by Chris Hechtl
“Move!” Klinger ordered, moving them into the denser part of the woods.
Midafternoon, the usual stiff winds picked up with a vengeance. The jellyfish couldn't stay. Some tried to attach themselves to carcasses or things on the ground, but one by one they eventually let go and followed the trail of their fellows off. The hunters breathed a sigh of relief.
They returned to the fort with meat from the carcass and one hell of a story to tell. The young woman was an Australian zookeeper, Laura, twenty years old. When the plane had crashed, she had followed Bert, a so called survival expert, but his group had been killed off one by one. She had been making her way back to the plane for the past several weeks, but when she had arrived and found it deserted, she had been heartbroken. Klinger was amazed that she survived on her own for so long.
“It just goes to show, the human spirit…we can do anything if we keep plugging,” Tim said, putting an arm over the woman's shoulder. She smiled. She had sunken cheeks and eyes, clear signs of malnutrition and exhaustion, but she kept on, even keeping up with their trot back to the fort and safety.
~~~~~O~~~~~
“Were those things related to the ones we saw on the plane?” Klinger demanded of Sandy. She shook her head. One of Simmon's people had the foresight to record the flying things with her camera phone from the safety of the fort. A few others had done so as well. They watched the video on a laptop.
“No, they are different,” Sandy said. She pulled up the video of the plane encounter. It was shaky, but she paused it and pointed out differences in the animal's biology. “First, they aren't glowing and changing color. These things are like flying mushrooms. But translucent. The ones on Earth were…different.”
Klinger nodded.
“These are puffier, and the tentacles aren't as long.”
“Okay, so, a flying predator? How can they stay up?” Allen asked.
“Gas,” Roy said, hobbling over to them. They looked at him. He shrugged. “Think about it. Hydrogen. You run an electric current through water and you get hydrogen and oxygen. Discard the O2 and keep the hydrogen. Hydrogen gives you lift like a blimp.”
“Ah. So why didn't it explode when I hit with the crossbow bolt?” Klinger asked.
“It's not that simple,” Roy said with a snort. Klinger raised an expectant eyebrow. “Back in World War I, the Germans used blimps to bomb Great Britain. The Brits used biplanes to try to shoot the things down, but they failed. They even tried the first-ever incendiary rounds but again failed. The rounds punched through the skin, but it didn't have enough air to mix for the spark to ignite.”
“So a flaming arrow won't blow one up?” Allen asked, sounding dubious.
Roy shook his head. “No, but if you hit it a couple times with other arrows, let the air mix in with the hydrogen for a minute, then hit it with your flaming arrow, then boom,” he said. He turned back to Klinger. “That's how the Brits did it. They mixed the ammo in their aircraft guns and tore the suckers apart.”
“Cool,” Dennis said from below. They looked down to the lad.
Klinger snorted. A plan and history lesson all in one. He nodded. “So, we'll try that the next time we run into the bastards.”
“Careful the flaming arrows and bits don't start a blaze on the ground,” Lita cautioned. Klinger nodded.
~~~~~O~~~~~
At the next nightly meeting, Roy was back on his feet and insistent on attending. “We need to work on security. We're a sieve here,” Usher said.
“I had a plan for that. The doors and blocking openings you know. But I had something else in mind,” the professor said.
“By all means, let's hear it, Professor,” Usher said, yielding the floor to him. Gingerly Roy moved out so others could see him. “Once we have enough power we can hook up cameras from the baggage to act as surveillance cameras. We can also use computers for record keeping, and entertainment,” he pointed out.
Quinn snorted. “Talk about a reversal of fortune,” Walter teased him. He shrugged it off. “Okay, I'm approving the plan, as soon as I see it drawn up,” Usher said. Roy smiled crookedly and passed over a sheaf of bark.
“Should have known,” Klinger laughed, leaning over the gunny to examine the plan. He nodded, the professor had taken in an inventory of the working cameras, including their Wi-Fi capabilities and range. He even had fields of view worked out. “Looks good,” Klinger said slowly. Usher nodded. “Okay, get to work,” he said. That sparked a laugh from the group.
