Patrick stares at the dash and notices that the dozer does not require a key to operate. He pushes the start button, then waits. To his surprise, a small screen lights up on the dash, the words ‘engine sequence start’ are emblazoned on the display. These words change to say ‘engine prestart’. A few seconds later, he notices a small flashing symbol which indicates the engine’s preheat chamber is warming up. He jumps when the engine begins to turn over. Much to his relief, the diesel engine starts seconds later. It sounds loud and choppy, but soon evens out.
Making sure the grader’s parking brake is engaged, he steps from the rumbling machine. As the minutes pass, the engine begins to run smoother and quieter as its rpms drop.
Robert is busy recording the entire event when one of Patrick’s men walks over to him. Robert glances up, then says, “I am surprised that engine started, I mean we’re on a different planet.”
The workman puts his hands in his overalls and replies, “Whatever you can breathe, so can a diesel.” He shrugs his shoulders, “I figured they would.” He grins at Robert as though he never had any doubt, then adds, “I am going to make a mint from the betting pool on this one.”
Robert stares at the man, then smiles, “I had no idea there was a betting pool on this.”
The man nods, “We have pools on just about everything, but the biggest one is the day and hour that the Liberty will show up.”
Robert nods, then opens his mouth to speak. Before he can, the man before him lifts a hand, then while shaking his head, says, “You officer types can’t enter the pools, you all know too much.”
Eager drivers jump up into the cabs of the other vehicles and start them up. The valley soon reverberates with the sound of diesel engines. Flying creatures take off from distant trees. They squawk as they put even farther distance between them and the alien sounds.
Patrick walks over to George and says, “Did you know that they don’t need keys to start?”
George tilts his head, then looks at Joe, “Uh no, Joe?” he says passing the question.
Joe nods, “Sure, I thought you guys had read all the mission briefs.” He stares at the blank expressions on George and Patrick’s faces, then says, “Keys can be lost. Besides, it’s not as if anyone’s going to steal them.”
With the entire load of earth moving equipment on the planet, work on the city can really begin.
Patrick tosses a thumb over his shoulder at the vehicles, and says, “We’d better set up the fuel storage tanks next. They’re thirsty beasts.”
George checks his suit’s storage, and is pleasantly surprised to see that all the material he had absorbed when making the holes is still stored. Nodding, he says, “Tell me where you want a concrete foundation, this suit is loaded.”
Close Call
Two days later, a pair of long round storage tanks sit side by side on a large expanse of concrete. Each tank holds enough fuel to run every diesel engine for three months straight.
John stares at the massive storage tanks and whistles, “to think, there are still two more on the Terran.”
Patrick replies, “We won’t bring those down until we have a separate area prepared for them.”
Joe, who is resting nearby, nods, “Always safety first, hey?”
Patrick replies, “Well, I really wanted each tank in its own area,” he sighs. “But Emma did not want what she calls, ‘four ticking bombs’, spread throughout her city.”
John laughs, “Make that five. I have another, smaller tank to bring down as well, just tell me where you want me to put it.”
Patrick frowns, then looks at his manifest, “I don’t see a fifth listed.”
Joe walks over, glances at the list, then laughs, “Well, you’re looking in the wrong spot. Go to the section that lists General Walker’s stuff.”
Patrick finds the section, then whistles as he glances at page upon page of items. Many of the crates are simply labeled as ‘classified equipment.’ “Where the blazes did you put all of this?” He inquires.
Joe shrugs his shoulders, before replying, “You do know that Walker has a detachment of around three hundred men? Well, they loaded everything.”
“Soldiers?” Patrick says a little perplexed. “First time I’ve heard anything about soldiers,” then after a pause he asks, “Where are they hiding?”
Joe laughs, “They aren’t hiding! It’s all in the mission brief.” He shakes his head, “Am I the only one who read that thing?”
