Nearly forty minutes left until the crew arrived. Anna logged off, ran, and grabbed ties from the supply closet. She grabbed a regular cart, and dashed out to cut lysordi branches. She cut them off with her harvest machete, tied them in bundles, and threw them over the rail. When the pile was huge, she jumped back and piled them on the cart, netted them in place, and raced down to the processing room.
Anna had two carts full and a decent pile built up, when Sato came in. “You must have started early. What are you working on now?” Sato asked her as he jumped rail.
“I need to make more plastic. The supply processor is getting low on it.”
“Didn’t you make a batch right before the feast?”
Anna nodded. “Yes, but all of the denua boards are plastic coated to keep them from disintegrating. The coating is thin, but it adds up. We have been using a lot of denua boards to make the barriers.”
Sato nodded. “I’m amazed at the amount of boards, we are using. If it weren’t for clearing the paths, it would take ages to get that much denua fiber. I hear you have got roasted tienara nuts.”
“Yes, Jatlo will probably be verifying them the day after tomorrow.”
“I offer a trade. I will stay after the shift until twelve and cut lysordi branches. Every bundle I do, I trade with you for two pounds of roasted tienara nuts. I will even deliver the bundles, tomorrow warm. Where do you want them?”
“Deal, please deliver them to Midsoutheast 1. I will work till twelve too. But I’m going to start peeling the lysordi branches and putting them into the plastic processor. I have two carts full, plus that.” Anna pointed at the pile.
“We have ten minutes, till the crew gets here. Let’s load that up and roll it in.” Sato jumped rail and started to load the cart.
“We are going to have to move the scaffold tonight and Wolfe is going to offer a trade to those who package korftu nuts.”
“You need more korftu nuts?”
“Wolfe is putting together an emergency stockpile of non-perishable and nearly non-perishable items. In case, we ever loose processor power.”
“That has occurred. Do you know clan Golru lost their generation ship because of that?”
“What happened?”
“It was a long time ago. An asteroid collision, took out their processor center controls. There were no backup systems at that time. They had to evacuate the ship once their food supply ran out. Back then the central gardens were small and most of the food on board came from processor cubes. It was such a loss, that it inspired a new style of generation ships with big central gardens that produce food for the entire ship population and double backups on every system to provide even more safety.”
“I wondered about the reason for the gardens. Human space technology and travel, even the stuff that’s just in the planning stages, always relies on prepared foods. They would never even consider a garden this huge on a spaceship. They would plan for it on a planet installation or base, yes, but not on a ship.”
“We have found it is the safest way to travel space. It provides us with oxygen and food, two necessities of life. Space is hazardous. Accidents delay or sometimes even cripple a ship. Without gardens, all on board would die. If this ship didn’t have the garden, we would have been killed by that meteorite shower. We have been sitting here repairing for forty-two human years. No onboard stockpile could have lasted that long. The gardens kept us alive.”
“They provide you with more than food. They supply you with the goods needed to keep the crew healthy psychologically. Your arts and crafts goods are made from garden produce. I can’t imagine being on shipboard for long spells without hobbies. The only thing they don’t produce is metal.”
“That is what the drone mining shuttles are for.”
“Des is starting to teach me. There’s so much to learn. I hope I know enough before the children are born. It would be good to know the answers to their questions.” Anna said as she netted down the lysordi branches.
“Don’t worry. You have thirty-five and a half more months to learn.” Sato said as they pushed the cart to the processing room.
The crew started to arrive. When everybody lined up, Anna announced. “Wolfe offers ten percent of what you do, to those who shell, weigh, and package korftu nuts tonight. Wolfe is putting aside an emergency stockpile. Jatlo will be here at the shifts end with witnesses.”
“Why do you want more korftu nuts?” Poltu asked.
