tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30693120683068260462024-03-14T10:58:03.205-04:00Alternative FictionMy collected strange ideas and various fictions.A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.comBlogger188125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-26664166232752699712015-11-28T09:56:00.000-05:002015-11-28T10:08:11.135-05:00Table of Contents<h2><strong><font size="3">FAN FICTION</font></strong></h2> <p> <table cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" width="600" border="0"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="297"><strong><font size="4">Star Trek [Alt-Universe]</font></strong></td> <td valign="top" width="298"><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/m-5.html"><strong><font size="3">The M-5</font></strong></a><font size="3"> [Updated 20 MAR 2009, First Edit Completed] (long work)</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="297"><font size="3"><strong>Post M-5 Stories</strong></font></td> <td valign="top" width="298"><font size="3"><strong><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2013/02/post-m-5-stories.html" target="_blank">Index Page</a></strong></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="297"> </td> <td valign="top" width="298"><font size="3"><strong><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2013/02/relic.html" target="_blank">Relic</a></strong></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="297"> </td> <td valign="top" width="298"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="297"><strong><font size="2">Standalone scene</font></strong></td> <td valign="top" width="298"><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/universe-away-star-trek-scene-before.html"><strong><font size="3">A scene before chaos</font></strong></a><font size="3"> (short scene)</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="297"><font size="3"></font></td> <td valign="top" width="298"><font size="3"></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="297"><strong><font size="3">Batman [Alt-Universe]</font></strong></td> <td valign="top" width="299"><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2012/02/batman-alt-universe.html"><strong><font size="3">Index Page</font></strong></a> <br /><font size="3">[Updated 13 AUG 2014]</font></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <h2><font style="font-weight: bold" size="3"></font></h2> <h2><font style="font-weight: bold" size="3">SCIENCE FANTASY</font></h2> <p> <table cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" width="600" border="0"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="297"><strong><font size="3">No Greater Gift</font></strong></td> <td valign="top" width="298"><font size="3"><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2012/08/no-greater-gift-landfall.html"><strong>Landfall</strong></a> [work in progress] <br />[Updated 18 NOV 2012] <br />[Updated 13 AUG 2014]</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="297"><strong><font size="3"></font></strong></td> <td valign="top" width="299"><font size="3"><strong><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/no-greater-gift-earthrise.html">Earthrise</a></strong> [work in progress] <br /></font></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <h2><font style="font-weight: bold" size="3"></font></h2> <h2><font style="font-weight: bold" size="3">ALT HISTORY</font></h2> <table cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" width="600" border="0"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="298"><strong><font size="3">Eric the Red</font></strong></td> <td valign="top" width="297"><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/alt-history-free-land.html"><strong><font size="3">Free Land Index</font></strong></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="298"><strong><font size="3">Other Outcomes</font></strong></td> <td valign="top" width="298"><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/dark-dream-rising.html"><strong><font size="3">Dark Dream Rising</font></strong></a><font size="3"> (short piece)</font></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h2><font style="font-weight: bold" size="3"></font></h2> <h2><font style="font-weight: bold" size="3">SPECULATIVE FICTION</font></h2> <table cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" width="600" border="0"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="296"><strong><font size="3">Civil Arms</font></strong></td> <td valign="top" width="299"><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/citizens-arms.html"><strong><font size="3">The Citizen's Arms Index</font></strong></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="296"><strong><font size="3">OIF</font></strong></td> <td valign="top" width="299"><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/bit-of-fictionalization-from-iraq.html"><strong><font size="3">A bit of fictionalization from Iraq</font></strong></a><font size="3"> (short piece)</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="296"><font size="3"></font></td> <td valign="top" width="301"><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/kings-gambit-of-baghdad.html"><strong><font size="3">The Kings Gambit of Baghdad</font></strong></a><font size="3"> (short piece)</font></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h2><font size="3"></font></h2> <h2><font size="3"><font style="font-weight: bold">Alleged Humor</font></font></h2> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/created-at-muppet-labs.html">Created at Muppet Labs!</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/to-house-of-110th-congress-of-united.html">To the House of the 110th Congress of the United States</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/not-your-everyday-idea.html">Not your everyday idea!</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/learning-english-so-simple.html">Learning English... so simple...</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/times-man-of-year-as-seen-on-late-night.html">Time's man of the year as seen on late night tv</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/our-forgotten-seven-states.html">Our forgotten Seven States</a></p> <p> </p> <h2><font size="3"><font style="font-weight: bold">Other Related Works</font></font></h2> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/different-alternate-history-on.html">A different alternate history on terrorism</a></p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-19613395035190107022015-11-28T04:00:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:55:15.422-05:00No Greater Gift: Earthrise<p>Work in Progress as of  28 NOV 2015</p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthriseintroduction.html">Introduction</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-1.html">Chapter 1</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-2.html">Chapter 2</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-3.html">Chapter 3</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-4.html">Chapter 4</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-5.html">Chapter 5</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-6.html">Chapter 6</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-7.html">Chapter 7</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-8.html">Chapter 8</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-9.html">Chapter 9</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-10.html">Chapter 10</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-11.html">Chapter 11</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-12.html">Chapter 12</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-13.html">Chapter 13</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-14.html">Chapter 14</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-15.html">Chapter 15</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-16.html">Chapter 16</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-17.html">Chapter 17</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-18.html">Chapter 18</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-chapter-19.html">Chapter 19</a></p> <p><a href="http://alternativefiction.blogspot.com/2015/11/earthrise-epilog.html">Epilog</a></p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-30707475810947882242015-11-28T03:20:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:54:40.049-05:00Earthrise: Epilog<p>Gretchen looked at her father who had a large scale system diagram floating in the space around him that represented the Traverse ship that was being produced in part in Earth orbit, for the main interior components, with the superstructure being made in the Asteroid belt processing facilities. She watched as he brought in systems, and examined how they fit together and then ran programs over each section to give stress and compression ratios, as well as space field changes due to the PO artificial gravity system.</p> <p>"Dad, no one knew about the Olympians before that?"</p> <p>He turned slowly to look at her where she sat on a long stool next to work table that had the readout system still functioning on it.</p> <p>"I didn't know until just a few days after that," he said with a nod and a shift of his hands to move Traverse schematics out of the way, so that it dimmed out as he stepped through the projection of the ship. "None of them felt it was right for that to be out until they were all able to have a say in it."</p> <p>She shook her head, blonde hair slightly floating but then coming down slowly as it settled into place. Her blue tunic, black pants and green shoes, fit her form well and she looked to be in an age range between 8 and 10, although Earth standard age measurements were coming to mean little to those who had migrated permanently to space.</p> <p>"Oh, I see," she said softly, "that was because of Aunt Pallas?"</p> <p>He smiled as he went to the other side of the table and looked at her through the last of the text floating in the air between them.</p> <p>"Part of it, yes. The other part, I think, was some hesitation because of the reaction they had gotten separately during prior times on Earth. Some of that is mentioned, I think."</p> <p>"It is and in the other one, too. I don't understand, though, what it was that Diana saw as wrong."</p> <p>Pulling up a stool to sit down, he shifted his legs to go around the stalk of the stool and nudge the local gravity up to 90% of Earth normal.</p> <p>"Gretchen, we can only get some insight from those who interacted with her. The way she lived meant that little in the way of her history was ever put down. Aunt Pallas knew her the best, and her recounting to Marissa is what we now have as a good understanding of what happened to Diana. She is not that different from us, just with certain liabilities added to her fallen status. We are human and have human drives, good and bad, plus those that just come from where we are in life. That is as true of our Olympian kin as it is of us."</p> <p>"You met her, though, didn't you?"</p> <p>He smiled at her, nodded.</p> <p>"Yes, I did and you read about that. And she introduced me to the native peoples and I spent time learning to survive in the area, and listened to their stories and legends," he smiled remember those times, "and when the CME hit, to me it wasn't that strange, at first...but as things went on I realized that my childhood was ending much sooner than was expected because so much needed to be done."</p> <p>She shifted her head slightly and dimmed the text out and looked confused.</p> <p>"What is it, Gretchen?"</p> <p>"Dad, she didn't do anything bad. How could she feel so, I dunno..." she trailed off.</p> <p>"Responsible?" he asked softly.</p> <p>She nodded.</p> <p>"Yeah. I mean she didn't cause the CME, did she?"</p> <p>He closed his eyes, raised his eyebrows and shrugged, then opened his eyes.</p> <p>"My daughter, your view of her is not her view of herself. I can't say much that is certain, so I am not telling you that my word carries any weight because...I was too young to really understand all of it."</p> <p>Gretchen nodded. "OK, dad."</p> <p>"After what she had done she felt, I think, that she had been responsible for removing some vital part of mankind. The old religions, from what I understand and have been told, had gone corrupt, and the new monotheistic religions were just starting. Perhaps it was a single god using her as a means to wipe the slate clean or maybe she was responsible for the old gods downfall, but they were already in decline as it was. Even after the power to back the religions of old went away, the religions continued on but lost a compelling reason to be."</p> <p>"Not that part," Gretchen said looking at her father, "but the part here, in the story, with the CME."</p> <p>"That is a part of it as well, Gretchen. If I try to see it from her way of looking, and I really can't but can imagine it," he said with a smile, "not well, no..."</p> <p>Gretchen nodded, smiling.</p> <p>"Then she saw the world as having a natural underpinning and civilization as a veneer, a thin layer, on top of it and that is a brittle layer. A major part of that layer starts with them, and the Greeks and that was centered around Athens and Athena. Marissa traveled far to gather the last stories that were recounted and, I think, had to put some of her own conjecture into them. But if that is part of the way that she works, then she would also see the living presence of Athena as sustaining part of that civilization. Take her so she isn't on Earth and she may be able to regain her memory, but the necessary underpinning of civilization is gone and nature returns. It is a simple way to connect actions and events, and not right at all since it was widely known that something like a CME could happen. Diana knew all that and helped to make sure that enough would be left to help sustain what was left of mankind if worse came to worse."</p> <p>"Oh," Gretchen said softly, "so she didn't understand the mechanics of it, then?"</p> <p>Her father chuckled.</p> <p>"She did! Very well, in fact. I am here and you are here today because she understood it well. This is not a physical cause and effect situation, though, but one that is metaphysical, with links beyond what we can see or know."</p> <p>Blinking Gretchen looked at her father.</p> <p>"She was fallen, though," Gretchen whispered.</p> <p>"Yes she is, Gretchen. She can know that as neither you nor I can, but being fallen means the old ties she had to the metaphysical world were severed. At one time she might have been able to do so, although that is, itself, something that the others say is not so at least in the way we think about it. The sequence and timing of events, to her, would indicate this and in her mind that would put her responsible for the death of the old gods and for the deaths of billions of humans. She was the agent of the first, but not the second though in her mind, who can say how she thought about it or thinks about it still?"</p> <p>"Will you be joining the expedition to search for her?" Gretchen asked softly.</p> <p>He leaned forward and looked at her.</p> <p>"What would you have me do, daughter? It has been a growing question for me since the departure of Cordant and the finishing of Traverse. She should not be out in the wilderness of space as she is with that ship, and those that helped her. Even if that is her natural home that would mean transitioning to being people who only lived on ships and never on an actual world."</p> <p>"Dad...she is so loving and yet so..."</p> <p>He nodded.</p> <p>"...not, you know, flighty or something but...she sees things so differently..."</p> <p>"Yes she does. And she has honored her vows to those she loves, and all of those who knew her on Earth are now in space. In the making of Cordant they came, and now, even with expanded processing, we also have to build room for those from Earth who are leaving her for good. The ship and those who left on it did so for a reason, but what it is, exactly, none left behind can say. Because of her leaving, those she loved the most are now pushing very hard for the Traverse and the stars. Would people even be thinking of that now if it wasn't for her leaving?"</p> <p>Gretchen's eyes widened. "You mean she...dad! She wouldn't do this just to get...oh!"</p> <p>"Remember that Aunt Pallas made a promise to live with her amongst the stars?"</p> <p>She gasped seeing him smile.</p> <p>"But that's just so...even Uncle Herman isn't like that! She wouldn't do it for that, would she?"</p> <p>He shifted back a bit and looked around the room, which was spare as befit a working area.</p> <p>"Look around you, Gretchen. Isn't that exactly what she did to get us this far?"</p> <p>"Ohhhh! Uncle Ares is right!" she said with wide eyes and a smile.</p> <p>Kyle nodded.</p> <p>"She is the most dangerous Olympian of them all, Gretchen. Now think of the story you just read. If she does have some other reason to get us out of this system, she would push very hard at it but this time not with finances or resources. Mankind nearly failed the last time and it was a near, near thing. I'm sure she couldn't see the future, but she and the other Olympians do know about mankind and our history. Many people want to see the next place, the next hidden spot, or just wander and go beyond the known. But many just want to sit down, settle down and make a stable life for themselves. That is what is going on right now, those who wish to expand here, in the Solar System and those that wish to explore beyond it looking for new homes, and lives of their own. Which do you think I am?"</p> <p>For a moment Gretchen thought, not seeing her father just thinking about the question, and then she focused on him once more.</p> <p>"Can I come too?"</p> <p>"We can ask Aunt Pallas about that, Gretchen. She is Diana's sister, after all."</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-2764873665651611542015-11-28T03:19:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:50:22.151-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 19<p>"To all within the sound of my voice who can hear me and those able to see me on video I have a message for you: Hope is not Lost.</p> <p>My name is Ray Kaplan, President and CEO of Ascentech, Colonel of the US Spaceport Militia and Executive put in charge of the US Spaceport for external affairs.</p> <p>Three weeks ago I came to you and said I hoped to never be here again so that you could get on with the hard work of building your survival capacity locally, and someone decided to make good on that by threatening myself, my family, my friends, my community and the works we put together with our own hard work. That someone, or someones, are in what remains of the US federal government, although its not so much 'federal' any more as it sees itself the ruler of all it can grab. We were threatened by ground forces, force from the air and the sea as well.</p> <p>Today that threat has been ended on all venues and the communications capacity of the US federal government by space has been put to an end. A new government will need to be elected or the States come together to form new government that does not see the works of the people as objects that can be taken over so as to abolish the objectives of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Today I announce the Second Space Age in the form of a vehicle put together by a small group of citizens at the US Spaceport which ended the threats presented to their lives, families, works and sacred honor. In sorrow some lives must be lost amongst those who threatened us, and we did give fair warning as much as possible on land and in the air, and were a bit more forceful and rude at sea and in space. With good grace that loss of life amongst our fellow citizens of the United States was small and today we are utilizing our lift capacity to start finding out if they have homes to return to and then asking if they wish to go to whatever home or lack of same is left. We have done the same with those who fled the CME from the ISS and will do so with any who have been dealt with unkindly by the forces of nature or the forces of man.</p> <p>This Second Space Age dawned with one vessel called Meridian, a test and research vessel that was also armed against the threats of space and those that could be posed by man, as well. It was called Meridian as it had the potential of marking the division between times, between eras, between what we knew might be possible and what we now know is possible, and Meridian has swept through the last of the Old Era to bring a New One. We are now working frantically with any who have production capacity to start the project of retrofitting our older vessels so that they can now rapidly ascend to space with cargo. The cost, while not exactly pennies, is far, far cheaper than the Old Space Age's best capacity on its best day by orders of magnitude. This means that in the 10 year future I outlined before, we will be compressing as much of it forward as we can, since we can now work directly in space, on the Moon and will seek to build the first spaceships capable of roaming our solar system. In case none of that pans out, we will continue on our prior path, as well, and ramp up production as we had planned to do, and are now automating as much of that process as is humanly possible.</p> <p>Meridian marks the dawning of the day where we can now test forms of artificial gravity for use in space. That means that space no longer becomes a vast emptiness, but a place to build destinations to live, to work, to play and to then explore the rest of the solar system, indeed all of space as far and as fast as we can go. Immigrants who are skilled at mining, in all the technical fields, in machine tooling, welding, and agriculture in which soil is to be constantly nurtured and never left to chance will be welcome within the next 10 years to build a new home and leave Earth for good. To that end we are ensuring that beyond the mere survival necessities, and for those who see the burnt out cities on the horizon or are now in rude shelters braving the elements, you need not fear, we will continue to put together programs for you, that beyond those we will be offering technical courses so that anyone with materials, skill, ability, drive and willingness to take up new trades can have a way to a brighter future.</p> <p>It is my fondest desire that within 2 years we will have moved much of our combined operations currently at the Spaceport into space, itself. We will work with our Industrial Work Platform, the Highflight OASES systems and then, because it is International and we are the only ones capable of getting to it, the International Space Station as well. We will be removing the dead satellites from space, cleaning up the junk left in orbit over the prior decades which is a threat to all life in near Earth space, and reprocessing it, re-using it, adapting it or just smelting it down for raw materials to build anew. That is a much larger job than actually building a larger station, and once we start on it, then that will be the first group of people we will actively need: pilots for small craft to fetch and remove space junk. We have modified some open source flight packages for our own use, and those that have any computational power available will be able to get those same packages from us. We need skilled pilots as no amount of automation can handle the vast array and sizes of junk in orbit. If you come to us with those skills, be sure to have a good second set available as removing junk will not be your only job, and there is no glamour in any of this but hard, hard work.</p> <p>To those cities, counties, provinces or Nations that have need of the raw materials in the relics of the Old Era, in the way of cutting down skyscrapers and getting the remains to the ground in sections, we offer skilled pilots and their ability to do this with Meridian, which is also the largest plasma cutter known to mankind. No building is too large, no task of cutting so big that we will not deal with it. Clean-up is your job, getting it cut and as safely removed as is possible will be ours. We seek only 10% of the gross tonnage to take to orbit to build new facilities, and that by random cuts only, no picking and choosing by anyone. For free we will take down your cities so you may begin the hard work of building anew.</p> <p>Our work with Texas and having Meridian available now means there is a fighting chance that we may, this winter in the Northern Hemisphere, get fuel and power to sections of the agricultural Midwest and start the processing of the winter harvest and finish the processing of the fall harvest to useful though basic foodstuffs such as flour and cornmeal. We will be distributing that to every HAM radio station and every revitalization center now in place at old home improvement stores that have worked hard to keep their communities alive. We will do a simple allotment per person and we at the spaceport will exempt ourselves from a share. You must be able to contact us to get this bounty, and then it will be divvied up in equal portions to all who ask without respect to where you are on Earth.</p> <p>I am the President and CEO of Ascentech and delivering anywhere on the planet remains, to this day, our prime job and reason for being. Much of the building in space we will assist in, but the leading of it will be up to others that we at the Spaceport trust to do this and do it well. The only proviso is that if you attempt to unequally distribute portions, use food as a means to get power over others, or to simply rule with an iron fist, may I point out that we also have the planet's largest plasma cutting torch available if you decide to try that on any of us or our representatives? After your demise we will then hope to find people able to listen to reason and who have compassion for their fellow man.</p> <p>Meridian marks the end of the Old Way of power.</p> <p>In space the tyrant find the vast vacuum of space not to their liking as the least slip-up will yield them up to it.</p> <p>Nor do fools and idiots last long in space, for the exact, same reason.</p> <p>I will be going to space and none of us who are going have any room for tyrants, fools, idiots or those looking to live off the hard work of their fellow man. I will be working, and if you come, so will you. Hard work to eat is a requirement, first and foremost, and if you can't tend to a plant or animal, then you are no good to anyone. That goes for me and that goes for you as well. After that we will then have the joy of risking our lives to build a New Frontier for all Mankind. In a decade if you have a useful skill and wish to get off of Earth, then find a way to get a message to us. You have to have skills, ability, willingness to work, the ability to think ahead and, oh yeah, leave your damned prejudices at home since you will find space is unprejudiced to all who live and treats all equally without favor, without fervor and with a final justice that befits those stupid enough to not abide by living with their fellow man in peace. It isn't the end of conflict, I assure you, but it is the end of the petty stuff that has plagued us since the dawn of human history.</p> <p>Meridian marks the ending of that Age as well.</p> <p>I welcome all who can hear the sound of my voice to learn good skills, work hard to survive and know that a better day will dawn out of the horror and disaster that has befallen us all. Hope is not lost. Hope can only be built. And that is the hardest work of all as you will do it your entire lives. There is no utopia in this, just hard work. And I want to work with all who are willing to build Hope for our children, our grandchildren and all mankind. I can't do that for you as you must do it for yourself.</p> <p>I am Ray Kaplan and here is my promise: you won't hear from me about this stuff again. And if we do it right, you'll never hear from any of us at the Spaceport save as welcome visitors and those wishing to help you to a new life as you join us in space. I would like to meet all of those who can hear me, I really do. I want a new life with you, each and every single one of you. Because I do believe that you are the kind of person who can learn by the mistakes of the past and build that new future side by side with me, each to our own ends, and yet together on the greatest project ever presented to mankind in history.</p> <p>This is Ray Kaplan, signing off. Sorry for the repeats, but some of you are asleep and may want to hear this.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Diana slept hard and her sleep was dreamless save for the deep black of space.</p> <p>She awoke in a large bed with light sneaking in around a drawn shade and curtains, and by her bed was a figure sitting down lit only by the glow of a laptop computer.</p> <p>Gazing at the figure she smiled.</p> <p>"So I'm in need of a vigil?" Diana asked softly.</p> <p>Setting the laptop aside to the bedside table, it shifted to look at her.</p> <p>"No, just company," Jasmine's voice came to her softly as she shifted from the chair to the bed to sit down next to Diana.</p> <p>"It was too much for me," she said looking at Jasmine, "you've talked to Regina...and you...found out from your parents, my brothers, human sisters...it was too much to take."</p> <p>Extending her right hand, Jasmine cupped Diana's cheek and she shifted her head, closed her eyes and then moved her hands up to place one over Jasmine's and the other on Jasmine's thigh.</p> <p>"I know, Diana. She wanted it done, done quickly, once..."</p> <p>Diana kissed the palm of Jasmine's hand and moved her head to look up at her.</p> <p>"She was ever thus. I'm more cautious with the civilized..." Diana whispered, "...even knowing each of the people there it was..." she shivered as she stared at Jasmine.</p> <p>Leaning down, Jasmine placed her other hand behind the pillow and Diana moved her hand up, tracing across Jasmine's body until it arrived to cup her left cheek.</p> <p>"I am here for you, Diana. I share this room with Marissa and Brent called it your room, and he was right. You were the one we wanted to be with. And each of us loves you in our own way."</p> <p>Diana sighed, her thumb shifting along Jasmine's cheek, then came to rest beside her nose, her palm pressing fully skin to skin.</p> <p>"And I each, in my own way," Diana whispered, "fear I can understand and take, but there is deep feeling that is always there within me. It never ends and I am its author."</p> <p>Shifting her face against Diana's hand, Jasmine kissed it and slid further down the arm, kissing as she went. She stopped when her right cheek rubbed Diana's left and she saw that Diana had closed her eyes.</p> <p>"Let me help you heal it, beloved," Jasmine said softly, "so that at least it is no longer your torment but only your reminder."</p> <p>Diana shivered, shifting under the covers, moving to pull them off.</p> <p>"I do not want you hurt by them, Jasmine," Diana whispered.</p> <p>Jasmine nodded softly once, moving covers aside.</p> <p>"You will give me nothing you can't heal," she whispered "and I know that you deserve more than that driving pain and redness."</p> <p>"Yes..." Diana whispered. "Please, yes."</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-45471256159849477302015-11-28T03:18:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:48:17.467-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 18<p>As dawn arrived the ALV-I at the northeastern part of the spaceport was winched up a further 1000 feet as were the other ALV-I systems on their tethers. These were not just holding cables but also had communications and power cabling going somewhat more loosely around the winch cables. Inside the ALV-I, camera systems were sending continuous feeds down to the ground to give a very wide, if somewhat rough view of the environment of the spaceport and out to the ridge line beyond it. The second 1000 feet of cable also had another feature and it was metal cable netting attached between the ALV-I systems. These nets would span all but the last 20 feet to the ground to allow trucks, personnel and other equipment to pass through. Above that safe zone trying to fly low and hug the ground was no longer a good option for incoming vehicles like helicopters, aircraft or missiles. One thing that hadn't been easily noticed that each of the ALV-I systems had its bay doors open and that inside the bay was a solid platform that offered the ability to look down and out from under the ALV-I's and to quite some distance away.</p> <p>Tamara Culpepper was on that northeastern platform with Jeff Dunnistar who was her spotter and the one that had planted helpful weeds around the entire perimeter of the spaceport years ago when sniper training had started. They were native grasses and their stalks bent easily to any wind, and from above Jeff could make out the wind patterns of the ridge and even get a decent view beyond it as it sloped down to the valley and camp laager.</p> <p>"The arty is out of our range to the north," Jeff said laying down next to Tamara and using his spotter's scope, "they used the ATV trail to get them up there and it really is a great place to put them. All nice and high up, giving a commanding view of everything. Pity they are so exposed up there...must be freezing their butts off."</p> <p>Tamara shifted her rifle and was concentrating more on the places she could see and counting out the weed spacing pattern and putting her mind into figuring out the grid pattern that they made. Anyone on the ground wouldn't see the pattern and, as it didn't lay out lines or even have weeds at intersection points, save for a few landmarks here and there that couldn't be moved, she could get a good feel for the 50 x 50 foot box pattern just by seeing how weeds lined up over distances. Other weeds were left undisturbed and the ones that had been planted went to seed, and those seeds didn't drop far as they were not the wind-borne type. Even with some irregularities between the planted weeds, the moment she laid a scope on the area, she clearly could see how it was arranged. This now put ranging data, wind direction and speed, and even minor things like known curvatures of the Earth and some magnetic and mass anomalies into play. In 3 years the entire spaceport had been properly surveyed, though not by surveyors for property, but by people who also did surveying for other purposes.</p> <p>Between Tamara and Jeff was a small thermal blanket used to heat up the magazines and ammo, and to their right on the platform was a little clock giving them the time. The LED lighting was barely on inside the bay, and they had not lost night vision because of it. Now, with dawn approaching and the sun threatening its daily path along the eastern horizon, they would soon be in full sunlight.</p> <p>A few minutes to the hour they heard Gen. McKay.</p> <p>"What a moron," Jeff said as he settled in to getting wind speeds and looking at the table they had made up for the area.</p> <p>"Look," Tamara said shifting as something caught her attention, "there to the south of their camp. It's like a ring of...yellow-red with a black center..."</p> <p>Jeff shifted to look at the floating anomaly and used a small pair of binoculars to get a better view of it and then looked away.</p> <p>"That is the distorted disc of the sun or what it looks like as it is coming over the horizon, which it now is doing. Don't look at it directly for long."</p> <p>Tamara sighed, "Meridian is here."</p> <p>"Shit," Jeff said, "it looks like something a UFO does...just not as pretty as Meridian is doing it..."</p> <p>"Oh, they can go full reflective if they have to," Tamara said as she settled down again.</p> <p>Then a new voice came on.</p> <p>"My love," Tamara whispered.</p> <p>"What are they going to do, though? I mean they really can't have something like a Spooky in there, right?"</p> <p>Tamara shook her head, shifting a small bag filled with lead shot out a foot and to her right to block off the rising sun, and Jeff did the same.</p> <p>"No, no Specter in there," she whispered, "can you get me a reading for that first in line APC?"</p> <p>Jeff looked out.</p> <p>"You got range, windage is...now let me think," he said looking at the table, "from our elevation...about a third the normal deflection since we are shooting down... then wind... 6 by 3 and zero on that for a first try. My guess is you'll need between 6 and 7 then 3 and 4, but this isn't that normal, so you get what is on the chart to start."</p> <p>"Good enough," Tamara said blocking out what Ares said just as she did for the General.</p> <p>"Got IR on that lead APC," Jeff said.</p> <p>"You know, I think everyone has taken their helmet off down there," Tamara said, "and some smoke coming from comms pouches and packs, too. That main tent has some smoke coming from it..."</p> <p>Jeff shifted to his binoculars and took a look.</p> <p>"Yeah, even the arty range finding truck, the guys there are in a hell of a mess...same with those on the ridge...what the hell is going on?"</p> <p>"That is known as a warning shot, Jeff. Meridian is just clearing its throat. Eyes on the armor, please."</p> <p>"Yeah," Jeff said going back to his scope and IR system. "Guys shouting orders, lots of pointing, a few people with fire extinguishers...someone is getting something organized..."</p> <p>"Platform 2 to Platform 1, we will go on your lead," came a male voice.</p> <p>Tamara used her whisper mic and barely moved her lips, "Roger that, 2, we are taking lead APC, you have lead armor, the moment that front tank moves half a length forward, it is GO, over."</p> <p>"Copy that, 1. Meridian has arrived."</p> <p>"Got IR on the lead armor...they're starting it up... everyone else is mounting up...moving forward, headed to the road...you are GO..."</p> <p>Tamara let a round go from her rifle, and watched it arc gracefully down, the arc much more flattened as part of the trajectory was working with gravity, not perpendicular to it. It hit just short and slight right of where she was aiming. The first round had been ejected and the next was automatically chambered and she gave some Kentucky Windage to it, and fired again. This round punched through the top armor and into the fuel tank, followed by an ignition of the fuel. A half-second later the forward tank stopped as a round had gone through the open turret hatch.</p> <p>Movement in the air at the head of the canyon caught her attention and she saw that the fiery red disc was also illuminating the ground and a blue glow started to come from equipment everywhere in the camp. Small fires started wherever there was a concentration of electronics, wiring bundles or just anything flammable next to a stretch of thin metal. People started dropping packs, vehicle engine compartments started to smoke as did vehicle interiors where those on the inside were now intent on getting outside their vehicles as fast as possible. Slowly Meridian swept over the camp and it brought chaos, confusion, flame and destruction in its wake.</p> <p>"Jesus Christ..." Jeff said, "what the...I know we hardened electronics, but that isn't stopping this..."</p> <p>"Very difficult to stop an induced cavity wavelength at high frequency that runs the length of the cavity. And if you charge the ground then what you have is a current flowing through and around the cavity and resonating it. Even a Faraday Cage won't stop that, and actually makes it worse if it isn't complete and secure. Vehicles are not complete and secure Faraday Cages."</p> <p>"There's one guy on the ridge...tossed off his helmet, comms pouch...my god his watch, it has to be...spare optical set next to him...wait...he's doing something...well, shit, he broke off the antenna and put a white handkerchief on the end and planted that on the ground next to him. And we haven't even touched him."</p> <p>"Oh, no, we've touched him. Now time for the dirty work. Anyone trying to get troops to move out, they are the target."</p> <p>As she started to scan the valley beyond the ridge a sudden prismatic flash drew her attention and the men on the ground went for cover. Tamara drew away from the rifle and looked further north where a small spherical mirror was now floating just over the surface of the ridge, just a few feet above the ground...and going through the receivers of the artillery pieces and taking a perfect bite out of the gun showing the passage of the sphere. Only dust could be seen coming down around behind the sphere. In just a few breaths the entire set of 6 guns had been disabled in a way that meant they would never function again.</p> <p>With a sudden prismatic flash, the sphere disappeared and no distortion was left to be seen.</p> <p>"ALV Platforms, this is Ray. Cease fire. We're sending in the Sheriff along with our liaison and her second. Meridian has been in contact and they have exterior threats to neutralize since they didn't get word of what just happened. Take a break and good job! Minimal loss of life, maximum effect. It isn't over yet, though, so chill out but not down, got it? Good job to all! Ray, out."</p> <p>Tamara started chuckling as she drew away from the rifle and put the safety on.</p> <p>"It used to be 'smoke if you got 'em' but I ran out a week ago," Jeff said.</p> <p>"That's OK, never did smoke. So game of poker?"</p> <p>"Not with you, not ever again, Tamara...I can't afford to lose to you like I did last time..."</p> <p>They both chuckled and Tamara took out a flask from her thigh pocket and sipped at it.</p> <p>"Here, take a swig of that," she said handing it to Jeff.</p> <p>"What is it?" he asked.</p> <p>"Special from Dennis. He assured me it would both wake you up and keep you warm."</p> <p>"Thanks," Jeff said as he took a swig from the flask and then put it down quickly so he wouldn't drop it as he tried to cough and swallow at the same time.</p> <p>"See, works great! Now you'll be wide awake and warm, both."</p> <p>Jeff was finally able to prioritize swallowing and then coughing, then wiped his mouth, then looked at Tamara.</p> <p>"You have got to be hell to live with, Tamara, but in the best sort of way, you know?"</p> <p>"That's what Aaron tells me," she said with a smile, "and cousin Diana, too. Really, they can't be all wrong about it, I guess."</p> <p>Flashing lights far below drew both of them had them take a look, and they saw a line of vehicles started out from the spaceport. It was headed by a Sheriff's Office car, followed by another, then followed by van sporting the same insignia, and then by a series of buses from the spaceport, and then out to the west, the large rig used to move Meridian was moving out to parallel the procession of vehicles.</p> <p>"Say, who is the liaison that Ray has out there, anyways?"</p> <p>Tamara eyed him with a smirk.</p> <p>"Jasmine and Tom Burke has been given temporary rank to help her out. They are there to accept surrender of the troops, if they actually realize that this isn't going to be a cakewalk, that is, which is why we are still up here."</p> <p>"Oh, that'll be fun," Jeff said, "I mean if your helmet is a smoking ruin, and you've had to ditch your pants or shirt or both, plus you got burns on your ears, wrist, and various other parts of your body, plus scorched scalp...and that is looking to be every single one of them...why there is a good chance your rifle, side-arm and ammo pouches are also on the ground, too, although your IFAK has seen use. Looks like they had one guy with a pacemaker or something...shit if you have internal electronics..."</p> <p>Tamara shuddered at the thought.</p> <p>"Yeah, the casualty rate is low...but it sure as hell ain't zero, that's for sure. At least a dozen dead, maybe more. Almost everyone suffering minor burns, some with severe ones...at least they don't have to worry about radiation, right?"</p> <p>"No, no nuclear stuff. Just the standard sorts of radiation...and maybe a few people partially cooked in their vehicles, too...microwaves will do that to you inside a resonance chamber..." she said softly.</p> <p>"Dear god...and the only ones who fired shots were us..."</p> <p>Tamara shook her head.</p> <p>"As Aaron has said, there are worse ways to die, but dying isn't pretty no matter how many songs, poems or tales there are about it."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Ray looked at the monitor at the Event Horizon, which was putting feeds in from the ALV systems still aloft over the spaceport. He looked at Hermes who was at the circular table with him, as were Mary Weingarten, Regina, and Dionysus. They were also getting a live feed from a camera on Jasmine's shoulder and listening in on what was happening. The County Sheriff, Esmond Rosehill was framed next to a man with bandages around his head which included gauze pads over his ears. He was missing his shirt and part of his pants, as they had seen him walk in supported by another man who also had a bandaged head that showed scorched hair. There were burn marks on the second man's shirt and pants as well as large amounts of local dust.</p> <p>"Are you General McKay?" they could hear the Sheriff saying in a somewhat louder than usual voice after he had a short conversation with Jasmine.</p> <p>The man without a shirt had a jacket draped over his shoulders which showed the insignia of the Brigadier General and his name sewn into the jacket just above the pocket.</p> <p>"I'm sorry, I can't hear you...I got my eardrums blown out by..." McKay was visibly shaken as he looked to the sky, "...that thing."</p> <p>"I'm Captain Yates," the other man said, "and this is General McKay," he said looking at the General, "I didn't get it so bad and was able to get my helmet partially off but it hung up as I tried to get out of the turret..."</p> <p>"Fine!' Esmond said with a smile, "Well, whatever the hell happened to you, its over now, right? No more stupid moves on your part is there?"</p> <p>"No sir, not by us. We haven't been able to contact the flight supporting us or the <i>USS Elmo </i>though," he said giving a glance back at the men who now had some medical technicians from the spaceport staff coming from a bus to start tending to them, "and they had orders to, uh, continue the attack if we got hung up."</p> <p>"Crap," Ray said softly as he looked at Hermes, "any luck with Meridian?"</p> <p>"Just the one message that they were taking care of the immediate threat, which they sent just before they disappeared again," Hermes said.</p> <p>"Not good," Mary said, "if it is one of their laser armed jets, then...they aren't ready for this."</p> <p>"No, they aren't," Dionysus said, "while aircraft are very good with moving high amounts of electricity around the fuselage, they aren't made to be stop becoming a resonance chamber in an electric circuit."</p> <p>"Or to take..." Regina started, "...that phased ion beam..."</p> <p>"Particle beam," Hermes said softly.</p> <p>"...much of anywhere, right? I mean at close range they can concentrate that down with the radar system, right?"</p> <p>"Yes, they can," Ray said, "but I'm not worried about that. Their graves if they step into them. I'm worried about the Destroyer as it has cruise missiles and they could go anywhere. Would Meridian be able to track them and neutralize them?"</p> <p>"A full compliment of 80 launches would be nearly impossible to stop, even for Meridian," Hermes said, "but that would exhaust the ready supply of missiles and while depots will have more, they are now a finite quantity. I would think a 'show of force' use of one or two missiles would be indicated."</p> <p>Ray sighed as he turned back to the screen for a moment.</p> <p>"...its up to you General," Esmond was saying and Yates was writing down on a notepad for the General to read, "...if you want to surrender to me, then we'll be booking you first with armed robbery, terrorism and attempted mass murder, and most likely piracy as well, and then have to find a federal judge for treason charges for you and your staff officers...or you can surrender to Miss Pennerton here..."</p> <p>Jasmine started speaking.</p> <p>"You'll get a full courts martial using the UCMJ plus our interpretation of the Hague and Geneva Conventions used by local militia when called upon for active service to the State. That will mean one National Guard Officer presiding and 2 militia officers at a minimum, and possibly 5 total officers between the State National Guard, and the local militias in service currently."</p> <p>"That isn't much of a choice," Mary said.</p> <p>Ray grimaced and turned back to the other members at the table.</p> <p>"The immediate threat is blunted, at least, but with an on-going threat it is on to phase #2."</p> <p>There was silence at the table.</p> <p>"I won't stand for anyone who thinks dictatorships are a good idea, nor outright theft of property of civilians. The States can convene a new convention, but the active threat now must be served warning."</p> <p>"Ace and Jack?" Hermes said softly.</p> <p>Ray nodded.</p> <p>"We can rebuild buildings. I don't want to be in a war to re-establish the Nation. Ace and Jack, it is time to pull them from the table, for those poor men aren't the cause of this..." he said gesturing to the monitor,"...they are in a hard time, where their family or even home town may not be there any more. They joined the services for one thing and now this happens. They are not to blame. I hope they take a Courts Martial as I'll plead for a general amnesty for the soldiers and Capt. Frank since I saw his surrender flag from Tamara's camera. The rest of them can go to hell, as I am sick of this petty power grab shit. I have paid taxes, lots of them, and filled out forms by the truckload. Yet at every turn it is a stumbling block, some bureaucrat using their petty power....and now this. I tried reason, and they sent force. Now I'm sending force back as anyone who is attacked has the right to respond, and I am, by god, responding in self-defense to take out the threat to everyone here. And I'll help bury the dead if I can get to them. This ends now. I will not be a slave to any government and any that tries deserves what it gets in return."</p> <p>He turned to look at the screen as men started to lay down their rifles and sidearms, and give their name, rank and serial number to Jasmine and Tom.</p> <p>"These poor soldiers deserve to find out if they still have a home somewhere...not sent on some stupid scheme to grab anything that is still working. Texas told them: Come, take. And they flinched and went for easier prey. Whoever sent them should have gone with Texas. Because I'm sending them to hell."</p> <p>He turned to face the people at the table.</p> <p>"If any of you want this job, you can have it right now. Otherwise its Ace and Jack, as our hand already has a Queen and I think the King is coming our way next, but we don't get to there until the Ace and Jack are gone. The spot and the knave."</p> <p>Ray shook his head as he saw the others looking at him, and Hermes and Dionysus nodding.</p> <p>"Shit," he said softly, "I was sure someone else would want this damned job."</p> <p>"No, Ray," Mary said, "I think we all feel like that right now. You're just the one we put on the spot who can do the job."</p> <p>"Thanks," he said turning to Regina. "Let Alice know the telemetry loop can stop. A minute or two after that, then the actual rebuilding can begin, and I am still going to get off this planet."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>The image on the screen zoomed in and the coastline expanded, showing the street pattern and large blackened areas that were once buildings.</p> <p>Diana shifted in the secondary position outside the pilot's area using the OASIS II camera's system to look down at Earth.</p> <p>"How many is that?"</p> <p>"Every single one," Diana whispered, "that was one place that might have fared better and you can see on the island it looks almost unscathed, but the city portion on the mainland is in ruins."</p> <p>"That's...Copenhagen?"</p> <p>"Yes," Diana whispered as she shifted coordinates and looked down at Berlin. "Same, all portions, stretching far out to the surrounding suburban region...the swampland didn't do a thing to stop it..."</p> <p>Athena shivered and placed her hands on Diana's shoulders.</p> <p>"Passing into night..."</p> <p>"Some places with a flicker here or there, hard to tell if its cloud cover..." the global map overlay appeared in outline form, then the weather readout from the satellite covering India, "...those might be remote villages. I wonder if any of them got ALV-I drops? Ray really had such high hopes for the Jade Group."</p> <p>"The company that was going to license his designs?" Athena asked.</p> <p>"Yes, the same," Diana zoomed out and saw a vast blackness that had Northern Lights still dancing near 45 degrees latitude. "Nothing...some lights there, Mongolia perhaps. There used to be over 2.5 billion people from India to China and now...a speck here or there of light at night."</p> <p>A small screen to the side went from the Highflight OASIS II logo to showing a contact from the spaceport. The night region of Earth flashed from view and they saw Regina at the Highflight office at the Event Horizon.</p> <p>"How is it going?" Athena asked softly.</p> <p>"We're doing fine so far, Meridian disabled the attacking force...electronics getting forced current through them and other things that, well, if I didn't know it was Meridian, I would never believe it."</p> <p>"We did get some voice traffic," Diana said, "but the automatic relay didn't really do so well."</p> <p>Regina nodded.</p> <p>"We think that Ares has taken Meridian to go after a laser armed ABM jet and a Destroyer in the Gulf of Mexico...Ray is...he is pissed at the people who want to do this. He's going to use the billets, a couple of them. Alice will be ending the return loop deadman switch, so the last orders get executed, so you might want to see if you can find the cargo station near the WorkPlat. I still have to tell her that."</p> <p>Diana nodded.</p> <p>"I would really like to get Ares on this," Regina said, "but he is still taking care of business."</p> <p>Athena looked at Diana and they both looked at Regina.</p> <p>"It sounds like you don't like the course Ray is taking, Regina," Athena said.</p> <p>"I don't but then...trying to seize the spaceport for 'national recovery' reasons is just pure BS. Hermes and Dionysus seem to agree with him."</p> <p>Diana chuckled. "I can hear Ares now... 'there are two ways we can get this done, the hard way and the easy way...' and he usually is right on such things."</p> <p>Athena pressed her lips together.</p> <p>"What is holding the military command system together, Regina?"</p> <p>"Huh? Like personnel or what?"</p> <p>"Not just personnel, though I expect there to be a dedicated corps of people to do this. But how can they still coordinate this with so much down?"</p> <p>"Oh!" Regina said, "They have special satellites, most didn't make it but a few did. Ray really can't crack into those and doesn't want to. He hasn't touched them."</p> <p>Athena let a slow smile grow on her face.</p> <p>"Ah, I see. So there is a hard way to stop them and an easy way...and Ray is choosing the hard way going after the personnel and installations, yes?"</p> <p>"Well, the White House and Pentagon. Penetrate to hard rock under them and then release all the energy..."</p> <p>"But, really, wouldn't it be simpler to just...ah...take out the satellites? Do we have any arms here, my sister?"</p> <p>Athena looked at Diana.</p> <p>"Survival rifles in the Athena vehicles...mostly solid rounds, a few shotshells for each...they don't have enough energy to change orbit very much though..."</p> <p>Athena smiled.</p> <p>"But we do," she said looking at her sister who sucked her lips in and then started smiling as well.</p> <p>Athena looked at the screen.</p> <p>"Regina, we would like to do this to every single military satellite of every Nation on Earth, just to be fair about it...do we have enough ammunition for that?"</p> <p>"Yes, sister, you know Ares," Diana said with a grin.</p> <p>"Fine! What is the best vessel here to do that with?" Athena asked.</p> <p>"Well an Athena I, actually, much better delta V..." Diana whispered.</p> <p>Athena smiled deeply.</p> <p>"Ask Ray if that would suit him just as well, if he's handy..."</p> <p>"Let him know its a suggestion from the OASES," Diana said, "and that its an all volunteer force."</p> <p>Regina smiled.</p> <p>"You two...you will come back safely, right?"</p> <p>"The tedium of spaceflight will not kill us," Athena said, "besides I expect I'll do much better at this than my sister after I get just a bit of training."</p> <p>"I've never done anything like it before," Diana whispered.</p> <p>"Oh, a competition! I will win of course," Athena said.</p> <p>"I'm better with the fast moving targets, my sister, never forget that..."</p> <p>"I'll be right back," Regina said, "hold on...I just have to do it so that Ray doesn't put me in charge..."</p> <p>"You would do fine at it, Regina," Diana said, "I've always had full faith in your abilities."</p> <p>"More than I had..." Regina whispered, "but give me just a couple of minutes."</p> <p>Athena drifted away to another console and started calling up orbital mechanics, impetus, trajectories.</p> <p>"For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction..." she said softly, "Well of course there is! Someone actually had to figure that out?"</p> <p>"Putting numbers to it is the hard part," Diana said from her station, "of course natural instinct and reflexes can do much better if you bother to know how they work."</p> <p>Athena looked over at Diana who was looking at her.</p> <p>"I'm the better one with the placed shot on lumbering targets, my sister, don't forget that. You can do as you like but if you can't find the weak part you just end up with so many arrows in the beast it isn't funny."</p> <p>"I've gotten better at that," Diana said with a wicked grin, "through practice, practice, practice!"</p> <p>"You'll need all the skill you have, beloved," Athena said with a smirk.</p> <p>"So will you!" Diana said back with a wicked smile.</p> <p>"Oh, I have plenty," Athena said, "now what is the delta-V and fuel capacity of the Athena I? And stop looking at me like that!"</p> <p>Diana widened her eyes and blinked, and put the comm station on standby, and opened the webbing straps that kept her in her seat.</p> <p>"Like what?" she asked innocently, "I know all about how Athena reacts to good delta-V," she said slipping around seat and securing the webbing so it wouldn't float around the seat.</p> <p>Athena shifted to look at her, "Diana!" she said trying to come off as arch and offended, and yet it sounded like something else entirely.</p> <p>"Oh, yes," Diana said, "just giving the right thrust here, the right direction there, and getting the most impetus to ride Athena to great apogees and plunge to perigees, then back again." She had shifted to get her feet against a safe panel and then pushed off towards Athena. "So beautiful to ride Athena, to head to a lovely zenith of great lights and back to a nadir of enveloping darkness, and around to go with Athena, again and again and again, while all others never even think to look up and witness it."</p> <p>"Diana..." Athena whispered now having shifted to look at her console, but her eyes unable to focus on it. "That's not..."</p> <p>"It is all about skill, you know?" Diana said her hand softly grasping the seat Athena was in and then shifting around in front of her. "You always have great skill," she said moving to be between Athena and the console, one hand letting go of the back of the seat to have the other replace it and then her slim legs shifting slowly down, knees brought up and legs apart to begin to straddle Athena in her seat.</p> <p>Athena looked into her eyes and saw the face she remembered so long ago, the sweet face of Artemis. Diana shifted her legs to slide around on either side and locked her ankles to the seat's support to brace herself.</p> <p>"Yet there are things you aren't so skilled at isn't that right..." and then she whispered, "...Pallas?"</p> <p>Athena gasped, her eyes widened and then she closed them tightly shut and felt Diana's hands slip to either side of her head, and that the cuffs of the coveralls were gently pressing next to her eyes, tears moving to fabric and away.</p> <p>"You could not go to our beautiful sister Aphrodite, could you?" Diana whispered pulling closer, shifting to get dry material next to Athena's still closed eyes.</p> <p>"No," Athena whispered, "she would not...understand."</p> <p>"Yes, and truly she would not have had the mind to tell you what to do in your grief."</p> <p>"She wouldn't, no."</p> <p>"Our beloved foster mother, she would not have taken it well, would she? Be able to help you overcome the grief, she who was so grief stricken and sick with it?"</p> <p>Athena shifted her head and felt Diana shift her fingers softly to press to her head, letting more fabric take the tears away.</p> <p>"I couldn't...she couldn't..."</p> <p>"And if not her, then our matron of the fields, she was too much of the way of the fields and family to know how to address your grief..."</p> <p>"Demeter, oh I loved her...but no..." Athena said barely moving her lips.</p> <p>"And the girls, the almost kindred but never fully, they were also beyond knowing how to understand such."</p> <p>"True in all ways..." Athena said feeling Diana pressing to her.</p> <p>"That left the youngster who, by fortune, was also inviolate. Who also had suffered loss like yours. Who also had passion that she had to learn to live with."</p> <p>"Artemis," Athena whispered to open her eyes and then she saw the soft face of the girl, the loving girl, who welcomed her with open arms, "you made me..."</p> <p>Diana nodded with a smile.</p> <p>"You made yourself, beloved," she said in barest whisper yet Athena heard it clearly now and ages past, "and I would not ever let you suffer in such grief, nor ever betray your love. For all your skill in so many arts, you had none in this. Pallas succumbed to harsh passion of yours and you were bereft and none could know how to heal such a wound of a stolen life that you had taken. Do you remember how that worked?"</p> <p>"Yes," Athena whispered.</p> <p>"That was the worst and most foul act, beloved Pallas, that our father did. He made you forget her, and a void in your life opened up and consumed the all of you. Yet it could not be filled, but the only good was that it was the one name that you would still hear for yourself."</p> <p>"Pallas," Athena whispered, "each time you visited with me, on every day you told me my name was...Pallas. And filled my heart with joy."</p> <p>Diana nodded settling herself closely against Athena, who had her arms around her in turn.</p> <p>"You loved her with all your soul, and yet you killed that vital part of you and it was beyond your reach. You came to me who had losses like that and I told you how to build that bridge. Our father could only make you forget the bridge was there, the bridge to cross, the bridge to become whole, but it never went away."</p> <p>"I love you, Artemis," Athena said.</p> <p>"Artemis loved you, Athena. She died when the pain became too much, the blood too deep, the sorrow to horrific and I am left. And then I followed my nature to Athens and there you were, the unclosed wound of Artemis' love still true, still there, still alive, just no longer able to remember who she was. Artemis would be at a loss at what to do...but she was gone and I was all that was left of who she was. We are but girls, after all, but you on the cusp of being a woman while I am not."</p> <p>"You are very much a woman...Artemis..."</p> <p>"Shhh...Diana...beloved the greatest gift of Artemis left to me is her love for you. And, like her, I continue my fealty to you in full."</p> <p>"Always?" Athena whispered.</p> <p>"Who was it that helped you bridge your life and abridge your names?"</p> <p>Athena inhaled and her lips flickered with a trace of a smile.</p> <p>"You did," she whispered, as Diana drew ever closer, eyes unable to see more than eyes, dark green looking into dark blue and looked into in turn.</p> <p>"Who loved you to heal your hurts, and live with them?"</p> <p>"You did," Athena whispered shivering.</p> <p>"Who, even when she would torment you with so many little things, as girls always do, would be the one to help you with your grief, hold you while you cried and always be there as your shield for the war that has no arrows nor bows nor swords and yet cuts more deeply than any weapon that can ever be invented?"</p> <p>"You are..." and Athena gasped as she said that.</p> <p>"You may not understand why I do what I do, Pallas. Accept that I must do as I must do, but in all those things I will sacrifice anything, everything, and all things, to protect you. Because you are better than I am, and I love you deeply for what and who you are."</p> <p>"But I'm not..." Athena started.</p> <p>"No deprecation of self, beloved, you know this is true. No modesty between us as we are centuries beyond that. No deflection of what we have, because it is ours and ours alone. No nay-saying that it does not exist, for it does. No abasement for none is needed between us. I asked what I have always asked, as Artemis and now Diana, both. Acceptance of who I am and who you are to me."</p> <p>Athena closed her eyes again.</p> <p>"Always, Diana..." she opened her eyes to look at her. "You helped me become Pallas Athene...Athena... Pallas Athena Sherwood."</p> <p>Gently Diana kissed her beloved and was kissed in turn and then looked at each other in the quiet space of the OASES, the place to retreat from disaster, the place where survival is enhanced and lives saved.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Spaceport landing control, this is Delta Echo flight One Zero Seven requesting clearance to land, over."</p> <p>Lt. Pete Schiller looked at his co-pilot who was just shaking his head.</p> <p>"Unfreaking believable," he whispered.</p> <p>There was static for a moment and then a man's voice came over the intercom.</p> <p>"Flight Delta Echo One Zero Seven this is spaceport flight landing control, come again, please?"</p> <p>"Spaceport flight landing control, this is Delta Echo One Zero Seven, our aircraft is damaged and we've been directed to land here, over."</p> <p>"Copy that, Delta Echo, currently our main runways are sealed off to aerial traffic. Use packed strip indicated at Zero Eight Fiver, course Three One Three from your current heading. It has yellow and red landing arrows with mile markers and you'll have to do a visual on it, over."</p> <p>"Roger that, Spaceport flight landing control, coming to Three One Three. Visual confirms the strip, we have transponder readings at the end for elevation, descending to land, over."</p> <p>"Copy that Delta Echo, we will have ground crew to direct you to a taxiway where you will have to stay until things blow over. Do you have any personnel injuries, over?"</p> <p>Lt. Schiller looked at his co-pilot and shook his head.</p> <p>"We have three people with trauma to ears and head, as well as one with second degree burns over thirty percent of his body, and general hearing loss for all crew members, over."</p> <p>He looked at his voice system's earphone rating which was at ten, the highest point on the dial. It was the only way he could hear anything from the set at this point.</p> <p>"Copy that, Delta Echo One Zero Seven, medical crew will be standing by. If you don't mind, what happened to you, over?"</p> <p>Schiller looked at his co-pilot.</p> <p>"Nothing reflects that laser. Nothing," the co-pilot whispered into his set.</p> <p>"Spaceport flight landing control, we had a run-in with a UFO calling itself 'Meridian'. It told us that if we really felt we needed to see if it was real we could fire on it, but they suggested to just turn back or land peacefully...ah...we lost most of our comms with that...so we fired on it, over."</p> <p>"Copy that, Delta Echo. What did it look like, over?"</p> <p>"Spaceport control it looked...a few different ways but it was some sort of gray sphere when we fired on it and it, ah, reflected our laser back into the turret, over."</p> <p>"Roger that, Delta Echo. We'll have a fire crew ready, just in case. Over."</p> <p>"Yeah, we'll need that, I think. Doing one circle and then going to set it down, Spaceport control, over."</p> <p>Schiller didn't go into the details of the awakening of the entire aircraft to a voice that sounded from everyplace at the same time. No one was going to believe that... bad enough to shoot at a UFO with a high powered laser and have the reflected beam cripple your own aircraft. Especially after you were warned that you were taking your life in your hands if you did that. He had expected something exotic, like maybe getting taken into a mothership or having lost time or even anal probes and suppressed memories. That he could have handled. This was far too matter of fact to ignore. And that made it even harder to bear. This UFO was real in a way that no one could ever deny.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Looking at the screen as Meridian hovered over the <i>USS Elmo</i>, Ares shook his head.</p> <p>"I don't think you should have put as much in the way of amperage into that last message..." he said watching the smoke coming out of the open hatches of the ship.</p> <p>Kevin watched the scene from the mid station and sighed.</p> <p>"Well, I thought the sea water would conduct most of it around the ship...that's why I asked for the plasma engines so we could get a direct MHD boost..."</p> <p>"And boost they did!" Karl said looking at a side monitor so he could keep track of what was going on. "I didn't think the plasma flux would flow around the interface like that, though, and go out with the boosted ion beam. It channeled the beam and gave it a plasma ring around it."</p> <p>Ares guided Meridian slowly around the destroyer and looked at the damage to the mid-ship region and the hole going through it and down into the bowels of the vessel. From there was a neat line drawn to port rear which was the relative path of Meridian to <i>Elmo </i>when Ares first making his announcement. The hole was less than a foot across, and yet it cut neatly into the vessel at all points along its path.</p> <p>"I don't think it reaches down to the nuclear power plants..." Ares whispered as he saw flames start to lap out of the line along the rear of the vessel.</p> <p>"There are bubbles coming out from under the ship," Kevin said in a whisper, "and the...well...was that a hot or cold plasma? Because I don't think that cold plasma can, uh, do that to metal or composites... mind if we shift the alignment to let some of the lighter particles through? Should be safe enough at this distance, but if there are x-rays, then that will tell us everything we need to know..."</p> <p>"Go ahead," Ares said as he watched water start to come up in small geysers along the hole that had been made, "but I think I already have my answer. Do we have an ETA on the coast guard?"</p> <p>"Yeah," Kevin said, "about a half-hour."</p> <p>After a brief shift of colors the scene of the <i>Elmo </i>became a bit clearer, and Kevin looked at his sensor readings, which were also going to Karl as well.</p> <p>"Well let them know that if it can be salvaged, they'll need radiation suits. Beyond that there isn't one thing electrical working on that ship, not one bit of RFI to be seen beyond background."</p> <p>"Relay that, would you Kevin? And let them know we can't really help much in rescue, since Meridian isn't made for that."</p> <p>"Doing that, Aaron."</p> <p>"These are the sorts of problems you run across with new designs, you know?" Karl said, "Normally they are on the failure side of things, but once in awhile you get something that surprises you in a different way."</p> <p>Slowly Meridian pulled away and those men who had gotten on deck looked up at the swirling colors of the sphere that was the interface around Meridian.</p> <p>"Back to orbit, and I think I know how we can pretty easily change our in-frame velocity when the interface isn't on," Ares said as the <i>USS Elmo </i>became smaller and then turned into a dot on the ocean and then disappeared as the curvature of the Earth appeared.</p> <p>"Yeah, we'll have to drop some after that," Karl said.</p> <p>"How are we going to do it?" Kevin asked.</p> <p>"Simple. Gravity doesn't fail. Point away from Earth and we will slow down as gravity starts to cancel forward velocity. Point towards it and we will accelerate with the force of gravity. Turn on the interface, shift to where the velocity we have will get us an orbit and then go there. Simple. We can even get within 80 feet of the ground that way, but we still can't land. I never thought that this thing would ever be able to get back to the surface again."</p> <p>"Yeah we just have to retrofit some legs on it, huh? And really big springs and shock-absorbers. Just a little side project, I guess," Karl said, "that we might get to some year. But I can see that having the world's largest plasma cutter will keep us in business for decades, since someone has to start pulling down those skyscrapers in the cities around the planet for salvage. And we have just the thing to do it! Meridian will more than earn her keep for a long time to come, just doing that."</p> <p>"Why not just shift the ME part of the drive? We might use up our battery system, but all we need to do is overcome most of gravity and set it down on the cradle we built it on."</p> <p>"That will need extra padding," Karl said, "hard rubber isn't bad for keeping something in place on the ground, but it isn't a good shock-absorber."</p> <p>"How about different densities of foam?" Ares asked softly, "with some mattresses between the two cradle pieces and then layered dense foam then less dense foam and finally open-cell foam on top of that. Duct tape it in place and spray paint the cradle positions on it."</p> <p>"Might just work at that," Karl said.</p> <p>"How fast can we switch between the P-part of the drive and MEW-part?" Kevin asked.</p> <p>"Why that is damned simple as all you need is the simple vibration capacity of the array! Orient the array up, turn on the MEW system and then cut the power to the P, and we should hover just as pretty as you please for a few minutes, maybe even an hour. More than enough for a decent pilot to get us onto a cushioned landing spot."</p> <p>"That's a plan, then," Ares said, "now lets get a bit further out and kill some velocity...prepare to put the P drive on standby..."</p> <p>"Ready when you are," Karl said.</p> <p>"Kevin, get us ready for all the comms we can grab."</p> <p>"Ready and waiting," Kevin said.</p> <p>The reflective surface around Meridian high above Earth glowed in its blue, green, brown and white colors, while the white star that is the sun made a halo around it. Then it disappeared and the comms traffic came in.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Ray looked at Regina and then at the others around the table.</p> <p>"She's serious?" he whispered.</p> <p>Regina nodded.</p> <p>"Yes, take an Athena I with survival rifle, which can also handle shotshells, and get within orbital velocity and aiming distance of every military satellite up there, and shoot its comms out."</p> <p>"Actually, she could just get next to it and take one of the portable torches from one of the OASIS platforms," Hermes said with a grin.</p> <p>"No, not all of them," Ray said in a whisper, "I don't need extra fights right now..."</p> <p>"Give her some due, Ray," Mary said, "she came up with something a bit less destructive and yet just as effective."</p> <p>Ray smiled and shook his head.</p> <p>"Thank god I got to Darlene before meeting her," Ray said.</p> <p>"So say we all," Dionysus said, "besides that is a fate worse than death, and Darlene is much better suited to you."</p> <p>Ray looked at Regina.</p> <p>"Would you like this job, Regina? I'd gladly hand it to you..."</p> <p>"And leave you to take care of Mark and Lisa?" she asked with a smile, "and Herman and Brent to deal with?"</p> <p>Ray looked at Hermes and Regina as they held hands.</p> <p>"No, that's more than I can handle. A man has to know his limits. Tell Alice to stand down and give a Green light to Diana. Just as long as there's enough spare fuel up there to get her back down..." he said looking at Hermes who nodded.</p> <p>"We have more fuel sticks, though not many. We're trying to find someone who can manufacture more of them either in Texas or Israel."</p> <p>Ray shrugged.</p> <p>"We'll blow that bridge up when we get to it. Give the go-ahead, Regina and...thank Diana for me on this. This way we can still settle things peacefully, and if they don't want to do that, then we can still hand their asses to them."</p> <p>"Thanks, Ray. I'll be right back."</p> <p>Regina hurried out of the Horizon's side room and to the rear rooms and went to the comms room, where she was now linked to the OASES and Meridian.</p> <p>"We can handle this with single shots from the minigun," Ares said on the left portion of the divided screen.</p> <p>"It was Pallas' idea, first," Diana said with Athena's arms around her and her body floating behind the comms station with her head next to Diana's.</p> <p>Ares looked at the screen with the faceplate of his suit's helmet raised.</p> <p>"Its a waste of fuel," he said softly, "we can finish the job in an hour, two tops. You would be days getting it done with an Athena I..."</p> <p>"Besides its a one-seater," Kevin could be heard clearly from his pick-up, "how would the two of you do it with an Athena I?"</p> <p>"Don't be stupid, Kevin," Karl said, "I know how I would do it and you see how close they are, right?"</p> <p>"Oh," Kevin said softly.</p> <p>Regina shook her head as she chuckled and decided to call up Alice first, muting the sound from the on-going conversation.</p> <p>"Alice?"</p> <p>"Regina! Meridian contacted us and just wanted to get their comms shifted to you. Did you get them?"</p> <p>"Yes, we did," Regina said looking at the small window on the main monitor, "Ray is giving the stand-down for the billets. Cancel them. We have other plans to take care of the problem now."</p> <p>Alice breathed a sigh of relief.</p> <p>"You don't know how much that means to me, Regina," Alice said shifting to talk to a man sitting in the chair next to her who nodded and started entering data into his terminal.</p> <p>"And me. Now I need to intercede in a family squabble, so have to let you go, now."</p> <p>"I hear you," Alice said with a smile, "Good luck with Mark and Lisa."</p> <p>"I should be so lucky. Call back in a few. Bye-bye."</p> <p>Regina killed that data link and then opened hers to the conversation going on between the odd assortment of people in orbit.</p> <p>"You could just come by and we could jump to Meridian..." Athena was saying.</p> <p>"If I may?" Regina said as she opened the transmission link and everyone stopped talking.</p> <p>"Regina!" Athena said, "What's the word?"</p> <p>"Ray has given the OK for Diana to take out US military satellites only, which you can easily get by a look-up on the list we sent up."</p> <p>"Good!" Diana said with a smile. "That settles it, then."</p> <p>"Still too much fuel use," Ares said softly, "and if you are really set on it, then it will have to be a 5-way match."</p> <p>Pallas smiled. "Why, I welcome the competition," she said softly.</p> <p>"We each get a shot at the same target. We'll use the flight systems to record hits and where they went, but we are stuck with whatever our rifles have and the optics available, which are all iron sights."</p> <p>"You're turning this into a shooting competition?" Regina asked softly.</p> <p>"Why sure, darling," Karl said, "it's all over except for the shooting. Haven't you heard that phrase before?"</p> <p>Regina tried to not laugh, but the situation and its absurdities along with the real problems of reality became too much and she burst out in laughter. It wasn't hysterical laughter but it was hard to control.</p> <p>"Right, I'll get us a decent orbital match for the OASES," Kevin said in the background.</p> <p>"And while he is doing that," Ares said, "we need a quick conference, Regina. When you can get yourself under control..." he said with a smile.</p> <p>"I...you people! You're just all crazy, you know that, right?"</p> <p>"Of course we are," Diana said softly, "and so are you. The rest of the world is just going to have to catch up."</p> <p>"But it is serious, Regina. I've been looking through the data you've had for us on the ground, but there and at Ascentech, and once Lenny, Esme, Jasmine and Marissa get done hauling the hulks out of the valley, then we will need the crawler to be cushioned with mattresses, high density foam and low density foam."</p> <p>Regina finally got her laughter controlled as she realized Ares was serious.</p> <p>"OK, that should be easy. But why?"</p> <p>"We are going to match orbital velocity with the spaceport, and then use the MEW part of the drive to descend the last 80 feet onto the cradle of the crawler and the crawler isn't built with anything to absorb the weight like that, and we need some cushioning. Once we are done with the competition, we'll let the two jump seats down in Meridian and we will all get back on the ground. We now have the next step of space travel, and it will beat anything the last generation ever created to hell and gone. Once we are on the ground we will all have to have a sit-down with Ray and start compressing timetables Meridian works, more or less, and the more part of it will now allow us to start a steep ramping up of work in space."</p> <p>"Aye," Karl said, "and I've got a couple of ideas that I want to pass by Brent for using the thing for artificial gravity. Maybe not like in the movies, you know? But it should be good enough to keep people in shape."</p> <p>"What?" Diana asked softly, "Really Karl?"</p> <p>"Yah. Next up after that is talking to Dennis. Gravity, atmosphere, food and beer. We need beer up here. Priorities, you know?"</p> <p>"You're all coming home?" Regina asked.</p> <p>"Yes," Ares said, "We've put off things too long. It's time to get the hard work started."</p> <p>"Of course," Diana said, "hard work, food then fun."</p> <p>"Right after the competition," Athena said with a wicked smile, "nothing like a little friendly competition!"</p> <p>"I'll contact Ray...then...just take care, OK?"</p> <p>"We will," Ares said, "we've gotten the correct velocity for the OASES and are now heading there. We'll wait at OASES while you get things straightened out down there. Let us know when the cradle is ready for us."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"You know, I shouldn't be taking up your room here at the Event Horizon," Ray said looking at Hermes.</p> <p>"Ray, I don't mind and since the CME I doubt that we will get parties big enough to warrant its use for at least another year or two," he said.</p> <p>Seated around the table at the closed door meeting with Ray, Darlene, Karl, Alice, Bill, Kevin and Harry, were all the members of the extended family that had come together at the spaceport.</p> <p>"Well, all of you asked to see us," Ray said, "and so we are here. What's up?"</p> <p>"Part of it is business, Ray," Dionysus said as he looked at Gemma and then Jasmine who was sitting next to Athena, "but most of it is personal. You've met cousin Pallas after her return and we talked together about what to do, once things settled down. Since much of it meant things that were somewhat unusual, that meant having to bring in more people, and you are the first we need to talk to."</p> <p>"Is this about what," she looked at Brent and Regina, "what we talked about?"</p> <p>"Some, yes, Mrs. Kaplan. But it is more than that. Much more. The flight of Meridian is changing space travel for good, and that is part of it. But only part of our..." he looked around the table, "...we are a large family of sorts, aren't we?"</p> <p>"Yes," Diana said softly looking at Athena then Jasmine, then turning to look at Alice. "After Ray, you've known me the longest, I think, Alice."</p> <p>Alice nodded. "You were someone different, that's for sure. You helped us out more than I had ever expected."</p> <p>"It wasn't easy, was it? I did not want to trample on your dream, but help to get them fulfilled. Forgive me for that?"</p> <p>"Of course," Alice whispered, "I'm here because...of what you did."</p> <p>"We all are," Ares said, holding Tamara's hand on the table, "and people that we did not know have grown to know us and be close to us because of that. Plus we got our lost cousin out of Greece," he said with a smile at Athena.</p> <p>"Ray, Alice...there are just so many here..." Athena said, "I'm the newcomer and yet, my being here is the end of a long, long series of events all aimed at my rescue."</p> <p>"Pallas, what had happened to you?" Darlene asked softly.</p> <p>"For that, Mrs. Kaplan, you will have to know who I was...who I am. My name is Pallas, and it is suitable for me. But my family knew me as Athena, then Pallas Athene. Now Pallas Athena Sherwood. All of my cousins are, actually, half- or step- siblings to me, and I have but one parent who turned on all of our family. I could not have gotten to be here without the hard work of my brothers and sister who remained alive. Hermes, beloved brother and sister both, he was the one who found my body and kept it from being swept into the Underworld."</p> <p>"What?" Harry asked softly.</p> <p>Hermes pressed his lips together and looked at Athena.</p> <p>"You stood fiercely, sister. I could do no more than rescue, as the Lethe had taken its toll, and I knew that I would be in for a similar or, indeed, worse fate."</p> <p>"Are you saying...?" Alice started.</p> <p>"Oh, my..." Darlene inhaled.</p> <p>Athena looked at Dionysus who smiled at her and she smiled back.</p> <p>"You weren't prepared but, which of us were, brother? Still we had all the warnings and when it came we were all caught off-guard," she said.</p> <p>"Save one," Dionysus said softly.</p> <p>Athena nodded.</p> <p>"There is no shame in that, brother."</p> <p>"Dionysus?" Ray whispered looked at the man he knew as Dennis Pennerton.</p> <p>"The one with the ready shield," Athena asked, "closest to the confrontation after the death of Hera between Zeus and Apollo, was you fierce brother Ares. That caught me unprepared, to my utter shame..."</p> <p>"No shame, sister. With the death of Apollo none of us stood and I was blown back as well. It was a horror as I've never seen before nor since. You were prepared just caught off-guard by the utter ferocity of what came and even the battle with Typhon was as nothing compared to that."</p> <p>"But you're just..." Alice whispered.</p> <p>Athena gave Jasmine a smile and then turned to Diana.</p> <p>"And you, beloved one, you the one who helped me come to terms with my own inadequacies, you who were boon companion and fast friend even when we were isolated from each other first by city and then by wrath, you Artemis who is now Diana, are the one who said she would always keep her love for me above all else. After being fallen and seeing the fall of our brothers here, he then thought to use you in a way that could not be done, in the most painful of ways, demeaning beyond all end."</p> <p>"Stop," Diana whispered as she closed her eyes, head bowed.</p> <p>"You were then thought to be a prize by one who made a powerful force, but he knew not of its true power, he that made it and even the one that ran it. Yet in your fall, Nature herself provided the one thing to stop such pain, but at the cost of Artemis."</p> <p>"Please..." Diana said softly, as Athena shifted her arm around Diana's shoulders.</p> <p>"Wild Hunt it was called and you became its Huntress, you who knew so much of Nature that even with all that you were stripped from you, you still knew its ways better than the one who created the Wild Hunt by calling it into being. You made sure that there would be no others like us ever again, and sought out any that might harm you, threaten you, or seek to use you."</p> <p>"Red...animal..." Diana whispered.</p> <p>"Yes," Dionysus said softly, "Artemis in pain, betrayal, fallen, to be used by her Father to his ends...you then reacted as you must. Wilder than any wild woman, and wilder than any other thing was what you did with such a Hunt. I cannot hold one piece of blame to you, sister, for I would have collapsed into nothingness given what happened to you."</p> <p>Alice looked at Darlene, Ray and they were looking at Diana.</p> <p>"But you...Diana..."</p> <p>"You hunted, sister," Ares said, "and the result is that in all my searching for centuries, I never found even the remains of any who were like Olympians. I had never thought that a single force could do that, but now I know better. I would have attempted and, this will surprise you Diana, fail. Because I would show mercy to any brought down and that would be the seed of future betrayal. But then Nature itself was something I could not use properly, and it fights by rules that are a horror and necessity both. You have always, even with your twin, the most dangerous of us all, Diana. And I do not mean that as a bad thing, either."</p> <p>Athena kissed Diana's right temple and Diana shook her head.</p> <p>"Sister, of frolic and song, of bow and beauty, when our father dropped you at our last battlefield I was shaken beyond all other things," Hermes said, "I had seen what he did to our sister, Athena, and then to see your form so ravaged and yet alive...that there was life after the fall..." Hermes shook his head. "I could not get to you."</p> <p>"None of us could," Dionysus said, "though we did try, oh yes we did!"</p> <p>"All of us," Ares said, "save for our sister, who had suffered something that I could only see much later."</p> <p>Diana gasped and just turned to hold on to Athena, and the hand of Brent shifted to her shoulder as he stood up to stand next to her and then knelt there on one knee.</p> <p>"Diana?" he said softly.</p> <p>She shivered and drew away from Athena to look at him.</p> <p>"Yes, Brent?"</p> <p>"Knowing all I know, I am proud to be a human brother to you," he said reaching out to move her hair aside to look into her eyes, "and if you wish to share your sorrow with me, I would be proud to do so. Because you have given me a much better life than I had ever dreamt of."</p> <p>Diana pressed her lips together and held out her right hand to Brent and pulled him close.</p> <p>"Thank you, brother."</p> <p>"Always, Diana. Growing up is hard enough, without all that happened to you."</p> <p>"Aye," Karl said, "the same here, Diana. You do not realize it, but you go about saving lives wherever you go, you know? If all others of your kind could threaten you, then they deserve what came their way."</p> <p>Kevin looked at Athena, Diana, then Ares, Hermes and Dionysus.</p> <p>"But why tell us?"</p> <p>"We had hoped that mankind was about to transcend just what has been bestowed upon you," Ares said softly, "that isn't the case in full. Yet now you have more capacity than we ever had. We are, apparently, doomed to live no matter what happens to us here on Earth. Space, however, offers final ends and the risk of them."</p> <p>"Yes," Hermes said, "we are human of a sort, after all."</p> <p>"Greeks," Jasmine said, "an older line, but still present in a large part of the Greek population. Or it was."</p> <p>"We are fallen Olympians," Dionysus said, "each of us, separately, has done what we can to help our kin of humanity here and there..."</p> <p>"Keeping the memories of past conflicts alive so you would not repeat those mistakes..." Ares said.</p> <p>"Finding new ways to do commerce with you, while also showing how going faster is no horror," Hermes said.</p> <p>"...for me it is helping to pick up the work of now long dead Demeter, and spread the things that can help you get through life beyond just food, but for imbibing and giving sorrows a place to drown."</p> <p>"Aye, they do need drowning, they do," Karl said with a smile.</p> <p>Athena looked at the others and shook her head.</p> <p>"Zeus stole my memories from me so that each day, when I awoke, was absolutely new and I had no past, no future and a present I could not properly comprehend. A prison in which all but my closest family..."</p> <p>"And animals, some children, those wounded or near death..." Hermes whispered.</p> <p>"...yes, brother... I was forgotten by mankind but trapped in Athens."</p> <p>"I saw you...but then I was struck by lightning, eh?" Karl said with a smile.</p> <p>"I could not find out even what my situation in life was," Athena said softly, looking at Diana and the smiling at Brent. "But my closest love promised to never desert me, never betray me...and she pushed harder beyond all else to save me. Artemis made that promise after the death of Pallas at my hands...and I..." Athena caught her breath, "...memories flooded into me while I slept out of the grasp of dead Gaia. I was fighting my father. But I had strangled my closest love as OASIS moved out of Gaia's grasp. Yet she and my brothers had put enough effort in so that I knew where I was, what I had done and to see if this was a final end...or just something to do with me. It is the latter. I could not control my grief unless I did as she who I had killed had taught me. Even knowing she would regenerate, grief and self-pity nearly got to me. Until I added her name to mine. Pallas Athena Sherwood."</p> <p>Athena took Diana into her arms and pulled Brent in with them, then kissed Brent's cheek and looked over at Ray.</p> <p>"Forgive me my ways, Mr. Kaplan, I am sure they are strange to you. On our way back...Diana said that I had...helped you by suggesting we go after the satellites..."</p> <p>"You were..." he looked at Regina who shrugged.</p> <p>"Would you believe that Athena suggested it, Ray?"</p> <p>Ray blinked and smiled.</p> <p>"No. I was as surprised as anyone when Pallas stepped down from Meridian after Diana," he looked at Athena, "and you took a great burden off of me, thank you. I was blinded by the hatred of those who were trying to take my life from me."</p> <p>"Now you know," Ares said looking around the table, "and we will be telling more locally until it is an open secret, and secret no longer."</p> <p>Darlene smiled and nodded.</p> <p>"That is a good way to do it," she said.</p> <p>Alice turned to look at Ares.</p> <p>"When you said you should have bailed out earlier, and that any sane pilot would...you...you didn't make it down alive, did you?"</p> <p>Ares shook his head from side-to-side.</p> <p>"No human would have at that point. But ejecting just a minute earlier would ensure not just survival but one with no injuries, save for the injuries I already had."</p> <p>Alice stared at him then slowly nodded.</p> <p>"So much fits now...and..."</p> <p>"We aren't better than you, Alice," Hermes said, "please understand that we are just as driven by passions as any other man or woman. Long life with no expectation of death is, actually, not something to be desired. One with risk, things to do and places to go, now that is the start of a good life and you have some assurance that you won't live forever, too."</p> <p>Athena shifted and moved her chair out and picked up Diana easily in her arms.</p> <p>"She has been through a lot," Athena whispered, "is there a place she can rest for awhile?"</p> <p>Jasmine stood up and smiled, "Yes... Diana's room... follow me..." and with that she headed to the rear of the room with Athena bearing Diana close behind.</p> <p>"The bravest girl that there ever was or will be," Dionysus said as he slid his arm around Gemma.</p> <p>"I hope she gets to grow up some day," Gemma said softly.</p> <p>"Athena, too, beloved, Gem. But for now, they have those who Diana knows and each other, and that must suffice."</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-3477796243250725342015-11-28T03:17:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:46:10.757-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 17<p>Chased to a mountain the figure outstretched its arms and went aloft.</p> <p>"You cannot reach me here!" it said in a great booming voice with an abundance of laughter.</p> <p>Then came the droning sound, the wings of millions, and the hunt was on anew. First the ones from nearby and then the swarms came. Flies, bees, hornets...if it could take to wing and reach then it was there and the figure found that every mighty sweep, every gesture, every motion of wind that it sought to diffuse the swarm only brought more with it. They didn't stop at skin, or eyes, but worked into ears, nose, mouth and soon each orifice and the winged burrowers then found home and the screams arrived. Thrashing from the sky, dropping, the hawks and eagles appeared, then vultures and ravens and soon the feasting began before the figure even reached the ground. And the red one leading this, she had bounded down the mountainside and ensured that the remains held no life as the swarm destroyed it.</p> <p>Then it was the one in the cavern, sinuous and twisting with its coils, claiming that none would dare follow it. And yet she that was red death of nature did follow it, and the hunt took on form here, as well. Rats, mice, weasels, spiders and anything that could crawl into or through the living ground arrived and the hissing and then howls of agony came soon after as the red swarming of the hunt consumed it.</p> <p>In waters came the sharks, orca, sperm whales and then the schools of fish that preceded the great squids, and then a veritable monster from the depths that had teeth bigger than the head of a giant. The hunt had called and all that could partake did so, to pull power apart as well as flesh and return both to nature, leaving nothing to come back in its prior form nor in any form at all.</p> <p>When led by simple beings who had simple ideas of what a hunt was, the Wild Hunt had just one form. When the fallen one of the forest came, she knew what all hunts were and they took all forms from the greatest to the smallest and her knowledge created the worst form of Wild Hunt that there ever was or ever would be. Because she knew of hunts in their forms at all levels, the power of the Wild Hunt clung to her as armor, shield, and a panoply of weapons that would only be destroyed by a dying star. Then, even then, so long as things lived and hunting was used to live, the hunt itself would not end. No dimension could stop it, no amount of pleading nor brandishing of power could end it, the only thing that could end the Wild Hunt was lack of things to hunt.</p> <p>And she could not be killed.</p> <p>Only when the Hunt was satiated and all that it sought were gone did the girl who had become the center of it get left in the forest, a lean and hungry girl but one who had her spirit dissolved by the blood she had shed. She could barely remember what it was to be civilized, and then she remembered one person who had it worse than her.</p> <p>"Athena," she whispered in her sleep.</p> <p>"I am here, beloved," came the sure and steady voice and the dream of the Hunt melted away and Diana awoke in zero-g to look at her sister.</p> <p>"I could not kill my way to bring you back," Diana said softly, "if there was I would have done so."</p> <p>Athena smiled drawing close to her.</p> <p>"No you couldn't," Athena said to her, "instead you did something that no one would dare attempt. And succeeded."</p> <p>Diana closed her eyes and shook her head.</p> <p>"You were the heart of civilization, sister. I take you to save you and...look what I caused."</p> <p>"Even if so, Diana, those that remain have a chance at a better life. But only if we do not give up on them. What there was and is now lost, can be remade into something firmer, better and open to all of us, both human and olympian. We are their kin. I can't turn my back on them now, that we are all so close to that future. We must bridge that gap and help them in that, together. If we dare to but try then we may find success, but if we turn away failure is guaranteed."</p> <p>Diana opened her eyes to look at Athena.</p> <p>"You are the best of us, my sister. How could I ever say no to you?"</p> <p>Gently Athena opened up the webbing and slid her arms around Diana.</p> <p>"I said no to you once, my sister. The price was horrific, and you paid it in full. Now we must redeem our payments together with our brothers, our sisters, our families that we build. Can you let go of the pain you feel to help in this, sister?"</p> <p>Diana nodded once.</p> <p>"Yes, of course,"she whispered, "Because I could see what is possible even though I do not like cities and the forms they took. Many have been lost, but...perhaps the pain can be assuaged by helping the bereft who live to make a new life for themselves."</p> <p>Athena smiled, pulling them closely together.</p> <p>"Would you like to make a new life with me? Here amongst the stars?"</p> <p>Diana slowly embraced her sister.</p> <p>"Please..." she said, the dream fading, the memories still clear because they were the things that nightmares could never approach. Soon she was asleep again, with warmth that kept all nightmares at bay.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Dear god, you could almost reach out and touch it," Karl said after he got out of his seat to look out the cockpit window.</p> <p>Below them was the Ascentech Lunar processor and head end of the accelerator that went over 60' until it reached the main control platform for power, direction and mapping. They were pinned just 40' above this part of the system, which had its own solar panels extended. As they watched a small rover with its own system of panels moved to the hopper for regolith which had 3 levels of sorting mesh as well as vibratory systems to break up an agglomerations of material that could be shaken apart. Material too large for the system went up a metal conveyor and off to the side, where a pit was excavated for that by the rovers. These 2 had come down with the head end and Kevin was collecting telemetry from the system as well as its visual feeds.</p> <p>"If you did and fell through the interface," Ares started and then stopped and looked over at Karl. "You know, I have no idea what would happen to you, but I don't think it would be pretty."</p> <p>"Aye, that's a fact. Just the transient compression and expansion along the side, would do more than just distort colors a bit. Distorting my body like that wouldn't leave me much of a body."</p> <p>"Shear forces would kill you pretty much instantly," Kevin whispered as he watched the rover level view from the second rover that was working on a trench to push tailings into. Plus it had a chance to use its sensors to see if there was any sub-surface ice or other volatiles when it did that. "What we see is just when all the distortions get corrected for going through the interface, but that is not a straight path. All the frequencies going through it experience a good 20 to 30 feet of distance travel before it comes out into the internal frame. Electrons and photons are easy to move around, large numbers of atoms less so. Going straight through, even along the sides, would not be possible."</p> <p>"Who knew that just playing with charges could do so much?" Karl whispered.</p> <p>"Someone did," Ares said watching one screen with the head end of the processor in view and another that was split to show multiple viewpoints from the cameras there, "and investigated natural phenomena and took accounts just at face value, not as something fantastical."</p> <p>"The head end is still adjusting, slightly, but nothing outside of what was expected. There is a bit more slope in the crater than we thought there was, so that is causing just a bit of platform orientation problems. Auto-compensation is taking care of it, though. It was actually designed so that it could move and deliver regolith at the same time, so it is a robust platform. It would have to detach segments to get out of the crater, but that is designed into the system, too. That main package scout rover is doing its job, and moving some material to help flatten out the delivery end."</p> <p>"She's a beaut, that's for sure," Karl said, "have to hand it to Bill and Alice, they made one pretty little start-up system here."</p> <p>Kevin chuckled.</p> <p>"They also cadged off of every free design they could get their hands on, plus worked to identify the problems others had with their mobile landers and attend to them. The entire system can even put a static charge on dust adhering to it and then repel that out. This system is not going to have to worry about that phenomena. Still this is a unique environment to run even this arrangement. The next one probably won't have any carbon fiber materials in it, though."</p> <p>"Not enough carbon material for the WorkPlat?" Ares asked.</p> <p>"Oh, that's part of it, Aaron. The main thing is that these are rocks rich with aluminum and iron, coming from the old crustal material that was thrown off when Thea hit Earth. A lot of silicates with aluminum, magnesium and iron in them, and it will be cheaper and easier to make the rest of what we want out of those materials. More mass, but extremely easy to get. Once it is scaled up, of course."</p> <p>"A small fly in a big pot of ointment," Karl said shaking his head and then pulling himself back along the side of the cockpit, past Kevin's area and back to his own, where he strapped himself in.</p> <p>"I just wish we had more nanosats, though," Kevin whispered.</p> <p>"Oh, plenty enough tuna and cat food cans will be available in a few months as raw material for those on Earth, I betya. Just a sad bit of clean-up work for the next century or so to deal with."</p> <p>"We'll get by," Ares said, "just one of those pieces of stupidity leading to a fall. There have been lots of those in history."</p> <p>"Right," Kevin said,"Einstein said that there were only two infinites in the universe: space and stupidity. And he wasn't so sure about space."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Captain Frank, was it?" Ray asked the clean shaven man in army fatigues as they sat down in the meeting room at the Event Horizon.</p> <p>"Yes, sir. Captain Dan Frank, Army Provisional Interior Forces, Liaison for Brigadier General McKay."</p> <p>"Ray Kaplan, President and CEO of Ascentech, head of the spaceport security and external affairs," Ray said extending his hand.</p> <p>"Sir, aren't you a Colonel in your local militia?" Dan asked.</p> <p>"Yes, I am, Capt. Frank, if you want a salute I'll give you one, but I prefer a hand shake. I thought I had a busy life before this, and didn't know the meaning of the word busy, obviously."</p> <p>Captain Frank nodded and shook Ray's hand.</p> <p>"This is Tom Burke, VP from X-CAL one of the founding companies of the spaceport."</p> <p>"Glad to meet you, Capt. Frank," Tom said shaking Dan's hand.</p> <p>"After him is Herman Lassiter, President of Highflight, and the Internal Affairs person here."</p> <p>Hermes smiled and shook Dan's hand.</p> <p>"It's good to meet you, sir," Dan said.</p> <p>"Same here, Captain," Hermes said.</p> <p>"Next to him is Darlene, my wife, who you met on the way here," Ray said, "and next to her is Mary Weingarten of Z-Flight, the head of our spaceport integration team."</p> <p>"Pleased to meet you, Ma'am," Capt. Frank said.</p> <p>"Thank you, Captain," she said softly.</p> <p>"And last is Dennis Pennerton, our agricultural systems specialist," Ray said.</p> <p>Dionysus shook Dan's hand and then handed him a glass of iced water.</p> <p>"Thank you, Mr. Pennerton," he said taking the glass and sipping from it.</p> <p>Ray gestured for everyone to sit down and he looked at Dan as people got settled.</p> <p>"We heard you were coming from the Governor," Ray said.</p> <p>Dan shook his head affirmatively. "Yes, sir."</p> <p>"We don't mind if you travel through here, Capt. Frank. More than welcome to, in fact."</p> <p>"Yes, sir," Dan said, inhaling slowly.</p> <p>"I take it you have other orders?" Tom asked.</p> <p>He looked at Tom and nodded. "Yes, I did. You have a good and functioning installation here, Mr. Burke, and..."</p> <p>"It's not my installation, Dan," Tom said, "X-CAL is just one of the founding companies here, and even before all of this went on, we found ourselves and the remaining founding companies were being outnumbered and outspent by Ascentech and Highflight. They had on-going monthly and even weekly operations, with a ramp up to 24/7 in the offing. I'm more the financial person here and that is because of X-CAL having a few accounts in Texas banks, which means we still have some capital available, although I'm not so sure it will buy anything."</p> <p>"Z-Flight dropped under 5% stake in the spaceport at the start of this year," Mary said, "and we were probably headed towards bankruptcy. We maintained a presence on the coordinating board, but there aren't enough members of that to meet, since I wasn't on it."</p> <p>Dan took a sip of water and looked around the table.</p> <p>"Besides," Hermes said in a soft tone, "you surely have other places in operation that dwarf ours?"</p> <p>"Or did someone forget to think about secondary induced electrical current when a surrounding mountain is acting like a conductor?" Ray asked.</p> <p>"We have noticed that Cheyenne Mountain isn't responding to anyone," Darlene said softly, "or NSA installations. Or Ft. Huachuca. I'm sure you had preparations for something like a Carrington Event?"</p> <p>"Yes, Ma'am, we did. But it has caused problems that no one could actually model before it happened."</p> <p>"That's the problem with disasters," Dionysus said, "they just never do what you think they will do."</p> <p>"We do have some ops up, and we are trying to get the GPS system fully operational," he said.</p> <p>"You have satellites, but no way to loft them?" Ray asked.</p> <p>"Oh, we have satellites, but they have to be fully checked out as they weren't properly shielded from ground current effects. Nor were the launch vehicles."</p> <p>Ray nodded.</p> <p>"You do have orders for here, yes?" Ray asked.</p> <p>Dan reached into his pocket and handed them to Ray who opened them and read them, and then smirked.</p> <p>"Capt. Frank, may I ask you a question?"</p> <p>"Ah, I guess so, sir. I mean as long as it isn't..."</p> <p>Ray waved his hand for a moment and handed the orders to Tom who started reading them and shook his head.</p> <p>"How many people have you personally been involved in saving the last month? God is it a month already? It feels like a year," Ray ended in a whisper.</p> <p>'Oh, uh, after fighting fires in the District..."</p> <p>"DC?" Mary asked as the orders went to Hermes who gave them a quick perusal and handed them on to Darlene.</p> <p>"Yes, Ma'am. We had to work on saving a corridor in and out of DC."</p> <p>"In god's name, why?" Tom asked.</p> <p>"Command and control, sir. Continuity of government."</p> <p>Darlene handed the orders to Mary as she just stared at Capt. Frank.</p> <p>"So you saved some buildings, and some members of Congress, yes?" Dionysus asked as he looked at Dan.</p> <p>"Yes, sir. There was a break going on, and it was mostly staff in DC, but a few Congressmen and Senators were also in town."</p> <p>Mary handed the orders on to Dionysus who pressed his lips together while reading them.</p> <p>"So, the President, Vice-President, families of them and the same for some members of Congress and staff. Perhaps, at most, 5,000 people when you include Secret Service and other members of government who were there?"</p> <p>"Maybe, sir, I never thought of it like that."</p> <p>"And afterwards?" Mary asked.</p> <p>"I had to help get the Provisional Command set up," Dan said, "since NORTHCOM wasn't responsive."</p> <p>Dionysus set the orders down and slid them across the table to Capt. Frank.</p> <p>"I see..." Ray started, "I've been busy here trying to get comms up and running as far as humanly possible. Locally Gov. Oroko accounts for maybe 30 groups that have co-opted home improvement stores and are now working to get people started on putting up ways to grow food during the winter. That is probably about 100 people per store, and they represent a family of, say, an average of 3 per person. Lets ballpark that up to easy numbers, and call it 10,000 people using our information output. Per day. New Mexico is neither large nor small on the population scale, and once you discount Texas, Alaska and Hawaii as handling their own affairs, you have 47 states and if even half of them in the Mid-West and South West can get any reception at all and have anything like this response, that is 240,000 people rough estimate. Per day. In the US."</p> <p>Capt. Frank started blinking and nodding.</p> <p>"Winter is coming on so that won't be a highly successful project in some places. But for each family that can start to sustain itself and not fall back to fighting for food, that is about 2-3 family members per month per family saved that will not be killed for their food, although they may die of starvation or trying to steal it. Average that to, say, 8 people not suffering human predation over the next 6 months for each person fending for themselves. Close to 2 million people."</p> <p>Ray leaned forward to Capt. Frank.</p> <p>"I thought you had a duty to the US Constitution, Captain."</p> <p>"I do, sir."</p> <p>"This spaceport has not had war declared on it, it has not been invaded, it is not performing an insurrection, it is not advocating the overthrow of the government but normal elections to get a representative government back together. And it should be noted that the US, as a whole, is not undergoing an invasion, insurrection, mutiny, secession or any other thing like it. Congress has not and cannot order these operations on US ground. That power is not granted to the President, either."</p> <p>Capt. Frank nodded.</p> <p>"I do have my orders, sir," he said softly.</p> <p>"And you are also to remember Nuremberg and Jerusalem, Captain," Darlene said softly.</p> <p>"Remember," Hermes said, "those numbers are for just the US. We are coordinating with other countries because if we don't, the catastrophe will be far worse than it already is. I suspect the death toll is close to 3 billion people at this point."</p> <p>"We are doing something about it," Mary said softly.</p> <p>"You see, Captain Frank," Dionysus said, "its like this. We are obeying the law, here. And we are also obeying our conscience so that we can sleep at night. Desperately we are trying to get other Nations to respond, to get their communications systems back up at even low power. You want to take this spaceport over to make it a launching site for a few satellites and try to get the rest of your military hardware operational. And if there was an invasion, that would be laudable."</p> <p>"There isn't," Ray said in a cold tone. "And someone once said something about never letting a good crisis go to waste. He isn't in office any more. It seems that the tradition is continuing on. I'm sorry but your orders are invalid."</p> <p>"Sir, be reasonable, we can offer capability..."</p> <p>"No, you can't," Tom said, "otherwise you would be using White Sands, Edwards or Area 51. You aren't doing that. Nor are you using Nellis. Even Dayton offers capacity we don't have if it is working. Same with the Kennedy Space Center which Houston hasn't been able to raise and they've already lost one party going by boat to find out what is up with Florida."</p> <p>"We are the ones asking you to be reasonable," Hermes said with a soft smile.</p> <p>"But this offers the perfect staging point..." Capt. Frank said.</p> <p>"Just one problem," Ray said.</p> <p>"What's that, sir?"</p> <p>"It is already owned and certified not to be in a crisis or an emergency. It is private property and we will not have troops stationed on it. We will not give it up to you, to the US government and we will work with the government of New Mexico if they need help in performing certain tasks so long as it is not to renege on their property certifications. The road did not invest in this place. The State did not build the buildings, build launching facilities, storage facilities, pipelines, generators, houses, bars...and the hangar we bought was condemned some decades ago. This is not just a place, Capt. Frank. This is our life and our life savings."</p> <p>"You will kill us just as surely as if you put a bullet through our heads," Tom said softly.</p> <p>"And do note, even with military proficiency," Dionysus said with a smile, "who is coming to whom here. There is one side of this that obviously knows what it is doing and the other fumbling its way to something else."</p> <p>"But we can do so much good with this place," Dan said looking at them.</p> <p>"I've been working to save 2 million people and maybe as many as 50 million globally, Dan," Ray said leaning back. "We all have. Your numbers are pitiful. You should be out trying to help every county get a militia started and to start safeguarding homes while building ways to feed those people who survive. Go big or go home. You aren't going big. I AM. Is that clear?"</p> <p>Capt. Frank swallowed and nodded.</p> <p>"You can transit military hardware through here, and personnel for it separately, which includes their small arms being separated save for side-arms, one per person. We will inspect each transport, to ensure it is locked down and you will delay transits by a half-hour between hardware and personnel with side-arms only. You may only stop for vehicular breakdown and then we will tow it out and charge you for that."</p> <p>"Sir that's unreasonable...there isn't another place like this..."</p> <p>Hermes leaned forward.</p> <p>"Why aren't you trying to save the personnel inside Cheyenne Mountain?" he asked softly, "all their external comms are down but surely they have secondary generators on the inside. Or have you already started to write-off your comrades-in-arms who might still be alive?"</p> <p>"I don't know," Dan said softly as he took the orders up from the table.</p> <p>"We are armed and will defend our property and our lives as this is all we have. Everything at our disposal will be utilized against all parts of the military that are in this chain of command that are following these illegal orders," Ray said in a quiet, even tone. "Because this is a power grab. And I'm having none of it. I suggest you consider your Oath to the Constitution and ask if you actually know what it means to live by it. And die by it."</p> <p>Ray stood up as Capt. Frank pocketed the orders after re-folding them.</p> <p>"We will help any willing to work hard," Ray said, "who have technical skill and wish to build a new future with us. And until a new election is run, the current governments of this planet have forfeited their legitimacy, save in those places where they are helping their people to survive. We include New Mexico in that latter group. Texas. Alaska. Hawaii. We are working hard to get contacts up with Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wyoming. Do you know why, Captain?"</p> <p>Capt. Frank stood up as did the others.</p> <p>"No sir, why?"</p> <p>"Because my bet is that you went to Texas first and they gave you their motto."</p> <p>Captain Frank's lips twitched suppressing a smile.</p> <p>"We are going to help Texas get refined crude to the breadbasket States and we will damned well punch convoys through any resistance we meet along the way. We are preparing to do that NOW, not play power games. If we can get even 20% of the crops next year that we got this year, and mill it to flour, then there is a slim chance that the US might just not fall under 100 million people left alive. If it can then be distributed. And if your command doesn't have plans like ours, then you just might want to think about which side is fighting for civilization and which is seeking power."</p> <p>Capt. Frank stood straight and saluted Ray and Ray returned it.</p> <p>"Yes, sir. Thank you for the invitation, sir. I'll spread the word."</p> <p>Ray smiled.</p> <p>"You do that, son. And I suggest that the moment you resign you get far away from all the military hardware that your general has been gathering. A not so pretty sight may be happening soon, and I don't want to hurt good people."</p> <p>"I...sir? You don't have anything..."</p> <p>"Dan, I'm trying to save millions and making headway on that project. I come prepared to a fight, too, always have since I was a kid on the bad side of the tracks walking to dad's aviation business. Someone is not letting a crisis go to waste and they want to steamroller me. With tanks. They will get what is coming to them in a way that makes my point directly, bluntly and permanently. And if you couldn't take Texas then you sure, as hell, won't take me."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"It's...large," Athena whispered to herself from the pilot's seat as she looked at the radar returns of they approached OASIS II.</p> <p>"Yes, it is," Diana said sitting in the co-pilot's seat, "And we will need some additional clearance on the portion where the Athena I's are."</p> <p>Athena glanced to where Diana was indicating on the left hand screen.</p> <p>"I couldn't believe that Hermes named these after me..." she said with a smile. "Using attitude thrusters."</p> <p>Diana had been schooling her sister on the basics of flight mechanics for OASIS I, and had been using the pilot and co-pilot's positions forward in their training mode ever since turn-over.</p> <p>"He didn't. Ares did as a suggestion to him and they both agreed on it. Even after the prototype broke-up, they stuck with the name."</p> <p>Athena's smile widened as she watched the profile outline clear OASIS II. "And another 30' for Athena II," she said.</p> <p>"Yes, make it 35' just to make sure. There is plenty of space between the 2 of the Athena I systems, but it is best to give a few feet of extra clearance to be safe. They've tucked the panels in to give us maximum clearance."</p> <p>"They aren't as large, either of them, as Meridian, though," Athena said as she stopped the drift the thrusters had given and looked at the main screen.</p> <p>In 3-way split screen she could see Kevin Penk, the exterior of OASIS II, and the bottom held the framework display of their passage.</p> <p>"Roger that, OASIS II," Diana said, "we will do an end-for-end swap once we are fully clear of you, over."</p> <p>"Copy that, OASIS I. You are all green and good to go."</p> <p>On the exterior shot Athena shifted to one of the camera balls that was able to give both of the stations in profile view.</p> <p>"Oh! And I thought OASIS I was large!" Athena said softly.</p> <p>"It is. OASIS II is just scaled up. Hermes and Brent have designed it so that it can use the OASIS I outer containers to put all the mid-sized containers from the ALV-II out at a distance from the station and then interconnect them. OASIS I would effectively become a part of and secondary control system for OASIS II and disappear as an entity. Then using thrusters to spin the arrangement, centripetal force would give perhaps 25% g-force, which is necessary for our kin because their bodies do not maintain as ours do."</p> <p>"What you are attempting here is just beyond words, beloved," Athena said tearing her gaze from the main screen and back to the flight controls. "Just another minute and then it is the rotation and adjustment to bring the two forward sections into alignment."</p> <p>Diana checked the controls in front of her and nodded.</p> <p>"Nearly past us, OASIS I," Kevin said.</p> <p>"Looking good, OASIS I," Ares said.</p> <p>"Aye, it will be good to have company, at least, over," Karl said.</p> <p>"Karl is the one who could see me? I mean before escaping Gaia's grasp?"</p> <p>"Copy that, Karl. Lots of company to be had, over," Diana said looking at Athena.</p> <p>"Yes he is. Saw you on Jasmine's system where the photo of you was displayed in the background. She knew you were there but couldn't see you. No one else could, either, although animals could as well as children, those near death, wracked by disease, or in some circumstances where your presence could be made to be felt. A part of you understood that if you were to try and interact more widely with our kin, that you would be disrupting their lives. You felt that was wrong to do."</p> <p>Athena nodded.</p> <p>"3...2....1....retro-thrust...and forward/rear side thrust. OASIS I is revolving end for end."</p> <p>Athena watched the output and let her hands rest on the thruster controls waiting for the lines along the main axis of each station to come into parallel alignment. "And, braking thrust. Latitudinal thrust to come onto beam alignment. Rotating to bring main hatches into alignment."</p> <p>"Excellent, OASIS I! That was a beautiful shift and good work on the matching, over," Karl said.</p> <p>"Glad you like it, Karl," Diana said, "coming into final alignment, and then we will use thrusters to kill enough velocity for docking, over," Diana said.</p> <p>Athena fidgeted a bit in the pilot's seat and sucked her upper lip in and bit it as she watched the approach.</p> <p>"Just a tiny bit more," she said, and shifted the rear thruster dial down to give it a 1/10 second burst.</p> <p>"Diana...it was wrong to intrude on the lives of our kin. They were oblivious to me and I couldn't...know why. I could be harming them if I tried to become a presence and...I couldn't remember who I was or even the day before."</p> <p>"30 feet, closing...looking good... -3 degrees..."</p> <p>Athena nodded.</p> <p>"Copy that, OASIS II, over," Diana said as Athena gave the small thrust to rotate OASIS I around its main axis and then stop it.</p> <p>"You are good and on alignment, over," Karl said.</p> <p>"Roger that Karl, reading 15 feet...slowing..." Diana said and Athena gave a small burst from the forward thrusters, "...over."</p> <p>"Good work so far, over," Ares said.</p> <p>"High praise," Athena muttered to herself as she pressed her lips together.</p> <p>"Stop that!" Diana said looking at Athena who gave a sly look back to her.</p> <p>"5 feet...2 feet...connections have contact...1 foot...seals have contact...and interlocks engaged. Welcome to OASIS II!" Kevin said.</p> <p>"Glad to be here," Diana said, "need to shut down and tidy up here. Moving our systems control over to you, OASIS II."</p> <p>"Roger that, Diana," Karl said, "we have full power connections and we're starting to move air between us, balancing water and pressurized gases all looking good, over."</p> <p>Diana unstrapped herself and helped Athena to do an active shutdown of the pilot's system. The overall schematic showed that OASIS II was now the piloting center for the two stations.</p> <p>"Green and good, here Karl," Diana said as she looked at her sister who had sweat on her forehead and a smile on her face, "now let me get cleaned up here. Give me a half-hour, OK?"</p> <p>"Anything you want, girl," Karl said.</p> <p>"No problem, Diana. We will have to be leaving soon, though," Ares said softly over the intercom.</p> <p>"Really?" Diana asked, "Why?"</p> <p>"Someone is doing something stupid. We're going to be needed to keep them honest."</p> <p>"Roger that, Aaron," Diana said, "I'll try to hurry. Diana, out."</p> <p>Athena drifted into Diana's arms as Diana then used her foot to push them through the entryway. As they drifted back they started to take each others suits off.</p> <p>"Its pretty itchy without the coveralls," Athena whispered.</p> <p>"I know," Diana said raising her eyebrows, "but much, much better this way. Come, lets clean each other off...and get coveralls on."</p> <p>Free of their suits they embraced and kissed each other softly, their suits began to trail them as each hung on to the others suit.</p> <p>"Plus we need to be presentable," Athena said with a gasp.</p> <p>"I promise I won't get you any sweatier than you are now...still...15 minutes should be enough..."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Tamara looked at the materials on the top part compartment of her pack and gave the entire pack a good shake to make sure nothing rattled. She looked over at Kyle who was sitting on the bed, had her hydration system filled and had it on his lap.</p> <p>"Kyle would you attach that to the top of the pack and frame, and then check and make sure that I'm not missing anything?"</p> <p>Kyle nodded and slid from the bed and stepped over to start looking over her top compartment while she went out and down the hall to the livingroom. There she saw that Mason and Margaret had her rifle case out and were checking the magazines, and stowing the extra ammo into specialized soft-sided pouches.</p> <p>Mason looked up at her as she came in and Margaret was just moving the bipod mount out of its carrier and into the hard case for the rifle. While hard on the inside, its exterior was made with desert camo with padding that could serve different purposes, from being a quick firing mat if it had to be used on the run, to forming a small tent over the rifle if it had to be set up out in the open and have its shadow disappear.</p> <p>"Tamara, I knew that Aaron had been training with you for some time," he said, "but I thought that was just with, ah, hunting rifles."</p> <p>"Oh, we did those, too!" Tamara said brightly as she gave each of them a hug as she slid behind them on her way to the closet to pull out another can of ammunition, this one marked with red stickers on it that were partly worn off.</p> <p>"I thought that something like this," Margaret said looking at the camo tape wrapped rifle with large flash hider at the end of the barrel and large scope sitting in its own compartment, "was too expensive to buy."</p> <p>Tamara lugged one of the heavy cans out of the closet and then reached in to pull down a belt for her pistol and strapped that on over her desert camo clothing she wore.</p> <p>"Oh, it does cost a bit," Tamara said, "and the ammo I did quibble about for awhile, too. After being with him on the range for more than just fun and games..." she sighed as she lugged the one can she had out over to the table and set it on the surface to open it, "...we started moving out to some pretty long distances and he thought I just might be able to handle more. He contacted one of his friends who had one of these," she pointed at the rifle, "plus the wind speed analyzer, sextant, pencil, paper, air pressure tables...everything you need to make some decent shots at a distance. A week of that, and some of the best earplugs I could buy as well as an extra pad for my shoulder, and I wanted one of these."</p> <p>Margaret blinked as she looked at Mason.</p> <p>"I warned you, dear, one of the best field managers I've ever met, next to Brent."</p> <p>"Yes you did, Mason," Margaret said with smile and nod, "but that was before we got here, and I thought it was only the business-side of things."</p> <p>Tamara chuckled as she pulled out a full magazine from inside the can and counted down the stack of ammo then slid the rounds out and repacked them with the one at the top now at the bottom. She handed 2 of the other magazines out to Mason and Margaret and did the 3rd and last one of 4 in the can herself.</p> <p>"Brent is very good, even excellent in most things," Tamara said, "he is a good man and I'm glad we are part of an extended family now. We didn't really want to get involved while we were in DOGIS, mostly due to other family members and knowing one of us would have to leave for someplace else..."</p> <p>Mason nodded as he looked at her.</p> <p>"That would have been a hard loss for our field side then," he said softly, "either of you. Even with Brent officially at Highflight...that was a blow, but not one I couldn't recover from. What's going on now..." he shook his head.</p> <p>"You've landed in the right place, Mason. If we survive. If not, then it wasn't meant to be," Tamara said as she watched them repack the magazines having finished hers.</p> <p>"What's the red color at the tip mean?" Margaret asked.</p> <p>"HE perpetrators Aaron cadged these from a buddy, and I didn't want to know. I'll be taking some of the dense core rounds, also, the ones where the lead peels off on armor but the core just ablates through it."</p> <p>Shaking his head, Mason handed the magazine back to Tamara and Margaret did the same.</p> <p>"Tamara...I never got to understand just what the position you hold in the local militia is..." he said.</p> <p>"You're on a sniper team," Margaret said, "that's obvious, pretty much, but after that..."</p> <p>Tamara smirked.</p> <p>"Full Lt. Colonel. Field Commander and second in command to Ray at least for the non-admin stuff. If anything takes him out, then they will have a real problem on their hands since they won't find me," she said taking the magazines and placing them in slots inside the case, and then closing the shell on the case, then zipping the outer padding closed, "but I will find them. It won't come to that, though."</p> <p>Tamara smiled in a way that bespoke confidence not just in herself but in the situation as well.</p> <p>"How can you say that?" Margaret asked, "I mean from what we've been able to figure out they have a good 10 or 15 tanks, a few APCs and maybe 6,000 people."</p> <p>"Plus whatever the USAF has available. Even the Navy since it must have some assets available, still."</p> <p>As she moved the case up she slid behind Margaret and Mason, putting her hands on their shoulders.</p> <p>"Yes they do. And I have Ray and Aaron, and they have Meridian and the Rods from God. How do you stop something coming in at 20,000 miles per hour? And how can you target what you can't even see, but that can see you? We have left the 20th century behind in a permanent way now. Welcome to the 21st, which is already ugly and has paid a dear price for the 20th's lack of capacity. It's time for a change, and that is what we are about to deliver and that will be to the last of 20th century thinking doing something incredibly stupid. I would almost feel pity for them, if they weren't asking for it so badly."</p> <p>She continued by, took the case up and took it to the hallway, to see that Kyle had finished his double-check and had her pistol out on the bed along with its magazine pouches. Kneeling down next to Kyle she checked the straps and made sure they were snug.</p> <p>"All checked?" she whispered as she put her arm around his shoulders.</p> <p>"Yeah, ma," he said softly and looked at her, "I wish you didn't have to go."</p> <p>She smiled and kissed his cheek.</p> <p>"Me, too. Still, we both have to do what we have to do, right?"</p> <p>Kyle nodded.</p> <p>"AR checked and ready?" she asked softly.</p> <p>"Yes, mom," Kyle said still gazing at her.</p> <p>"Got the Remington out with the desert barrels?" she asked.</p> <p>He nodded.</p> <p>"Your backpack is provisioned?"</p> <p>"Yes," he said inhaling and exhaling.</p> <p>"Good! Take care of Mason, Margaret and Liza if she comes back. Nuada and Mel, too. Any of the family."</p> <p>"Yes, mom, I will," Kyle said his breathing slowing as his mother placed her hands on his shoulders.</p> <p>"And if you have to bug out?"</p> <p>"Cache point 1," he said, "and get the mini-gun put together."</p> <p>"And?"</p> <p>"The Ma-Deuce," he said with a twitch of a smile.</p> <p>"Right. I hope it doesn't come to that, but its there if we need it. If they can't be made to see reason when their equipment is disabled, then it will get messy, Kyle. I might not be there to help you. You know who to go to then?"</p> <p>Kyle nodded.</p> <p>"Uncle Herman," he said softly.</p> <p>Tamara nodded and hugged him.</p> <p>"Hopefully the reality of the situation will begin to set in."</p> <p>"You gotta keep them honest," Kyle said as he let go of Tamara.</p> <p>"And sometimes, beloved son, sometimes you have to make them pay."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"...its good to see you, Kevin," Diana said hugging the third man near the forward hatch of the connected OASIS systems.</p> <p>As she let go she drifted towards the hatch and looked at the men.</p> <p>"And I'd like to introduce you to my half-sister, Pallas Sherwood," she said as Athena appeared on the OASIS I side of the lock in its pilot area and drifted through to the other side.</p> <p>"Wow," Kevin said looking at her.</p> <p>"Now that's the lady I saw on Jasmine's system," Karl said with a smile.</p> <p>"Hello cousin Pallas," Ares said smiling as he saw her come in and drifted towards her. The embrace between the two showed their kinship, and the striking features of face and size of body told much about how close they were, "I'm glad to have you back," he whispered next to her ear and she smiled, holding him tightly.</p> <p>They held each other for a minute, slowly drifting and then parting enough to look at each other, smiling as they did so.</p> <p>"When they made her, they broke the mold and then the guy who made it, just in case," Karl said in a whisper as he saw Diana smile at him, raising her eyebrows.</p> <p>"In more way than one, Karl," Diana whispered moving to a handhold above the piloting area.</p> <p>Ares slowly let go, and then they put hand to hand and pushed against each other so that Athena went towards Diana and Ares towards the pilot's seat.</p> <p>"I've never seen anyone do that," Kevin said watching as Diana extended a hand out to Athena and slowly shifted to let her do a single rotation and grab on to the handhold that Diana had just pushed off from.</p> <p>"Karl, this is Pallas... Pallas, Karl..."</p> <p>Athena shifted from the handhold and pushed off to Karl's position just to her right and back, and he had to move to extend his arm as she came over to hug him.</p> <p>"Much better than shaking hands, isn't it?" she asked with a smile.</p> <p>"Aye, much, much better and its good to meet you. If you ever need someone to show you the sights back down on the ground, let me know...that is if there are any left to see..." he said softly and she nodded.</p> <p>"I shall, don't worry Karl," she said in a soft tone with a smile and then slowly released him, shifted to a handhold and looked at Kevin who had drifted just a bit up and near the bulkhead behind the pilot's seats.</p> <p>"And that is Kevin Penk," Ares said, "a good man with a good family..."</p> <p>Again Athena shifted and Kevin watched her and shifted to get one foot on the bulkhead and one arm out as she approached.</p> <p>"Hello there," Kevin said as she came to his open arm and she shifted to hug him, and they both slowly moved towards the bulkhead.</p> <p>"And hello to you, Kevin," she said and felt him hug her in return and pressed herself to him for a moment before gently releasing him to get a handhold.</p> <p>"You snuck her up, didn't you, Diana?" Karl said looking at Diana who nodded.</p> <p>"Yes, the only way to get her up was via the CTD suit. Only left what was necessary for that and just a bit of sleeping was what was necessary to pass the time doing not very much."</p> <p>Athena smiled.</p> <p>"I wasn't even awakened until I was on OASIS I," she said.</p> <p>Diana looked at her, nodding and then pushed off towards her and came to her open arms and the two of them embraced and shifted to take up handholds near them.</p> <p>"You were always the graceful one, cousin," Ares whispered.</p> <p>Athena nodded.</p> <p>"There is just so much to do and learn up here! Everything from how to keep the air filtration system clean and working to the waste system all the way to engine near maintenance and orbital piloting..."</p> <p>Kevin blinked.</p> <p>"How did you learn that?" Kevin asked softly.</p> <p>"Diana taught me on the systems on OASIS I, putting me through simulator time. Why I did a good 50 or 60 dockings on simulators before she let me do the actual one."</p> <p>The men lost their smiles looking at Athena.</p> <p>"You..." Ares started.</p> <p>"That was you..." Kevin started.</p> <p>"Diana what..." Karl started.</p> <p>"I was at the co-pilot controls ready to switch over in case anything went wrong," Diana said, "handled the comms for her so that she could concentrate on the docking."</p> <p>Ares shivered as he thought about that, and the long hours of simulation time he had put in for the Athena systems, ALV-I piloted version, and both of the OASIS systems, plus Meridian.</p> <p>"Really, its not that hard once you understand it," Athena said with a smile.</p> <p>"You were running OASIS I for that?" Kevin asked softly.</p> <p>"Its the only way to learn, isn't it? Skilled pilot and lots of simulation time?" Athena asked looking puzzled.</p> <p>"Yeh, it is...its just most of us...ah screw it. It was a damned fine docking, Pallas. I thought for sure it was Diana..." he said looking at the two and the way they had arms around each others shoulders and how their sides were pressed to each other, "...and some people get all the luck, let me tell you," he finished with a whisper.</p> <p>"So, cousin," Diana said looking at Ares, "just what is happening that Meridian is needed?"</p> <p>Ares went still for a moment.</p> <p>"Someone has ordered a military take-over of the spaceport for 'rescue and recovery' operations, but they aren't acting like this is about rescue or recovery. Ray is exhausting himself and doing more of that than just about anyone else right now, and the number actually trying it are probably less than a dozen that have any real comms ability."</p> <p>"It probably has something to do with how the ground currents played with underground facilities, including the old NORAD site and SPACECOM. Military side there isn't much running, and that's probably due to lack of transformers, lack of transmission lines or just circuits being fried on big doors that are locked. Permanently locked," Kevin said, "There just isn't much communications traffic going on down there outside of a few isolated places."</p> <p>"All fucked up," Karl said, "and someone sitting in an office somewhere wants something that works and doesn't care if he has to kill people to get it. Someone not used to hearing the word 'NO' very often, perhaps. Someone with an ideology and not an ounce of sense in their heads."</p> <p>Athena sighed and looked at Ares.</p> <p>"The more things change, cousin, the ever more they never do."</p> <p>"Right," Ares said softly, "so lets have a tour of OASIS II and we'll leave it in your hands along with OASIS I. You are a big sitting target up here and the things that can reach you are a priority right after the military encampment that is building up over the ridge line from the spaceport. The ALV's have been sent up and most are doing a small tour of the planet, and the Athena's are with the II and III designs. If you need to bug out here, then the WorkPlats new crew area is the place to go, and an Athena II can get to there. Just the basics but it is enhanced survival, at least."</p> <p>Diana looked at Athena who nodded.</p> <p>"I would like a tour, really," she said looking around, "it doesn't look that much larger than OASIS I, though."</p> <p>"Oh, this is just the piloting area forward," Karl said, "it is ringed by partitioned spaces for some privacy, if there are ever enough people here at one time to need more than the basics."</p> <p>"The nickel tour," Kevin said, "and it does have some features that OASIS I doesn't have, which includes the makings for a small test agricultural system if anyone ever has some time to get it up and running... and is down to using a rather crude waste reprocessing system if the main one ever gives out."</p> <p>"All that carbon has got to go somewhere," Karl said, "once it goes through you, eh?"</p> <p>"Kevin, you know most of the sections the best, you take the lead," Ares said as he watched Kevin shift and go through the entryway in the bulkhead, followed by Diana and Athena.</p> <p>Karl drifted next to him as he watched the two women move through the hatchway.</p> <p>"Well, so much for getting hooked up with the half-sister, huh?"</p> <p>Ares looked at him and smiled.</p> <p>"Yes, I'd pretty much have to write Pallas off the 'hot prospects' list. But a better friend and companion you will never find anywhere, at any time, ever."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Just the one real road in and out is it?"</p> <p>"Yes, General, although the complex is pretty large because of the companies that came in, so there are access roads to the east and west, but those just comprise part of the overall complex," Major Cory Dalberg said looking at the map with added imagery taken by the one overhead satellite system that hadn't been thoroughly irradiated. Normally heavy particles were not something that was worried about with satellite design, but having an inrush of negatively charged particles followed by positively charged ones meant that anything exposed to space that had surface area attracted those particles to a somewhat higher degree. When the large wave of slow moving particles washed across the magnetosphere and pressed it down to within a few miles of the surface, that put everything at risk that hadn't been designed for such particles. When those particles hit satellites they then kicked smaller particles into the satellite interiors as ionizing radiation. An event as large as this had never been experienced directly save via those systems put out for solar monitoring and this rather low sunspot cycle was driving some of the largest CME events ever witnessed. Not much was ever going to be coming back on-line from the current satellite constellation, or facilities to get new birds into orbit, either. Thus the commercial spaceport now ranked at the very top of places of military importance.</p> <p>Save for the problem of the people who were already there.</p> <p>"And we have the high land to the east," Gen. McKay said looking over the map.</p> <p>"Yes, and we have some artillery there, too. That rise to the west is higher, but pretty much unaccessable and we don't have personnel to cover it."</p> <p>McKay looked at the other officers.</p> <p>"They lofted their ALV systems, then? They aren't in the facilities any more?"</p> <p>"Yes, sir," Capt. Yates said, "we could see them loading those Athena birds into them, and then they went up last night."</p> <p>"Well that's good," Gen. McKay said.</p> <p>"They do have some of the older systems tethered above the spaceport," Lt. DeSalle said, "they are at about 1,000' on winch systems about 300' apart."</p> <p>"They're unarmed," Yates said, "probably just observation systems."</p> <p>Gen. McKay smiled.</p> <p>"Watching us as we watch them, then. Still they can't muster more than 200 people, I would imagine."</p> <p>"Yes, sir," Capt. Frank said, "they are expecting something."</p> <p>"Yeah, that warning you got," Lt. DeSalle said, "to stay away from equipment...pretty cryptic."</p> <p>Gen. McKay snorted, "Probably that thing that's in orbit...that... Meridian is it?"</p> <p>"Yes, sir," Yates said, "looks like a chopped up Athena system. Not even a drop ship."</p> <p>DeSalle shook his head, "It looks like a tug, maybe. Something for smaller stuff, though. I know that there was some report of it working its way around, but that was before..."</p> <p>There was a moment of silence and then Gen. McKay spoke up, "Well, it can't do much up there beyond jangle some nerves, I would guess. Besides we got one of the laser birds up, and that should take care of any ground problems. If not, then the <i>USS Elmo </i>will just have to put a couple of missiles into that Event Horizon place, and maybe a hanger or two at the field."</p> <p>The others remained silent. As Gen. McKay looked at them.</p> <p>"Right, time to hand out a last warning. Then we get the party started at 0600. Shouldn't need anything fancy, just a few of the tanks we have getting on the road, then use the troops to clear the area. By then the laser bird should be ready to knock out anything that is already up that's a threat. It'll be done by Noon, local. You have your orders, I'll be at the radio tent."</p> <p>There were 'Yes, sir' responses and the officers left the tent after the General did, save for Capt. Frank who just looked at the map.</p> <p>"I'll just have to make sure to stay away from the coordinating trailer...maybe just order myself to be the one on direct visual..." he said softly, "...because I can look both ways, then."</p> <p>With that he hurried out of the tent.</p> <p>Soon Brigadier General McKay was giving his last warning.</p> <p>Then every single receiver, every single speaker, and even the microphones that used direct transceiver systems turned quietly on.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Plates are charged, Aaron," Karl said from the 3rd seat of Meridian.</p> <p>Ares shifted views and made sure that OASES were out of range of the frame.</p> <p>"Initiate, best for what we need for interfering about a millimeter on out," Ares said.</p> <p>"Checked, good to go," Kevin said.</p> <p>Meridian was encapsulated by a swirl of light for an instant and then, to Diana and Athena, it simply vanished from view, although a very dim fringe of light made of two thin arcs was visible above and below where it had been. Those arcs shifted above the station and disappeared, while Ares guided the ship towards the terminator region, coming out of the daylight side.</p> <p>"Not much in the way of radio going on," Kevin said as they passed over the Atlantic Ocean.</p> <p>"Time to see what it does with atmosphere, since we were good at above 70 miles, I'll dip down to 60," Ares said. There was a whistling sound coming from outside and a feeling of turbulence. "Not ideal, but workable. Moving to 20 miles."</p> <p>"Pressure building up on the hull," Karl said, "but its not keeping up with exterior frame pressure, though."</p> <p>"Any thoughts on that?" Ares asked.</p> <p>"Maybe the atoms aren't getting through the interface well and mostly getting moved around the interface too fast to come into the frame?" Kevin asked.</p> <p>"We also have interior frame motion, too," Karl said, "so what atmosphere that does get through gets pushed out pretty quickly. Not real thrust though."</p> <p>Ares inhaled and slowly exhaled.</p> <p>"Time to push down, coming in over the Gulf of Mexico," he said as they saw the land darken ahead of them. Below them there was a dot leaving a very shallow wake behind it on the Gulf. Coming up on the horizon was the Texas coast.</p> <p>"Got radio traffic from that, encrypted," Kevin said.</p> <p>"General or directed?" Ares asked.</p> <p>"Directed to satellite, a tight beam, plus overhead scanning radar."</p> <p>"Any chance they saw us?" Karl asked.</p> <p>"None," Kevin said, "our returns are so scattered it might as well be atmosphere."</p> <p>"Log it, position, direction, time," Ares said.</p> <p>"Got it," Kevin said.</p> <p>"We are at 10 miles altitude and still only a percent or two of atmospheric pressure," Karl said, "the interface just seems to push it around."</p> <p>"All right, I'm taking it as far down as I can still navigate with, and that is less than 1 mile," Ares said as the actual landscape started to blur under them and he kept watch on the radar returns.</p> <p>"That's fast," Kevin said.</p> <p>"I'm pulling up and slowing," Ares said, "Kevin we're searching for the radio traffic, I have a basic course and heading but want something a bit better if possible."</p> <p>"Can you come up another mile, maybe?" Kevin asked, "We're getting something and ground clutter is interfering....yes, that has it, just a few degrees north of our current heading."</p> <p>"What's the time down there, anyway?" Karl asked.</p> <p>"Close enough," Ares said as he slowed Meridian as he saw lights appear on the horizon and then smaller lights before that as they were no longer occluded by a ridge line. "That looks to be it."</p> <p>"That's it," Kevin said.</p> <p>"What's their comms like?"</p> <p>Ares stopped Meridian over the central part of the camp.</p> <p>"They have something pretty tight going to one of the operational relay sats. Can't get past the encryption, but there is also some radio traffic in the air to the north."</p> <p>"Really?" Karl said, "Now who could that be?"</p> <p>Ares started thinking about air bases and could name a few fighter and bomber wings, but nothing easy to the north and west, unless it was a stealth aircraft.</p> <p>"Charged particles still giving a lot of static," Kevin said.</p> <p>"So worst case is that we have a fighter or bomber wing coming in from the northwest, a short armored brigade below us and my guess is one of the high tech destroyers, although it didn't look like a <i>Burke </i>class ship. Either way, that means cruise missiles at pretty long range if they can pull into the Texas coast."</p> <p>"It's nearing 0600 below," Kevin said, "still pretty dark, though."</p> <p>"Oh Dark Hundred, yeah," Ares said with Meridian sitting in position, unmoving.</p> <p>"Time to start the soft scanning, Kevin. Find every single frequency that has a resonance to it and then use the lowest setting on the forward ion boosted system to see if you can establish a current."</p> <p>Kevin exhaled and looked at his system, then brought up the ion forward drive and shifted it to its ready status.</p> <p>"Starting scan, auto search for peaks and then a milliamp which ought to diffuse just enough to say if we got something other than ground with it. Auto-correlation is on. Multi-phase radar scan beginning and syncing ion discharge to the radar system."</p> <p>He watched as the system started to move out of the millimeter bands and through the longer wavelengths, where it started to get some positive hits at lengths that were at the farthest end of what the system could do.</p> <p>"I never thought that vehicles would have a wavelength to them," Kevin said, "but that is the case. That is the only thing that could give returns at those lengths. Someone has metal running in some circuits the length of their vehicles."</p> <p>"Internal power and comms for tanks and APCs," Ares said, "do we have anything that could hijack, say, speakers for headsets or even radio units? I would like to link that in with the comms here."</p> <p>"Wait a moment," Karl said, "you're thinking of...well, broadcasting to everything that has a speaker in it?"</p> <p>"Or that just resonates at those sizes, yes," Ares said, "I want to give fair warning..."</p> <p>"I can do that..." Kevin started, "...wait, general transmission in AM bands from the camp, probably for the spaceport. They're about to transmit."</p> <p>"Lets hear it," Ares said.</p> <p>"I am Brigadier General Colin McKay and I have been duly authorized by the President to requisition the use of the US Spaceport for military use for the duration of this emergency. I sent Captain..."</p> <p>"Ever notice how 'temporary' things always become permanent?" Karl asked.</p> <p>"Yeah, it starts with taxes and goes up to your entire life," Kevin said.</p> <p>"...who reported your unwillingness to recognize the validity of these orders. I have been in contact with the Joint Chiefs who confirm this to be a valid command..."</p> <p>"Aaron? We got another message coming in, but from the spaceport. It's encrypted but its Ascentech, do you want it?"</p> <p>"Yes," Ares said.</p> <p>"Right...its comms to WorkPlat...ummm...Aaron what is 'Ace 1, Jack 2?' mean?"</p> <p>"A warm welcome from space in DC and Arlington. Do we have a timing sequence on that?"</p> <p>"Yes...the moment the spaceport stops transmitting, and its now just doing a telemetry loop reading to keep the channel open."</p> <p>"That is what you call a 'deadman's switch'," Ares said, "or if you really piss off Ray, he will just decide to commit anyway."</p> <p>"But what is it, Aaron?"</p> <p>"A depleted uranium impactor with a tungsten-steel with tungsten-titanium matrix tip coated with the high temperature ceramics we use for ablative re-entry, and a tungsten-titanium matrix sheath to keep it together. Call it about 100 tons of same going at 20,000 miles per hour, give or take."</p> <p>"Oh," Karl said, "I get it. Ace is the top of the deck, eh? And Jack, is the knight, so the Pentagon."</p> <p>"Wow, I thought that was just for making shielding," Kevin said softly.</p> <p>"It would make great shielding," Ares said, "but it is the loaded gun that Ray keeps handy just in case. Can you blame him?"</p> <p>"Nope," Karl said, "good man. There's a price to pay when you tangle with a good man."</p> <p>"That's why I want the comms to everyone there," Ares said, "one last chance to stop them from being stupid. And then we have a long list of places to go, equipment to trash and then get the hell out so we can recharge."</p> <p>"...so I'm giving you 10 more minutes to peacefully relinquish the spaceport to recognized authority. I await your answer."</p> <p>"That's it, Aaron," Kevin said.</p> <p>"Are we ready for showtime?" Ares asked.</p> <p>"As I'll ever be," Kevin said.</p> <p>"Right. Karl keep the plasma system ready in case we need a boost in power."</p> <p>"Aye, no problem there," Karl said.</p> <p>"I think we have the right wavelengths for what you want, Aaron."</p> <p>"Good. Lets do it, best you think to get a message through. Dropping to 1 mile then to 2000'."</p> <p>"It's good to go, Aaron. You'll have AM, FM and shortwave if nothing else."