“You think...” Glennay began, “the captain, right?”
“I haven't seen her,” Ashley concurred. “It's the only person that makes sense.”
For a second, her heart leapt at the thought that someone could have survived the explosion, but her mind couldn’t think of a logical way John could be on board. She had watched the Columbus being blown out of the docking bay herself, and her husband was trapped in the admiral's office.
“The plane is being rocked as its coming down, but it looks to be holding together,” Ensign Simmons stated. “They're on course to splash down off the coast, about a kilometer off shore.”
Ashley turned and looked for Tyler. He was still with them watching from behind the technician.
“Tyler,” she called for him, “can you scrape up a vehicle?"
“Fast as a brumby,” Tyler replied as he sprinted off toward his camp.
“I'll find us a medic,” Glennay offered as she started to call out for one.
Several minutes later, the group of friends had boarded a “Roo” as Tyler called it.
Speeding toward the touchdown, the passengers were sullen. The uncertainty of the situation did not lend itself to wishful thinking.
“Splashdown in two minutes,” relayed Ensign Simmons from the vehicle's nav screen.
The roo continued on its intercept course to the descending plane.
“The duck's in the water,” the ensign verified.
“Can this roo travel over water?” Ashley asked.
“It goes over water, through water, and underwater,” Tyler said as he drove. “She's more of an ute than a racer.”
Ensign Simmons smacked the side of his console with excitement.
“Whoa!” he let out a surprising yell, “no need to get wet. The duck just launched itself clean out of the water toward shore. I’m adjusting our heading. ETA three minutes.”
The two vehicles met along the rocky shoreline. When the roo pulled up, the duck had its main hatch open. Lying on the ground outside was Captain Sterling. Lieutenant Jennings was at her side, checking an obvious wound on her leg. Standing beside both of them was Commander Quinn.
Piling out of the roo's hatch the crew ran to meet them.
John saw his old friends rolling out of the Aussie vehicle. Spying Ashley, he let out a yell and waved in her direction.
“Hey there,” John yelled over to them. “If you’re done touring the outback with Crocodile Dundee over there, how bout you lend us a hand?”
The group rushed over to assist. Running ahead of the pack was Ashley, nearly toppling John as she threw her arms around him.
“See what I have to go through to get a little affection around here,” John joked.
The group traded despair for joy with a round of hugs, handshakes, and laughter. Once the captain was stabilized by the med tech, the crews split into new groups for the return. It was a much slower, but happier trip back to the camp. When they arrived, a crowd had gathered to greet them. They burst into cheers upon seeing the surviving crew from the Columbus. The ordeal had stirred a range of emotions in everyone. Few though could match the joy that was felt by the Quinn family, reunited once again.
#
In the chaos that followed the station explosions, the accident in the loading bay was lost among the survivors. For Stephanie and Kevin it was a moment in time that could change them forever.
Stephanie found the med section of the compound. Examining the Ksyncs outside, she eventually found him. Stephanie tentatively knocked at the doorway and entered the small tent. Inside Kevin was resting and recovering from the injuries he had suffered. The miracles of modern medicine were substantial, but he would still require several weeks of natural healing. Physically the accident's scars would heal, but emotionally it could prove terminal.
Seeing Stephanie, Kevin quickly put on a smile and greeted her. “How’s my guardian angel?”
Stephanie masked a cringe at his remark unsure of its true meaning.
“Are you sure you don’t mean, ‘How’s the crazy woman that ran over me?’” she jokingly inquired.
“It’s not like you tried to break up with me the hard way,” he joked back.
Stephanie sat down in a chair next to Kevin. She reached over and gently grabbed his hand. She tried to smile at Kevin, but looked down, her hair falling over her face. Kevin could tell that she was sobbing underneath her long locks.
“It’s going to be okay, Steph,” Kevin tried to comfort her, not realizing he picked the wrong words to say.
Stephanie looked up, tears clearly running down her cheeks, and replied, “It’s not OK. It may never be OK.” She wiped the tears away from her face with the side of her hand. “You can’t keep watching over me. Not you, not my dad.” She stood up and turned away from Kevin.
“I like watching over you, Steph,” Kevin responded. “It’s what someone that really…someone that really likes you does.”
Stephanie shook her head. “This isn’t about you, Kevin. It’s about me. I’m the one pushing it, looking for that rush. Not you.”
“It's not you, Steph,” Kevin countered. “It’s the highs you ride.”
“It’s my choice,” she stopped him from continuing. “Staying up on the sim, skipping my ments, looking for trouble, is my choice.”
“You’re the best pilot the academy has seen,” Kevin tried to stay positive. “You’re a great friend, and you make a mean stack of flapjacks.” He turned his cheek and acted as though he was trying to talk under his breath, “…Though your mom still makes the best omelets.”
Stephanie couldn’t help but laugh at his last remark. Her step-mother’s omelets have been a thorn in her side forever. They are too good and Kevin makes sure to comment about them every chance he gets. It was his inside joke with her.
Poking around the small tent, Stephanie pretended to straighten things as she went. All the while, she tried to find the right words say. After a few silent minutes she stopped pacing and returned to Kevin’s bedside.
