by Mark Zubro
“No. One second we got what I’ve been describing, then a faint buzzing, then nothing. You know how we get a lot of atmospheric obstruction when the storms are around, well the signal came from high in the mountains where the storms are more numerous more often.”
Brux said, “I haven’t been able to solve all the problems with the interference, and we’ve never gotten something from so high up and far away on the planet surface. From space things work. From here, not so much. I’ve got more to do.”
“How far away were they?”
Cem said, “We’ve got the direction it was coming from pretty well set. Distance is tougher because of the mountains. If you could take a ship, it wouldn’t take long to get there. It came from at least a couple hundred miles beyond the farthest reaches of the current colony digging.”
Brux added, “The storms are between us and them.”
Mike said, “Maybe they haven’t been able to call for help for the same reason, or they’ve been trying to call for help and not getting through. They could have been calling for weeks.”
Joe asked, “What kind of equipment did they take with them?”
Mike shook his head. “They only took what they could carry, so it can’t have been much.”
Cem said, “I saw Karsh with his communicator the morning they left. I heard him say they should throw all of theirs away.”
“I hope they didn’t,” Mike said.
Brux’s voice was acid. “Maybe it would be better if they had.”
“Maybe some of them aren’t in the storms but on the other side of them,” Joe suggested.
“They went that far?” Mike asked.
Cem said, “We tried a full-planet scan again, but there was nothing. We called Brux.”
“And I called you,” Brux said.
Mike said, “We’ll have to send out a rescue party and go get them.”
“This signal came from above the storm line,” Cem said.
“You’re willing to go out in that?” Rix asked.
Brux said, “The storms are still raging high above. You don’t know how many people are out there. It could be one guy caught in the storm. It could be one of ours who wandered off.”
They called those who wandered off ‘drifters’, those who had finally broken or given up and didn’t attempt suicide in some dramatic way. They just took off onto the plain or up into the mountains. Most often they found the drifters by following their communicator or implant signals. They hadn’t lost anyone yet to suicide.
Brux motioned them to move outside the control room. They stood at the entrance and looked out at their world as they continued their conversation.
“Then it won’t take long if it’s a drifter, but you know it isn’t, Brux. We get immediate reports if someone goes outside, and we haven’t had one of those in weeks.”
Brux said, “I don’t think we should risk sending anyone out. The Leavers made their choice. All the dangers were pointed out to them in explicit detail. They knew all the rationales. They caused disruption and upset. They tried to ruin everything here. They made a choice. Now they pay the consequences.”
Mike spoke in his softest tones. “I’m sorry, Brux. I understand your objections and normally I agree, but we can’t let them die. We have to try to help. It’s the right thing to do. We’ve got to try and save them. And the storms are drawing back to the higher peaks day by day. The weather will get better.”
Brux said, “You’ll need climbers.”
Mike said, “We’ve got the most advanced climbing equipment. That’s one of things we did get that was first rate.” He looked at Joe who nodded. “Joe and I will lead a rescue team.”
Brux was undeterred. “How will you ever find them up there in those storms? We don’t have satellites circling above us as most planets do. They could be at the bottom of some ten-thousand-foot drop. They could be anywhere in some craggy wilderness with danger and death lurking one step behind. And maybe it’s a trap to get you up there.”
Mike answered with a series of questions. “How would they know we’d receive the signal? How would they know we’d send someone after them? How would they know it would be me?”
Brux looked at him. “Honey, we’ve known you for only about a year, but one thing those of us who’ve been around know is that you’re the responsible one in the group. You and Joe. You both treat this whole thing like it was your very own.”
“It’s all of ours.”
“But you guys are intense about it in a way that gives comfort to those of us who are willing to give up.” Brux shrugged. “And you’re right, really. I know, they couldn’t know, but it’s a pretty good guess.”
“Really, Brux?” Joe asked. “As a conspiracy theory, I’m not so sure that one would hold up.” He repeated Mike’s objections.
Brux said, “Our Mike has a soft heart. He’s not from here and the standard here is what’s in it for me, how can I make money from it.” He sighed. “They know he’d want to help. Yes, the storms are abating down here, but the going up there would be treacherous even in the best of weather. The storms can be even more capricious and far more violent high above. You’ve read the data. The winds up that high can be above two hundred miles per hour. You’re simply committing suicide.”
Mike said, “I’ve got my implant. That will give us protection.”
Brux said, “And if you fall off of a ten thousand foot cliff?”
“Then I die,” Mike said. “Is this really such a big deal? We’re all going to die on this rock. We will have no children. The universe may supply gay people for millennia. Or maybe we’ll learn to hide in the closet on our home worlds. Or maybe the Religionists will lose power, but we’re stuck with what we’ve got.”
Joe added, “And who’s to say even if they lose power, they won’t gain it again. Or, even, maybe the gay and lesbian people on the planets the Religionists do control might see this as a place to flee to, a refuge.”
Brux snorted, “A pipe dream. And we aren’t talking about political plots and pipe dreams, but a very real expedition into death and danger.”
