Barbara steps confidently into the room and asks, “Have you seen George, or Patrick?”
Cindy smiles warmly and says, “I think they’re still patching holes in the Liberty.”
Barbara frowns, “Surely they must be finished by now?”
Cindy shrugs her shoulders, “A lot of holes, I guess.”
“I suppose. I just want to be doing something. Well not just something,” Barbara continues, “I want to begin examining the stars.”
Cindy tries to be encouraging as she says, “They will get your facility built soon enough, and then you will be so busy, you won’t know what to do with yourself.”
“You’re right,” Barbara replies with a sigh, then with nothing else to say, leaves the room.
Cindy’s smile turns to a scowl at Barbara’s departure. She chews on her lip, debating whether to explain the delay or not. Finally, she decides it is better to wait.
Barbara steps outside into the bright sunshine. Gazing at the mountain peaks, a brief flash catches her eye. She turns back to look at the Town Hall, then with mounting curiosity, watches the mountain ridge again. Minutes later, she catches another flicker of light, like a reflection of the sun off something metallic, or from a pane of glass. Her jaw drops, like from a car windshield as it drives down a road. The thought comes suddenly, and in an instant she becomes quite skeptical of Cindy’s story.
Barbara stares at the mountain top as another realization dawns on her, she is unable to go up there to look. A chill works its way up her spine, the only shuttle pilot that’s been up there, is John. She gazes at the other mountain ridge, then the ocean, and wonders to herself, the other shuttle pilots may fly over the mountain, but they don’t actually go there. Why not? Barbara turns to look at the power lines that snake their way up the mountainside, then smiles as an idea comes to mind. She wanders through the town, and observes the busy construction teams.
Arriving at the tent city, Barbara is shocked to see so many people still living there. She walks amongst them, offers her sympathies, then listens as people begin to talk of their plight. The housing is being built too slowly. Many of the people are unable to perform the tasks for which they were selected, and are feeling useless in this new society. She walks home, and feels a little abashed for wanting her facility while people still do not have proper housing.
Sleeping fitfully during the night, Barbara wakes early. She feels tired and drained, but is full of resolve. She dresses, then hurries to Hawking’s vehicle storage lot. There is no need for security, nor do any of the vehicles require keys. She takes one of the jeeps the Liberty brought to the colony, and drives along the road toward the mini-steel mill. She passes the steel mill without slowing, and follows the power lines. The road passes around the beginning of the town’s canal, and continues into the foothills.
The paved road comes to an end, but she forges ahead, undeterred by the bumpy ground. She follows the power lines as they snake their way up the steep grassy hillside. The grass soon gives way to rocks that jolt and jar her. At first, the rocks are easily traversed by the jeep, but eventually the terrain becomes too steep to continue. She gets out and looks upward. The construction crews carved out a crude trail when they built the towers to support the power lines. She follows this trail upward, and only stops to catch her breath, or to sip from a water bottle. The sun rises higher as it travels through the sky, and still she climbs the mountain.
Sweat drips off Barbara’s forehead as she rounds a group of large boulders. She blinks in surprise when she sees that she is almost at the top. Gazing downward, the jeep looks very small, and the town seems far away. A breeze strikes her face as she crests the mountain top. She closes her eyes and enjoys the cooling sensation for a few minutes.
She swings her attention to where the radio telescope is to be built, and is pleasantly surprised to see a massive slab of concrete. She is close to the future facility, and is about to walk over to it when something catches her attention. She spins to her left and gawks. The paved road that confronts her seems out of place. It stretches off into the distance and is wide enough for two vehicles, which makes it all the more unusual.
With mounting curiosity, Barbara walks along the road. Squinting, she can see a group of men working on something. As she gets closer, she can see that they are soldiers. A jeep comes roaring down the road toward her, then screeches to a halt. A pair of soldiers quickly gets out. One says authoritatively “You’re entering a restricted area, miss.”
Barbara’s eyebrows lift, “Restricted? What are you guys doing?”