“We also need to improve our farming and food production,” Elsa said. Betty nodded. “We're in spring. We have no idea how long the seasons are, but everyone here knows that winter is a bad thing. We don't know about snow…but…” She grimaced.
Klinger looked at the gunny who nodded grimly. “Glad you are thinking about the long term. I know you've worked on the farm. Anything there?”
Elsa nodded. “Some, but more weeds than the plants we want. It's hit or miss. Irrigation is an issue. And by the way, an acre of land isn't going to feed what, 230 people?” she demanded.
“Thirty-two, we lost one of the severely injured to infection,” doc sighed, shaking her head. A few looked down at that sobering news.
~~~~~O~~~~~
Later that night Roy went out to get a breath of fresh air. Despite now having running water, being stuck inside with a couple hundred other people and a few animals was a bit wearing. He noted a solitary figure on one of his favorite spots. She was sitting with her legs up to her chest, one arm wrapped around her legs as she looked up to the stars above.
“Sorry,” he murmured, turning away.
She flinched and turned to look at him. “Hey Yank, you don't have to go on my account,” she said.
He turned back, cocking his head. “You're that Aussie lady right?”
She nodded with a phantom smile, a flash of teeth he picked up in the moonlight. “How'd ya guess?” she asked with a drawl.
He snorted. “The yank did it for me,” he said, coming over to her side. “Do you mind?” he asked.
“Sure enough, free rock for all and all that,” she said. He sat. “It's beautiful,” she said, looking up at the sky.
“Sure is,” he said with a soft voice, looking up to the sky above. The stellar heavens were magnificent on the cool clear night. He could make out some distant nebula and some rather large objects, most likely other planets. He'd have to invest some time in making a telescope…he frowned thoughtfully. Maybe the binoculars if he could get them away from Doc…
“Hey,” the woman said, poking him.
He grunted. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
“Woolgathering?” she asked. He shrugged and pulled the blanket out from under his good arm and then draped it over her shoulders. Then gingerly he sat. “Oh, you're hurt?” she asked, voice now laced with concern.
“It's healing,” he said as he tried to ignore the pain in his now angry quad. The abused flesh was healing, no longer swollen, but it did hurt like hell when he moved about the wrong way.
“Should you be outside?” she asked.
“Should you?” he asked then snorted. “Sorry, stupid question. I know you've been out and about. On walk about around the area,” he said. Her eyes studied his. He shrugged and looked away. “As it happens, I've wandered out of camp a few times myself,” he said.
“Is that how you got that?” she asked, indicating his leg and arm.
“These?” he looked down and then shook his head. He wiggled his bandaged foot too. “These I got from a pack of Raptors on my way back to the crash site. I'd just come by here and was almost home when I heard some screams. I ran but was too late to save Barry,” he said, making a face. “Poor kid.”
She nodded and sniffed, leaning against him. He was surprised, but he put an arm around her. “I know the feeling,” she said softly, voice filled with pain. “I saw too many people die out there,” she whispered. “Too, too many,” she murmured.
“I know,” he said. “I heard the story.”
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She cleared her throat and sat back. “Sorry, my manners, introductions,” she said, holding out her hand. “Laura Blake, assistant curator at Australia Zoo. Well, I was,” she said, making a face.
He took the delicate hand and shook it with his good one. “Roy Hinkley, professor of engineering, MIT. Well, I was,” he said echoing her.
She smiled again; he realized it was a nice smile as their touch ended. “Nice to meet you, Professor,” she said teasing him. “You're reputation precedes you,” she said smiling ever so slightly with twinkling eyes.
He rolled his own eyes in response. “Well, you know how fame and fortune are,” he said. She chuckled. “Seriously, I'm an engineer, but I'm one voice in a chorus. A lot of people like Quinn, Captain Grumby and especially Corporal Klinger had a hand in keeping everyone alive,” he said.
“Alive and fed,” she said. “But I heard you've had a bigger hand than most,” she said. She heard a babble of voices behind her and grimaced.
