That means about sixty or so killed in the crash.
“What about crew from Raphael?”
“Both dead, Captain,” Troy replied as he snapped a twig in his hands.
Haruka nodded. She had expected as much when the pod couldn’t be raised on the radio, but the confirmation gave closure to the issue. She could now count on two hands the number of crewmen left from Raphael that she knew to be alive. That list was by no means stable, either, knowing that Sergeant Daniels of pod seven had collapsed of illness as she reached Lieutenant Marsolek’s encampment.
Will’s lips quivered and his voice trembled. “We tried to save them, me and Eckert… we tried so hard to get them anywhere they’d have some protection.”
“It’s okay, Will,” soothed Troy. “You did good. They’re all safe now.”
“Not all of them. Eckert, and that mom and girl that he ran out into the storm to try to save… I tried to stop him. There was no way he could get to them, and I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen,” he bawled, burying his head in his hands.
Troy leaned over to Haruka and whispered in her ear, “Eckert probably thought of his own wife and kid before he ran out there. How terrified they’d be if they were caught in the open like that. Damn heroic if you ask me.”
Haruka shook her head and sighed. “Heroes get themselves killed. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that?”
“You’re still alive,” he retorted.
That’s because I’m not a hero. All I’ve done since I’ve gotten here is struggle to stay alive.
“Will!” James shouted as he ran full tilt across the beach with Jeanette, Kelly, and Kristin charging up behind him. He skidded on his knees and nearly tackled Will, and Jeanette came up from behind and threw her arms around them. “Will, you’re alive!”
“Mom, Dad,” he choked as his sisters fell at his feet, joining in the family embrace.
Haruka and Troy took the cue and left the Vandemarks to their reunion. Haruka motioned for Troy to follow, and they walked off the beach toward the hill that overlooked the beach. She caught Luis running from the embankment and stopped him.
“Luis, I need you to take control here.”
“Of course, Haruka.”
She sighed and looked him square in the eye, her hand on his solid shoulder. “First I need you to find Mrs. Eckert. Her husband didn’t make it back.”
Luis’s face registered his shock. He stammered for a moment, then nodded. “I understand. I’ll take care of her.”
“Thank you.”
“Hell of a week, Captain,” Troy remarked as they continued along.
“No argument there, my friend.”
“I take it by the fact that I see fewer trees up there that James found a good place to set up shop while I was gone?” Troy asked as he pointed to the peak.
“I think so. Close enough to the river to get water, high enough to keep from getting flooded. Not too steep. Pretty decent all around, I think. I wanted to get your professional opinion, though.”
Troy nodded. “Well, from down here it looks pretty good. Let’s see what it looks like from up top.”
“Good, because your new duty starts now.”
He stopped and his brows shot up quizzically. “Captain?”
She smiled. “Troy Bryant, I hereby relieve you of the duty of Lead Scout. I am appointing you to a new position. You are now the Chief Civil Engineer of Camp Eight.”
“Camp Eight?” He burst into a jog to catch up to Haruka. “I’m sorry, but do you mind filling me in? I think I’ve missed a bit in the past two days.”
“It’s the nickname that our people have given to the settlement we’re building,” she explained. “I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but that’s what they’re calling it. At times I think that it still hasn’t sunk in with some people that we’re really staying here.”
“Are you having a hard time adjusting?”
“No, I get it. Actually, I’m pretty excited that it’s here. A little sad, too.”
“Because of your friend? What was his name, Mancini?”
Haruka closed her eyes for a second and caught a glimpse of him in her mind, telling a joke at mess. She smiled warmly and opened her eyes. “Yeah. He would have loved this place.”
Troy nodded. They walked a few feet in silence before he spoke. “I talked with Gina about it for a little bit when I was saying good bye a couple days ago. You know, it’s funny. Back on Earth I was busting my butt off trying to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads, but we used to dream about living in paradise some day. After her mother left us, it was the one thing we could talk about no matter how hard our days were, and no matter how dark the news of the War got.”
