather be done with it,” said Kirk. “So, nothing that needs our attention?”

“Not a thing in the world,” said Ben in a lie. However, he had plenty of training in the military on how to lie effectively and make it stick. “I’m like you, I’d prefer to get the ASD mission complete and bring you back when everything is done.”

“We should be done in two days,” said Kirk. “Angeline said she was working on a new project, that’s why I was asking.”

“You know the Science team, they are always working on something new,” said Ben.

“I see,” said Kirk. “Okay, we’ll call in again tomorrow night.”

“Until then,” said Ben as he finished the call. His personal communicator rang almost immediately from Angeline. He answered it and saw concern on her face. “Doctor?”

“Jim Kirk knows something is up,” said Angeline.

“I just got off a call with him,” said Ben. “He didn’t say anything except you were involved in a new project. Did you tell him?”

“No, his attention needs to be focused on dismantling those engines,” said Angeline. “But when we forwarded the comm units, Javier’s goes to mine and he tried calling Javier.”

“How does he know?” asked Ben.

“Because Jim Kirk is probably the smartest person we have on this planet,” said Angeline. “He knows how to put two and two together.”

“We need him paying attention to those engines, not worrying over what’s going on here,” said Ben.

“I didn’t tell him, but he knows something is up,” said Angeline. “I don’t like lying to him.”

“It’s for his own good,” said Ben. “I’ll take the heat for it when they get back.”

“Thank you,” said Angeline.

“Anything new to report?” asked Ben.

“No,” said Angeline. “You’ll be one of the first to know.”

“Thank you,” said Ben as he finished the call. He saw someone in the decon chamber shedding their protective gear and was surprised to see Sergeant Major Kendrick Whitaker wincing as he removed the suit and continued. Ben waited until he was inside before giving him a stern look.

“Does Gale know you’re out and about and not home on bed rest,” said Ben.

“She does,” said Kendrick. “Nice to see you too, sir.”

“You were supposed to be on convalescent leave,” said Ben.

“I can sit inside a tower and keep watch without overexerting myself,” said Kendrick as he handed over the food supplies for the team inside the Command Center. “There is absolutely no reason I can’t take a turn at some shifts when everyone is working double shifts and even living out of some of the towers.”

“With no ill side effects?” asked Ben.

“Not a damn thing I haven’t gutted out before,” said Kendrick. “Pain is secondary.”

“Pain is temporary,” said Ben as he completed the training phrase they often used. “What are you doing here?”

“Delivering supplies,” said Kendrick. “We lack for a runner at the moment and these two would likely starve if we didn’t get them food.”

“I thought you said you were sitting in a tower?” asked Ben.

“Filling in where I’m needed,” said Kendrick and saw the expression on Ben’s face. “Which is exactly where you are right now. Right where you’re needed.”

“How did you know what I was thinking?” asked Ben with a half a smile.

“Like we haven’t been together long enough for me to know,” said Kendrick. “Your place is right here helping direct everything.”

“A leader’s place is with the troops,” objected Ben.

“A leader also directs his forces towards the threat,” said Kendrick. “I understand you want to get out there and help, I really do. But right now, we all need you safe and secure in here.”

“I hate being cooped up,” said Ben. “Even more so than Tasha.”

“But deep down you know I’m right,” said Kendrick.

“I know,” said Ben with a sigh.

“If we are going to get through this, we need leadership that’s unaffected,” said Kendrick. “If you get sick, who takes over?”

“Right now? Angeline is next,” said Ben.

“Yet she’s heavily involved in finding a cure,” said Kendrick. “Same goes for Mary.”

“So, Rachelle takes over,” said Ben.

“And she would do the best she could,” said Kendrick. “But let’s face facts here, she’s never been under fire before like this. You have and you know how important having leadership is.”

“I think Rachelle would be okay,” said Ben.

“She’s keeping her head above water making sure the infrastructure is operating, people are being fed and getting supplies to everyone,” said Kendrick. “Since Charity is out of pocket, who takes over those duties?”

“You’re making too much sense,” said Ben with a scoff.

“Yes, sir,” said Kendrick. “So, you need to keep yourself here, keep these two ladies company and provide that oversight we need.”

“Again, I feel like I’m not doing much,” said Ben.

“You’re doing far more than you think and even I know you know that,” said Kendrick. “I mean, if you’re getting cabin fever, you can always come visit me in a tower.”

“I couldn’t imagine climbing that tower wearing a protective suit,” said Ben.

“So, you’d rather be lazy in here?” grinned Kendrick.

“Well, there is that,” said Ben.

“Regardless, you’re performing a critical function,” said Kendrick. “So, please sit right in here until they get some progress made on how to kill that thing.”

“I will,” said Ben with a sigh. “How’s Gale doing?”

“She’s busting her backside at the clinic helping out,” said Kendrick. “That does make me worry, but she’s taking all the necessary precautions.”

“She’s a tough old broad,” said Ben. “Tell her I said hello.”

“Will do,” said Kendrick. “I’ve got to get back out there.”

“You be careful yourself,” said Ben. Kendrick gathered his items and headed out through the chamber, pulling on his suit and giving Ben a nod in the camera before he departed. Ben sat silently for several minutes thinking about what Kendrick had said and saw he was right as he usually was. Ben decided to make himself useful and started organizing and storing the food brought over by Kendrick. As he was stowing the rations on a shelf, he saw Sue starting to put on her biohazard suit. “Where are you going?”

“I need some fresh clothing,” said Sue as she paused.

“I’ll get it for you,” said Ben as he rose to leave.

“I can get it, sir,” said Sue. “I know where to look.”

“I’m not allowing a pregnant woman to go traipsing around this colony,” said Ben. “You tell me where it is and I’ll get it.”

“I’ll be fine, sir,” said Sue.

“Damn right you will be fine. Because you are sitting your ass back in that chair and telling me where to get your stuff,” said Ben sternly. “I’m not taking any chances with you out there.”

“I’ll go then,” said Jodi as she rose.

“You aren’t a part of this conversation,” said Ben.

“Quite frankly and with all due respect, I just made myself a part of it,” said Jodi. “No offense, but I’m not letting the pregnant woman nor the Commander go traipsing out into the colony either. I’ll take care of it.”

“I could give you both an order to stay,” said Ben.

“You could,” said Jodi as she located her suit. “But you won’t.”

“Excuse me?” asked Ben as he hadn’t encountered such defiance in a long time.

“Pardon the expression sir, but I’m the canary in the coal mine,” said Jodi. “Sue doesn’t need to be going out and neither do you. She’s, well, pregnant and I don’t want my friend exposed to anything out there. You are too invaluable to this colony to risk exposure.”

“Me? I’m expendable. So, I’ll take the chance and get what she needs,” concluded Jodi.

“I…” started Ben and shook his head as she pulled on her suit. “I don’t want you exposed either.”

“As stated, I’m the lower totem pole gal,” she stated as she zipped up the suit and pulled the helmet on. “I also don’t think Sue wants you digging through her drawer of unmentionables.”

Ben looked at her and saw nothing he was going to say was going to stop her. In fact, nothing short of holding her down was going to stop Jodi from leaving. She decided to forego her weapons for the trip as Sue finishing writing a short list and handed it over. Jodi looked at Ben one last time before turning for the door.

“Jodi?” he asked as she was prepared to open the door to the chamber.

“Sir?” she asked and turned to look at him.

“You aren’t expendable,” said Ben. “Nobody in this colony is.”

“I’ll be back in a bit,” said Jodi as she departed. Ben watched her go through the series of doors wondering if he should have allowed the defiance as well as someone to take risks he knew he should be taking for himself. However, by the time he made a decision either way, she was already out of the chamber and heading out of the facility. It was yet another example of the brave men and women of the colony going above and beyond and putting other’s lives ahead of their own. While he would speak to her about the insubordination later, he was proud she decided to take a stand by putting herself in danger rather than letting her teammates be exposed to the dangers they currently faced.

 

CHAPTER 22



The next two days were uneventful for the five members on the island as Kirk and Cyrus completed the dismantling of the engines with enough time to fly back to the mainland the evening of the second day. They knew several more trips would be needed to collect the various parts, but the main work had been done and the engines were no longer active. They departed with the sun low in the sky and made a direct flight towards the colony which took a little longer since they weren’t capable of suborbital operations at the moment. They arrived just as the sun was setting to find something they weren’t expecting. Jim had done his best to hide the fact he knew something was up in the colony and still managed to focus on getting the final two engines dismantled. He knew whatever was going on in the colony would be discovered soon enough.

The shuttle came into view of the colony just as the sun was setting. Ryan called ahead and the Command Center gave him authorization to land and informed him they’d send a ground crew out. As he was flaring for the landing, he saw something he wasn’t expecting.

“Something going on?” asked Ryan as he followed the landing signals from what appeared to be Rachelle on the ground. She wasn’t used to giving the signals, but what caught their eyes was the bio-protective ensemble she had on. His landing lights illuminated her face inside the “fishbowl” style helmet as he ignored her signals since she was messing them up and landed right in the center of the pad.

“What in the world?” asked Cyrus as they landed and wisely didn’t open the hatches yet. Rachelle came over and started looking for the input area for the comm wire she was carrying. Ryan pointed at the area it was in as she finally figured out which one and opened the port to install the wire.

“Good evening, boss,” said Ryan over the internal comm system. “Is it Halloween already?”

“We’re under quarantine at the moment,” stated Rachelle mechanically through the voice emitter. “You guys are clear though. At least, we think you’re clear.”

“From what?” asked Kirk as he came forward and Ryan put the exchange over the intercom.

“A virus we appeared to have picked up,” said Rachelle. “A third of the colony is in the hospital and another third is showing symptoms. I think you guys are safe, but we have to get you to the hospital to get checked out.”

“How?” asked Cyrus.

“I’ve got to get you suits,” said Rachelle. “Can you rig the airlock?”

“Sure,” said Cyrus. “Captain Kingston? I could use your help.”

“Absolutely,” said Ryan as he finished shutting down the systems and followed Cyrus to the airlock. He stood behind Cyrus before being asked to return to the cockpit and seal the inner door from the pilot’s station. He did so as Rachelle returned carrying five boxes for the suits. Cyrus saw her place them inside the airlock before spraying them down with what undoubtedly was a disinfectant as well as spraying the walls and controls. It took several minutes for her to finish the job before she closed the outer door.

“Ryan? Purge the inner chamber,” said Cyrus as he saw the indicator show the airlock was sealed from both sides. Ryan initiated the program from his controls and expelled all the air from the airlock, creating a vacuum inside. Cyrus gave him a prompt to repressure from the shuttle itself as he watched the gauge. Soon enough, the pressure was equal and Cyrus opened the airlock door with the smell of bleach hitting him immediately.

“What about our gear?” asked Samantha.

“Leave your personal goods behind and just bring your weapons,” said Cyrus as he started setting out the suits for them to put on. It took several minutes before everyone was suited properly as they double checked each other’s work.

“We can go two at a time from the airlock,” said Cyrus. “The Whitakers will be first, then Jim and Ryan and I’ll be last. I’m going to depressurize the chamber to avoid contaminating the shuttle since we know it’s clean.”

“Got it,” said Ryan as they each turned on the self-contained breathing apparatus and the suits inflated slightly. It made movement slightly difficult, but they managed to get into the airlock as Cyrus depressurized and then quickly equalized the pressure from the outside. He repeated the process a second time and instructed Ryan to do the same for him from the other side. Eventually, all five were out of the shuttle and were led to the hospital. Normally, it was somewhat quiet, but there were plenty of people running this way and that wearing the same suits they currently had on. They were taken to an observation room and run through a complete decontamination before entering into the small inner chamber.

“I think you called this a few days ago,” said Ryan.

“It was a matter of time,” said Kirk. “Not that I like saying I told you so in this instance.”

“No, certainly not,” said Ryan as Mary came in wearing one of the suits as well. She was accompanied by Feldwebel Lara Schreiber from the Security Forces.

“Probably not the homecoming you were hoping for,” she stated. “You can doff the suits since this is a sterile area.”

“You sure?” asked Cyrus.

“Positive,” said Mary. “I need blood samples to test you guys and I can’t get that while you’re wearing the suits.”

“Yes, Doctor,” said Kirk as they doffed the suits and Schreiber got the blood vials ready. The room stank of a mix of disinfectant and alcohol as their noses involuntarily cringed.

“What is it?” asked Kirk.

“A hemorrhagic fever,” said Mary as she drew his blood first and labeled the vial. “It’s showing Ebolavirus symptoms but seems to be transmitted via airborne means.”

“Ebola?” asked Randy who knew about such things from one of his first missions to Africa.

“Roughly comparable,” said Mary as she moved down the line. “Different structure though and ignoring the normal Ebolavirus medications.”

“Is Doctor Chambless at work on it?” asked Kirk as he knew the Doctor was their specialist in pathology.

“Doctor Chambless was one of the first infected,” said Mary. “Luckily, it’s not fatal yet with the treatments we’ve done, but it would be fatal if we weren’t keeping the renal failure at bay.”

“Symptoms?” asked Kirk.

“Classic hemorrhagic symptoms,” said Mary. “Malaise, internal bleeding, decreased liver and kidney function, petechia from the internal bleeding, vomiting and diarrhea. As well as the complications from the internal bleeding.”

“It’s going after the kidneys and liver, I assume?” asked Kirk.

“Seems to be,” said Mary as she finished up. “Okay, stay here for the moment. We’ll know in about fifteen minutes if you’re infected.”

“Should we put the masks back on?” asked Ryan.

“Smell getting to you?” asked Mary.

“I will say it’s not pleasant,” said Samantha.

“We were running low on bleach so the alcohol production is helping in that regard,” said Mary. “The virus isn’t taking a liking to our moonshine especially since we went 95% on it.”

“I’d imagine not,” said Cyrus. Mary and Schreiber departed through the area and were decontaminated as a precaution as they left.

The five sat silently as they waited for what seemed like an eternity for the test results to come back. Each silently worried over the situation as viruses still didn’t have an effective “silver bullet” even with 22nd century medicine. They could only treat the symptoms and allow the body to fight it off with the aid of some medications as well as having vaccines for certain ones. But overall, the person had to destroy the virus within themselves for it to die off.

“Good news,” said Mary over the intercom as she returned through the decon area and was accompanied by one of the med techs. “All of you are clear.”

“Where do you need help?” asked Kirk.

“In the lab,” said Mary. “I have enough people that can care for the sick, but I really need additional eyes looking this thing over.”

“Can you let Doctor Santiago know where I’ll be?” asked Kirk.

“He’s being attended to,” said Mary. “He was one of the first brought in.”

“I figured as much,” said Kirk.

“You knew?” asked Mary.

“I suspected,” said Kirk. “I tried calling him the other day and got Angeline. She was fairly evasive as was Commander Nash.”

“They didn’t want you to lose focus with the engines,” said Mary.

“I can multitask well,” said Kirk.

“Can the rest of them?” asked Mary with a frown. “Yeah, Ben and Angeline probably lied to you. But they did so because your mission was important.”

“Yes, yes it was,” said Kirk. “Which lab are you set up in?”

“All of them,” said Mary. “Angeline is working out of Lab 2.”

“And the rest of us?” asked Ryan.

“Before you leave, we have a request,” said Mary. “I’d like each of you to give up some blood above and beyond what we just took for testing.”

“Shortage?” asked Kirk.

“We’re making due with half real blood and half synth,” said Mary. “But I’ve been tapping everyone I can and the production isn’t easily kept up with the demand.”

“Which arm?” asked Ryan as everyone sat back down. Mary and the med tech quickly tapped into the vein in each of their arms and gathered a half liter apiece from each of them. New suits were brought in along with a spare bandage for the needle hole later on. Mary gave the standard “don’t overdo it for the 24 hours and hydrate” speech as she finished up and got ready to depart.

“Now what do the rest of us do?” asked Samantha.

“Get with your section heads or the acting ones,” said Mary. “Cyrus, I’d assume that’s you since Grady is also in the ward. Check in with Ben.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Cyrus as the door opened and they headed towards their respective stations. Kirk immediately headed to the laboratory portion of the hospital and made contact with Angeline who was directing the effort from the gathered crew.

“Where do you need help?” he asked as he approached.

“I need a new set of eyes on the structure,” said Angeline tiredly. “Station 3.”

“When was the last time you slept?” asked Kirk as he saw the circles under her eyes.

“I don’t remember,” she stated and saw him about to admonish her. “Regardless, it can wait.”

“You need rest just like everyone else,” he said with a nod.

“I know,” she stated with a yawn. “Soon.”

“I’ll get to work,” said Kirk as he headed over to the station. Cyrus made it to the command center where he went through another decontamination station before being allowed to doff his protective suit and join the others. Before leaving, he saw a roll of tape and a marker which people had been using to mark their suits. He marked down his name, section and more ominously, his blood type before placing the tape on both sides as well as at the base of the helmet. He entered into the command center finding only Ben and one other person inside.

“I can see why Grady was unavailable,” said Cyrus as he headed towards Ben. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I needed you focused on the engines and not worried about what was happening here,” said Ben as he kept up with some of the security monitors. “Not that you could have done much from there anyway.”

“Probably not,” said Cyrus as he knew Ben was right. “What do you need me to do?”

“Obviously, construction is at a halt at the moment and the engineers are helping in both the hospital and with security. I’ve had Drew Collins acting as section head in accordance with the chain of command Grady put into place,” said Ben.

“How many have been hit in the leadership?” asked Cyrus. “Obviously not Rachelle and Mary.”

“Allen, Grady, Charity and Javier,” said Ben. “Tasha tested positive, but isn’t symptomatic yet, so there’s a chance she’ll fight it off.”

“What kind of chances?” asked Cyrus.

“Mary is still working on figuring that out,” said Ben with shrugged shoulders. “A natural immunity maybe? Or her immune system is working overtime.”

“Or it knows better than to attack Tasha,” said Cyrus with half a grin.

“There is that,” said Ben with a brief chuckle, one of the first since the virus appeared.

“And you?” asked Cyrus.

“So far, nothing,” said Ben. “I’m hoping that continues. But just that you’re aware, with Tasha showing positive and if I fall sick, you’re next in line to take over.”

“Angeline and Mary are both higher in the pecking order than I am,” objected Cyrus.

“Both of them are swamped right now with fighting this thing,” said Ben. “The colony needs someone that isn’t a scientist or doctor to take over.”

“Where’s Kurt?” asked Cyrus.

“Out of colony with a team on a research trip,” said Ben. “They left the day after you did and nobody has gotten sick. We decided it was best for them to stay out at the moment.”

“You brought us back?” asked Cyrus.

“Because we needed you and Doctor Kirk back soonest,” said Ben. “Plus, Kurt and his team are able to live off the land at the moment and you all would have needed a resupply run.”

“Don’t get sick,” said Cyrus with a chuckle. “I’ll need the safety protocols we’re using.”

“Check your email, I just sent them,” said Ben.

“Anything else?” asked Cyrus. “I’ll need to get with Drew to figure out how bad we’re hit.”

“No,” said Ben with a yawn.

“You look like you could use some sleep as well,” said Cyrus.

“The soldiers marooned here with me and I are trading off sleeping for the moment,” said Ben as he nodded at his counterpart, Specialist Sue Peters in the command center.

“Is there someone else I don’t see?” asked Cyrus.

“The other trooper, Staff Sergeant Jodi Walker, assigned here during this fun time is at the hospital getting checked at the moment and donating blood,” said Ben. “All three of us have become bunkmates in the past few days.”

“I gave up a half a liter already too,” said Cyrus.

“Mary has pretty much pumped us dry,” said Ben. “Except Specialist Peters over there.”

“I did offer,” said Sue. “No taking from the pregnant girl though.”

“It’s a good thing we put in showers and someone had the foresight to plan for the CBRN chamber,” said Cyrus who was referring to the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear chamber that had been built into the command center as a precaution.

“There is that,” said Sue as she made a slight adjustment to a camera.

“It’s probably better for you to stay in here full time,” said Cyrus.

“My place is out there helping,” said Ben as he saw Cyrus about to object. “It’s where I have to be, Cyrus. I can’t hole up in here while my colony is getting sick. Now that you’re back, I’ll be able to go a little more often.”

“Right,” said Cyrus. “Okay, I’ll head to my compound.”

“I’ll see you at some point,” said Ben as Cyrus headed back into the chamber and put his suit back on and checked over everything to ensure it was airtight. He headed for his compound where he found Drew busy working on placing personnel in different areas to help out.

“I’m pretty glad you’re back, boss,” said Drew. “I’m not happy with this leadership stuff.”

“Bring me up to speed,” said Cyrus without small talk. Drew spent several minutes informing Cyrus of their own numbers as well as who had gone where to help out.

“A quarter of our folks are down?” asked Cyrus. “I thought they said a third.”

“For some reason, we didn’t get hit as hard,” said Drew. “Maybe it’s because we were out of colony a lot or working away from everyone else. Consider us lucky since two-thirds of the medical and SIT folks are down or tested positive as well as half the security personnel.”

“Why SIT?” asked Cyrus.

“Probably because they have the most interaction with everyone,” said Drew with shrugged shoulders. “And they are the first section to augment Medical in an emergency.”

“So, half of our healthy folks to security and half to medical?” asked Cyrus.

“A third to security, a third to medical and a third keeping the lights on,” said Drew. “We had to keep the infrastructure going and we need to monitor that.”

“Right,” said Cyrus. “No work projects, right?”

“Sorta,” said Drew. “The clinic started pulling more power than we had lines. Design flaw, so we had to install new power lines and hookups.”

“The emergency generators weren’t enough?” asked Cyrus.

“They would have been, but I made the call to increase the power lines running in since the generators have to be maintained and if we’re short staffed…” said Drew.

“It’d draw away from something else to do so,” said Cyrus. “Good call.”

“Otherwise, we’re getting daily checks at the clinic and I’m probably going to apply for a second job as a pincushion when this is all said and done,” said Drew.

“How long as this been going on?” asked Cyrus.

“Four days,” said Drew. “Not long after you left.”

“Any idea where it came from?” asked Cyrus.

“Way above my pay grade,” said Drew.

“Okay, what else do I need to know?” asked Cyrus as Drew briefed him up on the remainder of the items. An alert on his communicator reminded him it was time for accountability.

“What’s with that?” asked Cyrus.

“The disease really hits you,” said Drew. “Like barely get out of bed kinda punches. So, we’re taking accountability every four hours with folks so we can get them if they fall sick.”

Cyrus watched as the simple program was run and Drew acknowledged it before waiting for the final numbers. Cyrus looked at his communicator and saw it also had been installed in the short time they’d been back and picked the appropriate response before sending it in.

“Looks like we’re still good at the moment,” said Drew as he checked the numbers. “However, looks like another Security Force might be down.”

“Scary,” said Cyrus as he saw a medical team depart from the hospital to head to the location the communicator was indicating. “We’ve got everyone’s numbers?”

“We’ve had to become stretcher bearers ourselves,” said Drew with a yawn.

“When’s the last time you slept?” asked Cyrus.

“Truth be told, I don’t remember,” said Drew.

“Go knock off and grab a few hours of sleep,” said Cyrus.

“I’ve been grabbing naps on a cot in Grady’s office,” said Drew. “I’ll be there.”

“Good job taking over while we’ve been gone,” said Cyrus. Drew flashed him a tired thumbs up and headed into the office where he was able to doff the suit he was wearing but placed a surgical mask over his face as he laid down on and passed out almost immediately. Cyrus went through the remainder of the items and saw Drew had accounted for everything in his absence. With nothing else to do at the moment, he headed for his on alert section to find out what they were up to at the moment.

********************
​

“Hateful thing,” said Kirk as he looked over the microscopic image of the virus with Angeline and Mary looking over his shoulder.

“It comes on quick, so we aren’t as worried about latency,” said Angeline. “Less than 20 hours between infection and symptoms showing.”

“That fast?” asked Kirk.

“I have this feeling it loves a new host to replicate in,” said Mary.

“Funny, we were just discussing that while we were on the island,” said Kirk as he adjusted the view and brought up a three-dimensional view and rotated it around.

“I haven’t had the chance to say so, but that was a very brave thing you did,” said Angeline.

“Which part?” asked Kirk.

“Saving Cyrus,” said Angeline. “He certainly owes you a drink or two.”

“We had a stiff one apiece that night,” said Kirk as he looked over the organic analysis.

“When this is over, I’ll treat you to a bottle myself,” said Angeline.

“Getting drunk with the hired help?” asked Kirk with a half a smile.

“I think after this we all could use a stiff drink,” said Angeline as Mary looked at her tablet.

“Gotta go, we’ve got a Code Blue,” said Mary as she darted out of the lab.

“What have you tried for a counter so far?” asked Kirk as he looked through the analysis.

Angeline went through the list of medications they had tried as well as other treatments, all of which had failed.

“And those that are testing positive?” asked Kirk.

“We’ve been testing them as well trying to figure out why they are beating it,” said Angeline. “Nothing concrete so far.”

“Are they developing antibodies?” asked Kirk.

“They are, but it’s not helping in others,” she replied.

“Perhaps it’s something at the molecular level?” asked Kirk.

“We haven’t tried that avenue yet,” said Angeline.

“Medical histories of the people involved?” asked Kirk.

“Nothing that jumps out at us,” said Angeline. “We thought it might have been because Tasha has already had a bug on Novae Spes, but the others didn’t.”

“Do we have access to the medical files?” asked Kirk. “The history specifically?”

“What are you thinking?” asked Angeline.

“I’m not sure yet,” said Kirk. “Something is causing a heightened immune response to the thing in others. But I’m not sure what.”

“I’ll see you get access to them,” said Angeline. “But it is something we’ve gone through.”

“Another set of eyes on it won’t hurt,” said Kirk. “We’ve mapped out the genome on the thing and other than continuing to poke at it or find alcohol and bleach kills it, there is little left to do with studying it.”

“And UV light,” said Angeline.

“I’d just like to have a look at them,” said Kirk.

“As soon as Mary gets back, we’ll get you access,” said Angeline.

********************
​

“He’s stable,” said Mary with a sigh as she set down the paddles for the defibrillator.

“Vital signs are spotty, but I think he’s okay at the moment,” said Doctor Charlotte Griggs.

“I’ll let Angeline know, but I want a full time nurse assigned to him,” said Mary.

“Yes, Doctor,” said Charlotte. Mary headed back to the lab where Angeline and Kirk were still looking over the bug itself.

“That was Chuck Dawson,” said Mary with a sigh.

“Is he…” started Angeline and couldn’t bring herself to finish.

“No, he’s stable at the moment, but in a coma,” said Mary. “I’ve assigned a full time nurse to keep a watch on him.”

“Why is it hitting him so bad?” asked Angeline.

“I don’t know,” said Mary with a sigh. “Any progress?”

“I could use access to the medical histories of those who haven’t been infected, but are showing positive,” said Kirk.

“You looking for that needle in the haystack as well?” asked Mary. “We’ve been through and haven’t found anything linking them.”

“A second look never hurt anyone,” said Kirk.

“This will be like a tenth look,” said Mary.

“There is something there,” said Kirk. “We just have to figure out what.”

“True,” said Mary as she got on her tablet. “It’s all yours.”

“Thank you,” said Kirk as he started looking over the files. Angeline sat with him and looked over his shoulders, but he felt a weight on his shoulder about five minutes in and found she had passed out from exhaustion.

“Doctor Weber?” he asked softly as he tried to move her head from his shoulder without waking her. “Angeline?”

There was no response and he even heard her snore slightly through the helmet she had on. He chuckled at the situation and set the tablet down before positioning himself just right to pick her up. It wasn’t easy to do, but he managed to get his hands under her legs and back and lift her up, grunting as he started to head out. Thankfully she was naturally slender as he moved through the lab towards one of the offices.

“Is Doctor Weber okay?” asked one of the nurses assigned to help the Science teams.

“Exhaustion,” said Kirk softly. “She’s out like a light.”

“She’s been going for nearly three days straight,” said the nurse. “She needs sleep.”

“Is there a place I could leave her?” asked Kirk.

“Follow me please,” said the nurse as she led Kirk to an unused office. Kirk noticed it had recently been sterilized as the robotic cleaners were running every minute of the day. The nurse found one of the cots where the hospital workers had been catching naps also had fresh linens and a light blanket. Kirk managed to get her onto the cot without waking her and started to cover her up.

“We can remove her helmet and suit in here,” said the nurse. “This office has an overpressure and was cleaned not long ago.”

“We need to be decontaminated,” said Kirk.

“Yes, of course,” said the nurse as she received a message on her comm unit. “I have to get into the ER, can you take care of it?”

“Yes,” said Kirk as the nurse departed and he went through a decon before returning. It wasn’t easy getting the suit unzipped and he was glad she had one scrubs underneath, but he managed to get the suit pulled off and a surgical mask put over her face as she stirred slightly and got comfortable. His last act was to cover her up as he headed back to the lab to get to work.

Angeline woke over seven hours later with an intense desire to urinate, but also with the feelings normally associated with waking up in an unusual spot. She looked around the office and found her suit lying neatly on the chair next to the cot and discovered the mask on her face. Grunting, she stretched before pulling the suit back on and getting it properly zipped up and heading for a decon area that not only had a bathroom, but a shower she desperately needed. It took several minutes to decon, but eventually she was through the process and doffed the suit and put it in a bag to be cleaned and reused. She saw generic shower items along with towels and fresh scrubs by size and gender on an adjacent rack.

She gathered some of the soap and shampoo before taking a quick shower and drying off, picking appropriately sized scrubs. It was just then she realized her bag for her underwear and other items was still located in another office. Standing there wearing nothing but a towel, she had no idea what to do.

“There’s some plain undergarments in the linen closet,” said a voice from behind her. She jumped slightly at the voice, not realizing she wasn’t alone. “Sorry to startle you.”

“I wasn’t expecting anyone,” said Angeline as she turned and saw Sergeant Zoe Kent starting to get her shower things ready.

“I might have announced myself,” said Zoe with a yawn. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay,” said Angeline as she went to the closet and found SIT had created some plain white undergarments and had them again sorted by size and gender. She was joined by Zoe who picked her own as they returned to the bench.

“How’s everything going out there?” asked Angeline.

“We’re keeping everyone alive,” said Zoe tiredly. “This virus is starting to impair additional bodily functions in some of the patients.”

“How is Chuck Dawson?” asked Angeline.

“He’s still stable at the moment,” said Zoe. “Still in a coma though.”

“No breakthroughs in the past few hours?” asked Angeline.

“No,” said Zoe. “Every drug regimen the doctors have tried hasn’t worked.”

“We’ll find something,” said Angeline.

“I hope we do,” said Zoe as she let her long curly hair down out of the pony tail. “Some need it pretty badly.”

“Thank you for stepping up in the hospital,” said Angeline.

“Truth be told, I’d rather be other places,” said Zoe. “I don’t like seeing people hurting.”

“Nobody does,” said Angeline as Zoe started doffing additional clothing and Angeline turned her back for her privacy. She heard Zoe head to the shower and quickly got dressed herself.

“Catch up with you later,” said Angeline as she departed.

“Bye,” said Zoe from the shower. Angeline got a new suit out of the packing and pulled it on before getting the helmet situated and turning on the air flow. The internal cooling system hit her and she felt a few spots on her body she hadn’t gotten entirely dry as she headed back to the lab area, finding Kirk still hard at work. He stood up just as she was arriving.

“Heading somewhere?” she asked.

“You’re awake,” he stated. “I was going to let you sleep a little longer.”

“I don’t even recall going to sleep,” she stated with a tired smile. “Remind me to thank whomever carried me to bed.”

“You’re welcome,” he stated with a tired smile of his own.

“You carried me?” asked Angeline.

“I’m over 50, but still go to the gym and hit the weights,” he said. “And it’s not like you weigh that much.”

“Thank you,” said Angeline. “For carrying me to bed as well as the compliment.”

“My pleasure,” he said with another tired smile.

“What’s your current theory?” she asked.

“There is something linking those who have tested positive but aren’t symptomatic yet,” said Kirk. “I’m creating a database of their medical history and comparing it.”

“We already compared their history,” said Angeline. “Nothing jumped out at us. And for those who were connected in some ways, the drug regimes didn’t work on those who were sick.”

“Explain this?” he asked as he showed her the data he had come up with.

“An anomaly,” she stated. “That’s only 20%.”

“It’s the best we’ve got,” said Kirk as he continued looking through the next file.

“You actually created a database?” she asked as she saw him entering data into a spreadsheet.

“Easiest way of collating the data I need,” he stated.

“Nerd,” she chuckled.

“Yes,” said Kirk with a half a grin. “Though not as bad as those astrophysics types.”

“Watch it,” she chuckled.

“You know, the pasty pale types that never receive any exposure to sunlight?” he continued and she saw a brief smile on his face.

“I’ll have you know I still have a bit of a tan,” she objected with a laugh.

“Well, I would expect a weather girl to have a bit of a tan,” he said as his eyes turned playful.

“Well, aren’t you in a mood?” she laughed.

“I’m sorry, I get silly when I’m exhausted,” he apologized.

“It’s a side of you I never thought I’d see,” she said with a smile. “Always so serious.”

“Sorry,” he stated.

“Sorry for being silly or sorry for always being serious?” she asked as she saw him open the next file and start looking over the data.

“Maybe both?” he asked with half a smile.

“The silly side is nice,” she said with a smile. “It’s nice to see you break loose a bit.”

“Just wait a few more hours from now,” said Kirk. “You’ll really see silly.”

“I think I’d like to see that,” she said with a smile. “What else?”

“I’m not sure,” said Kirk as he scanned over the data. “Why is it only hitting certain sections?”

“Again, we aren’t sure,” said Angeline. “We chalked it up to the Engineers being out of colony and not exposed to the main body of people.”

“I’m not sure that’s the case…” he said as he looked over the data. “How complete are the medical histories we have on file?”

“You would know better than most since you helped pick the original colonists,” she replied.

“I helped pick them from qualifications, I didn’t get into the details specifically,” he stated.

“Where are you going with this?” she asked.

“Hang on,” he said as he organized the data sheet into the areas he wanted, specifically those who had tested positive but hadn’t shown symptoms, those that were infected and those who were still clean. He checked each of those that were symptomatic and saw his theory very well could work out.

“I might be able to help if I knew what you were doing…” said Angeline as he finished on the computer and started looking through the rows of data.

“Care for a little field work, Doctor?” he asked.

“Specifically for?” she asked. Kirk explained his theory as well as his data behind it. She thought about it for a moment before wondering if it was something that had been staring them in the face the entire time.

“How did you come to this?” she asked.

“Because I had the same thing happen to me, but it isn’t in my records,” replied Kirk.

“It’s worth chasing down,” said Angeline. “Let me talk to Mary and let her know.”

“Just for our own data, it shows you’ve had it,” said Kirk.

“I have,” said Angeline. “About two years ago.”

“No symptoms?” he asked.

“Not even tested positive,” said Angeline. “Let me find Mary.”

“I’ll be outside,” said Kirk as he checked to make sure the data was stored correctly on his tablet. He headed out into the main hospital area where he saw nearly every bed full with the medical personnel moving between the beds. He knew they needed to find something to fight the virus and fast if they were going to recover.

 

CHAPTER 23



“You’re looking pretty bad, Doctor,” said Jim Kirk as he came upon Bill Riker’s bed while waiting for Angeline to finish talking with Mary. He went over to the top of the bed and put his tablet into the pouch on his belt.

“They have you on the case?” asked Riker weakly.

“I volunteered for it,” said Kirk. “How are you feeling?”

“Like my insides are about to liquidate,” said Riker. “Pain meds aren’t helping as much.”

“We have a theory,” said Kirk as he explained what he and Angeline were going to check for.

“Well, I know I’ve never had it,” said Riker weakly.

“I’ll mark you off my list,” said Kirk. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Find the cure,” said Riker as one of the medical personnel came over. “If this pans out, I’ll be first in line to try it.”

“Doctor Kirk, I don’t mean to be rude, but our patients need rest,” said Sergeant Zoe Kent.

“I’m sorry, but I might have to ask a few some questions,” he stated.

“Only if they feel up to it,” said Zoe.

“You are on my list as well,” said Kirk as he looked over his tablet. He asked her a battery of questions to which she answered yes to.

“How long ago?” he asked.

“Maybe six months before we departed?” she stated. “It should be in my medical records.”

“It’s not,” said Kirk.

“So much for military medicine,” said Zoe with a sigh. “Why are you asking?”

“We might be able to beat this thing,” said Kirk as Angeline joined him.

“Mary is napping at the moment, but Doctor Griggs knows,” said Angeline. “Ready?”

“Yeah, we’ll hit up the ones here when we get back,” said Kirk. The pair departed and headed for the Engineering section first, finding those on duty, asking the simple questions and recording the data. Angeline saw a pattern forming as those who hadn’t tested positive all had one thing in common. As they finished up, they met with other sections and found the same story for each of the personnel. It took several hours to track down enough people to get a good sample going, but Angeline saw his theory was turning out to be right.

“This literally was right in front of our faces,” said Angeline.

“We have a theory the facts are supporting at the moment,” said Kirk as they entered the command center. They went through the decon area before doffing their suits and making contact with the controllers.

“The Commander is asleep,” said Jodi Walker in a whisper.

“He’s going to want to get woken up for this,” said Kirk. “But I do have a couple of questions for the both of you.”

Kirk went through his battery of questions and found, again, everything was in line with his theory except for Sue Peters. He decided since she was pregnant and probably one of the first whisked away from the sick she had avoided it so far. As they were finishing up, Rachelle came into the Command Center after doffing her suit.

