He pointed back with his thumb; “You really wanna live like them?” They adamantly said no, vehemently shaking their heads. He chuckled. “Ladies, when we get things sorted out you can choose what you want to do, as long as it contributes to the community. Remember I said we rotate stuff?” They both nodded.
He nodded back, “We do as much as possible, and so if you do not like a chore, don’t worry and it will rotate.” Mitch glanced from one to the other. “But remember, the next chore could be worse,” he said. They grimaced in annoyance. He chuckled. “Hey it could be a lot worse, living in a lice and flea infested hut tossing wood into a fire hoping the animals don’t eat you!” They nodded and shivered.
“Been there done that,” Tisha said softly and closed her eyes.
The fourth and final outdoor harvest came with the cooling weather, sure sign of autumn. They plowed the fields and seeded them with winter clover for later. The clover would draw nitrogen into the soil, refreshing some of the nitrates lost by the crops. They would also turn the cattle out on it to graze until the snows started.
Dora had been doing well in her medical studies; she had even managed to set up some of the infirmary based off of the blueprints and manuals. Janet had given her a hand stocking the shelves with gear. “She does a good job bandaging the scrapes and bruises the kids get,” Anne commented as she folds laundry.
Mitch took the time during a rainy day to go over things with Dora, checking her training and helping her set up the rest of the infirmary. He even unpacked the special prototype medical robot he had built. It was built as an aide, more of a nurse than a medic. Unfortunately its programming was not well tested, so they limited it to fetch and carry tasks like the Mini-me robots.
Brian, Vance, Mitch and the robots managed to dig out the foundations for the giant wind turbines, and poured them. It took three weeks before Mitch was confident enough to set up the first. The kids were awed at the size of the thing, over forty meters tall once fully assembled. Getting it plum and level had been quite an exercise. The massive blades spun easily in the wind. The second went easier, now that they had the basics down. Mitch had wanted guy wires for safety but the blades almost touched the ground, so that was out of the question.
Jeff and Sean convinced Mitch to allow them to catch some of the therapods for study. He let them chase the little bird like dinosaurs in a field while the robots provided security. After a while Sean dropped, panting with fatigue. “Dang they are fast!” he commented.
“Ready to try it my way?” Mitch asked, handing the boy a water bottle, as he shouldered the net he had pulled out of storage. Sean groaned, throwing himself onto his back spread eagled.
Jeff came up bent over panting. “Yeah, that’s...” Pant “...a good idea.” Mitch nodded.
They set out a pile of bait near a flock, in this case bread crumbs and seeds. When a dozen of the critters came to eat they dropped the net. They collected two loads and transported the squawking clucking feather dusters back to the barn.
Janet came up on the back of a mare the next day. She had made a point of riding the horses, even nagging the kids into doing it as well. Her classes on riding had Mitch in fearful anxiety; getting tossed by one of those horses was no joke. Injuries were common in riding. She got him to use the plastic replicator to churn out some helmets, and tapped the spider silk reserve for webbing.
Dora and Tisha had fallen in love with the manure makers, riding the horses on a drop of an excuse. Janet had been forced to rein in her protégées in chagrin. Tisha explained that she had had a horse back on Earth, but her parents were forced to sell it.
Janet gave him a once over, then handed him a sandwich without a word. He knew the look she was busy giving him as he unwrapped the sandwich and took a draught from his canteen. She wasn’t happy about the pace he was setting, thinking he was pushing too hard. He knew that with more mouths to feed, and potential refugees to feed through the winter, they would need as much bio-mass as possible.
He mumbled thanks, and turned back to the work. She snorted. “Someone has to keep an eye on you, or you’ll starve to death. Lunch was hours ago.”
He chuckled and waved. “I know, but I really need to get this sorted out.” He pointed his free hand to the wall. “We have concreted the main paths, run drainage ditches, and even relocated the solar panels out,” he explained. He waved to the back of his hand to the wall. “This is the last bit, I want to get as much of the wall done before the cold and the snows hit.” Janet looked the wall over. They were out on the North eastern corner, near the major breach areas.
