The Quality of Mercy by Etain Antrim

[Reviews - 1]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer

- Text Size +

The Quality of Mercy, Part 4
Etain Antrim

By midmorning, Walman was already tired of the splint. When he and Alonzo had tied the splint, two fairly straight sticks Alonzo had waded out into the snow to find, onto his injured leg, he immediately felt better. The snug security it provided stopped all the twinges in his knee from every tiny movement, but it wasn't more than an hour before he discovered that it also meant that his leg was going to be straight, no matter what. When he sat, it stuck awkwardly out in front of him; when he walked, he had to balance on his good leg with no help from his splinted leg; and when he tried to lie down, his back ached from not being able to bend the leg.

"Hey 'Lonz, after the crash, that was a splint you had, right?"

Alonzo looked over at Walman from his cot. "What? Yeah, I had a splint. Why?" Alonzo was inside his sleeping bag, fully dressed, and still looked tense from the cold.

"Oh nothing. I guess I just never realized how restricting a splint is." Walman was also inside his sleeping bag, after a struggle to get the splint inside the bag without tearing the bag in the process.

"Yeah, but you get used to it. It's funny, but when my leg was finally healed, I was still making room for that splint for days. You know, I think the hammock worked better with the splint than these cots. Easier on the back. Hey, you gonna want lunch?"

"Not if it means that either of us has to open the flap and let out all this partially-warm, not-completely-frigid air. I'd be happy with just a semolina bar. How about you?"

"My appetite isn't back, and I'm pretty tired. A semolina bar sounds fine. I just wish this snow would stop."

"Yeah, me too. How much water do we have left? We don't need to melt any more snow for a while, right?"

"I think we melted enough for the whole day. We just need to keep it in the sleeping bags with us. It might freeze if we don't."

By mid-afternoon, Alonzo was asleep again, and Walman was dozing. The continuing snowfall kept the afternoon dark, and the bone-numbing cold had confined them to their cots. Both of them were worn out and not feeling well, and sleeping seemed as good a use for their time as anything else. Walman was startled when his gear beeped.

"Yeah, Walman here."

"Walman, how's it going?"

"Dev? We're fine. Tell Julia that my knee feels a lot better with the splint. I think the swelling is down a bit too."

"Will do. Are you staying warm there? This front really dropped the temperature."

"Yeah, we're all right. We're mostly staying in the tent and inside our sleeping bags. There isn't a lot to do anyway."

"Well, okay. I hope we'll be able to help you back in a couple of days. Let us know if there is anything we can do to help. Adair out."

Walman pulled his gear off his head and looked over at Alonzo. The pilot twitched in his sleep, undisturbed by the call.

***

In the meantime, Baines and Danziger had decided on a final design for an antenna, and had started to look at what materials were available. Danziger had broken the final design down into a number of individual pieces that could be assembled at the site, and which were light and small enough that they could be carried there on their backs.

"It's a shame this weather moved in. I can't really do any heavy cutting or shaping inside, since we don't have a good ventilation system. I'll have to wait for it to get warmer and drier outside." Danziger was rifling through a pile of long metal stays, looking for appropriate pieces.

"Well, not much we can do about the weather, but it'll be good to get the material chosen and put aside soon. I have this fear that someone else is going to decide they need it." Baines critically examined a piece about a meter long . He held it up for Danziger to see. "Hey John, how's this look for those cross pieces? There's a bunch of them here. How many did we say we needed?"

"A dozen. Yeah, that looks good." Danziger reached out for it. "Yeah, this will work just fine. And it seems to be strong enough to handle the winds that peak gets. Are there enough of them?"

"Yeah. Hey, I think we're in luck! Now we just need to find some good material for the major axis. But, I don't think we're gonna find that in this pile. How about that other pile of metal pieces?" Baines was piling a dozen pieces of the right size next to his feet while he talked, but stopped to point across camp to another snow-covered pile next to the TransRover.

"Maybe. I don't think so though. We may need to start with smaller lengths and weld them together. But I think we should wait until tomorrow. This stuff isn't going anywhere tonight. We're the only two foolish enough to be standing in a snowstorm looking through scrap metal. It's time for dinner, too. And I promised True and Uly I'd tell them some stories tonight."

"Okay, you're right. And I'm hungry. But, I'll put these pieces in my tent until we need them." And putting his words into action, he picked up the rods and walked away with them held awkwardly in his arms.

Danziger turned and went back inside the common room. Yale and Morgan looked up expectantly at him as he shook the snow off his long blond curls, and brushed it off his coat and legs.

"Danziger, did you find anything?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah, we found some great cross members, but it looks like I'm going to have to weld together the main axis members. Baines is putting the pieces we found in a safe place. Hey, did you guys hear from the scout team?"

"Devon called them an hour ago and talked to Walman. They are fine, and his knee is feeling better." Yale said.

"It's getting pretty damned cold out there. I'm glad I'm not stuck in a field camp right now. How are they keeping warm?"

"Devon said they are staying in the tent and in their sleeping bags. Doesn't sound comfortable. John, do you think we should make a rescue attempt?"

"I know Julia thinks we should. She's worried about Walman's knee. She said it could be more serious than just a sprain, like a torn ligament or something. And I know she's not happy about Alonzo being out there. She didn't want him to go in the first place. I don't know, though. Without the 'Rail, and with this huge snowfall, we'd have to take the 'Rover, and we'd need to clear a path for it. That's a lot of work."

"But there's no guarantee that this snow is going to melt any time soon. With this extreme cold, it could sit here for a long time." Yale pointed out.

"What's Adair say about it?"

"She is of two minds, much like you. She's concerned about their health, but she's also eager to get forward on this communications project. I believe she wants to see how they are tomorrow morning."

"Martin, what do you think?" Danziger asked.

"Boy, I tell you, I'm just thankful Alonzo took my place. If it was me out there, I'd be demanding a rescue. This winter weather is worse than inconvenient, it's dangerous. Much as I'd like to play with this project, I think we should go after them."

Danziger and Yale stared at the bureaucrat as if he'd just sprouted wings.

"What? You didn't think I'd care, is that it?" Morgan stood and looked at them defiantly.

"Uh. You just sound so sure. I guess I'm a little surprised, yeah." Danziger stumbled to explain.

"Well, that's my vote, and I know Bess thinks the same way. It's not like we *can't* get to them, it's only a few miles. We should have gone today." And with an emphatic nod, Morgan walked off.

Yale looked directly at Danziger, "Well, I guess he told us."

"We should think about going tomorrow. Man, if Martin thinks we should put his pet project on hold and go get them, I don't think I can argue."

"Let's talk to Devon this evening. In the meantime, I smell dinner. We should clear these tables." Yale started to shuffle the paper into neat piles.

End of Part 4.

You must login (register) to review.