Year 8
Loki Beginning of Winter
“Tony!”
“Hey, Alan. I wasn’t sure you’d make another trip down.” Tony turned from the stack of boxes as Alan jumped down from the Eagle. They met and shook hands.
“A bit chilly here, don’t you think?” Alan asked adjusting his sweater. His co-pilot jumped down behind.
“Hey Jackie, Alan giving you pilot’s lessons?”
The sixteen-year-old gave a quiet grin. He was tall and slim. “Can I help with the loading?” he asked shyly.
“Sure, Jackie, Gerry is over there with the stack that’s scheduled for this Eagle. He’ll be bringing a palette over here any minute.” Tony waved at the blond with a full beard bundled in a bulky pullover and a windbreaker. The man nodded and revved up the motor of the forklift. Tony took Alan’s elbow and they moved out of the way.
“All that is grain?” Alan asked.
“Yeah. Eddie Collins has been culling out the seed stock and kept it for last.” Tony went through a clipboard of printouts. “Your Eagle is slated for two palettes of grain, Maya and I, and the Collins family.”
“It’s going to be a tight fit.”
“I know, but there’s a storm front coming through and Maya says it’s going to be bad. You think it’s cold now, wait around for another three or four days. We want everything out before that front moves in.”
“How bad?”
Maya came around the side of the Eagle and joined them. She seemed to tolerate the cold weather better than most and was still wearing only a standard issue quilted Alphan jacket and slacks. Alan was wishing for long underwear as they left the slight protection of the Eagle and a blast of wind hit them. “Hurricane force winds, sleet and snow,” Maya answered his question. “Sub-zero temperatures to around minus fifty.”
Alan stuffed his hands in his pockets and grinned at the slender red-head. “Hello, love. Ready to go home?”
“Home, Alan?”
“Yeah, Alpha.”
“I rather like it here,” Maya looked around regretfully. Then she smiled, “But it will be too cold by the time that front goes through to stay here, so yes, I’m ready to return to Alpha.”
Tony looked around. “These should be the last six Eagles. Once they’re ready, it’s ‘Goodbye Loki’ until spring. How are things on Alpha?”
“Feeling a little crowded, with everyone back after several years and all the kids. But the new family wing is almost ready.”
“That’s good to hear.”
The three walked down the line of Eagles, watching as each module was packed to capacity. At the far end, the first Eagle landed was ready for liftoff. They headed for the caverns that had been used this past season for storage and living quarters. They did a quick walk-through. The large garage bays, closest to the exit, contained the trucks they were leaving behind. Everything had been carefully lubricated and weather-proofed to the best of their ability. Next came two storage rooms with tools and equipment manufactured for use on Loki. They were also weatherproofed. The living quarters had been stripped bare. Anything that might be needed or useful on Alpha during the next two and a half years had been packed and shipped.
Tony and Alan sealed the double doors behind them after a thorough inspection and they headed back through a darkening sky toward their Eagle. They waved to Raul Martinez and Bill Fraser as they headed for their respective ships. Jackie trotted up to them as they approached the last Eagle in the line.
“The Collins family is aboard. Looks like it’s about to rain.”
“Snow is more likely,” Maya said, looking at the sky. “In a few months it will be carbon dioxide snow instead of water vapor.”
“Hard to believe everything will be snowed under for a couple of years,” Alan said. He looked around one last time. “Okay, all aboard. Let’s head out.”
Jackie and Maya stepped aboard ahead of Alan. Tony took a last look around and stepped up behind the others closing the door.
It was the following week when Helena picked up Alex and Emma from school that the Alphans realized something was wrong. Annette caught Helena’s eye as the children streamed out into the corridor. At first Helena was concerned that one of her active and imaginative children had found another way to get into trouble, but both seemed to be their usual exuberant selves as they greeted her. She gave them each a kiss and motioned them back inside the classroom. “I need to talk with Dinah’s mother for a minute.”
The children led their little brother back into the classroom and over to the corner where there were blocks and vehicles to play with.
“What have they done now?” She asked Annette quietly.
“Oh, no, Helena. It’s not Alex or Emma,” Annette assured her. Alex was in her class and Emma and Dinah were in the class next door. “They’re both doing fine. But I’m not sure who to talk to about this. I thought you would know what to do.”
“What’s wrong, Annie?”
“You know the classes have expanded to include the kids who had been on Loki. Michelle Osgood has taken second-shift day-care and Giovanna has gone back to her duties in Power while everyone is here. We had the computer records of what the children had accomplished, but Giovanna kept hard copies on the older kids. She gave them to me last night. The Erland girls, Freya and Astrid are not on the computer list, but they are on her hard copies. In fact, when I looked them up in the computer, I couldn’t even find quarters listed for the Erlands.”
“You couldn’t find quarters for them?”
“No, and when I tried to contact Bri Erland by commlock, there was no response. I had Tanya check the database because I thought the Erlands had three children and Jenna doesn’t have them either. Tanya said Brianna and Gerry had a fourth child while on Loki this past season, but we cannot find any current record of them.”
“Was Tanya going to talk to John about this?”
“I wasn’t sure what the problem was at that point, but there does seem to be a mystery here. She just sent me a message during nap time today and I thought I’d wait until I saw you.”
Helena nodded. “I’ll talk to John and Tony. Something odd is going on.” She turned to her children. “Alex, Emma, put those away and bring your brother. We need to go up to your Daddy’s office.”
Alex tossed the blocks back into their box as Emma tugged Richie to his feet. They all loved to go to their father’s office with its wide-open space, windows, steps and the great big globe in the corner.
“I’ll let you know, Annette,” Helena assured her as she lifted Richie to her hip and followed Alex and Emma out the door.
