Two days later he had finally gotten the second and third portable water turbines up into the cave. One was set up in the channel to the Great Hall, while the third was cemented into the lip with its paddle wheel hanging over the edge into the air where the water should flow.
The clouds were coming in; he knew he was on borrowed time. The GP had been an asset helping bring in loads. The turbine components were all in their bays, ready to be hooked up. Tarps hung from pitons inside the cave, covering the cement in case of a sudden downpour.
The farm robot had completed four more fields, and two more vegetable fields. The dwarf corn, wheat, and sugar cane would eat up a lot of resources for a while. He had been forced to tap the pesticide tanks early, spraying the sugar cane field to rid it of some alien pests. Fortunately all the rain had helped irrigate the fields.
He might have to move up the next planting early to get them out. Robots had piled furniture, kitchen appliances, and bathroom pallets near the entrance to the garage and entrance hall, allowing him easy access to them in case of prolonged rain.
He really should check on the people north of him, but the UAV had not found any further sign of them. It had found a suspected iron deposit ninety kilometers north by North East however. It would require a drive out to confirm it however.
He looked to the sky. It was still cloudy, and the South Eastern sky was dark, sure sign of a storm on its way. He checked the log. With the waterfall shut off he had cut off the bulk of his hydrogen making, and his water turbine. The cloudy skies were making it hard to power the robots, he had been forced to shut the Mini-Me’s down, and hibernate the GP and Andy robots after dark. The Donks were also a problem, they required hydrogen to supplement their electric batteries, and his hydrogen reserves were at half level.
He needed to give the concrete at least another week or two weeks to cure. He would have to scale back his planning for now. Grimly he ordered the droids to hibernate. The war robots were eating up a lot of energy, he ordered P one to guard the Northern gate, and P two to guard the eastern one. Each CAT would patrol one kilometer sections of the perimeter; the ED’s would stand down at strategic places and only go active if called upon.
It would have been nice to use the Crusher’s for patrol, but each of them had only the single full tank of fuel and electrical charge. If he had an emergency, it was better to keep them in as a reserve.
The farm robots would have to be put on hold for now. The dairy was shut down; the animals had finally dried up completely. Since he couldn’t pour concrete he decided to work on the barn area.
A team of GP robots and a single Donk tore apart empty cargo pods, and then hoisted up the top sides, and bottoms to him and a GP robot. He used the cherry picker to attach a bar along the face of the cliff; to this he attached one end of the panels. The other would rest on metal blocks along the panels lined up as a wall. Eventually he would need to break those pods down to use their materials.
From the inside he used wire netting to cover the openings; they would allow air and light through, but not much rain or debris. Or pest animals hopefully. With this area covered he filled in the gaps on the top face with patch concrete, and then expanded the stalls inside the new expanded barn.
He set up stallion boxes, birthing stables, and a separate area for the rodents. The coons were a pain, they were constantly moving about their cages as he moved them, grasping at his clothes. They had been locked up for a while; hopefully he could get a room for them soon. If they became too much of a handful he would be forced to release them into the wild, something he was a little reluctant to do.
The next morning the sky was definitely gloomy, dark and foreboding clouds blocked out the morning light. “Yeah yeah,” he muttered, then got through his chores, checked the tarps one last time, then dug into planting and reseeding.
The rain began as he was finishing the second greenhouse. He swore, and then waited for a break before sprinting though the puddles to the final greenhouse. He was sore; it was a pain planting one plant at a time into the ground. Digging, plopping it in, pushing soil over it... mind numbing to him.
The seeds were easier, but also mind numbing. Just pluck a seed out, and plop it into a hole, cover with fertilizer, then add the drip line. He had to be careful of his precious seeds, making sure only one got into each hole. These were cabbage and celery.
When he finished he watched the rain pound into the plastic sheeting. He was tempted to have KITT pull a truck up, but decided against it. He just had to reserve his fuel. Wasting it because he didn’t want to get wet well, that would be annoying if it bit him in the arse later.
