Chapter 1 The Fish Story
John shielded his eyes from the bright sun with his hand, then remembered that his sun glasses were on top of his head and pulled them down to his eyes. The wind blew lightly into his face and he adjusted his grip on the fly rod so that he could keep his wrist straight for his cast and adjust for the breeze.
“John, you oughta relax. Flah’ fishin’ is s’pposed to be fun!” George Morton chided from 15 meters upstream in his gentle Mississippi accent. Morton ran his hand through his thin crew cut red hair and laughed heartily. George was teaching Koenig how to fly fish during one of their rare breaks in advanced flight training at Vandenburg. He’d dragged the recently arrived John Koenig out to the middle of the Sierra Madres with the promise of fun.
John, always the perfectionist in a new endeavor, organized and straightened out the fishing line of his fly rod into a perfect D shape and made his cast back, then forward, sweeping his hand-tied fly in a perfect flow to the stop point. Birds chirped all around as he cast, while standing knee deep in the clear flowing water.
“What is it I’m looking to catch here, George?” John asked with a chuckle.
“Does it matter, Koenig?” Adrik Yoshechka asked him from just downstream. Adrik was in training with them and always seemed gruff for such a young man. His dark hair, thick black eyebrows, and olive complexion made him seem brooding, but John got to know him well enough and he was just the opposite. Yoshechka, who preferred the nickname ‘Yosh’ given to him during their cadet days together, turned one corner of his dark lips up which was about as much of a smile as John had ever seen out of him when he was sober. When he was not sober, you did not want to anger 120 kilos of solid Russian muscle
“No Yosh, it doesn’t really, but the way you are concentrating I’d think you expect to land an Osetra sturgeon with that fly.” John and George laughed again, while Yoshechka harrumphed.
“I promised dat little blonde intern at the base hospital a night of caviar, champagne, and romance before I ship out to the orbital platform. I can afford the champagne, but I will need to harvest the caviar myself!”
George and John laughed; not knowing if Yosh was serious or not, and finally after another hour of unsuccessful fishing gave up and packed their fishing gear.
“I’ll bet they put some of those fish eggs you like in the ark.” George Morton said as he carefully tossed bottles of beer from the cooler to Yosh and John. They sat on the bank of the fast running river, looking at the verdant green of the hills, absorbing the quiet, and reveling in the camaraderie.
“Those are not quite the same, Egor. I doubt they are planning to include sturgeon.” Retorted Yosh.
“I don’t know, Yosh. Two-by-two like the bible says.”
“An ark? What are you guys talking about?” Koenig was surprised he had not heard about such a plan.
“Well, it is supposed to be secret, but most folks on the base know about it. It’s called the A.R.C. which stands for Advanced Recovery Capsule but most people call it an ark.” Morton said. “The government is building it south of the Madres to preserve DNA, or something like that of all the species. Not much information about it anywhere, but there’s a lot of rumors.”
“Da! Like the one which says it is the size of a futbol field and forty stories deep into the earth! It is all nonsense, just like there being a secret base for a UFO-fighting force near London. It is just government dis-information to distract attention from what they are really doing.”
John smiled at his friend’s vehemence against any kind of government.
“And what are they really doing, Yosh?” Koenig asked jokingly.
“They are building a base on the moon of course, Ivan.”
George and John laughed so hard John’s head was spinning. Or was it the beer? He could not concentrate, and George was shaking his shoulder so hard he was almost ready to throw up…..
“John! John!”
The shaking continued and then released him as he rolled onto all fours, and vomited on the dry grass outside the hut he and Helena shared.
“John, are you okay?”
“What do you want, George? Can’t I just throw up in peace?”
“George?” Pat Osgood asked, confused. Pat himself was a little hung-over this morning, too, but he still knew who John Koenig was… “Are you alright, Comman…John?” Many of the residents of Hog Pen Springs still called John by his rank even though they’d not been on Moonbase Alpha for more than 10 years.
John spit the last of the foul taste from his mouth and opened his eyes which hurt so bad he quickly closed them again. They had been in Pat and Tony’s village for almost two months, working fields during the day and discussing plans after dinner until everyone broke up and went to bed. Helena and John had made the comparatively easy trip to the next village, named Farside, where Bob Mathias led another successful community.
“I was fishing…, with some pals from Vandenburg. Drinking beer and fishing, and talking about….” Koenig’s eyes shot open and he stood with Osgood’s help, holding onto Pat’s shoulders. Pat turned his head away from Koenig’s face to avoid the stench of his breath.
“Where’s Tony?” John croaked out.
“He’s waiting for you! Helena is there, too, and a few others. We’ve completed the inventory of spare materials, and we’re ready to try to decide the next step.”
“I’ve got to tell them! Something is more important….” John achieved most of his balance and stumbled off more quickly than Pat would have thought he could. Osgood had to jog to keep up, but finally the two of them burst through the doorway of the Mission Hall as the village had named the community center. The significance of the name wasn’t lost on John Koenig. Tony, Helena, Michelle Osgood, Raul Martinez, and Julie Price were all seated at a large, stone table in the center of the Hall.
“Good to see you, John.” Tony said as he stood, smiling at John’s unsteadiness. “Hope you’re feeling alright after the harvest celebration last night. Everyone is nipped a bit this morning.”
“Tony, Helena, everyone…, we’ve got it all wrong. There is something more important. Something that can save everyone!” John’s eyes were wide and bloodshot, and his skin flush from his run to the Hall.
“John, slow
down. We’ve got the list….”
“Forget the list! We’ve got to find something. Something that has everything we need!”
“It has something to do with fishing.” Pat Osgood offered. “He was dreaming about fishing.”
“Forget fishing, Pat!” John shouted; then regretted it.
“John, come sit down and look at the final plan.” Tony’s tone was placating.
Koenig slammed his palm down on the table in frustration.
“This is more important, Tony!”
Verdeschi thought John was acting just the way he did the day the jelly monsters had invaded, and everyone thought he was crazy. Tony remembered John well enough that there was more to this than met the eye, so he relented.
“Alright, John. What can be more important that helping the other settlements?”
