SEASON 2: EPISODE 4: "ROUTINE DUTIES."

SEASON 2: EPISODE 4: "ROUTINE DUTIES."

25. NEW CREW II.

Jones sipped his morning coffee and stretched his legs beneath the mess table; “Is the Doc about?” he asked Frankie who was refilling the coffee machine. “I‘ve not seen her yet skipper, she usually has breakfast early when we’re on the sand.” Frankie wiped his hands with a paper towel and headed back to the kitchen; he needed to get her scrambled eggs on toast with fresh tomato and mushrooms prepared.

“I’ll bring your breakfast skipper; it’s the usual.” Frankie called over his shoulder, disappearing into the small kitchen area, but Jones had not heard; his mind was kilometres away with Professor Dawes and Professor Jacobson and their offer to have Eve & Jones join their expedition to the fabled hidden city in the Easter Mountains. That would have to wait until some extended leave could be arranged for both.

Then, the arrival of Temptation Jones had stood everything on its head; he claimed he had travelled from the Mars Year 604 to ensure that his ancestor [Picasso Jones] survived the next forty days and married Eve! 

Now that revelation caused some amazement, especially to Jones and Eve; who laughed and joked about how preposterous that idea was; until they saw that Temptation Jones was standing with a look of utter horror on his face.

“Come on you two!” He exclaimed with real concern in his voice; “If you two don’t get it together I won’t be born!” He then explained why his hologram image had jumped back in time; the future of life on Mars depended on a descendant of Picasso Jones who discovered the secret of rebuilding the planet’s atmosphere – rapidly. Apparently a descendant of Jones and Eve with the exotic name: ‘Pharaoh Steadfast Jones’ had discovered a chemical formula which allowed the atmosphere of Mars to be rebuilt in just two hundred years! But another discovery in the year 567 also changed everything – a machine that could display images from the past and future which contained alternative versions of both.

They also found that a hologram image of someone could be projected back or forward within the machine, and which would interact in real time with humans; they had discovered ‘Time Travel’. But only for holograms because they were made of light and could travel at light speed. The machine could generate the image fully for about thirty minutes, and then it would require recharging that could take up to a week.The hologram therefore spoke quickly; “You must not [speaking to Jones] take any risks during the next patrol on the sand. We have two versions of the past; in one you are killed in an eruption and so ‘Pharaoh Jones’ doesn’t exist and Mars has no new atmosphere, in the other; you survive and have children: with ‘Pharaoh Jones’ a descendant of your youngest son.”

Promising to return when the projection machine has recharged, ‘Temptation Jones’ faded away and they sat in silence until Professor Jack Dawes muttered; “Well Pic, keep your bloody head down on the next patrol – I would like my great, great grandchildren to breathe and play outside!”

But it was the revelation about them that made awkward silences between Jones and Eve, as they walked back to the Tram station. Finally Eve spoke up; “We best get to the party or Peter will be very upset.” They exchanged glances and started to laugh together and sat talking on the tram, so engrossed they almost missed the station they needed.

Jones looked up from his daydream and was joined by his new XO; Maggie Simms-Holder. She was just a few weeks younger than Jones and very tall and slender. Maggie had dark black hair and brown eyes; apparently her ancestors had originated from a South American country back on Earth – she understood from family history it may have been Mexico. But she was puzzled about the Family legend; her name was old European and could be traced right back to Earth and a small island called ‘England’. “Bit of a mystery; like my sideward’s shift to this rig.” She explained to Jones when they first met – clearly Maggie was not impressed with her move to the Thor after being XO on a big Battle rig - Jones had just smiled and said nothing; with 25% of his crew new, he would study and observe the newcomers performance before commenting.

Harry Gelderfield, the new Meteorologist [Bella’s replacement] appeared a solid recruit to the Thor, joining the Weather Service from University, working the rigs for some three years before taking a post at Weather Central [South] – he certainly knew his way around a weather chart! He also possessed the vital ingredient every rigger indeed for long patrols on the sand; a sense of humour. When asked by Jones why he had returned to the rigs, he said; “The wife. She’s divorcing me and when she and her fecking blood sucking lawyer finished, I would have been sleeping in the tram yard - in my underwear.”

Then he sat thinking for a few seconds and grinned; “Come to think of it – not in my fecking underwear – the bitch would have them too!” Harry was quite a big man, easily matching Jones or the Chief for size. With a shaved head and strong green eyes, he had a strange habit of blowing his nose at least twenty times a day and his favourite expression was; “Feckers!” Every sentence he spoke had the magic word; it was fecking clouds, fecking dust storms, fecking highs and lows and even the deadly Category one and two storms didn’t escape: they were called ‘Big Feckers!’

