Day 34 0900

We finally groaned our way up and out of Hanna’s place. Mariana and I split with her headed for the Lab and I wanted to see the landing field. Standing in front of me were Ryu and Summer.

“What do we do now Boss?” They asked.

“Go take care of your family, help somebody out and while you are at it get some sleep. They are not going to let Jai out of treatment until tomorrow, so you can’t go bug her.

“We go back to work in the morning, be ready. By the way, y’all done good in the storm.”

Next in line was JoAnn McKenzie, she and R. Digger were staring at the landing field. I came up beside her and looked at her face for a moment.

“Don’t worry girl, he’s been in rougher scrapes than this and he’s still here.”

“If he were flying a fighter I would feel better. Yes I know he’s wearing that Special Forces patch but, he’s a fighter jock at heart. How good can he be on the ground?”

“JoAnn, I ran his Q test myself and got a written reprimand for how tough I made it.

“He has a problem and I will admit I was part of it. He has never had anything handed to him in his life; Hell, he’s had to fight for every bit of it. I gave him hell on that Q course because I didn’t want to be accused of favoritism. I covered my butt and he took the brunt of it. I sent Gabe Benjamin to get him on the last leg, he made it to the line anyway. Sinopa will find that bastard, then Ash and Connor will put him down.”

JoAnn just stared at me, “Do you really think she can track that thing?”

“Shit, she can track a bad debt across forty miles of bad Georgia road. She will find him!”

“How do you know it’s a him?”

“Cause Spotter and I killed the female. Now take R. Digger and start digging out those ships. Hell, it beats sitting around worrying.”

She laughed at that one and asked, “What are you going to do?”

“Go play confessor for LT. Benjamin. Unless I am totally wrong, She is going to need one!”

When I got to the Lab Mariana had already taken over, “What’s the picture,” I asked.

“Well, Kurt is absolutely beat; Sally and I put him on a cot in treatment and He’s snoring to beat the band. We are going to kick Jaisa out in the morning. Emily is stable and we figured out what the frack was causing the heart monitor for the kid to alarm; She’s carrying twins and she’s not going to lose them.

“Carol Roberts, the wood lady is doing much better, Kurt hit her with a second dose of quick heal and that seems to have taken care of the slow bleeders. We have her kid Christine sedated and that’s under control. Hilde and Rachel have a ton of bruises and contusions up at the Community Center. By the way did I ever thank you for that land line between the Medical Centers, it’s the only comm’s working right now.”

“Logistics, Logistics followed by Logistics: besides laying Fiber to all the important nodes was Ash’s idea. Is Jai awake right now, I think I need to talk to her?”

I saw Mariana wince at that one, “Yeah, she’s awake and she’s taking it hard.”

I just rolled my eye’s towards the roof and asked, “Let me guess,she swears she didn’t do enough and it was all her fault?”

Marianas tone was as sarcastic as could be drawled, “Yep, first class case of self beat down. Almost as bad as two guys I know but, with the caveat that it’s her first time so it’s the worst.”

“I’ll do what I can, but you know she’s going to wind up coming to you before it’s over. There is after all only one female on this planet that knows Command Burden, oh Mrs COL. Stuart.”

I left Diagnostic and went over to treatment, Jai was propped up on one of the temporary cots.

“You must be getting better LT., I see they have kicked you out of the good bed.”

She gave me that hang dog look, “I guess, they don’t seem to have much for Em though.”

“Ah, Young Lady as close friends as you two are you are not in the Next of Kin notification chain but, as I happen to have an in with the co-chief pill pusher around here let me fill you in. Em is being kept under to keep her from tearing out a whole bunch of delicate stitch work; as they were afraid what the Quick heal would do to her kids they haven’t been real aggressive with it yet.”

Jai’s eyes bugged and lit up for the first time, “Kids as in Plural?”

“As in twins and she’s going to keep them. They have stepped up the quick heal and will probably wake her up right after they chase you out of here in the morning. So how are you doing, pretty rough I would imagine?”

“I should have done more, Em should not be lying over there like she was dead.”

“Bout what I expected young LT.; now I am not the one to help you with the emotional part. As you may have noted there is a slight difference between males and females that has nothing to do with the plumbing. Emotions get handled in much different ways; go talk to Sin when she gets back as you know her better. But when you get around to Command Burden, talk to Mariana.”

Hers eyes did get wide, “Cripes you mean me, cry on COL Stuarts shoulder?”

“No Jai, on Mariana Stuarts shoulder. Remember Sin is a Scout an Outrider. The only female on this planet besides you who has ever carried Command Burden is the Blonde Lady. Now as to action evaluation and Command actions, pay attention the Master is in session.”

I pulled up a chair and laid the Robar to the side, “Now I am going to assume that you were a good troop and read the report I had Sally show you.”

“Yes Sir, nothing much else to do.”

“Good, here is that report with no names; read and critique LT.”

She took the padd and began to read slowly as if describing actions done by someone else. When she finished she looked up and for the first time I saw tears in those young eyes. “Too many threats, from too many angles with too damn few rounds.”

“All Right, you get an A on the first part of the exercise. Now to go for the big prize, please explain why I am going to schedule you a Q course as soon as we can arrange it?”

This time she did have a totally dumbfounded look but after a few minute’s thought she slowly replied. “I would guess it would be because I never lost my wits. Even though we got caught by the tsunami I was still able to protect the civilian from further harm.”

“Well, that got a B+ but not a total bingo. You left out the fact that the troops under your command went through hell and half of Georgia to find you and dig you out. Not exactly a bad reputation for a young Officer. Oh and yes, I did get that speech you gave repeated to me. Not bad, you seized the moment and got them laughing.”

I took back the padd and started out but stopped and looked back over my shoulder, “But remember, don’t worry about Rudolph crapping on your head. Worry about him breaking off an antler in your butt.”

As I started out the door I heard laughter in the room, and one voice weak and unsure was Jai.

I ducked back into Diag. To find Mariana laughing. “Listening in on the patient monitor were you?”

“Oh God yes, I just wish I could have seen her face.”

“Yeah, me too. It would have ruined the moment if I had actually looked. Any who, when Kurt wakes up give him this, will you?” I pulled out the patch and handed it to her.

“Combat Medical, you think he’s ready?”

“Your call Dr. Stuart but, if he ain’t; who the hell ever was?”

Quite an array of walking wounded had streamed through the Inn seeking shelter, food, and solace. Tearful reunions. Frantic searches. “Would you believe it, dear,” Jules said disgustedly, “someone’s whining about losing crops and his shirt. The last thing we need is someone moanin’ and groaning. We’ve got injured. Some colonists died. That’s worse than his problems!”

Smiling sweetly, I replied, “Tell him next time ……..
……… ‘ get insurance ’ ”

Overhearing the conversation, JJ burst out laughing. “Good one, Mom. And subtle, very subtle.”

Day 39 - Preparations:
Mike showed me the path up to the top of the bluff, helping out very gingerly by and pointing to the proper foot holds in the steeper sections and making sure his help wasn‘t obvious. The bandage over my left eye had been replaced by a patch and if uncovered I could see out of it but the white was still lacerated and I would probably need the patch for another week.

When we finally made it to the top in what I expected about half the time he could have done it alone, I still felt like it was an accomplishment, and it was. It was to me a sure sign that even if in pain I would be able to walk out of here on the morrow when we started south and back towards Liberty City. I was a bit dizzy but overall very pleased. After I had assured him I would be fine Mike turned around and headed back down and I summoned the Jeep over for a close inspection and yes he was a sight for sore eyes.

