Cavalry

by Thorby Rudbek

  He nodded.

  “Like I said, I loved your dress!” Karen hugged Judy. “No matter what you find out there… your travels will not be in vain. Make a ‘log’ at the end of each day – or in the morning, if you get distracted!” She winked at the new bride.

  “Until we meet again!” Richard and his wife watched as the couple got into their battered vessel and the door squeaked closed. Rattletrap lifted from the floor of the Moss Room – configured for a day or two as a secondary ‘hangar’ – and, shifting towards the curved walls, shimmered out of sight.

  Walking beyond the ‘footprint’ of this departed vehicle, they came to a rather different scene: Penny-Lee Croft and Jane Kellogg, dressed in their figure-hugging spacesuits, as their next planned search area was quite literally ‘under a cloud’.

  Kirrina visually – and a little cheekily – mentally, examined the youthful team, noting that, despite their similar heights, the contrast between these two girls could not be more pronounced. Penny, so enthusiastic, Jane, so methodical. One blonde and brash, the other a dark horse and a thoughtful one, too! It will be interesting to see how they change, during their long hours of teamwork together.

  “Be careful. Send messages to the newly-weds, each shift, but give them lots of space, too,” Karen exhorted and advised them. “Meet up with them whenever you can and make sure to use the Medic each time.” She hugged each one in turn, immensely proud of their dedication.

  “We’ll see you as planned,” Richard promised as he followed his wife and embraced the enthusiastic pair, first Penny-Lee, then Jane.

  “We’ll keep each other safe,” Penny-Lee assured him.

  “She’s my best friend,” Jane declared, as if there was nothing else that needed to be said.

  They stepped into Rustbucket and waved as the sliding door descended, calling out in unison as the Hybralloy panel obscured their heads and shoulders: “Foruna finders flying forth!” As the door neared the bottom sill, their giggles could be heard quite clearly.

  A moment later, this Narlav vessel shimmered too, and was gone.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Puncturing prejudice with Scout Power

  Citadel drew slowly – at least as far as the visual impact was concerned – away from Rhaal, having left any atmosphere definitively below. Initially the only discernible difference in the view was the fact that the horizon began to curve, but the two Narlav leader-mothers had seen their world from this perspective before – just once. Kirrina was sitting in her special ‘Moss Room’ with Saarab and Darmid, watching the departure as displayed across the walls and ceiling. The effect was almost like being at the same location without any ship surrounding them.

  “It is a very big world,” Saarab commented. “This idea of it being shaped like the Poosta[51] still seems impossible. Surely the ones on the bottom would fall off – the ones on the sides, too!”

  “That’s where you have to bring in the idea of gravity.” Richard came closer to the threesome, carrying a soup can-shaped and sized device. “A very big object, like the planet Rhaal, generates its own gravity field. We have devices that can reproduce that effect – like this little Gravity Inducer.”

  “It’s very heavy!” Darmid remarked, after he let her hold it.

  “Yes, there’s a heck of a lot packed into that little thing.” Karen took it from the still startled young mother. “Look here, on the end. There’s a little switch and a dial, too. Can you pick up that hunk of lava?”

  Richard reached for it, but Saarab, with her much longer upper limbs, got to it first. She heaved it up, finding that she needed both arms to hold it up.

  Kirrina quickly moved the Gravity Inducer to the side of the unwieldy lump and turned it on. Suddenly the lava was as light as a feather.

  “Have you changed it, somehow?” Saarab wondered.

  “No,” Richard responded. “Try pushing it sideways.”

  She did. After a few seconds, it started to move at a glacial pace.

  “See? It still is just as difficult to get moving. That means its ‘massiveness’ has not changed. What changed was the gravity field around it.” He stepped beyond the lump and leaned into it. The drifting slowed and finally faded away to nothing.

  The two neophytes both began to understand.

  “Now, look at Rhaal!” Kirrina exhorted them.

  The world had moved further away – at least from their perspective. Now the curve was more pronounced, in fact, the curve was such that half the world was already in view.

  “It is ball-shaped!” Saarab exhaled slowly at the discovery.

