by Chris Hechtl
That reprimand had put the other Marines on notice; they couldn't trod willy nilly on the locals. They had to observe the law or there would be consequences. The good sergeant for instance had to pay back a portion of the timber fees as a fine. They'd also lost some solar panels and a computer to the landowner. Captain White Wolf had gone so far as to volunteer the logging crew's services free of charge to clear brush for fire prevention and to cut trees for the log owner for one day. He'd graciously accepted much to the sergeant's annoyance. Tyler had been sorry and sore afterward. Hopefully he'd learned his lesson Jethro thought.
He had his hands full not only training the recruits, bringing those who were behind up to the basics, but also dealing with the advanced group, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Marines, and dealing with the occasional expectant recruit or irate spouse, sibling or parent. Twice he'd had to iron out a problem in age. One female had signed up and her father had shown up alleging she was underage. Since the planet didn't have birth certificates, it had been his word against hers. That had been put off for the moment.
The other problem had been a young man escaping his brutal father in-law. The father hadn't been happy about losing his son to the service, not when he had needed him on the farm. Jethro shook his head as he thought about that. The young man had been old enough to join up, and the irate parent hadn't been pleased about his decision. When he'd seen Sabu training as well, he'd been momentarily taken aback enough for additional Marines to show up and escort him politely but firmly off the premises.
With the spring weather came storm damage and emergencies. The Marines were tasked with emergency rescue right behind the Mounties. Jethro wasn't so sure about the rescue portion. He could handle searching and some rescue, but some of the other tasks were grueling. Fortunately he had his experience building the rough structures on the Marine Island behind him to draw on.
He instantly put Farsea and the other marines onto training the enlisted to handle rescue ops. Filling and moving sandbags was easy. Going in to find someone and dig them out, possibly even just recovering bodies, was a different story. Not only did they have to know how to get in, reassure the victims, assess the situation, perform first aide, and then get them out, they also had to know how to do all of it safely—and with minimum gear to draw on from the Marine's limited logistics.
“You hear we've got another storm coming in? A full storm front; meteorology is predicting several cells lined up like a freight train,” Dez called out to Jethro. “Should we break out the rain gear?”
“Prior planning …”
She snorted. “Okay, okay, gotcha. I'm on it,” she said with a hand wave. She grabbed a couple recruits on KP and took off at a trot for the warehouses to get the snot and snivel gear once more.
<(>~^~<(>
Moira noted the prediction models stabilize and winced. “Bengali,” she said.
“You knew I was coming? How? Oh, smell?” the white neo tiger asked.
“No, I heard you coming. Come look at this,” she said, pointing to the weather report. He came over and looked over her shoulder at the screen. “Weather …”
“Yeah, the rain fall prediction. Check out where it is going to hit the worst,” she stated flatly.
“The Catskill Mountains of course,” Bengali noted, then swore. “We're already over budget on the emergency fund. You know Vince is going to scream bloody murder.”
“We have people to save. A lot of them. Damn the finances and get our people and assets moving. If you have to shut down construction projects to borrow equipment, that's what you do,” she said firmly, turning to him. “I want the dozers and other equipment loaded up now and on its way.”
“Crap.”
“I'll get with Moreta and the Rangers as well as the lieutenants and the Marines. Shanti is in the area; she's the field commander. You ….” She frowned when he opened his mouth and closed it. “What? You object?”
“It's not that. I'd rather have Sabu on it.”
“He's a Marine recruit. He'll be on scene, however,” Moira stated.
“Oh. This'll be good,” Bengali stated as he moved out.
<(>~^~<(>
As predicted a torrential series of thunderstorms dumped over thirty-five centimeters of rain in a short four hour time frame, too much for the already over saturated soil to contain. Without the trees the mountains and hills started to shed their mud and topsoil. Shanti saw the rains coming, saw the mud moving and cursed Robert Dane and his idiot clan. Then she got to work saving who she could.