“The future of the human race!” John began to stalk the room, circling around the group at the table. “It was nearly 20 years ago, or thirty for you, or three thousand and thirty…, I can’t keep it straight. When I was out here in California, we were fishing….”
“I told you it was about fishing!” Pat muttered in a wounded tone, but John ignored him.
“The guys I was with told me about a facility at the south end of the Sierra Madres that was some kind of time capsule. I checked into it, and it appears it really existed.”
“But John, it was thousands of years ago. Even if it existed, it probably was used or destroyed long ago.” Tony said. “We don’t even know where to look.”
“I researched it, Tony.” John was calmer now, and starting to feel, once more, like the Commander rather than a field hand. He did not wish to command these people, but within himself he felt the urgency to convince them there was hope.
“I got questioned by the MPs for asking too many questions, but I figured out about where it was---I just didn’t remember it until last night. I never tried to go there, but all the evidence suggests it was real. I soon lost interest in it because one of my buddies told me again about the building of a moon base. I was called in by the MPs again for trying to find out about the moon base as well, but when I found out the Space Commission was building a permanent base I focused on getting there. I think the ARC really exists and I think it is worth looking for.”
“Ark, John?” Helena asked.
“Archived Resource Capsule, A.R.C. for short. But the ark of biblical fame is a good analogy because it was supposed to store samples of everything for the future---kind of a database of life and human knowledge. At least that’s what I remember people said it was.”
“John, we’ve spent the last month preparing for how to help the other settlements. You want us to scrap all those plans and go off on this.., this quest of yours?” Michelle Osgood was not one to mince words.
“Michelle, I’m not sure what I’m asking yet. My first thought is to go alone.” Helena stiffened. John knew she would not want to be left behind, but he wasn’t sure he wanted her to go.
“With no settlements that direction, there is no way to get food or plan for water along the way, John.” Raul commented. “We’d have to pack in supplies, but I think I can rig a backpack frame for us to use.” Martinez, a former pilot, was now a farmer and mechanic.
“Raul! You can’t be seriously considering this scheme.” Julie Price, who worked in hydroponics on Alpha and now tended young plants in the settlement’s makeshift plant nursery, was aghast.
“Actually, I’m intrigued. I’ve heard rumors about the project, but never about where it was. We’re nearly finished with the harvest in most of the fields, and we’re ready to hunker down for the wind-season. I have no family, so I’d just as soon go looking for this ark.” Raul stated, then leaned back and folded his arms. “I’m with the Commander.”
“Raul, I’m not trying to get an expedition assembled---I just want you all to think about the possibilities. All the plans we’ve put together will still work in a couple of months, but this could be the answer to all the settlements’ problems.”
“Tony, you can’t allow this!” Julie exclaimed. Verdeshi put his hand up in a stopping gesture which silenced Price, and then he stood. The commotion had attracted more residents to the Hall and they slowly filed into the room. Tony did not want this to become an emotional issue, and he decided that expressing himself honestly as he always had was the optimal solution.
“John, I think this is a fool’s errand but if you plan to go looking for this ark, anyone whose duties are complete is welcome to go with you. We’re not a dictatorship so all I can say is what I think.” Tony pushed a shock of dark hair that was becoming streaked with gray out of his face. He had asked for elections the second month they were here and he had been the elected leader every other year since.
“We should be finished with the harvest in a couple of weeks. I recommend that you plan your trip for shortly after harvest. You should be able to get in a little travel before the wind gets too bad. Coming back will be another matter because it could get really bad by then. We’ll put together the supplies that will get you there.”
Chapter 2 Gone to Seed
The days flowed by quickly during the remaining time of the harvest season. Everyone in Hog Pen Springs worked as hard as they could to bring in the remaining crops. The last thing to harvest was the seeds for the next year which usually came from plants left in the fields after the rest of the crops were collected. Most days now a light, steady, dry wind blew chill air through the valley and Helena pulled her burnoose tightly around her face with her back to the breeze in an attempt to stay warm in the cool morning. With cold-numbed fingers, she snapped off the plant stalk with the air-dried seed pods still attached and dropped it into her collecting bag. Some of the seeds would be used for medicines, and some for planting next season. Raul Martinez walked through the nearly empty field toward her.
“Hi, Helena! Raul called out.
“Hello, Raul. What brings you out this morning?” Helena pushed back her hood as she greeted the pilot-turned-mechanic.
“Came looking for you. Your pack is finished, so stop by my place on your way back and I’ll fit you.”
“Thanks. Did you mention it to John?” She asked with trepidation and Raul looked hurt.
“Of course not! You asked me to build it on the Q.T., and that’s what I did. How you break it to the Commander is up to you.” Martinez smiled knowingly. He was not about to get in the middle of a domestic dispute. “Don’t forget to check with Tony to line up your supplies.”
“Already done. We’re supposed to leave tomorrow. Right?”
“That’s the plan right now. How’s Peg’s baby?”
“I checked on them this morning. Baby is very well, but Peggy is anemic and we don’t have any vitamins. If we had an iron cooking pot, rather than the aluminum ones, Don could cook her food in that to include some trace amounts.”
“I think I can make one before we leave tomorrow. We don’t have much iron, but there are a couple of things left that I can use. It may not be pretty, but it’ll work!”
“That would be great. I’m sure that everyone here is anemic, but the women are at a special disadvantage because of regular blood loss. That is one of the issues we have in a vegetarian environment.”
“And cooking everything in iron pots is a fix for that?”
“At least it will help. It’s one of the things that helped us stay alive on Alpha all those years. When they designed Alpha they built it with iron-based cookware and water storage systems. I thought I recommended when we set up the communities that we make sure each one got some of the cookware.”
“Could be. I didn’t hear about that, but let me get to work on the pot thing. See you later.” Raul turned and let the wind push at his broad back and shoulders as he headed for his workshop home and Helena worked to complete the seed collection.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, John.” Tony said. He stood in the adobe hogan that was assigned to Helena and John and watched as Koenig put rations into the aluminum frame pack he was preparing for the trip tomorrow.
