A Learning Experience (2/?)
Title: A Learning Experience
Character/Pairing: Wash/Taylor, Guz, Reynolds, Malcolm, Reilly
Word Count: ~4264 for this chapter
Genre: Friendship, Romance, Adventure
Rating: PG-13
Summary: It’s nice that Nathaniel trusts her with training them how to survive here, but sometimes the newbies feel like they’re more trouble than they’re worth.
Author’s Note: Pre-Series, after the Fifth Pilgrimage. Set in the context of my other stories, a look at how Alicia and Mark became friends despite the age and rank differences. And since Malcolm was supposed to have arrived on the fifth as well, he gets to come along for the ride. And Reilly too, just because I like her.
So, I’m being a little hard on poor Malcolm. I promise he’ll be less of a butthead... : ) Believe it or not, I actually like Malcolm! And next chapter will be the Mark/Wash stuff. Of course, I’m falling back a bit on my favorite little side-theme with Wash, the climbing ability that I’ve imagined for her.
Part One
Disclaimer is as usual - no profit, not mine, just borrowing.
When they go over a log for the third time, Alicia hears a stream of complaints from the back of the rover again. For the last three hours, every single bump, shift and slide has been met with an avalanche of whining from the back seat, and Alicia has had it. She slaps her comm. “Guz! I’m stopping.”
They skid to a stop, and Alicia climbs out of the rover, fuming. Guz climbs out of his own rover, a confused expression on his face. “Wash? Is everything all right?”
Alicia shakes her head, and she eyes the occupants of Guz’s rover. “Curran!” she barks, “Change places with Doctor Wallace.” She turns to her rover. “Doctor Wallace, move. You’re riding with Lieutenant Guzman the rest of the way.”
“What? Why?” The scientist sputters as he climbs out, day pack in hand.
Alicia puts her hands on her hips, glaring at him. “Because, put simply, you are the whiniest, most atrociously annoying man I’ve ever met, and three hours of listening to you bitch and moan like a teenage princess is about all I can handle. So it’s either switch rovers or I stun you and you go the rest of the way unconscious. You pick.” Just to make sure he knows she isn’t kidding, she unholsters her stun pistol and powers it up.
The scientist literally scurries to the other rover, and a chuckling Curran climbs in the back of Alicia’s with Reynolds. Alicia turns back to Guz. “Sorry, Isaac. You know I rarely pull rank, but I really was about to shoot him. Maybe not on stun.”
He tries to look irritated but fails. Instead, he snorts out a laugh. “Understood. If you could handle three hours of his shit, I can handle one.”
She nods and gives him a grateful smile. “See you there, my friend.”
When she gets back to her rover and climbs in, Reynolds leans forward. “Ma’am, I don’t know if I’ve ever been more thankful in my life. There aren’t words to express it.”
Alicia laughs softly. “No problem, Private.”
Proving that they heard her talking to Malcolm and Guz, after a beat, Reilly says, “It might’ve been fun to watch you shoot him, though. Just putting that out there for the trip home, ma’am.”
Trying to cling to at least a shred of professionalism, Alicia doesn’t reply. She isn’t, however, capable of fully hiding her smirk, and, if her light chuckle is any indication, it’s clear that Reilly notices.
Alicia has to swallow hard to fight back the laughter, and eventually she gives up, snickering and saying, “I’ll take that under advisement, Sergeant.” She grins when she hears both Reynolds and Curran burst into laughter in the back. At least the last hour of this drive won’t suck as much as the first three.
*****
Just over an hour later, they pull into the fenced in area of Outpost Four. Not all of the outposts are similarly protected yet, but some of the areas have creatures that demand it. It’s not necessarily predators - some are just scavengers of shiny things, some like to eat the synthetic materials, and some just try to nest in and around the building because of the heat it gives off.
In this case, it’s the latter. They found out about the nesting the hard way when an aggressive, very large herbivore mama raised her babies here two years ago. They were unable to get into this outpost for over six months.
They all pile out of the two rovers. “Guz, Curran, Reynolds, can you get the gear we don’t need today into the outpost? Reilly, check and make sure our med kit is good to go. I’m going to check in with the colony.” She turns to Malcolm and the other two soldiers. “Privates, you’re on perimeter. Keep an eye on the area around the outpost. We’ll be heading out shortly, and I need to know the area is clear.”
They salute and give her a yes ma’am before heading for the fence line. She walks over to Malcolm. “Doctor Wallace, we’ll be here for maybe half an hour. Take a break, get some water and food, and stay out of my way.”
The scientist looks angry, she assumes from before. “I’ll have you know, Lieutenant, that I’ll be complaining to the commander about you and your behavior.”
