by J. N. Chaney
“So it’s safe back here?”
She nodded.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” He went to the rear of the cab and grabbed another pack. “Here’s some extra supplies. It’s mostly food.”
She opened it and found a bundle of fruit, two bottles of wine, a bag of seasoned soy meat, and even some candy. “Wow, I don’t know what to say,” she said. “The team’s going to love this. They haven’t had anything but rations for three weeks…you didn’t have to do this, John.”
“Sure I did,” he said, winking. “The best way in with the natives is food.”
******
Mei took a seat in the main tent next to John, waiting for everyone to show up for the afternoon brief. The tent was ten meters long and five wide, containing a large conference table, half a dozen chairs, a digital display board, and several crates no one knew what to do with.
Sophie entered after a few minutes, followed shortly by Travis, Zoe, and Bartholomew. Once they were seated, it was down to business. “As you can all see, Lieutenant Finn has arrived safely,” said Mei, standing at the head of the table.
John waved at each of them. “Glad to be here,” he said.
“Thanks for the food,” said Zoe Masters, a talented computer engineer with dyed red hair and green eyes. Her voice had some rasp to it.
“The lieutenant will be here for a few weeks,” said Mei. “He’s offered to help out where needed, so I’ve asked him to assist Bartholomew with setting up a third supply tent.”
“Great,” said Bart, sighing. “You know I’m an engineer, right?”
Mei ignored him. “If any of you need an extra pair of hands, please do not hesitate to ask him.”
John sat up in his chair. “I’ll be in and out a few times a week, but I’ll schedule around you guys.”
“You’re leaving?” asked Zoe. “Why?”
“I promised Central I’d do some scouting. We’ve already mapped most of the area, but I figured I’d spend some time filling in the gaps. Gives me something to do.”
“Regardless, Lieutenant Finn will be happy to assist,” said Mei. “Simply let him know ahead of time.” She nodded to Sophie. “Your turn.”
Sophie got to her feet and replaced Mei at the head of the table. She turned the display screen on, quickly locating a file labeled Radiation Levels. “As you all know, I’ve been studying the residual radiation from the Second Jolt, which we first noticed approximately six months ago.” She glanced at John. “Sorry, Mr. Finn. I hope you don’t find this too boring.”
He shrugged. “Trust me. It’s not the first time I’ve been subjected to a science lecture I didn’t understand.” He nudged Mei with his foot.
“Fair enough,” said Sophie, continuing. “Today marks the end of my first testing period. Here are the results.” She touched the file on the screen and a map appeared. “I’ve been trying to find the source of the radiation, but so far I haven’t had much luck. My best guess is it’s coming from the rubble of the old Ortego building, but after several scans, I still don’t have a good answer.”
“That sucks,” said Travis.
John raised his hand. “So you don’t even know what’s causing it?” he asked.
“I was hoping to have a solution by now, but as you can see, I’ve come up short. Also, you don’t have to hold your hand up, Mr. Finn.”
John scratched the back of his head. “What kind of radiation is it?”
“High frequency, electromagnetic,” said Sophie. “Gamma rays, technically.”
“I take it gamma rays are bad?”
“Deadly,” said Mei. “It’s the reason we’re staying as far away from the crater as we are.”
“We have the suits, though,” said Bart. “They’re solid, and the radiation’s not so strong. It’s annoying since it slows us down, but hey, it could be worse. We can still do our jobs.”
“Keep working on the problem, Sophie,” said Mei. “We’re here if you need help.”
The girl smiled and nodded before taking her seat.
“Bartholomew? Zoe? Travis? Anything else?” asked Mei.
Zoe shook her head. “I’m still working on the Ortego Disks we found in the rubble. They’re pretty banged up, so it’ll be a while before I have anything to talk about. Sorry.”
“Nothing here, either,” said Bartholomew. “Check again in a week. I should be done with the coil by then.”
“Coil?” asked John.
“Framling Coil,” he said. “Part of the reason we’re here is to research how they work. Central sees value in it as a new source of power.”
John glanced at Mei. “Aren’t those the things that turn hot air into electricity?”
“The very same,” said Mei. “Most were destroyed in the blast, but a few survived.” She clicked the display off. “Anyway, unless there’s something else, I think we’re done for the day.”
“Great.” John clasped his hands. “I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but I’m starving. Who’s up for some dinner?”
******
Ortego Reconstruction Outpost
April 13, 2350
The lead-lined radiation suit weighed almost as much as Mei, but thanks to her Variant-infused DNA, she barely noticed. Her genes gave her the strength of a man twice her size. Lucky, considering how small she was.
What used to be the Ortego building now lay in rubble. Most of the facility had vanished during the Second Jolt, consumed by the explosion. In its place, there was only a crater filled with chunks of stone, FlexCrete metal, and two-hundred-year-old office supplies.
Months ago, when Mei had first come here with her team, she had no idea what to expect. From a distance, the entire building seemed to be pure rubble, nothing more than rocks and metal shards, but such was not the case as it turned out. To her surprise, the basement levels were largely intact, according to the scans Bartholomew had taken. If luck was on her side, she might yet discover something she could use to further her research—a way to make her understand what really happened the last time she was here.