“Hey Jeep, How ya been?”

“I believe I have missed your company but otherwise I have been fine Boss, and you?”

“Well thank you Jeep, and good to see you too, it appears that you’ve turned into a hero by saving my ass when you pulled me from the wreck. And do believe me when I say I appreciate it.”

“No thanks are necessary Boss. It seemed the proper thing to do at the time.”

After a close examination of the Jeep which revealed only a few surface scratches I gazed into the distance seeing the mountains rising ever higher above and the river valley spread out below. It was a fairytale sight, the way the land merged with the sky and the muted colors blended together. I could make out four tall white cloud like columns rising then blending into the towering gray clouds. That was Steam rising from thermal vents. Three were to our north and one to the east. And they just added another obstacle for anyone searching for us. The thermal signature of a fire would blend in with the natural hot spots. Riding the updrafts from the vents and turning in great lazy circles were large birds bearing about the same kind of resemblance to the devils we were used to as a hawk has to a hummingbird.

To say the land hereabouts was rugged just didn’t do it justice. Rugged wasn’t the half of it. There was much snow at the elevations above and what looked to be glacial ice meeting into the river at the northern most position I could see. There was of course much water cascading down river from the north. This far north of Liberty City it was still very early spring and the warm mid day temperature insured the spring melt was proceeding apace. The rushing water caused ripples on the wider lake like section below. Even in the absence of a wind it gave ample evidence of the river’s strength and speed.

I could make out a rapids where it narrowed back down again about a mile south of where the Jeep and I were stationed behind the rock buttress Mike had seen to getting erected. At least for now in this stage of the season rafting down stream wasn’t an option.

There was however a mostly narrow ledge paralleling the rivers course running along both shores. This was evidence of a once higher water level than today and from a geological era when the bottom of the river was equal to the ledge height. We could hike along that ledge and make good progress for a while at least. A couple of days and we would have to see what came next.

There was a herd of about 20 mountain goat like animals a few thousand feet higher up and once in a while I would see lone individuals traveling down a steep trail to the ledge by the river. I had a pair of binoculars and could study them closely. About the size of a large mountain goat; their six legged gait was an obvious improvement on the Earth design. They were covered with a mottled dull grey to black fur with patches of white that blended into the natural background. Even when moving the were not easy to pick out. Given the temperature now in the mid 20’s, and the fact that they were warm blooded, the Jeep had no trouble at all spotting them and pointing me in the right direction.

The trail the goats were using to reach the river was some 250 yards to the north of the rock berm and stacked wood shielding the signal fire. At an elevation about 50 yards up the slope from us it crossed over a slight ridge and disappearing on the other side until it neared the river again some 400 yards upstream and below us.

The weather had been improving all morning and at first in slivers, and then by patches, but now wide areas of Alchibah’s distinctive dark blue sky predominated. If one of the goats would cooperate and pass over the ridge at just the right time it would be silhouetted against the sky and I might be able to get off a shot. We could surely use the meat.

But as I said the animals natural camouflage was excellent and the rocky nature of the trail leading down towards where it passed over the ridge line combined with the distance involved made for tough conditions. The Ruger was zeroed at 250 yards but when shooting uphill I would need to aim low. I know that sounds odd to non-shooters, heck it sounds odd to shooters too, and I never believed it myself till I did the math but I wasn’t sure how low I should be aiming at this range and elevation. The Rug’s military optics would have taken all of the guesswork out of the equation but I had elected to keep things simple and hadn‘t packed them. Eventually after a four hour wait and missing two chances to shoot because of visibility problems due to a cloudy background I did get a shot off .

Aim point 2 inches low and I found out later I had just clipped the goat at its spine above the front most pair of legs. It dropped at once and tumbled out of view behind the ridge. I sent out the Jeep to see if he could bring it back and sure enough he reappeared after 15 minutes carrying the animal across one of his shoulders. I skinned and cleaned it, washing the body cavity out while still warm in fresh snow. About 45 lbs cut into chunks and wrapped back up in the pelt that would freeze over night and meat for the pot tonight.

I stayed up on top for a whole shift before Mike came up again, Janie had commed me every hour, and of course immediately after hearing the shot, checking up on my condition. I was feeling better every time we talked. The main reason for being on top of the bluff was to insure we could get a signal fire blazing in a visible location rapidly as possible should a search vehicle came into the area, unlikely, but that was all we could do for now and we had to keep trying.

When I got back from the bluff, bringing the wrapped goat meat with me, Laura and Janie had almost everything packed except for those things we would need that night. I decided to call Mike in early so that we would need to stand only a one person rotating guard that night leaving us all of us as rested as possible and ready to leave first thing in the morning.

The night went by uneventfully and near daylight R. J.P. came down from the bluff and topped up the charge in EmyCee’s batteries. It took less than an hour from the time we arose to eat, break camp, and head down stream. Seven days from liftoff from Liberty City and how many more till we would see it again?

Day 40 - Order of March:
The Jeep led out in front a hundred yards ahead carrying just a plasma rifle. I wanted to be sure he could react instantly in case of need. I was next in line with a Ruger in hand and Mikes carry on bag slung over my shoulder. My left side was still too bruised and tender to stand up to humping my pack and so Mike Reye carried that from his position as third in line. I hadn’t planned on doing much hiking when we left Liberty City to start this trip so the pack was loaded up to around 65 lbs and fortunately I included much more than just the bare essentials for a day trip.

I figured Mike might have trouble with the weight at first but given a few days I would be able to spell him, and soon, I hoped, be able to carry it full time. Mike also carried his Ruger and the pistol Andy Stewart had given him and also my plasma rifle; not because he had had any practice in it’s use but so that he could pass it on to me in a hurry if it was needed. Overall Mike was carrying almost 80 lbs, a brutal load but he had the size for it and was in much better shape than I would have guessed.

Next, and right behind Mike, came Laura, she had her carry bag and the fur wrapped bundle containing thirty pounds of the frozen goat meat. The bundle was tied up with cut strips of skin and with straps from the same material, fur side in, made a decent pack. I thought the weight too much for her but she insisted she could handle it. We would see.

I had asked Janie’s to try and keep 15 to 20 yards behind Laura but to close up and look to the rear whenever we stopped or if the pace slowed down for any reason. Janie carried along with her pack, loaded to better than 50 lbs, the other Plasma rifle. EmyCee brought up the rear 50 yards behind the main group. Emy carried, slung on her back, the container the weapons and ammunition had been stored in but now containing most of the miscellaneous camp supplies and items pulled from the Dora. To balance that not inconsiderable weight she also had a bundle of ready firewood roped together and tied on in front of her. As we stepped out I reminded everyone to stay alert and to remember the reason for a neck was to keep ones head on a swivel.

The temperature was just above freezing but rather than set out on a brisk pace figured it better to start out slowly and work up to more strenuous exercise. Another factor was that I wanted the sun to be well overhead by the time we reached the other end of the lake where the river narrowed down in a near vertical gorge as it passed beyond the area I had been able to examine closely from atop the bluff the day before.