“I’ve got another two down,” she stated in a whispered tone to the controllers and looked over the questions on Kirk’s tablet. “For the record, yes, I have.”

“When?” asked Kirk.

“A few years ago on Mars,” said Rachelle. “I got it since there was an increased solar cycle.”

“Oh?” asked Kirk.

“As have I,” said Ben as he wiped his face and rolled into a sitting position on the cot. “You have something to report?”

“I think we found a good lead,” said Kirk.

“You’ve been back less than a day and already got this thing licked?” asked Ben as he finished waking up and looked for a coffee mug.

“Well, it’s been two days,” said Kirk.

“Regardless,” said Ben as he poured a cup of Earth coffee and came over to the pair.

“I checked the data for those who received the pre-cancer treatments in the past,” said Kirk. “It isn’t showing in everyone’s records, but everyone we’ve spoken to has had it before and had been able to fight it off.”

“How…?” asked Ben as he was still waking up.

“The fact the Engineers weren’t hit that hard is why tipped me off,” said Kirk. “Long story short, those personnel have probably worked in higher radiation environments in the past and the construction companies kept stocks of the treatment on hand to give out.”

“The same thing happened to me on Mars,” said Rachelle. “I didn’t even get a prescription and they handed the things out like candy.”

“You think that’s the key?” asked Ben.

“I think we need to do some lab testing,” said Kirk. “But the data all points to it.”

“Does Mary know?” asked Ben.

“She was asleep and I didn’t want to wake her until we knew more,” said Angeline.

“She’ll want to know this,” said Ben as he motioned to the door and headed that way himself. The three put their protective gear back on and headed to the hospital immediately. Ben immediately made a beeline for Mary’s office and found it empty.

“She’s in the shower,” said Charlotte Griggs.

“I’ll be proper,” said Ben as he went into the decon area and took the steps necessary to get clean before entering. As soon as he came in, he found Mary was almost finished up as he heard the water turn off. Before he could announce his presence, Mary heard someone in the bathroom with her and called out.

“Charlotte? Everything okay?” asked Mary as she started to step out and found out it wasn’t Charlotte in the bathroom with her. She quickly stepped back behind the steamed up door and peeked out at him.

“Sorry,” said Ben as he averted his gaze and grabbed a nearby towel before walking sideways and handing it to her.

“I’d assume this is business related?” she asked as she took the towel.

“Yeah,” said Ben. “Jim Kirk found something you need to take a look at.”

“And it couldn’t have waited?” asked Mary. “Speaking of, I thought I made it quite clear you were to remain in isolation in the Command Center.”

“Jim and Angeline brought this to my attention,” said Ben. “I felt I should be with them when they told you the details.”

“Admit it, you were getting cabin fever,” she stated.

“Maybe,” said Ben.

“And it certainly caused you to develop a lack of privacy,” said Mary with a chuckle.

“I didn’t think so at the moment, but now I see that might have been a mistake,” said Ben as he blushed up.

“I’m proper for the moment,” said Mary as she had wrapped the large towel around her body and tucked it under itself. “So?”

Ben explained for several moments as she organized her scrubs to pull back on. She thought about it for a moment before muttering “interesting.”

“I felt you should know about it right now just in case,” he replied. “I’m sorry for barging in here like this.”

“I’m sure it’s not the first time you’ve collected a female out of the shower with important information,” said Mary. “However, I would ask you turn around while I get my scrubs back on.”

“I’m sorry,” he stated and looked at her finally. “I’ll be outside.”

“Ben?” she asked as he was departing.

“Ma’am?” he asked and peeked at her over his shoulder.

“It was important and nothing to be embarrassed about,” she stated with a smile.

“I just don’t want you to think I was some perv trying to sneak a peek or anything,” said Ben as he blushed up again and turned his face away. She saw the opening and quickly pulled on the scrub pants before grabbing at the shirt and turning away from him.

“You are not anywhere on that perv list,” said Mary with a soft chuckle and she turned the shirt right side out.

“You’re a beautiful woman and I’m sure some have had those thoughts before,” he said as he peeked around and saw she was still topless, though with her back to him.

“You keep complimenting me like that in my current state and there’s a good chance your status gets upgraded to perv,” she said with a chuckle over her shoulder.

“That was wrong of me to say,” said Ben as she saw him blush once again.

“You could have said far worse,” she said as she walked over to him and scratched at his back. “Again, you are the last person I’d object to barging in on me in the shower. If it was a big deal, you would have gotten a face full of shampoo already.”

“Still, I wasn’t thinking straight,” he said and blushed yet again.

“Ben, of all the men in this colony that could do that, you’re the only one I am perfectly fine with seeing me get out of the shower,” she said very directly.

“Thanks,” he chuckled as she saw the remainder of the blush on his face. She saw he was being somewhat evasive with his answer and knew it wasn’t the proper time to be making such comments herself. She scratched at his back one more time before pulling on her socks and shoes. They headed into the decon chamber together where she gave him a quick wink to know he wasn’t in trouble. He smiled back at her as they helped each other get the suits on.

“You guys in there baking a cake?” asked Charlotte as they emerged.

“Baking a cake?” asked Ben.

“Never mind her,” said Mary. “Doctor Kirk?”

“Let’s walk and talk,” he said as he led the way back to the lab where he explained his theory as well as the data he had obtained.

“It was literally in front of our faces the entire time,” said Mary as she looked over the data he had collected from over half the colony. “I even dismissed it myself since the data was such a low percentage of those who tested positive but were asymptomatic.”

“We’ll see what happens,” said Kirk as they headed to the station where the live specimens were being kept and allowed to reproduce. They selected one of the cultures as Mary ordered the medication from the auto-dispensary in powder form. They subjected the sample to a high magnification and introduced the medication in the culture.

“It’s already reacting,” said Kirk as they looked it over.

“Replication is still happening,” said Angeline. “Decreased by 85% though. Will that be sufficient for a patient to beat the remaining 15%?”

“Maybe,” said Mary. “That was a fairly heavy dose we put in there.”

“But it is working,” said Angeline. “Maybe I can model out the doses based on this.”

“Well?” asked Ben.

“We’re going to run this again a few more times with varying doses,” said Mary as she retrieved another culture and repeated the process with a lighter dose of the drugs. “We need additional testing and computer models.”

“But right now, the pre-cancer treatments are working,” said Angeline. “Literally right in front of us and we didn’t see it.”

“We didn’t have the data we needed in everyone’s medical history,” said Mary as additional culture samples were gathered and she ordered additional drugs in varying percentages. “Not our fault.”

They repeated the process several more times, finding the results were the same through the additional tests. The lower percentages took a little longer to work, but the end result was the same in every case. The medication introduced into the culture stopped almost all replication of the virus while white blood cells were killing the remaining virus.

“It’s not going to be a quick miracle drug,” said Mary. “But it should give the body a fighting chance to kill it off.”

“It’ll starve itself out without replicating,” said Angeline.

“The body fights it naturally,” said Mary. “Unfortunately, it replicates faster than the body can kill it. This gives people a fighting chance.”

“Can we administer the drugs without problems to the sick?” asked Ben.

“Absolutely,” said Mary. “The pre-cancer drugs stay in your system up to a decade which is why those that have had it in the past aren’t being affected now.”

“With no harmful side effects?” asked Ben.

“Only if we overdo it,” said Mary. “I mean, we’ll need to have a sample group to test it on and run some simulations based on that data, but I think we’ve found a counter.”

“How long before you can administer it?” asked Ben.

“I’m thinking we can do a controlled test of a dozen or so right now,” said Mary. “The drug doesn’t have any side effects on healthy people, but I’m unsure of sick people.”

“I’m going to defer to your medical expertise on this,” said Ben.

“If this works out, we need to build a statue for Doctor Kirk,” said Mary.

“I’ll need a haircut and a shave,” he deadpanned. “And a few more hours in the gym.”

“Jim Kirk making a joke?” asked Ben. “It is the end as we know it.”

“Oh, you should have seen him earlier,” laughed Angeline. “He was quite silly.”

“Okay, I think we’re ready,” said Mary as she identified a dozen of the infected personnel at varying stages of the virus and ordered the drugs in IV form. It took several minutes for the automated dispensary to create the drugs and they rechecked the data one more time just to be safe. Each and every time the end result was the virus was stopped cold. Angeline and Kirk started on a program to model the long term effects while Mary headed to the main ward. She found Charlotte and four of the med techs before briefing them on the situation and the proper application of the drug. She gave half the medications to Charlotte and headed to the others herself with two med techs.

“Hey, Doc,” said Grady weakly from his bed.

“Good morning…or afternoon,” said Mary. “I lost track of time. Anyway, we have an experimental medicine we think might work-”

“Give it to me,” said Grady as he interrupted her. “I’ll be your test subject.”

“We don’t know if it’ll work,” said Mary. “But testing is positive so far.”

“If it works, I’m all for it,” said Grady as Mary hooked up the drip into his IV. “What is it?”

“The pre-cancer treatment meds,” said Mary. “You’ve never had it?”

“A long time ago, yeah,” said Grady.

“Nothing in the last ten years?” asked Mary.

“It’s been twenty if it’s been a day,” said Grady.

“Well, let’s see how this works,” said Mary as she adjusted the drip and annotated it on his chart. She moved on to the next patient and repeated the process before completing the task and meeting up with Charlotte who was finishing up herself.

“Now we find those who are infected, but not symptomatic,” said Mary as she identified ten more personnel in the other ward who had shown they were infected and were given the pill form to help out. Tasha washed down the pill with a glass of water and looked entirely uncomfortable being cooped up in yet another sick ward.

“I feel okay,” she stated after Mary moved on and Ben came to her bed.

“You’ve still got it in your system,” said Ben. “Give this some time to work.”

“If I must,” said Tasha. “How is everyone else?”

“We’ve had some troubles,” said Ben. “But hopefully, this clears it up.”

“It better,” said Tasha and lowered her voice. “How is Chuck?”

“I’m going to be honest,” said Ben with a sigh. “He’s in a bad way and flatlined at one point.”

“He’s…” started to ask Tasha.

“No, they revived him, but the disease is hitting him hard,” said Ben. “He’s in a coma at the moment and stable, but he’s having a hard go at it.”

“Thank you,” said Tasha as Ben moved on to others. It seemed like the wait to see if it was working was going to be intolerable and he moved back towards the other ward where he watched the dutiful medical staff and their augments tending to the sick. He felt lucky they had planned for this very scenario and been able to initiate the quarantine quickly. But with the virus spreading as rapidly as it had, it still took a toll on them as they were barely operating at a third of the staff they normally had. But everyone had rolled up their sleeves and gone well above and beyond during the crisis.

********************
​

Ben was catching up on some of the paperwork when he was summoned by Mary to the hospital. He quickly closed out the file and departed the Command Center after getting his suit on again. At first, he found it was hard to get on individually, but with time, it got far easier to do. He walked the distance to the hospital and entered the ward after getting a quick decon at the front door. Finding Mary wasn’t easy as everyone looked the same under the suits, but he managed to track her down in the lab.

“Good news?” asked Ben as Mary, Angeline and Kirk were looking over the samples taken from the sick personnel. Smiles were seen for the first time in days after looking at a patient’s prognosis as they brought up additional screens.

“It’s working,” said Mary as she looked over the monitor. “The virus has stopped replicating… well, replicating as much and the body is fighting what’s there already.”

“Even for those with extreme cases?” asked Kirk.

“Those we’ll have to give in more measures doses,” said Mary. “Chuck Dawson is probably the worst of the bunch and we’ll have to start small, but it should help eradicate it.”

“How long will it take?” asked Ben.

“I can’t answer that as each person will have to fight it off individually,” said Mary. “Everyone has differences in their immune system, but one thing is for certain, the drugs help stop the spread and the body can fight it off.”

“You’ve increased the testing pool?” asked Ben.

“Somewhat,” said Mary. “We tried it on another dozen patients with the same results. Everyone that’s had the drug is stabilizing and getting better.”

“What about the ones that were asymptomatic?” asked Ben.

“The body is killing it faster than what’s left over can replicate,” said Mary. “Tasha for example is almost completely clear after she took an additional dose.”

“This is great news,” said Ben. “You can release patients?”

“We’re not going that far yet,” said Mary. “There’s still mountains of data we need to go through before we consider that as well as keeping an eye for relapses.”

“Protective gear?” asked Ben.

“Stays on a little while longer,” said Mary. “Until we know the transmission is down to an acceptable level, we need to take full precautions.”

“What about those who haven’t gotten it?” asked Charlotte.

“I was thinking a regimen of three doses to help prevent it,” said Mary. “We have to study the timelines involved in how long it’s been, but those that have had it in the last year should be okay at the moment.”

“Like the Sokolov family?” asked Ben.

“They are showing zero traces,” said Mary. “The antibodies took a while to locate, but their systems beat it handily when it invaded. I doubt they ever even knew they were infected.”

“So, what’s next?” asked Ben.

“I see no reason we can’t start widescale deployment,” said Mary. “Obviously, more measured doses in some of our patients, but we have an effective counter to this virus.”

“When can you start?” asked Ben.

“We planned to as soon as you were up to speed,” said Mary.

“You don’t need my permission,” said Ben. “Let’s do it.”

“I’ll gather the nurses,” said Charlotte as she departed. Ben saw Kirk looking extremely tired right then and went over to him.

“Doctor, you are certainly a credit to your profession and the colony as a whole,” said Ben as he shook his hand.

“I just looked at the little things,” said Kirk.

“You saved the colony,” said Mary. “These kinds of things tend to burn themselves out over the long run as they grow less lethal during their lifespan. However, that only works when you have a large population to begin with.”

“It’s not a big deal,” said Kirk.

“It is because I say it is,” said Mary. “You saved everyone and are a hero.”

“I’m not exactly the role model for what many would consider a hero,” said Kirk with an embarrassed smile.

“You are today,” said Ben. “Go get some sleep. You’ve earned it.”

“Yes, Commander,” said Kirk as he yawned and departed. Ben turned to Mary who was busy organizing additional doses of the medication for everyone.

“I want to apologize again,” said Ben.

“For what?” asked Mary.

“For barging in on you in the shower,” he said as he blushed slightly again.

“I already told you it wasn’t a big deal,” she said.

“Still, I wasn’t thinking,” he said with an embarrassed look.

“Look, if it was a big deal, you would have known about it when it happened,” said Mary. “You don’t think I’m the kind of woman who would let you know straight up you were wrong?”

“No, I think you are very direct when you need to be,” he replied.

“Did you see my boobs?” she asked directly.

“What? No!” he exclaimed.

“Any other important parts?” she asked.

“No!” he exclaimed once again.

“Then drop it,” she stated directly. “It happened, I said it wasn’t a big deal, but you’re making it into a big deal by keeping at it.”

“I just…” he started.

“You should know better than to argue with me,” she said in a quieter tone. One he recognized as very serious.

“I’ll leave it be,” he said recognizing the danger. “What’s next?”

“We continue monitoring the patients and helping them in any way we can along the way,” she stated, still slightly angry he had kept at the issue. “In this case, it’s continued testing every six hours and making sure we support their immune system.”

“What can I do to help?” he asked.

“Moral support,” said Mary. “Talk to them and make them feel comfortable. Give them a will to fight to beat this thing.”

“I was thinking of something more active maybe?” he asked.

“We have plenty of people that can change beds and check IVs,” she stated. “We really could use a dynamite leader of the colony in there giving folks pep talks and encouraging them to beat this thing. It might not be the most glamorous job, but it’s certainly needed right now.”

“I’ll do it,” said Ben and started to leave. “Mary?”

“Yes?” she asked in a tone.

“Sorry for trying to argue with you,” he stated with a smile.

“You should have learned the first time,” she said in a softer tone and had a brief smile.

“I’ll learn my lesson this time,” he said with a smile.

“Doubt it,” she chuckled. “You’re hard headed.”

“And you aren’t?” he asked.

“I’m a woman and have stubborn written into my DNA. Add onto that the training in stubborn I’ve received as a doctor and you have who I am now,” she smiled. “Regardless, I didn’t think it was a big deal at the time and I don’t think it is now.”

“Okay,” he said. “One more thing, you and your team have done a great job so far. I’m pretty sure we would have lost a lot of our people had you not jumped on this so quickly.”

“Giving me the pep talk?” she asked.

“No, being serious,” he said crossly. “Each and every one of you worked until you dropped and even those infected kept helping until they were forced into a hospital bed. But you continued fighting for everyone to live.”

“We did our jobs,” said Mary. “But thank you for the compliment.”

“Through 25 years in the service and now here, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better group of medical personnel than we have here,” said Ben. “Led by one of the most talented doctors I’ve ever come across as well. Your entire section is a credit to themselves and your profession.”

“Thank you,” said Mary as she blushed slightly at the praise.

“Keep up the great work,” he said.

“We’ll keep fighting,” she stated as he smiled at her again and departed. He headed into the ward where some of the sick were looking better as he came to the first bed.

“Are they going to let me out soon?” asked Grady.

“I think you’ve got a while,” said Ben with a chuckle. “How are you feeling?”

“Way better than yesterday,” said Grady. “Did Jim Kirk actually stumble onto the treatment?”

“No, he had a hunch and followed up on it,” said Ben.

“I think we all owe that man a drink,” said Grady.

“I plan to get him stinking drunk if he wants it,” said Ben.

“How did Drew and Cyrus do?” asked Grady.

“Drew is a beast,” said Ben. “He had most of the major problems knocked out by the time Cyrus got back from the island.”

“Speaking of, how did that work out?” asked Grady.

“Jim Kirk saved the day there before playing hero here,” stated Ben as he explained what happened with the damaged ASD.

“Life debt from Cyrus?” asked Grady.

“If he requests anything from Engineering in the next decade, Cyrus best give it to him without hesitation,” chuckled Ben. “I thought there would be no other option than to blow that reactor. Jim proved me wrong.”

“But they are all dismantled?” asked Grady.

“Yep,” said Ben. “You get your composters soon.”

“I’ve been waiting for those,” chuckled Grady and coughed. “Anyway, if you run into Cyrus, let him know I’d like to see him.”

“I’ll give him a shout,” said Ben as he took out his communicator and sent a quick message to Cyrus. “They still haven’t given back your tablets and communicators?”

“As Mary put it, we’re all on bed rest and not to worry over our sections,” said Grady.

“Pointedly too, I’d imagine,” said Ben with a chuckle.

“You know how she gets when she goes into doctor mode,” said Grady.

“Acutely aware,” said Ben.

“She got into you again, didn’t she?” asked Grady.

“Over an unrelated subject, but yes,” said Ben.

“One thing is for certain, you need to marry that woman,” said Grady directly.

“That’s a little forward,” chuckled Ben.

“Look, if this disease has taught me anything, it’s that we don’t have a lot of time and the time we have needs to be well spent,” said Grady. “As soon as everything settles down, you sweep that woman off her feet and propose to her.”

“The traditional method is on one knee,” laughed Ben.

“What’s wrong with your knee?” asked Mary as she came over to check on Grady.

“It’s not bent,” said Grady with a grin.

“I have this feeling I missed the detailed portion of this conversation and probably didn’t miss much,” said Mary. “How are you feeling?”

“Loads better,” said Grady.

“Your bloodwork is looking good,” said Mary as she looked over the chart. “You’ve got a while until you’re clear, but it’s way better than yesterday.”

“I almost feel up to getting out and into some fresh air,” said Grady.

“We might be able to arrange that later on,” said Mary. “Sunlight kills this thing eventually.”

“Do you know where it came from?” asked Grady.

“We believe something from the foothills,” said Mary. “None of the objects they brought back with them had any trace of the virus though.”

“Airborne?” asked Ben.

“It can last a little while in direct sunlight,” said Mary. “But not that long. I’d like to take a team out to that location in the near future and take a look around.”

“Once we’re back on our feet, I’d gladly lead that party,” said Ben.

“Cabin fever,” scoffed Mary with a smile. “Grady, you are looking outstanding and keep fighting this thing. You’re going to beat it.”

“Thanks, Doc,” said Grady.

“I’ll catch up later,” said Mary as she headed to the next patient.

“Do it while you can,” said Grady after she departed.

“Lot of things going on right now, but I’ll take it under advisement,” said Ben. “Let me know if there’s anything I can get you.”

“Will do,” said Grady as he saw Cyrus come in and started heading towards Grady’s bunk. Ben moved on, stopping with every patient as he continued through the hospital and spoke with them. Encouragement from everyone was the rule of the day and every patient had a fighting spirit since the light was at the end of the tunnel. Everyone in the hospital was being administered the doses of the anti-cancer medication by this point and they all saw the results around them.

“Commander Nash? Please report to the Command Center,” said the female voice over Ben’s communicator. “Commander Nash to the Command Center please.”

“First time I get out and they call me right back,” he grumped as he called the Command Center. It took a couple of moments before Sue came onto the screen.

“Specialist Peters? I’d hope this is urgent,” said Ben.

“I wouldn’t have called you otherwise, sir,” stated Sue. “You in a secure area?”

“Hang on,” said Ben as he walked out the door and got back on the communicator. “Okay, I’m by myself now.”

“We’ve got problems, sir,” said Sue.

“Above and beyond what we have already?” he asked.

“A pack of Raptors is on a direct line to the colony,” she stated. “Over 35 total.”

 

CHAPTER 24



Ben paused momentarily as the news washed over him. He was pragmatic as the most apt thought crossed into his head right then. When it rains, it pours…

“How far out?” he asked.

“Last location was 107 kilometers to the northwest,” she stated.

“I’m on my way,” he stated with a sigh as he departed the hospital and headed back to the Command Center. It didn’t take long to arrive as he went through decon for what he considered the thousandth time and entered the main area.

“What do we have?” he asked without pleasantries.

“A pack of 37 Raptors on a direct bearing for the colony,” she stated as she brought up the drone surveillance. “Coming in from the northwest.”

“From the same nest we struck?” he asked.

“Doubtful,” stated Jodi as she joined the conversation while tasking another drone to take the place of the one currently orbiting. “They are going well out of their way if they are coming from that location.”

“So, another nest,” he sighed. “Do we have a location?”

“I’m tasking a drone to go up from their current location and sweep that area,” stated Jodi. “It’ll be several hours before we can get it overhead.”

“Just what we need,” said Ben with a sigh. “Groundspeed?”

“They seem to be moseying, sir,” stated Sue. “Keeping it under five clicks per hour.”

“That still doesn’t give us a lot of time,” said Ben. “I want Captain Sokolov, Ms. Marchand, Sergeant Major Whitaker and whomever the senior pilot is on station that isn’t infected here on the double.”

“Yes, sir,” said Sue as she started making the calls. It didn’t take long for them to respond save Kendrick who was in a tower at the moment. However, the single person on patrol took his place as he headed to the Command Center and arrived no more than five minutes after everyone else.

“The gang’s all here,” stated Rachelle as she glanced over at the drone footage. “What’s… oh, those are Raptors.”

“Yes, ma’am, they are,” said Ben.

“Terribly inconvenient,” said Ryan who was the senior pilot on station since Larissa and Charity were still in the hospital. “Looks a larger group than the ones that came south.”

“Almost 40 of them,” said Ben. “How many pilots do we have that aren’t sick?”

“Three,” he stated. “Counting myself.”

“Which are?” asked Ben.

“Lieutenant Krystal Zamora and Captain Dylan Roy,” said Ryan.

“How are we keeping the alert force going with only three?” asked Kendrick.

“Gator and Yukon are in one ship and I’m flying the second one solo,” said Ryan.

“Which answers my question,” said Ben.

“I didn’t hear a question, sir,” said Ryan.

“Whether or not those gunships can fly and fight solo,” stated Ben.

“They can, sir,” said Ryan. “Whether they should be is another point of debate.”

“Explain,” said Ben.

“Basically, the pilot has to fly the ship and target the weapons,” said Ryan. “Some of the weapons we have need guidance after launch. It’s not easy to fly and target at the same time.”

“Yet, you are,” said Ben.

“I’ve got the plasma cannons and four pods of unguided rockets on the wings and the centerline pulse ion cannon,” said Ryan. “The rockets obviously are fire and forget and the plasma cannon hits hard enough that you only need a couple of hits on those things. I only included the centerline cannon as a just in case measure.”

“You can still target with the plasma cannons?” asked Ben.

“Enough to get some hits,” said Ryan. “I’ve been practicing in the simulator on some tactics I think would work if I had to.”

“If you had to launch a strike, could you do it with one of the others or do you think you need a WSO in the right hand seat?” asked Ben.

“I feel confident in my abilities to do a solo attack,” said Ryan. “The others I’m not sure about. Honestly, that was Larissa’s realm and I could ask her.”

“She’s still recovering in the hospital,” said Ben. “Along with Charity. Making it your call.”

“No ground assault likely, I’d imagine,” said Ryan. “We could strip off the unguided rockets and go with just the plasma and ion cannon. Hit and run tactics, fire some, scoot to another location, hit another one and continue the process.”

“Are you trying to save the missiles?” asked Ben pointedly.

“Honestly, yeah,” said Ryan. “We’ve only got a finite amount of them before Expedition 2 gets here and I’d rather not take the chance on wasting shots without a WSO.”

“You might still be doing that with the plasma and pulse ion cannons,” said Ben.

“Which we have a lot more of that in storage from the Santa Maria,” said Ryan. “The onboard systems ammo is the same stuff we use in the pods for the gunships.”

“Captain? Sergeant Major? Is there any possibility of getting any kind of ground attack going?” asked Ben. “Or are we just spread too thin?”

Anton and Kendrick looked over the manpower quickly before having a whispered conversation. However, it didn’t take long for them to come to the agreement it was better to hit the Raptors further away than try to deal with them if half the colony was still down with the virus.

“We could use a similar tactic,” said Anton. “Two sniper teams of two apiece.”

“Four people up against nearly 40 Raptors?” asked Ben.

“They shoot and scoot as well,” said Kendrick. “Pick off one or two well away from them, pick up and move towards the waiting gunships to pick them up. Repeat the process a little further back. Kill them off through attrition.”

“I believe it would make the defense of the colony easier if we were to do it this way,” said Anton. “I do not believe we are capable of defending against such a large attack if they make it all the way to the colony unscathed.”

“I don’t like the idea of putting out only two,” said Ben. “Which marksmen do you have?”

“Sergeant Noah Taylor and Lieutenant Nick Griggs,” said Anton. “Lieutenant Griggs just completed the refresher training recently.”

“Isn’t Lieutenant Randy Whitaker a trained marksman?” asked Ben.

“He is, but Lieutenant Griggs is a slightly better shot,” said Kendrick. “They are dead even out to a thousand, but Griggs takes over after that.”

“You think we’ll be firing at those distances?” asked Ben.

“I think the further out we can engage, the better,” said Anton.

“You feel those two are the best choice?” asked Ben.

“I think it is the only choice,” said Anton. “We can choose two others for their spotter or support and be ready in a few hours.”

“I’d need more time to reconfigure the gunships,” said Ryan. “Downloading the current stores and getting the cannons loaded.”

“How’s the other one configured?” asked Ben.

“Missiles and 30 millimeter cannons,” said Ryan. “Centerline pulse electron cannon.”

“How long will it take to get the new pods onboard?” asked Ben.

“I’m not sure,” said Ryan. “Honestly, we have a small ground element that normally takes care of that. So, it’ll be a learning process.”

“Who’s going to be the other pilot?” asked Ben.

“Gator, sir,” said Ryan. “I mean, Lieutenant Zamora.”

“Didn’t she recently just qualify?” asked Ben.

“She did,” said Ryan. “But Lieutenant Roy is still recovering from his foot injury.”

“He’s flying while still on the injured list?” asked Ben.

“All hands on deck, sir,” said Ryan with shrugged shoulders.

“Captain Sokolov, I want you to start planning that, but we need movement no later than first light tomorrow,” said Ben coming to a snap decision. “I’ll inform Major Hayden of the situation and brief her up, but she does not need to be planning anything. The same goes for Charity and Captain Moody.”

“Yes, sir,” said Rachelle. “By your leave then?”

“Keep me updated with progress please,” said Ben as a way of dismissal. The leadership departed the Command Center with Jodi making a beeline for Anton and Kendrick. They had a hushed conversation for several moments before Anton nodded and they departed.

“You volunteered, didn’t you?” asked Ben.

“I’ve been training for the marksman duties alongside Lieutenant Griggs and was about to qualify myself,” said Jodi as she resumed her watch. “I think it’s better to send out someone they are familiar with than trying to match pairs.”

“Maybe so,” said Ben. “Who takes your place here?”

“I’m sure they can find someone,” said Jodi. “I’d like to put my training to the test.”

“Qualifying on the two way range?” asked Ben.

“I’ll support Lieutenant Griggs,” said Jodi. “I’ll be his spotter and bring him home alive.”

“I understand completely,” said Ben as he remembered something to remind the leadership and sent them a quick message. Ryan and Rachelle had made it back to the SIT compound and landing areas when they received it.

“Smart,” said Rachelle as she read through the message. “We’ve got a bot that can handle that.”

“I’ll brief up Yukon and Gator,” said Ryan as he headed to the other gunship. After entering, he found Dylan Roy was asleep in their one up and one down configuration. “Hey, Gator.”

“Prancer,” said Krystal. “What can I help you with?”

“Ready for a mission?” asked Ryan. “Let’s get Yukon woken up.”

“Don’t have to worry about that,” said Roy with a yawn under his protective suit. “You said something about a mission?”

“Yeah, let’s talk it over,” said Ryan as he sat near the cockpit and explained what was happening. It took several minutes for him to explain his idea as both nodded in agreement.

“Piece of cake,” said Roy.

“How do you feel about it?” asked Ryan as he turned to Krystal.

“I’d prefer to swap seats with Yukon for that,” said Krystal. “Being honest.”

“Not going to happen,” said Ryan. “Here’s the problem…”

The two pilots shifted a bit and looked a little closer at him.

“We’re going out solo in single ships,” said Ryan. “We’ve got most of the pilot staff down with the virus and we just don’t have enough for the moment. Yukon, it’s not an easy decision to make, but you’re going to sit this one back.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because we’re going to need at least one pilot back for the alert gunships,” said Ryan. “And quite frankly, one we can trust to fight alone if needs be.”

“That might make more sense if it was me,” said Krystal. “Yukon is a better stick than I am.”

“Which is why I want you flying on my wing for this,” said Ryan. “Yukon is a great pilot and we’re going to need a great pilot back here in case these things get past us. I’ll be leading the attack and I need someone up there I can trust. So, are you up for it?”

“I just don’t have the stick time,” she stated. “You put me in the right seat and I’ll be fine.”

“Again, we need Yukon here in case I go down,” said Ryan. “I recognize the fact you’ve got low hours in the left seat, but I’m asking you to step your game up.”

“So, we go single ship,” said Krystal.

“Two ships, mutually supporting each other,” said Ryan. “Plus, two ground teams of snipers.”

“There’s a ground element involved?” asked Dylan.

“There is,” said Ryan. “We’re going out and not coming back until we get those things taken down enough to where the colony defenses can take them out. Preferably, getting them all taken out. But as a minimum, we have to whittle down the numbers and we’ll be staying out there until we hit the colony walls.”

“I’ll volunteer for this mission,” said Dylan.

“I know you will, but the harsh reality is we need someone seasoned to stay back in case of trouble,” said Ryan respectfully. “I know for a fact you could do this with your eyes closed, but we’ve got to have someone with the technical knowhow if one of us goes down and we need a rescue mission.”

“Why are you making these choices anyway?” asked Krystal.

“Because as Instructor Pilot, he’s the most senior pilot we have in colony while Charity and Larissa are sick,” said Rachelle who had entered the shuttle silently. “Commander Nash and I both will support whatever decision he makes.”

“Gator, I wouldn’t ask you to do it if you weren’t capable,” said Ryan reasonably. “But I’m not going to force you to do something you are uncomfortable with.”

“These Raptors are coming at the colony?” she asked.

“Straight for us,” said Ryan. “And with our manpower down in Security, we are stretched thin and need to at least slow them down for the others to have additional time to prep and maybe get some additional forces out of the hospital.”

“What’s the plan?” she asked as a way of telling him she would accept.

“We’re going to need to go over the terrain, but here is what I was thinking,” said Ryan as he began to outline his plan as well as accepting Dylan’s inputs since he was a military trained pilot as well. It took several minutes of explaining on Ryan’s part, but both nodded at the ideas he was putting forward.

“We’re going to need to start swapping out weapon pods,” said Dylan.

“I’m here to help with that,” said Rachelle.

“Gator, I want you in the sim working on the last programs I had running,” said Ryan. “Do the history check on the last couple of days and you’ll find them.”

“What are they?” she asked.

“How to fly and fight solo,” said Ryan. “At least half of it you won’t need to worry about since it deals with targeting systems. Now just get the flying part down.”

“Yes, sir,” said Krystal as she departed.

“The rest of us going to start loading pods on the two birds not on alert?” asked Dylan.

“Lucky for us, they already have had their preflight,” said Ryan. “I got bored the other day and checked them out.”

“Let’s do it,” said Dylan as they departed the gunship and headed towards the munitions storage area that was temporarily housing the weapons until a more permanent depot could be built. They saw the two gunships not on alert had to have pods removed before putting the ones on they were currently securing. Ben came over and offered to help as he knew the ground staff was probably stretched thin and he was at a loss for things to do. It took nearly three hours for the team to get the current pods removed and the new pods uploaded, but everything showed green when Dylan and Ryan checked the systems after they finished.

“What’s your plan?” asked Ben as they headed back into the SIT building.

“My plan is to get out there and start hitting these things as far away as possible,” said Ryan. “Otherwise, I’m waiting on the Security folks plan to determine where we start doing that and coordinating the attacks with them.”

“Explain,” said Ben as Ryan walked him through it and headed towards the simulator where Krystal was continuing her proficiency with the system.

“So, quite a bit of it depends greatly on how they plan to pull this off,” said Ryan. “Gator?”

“Running the program again,” she stated over the intercom. “This piloting shit sucks.”

“Keep at it,” said Ryan as he and Ben departed and headed to the Security compound. “Just that you know we’ve only got one gunship ready to go right now with me leaving.”

“I’ll accept the risk,” said Ben as they covered the distance and found Anton and Kendrick finishing up briefing the two snipers.

“Just in time,” said Kendrick. “Lieutenant Griggs and Sergeant Taylor have been briefed and have started looking at the terrain.”

“When can we go?” asked Ben.

“We’re going to need to find a spotter for Sergeant Taylor,” said Anton. “His normal one isn’t available at the moment.”

“Which is?” asked Ben.

“His wife,” said Kendrick. “She’s playing an invaluable part at the hospital.”

“Who else could go?” asked Ben.

“Frankly, all our marksman trained individuals that are not sick are working at the hospital. Olivia Taylor, Sergeant Zoe Kent and Lieutenant Pedro Vargas,” said Anton.

“All just happen to be combat medics as well?” asked Ben.

“Yes,” said Anton.

“Can the hospital make do without one?” asked Ben.

“I believe with the sick starting to recover, we may be able to get one released,” said Anton.

“We’ve matched up Sergeant Walker with Lieutenant Griggs,” said Kendrick. “They’ve been working together on her skills so she’s a natural fit.”

“Ask Noah who he wants as his spotter,” said Ben. The trio walked over to Noah Taylor who was looking over the terrain of the area the Raptors were incoming from.

“Sergeant Taylor, of the three we spoke about, which one would be best as your spotter?” asked Anton as he saw Noah in deep thought.

“Sergeant Kent,” said Noah without hesitation.

“You wouldn’t want Olivia?” asked Ben.

“She’s exhausted,” said Noah. “Working nonstop at the hospital since this virus started up. The same thing with Lieutenant Vargas. Sergeant Kent is the only one who has had a day off since going in and would be better rested.”

“Who would you work the best with?” asked Kendrick.

“Obviously, Olivia and I have worked together in the past,” said Noah. “We know each other well enough to know what we are thinking.”

“So, why not her?” asked Kendrick.

“We… may have a complication, Sergeant Major,” said Noah guardedly.

“She’s pregnant,” said Ben.

“We don’t know for certain,” said Noah. “We were going to get her tested the day the virus started up.”

“I’m going to overlook the fact she potentially put an unborn child in danger,” said Ben.

“She’s one of the best medics you have here, sir,” said Noah. “I opposed her working in that environment, but I couldn’t make her stop.”

“I would have made it an order,” said Anton.

“Quite frankly, she might have disobeyed you,” said Noah as he saw a look coming over Anton’s face. “And, again frankly, that was her choice since we don’t know for certain.”

“We can speak of it more when you return successfully,” said Anton. “So, Lieutenant Vargas or Sergeant Kent.”

“Sergeant Kent,” said Noah. “I’ve worked with her personally over the past few months.”

“Work it out,” said Ben. Anton and Kendrick headed to the hospital to get Sergeant Kent released from duties as Ben walked over to Noah.

“I know you’re upset, Commander,” said Noah. “But we aren’t certain she’s pregnant.”

“You suspected enough for her to get tested,” said Ben. “I don’t want any child or potential child exposed to dangers unless we have to.”

“And she sits in the Command Center monitoring cameras while her talents are needed elsewhere?” asked Noah. “You said yourself this was an emergency where everyone needed to pitch in where they could.”

“However, the rules on pregnancies are very clear,” said Ben.

“We don’t know for certain if she is,” said Noah.

“That dog won’t hunt with me and you know it,” said Ben. “We’ve known each other a long time and we both know she should have taken precautions.”