“Mostly because we can do so now, in the future who knows? When you are recovered and put back to full duty, we are going to lose a lot of agri-farmers to their first trades. What if an accident or emergency comes up, and the Phsatorae has to call away all who have mechanic trade or spacemanship trade? Wolfe wants a stockpile set aside, so that an accident or emergency will change very little. We will just pull from the shelves until everybody comes back.”
“I will package korftu.” Imelo called out.
Sato spoke up. “Everybody, you know your places, same as last time. Sign in.”
They had to move the scaffold after only thirty minutes. Tamsi and Toruska helped. The carters worked at a trot, all shift long, smiling as they ran. Bringing in such huge harvests gave them a feeling of security and well-being. Things they hadn’t felt in a long time.
Doru called out twenty of. They did greal until the end. It was quick to send over and it all went down the processors tonight. When they walked into the processing rooms, they were the usual partially ordered chaos. The central stations lay buried under a high stack of packaged korftu nuts. Nets and boxes surrounded the processors who worked along as fast as they could.
“Great night, people! The supply processors are getting low on plastic, so I’m going to go peel lysordi branches and feed them in. May your blood stay strong.” Anna grabbed the rounded cart full of lysordi branches and headed for the door.
Jatlo came in as she went out. “Jatlo, I have a trade with Sato. One lysordi bundle for two pounds of roasted tienara nuts.”
“I will take care of it.” Jatlo said as he passed. Shalo, Tawai, and Krea were with him. Anna waved as they passed each other.
Anna put the first cartload in Midsoutheast 5’s plastic processor and a little into Midsoutheast 4’s. By the time she finished, her two full carts and a partial, Midsoutheast 3, 4, and 5 were full. That left Midsoutheast 1 and 2 for Sato’s branches.
Des was already sleeping when Anna got home. She ate and climbed into bed. She woke up in the morning curled up against Des. She looked at the digital. It was real early and she felt wide awake. She spent about ten minutes just enjoying being beside Des. With a sigh, she finally got up, ate, and headed out. She went to Midsoutheast 3 and logged onto the trade site. The mechanics had caught up on her list of processing rooms. She decided to list more and run some rail shelves. She listed Midnortheast 1 through 8, and Southeast 1 through 8, then she ran to check some rail shelves.
Anna started with Midnortheast 1. It could be made safe. It had no sign, only small crossing limbs, no jump out spots, and seventeen trees. Midnortheast 2 looked safe, with one jump out and twenty-one trees. Midnortheast 3 and 4 had big crossing limbs, but no sign. Midnortheast 5 was dangerous. Midnortheast 6 could be saved, five jump outs and twenty-six trees. Midnortheast 7 had big crossing limbs, and no sign. Midnortheast 8 was dangerous.
Anna decided she had time, so she might as well run some more. She swung down to Midsoutheast 1, which had two jumps and twenty-three trees. Midsoutheast 2 and 3 had big crossing limbs, but no sign. Midsoutheast 4 and 5 were both safe, three jumps apiece with fourteen and eighteen trees. Midsoutheast 6 and 7 had big crossing limbs and no sign.
At Midsoutheast 8, the electrical field was non-operational. Anna didn’t open any of the doors. But when she walked up to the door in processing room 3, she could smell the musty scent of takosund. It was only seventeen eighteen, but she didn’t care. She called the Phsatorae on the communication board. “Phsatorae there’s a problem at Midsoutheast 8. I would like your
permission to barrier off the garden room doors and barrier the door to processing room 3.”
“You wish to barrier the entrances to garden Midsoutheast 8. Why?” The Phsatorae sounded shocked.
“The electrical field is non-operational. You can smell takosund through processing room 3’s door, without opening it.”
“I will call the Elders together. We will meet you in the corridor to Midsoutheast 8, at one sixty. I must have the Elders approval, before we can put the barriers up.”
“I’ll be there.” Anna rang off and ran to Midsoutheast 1. She wanted some distance between herself and that garden, at least for a little while.
Sato stood waiting for her at Midsoutheast 1. “I have got four cartloads for you. I am willing to go get more.” Sato pointed to the full carts and shrugged.