The other soldier quietly talks into his radio, then says, “The General is on his way.”
“The General,” Barbara mocks, “This must be serious.”
Neither soldier responds, they stand there blocking the road. She considers trying to pass them, but decides they are just following orders, so she waits.
A shuttle arrives a few minutes later, and General Walker steps out. He smiles, then says, “It had to be you, didn’t it?” He looks around and asks, “Well, what can I do for you?”
Barbara smiles back and replies, “Your soldiers won’t tell me what they’re doing up here. So perhaps you will.”
He turns to his men, nods and then says, “Good, they’re not supposed to.”
She is about to protest when Walker says, “I must ask that you keep this to yourself.”
Barbara’s stares at him, and challenges, “So, not only won’t you tell me anything, you want me to keep quiet about whatever it is, you’re doing?”
“Exactly.” Walker confirms flatly.
Barbara is very tired of all the delays to her facility, and smiles devilishly when another idea comes to mind, “You know. If I were busy...” she looks at her unfinished building, then glances back at the General. She smiles innocently and bats her eyes.
Walker cringes, then stares back, measuring her resolve. After a few seconds, he says, “Very well, we will work on your facility, in exchange for your silence.”
Barbara grins excitedly, “It’s a deal. Now what the heck are you doing up here?” she presses.
Walker shakes his head. “Damn it woman, you’re impossible.”
They stare at each other for a few minutes, then finally he speaks. “This is all on a need to know basis.”
Barbara is quite intrigued by his tone, and says, “Well, I need to know.”
The General gazes down the road, “Actually, I am surprised we kept the lid on this as long as we did.” He turns, stares at her, then says sternly, “You understand that none of the colonists can learn of this.”
“I get it,” she says, a little exasperated, “It’s a secret.”
Walker glares at her for a moment, then says, “Yes, it’s a secret, that’s why I don’t want to tell you.”
Barbara’s confidence builds, “Well let’s chat about this with Cindy, shall we?”
Walker shakes his head casually, “You will have to do better than that! Cindy knows, as does John, George, Patrick, and Joe.”
Barbara blinks in surprise, “Oh! I am dying with curiosity now. Just tell me, please!”
Walker sighs, then relents, “Each wind generator powers a specialized defense system, one designed to protect the colony from attack.”
Barbara stares at him incredulously, “Attack, from who?” she asks a little too loudly.
“The Chinese, aliens, how the hell do I know? I was told to build them, so I am building them,” he puts his hands on his hips in exasperation.
Barbara’s jaw drops as she stares across the valley at the other mountain top, “That’s why you guys built the wind generators on both sides.”
“Yes, and if you must know everything, that’s why the Terran has not gone back to Earth, it’s staying in orbit as a deterrent.”
Barbara frowns, “Hang on a minute. You just said you were ordered to build these. So this was all planned before we even left Earth. Why does it have to be some big secret?”
Walker sighs
, “Do you think the colonists would be happy knowing they’re surrounded by hundreds of missiles, some nuclear?”
A chill runs its way through Barbara’s body, “Nuclear weapons,” she says with alarm.
“What else did you think we would bring? Rocks?” Walker jokes.
She paces back and forth, “Why didn’t you put the nukes in the satellites?”
Walker stares back at her impassively, but says nothing.
Barbara stops pacing and meets his gaze, “Oh my, you did!” she says in shock.
“Happy now?” Walker smirks back at her.
“I can see why you don’t want the colonists to know,” she concedes.
Barbara stares into the distance, where she can see dozens of small concrete slabs dotting the mountain top. As the initial shock wears off, she begins to understand the reasoning behind the defenses, and also why the leaders do not want the general population to know. She recalls the near panic a single wolf-cat caused.
Three days pass before the General assigns his Army Corps of Engineers to the task of constructing the Radio Telescope facility. Three days, during which time Barbara debates with herself the pros and cons of sharing what she’s discovered. Reluctantly, she concludes that no good would come from informing the colonists. Fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all, she realizes.