Feck or Feckers was the soft version of 'Fuck' - should you wonder.

WAS

Jones believed that Harry and the Chief would become ‘soul-mates’; they both professed a love of ‘Old Ma Crawford’s Sippin’ whisky’ and did not suffer fools easily. As Leon commented, on seeing the pair drinking and laughing at ‘Blind Charlie’s Bar and Dinner’; “What fucking nutter cloned the Chief?”

Harry quickly gained a crew nickname [always a good sign]: ‘FeckCaster.’

Then there was the new Systems Specialist: Maxwell Tapp [Kazza’s replacement] who became the Thor’s second oldest crew-member [after the Chief] who was 23 years old; skinny and lacking in humour, he appeared to live in fear of ‘ingrown toenails’ – he had already seen the Thor’s MO twice about them - he had been on board just one day!

“There’s nothing wrong with them Max.” Eve reassured him -yet again. Max left the Medical Bay, stopping to ask Lilly; “Miss Lilly, is our MO is qualified to treat bad feet?” He asked anxiously and showed some anguish when Lilly replied in the affirmative. “Oh I miss Gavin and Lynda; my Chiropodist and Podiatrist.” He wandered off in his bare feet, shaking his head in apparent disappointment and was later found soaking them in the Engineering Office toilet.

Then: the ‘Dallas’ incident: “Max was dozing in his office chair, barefoot as usual and must have been wriggling his toes whilst dreaming.” Troy had to take deep breaths several times whilst recounting the story to his crew-mates in the Galley. “The doors open and I can see old Max, slumped in his chair and sleeping. Then I see he’s wriggling his toes on the carpet. Up the corridor comes Dallas and I give him a stroke and walk on; seconds later there is a blood curdling scream and Max rushes past me shouting; ”That Fucking stupid big cat has savaged my poor fucking feet!” He disappears to find the Doc and I see Dallas saunter from the office and here is the real funny bit – If he wasn’t a cat, I would have sworn he was smiling!”

The Captain exonerated the cat completely, telling an angry and distraught Max; “Dallas was doing his job. He clearly thought your toes were a mutant pack of rabid mice!” The entire crew voiced their agreement with that - the fact that many were laughing didn’t placate Max and he sulked for a week.

He didn’t appreciate his crew nick-name either; ‘Tapp - Toes.’

He sulked for another week over that cracker and finally Lilly asked him why he had returned to a life on the rigs, when he clearly didn’t like it. His answer became a catch phrase on the Thor - Max grunted and looking Lilly direct in the eyes and with great honesty said simply; “I can’t stand being happy.” But max had one saving grace that all acknowledged; he was actually a very good systems engineer.

Miserable Max and his sickly toes quickly became a legend amongst the rig crews; once when the Thor docked in Dayburgh, a dock-hand asked Leon if this was the rig with the “big magical cat and the miserable bastard with bad feet?”

26. AN OFFICER’S DUTY.

Even Jones raised an eyebrow when he heard the latest story about Dallas; apparently Lilly had taught the cat to play cards! - ‘High and low’ to be precise and the Captain watched in amazement as Dallas won three dollars from Troy over several games in the packed Galley; the cat being cheered on by the incredulous crew. Dallas took another two dollars from a grinning Harry, who insisted on checking the cat’s paws for hidden cards which caused raucous laughter for some time.

“Best fecking two dollars I ever spent on entertainment.” Harry chuckled, pushing the money to Dallas with a big smile, adding; “And that’s two dollars the bitch won’t get her fecking claws on.” Jones also stood smiling; Dallas was very good at his primary role - no mice or other vermin had ever been seen on the Thor and he was even better at his secondary duty; keeping up crew morale!

Jokingly, he asked Lilly what Dallas was going to do with his winnings; “Eve and I are keeping them in a specimen jar in the Medical Bay, I think he [Dallas] wants to save for his retirement.” Lilly smiled broadly and wandered off with the big cat following. Jones and the Chief exchanged glances and both shrugged their shoulders, the chief commenting; “At least he’s thinking about his future, not like those dimwits Troy and Sunny!” The Captain had to agree with that, then stopped halfway down the service corridor and muttered to himself: “The cat is saving for his retirement!” He shook his head in disbelief, and then reasoned: if time travelling Holograms from the future could drop in, then Dallas could save for his retirement. With that thought Jones headed for the bridge – grinning.