“She was being cautious,” said Noah. “I tried to talk her out of it, but I did marry a stubborn woman.”

“I’m more stubborn,” said Ben.

“She’s also the kind of person who helps regardless of the situation,” said Noah. “She’s a talented medic and heads and shoulders above everyone else in the Security Forces. She needed to be at the hospital.”

“Again, we can discuss it after you return,” said Ben. “Now, show me your initial thoughts.”

Noah went through his plan based on the ground speed of the Raptors and where he thought they should initially hit. “As we move back, we can evaluate the terrain for better spots and continue sniping at them.”

“How many can you get realistically?” asked Ben. “With the time and space involved.”

“Half if not more,” said Noah. “With Lieutenant Griggs of course. Call it two shots per ambush zone apiece with around 80 clicks to work with.”

“Leaving the other half for the gunships,” said Ben with a nod.

“Or a combination of,” said Noah. “We strike, they strike. Take turns killing them. We can work that out on the fly.”

“We don’t have the time for formal briefings,” said Ben. “Get with Lieutenant Griggs and Captain Kingston and work it out.”

“I’ve got to go get the ACTIVE suits saved from Science at the moment,” said Noah. “Problem is, I have no idea where they are.”

“I can probably help with that,” said Ben as they headed towards the nearest Science building. It was deserted at the moment as everyone associated with the Science team was in the hospital either working on refining the cure or in a hospital bed. Ben knew where the storage was and located the suits after several minutes of searching.

“Four suits,” he stated as he pulled them from the shelf they were on and handed them over to Noah. “And four ACTIVE tarps as well.”

“These look like they haven’t been out of the box,” remarked Noah.

“They may not have been,” said Ben. “They use the suits, but I’m not sure if they had a need for the tarps.”

“Their loss,” said Noah as he took four of them as well to cover their weapons and equipment. “Do we have any idea of these will work against the Raptors?”

“I don’t think that’s been tested yet,” said Ben. “Hooray for you volunteering to test that theory.”

“Not exactly what I had in mind,” said Noah. “Anything else?”

“You going to bring back everyone alive?” asked Ben.

“Planned on it, mate,” said Noah.

“I’m going to recommend you take the lead on this one,” said Ben. “Not that I don’t trust Lieutenant Griggs, but experience counts in my book.”

“I’d be okay serving under his lead,” said Noah.

“We’ve got one shot at this and he’s still a bit green,” said Ben. “I’m going to leave it up to Anton, but I’d prefer you lead on this one.”

“I’ll do it,” said Noah. “It is important.”

“Stay safe in case I don’t see you,” said Ben as he shook Noah’s hand.

“It’ll be nice to be out of the colony where I can shed this bloody suit,” said Noah with annoyance. “I’m glad none of us are infected.”

“Those ACTIVE suits aren’t much better,” said Ben.

“Not really, no,” said Noah. “Regardless, we’ll have a good hunting trip.”

“Until then,” said Ben as they departed. Noah headed back and found Anton and Kendrick had already gathered the supplies they would need while they were out and loaded them into the two gunships. Sergeant Zoe Kent had been retrieved from the hospital after being briefed on what was going on and allowing her to volunteer for the mission. She readily accepted as she knew it was important and the colony needed her. It didn’t take her long to retrieve her field gear and her weapons and meet at the Security Compound. Nick Griggs and Jodi Walker were already in place and had already started working on their team dynamics. Ryan and Krystal joined them shortly after making sure they were provisioned as well. Everyone gathered around Anton as he started to give his briefing.

“This is not planned in any way,” he stated. “Certainly not something I am comfortable with. But I know you will be fine out there. I would like contact with the Command Center twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening for a status update. We will have a drone assigned over the herd of Raptors every minute of the day so you will be able to get intel on them as they head south.”

“I do not need to explain how important what you are doing is,” said Anton. “I know you understand the situation here as it’s affected everyone. All our families, all our friends and loved ones. You are the only force we have capable of going out and meeting the threat head on. But I do ask you do not put yourself in more danger than you should. We have some time, enough that any delay will only strengthen our defenses here. All I ask is you delay them as much as possible for us to prepare here.”

“If there is nothing else, I wish you the best of luck and Godspeed,” he concluded as he went in and shook everyone’s hand. They headed for the landing area and divided up with Noah and Zoe getting in the gunship with Ryan and Nick and Jodi boarding the one with Krystal.

“Piece of cake, Gator,” said Ryan over the comm system.

“I hope so,” she stated. “Ready to launch on your command.”

“We’re going north about 20 clicks and going through a decon,” said Ryan. “I loaded the landing area into your nav system.”

“Got it,” she stated as it popped up on her screen.

“Let’s do it,” he stated as he called the Command Center. “Novus Command, this is Prancer. Ready to launch with two.”

“Prancer, you are a go for launch,” said Kendrick who took the place of Jodi. “Good hunting.”

“Stay safe,” said Ryan as he lifted off and headed north immediately. Krystal followed him, though a little slower as she joined on his wing and they sped north. They eventually reached the designated landing area and scanned it thoroughly before deciding it was clear. Ryan came in first and flared out for the landing while Krystal landed a little further away.

“What’s the story, Captain?” asked Noah.

“We’ve got a decon robot we’re going to use on the ships,” stated Ryan as he shut down the systems, but left most of them on standby just in case. “That way we can doff these suits.”

“Good plan,” said Noah as he departed the shuttle along with Zoe. Ryan programmed the bot to go to work and came off the shuttle, closing the hatch behind him. The others came over as Krystal had the portable decon unit and started spraying everyone down. Eventually, they were all soaked with the alcohol and cleaner compound and allowed the sun to dry them off before doffing the suits.

“Man, that feels good,” said Ryan as he held his head up towards the sky and allowed the breeze to come over him. He noticed Zoe was having a bit of trouble getting out of her suit and came over to assist.

“Thank you,” she stated as he managed to get the zipper down.

“Oh, it’s my pleasure,” said Ryan with a charming grin as he noticed something that didn’t seem right under her suit. “You are…”

“I’m going behind the shuttle to get back into my uniform,” she stated. “I’m sure I can unzip it fully when I get back there.”

“I’d be pleased to help,” he grinned.

“Look, mate, we like you, but you need to keep the hormones in check out here,” said Noah irately. “Not until we get back.”

“It’s okay, Sergeant Taylor,” said Zoe. “He was just being a gentleman.”

“Oh, of course,” said Noah.

“Thank you for being a gentleman, Ryan,” said Zoe with a charming smile of her own.

“No problem,” said Ryan with a grin. The bot finished with the first gunship and Ryan and Krystal carried it over to the second one where the process started once again. Zoe used the interior of the gunship and came out wearing her uniform and headed to Noah.

“I’ll be okay,” said Zoe when Ryan was out of earshot. “Work is work and play is play.”

“I’ve heard stories of him playing on missions before,” said Noah.

“It’s just a thing we do,” she stated. “I flirt with him just enough to get him frustrated and then back off.”

“I’d prefer to keep this on the professional level while we’re here,” said Noah.

“I’ll stop,” said Zoe.

“Once we get back, you can play games with him all you want,” said Noah.

“Oh, I’m sure I know exactly what kind of games he wants to play,” laughed Zoe. “I’m glad we aren’t in those suits anymore.”

“Stifling,” said Nick as he and Jodi came over. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Let’s get the pilots back and talk that over,” said Noah as he headed over to the gunship where the bot was being programmed once again and put to work. “So, Captain, you had an idea on what we should be doing?”

“I was thinking this,” said Ryan as he outlined his plan.

“It’s not a bad idea,” said Noah. “We shoot and scoot back to the gunships, you shoot and we scoot back… how far?”

“I was hoping to work that out on the way up,” said Ryan. “Look, we’ve thrown this together and I’m hoping it works.”

“You and me both, mate,” said Noah as he brought up the drone footage. “We going this evening for the first strike?”

“I was thinking so, yeah,” said Ryan.

“Right here then,” said Noah as he picked a location.

“As soon as we’re cleared, let’s get up there,” said Ryan. They group was prepared to have a long day and evening ahead of them. But they knew the mission they were on was critical.

********************
​

“This is really infuriating…” said Tasha as she was having yet another vial of blood drawn.

“It is,” said Ben. “But we needed to act quickly and get everything moving.”

“No, not that,” she stated. “The fact I’m stuck here for at least another 48… or however many hours two days is. I need to be out there evaluating the defenses and getting ready for the Raptors.”

“Captain Sokolov and Sergeant Major Whitaker are doing pretty well on that front,” said Ben.

“I know, they’ve both consulted me,” said Tasha with a sigh.

“Even though they shouldn’t have,” said Ben.

“My body was weak, not my mind,” she stated with another sigh. “Though they both have done admirable in my absence.”

“You still should be resting and taking it easy,” said Ben.

“While we have a pack of Raptors bearing down on us?” asked Tasha. “You seem remarkably calm about it.”

“Because I really don’t want to panic with everyone we have here,” said Ben. “Face it, plenty of people that should be recovering from this and staying in bed will try to go out and man a tower or head to their stations. I need to stay calm and act like nothing is going on in order to keep them where they need to be.”

Tasha thought about what he said for a moment and understood what he was trying to accomplish. She also agreed with him even though deep down she preferred to be on the gunship heading north and attacking the incoming Raptors. But she also realized just how delicate some of the colonists were right then and would harm themselves more by trying to do their jobs instead of healing up.

“You hate to admit it when I’m right,” he said as he saw the wheels turning in her head.

“No, I’m pragmatic about it,” said Tasha with a sigh. “But you know I hate sitting on the sidelines more than most.”

“I sure do,” said Ben. “Trust me, the thought popped into my head to go out as one of the spotters myself. But I knew I needed to stick around here.”

“And now?” asked Tasha.

"Now we wait for the reports to start coming in from the strike force,” said Ben.

“What are they calling themselves?” asked Tasha.

“Team Thermopylae,” said Ben.

 

CHAPTER 25



“2,400 meters,” said Sergeant Zoe Kent softly even though it would have been impossible for the Raptors to hear her at that range. “Winds from 220 at seven.”

“2,400, winds at seven,” repeated Senior Sergeant Noah Taylor as he continued monitoring the scope on the M510 rifle he was behind. Considered overly large and antiquated by modern standards, it was still the most accurate .50 caliber class rifle ever produced.

“Tasmania, this is Rabbit, we’re showing 2,500 meters,” said Jodi Walker over the communicator.

“Copy, 2,500 meters,” said Noah softly as Zoe took a peek over in their direction. However, other than knowing exactly where they were on the tracking system, they were invisible in their ACTIVE suits and other technology. In fact, she couldn’t even see her own partner as she glanced to her right.

“That’ll put them at 1,850 for us when we engage,” stated Zoe as she made a quick calculation. “The angles are closing on us slightly faster.”

“We’ll be fine,” said Noah. The seconds ticked away as the pack of Raptors made their way through the large clearing and into the large kill zone right where they wanted them.

“I’ve got a count of 43 now,” said Zoe.

“Send that up to Command in a data burst,” instructed Noah. Zoe quickly typed out a text message and sent it on its way, receiving an acknowledgement almost immediately.

“2,000 meters,” said Zoe.

“Prancer, this is Tasmania, we have them in the kill zone,” said Noah.

“Copy,” said Ryan who was to their rear waiting in the tree line to their rear. The pack continued to move forward as the other element called in.

“2,000 meters,” said Jodi over the comm unit.

“I’m taking the one up front with the large brown patch on its chest,” said Noah.

“I’ve got the large one on the far right flank,” said Lieutenant Nick Griggs.

“Engage,” was the simple command from Noah as he got a final range and windage from Zoe and pulled the rifle into his shoulder and prepared as he had countless times before. The report of the shot along with the significant muzzle blast being channeled to the rear momentarily stunned Zoe, but she recovered in short order and checked the spotting scope.

“Hit,” she stated as she saw the Raptor was down and the rest of the herd come to a halt. Apparently, the sound of the shots reached the herd as they all looked up towards the small rise and Zoe could see them growling in the scope.

“Target, large Raptor to the immediate left of the one I just shot,” said Noah.

“Target, 1,903 meters,” said Zoe. “No change in windage.”

Noah concentrated on firing the second shot of the engagement and was happy the head of the Raptors presented a large target. However, the winds didn’t cooperate with him as the shot went slightly left of his intended mark and grazed the neck of the creature.

“Hit the neck,” said Zoe as she watched the Raptor use its hands to grab at the bleeding.

“Reengaging,” said Noah as he sent a third shot and managed a head shot this time with the creature falling over dead.

“One more shot?” asked Nick informally over the comm.

“One more,” said Noah as he picked a target and informed Zoe. She gave him the range almost immediately along with the windage and he scored another hit. Nick wasn’t as lucky as his shot missed, but hit one of the Raptors close behind the one he was aiming at. However, the body shot would only slow them down rather than stop them.

“Get back to the gunships,” ordered Noah over the comm as he grabbed the ACTIVE blanket and pulled it away from the remainder of the rifle. The blasts had started pushing it away from the muzzle, but they didn’t worry about that at the moment. They headed towards the gunships as Noah heard the distinctive whine of the engines starting up.

“They’re starting to charge!” stated Ryan over the comm to everyone outside the gunships.

The two sniper teams picked up the pace and arrived at their gunships at almost the same time, scampering through the side hatch and closing it behind them. They lifted off separated by almost a full kilometer distance as planned.

“Gator, take two and fall back,” said Ryan over the comm as he started looking for targets when we reached 100 meters altitude.

“Roger, target two,” said Krystal as she got a little higher herself. She picked two of the charging Raptors and activated the plasma cannons on the winglets before the aiming reticle appeared in a 3D image to her front. The targeting computer calculated the lead on the Raptors she had designated as she pulled the trigger. The large superheated plasma rounds arced towards the target, missing on her first shot. She repositioned and aimed once again before making a hit. She saw them burn their way into the body of the Raptor as it fell and grabbed at the injuries. Not content with just an injury, she fired once again and saw the shots pattern across the body including where the heart and lungs were. It stopped moving as she picked a second target and repeated the process.

Ryan was having slightly better luck as he engaged with the pulse ion cannon on the centerline station. The shots were far faster than the plasma cannons and he made good hits on each of his targets. The rounds weren’t quite as effective as the plasma, but he managed to kill two before starting to move to the south.

“Gator? Status?” he asked.

“Got two!” she exclaimed.

“Meet at rendezvous point 1,” he ordered.

“Roger,” she stated. “Moving to RP1.”

“We can take more of them,” stated Noah.

“I’ve got a rookie pilot in the other gunship that needs some seasoning,” stated Ryan. “I needed a milk run for her to get a little confidence in the systems in a live fire situation. Same thing will happen on the next run as well until I feel more comfortable slipping the leash.”

“I’d rather keep them as far away as possible,” said Noah.

“Which will happen, but she has got to get more confident before we start getting serious about the aerial attacks,” said Ryan. “It’s my call.”

“Roger, your call,” said Noah as they headed to the next ambush position approximately five kilometers to the south. As they were coming in for the landing, Zoe checked the surveillance feed from the orbiting drone.

“They’ve slowed a bit as they are checking out the dead,” she stated as they came in for the landing. “But it looks like they will be moving south soon.”

“Command, this is Prancer,” stated Ryan over the comm.

“Go Prancer,” stated Randy Whitaker who had taken Jodi’s spot.

“Be advised, nine KIA and one WIA,” stated Ryan. “They have paused from moving south.”

“Copy, nine KIA and one WIA,” repeated Randy. “What’s the plan?”

“We’re setting up another ambush at the current location,” said Ryan. “Tasmania and company will be setting up the sniper hides.”

“Copy that,” said Randy who felt really good about the situation. They had taken out nearly a quarter of the Raptors in the first ambush while not giving up much distance to the colony.

“We’ll wait until they start moving again,” stated Noah as the other team and pilot had come over to Ryan’s craft. Krystal gravitated to Ryan who was giving a quick critique of her actions and offering suggestions on what should happen next.

“Which doesn’t appear to be that long,” said Zoe as she looked at the drone footage. “They are starting to move.”

“Okay, you two take that spur over here,” stated Noah as he pointed at the map. “Same as before, minimum of two shots and reevaluate before taking a third.”

“Got it,” stated Nick as they prepared to leave.

“We’ll be doing the same thing,” said Ryan. “Gator, keep up the good work.”

“You got it,” she stated as they departed and lifted off before heading approximately three kilometers away and waited once again. Noah and Zoe took up their positions on another spur where they saw they had a commanding view of the valley to their front.

“The trees won’t make it easy,” she stated as she started ranging the various locations in the valley. “But I think you can get a few shots in.”

“Let’s stick to the plan,” said Noah as they waited once again for their prey to appear.

********************
​

“What’s the status?” asked Ben as he came into the Command Center.

“Picked off nine in the first attack,” said Kendrick. “Plus one wounded.”

“Is the wounded one still moving?” asked Ben.

“Yeah, slowed a bit, but not enough to keep him out of the pack,” said Kendrick as Mary came into the decon area and got a quick decon. Ben could see she wasn’t in the full protective ensemble and was only wearing a protective mask and gloves.

“I sincerely hope that’s a good sign,” said Ben as she came into the center and handed out facemasks to everyone inside.

“I think the threat has passed enough to be able to downgrade our posture slightly,” said Mary. “Masks and gloves need to be kept on for the foreseeable future as well as decon before entering facilities, but we can relax the full protective measures.”

“That’s great news,” said Ben. “What about the ones in the hospital?”

“Those that tested positive but were asymptomatic are being released tomorrow morning,” said Mary. “Those that were infected we have to take on a case by case basis.”

“Can you brief everyone involved?” asked Ben.

“Of course,” said Mary as she retrieved a set of handwritten notes from her pocket. Ben sent out the invite to every section head along with the acting ones and waited until they came on screen in the Command Center. Eventually, everyone was accounted for as Ben addressed the group.

“Good evening, everyone,” he stated. “I’ll make this quick and turn it over to Mary. But she’s bringing good news for a change. We are going to be able to release people from the hospital soon, but we’ve got to keep an eye on our folks and make sure they stick to whatever conditions she puts on them. This is probably the biggest crisis we’ve faced since being here, but we need to make sure we follow her instructions to the letter.”

Ben stepped back and nodded at Mary who pulled out a handwritten list to go over the items she was thinking of.

“First things first,” said Mary. “I’d like to thank each and every one of your sections for pitching in and helping Medical during this. Without you, we would have probably lost some patients and a lot of people owe their lives to the folks in your sections that filled in for us.”

“First official medical item,” stated Mary. “No need for full protective gear any longer. The masks most of you have on hand already will be sufficient along with gloves. Additionally, make sure you’re washing your hands regularly or using sanitizer. Decon areas should still be used at each of the entrances to the buildings or in any location where we know the virus was living. Plus, we’ll need a complete decon of the colony from top to bottom.”

“I’m not sure how long we’ll need to keep the masks and decon up, but at least we won’t need to wear full suits anywhere we go,” she stated.

“Now, we plan on releasing the first batch of people tomorrow morning with strict instructions to take it easy over the next three days. When I say ‘taking in easy’ I mean not working at all even for those who were never symptomatic. I’m suggesting and hoping Ben will approve a three day stand down for everyone that was released in order to prevent a flare up of the virus. Yes, Tasha, that includes you with your look like you were up to something,” said Mary.

Tasha nodded with a sheepish grin as Mary looked at her paper. “I’d like to have each section do an accountability twice daily to make sure nobody relapses as well as having those same individuals come in for testing every two days to make sure our treatments are working.”

“Second, I want to implement a limited duty schedule for another week after that for those same people as well as those who have been helping,” said Mary. “Basically, the whole colony going on a limited duty schedule for a week afterwards with no more than six hours a day for those who were infected and those we release. We’ll take each case individually for returning personnel to full duty status, but until we clear them, no more than six hours a day.”

“What about those who were never infected?” asked Cyrus.

“I understand we have critical posts which need to be manned and we will have some working over that allotted time,” said Ben. “We’re going to have to dig down a bit and continue working extended hours until this thing is dead.”

“Exactly,” said Mary. “I know this will be an administrative nightmare to figure it out, but we’ve got to get our folks rested while we treat the last of the victims.”

“No exemptions period,” said Ben. “That includes medical personnel who were infected but asymptomatic.”

“We might…” started Mary as she saw Ben’s look was one not to be argued with. “We’ll work that out internally.”

“Thank you,” said Ben. “Please continue.”

“I made up a list of thoughts for the personnel as well as how we might end up working it out between them. I. E. pairing up those who had been sick with each other and the healthy ones with each other. Other minute items like no heavy machinery work with those who had been infected, so on and so forth are included as well. I’ll let you work out the dynamics, but I’d like to keep those who weren’t infected away from those who were until this thing burns itself out completely if at all possible,” said Mary.

“How likely is that?” asked Cyrus.

“It’s a virus which will never be completely eradicated, but as long as we can starve it in the human hosts in the initial stages, we stand a chance of not have a resurgence,” said Mary.

“We’ve identified patient zero but still haven’t identified the source,” said Angeline. “Doctor Dawson was patient zero and we think he contracted it through an insect bite. It’s only affecting humans at the moment.”

“No other mammals?” asked Ben, thinking of the featheroos specifically.

“Not the featheroo is that’s what you are asking,” said Angeline. “They have a natural immunity to it probably because they live on Novae Spes.”

“They were checked?” asked Cyrus.

“One of the first creatures we checked,” said Angeline. “Viruses are known for inhabiting anything they can get into, but the featheroos are clean.”

“Regardless, I’d like to try to identify the insect responsible if possible,” said Ben.

“We will continue,” said Angeline as she turned to Mary. “Sorry for interrupting.”

“No, knowing where it comes from is highly helpful,” said Mary. “Anyway, we can probably bring back Kurt and his team as long as they have the treatment as soon as they step off that shuttle and go into an isolation period.”

“What else?” asked Ben. Mary went through her checklist of items and each section head as well as the acting ones agreed to the provisions.

“We’ll probably pack up and leave tomorrow morning,” said Kurt from his remote site.

“You bringing back a steak?” asked Ben.

“We are bringing back a bunch of stuff,” said Kurt. “I don’t want you thinking your time was wasted out here.”

“Coordinate with Mary for the meds tomorrow morning,” said Ben. “I’d prefer your folks take the first dose before they get off that shuttle.”

“Will do,” said Kurt.

“What of the incoming Raptors?” asked Cyrus. Word had spread quickly in the colony about the incoming pack, but they also knew they were being delayed as much as possible.

“We got nearly a quarter in the first ambush,” said Ben. “They are still 80 kilometers away give or take with another ambush planned before this evening before dark.”

“Will they be able to threaten the colony?” asked Tasha.

“If the snipers and airstrikes continue getting those numbers, they should be done well before they get here,” said Ben.

“Very good news for a change,” said Rachelle.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Ben. “Okay, I’m not going to hold you up, but everyone needs to take these precautions seriously. We cannot allow a relapse especially given the circumstances behind what’s lurking outside the walls. Overall, I expect us to listen to what Doctor Blevins has instructed and follow them to the letter.”

He received nods from the section leaders as he finished up.

“I’ll keep you informed as any new information comes out,” said Ben. “Until then, have a good day and stay safe.”

“Does this mean I get to go home?” asked Specialist Sue Peters.

“As soon as we get a decon unit in there,” said Ben. “Sergeant Major? You think you can find someone to relieve Specialist Peters?”

“I was thinking of that,” said Kendrick. “Probably tomorrow morning with someone who gets released from the hospital.”

“Even though they have a limited duty schedule?” asked Ben.

“I’ll get that worked out,” said Kendrick as the Raptors were seen coming into the next ambush area. “Looks like Round 2 is about to start.”

“Just in time,” said Ben as he pulled up a chair and watched. The sniper teams once again engaged as well as the gunships. Another seven Raptors were dead as the survivors started rushing the areas the gunships came from again. However, the light was fading as the teams quickly departed and headed south. The drone continued circling as the behavior of the Raptors was unusual at the moment.

“They keep rushing into the fire,” said Kendrick.

“I’m wondering about these two pairs that split off,” said Ben as he saw two of the Raptors in the thermal image heading towards the east and west. “Do we have any other drones we could send up and keep watch on them?”

“A lot are scanning additional areas looking for the nests,” said Kendrick. “Doesn’t look like we have any that are close.”

“It does make me wonder,” said Ben. “Are they leaving out of fear or something else?”

“Like what?” asked Kendrick.

“Reinforcements maybe?” asked Ben.

“That would indicate a far greater intelligence factor,” said Kendrick.

“Again, it’s something to consider,” said Ben as they eventually left the scope. It appeared the Raptors at the ambush were settling in for the night save the ones that moved away from the pack. “I’d love to be able to communicate with them.”

“Gotta catch a live one first,” said Kendrick. “It is curious though.”

“That it is,” said Ben as the teams on the ground called him up and let him know they had found a suitable location to remain overnight. They hadn’t planned on coming back to the colony between strikes since, at the time at least, they felt it was unsafe to do so with the threat of the virus. Ben informed them of the latest development, but they collectively decided to stay almost 30 kilometers south of the main Raptor body. Ben approved the plan since the teams on the group had a better understanding of what they faced.

********************
​

Tasha knew she was being released the next morning and was fairly excited about the situation as it stood. She had about as much of the hospital she could stand and needed to get out and back into work even on a limited basis. Until that time, she was making a round of the wards to visit her troops as well as others she knew in passing, giving them encouragement and the will to fight. Everyone seemed to be coming along far better, save one person she saw.

“Is he going to be okay?” asked Tasha as Mary walked by. Mary saw she was talking about Chuck Dawson who was still in a coma. She looked at Chuck’s chart and shook her head.

“He’s still touch and go,” said Mary. “It’s like the virus hit him a lot harder than others for some reason. Being patient zero, he’s had it the longest.”

“Why?” asked Tasha. “I mean, why is it hitting him harder?”

“I don’t know,” said Mary. “Genetics maybe? We just don’t know enough about these viruses to be able to give an answer.”

“He got the medicine, right?” asked Tasha.

“He did,” said Mary. “But he was badly infected by the virus and it’s just taking longer.”

“He’s a fighter, he can do it,” said Tasha.

“Well, tell him that,” said Mary.

“He’s in a coma,” said Tasha. “He can’t hear me.”

“Even to this day, we are still learning a lot about the human body, the mind specifically. Sometimes people claim they’ve heard someone talking to them while they’re in a coma,” said Mary. “They say it helped them pull through and it won’t hurt for you to try.”

“I wouldn’t know what to say,” said Tasha.

“The same thing you’re telling your troopers,” said Mary.

“I’m not sure how he would respond to me ordering him to kick its ass,” she chuckled softly.

“Just go talk to him,” said Mary. “He needs the support of friends even though he might not be able to respond.”

“We aren’t exactly friends,” said Tasha. “Not since that falling out.”

“You are more than you realize,” said Mary. “Look, I’ve got to go, but he needs you.”

Mary moved on before Tasha could reply. She hesitated for a full minute before going over to the head of the bed where it looked like he was sleeping comfortably. Working up the courage, she finally leaned over and whispered towards his ear, speaking for almost two full minutes before grabbing his hand and squeezing with a smile. She stood up and saw Mary looking at her from across the ward. She could see Mary smile even under the mask and give her a thumbs up. Tasha headed over to Mary and pulled her to the side.

“Can you let me know when he wakes up?” she asked.

“Certainly,” said Mary as she looked past Tasha and nodded in that direction. A swarm of nurses was coming around Chuck’s bed as it appeared he had woken up. “Well, whatever you told him, it sure seems like it jump started his will to be awake.”

“I…” said Tasha as she saw Anna Cortez come to his side quickly. “He’ll be fine.”

“She talked to him every single day while he was in a coma,” said Mary. “Yet, he just woke up after you came to his side and talked to him.”

“Coincidence,” said Tasha.

“Or it’s meant to be,” said Mary.

“If you didn’t notice, he has a girlfriend,” said Tasha.

“They broke up the day before he found out he was infected,” said Mary. “Look, I need to check on him, but do me a favor and stop by some other time and at least say hello.”

“I promise I will,” said Tasha as she was uncomfortable right then. However, as she saw Mary taking some stats on him and ordering yet more blood to be drawn, she decided right then and there she was going to go over and talk to him. As friends, she thought to herself. After arriving, Mary concluded her work and the nurses went to their other charges while Anna excused herself as well to go back to her hospital bed in the other ward.

“Hey, champ,” said Tasha softly from the foot of the bed.

“Here to gloat?” asked Chuck weakly, but with a smile.

“Tables have turned, haven’t they?” she asked with a smile. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got run over by a steamroller,” he said weakly.

“Well, you look like hell too,” she said with a smile.

“Turnabouts are fair play I guess,” he said as she sat down on the stool next to his bed.

“Look, I’m going to tell you the same thing I told my troopers in here,” she said as she collected his hand. “You’re a survivor, one of the few that’s leading us into this new beginning and that means this virus doesn’t stand a chance at beating you. You aren’t going to let it take any more of that spirit of yours and you’re going to fight it until it’s gone.”

“You don’t have my permission to go anywhere until you walk out of this hospital on your own. That’s not debatable and you’re just stubborn enough to do it,” said Tasha. “Now, you fight. You knock this thing out and you will get better. Understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a weak smile.

“You be a good patient and I might even bring you some chocolate cake,” she grinned.

“You realize this is the first time we’ve talked since we got into the argument?” he asked.

“Maybe it took you getting sick to make me realize how petty I was in trying to continue to argue,” she said. “Not that I don’t like arguing, but there is a time and a place for it.”

“You do like to argue,” he stated with a coughing chuckle.

“You just need some rest,” she said as she patted his hand. “We’ll be back at it before long.”

“I…” he started but his voice trailed off.

“Yes?” she asked.

“I’m just tired,” he said. “Strange as I’ve been out several days.”

“I wish I could take a few days off just to sleep,” she chuckled.

“You’d go crazy over having nothing to do,” he said with a grin.

“Yes, I probably would,” she smiled. “Look, you need your rest and I’ll be back around before you even know it.”

“I look forward to that,” he said with a smile.

“I might even allow you to make a pig comment or two,” she said with a smile.

“With or without the beating you’d threaten?” he asked.

“With, of course,” she said with a grin.

“That way I’d know I was out of danger?” he asked.

“Exactly,” she stated with a laugh. “I wouldn’t want you getting spoiled thinking some little virus was going to do the job for me.”

“I’ll get better so you can abuse me,” he said with a yawn.

“Get some rest, okay?” she said as she took his hand once again and squeezed.

“I will,” he stated as she got ready to depart once again, though her hand lingered for a little longer than she normally would. “Tasha?”

“Yes?” she asked.

“Thank you for encouraging me,” he said with a smile.

“It’s the least I can do,” she smiled back and squeezed his hand once again before letting it go. She departed with a smile and headed back to the ward where she had been staying and plopped into her hospital bed.

“You are not easy to compete against,” said Anna Cortez from the foot of her bed.

“I’m sorry?” asked Tasha.

“He is a good man,” said Anna.

“What are you talking about?” asked Tasha.

“Charles,” said Anna. “I talked with him each and every day since he’s been in a coma. And you speak to him for 30 seconds and he comes out?”

“I… I just spoke to him, that’s all,” said Tasha. “I spoke with nearly everyone in there.”

“Yet he comes out of a coma when you speak to him?” asked Anna pointedly.

“Happenstance?” asked Tasha.

“Right,” scoffed Anna. “Like I said, you are not easy to compete against.”

“I am not competing with anyone!” exclaimed Tasha.

“Then why even talk to my boyfriend?” asked Anna.

“I spoke with nearly everyone,” said Tasha.

“And saved the best for last, huh?” asked Anna sarcastically.

“I didn’t know how to approach it since you two were a couple,” said Tasha. “But I felt like I should at least say something to him because he is a friend.”

“A friend, right…” said Anna with a scoff.

“And I’m to understand you two broke up anyway,” said Tasha as she went on the offensive.

“Maybe he wasn’t in the right mind,” said Anna. “He might have been sick and wasn’t thinking straight.”

“Then I’d suppose you need to get your facts in order before coming at me like that,” said Tasha angrily. “Look, he’s a friend, nothing more, nothing less.”

“I’d like to hope you want nothing more than that,” said Anna.

“Then why don’t you just walk your little ass in there and find out?” asked Tasha as she was about to raise her voice until she remembered she was in the hospital. “Go on, go ask him if you’re still a couple. Then you can stop this little attack on me because you feel threatened that I’m going to steal your boyfriend.”

“I’m not threatened by you,” scoffed Anna.

“I doubt that if you’re coming after me like this,” said Tasha.

The two looked each other in the eyes as each saw there was fire there. Eventually, Anna saw she was getting nowhere and turned to walk away. Tasha let out an angry breath as she got comfortable in her bed.

“She is threatened by you,” said the nurse who overheard the conversation, but tried to act as if she wasn’t paying attention.

“She has no reason to be,” said Tasha.

“Chuck is the best she will ever get,” said Vanessa Perez. “She doesn’t want to lose that.”

“Again, I am friends with him,” said Tasha. “She doesn’t have anything to be concerned about.”

“You’re a female, you know better,” said Vanessa.

“I don’t think I was ever that jealous over someone though,” said Tasha.

“It doesn’t mean it can’t happen,” said Vanessa. “Regardless, they did break up. She’s just not going to have an easy time of it.”

“Not specifically my problem,” said Tasha.

“No, it isn’t,” said Vanessa. “Try to get some sleep tonight.”

“I will,” said Tasha as she curled up in the bed thinking of the situation as it stood.

********************
​

“We were only able to bag five this morning,” said Noah as he contacted the Command Center and relayed their ambush. “After feeding, they spread out and started looking at the key terrain where we would normally hide.”

“Spreading out how far?” asked Ben.

“Far enough that it was harder for the gunships to engage more than one without significant movement on their part,” said Noah. “Overall, they are getting to be more elusive prey.”

“Can you still go on?” asked Ben.

“Lieutenant Griggs and I can still bag a few here and there as well as the gunships taking them down. We’re going to switch tactics next attack by letting the gunships strike first then we snipe a few of them,” said Noah.

“Sounds good,” said Ben. “Keep me apprised.”

“That sounds way more intelligent than we figured,” said Kendrick.

“Yes, sir,” said Ben with a sigh. “Let’s get Jim Kirk in here please.”

“Kirk?” asked Kendrick.

“He knows the most about these things,” said Ben. “Maybe he can shed some light on the behaviors we’re seeing.”

“I’ll track him down,” said Kendrick as he notified Kirk to come to the Command Center. He arrived shortly and headed over to Ben.

“You asked for me, Commander?” asked Kirk.

“We may have a problem,” said Ben as he explained what had been mentioned in the update from Noah Taylor. Ben showed him the video feeds as well showing him what the Raptors were doing at the moment.

“That’s interesting,” said Kirk as he rewound the video and played it several times. He watched several Raptors in particular as they would spread out or come back to certain individuals.

“Leadership?” asked Ben.

“It very well could be,” said Kirk. “Alpha male or something of the like.”

“Are they showing more intelligence than we’ve seen before?” asked Ben.

“I don’t want to make assumptions,” said Kirk. “But it is a possibility.”

“What would happen if we took them out of pocket?” asked Ben.

“I don’t know,” said Kirk. “How much footage of this do we have?”

“We’ve been constantly orbiting them since we found them,” said Ben.

“Let me go check through the footage,” said Kirk.

“And if we happen to take them out in the mean time?” asked Ben.

“Do what you have to do,” said Kirk.

“Have you gotten any rest?” asked Ben.

“Probably not as much as I should have,” said Kirk. “But it can wait.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” said Ben as Kirk departed to start looking through the footage of the pack of Raptors that was currently heading towards them.

“So, what do we tell Noah?” asked Kendrick.

“Tell him to continue as planned and we give Jim a little while to see what he can come up with,” said Ben. “If they take one out, it is what it is.”

“Roger that,” said Kendrick as he received an alert the shuttle was inbound with Kurt and his group. Ben headed out to meet them as Roy Dylan guided them in for a landing. The pilot was a lot slower on the approach than most of the ones he had seen, but she landed it perfectly in the center of the temporary pad and shut down the systems. Mary and a dozen medical personnel headed out to the craft and got on board to give the returning party the medications in hopes it would stave off any infection they might get. Kurt was one of the first to be given the pills as he swallowed it with a drink of water from his canteen and put on the mask provided.

“Good to have you back,” said Ben.

“I was hoping for better conditions,” said Kurt. “How bad did it get?”

“Bad enough,” said Ben. “Almost two-thirds of the place was down at one point.”

“That’s certainly not good,” said Kurt. “It was a good trip though.”

“I’ve been reading your daily reports,” said Ben. “Interesting area.”

“We learned a lot while we were gone,” said Kurt. “Regardless, we’re back and where do you need help?”

“We’re going to quarantine your folks into work crews,” said Ben. “Keep them separate from the ones that have been exposed until we know this thing has been beat. Let everyone get their gear dropped off and we’ll meet at the new tavern site.”

“Roger that,” said Kurt as the doctors had finished giving out the medications and masks. He informed the crew of their timeline and instructed them to drop their gear and samples before returning to the SIT area. They shuffled off as most of the major equipment was left on the shuttle to retrieve later. Briana Lang, the pilot, was met by Dylan Roy as she exited the shuttle and grabbed her bag.

“Where’s Tinker?” she asked as Dylan came up to her.

“Down with the sickness,” said Dylan. “Along with almost every other pilot we have.”