Haruka grew quiet for a moment. She was aware that Gina’s mother was not in the picture, but never dared to broach the subject. “I’m sorry about her mother,” she said timidly.
He shrugged, and one corner of his mouth turned down slightly. “Don’t be. Our life before was nothing to be proud of. Her mom and I were both addicted to drugs. The state had taken Gina from us a bunch of times. Every time it happened, it felt like I died a little inside. I’d bury myself in drugs and alcohol, then get sober for a few days and they’d bring her back. It took me the longest time to put two and two together. I decided to get sober for good so my little girl wouldn’t get taken away. It was hard as hell, but I did it, got myself clean. It’s just too bad that Sharri couldn’t kick the habit. The pull of the drugs was too much for her. I gave her the choice: us or the drugs. Well, you probably know which she picked.”
“I had no idea, Troy. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. It hurt like hell for a while, but both Gina and I realized that she could have easily dragged us both down with her. Instead, we carved our own way. Now that’s going to take on a whole new meaning.”
“Oh? How so?” she asked as they finished the climb to the summit.
Troy turned around and swept his arm across the panoramic view over the beach. Clear blue sky met green and blue sea. The gray mass of the pod starkly contrasted the white sand around it, and the beach bustled with the activity of triage. Just over the horizon, the bright globe of Persephone began a breathtaking daytime rise.
“We’re not just going to live in paradise. We’re going to build it with our own hands.”
2nd Lt Darren Cormack
Planetfall +14 days, midday
Twenty miles east-northeast of sleeper pod seven site
Nina stretched out at the base of a tree, a flight suit wadded behind her head as a makeshift pillow, and her jacket folded several times over and draped across her eyes to shut out the sun. Her military-issue pistol rested in a holster just beyond her fingertips. Darren stood above her and considered the wisdom of disarming her. He was still haunted by Hank’s revelation that he was a target for murder, and though the scout also told Darren that his cooperation had saved his life and pacified the would-be assassins, he still didn’t feel entirely safe with them still armed. At his feet was one of the three main conspirators; the others were Lorenzo and a man by the name of Josh Denning. The latter was a name unfamiliar to Darren until two days earlier. His great success in keeping himself isolated from the passengers worked too well, as Hank had pointed out. Darren had no clue what was going on in his own camp, and he nearly paid the ultimate price for it.
“I know you’re standing there,” she mumbled without moving a muscle. “What do you want?”
So she’s still awake, he thought. Maybe later.
“Get up,” Darren said as he prodded her leg with his toe. “We need to keep moving.”
“Nope.”
“You wanted to get going back there, so get your ass moving.”
Her hand reached to her head and whipped the jacket off. Her hair was a matted, sweaty black mess, and her face was sunburned so thoroughly that no patch of skin was spared. The snarl on her lips revealed her crooked teeth, stained dark yellow from years of smoking.
“Bite me. I need a few minutes
.”
“You’ve already had a half hour. We’re ready to go.”
“That’s nice,” she said, throwing her arm over her eyes.
“You know, for someone who was so eager to leave camp and move on, you sure are taking your sweet time,” he snapped back. “We’re not here to pick the flowers. Get up, now!”
Nina bolted to her feet and stared him down, just two inches from his nose. “For someone who wanted to sit there and die, you’re in a big fucking hurry now aren’t you?”
Darren stood fast at the challenge. He returned a steel gaze as he watched her nostrils flare and her eyes burn wild with hate. He flexed his fingers, ready to snap them to the sidearm on his belt should she decide to go for her own. The game lasted just under a minute before he scoffed and broke the silence.
“Get packing and fall in.”
Her eyes narrowed for a second. She wheeled around and snatched her meager belongings from beneath the tree. Darren’s heart beat in double time as she reached for the gun belt, but when her hand fell on the leather instead of the weapon’s grip, he allowed himself to relax for a moment.
