Roachia 04 Under the Cover of Darkness

by Cindy Combs

  Cassie nodded. "She promised me a story, but she gets busy. Do you know any stories?"

  Lisa noticed the sadness that sprang into Dr. MacGregor's eyes. But almost as quickly, he ran a hand over his face then smiled at the girl across the table. "Sure I do. Have you ever heard of sentinels?"

  At the chorus of 'yeahs', Dr. MacGregor smiled and began his story.

  "... Keegan leaned out from the bank, Harry holding tightly onto Keegan's legs. They had one chance to grab the little girl before the current swept her further downstream toward the dam..."

  Dianne Fraiser paused, surprised at the sight before her. At least twelve of the eighteen students left in the cavern had gathered around one of the tables. At the center was Dr. MacGregor telling a story. While she wasn't surprised to spot her daughter at the table, she wouldn't have thought the young teens, mostly ranging from 12 to 14, would have admitted to being interested.

  However, it became clearer as she continued to listen. MacGregor's deep voice was warm and enchanting, drawing the audience into his tale. It was a tale of adventure and heroism, just the kind kids of any age liked. While Dianne had read some of the sentinel legends, she had never read one that was at such a personal level. It was almost as if the story-teller had been there, personally witnessing the events as they unfolded. No wonder the teens were enjoying it.

  As Jeff finished the story, Cassie immediately jumped in. "Tell us another one!"

  Dianne walked up to the table. "Maybe some other time. Right now, you need to get to bed."

  "Mom," Cassie pleaded.

  "Bed." Then she looked at the other kids at the table. "Same goes for the rest of you. Since the others will be out most of the night, it's up to us to keep things running around here tomorrow." Her announcement was followed by mumbles and groans, but all the kids pulled back from the table and scattered to their respective tents. She heard Lisa thank Dr. MacGregor for explaining 'logistics' and watched the girl wander over to her tent. Following Cassie to bed, she wondered how Dr. MacGregor had been able to reach the girl when the rest of them had failed. Whatever the means, she was glad to see it.

  When Dianne walked back to the common area later, she spotted MacGregor still sitting at the table, head resting in his arms. Concerned, she approached him. "Are you okay?"

  Jeff raised his head and gave her a sad smile. "Yeah."

  He looked exhausted, his darkly circled eyes and ruffled fine hair making him look so vulnerable. Dianne was still worried. "How are your ribs?"

  "All right." Jeff chuckled. "Lisa managed to con me into taking a pain pill."

  Dianne gave him an answering smile while mentally applauding the girl's initiative. "That's good. Lisa hadn't been with us too long before her father died, and she's been so withdrawn ever since. It's nice to see her taking an interest in things again."

  Jeff frowned. "Roaches?"

  "Yes. He was the owner of Woodrow Manufacturing in Greenwalk. When the front lines appeared to be faltering this spring, he sent his daughter to us while they prepared to evacuate. We received word that he had died helping his employees escape when the Roaches invaded. While Lisa is always the first one to pitch in when we need help, she doesn't interact with people much."

  "Your daughter seems to worship her."

  "I'm very grateful to her, too. She saved Cassie's life during the bombing." Seeing the sadness reenter his eyes, Dianne tried to change the subject. "Where did you pick up that story? The kids loved it." When the sadness deepened in his face, she wondered if she'd made a mistake.

  Then like magic, he seemed to shake off the darkness. "Oral family history. My grandpa Harry use to tell me the stories when I was a kid, so I told them to my boys. They loved hearing them, especially when they were scared or sick."

  Realizing it was grief she had seen before, she tried to turn the subject again. "Family history?"

  "Yep. Keegan was Harry's grandpa and originally told the stories to him."

  Dianne was surprised. "I hadn't realized any of the Guide families were still around."

  Jeff shrugged. "The Center believed that the talent couldn't be passed on through the female side. Since we descended through Keegan's daughter, they didn't pay us much attention."

  "Did you ever get to visit the Center before it was destroyed?"