The children bounced through Main Mission and into their father’s office with Helena right behind them. She caught Tanya’s eye who nodded and joined her. John, Tony and Alan were sitting at the conference table with the plans of Alpha spread out before them. The children greeted their father, Uncle Tony and Uncle Alan with enthusiasm, then spread out around the office, looking out the window and playing with the globe.
Helena slid into a seat at the table with a serious look. Tanya sat beside her.
“I think we have a problem,” Helena said softly. Tanya nodded her agreement.
“What’s wrong?” John asked.
Helena explained, allowing Tanya to add details of her investigation.
“We have general records of Gerhard Erland and Brianna and the four children, but no current assignments, such as the children’s school records, duty schedules, quarter assignments. There aren’t even slates or commlocks assigned to either of the adults.”
Alan frowned. “That’s ridiculous. I just saw Gerry the other day. He was driving a forklift when we loaded the last flight of Eagles.”
“So he should have been on that last flight,” John said.
“That’s just it,” Tanya said. “I checked the records, and they weren’t assigned to come back to Alpha on any of those Eagles, or any in the previous thirty days, which is when we flew the majority of people out.”
“They can’t still be down there!” Tony exclaimed. “Brianna was the one I assigned to make up the evac schedule. She wouldn’t leave her own family off the list. And Gerry was right there!”
“Unless they didn’t want to be on the list,” Helena leaned forward and said softly.
“Didn’t want—“ Tony stopped in mid sentence, thinking over Helena’s statement.
“Tony,” John asked. “Did you assign Brianna to that task, or did she volunteer?”
“You mean she could have been planning to stay behind and leave their names off the list?” Alan asked incredulously. “You think they have a death wish or something?”
“Or they thought they could survive down there,” Tanya said.
Tony was shaking his head. “John, I’m not sure. Brianna was security, part of my team since Breakaway. She volunteered to help with a lot of the day-to-day operation of the farm area. She was very organized and I used her for a lot of things like that.”
“Brianna also had a high clearance for the computers,” Tanya added. “She helped set up the computer system on Loki.”
“Tanya, did she have the skill to remove her family from the database?” John asked.
Tanya nodded thoughtfully. “There are still traces… such as record of the children’s birth, and medical records. Only medical clearance can remove something like that, but the other things, the things that seem to have been done… yes, she could do it.”
“But why?” Alan asked. “Why would she want to?”
Tony sat back, thinking. “They volunteered to be in that last wave. Even though they didn’t have to be. Gerry told me he was used to the cold, reminded him of home. He grew up in a small town in Norway above the Arctic circle.”
“So perhaps they believe they can survive for the winter?” John theorized.
Alan leaned back with a sigh. “They can’t believe that!”
Tony shrugged. “Gerry talked like he believed it. He said more than once that a little bit of cold wouldn’t hurt anyone. He liked to brag about being from above the Arctic Circle where it got ‘really cold’, according to him.”
Helena shook her head. “Really cold. I admit the arctic was cold, but this is going to last for two years, not six months, and will be fifty to a hundred degrees colder. We don’t even have lubricants and seals that will work in those temperatures in pressure.”
“Even our spacesuits wouldn’t be functional for long periods of time,” John said.
There was a moment of silence around the table. From the corner of the office came a giggle from Emma and the adults turned to observe the three children sitting on the floor playing together.
“John, I have to go find them,” Tony said.
“I’ll take him,” Alan volunteered.
“You want a co-pilot?” John asked.
Alan shook his head. “Assuming we find them, there’ll be six of them coming back with us.”
Tanya watched the children playing, thought of her own children, also safe, and then of the four Erland children. “What if they resist?”
“We’ll talk to them, convince them.” Alan assured her.
John looked at his two friends. “You have to. They must return with you.”
Tony nodded slowly. “They will.”
There was a flurry of activity, the Eagle was ordered to be prepared, Maya was consulted to determine current weather conditions. Helena ordered additional supplies they might need to treat exposure. Within the hour she was standing at the window in John’s office, Richie on her hip, Emma in John’s arms next to her and Alex standing on tip-toe to peer out and watch the Eagle lift off. They would reach Loki by daybreak planet-side.
The cold began seeping into the Eagle almost as soon as they landed. Both Tony and Alan had worn cold weather gear and Alan couldn’t remember a cold so intense since they had left Ultima Thule behind. They didn’t need any more inspiration to tighten hoods and pull goggles and mufflers over their faces than the open door in the passenger section. The wind was blowing at a steady gale force and a combination of sand and snow drifted across the landing site.
Alan had landed as close as possible to the main entrance to the underground base they had carved over the past season. Both were chilled to the bone when they arrived at the door. The hinges were well oiled and the doors unlatched and opened easily enough. Being out of the wind was a good thing, but the aching cold was still present.
“They can’t possibly be living here,” Alan exclaimed as he latched the doors back together.
“Maybe they’re deeper inside. The rock will insulate them from the cold.”
“Not that well, mate. Not over a couple of years of weather like this.”
Tony shrugged. “I don’t think it’s as hopeless as you believe, Alan. We’ll manage to insulate these caverns and heat them eventually.”
Alan made a rude noise and headed down the hallway after his friend.
They bypassed the maintenance bays and headed deeper into the mountain to the living quarters. Perhaps with the power section reactivated they could keep an area heated sufficiently.
The place was as deserted as their last walk-through. There was no one around; the power was shut off, just like the last time they had been through here. They went all the way through the access tunnel to the nuclear generator, buried far from the living section and well shielded by native rock and additional lead added by the Alphans. Everything lay in wait for the Alphans to return.
It was warmer deep in the caverns. It would take the solid rock plenty of time to cool down to the temperatures of the surface. They returned to the exit slowly, checking all corridors and rooms for any sign of habitation.
It was the final maintenance bay that made Carter stop.
