Weathering Storms

by Taborri Walker

  “Well, we have, um, Doctors and Nurses to help everyone who needs it.” Head tried to smile reassuringly when what she wanted to do was scream in horror over what the boys so calmly spoke of. At that point they arrived at Sickbay. The Chief Medic was dressed and had a bed waiting. He gestured Sesha to it.

  “I can’t yet,” she shook her head, her dirty, blood-tinged hair waving, mostly out of the braid now. “We have to get the humans off-planet before the storm gets any worse. And there are injured there worse off than I, including Beulah. She’s been actively poisoned for months now, so make sure she’s one of your first patients.” Sesha presented her Gem band to the Medic and he too downloaded the pertinent information, nodding when the scan of Beulah came through.

  “And this other human, Grace? How is she? You cut off information after your back was badly hurt by this Hosea.” his front was turned as he was pulling something out of a drawer, and Sesha saw it was an injector when he turned around.

  “She died shortly after learning my story, a few hours after that man attacked me.” the Nestram snapped out the answer as she backed away. She did not need to be medically sabotaged now.

  “Heart failure?” he saw Sesha nod, blinking hard.

  “I’m sorry,” he loaded a vial into the medical device, “and I don’t approve of your decision to delay your treatment, computer says you used up all the Stims so this will help you get done,” the Medic gave her an energy booster and hurriedly changed the pads on her shoulder wound, holding her while she shrieked in pain. The new unit set in harder.

  “But you better hurry up. You can’t last more than another day. The gel pack has slowed the blood loss, but you’re still losing blood from your shoulder and your entire back. Get back here quick or you’ll collapse and I’ll come get you myself. Are the children staying?”

  “Going,” All three said at once.

  Then Sesha explained. “That way the other Humans will see they’re safe and made it back just fine. It’ll make it easier for them to trust me fully and leave. It really is a primitive society, so the culture shock is incredible. With the boys assuring them it’s ok, they’ll be calmer. They’ve already experienced the shock a little and are getting over it, so they’ll be a big help.”

  They trotted off despite the fact that the doctor was trying to wave the scanner over Sesha again. He finally stopped and turned back, looking at the results he’d gotten. He needed to download her Gem’s information to the main computer banks then get what little was left of his supplies out and round up the other two second-grade medics to help him. From the sounds of it, they were going to be inundated! And from the looks of this scan, Sesha was in serious trouble, had been for almost two days now.

  Head pulled another command decision after seeing the storm parameters on the bridge screen.

  “Jaxxim, Creyling, Resmi and I are coming too, in the other shuttles. That storm is already too fierce and will last too long for a leisurely rescue by one shuttle. Brannel and a work crew will take the last shuttle and collect enough water for the Brain and anything else plus a lot extra; he can land further down the coast out of the storm and collect it while we scoop Humans. Let’s move, people!”

  So five other shuttles dropped after her. Sesha knew Melena was right; the best way to go was an all at once scoop and be done with it, and with the Brain working better, the shuttles would be all right too, although they would replace the fluids in them later, as well as all the Wrist-Gems. Since the boys had now met the Head, she would come to the Dining Hall too and they would assure the others leaving with them that it would be ok. The weather forced this decision, and where as Sesha could ask for more shuttles, it became Melena’s responsibility, and a little less off Sesha’s shoulders.

  “Besides,” Head pulled Sesha off to the side on the Bay deck. “We still have more work to do on the ship, so this will get it done faster. All Command Decisions, you know… fix the ship, get the crew and cargo home optimally.”

  “I know. Sure.” Sesha bit down a grin, knowing the woman was covering her ass so she’d be able to Captain many more of these ventures even if Sesha wound up planet-bound. And she didn’t blame her; she’d do the same thing.

  25

  The storm had gotten much worse so Sesha had to land in the center square. The other four set down helter-skelter behind her and kept their engines running for rapid lift-off. The sixth had peeled off and would land a few hundred miles away on an unoccupied coast and get the water needed.