“You’re it?” asked Briana.

“Prancer and Gator are up north on a mission,” said Dylan. “Stow your stuff and head over to the gathering. Once you’re done and if Rachelle doesn’t have anything for you, get back over here so we can go through what’s going on.”

“What mission?” asked Briana.

“We have a whole group of Raptors heading towards us,” said Dylan. “I’ll explain when you get back and explain what we need to do.”

“Yes, sir,” said Briana as she departed and headed for her quarters. It didn’t take long to dump what she had and she figured she’d sort it out later as she headed back to the SIT area. It didn’t take long for everyone else to do the same thing as half the people were there already and the other half arriving in the next five minutes. Ben got up in front of the group on one of the newly built chairs and got their attention.

“I know you folks have been going at it in the field and are probably ready for a day off,” he started. “I’m proud of you for making the most of the extra time you had, but we are in serious need of help around here. People are being released from the hospital at the moment and more will be daily, but until we get everyone back up to speed, we’re in a crisis mode.”

“So, get with your individual section heads for your assignments. We’re all filling in with sections we’ve never worked with before and learning on the fly. If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask for it. If you show any signs of the virus, you contact medical immediately and get treatment. We cannot afford a round two of this thing since we do have a pack of Raptors coming at us hard from the north,” he stated and got everyone’s attention.

“Right now, we have some brave men and women making sure they never reach the colony by delaying them and taking a few out here and there. Working those numbers down by attrition,” said Ben. “But we’ve got to be prepared for the attack if they can’t get those numbers knocked out by the time we arrive.”

“So, keep that in the back of your mind while we work together and prepare for the worst, but hope for the best,” he said in conclusion.

 

CHAPTER 26



“Okay, that worked a little better,” said Ryan as they had bagged another seven Raptors on the strike by striking at the same time as the snipers. “This looks like a good place for the next hit.”

“We’re starting to back up to the river,” said Noah. “I’d almost wait until they start crossing and pick them off while they are in the water.”

“From what I understand, they are good swimmers and can swim underwater,” said Ryan.

“They’ll still get slowed by getting in and out of the water,” said Noah.

“True,” said Ryan. “Why don’t we do one more aerial strike before we get to the river?”

“Sounds good,” said Noah. “We’ll start looking at places to set up the ambush as long as they keep this track.”

“That’ll work,” said Ryan as he got with Krystal and informed her of the plan. She had grown leaps and bounds during the missions since experience was an outstanding teacher. She still had a lot of learning to do, but overall, she was coming along nicely in flying solo for the missions. She agreed with the plan and started looking for the best areas to fight from while Ryan did the same. Eventually, they settled on a piece of land where the Raptors should come through if they kept their path like they had been. Heading out, they arrived about an hour before the Raptors would show up and landed to conserve fuel.

“You think we’re going to have to resupply?” asked Noah.

“We’re down about half on our munitions,” said Ryan. “About a quarter down on the fuel. The thing is, Gator has been getting better at her marksmanship since we started so we’re not wasting as many shots now as we did when we started.”

“So, yes or no?” asked Noah.

“Let’s get past this one and see,” said Ryan. “I’d prefer to get everything done at once.”

“Wouldn’t we all,” stated Zoe and added playfully. “Of course, if the pilots were making hits 90% of the time, we’d be done by now.”

“Hey, not everyone’s a marksman,” said Ryan in his charming grin.

“I guess you should practice more,” she started with a return smile and playful eyes.

“You want to give me some one on one instruction on how to improve my aim?” he asked and got into his flirty mode.

“I’d probably guess you’re one of those tactile learners that needs hands on instruction?” she asked with playful eyes.

“I certainly don’t mind learning new techniques,” he said with a grin. “I’d let you position me however you needed.”

“All right, kids,” stated Noah before Zoe was able to respond. “Don’t make me separate the two of you.”

“Just having a little fun, Senior Sergeant,” said Ryan with a grin.

“Any more of it and I’m going to switch gunships with the other team,” said Noah in a serious tone, but his eyes showed amusement.

“Well, that wouldn’t work,” said Zoe.

“And why not?” asked Noah.

“Well, because Captain Kingston here had a fling with Sergeant Walker,” said Zoe with a grin.

“You know about that?” asked Ryan.

“Us girls do talk from time to time,” she grinned at him in return.

“Good thing I’m married,” said Noah.

“We talk to your wife as well,” said Zoe with a laugh. “Anyway, we’ll behave.”

“Will we?” asked Ryan as he saw the Raptors were within two kilometers.

“Yes, you will,” said Zoe in a serious tone though her eyes sparkled.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Ryan. “Gator, I’m showing two clicks.”

“Copy, seeing the same thing,” said Krystal.

“We’ll take three shots and head back towards the river,” stated Ryan.

“Three shots,” said Krystal as she prepared. “We were looking over some areas to the south and think we might have found a good location for the next hit.”

“We’ll take a look at it when we get this done,” said Ryan as he waited patiently and the distance wound down. “One click and still showing only eleven Raptors.”

“Copy, eleven,” said Krystal as she lined up towards the lead of the pack. Eventually, the time dwindled down enough to where several were seen through the patchy forest with their heads showing clearly above the short trees.

“That’ll make your shots a little easier,” said Nick Griggs.

“Yep,” said Jodi who was taking the lead on the shooting this time. “Those head shots aren’t easy though.”

“Just keep your training in mind,” said Nick. “You’ll do fine.”

“I think we can get them all before they hit the river,” stated Jodi. “Between this strike and the next we should be able to wipe out the threat.”

“Let’s hope so,” said Nick as he mentally too stock of his ammo load and saw he was starting to get a bit lower than he wanted. They had brought a resupply with them, but the Raptors were proving to be more elusive targets than their size portrayed and making the head shots wasn’t easy by any means.

“Let’s wait for the main body to come out,” said Ryan as the first few Raptors were in the clearing. Eventually, more appeared and the gunships rose from their concealed position and fired their first rounds of the current engagement. Two more were hit in the first volley as Ryan’s pulse electron cannon did a number on the head of the first and the plasma cannon charges hit directly center mass of the second. The remainder of the Raptors went to ground quickly and only poked their head up long enough to peek around before ducking back down and halfway crawling towards the gunships.

“Gator, move west and I’ll go east,” said Ryan. “Let’s get them in a pincer move.”

“Copy,” stated Krystal as she swung her gunship west and found the targeting was a little easier. She fired some additional rounds and made another hit, wounding one of the Raptors as Ryan made another kill from his vantage point. They moved once again and fired, though the thick trees were making targeting difficult.

“Let’s back off to recheck this position,” suggested Krystal.

“Okay, there’s a prominent hill about eight clicks to the south right before the river,” said Ryan. “We’ll meet up there.”

“Exactly the spot we had in mind,” said Krystal as she swung her gunship to the south and joined on Ryan’s wing. The distance was covered fairly quickly and the hill was seen before long. It was bald on the top and the trees stopped a couple of hundred meters from the summit, making a nice open area. As they started slowing for the approach, warning lights started illuminating in the cockpit of Krystal’s gunship and alarms blared in her ears. The constant starting and restarting of the engines had burned the fusion fuel colder than they had wanted and left residue behind in the system

“Prancer, I’m declaring an emergency!” she exclaimed. “Main engine exhaust manifolds are clogged and power levels are dropping!”

“Switch to your secondary!” ordered Ryan.

“Secondary is unresponsive!” she stated with a grunt as the gunships didn’t make good gliders.

“Hang tight!” ordered Ryan.

“Negative, this bird’s not having it!” she stated as she picked out a landing area on the hilltop. She managed to bring it in as the alarms continued to scream in her ears and landed far harder than they cared for.

“Command, this is Prancer, Gator declared an inflight emergency and landed at the following coordinates,” stated Ryan over the channel to the colony. “Stand by for further.”

“Copy, Prancer,” stated Sergeant Olivia Taylor who was now on duty as controller as Ben’s insistence. “Can you get back to the colony?”

“Standby, Command,” stated Ryan. “Gator? You okay?”

“That was a little more rough than I planned,” she grunted over the comm. “We’re okay.”

“Status?” asked Ryan.

“Primary manifolds are clogged, secondary is unresponsive, landing gear took a pretty good shock and I’ll need to look that over,” said Krystal. “The remainder of the systems are showing green except the damn engines.”

“Prancer? What’s the plan?” asked Ben over the channel.

“If we can clear the intakes, we can get the bird back to the nest,” said Ryan.

“I hear a ‘but’ coming in this conversation,” said Ben.

“It’s going to take four hours for the engine to cool off long enough for Gator to get to the intakes and clean them,” stated Ryan. “Four hours to cool and about a half hour of work to get to them and another half hour of putting it back together.”

“Can it be done in the field?” asked Ben.

“Yes,” said Ryan. “Status on the Raptors?”

“They’ve halted for the moment,” stated Ben. “You’ve got a window, but if they start moving again and breach a five click marker, you get the crew and abandon the bird.”

“I’d prefer to get it flightworthy enough to get it back to the colony,” said Ryan.

“We can always come back for it later,” said Ben. “I cannot replace you pilots though.”

“Roger that,” said Ryan. “I’m going to orbit this location and provide some cover for Gator. The sniper team that is with her has set out security.”

“Stay in contact,” said Ben as he watched the camera feed from the orbiting drone.

“They haven’t made a move yet,” said Olivia.

“I want to know the moment they start,” said Ben. “I really don’t like this situation.”

“Not good for anyone,” said Rachelle. “Should I spin up Dylan Roy just in case?”

“Yeah, get him prepped,” said Ben as Rachelle quickly departed. She jogged to the landing area where Dylan was waiting for the communicator to come alive and had a worried look on his face. She entered the gunship and saw the look of concern and immediately went on guard.

“What?” she asked.

“That might take more than four hours,” said Dylan. “As hot as they’ve been running those engines during flight ops, they will take a little longer to cool. I’m betting it’ll be closer to six hours before they can get that bird back in the air.”

“We’ve got a little time,” said Rachelle. “Are you ready to go?”

“All I have to do is hit the starter and I’ll be airborne in one minute,” stated Dylan as he looked at Rachelle. “Charity should get brought in the loop on this.”

“Yeah,” said Rachelle. “She’s still in recovery though.”

“She’d want to know,” said Dylan.

“You’re right,” said Rachelle. “Make sure you’re ready and get up there to help if the call comes in.”

“Will do,” said Dylan as Rachelle headed towards the hospital. Minutes turned into three hours as the drone overhead showed the north group of Raptors had paused and wasn’t moving at the moment. In the Control Center, nearly every eye was on the camera feed of the Raptor pack just waiting for them to even turn towards the south.

“What are they waiting on?” asked Ben as Tasha came in. “I thought you were supposed to be resting at home.”

“I just came by to check on everyone,” she stated and looked at the feeds. “Why?”

“No reason,” said Ben as he saw Specialist Sue Peters checking some of the footage from the drone heading north to replace the one they currently had orbiting. She kept going in reverse and checking the sensor data. “Sue?”

“Just checking something out, sir,” said Sue as she continued to check the feeds of the replacement drone that had been sent from the colony. She knew she had a limited window to determine what she thought she had before the next drone arrived and took the place of the one currently circling.

“What do you have?” asked Ben.

“A spike in thermal when it went past the river, sir,” said Sue. “I just wanted to check it out.”

“Sergeant Taylor? How much fuel does the drone have that’s above the Raptors?” asked Ben.

“Another four hours, sir,” said Olivia as she peeked at the new footage.

“You’ve got time, Sue,” said Ben. “We can keep the other there and send this one back over if we have to.”

“I’m not…” she started to say as she found the readings she wanted. She checked closer at the data as she counted the hotspots the drone had picked up.

“Re-task that replacement drone to go back,” stated Ben as he saw the same thing. Olivia was quick to send the commands to the drone which altered its course and headed back south. As it was on its way, they encountered the hotspots once again far closer to the hilltop than they wanted. The camera flipped over to the live feed as additional Raptors were seen moving to the northwest towards the hill the gunships were currently landed on. They also weren’t moving cautiously like the other group and were charging in rather quickly.

“Get me a count!” ordered Ben.

“Showing 39 total, sir!” exclaimed Sue as Olivia changed some parameters on the orbiting drone and slewed the cameras for a 360 check of the local area. It didn’t take long for her to find out what it was she was looking for.

“Trouble!” she announced loudly as Ben moved over to her position. He saw the same thing as Tasha immediately ordered another drone to be sent up as quickly as possible to that location.

“Another 34 sir,” said Olivia as the ground team called in.

“Command! This is Rabbit!” exclaimed Jodi over the comm. “I’ve got Raptors coming from the southwest approximately three clicks from the hill!”

“Same for Joker!” exclaimed Nick. “Gator! Get that craft airborne!”

“We can’t! Lines are completely clogged!” exclaimed Krystal as she dug out her personal carbine and ran to the rear of the shuttle. “We’re getting surrounded! Raptors to the immediate south and they’re moving fast!”

“The north pack is moving again!” exclaimed Ryan as he activated the weapons and swooped in, firing a burst as he went at the first target. “We’re in some deep shit here!”

“Ryan, the ones on the southwest are closest!” exclaimed Zoe who had dropped into the copilot’s seat and was checking the sensors that had linked up with the data from the colony.

“Roger,” said Ryan as he performed a tight turn and headed towards that location. Raptors were at the base of the hill working their way through the trees surrounding the team on top of the hill.

“Get us on the ground!” stated Noah.

“We land right now and those Raptors will be all over us!” exclaimed Ryan. “We have to at least stop them before we can land.”

“Joker, Rabbit, can you hold?” asked Noah.

“Joker is engaged,” said Nick as a shot was heard over the comm unit. “I’ve got Raptors within 1000 meters.”

“Rabbit has a group at 1,200 meters!” exclaimed Jodi as she fired her rifle as well.

“South group is at about 400 meters!” exclaimed Krystal as she fired her pulse electron carbine. While it wasn’t deadly to the creatures, it certainly would give them something to think about.

“Zoe! Keep an eye on the north group,” ordered Noah as he dug into the emergency kits and strapped his rifle in.

“What are you doing?” asked Zoe.

“You stay here and help call out targets while the Captain flies this thing!” ordered Noah as he strapped on an emergency egress kit and gathered the remainder of the ammo for the sniper rifles. Hooking the two cans to the side, he headed towards the door and hoped they would hold during his descent.

“I can help!” stated Zoe as she started to stand up.

“He needs your eyes up here and we need you up here!” growled Noah as he opened the side hatch. “Now get back in that seat and get me over the top of the hill.”

“Roger that,” said Ryan as he banked the gunship hard and got as close as he could while firing the pulse electron cannon at a Raptor coming in.

“That’s close enough, mate,” said Noah as he jumped out the door and immediately went into the proper position for the freefall from 150 meters. It didn’t take long for the unit to start slowing his descent, but Noah overrode the controls and waited until the distance clicked to 50 meters altitude and allowed the unit to slow him once again. Retrorockets were fired giving him almost 7 Gs of force, but slowed considerably. The unit stood up vertically when it was within 10 meters of the ground, slowing enough that Noah was able to land on his feet and drop the pack immediately before readying his rifle.

“Tasmania is on the ground,” he grunted as he retrieved the ammo cans from the device. He sprinted towards Nick’s position and saw he was engaging the Raptors as they came into view. Noah stopped before reaching the position and took a shot himself at an incoming Raptor, making a hit on the neck as it started bleeding out and dropped to the ground.

“Prancer, cover the north until I get this ammo distributed!” ordered Noah.

“Copy, covering the north!” said Ryan as he swung the gunship over to the north waiting for the Raptors to appear. However, nothing was seen just yet as he saw more coming from the other sides. He turned the gunship in the hover mode and started picking off targets as they appeared.

“Zoe, watch the north,” he stated.

“And if something appears?” she asked.

“Blast it,” he grunted as he engaged another Raptor. The seemingly endless supply kept coming after the ground team.

“How?” she asked as she looked at the controls to her front. Ryan made a quick adjustment and trained the starboard side plasma cannon to the right and turned over control to the WSO station.

“There’s your targeting reticle,” he stated as the aiming “doughnut” came on in the screen to her front. “Use the control stick to aim and fire. Trigger is in the front.”

“I’ll be of more use calling out targets!” she exclaimed.

“You can do both,” he stated as he engaged another Raptor coming out of the woods and scored several hits with the plasma cannon. “I have the utmost faith in your ability.”

On the ground, the snipers continued to engage as the Raptors appeared. Noah finished the short distance to Nick’s position and opened the ammo can to see it was almost full.

“Just in the nick of time!” said Nick as he continued watching and engaging as the Raptors came out of the woods. “No pun intended.”

“You’ve got some full mags and loose rounds,” said Noah.

“If we get down to loading individual rounds, we’re screwed,” said Nick.

“Better than getting eaten,” said Noah. “I’ll be on the comm.”

“Roger that,” said Nick as he continued to mark targets and fire. Noah sprinted to the next position, stopping once to deal with another Raptor that came into view. Another head shot and another one down as he sprinted to the next location where Krystal was firing with her pulse electron carbine. It wasn’t doing much damage to the Raptors, but she also had Ryan overhead helping cover her position since he knew she was the least trained of anyone on the ground. Noah stopped and took aim at a Raptor that was charging the position and managed yet another head shot which killed the creature outright.

“Can you hold here?” asked Noah.

“This carbine isn’t really doing much against them,” stated Krystal.

“I can help when I get back,” stated Noah. “I’ve got to get this ammo to Sergeant Walker.”

“I can run the ammo,” stated Krystal. “You’re needed here!”

Before he could say anything, she grabbed the can from the ground and sprinted over to Jodi’s position, arriving out of breath. She broke open the can and started handing over the magazines to Jodi who quickly refilled her pouches and started reloading one of the magazines.

“Don’t we have more ammo on board?” asked Jodi as she picked the rifle back up and engaged two Raptors that started up the hill.

“Right!” exclaimed Krystal. “Do you need more?”

“How about some bombers and a battalion of armored vehicles?” asked Jodi. “I’ve got your back, girl, go get the ammo!”

“Got it!” exclaimed Krystal as she sprinted uphill to the gunship and tore into the stores. She found the spare ammo cans and headed back out to the individual positions going to Noah first. He was continuing to engage and she dropped the can at his position.

“They aren’t very sportsmanlike,” said Noah as three appeared at once and he engaged as best as he could. He managed to get two of them before Ryan hit the third from his position almost directly overhead of the down gunship.

“How many are there?” asked Krystal as she prepared to move to the next position.

“I haven’t had the time to ask,” said Noah as he aimed for another shot.

“Command, this is Gator!” she yelled over the comm.

“Go,” answered Olivia almost immediately.

“How many Raptors, what direction and any chance of backup?” asked Krystal.

“Gator and all forces on the ground, we have three distinct groups of Raptors with the north group being joined by a group that came from the north. Attack vectors are coming from the north, the southwest and southeast by as many as 20 Raptors apiece,” stated Olivia.

“Oh, just 60 to deal with?” asked Ryan sarcastically. “Command, this is Prancer, we’re getting low on ammo!”

“Same on the ground!” announced Nick. Krystal took her cue and dashed over to his position and dropped additional ammo while also reloading his empty magazines.

“Standby, Prancer,” said Ben.

“With all due respect, Commander, we can’t exactly wait!” growled Ryan as Zoe managed to get another hit on two Raptors that had come out of the woods.

“I’m down to my last ten rounds!” announced Jodi as Krystal grabbed two of the four remaining magazines and sprinted to her location. Jodi had been loading and firing the single rounds as Krystal handed her one of the ten round magazines and started loading the remainder of the loose rounds into an empty magazine.

“I’m down to 25!” announced Noah.

“22 here!” announced Nick.

“Command, we need some help right now!” growled Ryan. “We’re critically low on ammo and I’m not leaving these troopers on the ground! Now you get us some damned help right now!”

Krystal had returned to the gunship and pulled out the remaining pulse electron rifles and brought them to the troopers still engaging the Raptors that would dart out of the woods from time to time. The only thing that appeared to keep them at bay at the moment was the gunship orbiting overhead.

“Got more coming out the east side!” exclaimed Krystal as she fired her carbine again along with Jodi engaging with her rifle. Krystal could see Ryan sweeping all over the sky trying to hit as many as possible.

“To the west!” exclaimed Zoe as she kept an eye out on the other side of the gunship. Ryan swung the gunship around and sent more of the plasma rounds towards the incoming Raptors. He made two hits and the remainder backed off slightly.

“Tasmania? What’s the situation to the south?” he yelled over the comm.

“They are holding off for the moment, check the north again!” exclaimed Noah. Ryan checked and saw ten Raptors heading out of the woods towards the gunship. He started repositioning to sweep the area and got a little lower to attempt a rescue if it came down to it.

“Command! They’re starting to rush the ground teams in force!” yelled Ryan. “Where’s that help we really need right now?!”

“Calm down, Prancer,” stated a familiar voice over the comm.

Just as he was lining the gunship up for a last ditch effort to stall the offensive they faced from the Raptors, eight smoke trails passed by at over the speed of sound and hit eight of the Raptors with devastating results.

“Check your six, hero,” said the voice over the comm. Ryan checked the panel which only had shown the four personnel on the ground, but saw four additional blips appear to the south rapidly charging in.

“Runt?” he asked.

“I brought some friends to help clean up your mess again,” stated Larissa Moody as she went on the attack along with the other gunship and two of the shuttles that had hastily been fitted with weapons pods.

“I’m going to marry you!” he exclaimed.

“We heard there was some good fighting going on,” stated Dylan Roy from the second gunship. “You should have invited us.”

“By all means, join in,” said Ryan with a relieved laugh. “We’ve got a pack to the north and the east. The west and south fell back, but they’re still out there.”

“Biscuit and I will get the south group,” stated Charity over the comm from one of the two shuttles that had been outfitted for combat.

“Tinker?” asked Ryan.

“Oh, we’re going to talk about you coming out here by your lonesome,” said Charity. “Mainly for not inviting the rest of us.”

“Pyro and I have the east,” stated Lieutenant Sam “Redeye” Gonzales as the other shuttle banked slower in the sky than the gunships and additional smoke trails from the missiles were seen.

“I’ll be damned!” laughed Ryan as he engaged a Raptor which was trying to hide in some trees. The gunships continued their dance until the remaining Raptors were quickly running away to the northeast and northwest. Yukon followed the northwest pair and made another three hits as Charity and the other shuttle followed the northeast group and killed another five. The other gunship piloted by Larissa landed and quickly got Krystal, Noah, Randy and Jodi inside before lifting off.

“You could have held off the dramatic entrance for a more appropriate time,” said Noah as he was the last to board. “But we do thank you for the lift.”

“Bastogne Force, I have the stranded teams,” said Larissa as she lifted off as the main cabin door was closing. “We’re clear.”

“Remaining Raptors are heading north,” said Charity. “Any additional targets?”

The pilots stated they had no targets as they orbited over the hilltop and watched for any additional threat. Smoke was seen rising from several spots as fires had been started by the cannon fire. Luckily there was rain in the forecast that evening and they hoped it would help put a stop to them before they got out of control.

“I didn’t know you guys were out of the hospital!” exclaimed Ryan as the ships joined up and headed south towards the colony to rearm and hopefully return in short order to retrieve the gunship now unmanned on top of the hill.

“Some of us had it but never showed symptoms,” said Larissa.

“And the others are a bit wiped out, but we snuck out of the hospital because we didn’t want you hogging all the glory out here,” said Charity.

“I’d say your timing was perfect, ma’am,” said Krystal as she jumped into the WSO seat on Larissa’s gunship.

“Prancer? We’re going to need to have a talk,” said Larissa.

“I’ll get your diamonds, I promise,” he laughed.

“No, about you taking my gunship out here on the mission,” said Larissa as he could hear she was probably smiling. “You’d better adjust the seat back before you get out.”

“I’ll do that and a whole lot more!” laughed Ryan as the distance to the colony ran down rapidly and the outline was seen. The ships came in one at a time and landed as the crews got out and started congratulating each other. The Security Forces thanked the pilots profusely as they would likely have been overrun if not for the intervention of the gunships and shuttles.

“How in the hell did you get the shuttles loaded up with weapons so quickly?” asked Ryan as he made his way over to Charity.

“Ask Yukon,” she stated.

“Yeah, when you went off playing hero, I felt like we might need some additional forces backing you up,” said Dylan as Mary and Ben walked up. “All by my lonesome, I got the remaining shuttles outfitted with weapons pods as a just in case measure.”

“That’s really awesome,” laughed Ryan. “Commander.”

“Each and every one of you did great out there,” said Ben simply and broke out into a grin.

“However, playtime’s over,” said Mary. “Back to the hospital for a whole bunch of you.”

“I…” stated Charity. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You aren’t supposed to be out yet?” asked Ryan.

“No, she is not,” stated Mary. “Now, she thinks she snuck out without me knowing it. But I knew she not only snuck herself out, but Lieutenant Griffith and Captain Gonzales came along as well. So, for the three of you, get back to the hospital.”

“Thank you for being understanding,” said Charity as she nodded at the two and motioned towards the hospital.

“You are very understanding,” said Ben off to the side.

“Because I’d much prefer to frown and fuss at patients in my hospital than do more autopsies on troopers we could have saved,” said Mary.

“You’re a practical gal,” chuckled Ben. “Can we retrieve the gunship tonight?”

“Should actually be cooled off enough to get into those manifolds,” said Krystal.

“We’ll get a crew out there,” said Ben.

“My ship, my responsibility, Commander,” said Krystal.

“I’ll be happy to fly her out there,” said Larissa.

“Even though you’re supposed to be on down time?” asked Ben.

“Well, we know what happens when you send out Captain Kingston to these kinds of things,” said Larissa with a half a grin.

“We surely do,” said Ben with a laugh. “How long will it take?”

“Two of us taking the engine apart and getting everything cleaned? Half hour at most,” said Ryan. “I’ll be happy to head out with Gator and get it done.”

“We’ll need a full security team going with you,” said Ben.

“Already have one,” said Tasha as she walked up. “Two of them actually. Apparently, someone wants their gear off that gunship.”

“Only after the mission is complete,” grinned Nick.

“I think you’d best clear that with someone first,” said Ben with a nod. Nick turned to see Charlotte standing behind him with a look of disapproval.

“I think that’s a look I won’t even tangle with,” said Nick with a smile.

“Damn right you won’t,” said Charlotte with a frown. “Now, I agreed to send you out there to begin with, but I’m not sure about sending you out again.”

“Mission isn’t done, baby,” said Nick. “Not until we bring everything home.”

“Including a husband I kinda like?” she asked.

“Kinda?” asked Nick.

“Depends on whether you come back home tonight,” she stated.

“I’m not going to leave you alone on this planet,” he said as he collected a hug and a kiss.

“Better not,” said Charlotte as she gave him another kiss. After resupplying, the two security teams as well as Ryan and Krystal boarded a gunship once again and flew north. They found the gunship just as they’d left it and quickly got the engine housing off and cleaned the manifolds enough to get it to the colony. They would wait on a more detailed cleaning and just wanted to get enough for the 30 kilometer hop back to safety. Krystal checked the systems once they reinstalled all the gear and lifted off. Ryan collected the Security Forces and got into a trail pattern behind her. There were no further incidents as they brought the gunships in for a landing and shut everything down. A SIT team led by Rachelle immediately started rearming and refueling the craft along with critical maintenance they needed to have done to get them into fighting shape once again.

The pilots headed towards the hospital where they would conduct their after action briefing since three of their number had been banished back into the hospital beds once again. However, Mary allowed the briefing since it was a formality they needed to have in order to continue refining tactics against the Raptors. Once they were done enough for the initial report, Mary sent them on their way and told them to wait two more days for the pilots to be fully released. As they were departing, Ryan started heading towards his house and was joined by Larissa.

“Hero,” she said with a chuckle as she caught up to him.

“Jealous?” he chuckled.

“Kinda,” she admitted. “You flew one hell of a mission.”

“I would have preferred to have you on my wing,” he stated.

“Oh, I’m on your wing now?” she asked and a slight grin came over her face.

“I mean, I was responsible for taking out like 50 of them,” said Ryan with a grin. “Just sayin,”

“I think we will have to prove who the better pilot is some other time,” she stated. “What are you heading off to do?”

“Shower, get something to eat and sleep in a real bed,” he stated. “You?”

“About the same,” she replied. “You hungry right now?”

“Kinda,” he admitted. “I’ve been on rations the past few days.”

“Mind if I come over for whatever you’re cooking?” she asked.

“I think I owe you at least a meal for swooping in at the last moment for the rescue,” he stated.

“Oh, you owe me a lot more than that,” she grinned. “I heard diamonds mentioned?”

“I’ll get you a whole bag full of them,” he laughed.

“Just as friends, though,” she reminded him.

“Why would I assume otherwise?” he asked. He received a scoff and a shake of her head in return as he gave her half a grin and rolled his eyes.

“Well, you did say you were going to marry me,” she grinned.

“I won’t say that proposition is off the table,” he said with his charming smile.

“Uh huh,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Let’s see if we make it through dinner without me killing you for taking my gunship and go from there.”

“Deal,” he stated as they arrived at his door. “Half an hour?”

“Half an hour on what?” she asked.

“Half an hour to shower and meet back up?” he asked.

“I’m going to go grab my shower things and a change of clothes and shower at your place,” she stated. “Unless you’re uncomfortable with a female using your shower.”

“It’s been done before,” he stated with a grin.

“Oh, I bet it has,” she chuckled as she rolled her eyes again.

“Chuck had a girlfriend, you know?” asked Ryan.

“Oh… right,” said Larissa. “Anyway, I’ll probably just use mine. But can you leave your door open in case you aren’t done by the time I come back?”

“Yeah, it’ll be unlocked,” he stated. “See you in a bit.”

“Bye,” she stated and headed next door to her townhouse. She thought about Ryan as she headed into her house and how he wouldn’t make a bad boyfriend, but both their egos would be a lot to contend with as well as the fact he was fairly popular with the woman in the colony. She briefly considered heading back over right then and joining him in the shower to make him hers and hers only, but she shied away at the last moment as she felt like she should take it far slower with him rather than become the next girl on his list. However, also realizing she was already a girl on his list though he hadn’t mentioned it to anyone.

As she headed towards her shower, she wondered whether or not she should take a chance at having that personal relationship she had denied herself for so long. Whether it was Ryan or someone else, she felt like maybe it was time to open herself up a bit and live life as it was intended. She had finished showering and changed before heading downstairs and smelling something cooking in her kitchen.

“Hey, chica,” said Vanessa Perez as she was busy stirring a pot. “Congratulations on the mission. You really kicked some ass.”

“Ryan, Krystal and the ground teams did most of the ass kicking out there,” said Larissa.

“No need to be modest,” said Vanessa. “Your timely intervention saved their lives from what I am to understand.”

“I’m not denying we didn’t swoop in and save the day,” said Larissa as she sniffed at whatever Vanessa was making. “Smells good.”

“It’s spicy, Cuban and leaves you with an insane desire to come back for more,” said Vanessa and added a grin. “Pretty much just like me.”

“Indeed,” laughed Larissa.

“Have a drink and sit while I finish this up,” said Vanessa.

“I would, but I already got the invite for dinner from Ryan,” said Vanessa.

“Oh?” asked Vanessa and had a knowing grin on her face and raised her eyebrows for effect.

“As friends and coworkers,” said Larissa with a smile and a roll of her eyes.

“Ryan doesn’t invite women over as just friends,” said Vanessa.

“Well, I kinda invited myself over,” said Larissa with a hint of blush.

“Finally making him your own?” asked Vanessa.

“No, just as friends,” said Larissa.

“Ryan is ready for more than that,” said Vanessa. “He’s ready for a strong woman to tame that wild horse he thinks himself to be and settle down to pop out some kids.”

“I’m not having children!” exclaimed Larissa.

“When the time comes, you’ll be ready for such a thing,” said Vanessa. “I’d bet you’ll have a whole house full of them by the time it’s over.”

“Oh, Lord no,” said Larissa with a chuckle and changed the subject. “How’s Chuck?”

“He’s doing better, but he’s going to be there for at least another week,” said Vanessa. “And don’t change the subject; when are you heading over?”

“Probably now,” said Larissa as she looked at her watch.

“You want a suggestion?” asked Vanessa.

“Sure?” asked Larissa.

“Wear something tighter to accent your curves,” suggested Vanessa. “Make him go crazy thinking of what’s underneath.”

“He… already knows where my curves are at,” said Larissa as she blushed up.

“I know,” said Vanessa as she stirred at a pot and tasted the mix.

“You know?!” demanded Larissa.

“Of course,” said Vanessa. “You had it written all over your face a few weeks ago when you didn’t come home one night and stopped talking to Ryan for a few days.”

“He bragged about it?!” demanded Larissa.

“No, Ryan actually is good about not kissing and telling,” said Vanessa. “Oh, sure, he flits from girl to girl, but doesn’t go around bragging about it. Part of his charm, I suppose.”

“His charm gets a bit much from time to time,” grumped Larissa.

“So, make him yours,” said Vanessa. “Again, he’s a man just waiting for that one strong female to point her finger in his face and dare him to see anyone else. You just let him know he is yours and if he thinks of anyone else, you’ll burn his house down.”

“Well, that could be a problem since we live in the same row,” laughed Larissa.

“It’s a threat, chica, even I wouldn’t go so far as to burn a man’s house down,” said Vanessa and had a half a grin as she added. “Well, not normally, no.”

“Either way, tonight is just two comrades having dinner and catching up,” said Larissa. “I feel like maybe I was too harsh with him in the aftermath of our first and only time and maybe I should relax a bit.”

“You want more relaxed? Show off your body a bit,” said Vanessa with a grin.

“I don’t even think I own anything revealing,” laughed Larissa. “Look, we’re just friends and we’ll keep it that way for the moment.”

“Of course,” said Vanessa. “You be good tonight.”

“Ryan would prefer it if I’m bad,” chuckled Larissa.

“He most certainly would,” laughed Vanessa.

“I’ll catch that drink with you later, okay?” asked Larissa as she headed to the door.

“Or a cup of java tomorrow morning when you come traipsing back in,” grinned Vanessa.

“Yeah, right,” said Larissa with a laugh. “See you later.”

“Have fun, chica,” said Vanessa as she continued cooking. Larissa headed over and found Ryan already in the kitchen preparing dinner.

“Hey,” he said with his normal charming smile.

“Sorry, I got caught up with Vanessa,” said Larissa. “What are you cooking?”

“It’s a surprise,” said Ryan with another charming smile.

“Of course, it is,” said Larissa with a return smile and noticed he was already getting messy from cooking. “Looks like you’re going to need another shower tonight.”

“Probably so,” said Ryan with a grin. “But it’s worth it in the end.”

“And why is that?” asked Larissa.

“Well, trying to impress you isn’t easy,” said Ryan.

“Who says I need to be impressed?” she asked.

“I do for saving my life and the rest of everyone out there,” said Ryan. “When you showed up, I had less than five percent charges remaining for my weapons. I was going to exhaust all the weapons before trying to get the teams picked up.”

“So, you owe me a life debt?” she grinned.

“I owe you,” said Ryan with a chuckle. “Let’s start there.”

“Well, impress me with dinner for starters and we’ll go from there,” said Larissa.

“Deal,” he stated as he got back to cooking. The two continued to chat through him cooking and through dinner and she figured out just why women were attracted to him. He was funny, handsome and extremely charming. But she felt like he had a deeper side waiting to be explored that urged her to continue talking. After they finished, he cleared the table and brought the bottle of wine along with refills for the two and lit the fireplace. She curled up on the couch at the opposite of him in the lounge chair after kicking off her shoes. They continued talking until it was late for even two pilots used to having late hours and partying all night. He yawned at one point and she knew she shouldn’t keep him.

“Tired?” she asked as she finished off the glass of wine.

“Didn’t sleep much out there,” he said with another yawn.

“I won’t hold you up,” she stated and got ready to leave.

“I’m good,” he stated. “I like talking to you.”

“I like talking to you as well,” she said with a smile. “But you do need some rest.”

“Okay,” he agreed. “See you tomorrow, right?”

“I’m still technically on my convalescent for another day,” she stated as she pulled on her sandals. “But I’ll probably pop in.”

“I look forward to it,” he stated as he rose to see her to the door.

“I’m surprised at something,” she stated as they arrived at the door and he opened it for her.

“Which is?” he asked.

“I’m kinda shocked you didn’t suggest heading upstairs for some pillow talk,” she blurted out without thinking about it.

“I… thought this was a friendly dinner,” he stated. “I mean, unless you are saying you wouldn’t mind continuing with pillow talk.”

“No! I just… never mind,” she stated. “Good night, Ryan.”

“Good night, Larissa,” he stated with a smile. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you then,” she stated and waited until he closed the door. She could see through the privacy glass he headed upstairs immediately as she thought about the evening she had. She had let go for the first time in a long time and truly enjoyed his company. She started walking off the porch as the debate raged on in her head about that evening and whether she had the guts to “make him her own” as Vanessa had suggested. Before even thinking about it, she went back and found he had forgotten to lock the door as she entered the townhouse. She headed straight upstairs and heard him in the shower and decided she was going with emotions for a change. She undressed down to her panties and grabbed one of his larger t-shirts before slipping it on and climbing in the bed under the covers, a little nervous over the boldness of her actions.

Eventually, she heard him finish in the shower and brush his teeth before coming out in the hallway wearing a bathrobe and wiping at his face. He hit the door to his room when he finally noticed he wasn’t alone in the house right then.