“Too much togetherness too soon?” He asked.
She looked for a long moment and then shrugged again slightly. “Aye Yank, you could say that. You can take the girl out of the outback, but not the outback out of the girl I suppose,” she said. He snorted. “It's like we're starting over, cavemen all over again,” she grumbled.
“Well, not quite,” he said. He explained about the various projects they were working on, from Morse's growing cement works to the farms and even the buggy he, Quinn and a few of the guys had started on.
“You aren't serious?!?” she demanded, laughing. He nodded. “You…” she sputtered, hand over her mouth. “To see you bouncing around out there…”
“We will. At least I hope so. We've got the basics. The tires are sound. We may end up with a trike design, that will let us keep the other tire as a spare, but I don't know, we'll see,” he said. “A trike is unstable,” he said, eyes unfocusing as he thought about the problem. “A reverse trike though…”
She poked him again. “Earth to Professor,” she grumbled.
He blinked and then chuckled. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
“You have a lot on your mind,” she murmured. “Why don't you sit back and just relax?” she asked, voice going husky.
“Um, I've been kind of busy, focused on everything,” he said, waving a hand.
“Not what I meant,” she said. “Are you with anyone?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Most of the ladies are turned off by my absent mindedness and well, smell.” He blushed. “See, I get into all sorts of things, making gunpowder and…” she put a finger to his lips. He blinked in surprise.
“Oh,” she said, sounding almost amused and yet…something more. Eager, he thought. “Well then,” she said in a husky voice, leaning over slowly until she was only inches from his face. “Let's do something about that then shall we?” she asked, looking up at into his eyes, then down before their lips met. His good arm wrapped around her as she climbed into his lap and pushed him backwards. She chuckled softly at the success of her ploy and then kissed him again. After that all coherent thought ceased.
~~~~~O~~~~~
Roy had to admit, life had become stable…and a whole lot more complicated at the cave fortress. He had a whole set of new bite and claw marks for instance, but these he had no intention of running past doc or the other medics. They'd rib him within an inch of his life, he thought, rubbing his chin. It was bad enough when ladies snickered or cooed in mock sympathy about it as it was. He shook his head wryly, feeling the breeze on his face.
She was quite forward and seemed to enjoy overcoming his shy nature. She was also particularly randy after being out in the field and didn't take “No,” or “Honey I'm busy,” for an answer, he thought with amusement.
Spring really was the time of romance; Jane Dask had hooked up with Wilson, forming their own Brady bunch. Others had hooked up too, and Roy had been surprised when Laura had informed him that she was Bi, and that she'd brought on board Eliza to form a threesome. Roy had no say in the matter. They had ignored sniping from the Roberts’s pair and settled into a nice cave away from the others people were setting up as apartments. Susan Somner had made a break with her bosses, shocking them when she'd gone in with a guy and gal herself.
The fortress was stable and coming along quite nicely Roy judged. Tim Brown, a young man from Boise, Idaho, with geology experience had found iron ore and copper in the hills and mountains above the fortress. He called it Placer Mining since the material was right there out in the open. He'd even found a couple garnets, brown opals and fire opals right out in the open, amusing the community. He had shined a few of the baubles up to amuse the ladies.
Tim was now the community’s mining boss; he led regular teams up to gather pack loads of material for Quinn and the smiths to use. Smelting it was a hassle, but Elsa had found some plant oil that worked well as a fuel substitute. She had even gotten Roy and Lita to concoct oil lamps for the fortress to use. The alien oil did a very good job of supplementing their woodcutting.
Elsa had an issue with animals raiding the farms; Klinger had considered a wall with Morse but ultimately rejected it. They would have to build a stone and steel wall thirty feet high and down to bedrock to curtain around the farm and area. That was not possible with their current labor and equipment shortage.
Laura, however, managed to capture and domesticate several of the animals. The rancher Mclintocks had taken over the day-to-day handling of the animals while Laura went out with the hunters to gather other animals or food for the ones they had.
