Solar Storm: Homeward Bound

by Vincent Keith

  Jack popped the quick release on his riflescope and cranked the power up to get a better view. “How can you tell? They’re not in uniform that I can see.”

  “You see their positions? Slightly spread out, Doug is covering front right, the second guy back is covering front-left, and the man at the tail is covering the trailing arc. See how they’re carrying the weapons? Notice their heads keep moving.”

  “Oh.”

  “That’s training. They’re alert but not worried, and they’re not looking at each other or wasting any time checking someone else’s assigned area. You might find some civilians that would do that if you told them to, but it’s unlikely. Ever noticed how often the girls or Allan, or hell you for that matter, check outside your zone? I do, and it’s way too much, but I don’t worry so much because it’s so unlikely we’ll run into someone out here. Doug is so damn good on point I just let it go.”

  “Hmm, well I kind of wish you wouldn’t. That’s all stuff we need to learn.”

  Miguel nodded. “Okay, I’ll point it out when I see it. I suspect when the boss’s old man gets his hands on you, you’ll all learn fast enough.”

  “Who… Oh, Denny?”

  “Sergeant Major O’Neal. Trust me, when Henry put him in charge of training and security, what he got was the best you could find.”

  “I didn’t know you’d served with Denny.”

  “Yep, he was my platoon Sergeant on my first deployment—it’s been a while. He believes in that old saying: The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in action.”

  “Good to know… I think…”

  Miguel laughed, “You’ll be fine, he’ll run the younger one’s ragged but you older folk he’ll only work until you think you’re going to drop.”

  “Well, that’s reassuring. Thanks for that.”

  “Be thankful. Think about those folks back in Lyon’s Ferry who didn’t have someone like him.”

  Jack nodded, “Good point. Okay, it’s still my watch, go get out of the rain, I’d say they’ll be here in another minute or two anyway.”

  “I’ll send the girls up to cover the watch when they get here, I’ll want you to be available for questions.”

  “Roger that.”

  Miguel smiled and slid back down the hill until he could be sure his head wouldn’t stick up when he stood. He headed back to the campfire to start another pot of coffee.

  “SERGEANT, it’s a pleasure. And you must be Mr. Donovan?” The smaller of the two men smiled as he shook hands. Jack recognized the insignia but couldn’t remember if it was Major or Lieutenant Colonel that wore gold oak leaves. This is Private Connelly, my ah… security detail?”

  “Major.” Miguel nodded.

  “Retired,” said the man. “Until a few months ago it was just plain old Ron Yanakovic.”

  “Yes, sir. Things have changed in the last few months.”

  Yanakovic laughed. “A masterful understatement, Sergeant.”

  “Why don’t we head over to the fire. Mr. Connelly looks near frozen,” said Jack.

  “He’s not the only one,” said Doug. “Coffee?”

  “Yeah, should be a fresh pot. Anyone else?” asked Jack.

  There were nods all around, and the men headed to the warmth of the fire and the shelter of the awning.

  “I’ll tell you. It’ll be good to have some regular army around. We’ve got Guardsmen arriving in dribs and drabs, in total I’ve got thirty-nine troops with varying specialties. Most of the guys and a few of the women all came to work on the power systems. Unfortunately, we’re spending so much time doing security we can’t seem to get much else done.”

  “I’m working from rumors,” said Jack, “but I thought you guys had decided you couldn’t bring the dam back online.”“No, you’re right, we don’t have the equipment or the parts to get the dam back up, at least not yet. No real point to it until we can figure out how to build and install the rest of the infrastructure that burned up during the storm. If there are more than a couple of functioning transformers on power poles, I’ll be amazed. The bigger transfer stations are in even worse shape, and the very high voltage transformers for the long distance lines are also shot. Even when we had the power to spend it would have taken a year to get a replacement.”

  “That’s consistent with what I’ve read,” said Jack.