Patrick scowls, “Quit rubbing it in, will ya?” He glances up at the mountain tops, and changes the subject, “George and I need to finish those wind turbines so we can stop using the generators for everything. We have a lot of fuel, but should conserve it.”
John gazes at the mountain top as well, “Yeah, that’s a good idea actually, ‘cause everywhere I look there’s a generator running, and it’s not as if we can just fill up anywhere.”
Patrick looks around and says, “Tomorrow then?”
George is on the Terran spending a day with his family. The three of them are enjoying a meal in the mess hall. There is a smattering of other crew members sitting at other tables. Lisa is feeling the best she has since they left Earth, and eats heartily. “I am looking forward to stepping on an alien world too, you know,” she says, casting her husband and son reproachful looks.
While the three of them are still relaxing, Patrick walks up to the table, “I hate to bother you all.”
George looks up, “What’s up?” he asks casually.
Patrick really does not want to intrude, but replies anyway, “Two of the fuel tanks are installed.” He pauses then says. “And I was thinking we should raise the towers tomorrow.”
“Sure,” George replies, “they won’t take long.”
Johnny’s eyes go wide with excitement, but quickly fade when George says, “No son, it’s far too dangerous for you to come with me.”
Lisa tilts her head, dangerous! She does not like the sound of that, but remains quiet, for now. Patrick dips his head, then leaves hastily.
George smiles at Lisa, “Now, where were we?”
Lisa’s eyes narrow, then she realizes that George is trying his best, as he always does. She relaxes and smiles, what am I thinking? The whole damned expedition is dangerous, and my man is needed. The family spends the rest of the night chatting, and for the first time in a long time, forgets about everything else.
The next morning George, Patrick, and John, depart the Terran in a small shuttle. John lands them near the top of the first tower they assembled. George gets into his suit and attaches a purpose-built assembly to the top of the tower. Patrick, also in his suit, makes sure the cable that leads from the assembly to the shuttle is secure. John rechecks the shuttle’s systems then says, “Okay, all is good here.”
George walks to the tower’s base, checks the clearance from the base to the hole, then shuts the suit’s visor and asks, “Ready?”
Patrick stands on the open ramp and checks the cable that runs along the shuttle’s roof once more, “All good here,” he reports.
John takes a deep breath, then slowly lifts off. Patrick watches the cable’s slack slowly get taken up. Once it is taut, the tip of the tower begins to lift off the ground. It tries to swing, but George holds it steady. His suit’s power levels drop fast as he keeps the tower from swinging.
Between the three men, they get the tower vertical, then begin the slow task of moving it toward the hole. John moves the shuttle as slowly as he can. The cable creaks and groans, but holds. Ever so gradually, the tower moves toward the hole. George steers the base, and announces, “It’s over the hole.”
Patrick begins to lower the tower via the cable, while John keeps the shuttle as stationary as possible. Fifteen minutes later, the tower’s base touches the bottom. One quarter of the tower’s length now rests underground, while an access hatch to the tower’s core stands waist high. George uses his suit to fill in the gaps with a special compound. The material will hold the tower firm, while at the same time,
allow a little flex.
George grins as he finishes his work, it will bend in the wind like a reed, he thinks. He gazes upward, then says, “Disconnect the cap, let’s see what happens.”
Patrick waits for George to move clear, then releases the cap. The tower stands tall and firm. Each tower takes less and less time, as the three men gain confidence, becoming more proficient with every success.
Unbeknownst to Johnny, Robert joins the men on the second day and records the raising of the towers. It takes the men two full days to raise all thirty towers. Once done, they stand in the fading light and gaze at their achievement.
The debate still rages between the contractors about the efficiency of installing fifteen towers per mountain top. Even though Emma’s plan for total power redundancy won out, many feel that it is a waste of effort and resources. However, to the three men who raised the towers, there is no doubt about the impressive image created.