“When I was a kid, my father introduced me to one of his friends,” Stephanie began. “Strange as it seems now, he helped me out. I guess he invented the ments that I take because he has my deal too. I remember a few of the stories he told me about our disorder. He was trying to help me.”
Stephanie’s gaze shifted upward as if recalling past events.
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fighting this,” she continued. “Recording when I sleep, what I eat, how much I exercise, those are just some of the things I’ve done. Taking my ments has been a battle. I don’t like turning off that part of me.”
She stood up, once again taking Kevin’s hand.
“This is who I am, Kevin,” Stephanie said quietly. “I’m not going to run from it anymore. If I’m going to be the pilot I want to be, then I have to accept this thing. If I want to be, ‘someone that really likes you’ too, then I need to meet this head on. There’s no more denying it.”
Kevin grasped her hand and pulled her toward him. As her hand reached his face he gave it a kiss.
“You’re one of the bravest people I know,” Kevin said. A playful smile crept across his face as he added “Well next to anyone who dares fly a hovercraft around you.”
She wrested her hand away from his grasp and gave him a playful smack on the shoulder.
“I’ll remember that the next time you need patching up,” she shot back with a big smile.
“I’m glad you found that, inside yourself,” Kevin commented. “I think the plan is for Kyle to head out with your father soon. The captain is going to take me on, I think. We can both hobble around in New America for a bit and rest up. So you might have to make it a few days without me around.”
“I don’t know what my plan is yet,” Stephanie said. “If we're apart, don’t you even think about getting that cast signed by any cute locals. I wouldn’t want you to see what an angry guardian angel looks like.”
“No way,” Kevin joked “My insurance o
nly covers one major surgery a month.”
Stephanie laughed along as they talked away the afternoon.
Chapter 33 I Say So! Okay?
The high speed transport system was the first order of business after the construction of the dome cities. Its primary purpose was to transport personnel and resources from each dome city to the space elevator and back. Due to the unstable nature of the planet, the supports of the transport were specifically designed to flex and move like a spring. The coils of the transport provided the magnetic field to hover the transport. To gain momentum or decelerate, the coil stations were equipped with plasma beam projectors. The transports would be sped or slowed by the beams as they passed through each station.
This transportation was effective when functional. The connections between all dome cities except New China and New India were operating. This was great for the colonists that were heading to those dome cities. For the colonists planning on launching from either of the latter cities, however, they had been forced to use alternate locations.
In the hours since the destruction of the MARC station, an emergency command center was firmly established at the hub. Luckily the weather was cooperating, providing warmth and fresh air for the suffering. Captain Sterling, had recovered well enough to be instituted as the leader of the hub. The captains of the three other ships made up the remainder of the hub’s command team.
The first order of business was allocating transports to the colonists and MARC station crew. The first transports were assigned to the wounded, with the exception of Captain Sterling who remained. Families were kept together, so that if one member of a family was injured the rest of the family would be scheduled to leave on an early transports.
John made it a point to slip his way into the unofficially closed meeting. He knew the captains were making transport decisions, and he wanted to make sure they didn't ship off certain people. Captain Sterling noticed his appearance and briefly paused the meeting.
“Commander,” Captain Sterling addressed him. “I assume you're not here to request first class accommodations.”
He smiled and replied, “Sorry to intrude, Captain. I need to request members for my team before they are otherwise assigned.”
“I take it you're not heading on to New America,” Captain Sterling surmised.
John turned and closed the door. He almost tripped over Ashley who had let herself in.
“You're getting sneakier these days,” John remarked under his breath. “I guess I'm rubbing off on everyone in some way.”
“Sorry, Captain,” John gave a delayed response, “you understand my paranoia.”
“I need to bring Dominic in, and it's clear there's not a lot of room left for reasonable doubt,” John requested. “He has to expect some sort of response from the colonies, let alone MARC control. Do you know what is going on with New China and New India?”
Captain Sterling looked to the other captains for answers.
“Captain Ho, Captain Gupta,” the captain addressed them and paused. “Do you have any insight into the black-out?”
Captain Gupta replied, “This is not a secret among my crew. I have not heard of anyone successfully talking to New India, nor have I been able to reach anyone myself. Some of the families have relatives already living here. I can see by the fear in their eyes that something is wrong, but no-one knows what or why.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Anita replied.
Captain Ho then commented, “I wish that I could offer some insight into this as well, but we have not been able to communicate with our dome city as well.”
Nodding her head, Captain Sterling considered the situation.
“Commander, what do you propose?” she asked.
“A small team of Sentinels travels to New China alongside the path of the transport,” John began. “Once we reach New China, we'll ascertain the status of the dome city. If friendly, we will present our grievances with the MARC general in charge. If compromised, then we'll insert ourselves with stealth, locate Doctor Andreou, and retrieve him for trial in New America.”
“That is a large assignment for anyone to undertake, Commander Quinn,” remarked Captain Gupta.
Ashley was noticeably rocking back and forth in her stance at the discussion. The captain was about to ask for her input when Ashley jumped into the conversation.