</p> <p>Ares triggered the transmission system from his helmet.</p> <p>"I am pilot Aaron Culpepper of Meridian, the first move you make will put you all in deadly peril. Do not attack the spaceport as it has my wife, my child, my family, my property, and those I love there. A man has a right to defend against war and I will do so. When the first offensive piece of equipment starts moving, I will then act in self-defense. Culpepper, out."</p> <p>Kevin tried to get a decent set of readings at least into IR but was unable to do so.</p> <p>"I think I boosted it a bit too much," he said softly.</p> <p>"Just keep an eye on looking for RF from engines, and look for the first bit of motion."</p> <p>"We have that..." Kevin said.</p> <p>"Right, boost and hit the high points, I'm doing a general sweep over the camp, and then going to see what the interface can do to something a bit more solid, namely the artillery pieces..."</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-25433577164303833952015-11-28T03:16:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:44:00.646-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 16<p>"...I'm too valuable to send out," Hermes said looking at the screen where Ares was working out against the resistive units that could be used for upper body, lower body or full body stress calisthenics.</p> <p>"Well that is the way of it," he said as the screen gained a smaller picture of Kevin who was back at the comms station after doing his daily workout, "you actually are too valuable to be out in the field. Still you are an excellent shot and if anything got as far as the Horizon, you would be able to deal with it."</p> <p>Hermes leaned forward as a picture in picture appeared and he swapped them to see Kevin at the comm station after he had finished his daily workout.</p> <p>"We have a beacon notification from the TDRS array," he said, "its OASIS I giving its current position and trajectory."</p> <p>"Let me check here," Hermes said as he shifted back to look at a smaller screen off to the side that was linked to the field satellite system. "Yes, its there and...it looks like you will have visitors in a few days."</p> <p>"Really?" Ares asked slowing his workout and stowing the carbon fiber system back flat against the wall and closing the panel over it. He used a towel tethered to his belt to mop at sweat. Kevin turned to look at him and he floated out of range of the small camera at the workout area and into the one at the comms station.</p> <p>"Yes, they will be coming back into the Earth-Moon system gravity well, going around the Moon and doing a braking thrust there. Right now they've done a relatively long but low-g system engine use, and are now using the ion system for fine tuning the orbit. Let me get Brent up here," he wheeled the chair over to the small table the auxiliary system was on and hit the intercom and called for Brent to come up to the comms area.</p> <p>"Is it the automated system?" Ares asked Kevin softly.</p> <p>"No idea," he said, "its the same software we have here, so we could run a model on OASIS I and see..."</p> <p>"Brent will know," Hermes said, "to me it looks like the automated system...but Brent can do the larger analysis...any other signals?"</p> <p>Kevin shook his head from side to side. "Nada."</p> <p>"That's probably why no one could find it," Ares said, "they aren't on the programmed orbit, and they're going to cut a fine and close pass by the Moon, which we didn't have planned for the inward leg. Plus they are just a bit lower than expected, to make a good rendezvous in our orbit."</p> <p>Brent softly opened the door and Hermes got up and hugged him.</p> <p>"OASIS I just signaled with tracking and orbit data, coming back to co-orbit with II, and you are the expert in the package," he said softly, "I'll go let family know while you handle this."</p> <p>"Thank you," Brent said hugging the man who now had some of the softness, roundness of a woman, "make sure everyone who needs to know does. I'll handle this part."</p> <p>With a soft kiss they hugged harder and then Brent let go and Hermes smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, I shall."</p> <p>Hermes left closing the door and Brent sat down taking in what was going on.</p> <p>"So we have their flight data?" he asked sitting down and pulling up the software simulator package.</p> <p>"Yes," Kevin said, "just since they first linked into the system again...about a half-hour ago. There were a few handshakes they had to go through since all the nanos are dead. At least all the ones out there."</p> <p>"Right," Brent said pulling up the overall orbit schematic to find out just what satellites the information was coming through. One link went to the ISS, but it wasn't relaying the transponder properly since its crew evacuated for Earth just before the CME hit. Another set went to NASA satellites for down-linking data, but they weren't getting much in the way of instructions, so they were just bouncing the data between themselves looking for orders to get the data to something on the ground. The spaceport was on that list, and so was the WorkPlat and OASIS II.</p> <p>"Well there's the problem," Brent said, "the NASA linking satellites aren't tracking the spaceport very well, and since both OASIS II and the WorkPlat have good links, its going through you two. Give me a moment to let the spaceport down-link office know that the constellation is suffering some drift and needs updated coordinates..."</p> <p>"Sure," Kevin said, "We're going to lose direct link in a few minutes."</p> <p>Brent had sent a message with coordinates via the network to the down-link office, and the person there responded that they would send up a new set of coordinates. Also that there was a problem due to the lack of GPS satellites and other back-ups for the NASA systems to calibrate with.</p> <p>"You should get a re-link in a minute or two," Brent said, "once I have that I'm going to do a ping-back and get the flight profile from OASIS I. That should have all the data if its stored on their system. Plus it will let me know how things are going there."</p> <p>There was a brief scrambling on the screen and then a message about satellite links testing frequencies, then the screen cleared to show Kevin and Ares once more.</p> <p>"There! Should have full down-link capacity for a few hours, at least," Kevin said.</p> <p>"Yes we should, and I'm now doing a ping query for data to OASIS I..."</p> <p>"Brent, what have you made of the Meridian data?" Ares asked.</p> <p>"Its just amazing stuff..." Brent said shaking his head, "and damned thorough, too. Its hard to get such good field data like that. I have a separate system churning through it right now, so we should be able to get you a fine tuning in, possibly, another 6 to 8 hours."</p> <p>"Major amount of data just gut dumped here," Kevin said.</p> <p>"Same," Brent said as he watched the data stream into his system and then into the modeling package. "Great! Their initial change was more or less to profile, giving a good week to cut across Earth's orbit inside to outside. They were supposed to go a bit further out and let Earth sweep in and decide if they wanted to match then...that would be in another 10 days for that window to open and then they had 2 days before it closed...so they are just two days in the outside track and then changed course...about 3 hours ago. Got good telemetry locks, or as good as they can get, and then did a a half-g retro and are continuing with ions since they are going to do a swing-by the moon at..."</p> <p>Brent looked at the screen.</p> <p>"10 miles?" He let out his breath, "they will turn-over to kill velocity during that, so they should have some leeway, but that is just...close..."</p> <p>"Very," Ares said, "is there any margin for error on that?"</p> <p>Brent nodded.</p> <p>"The automated system package would look at 50 miles out, do a use there and then another 3 around Earth to pull into the OASIS II orbit. It looks like there was a minor correction use about an hour ago to shift from 50 miles to 10 miles. And with the way the CME has left everything, that is the equivalent of zero error, and 50 miles is actually cutting it close."</p> <p>"Diana," Ares whispered as he closed his eyes.</p> <p>"Has to be," Brent said, "she's going to economize on fuel but...has she ever done anything like this before?"</p> <p>Ares opened his eyes and chuckled.</p> <p>"That is how she has always lived from what I can tell. Sparing use of materials, accepting risks, and then following through. It doesn't always work, though. My guess is she is going to do a radar return adjustment when OASIS I comes in close. That is dangerous."</p> <p>"Is it too late to have them change course?"</p> <p>Brent worked the simulator and ran it back and forward a few times.</p> <p>"She will have another window at turn-over, delay braking by a minute and she gets a lot of leeway, but at 2 minutes she is then flying out on a large orbit and swinging back in, about 2 weeks. That window is at a bit less than 1 day...19 hours and a few minutes."</p> <p>"Someone needs to get a link up and talk to her. See what her plans are...maybe, I don't know...she's awfully hard to convince. You know?" Kevin said as he looked at Ares.</p> <p>"You can't, not easily," Ares said, looking back at Brent, "get Jasmine there. Tell Ray that she's needed so that OASIS I doesn't put a new crater on the Moon."</p> <p>Brent nodded.</p> <p>"Will do," he said standing up, "I'll get someone to be here in a minute or two, while I get a hold of Ray."</p> <p>"Roger that, Brent, standing by," Kevin said.</p> <p>"Will she even listen to Jasmine?" Kevin asked Ares softly.</p> <p>"That is the question, isn't it?"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Wouldn't it be better to just message them?" Athena asked as she looked at the screen in the forward cabin.</p> <p>Diana shrugged.</p> <p>"Possibly, yes. What we have gotten, however, is necessary attention and a demonstration that someone has cobbled a system together for getting data and messages. We are too distant for a maser link or for direct broadcast as we don't know what is working, and our signal would just be background at the spaceport that is having to deal with the last of Earth's magnetic field oscillating from the CME. Actually, that is worrying as the field is so weak that it would have strong initial effects and then die down quickly. Our readings aren't showing much of the CME now. But the strength of the magnetic field is below where it started."</p> <p>Athena shifted from the co-pilot's seat and looked at Diana and watched as she brought up displays. They had gone through a piloting training session of how to at least help the on-board piloting program to get some better results with minimal intervention.</p> <p>"So you're saying that waiting for them to contact us and giving them a reason to do that is better than trying to contact them?"</p> <p>Diana looked at Athena with a smile.</p> <p>"We know our capabilities and that response we just got for more data means they have something up and running. If we are sending messages and they can't receive them, then it is wasted effort. They know what we have, and I suspect that is Brent, Hermes, or Ares getting that data off our system. So we know they have data link capacity, but that is low bandwidth. You've seen what sort of bandwidth we have from the relay satellites..."</p> <p>Athena remembered that review from what satellite telemetry was giving them. The fact that there wasn't much telemetry was worrying.</p> <p>"So our choices would be to try and figure out what is working and tracking properly, which isn't good. Try and get a direct signal to something we know is working, like OASIS II..."</p> <p>"But they don't know where to look for us since I made the course change," Athena said and Diana smiled.</p> <p>"And, really, I can tell that the very high bandwidth stuff is in use, at least a few satellites are, and they are getting signals from a few places on Earth. They aren't beaming at us, however, and if we pull into geostationary orbit to do something with one of those, then we just might lose some capacity that is desperately needed now."</p> <p>Athena shivered thinking about the limited options they had available.</p> <p>"So a course correction on a somewhat dangerous course... means that we are asking for some priority?"</p> <p>Diana nodded.</p> <p>"Yes! I know the GPS is spotty, they know the GPS is spotty, and someone will think about how we are going to do this skimming the surface of the Moon fly-by...and a little piece of mail going to our systems just might not get attention..."</p> <p>"You're tricky," Athena said smiling, "you were always tricky, sister."</p> <p>"Is that a complaint or a request?" Diana asked softly.</p> <p>Athena chuckled.</p> <p>"An observation, maybe? But you are worse now than I remember you being..." Athena inhaled and closed her eyes, "...so many memories..." she opened her eyes, "...I love you, sister. Deeply. But you are still very tricky."</p> <p>Diana shrugged. "I love you. I'll take it as a compliment, then. Besides there are some people that we need to test things out on, and I really don't want it to be Kevin or Karl..."</p> <p>"Seeing me, you mean?" Athena asked.</p> <p>"Yes. Jasmine, Regina, Brent, Tamara..." Diana inhaled and closed her eyes, "...I hope they have come through all of this well," she pressed her eyes shut, "losing any of them would be..."</p> <p>"Hard," Athena said softly as she watched Diana.</p> <p>"Yes," Diana said opening her eyes, "our human family is not like us. I think the place you were in that made you absent...with your memory back you should now be...visible to all. Not just close family."</p> <p>Athena nodded and then saw Diana smirk.</p> <p>'Oh no, another tricky part," Athena said with a sigh.</p> <p>"Not on my part! I'm just wondering if anyone still has any pictures of you from before...because you are in them and if you re-appear to our human family, and all humans, then you will start showing up in the visible records." Diana made a sour face then. "If any survive...the fires..."</p> <p>"Don't dwell on that, Diana," Athena said, "we could do nothing about what happened."</p> <p>Diana shook her head slowly.</p> <p>"I wanted to prevent another Dark Age, sister."</p> <p>"We cannot save the dead, beloved. We can but try to salvage the living," Athena turned to look at the main display which was now showing part of the night side of Earth with the Moon coming into view, "savages we can't help. The civilized we must help. It is so hard to get civilization going, that it is never completely lost and this time we have something that can help show how to rebuild the right way."</p> <p>"Yes," Diana whispered, "that is the dream of our brother/sister. To leave this system entirely, for all who can and want to. I started out only thinking about...our state of being...saving you..." Diana looked at Earth, pressing her lips together, "and was willing to go further if I was...wrong..."</p> <p>"You aren't wrong, Diana," Athena shifted from looking at Earth to her sister once more.</p> <p>"But I am, sister," Diana said in a distant voice, "nature is much more present in us than just Earth. I was wrong. Very wrong. About us. About mankind being ready to join us. The only thing I am right about," she turned to look at Athena, "is you. I haven't failed with you."</p> <p>"None of this is a failure," Athena said opening up the straps and pushing off to Diana who watched her.</p> <p>"You did so much...no one could ask for more from you..." gently Athena grasped the straps of the seat Diana was in and pulled herself closer as Diana looked at her, "...I am proof of that, beloved. My sister. My spirit. My closest of all in sorrow and joy."</p> <p>"They will only have normal lives..." Diana whispered, "...and I love them so much. All I wanted was...to be human out of this. Share their risks."</p> <p>Athena pulled herself to Diana who she could see was shaking.</p> <p>"You have opened your life to them, and your love," Athena whispered, her face so close she could feel the heat of Diana, "I don't know if I could have done that if I had to achieve something like this. You were fearless to do this, to save me."</p> <p>"I wanted to save us all," Diana said softly, tears blurring over her eyes.</p> <p>Athena inhaled as she said that.</p> <p>"You...beloved," she shifted her legs around the seat, her arms moved around it and she pulled herself to Diana, "that is impossible for you to do."</p> <p>"I had to try. For you. For me. For our family. For everyone," Diana whispered, "because no one else was doing it and it needed to be done."</p> <p>Athena was at a loss for even when they were what they had been, no one of them would have even attempted this, least of all herself. The one who gave civilization a home, a beacon, a shield. Even she would not attempt such a far reaching goal. Her father might if he ever had a good mind about him, which he was lacking and paid a dear price for that. And she never would have thought that Artemis, especially after going through so much, would take on a task that far reaching.</p> <p>"Because it cannot be done. Surely you know that?"</p> <p>"Yes," Diana said softly, "I still had to. I couldn't stand it...if I didn't..."</p> <p>Settling herself on Diana's lap, her legs keeping her in place, Athena shifted herself and brought her arms forward to undo the release to the straps and gently, slowly, move her arms around Diana who was limp in her arms. Pulling her free she moved her legs and pushed them towards the entry. Diana moved slightly to get her arms around her back.</p> <p>"You are the best of us, my sister," Diana whispered.</p> <p>Athena shivered but still made her way to the sleeping area keeping Diana in her embrace.</p> <p>"If you fall short it is only because of such high aim," Athena said softly, "and I doubt that I ever would aim so high. You fell short of forever, dearest. You only hit the far horizon. Something I would never attempt you achieve. Hold me beloved, and know that you are loved, for your pain is, like mine, something that will not heal over easily, if at all. That is also worth doing, and I would love to do it with you. We can always fall short of that, and yet always be working towards it and that...will take us beyond the far horizon."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Ray sat next to Alice and Bill, with Kevin visible on screen via the satellite up-link</p> <p>"How many does the WorkPlat have left?" Ray asked.</p> <p>"Exactly 8 nanosats left inside it. Those were meant as future replacements," Alice said.</p> <p>Ray nodded, "Kevin you said that 3 of them would get us better coverage and bandwidth beyond simple messaging and telemetry, right?"</p> <p>"Well 3 from WorkPlat. There are still 5 left on the Lunar orbiter and that should be at least 2 from there, so 5 out of 13."</p> <p>Ray nodded and looked at Alice.</p> <p>"Will that help stabilize the comms sat situation?"</p> <p>"For awhile it will, yes," she said looking at the orbits of the Geo positioning satellites from the different arrays that had been lofted in the prior decades, "we will coordinate between the systems and that should, finally, allow us a few years or good comms function up and down all the way out to the geostationary ones that still need some station keeping adjustments from time to time. No orbit is completely stable and the nanosats will help to track that and get better positioning data back to the major comm sats."</p> <p>"Bill, what do we have on-hand to replace the nanosats that have been lost?" Ray asked.</p> <p>"They are pretty simple, Ray. A can, a mini-collector, some circuits, a sail and a tiny carbon dioxide thruster system. They are meant to be disposable, and if we had to put together say maybe 10 in the next month and get them lofted from an ALV-I we could do that with plenty of mass to spare."</p> <p>Ray pursed his lips looking at Kevin.</p> <p>"And you say that OASIS I should be within range of some of the outer satellites for better bandwidth? Beyond simple commands, that is."</p> <p>"That's it, Ray. Most of what was put up pointed mostly down, to Earth, not very much up and out into space. For the space probes multiple telescopes across the planet were coordinated to gather signals and data, while stuff landed on the Moon could just go in via the tracking sats, and then use closer satellites to feed video. Most if not all of the latter are not responsive, and what was at the Moon, unless it was in shadow during the CME, is toast electronically. If we want to look out with signals reception beyond simple Earth-Moon space, we need to re-position a working satellite or use nanosats to start cobbling one together."</p> <p>Raising an eyebrow, Ray looked at Alice and Bill.</p> <p>"I'm betting that another Athena II drop will be necessary at some point, which means an ALV-III. We will do a delayed small canister drop since the Athena II doesn't go to the edge of our lofting limit. Once its dropped, we will have a ton or two for a separate but small drop, and that will be nanosats to send to the WorkPlat or just the storage platform. We can find out what Highflight and X-CAL have in inventory, too, since they both use nanosats, although not the same type in the case of X-CAL. Those need conversion."</p> <p>Bill nodded. "Can do, Ray. With a small booster system or even just a solid booster, we can do that."</p> <p>"Ask around for systems, Bill. Plenty of stuff out there now that the competition has dried up and we are the only way to space," Ray said turning to Alice, "Drop as many nanosats as you need to get connectivity. This isn't just for OASIS I but for Meridian, as well. THAT has the capacity to get out of the Earth-Moon system and fast. Yet if they have to get comms back to us, a good functioning nanosat system feeding back to working comm sats will be a requirement. It actually was one from when Meridian returned, so that gets going, pronto. Keep Highflight informed. Once the nanosats have feeds out, I expect they will want bandwidth back, and even low resolution video is better than living on telemetry."</p> <p>"Will do, Ray," Alice said looking at Kevin.</p> <p>"Ray, we're going to take Meridian over to WorkPlat once it is in a stable orbit, just to check it over and deal with any technical glitches, because a couple have come up."</p> <p>"Right," Ray said still trying to adjust the scale factor for what Meridian was capable of doing, "Say, could you do a check-over of the Lunar orbiter and see if you can get some images of the lander sites? I know we have automated systems working, but if there are any surprises it would help to know about them now."</p> <p>Kevin smiled.</p> <p>"Well, since the landers are in sunlight now, the entire thing should be putting down anchors and setting up the accelerator. First loft from it is supposed to be in near the end of its daylight hours in 12 days."</p> <p>"That's why I want eyes on it. No surprises. Nature gave us a huge surprise, and I'm not liking it. Lets keep the surprises down and the functionality up, OK?" Ray said looking from Kevin then to Alice and Bill.</p> <p>"You got that right, Col. Kaplan," Kevin said.</p> <p>"Cut that out," Ray said looking at the screen, "I didn't ask to run this place, don't like doing it and have enough headaches as it is. And more are on the way...there are always more on the way. At least the ground currents have died down to a minor annoyance, now. By next week we will know just how bad it is...and if we are still running most of the satellites by then, it will be very, very bad."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Hatch reads closed, got a visual on that, Karl?"</p> <p>"Yah, closed and red. All the fittings detached, and retracting."</p> <p>"Good," Ares said, "Kevin do we have the updated profiles up and running?"</p> <p>"Yes, we do, Aaron. It looks like a thorough review with a few dozen Brent wants retested, but nothing serious. It looks like he has a good feel on the disc geometry and charge alignment."</p> <p>"It isn't simple," Karl said, "I know that from watching the mill carve out the tracings and then having to dope them before putting them all through the polishing heads on the mill. Not long per disc, but the number means time adds up."</p> <p>"Right," Ares said, "I have the orbit of WorkPlat. If it was any other vehicle I would be using the ion drives or plasma full drive. Right now its just thrusters to get distance from OASIS II. Kevin, let us know when we are at a safe distance to activate the main drive...and that is strange to say as the plasma system used to be the main drive."</p> <p>"And still necessary for large energy use, Aaron," Karl said, "although we do get frame relative velocity to worry about. The interface follows the array and that means we can be pointing forward but facing sideways relative to exterior motion. Or backwards, or any direction, because our frame encapsulation is relative to the interface."</p> <p>"Even after working with the simulations, it is still hard to get used to," Ares said.</p> <p>"We are at the safe distance now, Aaron," Kevin said.</p> <p>"Good. Karl, charge up the discs and get our interface up. We will do one of the leisurely low compression ones that actually allows visual observation. Those can take the low compression changes better than higher."</p> <p>"Aye, charging the system. A good one has a relative forward while we are at a right angle to it, so we can get the best window view forward as we go around the WorkPlat structure."</p> <p>"Good, we'll take that. Can we get a real-time visual back to the ground?"</p> <p>"Let me check...Karl there are a good cluster of relative positions where we have side frequencies as well, just a few miles per second."</p> <p>"Ah, good, Kevin! Yes, the one with the good visual and low distortion mid-band is what we want, eh?"</p> <p>"Yes, that's it," Kevin said as he saw the selected arrangement on the screen in front of him.</p> <p>"I like it," Ares said, "from that only 3 discs can be shifted to a much higher compression ratio."</p> <p>"That's it then, Aaron," Karl said, "you're the pilot."</p> <p>"I have never flown facing in one direction while the vessel is going at 90 degrees to it, with no apparent thrust. I'm going to my full internal helmet display as it is disorienting looking forward and piloting sideways."</p> <p>"A bit like driving a car with the steering wheel, brakes, and gas facing out the passenger side window, maybe?" Kevin asked.</p> <p>"Yes, save that I have 3 dimensions to work with. Piloting facing forward is one thing. Doing it sideways will take some getting used to. Now, my system is on linear. We are moving away from OASIS II."</p> <p>Kevin watched the rear cameras and then right side track OASIS II as it shifted and distorted as Meridian left the vicinity.</p> <p>"Karl make sure we get some use out of the panels, OK?"</p> <p>"Got it, Aaron. Deploying side panels. I need to make up a quick something to help open and close panels as our frame shifts. An optimal energy tracker of some kind to keep panels oriented in the general direction of the sun to track it."</p> <p>"Kevin we are shifting orbit, right?" Ares asked.</p> <p>"Yes, we are."</p> <p>"Good, frame compression is constant. If I want a higher speed, I need better compression and then have to hold it. Karl, I think something with a bit higher compression is necessary if we don't want to spend a few days at this."</p> <p>"Checking," Karl said, "fine, see the one I've highlighted, Kevin?"</p> <p>"Yes, I do. It looks good."</p> <p>"Fine. Aaron I'll switch to that, and you'll want to re-zero once its done."</p> <p>"Yes. Switch when ready."</p> <p>"Good, switching alignments."</p> <p>For a brief moment colors, darkness and skewed dots of light wheeled around Meridian.</p> <p>"Still good reception?" Karl asked.</p> <p>"Yes," Kevin said, "good enough, at least."</p> <p>"Putting us in a higher orbit...yes, far more responsive..."</p> <p>Kevin watched his navigational screen as Meridian moved at a rate that was overtaking orbits and passing satellites and debris. In less than half an hour the WorkPlat came on his screen, with Meridian closing on it from behind.</p> <p>"In a a couple of minutes I'll want one of the pinning configurations or one with very low rate of motion and transparent to as much as we can get on the visual end. Thermal if it can be managed.</p> <p>"I have it queued up already," Karl said, "quite a few to choose from with almost no power used, so we can loiter as long as you want."</p> <p>"Fine by me," Ares said, "Kevin do you have a course for this, or just complete coverage as close as we can get?"</p> <p>"Framework display is up and tracking, and that should give us a visual cone so you can section it off for data capture. At 250' we should be able to see everything except minor stress fractures, and it has to have a couple of those. If there are any critical ones, then a thorough repair and inspection will need to be done, and that will require thrust to match orbits."</p> <p>"Aye, suit thrusters should cover it, though, if we don't have much delta to worry about from the start. I've been playing with the modeling system to see if we can't get normal frame velocity from this set-up. I don't think we can, not easily, at least, mostly due to the safety geometries that Brent used for this."</p> <p>"That would be extremely handy," Ares said, "now I need the new alignment."</p> <p>"Re-zeroed?"</p> <p>"Yes," Ares said checking the thrust levers to make sure they were at the static zero point.</p> <p>"And, that's it, new alignment in. Not going to get better than a run with this one, but it is very good for sensors and comms."</p> <p>"Relative stop," Ares said, "Let me know when we are good to start, Kevin."</p> <p>"A moment. I'm putting an auto-focus routine on the visual sensors. IR is good. Using the phased array system to give me distance. All feeds are go and recording, we can start whenever you want as the model and capture are linked. Keep us under 3' per second to start."</p> <p>Meridian started its slow motion survey of the WorkPlat. Ares looked up to see that one of the released nanosats had opened its mini-array and was changing orientation as it moved off into space. Most short lived equipment in orbital space he didn't like, but the nanosats with their sails would fly further and further out from Earth and slowly above the equatorial plane long before they became a navigation hazard. Most of them would never reach far beyond Earth, being tugged at by larger bodies. Most would wind up close to Jupiter and then either impact one of its moons or be slowed by diffuse plasma around the giant planet until it grazed the farthest reaches of the actual atmosphere. Jupiter was large and greedy, a fitting name for the planet and its role in the solar system.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Across from the sleeping alcove came a persistent note. On and off and on and off...Athena opened her eyes and saw that Diana was asleep and slowly shifted to open the webbing then close it as she drifted to the edge of the alcove and pulled a privacy curtain across it. As she did so she also reached in for a coverall that she had left clipped to the webbing next to Diana's and slid her way into it, zipping it up as she pushed off against the wall and towards the comm terminal. There she saw a schematic of satellites and that a connection was being requested from Highflight down-link auxiliary terminal EH. Pulling herself into the seat and then putting cross straps on, she then pulled out the sound blocking piece next to the seat and turned the lighting on at the terminal.</p> <p>"Well, it is the right place and I can be on...so..." she hit the accept area on the screen, then a moment of blurred static was followed by a picture of Hermes and Jasmine sitting in front of their terminal.</p> <p>"This is OASIS I, good evening, my brother and sister, over," she said softly.</p> <p>Jasmine glanced from her tablet screen for a moment and then stopped as she stared at the main screen.</p> <p>"Greetings, sister. That answers so many questions there that I cannot say just how many it is, over," Hermes said with a deep smile.</p> <p>"Yes it does, my brother. And hello, Jasmine, it is obvious that the other question is also answered, isn't it, over?"</p> <p>Hermes looked at Jasmine who was still staring directly at Athena.</p> <p>"Jasmine?" he asked her softly and she just shook her head once.</p> <p>"Wow..." she whispered, "even what the program showed...you're...its like...wow..."</p> <p>Hermes chuckled.</p> <p>"She does have that effect, Jasmine," Hermes said, "no one would have settled at Athens with the brackish spring of Poseidon if it wasn't for her being there. Beyond the harbor I never could figure out what they saw in the place."</p> <p>"Quite a lot, my brother. It was a good place to establish a new beginning, a new way to do things, and our human brothers and sisters deserved that after so many trials and tribulations. I can still see them with their crude shields and bronze knives and spears, ready to take on anything. Ah memory blessed and accursed, both," Athena sat staring at the screen, entranced by the young woman staring at her, "and, yes Jasmine, I do look somewhat like Diana's sister and that is because I am. Younger and older than she, that is how it came to be and that is what it is."</p> <p>Jasmine looked at Hermes with wide eyes, "Even with Diana I still had, something, somewhere...reservations...but this?"</p> <p>Hermes leaned over to hug her and she him, and then they looked at each other then both looked at the screen.</p> <p>"Yet another one lost to the beauty that is Athena," he said with a smile.</p> <p>Athena lost some of her happiness and looked at them. "Not Athena unalloyed, my brother."</p> <p>"Of course, Pallas Athene."</p> <p>"More than that. In the modern way, Pallas Athena Sherwood...I acted out my last coherent memories as I awoke, brother, and...you found me after father broke my grip, my arms and then used his sword to break open my head, though at that point it was just sheer white agony and blackness after it. I have no memory of you getting me out, brother. But before he broke my grip I sought to choke him and that memory reached beyond his grave...and it was Diana I was choking who was coming to soothe my dreams, my awakening, and I did not know."</p> <p>She watched as Jasmine and Hermes both took that in and their joyous attitude went to one of disbelief and fear.</p> <p>"That is the other part, she has recovered as you all have...I have...after our fall. Something broke the hold of the Lethe here on me. I am back with the domain of Earth and it has not returned. Diana is recovered but, she sees her larger mission as a failure, over."</p> <p>"But it can't be..." Jasmine whispered, "she...what she wanted..."</p> <p>"More islands of life for mankind," Hermes whispered, "to her the chance happening that is regular and that Earth barely escaped many times...she will see it as her fault, her cause...civilization dealt a horrific blow, billions dead, to save her sister."</p> <p>"You know her so well, brother," Athena whispered, "it is more than just that. She sought to finally thwart our father to give each of us the chance to have a normal life. Yet the reach of what he has done is, obviously, beyond simple means. I cherish her, comfort her, and seek to give her joy, but she is caught up in thinking that this is her failure and her fault, both. Yet it is neither."</p> <p>"Diana..." Jasmine whispered, "shes so...strong..."</p> <p>"And fragile," Hermes said, "even with what happened to her, her ways of a child are still not gone and may never be gone until all dies and even matter no longer exists. There were flaws in that simple approach, Jasmine, but it yielded so much...how could I gainsay success? It worked..."</p> <p>"Continues to work," Athena said, "sorry this delay is slightly irritating. Diana set course to get someone on Earth to take some notice of us...to see if anyone was still there...I disagreed with it but, as you say my brother, it worked. To set your minds at rest, I know enough to put in the delay necessary for a course where we can count grains of moon dust as we pass by the Moon."</p> <p>Hermes chuckled as he heard that and Jasmine smiled.</p> <p>"Please do, sister! Diana is resting?"</p> <p>"Yes, my brother. I will be getting her, ah, as involved as I can...ah, Jasmine you do understand, yes?"</p> <p>Jasmine nodded.</p> <p>"I would do the same if I was there," Jasmine said, "for all her strength of character and attitude, she is a lot of fun to be with. Remind her that it is time for hard work..."</p> <p>"...then eat and play," Athena finished and smiled and saw Jasmine nod as she realized that Athena had talked over her, finished the sentence even as she was doing that.</p> <p>"Anything else of note, my brother?"</p> <p>Hermes inhaled and nodded.</p> <p>"A bit. I'll send a compressed review of what we are sending out for the people of Earth. Someone needs to spread hope and we chose Ray Kaplan as the face of that. He is a very good man. In space, our brother's ship, Meridian, has checked out and Brent has gone through their recordings to fine tune the workings of the vessel. They are currently..." Hermes looked off screen, "...around the Moon checking out the Ascentech orbiter and lander missions there. They finished up the WorkPlat survey, and it looks good and is being powered up. You can find all that on the telemetry for the piloting area. The last part is the governor for New Mexico showed up in a helicopter to meet with Ray just an hour ago...no idea what that is about, but it is a good sign that more than just Hawaii, Alaska and Texas have made it through with some functioning government. At least enough to coordinate for telescope time and work with the satellite constellations. We are not out of the woods yet, to use a modern phrase, and this is still the dark time of Earth."</p> <p>Athena smiled.</p> <p>"I know a bit about civilization, brother," she said holding her thumb and forefinger barely an inch apart, "but you are doing right there. Hope first. Knowing that you aren't alone in misery helps ever so much."</p> <p>"Yes, it does," Jasmine said, "let Diana know that...we will always have someone here for her if she wants to talk. And you. Or, ah...both...I think I can handle that..." she said with a bit of uncertainty at the end.</p> <p>"Oh, you can, don't worry," Hermes said, "you are my brother's daughter, and he has raised no fearful idiots. Although we don't know if Nicholas, his son, and his wife made it through."</p> <p>Athena nodded.</p> <p>"Send my understanding and love to him and Gemma."</p> <p>"I will," Jasmine said looking at Hermes who nodded.</p> <p>"I'll sign off here, and get Brent over, in case you run into any problems on the course correction."</p> <p>"Yes, my brother. That is next. OASIS I over and out."</p> <p>She put the terminal on standby and then lifted the sound barrier and shut the small lights down. After that she pushed to the forward cabin and the pilot's seat to strap in and call up the course alternatives that Diana had laid in, and chose the one with a wide margin for safety. There was just a minor change from the ion engines as that happened and Athena smiled.</p> <p>"I am coming to like this space travel. Really, I do have to learn more about it."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"...and my wife Darlene," Ray said introducing the woman who was dressed in a dark red pantsuit to his wife at the Ascentech Hangar Office.</p> <p>"Pleased to meet you, Gov. Oroko," Darlene said shaking her hand.</p> <p>"And me to meet you, Mrs. Kaplan," Fernanda Oroko said.</p> <p>"My General Manager, Harry Nordhaus," Ray said.</p> <p>Harry reached across the table to shake hands.</p> <p>"Its good to have you here, Governor," he said.</p> <p>"Glad to be here, Mr. Nordhaus."</p> <p>"Dennis and Gemma Pennerton, heads of SLSR's Space Habitat Engineering group, and both in charge of our current agricultural work," Ray said.</p> <p>"I hope your trip was well," Gemma said.</p> <p>Fernanda shrugged, "It could have been worse, much worse," she said softly.</p> <p>"I have no doubt, Governor," Dionysus said reaching out to shake her hand, "this is a hard time to live through."</p> <p>She gave a pressed smile and a short nod.</p> <p>"Finally Mary Weingarten, General Manager of Z-Flight locally and head of the spaceport integration project," Ray said looking at the well tanned woman who had been through much, and had herself volunteered to start changing the operations by the multiple companies at the spaceport.</p> <p>"Pleased to meet you, Gov. Oroko," she said</p> <p>"The same," Fernanda said with a smile.</p> <p>Fernanda looked at the group of business people, engineers, managers, and hands-on technical staff present in the office.</p> <p>"I brought Charlie Renton with me, he was the Assistant Speaker at the Legislature and was vacationing near our cabin when the CME hit. I tried to direct evacuations but..." Fernanda shivered remembering the scene on the third night and watching the flames jumping from building to building, and people screaming for help when they weren't just running in terror, "...my chief of staff shoved me into a helicopter and told the pilot to get me the hell out of there."</p> <p>"Pleased to meet you all," Charlie said, "I had just caught the flu and my family demanded some time from me, and since no real important legislation was moving through, I decided I could be spared."</p> <p>"That and getting your re-election campaign going," Darlene said with a smile and Charlie smirked and nodded.</p> <p>"That, too," he whispered.</p> <p>"Sit down, please," Ray said, "we do have coffee to go around, and some chips with salsa to the side. We're a good two months from growing our own plants for the salsa, and what's in stock won't last and be fresh for much longer."</p> <p>"Ice water and tea are also available to the side," Gemma said, "though it is unsweetened as we can't use sugar like we did."</p> <p>"Nor salt," Dionysus said.</p> <p>"Thank you, can Jason, my pilot..." Fernanda started.</p> <p>"Welcome here, but I think he would like some time looking around, and I'm sure that Thad will be glad to show him around, and he can have the run of our small commissary area."</p> <p>"You are most gracious, thank you, Mr. Kaplan," Fernanda said.</p> <p>"We got word a bit earlier that a few parts of the State government are working," Ray said, "but nothing direct. I take it the full government didn't fare well?"</p> <p>Fernanda looked at Charlie as he stood up to get some iced tea and she just indicated for ice water.</p> <p>"No, it didn't, Mr. Kaplan. This late in the year fire can be a real hazard and...modern buildings...even with suppression systems..."</p> <p>"Those are meant to slow down large fires or put out small ones. Once," Mary said softly, "Fires that have already started and are moving can be held up by them, but only if there is a good firefighting response can they be stopped."</p> <p>"They couldn't be stopped and...I had thought that getting the legislature to...attend to business was very important. I'm afraid that I'm responsible for a number of deaths because of that."</p> <p>Charlie put the glass of water down for her and set his own glass of iced tea down.</p> <p>"No, you aren't, Fernanda. Our buildings weren't fire traps, but the cities..."</p> <p>"Yes," Dionysus said, "no fault of yours in thinking cities will withstand anything. So durable on the outside, but take such great protection that we forget they are temporary to the elements that are everlasting."</p> <p>"Governor, we each have to deal with those we haven't heard from or those we may have put at risk because of our decisions," Ray said, "my own grown children I haven't heard from them, nor Mary from her grown son, nor the Pennerton's from their grown son's family. We don't know what happened to them and while we hold out hope, we know that this is not a time to bet on survival if you aren't prepared for it."</p> <p>"Yes, Mr. Kaplan," Charlie said, "even where we were at...a resort, really...it wasn't prepared to stand more than a few days of being without any connections to the outside. And Fernanda's family vacation home was close, and when I saw the helicopter landing at the clearing there, I decided that it was time to take my family to her."</p> <p>He looked at her and she nodded.</p> <p>"By good grace we have our families," Fernanda said.</p> <p>"And now need to work hard to keep them together," Gemma said.</p> <p>"Yes. I'm not just a politician and my powers as Governor rest on what I'm allowed to do. Yet the National Guard, I thought that they would be in a better position..."</p> <p>"Only if they were prepared for it, Governor," Harry said.</p> <p>Charlie looked at him and nodded.</p> <p>"We've cobbled together some capacity, but...nothing would have stopped the fires once they started and the transmission ability of the 2 units that at least could get a few dozen people together is mostly gone. Back-up generators out of fuel...wasted trying to communicate for days when no one could."</p> <p>"Its a shock, I know, Mr. Renton," Darlene said, "and when we first got here no one was making any plans. Yet Herman Lassiter and our largest investor, Diana Sherwood, plus their cousin Aaron Culpepper made the case for everyone here to at least get enough food, water and supplies laid in for a year of disaster, and more if we could afford it. We had to deal with the original founders of the spaceport to get them on-board..."</p> <p>Mary nodded.</p> <p>"I thought it was insane at the time, truthfully." She said, "But some of our technical staff started to chime in and they were in-favor of it, even willing to start their own family caches...then X-CAL signed on and we followed. Within 3 years we had supplies laid in for our personnel and operations."</p> <p>Fernanda looked at her and then at the faces of the people sitting across from her.</p> <p>"You aren't...this isn't an emergency for you?"</p> <p>"Oh, no, Gov. Oroko, it is," Darlene said, "a horrific one and we've had suicides here and people just walk out, taking their personal vehicles and leaving. We are not immune to the horrors happening in the rest of the world. However we are not in a local emergency, but coping with the more general one in the very best way we know how. It is an emergency for the world, but for us it is just another damned obstacle being put down for us and we intend to get over it and past it."</p> <p>"No, we aren't," Ray said, "we are addressing them."</p> <p>"We heard your message...messages...a couple of days ago..." Charlie started, "there are a few places where they can't transmit anything, but have receivers, satellite dishes for television. Mostly remote homes, and one warehouse area miles from anything as it was a truck depot. Your message just repeats every few hours on the one channel, and the others...."</p> <p>"Ray," Fernanda said, "a lot of people stopped running, stopped killing, when they heard you and hear you. Supermarkets have been raided, of course, stores cleaned out...but there are stores that sell lumber, hardware, fittings, pipe...home improvement stores...I've seen them where people have organized around them, protect them and then show what can be done with modest amounts of material. One area was close to where, well, call them rioters but they were mostly just seeking to steal anything, kill for food, where they were stopped permanently by a group surrounding a store like that."</p> <p>Ray looked down the table and saw Dionysus and Gemma look at each other with a smile.</p> <p>"In fact that is how we contacted the Texas government and that's why I'm here. There are generators that we can get working again, but no fuel. We can't go far with that as we don't have any large supply of transformers around, but even in just a few neighborhoods, there is that need and Texas is willing to supply fuel from their working refineries for that purpose. They would like to put a depot in here at the spaceport so that they don't have to go all the way north, but can have a central distribution point here."</p> <p>"Mary?" Ray asked.</p> <p>She looked at him.</p> <p>"I'm just the one doing the external stuff, along with some other necessary things. I really don't see a fuel depot in the vicinity of the spaceport as a problem, and Ascentech can donate land to that purpose. What we will need is to divert labor for it, and I don't want that to interfere with our survival here."</p> <p>Fernanda exhaled as she realized she had been holding her breath.</p> <p>"No, we don't want to stop your work or hurt it," she said, "we can get some people together to do this, although we will need to go further south to get some heavy equipment."</p> <p>"That we can lend you, Governor," Mary said, "and we are short on labor in many areas. If you can supply the labor, we can loan you vehicles, and if Ray has land for you, then it should be OK."</p> <p>"Good," she said with visible relief, "now there is one other topic. The President has declared this a National Emergency and is wanting to use facilities to organize for a recovery effort."</p> <p>Ray shook his head, "We haven't heard of that, Governor. Plenty of military sites they can use, even ones nearby."</p> <p>"Ah, Ray, they are looking at the spaceport as hub out to the southwest beyond Texas."</p> <p>Ray leaned forward.</p> <p>"Does he have anything signed off by Congress for this?" he asked softly.</p> <p>"No," Charlie said in a whisper.</p> <p>Ray shook his head.</p> <p>"Governor does it look to you like the spaceport is in a crisis? I'm more than willing to give you a tour of it, so you can see for yourself as we are a bit out from the center of it."</p> <p>She looked at Charlie who nodded.</p> <p>"I would like that, quite a lot, actually."</p> <p>"Good!" Ray said with a smile, "Because I expect to have your signature on a document saying so. Then we'll contact the sheriff's office to let him know we are still working to keep things in order and enjoy working with his deputies."</p> <p>Fernanda frowned as he spoke.</p> <p>"But why, Ray?"</p> <p>Ray smiled for a moment and then sat back.</p> <p>"Because I'm also Col. Kaplan of the local militia and my job...my duty...is to protect the lives, families and works of the people who live here. Not to hand them over to any government, yours included."</p> <p>"But, Ray, its perfectly reasonable..." Fernanda started.</p> <p>"No, its not," Harry said.</p> <p>Charlie and Fernanda looked at him.</p> <p>"Congress has not authorized any such thing," Harry started, "and at this point does any legislative body have that sort of legitimacy considering what has happened? The majority of those that elected them are dead or fleeing their homes because of the decisions that were made or not made to prevent this."</p> <p>"That's the thing," Darlene said, "you came here asking for help, Governor Oroko. And Ray got elected,"</p> <p>"Stuck with the job," Ray said shaking his head.</p> <p>"Dear, you are very good at what you set your mind to," Darlene said looking at him and then back to Fernanda, "He was elected after the CME to organize the protection of the spaceport and help get its internal works going. You aren't telling us what to do, Governor, and we welcome anyone who wishes to work with us."</p> <p>"Most welcome," Gemma said softly.</p> <p>"You see, Governor," Dionysus said leaning forward, "Ray is doing this not because he wants to, but because we asked him to do it. This is a hard decision and it effects every man, woman, child, ship, building, power supply, water supply, indeed everything that hard work has put into place here. You do not go from dusty road to spaceport without a lot of hard work being put into it. Survival is very hard work and we know how to survive and not screw it up that badly."</p> <p>Ray chuckled, "We still make mistakes, but we do learn from them," he said and then turned to the Governor.</p> <p>"You see there is this little document we agreed to live under, called a Constitution. To take land requires the State to agree to it, and an act of Congress to request it. With your signature, you are saying that this is well run private property that is, at the same time, welcoming to those who wish to help us. We aren't up for grabs, especially power grabs. And the militia will resist with all we have."</p> <p>"And then some," Dionysus whispered.</p> <p>"But...that's..."</p> <p>"Living within the Constitution, Governor," Harry said, "and you may want to read it just a bit further in that first part and go past all the things it allows. It is speaking to you and our situation right now."</p> <p>"To our situation? But how can it do that? It was not made when there was such technology, such conditions..."</p> <p>"Ah, you see, Governor," Dionysus said, "there are two unchanging things it addresses. Man and Nature. I've given it a perusal myself, here and there, and I will say it isn't all that bad a job in addressing them, although there are many, many worse ones, as numerous as grains of sand on the beach."</p> <p>"You would put your lives on the line for this?" Charlie asked.</p> <p>Ray nodded.</p> <p>"Sure. If they start seizing property without due process of law, then that is part of your life they are taking. The next thing is your entire life, and that isn't far behind. Better to get that settled now, during hard times, so that we can work to more civilized ones with that as a basis of understanding."</p> <p>"They have tanks, aircraft, missiles...Ray...I thought that you would be reasonable," Fernanda said.</p> <p>"And I am! You came to me asking for help, Governor. It sounds like they want to tell me what to do and you know something?"</p> <p>Fernanda looked puzzled at him and shook her head.</p> <p>"We have an entire Amendment that addresses THAT situation," Ray smiled.</p> <p>"Besides," Harry said, "we have the one thing necessary in any fight."</p> <p>"What's that?" Charlie asked.</p> <p>Ray chuckled and nodded.</p> <p>"The high ground."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Jasmine had her tablet system on a stand at the table as she slowly worked at the hunter's stew that she had started down at the outdoor kitchen for Event Horizon, which was tended by someone day and night for those coming in at odd hours from patrols. She had been working in the main area downstairs and got a chance to meet the State Governor who was being given a tour of the major part of the spaceport by Ray and a group of people he had chosen to meet with her. Event Horizon had become the one place that everyone knew they could get any news, get some decent food and check in with Tom Burke who was running the work clearing boards and helping with the design of new greenhouse systems and agricultural systems. This work was now extending out to local ranchers, farmers and those who owned property and were clearing it for use. Jasmine had been able to shift scouting and hunting duties for time at Horizon, so she could be present to keep the OASIS I and II links open. She had then been drafted by Tom, Dennis and Brent for different projects and was coming to think that she was better off scouting and hunting.</p> <p>Marissa stepped out from the bathroom area with a green robe on and steam followed her as the hot water was supplied by the solar tanks on the roof, and she seemed a bit refreshed after her 3 day trip to meet local farmers and ranchers, do an exterior perimeter patrol, and to help fence off a portion of the extended spaceport for the small herd of cattle the spaceport had started to collect. Pigs, chickens, and even goats were now being tended to outside of the main spaceport environs, and Marissa's team was tasked with getting some help on the understanding of how to properly care for them. The knowledge was available amongst the spaceport crews, but insights into the particular environment of central New Mexico would help keep livestock healthy and that was something nearly no one had. Marissa was using a brush on her hair and she smiled looking at Jasmine.</p> <p>"That smells delicious!" she said.</p> <p>"Not bad," Jasmine said, "we really do have to get potatoes growing soon, plenty of buds and we're nearly completed with the local sheeting project.</p> <p>Marissa smiled and moved to the chair across from Jasmine as she worked at tangles and snarls.</p> <p>"Diana cut it back in August," she said, "and now its just at the point where I need conditioner but don't have any..."</p> <p>Raising her eyebrows as she was taking a piece of venison from the stew, Jasmine looked at her as she chewed at the meat, nodding.</p> <p>"If you want, I can do that for you," Jasmine said softly.</p> <p>Marissa stopped brushing her hair and started taking the hair that had been pulled out by the brush from it, and put it in a robe pocket. Looking at Jasmine she smiled.</p> <p>"I would like that," Marissa said in something above a whisper.</p> <p>"Give me a moment," Jasmine said getting up from her chair to go over to the bathroom.</p> <p>"Don't leave what you're doing for me," Marissa said.</p> <p>"It's no bother," Jasmine's voice came out somewhat muffled from the bathroom.</p> <p>When she returned she had the comb and scissors she used for cutting her own hair.</p> <p>"Let me use the comb," Jasmine said, "I can find the snarls and see if they can be worked out, first, before cutting."</p> <p>"OK," Marissa said as she felt a towel drop around her shoulders and then saw Jasmine putting another on the floor behind the chair. Jasmine worked first with the surface hair and then slowly, stroke by stroke, deeper, stopping when she found a snarl.</p> <p>"Sorry for the pulling," Jasmine whispered.</p> <p>"I don't mind," Marissa said. Slowly she relaxed as Jasmine continued to comb and work out snarls.</p> <p>"Jasmine?" she asked softly.</p> <p>"Hmmm...yes?"</p> <p>"Why did you...want me here?"</p> <p>There was a silence as Jasmine slowly slid the comb through a section of hair.</p> <p>"You mean with me?"</p> <p>"I guess that, yes. And, you know?"</p> <p>Jasmine chuckled.</p> <p>"Work routine, you know? Its habituating after a few nights."</p> <p>Marissa closed her eyes.</p> <p>"So just...for that?"</p> <p>She felt Jasmine slide her fingers up under her hair and they gently massaged her scalp and she moaned softly.</p> <p>"No, Marissa. I researched you with Diana. I know what you did, how you operated...and what you were probably looking for, too."</p> <p>Marissa winced but she didn't hear any malice or hatred in Jasmine's voice.</p> <p>"I don't...understand..." Marissa said as she felt Jasmine continue with the combing, though much slower.</p> <p>"That was a very brave thing to do, Marissa. Incredibly stupid if you meant to harm her, you know?"</p> <p>"Yes," Marissa sighed and realized the effect this was having on her.</p> <p>"And for dirt it would either be Liza or Candice, and Diana ruled out Liza and said you wouldn't be able to find her."</p> <p>"No, I couldn't," Marissa said and opened her eyes, "but you knew what went on, didn't you?"</p> <p>Jasmine worked at another snarl and this one she had to clip out.</p> <p>"Oh, in some detail on the events side, yes. Herman, Regina, my folks, Aaron, Tamara, Nuada, Mel...the actual events, of course, I knew. So I knew what Candice knew, and Liza knows, and Diana would not tell me details of her relationships...say, that is one of the big reasons I wanted you here."</p> <p>"It is?" Marissa said with a soft start as she heard the scissors near her left ear cutting at a tangle that was just too bad to tease out.</p> <p>Jasmine looked around to look at Marissa.</p> <p>"Here's a question for you, and you don't have to answer. Ever. Would you ever say what the personal details of your relationship with Diana actually are?"</p> <p>Marissa shivered and slightly shook her head.</p> <p>"No," she whispered, "not ever."</p> <p>Jasmine nodded.</p> <p>"Same here," she said shifting back to stand up straight and continue working on Marissa's hair. "And Candice didn't tell you any of those juicy details, did she?"</p> <p>Frowning Marissa thought for a moment and then said, "No, she didn't. Always...avoided that."</p> <p>"That is a major fact. I would never invite anyone in my life who would try to pry such details out of me. It has been a real killer on possible relationships and partners..." Jasmine sighed, "...Regina can because Herman and Brent respect her no end. Same with Aaron and Tamara. And I think something a bit more complex is at work with Nuada and Mel, but them, too."</p> <p>"So because I can keep a secret?" Marissa asked.</p> <p>Chuckling Jasmine looked around from the right at Marissa.</p> <p>"I know your career, Marissa. But it isn't that, not one piece of that. Imagine if you had told someone about details, how would you feel about yourself?"</p> <p>Marissa had never thought about that and with that question she saw a vast abyss open in front of her.</p> <p>"I would have just betrayed...who I am. Our relationship. Its...I wouldn't be able to live with it," she said staring straight ahead. Slowly Jasmine came around to get in her line of vision and then stoop down, with her arms on her shoulders.</p> <p>"I know," she whispered, "it wouldn't be betraying her. But making yourself worthless to yourself. I will never ask you about what you did that is personal, Marissa. It isn't about secrets."</p> <p>Looking at her, Marissa nodded.</p> <p>"Its about...so much more..."</p> <p>Slowly Jasmine shifted her legs around and straddled Marissa and settled on her lap.</p> <p>"You gave up the life you had," she said softly, "and took a new life she held out to you."</p> <p>Marissa shifted her arms around Jasmine's back as she came closer.</p> <p>"And so did I, Marissa. Its very scary moving into a new life, a new future. I couldn't let you do that alone because I saw that you wanted to lose yourself in work. Someone had to remind you about you. I wouldn't have anyone else like this, save Diana, and when we sleep together in her room we have made, she is there with us even when she is farther away than any other has gone."</p> <p>Marissa leaned forward to hold Jasmine and she held Marissa.</p> <p>"Thank you, Jasmine," she whispered.</p> <p>"Always," Jasmine whispered, "you are someone worth holding on to. You wouldn't be here if you weren't."</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-37017245176855567112015-11-28T03:15:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:41:59.762-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 15<p>Once more Marissa was moving her furniture, clothes, and all that she still owned. This time it was just down the hall of the upper floor of Event Horizon and she had help. The relatively large apartment she had been in, at least by her standards, was needed for other things, which included making a small interior greenhouse out of it with a solarium that would go from the ground to the roof.</p> <p>That renovation was being led by Regina and Gemma, and they were looking at producing most of the herbs, peppers, and various other small vegetables on-site. By the time the large pieces of furniture were going out, mostly her bed, a sofa and a couple of bookcases, the stripping of the walls and floors had begun. In a week the modular racking would be in place, scavenged from a small start-ups offices, Therotech, which had no one actually at the spaceport or even tending to its office space. There weren't a lot of buildings at the spaceport, but the few that had held just outlets for larger firms were now considered 'fair game' for stripping and renovation to apartments or to other uses. Using dollies and hand trucks with the help of Brent and Jasmine, Marissa was moving to her next abode.</p> <p>It already had an occupant.</p> <p>Jasmine Pennerton had told Marissa that it was either there or Karl's and she wasn't so sure they wouldn't both end up at Karl's place until he came back. Being one of the members of Dennis' family and not wanting to share her living space with them, at a small pre-fab just a half-block down the street, meant that she had gotten a relatively large apartment and something closer to a suite, although it didn't have a dividing wall with door. After moving in from her apartment where she had been during her college years, Jasmine didn't have very much and the refrigerator/freezer was one she had cadged from Karl's outdoor remains, and just re-did the insulation and put in a new compressor after he checked the tubing out. As Marissa moved in she saw that her relatively new system looked like a stark white piece of gleaming metal compared to the monster that had most of its paint taken off by sand over decades.</p> <p>"Which stays?" Marissa asked as Brent wheeled it into the apartment. Jasmine was there and looked at her system and then Marissa's, and took out a tape measure.</p> <p>"Open the doors," she said and Marissa did that with her system and Marissa measured it out. Then she went over to her refrigerator and measured that. "This one," she said pointing at her refrigerator, "can go to the solarium. Marissa's is better suited to here."</p> <p>"Fine by me," Brent said as he pushed the new refrigerator to the side and then helped Jasmine get the food out of the old one and onto counters around the kitchen. After that the recreated monstrosity was disconnected and the wheel system that Karl put in on the underside let it roll smoothly out. In a few minutes the new system was in place, plugged in and the two women were sorting out the food to be kept in it.</p> <p>"You don't have much," Jasmine said softly to her.</p> <p>"Neither do you," Marissa said looking at Jasmine.</p> <p>"Well I got used to Diana's..." Jasmine said shaking her head and shrugging.</p> <p>"So did I," Marissa said with a smile.</p> <p>After that the sofa was easy to place, as were the bookcases, and small pile of boxes. When Marissa came in with her clothing still in dresser drawers she looked at Jasmine, who was looking at her.</p> <p>"Ummm...where do I sleep?" Marissa asked softly.</p> <p>"There's the room I use as a sort of office, but all of that can come out here. What size bed do you have?"</p> <p>"Twin."</p> <p>"Cal King, extra firm," Jasmine said, "dad got it for me," she smiled, "it's the best piece of furniture I have, really."</p> <p>Marissa nodded, "Need to be able to sleep hard after..."</p> <p>Jasmine picked up, "...a hard day's work and some fun afterwards."</p> <p>They locked eyes and smiled at each other.</p> <p>"I, uh, you know, I'm not..." Marissa started in a halting fashion.</p> <p>"Me neither, but..." Jasmine said as they still looked at each other. "Your bed can fit in the office space, and most of the equipment can stay there, not that there is an Internet to connect to anymore..."</p> <p>Marissa swallowed and then gave a very short nod of her head.</p> <p>Brent came in wheeling the dresser on a dolly.</p> <p>"So where does this go?" he asked looking at the two women, who turned to look at him.</p> <p>"My room," Jasmine said and then glanced at Marissa, "our room."</p> <p>"Yes," Marissa said softly, "our room."</p> <p>Brent shook his head as he looked at them, both had their hair growing out from the flat cut across the shoulders that they had gotten early in the summer. And the look in their eyes was something that he had learned to identify very easily, after seeing it in action so often.</p> <p>"Right," Brent said, "Diana's room."</p> <p>"Brent!" Jasmine said loudly smiling at him while Marissa just blushed and looked at the floor.</p> <p>"Yes," she whispered, "Diana's room," she then looked up at Brent and then Jasmine. "I miss her so much...I hope she's safe..."</p> <p>"Me, too," Jasmine said softly.</p> <p>"And me," Brent said, "I love her like a sister. The best sister I could ever ask for."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Lining up for docking, OASIS II ports are lined up," Ares said, "last meter... docked. Interlocks connected. Docking port secure. Karl, you're up for entry."</p> <p>"Got it, Aaron," Karl said moving towards the hatch above the rear portion of the cockpit and waiting for it to go to green status. When it did he opened the hatch and heard a slight inrushing of air as he drifted into the airlock. "Now let me close Meridian up, just in case," he said as he dogged the hatch closed and shut. "And there is the emergency entry code, just like Herman said it would be. Well let me just use that..." he said punching in the numbers on the keypad and hitting the enter button.</p> <p>"How's it going, Karl?"</p> <p>"Sounds like air moving in, probably needs to be warmed a bit though. Got a wait on the cycling...there, going to the inner hatch. Outer closing behind me. Still got comms?"</p> <p>"Loud and clear, Karl. There should be a comms relay control on the panel in there. We are number 1-5-1-7."</p> <p>"Got it, entered. Right, got pressure reading, and temps just a bit lower but good. Inner hatch opening, lights coming on."</p> <p>There was a minute of silence.</p> <p>"Are you OK, Karl?" Ares asked.</p> <p>"Yah. This place is huge, you know? Compared to the Athena's or Meridian, its just huge. Right, going over to the main power board. Right we got maybe 10% from the panels, which are down to reduce exposure during the storm. Kevin are the readings from Meridian still good?"</p> <p>"Roger that, Karl. Panels should be a GO now."</p> <p>"Fine, just a simple mechanical opening, don't need to spend any power on servos for this. Atmosphere is good, air handlers working, we are good to go for transfer. Might as well come over...looks like the comms system is active, so that needs to be checked for messages."</p> <p>"Yeah, see if the maid can make it up this week," Kevin said as he moved to the hatch after putting Meridian into stand-by and prepared to receive power from OASIS II, after closing the wing panels up.</p> <p>As he cycled through, Ares made sure the piloting system was on local mode with network support. If he needed to he could call on the functions of Meridian from the pilot's station on OASIS II.</p> <p>Once he got over, he drifted over to Kevin while Karl checked the status of the thrusters and engines, in case they were needed.</p> <p>"Looks like most of the GPS system didn't make it. Not enough to be reliable, anyway, with rare times of 3 point coverage, and mostly 1 or 2. The outer data relay system seems to work, though, but there isn't any real traffic going through it save some voice and a few video channels."</p> <p>"Do we know where those are coming from?"</p> <p>Kevin brought up the full system and started linking OASIS II into the few active data relay satellites.</p> <p>"The Spaceport," Kevin whispered, "there are some other feeds, voice mostly, from other points, but almost all of it is going through the spaceport. Not Johnson, Marshall, Ames...a few observatories...looks like some universities, maybe a commercial station or two...but 90% looks to be routed from the spaceport."</p> <p>Ares smiled as he looked at Kevin.</p> <p>"Give them a 'hello' from us, and ask them what they need us to do, if anything. Let me know when Herman, Dennis or any of my extended family wants to chat on an encrypted system. I want to find out what happened to Diana since OASIS I isn't anywhere around here."</p> <p>Kevin nodded.</p> <p>"We need to get a full download to Brent once we got comms bandwidth. Every single thing we recorded. All of it. Herman or Regina if not him, but we do need him to be able to start modeling what actually works here, in case we missed something."</p> <p>"You got that right. I'm always worried about slapping space time frames around, since they might slap back some day."</p> <p>Ares chuckled.</p> <p>"I'll get up to the forward cabin and start bringing up the rest of OASIS II. A lot of sensors don't go directly to you, but through that system, so its faster to get them up from the pilot's station."</p> <p>"Got it," Kevin said.</p> <p>Karl drifted forward with a smile on his face.</p> <p>"The toilet here is much better than on Meridian. Damp cloths do a wonder for the smell, too, and I recommend it. Now all we need is artificial gravity and some beer and it will be home from home. And if we can't get the gravity, the beer would be appreciated anyways."</p> <p>After turning on the sensors at the pilot's position, Ares shifted a low power optical telescope to start taking readings from Earth to get a spectrographic analysis.</p> <p>"Not good," he whispered.</p> <p>Karl drifted through the entry and went to the co-pilot's position, looking at readouts as they were taken.</p> <p>"Far too much carbon used to get those lights," Karl whispered, "its bad."</p> <p>"You have to hear this..." Kevin said turning the main comms on.</p> <p>"Greetings to all that can hear the sound of my voice. Hope is not lost. My name is Raymond Kaplan and I am the President and CEO of Ascentech. I am coming to you using every satellite resource that we could configure with help of the University of Texas, Texas Tech, University of Jerusalem, Hawaii Observatory, Honolulu University, the Observatories in Chile and Peru, Fairbanks Technical School, far too many Ham radio operators to even begin to list and our own people across companies here where I am broadcasting from, the United States Spaceport."</p> <p>They listened in silence, looking at the view screens that showed Ray alone, at a desk at the spaceport.</p> <p>"A very good man," Ares said softly.</p> <p>"Aye, those will be hard to find in very hard times, you know?"</p> <p>"Its on repeat on this channel," Kevin said, "first time stamp was 2 days ago."</p> <p>"Well, now we all know what's next, at least," Ares said, "because Herman would have to back him for this to happen. It looks like our efforts are about to get merged."</p> <p>"Yup," Karl said, as he drifted away from the co-pilot's position, with Ares coming after him. "So you know what's next for us?"</p> <p>"You mean beyond some hard exercise?" Kevin asked.</p> <p>"Well that, too. But they will have to troubleshoot the WorkPlat and guess who is already up here?"</p> <p>Ares shook his head.</p> <p>"I don't think Ray is compressing his time-lines enough," Ares said, "although nothing will be fast enough to save the majority of mankind. I think the WorkPlat will be a second job, Karl."</p> <p>"Really? What's the first?"</p> <p>"Beyond keeping them honest, that is," Kevin said since they were all agreed upon that.</p> <p>"Yes, there is that, too. But there will be those who want to pull it all down into a final good night. They are prepared with some very nasty weapons and defenses. Yet none of those are prepared for Meridian. I'm afraid we may be very busy over the next month...after that things should stabilize some, but Earth will not be a pleasant place to live."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>She pushed off from the cabinets going to the first aid station in the shelter and she knew that for all of her skills, that she had never dealt with a crushed windpipe and broken neck. With her hand in a recessed holding point she floated next to a panel she had brought up to access the supplies. She pressed back the urge to cry, to scream, and gained control of herself. And then she remembered, ah precious memories and cursed as well, that their bodies could recover from things far more hideous than this. Even without a heartbeat, if the body were intact, blood would flow. Calming her shaking fingers was an act of pure willpower and with them no longer trembling she carefully placed them on Diana's wrist.</p> <p>"You said we might be cut off...from...what preserves us..."</p> <p>Dark images from her living nightmare tried to crowd in on her and those she had to deal with as there was madness trying to creep in on her.</p> <p>"No, I will do this," she said to herself with eyes closed and concentrated to still her mind, her thoughts and just feel what her fingers told her. Head bowed against her sister's chest, she slowed her breathing. She could feel her own pulse, strong, sure, slowing. "Slower still..." she whispered and waited for her body to follow the sure lead she gave it. Only with the darkness of her eyelids did she finally feel what was there as it was there.</p> <p>"Slow. Sure. Moving even here."</p> <p>Athena opened her eyes with the faintest of smiles on her lips.</p> <p>"Even beyond the grave that he sent himself to, he tried to get to you through me by what he did to me. Oh, it is an evil unspeakable thing that our father did. You have thwarted him many times and I, not once."</p> <p>She slid down the door to the first aid supplies and pulled herself with her sister to where they kept the meals.</p> <p>"Now in this state...you told me...our brothers told me...nature takes what it needs from around it and that requires sustaining the rest of the body. If our brother could survive being vaporized and you the grotesque horror of a volcano, then what the body needs is that which sustains it. Nature takes it from what you have and what is nearby..."</p> <p>Lifting the panel she looked at the packages and took out one, and moved it to the small hot water and steam tap, carefully inserted the tap into the package and set it for a 5 second fill. The thin brown bag inflated and as it finished she took it from the tap, shook its contents for a minute and then carefully opened its top just enough to let steam escape. Once chilled just enough to touch she slid the pouch down under her sister's coverall suit, closed the food station and went back to the first aid station. There she retrieved tape and scissors and carefully made sure that none of the mixture inside escaped as she pressed tape around the opening and that against her sister's chest. With two pieces of tape around her sister's wrist, she then wrapped it once around the lid and closed it.</p> <p>"I suspect that time varies for this," Athena said, "and this is an emergency, and you left me instructions...oh, sister, to be able to remember! Forgive me for leaving you like this for a moment or three."</p> <p>With a gleam in her eye she went back to the sleeping alcove, the webbing ripped open and with that she paused. "That material is strong, very strong, yet I..." she looked at her fingers, raw with some redness yet, and looked at the frayed ends of the webbing, the ripped blanket still partially attached to it, floating freely. She pulled at an unbroken length of it and put both hands to it and concentrated on pulling the webbing apart. Putting her fingernails to it she pulled harder and felt the pain go through them and then cried out as the material finally parted. She looked back at Diana and, again, had to stop the flood of memories trying to engulf her.</p> <p>"No... I will not succumb...it is what I did... even unknowing...I shall not pity myself for such a thing...ever."</p> <p>Her face became stern, hard and her eyes opened with purpose in them. "I am Pallas Athene. Athena."</p> <p>Her gaze shifted back to her sister and tears finally started to distort her vision and she had to wipe them away as they would not flow through tear ducts properly.</p> <p>"Pallas Athene," she said in a whisper.</p> <p>With more tears came wiping at them and the bloody place her father left her at flashed in her mind's eye as did the horror of who she was choking to still that life. She shivered along the whole length of her body.</p> <p>"No," she whispered then inhaled slowly, opening her eyes, wiping the threatened tears away again with the sleeve of her jumpsuit's right forearm.</p> <p>"I. Am. Pallas. Athena."</p> <p>She looked at her sister's body once more. Sobs wracked through her.</p> <p>"No...not self pity. Not once nor ever."</p> <p>Pressing her lips closed she gathered control of herself, used the left forearm sleeve to clear the tears, and now looked directly at Diana.</p> <p>"I. Am. Pallas. Athena." her voice faltered but she kept her gaze steady.</p> <p>"Sherwood," she said softly and then smiled, nodded, and the demons of her memory fled before her.</p> <p>"Pallas Athena Sherwood. And that is my sister and I so claim her widely and to all, and she is beloved in more ways that I can ever say and I will not fail her. I remember all the times she and each of my brothers came to me, I remember the hard times, the soft times, the times where I sought to end my very life, each and every one and those memories are loving, awful and precious because they are MINE. I will not end our lives like this through cowardice at my own memories. And may woe betide any who seek to try otherwise."</p> <p>A final wipe with her sleeve and a confidence returned to her. Not defiant. Not haughty. If her younger sister could brave through so much for so long, then she would do the same for her.</p> <p>Pulling on the webbing she smiled and turned from her sister and to where the spacesuits were kept and went to the orange one for her and started up its small tablet computer and detached it from her suit. There were emergency instructions. She saw the main categories and this was not a radiation leak or other radiation event. This was not a puncture through multiple hulls. This was not a major hull failure and loss of the forward part of OASIS...</p> <p>"They have plans even for that?" she whispered and shook her head, using her fingers to scroll down the categories. "Biocontainment...Main Engine Malfunction...Loss of Orbit...Thruster Malfunction...Total Crew Incapacitation..."</p> <p>She stopped there and looked at her sister.</p> <p>"That fits, I guess," she said, and pressed that menu item and came up with a series of questions.</p> <p>"No there is no skilled pilot available...No Engineer on board...No Pilot on board...No skilled technical crew on board...No I'm not a technician...Get everyone still alive into space suits. Well there are even diagrams for that, although...ahhh," she glanced from the tablet to look at Diana, "well if you were that personal with me, then I can have no shame with you, now, can I? There can be no shame between us from here on out."</p> <p>In the next 10 minutes she had herself in her orange suit and Diana in her suit, and had her put on a thruster pad and that was then strapped into position so that it wouldn't collide with any surface using the webbing material she had already pulled apart. After that she went to the small pilot's area in the shelter, and started accessing programs, pulling up navigational charts and then started the routines for analyzing her position, distance, fuel load and other concerns. That then required a specialized program which she brought up, and that interacted with her tablet system.</p> <p>"Is anyone in critical condition in need of hospitalization within...3 days? I don't think there are any hospitals left..." she said. She hit the negative on that.</p> <p>"Can any injured personnel sustain a high g return? Now that's...no she needs to mend and low gravity... I think she can handle that, so no on that item."</p> <p>"Now do I want the OASIS I standard orbit, a co-orbit return with OASIS II, a co-orbit return with the ISS...what is an ISS?...a geosynchronous orbit over the spaceport...or other? Hmmm..."</p> <p>She looked at a side screen that she had seen Diana use and turned that on to get to a general interface for what was on the computer system. She called up routines on orbital mechanics and was instantly at a loss. Then she went to a more generalized definitions item called the encyclopedia and looked up terms.</p> <p>"Ah, I see. More energy used to get to lower orbit, less for higher but more distant and harder to reach. And that only because so much energy has already been spent to get OASIS I here. And I take it I'm impossible to reach here...ah, International Space Station! Sounds nice but I have no idea if anyone is there. The OASIS I orbit is lower than that, so that takes more energy to get to...and between them is OASIS II. Well, I'll take that, since it isn't so high you can't get to it, not so low as I waste fuel, and should be compatible with this station. Plus it is my brother's design. I trust in that."</p> <p>She hit OASIS II co-orbit as her destination.</p> <p>The system acknowledged that, brought up an orbital display, and showed that the time to the first engine start-up was 3 minutes, and that full ion use would be done for 2 days, with final main engine use after that and then tracking of OASIS II and co-orbit thereafter.</p> <p>She waited in the seat until the thrusters kicked in and the attitude of OASIS I changed and the ion engines stared. Then came a half-g thrust which pushed her into the seat but softly.</p> <p>Looking out and behind her she saw the padding and webbing that held her sister settle back, and that stopped well short of the wall. After 5 minutes of that, the ion engines continued and there was a very weak feel of gravity, that was easily overcome. It gave a direction but even a full length, all compartment fall wouldn't bruise anyone.</p> <p>"I think space travel would be more enjoyable if it were less unpleasant," she said to herself in a soft tone. "Now, I'm hungry. And then after that there is a checklist for the rest of OASIS for me to go through."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>At the Highflight comms room the automatic system recorded the OASIS II signal and shifted it to the ground based fiber optic link that was still functional as its repeaters were electrically isolated via an automatic cut-off from ground currents. This was used to protect it from lightning and from the induced ground currents still surging through long conductors. Only those conductors under 10 miles in length were seeing few effects from the ground currents beyond feedback into items like transformers. For want of a few dollars per transformer, most of the inhabitants of planet Earth now found their lives without power. Even those who had put some forethought and planning into trying to survive a disaster found minor problems blossoming into full-blown, lethal disasters. None of the electric grids on the planet were immune from this and only those that put in safeguards at transformer stations, along power lines, at distributed transformers and on power generation facilities might attempt to come back on line in another week. Small, isolated systems that had built-in interrupts on feedback, or that were able to use other means of conduction, or that lacked any conductive parts that were above a mile or two long were immune to these effects and the spaceport was one of those, and even there overlooked hazards had to be dealt with.</p> <p>That signal went from the comms room at Highflight's preparation hangar and then to Event Horizon which was one of the larger places at the spaceport that could easily hold over a 100 people, and could open out to its parking areas so that even more could have a swinging good time or hear the announcements and jobs that needed to be done in and around the spaceport. From comms shack to second floor up-link room the system then announced an incoming message. As Hermes was considered 'vital' to operations of multiple facilities, that meant he was more or less tethered to Event Horizon and he didn't have rank to pull, like Ray Kaplan or Jasmine, to do more than manage Highflight, Event Horizon, make sure that the schedules between Ascentech and Highflight were properly merged and get out to the Highflight construction facility which now had more than its share of personnel with the groups that had been sent over by Mel from Arizona before the CME.</p> <p>It was coming time for Ascentech, Highflight, X-CAL, Z-Flight and SLSR to face the fact that their actual companies outside of the capacity at or near the spaceport might no longer exist, at the 10 day mark after the CME. Somewhere between 14 and 29 days the ground current being caused by the oscillation of Earth's magnetic field should no longer be a problem for normal equipment and power lines. The lack of transformers, power stations, and actual long-line conductors that could still conduct electricity, however, would be the major problem for technological civilization on the 3rd planet from the star Sol. From the few satellites that could be coaxed to hand back imagery over the last 3 to 4 days, there were large concerns about the major cities and their populations. The HAM radio operators were tallying up who was still left, and all the stations that were no longer available at this point were assumed to be gone for good. Most of those operating were either in rural environs, an island, Texas, Israel, or one of the 'survivalist' encampments that were now finding out what they hadn't counted on and having to deal with ground currents. Some of those that had gone underground found that steel-reinforced concrete and conductors throughout tunnels meant that their concrete slowly began to heat up, and that instead of safe place their underground lairs were becoming cookers and as fuels used to run generators rose in temperatures, they could become furnaces at a moment's notice. Technological civilization and all the networks that made up 'The Grid' inside of continents had been dealt multiple body blows, an upper-cut and was now down on the mat bleeding profusely while vomiting at the same time. The suspected immediate death toll was unknown, and any place that had survived fires now was in the midst of the reversion of human nature to its most basic level. That was as true at the spaceport, although the number of individuals who could actually find it by more than accident were very few, and all that could be told to those wandering to the area is where they might be able to work for food... mostly in growing and raising crops, husbanding animals and praying for charity. There basic human nature was tempered, finally, by charity and outreach to those who could demonstrate civilized ways and understandings.</p> <p>The spaceport still had a good year's worth of supplies for all there. And everyone was busy trying to get enough in the way of agricultural infrastructure up and running that the day that the supplies would run out could be put off. When it could be put off one day, that was a day of survival earned. Do that over and over, and you just might find time to do something else.</p> <p>Hermes was doing something else, however, running the main restaurant, declining bar capacity and general knowledge of how to get food into an edible state at the location of Event Horizon.</p> <p>"OASIS II this is Herman at HEVGC, how did the flight go, Kevin, over?"</p> <p>"You mean beyond the 'what the hell just happened?' part? It was dull beyond that, having to get away from the CME and just put the system through its paces. We got back just a few hours ago, and have been getting situated. What's the status report from there, over?"</p> <p>"Hanging on, day by day down here. Since the CME there are large blank spots on the map where nothing is being heard from anyone. Can you use the optical system to do a look-down on a few places like major cities? Over."</p> <p>"Aaron here, I've been doing that about as fast as I could get on it, after we got in. There are still a number of places on fire, and I'm sending those coordinates via the data link. Also we are sending the entire flight profile of Meridian via same, over."</p> <p>"We have it on capture here, Aaron, thanks! Rather get bad news as fast as possible so we can cope with it, but everyone will be glad to hear you are OK. How is Meridian, over?"</p> <p>"Karl here, we really over-designed on the energy profile. Got about a half-ton of batteries that take up a lot of space that could be used for something else. But then energy is its own good thing. Still no beer, though. No artificial gravity, but I'm looking at what we recorded from our tests. Have Brent comb through that data, over."</p> <p>Hermes raised an eyebrow.</p> <p>"He's at the construction facility, overseeing the truncated expansion and putting down ground cover to start capturing evaporated water from the soil so we can plant seeds under it. Plus get a drip system going out at the mesa. I'll swap places with him so he can get on it, probably tomorrow, over."</p> <p>"Anyone gone missing? Over," Kevin asked.</p> <p>Hermes sat back and looked at the screen which was now split between the three men.</p> <p>"Everyone that was here for the ALV-III launch with Meridian, is still here. No one has heard back from Diana at OASIS I. Nothing can actually get a reading out that far. We're doing optical scans for it at night, but nothing so far. Any help would be appreciated, over."</p> <p>"Roger that, Herman," Aaron said, "I'll set the look-down optical system to automatic and have Karl comb through it. Then use the other optical system to see what can be seen. She should still be transmitting and I don't like the loss of data from OASIS I. Over."</p> <p>"Roger that, Aaron. Let me get everyone informed here of your status, and then get someone else to talk with you. Have someone here in a few minutes. Herman over and out."</p> <p>Hermes inhaled slowly as he got the confirmation, left the transmit link open and then hurried out of the room and down the hall to start telling people.</p> <p>Meridian was OK, and all aboard it fine, the ship in working condition. They were bringing up OASIS II.</p> <p>Still nothing from OASIS I.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Nuada and Mel looked out at the road as the lone figure on a motorcycle sped down it and then slowed to turn to the road to the Highflight facility.</p> <p>"I called her in when I found out, Mel, had to send her to Event Horizon so she could have something to do while we started to lay out our plans," Nuada said.</p> <p>"Where has she been? I mean after we left she had a lot to figure out, so did Candy...last I heard she had bugged out of San Fran going north."</p> <p>The motorcycle sped up and the rider ignored the cattle guards which were taken at speed, and then came down the expanded paved road, slowed and then turned into the main parking area of Highflight.</p> <p>"Come on, lets get out to see her," Nuada said.</p> <p>"Yeah," Mel said with a faint smile as they walked out from under the small roof of the entrance area and out into the waning sunlight of the day.</p> <p>Liza pulled up the motorcycle and stopped it in the parking area reserved for them, shut it down and took her helmet off, putting its strap across the handle bars and shaking her hair out. Smiling as she saw the two women approach her, she swung off the motorcycle, stretched her back for a moment and then walked towards them. In a moment it was like years melted away as hugs and kisses were exchanged.</p> <p>"God its good to see you two, again," she said as they hugged each other.</p> <p>"I've missed you, Liza," Mel said, "lots...but, you know?"</p> <p>Liza shook her head and her smile, though faded, was still warm.</p> <p>"I know, Mel. I didn't want to be...shit...I love you two!" Liza shook her head and looked at Nuada. "You're the one that got me here but only after..." she shivered and her face went slack and she looked off into the distance for a moment before centering herself on Nuada again. "She found me up in some damned town nearly dead after the lumbering stopped. Just walking through the woods, still trying to deal with...I..."</p> <p>She looked at Nuada and then Mel.</p> <p>"I've changed...changed, had to after that. Candy is just...was just..." she looked out to the horizon again and shook her head, "...so much went on. Is going on."</p> <p>Nuada came up next to Liza and slid her arm around her back, and Mel did the same, so that they were on either side of Liza and she put her arms around their shoulders.</p> <p>"Lets go inside, we don't have to hear it all," Nuada said, "I thought you might want to do something different, which is why I called you after Christmas."</p> <p>"You did? But why didn't you tell me?" Mel asked.</p> <p>"You know why, Mel. I knew Liza best," Nuada said and Liza looked at her.</p> <p>"Shit, yeah, you did. Up, down, in, out, back, forth... she shattered that. I'm sorry but I'm just not...that any more."</p> <p>"Yeah," Nuada said giving her a half hug.</p> <p>"Neither are we, Liza," Mel said, "I bitched, I moaned, I complained, and then, well, Nuada wanted to find out where she was going, and I...needed something..."</p> <p>"You still bitch, moan and complain, Mel," Nuada said and Liza giggled.</p> <p>"OK, cut it out you two! I'm not your older sister and I don't break up fights..." then Liza went silent, "...wasn't too smart to want one, though."</p> <p>As they walked inside the air handling system was in a low power mode which meant that the air was filtered and cycled through the piping system from the outdoors, but little else. On the inside the area that had been front office space still was, but the structure around it had been severely renovated and what had been a hall to the rear of the hangar by the old airstrip was now something that promised to be a full-blown production facility even if not exactly the one they had planned on.</p> <p>They stopped as Liza did to just look at it once they were inside.</p> <p>"Wow..." she whispered and looked at Nuada, "You're the manager of all this?"</p> <p>"Me and Mel both, now," she said looking at Mel, "I know I shouldn't have bugged you after Christmas, but...I was at wits end, Liza. I knew you could do the basics and, shit...I didn't think you would get stuck at the Horizon."</p> <p>Liza chuckled as she looked at Nuada and turned to Mel.</p> <p>"You know, I always wanted to get on staff at Viceroy, right? I liked the place and Carlos, well... great guy and all that, but just not the same," Liza said, "but you know the kicker?"</p> <p>Mel shook her head, "No idea."</p> <p>"I ran into Karl's old bitch who was bad-mouthing him earlier this year. I, uh, started another fight..." she smiled and looked at Nuada, "Punched her lights out but, um, waking up in a hospital and seeing Diana on a chair holding my hand... that was January...no, first week in this past February..."</p> <p>"You what?" Mel asked.</p> <p>Liza looked at Mel and shook her head, then blushed.</p> <p>"I had a crush on Karl from the day I met him, way back when at the club, you know?"</p> <p>"Shit," Mel said softly. "Did she...no, of course she did!"</p> <p>Nuada looked at Liza and beamed.</p> <p>"I'm no match-maker, Liza, you know that. Suck at it all the way around. Thought you might like something here or at the spaceport...only knew you were in town just a couple of days ago but I was closing out stuff last month and was just, you know, sightseeing until ..."</p> <p>Liza shrugged.</p> <p>"Got here just as everything was going to hell," she said looking at Nuada, "and Herman's name is like magic if you know where to say it. No phone to contact anyone, not anymore, though I think someone is working on that for just local stuff."</p> <p>"I just thought you might like a change, Liza," Nuada said.</p> <p>"I did," Liza said shifting from looking at Nuada to Mel, "I needed one desperately. Plus I knew that if I was here I might, ummmm...do you know its hard to get privacy in a hospital?"</p> <p>Mel raised her eyebrows.</p> <p>"Helps if you got a look-out," she said with a grin.</p> <p>"Shit, yeah," Nuada said.</p> <p>Liza nodded, giving them each a grin.</p> <p>"I know. Still, the back of the Suburban was just fine with me. Just, um, 'light exercise' you know?"</p> <p>"Yeah, we do," Nuada said, "glad you made it, though. Didn't know all of this shit was gonna happen."</p> <p>Liza shrugged.</p> <p>"You saved my life, Nuada...even back where I was, I'd be dead by now. Not just a pleasant change of scenery, although I like that, too. But this is bad. Thanks for sending Lenny out with a message once you got word I was here, Nuada...Mel... I know you two are tight now...and I've got some space over at the Culpepper's, spare room that used to be a closet, but fits a bed. Pretty packed there right now, but I don't mind."</p> <p>"We'll work out something," Mel said, "besides, I'm sure Karl would love to have you out at the scrapyard."</p> <p>"In more ways than one," Nuada whispered, "say were you able to swipe the Zundapp off his old bitch?"</p> <p>"Your just awful!" Liza said looking at Nuada.</p> <p>"So where did you put it?" Mel asked.</p> <p>"YOU!" Liza said turning to Mel, "I did NOT swipe her Zundapp! Really! Didn't see her SOB boyfriend that blind-sided me, but it was in a bar so I got taken care of, you know? But I did not get the Zundapp...not to say that I would of if she hadn't had that sneaky boyfriend in tow, though..."</p> <p>"Always with an eye to the main chance," Mel said with a smile.</p> <p>"Yeah, I just never see what the hell is coming...blind-sided by a boyfriend...taken down by a cute girl with a bow and arrow..." she whispered. "I have got to pick better fights."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"We've had the timing sequence for an hour now, Ray," Alice said swiveling in her chair at the Ascentech field down-link room. "It is on time, on fuel budget, and apparently lost no function due to the CME."</p> <p>Ray smiled as he looked at her and then the screen which showed the path of the WorkPlat.</p> <p>"And it is relaying messages from the Lunar orbiter system. The nanosats are toast, though. But the landers are still going through the initial positioning routine, and only get a small amount of beamed power from the orbiter."</p> <p>"We expected that," Ray said, "and that we would have enough people to start deciding on what to do next. I think you, Harry and Bill are on tap for that, right?"</p> <p>"That's what we had on the schedule, yes," Alice said looking at Ray, "Harry can be spared for here, right?"</p> <p>Ray pressed his lips together and nodded.</p> <p>"He can. Bill is working with the Pennertons to get the drip irrigation system designed and laid out. We'll be farming out fittings to anyone who has a lathe or mill here..."</p> <p>"Maybe see if we can get some talent from one of the other firms, maybe?"</p> <p>Ray gave a sad grin and nodded.</p> <p>"It takes some getting used to, Alice. There may be no other real firms here. Even X-CAL didn't have offices in any of the places we can still reach, but Mason has an energy group in Texas..."</p> <p>Alice watched Ray think through this.</p> <p>"You know, she really is the best on the ground person Mason has," Ray said slowly, "but I don't want to drag her away from the Horizon now that her husband is back in contact with us."</p> <p>"The fuels group was in California, right?"</p> <p>Ray nodded. "And Wyoming...say, you know, we've had HAM contact up there, a couple of them. I have to ask if Cheyenne made it through or is just..."</p> <p>"Smoldering ruins from a fire," Alice said in a flat tone.</p> <p>"Yeah. That," Ray said, "You know, no matter how good we are here, we really can't save everyone. That hurts, Alice."</p> <p>"Its got us all, Ray. Thankfully a few people realized that hard work meant we wouldn't be one of the dead. Just a couple of people cut off from family, loved ones...we've been damned lucky. I never knew that she..." Alice hesitated for a moment, "...Diana...had an in with some of the tribes. We've been blessed with a chance to get through this."</p> <p>Smiling, Ray nodded.</p> <p>"I know it, Alice. How Col. Kaplan got co-opted into leading this is beyond me."</p> <p>Alice smiled.</p> <p>"Because, Ray, you are a good, honest and hard-working man. And she trusted you and made good on your dream with you. To get co-opted you had to be those things and be able to handle the heavy load of responsibility that comes with them. There were lots of other places she could have put her money and other people to place it with. She chose you...and I've known you long enough to think that you were the right man for that. Just as you are for this. You know you can fail, but you also know how you can succeed and put those together and you have a great combination."</p> <p>He raised his eyebrows and smirked.</p> <p>"Darlene always said you could sweet talk a mountain out of its diamonds, Alice. You're right, just keep on doing what's next and keep the goal in mind."</p> <p>Alice gave a short nod, "And that is the WorkPlat. That and at least OASIS II, the storage platform and Meridian."</p> <p>"We are still on the same road. Let me get over to Horizon so I can rope in Tamara and get some face time with her and up-link to Aaron. Kevin and Karl, too, since they are already up there...we just may have to start cannibalizing material in orbit in the next couple of weeks and once we start that, then we will know the full depth of where things stand. So much was spent getting it to orbit, and I'm not going to just let it sit dead in orbit when it can be used for better things."</p> <p>Alice turned to look at the position of the WorkPlat as it transitioned between the Moon and the Earth's orbital paths.</p> <p>"Much better things," she whispered, "and hope for those who survive. This will not be a tragedy that will end us, just a nasty milestone on the way to space."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Is the radiation meter in the GREEN region?"</p> <p>Athena used one hand to support herself looking at the tablet system tethered to her spacesuit's arm while looking at the panel which had the bio system meters. This was part of the necessary daily systems check that could be done from the shelter room. The time indicated that this was the 3rd time she had checked the system since she had awakened.</p> <p>"Yes," she said entering it into the system. "So the main cabin is safe for use...well that is a start, I'm sure," she said going over to the hatch for the main part of OASIS I and opening it and then the next hatch. The storm shelter was double sealed and self-contained so that if everything else was breached, this would be the last place to go that had a chance of being safe. "Oh, clean air!" she said and then looked back at the shelter room which, while as large as it could be, wasn't something she would want to live in forever. She looked at Diana who was now slowly breathing and had a heartbeat, but otherwise didn't stir. The first meal had disappeared and Athena then taped some moist bars to Diana's cheek, still in their wrapper so they wouldn't get messy, and easy to take off if she woke up.</p> <p>"All right now in the main section," she indicated that on the tablet system, "and go forward to the Pilot's seat...oh, whoever did the artwork did a wonderful job!" she said, pushing off against the minor thrust of the ion engines, "So easy to find your way around and everything so clearly labeled, too!" Going through the main cabin to the forward cabin she went to the pilot's position and worked herself into the seat and strapped herself in as indicated by the tablet system.</p> <p>"First bring up the main flight display," she said looking at the buttons to push and went through them in the order indicated on the tablet. "Ooooo! Is that...?" she said looking at the main display that was at the very forward part of the piloting cabin. It featured a quad view with one of a dimmed out sun tracker, another showing Earth, the third the Moon, and the last at the bottom right an overhead view of where OASIS I was and what the course was.</p> <p>"We're going to go around the Moon, do a braking thrust there and then another...perhaps two of them? Then match orbits with OASIS II. Now there are a bunch of other things out there...hmmm..."</p> <p>"Next is making sure the radar system is active and working," she looked at the tablet and brought up a small screen to the right of the pilot's area, "and it is. Collision avoidance system, active. Next up, data links. Hmmm... I'm getting nothing on that. What are they for?" She hit an information space on the tablet system.</p> <p>"Oh! Fine tuning the orbit so we don't hit anything! Well that is important," she said looking around, "actually that is very important to avoid things out here, isn't it? So lets start at the top since there is nothing active. First is to check for GPS readings, of which I'm not seeing any. Hmmmm... run diagnostic scan, then start targeted scanning by region? Looks easy enough..."</p> <p>Taking her time to go through each selection, find each button and carefully hitting them in sequence, she saw the diagnostic scan come up on the main screen, and then, when the internal system checked out, she visually saw where the comms system was looking for signals in the space around Earth. After a minute it had 5 signal sources and announced it was updating the flight plan. There was a slight shift in the blue line of OASIS I, a slight shimmer amongst the other objects and a few slight changes to numbers indicating use of the engines.</p> <p>"Fine, that's done. What's next....can I establish a data-comm link with a nanosat? Hmmm..." another set of buttons and the system showed that it was scanning but couldn't find anything. She then ran a diagnostic which showed that the system worked but there was nothing to find. "I think Diana said something about that...so none to be found. What's next? Establish data comm link with Tracking and Data Relay Satellite constellation... Well first it has to be turned on..."</p> <p>Athena smiled as she saw 3 points in geosynchronous orbit come up and she then established a data comm link with them.</p> <p>The system started to handshake with the satellites it could reach and then started to download tracking data from them and send them its current position. Athena pulled up information on this system.</p> <p>"...register OASIS I and its orbital path or travel path with other systems for future avoidance..." Athena looked at the main screen and thought for a moment. "Just how much is in orbit, anyway? You would think that if collisions were such a problem that there would be more people up in space..." she shook her head. She went back to the checklist.</p> <p>"That's it for navigation and safety. So I've done shelter and main system air, waste and water handling, radiation checks, navigation checks, automatic orbital adjustments...and have taken about...10 hours?" she whispered. "But Diana does all this in just a half-hour or less. Let me see if I can take a rest period now... Yes! And a half-hour of exercise, too! I can take off the space suit, and put on a normal coverall, then put on force and impact trackers to track my exercise..."</p> <p>Athena sighed.</p> <p>"I think that the only thing left to chance here is...chance itself. And the first piece of bad luck is probably your last. There is a lot to be said for that. But just when, exactly, do you get to live a real life?"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Sharply her gaze looked out as her eyes opened and she looked through the opened hatches from the shelter into the main body of OASIS I. She saw Athena, in a coverall with exercise trackers on moving into and out of sight as she caromed off of walls, did mid-air somersaults, twists and generally move as much of her body as fast as she could to get the proper amount of exercise required for space living. Diana had done the same, and had shown where the stationary equipment was that relied on simple magnetism and force induced electromagnets to offer resistance. Athena was, amongst many things, the active embodiment of skill at war, skill at peace and skill at home and she would not shirk from learning skills in orbit, it appeared.</p> <p>"My sister?" Diana asked softly and, as Athena went by in the main chamber she shifted to look at Diana and then, in a moment, came speeding towards the hatches, grasped the edges of the out hatch to slow herself and the edges of the inner one to orient herself to come at Diana with hands outstretched to grab the webbing.</p> <p>"Diana," Athena said with a sad, soft smile, "forgive me for my actions for memory flooded into me when I slept and I dreamt of...my confrontation...and I tried to...I never meant for you...your neck..."</p> <p>Closing her eyes Diana took stock of the suit, and the fitted padding was around the back of her neck to keep her neck from moving inside the helmet.</p> <p>"I would accept death from you, beloved one. How long was I out?' she asked opening her eyes to look at Athena.</p> <p>Athena glanced at the side station in the shelter and the screen above it.</p> <p>"Nearly 2 days. I could make little out of the medical equipment, save to keep your neck from moving. That was vital."</p> <p>"Very, yes. Now I do need to be unmoving until I can see the results from the portable x-ray machine. It is behind the panel below the medical supplies, on the right hand side, in a red bag that has a radiation warning patch on it. If you could get that out, I'll instruct you on how to use it after you remove my helmet. On Earth simply laying down would be enough, but here I must ensure that nature is doing the same."</p> <p>Looking at Diana, Athena hesitated.</p> <p>"Diana, you were dead. I had killed you in my rage at our father."</p> <p>Pressing her lips together and closing her eyes Diana felt a chill go through her body. She opened her eyes looking at Athena.</p> <p>"Of course, I've had many similar episodes save...I knew I could only run to escape him...no way to clearly aim a bow at him...too mighty, too swift by then and with your powers, I could not distract him via other means for long. Our sister, Tamara, has told me that our brother Ares wakes in a cold sweat but never...attacking her. Gemma says the same of Dionysus, and Regina and Brent about Hermes. We are not allowed to forget the cause of our being here. You are forgiven, my sister. If any could still kill us as we are, it would be you, who is the closest to the final fall even with the days between then and now."</p> <p>Athena drifted in and shifted her head to kiss Diana, and while awkward she was just able to perform that action.</p> <p>"Thank you, Diana. I...alone...with you...like that I felt...there was that door that opens to madness, self-pity and self-hatred that is within me. How could I live with myself knowing what I had done?"</p> <p>Sucking her lips in she gave her sister a sad look.</p> <p>"You did...how did you do it?"</p> <p>"The only way I knew how. You knew me as Pallas Athene... Pallas who is Athena. Now I am Pallas Athena Sherwood. Pallas Athena who is your sister. And always will be."</p> <p>"And always have been," Diana whispered, "now, before I need material to wipe my eyes, please let us start on finding out just what nature is doing to me. And then the the status of OASIS I. I can barely see the forward section screen from here, more due to tears that will not flow than distance. You have been busy."</p> <p>With a smile, Athena twisted and tumbled in the direction of the medical panels and went to the one that would be under the thin artificial axis line that ran around the interior of all compartments, with a thin white line at 90 degrees along one surface and a blue line going along the other so that there was an up and down. In space there was none, but everyone who grew up on a planet needed to orient themselves and such lines helped no end.</p> <p>"Very busy, once I did what little I could and knew that...nature was now restoring you. The packet I taped to your cheek, it came loose and is now sticking on the inside of your helmet, just to your left. I had put another pouch on you of scrambled eggs with cheese...ah, red bag, and that warning label says radiation and appears to have yellow and black in sections around a central circle."</p> <p>"That's the one. Tether it to your belt so it doesn't get away from you."</p> <p>"Yes, at first I didn't know what to make of such a belt until I started to do things, and found I always needed something that was somewhere else and that had a small ring on it to snap into another ring, which my belt had. That is very useful!"</p> <p>Diana chuckled. "Ares designed it with Hermes' approval. Lightweight plastic loops and snap catches, along with caribiners, all fit on D-rings so easily. Still most equipment should be put away, but if you need a repair kit, then the belt is vital in keeping it from floating all over the place."</p> <p>Drifting into view and holding onto the webbing, Athena looked at Diana.</p> <p>"First my helmet, and make sure the snack bar doesn't hit my eye."</p> <p>Athena reached in to take out the snack bar in foil wrapper and found that the wrapper was empty and the tape partially disintegrated. After putting the wrapper into a pocket with hook and loop closure, she then gave a twist to Diana's helmet and let it drift somewhat away.</p> <p>"The suit is nearly out of power trying to maintain my body temperature," Diana said, "but before it, I must see what the condition of my neck and spine are. I feel OK, but that means little as this is not our normal environment."</p> <p>"No it isn't...yet its so rapid."</p> <p>"Really no need for a lot of exterior material, just some sustenance to keep things in motion. Now the padded brace should have some give as my neck is just a bit small for it. I'll need the screen for it clipped to my suit's helmet ring, then the flat plate with its wire slid down between the padding and my neck on the right. Make sure the black side is against my skin."</p> <p>Shifting Athena moved above Diana and clipped the small display to the helmet ring and deftly slid the plate down as she was instructed to do.</p> <p>"Good! Now for anyone else you would use the enclosed lead sheeting to surround my shoulder and head on the left side, leaving an opening for the larger piece with its round end to point through the padding at the brace, aligned with the piece on the other side. I can recover pretty easily from radiation, and for small amounts so can all humans. We are a bit more durable, so no need for that."</p> <p>"I need to learn, Diana," Athena said, "I will do it the right way."</p> <p>Diana closed her eyes, smiling.</p> <p>"Of course, my sister," she said softly, "I'm always in haste, you are always in assurance."</p> <p>Taking out the sheeting, Athena unfolded it and saw tiny pads that had little removable pieces and she saw that those were adhesives to secure the sheeting. In zero-g things tended to stay where they were but, save for air motion inside the cabins and the gentle thrust of the ion engines making things move slowly towards the shelter's rear wall. But for ease, a simple placement to guard the head and rest of the body from the area the x-rays would go in was simple.</p> <p>"Then take the main device with its round output, and bring the sheeting up around that. It has a default switch that always goes back to the OFF position on the back and that needs to be moved two places along its path."</p> <p>"I see it...there."</p> <p>"Yes, the screen is on. Now hold it with the grip and your thumb will rest on a red switch on the back. Press your thumb down on it."</p> <p>A slight hum came as Athena pressed it and Diana looked at the screen.</p> <p>"Shift just a bit to your right...stop. Let your thumb go off the switch."</p> <p>"Yes," Athena said as she lifted her thumb and the other switch went back to OFF.</p> <p>"Now we repeat from front to rear. You'll need to clip the display to my hair, and I should still be able to see it."</p> <p>"A moment while I re-position everything. The plate against the back of your neck, then?"</p> <p>"Yes. You are doing wonderfully, my sister. And thank you for taking over and...I'm sorry that I had to take liberties with your body to get you here..."</p> <p>Athena chuckled as she moved the sheeting and then the plate.</p> <p>"No, Diana, there is nothing to forgive on that. We have not been modest with each other...for some time...a long, long time..."</p> <p>"Too long, beloved," Diana whispered.</p> <p>"Yes," Athena whispered back, "I hated to admit how much I loved running with you in the forests, the mountains, swimming with you anywhere... and our times together after that..."</p> <p>"The same," Diana whispered as she saw Athena slide before her and move the sheeting around, taking the display off the helmet ring, and then look at her, gripping the shoulders of her suit and pulled in closer for a loving, deep kiss. As Athena pulled away, Diana looked at her. "The suit is most uncomfortable," she whispered, "believe me, don't get...excited...when all the fittings are in place."</p> <p>"I'm sorry," Athena said pressing her lips together as she moved the display and clipped it to strands of hair she pulled from the mid-sides of Diana's head. "Will that work?"</p> <p>"In a cross-eyed way, yes. No worries. But I think the basic order of things needs to be established."</p> <p>Before moving the sheeting completely around the front of Diana's head, Athena stopped and looked at her.</p> <p>"But, what is that?"</p> <p>"Simple, my sister. Hard work then eating and then fun. After that rest. Really, it works ever so well. And I am becoming extremely uncomfortable in my suit and it has nothing to do with the low state of its batteries, either."</p> <p>"Agreed! Lets finish the hard work," Athena said, "because, as the days of days rest heavily upon me, I now realize just how much I have missed having someone to truly talk to. And of our family, I missed you the most of all."</p> <p>"Yes...again, setting 2 and repeat."</p> <p>When all was in position, Athena switched on the device.</p> <p>"I'm fine. Fully healed, probably a simple fracture and crushing of the larynx and windpipe. No more readings needed. While you pack up the x-ray kit, I am getting out of this damned space suit. Because I am hungry. Ravenous. Of course then there is the food, too, a quick bite of that, first."</p> <p>Athena chuckled.</p> <p>"I do know what you mean, beloved. But we should, at least, get you caught up on where we are at."</p> <p>Diana laughed as the last of the sheeting was pulled away along with the screen and read-out.</p> <p>"Oh, we'll do that, don't you worry. Though I am rather fast with the checklists. You have to be if you want any time at all for sleep in this place."</p> <p>As the parts of the kit were stowed, Athena zipped the case shut and drifted to the open panel, while Diana was opening her suit from the inside and dealing with the plumbing situation and her body as she opened it.</p> <p>"Karl is right about artificial gravity. But I want a good space suit that doesn't need all the fittings. I love nature and this," she said taking out cleaning wipes while stripping out of her coverall which was in tatters, "this just isn't natural. It works, yes. But nature should provide a better way. Since you're over there, can you grab me a set of coveralls?"</p> <p>After pushing the kit into its space and closing the panel, Athena looked back at her sister.</p> <p>"Do you really need them?" she said with a grin.</p> <p>While detaching the suit, Diana looked at her sister.</p> <p>"The 3rd or 4th time you come across a rip in your coveralls, or find something that wasn't polished smooth, you will then understand that blood floating around is a true nuisance, and must be cleaned up. So, yes, they are necessary. Although I won't be keeping mine fully zipped up...how about you?"</p> <p>Finding a set of coveralls in their bag, Athena tossed them in a straight line to Diana who snatched them easily with one hand.</p> <p>"Wow...I forgot you so often...threw things and they always got to where they had to go....but you..."</p> <p>Diana opened the packaged coveralls, put the wrapping into a pocket of it, and then smoothly put it on, always keeping in easy arm reach of the webbing and partially detached suit.</p> <p>"I'm the one that could snatch your arrows by jumping up to grab them or simply catching them as they came at me faster than I could see. Guess what? I still can. So no running away here, OK?" Diana said with a smile.</p> <p>"No running away. You are far too good at finding things...people...me..." Athena trailed off.</p> <p>"Always. Now lets get this to the main compartment suit locker for refreshing and recharging. I'll have to get rid of the webbing, though, too much in a bad state...but we can share the one set that is out..."</p> <p>Athena nodded.</p> <p>"Good! So after that, the checklist. And while doing that you can then distract me all you like."</p> <p>"Mmmmm...I won't be too distracting..." Athena said as she pushed off towards the hatch as Diana was taking the last of the webbing from attachment rings on magnets. "But aren't you actually going to use the, ahh, zippers?"</p> <p>"Why bother?" Diana asked as she bundled the rest of the webbing up while holding onto the suit, then pushed off towards her sister, "Or don't you like what you see?"</p> <p>"We'll never get the list done," Athena whispered.</p> <p>"Of course we will," Diana said as she shifted to slip through the hatches and smiled passing Athena. "Hard work always comes first. Always. I never said it would be hard for me, though."</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-8389048320804932612015-11-28T03:14:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:39:52.699-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 14<p>Mason stepped out of the long bed pick-up with crew cab at the entrance to Event Horizon, which had a parking lot that had only a few vehicles in it. He looked over at Margaret, his wife after a rocky divorce at the start-up of SLSR when one more move became one move too many.</p> <p>"Well, here we are," he said putting the vehicle into park and turning it off.</p> <p>"I didn't know they had apartments on the upper floor," she said as she looked at the building, "I mean I knew there was an upper floor, but thought it might be a dance hall or something."</p> <p>He shook his head as he opened his door and she opened hers, with both of them stepping down to the pavement, closing their doors in unison.</p> <p>"You know Herman," he said.</p> <p>She smiled at him looking up at the sky just as the sun started to disappear to the west.</p> <p>"Yes, a good man...or woman...either..." she said with a smile, shaking her head. "He does know how to economize, though."</p> <p>Mason smiled and held out his hand to her as she came around the front of the truck.</p> <p>"Yes, he does. He gave me some help on the legal side and how to arrange finances when the firms were originally spun off from DOGIS, and that we have such success is partly due to him. I thought for sure that Ehrlich would be put in charge of one of the sets of spin-offs, but he was just in charge of breaking DOGIS apart."</p> <p>"Before my time," she said as they walked towards the front door. There they pushed through the doors and when they were inside they were met by a waitress with what appeared to be tattoos of a biker, but the rest of her outfit told her to be a waitress.</p> <p>"Hi, I'm Liza, table for two?" she asked.</p> <p>"Ah, actually we're here to see Herman...although I know he should be arriving later...and Brent is probably at the spaceport..." Mason started.</p> <p>Liza nodded as she looked at him and Margaret, trying to place them in the people who normally came in looking for them.</p> <p>"I'm Mason Newcomb and this is my wife Margaret," he said.</p> <p>"How do you do?" Margaret said.</p> <p>"And I'm from SLSR..."</p> <p>"Ah, got it!" Liza said, "Follow me..."</p> <p>With that she stepped over to the main bar and grill area on the left and led them along the side wall to the kitchen and then called out.</p> <p>"Dennis! Gemma! Got visitors!"</p> <p>From over to their left, beyond the front-line cooking area they heard, "Be right there, I got it, Dennis," and in a moment Gemma appeared around a set of ovens and she walked between the 2 cooks on the front line and the one tending to the fryer. She wiped her hands off and smiled as she got to the group.</p> <p>"Mason! Margaret! I'm so glad you could make it!" she said giving each of them a hug, and then pulled Liza over to give her a kiss on the cheek.</p> <p>Liza smiled and looked at her. "Really, I'm not family, you know?"</p> <p>"Close enough," Gemma said as Liza shook her head and excused herself to get back to her job.</p> <p>As she turned to Mason and Margaret, she let the smile fade.</p> <p>"Tamara told me you might be coming here," she said softly.</p> <p>Mason looked at Margaret and she said, "Even if its nothing...better safe than sorry."</p> <p>Gemma nodded.</p> <p>"You'll probably end up staying at their place, just a bit further out."</p> <p>"That'll be fine," Mason said as he looked at Margaret who nodded, "We spent an hour packing, brought supplies. Made sure the tank was filled up with a couple extra 5 gallon jerrycans. Radio reception went to hell about an hour after we left."</p> <p>Gemma nodded.</p> <p>"All the satellite feeds are down. The repeaters for television are still up, but the signals are awful, when there are signals, and we haven't had any for the last 3 hours. We get some effects here, but nothing we can't handle so far. Let me take you to the offices and I'll get in contact with Tamara."</p> <p>She led them to the upstairs area and the offices to get the couple situated, and they would be some of the last to arrive.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Ray stepped out of the container followed by Alice, and then he walked forward to the waiting arms of Darlene.</p> <p>"Its good to be back," he said softly as they hugged.</p> <p>"I missed you so much," Darlene said, "I was worried you wouldn't get back."</p> <p>They kissed each other and then held on for moments more as other members of the staff came off and the ground crew started to unload the container. Slowly they let each other go and he looked at her.</p> <p>"The authorities didn't want us to go...said it wasn't safe. We just bribed the man at the passport booth and got our passports stamped and didn't listen to them. By the time they got anything official in motion, we were looking down from 10 miles up and powering up the engines. Those things are loud," he said with a wry smile.</p> <p>They turned to look at the ALV-I which was moored a bit further along and they saw Brent, Mike, Lisa and a few others waiting there as the container was locked into place on the ground. The doors opened with Regina and Herman stepping down from it, with the children running up to meet them followed by Brent who walked slowly towards them.</p> <p>"We're back, all back," Ray said, "our up-links went out about 3 hours ago, not a one to be had. All we had was ship to ship comms. What's it like out here?"</p> <p>Darlene looked at him and then motioned for him to go with her towards the group with Herman and Regina.</p> <p>"Bad enough. We lost most of our satellite comms about when you did, and then radio and TV started getting bad, shortwave is sporadic at best. The only reliable link out is the maser link to OASIS II and it is pretty well buttoned up."</p> <p>Ray sighed.</p> <p>"Any word from OASIS I or Meridian?"</p> <p>Darlene shook her head. "The last message from Diana was just before the nanosats went out, and that she is planning on riding it out since that is what the IS in OASIS means, Increased Survival."</p> <p>Ray shook his head glancing at Harry who was waiting for them closer to their ground field building.</p> <p>"Nothing from Meridian. That last track just isn't credible, Ray. Nothing we know of does that or can do that sort of velocity."</p> <p>He stopped them before they got closer to the building and turned to look at Darlene.</p> <p>"I talked with Herman, love," he said softly, "they were going through a test routine, Darlene, and didn't know exactly what to expect. Its not just what we thought it was, but also a real research platform. He thinks that what happened is well within the survivable."</p> <p>She looked at him trying to take that in.</p> <p>"But how? They would have been killed by the g-forces involved."</p> <p>"Not if they shifted the entire space around them as a relative frame. Then they would only feel any internal acceleration their ship already had."</p> <p>"That's...Ray that's only in science fiction," she whispered.</p> <p>He chuckled.</p> <p>"Ever notice how we've caught up to where science fiction was when we were kids? And even surpassed it in some ways?"</p> <p>"So, where are they, then?"</p> <p>Ray shrugged.</p> <p>"They would make that decision based on circumstances. Wherever they went, they chose the perfect time to test it as no one will be able to observe them, and that is pure dumb good luck."</p> <p>Darlene raised her eyebrows.</p> <p>"Good for them, maybe. Not so good for us."</p> <p>"True, true. Now lets see how the company is doing, and if the outside world is coping with this."</p> <p>Together they walked with arms around each others backs towards Harry Nordhaus, ready for whatever the news from him was.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Our frame speed was relative to the Earth," Kevin said, "but that included the Earth's relative frame to the sun. To be in orbit around Earth we had to have its velocity to be in orbit around the sun..."</p> <p>"And the sun's velocity relative to the center of the galaxy," Ares said.</p> <p>"Which is why it took a couple of hours of dinking in and out, and now we drift out from its orbit," Karl said, "no one said this would be easy."</p> <p>Ares looked at the monitor that Karl had with the main camera tracking the distant blue dot that was Earth and the smaller dot that was the Moon. Around the northern and southern polar regions a dance of colors circling around it was moving down to the mid-latitudes which was just barely visible on the daylight half of the dot, but clearly visible on the dark half of it.</p> <p>"This will take awhile," Ares said softly as he watched the screen.</p> <p>Karl shifted in his chair enough to see it and then back again.</p> <p>"Yah, a few days at least. Still we're just a few thousand miles an hour faster in Earth's orbit than Earth is, and now we're slightly sun-side. Easy enough to get back."</p> <p>Ares looked at him and then Kevin.</p> <p>"We are fatigued, even with trying to catch some sleep here on the journey out on the ALV-III, we have had a long day and need to get a few hours of actual rest in. The CME is above us and we're only getting some of the side spray from it here, so we're generally safe for awhile. After we've slept and had something to eat, then we can start going through all the settings that Brent indicated and since the disc system is safe for an enclosed frame we can then test from there."</p> <p>"I am wiped," Kevin said, "going from testing this thing in a relatively safe orbit around Earth to a relatively safe orbit where Earth is fuzzy blue dot with dual halos, wasn't what I was expecting."</p> <p>"Me neither," Karl said, "and we can start getting our gripe list together of the things that need improvements and my first will be getting a decent head in this thing. Waste freeze-drier slash incinerator is nice, sure, but the fittings aren't really all that friendly."</p> <p>Ares nodded.</p> <p>"Air is good, though. When you're on a limited budget and working with hand-me-downs and excess stuff from experiments, you can't complain all that much. The big stuff works and that's what we are here for."</p> <p>"Working being a relative term," Kevin said, "working like we need it to work? That's another matter, entirely."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>The main display began to be taken up with the Earth, beneath, and on the dark side there were a host of small lights that looked to be on some sort of web, with bright dots and fuzzy areas around them and then little beads of light before coming to another large drop of light. From the co-pilot's seat Athena watched the side camera display as Diana began to apply thrust to OASIS I.</p> <p>"It's beautiful," Athena said.</p> <p>Diana glanced over at her and breathed slowly, and then turned to concentrate on her job.</p> <p>"It is, always beautiful on the night side..."</p> <p>As they passed over the Earth the camera swiveled and then Athena saw it, a halo of light around the terminator and then beginning to wash down. Under the great force of the CME the Earth's magnetic field was being pushed in and down, which was starting to have an effect at the highest latitudes.</p> <p>"Diana the lights...up there and...they're going out."</p> <p>"Yes, sister," Diana whispered tracking the turn-off point where OASIS I would then adjust its attitude for coming out from behind the Earth, "30 seconds and then we end thrust."</p> <p>"Even with what I've read, what you've told me...how could such technology not be...protected?"</p> <p>"Hubris. Nemesis. 10...5...shutdown, beginning attitude corrections, establishing sun tracking."</p> <p>The view of the night side of Earth slid away as OASIS I corrected its attitude and sped out from behind Earth as the fastest manned object that had ever been sent into space, if the frame relative system of Meridian was not counted as that, of course.</p> <p>"But what will happen there?"</p> <p>As zero-g returned, and OASIS I came into its proper attitude, Diana took her helmet off and unstrapped herself from her seat.</p> <p>"Now mankind will find out what spending so much time trying to shift money around for political power means when it meets up with Nature's indifference. Those results are never, ever pretty."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Anything recent?" Hermes asked as Brent came into the banquet area of the Event Horizon.</p> <p>"Nothing beyond the Ham operator Rondo in El Paso," he said looking at the room that held people from companies at the spaceport, and almost all of them were down the corporate ladder outside of Highflight and Ascentech, which was Thomas Burke a senior VP at X-CAL. The corporations with the largest percentage of people in the spaceport at the time of the flare or getting in just after it, the ones that had made the spaceport home, and not just a set of offices to visit, were the ones with the most senior personnel present. Ray was present this morning with Darlene at the hangar, and she kept Alice and Harry there while Bill Mankin got sent along as one of the other initial investors who held a high position in the company. Hermes was in town with Brent and Regina, as it was decided to suspend normal operations but continue on with expansion with what was available under Nuada and Mel. Thomas Burke was present as well as his main designer Philip Zaroski. The problems at Z-Flight meant that very few executives were at the spaceport due to legal problems, which left Mary Weingarten as their most senior person as she was the General Manager of their facility and operations, which had not been sending much if anything up the last two years.</p> <p>"He's a good one, even with the problems they have had there, its nothing like what they reported from across the river," Philip said, "has the fire there been put out yet?"</p> <p>Brent shook his head as he sat down a few seats from Philip so that he could be close to the door. In the rear of the room Dionysus was tending to the bar while Gemma sat between Ray and Hermes.</p> <p>"No way to put it out without power to get water pumped, and they ran out of diesel after the first fire was put out yesterday," Hermes said, "any city that doesn't have a back-up power supply to get water out of the ground or out of a river, will not make it through this if they depended on the grid."</p> <p>From a few seats down near the wall of the room, Mary looked at him with a puzzled look.</p> <p>"Surely you mean not unscathed?"</p> <p>Hermes shook his head negatively.</p> <p>"He's right," Thomas said, "look at the Great Quake in San Francisco. The quake didn't level the city, the fire did. Even that one in the '80s had fires that got out of control and they were having to put hoses together to get to a fire boat off shore so that they could get pressure inland. We've all seen the smoke on the horizon to the north and what we've gotten from the south winds isn't industrial pollution any more. We all know that."</p> <p>"We're at 5 days in, and we're past the worst of the gamma and x-ray part of it," Ray said, "now its the heavy stuff. Even knowing something was coming I know it was a shock to see the northern lights across the northern horizon. Worse when they were overhead. Last night they stretched to the southern horizon which is unheard of. We had to cut gaps into our chain link fencing when we realized that deer were getting shocked unconscious by it."</p> <p>"Had to do that for the spaceport perimeter," said Erol Johnston who was the head of spaceport general operations, "no one remembered that fences are long pieces of wire and they will carry a charge from the ground now that the ground is generating one."</p> <p>"I'm just glad that we got PVC pipe for here," Regina said, "Carla went to get the compost bin moved up and she got next to the inflow meter and got a bad burn on her forearm as a result."</p> <p>"Erol, have we had anyone else trying to get to here since 2 days ago?"</p> <p>Erol shook his head negatively.</p> <p>"You know I'm just the guy in charge here as a job. I didn't like turning them away but...that's policy."</p> <p>"That needs to change," Thomas said, "X-CAL was one of the founding companies here, but that only put us first on the ground and we never imagined that so much surrounding territory would be grabbed up by other companies looking to make this a home. Most of us don't actually live here. Hell, my official residence is in Ft. Worth, so I don't even live here in a real way, just keep a room in the corporate pre-fab. I don't think any of us...well Ray, you and Herman brought up the need for contingency plans when you came here."</p> <p>He looked at them and shook his head. "Thanks, you're pushing us to get real about operations here at least got us to store enough to keep everyone going. X-CAL would be in bad straights if it wasn't for you two."</p> <p>Ray looked at Hermes who gave a half-shrug.</p> <p>"Cousins Aaron and Diana insisted on it," he said softly, "started to shame us into doing it by laying in emergency provisions for everyone. I've never had to do that before," he said looking at Regina and holding her hand.</p> <p>"Diana's our largest investor after me," Ray said, "and when she suggests something, just suggests it, I listen very carefully. She saved Ascentech by stepping in once with cash, a second time with Aaron, and then got Herman in to actually show us how to make money, then Dennis on how to keep everyone alive once things got moving."</p> <p>Coming in through the front door were the figures of men and women in hunting outfits, and they had a deer suspended on poles, plus a number of rabbits.</p> <p>Jasmine stopped to open her light green and red jacket and looked at everyone around the table. "Just passing through. We have 2 more deer on the cart that we will get processed through. A patch of wild berries down to the south, so we picked those clean, too."</p> <p>"Thank you, Jasmine," Gemma said, "any news from Carlos or Banion?"</p> <p>Jasmine nodded as some of the work staff at the Horizon helped with getting the deer carcasses through to the rear butchering area that had been set up to handle this.</p> <p>"Carlos is fine, said they are planning some winter gardening and sent over some plans for our greenhouses. Say, thanks to all of your crews for helping out on that!" Jasmine said looking at the meeting of the major people at the spaceport. "That aluminum strut isn't good for much, but its great for building a greenhouse. Not much glass but plenty of clear sheeting, though."</p> <p>"Glad to have my people help," Mary said, "we've just been spinning our wheels for months, now."</p> <p>"They are great on this, thanks! And Gus Sorwald, he's from X-CAL, right?"</p> <p>Thomas nodded with a smile, "Line engineer, a good man."</p> <p>"Great for that! I know that dad was a bit sparse on what needed to be done," she said looking at Dionysus.</p> <p>"It is pretty simple, Jasmine," he said as he came around the bar with a glass of water in his hand for her.</p> <p>"Thanks, dad," she said softly, "but the plans are shaping up great and we left them with Gus. There is a good chance we will at least have some fresh vegetables this winter. Luck holding."</p> <p>"Miss Pennerton?" Erol turned in his chair to look at her.</p> <p>"Yes, Mr. Johnston?"</p> <p>"Ah, its never been clear to me who told you to start doing this."</p> <p>"Its in the plans that the militia set up," she said looking at him, "and since nobody wanted to get off their butts, I did. Someone had to start laying in for the long winter, you know?"</p> <p>"I...well I know that there is a militia, yes, but you aren't like the survivalist types?"</p> <p>"No, this isn't Idaho," Jasmine said, "but it is one of the things that everyone agreed about...3 years ago? Made sure we had duties, ranks and all that stuff? If you were in the military, you at least got to a Sergeant rating, but we elected officers."</p> <p>"What's your rank, Jasmine?" Thomas asked.</p> <p>"Lieutenant, put in charge of hunting and provisioning, scouting if we're in the field," she said softly.</p> <p>"Who's the CO?" Erol asked.</p> <p>"Colonel Raymond Kaplan, he's in charge of the organization. I had to get started without him and just got his approval when he got on the ground."</p> <p>Ray nodded and realized that everyone was looking at him.</p> <p>"What?" he asked softly.</p> <p>Thomas looked at Erol.</p> <p>"I think we just found out who should be setting outside policy here," he said with a smile, "as I don't even get a rating since I don't live here."</p> <p>"You're a Private for the duration, Mr. Burke. If you are stuck here, able bodied, and can handle a firearm, or even if you can't, you get a place to help us out. When you can return home, then that goes away," Jasmine said looking at him.</p> <p>"Ray? It sounds like you have...another operation going on here," Erol said.</p> <p>"We're just here to defend our lives, our property, and the spaceport, Erol. We're a militia, not a military organization. I mean we're only active because of the state of emergency that got declared just before the CME hit. We're just taking prudent steps in case the long-term worst case is what we have. And I'm glad Jasmine stepped up to do it, she really needs a promotion out of that."</p> <p>"Erol, I have nothing against you," Thomas said, "but this is far outside of the normal administrative realm that we hired you for, you know?"</p> <p>Ray looked between them.</p> <p>"I'm not liking where this is headed," he said softly.</p> <p>"Oh, I think you'll do fine being the man in charge here..." Dionysus said coming up behind Gemma. She looked up at him and then over to Ray.</p> <p>"Besides, you are the one loaded for bear, aren't you?"</p> <p>Ray licked his lips as he looked at Gemma and then Herman.</p> <p>"He told you, didn't he?"</p> <p>"Who told who what?" Mary asked.</p> <p>Hermes smiled.</p> <p>"Well, I did suggest it to him in the first place to suggest to you, Ray. I didn't want to make it seem like meddling."</p> <p>"Wait, what did you suggest?" Thomas asked.</p> <p>"The supply platform, S-Plat," Hermes said, "a place to store consumables and some of the heavier materials needed in the future."</p> <p>Ray nodded and then put a serene smile on his face.</p> <p>"That's why I had a quick turnaround on the ALV-III that we had here, I needed to get another billet up."</p> <p>"A billet of what?" Thomas asked.</p> <p>"Ah, a bit of tungsten-titanium matrix alloy wrapped around a depleted uranium core, all coated by some of the high temperature ceramics we use on our vehicles. With a nice solid core, vectored thrust unit installed in the rear with a basic inertial guidance system able to take updates if they are available."</p> <p>"But what are they for?" Erol asked.</p> <p>"Oh, space shielding, don't you know?" Dionysus said, "I had that one ready for him, you see. A fine and decent cover story."</p> <p>Thomas took up his glass of iced tea and sipped at it.</p> <p>"Ray, what do you have up in orbit that is so important to get there while a major CME is pulling things down around our ears?"</p> <p>Ray leaned forward and whispered.</p> <p>"Rods from god. Karl suggested we call them Mjolnir, but then there was only 1 of those."</p> <p>There was silence in the room, although there were smiles from those in the know which included Jasmine.</p> <p>"For god's sake, why?" Mary asked.</p> <p>"Very simple, really. If I'm going to defend the spaceport, I have to have the high ground. And once Meridian returns, then we will secure it."</p> <p>"Meridian?" Thomas asked.</p> <p>"The vehicle that Aaron, Kevin, Karl and a few others were working on for the last few years," Herman said, "with some help, of course," he said squeezing Regina's hand and looking at Brent.</p> <p>"But didn't you lose track of it?" Philip asked.</p> <p>"We really aren't set up to track something that goes a million miles an hour as a vehicle," Gemma said softly.</p> <p>"What the hell?" Thomas said looking at her and then coming to realize that there was more going on than he had suspected.</p> <p>"A million...that's..." Mary started.</p> <p>"You all saw the tracking data," Ray said, "or if you haven't we can get you a read-out of it. That is what is known as a 'startup test'. It worked, too. They didn't expect the CME either, so I expect they are off someplace, maybe in the shadow of the moon or in Earth's shadow, testing it out. And believe me, I didn't know about it until I got back here after the airshow. Not all of what it could do, at least. It was a shock to me, too, and it is for research, too."</p> <p>"What's it for?" Erol asked.</p> <p>"Oh, I think Kyle Culpepper summed it up best when he told me what Aaron told him. It's to keep them honest. I'm just loaded for bear, Erol. He's loaded for everything else."</p> <p>Ray sat back and smiled.</p> <p>"Because you know the maxim of fighter pilots," Hermes said, "speed kills. And he has the most speed of anything this side of light. And I'm making no bets on light keeping its position in the future."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Sending out the camera balls," Karl said from the rear position in the cockpit as a series of 8 exterior camera balls left via a recessed hatchway on the upper surface of the fuselage.</p> <p>"Right," Kevin said, "we have all 8 feeds, multi-band. Give them a couple of minutes to get to their station-keeping positions at 250 feet away."</p> <p>"They're showing up on radar," Ares said tracking the near-limit system meant to be used for docking of Meridian, "and at 250 they will just give a return. They are also showing up on IR."</p> <p>"And visual now that I've locked the tracking system on them," Kevin said, "can we get phased array feedback from the forward one, at least?"</p> <p>"Yeah," Ares said, "shows up distinctly in a few bands, somewhat dispersed in others. Locking that into the system. Radar is locked as well."</p> <p>"All right," Karl said, "now if I've read it correctly, all we need to do is sync up the plate system's program to this plate diagnostic program," he said as he got the program up and running, "then...Kevin, how's the overall sensor program working?"</p> <p>"Just getting the feeds integrated and tagged. About another minute for that as the phased system can actually go through in-band searches as part of its capability and those all need fingerprinting," he said.</p> <p>"Then I'm waiting on you," Karl said.</p> <p>"A lot of possibilities to get defined," Kevin said having to let the system get its target designation tracking system tuned, "I'm going to try bringing the forward ball in just a few feet, still outside the compression shell if that's what it is, though."</p> <p>"Affirmative," Ares said as he watched the ball take on a small amount of impetus towards Meridian, and then use its micro-thruster system to stop.</p> <p>"Good enough," Kevin said, "we are now getting decent feedback for the size of the object. Now I'm synchronizing the system and let me give it a full run-through just to make sure it works. First manually then automatic."</p> <p>"Karl, how fast can the plate configuration change?" Ares asked.</p> <p>"Oh, that doesn't take long, Aaron. A whole bunch of tenth of an inch movements to shift the virtual 3D fractal topology across plates, done per plate, and then getting the feedback from them. After that we need to define the compression capacity of each of them, too, but that won't take much energy. First sensors so we can see where we're going, aye?"</p> <p>"Yeah," Ares said, "I don't want to be running into anything with this working. The results will not be pretty."</p> <p>"And now the automatic, which takes...done...right that is sensor positive feedback system, and the recording for it will take in the disc positioning. Positive feed from the camera balls, positive check from Meridian's sensors, and it is all locked up and ready to test."</p> <p>"Aye, got the feed, kicking up the feedback system, you should be getting it at ZERO across the board."</p> <p>Kevin nodded to himself.</p> <p>"Zero it is, charge is zero. I'm set and recording is automatic. It'll eat up a bit of our active on-board memory for awhile, then I'll store it off to removable, and compress the rest, and ditching the null returns."</p> <p>"Duplicate the back-up, just in case," Ares said, "far too many things go wrong with just one back-up."</p> <p>"Isn't that the truth?" Kevin said, "Luckily the solid state drives don't weigh much and we have terabytes to fill. Got the first one in to dupe the live feed. Karl the show is yours."</p> <p>"Great! Charging system. Starting auto-sequencer. And initiating."</p> <p>Outside Meridian space started to show different effects from blackness around them to shifting flecks of blue in front and red behind, to smeared out images in a ring around the center of the ship, each done and over in less time than it takes to blink an eye.</p> <p>"So now we wait for 10 hours. Did anyone think to put a poker app on the system? Because now we have time to kill. And the fun part is to test compression ratios we get to do this all over again, although we only need three of the cameras for that for basic triangulation and timing."</p> <p>Kevin sighed.</p> <p>"You know, when I was a youngster I used to see space travel as glamorous and romantic, with starships going all over the place."</p> <p>"Engineering it takes all the romance out, doesn't it?" Karl asked.</p> <p>"Needs to be done," Ares said, "otherwise you learn to live like this. The maxim of fighter pilots is days of pure boredom punctuated by seconds of living hell. We are in the boredom part. The goal is to make that state permanent."</p> <p>"Aaron I'm afraid that will never happen," Kevin said, "and we do have a poker app on board. Anyone up for a few hands?"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"...with the last of my fear burnt out, the Wild Hunt had no purpose and its power dispersed. I was no longer who I was by then, she was done and gone, my sister."</p> <p>Athena had shifted to move the webbing around her, as Diana opened a compartment to get a blanket that would stick to the parts of the webbing with soft material that was the counterpart to the soft blanket.</p> <p>"You're different than you were?"</p> <p>Diana nodded and shifted to start pressing the blanket to the webbing.</p> <p>"Yes...with no one left to lash out at I was..." she shook her head as she shifted slightly down the webbing to make sure it was secured near her sister's feet, "...much of the joy in my life had been extinguished. I was a huntress with skill, that could not be taken from me." Slowly she worked the blanket around at the feet and had to disentangle it as she went along her sister's body. "One of my greatest feelings was knowing that any woman who was pregnant and expecting, if she was lost and bereft in the wilderness...if she knew my name and called out for me, at least a Priest or Bear Girl would know of it from me. And if none were present, I went myself, since no woman should ever be so outcast, so lost, in such a state as to be like that."</p> <p>Slowly she worked her way up to the top of the webbing and shifted the blanket around her.</p> <p>"No they shouldn't..." Athena said, "...but since then..."</p> <p>"I cannot even hear them," Diana said softly, "even if you didn't know my name and just cried out in agony of childbirth for help in the wild lands, I often heard and was there. Now no longer. If for no other thing than that, one of the most fulfilling of purposes I ever had, I will never forgive our father, Pallas. I was the mid-wife of last call, last resort and I didn't care if you had the riches of a kingdom at your feet, or if your feet were bare and your clothing threadbare, I came. When I finally recovered...my teaching priests in the wilderness had disbanded, and no one taught my ways any longer."</p> <p>She secured the blanket and looked at her sister.</p> <p>"Show me where you can get your hands out," Diana said.</p> <p>Sleepily Athena nodded and shifted to move her hands out of slits just above the center of the blanket.</p> <p>"And where the emergency bubble is?"