The days begin to blur as George, Patrick, and John, patiently install the generators by lowering them onto the top of each tower. The installation is another marvel of engineering. As each assembly is lowered, it locks firmly into place. Patrick tests the swivel, and rotates the generator a full three hundred-sixty degrees. Finally, the three men begin transporting the last component of each wind generator, their blades. These blades are so long that once again, the largest shuttle is required to transport them to the surface. Patrick and George leave three of these at the base of each tower.
While this is happening, Patrick’s work crews have been very busy. The mountainside near the first tower has a rough path carved into its side, alongside which, stand metallic towers. These smaller towers are also being pieced together from prefabricated sections, and will eventually carry the power lines from the wind generators to the settlement.
While John and Patrick work on installing the blades, George assists the ground crews with connecting power cables to each tower. While the power lines that snake their way down the mountainside are above ground, those on its peak are below ground. George uses his suit to carve deep furrows, which he fills with a non-conductive material. Patrick’s men lay multiple cables into these furrows, after which, they cover them with conventional concrete sections. George moves from tower to tower, connecting the cables to the inner workings via the access hatches.
John and Patrick again use the shuttle with the cable system, to lift the blades. Like everything else so far on these wind generators, they slide into place, then lock securely.
The three men are so busy performing their own tasks, no one notices that George is directly below a tower that Patrick is working on. The blade slides into place with an audible click, then Patrick disconnects the cable. He is about to tell John to land, when he notices movement out of the corner of his eye. The blade slides off its locking plate, and falls. Patrick watches as the long blade falls straight down. His eyes open wide when he spots George at the base of the same tower.
Patrick hollers into his suit’s microphone, “George! Look out! Move!”
George hears Patrick’s warning and looks up. The blade slices downward, like a knife. George’s eyes open wide.
THUNK
The tip of the massive blade penetrates the ground right in front of George. He blinks in surprise as the blade wobbles back and forth in front of him, easily within an arm’s reach. He follows the blade with his eyes, its farthest point is well into the air.
Patrick stares down at the scene, “George, are you okay?”
George gazes upward, in shock, “Yes, I’m fine,” he gulps, “but let’s keep this little story to ourselves, shall we?” George’s heart races from the adrenaline rush of the close call.
Work crews at the neighboring tower stare transfixed by what they see. George turns to them, lifts his visor, then says as calmly as he can, “Everything is fine, I was never in any real danger.”
The men return to work, but George has not convinced them at all. Jokes and rumors quickly spread about him, and his exploits. Many of them chuckle at the idea of George being more afraid of facing his wife, than anything else. For the rest of the installing process, George and Patrick keep close tabs on each other.
At dusk, they all quit working and return to the Terran. George is still in his suit and on the ramp of the shuttle, when Lisa meets him in the hangar deck. She stands there, hands on her hips, her lips pursed tightly. Patrick sheepishly walks past George and whispers, “Good luck!”
George smiles at his wife, then says, “Hi honey,” while giving her a casual wave.
She shakes her finger at him, “Don’t you, ‘hi honey’, me.”
George gulps, and even debates staying in the bodysuit. He steps from it, then approaches her, “So you heard about the little incident?”
Lisa shrieks at him, “Little incident, you were almost killed!” She begins to sob.
George sighs, then notices that the enormous area is vacant. Even John has managed to sneak away unnoticed. He hurries to her, “I don’t know what you have heard, but I am fine.”
Tears begin to fall down Lisa’s face, “I heard these terrible stories, about some massive piece of machinery that almost hit you.”
George holds her close, “Oh, they were exaggerating. I didn’t even have to move, that’s how far away the piece landed.” Because I froze, he thinks, but she doesn’t have to know that.
Lisa begins to calm down, “You could have been killed. Those suits don’t make you bulletproof, you know,” she adds angrily.
George smiles at her, while his thoughts go back to the day the Effen Raiders attacked. He holds her as he recalls what happened, actually the suit is bulletproof. He pulls her shaking body close, probably shouldn’t share that right now… or ever, he decides.