  Jeff slowly shook his head, a slightly bemused look on his face. "Harry was going to take me one year for the Gathering Festival. He was certain I had the talent and wanted to get me tested. Then all of a sudden, he told me we weren't going and refused to discuss it."

  "That must have been disappointing."

  "Just as well," Jeff chuckled. "That was the year the mountain blew and destroyed everyone and everything there. I don't know what happened to change Harry's mind, but I've always been grateful that he did."

  Dianne chuckled with him, filing it away as one of those times when a higher power seemed to be working. This man had been so instrumental in developing the few defenses the colony had, she hated to think where they'd be if he had died as a child. Which reminded her that he was far too important to be allowed to become rundown again. She didn't want to be known as the doctor who lost the famous scientist. Besides, she was really beginning to like him. "Now, do I have to chase you off to bed, too?"

  Taking in the fire entering the woman's eyes, Jeff shook his head. "No Doc, I'll be a good boy and head for bed." He gingerly rose, picked up the pen, pad and map, then walked to the tent he was sharing with Colton. He turned, gave her a brief wave, and ducked inside.

  Dianne smiled and waved back. She really WAS beginning to like him.

  Four weeks later, caverns in Challenger Mountain

  "Why do the Roaches hate us so much?"

  Jeff looked at Darla, noting the seriousness on the blue-eyed blonde's pretty face. Glancing around at the other students sitting at the table, he realized it was a question they all wanted answered. Even JD was focusing all his attention on him, waiting. Considering what all these kids have been through, Jeff couldn't blame them.

  Taking a deep breath, Jeff carefully chose his words. "Well, the Roachians need more land and see us as outsiders. We came from somewhere else, and we've never been able to communicate with them very well. They feel we're taking up space on what is essentially their planet and thus rightfully belongs to them."

  "Why do they need more land?" Lisa asked. "They have the other three much larger continents where it's warm. Why can't they just let us have this small one?"

  "The Roachian population is growing very fast. They have already filled up the other continents, thus they want more land to expand into."

  Steve looked puzzled, his normally cheerful face just as serious as the others. "Why are they growing so fast?"

  Jeff sighed, realizing this was not a simple question, thus requiring a long answer. He pulled a pad of paper towards him and picked up a pen. The ten teens drew in closer so they could see. "Well, you all know that each group of Roachians are led by their Queen." All the heads nodded as Jeff drew a big Q in the center of the paper. "Each Queen has a circle of smaller females called her court. They become her advisors and do most of the Roachian technology research and development." Jeff made a circle of C's around the Q.

  "It's the females who live in the Queen's Tower, right?" Steve asked.

  "Right." Jeff drew a circle around the Q and Cs. "It is here that the Queen lays and nurtures the eggs that become drones. Once mature, they form her army. They carry out her plans, manage her affairs outside the Tower, and defend the Queen and her territory from outsiders."

  "They're the ones who live in the Mounds," Casey added.

  "Right." Jeff printed several groups of Ds around the Queen's Tower, and drew circles around each one. "Meanwhile, the female court members produce the workers, who do all the manual labor." He made lots of dots in and around all the other marks to signify the workers.

  "Then where do the Chosen Ones come from?" JD asked.

  Jeff smiled. "The Chosen Ones a
re drones who prove themselves to be superior in some way. They tend to be the strongest warriors, the most innovative leaders, the sharpest minds, and sometimes, just the most handsome." The girls giggled as the boys rolled their eyes. "Once the Queen has 'chosen' them, they come to the Tower and she feeds them her 'royal jelly'. This substance transforms them. They grow bigger, their coats gain a purple hue, wings develop on their backs, and their hormones are activated." Now all the teenagers were giggling. Jeff stifled his own smile and continued. "They then mate with the Queen and her court when they call. All the other times, each Chosen One runs his own Mound, with his selected drones and workers. As long as the Queen is pleased with him, he will continue to get the royal jelly and stay in control.