“Sato, the plastic processor doesn’t put off much heat. Can I fill the ones in processing rooms that are being used?”
“Yes, they hardly make any heat. The Isadi suits can easily absorb the extra heat.”
“Okay, I would like more. Three cart loads, if you are willing.”
“I can easily do that much. Where do you want me to bring them?”
“One cartload in East 5, one in East 4, and one in East 1.”
“I will see you tonight.” Sato waved and left. Anna took the first cartload to Midsoutheast 6. By the time one fifty rolled around, she had the processors in Midsoutheast 6, Midsoutheast 7, Midsoutheast 2, and Midsoutheast 1 full. She still had half a cartload of Sato’s original four. She ran to meet the Phsatorae and Elders. They arrived just after she did.
“Why do you wish to barricade the garden doors?” Kantuia asked.
“Because you can smell the takosund on the other side. They don’t know what a door release button is. But if they happen to push it by accident, they would probably decide to go through the opening.”
Kantuia grimaced. “I hadn’t thought of that. May we enter processing room 3, to see if we agree with you about the takosund smell?”
“I advise that you make it a very quick enter and exit. If we can smell them, they can smell us. I would rather not have them sniffing around that door, pushing and prodding, trying to figure out where the smell is coming from.” Anna saw the Phsatorae gulp.
“I will go in and come right back out. The rest of you can read me.” The Phsatorae said.
The Elders nodded. Anna followed the Phsatorae in and back out. He didn’t stay long. He just walked to the garden door, inhaled once, turned and walked back out. The Elders didn’t say a word when they read the Phsatorae. Finally, Kantuia spoke. “Barricade, whatever you wish Phwolfe. How may we assist you?”
“Call mechanical central and get a top mechanic down here. Once I have a barricade over the door, I want the mechanic to somehow turn off the door release. I want the door itself to be non-operational.”
“Why not just do that?” The Phsatorae asked.
“Because one, they might not be able to do it. Two, it may take a while for them to do it. Three, they may mistakenly trigger the door to open. Four, their smell will be very enticing while they’re working on it. I barricade the door first. I’ll glue the boards together in the hall, drag the whole thing into processing room three, and glue it up. That cuts down on the chance of my smell, getting through.”
“I will call mechanical central and get someone down here” The Phsatorae said.
“Thank you. I’m going to go to Midsoutheast 7 processing room 3 and order the boards I need.” Anna entered Midsoutheast 7 and went to work. She made the barrier the exact size to slide inside the door frame. She made it two boards thick; overlapping the joints so there was no weakness. She glued a net to the backside, which hung over the edges about six inches Kali showed up just as she finished gluing on the last of the net.
“It has been shown to me. I will help you barricade all three of the garden room doors. Then I must be left alone, to try to figure out how to disengage them from the power grid.”
“Thank you for helping Kali.”
Kali shrugged. “It needs to be done.” His help made maneuvering the ungainly barricade much easier. After they put up the first, Kali glued together the boards as Anna ordered them up. It didn’t take long to have the three barricades glued in place.
“Kali, can I come back say at four, and check on how you’re doing?”
“That will be fine, Phwolfe.” He opened up a power panel and Anna left.
Anna trotted down to East 1, set out her mewu traps, and then went back to work on filling the plastic processors. She ended up completely filling all of the East garden processors except for rooms 1 and 2 of garden 3. She ran out of branches. But that much plastic should last a long time.
Anna dipped and processed ninety-four mewu before she logged on to information and checked the plastic supply. It only had two percent left now, not enough to make barriers tonight. She would have to see if the watchers would watch while she cut small limbs off some of the almost safe second levels. With that in mind, she designed a block and tackle. She ordered it and glued it together. She swung by Midsoutheast 8 on the way home. Kali was working in processing room 3.