Moira had promised her help, but they were hours away. It might as well be worlds. She didn't know how long they had, but it most likely wouldn't be long enough. When she heard the convoy of construction equipment had gotten bogged down on the one lane road due to a fallen tree she just rode it and did her best to work on what she could. They'd get to them or they wouldn't.
She heard the rumble before she saw it. She looked up, ears tuning in to the sound. “More thunder?” Rah asked wearily. “Can you believe these people? Bitching because we want them to go out in the rain?”
“Shh,” Shanti urged, locking into the sound. She turned to the slope and moved out slowly from under the porch overhang.
“Don't hiss at me. Wait, is it your time of the month again, sis? Damn it … you really should try that new stuff Doc Eddy has. Not the natural crap that can make you infertile but the new stuff that came in on Collier 108 …”
“Will you shut up!” Shanti said, looking over her shoulder as she got to the railing. She turned back to look up the mountain. She saw what looked like rocks and sticks moving downhill. She shaded her eyes from the rain in time to see the debris and hillside hit a log cabin further up the slope. It moved and then seemed to come apart.
“Time to go!” She urged, turning. “Frack!”
“What? Where?”
“It's happening now,” Shanti said urgently, looking around. “The roof.”
“Are you kidding me? In the rain? Shouldn't we run?”
“Just climb!” Shanti started to climb but a bawl from a bear cub made her stop. She turned and grabbed the cub and tossed him up to Rah. The mother came out clucking, but she pointed to the avalanche and then the roof. “Climb if you want to live!” Shanti said, grabbing the second bear cub and tossing him up. Rah missed the cub but he managed to grab enough of the roof to hang on and not fall. Shanti immediately leapt and began climbing.
The mother heard the rumble and looked out over the porch railing and swore. “We'll never make it!” She called out.
“Climb!” Shanti urged. She looked back over her shoulder to see some of the mud and debris go over a cliff and spray out in a shower of muck. It was like a wave on the ocean she realized, one that meant death and instant burial if they didn't get out of its path. She heard a scramble behind her and saw the mother climbing for all she was worth. The steep slope of the roof was made to shed the heavy snow, not for the Neos to climb on easily. Clay roof tiles were shed in their haste to get to the peak.
Rah got to the peek first with a cub hanging onto her tail for dear life. She yowled slightly when the little cub slipped and tugged on it but tried to help the cub get up to the top. There was a bear carving on the top of the peak, jutting out towards a copse of pine trees nearby. “I think I can make it!”
“Don't you dare! Those things will snap like twigs,” Shanti called out. “And you'll never make it with the cub anyway! Hold tight!”
“But …” Rah turned from supposed safety to the avalanche as it hit a dip in the hillside above them. It sprayed out like water, tearing apart trees on the other side. She could hear the crack and thunder of exploding trunks over the rumble of debris.
“Hang on!” Shanti called out as she got herself up over the top. She kicked tiles loose so she could get a grip. “Get the tiles off. Dig your claws into the wood underneath!”
“Will we live?” the mother asked worriedly as she humped over the peak and dug in with her long cla
ws.
“Pray we do!” Rah said as the edge of the stream hit the building they were on, and it groaned, then began to move.
“Shit! I think we're going for a ride!” Shanti said cursing. “Hang on!”
<(>~^~<(>
“Ma'am, it's happening. Now,” Moreta said, rushing into the room.
“What? What is?” Moira asked, waking from her nap.
“The avalanche. It's funneled between peaks and down the hillside into the valley. We're trying to get a hard number on people left in the area.”
“Isn't that where Shanti and Rah are?” Moira asked as Moreta pulled her tablet up and held it out for her. She could see the devastation easily enough from the live satellite feed; she didn't need to see the side by side comparison.
“Yes,” Moreta said tightly. “They were trying to get the holdouts to get out.”
“The help?”
“Pyotr and Bengali are moving in, but they keep getting bogged down. It's just as well that they weren't there; if they had been, they would have been bogged down too,” Moreta said as Cali came into the room.