Sighing he trudged through the break in the storm, feeling the clinging mist quickly dampen and then soak his jacket, while mud splattered his jeans and boots.
He took the time to clean up at the mobile home, had dinner, and then set another batch of bread loaves to rising in the fridge before going to bed.
The next morning the rain was off and on, so he kneaded and proofed the dough balls, then put on his gortex rain gear and jogged to the cave.
He stripped off the gortex inside, and then took a look around. He decided to do some wiring, maybe he could even set up one of the bathrooms after chores.
The bathroom was easy, since he had started the first, he only had to drop in the toilet seal, then the toilet and hook up the lines and bolts. Ready to go. He did his master bathroom next, then the laundry.
Each of the six laundry machines were complete systems. A washer and dryer built into one single cube. They were stacked two high, with front facing doors. He looked at the opening, out to the cliff face. He would need to fill in the bottom around the plumbing, then add some glass blocks for the top for natural lighting.
He took a break to finish the baking, and a serious petting session with Hera and her four legged cohorts before lunch.
After lunch he dug out the gear for insulation. The insulation was blown in with a compressor, when it mixed the binary resin it foamed, filling gaps and hopefully keeping critters out. The mix had some nasty poison in it, anything that chewed on it would get sick and die... or at least so he hoped.
He blew in his quarters, the infirmary, bathrooms and bedrooms. The storerooms he left alone, they didn’t need insulation. Nor did the laundry area. The drywall would have to wait. The kitchen area was done, but he was a bit concerned about the rain. He would need to fill that face in with the wall soon. The tarp he had hanging now was not enough protection.
He took a diner break, then broke out the lights and finished wiring the LED’s in the ceiling lights. The breaker box was a bit of a pain, but once he had it going he felt the glow of pleasure... and glow from the LED’s. It felt good having the room lit properly; it was one more step closer to a permanent home.
The next day he was up early. The chores were done in next to no time; no point checking the fields while it was raining. He used the cameras in the security robots to check the perimeter. So far so good, no major breaks. With most of the robots hibernating he had to do the mucking out, but it was easy if smelly.
He tore into the lighting with a vengeance, getting the other chambers wired and tested one by one. He even managed to wire the cameras, speakers, microphones, and routers. The ceiling would have to eventually be filled in with a false ceiling, but he didn’t have the materials or time now.
After lunch he decided to work on the kitchen wall, framing out the door, then twist tying rebar and steel struts to form the basic shape. It would have to be poured in sections, one at a time once the rains stopped.
After much inner debate he set the last portable generator up in the Great Hall. Setting it up under the waterfall was dangerous, but it worked. Power was partially restored, allowing him to power up a few of the Andy robots to move plastic wrapped furniture to his quarters and the bedrooms. Before going to bed he had them hibernate.
The next day dawned brightly, with only patchy clouds. He let the animals out. With animal versions of
“Hallelujah!” they rushed out the gates to the pastures. He chuckled and checked the perimeter, then fields and greenhouses.
It was still too wet out to get much done, so he launched the UAV and sent it due north. He wasn’t sure what he would find, but knew it was past time to check.
Just over sixty kilometers north the UAV beeped. He took a look at the feed while he set the form he had been working on down. He had been setting up the forms for the doors, an annoying and finicky process of leveling things. The UAV screen was a bit jumpy; he played with the focus until he had a better view.
The camp was unmistakable. Also not in a good place. He sighed in annoyance. It looked like they camped in the wallow between two hills, right smack dab in the middle of a game trail. It was a bit flooded too; he could see people using buckets to bail water and mud.
There were battered vehicles parked around the perimeter. Wood and metal formed an improvised palisade. Some of the vehicles were pretty smashed up; a couple were even turned over. Obviously none had fuel any more.
