Volcano: The Supply Frontier
Morning Day 90
JoAnn and I were waiting for Stan and Elena for our expedition back to the volcano area so we could refill our supplies. We need to fill up on our previous finds, and see if we can find some ore and minerals in the area, particularly sulfur.
As Robbie put it, “No Sulfur, No Sulphuric Acid. No Sulphuric Acid, No Gun Cotton. No Gun Cotton, No Smokeless Powder, No Smokeless Powder, No Ammo Plant, and I don’t want to be the one to tell Andy that. Do You?”
Needless to say I don’t.
We were almost ready to give up when Stan strolled forward and said, “I love have such pretty ladies waiting for me!”
“Don’t forget about my lovely legs,” I said, sexily extending out my lightly hairy leg He grimaced at that, to which I smiled.
Close behind him was Elena.
The way over was filled with small talk, and of pointing out Alchibah’s beauty. I always love the view from the air.
We landed in the same area as we previously did, and quickly set up camp. We decided to do some collecting for the remainder of the day, focusing on things that wouldn’t go bad during our stay.
The next morning Stan and I head up the volcano, while JoAnn and Elena flew ahead looking for mineral and ore deposits. By the time we reached halfway up, they had a few places for us to scout. We flagged those that we could easily reach (potassium sulfate, sphalerite, copper pyrite and bauxite.), bringing back soil samples from each spot. Real samples and exploration of the other side of the volcano will have to wait for another trip. JoAnn assured us, though, that we found good enough sulfur for the ammo plant. I sure hope so.
Because Stan & I did all the hiking, JoAnn & Elena made dinner and cleaned up. And made sure the lassic was ready to smear on our legs and feet from the long day’s hike. I was so exhausted I feel asleep before I had a chance to change clothes.
The next day was spent collecting the rest of our supplies. Four hands, splitting into teams of two, made it easy work. JoAnn was ready to test out her Alchibah night flying, so we broke down camp and climbed aboard.
“You’re not going to fly into a mountain, are ya Jo?” Stan asked wearily.
“I’ve flown in more dangerous situations, Stanley. If I didn’t think I could bring you back in one piece we wouldn’t be sitting here.” And with that we were off.
It was the first night flight for us all on Alchibah and not seeing lights was terribly alien — it reminded us where we really were. The starlight gave a creepy yet beautiful view of the land.
We all perked up when we saw the lights of the town, and were relieved when JoAnn set us down perfectly as promised. As I got off the shuttle, I overheard Stan say quietly to JoAnn, “I’ll never doubt you again.”