Read Craggy 2: Another Last Flight for Craggy Online

Authors: Gary Weston

Tags: #Science Fiction & Fantasy, #Science Fiction, #Military, #Space Fleet, #Space Opera, #Space Ships, #alien encounters, #alien planets, #mars

Craggy 2: Another Last Flight for Craggy (21 page)

BOOK: Craggy 2: Another Last Flight for Craggy
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'Just stay calm,' said Cragg, holding a smile.

The lizard sniffed them in turn, then it sat back on its hind legs and a stump of a short fat tail. The Lizard spoke.

'Which of you is Craggy?'

'Me. The good looking one.'

'It speaks English,' said Solvo.

Cragg shrugged. 'Can't be that hard. I manage it.'

'My name is Zixpahk Torstrix, from a planet called Graggos. Our race is known as Graggons.' Its long blue tongue rolled oddly in its mouth as it spoke.

'Delighted to meet you, Zix...Zixpa...Sixpack. I am Commander Dixon Cragg, and this is Captain Tony Solvo.'

'Toby.'

'No,
I'm
Cragg, y
ou're
Toby. Look. If you don't mind, I'm trying to have a serious conversation with my new best pal here. So. Sixpack. It would appear we are on the same side.'

Zixpahk did a peculiar rolling of his head, which could have meant either yes or no. 'We hate the Varlindrans. We have been enemies for thousands of years. They once tried to take over our planet. Many killed on both sides.'

'We too have lost many,' said Cragg. 'Have they gone? The Varlindrans?'

'For now. It will take time for them to create another of what you call the blackness. But they will return one day, and for that you must be prepared. We may not be here to help you next time.'

'Understood,' said Cragg. 'There's enough hardware out here to make use of, I reckon.'

'Yes. Use it. Use our dead ships, also. We must go, now. We have many injured. But...'

'Yes?'

'We have need of your help.'

'Anything. You name it, we'll do whatever it takes.'

'That is good to know. But now is not the time. We will let you go. One day we will return and we will talk of this help you can give us.'

Cragg nodded. 'I'll have some beer chilling for you. Listen. Sixpack. Feel free to visit whenever you wish. Maybe let us know in advance, so we don't accidentally shoot you.'

Zixpahk did the head rolling thing again. 'You will know when we will arrive. Goodbye.'

'Bye. Don't be a stranger. Come on, Tony.'

They entered their ship and closed the airlock. The Graggon's ship opened up and the freighter smoothly rose up into space. They all watched the the Graggons blast off, battle weary, back to their home.

Lance Dillow said, 'Craggy?'

'Hmm? Oh. Nice people. Probably help keep the flies down. Very friendly. Sort of made me our official ambassador to them. Got a bit of a ring to it don't you think? Ambassador Dixon Cragg. Yeah. I kinda like that.'

All Dillow could respond with was a low groan. 'Right. Home.'

Chapter 83

T
here was no fanfare when the seven ships landed. Nobody to greet them. Wreckage was everywhere, people, many in a daze, trying to hold it together to make sense out of chaos. Sixteen left the freighters, no banter, nothing to say. One battle was over, a bigger one faced them all. A man, bandaged and on crutches hobbled towards them. It was Potts.

'Tell me they've gone?'

'For now,' said Lance Dillow. 'We had help.'

'We heard...some of it. Most safe...mine. Safe. Out here...We lost...many. Still digging...trying to...'

Cragg could see a man on the edge of falling to pieces. 'Hey, Pottsy. You don't have do this all on your own. Misty? Is she...?'

Potts nodded. 'In the mine. We put most in the mine. Safe.'

Cragg put his arm around his old pal, relieved of the news of his wife. 'Pottsy. Come on. Let's find Anton.'

'Dead. Anton...crushed. Marcia...dead.'

It all hit Cragg hard. 'Jeez. Oh, crap. Lance. I'll take care of Pottsy.'

Dillow said, 'Ok. Looks like we have our work cut out. We're off to the mine, see if we can find people, see where to start.'