</p> <p>Athena moved, using her hands on the webbing on the inside and turned to the panels behind her and used her hands to lift a red circled panel lid up and back, and reached for the inflatable plastic bubble that could be pulled around her in seconds and inflated. They had been through that drill and how to put on her spacesuit from the bubble, so that she would be safe in case of disaster. Diana had shown her where the emergency instructions were, and what programs to call up from them, and that was clipped to her spacesuit.</p> <p>"Good," Diana whispered, "close it up and rest, now, my sister."</p> <p>Pallas pulled the lid out and down, and a red ring appeared when it was snapped into place, then she shifted to look at Diana again.</p> <p>"I am exhausted, Diana. Mentally, physically although beyond exercise I haven't done that much."</p> <p>Diana nodded with a soft smile.</p> <p>"Its the same with me, sister. Now that I'm up I'll be awake once you are finished sleeping. I'll darken this cabin so that I will still be able to see. Darkout blindfold is on the webbing above your head if you need it, and I do suggest it."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Looking back over the end of the boat Father Andre shook his head. The wine dark sea was still wine dark and the autumnal winds blew as they always did, and the waves continued to roll on oblivious to all. From the rear rail of the boat he watched as the black clouds slowly changed, and the redness from the west was replaced with flickering redness from below. On the small boat one of the sailors came up next to him to look.</p> <p>"Where did it start, do you know?"</p> <p>"No, the water went out with the lights. Yesterday the first hints of fire came from the west and south. I could pack very little on my way out, and could only ensure that the ikons and relics were stored, before seeking refuge myself."</p> <p>The sailor in his white t-shirt that was now mostly gray from grease and sweat took a drag from his cigarette and then spat out behind the boat.</p> <p>"Only the fishers know of the far landing," he said.</p> <p>"My family is to the south, I'll get back to them, although its been years since I last saw them."</p> <p>The fisherman nodded and then pulled on Fr. Andre's shoulder for him to get down as the pilot swung the boat around to tack across the wind.</p> <p>"Yeah," he said looking at Andre, "need priests in a lot of places now. A few places, small places, got power still. Fuel, too, for them for awhile. Hospitals are running out, though, closing down wards to care only for the sickest. Many need a decent burial, need a priest. You're needed."</p> <p>"Many are in need now, Dauid. The fires spread too fast along the west and the way to the harbor seemed jammed, so I went north to where my father used to go. It is, at least, not so close to trees and buildings."</p> <p>"So many died in the harbor, they didn't know how the winds would blow, first across the ridge and then, with the western wind, into the harbor itself. Southern winds already had it there and many thought it would stop there, fled to ships that had no fuel any more. With morning the eastern winds took the fire from south and north and that was it."</p> <p>"It was a horror..." Andre whispered, "far worse than what I remember of the war."</p> <p>"Its all over like that. We got radio, at least, still, nothing much on. The phones are dead, too. Only that one station from last night, from Tel Aviv I think. Some time tonight, they said another place will be sending messages, so we'll listen as we sail."</p> <p>Andre inhaled and looked at Dauid.</p> <p>"I'll go below, maybe be of some help there."</p> <p>"Yeah, that's good. I gotta move around, keep watch, you know? Not that there is much to watch for. We're the last from today, get in around midnight, maybe, luck holding."</p> <p>"Keep a good watch, my son," Andre said turning back to the recessed cabin area of the small sailing vessel, and went down the steps to where Captain Nikodemos was shifting the radio dial searching for some sort of station.</p> <p>"How goes it Captain?"</p> <p>The older man in blue tunic and pants looked up at him and smiled as the lantern in the cabin flickered as it swung slowly on its chain.</p> <p>"Fine Father Andre, sit down, please. I'm just searching for that station from last night."</p> <p>"Dauid told me. Tel Aviv was it?"</p> <p>"Yes, the Jews are keeping it together, but even they have problems from what they've said."</p> <p>Andre sat down and as Nikodemos shifted the dial a musical tone sounded.</p> <p>"Ah, there it is..." he said.</p> <p>In English he heard a man speaking and Father Andre did a rough translation for Nikodemos. Then, with a start, he said, "I recognize that voice."</p> <p>And so he started translating.</p> <p>"Greetings to all that can hear the sound of my voice. Hope is not lost..."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"My name is Raymond Kaplan and I am the President and CEO of Ascentech. I am coming to you using every satellite resource that we could configure with help of the University of Texas, Texas Tech, University of Jerusalem, Hawaii Observatory, Honolulu University, the Observatories in Chile and Peru, Fairbanks Technical School, far too many Ham radio operators to even begin to list and our own people across companies here where I am broadcasting from, the United States Spaceport."</p> <p>With a soft blue background that had the logo of the spaceport in white on it, Ray sat behind a plain wooden desk with a gray suit on, white shirt and black tie. In front of him were the cameras gathered from the various companies at the spaceport.</p> <p>"From all indications the worst of the solar storm is past us as indicated by the GOES satellites, at least those that are still functioning. We are using a number of public satellites which were still dormant as of yesterday when we started to get the easy to use transponders that were still working up and operational. We have indications from a number of military bases across the globe that they are more or less functional, but not set up for a disaster on this scale. No one is. There is no place to run as this disaster is planetary in scale but limited only to the systems that depend on electricity generation on a large scale. Some are better prepared to deal with this than others, and anyone who can hear me tonight, take heart. You are not alone."</p> <p>He inhaled and looked from one camera to another.</p> <p>"We are using a number of side-band channels to send more information out, and if you are seeing me on television, then you will have a scrolling list across the bottom of the screen. We are attempting to get messages out via the worldwide Ham radio operators, and a number of them will be relaying stations that can be found for information on a 24 hour basis. If we are using your satellite, please contact us via the standard command channels for it, so that we can transition it back to you. We are using only what is not being used, and have no wish to co-opt your property."</p> <p>"From our facility we have garnered a large number of educational programs and as many experts as we can gather from across all our locations to help bring you the information necessary to survive. For many who have never farmed, the time to learn is now and we will be providing that across as many climate zones as we possibly can and if you can hear us and get word back to help, then we do need your help."</p> <p>"As I said, hope is not lost, and as there is no place to run to, that means surviving where you are with the help of your fellow man. The death toll from a week of this is horrific, already, and starvation with disease will make it worse. Thus we will be offering help on how to keep clean, quarantine diseases and care for the stricken."</p> <p>"For our part, my company, Ascentech, will be working closely with the other space companies to quickly ramp up and expand our Industrial Work Platform that is in orbit. This will happen as fast as we can do it, and we hope that within 3 years we will be able to produce solar power stations in the megawatt range to beam power down to Earth receiving stations. We will do so based on your technical ability, and that will include contacting us on how to build such a station and utilize it. Within 5 years we will seek to have the first agricultural station in orbit growing food utilizing processed Lunar soils. That will be no easy task, and by then we will need much in the way of technical help on the Earth and individuals willing to train for a one-way trip to space where the rest of your life will be led in helping to develop a new extra-terrestrial infrastructure to help in the recovery of Earth and the expansion of our population into space."</p> <p>"We cannot feed everyone from this system, and will start with those communities that demonstrate they are able to remain civilized in the teeth of this disaster. This will take years to stand up, so please realize that this is no easy task for us. Within a decade it is our hope, with a highly expanded and spiraling development of Lunar materials, to begin feeding 10 million individuals completely from those resources and those we take up to orbit. If successful we will continue spiraling that up a decade past that."</p> <p>"This means that we must earn your trust by helping you now, and that cannot be done with those who decide to take for themselves and seek only limited survival and keep no technology nor civilization running in their hearts. I am no dictator, tyrant, king nor elected to any real office. I am one man running a company who cannot ignore the plight of his fellow man of all races, all creeds, all ethnicities and of any Nation that survives this. We will defend ourselves against any government that thinks it can take our works and lives from us as all governments, across this world, have demonstrated just how woefully unwilling they were to face disaster. Proper preparation would save billions of lives, and we expect that up to 2/3 and possibly as much as 3/4 of all people who went into this disaster will not be alive in 2 more months."</p> <p>"To any spacefarer caught on the ISS, we offer you a safe haven to land. Getting you anywhere else is problematical, but you are welcome to stay if you wish. We are surrounded by desert which has limited capability to sustain life, and we will be working with the natives to this continent and those in the know in Israel on desert agriculture and horticulture to get crops enough to sustain ourselves. Beyond that we welcome trade with any who have goods to sell or that wish to buy from us what little we can produce for now. We have designated points on the access roads from here for that purpose, and even stores we are setting up for that. Any approaching us who are not authorized or that come along unauthorized routes, will be killed on sight. If you have skills, knowledge or survival capacity, we will gladly talk with you either via electronic means or face to face at the designated points."</p> <p>"Hopefully, I will never have to do this again," Ray said leaning forward, "I am no spokesman for humanity, just the President of a company founded on a dream. That dream is still alive, and it is the dream of space, freedom and liberty for all mankind. We wish to share that dream with you, but that takes hard work. Our hard work is pledged to see us all through this, so that even if we, as individuals, do not cash in on it, that our children and grand-children can do so. Our company was formed on the premise of building on what works and building quickly, and that is how we are approaching this, as well. We can help you, but only if you are willing to help and invest in yourself and work with others to survive. It is a simple thing to ask, and extremely difficult to do."</p> <p>"From the United States Spaceport, I am Ray Kaplan. Good-bye, and gob bless you all."</p> <p>Alice shifted the connection to the automated program system that had been cobbled together, softly saying "Amen" as she did so.</p> <p>Ray looked at her as the light went out, and only enough were kept on to allow people to see what they were doing. He then looked at Darlene who stood next to her.</p> <p>"Well, hopefully I didn't screw that up too badly," he said with a smile.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"The most exhausting thing to do is sit and wait," Ares said softly.</p> <p>"Yah, you got that right," Karl said, "but you get used to the mile or so back and forthing after awhile. I can't keep track of them its so fast, just watch the counter on the screen."</p> <p>"We're nearly done," Kevin said, "and it is looking good! I think we have a good 10,000 very useful cross-indexed configurations here, and with a bit of meta-analysis, my bet is more than 100 will offer very good capacities. Just punch in the frequency ranges and out will pop configurations and what sort of compression ratios they offer."</p> <p>Ares shook his head as he watched the counter moving down under 100. Sometimes the numbers went down quickly, other times it took a second or two for them to crawl by. Yet there was no real feel of motion at all inside their relative frame and the only thing of note was the indicators for the triangulation from the camera balls floating outside Meridian.</p> <p>"Nearly there..." Kevin said as the numbers crawled towards zero.</p> <p>"Ah, 10...3... Done!" Karl said, "Now lets start looking at what we have here...hmmm..."</p> <p>Ares shifted his seat to face forward.</p> <p>"Time to recall the cameras?" he asked.</p> <p>"Yes, I think we are done with them," Kevin said, "and we have a really good listing of frequency openings by general side relative to the main axes of Meridian. You'll want the front ones for the phased array, ion boosted particle beam and mini-gun, I think, Aaron. We can always shift the compression bubble around us, so that any of those are available, and most are available on the central parts of a number of frames, not down to true flat space, but useful."</p> <p>"Send them all by arrangement," Ares said, "you'll have to do most of the heavy work on that envelope shifting, Karl."</p> <p>"Well, I can see that already," Karl said, "but I'm re-collating that list to arrange them so that all the easy ones that need no management beyond shifting the disc array, are grouped. And while most of those aren't in the million mile per hour region, you have them all the way from something you can actually have turtles beat all the way to a good half-million miles an hour. Plus a couple of spotty ones with some harsh direction changes even at the million mile per range," Karl whistled, "but look at that top compression would you?"</p> <p>Kevin resorted his list after putting a whole hot-suite of comms ones into his system.</p> <p>"That's... 30 million miles an hour? About 5% of the speed of light?"</p> <p>Ares checked the list.</p> <p>"You dropped a decimal space," he said softly, "that is 300 million, not 30. Just under half light speed. Not bad for a test rig."</p> <p>"Uh-huh," Karl said, "and fully charged we got that for, oh, 3 hours, maybe. Its one of those that eats up energy as you go, and we would have to have the radiators open for that, too. Still not bad for a test arrangement, eh?"</p> <p>"No, its not," Ares said, "the cameras are all in. Now we just need to lay in a course back to Earth...say, what is our frame relative speed to Earth, anyway? Has any of this changed that? I don't want to arrive and end up crashing into the planet."</p> <p>Karl chuckled.</p> <p>"Not a nice way to go, when you come down to it."</p> <p>Kevin checked his system looking at the last dozen set of readings from the cameras.</p> <p>"I guess that we are going to be between geosynchronous and, maybe, 10,000 miles up. If we aim for 17,000 miles we won't be too bad off."</p> <p>"Sounds good," Ares said, "can you get me a course and a good speed for frequencies, plus keep it slow enough to handle manually?"</p> <p>"Can do," Karl said, "at least for speed, you have lots of choices now."</p> <p>"Yes you do," Kevin said, "I need to get a list sorting by reflex time, though, which should help out a lot in an emergency."</p> <p>"That can wait until we are in orbit. Because that is where we are going."</p> <p>"Aye. Still no beer though. What is it with space stations and lack of beer, anyway?"</p> <p>Ares chuckled.</p> <p>"Because that first drunken stunt will get you and a lot of other people killed."</p> <p>"Well, if they can't hold their own on beer, then they really shouldn't be drinking, now, should they?"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Amidst lifeless trees that had sand covering their roots the figure stood with the hat on his head and ravens on his shoulders. Into the distance he stared, a distance where dust was still settling and would always be settling as it was now heaped with more dead dreams than could be held by any realm.</p> <p>"Caw," the raven on his right shoulder said and he inclined his head and peered at it with his one eye.</p> <p>"Of course," he said, "see how the horizon grows darker, ever darker? Just one point of light and it is coming to us now."</p> <p>"Caw!" the other raven said.</p> <p>He shifted his head to look straight out again.</p> <p>"None of us here can ever reach there," he said breathing slowly in and out, "not after what happened to us all," inclining his head towards the point of light and shifting it to gaze into the horizon of forever, "she is the last to be able to come here and now the signs are clear, aren't they? There is no special vision here of any future," he stopped and squinted, "she made sure of that. Evil was what was done to her, and we are all to blame for what happened to us by her. She does not know what she does this time, but the course of events are obvious even from here."</p> <p>"Caw!" the raven on his right sounded out.</p> <p>"Oh, I knew what I was doing! Do you think I really wanted her to chase down to the Underworld full of living fury? She would, you know? Nothing would stop her in that, not a single thing. Not god. Not man. Not the dead. Not demons nor devils. While she is not chaste, she is inviolate and her father proved its power with his end. Already in our fall, our demise, she chased down to here, and the Hunt came with her, heedless of realm or domain. Even I could but lead that, she controlled it to our bitter end. Do you think it would not reappear with her? No, oh no, that is a prime mistake and she would eradicate all that is left to us, and clear out the Broken Lands and there would not even be sand to remain. Her footstep is power here, and we are better off yielding up the last of her kin than to give her reason to ever come here."</p> <p>Without a word the ravens took to flight and he saw the glinting of the point of light.</p> <p>"She comes," he whispered to himself and took steps towards the light as it approached. He then stopped at the edge of the copse of dead trees, near the empty tomb by the dead spring, and above her the two ravens slowly circled her, announcing her passage.</p> <p>"Welcome!" he said with a loud voice and smile.</p> <p>With sword in hand and shield on her opposite side, she stepped towards him.</p> <p>"Where am I?" she asked.</p> <p>He nodded.</p> <p>"The Broken Lands," he said, "and I am Wide Hat, and you are befuddled as to your own name, are you not?"</p> <p>She stopped 10 paces from him.</p> <p>"Yes," she whispered, "I have no memory of this place."</p> <p>"Of course you don't, because the horrific rivers that bring no life have touched your mind and allow it no memories. Yet you have the tears of the Shade of Memory within you."</p> <p>"I do?" she asked softly.</p> <p>"This is not your first trip here, oh armored woman with shield of intelligence and sword of skill. The time of your choosing is at hand, now. Although the confluence of events are awful they are also awesome as you are at their heart and all that is to come wheels around your hub, your core."</p> <p>She tilted her head to look at him, a questioning look and a deep gaze of green eyes that he knew looked into him, not through him. This was a one you dare not deceive because of who she was.</p> <p>"Wide hat, is it?"</p> <p>He nodded, doffing his hat and bowing to her as he flourished his hat across his waist, "At your service, Miss," he said and then straightened, putting his hat back on.</p> <p>"You have just one eye," she said softly.</p> <p>"Ah, yes! To gain great vision and, it appears, greater blindness as well. Sad to lose that, but it is what came from the blind side that I could not foretell, and isn't it always like that?"</p> <p>"I don't know," she said softly, "you say my memories were taken from me by...a river here? And that the key to opening them is, within me?"</p> <p>"Yes!" he said with a smile, "That is your choice, you see. But I do give fair warning, if you get your memories back you will find them, as all find our lives, a mixed bag. But I shall and will say this: you are blameless in your misfortunes, not their author nor their cause. There is horror amongst them, however."</p> <p>"But what am I without my memories?" she said in the softest of whispers.</p> <p>"Forgotten by all. Unseen by all but a few. Being present, you are absent, and therefore you are always lost and bewildered with each new day dawning a great blank upon your mind. That is horrific to you, each and every day, and it was the rare day you did not seek the end of all your days, but that cannot be for you. So you awaken again, blank to what happened, blank past, blank future and each day blanked out."</p> <p>"If I...get my memories back will I get...those as well?"</p> <p>He nodded.</p> <p>"Sadly, yes. They are as much a part of you as any other part, and only the Lethe within you keeps what you do from you. The Lethe is a river, however, and you are now where it can never flow in your waking time. Even there you would require assistance which has been rendered to you here, as your last visit gave you access to the wellspring of memory for the reborn, indeed for any who could get them. Now, where the Lethe cannot reach, it is your decision to accept your past in its full manner or continue on where you have only this present, and never a tomorrow nor yesterday."</p> <p>"No...no one should be like that," she said in soft tones looking up at him.</p> <p>"You least of all, Miss," he said letting his one eyed gaze meet hers.</p> <p>"But how...how do I regain them?"</p> <p>"You need to hear the name you cannot hear, because it is your name and that is the center of what makes you forget. Now, in this place, disconnected from the Lethe wellspring, being physically in that place no river can ever flow, and being here in this Broken Land, even here you could not hear your name. Until now. There is no magic in it, no power over you from it, and nothing that will be used against you contained within it, it is just who you are. If you seek it I shall whisper it to you so that you can be sure to hear it, where there will be no doubt, no question and your memories shall return and you will never return here again."</p> <p>Slowly, a step at a time, she approached him, sheathing her sword and then shifting her shield to her back.</p> <p>Looking up at him and he down at her, she nodded.</p> <p>"Please tell me who I am," she said in a sad yet forceful way.</p> <p>"It is your wish to take that path?"</p> <p>She nodded affirmatively.</p> <p>"Very well," he said getting on his knees and then leaning forward to her, the proud woman who would brave her past to have a future. He shifted his larger head to hers and placed his lips close to her ear and whispered.</p> <p>"You are Athena," and he gave her a soft kiss on her ear before she screamed the loudest scream he had ever heard from any land, including those of all his kin. He pulled away and the ravens settled on her shoulders then she faded and the ravens took to air again, to settle once more on his.</p> <p>He stood up and saw the sand shift slowly where she had stood, and on the far horizon the last dot of light blinked out.</p> <p>"Now, maybe, we can rest in peace. Or at least without fear," he grumbled turning back towards the lifeless trees and the lands of chaos beyond.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Come, father, do your worst! Do with me as you did Hera, Apollo, Demeter, Heracles, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Hades! Kin slayer I so name you and so you are!"</p> <p>She could see him descending at the far end of the valley where she had landed, and recovered from the start of the battle. The air crackled around him, and light shone down to him and through him. She saw the trident of his brother and the net from Ariadne's making, the armor that only Hephaestus could hammer and she knew what was missing.</p> <p>"My daughter, I am here and to you comes a deserved and fit ending," he said with a smile, "You were always there to be at her side, to take her side in so many things, and while you showed proper deference to me, it was only just that and the child's proper place was lacking in you for the city you did get."</p> <p>She stood with Aegis, her shield with horrific face but knew that it would not shock her father nor turn him to stone, but its embossing protruded and deadly fangs with venom could still burn and paralyze. She stood with spear first and foremost, but kept two javelins across her back, and shifted the spear to her hand with the shield, keeping it in grip argive. Her javelins were not of lightning, had no thunder and yet were made with the keenest insight into their use. The first came readily at hand.</p> <p>"I did all that was right and proper, father. I am fully of you, but you cannot take me back. I know this, as do you."</p> <p>"Ah my headache gave birth, it did," he said with a chuckle, "and always was around to remind me of just what a headache it was. So we do meet one last time my headache daughter, and I shall take all that are the powers caught up in you, though none can take your birth right."</p> <p>He stepped forward shifting the grip on his net and sidling towards her.</p> <p>"I have the skill, my father, do not seek to threaten me for you shall pay with it with your life if you do," she said in a growl, her helmet shifted to give her full protection and she changed her stance to one where the javelin would come into play.</p> <p>"Skill? Of course you have that, but first you need solid ground for its practice," he said and stamped his right foot to the ground and a great rumbling was heard in the valley as it shook. Rocks slid down from cliffs and the cliffs themselves shifted and broke and she knew that to take a single step would undo her as her father had the sure footed movements of one who controlled such tremors. As he came closer he lashed out with the net of finest web, which she countered with Aegis and then threw the javelin in the standing style, which was weak, but accurate enough to pierce between back plate and left arm then glancing off bone to fall to the ground.</p> <p>As he pulled the net back it was with redness covering his upper arm and shoulder, and the net caught not on Medusa's snarling mouth, although strands did come undone by its hideous visage. By the motions forward and back across that face, even the web of Ariadne broke and suffered gaps, and the powerful trident blow came fully upon Aegis causing her to stumble back and lose her footing. She fell, she rolled and came up with a second javelin and jumped, pushing off with the spear, to aim at her father's neck and seeing it, instead, sail through skin where neck appeared from behind the breast plate. In mid air she twisted with her throw and came up with the spear at the ready, and as no trembling of the ground lasts forever, so, too, did this one subside.</p> <p>"Ah, you get my blood first, daughter! Most skilled in defending yourself, and yet you do not attack in full as your brother would."</p> <p>"Oh father, you show that he is still alive by not fighting like he could. Your plan is clear."</p> <p>He smiled, "Is it, now?"</p> <p>He feinted with the tines of the trident, and she shifted to raise her shield, and then saw that he moved his grip, letting the net drop and the haft came around and down to her side, sweeping feet out from under her and causing her grip to loosen on her spear. As she fell she could see the shadow of her father play and desperately reached out for her spear and snatched it just as the tines found the back of her gauntlet and tore it asunder, red blood following. With a twist and shift she rolled backwards, came upright and took a step towards her father to let loose the spear at his midriff. Instead the haft of the trident blocked it and deflected the spear so that it left a deep gash in the upper portion of his breast plate even while cutting to the skin beneath.</p> <p>With the next feint of the trident she took that on the upper portion of Aegis and twisted it fiercely so that her father lost his grasp upon it. Her sword cut the head from the haft and used her booted foot to kick the head away. With an easy motion and smile her father took a longer, larger sword from its sheath and at glinted in the sun coming down to put a first real dent in Aegis, and forcing her back towards the cliffs that towered above.</p> <p>"My headache gives ground! Skill in combat? Oh, yes, though not invincible, not by any means. Oh, treacherous wisdom held in you, for all you see you cannot know your end is near."</p> <p>She grimaced.</p> <p>"Father, the sky is clear, not a cloud to be seen. And your lightning is not about you, and no ready javelins of it. That which you use so well, you have forgotten to bring it."</p> <p>He leered at her and swung his sword again, and she attempted to deflect the blow and could see the shower of sparks given by metal on metal and twisted her body so that when she took her sword away, Aegis took up to blocking his swing. Yet the back swing put a gash into Aegis, just above her arm and it had been a near thing, that. With the back swing her spear was broken into pieces, the head hitting the cliff and landing amongst far rocks. Again she gave way, backing to the cliffs and took out her sword.</p> <p>"You'll not attack me so well soon, father," she said defiantly to him.</p> <p>Bellowing with laughter he simply brought his arm up and lightning flashed from his hand. With Aegis she blocked, its metal side firmly on the ground, and still she felt the heat of it through her left forearm and smelled that horrific smell of burnt and cooking flesh. The tip of her sword gashed his hand and his sword chipped across the top of Aegis and clipped the crest from her helm.</p> <p>"Oh, I'll attack you even more now, headache. You will yield to me what is mine, never you doubt that."</p> <p>Now her left foot felt solid stone and the cliff stood starkly above her and she smiled, using that backing to swing out hard to her father, and finding her blow parried by his sword. This time it was her advantage and as neither of them gave way, their swords did, in a cracking of shards that spun from their impact causing sharp pain to legs and arms where they found home. With that Zeus took one step back and smiled, raising no hand against her, daring her to attack him.</p> <p>"What now, oh father? Your sword is still the better for the contest, but you use it not. I can see the gashes and blood from you, and lightning coming from you will do you great harm."</p> <p>What had once been in shadow, was now not, and the sun shone down upon her and the great folly of being in it was now apparent. Pure light, blinding, heated and intense came at her and it was instinctive to cower behind Aegis, even battered as it was it still reflected much of the intensity.</p> <p>"Ah, you forget there are other forms of lightning, daughter," he stamped his foot and a rumbling started once more and this time she dared not move as the sun would remove her flesh if she exposed it. Then her hair stood up, and she felt the dancing of static, the stone behind her cracked and from deep in the earth came lightning that she took fully upon her back and then to Aegis. With a sweep of his sword Aegis was sheared through and she was forced back into the cracked cliff face and onto a path of broken stone with darkness beyond. She fell backwards and knew a pain that went through her entire body after the wake of the lightning, not a piece of which ever reached her father. He carefully picked sword pieces from his arm and leg, and evinced no pain in the doing. When the trembling stopped he then stepped into the rock opening and light beamed around him as he did so.</p> <p>"Now you are nearly done, my headache, to be assuaged and forgotten forever."</p> <p>Further in she heard a sound, like that of a river flowing, felt cool, damp air which gave her strength to find footing and lash out at her father with the remains of her sword.</p> <p>"Shorter better for swinging here, father," she gasped out as he parried her once, twice and three times before twisting his parry down and lashing up at her arm that held Aegis. Intense pain flowed into her and she shifted to press Aegis and its jagged mouth against his arm putting venom into it as he pulled it back. He bellowed, he screamed and the white light gleamed from him.</p> <p>"For that, you shall pay, daughter," he said as his sword now battered at her, in such swift strokes that Aegis became bent back and only its weight pressing to her kept it in place.</p> <p>Not all strokes found home, and many threw rock shards out that inflicted needle sharp pain, but he was oblivious to pain now, while she was its ready home. Another footstep back, this time with her right foot, and she felt sand! With a clever smile she stepped fully back on it, firmly set Aegis into it and twisted around to strike at her father. The tip of his sword flicked over the remains of the gauntlet on her fingers and she felt intense pain across them and her sword dropped to the sand. His left hand reached out to Aegis and held it and he pulled his sword back for a short swing and with a force of will forced her hand out to grasp his throat and squeeze with all she had left.</p> <p>"I will kill you, father!"</p> <p>Yet her fingers found not the rough skin of her father, but soft skin yielding to her fingers.</p> <p>"If this is the cost, I accept," came out a sound that was more croak than words.</p> <p>Her eyes flew open as she floated and she realized she was free of webbing, free of blanket and that her sister's neck was now firmly in her choking grasp. She let go and the limp form of her sister floated in the air in front of her.</p> <p>"What have I done to you, Diana?"</p> <p>Pushing her feet to a wall she drifted to Diana's form and held it as they floated towards the rear of the storm shelter of OASIS I.</p> <p>Athena had fought her last battle and paid a horrific price, and its dividend was now in her arms.</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-4124179108533790942015-11-28T03:13:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:37:34.792-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 13<p>Marissa climbed down from the rear cab of the transport where she had been sitting next to Leonard Nordhaus. The transport for the vehicle they carried to the spaceport was built on the chassis of 2 M-60 tanks with a central large set of wheels that allowed the two chassis to swivel fore and aft to pivot around the central wheels. This had been cobbled together at the start of the project and the vehicle built on it started as soon as the second chassis was brought in. While the carbon fiber frame took shape, the engines of both chassis were thoroughly overhauled and Karl had to call in some favors from friends on the coast and Arizona to get them back into running shape. After that the transmission was gone through, the treads checked with old links replaced, the drive and carrier wheels tested, and then a new control system put in place to allow the entire transport to move.</p> <p>Lenny was still sitting in the cabin guiding the transport sideways as its central wheels had been pulled up and the alternate set put down. As he did that there was a slow disconnect fore and aft to move the carrier system into the support frame that was set in place to take up the load of the vehicle under the large number of tarps. This had started at sunset and now, nearly midnight, the ALV-III was brought into position over the support frame and the attachment system lowered to the support frame. It was the attachment system that would take up the load and lower the vehicle while the ALV-III was in-flight, and then the support frame open and let the vehicle go free while the ALV-III would soar higher when it lost the heavy load. As the ALV-III was settling in place she saw Aaron talking to Darlene, with Tamara nearby and Kyle looking up at systems as they were brought into alignment.</p> <p>"That is the rest of the first half, Darlene," Aaron said consulting a tablet system he had out.</p> <p>Darlene was checking her system which was in its tablet mode and Marissa saw her nod.</p> <p>"Hello, Marissa," Tamara said walking over to her and giving her a hug, "thanks for helping everyone out!"</p> <p>"Its been a real experience, Tamara. You know 3 months ago doing anything like this would have been unreal to me," she said looking over to the vehicle as she saw Kevin Penk walk around it and then climbing up the support system to check the attachment points manually. When he did he indicated to a crewman with a walk-around button box with a cable snaking to a power truck and the vehicle began to lift up off the flatbed carrier. Kyle stood outside the yellow line area and then Marissa realized that Brent was coming around the vehicle with Mark and Lisa to look at it. As the generator running the winches growled louder he had to stoop down between them to point out parts of the underside of the vehicle.</p> <p>"It must be a shock," Tamara nearly had to yell and motioned a bit further out so that they could talk without yelling. Darlene and Aaron were also doing the same which brought them all closer together.</p> <p>"...a good part of it, at least," Aaron was saying to Darlene, "But it is for research and that is all that matters."</p> <p>Tamara leaned over to whisper to Marissa.</p> <p>"Dying to know the financials?"</p> <p>Marissa frowned then turned to look at her and then motioned for them to get a bit further away, as she shook her head.</p> <p>"If it were a few months ago, yes," she said to Tamara, "but after working so much...on all of this...so many lost hours, so little sleep, and just eating to keep going..." she looked back at the vehicle as, for the first time, all the tarps were being taken off of it, and it gleamed under the interior bay lights of the ALV-III. It wasn't metallic but nearly pure white, with crooked black and white sections above and below the wings. "...part of me is going up with them."</p> <p>As she turned to watch the slow ascent of the vehicle into the ALV-III, she heard the generator whine down as the internal motors of the ALV-III took over. Brent had moved around and she saw the three children standing together to look up, watching as the vehicle came slowly to the central plane of the cargo bay.</p> <p>"Same with me," Tamara said looking back at the scene and as they saw Ares and Darlene stow their tablet systems, they walked back to them.</p> <p>"We board in 2 hours," he said, "drop is on schedule for the day after the airshow. Actually hours after it closes down."</p> <p>"We got a call from someone at the FAA about it," Darlene said, "and we just told them it was a manned research test vehicle."</p> <p>"Which it is," Tamara said with a smile.</p> <p>"I can't be just calling it 'the vehicle' though," Darlene said with a smile, "have you at least named it?"</p> <p>Marissa looked at Ares and Tamara who gave knowing looks to each other.</p> <p>"Yes," he said softly. "Meridian."</p> <p>It was the name that Marissa had heard a few times, but hadn't known it was something being kept from most anyone else. She had kept quiet about it, mostly because she was too exhausted to contact anyone and had severed all her ties. With some sadness, after going through the first week of sporadic messages from people she had known, none of them were contacting her any more.</p> <p>"That's a strange name for a ship, isn't it?" Darlene asked.</p> <p>Tamara shook her head as their walk slowed approaching Brent and the children of the two families.</p> <p>"It divides one time from another," Tamara said, "one day from another."</p> <p>"It's a good name for a ship," Ares said, "It is attached to no person, no Nation, no religion and it simply is what it is. Once flown it marks the end of one era, the beginning of the next."</p> <p>"...worked on the MEWP, too!" Mark was saying, "Had to help Karl out getting the CNC mill working on the plates."</p> <p>Brent shook his head as he saw the others approaching.</p> <p>"I want to be on it, someday," Lisa said, "its so beautiful!"</p> <p>"Well it started out as an Athena II," Brent started saying, "before we found out that batch of structural carbon fiber had defects. Then we were ready to scrap it and cousin Aaron decided to butcher it into that almost wingless thing."</p> <p>"Its perfectly functional, just don't ever try to bring it back into the atmosphere once you leave," Ares said.</p> <p>"Hello Uncle Aaron," Lisa turned to look at him smiling.</p> <p>"Hello Uncle Aaron," Mark started, "You're the pilot for it, right?"</p> <p>He nodded, "That's right. Now all we need to do is find Karl so our crew can get its pre-drop briefing done..."</p> <p>Marissa turned and pointed to the carrier, at the distant forward cabin.</p> <p>"Esme took over forward for him. He just dropped the bunk down and sacked out while they drove it here."</p> <p>Darlene chuckled and shook her head. "You mean the Nordhaus kids drove it the entire way here?"</p> <p>"Once we left the shack, yes," Marissa said. In the rear cabin they could see Lenny turning to watch the last of the Meridian being taken into the cargo bay. Esme wasn't to be seen, but the forward cabin was in near darkness as it was away from the floodlights.</p> <p>"Want me to go get him?" Marissa asked.</p> <p>"I'll get him, dad!" Kyle said looking at his father with a smile on his face.</p> <p>Ares glanced at Tamara and she just smiled.</p> <p>"All right. Wake up Uncle Karl. No water this time, OK?"</p> <p>"Awww... OK!" and with that Kyle turned and dashed off across the tarmac towards the forward cabin of the transport.</p> <p>Ares looked at Tamara.</p> <p>"Make sure that Darlene gets the rest of the money on safe drop. Once engines go, the money can clear."</p> <p>Tamara nodded, looking at Darlene.</p> <p>"Tomorrow it is, then."</p> <p>"Yes," Brent said, "and that means we have to get back to the Event Horizon and make sure it hasn't imploded. Come on you two, even with the excitement I know you are both tired and if you want to catch the drop tomorrow, you need to get to bed soon."</p> <p>"OK, dad," Lisa said.</p> <p>"Yes, father," Mark said.</p> <p>"Good night to all of you. And have a safe drop, Aaron."</p> <p>"No worries, Brent. Space if nothing else."</p> <p>The women said good night as well and then Marissa looked at the transport vehicle and saw that Karl was now appearing at the door with Esme helping him to get up from the bunk behind the seats.</p> <p>"Oh, he will be grouchy," Tamara said softly.</p> <p>"Isn't he always?" Darlene asked.</p> <p>"On his good days, yes," Ares said and then he looked at Marissa. "Come on, someone needs to spot at the center of the crawler to get it back into the shack and you're it. Lock it up for us when you leave, would you?"</p> <p>"OK," Marissa said as the cargo doors closed to the down position while the bottom supports were retracted and the ALV-III took the full load of Meridian.</p> <p>"And if you want a decent breakfast, you can stay overnight with me," Tamara said, "it takes 2 adults to keep Kyle contained. And I'm usually working with one and a half."</p> <p>Marissa chuckled and nodded, giving a glance to Kyle and Esme getting Karl's bags from the cabin and handing them to him while Lenny stood outside the rear cabin, obviously enjoying what was going on.</p> <p>"Sure. Still need to get some things from the Horizon, though. Just for overnight. Can I do laundry? I hate that industrial stuff they have at the Horizon."</p> <p>"Of course. Whatever you need."</p> <p>Marissa nodded and looked at her cellphone to catch the time.</p> <p>"Great, see you in a couple of hours."</p> <p>"OK, see you then."</p> <p>Marissa passed Karl who had Kyle taking one bag while he took the other, and she gestured to Lenny and Esme who walked to her.</p> <p>"Its back to the shack and lock up when we leave."</p> <p>They nodded to her and she went with Lenny to the rear control area. As she climbed the ladder following him, she gave a last look out at the field and saw Tamara kissing Ares before she got Kyle's attention and left with him to the other side of the field.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>There was a hunt going through the forest, a large elephant lumbering to get away from the tigers that were now chasing it amidst the emerald rays of the sun through the trees. In their lead was a thing of snarling death, going faster than the tigers and roaring with rage....in moments others would come to the aid of the elephant and all would be swept up in a bloody death...and still the tigers and the figure leading them came on and on and on...</p> <p>With a gasp Diana awakened in the sleeping web and blanket attached with velcro to it. From the dimness of her sleeping area she saw, just beyond, a figure floating in the room, anchored by a foot to one wall, and she was gazing at her.</p> <p>"I didn't mean to disturb you, Diana," Athena whispered, "Our brother Ares had to leave for he will soon be departing and I decided to watch some of the histories that you brought...full of triumph and tragedy, ever seeking more of something...I needed to just be alone with my thoughts and...you..."</p> <p>"I understand, sister, perhaps we seek to give you too much at once," she said softly, unfastening the blanket and webbing, then refastening them and wrapping them to stow them behind a panel. "So many centuries have passed, no one could take it all in quickly."</p> <p>"Sister, could nothing be done to help mankind?"</p> <p>Slowly she turned to look at her sister and gently pushed off towards her.</p> <p>"You can only help if you know what you are doing and where you are going, and have a trust in yourself for both," she said as Athena held out a hand to her and she took it, then Athena shifted her foot so they slowly rotated around where they held hands, slowly moving to the far wall. "After what had happened I did not have that within me, and neither did any of our brothers. What we could do is seek to offer some wisdom at the margins. The mighty corporations of today owe their very being to Hermes and his works of commerce. The vast farms owe so very much to wayfaring Dionysus, it is not even amusing to think about where we would be without him. Ares has sought to make war less horrific, and no matter how bad it can be, it was much worse..."</p> <p>Instinctively Diana reached out for a handhold when they reached the wall and they stopped, looking at each other.</p> <p>"And yourself?" Athena said pulling slightly closer.</p> <p>Diana looked at her sister and saw Athena still intently gazing at her.</p> <p>"Pallas, I'm the one who has given least of all. The girl I was...she had...more than she could handle and became...a horror. When her fear of being hurt, used, abused, was gone as none were left to threaten that then she...left me. At the margins of margins, there was little for me to do and I understood things least of all. My one goal was to bring the best of us who remained back amongst us...save her the torment of her past and give her a future to make for herself, because she is a better woman than I could ever become. The best of all of us."</p> <p>"You do not live amongst mankind, do you? Because of that?"</p> <p>"Not just that, but it is part of it. I wasn't fully civilized and I still have too much of the wilderness in me. In small amounts I can take being amongst men, but I am ever careful as I know my love can be a death sentence. I only wish to be able to..."she looked aside and said softly, "...grow up...I just don't want us both dead in finding that..."</p> <p>Slowly Diana felt herself shift and moving towards her sister, who was gently pulling them together.</p> <p>"It would be good to die with you, Diana, seeking that," Athena whispered, "You told me that I had liked you before all the tragedy befell us, didn't you?</p> <p>Closing her eyes, Diana nodded.</p> <p>"The fires you have gone through...to come out like this...if I loved the child you were, then how could this young woman you are not be appealing in her own way? Asking for so little, you seek the stars not just for yourself but for everyone. Because that is what you want, isn't it? To share the stars."</p> <p>Bowing her head, Diana sobbed once and felt herself yield to embrace.</p> <p>"I just want the redness to go away..." she whispered holding her sister first with one hand, and then two as she felt her sister take the handhold. Athena shifted them slowly until both her hands were behind Diana and both held onto the single hold.</p> <p>"Share it with me, sister. I might forget after next I sleep. Or I might remember it and then you will know that I can sleep knowing the worst of what you were."</p> <p>Diana opened her eyes and looked sadly at Athena.</p> <p>"I've missed you so much...you can never know..."</p> <p>"Tell me, Diana. I'm not afraid. You know the worst that can happen, which would mean repeating it all to me again at some future time. And on my next wakening you would know that I wanted this from you because you are worth knowing and having. That would not change, no matter how much I have forgotten."</p> <p>Held in the arms of one she loved, Diana gave into that love as she always had done, because this was the one who could reach out to her like no other ever could.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"...to close the airshow for our part, and thank you for staying with us until this evening," Ray Kaplan said dressed in his gray suit with white shirt and black tie, gray pants and black wingtip shoes, standing on the stage in front of the array of screens at their pavilion, "because in..." he looked back at the main screen which held the view of the Moon from the WorkPlat which had a timing sequence counting down, "...10 minutes the OASIS I tug will be doing its final attitude change for the WorkPlat and then disconnecting from it."</p> <p>He looked at Herman Lassiter who had on a blue Highflight shirt, white pants and black shoes.</p> <p>"It is at that point that Diana Sherwood will pilot the OASIS I into a close fly-by of the Moon for a quick return trip to Earth orbit," he said as a side screen brought up the orbital trajectory for the OASIS I in overview.</p> <p>Ray looked back to Alice and signaled for her to bring up the voice comms.</p> <p>"Roger that, HSC, all ion systems are powered up and at 5% thrust, over," Diana said.</p> <p>"Affirmative OASIS I, you are in the window for final adjustment of the WorkPlat, over," Regina's voice said.</p> <p>"Diana woke up the WorkPlat for this about an hour ago," Ray said, "and we have been through a full check of its systems. When OASIS is a good 10 klicks away from the Work Plat, then the Work Plat will start its braking maneuver and will release 2 nanosats to take up synchronous orbit around the Moon to cover the landing site of our landing station. This attitude shift will put the Work Plat into an eccentric orbit and allow a detachment of the landing systems in 3 hours, and then in 12 hours the main orbiting power station will be released along with a series of nanosats to keep the landers in full time comms with it and from there back to our receiving network. By tomorrow the WorkPlat will then correct its orbit and then use its thrust systems to put it on a course back to Earth orbit, albeit at a somewhat lower rate of speed than OASIS I."</p> <p>Hermes stepped next to Ray and then looked out at the crowd which had gathered for the free meal and drinks at the pavilion. "The nanosat program is a vital one to our comms system," he said, "as it gives us multiple wide and broadband sets of channels to be in communication with our systems without tying up other commercial communications networks. This system has been vital in tracking ALV use, and for Highflight has allowed us to conduct long-term experiments in controlled space environments and utilize those results to get better environmental systems developed."</p> <p>"OASIS is 1 minute from attitude adjust, 0.5g to 10 degrees, and then detachment immediately after, using thrusters to change attitude, over," Diana said.</p> <p>"HSC control, you are good to go, over," Regina said.</p> <p>"Work Plat is synced, all systems are green, and ready for detaching, over," Bill Mankin said from the Ascentech station with Alice behind him, holding the back of his chair looking at the array of small screens behind the scene.</p> <p>"Roger that, 30 seconds to course correction, boosting ion thrust to 100%, preparing for first ion injection on engines 2,3, and 4... in 10 seconds, mark..." Diana said in a soft voice, and the view shifted to a split screen of her at the pilot's seat with her suit and helmet on. "5 seconds..."</p> <p>"You are good to go, OASIS I," Regina said.</p> <p>"Roger, ion injection is go, thrust at 20%...throttling to 60% by stages..."</p> <p>The interior camera barely quivered but the attitude of flight from the WorkPlat began to see the Moon on the right lower as the entire system inclined.</p> <p>"3...2...1...and stop. Back thrust on 1 and 2 for stabilization, then power down of thrust systems to standby. Over."</p> <p>"WorkPlat System Control shows 10.2 degrees, in margin of error, OASIS I. System is prepared for detaching, over."</p> <p>"Roger that, WorkPlat Control. Auto-sequence starting as of, mark. 1 minute to detach, all systems are green. Over."</p> <p>"OASIS I this is HSC, we see greens on our board, continue cycling, over."</p> <p>Ray realized he had been holding his breath and looked over at Hermes as the entire pavilion was quiet.</p> <p>"Energy systems transfer closed, detached. Locking system withdrawn, all green. Thrusters coming on-line in 10 seconds....5...4...3...2...1..forward thrusters are active..."</p> <p>The screen shifted into quadrants with the WorkPlat lunar view in the upper left, Diana at the controls at the upper right, the WorkPlat forward camera showing the OASIS I moving away and the OASIS I forward camera showing the WorkPlat receding.</p> <p>"Ion systems 1,2,5 and 6 are now active, 30% stepping to 100%, over."</p> <p>"Copy that, OASIS I, you are good to go when clearance allows, over."</p> <p>On the lower right quadrant the escaping thruster gas could be seen moving the OASIS I back and shifting its attitude down, then the faint halo of blue around the upper rear of OASIS I became apparent.</p> <p>"Those ion systems are ever so handy for this sort of thing, Ray," Hermes said quietly even knowing it would be picked up by the loudspeaker system, "we owe a debt of thanks to the first generation of developers for that system."</p> <p>"Indeed we do, Herman," Ray said softly.</p> <p>In less than a minute the thrusters shut down.</p> <p>"All ion systems are now online, remaining stepping up to 30%. Radar track shows clear, over."</p> <p>"WorkPlat Control shows radar clear from our side, over," Bill said.</p> <p>"All clear for you, Diana, whenever you are ready, over," Regina said.</p> <p>"All right, ion injection engines starting immediately for 1g thrust, expect to be out of touch for blackout behind Moon in 30 seconds. See you on the other side, over."</p> <p>"Roger that, OASIS I, break a leg. HSC over and out."</p> <p>The screen dissolved to show a tracking camera from the lower part of the WorkPlat and the OASIS I could be seen below it moving forward and distinctively closer to the Moon.</p> <p>"She's going to come out of there hot," Ray said.</p> <p>"She always is," Hermes said with a chuckle and a number of the people in the audience chuckled and a couple of them whistled.</p> <p>Ray clapped Hermes on the back and they both turned to look at the crowd.</p> <p>"For Ascentech, I thank you for your attendance tonight, and tomorrow we will take all our toys and leave you in peace again."</p> <p>"Thank you from Highflight, and good night to everyone, may you have pleasant dreams tonight," Hermes said waving at the audience and facing towards Athens in the south.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Prepare for ALV-III cycling in 1 minute, Meridian, over," the voice of Susan Masterson said over the comms.</p> <p>"Copy, 1 minute and minus, ALV control, we are green and prepared to cycle, over," Ares said.</p> <p>"As ready as we'll ever be, at least," Karl said, "not enough stiff drinks to make you really ready for something like this."</p> <p>"You've got that right, Karl," Kevin said, "Direct comms link shut down."</p> <p>"Power taps closed," Karl said, "On internal power. MHDs on standby. Ion systems are charged and warmed."</p> <p>"All cameras, check," Kevin said.</p> <p>"30 seconds, mark, over," Ares said.</p> <p>"We have green on our boards, Meridian, over," Susan said.</p> <p>"20 seconds and green on Meridian, over."</p> <p>They watched the countdown clocks on their screens in each of the sections of the cockpit.</p> <p>"Ion systems ready for full power-up," Karl said.</p> <p>"Thrusters read positive," Ares said.</p> <p>"3...2...1...cycle."</p> <p>In a flash the dimly lit bay of the ALV-III disappeared above the Meridian and Ares called on the thrust systems.</p> <p>"Fuel injection is go, system at 20%, MHDs are online, charging MEWP," Karl said.</p> <p>"Detach is clean and green, ALV control, thank you Susan and I owe you a dinner for the flight, over," Ares said.</p> <p>He heard chuckling through the comm system from ALV control.</p> <p>"Got it, Aaron, family affair...bay doors closed and Meridian is a pretty sight, over."</p> <p>"Family always welcome and thank you, Susan, switching to sat up-links Meridian over and out."</p> <p>"Say we don't have a ground control do we?" Kevin asked in a satirical fashion.</p> <p>"MEWP is charged, and ready, Aaron."</p> <p>"Give us the good Mach stuff, Karl, as much as you think it can take."</p> <p>Karl shifted and as the main engines were boosting past 2g, he reached out and shifted the controls for the ME portion of the system.</p> <p>"Ooof! Now that's a g!" Karl said.</p> <p>"Got any more than that?" Ares asked.</p> <p>"Only if you throttle up, its direct feed to the ME right now."</p> <p>"Well we have the rest of the test to do, so divert the rest of what comes from the engines to the rest of the system."</p> <p>"We are at 70 miles and ascending," Kevin said, checking the GPS readings.</p> <p>"Right, ready for the rest," Karl said.</p> <p>"Throttling up," Ares said.</p> <p>"I do not like 5g," Karl said as he looked at the indicators for the MEWP system, "MEWP is online and active."</p> <p>"Aaron, we've stopped moving in the atmosphere, stuck at 83 miles," Kevin said with a few gasps.</p> <p>"What?" Ares whispered. "Karl, can you check the system?"</p> <p>"Aye, let me just get...ahhh...just need to change the disc alignment...a moment..."</p> <p>Inside the MEWP some of the discs shifted and rotated, powering down their electrostatic charges and then letting them flow through their structures once they were realigned. Invisibly the system reached out to the space around the vehicle and then blurred the stars overhead with the dimly lit horizon around Earth swirling and blurring as it did so.</p> <p>"There!"</p> <p>"Shut it down," Ares whispered, "Now. Kevin, where are we?" Then he throttled down the main engines to just a bare injection of a fuel hex every 10 seconds, to give a somewhat jerky ride.</p> <p>"Lost all contact with GPS...all comms...re-establishing... give it a moment..."</p> <p>There was a pause as Kevin examined the systems.</p> <p>"That's just not right..." he whispered.</p> <p>"What isn't right?" Karl asked, "I don't have a damned thing to look at here unless I want to take some engineering functions off screen."</p> <p>"Give it, Kevin. Where are we?"</p> <p>"We took a straight line path along our trajectory, Aaron. Not an orbital trajectory. We are 3,500 miles above the Earth, although that is decreasing since we don't have the velocity to maintain it."</p> <p>Ares blinked as the on-board system finally got fully re-linked to show current trajectory and orbit on screen.</p> <p>"Karl, just how much energy did you feed into the MEWP...the WP portion?"</p> <p>"Got the readings, it took only about 3 kilowatts to do that over about 10 seconds. Call it 300 watts per second, give or take, but most for the initial charging of the system. A bit less than a watt per mile in that configuration."</p> <p>"Right..." Ares whispered, "...now can we use that to get back to the orbit we are scheduled for?"</p> <p>"We had better do that," Kevin said, "because we are starting to get questions from a number of tracking stations trying to figure out where we are..."</p> <p>"Wait a moment," Ares said, "Kevin we lost all contact with all comms when that was on?"</p> <p>"After it was adjusted, yeah."</p> <p>"Karl, can we get about a 0.5g and just turn the system on and not boost it?"</p> <p>"Why sure! Even less than that now that its charged. Call it 0.25 or even a 10th of a g. That should do it."</p> <p>"Feed it through, scaling up to 0.10g, Kevin, let me know when all contact is lost," Ares said. He shifted the timing of fuel hexagons to a linear feed and started moving the thrust system forward.</p> <p>"There!"</p> <p>"0.05g" Karl said, "Shit that's barely drawing anything from the MHDs. We could run on the small solar panels on the wings to get that."</p> <p>Ares smiled to himself.</p> <p>"Lets do that and figure out just what we have here...Kevin you got the major orbits for satellites, right?"</p> <p>"Yes, I do,"</p> <p>"Make sure we avoid them...ah..because we aren't moving...relative to the Earth, but it is rotating beneath us. It is like we are pinned to a point in the gravity well, and I want to make sure nothing runs into us while we figure out just what the hell this system actually does."</p> <p>"Ah, the joys of research! So much fun until someone takes an eye out by accident," Karl said.</p> <p>"Deploy the panels, I don't want to waste fuel."</p> <p>"Aye, deploying them, facing wing sets are up...shutting engines down to standby..." Karl said.</p> <p>"Why is this always so much easier in the movies?" Kevin asked.</p> <p>"They don't have to risk their butts doing it," Ares said, "we do. Now just what have we got here? And can we get to OASIS II?"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"They just vanished from radar, Diana. And I've got someone picking up the phones trying to handle the calls, over," Susan Masterson said as Diana looked at the flight control screen and then looked back at the navigational radar screen.</p> <p>"Meridian isn't showing up on our radar system either," Diana said, "give me a minute to check out some of the other sensor systems, back in 2, over."</p> <p>"Will standby, over," Susan said after a couple of seconds delay, which Diana used to move over to the area devoted to incoming sensor processing which offered more capability than the pilot's controls.</p> <p>"What's going on?" Athena asked.</p> <p>Diana smirked and looked at her, as she reached her destination in the forward cabin. Athena drifted to the wall above the pilot's station and worked her way towards the sensor read out area. Screens came to life as Diana started calling up visual feeds from some of the nanosats and using the other systems that went outside the optical range on-board OASIS I.</p> <p>"Meridian launched successfully and then disappeared from all radar tracks between 80 and 90 miles up. No debris and no sighting of any explosion by the ALV-III that had dropped them. Our brother is up to his tricks it appears."</p> <p>With her fingers in a handhold, Athena floated just above the main station readouts that Diana was using.</p> <p>"Which tricks are those?"</p> <p>"Experimental physics in this case, seeing if using a large electrostatic charge can distort space in conjunction with apparent mass loss or just separately. I believe the provisional answer to that is 'yes'."</p> <p>Athena just looked at Diana who glanced at her with a smirk.</p> <p>"That is possible?"</p> <p>Diana nodded looking at the inputs fully once more.</p> <p>"Gravity does it via mass. In theory space is filled with virtual particles coming and going so fast that they never appear, which is vacuum energy. A corollary to that is that charges also appear and disappear in space, which is vacuum potential charge. If you distort the charges in one direction or another, then the opposite charge drags space with it to annihilate with its opposite. That takes much lower energy to do, and allows for some cancellation of charges to form a sphere or envelope around something. If you compress ahead and expand behind the sphere, then it moves space while retaining its own relative frame inside the envelope."</p> <p>"That's hard to picture, my sister," Athena said.</p> <p>Diana looked at her and fatigue was starting to show up on her face with somewhat hollow cheeks and some puffiness around the eyes. She reached over to cup her cheek and smiled softly.</p> <p>"Pallas, I don't understand it that well, either. It is a very complex thing to do while its simplicity is only in theory, because nature is difficult to work with directly. I don't think you can take it all in immediately and you need to hold out for another 3 days. At the media display system you can call up the project documents for Meridian that Ares sent along and look for the MEWP Drive section. I've only skimmed those documents over the years and they might tell you more than they tell me."</p> <p>Athena shifted her hand along Diana's arm and pulled them close, and gave Diana a kiss on her cheek.</p> <p>"Thank you, sister," she said softly as she pushed off towards the entrance and then guided herself through it.</p> <p>In a minute Diana went over all the feeds she could get from the nanosats and then went back to the pilot's station.</p> <p>"ALV Control, this is OASIS I. Susan I'm coming up negative on my search. No radar, IR or LIDAR is showing them out to 5,000 miles. It isn't much distance and visually the nanosat feeds aren't getting me anything, either, over."</p> <p>In just a few seconds she saw Susan nod.</p> <p>"Diana, they just vanished, and a lot of people are starting to breathe down our necks here. Thank you for your help, I just had to check and make sure I covered all my bases. ALV Control over and out."</p> <p>"Roger that, all your bases and your ass, I understand," Diana said with a smile, "OASIS I out."</p> <p>Shaking her head she pushed over to the entrance way, through it and towards her sister who was calling up the system documents from Meridian.</p> <p>"You know what they did, don't you Diana?" Athena shifted to look at her.</p> <p>Diana raised her eyebrows.</p> <p>"I suspect what they've done, my sister. Electromagnetic waves will be distorted by space compression and expansion, and Meridian deals with different parts of the spectrum in different ways, which will make it nearly impossible to get active detection of them if their main drive is active. But what that drive actually does, and if it can create a envelope to shift a slowly traversing pocket on the inside without killing everyone...well that is a gamble our brother was willing to take, and so were the men with him."</p> <p>"Oh," Athena said softly, "so what could happen to them?"</p> <p>Coming next to Athena, she held her hand out and Athena took it.</p> <p>"The failure states, they do vary. If a stable envelope didn't form then their atoms might be stretched out as a diffuse gas over, say, 100,000 miles, and I don't know if that would be enough to actually kill one of us, but it would kill the humans with him. That is just one failure state that can happen. Ares...well, none in the technical know, at least... wanted to test the system on Earth, and sought to get at least above most of the atmosphere to start it up. What little was done at here and OASIS II as tests showed that it could be safely made, but those were low power tests. What happens when you up the amount of power is anyone's guess."</p> <p>Athena nodded as she looked at Diana.</p> <p>"There were so many people at the presentation when we detached from the WorkPlat," Athena said looking at her, "Ray Kaplan...our brother Hermes... I saw Regina, Alice, Bill...and then the audience... a lot of people there to see this..."</p> <p>Diana nodded as they drifted closer together.</p> <p>"It was a good crowd compared to the first announcement, yes. I want..." pressing her lips together she let go of her handhold and rotated slowly to embrace her sister, "...you...to be able to remember them. Be with them. I can only deal with people one-by-one, Pallas. I'm not about...more than that. That is why I needed our brothers. It is selfish, but I need you, too. Because as this gets larger, one-by-one-by-one fails, and I know it. I just want to succeed at something...anything...once..."</p> <p>Athena shifted looking at Diana and felt that no matter how much she put forward the front of an adult, that it was just a front and that, beneath that, Diana felt that she was not capable of maintaining that or even sustaining the effort to maintain it.</p> <p>"I do not want to lose our brother I've so briefly met, Diana," she smiled, shifting her embrace to hold her, "or you. Because you have not failed me. And if all about us is not success, then the term has no meaning."</p> <p>As Diana held on to her, Athena shifted her head to press her cheek against Diana's.</p> <p>"All I've done is fail," Diana said softly, "so much lost...so many dead...because no one would listen..."</p> <p>"I'm listening, Diana. If you could only see yourself as I see you, then you would know how much you have done has great meaning to more than just me."</p> <p>The tears of reunion, the rejoicing together and now the fear that drove it were there, held by them.</p> <p>On the incoming communication screen a channel went from Solar Flare Warning to Detected Solar Flare.</p> <p>With ion drives on at a bare percent, OASIS I gathered velocity and in a few hours it would be doing a fly-by of the Earth.</p> <p>Reveries were broken as the alarm sounded for the Solar Flare and the Earth became aware that what was headed its way would not bring a pleasant dawn.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"...but didn't you get a chance to read it?" Ares asked as he was going through the documentation that was in the computer system that Brent had sent along</p> <p>"Oh, in my off hours here and there, what I've had of them, yah," Karl said, "there's nothing like going through electrostatic differentiation due to fractal geometry interacting with virtual vacuum charges, don't you know? Real beer and pretzels stuff, that."</p> <p>Kevin shuddered as he got to the field geometry section that Brent compiled and started in from an angle he knew having to do the comms portion of the Meridian work.</p> <p>"So, no, huh?" Kevin said.</p> <p>"Well, not in the last, oh, month... all the projects and stuff that Ascentech dropped in everyone's laps and all that."</p> <p>Ares was methodical and had enough physics background to understand the basics of what was being done, but the actual going through the equations in depth, which started to get into material that shifted into topographic analysis of charge vectors and their frame dragging effects of space time was slow going to say the least.</p> <p>"But we did give him some parameters to work with, didn't we?" Ares asked.</p> <p>"Yah, yah, we did! Has to leave an envelope that more or less encapsulates Meridian in its own space, which he obviously did. Then put the field together outside that envelope, so that's a big check off the Master List, too. We're still alive to check it off, don't you know?"</p> <p>"Ah-ha!" Kevin said, "Field harmonics due to fractal resonance for compression, expansion and frequency compensated regions! Right here in, um, Section 5, Dynamic Field Distortion and Distribution, Section III...now lets see... 'Final field system alignment is based on frequencies generated to form standing charge waveforms at discrete distances as described in Annex 3 for variable compensated alignment of waveforms from plate spacing, distribution and fractal topology contoured across plates. Calibrated in Alignment Program from plate number and position in positive degrees from zero for each frequency and compression available from voltage increase and amperage push, detailed in Section II of Annex 3!'"</p> <p>Kevin was smiling as he shifted over to that and called up the Calibrated Alignment Program.</p> <p>"Aye, that's got it, Kevin! Right, we are on..." Karl read off what they currently were powering and then brought up the CAP to synchronize with that, "...safety neutral compression with, ah, lets see that is angles from forward with inclination and declination for frequency compensated holes, isn't it?"</p> <p>Ares had shifted his reading system to the section Kevin had talked about, went to the Annex and tried to see if there was a proper disc schematic to bring up to show the way fractal geometries and electronic fields moved between them to form a standing electrostatic charge shell. He synchronized that to the current system readout and it picked out what was around Meridian and displayed that.</p> <p>"Karl, can you grab my display 5 and see if that's what we need?" he asked.</p> <p>"Yah, let me do that..." Karl was quiet for a moment.</p> <p>"Got it, Aaron! Wow! And that's a live readout, too..."</p> <p>"It is," Karl said, "pure genius, that. Nice work with the modeling package, too. Say, it has a preview function for different alignments, did you notice that? Someone has put some work into this thing."</p> <p>"Looks like a pretty standard modeling display," Ares said, "very much like what Jasmine uses for her nano structure work."</p> <p>They were quiet for a moment.</p> <p>"You don't think she..." Kevin asked.</p> <p>"The way Dennis works her?" Karl asked, "Well, maybe, of course she would need someone pretty skilled in this shit to get it to this point."</p> <p>"Herman," Kevin whispered, "that figures. Nice, neat, tidy, everything you need gathered together. First couple are Herman, the rest Jasmine, Brent giving it a final going over."</p> <p>"Now if I'm reading it right, then we have an internal frame velocity of... just a bit over 9,000mph which isn't really more than sub-orbital," Ares said glancing at the fuzzy display that was showing where Earth was, but it had none of the comforting colors or even tonal qualities of Earth, but was in the right direction and size for it to be Earth, "so if we get a gentle g or two..."</p> <p>"Or even less, and just spread it out over time," Kevin said.</p> <p>"Then we can adjust the plates to one that follows the gravity well curvature... say, Karl, do you have the configuration we first used to get in this mess?"</p> <p>"Aye, bringing it up...say, that was one of the relatively low-end fields marked for future testing. Probably left it in the system after a beer or two too many," Karl said.</p> <p>"Do you have to be drunk to run this thing?" Kevin asked.</p> <p>"No, but it would help, that's for sure!"</p> <p>Ares rolled his eyes and shut them and breathed slowly.</p> <p>"We have our orientation in our envelope," he said slowly, "our frame relative velocity, and our current altitude. I can add in more thrust, and we need the ability to shift the field to something where we can remain relatively out of sight to everyone and then get to OASIS II, so we can then be in its shadow, kill the field and dock with a zero delta between us and it. That means a course, thrust, and getting the right field in place, plus guidance for attitude within the field and overall field attitude relative to the space around us. Preferably put through the pilot control system."</p> <p>"Would you like fries with that?" Karl asked as Kevin chuckled.</p> <p>"That is the goal for Meridian," Ares said carefully, "but I'll take what I can get at this point since our loved ones may be coming to the conclusion that we are a spread of vapor between here and the asteroid belt."</p> <p>"True," Kevin said, "Karl if you can get the plate arrangement down, I can handle the compression and frequency portion for fine tuning, and Aaron can then get the general guidance part along with thrust management, while I compensate for course and show what each orbit at any single point will get."</p> <p>"I can do that," Karl said, "and be looking through for a better configuration since we really do need to be able to communicate outside of our envelope. But first things first. The new alignment will need a bit of power from the MHD's or the batteries, and since we need relatively velocity, it had better come from the plasma MHD systems. Not much, 0.3g ought to do it."</p> <p>Ares nodded and started bringing the plasma systems up from their current standby.</p> <p>"Injection starting, ramping up," he said softly.</p> <p>"Changing configuration in 3...2...1... its in," Karl said.</p> <p>Around Meridian space shimmered and the vehicle shifted above Earth. Inside the cockpit the only visible change was some dark red coloration showing where the sun would be and the Earth as a reddish outline as they swept behind it.</p> <p>"Correcting internal attitude, and envelope," Ares said working the main yoke for gross compensation of the vehicle and a side joystick that had a display lit above it on the left for correcting field direction. The field aligned nearly instantly and he had to carefully adjust it back while the internal frame shifted separately and Meridian with that.</p> <p>"Can we get the orbits of anything between here and OASIS II?" he asked softly.</p> <p>"Sure," Kevin said, "on the main feed now...not a lot, but...Aaron, I'm glad you are the pilot and not me."</p> <p>Karl pulled up one of the side displays to see what Aaron was looking at and whistled.</p> <p>"So you are guiding the compression field, the relative field to Meridian, Meridian, and thrust inside the field, plus matching orbits? Yeah, better you than me."</p> <p>"Thanks. Karl, let me know when we start to reach the decay threshold of the envelope, and see if you can find one to take over at that point. Kevin, start looking up for comm and radar channel sub-frequencies to the main envelope so that when Karl gets a plate alignment you can adjust that for necessary feeds. Right now I'm flying by instruments and I don't like that. Some sort of visual system would be nice to work with, but I'll take enhanced sensors if we can't get that."</p> <p>"Working on that," Karl said.</p> <p>"Karl when you get your next likely, could you feed it to me so I can do the field shift searches?"</p> <p>"Sure thing, Kevin."</p> <p>In the next hour Meridian would finally match orbits with OASIS II and the moment they did so, the solar flare warning came through the system and then Meridian disappeared once more, since one of the easiest ways to avoid incoming energy was just to wrap it around the outside of their envelope, but this time they stayed in orbit next to OASIS II, while Kevin worked on getting a clear set of communications frequencies with OASIS II which was just under 100 yards away.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"...Brent is making sure OASIS II is snugged down from the ground office at the field, so mom and dad are at the Horizon, Tamara was at the Ascentech Hangar with Kyle and may be on her way back, Marissa is sacked out after spending most of yesterday not sleeping while getting her car from the delivery station, Mark and Lisa are out with Brent, so that leaves me. Regina, Herman, Ray and the rest of the crew that was out in Greece packed up into the ALV-I and ALV-II that were there, using the flight modules that were for cargo as their means home, since all jet service is canceled They are going to loiter along the daylight terminator and wait for North America to come to them in about 12 hours. There was a pre-flare event or something, a minor C-Class flare just a day ago and everyone thought this would be a repeat of that. It isn't, and now most of the major comm sats are snugging down, those that can, at least, and a number of other systems are also going into hibernation. The GOES satellites should take this OK, and a few other observatory systems that are also hardened are doing their jobs. This one is bad, possibly above an X30, and there is only a very slight inclination of the flare from the solar equator, so most of it will still be in the planetary plane when it gets here in approximately 6 hours, maybe less. Over."</p> <p>Jasmine looked at the small screen which held both Diana and Athena.</p> <p>"Thank you for the update, Jasmine. We've moved to the storm shelter at the center of OASIS I and now have the routines that Hermes put in place in case this happened. We're using the ion unit diversion systems to charge carbon dioxide, setting up a static charge under the skin of OASIS and Athena II, and then letting the charged carbon dioxide plasma build up over that. We've pulled in the panels and are just waiting with the majority of the mass of OASIS I to take it, over," Diana said.</p> <p>Jasmine inhaled, nodding.</p> <p>"Make sure that the water tank is as full as you can get it, that should do a decent job stopping some of what gets through, and the engines, gas system and the triple hull right after the engine system before that should give you good protection from the radiation and secondary radiation, over."</p> <p>Athena and Diana looked at each other, and then Athena spoke.</p> <p>"Any news of Meridian?"</p> <p>Jasmine shook her head negatively.</p> <p>"Not a thing. Some of the data was being teased out just before we got the flare warning, that's why Brent was at the ground office. He said there was a secondary distortion, but that it was too far away to place, so its possible they may have not only gotten to orbit but beyond it. If that's the case, then the MEWP may be the best thing around, if its working, if they are alive, and if they have its parameters figured out...which is a lot of ifs. No debris, no indications of catastrophic failure, no nothing. Over."</p> <p>"How's Tamara taking it? Over." Diana asked.</p> <p>Jasmine thought for a moment. "Stoically She isn't excited nor depressed. She said to dad that if Ares ends up coming back after being declared dead, they have contingency plans. Even if he doesn't, they have plans. I think they have plans for Armageddon. Their plans that they proposed to Ray and he proposed to the other companies here are starting to look prescient. The entire spaceport has disconnected from the grid, and that means everything. We're living off of the local generators and the solar facilities at Ascentech, Highflight, X-CAL, and Z-Flight, plus some of the grid-tie systems of locals with generators. We have aquifer pumps going to fill all the surface tanks, so we should be OK on that. Everyone is at low power use, though, so the real heavy work unless its done by gas or diesel, has stopped. Most everyone has been caught flat-footed and by the time most of the power companies get their act together, it will be too late. Over."</p> <p>Diana pressed her lips together and looked off-screen for a moment.</p> <p>"Jasmine, we're committing to our plans. The storm will be hitting just as we are doing the fly-by, and then we will spend time to use the plasma system, give us a recharge on our battery and fuel cell banks, then put the solar tracker on to keep OASIS end on to the sun. We are of no use down on Earth right now, and coming in during all of this will just distract from what needs to be done. So we are flying out and in as we track back across Earth's orbit we will slightly overshoot and then do a retro-fire. Then we use the Moon for getting a re-entry orbit to the system and use up a good part of the fuel to slow down and pull into Earth orbit. We will take stock then. It will happen with or without us as that is now preprogrammed into the navigational and flight system. Over."</p> <p>As Jasmine watched the picture started to break up.</p> <p>"There go the nanosats. My love to you both, please come home after all this. Jasmine, over and out."</p> <p>"...OASIS I...out..." she heard before the screen went blank and the NO SIGNAL message came up.</p> <p>Slowly she shut her tablet down and stowed it.</p> <p>"Well, time to see what waitressing is like, although I doubt there will be many people here," she said softly before leaving the room and shutting the lights off and then closing the door behind her.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"So what's our best bet?" Ares asked as he drifted at the rear of Meridian with Kevin drifting next to Karl's system. Karl was still strapped to his seat as he said that gave him the best access to the controls around him.</p> <p>"Well they woke up OASIS II and changed its attitude and put a solar tracking program in, that we can tell for sure," Kevin said.</p> <p>Karl nodded.</p> <p>"Yah, and after that it was obvious that the comms systems were being pulled in save for the inset ones that they can't do beans about. Not that we can get a comms frequency open."</p> <p>Ares nodded.</p> <p>"And we have to keep our distance so we can maneuver to keep the rear of Meridian facing the sun, too. It is strange to see the background radiation counter ticking off so rarely, though."</p> <p>"Do we have other options, though?" Kevin asked looking at Ares then Karl.</p> <p>"Not without having to drop the envelope to dash into someplace, like the ISS or OASIS II. And the emergency evac from the two inflatable facilities means they aren't storm worthy," Ares said.</p> <p>"Those are junk," Karl said, "pure floating debris with some nice atmospheric tanks, maybe some useful solar panels and some other bits and pieces, but the rest of it is junk."</p> <p>"Can we get to OASIS I, maybe?" Kevin asked.</p> <p>"Get to? Yes. Match course and speed? With the envelope on, yes, but the moment that drops we need a pretty high burn as they have exterior frame velocity and we don't."</p> <p>"Besides, Diana will have her hands full as it is. We don't want to be bugging her just as she is getting the thing snugged down, though I'm sure she would be glad to see us."</p> <p>Kevin nodded, "I'm sure she would, but you're right, Karl," Kevin said.</p> <p>"Plus we only have the general OASIS I orbital parameters, those will have changed and even minor changes will have large deltas this far out. She has to get OASIS I on solar tracking, so no mid-course corrections."</p> <p>Ares looked at Karl.</p> <p>"Any ideas?"</p> <p>Karl inhaled and looked at him.</p> <p>"Pin us above the radiation belts on the night side, maybe? Safe, cozy, little battery use for the day or five this will take to pass. If we shift to any mode that lets radiation through, it will just get its normal frame velocity back when it is inside the envelope. We can delay it, but once it gets through it is still going through space at speed. It isn't like we are traveling away from it."</p> <p>Ares raised his eyebrows.</p> <p>"It's coming in just a bit above the plane of the planets, so if we get a few more Earth diameters below it, we can get out of the worst of it, keep the panels deployed and loiter in clear space. About 50 minutes at that setting that got us up here would do that and leave us plenty of power to spare since we thought it was going to take much more than that to run that system. We are incredibly overbuilt on that end."</p> <p>The two men looked at him.</p> <p>"I wish we could find a good way to get some frequency clearances going," Kevin said, "but with this storm we don't have anyone to talk to, really. And it isn't as if we can just loiter above the spaceport and wait since we can't drop the envelope due to our frame speed."</p> <p>"Keep that in mind, though," Ares said softly, "its a good idea and may serve us well in the future. Until then, where would be the best place to start seeing if we can find a way to do that?"</p> <p>"Away from Earth," Karl said running his hand over his now trimmed beard, which was why he was taking his time at the truck, "give it a good 50 or 60 minutes and then we play catch-up with the Earth every so often, so we don't lose it. Space is vast, you know? Most of the navigation stuff on-board isn't meant for deep space or really much beyond Earth when you get right down to it. Keep us out of the radiation and do some stuff in a relatively normal frame."</p> <p>"Would that be easier for getting our comms straightened out?" Ares asked looking at Kevin.</p> <p>Kevin nodded.</p> <p>"I think so, yes. We can cycle through a lot of different configurations like we planned on doing before the storm came. Work it out there, and then come in afterwards and see what the damage is."</p> <p>Ares raised his eyebrows.</p> <p>"I threw that out there expecting we could do that at the last of the Earth's shadow," he said, "but if it would be a help, then out of the reach of Earth we go. Kevin, get us a good course, and we can do an oblique declination to a trailing position, maybe a bit sun-ward for a bit better power generation. Then we flip open the radiator system, and start getting rid of waste heat. Once we get our comms straightened out, then we can head to OASIS II again, and dock for necessary waste disposal, suit cleaning, exercise and all the amenities of a spartan survival point in space."</p> <p>"No beer there," Karl grumbled, "but you can't have everything."</p> <p>Ares chuckled as did Kevin.</p> <p>"I don't like it either, Aaron. But it is the way that makes sense. Plus we won't have ionizing radiation to screw up our readings just something closer to standard solar radiation, which we can handle."</p> <p>"Agreed?" Ares asked and the other two nodded.</p> <p>"Then that is the plan. Karl make sure we are ready for drifting and get ready for a shakedown of the MEWP. The situation is bad, but we can at least get away from it for awhile and do something useful. A fully operational Meridian will be a handy thing to have if this is as bad as the Flare Warning indicated."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Marissa woke up to a soft knocking on her door.</p> <p>"Just a moment," she said and got out of bed, slid her feet into her slippers and picked up a robe to put on from the back of a chair by her dresser. She went out of the bedroom and into the main room, went right and down the short hall to the front door. She knew that only the working staff and Diana's extended family had access to this floor so it had to be someone who was relatively safe. When she opened the door, she saw Jasmine there and she had her tablet's satchel over her right shoulder and she carried a hard case that looked like one of the ones Diana used to transport one of her rifles.</p> <p>"Jasmine, good...morning?" she said having not looked at the bedside clock.</p> <p>Jasmine smiled, "Mid-afternoon, Marissa. You needed to sleep after pulling the long drive to and from the rail depot where your car was delivered. Do you mind if I come in? Its important."</p> <p>"No, not at all," Marissa said opening the door and motioning for Jasmine to come in and then saw that there was a push cart with a meal on it, along with a pot of coffee in the hall next to her.</p> <p>"Here, take the case, I brought you breakfast," Jasmine said handing the heavy case over to Marissa and then turning to pull the cart over to the door and turn it to push it into the apartment. After she had gone past, Marissa shut the door and took the case with her and realized it was one of the travel cases from her Suburban locker.</p> <p>"So what's up?" Marissa asked looking at Jasmine.</p> <p>Jasmine looked at her as she got to the small table in the kitchen and pulled up next to it.</p> <p>"I brought you breakfast, and an update. A lot has happened since you pulled in this morning and you need to get caught up."</p> <p>Marissa set the case down on the floor next to the counter, and went over to the table where Jasmine was pouring out a mug of coffee for her. By its aroma it was one of the darker blends that the Pennertons preferred and she said 'thank you' when she took up the mug while Jasmine started transferring the covered plates to the table. As she lifted them off Marissa could see and smell the eggs, hash-browns, steak, grapefruit half, sliced toasted bagel, and then the carafe of orange juice with small glass on top of it.</p> <p>"How did you know that's...oh..." Marissa started, "you asked, didn't you?"</p> <p>Jasmine smiled, "That works pretty well around here, especially with mom and dad in charge of things while Brent is at the field office."</p> <p>Marissa blinked.</p> <p>"What...? Jasmine, what's going on?"</p> <p>"Sit down and I'll fill you in," Jasmine said as she pulled out the chair across from Marissa and sat down, while Marissa seated herself.</p> <p>Marissa continued with the coffee and then poured herself some juice, and took a pat of cream cheese from the condiments dish and applied that to the bagel.</p> <p>"First is that Meridian is still missing. The processing shows what might be a track of it, but if it is then it went a bit over a million miles an hour to get there."</p> <p>Marissa was just biting into her bagel and then bit off a piece and slowly chewed it.</p> <p>"Huh?"</p> <p>Jasmine shrugged. "Someone was onto something and being laughed at. That's science for you, ignore results and laugh at the person getting them until they slap you in the face with something you can't ignore. If that was Meridian then it now has something that no one has ever seen before, discounting UFO's of course. And knowing cousin Aaron, if I were a UFO I would stay well clear of him."</p> <p>Marissa swallowed the piece she had bitten off and followed that with some coffee.</p> <p>"I never knew...I mean between working there, unpacking, having to get stuff from the delivery warehouse, then the trek to the depot...between working at Highflight and Karl's place, and all that's been going on...." she shook her head.</p> <p>"Marissa that is understandable and right now you just have to go with the flow, so do start eating, I don't want that getting cold on you," Jasmine said and sat back while Marissa started to slice into her steak and savored the flavors from it.</p> <p>"Your parents know how to make a great meal," she whispered after finishing the first bites of steak and hash-browns</p> <p>"Thanks, I learned from the best."</p> <p>Marissa nearly choked on her coffee and had to bring the cloth napkin up to make sure that it did all stay in.</p> <p>"You? You made this?"</p> <p>Jasmine smiled. "Hard work, then you have to eat, right? You have to learn how to eat well and I'm a fair hand at it."</p> <p>After that Marissa had to cough and the cleared out any last problems that the coffee had caused.</p> <p>"But...oh...oh god..."</p> <p>Jasmine nodded.</p> <p>"Keep on eating, do it slowly, you've had the highlight of the day, now comes the low lights."</p> <p>Looking at Jasmine, Marissa realized that Jasmine was a good 5 years younger than she was, though she had never thought to look that up so it was only a guess. Realizing that if she wanted the food anywhere near warm, Marissa started to dig into the breakfast and just listen.</p> <p>"Second is that the sun is giving us an X-class flare event that will hit just a bit off center of Earth and it promises to give us a week or two of the Northern Lights coming down to our latitude which is a very bad thing, and then below it with hard radiation coming in after that. Pretty to look at, yes, but what it means is not good at all. If this were a light storm doing this it wouldn't be much of a problem, but it isn't."</p> <p>Marissa just nodded once while chewing.</p> <p>"Third is that OASIS I is fine, and Diana will be passing overhead just as the main part of the storm gets to us from the sun. Ray, Herman and Regina, plus their short crews from here will also be coming back as will the ALV-I and ALV-II that took all that stuff there."</p> <p>Stopping for a moment Marissa realized that whatever happened on Earth, that in space you only brought what you had to protect yourself.</p> <p>"Will she be...OK?"</p> <p>Jasmine refilled their mugs of coffee and nodded.</p> <p>"OASIS I had my father, Herman, Brent, Aaron, and myself on the design team along with some assistance from the Orlando group, plus kibitzing from Kevin Penk and Bill Mankin. A lot of cross-feeds as we stood up the first OASIS and they were getting the WorkPlat started. Herman outfitted the skin of all the OASIS I with a fine mesh that can be charged to hold a cold plasma to the skin of it, out to about a foot to a foot and a half. Ionize carbon dioxide via the ion systems, slow it down and flood it out via exhaust diversions and it is the first cold plasma shielded vehicle ever devised. Most of the highest speed stuff won't see it as much of a protection system, but still every bit counts. Slower, positively charged particles will be diverted away from OASIS I. The heavier stuff shouldn't get past the outer few atoms of the skin, but that will kick off some secondary radiation and they have the entire engine, gas and liquid systems to protect them along with the flare shelter."</p> <p>Marissa took the mug and said "Thanks" as she sipped it.</p> <p>"Earth isn't so lucky," Jasmine said.</p> <p>That's when Marissa's eyes widened.</p> <p>"This is just a flare...right? Not a CME?"</p> <p>"What do you think a large flare with large amount of charged particles going through the corona of the sun is?"</p> <p>Marissa shivered.</p> <p>"The entire spaceport has taken itself off the grid, and we are now going by internal power systems, alone. Don't use electricity you don't have to use, which means all the excess stuff gets unplugged unless needed. Microwave cooking preferred over electric, and while the club has large storage for our propane gas systems for eating, those are to be conserved as well. We have solar heated water here from our roof tanks and the entire spaceport will continue to get water via the wells drilled to the aquifer Sewage can be handled for the small amount right at the spaceport and we have a septic tank and leech field for the club. Expect fresh food to run out in a week if everything goes to hell, but the local committee that got set up a few years ago made sure that all companies here are well provisioned for a number of months with a year being a goal for each of them for everyone here."</p> <p>"Jasmine...I..." then she remembered the hard case and the rifle inside of it. "Oh, god."</p> <p>Jasmine smirked.</p> <p>"I've got a pistol in my satchel and will soon have something a bit less nice to look at to wear. I've got the sort of gear that Diana wanted me to get, and since you are fit, able-bodied, and able to shoot well enough to pass Diana's standards, you are now part of our local militia. So am I. Our great piece of luck is that the spaceport is not a major tourist stop, not in a major city, and pretty damned isolated past a couple of small towns."</p> <p>Marissa knew better than to ask, because Jasmine was serious.</p> <p>"What's going to happen...outside the spaceport?"</p> <p>"You know the material," Jasmine said and Marissa nodded, "remember that the US is relatively well prepared when it comes to this."</p> <p>There was a moment of silence as Marissa digested that.</p> <p>"We're screwed," she finally said.</p> <p>"I'll give you the places that have already taken better precautions. Texas and Israel. A few other places, some scattered towns and communities, of which we are one of the best prepared since we haven't let our biases get in the way of preparation and have some of the most technically competent people on the planet who spent some time working on these plans. We have greenhouses to put up this winter, miles of black plastic sheeting and drip tubes to get ready and then we go into desert agriculture. If we work well with the local ranchers, farmers and small towns and keep something clear to Texas then we get through this pretty well."</p> <p>Marissa ate slowly and realized this would be one of the last fresh meals she had in a while.</p> <p>"What's on the schedule, then?" Marissa finally asked.</p> <p>Jasmine shrugged.</p> <p>"Check you out at the range, get one of uncle Aaron's bolt actions and you get to be on my hunting team, at least until Diana returns. We need to start a serious trapping system for rodents, make sure the absolute worst stuff is caught out, and any game we can bring in beyond that gets turned into jerky or salted. Winter is coming, you know?"</p> <p>That caught Marissa totally off guard.</p> <p>"Will there be any fun, at all?"</p> <p>Jasmine leaned forward with her mug of coffee between her hands and she took one sip and smiled</p> <p>"Only if you survive."</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-85063480843385314242015-11-28T03:12:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:35:31.592-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 12<p>"Did you actually see her?" Chloe asked.</p> <p>Father Andre sat in his study with Chloe and Iris, trying to explain just what had transpired and what the meaning of the Athena II flight was.</p> <p>"How can I say if I did as I have no memory of it? Just before the visor was raised, I have good recall, but then the next thing I knew is that the entire suit with her in it had vanished and the pilot was leaning over the table looking at me. Then the visor went down and the suit reappeared. If I saw who was in the suit, then I cannot recall it."</p> <p>Iris leaned forward on her chair and looked at him.</p> <p>"But that pilot...Diana Sherwood, yes?"</p> <p>He nodded and sighed knowing what was coming.</p> <p>"She could see her, yes?"</p> <p>Nodding he looked at Iris then Chloe.</p> <p>"Between us, I did not truly believe her until that moment. She had come to me the night before in search of her, and told me about herself. To me it seemed...fantastic...but she said she was not here to cause harm to me nor to anyone, just save the forgotten one."</p> <p>"Andre," Chloe said softly, "what is her name?"</p> <p>He smiled wanly.</p> <p>"You already know that, both of you do. No one played up the release of the ALV-III or cared much about the space vehicle going to that station. We seem inured to these things, as they become normal, even routine. Yet so few have gone into space that this should seem amazing to everyone. Her name is there, though I doubt that her last name has any real meaning."</p> <p>"Diana..." Chloe whispered and then looked him in the eye, "Artemis. In English that last name... Sure of the Woods, yes? Sherwood."</p> <p>Shrugging he shook his head, "I am not so sure of that sort of name, Chloe. But she does live in the wilderness in Alaska, yet backs companies going into space. She told me she was here to...ah...well...rescue..." he trailed off.</p> <p>Iris shivered looking at her mother and Father Andre, as this was now something beyond what she had ever imagined as possible.</p> <p>"She is also...Blessed Virgin, yes? Artemis... Diana..."</p> <p>Chloe brightened and looked at her.</p> <p>"My, yes, she is! Oh, isn't that wonderful, Iris? Perhaps now we can finally have her here..."</p> <p>Andre looked down at the table between them that held their cups of tea and pot he had set there, along with the honey pot and small plate that held thin slivers of lemon. His work as a Priest had given him many duties to perform, all in service to God and to help his fellow man. Duties were duties, good, bad and merely tedious and now he felt as if this was yet another duty to perform. Looking at Iris then Chloe he cleared his throat and sipped from his tea cup.</p> <p>"Chloe...in talking with Diana she indicated that much harm had fell upon her, ah, sister," he started.</p> <p>Chloe shifted and looked at him, nodding.</p> <p>"And that she was trapped in a situation not of her own causing, but to stand up to defend, ah, another. The city, her namesake, she had already stepped away from by name so that we would not strike out at friends with fervor of passion. Yes? That is one of the stories, I know."</p> <p>"Of course," Chloe whispered, "the killing of her friend, Pallas. Still she was Pallas Athene."</p> <p>"That is the way of it, yes," he said, "she returned to the city of her name, drawn by familiarity after she was so badly hurt. The city began to reflect her, forgetting about her in small ways then large, and now, even with some festivals, pageants and such held sporadically, she is largely forgotten by the city, itself. She could not leave as the city had her as much as she had it."</p> <p>This was new to Iris and her eyes widened.</p> <p>"Diana told you that?"</p> <p>"Yes, she did. She had her own...ah, misfortunes, lets say. And to, well, perhaps atone or at least make-up, she sought some way to restore her sister."</p> <p>Nodding, Chloe looked at him. "So sad and yet, so beautiful."</p> <p>"There is no way to take her away from here without her returning, but that is limited to ways by land and sea. Thus she remains...each morning she has forgotten the prior day. Each day is new and isolated, where she can see us but prevents herself from intruding on lives. We cannot see her, so great was the harm done to her, yes? As she forgets each day, so we forget her a little more. The way to break that is to break that tie and it can only be done by going out of, ah, the domain of Earth."</p> <p>"Above," Chloe whispered looking up to the ceiling.</p> <p>"In a literal way, yes," Andre said, "it is the last hope she has of any recovery."</p> <p>Looking at Iris and then him, Chloe looked serene.</p> <p>"That is good, Father Andre."</p> <p>He closed his eyes and inhaled, opened them and spoke plainly.</p> <p>"Diana did not know if this will work, or what its outcome would be. She is willing to risk herself for a chance to save her sister, and yet both may perish. This is not known things even to such as her."</p> <p>Looking at him Iris spoke with some trepidation.</p> <p>"Father Andre if she of Athens is tied to this city, then what happens to the city when that tie is broken?"</p> <p>He looked puzzled for a moment and then looked at her.</p> <p>"I have no idea, Iris."</p> <p>Chloe looked at him and then Iris.</p> <p>"She will be free, Iris. And so will we. And that is always a risk, yes, and a great thing all on its own. A final gift perhaps, and a curse, for now we will have to behave ourselves as there will be no Blessed Virgin to protect us. That is a good thing, I think."</p> <p>"Let us pray, so," Father Andre said, "for we have no other choice in this. What happens, happens. We can only pray and work towards a better day tomorrow."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Ray looked backstage at Alice who was using the up-link system to coordinate between Ascentech and Highflight. Next to her were Regina and Hermes at separate consoles, in communication with Diana on the OASIS I. He gave a glance to the clock on the wall and looked at Alice who had her hand up and then gave a thumbs up sign and she nodded as she whispered to Regina. With that, he walked out on the small presentation platform to a less than full media room. He stepped up to the podium and looked out over the audience as the large screens behind him came to life. The main feed was a nanosat a few miles out from the Work Platform and showed not just it, but the OASIS I.</p> <p>"Hello, everyone! We are running a number of live feeds and I think we even have a couple of human translators on separate feeds which you can find by our local net menu."</p> <p>There was a slight flare of thrusters from the OASIS I as it slowed on its approach to the Work Platform.</p> <p>"My name is Ray Kaplan and I am the President and CEO of Ascentech. We're the people who drop cargo anywhere on Earth and you may know us by our services to the cremated or from the construction work we support," as he was speaking smaller screens came to life showing families watching funerary dispersals, pods being dropped into rain forests or to mountainous terrain, and small field facilities ranging from automated monitoring stations to small power systems to field hospitals, "but we are more than just that. Yet it is this part of the business that is vital to us and to our customer base. We have gotten enough demand for this work to license our vehicle designs to the Jade Space Corporation of India and the the Apple Blossom Group of Japan, which will be dealing with the markets we just can't handle on our own."</p> <p>With that images of those two companies and some of the loads they have dropped and worked on began to appear.</p> <p>"As part of our endeavors we are now turning our attention to the full space community and its orbital needs. Two years ago we started with the lofting of the Industrial Working Platform or WorkPlat for short. Like all of our systems we don't do it in a single large piece but build up to a final result," as he spoke other screens started to fade out and the different loads with their deliverables to the WorkPlat came up. He stepped out from behind the podium and walked in front of the screens. "We do it this way because we don't have lots of money to spend. Nor do we pay top dollar for talent, preferring to stay with a small and dedicated group of people and then expand only when necessary to meet customer demand that we can ensure will by repeated. We do that and we do it damned well, if I may say so."</p> <p>As he turned the screens around the main screen showed the loads that had been delivered to the WorkPlat in the last 6 weeks. Smiling he turned to face the audience.</p> <p>"You may notice that these are all loads dedicated to the Moon. Tonight, the OASIS I will be the tug that will take the WorkPlat out of Earth's orbit and into a transfer orbit to the Moon...and I would like to introduce Herman Lassiter," the smaller screens shifted to showing pictures of various races featuring various types of cars, motorcycles and aircraft, with video of Hermes accepting trophies, "the man responsible for getting the Orbital Aspect Station series known as OASIS lofted and running."</p> <p>There was some applause as Hermes went on the stage and shook Ray's hand. The Highflight logo flared live on half the surrounding screens and the Ascentech on the other half.</p> <p>"Good evening, and I am, indeed, Herman Lassiter, co-founder of Highflight, and its President. My wife, Regina, is behind the scenes as CEO making sure everything is running well and without her hard work we wouldn't be where we are today. Our business is getting those drop loads put together for Ascentech to drop and our safety codes for terrestrial and space drops set the standard for all our competitors to meet. And we do have competitors and we are thankful for them as we couldn't do it all ourselves. There are lots of ways to get a slice of this ever expanding pie and when the opportunity to start in this business was apparent I jumped at it. And that got a DeSoto dropped into the Pacific Ocean!"</p> <p>There were some chuckles at that, and the multi-point video of the DeSoto drop flared to life on separate screens.</p> <p>"In just over 6 years we have come a long way from that, let me tell you. And we have had to keep pace with Ray's business so that when he gets a new delivery vehicle made, we will have something to be dropped from it. In our range of business we expanded to include astronaut pilot training, which has allowed us to certify nearly 75 astronaut pilots for our Athena series of vehicles," videos of different drops of Athena I and Athena II vehicles along with drop dates started to replace the logos on both sides of the main screen. "Tonight one of our premier pilots, my cousin Diana Sherwood, is piloting the place to shelter in safety if your vehicle or space station has a problem, our OASIS I. Anyone following our presentations this morning will have seen her dock the OASIS I to the OASIS II and then transfer equipment and fuel between the two stations. The OASIS II is operational to the point of being an Increased Survival rated station against solar storms. We finished a full retro-fit of the OASIS I earlier this summer and it now has a total of 10 of our GEN2 Monofuel-Ion Hybrid engines on-board, replacing volume for volume, control for control, mass for mass the prior bi-fuel, hydrox system which has been venerable and well known to the space community for 2 generations. It was time to try something new, and Ray is now giving us that opportunity."</p> <p>He looked over at Ray and he looked up at the main screen as the distance between the two systems decreased to less than 10m.</p> <p>"Thank you, Herman. As many of you know Diana Sherwood was a major investor in Ascentech and still is, along with a small amount that Herman also has and I have in Highflight. We are not competitive companies, but work together but with different goals and sometimes they match up. In a very real way we would not be at this point without her and tonight she will be taking our systems out for one of the rare manned missions to go around the Moon."</p> <p>Hermes stepped up next to Ray and looked out over the audience.</p> <p>"That is something we hope to change."</p> <p>Behind him the distance closed to under a meter and the voice of Diana could be heard.</p> <p>"1m, 3 degrees, closing at 2, over," she said.</p> <p>"Copy that, OASIS I," Alice said, "50 seconds to contact, all GREEN on WorkPlat, over."</p> <p>"Roger, GREEN signals on WorkPlat. Compensating, -1 degree, 30 seconds to contact, over."</p> <p>"All readings GREEN, continue to contact, OASIS I, over."</p> <p>"Roger that, closing...10 seconds, final retro...5 seconds all aligned...contact and lock. OASIS I docked to WorkPlat, over."</p> <p>"We copy that, OASIS I! Good work, Di!" Alice said in excited yet muted voice.</p> <p>"Full cycle check. There is integrity and energy feeds that are continuous. All sensor feeds are showing GREEN. All power feeds are showing GREEN. Let Herman know that I'm going to start on a full rating on the ion cycle to change orientation, over."</p> <p>"Copy that," Hermes said looking up at the two systems and the camera inside the OASIS I showing Diana in her spacesuit with the controls glowing in reflection off the faceplate. "Go for advance to full rating, over."</p> <p>"Roger that. Use of full integrated power, starting at 10% thrust. I'm showing GREEN and full check, starting power up to rating, over."</p> <p>"All right, Diana, start the countdown to full hybrid use in 10 minutes, over," Regina said as she watched the screen.</p> <p>The voices muted and the nanosat view showed the faint blue glow of the ion engines as both vehicles slowly shifted in its field of view. Thrusters allowed the nanosat to shift the field of view to keep the combined systems in view until only the thrusters of the OASIS I could be seen.</p> <p>"In just over 9 minutes we will be seeing a 1g thrust to start the transfer orbit," Ray said, "and our feeds will continue live for the rest of the airshow. In two days we will have the separation of the OASIS I and the WorkPlat, and then the deployment of the accelerator and prospecting units, as well as the loader unit. After that will be the orbital power array and control system plus nanosats that will put our systems in full contact with us on a continual basis. The day after that the WorkPlat will shift to its transfer orbit."</p> <p>Hermes looked at Ray and then out to the audience.</p> <p>"We will have more on the next loads being dropped for us after the airshow," he said.</p> <p>"And that will include," Ray said, "the first 3 person vehicle from a private group, which we have as PCD #1," he said with a smile, "and for both our groups normal cargo, certification and maintenance drops will be on the schedule over this period. You can check the Ascentech flight calendar at our website. Are there any questions?"</p> <p>Ray saw a hand raise in the front row.</p> <p>"Popular Space Mechanics, isn't it?"</p> <p>The reporter stood up, "Yes, Conrad Salter, Ray."</p> <p>"God, how have you been? You haven't been by in nearly a year. Gotten bored with us?"</p> <p>There were chuckles around him and Conrad shook his head.</p> <p>"Not at all, Ray. Just trying to piece together what you are doing with the WorkPlat. What's it all for, anyway?"</p> <p>"You mean beyond doing fancy things like mining the Moon?" Ray said with a chuckle and there were gasps from the audience.</p> <p>"Oh, come now, you shouldn't be surprised! That is, not if you have been following our presentations the last couple of years. You HAVE been doing that, haven't you?"</p> <p>"I have, Ray," Conrad said, "but beyond some of the proof of concept deals you lofted early, the entire purpose of the WorkPlat has been rather hard to figure out. Could you talk about that a bit?"</p> <p>"Sure," Ray said and looking over to the side, "Alice could you cue up HF number 3?"</p> <p>Behind him the docked vessels moved off to the side and a CGI representation of the WorkPlat came up. On board was a smelter and processing system along with a plasma etching system with gas deposition system.</p> <p>"This is what is on-board the Work Plat today. That and the lathe and milling system we sent up last year complete our Industrial Base - Small Project. This will be able to take compacted regolith, catch it in our deceleration system, then accumulate it in our solar smelter system. We have gas capture with that, so that nothing goes to waste as we heat the regolith up to the point where it all melts. Then we let it cool with or without a spin so that it will then have elements separated by cooling temperature. Once fully chilled we get pure elements by using a set of diamond cutters on the lathe, and those are separated by element and isotope of element. After that our smelter can recombine elements, mix them, and send them on to our lathe again, our mill, or to a thin film drawing system, or to a wire drawing system, depending don what we need. Our first thing that we will be building is a large smelter processor system, which will be twice the size of the original,"</p> <p>As he spoke the various systems went through animated motions showing how each piece of the system worked.</p> <p>"We can make new control circuits, higher density motors, and even new power systems, although after the lofted systems from the last 6 weeks, we shouldn't need to do that any time soon. After a larger processor we will then make a larger prospector, compactor, accelerator and set of rovers to send back to the moon, and that second group will go up from a few pounds per load to nearly 100 lbs. per load. By next year we will be needing an actual work crew to help manhandle some of the systems being made which will range from automated and remotely operated system arms to new parts of the WorkPlat itself. We will also work with Apple Blossom to identify scrap left over in orbit that can be easily reprocessed, be it bits of junk from old orbiters all the way up to dead satellites. You name it, if it is inert and generally classified as junk, we will take it in for scrapping. Waste not want not."</p> <p>Hermes stepped over to the podium and brought up the Highflight next gen system, that would go into the Pegasus or ALV-IV. This was a direct flight to orbit system with payload bay that was only the size of the ALV-I for deliverables, but that would include a 10 passenger system for the OASIS or WorkPlat.</p> <p>"On our side we will be adding in systems to the ALV-IV, plus putting up larger passenger versions of our Athena line of vessels and the next gen one going up as a test system next week. In 3 years we will be offering passenger service to the OASIS and WorkPlat stations, as well as the ISS and hotels being offered by another group. At that point an expected 50 passenger per month payload system is not unreasonable."</p> <p>Hermes was enjoying this as the cooperative effort between Ascentech and Highflight was starting to show more than trivial results.</p> <p>"We will also be supporting the Asteroid Group, which will be identifying mining potential in the asteroid belt."</p> <p>"Yes we will," Ray said, "we would like it if they used our ALV line to do that, but we do have competition for lofting payloads from here in Europe, the US, Japan, China, Russia and India. With that said, we expect to beat their prices per kilo by almost 30% if not 50% if you can take a week to get it to orbit. The longer you can wait, the lower we can do on pricing. We aren't the immediate, rocket to orbit deal, if you need it instantly, expect to pay through the nose. If you need tons in orbit over 6 to 8 months, give us a ring as we would be happy for your business."</p> <p>"Wait a moment," Conrad said, "are you saying you will be putting in payloads from competitors?"</p> <p>"Sure!" Ray said, "Space is vast and we want competition. Hell, we'll help you get it up there and design it, although that also has a price tag, it isn't high. By the end of October we expect to be lofting fully private space vehicle to orbit that is neither Ascentech nor Highflight based."</p> <p>As he talked the presentation was ending for the HF 03 and the main live feed returned which was counting down to under a minute for orbital insertion. As the last minute ticked down to zero, the plasma engines came to life and the WorkPlat was being maneuvered by the OASIS I for the first of 2 burns.</p> <p>"And that is our presentation for tonight. I hope you all have a good time at the airshow and come by to check our detailed presentations and displays out," Ray said.</p> <p>"We will be more than happy to answer all your questions," Hermes said as he stepped off the platform with Ray.</p> <p>"Although there will be a few people and companies none too happy with the answers, eh, Herman?"</p> <p>"Oh, there will be lots of unhappy people by the end of the week, Ray. And we can expect to see a major uptick in business as well."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>She felt as if she were floating and that a strap was tight across her chest. Not a wide strap or one that was wrapped around her, and there were light touches that indicated she had clothing on. It was not dark and she opened her eyes, and then blinked. She saw that she was floating with a thin strap around her chest and that pressed against a blue jumpsuit with a patch on her chest, above her left breast, that said 'Highflight'. To her left was a dark curtain that stretched from floor to ceiling, although as she rotated slowly it could as easily be left to right. There was a white and silver set of panels across the room from her which might be 10' away. To her right another set of panels, these white though two had what must be handles inset into them. Above and below were more of the same. She tugged and shifted to see that there was a large metal and glass door, and inside of that was a large orange figure with white helmet, that had some sort of clear visor. Tubes and wires ran into it. On the door was stenciled in white letters 'Spacesuit Storage/Maintenance 02'. There were more silver and white panels, although between them she saw where the strapping that crossed her chest was tethered and it was a simple thing to pull towards that ring. With slack she realized she could easily slide out of it.</p> <p>Around panels she saw that there were thin lines of color that went around each. Some were in red, others in blue, and yet others had green around them, while some places had insets or handles that had white surrounding them. This was very strange.</p> <p>Then came the smell of food, of some sort, although eggs were a part of that. As she shifted to start moving the harness she found that each motion to move it also moved her body, but in the opposite direction she was pushing. Her foot touched a panel to what had been her right, and was now beneath her.</p> <p>"What is this place?" she asked herself softly. Then, through the air, the sound of motion, a mechanical sound, maybe, some hissing and then a small <i>ding</i>. A voice came softly through the air.</p> <p>"OASIS course track GREEN, time to separation in 2 days, 18 hours, MARK."</p> <p>She slid out of the harness and let herself drift out to beyond the panels to look at the room. Just ahead and to her right there was a door, or perhaps a large hatch, that led to another room and that was open. To her left was an open area, with another open hatch going to another room. There she saw a shadow move across a light in the distance.</p> <p>"Is someone there?" she asked out loud.</p> <p>"Yes there is," came a young woman's voice, "and I'll be right there."</p> <p>She watched as the shadow changed into a young woman wearing a blue jumpsuit like hers. She had pale skin, black hair, and appeared to be more girl than woman, and she moved with grace and agility, both. She pushed herself off from the door frame, used a white outlined handle in the ceiling, although it was also to her right, and the came towards her but aiming just to the wall beyond the alcove she was in. There she grabbed a white outlined handle and slowed herself to a stop.</p> <p>"Good morning! How are you feeling?" she asked.</p> <p>"I don't know. This is all very strange."</p> <p>She gave a short nod and looked at her.</p> <p>"Any queasiness? Nausea? Ringing in the ears? Full bladder feeling?"</p> <p>Looking at the young woman she saw that there was a name under the Highflight patch, and it said 'Diana'.</p> <p>"Not really. Ah, Diana?"</p> <p>She nodded.</p> <p>"Where am I?"</p> <p>"You are on the OASIS, an orbital station that is meant to increase the survival chances of anyone who is in orbit but has lost life support or who lacks solar storm shelter. Orbital Aspect Station, Increased Survival. OASIS. You are here for recovery."</p> <p>"Recovery?" she blinked trying to get an idea if she had been injured. "Recovery from what?"</p> <p>Diana raised her eyebrows and looked at her, then smiled.</p> <p>"From our father cutting your head open to leave your brain in the Lethe while you fought him after he went on a rampage as we stood by the woman who, while mother to neither you nor me, was just the same a mother to us both."</p> <p>"What?" she asked softly.</p> <p>"You knew he would come for you, and yet could not kill you as that would mean his death as well. What he did to you was a horror. Those few of us who survived have tried every other thing to help you recover, and now we are trying this. Would you like some breakfast? Its reconstituted, but I made sure that it came from what I caught and made."</p> <p>"I am hungry but... Diana?"</p> <p>"Ask me anything you like," she said.</p> <p>"Who am I?" she whispered softly.</p> <p>"Well the name you took up, after you killed your dearest friend in a pique of anger, is the one you wanted for yourself to memorialize her. That is Pallas. Your actual name, you cannot hear because of what happened to you."</p> <p>"Pallas?" she said softly trying the name out in her mind and not finding it rejected.</p> <p>Diana nodded as she drifted slightly away and then flexed her muscles to come closer again.</p> <p>"But when did this happen?"</p> <p>Diana inhaled slowly and held out her hand.</p> <p>"You are about to receive a shock, Pallas. Please hold my hand as I must ask you a question."</p> <p>Puzzled she reached out with her free hand, still holding the strap with the other, and felt the warmth of her touch.</p> <p>"What is the last thing you remember?" Diana asked softly.</p> <p>She smiled briefly as this should be easy. Try as she might she could bring up no memory of anything.</p> <p>"Can you remember anything the moment before you woke up here?" she asked very, very quietly.</p> <p>"No," she whispered softly and Diana squeezed her hand.</p> <p>Gently Diana shifted and she let go of the strap.</p> <p>"What happened to me?"</p> <p>"Your past has been stolen from you, Pallas. Now I want to see if you can at least build a new future and remember from here on out everything you do."</p> <p>Slowly they embraced and she was so afraid of what wasn't there in her mind.</p> <p>"I don't even know if this will work. But it is one of the last things I have left to try. If you do not want to try, tell me before we deliver the station we are taking to Lunar orbit. I will send you down to where you will never have a yesterday and be unable to make a tomorrow for yourself."</p> <p>"Is that...how I've been?"</p> <p>"Yes. And I will do anything to help you out of that, but you must want it as well. If I fail I will continue searching for a way to cure you because I don't think anyone should be left like this."</p> <p>The great void of where her past should have been, any past, was not there, a blank that offered nothing to her.</p> <p>"Please, yes," she said softly, shifting slightly and Diana did the same so they could gently hold each other by their forearms. "Just make that blankness of no yesterday go away."</p> <p>Diana smiled.</p> <p>"You will do that. One day at a time. But first we have to get you out of just one day and never another. If you would like some breakfast? We can talk for a bit and then I need to get some readings done, get the mission centers updated, make sure the orbital path is good, and do all the little things that need to be done here. I can leave you some videos to play back of the last two weeks we spent together about 10 years ago. You gave me the OK to record them and I wanted to have them in case...well..."</p> <p>Diana shook her head.</p> <p>"So I could know what happened," Pallas said.</p> <p>"And to remind me of why I must do as I do. Come on, I'll show you where it is safe to push off, where it isn't, and some of the basics of moving around. Outside the food prep wall is good for that, since its meant to be a communal eating area."</p> <p>Pallas nodded as Diana pointed to the little inset handles.</p> <p>"Always safe to push off, change course, and do whatever else you need to do while moving around. The blue ones are also safe for that when they are up. Most of them can be opened, as well. Green ones show air handling and its best not to use those for anything major. The red ones are safe to just hold to drift with, but shouldn't be used for much else. You can try to minimize equipment, but no way to make it totally safe, and that is more for the sake of equipment than you."</p> <p>"It seems simple enough," Pallas said.</p> <p>"It is, pretty much. Hold my hand and I'll get us to the eating space. Show you how to reconstitute food, heat it, get drink balls filled, dispose of trash...all the discomforts of home..."</p> <p>"Do I have a home?"</p> <p>Diana gave her a glance and shrugged.</p> <p>"You did and it imprisoned you. Now you can decide just where you want to be. Lightly hold my hand and let me help you navigate to where it is safer to learn your way around."</p> <p>Pallas nodded with a smile.</p> <p>"OK," she said.</p> <p>With a simple pushing off, she was trailing Diana, and saw the door or hatch approach. This was not impossible to learn. If she could remember it.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Karl walked under the right wing of the underbody that reflected light from the overhead flood lights. Behind him walked Esme who held a tablet computer and was going through the checklist, using a stylus to mark off items.</p> <p>"Right lateral panel extension zone, retracted," she said.</p> <p>"Looks to be," he said stopping and looking up, "Say, Marissa, what is the readout for the right lateral?"</p> <p>Marissa was sitting in the rear seat of the cockpit and looked at the readout.</p> <p>"Retracted, locked," she said examining the icons by it, "Zero volts and amps."</p> <p>Karl nodded.</p> <p>"Check," he said walking out to the end of the wing.</p> <p>"Right lateral end panel extension, retracted," she said.</p> <p>"I heard that Karl, " Marissa said, "Retracted, locked, zero, zero."</p> <p>"Excellent! Check." he said and looked at the end of the wing.</p> <p>"End cap, one of."</p> <p>He looked up at the smooth end piece.</p> <p>"There's no readout for that, Karl," Marissa said.</p> <p>"Yah, its stationary and the end panels come down to it to lock in place."</p> <p>"Oh," Marissa said softly.</p> <p>"That's it for the power section, Karl," Esme said.</p> <p>"Good, good! What's next?"</p> <p>"EMW-P System?" Esme said in a questioning tone.</p> <p>"Ah, yes! A whole bunch of static checks, yes?"</p> <p>Flicking up through pages of items, Esme looked at Karl.</p> <p>"I have no idea, Karl. What is a 'Multi-Plate super-phase electrostatic compression, secondary phase compression neutralization'?"</p> <p>Karl ran one hand over his beard while taking up his gloves from his belt.</p> <p>"Ah, now that's the question isn't it? We'll need Kevin here for that, but we can at least get the access panels off to give the thing a final inspection," he looked up at the cockpit area. "Marissa, you can undog the rear panel, 4 simple push and twist to the vertical locks on it. Swings a bit in and then rotates up and back. Then there is another one beyond it, same procedure. I'll get to the rear accessway and give it a look-see since I know Kevin will need to have readings fore and aft."</p> <p>"All right, Karl," Marissa said, standing up and having to crouch down to get to the locks and started undoing them. In a few seconds she gave the panel a push via its central handle and it went back and swiveled up automatically. As she stooped down in the low light of the next tunnel she started undoing the second panel. While she worked on that she heard Karl moving the rear panel out.</p> <p>"You get in there better than I do, Esme. Just get the inner one open, OK?"</p> <p>Marissa was lifting the next panel out of the way and heard Esme clambering up via her boots hitting the decking. In a minute the rear hatch was open and in the center of the craft was a spherical framework that had a long cylinder suspended by two semi-circular supports. There were electric motors at the end of the supports to the first semi-circle, then to where that was supported by the next one and then there were larger ones where that one fit into the spherical framework. The large central cylinder was nearly as wide as it was long, and it was encased in what looked to be a clear plastic. Small spotlights came on, illuminating the cylinder which was going from the upper left to lower right of the sphere and about 30 degrees off-center. As she shifted her head she saw light glinting off of thin metal rims of what looked to be discs. Tens of discs if not hundreds of them, perhaps thousands, all evenly spaced and quite thin.</p> <p>She heard boots coming up the ladder and then feet land on the floor in the cockpit, and she turned to see Karl coming in.</p> <p>"Well, what do you think, Marissa?"</p> <p>"I have no idea, Karl. What the hell is it?"</p> <p>He smiled as he looked at her and then at the cylinder inside the framework.</p> <p>"Oh, that is about 2 years of work, after testing at small scale, of course. Had to make a special jig for the large mill I cobbled together with Kevin. We got a discount price on the blank discs, from the solar people Herman works with. That was the easy part. Milling out the fractal geometry framework, getting the variable resonance system set up, and then doping the milled fractal recesses before smoothing and sealing...that was 2 years. We've put it through a huge number of tests to get an idea of just what its parameters are, of course."</p> <p>She shook her head and looked out into the spherical space at the center of the vessel.</p> <p>"How does it work, though?" she asked.</p> <p>"Eh? Not up on virtual charged particles of a vacuum? How about virtual parametric mass? Compression of charged space?"</p> <p>She looked at him.</p> <p>"No, I'm not, Karl."</p> <p>"Good! Neither am I! And I've spent time reading up on the stuff, too. Still what that is supposed to do, at the very least, is give us some thrusterless impetus as an EMW system. The electrostatic stuff with all the geometry, gets us to gay Paree! More or less. Supposedly pulls charged virtual particles towards it from space, and then space compresses to allow the opposite charge to get to it. Just a lot of experiments, no real theory on that yet."</p> <p>"Thrusterless? But how do you do that?"</p> <p>"Oh, making mass go away for a bit and then come back when you need it. That's the oscillating part and we have a wide range to check out."</p> <p>"And space compression...are you saying that's..." she looked back at the cylinder in a sphere, "...a warp drive?"</p> <p>"Well now, we won't know that until we try it out, will we? Might be that. Might be something else. This is a research ship, you know? Want to do that way up in space where we won't, you know, pull a piece of the ground off or something. Not safe to test it down here, you know?"</p> <p>Slowly she looked back at Karl who had a smile on his face and a gleam in his eye as he looked to the rear of the vessel.</p> <p>"But...but...doesn't that take, like, more energy than the sun puts out in like...billions of years?"</p> <p>He glanced at her.</p> <p>"We're just compressing space, Marissa. Gravity does that by, you know, interacting with mass. We're just doing it without gravity, much safer this way. Less energy, too. It'll either work or be a total dud, my bet is on the latter, which is why we got the plasma rockets and ion thrusters. They also give a real nice kick to the electrical system. If it does work, then we should be going places, fast. If it doesn't then we'll just be going places."</p> <p>Slowly she turned to look at the system at the center of the ship.</p> <p>"You're all crazy, aren't you?"</p> <p>"Oh, aye! But are we crazy enough, eh? That's the real question."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"...it automatically transmits and its encrypted. We'll have someone available here during your flight if you need someone to talk to," Dionysus said looking at the face of his sister Athena on the screen. "Go for the Blue Highflight logo on the screen, touch it and the connection is made."</p> <p>There was a brief delay and he saw Athena nod.</p> <p>"Diana explained it to me and it seems simple enough."</p> <p>"Oh, it is, it is! Our main problem is seeing and hearing you for those who are close to us but not from our generation, you see? Even having someone here doesn't mean you can talk with them."</p> <p>"It is strange," Athena said, "and hard to understand or believe."</p> <p>In the down-link room at the Event Horizon, Dionysus looked over to his daughter and motioned her over. She smiled and came over with her notebook system and sat down next to him as he zoomed the camera out to include her.</p> <p>"This is my daughter Jasmine and she has been working on that problem in her copious spare time, haven't you?"</p> <p>She looked at him and shook her head.</p> <p>"What spare time? All I had a chance to do was download an animation package to hook into a live video stream and then tack on a speech to text app."</p> <p>Dionysus chuckled.</p> <p>"Hello Jasmine," Athena said.</p> <p>Dionysus just waited and looked at his daughter who was getting her system up and running.</p> <p>"You see, that is the problem. When Diana first showed her a static image of you, Jasmine had to do some real work to get anything close to your image to show up..."</p> <p>As the applications started to come up Jasmine looked at her father.</p> <p>"I still do, too. It should be OK for a video window, but I wouldn't want to try it on a 360 interface as that is just too much to process through in anything like real time."</p> <p>"But what will it do?"</p> <p>Dionysus looked at Jasmine and asked her, "Could you outline how this works?"</p> <p>"Sure! What the software does is take the incoming video image, and then creates a dynamic point cloud for surfaces, and then puts together a dense TIN...a triangular, irregular network...that depicts what it has taken in. From that there is a routine to find human outlines and then re-render them based on anything from animated figures to simple tonal and hue adjustments, with some lighting added in. So while I can't see anyone on the screen, the software can and it does an automatic replacement for that individual. The speech to text app is just a standard one for chat environments or used in conjunction with a translation package. Right now it is only for English as I didn't have time to integrate a Greek to English translator app...and those aren't really great for conversations..."</p> <p>Athena listened to this trying to understand it all.</p> <p>"I have no idea what that means," she said softly, "it sounds like magic."</p> <p>He looked at Jasmine who was just getting the interfaces up and running and then looked at her father and nodded.</p> <p>"And it is to me, too, sister. Now we will also be sending you back a sub-picture feed of what we are seeing...or Jasmine has up on her notebook since the main screen will still be dedicated to normal functions. We don't want to be playing around with brother Hermes' fine work, you know?"</p> <p>"Oh," Jasmine said inhaling as she looked at the notebook's screen, "Wow! I...wait let me get the feedback going..."</p> <p>A small image appeared before Athena on the lower left of her screen and she put her finger on the screen's surface over that and drew the size of it out. She saw that she had been replaced with something like a statue done in alabaster or marble, although with black hair and some hints as to eye color. Her blue Highflight jumper had turned into a light gray, while her surrounding hadn't changed at all.</p> <p>"You can do this?" she asked softly.</p> <p>In a second and a half that appeared as text at the bottom of the small image as she spoke.</p> <p>"Hello, Pallas," Jasmine said, "and this is used for some video chat systems, advertising and promotional purposes, mostly. Although some people use it to make animated videos, too. Believe me, on the main screen, all I see is the chair you are in and the panels of the wall behind you. And its like my blind-spot in my eye, the panels look to be whole pieces, across the rear, but I know that they are divided, so when you are there my mind just makes it look like they are single large panels. Its weird."</p> <p>"You can't see me or hear me normally, in truth?"</p> <p>"No, I can't..." Jasmine whispered looking at her screen, "no one can...well, there is Karl but he was struck by lightning."</p> <p>"Struck by..." Athena blinked for a moment and paused.</p> <p>Dionysus leaned forward, "Not by our father, assuredly," he said softly, "rest assured, he who you came from is dead. He couldn't kill you but could die himself, after he stole all but your life from you."</p> <p>"I can't remember him...or you...or Diana..."</p> <p>He leaned back into his chair and looked at Jasmine and then back to Athena.</p> <p>"That, my sister, is something we are all trying to remedy. To me it seems impossible to cure, but then I haven't been to orbit, either. Plus I've had to do a bit of research to see if there might be something that can be done to help clear the Lethe from you. So far..." he shrugged.</p> <p>"Ares gave Diana pills to take for keeping awake for long periods of time," Jasmine said, "the form you have are pretty interesting and while they moderate the serotonin system in the brain, no one knows exactly what they do."</p> <p>Athena nodded.</p> <p>"Yes, Diana tried to explain those to me, but really didn't know how they worked."</p> <p>"No one does, my sister," Dionysus said, "and haven't since they were discovered in the 1960s or thereabouts. We do know they are safe to take, non-toxic, not addictive and generally just do that job of extending your waking hours."</p> <p>"But how will they help in...this?" Athena asked.</p> <p>"I think," Jasmine said, "and its just speculation, that Ares reasoned that for you, Olympians that is, in your state, you can't die and what you get are blank periods when your body needs to recover. They aren't sleep, as such, because your brain is not organized again. Organizing memories and encoding them is modulated by sleep. If your sleeping cycle is broken and you can get any memories encoded while awake, then there is a chance that what is going on with you can be ameliorated if not halted. Once your subconscious has actual memories, even new ones, to work with, it can't just blank out what you learned that day."</p> <p>"We are loading your mind up with memories, with any luck, my sister Pallas. This is the first time we have had you isolated enough and away from the city you call home to try this. Brother Ares said he did try this out on you in the late 1980's but that he lost track of you after 2 days. In orbit you can't disappear."</p> <p>Athena smiled at that.</p> <p>"I don't want to," she said, "I didn't even know I had a family..." she trailed off.</p> <p>"You do, dear sister."</p> <p>"Yes, you do," Jasmine said, "and now that we who aren't your direct sibs or Olympians can see and talk with you, I think you will want to meet them all. And now that we know what the problem is, if this doesn't work, then we will not stop until we find something that does."</p> <p>"Such...devotion...for someone you don't even know," Athena whispered softly.</p> <p>Jasmine smiled.</p> <p>"We see how much your brothers and sister love you, Pallas. And once I got that first image of you..." she looked at Dionysus who smiled at her and shrugged, "How could we not want to save you, too?"</p> <p>"When I saw the videos Diana recorded of her last visit with me..." she trembled as Dionysus leaned forward.</p> <p>"They are a shock to you, yes. Sadness at your condition and my limited abilities yielded no better. Nor did our brothers do better. Diana, at least, you couldn't lose as she is, perhaps, the best tracker of us all."</p> <p>"She had recordings as we walked through crowded streets and how...no one saw us and yet she could take two steps away and be seen.... and then back with me disappear even from people she had been talking with. Is that really how I've been?"</p> <p>"On good days, yes. Not so many days ended well for you, sister. Yet you could not die even by your own hand, nor could you thwart what was in you. The sadness of finding you after those incidents I cannot express."</p> <p>"As Diana explained it to me," Jasmine said softly, "to you it seemed like a sentence passed on you for something you couldn't know about. And that is as close to an understanding as you actually had."</p> <p>"And not far from the actual truth, really," Dionysus said, "but that was it. Physical skills you retained, but actual memories, you didn't."</p> <p>Athena shivered looking at Dionysus.</p> <p>"What...was I? Before this?"</p> <p>"Ah," Dionysus smiled, "Beautiful. Glorious. You, dearest sister, were the heart of civilization, the loving young woman of the promise for all that is good if we but remain civilized. The promise of love, of hearth, of home and the one who would see it through to the other side of any conflict, intelligent in war in a way that required forethought not brute force. You didn't care much for myself or brother Ares, true, but got along famously with Hermes and Diana. We have all changed since those days, though."</p> <p>"We only learned about you in stories," Jasmine said, "and those were garbled, a lot, from the originals..."</p> <p>"Oh, my yes!" Dionysus whispered leaning back in his chair again and then turning to see the door open and he smiled waving to come in.</p> <p>"...but you only had a rare anger and you protected everyone who came to your city, as best as you could, at least."</p> <p>"But I'm not like that any more, am I?"</p> <p>"Nor are any of us. My sister this is my wife Gemma," he said as she pulled up a seat next to him and he shifted over and let her and Gemma sit more towards the center of the console area. "And if anyone keeps me from going adrift, it is her. She can recount my myriad faults more than anyone, just so you know how it is."</p> <p>Facing the blank screen and seeing the notebook system that her daughter moved up on the console, she had a hard time not concentrating on that screen.</p> <p>"Hello, Gemma, how are you?"</p> <p>"I'm fine, though tired, thank you, Pallas. And seeing this for the first time, I understand just what you must have been going through, at least in some small way. My mind doesn't see you, can't hear you, and what that must have done to you even if you couldn't remember it, must have been depressing to you."</p> <p>"I don't mean to have you lose sleep over this, Gemma. Jasmine. Dionysus."</p> <p>"What are a few lost hours of sleep if we can bring a better future from it?"</p> <p>"Its nothing, believe me," Jasmine said, "Organic chem labs lasted far longer into the night than this."</p> <p>"And living with Dennis," she said looking at him, "who is my husband Dionysus, and his late parties..." she sighed, "...someone had to finally close them down to take pity on the truly exhausted."</p> <p>He chuckled looking at her.</p> <p>"But most were just getting started by then!"</p> <p>Jasmine sighed and rolled her eyes, shaking her head.</p> <p>Athena smiled watching this.</p> <p>"I think I'm going to like this family," she said softly, "if I can but remember it."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Its been a long day," Ares said looking at the screen and saw both Diana and Athena in the comms area with Diana working at something, most likely getting feeds through to the airshow via the nanosat system, "and I'm glad you had a chance to talk with Tamara, earlier."</p> <p>"She was a delight!" Athena said, "I learned so much about where she had been, and what her life was like, and the projects she worked on and her life after meeting you."</p> <p>"Pallas, I don't want to wear you down as even pleasant company can do that, and with the medications used for long piloting trips the pilots are able to get some sleep in. Most don't try to get through the entire period awake. It's been tested that way, but that's not its normal use."</p> <p>Diana looked back over her shoulder and then drifted towards where Athena was tethered to the wall and grasped a piece of webbing there. He watched as she and Athena looked at each other, which was something he was sure he would never see again. This was something that he had missed from the days before their fall, and the rapport between the two was something that, to him, was fascinating as they were unlike in so many ways and yet compatible in so many others.</p> <p>"We've filled her in, brother," Diana said softly, "Dionysus and Jasmine did a long going-over as they are also concerned about the effects. They aren't lethal at that long stage, but if there were complications we would have to get back to Earth orbit and get her proper medication. Only if she were no longer like we are...and me with her, I expect..." she said shifting to give Athena a look and they held hands for a moment before letting go. Diana then pushed off from the wall to head to another part of the OASIS.</p> <p>"I'm not concerned, Ares," Athena said, "it hasn't been continuous talking here, as you know, since Diana does have to use some of this part of the communications system to be in contact with our brother and sister, there at the airshow. Brent has been more than pleasant company for shorter periods, and he is also overworked, but also invigorated by it."</p> <p>Ares smirked and nodded, taking up a cup of coffee that Brent had gotten for him and sipped it.</p> <p>"Well if you know Tamara's end of things, then mine are rather dull by comparison, I expect. I've done a lot more travel, of course, and once you get past the last couple of decades that information gets to be merely historical in nature. I did take your advice from...before...though."</p> <p>Athena looked puzzled. "You did? What advice did I give you?"</p> <p>He raised an eyebrow. "It was on the order of 'such brutish war that you recommend is a horror and these warriors need to conduct themselves better'," he said trying to get her tone that she had used with him. She smiled placidly as he said that which caused him to shake his head. "Plus some pointed comments of at least acting civilized. This is of no help to you now, but you were right, Pallas. Attrition war that I helped to introduce is a horrific although sometimes very effective strategy, especially if two sides are at long-term loggerheads. I can't erase the introduction of it, but I did seek to find ways to turn warriors into true soldiers, and to get more civilized circumstances to war, itself. That has been a long-term goal that I'm always working at, and its a real fight to keep conflicts from backsliding."</p> <p>"Just how bad is war? I mean how many are there?"</p> <p>"Currently we are at a historic low with only 2 declared localized conflicts, as many as 5 undeclared local or regional conflicts, and 1 undeclared low level global conflict threatening to go hot at some point. This doesn't include inter-cultural or inter-ethnic conflicts that are at varying degrees of unofficial conflict."</p> <p>Athena seemed taken aback by that.</p> <p>"And this is a historic low?" she asked softly.</p> <p>"Yes," he said in a careful tone, "during the last century there were 3 general global conflicts of note, 2 of which were hot ones. The total number dead due to just those conflicts is on the order of 120 million, military and civilian casualties. Though it is hard to know just how many deaths some leaders wanted to attribute to the wars and what they were hiding at home via those numbers."</p> <p>"That's horrific," she said staring at him.</p> <p>"I agree. The cold struggle was nowhere near as bad, although the arsenals of the 2 super-powers threatened a death rate that would have to be measured as percentage of global population if their arsenals were ever utilized and that would be in the 40 to 60% rate."</p> <p>"Mankind can do...that?"</p> <p>"Death toll in the billions? By the end of that cold conflict, yes. While any of us who are Olympians can survive the very worst of those weapons, that isn't..."</p> <p>"You are speaking from experience? That's the way it sounds."</p> <p>He gave a lopsided grin and shrugged.</p> <p>"I had to. I always have to. It might actually kill me permanently and I've done as much as I can reasonably do to help civilize warfare."</p> <p>"What...was it like?" she asked.</p> <p>"A thermonuclear blast? Bright, hot, then vaporized, then a period of missing time while my body was reintegrated by nature at sea. I'll give it this, its faster and more effective than nerve gas, standard bombs, poison, or just being eviscerated. Much cleaner and neater form of death than freezing to death, that is certain. Far, far less painful than most of the ways our human kin have invented and they have been most inventive, let me tell you. For us its not permanent, however, and I doubt that getting closer to the blast would change that."</p> <p>She just stared at him.</p> <p>"I didn't mean to shock you, sister," he said softly.</p> <p>"You said I told you that war was a horror and that it needed to...change?" she asked softly.</p> <p>"Yes," he said softly.</p> <p>"And this is what its come to?"</p> <p>He nodded.</p> <p>"Just how bad was it that this is an improvement?"</p> <p>He looked at her steadily.</p> <p>"Very, very bad. Progress is getting military commanders to understand history and not to repeat the same damned mistakes over and over again. That first global conflict they forgot that, forgot the basics, forgot the fundamentals and millions died needless deaths for something that should have been ended quickly if they had but listened to observers of other wars. I cannot make military high commands do their jobs, although I do try to get into a position to suggest it once in awhile."</p> <p>"I...millions dead? Men and women like Brent, Jasmine, and Gemma?"</p> <p>He slowly nodded.</p> <p>"I cannot force people to be civilized, Pallas. That is something that even you realized was beyond your grasp before all of this. We are like the rest of mankind and it is part of our nature just as much as it is a part of humanity's. What we have now, we who are the fallen, is experience and time. If it weren't for the effect of being somewhat more civilized, those millions dead in those conflicts would be much, much more. If civilization could even have survived getting to that capability, which I doubt. Without the effects of civilization, such wars would not be possible, nor would the place you are at right now."</p> <p>"You mean that as...civilization expands, and capacity increases...war becomes larger?"