Arrival (36 page)

* * *

The sun had long set, leaving the LRV camp bathed in only the light of the twin moons. At Lynn’s request, Laura and Maria had set up several floodlights to provide extra illumination for their work. But even with the extra lighting, the work was progressing slowly as they broke open the first float bay.

“Finally,” Frank breathed a sigh of relief as he tossed the access plate aside. Reaching down inside the cramped compartment, he felt around until he found the line that filled the float with air. He carefully disconnected the fitting and tucked it down into the bay. The last thing he needed was for it to suddenly inflate.

When inflated, each float would wrap around one quarter of the capsule’s circumference just above the heat-shield level. Frank estimated that in order to carry Mac and Sara, an operator, and a makeshift propulsion system, they would need at least two of the floats, but decided to use all four, just to be sure.

“How’s it going, guys?” Lynn asked as she approached.

“Painfully slow” Frank admitted.

“Getting to these things is not easy,” Tony added. “They weren’t designed to be taken apart.”

“How long do you think it will take before you have all the floats you need?”

“Let’s see,” Frank began sarcastically. “It took us about two hours just to get this one out. So maybe, six more hours.”

“Well, maybe not that long,” Tony corrected optimistically. “Now that we know how to get to them, it shouldn’t take quite as long to get the other ones out.”

“Don’t forget, after we remove them, we still have to build the raft,” Frank reminded them.

“And the propulsion system,” Tony added.

“Maybe, we’d all better knock off for the night, huh? Get a fresh start in the morning?” Lynn suggested.

“Lynn,” Frank informed her patiently. “If we don’t get these floats out tonight, there’s no way we’re going to be able to affect a rescue before sundown tomorrow.”

“Then maybe we’d better plan on this being a two-day project instead of an overnight one. I don’t want something to go wrong while we’re out there on the water.”

“They don’t have any food, Lynn,” Frank reminded her. “And they have very little drinkable water as well.”

“Lynn’s right, Frank. Let’s call it a night.”

“Mac’s still stranded out there, Tony. Of all people, I would think that you would want to rescue him more than any of us.”

Lynn said nothing, taking note of Frank’s frustration.

“Mac would agree with her!” Tony insisted. “Besides, he’s stranded out there with Sara, remember?”

Frank looked curiously at Tony for a moment.

“If I know Mac, he’s probably snuggling up to her right now, telling her they have to keep warm or something.” Tony flashed a broad, toothy grin at Frank.

Fatigue washed over Frank as he realized Tony was right. “Yeah, he probably is at that.” Frank dropped the collar to the ground in defeat. “What the hell,” he resigned.

“Don’t worry about Mac,” Tony assured him as they walked back to the boarding ramp. “He’ll do just fine.”

Lynn stood silently, watching Frank get up and head inside. After he was gone, she turned to Tony. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

* * *

Mac pushed the ignition strip into the fire paste, setting into motion a chemical reaction that caused the paste to burst into flames spreading quickly across the wood. Mac tossed another piece of wood on top of the now burning starter piece, and within minutes, they had their fire.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Mac boasted.

Sara was huddled up just inside the open end of the hut to stay out of the cool evening breeze that had kicked up just prior to Mac’s return. Her jacket was never able to dry completely, and the cold, damp cloth was chilling her to the bone.

“C…can you m…make it b…bigger?” she stuttered, shivering.

“What’s the matter, you cold?”

“I’m f…freezing. My j…acket is st…still wet. All m…my clothes are st…still w…wet.”

“Then why don’t you take them off,” Mac suggested casually as he tossed another piece of wood on the fire.

“You’d l…like th…that, w…wouldn’t y…you?”

“Gimme a break, Sara,” he said as he walked over to her. “You’re never gonna get warm if you keep that cold, wet thing on, and you know it.” He reached down to feel her face. Normally, she would have knocked his hand away from her, but she was too cold to care.

“Jeez, Sara. You’re cold as ice!” Mac knelt down beside her. “You’re taking that thing off, right now! Whether you like it or not!” he commanded as he began to unzip the front of her jacket.