“I don’t want something coming through those fences if they get shorted out in the ice and snow.” he explained as she pursed her lips and didn't say anything. He looked up to her. She slowly nodded, and then turned the horse.
“Do what you want, you always do,” she said.
He gave her retreating back a look then shrugged. “I will be in by dinner,” he called after her.
In the first month of autumn Mitch spotted raptors chasing something while on his way home from the iron pit. Taking out his binoculars he spotted a family frantically trying to climb a tree. He swore and pulled out his gun. He tried to shoot one of the raptors, but couldn’t get the range. Swearing again he ran to the hummer and rushed down to them. The man got the kids and woman into the tree and tried to climb but fell. He turned and batted at one of the raptors with a club, but another took him down from his unprotected flank.
He screamed as they tore him apart. The woman and kids screamed, and one of the raptors turned to them. She shushed the kids as the raptor cocked its head this way and that and then gathered its haunches and sprang up at them. It snapped at the woman, who shrieked in terror. Other raptors not eating looked up and cocked their heads and then began to jump and snap as well. One got the woman’s calf when she slipped, pulling her down. She fell across a branch, and the raptor let go. Winded and injured she cried as they jumped and clawed at her.
Mitch snapped off a shot, missing and hitting the tree. Swearing he wrapped the guns sling around his wrist and shot again, just as the truck bucked in a pot hole. The shot went high into a branch. He swerved to a stop as the raptors began to react to his interloping hummer and took a better shot. It dropped a raptor. The others turned and hissed, and he dropped another with a shot, then another. He hit the alpha male and they backed off almost as one. One of the animals nudged the alpha with its snout. He shot two more and they reared, shaking their limbs and feathers. He smiled grimly and shot two more. The remainder broke and ran.
He backed the truck under the tree, covering the body of the man. He took a look around and got out. He helped the woman down, then the reluctant whimpering kids, ordering a girl to move who was terrified.
He sprayed the woman’s wounds with Cryolife Biofoam, glad that Bob had managed to get it in his kit. The foam was a takeoff of the same material in the classic Halo series. It combined an antibacterial agent with a clotting one, and surgical glue. The binary chemical foamed within a wound, the bubbles forced foreign matter to the surface before the glue hardening into a gel sealing the wound.
He covered the gel with bandages; the woman was delirious and worried about her baby. The kids whimpered. He looked at them and then back to the woman. She clutched her abdomen. He realized she was pregnant and swore softly. He gave her an IV with plasma and then they rushed off to the base.
He called in over the radio, telling them the situation in terse words as the kids whimpered or hugged each other. Brian met them in the garage with a stretcher and paramedic kit. They rush the woman off to the hospital wing. Janet took the kids.
When the woman was stable but unconscious they worried about her bleeding and possible internal injuries. She has a nicked artery, and possible internal damage, as well as unknown injury and trauma to the fetus. Anne softly told him they needed Doc, she was the only person who could save her. Dora was in over her head.
Mitch nodded curtly and left. He arr
ived at the Amazon village at dusk. The village was lit but only by one fire in the center of the compound, there was no perimeter watch. He called the guard and asked for Doc when a woman came to the improvised gate. Doc came with the priestess and Cassie. He explained the situation and asked the Doc to help. He told her the woman’s condition in clinical terms, including possible injuries, bp, pulse, breathing, and temperature.
“She is having shallow contractions but intense abdominal pain. I don’t dare give her a pain killer till I know it won’t kill her or the kid,” he explained, giving her a look as he showed her the readouts on a tablet. The priestess asked what is in it for them; he offered some food and medic supplies. Doc readily agreed. The priestess held Cassie back, saying she would see her mother in the morning.