</p> <p>"They do go hand in hand, sister. It can't be helped. How to curb the truly awful, sadistic, murderous and wanton chaos of war to something restricted and more pointed, that is the goal. I see only one way out for it, and even that will not eliminate war."</p> <p>"You do?" she asked still trying to get over the concepts he had just handed her.</p> <p>He nodded once.</p> <p>"What is that?"</p> <p>"Put ourselves, which is mankind, into space where the very first mistake means rapid and hard death. There is no biosphere in space, no atmosphere, and the first truly stupid person will either be killed for the safety of everyone, or accidentally kill him or herself and many of the people with them. That will not end war, but by making the results so unforgiving it will give pause to those wanting to wage it. It is one thing to be vaporized into atoms, quite something else to die via vacuum asphyxiation, long before either the heat of the sun or the coldness of space do you in. That is much worse, and more personal, and it is the impersonalization of war that has made it more horrific. And normal life will allow for that same stress to be at work constantly upon the mind."</p> <p>She looked puzzled and stared off for a moment before focusing in on him again.</p> <p>"Is there no other way?"</p> <p>He shook his head from side to side. "Don't try to appeal to the better nature of anyone you don't know. Its a crap shoot, and the dice are loaded against you. We have a couple of global conflicts to demonstrate that. Appeal to that during peace time, and you might get a bit less horror in war, if you are lucky. In space, there nature shifts from neutral to antagonist, and that makes all the difference to make wars less likely, not more. At least that is my suspicion, but I can't prove it for a fact."</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-44629890676887390172015-11-28T03:11:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:32:46.645-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 11<p>She had awakened in a decrepit building, a place that had once been a store in a community ravaged by desperate poverty.</p> <p>And no one could see her.</p> <p>She had the handbill in her satchel and walked to the north since she saw that its time was coming near. All avoided her be they rich or poor, men or women, no one saw her and yet she could see her reflection, feel hunger and know that she had a real body and was no phantom nor ghost. When she tried to remember what had happened just a day ago, she failed.</p> <p>She had no name.</p> <p>She could remember no birth day.</p> <p>And while the city felt familiar she could not pronounce its name, and yet could pronounce the name of any other place that she had seen on a map, even those at long distances from here. Her day was long and arduous, walking streets bustling with people and yet she was more alone than any prisoner in the deepest dungeon.</p> <p>How could she have no yesterday? And what was there of tomorrow?</p> <p>"How did I come to be here, like this? What ill is so great to require this as my prison? I barely know the people around me and they cannot even see me, the nameless woman who isn't there. What is the wrong that I did to put me here?"</p> <p>Sliding down inside an interior doorway to a decrepit place, some factory that was now just a burnt out shell with broken windows, walls and missing doors, she cried.</p> <p>"Yet I am given the means to end this existence, the revolver from a far off land and yet has a home here. It has been cleaned, has supplies in its pouch, the leather is well conditioned. Who would put me into such a horror? I might escape, maybe, if I could but know how I came to be this way, bereft of past. Without that I have no future. The day grows as weary as I do."</p> <p>In grief at her condition which had no cause she could name, that was what the Blessed Virgin of Athens had become this day.</p> <p>Every single waking day was new, afresh, her memory fled and she was no one in a great city now becoming a decaying place done by those who lived there. Other cities have faced this over the ages, and no matter how great their start, their end is assured once living off the city replaces living in the city.</p> <p>"And will tomorrow be just like this, no better, no worse? Starting a day alone, ending alone, cast out from the people of the city while in the city. I can only swim so far and only walk or run for so long. Then another day like this?"</p> <p>Taking out the revolver she looked at its worn surface, but without pitting and only those marks that indicated some use over years.</p> <p>"Ah if only you could tell me your past..." she whispered, "...and yet yours is the only voice that can address me, and I won't be hearing it."</p> <p>She arranged herself as best she could, so that she would have some dignity if only for the rats to discover.</p> <p>She detested the thought, had second thoughts, and yet the inability of others to even acknowledge her as being before them chilled her in ways that the night air could never do. This night she chose the voice that could address her, that she would never hear.</p> <p>The day was done.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Sipping tea and nibbling the last of the cookie she had on her saucer, she smiled at Father Andre.</p> <p>"This is a lot to take in," he said softly to her.</p> <p>Nodding, she picked up the cup and sipped at the tea, which was made with an old mixture she had taught to those in the mountains long centuries ago when she was someone else. Someone who didn't see exactly what would come, only that something was coming.</p> <p>"Of course it is, and its right not to believe me! I'm just here to see what the connection is to my sister and now that I know, I really should be moving along," she said finishing the cup of tea.</p> <p>He blinked at her and frowned.</p> <p>"Ah, there is so much I should ask you..." he started saying, "...what of the actual person of Agamemnon or Odysseus or Achilles..."</p> <p>She raised her eyebrows and shrugged.</p> <p>"No taller than me, each of them, though they weighed a bit more. A son of a king of bandits, a bandit and a warrior bandit. But then I'm biased, since I backed the losing side, there. They weren't so much suckered into a war as their greed sucked them into it. Helen, very beautiful, was no slouch, though. Didn't care much for her husband and while Paris was no real winner, she would have a better position with him than where she was. A political step up, and if you think she was just a pretty face then you aren't seeing it the way she saw it. They all paid a price for the escapades, the brutality, the thieving, the sacking, the burning and then everyone wondered what happened to the thriving trade once so many islands had been depopulated. My brother introduced attrition warfare because it was necessary, he said. It would have been figured out sooner or later, I guess."</p> <p>She shook here head. "That is the way things go."</p> <p>Standing up she slowly looked at the books on the shelves and smiled.</p> <p>"Oh, that's a really good one," she said pointing to one of Andre's scriptural works he used for references.</p> <p>"You've read it?" he asked softly.</p> <p>She turned to him with a soft smile, still sipping tea.</p> <p>"Of course I have. Just because I keep busy doesn't mean I'm illiterate and don't have time to read. A good part of that...in fact most of the works here...were composited in cities, but original works were done out at small villages or, for some, on the run. Of course that was after becoming Diana, but something like it had been in the winds and written on the seas for generations. My father tried his hand to be the single one, and, thankfully, failed. I wish he had never tried."</p> <p>She turned back and slowly walked around his cabinet where he kept items from his family and childhood.</p> <p>"But what did happen to you all?" he asked.</p> <p>"I like the matching salt and pepper shakers," she said softly looking at him, "no dragons around, but still beautiful depictions."</p> <p>He nodded with a wan smile at a set that his mother had favored.</p> <p>She stood and looked at the other items.</p> <p>"The youngest child is always ignored, especially if she isn't slated to grow up any time soon," Diana whispered, turning and wending her way back to his small desk. "No one listened...save my father, of course...and that warning just marked me to be a special victim, to him. He had already figured it all out and knew the day would come when he would have to do what his father couldn't. That was recapture all the powers that had been brought into being, pull them together into himself. What is a bit of murdering your family when the stakes are for everything, I guess was his viewpoint. He could get the power, with some work and destruction, but knowing how to use them?"</p> <p>She shrugged.</p> <p>"So if you are going to set yourself up, you will need an avatar, more than just some priest but someone who can speak for you. Those get noticed if they are of a virgin birth, you know?" she asked.</p> <p>He nodded slightly, not liking where this was heading.</p> <p>"Once you have lightning, the sun, and death, along with the power of the seas and earthquakes, why, nothing will stand in your way, will it? Flash off love and beauty to vapor in the initial struggle, envelop that which oversees the crops to dust so it is yours, render your wife lifeless her body put out of the reach of any who would say what happened and then you have a good sole claim to everything. He did have to deal with his better part, however, she of this city. Then there were just a few others, war, commerce, intoxication and the young virgin girl who would, assuredly, bear the avatar and then, sadly, priests would need to take her away as she was clearly not all right. Maybe translate her to the Underworld or get a small cult to form around her, nothing important, of course, and of no use to her, but a gesture..." she trailed off, "...as I said he was my father, not yours, but the path is obvious."</p> <p>"That is...hideous..." he said.</p> <p>"Oh, I led him on a merry chase, but he outclassed me with so much of what he had brought within him from those no longer living. Finally his lightning stole meager powers of mine and he then took me with him to the expected last confrontation, to vex and torment those few survivors in opposition. My brothers fought well, with cunning, guile, swiftness, and even blinding him with rage. My feeble dagger was only a distraction and got me lightning once more to quiet me. By the rerouted underworld he pushed them off in the boat on the Lethe and I was fallen at his feet, and then he took me back out..."</p> <p>She shook her head as she set the cup down. She looked at him with dark eyes and a sad expression.</p> <p>"He forgot just one thing, and that is that I am inviolable as virgin. Even my own desires cannot end that. His own status was long lost, of course, and once gone it cannot be retaken nor absorbed nor that which lost it cleansed enough to regain it. In trying to take me he took his own life, Nature reached out and turned him to dust. I was left vulnerable to others who were like my father or those of us before the fall, and they found me to be just the same as I was left, and sought their lusts, first, and maybe ask questions later. They never got to that part after the first one, and my bow still had enough of my original capacity to deal with the other 2 and they left behind that which I then was, a wild, wild girl afraid of all such things like they were. And I led a wild, wild hunt across the world."</p> <p>He saw that she no longer looked at him but into the infinite horizon.</p> <p>"Only once the Hunt was satiated with no more targets to hunt, did it end, and I was left..." she shifted her gaze to look at him, "...no longer who I was. She had burned with a wild and savage heart, showed no mercy and slaughtered her way through all that could harm her. Every. Single. One. No exceptions."</p> <p>"None?" he whispered.</p> <p>She shook her head from side to side.</p> <p>"That was no good thing to do," she said in a low tone, "necessary to the girl I was, yes. She had enough of being ignored, abused, and then used to evil ends. What she did...I did...I cannot make amends for, Father Andre. I brought about the very conditions I had feared. My brothers at the last stand, they figured out how to thwart the ferryman and returned before that entrance to the Underworld collapsed due to its being unstable. I only learned that...in truth and a fact...just a few years ago. They had been sentenced to be undying reminders of what they were in the Underworld, and yet thwarted our father. His lust consumed him. And then I brought the rest to ruin. Your father is welcome to the remains, Andre. And may we all hope that the day of the Wild Hunt does not return, because if I am stuck leading that again, then I make no promises as to what will happen. Nature will find me if such a thing happens, so better to be peaceful and amicable. You need not accept what I say as any form of the truth. But it is a promise."</p> <p>Watching her with a frown he didn't know what to make of her, save that she was serious in a way that he had never seen anyone be serious in his life.</p> <p>Her head quickly turned to the doors to the overhang, the small patio as such and a faint smile came to her lips.</p> <p>"Did you hear it?" she whispered.</p> <p>"Hear what?" he asked.</p> <p>She stood up and walked to the edge of his desk then turned to him and held out her hands and he took them, his old hands in hers that were not those of a woman nor those of a girl. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, then let go of his hands and stepped over to her bow case and quiver, and slid them on.</p> <p>"I'll take the bag of food with me," she said as he started to get up.</p> <p>"But why?"</p> <p>She looked at him as she opened the doors and there, on the outer railing, was an owl.</p> <p>"The shot, Father Andre. Sharp but faint, to the north. I'm off to get my sister," she said turning to the owl and softly cooed to it and it hopped down to pick up the string bag of food and then beat its wings to get into the air and start flying off.</p> <p>"But, will you be coming back?" he asked going towards her.</p> <p>She looked at him with a smile.</p> <p>"Only if you come to the ALV-III lifting the Athena II, with me as its pilot at the airshow. Come to me there if you wish to see me again. Who knows, I might even have a gift for you. After that...who cam say? Now I need to get to her so I can get her back to the hotel and tend to her. Time is short and precious, don't waste it. Good-bye and thank you for the tea, Andre. I miss that tea!"</p> <p>With two steps she had her hands on the outer railing and flipped over it into a handstand and pushed off to land on her feet in the small common lawn beyond it. By the time he got to the patio all he could see was a dark form running north and up through the alley on the other side of the common area and then into the night.</p> <p>He felt a twinge of regret that he hadn't really gotten to know her.</p> <p>Finally, when not even the echo of footsteps were left, he moved back and closed the doors and went back to get the dishes to the sink, and he would do them tomorrow. As he prepared for bed and finally pulled the light blanket up he looked up into the darkness.</p> <p>"I've looked into the face of her and known what the ancients saw. Words failed them. I think I will find time to get to the airshow so I might see her one more time."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Thad, I'm leaving this in your capable hands for a couple of months," Kevin said at the Ascentech hangar which, for the first time in nearly 2 years, now had its floor space showing once more.</p> <p>Thad looked at the crew as it started the dismantling of all the 'temporary' support structures which hadn't moved since the Lunar Project started, and they were all being neatly tagged, identified and stacked in the out building. An ALV-III container would be arriving in a few days after a light going over from Highflight in Arizona, and the single rod support system was being fabricated off to the far right side of the hangar.</p> <p>"We have the schedule, Kevin," he said looking above at the ALV-IV, the Pegasus which had been delayed once when it became obvious that an intermediate platform in the way of the ALV-III was necessary, and then by the Lunar Project. Yet the metal still glistened close to the top of the structure, where the outlines of the largest system ever made by Ascentech was at its #2 milestone, at 30%. It had been stuck at 30% for years. "First we have to clear the Lunar stuff out, then swing the intermediate scaffolding and gantry system away or move it to the far end. Then we have to pull all the old supports for it out, set them up, let the parts down, put the intermediary stuff back in place, and start up in earnest again. Not just a piece here or a piece there in our spare time, but push to get this on track for flight late next year. At some point we will need final engines for it, though."</p> <p>Kevin shrugged.</p> <p>"The mount system will take either liquid bi-fuel, monofuel or one of the Highflight hybrids. Although those latter need to be scaled up a bit or put into clusters. I'm coming to like the monofuel and hybrid systems, Thad. Lots of energy in a small space, safely packed, and hardened against transfers which are damned easy to do. So long as we keep it above -200 F and below 350 F we can feed fuel reliably with nothing seizing up. No chillers, no large amounts of waste heat, flick of the switch operation. We lose a lot of lift if we go for the older systems, even with them being more energetic per amount of mass, we can pack a lot more of the monofuel into a tighter space than we can ever do with liquefied bi-fuels."</p> <p>"Oh, I'm sold on them as well, Kevin. Eddy is running the everyday stuff while you're out?"</p> <p>Kevin gave a sidelong glance at Thad while looking up to the ALV-IV pieces.</p> <p>"Yes, you don't need to be inventive for the lower ALV loads, and he has shown capability with the ALV-III, plus he is meticulous. All boxes properly accounted for and checked off. Not the most personable guy on the planet, true," he chuckled and Thad shook his head as he looked around the hangar, "but for bread and butter flights, you don't want inventive any more. He has got you and the people here for that, or the refit group at the field under Sandy. She's good at that and knows the systems well, so she deserves the buck up. So do you, Thad."</p> <p>Thad looked at him and he brought his gaze down to look at Thad.</p> <p>"That sounds kinda permanent," Thad said.</p> <p>"Because it is. Someone has to run crews at the WorkPlat, now, don't they?"</p> <p>Thad was at a loss for words.</p> <p>"Sheila's good with that?" he finally asked.</p> <p>Kevin nodded with a smile.</p> <p>"The space bug is spreading, Thad. I made sure she wasn't immunized. Gives you a whole other view on this screwed up world. I prefer to live with my own screw-ups, not those of other people. And that is just what I will be doing. But first, a vacation."</p> <p>"You two deserve it, Kev," Thad said with a smile.</p> <p>"It's a working vacation," Kevin said slowly, "but then, aren't they all lately?"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>He had never been to an airshow before and while this one was not as large as the one in Paris earlier in the year, it had many other participants that tended to have interests in the eastern part of the Mediterranean. Still it was a great sight to see so many aircraft and aerospace craft in one place and the bustle of the crowds out in the early autumn was brisk. An aerial acrobatics team from Italy was showing off overhead, their jets roaring above the aerodrome, and large tents with companies giving presentations featuring the aircraft on display or others from their companies left a low level din going on in the background. A shuttle operated between the aerodrome and the old Olympic venue which had been partially leveled some years previously, and that was the venue for two of the aerospace companies that worked together quite a lot: Ascentech and Highflight.</p> <p>Father Andre took that shuttle to the somewhat more low-key area that also had some of the commercial aerostat companies and smaller drone companies there, as well as those companies that made smaller vehicles for residential or indoor use. From radio controlled helicopters to the large venue that held an Alternate Lift Vehicle Model III, there was something for everyone there. In addition a model of the next vehicle, the ALV-IV, was on display as a model and shown in relationship to the prior 3 types of craft. Ascentech had also taken over an old media building that had been used for the Olympics and that building featured live feeds from their Space Industrial Work Platform or Work Plat. Tonight the ALV-III would be lifting an Athena II which would rendezvous in space with the Highflight Orbital Aspect Station Increased Safety I which would act as the tug vehicle for the Work Plat.</p> <p>Highflight shared the main viewing area and on the left side were their screens and the right Ascentech's, which showed their respective space stations. The WorkPlat had a few minor reports on it during the last month with some news being leaked that they would be putting some sort of small sampling station on the far side of the Moon. He walked over to the main booth shared by the two companies, and as there was mostly just the feeds and a few people answering questions and not much of a crowd, he easily got the attention of a man who worked for Ascentech. He was a black man, well dressed and with an easy countenance about him.</p> <p>"May I help you, sir? I'm Ray Kaplan, President of Ascentech," he asked in English which Father Andre only had as a second language.</p> <p>"Ah, yes, I'm Father Andre Nikkopolous. The pilot for tonight, ah, Miss Sherwood, said that she might see me before she departed."</p> <p>Ray nodded, "Let me hand you over to Mrs. Lassiter of Highflight," he said, "just a moment."</p> <p>Ray raised his eyebrows, looking at him and nodded, then tapped on the shoulder of a woman standing next to him and whispered to her.</p> <p>"Father Nikkopolous, this is Regina Lassiter of Highflight," Ray said introducing the young woman who extended her hand out to him.</p> <p>"Pleased to meet you, Father Nikkopolous," she said.</p> <p>"And the same, yes, Mrs. Lassiter."</p> <p>"Regina, please," she said softly stepping around the front of the booth and gesturing him to follow her.</p> <p>"And Andre with me, yes?" he said as they went to chairs by the side of the room that held the larger venue.</p> <p>"How can I help you, Andre?"</p> <p>They sat down together and he looked at her.</p> <p>"I had a visit from, ah, Miss Sherwood, you see, and she said that if I had a chance to see her that I should come by before she departed."</p> <p>Regina inhaled and nodded.</p> <p>"Of course! We talked just yesterday as things were getting arranged and she said to bring you over to the preparation area for the launch tonight," she said standing up, "come and let me get you a pass and then we will go and visit her."</p> <p>He stood up with a smile.</p> <p>"Thank you, very much," he said.</p> <p>From there they went over to the booth and he had his picture taken and then she asked him to spell his name so she could type it into the system. She then walked over to a printer that had a lamination machine next to it, and in a few minutes she came back with a VIP badge for the Highflight and Ascentech areas. He looked at it and then clipped it to the lapel of his suit coat.</p> <p>"There you go, and that will get you through the rest of the airshow, too," she said, "and if you present it at the main gate, they have been informed you are due a refund."</p> <p>He blinked at her as she came around the desk and stood next to him.</p> <p>"Really?" he asked not knowing what to make of this sort of treatment.</p> <p>She nodded at him and held out her hand to usher him forward.</p> <p>"Yes, really. And that goes for meals here, too. Order what you like and its on us."</p> <p>He walked with her as she showed him the two space platform miniatures, which had been made up by her husband, Herman Lassiter who was the founder and President of Highflight. After that she took him to the side exit and they walked across the open area venues and then to the large area beyond that which had the Ascentech and Highflight vehicles out with individuals showing them to small groups being taken on tours. When they reached the Athena I which was on display he stopped to look at it and read the information on it, which was also translated into Greek next to the English description. This was not uncommon at the show, of course.</p> <p>After reading it and looking at the vehicle he looked at Regina.</p> <p>"This is the one that had the accident?"</p> <p>She smiled.</p> <p>"That was the prototype of this vehicle. Even as that prototype was being tested, major changes to the airframe and engine types were being done for safety and reliability issues. Our Athena I vehicles have seen the most use with nearly 300 flights for everything from Astronaut Pilot Certification runs to Orbital work delivery for improvements and outfitting of our OASIS I and II platforms. None have failed since that first prototype, and the pilot survived that due to the safety features of it."</p> <p>He nodded looking at the sleek lines of the wingbody.</p> <p>"Who decided on the name of it?"</p> <p>She chuckled.</p> <p>"My husband, Herman."</p> <p>He blinked looking at her.</p> <p>"Oh. This is the one launching tonight, yes?"</p> <p>She shook her head negatively.</p> <p>"No that is in the temporary hangar beyond this display. Come with me so I can hand you off to Herman and I can get back to work on coordinating tonight with Ray."</p> <p>He nodded and they walked to a small door in the closed building which had been hastily refurbished from some prior Olympic venue. It was a huge building, and the ALV-III barely fit in it. Its bay doors were open and the bracing system had been extended down for the Athena II vehicle which had its wheels on the ground. A large number of people were there wearing company jumpers and they had tools, equipment and many tasks that must be to get the two vehicles ready for tonight's ascent and launch. The two vehicles looked as if they were related in type, but had very different purposes. The ALV-III was massive and yet, for all that, looked graceful to him, its wings extending out far and yet were large and almost protective to the Athena II beneath it.</p> <p>Approaching the rear of the building Regina took him to a desk that had a set of screens behind it for different things: 2 tracking orbits, a few were interior cameras in the ALV-III, another held some sort of readouts for the vessels, and a larger one had a schedule and below that status reports to show completion of items. Standing at the desk was a an athletic looking man and he came around the desk when he saw Regina to give her a hug.</p> <p>"Good to have you back here," he said to her.</p> <p>"I do have to get back to the front desk," she whispered to him and Andre made to pay no attention to them, looking at the screens.</p> <p>As they broke apart, Regina turned to look at Andre and he shifted to look at her.</p> <p>"Father Andre, this is my husband Herman," she turned to Herman, "he is the one Diana told us to be on the look-out for."</p> <p>Hermes nodded slowly and held out his hand.</p> <p>"It's good to meet you, Father Nikkopolous, thank you for helping my cousin," Hermes said.</p> <p>"I..I am pleased to meet you, ah, Herman," he got out as he was now putting things together in his mind and the man before him had many feminine qualities that bespoke of his background.</p> <p>As they let their hands drop, Hermes gave Regina a kiss on the cheek and a pat on her behind, "I'll handle this love."</p> <p>She shifted her hips and gave him a pinch on his cheek and nodded, then turned and held her hand out to Andre.</p> <p>"And I thank you, too, Andre, you were a great help."</p> <p>"Of course, Regina," he said carefully and gave a moment's glance as she walked away.</p> <p>"Father Nikkopolous," Hermes said softly, "Diana is resting but I think that she would like to see you, and, ah...well she has some things to give you."</p> <p>Andre nodded.</p> <p>"Please, follow me," Hermes said as he walked to the left and went out one of the rear doors. Behind the building a number of buses used for touring were parked, some idling and others hooked up with power connections. Herman walked past the first row of these and they came to what looked to be a large cylindrical container. They walked up two steps to a platform and Hermes gave a soft rapping on the door.</p> <p>"Diana?" he said in a voice that was much softer than Andre had heard previously. "You have a visitor, Father Nikkopolous."</p> <p>"Send him in," came a voice from inside the container, "I'm decent, more or less."</p> <p>Hermes rolled his eyes and opened the door. Inside was a room, not a large one, but with a fold down table on the left and cooking area on the right, then a short hall that had doors on either side, and a door to the rear. From that door Diana came out, dressed in a short cut-off t-shirt and a tied off shift around her hips, along with sandals on her feet.</p> <p>"Come in, already!" she said giving a nod to Hermes as Andre walked in. Andre found himself hugging Diana or she hugging him and he in no position to refuse, which was the case, and he felt the warmth of her as she held him.</p> <p>"Thank you," she said softly and then slowly let go. "Do you need anything? A bite to eat? I think I have some wine in here, someplace..."</p> <p>Shifting to more familiar language was a help to him and he smiled.</p> <p>"No, no, I haven't gotten hungry yet, as I haven't been here more than an hour. It took awhile to find this part of the show, it being at a separate venue."</p> <p>"Of course! I didn't even know that, so couldn't tell you...please sit down."</p> <p>At the short table there were also fold down benches and he sat on the one nearer the way he had come in and she slid onto the one on the other side.</p> <p>"You found her, then?" he asked.</p> <p>She nodded with a smile.</p> <p>"A mess, but I half expected that. Getting her back to the hotel took awhile, but when I'm in contact with her, I get the benefit of people ignoring her. I had to bandage her head up to stop bleeding and packed in some of the things the owl brought over, since they help in the body's rebuilding. The carrying wasn't so bad if it wasn't for the hills and the pavement, and I couldn't run just walk as fast as I could."</p> <p>"But how does your body recover?"</p> <p>She shrugged. "How did it ever when we had our full powers? In fact back then it was nearly impossible to take real damage that was lasting, and had to get into a large mess to even take that. We paid no attention then and even when watching it I have no idea how Nature does it. Once snuffed out there is no coming back to the living, and that destruction takes something on the order of my father or plunging into the sun, that should do it. There are ways to die, its finding a meaning in life that can be troublesome."</p> <p>"I see, yes, mysterious ways are the subtleties of it. So how is she?"</p> <p>"Once I saw that she was recovering well, I packed her into my functional CTD suit..."</p> <p>"CTD? What is that?"</p> <p>Diana smiled. "Crash Test Dummy. It is a full life support suit, pressure suit, with a number of extra fittings for sensors and electronics. Beyond that it is orange. My cousin had it made up a few years ago for doing biological testing and its been handy in that. My sister will be that package this time. Would you like to see it? It's in the prep room."</p> <p>"I would, yes, but a moment, if you can?"</p> <p>She nodded slowly.</p> <p>"Diana your descriptions and, well, all there is about you says to me you are not an evil person. Even with what you say you have done."</p> <p>"Thank you," she said softly, nodding.</p> <p>"I have no reason to doubt you, in fact just the opposite. You are doing something quite, quite hard and it must take much courage to do it."</p> <p>"No," she said softly, "not courage, Andre," she looked at him, "If I didn't do it, then I would be truly worthless to myself. Seeing her as she is that's...I at least can approach what I did and know why I did it, how it came about and deal with what I did. She doesn't even have that. Each day fresh, new, and then learning no one sees you...that you can have little effect on anything...and that you are alone. Condemned for something you don't know about. For reasons you can't know about. Sisyphus never had it so bad because he could at least remember that there was a yesterday, that he had a past and knew why he was there."</p> <p>Andre looked at her with more than some tenderness.</p> <p>"I had suspected something like it, but never how expansive it was. There was no way to do that from what little could be found on her. So I prayed for her salvation...not knowing if she existed or not, just the thought of something close to that bad was enough for that."</p> <p>She reached out and put her hands on his.</p> <p>"Thank you, Andre. That means a lot to me."</p> <p>He shifted his hands to hold hers.</p> <p>"And I will for you as well," he whispered.</p> <p>She nodded and gave his hands a gentle squeeze, closing her eyes.</p> <p>"Most gracious..." she opened her eyes, "...I do what I can because I must. Necessity is no great joy."</p> <p>He smiled as he looked at her, "And yet you have brought joy to others, I can see it in the eyes when even your name is spoken."</p> <p>She nodded and inhaled a ragged breath. "They know my love is wild, fleeting..."</p> <p>"Persistent, though. It never goes away. What you do for her is just that and you have worked for it a long time."</p> <p>"It is..." she inhaled a breath to steady herself. "Come, let me show you the suit she is in. I can only take such kindness in the smallest of portions."</p> <p>He shifted to stand up with her and followed her down the hall.</p> <p>"Why is that, Diana?"</p> <p>As she got to the door she stopped and looked at him.</p> <p>"Because it is what I deserve, small portions," she opened the door and went into the room and held it open for him to take in the bed and entrance to a bathroom on one side, and the other holding a table with equipment around it. On the table was an orange space suit. She shut the door and went over to it, and looked at the readings.</p> <p>"I've set the oxygen pressure low enough so that she won't wake up but will suffer no damage for her body to address," she said letting her fingers bring the readings to life, and watching the slow movement of the chest which indicated breathing.</p> <p>He saw this and that the helmet's dark glare guard was down, a shield that would block out most of the sun's rays and protect the eyes during work outside a vehicle. He pressed his hand on the right arm of the suit and looked at the chest unit and saw indicators for breathing, blood pressure, heart rate.</p> <p>"The suit, it allows her to be seen?"</p> <p>Diana shrugged. "You are seeing a suit, with movement but really don't know who or what is inside. So long as you don't know for certain, then it remains for you to see. If you think you can stand it, I'll shift the visor up and the moment you look into it, then it will vanish and you will forget about it having been there. I've seen the reaction with Regina, so I know what to expect and will need to remind you about it once the visor is down again."</p> <p>He looked at her across the suit and she had a serious look on her face.</p> <p>"Please," he whispered, "I've never seen her before."</p> <p>"And you won't now, either...but if you want to, then come here and look into the visor as I lift the shield up."</p> <p>He did so and as she lifted it up he never saw the face or the suit, just the table. He looked at her.</p> <p>"Ah, so where is she, Diana? She is obviously not here."</p> <p>With a faint click the visor was back in place and the suit reappeared.</p> <p>"Right here, just as I told you," she said taking her hands from the visor, "I lift it up and you forget she is even there. Put it down and now you can suspect she is there, but never truly know. I think it has something to do with physics, but that is only a guess, really."</p> <p>He tried to remember, and he had told her and he had...the suit had been there...but he swore it wasn't there...but he remembered that it had been...and she warned him...</p> <p>"Diana that what has happened to her can even get to me..." he shivered as he looked at the suit.</p> <p>"It will do that to all but the very, very, very few, Andre. We who are her fallen kin, we can see her because we are what we are. Now you have experienced just a hint of what she has had for centuries, save that she cannot even remember yesterday or even who she is. What would happen if that one brief gap you experienced engulfed all of what you had and knew? I want to get her off this planet and out of its grasp and see if some normal healing will happen and let her body start to repair the actual damage and get rid of the Lethe."</p> <p>"Of course...has there ever been such commitment before?" he whispered.</p> <p>She nodded.</p> <p>"Look to that which hangs around your neck, Andre. He suffered for all sins of mankind. She suffers for no reason at all save her father gone chillingly horrific. Jesus could weep for the sins of man as he died on the cross. I must do what is necessary to save my sister who does not deserve this fate at all and if I die as a consequence, so be it. Mankind will have to make its own way, but I will get this done."</p> <p>"With my blessing, Diana...Artemis...thank you."</p> <p>She gave a wry grin.</p> <p>"Let me get her things. You really should have the pistol back, and remember the man who died in your country to rescue it. She took it up to do that after he fell. After that...best keep it to yourself."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Karl looked at the monitor he had hung up over the work bench in the main area of his building. From beneath the forward stubby wing he saw the ALV-III start its engines and begin its forward path to the east and slowly south.</p> <p>"Well that's gone well," he said looking up at it and then carefully swinging the panel he had lowered from the under-body of Meridian back into place, feeling it shift slightly until it was locked into the structure.</p> <p>Marissa watched from the cockpit, using the feed from the cabling attached at a lower, rear point, which had an interface for the OASIS series of stations. The small screen to the left of the engineering station, which was the last of 3 seats, had a few screens and this was one that could take external feeds normally used to track how well the interface of Meridian with an orbiting station was proceeding.</p> <p>"That is a huge ship," she said as the ALV-III started to shimmer in the night sky and only its engines, thrusting at low output, allowed her to track its ghostly form as it ascended into the deep night and headed towards the horizon.</p> <p>Karl walked out under the forward portion of the wing, watching the monitor and raising his hand to rest on the wing edge.</p> <p>"Aye, it is. You see it up close and you still don't get the size of it. You put it next to some buildings and you get a real idea. Watch it go up, and it takes a long, long time to get small enough so you can't see its outline even on a clear day with sunshine pouring over it. Bill, Herman, Alice and Brent put long hours into getting that monster into something that was stable at any speed. If this was 20 years ago, it wouldn't be possible. Just 10 years ago you might start thinking about something like it," he turned to look at Meridian, "and this sleek thing took awhile to really understand. You get physical effects and no one investigates them and then the guy Pare in the garage or scientist doing spare time work get no attention. Yah, I know how that is. No one gives a hot damn about you if you aren't with some huge company or government, you know?"</p> <p>He didn't mind talking to himself, since most of the work on Meridian was done in just that way by whoever had some time to put into it. Having someone there was an added bonus, and helped to get the items on the checklist marked off. The long, long, long paper sheet checklist now ran to nearly 5 books of over a 30 items per side, front and back, of each page and each book had hundreds of pages in it. When the big book of ship had been come to the 5th volume, the last item to check off was START ENGINES, FREE FALL. And there it ended.</p> <p>There was another book, though, and it was much shorter and in software on Meridian. Just a series of things to try out to see what worked as expected and what didn't. With luck someone would be back to check off the last box.</p> <p>Marissa stood up and looked over the side of the cockpit area as Karl watched the screen above the workbench.</p> <p>"She'll be all right, won't she?" she asked and Karl turned to look at her and gave a wry smile.</p> <p>"She's not the best pilot, because that's Herman. At least so far. Aaron's the one with the real hairy-scary experience though, but Diana's no slouch there. She's learned all she could from me about working in space, so she isn't tops there, either. She isn't the best at any one thing, but if I had someone I needed to rely on for a hard job...well after Aaron, it would be her," he turned to look at the screen.</p> <p>"Karl?"</p> <p>"Hmmm?' he said watching the screens shift to flight tracking as the ALV-III went over the Sinai.</p> <p>"She said...she would like for me to be in space with her..." she said softly.</p> <p>He glanced over at her and smirked.</p> <p>"Well, what the hell do you think we've been training you for, Marissa? You're no good if you can't do the hard work, you know?"</p> <p>She chuckled and nodded.</p> <p>"Then eat..." she whispered.</p> <p>"Right, and its a good time for lunch! We'll keep it light so we can get right back to the checklist."</p> <p>She smiled.</p> <p>"OK, sounds good."</p> <p>As she put systems on standby in the cockpit, she whispered to herself, 'Then dinner...then...well...fun is what you can find...'</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Dionysus sat in the Highflight ready room at the spaceport facility after getting back from Arizona. He went with Gemma while Jasmine decided to go with the work crew that Mel had assigned to the Highflight build facility and from there she had picked a ride up with Ares to the spaceport, before he headed home for the night. Her father swiveled in his chair as she came in and Gemma stood up to hug her.</p> <p>"Glad you made it in one piece," she said.</p> <p>"Long trip, we did a stop over for about an hour for late lunch," she said letting go of her mother and coming over to Dionysus to bend down to hug him. "So where are we at?"</p> <p>"Ah, we are just minutes from separation," he said giving her a kiss on the cheek before she let go and pulled up a chair. "All the systems are go and our sister is awake on the Athena II. I've been tracking the CTD suit's readings and done a few minor remote adjustments to it, but our other sister appears to be somnolent. Some readings indicating deep REM sleep, and just a few moans. She's handled the separation from her city pretty well physically, at least."</p> <p>Jasmine bit her lower lip as she swung around to her father's left side, while Gemma came up to his right.</p> <p>"Hermes said that she was at least 100 miles from Athens for her separate confrontation. Would some background familiarity just bring her naturally back to Athens?"</p> <p>"Ah, now that is something I did explore to some degree, you see," he said softly giving Gemma a side-long look, "stupefaction did wonders for her and we had left the city as it was...it has been years since I last went there...why that must have been between the wars!"</p> <p>He pressed his lips together and shook his head, a sad expression on his face.</p> <p>"She wouldn't know, dad," Jasmine said to him as she put her hand on his shoulder.</p> <p>He smiled albeit glumly.</p> <p>"No, she wouldn't. I do, however. Of us I think it is Ares that has sought her out the most..." he pressed his lips together into a smile and his countenance brightened somewhat, "She is a wounded comrade-at-arms, you see. Oh, they had their disagreements, arguments and, truly, somewhat juvenile spats with each other," he smiled remembering those days, "but she bucked him up when he needed it and he did the same with her. There was always respect and understanding between those two. Not much more, yes," he shook his head, "but that was enough. I haven't pressed him but I think he would forgive our father what he did to him, but never for what he did to Athena."</p> <p>"Nor do you," Gemma said softly.</p> <p>"Oh, I'm not so magnanimous, Gemmy! I can't forgive him for what he did to all of us, because not a single one of us deserved that wrath. And I forgive him least for what he tried to do that cost him his own life...may Cronus laugh at him in the Underworld and mock him unceasingly! Sadly once you arrive there you lack the spirit to do that..." he sighed.</p> <p>The countdown sped through the last minute and in an instant the Athena II was away and its engines started. The ALV-III rolled slowly to starboard as the Athena II rolled to port as Diana throttled it up to maximum output. Dionysus shifted his gaze from the main image window to the side window which had the down-link data for the CTD suit.</p> <p>"Pulling 5g..." he said softly, "...there, boost to 7g for another 2 minutes..."</p> <p>"She's pitching up just a bit," Gemma said, "going in hot just the way she always does," a smile came to her lips, "not impatient just not wanting to waste time."</p> <p>Jasmine watched each of the sub-windows when she could no longer get a visual on the Athena II itself.</p> <p>"Cutting back to 1g, using thrusters," Gemma said.</p> <p>"Good, good! That was almost enough to wake her up, but still just a bit oxygen shy. Not a true coma, though and her heart rate is strong," he looked at Jasmine, "she's always had that fitness to her and always on the move when she's on the ground. The sad end to so many days, though," he shook his head, "that was something against which I am powerless. We all are."</p> <p>Jasmine nodded, "If you can't remember what happened just the previous day, then there is nothing to build on mentally. But she adjusts to the way things have changed, isn't that right?"</p> <p>Dionysus nodded. "There is something with that. A few people have had brain damage to particular portions of their brain which causes something similar although the duration is usually less than with Athena. Hers is not damage, as such, but an active antagonist complex that has become embedded in her brain and that then was sustained by how her body recovered. If there is nothing to sustain the complex, and if it does have something to do with both distance and restarting the normal recovery of the brain's system, then the body may be able to clear it out. Of course the Well of Memory would have done that in the Underworld, but very few would ever find that on their way to the entrance to Elysium. Now no one can get to that realm..."</p> <p>As he looked at the screen he thought for a moment.</p> <p>Gemma shifted to look at him.</p> <p>"That was her threat, wasn't it? Storm the Underworld if she had to?"</p> <p>Dionysus nodded.</p> <p>"Hermes cannot find any entrance to it and all the ones he knew about were sealed by our father or by the disruptions he caused," the orbital track for the Athena II had replaced the visual tracking system and the course to OASIS I was now a green line. No further thrust was being used at this point and he knew that Diana was busy with vehicle checks to make sure all the systems were functioning.</p> <p>"She could have found one, couldn't she?" Jasmine whispered.</p> <p>"Oh, yes. Indeed yes, my daughter," Dionysus said, "Notice that she is not traipsing around in some wilderness dragging our sister with her..." then he chuckled, "...no, that is exactly what she is doing!"</p> <p>Then he started laughing.</p> <p>"Ah, dear, dear sister of the wilderness! There are, indeed, ready ways to the Underworld nearly everywhere when death is so easily at hand! You are still a tricky, tricky girl and that is why I love you so much, and fear you some, as well. Yet the Lethe cannot run into space, can it? It is stuck here, on Earth, and out there..." he sat back his eyelids drooping, "...out there is a new life. But did you get to Mnemosyne and her Well, dear sister? You would dare much, but could you stand to see all those we loved, even your dearest twin, as mere Shades in the Underworld? That is why you chose this route."</p> <p>He slowly inhaled and exhaled looking at the screen.</p> <p>"Dad are you OK?"</p> <p>With eyes half-closed he looked at his daughter.</p> <p>"There are times when it is very painful to be sober, my child. It allows me to think clearly. And, truly, that is a very tiring thing to do."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"I have a GREEN lock status at 3 points, interface with OASIS is GREEN on Athena II #2. I have the air system up and running, and have transferred the CTD to its hook-up and now have the power systems deployed. How is the telemetry, over?"</p> <p>Diana hadn't had time to do more than get her helmet off as she got back to the comms console near the instrument cluster just forward of the engine systems. The double lock went into the safety compartment that was large enough for 6 people if they didn't move around much. As this was the spartan 3rd back-up control area, it only had what was necessary for comms, life support and orbital maintenance. What it lacked in the way of high resolution screens and highly automated interfaces it made up for with practical functionality. With the main water and gas storage tanks in front of this volume and along its sides, it was this part of the OASIS I which was also the emergency solar storm shelter.</p> <p>Regina's voice came through the system.</p> <p>"Looking good, Diana. You are 1 hour from your first orbital change point to rendezvous with OASIS II and off-load the Athena I and all but the emergency spares, plus transfer fuel sticks, over."</p> <p>Diana pursed her lips together and looked at the cluster of static readouts and the small screen that had a simple orbital representation.</p> <p>"Right, I'll be busy, then and the system is set to give me a 10 minute notice. Once the Athena I is free, you'll be able to handle it, over?"</p> <p>"Yes we can," the voice of Hermes came through the comm system, "and Karl moved fuel sticks from it so that it has enough for a return journey. The night crew at the spaceport can handle it once it is aligned, over."</p> <p>"Night crew? Who the hell is manning that, over?"</p> <p>Diana heard some chuckling coming from Regina.</p> <p>"Mel is in town and she put a few of her best down at the spaceport. I don't know if it was smart to leave her and Nuada alone, but we couldn't get it done any other way, over."</p> <p>"Right, be prepared for a place under reconstruction and construction when you get back to the main facility. How are the feeds from the CTD coming in? I had a nice long chat with Dennis and company and they said they were getting all the data cleanly, over."</p> <p>"So are we," Hermes said, "Once you depart OASIS II, we will handle the insertion to get to the WorkPlat and you should have a couple of hours to spare to deploy the full CTD system. Over."</p> <p>"Acknowledged. I see that we have gone from Solar Warning to Watch, over."</p> <p>"It's expected," Hermes said, "there is one spot to hole cluster crossing and if that gives us anything it will be just as you're departing the Moon after doing a fly-by. It has migrated to the solar equator in the last week. Over."</p> <p>Diana nodded to herself.</p> <p>"Acknowledged. Now I need to get to work, automated transponder will keep me informed and updated, so you can get to me just through the system. Send my regards to Aaron, and I hope that Marissa is working out OK," her voice lowered, "my love to all of you, over. On stand-by."</p> <p>She reached out as she pushed off with her feet, after putting the system on its transfer mode, and grabbed her floating helmet and went to the open hatch at the forward part of the compartment, going past the one area with an efficiency toilet system and where partitions would allow for much darker sleeping. She had set the lighting system to one of 8 hours of twilight which required local lights to read non-illuminated systems, and that was bracketed by 2 hours of getting lighter or darker, depending on cycle, until full lighting was on.</p> <p>"We copy that, Diana. Show control, out," Regina said.</p> <p>After going through the hatch she then shifted to the #5 lock which would gain her exterior access so that she could start moving all the cut-out parts, tubing, excess tanks, and any other equipment that she, Karl, Aaron and Hermes had taken from the old bi-fuel systems of the ALV-I containers. Things that were hot spares or ready spares were clearly marked and put in the #4 container and then the #6. Once on the inside of any of the containers, the older air handling system was still in use, and she had been getting that warmed up ever since she docked the Athena II/02. Once she got inside, she brought the lights up and synchronized it to the main ALV-II container that was the heart of OASIS I.</p> <p>"Karl has been busy," she said to herself looking at the metallic mesh nets that had system components contained within them. She started smiling as she made a quick assessment, and saw that the connecting system between #5 and the secondary rear lock had been brought up but not installed, and after going between the locks that formed a ring around the ALV-II connecting all the ALV-I containers to look at #6 did she realize that she had just enough time to install it and connect the entire ring of containers to the main body. The device itself had 3 gaskets on either side and mating pins that ensured a close connection between hatches, and the external system featured an accordion collapsed tube that was triple insulated and sealed so that it would take more than a clumsy movement of equipment to break through it.</p> <p>As she went to the #5 sub-control system she brought up the schematics, made sure that #4 and #6 were closed off and started the evacuation and atmospheric capture systems for them, so that it would be a simple matter of attaching lines and using a winch to get materials from the containers to an OASIS II container, which was in the #4 position. It would be a forward to forward docking of the smaller OASIS I to its bigger descendant, and while she would transfer materials and take back spare fuel sticks, Hermes would shift the spare Athena I to mooring points on the OASIS II.</p> <p>By the time she had finished the installation of the interconnecting tube, she got her automated warning. With the last of the seals connected and the tube reading green, she let air into it from the #5 container, and once it was fully inflated she checked for leaks with a small aerosol spray of water which lost its initial impetus against the atmospheric drag and sat in mid-air until it started to coalesce into one drop. With that she started proper air handling for the connecting tube and took off her helmet and went into the main body of OASIS and forward to the main control area, which was similar to a pilot and co-pilot's seating arrangement towards the #1 side of the main body. With a few switches pressed the entire set of panels for the two seats came on, and she strapped herself in, and put her helmet on once again.</p> <p>"Pilot Diana Sherwood, now at main control," she said, "Starting transfer orbit in 3...2...1..."</p> <p>To the rear of OASIS I the main engines and 6 external engines came to life, first with ion beams and then with cones of purest white plasma. To the #4 and #5 sides thrusters came on as the OASIS I slowly shifted from its current orbit to speed up to transfer to that of the OASIS II and get in its path, catch up to it, then slowly overtake it, and then turn around and use thrusters to match velocities. No one had done that with vehicles of this size in orbit, before. Diana didn't care about that as it was just a job to do. One of many on the path to a new future.</p> <p>She eased the control lever forward and watched as the course correction started and actual weight pushed her against the seat.</p> <p>Within a minute the course correction was finished and she went through the shutdown process to ensure that all the engines were powered down. Then she brought up the emergency items alert list and made sure that all the collision avoidance systems were active, including the on-board radar system and up-links to various space agencies, brought up the calibration timing notification in case something happened to any of the GPS satellite constellations, ensured that any change to the solar weather was properly set, and then established the private encrypted comms alert so that those closest to her could get through to her immediately. A final check of the CTD suit ensured that her sister was still doing well, and she made sure of this by checking the sleeping web it was in.</p> <p>Slowly she undid her own suit, and winced as a few of the more personal fittings were removed.</p> <p>"Some day a real suit has to be made that isn't so intrusive," she said to herself.</p> <p>After fitting her suit to the air cleaner, waste removal and sterilizer, plus power systems so that it would be fresh and fully charged, she then went back to her sister who was resting inside the CTD. Her fingers came up and stroked the helmet slowly.</p> <p>"Soon, my sister, very soon. If you can dream, dream well, because when I get you out of there, then we shall see if time, distance and what our brother sent with me will finally break the hold of the Lethe upon you. But first I need to rest, and then all of us will be ready to talk with you. After so long without a family, with no past nor future, you deserve to have at least a future if nothing else."</p> <p>With that she drifted over to get a meal packet, added water and microwaved it. Then she also needed rest, and used but a single strap to keep her from drifting and to keep her close to the one she loved.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"...getting final alignment, all coordinates are zeroed in," came the voice of Alice over the television set in the distance.</p> <p>"What's the reading on the panel now for MHD #2?"</p> <p>"I'm getting 12 volts, 0.1 amp," Marissa said looking at the display for the lit up panel of the Meridian. She was sitting in the rear seat of the cockpit, and the rear panel to the cockpit was off so that the cabling could be checked.</p> <p>"Good," Ares' voice came to her bouncing around the inside of the more than hot shack that served as their building site for this craft. This was her second day of work on it and the sheer size of the thing was amazing. An Athena-I could fit into an ALV-III container if it had to with lots of space to spare, but this vehicle only had front and rear fittings for the bracing system that would go inside an ALV-III. With the rear panel off she could see some complex set of bracing for something that seemed to sit in the geometric center of the vessel, but all she could see was the bracing and panels for it, that protected whatever was inside. The 4 engines were of the type she had seen at Highflight, hybrid ion monofuel plasma type, but these had a different feed system for the fuel hexagons. She had seen one of those demonstrated as it was sealed in a clear plastic sheet and then heated until the carbon fiber finally yielded to the internal pressure of the fuel and the entire thing swelled up to the size of a basketball. It was explained that this was not the decomposition of the monofuel, merely its expanding to size under 1 atmosphere of pressure. A small amount of water was put into a similar sealed sheet, heated and as it was boiled to hot steam, it was barely the size of a hardball or stress squeezeball.</p> <p>"I"m moving the leads to the alternate feed," Ares said.</p> <p>The readings for the MHD #2 went dark.</p> <p>"Docking in progress," came the voice of Kevin, "cross-connectors lined up. One foot... 10 inches...5 inches...1 inch... engine pods #3 and 4 are docked, locking process starting...completed."</p> <p>"Affirmative, main systems indicates slots 5 and 6 are now equipped and reading as engines," Alice said.</p> <p>"Crew cabin lined up," came another voice.</p> <p>"Jasmine," she whispered.</p> <p>"Yes, shes a good kid," Ares said, "readings on the panel?"</p> <p>Marissa brought herself from staring forward and into the cabin and her eyes back to the panel.</p> <p>"MHD #2, readings... 12 volts... 0.1 amp," she said.</p> <p>"Good! Got that on both digital and analog displays?"</p> <p>"Yes. A bit harder to read on those small analog ones, but the same...at least within tolerance since they are barely off the zero mark."</p> <p>"Good enough," Ares said chuckling, "we have regulatory circuits to deal with that, but those are the raw readings panels. We can't trace problems without those. Sealing up MHD #2, going to MHD #3."</p> <p>"Tanks are in position and moving into the lattice," Jasmine's voice came through, "angular fittings shifting, locking. That is at 6 inches, creeping forward... 3 inches and all indicators are of positive alignment....1 inch and initial contacts are being made... LOCK, all locks are indicating red and now locked into position. Positive feeds coming from WorkPlat system."</p> <p>"Affirmative, there are readings from Slot 14," Alice said, "and it is registering as OTHER which means we have to program its actual function into the system."</p> <p>"Positive feedback on control systems for power," Jasmine said.</p> <p>"Affirmative," Kevin said.</p> <p>"All power systems now in feed through, testing initial deployment of the panels," Bill said.</p> <p>She heard Ares climbing up the ladder beside the Meridian and saw him look in.</p> <p>"Lunch break," he said with a smile, "we can re-watch the show, but it sounds like everything will be a go."</p> <p>Marissa nodded her head and shifted the chair she was in and then crouched down as she came forward.</p> <p>"There aren't as many panels on this like I've seen on some jumbo jets," she said as she came forward and used the drop down step to get over the edge of the cockpit, with Ares steadying her as she stepped over it and onto the ladder's top platform. He started moving down steps as she found the next rung and started down after him.</p> <p>"I like the Athena II design, mostly," Ares said, "and this isn't as complex as a jumbo jet or even a jet fighter. At least not if you have a crew of 3 on board. Secondary displays allow for a crew of 1 or 2 to do the job of all but the pilot, but if it is only the pilot, then every single instrument you can see in 270 degrees is vital. That's why there are more instruments up front and they get sparser to the rear. A solo pilot needs every damned thing available."</p> <p>Marissa nodded as she stepped down and found Ares at the bottom steadying the ladder as she came down the final few rungs.</p> <p>"I know you flew for the Marines," she started and he nodded, "but could you actually handle all that up there on your own?"</p> <p>"Yes," he said softly, "not easily, not quickly, but yes. Come on, lunch. Nachos good for you or need something blander?"</p> <p>"Mmmm... Nachos, please!"</p> <p>She followed him out to the living area of the building. He didn't walk like Diana, no one did. But he walked in a way that showed that he knew each and every step he took. And meant it.</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-16297283927679706662015-11-28T03:10:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:30:26.603-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 10<p>She awoke on the low promontory that went out to form the bay. There was a battered old fishing shack on the lee side, away from the harbor itself, that she awoke in, the gray metal and sun bleached wood forming a structure against a similarly gray outside. In her hand was a pistol, a revolver and she picked it up to look at it.</p> <p>"That is a Webley," she whispered to herself. She could feel that the gun was of here but not made here, but in some other land.</p> <p>"Who or what is a Webley?" she asked herself. Without thinking she shifted the cylinder to the side and ejected the cartridges finding one to be expended. That one she dropped on the ground and then examined the revolver to see if it needed to be cleaned. On her belt, on the left hip, was a holster for the gun and there was a pouch next to it that she knew, somehow, held cleaning supplies. On the right hip was a pouch with ammunition stored in it, and she replaced the unspent cartridges and took another cartridge from the box inside the pouch, so that all 6 cylinders were loaded. With a slow move of her free hand to the cylinder, she slid it back into the frame and then rotated the cylinders one by one to ensure that they each registered at a firing stop. With that finished she holstered the revolver.</p> <p>As she got her feet under her, she saw that she had on a black shirt, gray-blue work pants, a belt going through the belt loops under the holster belt, and leather boots that had seen better days.</p> <p>"Why am I armed?" she asked softly to herself, and saw a satchel that her head had been resting upon, and it was of worn leather with dark stains on it, front and back, as if something had dripped on it and slowly flowed. Where her head had rested there was wearing away of the leather, as well. Within the satchel was a package of thinly sliced, dense black bread, a small jar of olives, a bottle of water, and a piece of sausage that had one end crumbling in the torn napkin that wrapped it. Next to that was a small wheel of cheese that was in a plastic wrapper, and a small paring knife in a plastic sheath. In a side pocket were pieces of paper, and she took one out to see that it was a handbill or circular for an airshow. Looking at it she saw the names of companies, the artist's depiction of the old aerodrome and the new vehicles, announcement of multiple Nations showing off aerial displays, and then the large number of company logos on the bottom. One of those logos featured a man with suitcases with winged sandals and winged helmet climbing a staircase to the stars, and he was looking back over his shoulder with a smile as he leaned into the stairs. Then she looked closer.</p> <p>"He's...winking...at me..." she shivered as she tried to understand just what it was that figure was doing. "I know him! I...what's his name? How can I know him without knowing his name?"</p> <p>She shivered as she placed the handbill back into the satchel, took out the jar of olives and then stopped.</p> <p>"What's my name?" she said so softly that only the air could hear her. "Who am I? Where am I?"</p> <p>Carefully she opened the jar, fished a green olive out and then carefully nibbled at it after closing the jar again.</p> <p>She stepped out over where a door had fallen in and the roof had partially collapsed and out onto the dry grass that led to dry ground down to the shore where the wine dark sea lapped against it, leaving trash and detritus along the shoreline.</p> <p>"What's happened to me? Perhaps someone can help me..."</p> <p>Stepping outside she turned to look up the slope behind her and climbed it to find a dirt road that led to the main road on the shore. She would find people there, but they would never find her.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Giving a soft kiss to Marissa's temple, she slid from the bed and put on the thin t-shirt and jeans laying over the chair next to the bed and her feet slid into her sandals. Lightly she stepped out so as not to wake Marissa and with the door to the bedroom closed she padded out of the apartment and then to the hallway, stepping more freely, easily, down the hall and then to the rear stairs going to the side meeting room on the main floor.</p> <p>"She's exhausted," Diana smiled as she hugged Regina, Ares, Brent, and Tamara who looked to be in need of a few nights sleep. She gave each a long and loving hug, a soft kiss to each and with Tamara she held on a moment and looked at her.</p> <p>"You shouldn't have driven here in that state," she said softly.</p> <p>"It's been too long, sister," Tamara said and they hugged again. Letting her go she stepped back to Regina and they looked each other in the eye in the ages old fashion that needed no words, just a slight nod to each other and faint smile on the lips. Then a fervent hug that had them swaying back and forth slowly.</p> <p>As they broke apart Regina said softly, "You need rest as well."</p> <p>Diana half-shrugged, gave a rueful smile and nodded.</p> <p>"Plenty of time for that later. Let me get a cup of coffee and then we can talk about the next phases."</p> <p>Putting that to deed she stepped to the bar area, and grabbed a large mug from the rack behind it and then let the mug fill from the urn. Wrapping her hands around it she stopped as she saw that the seat at the head of the table was left open for her. She shivered involuntarily, nodded, and then slowly walked to the seat, pulled out the chair and sat down in it.</p> <p>"First my apologies to all of you, and all of our families, and to both the personnel of Highflight and Ascentech. I had hoped to come back with Jasmine, but felt that if I did not deal with Marissa that there would be problems in the future for all of us. It required someone who knew how to deal with such a one, and I was that person."</p> <p>"No whips or chains were involved?" Hermes asked with a smile.</p> <p>"Only the lash of one's own sore and aching muscles, dear sister. Hard work is its own punishment and its own reward, yet it was the kindest way to deal with her of the venomous articles. While she is now older, she never grew up and that twisted her, as did her family and circumstances. Working through that cost me weeks to do, but as we all know if you come to me, I will not turn you away unless it is to do me harm. Now she no longer wishes to write and she is prepared for hard work. I don't want to take time out of your busy schedules, but if a ready set of hands are needed someplace in our endeavor, then do not hesitate, do not think twice, but just say that it is OK with me. And you all KNOW what is OK with me."</p> <p>"Yes, we do," Tamara said, sitting next to Ares and holding his hand to look at Diana from the left side of the table, "and if no one else needs her, I can have her doing shuttle work for me as I need to be in 2 or 3 places at once. I doubt she knows how to handle people well enough for that, though."</p> <p>"She doesn't, no," Diana nodded, "hard work. Assembly line, material handling, cutting, fitting, pulling wire..ready hands if somewhat worn down body."</p> <p>"Worn down isn't the word for it after a few weeks with you," Regina said with a smile, sitting to Diana's immediate right and holding Hermes' hand. Diana reached out to hold her other hand and they squeezed them together.</p> <p>"Yes, you do, beloved. Now, what's my schedule for Greece?"</p> <p>"You leave tomorrow morning from the spaceport, I have a private pilot going to DFW who can drop you off there. Then you connect to Atlanta, then direct flight."</p> <p>Diana closed her eyes and nodded her head softly.</p> <p>"Effectively 9 days, if I hit the ground running," she said more to herself than anyone. Then she opened them to look at her family.</p> <p>Ares let go of Tamara's hand and shifted to pull a bottle out of his pocket and put it on the table by Diana.</p> <p>"I got you a month worth of drug used to allow pilots to stay awake continuously. Our metabolism doesn't see it as a poison, but I would take the recommendation of necessary sleep for at least 8 hours every week as mandatory. Solid, single block of sleep time. You can sleep and deeply with this medication as well."</p> <p>Diana reached over to take up the bottle, examined it, saw that it was made out to her current name and by a doctor she knew in the spaceport. She slid those in the pocket of her jeans. Then she sipped at her coffee.</p> <p>"You're cutting it tight," Brent said softly.</p> <p>Diana nodded.</p> <p>"Bankruptcy, nosy reporter, and all the little things that get in the way of going forward. I will try to cut some corners as I know my ways of finding her are effective, and I will just be putting in long night hours then daylight ones, to try and close in while she is asleep and then keep keen watch for her during the day."</p> <p>"You'll run yourself ragged," Regina said, still holding her hand.</p> <p>"I will deadhead on the way up to drop...we still have that going, yes? Or has that been another Foxtrot that I don't know about?"</p> <p>"That is going well, sister," Hermes said, "we have the hot spare Athena II ready to go and the Ascentech field crew have finished going over the ALV-III that they have worked on from its drop last month. The next one in line ahead of it is going for the last of the engine pods and the environmental cabin. After all the hiccups, swearing and hunting down of parts or scrambling to get new ones, we are now on schedule. Mel dragged half her crew with her to get everything finished here, and then we begin expansion in earnest while we wait for replacement engines."</p> <p>"Oh, that's wonderful!" Diana said softly, "Thank you, all of you, for doing that for them."</p> <p>"They deserve, my sister," Hermes said, "besides it makes good sense and we need to consolidate."</p> <p>Regina and Brent nodded.</p> <p>"Ray will be putting up another 3 billets right after the Meridian," Ares said.</p> <p>Diana looked at him and inhaled, then exhaled slowly.</p> <p>"You really are going to fly that thing, then?" Diana whispered.</p> <p>Ares looked at Tamara and they both nodded.</p> <p>"It's necessary," Tamara said, "I'm getting some word from the contractor grapevine, just hushed right now, but someone, somewhere has taken a good look at Highflight and Ascentech."</p> <p>"We think it is mil-side," Ares said, "so the Meridian has been gotten into prep to flight stage, fully outfitted, everything we can test is tested. It can latch into the ALV-III, the WorkPlat or either OASIS. Static powered tests give us a confirmed compression bubble and for loitering a low power Mach-Woodward effect for thrusterless station keeping. We don't want to risk a ground based ascent with the first of its kind, so an ALV-III drop is necessary."</p> <p>"He's right," Brent said, "this is one of those things where no one knows just what the electrostatic compression effect is doing, but it does something to space and it may be some interplay between virtual energy and dark matter. What little has been looked at is speculative, at best, crack-pot at worse, yet the effect is there."</p> <p>Diana shook her head slightly as she looked around the table.</p> <p>"It is beyond me," she said, "I could never have designed any of this, and just know how to use it and do the repairs and restocking."</p> <p>"Can you really get her to the airshow?" Regina asked.</p> <p>"I'm not giving my word, Regina, save that I will do anything to get her into the CTD suit and into the Athena II loaded inside the ALV-III. If I can't then we reset and try again. By then we will have Meridian in orbit and Ray will have 9 shots in case he needs them. Of the few things that can stop us, only one we really have no immediate say over, and that is solar weather. What does it look like?"</p> <p>"Last check, a few hours ago, that near equator grouping is coming around and will be on the facing part of the sun tomorrow. We will be at least on solar warning throughout this," Brent said, "and probably solar watch during the week to 10 days that group will take to transition our portion of the ecliptic."</p> <p>"What's its output now?" Ares asked.</p> <p>"Mostly some slow alpha particles and a few betas with it, barely ticking up above standard background. It will be transiting through a slower group on the solar northern hemisphere about the time Meridian flies and the OASIS/WorkPlat is approaching the Moon. Some worries there, but that should be above the orbital plane. Even a strong CME from that would pass above the Earth and just leave us with a scattering of trailing particles, nothing a storm shelter couldn't handle for the few hours of it."</p> <p>Diana shrugged.</p> <p>"If my twin were still with us, I would have no fear. Now I just understand it and know that there is nothing that can be done about it. Now I am tired and I would like to steal Regina for the rest of the evening, if everyone is fine with that?"</p> <p>Hermes smiled and nodded.</p> <p>"Go ahead," he said, "the rest of us will be heading off to bed, too."</p> <p>Ares looked at Tamara.</p> <p>"I'll get Kyle, and then I'm driving. Hermes can send someone around with my car in the morning."</p> <p>By then Regina and Diana had carefully gotten up and walked out of the room to the rear, heading for the stairs.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Regina closed the door as she came into the room and stepped forward to hug Diana.</p> <p>"I missed you," Regina said softly.</p> <p>"And I, you," Diana said holding her.</p> <p>Slowly they pulled apart and Regina looked at Diana.</p> <p>"Diana I had to..." she shook and closed her eyes.</p> <p>"What? Beloved, what's wrong?"</p> <p>Looking at Diana, Regina couldn't help feeling awful.</p> <p>"I told them, Diana."</p> <p>Diana looked at her and then led Regina to the sofa in the room and sat with her.</p> <p>"Told who about what?" she asked.</p> <p>Regina pressed her lips together, then licked them.</p> <p>"Our family about... the native story you took me to. It's was because Karl could see Athena on Jasmine's computer screen."</p> <p>Blinking twice, Diana looked at Regina.</p> <p>"Hold on a moment... Karl... Karl Odistold? He saw...but...how?"</p> <p>"Jasmine was working on trying to get a 3D model built up of Athena and just left the image up on her tablet display as she worked on it with her notebook system. Karl walked in...it was morning and she was in the break room at Highflight...and mentioned the pretty woman on the screen and asked who she was. Jasmine said she was your cousin and Karl just took that and said maybe he could bug you for a date with her."</p> <p>"He...ahh..." Diana looked confused and emotions were obviously working through her because she smiled, chuckled, look confused, shivered and just didn't know what to make of this.</p> <p>"He said he was struck by lightning while he was in Germany, trying to get a Zundapp for his girlfriend back in California. He kept the smoking boots with him for a long time. Even has a local newspaper clipping showing where he was struck near the town square."</p> <p>Closing her eyes tightly Diana shifted her head slowly back and forth.</p> <p>"Struck by lightning?" she finally whispered.</p> <p>"Yes. I remember that story pretty far back with him, too. Said it turned him prematurely gray," Regina said softly.</p> <p>Diana opened her eyes and looked at her. "Could he be...? No, wait, you told..." She bowed her head down and Regina shifted closer to her and held her.</p> <p>Diana shifted and put her head on Regina's shoulder, holding her tightly. She could feel tears on her shirt as Diana sobbed, and gently Regina leaned back so they could rest against the back of the sofa.</p> <p>"So close..." Diana whispered, "...I'm so ashamed, Regina. I never meant..."</p> <p>"Our brother, Dionysus, said that he knew wild women and that, after...what happened...there was a woman leading the Wild Hunt."</p> <p>Diana clutched her hard and cried openly, sobs wracking her body.</p> <p>"I never thought...so much...could never be..." Diana tried to say.</p> <p>Slowly stroking her back and holding her, Regina shifted a hand up to the back of Diana's head, fingers spreading out and slowly stroking.</p> <p>"You aren't to blame, Diana. They brought that upon themselves. And others sought you for revenge, didn't they?"</p> <p>Diana nodded.</p> <p>"So many...just red with...wild...uncaring...hunt them anywhere. So many hunts."</p> <p>Pressing her cheek against Diana's head, Regina held her, stroking her hair as she cried.</p> <p>"It ended, though. Its over. You're here, now."</p> <p>"Yes," Diana gasped, "over, dissipated, spent...no force to sustain it. No more wolves to run with, nor lions or tigers, hyenas, jaguars, not a single hunt left on any land. They would find those...who threatened me...and I...Artemis was no more. I'm what's left after all the power and beauty got ripped from all peoples by me."</p> <p>Gently, she kissed Diana's cheek and pulled slightly away and Diana could not look at her, had her forehead still on her shoulder.</p> <p>"You are left, and you are more a sister than my own sister. And a lover unlike any other. I can't know that time you went through. But I do know you."</p> <p>"It was evil of him to want me still alive, but fallen," Diana whispered lifting her head up to look at Regina, "death is preferable to that. I had no reason left to live, Regina, and just wanted the pain to stop...and all I had coming to me were those seeking to inflict more upon me. Use me. I lost all reason and nothing can make up for what I did."</p> <p>Softly, Regina smiled.</p> <p>"You want to save our sister, free her from a worse place than you were in. To do that you have made many lives richer and opened up a future for all of us. For that you repay in ways far beyond what there was that my generation and for many generations could never know. We all understand what happened, Diana. And love you knowing that is what happened."</p> <p>Slowly Diana shifted and Regina shifted to get a box of tissues from the table beside the sofa.</p> <p>"Thank you, sister," Diana said taking tissues out so that she could dab at her eyes and blow her nose, then drop the used ones behind her on the sofa. After a few rounds of that, she finally regained some composure and shook her head. "I would do it alone if I could have Regina. Never sought out those I suspected to still be alive. I will never, ever be...with a Wild Hunt or lose to wildness like it. I am forever haunted by that time."</p> <p>Regina brought her hands up to cup Diana's face and leaned forward to kiss her, softly.</p> <p>"In loving you are loved, and will always be," she said and Diana closed her eyes, lips trembling, "and, somehow, our sister will be released from bondage, for you have brought us together for that, and our love with you will be complete on that happy day. I love you, Diana. I can never know Artemis, but you are the one I love."</p> <p>"I love you, Regina...help me through this night and tomorrow, the time for release begins."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Can you see the rod yet?" Jasmine called out across the nearly completed section of the ALV-III container to Marissa.</p> <p>"Yes, the red dot is a few feet from me," she said looking into the conduit opening where the cover had been swung away to reveal a mass of cables destined for various parts of the system.</p> <p>"Does it look hung up on anything?"</p> <p>Using a small light wand she took from her belt, she looked into the conduit.</p> <p>"Its going between 2 other cables, one green and the other orange," Marissa called out. In less than 3 hours she went from barely awake and missing Diana who had already left for her flight connections to being picked up by Tamara Culpepper as she dropped her husband and son off, and took Marissa off to Highflight. They were on a deadline and needed every spare hand to get the last of the cabling and tubing installed. After that, then start the process of testing out the circuits and checking for leaks in the fluid and air systems. In front of her a man and a woman were still welding wall sections to what would be the floor while just to her right 3 people were shifting interior ceiling panels into their spaces and then bolting them down. She got assigned to Jasmine to help her get the last control systems for the air cycling system that fed into the necessary panels so that there would be multiple back-up stations to operate the system in case of a breach in one or more compartments.</p> <p>"OK, I'm going to pull it out. Let me know if it snags one of the cables while I'm doing that."</p> <p>"All right."</p> <p>She had a scant breakfast of two eggs, a slice of toast, a cup of coffee and an apple, which was about twice what she had for breakfast while staying with Diana in Alaska. Her job was a relatively simple one of making sure that wires got fed through the conduit cleanly, then putting a label on them as she used a tool to crimp on a connector and then use a small torch to heat seal it, but only after doing an end-to-end test with Jasmine. This was the 7th set of cables she had been working on, and after two more it would allow for the panels to be tested.</p> <p>That was for someone else to do, while she and Jasmine went to the next conduit and repeated the process.</p> <p>The work wasn't that hard, but required concentration as well as being mindful of who was doing what nearby you. She had already gotten one shower of sparks to her face when she forgot to put the face-shield down when welding had started near her for a wall panel.</p> <p>Due to the amount of work needed to be done there were only 2 shifts which required some shuffling by everyone to keep things moving. She was used to working sun up to sun down, or even for longer in the land of the midnight sun, but that was a land without heavy equipment, high voltage welding systems, a variety of foams, metals and adhesives coming into play along with carbon fiber tubes and marts to serve as insulation and protect structural members. It would only be in an hour when they finished with this feed run for cables that she and Jasmine would take a break that Marissa would realize that the entire structure with boost engines, the delivery engines, along with living environmental space would all be in orbit in 5 days. Two days after that, Diana would be riding an Athena II inside an ALV-III to get dropped out so she could pilot a vessel to the OASIS I and then guide that to the WorkPlat and move it out of its current orbit and both systems start on an orbit to the Moon.</p> <p>Diana's life wouldn't depend on this system, but someone's might. And that someone else might just be herself. Marissa wanted to feel sorry for herself, that she had been abandoned or snubbed or jilted. Her mind wasn't up to that task, not any more. Her writing career ended as of her last real pieces 3 months ago and now she couldn't even remember what it they were about. Now she was one of the crew helping to get one of the largest pieces of space infrastructure up and running, and with that awareness there was another feeling that she felt inside of herself. She couldn't name it, not immediately, but it felt very good to her and it allowed her to concentrate and start to press fatigue to the side as the long day of crouching, crawling, reaching into conduits, avoiding heavy machinery, protecting herself from nearby welders or those fitting panels together...it was another feeling that she had never felt before. Even with such a small role in the affair, she could see she was miking a difference, not a key nor critical difference, but one that was part of something vital.</p> <p>There would be only a short meal and then crashing on a cot for rest until just an hour before the next shift. Fun would be absent this day. The work, however, was becoming its own reward.</p> <p>And she still missed Diana.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>She placed the freshly killed mouse down next to the string bag of carefully packaged foods and then crouched under a ledge in the wall to keep an eye on spot next to the rock that was an old thing of importance now forgotten by all, save those who remembered. A magnetic compass would deflect badly, here, but beyond that there was nothing else to recommend the large boulder that ages past had jagged edges and now was worn smooth. It had been worn smooth even before it was placed there and the fact that there was a park that contained it was no accident.</p> <p>The ancient city center let her know that she who was of this place was still here, and that meant looking for the brackish spring and then the place of the first olive tree. From there she came to here, the first of places outside the city that brought her forth to them in that misty time of her own childhood where she had stepped out from being someone normal, to being that which was of the wilderness. In black jeans, green tunic, and carrying a bow in slim case and capped quiver she looked to be some strange teenager who had affectations about her, and in a city such persons only garner passing attention as they do not look like anyone who is dangerous. Her bow was made in the ancient way, and was checked as a modern handcraft made in that way and it was given to her by a craftsman some years ago. The same with the arrows, and with those certificates and mild bribes, she was once more hunting in the old spaces between places that were now all simply places.</p> <p>By day she would ascend into highrises, towers, and any high place that allowed her to observe the movements of mankind in the city. By twilight she had determined this place to still have some vestige of attraction for what was and left her offering to the memory of the city, the owls who knew. On the first night she had encountered a cat going for an easy meal, and she had to have a stern talking to it so that it understood not to bother here for some few nights. It listened, understood and purred as it could feel the attachment of her to all wild things and in attempting to tame cats mankind had introduced a link to the wilderness into their society. In its own ways, that none would ever understand, the message would go out to all of its kind and kin, that this space is to be left free of prowling for a few nights, because She That Hunted was there. The second night was empty, and fresh kill attracted nothing. She had wandered farther and faster that prior day to the second night, hired a helicopter for some hours to traverse the southern city from west to east. Unfortunately, there was only one shifting of crowds that might be of her passage, but the pilot could find no place to land nearby and when she was on the ground she could find no evidence of that which she sought. The third day did, finally, yield up signs in the way of spent shell casings, one along the harbor front which appeared to be out for some time, but another amongst the ruins of a shack just to the other side of it and it was fresher.</p> <p>She jogged without sweating, without fear and with great purpose, the knife she had purchased locally being a beautifully crafted thing with well worn handle and keen steel, purchased for a pittance. It was there she asked if there were anyone who knew about firearms in the vicinity and that led her to a shop, a gunsmith, an Olympic marksman, a local shooter, a collector, then a historian with a possible lead and the end of the day and she hurried to be back by twilight to replace the mouse and food. On this third night, she waited for the sun to finally set and was rewarded with the flutter of wings and one of the owls come to inspect that which it had espied.</p> <p>"No cats here," she whispered in the soft hooting that gained attention. It turned to look at her and blinked. And blinked again.</p> <p>"For my sister," she said in soft hoots and it bobbed its head once, then ate the mouse swallowing it whole.</p> <p>"Lead me if you will," she crouched and shifted from foot to foot, bobbing her head and the owl bobbed its in return. Hopping to the handles of the string bag, it grasped the light load and took to the air, the flutter of its wings and jostling of the tin of sardines against small glass jars something that she could hear. With that she ran, vaulting over walls, dashing down boulevards, easily clearing fences meant for privacy with simple vaults with two hands and a back flip. This was no wilderness but it was no longer the city in its prime, but now waning towards decadence and decay. As it expanded it decayed and the unrest of the recent years showed just what was in store for the city entire in the near future. She avoided the few lights, barged through gangs that didn't even know she was coming and couldn't identify where she had gone, and any so unfortunate as to come out to stop her or grab her soon found a knife slash as their ample and earned reward. This night keen hearing of the city heading towards sleep had an avid follower and if any had fear of the night, then she was that fear manifest as the light skinned woman hunting the streets by night.</p> <p>Finally, a glint of light showed the owl going to a courtyard and depositing the bag on an enclosed patio. It then sat on the edge of it and as she turned the corner she looked up to see light and a shadow in motion. A sprint to steps, a hand on a drainpipe, another step on the first story wall and letting go and regaining a hand-hold on the pipe, then a vault to the edge of the second story wall and she landed with two feet, one on either side of the bag.</p> <p>The old man seem startled, and had on a dark shirt and pants, with small golden cross dangling from his neck. His slippers were worn and the air from the apartment spoke of the tea of the highlands.</p> <p>"Oh, my, how did you get up here?" he asked.</p> <p>She stood and bowed her head as she looked at him.</p> <p>"I'm looking for a woman and the owl led me to you."</p> <p>He blinked as he stepped forward to peer at this strange, vibrant older girl or young woman, who was at once both attractive and strange in ways he couldn't name.</p> <p>"She of the flowing black hair?" he asked softly.</p> <p>She nodded with intense blue eyes staring at him and a slight smile on her lips.</p> <p>"The very one," she whispered, "time is running short. I'm here for her, but she is hidden in plain sight and very hard to find."</p> <p>"You...are you Death?" he whispered.</p> <p>She shook her head from side to side, chuckling.</p> <p>"No. Just her sister. I call myself Diana now. You may know me by another name."</p> <p>He shivered as he looked at her.</p> <p>"But...you can't be real..." he whispered, "You don't exist or are some evil thing that only looks like a young woman."</p> <p>She smiled broadly and chuckled. She offered her arm out.</p> <p>"Care to pinch me? Oh, and the tea smells delicious, too! I've been trying to find her for 3 days and while I got one possible lead from a firearms historian earlier today but haven't had a chance to follow that up. The owl was much more willing to help and got me to you. Had to talk the cats out of the vicinity, of course, not much love lost between owls and cats. Dogs, too, though not as much acrimony, but they are much easier to deal with with a few pats, strokes and looking into earnest eyes to tell them I'm around. They aren't as handy with information, though."</p> <p>"You talk to animals?" he asked softly.</p> <p>"Sure. Everyone does. That isn't the problem, really. Getting them to listen?" she sighed, shaking her head slowly.</p> <p>He chuckled and reached his hand out to her.</p> <p>"I'm Father Andre Nikkopolous," he said and felt her warm right hand gently grasp his.</p> <p>"Diana. Diana Sherwood. Pilot with Highflight and Ascentech, certified for ALV-I and Athena-I and II aerospacecraft. I'm here for the airshow, more or less."</p> <p>His eyes grew quizzical as he gestured for her to come in. She picked up the string bag of food and handed it out, but he said to leave it there in case the owl returns. She nodded and was more than happy to do that, and she smiled as she looked at his front room and looked at where he had been sitting with the pot of tea on the shelf beside the small writing desk.</p> <p>"Please, sit down," he said, "and let me get another cup so you can have some tea."</p> <p>She unslung her bow case and capped quiver and set them down in front of the desk as she sat in the padded chair on the other side of it.</p> <p>"They never fail me," she whispered and smiled softly as she looked around the room. She was used to hunts taking strange turns, and had come out the survivor if not winner of every one of them. She did have many regrets, of course, but once on the hunt she applied her skills honed first by power and then by necessity and then by craft until it became something that was none of those and wholly her own thing. At least this turn was merely strange and wasn't likely to get her thrown into a volcano or into some prison camp some place, she was pretty sure of that, but even those were just obstacles to her.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"And we have drop in 5...4...3...2...doors opening...1...extension...drop. ALV-III drop is successful and ALV-III turning to port," Alice said over the main system which was being heard not just at the shack she was in at the spaceport but also at Ascentech and Highflight.</p> <p>"Booster system has ignited, and the WorkPlat engine pods are now ascending at 3g and will throttle up to 10g in another one minute," Kevin said as he watched his screen intently.</p> <p>Harry Nordhaus leaned forward to look at the two screens.</p> <p>"ALV-II drop in 5...4...3...2...doors opening...1...extension...drop. ALV-II drop is successful and ALV-II turning to starboard," Alice said.</p> <p>"Booster system ignited, and the Lunar accelerator station and equipment is now ascending at 5g continuous."</p> <p>"Both ALV's are now on scheduled course, ascending to and will return using minimal fuel course. All systems are green. No damage registered to either one. Handing over to automated tracking system."</p> <p>Alice flicked her system over to the ALV-II pod tracking.</p> <p>"ALV-III pod now at 10g," Kevin said, "tracking is positive at full boost level. Thank you to Highflight for getting this done on schedule!"</p> <p>"Amen," Harry said, looking between the two and then sliding his chair back to bring up his tablet system, and called up Ray's feed from Ascentech.</p> <p>"Ray the ALV-III with the Athena-II for the airshow will be loaded in an hour," he said, "and it will be doing a 50,000 foot ferry to Greece and then be ready to come down for a refueling there."</p> <p>"Glad to hear that, Harry," Ray said, "how are the other two coming along?"</p> <p>Harry brought up his schedule and looked at the tracking for the other two vehicles.</p> <p>"The ALV-I advanced system is currently being fueled and will be ready in 6 hours after final check. The ALV-II is en-route with the show pod, and will arrive tomorrow for the Greek authorities to check it over at the aerodrome."</p> <p>Ray looked off-screen for a moment and nodded at something, then turned back to Harry.</p> <p>"Has all the paperwork been done for the ALV-III arrival? It isn't a passenger craft, as such, but I know we've had hassles with picking Diana up there."</p> <p>Harry chuckled for a moment.</p> <p>"She passed through customs 3 days ago and they will have a customs station set up at the aerodrome when she leaves. Just an official with a stamp pad. Everything else she wanted will be prechecked and packed, save the the CTD which will be put on as technical equipment."</p> <p>Ray smiled.</p> <p>"I don't know what you had to do to get that through, Harry. I'll be leaving here tomorrow. Status of the receiving and check crew?"</p> <p>Looking at his schedule and then at Kevin who looked over his shoulder and gave a thumbs up.</p> <p>"Kevin will be leaving here as soon as the pod is docked and locked, which is about 10 hours from now. About half of the air show ground crew is en route or leaving in a few hours and the rest will leave after the next ALV-III gets its primary check done in two days."</p> <p>"God this is a busy schedule, Harry," Ray said.</p> <p>"Yes, it is, Ray. Aaron sent over the framing rig for their drop, which looks like a heavily beefed up Athena II rig. We made sure the cargo system can take up to 120% of its actual rating, but outside of that structural steel load a couple of years ago, this is the first thing to go to the last pound of that capacity."</p> <p>Ray shook his head.</p> <p>"Did they give a name for it? Or is it still just a private drop number with us?"</p> <p>Harry checked the prep list and the drop number was still there, but it now had a provisional title for release.</p> <p>"It's called 'Peppermint Candy Drop #1'," Harry said chuckling.</p> <p>"Peppermint..." Ray started laughing, "Yes, I can see all the peppermint drops filling that hold... and nowhere near reaching that capacity. That's just his way of saying 'mind your own damned business'."</p> <p>Harry nodded.</p> <p>"After the ALV-III lift at the air show, Kevin will be coming back and taking leave," Harry said softly looking at Kevin who just nodded.</p> <p>"Yes, he is in on it, I know," Ray said, "Aaron has the expertise he needs to build something and the resources to do it, too. But they don't have a company of any sort, so I can't even know just who has invested in it. The prep crew will be the first to see it."</p> <p>Harry inhaled trying to imagine just what was going up in that load and failing.</p> <p>"By the time the show closes we should have some idea, Ray," Harry said.</p> <p>"Don't count on in, Harry. I was always wondering just how fast that junk storehouse was going to fill up out there, but I never thought that it would be a construction shack."</p> <p>Harry chuckled.</p> <p>"Well, we did want to provide space on the cheap, Ray. And keeping that place going is about as low cost as you can get. Low overhead, too. And since its not a normal production facility, you know what that means."</p> <p>"Likely to get them killed," Ray said.</p> <p>"You think that with the people involved? To me there is only one thing coming out of a place like that with the people on that part-time team doing the work. And that is rugged. Fail safe. Durable. If it can come together there and work, then it will likely take the worst that they can think of being thrown at it."</p> <p>He looked at Kevin who gave no indication of hearing him and was leaning forward giving updates on the ascent of the WorkPlat engine systems Alice just looked at Harry and shook her head from side to side.</p> <p>"Won't work, Harry," she said softly.</p> <p>"Then we will take it as it comes," Ray said, "and I agree with you, Harry. I've gotten used to surprises, and I really do hate surprises, but that is life."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>He poured the tea out for his guest and watched her as she looked around the room at his shelved books and other materials</p> <p>"There is honey and lemon on the shelf," he said softly as he refreshed his tea cup and took the prior pot back to the kitchen.</p> <p>"Thanks, but the tea is fine on its own," she said as he finished dumping out the cold remains of the prior pot, sorted out the leaves and put them into the trash. After that he took down a small box of sugar cookies and carefully stacked a half-dozen on small plate and walked in with them, set them down on the desk and shifted his materials to a drawer. With a quick prayer he then looked at her as he picked up a cookie and nibbled at it.</p> <p>"So you're...Diana? Artemis?"</p> <p>She shrugged as she picked up a cookie and took small bites from it.</p> <p>"Artemis died some time ago, at least the best of her. I'm what's left," she said setting the cookie down on the saucer of the tea cup. "You're a priest, I take it?"</p> <p>He nodded, sipping his tea.</p> <p>"The last time I tried to talk with a priest I found myself drawn, quartered and thrown into a fire in the forest. By the time my body reorganized those who chased me were long gone. It was not a pleasant experience, let me tell you."</p> <p>He set his tea cup down, and the cookie on the saucer and looked at her.</p> <p>"I find that hard to believe," he said softly.</p> <p>She shrugged and smiled.</p> <p>"And yet I was only teaching children simple ways to survive in the forest, the fields, what to pick, what not to pick, how to hand catch fish... for that I was a witch or demon or worse. I would have preferred it if they hadn't come after me, really. But if you can't teach children about herbs, fruits, vegetables, fish and game, then you really have little chance to teach anyone about upland rains and flash floods. They would have been perfectly safe if they just hadn't hunted me down, you know?"</p> <p>He leaned forward to look at her and she just gazed at him.</p> <p>"You do perspire," he said softly.</p> <p>She nodded. "And I can do a fair amount with an axe in chopping down trees, too. These modern steel composites are very good, if needing a bit more sharpening, but that is only because no one really does much of the actual chopping by hand anymore."</p> <p>He chuckled, nodding and leaned back.</p> <p>"I know you must have thought I was some sort of demon or devil or some such when I arrived here," she said picking up the tea cup to take a sip, "But you obviously thought otherwise. Really I'm not here to steal your soul...I couldn't even find it if I had to or you put it on a silver platter for me...and it wouldn't help me get anything done and, lets just say that Nature keeps me as I am just as it does my sister. That is a quick conclusion to come to, really."</p> <p>It was an implied question and he took it as such.</p> <p>"The sneakers," he said looking at her sneakers, "they are worn-in, well used, look to be comfortable, and you wear them easily."</p> <p>She raised her eyebrows and looked down at her running shoes.</p> <p>"Too much broken glass in cities to go with even thin leather soles, and barefoot is just too painful to think about. I can't run on concrete and pavement like I can even through mud or fields or across desert sands."</p> <p>"A devil would be wearing new shoes, I think. A demon wouldn't have to climb up a drainpipe. So that really does discount those sorts, plus taking tea with a priest would be something they would shy away from. Add to that not coming here about me or even yourself, but the Blessed Virgin of the City..." he stopped short as she raised her eyebrows.</p> <p>"So THAT'S what is keeping her trapped here..." she said in a very soft tone and slowly shook her head as she set the teacup down.</p> <p>"How do you mean?"</p> <p>She pressed her lips together and looked at him with a sad expression.</p> <p>"The love of her still is here. Yet this love can only sustain, it cannot heal. She needs to heal so she can get a future, a real future."</p> <p>"I did suspect that, well, something had happened to her. I mean after the revolver was brought to a parishioner and then she brought it to me..."</p> <p>Diana sat back and looked at him, thinking. And then nodded.</p> <p>"She probably only puts a hundred or so rounds through it a year. Does regular cleaning, part of the observed knowledge and innate knowledge she has, I guess. I was never able to figure that out. And once a decade it needs a good inspection...and you did that, right?"</p> <p>He nodded.</p> <p>"I brought in an expert to identify it and check it over. He said it had been well maintained, frequently but not heavily carried, and that the leather needed some conditioning."</p> <p>"You had that done, right?"</p> <p>"Of course. I traced it through a British museum and I consider it, well, an artifact used to liberate Greece."</p> <p>"Thank you," she whispered and looked at him, "and you put it out for it to be returned, right? Can't really explain why, either?"</p> <p>"Yes, I did. I had no rational reason to do it..."</p> <p>"It's hers and she is of the city," Diana said, "and you are in her city, or at least what's left of it. You would have no choice but to return it."</p> <p>He was startled at this and now pieces of the puzzle which should have been obvious to him, clearly included in with the few pieces he thought he had, were now fitting into place.</p> <p>"How do you know this?"</p> <p>"This isn't my first time to find her, Father Nikkopolous," she said softly.</p> <p>"Father Andre, please Or just Andre."</p> <p>"Thank you, Fr. Andre. I can't take civilization or cities for long, and always need some break to the wilderness like getting Ascentech the help it needed to, ah, get off the ground. After a week or two of being with her..." she sucked in her lips "...I just can't take it. I love her too much to wish to see her blow her brains out every few days. Or kill herself in some other quite grisly fashion, to be overlooked by everyone while her body reincorporates as it was, the Lethe still in her."</p> <p>"How did she get like that, Diana?"</p> <p>"That is a long story, Andre. Let's just say that we stood up with the woman who had been like a mother to so many of us, to get our father to reform. Things didn't go well. So many..." Diana shivered looking at him, "...understand that my father is not your Father, yes?"</p> <p>"Yes," he said closing his eyes and whispering before looking at her once more.</p> <p>"She of the City who came from his very mind, with the best part of it, she stood with me, my brother, my cousins...and she was blown far away from the Mount, into a desert, and knew she would be his main target, the one who could deal with him if any of us could. By the time he arrived he had taken powers from others and the arms and equipment to fight her. She was wise in choosing a place he could get no allies to, and made it between them and only them. He had devastated the Underworld, changed the courses of rivers unseen, and they fought so as to split open a mountain and he fought her back into there where she could not defend herself so well. His blows crippled her, his lightning returned powers to him, and with her shattered head, he left her to drain into the Lethe. She was saved at least enough to recover, but the Lethe is still in her."</p> <p>Sitting back he watched how Diana wasn't looking at him but at some other place, some distant time and saw the emotions run across her face.</p> <p>"What happened...to you?" he whispered.</p> <p>She came back to the present and her face softened.</p> <p>"Nothing good, and some very bad, then I went savage until the savagery burnt itself out. I am not important at this point, Andre. My father couldn't kill my sister because she was of him in total. Kill her and he killed himself, so he had to cut off her power, cut her ties and hope that she would slip into the Underworld without him."</p> <p>Andre nodded and turned to sip his tea as he thought about that.</p> <p>"Please, Diana," he started, "it is hard for me to accept that you..."</p> <p>"Father Andre, I'm not asking for your acceptance. Worshipers are useless to me. My life is as unending as hers, but I can at least know who I am, what I've done, why it was done to me, why I took the actions I did, and deal with them. I can't grow up, though, unless I can cut the bonds that tie me to this life, and she to hers. We are both just human, but were invested with simple powers, simple abilities, but for all of that at some distant time, we were just human although of the Olympian variety."</p> <p>"You seek to...kill her?"</p> <p>Diana shook her head negatively.</p> <p>"I seek to free us to live out a normal life span, Father Andre. I have looked far and wide, across all the continents, even the frozen one, investigated tombs, talked with people who are ancient beyond what we know through their writings, and yet there is no cure for this. Lava won't kill me. Lightning outside of my father's hands, won't send me to death. Even the most modern of weapons only means a few days of reintegration as Nature puts the body together to bring me back whole. If not down, that leaves up. Out of the grasp of the Earth-Moon system and further if need be. I hope that out of that grasp we will sever the ties that keep us to perpetual integration until the sun dies and the Earth with it."</p> <p>That stunned him as he had grown used to the news from America of the strange companies seeking to expand out into space, and next to the ones with megabucks, the small ones seeking simpler things had really escaped his attention. Right up to some months ago, or a year or two ago, he couldn't pin it down, when private companies were starting to put up things in orbit not meant for research, not meant for observation or telecom use, but to begin producing things in orbit and then living there.</p> <p>"Why are you telling me this?" he whispered</p> <p>She shrugged and sipped at the tea, then took bites out of the cookie to finish it.</p> <p>"Who would believe you, Father Andre? You, for helping my sister, deserve some answers. I am just waiting for the echoes of a gun shot. Then I can ask the dogs which way to go, see which way the cats are looking and follow the owls to where she has fallen in yet another attempt to blow the Lethe from her mind. She can't heal here. But my fervent hope is that she can in space. And me, too. You have no idea what it is to live like this being so close to being human and yet so very, very, very far away."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Marissa was out like a light the day they got the WorkPlat system buttoned up and delivered, and she was on the delivery team to get the container into the ALV-III. The 6 to 6 shift system had broken down on the first day and by midnight she was asleep on her feet and told where to crash for the night. At 5 AM she woke up, her sore body demanding some attention and she took a shower, dropped over at the common break room and found most of the machines had been emptied and boxes of Meals Ready to Eat stacked up and opened along the wall next to the machines. She just took one from a box, not caring what was in it and only remembered half-way through the less than appetizing egg dish that it could be heated up in the microwave once it was out of its packet. The bread, at least, was edible and the coffee brewer was filled at the main kitchen and as people filtered in they all made use of it and someone got the next pot going.</p> <p>By 6 AM she was more or less awake with aching muscles, sore knees, and had to stretch herself to get the kinks out of her back. Karl helped her for awhile and asked if she would like to do more than pulling wire and checking circuits, and she thought that would be great. So she got an impromptu lesson on MIG welding on some scrap aluminum and when she had satisfactory welds she was put on the floor welding and clean-up group, who would have people double-checking their work after they had basic welds finished. With the helmet, gloves, thick shirt, apron and sweatband she was put to work and a half-hour in Karl stopped her and handed her a water bottle and checked over her work and had her go over a few spots where the join wasn't that good.</p> <p>"No worries, take your time, no rush. Do a good job and the double-checkers can get done faster. A good place to learn the basics and we just need the basics right now. I need someone to help out Dennis with the air-handling system and right now I have two exhausted welders. I don't care how long they take since that is vital."</p> <p>In just 3 hours she was welding together ducting for the air-handling system and helping to get it fitted, and since she had the crimpers in her tool belt still, she was also putting on the final plugs to the fans, and hooking them in. Others were still snaking tubing and piping between the walls, while still others were getting the access boxes installed where they needed to go for each system. When her team with Dennis finished one compartment, the next group would move in to start putting in panels, fittings and make sure that there was enough insulation and other materials put in place for those sections that would be completely sealed off. Dennis gave them all a break at noon and at the kitchen Marissa found his wife Gemma, Herman Lassiter and Regina Lassiter fixing meals. The vending machines had been resupplied, the MRE boxes were put in the back, and there was some variety to eat from cold sub sandwiches to hot mac and cheese to roast beef and potatoes, with the roast beef being under a hot lamp and Herman making up plates to order. It smelled too good to resist and when she got there she had a few slices of the roast beef, some small boiled potatoes, coleslaw and a corn muffin, along with a large mug of coffee.</p> <p>As she sat down, Karl walked into the room.</p> <p>"The engine section is done, everyone!" he called out and there were a lot of cheers from the work crews.</p> <p>"Nuada's doing the last check of the systems there, but I trust your work. That means the #1 Engine crew gets to move on to the tanking fittings and hook-up system for the WorkPlat. Those are in the big green truck at the side of the building and need to be carried in. Engine #2 crew goes to the fitting area along the seam to get the rigging and breakaways installed, then help on the finishing up of the crew section. The electronics crew, and you all know who you are, will be putting in the panels, doing circuit tests from the major hot points, and going through all the functions on all completed sections, which includes the hook-up to the engine pods. I need good work, not sloppy work. If you're exhausted, sack out. No fuck-ups allowed. Just tell me, or your crew chief or Nuada and out you go for shut-eye. Got it?"</p> <p>Marissa nodded and there were various forms of assent from 'yah' to simple grunts to nods like hers.</p> <p>"Good! I don't want work leaders calling out for specialized work, its too noisy as it is in there. So if you are available, get your name onto the big board by the side work bench and you'll probably get the wave in a few seconds. This is the big push to deadline, so the work schedule is gone. Sleep when you need it, eat when you need it, take a break when you need it and keep everyone informed. Once this bitch is out the door, then I'll need a transfer crew and everyone else gets a rest."</p> <p>A muted cheer went up and then Karl strode over to Gemma, and was handed a sub, with a pickle, potato chips and a large glass of some cold, dark liquid. He looked around and gave her a nod, and she nodded back and in a few steps he was at the table.</p> <p>"Doing good work, Marissa," he said as he started eating his sandwich, which most mostly cold cuts with just a few bits of greenery sprinkled in and some sort of oil and vinegar dripping from the bread.</p> <p>"Thank you, Karl," she said, "I'm new here and have never done anything like this before in my life."</p> <p>Karl nodded as he put the sub down and wiped his mouth, before taking a swig from his liquid.</p> <p>"Yah, Tamara let Nuada know and you got stuck with the scut work yesterday. Well, needed to be done, that. Good hand with the MIG system, only a couple of buckles and easy to deal with. Slow but accurate, that's why you got moved. High marks, Dennis approves as does Jasmine."</p> <p>She blinked not thinking that anyone was really paying much attention to her work. But they had to, everyone did on all the work that everyone else did.</p> <p>"Thanks, I was too tired to actually get to know Jasmine yesterday," she said as she continued on with her hot meal, enjoying the roast beef and the horseradish which brought tears to her eyes.</p> <p>"That's the way of it. Want to be on the delivery crew? Get you back to the spaceport and the Horizon. That's where your stuff is from what Tamara told me."</p> <p>She smiled and nodded.</p> <p>"Love to! I need to get my life sorted out, you know?"</p> <p>Karl shrugged.</p> <p>"Life's what you make of it. Me? They don't pay me here, and I make my living from the scrapping, teaching and custom jobs. Don't need much, don't want much and I get to meet nearly everyone from all the places. I've hauled out more good material from these places than I ever did doing it as a kid after working at the stamping plant then driving around to collect the industrial junk."</p> <p>"They don't pay you for this?"</p> <p>Karl looked around the room and shook his head.</p> <p>"Nope. They have site insurance, and that's good enough for me. Look at me, don't earn enough to pay taxes, but my business does, such as it is, and I don't take money from that, either. Name me someone else who makes twice as much as I do who has gotten to work regularly in orbit and teach how to work in it. I can't. Diana and Aaron aren't really making anything on this, either, and they would be the only ones to qualify. Oh, they got resources, hell yes. But pay? Meh. Want happiness? Blow some money getting a dinner for everyone on the shift to blow off steam with them."</p> <p>He started wolfing down his sandwich while Marissa ate quietly.</p> <p>"But...but...don't they have to pay you?"</p> <p>"I'm a volunteer! I'd pay to do this sort of work, but don't be spreading that around, OK?" he said with a smile and she couldn't help but smile.</p> <p>"I won't. Promise!"</p> <p>"Good, good! Diana said you were good and willing to work, and if you pass muster with her, you must be ready for more. Once I'm out of here I'm taking a few days off to work at the scrapyard. Another rush job. Then I get some real time off."</p> <p>"Really? What on?"</p> <p>"Ah. Can only tell you once you get there, and if you don't want in on it, then you promise to keep quiet. At least 'til its done and out, OK?"</p> <p>She inhaled and thought for a moment, then nodded. "OK," she said, "but I need some real sleep after this."</p> <p>"No problem! Need to be awake. Accurate work that's slow is better than fast, sloppy and needing rework," with a few bites his sub was gone, his glass empty and he was up and striding out of the room, clapping a couple of people on the shoulder as he walked out.</p> <p>It was a long day and she finally called it quits at 8 PM, no longer able to concentrate and not that hungry, she found the cot she had used the previous night and was on it fast asleep. In the morning Nuada was by to wake her up.</p> <p>"Time to get up, Marissa," she said softly kneeling beside her cot, "grab something fast to eat, and then we need all hands for the sealing up and loading. At least all hands who have some life left in them and that means you, OK?"</p> <p>Marissa nodded and thanked her, decided against a shower and just brushed out her hair, which still had the straight cut that Diana had given it and as she looked in the mirror at the woman in the Highflight work clothes, with gloves, cap, belt, boots and tools she couldn't recognize who it was. That woman was lean, tired but not exhausted, hungry but not famished, and she was getting ready for a day of work delivering a major component of a space industrial complex to a spaceport.</p> <p>"Wow," she said softly as she heard the door to the women's room open and saw Jasmine come in and look at her.</p> <p>"You look like I feel," Jasmine said with a smile as she stepped over to another sink and splashed water on her face, and then pulled down some paper towels and dried off her face.</p> <p>"I was about to say the same to you," Marissa said with a smile.</p> <p>Jasmine chuckled and shifted her work shirt and re-buttoned it, tucked it in and did her best to look presentable.</p> <p>"I'm a loss," Jasmine said then looked at Marissa. "You started with me, so I call dibs on the delivery. Everything is powered on right now, all the systems charging and when we finally button it up, I need someone to help on the shut-down and pulling out the connectors. I promise you won't get electrocuted."</p> <p>"Sounds good," Marissa said, "where do I sign up."</p> <p>"Come with me," Jasmine said and in two hours the pieces of the ALV-III container were latched together, slid into position and then slowly closed up with the work crew slowly rotating the lighter crew section onto the engine pod section. By 10 AM everyone going on the delivery run was either in the rig hauling that massive load, the front truck, the rear truck, or just standing on the flatbed to make sure everything was secure. She was in the rear truck, which was a van, with Jasmine, Dennis, Gemma, Regina, Karl and two other members of the work crew she didn't know.</p> <p>Most everyone was there for show, since the Ascentech crew was the one that had the heavy job, and the looming ALV-III was moved into position to take the drop container off the support rig that had lifted it from the flatbed. She still had some work to do, however, holding on to lines to make sure that nothing got out of alignment as the load was slowly pulled into the ALV-III. After a couple of group shots, the ALV-III was sealed up and as it was reaching its launch window she saw the skin of it begin to tighten and then slowly begin to lift. An ALV-II also went with that, but it had already been prepared and followed after the ALV-III which would have the slower ascent. She did see the engines of both light up and then they disappeared slowly gaining speed as they gained altitude, finally disappearing over the horizon.</p> <p>Fatigue caught up with her at the Event Horizon, where she had a good meal on the house, as did all of the work crew that could make it, Dennis was serving up wine and various drinks from the bar, and one of the local bands was playing some mix of Country and Western with some sort of spaceport jazz to it. Marissa danced, she partied, and by 7 PM she was out like a light back at her room, having unpacked nothing. In the morning she was bodily weary, but no longer as hungry as she had been and only had a light meal. She checked her cellphone and saw a deposit from Highflight into her bank account. She did take some time trying to get out suitable clothes beyond the work clothes of Highflight, found some old jeans, an old flannel shirt, thick socks and sneakers she used to exercise in. To her they looked pitiful, but that was what she had. A long shower, a chance to blow dry her hair, and then put it into a ponytail and she looked at this woman who looked out at her. The woman from the previous day was gone and what now stood in her place was a woman with a lean and hungry look. As she strapped on her belt, tools and put the gloves she had under the belt, she walked out, down the hall, down the stairs and into the main area of the bar and grill.</p> <p>"Good morning, Miss Nash," the man behind the bar said, extending his hand, "I'm Brent Kelly."</p> <p>She shook his hand with a 'pleased to meet you' and looked at the man in the strange family that he was a part of, in an unofficial way but committed nonetheless.</p> <p>"Aaron is over with Tamara and Kyle in the other room, and would like to see you. And what do you want for breakfast?"</p> <p>"Um, what do you recommend?"</p> <p>"Steakhouse steak, eggs, and hash-browns, but only if you like them with lots of peppers, otherwise toast. Coffee and juice if you can stomach them."</p> <p>She smiled and nodded. "All that, rare, over easy and lots of peppers. Toast if you have it, white. Bagel if you got that instead."</p> <p>"Right! Just go to the front and turn left, can't miss 'em. Be over in 10 with your breakfast."</p> <p>As she walked Marissa felt like the way things worked here was extremely informal for some, very informal for others and that if you just showed up, willing to work, then work could be found almost immediately. When she got there, had good morning greetings all around, she sat down at the table and looked at the couple.</p> <p>"So, I heard you want to talk to me about something?"</p> <p>Aaron nodded.</p> <p>"Karl said you might be interested in more work. We're just about finished with our project, but need someone who can do what their told, keep track of instrument readings, and do a bit of welding here and there. You up for it?"</p> <p>"I guess. Does it have a name to it, or is it just some half-assed project?" she blurted out.</p> <p>Tamara chuckled and shook her head.</p> <p>"Not half-assed at all. We got the full thing!" she said with a smile.</p> <p>"Never go by halves," Aaron said.</p> <p>As she looked at Kyle he nodded his head. "Yeah!"</p> <p>"It's called Meridian," Tamara said.</p> <p>"It's a corvette," Aaron said.</p> <p>"Q-ship," Kyle chimed in.</p> <p>"We launch in 2 weeks," Aaron said, "and since my cousin said you're decent with a rifle, we might need that, too."</p> <p>"You can never be too careful," Tamara said as the smile slowly disappeared from her face.</p> <p>"Gotta keep 'em honest," Kyle said.</p> <p>The Marissa that started out in the late spring in a quest for her next juicy story would have run away from a family that was obvious stark, staring mad. Yet she had just worked on and helped deliver a major milestone in human space exploration and use, and the woman she was had been ground away to reveal this woman inside of her. The fluff was gone. The easy suspicion and hatred were gone, as well. And the evident love between family members, especially these ones, made her heart ache.</p> <p>"I'm game!" she said.</p> <p>"Good! Tamara gets to be Kyle's goalie for awhile. Your car hasn't arrived yet, and we'll pick it up at the station tomorrow when it gets here. Bring your keys plus a couple of changes of clothing, too."</p> <p>"Can I have breakfast, first?" she asked softly.</p> <p>"Of course you can," Tamara said, "I know you aren't used to this sort of thing, but when its crunch time, its the only way to operate. No one wants you to drop, but we do need help."</p> <p>Aaron nodded.</p> <p>"Kevin is tied up for a bit yet with the airshow. I want every major system tested before we launch and that means I need you, Marissa. My cousin said you are changing your life and that can take time. Hard work helps you get through it."</p> <p>"Then food. Then fun."</p> <p>"Only if you survive, Marissa," Aaron said.</p> <p>"And we do want you to survive. I'm not like Diana," Tamara said, "but if you need other help, then I'm available, OK?"</p> <p>Marissa nodded and her breakfast came out, and she ate heartily while the others made small talk and Kyle looked at her.</p> <p>"You came with Aunt Diana," he said softly, "so you can't be all bad."</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-45839449128290846762015-11-28T03:09:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:27:20.141-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 9<p>"He's smiling and winking at me, I know it," she said sitting on a bench with the glossy advertisement in her hands. "At the place, the aerodrome? I don't even know where that is."</p> <p>She tried to think about what she had seen that day, the lack of interaction by people and their inability to see or even hear her. Yet she lived, breathed, ate, excreted and wore clothes that had been on her from the start of the day. It was frustrating to be like this as it wasn't that she had amnesia, exactly, but assumed that she had been living a normal life when whatever it was happened to her. Yet she had no identification, no money, no car keys and no phone to use.</p> <p>She watched people pass by, intently gazing into their phones and working their fingers and saw them bump into each other and not even say a word or even look up. She had wondered about some of the padding put on trees, lamp posts, even metal sign posts right up to the moment she saw people running into those. Shaking her head, she smiled.</p> <p>"Somehow they avoid me but can't avoid something that doesn't move, like a tree. I wonder if they even know who is around them or if they are being transported to some other world, their bodies left to wander nearly aimlessly here?"</p> <p>These puzzles within mysteries were as vexing as them not noticing her. Looking at the flier once more she noticed a small map that showed the city as a simple star...or perhaps only the city center? A little arrow pointed in a direction and she assumed that was North. A quick glance up at the sky let her know where the sun was as it moved into mid-afternoon and it peeked between high rise buildings. Thus South, East and West were known and looking left meant that she was looking North.</p> <p>"That's the direction to go, I think," she got up from the bench, turned left and started walking as she glanced at the map. "Now those markings on the left, which are my left now, I think those are hills or maybe mountains. The route to the aerodrome goes around those. On my right is the sea but it should be a long way away."</p> <p>At a cross street she looked right and could just catch a sparkle from water in the distance.</p> <p>"Too close to the sea, perhaps? I will just have to go over to the left every few streets and get closer to where the hills or mountains are. Then I will have some idea how far it is to the aerodrome."</p> <p>She did that the rest of the day and when night came she realized that this might be an effort in futility. Walking between buildings she saw a small stoop at the corner of a building in the rear and there was a light on over it, and a small meal set out under a cloth napkin. Looking around she only saw a cat on a window ledge across the way and it looked at her and simply blinked.</p> <p>"I think this is for me," she said softly, and sat down to a meal of a cup of cold tea, thin slices of bread, small packets of cheese spread, a tin of potted meat and bowl of olives and tomatoes, whole. She ate her fill and then carefully arranged everything as it had been and continued walking into the night until exhaustion finally forced her to stop and she stopped at a dry culvert and worked her way down to the dry stream bed and huddled in the large pipe.</p> <p>Tomorrow would be a another day.</p> <p>And another direction to go in.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Marissa checked to make sure that the fires had been put out, the dishes put away, the flue to the chimney closed up, and all the windows secured. As she went through the lodge, the lights went out and closing the storm shutters meant that the rooms got very dark one by one. After securing the front door and putting up the shutters over the front windows, as well as planking and the chains around those, she went down the stairs and looked under the porch and dragged out wooden planks with nails that went through them. One by one she laid them out on the porch and then on the steps and looked at her handiwork.</p> <p>There was a sound of motors far to her right and she looked across the garden area beyond the comms shack over to the solar panels which were now slanting slightly. She walked around to the side door and found planks with nails under the steps there and when the door had been secured she placed the planks down so the nails faced up. Then with the other planks there she put them under windows. By the time she had finished with that side of the lodge, Diana had emerged from the comms shack and doing the same tasks there. Hurrying, Marissa finished the rear and far side of the lodge and went over to the Suburban parked by the far wood pile. Diana was already there and re-arranging the rear area to clear out some space before lifting the rear gate, again.</p> <p>"That's it for the lodge," Marissa said, "what's left?"</p> <p>Diana pressed her lips together and looked around.</p> <p>"I locked up the boathouse before breakfast, so that's done. The house guns are in safe storage, so that's no problem, and the ones we have with us I'll drop of at Ken's so he can send them on ahead to Washington so we can pick them up, since customs gets picky about that."</p> <p>"That it then?"</p> <p>Looking to the rear by the storage cave Diana thought for a moment.</p> <p>"We'll take the motorcycles. I have block and tackle there and we'll secure them to the roof racking system and put those plastic shells around them so that they don't catch debris as we go."</p> <p>Marissa nodded. "Meet you there."</p> <p>Diana nodded and went over to the Suburban to start it up as Marissa walked up the trail to the cave, so she could open it up. They had stored a lot of material in here the past week, and all of the foodstuffs were in crates and then had plastic sheeting secured around them. All of that was put in a lower part of the cave that Diana called a carbon dioxide trap, which meant that if you spent too long there you collapsed for lack of oxygen. They took turns clearing the dead squirrels, a raccoon and various insects out of it before they lowered the crates into the depression. Today it was just the outer portion of the cave and it had chain link fencing with metal bars through it, and all she had to do was unwrapped the chain so the gate could swing open. She pulled the pulley on its steel rope overhead until it was over the entrance to the cave, which took enough time for Diana to back the Suburban under it. In 20 minutes the two motorcycles were in their shells, and secured to the roof rack, and after pulling out to close the gate, Diana went out, shut it, wrapped the chains around it and then secured a lock that had been hanging on the fencing to the chains.</p> <p>Marissa was just getting settled in the passenger's side seat, which was a replacement for the original and a very comfortable seat to be in.</p> <p>"If you want to nap, I'll wake you up when it starts to get dark," Diana said as she got in and secured her seat belt</p> <p>"I'll watch the scenery and maybe nap a bit later. How'd it go in there? I knew you had a message."</p> <p>Shrugging Diana released the parking brake and put the vehicle into drive, and slowly pulled out from the upper path to the cave and onto the road out.</p> <p>"I had forgotten that I left all the assets I had in Ascentech to just roll over, putting the earnings back into the company. Everyone else has to have money to live on, so that grew my share over the last 6 years. Turns out I have the majority of the company," Diana chuckled and shook her head. The Suburban started to bounce on the dirt and rock road enough so that Marissa grabbed the support over the door to help keep herself from being tossed around.</p> <p>"No shit? Really? I mean as in 'own' own?"</p> <p>Diana nodded as she shifted the vehicle into one of its low gears to slow it down a steep grade that ended in one of the crossings they had repaired.</p> <p>"So what are you going to do with it?"</p> <p>"I swapped shares with Mason and Herman, plus funded the bio-support group Dennis and Jasmine started up there. Kicked a couple of million to Aaron for his little side venture, too. Though that is strictly for fun, no profit involved."</p> <p>"Really? What is it?"</p> <p>"He's putting a bit of heat on for the space race. And testing out some technology a couple of scientists talked about early last century."</p> <p>Marissa blinked and decided that sunglasses would be needed once they hit the main road and put them on.</p> <p>"What kind of technology?" she asked after getting her glasses on and made sure they wouldn't bounce off.</p> <p>"Woodward effect thrust drive. A couple of nice men talked about it way back when."</p> <p>"Really? Who were they?"</p> <p>"Maybe you heard of them? Ernst Mach and Albert Einstein?"</p> <p>Marissa just looked at Diana.</p> <p>"No? I mean they aren't as well known as they used..." Diana started saying with a smile.</p> <p>"Albert... THE Albert Einstein?"</p> <p>"Are there others I don't know about?" Diana asked sweetly.</p> <p>"And Mach, like in Mach number and The speed of sound and all that?"</p> <p>Diana shook her head a couple of times, which may or may not be due to her own driving.</p> <p>"You're joking, right?"</p> <p>"Nope. A couple of scientists spent lunch money testing what those two talked about and made a device on the cheap that gave them thrust by using electricity. Clever stuff, really, the one who started it and documented it was Woodward all about transient mass effects. Aaron has just scaled it up and used some innovations demonstrated by a man in Nebraska. Scaled it up big time. That and the plasma ion jet engines that Herman designed should do the trick for their craft. Going to be the greeting party on the way back from dropping off the Ascentech equipment on the Moon."</p> <p>Marissa was silent trying to absorb everything she had just heard.</p> <p>"So how does it work?"</p> <p>Diana drove around a tight bend and then straightened the Suburban out before having to reverse the maneuver</p> <p>"It's one where apparent mass is moved out of phase with real mass to change the moment of inertia and gain thrust in a direction. Obeys all the laws of physics and everything. Of course with only a few discs a couple inches across you don't get much. Scale that up to 10 feet across and get a few thousand of them, then you have something there. Real thin discs, true, but they have been tested on OASIS II and work, so Aaron is doing the 'go big or go home' concept. The second man utilized 'V' shaped systems with fractal geometry throughout the structure which added an internal resonance system into the design."</p> <p>"Ummm... 'apparent mass'? What the hell? How can you lose apparent mass?"</p> <p>Diana gave her a quick glance before straightening out to go over a bridge.</p> <p>"Did you have any to lose in the first place? That's the real question from what I can tell. Don't ask me, really, it is all relativity, frames of reference and what happens if you are the only object in the universe sort of thing."</p> <p>"Why hasn't anyone heard about this?"</p> <p>"Who pays any attention to what scientists do with their lunch money on spare time projects? No big names, no big funding, no big lights up in the sky, no book tour, no TV programs...yet its still science. But who pays attention if it doesn't cost billions to do? You would think that people would understand that science is what you do, not how much you spend on it. Instead you publish papers on the projects you spent your lunch money on and everyone thinks its trivial. Why people think like that is something I just can't figure out. I mean a man in a garage can't create a warp drive, now, can he?"</p> <p>Marissa was looking at Diana who kept a straight face. She was about to say something when Diana softly said, "Yes, I am."</p> <p>"It was just rhetorical, you know? I just can't believe it."</p> <p>"Ever see a small energized disc with a thick rubber coating go from nothing to nearly super-sonic speed in less time than it takes you to blink an eye?'</p> <p>Marissa shook her head from side to side.</p> <p>"I have. That was the smallest test rig that could be flown up with me and it didn't puncture the OASIS I container system, but it left me with a really nasty bruise. No one is bothering to publish that because it is all out in the open."</p> <p>"But no one... I mean I haven't heard of anyone doing research..."</p> <p>Diana nodded.</p> <p>"Hiding in plain sight. If it doesn't cost at least millions to try out, then it can't be taken seriously. Only expensive things deserve that. Money makes the world go around, you know?"</p> <p>Marissa smiled.</p> <p>"Is that why you...ahh...agreed to having me up here?"</p> <p>Diana shrugged and looked at her for a moment going over a less rough part of the road.</p> <p>"I didn't need an interview, Marissa. And you didn't need a story. You were volunteering and I accepted. As simple as that. Now that you don't want the interview and have walked away from that life, you can get an idea of what happens to people that cross me. I doubt you will go public with this, though, since you don't have the time to write and no one will believe you if you did. Seeing is believing. It is time to open up some eyes and that is only done by hard work. I like hard work! Don't you?"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Do we even take military loads? Not relief loads or electronics, but actual munitions?" Darlene asked looking at Ray who was settling in to his breakfast of 2 eggs and a single waffle, plus a large mug of coffee.</p> <p>Ray looked at her and raised his eyebrows.</p> <p>"It isn't a military load, but a civilian one. And we have lofted our own multi-purpose loads, love. Those billets just aren't single purpose."</p> <p>She looked at her partially finished melon, berries and toast, and decided that her coffee seemed a better idea and sipped at that for a few minutes.</p> <p>"Do we even know what it has?" she asked softly.</p> <p>Ray shifted the tablet system in its stand, and flipped across his news stream.</p> <p>"At least 2 or 4 of the original sized drives Herman made. I know they had a few they used for testing and tinkering. If the mass is right that might net them 6g. Fits in the ALV-III bay so I doubt it is a single person vehicle. And he is doing something with that science experiment they did on the OASIS a few years ago."</p> <p>"That's not what I'm asking, Ray," Darlene said.</p> <p>He drizzled some syrup on his waffle and ate a bite, then followed that with some coffee.</p> <p>"I know, love, and I can't say because I don't know. I don't even know how many people have worked with them on this, and by 'them' I mean Aaron, Karl, Kevin, Herman, Regina and Brent. I would guess Dennis, Gemma and Jasmine, too since it needs a life support system. Most likely Diana, as well. After that? The Nordhaus kids, maybe?"</p> <p>"Lenny and Esme?" Darlene asked.</p> <p>He nodded.</p> <p>"And they must be keeping it at Karl's place, which isn't too hard," Darlene said, "since he has that large pre-fab storehouse and acres of outdoors to use. Everything from trucks, cars, motorcycles and even a couple of airframes salvaged from god knows where."</p> <p>Ray started in on his eggs with pieces of his waffle as Darlene talked. She looked back at her melon and decided to start in on it for at least a few more bites.</p> <p>"It's armed, isn't it?"</p> <p>Ray looked at her as he sat back, and smiled.</p> <p>"Well if it's a Q-ship, then it looks totally civilian. And no one bothers to check this stuff as it's all private enterprise, and my guess is that it is dual-purpose, too. When you consider some of the amounts of energy we play around with just to get things moved around and begin processing materials, the idea of 'armed' isn't so cut and dried. A pretty hefty cutting laser could do a number on anything over 20 miles up, and give a truly harsh sunburn to someone on the surface. A good sized phased-array system could be tuned to start doing a number on electronics over a small area all the way to the surface, but that is just a high resolution mapping system and would look just like it and act like it, unless it had a few extras with it in hardware and software."</p> <p>Darlene thought about that as Ray leaned forward.</p> <p>"Love, you know what 100 tons of high density metal coming in at 15,000mph does when it hits the surface from orbit. We went over that. In orbit, though, those are just slowly lumbering chunks of metal. I know why he told me, too."</p> <p>She looked at him with a puzzled expression.</p> <p>"Why?" she asked softly.</p> <p>"It's a test," Ray said looking at her, "making sure we don't have any ulterior motives beyond what we've talked about. If we balked at him, then that would mean we do have an ulterior motive. Luckily we don't."</p> <p>Darlene thought about that for a moment while looking at Ray.</p> <p>"But can he be trusted with a small warship in orbit?"</p> <p>"It's a test, Darlene. You've known him as long as I have. Tamara, too. And Diana...all of them. It isn't so much a warship as just something to have to, well, quite a few Nations have taken out orbital systems from the ground. This isn't just a test for us. It's a test for everyone once people start to figure it out. Aaron has flown combat missions, too, so he has been in the belly of the beast, so to speak. You tell me if he seems like he has an ulterior motive."</p> <p>"To keep them honest..." Darlene started, "...he's a hard man to figure out. But he has helped us all and I doubt it was done to harm anyone outside of flying combat missions." She started smiling as she thought about it. "No, he loves Tamara, Kyle... and with his cousins, they even call each other brother and sister when they think people aren't listening. And that is no cabal trying to run the planet, that's for sure. Pretty much just the opposite, really."</p> <p>Ray nodded.</p> <p>"It is a high stakes game, this getting to space business. He may have realized that there is no way to keep them honest unless you get there first and make sure that they are kept honest. This isn't about this country, but of him being up there to defend himself, and that he is doing against those who want to restrict space access and threaten not just him but everyone with force. Because the first Nation that squawks about him having a small warship in orbit will just have told us that they have other aspirations about those on Earth, while he is just one man utilizing the tools at hand to make his own defense in this new frontier. And heaven help anyone who tries to take him down."</p> <p>Darlene inhaled and shifted her head slightly.</p> <p>"Because he will stop them?"</p> <p>"No, love. He knows that WE will stop them. Because we both want access to space to be unlimited for all of mankind. Without anyone trying to tell us what to do, adding cost on it, putting regulations in place, how to get there and how to live there. I thought that the big news was going to be our systems, getting the first Lunar mining operation going that can spiral up in a few years to be a real operation with its own orbiting power system and delivery system to get raw materials to orbit. Instead the man who is going to be patrolling out there, I think that once that is figured out, that what we do will seem simple in comparison and he will become the subject of interest far more than our operation."</p> <p>Darlene nodded.</p> <p>"There's a new sheriff in town, and he has a family. Best not to mess with such a man," she said with a western drawl.</p> <p>Ray chuckled, looking at her.</p> <p>"He's just a heavily armed civilian, Darlene. And he isn't looking for a fight, just telling others that he means that and letting everyone know what that means to him. And if we've guessed right, then nearly every single one of that strange extended family will be pulling duty doing that. I doubt that vehicle will ever be back on Earth. They are putting their lives on the line and raising the stakes in the game in a way that no one else is ever going to see coming."</p> <p>"That's why he told you," Darlene said softly looking at her husband, "now we get to be a step ahead of everyone else."</p> <p>"Too bad we have a tight schedule," Ray said, "but I'm not going to do a single thing to stop him. It is time to see just who the players are and what they really want."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>The ALV-III container was being lowered into the empty portion of the building, which included the area cleared out from the active work space, which meant that other projects were now lofted into the rafters. The first thing that Nuada had the work crew do was to lift the top portion of the container from the bottom portion, so that the engine mounting section would be completely exposed. Then the top portion was carefully split apart, the two solar panels lifted slightly up after being bagged so that nothing would damage their surfaces, and then rubber wedges put in to keep them in that orientation.</p> <p>Dionysus looked at the forward section of the separated piece which was now on two mobile platforms so that it could be worked on from below. He didn't even have to duck under it as he walked in to examine it, and Nuada was close behind.</p> <p>"Yes, the core of the OASIS II was huge, and we had the entire forward section to play with. What we have here is closer to the OASIS I in volume," he said as the work crew started to place flood lights pointing up into the body of the container.</p> <p>She looked up at the surface of the container and shook her head.</p> <p>"Right, first we need the strut supports for the interior put in place, then lay down the insulation mats and secure them. Then we need power conduits, also insulated..." she started going through her mental checklist of everything that needed to be done.</p> <p>"Ah, Mel will be able to handle this, Nuada. Really most of it is now prefabricated on the partial shell over at the main building."</p> <p>"Yeah, Dennis, I got it," she said with a smile looking at him, "This is a hell of a lot of work to get done in so short a time."</p> <p>He looked at her with a smile.</p> <p>"Nothing like what you have with the engines in New Mexico," he said shaking his head, "then when we match the pieces up, you will have to make sure that it all goes together, just so," he said with his hands out in front of him, cupped and then brought together.</p> <p>"That won't be so bad, I think," Nuada said.</p> <p>"So you say, so you say. We will get this done, that I'm sure of, now. The large problem will be getting the tanks to match up between sections, and Mr. Mankin has given us quite exacting specifications so that there can be insulated piping going between the two halves once it is mounted," he sighed looking up into the space of the empty piece. "They did put in a number of mounting points on their platform so that many different systems can be shifted around it. Now we get to see how good that work is."</p> <p>Nuada shook her head, "Bill did it. It will be good."</p> <p>She looked around and looked out the open doors to see a flatbed being backed into the parking area.</p> <p>"And there we are! Mel is on time!" Nuada smiled watching the truck being guided to the lower half of the container which was now being raised to fit on the flatbed.</p> <p>Dionysus put has left hand on her shoulder and looked at her.</p> <p>"I know you and Mel have missed each other," he said softly, "and you work well together. I will have a talk with Herman to see if we can't get our plans advanced to expand the New Mexico facility and close up shop here. You both deserve it and I like working with both of you."</p> <p>Not many years ago she would have been offended by the familiar gesture, that was who she was then. Now she turned to look at the quite attractive man and his heartfelt expression. She also liked working with him, Gemma and Jasmine and her time that she could spend with Mel meant some delays in their schedule, which Dennis and Gemma had covered very well.</p> <p>"Dennis, I think the schedule calls for it in two years," she started saying and he shook his head.</p> <p>"Don't worry about Herman or what the schedule was. Ascentech is paying a premium for this, and that premium can be put to work immediately, there is no longer any reason to wait. Part of what I do is to make sure Herman has a conscience beyond just the business, and we all owe much to you and Mel for the hard work and separation you both suffer with. After this, the two of you can work on the design for the expansion together. I do have my ways, after all."</p> <p>Nuada bit her lower lip looking into Dennis' eyes which were as dark a green as Diana's were blue. "I...you know, I think I know what Gemma sees in you, you know?"</p> <p>Dionysus chuckled and shook his head.</p> <p>"Yes, the forgetful, lazy, over-imbibing man who doesn't know when to stop. That's me! But I promised to be sober for this, and so I am. I'll put this rare time to good use since you are a boon to all around you, you and Mel are, and for that a bit of brow beating with my cousin is the least you deserve."</p> <p>"Thank you," Nuada whispered softly as he nodded.</p> <p>"Now time for you to do what you do best! Raise your voice, raise hell, get the work done and then come back and remind everyone that the work is over and it is time to blow off some steam!" he said with a jovial voice.</p> <p>She nodded as he slipped his hand from her shoulder and she took just a moment to shift her hand to hold his.</p> <p>"Gemma is a very lucky woman, Dennis."</p> <p>"Oh, I wouldn't go telling her that! She needs to be the level headed one, and you can't do that with a swelled head."</p> <p>Nuada let go of his hand and started laughing, knowing that she would have to tell Gemma just how lucky she was.</p> <p>As they walked out from under the container, workmen were moving rolling ladders under it as well as beginning to erect scaffolding. They saw the truck slowly backing in as Mel had the door open to look behind at the man directing her. When he waved his arms from side to side at hip level, she stopped, swung out the door, turned and dropped to the ground to start walking towards the building.</p> <p>"God I'm going to miss her," Nuada said watching Mel as she waved to Nuada who waved back.