Knowing Misty was alive and safe somewhere, Cragg led Potts through the remains of the Bases. Little had escaped at least some damage. Fires flared up in some places. People were digging through the rubble, some with bare hands, hoping to find survivors, more often just adding to the body count. Everywhere was chaos, mayhem, with a strong smell of death.

In the medical centre, bodies were everywhere. Nurses and doctors, some bandaged and bloody themselves, were doing all they could. Dr Jill Hill appeared, carrying fresh bandages.

'Commander Potts. I've been looking for you. I said not to move.'

Potts just stared at the floor, lost, confused.

Cragg whispered in Hill's ear. 'He's cracking. Have you any sedatives or something? I'll look after him, but he needs...something.'

'Wait here.' She hurried off, returning with a small packet of pills. 'Two now, one every hour. Craggy. Don't let him self administer, right?'

'I said I'll take care of him and I will. Come on, Pottsy.'

Hill said, 'The mine. Most of the accommodation units have been flattened.'

'Mine,' said Potts. 'Must..go...mine.'

Cragg led Potts outside and found a spare working buggy, helped Potts into the front passenger seat, and he jumped into the driver's seat, then they headed to the main mine. Around the entrance to the mine, people were trying to help each other, looking after children and babies, wondering if there was food to eat.

Inside the mine it was the same. More scenes of confusion; babies and children crying. Then Cragg saw his wife.

'Misty. Thank God. You're ok.'

'None of us are that, Craggy. Tagg?'

Cragg shook his head. 'He needs to rest.' He held up the pills. 'He needs looking after.'

Between them they helped Tagg Potts to a relatively quiet and calm part of the mine, sat him down and gave him the medication.

He was just one of many broken humans needing putting back together. It would take time. Much time.'

Chapter 84
Two weeks later

T
here is nothing more magnificent than human beings facing adversity and working together for the better good. What was a daunting test of endurance, became a one step at a time rebuilding of their home. Two hundred and seventeen people had perished. Twenty three were crippled for life. Many more bore scars on their bodies, and deeper scars in their minds. Fixing buildings was a monumental task by itself; restoring the humanity they had fought so valiantly for, would be ongoing for years to come.

Mars Commander Tagg Potts, mourning the loss of his wife and still finding his way without Anton Forbes, the other half of a formidable double act, had buried himself inside his mind for two weeks, oblivious of those around him, trying to help him. With care and love, he came out of his shell, and the long healing process began. He emerged from the mine, the home of thousands, two weeks after the attack, and squinted in the late summer sunshine. Birds were everywhere, and in the distance, somewhere in the jungle of Mars, wild dogs howled.

Potts leaned on his walking stick, tears in his eyes as he stared at the devastation. 'It looks bad, Craggy. Really bad.'

'Call it work in progress, Pottsy. We rescued most of the fish from the farm and they seem to be surviving the rivers and lakes. The hydroponics were badly hit, but coming along. We can feed everyone again. Any man and woman who can stand, carry, hammer and paint, have worked none-stop and we can already move the older ones out of the mine.'

All Potts could see was the damage. 'It looks bad. What do we do, Craggy? What do we do?'

Cragg could see his old friend was barely holding it together.

'What do we do? I tell you what we do. We don't make it as good as it was. We make it better. Right? We make it even better.'

Potts forced a smile. 'Yes. We make it better.'

Six months later

T
he prophecy Cragg had made of making their home better, hadn't been far off the mark. Potts had recovered his ability to govern, supported by a committee made up from many disciplines. Nobody lived in the mine; all had somewhere to call their home. Others had been relocated elsewhere. Even Big Bird had been turned into temporary accommodation for twenty families.

Spacesuits were the attire of people in space, now. By a combination of adapting and a natural increase in oxygen, nobody had need of a suit to walk about outside. Trees were flourishing outside, even fruit trees, like apple and pear. Spring was now a delight, but Craggy loved the rich colours of autumn.