Sara looked up at him, her teeth chattering, her body shaking. She had not been this cold only minutes ago. She knew that her core temperature had to be falling fast. She wondered if she should have listened to the other women on the Daedalus. They warned her not to allow herself to get too thin.
Women need a little more fat on their bodies than men do.
She could hear them as if they were standing next to her, judging her slender form. She had always strived to keep her body-fat percentage as low as possible, spending hours every night on the exer-cycle in her war against her body’s natural tendency to carry the extra layer of insulation around with her. But now, in retrospect, it may have been a mistake.

She could feel Mac’s warm breath against her cheek as he removed her jacket. It was so warm and she was so cold. But she was confused. This man normally repulsed her. But now, all she could think about was huddling against his warm body. All she could think about was getting warm.

Mac pulled off Sara’s shirt. “Lie back,” he instructed.

Sara rolled backwards without hesitation as Mac slid her jumpsuit down her legs and off her feet. She felt alarmingly cold as the sudden breeze hit her bare skin. “Oh God.”

Mac pulled off her boots, followed by her pants. “Come here,” Mac instructed, reaching out to put his arm around her shoulder. He pulled her into his chest, wrapping both of his massive arms around her.

“J…jeez, M…Mac,” she stammered, recoiling from him. “You’re w…wet t…too.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry,” he apologized. Mac quickly shed his clothing, stripping down to his underwear as well, and pulled her in close again.

His chest was warm against her cheek. She snuggled in closer, burying her face in his skin, wrapping her arms around his waist. He was solid as a rock, and she could feel the heat from his muscles radiating through his thin, fat-free skin. “S…so c…cold,” she whispered.

“I know,” he whispered back. “I know.” Mac reached over to his survival pack with his left hand, digging through it until he felt the smooth, metallic fabric of his thin, insulated sleep sack. He pulled it out of his pack, flapping it around to unfold it, and wrapped it loosely around the two of them.

It felt like nothing to Sara, it was a flimsy little sheet that didn’t seem like it could help at all. Mac tucked it around them, trying his best to protect her back and legs from the cold. He held her, gently rocking her back and forth.

His back felt like ice, the cold night air blowing against it as he tried to shield her from the breeze. She was sitting in his lap now, her legs tucked up underneath her, nestled snugly between his thighs. He rubbed her back slowly with his right hand, trying to generate a little friction to warm her cold skin.

Her back felt smooth and silky, as were her thighs that were pressed against his. He could feel her ice-cold toes tucked under his right calf. Her hair was long and golden brown, and held the pungent aroma of salty floodwater. He could feel her breasts pressing up against his abdomen. Then he noticed something had changed, something was different. He looked down at her. She was still, unmoving. He could still feel her warm breath against his chest, constant and regular. Then he realized, she was no longer shivering.

He noticed something different about himself as well. Here he was, holding a beautiful, sexy, half-naked young woman in his arms. Yet he was not aroused at all. Only a few hours ago, he had smiled at the thought of the two of them thrown together, stranded in this tiny canyon, separated from the others for who knew how long. What a perfect opportunity it would be for him. Only a few days ago, he wanted her more than he had wanted any woman in his young life. Yet now that he held her in his arms, the only thoughts running through his mind were ones of concern for her well-being.

Jesus!
He thought.
What a time to develop a conscience!
Tony’s never going to believe this,
he mused, as he continued to rock her gently back and forth.

* * *

Sara woke slowly, still groggy after her hypothermic slumber. She felt toasty, cozy, and safe in her husband’s arms. The way they used to sleep together had always been so comforting to her, interwoven with one another. But they had not slept together in this way for longer than she could remember. And she had missed the feeling of his massive chest, heaving slowly up and down as he breathed slowly in and out.