“Is it tomorrow already?” he asked with a grin.

“Maybe I’d like a little pillow talk,” she stated. “But here’s the deal, we just talk. I’m not in the mood for any wild sexual escapades with you tonight no matter how good they were the first time. But I do just want the company of a good man tonight.”

“I’m a good man?” he asked.

“I think under that façade you’ve created about being a playboy, there is a good and caring man screaming to be let out,” she admitted.

“Maybe so,” he stated as he saw she was at least clothed. “Under one condition though.”

“Here it is,” she chuckled and rolled her eyes.

“I get to cook you breakfast in the morning this time,” he said with a grin.

“Deal,” she stated.

“I…normally sleep in the buff,” he stated with an embarrassed smile.

“And?” she asked.

“Well, I’m not wearing anything underneath this robe,” he stated.

“I’ve seen it before,” she stated. “Go for it.”

“Really?” he laughed.

“I’m prepared for bed,” she admitted. “I like your big shirts and will probably steal one.”

“Theft can get you punished,” he chuckled.

“What’s the punishment?” she asked.

“Maybe having to repeat the process of stealing a shirt?” he asked with a grin.

“Stop flirting and get into bed,” she ordered. “It’s a bit chilly in here.”

“Yes, ma’am, Senior Pilot, ma’am,” he stated and pulled off the robe before climbing into the bed with her. She snuggled up to him as he put his arm over her shoulders and pulled her in a little closer.

“So?” she asked.

“If I start snoring, are you going to be mad?” he chuckled.

“I’ll roll you over like I did before,” she said with a smile as she scratched at his chest. “I’m probably not the first woman to make you roll over in your sleep.”

“You’re trying to get me to incriminate myself, aren’t you?” he asked with a chuckle as he traced a circle on her shoulder.

“Does that make you nervous?” she asked.

“Maybe a little,” he chuckled.

“Just be yourself tonight,” she stated. “Without trying to seduce me, of course.”

“What’s the fun in that?” he asked playfully.

“I’d prefer just cuddling tonight, okay?” she stated. “If you can’t handle that, I can always go home.”

“No, I’m adult enough to be content lying here with a beautiful woman and just chatting until we both go to sleep,” he stated as he noticed she hadn’t moved.

“Bet you go to sleep before me,” she chuckled.

“You could be right,” he said as she got a little more comfortable and they continued their chat from earlier. It was an unusual situation for him as he thought very highly of her and by this time, he was normally heavy into the fooling around with whatever woman he had in his bed. But Larissa was far different from the other women he went after and he was perfectly content to obey her wishes that evening. It didn’t take long for him to start nodding off as she suspected and start snoring slightly. She managed to roll him over towards her and cuddled up behind him. He reached his arm out in his sleep and pulled her in as she smiled wondering if she had him right where she wanted him. The thoughts continued in her head as she fell asleep herself.

 

CHAPTER 27



The next morning, Ryan woke up alone in bed once again. He rolled over and didn’t see Larissa anywhere as he sighed and felt like she had run away again. Pulling on a t-shirt and workout shorts, he headed downstairs and smelled something coming from his kitchen. Rounding the corner from the staircase, he found her already in the kitchen making breakfast.

“Hey,” she said with a smile. “Sleep well?”

“Like a rock,” he stated as she made up a cup of java and handed it over.

“Well, you’re slightly more comfortable than a rock,” she admitted with a grin.

“I thought the deal was I cook breakfast,” he said as he took a sip of the java.

“Too strong?” she asked.

“Just a bit,” he admitted.

“But yes, I figured since I was up, I’d go ahead and cook breakfast if that’s okay,” she said as she retrieved the cup and added a bit of tap water into it.

“No, I’m good with that,” he admitted as he took another sip. “That’s perfect.”

“Not used to having someone else mess around in your kitchen?” she asked with a grin.

“Other than Chuck?” he asked with a laugh.

“Well, I’d hope he isn’t running around the house in one of your shirts and a pair of panties,” she said with a grin.

“I’m not going to say a word,” he laughed. “What are you cooking?”

“Eggs, sausage and toast,” she said as she looked over the items. “You don’t have much in your fridge right now.”

“I cleared it out before heading out on the mission,” he admitted. “I’ve got to make a run to the commissary today.”

“What are your plans for today, anyway?” she asked.

“I go back on alert this morning,” he stated.

“I was hoping we could get together on those flight manuals,” she requested.

“I think we can do that,” he said. “I’m paired up with Brains who probably needs the seasoning in the left seat.”

“She seemed to do okay on her first solo mission,” said Larissa. “I checked the flight logs from the excursion this morning and nothing was noted.”

“Regardless, she’ll need more time in the gunships,” said Ryan as his communicator beeped at him the same time hers did. They checked the message at the same time seeing it was a colony wide celebration planned in three days for the missions they had accomplished with selected members of the colony receiving awards.

“Interesting,” said Ryan.

“We’re having a barbeque?” she asked.

“Apparently, it’s that clubtail thing they brought back with them from the excursion,” he stated as he continued reading the message.

“You going to be dressed properly to receive an award?” she asked.

“I’m not getting an award,” he chuckled.

“Well, someone might have mentioned some acts of bravery you pulled off on the last mission,” she said slyly and added the eggs to the pan. “I’d be surprised if you didn’t get some recognition for what you did.”

“I just did my job,” he stated. “I don’t need recognition.”

“Well, you just might be getting it if you want it or not,” she stated. “You did a very brave thing out there and people noticed it. You should get recognized for it.”

“You did a very brave thing as well by flying when you shouldn’t,” he stated. “Each and every one of you should be recognized.”

“Who says we won’t be?” she asked with a grin and stirred the eggs.

“Little more heat on those,” he nodded at the stove.

“Oh, right,” she said and turned up the heat.

“Down a bit…right there,” he stated. “You know, you’re a great pilot…”

“But I’m a horrible cook,” she admitted. “I’m not exactly the Suzy Homemaker type.”

“No, you are not,” he admitted. “Damned if you aren’t the best pilot I’ve ever come across though.”

“Really?” she asked. “I knew your instructor at Northrop, Colonel Palmer. That man strapped on a ship, he didn’t fly it.”

“How’d you know Colonel Palmer?” asked Ryan.

“He was a squadron commander in the wing I was assigned to during the Saturn War,” said Larissa. “We flew together, I don’t know, three or four missions as large strikes. I never knew those fighters were capable of flying like that until I met him.”

“Hands down, I think you’ve got him beat,” said Ryan with a smile.

“You’re just saying that,” she chuckled.

“No, you are a great stick,” he admitted. “You make those gunships dance all over the sky like nobody’s business. I learn something every time I watch you fly.”

“You’re serious?” she asked.

“Of course,” he admitted. “Look, I can put ego in check long enough to know you’re a born and bred combat pilot. I could only imagine what you’d do with an advanced fighter.”

“I was lucky,” she admitted. “I mean, getting tossed into the fire as a young Lieutenant provided a steep learning curve and I did what I had to in order to survive.”

“Looks like you took the lessons to heart,” he stated. “You and I both know luck is a big part of what makes a good fighter pilot a great fighter pilot.”

“There is that,” said Larissa.

“So, allow yourself to have a bit of ego about it,” he stated.

“Maybe,” she said quietly as the eggs were done and the toast popped out of the machine. She made up two plates and brought them to the table as they continued chatting over breakfast and she began cleaning the dishes from that morning and last evening.

“You don’t have to do that,” he stated.

“You fed me something absolutely delicious last night,” she said. “It’s the least I can do.”

“No, I mean we have a dishwasher for that,” he said with a chuckled and nodded at the device.

“Oh, right,” she laughed and put everything into the device. It went to work immediately as she sat down and finished her cup of java.

“What time do you want to come by?” he asked.

“I figured we could go in together,” she stated. “I mean, unless you don’t want to be seen together or something.”

“Are you okay with it?” he asked.

“As two professional colleagues that live next to each other and come into work together?” she asked. “What is the story there?”

“I… I’m just being silly,” he stated. “I’ll obviously need to shower and change.”

“You had a shower last night,” she stated.

“It’s part of my morning ritual,” he said. “Plus, it wouldn’t do for me to go in there smelling like your body spray.”

“I didn’t realize it was that heavy,” she said with a chuckle.

“It wasn’t, but since we spent a little time last night close to each other I’d assume I have a lady scent that would draw interesting questions,” he chuckled.

“Probably not the first time that’s happened,” she said with a grin.

“First time with you,” he said with shrugged shoulders.

“A shower it is,” she stated. “Of course, since I’m technically on convalescent leave, I get to go in without a uniform.”

“Wearing other clothing, I’d hope,” he grinned.

“Probably so,” she laughed. “I’ll finish up here if you want to grab a shower.”

“Thanks,” he said with a smile as he headed upstairs and got everything ready for the day by laying out his flight suit and other clothing. Heading into the shower, he turned on the hot water and doffed his morning clothing. The shower door started steaming up as he finished setting everything out. Hopping inside, he let the water run over his body for several moments before grabbing the bottle of shampoo and started washing his hair. He was right in the middle of it when the door opening behind him got his attention.

“Excuse me?” he asked with his eyes closed.

“Just seeing if you needed a wingman in here,” stated Larissa as she slipped in behind him.

“Do friends shower together?” he asked as he rinsed the soap out of his hair. He had help as she reached up and helped run her hands through his hair.

“I’m sure they do,” she stated as he turned towards her and saw her standing on her tiptoes finishing running her hands through his hair. He stifled a chuckle as she looked at him.

“What?” she asked.

“I just never realized how short you are until I see you without shoes on,” he chuckled.

“I’m not that short!” she protested with a frown.

“Short enough,” he smiled. “Don’t try to argue.”

“Fine,” she stated. “Yeah, I guess I am a runt.”

“You do have redeeming qualities though,” he stated as his hands were about to wander.

“Such as?” she asked as she spun him around and scrubbed at his back with a washcloth.

“I forgot for the moment,” he stated with a pleasurable sigh.

“I figured as much,” she chuckled. “Front side next?”

“I think that can be arranged,” he smiled as he turned around. “Though you might as well get your back scrubbed as well.”

“I’m perfectly okay with that,” she stated. “As friends, of course.”

“Oh, of course,” he stated as he scrubbed at her back and pressed his body against hers.

“Feels like friendship might be harder than I thought,” she stated as he nuzzled down her neck.

“I’m just being a good wingman,” he stated. “Making sure you are taken care of.”

“And what might I need to have taken care of?” she asked as his hands went to work.

“Anything you ask of me,” he stated.

“I have to ask?” she asked with a naughty smile and her hands went behind her to his body.

“Ask, demand, suggest or whatever method you prefer,” he stated as she turned around.

“Or just let things go for a moment in time again like last night?” she asked.

“You might be surprised at how much you enjoy that,” he stated as he wrapped his arms around her waist and she with her arms around his neck.

“I guess it won’t hurt to try,” she stated as their mouths met and their emotions controlled their actions once again. Just as he was getting into it, she stopped him.

“Whoa, Captain, I have one request,” she stated.

“Yes, ma’am?” he asked.

“I don’t like shower sex,” she admitted.

“Oh, that’s not a problem,” he stated as he quickly turned off the water and picked her up by the waist. She wrapped her legs around him as he headed back to the bedroom.

“Your bed will get all wet!” she exclaimed.

“I’ll deal with that later,” he said as he got back into it.

“Yeah, it can wait,” she groaned.

********************
​

“Captain Kingston,” said Rachelle as Ryan breezed into the pilot briefing room. “You’re late.”

“Yeah, sorry,” he stated. “Had a shower issue.”

“It’s fixed?” asked Rachelle.

“I took care of it perfectly,” said Ryan with a grin as Larissa walked in.

“Captain Moody, you are supposed to he on house arrest,” said Rachelle.

“I’m going batty in the house and I’ve only got one more day,” she said with a sigh. “I thought it would be a good time for Captain Kingston and I to get caught up on those flight manuals Tinker instructed us to do.”

“If Mary finds you here, she’s going to flip her wig,” said Rachelle.

“I’ll take the heat,” said Larissa.

“Okay, Security has already been at work identifying the additional Raptors nests that came after you guys yesterday. They’ve identified one and hopefully will have something on the other soon,” said Rachelle as she got the pilot briefing under way. “Otherwise, the remaining Raptors from the fight headed back home with severely diminished numbers.”

“We planning a strike?” asked Dylan Roy.

“I’d like for you all to get together and start looking at it,” said Rachelle. “Initial planning before Charity gets out of the hospital tomorrow.”

“She’ll be on bed rest after that as well,” said Dylan.

“I have this feeling she’s going to be emulating certain pilots that should be at home resting,” said Rachelle as she glanced at Larissa. “She’ll be back before she should be.”

“You know our boss pretty well,” said Ryan with a laugh. “Do you have the intel packet?”

“Loaded on the server,” said Rachelle. “Otherwise, we’ll start working the other pilots back into the alert rotation. Larissa? You mind working on that as well?”

“I can,” said Larissa.

“Okay, I’ve got a meeting with the leadership in about fifteen minutes, so don’t break any toys while I’m gone please,” said Rachelle. “And Larissa? Can I have a word with you?”

“Sure,” said Larissa as she walked away with Rachelle. Once they were out of earshot from the group, Rachelle turned to her.

“If you want to catch an early morning hop in the sack with a good lookin guy, make sure it’s done a bit earlier so he’s at work on time please,” said Rachelle.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” said Larissa as she wondered how Rachelle knew.

“You’ve got it written all over your face,” said Rachelle. “Now, what you do on your own time is nobody’s business but your own. But we went the entire night with only one gunship on alert since Ryan needed some quality sack time. I allowed that since we need him refreshed and ready to go back out if the call comes.”

“I… yes, ma’am,” said Larissa.

“Otherwise, good catch if you can nail him down,” said Rachelle.

“That seems to be the going concern,” said Larissa.

“Just tell him straight up you aren’t going to put up with his crap,” said Rachelle. “He’s a good guy underneath that stereotypical pilot persona he likes to portray. He just needs a good woman to put a stop to it and make him mind his manners.”

“You think that’s me?” asked Larissa.

“It’s already happened once since we’ve been here,” said Rachelle.

“Really?” asked Larissa.

“Not my story to tell,” said Rachelle. “That’s up to you to find out his personal past.”

“Guys aren’t real happy when girls start digging into their past,” said Larissa.

“He needs to get it out honestly,” said Rachelle. “But there’s only four women in this colony strong enough to make him open up.”

“Who?” asked Larissa.

“You, Tasha, Zoe Kent and Vanessa Perez,” said Rachelle. “Tasha is already spoken for, Vanessa is, well, just Vanessa. Zoe likes to play games too much with him and that leaves you.”

“Tasha has a boyfriend?” asked Larissa.

“Not that she realizes, but it’ll happen eventually,” said Rachelle. “Now, don’t change the subject and focus.”

“I don’t know where we stand honestly,” said Larissa. “I’ve not exactly been great at the relationship game before.”

“There’s always a first,” said Rachelle. “Look, I’ve got to get to this meeting, but keep in mind what I’ve told you.”

“I will,” said Larissa. “And thank you for keeping a secret.”

“It’s what I do,” said Rachelle. “Anyway, once you get done with the alert rotation, can you do me one more favor?”

“Sure,” said Larissa.

“Start putting together the pilot roster for next rotation to the tropical island,” said Rachelle. “And put yourself at the top of the list as lead pilot.”

“Say what?” asked Larissa.

“You’ve done a bang up job and deserve a, what do you pilots call them, a milk run?” asked Rachelle. “So, two of you in a shuttle.”

“I’ll put some thought into it,” said Larissa.

“Ryan would make a good choice as well,” said Rachelle. “He’s busted his backside too.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Larissa with a sigh. “I just don’t want to show favoritism since it’s not been that long since…”

“Do what you have to,” said Rachelle. “Anyway, I’ve got to run.”

“I’ll let you know,” said Larissa. Rachelle departed and headed for Ben’s office where the others were meeting up. Even Tasha had snuck out with the same excuse of “going insane at home” though she allowed Anton to continue in her stead for one more day.

“We’re getting a lot of positive data coming out of the hospital,” said Mary after Ben opened up the meeting. “We’re releasing quite a few today for further rest at home and I do ask as section heads we keep them at home. These aren’t the ones that were asymptomatic. These are the ones that had the full on virus. So, please put your foot down if they try to return to work sooner.”

“That includes those that should be at home on bed rest,” said Ben as he looked at Tasha.

“I’ll do it,” said Tasha. Mary completed her portion of the briefing as they moved on to Security and Anton stepped up.

“We are continuing to search for the other Raptor nest or nests that came after our teams the other day,” he stated. “We found the one and turned over the targeting data to SIT to get the initial plans for an airstrike going. The others are being elusive, but we feel like we can find them before long.”

“Science? Have we determined how they are communicating?” asked Ben.

“No,” said Angeline as she nodded at Jim Kirk.

“We know they are, but how is still beyond us,” said Kirk. “Plus, the tactics showed during the last combat operations against them is showing us these are the most intelligent creatures we’ve found since we started exploring off Earth.”

“Are they intelligent or are they just adapting quicker?” asked Cyrus.

“The ability to quickly adapt to changes in the environment are indicators of higher intelligence,” said Kirk. “The fact they were adapting to the tactics used means we are dealing with a higher form of intelligence than anything we’ve encountered.”

“Do we know how many there are?” asked Ben.

“We’ve kept the recon flights for colony security at under 300 kilometers or so, but that means we are still looking at a significant area of land,” said Anton.

“That’s a lot of ground,” said Ben. “But nothing closer than that?”

“No,” said Kirk. “We’ve made sure to watch the closer approaches out to ten kilometers just to make sure.”

“Ten clicks doesn’t give us a lot of time,” said Tasha. “Especially if we’re dealing with the larger groups like we saw.”

“But it’s enough to get something into place,” said Ben. “I’ll agree it’s not easy with increased numbers, but we are holding our own for the moment.”

“I’d rather take it to their front yard,” said Cyrus.

“We are requesting data on the supply of weapons for the gunships,” said Anton. “They seem to be the best long range assets we have.”

“We’re searching through the remaining supplies to determine that,” said Rachelle. “We’ve still got a lot of equipment we haven’t inventoried and distributed, so we could have more.”

“How much do we have now that we know of?” asked Ben.

“We have 686 Apache missiles remaining,” said Rachelle. “That seems to be the best weapon to use against them. Approximately 2,000 of the older unguided rockets that aren’t used as much. About 400,000 30mm cannon rounds and I don’t know how many pulse electron or plasma charges we have left since we added the Santa Maria’s compliment to our stores.”

“So, not a lot,” said Ben.

“That seems like a lot,” said Rachelle.

“Not when you’re in combat,” said Ben. “I’d like munitions numbers from both Security and SIT by tomorrow morning please. Everything in our arsenal.”

“Will do,” said Rachelle as Tasha nodded as well.

“Hopefully with the amount of dead this time, they have a serious dent put in their capabilities,” said Kurt. “At least the ones closest to the colony.”

“We can hope,” said Ben. “We need to know for certain though.”

“We’re working on it,” said Tasha.

“Been working from home, haven’t you?” asked Mary.

“I… maybe,” said Tasha sheepishly.

“Remind me to talk to you later,” said Mary with a frown.

“Mom just got mad and is going to turn the car around,” chuckled Rachelle.

“Okay, new business?” asked Ben as the meeting continued. Several other items were discussed and the plans for the colony get together were put into play as Rachelle promised it would be a fitting party for everyone even with many who would be sick.

“Should we be having a party when the threat is still out there?” asked Tasha.

“I think the morale booster is needed,” said Mary. “The Raptors can’t beat us and the virus hasn’t stopped us. It will be nice to have a gathering to show our indominable spirit.”

“I can’t argue with that,” said Tasha.

“Is everyone going to be able to make an appearance?” asked Angeline.

“I think even those in the hospital can come over for a little while,” said Mary.

“So, Tasha gets to slow dance with Chuck,” asked Rachelle with a grin.

“As long as it’s just slow dancing, that should be okay,’ said Mary with a twinkle.

“Is he doing better?” asked Tasha.

“He’s still got at least another four or five days under direct care until I feel like he can be released,” said Mary. “You should drop by and say hi.”

“I’ll think about it,” said Tasha. “Captain Sokolov is keeping up with the guard rotation through the party, but we’re still down on manpower.”

“I plan on helping you and relieving the troopers so they can come by and get fed as a minimum,” said Kurt. “I was going to get with the two of you after the meeting to discuss it.”

“Same for my folks,” said Cyrus. “I’ll be assisting Kurt with that.”

“Thank you,” said Anton.

“Okay, tomorrow night then?” asked Ben.

“Can’t think of a better time,” said Rachelle who was planning everything.

“It’s set then,” said Ben. “Where at?”

“We felt like the new tavern would be best,” said Rachelle. “It’s still not entirely finished, but close enough to work.”

“I don’t want anyone going crazy with the booze though,” said Ben. “We still don’t know if the Raptors will come back or if the virus has been eradicated fully.”

“I know alcohol kills it,” said Jim Kirk. “I plan on killing it internally.”

“Oh, do you now?” laughed Angeline.

“I think I have a bottle coming my way,” said Kirk as he glanced over at Cyrus.

“You’ve got a case if you want them,” said Cyrus.

“He’s earned it,” said Ben. “Also, I’d like everyone’s inputs on awards and recognition by this evening please. Those that have gone well above and beyond. I recognize the fact everyone has upped their game in the last couple of weeks, but I would like to recognize those who have really shined in the past bit.”

“Any limits on that?” asked Rachelle.

“Can’t think of any good reason why,” said Ben. “But I’d like to recognize those who have really gone above and beyond.”

“I’ll get you a list,” said Rachelle.

“Anything else?” asked Ben. “We’ll probably forgo the next meeting or two in order to continue letting people heal. I know we’ve got a lot of work that’s still to be done, but we need to make sure our folks are back at a hundred percent before getting hot and heavy into finishing this place up and preparing for Expedition 2.”

“Also, I do plan on sending down the next wave to Rachelle Island for the R and R rotation,” said Ben. “Both Science and Security assure me it’s extremely unlikely there is any harmful animals or insects on the island as we would have encountered it by now, but I’d still like some research and security ops on the next rotation in order to fully cover the island. Until we can cover the whole thing, there is still a risk involved.”

“So, do you want a full research trip?” asked Angeline.

“I think we can work into the two days of work, three days off rotation at this point,” said Ben. “Obviously, Engineering will have a lot of planning to do, but it’s time for our folks to start getting some quality rest in a nice place.”

“No arguments here,” said Kurt. “When?”

“Probably in another week once our manpower gets flushed back out,” said Ben. “I don’t want to cut us back to the bone just yet.”

“How many can go down?” asked Rachelle. “Asking for planning purposes.”

“Two shuttles and a gunship, I think,” said Ben. “That gives 70 people the chance to go.”

“You want to send down a gunship with the Raptor threat hanging over our heads?” asked Tasha.

“I’m open to discussions about it,” said Ben.

“Let me do some thinking,” said Tasha.

“Okay, if there’s nothing else, let’s get back to work,” said Ben. The leadership headed out and caught up with counterparts to work the issues that had come up. Rachelle headed back to the SIT landing pads and caught up with Larissa just as she had finished the alert rotation for the next week.

“Doing Charity’s job for her,” chuckled Rachelle as she looked over the work.

“I’d like the boss to not have a thing to worry about when she comes back,” said Larissa. “I also have a list of names to run by you for the next rotation to paradise.”

“Speaking of, that just doubled,” said Rachelle. “Two shuttles and a gunship.”

“Oh, great,” said Larissa. “I’m not sure we can support that with the amount of pilots that are down at the moment.”

“It’s not for another week or maybe longer,” said Rachelle.

“In that case, it’s doable,” said Larissa. “Here’s the list.”

Rachelle took the list and scanned it over quickly. “No Ryan?”

“Again, I don’t want to be the one that people think is playing favorites,” said Larissa.

“Okay, your call, but you get to break the news to him,” said Rachelle.

“Not going to make it easy, are you?” asked Larissa with a frown.

“All part of the leadership skill set,” said Rachelle. “Look, everyone here knows how much he kicked ass recently. It’s going to look even more suspicious if he’s not on the trip.”

“I see what you mean,” said Larissa with a sigh.

“Look, do what you think is right,” said Rachelle.

“He’d be on every trip then,” said Larissa. “He’s been the best pilot since we’ve been here.”

“And obviously you’ve been slacking off at your job,” said Rachelle.

“Well, no, but-” started Larissa and was cut off.

“There are no buts in this conversation,” said Rachelle. “You are also a great pilot and everyone here recognizes that fact. Why else did Tinker pick you for that first mission? Ryan just has gotten some opportunities to show his own talents since we’ve been here.”

“I understand,” said Larissa.

“So, this is your ego talking? Can’t handle another pilot getting some recognition and you sit on the sidelines?” asked Rachelle.

“No!” protested Larissa.

“So?” asked Rachelle.

“I just felt like I could do more, that’s all,” said Larissa.

“Charity picked you to come up with the combat tactics each and every pilot is going to use,” said Rachelle. “She picked you to be the Senior Pilot out of the entire lot of you. You’ve got three missions against Raptors now that have gone off without a hitch. Every time you fly a gunship, you land that thing so perfect nobody can tell they are on the ground. So, why the sudden lack of confidence in your abilities?”

“I don’t know,” said Larissa.

“Look, I don’t know where this whole thing is coming from, but nobody is thinking any less of you since Ryan happened to have a great mission,” said Rachelle. “Normally, I’d suggest finding a hot guy, getting drunk and taking advantage of him to forget about whatever’s on your brain, but you’ve already done that.”

“Well, two out of the three at least,” chuckled Larissa.

“Try all three at the same time then,” grinned Rachelle.

“Maybe so,” said Larissa with a laugh. “I’ll think about it.”

“Or don’t think about it,” said Rachelle. “Just do what you have been doing and move forward.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Larissa. “Let me revise that listing once again.”

“Okay, let me know please,” said Rachelle as she departed. Larissa headed inside and motioned Ryan out where he, Krystal and Dylan continued to plan the attacks against the Raptor nests. They all decided to take a break as Ryan came out and gave her a smile.

“So, I’ve got a dilemma,” she stated as she got him away from the others.

“Oh?” he asked.

“I’m supposed to be setting up the pilots for the next rotation to the tropical island,” she stated.

“Okay,” he nodded.

“You’ve done the most out of everyone here and you straight up deserve that trip more than anyone,” she said.

“But?” he asked.

“I… don’t want it to seem like favoritism if I picked you,” she stated meekly.

“So, don’t pick me,” he said with shrugged shoulders. “I can go on another rotation and hang out with you here.”

“Yeah, about that…” said Larissa as her eyes darted away.

“You’re the lead pilot,” said Ryan.

“Yeah,” she stated. “We’ve got two shuttles and a gunship going down this time.”

“Minimum of three pilots,” he stated. “Who else?”

“Well, Yukon deserves a chance,” said Larissa. “He’s been standing alert since this thing started and hasn’t had a break nor an out of colony mission.”

“Okay, and the other?” he asked.

“I was thinking Redeye,” she stated.

“Okay, that sounds fine,” said Ryan. “Look, you aren’t hurting my feelings by not sending me this rotation. I can wait for the next trip.”

Larissa looked away from him as she didn’t feel it was right what she was doing. And if she didn’t feel right about it, chances are it wasn’t right period.

“You know what? Screw that,” she stated. “You’re going.”

“You sure?” he asked.

“Yeah, gunship pilot,” she stated. “Redeye can be your right seat.”

“I promise you a nicely cooked meal while we’re there,” he said with a grin.

“I was hoping for one before then as well,” she grinned, feeling like she made the right choice.

“You could be in luck,” he laughed. “You’re going to the party tomorrow, right?”

“I’ll be on alert,” she stated with a sigh.

“That sucks,” he scoffed.

“So, you’ll have to behave yourself,” she stated.

“Or?” he asked.

“Or I’ll make you wish you had,” she said directly and looked into his eyes.

“I’ll see if I can control myself,” he grinned. “But if I get snagged up by Marci Dubose, you can’t blame me at all.”

“You’d better have a little more control than that,” she frowned at him.

“So, you wouldn’t mind me dropping in on you this evening?” he asked.

“Well, you’re on alert still,” she replied. “You shouldn’t be playing hooky.”

“So… you going to bring me something to eat?” he grinned.

“You really want my cooking?” she laughed.

“I’d be okay with it,” he grinned.

“Anyway, let me get this done and over to Rachelle,” said Larissa. “You be good.”

“I’ll try,” he grinned as she hesitated before departing. He saw the signal and reached over and gave her a quick kiss before leaving.

“Too soon?” he asked as she didn’t really reciprocate the gesture.

“No… I’m weird,” she sighed and gave him a smile. “See you later, okay?”

“See you then,” he smiled. Larissa quickly typed up the list and sent it over to Rachelle and courtesy copied Charity since she was about to be released the next day. As soon as she finished up, she headed back home where Vanessa was lying on the couch watching an older show.

“Hey, girl,” said Larissa.

“Hey, chica,” said Vanessa. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good actually,” said Larissa. “I need a favor.”

“Sure,” said Vanessa as she turned off the show.

“I mean, it doesn’t have to be now,” said Larissa.

“I’m not doing anything serious,” said Vanessa as she sat up. “What can I help with?”

“Teach me to cook,” said Larissa.

“You understand that’s not something easily accomplished in a single afternoon?” asked Vanessa. “That takes a little time and practice.”

“Well… let’s get it started at least,” said Larissa.

“Okay, get changed,” said Vanessa.

“What I’m wearing isn’t okay?” asked Larissa as she looked down at the shorts and t-shirt.

“Not the way I cook, chica,” said Vanessa with a grin. “Trust me, put on something you don’t mind getting messed up.”

 

CHAPTER 28



The barbeque planned for the colony was a smashing success as most that were able to show came out. Mary had lifted the restrictions on the face masks as the dangers of catching the virus had been completely negated by the application of the medications they had all taken. Even those in the hospital were allowed to come out for a brief period either in a hover-chair or assisted by others. The alert pilots and Security Forces were relieved and were able to come over and grab some of the freshly cooked clubtail creature Kurt and his team had brought back. Since they had been on an extended trip, they were able to bring back several hundred kilograms of the meat and made plans to get more very soon. Everyone commented favorably on it as Ben saw they very likely had yet another food to add to their diets.

“I’m glad you were able to come out,” said Tasha as she saw Chuck being pushed in a Hover-chair by Isabella Lopez. “However, making that poor girl push you around here?”

“I told her I would be fine walking,” said Chuck.

“And I told you my patients will not argue with me when I tell them to sit their backsides in a chair and allow me to move them around,” said Izzy.

“Don’t argue with her, Doctor,” said Lieutenant Aaron Jackson as he strolled up. “Trust me on this, you aren’t going to win.”

“He’s right,” said Izzy with a smile as she collected a kiss from her fiancé.

“I’ll take him from here if that’s okay,” said Tasha.

“Don’t let him wander around,” warned Izzy. “No matter how stubborn he is.”

“He knows better than to argue with me,” said Tasha with a laugh.

“Do I?” asked Chuck.

“Keep your ass in that chair,” said Tasha.

“I’ll be okay moving on my own a bit,” he stated and started to get up.

“Did you not hear me?” she asked as she grabbed at his hospital robe and pulled backwards.

“I’m okay! I promise!” he exclaimed and had a coughing fit.

“Yeah, you sure are,” said Tasha as she patted him on the back and he took a quick breath from the oxygen tank he had with him.

“Okay, if you’re chauffeuring me, at least let me get something to eat,” said Chuck in a raspy voice after he recovered.

“Or you could tell me what you want and I’ll get it,” suggested Tasha.

“Well, I’d like to look over the food at least,” he said crossly.

“Don’t get irate with me,” said Tasha. “It’s not my fault you caught that bug.”

“No, it surely isn’t,” he stated as she brought him to the serving line where the SIT Team was handing out the items on the line.

“I’m glad you could join us!” exclaimed Rachelle. “And you brought your maid.”

“You’re about to get made in a minute,” said Tasha with a frown.

“What’ll it be, Chuck?” asked Rachelle as she ignored Tasha’s threats once again.

“Some of the baked beans, potato salad and one of those delicious smelling steaks,” said Chuck.

“Make it two, please,” said Tasha. “Though I’d like the mac and cheese instead of the beans.”

“Coming right up,” said Rachelle as she quickly got both plates and handed them off to Chuck.

“Make yourself useful and carry these,” she ordered.

“I’m not even going to comment,” he said while shaking his head.

“That’s a wise decision,” she agreed. “Any table in particular?”

“How about over at the pilot’s area?” asked Chuck. “I haven’t seen Ryan since I got this.”

“Okay,” said Tasha as she pushed the Hover-Chair over to the table.

“Roomie!” exclaimed Ryan as he came from around the table and shook Chuck’s hand. “I tried to get in to see you today, but was banished by the evil nurses and even my best charms didn’t work on getting by.”

“Were you going to sneak me in a cheeseburger?” laughed Chuck.

“A flask of booze actually,” laughed Ryan. “Make some room, guys.”

“Drink?” asked Tasha as she helped Chuck into the chair at the table.

“Anything with sugar will work,” said Chuck. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” said Tasha with a smile as she headed over to the drink stand.

“First time out as well?” asked Lieutenant Sonya Griffith.

“Yeah, you too, right?” asked Chuck as he got comfortable.

“Not exactly,” said Sonya with a grin.

“Did you sneak out?” asked Chuck.

“Ask your roommate what he owes me,” she said with a grin.

“Now, I remember agreeing to diamonds for Runt,” said Ryan with a laugh. “You didn’t chime in on that deal.”

“Oh, I think you should be considering that for all the ladies that helped you,” said Courtney Rowe with a grin.

“What did you do again?” asked Ryan.

“I flew Tinker’s sick ass around that battlefield, that’s what!” exclaimed Rowe.

“Oh, did you now?” asked Charity with a frown.

“I mean, well, hell yeah I did!” exclaimed Rowe once again.

“She’s right, you know,” said Dylan Roy.

“Anyway, finish your story you started, Prancer,” stated Charity as she shot Courtney a grin.

“Okay,” said Ryan. “So, here we are lining up for what should be our last or close to last engagement with that group of Raptors. I’m busy getting ready to start marking targets when I hear this voice about ten octaves higher than usual screaming into the headset ‘I’m declaring an inflight emergency!’ as she’s coming in hard for a landing.”

“Now, I know you’re lying,” said Sam “Redeye” Gonzales.

“No, that’s the truth,” said Ryan.

“There’s no way Krystal’s voice could get any higher pitched than it already is,” said Sam as the group burst out in laughter.

“I really hate you,” said Krystal as she blushed up.

“Yeah, if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought Minnie Mouse was flying that second gunship,” said Ryan with a laugh. “So, of course I ask what the inflight emergency is and she tells me it’s a clogged exhaust manifold.”

“Oh,” said Charity and withheld a laugh.

“Those alarms scared me to death!” exclaimed Krystal. She looked around and saw the remainder of the pilots trying not to laugh. “What?”

“Clogged exhaust manifold?” asked Sonya.

“Yeah, why?” asked Krystal as she saw the others trying really hard not to laugh.

“That’s not exactly a big deal,” said Sonya as she held back a laugh.

“Do what?” asked Krystal.

“You probably had at least a half hour of flight time left even if they were clogging,” said Charity as the others continued trying to hold in the laughter. “The manufacturers make those sensors a little too sensitive.”

“Say what?” asked Krystal as nobody could hold in the laughter any longer and started roaring.

“Probably could have made it back to the colony,” said Dylan between laughs.

“What didn’t you say anything?!” she demanded as she looked at Ryan.

“I didn’t get a chance to!” he exclaimed. “I told you to hold tight and by that time, you were already landing the thing!”

“I could have taken back off!” protested Krystal.

“Unfortunately, no,” said Charity. “Once you land and shut down the engines, the safety protocols won’t allow you to take back off until you clean the manifold.”

“You mean to tell me I went through all that and didn’t have too?!” demanded Krystal.

“It worked out in the end,” said Ryan. “No big deal.”

“You weren’t out there lugging around those cans of ammo!” exclaimed Krystal. “Speaking of which, I’m getting back into the gym.”

“I think I mentioned something along those lines a couple of weeks ago,” said Nancy Owens with a grin. “Your backside was looking a bit plump in that bathing suit on the island.”

“It was not!” protested Krystal as she saw she was the object of everyone’s playful fun that evening. But she took it in stride as the pilots would eventually move onto someone else in their never ending quest to draw the ire of one of their comrades.

“Everyone enjoying themselves?” asked Ben as he came up to the table. He was making his rounds of every at the party and relaxing a bit for a change.

“Not everyone,” said Charity with a grin. “Gator learned something about her gunship today.”

“I’d tend to think you never stop learning,” said Ben.

“Oh, I got a real education tonight, sir,” said Krystal with a frown.

“I probably shouldn’t ask,” said Ben as he turned to Charity. “Ms. Steele, can I borrow your man for a few moments?”

“Depends on what you want to do with him,” said Charity as she grinned at Mark Bennett. Through the virus, he had stayed healthy since he had the treatment less than a year prior to leaving. However, he was now taking care of the follow up treatment of not only Charity, but his daughter Nicole who had caught it as well.

“Nothing like you’d do,” chuckled Ben. “Anyway. Mark, got a couple of minutes to talk?”

