by Benson, Tom
“We’re good here,” Flint said.
“I’m happy with Calvin’s handling too,” Sandy said. “Okay, if you guys take the right point, Calvin and I will use the left.”
Marie stood within the L shape of stones to the right with Flint standing slightly behind to the left.
Calvin used the other L shape to stand within, and Sandy occupied a similar stance to Flint.
Sandy said, “If you look to your front, you’ll see two small piles of boulders at one hundred metres distance. The one on the right is your target, Marie and the one on the left is yours, Calvin. Are you both clear on targets?”
“Yes,” Marie said, “my target is to the right.”
“Got it,” Calvin said. “My target is to the left.”
For a short while, the two soldiers observed their individual pupils. They instructed them quietly and calmly to acquire their target using the flip-up sights and then fire at different power settings. The two people firing settled quickly into their drills and gained confidence when they saw their targets being hit.
When Sandy and Flint were agreed that all was going well they pointed out the targets they’d previously set up at two hundred metres. Again the pupils were taken through their drills slowly and steadily. The differences on the more extended shoot were that the pupils went down on one knee and the instructors used binoculars to check the accuracy of the shooting.
“Unload,” Sandy said while both he and Flint watched the slick handling as Calvin and Marie selected the appropriate lever positions and ejected the power packs. “Well done, the pair of you. That was good shooting, followed by good drills. Now, to give you another voice to listen to, Flint is going to take you through the same lesson with the rifle.”
Calvin and Marie sat on the grassy mound once again.
Flint lifted one of the two laser rifles. “You’ll be pleased to hear that the main difference between the pistol and the rifle, apart from size and weight, is that the laser rifle can terminate a target at a much greater distance.” He paused. “This may be more powerful, but as we pointed out with the pistol, there is no recoil.”
“How much greater distance can it fire?” Calvin said, staring at the longer weapon.
“Five hundred metres,” Flint said as he held the larger weapon up side-on in a similar fashion to how Sandy had done earlier with the pistol. “The laser rifle is two kilograms in weight and sixty centimetres in length. It’s basically twice the weight and three times the length of the pistol. Apart from those things, it’s made of the same material, and the rear sight is a more powerful fixed scope sight.”
For a few minutes, Flint talked about the laser rifle with the same affection that Sandy had done with the pistol. He finished off by handing the unloaded rifle to Calvin and then Marie to let them feel the weight and register the extra length.
“There is one piece of information I haven’t given you,” Flint said. “Who will be first to spot it?”
“The power pack,” Marie said. “You unloaded the weapon before your explanation, but you didn’t say what size the power pack would be for this.”
Calvin nodded. “I’ll give you that one, Marie. I was still trying to think of something.”
“Well done, Marie,” Flint said. “The good news is that apart from the power pack being the same physical size as the one used in the pistol, the packs are interchangeable. The pack supplies the power, but the working parts of the particular weapon affect how the power is processed.”
Not to be outdone, Calvin said, “If the pistol is capable of up to five thousand energy pulses, does it change with the rifle?”
“No, the number of pulses, which equates to the number of shots you take is not dependent on the weapon it is dependent on how much power you apply. For example, if you use Stun more than Terminate, you’ll get more performance. It depends on your situation. For that reason, in an active service role, we carried spare power packs in the same way that guys like Bill would have carried spare magazines of bullets.”
The two teams returned to the firing point and once again went through their drills. On this occasion, firing at one hundred, before lying prone to fire at two hundred and five hundred metres. Both Calvin and Marie were astonished when they saw their respective ‘dead tree’ targets showing signs of their efforts.
They stopped for a break, and the small group discussed problems and scenarios which affected how easy or difficult it was to fire the pistol or rifle.
It was late in the afternoon when the four friends set off up the mountainside. Halfway up, they arrived at the pathway team who were also finishing for the day.
Craig slapped Calvin’s shoulder. “Did it go well, mate, yeah?”
“I wouldn’t want to be a rock or a dead tree down there, that’s for sure.”
Craig laughed. “I think it’s Paul and Tina on weapon training tomorrow. I’ll wait another few days before I have a go, yeah? At least I’ve mastered uprooting and planting patches of heather.”
The pair chatted about their day as they ascended the path slightly behind the others.
Unseen by the group, at the edge of the forest within the tree line two pairs of eyes watched the people all climb the long narrow path up to the patio and front door.
11 - Good Intentions
Alan was happy to be left in the cafeteria kitchen, preparing meals and snacks for the day once breakfast was over. Jean had her work cut out for her by doubling up as childminder and educator, the latter role having once been her profession. Harry’s Place as the old train carriages had been nicknamed had long ago been cleaned and refitted to provide a safe indoor play area and classroom. It was an environment where every child felt a part of one big family.