We walked for 25 minutes then took a break for five. That was plenty enough to keep us warm and for those carrying unaccustomed weight, especially Mike, to get used to the strain. The lakes shore area though usually less than 20 feet was mostly clean bare rock though every place there was a sheltered section it became covered with potentially ankle breaking patches of loose stone and rock that we had to pick our way through with much care.

We spent just about a full two hours covering that first two miles till the lake narrowed down, but time well spent as we were getting used to the program. Alchibah was high enough in the sky that the shadows at the bottom of the river channel caused us no problem with visibility as we trekked along but the roar of the water in the boulder strewn rapids did made talking impossible.

The only things other than my rifle that I was carrying was my holstered Glock and Laura’s comp. Her comp was the only device we had with a large enough screen to let me glance at from time to time, and get a Jeep’s eye view of what lay in front of us, when the footing wasn’t difficult. It bothered me some that the Jeep in his position ahead was often out of view but nothing to do about that. At the short ranges involved at least we had no communication black outs.

All in all the morning passed rapidly and while still in the gorge, with the Jeep ahead and EmyCee posted behind, halted just after local noon for a longer break and lunch. Good thing we had brought fire wood with us because except for a couple of very small samples we hadn’t encountered enough driftwood make a difference, much less a fire.

I pulled the collapsible rod out of my pack after Mike had set it down and as quickly as the others had a fire going pulled in two smallish variants of the familiar trout. Not a big meal but quick when roasted and we would save the goat meat we were hauling with us for later. Scarcely forty minutes and we were on our way again.

It was early afternoon, but shadows were already beginning to form in the deep cut we were waking through, but in little more than a mile the steep rock walls hemming us in began to spread and crumble into a more gradual slope. And after another mile it was like coming out of a tunnel as the river cascaded downwards towards a vast open tundra marked here and there by rocky outcroppings fronted with glacial moraines and dotted by the infrequent clump of pole-pines. We had lost several thousand feet of elevation and most of the winters snow had melted off with only an infrequent patch or drift were still evident. Almost 9 hours of marching that first day, and perhaps15 miles covered, but a very adequate beginning, and with well known, safe, terrain behind us and knowing nothing of dangers ahead, a very suitable spot to stop for the night.

That first day’s travel set the pattern for many of those to follow. And in order to keep from repeating myself I’ll layout a typical days travel during our first month in reverse order of stop to start. After reaching the days stopping point I would walk an arc in front of where we would camp, covering all the ground to a distance of about 200 yards till I was certain I had found the best spot for the Jeep to occupy while acting as the nights forward lookout. While I was doing that Janie and Laura pitched the tent and did whatever else was necessary to set up. The Jeep’s guard spot being determined both he and I returned to camp and EmyCee would come forward so the Jeep could top off her charge.

Taking as much of this time as he needed Mike collected fire wood, cutting enough to keep a small fire burning all night long. He tried to collect more than enough so we would have some to take with us when we left in the morning but in areas like where we were stopped right now with wood scatted or scarce or if the weather was bad, he just make sure the fire would last the night. Next dinner and after eating with still an hour of daylight remaining, we were having a bit more than 13 hrs of daylight right now, I would get some sleep.

Either Laura and Janie, or once in a while Mike and Janie, would handle the first watch which lasted till midnight. I took over at that time and often caught another hour of sleep in the morning while breakfast was made and the others packed for the day ahead.

Privacy; we had little to none, and that took some getting used to. We copped in part by ignoring what we weren’t meant to see.

Laura and Mike got along well with each other and seemed rather to enjoy than to just tolerate the forced intimacy of our small group. Neither Janie nor I actively encouraged their growing friendship but we didn’t actively discourage it either. The one time I brought up the subject Janie said, “Their both good people Bart, however things turn out between them, it’ll be human natures decision, and nothing you or I do or think will matter in the end.”

Most days we hiked for eight to ten hours with a short stop for lunch, very rarely more than that. We never walked as fast as conditions might have allowed due to the need for constant security. The extra light at the end of the day was absolutely necessary for getting a safe camp ready well before dark. If we came upon an ideal location earlier, one that would permit us to get by with only one guard, we would stop much earlier, sometimes just after noon with as few as six hours in. We seldom moved as rapidly as we could have, caution being the key, so a good day’s travel was a little over fifteen miles and twelve or thirteen much closer to average but the steady progress was it‘s own reward. As we toughened up we would walk an hour or more between rest stops.

I kept hold of Laura’s comp while on the march or standing guard and kept the log files current. I had gotten so used to that every day it was second nature. We all did quite a bit of dictation into the device that the AI program would organize. I made copious notes concerning the terrain and geological strata and took many visuals as examples but found more than enough time for my personal log.

By the end of the first week I was carrying my pack full time with no troubles and almost no soreness and Mike had his own pack back. We found it washed up on a bank two days farther down stream. We never did find Laura‘s or anything else from the wreck. After that first week we stopped scanning the skies for signs of rescue.

00:34:11:30
As I left the community building I passed J.J. Parker and John Pierce leading about a dozen robots and heading south with the obvious intention of resetting the beams for the lower bridge. I could hear in the distance, probably almost a mile away the sound of the sawmills 20 horse power bio fueled engine; its amazing how far sound travels here without the constant undercurrent of the road noise and the rest of the sounds we were so accustomed to that we never noticed them.

I crossed the river on the upper bridge which hadn’t been damaged and followed it’s eastern shore as I headed for my freehold. My robot R. Hadrian was with me and I was carrying one of the shotguns from the armory. I hadn’t fired a shot in many years but I did grow up on a farm after all and in a time before hunting was effectively outlawed. I had enjoyed it at the time but gave it up as I got older. I had given no concern as the laws were passed making hunting first difficult and then impossible as the weapons were first registered and then required to be stored in secure governmentally controlled locations. Next more and more types were banned until we finally destroyed them all. At least in the U.S. the owners were paid for the value of the loss. Well maybe not the value but at least the purchase price.

The weapon I carried now was one of the first made in the blacksmiths shop on Alchibah. It would have been illegal on Earth even before the last round of laws were passed. It was in fact a sawed off double barrel 12 gage. Very crude with barrels made from seamless pipe brought down from the Mayflower, dual triggers and no ejectors, and no safety whatsoever except for the common sense of the person carrying it, and that was always the best safety anyway. But loaded with a slug in one side and double ought buck in the other a very suitable choice for close in personal protection. The stock was made from wood shaped by one of the robots from the local timber. It was equipped with a sling attached to the stock and a swivel just in front of the trigger guard but I chose to carry it in hand to get used to its feel.

I swung past the Historians freehold to see if the chickens and rabbits he had been raising survived. The house, which was quite a bit more substantial than what I had managed to complete, was gone; barely a trace just some stray timbers scattered about. The Hist, Rocco, and R. Asimov were busy re-erecting chicken coups and rabbit hutches. I stopped and talked to them for a while and the Historian explained that the house supported by posts set into the ground had tried to resist the flood whereas the animal cages were set on frames and just floated away when the waters washed over. About a third of the cages were smashed open and in a few cases upended so the chickens or rabbits inside drowned but in all about half survived.

I made good progress the rest of the way to my farm and after getting out of the forest and finally having a view to where my house should have been, to my surprise saw Buchanan, the Blade and a few others and along some nine or ten bots engaged in concerted activity surrounding my house which was for now about 500 yards east of where it once stood.