“I do, Tony. This can’t be a coincidence that I show up here when you and I both know that these settlements are living on the brink.” Tony began to object, then fell silent and nodded his head. “You’ve kept a brave face on it, but when your kids take over this settlement, their time is limited. Look at your solar cookers, the few pieces of electrical equipment that run on solar cells, and even those iron cooking pots Raul hammered out for you earlier today. What happens when those things are gone? Humanity dies out. That’s what happens.
“It can’t end this way, Tony. I won’t stand by and let it. I can’t believe that God and the Universe would save us from the myriad things we’ve encountered from Breakaway until now, only to slowly force us into extinction on what could very well be our home planet.”
“John, I can’t disagree with your assessment but I refuse to agree with it. That would lead down a road to oblivion.”
“I understand, Tony, but it doesn’t change anything. We were told by Arra that we are the future of humanity in space. Maybe we were destined to return here and the ark was intended for us all along. I don’t expect divine intervention, but I have to believe we will make it.”
“A little part of me really wants to go along with you, but most of me thinks that five of you committing suicide is enough.”
The door to the hogan blew open, slapping the wall from the force of the wind and two hooded figures entered, accompanied by a swirl of wind-driven dust. The smaller of the two carried a nylon-encased pack on their back, and wore a goggle-breathing mask device that covered their face. The taller newcomer closed the door, ending the wind tunnel of dirt and uncovered his shaggy dark hair.
“So how’s it work, Madame?” Raul Martinez asked his companion. Helena Koenig pushed the hood of her burnoose back and pulled the strap holding the goggle-mask in place forward over her head to expose her face. She shook her head, like a dog shaking off water.
“Perfectly.” She exclaimed.
“Great, because it looks like the winds have come early this year.” Raul said, turning to Tony. “I hope you don’t mind my rummaging around the storehouse, Tony. I found a bunch of emergency breathers from the old Eagles and made up goggles for everyone out of some glass. The breather hose attaches to a belt around the waist so you’re breathing air from under the burnoose allowing it to act as a filter.”
“Five?” John asked, piqued. “You knew Helena was going? I should have guessed everyone would keep that little secret.”
“I won’t stay behind. I’m not leaving your side---ever. Besides, none of you paramilitary types could rub two amino acids together to make chromosome.” She smiled disarmingly and John’s anger evaporated.
“I know when I’m beat. Five it is. We’ll meet you, Pat, and Max at sunup, Raul.”
Chapter 3 Shadows
Helena slipped and nearly fell negotiating the steep downhill slope, but was caught and held up by Max Conner’s dark-skinned, muscular hand. Scrabble of rocks and dirt cascaded down the slope with Helena and Max. Her feet and ankles were buried in the debris and a cactus plant pierced her burnoose and flight suit and she felt it touch the side of her left calf. Their first day of travel was nearly over, and Helena Koenig's legs were feeling rubbery and weak from the exertion. She was glad when Pat Osgood and John, who were alternating at taking point, called a halt to their day at the bottom of the ravine. They all were happy to take off the masks and goggles even though the air was still filled with dust. At least they were no longer being sand-blasted.
The ravine itself was
unremarkable. The steep grade on one
side led down to the dry wash that looked as though no one had ever been
here. On the opposite side of the
ravine stood more of a canyon-like wall of dirt and boulders about 30 meters
high. They would need to divert from
their planned path to find a hike-able exit somewhere up or down “stream” from
their location. They had not seen any
possibility in sight while still at the top of the slope.
"We
really could try to go further, but we have shelter from the wind here and it
will be dark in less than an hour and we may not find this good a spot
then." John said as he pulled his goggles and mask off over his head
and then pulled out Victor's map. Dust plumed
forth as he unrolled it for everyone to see and he pointed to various landmarks
they thought they had passed along the way.
“John, I’m pretty sure we passed that peak,” Raul said putting his finger on a spot on the map. “That means we’ve made amazing progress!”
“Well, it’s not like we spent any time sight-seeing.” Pat grumbled and everyone chuckled. There had not been much to do but march as hard as they could so they made excellent time.
“Is this ravine that long line Victor has labeled ‘Eagle’s Gorge’?” Helena asked as she looked at the map.
“I think so, Helena.” John replied cheerfully.
“Then we’ve come over half way!” She exclaimed.
“Don’t read too much into that map, my love.” John cautioned. “Victor drew it from satellite images from the Eagles and it may not be to scale. That---and we don’t know exactly where the ark is located. We think it’s somewhere in this foothill area which will mean we have to climb about 600 meters if the elevations on the map are accurate.” John indicated a spot about as far away as they had already come.
“Looks like two more days there, then doing a search of the area.” Max Conner, Tony’s former security assistant, said. “Unless we find a water source, we will only have two days at the site before we will have to head back---and that’s pushing it because based on our water rations we’ll be out of water on the second day going back. It could be an easier trip with it being a little more down-hill but two days there will be the absolute maximum.”
“I agree, Max.” John said. “Let’s break out the evening meal and relax. Anyone who needs to use the facilities,” John smiled, “ can head up the ravine around the bend.” The ravine curved and narrowed and the gentle slope disappeared about 100 meters away, creating a canyon with towering dirt and rock walls. Helena looked at the space, slowly darkening in the coming night and shivered, her slight claustrophobia setting her nerves on edge. Since her original John Koenig left, never to return, she’d become fearful of closed-in, dark places.
“I’m going now.” Helena said with certainty. There is no danger here. There’s nothing to hurt me. She thought to herself.
“Ladies first! That’s what I always say.” Raul said happily as he helped her off with the pack and sat it gently onto the ground. He also helped her pull off the burnoose and tossed it casually onto her pack.
Helena walked up the ravine in the flight suit, forcing herself to think of the mechanics of relieving herself in a canyon. Within moments she was around the bend of the ravine and out of sight of the others as she walked between the walls of dirt 6 meters apart and 30 meters straight up. The walls widened out a bit further on and Helena found a pair of rocks she thought she could brace herself against and opened her flight suit and relieved her aching bladder.
