Solar Storm: Homeward Bound

by Vincent Keith

  “You realize,” said Jack, “you’re talking about a couple hundred man hours to set up a workshop that will attract word of mouth, and repeat business.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, unless I gear it toward beginners, which I suppose I’ll need to do for your guests anyway. But for high end, we’ll need computers for processing, possibly a darkroom. I’m not sure what else.”

  “A darkroom? Who the hell uses film anymore?”

  “I do, almost anyone shooting large format does. That’s maybe ten percent of the people I’ll attract to this area. We’ll need a classroom with a digital projector. So think about that while you’re planning this B and B. It can double as a conference room, so maybe you can attract business retreats. Although, I’m not sure I really want those people hanging around here.”

  “Hmm, that’s a point. I better talk to everyone else before this goes any further, the last thing I need to do is piss off my neighbors.”

  Annie hosted a dinner party the following week, and the gang sat around brainstorming ideas. Ray suggested that maybe they should use a lot he had about a quarter mile down the river toward town. There was no road as yet, but he said that would be easy. Jack felt a good deal more comfortable to have it away from his home and shop.

  It eventually dawned on Jack that Ray was seriously wealthy. He had his hands in about a dozen businesses. Most were construction related, but a few weren’t. Ray was quietly running his own little business empire. It was hard to imagine, a man with Ray’s genial humor and country boy charm was the richest man Jack had ever met. Sure he has a really nice house, but he drives a ten-year-old truck, and wears jeans and flannel, he thought.

  In the end, Annie and Ray went into business together to open the B&B. It took almost eighteen months to get the place built. The main building was twelve thousand square feet. The Quail’s Nest Inn also had two small, two-bedroom cottages, and four tiny cabins along the river. They were log buildings, similar to Ray’s and Marty’s, and they were beautiful. All black iron fixtures, rustic in appearance but modern in functionality. Aaron had carefully laid out the views, the parking, the barn, and the stables. It was a work of art and must have cost Ray millions. Jack just couldn’t see any way he’d ever make that money back.

  Jack had never seen Annie so energized. She used her Internet cooking site to promote her books, and now it was promoting the Quail’s Nest Inn. She brought her chef friends in from LA, San Francisco, and Chicago to visit before the opening, hoping to impress them enough they’d help her through word of mouth. Russ, the cowboy Marty hired to help with the horses, gave the guests riding lessons. Henry volunteered to give them fly-fishing lessons. Jack took those who were interested in photography out to some of the more scenic areas. Steve and Ash helped out in the kitchen and planned kids events for the few family retreats they’d hosted. Ray mostly sat near the fire and smiled a lot.

  “Okay Ray,” said Jack. “I can understand the smile, it’s a job well done, and I don’t recall ever seeing Annie so happy, but why?”

  “Why is she happy? Hell son, that’s sort of obvious ain’t it?”

  “No, why did you do it? You and I both know you’ll never get your investment back, not in your lifetime.”

  “Nope, don’t expect so.”

  “So why?”

  “I know we’ve never talked about Allie, my wife. She died about, oh, I guess fifteen years back. When I was first starting in construction, she took in boarders to make ends meet. We didn’t have Bed and Breakfast places back then, but after several years of renting rooms, she decided maybe as folks moved out, she’d just rent the rooms on the weekend. We didn’t need the money much anymore, but she sorely missed the company with me out working most weekends. When things started going well, I built her a little Inn, so she’d have folks to fuss over when I wasn’t about. So I guess I did it for her.”

  Jack sat in silence for a bit. “Well, you did her proud.”

  “I did, didn’t I?”

  “Does Annie know?”

  “She does. She tried to talk me out of it, but once the idea took hold, it couldn’t be shook loose. Most folks learn after a while, once I set my mind to something, it’s best to just go along.”

  “You’re a good man Ray. I don’t know if things would have turned out half as well if you hadn’t been here to lend a hand.”

  35

  GIFT HORSES

  “Wow,” said Aaron. “I thought my life was weird.”