The Captain was sprawled in his bridge chair staring through the windscreen; it was a beautiful day [for Southern Mars] and he sipped his coffee and relaxed a little. The Thor was making good time towards Weather Station Six and they would soon leave the Prospect Plains behind, heading into the High Easter Mountains to complete the inspections on Stations six and nine. ‘Working the line’ was the expression for this particular service mission – Jones always assumed it was some kind of rhyme created by the early weather service riggers: ’working the line/three, six & nine.’

He glanced over to the Communications desk and watched Sunny listening intently to radio traffic and he smiled with satisfaction: Sunny could have been a major problem. When at the Officer’s meeting, the entire Chief’s doubts about his Engineering Apprentice surfaced and the painful truth about Sunny’s lack of ability and failure of the Engineering exam was the only talking point.

The Chief came to the point; bluntly and honestly, he informed Jones that Sunny would never pass with sufficient marks to gain a Scholarship to Engineering University and the Training Officer will end her apprenticeship upon the Thor’s return to Rossington. Jones read the Training Officer’s report and assessment with some sadness, but he really couldn’t disagree with the findings that were clear and concise – Sunny didn’t have the ability or technical knowledge to be an Engineering Officer and the recommendation was termination of her Military Apprenticeship and departure from the service and the Thor.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, and then Eve spoke up; "Couldn't she move apprenticeships? I mean, she is still young enough to qualify for another chance surely?” Lilly agreed with some enthusiasm, adding; “All we need to find is what exactly Sunny is good at?”

“Now there’s a real challenge.” Grunted the Chief – but with a smile. Sunny may never wear the little silver spanner on her Rank Patch – but she could always wear another badge, he mused to himself and looked across at the Captain. The Rank Patch Jones wore caught his eye; three silver Bars indicating a Captain, a silver spanner for his Engineering Degree, a Silver Star [Lilly and the Chief also possessed that decoration] and a bright blue pyramid – a very rare award: The Presidential Medal of Honour for bravery. The Chief knew that only three other persons, currently serving in the Mars Military, who carried that award. The Captain was in elite company there: two were Admirals and the other was Marshal Edward Kinghorn – head of all Mars Military forces.

Whilst Jones rarely spoke about the award, the Chief and the crew knew how their Captain won such a Medal; by sheer courage and dedication to duty when he was a young Ensign on the old battle rig: MSV ‘The General Conway’. There had been an explosion in the forward turret corridor and a fierce fire raged towards the pulse shells stored there; had the fire reached the turret, the rig would have been ripped apart in seconds with mass casualties.

The Fire Suppressant system spluttered and worked in spurts – it was clearly faulty. But Jones had kept his head and with calm courage pulled the two injured gunners from the turret to safety. Then with absolute guts and determination; Jones went back in and fought the fire, managing to keep it in check and away from the shells, until the fire party arrived and extinguished the blaze. But Jones didn’t escape without pain; he still carries the burn scars upon his back, right shoulder and left leg. Within a few weeks of leaving hospital, Jones received his promotion to Lieutenant and then stood nervously in front of the Martian President as he hung the Presidential Medal of Honour about jones's neck – watched by his very proud Grandfather.

At the Presentation party afterwards, the First Lady asked Jones why he took such a risk to himself; Jones said simply: “It’s an Officer’s duty to protect his crew and his rig Ma’am.” Everyone present knew that Jones was already earmarked for high position within the Military, especially his old Rig Captain La Strade, who commented; “If that’s not a future Marshal, I’ll eat my boots.” Few disagreed with his assessment of the young Lieutenant Jones.

Now Jones was looking at a very different assessment and the conversation turned again to Sunny’s abilities and skills – or rather lack of them. But it was Eve that pulled the Genie from the bottle, she had been sitting deep in thought when she suddenly clicked her fingers and grinned; "Sunny is a very good cook!” The Chief nodded vigorously; “Bloody hell Eve, she actually is. Her cakes are excellent!”

Lilly clapped her hands together and shouted; “She made that vegetable curry you loved so much skipper!” Jones watched the three officers' breaking into smiles and nodding their agreement to each other.

“A really good idea, but for Sunny to transfer to another apprenticeship would need an Admirals signature on the form.” Jones rubbed his chin and was already considering the possibly of Sunny being placed on a Chef’s Course. “Maybe a little chat with Admiral Kellamann would produce a solution.” He re-read her Training Assessment and tapped the desk with his fingers.