She rolls her eyes. “Doctor Wallace, I’ll have you know that this is more than a test of your physical and survival capabilities. It’s also a test of your character and leadership ability. On the latter, so far, you are failing. You can complain to the commander about me. His only reply will likely be to ask me why I didn’t just cut to the chase and stun you. This is not a university or even private sector business where we’ll kiss your ass because you happen to have a few letters after your name.”
She pauses and approaches him, getting up in his face. “There isn’t a predator here that will give two shits about how well you did in school. They won’t ask you about your dissertation before chowing down. Now I suggest that you get your head out of your ass, and I suggest you do it quickly. Your performance here today and tonight will help to determine your role in the colony. What that ends up being is largely up to you, in that if you can’t follow orders, quit bitching, and actually try to learn, then you likely can’t lead. At least that’s what my report will reflect.” She spins on her heel and goes inside, hopeful that she won’t have to confront him again.
Though many would be skeptical if she said so, she actually doesn’t enjoy dressing people down. In particular, she doesn’t like to have to do it to civilians. But she won’t put her soldiers in danger because one arrogant scientist thinks he knows more than all of them because of his Ph.D.
She gets to the small communications room, enters and closes the door behind her. She powers up the equipment and opens a channel to the colony. “Terra Nova, this is Outpost Four, come in?” She waits a moment and repeats her call.
A few seconds later, a voice comes over the connection. “This is Terra Nova, go ahead.”
“Lieutenant Washington checking in. Is the commander available?”
She hears a small shuffle, and then Nathaniel’s voice comes on the line. “Wash?”
She smiles. “You were close by.”
He chuckles. “I figured we’d be hearing from you.” She hears a door close. “You alone?”
“Affirmative. You?”
“Yes, just kicked the sergeant out.”
“I swear to God, Nathaniel, I nearly killed Wallace on the way here. That man is a raging pain in the ass.” She snorts. “You’ll likely be getting more bitching emails when we return.”
She can hear the amusement in his voice. “What happened, Alicia?”
“He whined and complained for three solid hours. I finally stopped and made him ride with Guz. He didn’t like that, so I kind of gave him two choices.” She hesitates then.
“Do I want to know?” The amusement is even more pronounced now.
She sighs. “I told him he could either ride with Guz, or I’d stun him and he could stay with me.”
He barks out a laugh. “That’s better than I was expecting - I figured you told him ride with Guz or walk the rest of the way.”
She grins, relieved that he isn’t irritated with her for losing control a little. “Well, sir, it seemed somewhat unethical to just leave him there as nyko bait.”
He laughs again, and then he becomes more serious. “Is he going to put you, Reynolds and Reilly in danger, Alicia? If you think he is, he’s grounded, no questions asked. I’ll not have him putting the rest of you at risk because he doesn’t want to be there.”
“I think I can handle him, Nathaniel. But I’ll tell you the truth - as of right now, he’s not doing anything to recommend him as a leader.” She pauses. “I should go, we need to get started.”
“Understood.” His voice softens. “Be careful, Alicia.”
She smiles. “Always am, Nathaniel. I love you.”
“You too. Let us know if you need anything or have any trouble. Terra Nova out.”
Alicia powers down the equipment and takes a deep breath, mustering what is left of her patience before heading back out into the main room of the outpost. When she gets there, Malcolm is on the couch, reading a plex with a disgruntled look on his face. The others, with the exception of the two young soldiers she put on fence duty, are waiting, and she sees Guz nod at Malcolm and give her a questioning look.
She just shrugs lightly in return. “OK everyone, time to get going. Guz, you and Curran will remain here with the two privates to be on call in case we need assistance for any reason.”
She turns to Reilly and Reynolds. “You two go ahead and check the gear in the rover. Reilly, was the med kit stocked properly?”
The younger woman snaps to attention. “Ma’am, based on the protocol, we were short a suture kit. I snagged one from the supplies in the infirmary room here.” Alicia gives her a knowing smile, and Reilly blinks for a moment. “That was a test, wasn’t it ma’am?”
Alicia smirks a little. “It was, and you passed. Well done.”
Reilly beams at the praise, and she and Reynolds go out to the rover to check the gear as directed. “Doctor Wallace, are you ready?” He sighs and gets to his feet, and Alicia just rolls her eyes. “By the way, if you’re particularly fond of that plex, you might want to leave it here. We’re getting wet today.” Not waiting for his response, she turns on her heel and leaves.
She knows he’s behind her when she hears his boots crunching on the gravel around the outpost. When they arrive at the rover, she addresses her three students. “Here’s the agenda today. I’m going to take you through a few different things you might experience if you are, for lack of a better way to say it, on the dinner menu for a predator and running for your life. Today will be what might happen if you’re trapped on foot. Tomorrow morning will be some driving drills. Any questions?” She looks straight at Malcolm with her last question.