  “Winds clocked at over 180 standard mph” Sesha heard over the radio just before Head joined her in her shuttle for a brief conference.

  “You go in first,” Head said as she shook rain out of her hair-thin tentacles. “We’ll wait a couple minutes and bang on the door. That way you can set the tone of relief and trust.”

  “Good idea, Melena – boys, stay close to her! If it gets too much worse, don’t wait!” Sesha ran through the force field bending hard against the wind, opened the door and got blown in, out of sight.

  The soon-to-be-refugees were all at meal again, and every piece of cutlery got dropped when she slammed the door hard and leaned against it. The room fell totally silent as they stared at what the wind blew in.

  “Didja miss me?” she asked, starting to slide down, unable to stand anymore.

  Two men jumped up at that, lifted her carefully and sat her in their spot, plying her with fruit pieces. There was a pounding; Sesha waved at the door so others jumped up, opened it and pulled the other three in. The door got sucked shut from the ferocity of the winds, this time, whipping another direction.

  “Benjamin!” yelled Jemimah.

  “Ezra!” Rebekah. The women literally ran over table tops from the far end of the huge room, people making way for them. Men rose, snatching at their hands as they leaped down, where the boys were swept into their mother’s arms and hugged until color returned to their cheeks and they began to protest.

  “I hate to break this up folks, but are you ready? We need to leave now.” Sesha broke up the hugging. She staggered to her feet to find Beulah, who was wending her way to Sesha’s side. She fell into the woman’s arms and let her hold her up for a long moment while Beulah whispered in her ear.

  “I knew you’d come back… I knew it! Everyone started getting unsure when the day passed, but I kept telling them that you would not desert us… and you didn’t.” She set Sesha back on her feet and laid her hand on the alien’s really blue, very cold cheek and smiled lovingly at her.

  “This is still everyone?” Sesha asked as Florence was on the other side talking softly.

  “Aye… we have the count of us going, one-hundred and two. The others are going back to civilization, about one-hundred, so we are split down the middle. They have almost all the food, we have samples of each thing and many cuttings from all our plants. Those going very kindly left us with all the books, sheet music, notes many of us took and more, But it is not a lot, really.”

  “Good. What of male items?” she had to smile, having learned there was such a difference between the two.

  “They consulted; small tools, blueprints, all the building manuals, weapons and ammunition – four English Pepperbox Revolvers, my… Allway had a cased pair of Irish Flintlock Traveling Pistols, which Darren and Nicodemus are fetching now. Four of the new Pennsylvanian rifles, one old rifle too and what the men need to keep them in good repair. More weighty than bulk. Is that all right?”

  “I don’t see why not. All the adults can carry a good amount as long as it doesn’t take up room we need for people.”

  Florence bustled over now. “So good to see you again lass, but you look like death on legs. Should let your physician care for you while up there.”

  Sesha shook her head. “Have to finish this first. Do… do you have to go? Couldn’t you please come too?”

  “No, sweetheart. I desire to, yes, but I want to help push this race forward to the day they will meet our Heavenly Friends,” her teary chuckle pushed so
me tears from Sesha’s eyes too. “It may not be much but I will do what I can to further our evolution, as Sir Charles Darwin expounds – never mind, darling girl. Oh,” she wrapped Sesha in a deep hug and held her while the next phase happened.

  Benjamin took the Head by her hand, pulled her up on a table top with him and addressed the crowd. “This is Head. She’s the boss of the big ship. Her name is Melena. She’s real nice and she’s helping us all get to the ship in one trip, so we’re all gonna go up in the sky in five little flying ships, cuz she said so.”

  “God bless and keep you, Melena,” everyone replied exactly in unison, without a single drag or miss. It made the woman look at Sesha in amazement, for it took a lot of effort to get over 200 people, down to the tiniest child who could speak at all, to be in such oneness. That spoke of hours of forced practice… it made her shudder, wondering how this many people could allow themselves to be so brainwashed and trained to respond exactly so in certain circumstances.