Mike said, “We need to go. Debating about it isn’t going to help.”
For a few moments they stared out at the landscape then Joe asked, “Why’d they go so high?”
Brux said, “I talked to one of them before they left. They had one of the charts from an earlier colony that said there was some golden valley of great bliss far in the midst of these mountains. Ha! Peace, love, joy, bliss community! Bullshit! It’s still a mean, brutish life of subsistence living anywhere on this planet. I knew they’d have to call us. They probably ran out of rations. They probably need food. Their poor decisions and deficient planning are not our responsibility.”
Mike ignored him. There was no point in trying to figure out what caused the distress signal. They would have to climb and find out.
“Can we follow the path they took?” Joe asked.
Brux said, “I put some tracking devices in their gear. They found most of them in the first few days.” He harrumphed. “Everyone’s so suspicious these days. The last one stopped a month after they were gone.” Brux sent a map of the Leavers’ path to Mike and Joe’s communicators.
Mike checked his. He said, “The rescue call didn’t come from the path.”
Brux said, “Yeah, but like you, I don’t know what it means. I do, however, have another question. Who is going to be in charge while you’re gone? You’re going to be gone weeks. One of you should stay.”
Joe said, “Running the colony isn’t hard. The diggers dig into the mountains. The agricultural people look after the crops. They all survived the rainy season. The levees and dikes and dams all held. Things don’t change just because we’re not here.”
Mike said, “We’ll put you in charge, Brux.” He gave the man a brief pat on the shoulder and added, “Plus, I’ve got my communicator.” He’d long since calibrated it to match the radar on the screens. “We can communicate whenever we wish. We can have
set times to check in with each other. I don’t think finding them will be that difficult. We know the Leavers went up to the highest dug levels then went outside and headed north into the mountains. We’ve got the last spot whoever this is communicated from. If they’re smart, they stayed right there. If they strayed from the path, then I’ve got the communicator with its radar. You said the signal you got was within a couple hundred miles. So it’s got to be that close.”
Brux asked, “They left, but only went a couple hundred miles?”
Joe said, “Maybe they are, or he was, trying to get back from however far they went.”
The older man finally looked away and muttered, “All right, you’re noble, crazy, and want to die. Fine, but I’m going with.”
“No,” Mike said. “We need you here. If something did happen to Joe and me, you’d need to be in charge. We’ll call the section leaders. I’ll tell them what’s happening. We’ll need a few more men to go with us, preferably experienced hikers. If we get no volunteers, I’ll deal with that then. There isn’t a lot of time, at least not for someone out in the storms up there.”
Brux turned to his console and summoned the section leaders to a meeting in the unfinished amphitheater. They’d found an old theater created two expeditions ago and decided to make it into a meeting space. It wasn’t a high priority, so the rehab work was slow. If they really had to, they could get in touch with all the colonists using their communicators. Mike preferred to be able to see the people he talked to. Even when finished with its proposed ten thousand seats, he thought he’d feel more of a connection.
Half an hour later the section leaders gathered in a corner of the amphitheater. Mike explained the problem. When he asked if there were any objections to his plans, none of them dissented.
When he asked for volunteers, he was surprised when over half the men raised their hands.
“Thank you,” he told them. He felt somewhat overwhelmed. He wasn’t sure how to pick them.
One of the section leaders stepped forward. Mike saw that he was a tall man, maybe 6’ 4”, with muscles that weren’t simply the result of work in the colony.
“I’m Hok, sector five, a digger. Before I was collected I was a trapper and climber on Signius IV. I’ve been out in all kinds of shit.”
“Worse than this?” Brux asked.
“There’s nothing worse than this, but I’ve been in storms reasonably comparable. I’m willing to go. As the personal choice items, I brought camping and tracking equipment, as much foul weather gear as my load limit permitted. The foul weather gear here is first rate.”
“I think Joe and me and one or two more people would be enough.”
Hok said, “A buddy of mine, Kench, from Signius IV is here. We managed to stay together through the camps. We used to work together. He’d be good at this. I’m sure he’d be willing to come along.”
“Great,” Mike said. “It’s settled. The four of us will set out. How long will you take to get ready?”
Hok thought for a few seconds then said, “After I find Kench, about twenty minutes.”
“We’ll call him over the speakers. Why don’t you get your equipment and meet us in the storage area?”
“Got it.”
“What section is the outdoor gear in?”
Hok said, “Storage cubicle three on the first level.”
Mike said, “We can lug it from there to the landing for the elevators that lead to the outer sections in the highest sector in the direction we’re going.”
“No problem,” Hok agreed.
Together Mike, Joe, and Brux paced back up the ramps to the communication center. They paused where Eph was sculpting a new section. Three other men were at work with him. Mike had noted that Eph had worked alone at first, but now, under his guidance, as under Grith’s at the mural, others were taking an interest and lending a hand.
Joe said, “You’re making a section for Bir.”
Eph said, “None of us should be forgotten no matter how long or short his life.”
