2180, A Future Reborn
Page 10
Chapter Nine
The slept as the storm had turned over the course of the afternoon. They would have about a day before the effects of the storm created any issues for them once they got there, so it was now a race against time. Orion slept at their feet, and when he woke up his dog was staring him dead in the eyes. He looked at this beautiful woman next to him and knew what the terms “complete and happy” meant when used together. He stroked her hair, then he asked Orion, “you seem to like her, I guess we keep her.” Orion responded to this by wagging his tail and creeping up the bed inbetween them, licking him frantically and then her, waking her up.
“That's somewhat normal, better get used to it.” he told her. She gave the dog hugs and kisses, which made him jump out of bed and let out just a few happy barks. It was 1920 hours and time good enough to get up. Neither had slept that hard or well in days, distracted or occupied with other things as they had been. They got dressed, he in a thermal wetsuit which he would be in for the duration of this mission, and made their way to the galley. He was almost awoken once by one of three drills Karl Hampton had run while he was getting rested up for what was coming ahead. Several other of the crew were also ordered to get some rest, and to use good judgment in getting some sleep so they could be at their best when they arrived. They made their way to the galley and got something to eat. Denise had brought coffee, a rare luxury, and she and Louis were there sharing a cup when Julsey and Sk'lar entered. She immediately offered some, showing off her having brought this stash of java, a proud contribution that also seemed like a way to say thanks for including her. Doctor John had also just came in as the two were sitting down. The leadership of the team was in place. Denise was something like a nurse practitioner who was an expert at sonograms, passive x-rays, and other forms of imaging which was the modern replacement for a clinical radiologist, and she would be joining him in the water to attempt to take a sonogram of the calf. Louis was a lab tech who specialized in viral infections and antibiotics. John Planter was an older veterinarian with immense experience, especially in livestock, with expertise in cloned mammoths, a genetic engineering success and which now roamed freely in many wild areas of North America and Siberia. He also had some experience with stranded porpoises, including playing midwife to one. They had all been brushing up on whatever they could find on baleen and blue whales, and Michael Mazza was having his students do research, and was cherry picking anything he found that he though could help, and was then sending that to the Watson as well.
Old grainy and pixelated digital videos from before the Reset gave them an idea of how a whale this large was born, there was even a 150 year old computer simulation that didn't even need to be enhanced which showed how a normal birth should look. Big Mama was reported to have attempted movement like what was seen from the old computer simulation, or at least something like that, but nothing was happening. They were having a meeting and didn't even realize it. It was conversation. Others who came in and joined them for the scheduled meeting thought the meeting had already started, not realizing this was just a simple shop talk that started about three hours earlier. They were into it, they were invested.
It was now 2312 hours. They were still six hours away. The trip was going to be just under 32 hours long. They didn't even have to start the meeting and it was more of a casual intellectual discussion. People had gotten educated and cross educated quickly. A shrimp fisherman from the Carolina Province had even radioed. He was also on his way with fresh shrimp. He didn't know if the large whale could use it, but he had a big boat, and enough shrimp for a feeding, and was bringing his son so he could see the largest living animal on earth. He had dumped a spoiled catch once and seen a baleen whale rise to consume it surprising him, and hoped he could be helpful there. There were gallons of broad spectrum anti-biotics on board, even nutritional supplements. The first one made sense to Sky, but the logistics of the second had him at a loss. This was the open ocean. There was only so much they'd be able to do.
The discussion lasted until 1 a.m. Eastern. They had covered all the bases they could think of. Now there was just getting there. Although well rested Sky took Jules back to their cabin to relieve a little physical tension that had been building. The excuse of the need to do this given to Louis was met with a response muttered under his breath, “yeah, it's called being horny.” They emerged later sensing that they were the butt of jokes that were playfully being told about them, and realized they didn't sneak by anything. They both smiled an ever so slightly embarrassed smile, with a little pride thrown in for good measure. It was 4 a.m. And they estimated being able to be in place when the sun rose wouldn't be a problem, which would be sooner than the clock them having moved east and having kept Eastern time. There was real activity on deck, and they were ready to launch skiffs at any time. There was a slight warm wind coming from the south, about 10 knots steady. They had a lot to do, and just needed nature to cooperate a little longer. The storm was now slowly moving towards them, and would make landfall in Bermuda in a little more than a day.