by Tom Johnson
"I'm glad the rocks weren't any bigger than they were," Major Cooper grunted as the colonel hit another hole hard and fast.
"You hit that one on purpose, Lady!" he growled. The commander just grinned.
The sky suddenly lit up as another fireball streaked across the heavens, and they stared in horror as the meteorite slammed into the tail end of the giant ship, the Galileo Two some distance ahead of them. They feared the worse as a blaze of light flared up when the rock struck. But a minute later, they could see the great ship still sitting there, only a slim column of smoke rising from the damaged tail section.
Another ball of fire shot overhead, but this time the heavenly object overshot the spaceship, and struck the desert sand about a mile on the far side, causing a column of dirt to be tossed into the air and picked up by a strong wind higher up.
"It doesn't appear to be over yet," Colonel Peterson said.
"Probably a larger rock that broke up as it hit the gravitational pull of the planet," Major Cooper suggested, "the smaller pieces striking the surface first, followed by the larger, heavier pieces that held together. They must have come in last. Maybe that's all of them!"
"In any case," Sheri told them, "we'd better check on Doctor Terrill and Roger, and make sure they're okay."
Chapter Eleven
Disaster Again
Arriving at the spaceship, they found Roger Manning standing out in the yard between the ship and the bio-dome, looking up at the tailfin of the spacecraft. Hearing the ATV sliding to a stop, he turned to greet the returning members of the crew.
"I'm glad to see that you three are safe," he grinned. "We had quite a scare a minute ago. That rock made a lot of noise when it sliced through the ship's fin!"
"Any damage inside?" Colonel Peterson asked.
"Nah. I think Doctor Terrill dropped a glass beaker or something when it hit, but nothing was lost," he said.
"It looks like quite a fire in the swamps, though. Lucky you guys weren't in the way when they hit," he grinned.
"They didn't miss us by much," Major Cooper told him.
"Yes," Sheri smiled at the engineer, "I want you to speak to that God of yours, tell him to be careful where he throws those stones!"
"I already have," Roger told her. "But I made it a request, not an order."
Entering the ship, they were just in time to see Doctor Terrill coming from her small laboratory. She was carrying a small trashcan she'd built from a metal box, and it contained several disposable objects, including the broken glass that had once been a specimen beaker.
"I guess we're going to need the first city dump soon, if we continue accumulating so much trash," she told them.
"That's a good idea, Barbara," Commander Peterson told her. "I'll have one of the men start one tomorrow."
"Meaning me, right?" Major Cooper asked.
"Well, since you volunteered," Evelyn grinned.
"Roger," Major Cooper said, "as soon as you've finished inventing the laser gun, I want you to build an incinerator to burn all the trash. Think you can do that for us?"
"After the ray gun, an incinerator should be a cinch," Roger cackled out with his odd laugh.
"If you guys are through making jokes, I need to get back to my lab," Doctor Terrill said.
"What are you doing in there, Barbara, making some more of that moonshine?" Major Cooper asked.
"No, I'm trying to come up with some homemade antacid," she made a face. "I think those MREs have something in them that disagrees with my stomach."
"That's not the part of my anatomy they effect," Major Cooper laughed.
"Barbara better not have a cure for your problem, Major!" Colonel Peterson snapped.
"I agree with the major, though," Sheri said, "I sure could go for a real steak and potatoes, instead of those packaged military ready to eat things they feed the soldiers."
"As soon as Roger puts one of those super laser guns together, we're going hunting, Sheri," Major Cooper said. "And after a few days without the MREs, I'm going to chase Barbara around the lab," he winked at the doctor good-naturedly.
"Heartburn I can handle, Major," Doctor Terrill told him. "That, I can't!"
The doctor patted her bosom softly as she left the room, and Major Cooper clapped the engineer on the back, "Come on, Roger, I'll help you with the lasers while Sheri explains why animals have tails to Evelyn."
"I had a dog once," Roger Manning said as they were leaving the room. "He wagged its tail whenever anyone petted him."