“What?” Tony asked, impatiently. He had been in a horrible mood throughout their explorations. Brianna was a member of his own staff and he felt personally betrayed by her.
“One of the trucks is missing.”
“Are you sure?”
Alan walked across the maintenance bay. Three trucks were exactly where they had left them. But there was an empty spot where the one closest to the door had been. Alan knelt by a smudge on the floor. There was a smear of grease, almost clear in color. About ten centimeters from the smear was another spot of grease, this with the impression of tread from one of the small boots made for Alpha’s children.
Alan looked at the truck to the right of him. A truck parked here would have been the first one to be re-assembled and rolled out in the spring. If the trucks were all parked in a row—and they had been—the back door of a truck would have been here, just at the right spot for a child to climb in.
“They left in a truck.”
Tony swore, starting in English and ending in Italian. Alan was fairly certain there were also a few French and Spanish phrases thrown in for good measure. Alan waited while his friend paced around the area of the missing truck venting his anger. He finally ran down and leaned against the wall, looking across the room at Alan who was calmly leaning against one of the other trucks.
“They could be anywhere.”
Alan nodded.
“And they can’t possibly survive out there.”
Alan sighed and closed his eyes. “Evidently they’ve been planning this for quite a while. Probably all season. Any place you know of where they might have stockpiled supplies?”
Tony shrugged. “The cliffs along the lake, and then the river all the way to the equatorial sea have caverns like this one. By now, they could be in any of them.”
“Let’s head back to the Eagle and see if anyone has any ideas.”
The brainstorming session left them with little. Assuming the Erlands had taken one of the smaller nuclear generators, they could have the power to heat one of the smaller deeper caverns. But if they chose one of the deeper caverns, the rocks around them would shield their presence from any detection by Alpha’s sensors, or even sensors from an Eagle in orbit.
Another storm front was blowing in and the winds were picking up. It was finally decided that the Erlands were on their own. Perhaps they really could survive the next two years. Or, perhaps they would call for help if things got too bad. The communications staff programmed their equipment to be on the look out for any significant radio signals from the planet or any other forms of radiation that might indicate human presence. Tony and Alan returned to Alpha. There were other projects and priorities that needed their time, talents and resources.
Winter in the Loki system settled into routine. The focus was on expanding Alpha and resources from the system other than the surface of the planet. Alphans were used to surviving in micro-atmosphere and micro-gravity. They concentrated on a secondary base in the asteroid belt, claiming a toe-hold on a substantial asteroid dubbed Ceres-2 for the large asteroid in their home system. C-2, as its name was quickly shortened, would be a mining base, with living quarters and supplies for a handful of families, designed to expand as needed. Living quarters for Alpha’s growing families were also needed locally and a great effort was being made to add a new section of living quarters to Alpha. They had hoped to have it completed before winter started, but the constant shortage of manpower had delayed that. Too many people had been needed on Loki to complete harvests that would be needed to feed everyone. The Erlands were not forgotten, but the others moved on, as they had so many times before after the loss of other colleagues.
It was more than six months into the winter season when they received an indication of the Erland’s existence. It was Dinah Fraser’s fifth birthday and the Koenigs and Alan Carter had been invited for dinner. Dinner had just ended. Helena and Annette were clearing the table while the men occupied the children in the living area. All were sitting in a circle on the floor playing a form of ‘Duck, Duck, Goose” the rules of which had been modified for indoor use by having all participants crawl. There was laughter and shouts of encouragement from all as John crawled around the outside of the circle chasing Dinah who was scrambling around the circle just out of his reach and heading for the place in the circle he had just vacated. Emma was calling encouragement to her best friend while Richie was shouting, “Go, Daddy! Go!”
The chime of the intercom couldn’t be heard over the chaos, but when the screen came to life with Tanya Kano’s face it caught Helena’s eye. She moved to the comm post to answer it. Dinah made the place in the circle just in time and Tanya waited until the cheers from the players died down. John noticed his wife at the comm post and turned to watch, pulling Richie into his lap to try to keep him still.
“I hate to break up such a terrific looking party, but we’re getting a signal from Loki,” Tanya apologized. “It’s coming from about a hundred miles north of the farming area.
The adults exchanged looks and John stood, Richie still in his arms, joining his wife at the comm post. “Is it the Erlands?”
“No voice. Just the standard emergency signal repeat.”
Alan stood too. “One of our locater beacons?”
Tonya nodded. “Most likely. They were standard issue on every vehicle.”
“How long will it last in this cold?” Helena asked.
“We have the location triangulated using the communications satellites around Loki. The current temperature is eighty below zero. The batteries in the unit won’t last more than a few hours in that temperature.”
Helena turned and looked at John expectantly. He sighed and nodded. “We have to go get them.”
“You’ve found your volunteer to fly,” Alan said.
John clapped him on the shoulder. “Tanya, have an Eagle readied. And get Maya up there to give us a weather report.”
“John, if they are asking for help, they could be ill – “ Helena started.
“You’re going too,” he nodded. “Tanya, how soon can we lift off?”
“There’s already an Eagle on the pad,” Alan said quietly. “We’ve been waiting.”
John nodded. “Gather the cold weather gear. I want to talk to Tony before we leave. Lift off at midnight.”
“That will put you on the ground at mid-day,” Tonya said. “It won’t be much warmer, but the winds are usually a bit calmer.”
“Good.” John handed Richie to his mother. “I’ll meet you at the Eagle in two hours,” he said to Helena.
Helena nodded. The children had been watching with wide eyes. Helena turned to Annette. “Emma was supposed to spend the night anyway.”
“She’s welcome for as long as need be. You want the boys to stay too?”
