by Benson, Tom
“I knew that such a thing existed,” Helen said, “but I wouldn’t have dreamt of going inside to tinker with anything.”
“The level of electrical power is highly dangerous unless you have some idea what you’re doing,” Cherry said. “We’re not talking about flicking a switch in an under-the-stairs fusebox.”
Helen laughed, and it was such a strange sound that Cherry cast her a glance. “I’m sorry, Cherry, I think I’d almost forgotten how to laugh. My companions in the farmhouse have been my saviour so often from the very first day.”
Jay-Dee said, “From what we’ve seen, it looks like the feeling is mutual, Helen. Your group may be smaller than ours, but you have the same mindset—you’re all in it together.” He got a nod from Josh.
The four walked along in silence for a while, and Helen brightened when they topped the rise. “Is it that red-brick building with the small poles sticking up on the roof?”
“Yes,” Cherry said, “and those poles are lightning rods—most likely the reason that your local transformer survived.”
“It’s so beautiful out here,” Helen said. “We work the farm, but apart from an occasional quick trip into town, we don’t go much farther. We’ve never come down this way, have we, Josh?”
“No, and I think it’s because we’d expect to see the dogs.”
Cherry said, “One of the guys said last night that you have quite a few feral dogs around here.”
Josh went on to explain about the two loosely-allied packs.
A short while later the group arrived at the compound.
“I know this will sound like common sense,” Cherry said, “but please, don’t touch anything in here.”
“Don’t worry,” Helen said.
Josh said, “I’m here to take in information—not electricity.”
Jay-Dee winked at him. “Nice answer.” He closed the gate when the others went inside. “I’ll stay out here, and it will give you guys more room to move in there.”
Inside the small, cube-shaped building, Cherry indicated an area to the left which was away from the primary switching and control panel. “If you two could stay there, for now, it will be safer for all of us, but I’ll be standing back so you’ll be able to clearly see what I’m doing.”
Helen said, “You said that your community back at Auchcarn would be expecting a message regarding how long you were staying. How will you tell them if all you can do is switch the power off and on?”
Cherry unscrewed the sizeable front panel from a grey box attached to the massive unit. “We knew there would be no voice contact, but we also knew that simply powering up the sub-stations would show our progress—where we’d reached—”
“Yes, I understand that,” Helen said, “but I can’t see how you’d be able to send a detailed message.”
Cherry grinned. “After a discussion, Harry, our resident scientist and radio ham, came up with a solution—Morse Code.”
“The legendary dots and dashes system?” Josh said. “How are you going to do that with what’s in here?”
Cherry produced a small piece of paper from her pocket. “I’ve got the alphabetic and numeric symbols of the code on a piece of paper, and I’ve written my message. All I have to do now is choose a particular circuit to send on.” She ran her finger along the line of mini-trip switches. “Street lighting will do nicely.”
“How will they know to expect it?” Helen was shaking her head in disbelief.
“I discussed it with Des, the engineer. He told me not to attempt it with the main trip, but he gave me options for which individual circuit to use—street lighting being the top choice. If you have power in Aviemore, sending a message during daylight hours isn’t going to affect that circuit outside of what I’m doing.” Cherry paused. “I switch the circuit off, and on, rapidly three times and then wait for precisely five minutes before I start sending.”
Josh squinted. “I imagine it would be difficult to send rapid dots and dashes using a trip switch.”
Cherry nodded. “You’re quite right—it would be, but we performed a few experiments. We used one of the circuits from a sub-station which is situated within the mountain. I found that if I only take the trip switch to the halfway position, it causes the light and buzzer alarm to work in the Control Room. I can confirm what I’m sending if I watch the individual light on the panel.”
“I’m impressed,” Helen said.
“Here goes everything,” Cherry said, and went into her sequence of actions. She sent:
‘OLH. STAY TODAY PLUS THREE. OLH’. She waited for one minute and then sent it again.
“Now, what happens?” Josh said.
“Now we give the Auchcarn guys a few minutes to translate and confirm what they received.” Cherry smiled at them both. “I’ve sent OLH as my signature which is an abbreviation for Operation Long Haul. I should get the duty engineer’s name at either end and my message repeated in between.”
Five minutes later, the red light above the ‘street-lighting trip-switch flashed, and Cherry noted if it was the equivalent to a dot or a dash. And then as the light flashed in long or short bursts, she noted the message which had come back in response. It took a few minutes to convert into words.
“The reply reads, ‘DES. STAY TODAY PLUS THREE. DES’ so it was Des on shift, and he’s repeated what I sent as a confirmation.”
Josh said, “How many of your guys can use the code the way you have?”
“Except for Harry, we all still need to use our guide and translate the dots and dashes of a message into longhand. In our team here, obviously, I am one operator, and Bill is the other. At Auchcarn, Des, Tracey and, of course, Harry have all practised with me on the sub-station trip switch in—”
Jay-Dee came inside. “We’ve got visitors.” He closed the door halfway. “I pulled the compound gate closed and wrapped the chain around, so we’re safe.”