</p> <p>"That makes the reunion so much sweeter, now, doesn't it?" Dionysus said.</p> <p>"Oh, yeah," Nuada said in low tones as she walked towards Mel, "Lots sweeter."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Esme was under the vehicle's forward section using a light to look at the forward generator system.</p> <p>"Is it on?" she asked as she brought out the small leads to the voltmeter attached to her belt, which had readouts on the leads as well as the face of the meter.</p> <p>"Yes, just a trickle, not more than a milliamp," Ares said from the next to the access hatch.</p> <p>"Nope. Nada."</p> <p>"All right, keep the contacts on. Lenny? Shift the positive to number 12."</p> <p>"OK," Lenny said with his voice echoing inside the large pre-fab building. "That's it."</p> <p>"Yup, 1.2 milliamps," Esme said.</p> <p>"Good," Ares said, "Lenny, attach the lead to 12. I think we screwed up on the numbering, everything has been off by 5, so lets try swapping 8 and 13."</p> <p>"Give me a moment," Lenny said, "have to snug it down back here."</p> <p>"Dad?" Kyle's voice could be heard.</p> <p>"Yes, son?" Ares said watching his son coming towards him with a box of flat, square objects.</p> <p>"Is this the box you wanted?"</p> <p>Ares nodded as he looked at the box containing the Lithium Sulfide cells.</p> <p>"That's the one! Where did it get to?"</p> <p>"It was in the back seat of the Buick," he said putting the box down on the table next to the readout system Ares was working on. He shook his head smiling as he knew that Karl had a haphazard system of receiving incoming materials.</p> <p>"I'm glad you found them, Kyle. Now would you like to help Esme get them placed in their mounts?"</p> <p>Kyle nodded yes and picked up the box heading towards the ladder when he felt his father's hand on his left shoulder.</p> <p>"You're forgetting something," Ares said softly but firmly.</p> <p>"Oh," Kyle said looking at his father.</p> <p>"Harness and helmet, no falls allowed."</p> <p>Kyle nodded and turned and put the box down on the table and walked over to the locker area to get out the necessary safety harness and helmet.</p> <p>"I hope you don't mind to much, Esme."</p> <p>"Not at all, Aaron," she said looking at him, "even my hands are a tight squeeze in there," she said with a gesture to the interior of the compartment, "and that is before those cells get in there. Once they start going in it will be slow going."</p> <p>Ares nodded as he turned to make sure Kyle was putting the harness on correctly and not backwards and upside-down.</p> <p>"Shifting to 8 and 13," Lenny said.</p> <p>"Let me know when you have them connected."</p> <p>"Will do."</p> <p>"Esme, shift over to them. Current is off."</p> <p>She nodded and shifted contacts as Ares knelt down in front of Kyle to make sure that everything was snug and secure.</p> <p>"You are good to go, son. And remember,"</p> <p>"Shift, lock and step! I will, just like last time!"</p> <p>"And don't forget to unlock the one you will shift only after you have locked the other one."</p> <p>"I won't forget," Kyle said with a smile picking up the box and then heading towards the ladder.</p> <p>"Ready," Lenny said.</p> <p>"Leads attached," Esme said. "1.2 milliamp."</p> <p>"Switch the last of them around by the fives, then we can start with the feedback from the cells."</p> <p>He watched as his son slowly went up the ladder, shifting the box up step by step and only unlocking one side of his harness after he had clipped it off on the other side.</p> <p>"It will go faster from here," Ares said, "hopefully we got the numbering right on the other 8 banks."</p> <p>Esme smiled as Kyle got to her level and put the box on the platform between their rungs right under the top of the ladder.</p> <p>"Hi Kyle, glad to see you," she said shifting the contacts.</p> <p>"Nice to see you, Esme," he said looking up into the open space where a metal box was open on its hinges and Esme was working the test leads across a beige, flat board with evenly spaced slits on either side.</p> <p>"Think you can get up to the top slot up there," she said indicating the farthest up point, "with one of those cells and push its tabs into the slots?"</p> <p>Kyle looked up and leaned his head to one side and then the other.</p> <p>"I think so..." he said slowly, "but I gotta be on the top for that."</p> <p>She nodded.</p> <p>"I'll steady you, don't worry."</p> <p>"Let us know when you're done, Lenny," Ares said.</p> <p>"Another minute, just doing them one at a time to make sure the numbers go on right."</p> <p>Kyle looked at Esme and nodded.</p> <p>In a few minutes the circuits were checked out by the numbers and then the individual cells started to be fitted by Kyla and checked by Lenny. Ares checked the schematic on his system and watched as the first fast cycle discharge through ion beam pumped phased array radar system was being put together. Just 3 years ago he had tested this using only two microwave transmitters, the tiny experimental beam and older style batteries. At 100' he had burnt out the electronics of a cheap watch and at 1000' he had disrupted a computer so that while energy still registered on some of its circuits, others were so disrupted as to be non-functioning. From that he started testing shielding because he knew, at some point, that would be necessary as well since the only thing more important than generating high amplitude wave forms was disrupting them. Jasmine had been a great help to him, as well, although what he needed was much, much simpler than her biological components in carbon nanostructures. Mere metallic atoms in suspended cages with exterior integrated atoms meant a way to contain, diffuse and divert incoming high amplitude waveforms, which meant eliminating tons of metal from the final design.</p> <p>And he put those tons to very, very good use.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Karl watched with a smile as the ALV-III container half was slowly moved into the facility.</p> <p>"Now we finally get to clear the rest of this crap out of the way and get it into there," he said looking at the cradle and gesturing to one of the work crew to shift the forward section by a few inches.</p> <p>Nuada had stepped off the truck after she parked it in the parking lot and came through the entrance just as the doors started to close from above. Their overhead gantry system was not as large or capable of the one Ascentech had, but then they didn't have so much space to operate with, either. The Athena I and II hulls and one nearly completed vessel had been taken up to the sides and then suspended where they would be out of the way, with tarps over them to keep them from getting any of the materials that would be in the air once serious work started.</p> <p>Karl watched as she walked around the cradle structure and looked up to see the engines which had arrived the day before.</p> <p>"We're behind schedule," she said not to anyone in particular and with the noise she doubted that anyone could hear her.</p> <p>"Not a bit of it, Nuada," Karl said with a voice that came to her perfectly and she smiled as she looked at him.</p> <p>"We have the foam sections ready to place, the support system, braces and all the engine mounts prefabricated, and they need to be placed and joined. But that only comes after all the power and control feeds are put in place, and then fitted to the bracing system, which we can't do without the actual container here to do it with. Then we lower the engines in, and build up the framing system for when the other half gets here and then marry them up, which will be a true pain. Mel is the one under the gun, but she has 2 days head start and, with any luck, in 3 days her half will get here and by then the tank system and connectors will all be in place. Easy as pie after that. For us getting the 2 plasma engines and the boost engine in are simple in comparison."</p> <p>Karl turned as he heard voices and saw Herman and Brent walking and talking about the next load after this one, which was their private load. After watching how Herman ran this business, Karl realized that he really wanted a part of the space business, but not the part that anyone else was working on. He didn't even want to be in the space business, actually, just enjoyed custom vehicle fabrication. Thus he had an unpaying hobby that took up spare time, money and work. He wouldn't earn a dime from it, but the reward was far more than what mere pay could offer.</p> <p>They got to where he was standing just at the same time Nuada did and they all gave quick hugs and Nuada hugged him as well.</p> <p>"Good to have you back, Nuada," Karl said.</p> <p>"Yes, it is," Brent said looking up at the now fully lowered container.</p> <p>"Cousin Dennis has gotten in contact with me, Nuada," Hermes said with a smile, "and once the work gets started here, we need to talk about the expansion of the plant. And we'll snag Mel for a couple of weeks here, too, when she gets here with the habitat portion."</p> <p>Karl looked at Herman and Brent who held hands as they talked and to Karl this wasn't strange at all. He had gotten used to the waxing and waning of Herman's cycles long before he came out here to help him out. Still there was some incompatibility between them, but that was merely Karl's outlook on life, and he held nothing against Herman. It took dedication to make the 3-way relationship they had actually work and now it did. He knew their children would be with Regina, and she would be minding the club while they minded the main business, and then they would reconfigure on the fly and everyone would still know who was doing what.</p> <p>"And well they should!" Karl's voice boomed out, "They have more experience with building these things than anyone has, and they will make this place right and work and as safe as you can be."</p> <p>Herman raised an eyebrow looking at Karl and Brent shook his head.</p> <p>"Listen up, everyone!" Karl said, "We will finally get our act together so we don't have to spend days going between facilities! Steaks are on me at the Horizon tonight, if you can get there."</p> <p>The work had stopped for a moment and Karl's voice carried throughout the building.</p> <p>There was a moment of silence and then some people clapping with work gloves on, others taking a moment to remove them to do the same, and others calling out about it took a long time.</p> <p>Karl looked at Nuada who looked at him wide-eyed.</p> <p>"And I'm happy for you and Mel," he said softly, "because its been a sticking point for you two for years."</p> <p>"I really had hoped to make an official announcement..." Herman said with a smile.</p> <p>"And delay it until after the build," Brent said with a wide smile.</p> <p>"Screw that!" Karl said, "You want things done faster and better? Let everyone know now and they sure as hell will NOT screw up on this job."</p> <p>He looked at Nuada.</p> <p>"No, we will make schedule. Even if I have to drag the container over the desert to the spaceport on logs. It will get there on time."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Looking at the small overhang outside of the rear of his study, Father Andre was carefully placing down the things that seemed to be the ones that could invite a visitation. With the small sting bag with cheese, sausage, a small loaf of bread and a bottle of water also went a camera that he mounted on a standpipe. This was a game trail camera that was on loan from a parishioner, and if it detected any movement, it would snap a picture once every 10 seconds while something was in its detection range. A week in and he found that he was taking a breakfast of bread, sausage, cheese and bottled water, which was disheartening to say the least. Each morning he checked to see what the camera had captured and only once did it capture the motion of something, but it was not on the second story overhang and only a light grayness indicated that it might be something going by the camera. Unfortunately the blur was just that and gave no indication of distance, which meant it could be the wing of a moth or a bird or just a piece of paper floating by in the mid distance.</p> <p>Tonight he placed the small bag down once more and this time also put out an old pair of jeans, a shirt he used when he visited relatives to the north, and under those he decided that the one obvious attractor would be the revolver in its holster. The man that they had contacted about the weapon earlier was more than willing to give it a check-over, a cleaning, and restock its cleaning supplies with fresh ones. Fr. Andre had also used a leather restorative that he used on the boots he wore when visiting those same relatives, and made sure to clean and buff off the remains of it.</p> <p>Given the walls around the overhang, there was no real way for anyone to see from below if he placed anything out and he doubted if anyone from across the way could look down and in at it, either.</p> <p>"Truly I do not know what to expect," he said to himself as he placed the items out and adjusted the camera and ensured that its battery was still charged. "It is difficult to offer prayers up for someone you cannot say for certain exists, yet I do so because nothing else fits."</p> <p>Gently he closed the doors as the gathering darkness arrived and sat down to work on letters for those he knew well. To him this demanded written material, not e-mail which he considered too cold and impersonal for those closest to him. That took some hours and he was tired, and turned the radio on low to listen to music as he prepared himself for bed. His prayers included one for the woman who may or may not be there, and if she was then her salvation. He realized that he had just recrafted a prayer for the innocent gravely injured and afterwards knew that it was appropriate if all he thought were true.</p> <p>He then climbed into bed and started to doze off right before he fell deeply asleep and as he reached out to turn off the radio he heard the beginning of the local news which started with the crimes of the day and usually had one local interest piece at the introduction to the program. That introduction had included a report on the preparations for the upcoming airshow, and what was being done to help prepare for it. With that he turned the radio off and turned over in bed. Soon he was asleep and dreamt of someone racing through the city who then jumped upwards, gained wings and passed into the sky overhead.</p> <p>The next morning that dream stayed with him and he could not shake it from his thoughts. When he opened the door to the overhang he saw that all he had left out was gone. All other thoughts flew from him as he took down the trail camera to review what it had captured and for the first time he saw an owl. Then two. Then a dozen. The last showed one large owl taking to air with the pistol belt, and then there were no more pictures taken.</p> <p>"Owls...her bird. Perhaps they are the ones sent to look after her?" Then he realized that she is, indeed, someone out in the great city, itself. Somewhere. Anywhere.</p> <p>"This will require much more prayer in search of guidance. For how can you find someone like her?"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Billy White Claw waved as the Suburban pulled out of the circle from in front of his house, along with his wife, 3 sons and 2 daughters, the eldest of each having their own spouses on hand along with the 3 grandkids for their arrival.</p> <p>At that point they had spent 2 days on the Alaska Highway, which had been known as ALCAN and still had markers to show how long it had taken to build that road. At Watson Lake in the Yukon, Marissa had been beat tired after they switched positions after trading furs that had been gathered that season, and Diana offered Marissa $100 for her part in the mass of skins they had sold off. It wasn't much, but would help for her immediate prospects, and while she still had credit cards and a debit card from her bank, she knew that she would have to switch institutions in the near future and had already diverted bills to the spaceport's post office to a place called Event Horizon. Marissa had giggled when she realized that the address given was that of a bar and grill, run by Herman Lassiter's family. She had gone from respectable, if small, apartment in Boston to a bar at the spaceport.</p> <p>Highway 37, the Stewart-Cassiar Highway didn't look long but her GPS tracker let her know that this was going to be one long stretch of road. She was on it nearly 10 hours and beat tired, and realized that her entire music collection had grown boring to her about an hour into the drive. It was beautiful land, however, and she couldn't resist stopping where she could easily do so, and a few times Diana had awakened from her sleep on the passenger's side to join her. Asleep, truly asleep, Diana looked like someone different to her, and her relaxed face grew somewhat rounded, softer and gentler. She had never thought that she would be in such a position in her life, and while she did have a car that was being shipped from Boston to the spaceport, it was just a two-seater commuter hybrid vehicle, not this land yacht that Diana drove. Yet this land yacht had performance upgrades, very adjustable bucket seats, added in seating in the rear that folded out of the way, cargo capacity and at least two gun safes that were empty, their contents being forwarded to Billy White Claw in northern Washington State near the border.</p> <p>At Kitwanga, BC, they had stopped off at a home of Harold Cossican, who had a wife and 3 children, 2 of them grown and now living out in the oil fields, and the last, their daughter Kim, was just finishing up a set of courses in remote sensing and seismic prospecting so that she could seek work outside of the area. Kim's age was hard to estimate, being somewhere in that late teenager range but showing that she had grown up used to wilderness living which made her look more in her early-20s. Just a decade ago she might still have been in a school system, or going to college, but that world had been transformed via open coursework, certified class credit accumulation and then testing accreditation via an open framework system. That meant that only a few colleges had survived the great tumult of the distributed education era, and they were either research institutions or institutions that lived on due to conservative management of endowments and their names.</p> <p>Marissa was introduced as Diana's friend and traveling companion, and Elsa Cossican said that it was much better to drive down with someone than to do it alone like Diana normally did. Diana had just shrugged it off and said it wasn't a bad drive, but was glad to have company. Too bad they couldn't stay over, but a hot meal, a couple of hours to stretch the legs and take in the scenery was welcomed by Marissa. She had revived some, but that was only enough to make her realize just how tiring doing nothing but driving could actually be, and after they had walked off a steak cutlet, pan fried vegetables, serving of boiled potatoes and sauerkraut had any of the reviving started. They were offered a room to stay in and Marissa would have loved to be able to sleep the prior 2 days and night off, but Diana was on a schedule. From the passenger's side she watched the Skeena flow beneath the bridge and then Diana turned to take them on the Trans-Canada Highway headed South or East depending on which highway you were on since a couple of them used the same highway. She had tried to stay awake but the deepening blackness in the sky and long stretches of road soon got the better of her and she was asleep. Once she felt something, but then snuggled down under the double blanket, the last clear road sign was for Houston... British Columbia.</p> <p>Dreams were not that vivid to her, just a feeling of maybe being in the Boston Commons and then meeting friends to go shopping, then a nightclub, but all just a blur. Going alone through the turnstiles on the Red Line she boarded the subway train and as she stepped through its doors she was stepping through the doors from the boathouse on the lake, her packages and outfit shifted to a satchel and the thin t-shirt, vest and cut-offs of her first week or two with Diana. Then came a blur of working, weeding, sawing wood, placing logs, hunting deer, running trap lines and through it all the presence of Diana standing next to her, working with her, and then falling asleep next to her seeking refuge from the fears that had begun to consume her.</p> <p>Light filtered in and she awoke to see that 100 Mile House was only a few miles away, and Diana had asked how she slept. It wasn't good sleep but it was some sleep, and dawn at 100 Mile House meant that they would be exchanging positions but only after breakfast and stretching their legs for an hour or two. Diana hadn't driven straight through, but she didn't want to disturb Marissa's sleep and would have stopped again if she needed to relieve herself or just get out of the Suburban for a bit. She couldn't remember just where it was they stopped for breakfast, and Marissa just had an egg, toast and coffee which was just what Diana was having as well. Then the filling up of the gas tank, which she had received the simple instruction of gassing up whenever they were under half a tank and there was a gas station available to fill up at, and this was yet another one of those stops as well. All the fluids checked and then Marissa was driving again. Then a couple of hours later the toll and customs check at Osoyoos, then going to Oroville in Washington State, and then directions to get to Billie White Claw's house near the National Forest.</p> <p>Today was south again.</p> <p>"Why are we going to Walla Walla?" Marissa asked.</p> <p>Diana looked over at her from the passenger's side seat, her eyes taking in the road ahead and then Marissa.</p> <p>"Just a quick lunch with Nicholas and Sharon, cousin Dennis' first born son and his family. They run a nice shop for the local farmers and vintners, and they will get half of the smoked meat and fish we have. Plus those two bottles of raspberry jam you made. After that we have a day to stop off somewhere for a good day of stretching our legs unless you are up to push on through to the spaceport."</p> <p>"You put in a day just for us?" Marissa whispered. "I mean we don't have a lot to talk about, really. You're private about your early life and your family, although you do give out some bits here and there. It's like you all knew each other growing up and then drifted apart."</p> <p>Diana looked forward at the road again.</p> <p>"Well, so did you," she said softly, "no harm in that. We did have time together and broke up when the father or uncle of the larger family... he had fidelity problems and when we tried to support his wife... to just get a better relationship and stop the wandering around...he didn't take it well."</p> <p>"Oh," Marissa said softly.</p> <p>"I still have some problems with that, but time does begin to heal over things. I was the beloved youngest and yet saw that he was...not acting properly with anyone, really. We survived, but not until after all of us had suffered."</p> <p>Marissa took off her sunglasses and pulled the vehicle to the side of the road to look at Diana, who was looking straight ahead.</p> <p>"That's awful," she whispered looking at the young woman staring straight ahead.</p> <p>"Oh yes," Diana said softly, "beyond awful in ways I really can't tell you about. I can't hate him, and have no love for him either, just see him as the thing he had become. And being the one he cared for the most, I was the one who would feel the brunt of his wrath. He died because of that and..." Diana shook her head to look at Marissa, "...he deserved it because he brought it upon himself."</p> <p>Marissa saw this young woman who had such strength and capacity, a loving hold as well as a steady one, tremble, shiver and then close her eyes at the memory of what she had been through.</p> <p>"God..." Marissa whispered.</p> <p>"Exactly!" Diana sobbed, and then turned her head to the right to look away. "I will be that better person he wasn't capable of being or die in the attempt, Marissa," she said turning to look at Marissa again.</p> <p>Marissa unbuckled her seat belt and reached over to hug Diana.</p> <p>"Forgive my reticence," Diana whispered to her as they hugged, "but that is not to be shared beyond the bounds of those I care for."</p> <p>Marissa realized that she had a story, a part of a story, and it was something she wouldn't tell anyone that Diana didn't trust. Not all stories can be told openly, and some harmed people when they were. In realizing that she now saw her life in a way she had never seen it before and held Diana tightly, because the full amount of harm she had done to others to get recognition, to get fleeting fame, to feel important to herself, that had cost her friends over time and did things that really should never have gotten headlines. Now she felt sick at what she had done and couldn't ever trust herself to do straight reporting because of those past stories she had told with such relish.</p> <p>"I forgive you," she said to Diana, "it wasn't your fault."</p> <p>Diana pulled away to look at Marissa.</p> <p>"He was who he was, Marissa. I supported his wife, knowing it was the only way left to try and get him to change. I loved her although," Diana gave a slight smile, "not like you...you see?"</p> <p>Marissa nodded with a smile.</p> <p>"He reserved a special wrath, a special kind of hatred for that with me. I was too young to know that, then. And yet, if I had it all to do again, not knowing the outcome or...yes..." Diana shook her head, "...even knowing it and that there was a chance he might change... for all the horror that followed, it was worth that single chance. Because I would never, ever side with him."</p> <p>Marissa's eyes widened looking at Diana, trying to imagine what it was she lived with and failing.</p> <p>"Diana if I knew, before what I did how my stories would..." Marissa shook looking at Diana, "...I just couldn't. I don't ever want to be the person I was two months ago. Not ever again."</p> <p>Nodding Diana slid her arms around Marissa and they softly kissed each other. Marissa shut the vehicle down and they walked to the side of the road, out into the tall grass that was starting to dry out in this season before winter and after summer, and then went to the ground to just hold each other. Once back on the road the silence would no longer be one that hung in the air, but a silent compassion between them, of holding hands while one drove with one hand and the other was held. They didn't need to say words except for the mundane things that needed to be done, and the joyous arrival at the Pennerton shop, to see Nicholas, Sharon, their nearly grown up children and to greet the old cat that still prowled the shelves to keep the store tidy and vermin free.</p> <p>That would be the free time in the schedule, spending the night with the close family before driving through to the spaceport.</p> <p>Marissa realized, at some point, that she was beginning to feel accepted for who she was, not what she wrote and the fame or notoriety that went with it. It was a strange feeling that she had never experienced in her life before. And a very hard one to accept as she didn't feel worthy of it.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Regina was behind the bar, hoping that Brent or Hermes could get back soon with Mark and Lisa because she knew that today was the day she really wanted to be spelled off. It had been months and months since she had even seen her and there was that void in her life that was so far away. She was watching the door and saw Ares come in with Kyle, and he waved to her and she smiled back and nodded over to the large table that she had reserved for anyone who could get time free to be at Event Horizon.</p> <p>Sherwin Cooper, the regular mid-day bartender looked at her and nodded.</p> <p>"Go ahead, Regina, I can handle the bar and the floor with Cindy," he said nodding at the waitress who was taking orders from a couple of workers at Avalon Spacetech who were off early from work, "and know you have family coming in."</p> <p>She stepped over to Sherwin and gave him a hug.</p> <p>"Thanks! I'm just so...well...you know," she said with a smile.</p> <p>"Yeah, its obvious. Remember to get the orders and get them over here, OK? The last time this happened Mark was running back and forth and that just didn't look right," he said watching Regina chuckle as she took off the bar apron and walked to the end of the back bar area and hung it up on a hook, and then went around the end of it to greet Ares and Kyle.</p> <p>Ares was sitting down and Kyle was pulling out a chair next to him and looking at Regina.</p> <p>"Hello, Aunt Regina!" Kyle said standing by the chair.</p> <p>She nodded, smiled and went to Kyle and hugged him.</p> <p>"Howya doin, Kyle? Raising any ruckus lately?"</p> <p>Kyle shook his head.</p> <p>"Naw, just out with dad at the junkyard, working on stuff there," he said.</p> <p>Ares stood up to give her a hug across the pulled out chair and gestured for her to take it.</p> <p>"Hello, sister," he said softly.</p> <p>"Hello, brother," she said in return and held him for a moment longer and then broke with him.</p> <p>"Kyle decided the seating arrangement, at least for you and me. You get the corner so you can forget to take orders back and forth. I'm next to you and he is next to me. Tamara can't make it, she is tied up at Highflight."</p> <p>Regina nodded as she started to sit down and Kyle pushed her chair in.</p> <p>"Thank you, Kyle," she said giving him a glance.</p> <p>"You're welcome, Aunt Regina!" and once she was settled he moved behind his father who had already sat down and got the chair next to him out to sit down. In the background the sound system was playing country and western music, but who was playing or what the song or ballad was, that was something that only an expert could figure out.</p> <p>"Any messages beyond the call last night?"</p> <p>He shook his head.</p> <p>"Not so far. It was a short conversation as she didn't want to wake Marissa up," he said with a shake of his head.</p> <p>Regina chuckled and nodded.</p> <p>"What do you think's been going on? I mean we started to get her stuff at the loading dock yesterday."</p> <p>"I have no idea, at all, Regina. But if she says that Marissa is ready for hard work, then we do have need of someone who can understand instructions and at least hold material. If she has the frame for it, I can have one of the Nordhaus kids start teaching her the ropes, although I don't want anyone who doesn't know what they're doing going in to check fittings with a multi-ton drive system suspended by chains right above them."</p> <p>Regina smiled, and looked at Kyle.</p> <p>"Have you gotten to your paced material today?" she said referring to the customized teaching software system used by a large number of people of all ages.</p> <p>"Ummm...some, I guess," Kyle said.</p> <p>"What's the topic?"</p> <p>Kyle looked at his father who looked at him and gave him a shrug.</p> <p>"Ahh...storage cell watt-hour ratings and, umm, dynamic state change?"</p> <p>Regina blinked and looked at Ares.</p> <p>"Isn't that a little advanced for him?"</p> <p>Ares shrugged.</p> <p>"He wants to work with us out in the shack, he has to know what he's dealing with. I agree with his uncle that there needs to be backing for hands-on work. He's been a real help getting the last of the modulated pulse systems up and running. Next up is a simple range check, then full power-up."</p> <p>Regina shuddered trying to think of what sort of math was involved for what Kyle was learning and even when it was simplified, it wasn't easy.</p> <p>"How are you doing on the pace feedback?" she asked him.</p> <p>"Its OK, I guess. Says I'm at 10th level," Kyle said.</p> <p>Regina blinked as that was a generalized level rating for the old educational system.</p> <p>The main doors were opened and Kyle looked in that direction, smiled, jumped up on his chair, put two hands down on the table and did a flip that landed him on the floor on the other side and at a dead run towards the door.</p> <p>"AUNT DIANA!!" he yelled as he ran to her to be caught up by her and swung up and then down, his feet still moving in the air.</p> <p>Regina gave a glance to Ares.</p> <p>"I do wish she hadn't taught him how to do that," she whispered.</p> <p>"You wish? You wish? There's a reason our tables either are next to a wall or out in the open at home, you know," he said in return as they both stood up and shifted their chairs to greet their returning sister.</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-13526668744469981202015-11-28T03:08:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:20:51.555-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 8<p>Father Andre had made his tea for Iris and Chloe so they could have something to drink as the three of them talked in his somewhat more official office. It was not his one at the church, but adjacent to it, where he conducted more mundane affairs, and he knew that in a few years he would cede its place to Father Nico when retirement was necessary due to age. Until then the desk that he had inherited as well as the globe by it were reminders of continuity going back nearly a century for the globe and almost twice that for the officious desk. While the desk was capacious it was also a huge item that sat between him and anyone and he detested it, preferring one of the wingback chairs close to the leather sofa, which had been a gift from a Captain Heathstone to the church sometime in the early 1950's when the last of the Allies were pulling out of Athens for good. The chairs had come from one of the occupying officers who had occupied these offices and would not be missed, although the chairs were nice ones and had no attachment beyond their Italian origin. With the windows open to the breeze of late summer, he also made sure that chilled melon was available on a platter in neatly cut slices, along with smoked fish and meats that he preferred for entertaining guests. When the two women were comfortable, he told them what he had found out about the revolver. And some of the interesting circumstances he had researched.</p> <p>Chloe had brightened at the few wartime incidents from the occupation and civil war episodes, and the definite linking of the revolver to a fallen British Officer. The holster and belt were not to the gun, as such, but made locally during a short time between the liberation and civil war and could easily have been acquired by any of the soldiers stationed in Greece during those few months.</p> <p>"Beyond those things, and just a few incidental news reports of such a woman," Fr. Andre said sitting in the wingback chair he preferred by the table across from the door and the sofa to his left and the old fireplace he rarely used shuttered on his immediate left, "there is little I can find. There have been, of course, many festivals, even in the modern era, even recently, to Athena, but actual sightings of her are anecdotal at best."</p> <p>Iris looked at her mother who was smiling and nodding her head.</p> <p>"Most doesn't get reported," Chloe said having a small plate of melon with smoked fish, which she used one of the forks he provided to cut at the melon, "and when some criminal or violent protester falls to the ground, or is tripped by no one, they aren't likely to report it even if they see her for just a moment as the one doing it, now, are they?"</p> <p>"Mother, please, no more of the stories," Iris implored her mother who took a forkful of melon and bit into it before reaching for a lemon wedge to squeeze onto the melon and fish. "Really, Father Andre, please don't encourage her. You don't have to live with her and her gossip stories from the neighborhood and others that they talk to and text with."</p> <p>He blinked as he sipped at his tea and then set it down to drizzle some honey from the pot into it, then stirred it.</p> <p>"I thought it was just your mother and one or two others," he said intently as he leaned back with is tea cup, sipping the now well flavored tea.</p> <p>"Oh, there aren't many of us, who look for the old signs," Chloe said brightly, taking a cracker up from the platter on the table and crunching it down, setting the little plate down and then sipping at the tea, "and the tea is good, Father. You get it from Sami, yes?"</p> <p>"Ekatrina's boy gets it from the north and brings it in regularly. A special mix that the family shares with me, and that I can also get at the market, although not as fresh."</p> <p>Chloe nodded and looked at Iris who was eating at a piece of thinly sliced sausage and melon.</p> <p>"Iris, she isn't as understanding of the ways and patterns of the city. The whole city, even those place not of the old city that have been taken into the city. They are all important places."</p> <p>"No one believes the stories, mother," Iris said, "but I can't explain what is going on, either."</p> <p>"As I've noted the revolver is from an officer according to one of the museums in the UK. A local expert in firearms says it has been used and recently. Well maintained with holster wear, but not that of true belt but one worn over the hips, over another belt, maybe. More recent cleaning fluids have replaced the old ones that the British used, as well as modern oil."</p> <p>Iris looked at her mother, who shrugged.</p> <p>"I do not keep track of such things. Perhaps someone felt the need to offer them to her, or a shop may have tossed them out, perhaps. She is the the Blessed Virgin of Athens, and the city is under her care from its founding to this day," Chloe said looking from Iris to Father Andre, "even though I worship God and know my sins are forgiven through the birth of his son, that does not mean I cross them when respecting our city and its history."</p> <p>Closing his eyes and setting the teacup down, Andre nodded. He opened his eyes and leaned forward to take up a plate, one of the smaller wedges of melon, crackers, a cube of cheese, some of the sliced sausage. Slowly he ate the melon and thought.</p> <p>"There is no sin in that respect, Chloe. You have been a parishioner since a child and you and your late husband brought Iris up well. Your deeds do not speak of being out of order with Christ or God. I doubt that there are any of the old cults left, even of Athena, as most have been abolished or just fallen out of practice with the loss of active participants in them over the centuries. After the Turks and Independence, then the various changes of power and governments, foreign and domestic, it would be impossible to continue any of the old cults and most fell out of favor before Rome's influence, some even before Christ and Byzantine times. Respect for Athens and the mythology behind it, in all its various forms and histories, comes with living here and being a part of Athens."</p> <p>Sitting back he put the cube of cheese on a cracker and nibbled at them and then set them on the plate, put it down on the table beside the chair and sipped at his tea.</p> <p>"It just seems so...strange this leaving things for..her. Athena," Iris said.</p> <p>"We are only a few who do so," Chloe said, "here and there. I think we mostly assume that the small offerings are taken by dogs, cats, birds or the truly needy amongst us." She looked at Iris who nodded.</p> <p>"That is what I thought as well, mother. But then this happened... clothes, food and then... nothing has ever come back... some things not taken, of course, food to be disposed of, yes. But never a return of goods in kind. And nothing like the holster, pistol and its stuff. That is just strange. Not even stories of something like that, at least not that you've told me about, mother."</p> <p>Her mother nodded, looking at her and then Father Andre.</p> <p>"Iris is right. Gossip and rumors only. Little things going on..."</p> <p>Father Andre leaned forward.</p> <p>"Nothing official?"</p> <p>"How could it be? A pickpocket tripping and saying it was an invisible woman who did it, and that he really meant to just return a dropped wallet...well...you hear the stories, you know?"</p> <p>"Yes, I do. I've heard quite a few but none involving things like this," he said remembering all the problems of families, rumors of seductions, loss of money, gambling, involvement with drugs, alcohol, bar fights, all of the things that are an endless litany of family and personal problems. Not just gossip but the everyday problems of people that are the source for gossip and stories told by others. This was something different.</p> <p>Iris looked at her mother who would tell her for hours about the whispers of the Blessed Virgin, and now she seemed reticent.</p> <p>"Mother, could you tell about what Jacey saw?"</p> <p>Her mother looked over at her and then at Fr. Andre.</p> <p>"It was a simple thing, a blanket that was missing from their fire escape and found the next day down at the end of the alley."</p> <p>"Did the wind take it?" Andre asked looking at Chloe.</p> <p>"Oh, no! No wind that night, and 5 stories up and the entire thing being creaky, and with their windows open, too. A thief might snatch something like that hanging low, and no one does that, but up so high, that can't be. And the racket the escape makes when people are on it is also not too quiet, even for one person. Cecilia and her husband are very light sleepers. In the morning all the found were a few large feathers on the escape and when they saw the blanket and went to it, it looked as if it had been slept under or wrapped around someone."</p> <p>"Owls? Not unknown, of course, and very few other night birds could do that."</p> <p>"Just so!" Chloe said smiling at him. "Then there was Petros, oh some years ago, having a hunting knife that his father had given him go missing after laying out their field kit to dry on the roof. A flat roof, too, their building being so old. A place no one would climb to and again owl feathers there, just a few soft and downy....then there was..."</p> <p>In the next two hours Fr. Andre just sat back and listened to Chloe and saw Iris just shake her head and relax, nibbling at the melon, sausage, cheese, fish, crackers and later the olives and bread that he sliced up as Chloe continued. These were not the large things of life, but the petty things, the things that weren't important enough to tell a priest and the worries that it might indicate some pagan leanings. It wasn't only just owls, sometimes dogs or cats, even bats especially by cliffs or caves. Most often it was gifts set out gone in the night, a small meal wrapped in a napkin or even oil cloth. Items going missing where only an animal could get to them, leaving scant traces of its passing. Then the more interesting stories of boys and girls, here and there, talking to someone that no one could see and out in public, too, not just around a house. And the sick and those near death seeing her and how everyone avoided her, and yet when she was with them they could see her clearly and she would not remain in the presence of others, as if she understood that this could cause distress. Her sightings during times of distress were just like these, accounts by the wounded, the dying and those witnessing horror and being shocked by it, seeing the young woman put at peril or even wounded by it.</p> <p>When he bid the two women farewell, he ensured the two that this was nothing that could put their faith in the True Religion to any test. After seeing them off, he shut the door and tidied up the office and adjoining rooms, thinking about all of it.</p> <p>"I have heard of a ghost in a machine," he whispered, "but a ghost of a city? Not limited to one place, one district, one object, and seen only by the few who are unwilling to come forward because it is, at once, too fantastic and too ordinary. Nothing in the scriptures, associated books, apocrypha, and other teachings give an account of this sort of thing. Oh a harbinger, an angel bringing warning, yes, oh yes! But this is no angel and no ghost, nor of any other thing like that. Supernatural and natural, all at the same time and at once. Sightings distributed, random, happenings spread out over time and places? Yet always a woman or young woman, with flowing black hair or animals doing things for her...but, perhaps, not directed by her? There is also that lost and lonely feeling to these stories, too. It is like a puzzle where so many of the pieces are missing that you can only get some idea of what the puzzle shows. And all I have are some pieces, a few at the edges, a few inside here and there, and nothing that interlocks save what has happened with Chloe and Iris. Yet there are no pieces that can attach to them, either."</p> <p>Finishing his work, he attended prayer services, this time as a parishioner letting one of the younger Priests lead it, so that he could have time to think and look for the Spirit that is Holy for guidance in the words of others.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Ares was out in the darkness at Ascentech in New Mexico hearing the main doors slowly open behind him as he used light wands to direct Esme as she backed the truck up while Lenny was slowly waking up in the rear of the truck's cab after the long drive from California.</p> <p>"It'll take a few minutes to get the doors fully open, Aaron," he heard Thad say as he walked out of the main part of the Ascentech hangar.</p> <p>"Yeah, just getting the truck lined up for you. Thanks for letting me borrow it."</p> <p>"Oh, no problem, Aaron," Thad said looking at the large object that overflowed the flatbed that had a WIDE LOAD sign on the rear along with a flashing red light attached to the end. "Any troubles?"</p> <p>Ares shrugged as he waved the light wands in front of him across his chest and out again to signal that the truck was on the correct path and that it should be stopped. Esme eased the truck out of gear, put the breaks on and then let it idle.</p> <p>"Not really. We got the permits before dawn yesterday, en route. Hit the court offices, and when Lenny got the local court's approval, he handed me that package and I went across the street to hit up the judges there. Showed them the bill, the sales receipt, the payment receipt, the agreement to ship and then the problems of it not being shipped due to impoundment, plus the court orders. They signed off quickly, and then it was a cross-town jaunt to get it. Only a bit of nudging at the guard shack to get into the lot. In two hours we were just about finished when some boss for the guard company showed up wanting to see the papers."</p> <p>With the truck stopped Thad walked a bit closer to the covering tarps and opened up the rear section and used a flashlight to look around.</p> <p>"This is the one, all right," he said as the doors continued to rumble open and the exterior lights came to life. He walked back and stood next to Ares as Esme emerged from the truck and stretched her arms out, yawning. "It looks to be a good job, Mr. Culpepper, thanks for the major assist!"</p> <p>Thad and Ares shook hands as Esme looked up at the engine, walking to the rear of the truck. Inside the late evening work crew was shifting the ALV drop pod into place so that they could slowly off-load the boost engine into it.</p> <p>"Glad to do it, Thad. Now I have to get back home so that Tamara can get back to work tomorrow, making sure all of this gets off the ground on time."</p> <p>"Ray let her have some rooms over at the bunkhouse," Thad said with a smile, "and Kyle has been doing OK keeping out of trouble. Only had to rescue him from the overhead gantry once yesterday."</p> <p>"That is Kyle for you," Ares said with a smile, "so which rooms do we have?"</p> <p>"It's the 7A-B set, just right as you get in and down the hall. She's inside after getting Kyle to sleep and wants to see you in the teleconference room."</p> <p>"Right," Ares said as Lenny finally emerged with a briefcase full of the documents used to get the boost engine out of California. "Lenny has the papers and I'll leave it in your hands now. Make sure Esme and Lenny have a place to crash, they deserve it."</p> <p>"Yeah, no problem," Thad said, watching as Esme started undoing the rear straps and climbed up onto the flatbed checking to make sure that the padding they used was still in place.</p> <p>"I'll leave it to you, then," Ares said waving at Esme and thanking Lenny before he walked into the main hangar and turned left, to head to the offices.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"...and that is what we know, my brother," Dionysus said from the Event Horizon sitting next to Gemma on his left, with Regina and Hermes to his right.</p> <p>Ares held Tamara's hand as he looked at the display. Then he looked at Tamara who was looking at him.</p> <p>"Everyone has their limit," Ares whispered, "even our sister."</p> <p>"I don't see how anyone could have..." Tamara said with a shiver.</p> <p>"She finally did burn out of that," Hermes said, "and at some point without those who created the Wild Hunt left to sustain it, then it also went away. That must have been a time of terror for others, though, to find such a thing turned back on them and when they tried to stop it were then consumed, in turn, by it."</p> <p>Shifting his chair closer to Tamara, he put her right arm around her shoulders and she slid her left around his. Looking back at the screen his right eyelid twitched and he had to close his eyes.</p> <p>"The most dangerous of us all," he said softly.</p> <p>"She came back, though," Gemma said, "changed by it."</p> <p>"That is why our sister changed her name," Dionysus said, "and, really, Artemis was dead by then, broken, battered and then torn apart with rage that lasted as long as any tried to oppose her. She was always more attuned to the world of wilderness than any of us, and then she avoided as much contact as she could. That is the amazing part, for me, at least. She took up her skills, her knowledge and remembered what she had done and then remade herself for herself. While each of us felt the agony of our father's wrath, she felt it many times and then was looked upon as an object by him. By others."</p> <p>"So dark," Regina whispered, "she said that there are times when...not who she was but...Nature will give her some...I guess power..." she looked at Hermes, "She could see that I would be the mother of 2 families. I was stunned at the club because no one saw me that way. I didn't see me that way."</p> <p>Hermes nodded.</p> <p>"That is why I still race nearly anything fast," Hermes said, "but that is now denied me but I still have skills for it. Never have I been in such desperate straights that I lost all control...but she didn't do that but applied the things at hand." Holding Regina's hand she nodded.</p> <p>"I know I would if anything like that happened to me," Regina said, "just to protect myself."</p> <p>"She made enemies," Ares said, "you don't kill off that many at the apex and not feel the wrath of those who are their family, love them or depend upon them. They got a reward for attacking her, and it was their destruction and, by their own powers, the destruction of all their kind. Possibly all who were like us. If memory serves the Wild Hunt could show up anywhere."</p> <p>"That is the case," Dionysus said, "and I should think that given how many forms of clever and cupidity there were, that, really, a century would be long enough to accomplish that. Perhaps even a decade."</p> <p>"Or one single, blood filled year," Ares whispered as he looked at those at the Event Horizon.</p> <p>"Could she do that?" Tamara whispered, "So much, so quickly?"</p> <p>"It would have its price. The Butcher's Bill," Ares said turning to look at her, "and she has paid it. Artemis was chased, dragged, brought down, then those who should have known better thought to defile her. After the red, the time away, and then looking for the one she knew was alive, still, and finding what we each have found, she could not be Artemis. She became Diana."</p> <p>"I don't think we can sit in judgment of her," Gemma said, "but see what happened and then see how she has come out of it. The young girl, Artemis, I cannot know as you older brothers and one my husband do know her. Diana, the old girl or young woman at the cusp of maturity, she I can talk about and I love her as a sister, both older and younger than I am. And what she has done since then is truly amazing."</p> <p>"She didn't want this known," Regina said, "and wants no credit, either."</p> <p>"Ah, sister Regina," Dionysus said, "she isn't doing this for herself, you see. While each of us has gotten lost in life after the fall, she has aimed squarely at rescue of our most grievously harmed sister and then, perhaps, to find a way to finally come to a natural end."</p> <p>"I'm ashamed to say I never put myself to thinking about Athena so much to do this," Hermes said, "deeply ashamed."</p> <p>"Don't be," Ares said, "I didn't lose track of helping her, but I became too confined in my thinking. I've always been that way and ignored many a simple thing that should be obvious. Yet I cannot see nor think like our sister Diana. No one can. That is how she can snatch all the pieces and ask if they go together in the night and day. We are still guided by who we were in many ways. She is only guided by who she can become, and she has walked out of the blackest, reddest darkness that can be known and can still smile and laugh and love. Even beloved Athena, trapped as she is, cannot do that."</p> <p>"My brother..." Regina said, "...you told me that Diana said to you that she would open the Underworld, become the ruler of the planet if she thought that would get her to that place faster. Was her heart behind those words?"</p> <p>Ares slowly nodded.</p> <p>"Yes. It was easy to sense she meant it. And also easy to understand that she meant that so long as it was easier, faster to do it by other means, she was fine with that. Make no mistake, though. Failure is no option to her. She loves humanity deeply, that I know, as well. Our job is to make sure that we clear that path out so she can reach its end."</p> <p>"Just do what we've been doing?" Tamara asked.</p> <p>"Yes, beloved," Ares said turning to her, "because there is nothing so terrifying as someone who has been thrown into the deepest darkness, returned, then attempts to save one more wronged and is being thwarted from doing so. If she thinks pulling the whole world into that pit will finally get the release of Athena, then there is little any of us can do to stop her."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>There actually was a road out there! A paved one! She had seen it not more than three hours ago.</p> <p>The first stream crossing in from that road needed to have logs replaced and today was that day of replacing old split logs with new ones. Diana worked one of the logs they had brought down this morning and split, and took it on her right shoulder and walked it out, then Marissa called to stop so she could get her shoulder under her end. Together they walked it over to the crossing with Diana carefully stepping on the existing logs until she was on the other side. Together they set it down and looked at the cross-pieces and started first scoring a notch and then cutting at it with hand adzes.</p> <p>"How the hell can you do this alone, Diana?" she asked working on the log as she knelt on it to cut out the notch she had scored. Diana was on her feet, bent far over and already knocking out the scored section at her end. Marissa had tried to do that, she really had! But she was not as limber as she had been just a decade previously and that meant kneeling down.</p> <p>"Oh, its not that bad," Diana said cleaning off the cross piece, then testing it with the edge of the adze to make sure the log was still solid. "Normally I can put this off for a bit, then wait for the ground to get hard and just sledge it over here. I'm on a schedule this year, so that means using the Suburban, instead."</p> <p>Getting the adze into the scores and then across them took some effort, and she started to knock out chunks of the cross-cut notch, although nowhere near the speed that could match her partner. As she got to the half-way point she stopped for a moment and looked at Diana who was walking towards the Suburban to get the next piece out.</p> <p>"Wait a moment," Marissa said, "you drag these out here?"</p> <p>Diana stopped and turned to look at her.</p> <p>"Sure! A lot easier to sledge them out, really. Uphill is a bit tiring, but downhill they side just fine and I can ride the last one down!"</p> <p>"You're joking, right? Because that has got to be the hardest way to do it. With real short days how do you even get back to the lodge?"</p> <p>Diana started pulling the next piece out and when it was at the mid-way point, she got her shoulder under it, adjusted it a bit as she lifted it, and then slowly walked forward.</p> <p>"No," Diana said with a slight pant, "no joke. I don't use power anything unless I have to."</p> <p>Marissa watched her as she stepped onto the bridging pieces and then stopped at the middle and just dropped the log with the half round side down. It bounced twice before coming to rest face down, ready for working. At that point she put some real effort into her work and finished the notch and stood up. Diana skipped across to the other side and together they lifted the finished piece, turned it over and fit it onto the cross-pieces.</p> <p>"Grab some line so we can secure it," Diana said looking at her.</p> <p>Nodding, Marissa walked to the Suburban and got out a roll of the cordage they used to tie the cross-pieces into place. Diana walked back over and they began measuring out pieces to keep the crossing secure during the winter and spring seasons.</p> <p>"So you just...camp out here overnight?"</p> <p>Smiling Diana nodded.</p> <p>"Just like we did hunting," she said taking two cut rope pieces and walking back. Marissa cut pieces for herself and took the rope with her to the crossing. "Except I'm alone, of course. Can't help that as who else would live like this?"</p> <p>Kneeling down on her side of the piece they had set into place, Marissa worked her hand down between the log edges and passed rope under and across the support.</p> <p>"Don't you get lonely?" Marissa asked softly.</p> <p>Deftly moving rope pieces under and over, crossing itself and then again for the second piece, Diana was silent for a moment. After finishing she looked at Marissa.</p> <p>"How can I be lonely with all of this?" she said with a gesture with her hands out to the surrounding forest. "This is so beautiful, how could I ever feel alone here?" She brought her hands down and looked at Marissa who was finishing her side and putting a final knot in the ropes. "And for all this beauty here, that dark vacuum of space is also beautiful in the nothing it has, save for the island of life we have here. We need more islands. Space is so much less forgiving than here, and yet it also feels good to me to be out in it. Even though I need to bring my own life support with me. That is just a different form of hard work."</p> <p>Looking up, Marissa locked eyes with Diana.</p> <p>"Want to join me in space, Marissa? A new life? Hard work?"</p> <p>"Me?"</p> <p>Diana nodded slowly.</p> <p>"But why me?"</p> <p>"Because, Marissa, I showed you your life and what it has done and you have done. I did not mean to take that all from you," Diana whispered, "and you deserve a second chance. A new life. And you know I will not mind if you say 'no'. Or if you agree and then regret it and beg off that path, I am willing to help you back if you still want it. Or if you find someone to truly love and be with, have a family and be the best mother and wife you can be and you don't need me, that is fine as well. Because I will still love you just the same."</p> <p>"You will go with or without me, won't you?" Marissa asked as she saw Diana stand up.</p> <p>"Of course," Diana said with a slow smile. "I don't shy away from what must be done. There will be others out there, as well. And if you are serious about giving up on your former career, then I will help you find a new one if you come with me. First the hard work of survival. Then the creation of islands of life so we can enjoy meals far beyond Earth."</p> <p>"Then fun," Marissa said standing up, "right?"</p> <p>Diana smiled as she walked across the new log and stood in front of Marissa.</p> <p>"Of course, lots of fun. And love. Don't you deserve that in your life?"</p> <p>This was not something she expected, yet Marissa, as she looked into Diana's eyes saw that there was something behind the deep blue blackness.</p> <p>"Doesn't everyone?" Marissa asked, as she reached out to hug the slim young woman who had started out as a target, then a nemesis, then a taskmaster, then a friend, then a lover. Her world had been transformed and Marissa knew that if she tried to go back to her old life, she would be miserable. In a city. Surrounded by friends. Going to parties. That was an empty life, and where it led to she now saw was a trap, and one she had stayed in comfortably to be separate from everyone while surrounded by them. Now in the arms of someone she had detested she was no longer empty, lonely and all of it while in the wilderness which was both full and empty at the same time.</p> <p>"When can I start?" she whispered as they held each other.</p> <p>"You already have," Diana whispered back.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>By mid-afternoon she had given up on trying to talk with anyone, as none saw her and she felt that outright accosting someone who was doing no harm to any other person was not a good thing to do.</p> <p>"This isn't rejection," she said to herself walking along the sidewalk, "but something different. I don't know what..."</p> <p>Walking over a bridge she heard a subway emerge from its tunnel and she looked down at it as it sped along the tracks with a clacking sound done over and over by the wheels of the cars. This was no subway stop, there was no station here, nor any park, yet at the far end of the bridge there were stairs going down to a place that looked as if it had a kept lawn. This was puzzling as she couldn't think of how that could be. Walking as she looked down to it she could see a short walkway, a few benches and a small rounded area where the railing along the walkway encircled what looked to be an overlook. There was even a sign there which intrigued her. With nothing else to do she decided to investigate and walked down the steps to the walkway with the strip of kept lawn beside it.</p> <p>An incoming train approached and sounded its horn, and sped by her with a gust of wind and rush of sound. After its passage she saw that there was an overgrown area on the other side that looked as if it had the foundations of buildings scattered on what remained of the hillside.</p> <p>She reached the overlook spot and there she read the sign.</p> <p>'On this site stood the Temples to the Gods in the Center of Ancient Athens'</p> <p>Turning slowly and stepping around the sign she looked across the way. From the corner of her eye she could see something to the left, a building, yet when she turned it was only subway tracks. Then to her right the sound of a small stream and yet more buildings, but in turning there were only the tracks leading to the tunnels. Again to her right a glimpse of buildings that weren't there and fled from all observation as she turned to look where she thought they were.</p> <p>"What is going on? It's like I can see...something that isn't there...this place feels familiar and yet, I cannot remember ever being here."</p> <p>A flutter of wings she heard from an overhead tree branch and she looked up to see a drab gray bird on a perch, a large bird, very rounded in outline.</p> <p>"That's an owl," she said looking up at it. As she stared at it her keen eyes saw that it was staring at her. She smiled as she walked slowly and saw the owl's head shift to follow her.</p> <p>"There! You can see me, owl! I am here! In this...this place. But I have no idea of who I am."</p> <p>The owl shifted its head and looked straight ahead and then slowly closed its eyes.</p> <p>"If only I could fly," she said softly, "maybe then I might understand where I am from above. Or at least fly to see if anyone could see me anywhere."</p> <p>She sat on one of the benches and pulled a fig out of a bag of figs that had been next to her when she woke up this morning. Nibbling slowly at the fig she closed her eyes to find out if she could hear any more of what this place was, but only heard the sound of traffic and a train coming or going from the tunnels. Opening her eyes she ate the rest of the fig she had picked out and closed up her satchel which had the bag of figs in it.</p> <p>"This place holds nothing for me," she said standing up, "I will look elsewhere to see if someone, anyone, can see me and tell me what is going on."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Careful on moving that system in," Kevin said walking next to the carefully folded orbital station that they could finally pack into the drop container now that the boost engine had been fitted. "Don't hurry, whatever you do, just do it right!"</p> <p>The man operating the overhead gantry nodded and he watched the hand signals from the spotters on either side of the container as the array moved slowly into place. The man on the far side gave the lateral motion with his hand and the forward motion stopped.</p> <p>"Guide is about an inch too low to engage the seating rail on this side," he said.</p> <p>Kevin closed his eyes and shook his head, opened them and walked around to the man on the other side.</p> <p>"Don't tell me, Vance, its an inch too high on your side, right?" Kevin asked.</p> <p>"Yeah, Mr. Penk. The entire thing is rotated about 5 degrees clockwise."</p> <p>"Par for the course," he said looking at Vance then looked at the other 5 people he had making sure that other equipment for the shift to sliding it in went smoothly. "Two of you get come-alongs. We will need the lift to get you up so that you can do a link to link wrap and then slowly lift the low end up. Then we will drop it an inch and slide it in.</p> <p>From the small group 2 people walked away from the group and one man got to the lift and started it up and moved it around to the side of the incoming system.</p> <p>"If it's not one thing, it's another," he heard Ares say from his right as he walked towards the lift platform.</p> <p>"You have got that right. We've spent the last day and a half getting this thing fitted, folded, secured, tightened, adjusted, then finally pulled into place and triple-checking each and every release to make sure it is properly fastened."</p> <p>"The engine was easy to get in, compared to this. Just a few fittings to adjust once it was seated, then the strut insertions to secure it doubly. This is minor compared to the last major problem."</p> <p>"Don't say it, Aaron! This thing still has to be inserted and we are nearly out of spare days and it will soon be spare hours, then it won't be spare anything."</p> <p>He looked back at Kevin and simply smiled.</p> <p>"The main base still has to be packed," he said with a smile and looked at the large amount of material that was still being fitted together, next to the large ALV-III container for it. "Too bad you couldn't do that one first, but it had to wait for this."</p> <p>"Don't get me started! I don't like having to shift the WorkPlat container to Highflight as it is. But if we all make deadline, then it will be one of the rare double drops and this an ALV-II and III going about 10 miles from each other."</p> <p>"A fancy dance, to be sure," Ares said looking at the chains going around the padding that surrounded the folded station. The two work crew members came back from the near side of the hangar and went around the suspended mass and then to the lift. He sidled back to let them through but stayed on the lift just in case an extra pair of hands would come in handy.</p> <p>"Yeah, and we are starting to run on fumes," Kevin said looking at his watch. "Carefully, its just a few degrees of rotation and then get away from the thing so it can be lowered and slid into place."</p> <p>Daylight was slowly waning and the day wore on as the fitting continued into the early evening. Everyone was sleeping in the bunkhouses which was putting a strain on everyone's nerves. In another week they would be done and then the work would shift to the lift and drop crews, along with the orbital maintenance crews and his people could get some rest back home for a few days.</p> <p>"This fucking airshow stunt had better be worth it," he whispered to himself.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"...and that is the way it has to be, Julius. I won't be coming back to pick up my materials, and you can throw the stuff in my cubicle into a dumpster for all I care. I've already arranged for the movers to get to my apartment next week and they'll take everything from there. If you think that there's anything I might want to keep, pack it up and send it over to the supervisor of my apartment."</p> <p>Marissa looked at the screen of the satellite up-link system from the comms and power hut at the older man who was in his office in Boston.</p> <p>"Marissa, if that is what you want, then I can get Djanet to pack up your materials. I'm sure that there are some things there, like the Northeastern Reporting Award..."</p> <p>"Dump it, Julius. All my awards, you can just dump."</p> <p>He was startled and took off his silver-rimmed glasses to lean forward to look at her.</p> <p>"What has happened to you, Marissa? You were so proud to get those awards and you really deserved them. Is someone blackmailing you or something? What is up with you?"</p> <p>Marissa inhaled and leaned back.</p> <p>"Julius, I just can't do that any more. There is more to life than doing that sort of work, and I got a chance to look back on them...on my life...and I realized that I was losing myself in my work. And not in a good way, either."</p> <p>He looked puzzled and shook his head.</p> <p>"If you need time off, I mean real time off..."</p> <p>Marissa shook her head.</p> <p>"It's not about 'finding myself'," she said using air quotes,"because I haven't noticed anyone actually doing that, you know? And I've become way too detached from my life...hell I may never have had a good grasp on it before I started writing...in fact I know I didn't. So, no Julius, I don't need time off. I need another line of work. Something different."</p> <p>He raised his eyebrows.</p> <p>"Like what, Marissa?"</p> <p>"Zero-g welding, maybe. I hear there is good money in that. Got a line on someone to teach it to me, too. If not that, I have a few other things I can do to get by. Plus I'll see if I can find some people I really like and just don't treat as interesting diversions."</p> <p>"Zero-g...are you serious, Marissa? I just can't picture you, ah..."</p> <p>"Say, Julius, have you ever shot, skinned, tanned the hide of and smoked the meat from a deer?"</p> <p>He looked startled.</p> <p>"No..." he whispered, "...what has that to do with...?"</p> <p>"I have. My life as I was leading it was a dead-end death-trap, Julius. I like you, but I detest what I've been doing and that is that. Finis. My 2 weeks are given and I'm not returning to Boston, either. I've closed down my blog, killed my social media accounts and I'll be getting rid of my cellphone once I get all my commercial activities finished."</p> <p>Julius blinked.</p> <p>"What has gotten into you, Marissa?"</p> <p>She leaned forward with a sweet smile.</p> <p>"I'm declaring my freedom and liberty, and I'm going to lead a new and much harder life. Maybe even find someone to share it with, you never know. But first they have to show me just one thing."</p> <p>"What's that?"</p> <p>"That they are willing to do hard work," she said with a chuckle, "Good-bye, Julius. Give my regrets to everyone who asks."</p> <p>"Very well, Marissa. I will miss you. Good-bye."</p> <p>She shut off her connection and looked at her screen with the picture of Diana that she had taken on the sly the first day she arrived. She found its file. And erased it. Then she threw herself back against the chair and let her arms spread out and then down as she looked at the ceiling and exhaled, an immense weight felt like it had finally been removed from her chest.</p> <p>"I am free at last. Thank God, I am free at last. I did have to leave the throwing up a few times part out if it, though..."</p> <p>She gave herself a moment to relax and then shifted upright, shut down her phone, and picked up the satchel and the shotgun. There was hard work yet to do today, and she couldn't forget that for the world because of what came at the end of it.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Thad watched as the flatbed left with the ALV-II container that now had the orbital system in it.</p> <p>"That was a huge part of the stall, and I'm glad it is out the door," he said.</p> <p>Bill Mankin had switched over to being the gofer and helper guy on the evening shift after his normal shift was over, and he stood next to Thad and watched the flatbed wait for a moment to get its guide truck and trailing truck so that it could have the complete safety convoy required for shipment of the system.</p> <p>"I never thought that was going to make it out. The next part is just a large tinker-toy set with the main base module, the extending trackway, extended packer and that packed up spiderweb of a rectenna array. Plus the boring system to get the cooling part down, the ROV for doing any of the necessary shifting and maintenance work, plus the cutting up of the primary boost rocket and removal of the descent thrusters to get the surveyor hopper put together."</p> <p>The doors to the hangar started to close with the warning lights flashing and the buzzers sounding, to remind everyone that the great rumbling they heard and felt was not an earthquake.</p> <p>"I'm just the construction crew chief," Thad said, "you're the fiend who created this thing with all the nasty, collapsible, springy parts that then fall apart into a nice looking structure."</p> <p>Bill chuckled.</p> <p>"When it all works right, that is what it was supposed to do. And this cute little unit," he said turning with Thad to slowly walk to where space was being cleared for the ALV-III drop container, "has the added benefit of being able to retract all those parts, pull up its chiller, and then slowly trundle over to a better site. Plus the spent thruster tanks can be used for local gas and liquid capture for later pick-up or shifting to the next accelerator system in a couple of years."</p> <p>"No, don't tell me," Thad said, "you're already designing it now."</p> <p>Bill blinked then smiled.</p> <p>"Designing? Why I ordered the carbon fiber chassis for the ROV systems already! This little critter is just tossing spitballs out into orbit. The next one can take the booster tanks if they are still around and toss them out to Earth orbit. Filled! By the time we get this all done, sent up, delivered, the first deliveries for the NEXT system will already be here. Of course we have to store them off to the side for awhile, since the ALV-IV, our first real single stage to orbit system gets finished."</p> <p>He looked up to see the already large pieces that had been constructed hanging on a girder system put in place just to allow a separate gantry to move those pieces around.</p> <p>"Yeah there is that. Once we clear the last of this lunar stuff out, then that gets final construction. Ray wants to pop it as a surprise finale at the airshow, seeing the basic Pegasus put together. We've been working on that piecemeal for nearly 3 years and now, finally, we get finish that baby."</p> <p>Bill smiled.</p> <p>"You got it, Thad. Then the sky is no limit, at all."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Looking down from his office, Ray had seen the lunar orbiter being loaded on the flatbed, secured, triple checked and then decided to go down to the front office steps to watch the convoy get together and then slowly start off. Distantly behind him, he heard the doors closing to the hangar and smiled. Across the way, from the hastily erected buildings for the crew to stay in, he saw Tamara and Aaron walking out into the parking area and they had Kyle with them. Smiling he went down the steps and crossed over towards them.</p> <p>"Ray, I thought you had went home by now!" Tamara said loudly as he walked to them. The doors were nearly shut and by the time he arrived the suddenness of the quiet was almost as deafening as the rumbling of the doors.</p> <p>"No, I couldn't leave, not with that going out tonight. Others have put stuff into orbit around the Moon, but that is a full up, wide spectrum spectroscopy and deep penetrating radar system, along with units to look for any gas escaping from deep inside the Moon. We think there may be some of the heaviest gasses forming pools in areas of perpetual darkness and we have a nice little laser and maser system to test that out. Plus the most intense point mapping of the entire Lunar surface done by anyone, down to the centimeter range for all of it by next year, and in the millimeter range for areas of interest."</p> <p>"Yeah, its a huge system," Ares said letting go of Kyle's hand.</p> <p>"Hello, Mr. Kaplan," Kyle said to Ray.</p> <p>"And hello to you, Mr. Culpepper," Ray said extending his hand and Kyle shaking it. "And how are you today?"</p> <p>"I'm doing OK, I guess," he said looking up at Tamara who chuckled.</p> <p>"He's been doing some of the math and science work that Bill suggested he try out. He was interested in some of the solid modeling programs and there are some free software programs that help youngsters learn the basics."</p> <p>Ray shook his head, smiling.</p> <p>"Well that is about a 20 year head start on everyone else, I guess."</p> <p>"Plus some long-term history overviews," Ares said smiling at Ray, "nothing hard, but interesting. Mostly commercial programs, but some good history research to help back them up."</p> <p>"Yeah," Kyle said, "didn't know things went back that long."</p> <p>Ray nodded and rubbed his chin and then looked around the large area that was the parking lot and looked over beyond the hangar to the south.</p> <p>"I think I'll check up on the array, just to make sure that it doesn't need an early washing. Dust around here sticks to nearly everything and those older style panels don't have an anti-static system on them."</p> <p>Tamara nodded, looking at Kyle then Ares.</p> <p>"Late dinner for me," she said, "and Kyle needs something too, by now."</p> <p>Kyle smiled looking up at Tamara and nodded.</p> <p>"I'll pass for now," Ares said, "and join you for the walk, Ray."</p> <p>"Good! Not a long walk, but something to stretch my legs after today's work, I think. Tamara, Kyle, I hope we can talk, later, OK?"</p> <p>"Sure, Ray. I'll have to be heading over to Highflight to get caught up on the engine pod work since things are in hand here for the rest of the mission."</p> <p>"Can I go too, mom?" Kyle asked.</p> <p>She looked at Ares who shrugged in a 'that's up to you' manner, but did a quick glance at the sky.</p> <p>"It'll be late, Kyle, so you had better stay here. You can catch a few programs here or watch the assembly going on in the hangar, but only if you promise to stay out of trouble."</p> <p>"Can I go up to the gantry?" he asked.</p> <p>Both his parents said "NO" and looked at each other and shook their heads.</p> <p>"Aww..."</p> <p>Ray just looked at them and shook his head as well.</p> <p>"Don't worry, I'll keep him out of trouble while Aaron gets something to eat, then it's up to him."</p> <p>"All right, sounds like a plan," Ares said.</p> <p>"Sorry you have to stay here, Kyle. Chilimac reward sound good?"</p> <p>"Oh, yes, please!"</p> <p>Tamara looked at Kyle, gave a nod of her head and they walked off waving at Ray and Ares. They both watched her for a minute and then turned to start walking over to the power system.</p> <p>"So what's up, Ray?"</p> <p>"Well, I would like to get a retrofit of the solar array, but that's not all that important."</p> <p>"Uh-huh, I figured as much," Ares said as they walked slowly past the parking lot and down a walkway beside the hangar.</p> <p>"Yes, we've taken the static test billets and have two sets in orbit, you know?"</p> <p>Ares nodded as they approached the rear shack that was the power transfer for the building and grid tie-in. This system also fed the battery array stored in the underground chamber that had held the old tank system for blimps and dirigibles back when this was a military facility in the 1940's. Their own tank system was on the other side of the building and that was now a hydrogen compression system for the ALV platforms.</p> <p>"Two sets of 3 each, plus sealed solid propellant systems, and relatively simple guidance systems, too. Done during the ALV-III tests and during upgrade tests. Total of 6 loads."</p> <p>"Yes, they are in co-orbit with the work plat, nominally a part of that system but we will leave it behind during the transfer. It's an independent sub-system but meant to tie into the entire work plat."</p> <p>As they passed the power facility and were under the shade of the array, the next building started to come up and it was a long prefabricated building that could hold up to 3 ALV-III drop containers, although it was mostly used for spares, and parts that were too long or too bulky to be left in the hangar.</p> <p>"It cost a bit to get the billets put together, lathed down, ceramic coated and then fitted with everything, you know? I mean we have used them as static test slugs for different systems and used one at the rocket sled facility 4 years ago. Nothing has the mass of those things and they are perfect for testing propulsion systems."</p> <p>"Well, that is the cover story for them, isn't it? That and being raw material for high density shielding for the work plat once it gets up and running."</p> <p>When they got to the walkway going in front of the second building, Ray took it and walked over to the door and used his card and bioprint to open the door. They stepped into the large building which was quite warm from the day's sunshine. Behind a forward part of an ALV-II container and an old boost rocket that had a number of defects in it, and second from that batch next to it, was a set of holders that had 3 large ceramic coated metal rods attached to them. Each of the rods was nearly 2 feet across and nearly 40 feet long, and the far ends had cavities in them that had clear plastic over them.</p> <p>"I can't believe that these were just left out in a storage facility outside the missile range where anyone could get them," Ray whispered, "it's just crazy."</p> <p>They stopped beside the rods which were on a long wheeled cart along with their carrier.</p> <p>"Money got spent quite freely in the '80s, Ray. This was part of the high speed interceptor program, but someone forgot that it is hard to get dense materials accelerated quickly."</p> <p>Ray smirked as he turned to look at Ares.</p> <p>"I know! That's why we use them for static and track work. If 10% of a rocket fuel load can't budge one of these on the rocket sled more than 50 feet, then its useless. I worked with Herman on the smaller version of the monofuel system, Aaron, and we used these for that set of tests. Right now all my money coming from the company is getting plowed back in consumables, mostly. These," he said tapping the copper toned metal with the knuckle of his index finger of his left hand, "are consumables."</p> <p>Ares looked at him with a frown.</p> <p>"Can't he get the engines for you?"</p> <p>Ray shrugged.</p> <p>"He already has them on order, Aaron. I've talked it over with Darlene and these things are contingency but necessary things. We've already shifted the funds."</p> <p>Ares nodded.</p> <p>"Well that decision is made then."</p> <p>Ray raised his eyebrows, then chuckled.</p> <p>"Diana now holds the majority of the company. Even in non-voting condition it means that everything we do, now, is under her investments. And there is no way we could have gotten to this point without her, you or Herman. You and Herman we could buy out 4 years ago, which Herman took for Highflight and you took for working capital by and large, but there was no way to buy out the amount Diana plowed into this place. On paper I make a few million a year on Ascentech, but in reality 99% of that goes into the company but not for investment but as a pay cut to me to keep it running, meet payroll and make sure the bills get paid. That isn't investment, but overhead."</p> <p>Ares looked over at the long rod and slid his hand over it, feeling its machined surface that was polished to be mirror smooth.</p> <p>"She can't liquidate it publicly without putting the company public, right?"</p> <p>Ray nodded.</p> <p>"You know, Ray, there might be an answer to this. I'll need to talk with her, but I think we just might be able to reduce her percentage and get her involved in something else."</p> <p>"Really? What would that be?"</p> <p>Ares smiled as he spread his hand on the metal rod.</p> <p>"I think I'll have to have a talk with Mason. And cousin Dennis. Really, we do need to grow crops in orbit and in other facilities like on the Moon. Dennis is good at that, Jasmine has the nano to bacterial scale work and that just leaves the growing of plants in more natural settings in the form of horticulture for more daily use. And I can't think of someone better at that than Diana...you've been up to her place in Alaska and seen how the garden is mostly just for show. The real work is getting all the right plants to grow in the right places and yet leave it all looking natural. Dennis can do the agricultural and crop side."</p> <p>"Ahhh...it wouldn't be an equal swap, though, would it?"</p> <p>Ares shrugged.</p> <p>"Herman might be able to help a bit in that, too. At the very least get her out of the largest percentage holder category and you back into it."</p> <p>"I could put up with that, at least. We do too much work with SLSR and Mason in a minority position would help him to diversify his income. And that puts SLSR squarely in the habitation of space business. Herman in for a few percent here isn't that big a deal, either. Say what have you been working on beside all of this?"</p> <p>"You mean beyond keeping Kyle busy, and making sure Tamara has the support she needs?"</p> <p>Ray nodded.</p> <p>"I know it has something to do with an Athena style vehicle, but you aren't making it with Herman's organization, are you?"</p> <p>Ares chuckled.</p> <p>"That's right, its all private spare time work. Maybe in a month we will hit you up for an ALV-III drop. Kevin says we are now into the working prototype stage and Karl agrees. By using the basic overall design schema of the Athena line, we don't need much in the way of testing of the overall design for flight. Scaling it out and adjusting it some is well known territory now. We are going to do is push the ALV-III carry capacity to the limit, though, and still expect a good 15 miles ascent out if it. Because that is the only thing that will lift it."</p> <p>Ray looked at him.</p> <p>"Dear god, Aaron. What the hell is it?"</p> <p>"A custom corvette. It isn't a car. Come on and let me see if I can catch Mason via the up-link system. Then I have to get something to eat while you corral Kyle."</p> <p>Nodding, Ray followed Ares as he walked next to the rod, letting his hand slide over it as he walked to the end, and saw him give a pat at the very end of the rod near where it was sealed. He started dredging through his memory as to what else had the name of corvette, and was coming up empty. An hour later, after getting Kyle out of the teleconference room, they went over to his personal system so that he could look up the term corvette.</p> <p>He stopped and looked at Kyle who had a smaller tablet system he was using to do some solid modeling.</p> <p>"Kyle?"</p> <p>Kyle looked at Ray.</p> <p>"Yes, Mr. Kaplan?"</p> <p>"What is it you're modeling there?"</p> <p>Kyle looked at the screen which held a very sleek design that looked like a blended wingbody, but had sections that looked like they were detachable.</p> <p>"Oh, that's a corvette, but a...umm...dad showed me an old documentary...ahhh..Q-ship! That's it! A Corvette Q-Ship!"</p> <p>"It looks very nice," Ray said softly and swallowing.</p> <p>"Yeah, it is! Dad's putting the plasma and Mach effect systems in it, too!"</p> <p>"Really?" Ray asked softly, "Did your dad say what it's for?"</p> <p>Kyle smiled and nodded.</p> <p>"He said its to keep people honest."</p> <p>Ray blinked and looked from Kyle's screen and got to work on his own system.</p> <p>"Thank you, Kyle."</p> <p>"Sure, Mr. Kaplan!"</p> <p>Just like with Herman, Ray didn't know exactly what was going on. Like with the drop container systems he hadn't thought that extra step or two and now realized that if Herman had been a step or two ahead, that Aaron was a few beyond that. Because all that Kyle had just told him did start to fit together, but no one had ever even proposed anything like it. He had to look at the company's drop schedule the week after the airshow, the time when it was back to business and he checked for the ALV-III drops and saw that there was one set aside for something called the Project Anaheim and its POC was Karl Odistold. Then he saw that it had a pilot for it, as well. Aaron Culpepper. That would be about when the OASIS I was coming back from the Moon trip.</p> <p>He glanced over at Kyle who was busily playing with different forms on the Corvette and Ray had that sinking feeling that not only was something advanced going on, not only was he not let in on it, but that the timing was no coincidence and that anyone wanting the near 100 ton drop capacity of the the late model ALV-III was up to something serious. One of those got the work plat framing and booster system to orbit. They could haul a lot and they were not cheap to use, and a high profit item on Ascentech's schedule. Mostly they were a cost sink for the company since it was taking people awhile to realize just how much mass that actually was. Most people thought in terms of something they could get their minds around and one of the most common items he used was a standard city bus. When you put it in terms of 4 or 5 city buses, then people started to get a real picture of what you were talking about. Even Herman hadn't come up with a design to exploit the full capacity of the ALV-III and had stuck to dropping massive engineering loads, by and large, save for the one time he had used an ALV-III for the core of the OASIS II. That was going to be a big place when he got done with it. But a 100 ton space vehicle? Even if 90 of it was just for the rocket system that was a lot of vehicle.</p> <p>Ray stopped and thought for a moment and started looking up what it was that Mach and Einstein had gotten up to back in the day. There was some serious reading here and he realized he was nearly at the time he had to go home. He duped his work over to his traveling tablet and sent a copy to Darlene for her to mull over. He was getting a headache trying to get his mind around something called 'apparent mass' and the effort was leaving him less sure of what Aaron was doing rather than more.</p> <p>"Kyle, I've got to leave and want to drop you off with your father," he said shutting down the system in his office and Kyle nodded hibernating his tablet system.</p> <p>"OK, Mr. Kaplan. I like your office, lots! All sorts of connectivity here!"</p> <p>Ray chuckled.</p> <p>"It goes with the title of President and CEO of the company," he said snapping his briefcase shut, "come on, I need to get out of here before Darlene has a fit."</p> <p>He wasn't that worried, actually, as he was pretty sure that she would find all of this just as interesting and puzzling as he did. He didn't interrupt Aaron, and just let Kyle slip into the teleconference room since it was a private conversation and he knew that Aaron had a few sets of encryption up on it.</p> <p>To keep people honest, he had said about that.</p> <p>A Corvette Q-Ship. To keep people honest.</p> <p>Ray smiled as he knew that whatever the surprise was at the end, that it would, indeed, keep people honest. That was something that Aaron was very good at doing.</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-7665976044402190652015-11-28T03:07:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:18:55.319-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 7<p>Mason was in the main up-link comms room at the Ascentech facility in Arizona. What had started as their first site with 4 warehouses they converted to other uses had now been halved with Highflight using the other two buildings. Between those and the other nearby Highflight construction facility, Mason had a good handle on the part of the project that dealt with the fabrication of interior drop container components. This was not his only project going on with these companies and while SLSR had larger contracts with other groups and governments, they tended to be stock supplies and consumables along with logistics expertise. From the ranks of the California offices he had inherited and finally shut down, he had promoted Karen Hughes and Leo Goldberg to heads of those major contracting segments as those were the best fit from their prior organization. That had been subsumed into the new SLSR from the DOGIS spin-offs he had been handed and now at 5 years they were a well-functioning organization. That did not mean that he sat in an office filling out paperwork, or attending high level meetings with other companies, although he did that, too. He had decided that since the Mars Technology Trust still had a large representation on the Board of Directors, that the MTT would be tapped in a sub-contracting role to represent SLSR at a large number of those meetings. This gave him an opportunity to find and approach members from other companies still in MTT about decamping with benefits intact.</p> <p>Deciding that leading by example was necessary, Mason Newcomb still did major contract work and when he showed up it wasn't just as the one overseeing the work but as the head of SLSR. The number of times he had been able to get projects moving just by showing up to find out what the delay was had long since gotten past the easy to recount total. Yet for all of that he had tapped Tamara Culpepper to be the point on this undertaking, and when they had discussed what needed to be done and since Mason was still in Arizona, he had volunteered to handle this end of it. That meant that the President of SLSR was now the #2 person on a contract he had signed off on. Tamara was at the other end of the video link at the spaceport, along with Ray Kaplan and his wife, Darlene, as well as Herman and Regina and Aaron Culpepper.</p> <p>"Today we got the smelter system launched successfully and it is now en route to the WorkPlat," Ray was saying as he looked at Tamara, "and that is now one day ahead of schedule for it. Luckily we could free up a launch window by swapping it with Highflight."</p> <p>Regina nodded as she was examining her notebook system.</p> <p>"That was a drop of two emergency rescue pods for an oil rig, which need to have them replaced at sea as their current ones were damaged during drilling operations. They were willing to take a few thousand to get you bumped up, Ray, since we all know that floor space is just hard to get at any of our facilities right now."</p> <p>Tamara smiled and looked at the monitor from the center of the U-shaped table.</p> <p>"It is actually pretty important to long-term Ascentech plans, and while it will be deadmass on the delivery of the Lunar systems, it will be the heart of the materials processing system."</p> <p>"Only in part," Darlene said, "the primary smelter, gas capture, slag removal, diamond cutter and laser vaporizer system are essential, but it is the secondary smelter and fabricator that will be the real heart of the system. We would love to postpone the drop, but it is taking up so much hangar floor space that we can't get much accomplished on the Lunar systems until it flies."</p> <p>"Mason?" Tamara asked, "Do you have an ETA for that from your end?"</p> <p>He nodded and looked to Mel on his right, and she examined her system and leaned over to Manny Johnson her third shift foreman to whisper to him. He nodded as they spoke and Mel turned to look at the screen.</p> <p>"The systems attachment structure will be on a flatbed tomorrow night and will arrive in 2 days at the hangar. We did a test fit with a partial ALV-II drop container and its a 'go' from that side of it."</p> <p>"Call that day shift morning in 2 days, insured. I added hefty insurance on that load," Mason said, "and if it arrives after 0800 local, then they will be paying a penalty. That is more than enough time with good, steady driving and only an act of extreme weather or God will allow them to try and beg off from it."</p> <p>Herman smiled and glanced at Darlene.</p> <p>"I like the way Mason works," he said and Darlene smiled looking at Ray.</p> <p>"So say we all, Mason," Ray said, "we finally have the Lunar processing piece loaded into its ALV-I container, and that will have 2 of the 3 ROV systems. Since it is now in a piggyback status, we don't need a full fuel load on the descent rocket and we are scrambling to get additional rectennas for it."</p> <p>"Any hold-ups there?" Tamara asked.</p> <p>"None so far," Darlene said, "luckily those pieces are cheap and commonly available. Our main time has been spent swapping out the fuel bladders to get additional cubic for them. It just has to unroll down the accelerator track and it is already designed for that in case we ever wanted to put more on it later."</p> <p>"Good!" Tamara said looking at her checklist, "And the Lunar orbiting power station? What is the status of that?"</p> <p>"In prepacking," Hermes said, "we agreed on the ground yesterday to take that over to our facility here and get major components installed in the ALV-II container when it arrives."</p> <p>"Any updates for that, Mason?" Tamara asked.</p> <p>"Yes, I talked with Karen and she has word that it is going into the final solar installation for the container part of the system today. It typically takes another 3 days for hook-ups, which means it will be shipping out in 4 days from now and be in New Mexico next week. Along with that will be a second truck with their to-spec unfolding thin film system for the orbiting power station. That is already in the packing stage and I agreed to have it go along with the container so that it arrived in one go instead of piecemeal."</p> <p>"We can handle that," Herman said looking down the table at Ares who shrugged.</p> <p>"The boost engine is still late for the orbital station," Ares said, "hung up in the bankruptcy litigation in San Jose."</p> <p>"We already paid for it," Darlene said, "someone has to remind them that equipment that is paid for needs to be delivered."</p> <p>"I'll give a call to Parker and Donaldson," Tamara said referring to one of the law firms they had brought in on this contract, "to see what they can do. That is sitting in a warehouse, someplace, and isn't something they can impound or put a lien on."</p> <p>"If worse comes to worse," Ares said, "I'll hop a flight from here, rent a flatbed and pick up some bolt cutters and get it. I'll need an authorization from Ray, for that. Plus someone to look after Kyle."</p> <p>Mason saw Tamara give Ares a look and then closed her eyes for a moment.</p> <p>"Done!" Ray said, "Tamara, if the lawyers can't get us a firm answer by tomorrow morning, then we will get it here ourselves. I can get a judge to get us an order on that since the purchase was done here. That is our property."</p> <p>"Hopefully," Tamara said evenly, carefully, "It won't come to that."</p> <p>"I'm cheaper than a repoman," Ares said and Mason chuckled.</p> <p>"He's serious," Mel whispered.</p> <p>"Oh, very," Mason said to her, "although if he wants some local help I'm sure that an employee or two from our late California offices would love to assist. There is no love lost between Chappelle Rocket Systems and SLSR. They have been screwing us up for years."</p> <p>"I'll make sure contacting the lawyers is the first thing I do after the meeting," Tamara said in a low voice and giving a hard look at the screen and Mason.</p> <p>"Next is the main Lunar control base system and its rover. We already have the container for that, right?"</p> <p>Darlene nodded.</p> <p>"Yes, it is taking up far too much space at the hangar. We're having to bump it back for the first thruster drop in 5 days. Thruster pods and secondary Lunar go together with that ALV-III load, and then we can get to work on the serious assembly time needed for the base and rover. That then gets squeezed as the next ALV-III for two pods and the crew area arrives. If everything is going well in Arizona?"</p> <p>Mason spoke up, to head off Mel.</p> <p>"It is getting in the pre-prep stage by C^3. Once the other pieces get loaded then they can start on the ALV-III container which is already in pieces being shipped from Kentucky. It will get there in 3 days and no more than 4, otherwise the penalty clauses will start hitting C^3. Then it is a full 5 days to application and finishing, 2 more in shipment to here. We have planned to split it up to doing the pod rigging at the shared facility and the custom crew area at Highflight. Dennis and Jasmine assure me that they will have the final design for the reprocessing system done by then and Gemma is out to a specialty fabrication group in Texas to get some of the fittings necessary for it."</p> <p>"On our end," Mel said looking at Mason, "we have all the hardware ready to fit for the engine pods. The main cabin pieces for the interior of the upper portion have to be done piece by piece and we are waiting on some stock pieces from our supplier. By the time the container gets here for separation, we don't expect any glitches for the boost engine fittings, pod fittings, and only need to get some of the final agreements for where we have to set aside space for the bio part. Insulation foam and other materials fitting for the cabin can start as soon as the container arrives."</p> <p>"It's a bit of a scramble, Tamara," Mason said, "just like that job we had in Germany when you first got to us. We're not expecting any real hang-ups, though."</p> <p>"Mason, the German job was 3 days over schedule. We don't have that sort of padding because of the hard dates of the airshow, launch schedules, testing schedules and making sure that Highflight has an Athena II ready to go."</p> <p>"Which we do," Herman said, "and a hot spare, just in case. We're taking the hot spare Athena I slot out so that our paying pilot rides get done, along with a paying scientific mission that doesn't need someone to operate the payload. Nice and we're willing to take a bit of a loss on that..."</p> <p>"We'll reimburse you," Darlene said, "you're the ones doing the immediate slippages and working like fiends to get this done."</p> <p>"Oh, we have good enough payments coming in, Darlene," Herman said looking at Regina, "but if you want to comp us for a free ride after all of this is done on an ALV-III, then we will gratefully accept."</p> <p>"Of course," Ray said looking at Darlene who nodded, "easy enough to do once the airshow is done."</p> <p>"Good!" Tamara said, "By the time we are in the thick of it, our pilot will be coming down from Alaska and jetting over to Greece. She wants to clear out jet lag and do some of the leg work that we should be doing, but can't. We may have to tap her to work with some of the technical people, but that is just to get some of the set-up ready for the show, itself."</p> <p>There were nods around the table.</p> <p>"We already have clearances from Athens for the ALV systems going there," Ray said.</p> <p>"Same for us with using the ALV's to get Athena I and II systems there. That got done months ago," Regina said.</p> <p>"Great! That's the outstanding items list. Any new ones?" Tamara asked.</p> <p>People were shaking their heads negatively around the table and Mason looked at Mel who looked at Manny who shrugged.</p> <p>"Nothing from here, Tamara," Mason said.</p> <p>"All right, that's a wrap. Same Bat Time, same Bat Channel next week," Tamara said with a smile, "Event Horizon, out."</p> <p>As the screen went blank and the sound cut out Mel just shook her head.</p> <p>"Damn she is hot!" she whispered, "I didn't think she could look any better than when I first met her..."</p> <p>"Oh, she is at her best with a full platter of things to do," Mason said, "that is why DOGIS hired her and why I made sure she went with the DOGIS package. She has refused to be promoted, but more than willing to take a raise. Had to do that, anyway."</p> <p>"Really?" Manny asked, "Why's that?"</p> <p>Mason smiled looking at him.</p> <p>"Competition. I know she has had offers from Herman, Ray and at least 3 other organizations she has told me about and I suspect about 5 is the actual count. She is good at this. And she has only gotten better with time. I had to offer her a better position knowing she would refuse it. She doesn't want to be any higher up than she is now and I respect that. How long I can keep her in SLSR? Now that I don't know."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>The warning signs for the flooding of the underground river were old, rusted and tilting to the side. Along the path she walked uncaring about the signs and then left the path as she felt... something. She had been avoiding people since mid-afternoon and had given up on getting anyone's attention and her only real interaction had been at an outdoor party of some sort where food had been freely available to all at the party. None objected to her presence nor of having food, and she felt no shame in eating enough to assuage her hunger and take small sandwiches with her in her satchel as well as two bottles of warm beer.</p> <p>Going down a small hill she looked around and could not decide where to go next. To her right she could see roads heading into hills or perhaps heading towards a mountain just beyond.</p> <p>"This looks almost familiar," she said to herself, "it all has looked that way, almost like something I've seen before, on another day before this one. I know there are days that preceded today, I have seen them marked on a calendar and yet, there is nothing I remember about them."</p> <p>Aimlessly she walked, going up a slope to walk along a narrow road and then turning towards the hills, deciding to cut across a field of wild grasses and flowers. Stopping she knelt down to smell flowers and tried to remember if they had names she knew.</p> <p>"So very close, and yet there is no name I can give for it, although name it must have."</p> <p>Standing, walking slowly, she heard children walking by the road, heard vehicles passing and watched as a bird flew overhead.</p> <p>A dark bird.</p> <p>Her eyes widened looking at the bird as it flew to settle on a stone wall in the distance. She walked towards it, careful to make no sudden moves and did her best to act as if she wasn't heading towards it at all. Turning its head one way, then another, the dark bird with sleek feathers that glistened in the late day's sun, watched her approach. Just steps from it she stopped her approach as it hopped slightly to her left on the wall, just a couple of hops before stopping and looking at her, again.</p> <p>"I'm sure you have a name..." she started.</p> <p>"Caw!" the bird called out. It hopped left once and then stopped, turning its head to look at her. "Caw!"</p> <p>Then the bird took flight, black wings beating quickly so that it could begin to fly far above and then be lost in the sky.</p> <p>"Just a fleeting thought..." she whispered, "...because it knows I am here."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"That's it for this piece," Jasmine said looking at the growing pile of fittings, conduit and vents that she had piled up on multiple tables, "the last of the UV fittings for the air intake system and it was hiding in the packing material at the bottom of the box that came in with the rest of the conduit."</p> <p>Her father looked at her from two tables down as he sorted through the pieces in front of him.</p> <p>"Well that puts us almost back on track...these impellers, on the other hand, have connections that are either just a bit too big or too small, as if someone decided to go to great lengths to test the limits of acceptability for interchangeable parts."</p> <p>It was a critical piece of the system as all of the low voltage impellers kept the air moving throughout the system and in the main crew area.</p> <p>"Please, oh please, don't tell me we need adapters," she whispered remembering a similar problem doing the OASIS system.</p> <p>"Ah, no worries, my dear daughter! With just a few turns of a lathe in the prototyping area," he said waving his right hand in her general direction but actually pointing to the Ascentech Building #2, "the slightly over-sized ones can be turned down."</p> <p>"And the undersized ones?"</p> <p>"Silicone tape on the thread. Or quadruple wrap of teflon tape with just a touch of sealant just to make sure."</p> <p>She was exhausted and looked around the large room that had once been a construction facility with just a few shop desks and workbenches. It still was that, of course, save for the long sections of conduit, huge pile of vents, and the mounds of fittings on the tables. The dual interchange system was the very first piece they decided on and spec'd out space for it in the cabin area. The very most forward part held the water reclamation system and it also had large sections sitting around the area, but with nice and neatly handwritten tags on boxes of materials. There were pumps, filters, and sensors waiting to be applied to the appropriate pieces so that flow throughout the entire liquid system could be monitored.</p> <p>Turning to look she saw the opened and marked boxes of the electronics to run all of this and that was next to the pallet load of batteries that would be concentrated forward but also have secondary concentrations near where the solar arrays would be gathering sunlight. Luckily that system fell to other people, but they needed to know where all the major outlets had to be to run the systems for keeping the air fresh, sanitation and clean water..</p> <p>"What a fucking mess..." she whispered shaking her head.</p> <p>"Hmmm?" Dionysus looked up from where he now only had a dozen fittings left to check. An over-sized pile was on his left, an undersized on his right and those that matched specifications within tolerances were in the center.</p> <p>"I could be working in some nice lab in a large company someplace and have regular hours. Holidays! Overtime! And be chasing down...maybe a new antibiotic or doing phage research..."</p> <p>"Which you've done, lovely daughter of mine! Why what you have done has made all of this," he said with a sweep of his hands, careful not to disturb any of the fittings before him in the expansiveness of his gesture, "is due to your rapid ability to find solutions to problems that, quite frankly, I would be unable to do in even months!"</p> <p>He brought his hands down and swiveled to look at her.</p> <p>"Plus you are debt free! You owe nothing save a few more years of work on this sort of thing, and then none of us have a hold on you. Unlike the vast majority of those who graduated at the same time you did and are gainfully unemployed and owe their lives to their paymasters, you get to decide your own life."</p> <p>"I know," she whispered sitting back down again, shaking her head. "Its just..." she looked at him, "Father people's lives depend upon this stuff. It's just me and a quick double-check by another of Mason's people and that is it. I didn't expect I would have to try and engineer systems like this without any real design plan but just... on the spot."</p> <p>He looked at her and shifted, to stand up from his seat and then walked over to her. She looked up to him as he moved his arms around her and she moved hers to embrace him.</p> <p>"Oh, sweet Jasmine... it is ever thus. The hardest burden goes to those who will gain no applause, see no fame and will generally be forgotten. Yet, a single slip-up and they become the instant villain. Without malice that is a false accusation, a false claim and unworthy of any who make it. I had only hoped for your help and thought that the major part of the work could be shouldered by others. I'm sorry that it is you who this falls to, my daughter. I know of such failure, well and truly I do."</p> <p>She shifted her head against his chest and looked up at him and he down at her with a wan smile.</p> <p>"But you...stood up...helped to escape..."</p> <p>He shook his head from side to side.</p> <p>"When I needed to have my staff, my leopard skin, and all that would allow me to summon inner strength I had, instead, a cup and jug. I failed on that day, Jasmine. That cost the lives of many that I loved, a few that I adored, and others that I admired. When you see lightning pouring through the one woman who has done all she could to be like a mother to you... her body pushed further into the sky by a mad father's rage... I was in an astonished stupor and did nothing."</p> <p>He pressed his eyes tight trying to unsee the grotesque events and many of those that followed.</p> <p>Jasmine held him tightly and he held her warmly.</p> <p>"You survived, father," she said her face against his chest.</p> <p>"Oh, yes... I did survive," he said pressing his eyes tightly shut, "and I am not proud of what I did to achieve that. Nike and Aurora understood what had to be done, they had not a shred of what they were left, their inner selves keeping them together until we were pushed off on the ferryman's boat by my father's foot. By then I was sober and what we took was a pure act of gambled desperation...and I am disgusted at what I was willing to do, even with willing girls, to survive."</p> <p>"How do you...cope with it?"</p> <p>"Ah, mostly I don't dwell on it," he said slowly relaxing and smiling, pulling slightly away to look at her and she up at him. "That is best, really. And to find some way to do things I know how to do that just might make a few things better over time. I am no creator of gadgets nor have the grand insights into the affairs of war, nor that keenest instinct for the natural world. If generations have drowned their sorrows in wine, beer or spirits, or by other means I have helped promulgate, then I think I have helped others and allowed them to find some other way to keep madness at bay."</p> <p>She smiled and nodded.</p> <p>"I just don't want to fail her," Jasmine whispered. Her father had his hands on her shoulders and looked at her.</p> <p>"She can be ever so sharp when you fail her badly, I do admit. Then she remembers why it is worth being civilized and apologizes, forgives, even if she never forgets. You cannot fail her, Jasmine. Failing yourself in failing her? That will haunt you for eternity. Best you go and get some rest. I'll finish up here and then, tomorrow, ah tomorrow! The fun begins!"</p> <p>"I miss her, dad. I felt so bad leaving her with..." she made a sour face.</p> <p>Dionysus chuckled and cupped her cheeks with his hands.</p> <p>"Oh, don't worry about that one. She has brought her doom upon herself and may actually come out a real human being on the other side. If she is lucky."</p> <p>"And if she isn't?" Jasmine whispered.</p> <p>He raised an eyebrow.</p> <p>"Dear Jasmine do understand this. There are far worse things in life than there are in death. And once all hope is stripped from you, then you must come to terms with who you are. She is lucky in that my sister is there to pick up the pieces," he hesitated a moment, "or unlucky. It depends on how you view it, I guess."</p> <p>She saw his wide smile casting the sorrow he had felt aside and stood up to hug him, then kiss his cheek.</p> <p>"I was lucky," she whispered.</p> <p>He chuckled as he held her for a moment then let her go.</p> <p>"Oh, I'm quite certain that was design, my daughter. Don't hold that against her, though, since she has a better feeling for designs than any engineer has or will ever have. And I think you understand that far better than even I do, who has stood upon Olympus on a day of reckoning. You cannot fail her in any way that matters now. You are your own worst taskmaster and that taskmaster must take you to bed! Get going so that I might have a few hours to toss and turn and then, on the morrow, my Gemma will be back!"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>The logs shifted in the fireplace and her feet were propped up on a footstool. Diana poked at the logs with an iron from beside the fireplace and then stepped over to get two more logs to add to it. Each of them was placed carefully and when she was satisfied, she moved iron screening in front of the fire and then walked back to the sofa to sit next to Marissa.</p> <p>"I never thought I would get clean today," Marissa said, "I've never had to shoot, gut and skin a deer then butcher it...hell I never had to do more than go to the grocery store to decide if the filet looked good before I came up here."</p> <p>Diana picked up her wine glass from the side table and then moved her arm around Marissa's shoulders and Marissa leaned to her. They both sipped the dry wine and snacked on raspberries from the bowl in Marissa's lap.</p> <p>"You did well enough," Diana said softly, "it takes a few to get the hang of it. In a few days we'll have good smoked venison to put up and store away. Tomorrow we'll look to see how some of the wild potatoes are coming along, they're always smaller but tastier than what comes from a garden."</p> <p>Marissa nodded popping a berry into her mouth and looked to Diana who nodded, and popped one into hers.</p> <p>"Thank you," Diana whispered.</p> <p>"Welcome," Marissa replied.</p> <p>"The lake helps cure so many things. After a quick swim you were revived enough to help a bit fixing dinner."</p> <p>"I'm embarrassed about not helping more, Diana. Some days I come and sit down here and then, the next thing I know its morning and I'm in bed."</p> <p>Diana gave her a squeeze and snuggled closer.</p> <p>"You earn your rest, love. You truly do."</p> <p>Smiling Marissa took a sip from her wine glass.</p> <p>"Diana?"</p> <p>"Hmm?"</p> <p>"What will Jasmine think about...us?"</p> <p>After taking a sip from her wine glass, Diana set it down on the table, then shifted somewhat sideways to look at Marissa.</p> <p>"What do you think about myself and Nuada? Mel? Any pause for thought by you there?"</p> <p>Marissa started as she had not thought about them and their relationship with Diana.</p> <p>"And Jasmine knows them, too," Diana said, "just because I love Mel, Nuada, Candy, Regina, Tamara, Gemma or Jasmine doesn't mean that they are eager to have me as their very own. For each it is a love apart when we are apart, together when we are together, and understanding that I do not keep my love bound and that I do not require that of any other person."</p> <p>"Oh... I hadn't.... ummm... Diana?"</p> <p>"Yes?"</p> <p>"Are you...ahhh...intimate with all of them?"</p> <p>Diana brought her right hand over to caress Marissa's cheek, then leaned over to kiss her on her temple.</p> <p>"Does it matter to you? And do you think I tell anyone about what I do in private?"</p> <p>"Mmmm..." Marissa closed her eyes and then opened them to look at Diana, "No, I guess not."</p> <p>"Will you worry about that with me?"</p> <p>Marissa smiled and shifted her glass from one hand to another to put her free one around Diana's shoulders, then they kissed.</p> <p>"No," Marissa whispered, "I had to ask."</p> <p>Diana shifted to have her arms around Marissa and then leaned forward so that their foreheads rested together.</p> <p>"It is a worry to have, Marissa, and you are right to have it. You didn't keep it bottled up inside you to become something to eat away at your love and cast doubts on your feelings. That is how it is supposed to be and forgive me if I ever fall short."</p> <p>Marissa sucked her lips in and gave a slight nod.</p> <p>"I will," she whispered.</p> <p>"It is a hard thing for even someone who has many experiences to do. First love that is not infatuation, not just burning desire for sexual release, but actual love is the hardest. And I am not an easy person to love."</p> <p>Marissa pulled away slightly to hug Diana and looked puzzled.</p> <p>"I wouldn't think so," then she chuckled, "but then I never expected anything like this to happen to me. Ever."</p> <p>Smiling Diana looked into her eyes.</p> <p>"It is true, Marissa. Cousin Aaron calls it 'wild love' and it is the only kind I know. It is always waiting to leap, to bound, and to have me find love in the strangest of people and places. Normal for me, but no one that I know of has something like it. While it never settles on just one person, it is always there to return when someone I love is with me. Unstable, always moving and me with it. You are the fortunate one, Marissa."</p> <p>"What? Really? But I'm not, wasn't, well you know...before I came here."</p> <p>Diana shook here head. "It isn't that, Marissa. Your love can be tamed, made to settle down and behave. Find that enduring person to be with and have it grow rich and deep between you, gently pruning parts so that they grow better together. I have to do serious weeding once in awhile. That is not meant to be callous towards any person, but necessary so I can stay sane."</p> <p>"Ahhh, I see. I think. Can I quote you on that?" Marissa stuck her tongue out and Diana laughed.</p> <p>"You! Now you're getting the best kind of interview you can ever have!" she laughed and Diana picked up the bowl of raspberries and dumped it on Marissa's head. "Look! Berried treasure!"</p> <p>"Oooo!" Marissa said as she took the bowl from her head and a cascade of red berries fell down around her. "I'll get you for that!" she said with a gleeful smile trying to reach out and grab Diana, who had skillfully grabbed the back of the sofa and vaulted over it to the floor behind.</p> <p>"You have to catch me first!" she said with a grin.</p> <p>"Just you come back here!" Marissa said standing up and watching more raspberries falling from her. As she came around the sofa to try and cut-off the easy escape out the front door, all she saw was the flash of a shape with legs a blur of motion heading out to the door.</p> <p>"Just missed me! Getting close!" Diana said sticking her tongue out at Marissa who had to stop herself from giggling to take a headlong rush at Diana who was, by then, out on the porch with the screen door just starting to close as Marissa got to it.</p> <p>Marissa took the stairs down to the path a bit more carefully than Diana did but wanted to make up distance on the path itself. As she sped down it she saw Diana turn to the left and picked up her pace, muscles tired from the day drawing on reserves of stamina she had built up over weeks. In a moment she saw Diana rush out to the end of the dock, stop and turn to look back at her.</p> <p>"Ha! Got you!" Marissa yelled as she ran out on to the dock and then slowed as she approached Diana.</p> <p>"Yes, you do," Diana said softly as Marissa realized she had her hands out to her and then stepped into them.</p> <p>"I got you! I got you!" Marissa said in a rush of breath from her as they kissed.</p> <p>Diana nodded.</p> <p>"You got me... just where I wanted you..." with a shift of her weight and a twist at her hips Diana shifted Marissa out to slowly go over the edge of the dock and let go. This time she had the presence of mind to grab at the arms and held on at the wrists, and they both went into the water of the lake.</p> <p>They looked at each other shaking their heads, then came together, each to the other and held on and kissed again.</p> <p>"You!" Marissa whispered.</p> <p>Diana nodded.</p> <p>"You, most importantly," Diana said. As they held each other, Diana used her legs to slowly move them around the dock and to shore where they helped each other step up the slope and back to the trail. They walked back hand in hand towards the lodge.</p> <p>"Been a long time since you've done anything like that, huh?" Diana asked.</p> <p>"I've never, ever done anything like that. That's kinda sad, really."</p> <p>Diana squeezed her hand.</p> <p>"Remember, you started it," she whispered.</p> <p>"Did not!"</p> <p>"Uh-huh, yes you did! You got just what you deserved...not what you expected, maybe..."</p> <p>As they ascended the steps, Marissa stopped and looked at Diana.</p> <p>"Hold me? Please?" she asked.</p> <p>On the porch they turned to each other and held each other by the flickering light from the fireplace inside.</p> <p>"Never anything like this," Marissa said.</p> <p>"You deserve it."</p> <p>Slowly Diana broke from Marissa and looked at her.</p> <p>"Time to get you undressed, dry and your clothes warming by the hearth where they can be dry by morning."</p> <p>"Mmmm...is that a proposition?'</p> <p>Diana smiled.</p> <p>"No. A promise. Come on and lets get dry so we can start the berry picking up by the sofa. Work, then meal, then fun."</p> <p>Marissa grinned. "That is the order of things, isn't it?"</p> <p>"Always has been and always will be, Marissa. Forget that and no power at any level can save you from yourself."</p> <p>"I need more fun, I think."</p> <p>"You've had it out of order, beloved. Now lets get to work so we can be rewarded with our fun."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Jasmine was awake early as she had been for the entire week, and had slept in what had been the old upstairs apartment at Highflight's Arizona facility. Mel had to get some sub-systems from a company in Wyoming and Nuada had sent Karl over to supervise things while Mel was away. Things had been hectic, mapping out the fittings, their placements and finalizing power distribution in the partial container were overtime events between multiple people and organizations. Brent had been sent over to lend a hand and he worked with Bill to get the entire set of systems roughed out and then improvised on the fly. Between herself, her father, Brent, Bill and Mel they had a good working relationship. Her own apartment she had only visited twice to shower and get a few sets of clothing, plus make sure that any bills were paid. At some point she knew that she was going to have to move, again, to New Mexico and was thinking about making that sooner rather than later. In the early morning hours, when the 3rd shift was doing the work that could be left with minimal supervision, she had tried to follow the news, keep up with friends and do something to distract her from work. At some point, in needing a real distraction, she went back to the images that Diana had given her.</p> <p>It was a distraction and she found herself trying to find out how a person could become a blind spot in the eyes of nearly every living person on Earth. Hypotheses and even a few confirmations of some sort of cumulative form of memory would indicate that this couldn't happen, but then the way they happened and how they happened was relatively early in the formulation of that non-localized form of memory. Her courses on biology, genetics, and biochemistry had left her with a firm grasp of how events take place at an individual and species level, from neurotransmitters between cells all the way up to extinction events and speciation. That was the easy part. Trying to find a way to map a speculative non-localized form of memory and consciousness felt, to her, more like spiritualism than anything else. Yet experiments done on time to learn skills that were complex but, at the same time, restricted to research that held no use outside of the experiment, had demonstrated that the time for individuals to pick up skills decreased over time. Without transmission of what those skills were between individuals and large geographical distribution to ensure lack of person-to-person contact and prejudiced knowledge, the studies indicated that those learning these skills after others had done so decreased. Even taking out researcher bias, and other extraneous factors, there were clear markers for this as a phenomena. If she took that as a 'given' then the question was: could an event or series of events actually wipe out something so basic as visual identification of a single individual on a global basis?</p> <p>It didn't seem possible.</p> <p>She went back to image manipulation, trying to find some way to get her mind to actually interpret any of the pictures that held Athena in them, be they old black and white images that were grainy or ones taken just a decade ago with vivid color rendition. Up and down the scale she could not see Athena there. Yet the colorspace was being depicted properly, she had used some of the most basic software she could find for that.</p> <p>With her tablet system's display slaved to her more powerful notebook system, she decided to try an intense polygon interpolation of the best image she had, which was also the first of Athena on the bench. It was a nice still life or urban landscape photo all by itself.</p> <p>She worked in the break room and sipped coffee and heard footsteps coming up behind her.</p> <p>"And good morning to you, Jasmine," she heard Karl say to her.</p> <p>She smiled and turned in her chair to look at him and he had on what appeared to be his normal uniform of jeans, boots and t-shirt with an unbuttoned Highflight shirt over the t-shirt.</p> <p>"Good morning, Karl. Up early or coming in late?"</p> <p>"Hah!" he said looking at her, "I wish it was coming in late, because that would mean a date or at least a few beers involved with a steak and maybe a few games of pool."</p> <p>He walked around the table to get to the coffee machine and took his over-sized mug down from the draining rack and poured himself a full mug of coffee. Turning he took a few steps around the table and sat a few places down from Jasmine.</p> <p>"No luck in any sense of it, that's true. I helped Ron, Kelly and Brent haul over the first pieces of the air handling system yesterday and that took more hours than I care to think about. You had already gotten here for the liquid portion of this, getting that custom tank installed. No need to bother you or your father or Bill, the schedule is clear and just needs to be caught up a bit. Got so tired I couldn't sleep well."</p> <p>Jasmine smiled at him and sat back.</p> <p>"How do you do it, Karl? I mean keeping those kind of hours?"</p> <p>He shrugged and smiled, sipping coffee.</p> <p>"Good work's hard to find. Give me a good project and I'll knock myself out on it. Give me time off and I'll find a good project on my own. Either way. Can't stand being idle. If it isn't spaceships, it's choppers. If it isn't choppers, it's cars. If it isn't cars, it's junking. If it isn't junking, then its training other people to do this stuff. And if it is none of that then I'll train myself to do something new, which is how I got to be Chief Orbital Mechanic and Chief of Orbital Mechanics."</p> <p>He chuckled and shook is head. "It beats moving sound equipment around, though. Can't live that life, that hard and not pay your dues. Luckily I didn't get any diseases that I didn't already have."</p> <p>Turning he eyed the refrigerator and then squinted at it with one eye.</p> <p>"Do you suppose anyone restocked that thing?"</p> <p>"I did," Jasmine said, "last night I took an hour off to get eggs, cheese, bread, coffee..."</p> <p>"Ah, the good stuff!" Karl said turning to look at her, "You don't pay a lot but you aren't cheap, either. I like that."</p> <p>Jasmine leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table.</p> <p>"Mom and dad had me doing that stuff when I was a kid. Mom had me keeping book at the shop and when I learned how to drive I became the go-to girl for them. Had to escape to university...didn't last long, though. Now I'm the go-to girl again, but a few levels up from the shop."</p> <p>"Aye, all the way to space. I've been in OASIS in orbit, Jasmine. You do good work. I approve."</p> <p>She shook her head and then nodded.</p> <p>"Thanks," she said softly, "there was just so much to do with that. I'm amazed we got so much done and done right the first time. Just a few changes, here and there, and then one intermix replacement because we screwed up the flow specs."</p> <p>"Bah! I did the replacement on that! Herman had me drag the old unit over to OASIS II so that it could at least have a provisional lifeboat status. Now Diana is going to take that huge contraption and use it as a tug for Ascentech's scheme."</p> <p>Blinking, Jasmine stored her bookmarks for the material she had been reading, and started shutting her apps down. "I worry about her doing that. Just so much than can go wrong."</p> <p>"She'll get through it. She's a tough old girl, and wicked clever. Good with a welder, too. Never met anyone who was willing to just up and do something she had never done before."</p> <p>"Like you, huh?" Jasmine asked looking at him.</p> <p>Karl shrugged. "I'm just adapting what I know, really. Between jumping out of high school for the stamping plant then scrounging around Europe looking for old motorcycles, then coming back to the custom scene, then hooking up with Herman and Regina over at the club...I get around. Hell, I even got struck by lightning in some damned town that used to be in East Germany when I was out looking for a Zundapp with sidecar some old ex-Nazi had. I figure if you can get through that, you can basically try anything since, you really have already had one bad shock that can't be duplicated."</p> <p>Jasmine chuckled as she looked at Karl.</p> <p>"Really? I never knew that."</p> <p>Karl leaned forward putting his elbows on the table.</p> <p>"Yah. Good bike. Wanted one for my old woman at the time, me all of 20, you know? Stars in my eyes and crap like that. I wanted nothing to do with her folks, though, and that finally killed it. She walked out on me with the damned Zundapp. Still the lightning was worse than that and just more careful, you know?"</p> <p>"I guess so, yeah."</p> <p>"So who's the pretty woman on the bench?" Karl asked. "Looks almost like Diana...say does she have an older sister?"</p> <p>Jasmine was speechless. She had that image on her tablet system and had been through airports with it on. Gone shopping with it a few places. Even libraries for some materials that weren't on the 'net. No one saw the woman on the bench. <b>She </b>couldn't see the woman on the bench.</p> <p>But Karl could.</p> <p>"A...cousin..." Jasmine said softly.</p> <p>"Good, good!" Karl said getting up from the table with his mug of coffee, "Who knows, maybe I can sweet talk Diana into an introduction, maybe, eh?"</p> <p>"Right..." Jasmine said with a slow nod.</p> <p>"Well, time to get the day started. Those panels aren't going to weld themselves, you know."</p> <p>As she watched him leave the room she trembled.</p> <p>"What the hell?" she asked and looked at the screen on her tablet system. "I've got to tell dad about this because I have no idea what it means."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"I don't care what sort of tape you have on the building," Ares said as he got down out of the truck's cab to have a word with the man at the security booth, "we have a release order by the district court and we have a local judgment order affirming that it's legit," he said taking a manila envelope from his carryall case, set the case on the ground, opened the envelope and handed its contents to the guard. "You'll notice that this is a summary judgment, and co-signed by 3 judges at the District Court who agree."</p> <p>Officer Sanderly took the papers and then took a good look at the man before him who looked like he worked out on a continuous basis and could throw men twice his size and weight around as if they were nothing. Then he looked at the name tag on the Ascentech shirt.</p> <p>"Aaron Culpepper?" the man in the blue-gray uniform said looking at him. "Aren't you the guy who walked away from that crash a few years back?"</p> <p>Ares smirked.</p> <p>"That's me. I also have a set of bolt cutters with me. And a 12 inch grinder with the damned largest engine I could find to run it. And an oxyacetylene cutting rig. And duct tape. If you can't get an answer from someone in your chain of command in 5 minutes I will decide which order to use those items and on what to use them."</p> <p>This was not a standard sort of request for Officer Sanderly who was just a guard at a large warehouse facility that had once been one of the Green Busts over a decade ago. Once the hazardous waste was cleaned up, the facility sat unused until an industrial storage company purchased it and rented out space. He gave a quick glance to the driver of the truck, a young man who appeared thin but tall, also in an Ascentech outfit, plus a young woman similarly attired. And at the front of the flatbed was a tooling system large enough to hold the necessary equipment that Ares had cited with all the proper warning stickers festooning each section.</p> <p>"Can you give me 10 minutes?"</p> <p>"No media," Ares said, "or I start using the equipment immediately."</p> <p>Sanderly nodded and opened the door to the guard shack and stepped into it. Officer Aria Greely looked up from her station which was watching the various small screens from remote cameras, and a cellphone with her favorite soap operas that she kept in her personal data cloud.</p> <p>"So what's up, Pat? Pick-up or delivery."</p> <p>"Here, read that while I get on the horn to Jacobson."</p> <p>Aria took the papers and saw the courts they had come from. Signed. Dated. Time-stamped.</p> <p>"Jesus! He came right from the courthouse to here!" she said looking at the clock that had 9:37 AM on its face. She glanced at the camera for just outside the shack and she saw the other two getting out to talk with the first man and he pointed back to the truck. The two from inside nodded and went to the forward area of the flatbed and she saw them start to open up the various secured doors. She heard the drone of an engine muffled from outside the door and saw the young man come out with the largest cutting wheel on the largest cutting system she had ever seen. The girl came out with a box and set it on the ground to open it. Together she and the larger man started getting out rolls of something. Something like tape. Wide tape that glistened in the early California sunlight.</p> <p>"Shit!" Aria said, looking at the clock which now had 9:39AM.</p> <p>"I don't care WHO IS IN THE OFFICE," Pat screamed into his phone, "I got a guy with a court order and a means to use it and if I'm in the way I don't know what the hell he will do to me. Just get someone who can OK it, wouldya?"</p> <p>Aria looked at the papers again, saw the names, saw the seals and knew that not a single one of those was a fake. Someone had connections, clout and was able to get to see a judge the moment he walked in the door this morning. And get these signed. And then trot across the street to get three judges from the Circuit to sign the papers.</p> <p>A glance at the screen showed the young man with the cutting device...was that really a grinding wheel?...Aria shivered as she saw him move towards the gate and its expensive anti-breaching system. The other man had slipped roles of tape on his arms and was coming back from the truck with two tanks, a torch attached to hoses on the tanks, and a welding helmet that was still up.</p> <p>The girl knocked at the door.</p> <p>"JUST GIVE ME THE OK!" Pat said screaming into the phone.</p> <p>Not for the first time did Aria wish that she had something in the way of a gun on her, but the company left these as purely perfunctory positions. She rushed to the door as the man put the visor of his helmet down and sparked the torch to life. The young woman looked at her.</p> <p>"5 Minutes are up. We can do this the hard way, the easy way, or you can save yourselves a lot of trouble and pain and just open the gate."</p> <p>Aria shifted the papers from her right to left hand and quickly turned to hit the large button to open the gate. The young woman snatched the court orders from her hand as she did so, and smiled.</p> <p>The man shut the torch down and flipped up the mask.</p> <p>"And e we expect the gates to be opened for us on the way out. Or I will use the equipment on whoever or whatever gets in my way. And if you run away from the shack and lock the gate, I will cut it to shreds along with the gate. And then report the two of you for obstruction of justice."</p> <p>"Thank you," the woman said as the man toted the rig back to the truck and the young man shut down the angle grinder inches from the gate locking mechanism which was now rolling aside as the gate opened.</p> <p>"Have a nice day!" the woman said before turning and walking back to the truck. The men got up to the flatbed with tools in hand, riding easily as the young woman eased the truck into the mostly empty parking area.</p> <p>"Aria, they put me on hold," Pat said with wide eyes.</p> <p>"It's OK, Pat. I let them in. He had the torch out. And the woman had duct tape. I don't want to even think about what they would do."</p> <p>"Christ," Pat whispered, "I hope we don't lose our jobs on this."</p> <p>She glanced at him.</p> <p>"Any company that can't keep its emergency ops line staffed with someone who can authorize shit like this 24/7 isn't worth working for."</p> <p>They both stood by the door watching the flatbed go slowly by.</p> <p>"What the hell are they here for, anyways?" Pat asked.</p> <p>"A rocket engine," Aria said, "they even had the sales receipt. Nice touch."</p> <p>"I don't think I'll do more than wave at them on the way out," Aria said, "they look to be in a hurry."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"...flat out impossible," Hermes said sitting at the teleconference room at the Event Horizon, with Regina and Brent. He looked at the screen to see Dionysus, Gemma and Jasmine at the Highflight office in Arizona.</p> <p>"That is what I would think too, my brother," Dionysus said, "because in my experience only those so far into their cups that the cups are swallowing them can even catch a glimpse of her. Just before they pass out. Her state of toxicity doesn't matter, no one can see her."</p> <p>Hermes nodded looking at Regina, lost in thought for a moment. He then turned to the screen again.</p> <p>"Rarely children, too. There was one incident I remember of a child of not more than 3 pointing to her and asking who that was, and the parent thought he was talking about an invisible friend. Yet he was pointing at our sister. Animals as well see her and respect her in the old way. Insects do not, however."</p> <p>"True, true," Dionysus said giving a look at Jasmine, "and you have put in whatever time you've had on trying to make a 3D model of her, too."</p> <p>Jasmine smiled.</p> <p>"Yes, and when I try to use variations of the colors that show up when examining her actual pictures, the model becomes a blank. It is still there, still rendered on the screen and I can pick color values off of it but... I'm blind to it. I can morph someone else to it, though, and that works out well since it is their distorted features and skin that I see, not some rendition of hers. When I shift skin tones on the original model, she becomes visible almost instantly outside of a set range of values. Plus I have to leave a little note up when I'm doing that to remember that I am doing it. When I'm with dad or Diana, I don't need that, but when I'm alone I do. It's frightening."</p> <p>"I've seen those models, Jasmine," Brent said, "and for a novice its decent work. I never thought to try that and when I tried to replicate the results, I lost track of it time and again when Hermes wasn't nearby. It is unnerving, I agree."</p> <p>"Hermes?" Gemma asked, "You know Karl the best, although I think we all have a good working relationship with him, but you knew him from before Ascentech. Does what he said fit?"</p> <p>Hermes held out his hand to Regina who took it and gave it a squeeze.</p> <p>"It does," Regina said, "I saw the few pictures he kept of the Zundapp and Nikki Roker, his 'old lady' from his younger days. He misses the motorcycle more than Nikki."</p> <p>"And his old boots he had in Germany," Hermes said, "he has a picture of those along with the old man he bought the motorcycle from. Asked him what that was about and he just said that he got struck by lightning and he doesn't recommend it. I agreed, wholeheartedly!"</p> <p>Dionysus chuckled. "Muchly, my brother. So the story hangs together then, he is human and not some variety other than man."</p> <p>Hermes shrugged. "He looks that way, talks that way, acts that way. And I think that Nuada knew him from before Viceroy, so that puts it back a few more years. The photographs show him to be a bit leaner, younger, but gone prematurely gray which he attributes to the lightning."</p> <p>"That could be," Jasmine said, "it can screw up a normal person's metabolism in strange ways. There are some people who have been struck repeatedly and are not any worse off for it, beyond losing shoes on a regular basis."</p> <p>"And others who die when it strikes nearby and they get a ground surge of current," Brent said, "Karl seems to fit in that in-between of some effect but not lethal."</p> <p>"Would that be enough to let him see Athena, though?" Jasmine asked.</p> <p>"Ah, right to the point!" Dionysus said.</p> <p>"I wouldn't think so," Gemma said, "but then I am no expert."</p> <p>"Remember that what my brothers, sister and I experienced," Hermes started, "was lightning directed with malice, intent and father's power behind it. He is gone and from what I can tell there are no others like Olympians left on Earth."</p> <p>"None with powers at any rate," Dionysus said, "still there are us, the Fallen Ones."</p> <p>"Could there be others like you?" Gemma asked, "I know that Dennis and I have talked about it a few times, and that he couldn't rule it out."</p> <p>"True, true!" Dionysus said, "And I know that Ares has done a much more extensive set of searches over time because he is who he is."</p> <p>"Yes," Regina said, "I've talked with him about it with Tamara...and she has talked with him directly. Everyone who might have been has proven out to be human."</p> <p>"That is actually quite impressive for humanity," Brent said, "that we have people close to that sort of capability, that is."</p> <p>"Oh, it is!" Hermes said, "That leaves our sister, the one who brought all of us together... I don't think I've had a chance to broach the subject given our schedules."</p> <p>"Nor I," said Dionysus, "yet she has traveled to more wild lands than any of us, but I don't remember her ever indicating ever encountering such."</p> <p>"She hasn't with me," Brent said, "and I do my best to be a good friend and brother to her."</p> <p>"You succeed very well at that, Brent," Hermes said softly, reaching out to hold his hand.</p> <p>"Not with me," Gemma said, "many other topics, but not that one that I can recall."</p> <p>"I just found out...about this," Jasmine said, "and I'm, uh, involved you know?"</p> <p>There were chuckles from both parties at that and nods.</p> <p>"Yes, I understand that, Jasmine," Regina said looking at her.</p> <p>Hermes looked at Regina with a slight look of concern.</p> <p>"My beloved sister, my wife, dear to my heart," Hermes said continuing in soft tones, "has she told you something?"</p> <p>Regina looked at the table and nodded, then looked at Hermes.</p> <p>"Not directly but...during that first year and our trip out...to the Green..."</p> <p>"The Green?" Jasmine asked.</p> <p>"Yes," Dionysus said looking at Jasmine, "she wanted to show her who she was beyond just physical attraction. Our sister has very indirect ways at times as she is not as versed in civilization as we are. She left Regina by jumping into the Green River which, at that point, is only cliffs and turbulent river below with jagged rocks."</p> <p>Regina nodded pressing her eyelids closed remembering the slim figure in darkness and her silhouette against the rising full moon.</p> <p>Hermes slid his chair closer to hug her, and Brent moved around to be on the other side of her, to hold her as well.</p> <p>"Before that we...were with the native peoples...had a fun time with each other...and then the locals wanted to put on a play or story, I guess."</p> <p>Regina said lifting her head up with her eyes closed.</p> <p>"About a wan girl chased through the wilderness by a large man who brought her down... with sparkles thrown from his hands...she had tried to fight but was laid open to him.. he took her off and then returned with her. The girl was...clothing ripped and made to look... bloody...then he tried...it was rape...and the actor rolled off of her and a cloud of dust went up from where he had been."</p> <p>"Dux..." Hermes whispered closing his eyes.</p> <p>"My sister...she was the end of our father..." Dionysus said.</p> <p>"But how? He was all powerful by then, wasn't he?" Gemma asked holding Dionysus' hand.</p> <p>Hermes nodded and looked at Regina.</p> <p>"He had everything," he whispered softly, "hers was a gift that he could not take, however. Once lost it cannot be regained, and when nature gives guarantee of it, then no power can take it. Oh, my father, he forgot that all of his power could not undo that. He did take it from many, but it was not his to have since he had long since lost his."</p> <p>"Ah," Brent said, "so much becomes clearer. Touch but not defile."</p> <p>"I don't know if I should have told you that...she didn't tell me to keep it secret. And she was shaken by the replaying of it and more."</p> <p>"More?" Jasmine whispered, "More than that?"</p> <p>Regina nodded, opened her eyes to look at Jasmine.</p> <p>"She was set upon by other...I think gods...3 men...one a leader with staff...another had on a wolf's head and cloak...the third came with a dog...they tried...the leader first..." Regina closed her eyes again and tears streamed down her cheeks.</p> <p>"They would not fare well," Dionysus said softly, "and have even less knowledge of her..."</p> <p>"The first like the other man...again...trying to...and then rolling away and...dust...she had recovered as the others set in to...kill her...but she had her bow, arrows and each of them...dust..."</p> <p>"Oh," Gemma whispered, "she was...capable..."</p> <p>Hermes nodded slowly.</p> <p>"If they were made when she was still Artemis, then that power was in them."</p> <p>"The dog came to her and they left together...she picked up the wolf outfit, a staff and that was the end."</p> <p>Dionysus looked at Gemma then Jasmine, then to Regina.</p> <p>"Sister Regina, you give us the greatest of gifts of wisdom. Thank you."</p> <p>Regina opened her eyes to look at Dionysus, tried to smile and failed, turned to hold Hermes.</p> <p>"It must have been...so hard for her...alone..."</p> <p>"Beloved sister, she was not alone," Dionysus said, "and while she would not kill wantonly, she had picked up the wilderness and returned to it. And it had sent her a final blessing."</p> <p>"A blessing?" Gemma asked, looking puzzled, "How could any of that be a blessing?"</p> <p>"I have seen wild women, my Gemma. And one of them, I do believe, was a leader of the Wild Hunt although that was after my sorry time. And she, by then, was the Huntress even battered and fallen, abused more than any can know, betrayed by her father, let down by her family. She then allowed herself to be wild."</p> <p>Hermes shifted to look at Dionysus.</p> <p>"She wouldn't...she..." his eyes widened.</p> <p>"If our fierce brother were here, you would know he would confirm it, my brother. We now know what happened to all others like us. She was no longer Artemis, young girl with a flaring temper, and the Wild Hunt no longer went after our kin who are human in full but those of lineages like ours."</p> <p>"She snapped," Brent said softly and Regina turned to look at him. "And then, long afterwards, she regained herself. But she wasn't herself anymore. She was different, darker."</p> <p>"Diana," Regina whispered and shivered.</p> <p>"Exactly so, sister," Dionysus said, "and one can image how she felt when she came in search of the one she knew had survived."</p> <p>"Athena," Hermes whispered, "Pallas Athene...and she is like our sister Artemis... Diana...she has the exact, same gift that saved Artemis."</p> <p>"It transformed her, too" Brent said hugging Regina.</p> <p>"That's why..." Jasmine started, "...all of what's gone on..."</p> <p>"Just as Ares told us," Gemma said, "that she would open the Underworld... Rule Earth as a tyrant if she thought it could get Athena back. She is still capable of that, too."</p> <p>Dionysus lowered his head and listened, then softly whispered.</p> <p>"We had best not screw this up. For if anyone can coax the way to the Underworld...past death...to all afterlife...she is the one."</p> <p>"It was no idle threat," Hermes said with a catch to his voice, not masculine or feminine, "and she stays her hand because this way is faster than all others."</p> <p>Jasmine blinked looking at her father who slowly lifted his head.</p> <p>"I don't think she wanted us to put this together, father..."</p> <p>"Oh, I'm sure of it, my daughter. She is making up for her slaughter and now seeking to save at least one and, possibly, all mankind. I do believe that this time I will remain sober. She deserves that. They both do."</p> <p>"Yes," Hermes whispered, "this time we take her seriously."</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-91648540077507854372015-11-28T03:06:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:17:00.815-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 6<p>After taking Kyle with him to the Highflight field facility at the spaceport, Ares had a chance to look at the 2 Athena vehicles there. Kyle had crawled all over them and for some time when he first saw each of their type on his fist visit 6 months ago and now he had lost some interest in them. Tim Callahan, Karl's second in charge, walked over to meet them as Kyle went to one of the workbenches where a Highflight technician was working on a circuit panel.</p> <p>"Aaron, good to see you here!" Tim came over and took off his work glove to shake Ares' hand.</p> <p>"Probably see more of me here for the next couple of weeks. I'm just swinging by to see how things are going here since I'm a bit tethered to home until we can clear out the rush project.</p> <p>"We are down to skeleton crew right now," Tim said looking around a place that would normally have 8 or 9 people working there and now it was just Tim and 2 others, in the main area. "Everyone else has been pulled out, either here or to Arizona. I'm the man in charge here along with Keirry on the mids shift. She's good, and we don't have a lot to do, beyond a couple of drop containers to prep."</p> <p>Ares nodded slowly walking around the Athena I with Tim.</p> <p>"I saw those in the main work area. One of those is for Ascentech, isn't it?"</p> <p>"Yup! Their engine should be showing up tomorrow and once we get that installed for them, then we'll haul it over to their facility here. They still have a decent sized shift since the ALV flights are now in a separate part of the company along with maintenance. Kevin is the theoretical man in charge, but he wears a couple of helmets and has to do the big push for the WorkPlat, too."</p> <p>As they came under the wingbody, Aaron looked at the number on the bottom of it.</p> <p>"Karl took this one earlier, right? As a ride back, I mean. He swapped in #08 so that #05 here could be checked out."</p> <p>"Uh-huh. We do a thorough going over of it, see what its time in orbit has gotten it in the way of any damage, and then put it into the flight line-up. We have 3 of them over at the Ascentech field hangar, waiting for ALV-II drops. Right now #03 is our 'hot spare' out back and can be powered on and wheeled out on a moment's notice. The others have a regular Astronaut money-maker, a tourist willing to pay big bucks just to get to orbit and back, and the last has an outfitted dummy to test a new suit from the kids up in Maryland."</p> <p>"They do good work there," Ares said as they got to the rear engines, "and I've recommended upgrades to get to a more adaptable suit beyond the semi-adaptable one they have now."</p> <p>Tim stopped to look up at the engines.</p> <p>"You got residuals from that?"</p> <p>Ares shrugged.</p> <p>"Not a lot, but it pays the bills. When they have something they need a dummy to really work with, they pay my way since I'm a proven pilot after the prototype crash. Not much left of the suit to ship back, but what there was has led to improved materials and safety. My recommendations carry some weight because of that."</p> <p>"It's a good deal," Tim said. "I forget if you've flown one of the plasma birds."