Reilly and Reynolds both murmur their “no ma’ams” and step away. Alicia meets the irritated scientist’s eyes, and she decides to give him an opportunity to redeem himself somewhat. “Doctor Wallace, I know you don’t want to be here. But whether you agree or not, this is what the commander and I require of anyone who will be participating in OTG missions. This world is not safe, and you not knowing what to do if a ten foot tall, or God help you, larger predator is after you could endanger not only you, but my soldiers, kids like Reilly and Reynolds over there, or someone like Lieutenant Guzman, a single parent to a teenage daughter.”
Malcolm colors lightly and looks at the ground. He doesn’t say anything, so Alicia goes on, “I have no desire to spend the next twelve hours fighting you every step of the way, and you need to understand that this isn’t just a ‘check the box.’ You have to participate and show me that you get it. If you can’t do that, then you can’t go OTG. It’s that simple. I know that for your research, the ability to go OTG is vital. So it’s time for you to decide - do you want to have the freedom you need, or…”
He holds up his hands. “Point made, Lieutenant. I’ll try to tone it down.”
She nods. “Thank you.”
A few hours later, he’s somewhat less amenable. They all, Alicia included, just finished jumping fully clothed off a low outcropping into water below. The exercise was meant to prepare them for how hard it can be to swim while clothed. They’re now back at the rover, parked at a river a few clicks away from the outpost, all changed into dry clothes.
“Break time,” Alicia announces, “Lunch is in the cooler in the back.”
She chuckles when Reilly and Reynolds both cringe, both clearly concerned about what lunch will be. Reynolds grabs the cooler, and his face lights up when he opens it. “Sandwiches, ma’am?”
She smirks. “I made you eat bugs and grubs at the basic survival training. I figured you’d prefer a little smoked dino meat for lunch instead. But hey, there’s a dead log. I’m sure there are grubs if that’s what your little hearts desire.”
Reynolds and Reilly grin and shake their heads, retreating with their sandwiches. To Alicia’s surprise, there’s even a small smile from Malcolm. He catches her looking at him, and he attempts to look sullen again. She lifts an eyebrow at him. “I saw that, Doc.”
She grabs two of the sandwiches and brings one to him. He takes it, murmuring a thank you. He’s leaning against the hood of the rover, and so she leans next to him. They both take bites of their sandwiches, and after a moment, Alicia says, “So, Doc, don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you here? It’s pretty clear to me that you aren’t all that outdoorsy.”
He gives her a funny look, and then he looks around at the river and the trees. “You know, you’re right. I’m not. But I think, had our world been safer and cleaner, like this,” he pauses and smirks, “Though I know safe is a relative term, I might’ve been, as you put it, outdoorsy. I know I haven’t been good at putting this forth, but this place, well, this time is amazing. I think I ended up a scientist because I could at least try to understand the way our world used to be.”
Alicia blinks at him, a little surprised. He looks slightly defensive. “What?”
“Nothing. Let’s just say my opinion of you just went up a tiny bit. You’ve still got a bit of a climb, though. You know that, right?”
He goes back to looking slightly sullen again before he sighs heavily. “I’m used to being in charge. In the department at my university, in the lab, in the classroom, I was the leader. I’ve also had almost zero experience with the military. I admit that you shocked me this morning, both by knowing who Alexander Pope is and by citing Frederick Douglass, who was brilliant by the way.”
She stays quiet, not sure where he’s going with this. He seems to catch that, and he goes on, “I’ll try to be a little more accommodating in the future, Lieutenant. Try to be a little more respectful of procedure. But maybe you could stop threatening to shoot me?”
She snorts. “Don’t piss me off anymore, Doc, and I won’t want to shoot you.” She picks up her sandwich wrapper and balls it up, taking his and doing the same. “And it’s Wash, Doc.”
“Lieutenant?” He looks confused.
“You can call me Wash if you want to.”
He inclines his head, and she walks away to get ready for the next part of the training. “Load up, everyone. You’re about to learn the basics of rappelling and basically how to throw yourself off a cliff and not die.”
They all groan a little, but they pile into the rover. Alicia gets behind the wheel and takes them up into the hills, keeping an eye out for local wildlife. This area has generally not been populated by predators, but she knows that can change as hunting grounds get exhausted.
Reilly is riding shotgun again, and she has her pulse weapon out and powered. Alicia likes that she did that without being ordered to. She’s run this training multiple times now, and it’s always, miraculously, gone off without a hitch. That fact alone makes her wary. She knows it’s irrational paranoia, but she just thinks they’re due some bad luck.
They’re actually riding parallel to the river, and the outcropping she’s headed for is out over the water, just about fifty feet up. She pulls to a stop about thirty feet from the edge, and she gets out, motioning to the others to follow her, knowing they’ll enjoy the view.
When the others approach, she hears quick intakes of breath from all of them. She smiles, remembering her own similar reaction when Nathaniel brought her here the first time. Below them, two rivers intersect, and the place where they cross is a deep, swirling pool. They’ve checked it out down below, and the water there is at least fifty feet deep. There is whitewater off in the direction taken by the newly joined rivers, tumbling and eddying over rocks and dips in the terrain.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” She looks at Malcolm, who has come to a stop next to her.