Definitely have to get that from her.
With her packing complete, she stormed up the berm with Darren a few feet behind. His long strides allowed him to easily keep pace with her as she joined the nearly four dozen members in the march party. Darren halted for a moment and signaled for the group to move out, which they did with little fanfare and without a smile among them. He listened to the thump of their boots and clank of various items ranging from canteens to hatchets as they kicked up a thick cloud of dust. When he was sure that they were on the move again, Darren unstrapped a hatchet from his pack, and chopped a six inch swath of bark from a nearby tree, then notched the remaining bark in the direction of the party. He nodded, then replaced the axe and jogged off to catch up with the party.
As he approached from behind, he was regarded with a few cold glances over shoulders. He took his position in the rear and followed behind, and in short order overheard a caustic mutter from someone just ahead.
Josh Denning. Another troublemaker.
Darren cleared his voice and projected it over the crowd. “Care to repeat that, Mr. Denning?”
The arrogant nineteen year old didn’t even bother to turn around and face Darren, instead raising his voice in kind. “I was just saying how nice it was for you to wait around for Hank before we left.”
Darren rolled his eyes. Hank had gone scouting ahead of his own will earlier in the day. The mark that Darren had cut in the tree just minutes earlier, along with dozens of others he had made over the past two days, were all trail indicators, designed so both Hank and any stragglers venturing out on their own from the quarantine camp could find their way.
“He’s fine, kid. Just keep moving.”
“Your concern for him is touching,” he replied sarcastically.
Lorenzo chimed in next. “Hey guys, I was wondering. With how easily he left the sick folks behind, and how he’s left Hank behind now, who wants to bet who the next person he leaves behind will be?”
“I’ve got five bucks on you, Lorenzo,” Josh chuckled.
“Bullshit. You ain’t got five bucks,” added Nina.
“Knock it off, guys. How can you even say shit like that at a time like this?” The voice of his defense came from far up front, from a woman by the name of Denise.
“Oh, come on, we’re just having a little fun. It’s boring out here,” Lorenzo protested.
“Well shut up about Hank,” Denise retorted, “because I see him up ahead, coming this way.”
Darren went to jog around the column, but everyone broke out of formation and swarmed forward to intercept the group’s scout.
“Lieutenant Cormack,” he yelled as he approached. “You’ve got to come see this.”
Darren shoved his way through the crowd and ran after Hank as he darted back into the trees and over a short hill. He caught a glimpse of something white waving in the wind as he crested the hill.
Is that a… parachute?
He charged down the hill and almost plunged into a thick sticker bush. The rest of the group followed behind as he mounted the second hill and skidded to a stop. Ahead of him, flattened trees were strewn along the jungle floor, and there was the unmistakable glare of the sun off of the metal pod surface. There was no doubt that this had come from Raphael. The smaller cargo pod had suffered significant damage during the crash and the door had popped out, resting halfway up the hill.
“Please tell me there’s something useful inside, Hank,” he panted as he walked down the hill.
The scout nodded and grinned broadly. “It’s the mother lode.”
Darren stepped inside the pod and was immersed for a moment while his eyes adjusted to the filtered light. At his feet lay an overturned crate, its contents of food packets spilling forth. He let out a yelp of joy and began laughing.
“What is it?” asked Lorenzo.
Darren bundled up as many packages as he could carry and lobbed them gently through the door. “It’s a provisions pod. One of these things carries enough meals for three hundred people for a year.”
A cheer rose up from the crowd and people scrambled like hungry dogs to snatch up the packages that Darren had thrown onto the ground. They broke off into small groups after picking their prizes, and immediately set to devouring the rations.
“Give me a hand in here, Hank,” Darren said.
The scout stepped over the threshold into the pod. “What’s up?”
“Somewhere in the back of this thing are crates of iodine tabs and water filters. Help me find them.”