Helena shook her head. “You don’t have room. I’ll take Richie to Kate’s and Alex can stay with Jeremy and Carolyn.” She turned to the boys. Alan and John were already on their way out the door. “Come on, guys. Let’s get you ready for bed. Looks like Emma isn’t the only one going on a sleepover tonight.” She kissed Emma quickly and took Alex by the hand, mouthing her thanks to the Frasers as she hurried out.
She called Kate with her commlock and promised that she would have Richie all ready for bed when she dropped him off, then did the same with Carolyn. Both understood the situation and agreed immediately. Helena took the boys back to their quarters and did her best to put them through their regular nightly routine before distributing them to their various locations.
When she returned to the children’s bedroom with Richie bathed and clad in pajamas, she found Alex lifting a bag to his shoulder, already packed. The towhead smiled up at her. “I’m all packed.”
She smiled at her oldest. “Thank you, sweetheart. You’ve become such a big help. Can you get some things ready for Richie too?”
The six-year-old nodded and pointed to another bag by the door. “I’ve already packed a bag for him, too.”
She leaned down and gave Alex a kiss on the cheek. “You are terrific. Let’s get Richie to Aunt Kate’s.”
Helena kissed each child goodbye quickly and headed for Medical Center. She was anxious to pick up supplies she might need. She had plenty to do, contacting Supply to equip the Eagle with cold weather outfits for all the Erlands and collecting medical supplies to treat hypothermia. She was just hoping to find survivors. She had stuffed her own cold weather gear in a duffel bag and was on board the Eagle with moments to spare before the Eagle lifted off. Both Alan and John were already in the command section when she arrived and they lifted off, heading for Loki at best speed.
The Eagle’s crew settled in for a night flight, each planning to catch some sleep before landing on the planet. Alan headed aft to sleep first while John and Helena sat together in the command module. He knew John was too keyed up to sleep and talking with Helena would be the best prescription.
Six hours later Alan woke, hearing a noise that didn’t belong on his Eagle. He turned over, eyes still closed but completely awake, listening for it again. Over the drone of the engines and fans for the life support system he heard a more human noise. Then he realized it was snoring. He had figured John and Helena would probably wait and sleep together while he piloted after he awoke. One of them must have gotten tired and come aft to sleep for a while. He sat up quietly and looked toward the other bunk, intent on not waking Helena or John, whichever was in the bunk. But there was no one there. The bunk wasn’t even pulled out from the wall. He frowned and looked forward as the door to the command module opened.
Helena stepped through. “You’re awake. Want me to make some coffee before I turn in?”
Alan looked at her. He could see John reach forward to change something on the screen in the command module in front of her. He put his finger to his lips to keep Helena quiet as he listened again. Helena looked puzzled, then her eyes widened as she heard the same snoring noise Alan had heard.
Silently, they began a thorough search of the cabin. John joined them, curious about their behavior and Helena shushed him the same way Alan had. In the back of the passenger compartment underneath an extra gurney and behind a bundle of extra arctic gear Alan uncovered their stowaway.
The three gathered to look down at the sleeping child, curled up with his head pillowed on the bag he had packed earlier in the evening.
“Alex!” John exclaimed, voice tempered only slightly from the anger he was feeling.
Alex stirred as John reached under the gurney and lifted him up. The little boy blinked and smiled at his father. “Are we there yet?”
“Alexander Victor Koenig! What are you doing on this Eagle?” his father roared, still holding him at arms-length.
“I wanted to go to Loki too. I can help.”
“Alex!” his mother exclaimed. “I left you with Carolyn! How did you get here?”
Alex looked at his mother. “I wanted to come too.”
John shot a deadly look at Alan and Helena. “Alex and I need to have a talk. Alone. Helena, contact Alpha and let Carolyn and Jeremy know that Alex is here with us.”
“Do you want me to turn back?” Alan asked quietly.
John shook his head. “They’ve sent a distress signal. The time it would take to return Alex could mean the difference between life and death.”
“He doesn’t have any warm clothes,” Helena protested.
“I wore my boots,” Alex assured her, looking down at his feet which were still dangling below him. His father had not yet put him down.
“It’s winter there, Alex.” John explained with more patience than he felt. “It is too cold, even with boots.” He dismissed the others with a look. Alan and Helena knew when to follow orders, although Helena hesitated and turned to look at her husband and eldest son as she closed the door to the command module.
Alan and Helena sat in silence for nearly a half hour until the door opened. Both jumped and looked up at John.
“Alex would like his mother to tuck him in,” John said grimly. “Go ahead and get some sleep. I’m not ready to turn in yet.”
John was fuming, holding his anger in check by sheer will-power. Helena quickly surrendered the co-pilot seat to him and headed aft. She exchanged a glance with Alan, part worry, part pity. John needed room to pace, but would be cooped up in the tiny cockpit with Alan for the next few hours.
She wasn’t sure what to expect. She had seen John angry like this before, but never at one of the children. As a father he was loving and gentle. He expected their good behavior, and usually got it. Alex sat upright on one of the bunks, clutching his teddy bear, eyes wide open. She sat next to him on the bunk and drew him into her lap.
It had been a while since Alex had accepted any cuddling. Not only was there usually a younger sibling around vying for lap time; he was a sturdy self-sufficient little fellow whose energy level didn’t lend itself to sitting still for long. Right now, he needed his mother’s comfort. He curled his long legs and clung to her.
“Daddy said you might get hurt. Just because I came along.” Alex said softly, his head on his mother’s shoulder.
Helena knew it could be much worse than that. A mistake due to carelessness or distraction could cost them all their lives. She wasn’t at all sure they would be able to successfully retrieve the Erlands, no matter how careful they were.
“Alex, your father and I love you very much. We want to keep you from getting hurt. This trip to Loki is to try to help others who may be hurt. If we’re worrying about you getting hurt, we can’t do our best to help the others.”