“I have figured out how to bypass the power grid. You won’t have any power to the door on either side. It will have to be rewired to open it. Furthermore, I have locked the closure pumps in the closed position and left the power to them. Anything or anyone trying to open the door will have to pry it open, fighting the pumps every inch of the way. I will have this one finished by the end of the shift.”
“Thank you Kali. That’s great. I feel much better now, especially about those closure pumps. There’s no way takosund could pry the doors open. I won’t have to barricade this room now. Thank you.”
“I’m glad to help. Gresa will have the winch system finished tomorrow.”
“Good. That means I had better go practice with my crossbow.”
“Is your aim good?”
“Yes, it is the speed of changing from crossbow to knives that I’m working on. Right now, I only have ten bolts for the crossbow. I plan on taking the brain case and top node with the bow and then switching to knives.”
Kali nodded. “May your blood stay strong.”
“May yours never weaken.” Anna bowed and trotted out. She practiced with the crossbow until four forty-five and then she went in and logged back onto the design page. She wanted a cart designed just to carry takosund.
Anna ended up with a cart three times the length of the normal ones and one and a half times the usual width. A triple layer of denua boards made up its bottom. It had sixteen wheels, denua grooved side posts and denua boards designed to slide down into the grooves. You wouldn’t have to lift over the side, just take the side out and slide the takosund in or out. Best of all, the winch could lower the takosund into the cart. Anna didn’t want to lift one of those ugly, misnamed, snakes ever again.
The first plastic batch would be ready tomorrow morning at one. Anna could build the carts then. She wasn’t sure how many, she should build. She figured three or four would be good. She called healer central.
“Is this an emergency?” The healer asked.
“No. This is an inquiry. This is Phwolfe. I need to find out how to get some blood.”
“What?” The healer screeched.
Anna rubbed her ear and then launched into an explanation. “We are planning a takosund hunt for the day after tomorrow. The takosund are attracted to the smell of blood. That is why they attacked Brema and Sato. We need some blood to draw them in, where we want them, so we can hunt from the trees.”
“I will connect you with the elder healer, Creana.”
Anna explained it once again. “I can see why you would need some blood. But I don’t understand why you called us?”
“Well, human medics use blood in a lot of their healing. They usually have a supply of it on hand.”
“We don’t use blood for healings. We stop bleeding. We don’t keep the blood.”
“How much blood can a Golsidan loose, before it weakens them?”
“Very little, it is a shock to the system. Usually any loss larger than a tenth of a liter will make a Golsidan weak for a couple days. Brema made a remarkable recovery.”
“Creana, do you know if the processors could replicate blood?”
“To a certain point the blood would have the same components. But it wouldn’t be able to function as real blood.”
“Thank you, Creana. That is probably what I’ll do. I will use replicated blood.”
“But you must put some blood in for it to copy.”
“I can manage that. May your blood stay strong.” Anna rang off.
“And just whose blood, do you plan on using?” Des said angrily.
Anna shrugged. “I imagine mine, probably. Humans can give about half a liter of blood and feel no ill effects. They often give blood every month.”
“How do you do this, blood giving?”
“Well, you stick a hypodermic needle into a vein. There’s a tube on the needle. The blood goes down the tube and into a container.”
“What is a hypodermic needle?”
Anna sent Des an image of a needle being placed into a vein. “Ah … that is disgusting. People do this willingly!”
Anna nodded. “You wouldn’t happen to have any needles like that, would you?”
“Actually we do. But they are very long.”
“Just what I didn’t want to hear. Why are they long and exactly how long do you mean?”
“They are used to drain takosund blood and are about ten inches long.” Des measured it off with his hands.
Anna gulped and sighed. “Wait a second, takosund blood. Would the processor be able to make takosund blood?”
“Yes, some people like to make a pudding out of it. It is very expensive.”
“All right, we will try using takosund blood. That third takosund, tried to wrap and drag off one of the bigger ones. Sato said that takosunds are cannibals. They eat other injured takosund.”
“They eat anything, even each other.”
Phwolfe Song (Golsidan Revival Series Book 1) Page 32