Finished, she zipped the suit and looked up as some sixth sense told her something was amiss. Helena dove forward with all her might as an avalanche of dirt and rocks plummeted downward from the ridge above her. When the tumble of earth subsided, she could hear John yelling for her, and the pounding of feet.
“Helena!” John reached her side and helped her up; pulling her from knee-deep in dirt. “Are you alright?” He looked carefully at her legs and then at the tons of earth and rocks that had descended from the canyon wall.
“I think so.” She stood and brushed the dirt from her flight suit, then thoroughly examined her legs which had taken the brunt of the impact. She put her weight on each leg in turn, wincing slightly on her left. “I should be fine. There are just a couple of bruises.” She too, looked up at the edge of the canyon which was now lying at her feet.
“That’s a lot of dirt.” Pat Osgood said with a whistle.
“For sure.” Raul chimed in.
Helena seemed intact, so they headed back to their camp, ate their dried fruit and vegetables, and settled in for the night. No one slept near the canyon wall after the collapse that nearly buried Helena. John leaned against a large, saddle-shaped boulder and Helena leaned into his shoulder and they listened to the wind and sipped from their water ration bottles. The bottles were scavenged from emergency packs on their Eagle spacecraft.
“I’d like to stop by here on the way back to Hog Pen Springs if we can.” Helena stated.
“Why?”
“Did you notice that there are quite a few plants---cactus and grasses---that don’t grow near the settlements? I’d like to collect some samples.”
“That sounds like a plan.” John spoke with his eyes closed.
“Am I leaning too hard on you, John?” Helena asked him as she snuggled closer.
“I’m okay. Just glad you’re safe.” They sat in silence as John wrapped his arms gently around her.
“What do you think caused that wall to collapse, John?” Helena asked as she drank the last of her water ration. John was silent for a minute, and then he drained the rest of his water as well.
“Well, my first thought would be simple coincidence. But it could also be that since there has been no one here that we triggered the collapse.”
“Us? How?”
“This canyon has been here a very long time without anything to disturb it except the wind. It could be that our foot falls were enough vibration to affect the stability of the wall.”
“Hmmm. I hadn’t thought of that.” Helena leaned forward and pulled their sleeping pads toward her and laid them out side-by-side. They both fell over onto them and were soon asleep.
‘The earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God covered the face of the waters.’ Helena remembered the biblical story of Genesis as she opened her eyes to the pre-dawn darkness. The sun did eventually rise dimly, and with it the winds whipping particles into the air to block it out. First light lasted only a moment followed by a pervading, gray-brown gloom. Everyone got up and re-packed their gear, preparing for the next segment of their travel to find the ARC. Helena noted that her leg ached but that it should not cause her anything other than annoyance as she hiked. Unzipping the outside zipper up from ankle to knee on the left leg of her flight suit, she saw a purple bruise covering the side of her leg where the canyon wall hit her. It was tender, but not swollen and she wished for a bag of ice with a sigh but zipped the suit closed without further comment. John helped her on with her pack, and the team headed east---down the canyon. The unspoken agreement to forgo their morning rations in order to get moving as soon as possible was unanimous.
The landscape changed a little at a time as they moved into the foothills at the south end of the Madres range. Four hours into their morning the group stopped while traveling through a wide rock canyon for a break in the shelter of some ruins set against a backdrop of sheer stone cliffs. There were no roofs and only partial walls a couple of stories high. Dark windows looked out at the travelers like the empty eye sockets of a human skull.
“Reminds me a little of Mesa Verde.” Raul shouted over the wind.
“More like Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, except that the stone material and construction of the walls looks more contemporary to our culture. Where did the metal frames from the windows go? Why are there no collapsed roofs?” Helena shouted back.
“It’s been so long that anything metal or organic has oxidized or rotted and blown away. Also, there were probably survivors of whatever wiped out this culture and they scavenged anything usable until they died out, too.
“Of course, we should have found something left somewhere and we’ve never done so. Most of the usable stuff has probably been buried under layers of sediment by wind and time. We just don’t have the manpower or time to spend excavating on the chance of finding usable materials.”
“Let’s get inside and rest!” John yelled, and everyone nodded their assent.
‘Inside’ was a relative term since there was no roof, doors, or windows. They quickly found a comparatively quiet spot behind a sturdy-looking, windowless wall and shrugged off their packs. Helena opened her rations and pulled out some vegetable strips for her and John, flinching from the ache in her bruised leg. They each took a bite and found the strips gritty from fine particles of dirt that penetrated the storage containers but chewed on anyway.
Max Conner had uncovered his shaven head but still had his goggles and mask on and stood at the doorway peering out into the swirling dust---then suddenly darted out into the miasma of wind and dirt.
“Max, what are you doing?” John shouted but got only the wind for his answer. He pressed his goggles against his face and yelled again into the tempest but again there was no response. Koenig remained at the doorway chewing his vegetable strip and dirt until he finally thought he could see Max’s faint silhouette coming toward them and he ran out to meet him.
Max re-entered the shelter bearing a large bundle, followed by John carrying similar baggage. The two men lugged their loads to the quiet spot they’d found and carefully put down their ragged parcels,
“Helena, bring some water quick!” John said. She pulled one of the canteens from her pack and ran to John’s side; kneeling down next to him as he pulled wrappings from the mummy-like form. His efforts finally revealed the face of Cody Mathias. Helena poured a capful of water between his lips and Cody smiled.
“Dr. Koenig. Commander. Thank you. We lost your trail for a little while, but I told Tony we’d find you again!” Cody sat up and looked over at Tony, who Max and Pat had similarly unfurled. “See. Told ‘ya, Tony!”
“Well, I tracked them until a half hour ago!” Tony shot back, his voice muffled by the wrappings. The boys were amazingly resilient and lively for youngsters who’d been walking alone in the arid landscape for a day-and-a-half.
“We wrapped each other up real good! The wind didn’t bother us a bit!” Cody said in answer to Helena’s unasked question. He stood and went over to Tony to help complete the unwrapping of his face. Both boys’ eyes were covered with irregularly shaped pieces of glass for protection. The glass did not move when John touched them.