“Yeah, but depending on how long it takes, I might have to file for overtime through my union,” he grinned as he wiped his hands and stood up.

“Good thing we don’t have unions,” chuckled Ben. “But being as I’m the boss, you can tear yourself away from Charity for a few.”

“Won’t argue with the management,” said Mark as he headed with Ben towards a more private spot. They collected another drink before getting into whatever Ben wanted to talk over.

“What can I help you with, sir?” asked Mark as he accepted an ice tea from Ben.

“How’s everything going with your daughter and Charity?” asked Ben.

“Nikki is doing better,” said Mark. “She caught it in the late stages and they were able to get the treatment into her before it starting affecting her badly. Charity, on the other hand, needs to slow down and let her body heal. It takes time and she’s impatient.”

“Should I speak with her about it?” asked Ben.

“She’d know it came from me,” said Mark with a chuckle. “So, I’d prefer you didn’t.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her and if I notice it, I’ll say something,” said Ben.

“That’ll work,” said Mark. “But you asked me out here for another reason.”

“I checked your personnel file and you used to be a lawyer,” said Ben as he got to the point.

“I did,” said Mark as he suddenly got a little guarded.

“Why’d you give it up?” asked Ben, point blank. “Your file doesn’t say exactly why.”

“Lost my faith in the system,” said Mark after a moment to think about his answer.

“Okay,” said Ben and prompted him to continue.

“I was… an idealist when it came to the law. I thought it would be more of me protecting people and helping them rather than the circus it had become. You probably know or heard the stories that trumped up charges were generally used to banish people from the domes to free up living space for friends and family of the ones in power,” said Mark. “It just became too much.”

“You were on the District Attorney’s staff, right?” asked Ben. “Prosecutor?”

“I was, which I basically helped sentence people to their deaths,” said Mark with a sigh. “You know what the chances were of living outside the domes. It was lawless out there.”

“So, why not a public defender?” asked Ben.

“On the same payroll of the prosecution?” asked Mark with a scoff.

“Or private practice,” said Ben. “Just seems like you gave up a considerable amount of your life to studying for the law only to turn your back on it.”

“It’s more like it turned its back on me,” said Mark. “You retired once upon a time. I’ve heard rumors you didn’t believe in what you were doing any more. I’m not so different.”

“I did retire because I lost my faith in the cause,” said Ben. “But after being here, I’m kind of rejuvenated into a new cause. One that I can support.”

“I’ve done my part here,” said Mark.

“Why engineering though?” asked Ben. “Seems like it’s completely unrelated to legal work.”

“It was honest work,” said Mark. “Building something instead of tearing it down.”

“You weren’t really tearing things down as a lawyer,” said Ben.

“I was tearing people’s lives up,” said Mark.

“Now you’re rebuilding for you and your daughter?” asked Ben, changing the subject slightly.

“We needed a fresh start,” said Mark. “When Grady mentioned a job off world, I figured we had a chance to start fresh someplace else.”

“Didn’t consider reconciliation with your wife?” asked Ben.

“If I was to be in my lawyer days, you’re fishing for information,” said Mark. “Or working at a segue into what you want to talk about.”

“Maybe I’m just curious,” said Ben. “You only can tell so much out of a file. If you aren’t comfortable talking about it, I can move on.”

“My wife, ex-wife if you will, walked out on us while I was still with the DA,” said Mark with a sigh. “Just upped and left the two of us hanging.”

“Sorry,” said Ben. “I don’t want to bring up a touchy subject if you aren’t comfortable.”

“No, it’s just been a long time since I talked about it,” said Mark. “She was a complete and utter drug addict. Didn’t start that way, but just took that turn. I checked her into rehab three times myself and just never did any good. Just a junkie by nature…”

“She’s inject, inhale, snort or swallow anything she could get her hands on. Hypermeth, Pluto Pleasure, Crystal Syn, even the old narcotics like heroin and cocaine if she could get her hands on it. And when she wasn’t high, she was drunk. Anyway, came home one day, daughter was asleep in her room and found a note saying she was taking off with a group heading to Oregon. Never heard from her since that day. Checked quietly and found she was bouncing from place to place in the Wasteland areas, but never attempted to make contact,” said Mark.

“Sorry,” said Ben.

“I was on the downhill slide with the DA and considering getting out around that time anyway,” said Mark. “So, figured that was as good a time as any. I started working for Grady as an entry level apprentice, went back to school while I was working and got an engineering degree and here I am.”

“Never thought to get back into the law?” asked Ben.

“Never looked back,” said Mark as he realized what Ben was getting at. “Why?”

“Because we don’t have any lawyers around here,” said Ben. “Something that might be rectified on the later Expeditions to my understanding, but for the moment, no lawyers.”

“We haven’t really needed them,” said Mark.

“However, I do need legal counsel from time to time,” said Ben. “I’m making this up as I go; rules, regulations and laws. I should have, we should have some form of oversight as to how and what we are doing from a legal standpoint.”

“Every civilization is built on laws,” said Mark. “The problem comes about when you have too many laws and regulations. Simple is always better and more preferred to complex.”

“That doesn’t sound like a lawyer talking,” chuckled Ben.

“I was an idealist,” chuckled Mark. “So, you’re calling me back into service?”

“Not if you aren’t comfortable,” said Ben. “But I do need a legal professional to go over what I’ve done so far. I can’t continue to act independently without someone there to let me know that perhaps I’ve gone too far. The leadership here lets me know if it’s a good or bad decision, but groupthink can be problematic as well.”

“It can,” said Mark. “Interesting Novus didn’t include a legal counsel on this trip.”

“I think it’s planned for later Expeditions,” said Ben. “This was bare bones, get the place up and running rather than the nice things to have.”

“Which they will try to work the system in the old way,” said Mark. “Remember, they will be coming from a society that already has established law. And that’s going to be quite different from here. The old ways are what helped kill us as a civilization on Earth. We have the chance for a fresh start here.”

“We do,” said Ben. “Which is why I’d like to have some form of judicial code already in place by the time they get here. Take away the opportunity for the old ways to creep back in.”

“You want me to come up with the laws here?” asked Mark.

“No, I’d like oversight on the laws we collectively come up with,” said Ben. “As you stated, we are starting over and we already have a lot of guidelines which we use. I wouldn’t mind codifying them into a proper legal document the colonists vote on.”

“A constitution of sorts?” asked Mark.

“Call it what you will, but we need to have a baseline document that outlines our laws here,” said Ben. “I guess you could call it the Novae Spes Constitution, but I’d want open and honest debate on the content like the old United States did some centuries ago.”

“They didn’t have 700 people wanting something different,” said Mark.

“Majority rules,” said Ben. “You wanted simple; there it is.”

“And those that don’t agree?” asked Mark. “You know it will come up.”

“Convince others of their cause and get the law changed once they have the votes,” said Ben. “Look, I’m all about a democratic form of government. I may be the leader of this colony, but I serve at the pleasure of the majority of the population. I’m not a king or one of the old lords of the manor. Eventually we will have elections and I might be sitting on the sidelines. But we have to have a basis for those elections as well as laws governing our civilization.”

“To include punishment?” asked Mark.

“If the needs warrant it, yes,” said Ben. “As to what that may be, we’ll have to figure that out as we go along.”

“You aren’t in a tough spot or anything, are you?” asked Mark with a chuckle.

“I’m an old soldier,” said Ben. “I like black and white personally. Too much gray area in the laws we left behind. This loophole or that exception. I understand every circumstance is going to have tiny differences, but by and large, the law is the law. Either you did or you didn’t break it. No real gray area in my opinion.”

“You’re kind of an idealist as well,” said Mark.

“No, just want to make sure we are covered when the next Expeditions arrive,” said Ben.

“I’ll do it,” said Mark after thinking for several moments.

“I’ll talk to Grady and let him know I’ll be bending your ear from time to time,” said Ben as he took out an old composition book and handed it to Mark. “These were some of the things I was tossing around in my head to start.”

Mark skimmed over the first couple of pages and saw a bare outline of a system of laws for the colony. While obviously they would need to be expanded, there was a pretty good start to a legal code he would have a major part in helping form. And furthermore, a set of laws his daughter would someday live under. He would have to research his past in order to create the future, but it was a challenge he would enjoy for the first time in a long time concerning the law.

“Do I have a deadline?” asked Mark.

“I want the colonists to vote on it before the next Expedition arrives,” said Ben. “You’ve got a little time, but time flies when you’re having fun and all.”

“Should be plenty of time if we want to keep it simple,” said Mark.

“And one more thing,” said Ben. “If you could help me organize the criteria for the legalization of marriage to start with. I do believe we’ve got more than a few couples ready to make that move in their lives.”

“I might be in that same boat eventually myself,” said Mark.

“Things going well with Charity?” asked Ben.

“Decent enough I suppose,” said Mark. “She takes a while to open up. But I think she’d say the same thing about me if you asked her. But we’ve not been together that long so who knows what’ll happen in the near future.”

“I don’t know enough about her history to give any advice,” said Ben. “Be yourself, I guess.”

“I’m not sure that will help,” said Mark with a laugh.

“I’ll let you get back to the party,” said Ben as they strolled back towards the others.

“I’m not wearing a suit when I go over this with you, just so you know,” said Mark with a grin.

“You’d be one funny looking guy out here in a suit,” said Ben.

“Okay, I’ll give this my best,” said Mark.

“Wouldn’t expect anything else,” said Ben.

“Why’d you ask about my wife and daughter anyway?” asked Mark.

“Proper mindset,” said Ben. “I knew your wife left you, though not specifically the conditions behind why she did. But I wanted you to remember where we came from as well as where we are going. Helps put things into context while drafting these things up.”

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re smarter than you let on?” asked Mark

“I try not to act like it sometimes,” chuckled Ben.

“I think this might just be fun,” said Mark.

“Everything we do here is kinda fun,” said Ben. “I like seeing everything going up, being built and the satisfaction of seeing it completed rather than tearing it down like I used to do.”

“We’ve got that brave new world thing going on, that’s for sure,” said Mark.

“Yep,” said Ben. “We’ll talk to you later.”

“Right, see you then,” said Mark as he headed back to the table and rejoined Charity.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Ben bringing me back to my former life,” said Mark as he remembered much of his law practice from days he thought he put behind him. But also smiled at the thought of being able to simplify things that were too complex and intertwined from before. It certainly was a brave new world they were striving for and he hoped he was up to the task of helping build it without the problems all societies faced with too many laws.

“Okay, folks, can I get your attention?” asked Ben over the PA system that had been installed. “Gather up a little bit if you could so we can start the awards ceremonies.”

The group came back into the tavern area and took seating where it was available. Everyone turned their attention to the stage where Rachelle and an assistant deposited several boxes on a table and stepped away. A podium was brought out and the microphone was placed on it and Ben adjusted it to where he needed it before starting.

“How’s everyone liking our new community area? Really nice, isn’t it?” asked Ben. The crowd cheered and applauded since everyone had a hand in building it.

“It’s certainly something we can be proud of like everything in this place,” said Ben. “It’s just like what we’re trying to accomplish here; working together and building everything from the ground up.”

“And getting drunk while doing it!” exclaimed a member from the crowd as they broke out in laughter and Ben smiled at the comment.

“I won’t say it doesn’t have its distractions and uneven corners,” laughed Ben. “But tonight, I felt like would be an opportune time to have everyone try something new and, in my opinion, quite tasty onto the diet. So, please give Doctor Kurt Sweeney and his team a round of applause for finding the Novae Spes equivalent of beef for continued cookouts.”

The crowd once again cheered for their teammates as Kurt nodded with a smile.

“But the real reason I’m up here is to recognize some individuals that have seriously gone above and beyond,” said Ben. “I recognize the fact we all rolled up our sleeves the day we got here and have worked hard to get this place rolling. But the individuals I’m going to honor tonight really went above and beyond in the performance of their duties. So, without further ado…”

“The first person I’m going to recognize is from the SIT Team,” said Ben as he pulled his first notecard out and started looking it over. “This person since the beginning of the crisis worked her tail off doing everything, helping with each and every section and I’m still not sure she’s caught any sleep since this whole thing started. So, the first person I’m going to recognize is the one and only, Rachelle Marchand.”

The crowd cheered as Rachelle had a shocked look on her face and went back to the front of the crowd. She looked slightly embarrassed at the situation as Ben started reading off her individual accomplishments over the past couple of weeks. She continued to blush up as he finished and retrieved the medal from the box.

“Director Rachelle Marchand, I’m honored to present you with the first ever Novae Spes Medal of Service,” said Ben as he hung the gold-plated medal over her neck as she blushed up even more as the crowd wildly cheered her on. “You, quite frankly, are an inspiration to everyone in this colony by setting a high bar during emergencies for everyone to emulate.”

“I’m… speechless,” said Rachelle as she had a smile as wide as her ears.

“Rachelle not talking? That’s a first,” said Mary loud enough for the nearby crowd to hear. Rachelle shot her a look of disapproval though with a smile on her face and shook her head.

“One more thing the pilot staff asked me to award you with,” said Ben as he retrieved a small manual from the table to his rear. “Here we have the official North American Air and Space Force guide to proper landing signals. Apparently, you were relaying for them to put the engines on full power and land at the same time. So, they asked me to give you this so you’re a bit better prepared in the future.”

Rachelle took the book with a laugh as the pilot section cheered louder than the others. Rachelle gave them a thumbs up and her normal cheesy grin before turning back to Ben.

“I think we should forego the speeches tonight since we have a bunch of awards to give out,” said Ben as a photographer came up and snapped a photo of the two. Rachelle took a bow and headed down for the seating set up for the award winners.

“Next up is an Engineer who also went above and beyond,” said Ben. “With Grady Stafford getting sick and with Cyrus Hendrix out of pocket for the first stages of the crisis, one person in particular stepped up in a huge way and helped lead his section into what most would consider wartime conditions. Going for nearly 33 hours nonstop, he singlehandedly rewired the electrical systems in the hospital making sure there was sufficient power for the massive influx in patients they received. So, the next award goes to Drew Collins of the Engineers!”

The crowd cheered wildly once again as Drew came up to the stage with the same embarrassed look Rachelle had. Ben presented him with the same Medal of Service and got a photo as Drew waved to the crowd as they cheered him on. Others were recognized by Ben in the aftermath as he came to the Medical side and honored several of the men and women that worked tirelessly through the entire ordeal.

“The next Hippocratic Medal of Service goes not to one of the Medical Directorate, but to a member that augmented them during their time of crisis. Every section pitched in somehow to the hospital, but I’ve heard this person worked well beyond her training in helping keep patients alive and moving forward. She went into action to save a member of the Science team after a cardiac arrest and brought him back to life as the Doctors were responding. She was working double shifts making sure her teammates were taken care of along with the patients, relieving them for a quick bite to eat or a shower. She truly provided the service before self in both her military service as well as the medical emergency. Sergeant Olivia Taylor, please come forward to receive your award,” said Ben.

The crowd cheered her on as Noah looked very proud of her at that moment. She joined Ben at the podium blushing slightly at the cheers from the crowd with the Medical section being a little louder than most. After hanging her medal, he spoke in a whisper to her and she paused before giving him a nod.

“This isn’t a speech, but I can’t think of a better time to announce it,” she stated into the microphone after adjusting it and had a huge smile. “Noah and I are expecting our first baby in another seven months.”

The crowd went wild at the announcement as cheers and whistles were heard from the colonists and everyone congratulated Noah who wore a large grin himself. Olivia headed down to the chairs as she was congratulated and hugged by nearly everyone as she found a seat. Ben resumed his place at the podium and paused, looking directly at Mary who looked very proud of her team. A slight grin came across his face as a slight frown came across hers and she shook her head slowly.

“The final Hippocratic Medal of Service goes to Doctor Mary Blevins,” said Ben as the cheering died down from the last award. “Through the crisis, she didn’t falter or fail, she treated patients one minute and was back in the lab looking for a cure the next. But most importantly, she had her team so well trained we didn’t loose a single patient to the virus. Each and every member of the Medical Directorate I spoke to said she was the rock they relied on when things looked to be at their worst. She is an inspiration, a true leader and, most importantly, a doctor not capable of failing her patients. She is truly a hero of the crisis we faced.”

The crowd cheered loudly and gave Mary the first standing ovation of the ceremony as the applause went on far longer than anyone else to that moment. She came up with the same embarrassment as the others as Ben hung the medal over her neck.

“I’m going to kill you,” she stated with a laugh. “I told you I didn’t want an award.”

“Well, I thought differently,” he said as they got a photo. “You earned the adoration of the crowd tonight.”

“Thank you,” she said and gave Ben a quick hug which the crowd cheered wildly for once again. Eventually, she took her seat with the others and was congratulated by everyone in the seating area as Ben moved on.

“Next up are the Medals of Courage for our Security Forces,” said Ben as he got to the next card. “However, his wife asked that I rename this first award to ‘Should have kept my backside inside the nice safe gunship instead of jumping into danger like always.’ But, in short, the Medal of Courage for Senior Sergeant Noah Taylor.”

“During the latest Raptor attacks, Senior Sergeant Taylor took leadership on only four personnel that headed north to counter the threat. And counter the threat they did. His sniper teams were responsible for killing 58 Raptors in total that would have advanced on the colony otherwise. Not only that, but when one of the gunships was forced down for a mechanical failure, he grabbed his weapons and jumped out of the gunship to help the team already on the ground. His actions helped prevent the landing area from being overrun and staved off the impending disaster until relief forces arrived,” said Ben. “So, Senior Sergeant Taylor? If you would please join me up front?”

Noah headed to Ben with a smile on his face as the crowd went wild once again. Olivia looked on proudly as he received his award and got the camera shot for posterity. The other three members of the strike force were given awards as well as the colonists knew without the four, they very likely would have been facing a significant attack against the colony in a time where the manpower was down so far barely a third of the towers were manned.

“And on that same note, please let me bring up Captain Ryan ‘Prancer’ Kingston and 2nd Lieutenant Krystal ‘Gator’ Zamora from SIT as well,” said Ben as the two headed up cheered on wildly by the remaining pilot staff. Ben went through the distinctive accomplishments of the pair and awarded them their medals before getting pictures individually with them.

“Hold up, Lieutenant,” said Ben as the pair was getting ready to leave. Krystal paused and looked a bit confused as Charity and Rachelle joined her on the stage.

“Not only is Lieutenant Zamora being honored here today, but her leadership has also decided she’s spent enough time in her current grade and is effectively promoting her to 1st Lieutenant on this day,” said Ben as he handed the new ranks to Charity and Rachelle who pinned them on her civilian clothing. Krystal looked on with pride as the crowd went wild once again and the three departed the stage.

“Charity, you might want to come back for this next round,” said Ben as he called up the other pilots who had charged in to rescue the strike force and awarded them all Distinguished Flying Crosses for their contributions during the operation. All were surprised at the action, though they also realized some of the number had snuck out of the hospital in order to help their teammates. After a group photo was completed, Ben saw there was one box remaining.

“Last award for the night, but certainly not the least is someone who seriously went above and beyond during not only this crisis, but a crisis not too many of us know about. While we were facing the most serious threat we’ve encountered so far on this planet, there was another crisis developing well away from here that easily could have taken the life of one of our own leaders had this person not risked their own life to help,” said Ben. “Doctor James Kirk, if you would please join me at the front?”

Jim Kirk headed to the front being applauded by the crowd as he had an embarrassed look on his face like many others. Once he got to Ben and took his place by his side, Ben continued with the presentation.

“Once we arrived and landed the Santa Maria, it was mentioned to me the ASD engines had to be dismantled in a very particular way. We only had one person on this entire Expedition capable of performing such a task and it fell on the shoulders of Doctor Kirk. He was hesitant at first knowing how dangerous an operation that could be, but agreed to do it with Cyrus Hendrix assisting him. Now, I didn’t know just how dangerous it could be until halfway through their mission on a remote island off the east coast.”

“During a fierce storm, one of the ASD units had been struck by lightning and had become active during the night. He had warned me about such a thing, but he also went back into a dangerous situation knowing the fate of the planet could hang in the balance if he didn’t get it shut down. During the procedure, the ASD engine came alive once again and started pulling him and Cyrus into the ASD window. It would have eventually pulled the entire island, the ocean surrounding it and who knows what else had he not stopped it. And this window would have gone on for potentially a decade or more. But during that time, Cyrus started getting pulled into the vacuum the window had created, saved at the last second by Jim. He managed to hold onto Cyrus long enough to get him back to safety and also get the engine shut down. Now, his methods were a little questionable as to how he turned it off, but it worked,” said Ben.

“So, I’m awarding the highest award we could think of. Not only did he risk his life to save a comrade in need, but managed to literally save the entire planet by his actions. Doctor James Kirk, I present you with the Medal of Valor for your actions on that day,” said Ben as he retrieved the medal from the box and hung it over Jim’s neck and beet red face. Another photo was taken and Kirk was about to leave before Ben stopped him. Grady and Cyrus came up to the podium carrying a presentation box and handed it over to Ben.

“Cyrus wanted to thank you individually and give you something to remind you of your actions that day on the island,” said Ben. “So, two things actually, first the island will be renamed Kirk Island since you were the first to suggest it. Second, Cyrus felt like the tool you used to help bring the ASD window to a stop should never be used for a lesser purpose again.”

Ben opened the box and presented the forging hammer Jim had used to sever the power lines. Cyrus had plated the head with platinum and replaced the original polymer handle with a piece of the Novae Maple and varnished it to a high sheen. A small inscription on the head indicated the date of the incident as well as a brief message of thankful service. Jim pulled it out of the box and held it over his head as the crowd cheered him on once again. He prepared to leave for the second time when Ben stopped him.

“As the old commercials on Earth used to say ‘but wait, there’s more!’ So, if you could please remain, Doctor Kirk,” said Ben. Kirk turned around and rejoined Ben as he continued.

“Now, the team sent out to dismantle the engines came back to our current viral outbreak here in the colony. So, they jumped from one extremely stressful situation to another. Cyrus took leadership over the Engineers, the Security Forces augmented their already stretched numbers and the pilots helped get the alert forces back to somewhat close to normal. But Jim? What did he do?”

“Doctor Kirk jumped headfirst into the study of the virus, looking at ways of beating it, of cheating the death it surely would have caused and destroying it for good. He tirelessly got straight to work finding what turned out to be the cure in short order. His actions of chasing down what seemed like an anomaly literally saved us once again and all of you who were sick have him to thank for getting healthy again. So, I present to you the Hippocratic Medal of Service as well since you were the key to defeating this virus,” said Ben as he hung the next medal over Jim’s neck. The crowd gave him a standing ovation and cheered wildly for even longer than Mary as Jim blushed up once again.

“But wait! There’s more…” said Ben as the crowd started dying down.

“I don’t know if we can ever thank you enough for everything you’ve done over the past couple of weeks to the colony as a whole, so we had to create a whole new way of honoring what you have done and probably will continue to do for us,” said Ben. “Tonight, it’s truly my pleasure to introduce a new honor society into our evolving culture here. As of today, I have ordained the Novae Spes Distinguished Order of Service to recognize those whose actions need to be remembered for all time with Doctor Kirk being the first inductee. Like the knights of old, only acts above and beyond to the service of our new civilization should be included.”

“We are truly honored by your acts of selfless service, your compassion, your intelligence and your bravery in the face of danger. We cannot think of any other accolade to present to you except to name the division for courage and bravery after you so all future generations of Novae Specians will know your contributions to the society we are building. Henceforth, I am ordering the James Kirk Division of Courage in the Novae Spes Distinguished Order of Service and it’s my privilege to make you the first inductee,” said Ben as he stepped back slightly and gave Jim a military salute. The crowd rose to their feet once again cheering louder than they had all night. The applause lasted for over two minutes until Jim started waving them down with an embarrassed smile.

“I think that one calls for a speech!” announced Mary from the awards section.

The crowd approved of the suggestion and chants of “Speech! Speech! Speech!” started growing as Ben waved at the microphone. Jim looked slightly embarrassed as he took his place behind the old style microphone and the crowd cheered him once again.

“Well, I wish I had this kind of response when I used to give midterm exams in my advanced astrophysics classes at college,” he grinned as the crowd erupted once again. It took several moments for the crowd to settle again as he smiled at them and put his hands on the podium. For someone who shied away from getting involved in public discourse, he was an absolute natural in front of the community.

“I… wow,” he started. “I really don’t know what to say about all this. I really don’t feel like I’ve gone above and beyond more than anyone else so to speak. I’ve just been gracious for every day I’ve been here and been able to work with the finest group of people I think I’ve ever come across in my life. Because in truth, each and every one of you are responsible for these awards as I am. Without you, I honestly don’t know where my life would be right now.”

“I used to be kind of an introvert, an outcast if you will, among my peers on Earth. But since being here, I find myself surrounded by people with a greater desire than mine to understand everything around them. To put forth the extra mile or take that extra five minutes to make sure something is done right. To constantly push the boundaries and advance us as a species for the betterment of all mankind. I’d tend to think each and every one of you would have done the same things I did to be standing here today. And who knows? Maybe in a couple of weeks we’ll be honoring one of you with the same awards because I know each and every one of you have the same potential within yourselves.”

“In reality, tonight is your night as well as mine,” he stated with a warm smile so unusual for Jim Kirk. “You pushed me to be a better man myself and we all push each other to better ourselves a little bit each day. So, I honor and thank each and every one of you tonight and every day going forward for helping me stand here tonight. There’s not any one single individual I can single out for thanks since each and every one of you has helped me so far.”

“I don’t want to take up much of your time this evening and I sincerely mean it when I say each and every one of you deserve the same recognition I do since each and every one of you has been or probably will be in the same position at some point since arriving here. But we will work together like always and defeat the threats as they come along,” he concluded with another smile.

The crowd gave him another standing ovation and applauded once again for an extended period. He again gave them a grin and waved at them as Ben let it continue until making his way over to Jim and shaking his hand. Kirk headed back to the seating where the remainder of the awards winners were sitting and was congratulated as he finally was able to find a seat.

“What, no standing ovation for finishing this up so you can continue the party?” asked Ben with a large grin. The crowd applauded him and laughed as he took his place behind the podium once again to conclude the remarks that evening.

“Tonight you saw a whole bunch of your fellow colonists get recognized for their acts. But Doctor Kirk is correct in saying each and every one of you have performed at a level I never thought possible. Each and every one of you have done things that deserve recognition and awards. I just ask we keep this going all the way past Expedition 10. Because we will need to show them all the path we have forged and show them in times of despair, we never faltered and would not accept defeat. We pushed forward for each other without even thinking of ourselves. That’s the lesson they will need to learn as to why we survive,” he stated. “In closing, I salute each and every one of you for the jobs you’ve done and will continue to do. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for pushing me to be a better man than I ever thought possible. Thank you and now get back to having a good time!”

The crowd applauded once again as Rachelle had programmed a fitting end to the ceremony as an ancient song from a band named Kool and the Gang played over the PA system. It was a catchy tune talking about “celebrating the good times” as more than a few colonists started dancing and that fever caught. Ben took several more photos with the groups of award winners as they finished up and headed back to their tables where they were congratulated by their immediate peers. Ryan and Krystal got razzed by their group of pilots, but each and every one of them were proud of their teammates for what they had done.

“Good job, hero,” said Larissa with a grin after she had congratulated Krystal.

“Does the hero get a kiss?” asked Ryan with a grin.

“Let’s take the public announcement a little slow, okay?” she asked.

“Maybe a hero’s kiss later?” he asked with a charming grin.

“You don’t stop, do you?” she asked in mock anger, but her eyes belied her stern words.

“No, ma’am, I do not,” he grinned.

“Either way, great job out there,” she said as she gave him a hug instead. It was okay for friends to hug as they headed back to their seats at the table. Tasha and Chuck were still there as Rachelle had put on her “party mix” and the music played in the background. The mood was nothing short of infectious that evening as everyone mixed and mingled with each other and took turns dancing. Tasha and Chuck continued talking as each and every person at the table saw the sparks between them going on that evening. Eventually, Isabella Lopez came over with bad news for Chuck.

“I’m sorry, Doctor, but it’s time you headed home for the evening,” she stated. “All good things come to an end.”

“Just five more minutes, mom?” he asked with a grin.

“No, I have to get into nurse mode and send you back to rest,” she stated.

“Okay, let me say my goodbyes,” said Chuck. “I can get myself back to the hospital.”

“You’d better,” said Izzy as she walked away. Chuck made his way around the table saying his goodbyes and congratulating the awards winners ne last time. As he reached his Hover-Seat, he stumbled slightly as the evening had taken a toll on him. Tasha reached out to steady him, but he already had his hand on the table and waved her off with a smile.

“I’m okay, Anna, I don’t…” said Chuck as his eyes opened wide at the realization of what he had just said.

“Oh, no!” muttered several people under their breath as Tasha gave Chuck the look of death. Her mouth fell open and she just shook her head slowly from side to side until she finally let out a disgusted “Oh.”

“Tasha, I’m-” started Chuck and was cut off.

“Don’t,” she stated in a growl as she put her hand up to him. “Don’t even.”

“Tasha, please,” said Chuck as he tried to stand. His body was still weak as she shook her head at him once again with looks that would kill and spun off. Chuck tried walking after her, but found out he couldn’t make it that far and fell to his knees.

“Dude, you need to go apologize to her,” said Sam as he came over to help Chuck up from his knees.

“No, you need to let her calm down before even trying to talk to her,” said Sonya as she helped from the opposite side.

“Cardinal sin,” muttered Dylan.

“No joke,” said Rachelle as she brought the chair over. “Chuck, trust me on this point from a woman’s perspective and leave it alone tonight. She’s going to need some time to cool off.”

“Dammit,” said Chuck as he fell back into the Hover-Chair and let out a large sigh and looked thoroughly disgusted with himself.

 

Chuck just can't catch a break to save his hide...always two steps forward, three steps back.

 

Well that kinda stinks...hope this gets straightened out Grand58742!

 

CHAPTER 29



The party started breaking up later that evening as those who needed rest had headed home, but a few had stuck around and the bottles had been broken out and passed around. Ben was helping clean up as the select few stuck around to finish off drinks and continue talking. Ben sipped at his own drink as he saw Cyrus was also helping with the cleanup and starting to send folks home that should be resting.

“When we throw a party, we throw a party,” said Cyrus as he gravitated over to Ben.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, but how does Rachelle plan on monitoring the drinks from here?” asked Ben as he took a sip of his own shine and lemon-lime.

“She created chits of sorts,” said Cyrus as he added a couple of cups to a recycle bag. “Basically, these little plastic tokens they exchange for drinks. Three a week, but they have to sign for them from SIT in advance.”

“Not a lot,” said Ben.

“Well, alcohol production is still down from the virus and she doesn’t think we should be getting out of control with the booze just yet,” said Cyrus as he gently shooed another two colonists home that evening.

“Regardless, this stuff does pack a kick,” said Ben as he sipped at his drink the residents had taken to calling “Space Shine.” It originally was called “Spes Shine” in honor of the planet, but the more one had, the further slurred the word “Spes” became. So, it was changed more out of simplification rather than a unique moniker. Ben knew it was pretty potent even with it being diluted somewhat by the juice added in and knew to take it easy.

“Yeah, we brought the proof down to about a hundred,” said Cyrus. “Still does a number.”

“That it does,” said Ben as he saw Rachelle helping clean up from the other side. She attempted to send Drew Collins home who was sitting at the bar, but he ignored her and kept drinking. She headed over to Ben and Cyrus to enlist help.

“Hey guys, Drew’s been at that for a while now, you think you could get him to head home?” she asked as she walked up and deposited a couple of items into the proper receptacles.

“Yeah, I’ve got it,” said Cyrus as he headed over to the bar.

“All right, time to get home,” said Cyrus as he tried pulling Drew away from the bar. “Up and at ‘em, you big ape.”

Drew let loose some completely unintelligible words and grabbed at the empty cup on the table. However, another member of the engineering team assisted in dragging the man away and towards his quarters. Another member stepped in for Cyrus and helped escort the man out of the bar and into the colony. Cyrus returned to help finish cleaning.

“What’s the story with him?” asked Ben.

“One of my best guys,” said Cyrus. “He only has one problem. The old saying of a sip of booze is too much and the barrel isn’t enough applies to him.”

“Alcoholic?” asked Ben.

“Nah, he just ties one on every once in a while,” said Cyrus. “He doesn’t seek it out, but when it gets past his lips, he doesn’t stop.”

“Not a problem, though?” asked Ben.

“Not in the least,” said Cyrus. “We all look out for him and cut him off when he’s had enough. Isn’t easy getting him away from the bottle and he tried fighting us once, but overall, he’s a good man to have around here.”

“Depressed or something?” asked Ben.

“You could say that,” said Cyrus. “The woman he loved missed the embarkation. There was a terrorist attack at her embarkation city and she never made the transport. They weren’t married, but he is still head over heels in love with her. I honestly don’t know if she made it out and got a spot reserved in a later Expedition or what, but he drinks because of her. To remember or forget. Whichever.”

“I didn’t recall our manifest being short,” said Ben.

“They changed it before we got underway,” said Rachelle. “It was probably buried in the emails we all got before leaving.”

“I have the advance manifests of some of the incoming personnel,” said Ben. “For the next couple of Expeditions at least.”

“I couldn’t even tell you her name since he’s never mentioned it,” said Cyrus. “I doubt he ever spoke her name to anyone around here. I could find out.”

“If it’s not too much trouble,” said Ben. “I do love a happy ending and all.”

“Hopeless romantic,” chuckled Rachelle. “Mary has got you right where she wants you.”

“Mary doesn’t have me anywhere,” chuckled Ben.

“Not yet, she doesn’t,” grinned Rachelle.

“And here I thought I was going to live out my days as a grumpy old man,” chuckled Ben.

“You can still be a grumpy old man,” laughed Cyrus. “Hell, look at me.”

“I won’t let anyone know it’s an act,” laughed Ben. “Let me know if you find anything out.”

“Will do,” said Cyrus as Ben tossed off the last of his drink.

“There is trouble in paradise for two members of our Expedition though,” said Rachelle.

“Oh?” asked Ben.

“Chuck pulled a serious dumb tonight,” said Rachelle. “Committed the cardinal sin where women are concerned.”

“That covers a lot of ground,” said Ben.

“What’s one thing you never do with a woman?” asked Rachelle.

“Again, that’s a pretty extensive list,” chuckled Cyrus.

“You ever call your wife by another woman’s name?” asked Rachelle.

“You see that my head is still attached to my body, right?” asked Cyrus with a laugh.

“Don’t tell me,” said Ben. “Tasha?”

“Yep, he decided to call her Anna,” said Rachelle. “It pretty much went downhill from there.”

“She got a bit chilly, I’d assume,” said Ben.

“You were married, you know what the after actions are,” said Rachelle.

“I never made that mistake,” chuckled Ben. “How were they doing beforehand?”

“Pretty well actually,” said Rachelle. “Finally getting their brains out of the way.”

“She’ll get over it,” said Ben.

“Not for a while, she won’t,” chuckled Rachelle. “Trust me, that kind of insult takes a long time, an abundance of flowers and chocolate and constant begging to forgive.”

“Noted,” said Ben. “Though we don’t have chocolate.”

“Not a lot anyway,” said Rachelle. “The food processors don’t really do a good imitation either, so the worldly pleasure is not happening.”

“This place was a huge hit,” said Ben as another two SIT members, Neal Cross and Tanya Sokolov came out to help finish the cleaning.

“I thought I told you to make like a tree and leave,” said Rachelle.

“Just finished putting the stuff into cold storage,” said Neal as he acknowledged Ben and Cyrus. “Commander, Chief.”

“Neal,” said Ben. “Mrs. Sokolov.”

“Commander Ben,” she stated with a shy smile.

“I love what you guys have done with the tavern,” said Ben. “Comfortable.”

“Kind of has that ‘I really want to be a tiki bar, but I’m going through this Old West saloon phase’ feel to it,” said Neal. “So, it’s more or less kinda a combination of the two to make it nouveau Novae Spes style.”

“Bet you can’t say that fast three times after a few drinks of Shine,” chuckled Ben.

“Bet I won’t even try,” laughed Neal as he wiped down the bar area.

“Speaking of, where did you get the lacquer for the bar?” asked Ben.

“It’s not lacquer,” said Neal. “One of the trees around here has a sap that we used. It applies like syrup and then you heat it to harden it. It forms like an indestructible and waterproof barrier when it hardens. Almost like a polymer, but it’s clear so the natural wood finish shows.”

“Really that tough?” asked Ben. Neal took out a hammer and gave the board a soft whack. Ben saw the hammer bounce off the wood without leaving a dent or scarring the surface.

“I do like these Novae Maple planks we used in the construction, though applying the sap and heating wasn’t easy to do,” said Cyrus.

“You two have outdone yourselves,” said Ben.

“Next up is beer,” said Neal with a grin. Ben saw Tanya speaking into her universal translator away from the group and turned back after the English word was given.

“She’s still having trouble with English?” asked Ben softly.

“She’s coming along great thanks to Neal,” said Rachelle.

“I’m sorry?” asked Ben. Neal explained a bit as Tanya came back over.

“Where this go?” she asked about a full recycling bag.

“To the blue bin at the east door,” said Neal slowly. She looked around and nodded before leaving and grabbing another bag along the way.

“Seems okay,” said Ben.

“She gets the gist of what we’re saying mostly,” said Neal. “There are a few times words escape her, but she’s learning very quickly being around it.”

The two continued chatting as Tanya rejoined them to finish cleaning up.

“How are your husband and daughter?” asked Ben.