  “The pilots all look different then us,” Ezra put in, not wanting Ben to have all the attention. “But we met them all an’ they’re good, um, Beings. They say that ‘stead of ‘people.’ They’re all glad we helped Sesha so she could get better and fix the ship cuz they would have died in a little while longer. So don’ be afraid when ya see them.”

  “Yea, verily,” was mostly spoken as trained but several stuttered and managed something else.

  At that moment, Melena was reminded of her own people’s history, the Phenjam’s in early years took animals and trained them to do certain things when they heard different sounds. It all went bad one time when a set of animals, Ubarqs, were out of cages and a new assistant accidentally touched the button for a tone that directed them to kill. All twenty scientists died horribly from the needle-teeth and ragged claws of the vicious beasts, which had to be killed before anyone could enter the lab. These people would need careful watching and gentle retraining to take them out of the mindset they lived in now.

  “This is how we need it to happen, folks,” she spoke pleasantly despite the emotions raging through her. “Pregnant women, babies and toddlers with their parents first. Sesha says one needs to be prone?” Dinah was pushed forward by her husband. “You, dear, will get the second seat up front. It lays down flat and we’ll prop your feet up. Our physician sent me with a device to help you and the baby when we take off.”

  “Will hurt?” she was very scared and feeling it, Melena’s hair – hair-thin tentacle like things – shifted about, then wove themselves into braids and quieted. There were gasps, more of awe than fright.

  “Not a bit. It will keep you from feeling like you’re being pushed down, dear. Nothing to be afraid of, I promise. After that, families with older children, then any adults who are left. Ben and Ezra will be in different shuttles with their parents, Sesha will be piloting – that’s like your water ship, making it change direction – and I’ll be in the last one, piloting it. I know you don’t know me, but since Sesha gave you her word and you helped save our lives, we’re helping her and all of you now. It’ll be standing room only, tightly packed but the trip will be fast.”

  “Sesha said we may bring things if not too bulky?”

  “Yes, and from what I see here, this will be fine. Put things at your feet or hold them on your heads or shoulders if there’s not enough space, but we’ll make it work.” Melena stepped off the table and walked to the door. “Oh, if you get sick, don’t worry about it, we’ll get everyone cleaned up and medicated shortly after we board the main ship. As you load, if you hear ‘we’re full!” lead the line to the next ship. Got it?”

  “Amen!” they responded again, and The Head shuddered. The people began to flow around each other in a smooth motion almost like a dance. The rest of the meal was left exactly as it was, the fire put out. Men put on their hats; women their bonnets. Children copied the adults, even down to gestures, done almost unconsciously. Babies were bundled up and tucked into mothers arms and wrapped with extra shawls to protect them.

  “Those going back to cities, congregate in the root cellars farthest out; we will wait there till the storm blows over.” Florence was commanding too, and those began to bundle up and leave as well. Goodbyes had already been said by almost all.

  Melena knocked on the door. “All of you here begin to file out. The shuttle pilots are standing in their doors to bring you aboard. Timothy, you and your wife wait here. You’re going in my shuttle.”

  Two men held open the door and the freed people began an orderly rush into the storm. Minutes later the whine of the shuttle told Sesha it was going, and the people continued to file into the storm stoically, without a word or look back. Everyone held something; women and children had baskets, men had tucked things in their shirts, using belts or ropes to tie it to them. Nothing was so big that it had to be denied. Sesha watched the evacuation, pleased. It was going better than she’d ever thought! Another shuttle engine was heard powering up.

  “I wanted to meet the Wonderful Physician who saved my Pilot’s life,” Melena actually had more emotions to her than the pissed-off in-charge Being she was on ship! “I wanted to thank you. And,” a glance at Florence’s bracelet, then Beulah’s identical one make a lock of her hair slide to the other side; she tilted her head and looked at their temples, a red spot showing where the device had been extracted. “I guess I’ll approve this too. Extenuating circumstances. What I was going to say is you will be missed, Physician Florence and while you will miss many things, I understand why you’re staying.”