Roy occasionally worried about Laura in his free time. And he knew Eliza did even more since she'd announced she was pregnant, but he was too busy working on the buggy and other projects to work himself up into a riotous dither over Laura's safety. Besides, she was a big girl as she liked to say; she could take care of herself.
Eliza still worked with Walter and the others in the gunpowder shed outside the main fortress, but she split her time more and more in the fort teaching. Laura teased her once when Eliza had gotten upset about Laura in the field…“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!” That had ended that argument.
Eliza didn't care much for the daycare aspects of teaching, so she'd taken on the Dask twins to help educate and care for the other kids. “See a need, fill a need,” she'd told Klinger and the council. They had agreed and provided her with work material.
Her school had started with the basics, but then she'd tapped Elsa, Laura and Roy to supply materials and samples. Elsa had supplied samples and drawings of plants to teach them what was good and bad, while Laura had provided sketches and images of animals. Roy had supplied some of his first home-made paper as well as lessons in engineering.
When it rained each of the other adults who were interested or had special skills took a turn by the class. Some were history lessons, others basics in kitchen sink chemistry or other common sense things. After a while the lessons became popular enough that teens and adults would stop in to listen in their downtime.
Hadji and his wife had set themselves up in a cavern nearby and had started working on furniture and other wood projects. At first the crude hand tools gave him mixed results, but he'd shown a great deal of patience and fortitude in continuing on and refining his products. They were still a long way from everyone having a bed and other furniture, but they were getting there.
One of the things that had surprised Roy was the number of pregnancies. Even doc was pregnant, and going through a rather vicious round of morning sickness that he was glad Eliza didn't have. All the ladies who were pregnant seemed to cluster together from time to time, discussing plans, working on baby items or plans to nag their men or others to work on said items. Roy was a bit surprised Laura hadn't popped up pregnant until she'd informed him she had a five-year implant. “So, I can play as much as I want as often as I want,” she teased, grinning.
One of the biggest hits was the hot running water they had piped in the fortress. There was onl
y the one shower, and usually a line to run it, but they had plenty of water since it ran through a boiler next to the fires.
The kitchen was growing into a full restaurant quality affair, complete with the small fridge, microwave, metal and tile counters, and crude shelves for cabinets. Pots and pans hung on the walls. A metal sink was also used. Cookie still did half her cooking by the fire, but that was changing. Betty was usually stationed by one of the islands, working through the piles of roots and vegetables Elsa's people brought in. The two chatted gossip all day long like a pair of sisters.
The community still couldn't store food for more than a few days; they had a lot of mouths to feed. But they were getting better at finding edible foods and cultivating them.
~~~~~O~~~~~
“This is…nice. I wouldn't trade it for the world now,” Laura said, tracing a heart with her finger tip on his bare chest.
“Well, I wished I'd planned ahead,” Roy admitted.
“Me too. I thought I'd been dreaming the whole thing, dehydrated in the outback,” Laura admitted then froze.
He looked at her, running his fingertips through her hair gently. “You too, huh?” he murmured softly. She turned to him, eyes shining. “I don't think it's our fault the aliens took us. We had no control over it. Well, yeah, we could have heeded the warning and stayed home, but what's done is done. We've got to make the most of what we've got.”
She nodded, eyes still locked to his. “Hey, I regretted not going with that Mitch guy. I'd heard some nut had hit MIT robotics and computer sciences like a firestorm, hiring off some of the best and brightest. Competing with Google and other companies for automated cars, 3D printing, manufacturing, all sorts of stuff. Something about robots on an alien world. Now I'm wondering if he's here too.”
Laura made a face. Finally, she nodded as she looked away. “Yeah, I heard of the guy too. Something about samples of animals? He bought all sorts of genetic samples from various zoos and conservation groups around the world. Some thought he was setting up a zoo or conservation center. Others thought he was a survivalist nut job. A real wanker. I…I thought he was one of those genetic guys, wanting to make designer pets,” she said, making a face. I'd heard he was into cheetah and raccoons for some oddball reason.”