“We can't get Shanti, Rah, or any of the other Mounties in the area. The rain storm is scrambling the radio signals,” Cali said. “Blizzard is trying to get a plane up over it, but we can't fly through the thunderheads. The turbulence is too great she said. Something about fifty knot up and down drafts?” I'm not sure what a rope has to do with it,” she said, wrinkling her nose.
“It's an indication of speed,” Moira said absently. “Prep the shuttles. Get the Rangers on standby moving now. Alert all Rangers, I want them up and moving now.”
“Ma'am?” Lieutenant Chaing came in at a near run. “We just heard,” he said, not quite out of breath but close. Lieutenant Queen and Gunny McClintock were right behind him.
“Good you're here. Alert the Marines and your recruits. We're going in for a rescue. I'm declaring a planetary emergency. Get every asset we can moving now,” she said, rising to her feet.
“Yes, ma'am,” Lieutenant Chaing said nodding.
“Gunny, please inform Sabu that his sisters are in the mess,” Moreta said, turning to Jethro. She hadn't had a lot of time with the panther, but she was impressed by his training methods.
“Ma'am?” Jethro blinked, caught off guard.
“Shanti and Rah were in the area trying to evacuate people. They are trapped,” Cali said, not looking up from her tablet. “Ma'am, we can move to the council room and use it as a command center until one can be set up on site.”
“Good idea,” Moira stated. They had just finished setting up a computer network in the building. It wasn't much, just a couple of pocket computers with screens and a WiFi signal to go along with the tablets that were becoming common place, but it was a start. And it had a civilian grade holo projector in the room now, even better.
“We can do a shuttle drop, ma'am. Get people in quickly,” Jethro said, eyes shifting about. “We'll need tools and rescue gear. A lot of it.”
“I'm going to put out a public address to call for volunteers. They can help dig out the trapped and dead or shelter the homeless,” Moira stated. “Get on the shuttle in thirty or less. Move,” she ordered.
“Ma'am!” Jethro said, coming to attention briefly before he took off at a run.
<(>~^~<(>
Bast silently urged Jethro to go to his armor but he ignored her. “We don't have time and it's classified,” he said when she looked mournfully at him. “Can you fly the shuttle?”
“I can,” a voice said from behind him. He turned to see the pilot come striding up. “I just got word.”
“We're coming!” Tyler said, coming at a waddling run. He was festooned with rope and climbing gear.
“What's the plan?”
“We're going to do airborne rescue,” Jethro said.
“We're going to burn through a lot of fuel. This bird's not built to hover you know,” the pilot said, shaking his head. “And not well in a rainstorm.”
“Do your best. We'll do the same. If you have to drop us into the area, then that's what we'll do.”
“I'd prefer that,” the pilot admitted as they climbed on board. Sabu and a mixed group of recruits and Marines followed them on board, all covered in survival, first aide, and search and rescue gear. Tyler handed off a rope and harness to Jethro. Jethro strapped himself into the harness then looped the rope over his shoulder and torso like a bandoleer. Dez tossed him a helmet and gloves. He put the helmet on, strapped it tight, and then put the gloves on.
“This is so going to suck,” Dez grumbled.
“Who was it who complained about … jeeze …,” Tyler wheezed as the pilot rocketed off the runway from a standing start. He gasped along with the others. “I guess we're not wasting time!”
“Time means lives,” Jethro said tightly. He turned to Sabu. “Shanti and Rah are in the thick of it,” he said simply. He heard Dez and a few of the others gasp. He could feel their eyes on him and Sabu. “I need your A game. Can you keep your head?”
Sabu looked at him for a long moment then flipped his ears. “My sisters are Mounties and Rangers, Gunny. They are where I expected them to be, trouble. I'll be fine.”
Jethro studied him and his tone of voice for a long moment then nodded slowly.
<(>~^~<(>
“Did I say I really don't like this? Cause I don't,” Petty Officer Second Class Aengus McCrory stated over the intercom. “I seriously really don't,” he said as they got within sight of the thunderstorm and mountain range. “Change of plans, I'm not trying to hover in that,” he said, swearing under his breath as he looked at the radar and lidar images.