“Eh, husband at home with daughter,” said Tanya. “School… to… to…”

“Tomorrow,” said Neal.

“Yes, school tomorrow,” said Tanya. “She is bed now. I help here and finish and go home.”

“She is doing well?” asked Ben.

“Sorry, slowly please,” said Tanya.

“She is doing well at school?” he asked.

“Oh, yes! She do very well,” said Tanya. “Um, high marks.”

“Good,” said Ben. “Your English is coming along very well.”

“Thank you very much, Commander,” she said with a smile. “It help be around it and speak with people. Help learn quick.”

“We can thank Neal for that,” said Rachelle as she explained the translator.

“Not bad,” said Ben. “I might assume we have others in later Expeditions that would have the same problems. Can you make more of them?”

“I could give that a try,” said Neal. Tanya wanted to thank Ben for inviting her family on the Expedition, but the conversation was a little more complicated than her limited English skills at the moment.

“It’s good your daughter is doing well,” said Ben. “She left quite the impression on Tasha at the landing platform when we left.”

“Sorry?” asked Tanya and held up the device. Ben stated the phrase again and the Russian translation came out. “Oh, yes. Tatyana love Major Tasha. She um, like family.”

“Major Tasha needs a little girl of her own,” chuckled Ben as he spoke slower and the translator went through his speech. “That girl would be spoiled.”

“Um, spoiled?” asked Tanya.

“Treated like a queen,” said Ben.

“Ah, yes,” smiled Tanya. “Just like Tatyana. She is Tsaritsa to Anton.”

“She means empress,” said Neal and immediately regretted it. Tanya looked at him suspiciously as he had picked up on the Russian word immediately.

“You speak, Russian, don’t you?” asked Tanya in Russian. Neal looked at her without saying anything as she decided to add something to see if it produced the effect she was looking for. “Don’t you, you filthy pig of a man.”

 

“Okay, that’s enough,” said Neal in Russian.

“You spoke Russian the whole time and never told me?” asked Tanya incredulously.

“I did,” said Neal. “Since I was a little boy. My parents were from Russia.”

“You never said anything!” exclaimed Tanya continuing in Russian.

“Because you needed to learn to communicate with everyone here,” said Neal. “I helped you by giving you a tool that helped you open up to everyone instead of just me.”

“You might have helped!” she exclaimed in Russian.

“I did,” he stated in Russian. “Have you not learned more English by speaking to many people rather than just me?”

“I suppose,” she stated and saw he was right. “I’m sorry. You had good intentions.”

“I did it because I wanted you to be a part of what we are building,” he finished and switched languages on her. “Now, back to English if you want to argue more.”

“No, no argue,” she stated and gave him a smile knowing he was right.

“How about you, Neal? Any girlfriends?” asked Ben.

“I’ve dated here and there with a couple,” said Neal. “It’s not easy finding Miss Perfect in this place.”

“Except for your boss which is off limits,” said Rachelle with a grin.

“Yes, of course,” laughed Neal. “I have this feeling once we get everyone healthy again, get this tavern up and running and start regular trips to the islands, we’re going to see an explosion of new relationships.”

“People need entertainment,” said Ben. “Maybe a sporting league or two?”

“We have the rec equipment for most sports,” said Rachelle. “I even saw a volleyball net set up at one point near the hospital.”

“Football,” said Cyrus. “If there’s anything from Earth we need to bring with us, it’s football.”

“My SIT football team would beat you Engineers soundly,” announced Rachelle.

“Oh, it’s so on,” said Cyrus. “Promise me, Ben, promise me you’ll put a football league together so we can show SIT what’s up.”

“Now, I would, but what about Allen and me?” asked Ben.

“I guess you could pick a team you wanted to be on,” said Cyrus.

“What if we wanted our own team?” asked Ben.

“Maybe you could pick a team from all the sections and do it that way?” asked Rachelle.

“That could work,” said Cyrus.

“I’ll put some thought into it,” said Ben. “What else needs to be done?”

“I think we’re finished for the night,” said Rachelle as she looked around.

“Let’s get some sleep,” said Ben as they broke up, but he, Cyrus and Rachelle headed out together since they lived on the same block. They chatted as they were heading home and passed by Tasha’s house where Ben heard a familiar sound with her grunting in the fenced in backyard.

“Is she okay?” asked Rachelle.

“Yeah, she’s fine,” said Ben with a chuckle. “Let me go talk to her.”

“What’s she doing?” asked Cyrus.

“Punching bag,” said Ben. “At least I hope it a bag and not a person.”

“You sure you don’t want female backup?” asked Rachelle.

“Nah, I know what to say,” said Ben as he walked towards the backyard. Sure enough, Tasha was wearing her workout shorts, a sports bra and had training gloves on while giving a punching bag everything she had.

“You aren’t specifically invited to my temper tantrum,” said Tasha without looking as she continued hitting and kicking the bag. Ben didn’t say a word, but went to the side and leaned up against the fence with his arms crossed. She continued for two of three more sets before walking away and taking in a deep breath. The bag was swinging back and forth as Ben came over to steady it as she came back to continue. She went through several punches and kicks before huffing and turning away for several moments. She came back and got back into her fighting stance and continued to beat the bag without mercy.

She paused for several moments after another barrage and sighed deeply before adjusting her gloves slightly. She looked at Ben as he stood there silently and without emotion. His expressionless face wouldn’t have told anyone else in the world except Kendrick Whitaker and Tasha what he was thinking at that moment, but she understood perfectly. He braced the bag as she sent several kicks towards it and finished by uppercutting right where the stomach would be.

She gave the bag a left and right combo before spinning and giving it an elbow again where the head would be. She backed off and performed a roundhouse kick before punching again and hit fairly hard with a grunt. She paused and shook her head slightly before going back into her fighting stance and unleashing two dozen furious kicks and punches, hammering the bag as she grunted even louder with each hit until she was panting from the exercise and walked away slightly with her hands on her hips and looking up at the sky.

Ben waited for her to come back as he swayed the bag slightly. She returned and got into a fighting stance before relaxing and sighing once again, halfheartedly punching at it before looking past it at Ben. He did little more than cock his head as she punched it lightly once again., more of a tap than anything else. She let out another long sigh and shook her head slightly as she removed her gloves and tossed them to the side.

“Yep,” he said finally as he felt like she had said enough.

“Thank you,” she stated as she came around the bag and gave him a hug. “You always know exactly what to say in cases like this.”

“Took you long enough to listen,” he chuckled. “Get some sleep, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” she said with a smile as her crisis had passed.

“See you tomorrow,” said Ben as he departed and she headed into her house. As Ben came around the outside of her house, he found Rachelle waiting for him in the front.

“What did you say to her?” she asked.

“Exactly what she needed to hear,” smiled Ben.

********************
​

“Everything’s looking good for the next trip down to paradise,” said Rachelle.

“Except who the leadership is,” said Mary as she did a quick check on Rachelle after she got a slightly elevated temperature. “Any ideas on that?”

“Ben hasn’t said,” said Rachelle. “Either he doesn’t know or is playing it close to the vest like he normally does.”

“He’s had a lot of things on his mind,” said Mary as she recorded the temperature. “Okay, I’ve got to do my vampire act.”

Rachelle winced as Mary took a vial of blood, but held the cotton patch in place as requested. “Want me to put in a good word for you? You’ve worked yourself to death here.”

“No, I’ll wait for my turn,” said Mary as she labeled the vial and sent it to the lab. “I do appreciate the offer though.”

“How’s Chuck doing today?” asked Rachelle as Mary taped the cotton patch in place.

“Depressed,” said Mary. “Writing Tasha a letter I think.”

“He certainly needs to pay some penance,” said Rachelle.

“I think Tasha will make him pay for it,” chuckled Mary.

“Ever happen to you?” asked Rachelle.

“From a boyfriend? Yeah, once,” said Mary.

“Didn’t go so well for him?” asked Rachelle.

“That was actually the confirmation I needed that he was cheating on me,” said Mary.

“Who would ever cheat on you?!” exclaimed Rachelle.

“Well, it was during my residency and I wasn’t at home a lot,” said Mary. “I had my suspicions and they were confirmed when I found her scrubs mixed in with mine and he called me by her name not once, but twice in the same conversation.”

“Oh, damn,” said Rachelle. “What’d you do?”

“Tossed his crap out the airlock onto the surface of Ganymede while he was at work,” grinned Mary. “And had the locks reprogrammed on the apartment.”

“Good for you, girl!” exclaimed Rachelle. “Let’s not give Tasha any ideas though.”

“No frozen surface of a moon here,” said Mary with a grin.

“She’d be more apt to dump Chuck onto that polar ice cap,” said Rachelle with a laugh.

“He deserves it for calling her another women’s name,” said Mary.

“Well, maybe for like two or three minutes at least,” said Rachelle.

“Anyway, she came by earlier for a checkup, but he was in physical therapy,” said Mary. “He asked if she’d been by and wanted to speak to her.”

“Who is his physical therapist?” asked Rachelle.

“Izzy,” grinned Mary. “And she and Tasha are friends. Chuck was showed no mercy today.”

“That’s just evil,” laughed Rachelle as Mary checked the readings from her bloodwork.

“Okay, you’re clean,” said Mary. “Probably a touch of hay fever. We’ve found some new pollens that are floating in.”

“Okay, so nothing to worry about?” asked Rachelle.

“No, but if you aren’t feeling better in a day or two, come back and we’ll recheck you,” said Mary. “Otherwise, you’ve got a prescription for some allergy meds, right?”

“Yeah, when I remember to take them,” said Rachelle sheepishly.

“Be different and try one tonight,” said Mary. “Anything else?”

“Nothing I can think of,” said Rachelle. “See you at poker tonight, right?”

“Yeah, I forgot about that,” said Mary. “Who’s hosting it?”

“You are,” laughed Rachelle.

“Yeah, I probably need to leave early and do some house cleaning,” said Mary.

“Well, I think you’ve earned an afternoon off,” said Rachelle. “See you later, okay?”

“Bye,” said Mary as she sighed and remembered she had agreed to host the next girl’s night out poker game. She messaged Ben and requested the afternoon off even though she still had a pile of work to be done. She was bone tired and she knew she needed some rest more than anything. He immediately replied and told her to take as much time as she needed. However, Mary was one of those people who didn’t like to leave work behind and started looking over the pile of files on her desk before leaving.

Mary sighed looking at the report in front of her and yawned. She made a snap decision in her mind she needed to get some rest in order to be at her best. Closing the file, she gathered up her things and headed towards the other offices, finding Vanessa Perez as she was looking for Doctor Chambless to inform him she was leaving for today.

“Doctor,” said Vanessa.

“Hey, I was looking for Doctor Chambless,” said Mary.

“He’s in with a patient right now,” said Vanessa. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, I’m taking the afternoon off and I wanted to let him know,” said Mary.

“You are taking an afternoon off?” asked Vanessa. “You never take time off.”

“I need some rest,” said Mary with a sigh.

“I can let him know,” said Vanessa. “No need for you to wait around for him.”

“You sure?” asked Mary.

“Of course,” said Vanessa with a smile. “It’s unusual enough for you to take time off, so, please go and I’ll handle it and have him give you a call if he needs anything.”

“Thank you,” said Mary as she was too tired to argue. “I’ll be at home cleaning up.”

“For the poker game tonight?” asked Vanessa as she walked Mary to the door and guarded her like royalty since she didn’t want Mary getting stopped by anyone.

“Oh, that’s right,” said Mary. “It’s your first time.”

“Yes,” said Vanessa with a grin. “I am making up some appetizers and finger food for tonight if that’s okay.”

“We normally just go the chip and dip route,” said Mary.

“Not after tonight,” grinned Vanessa. “You’ll invite me back every time even if it’s just to cook. I won’t get another chance at a first impression.”

“I look forward to it,” said Mary as they reached the door. “You sure about talking to Doctor Chambless? I can wait.”

“You need to get!” exclaimed Vanessa. “Go grab a nap or something as well.”

“Yeah, that might be a good idea,” said Mary with a yawn. “Okay, see you in a few hours.”

“Until then, Doctor,” said Vanessa as Mary walked out and headed home at a leisurely pace. Vanessa remembered after she left the inventory was short in some areas, but figured it could wait until Mary had gotten some rest and could think on it. The missing drug was unusual, but there were plenty of drugs that had been used during the outbreak they were still accounting for.

Mary arrived home and found it wasn’t as much of a disaster as she thought and quickly gave the house a quick cleaning before yawning and seeing her bed calling her name. She cleaned off her hands and laid down on the bed “just for a moment” as the sleep monster caught her immediately and she was out like a light. The only thing that woke her up was Angeline and Charlotte ringing her doorbell several hours later getting ready for the poker game.

Mary went into crisis mode as she hadn’t set anything up, but was informed to “get a shower, change into comfy clothes and let us get ready” by the pair. She halfheartedly helped, but eventually was banished to her bathroom by the pair as they got everything set up for that evening. Additional players arrived as well as bringing simple foods as Mary sampled Vanessa’s cooking, declaring “oh, my god, it’s hot!” at one of the dishes. Eventually, everyone was in place as they just socialized almost an hour before getting the game under way and taking small plates of the food to the table with them. Vanessa earned an invite back with the exclamation “even if it is just to cook!” from the group with Rachelle trying to hire her on as her personal chef. The games lasted well into the evening as they were just a group of friends having a good evening together rather than coworkers and management.

Another three pokers games at different locations were going on that evening as a semblance of “normal” was setting back in to the colony. With the sickness and the Raptor attacks, the colonists seemed more than determined to weather the storms coming their ways and prove in some small way they couldn’t be defeated by what the planet was throwing at them. Ben managed to defeat his foes three times at his game as the other players laughingly declared he was cheating and nobody got that lucky three times in a row. High spirits were the mood of the evening as everyone relaxed enough to forgot their cares for a few hours.

 

Thanks Grand this yarn could last for years "hint hint" don't know how you keep track of all the characters but I'm glad you do.
Thanks again for the Story
Chuck

 

CHAPTER 30



The next month flew by as the major construction got back underway in the colony and the improvements were making the place look more like a modern community rather than a rustic settlement. Additional buildings were put up as Ben increased the frequency of the trips to the tropical island, officially named “Rachelle Island” by a unanimous vote of the colonists. The containers that had been converted for living space were transported to the island as the rotations made good on their promise of two days of work combined with three days off and even some minor work was continued during the “relaxation” period. Most of the colonists affected by the virus were back up to full speed by then and getting into the swing of things.

Ben also resumed the science and exploration missions to the other locations on the planet with two more major locations being marked off the list. Several minor excursions were also performed as they headed back to locations for follow up or for gathering food for the colony. The clubtail creature was now almost a full time menu item as Kurt had discovered their herds numbered well over five million on the continent they were on and even more on other continents though with different subsects of the species. It was determined it was the Novae Spes version of cattle though outweighing their Earth counterparts by nearly two times. Plans were starting to be made to move a herd of them nearby and damming up one of the feeder creeks for the river to create them a habitat where they could thrive.

Additionally, three Raptor nests within 200 kilometers were identified and struck by the gunships and the threat of attacks against the colony had dropped to nearly zero. One pack had initially looked as if they were moving towards the colony, but were struck less than 10 kilometers from their nest and soundly defeated. They still hadn’t come up with a reliable method of capturing the creature to study it, but Science and Engineering continued their quest to build a bigger capture unit. Jim Kirk completed his analysis and came to the deduction the Raptors were far more intelligent than any creature encountered so far and probably had the ability to reason and problem solve. But until they found a method of communicating with them, they were only theories and possibilities.

“Hey, brother,” said Ryan as Chuck came down after waking up. Ryan had already been up early that morning getting ready for his turn on alert.

“What’s up,” said Chuck as he wiped at his face and headed straight for the java maker.

“I saw you on the next rotation to Rachelle Island,” said Ryan as he added several eggs to the pan he was cooking in. Since Chuck had been sick, Ryan had helped bring him back to health by encouraging him, making him go to his physical therapy sessions and making sure he ate healthy when he could.

“Finally,” said Chuck as he sipped at his java. “Getting sick sucked.”

“You’re over it?” asked Ryan as he stirred at the pan.

“My last official therapy session was yesterday with orders to continue on my own a minimum of four times a week,” said Chuck. “Gotta get my beach bod back.”

“Looking good for Tasha?” asked Ryan with a grin.

“We’re still not talking much,” said Chuck. “I think what we had passed us by.”

“She’s on the trip as well,” said Ryan.

“I noticed,” said Chuck as he sipped at the coffee and checked up on the Science teams that had been at work the previous evening.

“Maybe this is your chance for reconciliation,” said Ryan.

“I’ve apologized enough, I think,” said Chuck. “We weren’t a couple prior to that little social faux pas of mine and I don’t know if we ever will be at this point.”

“Plenty of others out there,” said Ryan. “Scooter seemed highly interested in you heading down.”

“Nancy? She’s got a cute thing going,” said Chuck.

“And Mackenzie made a comment as well,” said Ryan.

“Yeah, completely off limits,” said Chuck. “Her roommate wouldn’t approve.”

“I didn’t think that one through,” said Ryan. “Anna could be a problem.”

“The Nancy angle is intriguing,” said Chuck. “She’s got great eyes.”

“That she does,” said Ryan. “You know who else is intriguing? Etsu Ogawa over in your Directorate. She really has that nerdy cute thing going.”

“Completely off limits for me,” said Chuck. “I’m her supervisor.”

“So, open season for me?” grinned Ryan.

“Are you and Larissa on the outs again?” asked Chuck.

“Yeah, we’re on another ‘time out’ as she calls it,” said Ryan with a sigh.

“You two are unbelievable,” said Chuck.

“She’s got a lot of great things going for her and the moment I try to get a bit more serious, she tosses me back into the friend zone,” said Ryan with a sigh.

“Is she worth chasing?” asked Chuck.

“Very much so, but that would only push her away more,” said Ryan.

“Can’t go on like that forever,” said Chuck.

“I know,” said Ryan. “Which is why I plan on dating around while we’re on the friendship kick. I don’t know if she is serious, so I’m going to see what else is out there.”

“Is that why you checked out the other females heading down to the island?” asked Chuck with a grin as he took the plate from Ryan and started eating.

“Maybe,” grinned Ryan.

********************
​

“So, the leadership on the next rotation will be Kurt, Angeline, Tasha and Mary,” said Ben as he looked over the list. “Kurt, are you still planning your day trips?”

“Yes,” said Kurt as the other leadership looked at him. “I’m heading to some of the adjacent islands to see if we could put up some groves of the yellow fruit we found.”

“Need help?” asked Tasha. “I’d bet all 70 people would volunteer.”

“I’m taking a small crew,” said Kurt. “My team of eight will be deposited by the gunship.”

“I think Tasha is thinking ‘will work for food’ in light of what you’re doing,” chuckled Ben.

“I love that stuff!” exclaimed Tasha.

“And I hate you for it,” said Rachelle with a sigh. “It’s awesome.”

“We’ve scanned the surrounding islands?” asked Ben.

“Really no different than Rachelle Island,” said Kurt. “The ones we are looking at for orchards don’t have the major terrain features.”

“So, we’re adding a fourth leadership member since Kurt will be out of pocket for much of the days you are there,” said Ben. “Tasha, you have the lead.”

“Got it,” she stated.

“Any other new business?” asked Ben.

“So, I have a serious question for a change,” said Tasha.

“Serious and Tasha? I’m not convinced this is not a fantasy,” said Rachelle.

“Oh, I can be quite serious when taking your money at the poker table,” said Tasha.

“That’s why I’ve got my girl’s back,” said Charity. “And beat the brakes off everyone one of you.”

“Anyway…” said Ben as he kept the group from heading down that tangent.

“Anyway… my guys brought it to my attention that the year we are using still corresponds to Earth time. That could be a problem,” said Tasha.

“Because our year is longer and we won’t be in sync,” said Angeline. “Good point actually.”

“Yeah, we’re going to go behind Earth time,” said Tasha. “I mean, we’re coming up on the month of Alvarado and regardless, we’re already behind the Earth.”

“So, what have they been doing?” asked Ben.

“Using Earth years,” said Tasha. “But I was wondering if perhaps we shouldn’t consider redoing the year? New start and all?”

“What? This is year 1 or something?” asked Javier.

“Actually, yeah, that’s kinda what I was thinking,” said Tasha.

“Wipe the slate clean?” asked Javier as he thought Tasha was joking until he saw the look in Ben’s eyes and saw he was contemplating it. “Boss?”

“She does bring up a good point,” said Ben. “Whatever ship comes in here will be adjusted for lack of a better term to Earth time, but will be behind us… or ahead of us, whatever. Regardless, Tasha does bring up a good point that we maybe should be looking at something uniquely Novae Spes in years.”

“So, Year 1?” asked Javier.

“I’m not sure we go with year 0 or not,” said Ben. “Let’s face facts, we can’t confuse our future children by trying to keep up with the Earth since we’re creating a brand new start here. Novae Spes specific years as year 1 or 0 from the time we landed.”

“I guess we write that in the rule book?” asked Allen.

“Anyone have a better idea?” asked Ben. “We haven’t tracked things in Earth time since landing and we’ll be all kinds of out of whack with any future ships.”

“Year 1 it is,” said Mary. “Though I think we might have considered this before we did all the paperwork with the wrong year.”

“We get to blame Tasha,” said Ben.

“How is this my fault? I brought it up!” exclaimed Tasha.

“Because you could have brought it up beforehand,” said Ben as his eyes turned playful.

“It’s always my fault,” said Tasha with a sigh.

“Anyway, if there’s nothing else, we’ll meet again in three days,” said Ben as he concluded the staff meeting. Mary hung around afterwards and headed to Ben after he got done with his sidebar conversations.

“Can I help you?” he asked as Cyrus headed back to Grady with the answer to the question they had.

“Yeah… mind if I skip the rotation this time?” asked Mary.

“You deserve a break too,” said Ben.

“No, I know,” said Mary with a sigh. “But honestly, I’ve still got a lot of work to catch up on with inputting the data from the outbreak.”

“Don’t you have assistants for that?” he asked.

“I do and they are helping, but I have a lot of the work I have to review and sign off,” said Mary.

“And this can’t wait?” asked Ben. “You’ve worked as hard as anyone around here and deserve a little fun in the sun.”

“I know,” said Mary with a sigh. “But I really want to get this done and put it behind me. I can’t go on vacation because that’s all I’ll think about while I’m there.”

“I’ll make the move if you want, but I’d advise you take the time,” said Ben.

“I just need a couple of weeks and it’ll be finished,” said Mary.

“Okay, I’ll slip you in the rotation for two weeks, okay?” asked Ben.

“That’ll be fine,” said Mary with a smile and departed. “Thank you.”

“So, we need your approval for some cargo flights today,” said Charity as she and Rachelle came over with Allen.

“Cargo flights?” asked Ben.

“Delivering additional containers to the island,” said Allen. “New temp lodging facilities and storage units for what’s there already.”

“Ah, right,” said Ben as he looked at the tablet and approved the transport. “How is that going anyway?”

“Pretty good,” said Rachelle. “Between us and Engineering we’re outfitting the units before we send them down. Basically, they are just plug and play when we arrive.”

“Including the furnishings?” asked Ben as he looked through the listing of items on the manifest.

“Already set up in the units,” said Rachelle.

“Concrete?” asked Ben as he continued to scan.

“For the slabs we’re setting these things on,” said Allen. “I asked about that myself.”

“250 tons of it?” asked Ben.

“Additional construction,” said Allen. “Grady is sending it down early.”

“Hope it doesn’t get rained on,” said Ben with a chuckle. “Everyone eats enough there, right?”

“You still haven’t gone have you?” asked Rachelle.

“No,” said Ben. “I’m last up in the rotation until everyone gets a go.”

“You can use the time off as well,” said Allen.

“Not until everyone has had a trip,” said Ben. “Anything else from the SIT Bobbsey Twins?”

“Exactly who are the Bobbsey Twins?” asked Charity.

“Never mind,” said Ben with a sigh.

“No, we’re good now,” said Rachelle as she walked away and started looking up exactly who the Bobbsey Twins were and why it seemed to relate to them.

“So, anyway,” said Allen. “Back to your time off that you need.”

“As do you. So, you and Claire are heading down the next trip,” said Ben as he explained Mary had backed out for work reasons.

“I can mind the store here if you want to go,” suggested Allen.

“Again, not until everyone had gone there at least once,” said Ben.

“If you are going to send me, I’d like next week if that’s okay,” said Allen.

“Any reason why?” asked Ben.

“Anniversary,” said Allen. “That kind of trip would be a nice treat for Claire.”

“Done,” said Ben as he made the adjustments. “We need a leadership figure though.”

“How about Kendrick Whitaker?” asked Allen. “He’s been busting his tail as well.”

“I think that’ll do nicely,” said Ben. “How’s it coming with everyone getting rotated?”

“At 70 people per trip and seven trips so far, we’re well over halfway there,” said Allen.

“Add a third shuttle,” said Ben coming to a decision he had been considering for a couple of weeks. “We could do that, right?”

“No incoming threats from the Raptors,” said Allen. “I mean, nothing that’s been mentioned.”

“Tasha?” asked Ben as she was about to leave. “Can we speak with you a moment?”

“Commander?” she asked as she walked up.

“Any significant threats incoming?” asked Ben.

“Pack of plains lions spotted about 30 clicks to the southwest, but they tend to give us a wide berth when they see us,” said Tasha. “No Raptors sighted within the scanned zones out to 200 kilometers at the moment.”

“If we were to send an additional shuttle down, how much is that going to hurt?” asked Ben.

“Obviously, the ready reserve would be impacted,” she stated. “But right now, the threat board is clear enough that we should be okay.”

“So, you can afford to lose a bit more?” asked Ben.

“I can’t see why not,” said Tasha. “You moving everyone up in the rotation?”

“I’d like to get them down there while the weather is still good,” said Ben. “So, I’m contemplating sending down an additional shuttle full.”

“I think everyone would love that,” said Tasha.

“And make plans to have the Sergeant Major along with you,” said Ben as he explained the hole in the leadership heading down.

“I was going to speak to you later, but I want to promote Senior Sergeant Noah Taylor,” said Tasha. “He deserves the next level.”

“Which is a Warrant Officer if memory serves,” said Ben.

“Your memory is correct,” said Tasha.

“Get the paperwork to me and I’ll sign it,” said Ben. “Any other promotions forthcoming?”

“I have my team leaders looking at it,” said Tasha. “Anyway, while the Sergeant Major is gone, we can have Noah fill in.”

“He railed on for years about The Man,” said Ben with a chuckle. “Now he gets to be the man.”

“That he does,” chuckled Tasha. “Speaking of… I’m considering realigning the rank structure as it is. Too many foreign ranks we’re still dealing with and I think we need our own structure here. I’ve already got some thoughts I scribbled down.”

“I’m surprised you have taken this long,” said Ben.

“I was trying to keep some normalcy during our initial time here,” said Tasha. “But when I started considering promotions, the problems started popping up. So, I plan to take current rank and experience into account when assigning the new grades.”

“I think that’s an outstanding idea,” said Ben. “None of those goofy Naval ranks though, right?”

“Negative, sir,” she laughed. “Anyway, I’ll have the Sergeant Major start working on his and Gale’s travel arrangements through SIT.”

“Thank you,” said Ben. Tasha headed on her way as Ben and Allen finished discussing their business and headed to their respective offices to continue the administrative work they both hated dearly. Kendrick Whitaker was informed by Tasha he would be departing on the next rotation and headed over to SIT to make the arrangements without telling his wife yet. He wanted to surprise her with the trip and spoke to Rachelle at length over the plans as well as when and where. He made one final request which was approved by Rachelle and headed back to the Security Compound.

“Lieutenant,” he stated as he found his daughter. “You and Randy busy tonight?”

“I’m off, but Randy has the alert duty,” said Samantha Whitaker.

“Come over to the house for dinner,” he said. “I’ve got some news.”

“What’s Mom cooking?” asked Samantha.

“Fish, so you’re safe,” laughed Kendrick.

“Yeah, Mom does an okay fish,” said Samantha. “What’s the news?”

“I’ll surprise you later,” said Kendrick. He headed home and found Gale was still at work as he started looking through the closet for their vacation clothing. Eventually, she came home and saw him in the middle of packing.

“Dare I ask?” she stated.

“Hey, we got moved up in the vacation rotation,” he said and gathered a quick kiss.

“Who did you have to kill for that?” asked Gale as she looked through his choice of clothing. “Put the blue polo in with your khaki shorts.”

“Which blue?” he asked.

“The navy blue you look good in,” she answered. “So?”

“Apparently, Mary Blevins can’t go and Allen skipped this rotation so he could go during his anniversary,” said Kendrick. “So, I’m filling in with the final leadership spot.”

“And who supervises you?” she asked with a grin.

“You do, of course,” he laughed.

“When are we leaving?” she asked.

“Four days,” he stated as he dug more clothing out.

“Honey, you think we might wait until the day beforehand or something?” she asked. “We’re going on a five day vacation, not a six month deployment.”

“Yeah, sorry,” he said. “I’m a bit excited.”

“Oh?” she chuckled. “I didn’t notice.”

“Sam’s coming over for dinner tonight as well,” said Kendrick.

“Okay, I’ll make a bit extra,” said Gale. “Speaking of, I need to get started.”

“I’ll finish up here,” he stated.

“You do that,” she chuckled and saw he was on a mission at the moment. She headed into the kitchen and started getting everything ready for the meal that evening as he came in and found a drink waiting for him.

“How did you know?” he asked.

“We’ve been married a little bit,” she stated. “I figured you were in a celebratory mood.”

“I am pretty stoked about this,” he stated as he took a sip. “Why aren’t you?”

“Because I’m finishing mashed potatoes right now,” she said as she grabbed the mixer and started stirring the potatoes up. The whine of the mixer was loud enough they couldn’t talk, but he heard the doorbell ring and saw Sam had arrived just in time as her mother was putting everything out on the dining room table.

“Hey, Dad,” she said and got a quick hug. “Hey, Mom.”

“Hey, baby girl,” said Gale. “Just in time.”

“I am known for my punctuality,” grinned Sam as she washed her hands and took the seat she normally sat in at the table. They passed the dishes around and everyone was served as Kendrick finally made the announcement.

“So, I have some good news,” he stated.

“Oh?” asked Sam.

“I talked to Rachelle and got you reassigned to the same trip to Rachelle Island as us,” said Kendrick. “We can take a family vacation together.”

“When?” asked Samantha.

“Four days,” said Kendrick with a grin.

“Oh, that’s… nice,” said Samantha.

“It’ll be a nice time away from here just to catch up,” said Kendrick. “I thought maybe we could get together as a family and have some quality time together.”

“Yeah, just great,” said Samantha with a sigh.

“I thought you’d be happy?” asked Kendrick.

“Yeah, just thrilled, Dad,” said Samantha as she dropped her napkin on the table. “I’ll go tell Randy the good news. Sorry for leaving, Mom.”

Samantha departed the table without another word as Kendrick was slightly stunned at his daughter’s behavior right then. Gale didn’t say a word as she spooned some of the mashed potatoes into her mouth as Kendrick looked confused.

“What?” he asked after the silence was almost unbearable.

“You going to take her down to the beach and build sand castles?” asked Gale.

“No, what ever gave you that idea?” asked Kendrick.

“Because you’re still trying to be protective daddy in watching over her like she’s eight years old,” said Gale.

“I am not!” he protested.

“She and Randy were on the rotation week after next,” said Gale. “She has no problem waiting a bit in order for her to be able to relax without Daddy hanging around.”

“I don’t understand,” said Kendrick.

“We’ve seen our children more in the past five months than we have in the previous five years. We have them over for dinner at least twice a week and see them practically every day. Having her and Randy go on a vacation from us for five days will not hurt our relationship in the least,” said Gale. “Face it, you’re trying to be protective over your daughter and can’t see she’s grown up to be a woman that’s made good choices in her life.”

“I am not!” he protested.

“Then why did you change her date to go to the island?” asked Gale calmly.

“Because I thought it might be nice to have some family time away from here,” he said quietly, recognizing her calm before the storm.

“Didn’t think to talk to your wife about it beforehand?” asked Gale.

“I… it was spur of the moment,” he stated meekly.

“And little do you realize, by moving her onto this trip she won’t be able to go be herself since she’ll be worrying about what Daddy will think if she has one drink too many or sees a boy socially,” said Gale.

“That’s… not exactly what I had in mind,” said Kendrick.

“Babe, we’ve been married too long for you to try that nonsense with me,” said Gale. “Since we’ve been here, has she mentioned a boyfriend?”

“No,” he stated. “Not that the subject has come up either.”

“It’s not easy seeing a man socially without having a mean father looking over her shoulder,” said Gale. “You have a beautiful daughter and she’s attracted a look here and there from the men in this colony.”

“I’m not worried about that!” he protested. Gale just looked at him with a look of disbelief before giving him a “hmm” and putting one more small piece of fish on her plate. The silence continued for several moments and started becoming uncomfortable again.

“I didn’t think about it that way,” said Kendrick quietly.

“Look, you’ve always tried to be the best father you could when you came home from whatever fight you were involved in. And our children love you for it since the time we spent together was always quality time and you went above and beyond making the most of that time. But let’s face facts here, this is the first time we’ve ever been what could be considered a ‘normal’ family in our lives.”

“Again, we see Randy and Sam nearly every day and the time here has been quality as well. But they do need a little breathing room every once in a while to go out and be young adults. We did it without our parents looking over our shoulders. I think you’ll find they will be perfectly fine in the long run,” said Gale.

“I just…” said Kendrick as he saw he was being trapped.

“Did she turn into a drug addict or a whore when she left for college?” asked Gale.

“No, of course not!” exclaimed Kendrick.

“Get pregnant with the first boy she found after moving out?” asked Gale.

“Better not have,” muttered Kendrick.

“We raised two damn good kids if you didn’t notice. They never got into trouble nor did they go out of their way to ‘disappoint’ us in any form or fashion. Both earned their spots on this Expedition by their own merits and not because of what their last name was,” said Gale. “As a reminder, how did we get tagged to come along?”

“That’s not fair and you know it,” said Kendrick angrily. “We both were more than qualified and could have been picked fair and square.”

“And yet without Ben, we likely would never have seen our children again,” said Gale quietly.

Kendrick sat back in his chair and looked at her with annoyance on his face. But as much as he’d like to be annoyed, he knew for a fact she was right and without Ben, there was a good chance they never would have been selected.

“I…” he started to say.

“You don’t have an argument,” said Gale as she ended any further discussion.

Kendrick let out a sigh and looked at his wife as he knew she had him trapped. “And why did you bring this up?”

“Because we’ve been able to spend the time with our children that we would have been denied otherwise,” said Gale. “I’d say it’s perfectly fine for them to let their hair down for a few days without having mom and dad around to give them the evil eye.”

“I promise I wasn’t thinking that!” he protested.

“Not consciously,” said Gale. “However, it was probably in the back of your mind.”

“I’ve always done my best to protect her when I could,” said Kendrick. “But I wasn’t thinking that when I got her and Randy reassigned.”

“She loves you for the protection when she was younger even though at the time she likely didn’t think it was the best choice,” said Gale. “Now that she’s getting older, she doesn’t need it as much. But let’s face facts here, she’s not the little girl in pigtails running up the walk to greet daddy when he comes back from a mission. She’s grown into a woman in her own right and deserves the chance to live her life the way she wants without us interfering.”

“So, I should tell Rachelle to slip her back into the rotation where she was?” he asked.

“I thought you figured that out ten seconds into the conversation,” said Gale with annoyance.

“I’ll do it,” said Kendrick with a sigh.

“And go make peace with your daughter,” said Gale. “I’m not going to be the diplomat this time and make amends for your socially awkward behavior. This one’s on you.”

“I wasn’t socially awkward!” he protested.

“Oh, I didn’t know why she left the dinner table without finishing,” said Gale. “My mistake.”

Kendrick, again, saw his wife was right and knew he should be the one to fix his mistake. Giving another sigh, he wiped his mouth and departed the quarters without another word. He had no idea where Samantha would be at the moment and headed into the Control Center.

“Sergeant Major,” said the on duty controller with a nod as he entered.

“Can you pull up a tracker for me?” asked Kendrick.

“Sure,” said the controller as he sat back down and loaded the appropriate program. “Who?”

“Lieutenant Samantha Whitaker,” said Kendrick.

“Her communicator shows she’s at her quarters,” said the controller. “Want me to page her?”

“No, I’ll go hat in hand,” said Kendrick with a sigh. The controller didn’t know what to make of the comment and wisely decided not to ask as Kendrick departed the facility and headed towards the living areas where his daughter shared an apartment with one of the Engineering staff. Once he arrived, he hesitated before ringing the doorbell and waiting patiently. Eventually, movement was seen behind the small window beside the door and his daughter appeared.

“Yes?” she asked with a slight chill.

“Can we talk?” he asked meekly.

“Sure,” she said with a sigh and opened the door wider for him to enter. He saw the place was spotless as he went over to the couch and had a seat on the edge.

“Is the roommate in?” he asked.

“I’m just on my way out,” said Megan Hardesty as she appeared from the kitchen.

“I’m intruding,” said Kendrick as he stood to leave.

“No, Dad,” said Samantha with a sigh. “Megs? Is it okay?”

“Yeah, you do your thing,” said Megan as she collected her cane and departed.

“I… I’m not sure how to start this,” said Kendrick after the door closed.

“How about be honest?” asked Samantha.