“Frankie is the key to this.” The Chief said, leaning back in his chair and smiling; "Just above the little silver brassier on his Rank Patch [indicating a trained chef] are three silver stripes and they are the real key to this plan.” Lilly looked puzzled and asked the Chief to explain.

“Those little stripes mean our Frankie is a Class 1 Chef – rare to find one of them serving on a rig, but it also means that Frankie is fully qualified to teach and examine students. All Sunny would have to achieve is passing the four week Chef Preparation Course at the Catering College. Then she can complete her course right here on the Thor under Frankie’s guidance. Finally, another four weeks at college and she passes her final exam and gets posted as a Chef!”

“That is simply brilliant Chief.” Eve patted his shoulder and Lilly nodded her total agreement. Jones looked up from the form he was reading and sighed; “Frankie would have to agree to teach her and that is an awful lot of extra work to take on for no real reward – well, not in the monetary sense anyway.”

“He’ll agree.” Both Eve and Lilly said as one: then laughed together.

The Chief leaned forward, clasping his big hands together and said quietly; “Oh Frankie will agree if Lilly asks him.” Everyone looked at Lilly who blushed a little and spluttered out; “Why on Mars would he agree just because I asked him?”

“Because he thinks the sun shines out your bum – that’s why!” Eve slapped her on the back and laughed again. Lilly was about to protest when the Captain held up his hands and spoke softly; "Right it’s agreed: we’ll point young Sunny towards a career in catering. Lilly, your job is persuading Frankie to teach her, Eve and Marcus: you work on our young lady to agree to all this and finally; I’ll work on Admiral Kellamann for a little signature. That’s it folks, back to our duties as Officers.” The Officer’s meeting broke up with everyone relieved and happy with the decisions made – now Jones would have to bring Margret into the loop; with some diplomacy and tact, otherwise she would feel slighted that such a major personnel decision was taken in her absence.

Margret would have been manning the bridge as directed by Military Regulations: there must be a qualified officer on the bridge at all times - the three qualified on the Thor were her, the Captain and the Chief.
WAS 

But the plan had worked better than Jones and the other conspirators could have dreamt of. Firstly; Frankie had agreed without hesitation to help young Sunny when asked by Lilly – that caused a few rumours and smiles among the crew.

Secondly; Sunny had seen merit in the scheme and she really didn’t want to leave the Thor just yet and finally; Admiral kellamann had only thought for a few seconds about the Captains request before he agreed it; “If she’s recommended by you Pic, then that’s good enough for me.” Now that did raise a few eyebrows about the rig; gaining a second apprenticeship was rare, almost unheard of and Jones had managed it for his young crew member – and the decision was welcomed by the entire crew including ‘Tapp-Toes’ who grunted; “I don’t agree with happiness, but others seem to enjoy it.” Yes, miserable Max was definitely a legend amongst the rig crews!

Jones was disturbed from his happy recollections by 'Sunny’s' nervous sounding voice; “Captain, Weather Central South has just issued a ‘CODE RED ONE’ for the South Cydonia and deep South regions. The Volcano ‘Beano Houseman’ has erupted in South Cydonia and its bad.”

30. ERUPTION.

The bridge was packed for the Captain’s briefing on the situation, but it was Harry who was talking about the eruption of volcano ‘Beano Houseman’ on the Southern desert of Cydonia and its far flung effects.

Harry pointed to the pictures and graphs being projected on the bridge windscreen and outlined the extent of the explosions and ash clouds. An area of some four hundred square kilometres had been completely obliterated with fire and lava – luckily, this part of southern Mars was not inhabited and so far no casualties had been reported. But drifting down South was an enormous cloud of ash and with terrible coincidence; a Category 2 High storm was pushing north from the Ice Shelf – the pair of monsters collided over the Deep South with terrible effect over townships and rigs North of the Easter Mountains – Emergency Control in Rossington had announced fatalities and many people injured, thus all military resources had been called to the area to assist in rescue operations.

The Thor had been travelling at speed, heading north towards the Easter Mountains, one of only two military rigs in the location which could render assistance to anyone in need; the other being MSV: 'The Jennifer O'Donnell', the supply rig which was to due to rendezvous with the Thor.