It was ironic that the children of the community were being raised with an attitude more closely related to primates. This meant they would grow up more sociable than many of the people who had perished in the nuclear holocaust. Bickering was seldom heard among the children and disagreements were quickly forgotten as they helped each other in play and problem-solving.
Harry had been out several times to see the progress being made on the mountainside. He was once again in his improvised lab, working on soil samples brought in by Victoria. She was confident that earlier indoor trials would prove useful and satisfied that the mountainside would be fertile.
Experimental work in both the glass corridor and the substantial indoor orchard had produced differing results regarding types of grape and various nuts. A small-scale vineyard high on the sloping ground was a dream which Victoria kept alive by constantly checking soil types in different areas.
Cherry was on duty in the Control Room helping Des to collate all the circuit and wiring information pertinent to the type of transformers and sub-stations found near towns or villages. The data was vital for whoever would eventually attempt to make any of the remote installations serviceable but learning the detail was a time-consuming task. Since the early days of their new community, Cherry had demonstrated her skill and ability to absorb information regarding circuitry and diagrams.
The pathway project was well established, and the small wooden stakes and necessary markings of the long and winding route finally reached as far as the flat meadows.
Victoria’s idea regarding heather as a natural support for the pathway had gathered pace. Though it was laborious and time-consuming like so many other tasks, there was a system in place. Teams were happy to cut out a strip of heather, carry it to the next appropriate section of the path and set it in place. At a distance, it was easy to see the lower edge of the path and where it changed direction because there was a natural growth.
Instead of creating an area for several shelters, Marie had marked out sites proposed for building into the hillside. She also marked areas lower on the gradient, where the ground was flat for building independent structures. She’d suggested cutting turf bricks to produce a supply ready for construction. And so it was that while she had one person helping her to dig i
nto the hillside, there were two others a distance away cutting out the natural bricks.
Ramona was one of the building team and enjoyed turf cutting as a break away from cooking and baking. She’d been reluctant to leave the kitchen responsibilities to anyone else. Alan, her partner, had worked hard to impress her with his ability to tackle all things related to food and meal preparation. The ex-business executive humorously insisted that it was more to do with his ability to adapt than Ramona’s ability to teach him.
Craig and Archie were working down from the proposed building area in the meadows towards the flattest land and the final stretch reaching to the banks of Loch Awe.
Sandy conducted the primary weapon handling skills session downhill and away from everyone else. Flint, meanwhile, was a few hundred metres away rearranging the boulder targets which had been effectively destroyed by the previous day’s activities.
Bill was alone in the relative peace of the cafeteria where he had pulled two tables together, and with a list of several reference points, he was working on a critical mission. This was going to be exciting, arduous and stressful for whoever took part.
Alan approached. “Do you know who’ll be going on what everybody is calling ‘The Big One’?”
“At the moment the final selection hasn’t been made, Alan, and as with all we’ve done, I’d prefer it to be volunteers, but there will be prerequisites.”
“Am I allowed to ask some questions about your plan?”
“Of course, mate.” Bill reached out and briefly placed a hand on the other man’s shoulder. Back on that first day when the coach plunged into the darkness of the tunnel it had been Alan who’d questioned Bill’s authority to take command.
“Do you know what the prerequisites will be?” Alan looked from the map to Bill.
“Physical fitness will be paramount for each person, irrespective of gender, and a sense of humour would be useful. Within the team, at least two people must be capable with a map, and two people must be efficient with a firearm. Someone has to be comfortable with the circuitry of large electrical sub-stations and transformers. Medical know-how doesn’t have to be of a professional level, but a working knowledge would be beneficial. A decent grasp of natural history would also be handy.”
“Wow, that’s quite a team, but how many can you afford to take from the community?”
“Don’t worry, Alan, it’s not a case of prioritising the mission over the needs of the community. In my notes, I’ve allocated the letters A, B, C and D to represent four people and no more.”
“How can you be sure that there will be four people keen on the expedition, and capable of those skills?”
“I’m sure that there will be more than four and we’ll choose from those volunteers who are the best match for the requirements.”
“Everything is a mission to you, isn’t it?”
“Going for a shit is a mission to me, Alan.”
Alan laughed. “I’ll leave you to it, and though the mission hasn’t happened yet, I’m confident it’s going to go well.”
“Thanks, mate,” Bill said as his friend headed off to the kitchen. “Let’s hope your confidence isn’t misplaced,” he murmured and turned to look at the proposed journey.
In the evening, a meeting was held during which the facts surrounding the mysterious ‘Big One’ were to be made clear. After he’d addressed the routine points, Calvin paused for a moment.
“We said when we began our adventure into an uncharted future that we wouldn’t allow rumour to be a part of our lifestyle. We are about to be told some specific information about the mission so far referred to as The Big One. Bill made it clear at one of these meetings when he first mentioned the major expedition—it would require careful planning before he asked for names. Ladies and gentleman, that time has come … Bill.”
