Second Chances (60 page)

“Soft,” the gunny snorted again. “Used to the city. Pathetic.”

“Yeah, well, tell me you'd give up a beer and hot tub to go roll in the dirt and keep from getting bit by some T-Rex or raptor pack.”

“As long as I had my K bar I'd be happy,” the gunny said, grinning like a shark. “And I guarantee I'd give them indigestion.”

“That you would Jarhead,” the SEAL snorted. “I think I'll scout it, help with the setup, but after that I'll play it by ear. It all depends on what we find and what Mitch shakes loose for us.”

“What about if Tina wants to go?” the gunny asked.

“I'll cross that bridge when I come to it,” Chief Roberts said, now uncomfortable. “I'm pretty sure Akira's staying put. I'd say about half our people want to stay put.”

“They can have it. I like the idea of a fresh start,” the gunny said, shaking his head.

The chief raised an eyebrow his way. “What, third time's the charm?” The gunny shrugged.

“We should head south and pick up more of our gear,” the gunny said. The chief nodded.

“In the spring. Hopefully the dinos don't stomp the rest of it flat. We took a lot of gear, but I think we could take two or three more loads out easy.”

“True. And what we can't use I think we can convince Mitch to buy off us in trade for stuff we do need,” he said thoughtfully.

“It sounds like you've made up your mind,” the chief said, looking at the Marine. “Beer?”

The gunny shrugged. “We can always trade for it or make a beer run. I heard the area may have hot springs. That works for me.”

“Not tropical,” the SEAL teased.

The gunny snorted. “After the bugs and critters we've seen here, I don't even want to know what's around the tropics. Pass. I'll stick it out here. The mountains seem defensible. I'd like to see that damn Leviathan try to climb a slope,” he said grimly.

“That's true,” the chief said thoughtfully. He shrugged as he picked up a towel and wiped off the sweat from his face. He wrapped it around his shoulders as he got up. “Your turn,” he said.

“Yeah,” the gunny exhaled, taking the hot seat.

------*------

Mitch saw his wife in passing while walking down the corridor to his office. He was distracted, reading a report. “By the way, I thought you should know I'm pregnant,” Sandra said, then kept going.

Mitch stopped abruptly and then turned with an incredulous look her way. She grinned impishly, then broke into a run.

“Hey! You don't get away with dropping that off and running!” he bellowed, giving chase. She giggled as he caught her, spinning her about until she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him thoroughly to distract him.

“Wow,” he said when she let him up for air. Her eyes twinkled up at him. There was just a hint of satisfaction mixed with a trace of worry though. “How long?”

“I checked this morning when I realized something was up. I hadn't had the usual period last month so...” she shrugged, still looking at him. “Are you okay with it?” she asked softly.

“I don't have a choice, do I?” he asked, smiling down at her. “Yes, I'm okay with it. Though if you want to take your time and convince me we could do that,” he leered.

She chuckled, then her hands dropped to his hips. He hugged her just before he caught the flash of mischief in her eyes. She poked his sides but he hung on, squeezing her until she gasped. “Okay, okay, I give!” She gasped out.

“Sorry,” he said, remembering the baby.

“I'm not that delicate,” she said as he released her almost explosively. She reeled a bit but clung to him. “So you are seriously okay with...”

“I wouldn't have it any other way,” he said, kissing her forehead. She smiled, finally at peace for the moment. She maneuvered his arms so she was tucked under his left arm and then guided him off to the great room to share the news.

------*------

Cassie caught her mom and gave her a disgusted look. “What?” her mother demanded. “Come on kid; someone's got to do inventory,” she said, indicating the open boxes and tablet in her daughter's hands. Cassie was still a teenager; she'd just turned seventeen. She still glowered at her mom though, shooting her dark looks before she turned away.

“Spit it out,” Sandra said, then rubbed her tummy. “Dang, I shouldn't have had so much spice on my burrito for lunch.”

“You,” Cassie turned and glared. Her mother looked expectantly at her. “Did you have to tell everyone without telling
me
first?” she demanded, hands on her hips. Her mother noticed the hurt and felt confused.

“Tell everyone...”

Her daughter threw her hands up in the air. “You're pregnant! I'm not going to be an only child for much longer!
Hello
! It would have been nice for you to clue me in before you let everyone know! Hello! Your daughter here??” she growled, pointing to her chest.

Sandra blinked, then blushed. “I'm sorry, I didn't know. I forgot,” she admitted, feeling like a heel.

“Didn't know or didn't care? It's like I don't exist sometimes, Mom,” Cassie growled. “You get so wrapped up in your own little world. And with Mitch in the picture...” She stuck her bottom lip out a bit, clearly petulant and not about to let her mom off the hook anytime soon.

“It's not like that honey, honest. Wait, how does everyone else know?” she asked, voice dropping in tone. If Mitch had played the proud papa...

Cassie looked at her then pursed her lips. “Ask Jolie or Pete. They've been chattering about it to everyone. Nicole said she'd come deliver the baby since you did her...” she shook her head.

“Mitch...”

“I'm not sure if he told someone or not. When did you tell him?”

“I...” Sandra closed her eyes and then exhaled noisily. “In the corridor yesterday. And we did announce it in the great room. I forgot you were on shift. I'm sorry honey,” she said. “We...got caught up in the excitement of the moment.”

“Right,” her daughter said. “The moment,” she said, still upset.

Sandra wrapped her hands around her daughter's shoulders and rubbed them. “I am sorry dear. You were right; I should have told you.”

“Damn right you should have,” Cassie grumbled.

“Next time dear,” Sandra said. “I promise.”

“Next
time?” Cassie demanded, turning to look into her mother's eyes.