The Captain now took over the briefing and outlined the Thor’s new mission; the rescue of surviving crew members from a large cargo rig; CV: ‘the Moon Queen’ which had been hit by debris from the marriage of the eruption and the storm. She lay crippled at the Northern tip of the Easter’s, with the two survivors managing to send an SOS before barricading themselves in Cargo Bay 3 and now awaited rescue – but as Jones pointed out; the life clock was ticking, the pair had only a few days of oxygen left and little or no food. With no Environmental conditioning they suffered the heat of the Martian day and the cold of the Martian night – they needed immediate rescue.

“We have about 24 hours left to affect a rescue, otherwise it’s a corpse collection job and we’ve already done our share of those.” A grim faced Jones addressed his silent crew and then sipping some lukewarm coffee, continued; “Their only chance is if we get there quickly and currently with all the debris and poor visibility around, we are simply not going to make it with Thor. She’s too big and too slow for the conditions we’re facing, so the Chief and I have come up with quite a radical plan – it just might work!” Jones managed a smile and breathed deep, then announced the simple plan of rescue to a stunned crew.

The plan was simple and dangerous; ‘Little Thor’ would be equipped with rescue equipment including a pressurised survival tent and cutting gear. Then she would dash across the surface, achieving speeds that the Thor could never manage and arrive at the crash site with just two hours to affect the rescue.

The Thor would follow at safe speed and they would rendezvous at Valley La Mort, when the oxygen supply of the ‘Sand-Cat’ would almost be exhausted. “It’s all about time.” Muttered the Chief as he loaded the flatbed trailer with Troy and Leon’s assistance, whilst Eve put together a medical supply kit and Frankie filled flasks with hot water and coffee – Sunny made up ration packs, putting packets of sweets in each from her personal stash.

Harry worked on new weather charts and the best route available with lots of ‘fecks’ thrown in. Max calibrated the ‘Edison’ – a device which allowed conversations to take place through solid steel walls and bulkheads. Tom and Margret remained on the bridge with Lilly; who monitored the radio and video traffic streaming between the Emergency Centre and various townships and rigs asking for assistance.

When asked by Tom what was happening, she said simply; “There are a lot of desperate people who need real help.” He nodded his agreement and didn’t ask again, checking the ‘scope’ and Seismic gauges repeatedly as the Thor progressed towards the disaster zone.

Just before darkness fell, all the preparations were completed; ‘Little Thor’ was ready for her dangerous dash across the sand - all she needed now was a crew.
“It has to be volunteers.” Jones announced to the crew, assembled on the bridge for the second time that day. “I’ll lead the mission, that’s not up for discussion Chief.” He smiled at the disappointed old man who said nothing, but nodded his agreement. Looking about the faces he sighed and added; “Firstly, we need a medic because there may be injuries, but not the Doc. I think any qualified medical personnel will be like gold dust in the days to come. So you’re staying here.” He pointed to a very disappointed Eve who stared at the floor and like the Chief; said nothing.

“I understand that we have a Battle Trained First Aider on board and I’m hoping they’ll volunteer.” Jones looked straight at Lilly and smiled. Lilly glanced about the bridge and raised her hand; "That's me skipper, I’ll get the medical kit.” Everyone chuckled with Leon saying; “The captain has quite a way when picking volunteers!”

Jones smiled broadly at Leon; “Apart from me, the Chief and Harry, you’re the only crew member who’s done the training course for a pressurised rescue and those two are just too old and ugly to go.” The crew laughed,; shouting their agreement with the Captain. Leon shrugged his shoulders and muttered; ”Yep, the Captain has a real skill for picking volunteers!”

“Finally, we need someone young and fit to help with the rescue and someone who can drive the ‘sand-cat’ – one of you fits both job descriptions and since there’s only one seat left, I’m hoping you’ll volunteer Troy. You’re about the best ‘Sand-Cat’ driver I’ve seen in some years, are you with us?” Jones slapped Troy on the shoulder and nodded his head, waiting for Troy’s agreement.

Troy looked about at his crew-mates and grinned; “I do know how to handle that baby and she loves it.” Everyone chuckled and started to disperse, saying their goodbyes to the rescue crew who made their way to the suit room and prepared to descend onto the surface and walk to the waiting ‘Little Thor’.

When fully suited apart from helmets, the four stood quietly in the Surface Suit room and Jones held out his hand and said; ”That’s it friends, we go to save life. It’s a dangerous gig and I couldn’t ask for three better friends to jump into hell with.” Troy, Leon and Lilly nodded their agreement and each placed their hand upon the Captain’s and the foursome shouted; “The Thor!”