When we put my house up instead of driving posts into the ground Mike and I had set it on uncemented stone pilings. Like the Historians chicken coups the wave had washed it away but without damage left it half a mile to the east on the higher ground when the water receded. Now Buchanan was using pole pine rollers the bots and a lot of muscle to drag it back to it’s original location. I looked to the west where I should have seen Burt’s cabin and saw nothing but the marsh. It must have been swept down stream with the backflow.

When I reached them Jack took keen notice of my shotgun and sneered a bit. I think he was comparing it to the military grade weapons he and his men were carrying, but of that I took no obvious notice.

Buchanan spoke first while I was just getting ready to thank him and reading my mind said, “No thanks necessary Les, as you probably saw I lost everything and Jack and the boys offered to help put your place back where it belongs. I sure hope you don’t mind if we use it for a bit until I can rebuild.”

“Not at all Burt,” I was able to say with complete honesty, after all I really hadn’t expected to find anything left. “Take as long as you need Judith and I will stay in town. I don’t think she’s ready to come back here right now anyway.”

He told me they planned to make some improvements at my place, putting up a palisades and some earthworks making it rather fort like. I would miss the view but I expect Judith would appreciate the greater feeling of safety.

I thanked them all again and mentioned I was going back to town and check in with Sabbu to find out if there was any word about my son Mike and the shuttle.

“If there is be sure and let us know,” Jack said, giving me a strange look and in a tone of voice that made me feel very uneasy.

A half an hour later after stopping to talk to the gang resetting the beams at the lower bridge and I was back in Liberty City. Still no word from my son.

Early Day 35
I could make out that I was in some kind of a tent built lean-to and Janie was putting branches on a fire just outside of the partially opened front flap only a couple of feet away. I mumbled, “Wha happen? Howd I geh here? Miik? Lauraah? They alright.” Janie was inside in a flash, looking as if I had come back from the dead, and I guess I had. It was a near run thing.

“Mike and Laura are fine Bart, they’re with the bots and will check in soon. It’s you that have given us all a scare.” She leaned over and brushed her lips against my forehead and continued, “It’s been 36 hours since the crash and we were afraid you might not ever make it back to us. Wait a second darling while I fix you something to eat and then I’ll tell you the whole story.”

Over the next several hours, between spooning warm broth into me and smiling. Janie described in graphic detail what had come to pass. When the shuttle plowed into the rocks the impact was all on my side if the cabin. Tough fiber reinforced syntha-steel crumpled like cardboard and my helmeted head along with the entire left side of my body took a major blow. The ship came to rest, hanging partially on the jagged boulders, about 60 feet from shore and in 30 foot of water. The shock and drag caused by the landing had torn open the Dora’s rear bulkhead and water was pouring in as she settled stern first then slid off the rocks heading for the bottom.

Mike, Laura, and the bots escaped with a jolt, shook up some but with no damage to the robots and only minor bruises to the humans. Janie said that she felt like she had been bounced around in a pinball machine and was on the verge of shock but when she saw me motionless with the side of the shuttle against my cracked helmet it was like someone else took over and she just went into automatic.

With the ship going down they all unstrapped and Janie blew the hatch on top. While the water kept pouring in the others grabbed what they could reach. Janie slapped my visor down and with the Jeeps help pulled me into the main cabin then through the hatch and up to the surface. Our suits were buoyant enough that making it to shore wasn’t impossible, just nearly so. My helmet leaked but Janie said she kept it mostly out of the water till she could drag me on land and pop the visor open again.

She told me how while she and Laura started making a shelter Mike and the bots went back to the submerged wreck and after multiple dives into the icy water were able to get two of the cargo compartments open and bring back much of what was inside. The other two compartments had been torn open and all of their contents swept down stream.

Despite the rain still falling they had managed a fire then stripped me out of my suit and gotten me inside and into a mostly dry sleeping bag.. That was the worst time of all Janie said, The side of my face was covered with blood and even after the bleeding finally stopped my pulse and breathing were erratic and no mater what she tried I didn’t seem to respond.

That was as much as she had been able to describe until I could stay awake no longer but this time drifted into a far more natural sleep.

Ten hours later:
When I next awoke I could feel the throbbing pain again; not as bad as before but bad enough. Laura Seaworth was seated cross-legged, looking very intent, and typing into her comp. I thought about it for a while and got a sentence ready to try out.

“Morning Laura, or is it afternoon?” My voice was slurred and it hurt like hell to talk. She gave a small startled jump then looked over at me and smiled. Her hazel eyes were shinny bright in the darkness of the tent as she brushed her shoulder length auburn hair backwards. Laura was fourteen and in a couple years or so was going to be an absolute knockout. With thoughts like that I guess I was gonna live after all.

“It’s,” looking at her wrist comp, “just after 11 local time Mr. Bartlett.” She spoke into her com unit saying, “He’s awake again Janie,” and then, “Ok, good.” I didn’t hear the other end of the conversation.

“Just call me Bart, its ok Laura I can’t stand on formality with anyone involved with saving my life.”

She blushed and said, “I didn’t do that much. It was mostly Janie and Mike,” and then she asked, “How do you feel?”

“Honestly not so hot. I’ve got a headache that’s on the other side of unbearable.”

She reached inside her parka and pulled out a small package and after pouring water into a canteen cup came over and gave me two pills. “Just regular strength painkillers,” she said. “Janie told us about the last time you woke up. She had you drugged to the max. At first even when you were unconscious you made an awful lot of noise at times and your pain was just tearing her apart. After last time, when you stayed awake, she stopped the injections and let me spell her. We were all so glad to know you were back.”

I struggled into a sitting position, and as the world stopped spinning, felt at the bandage covering my eye and the left side of my face.

“Janie said you’re not supposed to touch the bandages Bart. When she gets back she’ll take a look.”

“Where is she now?” I asked, still lightly fingering the cloth.

“Janie went out an hour ago to check up on Mike and the bots. She told me when I commed her that she was on her way in.”

I know I must have looked puzzled and Laura went on to explain, “We’re at the base of the bluffs overlooking the river here Bart. Mike’s up at the top on a small hill where there’s a view of the river valley and he has a fire going in hopes that anyone looking for us will see it. R.J.P. is up there with him acting as a sentry. EmyCee and I have been doing pretty much the same thing down here while Janie has been taking care of you.”

“Have you seen anything?” I asked.

“Oh we’ve seen a lot alright but nothing that’s getting us closer to being out of here.” she replied.

“Hey Quig!” Janie exclaimed, opening the tent flap.

“Jeez!, first it was Andy and now you. You hangout with the wrong kinda crowd Babe!”

I was feeling much better by late afternoon when Mike Reye came down from his lookout perch and was able to fill in more of the details of the Dora’s salvage, and he just shrugged it off as the words failed when I tried to express my thanks and admiration.

“How did it happen, Laura and I heard the explosion when the rockets blew, but why? What went wrong?”

I could only reply, “I don’t know Mike, everything was fine till the instance she cut loose and without the wreckage to examine we will probably never know.” In the back of my mind though some very dark suspicions were forming.

Good News and Bad:
If they hadn’t found us in almost three days, even with the weather as bad as it had been, I was thinking it unlikely we would be found at all. And certainly not soon. The sensors on the Mayflower and the orbital observatory were both up to detecting us. The problem had to be with the search area they were aimed at. The Mayflower was out of view and on the other side of the planet when we launched. With two comsats able to relay that didn’t seem like any problem at all. Our launch into a polar orbit heading north started out over land but as we gained altitude and the planet turned under us by the time of the explosion we were at least 100 miles off the coast and over the ocean.