  “Sorry to ask again, but could you ladies push down on this thing from your side?” Richard had found that the souvenir from the volcanic damage on Rhaal was so large that it was unwieldy. Also, it will help them to see that the momentum aspect works up and down, too!

  Under their combined efforts, the new rock began moving slowly down. It reached the still mossy floor and thudded into it. He turned off the Gravity Inducer with a sigh.

  “Richard is right; this thing could really hurt, if it landed on your foot!” Kirrina grinned, well-aware of his concern. “It was a bit risky, but it paid off – now you can see that gravity exists.” And if it had hurt anyone, the mini-Medic in the Pool Room at the far end would fix things pretty well.

  Satisfied, now, the four pairs of eyes watched the full globe of Rhaal come into view. Greys, browns and finally a view of a patch of one of the two small oceans could be seen, where the pollutions and cloud cover had briefly thinned almost to nothing.

  “Kirrina to Violet, take us to full acceleration. Let’s get to that entry point asap.”

  “Copy that. Full ‘acc’… now.”

  The dingy Rhaal sphere started to shrink more rapidly as the normal departure process was resumed.

  “Now, the next thing to explain is how we get from here back to Earth.” Richard pulled up a system map, initially showing just Rhaal, about tennis ball sized, much like the real world on the massive viewscreen that comprised the entire walls and roof of the ‘magical’ Moss Room. “If we imagine moving further back, then we can see the star that lights your world, and another planet in between, too.”

  Karen surreptitiously monitored the two highly intelligent but inexperienced minds, confirming that they were still ‘with’ the explanation. Oh, what a long way we must go, to show them this whole system, then the next star, group of stars… But it is worth it, to see their faces as the wonder of the Galaxy unfolds for them!

  ***

  Kirrina, Richard and Paranak were sitting in their command locations, waiting for the few seconds to pass until the grey nothingness ‘outside’ would be replaced by the welcome sight of planet Earth, together with the stars that filled that portion of the Galaxy. They had left their two most special passengers in the Moss Room with Terry and Violet. Todd and Spencer were in the Assembly Room with the other Narlav mothers and the Narlav and human children, where no views of the exterior were currently being displayed.

  “Here we go,” Paranak announced, for the benefit of the Moss Room party.

  The dark grey started to sparkle, then a myriad of stars, like meteors, slid across the viewscreens and settled into place on a backdrop of sparkling black. Central to the view – a compelling sight – was planet Earth. More white than would really be desired, but the oceans, oh how blue, and how pure and clear the atmosphere of this beach-ball sized jewel!

  “Give me short range scanner info, please.” Richard kept his eyes on the views around their craft, skimming over the home planet, looking for any apparent gaps in the star field, which if found would indicate ships nearby. He saw nothing.

  “Short range scans are clear!” Paranak sounded satisfied with this result – it was what he had expected.

  Karen took the ship down towards the white and blue sphere.

  “This is Citadel calling New Leeds SPF. We are back! Please respond.” Richard was anxious to hear the news but kept to protocol.

&
nbsp; A few seconds passed as the signal flashed down to the world far below.

  “Jenny Norrington here. You sound clear and crisp. All is well down here. Welcome back!”

  “Paranak, why don’t you go down to our passengers and show them some clips from our arrival?” Now we know the situation here is a good one. Richard released his Navigator from duty as Violet shimmered into the Control Centre to take his place. “Jenny! So glad to hear your voice! How’s the weather these days?”

  There was the inevitable light-speed pause, then: “It’s positively balmy here! We got to freezing – or melting – temperatures yesterday, the second day that has happened since you left. Today is still a touch below; you’ll need jackets, I think, if you don’t just fly right in.”

  “I think we’ll land on the tarmac, assuming there’s some clear of snow now.”

  Another pause. “Oh yes, we plough it when it snows, which it hasn’t more than once or twice. It’s clear now.”

  “We want to meet anyone that can be spared, anyone that’s not off on missions. We are bringing back the survivors we found. Three human children… and a number of Narlav mothers and children, too!”

  Pause. “Wow!” Jenny sounded amazed, and a little worried, too.