"That's why they have a tail, Roger," Major Cooper said. "Could you imagine if Evelyn had a ..." his voice trailed off as they left the room. He didn't see Colonel Peterson looking for something heavy to throw at him.
The following morning they were shaken out of bed by a tremendous earthquake that rocked the ground for over thirty seconds. They heard a loud rumble coming from the direction of the spaceship. Roger Manning was on his feet like a shot, and yelled, "Are you okay, Cooper?"
The major grinned as he called back that he was okay. It was the first time that the engineer hadn't called him by rank, and it felt good. He was getting tired of being addressed as Major by everyone.
"Thanks, Roger," he told him. "We'd better check on the girls, they might have been shook up a little bit."
Racing outside after throwing on some clothes, the first thing they noticed was that the Galileo Two had rolled slightly, and they had to jump up to catch hold of the ladder that led to the ship's portal. Cooper was surprised to see the smaller engineer leap up easily and catch it. He pulled himself up after the lighter man.
Inside, they found chaos was the general rule. The three girls were only half dressed, and running around looking for something—the rest of their clothes, most likely.
"Stop right there!" Colonel Peterson ordered. "Turn around and look the other way until we can get our clothes on!"
Barbara Terrill cussed like a soldier andSheri just giggled. Cooper whistled, but turned around just before a heavy glass of water collided with his back. Roger Manning had to presence of mind to ask if everyone was okay.
"Okay, you can turn around now, Major," Sheri said. "Colonel Peterson is dressed."
"Shut up, Sheri," Colonel Peterson said. "As for you, Major, knock before you enter a lady's quarters the next time!" Evelyn said as she picked up the water glass at his feet. Just as she was straightening up, a strong aftershock rattled the Galileo Two again, and she lost her footing, and would have fallen, except for Cooper's intervention. He must have held her for a second too long, for she suddenly broke loose from his grip, her face flushed slightly.
"Why don't you girls just call me Cooper from now on," he suggested. "I resigned from the military—and NASA this morning!"
"Okay, Coop," Sheri saluted.
"Whatever," Doctor Terrill said.
"I might think of something a little more appropriate," Colonel Peterson snapped.
"I love you, too," Cooper laughed. The colonel turned red again. And Sheri giggled some more.
"Do you think the meteorite storm had anything to do with this earthquake?" Roger Manning asked.
"I don't know," Cooper told him. "It's likely that Pangaea is just moving a little. I'm surprised we haven't experienced a lot of earthquakes since our arrival here."
"The super continent will eventually break apart," Colonel Peterson told him. "It's an ongoing process, and I'm sure it occurs over and over, it just takes billions of years to do it!"
"Do you mean it breaks apart, comes together, and breaks apart again?" Doctor Terrill asked.
"Yes, Barbara," Colonel Peterson told her. "The earth's crust is constantly moving, forming mountains, valleys, and the very continents."
"Damn, I'm back in California!" Doctor Terrill ejaculated.
"We also know that the Galileo Two can be rocked by an earthquake, and damaged by a meteorite," Cooper told them. "But I don't think there was any major damage from either. Still, we'd better inspect the ship.
"Roge
r, you check the computer system.
"One of you girls care to go on an inspection tour of the ship with me?" he asked.
"I'm not going to be alone with you for one minute, Mister!" Colonel Peterson told him.
"I'll go, Coop," Sheri laughed.
"Good riddance to both of you," Doctor Terrill grunted.
"I'll assist Roger with the computer system," Colonel Peterson said.
"Okay," Cooper agreed. "Come along, fella," he winked at Sheri.
An hour later, everyone reported the ship undamaged and still in good working order, except for being able to fly. There were more aftershocks throughout the day, but they were less severe and barely felt in the ship now.
Turning on the view screen, Colonel Peterson pointed out the column of smoke still rising from the forest. But the fires appeared to have burned themselves out. The landscape was spotted with potholes from the fireballs, but there was no sign of earthquake damage in their vicinity. A few trees were down on the margin of the forest, but whether caused by the quake or not, they couldn't tell.
