Hard time in Port…
The last storm had done more damage than they had realized. Spacer and the people who had learned from parents or mentors worked for days to get as much equipment as possible working. The drinking water plant was not yet working so they were back to distilling water with the sun. They had finally run out of filters.
“Spacer, this is not going to work,” Seta Gupta shook her head. “We have too many people, especially the littles, who need lots of water. The sun distillery is just too slow.”
“This is the best we can do, Seta. Beth Ann is going to try to bring some of that spring water from the Batchelder’s island since Betty told us about it. What we need right now are barrels.” And something to slow down the number of babies, Spacer thought.
“Well, her ship brought in a huge fish we can line a large basket with its skin to use for that, but right now, we are even low on nut water. We need to shut down the stills until we have more drinking water. We can’t waste that much on the booze. We have more than enough alcohol for disinfection. We will not survive without potable water.” She walked away shaking her head.
Spacer had his hands full with all the issues of the Bridge. Boats watched him and finally could not stand it.
“Spacer, why do you think you are the only one who can do all this?”
“What? Who else is going to do it?”
“Remember Jesse and the swamp team? You handed that job to him in a minute. Who usually makes the big baskets? Who was working with Mandy on getting more leaves for writing? We could use some of that same stuff for water filters according to one of the folks from ‘topia. You don’t have to do it all yourself, my friend, I think it is called delegating.” Boats waited.
“Guess I’m just too much like my old man, Boats. He was sure that it would not get done right unless he did it.”
“Yes, and he dropped dead way too early,” Boats shook his head. “Get some of these other people working on this. If they make mistakes, that means they learned something and will do it right the next time. At least that is what my mom taught me.” Spacer laughed because Boats’ mother had been a force to be reckoned with and he missed her input. He began calling out to runners to get the basket makers and the woman who knew about filters to come to the Bridge. He knew Boats was right. It was time to get more people involved in running Port.
***
“Spacer, we need to get a trade agreement with Utopia, or we are going to be isolated and starving again,” Blackie was worried since they didn’t have the wood to fix the ships. “The folks in Utopia are right about one thing, we do act like pirates because we demand food and supplies. We can claim we are due something since our people got stranded here but they have to live too.”
“Elder Garza has brought that up in staff meetings and it gets the ship captains all riled up. Batchelder is in the brig but there are a couple of ships who seem to really like to raid. The captains are saying we don’t have the authority to stop them. It might mess up this agreement you have with Refugio.”
“Well, they all will have the same problem because you can’t get a ship fixed unless you know what you’re doing,” Julie shook her head. “We don’t have the equipment to cut the boards for the hull or access to those tar pits that seal up the boards. All we have done in the past was borrow another ship.
“Some of these fools get a rush out of raiding those communities, but those are folks just like us,” Blackie had spent enough time in Refugio to realize the trade agreements were badly needed by all three settlements. “Not sure what we can do to force them to stop, but maybe not sharing food with them might do it.”
“Might, but if a thrill they are seeking, we could put them to work protecting the shore settlements from those swimming carnivores. The ones we saw near that other continent make the ones over on the coast of ‘topia look like babies. One swam up to our ship and must have been twice as long as the ship. It rolled on its side and looked at us with a huge green eye, then swam away. Never seen anything that big in my life,” Julie trembled just talking about the animal.
“That might be a plan,” Spacer said softly. He too had heard about the large animals. His grandfather, one of the original Crew members, said they looked like a cross between two dangerous Terra animals, a crocodile, and a shark. The GC report had said they were mostly in the colder waters of the poles and avoided the warmer tropical waters. That was one reason the Crew had settled where they did. “My mother’s dad said they were really different from animals on the mother planet. They looked like reptiles but lived in cold water. Terra reptiles preferred warmer climates.”
“Well, if any of us are going to settle on that other piece of land, we need to deal with them. They’re really thick around a couple of the islands, especially closer to the pole. We saw them near the ice but not after we headed back to the warmer waters,” Julie had tried explaining what they had seen but without something to write on, they were not able to make maps.
“Blackie, they stole the ship,” one of his crew staggered into the office bloodied and bruised. “A bunch of Gunson’s crew jumped us and took off with the ship.”
“We better warn the Overlord because they will probably hit there first. They will think they don’t expect it,” Spacer called to Boats to get a message to Jose up at the message hut.
“You had better let ‘topia know too, Spacer,” Blackie realized that by notifying them it might help with a treaty. “There is a diplomatic flag in the main cabin that the Pins are always careful about honoring. I would not put it past Cookie to use it. I should have given it back to the Ser Francos when we were there, but I forgot about it. Cookie set up the capture and knew the flag was on the ship.”
“Blast it, Boats, let Jose know we need the Refugios to warn Utopia about a fake flag.”
“We might try and send a message to Utopia,” Blackie knew there were some newer captives who had relatives they might be able to contact. “Check with that weather caster that came in with Tony. He was from Utopia and was able to contact someone when Gunson captured his ship. I think his name is Ian.” Spacer and Boats left to find Ian and another message sender to see if they could contact both settlements. This would help warn them and maybe help with negotiations if Utopia was willing.