“Hostage?” he asked. She coldly glared. Doc just moved around to the passenger side of his truck. They left quickly, Doc looked over her shoulder once and then to the dark path ahead. He had his lights on and nearly hit a hadrosaur herd while crossing a field. Doc was stricken in fright, clutching at the oh shit bar in front of her.
He honked and the herd scattered. He patched in the communications and had Anne give a sit rep. The Doctor buckled up and listened, offering advice. He cut in and told Anne they were an hour or so out still, but asked Janet to have a change of clothes and shower stuff ready.
They rushed in; Doc looked on to the lit compound as they rushed into the brightly lit castle and garage. He rushed her out; pushing a button the door went down. Janet took charge and led her off to the shower. Ten minutes later they joined Anne, Dora, and Mitch in the hospital, Doc was hastily eating a sandwich as she walked in behind Janet.
She was amazed at his gear as she looked around taking an assessment. Mitch nodded to her when she gave him a wide eyed awed look, and then let her know they have everything except the MRI set up. He pointed to the room next door. “There is the bay to the OR. You can scrub up there,” he said. Dora volunteered to help, telling Doc that for the past of couple months she had been taking medical training on the computer. Brie teased her about mouth to mouth practice with Brian, making both teens blush furiously and Mitch snort.
Doc and Dora managed to operate on the leg, and delivered the premature baby boy. He survived the night; the mother did as well, but had a long recovery road ahead of her.
Janet led the exhausted Doc off to a nearby cot near dawn, and then shooed everyone off to bed. Brie said she will remain awake to take care of the baby and keep an eye on the mother.
Later the next day Mitch packed the truck and trailer with food, a chain saw, helmets, and few other things. Janet tossed in a couple leather goods, rabbit furs, including a rabbit fur blanket she had made. Brian quietly handed him a box of medical supplies. They checked up on Doc who had visited the patient. She pronounced her out of the woods. “The plasma he had on hand, as well as the blood drawn from the adult volunteers helped a lot,” she said. She took a moment and checked the others over, finding all healthy. He nodded and asked if she wanted to go. She reluctantly nodded, not meeting his eyes. Brian and Anne came along as well.
At the village he unloaded the gear, and then pulled out the chainsaw, ax, and put the helmet on. “Doc, you got two hours of my time, where do you want me to start,” he said simply as the robot climbed off the back of the truck. Brian looked up and nodded to the priestess who was escorting Cassie and a huntress to take the food. Mitch clicked the alarm on the truck and Anne went to visit Cassie and the Doc while Brian set up as a guard while Mitch cut trees.
He felled the thick old growth, dropping them in a line. He dropped a dozen in less than an hour, then cut them into more manageable lengths, removed the branches and topped them. Doc appeared and thanked them for their efforts. He handed her an ax and sharpening stone. He heard the car alarm go off and they rushed to the truck. A gaunt girl was trying to hide by the hummer. Mitch asked what she intended and she mumbled. Anne walked up to her and asked if she wanted to leave and the girl nodded. She hugged her and told her softly to get her gear. The girl pointed to a bag at her feet. Mitch snorted. The priestess began to rant about the evils of men and he waved her off.
“Yeah, cutting down trees is evil, bad for the environment I know. I know. Yadda yadda...bitch bitch...” Brian and Doc snorted, Anne and the girl giggled. He waved them into the car as he disarmed the alarm. He asked what they did with the print outs, the priestess began to rant, the teenage girl said the priestess and Tabatha had confiscated them and burned them as evil. He angrily jerked the door open, muttering curse words. The priestess grinned. He turned and glared. “You’re a moron,” he snarled. The smirk on the woman's face faded into a snarl.
On the way home he listened to the girl Xena as she ate a power bar. She just about threw herself at him, but he waved her advances off. She said she didn’t have skills. He snorted and asked if she could cook, she said no, “Sweep?”
“Yes,”
“Mop?”
“Yes.”
“Read?”
“Yeah,” she said starting to get testy.
“Okay, can you learn?” he asked, glancing at her.