There was a lot of activity among the animal population, though. For some reason, the giant reptiles seemed more nervous, though that appeared to be an odd behavior for them. Perhaps they were starting to learn fear. Or perhaps it just took a series of events to cause them concern. After a while, they did settle down again, as if nothing had happened.
"Animals have always sensed problems within the earth," Roger Manning commented, a fact he thought the others might not know.
"Two hundred and fifty million years in the past?" Colonel Peterson asked.
"They learn faster than us," Cooper laughed.
"I give up!" the commander groaned.
"Be careful what you say, Evelyn," Sheri grinned.
"Not you, too, Sheri!" Colonel Peterson begged. "Someone has to be on my side, or I'm doomed."
The earth shook again during the night, keeping the survivors awake into the morning hours. The next day was calm and without any more tremors. No one spoke much at breakfast, as if everyone was expecting more gloom and doom to befall their little group of space travelers. After breakfast, Doctor Terrill changed Sheri's bandage on the wound, and said that it was healing accordingly. Even Cooper appeared too distracted with his own thoughts to whistle when the doctor displayed the biologist's bare leg for all to view. Colonel Peterson started to comment on his lack of jocularity, and then changed her mind.
Only Roger Manning appeared cheery-faced as he worked on the laser guns, and the contraption did look to be almost finished. It was a huge gun, though, resembling an old fashioned double-barreled shotgun, but with a large drum below the single barrel. The size was deceptive, though, as the weight of the gun was almost minuscule.
"Hold this, Cooper," Roger said, as he tossed the long rifle to his friend.
Catching it with an outstretched hand, Cooper smiled in amazement. "Featherweight," he said. It'll be easy for the girls to carry.
"It's kind of bulky, though," he continued. "How's the aiming mechanism?"
"No need to aim," Roger told him. "Just point it and pull the trigger. The laser will shoot straight ahead. It needed the long barrel to produce the beam. But, again, it won't kill. Hopefully, it will discourage the beasts from coming near you."
"Pretty hot, huh?" Cooper grinned.
"Just like a hot foot," Roger Manning started laughing again.
"Who are you giving a hot foot?" the commander's voice asked from behind them.
"Just the beasties, ma'am," Cooper said. "Unless I can burn their nose, instead."Handing the lightweight weapon back to the engineer, Cooper asked, "When can I check it out, Roger?"
"Probably in a day or two, Cooper. I still have some work to do on it yet," he said.
"The gun better be ready soon," she told them. "I'm down to seven bullets in my clip. That won't last long if we run into any more danger."
"I don't think I have that many left," Cooper told her. "Probably five rounds at most. Of course, I still have my trusty Alley Oop spear, if you want to count it as a weapon."
"You did all right with it when the Darwis attacked us," she said.
"Why, Miss Scarlet, I do declare, is that a compliment coming from you?" he grinned.
"Who the hell is this Scarlet person you're always calling me?" she asked. "The name sounds like some woman of low character!"
Laughing, he put his arm around her gently, saying, "Sorry, Evelyn, you had to be there to understand. No insult meant."Sheri walked in to find Cooper's arm around Colonel Peterson's shoulder.
"Whoa! Sorry," she grinned. "I can come back later if y'all want to be alone."
Jerking away from Cooper her ebony face turning a slight crimson, the commander snapped, "There is nothing going on, Sheri. Cooper—Major Cooper was just explaining something to me."
"Uh huh," Sheri laughed, "and I can guess what, too."
"Behave yourself, Sheri. When you want to act like an adult, I'll be in my room," she said. "Until then, leave me alone. All of you!"After she had left the room, Sheri started to follow her, but Cooper caught her hand and held the girl back.
"Evelyn needs to be alone right now, Sheri," he told her. "This situation has turned her world upside down."
"It's turned all of our worlds upside down," Sheri said. "But the rest of us are trying to cope with the situation the best we can."
"I know that," he smiled. "That's why I act the fool, to keep my sanity. But Evelyn has always been on the way up. Her life has been the discipline of pilot training, then combat missions, and finally NASA. This trip to space was originally just a stepping-stone in her career, and now she has no career. Add to that, she feels responsible for the rest of us. When anything happens - like your injury, she takes it personally. Of all the crew, she is going to find it the hardest to adjust to the predicament we are in. So, give the colonel time, and let her work it out herself. Maybe we can push it along slowly, and help when we can. But we also have to back off when she needs some room."