***
The screams of fire alerted the group in the Bridge to the attack. Smoke and flames were beginning to pour from the shelters in the bathing area and the newly rebuilt shelters along the swamp. He saw an oared boat pulling alongside the ship that had arrived that morning and suspected the rebels had freed George Batchelder. Many of his crew and Gunson’s had been identified when the ship had been taken earlier in the morning. Now, they were shooting fire arrows into the dry thatching of the shelters. If something was not done soon, the whole settlement would be destroyed. Boats began pounding the warning gong as people began gathering the smaller children into the main house. He grabbed a bucket and started for the swamp to help start the bucket chain. Fire arrows had set the swamp on fire and the gas from the rotting vegetation was beginning to explode.
“Get a chain going to move those meat jars out of the QM shed,” one of the mind speakers was giving orders. The settlers quickly switched from trying to stop the fire to trying to save their food supply. The many practice fire drills were paying off, Spacer realized. The QM was quickly emptied with only minor losses of sun hats and cloaks. Some of the Short Patrol had grabbed their own bows but were hesitant to shoot. There men were their neighbors and friends.
Suddenly, there were screams from the attacking ship as the sailors began dropping their bows and burning arrows. A small child was standing on the wall by the dock pointing at the ship. Each time he called out “stop” one of the men collapsed. The crew of the ship moved from attack to fire duty as the now burning ship drifted towards the dock.
“Grab that little before he kills someone!”
“Doc, where is the dumb juice? He has to have it,” Betty Batchelder called out. “Buddy, please stop, you have done enough,” she rushed to her youngest child and gathered him up as one of the medical staff hurried to him with a cup. Buddy fought the drink, but they were able to get most of it into his mouth.
“Please don’t hurt my baby, George thought it was funny to bring on the manifestation manually before the children knew what was happening. Doc Gupta has been dosing Buddy since we got here. He’s a strong compulsive, and he’s just a baby. He doesn’t understand,” Betty was crying and rocking her now groggy toddler in her arms.
“Betty, nobody going to hurt the little. What he did stopped the attack, but this gives me one more reason to lock up your fool of a husband,” Spacer added this news about the Batchelder children to his list of problems. He wished he had Sera Rita back. She had mentioned they were studying the manifestations at the medical school in Amaurot. The ship was being pulled toward the dock now that the fire was out on the deck.
***
“Joe, I want George locked up in that back room over at the main house. The rest of the crew get to help clean up the fire damage.”
“Spacer, a couple of the men on the deck are not coming around. What ever Buddy did, it may be permanent,” Joe’s people had the ship tied to the dock. George and the rest of the rebels were escorted to the Bridge. The murmurs among the residents now that the fires were under control were not friendly. Boats knew a mob might take revenge and that could quickly get out of hand. He caught the attention of a woman who could help project his voice and climbed up on the platform of the meeting shelter. He put his hand on her shoulder.
“Attention! A formal hearing will be held tomorrow evening after all the damage has been assessed. All member of the crew who stole the boat and attacked the settlement will be judged by a formal panel and punishments assigned. It will be according to the GC guidelines, but in the meantime, these fools have work to do. Be sure all fires are out. Inventory what was destroyed or spoiled. Keep a list of how many shelters were destroyed. We’ll need to make a trip to that last eastward island to gather fronds, but we need to know how much.”
Spacer was relieved that Boats got this going. He was just too angry to do much more than scream at the leader of the gang who stole the ship and tried to destroy what they had just rebuilt. He grabbed a hand cart and joined in the cleanup.
***
“So far, most of the damage was to things here in the center. We have two of the crew who are still out cold but alive and two who Doc Gupta said had cardiac arrest. When Buddy said stop, everything in their bodies stopped. The two that are out cold had psy powers and fought it off except for not being awake,” Boats reported to Spacer as they ate first meal.
“So about all we have to rebuild are the bathing area and the QM? That won’t take too many fronds,” Spacer was relieved that the fire had not spread any farther.
“Well, no, the Brig is busted up and the fires in the swamp are still smoldering. We lost some walkway planks but not the posts. That tree grass we have growing may be strong enough to use for the planks.”
“Sounds good, how many came off the ship?” Spacer was worried about the number of people who were supporters of Gunson and Batchelder. So many of the changes they needed to make depended on if he could get the votes from the crew.
“That is the funny thing, the crew the SP collected off the ship mostly pitched in and worked hard to clean up and be sure the fires were out. Joe put a couple in what is left of the Brig. The rest were upset at what George planned,”
“Some good news at least. You handled last night much better than I would have, Boats. You were right, I don’t need to do everything.”
***
“Glad we used the GC rulebook, Spacer,” Boats brought Spacer a shell of nut tree juice and a pressed cake as they sat on the porch of the Bridge as the sunlight faded. “Your granddad was right to preserve it.”
“He was just sure we were going to get a pickup and had better be working by the book. You were right on the point announcing what you did. It kept the mob from getting out of hand,” Spacer was tired. “These last two days have been more excitement than I want again for a long time.” Spacer ate the small cake slowly. Mixing swamp root with the shredded tree nut meat made for a nutritious, chewy cake but he was getting tired of it. With the dried fish, it was about the only food they had. They needed to make a treaty with Utopia like they had with Refugio.