“Glued on!” Tony said as Max and Pat both poked gently at the light-brown glue that sealed the glass. They looked at one another, questioningly. The material was slightly flexible, but resisted their prodding like rubber.
“Where’d you get glue from?” Pat asked as he pulled Tony up from the ground to a seated position. “We haven’t had any glue for eight years!”
“Made it.” Tony stated as he threw back a capful of water. “We mixed some ‘oint’ cactus juice with the pulp from baddis fruit---the vine that grows on the ground in the hills. Smells bad, but the smell goes away after it’s dried some and it stays bendy for a couple of weeks out in the air.”
“What are you two doing here?” Max asked.
“We’re goin’ explorin’ with you! Nobody ever goes anywhere from Hog Pen Springs. The most anybody goes is from Farside to the Springs, so we tracked you all the way here.” Tony was proud of their accomplishment and none of the adults had the heart to try to scold them, regardless of how dangerous their venture was for them.
“What do we do now?” Max asked of John Koenig, who stood and interlaced his fingers over his head as he leaned against the wall.
“I don’t know. Pat and Max should probably take the boys back to the settlement while the three of us push on. Two fewer people will make finding the ARC more problematic, but I don’t see any other choice.”
“We’re not goin’ back.” Cody said, looking Koenig in the eye. “You’ll have to carry us, and when we get back we’ll just leave again.”
The five adults looked at one another, not having a response. John felt out of his element, not having had to deal with children before, but these kids had grown up in this environment and were probably better-adapted to deal with it than the adults.
Max Conner stood, towering over the boys.
“You will join our party, and you will listen to the Commander. If he says to jump, you will ask how high and then jump. If he says to fly, you will grow wings and fly. Is that clear?” Max sounded like a drill instructor.
“Yessir.” Cody and Tony said in unison.
“Good. You will both march in front of me and behind the Commander. For now we sit and rest. Do you have food and water?”
“Yes,” Cody answered and both boys pulled pouches out of their wrappings. The pouch contained a quantity of food strips and a small round gourd-like pod filled with water.
“Good. Eat a little, have another sip of water and wrap up.”
“Right.” John said, adopting a more commanding tone. “We’re going to rest for about 20 minutes and then head out again.” He pulled a granola-like bar from his pack and another for Helena. He caught Max’s eye, nodding his thanks and Max smiled back. John knew Max had three children of his own and he displayed adeptness in dealing with youngsters that John was going to need to acquire quickly. The party ate, and moved out into the swirling winds in search of the ARC.
Chapter 4 The ARC
Winds swirled more lightly about the travelers as they reached the crest of a steep ridge. At the top of the incline the seven stopped and looked out across the foothills of the Sierra Madres at the setting sun and the darkening valley below them. Somewhere down there, according to vague memories and ancient legend, was the ark that would save their people. John squinted at the sun and then down at the expansive valley, easily twenty-five kilometers across at the widest point and stretching southward as far as could be seen. The group worked hard to reach this point on their second day, and everyone seemed drained of enthusiasm. Helena sat down heavily on a rock and stretched her bruised and aching leg.
“Are we ready to stop soon?” Helena asked.
“How about down there, Commander.” Max said, pointing to a large flat area about 100 meters below them and half a kilometer into the valley.
“Looks good, Max. Can you make it, Helena?” John asked with genuine concern.
“I’ve lived on this desolate rock for 10 years, and a couple of bruises are not going to stop me now!” Helena’s fiery determination took him aback for a moment before he smiled.
“Then down we go!” John dredged up some enthusiasm and pulled Helena to her feet but deferred to Max the lead while he stayed close to Helena’s side. They made the distance, by the end of which John was holding his arm out to her to lighten the load on her leg.
“Why don’t you let me make us dinner?” John said with a warm smile as he pulled dried vegetable strips and canteen from his pack. Helena laughed.
“Thank you, John. A gentleman and a scholar---as well as a chef & and explorer.”
“That part remains to be seen. We have two days to investigate over 1000 square kilometers, so the odds are against us.”
“Not like, say, surviving the Moon getting blown out of Earth’s orbit.”
“Yeah, that’s silly. No one could survive that.”
They laughed together as complete darkness settled over the valley with the setting of the sun and the party gathered together to discuss the next day.
“We should split into three teams,” John suggested after some discussion, “and start searching for any evidence of the ARC. Each team will take a section of the grid I’ve drawn on the map, and begin their search.”
“What are we lookin’ for, Commander?” Cody was the first to ask the obvious question for which no one had the perfect answer.
“We talked a lot about that back in Hog Pen Springs before we left, Cody. We don’t really have a single answer. The facility is underground, so we will be looking for a piece of a structure that has been exposed by erosion and hoping that we notice it.”
“Most of the places Cody and I have found in the hills are mostly buried, Commander.” Tony said. “What if the ark is buried deeper now than it was then?”
The adults looked from one to the other until Raul Martinez finally answered him.
“We hope it isn’t, Tony. We believe that since we’re at a higher altitude, the winds have been eroding material away---to bury those places you’ve found and uncover this place. We believe that both logically and in our hearts because we believe we have a future here.”
“Okay. So what’s in it?” Cody asked.
Helena answered him. “That’s what makes discovery exciting, Cody; the opportunity to find the answer to questions like that. The truth is, we don’t know exactly what is inside. It’s another one of those ‘hope and believe’ things.”
“Then we hope and believe, too.” Tony stated; an imperious tone was in his voice.
“Me, too.” A voice from above them said.
“Daddy!” Tony yelled, and scrambled up the slope to his father. The two crushed one another in a hug, and they came down the hill to the encampment where Tony was greeted with back-slaps and hugs from the others.
“You didn’t bring my father with you. Did you, Mr. Verdeshi?” Cody asked a bit nervously.
“No, but I let him know where you two had gone and that I’d bring you back.”
“But Mr. Verdeshi, we jus’ got here and we need t’ look for the ark and ever’thing!”
“We will. And in two days we’re going home. No ifs, ands, or buts.”
“Yessir.” The boys said in unison.
“Good. The same goes for the rest of you.” Verdeshi looked through the darkness at the ark-seekers.