“Incredible. Do we know the sources of the rivers?” He looks at her.
She shakes her head. “Honestly, we haven’t had time to look. I’m sure they both start out higher up in the mountains.”
She has to grin at the awed expression on his face and at the similar expressions on the faces of Reilly and Reynolds. She gives them a few more moments, and then she says, “OK guys, let’s get this party started.” She goes to the rover and pulls out her pack, which contains emergency supplies, climbing gear and her own personal med kit. She pulls out two sets of climbing lines, and she goes about setting them up.
The others watch her closely, listening as she explains what they’re going to do. “If you’re being chased by something that seems really intent on eating you, you’re not going to have a lot of options. You can try a tree, but it’s possible that the nykos and slashers can climb. If it’s a carno, forget trees. Climbing a tree just makes it so that they don’t have to bend over to catch dinner.”
She pounds in the last line anchor and sits back on her heels. “If you’re near a rock face like this one, we’ve found, yes, through personal experience, that the dinos aren’t good on that kind of terrain. So, if you can get onto the face and down a bit, you might survive. There’s not much outside of dumb luck that will help you survive if you really have to jump. What I’m going to show you is how to identify handholds in the rock, how to move along it, and how to get back up. I’ll take you down below the edge one at a time.”
They all nod, paying close attention. She looks at Reynolds. “You first, kid.”
He swallows hard. “Me, ma’am?”
She lifts an eyebrow at him. “Harness up, Private. I’m going to as well, just watch what I do, and you do the same.”
“Yes ma’am!”
It only takes a few minutes for the two of them to get into the harnesses. Alicia reaches into her pocket and pulls out her pair of fingerless leather gloves, something to protect her palms from the rope. She shoulders her pack on, always insistent on having it on her when possible. She checks her weapons, confirming that both her pulse pistol and conventional pistol are secure in their holsters. Then, she takes the two ropes and hooks one into each of their harnesses.
“Ma’am?” She looks up at the sound of Reynolds’ voice. “Are there any extra gloves in the rover?”
Alicia nods and looks over at Malcolm and Reilly. “Can you two go find the bag of extra supplies and bring it over? We stay in pairs just in case.”
“Yes ma’am!” Reilly turns and heads for the rover, Malcolm close behind her.
Reynolds goes to the edge and crouches down, and Alicia can hear Malcolm and Reilly rummaging in the rover. “This is really cool, ma’am.”
Alicia smiles down at Reynolds, amused by his new found enthusiasm. She starts to reply when a sound from the tree line makes her freeze. She puts her hand on Reynolds’ shoulder and squeezes, holding a finger to her lips when he looks up. She grabs her pulse pistol, powering it up as she scans the trees. She hears the sound again, and she reaches up and taps her comm. “Reilly, we’ve got a visitor. Don’t know if it’s friend or foe yet. You and Doctor Wallace stay at the rover.”
Alicia hears Reilly’s pistol power up over the comm. “Yes ma’am.”
Silence reigns again, but only briefly. It’s only a matter of seconds before the question of what it is gets an answer. A slasher bursts out of the trees, luckily - at least in Alicia’s mind - towards Alicia and Reynolds. “Reynolds, gun!” She hits the comm again. “Reilly, get Doctor Wallace in the rover and go for the outpost! We’re going to need help!”
“But Wash!” She hears Malcolm’s voice over his own comm.
“It’s a slasher, and there’s always at least two. Go now, that’s an order!”
The slasher stalks towards her and Reynolds, clearly believing that it has them trapped. Alicia breathes a sigh of relief when she hears the rover come to life and tear away through the trees. The slasher is getting closer to them, and Alicia is about to open fire when she hears Reynolds mutter, “Shit.”
It’s then that she realizes that the second slasher has emerged, approaching them just as ominously as the first. Time freezes, and then it races ahead, both of the slashers shrieking and heading straight for them. Alicia knows they can’t fight these things off. She holsters her gun and turns to Reynolds, who has gone as still as a statue, his face a picture of horror and disbelief.
She knows they’ve got no time. Hoping that the ropes hold, she gives Reynolds a shove, toppling him backwards over the edge of the outcropping. He yells out in surprise as she follows him over the edge, leaping out into space, the outraged, angry shrieks of the slashers piercing her ears. She tries to keep her body loose, not wanting to be tensed too hard when she bounces at the end of her line.
She and Reynolds both fall about fifteen feet, landing hard against their harnesses. The line swings, and she bounces off of the rock face, gaining what’s she is sure will be some very colorful bruises and scrapes in the process; at least her pack protects her back. Once she stops bouncing, she looks over at Reynolds. He looks equally beat up and a little dazed, leading her to believe that he bumped his head at least once.