Hank almost knocked Darren over in his zeal to help. The ragtag band barely had any fresh water left, and only a couple meals. The contents of the cargo pod meant the difference between life and death, and Hank was not about to waste any time in distributing them. The two men made quick work of finding supplies, and carried them out of the pod. Hank prepared the equipment, and Darren personally handed them to each individual in the party. He noted the reactions that he received as he went around. Several people, including Denise and a family with teenage children, all smiled graciously when they received their supplies. It was no surprise that Lorenzo, Nina, and Josh eyed him with suspicion. He continued on, giving them little mind.
After distributing the supplies, Darren stashed a filter pump and a bottle of iodine in his own pack, and then retreated to the edge of the felled trees with a ration. He tore it open and wolfed it down, sating his gnawing hunger. Darren then took a moment to relax and take in the scenery for a moment. The green jungle canopy had a gaping blue hole torn in it when the pod took down more than a dozen trees, and the pod’s parachute dangled and waved in the wind. It reminded him of a white flag, as if Raphael was signaling its defeat from beyond its stellar grave.
And then, on the crest of the hill, a movement caught his eye. His head snapped to attention, and he caught the forms of two people staggered over the hill. Slowly he rose to his feet, and his jaw dropped in disbelief. Three more souls dragged their way up to the top of the hill.
It can’t be. So soon?
His suspicions were confirmed when he saw others stream over the hill, some carrying children on their backs, others lending their bodies as support for their families. Bringing up the rear of the group, and supporting a sick woman on his shoulder, was Brett Wu. Darren glanced across the way at the troublemaking trio from his own group, and was rewarded by catching the incredulous and shocked looks on their faces.
Darren maneuvered over the splintered logs to the open pod. He met the incoming survivors at the door and handed out meals and purification supplies. As he had done earlier with the advance group, he studied the faces of those who had caught up. To his dismay, most of the group gave him little more than a glance. When they did look in his eyes, he got a cold stare in return. His heart fell into his feet.
They think I abandoned them.
At last, Brett came face to
face with Darren, who dropped his head low.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
The nurse curled the corner of his lip. “I told you to give me a day.”
“We were all running out of time. I couldn’t wait for Sergeant Daniels to come back with news.”
“So you left behind more than half of your people, possibly to die?”
“No,” he protested. “I was going for help.”
Brett shook his head. “Doesn’t look that way to those you left behind. Are you prepared to deal with the consequences?”
He closed his eyes and sighed. “Tell me.”
“Eight more dead. Although by no small miracle, no new cases in the past two days.”
Twenty one dead now. Let’s hope that’s all.
“I understand. Would it help to have all the fresh food and water you need?”
“It would. Thank you for that, at least,” Brett said, though Darren could hear the grudging undertone in his voice.
“We can rest here for the rest of the day too, if that helps.”
“It would help if we could stay a couple more days, and if you could mark the trail a little more. We had to leave a few behind just to catch up with you.”
Darren nodded. “I believe we can do that.”
Brett nodded as he grabbed a meal pouch from Darren’s hands, then turned off to find a place to consume it.
Damned if I do, and damned if I don’t. Darren sighed and retreated to the dark of the pod to prepare for the inevitable calls for supplies. The sooner we get to Marsolek, the better.
Capt Haruka Kimura
Planetfall +16 days, late morning
Camp Eight
The early morning sun filtered through the thousands of thin blades of the palm trees lining the shore. Haruka sat in the shade, watching a group of children building a sand castle, while a few adults waded out to a shallow rock outcropping in search of a fresh catch. Around her, a few of Leight’s more stubborn passengers lounged around. Most of their compatriots had finally given in to the pressure that James and Troy put on them, and were making themselves useful. This last group of five holdouts seemed to have no interest whatsoever in the improvement of their own conditions. Haruka felt a greasy knot of disgust inside when she looked at the lazy outcasts that surrounded her.
Project Columbus: Omnibus Page 48