“Yes, Daddy.” Pat Osgood said with a chuckle and everyone laughed. “How did you manage to find us?”
“I already knew where you were going, and it was not that tough to follow your trail. After thousands of undisturbed years a group of people walking through the wastelands make enough changes so as to be obvious to anyone who was looking---even with the wind.”
“Which seems to have calmed a bit.” John stated.
“It has. Our experience over the years is that the winds are cyclical and we’ll have a period of calm and the winds will be back in a day or two.
“Let’s get some rest and we’ll start the search in the morning.” John suggested.
“Good idea, John.” Tony pulled off his pack and lay down on the ground for the night. The others followed suit to be ready to spend the next day searching for the ARC.
Helena awoke in the complete darkness early the next morning with more stiffness and soreness than any day she could remember in the last few years. Maybe I’m more out of shape than I realized. Or maybe I’m just getting old. And unless it got warmer, I’m running a fever,too. She thought to herself, then stretched her leg out and moaned in pain. John sat up instantly.
“Helena?” John whispered
“I’m sorry I woke you, John.” Helena said in pained reply. The edge of dawn was drawing near and the starlit blackness in the eastern sky was softening to a cloudless blue.
“It’s okay. I was awake so we could get an early start. What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure, but I can barely move my leg.”
“Well, just lie still until the light comes, and have a look at it then. That should only be a few minutes.’
“A few minutes more or less is not going to change this pain.” She felt along the leg and could feel the increased heat of fever from her leg as soon as she unzipped the leg of her suit. This is not good. Helena thought, knowing that infections or internal bleeding from injuries were almost always fatal now that they had no antibiotics left, and that surgery was a last resort in any situation for the last five years.
When the light came, a yellow-orange glow from over the top of the eastern ridge of the valley, she could see the bad news. The purplish spot had spread to her entire calf from knee to ankle. Strangely, a little swelling was taking place but what she thought was a bruise was becoming a violet stain that was spreading.
“What can I do, Helena?” John asked her as she examined her leg.
“Take hold of my knee with one had and my ankle with the other and try to manipulate the leg.” She winced in the twilight as he grasped the joints and John bent her leg at the knee. “That doesn’t hurt too badly. Try flexing between your hands to see if anything is broken, but I think I already know the answer.”
“Am I trying to feel for anything?” John asked.
“No, but if I scream you’ll know we’ve discovered something.” Helena smiled slightly, trying to make light of the situation. As John followed her directions in the brightening morning, she could see the look of concern on his face. No shooting pains struck her confirming in her mind that she did not have a broken bone.
“It’s getting light enough; you should be able to look at the leg.”
“What should I expect to see?”
“Considering the tenderness and purple coloring, something is affecting the skin. If we were on Old Earth I would suspect an insect bite, but we have not seen an insect or any kind of animal life since we landed here. Look at the skin and see if you see any dried blood, crusty yellowish material or sign of a puncture wound of any kind.”
“You think you were bitten? By what?”
“I don’t know but if you find any signs of necrosis or open sores be sure not to touch them. Just look.”
“Necrosis? You think you were attacked by a Brown Recluse Spider?”
“I’m not going to rule anything out, yet.”
The others were stirring by now, all looking at them and listening. Tony came over and squatted next to John. He reached forward to touch Helena’s leg when she stopped him.
“Don’t, Tony. I’ve got a slight fever, and we don’t know what this is yet so you should stay away. One person potentially contaminated is enough.” He nodded but didn’t leave.
“Paul Wynn died a month after we settled in Hog Pen Springs.” Tony reminisced. “He’d been limping around all day after he and party had been out foraging one morning and that evening he said he didn’t feel well while we were putting up the main Hogan, so I sent him home. He didn’t report for his duties the next day so I checked on him. He was lying on his cot and said he’d be up to snuff the next day. When he didn’t come to breakfast that second day I went to find him and he looked like that all over. Said it started with his foot.
“We sent someone for the Doctor, but he was gone by the time Bob got there the next day. Do we have something to worry about, Helena?”
“At this point I do. No one else got it in the Springs?”
“Nobody. Not since either.”
“Let’s not take chances. Everyone but John will keep their distance and you’ll all go look for the ARC. I’ll hold down base camp.” Tony nodded to her and stood.
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll take little Tony with me. Where do you want us to start, John?”
“You and Tony take the west slope, Raul, Max and Cody the east.”
“I can take the center, John.” Pat volunteered.
“You should work in teams, John.” Helena stated. “I’ll be right here as I am definitely not going anywhere.”
“Helena….” But Helena cut him off.
“Go. Search. Find the ark, Noah.” Helena smiled. “Just go. You’re wasting daylight. But first find the black bottle in my pack.”
John rummaged through her pack until the pint-sized bottle that sloshed with liquid.
“Open it and pour a tiny amount on your hand and rub them together.”
John opened and sniffed the strong alcohol aroma.
“Where did you get this?” He asked, rubbing the alcohol into his hands.
“You can ferment anything, and a still is a still is a still. It’s the only antiseptic in town.”
“Yeah, but how is it as a mixer?” He smiled briefly, and then continued in a more serious tone. “Really, Helena. Do you think you’ll be okay?”
“What I think, John is that you need to find that facility. Mine is the fate of everyone in all the settlements. One by one we’ll have an accident, get sick, and we’ll die. There is nothing here or at Hog Pen Springs that can help me. Don’t let my legacy be that I slowed down the search for the ARC---you were right about it possibly being the salvation for all of us. Find it no matter what happens, John.
Koenig knelt, tears welling in his eyes, looking at the woman he had so recently learned to love. She was his only connection to this reality and he wasn’t sure he could go on without her. He couldn’t do what she said---leave her here; possibly to die but he also knew he had to find the ARC. But in reality, John knew he would go on the search because Helena said it was the right thing to do. She was his moral compass, he realized, and would not be as good a person without her.
“We’ll find it, Helena. But we should leave the packs here with you and carry nothing but our canteens, snacks, and tools.”