While the letters of the individual sections still seemed to sparkle with a kind of inner glow, the section surrounding each person also had a unique color. So the wall was multi-hued while the elements within each rectangle glowed. Mike hadn’t expected a rainbow cliché connection in the colony, but this was growing organically from the men.
After they moved on from Eph’s Story Wall, Brux fussed. “Two guys you don’t even know all that well. What if one of them is a spy just waiting to get you alone?”
“To do what?” Mike asked. “Kill me? We’ve seen how effective that is. For what reason? Because I keep an orderly colony? Because against all odds we’re building something here?”
“Mother worries,” Brux said.
“I know,” Mike replied. “I appreciate the concern. If we don’t get back.”
Brux interrupted, “You will.”
“If…”
“Hush,” Brux said. “No ifs. I’ll run things smoothly. Don’t worry about us.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Mike and Joe stopped in their room. Most of the men were at their jobs so they ran into few of the colonists. Hok had told them to bring little more than a toothbrush and one change of clothes. Mike guessed it was better to travel light than to smell good. He imagined most travelers before modern times must have been pretty ripe, but if they all were, maybe no one noticed. Or they all stopped at every river they came to and dove in.
They clutched each other tightly for several minutes. Mike let Joe’s pleasant tingle wash over him.
“Is this stupid?” Mike asked.
“Rescuing them? Has to be done. Maybe we shouldn’t both go.”
Mike said, “I’d rather we not be apart. We don’t know how much time we’ll have together ever. I don’t want to spend any of it away from each other.”
They hurried to storage cubicle three on level one. They found Hok and Kench sorting through materials and stuffing items into four backpacks. Brux had joined them. He had sense enough to raise no more objections.
Joe asked, “Do you need any help?”
Hok shook his head. “Naw, I used to carry over one hundred pounds at a time on my back on my two-year treks on new planets. This will be about half that since we aren’t going planet-wide. Can you guys handle it?”
“After working here?” Mike asked.
“It’s a lot to carry…”
Joe cut him off. “We’ll manage.”
They hefted their gear and experimented with steps back and forth and sideways. It didn’t feel bad to Mike. He realized the lighter gravity on the planet made it easier for him.
“Why are you taking that many provisions?” Brux asked.
Joe answered the question. “In case there’s any kind of emergency. If we get stuck, or get lost, or can’t get back until the storms pass. Or we have to rescue those morons from something they’ve fucked up. We may need stuff for them.”
Hok added, “If we go high enough, it’s always the rainy season up there. Which also means if we have to go to the highest passes the storms will be continuous, and they won’t be just rain. We could face immense blizzards. We aren’t going to die from getting lost or falling off a mountain. I’m the best tracker, climber, hiker in this half of the galaxy, probably in the top ten in the whole universe, and I’m here to tell you neither of those is going to happen. We have to be careful. We’re not sure what we’ll find or how long we’ll be out there.”
They all nodded.
Hok added, “Since we got here, I’ve studied the climate and topography. It’s how I spend my nights after my shift. I thought maybe if the work ever let up, it might be fun to go hiking. I bet it’s beautiful and pristine. And no keepers or leavers or Bex and his minions could hurt me up there. It would be a place to stop and breathe free air.”
“It’s a good dream,” Joe said.
Mike asked, “Did the Leavers have all this?”
Hok shrugged. “They didn’t ask me for help wh
en they left.”
“Or me,” Kench asked. “The fools.”
Minutes later they were ready. They proceeded to the bottom of a series of pulleys and elevators.
Brux pointed to the machinery around them. “Some of that is old. Some is repaired. Some is new. It will take you as high as you possibly can go inside and will save you days of climbing. This wasn’t available to the Leavers those months ago when they left. You will probably come out when it is still clear just below the storms.”
Mike had never seen Brux touch another of the colonists. The old man hugged each of them for a few seconds each. He said, “Be careful, come back quickly, we’ll track you for as long as we can, keep your communicators on, good luck.”
They’d taken transports through all the tunnels and inhabited portions and then used the primitive, for this set of star systems, method for ascending further. It was like riding in an elevator that lurched from side to side and jerked up and down. There were long stretches of what on Earth Mike would have called moving sidewalks. The men had been working on fixing and updating all the elevators and transportation devices of all the earlier colonies. It would take years but the work done up to now shortened their journey.
Brux rose with them. The five of them said little. When they arrived at the last stop, four of them hefted their packs.
“Okay,” Mike said. With one last look back they started toward the exit.
As the first turning, Mike looked back. He saw Brux bathed in a glow of white from a flashlight. He gave the man a brief wave and turned to go out.
Their plan was simple. They would climb to the last spot from which a communication had come and the direction which the Leavers had taken.
They arrived at the last landing before plunging outside onto the mountains. Mike watched Hok and Kench check all their own and each other’s buckles, snaps, flaps, and pockets on their gear.
Taking a cue from them Mike and Joe did the same.
“I still can’t believe how light this is,” Mike said.
Hok said, “It’s pretty standard issue. It was designed over the millennia for wild variations in terrain and atmospheric conditions. I once used one of these to walk across the lava fields on Blister Fiddle XV.”