  “Don’t worry. They are wonderful!” Richard got Violet to send a video link down, showing the view from the Assembly Room. A small screen on his control panel echoed the scene. There were the Narlav children and the human children running and jumping in excitement. Todd was throwing a Poosta to Paranak, over the heads of the children. A female Narlav reached out with her long arm, caught the dot-covered ball and gave it to a very small Narlav child.

  “Wish Pat was here, she’d love to be part of the welcoming party!” Mrs. Norrington’s relieved voice came through after the requisite delay, plus a few seconds for viewing the idyllic scene. “”I’ll send out a message to everyone down here and those ‘upstairs’, too. I’ll ask them to pass on the news to everyone!”

  “Give them this brief message from me,” Karen responded. “Tell everyone that the Narlav women have been secretly kept in what is basically a drugged state for generations. That’s why Paranak thought they were incapable of intelligent action. It seems that a very small group of Narlav males kept the secret from the rest – this has been going on for hundreds of years. We found them when they had escaped out of their drugged state, and they are more wonderful than I could ever have imagined! Make sure everyone hears this; I don’t want anyone getting worried or scared. As you can see, we only have about twenty mothers and less than half that number of children. Rhaal is so polluted; we were amazed to find anyone alive there!”

  The pause was slightly shorter this time, as Citadel dropped rapidly downwards. “Will do! I know what you mean. This is a shocker, but the news is very good, not bad. My kind of shock!”

  ***

  Citadel broke through the cloud cover over New Leeds. It was late afternoon, early April, but the fields were still buried in snow. Only as they descended the last few metres did they realise that the gloominess of the afternoon was caused by some kind of dirt-like coating reducing the normally high reflective properties of the snow, and that the depth was much reduced, too.

  “What’s the temperature out there?” Kirrina had reached out to the large crowd gathered outside the hangar, curious to see what their reaction had been to the news. What she found troubled her greatly; a significant number of the New Leedites were irritated by the idea of providing a refuge to the mothers of the warriors that they had fought and killed. The level of irritation varied from mild to intense. I’m going to go out there first. Make a big deal about dressing our refugees in warm jackets and foot coverings.

  Richard looked over, then back at Paranak as the Narlav duly reported: “Just above freezing.”

  Come on, Paranak,” Richard began, trying to sound very enthusiastic. “If you show those little ones how to dress for the weather, they will follow your example. We don’t want anyone shivering as they get their first eyeball view of their new home!” This was said as the Patrol Craft settled onto the tarmac, ending their intra-Galactic mercy mission.

  Karen hurried into her winter gear and shimmered down onto the damp tarmac. No ice forming yet; that’s something! Perhaps if I thaw some of the coldest hearts, the rest will follow. No time to fix everyone.

  “Hi everyone!” Kirrina called out, shaking hands and hugging many of the excited GAF members. She quickly worked her way over to the strongest source of negative vibes, pleased to see that this person was not wearing gloves.

  “Ah! Reg! I remember when you came in, half frozen.” Not having the luxury of time for seeking permission, she grabbed his hand, poured a quick summary of the discovery of the mothers, the human children they had saved, the care and gratitude they had shown throughout the rescue and the trip back, into his unsuspecting mind. “Pat found you, didn’t she?”

  “No, Penny-Lee!” Reginald Brown was distracted somewhat by the question. His eyes showed the confusion in which he was submerged, neck-deep – he had never experienced the intensity of such a transfer before and felt invaded at the same time as he became convinced, as Karen expected, that the very personal account and vision of the rescue was the absolute truth.

  Karen leaned close and whispered: “I’m sorry. I can’t take the chance of this pivotal meeting going sour. Please forgive me for my heavy-handed handling.”

  Reginald nodded, starting to process what had come to him and beginning to feel some shame at his mistaken, misguided attitude. He was about to express this to her, but she rushed away to find the second member of her short list.

  Contritely, Brown began to tell those around him about what he had just learned – exactly as Kirrina had hoped he would. She repeated this process five more times, with the crowd getting more puzzled by her apparently random flitting from person to person. The ripples from her messages began to spread out, as inquisitive minds inquired and enlightened minds shared their new light or knowledge in the more traditional, time-honoured way best known to Earthlings – speech!