Helen went to the door to look out at the high mesh fence. “Oh, no. Is this the sort of thing your team were discussing this morning?”
“Yes,” Jay-Dee said. “Our actions-on for this type of thing is to stay safe and wait for back-up.”
Josh said, “How will any of the others know—I didn’t fully understand that actions-on stuff?”
Jay-Dee said, “Those who are back at the farm know when we left, and we said we’d be no more than three hours before our return.” He paused. “There’s also a valuable lesson there, mate. Always be fully in the picture regarding what to do in mishaps—before venturing out on a trip.”
Josh nodded.
Helen said, “In half an hour we’ll be expected back at the farm.”
.
Eagle’s Nest Farm
The shopping team arrived back and pulled the small wooden trailer into the massive barn to unload what they’d acquired.
Imogen ran across from the farmhouse. “Hey guys, the sub-station team are thirty minutes overdue.”
“Shit,” Quincy said. “How many of us ought to go down there?”
“Two of us with weapons,” Amber suggested. “We’ll need a couple of you to stay here.”
“I’d agree with that,” Bill said.
“Always remember the what-if scenarios,” Victoria said and grinned at Bill.
“It’s about two miles,” Amber said. “Are you good to run, Bill?”
“Lead the way.”
A few seconds later they were halfway along the driveway to the road, their weapons held across their bodies as they got into step together and opened up the pace. They turned right onto what had long ago been a busy tourist route to and from the local town.
For fifteen minutes, the pair jogged along the overgrown main road, taking turns to glance back over a shoulder to watch for anything untoward.
“Surreal, don’t you think,” Amber said, breathing easily, “when you look around us and think of our circumstances?”
“It is indeed,” Bill said, looking at the rolling hills nearby and the mountains within a day’s
hike.
A few minutes passed with no more sound than their light breathing and the regular tapping of their footwear on the road. They were a strange pair when all was said and done. An ex-soldier in his mid forties carrying a laser rifle was jogging along a country road with a young woman in her early twenties carrying a shotgun, in a picturesque highland setting. The one thing they had in common was the desire to reach and help their friends from whatever peril beset them.
Amber said, “Remember, we told you about the second pack of dogs?”
“Yes, a Rottweiler, two Dobermans, and a loose following of a few other strays.”
Amber slowed and pointed ahead. “I think we can afford to walk now and plan our next move.”
Bill looked ahead a few hundred metres and into a field to see dogs of various breeds trotting around in the grass near the compound which contained the small brick building. A Rottweiler and his two Doberman buddies were barking, growling, and generally threatening the health of somebody or something.
Bill said, “We’ll see if we can get within one hundred metres. At that distance, I’ll be able to stun the leader—but the closer, the better.”
“You won’t have to kill him?”
“No, if we’re within range I ought to be able to give him a dizzy turn.”
“What would you like me to do, apart from watching your back?”
“If you do that, it should be enough, but if by some chance we attract the dogs’ attention I’ll give you a heads-up.”
“I take it your guys in there will know that we’ve arrived when you open up on the dog leader?”
“Yes, they’ll catch on, both of them are decent shots—Jay-Dee is particularly good.”
Bill and Amber were at the roadside hedgerow within one hundred metres of the compound. They were out of sight of the door of the building.
“This will do us nicely,” Bill said as he took up position leaning on a strong fence post to steady his aim.
“We’ve got good visibility both ways on this road, so nothing will be able to surprise us.”
Bill squeezed the trigger, giving the big Rottweiler a numbed foreleg to consider. “That should put him out of action for a short while.”
“Were you aiming for his leg?”
“Yes, it’s effective without causing him permanent damage. He’ll be shaken and confused for a moment while he takes stock of his surroundings—ah, there goes one of the Dobermans limping away.”
“That must be Jay-Dee letting you know he’s seen your shot.”
“Here they come now,” Bill said and waved as the four people left the building, crossing to the gate, and looking around for their reinforcements.
The pair on the road watched as Jay-Dee advanced, aiming his laser rifle at the slowly retreating dogs. The remaining Doberman was snarling and acting defiantly. The strays had backed off warily as the weapon was pointed at them.
Cherry closed the gate and looped the chain when Helen and Josh were out of the compound. By that time, Bill and Amber had closed to fifty metres away, and the large group of dogs were barking and growling but not in a rush to tackle these strange new foes.
Amber said, “I’ll lead the way back, Bill, and it will leave you and Jay-Dee to deal with any trouble.”
“Sounds good,” Bill said and turned to the group. “How did it go inside?”
“Message sent and confirmed,” Cherry said. “How was the shopping trip?”
“We did okay, and I think you guys will want to be on the next one. More sets of eyes are always good to appreciate what’s available.”
They all got together a short distance from the compound.
“Okay,” Bill said, “if you get in line behind Amber, Jay-Dee and I will work the tail-end.”
“I think getting back to the farm will do me for now,” Helen said and laughed nervously.