Rainy Days
Cindy is sitting at her desk, watching the rain drops splatter on her windows with a smile. I love the rain, it makes me think of fall.
Barbara rushes into the room and blurts out, “It’s raining!”
Cindy turns to look at her and says, “I can see that.”
Barbara’s eyes open wide, “No. No, you don’t. It’s really raining, come and look.”
As Cindy follows, she notices huge wet spots on Barbara’s back and shoulders. The two women stand outside, protected by a small covering that rests over the doorway’s entrance. The gentle pitter patter of rain that strikes the building is in stark contrast to the deluge that strikes the mountains. It pours down the steep rocks, creating hundreds of miniature waterfalls in its passing.
A jeep approaches the pair, its tires spraying water behind it in great sheets. The jeep pulls up close to the overhang, then the passenger and rear doors fling open.
“Get in!” Calls a voice from inside.
Cindy and Barbara run for the open doors, and even though they spend scant seconds in the downpour, they become drenched. Cindy wipes water off her face, “Wow, that’s some heavy rain.”
The driver, Patrick, turns to look at the women. He grins excitedly, “Well, we wanted to test the town’s flood gates.”
Before they can reply, he slams the accelerator down. He peers through the fast working wipers, as he takes them to the river’s edge. Barbara wipes water from her face, then says, “I don’t think Emma’s going to be too happy, her test farm is already underwater.”
Cindy replies curiously, “Test farm?”
Barbara says, “Yes. She has crops of wheat and corn growing in small sections on the far side of the river.”
Cindy nods her head, as she recalls reading a brief on the matter. She suddenly recalls how distraught Emma was when the hydroponics bay on the Terran was destroyed. Remembering the way Emma stood on the bridge with her bucket of strawberries, still sends a chill through her body, “Does she know?”
Barbara turns in surprise at Cindy’s anxious tone, “I am sure she does. Why?”
Cindy cringes, then says carefully, “She does not do too well when her plants are ruined.”
“Ah,” Barbara replies, “She must be very passionate about her work then, for it to effect her so.”
As he stops the jeep, Patrick says, “Okay ladies, time to get wet!”
The three of them exit the vehicle, then walk to the river’s edge. They are soaked to the bone before going twenty paces. Gazing up and down the causeway, they are confronted with raised wall sections. These sections stands slightly taller than them, and though they block their view of the river completely, they can hear it roar. Alarmingly, water occasionally dribbles out from the gap between the raised wall sections and the causeway.
Patrick wipes his face, and walks to a nearby step ladder. It was built solely for the purpose of looking over the raised wall. He climbs the half dozen steps, then gazes over the top. “Geeze,” he exclaims in surprise, “The river is part way up the wall already.” He looks over at the drenched women, “You would be knee deep right now if this were not here.”
Cindy calls out over the sound of the rain and the rushing water, “Okay, that’s all well and good, but why did you drag us out into this weather?”
He looks at the women blankly, then suddenly remembers, “The tent city. It’s washed away completely.”
“How did that happen?” Cindy shouts back. “It’s on this side of the river.”
“I know, but the area doesn’t have the same drainage system in place that the rest of the town has.” Patrick responds.
The three of them drive to the tent city in subdued silence. Barbara feels pangs of guilt as she views the scene. Literally thousands of people are walking through ankle deep water, trying to save as many possessions as they can. She reflects on her near complete facility, then hangs her head in shame.
Cindy puts a hand to her mouth in both shock and sympathy, “We have to get these people out of the rain.”
Barbara’s determined tone shocks them, “We should stop all other construction, and get these people housed.”
Cindy responds, “We can’t do anything here, Patrick, take us back to the town hall.”
“Yes ma’am.” Patrick replies.
They drive back in silence. Each reflects on their own contribution to the suffering of those flooded out. Meanwhile, on the far side of town, the canal system fills quickly. No one pays any attention to this looming threat. But if the canal breaches, the entire town will be in jeopardy.