“Bad?”
“Turbulence in and below the storm. There is a funnel cloud off the port bow if you folks didn't notice,” Harper said, taking over the intercom since Aengus was too busy concentrating on keeping them in the air and alive than talking. Harper Bonevesky was a petty officer third class recently assigned to Collier 108 like Aengus. He was okay with the Skyhawk they were flying, but she was a trash hauler. Simple and honest, straight in and out. Right now they needed something that was far more robust.
The plane shook as the first updraft tried to rip the yoke out of Aengus's hands. He fought the beast. “You are doing a drop,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Great. Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane,” Jethro said, shaking his head as they changed gear. “We only have two parachutes,” he warned.
“Use ‘em wisely then,” Aengus said. “We're only going to get one shot at this,” he warned.
“Okay, here is what we're going to do,” Jethro said, pulling out a harpoon rifle from the overhead. He checked the grapnel. He clicked its round in, then made sure it was locked and loaded.
“Something tells me I'm so not going to like this,” Tyler said, eying him.
“Oh you'll love it. You're getting the chute,” Jethro said, not looking up from his present project.
“I am?” Tyler asked dubiously.
“Yeah.”
“Something tells me it's not a good idea,” Tyler said as he shrugged the parachute on.
“Dez, put the other chute on. You'll be the backup. Don't get tangled either of you or we're all screwed,” Jethro said, locking his rope to the grapnel with a carabineer. He took some tugs on it to make sure it would be secure then moved on to the next step. He took the loop off of his body, dropped it to the deck and then fished out the other end. He coupled it to the rope on Sabu's harness. Sabu took his loop off.
“Drop it to the deck, clip the other end to someone else's. Jerry over there,” Jethro ordered, pointing to a lynx. “Jerry, you're going first.”
“Shit, lucky me,” Jerry muttered, removing his ropes.
When they were ready the flight engineer stood by the rear ramp and opened it. The wind and rain spat up right away.
“This is seriously fracked you know that right? We're going to be one big lightning rod!” Tyler said, shaking his head.
“The
n we'd better get down quick right?” Jethro demanded, kneeling as he took aim. He aimed at a tree, then changed targets to a jumble of logs that had washed up. A few were sticking more or less vertical which was perfect. The trees were covered in branches.
“If you're going to do something, do it fast,” the flight engineer bellowed.
“Got it,” Jethro said, pulling the trigger.
The grapnel fired out, got caught in the wind with the drag from the rope but still managed to get to its target. It pierced the log by about ten centimeters and held firm by the barbs.
There was no time to test it however; Tyler ran off the ramp as Jethro moved aside and yowled to go. Dez was hard on the human's heels.
When they hit air, they went spread eagle and immediately yanked their chute cords. The parachutes unfurled, yanking them upward. But Jethro had linked them in to the long line he'd shot, so they jerked.
But they weren't the only ones linked to the ropes. The rest of the crew were linked in somewhere in the middle. Jethro was the third out the door, followed by Sabu, some gear and the other Marines and recruits. There was no time for fear, no time for hesitation.
The line jerked taut immediately as the updraft lifted the chutes higher. They were all clear of the line and sliding down fast. Jethro tried to use the carabineer and his gloves to slow his descent, but Sabu slammed into him from behind. He grunted and then did his best to control their rapid descent with friction without breaking the rope.
When he got within ten meters of the ground he slapped the emergency release and dropped to the mess below. Like any cat he instantly oriented feet and hands down to absorb the impact. Sabu followed a half second later, also dropping. He twisted in midair but managed to catch a log and rebound off of it, arresting his descent.
Jethro hit a log with his paws but it was slippery. He couldn't get a grip even with his claws out. To his alarm the log teetered like a teeter totter downward under his weight, shifting the entire mess of logs dangerously. He leapt off and grabbed another log then caught himself.