  "Now, every so many cycles, the Queen will also produce other females, who become new court members, and sometimes a junior queen. When the junior queen has reached maturity, she has to make a decision between three options. She can challenge the senior queen to a fight to the death, and if she wins, she takes over the Tower. However, if the senior queen is young and healthy, it may be a tough battle where even the winner is badly injured. Thus, that's not always a good option. The junior queen's next choice is to challenge a Queen from another tower. However, she must get past all that queen's drones in order to challenge her. Which isn't very smart unless the other queen is weak and dying, then her drones will let the challenger through uncontested. If all the other queens are strong, then she falls back on her third option, which is to gather a group of young drones and junior court members, move to an unclaimed piece of land, and mark her own territory. This is a good deal for the drones, because they have a better chance to gain recognition and thus become a Chosen One. It is also a good deal for the junior court members, because it is easier for them to become senior court members. And it is certainly the better deal for both the queens, because neither has to risk a vicious fight to the death.

  "This is where the problem starts. You see, the Roachians have developed to the point where the general population, and especially the Queens, live a lot longer than they use to. So there are many more junior Queens being born than senior Queens dying. Thus more are taking the third option."

  "Even when that means they have to fight us?" Lisa asked, eyes wide.

  "Yes, because there are also more drones being born, who are willing to give up their lives for their Queen..."

  Dianne and Mullway stood several yards away from Jeff's table, watching his group grow from the original ten to somewhere closer to twenty. Even Harry Kim had join the teens to hear Dr. MacGregor's explanation. Dianne smiled. "He is so good with the kids. They all love listening to him, whether he's explaining a scientific principle or telling one of his stories."

  "And you know they are absorbing every word," Jane added. She looked up as Frank joined them. "Has Jeff taught before?"

  Frank shook his head. "He's been too busy with research. The only time he'd get to teach was with his sons. Blair and Sam were usually so far ahead of their respective classes, Jeff would work with them at home to keep them interested and steadily progressing."

  "He must be great with them," Dianne commented, continuing to watch Jeff fielding questions.

  "Jeff is very close to both boys. They are the only family he has by blood."

  "By blood?" Jane questioned.

  Frank cracked a smile. "My family considers Jeff as part of our family. Plus he has several close friends who are very protective of him. Jeff just has a way of getting through to people. So does Sam, and Blair was even better with people than Jeff. He'd been interning at the Refugee center in Sealand, and by all accounts doing wonders with the people." Frank closed his eyes, deeply feeling the loss of the bright young man.

  Sensing Frank's grief, Mullway asked, "Is it time for the meeting?" At Frank's nod, she walked over and tapped Jeff's shoulder. Jeff glanced up, caught Jane's eye, then gently disengaged himself from the kids. Harry Kim also followed.

  Frank studied his friend as Jeff walked over to join them. While he seemed to be moving easier, fatigue still clung to his much too thin body. Frank wasn't sure how much of it was grief and worry, but Dianne felt it was partly due to the aftereffects of the drugs used. Whatever the cause, the best thing for Jeff was to get him back home. Frank suspected a hug from Sam would do wonders for him. Unfortunately, that didn't appear to be happening any time soon.

  They joined the rest of the adults in a side cavern. Since it was raining hard outside, all of the teams were staying in for the night. Dianne looked around the circle, noted the tired expressions. She had a feeling the news wasn't going to be good.

  It wasn't. Harry rolled out the map, and pointed out the sections of the fence they had checked. "We have a couple more areas to cover, but so far we haven't found any hole except this one." Harry tapped the map with his pencil.

  "And that's the one which is only a foot high, right?" Jeff commented, his face reflecting his deep concentration.

  "Right," Josiah confirmed. "Little Cassie might be able to get through, but I doubt anyone else could."

  "Not much to show for a month's worth of work," Frank sourly commented.

  "Is there any way to contact one of the military units and have them reach us?" Gail asked.

  Jane shook her head. "The Roaches would pick up the signal."