“Kid, you OK?”
He blinks a few times before responding. “I think so, ma’am.”
She nods, tapping her comm. “Reilly?”
“Yes ma’am, already getting closer to the outpost!” That explains the expected scratchy connection - the distance.
“Get there. We have at least two slashers…”
“Ma’am!” Reynolds’ panicked voice makes her look over at him.
Her eyes widen in horror when she realizes that his line is bouncing. One of the slashers must be attacking it. Just as Alicia reaches for him, her hands just brush his as his rope snaps and he, with a yell, plummets towards the swirling water below, landing with a huge splash.
“Mark!” Alicia watches as he falls and surfaces, and she makes a split second decision. She can’t leave him alone to the water. She pulls out her knife and says into the still-open comm line, “Reilly, one of the slashers cut Reynolds’ line. I’m cutting my line and climbing down after him.”
Alicia finds hand and footholds on the rock and, slicing through the end of her rope, she starts to climb down. “When you get to the outpost, have Guz, Lieutenant Guzman, radio the colony. Have him tell Commander Taylor to send a rescue team towards two rivers. He’ll know what that means.”
She only manages to descend about ten feet when her boots slip on the rocks, damp from the mist rising up off of the rivers. Her feet go out from under her, and she finds herself clinging to the rock face with her fingertips. “Damn it.”
“Ma’am?”
“Reilly, did you copy all that?” She struggles to regain her footing, hearing yells from Reynolds below as she gets them back onto footholds.
“Yes ma’am. Two rivers.”
“OK, then…shit!” Alicia thought she’d gotten secure, but her feet hit another wet spot, and this time she can’t hold on.
She falls the last twenty feet to the water, angling herself into a position that will let her sustain minimal damage. As she falls, all she can hear is a stereo chorus of “ma’am” and “Wash” in her ear, fading to nothing when she hits the water’s surface and goes under.
Character/Pairing: Wash/Taylor, Guz, Reynolds, Malcolm, Reilly
Word Count: ~4264 for this chapter
Genre: Friendship, Romance, Adventure
Rating: PG-13
Summary: It’s nice that Nathaniel trusts her with training them how to survive here, but sometimes the newbies feel like they’re more trouble than they’re worth.
Author’s Note: Pre-Series, after the Fifth Pilgrimage. Set in the context of my other stories, a look at how Alicia and Mark became friends despite the age and rank differences. And since Malcolm was supposed to have arrived on the fifth as well, he gets to come along for the ride. And Reilly too, just because I like her.
So, I’m being a little hard on poor Malcolm. I promise he’ll be less of a butthead... : ) Believe it or not, I actually like Malcolm! And next chapter will be the Mark/Wash stuff. Of course, I’m falling back a bit on my favorite little side-theme with Wash, the climbing ability that I’ve imagined for her.
Part One
Disclaimer is as usual - no profit, not mine, just borrowing.
When they go over a log for the third time, Alicia hears a stream of complaints from the back of the rover again. For the last three hours, every single bump, shift and slide has been met with an avalanche of whining from the back seat, and Alicia has had it. She slaps her comm. “Guz! I’m stopping.”
They skid to a stop, and Alicia climbs out of the rover, fuming. Guz climbs out of his own rover, a confused expression on his face. “Wash? Is everything all right?”
Alicia shakes her head, and she eyes the occupants of Guz’s rover. “Curran!” she barks, “Change places with Doctor Wallace.” She turns to her rover. “Doctor Wallace, move. You’re riding with Lieutenant Guzman the rest of the way.”
“What? Why?” The scientist sputters as he climbs out, day pack in hand.
Alicia puts her hands on her hips, glaring at him. “Because, put simply, you are the whiniest, most atrociously annoying man I’ve ever met, and three hours of listening to you bitch and moan like a teenage princess is about all I can handle. So it’s either switch rovers or I stun you and you go the rest of the way unconscious. You pick.” Just to make sure he knows she isn’t kidding, she unholsters her stun pistol and powers it up.
The scientist literally scurries to the other rover, and a chuckling Curran climbs in the back of Alicia’s with Reynolds. Alicia turns back to Guz. “Sorry, Isaac. You know I rarely pull rank, but I really was about to shoot him. Maybe not on stun.”
He tries to look irritated but fails. Instead, he snorts out a laugh. “Understood. If you could handle three hours of his shit, I can handle one.”
She nods and gives him a grateful smile. “See you there, my friend.”
When she gets back to her rover and climbs in, Reynolds leans forward. “Ma’am, I don’t know if I’ve ever been more thankful in my life. There aren’t words to express it.”
Alicia laughs softly. “No problem, Private.”
Proving that they heard her talking to Malcolm and Guz, after a beat, Reilly says, “It might’ve been fun to watch you shoot him, though. Just putting that out there for the trip home, ma’am.”
