Waiting (8 page)

As Lee entered
the shuttle, Clifton said, 'Captain. Wouldn't it make more sense to
wait until the shuttle is repaired then we can find the
terraformers with it?'

'That did cross
my mind. But we may have only one chance of getting off this planet
with the shuttle. I'd rather spare her just for that. The
terraformers each have manual overrides and can carry four people
each in pressurised environments. They are also all-terrain
vehicles capable of up to forty-five miles per hour top speed. We
can drive it and get back here in twelve hours.'

Clifton
considered that. 'Putting it that way, I suppose...Ah! Anne.'

'It could be
worse, I suppose. I'd say we could remove our helmets for a maximum
of ten minutes every few hours. Enough for the odd sip of water
until we can get in the terraformer.'

Jacobs said,
'Good enough for me. Other ablutions the suits will take care of.
We'll take the minimum amount of equipment and water with us and
drive back here.'

Fifteen minutes
later, the three had wished each other good luck and Clifton
watched apprehensively as Jacobs and Lee vanished like ghosts into
the swirling yellow mist.

Chapter 18

The mountain
Base was at the very limit of the range of the stingers range.
Loretti, Staples and Willis reduced cruising speed to conserve
fuel, but they still had one eye each on the fuel gauges. It was
going to be close. The Base loomed large, hewn out of the bottom of
the small mountain, practically impervious to anything but direct
missile attacks on the huge steel doors. Red lights on the stingers
controls flashed their alarms as the fuel petered out. They had no
choice but to land and they were within a half-hour march of their
destination.

'Will they know
we've arrived?' Loretti asked, taking the lead.

Staples said,
'An alarm should have gone off before we landed. But there are only
four to run everything, instead of the specified eighty plus.'

'Any idea why
Major Gunther wants to see you?' asked Willis.

'No more than
you,' said Loretti. 'I should have ignored him.'

'He is a major,
captain,' said Staples. 'Not a good idea to go around ignoring
superior officers. Bad for careers.'

'I could make
an exception as far as Gunther is concerned. Can't you two keep
up?'

The small steel
door inset into the huge main doors opened as they approached. Otto
Gunther stood alone.

'I am so
relieved to see you, Captain Loretti.'

'Nice to see
you too,' said Staples.

'Sorry,
lieutenant. Pleased to see you again. You too, Sergeant
Willis.'

Willis said,
'Is that right, sir? Pleased enough to tell us what the hell this
is all about? We did risk our lives to bring Captain Loretti
here.'

'True. And I
owe you an explanation. All of you. Follow me.' Gunther opened the
small door but paused to look around at the surrounding terrain.
'Sorry I didn't come get you in a vehicle, but I couldn't be sure
we aren't being watched. Come inside.'

They walked
across the cavernous interior towards Gunther's secure office but a
woman was walking towards them. She looked puzzled to see Staples
and Willis with a strange captain.

'Major Gunther.
Not making much progress on the new unit.'

Avoiding
explanations, Gunther said, 'I'm sure you are doing the best you
can, lieutenant Caswell. Carry on.'

'But...'

'Carry on. I'll
join you as soon as I can.'

'Yes, sir.'

As Caswell
walked back to the laboratory workshops, Gunther led them into his
office. Willis and Staples gasped when their major hugged and
kissed Loretti.

'Beats
exchanging salutes, I guess,' said Willis.

'My apologies.
Willis. Staples. Allow me to introduce Bridget. My daughter.'

'No need to
sound proud of it,' said Loretti with a scowl.

Gunther
chuckled. 'But I am proud of you and always will be.'

'I was an
accident,' snapped Loretti. 'God. What mother saw in you, I'll
never know.'

A pained
expression passed over Gunther's face. 'I'm sure she'd
wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment.'

Staples said,
'You chose your mother's name?'

'At least she
was around for a couple of years, unlike my...biological father
here.'

'Until she put
you into military school,' said Gunther. 'In her book that passed
for love and devotion.'

Loretti said,
'I survived. But what's your excuse for having nothing to do with
me these past twenty three years?'

'Your mother
threatened to have me shot if I went anywhere near you. And you
know her well enough to take that seriously.'