  "It would be like painting a big, red target on us," Frank added. "We'd be long dead before our people could organize a rescue party." Except for Jeff, whom the Roaches would probably snatch up and torture again. Frank felt himself tense at the thought. There was no way he'd allow them to touch his friend again.

  "So we are going to have to find another way out," Dianne commented thoughtfully.

  "I've been trying to pull enough pieces together for a plane," Jack inserted. "However, the bombing hasn't left much."

  "Where are you working on it?" Josiah asked in surprise. "There's no way you could bring it in here."

  "There's a shed a little ways to the south," Jack pointed out the location on the map. "I work on it when I'm sure there's no Roaches around."

  "Still sounds dangerous." Jane replied.

  Jack waved off her concern. "The old pilot in me has to try."

  "JD and I could help you," Josiah thought out loud. "Perhaps have a couple of the older kids play lookout while we work."

  "I could help, too," Bella added.

  Jack gave them a big grin. "I can always use the help."

  "What if we moved it to the outside cavern?" Frank suggested. "That way you'd have more cover."

  "That could work," Jack agreed.

  "But would the noise alert the Roaches we're here?" Dianne waved her hand to indicate the cavern complex. "If we're discovered, they could decide to bomb us, or at the very least, barricade us in. That would make things pretty difficult if we couldn't go out for supplies and such."

  "True," Frank conceded. "We'd better stick with the shed."

  Jeff was still studying the map. "Do any of the caverns lead to the other side of the fence?"

  The campus people all looked at each other, trading puzzled looks. Dianne turned back to Jeff. "I don't think so, but there are several unexplored passages. I don't think anyone knows how complex it is."

  "That might be another option to check out," Jeff explained. "While one group works on the plane and another finishes searching along the fence, the rest of us could start searching for another route out."

  Everyone nodded, then began discussing how to make it work.

  Four days later

  It was the 17th day of the Tenth month. She was now fourteen years old.

  Before, birthdays were special. First, her Dad would wake her up with a surprise. When her mother was alive, she'd fix Lisa's hair up in ribbons and braids. Then after school, Dad would take them to a place of Lisa's choosing for dinner. After dinner she would get a present, something Dad had picked out just for her. Then on the closest weekend, Dad would throw a party for her with all her friends. Lisa had alway
s looked forward to her birthday.

  Yet here it was and Lisa felt anything but special. No one knew it was her birthday. She couldn't expect any presents or surprises. Worst of all, she now knew it wasn't the gifts or the dinner or the party that had made it special. It was her Dad's love that had made it special, made her special. Lisa had never felt his loss so keenly as she did today.

  She managed to get through breakfast without embarrassing herself. She was on water duty, so thankfully she didn't have to make conversation as she would have on dishes or laundry. As soon as the barrels were full, Lisa turned to leave the area. She wasn't in the mood to map passages in the mountain, or watch for Roaches, or even listen to one of Dr. MacGregor's stories. She just wanted to be alone.

  A high voice behind her broke her preoccupation. "Lisa, where ya going?"

  "Not now, Cassie," Lisa harshly told her, still walking out of the main cavern.

  "But Lisa..."

  Lisa spun on her heel to confront the girl. "I said NOT NOW!" Cassie recoiled from the older girl's wrath. "I want to be ALONE." Not waiting for an answer, Lisa turned back to her goal. She slipped into a passage off the main cavern. Since it lead to the south instead of east into the mountain, no one had bothered with it. Lisa knew she would be left alone. Brushing back tears from her suddenly blurry eyes, she flipped on her light and picked her way through the stalagmites.

  Outside of the passage, Cassie also brushed away a tear. Now upset herself, she turned back to find something else to do.

  One hour later, lower cavern

  Jeff finished tightening a screw, then handed the communicator to Casey. "Now try it."

  Casey held down the switch on the side. "Darla, can you hear me?"

  "Sure can," the girl's voice crackled across the speaker. Casey looked up to see Darla give her a thumbs up from across the underground river.