Slowly Lisa calms down, steps back from him, and then walks to their room. George follows in his suit, then connects it to the specialized wall socket. Once he is sure it is charging, he asks, “Would you like me to take tomorrow off? We could go exploring.”
Lisa sighs, “No. You have a responsibility to this crew, but damn it, be safe.”
George glances around the room, and frowns, “Where’s Johnny?”
Lisa shakes her head and begins to chuckle, “The second you got here, Robert took Johnny to show him some camera techniques. He knew you were in trouble.”
George smiles, “I think everyone did, I haven’t seen a single soul, and this ship still has ten thousand people on board.”
They both begin to laugh, and in doing so, relax. By the time Johnny comes home, they have both fallen asleep. The growing boy stares at his sleeping parents, then heads to his own compartment.
The days begin to blur together as more and more of Patrick’s crew goes down to the planet. Soon enough, his entire workforce of three hundred is busy installing power lines, substations, and piecing together some temporary workshops using the large crates.
Patrick and George remove the last of the massive fuel storage tanks from the Terran, and in doing so, expose the Kord’s empty power cell. It rests against the hangar wall, still connected to the ship’s power grid. George shakes his head in disbelief, something not much bigger than this suit powered the Terran for weeks. His thoughts drift to his old friend Olaf, he sighs, what a character he was. So many deaths on that last voyage, too many.
He is not the only one reminiscing of lost friends. Elsewhere on the Terran, Joe finds it difficult to concentrate during a meeting with Barbara and her team. The facility proposed by Barbara is almost identical to the one he and Andrew were working on in Australia.
Joe glances up, “I am sorry. What was the question again?”
Barbara looks at Dave and Brett, then repeats, “Even though we can’t communicate with Earth, setting up the radio telescope facility is vital to our mission here.”
Joe thoughts drift again. He recalls that fateful day he and Andrew discovered the incoming asteroids. He and his old friend were still testing the brand new radio telescope facility, when t
heir lives changed forever.
Barbara notices Joe’s vacant gaze, and is about to shout at him when Dave catches her attention. He shakes his head slowly, stopping her. She frowns in confusion, then all of a sudden recalls Joe’s history, and his deceased friend.
Joe surprises them all when he speaks, “Yeah,” he says, an unexpected smile gathers on his face. “Let’s set that bugger up, but I want to name it.”
Barbara’s eyebrows raise up, “Go on,” she says hesitantly.
Joe looks decisively at Barbara, “Yeah, after Andrew.”
Brett and Dave glance at each other, then they look to see Barbara’s reaction. They had heard that she has already determined the facility’s name, and she is used to getting her own way.
Barbara stuns her two colleagues, and puts a huge smile on Joes face when she suggests, “Andrew’s New Earth Radio Telescope Facility?”
Joe stands, “Thank you,” he pauses for a second, “Hmm, we could simply shorten it to ART, Andrew’s Radio Telescope. I think he would have liked that.”
Barbara feels a lot of empathy toward Joe, “ART it is.”
Dave’s jaw drops, while Brett just stares at Barbara in shock. They cannot believe she is caving in so easily. The meeting continues for a short time as they all discuss various ideas and options. Joe, Dave, and Brett work well together, and soon enough they have a basic plan.
Joe is happy with their progress, “Well mates, I am going to find George and Patrick. See if we can get them to prepare the site. It would be a lot quicker than trying to get construction crews and equipment up there.”
Barbara nods, “Good idea. We will discuss some of the finer details, and bring you up to speed later.”
Joe replies, “No worries.” He does not even realize it, but ever since Andrew’s death he has not been himself. The idea of naming this new radio telescope after his old friend is very comforting.
Once Joe leaves, Barbara hands out documentation. Emblazoned across the top of each page are the words, ‘Andrew’s New Earth Radio Telescope Facility.’ She had planned all along to name the site after Andrew. She lifts an eyebrow and asks, “Can we get started now?”
Initiation Series: Series One Compilation (Terran Chronicles) Page 88