There followed
a heavy silent moment, broken finally by Staples. 'From what
Lieutenant Caswell said, nothing much happening on the unit?'

'Thankfully,
no,' said Gunther.

'Thankfully?'
said Staples. 'I don't get it.'

'Thankfully,
yes.'

Loretti said,
'This unit. What is it?'

Gunther opened
a small refrigerator in the corner of his office, took out four
precious beers and handed them out. 'A very important part of the
communications equipment for the mission. The Goliath and the
terraformers. Without it, we can't reach either.'

'How can it be
good not to be able to communicate with them?' Staples said,
sipping the beer. 'Isn't that what the Base is all about?'

'Yeah,' said
Willis. 'All us technicians were driving ourselves nuts trying to
fix something you didn't want fixed.'

'Again, I'm
truly sorry.'

Loretti said,
'Why are you so sure the unit will never work?'

Gunther smiled
and said, 'Because, Bridget, I've been sabotaging things to make
certain it won't work.'

Chapter 19

'This is where
you're needed,' said Polowski.

'It's my idea,
Dale,' said Joe Friar. 'Besides. I need you here running the
Goliath.'

'Oh, goodie. Do
I become captain if you don't make it back?'

Friar grabbed
hold of the shuttle's airlock lever, ready to seal himself inside.
'I should have come up with this sooner. I can be in orbit ready to
help if I'm needed.'

'Pure genius.
They get into trouble for whatever reason, but you on your own
expect to land, rescue them, then get back here in one piece.'

'Sounds like a
plan to me, Dale. Now be a sweetheart and open the hanger door when
I'm ready.'

From the
control room, Polowski counted Friar down. 'On five.' The floor
clamps holding the shuttle to the hanger floor snapped open.
'Four.' Landing and take-off thrusters started, lifting the shuttle
one yard into the air. 'Three.' One of the hanger doors hissed
open, the sound of the electric motors cutting out the instant the
vacuum of deep space became one with the airlock. 'Two. And one.'
Plasma drives kicked in and the shuttle blasted away on course for
Spero.

'I suppose he
does have a point,' muttered Friar to himself forgetting Polowski
could still hear him.

'You got that
right,
sweetheart
,' said Polowski. 'We have reasonable radio
signals from you at the moment. Enjoy them while they last.'

'I wouldn't
miss your dulcet tones for anything. By the way. If I don't make it
back, will you feed my fish?'

'Fish? You
don't have a fish.'

Friar laughed.
'So get me a damn fish. I'll see you in a few days. Don't go
promoting yourself prematurely.'

Polowski
watched the screen as the second shuttle became a a pinpoint of
light in the blackness of space to be lost amidst the myriad of
stars.

'Damn fool,
Friar. Good luck.'

Friar's voice
crackled 'Still getting you loud and clear, Dale. Later.'

Chapter 20

'Stop
complaining, Jay Jay. You insisted on coming with me.'

Jacobs pulled
his right foot free of the thick clinging mud. 'I wasn't
complaining. Well, maybe a little bit. All I said was, is this damn
mud over every damn inch of the damn planet.'

'Strictly
speaking, damn wasn't the word you used.'

'I thought I'd
said it under my breath. Talking of which, I'm taking my helmet off
for a sip of water.'

Lee said, 'Ok.
Three minutes maximum and I
will
be counting.'

Both removed
their helmets and sniffed the air. Jacobs face contorted as the
sulphurous fog hit the back of his throat.

'Do we breathe
it or chew it?'

'Again with the
complaining. Drink up and get your helmet back on.'

Jacobs did as
he was told. 'Who made you my mother?'

'Helmet on.
Now.'

The helmets
were locked in position.

'Now that's
what I call air,' said Jacobs. 'Are you sure we're heading in the
right direction?'

'Absolutely,'
said Lee, pointing in the thick fog. 'This way. Maybe. I
think.'

'You
are
winding me up, right?'

Lee laughed. 'A
girl has to have some fun. This is taking longer than I thought. We
need to pick up the pace.'

'Tell that to
the mud.'