“Okay, honest is good,” said Kendrick with a sigh. “I’m going to get you back into the rotation where you were.”

“Why?” asked Samantha.

“Because your mother insisted on it,” said Kendrick.

“She did?” asked Samantha.

“Well, not specifically, though heavily implied,” said Kendrick. “I was wrong to…”

“You don’t want to cross Mom,” said Samantha with a slight smile.

“Yeah, that’s sound advice,” chuckled Kendrick. “I just didn’t realize how much we’d actually seen of each other until your mother put it into perspective.”

“Dad, I love the fact we see each other regularly now,” said Samantha before he held up his hand to stop her.

“Please, Sam, let me finish was I was going to say,” said Kendrick as he took in a deep breath before continuing. “Growing up, I really didn’t know what having a father was like. And when I had children of my own, I made sure to not repeat that same mistake by trying to be a part of yours and your brother’s life as much as possible. However, the job tended to take me away from home more often than not and I had to work double and triple to make up for lost time.”

“Since we’ve been here, I’ve been able to make up a lot of ground in an area I feel like I was deficient in as a father growing up. I just thought…maybe it might be nice to have the family vacation to the beach like you read about in those old stories that we never had while you and your brother were growing up. I hadn’t really thought about it more than that, I promise, but your mother reminded me we’ve been able to be a family more since arriving here than I realized.”

“She’s a smart cookie,” said Samantha with a smile.

“More than you know,” said Kendrick. “I didn’t realize I might be interfering on your… social time by going down at the same time. I’ll back off, I promise.”

“Dad, that’s not…” said Samantha with a sigh.

“No, I realize you’re a grown woman and having a mean old dad around might be cramping your style a bit,” said Kendrick.

“It certainly isn’t easy having a man of your reputation around when a guy thinks about flirting me up,” she said with a brief smile.

“You’ve had boys getting flirty since we’ve been here?” he asked.

“Dad…” she replied with a look and a tone.

“Sorry,” said Kendrick with his hands raised.

“Look, it’s really sweet you want to try to make up for lost time as you put it, but you don’t need to do that. Here’s the deal…” she said and took in a deep breath.

“Back when we were growing up, yes, missing you as often as we did really sucked. But each and every time you came home, it made the times we spent together even more special. I knew my Dad didn’t have a regular 9 to 5 job and knew you were out doing something important. I didn’t realize it until much later, but seeing you come through the door were memories I’ll cherish my entire life. Having you pick me up and growl like a bear while spinning me around is something I’ll be able to carry around my entire life.”

“Yes, you weren’t always there, but when you were there, you loved us without hesitation. And that’s something I’ll be able to do with my children in the future when I have them. You made the most of the times we did spend together so you taught me a valuable lesson that love doesn’t have to be overdone. It’s the times we spend together that make the best memories rather than the times we spent apart.”

“Now, I understand you want to try to be that family again. And really, it isn’t a bad idea for us to get together for a family getaway eventually. However, I would like this time for me if that’s okay. I’m not going to get crazy or start dancing topless on a tabletop or anything. But it is going to be nice to relax for a change without worrying if I have you glancing over my shoulder worrying about some guy I’m talking with. Or him worried about you looking over my shoulder giving him dirty looks,” she added with a chuckle.

“I wouldn’t…” he started to say and got a look from her that he knew she learned from her mother. He let out a deep sigh with a smile as she continued.

“Anyway, I do love you and Mom with all my heart, but I could use some time away to let my own hair down. I’m not going to come back married, at least until you can meet him, but I could use some social interaction time with my fellow colonists without worrying if you are about to declare an outright war against some guy that winks at me,” said Samantha.

“I wouldn’t be that bad!” he protested.

“Need I remind you about Connor?” she asked.

“That boy that broke your heart your freshman year in the Academy?” he asked.

“The one that I broke up with because he was worried more about impressing you than trying to impress me?” she asked.

“That’s not what you told us!” he objected.

“Because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” said Samantha. “Yes, I broke it off with him. Yes, it hurt me as much as it hurt him even though we were way too young to be getting serious anyway. However, he was more about winning your approval than keeping mine.”

“I didn’t know…” said Kendrick.

“We’re friendly now… or at least were until I left, so it ended respectfully enough. But overall, having a highly decorated father tends to be a big roadblock with a lot of guys I meet. Especially military guys,” said Samantha.

“I wasn’t trying to win their approval,” said Kendrick.

“Not that they would have passed the test anyway,” she chuckled.

“Test?” he asked.

“The ‘is he good enough for my daughter’ test,” she laughed. “None of which would have passed that simple test.”

“Well, it will take a hell of a man to be good enough for you,” said Kendrick.

“Perhaps I should have some choice in the matter?” she asked.

“Point taken,” said Kendrick. “I’ll let your mother make that determination.”

“She already wants grandkids,” laughed Samantha. “I’m not sure if allowing her to make the decision is going to be good for everyone.”

“There is that,” said Kendrick with a laugh.

“I’ll let Uncle Ben make the decision,” grinned Samantha.

“Yeah, I’m not sure you’ll get more than a ‘uh sure, okay’ from him about it,” laughed Kendrick.

“If I could find a guy like Ben, I’d bet even you would approve,” she smiled.

“Perhaps a little closer to you in age?” asked her father.

“Yeah, there is that,” said Samantha with a grin. “Got any suggestions?”

“Uh, no, not really thought that far into it,” said Kendrick.

“He’s not really my style, but there’s a couple of girls around here that think he’s the cat’s meow,” she stated. “He is a good looking dude, but not quite as far as they take it.”

“Oh, he’d be thrilled to hear that,” laughed Kendrick.

“Anyway, back to the point,” said Samantha.

“I’ll have Rachelle make the adjustment back to where you and Randy were supposed to be,” said Kendrick. “And I promise to recognize the fact you are a grown woman I’ve always been proud of that will continue to make great choices in her life.”

“I love you, Dad,” said Samantha as she stood and took her father into a hug.

“Love you too, baby girl,” said Kendrick as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

“Though sometimes you can be a pain in the ass that doesn’t realize I’ve grown up just a tad,” she chuckled.

“I’ll admit, you are a bit big to be bear hugging and twirling around the room now,” he laughed as he hugged his daughter again. She laughed as they released the embrace and she headed to the door to let Megan know it was safe to come in. She had been waiting patiently on the patio area of the apartment building and came slowly inside.

“Sergeant Major Whitaker,” she said with a smile as she entered.

“Miss Hardesty,” said Kendrick. “I trust you’re keeping my daughter in line?”

“She keeps me out of trouble!” exclaimed Megan. “Though has a tough time of it.”

“Yeah, I’m a good mother hen,” laughed Samantha.

“Okay, I’ll leave you to it,” said Kendrick as he headed to the door. Samantha followed him to the door and gave him one last hug before he departed.

“I do appreciate what you were trying to do,” she stated.

“I’ve just got a lot of lost time to make up,” he replied.

“Not as much as you think,” said Samantha. “What we missed in quantity growing up, we made up for in quality.”

“I’m damn proud of you, baby,” said Kendrick. “Now, I have to leave before Megan hears me get all emotional and it ruins my tough guy image.”

“You’re safe, sir,” said Megan with a grin. “I keep all of Sam’s secrets.”

“Oh?” asked Kendrick. “Anything I should be worried about?”

“Did you get called about the wild party she had?” asked Megan.

“No…” said Kendrick with a questioning tone.

“Guess there’s nothing to worry about then,” grinned Megan.

“You might want to go before I beat my roommate,” laughed Samantha.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” said Kendrick with a chuckle.

“Good night, Dad,” said Samantha with a smile. She closed the door after he departed as Megan was busy in the kitchen searching for the bottle of Shine.

“I’m going to kill you,” said Samantha as she went in and helped.

“He knew I wasn’t serious,” chuckled Megan as she located the bottle and poured two small shots into glasses and added in the lemon-lime soda on top. “Figured you could use a drink.”

“Yeah, that’ll do,” said Samantha. “Though I’d love to have some wine.”

“Allegedly, there’s grapes coming in on one of the ships in the future,” said Megan as she walked back slowly with the drinks. “And supposedly, the proposed mountain colony will support vineyards.”

“That’ll be nice,” said Samantha as she took the drink and Megan sat down.

“Did you work everything out?” she asked.

“Yeah, I think we did,” said Samantha as she took a sip.

“Having a father around can’t be easy,” said Megan. “Though from what I’ve seen, yours tends to be a dang good dad.”

“He’s just not over the fact I’m grown up,” said Samantha with a sigh.

“And he likely never will be,” said Megan. “Overall though, be glad you have a father around.”

“I… yeah, you’re right,” said Samantha.

“I’m not sure my father would have fit in here,” said Megan. “Of course, he also wouldn’t have been out of jail before getting on the transport, so there is that.”

“You’ve never really talked about it,” said Samantha.

“Some things, family matters especially, you just don’t bring up as a conversation starter,” said Megan as she took a sip of her drink. “Especially when your father is in jail for triple homicide and armed robbery.”

“I can understand that,” said Samantha. “You’ve never really mentioned it though.”

“Basically, I was about six when he went to rob a bank. Stupid, I know, but still,” said Megan. “He got caught in the act and ended up shooting a security guard, a cop and an innocent bystander trying to get away. They eventually caught him and threw the book at him. Mom was devastated and ended up passing away after he had been in jail for about four years and his appeals had been exhausted. My grandparents raised me and I never had any contact with him after that.”

“They prohibited it?” asked Samantha.

“No, he wouldn’t have it,” said Megan with a sigh. “Returned all my traditional paper letters unopened and my video calls stayed in his inbox unopened. My grandparents did a pretty good job of raising me and I tend to think I did pretty good for myself even though getting a job wasn’t easy with a felon in the family.”

“I’d imagine not,” said Samantha.

“However, Grady looked past that and gave me a chance,” said Megan. “Something I ran with and never looked back.”

“Your grandparents still alive?” asked Samantha.

“Yeah and they understood I wasn’t coming back and understood why,” said Megan. “Sure, I miss them terribly sometimes, but they knew I was going to survive. I never told them what I was doing or where I was going, just that I was heading for a place where I could survive without a dome and live peacefully the rest of my life.”

“I’d think that has to be hard on a lot of people leaving family behind,” said Samantha.

“Except those that have their family here that can cherish them,” said Megan.

“You set that up nicely,” said Samantha with a chuckle after a moment to reflect on what was said.

“I thought so,” grinned Megan as she took another sip.

“Way smarter than you let on,” chuckled Samantha.

“Perspective is a wonderful thing,” said Megan. “Regardless, your father might have been slightly out of line in scheduling your trip at the same time.”

“You knew about that?” asked Samantha. “And didn’t say anything?”

“I was in the room with Rachelle when he requested it,” said Megan. “And frankly, it wasn’t my place to say anything as that’s an internal matter best worked out between families.”

“True,” said Samantha.

“But I’m guessing you are going to switch back to the original date?” asked Megan.

“I’d safely assume so,” said Samantha. “Mom isn’t to be crossed on such matters.”

“I love your mom to death,” said Megan. “But since your family won’t be coming along, let’s talk about the guys that are heading down.”

“You trying to get me hooked up?” laughed Samantha.

“Hell yeah, girl!” exclaimed Megan. “You need a good man in your life to ease what ails you.”

“I’m not entirely sure I’m ailing,” laughed Samantha.

“Anyway, how about Joe Buck? He’s hot from what I hear,” said Megan.

“The engineer? Yeah, he’s cute, but there’s something about him that sets off my radar,” said Samantha. “Though you know who I’d really like to have come in for another nocturnal visit.”

“You and every other single girl on this planet,” laughed Megan. “And I’m to understand he’s back on the market at the moment.”

“I should remind him of what he’s missing,” said Samantha with a grin.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing what everyone goes on about,” said Megan. “Of course, the few times I’ve talked to him, I can see why some of y’all go crazy. He’s got a sexy voice.”

“Speaking of, is that happening soon?” asked Samantha.

“Three weeks according to Doctor Blevins,” said Megan. “Maybe I should have Ryan around to escort me around when I wake up.”

“Stealing my man?” laughed Samantha.

“Nah,” chuckled Megan. “Anyway, unfortunately for you, Ryan Kingston isn’t going down the trip you’re scheduled for that I know of.”

“In more than one way,” said Samantha with a sigh.

“That’s horrible!” exclaimed Megan.

“Wish you’d thought of it first?” laughed Samantha.

“Darn right,” laughed Megan. “What about that Brazilian guy, Paulo?”

“He’s kinda cute, but he treats women like garbage,” said Samantha. “If we are talking Latin American men, Nate Delgado with the medical staff is all kinds of hot.”

“And he’s on your rotation,” said Megan.

“I know,” said Samantha with a grin. “He has a girlfriend though.”

“He does?” asked Megan.

“Yeah,” said Samantha. “Supposedly.”

“Well, who knows who might tickle your fancy when you get to the island,” said Megan. “I hear there’s a whole lot of tickling going on there as it is.”

“All sorts of things go on at the island that happen with no regrets,” said Samantha. Little did she know some things that would happen in the near future would produce more regrettable actions than she knew at the time. More ominously, things that would split the colony right down the middle.

 

CHAPTER 31



The trip to the island had been just what the doctor ordered for many of the individuals who had been sick from the virus. Mostly, they had recovered, but there were still some lingering effects in many of the infected. The first day of work had turned into a major endeavor as the power had gone out at some point after the last trip had departed, but there was still enough relaxation time for everyone that they didn’t mind the rustic conditions as the Engineers got to work immediately and had the power going before long. The containers that had been delivered to the shelf area they identified as the more permanent location for a settlement and the supplies were intact as they got to work on the next set of items. Tasha was lead on the trip as she helped direct the forces and posted the duty schedules at the makeshift bar in “Rachelleville” for everyone to see. They had only been on the ground for two hours, but her sole major task other than keeping people out of trouble was done.

SIT had started including a regular cook as part of the support crew as well as the field kitchen that had sat unused since the early days of the settlement effort. The first meal that evening as everyone was getting settled in was simple and they looked forward to the last evening where they would have the clam bake that had become a tradition. Tasha looked over the area as a voice from behind her stopped her in her tracks.

“Major Hayden? Can we talk?” asked Chuck softly.

“Yes?” she asked neutrally as she turned around to see Chuck.

“I want to apologize again for what I did,” he said as she could see he was fairly embarrassed over the situation from earlier. He had apologized once before and she had halfheartedly accepted it but decided he needed additional time to think over what he had done.

“You know how hurtful that is?” she asked. “Even as friends?”

“And I’m truly sorry for it,” he stated. “It’s… I don’t know where it came from.”

“Nowhere good, that’s for certain,” she said with an edge.

“I just… I wanted to apologize again and try to earn back your friendship,” he stated as he handed over a bouquet of flowers he had gathered from the local area on the advice of Angeline.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“A peace offering,” he said. “Some of the local flowers.”

“They’re very pretty,” she stated as she softened up a bit. “But isn’t this what you give a girlfriend when you’ve messed up?”

“Friends can give each other flowers as well,” he stated as she sniffed at them and a brief smile came over her face.

“Look, I’ll be honest, that really was one of the worst things you could do to me,” she said. “Well, cheating on me if we were involved, but you likely would be dead right now.”

“I can’t tell you how embarrassed I was in the aftermath,” said Chuck. “I worried over it every since we stopped talking.”

“As well you should,” said Tasha as she sniffed again. “These are really nice.”

“You can keep them the whole time we’re here too,” he said as he produced a vase with water in the bottom already. She gave him a slight smirk and a huff over his extra efforts to win her back over, but put the flowers in and fluffed them out slightly so they all could show.

“Nope, there are conditions to my forgiveness,” said Tasha as she looked them over again.

“I thought it was normally unconditional?” he asked.

“Not in the slightest,” said Tasha. “You get to bring me fresh flowers every day. And different ones too. I mean, you can mix some of these into others, but I want a different arrangement every day we’re here.”

“That seems like a lot,” he stated with a frown.

“I’m the woman, I make the rules,” she stated.

“That seems like something a guy in a relationship would have to do,” he said.

“A friendship is a relationship,” she stated and sniffed the flowers again for effect.

“I’ll think about it,” he relented slightly.

“Are you going to be up for working full time?” she asked as she felt she had pushed the issue as far as she should have.

“Yeah, I’ve been in self paced physical therapy for a while and I think I’m back up to speed,” he said glad the conversation had changed. “Any good running paths around here?”

“I’d say going down the path to the beach, around the peninsula and back a few times,” she said as she pointed. “It’s a decent course.”

“I’ll try it out,” he said. “Again, I’m sincerely sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” she said with a brief smile. “Only if I continue to get these pretty flowers.”

“I’ll see what can be done,” he said and boldly took one out of the vase and trimmed the stem even more before putting it over her ear.

“What’s this for?” she asked as she allowed him to do it.

“Something tropical,” he said with a smile. “Fitting for this location, right?”

“Yes, I suppose it is,” she said and checked herself out in her communicator. It was a beautiful full white flower with black and royal blue stripes running up the petals that looked very tropical.

“I’ve got to get my room assignment,” he said. “See you at dinner?”

“You haven’t checked in yet?” she asked.

“No, I immediately went to work looking for flowers,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Some things seemed more important than finding out where I’m staying.”

She didn’t respond except with a smile and a “hmm” as she adjusted the flower over her ear slightly. All in all, he was making good progress to decreasing the tension between the two.

“So, see you at dinner?” he asked.

“Yes, for certain,” she said with a smile. “Bye.”

“Bye,” he stated and headed towards the room assignments and found he was staying with Ryan for this trip as well. He headed towards the cargo container and opened the door finding something he wasn’t expecting.

“Doctor Dawson!” exclaimed Doctor Etsu Ogawa as she was half dressed.

“Sorry!” exclaimed Chuck as he quickly shut the door and picked up his bag to recheck the listing to make sure he hadn’t made a mistake. He had just spun around when the door opened behind him and Ryan was seen peeking around the door.

“Hey, Chuck?” asked Ryan. “This one is you.”

“I didn’t realize you had company,” said Chuck and added “already.”

“Umm, been working on this for a few days,” said Ryan with a grin. “I didn’t know I needed to hang a sock on the doorknob yet, you know?”

“Half an hour okay?” asked Chuck.

“Yeah, that should be okay,” said Ryan.

“Don’t think it’s going to be that quick!” Chuck heard Etsu exclaim from the inside.

“Call it an hour to be safe?” asked Ryan.

“Yeah, no problem,” said Chuck with a slight laugh. Since this was his first trip to the island, he deposited his bag by the bar and headed out to take a quick stroll around the area and take in the sights he had missed on his pursuit of finding flowers.

“Those are absolutely stunning,” said Angeline who looked the flowers over as Tasha came walking up. Angeline had started setting the bar up for the evening since the vacationers were considered “off duty” starting at dinner time and often invaded the bar area.

“It was very thoughtful,” said Tasha with a smile as she set the vase on the bar.

“Not bad for your first day,” said Angeline with a grin. “From Chuck?”

“He’s paying the price for being a pig,” said Tasha. “He has to bring me these every day.”

“Isn’t that pushing it a little?” asked Angeline.

“You ever have a guy call you another girl’s name?” asked Tasha.

“Yeah, daily flowers are probably right,” said Angeline after thinking it over for a moment.

“Either way, where did he find the vase?” asked Tasha as she looked them over again.

“Someone might have slipped it to him when we arrived,” stated Angeline.

“Oh?” asked Tasha.

“Call it a female instinct for helping him overcome the bad situation he put himself in,” said Angeline. “Mary had the idea, Rachelle had the vase created, I instructed him to get the flowers and which ones to avoid and Charity made sure he knew to do it as soon as he landed.”

“All my girls setting me up behind my back?” asked Tasha.

“Yep,” said Angeline. “Look, he messed up big time and we helped him out of the bad spot he put himself in. We know what to do to get him past it to where you two are at least speaking.”

“I figured it was too thoughtful for him to put together on his own,” said Tasha.

“Except the flower over the ear,” said Angeline. “That was all him.”

“It is pretty, isn’t it?” asked Tasha.

“Extremely fitting,” said Angeline.

“I should get you one,” said Tasha. “These colors would look nice on you.”

“No, that one is you,” said Angeline as she pulled a flower from behind the bar and trimmed the stem before putting it over her ear.

“That purple is your color,” observed Tasha as Angeline pulled her own bouquet up from behind the bar. “Where did you get those?”

“You aren’t the only one with a not so secret admirer,” said Angeline with a grin.

“Oh, really?” asked Tasha with a grin.

“And that’s all I’m going to say about it,” said Angeline. “Period.”

“Oh, I’ll find out eventually,” said Tasha with another grin.

“Much more of this and there won’t be any flowers left on this island,” said Gale Whitaker as she and Kendrick came up to the bar. Tasha noticed she had her own red flower over her ear which complimented her features well.

“It even matches your shirt,” said Angeline with a nod of approval.

“My husband can be thoughtful and charming from time to time,” said Gale as she took Kendrick’s hand and they grabbed seats.

“I’m not sure charming has ever been applied to him,” grinned Tasha.

“Well, hon, you don’t live with him,” said Gale with a smile. “He had a side most of you probably never have seen.”

“Truth,” said Kendrick. “This bar officially open?”

“I’d rather wait until after dinner,” said Angeline. “But… I’ll make a quick exception.”

She mixed up four drinks and put them in water cups to avoid the idea she was open early. Kurt joined them and passed on the drink as he grabbed another chair.

“I’m to assume you’re my roommate?” asked Tasha as she sipped at the drink.

“No, we’re solo this trip,” said Angeline. “Three of the containers sent down were for the leadership so we wouldn’t have to bunk together while we’re here.”

“Thoughtful,” said Gale.

“Allen’s idea,” said Angeline. “Regardless, I don’t think you two need a roommate.”

“They might get quite a show,” said Kendrick with a grin and earned him a dirty look and a slap on the arm from his wife.

“Can I safely assume we’re going to be getting additional rotations with the expanded number of people coming down?” asked Kurt.

“Sort of,” said Angeline. “Ben was thinking we could start sending down the assistants and section heads as the leadership function. There will still be one of the main Directors coming down, but the assistants and section heads that have performed well will take up some of the spots we normally fill.”

“Sounds like a setting for mutiny,” said Tasha with a laugh.

“Or, as Ben put it, the Directors can come as normal folks and not worry about having to deal with anyone unruly,” said Angeline.

“So, we get to be unruly?” asked Kendrick.

“Well, you’re one of those assistants Ben talked about,” said Tasha with a grin. “So, I get to be unruly and cause problems.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” said Kendrick with a laugh.

“That’s true,” laughed Tasha.

“I do have a proposition for you, dear leader,” said Kurt.

“I’m not sure about that dear leader stuff,” said Tasha.

“So, my main job while I’m here is to organize and start getting an orchard set up for the yellow fruit on some of the adjacent islands,” said Kurt. “I’ll likely take the gunship with me during the day, but obviously it’ll be on alert. I was thinking of staying overnight in some of the places in order to continue working after hours.”

“Your crew agreed to this?” she asked.

“Yeah, they are ready for full scale production of that fruit,” said Kurt.

“I think we all are,” said Tasha. “Angeline? Is it likely to be similar to here?”

“I couldn’t imagine it having any dangerous creatures,” said Angeline. “Which island are you talking about?”

“This one here,” said Kurt as he brought up the satellite images. “It’s about 25 kilometers away to the northwest.”

“Looks fairly large,” said Angeline. “But no significant elevation changes.”

“Not really, no,” said Kurt as he zoomed in the photo. “There are already fruit trees growing along with some babies near the center. I’d say we could transplant them and start a true orchard here and on another two islands I picked out.”

“You want to stay there on your vacation?” asked Tasha.

“We’d come back for the final day, but everyone is ready to do this,” said Kurt.

“You take a security member and send the gunship back after it drops you off,” said Tasha. “Not negotiable.”

“I can deal with that,” said Kurt. “Those smaller shuttles might have been nice to have.”

“Indeed,” said Tasha. “Food?”

“We’ll forage and take rations,” said Kurt. “Same with living conditions. We’ll take the tents and a portable generator with us.”

“Sounds like you have everything planned,” said Tasha.

“Except the security troop?” asked Kurt.

“It’ll be a volunteer,” said Tasha as she looked over the listing of who came with them along with Kendrick. “Crosby?”

“He’d take up half the island by himself,” chuckled Kendrick.

“Is that the oversized guy you have?” asked Kurt.

“The one and only,” said Tasha. As luck would have it, Staff Sergeant Damir Crosby was walking nearby as she called to him. He lumbered over to the bar area and nodded politely at the leadership while towering over them. At 145 kilograms and over 200 centimeters tall, he towered over them as he stood up straighter.

“Ma’am? Sergeant Major?” he asked politely. “And multiple Doctors.”

“We have a proposition for you,” said Tasha as she explained the situation.

“I would say yes in a heartbeat normally, Major,” said Crosby.

“But?” asked Tasha.

“I’ve kind of been looking forward to spending time with my lady friend down here,” said Crosby shyly.

“No problems there,” said Tasha. “Didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”

“Recent development, ma’am,” said Crosby with a slight grin.

“Might I ask who it is?” asked Kendrick.

“Maggie Burks,” said Crosby.

“As in tiny, barely 155 centimeters, 45 kilogram Maggie Burks with Medical?” asked Angeline.

“Yeah, that’s her,” said Crosby as he seemed embarrassed.

“You think you could find someone a little smaller?” asked Kendrick.

“No, Sergeant Major,” said Crosby with a grin.

“Okay, no problem,” said Tasha. “It’s a voluntary thing anyway.”

“Sergeant Kent?” asked Kendrick as he looked through the listing again.

“That would have a medic and a security trooper,” said Tasha. “Good call. Sergeant Crosby? Could you track down Sergeant Zoe Kent and send her this way?”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Crosby as he departed.

“Which one is Zoe Kent again?” asked Kurt.

“Blond and blue, curly hair, smiles from ear to ear,” said Tasha.

“Ah, right,” said Kurt. It took several minutes before Zoe came into the bar area and reported into her leadership.

“So, we have a request that’s voluntary,” said Tasha as she explained it. “Now, I’ll sweeten the pot by putting you on another rotation down here either next trip or the trip after.”

“So, I get to pull security for Ag while they plant more of the yellow Novus Fruit trees on a nearby island?” asked Zoe.

“That’s pretty much the gist of it,” said Tasha. “Plus being a ready medic for them just in case.”

“And I get a full vacation next trip?” asked Zoe.

“I’ll guarantee it,” said Tasha with a nod.

“And get to eat that delicious fruit while they work?” Zoe asked with a grin.

“Now, let’s not go overboard,” said Tasha. “Unless you plan on bringing me back one.”

“I’m down,” said Zoe with shrugged shoulders. “Working here or working there makes no difference to me.”

“You’ll be back for the clam bake the last night we’re here, so you’ll get at least one day off,” said Kurt. “We’ll be staying here tonight and the last night.”

“I’ll get my things packed up,” said Zoe. “However, I honestly did not pack a uniform.”

“And your normal gear is at the colony,” said Tasha with a sigh. “Kurt, had you mentioned this before we left, I could have prepped for this.”

“It just hit me on the way down,” said Kurt.

“The gunships and shuttles have the pulse electron carbines and Mag-Ac pistols in the survival kits, right?” asked Tasha.

“They should,” said Kendrick.

“You familiar with those?” asked Tasha.

“Fired them for proficiency when we got here,” said Zoe with a nod.

“Okay, so you work in civilian clothing,” said Tasha. “But check with the pilots before taking their gear.”

“Will do,” said Zoe as she departed and headed towards Ryan’s quarters. She arrived and knocked on the door politely.

“Dude, like ten more minutes,” called Ryan from the inside.

“I’m not a dude,” called Zoe through the door. It got quiet as Ryan came to the door and cracked it open just enough for her to see he wasn’t dressed for company.

“Oh, am I interrupting something?” she asked innocently.

“Ah, yeah, a bit,” said Ryan. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, are the pistols and carbines still in the survival kits on the shuttles?” she asked.

“Yes, I made sure of that myself,” said Ryan. “Why?”

“I’m going on a little side trip and need to be armed,” said Zoe.

“Wait, what side trip?” he asked.

“Oh, Ryan,” she said and added a flirty smile. “I’d tell you all about it, but I certainly wouldn’t want to interrupt your current… meeting in progress.”

“I…” said Ryan as he looked back and was getting a dirty look from Ogawa. “Maybe later we can catch up?”

“Sure,” said Zoe with another charming smile. “Have fun.”

“Yeah,” said Ryan as he closed the door.

“This is like something out of a movie,” said Etsu.

“Well, thank you,” said Ryan with a grin.

“No, I mean the constant interruptions,” said Etsu.

“I still made time for you,” said Ryan as he kissed her on the cheek.

“Why are you such a popular guy?” she asked as she started putting her clothes back on.

“You’ll have to ask everyone else,” he grinned as he did the same.

“See you at dinner tonight?” she asked after finishing slipping on her shirt and shorts.

“Absolutely,” he stated and gave her a goodbye kiss on the way out the door. Chuck was watching from a distance and headed over as soon as she departed.

“I’m sorry, Doctor Dawson,” she said with a hint of blush. “I didn’t know you hadn’t been able to drop your luggage off.”

“No big deal, Etsu,” he said with a smile. “I should have knocked first.”

“If you could… keep quiet about this?” she asked.

“Our secret,” said Chuck with a smile. She smiled back and headed towards her container for the trip and grabbed her shower gear.

“Hey, sorry about earlier,” said Ryan as Chuck walked in.

“I wasn’t quite expecting that after only being here like two hours,” said Chuck. “However, I did happen to find the back door on this thing.”

“Oh?” asked Ryan.

“Locked from the inside,” said Chuck as he and Ryan headed into the other room and Chuck pulled the pin locking the door in place. “Now I won’t disturb you.”

“Nah, you weren’t a bother,” said Ryan.

“Any reason why you mentioned her the other day in regards to me though?” asked Chuck as he started unpacking his items.

“Because I didn’t want to move in on anyone you were thinking about going after,” said Ryan. “You’re my boy and that could cause problems.”

“Etsu is nice, but she is a stereotypical nerd,” said Chuck.

“Aren’t you a nerd?” asked Ryan with a grin.

“No, she’s like way beyond that,” said Chuck.

“I don’t kiss and tell, but she does have a wild side,” said Ryan with a grin. “So, speaking of wild sides. Someone was quite thrilled you are here.”

“Oh?” asked Chuck.

“Scooter was all kinds of happy when you showed up at the departure,” said Ryan. “You could make your move on her if you want.”

“Maybe,” said Chuck. “She didn’t say anything.”

“She won’t be shy for long,” said Ryan.

“So, how’s this thing work? This isn’t your first trip down, right?” asked Chuck.

“No,” said Ryan. “There are work details assigned out in the morning and you get with a crew leader and do that for two days. After that, it’s nothing but surf and sun. But in the evenings when you get done with work, it’s a free time party for the most part.”

“Any idea what they have us doing?” asked Chuck.

“I honestly couldn’t tell you,” said Ryan. “I know I’m working on clearing the landing areas here so we can get a shuttle landed here instead of always parking them at the beach.”

“Sounds like some hard work,” said Chuck.

“It’s worth it in the end,” said Ryan. “Anyone else catch your eye here?”

“There’s a few here I wouldn’t mind seeing in a bikini,” grinned Chuck.

“I noticed Abby switched shuttles at the last minute to get on the one you were on,” said Ryan with a laugh.

“She did?” laughed Chuck. “Well, it was also the one you were piloting.”

“True,” said Ryan. “Anyway, tonight is a free night as well. I’m heading out to get the fireplace going for after dinner. Want to help?”

“Fireplace?” asked Chuck.

“Mood setter for later,” grinned Ryan. “Along with a campfire at the beach.”

“Already moving on from Etsu?” asked Chuck.

“Who knows what the night might hold,” said Ryan. “Actually, I need to go track down Zoe.”

“Zoe Kent from Security?” asked Chuck. “She’s certainly a head turner.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” said Ryan. “But she said something about a side trip and asked about the weapons we carry.”

“Oh?” asked Chuck.

“Yeah, I have no idea what it is, but I’m nosey enough to find out,” said Ryan.

“Okay, I’ll see you around then,” said Cuck as Ryan headed out. He found Zoe in the bar area speaking with Tasha and waited patiently until they were done to approach her.

“Hello, Ryan,” she said with a charming smile.

“Miss Kent,” he said formally. “I am free now to discuss whatever you interrupted me for earlier.”

“Oh, was I interrupting you?” asked Zoe innocently.

“Slightly so,” said Ryan. “But I never mind an interruption from you.”

“How sweet,” she smiled sweetly. “So, apparently I’m heading out with the team from Ag to another island tomorrow morning. We’ll be there for the trip to help set up an orchard.”

“Oh?” asked Ryan. “You going back and forth?”

“No, as I’m to understand it, we’re going to be staying there until the last day,” said Zoe.

“I didn’t see anything in the mission brief about it,” said Ryan.

“Last minute change,” said Zoe. “We’re taking the gunship and heading over.”

“Who’s the pilot going out?” he asked.

“I honestly couldn’t tell you,” said Zoe. “Would you volunteer for such a thing?”

“I think that might be a little fun,” he said as he saw a potential opening to spend a little more time with her and try his charms without being distracted.

“You’re a good pilot, so I know I’d be in capable hands,” she said with flirty eyes.

“My hands are capable,” he grinned. “I’ll ask about it.”

“Well, I look forward to having you on the flight,” she said with another charming smile. Ryan gave her a wink and headed over to Tasha.

“Major Hayden?” he asked as he approached and saw Tasha writing something.

“Captain Kingston?” she answered.

“Who’s the pilot taking the Ag crew out tomorrow morning?” he asked.

“I honestly haven’t picked one,” said Tasha. “You volunteering?”

“Sure,” he said. “Minor trip to a new island and being one of the first to set foot on it? That sounds like an adventure.”

“Okay, done,” said Tasha. “Get with Kurt in the morning.”

“Will do,” said Ryan as he noticed something. “Those are nice flowers.”

“They are,” said Tasha. “They are a thoughtful gesture from Chuck.”

“He’s still working off his debt to you?” asked Ryan.

“He will be for a while,” said Tasha. “Anything else?”

“No, ma’am,” he said. “Just wanted to take one minor diversion off your mind.”

“Thank you for volunteering,” said Tasha. Ryan departed and Tasha figured now would be as good a time as any to call Rachelle and get Zoe put back into the rotation. She called her up on the tablet she was working on as Rachelle answered from her office.

“You enjoying paradise, babe?” asked Rachelle.

“It does have its charms,” said Tasha.

“I love the flower,” said Rachelle with a grin. “Maybe we should have leis made like the Hawaiians used to do.”

“So, everyone coming back from Rachelle Island can say they got laid?” asked Tasha with a grin.

“Oh, that’s bad,” said Rachelle with a laugh. “And I hate you for thinking of it first.”

“It’s what I do,” laughed Tasha.

“So… who’s it from?” asked Rachelle.

“Chuck,” said Tasha. “And your vase was put to good use.”

Tasha turned the camera and showed her the flower bouquet and got an approving glance from Rachelle. “That’s quite nice.”

“I get fresh ones every day as well,” grinned Tasha.

“Seriously making him pay,” said Rachelle.

“Though I’m not real happy about the lot of you ganging up behind my back and getting him to give them to me,” said Tasha.

“As friends?” asked Rachelle.

“Guy friends don’t give female friends flowers unless there’s a hidden motive,” said Tasha.

“Okay, I’ll leave it alone,” said Rachelle. “But probably not the reason you called.”

“No, can you slip Zoe Kent into the next rotation?” asked Tasha.

“That one is full,” said Rachelle as she looked over the listing. “I can get her in the week after next though.”

“That’ll work,” said Tasha.

“How come?” asked Rachelle. Tasha briefly explained the situation to her as Rachelle added her into the listing.

“Done,” said Rachelle. “I do have a serious matter to talk over with you though.”

“Oh?” asked Tasha. Rachelle explained the issue she had with the listing and who she knew was responsible for it.

“I checked the data logs and sure enough, that’s what happened,” said Rachelle.

“Maybe he has a reason for it?” asked Tasha.

“Like being a workaholic?” asked Rachelle. “Look, he needs it.”

“No, I agree,” said Tasha. “Want me to talk to him?”

“No, I plan on forcing the issue when you get back,” said Rachelle. “I’d like a bloc of the Directors to tell him in no uncertain terms that kinda thing isn’t tolerated.”

“I’ll talk to Angeline and Kurt from here,” said Tasha.

“I’ve got everyone else,” said Rachelle.

“Wait, isn’t that the same trip for Mary?” asked Tasha.

“Maybe,” grinned Rachelle.

“Your turn is during that trip isn’t it?” asked Tasha.

“Maybe,” said Rachelle with another grin.

“That’s cheating!” exclaimed Tasha.

“When you were in the military on Earth, did you not try to pick every tactical advantage you could when planning a mission?” asked Rachelle.

“This is so not fair,” said Tasha.

“Well, unless we band together, it won’t matter anyway,” said Rachelle. “So, you can either go along with it or thwart my attempts on a man who needs some down time.”

“I hate you,” said Tasha.

“But that’s why you love me so much, babe,” grinned Rachelle.

“I guess,” sighed Tasha. “Anyway, Zoe is good to go?”

“At the top of the list,” said Rachelle.

“Works for me,” said Tasha. She didn’t realize it at the time, but her actions that day would have serious ramifications later on.