“That’s a good idea, John.” Tony said from a short distance away. They all dug through their packs and dropped them near Helena before heading off into the valley.
Helena dozed fitfully through the day and into the evening when she heard someone coming back to the base camp in the darkness. It was John and Pat Osgood.
“You’re the first to return. Welcome home.” Helena said with as much mirth as she could muster.
“Yup. We’re here.” John said, sitting down heavily. “How are you doing?”
Helena considered painting him a rosy picture, but decided that he would probably see through it even in the dark.
“Well, the fever has increased and the only time I’ve moved is to hobble over there,” she pointed, “to relieve myself. I’m not getting any better. How did your day go?”
“We found some pieces of concrete and plastic, and a couple of other indicators that this was a civilized place once, but that’s about it. I’m hopeful we will find it tomorrow. The other two teams are going to stay out. We were able to fill their canteens with our own and give them enough of our food to make it through the day tomorrow. That was Pat’s suggestion, as it makes the best use of the distance they’ve already covered.”
“Good plan.” She replied, digging out some food and water for John as Pat inspected his own supplies. John ate in exhausted silence and fell asleep on the ground against the pack. The next morning, he and Pat set off before dawn to catch up with the others and their own search pattern leaving Helena asleep.
Well after noon, she finally woke up, feeling the need to relieve herself and struggled to get up and move toward the large rock on the edge of the plateau that she used to mark the waste area from their camp. Her fever raged as she dragged herself with extraordinary effort---so much so that she could hardly drag her good leg behind her around the stone. She looked back to see that she had been dragging her pack with her, its strap wrapped around her ankle.
Great. She thought, and pulled harder on the bag with her leg as she sat on the boulder. Helena bent down to untangle the strap as waves of nausea and dizziness hit her.
“Damn. I’m going to black ou..,” She muttered before succumbing to her personal darkness and toppled down the embankment. Helena’s unconscious form slid slowly down the scrabble for nearly a hundred feet before her pack caught on a large rock sticking out of the dirt. She awoke to find the sun had recently set, but she could not move. Her body simply did not have the energy to pull her up to free her pack of the rock---and that was probably for the best since she would just slide down the hill further. She strained as mightily as she could to reach the pack anyway.
“Just a little water.., “she said before losing consciousness again.
Helena awoke and rose from her cot she always sacked out on at the back of her office in the Medical Center, and straightened the skirt of her Moonbase uniform, but was unable to remove the creases pressed into the fabric from sleeping on it. While she concentrated on the clothing, John Koenig walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her causing her to jump.
“John! I didn’t see you come in.”
“Just got back from the survey mission and I had to see you.”
“That’s the way I like it.” Helena slid her arms around his neck and let him pick her up and carry her from the office as he kissed her passionately, her eyes closed with complete trust in the man she loved. As they broke their kiss, she opened her eyes to see dim lights set in the ceiling going by as John carried her.
“When did Alpha get those kinds of lights? Are they new?” Her voice sounded funny, somehow. And she was hot. Hot and thirsty.
“We got in, Helena! We’re in the ARC and going to what appears on the facility diagram to be the Medical area. Just rest, I’ll take care of you.” Helena closed her eyes.
“I know you will, John. I love you.” Helena returned to a dream world that combined Alpha and their new earthly home.
“I love you, too.” John whispered as the doors to the Medical Zone hissed open.
When he found Helena halfway down the scrabble hillside, he could not budge the rock she was caught on. As the light of morning increased, he could see that the rock was really a kind of concrete and they had been on top of the entry to the ARC the whole time. John secured Helena into a comfortable position and he and the rest of the search team began to dig downward from the point Helena had found which looked like a corner. Koenig set a frenetic pace, slinging rock and dirt far out from the hillside and never taking a break.
As the crew reached a hatchway, John’s spirits fell when he realized they did not know how to get inside. There was a keypad with symbols he did not recognize and no apparent mechanical opening equipment. Was this all just a giant waste of time? John thought. Did I do all this so I could watch Helena die? He could not believe that fate would be that cruel.
“The keypad glows faintly, so there must be some power somewhere.” Pat Osgood stated.
“We’d better have our torches ready just in case, once the door is open.” Max opined. “I don’t think we can trust their technology.”
“I can’t believe that the builders of something like this would try to keep the survivors out.” Tony said in frustration. “It should be fairly simple to get it. Like ‘Open Sesame’ or something.”
“This one symbol blinks when we
talk, but not when we’re quiet so I think Tony’s on track with a verbal command
or sound.” Pat suggested. “Maybe it’s
in a different language.”
“But what do we say?” Asked Raul.
“Something that says, ‘open up’ I’d guess.” Pat shrugged his shoulders.
They tried all the languages they spoke, but no reaction more than the single blinking symbol.
“Maybe it’s dead.” John said from next to Helena, the exhaustion in his voice betraying him.
“You don’t think we can get in?”
“No, I mean the language. What’s more appropriate for a dead world than a dead language.”
“Latin. Well, I’m a little rusty…” Tony began but John stood in front of the doorway.
“Expositus!” Koenig shouted. He was rewarded with the keypad symbol glowing steady accompanied by a humming sound and a click from the hatchway. A sudden ‘whoosh’ was heard as the hatch slid open and the air pressure equalized by a gush of air escaping from inside the ARC. The escaping air held a metallic tang but no note of mustiness, and the hallway beyond the hatch began to light up from panels set into the ceiling. Benches lined the hallway and John carried Helena to one of these from the dirt outside then began to search the interior for anything that would help identify areas inside the facility.
The others joined him and moments later Pat whistled. “Wow, this looks like a diagram of the whole place. There appear to be 25 levels---each one looks to be about 200 meters square.” Everyone was looking over his shoulder now and realized that all the labels were in Latin. Koenig tapped his finger to one of the 25 numerals across the bottom of the screen and the diagram changed from one level to another. He repeated his actions until he found the area labeled ‘Medicus’. It was on the 23rd level right below them, and he tapped on the spot.