Between them
they carried the black carbon-fibre case hoping they weren't about
to walk into a ravine. They could only see their feet half the
time.

'Spero has a
long way to go before we can call it home,' said Jacobs, making
conversation.

Lee knew it
could often be an uphill struggle keeping the reluctant captain and
leader positively focussed. 'Once we have the terraformers up and
running and the air clears of sulphur, a year and a half, two tops
before we can bring the Goliath here. As long as we know for sure
it's happening we won't go stir crazy. Anyway, for at least half
our time we'll be asleep in the pods.'

'So it's just a
matter of time.'

'Exactly. We
all have our jobs to do to keep us occupied. You included.'

Jacobs stopped
walking, forcing Lee to do the same. 'I never wanted the job. I'm a
scientist who just happens to be in the military and my rank is due
to my science degrees. I never thought for one minute I'd end up
with this job once the Goliath and the terraformers were ready. As
far as I was concerned, apart from overseeing it all back on Earth,
my part was done. I fully expected somebody more suitable would be
sent off to see this side of things got done. Somebody like you,
Anne.'

'Me? There's
plenty who outrank me on the Goliath. Both academically and
militarily.'

Jacobs said,
'Sorry. I didn't mean you specifically.'

'Oh gee,
thanks.'

'What I meant
was, somebody with field experience. You have led others on
dangerous missions, right?'

Lee nodded.
'You must have read my records, so you know I saw action. Even
killed my share of the enemy. But I also majored in science and I
was excited by the project. But you know what really excited
me?'

'Go on.'

'You. More
specifically your passion. You are a true visionary who could see
what we all saw, that Earth was screwed. But you could see a get
out of jail card for the human race. Once we realised Spero was
within our grasp, it was you who convinced the politicians it was a
viable option.'

'It took a year
of peddling that option to anyone who would listen. The war
stopped, then started all over again. Finally, I was listened to.
Simply because even the politicians came to the same conclusion.
This was our only option to save our species.'

Lee said, 'And
that's what I'm talking about. I'd never have that sort of
commitment or stamina. It's one thing to have a concentrated
military objective; go in, do the deed, out again. Having the sheer
bloody determination to fight for a dream when all around you were
saying it can't be done, that takes somebody very special. I'm
honoured to be led by you as are all the others. You're the one for
the job.'

'I...I don't
know what to say.'

'I do. Start
walking.'

Jacobs laughed
then saluted with his free hand. 'Yes, mum.'

Chapter 21

'I think I need
something stronger than beer,' said Willis.

'Tough. Beer is
all I have and that's in short supply, so make it last,' replied
Gunther. 'I suppose you would like an explanation why I did what I
did?'

'This should be
good,' said Loretti.

'Trust me. It
will be. A few months ago, everything was...normal. If normal
applies to a world on a course to destruction and a huge ship
taking our last hope to a far off planet. Here. On the Base. This
was my oasis away from the madness. An oasis shared with dozens of
like-minded people. We all worked hundreds of unpaid hours because
we believed in what we were doing. I could ask them to do anything
and they'd do it willingly.'

'Like you said,
we believed in what we are doing,' said Staples. 'I think I still
do.'

Gunther smiled
and said, 'Good. So do I.'

'See?' said
Loretti, tossing her empty beer can at the waste basket and scoring
a point. 'And you wonder why I never bothered with him? Mum was
right. He's best forgotten about.'

'Hey,' snapped
Staples. 'I like your father. I respect him, too. He ran a tight
outfit here but he was the most supportive officer I ever served. I
say we hear him out.'

'Me too,' said
Willis. 'Ok, Major. Carry on.'

'Thank you. As
I was saying. It was all systems go until fairly recently. Ten
years I've been in overall command of the Base. Not really much
scientific training, but I've enough common sense to understand
plenty of stuff. More importantly, I know people. General Loretti
knew that. There was a need for somebody like me to run this place.
She also wanted me out of her hair with the war going on. Anyway, I
took to the job and loved it. Best bunch of people I ever worked
with. That's here and those on the Goliath. Then recently, I
accidentally came across a top secret communication. It was
supposed to have been deleted, but enough of it remained for me to
get something from it.'