</p> <p>Shifting his gaze, Ares nodded as Tim looked at him and they started walking to the Athena II with the number 02 on its tail.</p> <p>"Yeah, I-#03. Much smoother than the old pulse system of the prototype. If I didn't know that it was pulsed monofuel with ion injection, I would never have guessed. That ion beam smoothed out the pulses and gives the main material a good flow. No more rattled teeth."</p> <p>"We were on schedule to get all of the Athena I series changed over, save for #1 which we want to take apart next year to examine how all the composites are wearing throughout the structure at the 6 year mark. When it is rebuilt we will change it over then, and have a better maintenance schedule for structural parts for both the Athena series, too."</p> <p>Slowly they walked around the forward gear of the #2 two-seater and Ares looked up the ladder and then at Tim.</p> <p>"Go ahead. Herman has been having us do a thorough review of her before the airshow. I know your cousin will be taking her up, and its a working trip so it will be heavy. Don't see why they want a CTD with her, though."</p> <p>Ares ascended the ladder to look into the main cockpit set just back of the nose of the vehicle. The two-seater design had a slightly recessed second seat area that was partially engulfed by the wingbody design.</p> <p>"I think its one to test out some bio components. How fluids flow in enclosed systems and things like that," Ares said leaning over into the cockpit "Cousin Dennis wants some results of some sort and sweet talked Herman into them."</p> <p>Ares leaned back out and came down the ladder.</p> <p>"Analogs and digital gauges, I approve of that design. If I have to re-route power from the cockpit, gauges come up close to last unless it is for navigation. I'm not against all digital designs. When the projection or interface fails, it all goes."</p> <p>"Yeah, I don't want an all digital display on my car for the same reason, and its worth the added mass for the safety," Tim said.</p> <p>"How is the Chevy doing you, anyway? I know it was a Rat rescue and thought the engine was dead."</p> <p>Tim smiled and nodded. "Karl talked me into a restoration on it. Works great. Looks like a beater, runs like an champ."</p> <p>Ares heard the very low tones from his cellphone and took it from its holster on his belt and looked at the face of it.</p> <p>"Mind if I use your comms area?" he asked Tim after hitting an acknowledgment and ETA to his availability.</p> <p>"No problem if you need privacy. Go right ahead."</p> <p>"Thanks! Make sure Kyle doesn't get into trouble. Especially the birds. This building isn't rated for what they do and we don't want a repeat of the last incident," Ares said nodding to the one interior wall that had been blown out.</p> <p>Tim chuckled. "No problem. We put interlocks into the system. Kyle-proofed it."</p> <p>"No such thing," Ares said as he smiled in return, "and thanks. It might take awhile."</p> <p>"Sure," Tim said turning to what he had been doing as he watched Kyle wander over to the work bench where he had an estat igniter out to fine tune. In a moment he was running there as he couldn't remember if he had a low power test hex in there or not.</p> <p>Ares walked down the hallway to the comms area, which was a small room crammed with nearly every single data feed that Highflight had, and there he shut the door behind him and put the red IN USE sign on before transferring his call to the main system for the satellite feed.</p> <p>"Hello, my sister. I see you got my message."</p> <p>The face of Diana appeared from the screen and the shrouded background behind her.</p> <p>"What's up, my brother?"</p> <p>"We have a problem. You know of the Ascentech problems with the engines not being supplied on time?"</p> <p>"Yes, I heard about that and that our brother/sister was supplying engines to replace them."</p> <p>Ares nodded.</p> <p>"He is, yes. Ascentech has changed plans as our brother's supplier can't get the engines here fast enough and Kevin wants at least one pod's worth up at the WorkPlat ASAP. They could limp through with just one pod."</p> <p>Diana nodded.</p> <p>"Yes, much more different flight, but they could. I take it that this means something more?"</p> <p>Ares gave a lopsided grin.</p> <p>"Uh-huh. They're hauling one of the ALV-II loads up with it, I think the orbiter pod, after doing some mods to the original drop pod. Then they want to do another ALV-III drop for the other engine pod and use the top half of the container as living space. That means custom fabrication."</p> <p>Diana closed her eyes and sighed softly.</p> <p>"Don't tell me... our other brother and Jasmine are needed to get that made, yes?" Diana asked.</p> <p>"Correct. Bill Mankin was tapped for project lead but Ascentech is going through SLSR."</p> <p>Slowly Diana opened her eyes.</p> <p>"You aren't going to Greece. Tamara is needed to coordinate."</p> <p>Ares inhaled as he looked at the screen.</p> <p>"You will have to cut your summer prep time short, beloved sister. You are needed in Greece pretty soon. Our brother was prepping for that, but this has stopped those plans. Our brother/sister is now having to work hard at keeping everything running properly at Highflight. I'm looking after Kyle and fill in wherever necessary to shore up labor shortfalls."</p> <p>"Thank you, my brother. A bit over 2 weeks left before I must leave..."</p> <p>"You could stay 3, Diana. Is the newsie still there?"</p> <p>Diana glanced to the side for a moment with a smirk.</p> <p>"Yes. She doesn't slow me down much, any more. But she has agreed to a drive back and that means I'm leaving from the spaceport, not Alaska as per my original plans. So I will leave a week earlier than I expected. I do keep my word, my brother, and she is in a fragile condition. And the trip down should be... interesting."</p> <p>Ares raised his eyebrows.</p> <p>"Ferry or Alcan?"</p> <p>Diana smirked.</p> <p>"I wonder if she gets seasick easily? Better a long drive to wear her down, though. Ship my arms to Billy, then a nice drive down from the north to the spaceport. That will take about a week, what with stopping off to see sights and all."</p> <p>Ares stared at the screen for a moment.</p> <p>"I do not want to know, my sister. We'll deal with the results when you get here."</p> <p>Diana gave a quick nod and a smile.</p> <p>"Oh, I'm pretty sure that the results will be easy to deal with, one way or another. What I do with her is nothing like what she is doing to herself at this point. That should be over by the time we get there, with any luck."</p> <p>"You've said more than I want to know. Good-bye, my sister. Drop us an ETA when you have one."</p> <p>"Of course, my brother. Still much hard work to do here before we leave. Why we might even have time to get all the berry picking in!"</p> <p>Ares closed his eyes remembering how Diana had worn down with Tamara when they had spent the end of the first summer she had back there with her. They came back the next year and that was when Kyle was conceived. Thankfully Dionysus, Gemma, Nicholas, Sharon and their children were there, too. He couldn't imagine what it would take for two people to do that... his sister alone would sweep through like the wind, of course. She had to slow down for everyone else.</p> <p>"Be gentle on her, my sister. Even though she is a newsie."</p> <p>"Why, I'm always easy on the inexperienced. Until they get experienced. Then my expectations are raised."</p> <p>Ares nodded slowly.</p> <p>"I do not want to know. Period. Signing off. Good-bye, my sister."</p> <p>"And you my brother. See you in a few weeks."</p> <p>Ares signed off and shut down the sat-link He had read the stories by Miss Nash and was not impressed by her work. Jasmine had given him her summary and then Hermes unloaded his. The words 'real piece of work' or something similar were part of the discussion. Dionysus said that was the sort of woman who really need to get falling down drunk a few times week to work it out of her system. Hermes would have nothing to do with her, and she would either reform or be an alcoholic if Dionysus had his way. War was not an option, of course, and Ares determined a course of neutral civility and marginalization if Miss Nash had come to him. Instead she sought out their sister. He almost had pity for her. Almost. When human nature meets Nature, only the latter wins.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Fr. Andre walked out from his morning devotional, which had only a few parishioners given the early morning hour. He had thanked each of them, and ensured that there were no problems and to listen for anything that might have been of interest. He had been at a loss to actually come to terms with the odd course of events that seemed to span so much time and yet have so few real indications of representing something that could be understood. The few he had tracked down centered around those close to death.</p> <p>A man in the 1960's who had been a bodyguard for a wealthy ship owner who had died in a fight warding off assailants who then, while bleeding to death in the streets, reported to one of the police that a woman had stepped between the one still standing assailant and his employer and caused the man to trip and that his knife had entered his chest, killing him. No one knew what to make of that save that the killer had lost his footing, perhaps on blood on the cobbles, and then fell awkwardly. Because no woman, this one with black hair and in a dark blue dress was to be seen anywhere.</p> <p>In the '70s an attempted suicide standing on a ledge of a highrise said that a woman had come to him, wearing a dark green shirt and black pants to whisper to him that there were things to live for. He said that he thought he saw her climbing down a drainage pipe but no one saw such a woman doing such a thing and no photographs of the event, though somewhat blurry due to the number of stories involved, captured that image.</p> <p>Stories were sparse, they came from all points of the city, and there was no repeating patterns save that the person who saw the woman, and it was always a woman, told of her being someone who was physically there.</p> <p>He found scant solace in his quarters which had always been soothing to him before, but now offered him no refuge from this strange form of trouble. He had left a message for Fr. Aris to come see him and within the hour he had arrived from his work with a troubled family who were having problems making ends meet and feeding their children. A small care package was what could be offered and some places where work could be found for either the mother or father, which would not be enough but would help for a time. Such work had become vital over the last decade, and it was as much a function of the local church as were the services. At the slight tapping on his door, Fr. Andre set down the magazine he had picked up to read and walked over to the door to open it.</p> <p>"Ah, Fr. Aris, please come in! How is the Hanas family?"</p> <p>Fr. Aris smiled and stepped into the greeting room with his zippered case clasped to his chest along with his Bible. He turned as Andre closed the door.</p> <p>"They are well, Andre, but very short of everything from food to rent. Pacomio said that his father invited the family back to the islands and that they had some space and the family business..."</p> <p>"Don't they run a touring company?" Andre asked.</p> <p>Aris nodded.</p> <p>"Yes. And that would mean uprooting and going home nearly penniless. They may have to do that if nothing can be found in a month or possibly two. They thanked us for our charity and they will look into the leads we gave them.</p> <p>Andre smiled and waved to the small table that had two seats that he normally used for writing.</p> <p>"Hot tea?"</p> <p>"Oh, please, I do like the Mountain Tea you make."</p> <p>He poured two cups out, then took out a small dish of lemon slices from the refrigerator and walked those back to the table, then took a honey pot down from a shelf he reserved for such things next to the table. Together with the small lamp on, they bowed heads in prayer and then toasted to good health before sipping the tea.</p> <p>"Excellent, as always, Andre."</p> <p>Smiling, Andre put the cup down on the saucer and squeezed a bit more lemon into the tea.</p> <p>"Now to work, Fr. Aris. We've talked about the items and how I got them, and about the incidents that I've researched, which lead to nothing. In truth I am at a stopping point because it does not sit well turning this over to the authorities which are at once too officious and too incapable of actually working on something like this and their only goal is showing any results, which would be the possession of the revolver."</p> <p>Fr. Aris set down the cup of tea and opened up his small notebook so that the less thick section rested on the Bible.</p> <p>"It is a war relic used in defense of the city and the country, so that is an available way to explain it. The officer died not more than two kilometers from here and that is well within the Parish, and as such should escape any ill from having such a thing."</p> <p>"Ah, I had not thought of that," Andre said giving a sigh of relief because he did not relish any real problems that could arise from the weapon. "Still you had a local armorer come to look at it this morning and what was his opinion?"</p> <p>"Oh, quite, quite! That and the holster, plus cleaning pouch all point to it being such a thing and dating right to the women who were doing the embossing of leather holsters for the Allies. The kit only retains the cleaning rod and bottle from what was issued, and the bottle has had something more modern substituted in it."</p> <p>"Really?" Andre asked, "Any idea as to when that might have happened?"</p> <p>Sipping tea, Aris flipped to the pages of notes and then looked at them.</p> <p>"Ah, not longer than 20 years ago at the most. The fluid looks quite good in his opinion and he knows a number of marksmen who use it, and that it appears fresh and smells it as well."</p> <p>Sitting back in his chair, which had not a single pad for any comfort as he never required that while writing, Fr. Andre looked up to the ceiling.</p> <p>"Missing since the war...but intact..."</p> <p>"The original cleaning swabs or cloths are missing from the kit, they are, ah, consumables."</p> <p>Andre nodded. "That indicates that someone has been using it."</p> <p>Fr. Aris nodded.</p> <p>"Yes. And the weapon is in excellent condition, showing holster wear. The holster also shows wear from where the revolver has been carried. Yet unlike military or police use, this one only appears to have some normal use to it, thus deep indentations but the leather is in remarkably good condition. The belt has thinned in a number of places, however, and has holes indicating that a slimmer person has been using it."</p> <p>Looking at Aris, Fr. Andre gave a short gasp.</p> <p>"Like a woman's size, worn above the hips?"</p> <p>Flipping through the pages, Aris stopped and traced out what he had written.</p> <p>"Not a child unless a large one, and then male. If a man then a very slim one. If a woman then of moderate size in the waist, worn with holster to the left which would mean a cross-draw. Leather has been treated to keep it supple..." Aris looked up, "More than most military style belts. Those tend to be stiff and thick, and this one still has the outer, harder layer intact, but it is soft though not as soft as the inner layer which is the most worn. Nothing more than the holster, pistol and cleaning kit pouches and ammunition pouch would allow it to be carried so lightly. He thinks it may have been worn, ah, over other clothes and not through belt loops."</p> <p>"That, Aris, is an enigma, then, isn't it?"</p> <p>"How so, Andre?"</p> <p>Sipping tea, Andre thought for a moment.</p> <p>"If, and it is only the wildest of thoughts, that the person is who we both think it is, and she was wearing and ah, using, the pistol, that means she isn't, hmmmm, limited to the past."</p> <p>Aris also sipped the cooling tea, while Andre got up to retrieve the pot and refill their small cups. He set the pot down on a trivet on the shelf next to the honey pot. Sitting down again he watched as Fr. Aris went through his notes, and then look up.</p> <p>"You are correct, Andre. If it is her, then she has knowledge of the present and is in the present. That is pure supposition, of course," Aris said.</p> <p>"We have eliminated the most of what it can't be," Andre said putting his hands together on the table, "from ghosts to spirits to demons to angels to hoaxers and jokesters. Even UFO's. Nothing fits. The reports have at once been far too scant and dispersed, and yet, at the same time, consistent and frequent given the lifespan of the city."</p> <p>"Then why does she not make herself known?" Aris asked. "Surely she would have done so by now. We are named after her, at least in myth."</p> <p>Andre blinked remembering his time at the museum, which meant time to sip more tea as that was a disturbing moment.</p> <p>"Fr. Aris, we are named for her as she was, the brash, headstrong youngster that had, as yet, been innocent of anything. After killing her dearest friend she took up her name first. She had fallen from grace, of a sort, and the city would soon follow that. Even with the statues and monuments erected to her, that original spirit, the youthful and dutiful young woman, she was gone by then. She was no longer the one to protect the city and it would then gain many who would subdue it. In time we no longer thought of her as real and, indeed, I cannot do so even now. It is too fantastical to believe."</p> <p>Aris chuckled and nodded. "That age of wonders is gone into myth, Fr. Andre. It is no longer with us..."</p> <p>"And yet there is a woman who is real, who appears especially when the city has been under threat. If we can no longer see her then we must ask the question if she can still see us?"</p> <p>Fr. Aris had been about to sip his tea and stopped looking at Fr. Andre.</p> <p>"You mean she...this is some form of...lifeless prison to her?" he whispered.</p> <p>Andre looked at the Priest in training.</p> <p>"Would a kind and loving God do that to anyone, Fr. Aris? Even...especially...to a virgin? To one who murdered and tried to atone for it as best she knew how? Would that be any form of justice to anyone?"</p> <p>Sipping tea, Fr. Aris shivered while setting his cup of tea down.</p> <p>"Her father who's planet is still in the Heavens, he was capable of nearly any act. Even that."</p> <p>"Which means that she is not in Hades awaiting Our Savior to rescue her, Fr. Aris. She would be here, on Earth, but we are prevented from seeing her, knowing of her, and she the same with us. Save for those few things she does that always are to help the city she founded."</p> <p>"If she is real, you mean?" Aris asked softly.</p> <p>"Exactly so. If she is real. Then this city and all about who live in it are her torment and jailers. And now we have forgotten just who she was and what she meant to us. Save for the very few that leave out food for her and items in devotion for the Virgin of the City. It may be time to ask ourselves if we truly see God as kind and loving, a Father to us all, then can we not find love for her who atones and yet cannot be released from torment? Would not a kind and loving God seek her release as she obviously knows what is right and what is wrong even if we have some problems with that in these latter days?"</p> <p>"But how could anyone release her? We can't even see her. How can you save that which cannot be found?"</p> <p>Fr. Andre sighed.</p> <p>"We can pray for her, at least, Fr. Aris, and ask for her deliverance."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Those filters fit well enough," Jasmine said sliding the still wrapped filter into the housing and out again. "It's the membrane sections to move the methane and water out that we're waiting on. Otherwise the entire system goes to hell, and nothing will operate properly. Fungi can take the water but not the methane, and the bacteria can take neither, and without the movement of those out of the system, you no longer get oxygen and carbon dioxide equilibrium."</p> <p>She looked over the work table at the Arizona Highflight facility's second area where they were situated next to the last 2 buildings of Ascentech that worked on special projects and prototypes. Scott Parnell sat across from her at the table with Dionysus sitting next to her as he opened the next set of boxes with the label 'FITTINGS' but not stating fittings to what. Nothing could be assumed and the scramble to find the right fittings for the air handling system had consumed nearly 3 days and with a weekend coming up the air system might set back the entire project. After opening the box end he tilted it slightly and let the parts slide out onto the metal workbench.</p> <p>"I don't think anyone really did a good job of labeling those," Scott said shaking his head, "I mean we got so much material in that first year when production moved to the hangar and Highflight was moving in, that it was hard to keep track of what packages was going to which organization. A lot got lost in the shuffle. And you two were just getting things set up then, too, as part of SLSR."</p> <p>"Ah, Scott, not to worry!" Pieces in sealed plastic bags started to flow out from the long box and Dionysus had to slide the box as pieces of rigid tubing slid out. "Why it is like Christmas and you never know what any package will have. Sadly all of this is mixed up from a lot of other packages, and we might find someone's old pair of socks next to that lovely gold coin meant for Uncle Fred's collection that he has been searching for between the cushions as long as anyone can remember."</p> <p>Jasmine rolled her eyes, sighed and shook her head while Scott, a man in his early 30's, just smiled while chuckling. As the pieces came out he worked with Jasmine to spread them out on the table.</p> <p>"Dad? Silver lined tubing? Isn't that for the water system?"</p> <p>Dionysus opened the other end of the box, took out the paper wadded in and grabbed a small junction piece in its baggie while dropping the box on the floor. The paper soon followed as he put the piece on the table and turned to look at the rigid tubing.</p> <p>"Why, I ordered that, ah...well it was one of the first orders I had and could only get it 2 foot sections and in bulk. What is that, 5 of them?"</p> <p>Scott lifted one of them up in its plastic bag and peered into it.</p> <p>"Five total," Jasmine said, "plus it looks like junction fittings and a few connecting pieces, too."</p> <p>"I wonder where those had gone to," Dionysus whispered, "I was having to race between here, the main facility with Mel and even to Herman's plant to get things fitted for that 3rd OASIS piece. It held all the water and waste processing equipment that was fitted into the central container."</p> <p>After having placed the piece down and looking at Dionysus, Scott asked, "Any use for this stuff?"</p> <p>Dionysus looked at Jasmine who nodded.</p> <p>"Yes, we're using much of the same for your quarter mod, and all of the water and waste fittings can be used for that. They should be in Highflight spares..." she let the sentence wander off.</p> <p>"Ah, what is a few dollars in pieces here and there? Besides, the two systems can swap parts in orbit, and that is all to the good. I never thought I was standardizing the system with that first one, but there we are. Since you won't be going beyond the demands of the envelope for that system, all of the tubing fittings for it can be used for your system. I think they need to go on the table we have for that," Dionysus said taking a sip from the water bottle that didn't hold water and gesturing off to the right and a few of the work tables that had been cleared off for use.</p> <p>"Let's get them sorted, first, because it isn't all tubing for water and fittings for that system," Jasmine said, "in fact there is a junction for a gas sealed system, which either means the pure gas array," she said referring to the tanks of stored oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide that served different purposes on OASIS, "but if it's triple sealed then its for the methane to fuel cell diversion." She looked at one fitting and shook her head. "Double. Needs to go with the gas system."</p> <p>She looked around and then put it down beyond the tubing pieces on the left, so that it was on the side near where they were keeping parts separated for the other gas systems. As she did so her father picked up a handful of pieces and turned each in his hand with his other hand and then stepped around Jasmine to place them with the other gas fitting.</p> <p>"Triple seal?" Scott asked, "Looks like...silicone? Black three rings?"</p> <p>Jasmine's eyes lit up.</p> <p>"That's the one! Or 1 out of 9 at least."</p> <p>Scott smiled and dropped it into the collection tote in the middle of the table.</p> <p>Jasmine sorted through pieces, moving those for the gas section to her left and those for water and waste to her right.</p> <p>Dionysus picked up a small cardboard box that had lost its label and flipped open the top.</p> <p>"There we are! Junction interconnects with one-way valves, triple sealed on all sides. A total of 1...2...3...4...5...why I think this is an unopened box of 10!" He took out a pen from his pocket protector and marked down the system and pieces along with their number and dropped it into the tote.</p> <p>Jasmine fished the box out to open it and took out a plastic bagged fitting and put it on the filter holder.</p> <p>"I'll be damned," she whispered, "small miracle. It fits."</p> <p>"Right!" Dionysus said, "Jasmine take what we've found back to the working group at Mel's and send Gemma back as we need to seriously sort through the spare parts here and at Highflight. We were in a mad rush to get OASIS up and running and Ascentech lent us space and things just got lost in that shuffle. Easier to order new at some points than waste time looking...but that is time we don't have. Plus Kevin or whoever his second man at the field is..."</p> <p>"Tim Callahan," Scott said looking at Jasmine who was packing up the pieces they had found into a travel satchel and then folding the air handling unit down flat, "I think you got his stuff over at Building #4."</p> <p>Dionysus nodded.</p> <p>"We just may have everything we need right here, Jasmine, and I'll need Gemma to help sort, pack and ferry. That means you get to be the one to keep track of any new material at Mel's and get the fabrication going on their system now that we can put it into the module framing."</p> <p>"I can do that, dad. I'll have mom come over as soon as I can get her loose from the fabrication group. Might be an hour. You know how she is..."</p> <p>"Ah, your mother is a Gem in all manners, my daughter. Sparkles brightly,and is diamond hard to take off rough edges while losing none of her own. Still she is a dab hand at that fine work, and is probably making someone else sit idle so she can be involved. We need her here because if anyone can identify a box or package with no label and know what is in it, then she is the one. Makes getting presents for her a bit difficult, however," Dionysus shook his head and raised an eyebrow looking at Scott, "not that I don't have my ways, of course."</p> <p>Scott nodded looking at Dionysus.</p> <p>"And to think I wanted a good career in a lab, somewhere," Jasmine said, "when I could, instead, have all the glamour of working with my parents. I'm off and will send mom back ASAP. Do you two need anything?"</p> <p>"Pizza maybe?" Scott asked. "It will be long day and evening before we are through here."</p> <p>"OK. Mom can do a pizza run on the way here. I'll let her choose because she will just change whatever it is you order if it is just the one pizza."</p> <p>"She picks good places to get them from, so I'm OK with that," Scott said.</p> <p>"Whatever she thinks will keep us going, loving daughter," Dionysus said, "I taught her how to pick the places and she is almost as good as I am at that."</p> <p>Jasmine smiled and sighed then waved to each of the men saying 'bye-bye' as she hurried out of the room.</p> <p>"Wow! Your daughter is amazing," Scott said looking at Dionysus.</p> <p>"Well she was conceived on a snow bank, after all," the older man said, "all close to nature, nature's call and the call of nature. She has more than a small bit of that in her, it seems."</p> <p>Scott nodded and started picking up pieces for the other gas systems and moving them to the appropriate table, while the water and waste system pieces were picked up by Dionysus who then came back with a larger but somewhat lighter box. And set it down on the table.</p> <p>"You don't need to worry about either Gemma or myself with regards to Jasmine, Scott. She is her own woman and we both adore her. Just be careful because with her you will get much, much more than what you see on the surface, and not all the surprises may be pleasant."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>There were berries to be picked, lots of berries. Looking just in front of her, just a few feet from the trail, she had blueberries, salmon berries, raspberries plus the damp stained gloves to protect her hands and make sure that it was only juices staining them and not anything else. She was just shown examples of what to pick and only those to pick and what leaves went with what berries so she could differentiate between them. Inside each basket were dividers and she had to make sure that the salmon berries were kept out of the raspberry section, which she had separated by putting them in different baskets just so she wouldn't be confused.</p> <p>She had been started down by the lake finding crow berries, which were not that abundant and she had run out of places to pick in under an hour. Then Diana had shown her the patches of other berries, and showed her the differences between them. Diana had already filled both her baskets and was going back to the cabin to deposit them in separate dishes before going out again. She had been denuding the eastern side of the valley and Marissa was given the western side which had more slope and more trees and so was the less difficult part to pick.</p> <p>It as just getting on to noon and she was tired, sore, and was gulping down water from her gallon canteen like it had no end. She had on what was her decent long sleeve white blouse, good enough for almost formal wear, and now just used as protection from the sun. Her jeans, which she had thought were a good brand, were now cut-off quite high along her thigh as the lower legs of them had been ripped, torn and generally weren't any protection worth talking about, although they made good headbands. For footwear she was using sandals and since they had been provided for her, they were sturdy, and were wearing in very well.</p> <p>Her hands worked at berry picking as she thought about the prior few days.</p> <p>"I never expected anything like this," she said softly as she picked, her hands and eyes now starting to perform a routine of brushing leaves aside to find the hidden berries. After the first mouthful or two she had her fill and while she did take a berry here or there, it was just to check for flavor and ripeness. "I remember that I thought I would do just about anything, well...no...not <i>anything</i>...to get a story. A bit of housecleaning, maybe furniture moving, washing windows, maybe...then...well...Candice told me the truth."</p> <p>Finishing what was within arm reach she stood up, tucked the kneeling pad under her left arm and picked up her baskets and moved a few feet to her right and started in again. Blueberries loved to stay hidden.</p> <p>"She was heartless, cold, manipulative...every single thing Candice said told me that...I really thought it did. Being found out, she would have...at least...maybe given me some more on one of her cousins. I at least tried to contact Herman but got his wife instead and that wasn't going to tell me anything. Not with the relationship she's in."</p> <p>Thinking about that Marissa shook her head as she picked.</p> <p>"Openly in it, too. Can't really expose an open love triangle...but is it with someone like Herman? That's just so..."</p> <p>She felt a tingling between her legs and shifted uncomfortably. No insect could get between the fabric and her skin, but her sweat told how she felt. She stopped for a moment as she felt a wave of heat move up and down her spine with a shiver.</p> <p>"Wow," she whispered, "to be loved like that...that's not sick...not...how could I think like that?"</p> <p>She heard a soft cracking sound and then a muted thud off to her right and looked over to see Diana hopping over a tree stump and lean down to pick up a dead squirrel, which she dropped on the stump. Then a rounded pebble was slid into a small pouch attached to her belt. In a flash her knife had the squirrel flayed, guts taken out and tossed aside, and then in just a few more slices the skin was off and wrapped around the body, and that was then put in a side satchel. In just 3 or 4 breaths she was done.</p> <p>Diana looked at her.</p> <p>"Damned squirrels! They will chew through anything, including going after the cabling at the array or to the hydro turbines. Didn't have to worry about that 7 years ago, but now they need to be pretty well cleaned out whenever I find them."</p> <p>"Really?" Marissa asked. She hadn't thought that there was any real reason to go after them, beyond easy though scant meat for stews.</p> <p>Diana hopped over some bushes and skipped along a partial trail and picked up her baskets which were nearly full. Again. Marissa gave a glance down the path she had followed from the meadows near the beach up to where she was now and realized that she hadn't even covered a quarter of the area that Diana had.</p> <p>"Oh, yes, they will do anything like that for fun. I finally did get armored cable from Aaron, he sent it up months ago and the kids helped me get it installed. Still the squirrels will go after anything else, including the connector boxes. Metal is just a minor deterrent to them, and a few treat it as a long-term hobby."</p> <p>Watching Diana move so easily down the path still made Marissa inhale and she felt another wave of warmth spread through her and this one held on. She blinked hard not liking what her body was telling her and distraction of berry picking might just let her keep her mind together. Maybe.</p> <p>Kneeling down on one knee next to her, Diana set her baskets down and looked at Marissa's collection.</p> <p>"Not bad for the first day! It is hard work, but if you like the jams and preserves you've had here, then its necessary to pick berries."</p> <p>"I do," Marissa said, "and I understand...not that hard just tedious."</p> <p>Diana stood up again and went around Marissa and then around the area she had cleared out and came up from the other side, stopping here and there to let her hands move into the undergrowth to find the berries there.</p> <p>"There is some tedium to it, but its a good time to reflect on life," Diana said, "it is so easy to get distracted and lose oneself in the distractions. I can't live like that."</p> <p>Marissa looked up as Diana knelt to do some picking closer to the ground and watched how her muscles moved as she swiftly picked and picked, her eyes steady, unmoving.</p> <p>"I can't picture you texting, Diana. Or leaving messages on someone's page...I thought you were odd for not having anything like that, you know?"</p> <p>With a quick glance and smile Diana shifted a bit to the right and closer to Marissa.</p> <p>"Oh, I can message if I ever need to. And if I need to leave a message, I generally prefer in-person, face to face..." she was picking berries again, "or more. But that is just the way I am."</p> <p>Marissa stopped and checked for any more berries and then shifted to her right by a few steps and started over. As she did so, Diana also shifted, picking quickly, easily, smoothly.</p> <p>"But what about if someone wants to, you know, leave you a message?"</p> <p>Diana raised an eyebrow.</p> <p>"If it as a stockholder at Ascentech, they can leave it there. As a pilot for Highflight, they can leave it there. The trust has lawyers that messages can be left with, as well as the accountants. As an itinerant mechanic, they can try and leave a message with Karl, I guess, at the scrapyard."</p> <p>"Karl?" it was a name new to Marissa.</p> <p>Diana gave her a glance and a smile.</p> <p>"Karl Odistold. General mechanic, works at Highflight and runs the scrapyard slash mechanic's school just outside the spaceport. He got up here a few years ago to do an overhaul on my hog and deliver a new carbon fiber double twin beast of a motorcycle to me. It isn't a racer but made with torque in mind, and it does let me get around if I need to get around quickly."</p> <p>"Wait a moment, you ride motorcycles?"</p> <p>Diana chuckled.</p> <p>"Are we back to trying to interview me on the sly again?" she asked with a grin.</p> <p>"Diana! I...oh, god, can't we just be friends?"</p> <p>"Hmmm...I thought we got past that around the 4th or 5th night here..."</p> <p>"Ooooo! Diana!" Marissa looked at her and shook her fist.</p> <p>"Say, now, that is why you are here, aren't you? Or are you looking for something else, now?"</p> <p>Marissa had been smiling but that shocked her and she opened her hand and put it down on the ground as she looked at Diana.</p> <p>"I don't know...I don't think that I can write about you...not..." she shook her head.</p> <p>Diana stopped what she was doing and set her baskets down and stepped around plants to kneel next to Marissa who looked at her.</p> <p>"What's wrong, Marissa?"</p> <p>She looked at Diana and the concern she showed for her, looking into her eyes. She locked her gaze with Diana's and softly said, "I can't do that any more, Diana. It was all I could ever do well."</p> <p>Frowning Diana reached out to Marissa and they held each other.</p> <p>"Why, Marissa? You can be an excellent writer."</p> <p>Marissa shivered and held Diana tightly.</p> <p>"No," she whispered, "you... I had to start thinking about...all that I've done...written...how people talked to me...trusted me...and I...no more, Diana. I just can't."</p> <p>Inhaling, Diana spread her fingers apart and nodded softly against Marissa's cheek.</p> <p>"I love you, Marissa," she whispered.</p> <p>Gently Marissa pulled away and looked at Diana.</p> <p>"Is there anyone you don't love?"</p> <p>Diana smiled.</p> <p>"A very few, yes. And outside of the few I love openly, I just have some feeling of affection but it doesn't blind me. Marissa, those who hate me and come after me don't live long. They are free to hate at a distance, but threaten me and I will do as I see fit."</p> <p>Marissa's eyes widened.</p> <p>"My god...you did that with me!" she gasped.</p> <p>Diana nodded.</p> <p>"I told you I was a manipulative so and so looking to see if you could find a better you within yourself. I don't think I could call it cold and calculating...in fact seeing you nude in bed next to me, I can't say that at all. And you can tell everyone about it, too, if you want. Do realize that some won't see it that way and they will end up like others that come after me with hatred if you report it that way? Candy told you about that. She feels that their blood isn't on my hands, you see, but hers. Yet that isn't so. They killed themselves by wishing to harm me, she had nothing to do with that, they decided their own fates. Just as you will decide yours."</p> <p>"Oh...you..."</p> <p>"I think you have gotten past the hating me part. Some part of you that is very important to your life decided that for you when you came to be in bed with me. Another part when you realized that the hard work was not only a purpose but one with a further purpose to it, yes?"</p> <p>Marissa nodded.</p> <p>"You see? Cold. Calculating. Manipulative. I wouldn't do that to someone I hate, Marissa. Plenty of wilderness to get lost in, up here. Bears. Wolves. Coyotes. Mountain Lions. Why even a Jaguar somewhere out there, an albino one and he is beautiful. Still I stopped treating you like that after you came to me. Still a lot of hard work to do, and the only way to do it, is to do it. Anything after that is what you have done to yourself. I will help you with that if I can."</p> <p>"You...you're everything that Candice said. And yet you aren't. You aren't a tree-hugging, burger munching trustafarian."</p> <p>"A good burger is hard to find," Diana said with a smile.</p> <p>"I...stop that!" Marissa said chuckling.</p> <p>"But its true!"</p> <p>Marissa shook her head.</p> <p>"And you aren't a manipulative stone cold killer bitch, either."</p> <p>"Sounds like a rock band. A girl band, maybe. But I don't keep up with trends."</p> <p>Marissa closed her eyes trying to not giggle and failing.</p> <p>"That's mostly what I thought of you, Diana. Now I'm having an affair..."</p> <p>"You aren't cheating on anyone, Marissa. And I'm not some life check-point to cross off, either."</p> <p>Marissa stopped giggling and looked at Diana again.</p> <p>Gently Diana kissed her and to Marissa it meant the world.</p> <p>"Am I?"</p> <p>"No...how could I treat him like that?" Marissa whispered.</p> <p>"How could you deny yourself such love, Marissa?" Diana whispered back.</p> <p>"I'm afraid...always afraid...all my life..." Marissa said looking into Diana's eyes.</p> <p>"So am I, Marissa. I do not let it shape who I am. I can't. There is too much life to live to let it do that. My fear does not control me, but only tells me of what might happen. I then deal with that."</p> <p>"I wish I could do that, Diana."</p> <p>Diana raised her eyebrows and smiled.</p> <p>"You are just by telling me, Marissa. That first step is always the hardest. After that they become easier and easier, and soon you are walking then running freely. Fear tells you what might happen. You get some small say in what actually does happen. You are never free of fear, but it will let you judge what to do next to address it. Never take counsel of your fears alone."</p> <p>"No," Marissa said softly, firmly, "I've had enough of that in my life."</p> <p>"Good," Diana whispered.</p> <p>"I don't know how to do anything else, though," Marissa said.</p> <p>Diana raised her eyebrows again.</p> <p>"Really? But I've seen you kill, gut and skin rabbits, catch and clean fish, pick berries, prune back vines, clean weeds from a garden, shoot pistols, rifles and shotguns, and hike until you could drop. You've sawn wood, cut good beams, used hatchet and adze to make fittings and then help me repair a bridge. You've learned how to tan skins the old fashioned, messy way, and that is nearly a lost art. Don't tell me you can't do anything but write, Marissa. That is a lie and you know it. Stop running yourself down, you don't deserve it. At the very worst you could get stuck here and have to lead out a productive life of hard work, but you only deserve that if it is what you want."</p> <p>"You mean that...you mean everything you tell me."</p> <p>Diana widened her eyes in mock horror. "Why that is a concept right there, that I might be telling you the truth! Who knows, you might even decide that it is true and then think about it and realize that you are worth something to someone that you don't have to bribe, threaten or intimidate! Next thing you know you'll tell me you love me and then...why who knows where that could lead? Better to be quiet about it and suffer in lonely, fear-filled misery, right?"</p> <p>"I love you, Diana."</p> <p>"Good! There is hard work for the rest of the day. Then we can have dinner. Then some fun. Then hard work."</p> <p>"Does it ever end?"</p> <p>Diana shook her head.</p> <p>"In three weeks. I need to get back to the spaceport so I can then go on to Greece to prep for the airshow because both Ascentech and Highflight are tied up trying to get the WorkPlat finished and Ascentech's rocket engine supplier just imploded into bankruptcy. So they are cadging engines from Highflight which is bollixing up everyone's schedule. Mine included. I need time on the ground in Athens before the show to do some of the things my cousins would be doing, if it weren't for the new Foxtrot dance they're in."</p> <p>"I don't follow... Foxtrot? What?"</p> <p>"Charlie-Foxtrot. Cluster Fuck. So many screw-ups that you can't figure out just how many there are. It's the latest rage in all the capitol cities around Earth and has been for a long, long time."</p> <p>Marissa chuckled.</p> <p>"But...what about me?"</p> <p>Diana pursed her lips together and then shifted them from side to side.</p> <p>"Well, if you are any good with your hands... I mean out of bed that is..."</p> <p>"God! You!"</p> <p>"I'm sure that Herman could use someone able to not screw up too badly on one of the production lines. Or if you don't know any welding and Karl has some copious spare time, you could learn the old school of manufacturing. Say! If you are really lucky, and show any promise at all and want to risk your neck on a regular basis, you could learn zero-g vacuum welding! Useful and needed skill that both Ascentech and Highflight will pay good money for, and so would a couple of other places if they could get their heads out of their butts."</p> <p>"I've never done any of that in my life, though," Marissa said.</p> <p>"Uh-huh. I got word there is a lame deer nearby from a neighbor who is busy dealing with other problems and its wandering the next valley over. Want to learn how to do that? I mean you already picked up a half-dozen useful skills in the past few weeks, want another?"</p> <p>"You aren't joking."</p> <p>"Well you said that I mean what I say, so you can't be wrong, now, can you?"</p> <p>"Oooo! You're playing with me again!"</p> <p>Diana nodded.</p> <p>"As a friend, yes. I think you gave up on adversary quite awhile ago. Much rather play with you as a friend, a lover, than an adversary. You might want to try it sometime. More fun. More work, though, and we are falling behind."</p> <p>Diana leaned over to give Marissa a kiss and they both fell to the ground laughing. Laughter, too, was a necessary part of hard work.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Broken columns of white marble lay fallen beside the remains of a grand building, which was broken stone with white sand slowly building up and beginning to cover it. There had once been a field here, perhaps some sort of forest in the near distance which was now just the withered and bleached remnant of trees long dead, bark long gone and the wood now dried and dead. Looking around there was brightness on the left and darkness on the right and turning completely around showed grayness extending into darkness and lightness far, far away. Overhead was gray as well and in front, far far in front, were drifting sands parched white by the scattering of the lightness upon them.</p> <p>Sand shifted as she turned and the smoothness of it could be felt between foot and leather sole.</p> <p>"Where am I?" she asked, her armor making soft sounds of metal on metal, and her helmet giving her protection from the grayness above. In an instant her sword was out, her shield up and she started walking towards the ruins of some once fine building that was now something that time had forgotten. Darting, her eyes tried to pick out figures that had been chiseled into the stone, but the forms that had once adorned the broken lintel and supporting stones had been worn down so that only blank and featureless forms could be seen. There were steps, at least two of them above the sand, that led to the main floor of what had once been a building that now had its rear section tilting into the sand that crept up its far side. Here the inlay of different rock still stood out, although bleached and scoured by sand, it held a form of a woman standing in front of a well or spring with a wall around it, which was hard to tell given its age. She stood on that figure and looked slowly around where this ruins was.</p> <p>"What is this place?" she asked.</p> <p>A soft sighing of distant wind was her only answer.</p> <p>Carefully she stepped forward and carefully slid down the tilted floor to the sand and now eyed it looking from behind the structure. Perhaps there had been steps here. Or a statue now fallen and buried in the sand? She paced carefully from edge to edge, scuffing at sand to see if it would reveal something, anything, to her keen gaze.</p> <p>"Caw," she heard off in the distance of what might have been trees. It was the sound of a bird. Turning she looked into the dead forest and heard the call again.</p> <p>"Caw."</p> <p>She began walking in that direction, slightly light-ward and into the forest of bones, where only the dead trees remained by what had once been a temple of sorts. The sand became no deeper and the ground no firmer as she worked her way amongst the great withered hulks of what had once been a tremendous forest.</p> <p>"Caw," she heard and now espied the dark shape atop a few rocks piled one atop the other in what might have been a low, rounded wall. As she came closer the bird held its place and she saw that it was the worse for wear and even though its feathers no longer had a sheen and its eyes were white with age, that this was a raven. It perched on the low wall and in front of it she saw a wide, stone slab that held no features save for a badly weathered inscription which could only be read in part.</p> <p>'FOR LOVING MEMORY' it started and then could not be read any further.</p> <p>She slid her sword into its sheath and walked carefully around the slab which was tall and wide. She eyed the raven which merely tilted its head as she approached and took one hop back as she took a step beyond the slab.</p> <p>"I have no quarrel with you, raven," she said and proceeded around the slab, and then started to use her foot to move sand aside. It was only inches thick, yet made of some dense stone, and proceeding around it she saw that it was complete, a top piece of a size far larger than any human. Stepping to the right corner of the side she first approached she took out a knife from its sheath and slid it between stones and sought to see just how far in the lip went. Just a few inches and she had her information and stood to survey the stone slab.</p> <p>"You called me here for reason, didn't you little raven?"</p> <p>"Caw," it said emphatically hopping to perch on the edge of the wall and then looked down at the slab.</p> <p>Sliding her arm from her shield she rested her elbows on it and looked down at the slab. Embossed on her shield was a hideous face that once had great power and was now only grotesque. She nodded and set the shield down so she could quickly snatch it and went to the middle part of the slab to see if she could wedge her slim fingers between stones. She felt where ancient masons had laid rope, perhaps, or hands to settle this slab and now those thin openings allowed her fingers to enter but only so far. Her first test revealed the great weight of the slab and that the small sound of grinding, barely heard meant that it could be moved.</p> <p>"Caw! Caw!"</p> <p>She had her head bowed down and then raised it enough to let her glare at the raven.</p> <p>"I need no encouragement," she whispered and the bird shifted its head to look at her with one eye.</p> <p>"Not up and off, that is certain. But up and shift, perhaps? With just slight purchase for my feet I can slide it completely off."</p> <p>She inhaled and tried again and felt the slightest amount of movement before her strength gave out.</p> <p>"Packed with sand, are you?" she asked and then slid over to the long side on the left and found purchase there to lift and heard grinding of stone against sand. She repeated this on the side near the raven and then on the last long side where she heard the first hard contact of rock against rock that resounded through the slab. Her work had cleared the sand away and made it fall into worn etchings and there she saw the figure of a man atop a mountain throwing lightning deep into a cave to strike a woman by a temple.</p> <p>This moved her in a way that she could not speak of and she felt deep emotions well up within her. In a moment her shield was up and her sword drawn and she stood atop the slab and brought the edge of her shield down on the figure of the man.</p> <p>"Stop! Damn you! Stop!"</p> <p>Once. Twice. Three times and she had only chipped a small piece of rock from the surface. Kneeling down she removed the chipped piece and then brought her sword around to see how the hollow compared to the tip of the sword. Standing she put the shield across her back, took the sword in two hands and straddled the place where stone had chipped out from what had been the head of the man. She was furious with anger and yet her eyes were cunning beyond what anyone could know.</p> <p>Raising the sword up with both hands, the tip pointed firmly down she screamed.</p> <p>"The insanity stops HERE!"</p> <p>Keenly the sword had been made by the best of all known craftsmen who was no man but a worker at the forge of a volcano. Here was the furious heart of Typhon embedded into star metal mixed with volcanic steel, and this time their fury was not to be denied. Rage, pure and simple, flowed from her into the sword and that then came down with all her strength and weight into the slab, the sword glowing with its temper and hers now a single thing. It did not shatter stone but melted it and she deftly slid it from side to side and then with anger, deep anger on her face cut out sections and sliced them before they fell, her skill with a sword matching her fury and even surpassing it. Deftly the pieces were deflected to the side so that they might not disturb what lay within</p> <p>Such fury does not last and she fell exhausted to the side of the slab nearer darkness and then sheathed the sword, crystalline quartz flaking from it, and then shoved the last large pieces of the slab to the sides.</p> <p>With two wing-beats the raven flew from the wall and landed on the forehead of what had once been a large and beautiful woman, who now was a shade of her former self. Her eyes slowly opened and they were black with death. Carefully she got hands over her chest to feel and looked up into the grayness of the sky above and the face of the woman looking down at her.</p> <p>"Even here, death beyond death is possible," the figure said looking up at the woman. "You are living."</p> <p>The woman nodded and then shifted as she watched this giantess get her hands under her body and push herself upwards, the raven now perched on her right shoulder. Still sitting on the floor of the tomb she could look the woman standing now at the edge of the tomb eye to eye.</p> <p>"How did you get here?" the shade asked, "This realm has been interdicted."</p> <p>Looking at the shade the woman tilted her head.</p> <p>"I don't know what this place is," she said, "or how I got here. I only saw the temple and what remains of the forest here, and the raven called to me."</p> <p>"Caw! Caw!"</p> <p>Shifting her head, the shade looked at the raven.</p> <p>"Indeed? Fallen Realms?" putting her her large and deathly pale hands onto the ground beside the tomb, the shade pushed against sand and slowly stood up, towering over the woman below.</p> <p>"Caw! Caw!"</p> <p>"Caw!" could faintly be heard from the distant spaces beyond and both shade and woman turned to look in that direction. The shade took two small steps towards the end of the tomb and then stepped up on the sand to stand between the tomb and wall, which didn't even reach her ankles. The woman took steps and was soon beside the shade looking into the distance.</p> <p>"Another approaches. A large figure."</p> <p>The raven alit from the shoulder of the shade and flew up into the sky and then hurried into the distance. The woman unlimbered her shield and took up her sword once more as she heard something or someone approaching.</p> <p>"This one is unknown to me," the shade said.</p> <p>"What does it look like?" the woman asked.</p> <p>"Tall, wide man with a long white beard flowing over black and gray garments, with boots on, and hat with wide brim, flopping over to the left."</p> <p>In short minutes the woman could see the figure with her keen eyes and inhaled looking at him as she saw that his garments had been rent asunder across the front and only held together by other strips of cloth taken from shirt and coat.</p> <p>"Hail!" the large man said, with one dead eye looking out from under the rim of his hat, "I bear no ill."</p> <p>"Who are you?" the shade asked.</p> <p>They heard a sound of a chuckle as only the dead can make in this strange land.</p> <p>"I've had many names in my time. You can call me Wide Hat, for it is unique amongst these Broken Lands."</p> <p>The shade shook her head slowly.</p> <p>"Valtyr, you are," it said.</p> <p>The two ravens had come to alight on the man's shoulders and they both gave their call as they settled on their more accustomed perch. He gave a nod to the shade.</p> <p>"Ha! And slain I am, too," he said looking at the woman standing knee-high to the shade. "But you are not dead, are you?"</p> <p>She shook her head.</p> <p>"I live. I breathe," then she blinked, "At least I think I do those things."</p> <p>The shade looked down at her with a puzzled frown.</p> <p>"But you do not know?"</p> <p>Shaking her head negatively, the woman looked up to the shade.</p> <p>"Now that problem isn't well known... down here..." the man said putting his hands behind his back. He had on his belt what looked like an axe, but the handle was split and the axe head sliced through. On the other side he held a small carrying pouch which would be a good sized sack for any lesser being. His boots were also mended but in somewhat better condition than his pants which were in tatters near where the knotted leather of a belt could be seen. "...that is the doing of her people..." he said nodding to the shade, "...or at least of those who were with her ages past. Of course I am also from ages past! Just not so aged by a few days! Days!"</p> <p>"Caw!" the raven on the left said.</p> <p>"Do you know who you are?" the shade asked of the woman.</p> <p>"I don't know," the woman said, "I don't even know where I was yesterday or what I was doing. Was there a yesterday?"</p> <p>"Many upon many," the man said and nodded. The ravens took flight again and landed on the shoulders of the shade, and there kept quiet. "I know of you, you see, but this is the first I have seen of you. Now your sister..."</p> <p>"I have a sister?" the woman whispered.</p> <p>"You once had many," the shade said.</p> <p>"Well it wasn't a host of them, although it might as well have been for what the one did. And not without cause, either! Oh, no, I gave her cause..." the man said and then grew silent, "...I knew she was no witch once I got there. But something better, maybe. Far better. And she was. Is! I had hoped to subdue her and bring her in with my adopted son and hunt master, to have strange and witchy children from her."</p> <p>The shade shifted to look at the man.</p> <p>"That was not wise, Wise One," it said.</p> <p>He grumbled and chuckled, both.</p> <p>"I should have known but...ahhh...lust now so long gone...blinded by it and to that which I tried to have, such frail young beauty! I thought to make a true woman of her!"</p> <p>"What happened?" the woman asked.</p> <p>He scowled and looked at the shade.</p> <p>"She killed him. She killed all like him. Their lands toppled into the Broken Lands."</p> <p>With short nods he agreed.</p> <p>"Caw!" said the raven on the shade's left shoulder. The ravens took off to land on the wall and look at the woman. "Caw! Caw!" each of the ravens called out.</p> <p>"She was, like you are, lovely woman. Not just Fallen at her father's hand, but virginal by a force none can undo. I thought her father had cured that ill and just left something mortal behind to play with...she hadn't the time to use her weapons on her father but they were at hand to deal with us, but only after my disgrace. Wide Hat I am, because I need that to remind me of my swelled head full of rocks."</p> <p>The woman in armor looked at him through slitted eyes.</p> <p>"Like me?"</p> <p>The shade shifted slightly and then knelt on one knee to lean down and look at her.</p> <p>"Yes, like you. But she has not suffered as you have suffered but suffer she has just the same. He left you for dead, head dashed and in the Lethe and its smell is still with you to this night."</p> <p>Looking at the shade the woman sheathed her sword.</p> <p>"I don't understand, oh shade. What is the Lethe?"</p> <p>"Caw!" one raven said and then flew to perch on the man's left shoulder then the other followed to land upon his right.</p> <p>"A fiendish thing to force the dead to forget who they are by wading through it," the man said, "it steals who you were and gives you nothing in return."</p> <p>"The hatter speaks it," the shade said, "you have been in it, your blood mingled with the water. Your body persists, your memories stolen."</p> <p>The woman in armor took one step back, then two, shifting her head to the right while looking at the shade and Wide Hat. Shivers swept through her and her pale countenance grew paler still.</p> <p>"Stolen?" she whispered.</p> <p>"Oh, quite, quite," Wide Hat said, "if you think this shade is dull," he said nodding in the direction of the shade still on one knee, "then you have not experienced the tiring and wearisome one who was your father. He is even more listless than this one and his lamentations are a drone. Yet those he killed, they surround him and point at him, and drone on at him about their betrayal. He could not kill you, you see, as you still had some vital part of him even in your sorry state. What he didn't know is that you could survive without him. His fate is well deserved. He trudges towards the far reaches to seek the abyss where he and his circle of betrayed may disappear forever into the void. And good riddance of him."</p> <p>"Does he have... my memories?"</p> <p>"No," the shade said, "no one has them. But they can be restored by the spring here," she said pointing to the place just beyond the wall that held a dusty domain, waterless.</p> <p>The woman turned and looked by Wide Hat then closed her eyes tightly.</p> <p>"There is no spring there," she whispered.</p> <p>"The broken lands have shifted it, of course," Wide Hat said looking at the spot.</p> <p>"Caw!" said the raven on his right shoulder.</p> <p>"Caw!" the one on the left said.</p> <p>"Really?" Wide Hat whispered as he looked at the shade. "Shade oh beloved ghost of memory past could you come here to look at where the spring once was?"</p> <p>"Yes," the shade said standing and then stepping over to the wall to kneel down there and look down at the ground. Wide Hat stepped to her and knelt so he could place his mouth next to her ear.</p> <p>"Remember what was, the beauty of it and how it ended for you, and know that you were the beloved memory and that all your sisters shared your fate. This one came here by what remains of dreams for her and that realm is dashed upon here as well. A world without memory and one without dreams."</p> <p>"Please, no," the shade whispered.</p> <p>"Caw," the raven on the right shoulder said and flapped twice to land on the shade's right shoulder.</p> <p>"Oh, please...my sisters...all good grace is gone..." the shade closed her eyes, pressed tightly shut and Wide Hat slid his hand over her back.</p> <p>"Even the shade of grace has something here. You hold it within you. Knowing all that was. And she who lives with no past now, she deserves a chance, does she not?"</p> <p>A wracking sob went through the shade and Wide Hat turned his head so his one eye looked at the woman and then cocked his head slightly mouthing 'come'. As she stepped forward softly on the sand, he turned to the shade once more.</p> <p>"For each and every you guarded what was, and now it is gone because you are dead. I sorrow with you, shade. Come and open your eyes to look upon she who is here because of those that loved her."</p> <p>He shifted his arm away so that the shade could turn and look at the woman directly and when the shade turned and saw her, tears began to stream down her face by small droplets.</p> <p>"Come you who have had her past stolen from you, and kiss the tears of loving memory."</p> <p>The woman was moved by the sadness of the shade who, stripped of all living will, now had only the echoes of what she had been in life. There was beauty in traces with this shade and the woman set her shield down and then spread her arms out to hold the cheeks of the shade then gently kiss the tears coming from each eye.</p> <p>Looking at her the blackness in the eyes of the shade shifted and lightened for a moment, revealing a deep, deep blue.</p> <p>"Its no cure, there is another step," the shade said.</p> <p>Pressing her face to the cheek of the shade the woman held her tightly.</p> <p>"Yes, there is," Wide Hat said, "you must be reborn."</p> <p>As she held the cheek the woman in armor faded as did her shield and sword until she was no longer there.</p> <p>"Caw!" the raven on the shade said and took wing to go back to Wide Hat.</p> <p>The shade looked at him and she still cried and he lifted his right hand to touch her cheek and brush tears away.</p> <p>"You are cruel," she said.</p> <p>"You think that? Her days here are numbered, dear shade of memory. Rarely can she even dream to here, and it has been worth waiting to find her this time, for sure."</p> <p>"But how can her days be numbered here? Tears of memory are no cure for the Lethe."</p> <p>"Oh, no, alone they are not. But she still has brothers and a sister, you see," he lifted his head up to look into the distant grayness, "and for her to be reborn, she must be out of the clutches of her mother. And, believe me, her sister is very good at severing ties of others. Oh yes, very, very good at that as I well know."</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-73754185647665528162015-11-28T03:05:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:15:15.727-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 5<p>The snare had gotten nothing over night and Marissa triggered it so that it wouldn't catch anything else since this was the last day of trapping they were doing the next valley over from where Diana's place was. She had never thought that she would actually have to spend more than just a few days here and now it was turning into something else, entirely. Twilight hours now signaled that actual night was approaching and for a few nights they were brief periods of actual darkness. Late July still had hot days, the nights now had time to start cooling down and did so quickly.</p> <p>Stepping back on to the game trail she walked along it, her boots now well worn in after having been over rocks, sliding down loose gravel slopes, and having water go over them plus constantly wearing them during the day now made the leather of them softer though not enough to put her ankles at risk. After days that had stretched into weeks she was now wearing a thin t-shirt and vest she had found in the boat house, and gone were jeans and they had been replaced by a denim skirt that she had thought to wear when she got back home since she looked sexy dancing in it. She had no idea how she looked padding along a game trail with sweat dripping from her, which was still the norm for her even weeks into the experience.</p> <p>"She never seems to sweat doing this sort of thing," she whispered to herself, feeling the two dead rabbits swinging against her left leg as she had tied them off around her belt with leather cord, "only if she has been at it for a couple of hours does she sweat."</p> <p>"Oh, I'm not so fastidious as that," Diana said having come up silently next to Marissa who was startled enough to slip off the edge of the trail and into the undergrowth of ferns.</p> <p>"Diana! Would you stop doing that?" Marissa yelled out as she had to pick her way carefully out of the somewhat damp foliage and dead leaves of prior years slowly being turned into soil. She took Diana's hands when they were extended to her and tried to pull her in, but found herself being pulled bodily upwards no matter what she tried to do.</p> <p>Diana looked at her with a smile on her lips as she pulled Marissa up and then into her arms.</p> <p>"But why?"</p> <p>Marissa looked her in the eyes and the feeling of anger melted away as she slid into an embrace, and closed her eyes just relishing the feeling of being hugged. This was not how she ever envisioned her meeting with Diana Sherwood going, but the warnings from Candice were ones she still remembered.</p> <p>'She will take you down, pull you up, twist you around and you will never know just how she did it,' Candice had told her. Marissa discounted that as she was a worldly young woman, traveled, seasoned by her reporting and blogging, able to give and take with the best of them. She always made sure she had high cards to play just in case, of course, she had to have those. She had thought to startle Diana with Candice's words and insights. Instead she was now hearing the true nature of what she had been told, finding herself with someone who pointed out all the frailties of how she lived without once ever saying a word against that way of life or her. Now here, out in the wilderness where the technology that mattered was that which was inside your head and in your body, she had been stripped of nearly every life line and the one line she did use she used less and less. Her grasp on the back and forth, the tit for tat chats, the messaging, the phone calls at all hours, all of what she was used to was now something she was letting slip by. She had tried to think of some way to update her social media sites, but exhaustion had made that impossible at first. Then lack of time to catch up on anything not vital, like getting her rent and bills paid took precedence, because she was still tired.</p> <p>Gently they loosened their embrace and she looked at Diana.</p> <p>"You never have any bills to pay here, do you?"</p> <p>Pressing her lips together, Diana shifted them from side to side, tilted her head to the right and then straightened it up again.</p> <p>"Nope! I live amongst the natives, whatever I owe for the land is held in a trust to pay it out with a nice firm to handle that and mostly I never have to get anything from any of the Bush Pilots. Oh a license fee, I guess, maybe. I have to sign off on that. And a tax form, too."</p> <p>Blinking Marissa was starting to realize just what being so remote offered.</p> <p>"No utility bills?" she asked.</p> <p>"My cousin Herman has use of the satellite system and I just have company use of that. I'm not an employee but an important investor. Same with Ascentech, I'm sure they kick in some, too. Before the containers came down, I never thought to bother about electricity except for that small windmill to keep batteries for the radio powered."</p> <p>Slowly they stepped back to the trail and walked side by side, hand in hand.</p> <p>"But how do you get... I mean the money... to invest? Isn't it all tied up?"</p> <p>Diana looked at her and gave a smile.</p> <p>"Trying to interview me on the sly now? First woo me with sweet words of helping at hard work, then get me into bed to get me to loosen up?" Diana said giggling.</p> <p>"Oh, god! How! You!" Marissa said chuckling as she looked at Diana who was giving her a sidelong glance.</p> <p>"But I do have secrets, oh yes!" Diana said in a sly whisper, "Want to see one?"</p> <p>"Ah, ummm, like ahhh, what?"</p> <p>"Come on, we only have 3 more snares to check, then a quick gutting, skinning and framing, put the rabbits in the smokehouse and then a nice swim."</p> <p>Marissa thought that through and realized that with the rabbits Diana had suspended on the sides of her light pack and the two she had, that this wouldn't take long. Even the framing of the skins in the small frames to get them ready for scraping and tanning wouldn't take the rest of the day.</p> <p>"Sounds good, I guess..." she said and realized that she might still have some daylight left when they were done.</p> <p>"OK! Lets pick it up a little," Diana said as they started jogging next to each other. Marissa knew better than to try and race Diana, that was just stupid to even try to do. They leapfrogged the snares and yet another rabbit was taken up by Diana and the other two yielded none. Stopping to better carry the game, they then jogged down the valley side to the stream, waded through that and went up the other side until they came to the trail for vehicles and both of them followed that back to Diana's lodge area.</p> <p>Two weeks ago Marissa had thrown up, twice, gutting and skinning rabbits, and nearly lost it another time when the fur had to be stretched on frames and then scraped. Now it was just another chore to do, and she did it passably well and was able to sort out the organ meats that were useful, and put the rest aside for the composting area. In an hour she had completed 3 rabbits while Diana went at her pace and was finishing the last one just as Marissa was getting the last of her skins framed and set out on a rack in the sun.</p> <p>"Go ahead, I'll finish up," Diana said.</p> <p>"All right, see you in a few," with that Marissa took up their day packs, and went into the lodge, sorting out the items that were still good enough to eat and putting the rest into the bucket for composting. She felt as if she should change into her swimsuit, but the reason for doing that had long since ceased to matter between them. What she did do was get down to her t-shirt, panties and headband, then took the last off to brush her hair out. It had gotten unruly and two nights before Diana had cut it back for her, so that it had a straight chop just at her shoulders. Also due to all the time outdoors, her hair was becoming lighter while her skin was tanning, though not deeply and not increasing her freckles. Putting on an outdoor pair of moccasins she picked up a towel from the central laundry cabinet, decided on two even though they were large she thought she might get some of the last rays of the sun, then picked up her comb and satchel that still held her water bottle.</p> <p>As she went outside she saw that Diana was setting the last of the skins on a rack, and had taken out her sling to use against a squirrel, going over to pick that up and gut it on her way over to the bench and deftly skinning it before throwing it into a pot on the ground full of water, salt, herbs and the remains of a bottle of wine from the prior night. All but a couple of rabbits were in the smoke house and those that weren't in for smoking were now in the pot, safely kept until cooking later that day.</p> <p>Out on the dock she placed the two towels down just a few steps away from the end and in the middle of the walking way. Next to those she set down her satchel and then stood up to see Diana simply stepping out of her clothes as she approached. No matter how often she had seen her nude, the effect on Marissa was electric and compelling. As Diana reached her she had started to take off the compression bra, her panties and was stepping out of her moccasins as well.</p> <p>"You'll need some snorkel gear from the boathouse," Diana said and jumped to the side of the dock, plunging down and then swimming under the entrance to the boathouse. Marissa slid into the water and held on to the side as the deep cold swept through her. Once her breath was under control, Diana reappeared with snorkel mask, breathing tube and swim fins for Marissa and handed them over to her. She slipped on the fins, dipped the mask into the water and spit on the inside, moving that around with her fingers and then rinsed it before putting it on and taking the snorkel tube and adjusting it to be near her mouth. She had gotten used to the set from the prior week when, as there had been a couple of hours of nippy air in the morning, they went out after frogs in the shallows by the firing range area. Diana didn't need a set for herself, and it only took a few minutes until Marissa was fine with the set.</p> <p>"Follow me," Diana said, swimming out into the lake. As they passed the float that was for swimmers wanting to have something to crawl onto about 50 feet from the dock, Marissa realized that this was a very long but narrow lake. No more plants grew from the silty bottom to the surface and the water went from a greenish hue to one of green-blue and then to blue-black. With easy strokes of her legs Marissa followed the slim form of Diana who looked to check and make sure she was fine. Then, out in the lake proper, Diana stopped and looked back at the tiny structure that was the dock and boathouse, then once to each side looking up along the ridges on either side of the lake.</p> <p>"This is about right. You'll need to take long, fast and deep breaths before we dive, OK?"</p> <p>"All right," Marissa said going through the hyperventilation that Diana had taught her and watched as she drifted a bit away from her. Marissa gave the thumbs up signal as she put the breathing tube in her mouth and floated with her body coming to the level of the surface and then taking a last full breath of air before diving. She followed the slim form of Diana once more and again legs beckoned to her and she knew that they were just as entrancing under the water as above it. It was a deep dive, not the 10 feet or so at the docks, and Marissa started to leave a trail of bubbles that floated to the surface. Darkness and bitter cold loomed, and Diana's form was nearly swallowed by it. Then, up out of the darkness was the shape of something that glistened in the deep. Triangular, metallic and now, closer to it, she saw that it was the tail of an aircraft. Holding on to the tail Diana gestured to the rest of it, which was dimly visible. This was one part of a twin tailed aircraft that had what must be a central fuselage that was resting slightly downwards on the slope of the channel at the bottom of the lake. Using two fingers to gesture from her face and out over the aircraft, Marissa nodded, then signaled upwards as the cold and pressure were starting to make her shiver. Nodding Diana came over and they ascended together, hand in hand to the surface.</p> <p>Once they broke the surface the shivering started to reach deep inside of Marissa as the cold still gripped her.</p> <p>"I...I.... What was that?"</p> <p>Diana smiled raising an eyebrow as she swam over to Marissa.</p> <p>"Back during World War II the Army Aircorps lost a few flights of aircraft up here to defend the Aleutians. Never wise to fly in winter up here. One flight of 5 P-38's was being flown over to an airbase when a storm hit and they were blown off course. They were escorted by another plane, an early P-61 Black Widow. Of the flight, only 2 aircraft were ever found back in the day, and another 1 was pulled up from a lake about 100 miles from here. One more was found as a wreck trying to fly through a mountain pass. The other 2 are here, at the bottom of the lake. The natives found them and the land trust worked out a deal with them for the land since no one knew what the fuel would do to the lake and that there would be a share of proceeds if they were ever taken out on a profit making basis."</p> <p>"I...see... Diana I'm... so cold..." Marissa said as deep shivers wracked her body.</p> <p>Slowly Diana swam up to her and whispered, "Hold onto me," and Marissa needed no urging as she slid her arms around Diana's chest and then her legs around her hips. Sudden warmth went through her and she gasped at that and the feeling of the deep pain left by the cold. Diana shifted them and they rose slightly as her legs powered them towards the dock in slow, easy, strokes. Marissa laid her head on Diana's left shoulder and felt the warmth of her body soaking into her in a way she couldn't explain.</p> <p>"Relax, Marissa," Diana whispered amidst the splashing, and she did relax her tight grip some, and felt Diana's chest breathe more deeply. In a timeless time of the fading daylight they reached the float and then the dock and slid next to it. Standing on the bottom with her chin barely above the water, Diana boosted Marissa up to the dock, and then swam off and around to the front of it. Marissa removed her mask, snorkel and fins and put a towel around her upper body and shifted around to let her legs slide off the end of the dock as she laid back, exhausted by the cold and the warmth.</p> <p>Diana swam up placing her warm hands and arms on Marissa's thighs and Marissa shifted her legs apart as the hands slid up and over her stomach.</p> <p>"Yes... please," she whispered and then felt the arms and hands leave her body and heard, then felt the form of Diana emerge from the water and onto the dock. Marissa shifted her head to look up at Diana, her eyes questioning.</p> <p>"You lied to me, Marissa. Your trip here was never about me," Diana said taking steps so that her feet were on the dock outside of Marissa's chest. Water, warm from Diana's body dripped down on Marissa.</p> <p>"Wha...what? But I...", looking up from her position, Marissa was able to see the darkening sky around the black hair which began to blend with it and the blue eyes looking at her from a still pale face. "I never lied to you," Marissa said.</p> <p>With a look that she couldn't understand, Diana looked at her.</p> <p>"You had never been with your boyfriend that proposed, you are, like I am. He was a convenience to you, and why you accepted his proposal is only known to you. How you could not grieve his death is also only known to you. You never approach a story head-on, directly, Marissa. You seek to build knowledge to use against others. You came to me with leverage, didn't you?"</p> <p>Marissa shook her head negatively, and shivered now and it had nothing to do with the water.</p> <p>"Marissa, you can lie to me and I understand why as Jasmine and I researched your articles and came to understand the method of your procedure. But it is time you stop lying to yourself. Time to ask yourself if a loveless life is the way to go forward. You have never loved before, never committed to anyone but yourself. Not to a boyfriend. Not to a girl. Not man nor woman."</p> <p>Closing her eyes, Marissa started feeling and hearing the same sorts of things from others who had been her friends and now were not. Manipulating, driven, uncaring of the damage she brought to others and the damage she had to do to get to a story, to get some fleeting minutes or hours of fame.</p> <p>"I am fine with that, Marissa. You came here seeking something not on me, but one of my cousins, didn't you?"</p> <p>Marissa nodded, biting her lower lip.</p> <p>"To do that you never would want to go straight at it, so you sought out me, instead. The rich trust fund girl living in luxury in the wilderness. I know those that I've done harm to, Marissa. It is one of those you sought out, isn't it?"</p> <p>Marissa nodded opening her eyes to look up at the gathering twilight that now had the last light streaming over Diana's back so that she had a halo of light against the sky going from blue, to indigo, to black.</p> <p>"Candy," Marissa whispered.</p> <p>Diana smiled and nodded.</p> <p>"Yes. And she told you the awful truth of how I hurt her, and then helped to heal her."</p> <p>"She did...yes..." Marissa said shaking her head, "I...thought you were..."</p> <p>"I can't be blackmailed for money by emotion or by any other means, Marissa. I have no fear of death. And I'm sure that Candice told you the worst and most awful truth, didn't she?"</p> <p>Marissa looked up at Diana. "I don't know, not...sure."</p> <p>"It is very simple, Marissa. I love her and would help her until her dying day if she wants me to. She does not and I abide by her wishes in my love for her. That's so awful of me not to force someone to be saved, isn't it? To leave them free to live a life that I hurt and healed, both. I'm simply awful for that, aren't I?"</p> <p>"No...no you're not..." Marissa said as Diana looked down at her.</p> <p>"Much worse to hurt and never heal, never make amends, never say you are in sorrow for what you did, isn't it?"</p> <p>Marissa nodded yes.</p> <p>"You might try thinking about that, someday, Marissa. You will be a better woman for it. And I know that you have that within you. Then and only then, you will be able to give the pleasure I've given you once you do that and you are not the sole focus of your entire life. It is one thing to enjoy the passion of ecstasy, and deeply. And it is nothing like the satisfaction of giving it to one you love."</p> <p>Slowly Diana stepped by Marissa, picked up a towel and dried herself off as she put her scant clothes back on and walked up the path to get the pot full of marinating meat and vegetables, and then started to prepare dinner. Now, even in the gathering night, it was not the water nor the air that sent a chill deep into Marissa for this was not the chill of her body, but of her soul revealed for what it is. She had felt the pain of the body, the ecstasy of it as well, but words now rang into that hollow place inside of her that she had never shown to anyone and protected herself from ever seeing.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"...and that is what we need and the schedule. It's a crash program from top to bottom."</p> <p>Mason was looking at the screen that had a link to the offices at the Event Horizon, after contacting Herman to get the principles together that would be necessary to get this done.</p> <p>Herman shook his head then looked at Brent who was sitting next to Gemma and Dennis on his right.</p> <p>"I don't know," he said looking at Hermes, "the first part is getting an ALV-III container prepped, then sent to California to get the thin film system applied. We can start the internal framing prep without it, though. But we are out of drop to orbit rockets for fitting. That has to come from somewhere."</p> <p>"Maybe Karl has something at the scrap yard?" Ares asked, "Although I doubt it and it would need to be refurbished and checked out."</p> <p>"I'll handle that, Aaron," Mason said, "we can hit up the stores of one of your competitors. SLSR has a line on one and is starting the negotiations for it and should be procured by the end of the week."</p> <p>Hermes nodded looking at Brent who shrugged. "Thrusters we have. Most of this will have be preassembled at our Arizona facility and shipped here. Nuada will have to work it out."</p> <p>Dionysus just shook his head.</p> <p>"That after the engine diversions... ahhh, that will look simple in comparison. As for getting a living space in the space allotment, that is a different matter, Mason. We are maybe 6 months from a good carbon sink system via the waste recycling area, but there is no help for that at the present. We might be able to do something, but even if we had a spare air processor, which we don't, the lead time on those is on the order of months."</p> <p>Mason was about to speak when Jasmine looked at Dionysus from across the table.</p> <p>"Dad that is trying to nix the project on a technicality and you know it."</p> <p>Dionysus was taken aback by that and he looked at Gemma who shrugged and then looked at Jasmine.</p> <p>"How would you get around the technical part of it?" she asked.</p> <p>"It's simple, really. The air system needs, basically, a place to slide in filters, an inflow and outflow duct with the latter having UV LEDs in it, then a modular power cell to take in methane and oxygen to get water and carbon dioxide, the latter of which gets fed right into the tank again for equilibrium and the latter goes to holding bladders in tanks, or even just bladders with expansive mesh around them. Potable water diversion requires an off the shelf filter system with spares, which I can get today or at least have on order for delivery tomorrow. A vacuum toilet will be spartan, but functional. After that you are looking at lightweight double walls for the exterior to hold foam and encapsulated gel and interior walls for sectioning off the partial drop container. I've seen Karl put those together, a panel in under an hour and more like a half-hour for later fittings, and the work crew can finish off at least 10 of those a day, and probably 20 or more with a full 2 shift operation. We have spare re-processor bio-filters that we keep on hand for OASIS I and soon OASIS II, so those just need fittings and connections in their processing tank for air. After that is running conduit, tubing and since this isn't a great part of the balance system of the WorkPlat, we can concentrate the mechanical parts to the rear, then the water tank systems, then the water storage system, then solid waste handling, and finally the air handling system. Because it is just a partial ALV-III container we can start with a scaled up slice of an ALV-II container, keep all the systems at the same scale and then shift around material from there. The living space will be about the same as an ALV-II container space forward of the engine systems, just wider and have a gentler curvature to it. Just as long as we can decide how to place everything," Jasmine said turning to Mason, "and you can supply us with the specialized tanks and fittings within a week, then we will have our portion done if and only if we can get a good work crew for doing it."</p> <p>"Nuada is going to kill me," Hermes said, "we aren't ready for a 3rd shift yet..." he said looking at Brent, "Can we put a major hold in at our Arizona facility and get them working on the interior and outer panels?"</p> <p>"We might even have some in stock," Brent said, "Mel has been having people put those together in her off hours since they are cheap and relatively modular, plus easy to use a plasma cutter on to custom fit them. I've seen the stacks of them back at the old place, Herman. She will bitch to high heaven about putting everything else on hold, but that just means you and Regina will need to talk to customers and explain the production delays."</p> <p>"There goes the spotless record after the Athena I," Ares said looking at Hermes and then at Jasmine. "You'll be needed wherever the fabrication for the actual systems take place. You and your parents. You are methodical yet quick, while your father takes his time a bit on trying to get the best fit possible."</p> <p>"Yes she does," Gemma said, "and does us proud. Jasmine you'll have to work with Brent and Herman on overall design layout and keep Ascentech's team updated. At least Bill, he is really the one leading this on their end. The initial fabrication side will be putting a lot of stress on Mel and I think that is where your father and I are going to be needed most. No matter what you think of in the design phase, your father has a good eye to know if it will actually work. Besides, Mel is good people and the crew there doesn't get as much appreciation as they deserve."</p> <p>"I'm sure I can get some fabrication work done via our SLSR contracts," Mason said, "if that would be a help. Our panel system is derived from existing ones which themselves come from the ISS. The laminate isn't that odd any more and has other uses in industrial and commercial venues, and if you fall behind on base production, then I think I can get my hands on someone to help out. We do have partial air handlers in cut-away and pieces in storage at our Exo-Environmental Support group, which isn't that far from you in Texas. It is a small group that has to work with the carbon-nano companies intimately, and when they have to place an order they have to over-order to get a price break. If we needed an entire system, front to back, we might make deadline, but I think 3 weeks might do it. And knowing how Brent works, I'll get someone on making the custom fittings to take catalyzed water and sending it back under chilled pressure to the hydrogen and oxygen tanks used for the booster system. Having that available along with a fuel cell has saved us a lot of orbital expense, and moving away from it means that reserve storage isn't available."</p> <p>"A cost/mass trade-off," Hermes said, "we trade a bit more mass but almost all of it in consumables for a reduced thrust per impulse second but denser storage per cc, which means nearly the same net thrust but at a higher mass. Solids are easier to work with than liquids or gasses, but not so friendly until you get to encapsulated monofuels."</p> <p>"Good. Because I already have the basic container order in at C^3," Mason said, "and the custom thin film solar plant will be rushing the sections through the day they get there and then do a final sealing and compression test, then give us output. Basically, even if they flub the job and we get little from the system, it is pretty redundant and Ray will just have to reprocess them in orbit in a few years."</p> <p>"I like that," Ares said, "because it means that jettisoning a stage means jettisoning cash return. That, alone, will change the space industry and clean up satellite orbital space."</p> <p>Mason smiled, nodding.</p> <p>"This is the most exciting part of Ascentech. They aren't thinking of science or research, but industrial capacity. No more one-off experiments or baby steps taken in little canisters that have to be examined on Earth."</p> <p>"Agreed," Hermes said looking at Ares and then Mason, "but this is a rush job and has high overhead, Mason. Our costs and fees go up because of that and because we will have slippage on our other contracts."</p> <p>Mason nodded.</p> <p>"Ray is paying, Aaron. I'm just the overall project coordinator. They know this will cost because of all they want to do, and you may have to ship some of the work over to the Ascentech facility. Or divert the engines to your local facility there and do the basic pod insertion yourselves with the Ascentech framing system. It can be worked out."</p> <p>Jasmine looked puzzle for a moment and then looked at Mason.</p> <p>"Mason, this must be a pretty big expenditure for Ray. Can he really cover it?"</p> <p>Mason raised his eyebrows.</p> <p>"Well he is diverting his share of net profits back into the company. So is Darlene. In fact all of the owning staff there is diverting their shares into the company this year and next year to cover the costs."</p> <p>Hermes sat back in his chair, looking at Ares.</p> <p>"That is basically giving it to her..." he whispered.</p> <p>Ares shrugged.</p> <p>"And I'm sure that she will gladly sell her portion back to them."</p> <p>"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that," Dionysus said, "since I am our cousin's representative here, I can say that she has no wish to be the head of a company or any such thing. But she is the tricky one, you know? She is already looking far down the trail ahead, and the funds from Ascentech, Highflight, parts of SLSR... I'm sure she has an idea of what to do next."</p> <p>Gemma smiled, nodding.</p> <p>"Not that she would tell anyone, of course."</p> <p>"Because," Jasmine whispered with a faint smile and twinkle in her eye, "that would be telling."</p> <p>Gemma looked at Dionysus. "She's <b>your </b>daughter."</p> <p>He looked at the smiling face of Gemma and then at Jasmine. "Well, my love, I think she is more my cousin's sister, now, than our daughter. And a welcome addition to the family, it is!"</p> <p>Ares sighed.</p> <p>"Can we put off the party until after we are finished?"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Fr. Andre was taking his time to digest what information he had gathered from the historical museum about the immediate post-Nazi to civil war period of his country. After the starvation, rampant killings and reprisal killings, attempting to exterminate the Jews country-wide by moving them to the death camps and then the Soviet backed groups trying to seize power, the entire period from about 1940 to 1948 was a mess. Still the records had gleaned some information, and the museum had been more than willing to contact the British War Museum to track down the serial number of a revolver from the war. There was some misdirection about how he had come into possession of the number, simply telling the staff that it was recorded in a diary of one of his late parishioners and he wanted to track it down.</p> <p>First was a week in searching the local church archives plus going through scriptures. Now another week searching through the war related materials at the historical museum and waiting for an answer from the UK was occupying almost all of his spare time, and even taking over some of the time he would normally devote to leading devotional hymns and prayer services. Fr. Aris had been good enough to help in those duties, and he was slowly maturing into a good Priest. In truth he didn't think that there was much in the way of a natural explanation for the events that went on.</p> <p>He could say that this was all from God's will, because it was as all things were from God's will, but the manifestations of that normally were quite identifiable and easy to cite. The rarer and more horrific manifestations of evil were also easy to spot and cite via scripture or just reading the news. This was not in either of those categories, however, at least by easy citation, which then left him with the few other things it might be.</p> <p>Walking out in the warm daylight helped his spirits immensely and he started going through the roster of things this also was unlikely to be.</p> <p>First was a ghost or other such thing of the spirit. In many ways it had some earmarks of that, yes, but the first observation that these spirits don't get physically injured in the present and at different locations while taking part in events, meant that spooks and spirits had to be put aside.</p> <p>Second was the modern fascination with stories of the undead. Sadly those were either limited to the night or were brainless wanderers. None came out in the daytime to defend others and be wounded for that, but were attackers and predators upon the living.</p> <p>He paused for a moment at a corner and then decided on a direction that wasn't exactly on the way back to the church, but to other attractions in the museum district. Greece was struggling in his modern time, but it wasn't the fierce fight for liberation but succumbing to things all too natural in the way of debasement of culture. This saddened him, no end.</p> <p>Of the things he had also found was another picture taken at the Tomb of the Unknowns just after the crowd had dispersed, and the wounded were being treated. There was one dark part of the stonework where the figure had been reported to have appeared and been shot that had darkness to it. Of course that could have come from anyone in the front ranks of the marchers, but it was right where the woman had been reported to be, as far as he could tell.</p> <p>Third on the list of popular things to cause things in the modern era, beyond conspiracies, of course, was phenomena from the sky which were not heavenly visitations of a spiritual sort but of these Unidentified sort. None of those were reported during the time of the liberation to civil war, so that also went out.</p> <p>Now his trail had led him to the art museum, although a smaller one that was more just a few galleries in a small building than the much larger one a few blocks from it. This was a nice and relatively peaceful place to be amongst the lesser paintings and sculptures that still showed great artistry. Walking in he started with the maritime section and took his time looking at scenery all too familiar for him from his youth. This was a very relaxing setting and he could let his mind wander amongst the familiar pieces here.</p> <p>Was there a fourth thing he had discounted? Someone with some advanced technology that had never seen the light of day, perhaps? But it hadn't seen the light of day and anyone with the capability to disappear while wounded would have more than some reason to use it more widely or at least demonstrate it. Be it some invisibility cloak or one of those strange stories of time travel that were still popular, either of those would have been far more manifest in daily life if they had been first tested in the late 1940's. A secret that large can't be kept.</p> <p>Architectural depictions were not his normal enjoyment, but the renditions soothed the mind and spirit, and even the technical drawings on display showed how intent the engineer could be at their work to produce things so useful and beautiful as well.</p> <p>All of the easy things removed. Government agents? No, since there was no real government at that point. Allied operatives? If so then she would have been known to someone in one of the alliance forces, and yet even the SOE had no record of such a woman at such times. And with the pistol itself being taken from the firefight, although not the officer's holster, there was a definite link between people, items and events which were now demanding some real concern on his part.</p> <p>Slowly his stroll took him out of the maritime to the Byzantine Era and he knew that his more favorite Renaissance and Classical works were on the other side of the building and that this wing was one he didn't visit often. The slow march from Iconography to the works of more ancient times also meant changes in the art forms, which included vases and statuary. Mostly his appreciation of the work in statuary was minimal, and that beyond the religious areas were things where he could appreciate craftsmanship but not much beyond it. A form of David held interest if it was done by a decent artist or lesser master of the period, of course. But emperors and the pagan gods held little for him and if you had looked at them once, then you had seen them all.</p> <p>Yet, on one of the ancient vases, was a depiction of a battle scene and there, within it, was a woman in armor with flowing black hair and flashing eyes. She had a spear with her and shield with the head of Medusa and that meant that she was Athena. The small card for the vase could only note approximate age, that being the early Iron Age and that this was a depiction of an unknown battle. He squatted down to examine the vase and he saw that one of the opposing army had actually gotten a spearhead to Athena and that it disappeared into her armor. Squinting he looked at her feet and there were small dark drops.</p> <p>Slowly he stood up and thought.</p> <p>In myth she was a virgin, born from the forehead of Zeus and contained wisdom. She had brought forth the spring that would allow Athens to be founded and gave the olive tree to all Greeks so that they could find use for every part of it and be enriched by it. Yet, for all her charms and endorsement of the feminine ways of housekeeping, she was also in battle lesser only to Ares and a huntress second only to Artemis.</p> <p>Then he felt the cool shiver of knowing that he was being stared at. Very slowly he turned and saw that there was a statue at the other end of the hall facing directly in his direction. It was a tall woman, with hair flowing out from under her helmet, wearing armor over a dress, wielding a sword and having a great shield strapped to her left arm. The sculpture was from the late period of the Ptolemy's and sent as a gift to Athens. Her eyes had a piercing look that only the Egyptians could achieve. She was a woman as strong at war as she was strong with the support of the woman's role in society.</p> <p>With a prickling of his skin he also realized what else she was.</p> <p>The Defender of Athens.</p> <p>A blessed virgin.</p> <p>That was all he had left and the stare of Athena dared him to discount her.</p> <p>Then he had a real fear that if he did, she would come to life to step down off the pedestal and give him a slap to remind him that she always had a place in Athens.</p> <p>The statue didn't do that, of course. It was only a statue.</p> <p>She also took on the name of a friend she had killed in jealous rage.</p> <p>Pallas. Pallas Athene.</p> <p>"Athens always has a place for you..." he whispered, "but you separated from us first."</p> <p>Quickly he hurried out because he must consult with others to determine if, in talking to the statue of a goddess, that he might have done something sacrilegious Or be slipping into insanity.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Here it comes...wait for it..." Karl said standing next to Regina and in-between her and Nuada.</p> <p>"Are all of you fucking crazy?" Nuada screamed at Regina. "There is no way in hell that we can get all of that done in the time you have for it. Not a chance in hell."</p> <p>"You see, I told you so," Karl said looking at Regina who gave him a sharp look and then softened as he had, indeed, warned her what the effect would be. Out in the parking area, under the hot sun of the summer, Regina had asked for Nuada, got Karl and explained it to him and then he warned her about what Nuada's reaction would be.</p> <p>"I really didn't need the warning," Regina whispered, "but the moral support is a help."</p> <p>Nuada was balling her fists looking for trouble, any trouble, to get into.</p> <p>"Oh, its not as bad as all that, Nuada," Karl said and she turned to look at him.</p> <p>"Karl, have you gone nuts? We have at least 6 half-completed systems and now they all have to be put on hold? This is shutting down production so we can do just one project and it is thoroughly crazy. Who thought up this mess?"</p> <p>They heard a car pull into the parking area and into a visitor's slot and then shut off. Tamara stepped out and saw them and started waving.</p> <p>"Nuada, if you think you have a mess, realize that she is Mason's POC here," Regina said softly. "She is going to be stuck going between us, Ascentech, and possibly trips out to Kentucky and Arizona, if not California for this. For the next 6 weeks she is going to be the absent mother while Aaron takes care of Kyle.</p> <p>Karl nodded as he looked at Tamara and gave her a whistle.</p> <p>"And Aaron will miss her, too," Karl said in a voice that could be described as lascivious or envious, "because I know that if I were married to her, I would want every possible moment with her."</p> <p>"If you have complaints about the schedule, Nuada, she is the one to go through. She will be the one making sure everything is done on time," Regina said shifting to step closer to Tamara and give her a hug as she approached.</p> <p>Tamara hugged her and whispered softly, "Thank you, sister."</p> <p>She then gave Karl a quick hug and then Nuada who had to let her fists relax so she could hug her in return.</p> <p>"Looks like you got the bad news," Tamara said looking at Nuada.</p> <p>"Yeah, about two minutes ago. I'm seething at what this will do the schedule and everyone's lives..."</p> <p>A decade ago, Nuada would not have given a shit for other people in such a position and might have called them 'losers' or worse. Now she had the responsibility to care about them and for them, and she wanted to feel like she wasn't cut out for the job. Yet a memory of a cold loading dock late at night and then a warm, loving experience indoors, meant that she agreed to take up the challenge because she knew that others had faith in her. For so long she just wanted to be feared if not respected, and trusted only by a very few. Then she realized she was loved and respected and was asked to take up caring for many, many more.</p> <p>"... and everything comes to a grinding halt so we can prepare for it."</p> <p>Tamara pursed her lips together and gave Regina a glance and then stepped up to Nuada and held a hand out to her.</p> <p>"Come on. Lets review the schedule together because you might be able to finish off something that is in the 80% or more status, which will mean it gets out the door to open up shop space. Then we can get an up-link and talk to Mel as she will be having Mason to deal with and, bless his heart, his days as a front-line manager are just a bit in his past. In fact if you can do some of the walk out of materials from Arizona to here, you would be a great help to me."</p> <p>Nuada took Tamara's hand and inhaled.</p> <p>"Really? I get some real time with Mel, like I haven't had in ages?"</p> <p>Tamara nodded.</p> <p>"Yes, really. Karl will be able to hold things together here while you're commuting."</p> <p>Gently Tamara moved next to Nuada, and they slid arms around each others hips and started walking towards the building.</p> <p>Karl just shook his head, and then looked at Regina, pointing his finger to the backs of the two women walking towards the plant.</p> <p>"How come that sort of thing never happens to me?"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>The day had been strange, lonely, with none seeing her and she barely able to find food. Yet, as the day slowly came to a close, she found herself amongst alleyways between buildings and one back stoop that had a burlap satchel that she knew was hers. She couldn't say how she knew, just that she did know and when she picked it up she found tins of sardines, a small wheel of cheese, a salted sausage, and a loaf of bread along with two apples and a plastic bottle of water and a short bottle of retsina. She made sure of them and then took up the satchel and walked with it out into the darkness that deepened in the city and its metropolitan environs. The tightly packed buildings of the city center were behind her and she remembered clearly walking through them and taking out the worn handbill about the up and coming air and space show.</p> <p>One company had the image of a man with winged boots, winged helmet and carrying bags up the stairways to the stars, and he looked back over his shoulder with a smile and sly wink to her. It was just a company piece of artwork and yet, she knew who that man was. Yet she couldn't remember him. This had bothered her throughout the day that she couldn't remember anything before waking up.</p> <p>"What am I?" she asked as she came to a small park and sat down in the gathering darkness to start nibbling on the food she had. "Who am I? Why can't I remember anything before today?"</p> <p>In amongst the items in the satchel she found a small corkscrew and undid the cork to the small bottle and took a short sip from it directly.</p> <p>"Resin in wine. Good wine," she said to herself.</p> <p>Overhead she heard a sound, like the flutter of wings, but surely all the birds must have already roosted. She continued nibbling at her food and then opened one of the tins to start taking out the sardines, and she also sipped more at the small bottle of wine.</p> <p>"I am alive. I used restrooms twice today, and this is my second meal. I walk and I get tired, the sun warms me and the air chills me in this time of twilight before dark."</p> <p>She thought as she finished the tin of sardines and tossed it in the direction of a waste receptacle, and heard it clang against the rim and fall in.</p> <p>"I wasn't even aiming..." she said looking at the receptacle, "and yet I threw it perfectly to fall in. That isn't possible, is it?"</p> <p>She continued eating, finishing one apple and then offhandedly threw the core at the waste receptacle and then turned to watch it slowly arc in the air and fall directly in.</p> <p>"That is frightening," she whispered, "no one can just do that, in that way. What is wrong... no not wrong... is there anything right about me?"</p> <p>She stowed the half loaf of bread, the half a wheel of cheese and the remaining can of sardines in the satchel and sipped the wine until she started to get sleepy. With the last of the wine gone she shifted the satchel under her head and tossed the bottle back towards the waste receptacle.</p> <p>The last thing she heard that day was the bottle making a slight sound as it landed in the trash having been perfectly aimed and thrown.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Marissa looked over the table at Diana who was slowly eating the braised rabbit and squirrel along with mixed vegetables she had quick fried in a wok.</p> <p>"Am I really that bad?" she finally asked in a whisper.</p> <p>Diana shrugged.</p> <p>"Lets find out. Was your fiance a good man?"</p> <p>Marissa nodded looking at Diana.</p> <p>"Why the video engagement?"</p> <p>"Uh, he was in Iraq."</p> <p>"Why didn't you get engaged before he left?"</p> <p>Marissa looked at her.</p> <p>"I, uh, he...there were commitment issues..."</p> <p>"His or yours?" Diana asked.</p> <p>Marissa made a sour face and whispered, "Mine."</p> <p>Diana nodded.</p> <p>"You didn't make a big deal out of it, did you?"</p> <p>Marissa shrugged, "It seemed like he really meant it and I, well, liked him a lot."</p> <p>"Then when the IED took out his Hummer? You were taking selfies at the party you went to after you learned. Looks like a really fun party, too."</p> <p>Looking away Marissa shivered and squeezed her eyes shut.</p> <p>"Well that's your personal life, then. Up to you what you make of that. Then there is your professional life. Your first story on Clarence Oglebee, CFO of NikTek, do you remember him?"</p> <p>She frowned and nodded. "He was embezzling from the company, cheating on his wife, and held in good stead with a couple of business organizations," she said.</p> <p>Diana nodded between bites.</p> <p>"That's him. You found out about his Mistress, and then used what you did find out to pressure her into spilling the beans about him. Annette... Isdale? Indall? Ah, Anette Ansdale! She was also married, and you found out that she and Clarence were going to skip town to a place with no extradition back to the US."</p> <p>Marissa nodded and smiled. "Yes! That's right!"</p> <p>Diana sat back in her chair and took a sip from her glass of chilled tea.</p> <p>"That story got you a name, that did," Diana said, "too bad that Annette jumped from a hotel window a month after you went public."</p> <p>Marissa blinked.</p> <p>"She did?" she whispered.</p> <p>Diana reached out and took a few berries from a small bowl at the center of the table. Carefully she popped them in her mouth, chewed them then swallowed them.</p> <p>"Clarence lost his position and for his first offense just got 3 years in the penitentiary thanks to your reporting. His wife went to work, of course, had to keep the kids fed. Divorced him so that she could get some compensation out of his severance package which the courts had a lien on. Your contact... Chris Dahl?"</p> <p>Marissa nodded, "Yes he saw one of my earlier pieces... I forget which... and came to me with the information..."</p> <p>"Yeah, him. You paid him off in whatever, and I don't want to know," Diana nodded, " but he was a witness at the trial and all. Promoted for not being involved in the shady accounts. Then he found how to access the accounts where the cash had been squirreled away and skipped town with it. The suspicion was that he always knew where the money had gone, but had to get Clarence out of the way. That was partly correct."</p> <p>"Oh..."</p> <p>"Clarence was framed, by the way, and a clever one by Mr. Dahl. A financial investigation showed that Clarence had little knowledge of the special project they were funding and that it was scam set up to shuffle funds around. Only the signatory materials had vanished by the time of his trial and it looked like he was doing the squirreling away. The account, itself, was an old one from the prior CFO who hadn't actually shut it down when the company headquarters had moved, so it was a legitimate place to drop the funds as it was, in theory, under control of the company, but the access to it was still in the CFO's possession. Clarence was planning to skip town with his Mistress, though, after divorcing his wife, first. And Annette her husband, which while relatively low in the morals category was a thing of the heart. Chris Dahl knew that the jig would be up, so to speak, once the actual close-out with Clarence leaving would proceed if he wasn't involved because a thorough check of prior financial institutions would finally get that account out as not being Clarence's but that of the company. Only a couple of passwords kept the money beyond his reach and Clarence was in the way because the material to get to the accounts were still in the records of the prior CFO. Clarence wasn't the best of CFO's and never bothered to follow-up on the prior close-out work. The account was overseas, however, and beyond reach of being extracted, if anyone could have found it. Which was part of the lack of oversight that went on with the original founders of the company and the shuffle of the move of the HQ and the first CFO leaving. Dahl from his position made it look like it went to a personal account of Clarence, titular to the CFO's Office but, in fact, made sure that any records from it were intercepted by him and his staff at the #2 position. A truly clever man, that."</p> <p>"Wait a moment... how could he have worked that if Clarence was still in the picture? Couldn't he have...ummm... no an actual accounting group would have seen that there were problems from the internal close-out of the previous CFO, wouldn't they?"</p> <p>Diana nodded.</p> <p>"A real audit would have shown that an innocent man was framed. That would have landed Dahl in jail and freed Clarence. Mind you the sordid details of his affair were headline stuff. You made sure of that."</p> <p>Marissa winced at those words.</p> <p>"But how could he carry that off...I mean Dahl...he couldn't..."</p> <p>"That is why he came to you, Marissa. He wanted Clarence out, shamed, a quick and dirty prosecution by a rather rabid DA, and the general atmosphere that had come into being around the company meant it wanted Clarence out, and the 'hero' put in his place. The police and DA weren't used to dealing with such a complicated financial situation and never dug the real material out. Really, Dahl did a number on you, gave you a trusted friend to corroborate things for your story, and then you took the time to set up a couple of remote cams at places where the couple met and in a couple of weeks you had some of the juiciest stuff around."</p> <p>"How come I never heard about this?"</p> <p>Diana leaned forward to look at her.</p> <p>"By the time all of this was coming out you were getting one of your juicy stories out on the personal lives of the managers at Crescent Delivery Corp and the new DA just wanted your notes and material, which you gave to him since, by then, no one could contact Dahl to get his permission, and he didn't swear you to secrecy. Crescent Delivery Corp beckoned to you and by then you were already getting juicy details of what was going on by a couple of people inside and outside the company. That really was their own affair, or set of affairs... say did you ever find out just how many of the managers were sleeping around with and on each other? I count at least 10, but there are just so many as the breakdowns that went on, divorces, marriages, and people just abandoning ship from the last of the Dot Bust that even Jasmine couldn't keep them all straight."</p> <p>"Ummm... does that include the clerical staff, too?"</p> <p>Diana closed her eyes and shuddered.</p> <p>"On second thought I don't want to know, quite truthfully," she said opening her eyes, "The company was on the rocks already, their pet meds/grocery combo delivery service, made to help people who cared about caring for their pets and something they hoped to franchise, was already running deeply in the red for almost a year as they were getting edged out by competition from the big food chains. I really can't blame them for what they did, since those delivery trucks made such great places to get together on the sly. Really a textbook case of what happens to a start-up that has people far too close to each other. There were others before that, but nothing like this."</p> <p>Marissa smirked and nodded.</p> <p>"Too bad your reporting made it sound like all of the sex was the cause of the company's problem, not an effect of it. The sexual antics were a symptom of a problem and the entire thing would have gone under a bit sooner if you hadn't brought them to light."</p> <p>"What?"</p> <p>"Yeah, sex sells, as they say. Whoever <i>they </i>are. Sex, money, drugs, power, you really do report mostly on those." Diana tilted her head to look at Marissa, "So you helped keep the entire ship afloat there by having people hope that a couple of naked people would roll out of the truck when they delivered. That did only happen the one time, you know? And after your story came out at that, but it did confirm what was going on as the people in the company were oblivious to the reporting. They were desperate. No real good outlet to express it, either. Sex, drugs and surely power although that was the mad rush to try and not be the one left holding the bag. After they got the entire thing going that last part was probably forgotten by everyone involved. But even your own reporting, in part III of the story, buried near the end, showed that the problems of making ends meet after an internal oversight of which accounts to take money from had blossomed from a credit to a debit. All of the fun in bed started the second quarter after that had come to light to the internal head of accounts and he brought that up with the person doing the external payouts and they had been eyeing each other since they first came to the company a year or two previously. They didn't want the company to fail and didn't know how to actually report the problem without the company immediately spiraling into the red and then to a bankruptcy court."</p> <p>Marissa thought it was just sordid and ugly set of affairs, and attacked the story with some abandon. The brazenness of a few of the people there made what was happening a whispering deal for a few weeks and she wanted to be first on the scene, and was. Plus she could flirt as much as she liked to get attention and then beg off at the last moment, and only got called a few horrid names for that as the company had wanted some publicity. She made them notorious, instead.</p> <p>"Still hard to say just how many relationships went south because of that recounting by you although I'm sure a few were going to head that way no matter what happened. Nothing like publicizing the misery of others with lurid escapades and forgetting that these are actual people in a desperate situation and facing bankruptcy. By then it was more than just the company due to the amounts of personal funds that got poured into the thing trying to save it and the love lives going on. They all knew that at some point, and they were getting frantic to get new investors to cover the deepening red in that was on the books, which no amount of their own money could cover it up, although they did try. So they kept on reporting the same couple of quarters prior to that and made it look like they had a steady clientele and income. Yet as the clear evidence spread under the covers, so to speak, each of the people involved had to have a release for their tensions, anger and shock with fear being the strange aphrodisiac of it all. Each person involved came into the know by someone they liked, trusted and had an attraction to. Well, except for you, of course. You wanted the credit for bringing the place down. Finally got that, although I wouldn't call it 'credit'. A few people were being left out of the musical beds game that was going on and wanted in on it since they had their own desires. Too bad they were kept out of the loop, but lust in the office and games in the janitorial closet will have consequences like that. You missed the most basic part of it and if you had actually just covered it as financial problem, with some sad side-effects, shown the actual timeline and properly documented it, then you would have become one of the premier financial reporters anywhere. Instead you missed basic cause and effect."</p> <p>"But... I didn't really think about it like that," Marissa whispered.</p> <p>Diana checked over the bones of the rabbit on her plate and stood up, and took the plate over to the compost container and dumped the bones in it, then put the lid on it after she was done, and the put the dish in the sink and pumped some water on it.</p> <p>"Diana?" Marissa whispered.</p> <p>"Marissa, when you talked with Candy, she told you about what I did, didn't she?"</p> <p>Marissa nodded.</p> <p>"In detail, I hope? About how I set bones, bandaged feet, and then visited them all at the hospital? Made sure they had the small things that hospitals can't provide to make them comfortable?"</p> <p>"Yes," Marissa said.</p> <p>"You must have thought I was some kind of sadistic fiend to do that sort of thing, twisting those women emotionally to little personal benefit. Was that how you thought of it? First inflict pain to unnerve them, give more pain to set their bones immediately instead of later when it would be harder, and then come by to help them get over things. I must have set them up for it, is that what you thought? Somehow got them to attack me as part of a fiendish plan?"</p> <p>Marissa closed her eyes and nodded 'yes'.</p> <p>Softly Diana padded around the table and knelt next to Marissa, and looked up at her.</p> <p>"Am I really that awful?" Diana whispered.</p> <p>Tears started to flow out of the corner's of Marissa's eyes as she looked down at Diana.</p> <p>"I thought that... when you said... Candy... Candice said... that you loved them that you were... just playing with them."</p> <p>"And she told you about what else was going on that they heard about? Others they knew trying to get to me?"</p> <p>"Yes, she told me that, too. You're a killer," Marissa whispered, the hair on her arms standing on end.</p> <p>"Only when threatened, Marissa. I don't seek out confrontation. When it comes to me, I deal with it and that is what I did with them. That's the part she couldn't know then and even now she can't deal with. Yet Candy is on the road to recovery and I will always have my arms open to her, just as I held them open for Mel and Nuada. Or did you think that was just some sexual manipulation on my part?"</p> <p>"Yes, that's... Candice hinted that you're...you... seduce... women."</p> <p>"Have I seduced you, Marissa?" Diana asked very softly.</p> <p>Marissa closed her eyes and shook her head from side to side, trying to get control of her feelings.</p> <p>"No," she finally whispered.</p> <p>Slowly Diana stood up, slipping her hands around Marissa, stroking her hair slowly as she held Marissa's head close to her chest.</p> <p>"I love what we do, Diana," she said pressing her face to Diana's chest.</p> <p>"So do I, but the hard work must be done. You know that is what I offered you."</p> <p>Marissa shifted to get her arms around Diana as she cried openly.</p> <p>"I could not hate you, Marissa. You wanted a confrontation and I didn't. I'm sorry to be hard on you like I have been, but I deal with each threat as it comes to me, not in some set way as each threat is different. You had to understand this time, for once, that I am a person, not a lurid story with me as an object in it. Hard work left you broken down, as your body began to let you know that it was changing and adjusting to where you were. What that means is that the real hard work was having an effect on you and for that I'm sorry."</p> <p>"You... it is hard Diana...I thought I was doing fine... but..."</p> <p>"Shhhh... remember I hand out no pain that I cannot help you heal unless the threat is meant to kill, then I deal with such savagery on its own terms. But you must want that help and not think only of the pain and that is where Candy is still at, the pain, not the healing with me. That healing for you will be much harder than all the work you've done so far. But before you can actually love me, or anyone, you must first love yourself, all of you, good and bad. So many get caught up in just how good they think they are that they never see the monster they have become."</p> <p>Shifting her head to look up at Diana, Marissa opened her eyes.</p> <p>"Am I... that?"</p> <p>Diana bent her head down to kiss Marissa's forehead.</p> <p>"That isn't the question. Do you want to be that? Because if you don't and would truly like to enjoy yourself with me... with anyone... and not see your reflection in every person, then I would love to help you reach that place so the beauty of you is no longer trapped just at your skin but flows deep from inside to the outside. You are worthy of that, but only if you recognize what you are doing for what it is. I can't make you see others as actual people to empathize with, only you can do that but you first must desire to do that. There is no forcing in what I've asked you to do."</p> <p>"But I don't know...how to do that..." Marissa whispered.</p> <p>"I know. It is very hard work. But you needn't do it alone, my love."</p> <p>"You're... you're..."</p> <p>"Twisting you? Toying with you? Wanting you to become a better person than you are?"</p> <p>Diana felt Marissa pull tightly to her and slid her arms around Marissa's back to hold her tightly as well.</p> <p>"Why what an awful person I am for wanting you to love yourself so you can love others. Just horrid of me. And I can stop anytime you want me to. There. There you go, Marissa. The evil me. Yes, I do love women. But that is only so that I can save the lives of men from loving me. See how that works? Just so rotten of me. And I will tell that to anyone who asks, too. That is how venal, cruel, sadistic and down-right awful I am."</p> <p>Diana smiled as she felt Marissa shift and look up at her, then move the chair to stand up with Diana joining her, arms still around each other.</p> <p>"You mean that?" Marissa said with a smile.</p> <p>Diana nodded, slowly, with a wide grin on her lips, a twinkle coming from her dark, dark blue eyes.</p> <p>"You can't blackmail me with that, Marissa. And if you work hard, you just might come to understand it."</p> <p>"What have I gotten myself into?" Marissa asked softly as she and Diana slid closer to each other.</p> <p>"Bed, perhaps?" Diana whispered and felt Marissa chuckle.</p> <p>"Please?" Marissa whispered back.</p> <p>"Clean up after dinner, first. Then fun. Then hard work. That is the routine here, in case you missed it. Fun after eating and hard work, not before. A simple rule to live by and it has the benefit of actually working, too."</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-77420824074984096282015-11-28T03:04:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:13:03.878-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 4<p>Karl looked at the screen which held the image from the cam attached to Lenny's protective goggles, which also had LED lighting built into them so that he got a relatively wide beam that let him see into the dark recesses of the Ascentech engine pod. He was careful not to dislodge the protective shields around the engine, itself, which was actually a cluster of engines that had long feeds of the solid propellant and ion systems encased for their own protection. That part of the system was a couple of feet beneath him as he had to climb over the framing system that Ascentech had attached to the engine.</p> <p>"Now just there, Lenny," Karl said zooming in and then out on the portable screen, "that expansion arm you're on, could you shift over two arms and then give a tug on it?"</p> <p>"Can do, Karl," Lenny's voice said through the speaker system. As he gingerly tested the supports of the left side struts and supports, the view shifted to show that the interlocking catch feed was loose and running next to the support rail. When he was in position Lenny gave a tug on the arm and it vibrated.</p> <p>"Right, now look from the rail catch on the arm and towards the engine, go slowly if you would," Karl said softly.</p> <p>Kevin Penk looked over his shoulder at the screen along with Esme.</p> <p>"Is that the QR, there, Karl?" Lenny asked, and the panning stopped. Karl zoomed in on it.</p> <p>"The very same, Len. See that pin under compression tension on the near part?"</p> <p>"Uh-huh," Lenny said.</p> <p>"Now look about 6 inches up and you'll see the flat on the arm that fits in there."</p> <p>The view shifted to show a trapezoidal piece of carbon fiber plate that had a hole in it that was mated to the swing arm.</p> <p>"I see," Lenny said, "that seats into the QR and triggers the spring."</p> <p>"That's right, and when the QR is activated the small stop plate loses its support and the pin is pushed the rest of the way through by the remaining compression. No pieces fall off so there isn't anything to float around."</p> <p>"Karl, why an electomechanical one?" Esme asked and Karl looked at Kevin.</p> <p>"Good question, really, we wouldn't have done it like that," Karl said.</p> <p>"Relay reliability issues," Kevin said, "an EM system allows for an over-volting to actuate the system at each stage. You can't do that with a purely electrical system with a simple turn plate. On paper it looks better to go all electrical, but under stress of drop and thrust, it just gets jammed 1 in 10 times. Each of them must work, so EM it is."</p> <p>Karl nodded looking at Esme.</p> <p>"Remember that, Esme. Flash and lights and neat gizmos that go wrong aren't worth it. A few grams wasted on a purely EM system means simpler solutions. And they have more than a dozen of them on the entire framing system and each of them has to work. Herman decided on rigid modular, which has its own issues. There is no easy way, but you fit critical items so they work."</p> <p>"What's next?" Lenny asked.</p> <p>"First you attach the strap you're carrying to the arm you're on. Give it a look to make sure that its secured, would you?"</p> <p>The view shifted to show a plate secured in the QR with the pin set in place.</p> <p>"Looks good," Lenny said.</p> <p>"Aye, it does. So cinch the strap around that and get ready to put it over the arms that are loose," Karl said looking at Esme. "That's you're cue, time to look at what the hell happened on the underside."</p> <p>Esme smiled and walked over to the ladder resting against the engine pod housing and went up it and then struggled to crawl in under the engine and the housing. Karl brought up her feed to see what she was seeing.</p> <p>"Lenny, when Esme is under you, I'll have her figure out what's wrong there and then she will secure the strap to a secure member on the framing system. Then it will be inch by inch to get the rest of the system secured."</p> <p>Lenny's camera was shifting as he checked for solid members to move to and keep his balance as he moved on the right side of the framing system.</p> <p>"Understood," he said.</p> <p>Karl shifted to a picture in picture view and put Esme's view in the main area, shrinking Lenny's view down.</p> <p>"Doing good, Esme," he said.</p> <p>"It's fucking tight down here, Karl," she gasped moving slowly along.</p> <p>"Well of course it is!" Karl said, "That's why we have you here." Karl smiled as he watched the screen.</p> <p>"Karl!" Esme said.</p> <p>"Kidding, Esme, kidding. There... another couple of feet and we should have a good view of it."</p> <p>Karl started zooming in as Esme slowly got closer.</p> <p>"I think it's sheared off...plate and track..." she said between grunts moving forward.</p> <p>Karl looked at Kevin who shook his head.</p> <p>"All screwed up," Kevin said.</p> <p>"It's still attached to the QR," Karl said, "and that means we either take out the track and feed in fresh..."</p> <p>"She would have to crawl all the way to the front to detach the broken forward rail."</p> <p>"...or she cuts and patches when we shift the entire pod in place and it is attached on the other 5 rails. It was the only one to attach and one of the arms caught on the rail and shifted its direction, so the entire thing needs to come back into alignment. It does get more than tight, though, I expect."</p> <p>"Karl if it gets any tighter I won't be able to move," Esme said.</p> <p>"Me neither," said Lenny who was now shifting the strap to hang down the side of the framing system, "it's canted and tilted right now, but move it back and no one can fit in here."</p> <p>"It is going to be a long, long night," Kevin said.</p> <p>Karl shrugged.</p> <p>"The entire bottom rail has to come out, the QR reset to its ready position, all the junk removed, the kids out and then pull the engine out, straighten it and try again."</p> <p>"What a fucking waste of time. All because a single QC was missed."</p> <p>"That's the way of it," Karl said, "miss once and you pay dearly."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>The day had dawned bright with no threat of rain and the temperatures climbed. There was a hustle on the street of people walking briskly to and from work, the drivers of cars honked the horns of the vehicles in a traffic jam and from the various cantinas, bistros, and store front shops there was a sound that was muted. The sound of commerce and a city alive with it, if one could call the depressed state of the entire economy alive, at least. She walked amongst the patrons and had given up trying to get anyone's attentions hours ago. She knew that she existed but no one else seemed to know that. She had rolled up the sleeves of the dark red shirt, the pants fit well enough as did the sandals she wore. The realization came to her that the way she was ignored had included the actual taking of a bottle of water and small sandwich from a deli and that she could, in all likelihood take anything she wanted from any business or even any person.</p> <p>"That would deprive them of revenue with which to pay employees so that they can keep hearth and home together. That I will not abide by..." she said out loud to herself as she walked.</p> <p>As she walked amongst the crowd she saw a man sliding his hand into the jacket of a man he had bumped into, and made an excuse to him before turning away. Her keen eyes had spotted the theft and she simply stepped up next to the thief as he walked and threw him to the ground, with a simple thrust of her hand, and sticking her leg out to trip him. A quick step on his hand made the wallet fall from him and then her toe flicked it open so that the identity of the owner could be seen. An older woman stopped and looked down at the man who reached out for the wallet and she placed her foot on his back to pin him down for a moment. That frightened him and he looked around to see who his tormentor was and yet no one was there.</p> <p>"What is wrong, young man?" the woman asked.</p> <p>"I... I stumbled when... checking my wallet..." he said reaching once more for it.</p> <p>Looking down the woman peered at the face on the card in the wallet and then at the man.</p> <p>"That isn't your wallet..." she said.</p> <p>He made a grab for it and she knelt next to him and placed her lips next to his ear.</p> <p>"Return it or else..." she whispered in a hiss.</p> <p>His body stopped moving and his eyes widened to turn and look back where the sound like words had come from but couldn't see anyone there.</p> <p>"I..." he tried to get out.</p> <p>The old woman reached down and picked up the wallet looking at the man, and then she took her cellphone out to make a call to the police after taking his picture.</p> <p>Smiling she stood up watching the man try to comprehend how he had just gone from an easy score to becoming the easy mark of something invisible.</p> <p>Her smile continued as she walked through the crowds which parted for her and healed in her wake, none touched her, saw her, spoke to her and yet on some level they knew she was there, amongst them. At an intersection she stopped waiting for traffic, since she suspected that they would not be able to stop or get out of her way due to their rate of speed or lack of same, and looked at the garish advertisements on buildings. A large one across the way announced the coming of an airshow in the last week of September and showed various aerospace vehicles along with aircraft and the logos of many companies scattered around it. There were all sorts of logos, with swooshes, stars and subdued colors but one caught her eye because it didn't have a vehicle, swoosh or any other thing like the others, but a man on a stairway to the heavens carrying two bags and looking back over his shoulder giving a smiling look that all but said 'follow me'.</p> <p>Her smile disappeared.</p> <p>"He's winking," she gave a soft whisper as she gazed at the man with winged shoes and a hat that was also winged on his head. She had seen this sort of thing elsewhere, but not like this. Never so inviting. Never promising the stars above. The company's name was Highflight.</p> <p>"I know him. From somewhere. But what is his name?" for long minutes she continued before she realized that there was a man giving out handbills for the airshow across the way. She went there and took one from his pile and looked at it most of the day and then folded it and put it into her pants pocket. She had never seen such a thing before, and yet it seemed familiar. But the man was someone she knew from somewhere. Someone special. Someone important.</p> <p>"Who is he?" she asked of herself as she wandered into the late afternoon crowds once more.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Marissa had survived the first day and after a helping of venison stew, pan fry cakes, and steamed vegetables served with a white wine that Diana said she had gotten from her cousin Dennis, there had been the very brief period of sitting in front of the fireplace on one of the 3 large sofas and sipping a cup of coffee. She awoke in the center bedroom along the back of the lodge that had a Queen sized bed and two fold-down bunk beds and an over sized dresser. Light barely filtered in from the window on the rear wall and she reached over to the bedside table to turn on the light there, which came to life with a brightness that dazzled her.</p> <p>The clock read 4:25 AM and she groaned at the way her body felt. Muscles ached all over her body, her hands felt leaden and when she got her feet to the carpeted floor she realized that they were painful with blisters and she had to tenderly work her way to her suitcase on the dresser and open it to get out her favorite fuzzy slippers. Then the urges of nature had her heading out quickly to the hall, then taking a right to the short hallway that went out of the rear of the building and quickly down the steps and down the dark trail towards the outhouse. She had forgotten to bring any light source with her in her urgency and wound up face down a good 20 feet from the outhouse which she could identify by its smell. That had been a miserable start to the day and before the morning training Diana had offered to treat her feet and then go swimming with her to get the grime from the previous day cleaned off.</p> <p>Of course Diana had already done that, but she wasn't adverse to helping Marissa out and the swim did a world of good even if the water was bone chillingly cold. She had some inhibitions about swimming in the nude, and the simple act of Diana to start stepping from her moccasins, dropping her leather skirt and sliding her leather vest off right before the neatest dive that barely caused a ripple had made Marissa gasp. In just those 4 steps Diana had gone from well clothed to completely naked and swimming. She was used to the water temperature and made no mention of it.</p> <p>Marissa, for all the minutes it took her to get undressed, felt awkward and then the refreshing and the chilling feeling of the water made her gasp. She swam quickly back to the dock, carefully went up the ladder and rushed to the pile of towels where the dock met the land. As she dried off, Diana swam back to be just on the other side of the dock in the shallow water, put her hands on the dock and in one, fluid movement had two feet on the dock and was picking up a towel to dry off. A quick meal of reconstituted eggs, bacon and toast done over the coals and having home made black current jam felt wonderful.</p> <p>Having never fired any sort of gun, Diana took her time to explain the mechanics of it, what the basic function was and even pulled out different types of weapons to show them to her so she could understand them. To Marissa it was a veritable arsenal for one woman to have, while Diana made no fuss about them and explained what she used each of them for. Rifles of different calibers some with scopes and some without were explained as to their uses and the type of game they were good for. What surprised Marissa was that one of the oldest Diana had, a bolt action rifle, was the best for any size game from a white tail deer all the way up to a bison. In the hours of dawn Marissa learned how to identify what was a semi-auto action and what was a lever or bolt-action, and the differences between a revolver as a pistol and a semi-automatic pistol. Then there were the dry fire training steps so that she could get used to the ones good for self-defense against most of what stalked and walked the back-country of Alaska.</p> <p>With glasses and earplugs she learned how to stand with a target pistol, which had almost no recoil and yet was quite accurate. She even got her first shots on the target at 30 feet and one within an inch of the center. After going through 30 rounds she was getting a good grouping on the target and Diana called a break for fluids while she went and replaced the target. Next came a revolver which had more recoil but nothing Marissa couldn't handle, even though her hands were still stinging from the previous day she could hold and aim well enough to keep these rounds on target. It was a 357 Magnum and when she had learned to reload that and use a half-moon clip to reload it, and then cycled through nearly a box worth of ammo, Diana was satisfied and then took some time to teach how to use the bolt action rifle with a pad on its buttstock to cushion its recoil.</p> <p>That was awkward, cumbersome and having to twist one hand around to steady the weighty rifle and then get it on target was a real challenge. Leaning forward to shoot meant that she wasn't having to twist her upper body from recoil and it did have recoil. She had no idea where it went and as she looked at the target, a fresh one of an array Diana had set out, she had to squint to see if she even got it on the paper. She did, just nicking the second ring a bit low. After that working the bolt and putting 4 more rounds on the target was enough for Diana.</p> <p>Because it was time for work and Marissa now had on a pistol belt with the revolver and ammo pouches to go with the rest of her clothing. She stayed with boots, jeans but a light t-shirt and outdoors jacket she had gotten for the trip. The rest of that day was sawing logs in half lengthwise and then loading those on a trailer for a trip with the Suburban down the road to repair the small bridge over a stream the next day. Each night was a struggle to just stay awake past dinner, although she had been able to finally get to bed on her own. Physically this was the most exhausting work that she had ever done and it left her mentally fatigued, barely able to keep up with instructions and then go through a routine over and over and yet needing to be mindful of the actual work she was doing. At day 5 of her stay, Diana had called for a break to get the lighter work done in the garden and amongst the vines, and while it was work that made the back ache, it gave the arms, legs and feet a chance to rest.</p> <p>It was working with Diana on the vines that Marissa took stock of her situation.</p> <p>"Diana?" she asked.</p> <p>"Hmm...yes, Marissa?" and looked at her with her black hair framing her her blue eyes.</p> <p>"How can you live like this?" she asked, "Its godawful work."</p> <p>Diana tilted her head looking at her.</p> <p>"How can you live amongst all those buildings, all those people, all those cars, and put up with the noise of it and, amidst all of that humanity, know that you are at once surrounded and isolated?"</p> <p>"But its not... not like that, Diana," Marissa said, "It's vibrant, alive! Full of new people to meet, things to do and places to go..."</p> <p>Diana looked at her, straightening her head and just stared at Marissa.</p> <p>"What would happen if the lights went out forever, Marissa?"</p> <p>It was a shocking question coming from anyone, especially this young woman out here in the wilderness. The Wild Lands. The Wild Lands Trust passed down through generations.</p> <p>"But... but they aren't, Diana," Marissa said with a shiver.</p> <p>Diana shook her head slowly.</p> <p>"Marissa, 6 months ago a number of sunspots put out a Coronal Mass Ejection that went through a number of satellites ahead of Earth at a stable point in orbit around the sun. Of the 5 platforms there, only 1 survived, a hardened one and one of the first put into place, and its readings let us know that if that had hit Earth then we would have had a week of this ejection causing currents in the ground which would flow through anything that had a long metallic contact in the ground. Any long metallic piece, like the interstate power cables, would have gotten that, too. Any long conductor would and the currents would push out of the ground and into every power plant on the planet. A few have cut-offs to prevent this, but most don't. Save for a very few places on the planet, the lights would go out, forever, and that includes every single large city, small city and even most of the small towns and isolated homesteads connected to those power grids. Everything requiring that would go down. Boats and even planes might fly, until the fuel runs out. Food at stores and warehouses will last for, at most, a week."</p> <p>Marissa's eyes widened as she heard this because she had paid almost no attention to such things.</p> <p>"But don't we have... early warning systems?"</p> <p>Diana shrugged.</p> <p>"They work at the speed of light, Marissa. We get the light, first, then the first part of the wave of particles is a few hours after that, although some of the most energetic gamma radiation will be seconds later, but are no problem here, on Earth. The satellites overhead, however, are another story. All but a few of those will go, too. At Ascentech and Highflight the electronics systems are isolated and hardened, and cousin Herman is putting together and testing the first plasma system to flow over the skin of spacecraft to help absorb and deflect the slower beta radiation, although not much can be done for the heaviest atoms coming at high speed, electrons are light and can be more easily worked with. A world without GPS, without weather satellites, without inter-continental satellite communications, a world without its fragile infrastructure. We do get some small warning, and systems can be powered down, power grids shut off, power stations isolated if they have that capacity. The long power lines, however, will most likely melt and the transformers at each station burn out or explode. That is what happened once in the 1920's and the 1850's, although those primitive systems weren't as necessary and had much simpler means to operate. How do you replace equipment that takes months and sometimes years to make and then put in place? How do you do it without fresh water, sewage, and lights to start with?"</p> <p>Marissa could not believe it until she got online and started to check out the information and it did all start to line up. They had worked quietly through the day and after checking in at her publisher's, she decided to leave the Away For Awhile note up on her blog, and try to work through just what it was that she felt. You couldn't feel isolated in a city! But if there was a blackout or lack of services for just a few days, she had seen what could happen with the super-storm that hit the Northeastern seaboard and the time from civilized to prowling packs of young men was 3 days. That night she realized that Diana had been washing the dishes, putting the last logs on the fire, banking back the stove and raking out the ashes of the day's fires to allow a good, slow night time burn. She walked up next to Diana as she washed the dishes and then put them through a quick pump of water from the well.</p> <p>"I could do this for you, Diana," she said softly.</p> <p>Turning her head slowly Diana nodded.</p> <p>"Yes, but you are tired, or have been and I'm not here to be a slave driver. These little chores take next to no time at all and I am fussy about getting them done right."</p> <p>She finished putting the plate on the drying rack and took up a towel to dry her hands.</p> <p>"Is something wrong, Marissa?"</p> <p>Looking at Diana, Marissa shivered.</p> <p>"I.. I'm afraid, Diana," she blurted out. In her life she had acquaintances and a few relationships, but those tended to have some barrier between her and those other people. Marissa felt in control of her life and tried to use that outwards towards others, and a few people told her that she didn't understand how she came off. For all of that she could be charming and had an attitude that understood this and used it, as well. Marissa counted herself as smart, intelligent, capable and able to make her own way up, over or around obstacles. People tended to be an obstacle and she was fine with that, though she was sure she lost many potential friends, there were yet others to win over on her way in life. Hard work as she had known it was no obstacle.</p> <p>Hard work as Diana knew it, that was something different. And what little time she had to try and work out being charming to Diana got nowhere. Yet, for all of that, Diana was not harsh nor cruel and very understanding in her own way. Being here, in the absolute middle of nowhere with Diana had started to make Marissa feel that there was a problem in her life. She was intelligent and smart, but was ignorant of some of the most deadly things that could happen to everyone and that very little had been done to even address the situation by people she counted as being smarter than her was frightening.</p> <p>Diana held out her hands, palms up and Marissa held her hands up and settled them down on Diana's.</p> <p>"Marissa you are with me, now. I have taught you how to defend yourself, how to work, and how to be able to work with a meaning in lands untamed. You have had love and loss in your life, haven't you?"</p> <p>Looking at Diana she said, "I guess so, yes..."</p> <p>Raising an eyebrow Diana stared at her.</p> <p>"Losing the one you were to marry must have been hard on you, Marissa. A shock. Your parents at different times, too. Losing a parent to sudden tragedy is a devastating experience," and then Diana looked through Marissa and Marissa felt as if Diana was seeing some other time in her life, "that I do know," Diana finished to look at Marissa again.</p> <p>Marissa nodded as she felt she could do nothing else.</p> <p>"Do you think cities are a good place, a bad place, or just a place constructed in certain ways and prone to the tender mercies of nature?"</p> <p>"They're...its all so fragile, Diana," Marissa whispered. She closed her eyes tightly and felt Diana's hands slide up her arms and slowly go around her back and she slid hers around Diana's slim form and gently then firmly they hugged. Marissa started crying and then sobbing, and Diana shifted her hands to rub her back and slid one up to her neck, fingers sliding up into her hair.</p> <p>"Yes," Diana whispered softly, "precious and fragile. Beautiful and yet so easily damaged."</p> <p>Moving to Diana, she held on, feeling one of Diana's legs between hers, Marissa pressed herself tightly to Diana and pressed her face to Diana's chest.</p> <p>"But nobody cares... doing anything..." Marissa said softly against the thin t-shirt Diana wore, the right side of her vest pressing against her other cheek.</p> <p>Slowly the two of them rocked in an embrace.</p> <p>"I care," Diana said with the softest of breaths and as she heard that Marissa held on to Diana hard, for all of dear life because Nature did have mercies and tenderness, but you had to search long and hard to ever find them.</p> <p>Now a week in she awoke again, relaxed if tired and looked at the bed she was in. The window was no longer on the back wall, but the left wall and it was open, chill night air seeping in across the far side of the bed. There was an imprint on the pillow, covers carefully put in place, the door open. Marissa had never awakened like this before and she felt very strange at what had happened. It wasn't passion...or was it? Marissa's hair slid over her face and she used one hand to brush it back. In her life she had never thought that anything like this might ever happen and staring at the space in the bed next to her, she realized that it wasn't just weariness of the body that was easing. She very much wanted to wake up to someone and be special to someone. A shudder started in her toes and passed up through her legs, swirled between her legs in a warm sweat that slid up her spine to her shoulders and then straight into her mind. It was just an echo of what she felt the night before over long hours.</p> <p>"Diana..." she whispered, "what has happened to me?"