  Come on down! I think it will be okay now.

  Richard and Paranak had all the children and the mothers warmly dressed by this point and the whole crowd shimmered down to the ground, the other members of the expedition making sure that they had positioned themselves at the periphery of the refugees.

  Some negative shouts from the back of the crowd were quickly drowned out by apparently spontaneous cheering; those most vocal in their opposition previous to the landing began to passionately defend the rightness of the rescue, entering into heated discussions with the hecklers, which fortunately could not be discerned from the hubbub, at least by those in the centre of the gathering.

  The Narlavs, chilled only on their faces, looked at the snowy surroundings with wonder; the smallest ones reached out to touch the grimy greyness of the hard-packed snow, taking off their mittens to experience the coldness and to comprehend that it was solid, cold water that they were feeling.

  “What’s going on?” Paranak asked Richard as he watched Karen continue to dash around. “I’ve never seen her act like this before!”

  Richard smiled. “I think I’ll leave it to her to explain. For now, just believe me when I say you’ll be glad she acted so strangely, when you find out the reason!”

  Epilogue

  An extraordinarily silvery, egg-shaped vessel flew low overhead, glinting with strange hues, whisper-quiet and achingly beautiful, disappearing behind them over the low banks of weirdly tinted sand. The cloudless sky, empty now of spacecraft, was tinged with purple streaks and patches of green in the fading light. A deep blue was also evident, but was almost lost in the kaleidoscope, a mere hint here and there between the cosmically cracked components of the tempestuous thermosphere. The light of the relatively minor star of this damaged world shone almost horizontally across the peaceful scene, its deep orange globe sinking towards the ocean waves, indifferent to the damage inflicted by a str
ay N-beam or two on its tiny, though well-placed satellite world. In the wide loneliness of the location, faint sounds drifted down from on high, a kind of crackling or clicking, whilst the patches of colour merged, shifted and separated out again.

  High above the damaged atmosphere, unseen but regular as the proverbial clockwork, though far more sophisticated than such a mechanism, Patrol Craft Nine followed its slightly off-centred and nominally circular orbital course as it had for many days, Elimination-powered Drive hopelessly damaged by the same N-beams, the green, globular kind that was once generated by the Warrnam from Rhaal. The smaller, brighter and newly commissioned Earth-built and designed ship had returned to rendezvous as planned; this meant that the ‘crew’ of the silvery wonder would soon join the contemplative couple sitting so close together on the deserted beach.

  “We should figure out how to get that vessel down.” Richard leaned his head on the platinum crown nestled against his shoulder, somehow aware of the passing of this celestial rock, high overhead. “Any ideas how?”

  “I think so,” Kirrina sighed. “Can’t we just look a while longer?”

  Of course.

  The sun slipped below the watery horizon and the light show intensified, throwing a series of wavering shadows across the bare ground, keeping the illumination levels almost as bright as those from minutes earlier.

  Richard and Karen had agreed to visit the Little Gasparilla Island beach on the west coast of Florida and had let a very unusual family bring them. There was already some ‘spring’ growth here, as this was one of the parts of Florida where the snow cover had been thin or non-existent. The reason for their visit was the presence of a well-equipped, town-sized gathering of Floridians, north and south of this green space, enterprising people who had kept their civic sense and battened down during the months of extreme (for Florida) cold. Now they were chomping at the bit, ready to reach out and organise the plantings that would help to prevent wholescale hunger, panic and the desperate measures which had destroyed many other centres and disassembled the societal bonds of previously civilized cities – with deadly results. Within a few days, a week at the most, according to what had been promised, the first fifty or so of the Swindon-built ‘Honda’ EDEMs would start to fly out, spreading across Europe, America and Africa in the first round of reclamation projects, to locations pre-selected from the conversations between New Leeds and the survivors who had answered their radio signals. By then or soon afterwards it was hoped that ground conditions would allow some conventional air transport centres – airports – to be brought back into service. Commercial aircraft could re-distribute those willing and able to restore utilities and get agriculture going, to feed the world before it forgot how cold it had been and began to notice the hunger gnawing at its collective stomach.