“Daddy was mad.”
“Yes, he was. And I’m disappointed. You were such a big help, packing for you and Richie. I expected you to keep helping by staying with Josh like I asked you.”
“I wanted to go to Loki too.”
“Alex, sometimes what we want isn’t the best thing to do. But for now, you need to get some sleep. When we get to Loki you must do anything your daddy or Uncle Alan or I tell you to do. We’re trying to keep all of us as safe as possible while helping some people who may be hurt. Okay?”
Alex nodded. His eyes kept closing. He was tired and calmer now. Helena hoped John was calmer too.
“Do you want the top bunk?” She knew he would say yes and she didn’t want to climb if she didn’t have to.
“Can I?” he asked eagerly.
“Climb on up.”
He slid from her lap and clambered up the side of the bunk. She pulled a blanket over him, smoothed back his spiky yellow hair and gave him a kiss. Sleep tight, Alex.”
“G’night, Mommy,” Alex murmured, almost asleep before he could finish.
When Helena woke, she could smell hot coffee. Alan stood in the kitchen area pouring steaming cups and removing trays of food from the tiny oven. John was in the front of the passenger section, pulling a gigantic sweater over Alex’s head.
The sweater was part of John’s cold weather gear. He was wearing the blue overalls, and his jacket lay on the chair beside him, but the thick wool turtleneck was being rolled down around his son’s neck. John still wore his uniform top.
“How does he look, Mama?” John asked her as she sat up. “Ready for cold weather?”
Helena reached for the bag with her own gear. “Mine might fit him better.”
“The sleeves dangled just above the floor on Alex and his eyes peered out from just above the top of the neck. His nose and mouth were both concealed by the bulky neck.
“He can borrow your nylon jacket to go over this,” John said, indicating the bright blue outer jacket Helena usually wore on Loki.
Alan set the trays of food on the foldout table. “You’ll want to eat, then get your gear on. We’ll be at the atmosphere in less than an hour. Once we cool down from re-entry, the temperature will drop fast. Eagles are meant to radiate heat, not retain it.”
The four of them sat at the table. John had double rolled Alex’s sleeves up to the elbow so his hands could be seen.
“Warm drinks and food,” Helena nodded approvingly. “Assuming we find the Erlands, we’ll want both as soon as we’re aboard.”
“I’ll get everything set up while you two are out looking. Once we’re out of the atmosphere we should warm up quickly,” Alan promised.
“Just keep the engines running,” John cautioned. “I don’t want to come back to find we can’t lift off.”
Alan nodded. “We’ll be ready.”
Once breakfast was ended there was a flurry of activity. John and Alan headed forward to land. Helena and Alex cleaned and stowed the dishes. Despite Alan’s promise to ready everything, Helena refilled the coffee pot and chose several trays of prepared food and filled the oven.
Then she dressed quickly and fastened herself into the seat next to Alex for landing.
They landed at the bottom of a small cliff at the edge of the flats that would be Lake Bergman in milder times. A canyon cut through the limestone cliffs here but no water ran in its riverbed. A rough track had been cut into the hillside to allow an Alphan truck to drive up into the canyon. This had been done during the mild season to allow the natural caverns here to be used at storage. The Erlands, planning to stay the winter, must have modified the caverns for their own use.
There was no snow. It was so cold that all water had precipitated out of the air. The dry snow had all been blown out of the canyon toward the lake months ago. The air was clear and extremely dry.
All aboard the Eagle bundled against the cold. With John’s sweater, Helena’s coat and a blue stocking cap of Alan’s he resembled a blue and white penguin, only the tips of his boots showing beneath the sweater and his eyes peering out from beneath the cap. Helena tied the belt tightly around his waist, then pulled on her own hat, gloves and mask.
“Stay as warm as you can,” John gave Alan last minute instructions. “We’ll check in every five minutes, but we may lose contact when we enter the caverns. That’s the only place they can possibly be here.”
“We have about a four hour window,” Alan warned. “After that, the cold will begin to effect the seals and I can’t guarantee we’ll be spaceworthy.”
John looked down at his eldest son. “I hope we’re on our way in half that time; but listen, do not come after us. And when you reach that limit, your first priority is to get yourself and Alex back to Alpha safely.”
Alan met John’s eyes. There was more each of them wanted to say, but not in front of Alex. Finally, Helena gave Alex a kiss and stood. Alan gave a nod of understanding. John reached out and shook Alan’s hand and knelt in front of Alex.
“Alex, you remember what I said. You do exactly what your Uncle Alan tells you.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
John hugged the little boy and stood.
“Okay, Alex, let’s head for the cockpit. It will be warmer there once this door is open. And we can watch your Mum and Dad on the monitor.” Alan took Alex’s hand and the little boy shuffled toward the front. Alan gave the couple a last reassuring nod and the cockpit door closed behind them.
John pulled a tether from his belt and clipped it to Helena’s. They smiled at each other.
“Don’t want to lose you,” John explained simply.
“There’s no snow or smog here,” Helena responded, remembering another deathly cold planet from their past.
“Still.” John leaned forward and kissed her, then they pulled on all their gear, opened the door and stepped out into the cold.
They stepped boldly out into the bitter cold. They had landed as close as possible. There was at least 100 yards to walk to arrive at the cave that should lead into the cliff. Helena and John walked as quickly as they could while still warm, but the cold seemed to surround them and pierce their suits before they were halfway there. There was no wind, but it didn’t seem to matter. The cold was a pressure all its own. John put his hand under Helena’s elbow and they hurried along as fast as they could.
They followed a path made by truck tracks. The Erlands hadn’t left tracks at the settlement, but had obviously been coming here long enough to create a small rutted road that was easy enough to follow. They were about a three-hour drive from the settlement, in good weather -- close enough to drive back and forth within a day.