  “Oh I don’t know, it all seemed sort of logical at the time. Change careers, go back to school, minimalist living, all pretty natural.”

  “Yeah, I suppose, although I don’t know a lot of folks who built their own neighborhood with friends from college.”

  “Oh, that. Yeah, that part is a little weird. But it’s also why I’m determined to get home.”

  “It sounds like a beautiful place to live,” said Rachael.

  “Well, if we can get this show moving again, I guess you’ll see for yourself.”

  “True. I’m not sure I’m comfortable leaving until we get some help for the women, though. It’s too much for just Sam to deal with.”

  “Sam?”

  “Doctor Podiger.”

  “Oh, the vet. Given the size of Pendleton, you’d think maybe there’d be one here, but maybe that wouldn’t be the best choice.”

  “One?”

  “Therapist - sorry trying to get back on track. Besides, this isn’t my problem.” Jack pointed at Brian and Eli. “It’s someone else’s problem. I need to get up early and see a man about a horse.”

  “Oh, thanks ever so much. Wait, a horse?” asked Brian.

  “You’ve looked outside right?”

  “The snow? Sure… Oh right, you were on bikes. You could hang out here until I get back. I can take you guys north with the team, you’re only a couple of hours north of our destination. I plan on a quick recon as soon as we get linked up with the Guard.”

  “It’s a thought.”

  “How long do you figure it’ll take to get home on horseback?”

  “If we don’t get stuck, nine or ten days. Maybe a few more depending on what happens with the Guard.”

  “We won’t get out of here for at least four days. We need to clean out that little burg south of here where you said they were shooting at travelers. Can’t let that keep happening. Then we need to show the flag, so to speak, in John Day, Burns, and Lakeview. The southern end of our AO is the Oregon border, but Echo may send scouts down to that town you came through… Adin was it?”

  “Yep, are you thinking to base out of Lakeview?”

  “Not sure yet, maybe Burns, it would be more central to Morgan’s AO.”

  “He’s got eastern Oregon?”

  “Right, and Charley team has Idaho. I’ll be staying with Bravo and Delta to act as a liaison between the Army and the Washington Guard.”

  “Charley… Oh, right your four companies, or platoons I guess. I keep thinking Charley is a civilian designation. I guess we just used it that way for the other night… Isn’t that a lot of territory to cover?”

  “Yes, way too much, which is why it’s a recon mission. We’ll clean out any wanna-be warlords and help out where we can. I need to build sufficient contacts, so we have a bigger set of eyes. We can’t do much except control the predators and act as general law enforcement. Anything as large as our recent problem and I’ll just be reporting and waiting for the boss to send reinforcements.”

  Jack opened his mouth to speak, then stopped, scratched his head, shaking it.

  “What?”

  “Sorry, I can’t seem to wrap my head around the situation.”

  “Yeah, I can’t say I ever believed they would deploy troops on US soil.”

  “It’s just… weird.”

  Brian nodded. “It is. I mean, as long as I don’t think about the bigger picture and just stay focused on the mission, it’s fine, but… Damn.”

  “Don’t know if my input matte
rs to your bosses, but once you have the predators under control, we’ll need help establishing electrical power distribution. Even generators would be an improvement.” Brian nodded. “Corporal Stevens said you gave him a copy of your eBook library. Can we distribute that?”

  “I’d say yes. If the authors want to take it up with me when we have an economy again, I’ll figure out how to pay for it. Given the lack of functioning electronics, I’m not sure how much good it’s going to do.”

  “True, but some is better than none. I’ll forward it to Lewis with some of his notes. He was interested in the information you had on some engine, and a gasifier, and a rocket stove.”

  “Probably the sterling cycle engine. It works off of external heat, like a fire. I think it dates back to World War Two… might have been World War One. It should say in the text. They used biomass to run it instead of gasoline, which was in short supply. The wood gasifier is a way to run a carbureted gasoline engine off wood, and the rocket stove is an efficient design for a wood heater. There are at least a couple guys in town here who are playing with the rocket mass heaters so he can see one in person. They might be able to send a working example if you have a way to get stuff home.”