Sandra smiled. “What, you think I'm just going to stop at one? I told you when you were little I wanted a big family. I just could never find the right guy when you were young and well, I was busy. Now...” she smiled.

“Oookay,” Cassie drawled, leaning against the edge of a stack of boxes. “Wow,” she said after a long drawn out silence. “Just...wow.”

“Yeah. But don't you be in any hurry to compete with me!” Sandra warned. She rubbed her tummy again.

“Morning sickness? I heard Janet and Anne had it bad.”

“Oh yeah. Not to their level, I can keep it down. But...” she shook her head.

“If you are looking for sympathy, keep looking. It serves you right for not telling me,” Cassie mocked.

Sandra sniffed, then hugged her daughter. Cassie hugged her back. “Still not letting you off the hook,” Cassie grumbled, nuzzling her face into her mom's shoulder.

“I know,” Sandra chuckled softly. “I'll make it up to you. Promise.”

“You'd better. I want in on the delivery. And I want an extra slice of pie tonight.”

Sandra laughed softly. “Extortionist,” she teased. Cassie giggled.

------*------

Mitch finally got to his office later that afternoon just in time to see something glowing in the open doorway. He frowned, watching the bluish light bob move about before he finally realized what he was seeing. He picked up his pace and entered just as a tiny Meme finished scanning the map he had posted on one wall. It spun about to him, pointing two tentacles his way, then drifted up.

“Hey wait!” he called out but the thing drifted up and up to the ceiling then popped out like it had never been there.

He frowned, staring for a moment, then he looked at the map. He stared, not understanding for a long moment. When he did he blinked and then called the others in. While he waited for them to arrive, he traced his fingertips over the alien markings. “What the hell does this mean?” he murmured thoughtfully.

------*------

“It's still...I mean everything is just a bit much. Doesn't it seem like we've gone through the looking glass?” Jim asked as he nursed a drink in the great room. News of the brief alien visit had worked its way through the community like lightning, even faster than Sandra's pregnancy announcement. People were all making excuses to duck into Mitch's office to look at the map and stare in wonder. Wonder and confusion for most.

“Worried about some Matrix simulation going on?” Mitch teased.

“Something like that,” Jim snorted. He got a faraway look for a moment. Mitch let him think while he sipped at his own drink.

“How did they come about? I mean, energy...beings? I mean, come on! That just reeks of bad sci-fi!” Jim said, throwing his hands up in disgust.

Mitch snorted. “Q anyone?”

“Yeah!” Jim said, waving a hand. Jim was a good guy, pretty average looking. Average size, average weight, brown hair...but above average intelligence. He'd tagged himself with Piotr for a while before falling in with the factory group to indulge his natural love of engineering.

Mitch had another role for him in mind, aerospace director. But it would probably be years before the man got nearly any of the resources that he'd want. That was okay, he could start small, take some of the like-minded under his wing and grow with projects over time.

He...they needed a lot of questions answered. Far reaching questions that would probably spark dozens if not hundreds of more questions to be resolved. But they had to start somewhere, and Jim could put them on the path, if he stuck around the base. From what Mitch had heard, Jim had planned on going on to the Mountain Village in the spring as some sort of blacksmith.

“Okay, from what we've gathered, they are artificial, that means that someone made them.”

“Okay...”

“Chicken and the egg thing,” Sandra said from the other side of her husband. “They didn't evolve, which by the way is the answer to that riddle. But in order for an energy being to exist they have to have had a physical starting point.”

“Or their creators were energy too...Don't forget that,” Mitch interjected. Other people in the room listening in or doing their own activities turned to show interest.

“We're thinking, and this is only a hypothesis now so don't shoot the messenger,” she said, holding up a restraining hand. “What we're thinking is that their creators were physical, corporal beings like us. That would explain why they care about our existence to the level they do.”

“Okay...”

“I know it's a stretch, but all we've got is inferences here.”

“Okay.”

“Bear with me. So, these creators, call them, um, not forerunners or ancients or...damn...what do we call them?” Mitch asked.

“The zookeepers?” Sandra suggested.

“Preservers?” Mitch said, more diplomatic.

“That...preservers sounds good. Anyway, they may have evolved like we did, moving up through the civilization tech scale until they got to the point where they could manipulate matter, time and energy. They then created a...circuit I suppose in energy,” she looked at Mitch who shrugged, “then went on from there to complex things.”

“They could have died out too. Which would explain their interest in protecting species. Keeping them static and preventing further evolution,” Jim mused. “You've got me wondering about that whole energy being thing though.”

“They could go the artificial route or the organic. That's debated too,” Mitch said. “Artificial by making circuits and such or equations and algorithms.”

“Or organic by creating an energy being made in their form or another form. From the cells up somehow,” Sandra said.

“Competing theories,” Jim said.

“And we don't have a clue on which is right or not, or if it matters in the grander scheme of things,” Mitch shrugged. “Though it is fun to debate and speculate about it,” he said grinning at his wife. She looked away, not deigning to rise to his bait. “And yeah, we're coming up with all sorts of...layman ideas on how it might work. I don't know if we're spinning our wheels or not though.”

“Probably.”

“At least you have the time and energy to speculate on such things,” Jim said, making a face. “The rest of the people on this sodding mudball are just trying to stay alive,” he growled.

Sandra nodded, sober now. She rested a hand on her swollen tummy. “Yes. I'm glad we hooked up,” she said, flashing a grateful grin to her hubby. “In more ways than one,” she murmured, stroking her swollen tummy as she looked down. She'd put on a lot of weight; an ultrasound had shown that she had a lot of amniotic fluid within her. She'd heard about that but hadn't experienced it with Cassie. Every pregnancy was different. This one was proving it to her. At least the morning sickness was mild.