Her eyes suddenly popped open. Her husband did not have a massive chest, and they rarely even slept in the same bed any longer. She tried to shift her eyes up slightly to peek at the man she was huddled against, but couldn’t get a clear view of his face. All she could see were the striations of chest muscles stretching across his ribcage and under her cheek. Then it came back to her. The sample collecting, the flood, the cold. It was
Mac
that she was lying against. Her first reaction was one of disgust. Or was the disgust only what she thought she should feel? Then it changed to panic.
What happened last night? How did I end up in his arms?
She thought long and hard, trying to remember the previous night’s events, the memories floating back to her in bits and pieces, disjointed and indiscernible. She remembered the bitter cold, and the shivering. She remembered him taking off her clothing. She remembered his warm body pressed tightly against hers.

Her eyes darted around, getting her bearings. The hut, the sleep sack, the grassy floor. She could smell something peculiar, something burning. Then she remembered the fire, and she remembered falling asleep, warm in Mac’s big, strong arms, and cuddled up with her face buried in his chest, rocking her gently, protecting her from the cold, harsh world outside. And the contentment, she remembered that most of all. Feeling so protected, so safe when she was near him.

Again, panic swept through her, washing away all traces of her previous contentment. This was
Mac
, after all. The most arrogant man she had ever known! Yet, she had never felt so content before, so peaceful. Even now, in the face of this sudden, horrifying reality, the contentment seemed to settle back in, pushing the panic aside.

Mac began to stir, and she quickly closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. She could hear him yawning, and felt his body stretching and flexing as he woke. It was sort of cute, actually, this big muscle-bound ape stretching like a little schoolboy waking from his afternoon nap. She could hear him smack his lips as he opened his eyes.

His head turned toward hers, his chin brushing against her hair. “Sara?” he whispered.

She remained still, pretending to be asleep, as Mac carefully extricated himself from her embrace and out of the sleep sack. Perhaps, if she just laid there, pretending to wake up a little later, she would have time to figure this all out.

Mac stoked the nearly-dead fire, hoping to take the chill off the morning air. After taking inventory of his survival pack, he decided that rationing of their limited consumables would be required, especially after his morning conversation with Tony via the comm-set indicated that a rescue attempt might not take place until late in the day, if not the following one.

They requested that he recon the status of the floodwater, hoping it had receded significantly overnight. But Mac decided to postpone the inspection until after Sara was awake and felt up to the task.

Dividing the energy bars and dried fruit into six portions, Mac didn’t wait for Sara to awaken before eating. Although he was considerably larger than Sara and required more calories per day, he opted to limit his consumption. He had gained a few pounds as of late, thanks to Laura’s various experiments in bread baking, and had allowed his body fat-percentage to climb to a whopping eight percent. That was the highest it had been in two years, and the thought of letting himself slip that way disgusted him to no end.

Trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb Sara’s slumber, Mac sat quietly, chewing on dried fruit and washing it down with sips of water from his canteen. They would have to find a new source of water today. But Mac had spied more than one waterfall cascading down the canyon walls during his initial recon of their little valley. It should require no more than a short hike and some simple purification procedures to produce enough potable water to get them through the day.

About an hour later, Sara finally developed the nerve to present herself, clinging to her guise of extended slumber to avoid potential embarrassment. She had laid there an entire hour, as she contemplated her confusing feelings toward Mac, why she was experiencing them, and what they really meant. In the end, she convinced herself it had merely been a matter of survival, and that Mac was just doing his job, protecting a member of his team.

If only it hadn’t been Mac
.

There was no denying however, that she probably would not have survived the flood, or her bout with hypothermia, without Mac. His brute strength was the sole deciding factor that had saved the both of them from drowning in the first place. Although anyone with the proper training and tools could build a shelter, the flood currents had been ferocious, and probably would have overpowered any other man on their team.

Women on the Daedalus served in all manner of roles. Doctors, scientists, technicians and the like. There were really only two areas in which they differed. Men generally took the more dangerous and more physically demanding responsibilities, while the women gravitated toward the more cerebral or nurturing roles. The thing that bothered her the most was that it was the women’s responsibility to bear children and care for the family. There was no denying that only the women could bear children. But the fact that such duty was
expected
of her was still difficult for her to accept. Her mother, and her mother before her, knew that they would live their entire lives aboard the Daedalus, and thus had accepted their roles. But once they were living on a planet instead of a spaceship, there might be other alternatives.