All of the control, operational, and observational data for the entire flight was continually uploaded to the sats and hence the Mayflower so they always had a real time track of our progress. If a ballistic trajectory was calculated from the time we lost power and the telemetry shut down our splash point would have been 3000 miles north and 300 miles out to sea. And that had to be where any search effort was concentrated. There would also be close scans of the area on either side of the predicted trajectory.

But due to the damage we sustained and the tilted angle the Dora maintained during re-entry we drifted further and further eastwards from a true ballistic path. The good news was we came down, not 300 miles out to sea into frigid northern waters, but instead 150 miles from the coast in the landward direction. Our eastward descent also meant that we weren’t 3000 miles north but well short of that. But if the explosion that took out the engines left enough survivable debris, some would show up on the flight line where they would have expected us come in on and hence reinforce the search in that area and make it very unlikely that the spot where we did land would get any kind of a close scrutiny. And I wouldn’t have bet much on the likelihood that a small fire over a thousands miles from where we were thought to have been, and especially now when we were likely presumed to have died in the crash, would attract any attention.

That’s the way I later described to my fellow castaways what had likely happened, but being well inland we had no knowledge or the tsunami and the real problems back in Liberty City so I could hardly have been more wrong. Still it was a beautiful theory and since we hadn’t been found it was up to us to figure out our next step.

I would need better data to determine our exact location but had a plan on how to go about getting it. With the loss of the shuttle the only com-unit with the range and frequency response to link through the comsats was the military grade unit strapped to my left wrist; the one, mil-spec or not, that hadn’t survived being between my seats arm and the crumpling of the ships side when we hit the rocks. We had packed another ground unit but it wasn’t stowed in the compartments Mike and the Jeep had been able to salvage. Aside from being on the wrong frequencies every other communication device we owned, including the bots internal units, were short range devices. That was why Sabbu was so busy setting up cells back in Liberty City.

Good luck, planning, and a concern for weight distribution had caused us to stow our gear in such a fashion that in the two intact compartments along with some of our basic survival equipment both Janie’s and my pack and personal gear were recovered. Laura and Mikes gear was stored in the compartments that had ripped open and they lost everything but what was in each of their small carry on bags. I had been wearing my Glock and had two spare loaded magazines in the pouch clipped to the harness, and say what you will about it being a poodle shooter, (Oh I guess you would have had to read the old internet archives to get that reference), it was impervious to water damage and ultimately reliable. But better than that the Jeep had brought in the container into which our two plasma rifles and both of the Rugs had been packed along with 60 round worth of penetrators and expanders, slings and cleaning supplies.

We had food on short rations for perhaps a couple weeks but plenty of vitamin supplements and we knew that at least some of the local plant and animal life would be edible. The folks at the Bio Lab had put together a test kit which was in Janie’s pack, containing treated patches designed to turn color in the presence of harmful organics. The broth I had been drinking was prepared from the meat of a large otter like animal Mike Reye had captured by digging it out of a snow bank. He had cleaned the pelt and it was frozen now but if we were to keep it would need to be tanned. We had only two sleeping bags but we all were wearing ship suits during the launch. Once they were dry the skin-suit inner layer and outer protective covering, much like rip-stop nylon but ever so much tougher, were warm enough if the temp stayed above freezing. The outer suit pressure layers and their heating units went down with the Dora but even so it did look like we wouldn’t freeze. Very important smaller items included a mess kit, hand axe, and a 12 inch folding saw but most important of all both the Jeep and EmyCee had come through in perfect shape.

I was thoroughly impressed with the precautions Janie and Mike had taken to insure camp security, from the location chosen for the tent, made from the solar cloth tarps Janie and I had carried, to the stone wall barricades and open sight lines. I had managed to stand and get outside before it turned dark on that third day and saw that even the latrine was situated with security in mind. I told Janie I could take a watch outside the tent area that night but she knew better and insisted I didn’t rush things. The next morning when I awoke I figured I was at least up to 50%, and considering the alternative that wasn’t too bad.

What Next:
Janie was up on the bluff and Lara was outside the tent, Mike has stood the night watch and was snoring lightly as he caught up on sleep. I was using Laura’s comp, the only one that made it ashore, and trying to figure out exactly where we were. The comp was loaded with the easy version of much of the astronomical data relating to the Alchibah system and I had asked Mike to record bearings and altitudes along with time stamps if by chance it was clear enough to see either of the moons, Oliver or Carter, during his watch. I had gotten Janie to instruct EmyCee and the Jeep to do the same. Between the three of them and because the weather pattern which had been dumping alternately rain sleet and snow on us was breaking up, I had eight data points to work with.

It took a lot longer than it should have as fuzzy as I still was but by the time Mike awoke I had our location narrowed down to by my estimation to within fifty miles of out true location. A comparison of estimation with the recorded satellite imagery, which did show the river location, and I could even point out our campsite.

As Mike got up and made ready to take over for Janie I asked him to get us all into local communication and I described my findings. The short version was that we were 1640 miles almost due north of Liberty City and one hundred and fifty miles from the coast. The river that fed formed the lake we ‘landed’ in gradually increased in size and tending westward flowed into the ocean a few hundred miles to the southwest. The terrain south of us diminished from low mountains, kind of like the Appalachians back on Earth, to a high tundra and then, starting about twelve hundred miles north of Liberty to the mostly forested regions we were familiar with.

Mike and Laura let Janie and I do most of the talking but both, and Mike in particular, were free with comments when they had something to add. Mike did ask about the probability of our fire being spotted.

“Almost no chance,” I said, “Too many geothermal sources and lightning caused fires. If we could set off a really big fire they would certainly see but it would look like any naturally occurring forest fire and even if they examined it closely little old us would be lost in the noise.

Since waiting it out here, for the rescue that would never come, was out of the question, that left two us choices. Take the river to the sea and follow the ocean shore back, either by walking or after building some kind of a boat, or try a more direct overland passage. If we had been a larger party better supplied I think we would have split up and tried both ways, hoping that at least one would succeed and bring rescue to the other party, but that was out of the question in our present condition.

We just didn’t have enough information to go on. The satellite maps in Laura’s comp lacked the resolution to throw the decision either way. We decided to take the easiest course, just following the river down stream for the first seventy miles while it flowed generally south and then make the final choice where it’s direction changed to the west as it fell rapidly towards the sea.

I told Janie I was feeling good enough to take over for Laura and also that I could use the fresh air; she concurred. After Mike left to take over for her and she retuned to camp we resumed planning, keeping the com active so Mike could hear us while Laura slept.

If everything worked out, and my condition kept improving, we would make all the preparations possible and leave early in the morning two days from now. That would be at the start of the seventh day since the crash or Alchibah day 40.

Day 34 Morning
The number of colonists present was very noticeably smaller than at our last general Council session and the pre-meeting noise level dead silent in comparison. Lester Reye tapped once rather than pounded his gavel down and had everyone’s attention.

“Thank you all for being here this morning. I’m going to first talk about the current state of the colony after the events of the last several days and then Karl Nash will say a few words and we will open the floor for questions and comments. Please no interruptions or questions till that time.

The only sound was that of a baby crying, and Reye paused a moment looking at his audience as the mother calmed the child down. When the unnatural, even uncomfortable, silence returned he continued reading from his notes.