The huts were hovels, jury rigged affairs with tarps, tents, blankets, pieces of wood and other things. Piles of furniture were stacked near the center bonfire. He felt a little guilty about not finding these people sooner.
Judging by the thermal imagery he counted seventy people, most of them seemed to be women or young. The men were most likely out hunting he thought. One of the kids looked up and pointed to the drone. An adult, from the look and build a female cracked a whip sending the kid scurrying. Displeasure and anger coursed through his body suddenly.
The woman looked up at the UAV; he waggled the wings back and forth. She seemed to glare, almost jumping out at him. She was standing there, coiling the whip and just glaring up at him. He sighed. “Nice lady...NOT.”
He pointed the robotic plane North, did a spiral around the village, and then it flew out to the East. He wasn’t sure they had seen it when it approached, but for some reason he wasn’t comfortable leading them back here to him.
He set a plan in motion to take a visit out the next day. He would take a couple care packages, maybe some of his homemade bread, trade goods, and cheese. Some survival manuals too come to think of it.
The next morning he was off, jumping into the truck with Max. He had strapped on an armored vest, and his usual sidearm shoulder holsters. A second Hummer followed him out; this one carried an ED robot, just in case things turned ugly.
The trip was bouncy, he was wary of animals, but felt a growing thrill of excitement. It had been to long since he had had human contact. He recognized the need for social interaction. He petted Max, who still had his head out the window. He flicked his eyes to the tablet racked on the center console, yes the cameras were recording. Good.
He pulled up out of sight of their gate, and then ordered the security hummer to hang back there. When it parked he stepped on the gas to round the copse of trees screening him and pulled up to the makeshift gate, startling the guard.
She was a bit wary, clutching at her spear. Another woman came out of a nearby shack, did a double take at his presence and wave, and then whistled. Women, teens and children looked up and came running from all directions.
When he got out of the truck the group was hostile, mostly women and teens or preteens, with three children under seven. He sighed. He spotted the raven haired woman with the whip; she was dressed in leather from head to toe. She even had a leather duster coat on. He reached up and turned his Bluetooth on, then shouldered the strap to the Bushmaster rifle.
He checked the safety just as the woman arrived. The guard was wary giving him the eye of a practiced veteran. He gave her a nod, and then turned to the woman. “What do you want?” she demanded.
He gave her a small bow. “Ma’am, my name is Mitchell Chambers, I am new here, just checking in with my neighbors. You are the leader here?” He was fighting to be polite, noting her hostility, as well as the hostility of some in the crowd.
Many have puckered faces, some from hunger, Illness, and some from anger. He sighed mentally. “I am Mistress Tabitha, leader of this village,” she said haughtily, shaking her hair out, hands on her hips. He turned to her. She was truly imposing, flowing black hair, sculpted eyebrows, and black leather.
“Well Ma’am...” he began.
A curt “Mistress.” from her made him pause.
“Okay, Mistress, as I was saying, I am just being neighborly.”
A murmur in the crowd began, he picked up a few phrases like “We don’t need any trouble, we don’t need his kind here, not another mouth to feed, does he have food.” He turned to the group.
“Folks, I am not coming to stay, as I was telling your leader,” He indicated the woman with a waving gesture. “I am just checking in.” He bent into the truck and let Max out. Max came out, and at his quiet heel sat next to him. He pulled out a box, and handed it to the nearest woman. “I figured I should bring a gift since we are new neighbors,” he said politely. The brunet woman took the box with a disgusted look, but opened it and cried in surprise as her astonished green eyes registered the contents.
“Holy cow! MRE’s!” She looked down then up at the mistress, and then back to Mitch. He nodded.
“Yes Ma’am,” he said. A child came up to him and pulled on his trousers. He looked down, and felt his heart tug at seeing a gaunt little boy, maybe five or six, wearing rags. What the hell were these people doing to their kids? He thought with barely suppressed rage.