They fixed helmets and Jones gave the thumbs up to the camera. On the bridge, the remaining crew all watched the suit room monitor in silence until the Chief said quietly; “They’ll be alright – Pic knows what his doing.” Jones was last into the elevator and turned back to the camera and mouthed some words; as if they were spoken directly to the watching Eve, who caught the gesture and sat back, hand over mouth. She looked about the bridge and noted that everyone else was already watching the external cameras; to see the crew board the ‘Sand-Cat’.

Eve brushed a little tear from her face and breathed deeply, then with cold shock, she remembered what ‘Temptation Jones’ had said: “You must not [speaking to Jones] take any risks during the next patrol on the sand. We have two versions of the past; in one you are killed in an eruption and so ‘Pharaoh Jones’ doesn’t exist and Mars has no new atmosphere, in the other; you survive and have children: with ‘Pharaoh Jones’ a descendant of your youngest son.”

Eve watched the rescue crew enter the ‘Little Thor’ and a deep foreboding fear gripped her, but she said nothing to anyone else. They had descended to the surface and made their way to the ‘Sand-Cat’ – the storm was kicking up dust and debris and they gratefully clambered into the relative shelter of ‘Little Thor’. Troy eased into the pilot’s seat and started to check his instruments, the Captain sat next to him and punched the crash site co-ordinates into the ‘Navicom’ and pressurised the ‘Sand-Cat’ for her perilous journey north.

Lilly checked the medical supplies and rations, finding the sweets from Sunny and a little note; she read it quietly and folded it carefully, placing it in her suit pocket. Leon had eased back in his chair and waited for the Captain to confirm it was safe to remove helmets. The internal lights dimmed to night vision and the external lights bathed the surface in a yellowish glow.

“We’re ready captain.” Troy said simply and Jones gave the thumbs up. Troy fired the engine and the ‘Little Thor’ pulled away, accelerating into the darkness. The Bridge crew watched her departure with some emotion: especially Eve.The Chief sat next to her and gripped Eve’s hand; “When he gets back, I think you two should have a nice long chat about life and stuff like that.” The Chief smiled and released her hand, heading for the Engine room.

Eve looked down at the floor and found Dallas sitting there; she leaned down and stroked the big cat, feeding him a couple of cat biscuits from the bag Lilly always kept on the Communications desk. Tom called across the bridge to no-one in particular; “I’ve got them on the scope!” He could see the little green dot moving north, accelerating away from the relatively slow moving Thor’s position. “They making good time, but they won’t hit the Disaster Zone for at least three hours.” He added, accepting a fresh coffee from Sunny, who tapped the little green dot gently with her finger. “Good luck, my dear friends.” She whispered and returned to the Galley for more fresh coffee and to help Frankie with the evening meal – not that many would have an appetite.

Margret sat in the Captain’s chair watching the gathering gloom through the windscreen; the fate of the Thor and its crew now rested on her shoulders and she felt the responsibility weighing her down already. She sipped her coffee and stared out at the darkness and thought about the ‘Little Thor’ struggling through debris and storm. She thought about its very brave crew; Lilly, Troy, Leon and the Captain – the Captains whispered final words came back to her; “The Thor’s in your hands now Maggie, just get the boys and girls home safe.” She glanced down at the little green dot moving into danger and swallowed hard, she couldn’t let the crew see her shed a tear – not yet.

Sitting up with a jerk, she wondered why that thought had appeared: ’Not yet.’

Maggie looked across at Eve, sitting in silence on the Communications desk, listening to the radio and video traffic about the disaster that had unfolded. She wished they had known each other longer, just so they could sit and chat, so that she could unburden herself about certain matters. But she pushed the thoughts from her mind and asked Tom for a status update: ‘Little Thor’ would be rolling into the Disaster Zone any time now.

Harry stood behind her and spoke softly; “Ma’am, an update has just been flashed to all weather offices, it will appear over the air soon.” Maggie spun round in her chair and accepted the paper from Harry, for a moment she thought his hands were trembling; she read the paper and lowered her head in despair.

Before she could comment; Eve called out from the Communications desk, her voice breaking with emotion; “Weather Central South has just issued another ‘CODE RED ONE’ – the volcano has erupted again and ALL personnel must clear the Disaster Zone immediately!”

Everyone stared at the 'scope' and the little green dot passing rapidly into the Disaster Zone.

FOLLOW THE ROVER TO: SEASON 2: EPISODE 5: "AFTERMATH."

"William Alexander Stephens."

W.A.S.

Copyright © 2011-2021 Stephen Williams. No reproduction of any part without permission.