The path curved around a bend in the canyon wall there was a taste of Alpha among the rocks. A set of sealed double doors, just like those on Alpha, and at the farming settlement, was set into the rock. Lying on the packed dirt in front of the doors was a small plastic cube, the emergency beacon. John bent and picked it up. He turned it off, put it in his pocket and opened a channel on his commlock to the Eagle.
“Alan, do you read?”
Alan was sitting in the cockpit with Alex bundled up in his lap. Both had watched the monitor, following the couple’s progress until they vanished around a curve. Alex had his finger in his mouth, something Alan hadn’t seen him do in years. Alan encouraged Alex to reach forward to open the communications console for response.
“We read you, Daddy,” Alex replied seriously.
John could see both faces in the small screen of the commlock.
“This is definitely the place. There’s a set of sealed doors here. We going to open them and head in. We’ll check in within a half hour, one way or another.”
“Roger, John. We’ll be waiting.”
Helena had already found the manual override for the door, very professionally set in the wall. She pulled the lever and the doors hesitated only a moment before opening outward with well-greased efficiency.
The doors were set into block work that appeared to be made of the surrounding natural rock. Behind them was a cave, wide and curving down. With a look at each other they stepped inside. Helena pulled an electric torch and turned it on. They shut the doors behind them, which didn’t do much to increase the temperature.
They walked quickly down the cavern; there was only one way to go. Another set of doors was about fifty yards along. These doors weren’t set to open electronically. They opened manually. This time, it was noticeably warmer. John shut the doors behind them and they looked around.
There were pipes running around the door and along the cavern floor. John knelt and touched one of the pipes. “Looks like they keep the doors warmed with circulated water.”
“We don’t have the time to investigate,” Helena said. John nodded in agreement and they continued forward.
Through another set of double doors they found the missing truck, secured and winterized. The temperature was hovering around zero at this point. Toward the back of this area there were a number of boxes of supplies, items that would not be harmed by the cold. And there was another, smaller door ahead of them. This door had a door knob and handle, like the ones at Dover.
John opened the door, and they walked into a large low cavern room that was fitted as a living room. There were a few pieces of Alphan furniture, taken from Dover, no doubt. Laying on the floor, just inside the door, with a quilt covering him was Gerry Erland.
“Gerry?” John said. Helena pushed past her husband and knelt beside him.
“Commander? Doctor? You got the signal?” Gerry lay back against his pillow with a sob.
“Gerry, what happened? Where’s Brianna?” Koenig asked, kneeling on the other side of him, knowing it was best to keep out of his wife’s way. Helena was making a rapid examination.
“Last straw was, I fell. Astrid and Freya managed to get me back in here, but I thought I’d go mad with the pain. And they can’t set the leg, they’re just babies.”
“Where are they? And Brianna?”
“Brianna’s sick in bed. Out of her mind with some kind of migrane.” He turned to Helena. “Doc, I think we may have some sort of bug. I think the kids have it too.”
John stiffened at the mention of a bug. Anything contagious would go through Alpha like wildfire. Helena continued her exam without pause.
“The kids should be down in the garden. We had some problems with the hydroponics vats, but we got them growing again, I was hoping they could find some fresh food to eat instead of the stores we’ve been existing on lately.”
Helena looked up at John. “Go find them. We don’t have much time. Get them back to the Eagle, then come back with a stretcher. I’ll check Brianna next.” She turned to Gerry and patted his shoulder. “I’m going to give you something for the pain. I want to wait until we’re back on Alpha to set the leg.”
The injection worked almost immediately. Gerry barely had time to point the Koenigs in the direction of the garden and bedroom before his eyes began closing. John pulled Helena away from Gerry and tried hard to keep his voice down.
“Helena, if we’ve been exposed to some bug, we can’t risk contaminating Alpha.”
“It’s not a bug.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Helena gave him a look that he was more than familiar with. She hated it when he doubted her ability. And she was usually proved right, especially about medical matters. “I do want to see Brianna and the children, but I’m pretty sure what’s wrong with Gerry.” She moved off without giving him a satisfactory answer. After so many years, he knew he really should trust her judgment. They had very little time and she could explain later.
He found the garden area down the path Gerry had indicated. A little girl with long golden hair pulled back in a tangled braid was picking lettuce carefully from one of the spindly plants in a hydroponics box. She turned and looked at him with wide eyes.
She was a pale little thing, too thin, with eyes too large for her head. John looked at the overhead lights. She seemed especially yellow in the light. “Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m Commander Koenig,” John answered. “I’ve come from Alpha to take you home.
The child seemed to brighten at the idea of going home. “Mama said we couldn’t go to home until Nils turned three. He’s still a baby.”
“We’re going to go to Alpha. We’re going to take an Eagle there.” That was always a treat for his own children. This child didn’t seem so impressed. “Are you Astrid?”
“I’m Freya. Astrid got tired. She’s over there with Thor.”
John turned to look over by the wall. Two little towheads lay together on the floor. It was above freezing here, but not by much. It had to be cold on the floor. John moved over and knelt by the two, huddled together but not moving. They also looked a bit yellow. Their hair was limp and thin. Astrid’s was so thin it looked to John as if she were balding. It took every bit of faith he had to accept Helena’s judgment that this wasn’t catching. These kids looked sick.
“Astrid?” he reached out and touched her shoulder.
She roused a little bit. “Finished Freya?”
“Astrid, I’ve come to take your family to Alpha. Where you’ll feel better.”
“Daddy doesn’t like Alpha,” Thor mumbled, stirring at his sister’s side.