“Including those deaths caused by the storm we’ve lost to death nearly ten percent of our population during our first month here on Alchibah. The storm was directly responsible for five of those deaths We now number only one hundred forty nine. Eleven of that one forty nine are spacers. We have been unable to locate or to contact as of yet, William and Janie Bartlett, Laura Seaworth and my son Mike or the two robots they have with them. We haven’t given up hope, but I will not gloss over this, it does not look good. Another two robots from here in town are missing and presumed destroyed. Six robots have suffered enough damage that they can only be used as a source of spare parts.

“Eighty percent of the crops we had started will need to be replanted if there is sufficient seed remaining. This seems likely but until we finish our inventory we can not be sure. One quarter of all colonist personal construction will need to be rebuilt. At least one of our windmills is a total loss and we need to unearth the newly delivered shuttle craft, transport and the small sawmill before we can even assess the damage to them. The lower bridge needs extensive rebuilding and repair.

“We have eleven people either in the hospital or injured severely enough that at least for the time being they are unable to do any useful work. Two of those in the hospital are critically injured and unlikely to survive. Another nine of us are fit only for light duty. Understandably morale is very low in many of us who escaped with no physical injury. And if all of this wasn’t enough we have been reminded again just how deadly the native species on this planet truly are.

“And to make matters worse we have had our first reported incidence of a major crime. Karl Nash is investigating the rape of Kathy Osborne.”

Reye paused again, taking a sip of water, while all of that sunk in.

“I didn’t come here to talk of nothing but doom and gloom. On the plus side, the community building and structures built in Liberty City came through with little or only minor damage. We have discovered many new sources of food and starvation does not look to be a problem. We have more than enough electrical power for our current and projected needs, or at least till winter. What will happen next is our decision and responsibility. Digging out and rebuilding is our first priority. The future is still ours if we refuse to let it go.

Reye looked over towards Karl Nash and signaled for him to take over. Nash came up front as Lester took a seat besides the lectern. Finally a low pitched murmur could be heard but it too became inaudible as Karl began.

“I didn’t want this job when it was first offered to me, heading the police and local militia, and want it even less now. But I know, even though it may be hard to see after what we have just come through, that progress has been made.

The baby began squalling again and the child’s mother stood up as if to leave but as she neared the exit stopped and turning to face the front of the room said in a loud voice filled with both anger and pain.

“You can talk of your progress but my baby has no father and I have no husband. You can.. you will….” Her voice tailed off and her entire body seemed to slump as she turned once more towards the exit.

“Mrs Burke, please,” was all Nash could get out before the woman was through the door and out of the hall.

“Aldo Burke was acting as a member of the militia under my command, doing his job to the best of his ability and training but constrained by all that was happening around him. And yes I gave the order rescinding the requirement that two guards must be at a post at all times. Given the need for disaster relief and aid to those unable to help themselves I would do the same again. I may have been wrong but my decision was an honest one based on the facts I knew.

“This morning before this meeting began I offered Mr. Reye and the rest of the Council members my resignation, they declined to accept. Some of you may feel that a mistake on his and their part, please feel free to talk to them about it, but for now I have a job that still needs doing and will continue as best as I am able.

“I hadn‘t planned to do this but I will take the time now to publicly thank all the militia members who were on duty the last several days, those who instead of devoting all their time and effort to helping only themselves or their families worked for the benefit of all of us in this room. Aldo Burke was one who gave that last full measure of devotion and I will honor his memory as long as I live.”

Nash lowered his head as if in prayer, then looked up and started again.

“Everyone in this room by now knows at least the outline of the crime committed against Kathy Osborne. I have talked to many you already. And either myself or Joe Fortson will talk to those we haven’t gotten around to yet. We have some evidence and expect to develop more. This crime will be solved. What we don’t have is any kind of codified procedure for dealing with a trial afterwards.”

A voice broke in from the rear, “We don’t need any procedures, we know what to do.” All at once the quite hall became loud enough to notice as more than a few people began responding to the statement in hushed tones to their neighbors.

Les Reye took this time to stand up and say, “Thank you Karl, If you would like I’ll take over now.”

Nash, obviously relived was all to happy to return to his seat in the front row and clasped his wife’s hand as he sat down.

Reye just needed to begin raising his gavel this time and all eyes were on him. He set it down turned sideways without making a sound and said, “This concludes the official part of this session. I, along with several of the council members, will remain to talk to those who wish to speak to us. Karl has more important things to do right now. Let’s try to keep this next part short. Only stay if you have something which can’t wait. We will hold another formal town hall type meeting as soon as we have enough people lined up to form a committee of law and justice. All those interested submit your names to Kara. If we don’t get enough volunteers membership on the committee will be by appointment or random selection as determined by meeting vote. Is there anyone present who must make a statement for the public record at this time?”

“No…”, he said glancing about, “I suggest then we end this session now and I look for a second. Do I hear a second?”

A chorus of voices answered in the affirmative and Reye’s gavel finally did come down with a resounding bang!

From the Log of Mariana Stuart

Day 34 Mean Nautical Sunrise

I slowly edged past the bulk of the rumbler pulling out the flash trying to find where Chris was hiding. It took about five minuets to find the slit at the back of the cave that a teenager might have been able to fit through.

I moved to the mouth of the opening and shone the light in. There curled into the corner sobbing and holding his ears was Chris. His head came up as the light hit him and the terror in those eyes was visible. I tried to talk to him and there was no response.

I thought, “Of course you dummy, he was in the back of this echo chamber when the big guy touched off three fast ones.” I reached inside the jacket and pulled out the small white slate and marker. I block printed:

It’s Dead
You can come out
It’s over

I held up the slate with the light pointed on it into the opening. I did not have to see him to feel the terror seeping out of that brain. He came out slowly like he was not sure if it was really over. When he saw the rear of the rumbler he stopped in his tracks.

Grinning at him I walked over and kicked it right square in the rear end, Chris visibly relaxed and we started out of the cave. When we got to the splayed foreleg that was blocking the path he would not climb over until I did first and reached back for him. It was like he kept waiting on it to wake up, right up till we got to the front of the beast. The great gapping hole the three HE rounds had left gave no doubt that this thing would never wake up.

I motioned for him to sit on a nearby boulder and gave him a quick once over with the field medic kit. Just as I was finishing Andy walked up handed me my expended brass and asked, “How’s the kid doing?”

“Just on the edge of shock and can’t hear. He was caught in the blast wave of that thing and that hole back there is like a natural amphitheater.”

Andy grimaced, “That was not fun I’d bet.”

I had to laugh at the look on his face, “It beats being breakfast for a rumbler. Watch him for a couple will you?”

I went over to the hulk and spent a few minutes taking fluid and tissue samples, then went back to the young man.

“Let’s get Chris down to Hanna’s and get something warm in him. That’s probably this best medical treatment he could get right now.” I wiped the slate on my sleeve and wrote:

Let’s Go Home Chris.

He stood and almost stumbled. I threw the butt of the White Feather on my left hip and reached out with my right hand to his shoulder to steady him. Just as I touched him he steadied and I looked to see Andy, Robar on his right hip and left hand under Chris’s shoulder.

For the first half mile or so we more carried him than he walked. By the time we moved into the town clearing, he was walking pretty much on his own but we left our hands where there were. Karl Nash was just slogging up from the lower bridge area.