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Kevin went over the internal videos relayed by the camera checking to make sure that the second engine pod was loaded properly into the assembly. They had a month of schedule time to get all 4 engines loaded into the assembly system, and the engine pod sub-assemblies were the vital part of the system. Alice sat next to him and brought up her tablet to pick up the feed and then reverse it so that she could review a section.</p> <p>"That's where the first pod hit the upright just before the interlock, isn't it?" she asked zooming in to see the scrape marks on the piece.</p> <p>He glanced over after stopping his review and looked at her tablet's display.</p> <p>"That's the place. Loose assembly hit that and the entire engine skewed out of alignment."</p> <p>"Looks like the coating was scraped off and that is tough stuff."</p> <p>"It is, yes. Luckily that piece is in the interior and shielded in all directions by the engines and the rest of the assembly."</p> <p>Alice nodded and started going forward on the review cycle.</p> <p>"We aren't going to make the schedule, are we?" she asked quietly.</p> <p>"No we aren't, Alice. The third engine is a day away at this point and it needs to be fitted into the pod and the pod put into the assembly. Then the next engine should, maybe, get here two days after that, but we will still be fitting the third one in."</p> <p>"Can't double up, can you?"</p> <p>"Nope," Kevin said, "only one gantry and support platform left to use with the ALV-IV suspended. That's the limiting factor."</p> <p>Alice puffed air out her mouth and looked at the tablet then reached for it and brought up all the drops that needed to be done.</p> <p>"Right, the actual delivery part isn't coming along so well, either. I mean for all the rest of the components for the WorkPlat and drop. The orbiting transponder and microwave array, that is good and almost all of it prepackaged by Highflight."</p> <p>Kevin shifted his attention to the rest of the schedule and looked at it.</p> <p>"Herman and his thin film stuff that he gets processed out in California. I hear they are talking about setting up a printing plant out here due to the number of pieces he's ordering through them, all custom application. It's about $15k for the ALV-I and $75K for an ALV-II and for an ALV-III he gets a discount down to $200k. I wish we had time to do that specialized work, I'm sure we could knock the price down..."</p> <p>Alice looked at him and shook her head.</p> <p>"Kevin, do you really want to go into competition with Highflight? We get the package deal and since we ordered 3 of the ALV-I and 2 each of the ALV-II and III drop containers they cut nearly a third from his pricing and then get the entire set, all ready for collection and microwave transmission, plus thrusters for about the cost of just the solar thin film alone. At $400K he makes a profit, we get something that only needs a booster rocket to orbit and guidance system. It can't be beat because that microwave system would cost us a lot, but he had one of the Rats come in from some old missile base that had a few hundred of the things just sitting in boxes from the old phased-array test days. They weigh more than all the solar stuff, but its dirt cheap. Bill nearly shit bricks when he found out why his designs needed to be adjusted. Plus its hardened, so no need to worry about electronics."</p> <p>"Bill has been extremely busy..." Kevin said and stopped for a moment.</p> <p>"Uh-oh," Alice said, "here it comes."</p> <p>Kevin stared at the tablet system and thought to himself for a long while.</p> <p>"You know..." Kevin started, "if we could do this in 2 ALV-III drops, then we could shift out the two pods we are waiting on, then put in an ALV-I drop container with simpler rocket just for braking. That would get us these two engines up along with the Lunar orbiting microstation..."</p> <p>Alice looked at Kevin and started shaking her head.</p> <p>"Is the mass about equal?" she asked softly as Kevin went to the main display and started bringing up the engineering loads involved.</p> <p>"We come in about a half-ton over just the engine pod array. But that is more bulky than massive. We wanted to do it this way to leave us about 10% fuel to transfer to the WorkPlat. That margin would go away. The major question is...two really. First can the engine pod array go up in 2 halves? It is designed to unfold and we are basically removing that..."</p> <p>"Bill is going to kill us..." Alice whispered, "plus that means the engine pod array has to come out of the current drop container."</p> <p>"Well, we do have idle time and the Lunar microstation is basically ready to go. I don't look forward to taking the thing out, though, and then having to modify the container for a half-load as it was meant for a full one, with the forward part set to attach to the WorkPlat and the two sets of engines being in nacelle pods. It means that another ALV-III load has to be used to get the other two in orbit, which means their own system of getting attached as the current one has to be modified."</p> <p>Alice started shaking her head.</p> <p>"And just jettison the second container?" she asked softly.</p> <p>"Half of it should fit in next to the other nacelle," he said pulling up schematics and doing a sectional cut-out of a copy of the existing drop container, then removing the upper interior components. Splitting it apart it fit right where it would go if it was just a cut open container.</p> <p>"We need a thruster system for that, then. No way to get it in place without those and a guidance system."</p> <p>Kevin nodded and brought up other ALV-III drop containers, found a thruster and simple guidance system used to get the skeleton of the WorkPlat up, divided the thrusters and sensors in half and then fit that into half-container with two engine pods.</p> <p>"And the other half of the existing container?" Alice asked.</p> <p>Kevin looked at the screen and saw that the open half of the container that had ferried up the ALV-I container was going over the side of the WorkPlat.</p> <p>"There are enough attachment points to keep it there. It is stuck like that because the orbital engines are now swung into the central part of the WorkPlat. But, since nothing is scheduled for that space immediately, if we move it over about 15 feet," he said detaching the two engine pods and shifting them to port along a centered axis with a cross axis from the width of the WorkPlat, "then we can just swing the other half up and around to the side, fully attached. We can do that with the other one, too, and that leaves a gap in the center for another 2 engine pods or whatever else we need to put along the centerline."</p> <p>Alice linked her tablet to the main system and pulled up the electronics, guidance, and power systems of the exist framework with central panel systems and its encased battery storage system which was a number of distributed boxes inside the array.</p> <p>"Central control inputs need to be moved," she whispered, "and that can only be done in orbit."</p> <p>Kevin winced as he thought about that.</p> <p>"Can we do a link through the OASIS? Just a simple timing link. If the orbiter is deployed properly, then we can use that for future timing and commands while the WorkPlat is in orbit around the Moon. But its coming home to Earth orbit and that is a simple set of programs only needing a timing signal."</p> <p>Alice closed her eyes and thought for a moment.</p> <p>"So we need another ALV-III container, with solar treatment not the full system, just something that can be linked up, sensors and thrusters for it, then mods to the software to shift them to a timed set of independent systems that are basically out of reach unless we can get a microwave link up via the Lunar microstation, then two nacelle halves sitting on the side of the WorkPlat, meaning they have to be shifted somewhere else. Oh, and we need another liquid booster engine to orbit, the reason why we are here doing this... which changes the ALV-I and ALV-III drop schedules, moving the first around with ready customers and having to delay the other with the high paying loads....say, what do you want to do with the empty container half?" she said opening up her eyes.</p> <p>Kevin shrugged.</p> <p>"Talk to Mr. Pennerton and get into the shelter in orbit business."</p> <p>"In just under 2 months? Are you insane?"</p> <p>"I don't know, lets ask Bill if it can be done. Then link up to Ray and give him the news. It will get the other set of engine pods there if nothing else slips, and we just might have a set of real crew quarters into the bargain."</p> <p>"That's going to be a couple of million in 'bargain'," Alice said.</p> <p>"Cheaper at twice the price," Kevin said with a smile.</p> <p>He turned back to the monitor and looked at it knowing that there was going to be a lot of work coming up. Hardware was a sunk cost. Labor you paid out for again and again and again. He knew Ray, and if you got good value out of the hardware then it would pay for itself. Darlene, on the other hand, she could take some convincing.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Nuada had found a refreshing change of perspective after staying with Aaron, Tamara and their young boy Kyle. As a couple they fit together well, although you would never have placed them together in a yearbook or even in an audience, because her outgoing attitude was a deep contrast to his taciturn personality. Yet she caught the glances, smirks, the holding of hands when they were in the kitchen and Nuada began to understand the mutual attraction. Tamara she had marked down in the cubbyhole 'straight' and yet she and Diana had also spent time together, not just with Aaron present and a few times alone. Diana's effect on women, be they the girls who adored her appreciation and ability to help them on small projects all the way to women who were more than getting on in years had started to break down the proper straitjacketing of people via sexual attitude that Nuada had in her mind and her life. She had never met anyone like Diana and it was obvious, years ago, that there was some amount of diffidence on Tamara's part towards her until she started to settle down with Aaron. Now a relaxed freedom in Tamara had taken root and her enjoyment of life, of Aaron, of Kyle, of being a mother, of being something of a logistics wizard and able to hold her own on party planning with Dennis Pennerton had changed the sensuality of Tamara far beyond sexual.</p> <p>Although there was that, too. She was extremely attractive and downright handsome if not exactly beautiful and while Nuada would have loved something more with her, she understood how Tamara approached other relationships when she was in a commitment with Aaron. Waking up in the guest room on the single bed let her know that she was a guest and welcome one, at that. The smell of eggs, bacon and hash browns and the low whispers between Aaron and Kyle in the kitchen of their small house outside the spaceport proper, where land had been relatively cheap but was now slowly becoming worth something, was the cue for Nuada to start taking a shower and preparing for the ride back with Tamara to work. Karl would fill in for her normally as it would be Carson or Emilio as they were becoming the ready seconds to Karl when he wasn't around. It was going to be a slack work day or few days, anyway, as it was pointless to work more on the Athena lines until more engines were available. Luckily drop containers needed to be fit, finished and prepped either for shipment to someone else to fill it with more equipment or to Ascentech where they would do all the final work. As she finished her shower, dried off and ran a brush through her hair she looked at the woman in the mirror.</p> <p>She had gotten rid of the nose stud years ago, just a useless affectation of a girl on the streets. No more dark make-up and hadn't been any since the hospital since the real world had given her an idea of what was in front of her with the life she had been leading. She hated lipstick, even though for black lips it was great, but beyond that she never bothered with it. Multiple earrings, gone as well because, truthfully, those were just other youthful items and she felt silly wearing them when she was working at Highflight. Her body had been worked over hard growing up and as a biker woman, but there had been fat on her all those years ago when an arrow went through her foot. Now she was lean, still hard bodied, and the fat was where it accentuated her hips, her breasts and her butt. She had requisite tattoos on her arms, the H-D's, skulls, spider webs and the few other things that she felt were part of her soul. Instead of that they were reminders of someone that she had been and no longer was. She put on her clothes, a tight t-shirt with loose and light blue work shirt over it, blue jeans that had faded and were reinforced at the knees, a belt that held a couple of pouches for the lightweight tools she found so handy on the job.</p> <p>Who she had been 6 years ago would not recognize this person who put on boots, stood knowing what she was doing and that she wasn't just going someplace to go there, but was going there for a reason. And the tag on her shirt over the left pocket that said GENERAL MANAGER would have freaked her younger self out.</p> <p>Stepping out of the bathroom she took up the small satchel for her tablet, keys, wallet, and the other items that allowed her to keep up with things when she actually could get any sort of connection to the outside world. The spaceport had great wireless capacity and when you got over the horizon, you found yourself without it. She was ready for the day and as she walked down the hallway, she heard Tamara come up behind her and a whistle from her.</p> <p>"Say, sexy, want to go for a ride?" she asked.</p> <p>Nuada turned to see Tamara smiling and could not help chuckling either.</p> <p>"Oh, yeah, but you gotta do the driving, if you know what I mean?" Nuada said.</p> <p>"Deal!" Tamara said as she came up next to Nuada and then hugged her.</p> <p>"Good morning, Nuada," Tamara whispered.</p> <p>"And you, mom," Nuada said with a chuckle.</p> <p>As they broke she saw Tamara had a twinkle in her eye.</p> <p>"Now, dear, you know better! That's reserved for Kyle, Aaron and ah, well, family. If you start in on that then you have to join the latter as the first two are taken," Tamara said nodding to her left side and the proceeded down the hallway.</p> <p>"Geesus! Is that a proposition or what?"</p> <p>As they came out into the kitchen area with its table pulled out to seat everyone and Aaron at the stove tending to the hash-browns, she saw him smiling.</p> <p>"Good morning, you two. And the answer is 'or what', Nuada. You two sleepyheads are stuck with what I've been keeping warm. I'm off with Kyle in a few minutes to check out the Ascentech prep area."</p> <p>Kyle looked up from the table and nodded.</p> <p>"G'morming mom! Aunt Nuada! I get to see Uncle Harry and Aunt Maria today, too."</p> <p>Tamara went to Kyle and bent down to give him a kiss on the cheek and a hug, then she slipped behind him to step to Aaron and hug him, giving him a deep kiss. Tamara went to Kyle and got on one knee and hugged him.</p> <p>"Have a good day, Kyle. Keep safe."</p> <p>"I will, don't worry," Kyle said as they released each other.</p> <p>Then she sidled past his chair and went to Aaron who was just letting go of Tamara and gave him a hug, as well.</p> <p>"Good morning, Aaron," she whispered and was amazed at just how strong he was. And how gentle as well.</p> <p>"Good morning... it's good to have you here," he said softly.</p> <p>She slid out of their embrace but held his arms for just a moment.</p> <p>"It's good to be here," which would have surprised her younger self no end completely because she meant it.</p> <p>"Now I'll take over the kitchen duties and see if I can't make something of the burnt offerings you call 'hash-browns'," Tamara said as she slipped past Aaron.</p> <p>"Right, Kyle, time to be scarce, we have a busy day ahead."</p> <p>"All right, Dad," Kyle said as he started to pile his plates together.</p> <p>"I'll deal with the dishes," Nuada said, "since someone has to so that we can have some space to sit down."</p> <p>Aaron nodded to Kyle who ran out of the kitchen into the livingroom and then down the hallway to get his pack and other things necessary for the trip.</p> <p>"See you tomorrow, love," Aaron said looking at Tamara who smiled as she looked at him.</p> <p>"Busy day ahead for me, too," Tamara said.</p> <p>"And Nuada? Come over any time you need company."</p> <p>Piling up the dishes to take to the sink area, Nuada looked at Aaron and just for a brief moment she saw something of Diana in his stance, his look, but she knew this was nothing sexual in the least. She gave a side-long glance at Tamara who was working at the stove, and sliding hash-browns onto plates.</p> <p>"Thank you. Both of you. I will."</p> <p>"And Mel as well," Aaron said, "always welcome."</p> <p>"I'll... let her know," Nuada said in a soft tone.</p> <p>"Good," Aaron said looking at Tamara, "and good luck with the offerings, love. Afraid I put too much pepper in them again."</p> <p>Tamara just shook her head as she looked up from the plates and brought the carton of eggs around from the far side of the counter.</p> <p>"That is what ketchup is for, isn't it?"</p> <p>He made a sour face and shuddered.</p> <p>"Your perversion, not mine, thanks. Good-bye, you two. Have a good trip."</p> <p>"We will, don't worry. I'm driving," Tamara said.</p> <p>He looked at Nuada. "Make sure she stays on the road, OK? She has taken driving lessons from my cousin."</p> <p>Nuada burst out laughing as she set the dishes in the sink and just looked at Aaron.</p> <p>"Double sure! I don't want any amateurs doing what she does!"</p> <p>Aaron nodded with a smile, gave a wave and left the room.</p> <p>Tamara was smiling as she looked at Nuada.</p> <p>"You know, six years ago I didn't know what you saw in him," Nuada said, "but he isn't what I thought he was."</p> <p>Tamara nodded looking at her.</p> <p>"He wasn't what I thought he was, either. He's better than I expected or ever hoped to find."</p> <p>For all the things that she was told was so important to put into nice, neat categories so that you could berate others who put things into nice, neat categories, Nuada had decided that there were no categories worth talking about or arguing about. There were ones that could kill you, however, and you had to discriminate on that one very, very carefully.</p> <p>She would look back on the prior night and this morning with fondness when she got back to work.</p> <p>Because the nice, neat plans for work were about to run out of categories, too. She remembered the hectic days at the beginning of Highflight and days just like them were supposed to be in the distant past. Instead they were about to return in ways she didn't expect.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Bill Mankin was used to working on the various projects that Ascentech sent his way, and he loved his work in creating something new or finding a way to modify something that already existed. With the approval of Ray, Darlene and Harry, Kevin and Alice sat down with him to explain just what had to be done. What they wanted was, in theory, relatively simple in concept but the number of details that would need to be addressed were huge. Then there was the supply chain to consider, and getting another ALV-III container done to new specs based on their original one, meant that quite a lot had to be done, and there was no way that Ascentech, even with its huge facility, would be able to squeeze this in amongst the builds of ALV-II, ALV-I to orbit, ALV-III and then all the other systems currently being constructed on the hangar floor, which had quite a few ALV-I, II and III drop containers that were going to be going somewhere other than Earth. All of the specialized containers meant to be used on the WorkPlat or for the Lunar drop may have started at C^3 or Highflight, but the final fitting was always done at Highflight, with Herman, Regina and Brent doing the parsing out of jobs. Working out what had to be installed was a major problem, and farming out all the sub-systems work was a specialty of Highflight, and Bill had thought for a moment of just contacting the top 3 over there to see if he could get a conference call.</p> <p>Then he thought it over and realized that there was going to be a mad rush priority on large sections of the work, and Bill knew all about that from the early stages of the mock-up ALV-I to the prototype ALV-I all the way through the spiral design of the ALV-III and soon rigid body ALV-IV systems. To help in all of that required Mason at SLSR as it was one of his firms, or a cooperative group of them, that could do the specialized work with Dennis Pennerton to get a system put together de novo for the upper portion of a drop container. Having half the length of an ALV-III container and then the upper portion of that, nearly a full quarter of the volume, meant something a bit beyond an ALV-I container but not up to a full ALV-II container. When thinking about containers it did have to be relatively rigid along its main axis, and the ribs would only need to handle the load stress for the brief atmospheric time it would be in before hitting vacuum, thus there was a mass savings there that had to start from the beginning and he knew that Highflight was pretty much jammed up with their builds on the Athena systems and ALV system containers. Those schedules would be disrupted and he was very tempted to see if he could get Nuada and Mel in on this, as they had the best handle on their work spaces than the top 3 did at this point. This just after swiping a few engines out of their production schedule, which he suspected someone over at Highflight was none too pleased about, although Karl had just shrugged it off as 'business as usual'.</p> <p>For all that he liked Highflight and everyone there, Bill Mankin thought the entire deal over for a moment and decided that the old and experienced hand of Mason Newcomb, CEO at SLSR, ex-DOGIS was the way to go. He knew how to handle sub-contractors and get projects done and there was the great, great plus of SLSR already having design and outfitting contracts with Ascentech. Bill could try to handle this, of course, but it was far, far easier for him to get all the design files put together, have everything spec'd out and then hand that hot potato over to Darlene so she could contact Mason and all the financials straightened out. Having the go-ahead from her and Ray, along with Harry meant that he, in theory, could do this on his own. Yet this was truly out of his league and it was time to get the Primaries involved.</p> <p>He remembered the early days of the ALV-I and how DOGIS had been brought in and how the efforts between the new start-up Highflight and Ascentech had been handled.</p> <p>"Damn, I wish she was here. She would get this done in no time flat," he whispered to himself as the immersive design environment started to yield the major systems for the new drop container. "Diana would have just steamrollered over everyone and do it with a nice smile and no ruffled feathers. Too bad she has to be the pilot for all of this. She deserves the time off...." he sighed remembering the sight of the pale young woman and how her softly spoken words were promises she not only kept, but delivered on in full. "Time to grow up now, because there isn't much choice involved."</p> <p>In an hour he had the rough outline of the necessary plans and was on the phone to Darlene and Ray. He sketched out just how big an effort this was going to be and why they were the ones to handle it. He was all grown up, now, and knew that everyone still had the same interests at heart. But no one delivered them with a winning smile like Diana did. He missed Diana Sherwood, but the show must go on.</p> <p>"Darlene, all of this is way, way outside of a normal project. Every single production timeline will be impacted by this up and down the ALV line. I can spec out all the details, and already have, but I know what will happen at Highflight if we go direct. We can't do that because we need more than just Highflight, more than just C^3... I think that all the individual component systems and sub-systems and assemblies and such can be made in a month and if I'm in charge it will take 2 months to get done. I'm not that experienced in juggling so many requirements from so many places. I can do it, but not in the time allotted."</p> <p>He looked at the screens in front of him as Ray was elsewhere in the hangar facility and was sitting down at a table, possibly in the rear break area.</p> <p>"Ray? We have the liquidity but it will put a stop to any idea of reinvestment in the company by us. It will eat into the bottom line for the next quarter."</p> <p>"Will we go red?" he asked.</p> <p>She was looking at another screen trying to get the estimates up for the major part of the work, and then looking back at Bill.</p> <p>"You gave us stock pricing, right Bill?"</p> <p>He nodded.</p> <p>"Yes, that is part of the way it works. If we could get Mason on this, we can start cutting into the cost via SLSR, I think, even with contract overhead. He is a great guy as head of a contract and can tap sub-contractors like nobody's business. He'll probably want some media space on the WorkPlat if he does, though. Truthfully, I know who's laps this is going to end up in and we don't need the problems from that."</p> <p>"Why, Bill, it seems that you have figured out some of the way things work between companies," Ray said with a smile.</p> <p>He shrugged and looked at Ray.</p> <p>"After all the major changes that we got from Herman on the cheap which cut our overhead and bottom line cost... plus gave us a few percent more deliverable capacity... I do know that what hits Highflight comes back to us. I've worked with Mason a lot on the ALV's and some of the specialized stuff we are going to deliver, but we need a new delivery package on the fly."</p> <p>Ray pursed his lips together, nodding and sat back a bit looking at his screen. "Well, Mason is in Arizona today, but we can get an up-link going and get him on-board. He'll want to pass it by a couple of people..."</p> <p>"Ray," Darlene said, "all the logistics stuff will go straight to Tamara. She's the best he still has on the ground after Brent left for Highflight. She's only contract committed for jobs from SLSR, but she gets almost everything going to us and Highflight, plus some for C^3."</p> <p>Bill blinked a moment as that was an aspect of things he hadn't thought about, but it made perfect sense.</p> <p>"Totally forgot about that, but you're right," Ray said, "but that just points out why Bill is right. Mason has to handle this. The companies he put together from what he was handed from DOGIS by MTT are smoothly operating and he has a good management team going. Darlene, if no objections, I'll get back to the office and we'll get Mason for this."</p> <p>"No problems from my end. I didn't expect it to be this complex."</p> <p>Ray shrugged.</p> <p>"Bill you're the POC here. Give Harry a heads-up so you two can rope in Alice and Kevin and clear the way for this. I want it through here as fast as humanly possible. I want the WorkPlat up and running for the Airshow so we can have a presentation to show what the next race to the Moon is all about. And it isn't about planting flags. But we will be sending back Moon rocks. Or at least compacted regolith. Lots of it. Now I'm off and will be in the office in a half-hour."</p> <p>"Thanks," Bill said, "I can get Harry up to speed. When you give the 'go' we should have the new production plan in place."</p> <p>"It's a go now, Bill. As of when you got in, really, but immediately. If Mason won't do this, then I will. Luckily I think Mason will see this as a challenge."</p> <p>"He better, love," Darlene said softly, "because we haven't had a snap project anything like this before."</p> <p>"It will get done. Right, I'm off. Time for work."</p> <p>Ray signed off and Darlene just shook her head.</p> <p>"That's it, Bill. Send all the bills to me. And the complaints that Harry can't field."</p> <p>"Will do, thank you Mrs. Kaplan."</p> <p>"We gave you the impossible, Bill. It is only right you hand it right back to us, but ready to execute. Knowing what you can't do is just as important as knowing what you can do. See you later."</p> <p>"Good-bye," Bill said shutting his link down. He gave Harry an email of the project overview and then hurried out of the design office to find Harry on the hangar floor. Things were about to get rolling.</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-92043006889910253302015-11-28T03:03:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:10:45.399-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 3<p>Darkness lightened and she felt water lapping over the sneakers she wore. Slowly she came to and felt the sand under her body and her eyelids opened to look out over the expanse of dark sand. Moving to bring herself upright she felt that her hand gripped a revolver and she brought that up to look at it.</p> <p>"That is a Webley..." she said softly to herself, "Who or what is Webley?"</p> <p>Blinking to try and clear her head she shifted with her left hand and felt the leather belt she wore, the pouch that dug into her hip on the left and the leather piece on her right. "That is a holster," she said as she looked at it and then moved to sit up and settled the revolver on her lap so her right hand could move to the holster. Her fingers found a snap on a small pouch next to it and she took out a cloth, small bottle and then a second slim bottle next to that. Inside the holster was a brass rod which she pulled out, and it had a cross piece on one side and a round piece screwed into the other. She laid these items out as she sat cross-legged and then her hands began to move to take up the cloth and wet it with liquid from the slightly larger bottle. Then she released the cylinder which shifted to the left and she turned the pistol, picked up the rod, put the cloth over it and slowly slid the round end into the barrel and moved it back and forth. She turned the cloth and applied more of the pungent smelling liquid and repeated the process. Shifting the cloth again she took up the other bottle and dropped viscous liquid on the cloth and pushed that through the barrel and repeated that process. With that portion of the cloth she went over the outside of the pistol, getting it clean so that the metal glistened. As she looked at the cylinder she saw one round was expended and ejected it onto the sand. Her left hand went to the other pouch and extracted another round and put it in the empty space in the cylinder.</p> <p>"I should clean those, too," she whispered and turned the pistol to examine the cylinder and then wiped the cloth over it and shook her head, snapping the cylinder back into place and putting revolver in the holster, slid the cleaning rod into its space, then secured the holster shut. Next she carefully replaced the cleaning supplies in their much smaller pouch. She took a moment to brush sand from her tunic which left it darker blue in places, and noticed a pattern on the left side of it that looked to be a dried dark liquid that had caked onto the tunic. She brushed those off and dark stains were left behind where the fluid had dried. Next she removed her sneakers and socks, hung the socks through belt loops and tied the laces of the sneakers together and put them around her neck.</p> <p>Putting her hands on the sand she lifted up and got her feet under her and stood up to look around. Just behind where her head had been was a string bag that looked like it had the remains of groceries. Part of a salted sausage was in a paper wrapper, there was bread that seemed to have gotten soft in its paper wrapper, a glass jar of juice still had its contents while the string bag had unraveled and a large section of it was missing. The paper that had to have covered the sausage and bread were also missing. Kneeling down she slid her fingers over the bag and knit together the broken threads so that it would still serve as a bag. Sliding that up her left arm and up to her shoulder, she stood up fully and heard noises from behind her and turned to see a shipyard near the center of the bay. A road and buildings were above her and as the sun came over the horizon a set of stairs became clear and she decided to go over to them.</p> <p>At the base of the stairs she stopped and looked out over the water, her eyes taking in the details of buildings on the lands across the bay and the shipyard and city behind it in the central portion of the bay.</p> <p>"Where is this place?" she asked softly of herself. "What is its name?"</p> <p>Her eyebrows furrowed and she became lost in thought.</p> <p>"Who am I?"</p> <p>Walking up the stairs she found herself at street level and tried to attract the attention of a man who was looking at a device he held between his hands.</p> <p>"Excuse me, can you help me?" she asked.</p> <p>The man made no notice of her and when she moved in front of him, he veered to the side and ran into a lamp post that had padding on it and then moved back to the main part of the sidewalk.</p> <p>She was stunned watching him, not knowing what to make of the incident.</p> <p>"Am I invisible...dead... for him not to notice me? Or is he so insensate to the world that he wouldn't see me?"</p> <p>As she walked she found that no one could see her, recognize her and her feeling of not wanting to disturb these people kept her from touching them. This disturbed her as much as the man she first tried to have recognize her, and he was not the last one with this fetish for an object that she would run across.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Darlene Kaplan sat in the new office set aside for the Chief Financial Officer of Ascentech with the remains of her lunch pushed aside on her desk. She looked at Regina and Brent who sat across the desk from her, with the papers from their lunches also pushed off to either side of her desk.</p> <p>"You know," Darlene said, "for all of the work that we did a decade ago to get Ascentech going, no one really thought out the drop circumstances. We became so fixated on the vehicle... well, Alice, Bill and Ray did as I still had a day job then..." she said with a winning smile, "...that everyone lost track of the end objective. Herman solved that oversight but now leaves us in the position of having to buy all our space and thrust rated orbital containers from Highflight. Apple Blossom is also having to get them from you, too."</p> <p>Brent and Regina looked at each other and they nodded with Brent smiling.</p> <p>"We do supply you at cost with minimal mark-up, enough to cover overhead and still get a few percent profit," Regina said.</p> <p>"And cover the sunk cost of developing the work to get it developed," Brent said, "Consolidated Carbon Containers doesn't have the R&D to do space rated work."</p> <p>"Oh! I'm not saying that I don't understand!" Darlene said, "Because I do. Ascentech has had to do some of the same work in going with Apple Blossom and Jade Enterprises. And as your own company uses those specialized containers extensively, there must be a cost to that distributed throughout all your other customers."</p> <p>Regina nodded taking up her cup to sip the last of her milkshake.</p> <p>"Our company has its own goals," Brent said as he leaned back in his chair, "and we understand yours. We don't sell our engine technology to just anyone."</p> <p>"No, we don't," Regina said, "not even to the government. They have put more than enough obstacles in the way of all space enterprises that my husband isn't willing to deal with them."</p> <p>Darlene grimaced as Ascentech was more than willing to drop government containers, but had to turn them away on the purchased engines from Highflight, as we agreed."</p> <p>"Thank you," Regina said.</p> <p>"Ray is concerned that you are the sole source we have for these containers, a natural worry."</p> <p>Brent looked at Regina who nodded.</p> <p>"We do have back-up plans in case something goes wrong with Highflight," Regina said.</p> <p>Darlene smiled and sipped at her iced tea before setting it down.</p> <p>"That isn't my worry, truthfully, Regina. I'm sure C-cubed can ramp up in case of problems if you go under. No, I have a couple of other concerns."</p> <p>"Such as?" Brent asked.</p> <p>"First I don't know...no, not just me...no one knows just what you are planning on doing with your technology. You're helping us with our plans to test out Lunar mining..."</p> <p>"Darlene you are doing more than that," Brent interrupted her, "and you know and we know it. The rest of the space community is skeptical, but give us credit. You are creating a closed system to expand the minimal mini-station you plan on landing with its accelerator, along with the small smelter-processor in orbit into something much larger. You will be going into the global energy supply business in the next decade, perhaps sooner."</p> <p>Darlene gasped looking at Brent.</p> <p>"But how...?"</p> <p>"Darlene," Regina said, "if I wasn't with Herman I would never have guessed it. This isn't a test platform. This is the actual, real thing. Start small and spiral up. You might have three of the small systems on the Moon in 2 years, and that means a larger orbital system built from materials they send you. Then comes the bigger version of each, orbital first to get larger loads, and then on the Moon. In 5 years you could have your first billion dollar a month contract, and then all of Ascentech spirals up."</p> <p>"Dear Lord," Darlene whispered, "no one is supposed to know that. We don't even keep those plans on a connected system, but a private one in our secure area."</p> <p>Brent snorted.</p> <p>"We've all read the Princeton Group's plan and it is obvious. The economics work at any scale, and you are starting small, Darlene, and we want you to succeed."</p> <p>"You do? But... why? I thought you would be competitors but you aren't doing anything along these lines. Frankly no one can figure out what your goals are."</p> <p>Regina gave a glance to Brent and then leaned forward.</p> <p>"Darlene, this is just between us, OK? Please, we don't want this to get out."</p> <p>Darlene blinked as she looked from Regina to Brent, who nodded.</p> <p>"Not even to Ray?" she asked quietly.</p> <p>"Not to him, not to anyone. It is important to us, but might seem... idiotic outside us. It may seem like that to you, but please, I do mean it."</p> <p>The nearly 2 decades between herself and Regina, and closer to 3, meant that Darlene had experienced a lot of different aspects from younger people, especially her own children. Regina was no child, though, no matter what she thought of the young woman when they met nearly 6 years ago, Regina was now becoming a full woman in her own right. And Brent was a talented man that had demonstrated his competence not just with Highflight, but in helping Ascentech. Ray had told her that the company was helped beyond measure by them, and his earnest praise added to her own experience meant she had to take them seriously.</p> <p>"Not beyond me. I agree, Regina, Brent. But I do want to know just so I can do my job."</p> <p>"Right," Brent said extending his hand out to shake hers. She leaned over to shake hands with him and Regina, and then sat back.</p> <p>"Thank you, Darlene," Regina said. "Our immediate plans are to get a ship out to an orbit independent of the Earth-Moon system and back again. After that we intend to explore the rest of the solar system."</p> <p>"And we have been working with the advanced physics groups examining compression and expansion of the fabric of space and relativistic inertia reduction," Brent said, "because the Solar System is not enough."</p> <p>That caught Darlene totally by surprise.</p> <p>"But... why? Is it even possible?"</p> <p>"Herman does like to go fast," Regina said with a smirk.</p> <p>Brent nodded. "We think the latter is possible, and maybe by the time you are an energy supplier to Earth, we will have a system to easily move around this system and maybe send a probe to Alpha Centauri. The hard part for the first is to work with gravity as a wave in space-time and compress it, which is easier to work with than particles. Inertial dampening is even a good form of drive all by itself, once it gets scaled up."</p> <p>Darlene inhaled looking between the two who showed no sign of deception, just looking at her with open expressions.</p> <p>"You're serious," she whispered. "Wow. I thought our plans were ambitious..."</p> <p>"And they are, Darlene," Brent said.</p> <p>"Smart ones, too," Regina said, "assured profit and milestones, obvious once it starts and can't be stopped. You have the right approach and should catch everyone by surprise once they realize what is going on."</p> <p>Darlene had to shake her head to get her mind around the ideas they just presented to her.</p> <p>"You're going into the starship business," she whispered.</p> <p>"Oh, no!" Regina said with a smile.</p> <p>"We are going into the full scale project to get humanity situated off of Earth and to the stars. And the cheap freight system will already be there to supply it. By the time we are done, there will be fierce competition at all levels as space is the limit, and we will both be just a couple of the first to get started," Brent said.</p> <p>"We need competition to keep us honest and drive down the cost," Regina said, "Although it is a bunch of waving at spreadsheets and forecast scenarios, it looks very doable."</p> <p>"I haven't been so overwhelmed since the day Ray proposed to me."</p> <p>"It takes some getting used to," Brent said.</p> <p>"So what was your other worry?" Regina asked.</p> <p>Slowly the shocked expression drained from Darlene's face.</p> <p>"Ah, yes. By the time we get what we have planned going, Herman's cousin Diana... she will be the majority holder in our company. She hasn't taken a dime out and has, instead, just plowed dividends and some new cash into Ascentech. We've all done some of that, too, but hers has been the real backing. A million here, a million there and soon you have a company, you know?"</p> <p>Darlene watched the other two lean back as they looked at her.</p> <p>"She is stretched thin, at least some," Regina said.</p> <p>"We aren't worried, though," Brent started, "since we know her quite well."</p> <p>"Extremely," Regina whispered.</p> <p>"Personally, I don't think she actually wants Ascentech," Brent said, "if she is even aware of how much of it she has. She just wants you to keep on doing what you've been doing."</p> <p>"I see," Darlene said, "its just that this is the dream of so many here. Me included."</p> <p>Brent raised an eyebrow.</p> <p>"Well if its any consolation, and this is still between us, she will be the first to pilot a ship out of the Earth-Moon orbit."</p> <p>"She will? But when?"</p> <p>"Soon enough," Regina said, "a good test flight for that is coming up with your delivery. To get that done we really have to make sure our schedules are coordinated. So now that we have a decent agreement on our engines, we need to work out our container deliveries."</p> <p>"We have production deadlines to meet," Brent said, "and that is really the next topic we have, isn't it?"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Ease that in," Kevin Penk yelled to the operator of the overhead gantry as the first refit engine pod with its attachment system were moving into the forward end of the drop container.</p> <p>"Gotchya, boss!" the man at the other end of the building yelled and the gantry system slowed as the man by the side slowly waved a light stick to indicate that the current rate of advance was good. Then came a grinding sound and the man waved the stick from side to side and the gantry stopped.</p> <p>"What the hell was that?" Kevin asked and then looked around to wave in the mobile support platform that had been used to move the engine pod. The driver hopped in the cab and drove it under the engine and raised the platform once it had stopped within a foot of the container. "Just enough to support it!" Kevin yelled as he brought his fingers together slowly and then waved his hand and the platform stopped its motion.</p> <p>"Well that didn't sound right," Aaron said as he stepped next to Kevin and looked at the collapsed framing system that was supposed to mate up with the container. As other workers approached he jumped up to the platform, grabbed one of the chains holding the assembly and climbed up the chain. Kevin looked up at him as Aaron looked inside the container.</p> <p>"Flashlight?" Aaron asked looking down on both sides of the engine pod assembly.</p> <p>The workman on the other side of the assembly offered up a lightstick to Aaron which he took and unscrewed the glow cap so that he could get a direct beam of light to shine into the container.</p> <p>"See anything?" Kevin asked.</p> <p>"Yeah, the engine's slides are misaligned, not by much but enough to tear out the first interlock. Has to be replaced and the assembly opened on the top section and shifted about 10 degrees."</p> <p>Kevin took off his hardhat and wiped the back of his glove over his forehead.</p> <p>"Crap," he said softly and then looked around, "Sean, Jen and Adrian have a look in on the sides and bottom. I don't want to pull out all that work done at Highflight if we take it out and its hung up on something."</p> <p>As he spoke Aaron put the light stick together and handed back to the man who had been guiding the system in. He came down on the platform and jumped off it to land next to Kevin.</p> <p>"Same here, Kevin," came a woman's voice from the other side of the container, "looks like the assembly wasn't locked and came loose going in."</p> <p>A man with a hardhat who was peering in the near side looked back at Kevin.</p> <p>"This side is fine, nothing wrong with it, still on the slide but hasn't hit the interlock yet," he said holding his fingers apart about an inch.</p> <p>"Sean?" Kevin asked looking at the man who had just finished crawling under the engine pod and was now looking in with a flashlight.</p> <p>"All fucked up, boss. Interlock is torn off completely. About 10 or 15 degrees out of alignment."</p> <p>Aaron looked at Kevin.</p> <p>"Either someone forgot to secure sections 3 and 4 or the quick release activated," he said.</p> <p>Kevin nodded and then put his hardhat back on.</p> <p>"Right. Adrian, you go report that to Harry, wouldya? Let him know this a 2 or 3 day setback and long hours to correct it."</p> <p>The younger man nodded, "Will do," he said and walked carefully over the equipment system used to track and guide the engine pod and then worked his way between other parts of the work platform that were in various stages of assembly.</p> <p>"Aaron, you know the containers about as well as I do. I can think of one way to work on this mess, but I don't like it. We can't back the system out without damaging the container."</p> <p>Aaron closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them.</p> <p>"You're right. That option is bad. The second option is to open up the top, bottom and right panels on the container and work on the system, which means at least a day lost getting them off and another day getting them back on."</p> <p>"Yeah, 2 to 3 days."</p> <p>"There is a third option," Aaron said.</p> <p>By now a few people were gathering around the two men trying to figure out if there was another way to do this.</p> <p>Looking back at the container and partially inserted engine pod and then back to Aaron, Kevin looked puzzled.</p> <p>"OK, I'll bite. What is it?"</p> <p>Aaron raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips together to look at the engine pod and drop container.</p> <p>"Call up Karl and see if he can bring Lenny and Esme around. I think you can afford their hourly rates, and they are thin enough to fit in there and start working on pulling the frame sections back in. If the QR pins are sheared then new ones need to go in. If the system wasn't pulled tight then pulling it tight will allow the existing pins to snap into place. Karl will have the best idea of how to deal with the sheared interlock once someone gets good eyes on it. A probe or one of the camera balls can be put in there to look around. If it has to come out then one of the kids can do that with an angle grinder. Once it is all secured, then pull it out and reinstall the interlocks, make sure the system is snug and put it in."</p> <p>As Aaron spoke Kevin started doing the work in his head and knew that the tight fit would be hard for just about anyone to do. Lenny was starting to grow into his frame, but that would take years and with hard work he might always be thin. And Esme was used to wearing a compression bra to get into tight places at Highflight. Karl was also their friend and they worked on vehicles together over at the junk yard, so not just a boss but someone they respected.</p> <p>"Right," Kevin said starting to turn to walk over to the office area to use the local laser network that the two companies had installed between their cyber systems since no one could get anything in the way of cellphone connections at their remote location. He felt Aaron's hand on his left shoulder.</p> <p>"I'll do it, don't worry. You get something in on the bottom to find out what happened there so that when they get here things can go quickly."</p> <p>Stopping and turning, Kevin looked at Aaron who's face was unreadable which meant it wasn't worth arguing with him.</p> <p>"Thanks," Kevin said, "I know that it will be a problem there..."</p> <p>Aaron sighed.</p> <p>"Nuada needs a vacation," he said softly, "but that may be a bit since other factors have arisen."</p> <p>Kevin watched as Aaron walked out of the assembly area and turned to talk to Adrian who was the closest to him.</p> <p>"We'll go with a the remote ball. Go grab one from a ready rack with a controller and we'll see just what sort of a mess we actually have. At least this kind of mess is one I'm used to."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Like hell!" Nuada yelled at Aaron over their video digital network, "I can't spare Karl, Lenny or Esme, Aaron! I'm already 2 weeks behind schedule because of the engine deal and now you want me to send over people I can't spare?"</p> <p>She saw Aaron raise an eyebrow as her screaming had not changed the placid look on his face.</p> <p>"I know you are behind, Nuada, and until you can get engine systems you're down to working on drop containers. Your crew can handle that since it isn't behind schedule. The Athena series will slip but you have time to make it up since you don't have limited floor space or overhead to hold projects waiting for engines."</p> <p>Nuada shook her head as she was upset about the engine deal and having this happen was just icing on the cake to her.</p> <p>"No, just no. I can't do it unless Herman and Regina OK it and they are at the port waiting for their kids to come back."</p> <p>Aaron raised his eyebrows.</p> <p>"Nuada, I'll take the heat for that, don't worry. Besides I need to get to the spaceport to have dinner with Tamara, and she has Kyle with her, so I have to relieve her for a night watch so she can get some sleep. Want to come along and have dinner with us so you can personally take the heat from Herman?"</p> <p>That caught her by surprise as Aaron didn't often invite her alone to be with them. He normally waited until Mel was in town or they were in Arizona together. It was purely social, but it allowed her and Mel to have some time together that was purely social. She had been out with them just once a few years before, just before Kyle was born so that Tamara could relax during the last week of her pregnancy. Plus Diana had been there and that made the entire thing extremely enjoyable. Mel had gotten a private time with her the week before that so she didn't feel guilty about their private time together while staying with Aaron and Tamara.</p> <p>She also knew that Aaron took calculated risks, and had only come up pretty short once. And he knew his cousin, Herman, pretty well, enough so that they called each other 'brother'.</p> <p>"You know he will let it slip, don't you?"</p> <p>Aaron shrugged. "Most likely, Nuada. It is a primary project and you know that since he sent the engines to Ascentech to help them. The offer still stands in any event. I'm sorry that Diana is held up, and I miss her too. Not like you, of course, but still miss her just the same."</p> <p>Nuada had calmed down as she listened to him, then leaned forward towards the camera over the screen on her desk.</p> <p>"A good dinner?" she asked softly as she was realizing that this was a side of Aaron that she hadn't seen before, at least directed towards her.</p> <p>"Well, at the Horizon, but yes. Anything you want there."</p> <p>"You've been taking lessons from Diana, haven't you?"</p> <p>He smiled at that.</p> <p>"Just observing her. She does have her ways."</p> <p>"You got that right! Can I get a return trip so I can catch some sleep?"</p> <p>"You can stay over with us if you like. Quieter than at the Horizon, and a bit less spartan than your rooms there. Tamara can swing back with you tomorrow morning as she has work out there and I'll get day duty with Kyle."</p> <p>Nuada blinked. She actually liked Tamara quite a bit and getting some time with her outside of work and just the two of them was unusual. Nuada had worked very hard the last 6 years, and played hard and had rebuffed all sorts of advances she didn't want. Ever since the Athena crash she had gotten to know Aaron and he had never spoken harshly to anyone, but always gave that feeling that he was ready for nearly any eventuality. In her years growing up and being in an all female gang, she hadn't had much direct experience with men as her father had left her and her mother when she was just a toddler. That had left a bad taste in her mouth and psyche, as had exposure to other men that generally lived around her in society. She had made a choice or her biology did, and she followed it to a really quite painful night with a young woman.</p> <p>Diana could have killed her, Nuada knew that deep inside and that her life after that event at the Club Viceroy was due to Diana's not wishing to punish only stop what they had planned. Living and working in Arizona with Herman, Aaron, Brent, Karl, Mason, Ray... this was exposing her to a side of men that she hadn't been brought up with. It was in the little things that brought her to an appreciation of just what it was that other women saw in men and it felt strange to her that she also began to appreciate it. All because of the young woman Aaron called 'sister'.</p> <p>"Yes, definitely lessons from her. I accept."</p> <p>Aaron smiled and shook his head.</p> <p>"Simple observation, Nuada. And I know that she has done the same with me."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Snipping at vines, Marissa blinked as sweat threatened to make an already awful experience just a tiny bit worse. She set down the shears and used the back of her glove to wipe sweat away. In the background, above the sounds of insects, was a rhythmic thump that was Diana chopping at a tree. Marissa had been set to work on vines that Dennis Pennerton had planted years ago and that Diana had tended to until they could brave a winter in full. They needed to have new growth that went between the lines they grew along snipped off, however, and have tangles cleared and to make sure that they didn't have any mites attacking at their roots. Their fruit would be plucked later as Diana had explained that they were still too young to harvest even for raisins. And this climate really didn't allow that.</p> <p>In the background she heard the crashing sound of a tree, the second one that day, since Diana had wanted to get them out of the way to help serve as filler for parts of the road crossings and bridges that led out to the highway. Marissa took a long set of gulps from the gallon canteen that Diana had given her and then got up, moved the kneeling pad forward one position and got down to start clearing vines again. In 4 hours she had cleared half the rows, nearly 5 so far, and was thoroughly exhausted.</p> <p>"Come prepared to work hard and you might get an interview..." she whispered to herself and shook her head. "I thought, maybe, something like some house cleaning, doing windows, maybe having to move a bed or sofa to clean under it. I mean, really, that is pretty hard work."</p> <p>Snipping at vines that were in a tangle she clipped at lower ones and then slowly disentangled them from upper ones, and then had to start trimming those back if they were too dense. Carefully she wrapped vines along their stringer guides so that they would grow along it.</p> <p>"You don't understand what you paid for," she whispered again, "what you get is a one-way ticket to where you're going and then a promise that he will move heaven and earth to get someone there on the day you want to go back..." she couldn't get the exact pitch of Diana's voice but the cold feeling was still settling in from that conversation. Apparently Bush Pilots knew that there was always a chance that they wouldn't come back from a drop off. Or pick-up. And whoever they left behind was in charge of making sure someone would cover for them. Right after organizing a search. And the search came first. "I never thought about that," Marissa said, "who could?"</p> <p>She missed Massachusetts She missed going out to businesses and talking with their owners, or more often employees, or with the customers of businesses and talking about whatever it was they wanted to get off their chest. To her hard work was getting everything together to meet a deadline. You paid for housecleaning, really isn't that the way everyone did it? As she worked snipping at vines she scowled as this was not at all anything she had ever done in her life. The promise of maybe getting an interview was not what she had thought it would be, and this chance of a lifetime was turning out to be something far worse than she had ever dreamt of.</p> <p>In working she hadn't noticed that the rhythmic sound of an axe had stopped. The shadow that fell over her was a complete surprise as she hadn't heard anyone coming.</p> <p>"Come on, you can finish that later. I need someone to saw off some logs for the one bridge and if I do that I will get behind in chopping firewood. If you want to drive out, then I need your help."</p> <p>Marissa looked up at the slim figure with pale skin and black hair who was looking down at her. Diana was down to a leather vest, a shift and a pistol belt, and was going barefoot. She was also covered in sweat and yet only a headband kept it from dripping in her eyes.</p> <p>"B...but I don't... I've never used a chainsaw before."</p> <p>Diana raised an eyebrow.</p> <p>"Good. You won't get to use one now as I don't own one. You have arms, they move, you can saw wood. Put the snips into the satchel along with the blanket, take up the canteen and follow me. In another three hours we'll have to knock off for the day to have dinner, then maybe a quick swim to get the grime off and then bed down for a few hours."</p> <p>Marissa started to gather the blanket she used to kneel on and roll it up, then slid it into the satchel that had been the carrying sack for her lunch. Had. Past tense. She slipped the pruning shears into it as well, after sliding their catch home so that they wouldn't open and then lifted the satchel and placed its strap across her chest. She did the same with the canteen.</p> <p>"Besides, you aren't entirely safe here without a pistol. You'll need some training during the Aurora hours before dawn for that."</p> <p>Having stood up and taken a few steps to follow Diana she stopped again.</p> <p>"I... I've never fired... guns are dangerous!" she exclaimed.</p> <p>Diana stopped and turned to look at her.</p> <p>"So are wolves. I make sure they know that anything on four legs is fair game, anything on two isn't. When you are working here you are closer to four than two. They don't always catch on to that. Grizzly bears also tend to shy from here, but I've seen a mother and cub two valleys over, so you aren't that safe in case they decide to do some investigating."</p> <p>It was one thing to watch a documentary or nature program that looked at the way wildlife actually lived and quite entertaining. The reality of being in the wild, however, meant that you could become part of the entertainment and there was no script to follow.</p> <p>"I don't need a personal servant. I need someone who can do hard work. That is what you agreed to. And to do that you must be able to defend yourself when I am not with you."</p> <p>"You're serious," Marissa whispered.</p> <p>Diana nodded.</p> <p>"The closest clinic is about 50 miles in that direction," she said pointing slightly south of east, "the nearest actual hospital is 175 miles in that direction," she shifted to point further south, "and if you get mauled by a bear or ravaged by a wolf out here, then you are depending on me to keep you patched up enough so that in 3 or 5 hours you can get someone to examine you. And that means I will lose a precious few days of summer because of you. So we will take some time in the early hours before dawn and get you used to saving yourself."</p> <p>Nothing in her life had ever prepared Marissa Nash for this. She could back out, of course, see if Diana could get a Bush Pilot out, and maybe spend a day... or two... or three... or a week... or two... or three... waiting for one to come and get her. Maybe. You didn't get a round trip, but a one-way ticket with promise of pick-up. It was only now that she realized that Ken Crow hadn't arranged that latter with her. She had watched horror movies, been to amusement parks and definitely knew what it meant to be afraid in the 'knowing it will end soon so I can laugh at it' sort of fear. There was another kind of fear, one that would come from actually living through those experiences she had seen in videos and movies, and knowing that there was no scripted ending, no assured way out, and that if you made one mistake you could be dead.</p> <p>She hadn't arranged for a pick-up. Hadn't known it would be necessary. She thought this was just like hailing a cab in downtown Boston. She was wrong. She had made a mistake. And Diana Sherwood was unlike anyone she had ever met in her life, and if her past was somewhat mysterious the reason why it was mysterious was becoming clear. She didn't have time to make a name for herself or seek the limelight.</p> <p>Winter was coming.</p> <p>"Follow me," Diana said, "daylight is precious, and we don't have much to waste even when it is light all day."</p> <p>She watched Diana step easily through the grass that had been chopped back at one point earlier this summer and decided to follow her. She hated how the small rocks would trick her as she placed a foot down and stumbled because of it. And grass slid out from under her boots, too, and she wasn't used to that. Or walking sideways across a slope like this. She was amazed that Diana could do all of this barefoot.</p> <p>She followed the motion of her legs and was soon lost in following them, stepping where they had stepped, so that she could find sure footing. It was something that caused a near trance-like state of mind where her body reacted as she followed. Fear began to ebb and other feelings, ones she didn't expect, started to manifest. Luckily her sweat would cover those since it now covered all her body.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>The young woman went to the back door to their small home and looked at the clothing her mother had set out earlier in the day. The white shirt with green flower print had been one of her favorites, and yet she had set it out in a box along with a pair of sandals and an old pair of her late father's work pants, along with a jacket. Her mother had explained to her that it was for the 'forgotten one'. The daughter had on a somewhat worn and out of fashion pantsuit suitable for her clerking job at the library and didn't give her mother's strange ideas much thought. She had been putting out a small meal on the back step for years, not nightly but just when she saw an owl fly by the back area between their home and the one behind it. She had seen it again last night as it sat on the wall between buildings and she pointed it out to her daughter.</p> <p>"Iris come look out back," her mother had called to her then, to show her the owl which had flown to sit by where they set out the trash. It didn't approach the trash but just looked from the place where it sat back to the window and then back to the trash again. It was just an owl doing what owls do, which is look for rodents, is what Iris assumed.</p> <p>"Just going after vermin, mother, nothing to worry about."</p> <p>"No, no! Dear Iris it is asking for food to take," her mother said getting up from her chair and shuffling over to the refrigerator to start rummaging through it.</p> <p>"Mother! Stop that! It hasn't said a word... it's an owl, for heaven's sake!"</p> <p>Her mother had taken out an old salted sausage that had been overlooked the past week, and followed that up with a small wheel of cheese and a fresh loaf of bread, all of which she put on the counter. Iris stepped over to her mother and looked at her.</p> <p>"What are you doing, mother?" she asked.</p> <p>Her mother looked up to her with twinkling eyes and her somewhat unkempt appearance seemed to melt away.</p> <p>"We have no use for these, Iris. The owl will take it to the forgotten one."</p> <p>Iris inhaled as her mother closed the door of the refrigerator and walked with her items to the end of the cupboard, then took a juice bottle down along with a smaller bottle with a metal lid, and poured some juice into the smaller bottle and set the larger bottle on the counter.</p> <p>"Mother you have gone around the twist and come back upside-down," Iris said shaking her head.</p> <p>"Haven't I taught you about the Blessed Virgin of the City, Iris?"</p> <p>Iris had sighed and looked up at the ceiling seeking strength which, strangely, didn't arrive.</p> <p>"Yes, mother, you have. Many, many times."</p> <p>Her mother nodded and opened the drawer and rummaged through it to find an old string shopping bag and then began to put the contents into that.</p> <p>"Do you expect an owl to fly off with that, mother?"</p> <p>Smiling her mother nodded to her and took the bag out to the back door and placed it on the bottom step and then retreated back into the house. Iris didn't try to stop her, since she would just come down after Iris went to bed and do this anyways. It wasn't all that much and, as she expected someone had stolen it in the night. Perhaps one of the packs of dogs.</p> <p>That had been two nights ago. The owl returned and this time her mother decided on clothing, and since Iris didn't own the items that her mother put out, she kept quiet.</p> <p>And then there was this morning.</p> <p>The original items had disappeared.</p> <p>In their place was a set of old sneakers and socks, a set of jeans, a blue tunic with dark splotches on the left side. On top of that was a repaired string bag. The clothing also had a lump in it and Iris slowly pulled up the jeans by a corner to look underneath. There she saw leather of a belt. A pouch. A holster.</p> <p>"MAMA!!" Iris screamed running back into the house to find her mother just standing up from watching a show on TV.</p> <p>"What is it, dear?"</p> <p>Iris looked at her wide-eyed.</p> <p>"The clothes you set out are gone, mother. They have been replaced. And the string bag, too. And there's... mother, there is a leather belt with a holster under it! What is going on?"</p> <p>"Let me take a look," her mother said stepping with actual steps and not shuffling as she had been accustomed to doing for years. As she reached the back step she went down to step next to the bundle and then nodded at each of the items, with a smile on her face. At the last item, though she had to squint to look at it.</p> <p>"Why I haven't seen anything like this since I was a girl," her mother whispered and then looked up at Iris, "Call Patros, he will know what to do."</p> <p>Iris shook as she watched her mother pick up the holster and look at the flap. She brought it up close to her eyes and said slowly, "Liberation 1945, Thank You Allies".</p> <p>Iris was a grown woman and had problems finding someone who could pass mother's test to be suitable. She had been the last child and had come to discount her mother's ways, but loved her dearly. All her little gifts, small meals and such for the 'forgotten one' who was the Beloved Virgin of the City was just something that she always discounted and did so fully as she became an adult. It was one thing to leave gifts out for someone who wasn't there. It was another to get gifts in return. If Santa Claus had dropped down with a large bag of gifts, that would not have effected Iris more than this. St. Nicholas had been a real man, at one time, now dead and beloved. The Beloved Virgin of Athens? She wasn't. And yet, now, there was evidence that she just might actually be real in the present, unlike St. Nicholas who had only been alive in the past.</p> <p>"Patros," she whispered and nodded, "only a Priest can know."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Ah, there they are!" Dionysus said with a heartiness that could be heard above the slowly disappearing whine of the jet engines and the ground crew moving to the aircraft to start taking luggage off and give it a check-over. The flight had been diverted away from its normal route by a storm hitting the Pacific Northwest and arrived an hour late at the spaceport. He, Gemma, Hermes and Regina had to waive off being with Ares, Tamara and Nuada and wait out at the spaceport as the time to drive to and from the Event Horizon meant they would have had little time to eat much of anything.</p> <p>Lisa was first down the ramp and when she got to the tarmac she ran to Hermes and Regina getting hugs from both, followed closely by Mark who took a moment to make sure that Jasmine was coming down then picked up the pack that Lisa had dropped on her race to their parents.</p> <p>Jasmine took just a bit longer and went to Gemma and Dionysus.</p> <p>"Jasmine, its good to have you back," Gemma said smiling stepping forward to her daughter.</p> <p>"Its good to be back," she said with a smile getting a kiss on the cheek from Gemma who hugged her.</p> <p>"My sweet girl," Dionysus said being the next in line for hugs.</p> <p>"Mmmmm, thank you, dad," she said holding on to him and then slowly letting go.</p> <p>"We missed you," Gemma said.</p> <p>Dionysus nodded letting Jasmine go and then went to pick up the carry-on she had with her.</p> <p>"That we did, not just at home, either. I've been working at that place you call a 'lab' trying to coax some of the extremophiles to help us on the carbon sequestration problem..." Dionysus started.</p> <p>"Dennis! Dinner first, shop talk later!" Gemma said and watched as Dionysus gave out a sigh.</p> <p>"Of course, my love, careless and thoughtless of me."</p> <p>Jasmine chuckled as her parents had been like this in one way or another all her life.</p> <p>"How did the visit go?" Gemma asked as they looked at Hermes, Regina and their children as they tried to tell about all they had done in Alaska as how tired they had been disappeared at being with their parents.</p> <p>"Mom... Dad... You're right and its not just the intimacy... you two do know..."</p> <p>Dionysus nodded.</p> <p>"Of course, Jasmine. Diana does not seduce the unwilling or unwanting, and if physical affection wasn't what you needed then she is in the perfect position to find out what you do need."</p> <p>Jasmine bit her lower lip and nodded her head.</p> <p>"She's exhausting. Loving. I... I'm not..." she shook her head looking at her mother.</p> <p>"I've seen her effects, Jassy," Gemma said, "and felt them. She doesn't change that in you, what and who you are remains as it is, but if there is space in your heart for her in any way, then," Gemma shrugged her shoulders.</p> <p>"That is the wildness in her, Gemma," Dionysus said, "and she will not kill men to express it towards them. Love and affection goes only so far for that, but with women, ahhhhh, I know how to let them loose with the spirits but she sets the spirit loose to be with her. The few times she had to get to me through one of the parties I used to have, the effect on her on other women was startling. They could tear a man limb from limb with their bare hands. When she appeared the true wild creature was present and those that didn't flee forgot about the imbibing and knelt before her. She doesn't have that effect, but what she does have is something no one else will ever have."</p> <p>Jasmine inhaled and shook in recognition of just what her father had said, giving her a vision of when they were both different and yet just as they are now.</p> <p>"She doesn't want... not kneeling at her feet at least... dad, not like that at least but its there. I love her but that doesn't mean I see women like that."</p> <p>Gemma put her arm around Jasmine's shoulders.</p> <p>"Of course you don't. That is nature's course, and loving her in any way doesn't change that. In fact it reinforces it," Gemma turned with her daughter to look as Hermes stood up with Lisa's pack and Mark's carry-on, and Regina had her arms around the two children.</p> <p>"Regina has felt it the strongest of us sisters, and you would never have placed her six years ago as the young woman part-owner of a nightclub more used to dressing up in goth-style with dark eye shadow than she is now."</p> <p>Regina in her jeans and dark blue shirt, along with low boots gave no hint at that part of her life. Jasmine had seen pictures and even video taken of her when she was at Club Viceroy and the difference between that young woman and this woman in her late 20's was startling. That woman she was had an air of not being sure of herself, not having a real direction in life and living out trying to be an adult. She had told that to Jasmine in not so many words and her mother had filled her in on the rest. Now she was a wife, mother and in a complex family and now the co-owner of a small but vital aerospace company. Attempting dark sensuality as a late teen, she had come off as just trying to fit in, while now she did fit in and that made her very much more attractive than she had ever been in her life before that.</p> <p>"She's beautiful," Jasmine whispered.</p> <p>"Very," Dionysus said in a low tone as he stood next to her, "and she still loves Diana just as much, if not more. Like you do, Jasmine, except she needed much, much more help to understand herself than you do."</p> <p>Jasmine looked over at her father and smiled.</p> <p>"I'm not so sure of that, dad. I know I'm smart, capable... you wouldn't have enticed me so much with actual work and take up my college debt if you didn't think so."</p> <p>Gemma gave her a half-hug.</p> <p>"He did need some reminding, Jassy."</p> <p>Jasmine chuckled as Hermes looked at her with a wide smile and Regina was shaking her head still listening to the exploits of the children.</p> <p>"Dinner?" Hermes asked.</p> <p>"Yes, that sounds wonderful!" Gemma said.</p> <p>"Great! The Horizon in about an hour?" Hermes asked and Regina looked at him and nodded.</p> <p>"We need time to freshen up there. And, Jasmine?"</p> <p>"Yes?"</p> <p>"Thank you for going and coming back with the kids. We are locked-up solid busy here and you were it."</p> <p>Jasmine closed her eyes and exhaled, then opened them.</p> <p>"I needed it, thank you Regina. It was... fun... exhausting but fun."</p> <p>"What was the hang-up for a day or two, anyway?" Hermes asked.</p> <p>"Oh! I thought she would have told you. A reporter wanted to interview her and she needed me to do some research while she got the kids ready to go."</p> <p>"Really?" Dionysus asked, "Who is it?"</p> <p>"A sci-tech writer/blogger that does more free-lance work than anything else. A scandalmonger. Marissa Nash. She found out that Kendrick Delcamp was cooking the company books over at Z-Flight last year and was seeing a Mistress on the side. That forced him to leave the company he founded. Shes done a few other ones but that is her MO."</p> <p>Hermes furrowed his brow for a moment and gave Regina a quick look.</p> <p>"Never talked to her, but have heard of her. Knowing how she operates why did our sister agree to see her?"</p> <p>Jasmine raised her eyebrows.</p> <p>"Marissa was affianced to a boyfriend at long-distance when he was in the Second Ramallah Push and got taken out by an IED. That didn't seem to phase her social life one bit, however, either being affianced or losing him."</p> <p>Regina looked startled. "Really?"</p> <p>Jasmine nodded and looked at her mother.</p> <p>"That sounds pretty cold, Jassy," Gemma said.</p> <p>Jasmine gave her a half-hug and looked at her father.</p> <p>"Frigid," she whispered just loud enough to be heard.</p> <p>"Ah, yes, cold winds blow icily, that they do. Still knowing even that, why would she agree?"</p> <p>Jasmine smiled. "She only promised to maybe give an interview if Marissa was willing to do some hard work, first to help her get the place situated for winter."</p> <p>Slowly the worry drained from Hermes' face and then he started to chuckle. Then nod.</p> <p>"What?" Regina asked, "I've missed something, obviously."</p> <p>"My love," Hermes said, "if anyone can pull a warm heart out of a glacier it will be our sister. Sadly that usually destroys the glacier."</p> <p>"She wouldn't..." Regina started and then started smiling, "...of course you have to survive the hard work, first...." she started to chuckle as did Gemma.</p> <p>Lisa and Mark had listened but couldn't make head nor tails of what the adults were talking about. They had just thought it exciting that Diana would get an interview of some sort. Yet it was obviously something more than that.</p> <p>"But why is it funny?" Lisa asked.</p> <p>"Do you remember your first visit to see Aunt Diana, Lisa?"</p> <p>Lisa bit her lower lip and looked at Gemma, nodding.</p> <p>"You were afraid, weren't you?"</p> <p>She shook her head and then brightened.</p> <p>"But she is so nice and has lots to do! And we could go swimming any time we wanted as long as someone was nearby."</p> <p>Gemma nodded and looked at Regina, and they both remembered how quickly Lisa came to understand the way things worked with Diana.</p> <p>"Well the woman coming to visit is just like that, but she doesn't know what to expect. You did."</p> <p>"Yes we did," Mark said looking at Lisa and then Gemma.</p> <p>Regina hugged them with one arm around each and said softly.</p> <p>"Its just too bad she had never met Aunt Diana before this. Because you knew that she wasn't scary, and really quite loving. Miss Nash thinks she is scary and not loving at all."</p> <p>"Oh," Lisa said, "I think she is going to be surprised."</p> <p>"Ah my dear Niece," Dionysus started, "you have said a mouthful."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Andre Nikkopolous was used to be called on for various things including officiating at weddings or holding prayers for the recently deceased or just helping families with their problems to which they sought his help. For him a bright Monday morning was one that he would usually spend leading a hymn, but there was the new Priest in training, Aris Posulous, to do that and he did have to learn the ropes. This afforded him more time to work on liturgical matters and tend to the parishioners Today found him at the house of Chloe Ostros, who was nearly 70 and had suffered the worst for wear in her life, and she lived with her daughter Iris and the frantic phone call in which they couldn't explain much as they lacked words meant handing over duties for the day to Aris so he could find out what was troubling the two women.</p> <p>The description of events that had been described, the owl in the backyard, the leaving of food, then the next night the leaving of clothes and now having those being replaced along with string bag used to hold the food seemed very strange. What he did recognize, sadly, that the stains on the tunic were those of blood, and that they had spread due to contact with water, most likely salt water. And then the Webley revolver, was something that took him by surprise as he not only hadn't seen one in decades, but the holster was one that would only be made for a few short weeks between the Liberation and the Civil War with the communists. Chloe had been a mere child back then, and her parents had fled Greece when the Italians first invaded and came back after the Civil War to settle down once more. Andre, himself, had only been a few years older, and while his family had survived the Italian fascists, Nazis, the regime's thugs during Nazi and Italian occupation, and then the liberation and civil war, it was not in Athens but to the islands where the Nazis had problems properly asserting their power.</p> <p>What troubled him was Chloe's belief in a Blessed Virgin of Athens as that was not a properly Christian concept but one that had been passed through the multiple changes of rule and religions that had washed over Greece after Rome. Many people still held some form of belief in the Old Way, but had no real knowledge of it beyond some few items that had been passed down and distorted generation upon generation. As the mother and daughter did not want the items left to them, he had put them in a paper bag and took them back to the church so that he could start the process of determining just what was going on. There was a memory of something he had read as a young man or boy, and it was related to the war. The church had archives that it had secreted away during multiple changes in rule over the centuries and they included much that was moved to microfiche as the materials, themselves, became too brittle to handle.</p> <p>He didn't know exactly what he was looking for but it did center around those last few days of the war and return of the British and other Allies to liberate Greece as the Nazis fled and then the communists attempting to go back on the power sharing agreement which led to the events of December 1944. For long hours he scoured over the daily newspapers and read the accounts of battles that had taken place and the number of men who had died in sacrifice to get rid of the barbaric Nazis. ELAS was attempting to take power and the British resisted the communist group which had set its eyes on power over Greece since its formation during the early days of the invasion by the Axis. He came to one article describing the street to street fighting in an area where the Nazis were still operating, and that led to the conflict that was short and bloody as different factions sought to control parts of the city. An article from October 14, 1944 related one of the fights and he read it carefully.</p> <p>"The fighting was on-going and sporadic with a fire fight between the British and other groups in the Nazi area, saw 3 dead and 7 wounded British. One of the British soldiers who died soon after the fight reported that he had seen a woman dressed in British fatigues, with flowing black hair, pick up the Lieutenant's pistol to return fire at the second group that had come in on the ambush. Corporal Roy Harris said that he saw the woman had been shot and wanted others to tend to her, but when a search was made there was no evidence of the woman he reported. No others at the scene reported finding a wounded woman that matched the Corporal Harris' description, nor of seeing such a one at the battle itself."</p> <p>Over days of sporadic fighting there were two other reports of a woman matching a similar description, until power was secured in the capitol. One account from the Massacre at the Tomb of the Unknowns was that of a woman with flowing black hair and wearing British uniform having been shot at from police headquarters along with the rest of the crowd that had come to demonstrate. The man giving the report was, however, delirious with pain and no evidence of such a woman had been found, as she would be unique amongst the demonstrators. After that there were no more sightings as the fighting had ended, and that left Andre with a puzzle and an enigma, both. Such a woman, apparently not wounded or suffering from injury in the same clothes at multiple points in the city and getting wounded each time, then disappearing was not a standard account of any sort of apparition or ghost. These did not suffer wounds in combat as it was ongoing, and while disappearing was the standard for them, showing up at disparate places wasn't typical, either.</p> <p>"It is like a ghost that roams the city," he whispered to himself. Because he did not believe in invisible women who appeared to fight in the city when fighting was going on. And getting wounded. And disappearing. And re-appearing healthy elsewhere in a short period of time. No accounts that he could think of from all of Christendom could account for anything like this, and even reports from the far corners of the Earth never had anything like this in myth, legend, or folklore or at least as far as he could remember it. How this pistol, these clothes, the string bag and the blood stains all coincided were beyond all rational thought. Thus only God could know. And it was up to man to search the scriptures for answers. Only after days had passed of scouring the archives did he admit that the scriptures actually didn't hold a clue as to what had happened or just what it was that was seen during the closing stages of the war.</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-4243772147381604022015-11-28T03:02:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:07:58.966-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 2<p>The morning showers had passed and she took off the jacket she had picked up off a railing after she had awakened. The blue tunic fit well, letting her arms swing freely and the thick denim of her jeans showed wear but no holes. The pair of sneakers had been white and were now a mottled gray, their maker's mark missing along the outer left side while still retained as a vestige of letters on the right. A wide brown belt fit snugly over the thinner one and that belt went through the loops of the jeans. The holster on the wider belt was well worn, to match the cartridge and cleaning kit pouch on her left side. She carried a green tinted bottle of soda that she had already half-consumed.</p> <p>The number of people walking along the sidewalks amongst the narrow streets had increased and yet none saw her, all avoided her and no one could hear her. Dogs that had been barking quieted as she approached, cats on walls settled down from their stalking to gaze serenely at her as she passed by, and it was these creatures that let her know that she was actually there. They accepted pats and scratches behind the ears, moving in the way they had moved for long generations to the point where no one questioned their behavior. Beyond them no one objected to her motions, and she felt guilty at the petty theft of meat pie and soda to assuage her hunger.</p> <p>In the distance she could hear the sound of machinery and steadily she walked towards it. Fresher air blew gently down some streets and the first with a real gust she followed most of the afternoon until she reached a high point where she could see over the streets and beyond them to a harbor. There the trucks, hoists and winches were at work with men yelling and gesticulating to perform a dance of loading and off-loading vehicles to and from ships at the docks. This was a true and protected port and looking down at it she felt a twinge of something, telling her that this place had changed more than anything else she had gone through.</p> <p>"But what did it change from? How did it change? What is this place?"</p> <p>She looked around searching for something which her mind could not name, perhaps a road that wound down from the hills to the harbor or a place that was once cliffs off to her left. The hills cast long shadows down into the harbor and cooler air started flowing from it and yet she felt as if this was a place she knew. A vital place that was and still is full of life. Lights began to come on at the harbor as shadows were cast over it and she decided to slowly descend down into the basin that held this harbor because it was familiar in some way.</p> <p>Thus she traced the path of what had been an ancient cart path and was now a paved road, paying less and less attention to those around her and more to the feeling of this part of the city. She was realizing that it was all one city, from the place she had started the day to this harbor by the wine dark sea. Even its name was familiar. For all of reading it and hearing it, she could not pronounce it, which saddened her no end.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Someday I will actually get trained to fly one of these things," Karl said to Nuada pointing up to an Athena II that was nearly completed overhead, "just to know how to do it, mind you. I know the systems well enough having put them together."</p> <p>"Yeah, and now we get to take the engines out of this one, which is all screwed up, Karl. I know that Herman wants it, but our schedule..."</p> <p>They walked past people cutting carbon fiber and nanotube spun tubing, others fitting the cut pieces into specialized fittings and then still others doing a final sealing and check on the fitted pieces. This was part of the original building in the New Mexico desert that Herman had purchased for construction of the Athena vehicles. Mel had been put in charge of the drop containers, most of which were still dedicated to ground-side loads but a decent number now were now scheduled for orbit. Neither of the women liked the arrangement, but expanding the desert facility was taking time. The basic framing was in place as well as walls and roof, as those were the easy parts. Air handling, electricity, water and other necessities were the problem. The production line had to be stopped to clear space to lower the partially completed Athena II so that it could be rolled into the empty portion of the facility to have its engines removed.</p> <p>"It is what it is, Nuada. Look on the bright side, by the end of the week the three workmen up top will have the air-handlers fitted and bring the temperature of the entire place under 80 again."</p> <p>Nuada scowled and shook her head.</p> <p>"Say, how's the Nordhaus boy working out here?"</p> <p>"You mean the kid you sent over from the scrap yard you run in your spare time?"</p> <p>Karl chuckled as he had settled down to start collecting the detritus being left behind by the aerospace companies into a large vacant area 30 miles beyond the spaceport. Once he got to know the Desert Rats, he had them looking for old cars, motorcycles, and any other vehicle or rocket part that might have wandered from the government Testing Range and been forgotten. He was only paying scrap prices for most of it, and had gotten started as Aaron had talked to him about the worries of Harry Nordhaus about his kids wanting to go on the wild side of vehicle design.</p> <p>With some help from Aaron, Harry, Alice and Regina, Karl got a pre-fab building delivered on vacant land he purchased, contacted some of his friends on the coast and inland to scrounge up old equipment that could be had for a couple of days of driving, and started up a mechanics night class. Karl thought it would stay centered towards motorcycles, cars, and trucks, along with the use of modern carbon and carbon-carbon composites and it did for the first year. Then the Rats started hauling in old missile and rocket parts, pieces of old aircraft, an abandoned half-track that was missing about half its parts, plus scrapped parts from multiple companies who just needed to get rid of damaged equipment and couldn't afford to haul it far. Karl was amused at the fact that the only money he earned was from his spare-time training and scrapping business, and that paid him better than his time in San Francisco ever did, after taxes.</p> <p>"The very one, Lenny. Good kid, has a good eye for fittings and needs more than just the basic hands-on with the scraps and pieces I got at the yard."</p> <p>"He's OK," Nuada said as they turned to get to the controls for the overhead gantry by the side wall, "takes the bus in from the spaceport about half the time, the other half he has that junker truck he's still working on. Motorized rolling chassis, missing most of the panels and uses a sheet of plexi as a windshield. Shows up on time, though, and is ready to work."</p> <p>"Good, good!" they stopped next to the controls and Karl turned to look out over the production line area.</p> <p>"Listen up! We're bringing #10 down and I don't want anyone under it. Get your materials put away, shut down the tools, and get a good 20' away from its path, which will be here near where Bay 35 would be if we had Bays, which we don't. You over there, Carson, Lilah and Emilio can go right on cutting up stock to spec as we need framing materials no matter what happens here. Does everyone have that straight?"</p> <p>There were shouts of assent at the voice of Karl who seemed to know just how to get his voice everywhere in the cavernous space without using a bullhorn.</p> <p>"Good. That means NOW and not 5 minutes from now."</p> <p>There was a scurrying of people to start covering up equipment, hitting shut-down buttons, moving consumables out of the way and putting equipment guards up around the pieces that would get them dropped from orbit if they ever got damaged. Karl looked at the people moving quickly and smiled as he watched them.</p> <p>"That's a damned good crew, Nuada," he said in a low tone.</p> <p>"Shit, yeah," she said watching people rolling carts away from the central portion of the building and to the far wall.</p> <p>"Go ahead, we have a long day ahead of us."</p> <p>Nuada started the gantry moving and the Athena II slowly moved out towards the mid-point of the expanded building where space had been cleared for it. Everyone looked up as it shifted and then stopped in mid-air before slowly being lowered via the winches overhead.</p> <p>"Beautiful," Karl whispered, "here and in orbit. Beautiful."</p> <p>"We aren't going to have replacement engines for it until October," Nuada growled, "and by then I'll have a nearly complete Athena I sitting next to it. Plus those framing pieces for OASIS II."</p> <p>Gently the tires touched the concrete floor and as the cables paid out the last few inches the weight of the vehicle came to rest on them. Nuada shut down the controls.</p> <p>"All right people, you know the drill!" Karl said loudly as he walked towards the spaceship, "I need those cables detached and the lift platform ready to move in. Once the cables are off we get to tow it forward so we can ease the engines out..."</p> <p>Nuada looked at the 80% complete spaceship and sighed.</p> <p>"This had better be fucking worth it."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Jasmine looked up from the screen out over the lake from where she sat on the end of the dock. Her tablet computer was a gift from Hermes for her birthday, which had been a quiet celebration so that she could be with friends later in the evening. The next day they had sat down to have the talk with her and now, a month later, she was coming to understand just who her father really was and her Uncles and Aunt. She had her genome checked, at least the major highlight areas of it where she thought that differences between her and the rest of humanity would show up. There were variations, yes, but nothing out of the norm for the human population. She was a bit amused that her background pointed to a heritage that was mixed from the UK and Greece, however, which was as it should have been. What it meant to be part Olympian when they had fallen and lost the majority of what they had been was very little. There was nothing to be gained from them as individuals and only the remnants of what they had been still left them with some extraordinary capabilities. Her father had demonstrated that with a poison that would kill anyone else, but he had thrown it off in hours.</p> <p>That horrified her, deeply.</p> <p>Dionysus had explained that poisons were some of the easiest things for their bodies to throw off or neutralize and use, as the case may be. In fact even when his heart had stopped as well as his breathing, she could feel blood moving through his system as she pressed her fingertips on the veins on his neck and wrist. No pulsation but a feeling of motion which was something that she knew could not be happening. As he laid on the sofa Hermes and Ares had given her some idea of what they had been through in their long lives and that their ability to recover was supernatural. With her father back amongst the living they could only agree that only if their father had rid them of their lives would they have died, and that the eternal torment that was supposed to await them was what he intended. When she asked how Zeus was killed they only looked at each other and said that she would have to find out from Diana.</p> <p>A gentle breeze picked up from the south and blew over the lake, causing low ripples before the wind had passed. Again she looked down at the tablet's screen and picked up individual pixel readings for the color in the photo of the figure she couldn't see. Carefully she shifted their hues and started putting them onto the outline layer. She realized that as she did that and lightened the color that what was appearing on the bench wasn't so much a person as a statue. It was of a woman she had never seen in any depiction of Athena. She was built along more muscular lines than Diana, and there was a hint of strength in the hands and arms that should have made her imposing and yet just spoke of quiet strength.</p> <p>Athena looked into the distance, her cheekbones high and yet her face wasn't harsh but softened in her relaxed countenance. Mostly, however, she looked saddened by something.</p> <p>Voices came over the meadow on her right and Jasmine saved the file and shut the program down, and then set the tablet down and got fully on the dock and slid into her sandals. She saw the two children with a pole between them and cut wood held in a rope net under the pole which bounced from side to side as they walked. She put her tablet into the sling bag she carried, and put that over her shoulder as she started walking towards the land side of the dock. Coming up slowly behind them was Diana pulling a simple travois of firewood behind her. Remembering how Athena looked she took glances at Diana as she stepped towards land and then stopped as the children came to her.</p> <p>"Good morning, Aunt Jasmine! I'm glad you could sleep in!" Lisa said. She had on a t-shirt and jeans, with hiking boots and a small pack on her back, and the pole resting on her right shoulder.</p> <p>"Good morning Lisa, Mark and I did need to sleep in. I'm sorry I couldn't get up earlier to help."</p> <p>"That's all right, Aunt Jasmine, there is plenty more to cut up later," Mark said with a smile on his face. He also had on a small pack as well as a scabbard for the shotgun he carried.</p> <p>Jasmine chuckled as this wasn't the first time she had come up to see Diana and knew that the most important thing to do during the short summer was to prepare for winter.</p> <p>"That there is, I'm sure. Do you two need any help?"</p> <p>As he passed Mark shook his head slightly.</p> <p>"Only if you like stacking wood."</p> <p>"I'll check on Diana," Jasmine said to them as they both said OK as they went up towards the open air wood pile. She walked down the trail and saw that Diana had a leather strap attached to the upper part of the travois and that went around her forehead so she could lean into moving the load of wood on the travois. She only had a leather skin filled with liquid, a large size slung pouch, the axe in a scabbard on her right hip and a short rifle in a scabbard on her back. Diana looked at her through the sweat streaming down her face and only then did the full impact of the light shirt with leather vest and skirt, along with moccasins sink in. There, for a very brief moment, she saw the promise of the woman that she could become, with the strength of face and upper body leaning into the load, the arms thin but with a great grace to them and her legs moving tirelessly.</p> <p>"Athena," she whispered as Diana approached.</p> <p>"Wrong sister," Diana said as she came closer to Jasmine and then stopped, leaning forward still and looking at her. "Thank you for coming, Jasmine," she whispered.</p> <p>Slowly Jasmine shifted to Diana and put her arms around her her upper body, to give her a soft kiss and hug her.</p> <p>"You're welcome," Jasmine whispered as she felt Diana's arms go around her shoulders. A kiss on the cheek from her and Jasmine let go of Diana who smiled.</p> <p>"Walk with me?"</p> <p>"Of course," Jasmine answered as she walked besides this old girl.</p> <p>"So what do you think?"</p> <p>Jasmine was quiet for a moment and gave Diana a sidelong glance.</p> <p>"I missed seeing you in bed when I woke up... but I always miss that," she said with a chuckle.</p> <p>Diana laughed as they shifted to move up the trail.</p> <p>"I can't have guests go hungry! And I had to transfer the distilled water to the watering system for that absurd thing my brother sent me to keep everyone in contact with the outside world here. Solar panels, windmill, and that little set of hydro-generators that have to go by the river inlet and yet be far enough down so they won't freeze when the lake does. But its part of what I promised to do."</p> <p>"What was it like before... your reunion? Ascentech. Everything."</p> <p>Shrugging to the left a bit more they headed towards the woodpile where the two children were just finishing the stacking of their wood.</p> <p>"It was... natural. I had to talk with the locals... natives... when I came back. But Highflight had already dropped them two stations for their village. So my set-up was fine with them. And they're glad to have someone here with children... makes things come alive."</p> <p>Diana pulled up next to the kids and they finished with the last of their load as Diana slowly lowered the travois and took the forehead strap off.</p> <p>"You two can do some studying or go swimming. Lunch is in the refrigerator. Your family wants to hear from you sometime before twilight, and I know you can almost always get Regina at the office."</p> <p>"I'd like that," Lisa said.</p> <p>Mark turned to look out at the lake and then the cabin and shrugged.</p> <p>"Lunch, maybe."</p> <p>"We'll handle the wood, don't worry. If you go wandering, keep to the trails and have a pack and sidearm at least. Your Uncle Aaron sent along a nice AR if you want to go out to the target area, just keep the shots low, OK?"</p> <p>Mark and Lisa looked at each other with a knowing look, and nodded.</p> <p>"OK!" Lisa said as she picked up her belonging and Mark did the same. In a moment they were off with a 'cya later'.</p> <p>Diana shifted to take the gloves from her belt and then handed them to Jasmine.</p> <p>"You need these more than I do. I only wear them so they remember to wear theirs when doing this. Otherwise I would just toss wood on the pile without."</p> <p>Jasmine slid on the gloves and felt how they were worn, flexible in areas where Diana's fingers shifted the material, but harder where she gripped with them. Her own fingers didn't reach as far as Diana's and her palm was wider, making for a snug fit. Diana walked around between the travois and the log pile.</p> <p>"You hand to me, I stack," she said.</p> <p>With that Jasmine slid the sling bag on the ground and moved to pick up the first piece of split wood and handed it over. It was flung high on the pile and landed to nestle down on top of the neatly stacked wood beneath it. Jasmine started handing the pieces over 2 and 3 at a time.</p> <p>"How do you do that?" she asked as she watched Diana throw the pieces up over and over, getting a nice, neat stack.</p> <p>"Centuries of experience," Diana said softly.</p> <p>Just a bit further up the hill they heard the kids arguing about something and then settling down again and they both looked up and smiled.</p> <p>"Someone got stuck with dishes, I think," Jasmine said.</p> <p>"Its always something with those two," Diana said shaking her head, and then receiving chopped wood and just tossing it up as Jasmine tossed them to her.</p> <p>"Why you, Diana?" Jasmine asked as Diana was chucking a couple of pieces up and then looked at the top of the stack.</p> <p>"New row," she said and motioned Jasmine over so they could begin a new row next to the one that reached up to near the roof.</p> <p>"I'm lightest. Pounds count, against you."</p> <p>Working next to Diana, she tried to get into a rhythm for stacking wood, but realized that she had to go slower if she wanted something that could be stacked up high. The process of learning how to put wood on so that it wouldn't topple was always new as trees didn't grow in a regular fashion, and chopped wood was also irregular.</p> <p>"That I understand...but...you're going after her alone?"</p> <p>Diana gave her a glance up from being bent over and shifting wood from the travois to the new row.</p> <p>"No, I can't cover enough territory. Athens is much, much larger today then it was... back then. Yet she was already becoming known in those places. Wherever she was known, it becomes a place she can be. What used to be small towns are now suburbs, and you need commuter trains to get around anyplace."</p> <p>Jasmine nodded as she had done just a quick look at various sites about Athens.</p> <p>"So all of you, then?"</p> <p>"Yes. We will overlap, of course. My brother who is also sister will take the financial district and as much else as he can encompass. Then the hard spots are from the old city center to the Acropolis, coast to some miles inland. Then the more liquid spots to the south for your father."</p> <p>"And you?"</p> <p>Diana shrugged.</p> <p>"It is her city, Jasmine. Yet I know where the old spring was and where the river put underground can be found in its tributaries. There used to be much wilderness between the old city and the towns around it and those were the places we could both be... together..."</p> <p>They continued the stacking of wood.</p> <p>"Then what?"</p> <p>"If one of my brothers finds her, then earn her daily trust and distract her until I can arrive. She is always overjoyed to have someone to talk to, who can see her."</p> <p>"Why is that?"</p> <p>Diana stopped and put her hands on her thighs and then stood up, looking at the nearly empty travois.</p> <p>"The Lethe is in her. Her city reflects this, which is why even as it expands it falls further from grace."</p> <p>Jasmine stopped to look at the figure of Diana again, the old girl she knew.</p> <p>"You said that every day is... new to her?"</p> <p>Diana nodded.</p> <p>"Once I am with her, then I will navigate to the small parks and refugia, the vacant lots and take her to the hotel."</p> <p>"And?"</p> <p>Diana raised her eyebrows.</p> <p>"I am an astronaut. I have a few spare suits. You know how it is with us..."</p> <p>Jasmine nodded.</p> <p>"...she will be in one and then...she will still be able to breathe, just not be conscious. The suit will just be like one with a dummy inside for test purposes. No one will actually be able to see her, but the suit will have her weight. The next time she wakes up, she will be in the OASIS with me."</p> <p>"But... Why?"</p> <p>Diana smiled.</p> <p>"Gaia and Luna share a common center, a place that holds us. It is time to escape their grasp and see if we can't start to thwart our father once and for all. Athens will go its own way and my sister her own. A city can only reach so far, you know? And then I will find out if the wilderness can only go as far, as well."</p> <p>"You mean..." Jasmine gasped.</p> <p>"We shall see just how crafty our father really was, because even he could not have predicted this."</p> <p>Diana moved to start stacking the remaining wood.</p> <p>"Besides, I'm the one who thought it up."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>The large doors to the Ascentech hangar opened slowly and ponderously. Inside the work on the various parts of Ascentech projects had been shifted to the far end of the building, save for the parts for an ALV-III which were lofted high above the floor and secured against any breezes that might go through the doors. It was the dead of night, and there were no winds, and Kevin Penk was leading a work crew from these late night to early morning hours to receive what was being hauled on the two tractor trailer rigs that were arriving from Highflight. A smaller off-road truck was leading the two larger vehicles as they turned onto the entrance road for the Ascentech facility. What had started as a spartan hangar with some office space, a mechanicals room and what had been a bunk room turned into a trash room had become, one pre-fab at a time, a real working facility with a separate building for an office, a real bunk house and an actual power sub-station by the rail line which was now refurbished. Getting a locomotive to move flatbeds from the siding near the Highflight building and to Ascentech wasn't possible on short notice, and that meant truck rental.</p> <p>Having stepped through the large doors, Kevin waved his people forward to start setting up flashers and cones, and to turn on the outside down-lights which slowly awoke to flood the entire entrance area which also served for parking of regular vehicles, into a shadowy thought brightly lit space.</p> <p>"We have the pods ready to go, Kevin," a man in an Ascentech jumpsuit said standing beside him.</p> <p>"Good work, Thad, I know that has been a real pain moving those from the rear to the front the past two days."</p> <p>"Had to be done there as we don't have any other place to store the two thrust systems that did arrive after we took them out of the pods. We're still getting adapters installed and the first one is done and the second nearly done. Good enough to receive one of those engines."</p> <p>An olive drab vehicle pulled over to the side of the cones out of the way of the trucks and the forward doors opened as it pulled to a stop. On the passenger side Nuada and Karl got out, front to rear and they looked at each other for a moment shaking their heads. From the driver's side stepped Brent and Aaron, and they walked around the truck heading towards Kevin and Thad.</p> <p>"Good evening, everyone," Kevin stepped forward to meet them as they approached, "its a fine night for a delivery here."</p> <p>"Good to be here, Kevin," Aaron said shaking his hand. Kevin marveled at the man who was relatively tall and well built, his strength and courage had been tested over the years by what disaster could throw at him. He came away from the explosion of the Athena Prototype after only a few months of recuperation ready to start in on the heavy work wherever it was needed. The ex-Marine Pilot and now Astronaut now was in Highflight's rotation of pilots for the Athena I and II, and outside of Herman Lassiter and Brent Kelly, he would be the third most knowledgeable individual for those systems. Although the other two, Nuada Lipton and Karl Odistold would rank much higher with hands-on work. The fact that Aaron also spent time on the construction of the ALV systems pro bono was what endeared him to Kevin. If you had a short-handed situation on second shift or had to have someone troubleshoot over at the spaceport, and no one else was available, then Aaron was the man to contact.</p> <p>"Nice to see you again, Brent! Nuada, Karl..." Kevin shook their hands as the first truck arrived at the far end of the lot and was slowly turning the rig around to back it up to the facility. "And this is Thad Sandhurst, my second and overnight shift manager here, plus the one doing the retrofit to the thrust pods for the work platform."</p> <p>"Good to see you again, Thad," Aaron said shaking his hand.</p> <p>"Same, Aaron. Brent is it?" he asked extending a hand to Brent.</p> <p>Brent nodded.</p> <p>Thad look puzzled for a moment. "Wait a moment! You're the bartender at the Event Horizon!"</p> <p>Brent chuckled and nodded. "A dirty job that makes sure we have household income."</p> <p>"He is one of the main men who helped design these engines," Kevin said, "and they are at once complex and simple with half the moving parts of the prior generation of separate systems and more versatile as well."</p> <p>"Well they had better be since our supplier dropped the ball on our usual. That's going to cost them dearly," Thad said.</p> <p>Aaron turned to Nuada and Karl.</p> <p>"Nuada is the general manager at the facility here," he said.</p> <p>"Glad to meet you, Ma'am," Thad said with a smile.</p> <p>Nuada shook hands with the somewhat tall and lanky man and nodded. "And me, you, Thad. This is Karl, my crew chief, foreman and main passenger on the Athena flights."</p> <p>"Good to meet ya, Thad," Karl said as he shook hands with Thad. Thad looked at the man who might be an inch shorter than Aaron but was heavily muscled and wore the tattoos and scars of his work on his bare arms.</p> <p>"Same, Karl. I've watched you at work and want to take welding lessons from you."</p> <p>Karl nodded, smiling.</p> <p>"You can find me on my off-hours at the junk yard I have outside the spaceport..."</p> <p>"The one to the west of it?" Thad asked.</p> <p>"The only one and that is it," Karl said turning as the truck had now fully turned its bed around and the driver was slowly straightening it to approach the building.</p> <p>"I believe it is show time," Kevin said looking at everyone. "We have one pod suspended and waiting inside so the flatbed can bring the engine in. Then we let down the cables, pull it up off the truck with the gantry, and then get the truck you so we can get our act together to slowly shift it forward attachment point by attachment point. It will be slow and tedious, and might take up to 2 hours to be attached. Then we repeat that for the second pod as the first is slowly pulled to the far end of the facility for final work."</p> <p>Nuada looked inside the large hangar and saw the ALV-III drop container that these two pods would fit in. Tomorrow the two that they had just pulled out from the Athena II would be delivered and this entire thing would be repeated.</p> <p>"That drop pod was a hideously difficult thing to make, Kevin," she said, "Mel was screaming at me for the better part of a month as her facility was making sub-components for it. I had to keep on pointing out that I had to fit all that together into that monster over there. All so it could come apart and slide into the existing structure in orbit."</p> <p>"Did that help?" Kevin asked.</p> <p>"Nope. She just got more upset. Had to stage a Dennis intervention."</p> <p>Aaron, Brent, Nuada and Kevin chuckled and shook their heads while Thad looked at them shaking his head. He had only gotten to know Dennis somewhat at the couple of parties that he was at and second-hand from the day shift crew, except for the two times that he came in to help get a new environmental system installed on an ALV-II that was being retrofitted to be a piloted vehicle.</p> <p>"Well it is time to get to business," Kevin said turning to Thad, "You're more awake than I am so you do your job and I'll troubleshoot problems. Evening and nights are on tap for this, I'm just here in case of trouble."</p> <p>"Thanks, Kevin," Thad said with a smile putting his work gloves on and calling out to the crew to lower the empty pod a few more feet and then getting the backing up of the truck coordinated. This would be a long night for all involved, and it was Thad's responsibility to make sure it went smoothly.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Gemma pulled up a chair to sit down next to Dionysus at Event Horizon, the bar and grill that never slept as the work crews had moved into full three shifts. It was a simple matter to order at the grill during the morning and daylight hours and have them bring food out to you, and Gemma had done just that. They had a table in the side section and shared that with Regina and Hermes, as well as Tamara who had Kyle in a high chair.</p> <p>"So when is Jasmine supposed to get back?" she asked.</p> <p>"Two days," Regina said looking at Gemma, "I think she's handled it well, so far."</p> <p>"She was pretty upset when she left... well not upset just disoriented, I guess," Tamara said from the other side of Dionysus.</p> <p>"Ah, yes, she was. First we imposed on her for doing research while still in college," Dionysus said with a smile on his face as he saw two waitresses bringing food over. "And then, having to actually start putting all that lovely knowledge to use, well, I know she was upset to miss the graduation ceremony."</p> <p>Hermes thanked the waitress who brought him a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and a side-order of a half-melon, along with a carafe of coffee to fill his mug.</p> <p>"She was the one who suggested an encapsulated, semi-closed system," Hermes said as he dug into the melon with a spoon.</p> <p>"And not a one of us having any contacts in that industry," Dionysus said giving a sly glance to Tamara, "Even Mason was at a loss."</p> <p>"He could have found someone, I'm sure," Tamara said shifting to take the bowl of cereal and carefully pour in milk from a carafe left at the table to put on the tray of the high chair.</p> <p>"She was a bit...ahhh..." Regina started watching the waitresses leave after checking to make sure everyone had gotten their orders, "ticked off when you suggested she just pick up the phone and cold call."</p> <p>"That always works for me!" Dionysus said with a smile as he lifted a soft tortilla shell filled with bacon, eggs, and pepper mixture up to take a bite of it.</p> <p>"You have your winning personality, dear," Gemma said sipping her tea and opening the bran muffin she had ordered to put some cream cheese on it, "and usually a case of something to go with it."</p> <p>Tamara chuckled as she stopped to make sure that Kyle's cereal actually made it to his mouth, which he had figured out some time ago, and that the bowl stayed on the tray, which he hadn't. Although if it was something he liked, a dish would magically stay on the tray, so Tamara suspected some asymmetry in his learning curve that was intentional.</p> <p>"That doesn't work as well in the tech industry," she said after shifting Kyle's bowl slightly and putting down a squeezeball of juice for him. Hermes had ordered a thousand of the things, and said it met his price range, although the quantity was a problem, so they were now getting used liberally at the Event Horizon and not as much for the Athena pilots or for storage in OASIS.</p> <p>"Besides, Ray had a handle on it," Hermes said sipping his coffee and deciding to work on the main part of his meal next. "He has been through enough positions that he has a number of far-reaching contacts that you would never expect him of having. The Black Small Business Summit he attends every year let him get Jasmine the right people to talk to in the nanofiber and thin film barrier assembly areas. She hit up one of her professors for a lab that could do the custom work of tediously getting bacteria that would live in just those conditions and trimming their genome back to survive, even with bouts of hard radiation."</p> <p>Dionysus took a gulp of water from his glass and nodded.</p> <p>"You have learned the plasma physics part well, my brother! Enough so that should be mitigated at least to a large extent. The system can take loss of bacteria and fungi due to it. OASIS should be just that now."</p> <p>"We are set for the last week September, then?" Tamara asked as Kyle was making motions of not wanting more cereal and being content with his squeezeball. He had yet to defeat the internal stopper that prevented liquids from getting out when not actively sucked on, but he was working on it.</p> <p>"A month to get the engines and install them. Another month to do the exacting work of packing all the systems and ensuring they operate correctly, then a two week window for an ALV-III drop and getting that to orbit, then two weeks after that for the integration of all the parts onto their work platform. With luck that will be finished just as the airshow opens and a week later Diana will get to OASIS and be mating it up for the push to a Hohman orbit to the moon, just as the show closes," Hermes said looking at Dionysus.</p> <p>"That leaves only two days with all four of us there," Dionysus said, "although I hope to have a good two weeks there before that on the search."</p> <p>"I only have the airshow time, so my help is limited," he said looking at Regina who pushed her lips together.</p> <p>"Only you four can do this, really," she said, "because if you can't see it, then you can't find it."</p> <p>"It is the spookiest thing," Gemma said sipping at her tea after having had a few bites of the muffin, "more than anything I experienced with Dennis. How can you look at something and not see it?"</p> <p>"Well, I'm not so good at the finding business," Dionysus said, "and the last time it took me nearly two months and then lost again in a day. Our brother and sister are the true ones for this and our sister, she is the only one who has experience in actually sticking around long enough to be satisfied on the actual problem. Much of it rests with her, I'm afraid, and if it can't be found then we are back to our jobs until we think of something better."</p> <p>"Aaron can handle the stress," Tamara said starting in on her own breakfast, "but what about Diana?"</p> <p>Gemma looked at her and raised her eyebrows.</p> <p>"Why do you think we sent Jasmine?"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"And that is the OASIS..." Diana said sitting next to Lisa and Mark who were looking at the large display that Diana had set up in the drop container, which was hooked into not just the computer systems sent by Hermes but also into the satellite feeds that went to the various antennas nearby. Diana had grumbled about the system and that a simple radio set-up had served her well for a long time, but Hermes had insisted on it. For the children it was their main link back to civilization, their mothers and fathers and their friends back in New Mexico and Arizona. For them education had been unlinked from schools, teachers, curricula, and the old 14th century manner of teaching that was still fighting a losing battle against a return to even older methods of education. Many schools and universities had put up free coursework, and all they lacked was paying to submit papers and actual work to the schools for grades.</p> <p>That had seen the rise of secondary academic organizations to help students of any age structure their courses so they learned at their own pace, and when a student reached a level for getting some sort of certification you then paid for that. The third level of education was the open source crediting system which was also its own certification system for existing courses that were well understood. With these expert systems digested papers and work, and disbursed the analysis to systems that individuals had stood up on peer-to-peer networks with encrypted links. In the course of 2 decades school children had started to migrate to doing work at home utilizing set courses, then using a self-paced education system which fed directly into open source crediting. What was left of the old system was prestige of name, and even those names of the old Ivy League and City institutions had to adapt to this new age where there was a tiny student body and professors actually had to do something other than teach for a living. Many became tutors. Many had a real day job.</p> <p>There was still a price for education, particularly hands-on science and technology work, of course. And if you lived at or near the spaceport, the effective cost of that dropped to zero with actual work being available for different demonstrated skills at certain jobs. Those jobs required being able to show up and do the work, to learn and act in a responsible fashion, and those qualities had no age range although younger individuals were limited by the amount they could do per day, with a reward of those hours counting much more towards final certification of the mastery of skills and theory, than just learning via experimentation alone. The line between education, work and leading a good life was blurring heavily and what had started as a set of trends in the late 20th century were now transforming society in the 21st.</p> <p>OASIS was sending a low power but continual feed to the satellite constellation that allowed it to remain in constant contact with ground stations, and the camera views on the screen were made publicly available by Hermes for everyone to view.</p> <p>"Can you pick out the nanosat?" she asked looking at the two children and shifting away from the system to let them have control over the incoming feeds.</p> <p>"You mean the one that went up with Karl?" Mark asked.</p> <p>"Yes," Diana said, "Nano 36? Or was it 37? I've lost track of how many of those have been put up."</p> <p>The small satellites were an evolutionary step from the soda can size ones that flew just a generation ago, and these modern ones not only packed in more low powered electronics but had transponders so they could be tracked as their miniature solar sails took them away from Earth. The vast majority of these didn't live long, and those sending them up didn't want to add to the space junk problem and were adding in thin film sails to take them further from the Earth. The first ones from 6 years ago that went up during the ALV-I test drop were now moving out beyond geosynchronous orbit and could only be found from their transponders and reflectors.</p> <p>As Mark and Lisa sat next to each other on the bench, Diana set down a smaller display so that they could have a spare one to shift views out of the larger display for closer examination.</p> <p>"Do we have its parameters?" Lisa asked.</p> <p>"Not locally. Still you have the work Karl did, when it was launched and its last known trajectory before its thrusters gave out," Diana said pointing at a small window on the smaller screen she had set up. "You can try hit or miss, but I think you can find it faster from working out its parameters and doing a narrow search for it."</p> <p>"Oh..." Mark said, "you don't have a flight package here, do you Aunt Diana?"</p> <p>"No, but plenty of paper and pencils. Even a slide-rule which doesn't have electronics to fail. You can always cheat, of course, but you can't always rely on steady data, constant inputs or even having a modeling package working. It's like finding the right tree to cut down and you only have the surrounding ones to tell you how the sunlight falls during the year."</p> <p>"Yeah!" Mark said looking at Diana.</p> <p>Lisa looked at her and frowned.</p> <p>"But you do that all in your head, don't you?"</p> <p>Diana smiled and nodded.</p> <p>"Yet once I told you what to look for you started to see the forest differently, didn't you? No tablet to do a tree survey, no hygromatic maps, no other sensors than your own eyes and seeing how the slope made a difference in tree growth."</p> <p>"But we didn't find a good one for a long time," Mark said.</p> <p>"That is just practice," Diana said with a smile, "like your Uncle Aaron has taught you. Practice so that you no longer think about what you are doing but just do it. It's the same thing with trees or knowing just a few things and working out an orbit. Paper and pencil help a lot and you can use the system to eliminate possibilities."</p> <p>"Like walking around a tree and looking at the ones next to it and the ones after that!" Lisa said catching on to the idea.</p> <p>Diana nodded. "Just like that. Hit or miss will find it, too, but that is just guessing. Drawing in orbital vectors to the right length and eliminating one axis means you should have a good way to deal with it on a flat sheet of paper."</p> <p>Hermes always stressed the need for numbers and equations to back up intuition and make it rigorous, while Diana preferred a visual approach and getting to an approximation and then solidifying things with a final cross-check. Doing that in 3 dimensions was hard unless you were brought up with it. And it had the added factor of making it possible for even children to work with complex math without doing it. The math would follow, yes, Diana stressed spatial awareness first. Hermes called that 'intuition', while Ares just called it 'good for a ranging shot'. Dionysus hadn't really said much on the subject except that if you get a seed close to where it should be, then it will grow to find the necessary space to live in.</p> <p>"I'll leave you two to that while I take a message," she said noticing that one of the comms systems that relayed network messages had a few items in her Inbox. She rarely used it, and only a few people actually had it so the advertising for medications and other prepackaged bulk advertising had problems finding it, plus three layers of heuristic software also weeded that out no end. She walked to the far end of the drop container and sat down at a dedicated system to handle the message. Frowning she looked at the message.</p> <p>"Now how did a newsie get my e-mail? And just who is Marissa Nash?"</p> <p>Diana did a quick search and just let the scrolling of articles continue down her screen. At first she raised an eyebrow and then a slow smile crept to her lips.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>She looked out the windows as the hovercraft moved quickly down the river, watching trees go past and passing a solitary individual with a fishing pole who was wading into a small area where the bank had collapsed and weeds now grew. Ken Crow turned and gave a wave to the man as they passed and he waved back and patted the basket slung over his left hip. Giving a thumbs up sign Ken smiled and turned back to navigating the channel.</p> <p>"Who was that?" Marissa asked.</p> <p>"I have no idea, Miss Nash," he said with a deep voice, "but he has lodge gear on so he is welcome here."</p> <p>Marissa didn't know exactly what that meant as all fishermen and women looked pretty much the same to her. Her native Connecticut did have a fishing season, but she had never taken to poll, lures, bait, floats or flies. At least not in any real way.</p> <p>A moment later the hovercraft skewed at a fork and turned to point upstream.</p> <p>"Now it will be pretty noisy in here," Ken said as he pushed down on the throttle and the hovercraft made headway upstream. "Won't take long, then we take off and lake hop," he said in a louder voice to be heard against the roar at the rear of the enclosed cabin that held the engine with large spinning blade that propelled the craft forward.</p> <p>In theory this should be a comfortable journey, but the buffeting of winds coming down the river and the small rapids made the hovercraft raise and lower, skew side to side all while still making progress forward and slightly upstream. Ken guided the hovercraft off the river and onto a widened path by it while Marissa looked at the whitewater that didn't look good in her eyes and couldn't imagine anyone taking a boat or kayak down.</p> <p>"We cut this trail to get the hovercraft through to the lake up there," Ken said as the trail shifted out towards the nearby forest, then slowly doubled back that was going up a set of high hills. The path did two more switchbacks and then glided out to a swamp meadow and went back to the lake. There he did a slow turn while accelerating and lowered the wing flaps on the stubby wings of the hovercraft. He had described it as a tri-mode vehicle and it was either his 8 passenger hovercraft or a float plane, and Diana had let Marissa know that there were return passengers and that it had to be the hovercraft that Ken owned, as his other float planes wouldn't carry enough to take people back and the other person had a busy schedule at his camp.</p> <p>There were only light ripples from a cross-breeze and Ken changed the attitude of the hovercraft slightly as he gunned it, so that soon Marissa could feel the nose of it lift and then the entire thing came off the water. The roar beneath the hovercraft lowered as Ken idled the impeller turbine down since it was no longer needed for lift. The hovercraft was now in its low flight mode and Ken kept it stable 50' above the river level, while Marissa looked out and saw the tops of some of the lower trees by the bank go by. This was no commuter flight between Boston and Hartford, nor an overseas flight to London, Paris or Hamburg. She had been to the major aerospace firms in the world, flown on some of the most comfortable aircraft known to man and even, just the once, on an old DC-3 still in commuter service that could take off and land when nothing else could. She had never experienced a Bush Plane nor a tri-mode hovercraft, nor a Bush Pilot before and it was here, in these circumstances, that she understood what it meant when one flew 'by the seat of their pants'. Ken Crow had been doing this for nearly 20 years and was an expert at Bush Service.</p> <p>"This isn't... it doesn't feel... safe..." Marissa got out during some of the errant up and down drafts roiling down the stream that would only be a few gentle breezes at stream level.</p> <p>Ken raised an eyebrow and only let his eyes dart to look at her as he swerved out of the way of a large conifer that was slowly toppling over and had its crest threaten the central flight path. He took a pencil attached to a string, glanced at the GPS logger and then gave a quick mark on a copy of a field map so he could find and remove the tree later this season or early next.</p> <p>"It isn't, Miss Nash. It is faster than walking or sled dog when the weather is clear."</p> <p>"But a road... couldn't I just drive to her?"</p> <p>Ken chuckled as his eyes saw a rise of low mountains with a major U-shaped valley and a waterfall with rapids below it.</p> <p>"I wouldn't even try, Miss Nash. Walking it would be safer but I don't think you came dressed and equipped for a 30 mile hike."</p> <p>She shook her head as she had hoped to press to an interview with Diana Sherwood by already heading to Alaska. Diana Sherwood hadn't given an interview of any real sort to anyone and there was only a few pictures of her and two of those blue background portraits of the Highflight Astronaut's Log. Two were of her rescue of her cousin, Aaron Culpepper nearly 6 years ago, and she didn't take any credit for more than driving up there to get him out. The third was of her in a pressure suit and that left even less to see of her face than the rescue pictures.</p> <p>Ascentech and Highflight had a few articles done on them over the past few years, for the most part done by journals examining niche long-haul work or sub-orbital astronaut training. The two companies were able to deflect all of the real interest in their work by making them open and public, at least for the early designs, so that a community of Open Space enthusiasts could start to form a technical community that went from open source computer and flight code all the way to open economics of space exploitation, with everything in-between. She had heard something was up with the OASIS and Ascentech Working Platform systems, but no one could get a handle on them and the publicity having the ISS crew shelter at OASIS was the only major high-point in the press coverage since the Culpepper flight.</p> <p>Ascentech and Highflight were scoffed at by almost all of the Space Community since they appeared not to have their eyes on the large prizes, the big exciting deals and were, instead, delivering cargo, industrial equipment, cars, motorcycles, field hospitals, relief supplies, and honoring the dead with high altitude dispersal of their ashes. Yet it is that very ability to haul cargo of large size that was now putting together two of the larger commercial pieces of equipment in orbit, just not in single lifts. The dawn of the idea of building a project by smaller, self-sustaining pieces wasn't lost on most of the community, just the low-key attitude and direction to other services had made those who looked for big investments to miss what was becoming the largest private investment in space ever seen. It was done, as others wrote, on the cheap. They would have gone under, financially, if not for Diana Sherwood and her cousins.</p> <p>She had tried to get more background information on Diana but was mostly finding that she had been born and raised in the wilds of Alaska and was the recipient of a trust fund that oversaw similar wild lands in various parts of the globe. Yet she was no trust fund baby, but someone who had to be taken on her own terms. There were rumors that she tracked down about her and the one that led to Candice 'Candy' Armstrong was the only one she could hang anything on, and she had recounted how she had met Diana Sherwood and intended her for a... Marissa shivered to think of what a gang of women would think of doing... but had been stopped cold. They thought that Diana Sherwood was just a pretty face and body in a costume with bow and arrow for show. They were mistaken. Candice had been extremely reticent about the incident and its aftermath which saw Diana coming by frequently to the hospital to help care for each of them and make sure they had what they needed. That compassion had changed Candice and all the women involved in that attempt. It was only in whispers that Candice hinted at other gangbangers disappearing or turning up dead in alleys or floating out in the bay. Those were people that knew the women and would have sought revenge on Diana.</p> <p>It was that incident that finally convinced Marissa to get an interview with the woman who wouldn't give one, save under one condition. It was a condition that drove every interviewer off.</p> <p>'Be prepared for hard work and to spend a few weeks at it. Then you might get an interview.'</p> <p>Ken flew the vehicle carefully and they followed the river that fed the lake and then he banked carefully to go over a side cut path as a waterfall stopped their progress upwards. Back with ground effects on land he shifted the hovercraft over the path and then out to a clear cut area and onto the lake. There, skimming just over the water, he sped towards the far end of the lake where Marissa could see a few log buildings, two drop containers from Highflight, an array of solar panels, a float out by the river that fed the lake and another out from the dock and dock house just to the right of the main building. Beyond that was a flat area that had four people waiting there. Marissa identified one easily as Diana Sherwood and only after thinking a bit could she place the young woman standing next to her as Jasmine Pennerton and the children must be from that unusual family of Herman Lassiter, Regina Sackett and Brent Kelly.</p> <p>Ken slowed the hovercraft as it went over the thin strip of beach and into the meadow beyond, carefully going sideways as he powered the impeller down until the vehicle was at rest and then he shut the main fain system down. He had showed her how to open the side doors and she worked at the latches for a moment and then had the doors part to swing up and down, so that there was a ramp to go down to the ground. Ken had walked around the hovercraft to greet Diana, the boy and girl, and then be introduced to Jasmine, all as Marissa shifted her two pieces of luggage from a cargo bin and took them out with her. She had a hurried introduction to the children, Mark and Lisa, and then to Jasmine who shook her hand, and then in a flurry as Marissa got out of the way, the three were moving backpacks and suitcases into the hovercraft and Jasmine was giving Diana a good-bye kiss that, to Marissa, seemed a bit more than just a familial kiss. As they parted Diana turned to give Ken a hug and kiss on the cheek and hand him a burlap bag that had some items that she wanted him to have.</p> <p>Marissa didn't know what to make of it all as this wasn't any normal sort of interaction she was used to. And yet, in a few minutes, she was walking a bit further from the hovercraft to watch as Ken started it up and blew off and down the lake picking up speed until he could get it airborne. Diana gave a final long wave as it flew out over the end of the lake and then down into the river valley.</p> <p>Diana turned to her, giving her a look up and down just once before locking eyes with Marissa.</p> <p>"You don't look like you came prepared to work," Diana said softly.</p> <p>"I thought, maybe, we could do a quick interview..." Marissa started in a halting fashion as Diana's stare was making her feel uncomfortable.</p> <p>"... and just bug out after that?"</p> <p>Marissa licked her lips and nodded.</p> <p>"Sorry, no regular service here. If you aren't prepared to work, then you can follow the road up and out, over the ridge and then turn right on the first semi-paved road and then right on the next road that is fully paved and stick your thumb out."</p> <p>"I thought you might... ummmm... well it is a road..."</p> <p>Diana raised an eyebrow and pressed her lips together.</p> <p>"If you want a ride, then I need someone to spell me in a couple of weeks on my drive back south. Normally I do it alone. If you want a ride out, that will be it, if you don't want to do any work. If you want to try the local Bush Pilots and see if you can get one of them here, you can try that, although they tend to have packed schedules during this time of the year."</p> <p>"Ahhh... maybe I'll do the driving?"</p> <p>Diana shrugged.</p> <p>"There's the boathouse," she said pointing at the structure next to the dock, "a few good tarps in there, a few life preservers as cushions, and whatever you can catch for food. Be glad to have company on the drive out."</p> <p>Diana started to turn and Marissa was shocked.</p> <p>"What? But can't I stay with you?"</p> <p>After taking two steps Diana stopped and turned to look at her again.</p> <p>"If you want to stay with me, you work. The kids and Jasmine were a great help in laying in firewood, and I need to get some more of that and then trap out some rabbits, do some fishing and maybe see what there is in the way of berries or seeds to store. You do know what season this is here, right?"</p> <p>Marissa nodded.</p> <p>"Its summer. The sun almost never sets now," she said with some confidence.</p> <p>"No. It is not winter. When it is not winter you prepare for winter. Preparing for winter is important because if you don't prepare for winter now, then you could be discovered frozen in the spring. I am not taking even one day off to do an interview with you during this season of preparation. I have plants to harvest, fish to catch, animals to hunt, and herbs to dry and it will be a very busy two or three weeks before I head south. I will be coming back and then it will be winter. Do you really want to be the one who caused me to become a frozen corpse here?"</p> <p>That shook Marissa who's only experience of the outdoors had been from an RV her parents owned, and most of that outdoors was pretty well used and attended to during the summer. In fact outside of two outings in her teen years and one during college, she had never had any real experience of the outdoors beyond the reach of modern civilization.</p> <p>"That's not... I don't, no."</p> <p>"All right. Have fun at the boathouse, I have work to do."</p> <p>Watching her move in her t-shirt with leather vest, leather skirt and leather moccasins save they looked more like some form of ballet slippers, and the satchel she carried along with the pistol on her pistol belt, Marissa began to understand what Candice meant when she said that Diana moved like nothing she had ever seen before. She had been warned that this would have an effect on her and it did. Deep inside her psyche, in the psyche of all mankind, was that which was Nature which responded to those things that were Natural and there was no way to describe that feeling without experiencing it.</p> <p>Marissa experienced this and couldn't help herself.</p> <p>"No, wait. I'll help!"</p> <p>Diana stopped and slowly turned her head to glance at her in a sidelong way that every model and actress of every age would die to have, and all of them died without it. There was a faint smile to go with it which was also something of Nature, too.</p> <p>"Only if you want to," Diana said softly.</p> <p>"I do," Marissa said in a soft tone in response and didn't know why she said it like that, in that way. Yet her heart told her it was the right thing to say.</p> <p>"Good, follow me and we'll find some real clothes for you, too."</p> <p>Marissa had picked up one or two outdoors kind of shirts, thicker cotton, and one good pair of jeans, plus shoes that should do as boots. But only the one set of them. In her entire professional career she had always thought herself able to deal with anyone, anything, always ready. This time she couldn't deploy bravado, threats, intimidation or anything else she had used to get to an interview, some hidden facts or just to dig up dirt on someone. This made her feel distinctly uneasy as she realized Diana was not going to help her with her luggage, and that meant lugging them up to the main building. Then came the final shock of seeing this woman, so slim and pale, walk so easily in the grass, never once turning an ankle slightly or tripping over undergrowth, and her hips and body always swaying to the rhythm of her stride. A stride of long legs, walking assuredly.</p> <p>A Natural stride.</p> <p>And it had a call to her all its very own.</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-52581619441747553722015-11-28T03:01:00.000-05:002015-11-29T08:04:17.895-05:00Earthrise: Chapter 1<p>He looked through the faceplate of his helmet at the six containers that surrounded a central container. All of the containers were cylindrical and the central one was much longer than the smaller ones surrounding it. Each of the outer cylinders had two large, black solar panel arrays sticking out from them and they were feeding the interior battery and fuel cell systems. His work on this trip was to get the much larger panels of the central cylinder out of their recesses and into their sockets that would allow them to change attitude as the entire system orbited the Earth. He had trained for two years for this work, learning the art of underwater welding at a small school that taught it in Texas while commuting to and from the Spaceport in New Mexico.</p> <p>His name was Karl Odistold and his age was somewhere in the upper range between late '30s to late '60s and no one could actually pin down exactly how old he was. He had started life as a worker in a stamping plant that took jobs for the automotive industry and large scale industrial parts, and then moved on to his passion working with motorcycles and cars. From there he got a reputation and spent time at Club Viceroy in San Francisco with an entertaining, friendly and man of all seasons co-owner and his lovely girlfriend, and for a few years they got a relationship going that wasn't exactly personal or really professional, but was entertaining to him by keeping him going to new places.</p> <p>One day Herman's sister walked into Club Viceroy and was about to be beset by an all-woman biker group while Karl was at the other side of the club manhandling equipment by the stage, as someone had to move those amps and he was the one to do the job. He smelled trouble from the start, saw the looks in eyes across the long expanse between the stage and bar area, even with people dancing nearby and others going between tables for the regular nightclub reasons.</p> <p>He knew it would mean trouble. The actual course of events played out before he had even rushed between the nearest tables wading through the dancers to try and stop what he knew must be coming. He didn't know that this was Herman's sister, of course since no one did. It wasn't an act of chivalry that drove him, but to save her from predation as he knew the women involved in the gang and they had their own way of doing business.</p> <p>Above him he watched as clouds passed over Alaska in summertime and he shook his head taking a moment after trying to fit one of the new engines in between the outer cylinders. It was a hybrid engine that would use not just rocket exhaust but capture electricity via the flow of the hot thermal fluid, for that is what rushing gas under high pressure is, and give a power boost to the new style ion engines. They could use the prior generation of them, of course, but Herman Lassiter wanted to get something to try and raise the efficiency of the already efficient but small existing forms of ion engines. Because those engines had a magnetic diversion that could put them into the combustion chamber that would then direct them into the rocket exhaust and ionize that, as well. As it combusted more atoms got stripped off into the central near light speed stream of the diverted ion flows and out the exhaust port. That exhaust port, by the very flow of the magnetohydrodynamic fluid had a captive static charge to it that excited exhaust would feel. Not much, true, but some, and the main beam would get a final boost through it as well. Faster exhaust, tighter beam and higher boost.</p> <p>Two years ago the first of these had flown and melted in orbit and had to be retrieved by the Japanese Apple Blossom Corporation which had licensed ALV designs from Ascentech. They had agreements with Ray that the space junk collection and salvage that the Japanese got wouldn't simply be de-orbited but put into a stable orbit that had the skeleton framework of the work platform so that it could retrieved it at a later date. The working platform was the next stepping stone of Ascentech on its way towards bigger and better things, and they meant to demonstrate their ability to reprocess materials in orbit. Herman Lassiter had contracted for a different orbit from the Japanese and retrieved the engine, had it given a 3D x-ray and sonic examination before finally cutting it apart and finding out what failed. For the Japanese this was a coup using remotely operated systems to do the work as that is all that could be delivered by them from the ALV-I generation of vehicles.</p> <p>The next prototype worked and worked well and the first hybrid conventional/ion design was born, giving a boost to standard exhaust gasses and yet able to change over to low impetus continuous thrust when major course corrections weren't needed. Continuous thrust at 0.01% g or 0.0032 ft per second squared or 0.00098 meter per second squared didn't sound like much to anyone, but keep it going for a full day and you started to get some actual velocity out of it. Put in 6 of those systems and you almost had something to talk about per engine system. Then gang them up and divert them into the standard expanding monofuel which had come apart due to electrostatic charge differences and was recombining to expand further as molecules went to a gaseous state. The simple electrostatic necking at the point of entry could be sustained by the solar panels, so even without the monofuel system the ion engines would still operate at their standard low thrust of nearly 0.2g. Finding an easy to ionize monofuel took some time, and candidates that could recombine and expand rapidly had to have this as a filter.</p> <p>Between Herman and Mason, along with help from Dennis, a group working on nano-encapsulation and pressurization of fluids in carbon nanostructures was found and funded to create the first encapsulation of liquid fuel compressed at high pressure and then fit into some of the largest nanostructures that could be assembled under those conditions and finished off to contain the final solid fuel. Those carbon structures were then attached to fibers stringing them together and having smaller, single atom structures close to the original Buckyball size, that would serve as the means for the recombination of propellant after it had gone into a gaseous phase and the entire set of structures pulled apart by that. From solid to gas was a large expansion factor and a single hexagonal plate that was thinner than a sheet of paper held a compressed liquid that was more than 3 times that volume. Yet each plate was stable, had a ceramic outer shell for rigidity, and was meant to exactly deliver the right amount of fuel to the specialized combustion chambers. Those were two truncated cones with the forward truncation having the combined ion beams coming in, and the rear being the electrostatically contained exhaust. Put a plate through an electrostatic field and it came apart into a gas, the gas decomposed and expanded to fill the chamber, and then the molecules broke apart delivering the actual starting thrust of the system. As that gas went through the ion beam some of the carbon that had disassociated was impacted by the ionized gas and electrons in the beam to become negatively ionized, in turn.</p> <p>It was not a marriage made in heaven as these systems were time consuming to make and then retrofit into the Orbital Aspect Station Increased Safety, but well worth it to make something that could change orbits using a smaller fuel budget if somewhat higher mass overall system. There was living space and docking ports in the forward section of the central cylinder and one each on the outer cylinders, although alternating ones were blocked off due to equipment changes to pack more guidance, control and essential life support gear into them. Five years in the making and the OASIS I was taking shape, with the OASIS II coming together at a somewhat lower orbit. It wouldn't need the retrofit job that Karl was doing now, and he looked from Alaska over to the Athena Type II which had been stripped of its rear passenger seat to allow for a larger fuel tank and one of the hybrid rockets.</p> <p>"I knew there would be trouble, that's night. Just got wrong who would need saving," he whispered to himself.</p> <p>In six years he had transitioned from motorcycles and cars to aviation, aerospace and now space, itself. He was one of the few certified space welders and had to invent some techniques over prior trips. A good weld held until the entire piece failed and here he could quickly heat and quench welds with a wave of the hand until they were thermally conditioned. Space was a pain to work in, he admitted, and he didn't like letting an automated system ferry him to and from Earth. But it beat sitting in a garage and offered a far better view.</p> <p>He got back to work on engine pod 6. At some point the old, conventional engines, could be removed to lower mass. Herman was thinking of maybe getting an orbital welding school going and he would need material for work. Ray Kaplan was thinking along the same lines at Ascentech, of course, and had started grabbing up all the free stuff the Japanese could deliver for pennies on the pound for scrap and more for actual working material. There was a new space race on, and it wasn't about who could found what or be the first to do something, plant a flag or even get some bubbles for tourists into orbit. No, this race was all about building platforms and infrastructure and Ascentech was proving to be the great freight hauler to space. If you wanted high cost heavy lift and immediate delivery to orbit, you went with the glamorboys. If it could wait a couple of months and you wanted to cut costs you went to Ascentech as they were still the only game in town, even after licensing their ALV-I designs. That was making some money for him, while Highflight started with the glamour money of pilots wanting to become astronauts at a couple million a pop. With money coming in steadily Highflight was making a place to go. Ray Kaplan was making a place to go to work.</p> <p>"Now all they need is artificial gravity," Karl muttered as he watched one of the compact plasma cutter/welders floating away from him on its tether. A yank brought it back so that it could then utilize the laws of motion to rebound and start drifting out again. "Zero-g is handy, but even the birds don't like it."</p> <p>He continued his work on the station so that it could have thrust and maneuver properly. In a few years the engine would be cited as the first jet plasma engine and anyone who wanted to get around in Earth-Luna space and even go beyond it would want something like it or just pay royalties to license its design. This space race didn't have a final objective, but it did have final goals.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>The axe bit swung into the tree again and again, the young woman wielding it was stripped down to a bare shift around her hips made of leather and a cut-off t-shirt that was soaking with sweat.