He would sit form time to time, on the bank of some meandering river, drowning worms in the forlorn hope of catching his dinner. That rarely happened, but Craggy always had interesting stories about the one that got away. After another lesson in futility, Cragg had packed up his fishing gear, still wondering what goat tasted like. He decided on a short-cut across the new cemetery where he saw a familiar figure. 

Freddie Morcurry finished weeding the memorial flower beds, stood up and eased his back.

'Afternoon, Craggy.'

'Afternoon, Freddie. This place looks a picture.'

'A sad picture. All these graves. They deserve it to look nice.'

Cragg nodded. 'You do them proud. Well. I said I'd call in and see David Foreman. Yeah. It looks nice, Freddie.'

It was a slow and steady walk to Base Three. To Cragg, it was more than a badly patched up jungle. Priority had, quite rightly, been given to making new homes. There was no need for the airlock these days, and Cragg walked straight in. The jungle was mostly overgrown, but there were plans in motion to bring it to its former glory. In the meantime, with the help of a few volunteers, David Foreman carried on from his father. It was David who Cragg saw first.

'Hi. How's it going, David?'

David brushed the dirt from his hands. 'This place misses Dad.'

'David. You are not your father, and he wouldn't want you to be. I've seen you, early mornings, late nights, looking after this. You have nothing to prove, either to me, you and especially your dad.'

'Thanks for that, Craggy.'

As they chatted, two GenMops walked in. They were free to come and go as they pleased. It was Mango and his latest wife and baby. Tilly was carrying Lilly on her back, and Mango proudly introduced his new baby.

'Hello, Mango,' said David.

'Ooh. Baby.'

'We'll be knee deep in GenMops one of these days,' said Cragg. 'Hello, Mango.'

David let Mango climb onto his shoulders. 'Mango's the only one that can speak, now. Not enough time to spend with the others.'

'Maybe that's as it should be. I'll just pay my respects.'

David nodded and let Tilly present her baby to him. Tilly and Mango looked up proudly as David held the baby in his arms. Cragg walked along the centre path, so overgrown now, some places were challenging. At the end of the path was a new monument. A man was standing before it.

'Pottsy.'

The man leaning heavily on the walking stick didn't turn around. 'I still miss her like hell, Craggy.'

'Marcia was a wonderful woman,' Pottsy.'

This was one area that was well cared for in Base Three. Headstones marked the graves. Korlyn Num Sedindra, Andrew Foreman, Anton Forbes and Marcia Potts. A place had already been allocated for Tagg Potts, so that one day he would be buried by his wife. Above them birds still flew in and out of the gaping hole in the roof. David had insisted it should be left that way, to provide shelter inside for birds that needed it. A few were already nesting in the trees.

'I'm thinking of retiring,' said Potts.

Cragg said, 'About time you put your feet up, Pottsy. You've done your part and then some.'

'I'm not sure I'd be very good at retirement, though.'

'Nobody really retires these days. Are you coming to my ninetieth party bash?'

Potts smiled. 'Of course. Just for a beer with you. I don't socialise much these days.'

Cragg sighed. He remembered the Pottsy of old. 'You're welcome any old time. Ok. Misty will be sending a search party if I don't get myself home.'

Potts was still lost in his own world. Cragg walked slowly away, out into the sunshine and the bustle of busy people. As he walked home to Misty, he looked into the sky. He wasn't sure why, but words were going round in his head.

'
One day we will return and we will talk of this help you can give us
.'

'Sixpack.' Something was telling him, things were about to get interesting again. 'I'd better get some beer in the fridge.'

The end.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading my book and I hope you enjoyed it. Look Out for more “Craggy” adventures, in Craggy's Final Last Flight. If you liked Foreman and his GenMop's, you can share their earlier adventures in the One Way To Mars trilogy. Gary Weston.

# 3 in the Craggy series, Craggy's Final Last Flight.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/322327

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BOOK: Craggy 2: Another Last Flight for Craggy
11.94Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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