Her heads-up interface appeared over her suit’s visor. A green dot blinked in the corner, indicating she had a call. With her eyes locked on the icon, she blinked, accepting the transmission and opening the line.
“Doctor Dwarf, do you read me?” asked a muffled voice in her ear. “Doctor Dwarf, please come in.”
She rolled her eyes but smirked. “John, quit bothering me. I’m working.”
“I say again, DD, this is Omega Deathblade. Do you copy?”
“Are you okay, John? Do you need attention?” She stepped over a piece of debris. The scattered remains of Ortego littered the field. “I’m not surprised. I told you it was boring here.”
“Don’t be modest, Doc. You’re not even close to boring.”
“You flatter me, sir.” She edged her way to the side of the massive hole where the majority of the building’s remains were.
“Find anything cool yet?” he asked.
“Depends on your definition,” she said, setting her bag on the ground. She took out her tripod scanner and unfolded the legs. “I’m about to run a scan. Exciting stuff.”
John sighed into the mic.
Mei grinned. “Thought so.” Her display lit up again with an incoming call. “Gotta go. Travis is calling.”
“Farewell, my darling!”
“See you in a few hours, goof.” She switched to the other line. “Yes, Travis?”
“Doctor Curie, sorry to interrupt. I’m about to send in the flippies. You might wanna clear out.”
“Already?” she asked. “I was about to start my scan.” She glanced at the tripod. “Well, go ahead.” She hustled to the observation tent fifty meters from the site. Inside, Travis sat in his radiation suit, fumbling with one of the drones—flippies, as Travis called them. Mei was never a fan of the little robots, but they’d proven quite useful when it came to removing debris and hazardous material from the s
ite. They were expensive, short-ranged, and malfunctioned constantly, which was why the contractors back home rarely had anything to do with them. It wasn’t until a young Travis Scott pulled the drones from storage and started tinkering with the little machines that they were finally put to good use. He’d retrofitted each of them with FlexCrete, the same material used to create the Ortego building as well as the Maddison Bridge. FlexCrete was the strongest metal alloy known to exist—atomically thin sheets folded repeatedly to produce the most durable material in the world. It kept the flippy’s tiny arms from buckling under the weight of heavy objects, while also allowing for its small size. These drones were only about a meter tall, but they were at least five times as strong as an average human. The design reminded Mei of a squirrel. The flippies sat on their back legs and waddled slowly toward whatever target their operators gave them. Once in place, their arms extended into flexibly thin tendrils which could wrap around and lift whatever objects were in the way. Useful and effective.
Travis tapped the head of the flippy with his index finger. “Time to go to work, Stanley.” He typed a command into the keyboard on the table, and the robot came to life.
“Only one?” asked Mei.
“I’m sending Mortimer and Jefferson soon. I figured Stanley could start working now while I book the others.”
She nodded.
Travis sent a command to Stanley from the computer, and it waddled out of the tent. Once it arrived at the side of the crater, it unfurled its FlexCrete tentacles and got to work. The flippies would collect the rubble and deliver it to a trailer attached to the dirt cab. Travis would then spend several days sorting and cataloging the trash, looking for anything useful. “This should only take an hour,” he said, focusing his attention on Mortimer.
“Sounds good,” said Mei. “I’ll be right back.” She stepped out of the tent and walked toward the dirt cab. It was facing away from the site, the trailer in the back with a lowered ramp to give the flippies easy access. She climbed into the passenger-side seat and placed a call to John.
He opened the line almost immediately. “Hey, what’s up?” He sounded like he was chewing on something.
“What are you eating?” she asked.
“Soy burger,” he said, munching into the food. “Don’t worry. I’ll eat again when you get back.”
“Remember, we’re limited on supplies.”
“I can always run to the commissary.”
She laughed. “How’s it going back there?”
“Bart and I got the tent up like you wanted. Interesting guy. You know he used to be in the military? Weird career change, huh?”
“He’d rather still be there,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“He was kicked out.”
John cocked his brow. “For what?”
“Nothing serious. He aced the physical. He just couldn’t hold a rifle steady.”
“He got the shakes?”
“I guess so. The doctors called it performance anxiety. I’m not so sure, though. He’s the best engineer I’ve ever met, and he works just fine under pressure.”
“Well, good,” said John.
“Say, where are the girls?” asked Mei, changing the subject.
“Dunno. I’m still in the middle of this sandwich.”
She thumbed the dirt cab’s door handle, wrinkling her nose. “Working, probably. Can you see if Zoe needs help with anything, once you’re done eating?”
“Yeah, sure thing. Everything going alright down there?”
“The flippies are lugging debris out of the pit, same as usual.”
“You talk like I know what that means,” said John. He paused. “What the hell’s a flippy?”
“A robot, basically.”
“Since when do you have robots?”
“They’re Travis’s, not mine. He uses them to lift heavy things. They’re pretty useful.”
“You think if I ask him, he’d let me—”
“No, John, they’re not for you to play with,” said Mei.