  “Well I don’t,” Sesha suddenly burst out in a petulant sob and turned away – right into a male body coming up.

  “Child, come,” and Darren just scooped her up and sat. Nicodemus set the case he had down, loosened his belt, pulling his shirt up some. He tucked the case into the back of his heavy cloth pants and did up the belt again and sat down beside Darren. “What be so difficult?”

  “I can’t do this,” she sobbed quietly. “Florence and Grace and the others,”

  “Only Grace be dead,” Nick quietly reminded her.

  “But I’ll never see them again, so it’s like that,” she submitted to her face being wiped.

  By then Melena and Florence had parted. As she passed Sesha the Head ran a hand over Sesha’s hair. “I’m taking my group now. Then you get yours on.”

  That brought her back to a steadier state. “take my shuttle,” she said. “I’ll make sure everyone’s who’s coming is out – no one forgotten in the draughts or elsewhere, all right? Melena nodded, assigned three men to lift Dinah in her chair to the shuttle. As they left, Amelia went close to Head and started talking to her as they ran into the pouring rain and buffeting winds.

  “The rest of you, our shuttle is closest. Go get in it, just don’t touch anything forward of the two seats,” Sesha still had to wipe wet off her face. “Beulah and I will be there in a minute.”

  As they filed out, Beulah turned to the table and picked up something wrapped in a cloth. “Do you wish me to bring… his… book?” she asked with a shudder at the memory of it. “I was honestly thinking about burning the horrible thing.”

  “Yes. It’s proof of his madness and murdering intentions, especially if there are any of the originals.”

  “There be three, Miles Coverdale’s Bible from 1535, the first in the English Language, The Geneva Version from about 30 years after, translated from original language an’ the King James of 1611, the one Allway did rely on the most. He did try to destroy them by burial in the wet sand where he thought none but Monitors knew… t’was searched out and found, these reclaimed and carefully dried.”

  “That will back up the proof of what he did so I’ll need that for sure. Is there anything else, Beulah? Darren, Sarah, Nicodemus?”

  “Nothing,” Sarah assured her. She had just finished her goodbyes to Florence. “Our baskets are packed, we hath several pieces of clothes on an’ things in the pockets as well.”

  “Time to go,” Florence put
her arms around Sesha and led the way to the door. “Ev’rone be in the cellars but me, our goods an’ animals be with the wagons a ways down the trail with a few men guarding. The storm worsens, so let us do this.” Darren opened the door and Florence pushed Sesha out, the others following.

  “Wait,” Sesha turned in the rain as the two men and Sarah boarded, “What will you say about what happened here? Your people will want to know why only a few of you came back!”

  “We will tell the story of what happened here, but will leave out the knowledge that you are not… Human. You will be just what your story was, a lost waif and that the temptation of… having you was too much for the Reverend to bear, thus bringing about his downfall. In the war that followed many were lost, the rest of us coming back. But our main message will be to beware of preachers who wish you to give all you have to God, leave the rest and follow him.”

  “A good lesson. What about the rest of the animals?” Sesha was trying so hard to stall leaving!

  “Most are coming with us, the rest the men drove away into the forests. The Redskin people will find them, probably. Now go, dear. I love you Sesha, like one of my own. Take care of my niece, all right?”

  “I promise,” was a blurt/sob and Sesha turned, rushed into the shuttle and pushed through to the front where she started working on the panel even though the tears in her eyes threatened to blind her. Then she looked through the front shield and saw the two women close, pressing together for a last word. The hug was hard and short then Florence turned and ran, skirts held up from the mud. When she was out of sight, Beulah came on board and Sesha shut the door.

  “Ready?” when Beulah nodded, wiping her eyes, she said, “sit in this seat. We’re ready to do what’s called a ‘lift off.’ ” Sesha glanced sideways at the woman who was still wiping her eyes.

  “Just a couple last things…” Beulah hesitated. “I don’t know if it’s possible in this weather, but is there a way for you to destroy the bodies and the buildings, especially the Church? I don’t want anyone coming after we leave here and deduce something even more false.”