Trying to cling to at least a shred of professionalism, Alicia doesn’t reply. She isn’t, however, capable of fully hiding her smirk, and, if her light chuckle is any indication, it’s clear that Reilly notices.
Alicia has to swallow hard to fight back the laughter, and eventually she gives up, snickering and saying, “I’ll take that under advisement, Sergeant.” She grins when she hears both Reynolds and Curran burst into laughter in the back. At least the last hour of this drive won’t suck as much as the first three.
*****
Just over an hour later, they pull into the fenced in area of Outpost Four. Not all of the outposts are similarly protected yet, but some of the areas have creatures that demand it. It’s not necessarily predators - some are just scavengers of shiny things, some like to eat the synthetic materials, and some just try to nest in and around the building because of the heat it gives off.
In this case, it’s the latter. They found out about the nesting the hard way when an aggressive, very large herbivore mama raised her babies here two years ago. They were unable to get into this outpost for over six months.
They all pile out of the two rovers. “Guz, Curran, Reynolds, can you get the gear we don’t need today into the outpost? Reilly, check and make sure our med kit is good to go. I’m going to check in with the colony.” She turns to Malcolm and the other two soldiers. “Privates, you’re on perimeter. Keep an eye on the area around the outpost. We’ll be heading out shortly, and I need to know the area is clear.”
They salute and give her a yes ma’am before heading for the fence line. She walks over to Malcolm. “Doctor Wallace, we’ll be here for maybe half an hour. Take a break, get some water and food, and stay out of my way.”
The scientist looks angry, she assumes from before. “I’ll have you know, Lieutenant, that I’ll be complaining to the commander about you and your behavior.”
She rolls her eyes. “Doctor Wallace, I’ll have you know that this is more than a test of your physical and survival capabilities. It’s also a test of your character and leadership ability. On the latter, so far, you are failing. You can complain to the commander about me. His only reply will likely be to ask me why I didn’t just cut to the chase and stun you. This is not a university or even private sector business where we’ll kiss your ass because you happen to have a few letters after your name.”
She pauses and approaches him, getting up in his face. “There isn’t a predator here that will give two shits about how well you did in school. They won’t ask you about your dissertation before chowing down. Now I suggest that you get your head out of your ass, and I suggest you do it quickly. Your performance here today and tonight will help to determine your role in the colony. What that ends up being is largely up to you, in that if you can’t follow orders, quit bitching, and actually try to learn, then you likely can’t lead. At least that’s what my report will reflect.” She spins on her heel and goes inside, hopeful that she won’t have to confront him again.
Though many would be skeptical if she said so, she actually doesn’t enjoy dressing people down. In particular, she doesn’t like to have to do it to civilians. But she won’t put her soldiers in danger because one arrogant scientist thinks he knows more than all of them because of his Ph.D.
She gets to the small communications room, enters and closes the door behind her. She powers up the equipment and opens a channel to the colony. “Terra Nova, this is Outpost Four, come in?” She waits a moment and repeats her call.
A few seconds later, a voice comes over the connection. “This is Terra Nova, go ahead.”
“Lieutenant Washington checking in. Is the commander available?”
She hears a small shuffle, and then Nathaniel’s voice comes on the line. “Wash?”
She smiles. “You were close by.”
He chuckles. “I figured we’d be hearing from you.” She hears a door close. “You alone?”
“Affirmative. You?”
“Yes, just kicked the sergeant out.”
“I swear to God, Nathaniel, I nearly killed Wallace on the way here. That man is a raging pain in the ass.” She snorts. “You’ll likely be getting more bitching emails when we return.”
She can hear the amusement in his voice. “What happened, Alicia?”
“He whined and complained for three solid hours. I finally stopped and made him ride with Guz. He didn’t like that, so I kind of gave him two choices.” She hesitates then.
“Do I want to know?” The amusement is even more pronounced now.
She sighs. “I told him he could either ride with Guz, or I’d stun him and he could stay with me.”
He barks out a laugh. “That’s better than I was expecting - I figured you told him ride with Guz or walk the rest of the way.”
She grins, relieved that he isn’t irritated with her for losing control a little. “Well, sir, it seemed somewhat unethical to just leave him there as nyko bait.”
He laughs again, and then he becomes more serious. “Is he going to put you, Reynolds and Reilly in danger, Alicia? If you think he is, he’s grounded, no questions asked. I’ll not have him putting the rest of you at risk because he doesn’t want to be there.”
“I think I can handle him, Nathaniel. But I’ll tell you the truth - as of right now, he’s not doing anything to recommend him as a leader.” She pauses. “I should go, we need to get started.”
“Understood.” His voice softens. “Be careful, Alicia.”
She smiles. “Always am, Nathaniel. I love you.”
“You too. Let us know if you need anything or have any trouble. Terra Nova out.”
