“What’s next on the list?” he asked as he followed her down the hall to the ladder.
“Damage assessment. I need to see every hull section up close.”
2nd Lt Darren Cormack
Planetfall +4 days, early morning
Ex-Raphael sleeper pod seven
“Sir, wake up.” A gentle female voice greeted Darren.
“Hrm. Go away.” He rolled over and heard himself snort.
Darren tried to go back to sleep, but the human alarm clock persisted, shaking his shoulder firmly. He yawned and flopped on his other side, then opened his eyes.
“What is it, Daniels?”
“You’ve been asleep for twelve hours, sir. I don’t mean Demeter hours either, I mean Earth hours. I was starting to get worried.”
Demeter hours, he thought. It seems that we need a whole new system of time for this new planet, where the days are roughly 20 Earth hours.
He swung his legs out of the berth and dropped to the deck. With a great stretch and another yawn, he was ready. “Fine, I’m up. Please tell me you have some news that’s worth the rude awakening.”
“The scouts came back last night after you fell asleep,” she replied.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” he shot back sharply as he made his way toward the cockpit.
“You were exhausted, sir. I felt it was best to just let you sleep and give you the report in the morning.”
“I don’t recall my mother being appointed to this mission, Daniels.”
He could hear her sigh over their footfalls on the metal deck. “Sorry, sir.”
They reached the cockpit and took their seats. Darren shielded his eyes, as the sun was low to the horizon, shining with full intensity through the forward windows. For a moment, the bright light made his head throb, until his eyes could adjust. He glanced over at Sergeant Daniels as she prepared her notes. She did not make eye contact with him once; her head hung and her stare locked the paper in front of her.
“Something bothering you, Daniels?”
“No offense, Lieutenant, but you don’t seem to be in a good mood this morning.”
Darren scoffed. “Try me again after I’ve had surf and turf and a night at the Mariott, then I’ll be a peach.”
She slammed her note pad shut and stood up. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll give you the report later, when you’re ready.”
“Wait,” he blurted. Daniels stopped and looked at him with a scowl. “I’m sorry, I’m taking out my stress on you, and it’s not fair. Please sit, I’m ready to hear it.”
“It’s not good news.”
“I know. It’s written all over your face. Just sit down. I promise not to make any more smartass remarks.”
Daniels slumped back into the chair. She opened the notepad and began to read from her notes. “The pod is sitting on the best ground in the immediate area. That said, we’ve been unable to locate a source of clean water nearby.”
“I thought you said that two of the teams reported seeing water in their initial trips?”
“They did, sir. It was getting late so they couldn’t investigate until yesterday. Team Four reports that the large body of water they found to the west is a wide swamp that spans a good chunk of the distance between us and the big mountain on that side. Their team leader didn’t exactly have glowing praise for the quality of the water once they were able to take a look at it.”
Darren knitted his fingers together. “What did he say, specifically?”
Daniels looked at her notes. “That he’s seen cleaner water in a shipyard.”
“That doesn’t sound promising at all. What about the other team that found water?”
“That was Team Three. They found another swamp directly south, extending to the east. They reported that the area was full of bugs similar to mosquitoes.”
Darren sighed. “No help there, either. What did the other two teams report?”
The sergeant flipped to the next page of her notes. “Colorful and obnoxious flora, a species of dangerous fauna, dirt, rocks, big snakes, things like that.”
“But no resources of specific note. Damn.”
“Well, Team Two did actually find a source of potentially clean water far to the east, but it was so far off that it’s not feasible to use for this site. People would have to march all day to grab a bucket and then walk all the way back here.”
“So we’ll have to strike that as far as an available resource.” He paused to collect his thoughts. “What did they report about this so-called dangerous fauna?”
“Team One got attacked by a pair of cat-like creatures with huge fangs. The team was able to neutralize the threat without injuries, but the leader – a guy named Tate – said that they were lucky that they spotted the animals before they were attacked. He said if the team had been ambushed, they probably wouldn’t have made it back in one piece.”
“Hmm. I’m not thrilled to hear that, but not really surprised either. No signs of intelligent alien life?”
“No, sir.” Daniels cleared her throat and tapped her pen nervously. “It gets worse, sir.”
Darren picked at the armrest of his chair. “Lay it on me, Sergeant.”
“The lack of clean water is what is going to hurt us the most. We haven’t even seen so much as a freshwater spring since we got here. If we don’t find some water that we can at least treat properly, we’ll be out in two days. Three if we’re lucky.”
So this is what it comes to. After all the crap we’ve been through and survived, we’ll die of thirst if something doesn’t change. His hands flexed into fists and then flat again.
“Get everyone together outside the pod, Sergeant.”
“Yes sir, I’ll get the scouts together.”
“No, not just the scouts. I want everyone outside for a meeting in thirty minutes.”
Her eyes widened and mouth slacked. “Sir?”
“Just get them together please, and leave your notes here.”
“Yes sir.” She passed the pad to Darren and left the cockpit.