“That’s where I’m taking Helena.” John scooped her up and headed down the corridor. He now noticed that streaming lights on the wall preceded him down the hall and that ceiling lights were coming on ahead of him. The stream of lights ended at the first intersection but continued down the corridor to the right. And ended at a pair of doors with the word Attollo over it and the doorway next to it had the label Nutus and a down arrow and Admoveo with an up arrow. John took the doorway which he was certain was a stairwell and as soon as he pushed it open the stream of lights shown down the stairs.
The others paused briefly as they followed to look through windows, or puzzle over signs. Investigating the facility could be done later, but they all pondered the power coming on and the intuitive nature of the place. Koenig reached the Medical area and wondered at the similarity to the Medical Center on Alpha.
“I guess form follows function, at least here.” Koenig said to himself. He found what appeared to be a diagnostic bed which activated as soon as he lay Helena down on it. Her body temp, heart rate and other vital functions were all displayed on the display over her head along with a diagram of how to apply one of the instruments that were flashing on the side of the bed.
“Is there an audio interface?” John asked the system, surmising that this might be voice activated as well.
“I detect Earth-standard English. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes.”
“Please apply the tissue sampler to the patient, following the diagram.” The unisex voice monotoned to John.
John touched the sampler, a device like hose nozzle, to Helena’s neck hesitantly. He did not like to trust something quickly, but they had been trying to get here for days and Helena may not have much time left. He made the decision to go with the system’s instructions in the space of a beat of his aching heart. The screen changed to a different tool.
“Analysis will take several hundred seconds, however, the patient…”
“Helena Russell.” John interrupted caustically.
“Helena Russell is suffering from an elevated temperature. Place the dermal injector according to the diagram and a fever-reducing agent and analgesic will be administered.” A pistol gripped device was flashing on the side of the bed to indicate which tool he should use and where to place it. Below it was the label Rememdium and he followed these instructions as well.
“Helena Russell is infected with a variant of Neisseria meningitidis, and an appropriate antibiotic will be formulated. This will require an intravenous implant be installed. Are you a qualified medical professional?” John hesitated, looking at the swabs and needles with a confused expression, never having put an IV into anyone.
“I’ll do it.” Max said from behind him. “I was a field medic in the Gulf War.” John knew Max’s service record and trusted him. “Had to do it all the time. At least I’m not in a Humvee bouncing across the desert.”
“Thanks, Max. I’d stand here trying to do it if I had to, but I’d look like I was in a bouncing Humvee.” Max opened her suit to remove the left arm so he could put in the IV as John looked around the medical facility. He felt like he was back on Alpha.
“Tony,” John called his former security chief from his place at Helena’s bedside. “we need to find out as much as we can about this place. Why don’t you and Pat take the boys for a little stroll and see if you can find out about supplies and water. Talk to their computer some and see what it can do to help you.”
“Sounds good. Don’t worry, John. Helena will be fine.”
“I wish I had your faith, but I’ve got plenty of hope. Just you and the boys be careful. We don’t know what kind of security this place has---so far not much.”
“Fortunately, security is my name. Or at least it was my first name on Alpha!”
John remained at Helena’s side while all the others spread out across the ARC.
The facility was amazing and they barely reached two floors by the end of the first day. John let the others have a turn sitting by Helena’s side while he joined them the second day. She was stable and her fever decreasing as the customized antibiotic fought her infection. They decided that the Medical Center would be the groups home base until they were able to explore the whole place. At mid-day break in Medical, the group gathered for a feast of cryogenically stored dinners heated in the center’s lounge oven. None of them had eaten anything like this in a very long time.
“John, I need to leave tomorrow morning to go back to the Springs. If we don’t return soon, they may try to send out some sort of rescue party and I can’t have anyone getting hurt while we’re in here.”
“You’re right, Tony. We can’t have that happening. Since we found the supply area four floors down, so you’ll have plenty to take back with you to show them what we’ve found.”
“Yeah, they’ll be impressed with this frozen lasagna. It should be thawed by the end of my two-day hike! Of course, everyone will have to share the one or two I can carry.” Verdeshi smiled broadly.
“I think we can do better than that.” Koenig smiled his crooked smile. “Pat, show him what we found this morning.”
Osgood tapped on the monitor nearby and came to life and displayed a vast warehouse filled with equipment. He used the miniature joystick-like control to change the locus until it showed an enclosed vehicle with moon-buggy style wheels made of metal straps. The wheels acted as the wheel, tire, and the suspension of the contraption. The top of it was flat with solar panels making up the roof structure and it looked large enough for a group of 10 people with supplies.
“We called it a Rover and it has battery power in addition to the solar panels. It was not charged, but it will be by tomorrow so you can take it back to Hog Pen Springs. You could even deliver Cody back to his father. Take some supplies with you, too. According to the computer, there is enough food and medical supplies in storage to house 1600 people for five years so taking a Rover full of things you need will have little or no impact on the supply situation here. The ARC was designed to be a refuge and home for all those people.”
“The Commander had a good long talk with the computer.” Pat observed. “He convinced it to change all the signs into English as well as give us complete control over the place.”
“That’s great, Pat! John, the four of us have decided that the ARC needs someone in command and that there’s not anyone more qualified than you to take over.” Koenig looked at the three of them, one after the other looking for signs of a joke. “The question is, however, who is going to man the base.”
“Well, there’s plenty of room, but who at Hog Pen Springs is going to give up their settlement life to come here. It has to be their decision. I intend to put it to everyone and let them decide---and the same for Farside when I take Cody home. They’ll get the chance to decide if they want to live where they’ve built a community or join the ARC.”
“If the ARC is going to do the job we think it might be capable of doing, we are going to need as many of the technical people from Alpha as possible.” Raul added.
“You’re all correct.” John replied. “Thank you, for the chance to bring life back to this world and I hope I’m worthy of leading our people again. Tony, I hope you’ll take the Rover and visit all the settlements---including Paul’s---and invite anyone who wants to come. Pat and I also found some portable communicators and the Rover has one built into it so if anything comes up, we are able to stay in contact. There are enough that you can leave one with the leadership teams of each settlement and they can let us know what they decide.”
“You’ve given us another option, Commander.” Tony told him, and they shook hands.
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