Nodding her head, Sheri dropped a bombshell too. "You know that she's fallen in love with you, don't you?"
"Ouch," he stepped back. "I didn't mean for that to happen. She certainly doesn't need me in her life right now!"
"Maybe if you told her how you felt, it would help," Sheri said.
Cooper smiled, and then with a wink let the conversation drop as he went back to examining the laser gun. Sheri followed the commander out of the room.
At supper, Cooper was afraid to look at the commander, let alone say anything. He was afraid that he had played the fool enough, and thought it best to leave things alone before they got out of hand.
On the other hand, Colonel Peterson kept watching her second in command, as if expecting something new from him, and when he didn't look at her she started getting mad.
"You're awfully quiet tonight, Major," she said suddenly. "Is something wrong?"
"No, no," he shook his head. "Just a lot to think about, ma'am. There's a lot on my mind, that's all."
"Well, if you're angry at me, I wish you would say what's bothering you!" she snapped a little louder.
"I wish everyone would be a little quieter," Doctor Terrill snapped back. "Do you have to argue at the table like this?"
"Who is arguing?" Cooper asked. "I was just in deep thought."
"He's mad at me," Colonel Peterson snapped.
Sheri giggled: "I think I'll go play in the swamps, it's safer out there tonight."
"Shut up, Sheri!" Colonel Peterson snapped at the biologist, which brought another giggle from the girl.
"Hell, not only must I put up with this heartburn," Doctor Terrill yelled, "I've also got to listen to you two argue like a couple of newlyweds!"
"I'm not arguing," Cooper said, "I'm thinking."
"What with?" Colonel Peterson snapped.
"That does it," cried the doctor, "I'm going to my room and lie down."Standing up, the doctor patted her chest as she started to walk away, and then she gasp
ed suddenly and clutched her chest harder, falling to her knees. Everyone leaped to catch her, but Sheri was there first.
"My God, Barbara, what's the matter?" she cried.
"Her lips are turning blue," Cooper yelled, "she needs oxygen. Let me help her."As Cooper began pumping air into her lungs, Sheri felt for a pulse as Colonel Peterson ran from the room.
"There's no pulse, Coop!" Sheri cried.
Coming back into the room, Colonel Peterson dropped to the floor and stuck something in Barbara's mouth, under her tongue.
"What was that?" Cooper asked, suspicion on his face.
"Nitro," the colonel said. "Barbara has been having a lot of chest pains lately. She just pretended it was heartburn so she wouldn't worry us. But I saw the pills in her room yesterday, and figured it out."
"You'd better give her another one, then," Sheri said. "The first one didn't work."Nor did the second or third. Doctor Terrill did not respond.
"I'm afraid she's had a massive heart attack," Cooper said. "She's gone!"
"No, no, no!" Sheri cried, pounding her fists against the metal floor of the ship.
"It's not your fault, Sheri," Cooper said. "Barbara was in her fifties. Her heart just gave out."
"No, Sheri," Colonel Peterson cried, "it was my fault for arguing tonight. The fussing brought on her heart attack."
"It was nobody's fault," Roger Manning said. "God has called her home, that's all."
"But you don't understand," Sheri cried. "Barbara and I quarreled the other day, and I said that her evil heart would be the death of her. And it was her heart that gave out."
"You didn't know her heart was bad when you said that, Sheri," Cooper told her. "There's no telling how long Barbara has been taking those Nitro pills for a weak heart. She was heading for a heart attack, whether we argued tonight or not. It's no one's fault.
“I don’t think she or NASA knew,” Evelyn said. “The condition appears to have come upon her since we crashed on Pangaea. She kept it from all of us, hoping we wouldn’t worry.”
"Roger, give me a hand, we can't leave her here tonight," Cooper told his friend.
Chapter Twelve
Nature Gone Amok