“Right now, it’s the best place for you to be,” John reached out and picked up the little boy who didn’t resist at all. He thought about Richie, just about this age and ticklish, who would have shrieked with laughter when his father picked him up, or Alex, fiercely independent, even at three, who always wanted to do things for himself. Thor simply lay his head on John’s shoulder and allowed himself to be carried.
John took Astrid’s hand and told Freya to leave the basket where it was and join them. Somehow they would have to get these kids to the Eagle. And he wasn’t sure any of them were strong enough to make it there.
He met Helena in the main room. She knelt by Freya and Astrid, looked into their eyes and smiled at them. “I’m Doctor Koenig. Do you remember me?”
The girls shook their heads.
“I’m going to help your mama and daddy feel better. We need to take all of you to Alpha right away. We have an Eagle waiting. I need you two to put on all the clothes you have to help keep you warm, and bring Commander Koenig all of Thor’s clothes, so he can help him. Can you do that for me?”
The girls nodded. “What’s wrong with Mommy?” Freya asked.
“She’ll be better real soon. I just need to get her to Alpha. Okay?”
The girls nodded again, and Helena gave them a little push to get them started. Freya took Astrid’s hand as they left the room.
Helena stood. “We’re running low on time. Brianna is in a bad way. You think you can take these three up and come back with a stretcher? It will take two trips to get Brianna and Gerry up there.”
“How about the littlest one? Nils?”
“He’s very small, and very ill. We should be able to bundle him up next to his mother and take them both on the stretcher.”
John nodded. “Can’t you go up with the children and send Alan back? We can carry them out.”
“I need to get Gerry’s leg immobilized.”
“Think we could leave the kids alone for a few minutes on the Eagle?”
“I think that would be a very bad idea.”
John sighed. They didn’t have time to debate. “All right. But Alan comes back with me once you and I have Brianna there.”
He ended up having to carry both Astrid and Thor. Freya walked sturdily along beside him through the crippling cold. Helena had Brianna and the baby bundled and ready to travel, then he and Alan returned for Gerry. As they began to lift Gerry, he called out, “Commander, wait.”
“We’re running out of time Gerry.”
“Shut down the generator. There’s no use wasting all that power. We can retrieve it next season.”
John nodded, the man was right. Nuclear fuel shouldn’t be wasted. “Where is it?”
Alan nodded at Gerry’s instructions. “I’ll do it.” He dashed off and soon the lights went out. John had retrieved battery powered torches and they sealed the doors behind them. The Erland’s experiment wintering on Loki was over.
They were barely out of the atmosphere when the cockpit door opened and a wide-eyed Alex stepped into the command module.
“Mama says she needs your help with an LP and I have to stay here with Uncle Alan.”
Koenig and Carter exchanged glances.
“I don’t even want to know,” Carter said. “I’m glad she asked for you.”
John climbed out of his seat. “Okay, Tiger. You take over as co-pilot.” John lifted his son, still bundled in assorted jackets that were too big for him, into the seat. Alex glowed with pleasure. John knelt and fastened the safety harness, tightening it as far as it would go. “You were a big help today Alex.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” Alex grinned at his father.
Alex had been a big help, heating drinks and food for the cold family and the rescuers as they were brought on board. The temperature had been low even inside the Eagle, but now that they were out of the cold atmosphere, the Eagle was warming up.
John kissed his son on top of his fine blonde hair and headed back to find out just what an LP was. He was certain it had nothing to do with music.
The children had all been given warm drinks and bedded down on the bunks in the back of the Eagle. They still had a sickly yellow tinge to them. On the floor next to them, Gerry was still on the stretcher. An IV bag hung from a hook on the upper bunk and a tube snaked down into his arm. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be sleeping as well.
Brianna had been placed on the fold-out table in the middle of the passenger section. She was obviously in pain. Her head moved back and forth. She also had that yellow tinge, even her eyes, which seemed to bulge as she looked up at him. He wondered if they had discovered some kind of yellow fever on Loki.
Helena stepped up next to him and smoothed back Brianna’s hair. Some strands of the long blonde hair came away in Helena’s hand. Brianna’s hair was thin, and seemed to be falling out.
“Bri, John is going to help me do a procedure that’s going to ease some of the pressure. You’ll need to hold very, very still, and John will help with that. Once we’ve done this spinal tap and I’ve removed some of the fluid, you’ll feel much better.”
“Okay,” she said, faint but impatient. “Let’s get it done.”
“Let’s turn you on your side,” Helena said, taking Brianna’s shoulders in her hand. “John, if you’ll stand right there and hold her like this.” Helena brought Brianna’s knees up and showed John how to hold her on the upper back and around the flexed knees.
Helena moved to the other side of the table, still explaining to both John and Brianna exactly what she was doing. “This is called a Lumbar procedure. Also called a spinal tap.” She looked up at her husband. “We are out of the atmosphere, aren’t we?”
“Yes. It should be warmer in here soon.”
“That’s good. I just wanted to make sure we’re flying steady,” she smiled.
John smiled back. He was more than a bit nervous.
Helena adjusted Brianna’s clothing, placing her hips carefully and exposing a section of her back. She slid a finger along the line between Brianna’s hips and picked up a small instrument. “I’m just going to numb the area. Then we’re going to slide a needle in and remove some of the fluid.”
John swallowed. Helena met his eyes and with an unspoken motion told him to turn his head the other way if he couldn’t stand to watch. He did so.
There was a small vibration then she reached back into his field of vision for a long needle with an empty vial. Brianna remained motionless with John faithfully holding her. After a rustle of movement Helena lay the needle back on the table. The vial was now full of a clear liquid.
“Okay, all done. That didn’t hurt, did it, Brianna?”
“No,” the patient replied. “No, in fact, the headache…”
“Fading?” Helena removed her gloves and helped John roll her flat. She placed a small pillow under Brianna’s neck and pulled out another blanket.