Within minutes of returning to her office, Cindy has John, and every other shuttle pilot, in the air. The water level in the canal steadily rises, eventually breaching the walls downstream. The water spreads out across an area yet to be developed, and thus, goes unnoticed. The pilots spend the rest of the day, then much of the night, transporting those who are effected by the flood, to the Liberty.
Once on the Liberty, people quickly settle in, especially as the ship’s systems are brought back online. Life support provides climate control, while repaired water tanks allow everyone to have a refreshing shower. The galley is quickly staffed, and with supplies arriving by the minute from the town’s main warehouse, everyone enjoys a hot meal as well.
Satisfaction soon turns to resentment when people start to ask why they had to live in tents, and use shower blocks, when the Liberty has obviously been fit to live in for quite some time. As the night continues, resentment turns to anger as small groups of people talk about the unnecessary construction going on. Everything from the Town Hall, to Radio Telescope, is put under their scrutiny. Soon, these few disgruntled voices turn into hundreds, then thousands, as fact and fiction become blurred. Sordid stories of waste and excess become so greatly exaggerated that even the most passive among them, begins to feel cheated.
During the night the rain stops, and under the rays of the morning light, the damage is surveyed. The river side flood gates held, with a little room to spare, but the canal was not up to the task. Rushing waters have washed away roads and supplies that were placed in advance of the housing construction crews.
Cindy reviews the scene below in silence. After a thorough shuttle tour, she turns to John, and says, “Okay, I have seen enough.”
John flies the shuttle back to the Town Hall, where they are met by a large mob from the Liberty. General Walker has his entire contingent of soldiers holding them back, but they are fast becoming outnumbered as more people arrive to protest. Amid angry chants of ‘no more lies,’ ‘build our houses,’ and ‘we need new leaders,’ Cindy steps from the shuttle. Unexpectedly,
someone in the crowd throws an object, it whizzes by her head, and strikes the shuttle. The thrown shoe drops to the ground.
Walker glares at the crowd, his own anger threatens to boil over. He instructs his men, “Load the tear gas.”
Cindy is a little shaken by the close call, but becomes alarmed when she realizes that things are about to escalate. She holds a hand up and shouts, “We’re having a meeting to discuss...”
The crowd begins to boo loudly. The noise drowns out her words. Another shoe is thrown, this one strikes her arm solidly. A hush immediately falls over the crowd. They turn to look at each other in dismay, many turn to stare at Cindy’s assailant.
Walker strides toward the group, but stops when he spots Cindy’s waving hand, indicating for him to stop.
Cindy turns her attention back to the crowd, “Now, as I was saying. We’re having a meeting to discuss last night’s storm, I will accept two representatives from those flooded out.”
She folds her arms, then subconsciously rubs where the shoe struck her. The crowd begins to murmur amongst themselves. Many are ashamed of being a part of the protest, and leave. The crowd begins to break up, but a few hard liners stay behind and quickly rally around each other. After a few minutes of tense discussion, the small group has their nominations.
A pair of burly men steps forward, one folds his arms, then says, “I’m Ben, and this ‘ere is Keith,” he tosses a thumb at his compatriot.
Cindy stares at the two men, “Very well, you two with me, the rest of you will leave the area,” she makes eye contact with many of them. When they fail to move she shouts, “NOW!”
Ben and Keith look at each other in surprise, then quickly get their friends to leave. Keith sneers, then steps closer to Cindy. Before he can speak, she says, “Good, now we will proceed in a civilized manner.”
John heaves a sigh of relief, then flies the shuttle back to Hawking’s vehicle storage lot. He contacts Joe, and brings him up to speed about the near riot at the Town Hall. They both agree that much of the issue has to do with the lack of things to do. There are far more people than jobs, at the moment. Miners and farmers are the most affected, followed by the many scientists that still await the construction of their specialized facilities.
Colony (Terran Chronicles Book 3) Page 27