“Glad you cleared the twins. They are the best of Port when it comes to the bow. I knew there had to be something forcing them when I saw them shooting at us.” Boats had known the twins since they were littles and figured they had to be under compulsion.
“Not sure how Batchelder’s sons managed to get away—Unless you suppose they can compel us to not see them?” Boats realized the ability to compel behavior might also extend to sight and hearing.
“Whoa, it that is possible, we need to set more guards and get some of these finders going on them.” Spacer had heard from one of the evaluators of the littles with new skills. They could find things that were lost.
“You think they could find people?”
“Well, if the men come in stealing food, they could find the pots, but it won’t hurt to ask them to try.” Spacer left to talk to the head of the nursery. Boats yelled for Joe Marine to get the Shore Patrol mounting extra guards. Food was the main thing the attackers did not have and the first thing they would try to steal.
“Spacer, we have to find some way of helping Buddy,” Seta Gupta eased herself into the sagging chair on the Bridge porch. “The dumbing down juice can only do so much. He is still a baby, and he needs to eat and run like any other growing child. Betty has tried to explain to him about his power, but he just does not understand. George ought to be fed to the toothy fish on a slow rope for what he did to his littles.”
“About what he deserves, Seta. Boats and I spent the night trying to find those older boys of his. Seems they can make you not see them, and they were after the food.”
“Sera Rita talked to me about some of the things they are doing in Utopia with these psy powers. Do you think they could help us with these littles? George messed with all of them, but most of them don’t have the power that Buddy has. None of them have any control. When they brought them here after the storm, we all felt like there had been a sex party in the quarters. They were broadcasting and messing up all kinds of things.”
“We need other things from Utopia, and I want to see if we can convince them to work on a trade agreement,” Spacer had an idea. “Sera Rita said the dumbing down juice would be a real valuable trade item. Their healers could use it for people who have really strong manifestations. I never have understood how our healers discovered it. Do you know?”
“It was purely accidental, like a lot of things around here. One of the galley staff from the ship loved raw fish like they had eaten in the Pacific islands back on Terra. The dumb down fish looked like one of them and she cut it up for sushi. That is what the dish is called,” Seta laughed. “She ate it and a short time later, some of the others found her groggy but physically pliable. The reaction was what was called “date rape” drug back in the old days on Terra. My grandmother realized when the psy powers began manifesting that we could use it to keep people from burning out.”
“Well, we don’t have a shortage of those fish. Just wish they were better to just eat. I’m getting really tired of swamp root. Love to have even some hard tack. That is why I want to get things going with Utopia.” Spacer washed down his first meal cake, the same thing he had for supper.
“Spacer, why not send word to Utopia that we need help with some littles and see what they say? That ship Blackie has been sailing needs some work and that is the only place we’ll get it done since we aren’t going to steal them anymore,” Boats had come out of the office with a list of repairs needed on the few boats in harbor.
“Been thinking that myself. Seta, can you make up a short description of what is going on with the littles. No need to say at this point why it’s happening. Maybe they will be interested. Jose can get that fellow from the fishing boat to help since we promised we would send him back. Time we made an effort to be good neighbors.” Spacer helped Seta out of the battered but comfortable chair. “I’ll take the message to the com shack when we get it written. Need to send one to Tony also. After the fire, it may take longer to get some of the trade items.”
***
“Betty, Spacer and I think we can get some help for your children in Utopia,” Seta had not gotten an answer yet from Utopia but wanted to get Betty thinking about what might help her children. “Sera Rita said they have done a lot of research on what happens when manifestation is forced, like with rape. We want to take all your children that George abused.”
“I’m willing because Buddy’s getting worse. He can’t walk right cause he spends so much time drugged,” Betty’s eyes were red rimmed from crying. Seta knew some of the other children had been drugged because of power surges they could not control. “Have you seen the older boys?”
“They came around and took most of our cakes yesterday,” Betty snapped. “The guards at the QM have been good but they are so much like their dad. If they can steal it, it is theirs. Food is the way that will catch them. Tweens that age are bottomless pits!”
“I’ll talk to Joe Marine and see if he has some ideas. If they are hungry enough, we might be able to trap them.
“Go ahead and get your stuff packed. As soon as Blackie and Julie get the big ship cleaned up, they want to leave. The winds are just right for a quick trip to Southmost port.”
“I didn’t say I would go,” Betty’s smile showed her sense of humor had not been lost. “Not looking forward to a week or more cooped up with all five of my children. Are you coming?” Seta laughed.
“One part of me wants a long ocean voyage, but folks here need me too much,” Seta sighed. “Be sure you bring that oldest daughter of yours back. She has the makings of an excellent healer.”
“Maybe we can get her some training at their facility. She needs help just like Buddy.”
“That is an idea, but I really need her here. She is the first one I have had with real healing powers. Sera Rita was impressed. We want you back, Betty, even if your husband is a waste of food.”
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