“Dammit,” he said, sounding defeated. “You never let me have any fun.”
“One of us has to be the adult,” she said, smiling a little. “Besides, you already get to go play soldier whenever you want. Don’t act like your life is so boring.”
“Speaking of, I should probably head out soon. Central gave me orders to map the area, and I haven’t even started yet.”
“Too distracted?”
He snickered, and his voice deepened. “You’re the only distraction I need, babe.”
“Oh, my god,” she said, laughing. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“What’s wrong? Can’t handle the corny one-liners? They’re pretty classy, I know. It’s okay to feel intimidated. Just don’t tell anyone about my softer side.”
“How embarrassing for you,” she said, giggling. “But I promise not to tell.”
“That’s why I love you,” he said. “You know how to keep a secret.”
Chapter 2
Ortego Outpost File Logs
Play Audio File 270
Recorded: April 13, 2350
CURIE: Excavation is going well. The flippies have removed about two-thirds of the debris. I expect we’ll have the rest out of there by the end of the month.
PRESCOTT: What about your work on the coil?
CURIE: Bartholomew is overseeing the repairs. I’ve attached his report, along with my own. He’s making progress, but there’s still more work to be done.
PRESCOTT: I’m looking it over as we speak, but it’s hardly encouraging. Recovering the coils is your primary objective here. Isn’t it the whole reason you’re there?
CURIE: Actually, sir, the mission I pitched to the board covered a wide range of—
PRESCOTT: Yes, yes, of course. Still, the coil was our main concern. We made it clear when we greenlit your project. I hope you are making this a priority.
CURIE: It’s no less important than anything else we’re doing, I assure you.
PRESCOTT: It needs to become your primary focus, Doctor Curie. The board keeps badgering me for something more than simple reports. You’ve been up there for months. It’s time to start producing results.
CURIE: What about the Ortego Disks we’ve taken from the ruins? Aren’t those worth the board’s time?
PRESCOTT: Fine work, yes, but nothing matches the potential of a brand new source of energy. You can understand their eagerness, I’m sure.
CURIE: Of course I can, but—
PRESCOTT: Then I will let the board know you’ll have more to show in next week’s report. Good luck with your work, Doctor Curie. Please don’t let us down.
End Audio File
Ortego Reconstruction Outpost
April 13, 2350
Mei sat in the conference tent, waiting for the others to arrive. She was fifteen minutes early but didn’t mind the quiet solitude. Sometimes spending a few minutes alone was the best way to work through a problem. In this case, her boss.
Mei hated Prescott. He made her job even more difficult than it should be, which was really saying something.
The last few days had been going so well, too. Travis and his flippies were making noticeable progress clearing the rubble from the Ortego building. Zoe and Sophie had managed to recover and log several dozen Ortego Disks. Bartholomew seemed to be doing well. And John was here. Everything was going so well.
But then she had the conference call with Dr. Prescott, the lowest ranking member of the science division’s project oversight board. He wanted her to put all of her people to work on the Framling Coil project, which meant ignoring everything else. Didn’t he care about the radiation? They still didn’t understand where it was coming from. What about the petabites of information Zoe had found within those Ortego Disks? Weren’t they worth something?
Shortsighted as he might be, this wasn’t entirely Prescott’s fault. When she really sat and tho
ught about it, Mei couldn’t help but blame herself.
Truthfully, the Framling Coil had been a key selling point to greenlighting this project. Mei had approached the board with a request to send a team to assess and potentially recover artifacts from the former Ortego headquarters. In response to this, she received a short, albeit polite rejection. According to the board, Central’s new focus was the expansion and reconstruction of humanity. An archeological dig in the middle of the desert was simply too difficult to justify.
Mei understood the reasoning, but it didn’t stop her from trying again. She reevaluated her proposal and made sure to include some enticing details about the Framling Coils, calling them a significant alternative source of energy, completely independent and self-sustaining. A perfect solution for future outposts.
A few weeks later, she received the authorization she needed. It was a victory.
I guess I should be happy I made it this far, she thought. Indeed, the chance of her returning to these ruins with any kind of research outfit had been thin at best. So why was she so upset? She got what she wanted, and the work was going well, wasn’t it?
Because you still don’t have any answers, she heard herself say. Despite the past few months and the smorgasbord of information they’d uncovered, she still couldn’t find any information on the Second Jolt or why the building had been destroyed. More importantly, she still didn’t understand what had happened to Terry. She had so many questions.
If only she could allocate her resources the way she wanted. Why did the board have to micromanage everything?
Maybe if I give them what they want, they’ll leave me alone, she thought but knew it was a lie. She kicked the table. As soon as she gave them what they wanted, they’d order her home. She had to find another way.
Zoe entered the tent laughing with Travis and Sophie followed closely behind. “Give me a break,” she said. “Mort would kick Jeff’s ass, hands down.”
Travis rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right! Jefferson has a quarter more load capacity, plus his casing is newer. Mortimer wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Dr. Curie, what do you think? Mortimer or Jefferson, who would win in a fight to the death?”