4. Enlightenment
Eagle's Nest Farm
Everyone sat out in the large covered garden for a snack and drink. Those who’d been to town explained about what had been acquired on the shopping session. The others who’d been to the sub-station gave a simple briefing on how their mission had gone.
Jay-Dee said, “How good is the range of fishing gear in the outdoor shop?”
“It’s extensive, mate,” Quincy said, “so if fishing is your thing, a visit would be worthwhile.”
“When can we fit in another trip there?”
“It’s twenty-four-hour opening. You’re staying for four days, so this evening, tomorrow or the day after would all be good.”
“I’d like to go on the next one too,” Cherry said, “it won’t be tonight because I’ll be working with Glen and Josh on a project in the barn.”
“What are you creating?” Victoria laughed.
“We’re going to strip the tractors that are parked in the barn. One is vintage, and the other is dual-powered.”
Bill said, “Even if you strip both tractor engines, there’s no fuel for one, and the solar pack will be ruined in the other.”
“Josh has come up with an idea to use engine parts to make a mechanical gearing for the gristmill,” Cherry said. “Unfortunately, these guys have never had electrical power to use their tools. Now that they have tools and power, I’m going to help them build a frame fitted with gear ratios.”
“Gear ratios?” Emma said.
“Well, it’s an area which takes a while to get your head around. If you have a range of cogs, and a belt or cord system between them, they will reduce the physical effort needed to turn the grinding wheel.”
“The easiest way to imagine it is like the gears on a bicycle,” Josh said. “We’re pretty sure that there are sufficient belts and cogs, but we have to remove them carefully from their present positions on the two tractor engines.”
Imogen laughed. “We’ve tried using two cows to pull the plough, but it was taking more out of us to make the animals move. Unfortunately, we can’t get a big enough animal up into the mill.”
“How about getting more power tools on another shopping visit,” Quincy said. “We have plenty of daylight so a small team could walk into town this evening after our meal.”
“I’ll join that one,” Jay-Dee said.
“Count me in,” Helen said. “I think I’d like another walk outside.”
“I’ll make it four,” Imogen said.
In the evening, the group of four left for town, Imogen leading with a shotgun, Quincy and Helen pulling the small trailer, and Jay-Dee at the back with his laser rifle. They covered the walk without a hitch, and no dogs were seen or heard.
While Imogen stayed at the door, Quincy, Helen and Jay-Dee went into the outdoor hobbies and leisure shop. Jay-Dee took his time selecting two fishing rods, and what he considered were sufficient and easy to carry accessories.
Helen said, “Will that be enough?”
“It’s not so much about what we’d like, Helen, it’s more to do with what we can afford to carry. We’ve been fishing by dropping a line in close to shore so having a rod and reel will be luxury.”
Quincy said, “Do many of you fish at Auchcarn?”
“Four of us like to think we are fishermen. I’m sure the guys will be happy to share—we learned early on our journey that sharing everything, including knowledge and skills, was the way to go.”
“I think your group’s survival story is amazing,” Helen said, “and I really would like to see your mountain.”
“I’m sure you will, but you must promise when you make the trip to come to us bearing gifts, like extra reels and line.”
Helen laughed. “Jay-Dee, it’s a deal.”
They went outside, and the small team walked on to the next store of interest—outdoor clothing and footwear. Bill and Victoria had both acquired new boots and waterproofs for themselves and their partners on their visit. Several pairs of thick socks were taken with members of the Auchcarn community in mind. Once again, it was the consideration of how much could be carried.
C
herry, Josh and Glen went into the barn with the simple sketches of a mechanical driving attachment for the grindstone. They set about stripping the tractor engines.
“Okay, Josh,” Glen said, “you tell me what you need, mate, and I’ll start ripping one of these things apart.”
Josh laughed. “I’ve been discussing it with Cherry, and we think the best thing to do is strip the engines down first.” He looked at the two tractors. “The small one would be best if you’d like to get onto that, mate.”
Glen lifted a large adjustable wrench, a power driver and an extension cable before setting off to start his task on the older of the two tractors.
Cherry said, “Glen, before you get carried away, be sure not to snap or cut any rubber or nylon belts or hoops in there.”
“You’ve got it.” Glen located a wall socket and plugged in the power tool to test that it had juice. A loud whining noise echoed around the large barn, and Glen laughed. “We’re in business, people.”
Josh nodded to Cherry. “Glen is a very physical person, but at least he recognises that he needs to be directed.”
Cherry smiled. “I’ll be cautious before I ask him to do anything. Now, let’s see what’s under the cover of the modern machine.” She unclipped and loosened the engine cover. “It may have been dual-powered, but there are still plenty of mechanical parts in here. There is no rust which is good news. Decent metal will make for robust construction.”
Josh worked alongside Cherry, carefully removing parts and placing the items they wanted to one side. While his companion continued, he went to check on Glen’s progress to rescue a few pieces of machinery before it was all reduced to scrap.
Bill went out to a nearby field to give Amber an introduction to the laser rifle. He removed the power pack and gave the action-girl a rundown on the features and specification of the weapon. It became apparent early that Amber had always had an interest in firearms and shooting.