“Yes who can’t?” A note of exasperation had crept into her voice.
He smiled. “All right then. You’re good to go.” Anne and Brian chuckled at that. They called in and reported to base they were bringing home another waif. Janet sighed and chuckled in resignation. When they arrived she settled the girl in.
When the mother woke she talked and mourned her Ricardo. Almost hysterically she hugged her children and cooed over the baby. Mitch rejected her naming him after him. He softly told her to name the boy after her late husband. She told him she worked in a tannery; she did a lot of the jobs and loved leather. Anne got excited and they traded notes.
Sometime later Anne talked with him in his office. “Best thing for her,” he turned to Anne. “Is to keep her busy. Let her mourn, but keep them all busy to help work out some of the grief.”
Anne nodded. “Slave driver,” she teased. He snorted and left.
In the impromptu shop class a day later Walter had a mishap with a metal plate. It slipped out of his hands and tipped off the counter, landing on his foot like a guillotine. Mitch carried him to the infirmary and Dora set the foot under the guidance of the medical program.
Chapter 9
“Security alert. Mass animal movement detected in North Eastern quadrant heading south,” The base AI’s report startled Mitch. He looked up from the report he had been reading and then cleared the report he was reading from his screen.
“Show me,” he ordered. A window popped up on the desktop, then a second. The first was an over head map of the base and surrounding area, with a blinking arrow in the north eastern quadrant. The second was a quarter panel view from four cameras in that area.
From the looks of things the herds were heading south. He watched as a sauropod walked, its neck swaying with each stride. “Okay, give me a report on the projected path of the herd,” Mitch ordered. The computer flagged the path. From what he could see, the herd would be following the river, and would just miss his Northern border. Good, that area was not reinforced beyond the ditches, foundations, and fencing.
Having a herd of sauropods and other dinosaurs breach his security, eat the crops and stomp many of his buildings and vehicles flat was terrifying. “Predator alert, class red threat detected,” the AI reported. A yellow carrot box appeared in the upper left of the video and on the map. The video automatically enhanced the scene. He could just make out a pack of Rexes moving south, following the herd.
Behind them were other animals, six legged hammerhead giants, and what looked like a six legged giant porcupine trundling out of the tree line. One of the juvenile Rexes went for it. One of the adults stopped and turned, then gave a short bark and caw. Reluctantly the juvenile stopped. “Either it isn’t time to play, or your playmate is a little too dangerous,” Mitch observed.
When the quill beast began to shake its body
menacingly the juvenile seemed to back up and gulp. Spines shot out in the Rex’s direction, it danced out of their way in full retreat. “Definitely too dangerous,” Mitch commented, logging the animal as possibly poisonous and definitely dangerous.
Brian called. “Boss are you getting this?”
Mitch snorted. “Yeah, can you back trace their path?”
Brian paused. “Yeah, wait one.” Brian was shaping up nicely; he had a good mind, though he was still prejudiced against women in authority for obvious reasons.
“Yeah, looked like they might have walked through the Amazon village,” Brian answered a moment later. “I hope they stomped it flat,” he muttered darkly.
Mitch sighed. “Okay, let me know if they get to close to the perimeter. Record as much as possible for later,” Mitch ordered. He signed off and turned back to the report. A few minutes of staring at the tangled code made him sigh. He usually could tweak code all day, but this sight was just too much to pass up. He grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair and headed out to see.
Brian, Vance, and Janet met him in the garage. “I thought you wouldn’t be able to resist for long,” Janet teased, getting into the rear seat.
“Thought you would prefer riding a horse?” he teased back, knowing the answer.
She snorted. “Not hardly, with those brutes around. It would probably spook poor Daphne to death,” she replied, not rising to the tease. He chuckled as his door slammed shut.
He checked the rear view mirror and found he had a full car. Pete had slipped in with Wayne, Vance, and Michael. He shrugged. “Okay, you kids stay in the car till we give the all clear okay?” They nodded.
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