Alicia powers down the equipment and takes a deep breath, mustering what is left of her patience before heading back out into the main room of the outpost. When she gets there, Malcolm is on the couch, reading a plex with a disgruntled look on his face. The others, with the exception of the two young soldiers she put on fence duty, are waiting, and she sees Guz nod at Malcolm and give her a questioning look.
She just shrugs lightly in return. “OK everyone, time to get going. Guz, you and Curran will remain here with the two privates to be on call in case we need assistance for any reason.”
She turns to Reilly and Reynolds. “You two go ahead and check the gear in the rover. Reilly, was the med kit stocked properly?”
The younger woman snaps to attention. “Ma’am, based on the protocol, we were short a suture kit. I snagged one from the supplies in the infirmary room here.” Alicia gives her a knowing smile, and Reilly blinks for a moment. “That was a test, wasn’t it ma’am?”
Alicia smirks a little. “It was, and you passed. Well done.”
Reilly beams at the praise, and she and Reynolds go out to the rover to check the gear as directed. “Doctor Wallace, are you ready?” He sighs and gets to his feet, and Alicia just rolls her eyes. “By the way, if you’re particularly fond of that plex, you might want to leave it here. We’re getting wet today.” Not waiting for his response, she turns on her heel and leaves.
She knows he’s behind her when she hears his boots crunching on the gravel around the outpost. When they arrive at the rover, she addresses her three students. “Here’s the agenda today. I’m going to take you through a few different things you might experience if you are, for lack of a better way to say it, on the dinner menu for a predator and running for your life. Today will be what might happen if you’re trapped on foot. Tomorrow morning will be some driving drills. Any questions?” She looks straight at Malcolm with her last question.
Reilly and Reynolds both murmur their “no ma’ams” and step away. Alicia meets the irritated scientist’s eyes, and she decides to give him an opportunity to redeem himself somewhat. “Doctor Wallace, I know you don’t want to be here. But whether you agree or not, this is what the commander and I require of anyone who will be participating in OTG missions. This world is not safe, and you not knowing what to do if a ten foot tall, or God help you, larger predator is after you could endanger not only you, but my soldiers, kids like Reilly and Reynolds over there, or someone like Lieutenant Guzman, a single parent to a teenage daughter.”
Malcolm colors lightly and looks at the ground. He doesn’t say anything, so Alicia goes on, “I have no desire to spend the next twelve hours fighting you every step of the way, and you need to understand that this isn’t just a ‘check the box.’ You have to participate and show me that you get it. If you can’t do that, then you can’t go OTG. It’s that simple. I know that for your research, the ability to go OTG is vital. So it’s time for you to decide - do you want to have the freedom you need, or…”
He holds up his hands. “Point made, Lieutenant. I’ll try to tone it down.”
She nods. “Thank you.”
A few hours later, he’s somewhat less amenable. They all, Alicia included, just finished jumping fully clothed off a low outcropping into water below. The exercise was meant to prepare them for how hard it can be to swim while clothed. They’re now back at the rover, parked at a river a few clicks away from the outpost, all changed into dry clothes.
“Break time,” Alicia announces, “Lunch is in the cooler in the back.”
She chuckles when Reilly and Reynolds both cringe, both clearly concerned about what lunch will be. Reynolds grabs the cooler, and his face lights up when he opens it. “Sandwiches, ma’am?”
She smirks. “I made you eat bugs and grubs at the basic survival training. I figured you’d prefer a little smoked dino meat for lunch instead. But hey, there’s a dead log. I’m sure there are grubs if that’s what your little hearts desire.”
Reynolds and Reilly grin and shake their heads, retreating with their sandwiches. To Alicia’s surprise, there’s even a small smile from Malcolm. He catches her looking at him, and he attempts to look sullen again. She lifts an eyebrow at him. “I saw that, Doc.”
She grabs two of the sandwiches and brings one to him. He takes it, murmuring a thank you. He’s leaning against the hood of the rover, and so she leans next to him. They both take bites of their sandwiches, and after a moment, Alicia says, “So, Doc, don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you here? It’s pretty clear to me that you aren’t all that outdoorsy.”
He gives her a funny look, and then he looks around at the river and the trees. “You know, you’re right. I’m not. But I think, had our world been safer and cleaner, like this,” he pauses and smirks, “Though I know safe is a relative term, I might’ve been, as you put it, outdoorsy. I know I haven’t been good at putting this forth, but this place, well, this time is amazing. I think I ended up a scientist because I could at least try to understand the way our world used to be.”
Alicia blinks at him, a little surprised. He looks slightly defensive. “What?”
“Nothing. Let’s just say my opinion of you just went up a tiny bit. You’ve still got a bit of a climb, though. You know that, right?”