“Karl,” I yelled, “could you get word to Harry and Linda Washington that we have Chris up at Hanna’s getting something hot into him.”

He looked pleased, “That would be the first pleasant thing I’ve done this morning. What happened the rumbler run off?”

“No Karl, she’s still laying right where Andy dropped her. We are going to need a bunch of bots to drag her back to the Lab.”

“She?” he exclaimed. “That explains why we have two of them. Dollars to donuts it’s mating season.”

We had Chris in Hanna’s and half a plate of Slizzard bacon, eggs and home fries in him when Harry and Linda burst in the front door. Linda was all over him and asking how he was and Chris was just looking dumbfounded. “Linda, he has some short term hearing loss. He should be fine in a few hours but, right now he can’t hear you.”

Karl looked at Andy with the stovepipe beside him propped against the bar and asked, “How many Andy?”

“Three but I’m not sure the third one was necessary. But after my take no chances speech to the other group, I didn’t think I should either.”

“Let me guess, Chris was down range from that sound storm. No wonder he can’t hear.”

I walked over to Hanna and asked, “Still got that private bottle of ours back there.”

“Of course Col. Stuart, by the way Kurt says he could use Dr. Stuart back real soon,” as she handed across the bottle and two glasses.

I motioned Andy over to a table, “Well, was it never enough this time?”

He grimaced, “Ask me after the other hunter/killer team checks back in.”

I stared him right in the eyes, “Do you know you are depressing as hell when you are in Command Mode?”

Day 33 Night

Mariana and I stopped at the tent to change gear. I asked, “What did you find out from Georgie and the Mother?”

“Not a whole lot,’ she replied, “the Mom was able to put his time of departure somewhere in the eye passage. He probably thought the weather was over and George’s head point was towards the North. That’s one tired little devil but after enough ‘flies’ he did repeat that Chris is in a cave.”

“Sounds about right,” I replied, “He does not know any woodcraft so he’s probably following the dig lines for the power grid. Those generally skirt around the rock formations up there that have cave possibilities. At any rate it’s the best starting point I can think of!”

We pulled up the hoods and shields, more to keep the water off the backs of our necks than to use the sensor suite. Only the infra-red was functional and our only comms were the short range sub-vocs that also went over infra-red.

Once we left the camp perimeter we were vary careful about our paths. We only left the woods into a trench line when we could come into it from down wind. After about three hours our search was rapidly narrowing to the area the grid crews had knick named The Knuckle. This area centered on the e-f 17-18 grid squares.

We knew we were getting close when as we were getting into position to move up the f-18, gap we found Chris’s robot. It looked like a truck had hit it but surprisingly looked repairable.

“Whatever hit it didn’t stay around to tear it up.” I said over the sub-vocs, “We have only seen one thing that can create that type of impact damage.”

She grimaced through her shield, “Yep we got two damn rumbler’s. Wonder why they are so close together? I thought Sinopa said they had huge ranges.”

“Damn if I know. Guess we can figure that out later. Maybe their ranges were separated by the river and we went and built them those handy bridges? Who cares, let’s go get the kid.”

We started moving slowly up the cut, opening after opening showed nothing. Suddenly Mariana tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to look at her. What I saw was Spotter in her hunch shouldered face down look pointing ahead and to our right. Following her pointing finger I scanned a cave opening, that had a heat source.

“How the hell do you do that?” I asked.

“Do I ask you how you disappear into the distance? We do what we do, check out the cave!”

Mariana Stuart

I came out of the sensory trance to watch Andy moving up to the cave mouth. He stopped took a careful look around the the edge of the opening and waved me forward. Moving up and looking I saw the southern exposure of what we had postulated as a rumbler.

“We are going to have to get it to turn around,” Andy said.

“Well, we could always give it a 7.62 hemorrhoid inspection,” I replied.

I watched Andy choking and gagging trying to keep noise discipline. “Yeah I guess that would work.”

He moved about ten paces in front of the cave mouth and unslung that damn cannon. “Anytime you are ready,” he said.

I crouched around the corner and started to sight in, “Damn I know why this one is here. That’s a female, look at the rear hips and exoskeleton placement.”

“Does that change the plan?” he grunted.

“Nope, she’ll just spin faster.”

I sighted in and squeezed off a quick three round burst, then dove out of the opening. I heard the bellow of pain and saw the front legs of the monster start out of the cave.

The world went silent as my earbuds squeezed shut under the overpressure I felt over every inch of my body. I saw the blood, liquid and pureed brain mass fly out of the ear of the rumbler and looked back to the flats.

There stood Andy taking that damn cannon off of his shoulder and the three clouds of smoke. Damn no wonder it hurt. We stared at each other for the 90 seconds it took for the earbuds to relax; then he said, “Go get the kid and let’s go home. Sun’s coming up and people are going to be worried.”

I left Karl and Joe behind and drafted some runners to chase down the people I needed. I knew where one I needed would be and it was time to go check the ambush his daughter and her best friend had gotten caught in. I seemed to have picked up a devil on the way, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. They were almost like translators or local guides sometimes.

At least the site where it had happened was above the slide line caused by the tsunami. Damn what a mess that was going to be. The weather had messed up the site but, to a practiced eye the body pattern of the catamount like animals (the devil started yelling “varg, varg!” when we got near them) read like a book. Seeing a full eight of them down made me happy I had asked Mariana to do a few specialized blood tests for me.

The Lab / Hospital looked like a war zone when I came in but Mariana looked like she was just wrapping up. “How’s it going,” I asked?

“Better than I thought a couple of hours ago. Jai is stabilized and she’s going to be OK. Em is still touchy but I’ve moved her off of critical, the baby I have no idea. Don’t know if the shock or the quick heal is going to cost her that or not. And May’s fine – up and about. She’ll have a nasty bruise from where that stick hit her, but the only leftover from the concussion she’s got is a bad headache.”

I was amazed, “So I guess that stuff really works?”

“If you had not got us the power to start making this stuff we could have easily lost at least two by now!”

“But it’s not enough Mariana, it’s never enough. Now we got a legitimate threat the military has to handle when I should be helping Karl.”

She smiled and reached out to grab my hand. “What was that speech about Span of Control, you know it has to be this way. That’s why Karl is the Top Cop and you are the Chief Grunt, it was too big a job for one person and you know it.”

I muttered and then asked, “OK you win, and did you get those blood tests I asked for?”

“Yeah and you were right, she was way up in the Red and she got there fast.”

My turn to grin, “I thought so, you have no idea how close she was to getting off a shot on that slizzard. The physical evidence at the ambush site backs it up. By the way Sally.”

The RN came over, “What can I do for you?”

I reached out a grabbed her padd and hardwired it to my wrist comp. “Yeah, when Jai wakes up in the morning; make sure she reads this.”

Sally took her padd back and looked at the file. “I am just learning to speak grunt but this reads like it’s a damn miracle those two did not get eaten.”

“Yeah, and the miracle’s name is Gabriel Benjamin. You just cannot operate that high up without the skills and reflexes pounded into you. He did not produce a particularly socially graceful young woman but he damn sure trained a survivor. Anyway, pry Connor away from her and get him over here.”

As we were waiting for Connor, Sinopa and Ash came dragging in, looking pretty much like everyone by this time, bedraggled. I turned to Mariana, “Is Washington’s mom here?”

“Yes, they brought her down about an hour ago hyperventilating and I know what you want, already done!”