Bill nodded his appreciation to Calvin and took centre stage. “This evening, it’s not by accident that Jean is keeping an eye on the children, Harry is giving her a hand, and Des is on duty in the Control Room. We can afford those three people to miss this topic for one simple reason, and that is, they will not be given the option of volunteering to take part.”
The room was hushed, and the news that three people had already been discounted from volunteering to go said a lot about the task and not about those three people.
“Jean isn’t going because she’s already told me that her lack of physical fitness for a long trek would render her a liability to the expedition. She is to be admired for her honesty, and I hope we can expect that same attitude from everyone else. We’re not looking to push people beyond their limits, we’re looking for those who have physical fitness, and a useful skill set. You’ll see why in due course.” He paused. “Harry also has reservations about his fitness. Jean is invaluable with what she has to offer regarding the children’s education and wellbeing, and Harry is the oracle when it comes to balanced theories on just about anything.”
A few people laughed, recognising the truth of the statement.
“The reason Des and Tracey will not be volunteering to join the outward bound adventure is that they have a key role to play in the Control Room while the team are away. Yes, many of us have been trained to do so much in that room full of switches, lights, buzzers and monitors but if all goes well, Des will be able to practice his primary role once again. Tracey is the only other person with a sound knowledge of the main system, but she has asked to join us in our training sessions.”
A hubbub built up and faded until there was a hush. From many occasions in the past, Bill recognised that he’d hit that sweet spot—nobody would want to miss the next part of his address.
“We know that to the west we are no more than twenty-five miles from the revised coastline of western Scotland. It’s a similar story if we look out across Loch Awe to the south … perhaps twenty-five or thirty miles away and then it would be dangerous to continue. We’ve recently explored to the east and apart from discovering a flourishing forest we located a wildlife reserve which is largely deserted. There are very few animals to be seen there because many have opted for freedom. We believe the grazers will naturally go to the largest and healthiest region in Scotland, possibly the most abundant source of food in the whole of the revised United Kingdom. The predators, of course, could be anywhere.”
Bill paused to drink and let his words sink in. Apart from a cough, there was no sound.
“The first fact about our next expedition is clear—the team will be going north, or more accurately northeast and into the Cairngorm National Park. All missions of this type should have a target destination, and on this occasion after discussion with other people, the objective will be … Aviemore, the small but internationally renowned ski-resort.”
Gasps were emitted around the room, but Bill waited once again until he had silence.
“I’ve worked out a cross-country and road route which will equate to approximately one hundred and twenty miles, and that is only the outward journey, it isn’t the round trip.” He paused again for effect. “Roads would be better than heather and bracken to walk on, but we already know that some roads are out of use even for walking. The journey would not be a forced march, but it would be arduous for a variety of reasons—not least the distance. We must also remember, the probability, and not the possibility of encountering predators. The team must be physically fit. Gender will not enter into our selection, but I would suggest that we do not allow both parents of children to volunteer.”
Another brief pause allowed the information to sink in.
“We’ve all been referring to the trip as The Big One. After consultation with the committee, the mission will be called Operation Long Haul. The proposed start date is Monday, the first day of August, which is only two weeks from now. To allow all volunteers to have the same opportunity regarding fitness, Calvin has devised a programme which will commence tomorrow morning before breakfast.”
Whispers around the room got a smile from Calvin, Tracey, Bill, Sand
y and Flint. All five of them had undergone a hard physical training regime in the past.
“In a few days, I’ll talk more about our intentions. To summarise, two weeks from now, four of us will walk over one hundred and twenty miles across country wearing heavy backpacks. We’ll be living in the wilderness for at least two weeks.” He looked around the room. “There will be no shame in not listing yourself to be considered, and likewise, there will be no shame if you volunteer and are not capable of the training. Now, are there any questions?”
Craig said, “Will the training be every day until the journey begins, yeah?”
Calvin stood. “Every day, except the Sunday in the middle and the day before setting out. On some days the training will take place twice.”
Louise said, “Will those on training still be expected to continue with regular tasks like our path and building projects?”
“Yes,” Bill said and smiled. “We must remember that the training is a preparation programme and doesn’t equate to the effort that might be needed on some occasions. Consider that one of the four people might sustain an injury and need to be carried by the others.”
“Shit, yeah?” Craig murmured which caused laughter from those around him. When the sound abated, and the room fell silent, there were nods of acknowledgement from various people. This was not going to be a picnic.
“If there are no other questions,” Bill said, “I’d ask all those who are interested to list your names with Calvin after this meeting. If you are one of a couple with a child or children, please first discuss who should volunteer. Thank you all.” He turned and nodded to Calvin.
“Okay, everybody,” Calvin said as he stood, “in other news ….” He updated everybody on the progress being made with the various projects inside and outside the mountain.