  “We’ve focused on smaller generators that can be hooked up to an external power source. They’re about twenty-five kilowatts. We’ve got a couple of engineers working on a small water turbine. They’ve figured out how to get a wind turbine to drive a few of them, but none of the wind turbines are really in the right place for a local hookup. We’ll need some functional heavy equipment to move them if we want to use them. We’ve also been working on systems that small groups can use to power a couple of freezers, a refrigerator, a few lights, recharge batteries, that kind of thing.”

  Jack nodded, “Refrigeration would be good…” He smiled as he hefted a handful of snow. “Despite the current situation. I know Henry built an ice-room—dug an ice-room? Anyway, they’ve been packing it with snow. That will extend our ability to keep perishables around for a while. I don’t expect it to last past July or maybe August.”

  “Exactly. We’ve also been trying to pull folks in from their isolated farms, but most don’t want to leave their homes. I can’t say I blame them, but a single family just doesn’t have the manpower to keep secure, haul firewood, and hunt for food. We’re beginning to have a little more success in getting them moved. I suspect the people who have moved finally ran out of food and learned the hard way.”

  “We had that problem down in Adin too. People aren’t used to sharing houses. On top of everything else, it’s pushing them far out of their comfort zones. I suspect they’re seeing the same trend. As people realize just how hard it is to fill basic needs with too few people.”

  “Yeah, but having folks consolidate close to here is a lot more efficient. With the extra people, we can send enough groups out to haul back three or four big pines at a time, and another team to hunt for game. The problem is they both have to go so far. I’m not sure we’ll be able to stay at the dam unless something changes.”

  “Would it be easier to move everyone closer to the resources you need?”

  “Yes, and no. The problem is deciding which resource. If we want to get the pumps working, we have to stay at the dam. Part of that will depend on what the General does about the oil refinery problem.”

  Jack looked at Miguel, who shrugged. “What problem would that be?”

  “He’s got the Tacoma refinery secured although it’s not operational. When someone torched the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, he felt he needed to defend at least one.”

  “Why the hell…” Jack stopped, gave his beard a tug and shook his head. “What about the Shell refinery up there?”

  “It’s held by some local militia. Which is better than having it burn to the ground. Rumors suggest it was fighting between a couple of groups that started the fire at Tesoro. As near as we can tell, they’re not trying to bring anything back on line. They’re just laying claim to what they think is a valuable resource.”

  “Great. Do we even know what it’ll take to get a refinery back online?” asked Jack.

  “Not a clue. The General has some people digging through the personnel records, they’re hoping to find the right people and bring them into the base to keep them safe.”

  “Oh, well I can see how that would be necessary, but I can’t say I like where that will lead.”

  Miguel frowned.

  “It was going to happen sooner or later, but it comes down to choosing who gets fed and who doesn’t, by how useful they are to the groups in power,” said Jack.

  “That’s not what…” Miguel stopped, his jaw working in frustration. “Ah, shit.”

  “Yeah…” Jack nodded.

  The Major looked decidedly unhappy. “What exactly do you expect him to do?”

  Jack raised his hands. �
�Hey, I’m not criticizing, we’re doing exactly the same thing. There’s only so much food to go around, and we’ve got to make some hard choices. We’re not past the dying times yet. I have no idea how many people have died so far, but I’m sure it’s measured in tens of millions here in the US if not hundreds…”

  The Major looked at Jack with a curious expression. “So how would you do it, if you were in the General’s place?”

  “We’re working from different sources of information. Our resources are different, and our experiences are most certainly different. With the refineries, I’d likely do what he’s doing. It has to start somewhere.

  “We’ve got kind of a cascade failure. When the power went out, it took a lot of stuff with it. There are a bunch of specialized areas that we need to find people for just to figure out how we might get things working again. It’s a huge job. Honestly, if I ever gave it any thought, I just stupidly assumed someone would have a plan, or we’d have the people who could make the plan. God knows why I’d have thought that. Seems awfully naive about now.