Darren spent the next thirty minutes eating breakfast, reviewing his sergeant’s chicken scratches, and contemplating the potential ramifications of his next move. He was certain that his decision would not be popular, but was just as certain that it was necessary.
He took the long walk to the end of the pod and stopped at the top of the ramp, where Sergeant Daniels waited. All one hundred fifty nine passengers were crowded in a half circle around the base. Parents hushed their children when they saw Darren emerge, and he felt the weight of hundreds of eyes scrutinizing him.
Darren cleared his throat and projected his voice as much as he could without yelling. “We have a supply problem at this landing site that makes it too dangerous to use.”
The crowd immediately burst into whispers as neighbors exchanged confused glanced.
He gave them no mind as he continued. “Some of you may already be aware that there is no clean water available at this site. Over the past few days, scouting teams have been sent out to find sources of water that can be purified and used by our camp. Our reports on the nearest water sources indicate that they cannot be safely purified with the resources we have.”
The whispers escalated to mumbles, and a few of the passengers pointed at Darren as they spoke amongst themselves. His stomach started to knot, but he pressed on.
“As a result, and in the interest of the safety of everyone here, I am ordering the evacuation of this site.”
Whispers gave way to a full on eruption of questions, taunts, and insults. Darren could not pick out any specific conversation from the uproar. He belted out a command of silence. After a few moments, the din faded somewhat.
“Where the hell are we supposed to go?” asked Tate, one of the scouts, over the crowd.
“We’re going to join another landing site to the east. They should have…”
“We don’t know what else is out there besides the animals your scouts told us about. You expect us to just hike out t
here? With our kids?” another man shouted.
“We’re safer traveling as a group,” Darren tried to explain. “We will take all of the supplies we can carry, and distribute arms throughout the group for protection.”
The crowd exploded in barely intelligible shouts, accusations, and questions. Among them, Darren was able to pick out a few choice phrases.
“Are you trying to kill us?” “Who the hell made you God?” “I should have volunteered; I could have found something better than his blind-ass scouts.”
The roar became louder and Darren’s repeated commands for silence did nothing to suppress the surging anger. Realizing he couldn’t control his passengers with his voice alone, Darren drew his M9A1 and fired a single shot to his right, far clear of any humans. Nearly in unison, the crowd flinched and fell silent, except for the frightened cries of the youngest children. He waited a moment for the throng’s attention to turn to him.
“If there was a safe way to stay here, we would be staying,” he bellowed. “We are running out of water, people. If we stay here, we die.” Darren looked at the faces staring back from the crowd and measured the shock that his words had created. “You know I can’t force any of you to go, but staying here is a death sentence. When we leave, we take all the critical supplies with us. That includes the water purification tabs and every drop of water we can carry.”
Darren surveyed the crowd and sampled individual reactions; a young girl clutching her mom’s leg and sobbing, a somber look on Tate’s face, the shocked disbelief of two brothers. Darren’s hands trembled as he thought of the damage he had just done to camp morale. Just four days prior, these people’s world had been turned upside down, and now Darren was upsetting the frayed nerves of his band all over again.
“Get our scouts and anyone else who volunteers help to pack our supplies,” he murmured to Sergeant Daniels. “Water, food, and weapons are our priorities. Next are medical supplies, fire making supplies, and some hand tools. If we have more space, figure it out from there. Have the scouts disseminate instructions to conserve water, since we need to make it last as long as possible when we’re out there.”
“Yes, sir,” she saluted with a slight hesitation.
“We march in one hour,” he boomed to the crowd, then spun quickly and walked back to the cockpit.
He took the left hand seat and turned on the main computer and radio, then set the computer to record an automated beacon transmission on the emergency frequency.
“This is Lieutenant Cormack of pod seven, emergency alert to any pod that can hear.” His voice wavered as he spoke into the boom. “We are running low on fresh water, and there are no nearby sources from which to replenish our supplies. We are setting out immediately from our site to the shared pod one and two site with one hundred sixty one souls. Hopefully we should arrive in a little under a week.” He paused and licked his dry, trembling lips. “If any advance parties can be formed to bring us extra food and water on the way, the assistance would be greatly appreciated.”
Darren slumped forward against the console and closed his eyes. He whispered to himself, “Don’t put this weight on me.” His hands dug into his short hair and tightened. The stretching and dull pain did little to distract him from his troubling thoughts.
I’m barely more than a kid. It’s not fair to have this much riding on my shoulders. It’s not fair that these people have to rely on me. There were other people better suited for the job, and because they’re missing… He sighed heavily and his arm flopped onto the console. Just get them to the other site, then relinquish command to Marsolek.
“Are you okay, sir?” Daniels asked.
He looked back at the doorway at the brunette sergeant. Her eyes seemed to have taken on a soft kindness, and her eyebrows were arched.
“This isn’t a decision I want to make, but it seems like an impossible situation.”
“I get that, the more that I think about it. I don’t know if I could do what you just did.” She cracked a soft smile. “No offense, but I’m glad I’m not in your shoes.”