  “Right.” Captain O’Neal made a note in his notepad. “Let me know when you figure out if you want to wait for us. I can’t see us getting back here in less than three weeks, and it’ll probably be four or five.”

  “Ready to call it a night?” asked Eli.

  “Morning comes early in the Army.”

  “Same time for everyone last I checked,” said Aaron.

  “I didn’t say sunrise,” Brian said with a grin.

  “Right,” said Jack. “I guess we’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Sure, I’m not going anywhere.”

  JACK FOUND Eli at the stove making coffee. “Morning Eli.”

  “Yep, coffee’s ready. Oh, you’ll be happy to know it snowed all night.”

  “Peachy.” Jack filled one of Eli’s travel mugs.

  “Going to see Dave this morning?”

  Jack turned before opening the door. “Yeah. Rachael off with the patients?”

  “Um-hmm. Left about an hour ago.”

  “All right, I’ll check with you later, let you know how things went.”

  Jack waved and headed out into the snow. It was coming down hard again. At this rate, they’d have a foot by evening. He decided to swing by the mess-tent and get something to eat before he started horse trading with an actual horse trader.

  He didn’t recognize anyone, so he grabbed a tray and headed to a table near the heater. Jack looked around for Hoover and didn’t see him. It was unlike Hoover to miss out on the opportunity for food, but the camp did provide a lot of distractions, and Jack was sure the dogs were somewhere nearby.

  Jack was leaving the mess-tent when he spotted Hoover over at the medical tent with what appeared to be three children riding on his back. There was one more being dragged behind, the child refusing to give up her grip on his tail. He could hear laughing and giggles from where he was and decided Hoover was well occupied.

  Jack ducked back into the kitchen tent and picked up a mug. He filled it from the large coffee urn and took a seat where he could watch the kids play. Dusty was making the rounds of the women in the tent. Jack smiled. Even she was helping in her own way. What an attention monger that dog is.

  He spotted Rachael sitting with one of the women in the tent, but they didn’t appear to be talking. Rachael was just holding her. Jack wished she could be holding him. He recognized the feelings. The need to reach out and touch her, to hold her, to make the pain go away, to be held in return. No, it’s not just the situation, or it doesn’t matter if it is the situation, the feelings are still the same. Feeling like this again was the last thing I had in mind. At least she feels the same way, I think… No, I’m pretty damn sure.

  Jack let his brain slide into neutral while watching the scene at the tent. The kids were playing with Lexi and Hoover. Dusty was giving the women something comforting and non-threatening to focus on. Rachael was sharing the warmth that comes from knowing you’re not alone in the world. It all looked so ordinary, except he knew more or less what he was truly seeing. He couldn’t decide if he was happy or depressed. Both, probably.

  Jack shrugged, letting go of his random thoughts. He yawned and lifted his cup. More coffee. I need more coffee. Six hours of sleep in two days just doesn’t cut it anymore. Jack headed to the big coffee urn and filled his mug for the third time that morning and then headed to the table nearest the heater to finish his coffee and warm up before he had to deal with the day’s tasks. He woke abruptly when a tray hit the ground behind him.

  “Crap!” An angry voice came from the direction of the serving line.

  “What’s the matter Tool, your fingers too frozen to hold that tray?”

  “Bite me, Miller, you weren’t up all night debriefing people were you? This whole thing is FUBR. What the hell did those people do to deserve this level of suck?”

  “Hey man, just chill, grab another tray I’ll take care of this.”

  The man who’d dropped the tray looked at the other and sighed. “Sorry, long fucking night.”

  “Hooah! Go get food, then hit the sack, I’ll clean this up.”

  “Thanks, man.” He bumped fists with the Specialist working the mess line.

  Jack wandered over to the mess line.

  “Specialist?” Jack looked at the name tag. Dremmel, T. I guess that explains the nickname.

  “Sir?”

  “I know things suck right now, but you guys are truly making a difference. You’ve changed a lot of people’s lives for the better since you got here, so hang in there.”