“Well, hello, who are you?” he asked, modulating his tone to keep it soft and not spook the lad. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an energy bar. He had stocked his pockets with them before leaving, now glad he had. He handed it to the boy, who fumbled it then tore into it.
“My name is Billy,” the little boy replied. A woman called to him. Mitch tossed another bar to the kid, who fumbled the catch. He picked it up, gave a scared look to the Mistress, and then scampered off into the crowd.
The red head came out of the crowd. She was still wearing a tattered jeans and a flannel long sleeve plaid shirt, with what looked like a stethoscope peaking out of the front pocket. “Hi,” Mitch said. He held out his hand. She shook it. “My name is Mitch Chambers. You look like the local Doc,” he observed with a hint of smile. She nodded.
“You will address yourself to me,” the mistress said haughtily. He turned noted the short haired brunette standing next to the mistress.
Max growled softly. One of the women tightened her grip on her spear. “Quiet,” Mitch softly told the dog. He reached into the truck window and pulled out another care package and handed it to the Doctor.
“I said you are to address me,” the raven haired witch said coldly. He turned, quirks an eye at her haughty pose, lilting chin.
“And what exactly would you like me to say?” he asked, turned and pulling another package out. Doc handed the first to a teenager, and then fumbled the block of cheese. He looked at the mistress. “I made this cheese a couple weeks ago, so it hasn’t fully aged.” He shrugged as a murmur of interest spread through the group. The brunette glared about her and the murmur faded into sheepish silence.
“As I was saying,” he looked around. “The cheese is pretty fresh, and I am still getting used to making it, so I am not sure about the quality.” A sneer passed on the brunette. He flicked a glance to her, then pulled out a paramedic bag and handed it to the doctor. Her eyes flared at the sight of the Red Cross on its back. “It should at least provide some nutritional value however.”
Beside him the Doc murmured. “Thanks, but you better go, she is dangerous.” He gave a small nod.
He didn’t take his eyes off the mistress as he reached into the truck and pulled out another bag from the back... “I thought you would like some fresh bread to go with the cheese,” he said as he shrugged and handed it to the doctor.
“I should be going; I have a bit of a drive and evening feeding in a couple hours,” he said, raising his voice to the crowd. The murmur began again. “I
have a few more packages and some survival gear here if some of you folks want it,” he said, looking about him for any takers. He looked to the Doc. She gave him a look, and then warily watched the Mistress. He stepped back to the rear of the Hummer flipped off the cargo net and started handing out stuff to Doc who handed it off to others.
“You will find another med kit, some fishing gear, water treatment tablets, manuals, and a map of the area in there Doc,” he murmured to her. He handed her a jar. “Multivitamins,” he said. She nodded.
He buttoned up the netting and watched some of the crowd leaving with the gear. He sighed at the set faces of the rest. Not a single thank you or anything. “Don’t blame them; they have had a rough time,” Doc murmured, taking the last package and holding it to her chest. A child cried in the background.
Mitch nodded as he shut the hatch. “Guess I will be going then. Nice to meet all of you,” He got into the truck. “Max heel!” Max gave one more glare to the mistress and then turned to jump over his lap into the passenger seat.
“See you around,” he said waved and reversed. “Fools,” he muttered as he did a three point U turn and retreated. He could hear the brunette almost cheering as he left. He checked the rear view mirror and saw her giving him a one finger salute. Nice neighbors he thought with a pang.
On the return trip he dictated some notes of his impressions, making sure he remembered that they were forming around a matriarch society, with a possible bad history with males. His mouth puckered in distaste as he noted that caution was advised.
He sighed. “Note a high concentration of women in village. Very few males, most males present were teenagers or younger.” He watched a herd moving into his path. “The Northern village...” He paused in thought. “Designate Amazon Village,” he said and then stopped himself and snorted. “They seem to be suffering classic nutritional deficiency. From appearance they may also have some members infected with Clipto Sporidia, or an alien equivalent.” He finished the log and then sighed.
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