“Yeah,” she sighed.
Helena smiled. “I thought so. Now, I’m going to give you something to help you sleep for a while.”
“Okay.”
Helena quickly gave Brianna a sedative, no needle involved this time, just the more common hypospray. John turned and poured himself and his wife a cup of coffee. She moved around the table and took the cup from him gratefully. Keeping an eye on her patient, they moved toward the companionway leading to the command module.
“You okay?” John asked.
“Still a bit chilly,” Helena said, taking a sip from her mug of coffee. “But I’ll do.”
“And them?” He put his hand on her shoulder and nodded toward the slumbering Erlands.
“They’ll be fine. I need to run some tests, but I’m fairly certain they have Vitamin A toxicity.”
“Vitamin A? What?”
“Toxicity. They have too much Vitamin A in their system. I’ll confirm it with a simple blood test once we’re home.
“I thought Vitamin A was good for you.”
“It is, but too much of anything can be bad for you.”
“How do you know…” John glanced back at them. “They look so sick.”
“They do. The yellow coloration is the biggest giveaway. But I also saw those boxes in the storage area. They said ‘Do not ship to Alpha’. Did you see them?”
John shook his head.
“You may not have noticed, the reports came to me. During the summer, the lab came up with an ‘improved’ strain of sweet potatoes. They grew bigger and tasted better. We planted a number of acres of them early in the fall. Then, when we harvested them, we found that they had too much Vitamin A – dangerously high levels. So, we cut our losses and didn’t ship any more up to Alpha. I thought they were going to be destroyed. Evidently some of them, a lot of them, were taken by the Erlands.”
John leaned against a wall. “Someone probably decided to save some time by just shoving them in a corner with those labels on them.”
“Or maybe Gerry volunteered to take care of it, and instead of dumping them, he brought them to his place up here. Brianna said they’ve been on a steady diet of them recently, since their hydroponic tanks had to be regrown. One of the children, Astrid, doesn’t have quite as bad a case. Brianna said Astrid hated the sweet potatoes and would barely eat any. She’s slightly malnourished, but is showing fewer signs of Vitamin A toxicity.”
John pulled her into his arms and held her close. “I’m sure glad it isn’t anything catching. Will they be all right?”
“Yes, we’ve caught it quick enough that once they’re on a proper diet, there should be no lasting effects.”
Brianna gave a restless moan and Helena gave his hand a squeeze and headed back to her patient. John headed back to the command section.
Two weeks later, a less yellow Gerry Erland showed up in Main Mission on his crutches. Tony looked up from his station and stood to meet him.
“Gerry? Feeling better?”
Erland nodded. “Much better. Bri and the kids too.” He reached out to shake Tony’s hand. “The Commander wants to see me.”
Tony nodded. “He said to send you in as soon as you got here.”
“I guess this is where he reads me the riot act. How many lashes, do you think?”
“He hasn’t discussed anything with me. You’ll know soon enough.”
Gerry maneuvered the steps carefully as Tony announced his arrival and opened the doors to the Commander’s office.
John was sitting at his desk. He waited until Gerry got up the steps before standing. With a gesture he invited Gerry and Tony to the conference table. There was a pile of cracked rubber sitting on the table.
John picked up one and handed it to Gerry once he was sitting down. “These are the seals removed from the Eagle we brought down to pick you up.”
Both Gerry and Tony picked up pieces. All were cracked and chipped. One piece fell apart in Tony’s hand.
“Alan is having the Eagle stripped and resealed. High on our list of priorities will be searching for petroleum once spring arrives. I’ve already talked to Dave Reilly about it and he’s doing as much prep work as possible to find likely sites to search once we’re able to.”
Gerry shook his head. “We only wanted to show what was possible.”
“Gerry,” Koenig cut him short, not impatiently, but with an infinite sadness that made the other man squirm guiltily. “Your demonstration nearly cost the lives of your children and wife. Not to mention my family, or Carter. We were lucky to make it back to Alpha.”
“That was never our intent.”
“Of course it wasn’t. But we aren’t ready to cope with the weather there, on a small scale, or a large scale.” John held Gerry’s gaze until the other looked away. “But we will need to find ways to expand. Tony, I know you’re every bit as interested in making a permanent foothold on the planet. Summer is still out of the question.” Both men nodded at that. “But by the next winter, I want the two of you to be ready with a proposal. A small viable and self-contained community.”
Gerry and Tony exchanged a look.
“Don’t think I’m letting you off of your other duties. Gerry, you’ll be full time again in the power section. You know those Husqvarna generators better than anyone. And if your kids are anything like mine, they’re a lively handful when they’re feeling good.”
“That they are. Commander, I never would do anything to harm them. They’re a blessing.”
“They are a blessing, all the children are. And we want to build the best world for them that we possibly can. We just can’t rush it.”
Gerry nodded reluctantly.
“Coordinate with Tony and use your experience, your successes and your failures, to make it succeed the next time.”
“I’ll do that. Bri and I will both work hard to make it work right next time.”
“I’m sure you will.” John stood and the interview was over.
Gerry stood carefully, gave one last look at the Eagle’s seals sitting on the table, knowing they could have given way at any time, killing his entire family. He shuddered, collected his crutches, and slowly made his way out.
Tony stood and walked to stand next to John. As the door closed behind Gerry he said, “You could have tried him for attempted murder of those kids.”
“And what would that prove? We need him. We need the cooperation of everyone here to survive. And we need everyone to agree to that – willingly, without discontent. If he’s working on a project he agrees with and wants to succeed at, he’ll put his heart and soul in it.”
“You think we’ll be ready next winter.”
John put his hand on Tony’s shoulder. “We have a decade to find out.”
Ellen Lindow
2005
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