  “Ah, thanks, sir.”

  “Jack, it’s just Jack.”

  Tool smiled. “Thanks, Jack.”

  Jack nodded, “Miller, thanks for the coffee.”

  Jack filled his mug and headed out into the snow. He needed to talk to Dave Reismann about horses. Given how tired he was, Jack was afraid to sit back down next to the heater. He was sure he would nod off again.

  Eli had suggested Dave would be the best source since he bred and sold horses. He also ran a horse camping outfit and could help with setting up pack horses. With any luck, I’ll be able to make a deal for what we need. Worse case, I can’t get the horses, and we wait for Brian to get back, then we can ride with him.

  Jack considered the logistics. If he could get the horses and make at least thirty-five miles a day, they’d be home in just about nine days. Three weeks or more before O’Neal could even get back to Pilot Rock.

  That was important because as long as they stayed in town, they were a drain on the local resources. Considering the trouble they’d just been through, that was a big deal. On the upside, they’d captured the Walmart, which was still well stocked. But that had to be shared with the refugees from Pendleton, and the people still in the other small towns.

  It took Jack two days to complete the arrangements for the horses and equipment needed for the last leg of the trip. The complexity of the deal brought a whole new meaning to the phrase horse-trading. Before he finished wheeling and dealing, Jack had three pages of notes. He’d nearly given up as the deal grew more and more complicated. Everyone seemed to be involved including Rangers, the National Guard, the towns of Pilot Rock and John Day, and what was now called the Monastery had all been part of the deal.

  Jack found the reference to the Monastery sort of humorous, mostly because Henry didn’t. Henry assured Jack that the whole point of the campaign to name the place was to annoy him personally, which was probably true. Jack suspected Steve was behind the name. It was the type of joke in which he reveled. What he found less amusing was just how complicated everything had gotten. He was on the verge of just giving it up and waiting for Brian’s team to finish their job down south. The idea of being so close to home and stuck for an additional three weeks to perhaps a month was driving him nuts.

 
; Another full day of negotiations yielded a somewhat satisfactory result. Art would keep the Elecraft KX3 radio. Henry had convinced him that the three they still had would be sufficient. Jack would leave with twelve of Aaron’s M1 Garand rifles and twelve thousand rounds of ammo. Additionally, he’d be taking ownership of six Appaloosas, three saddles, and four pack saddles.

  He would borrow four additional horses to do the hauling. Sergeant Hernandez and Corporal Hoffman would accompany them on their own borrowed horses, bringing with them several sets of military radios. Jack’s extended family would end up with eight handheld military radios and a portable unit. They would also get six Mk-16 SCAR rifles with short and long barrel kits, and suppressors, along with ten thousand rounds of 5.57 ammo.

  In return, Jack would accompany Sergeant Hernandez to the Grand Coolie Dam. They would stay long enough to set up radio communications and establish a base camp for when Brian and most of his company returned. Rachael would use the time to perform medical exams on those injured at the dam.

  Sergeant Hernandez would return to Pilot Rock with the borrowed horses and eight full sized solar panels. He’d also bring back Marty’s high-end Kenwood base station ham radio with a one kilowatt amplifier, and one of Henry’s Kenwood radios. He’d also have two old laptops and digital radio software to allow them to transmit digital data over the ham radios. Four of the solar panels would go on to John Day as would one of the laptops and the 1-kW Kenwood. A vintage tube radio that Art had managed to get running would go to the folks in Burns. And the Army would get Henry’s Kenwood radio for use at the dam.

  Henry had also promised the folks at Grand Coulee that he would lend them a wagon and horse team and a few of the kids he was training to drive it. The wagon would allow the people around the dam to collect enough firewood they could make it through the rest of the winter.

  John Day would send regular supplies of bio-diesel. They would also help with the food issues by driving a dozen Angus cows and one bull down to allow Pilot Rock to set up a herd. The new breeding stock would help with the long-term survival of the local communities. Additional hunting trips would fulfill the short-term food needs.