  “There are a thousand things that are going to prove to be essential or at least very desirable, and I don’t think most of us have a clue what those things will turn out to be. Medicine, for example, there are probably people in Seattle who know how to make a lot of it. If given the proper resources they could probably restart production at least for some things, I…” Jack paused, staring up at the sky.

  “Hell, it’s too big for most of us to figure out. We still need to figure out how to stay alive until next year. The General will need to ration what fuel he has carefully. Even if his guys know how to get it working again, a refinery needs crude to process, and power to run the distillation unless they’re using the chemical process… No, I think that requires energy to heat chemicals also.”

  The Major nodded. “Yes to both. They both depend on some fractional distillation which means heating crude oil and to pretty high temperatures if I remember my college chemistry.”

  “Well, you probably know more about it than I do then. Either way, I’m not criticizing his choices, they’re necessary. I’m just concerned that anyone has to make that kind of choice. I hope he can put together enough expertise to figure out the right balance. His ability to protect and feed those people is the only thing that’s going to make that possible. And I’m not sure, but I suspect his ability to feed those people will depend in no small part on your efforts to get the irrigation pumps working.”

  The Major’s shoulders dropped into a more relaxed posture, and the lines on his face smoothed as Jack’s words sank in. “You actually get it don’t you?”

  “Some of it, but then I’ve been thinking about this for the past twelve years, preparing for this, or something like it. Even with that much time, I feel like I’ve left huge gaps in our plans. Spare parts I forgot about, skills we never learned, supplies we’re already running short of, and all the knowledge I’ve lost access to. We’ve got power where we are, not a lot, but some. Yet, not a single working freezer or refrigerator, because I forgot to get spare parts for the motors that run the compressors. We’ll figure something out eventually, but even then…”

  Yanakovic flashed a quick smile, “Some of us are ripping apart compressor motors trying to rebuild them. We’ve had some success, and we have some working refrigeration. We can tell you how to do that at least, assuming you can scavenge the necessary parts. There’s just so much to do. It feels like we’re hiking through molasses. If we could get the area secure enough to just focus on the work, but…” Yanakovic sighed.

  “Sir, you realize our mission is to scout, not provide security for one area right?”

  “I do, and I’m arguing my case with the General. Honestly, I think he’ll let us borrow your teams for a few months’ at best. But he’s also hoping to move a permanent team into place as soon as the passes clear. I guess he’s looking to open I-90 to allow the movement of food in both directions. I understand his priorities, and I can’t say I disagree, but on the other hand, moving food and storing food are not completely separate issues. It won’t do a lot of good to move food only to have it spoil.”

  “Way above my pay grade Sir.”

  “Yeah, it’s really above mine too. Sadly, I’ve got no one to pass it off to.” Yanakovic shrugged again. “If we could focus on engineering, which we’re pretty good at, instead of chasing bad guys, which we’re not.”

  “Are your people not trained for combat?” asked Jack.

  “It’s just a bit of a shock, is all. Most of the guys served either in Iraq or Afghanistan at some point, so we’ve all got some combat experience, but mostly we did convoy work, logistics, built camps, and roads. Hunting down raiders is not something we’re specifically trained for.”

  “Sir, that is in my pay grade. Once we get Jack home, we’ll be back to start our recon mission. If the raiders have camps, we’ll find them. When the Captain gets here, I suspect he’ll want to clean them out before we spread ourselves any thinner.”

  “That was my hope.” Major Yanakovic turned and looked out from under rain cover as two new faces joined the party.

  “Jack, are we going to spend the night here?” Rachael pulled off her rain hat. When she looked up, she saw four unhappy faces.

  “Oh, this doesn’t look good,” she said.

  “What doesn’t look good?” asked Jack.

  “The four of you, did something bad happen?”

  Jack smiled, “No, it’s just hard to talk about the situation we’re all in and remain cheerful, nothing new really.”