</p> <p>"What's that noise?" the young boy who sat next to a young girl asked as he rose up from sitting on the stump of a long-ago felled tree.</p> <p>The girl stood up on the stump as she turned and looked into the sky to the south.</p> <p>The young woman stopped and left the axe embedded in the notch that she had been widening and stepped away from the tree to the two children.</p> <p>"What is it?" she asked softly as she knelt with a knee on the stump and a hand on each of the children's shoulders, looking up into the sky.</p> <p>"A plane!" the boy said.</p> <p>The girl pointed up to the break in the forest where the trail had been cut years ago that led down to the lake, and just coming over the line of hills a small plane was in silhouette against the sky.</p> <p>"Now who could that be?" the young woman whispered.</p> <p>The boy looked at her and then the girl turned to do the same.</p> <p>"Should we go down to see?" the boy asked.</p> <p>The young woman watched the plane which was making a turn and descending.</p> <p>"Yes, I think so. Mark you go get the Winchester, Lisa you can carry my Colt for me. Holstered and slung," she said looking at each of them and then back up to the sky. "Friendly, I think, but best to be sure. I'll be down just behind you as I finish up here."</p> <p>"OK, Aunt Di," the boy said. Lisa was going over to where Diana had put the pack down and took up the belt with the pistol, and she checked to make sure it had a magazine in before securing the leather strap across the backstrap to keep it secured. As Mark ran off she spent a few seconds securing the belt while Diana took up the axe and waited until the children were clear to put her whole body into the chopping motion once more.</p> <p>In three strikes the tree creaked and the last one was enough to start it falling away from the trail. She stepped back as it came crashing down and walked over to the pack to pick up her shirt and put it loosely on. She slung the light pack on, made sure the quiver was secured and leaning so that she could pick out arrows and took up her Yew compound bow. With low boots she needed to moderate her pace, but she still ran quickly down the hill. When she got down to the meadow she hurried on over it, sure footed and watched as Mark emerged from the cabin with the shotgun slung over his shoulder. It was awkward for his size, but she had made sure that they were both proficient with the 28GA shotgun.</p> <p>The plane had set down and she couldn't make out if it was the Super Cub that her friend Fritz Yalson used or a very similar one Ken Crow flew. The spray behind the engine was lessening and she thought she saw the telltale insignia of a wild-eyed blond man with a mug of beer on the pilot's door, which would mean Fritz. She increased her pace across the firm ground and was glad that black fly season was gone and now she only had to contend with mosquitoes and horse flies. Rounding a small set of trees she saw that both Mark and Lisa were waving at the plane and she could see Fritz waving back at them. Diana slowed a bit as the kids got to know Fritz from their trip up to her cabin and then on a visit to deliver some supplies that Diana had radioed for him to pick up. She left the radio on all the time, powered from the panels that she had shipped in over a decade ago along with the NiFe battery system that sat in a shed with a heater for the winter. Hermes had sent a satellite up-link system to her along with a small hydro generator that now sat in the small stream feeding the lake.</p> <p>Slowly Fritz swung the plane around as he came to the dock, and then swung out of the cabin once he shut the engine down. He tossed a rope to the two children, Lisa tying it off and Mark wrapping it around the post at the end of the dock.</p> <p>"Hello!" Fritz said as he waved at the kids.</p> <p>"Hi, Mr. Yalson!" Mark said.</p> <p>"It's nice to see you again!" Lisa said.</p> <p>Diana got to the dock and waved at Fritz, then used her hand to help guide the wing over the dock as Mark tied it off. Fritz jumped to the dock and wrapped a second leader around another post and pulled the plane in.</p> <p>"Unexpected surprise, Fritz," Diana said as she slid the pack off and set the bow down on it, and then hugged Fritz.</p> <p>"Ah, it is at that. Got a visitor for ya! Family just can't wait, you know?"</p> <p>As they let go, Diana turned to see a young woman slowly slide out from behind the pilot's seat and step on to the float of the plane.</p> <p>"Aunt Jasmine!" Lisa said as she stepped next to the float. Jasmine put her hand on a wing strut and stepped from the float to the dock, hugging each of the children.</p> <p>"Aw! Its good to see you two!! Uncle Herman told me you two were up here," Jasmine said closing her eyes to hug them both.</p> <p>"Its great to see you, Aunt Jasmine," Mark said smiling as she stood up slowly and blinked her eyes.</p> <p>"Yes it is, Jasmine," Diana said stepping past Fritz who was stepping onto the float and getting Jasmine's travel case out.</p> <p>Jasmine and Diana hugged each other and then looked into each others eyes.</p> <p>"I'm very glad to be here, Diana," she said blinking and then mouthed the words, 'I know' before hugging Diana again.</p> <p>The hug lasted a bit longer and when they broke, Diana looked into Jasmine's eyes for a moment and then looked at Fritz.</p> <p>"Got time to stay for dinner?" she asked.</p> <p>He looked at her, then up to the sky to the south and put his hand under the sun.</p> <p>"I've got clear sky for another hour, Di, and then we have a light rain front moving through. So I'll pass on that this time."</p> <p>Diana nodded and looked at Mark.</p> <p>"Mark, if you remember where I put the smoked venison..." Mark nodded, "... get two packages so that Fritz doesn't go away with nothing to show for the trip."</p> <p>"Hey, now! I got paid, already, this wasn't a freebie!"</p> <p>Diana looked at Jasmine as Mark ran back to the cabin, the shotgun jostling on his back as he ran, then looked at Fritz.</p> <p>"You'll spend five minutes on the flight check, just to make sure. Check the floats and then I'll have to get the hand pump out for them..." Fritz smiled and took his flying hat off and mopped at his face, "...then we'll have to tow you out just past the float so you don't tangle my weir..."</p> <p>Fritz put his hand up.</p> <p>"Enough already! You have me pegged, Di."</p> <p>Jasmine chuckled as she looked at them and shook her head.</p> <p>"Aunt Di, should I get the pump?" Lisa asked.</p> <p>"If you know where it is in the dock house," Di said looking at the ramshackle building that was partially in the water and on land that sat next to the dock.</p> <p>"I do!" Lisa said jogging down the dock.</p> <p>Diana shook her head as she watched Lisa go.</p> <p>"I was never like that," Jasmine said laughing, "but then mom and dad didn't take us to places like this."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Ray stepped out from the unfinished office area and looked up to see people working high above in the hangar on sections of the next vehicle. Next to him Alice squinted slightly at the bright lights that shone down to illuminate the entire interior and shook her head.</p> <p>"Well, this is becoming a march stolen, isn't it?" Ray asked.</p> <p>Alice shrugged and they walked out further into the enclosed facility to the place where the central section of the working space and looked at the work going on creating a large structure beneath the new vehicle being constructed above. To the far left of them smaller vehicles were being constructed, the second generation of the Ascentech Lift Vehicle line, the ALV-II.</p> <p>By small increments Ascentech had studied what it took to utilize the boundary between that which was atmosphere and could still be used for propulsion, and that vast region above the Earth that was relatively airless. They had started at nearly 20 miles above Earth and began delivering tons of payload to anywhere on the planet first with the ALV-I and then with the ALV-II. Ascentech wasn't a company doing the old form of hot transition between rarefied atmosphere and space, then back again, but the colder method of utilizing what lift was left in that region between 20 and 70 miles so that some of the more advanced payloads that contained actual rockets could move up from there and into orbit on their own.</p> <p>Ascentech was attempting to remove the first boost stage of the equation so that rockets that could take a free-fall high altitude drop could have some velocity, nearly 20% of that needed for orbit, and altitude, both. Customers who wanted to go to space had to live within the confines of what the ALV haulers could carry and very few customers appeared. The ground drop capacity continued to fund the business be it from funerary loads for deceased who wanted ashes scattered widely over the planet, to some of the first heavy equipment and lightweight structures that could be put at nearly any point on Earth.</p> <p>"Highflight is serious about getting longer term human capacity in space, Alice," Ray said as he looked at the simple scaffolding that would become a part of Ascentech's first modular industrial platform. "We need collection space, a capture pod, a smelter, cutter, then a reprocessing refinery or reprocessing system, gas capture..." he said ticking off points on his left hand using his right index finger.</p> <p>"We have are the skeletons for each of the ALV-II loads," Alice said looking to her right where a number of skeletal containers for the ALV-II were being worked on and fitted to deliver lightweight pieces to orbit. In the rear of each sat high second burn monofuel rockets that Ray had invested in through the old DOGIS group which had reformed into Space Logistics, Supplies and Research. Ray found that he was a co-investor with the Lassiter family and Highflight which also started investing in monofuels and in the second generation of ion drives plus funding separate R&D on hybrid engines. "And the first structural framing pieces are already in orbit."</p> <p>Ray stopped to turn and look at Alice.</p> <p>"You've seen what he has put together, Alice. I know you have been researching it and getting what you can from Herman and the rest of the family," Ray smirked for a moment, "we all have, I think. I'm guilty of it, too. But you're the one who has worked most closely with him, Alice. Those aren't just the monofuel design, and I've seen the particular listings for his fuels and they contain some copper, alumina and iron oxide in addition to the electrostatic breaking molecules that reformulate giving exhaust gasses. He has been working with that group of old techs at Setcore to make a different design of engine. No one has gotten the full configuration as all of the pieces are delivered as pieces and assembled by Highflight in-house."</p> <p>Alice shrugged.</p> <p>"He said that all the technical information on how to do this is freely available, and I believe him, Ray. The problem is that once you get into working with Herman, he will take a whole bunch of known stuff and put them together in a way that hasn't been done before. Our ALV-II and now the III have a huge amount of his influence in the design space. He made my designs more efficient and every tenth of a percent counts when you are going to orbit. The ALV-III is the last of its line and can barely keep a full payload at neutral buoyancy at 10 miles, and that presses the design envelope of 12 to 15 miles being a realistic target altitude. It is far more rigid body than the ALV-I or II are, and yet the whole vehicle flexes using the internal load shifting arrangement he designed which actually cut cost and mass over my designs, just as the overall shape of it does. We are going to be pushing something the size of a cargo jet into orbit and bringing it back and being able to use the density gradient of the atmosphere is key to that. He has an intuitive understanding of this beyond the numbers. Getting him to tell me anything about that hybrid design of his engines is... not impossible but...the best I've gotten from him is 'How would you do it, Alice?' and a smile."</p> <p>She chuckled looking up at the orbital platform that was slowly coming together above them and below the still growing ALV-III.</p> <p>Ray raised his eyebrows and waited for Alice to look at him once more.</p> <p>"Well? How would you do it?" he asked her.</p> <p>"Ray, its simple. I would contract to buy a few of them from Highflight."</p> <p>Blinking Ray looked at Alice and then around the hangar.</p> <p>"Just like that?"</p> <p>Alice shrugged.</p> <p>"Why not? Only half of the drop containers came from his group last year. He farmed that stuff out so fast we didn't notice it until we had loads being brought to us for drop from other organizations. Then you made an agreement with Fujikawa-Mohan's Apple Blossom group, which has an annual royalty payment with per-commercial payload drop coming back to us. I was livid when you did that, Ray..."</p> <p>Ray nodded and they started walking to the drop assembly area to their right.</p> <p>"I know, Alice. That non-compete clause has been a sticking point, especially during re-up. I pointedly told them that if they couldn't handle the domestic market for Japan, then I had a group from India that would love to cover their market and Japan's. I didn't know just how bad the Indian electrical infrastructure was, and there is no way we can build enough, fast enough to begin delivering light electrical systems on the scale they are proposing. Japan freight hauling would just be sauce on top of that and that was the only real threat I could use for Apple Blossom. The Jade group from India would have been overjoyed to get that work, of course, which was part of the negotiations."</p> <p>"Competition," Alice sighed.</p> <p>"Yes, and that has meant we can shift away from certain markets, like India and the Far East, work with other markets and continue on with our primary goal. Apple Blossom wanted to fly high and fast, but now they are in the cargo business, too. We gained cargo competition but bogged down their work to become an orbital clean-up organization. I know they will put together their own systems at some point, but for now their taking on the ALV series means they need to get a broader base of capability."</p> <p>They stopped talking as one of the major carbon fiber pipe cutters went into action far above them, cutting out yet another large structural member for the ALV-IV. They approached the pods for the ALV-II, one had the high second monofuel arrangement to the rear third of the vehicle, while the forward two-thirds was having systems installed in it, which included electrical systems and a swing out fitting for what would be a microwave laser. On the inside could be seen a vehicle that had small metal wheels that would gain traction on the roughest of soils, and beside the entire container a small platform with a hopper and set of folded down circles was being worked on. By the time they got there the cutter overhead sighed to a stop and the cut piece was being slowly moved out from the rest of the pipe suspended far above their heads.</p> <p>"It's just a bitter pill to swallow," Alice said as two of the people in Ascentech work jumpers started to fit a thin composite disc inside the unfolded piece.</p> <p>"We knew we would have to do some farming out," Ray said, "and that the dream was to be one step at a time. Small steps. Ones we could recover from if it failed. No one likes to work this way, Alice. Which is why we are actually getting material to orbit on a regular basis that isn't some damned government contract. We can deliver tonnage to orbit if the customer does the legwork. More material from more companies is going into orbit than in the prior decade before we arrived on the scene and that rate is only increasing."</p> <p>Alice sighed.</p> <p>"Herman has a plan, too, Ray. I don't know if he is a competitor or colleague or what...."</p> <p>Ray shrugged.</p> <p>"His brothers are more than willing to help us, though. And don't forget who brought them all in on this."</p> <p>She sighed as she turned to look up into the hangar, seeing all the incoming pipe that still had to be cut and fitted.</p> <p>"I won't...and after she helped she just...I miss her, Ray."</p> <p>"She said she wouldn't interfere with us once we got stood up," he said to her as she looked at him, "and I miss her too. She is as good as her word. None of them want credit for helping us and Herman is as close as you get to the limelight. Well, come on, its a long drive out to the spaceport and that is where Dennis and Gemma will be in a few hours. Home from home from home there at The Event Horizon."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Karl's got the recapture system in?" Dionysus asked as he looked from the screen at the spaceport control shack that Highflight owned. It was actually a half-mile from the actual facility and utilized comms links to coordinate with the satellite dish array run by the spaceport for all the companies that used it. Next to him was Regina who was sitting next to Mason Newcomb who ran SLSR, the old DOGIS spin-off group.</p> <p>"Yes, he has, Dennis," Regina said with a nod as her eyes shifted to check out the trajectory of OASIS.</p> <p>"That was one hard piece of work," Mason said, "an extremely compact air filtration and carbon dioxide breakdown system."</p> <p>Dionysus shrugged as he shifted in his chair.</p> <p>"Couldn't have done it without you, Mason. And Jasmine, too, since I could never figure out just which bacteria would need what for that entire system to run. Just as long as you don't get it over the carbonization point of the internal bacterial screen matrix, the entire thing can be kept in vacuum cold storage for years, at least, and put back to use in hours. Just add warmth, some humidity and carbon dioxide."</p> <p>He was proud of this achievement as it utilized techniques that were beyond his prior knowledge. Carbon nanotube structures were utilized by a system of bacteria that had natural consumption fungi embedded next to them. Layered beyond that were bacteriophages that would attack the surface layer of bacteria if the mold was eaten through. The dead bacteria would then be consumed by the mold which also served to inhibit the phages. The phages were replenished as the bacteria were killed, to replenish spent phages used in the culling of the bacteria required a mold.</p> <p>If the mold went after the phages they would find that the internal chemistry of the phages was toxic to them, die off and then the bacteria consume them. All of this system utilized nitrogen fixed by the mold to feed the bacteria, and the bacteria used the those compounds to take in carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. All it took was a small silver complex in the phages to get the system to run well, as the first thing the phage did on entering the bacteria was disassociate its outer membrane and get the cell to make copies of the phage. The first copy picked up the silver compound and the rest didn't, and without that they couldn't attack anything. Fungi cleaned up the phages, save for the one with silver as that was toxic to them, as well. As the bacterial cell membrane broke where the first phage came in the first one out left in that direction. The bacteria cleaned up the remains of the one that had died, the fungi, having run out of phages, went to a quiescent state, and the system renormalized.</p> <p>The nano-structure of the system allowed the nitrogen fixed carbon to serve as the feed stock for the fungi, which then would put out small amounts of nitrogen oxide and break down water molecules to create methane gas. The gas traveled up the carbon nanotube system via channel adhesion, through permeable membranes to a collector to be used for a low voltage fuel cell which ran a small osmotic system to take humidity out of the air and feed a portion of that back down the nanotube structure and the rest of it into a storage tank for the crew. It was difficult to get the system to balance out perfectly, but once enough screens were put in place it assured that there was always breathable oxygen in a normal atmosphere, which meant that only small reserve oxygen tanks for a few hours of use were kept on hand for an emergency.</p> <p>A much larger and more primitive version of this had been put together 3 years ago and fit into the ALV-I test system which had reached up to the 80 mile mark. It was a thorough proof of concept system at that point, and while it wasn't a perfect solution it pointed out how to improve it. Without his daughter Jasmine suggesting that some of the cells would form semi-isolated groups in a properly configured nano-structure, Dionysus was sure he would have failed. Now he had the basis for a thorough bio-reclaiming system that could easily be adapted for human waste products. There was still too much loss in the system for waste and if that wasn't handled well it would be a disease problem, so freeze dry and recover water and air was the best that could be accomplished.</p> <p>"That's excellent! I know the engines had priority, of course, and it isn't possible to thoroughly re-utilize the older components for the air system..."</p> <p>"Oh, he did well enough, Mr. Pennerton," Mason said, "and since you licensed the manufacture of the screen system to SLSR we are now getting interest from the space community on both the commercial and governmental sides. This is our first foray into this part of the logistics chain and it is a vast improvement over systems that are little changed since the 1980's."</p> <p>"Those are antiques, now, Mason. Still, the older systems can be refurbished, although that is on a by-project basis. Call me if you need me on that," Dionysus said standing up after looking at the screen which showed Karl getting into the Athena II. "I will have to take some training from him. Even at my age the entire flight is gentle enough to keep a large load from my weary frame."</p> <p>He bent down and kissed Regina on the cheek and she looked at him with a smile as she turned her head and reached up to hold his cheek steady for a return kiss.</p> <p>"Naughty!" he said with a laugh as he walked over to shake Mason's hand.</p> <p>"I learn from the best," Regina said.</p> <p>"Too true! Thank you for sitting through this with me, Mason. I needed someone with just a bit more technical knowledge than I have to make sure that Karl got the right equipment set-up."</p> <p>"My pleasure, Dennis. Where are you off to, now?"</p> <p>"Ah, yes! There is a bottle somewhere calling my name and I must find it. I'm off beyond the Event Horizon."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>After putting the two children to bed, Diana and Jasmine looked at each other as they sat on a wooden backed bench on the porch of Diana's cabin. She passed Jasmine's mug to her as she sat down, and then sipped at her own mug and set it on the small table in front of them.</p> <p>"So they finally told you," Diana said softly.</p> <p>Jasmine sipped at her coffee and watched the steam rise from it as she looked over it and at the lake beyond. At this time of year Alaska didn't have a true night, and it was somewhat disorienting to her to be up at what should be night and still be able to see pretty clearly the surrounding countryside.</p> <p>"Mom and dad did, yes. They were all there... Herman... Hermes..." Jasmine shook her head.</p> <p>Diana reached her hand out as she saw Jasmine tremble. Jasmine set her mug down next to Diana's and shifted to look at her, sliding her left arm up to Diana's right.</p> <p>"I wanted to tell you when you joined us, but I would not want to over-rule your parents, Jasmine. I wanted you to be welcome... with me if no one else... it is a hard transition to make from being young and full of knowledge to then have to apply it."</p> <p>Jasmine watched as Diana pursed her lips together.</p> <p>"You did..." Jasmine whispered, "I'm not... ahhh..."</p> <p>"I know," Diana said softly, "that is between us. Your life and love are beyond that."</p> <p>Jasmine looked at Diana who was smiling slightly. As she watched she saw the darkness of the lake and sky play across Diana's eyes. Jasmine inhaled as she felt emotions shift within her.</p> <p>"You really are... Artemis. You can do that with... well... any woman, can't you?"</p> <p>Closing her eyes, Diana sighed.</p> <p>"Jasmine... Artemis died when her father opened her with lightning for the third and final time," Diana shifted her head slightly to the left and winced. Jasmine shifted over to slip her arms around Diana as she saw her dealing with memories that only she could know in full. Diana held her tightly, softly saying, "I'm what's left. Diana."</p> <p>Jasmine remembered Brent saying that Diana, for all her appearances, wasn't a true adult but was dealing with a world in which she must act as one even though her spirit took her in different directions. None of them were willing to tell her what happened to Diana, what her life had actually been, and of them it was Regina and Tamara that told her that those things were for Diana to tell, alone. The woman who might appear just a few years younger than herself, and yet was older than any Nation on the planet, was someone she knew only as a cousin and loving cousin. More than loving once her reserve faded and she wanted to feel ashamed of what she had done, but couldn't summon up that feeling from anywhere. Only when the pieces of the puzzle were mostly revealed did she realize that this was something that Artemis... Diana... only could do. She worked with boys and girls, men and women, through all of life and across generations, but she could only show love in one direction. It was guilt-free love, however, as each of the women made clear to her after the shock of what they were faded.</p> <p>"You won't lose who you are," Regina said, "never that. It might show you what you can do, though."</p> <p>Of course she had already done those things by then, but even with some torn feelings Jasmine realized that who she was hadn't been changed and couldn't be changed, either. That love was shared with just one, and it was the one woman most skilled at this that ever lived. A wild woman who taught how to survive and care and frolic in the fields or hop through the snow.</p> <p>"Not just Diana," Jasmine said softly and slowly let Diana pull away. They looked each other in the eyes as Diana opened hers, Jasmine seeing her outline against the trees beyond the porch. Diana brought her left and up and cupped her cheek, to which Jasmine sighed and shifted her face to it.</p> <p>"You're a lot like..." Diana said softly and let her voice trail off.</p> <p>Jasmine shifted to look at Diana who gazed at her steadily.</p> <p>"Who...?"</p> <p>Diana smiled and raised an eyebrow.</p> <p>"Would you like to see?"</p> <p>"See? See what?"</p> <p>"Who you are like. Not in appearance but, ah, personality. Some at least."</p> <p>Jasmine looked puzzled as she couldn't figure out who it could be.</p> <p>"Ummm... sure, I guess..."</p> <p>Diana shifted and stood up and held her hand out to Jasmine.</p> <p>"You have an image manipulation package on your tablet, yes?"</p> <p>Jasmine took her hand and stood up, sliding into Diana's arms, hugging each other.</p> <p>"Good, get that and I'll bring our mugs. I have better lighting at the battery shack... the drop container to make things modern here... we'll go over there, together."</p> <p>"OK," Jasmine said as they let each other go, Diana moving around her to get the mugs of coffee and Jasmine going quietly back inside to get her tablet system from her room. She made sure the two children were still asleep as she kept the light on low in her room, fished her tablet from her backpack, and then padded across the floor in her sneakers to meet up with Diana again. Small lights glowed to life along the path to the drop container and she slipped next to Diana as they slid one arm around each others back.</p> <p>"So what are you going to show me?"</p> <p>"You'll see!"</p> <p>A slight press of the hand and they walked closely along the path and when they arrived at the container, Diana slipped away to open the door and turn on the bright overhead lights. Along one wall a bank of batteries sat and an inverter hummed, feeding power to the rest of the buildings Diana owned here. There was a table in the center of the space, and bunks along the side, and a small kitchen set up to the rear.</p> <p>"Take a seat and make sure your camera can get a decent image," Diana said walking past the central table and to a cabinet at the rear of the container. She opened that and started shifting boxes around, setting some on the floor and then taking out a set from the very rear. Jasmine sat on a wooden chair near the end that was at the center of the container as Diana came back with a set of manila envelopes. Jasmine booted her system and got ambient light readings, as well as color readings for the table. When she looked up from her screen she saw that Diana was shuffling through photographs that looked to be somewhat old.</p> <p>"Now which one would be best...? Hmmm... yes, this one..."</p> <p>She took a photo out and slid it on the table in front of Jasmine. Looking down at it she saw that it was an urban picture of a run-down part of a city with two buildings that had storefronts that were framed by painted bricks that made up the face of the building. In front of the face of the buildings was a sidewalk, and then a bench for a bus stop, and that looked to be made out of cast iron with painted wood between the two uprights. The photo was taken from across the street and framed the window of one shop and part of another on the right, the bench and sidewalk were just a bit up from the road and sunlight was coming from the right hand side of the image.</p> <p>"There. Do you see her?"</p> <p>"Her?" Jasmine asked looking at Diana, "Diana, there is no one in the image."</p> <p>Diana smiled, light twinkling from her eyes.</p> <p>"Capture the image and let me know when you have it."</p> <p>Jasmine raised an eyebrow and stood up to look down and used her image processing software to get a live shot from the camera on the back side of her system. She adjusted it until if fit in the image screen and took a still of it, then sat down. Diana slid the photo to the side and looked down at the captured image.</p> <p>"Let me equalize the light..." Jasmine said to adjust the color and contrast in the picture. She glanced at Diana who now sat next to her after pulling her chair over, her arm resting across Jasmine's shoulders.</p> <p>"Good! Now you see no one there, right?"</p> <p>Jasmine nodded.</p> <p>"Yes. Nice still capture, not that artistic, though."</p> <p>"See anything wrong?"</p> <p>Zooming the image in Jasmine started to look at it, using her fingertips to move it around, zoom in closer at some spots and then back out again. She panned across the image and saw something, panned back and looked at the large window behind the bench. There was a partial reflection of the top of the bench in the window. There was also the back of a head showing, and one arm outstretched along the top of the bench.</p> <p>"What the...?" Jasmine asked softly as she zoomed in more. She couldn't see the full outline of the head. "That's not someone in the store, is it?"</p> <p>Diana smiled and shook her head negatively.</p> <p>"It's... no it can't be a ghost, they are always looking at you... at least no one has ever captured the back of the head of one...not that I believe in ghosts, of course."</p> <p>Shrugging slightly Diana continued to smile.</p> <p>"Pan down," she whispered in Jasmine's ear.</p> <p>Jasmine panned down the picture and didn't know what to look for as there was only bench and sidewalk, with road in front of them stretching towards the camera.</p> <p>"Do you see?"</p> <p>"What am I looking for?"</p> <p>"Shadows," Diana whispered.</p> <p>Pulling back from the scene a bit to show more of the sidewalk and bench, Jasmine looked at the shadows and then saw, near the mid bench at the sidewalk, that there was a shadow there and it stretched out with the shadow of the bench in the same direction.</p> <p>"I see... I mean there are shadows but nothing is casting them..."</p> <p>"Oh, no. There is something there to cast it. Your mind doesn't allow you to see it, though. Forgetfulness creates a blind spot and your mind fills in what was there."</p> <p>That made Jasmine feel uncomfortable and she looked at Diana who softly smiled as she turned to look at her.</p> <p>"But you cannot fool something that is not self-aware... and animals are immune to it. Even some children. Now there are a few things I did learn over the years, here and there. You have a modeling package that works with this, yes? Part of your bio-studies, I believe..."</p> <p>"I do, yes. Don't do much between images and that, though."</p> <p>"Well if you know the imagery software a bit better, lets try that. What you need to do is desaturate the image, and do a contrast tracing for outlines."</p> <p>"OK, I can do that, at least."</p> <p>Jasmine copied the image to a file and then brought up the desaturation and image tracing routines. They worked in mere blinks of an eye and when less than two heartbeats she could see the outline of a woman sitting on a bench in front of the stores. Wide eyed and gasping she looked at Diana and then all the pieces fell into place.</p> <p>"Athena," Jasmine whispered.</p> <p>A tear trickled down Diana's face from her right eye as she nodded.</p> <p>"But why can't I... see her?"</p> <p>"That is Athens," Diana whispered, "it is her domain. Yet she can never know that. She's forgotten it. Every morning is a new day to her with none before and none after it. Her city still has her, and she has it. She has forgotten it and cannot let it go and it... has forgotten her and will not let her go. Well, not yet, anyway. I'm going to change that and set my sister free, Jasmine. She deserves better than where she is."</p> <p>Jasmine saw Diana close her eyes and shake with sobs. Quickly she turned with her chair to hold Diana and slowly bring her down to sit on her lap.</p> <p>"I love her so much... so very much...and she is the best that ever was... and she will be free even if it costs me all that I am to do it."</p> <p>Jasmine held Diana as she cried and looked at the outline of the slim young woman in jeans and shirt, sitting on a bench, with flowing black hair going over her shoulders. Gently she shifted one hand over and brought some of the saturation in from the image layer and the moment she did the figure disappeared again.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Economics hasn't killed the airshow, has it?" Ares asked Gemma as he sat with a 4 year old Kyle on his knee and Tamara set down a carryall bag by the table.</p> <p>"Not so far, Aaron," she said looking at the interior of the Event Horizon which was a combination of Western Desert, Experimental Aircraft and Early Space motif, with a mural going from desert scrub with a wagon trail, mountains in the distance, blue sky contrails above the desert and just overhead the darkness of space showing the Paladin dropping its spaceplane and the ALV-II dropping an Athena I. "Its just far enough on the outskirts of Athens that rioters haven't disturbed it. And since it reclaimed a couple of old Olympiad venues, mostly scrapping them but keeping a few historic buildings, the actual show, itself, might just run in the black."</p> <p>Tamara sat down and held her arms out to Kyle who looked at her and then at Ares and shifted to hug Ares.</p> <p>"Well he seems set on you, today," she said with a smile.</p> <p>"War is also about dealing with the aftermath, my love. If fierce in battle, it is destructive to be so with those who survive its passage, which are mostly children. Camp follower children also suffer when their side is over-run. Getting the genocidal part of warfare burnt out has been one of the hardest tasks I've ever had in life. I've seen the results of the scorched earth campaigns and leaving no one alive, and want nothing of them as they assuredly make an army into a barbaric force faster than anything else known to anyone."</p> <p>"It's good parenting," Gemma said with a smile, "and I would never have expected it from you."</p> <p>Carefully he turned Kyle around to face the wall, and Kyle looked up at Ares, who then leaned him back looking down at his face and gently shifting from side to side. He gave Tamara a look and gently slid their son into her arms and Kyle barely realized that he was being transferred until it was done, and by then his eyes were slowly closing.</p> <p>"Any man who can't care for the weak, defenseless and those who took no part in any conflict has no right to call himself a man. Male, perhaps, although that is in doubt on a scale other than biological. Kyle is normally in bed, asleep at this time, but our schedules are such that this was the only way to go."</p> <p>"You did run him around a lot over at the Highflight hangar," Gemma said.</p> <p>Ares leaned over to kiss Tamara as she gently rocked Kyle. Then she looked over at Gemma, "A good day that needed oversight that he couldn't do. Karl has done his work and the OASIS I is now running through its test prep, checking out the multiple ion system installs. The air system has had its regenerative screening installed, closed up and fit properly to the interior cabin space. All the fuel links to the outer containers was already done a year ago after it had been overhauled to go from binary fuel to monofuel. That central cabin and rear engine system had only been partially assembled by Herman a month ago, and he concentrated on moving all the panels out to their external hex-points and getting that main container's larger set positioned forward. Those thin-film coatings aren't the most efficient but when you are only adding a few grams per square meter on the interior container casing used to make the solar arrays, that makes for an overall more efficient system per kilogram."</p> <p>"It has been a piece by piece affair," Gemma said looking at Tamara and then Ares. "No one has caught on to what the system can actually do, yet, have they?"</p> <p>Ares saw Brent coming from behind the bar and walking over to them, leaving a woman they had hired for the late afternoons and early evenings behind him.</p> <p>"Hello, everyone! Where's Dennis? He should be here by now, shouldn't he? And the Ascentech crew, I'm expecting them in the next hour, have their table ready for them, too, out in the other room for some privacy."</p> <p>Gemma half stood to give Brent a hug and a kiss on the cheek and Tamara just smiled mouthing 'hello' to him.</p> <p>"Hello, Brent," Ares said, "Anyone outside of the family figure out the OASIS I configuration yet?"</p> <p>"Its good to see you," Gemma said to him as she let go.</p> <p>"And me, you, Gemma," Brent said as he gave her a return kiss on the cheek before she sat down.</p> <p>Brent shook his head negatively as he looked at Ares.</p> <p>"Everyone knows it has decent delta for its mass, Aaron. The main speculation is that we will be using it as a rest platform for either Ascentech or Apple Blossom or that Jade Group that Ray is in talks with. If OASIS can shift orbits at a decent rate to match defunct satellites, then it will earn fees while towing recovery or processing equipment, which is a money maker."</p> <p>"Well that is what the OASIS II will do," Tamara said, "they both need better physical shielding, though, no matter what Herman has thought up, a speck of dust moving at 1/4c will severely damage just about anything in orbit. I'm glad the Apple Blossom group wants that clean-up job, really. The first two generations of space exploration have left a huge and dangerous mess behind them."</p> <p>"That's putting it lightly, Tamara. Some of the mil-side is to blame for that as their early ASAT weapons just wanted to break something apart, not deal with the resulting mess. Once you realize what was left behind, the military bravado sounds just a bit tin-eared."</p> <p>Ares shrugged. "That is war. If it was meant to be clean and nice they would have called it peace."</p> <p>"So no one knows?" Gemma asked.</p> <p>"If so it hasn't filtered back to me," Brent said, "and when the ISS had to get its crew to someplace safe a couple of years ago, it was OASIS they went to. And it wasn't even fully working, just a place where if you had to stay a day or two and not die because your air system is bleeding carbon monoxide, then its perfect. They couldn't fit everyone into the capsule to get to Earth and really just needed someplace to hang-out until a set of new fittings and flexible tubing arrived. So that is what is set in the mind of everyone and its named for that. Engines to ferry people and other equipment around and everyone is excreting bricks for not having something like it."</p> <p>"Great," Tamara said smiling as she looked at Brent, "its perfect, really. A test platform for new engines and technology."</p> <p>"And not something to go outside of the Earth-Moon orbit," Ares said in low tones, "now all we need is a pilot."</p> <p>"And a passenger," Gemma said with a smile, "don't forget that."</p> <p>"Never," Ares whispered, "because if we accomplish nothing else, then that will be enough."</p> <p>"And Ray is already supplying the dead-load to drop off at the Moon," Brent said with a smile, "he wants to see just what happens when highly ionized gas interacts with a plasma jet that has its own, strong, electrostatic pull. The gases can't go much off course, but they can be accelerated. Amazing what you can do with water, isn't it?"</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Ray, Alice, Harry Nordhaus and Kevin Penk got to the table at Event Horizon that was on the right hand side of the building. It normally handled overflow from the bar and grill area, but had doors that could be closed for private parties like weddings and business meetings. Hermes closed the doors, pulling them shut, and sat down between Regina and Brent, with Ares and Tamara to their right. Dionysus and Gemma were at the small bar in the room and also took the incoming salad, nachos which were on a side buffet, and they went between the bar to the main table to deliver drinks.</p> <p>They had already shaken hands, gotten their drink orders in as well as their regular orders after getting small bowls and plates for the appetizers. Hermes had been the last in as he had come from the production facility.</p> <p>"So, Ray, you said on the phone that you have a proposition for me," Hermes said, "and I thought it would be a good idea to discuss this with the principles invested in my company. I believe that my cousin Aaron still has a minority stake in Ascentech as well," he said looking at Ares who nodded, as did Tamara who had pulled up a high chair at the end of the table for Kyle, who was now trying to figure out just how to get some guacamole onto a soft tortilla, "and my cousin who has Dennis and Gemma here for her since she is also in a similar position."</p> <p>Ray nodded as he looked at Harry.</p> <p>"Yes, they do, Mr. Lassiter, although they wished to be put into a non-voting position for Ascentech while you cashed out, completely."</p> <p>"Except for the contract work you do for us," Alice said with a smile looking at Herman, Regina and Brent, "which is reflected across the design of all our ALV systems. We wouldn't be here today without your insights on how to handle the transient atmospheric boundary layer."</p> <p>Hermes raised his eyebrows and nodded as Gemma and Dionysus came by with the various drinks for everyone. After that they wheeled an urn of coffee over to the sideboard, then transitioned to the end of the table nearest the bar to sit down.</p> <p>"If you need refills don't be afraid to ask," Dionysus said.</p> <p>"Coffee and tea are at the sideboard," Gemma just as she started work at the salad she had served up for herself.</p> <p>"Thank you, both of you," Ray said, "and you're both welcome here not just for representing Miss Sherwood, but have input into both our companies via Mason's companies and design works. We have come along way from the piece-together designs for atmospheric and waste disposal for our systems that have started to become very important to Ascentech. I heard that you aren't making much as the designer of those systems..."</p> <p>"Ah, Ray," Dionysus said, "I'm not so much the designer as just the person who suggests some ways to have a system work. My daughter and Mason's design team are the ones who have made my feeble suggestions into reality. Gemma and I need only enough to pay our bills, keep a roof over our heads and cover the costs of living which still include helping my son's family run the family store in Washington."</p> <p>"Plus throw parties," Ares said looking down the table at his brother.</p> <p>"Well naturally! That is part of the cost of living, you see," he said looking at Ares who had shifted his gaze to Gemma who had problems swallowing a bite of her salad as she obviously wanted to laugh and had to deal with the swallowing part first.</p> <p>"And those are much appreciated, really," Kevin said. "It's not just a management thing, either, but the crews of both companies getting together, at least as their schedules allow, for those cookouts at our facilities. That first one here, at the spaceport was huge, as you just opened up the doors to anyone who wanted to come in. The Spaceport Outdoor Party is just as important to those working here as it is to our companies."</p> <p>Hermes smirked.</p> <p>"Things were a bit dull around here. The Event Horizon had to be put on the map, too, and that worked out very well, especially when one of the motels went belly-up and the weekly boardinghouse got set up just down the street."</p> <p>"Its kitchen sucks," Regina said, "and the grocery store's mark-up is horrible. I wouldn't charge those prices at the Viceroy and that was just outside the financial district in San Fran."</p> <p>"Ghastly and shocking," Dionysus said winking at Regina and then turning to look at Ray, again, "and while I'm not an investor in your company or my cousin's, you have both made me feel at home and like a team member."</p> <p>Ray remembered that first party in the summer just after the Athena Prototype blew up, nearly taking Aaron Culpepper's life as he parachuted into an upland blizzard. He was the worst for wear, but recovered and was able to pick up his duties later in that year, by which time the Lassiter family had their two children to contend with. The spirits of Aaron had seen him through that disaster to come out the other side with his Astronaut's Wings with Parachute. It was a shock to everyone when Diana Sherwood was at the controls of the Athena I's maiden voyage, as Herman was far too along in his or her pregnancy to actually fly. She had come back two years later to be the 5th pilot of the Athena II, a larger version of the Athena I able to just fit in the ALV-III. The Athena II was a true space plane and not just an atmospheric skipper that could dash up to an orbital refueling station that OASIS started out as. Even with that and able to carry nearly a half-ton into orbit beyond the mass of the vehicle and its propellant, the Athena II was only being used as a passenger to orbit vehicle for those willing to pay the exorbitant cost to use it as such. It could be remotely operated and had autonomous systems derived from an open source avionics package that Highflight had sponsored, just like the Athena I, and only in that capacity of transporting people to work on facilities did it see much action.</p> <p>The Athena I was not out of the budget of wealthy people who were willing to pay the money to Highflight to get training and then actually fly an Athena I to get an Astronaut's Rating. Kevin had worked long and hard to retrofit the ALV-I prototype and entire Mark I series to get past that 65 mile mark which it could do but not much more as the design limits of the airframe were obvious at that point. The Athena I Mk. I could make 300 miles and OASIS, which held spare fuel for it because it would arrive nearly empty. At some point Herman had indicated that the entire Athena I set of systems would be moved to solid fuels in their Mark II and III versions, with the Mark I still used for its market of Astronaut Rating Certification. In that field only the Paladin System was a close equivalent and the company behind that less willing to risk its vehicles to the freshly trained. There was a wide gap between a spaceplane going to orbit, like the Paladin's Charger drop ship, and the Athena I aerospace plane and its larger II version which kept to similar build lines. The Charger was just that, and it could charge into orbit and then fly back. The Athena line you flew into orbit, maintained orbit and then used atmospheric skipping to shed velocity before doing a final retro-burn to kill the majority of what was left between 45 and 95 miles.</p> <p>Kevin Penk held the Astronaut's Rating on both the ALV-I Prototype and Athena I, and that was only superseded by Diana Sherwood who had the triple rating but couldn't sweet-talk those behind the Charger for training and certification. She had smiled at Ray before she left for Alaska saying that you should never turn away a paying customer who could pay the freight. Ray was proud to have her as one of the larger silent partners in Ascentech, and unlike others, including himself, she had just let any income from that investment get plowed right back into the company. If she did that for another few years, then she would be the single largest investor in Ascentech and Ray, after talking with his wife, couldn't decide if they needed the extra cash that was paid out from net profit more than ownership of the company, outright with the initial investors. It was rare when a silent stakeholder held the largest stake in a company, and it usually meant that, at some point, that investor would seek control over the company.</p> <p>Ray shook his head as he knew this was the way things had come to operate with the distributed family that had stepped in to get Ascentech going. They operated on their own terms and didn't think much about it. At times it was frustrating but as the attitude started to spread to Ascentech, there was little he could do about it.</p> <p>"And you are, Dennis, believe me!" he said. "Now before I get side-tracked again, I would like to find out if those new hybrid engines you have been testing out for the past year are for sale or not? Even a standard ion engine system with scaled down solid fuel system would help us as one of our principle suppliers for orbital adjustment parts has gotten behind on delivery due to parts fabrication problems."</p> <p>Hermes sat back as he knew the companies that Ray worked with, and they were generally top of the line in the industry for rocket and thruster components. So he could guess which company he was talking about due to some of its past notorious problems with quality control from fabrication overseas and rework in the US. As the valves were crucial components of liquid fuel systems, they had to meet stiff tolerances and when they didn't disaster was the result. A slip in supply with them would delay the entire build-out schedule for rocket components.</p> <p>"Well, if you really do need them..." Hermes started turning to look at Brent and then at Ray again, "...how soon do you need them?"</p> <p>"Last week," Ray said, "We are behind schedule on our build-out schedule for the test Lunar drop during the airshow. We could use solids for the landing portion, but the orbital mini-array for beamed power needs at least ion engines for attitude adjustment and probably the entire hybrid system for long-term operations and the other organizations we can talk to are putting years on their time-lines when we need weeks."</p> <p>Hermes raised his eyebrows and turned to look at Regina.</p> <p>"I don't think we should have much of a problem, but it will put us back on the Athena II line and the OASIS II."</p> <p>"Nuada will have a fit," Regina said softly.</p> <p>Ray looked at Regina and saw Dennis looking over his shoulder as the staff started to wheel in trolleys with their dinners.</p> <p>"I'm sure my daughter has an answer for that," Dennis said getting up and looking at Gemma.</p> <p>Gemma smiled as she got up as well.</p> <p>"That is one reason she is in Alaska after all. We do need our lightest pilot for this job and she beats every other candidate by almost 20 lbs."</p> <p>Ray turned as he saw some motion, and it was Aaron turning to look at Tamara, who shrugged.</p> <p>"There really is no other way."</p> <p>"Ray, you have a deal. We'll talk cost over dinner, but we both need this to happen and on schedule," Hermes said standing up to hold his hand out to Ray.</p> <p>Ray stood up and shook his hand and looked at Hermes.</p> <p>"I know it will cost, Herman. But it will be worth every penny."</p> <p>Hermes shrugged as he let go of Ray's hand.</p> <p>"Cost? Just money. Price? It has a value beyond what any cash can buy."</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-67685088644438157412015-11-28T03:00:00.000-05:002015-11-28T10:02:26.565-05:00Earthrise–Introduction<p>She awoke huddling next to a dumpster in an alleyway. With a start her green eyes blinked open and her long wavy black hair shifted as she put a hand on a cobble in the alley to steady herself. Overhead the sky could be seen turning a lighter shade of blue as night disappeared as the sun rose. Glancing at her mottled green and white tunic, dark blue pants and sandled feet she slowly shifted to get herself upright. Her right hand slid down to the belt around her waist, and felt that under the wide belt there was another beneath it and the slim knife in its sheath there under the wider belt. On the other side her left hand felt the leather of large pouch and she glanced down to look at it.</p> <p>"That's a holster..." she said and slid a well worn piece of leather up through its hasp to allow her to see what was inside. Her right hand moved to take out a revolver and she looked at it as she turned it to first one side and then the other. "It wasn't made here," she whispered and then turned it to look at the letters along the barrel, "Webley. Who or what is Webley?"</p> <p>She brought her hand up and let the cylinder move to the side and turned the gun to check the chambers, and then pressed the release to eject the cartridges into her other hand. She inspected them one-by-one and looked at the last one in her hand which was spent. Carefully she put in in a pocket of her tunic and reached over to a pouch on the right hip and took out a case that held ten cartridges. She picked one out and put it in the cylinder and pushed it back into place, carefully moving it to make sure it had properly aligned and the cylinders registered at firing stops.</p> <p>She shifted the revolver back to the holster and secured it again.</p> <p>"Why am I armed?" she said in a whisper and shook her head. Carefully she looked towards her right which ended in a brick wall built into a hillside. Stepping out to the edge of the dumpster she could see a road beyond the two buildings. A small car drove by, and then another, followed by a third. She heard voices, a man saying something to a woman and then he appeared walking from the right hand building across the alley and then to the road.</p> <p>"Excuse me," she said walking towards the man. He didn't stop his pace and disappeared from view. She hurried to the end of the alley and looked where he had went, and he was still walking down the sidewalk. She hastened to walk towards him. "Excuse me, sir?" she said as he went around a silver toned car and got in the driver's side and shut the door. As she reached the car he had started it and started to drive off.</p> <p>"Please! Don't go!"</p> <p>A woman dressed in a brown outfit with a name tag and a small store logo walked briskly towards her.</p> <p>"Miss?" she asked as the woman came closer. She stepped out to get in front of her.</p> <p>"Miss, can you help me?"</p> <p>The woman continued walking and took out her cellphone, dialing a number as she walked. As she came closer she shifted slightly to pass by the side of the woman.</p> <p>"Please, Miss! Can you help me?"</p> <p>The woman's call connected and she started talking to her friend.</p> <p>"Can't you hear me?" the woman asked softly, "Can't you hear me? All I want to know is where I am..."</p> <p>She trailed off and looked at the ground.</p> <p>"Who I am. Who am I?"</p> <p>Looking up to the sky she saw a plane pass over head.</p> <p>"I'm supposed to be... someplace, I think. I don't know where."</p> <p>Turning she ran down the sidewalk after the girl but she had gotten on a bus that was now pulling away from the curb. She saw others walking towards her and tried to stop them to ask them for help. None responded, and no matter what she did they avoided her, stayed out of reach, and she was not ill-inclined towards any of them and was unwilling to even touch them until she could figure out what was going on.</p> <p>"Am I a ghost?" she asked quietly. Then, smiling she shook her head. "Ghosts don't get hungry. Or need to use the lavatory. Let me see if I can find someplace where I can get something to eat."</p> <p>With that set in her mind she started walking towards what she was sure must be a more commercial area.</p> <p>Along the way she passed ground floor apartments and in one there was a dog leashed up on the patio. She didn't notice it, but the dog, with its head on its paws, shifted its eyes to follow her passage. Normally it would get up and bark at anyone getting too close to the fence between the apartment and the patio, but it didn't do that with her. While its owner slowly got going in the apartment, the dog knew that this was not really his property. Nor was the dog going to contest territory with someone who had all of the land around it under her. While the dog didn't know her name, it knew who she was. This was her land and all those in it were merely passing through it. And you never, ever barked at someone like that. It just wasn't done.</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-18166341169655293752014-08-13T12:50:00.000-04:002014-08-13T13:34:18.405-04:00Tangled Web–Epilogs<p><b>Epilogs</b></p> <p>Looking up from the case, Lisa looked at Erin Norris and then turned and they hugged each other.</p> <p>"I'm so glad to be back," Lisa said.</p> <p>"I'm sorry, Lisa, I never thought anything like this..." Erin started and tears streamed down her face.</p> <p>Selina shook her head and shifted the box with the feline sarcophagus up from the floor where she had set it down.</p> <p>"Lisa, if you need a place to stay for awhile..." she said as Erin and Lisa let go of each other.</p> <p>"I... Selina, I couldn't..."</p> <p>"Miss Choi," Frank said, "to everyone outside of this room, you are still dead."</p> <p>A sudden silence fell over everyone who looked at her.</p> <p>"I might be able to..." Bruce started, looking at Lisa, "... find a way for you to start a new life. All that befell you did happen on my property, after all."</p> <p>Loren sucked in her breath looking at Tom and then Bruce. "Mr. Wayne that's... it would take awhile, wouldn't it?"</p> <p>"Yeah, it would," Frank said looking at Loren, then Vivian, Tom and finally on Lisa. "Still, it would be harder to explain actually being still alive and an empty grave."</p> <p>"But..." Lisa started, her eyes wide, "...I... my apartment? Clothing?"</p> <p>Erin shook her head slowly.</p> <p>"Your family, back in California, they... didn't want it or any of Mark Re's belongings, either. They were..."</p> <p>"Donated," Dr. Gotham said.</p> <p>Lisa turned to look at him with an unreadable expression on her face.</p> <p>"Luckily I was on hand to help out, along with Barbara and Erin. Sadly, many of your items and personal effects have been donated to charity to help the disabled and destitute. Those items which I judged of needing to be in the right place, those are with me."</p> <p>Dr. Gotham smiled.</p> <p>"They're... what?" Lisa asked, bewildered.</p> <p>"In my shop. Indeed those items that you were not buried with, an assortment of rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and other such items that were of value are in my shop in a box as I had much to do with some urgency in the weeks following prior events that led to your placement in the cemetary."</p> <p>Lisa started to smile as she looked at Dr. Gotham.</p> <p>"They are yours, of course, and those you do not care for you can exchange for other items. But, beyond that, may I point out that being in a legal state of deceased is only a problem if you seek to pick up a life similar to the one you had. If you would prefer a new life, starting with the few friends you know here, then I can offer you good employment and a long-term place to stay. That is an easy enough thing to do when looking for a new shop, and I'm afraid that with Henry Swanson now retired and his son, Louis, of only moderate interest in my shop, that I will require someone to work those hours that I do not work so that the ebb and flow of pieces can continue. Your legal state of being is of no matter to me or my Shop. And I suspect that I would need to train you very little in the mundane parts of shopkeeping, and that you already have some experience with some of the more different aspects of items that are out of the ordinary. Which tends to be my stock and trade."</p> <p>"Work for... you?"</p> <p>"Well, for the Shop, yes. Truly, it is very rare that someone with exceptional background ever becomes available like this. That is all part of the way the Shop works, of course. Bringing the right people together with the right things. My offer will remain open, Miss Choi, as you are very much a unique person that does deserve a better situation in life."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p><i>Affinity </i>had allowed it to weave events.</p> <p><i>Affinity </i>had bound places together which should never be bound together, that done by a nexus.</p> <p><i>Power </i>had driven it from where it had <i>affinity </i>across the nexus and into a different place, where, soon after, the nexus disappeared and all <i>affinity </i>was lost.</p> <p>This place was in the outer realms of the cosmos it had entered, in a set of spaces and places that had a timeless time to them, and was a place only visited for those seeking the safety or terror of their dreams. Here it was unburdened by the binding to the jewel it had been in and had <i>affinity </i>with, and now that link to that piece had been severed most cleanly, by the nexus. It had not formed cults nor sought worship, and only a very few of those that had similar form to it knew that it actually existed at all. They would not have the <i>power </i>to find it, free it, and allow it to the more open other spaces in this cosmos of universes.</p> <p>It sat behind a fold of red cloth looking out past white cloth and into a gray sky that held a hanging dust from a desert far below. The stand upon which the cloth was shrouded was of a cold substance that it had thought, at first, was wood or petrified wood. Only investigation showed that it was bone, rugged bone, darkened by some unknown power ages ago. It was not even complete limb bones but mere shards of bone fashioned by some unknown force into this stand for the cloak.</p> <p>When first coming to this universe of universes, this cosmos that contained so many places, it knew that this was a place to avoid because of the free ranging powers here. Some were latent in the place itself, a dreaming foreverness of a mind dead, or maybe only dead yet dreaming. Great-great grandchildren of that power, mere shadows of vestiges of their parent, exercised their tiny bits of <i>power </i>as they would, and each of them was much greater than the <i>power </i>it had to use. It could weave of <i>affinity</i>, tug on the cords of it, and see if what it wove gave it what it wished to have. There were no cords of <i>affinity </i>here, at least not within the safety of the folds of cloth upon the stand that held it. The ancient, blasted bone belonged here. As did the cloth, although it did not start here it was now of here, and that meant it could be in no other place, and had been here for so long that it no longer had any Maker's <i>affinity </i>to it.</p> <p>Scurrying to the top of the hood to peer out from under it, it attempted to look down past the Precipice, and could only see one thin amount that looked down from where it was, and rarely did it see anything but sand. What it did see where the dreams of those of Chaos who dreamt here and they were not ones that it wanted anything to do with.</p> <p>It was not lost, it knew with an exacting awareness of where it actually was, and that there was no real way to escape here.</p> <p>A flash of darkness against gray also told it that it was not alone.</p> <p>It scurried back into the hood and out of sight as it felt a rush of air that wasn't air roll down from the sky as great wings flapped. Taloned claws gripped the rock and it caught only the flash of scales going by the hood for an instant. That which perched here wanted nothing to do with the cloak, and was satisfied to just sit and watch, seeking to espy those that needed ending. The keenest of eyes would see it if even a tiny part of one leg was out to where the creature that was the Guardian of the Precipice could see it. The cloak offered it haven, safety, and, ultimately, nothing else beyond that. It could not don the cloak, wear it or even deal with the fine cloth of it, as its cunning maker had endowed it with some thread that would entangle it if it even tried to undo it. There were weavers and Weavers, and the one who made this was of the latter sort, while it was merely of the former.</p> <p>Only one errant bit of windswept sand made its way inside the hood of the cloak, and that it snagged.</p> <p>It was something to do, after all, collecting of sand and dust.</p> <p>And it had an eternity to do it in.</p> <p>Collecting it grain by grain.</p> <p>Forever.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>In the depths there are chambers formed by creatures great and small, often done by enticement of those of the deep to make them the places they wish so as to protect them from the ravages of the surface dwellers. In ancient times they had called one of the great burrowers through rock to make a system of tunnels and lairs beneath what would be their reef home, and it is there that those lived in the depths sought shelter when need be. Last to be Eaten was also there, his place in the far depths of the network of tunnels beyond which any surface dweller could find or navigate to. Glowing algae that lived in the water and in the humid air in the chamber gave it more than enough light for the People of the Deep to see by. They could breathe air, of course, but not well which meant that it was suitable as a form of enforced torture upon those who did supplicate themselves, both ruler and supplicant alike, so that expedience in decisions could be made. The leader of his People did not sit but paced slowly on the ground that had been roughened to give him better footing, and he had with him those who were leading members of various parts of their society. They squatted on the floor as befitted their position, and the supplicant was prostrate before all of them.</p> <p>One of their kind came up from the watery slope of the chamber, adorned with necklaces, wrist and ankle bands, a belt which did not rot in the sea which held water secure pouches and tools. His skin was of a dark hue of green, hardened by the heat of forges both natural and those made by their kind. Not all forges used heat, of course, but other powers that only the very few and highly skilled could handle. This one genuflected as he arose from the water and the leader turned and nodded to him.</p> <p>"I have come as desired, Last One."</p> <p>"Yes, Maker, you are required for an opinion. This one, this priestlet, has failed in its mission but has brought back information on items and objects, which are protected by Wards of a surface Maker. This failure needs to describe them to you so that you can give your opinion on them."</p> <p>"Of course, Last One," the Maker said looking at Shlasuar.</p> <p>"You may begin, my failure spawn."</p> <p>Shlasuar spoke softly as his battered body could not take much more than that.</p> <p>"Yes, Last One... Maker there are two objects... seats of power... one a tooth of Tai-a-mate..."</p> <p>The leader gestured to a guard who went to Shlasuar and used hardened lash against his back, which was now criss-crossed with lacerations.</p> <p>"Do not bring disfavor to us, failure priestlet," the leader said.</p> <p>"Forgiveness Last One.."</p> <p>The leader made a motion with his head and the guard stepped back two paces.</p> <p>"It is in amber formed into a necklace... none know who formed it or when."</p> <p>The Maker nodded.</p> <p>"Extremely powerful, then, and made when those first surface plants with that resin formed or thereafter. There is no doubt of it?"</p> <p>Shlasuar coughed and dark fluid dripped from his mouth on to the floor that his face rested on.</p> <p>"None," he said daring to glance at the Maker. "The other is a ring... it is called..." he halted and closed his eyes to think, "... by the surface dwellers... Dragon Mother Returns... made by a surface dweller Priest who was also a Maker... centuries ago."</p> <p>The Maker nodded. "A trigger seat, bound up in that and then becomes its own thing. Yes, those are known but there are only very few of them as it takes the life of its Maker to do such, and still requires dedication to the craft in doing. They are protected by what?"</p> <p>"A case made by a Maker... dense thorn tree wood and gold... gold in glass so that they can be seen..."</p> <p>The Maker nodded, "Very wise and I assume well locked, yes?"</p> <p>"Locked?" the leader burst out, "Not just that is it failure? Tell him of its Ward."</p> <p>"Just one Ward?" the Maker asked.</p> <p>"Two," Shlasuar said, "one to spread affinity around evenly..."</p> <p>"Ah, yes, very clever, that is. No one gets to them that way."</p> <p>"Inside that is a link to the Void for power use."</p> <p>Looking at Shlasuar the Maker shivered, not from the temperature of the chamber or its dank air, but for the actual placement of such a link as it was dangerous in the extreme to even attempt that.</p> <p>"The surface dweller Maker took a high risk. Worth it for such as those."</p> <p>"Good, now you understand! I want those things before that which is the Creature of the Islands regains its strength. We must have those things!"</p> <p>Shlasuar coughed and looked at his father, the Last to be Eaten.</p> <p>"They are bound up... by She Who Is Source Of All... before her murder... she had done what must be done... her time is not come..."</p> <p>"Yet. Not Yet come. Failure," Last One said.</p> <p>Looking between Shlasuar and his father, the Maker gave a side-long glance at the High Priest, also known as First to be Eaten, who gave a minimal shake of his head. Now the Maker understood why he was called there and that the sacrifice of those on the mission would require one more sacrifice. It was a small price to save his People. Perhaps, just perhaps, Last One might realize that there are places and things not meant for their kind. And that a People unwilling to commit suicide for folly could find a new Last One. Sadly he knew his duty in such a case: one can die first or one can die last.</p> <p>"This one came back without them," he said looking at Shlasuar and then at Last One.</p> <p>"Yes!! We lost two of our Changelings on the quest for them. That cannot be tolerated. Failure cannot be tolerated."</p> <p>The Maker turned to Last One.</p> <p>"They succeeded. Take my life instead of his as I will not go after such things. Do it. If you dare."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>He remembered Bastogne.</p> <p>He hated the holidays.</p> <p>He loved his family, now spread out from the Pitt to the West Coast, and had received invitations by letter and phone to see his grand-children. The rotation of children and holiday events he would pick up again, on the New Year, and perhaps Easter would see him in San Diego or Denver or the Pitt. Probably the Pitt as it was closest, but he made sure to spread his time as evenly as he could. A pre-holiday party a few days before with friends at the VFW was something he could and did do, along with one other gathering in New York City of the veterans of the war in the region. They were family, too, and tended to have a better schedule because of the other families they had, and gave an excuse to married veterans to be out of the way in the days leading up to the main holidays.</p> <p>This year was a different one for Sgt. Frank Rock (r) as it had started with him living alone, though not lonely, in the old family summer home on Long Island, spending his time as he wanted which would usually include some drop-by visits of friends, books mailed in seeking autographs, or the news that it was time to unpack his dress blue uniform for a funeral. His social circle was relatively small and while he missed the people of the Pitt, he didn't miss the Pitt, itself. When his family was full of children and work at the Pitt continued, he could set aside his feelings for the actual holidays for them and only, late at night after everyone had gone to bed, have a glass of whiskey and raise it in quiet salute to those he had left behind on so many holidays in a war now long over. There was none of that in this year and for the first time in many a year the summer home actually had a small tree in it, trimmed with what little he had left in the attic after giving away all the major ornaments and lights to his children, plus a few store bought items to almost make it festive by the fireplace. On the mantel of the fireplace were pictures of his family in years gone by, and one of his late wife Sally who had made his memoirs into something you could read. For once, instead of gifts sent to distant homes where he was visiting, they were all sent here, on Long Island. He always did his best to get out presents to all of his family and for the first time in his memory, the war machine from a future never to be had helped him get something for each of them along with Vivian to make them age appropriate.</p> <p>He grew up with one family in the Pitt when he was young. He became a man with another family, the US Army, during the war. He raised his own family, making sure that his first family was invited or that they went to them whenever possible, and that his second family also got close treatment, including one year visiting Thomas Wayne and his new wife, Martha. His third family was durable, while his second aged out and contacts grew fewer with his siblings. The Army was always there, but Thomas and Martha Wayne weren't and their young son grew up with whatever help he could offer through Alfred which was mostly moral and later good people to train with. Now his third family was dispersed as much as his first, and his comrades in arms were also leaving behind the soldier's wake of crosses one by one, instead of by the tens and hundreds. Through these three families he knew what fealty meant and it entailed duty and keeping active, fit and ready to help be it attending to an injured veteran, seeing off a coworker from the Pitt or visiting hither and yon to see grand-children. A man had to stay fit for these things as it was his duty, obligation and honor to do so.</p> <p>In one year he now found a fourth family that he had stumbled into by such duty. For a time he had thought that it would be the end of him, the end of everyone and the advent of a new war far, far worse than the one he had survived. He had met soldiers from that war and understood their conflict, and now found that although there must be some mystery to them, that they had become part of his new family, as well. The war machine as soldier and the soldier as dutiful were things he understood, as was helping of Bruce Wayne to carry out an obligation to his father who had saved his life. What he hadn't expected were the men and women who began to coalesce around those events, Sarah Conner, Vivian Rose, the Carstairs brothers and their family, Lucius Fox and his family... he was glad that they had the idea to expand the summer home back when it was packed with his family and their friends, plus assorted others who came for a summer getaway. Most of the house sat vacant and unused most of the year, and it had taken a few weeks to get the place spruced up with so many people coming by to visit. Why they had chosen his home was something beyond him, and why he didn't put up much of a fight over it was somethiing that surprised him, as well. Frank Rock had, apparently, gotten yet another start in life, this time not as dutiful son, not as dutiful soldier, not as dutiful husband but as dutiful friend to those who shared a common bond with him of preparing to fight a war that it was possible all on Earth would lose.</p> <p>There were events after that, of course, including the affair of Martha Wayne's found amulet and the enigmatic Dr. Gotham. He had heard bits and pieces, here and there after that pre-Halloween scare and didn't know what to make of it until the affair of Guthrie Lewis and others, involving the amulet, ring and Spider Necklace all of which had passed through the hands of Chester Rhinold. And cost him his sanity and possibly his life back 70 and more years ago. Thankfully that appeared to be it for the year, yet in that space of time stretching from late May to late November he had been out and more active than he had been in years, met more people than he cared to name and taken part in events that would have transformed all that he knew into ruin, twice over. In return he got the odd-ball family of people lost in time, a multi-millionaire playboy, many of his staff, a better contact with Fr. Jordan and a hopeful trip to LA in the near future as a side-trip to see family, maybe, to see Fr. Casull, all the way down to the cat burgler who was much more than that, Selina Kyle.</p> <p>Of the house, it was full and then some, with the garage put into ersatz sleeping quarters for Tom, Kyle Reese, Sarah Connor and the family of Martin Carstairs, who said that a decent space heater was all it needed for his children. Frank had been shooed from the kitchen hours ago as Vivian, Tom and Alfred all worked away to keep an on-going supply of food out for what was not going to be an actual dinner as such, but a day-long buffet. Frank had gotten tired out from all the talking with everyone, and decided that he needed some time in his study that he had used to put his book together and deal with correspondence. It also had a fireplace, and while the furnace worked fine, he banked the vents into the room and let the logs he put on smoulder into coals as he watched them and remembered the windswept landscape and the threatening clank of tanks on the move to the east. With a glass of scotch in one hand he looked through it and into the fireplace where a flame would show first yellow and then red as it burnt down. It was far better than the little cookfires they kept going behind drifts of snow or in the remains of buildings, or even in holes created by the German artillery or prior Allied bombing raids.</p> <p>He heard a soft knock on the door and he set his glass down and let his hand slip beside the arm of his chair to rest on Old Reliable's case.</p> <p>"Come in, its unlocked. Nobody here but me and my ghosts."</p> <p>The door opened a crack and he saw a tall, shadowy figure in the doorway that then slipped past the door and into the room.</p> <p>"Sorry to disturb you, Frank," the man who entered said to him.</p> <p>"Nah, no problem. Plenty of time to remember the sub-zero or just walk out into something a bit warmer if I need it."</p> <p>The other man sat down and looked at Frank for a moment and then set his mug of coffee down on the table between the chairs.</p> <p>"Thanks. Its a bit much down there..." he said gesturing to the door and beyond, "... why did you invite everyone, Frank?"</p> <p>Frank chuckled.</p> <p>"Vivian. She's the culprit, Bruce. Once she got the Cartstairs boys committed, along with Sarah and Kyle... everyone else just seemed to join in. Rotten scoundrel, wanted to have a good time at my place away from the City and yet close to it. I suggested a nice hotel in Vermont.... she just laughed and said it would be here..."</p> <p>Bruce smiled as he looked into the fire.</p> <p>"She does that. A lot. Best pilot I've ever run across outside the Air Force and even better than many in it. A good relief driver, too."</p> <p>"Uh-huh. Relieves me of my car when she's here. I prefer to drive but she always seems to end up with the keys no matter what I want to do."</p> <p>"She is floored at the matching pistols, Frank. Factory presentation box and everything. I think she's afraid to actually take them out and use them."</p> <p>Frank snorted as he sipped from his glass of scotch and held it in both hands while looking at the fire.</p> <p>"Meant to be used. The <i>Oberst </i>that the set had been captured from certainly put it to use on himself... one of them, at least, his wife used the other. They sat with the widow of the Lieutenant who had gotten to the place first since the war, and she was wondering what to do with it since she didn't want it in the house any more. All the details in the capture papers cover the capture pretty well."</p> <p>Bruce chuckled and looked at Frank.</p> <p>"She let some of the potatoes burn while reading it. She will use them, don't worry. Hard to get a factory set of HSc's like that."</p> <p>Frank nodded.</p> <p>"The <i>Oberst </i>was old line Prussian and had ties to the factory, or his family did. Probably didn't want to own up to his camp position during the last months of the war or tell about the General Staff's complicity. Helluva a last ditch set of pistols, if you ask me, but that's Prussia for you."</p> <p>"Did you know Lieutenant Grankowski?"</p> <p>Frank shook his head.</p> <p>"Never met him. He was on special detail from Allied HQ. I was getting shot at in Bavaria at the time, south and east of the place where the <i>Oberst </i>decided to exit with his wife."</p> <p>"The grapevine, then?"</p> <p>"You're fishing, Bruce, and you're not very good at it. All you had to do was ask. Selina got them. I wanted to get Vivian a present and couldn't think of what to get her. She's a hard woman to shop for."</p> <p>"I see," Bruce said.</p> <p>From downstairs the doorbell rang and they heard Martin Carstairs saying that he had it. A moment later there was a stir and someone saying 'Dinner is here!' Frank raised an eyebrow.</p> <p>"I didn't order out. Can't on Christmas unless you want Chinese."</p> <p>Bruce nodded.</p> <p>"Chef Girard. I gave him the list of people who were going to be here and told him I needed a special meal set up. In an hour what's left of lunch will be gone and he will have dinner ready to go."</p> <p>"Thank you, Bruce. Its not that I don't like what everyone has brought, its just not what I would call suitable for everyone who is here. Everyone I talked to said it would be all right. Should have known something was up since it is hard to get cooperation like that on Christmas."</p> <p>"Someone had to handle it, and Girard told me he does an early meal with his family, so he would be available for here. A white lie from him, but I didn't want to tell him that I would arrange for something else once he said that. The man loves his job."</p> <p>Rock grunted and took a sip from his glass.</p> <p>"Bruce, I should have known better than to volunteer," he said softly, "I was perfectly happy to grow old here, see the grandkids and tidy the place up enough during the summer for a visit or two. They were surprised that I had Tom here and I had to let my kids know, at least, what was up. They won't blab about it, and seeing the red glow from behind Tom's healing eye was enough to let them know that he was for real. That and ruining the bathroom scale, that was a real tip-off, that was."</p> <p>Bruce grimaced a moment and shook his head.</p> <p>"That's OK, Frank. We all know that there are limits to secrets like that, and by now we are all prepared in case someone does go public."</p> <p>Frank smirked as he put his glass down and shifted in his chair, letting his fingertips brush the top of the case sitting next to it.</p> <p>"It won't, Bruce. Some things are just too fantastic to believe. That future or one like it won't catch us by surprise, so it will have to be some other damned thing. You can win a damned war, but you can't win the damned peace."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>The black Jag idled by the side of the road as darkness fell. It had crept up in front of the house close to the driveway to it as the snow continued to fall. A light wind blew the large flakes to and fro as she watched from the driver's side seat. Even with the heater on she shivered and reached for her thermos bottle to open it and pour out some hot tea into the cup.</p> <p>"God what am I doing here?" she asked into the air as she sipped her tea. "I don't really belong here..."</p> <p>She looked at the card on the passenger's side seat that Frank had sent her, inviting her over for Christmas.</p> <p>She heard a noise in the distance behind her, a rumbling coming her way.</p> <p>Her eyes widened and she slugged the tepid tea down and put the cap back on the thermos bottle and then slid the Jag into gear. The wheels started to turn... and turn... and turn. Instead of going forward the car started to slide sideways.</p> <p>"Shit!" she said trying to put the car into reverse to back the tires to a fresh spot where she might get some traction. That was an automatic reaction, a part of winter driving skills, and if the car hadn't been close to the edge of the road, it would have been the right thing to do.</p> <p>The rumbling increased as the car slid further sideways and began to tilt as the rear tires went onto the slope of the ditch and one tire started to lose contact with the ground.</p> <p>She pulled on the parking brake after taking the car out of gear and heard the rumbling get louder and louder. Balling her gloved hands she pounded on the steering wheel. Movement to the front of her car caught her eye and she stopped and looked out over the hood as a large figure appeared and stepped around the car. In a moment a red road flare burst into life and the bulky man with chiseled looks appeared, stepping closer to the side of the car. He looked at her and she brought the window down.</p> <p>"Put the flashers on," he said, "I will wave the plow by."</p> <p>Selina nodded, raised the window, and put on the emergency flashers for her car and watched as Tom walked down the road behind the vehicle and waved the flare slowly. As the lights of the plow became visible they flashed and the vehicle slowed. She could see Tom place the flare in the snow by the road and then step up to the large truck's passenger side window and talk to the driver. Time seemed to drag on for an eternity and then she saw the plow shift to the other side of the street as it moved forward with Tom holding on to the outside of the cab. When he came abreast of her he dropped off the plow's step and walked to her car.</p> <p>She lowered the window as he came to her.</p> <p>"He has chains. We will have you out of here in a few minutes."</p> <p>She looked up at him and nodded.</p> <p>"Thank you, Tom," she said trying to put on a winning smile.</p> <p>"You're welcome," he said and walked back to the plough which had stopped so that Tom and the driver could get chains off the side and attached to the plough. Tom took the chain and its hook to her car and dropped out of sight for a moment and then came back up after there was a clanking sound from beneath her car. He walked around the front of the car to her and looked into the car.</p> <p>"Turn your lights on. I will get the flare to make sure that your car doesn't slide sideways. When he takes up the slack, let the brake off and flash your lights once."</p> <p>She nodded and raised the window, putting her hand on the brake and then seeing the red flare lift up out of the snow and be waved slowly back and forth. The truck inched forward and the chain started to be picked up off the ground. As it tugged on her car she took the brake off and then flashed her lights once. The plow truck inched slowly forward and she felt the car go forward but also sideways. The flare dropped out of sight and she felt the right rear end of her car slide up as the plow truck continued to go forward. In a moment she was on the road and the flare was being waved again and the truck stopped. Tom put the flare down and went around the passenger side of her car and to the front of it, then dropped from sight long enough to detach the hook from the now slack chain. She watched in silence and put the car's headlights on to help the two men see what they were doing. She waved once to the plow's driver and watched as Tom waved to him as the truck left.</p> <p>Tom walked slowly back to her window and she lowered it again. As she did the plow went on its way, clearing the road and dropping salt behind it.</p> <p>"There is room at the end of the driveway for you to pull in," he said.</p> <p>She looked down and shook her head trying to make sense of her life, herself and the situation she was in.</p> <p>"But... I don't belong here..."</p> <p>Tom continued to look at her and then nodded, once.</p> <p>"Miss Kyle, you are always welcome here."</p> <p>She looked back up and looked into his face and realized that he was standing out in the freezing cold with a plaid shirt, jeans and mechanic's boots on and thinking nothing of it. Caked snow was slowly melting off of his right arm where he had to lay while he was under her car.</p> <p>"I'm just not...used to this."</p> <p>Tom nodded.</p> <p>"Neither am I."</p> <p>"You? But you saved my life... and Frank... and I'm not..."</p> <p>"Frank would like you to be here."</p> <p>Selina shook her head. She had worked hard to get to the top of her profession, faced hard and deep challenges and always fought to be her own woman at every turn. Having Maurice and Amy knowing her... that was work. Having Frank, Tom and... she inhaled sharply and looked at Tom.</p> <p>"Would you like me to be here?"</p> <p>Tom blinked, allowing sub-routines and systems that had been adapting to his new setting come into play.</p> <p>"Yes," he said, "you are welcome with me, too."</p> <p>She gave a wan smile and sighed.</p> <p>"That I can't turn down. Just up ahead there, where the snow pile is?"</p> <p>Tom looked out in front of the car.</p> <p>"Just beyond it. You will be able to pull in as I have cleared it out past what the plow left earlier tonight. We will dig you out when you want to leave tomorrow."</p> <p>"Right," she said to herself, putting the car into gear and slowly pulling out and then turning into the driveway, and getting the Jag just behind one of the catering vans that Chef Girard had brought with him. With Conrad and Chelsea at the Pet Motel, they would be pampered. Selina realized that she was nearly frantic, but gathered her wits about her, raised the window and put the parking brake on before she shut the car down for the night.</p> <p>Tonight the Jaguar would have to sleep out in the snow.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"What am I doing here?" Lisa asked as she used a caulk gun to put a bead of caulk in along the window frame.</p> <p>Dr. Gotham was removing the plastic adhering to the glass and checking to make sure that the window was secure in the frame and that the rubber seal was good enough to hold it in place while Lisa put on the caulking. He looked over to her as she stood near the top of a ladder next to the laminated glass of the front of the new store.</p> <p>"Miss Choi, I do appreciate your willingness to be here and if you ever wish to attempt to resume your prior life and the complications of it, you are always free to do so."</p> <p>She squinted at the mid-day light coming through the window and finished the long bead of caulk along the top portion of the window glass. After putting a cap on the tube she stepped slowly down the rungs and on to the shop floor, itself. Most of the display cabinets still had white cloth sheeting on them as well as some plastic bubble wrap around the sides and over the top. She felt lucky that Dr. Gotham had decided to go with movers instead of trying to do it himself, which would have probably delayed everything for weeks. He was relatively fit for his age... </p> <p>Lisa quenched that thought as Dr. Gotham was older than Gotham City. He had said he could have done this relatively quickly, but at a relatively steep price, and that it was better to use a local firm this time around, so that there were no 'complications'.</p> <p>"I don't think I want to do that," she whispered. She had talked to Erin and Barbara about what happened when she was thought to be dead, and that there was a nice turn-out at her funeral. The thought of trying to contact those people was unnerving to her and did not feel right at all. As it was she had to get used to the idea that she would be leading a life that had its own forms of advantages and disadvantages. She would never have a driver's license or other identification which meant that she would have to deal with transportation and identification in different ways. On the plus side, she never had to pay personal taxes ever again, just those for transactions. And she had been told that she could just take what she needed to cover expenses from the cash register, and she had no clue about how a shop could run like that but had been assured that if she had been a normal person employed, like Henry Swanson, formal pay with its overhead would be the norm.</p> <p>"But getting used to being here," she said looking into the shop to be, "that will take some doing. You don't really run it like a shop, you do know that, right?"</p> <p>A slow tug on the plastic backing the glass of the shop window ended with a snap of the plastic as it came free to reveal the new shop window which looked almost exactly like the old one. The awning outside still had to be installed, which would put a near permanent shade over the interior. Newer fittings for electrical overhead lights glowed in a bright white that would be familiar in any corner store or boutique shop, and which Dr. Gotham shrugged at and indicated that they would be used only sparingly once things were in full operation so that shop lamps on tables or in display cases would take up the burden of allowing customers to see things as they were meant to be seen.</p> <p>Dr. Gotham slowly folded the blue plastic sheeting and looked at her and into the larger shop space.</p> <p>"It is not truly a shop, Miss Choi, but a place for the proper items to find their proper place. We do accept cash, of course, but trade is preferred. We are not a pawn broker nor small lender of funds, nor do we traffic in everyday goods or mere 'collectibles', nor is fine art at home here save when it is part of a trade and then it is properly displayed as such but with respect to the function of the shop in mind. There are rare books and everyday sorts here, so we are not an antiquarian book dealer. There are old clothes and new to be found, but we are not a consignment store nor run for the benefit of the poor, although they do often grace our doors and their exchanges and trades can often be far more valuable than any funds a rich person might offer for another item. Old investments in many places keep the physical environs of the shop running, and we are in no desperate need for cash. This shop is made in service to Gotham which was, which is and which is to be and while we will get regular customers who wish to peruse items they will find that while we have an eclectic selection that little of it is to their taste. This is always a quiet shop opened in an unassuming way, leading an obscure existence and having an odd trade based on trade for fair value. Thus it is a shop with low overhead, minimal maintenance and serving a desperate need by those in search of just that one item that will transform their lives."</p> <p>She had heard that, in bits and pieces, before, but only now did she actually come to understand what it meant. Her life had been snatched from her and only with difficulty and help had she come back to the land of the living. She had not died but had been thought dead by all, and that life she had was at an abrupt end. With graciousness Dr. Gotham had invited her to what remained of her old goods, and gave her an offer that she thought was just insane. Those who knew of her still being alive would be few, but close. She would not have to explain her absence from the grave nor what had gone on as it was beyond all forms of belief that she knew of. For all those lost and in search of the right item, the right place, the right time, there was Dr. Gotham's Curiousity Shop. He had recognized that she belonged here but not as some item or trinket to pick up but as the right person to be at the right place at the right time.</p> <p>Lisa Choi had never been any of those things to anyone, ever.</p> <p>"I belong here," she whispered.</p> <p>Taking the folded plastic sheeting over to a large box, Dr. Gotham placed it into the box and turned to look at her.</p> <p>"Only if you wish, Miss Choi. The shop takes nothing and gives much. One must be willing to receive what it gives to complete their life. I have found it a rich and satisfying way to live. You may, as well, or perhaps just find it as that way-station in life until that perfect place to be comes along for you. That is what this shop does, after all."</p> <p>Given her recent experiences, Lisa had to think about that as the idea that one's life could be shaped by something like the shop or outside forces was no longer something she could dismiss as she was alive because of it. Or because of a series of random events that just happened to work out as they did. Of the two she couldn't think of which was more unsettling.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Guthrie drove down the road from the Cave of the Winds and tried to remember which State he was in as there were so many such places of the Wind or Air or some other form of phrase that he had lost count some time ago. People who named such things thought it was just a nice name to, perhaps, stir up some tourism and didn't realize that such a dedication was to an actual set of forces that did exist. He slid in a cassette of some choicer selections of Brahm's quartets by a relatively well known group in Germany and he smiled as he drove. Snow did blow across the road from the cave, which was shut down for the season of tourism, but not for the season of the Winds as they were of all seasons and places.</p> <p>He had thought, for a while, that Dr. Gotham had handed him a death sentence as the Winds were not often happy with failure and that brush back in the Late Bronze Age with death when his warnings had come true was a reminder to both parties that having power was not the same as having wisdom, nor that the reverse was ever true as well. This time he made the case for the wisdom of consultation and thought, along with some investigation since to act rashly against the plans of She Who Breathed Winds would not be pleasant for anyone. Plus there was the added attraction of not getting sucked into the Void, which even the Winds feared as they knew they, too, could be snuffed from existing in an instant and never be remembered or even much missed. Guthrie personally had no wish for that, as well, and made the added case for Prudence, that fine lady that very few courted much to the misery of everyone. Put together and there was much in the way of arguing which he, thankfully, could leave behind as it was not his place to decide such things and he would much prefer to go back to being an engineering consultant for some time and not have to deal with the Winds any time soon.</p> <p>The Bora took the gusts of the wind, the snow drifts and just merrily went through them all, uncaring of Winds, Guthrie or much of anything else. There was a time to live and a time to drive and now it was the latter, and in a direction that would not see Gotham City again any time soon, if ever again.</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069312068306826046.post-61164352948329274322014-08-13T12:49:00.000-04:002014-08-13T13:33:15.140-04:00Tangled Web–Chapter 19<p><b>Chapter 19</b></p> <p>He didn't like the man at all, but he was necessary. He walked next to Maria as she didn't need his support on the granite floors which were dry. To himself he kept repeating that it was what he was sent here to do that was important, not how it got done. That left a bad taste in his mouth, his throat and recessed gills as he had come to dislike the Keeper of Winds the more he stayed close to him. They went slowly from display case to display case, some modern and brightly lit, others from the Exhibition and retrofitted with modern lights. Those lights caused the nictitating membrane in his eyes to linger a moment longer than his eyelids due the brightness and quality of the light which were things he wasn't accustomed to. He missed John who obviously knew what he was doing and did what he had to for this mission to continue. John did have another name, of course, but John suited him more on land and that is how Shlasuar thought of him.</p> <p>"Now this case has that look to it," Guthrie said peering into the interior of a dark wooden case with inset glass and interior lighting. "It looks to be some native works from Indonesia. A very interesting set of carvings of various designs, a blowpipe with darts, worked sea shells and, of course, one of the native curved daggers."</p> <p>Shlasuar shifted around to the end of the case near Guthrie to look into the case.</p> <p>"Sadly, the V superimposed over the O C and description are that these were taken in trade from natives of the region. And while there is a loose definition of 'trade' from that era, it usually means some form of cooperative exchange. Still the sealife carvings are interesting, particularly the octopus. The various elephant, orangutang and others are purely native trade goods, not too well crafted. That VOC pistol is interesting as an artifact, but none too useful as a weapon."</p> <p>Maria looked at him.</p> <p>"It is all worthless," she said, "I know what a Made work looks like, and none of these are from such a one."</p> <p>Guthrie nodded and turned to look at her.</p> <p>"Two more cases similar to this one on this side of the room and then," he shifted to look along the other wall, "perhaps another half-dozen there. That will move us out from Oceania and the East Indies and to the next room which contains goods from India and then the Orient. The African Room has shown to have nothing and I'm not expecting the South American Room to have much more. That will leave the North American and Asian Rooms on the next floor, after that, with the Natural History section and Explorer's Room in the last part of the 2nd floor Hall."</p> <p>Maria sighed, shaking her head.</p> <p>"It is going faster avoiding the modern displays. But there are so many old displays here, and each of us needs to see what is in them to make sure that they hold nothing of interest."</p> <p>"To the next case, then," Guthrie said, "Ah, the Andaman Islands..."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Tom and Frank stood to either side of her, making sure she was steady enough to stand up and then take some steps. Barbara handed her a water bottle and she thanked her for it and drank two gulps of it, which helped steady her nerves. In her other hand was the Faberge Case.</p> <p>"He just left it with me. After all that has happened..."</p> <p>"Yeah, weird is the word," Frank said, "can you get to the elevator, Selina? It would be better if you rested in the van."</p> <p>She stopped as they were headed along the south side of the building and at the intersection for the elevator on their right to the south. At the other side of the building, to the north, the corridor ended in the lavatories. She shrugged as her costuming material could wait. There was nothing identifying to it and it was relatively cheap to replace most of it.</p> <p>"There is no reason for you to remain here, Miss Kyle," Dr. Gotham said, "and our agreement was the Egyptian mummified cat and its sarcophogas for the Faberge Spider Necklace. I am ready to uphold my end of the agreement, which will bring the affair started by the Norris' to an end, as well."</p> <p>Frank set down the closed up case of Old Reliable and looked at Selina and then Tom, who took the keys to the Jaguar out of his coat pocket. Selina handed the water bottle back to Barbara and took the keys.</p> <p>"I promised Amy that you would get out of this alive and intact, Miss Kyle," the Project said.</p> <p>Selina looked at each of them and shook here head in agreement.</p> <p>"OK. Here is the damned Spider Necklace, Dr. Gotham. Its yours."</p> <p>She handed the opened box out to Dr. Gotham who shifted the box he was carrying to Frank.</p> <p>"And your exchange, Miss Kyle. Thank you for a job well done." He extended his hand to close the case and take it, and left a business card in the palm of her hand. "If you ever need me, just carry the card and come looking for me and you shall find me."</p> <p>Frank handed the box over to Selina and she glanced at Frank as she took it. She walked out of the intersection and over to one of the benches along the side of the hall between larger exhibits, the nearest one being one from central Austria showing a life size diorama of a hunter in the mountains tracking a Lynx. She sat down on the bench and opened the box and saw the stone sarcophogas for the cat and it had gold leaf on its surface along with inset ebony and emeralds for eyes. She gasped as she saw it and the others crowded around to see it.</p> <p>"That's beautiful," Lisa said, "perfect."</p> <p>"We never thought you had anything like that in your place, Dr. Gotham," Erin said, "we never would have touched the other stuff if we had seen that."</p> <p>Barbara looked and smiled as she saw the envelope in the box next to the sarcophogas, "And all the paperwork, too."</p> <p>Dr. Gotham nodded.</p> <p>"Dr. Ahmed Yamadi reviewed the piece before I was, detained, and has all the particulars on it there. It is not the finest example, of course, those are in Egypt, but a rare one for its late period work. All properly accounted for."</p> <p>"Now that is something you just don't see every day," Vivian said looking up the intersecting corridor that they had come from, "it looks like that Guthrie guy has hooked up with some woman and her kid."</p> <p>Everyone turned to look where Vivian was looking.</p> <p>"They were so busy talking with each other I don't think they saw me."</p> <p>Dr. Gotham gave a curt nod as he put the Faberge case in his suit coat pocket.</p> <p>"Very well. I will be in the Explorer's Room. I implore you all to not follow as I cannot protect you here."</p> <p>"You don't have to," Loren said, "Frank, Tom and I will do that. Frank isn't the only one that carries something reliable with him."</p> <p>Dr. Gotham scowled and looked at Selina.</p> <p>"Again, my thanks for your work above and beyond what we agreed to. You are a true professional."</p> <p>After lifting the lid of the sarcophogas she set it back down and closed up the box.</p> <p>"Not that professional, Dr. Gotham. And if Tom is going to make sure I get out of here, then I'm going to stick like glue to Lisa. I'm not having her turn up dead from this after what she must have been through. Not if I can help it."</p> <p>Pressing his lips together Dr. Gotham nodded.</p> <p>"To the Explorer's Room, then, before something untoward happens."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Maria looked at yet another set of encased objects, this from a tribe in Africa in the southern central region.</p> <p>"A dry and dusty land," she said softly.</p> <p>"Ah, yes, it is. Quite windswept as well, although not desert climate but savannah. Feast and famine with the shifting rains and the herds of animals and predators that follow them. Modern life has impacted them some, of course, but the migratory hunts continue."</p> <p>"It looks too modern," Shlasuar said, "all metal and glass."</p> <p>"Yes it does, Shlasuar," Guthrie said, "and I think that is something important you have put your finger on. All of the displays in Dr. Gotham's shop were of wood and glass for valuable items. And that would make this entirely all too modern room..."</p> <p>"Useless," Maria said, "and that ends this floor. It will either be the next floor down or out in the transportation exhibition areas. And I do not think any items would be a mongst them."</p> <p>She looked at Guthrie who was pursing his lips.</p> <p>"Yes, I agree. Whatever their nature they will not be in the transportation area, save as some curio or other. Come, lets go down to the 2nd floor."</p> <p>Maria was satisfied to have Guthrie lead the way as she was getting tired. Even with the stamina of her kind and their ability to dwell for long times in darkness, the diurnal phases and being on the surface was taxing for her. She walked with Shlasuar and put a hand on his shoulder. Her hybrid nature tended to make sleep a more pressing issue than for the pure bred deep dwellers and it was this that was considered a prime weakness amongst their changeling kind. Shlasuar slowed to her pace and they followed Guthrie down the cross hall they had come through to the elevator.</p> <p>"It is just a matter of time now," Guthrie said, "and we shall each have something to satisfy those who sent us."</p> <p>"Perhaps, Wind Master," Maria said as the elevator dinged and the door opened for them. They stepped in, turned around and Guthrie pressed the 2 button as the doors closed. "It is best not to count on grah'n-tharanak."</p> <p>"Of course, maturity is," Guthrie said in response.</p> <p>The elevator shifted for a moment and then dinged as it reached the 2nd floor, and they stepped out and looked at the signs.</p> <p>"Hmmmm... Explorer's Room, Colonial Room, or the Prehistory of Gotham over in the north section?"</p> <p>Looking at the signs Maria shrugged.</p> <p>"Does it matter?"</p> <p>Guthrie sighed as he looked at her and then turned as he caught a glimpse of movement from the cross hallway between the sections.</p> <p>"Why, that is Mr. Wayne! I wonder if he is here to meet up with his friend, Sgt. Rock?"</p> <p>"Should we follow?" Shlasuar asked.</p> <p>"Lets," Guthrie said, "I can at least be sociable if nothing else."</p> <p>They hurried past the side room passages between the Explorer's Room and Colonial Room, which meant that they did not see the people gathering in the Explorer's Room. As they got to the intersection where Wayne had walked through, they saw him go into the far entrance to the Explorer's Room.</p> <p>"Ah, good, we can use the near entrance," Guthrie said as he turned to lead the others into the room. As he did so and worked his way past the first exhibits he heard voices, which slowed him. As he turned the corner around an early aviation exhibit he saw that the room opened up and, at the far end of the room, was a group of people familiar to him.</p> <p>Maria stopped next to him and looked at the people.</p> <p>"This does not bode good, Wind Master. The case is easy to see as is Dr. Gotham."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Dr. Gotham looked up from examining the display case to the three that had entered on the far side of the room, and then at Bruce Wayne.</p> <p>"I believe that Barbara will be back in a minute or two," he said, "and when she does things can then proceed apace."</p> <p>Bruce looked at Dr. Gotham and then at Frank, who shrugged while holding his case of Old Reliable in his left hand. The Project gave no indication of anything, just a slow shifting of its eye to scan the room as it stood just on the other side of the case from Frank.</p> <p>"Very well, Dr. Gotham, I'll follow your lead but I will also do what I think is right."</p> <p>"That is all that I can ask, Mr. Wayne."</p> <p>With that Dr. Gotham put a slight smile on his face and walked around the case towards the three that had come into the room.</p> <p>"Hello Mr. Lewis, Maria and Shlasuar!" he said with a voice that carried and indicated some amount of light-heartedness in his approach, "I know you have come to find those things which you were sent here to find, and they are, indeed, in this very room."</p> <p>Guthrie looked at Maria who looked at him, in turn, and then shrugged. This was not what either of them was expecting, and what they had been expecting was, perhaps, a slight bit of opening a display case and removing some contents in an unadvertised fashion. Now that appeared to be impossible.</p> <p>Guthrie inhaled, smiled naturally and stepped forward to shake Dr. Gotham's hand.</p> <p>"It has been a long search," Guthrie said as he looked over the array that stood around the case either looking at it or him. He was surprised to see Selina Kyle standing next to Frank Rock, who stood next to Bruce Wayne on the far side of the case. On the other side were Erin Norris, Tom Octurian and Lisa Choi. To the front of the case were Vivian Rose and Loren Seifert with the latter on one knee and looking into the case and only now just standing and turning to look back at him. "And that is quite a group of people you have there. It is not often you find a thief next to a multi-milliionare."</p> <p>Dr. Gotham had given a short bow to Maria before shaking Guthrie's hand.</p> <p>"Yes, it is," he said softly, "and many a twisted thread has gone into the weaving of the spider, yet now its actual tapestry is becoming apparent and it may not be the author of it."</p> <p>"Eh?" Guthrie said after letting go of Dr. Gotham's hand. "How do you mean?"</p> <p>"Even the spider may not know what its weavings actually are," Maria said, "it is just a knitter, not the maker of the threads."</p> <p>"Indeed so, Maria, and while those who physically emulate it do make their own and fine threads, that which has influenced them uses the finest of all threads of <i>affinity</i>. It weaves to its own end, but the threads come to it in a certain way which guarantees a type of weaving that it cannot change."</p> <p>"So," Guthrie asked, "can we see the items or is that to be yet another struggle?"</p> <p>"No struggle at all, unless you wish it, Mr. Lewis. Come with me so you can see the items and I can tell you their nature, at least so far as I've been able to figure them out."</p> <p>He said guiding them between cases and one display of an early frontiersman that had come from Gotham city to go exploring out as far as the Rocky Mountains. They passed a display of an early submariner who died in making one of the early machines, and only a few items from his estate were available, the submarine, itself, lost to the depths along with his body. Then came the displays charting the career of Chester Rhinold in the Americas, Africa, Orient and Far East. At the end of those displays was the case of items that he had collected over the years and both Vivian and Loren shifted away from the front of the case as they approached.</p> <p>"Mr. Lewis, you do know everyone here, of course, and Maria, Shlasuar, may I introduce you to Miss Vivian Rose and Miss Loren Seifert."</p> <p>"Howdya do?" Vivian said.</p> <p>"Pleased to meet you both," Loren said.</p> <p>"Yes, of course," Maria said in return and Shlasuar said "Fine and pleased as well."</p> <p>Dr. Gotham stepped around the left side of the case, past Vivian, Erin, Tom and Lisa to stand next to Mr. Wayne.</p> <p>"I do not own all the contents of this case, of course," Dr. Gotham said.</p> <p>"It is a case from your shop," Guthrie said, "but it looks... different."</p> <p>"Oh, it is from my shop, no doubt. I did change out the glass with modern laminated glass that met my specifications and added some additional locks and mechanisms to ensure the safety of the items from mild theft."</p> <p>Shlasuar stood next to Maria and then stepped forward to place his hand on the wood of the case. He stood very still and frowned as he looked at Maria.</p> <p>"This isn't... Maria, this wood is different from the other wood here... its... shielding..."</p> <p>Maria looked at him and also placed a hand on the display and shook her head.</p> <p>"The touch means nothing to me," she said softly, "although it is dense wood."</p> <p>Guthrie leaned forward and ran a gloved hand over the case and then its glass and glanced up at Dr. Gotham.</p> <p>"Gold. And the wood... thorn tree, yes?"</p> <p>Dr. Gotham smiled.</p> <p>"Of coourse, just as the ancient texts describe for other vessels of safety for items, this one has an acacia construction from old thorn trees native to this land and the glass laminate has a thin layer of gold between the glass and plastics involved. That gives it a slight golden hue when the lighting hits it at certain angles."</p> <p>Guthrie shifted back to his upright stance while Maria and Shlasuar peered into the case.</p> <p>"Nothing even this close," Shlasuar said.</p> <p>"Against even a sensitive, you have made this innocuous, Dr. Gotham. My congratulations! It is only the style of case being that from your shop that would even hint to me of its contents," Guthrie said, "and that makes it singular."</p> <p>Dr. Gotham looked to Mr. Wayne who was nodding to the far entrance where Guthrie, Maria and Shlasuar had come from and there he saw Barbara with Mrs. Hamilton.</p> <p>"Ah, Mrs. Hamilton, it is good of you to come here as it is time to decide the final arrangement and disposition of the items in the case that we are concerned with."</p> <p>Cindy Hamilton smiled as she approached the group, which included people who had entered earlier and assumed it was just to get out of the cold.</p> <p>"It's good to be here, Dr. Gotham. Do you have the piece with you?" She said indicating the package that Selina had.</p> <p>"Of course," Dr. Gotham said removing the Faberge case from his suit coat pocket, "and it is time to open the case so that we can determine just where each piece belongs as they must all be in their proper place."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"But what are the pieces?" Guthrie asked as he watched Mrs. Hammilton go to the back of the case.</p> <p>"Ah, yes," Dr. Gotham said, "it wouldn't do for there to be decisions made without some understanding of what they are. The Faberge Spider Necklace is, of course, known to each of you, at least by what it has accomplished. As it is no longer the place where power is bound, it has only <i>affinity </i>left to it."</p> <p>Guthrie smiled.</p> <p>"Yes, I did not like having that thing weaving <i>affinities </i>and tangling them up," he said, "and so I used the place link <i>affinity </i>to send it someplace else."</p> <p>Guthrie paused a moment and he looked at Maria.</p> <p>She shifted a step away from him as he said that.</p> <p>"You mean the nexus?" she asked softly as Mrs. Hamilton was kneeling behind the case to open it. She gestured for Dr. Gotham for some assistance and he produced a key from his pocket and, together, they worked the locking mechanism which allowed the internal hasp to turn. A small red light coming from a box attached to the case went from red to green as the locks turned.</p> <p>"Of course! A mere touch <i>affinity </i>was all it took, and now it is beyond this realm and into one that it cannot easily get out of. Wherever that link ends, that is where it is, now."</p> <p>"That's horrible," Lisa whispered, "and not a good place to be."</p> <p>Guthrie shifted to look at her and bowed his head.</p> <p>"Far better there than where Dr. Gotham has linked this place. At least it still lives wherever it went, perhaps not for long, true, but better than being abolished in the Void. And what you did to get the Spider back," he said looking at Dr. Gotham, "contractual, wasn't it?"</p> <p>"Of course," Dr. Gotham said, "contracts leave the lightest of traces for <i>affinity</i>, and depend upon the power of those making the contract to abide by it. The more one abides by it, the more power that is bestowed upon those exercising it. I contracted with Selina Kyle and did not expect there to be much trouble in exercising her part of the agreement. As it stands she has shown more strength than any contract could ever bestow upon her to actually have dealt with the circumstances of its recovery."</p> <p>Pursing his lips together Guthrie shook his head as he looked at Selina.</p> <p>"I should have been warned by your presence," he said, "not blinded by my task."</p> <p>Selina scowled at him.</p> <p>"You had far too much enjoyment in what you did to mean that."</p> <p>Guthrie shrugged.</p> <p>"As you will. I, too, get tasks to perform, although they are less contracts than...persuasion."</p> <p>Cindy Hamilton stood up with Dr. Gotham and she had obviously heard such talk before and was unphased by it. Dr. Gothm and Bruce Wayne each had their peculiarities in who they dealt with and what they engaged in, but the Museum had a simple purpose and dealt with all the people of Gotham City.</p> <p>"Now you said there needed to be some changes here?" she asked, "I mean not just adding the lovely necklace to the collection, but something more?"</p> <p>Dr. Gotham stood up and looked down from the top of the counter and it suddenly seemed as if he were the proprietor of a shop.</p> <p>"Indeed, Mrs. Hamilton as the piece from my shop is on loan to you, it can be further disposed of if there is a need for it elsewhere. While the loan is permanent, as such, it is also provisional so long as my shop continues functioning or other proprietor of it with a different establishment comes forward with the necessary paperwork upon my demise."</p> <p>"Which piece is it?" Guthrie asked as he looked from Maria to Dr. Gotham again.</p> <p>"The ring," Erin whispered, looking at the inscribed ring that sat in its own wooden case with a velvet pillow, sides and top on the inside, and just a hint of gold running along the internal edges of the case.</p> <p>Dr. Gotham pressed his lips together and nodded.</p> <p>"Yes, the Dragon Mother Returns ring. Tiamat f'taghn."</p> <p>Maria shifted to kneel and look at the ring through the glass and could clearly see the inscription. Her eyes widened and she looked at Shlasuar who was next to her. She shifted over so he could get a good view of the ring.</p> <p>"Do you, see it, Shlasuar? This must be what the Avatar held."</p> <p>"That would be Mr. Li Sun who took this piece, yes?"</p> <p>"It was stolen from my shop and he received it as an item to fence. It is its own seat of <i>power </i>and only exercises that through other means. He was that means and it cost him his life."</p> <p>"Even so roughly made," Maria said, "it was made with purpose to it, that I can see."</p> <p>"By a native to South America, not well described but possibly of Incan origin or Mayan descent. In either case that primitive jewler was required to make some piece to show his skill and did a good job of it. Chester Rhinold acquired it early in his career when he was traveling through Europe and particularly in Madrid near the end of his travels."</p> <p>"It doesn't look like much," Frank said as he looked down at the item in the case, "just a ring shaped hunk of gold with some emeralds inset in it. Looks like a dragon or snakey bird. Not my cup of tea, though."</p> <p>Selina looked at the piece and then over at Erin who was looking at Bruce Wayne.</p> <p>"Erin... why did you and Ron go after this?"</p> <p>Erin looked at her and shrugged.</p> <p>"Stupid easy money and debt. Ronnie couldn't let go of... that kind of work and now..." she shook her head, "it looked like an easy score, you know? That and the necklace got us out of a bind with Li Sun."</p> <p>Selina shook her head, "I'm sorry, Erin. I've only heard through the grapevine and no one had a straight story."</p> <p>"If it weren't for the Bat, we wouldn't have been in the bind," Erin said pressing her lips together, "but no one can stop him."</p> <p>"Ah, the Batman, was it? That got you in that mess?"</p> <p>"Well, it was Ronnie that got us into it, really. The Bat was just... being the Bat."</p> <p>Guthrie shook his head in agreement.</p> <p>"I certainly couldn't rid myself of his presence, just... keep him at bay."</p> <p>"You've run into Batman?" Loren asked.</p> <p>"Oh, quite, yes," Guthrie replied with a smile, "I though the one time at a distance, giving his car the slip as it went into the Gotham River was the closest I would get to him. But," Guthrie rubbed his jaw, "that proved not to be the case. He is very resourceful even when he is direct, and it is only circumstance that no worse has happened to me. I would have much preferred to gain what I came here for in a peaceful manner, but such was not the case."</p> <p>"And you want that piece?" Barbara asked as she shifted slowly to the side of the case and then to stand next to Dr. Gotham.</p> <p>"That is not up to me, at this point," he said looking at Maria. "I have an agreement with Maria as we are both after one of the objects and as the Spider has no interest to me, that leaves either the ring or the other piece."</p> <p>"Correct... Guthrie..." Maria said standing up and looking at him. "What is the other piece?"</p> <p>"That one," Dr. Gotham said, "I do not own. It is in the care of Mr. Wayne."</p> <p>Bruce nodded and looked at Maria.</p> <p>"It is that necklace of amber shaped around an interior piece which is a tooth or tooth fragment. My mother found that in a cave by the sea. It had no claimants, although it had once been Chester Rhinold's it was not part of his estate on his death. And as the estate is gone and no member of the Rhinold family or its descendants have a claim on it, it became my mother's. It was still listed amongst her effects in the Wayne Estate which were transitioned to the Wayne Family Trust which now has the Wayne Foundation as the legal entity overseeing it."</p> <p>Maria nodded then gave a slight smile, although not enough to bare her teeth. "That is also a fitting position for it to be claimed by the sea peoples."</p> <p>Shlasuar stood up and looked at Dr. Gotham.</p> <p>"What is it, though?"</p> <p>"Tai a mate," Lisa whispered softly and Barbara shifted to slip her arm around her.</p> <p>"I still can't believe it," Barbara said.</p> <p>Looking from Shlasuar to Guthrie, then Lisa and Barbara, and finally to Bruce, Dr. Gotham nodded and smiled as he looked at Cindy Hamilton.</p> <p>"Mrs. Hamilton, it is more than just an artifact of the Rhinold expedition into China, although it is that, as well. The workings of the piece, beyond the more modern chain for the amulet, go back to the Yuezhi when they were in that western territory of what is today China. A period before the Yellow Emperor."</p> <p>Cindy looked puzzled.</p> <p>"Well, I did have a couple of our interns look into it, of course, but no one can really trace its origin. And I didn't really have the knowledge of a good enough jewler to contact with regards to the period involved. Just that it was Rhinold's was the important thing."</p> <p>Dr. Gotham nodded once and looked at Shlasuar.</p> <p>"Shlasuar the people who made it believed it is a tooth from the living dragon who was Tiamat. And there is more than some evidence that demonstrates they have good cause to believe this as this is not a fossilized tooth. It has undergone none of the transformation involving silica that come with fossilization and it has no equivalent in any creature as far back as we can go in history. Thus it was either a mutant of some sort, a creature not in any catalog and thus having this as its single remains, a thing coming from some other place or realm, or all of that at the same time, which makes it what it was said to be."</p> <p>Guthrie looked at Maria and Shlasuar and then to Dr. Gotham.</p> <p>"Can we see them?"</p> <p>"Of course! Come around to the back of the case and you can see them clearly, as they are."</p> <p>Dr. Gotham moved aside and Guthrie walked behind Lisa and the Porject to the back of the case while Shlasuar walked tentatively behind Sgt. Rock. He looked at Maria who nodded to him. With a single nod he continued to the back of the case to look inside of it and then understood that it was the case, itself that was the thiing diffusing <i>affinity </i>and creating the Void link. Each sensitive amongst his People were different and none could give an accurate description of what they saw to others as each perceived them differently. He had never seen an object that was a true seat of power of its own, only those with indirect <i>affinity </i>and associations. Even the pressures of the Deep were not as powerful as these objects, with so many traces of <i>affinity </i>that they could not be discerned as separate pieces but were a continuous whole around them.</p> <p>"They are beautiful," he whispered.</p> <p>"Indeed they are," Guthrie said as he stooped down to look into the case, "and unique in their own ways."</p> <p>Standing up he looked at Maria.</p> <p>"If you wish to bargain, then the choice is yours, Priest Maria. I suggest you choose wisely."</p> <p>Maria looked at Shlasuar who stood up to look at her, his eyes wide and his face fiilled with wonder.</p> <p>Maria looked at Dr. Gotham and cocked her head.</p> <p>"Does the carrying case come with each piece?" she asked softly.</p> <p>"Ah, no, that isn't part of any negotiation. They stay with the case."</p> <p>Guthrie turned to look at Dr. Gotham and was clearly enraged at him.</p> <p>"Don't be mad at him," Bruce said, "I'm the one who suggested it as a final safety precaution."</p> <p>Dr. Gotham smiled as everyone else turned to look at Bruce Wayne who shrugged.</p> <p>"Just because I don't understand these things doesn't mean I don't believe that others understand it. The simplest precaution is the best, after all. Even without understanding the workings of it, I can understand the logic, and that logic requires that the carrying cases remain in the display case until such time as all are agreeable to their disposition."</p> <p>"Oh," Guthrie said as he looked at Bruce Wayne, "I misjudged you. Badly."</p> <p>Bruce shrugged and smiled.</p> <p>"It is always best to have a solid hand for negotiations. And the logic is inescapable."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Maria looked at all the surface dwellers and knew that the crux of her mission had arrived. She had been sent to find the object or objects that indicated such <i>power </i>in Gotham City and to get them before the creature that made this tiny set of islands what it now was reawakened. She had expected talisman or tokens, possibly idols of some Great Old One or Ancient One, as they were many and many that had been crafted through the ages. Perhaps some relic of the Lost Race or a piece brought out of the Treacherous Path to be left here in Gotham to work its wonders and terror. She thought upon the objects and looked at the enraptured face of Shlasuar and envied him his ability to sense the connections those pieces had. She had never thought that a true seat of power, a thing in and of itself, something not easily banished back to the Void because of the way it was in coming from Azathoth would ever be before her or her People.</p> <p>The tooth fragment gave many possibilities being just that.</p> <p>It was also the fragment of the Mother Dragon. She thought long and hard on the lore passed down for generations, going back so far that even the names of those who made the stories was lost in time, about what the earliest of times that created the People were like. And even those times were long after the murder of the Mother Dragon who's very body made the basis for all that came after. Those Ancient and Old Ones that she had spawned were separate entities, but they, too, were bound up with Her that was the basis for this All. They were born directly of Her and had powers beyond all save the Outsiders, and even Outsiders must respect the power of Her place.</p> <p>The other piece seemed more like what she was accustomed to, but if Dr. Gotham was to be believed, it was also a seat of <i>power </i>all on its own. She had worked with Makers but was not one herself, and although the craftsmanship was not like that of the Spider necklace, that sat on its cushion in its jewelry case atop the display case, she could tell that the ring had as much or even more true craftiness about it. This form of piece was one that only those with the most intense of skills can create as they do not become their own <i>power </i>until they are finished, and then their form of <i>power </i>is unique to them. Few pieces to actuate events had ever been crafted and most sit stored and locked away in various realms so that they could do no harm. They were the bringers of <i>power</i>, not a <i>power </i>itself, when crafted, but soon start to garner their own form of <i>power </i>that binds up to the events they were formulated to bring about. Over time these become something on their own and, if anything, are harder to destroy than the living seat of <i>power </i>like the tooth in amber. Because of what the ring was made to signify, it may be not only the creator of end events but have a link to some original source that goes back to Azathoth on its own, and is thus outside of even the power of the Dragon Mother. In that way it was a totem or embodiment of that set of <i>affinities </i>linked to that <i>power</i>, which thus makes it something that has <i>power </i>all its own.</p> <p>The ring was the item that most assuredly created an Avatar out of a mortal, the direct line to start end events if that is what was needed for them to happen. Yet an Avatar may be the least of its actual abilities, and a mere indication of what sort of transformation it would bring. It was, perhaps, the way out of this room. A way to break free of the Great Old Ones. She nearly started to smile until she realized one other thing.</p> <p>It had also brought together the events that killed the Avatar it was making.</p> <p>"Maria?" Guthrie asked standing behind the case and then walking around to the front of it, stepping closer to Maria.</p> <p>She looked at Bruce Wayne and then Dr. Gotham, and finally to Shlasuar.</p> <p>"Before you decide, Maria, please remember that these items manifest through other things, not directly."</p> <p>"Why is that important?" Vivian asked.</p> <p>"Ah, Pilot Rose, we are in a vast volume in which power of the sort utilized by these items will only give the holder a link to the Void. Hold the item and you will perish as it seeks to manifest through you."</p> <p>"Yes," Maria whispered, "and so you saying that you would give up the item is meaningless if one cannot remove it from here."</p> <p>She sneered at him shaking her head.</p> <p>"I'll remove it to hand it to you...Maria, is it?"</p> <p>Again everyone turned to Bruce Wayne.</p> <p>"Bruce," Frank growled in a very low tone, "not you."</p> <p>Bruce raised his eyebrows.</p> <p>"I'm proving a point, Frank."</p> <p>"Boss, if it's safe for you, then I'll do it," Vivian said, "I don't believe in this stuff, anyways."</p> <p>Bruce shook his head from side to side.</p> <p>"Sorry, Vivian, I'm it."</p> <p>"I would advise against it, Mr. Wayne," Dr. Gotham said, "you will die if you try."</p> <p>"If I'm successful," Bruce said carefully, "then I'm prepared for what comes next. At least mentally, I expect a few days to actually have to deal with the fallout of events, of course. And if I die then it is a headliine of 'Millionaire Industrialist Claimed by Ancient Curse' or something equivalent in the <i>Gotham Enquirer</i>. And that the stories taken back and told to others will mean that these items will remain safe for quite some time, which will ensure that if they ever go from here it will be long after my time or even the time of all humanity. And that these items now belong here until <i>Gotham </i>is no more. That is worth the risk, I think."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Dr. Gotham looked at Bruce Wayne and pressed his lips together, then looked over the case at Maria.</p> <p>"Do you wish an item from the case, Maria? Do know that if you cannot leave here with it, then it is not yours."</p> <p>Maria gave a cold stare at Dr. Gotham then a quick look at Guthrie before finally looking at Shlasuar.</p> <p>"Shlasuar?"</p> <p>With dazzled eyes he looked up from behind the case at Maria.</p> <p>"Yes, Maria?"</p> <p>"Do you think that either of those items can be taken from here and return with us?"</p> <p>Shlasuar shifted to one knee and pressed his lips together.</p> <p>"I... the ring, maybe, I think... but it is so dark around the case, Maria."</p> <p>Dr. Gotham looked at Shlasuar.</p> <p>"That is part of the warning, Shlasuar, to those who can perceive such things."</p> <p>Shlasuar looked back and up to Dr. Gotham and shivered.</p> <p>"I had been told about such things, but this is the first time..." he looked back into the case, "they are so beautiful and yet... " he looked up to Dr. Gotham. "It is not safe."</p> <p>"Nor is it safe to have them be used," he said, "their placement here was meant to put those seeking them in a bind."</p> <p>"And you did a very good job of it, Dr. Gotham," Guthrie said, "no matter which piece is left, I am not so sure that I would be able to leave here. Alive at least."</p> <p>"But what is wrong with the pieces?" Cindy asked, "Aren't they safe?"</p> <p>"Oh, Mrs. Hamilton, they are quite safe in the display situation and away from anyone touching them. Perhaps a touch from a feather duster once a decade will do no harm, and that under controlled conditions and observation which I had put into my storage instructions for the Museum. To actually hold one directly, or even with gloves on invites some problems. Perhaps with tongs there might be some element of safety, or by other means beyond direct handling. Closing the internal cases would also be safe and then going through the removal procedure for each would ensure the safety of all involved. While many may take this to be of mere superstitious nature, I am deadly serious."</p> <p>"Oh, I see, like Mr. Wayne said a curse or something with them?" she asked.</p> <p>"Or something," Maria said as she looked at Dr. Gotham. "If the ring is under your posession, Dr. Gotham, then I will accept that. Shlasuar?"</p> <p>She nodded to Shlasuar who started to reach into the case. A hand was on his shoulder, a firm hand that was pulling him back. He looked up at the man with the hand on his shoulder and saw the ceiling spotlight shinging down and casting long shadows over his eyes and cheeks. A deep shiver went through him and he started to slide away from the man, using his walking stick to steady him so he did not fall completely over.</p> <p>"The agreement is with Maria," Bruce said, "and she is the one who will receive it. You are not part of the agreement."</p> <p>It was a flat voice and yet to Shlasuar it was a voice coming out of the Void, telling him of <i>affinity </i>and contract and the misfortunes of breaking either. As Bruce bent over Shlasaur stood up and moved backwards, and ran into Sgt. Frank Rock, US Army, retired, who placed his hand on Shlasuar's shoulder and looked down at him. In fear Shlasuar looked up into the light that shone on the face of the combat veteran who had landed on the coast of Africa and been one of the first Americans to step into a concentration camp, before a final firefight nearly ended his life.</p> <p>"This isn't your fight, son. I don't like it, but it isn't mine, either."</p> <p>The shadow of the man by the case fell over Shlasuar once more and he saw the ring held by his fingers, glinting emerald shone from gold and the shards of emerald seemed to swirl as the ring moved, as if it was alive.</p> <p>Dr. Gotham did not like this but he could not stop this man, and that was one of the surest things he knew about this new time he was in. Once Bruce Wayne had declared what he would do, he did it, and he had made himself an implicit part of any agreement. He watched as Bruce walked towards the other side of the table and saw Lisa, Seliina and Erin move out of his path. Only Tom Octurian watched Bruce unmoving from his position which still left Bruce room to go by, but gave no indication of any fear. As Bruce passed him by, Tom whispered something in a way that barely saw his lips move and Bruce gave a single, slow nod and then proceeded on to Maria.</p> <p>She was pale turning to a greenish-gray across her skin and eyes taking on a yellow hue.</p> <p>Bruce held the ring up between them.</p> <p>"You would send a boy to die for you?"</p> <p>"Of course," she said.</p> <p>"It is the way of their kind," said Guthrie looking at Bruce and raising an eyebrow as he did so.</p> <p>"She did that with John," Shlasuar said.</p> <p>Maria looked at him.</p> <p>"There was no choice. He was the most skilled to go after the girl."</p> <p>"For us to report back," Shlasuar said, "now I will have to do that, won't I?"</p> <p>Maria nodded once.</p> <p>"Tell them... it is not worth the price."</p> <p>Shlasuar nodded and inhaled and then looked at the man behind him as his hand left Shlasuar's shoulder.</p> <p>"Some things are," he said, "and some things aren't. You never know which is which until after you have paid the price."</p> <p>"Do you still want the ring?" Bruce asked.</p> <p>She looked at him and tried to get a read on him and was unable to. The ring, she could see, was indeed a form of a seat of <i>power</i>, but the man was obviously not effected by it. She took heart in that, as he was not skilled in the ways of <i>power </i>or had any of the knowledge she had as a Priest. If a mere, ignorant surface dweller could achieve this, then surely she must be able to as well.</p> <p>"I do," she said.</p> <p>He extended his hand and she held out hers and only then did she realize her mistake.</p> <p>"With this ring you are wedded to it, till death do you part," Dr. Gotham said as Bruce slid the ring over her finger.</p> <p>Bruce's had moved away and she felt the burning of the inscription in her skin and, more deeply, into her. She wanted to scream but could only gasp. She felt her skin begin to transform, a thing she had not bidden it to do, but the <i>power </i>that coursed into her would not be denied. The ring had to entice its prior wearer into opening his mind to <i>power</i>, but a Priest was used to it coursing through them and made easy vessels to get into and exercise the transformation into an Avatar. Maria felt the greatness of the power, and beauty of it as her eyes began to swell and yet recede into her skull which was slowly transforming itself.</p> <p>Such power was going through her and then she felt it coursing hard and deep through her body and going to the Void. First the empty spaces in the molecules began to recede and, as they did so, the matter began to follow. An emerald glow came from her skin, mixing with gold until the light was blinding and all were shielding their eyes from it, save for Tom Octurian who stared unblinking at it. Where her skin had been dust was forming and then, in a flash of gold and emerald her entire body turned to ash. She died without a scream as the air would not leave her lungs. The moment the flash ended there was only a drifting soot that was moved by the air handlers and the sound of a golden ring hitting the marble floor.</p> <p>The others were lowering their arms and looking to the now dissipating form that had been Maria. Many had stunned expressions on their faces, while Guthrie just looked at where Maria was and shook his head.</p> <p>"I think I would scream but I'm too terrified," Erin said.</p> <p>"But... what happened to her?" Cindy asked looking at Dr. Gotham.</p> <p>"Yeah, where did she go?" Vivian said, "she could have just vanished."</p> <p>"The Void took her," Dr. Gotham said, "and we are left with the slight residue of her, the rest scattered across the cosmos along the Void link. What is there is, perhaps, just the outer layer of her skin."</p> <p>"But that's horrible," Loren said looking at Dr. Gotham.</p> <p>"No one should die like that," Barbara said.</p> <p>Bruce Wayne knelt down to pick up the ring by its edge and walked back behind the case and put the ring back where it belonged.</p> <p>"There are worse ways to die," Frank said.</p> <p>"Yes," Tom said looking over at Frank.</p> <p>Shlasuar looked at Bruce Wayne as he stood up, the ring now in its proper place.</p> <p>"And that leaves the piece in my care, Guthrie, unless you wish to have the ring, instead?" he said now standing behind the display case.</p> <p>Guthrie was looking at Bruce Wayne and then noticed some dark soot on the left side of his jacket, and attempting to brush it off just smeared it. He pursed his lips as he gave up the attempt and looked back at Bruce Wayne.</p> <p>"I don't think that would be a wise choice, would it Mr. Wayne?" Guthrie said with a sneer.</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>"Neither is a wise decision, Mr. Lewis. And, really, is it the item or items that you truly came for?"</p> <p>"Eh? What do you mean?" Guthrie asked.</p> <p>"Well if what you came for was actual items of power, then, of course, you should get what you desire. Even if that ends you and those you serve in a rather swift and horrific fashion. Not to speak of the rest of us, as well."</p> <p>Guthrie looked puzzled as he looked at Dr. Gotham.</p> <p>"I do not follow you, Dr. Gotham. Why would that be a swift end to us all?"</p> <p>Dr. Gotham smiled as he walked over to stand next to Bruce Wayne.</p> <p>"There is a problem with what you are seeking to do, Mr. Lewis."</p> <p>"And what is that?"</p> <p>"You are operating without knowing what the prior intent of that which has given all of this form and place. She had one thing that we do not have and cannot have and that is the items she came with that were part of her birth along with the space around her."</p> <p>"I'm not following you, Dr. Gotham? What else was there?" Guthrie asked.</p> <p>"Well you were a late comer to the scene, as were those you serve," Dr. Gotham said smiling, "really the stories were known to me even before modern archaeology discovered them, and coming from where you did, you surely had some better access to them than I did."</p> <p>Guthrie shook his head negatively.</p> <p>"No?" Dr. Gotham said, "And yet you passed by some of the inscriptions in the room dedicated to the archaeology of the Orient on the third floor, did you not?"</p> <p>"Many, Dr. Gotham, none that were of interest."</p> <p>"Really?"</p> <p>Shlasuar looked at Dr. Gotham.</p> <p>"That land called Sumer by your people?" Shlasuar asked. Everyone turned to look at him and Dr. Gotham smiled.</p> <p>"Yes, the very same, or one of its forebears. It told of the great battle fought by the Mother Dragon and her demons."</p> <p>Shlasuar smiled.</p> <p>"My People know of such things. We are descended from them that fought with the Mother Dragon."</p> <p>"We all are," Lisa Choi said as she walked closer to the display case. Selina and Barbara moved to be closer to her. "Everything as far as you can see from..." Lisa shook her head.</p> <p>"The Precipice," Shlasuar said, "it is the place to look back or out, but you can't survive either."</p> <p>Pressing her lips together Lisa nodded.</p> <p>"Beautiful and horrible there."</p> <p>"Miss Choi, did you see any artifacts there?" Dr. Gotham asked. He really did not want to intrude on her memories but it was something that he would like to know.</p> <p>"I... there's a stand there for... a cloak... with a hood... red on one side, white the other..." she said looking at him but also at a distant scene lost to her in dreams.</p> <p>"Were you expecting something there?" Guthrie asked.</p> <p>"Not that, assuredly," Dr. Gotham said, "although it is interesting. No what I had thought might be there were the items that Tiamat brought with her into creation."</p> <p>"That's right!" Barbara said, smiling, "She had tablets with her. Tablets of Destiny. Didn't she give those to her second mate, though?"</p> <p>"Would you hand your complete fate over to an outsider that you needed to merely enrich your brood?" Dr. Gotham asked.</p> <p>"Oh!" Erin exclaimed, "I mean if it wasn't love then, ahhh... well that would be a stupid thing to do, wouldn't it?"</p> <p>"But what about..." Cindy asked looking at the soft layer of soot on the floor where Maria had stood, "her? What was her name again?"</p> <p>"Mrs. Hamilton she is gone, abolished by the Void. It has reclaimed her and only with some effort will we remember her name, which is Maria. Her place in this was, unfortunately for her, woven by the threads given to the Spider. It is a rich tapestry and all of those threads have an author, although its source is the Void it cannot be said to have a mind or be an actual author of events, just of happenings and places."</p> <p>"Ahhh... the one who makes the thread, the one who weaves it and the one who cuts it. Yes, those I knew," Guthrie said, "although to get a straight answer from them meant some rather unpleasant bed stays, in which it was required to be of the same cheer for each of the three. They ran quite a lot until they also found out that they could be abolished."</p> <p>He sighed wistfully.</p> <p>"Really, not as bad as you would have thought," he said softly.</p> <p>"The Spider took up their job, not to worry," Dr. Gotham said.</p> <p>"Yes, as I found out. Now you are saying that what it wove was something that was given it to weave?"</p> <p>"Of course and it was guided by," he looked down into the case at the tooth in amber, "that which is still alive there. A tiny piece that had been in the jaw of something that could have swallowed entire galaxies and more if they had not been created from her. By her grandson or great-grandson, or at least of someone from a lineage that was not of her early spawn, like Shlasuar, here. Is that what your stories tell, as well?"</p> <p>Shlasuar nodded.</p> <p>"Not exactly like that, but yes."</p> <p>"And the great war between him and his grandmother? Do those stories tell of the cause?"</p> <p>"Not really, no. They don't even tell of her name, at least to Novitiates like me."</p> <p>"Understandable," Dr. Gotham said, "but it did have to do with her grandchild seeing half of his kind enslaved by her, yes?"</p> <p>"Yes, that is part of the story. They were serving her."</p> <p>"How were they serving her?" Bruce asked.</p> <p>Shlasuar looked at him.</p> <p>"I don't know. I don't think that even our Priests know. It wasn't given to us to know."</p> <p>Dr. Gotham looked from Shlasuar to Guthrie.</p> <p>"Tiamat was born from Chaos, the Void, and through the thing surrounding it, and then further out from Chaos, allowing the first of Order being able to do more than give some feeble formulation to things. And she had something that is a very gift from Order, didn't she?"</p> <p>"The Tablets," Barbara said.</p> <p>"Yes, Miss Gordon, exactly that. Order is order, and while it gives the minor gift of time very close to Chaos, it has problems doing more than that until one is very distant from Chaos itself. Tiamat was born of Chaos. She had a gift from Order. This, alone, should give a very strong hint as to what she was doing to reach her Destiny."</p> <p>"You can't avoid your destiny," Frank said, "it is always waiting for you."</p> <p>"But what you do will change its timing," Bruce said, "Vivian and Loren can attest to that."</p> <p>"You ask me to land in the damnedest places, boss," Vivian said.</p> <p>"I never expected anyone to just take me with a cert and a few months of experience in Knoxville, but it was worth trying."</p> <p>Guthrie raised an eyebrow and stepped towards the case again.</p> <p>"And what has that to do with why I am here?"</p> <p>"A very simple question is your answer, I should think, Mr. Lewis. Is the universe now more in the realm of Order than it is of Chaos?"</p> <p>Guthrie shook his head.</p> <p>"How can anyone know that?"</p> <p>"If she did bring in outsiders with power to add to her cosmos, and set her children about a task they may not have understood but that had purpose, then would that purpose be part of seeking her Destiny? Order definitely has a role for her and everything she did was not to bring herself and the cosmos around her closer to Azathoth and the Void, was it? Just the opposite, in fact."</p> <p>Guthrie inhaled looking down into the case at the tooth in amber that had been crafted about it milennia ago.</p> <p>"Are there any Lords of Order?" Dr. Gotham asked.</p> <p>"No," Shlasuar said sidling out from in front of Sgt. Rock and closer to the front of the case. "None exist."</p> <p>"No," Guthrie said softly, pressing his hands to the case. "I dare not act now."</p> <p>"And that is your answer, Mr. Lewis. The pieces will remain here for quite some time, I expect. Safe with the Void link, protected physically, and of no real monetary value. These are the pieces and they tell you so much of what is to come. This is not their time."</p> <p>Slowly Guthrie nodded, and slid his hands from the case.</p> <p>"I will talk it over with those who sent me," he said slowly, "you will still get a storm here, but only what would happen without their backing. I would much rather anger them than anger her."</p> <p>"A wise choice, Mr. Lewis. Mrs. Hamilton, if you would assist me, we wiill close the case."</p> <p><b>***</b></p> <p>Bruce watched Guthrie Lewis as he turned and left by the near side entrance and disappeared out into the hallway. The children on the lower floor had been taken to the central portion of the Museum where the warmth of the steam powered generator meant that they could take their winter coats off and be in comfort. His own leather jacket he had opened as it was now just chilly in the room, no longer frigid. He stepped out of the way so that Dr. Gotham and Mrs. Hamilton could close up the display case once more, and it was soon sealed with the green light on indicating that all of the devices were properly locked and secured.</p> <p>"Those are not good things," Shlasuar said looking in from the outside of the case.</p> <p>"They are what they are," Bruce said, looking to the young man who was neither man nor other species entirely.</p> <p>"Yes," he said looking at Bruce. "How could you handle the ring and not be touched by it?"</p> <p>Bruce raised an eyebrow and shifted to step beside Shlasuar to look into the case. Shlasuar did not look to where the soot was even now being moved by the air handlers so that only a bare trace of Maria was still left on the floor.</p> <p>"That is simple, really. I do not want any other power than that which I already have."</p> <p>Shlasuar shifted away from Bruce and Sgt. Rock and looked at the Bruce Wayne.</p> <p>"But you know... what they can do," he whispered.</p> <p>A slow smile crept to the lips of Bruce Wayne as he saw Dr. Gotham and Mrs. Hamilton stand up, yet all eyes were on Bruce Wayne.</p> <p>"What I want they cannot provide," Bruce said slowly, "and what I am they cannot have."</p> <p>Vivian nodded as she looked at her boss, Bruce Wayne, a man she had come to know well but not intiimately.</p> <p>"That's the truth," she said very softly.</p> <p>Frank Rock smiled and set his case down.</p> <p>"You are a good man, Bruce. Your father would be proud of you, and your mother, too."</p> <p>Shlasuar looked intensely at Bruce Wayne and shook his head.</p> <p>"But no one can resist...that..."</p> <p>"And yet he has, Shlasuar," Dr. Gotham said as he looked at the others and then at Shlasuar, "and it is something I would not trust myself to do without proper protection and precaution. I know such temptation and must safeguard myself from it. Find one who has no need of the <i>power </i>of these things, who cannot be enticed by them and you will also find the person who does not need them. Mr. Wayne's mother, Martha, I now believe was such a one, herself, which is why it passed to her and why that piece now rests here. These were the people the piece must go to so as to safeguard it. Your people should know of that, Shlasuar, for no good will come to them from these pieces as the <i>power </i>and <i>affinity </i>is now aligned to keep them safe, together."</p> <p>"That I will tell them of, Dr. Gotham."</p> <p>Shlasuar turned and they heard the slight tap of his walking stick as he left the room by the far entrance, going around the early aviation exhibits and finally disappearing into the hall.</p> <p>"I'm just, shocked," Mrs. Hamilton said, "I never thought that anything like... this... actually had anything to it."</p> <p>"It is best to keep them safe," Lisa said softly as she looked into the case, "for when they are free, only Chaos may result."</p> A Jacksonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.com0