“I wish I weren’t,” he muttered under his breath.
“Look,” she said as her hand dropped onto his shoulder. “I know that you’ve got this thing going on where you don’t want to get to know people until the colony is set up, but people are going to have a real problem if you don’t show up and help us pack. I’ve heard some grumblings about how people think you’re letting other people deal with this mess.”
“I am dealing with it, Sergeant.”
“I know that, but they don’t.”
Darren’s stomach knotted. He didn’t want to risk too much socialization; the thought of befriending passengers and then losing them was too much to bear. Darren was keenly aware that no one was safe until a colony had been well established, and research of the local area had been properly conducted. The realization that their landing site was untenable only affirmed his beliefs.
You’re in command. You have to be bigger than yourself, Darren.
“Alright. I’m right behind you, Daniels.”
She nodded at him and led the way to the crowded staging area, and the waiting mass of refugees.
Capt Haruka Kimura
Planetfall +4 days, early afternoon
Ex-Raphael sleeper pod eight
A stiff breeze blew across the top of the wrecked pod, giving Haruka a brief respite from the relentless orange sun. Some of her companions on the gashed metal roof waved makeshift fans to cool themselves; others had managed to scrounge up hats and shorts from the personal belongings stowed in the lockers below. Most sported painful looking sunburns, but Haruka’s burn had faded.
“Are you going to tell us why we’re up here, Captain Kimura?” asked Troy Bryant. His tanned, leathery skin from years in the sun made him resistant to burning, though his brow looked almost lobster red.
James chimed in, “Yeah, why can’t we have this meeting inside where I don’t feel like I’m going to burn my eyes out if I look the wrong way?”
Haruka smiled. “I’d like to think that this is my first staff meeting, and I didn’t want it to be interrupted by people who shouldn’t be privy to the information.”
Emilia’s eyebrows rose quizzically. “Staff meeting?”
“You’re not making any sense, Captain,” Luis added. “Why so cryptic?”
“Because I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, and I need to be sure that each of you is willing to accept what I ask of you,” she replied.
“Alright, now you’ve got me a little scared,” Emilia said in a sheepish voice.
“There shouldn’t be any reason for that. What I’m asking is more along the lines of responsibility. As you all know, the military has a chain of command both on unit and service scale. This is something that is common with the private sector, though the lines are blurred a bit. Also, you all know that I am the only crew member currently linked with the survivors of this pod. What you might not be aware of is the fact that I am actually in command of every survivor from Raphael.”
Haruka watched for a reaction and saw almost everyone exchange confused glances; only James kept his eyes on her. He hasn’t told any of them. Good.
“Wait, what happened to that major that sent a broadcast before we crashed?” asked Troy.
“Major Emberley was on the bridge when it was exposed to space,” she explained. “He and the skeleton bridge crew were all killed before they could even get off the ship. I was his First Officer, so that means I am in command. Now we’re all in a sticky situation, and I have no backup for miles. That’s where the four of you come in.”
More glances were exchanged. Luis spoke first. “Come in how?”
“I can probably manage everyone in this pod as long as people keep focused and morale doesn’t completely fall apart, but I don’t want to leave anything to chance. I need support staff. I’d like to ask each of you to help me out with various matters, based on what I’ve seen each of you do.” Haruka looked straight at Emilia a
nd smiled. “Like you, Emilia. In fact, I believe you’ve already helped. Tell me, how is Gabrielle doing?”
“She’s fine,” Luis interrupted.
“I appreciate that, Luis, but I asked Emilia.”
“No, he’s right,” Emilia said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’ve been checking on her for the past couple of days like you asked and she has been the picture of health. That fruit that she ate doesn’t seem to be poisonous.”
“See? You’ve already helped me out. James, you helped fix the radio. Luis and Troy, your scouting reports have been very useful as well. What’s more important is that all four of you have done what needed to be done without question or complaint.”
“I’m confused,” Troy chimed in. “Isn’t that how you’re supposed to act when you’re in a tough spot?”
“Should and do are two different things. You four are doers, and that’s why I want you to be on my staff. Emilia, how does Chief of Medical sound to you?”
Her jaw slacked and she made a stuttered choking noise. “Are you serious? I’m just a nurse, not a doctor.”
“You did a good job patching up my shoulder here.” Haruka traced her finger along the edge of the scab, careful not to catch a nail on any of the stitched parts of the wound. “I also heard that you tended to the injured right after the crash. Other than the fact that you went a little overboard on the morphine and knocked me out, you’ve performed admirably.”
Emilia seemed to blush, though through her sunburn it was difficult to tell. “I thought you’d get up and over exert yourself if I didn’t do that.”
Haruka laughed. “You’d be right about that. You still haven’t answered my question.”
“Well, I guess it won’t be much different from what I’m already doing. I’m in.”
“Excellent. James, I’d like to offer you Chief of Ops. You’ll be doing a lot more inventory work than you’d like, and you’ll probably have to find lackeys when you need them, but your repair skills would also still be put to use.”
Project Columbus: Omnibus Page 36