  “Okay, as long as we can get the heck out of this weather sometime soon. I’m freezing.” Rachael squatted next to the big portable wood stove. It was warm enough if you were close, but with only a canopy and no walls, the warmth had little reach.

  “What do you think, head in now, or wait?” asked Jack.

  44

  GRAND COULEE

  Morning arrived, cold and bright. The temperature had dropped when the sun went down, and the freezing rain had turned to snow once again. In the middle of the night, the clouds had cleared, and the temperature had dropped even further. Jack stepped out of the tent and pulled up the duster’s hood, shivering. Frozen moisture hanging suspended in the calm air made the entire world sparkle. The light reflecting off the snow was blinding.

  Jack dug out his sunglasses for the first time in weeks. He scanned the surrounding hills from their spot in the shallow valley. Here and there he could spot little buttes with their craggy sides worn away over the millennia. There would be more as they approached the Columbia River.

  After passing through the Grand Coulee Dam, the river turned north for twenty miles before turning west and then south. It eventually curved back around through Richland, Pascoe, and Kennewick. It turned west once more, creating the border between Washington and Oregon.

  Jack sniffed at the air. It smelled clean with just a tinge of wood smoke. The thick blanket of snow was now more than knee deep. With each step, Jack's feet sunk through the snow until he contacted the layer of ice formed by the freezing rains of the previous day. Now and then, that layer was thin enough that he broke through, sinking up past his knee. The horses would have to work harder to get through this stuff. With their weight, they’d be breaking through the ice layer with every step. He turned when he heard someone else breaking through the crunchy layer of ice.

  “It’s going to be slow going in this,” said Allan.

  “Yeah.”

  “Think the Master Sergeant will agree to single file? There’s not much point in making all the horses break trail.”

  “Sure, but we may need to have someone ride point and a couple of flankers.”

  Allan nodded. The few encounters they’d had, had done their job in giving him an appreciation for the possible dangers.

  “Let’s get breakfast started, shall we?”

  “I’m going to work up a hot mash for the horses. After last night they’ll appreciate the warmth. I’m ge
tting kinda worried about how much grain we’ve been feeding them.”

  “Oh? Let’s check with the Major and see if we can restock on hay. I know once we get to my place you’ll be able to feed them off hay for a while. Marty bought almost double what we needed since he’d planned to add more horses to his business. Priorities changed rather drastically before he’d found any, so…”

  “One day at a time I guess,” Allan said with a shrug.

  “WOW, THAT’S HUGE!” Lexi’s eyes tracked across the mile-wide dam.

  “Yes, it’s one of the larger dams in the world. It’s a mile-wide and about five hundred and fifty feet tall. Hoover Dam, down where you came from, is taller and in some ways looks more impressive. Hoover stands at seven hundred and twenty-four feet tall, but it’s only about one-fifth as wide. The Coulee Dam produces almost four and a half times more power. About three times more than any other dam in the US. Or it did.”

  Jack winced as he listened to the pride mixed with sorrow in the Major’s voice. The dam was without a doubt one of the most amazing structures of the modern world. There were taller dams, the Grand Coulee not even ranking in the top ten, but there were only five in the world that could produce more power. And none of the others were built before man set foot on the moon. To see such a stunning accomplishment reduced to nothing more than a bridge across a river was painful.

  “Do you think we’ll ever get it working again?”

  “Yeah, but not anytime soon. The EMP fried the control and distribution systems. The generators are fine and are still producing power. That’s the main reason we’re still here. We’ve jury-rigged connections for a complete machine shop and garage. We can charge up batteries overnight and run machine tools. What we haven’t been able to do is get the power anywhere past the transformers. We’re still working to get the pumping stations working.”

  “Pumping stations?” asked Rachael.

  “It’s odd. Everyone knows about the electricity, but the pump stations which provide most of the irrigation water for the Columbia Basin, almost a million acres, are virtually unknown.”