“Don't you think for two seconds I'm letting you go off on some macho save the women and children first operation again,” Ashley said. She then added.” Without me.”
John rubbed his forehead at the exact situation he was hoping to avoid.
“There's no one else I'd rather have with me if we're diffusing a bomb, or say repairing a plasma engine before we crash into the sun,” John tried to set up his response carefully. “But in a potential tactical operation, I need to move fast and I need the sentinels I trained watching my back.”
He looked carefully at her face to read her reaction, but that wasn't necessary.
“No,” she started to tear, “not again, not so soon.” She tried to force back her emotions. “We came here as a family, we trained for all sorts of crazy situations,” Ashley paused. “You know what I'm talking about!” she yelled at him. “And then, you and Kyle go off, and I left you, and you almost...” her emotions rolled out, cutting herself off.
Jonathon reached out and brought her close while she tried to calm herself.
“So what you're saying is,” John tried to joke softly, “if we're together and we crash the duck that's okay, but if we're apart and the plane crashes then it's not?”
Ashley hit John on the arm a few times as she said, “Stop trying to make me laugh...And yes, together, that's what's important.”
The captains, in the meantime, didn’t know how to react except for Captain Sterling.
“I think we can find a compromise here you two,” she said. “We'll be finished in about a half-hour, come back then and we'll get this all hashed out.”
The two of them thanked the captains for their time and went back to the camp, hand in hand.
#
Due to Captain Sterling's role in the camp and her injuries, the second best pilot on Mars would be running the duck's controls. Standing on the ground below, Stephanie looked up at the cockpit of the plane.
“Looks like we're going to have to graduate you early from the academy, My Dear,” Captain Sterling voiced as she hobbled up behind her.
Stephanie turned and seeing the captain gave her a careful hug.
“I can't believe everyone trusts me with this,” Stephanie told the captain.
“You have all the right stuff, Stephanie,” she replied. “You have the best instincts I've seen in a pilot, well since me that is.” She feigned a joke. “Moreover you’ve faced challenges inside and out. As I expected, you’ve met those challenges. The young woman standing before me has begun to find herself. Don’t stop the journey, Stephanie. It never ends.”
Straitening her stance the captain ordered, “Cadet, attention.”
Though surprised, Stephanie acted quickly and snapped into a stance of attention. The captain reached to her jacket and removed her pilot's wings. With a uniformity of motion, she attached the wings to Stephanie's uniform. Finally the captain took a step back and exchanged salutes with Stephanie.
“At ease, Ensign Quinn,” the captain ordered.
The two officers of the MARC program exchanged large smiles. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Jennings and Mercedes approached the duck, both with packs in tow for the loading doors.
“Go join your crew, Ensign,” the captain stated. “Dismissed.”
Leaving with a hop in her step, Stephanie bounded to the rear of the plane intent on showing off her new wings.
Anita smiled to herself. She was content in knowledge that as her career began to a wind down another soldier, cut from material like hers, would take up the good fight. She turned and started back to the command post.
“I've gone from leading the Sentinels to leading the Swiss Fami
ly Robinson!” John exclaimed as he threw another pack into the duck.
The open loading doors revealed several compartments full of packs and supplies. Squeezed into various seats the crew of “The Compromise”, as John now referred to the duck, prepared for their journey.
After a short and, some would say, one sided debate, the crew consisted of: Commander Quinn, Dr. Quinn, Stephanie (now Ensign Quinn), Jessica, Lieutenant Jennings, Lieutenant Mercedes, Sub Lieutenant Anderson, and of course Wispy. The roster was accepted by Commander Quinn with the stipulation that he would choose the members of his team for insertion at New China.
Jessica was scrunched in her chair, but still happy as a clam. This was the time she had dreamed of. Her family was going to settle the West... or the East, or whichever direction they were headed. Her mom was strapped in beside her, and Wispy was hovering on her lap. Everything was perfect. Then she caught sight of her father and the perfect picture was ruined. He was wearing the hat.
“That hat!” she murmured. Even in a new world, her father sought to embarrass her.
As she looked around, Jessica couldn’t help feeling more excited by the second. Everyone was packed up and ready for an adventure. Even Wispy was all charged and ready to go. She knew all the people going in the duck save one, they called him Sub Lieutenant, SLT, or just Tyler. He had a way of talking though that made her laugh. He called the front of the duck a bonnet, and the back of the duck a boot. She couldn't wait to find out what other names he had for things.
With the duck finally packed, John jumped into the plane's cargo area. He couldn't believe how much gear had been packed away inside. The duck was made to help a family, one family, settle the planet. It wasn't built for a motley group this large. He even packed gear inside the ATV parked in the cargo bay. A discussion to ditch the scout vehicle ended quickly as everyone realized the benefits of taking it along.
John made his way through the duck to the cockpit where Stephanie was seated in the pilot's chair. It was a sight he was going to have to get used to. Only yesterday, it seemed, he was developing nervous ticks as she learned how to drive a ground car. Now in the blink of an eye, she was wearing the captain's wings and piloting him into the jungles of Mars.
Curious Sols (The Sol Principle Book 1) Page 22