About that time, Connor came up looking beat to hell. “Sorry to drag you into this but, Jai needs the rest and I need your body.”

Connor gave me a weary look that slowly turned into a wry grin. “You’re right. What’s the problem?”

I gave the whole group a slow look before starting with a question, “CPT. Sinopa are you as tired of this damn rumbler as I am?”

“Oh, you know that’s a yes!”

“Good, you are in charge. LTC. Andrews and CPT. Benjamin will take your orders on this one. It’s just fed, so track the bastard down and kill it.

“CPT. Benjamin a second weapon for you in case the .30’s don’t take it down.” I then gave him a carrying case with a plasma rifle and three extra charge modules. “I assume you know how to operate it?”

“We avoided using them – too imprecise, too much power for most jobs – but yeah, I know my way around one. I’ll save the ‘where the frack did that come from?’ discussion for later.”

“Good. Get a salvageable carcass if you can but don’t take any chances. If you have to fry it down, fry it down.”

“What about the Washington kid?” Ash asked.

“Spotter and I will go get him. When we find him he’s probably going to need Medical attention anyway; might as well kill two birds with one stone. Let’s go!”

From the Log Files of Karl Nash
00:34:09:00

Karl Nash, Joe Fortson, Kara, and the Historian were already seated in community building’s office conference room, coffee cups in hand, the next morning when Reye arrived. The storms had stopped and most of the colonists were busy picking up the pieces, what ever they could find, and in many cases little enough of their scattered possessions. Only about twenty lost souls, still too shell shocked to move or do anything useful, were still inside the larger portion of the buildings meeting area.

“Sorry I’m late,” Reye said, “I got waylaid a half a dozen times while I was out getting a better look at the damages. I wish Connor and Mariana were here but this is about the rape and not a council meeting so no problems there. And about the flood, any idea how often that is gonna happen?” He shuddered while saying that last part..

The Historian spoke up first, “I wish we could talk to Bart about it because as I am sure you’re all aware he was the closest thing to an astronomer and meteorologist we have with us, but the shuttle is still out of touch. For that matter, so is the Mayflower.”

Fortson, putting down his cup spoke up, “And speaking of Bart and Janie I am beginning to get concerned. They should be in touch by now, nothing the storm caused could have affected them and the shuttle was hardened against the solar flare.”

“Another problem to deal with,” Reye said, “I’ll ask Sabbu to keep trying, but for now the reason we’re here is the Osborne rape investigation. Karl, what have you found?”

“Well we know that Osborne isn’t faking it and something did happen to her but aside from that not much more than when we talked last night. No additional direct physical evidence but Kara did a search through the robot data files based on timing and came up with some imagery of two figures, not one but two, entering just before Osborne went in. They came back outside about five minutes later and waited for her to leave.

“Now remember this is long range stuff from a couple of different bots, and with the storm and darkness, mostly infrared enhanced so it’s impossible to make out any kind of facial identification or do a clothing match. We can tell that Osborne left the area staggering and very unsteady. The two figures went back inside for a couple of minutes, Joe and I figure that they were doing a site cleanup to insure there would be no DNA traces, and then they left. But we have no imagery beyond them stepping back outside and have no idea in what direction they went afterwards. And that’s all we got. What we need to get us passed this stage is a motive.”

“Or maybe an informer,” Kara said, “If more than one person knows anything it’s no longer a secret.”

“Now there’s a thought,” Fortson said.

“Have you talked to Kathy yet?” Reye asked.

“We saw her about an hour ago but didn’t learn anything that we didn’t get from listening to the tape Mariana provided.” Nash looked to Kara and said, “Kara could you go over and talk to her? It’s possible she’ll tell it differently or remember something when talking to a woman.”

“Sure, I’ll see her as soon as we’re done.”

“Thanks. Right now though I am open for suggestions on a motive. Any thoughts?”

One by one the others shook their heads in negation, Karl grimaced and said, “To paraphrase the greatest detective ever, ‘If you eliminate the impossible what is left…’ well I am sure you get the point. Kara after you talk to Osborne, using every scrap of certain information, either corroborated by the robots or in some other technical manner, try and figure who couldn’t have been at the crime scene at the time of the attack. I wish we could eliminate all of the female colonists from consideration at this point, but since this was something made to look like the usual rape, and was something else in fact, we can’t do that for now. At least we can narrow down the list of possibles and then Joe or I will have to talk to each and ever one of them. And please, keep thinking about a motive.”

“Thank you all for helping out here,” Reye said, “I’ll pass on what I can to everyone else in the colony as rumor control, but I think it best we leave out the lack of DNA evidence for now but mention we are analyzing robot imagery taken while the crime was in progress, that might cause someone to worry or get nervous or let something drop or slip out that they wouldn’t have otherwise. Heck Kara, it might even turn up an informer, one can always hope. For now though I need to go talk to Jules Parker and make arraignments for a few more funerals.”

As they left the community building Fortson turned to Nash and said, “I’m glad I’m not in Lester’s shoes. I’ll check back with you in a bit but I gotta go talk to Sabbu because I am getting really worried about Bart.”

“Sure thing Joe, do that and I’ll see you later. I should go and talk to my wife and check on our personal situation but I think I‘m going to go and look up Buchanan first, I haven‘t seen him for a while and I think it’s time we had a talk.”

I tracked down Burt Buchanan by the lower bridge. It wasn’t much of a bridge anymore, half the planking was missing and most of what was left was twisted off the beams or splintered and askew hanging from only one bolt and even one of the iron beams had slipped from its foundation.. I don’t think he heard me come up from behind but even still he didn’t even start when I said, “Not much to look at is she.“

“Guess not Karl.” he said without turning, recognizing me by my voice I thought. “We can get it back in place pretty quick once we get new planking. What’s the status on the lumber mills?”

I told him I had just left Fortson and that Joe had said that the smaller one was buried at the foot of windmill hill but the other and the parts brought down from the Mayflower had been on high ground well away from the river and were in good shape.”

“So to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” he asked.

“I’m sure you’ve heard about Kathy Osborne.” His expression stayed totally noncommittal as I continued. “We don’t have a lot to go on, so what I am doing now is talking to everyone, and I do mean everyone, trying to find out where they were when it happened and if they had seen anything that could help in finding the guilty parties.”

“Guilty parties?” he replied with just a hint of inflection.

“Yeah,” I said. “Didn’t mean to let that slip out but we got some robot generated imagery taken while the rape was being commited and we’re working on it now trying to bring out more detail.”

“Well you can count me out of your suspects. I was at the First Inn the whole evening and lots of people will vouch.”

“Nothing personal in this Burt, like I said I have to talk to everyone. How about a list of everyone you are sure was at the Inn with you say from seven to seven thirty last night. If they were there but you aren’t absolutely certain they were there the whole time let me know that too.”

It took him only moments to rattle off a list of names and the list he gave contained only names I was already aware of and was pretty sure had spent the entire period of time at Hanna’s.

“Did anyone come in and act in a suspicious or unusual manner?”

“Karl,” he said, “Everyone either of us saw last night was acting in a an unusual if not suspicious manner.”

He had a point, and after asking him to let me know if he remembered anything else that could help I left; intending to talk to a few more people on my list. For the time being though I was going to stay away from Jack the Blade, let that one build up a little steam. I did turn round once after leaving and saw Buchanan still standing and staring out at the bridge and the waters below.