He goes back to looking slightly sullen again before he sighs heavily. “I’m used to being in charge. In the department at my university, in the lab, in the classroom, I was the leader. I’ve also had almost zero experience with the military. I admit that you shocked me this morning, both by knowing who Alexander Pope is and by citing Frederick Douglass, who was brilliant by the way.”
She stays quiet, not sure where he’s going with this. He seems to catch that, and he goes on, “I’ll try to be a little more accommodating in the future, Lieutenant. Try to be a little more respectful of procedure. But maybe you could stop threatening to shoot me?”
She snorts. “Don’t piss me off anymore, Doc, and I won’t want to shoot you.” She picks up her sandwich wrapper and balls it up, taking his and doing the same. “And it’s Wash, Doc.”
“Lieutenant?” He looks confused.
“You can call me Wash if you want to.”
He inclines his head, and she walks away to get ready for the next part of the training. “Load up, everyone. You’re about to learn the basics of rappelling and basically how to throw yourself off a cliff and not die.”
They all groan a little, but they pile into the rover. Alicia gets behind the wheel and takes them up into the hills, keeping an eye out for local wildlife. This area has generally not been populated by predators, but she knows that can change as hunting grounds get exhausted.
Reilly is riding shotgun again, and she has her pulse weapon out and powered. Alicia likes that she did that without being ordered to. She’s run this training multiple times now, and it’s always, miraculously, gone off without a hitch. That fact alone makes her wary. She knows it’s irrational paranoia, but she just thinks they’re due some bad luck.
They’re actually riding parallel to the river, and the outcropping she’s headed for is out over the water, just about fifty feet up. She pulls to a stop about thirty feet from the edge, and she gets out, motioning to the others to follow her, knowing they’ll enjoy the view.
When the others approach, she hears quick intakes of breath from all of them. She smiles, remembering her own similar reaction when Nathaniel brought her here the first time. Below them, two rivers intersect, and the place where they cross is a deep, swirling pool. They’ve checked it out down below, and the water there is at least fifty feet deep. There is whitewater off in the direction taken by the newly joined rivers, tumbling and eddying over rocks and dips in the terrain.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” She looks at Malcolm, who has come to a stop next to her.
“Incredible. Do we know the sources of the rivers?” He looks at her.
She shakes her head. “Honestly, we haven’t had time to look. I’m sure they both start out higher up in the mountains.”
She has to grin at the awed expression on his face and at the similar expressions on the faces of Reilly and Reynolds. She gives them a few more moments, and then she says, “OK guys, let’s get this party started.” She goes to the rover and pulls out her pack, which contains emergency supplies, climbing gear and her own personal med kit. She pulls out two sets of climbing lines, and she goes about setting them up.
The others watch her closely, listening as she explains what they’re going to do. “If you’re being chased by something that seems really intent on eating you, you’re not going to have a lot of options. You can try a tree, but it’s possible that the nykos and slashers can climb. If it’s a carno, forget trees. Climbing a tree just makes it so that they don’t have to bend over to catch dinner.”
She pounds in the last line anchor and sits back on her heels. “If you’re near a rock face like this one, we’ve found, yes, through personal experience, that the dinos aren’t good on that kind of terrain. So, if you can get onto the face and down a bit, you might survive. There’s not much outside of dumb luck that will help you survive if you really have to jump. What I’m going to show you is how to identify handholds in the rock, how to move along it, and how to get back up. I’ll take you down below the edge one at a time.”
They all nod, paying close attention. She looks at Reynolds. “You first, kid.”
He swallows hard. “Me, ma’am?”
She lifts an eyebrow at him. “Harness up, Private. I’m going to as well, just watch what I do, and you do the same.”
“Yes ma’am!”
It only takes a few minutes for the two of them to get into the harnesses. Alicia reaches into her pocket and pulls out her pair of fingerless leather gloves, something to protect her palms from the rope. She shoulders her pack on, always insistent on having it on her when possible. She checks her weapons, confirming that both her pulse pistol and conventional pistol are secure in their holsters. Then, she takes the two ropes and hooks one into each of their harnesses.
“Ma’am?” She looks up at the sound of Reynolds’ voice. “Are there any extra gloves in the rover?”
Alicia nods and looks over at Malcolm and Reilly. “Can you two go find the bag of extra supplies and bring it over? We stay in pairs just in case.”
“Yes ma’am!” Reilly turns and heads for the rover, Malcolm close behind her.
Reynolds goes to the edge and crouches down, and Alicia can hear Malcolm and Reilly rummaging in the rover. “This is really cool, ma’am.”
Alicia smiles down at Reynolds, amused by his new found enthusiasm. She starts to reply when a sound from the tree line makes her freeze. She puts her hand on Reynolds’ shoulder and squeezes, holding a finger to her lips when he looks up. She grabs her pulse pistol, powering it up as she scans the trees. She hears the sound again, and she reaches up and taps her comm. “Reilly, we’ve got a visitor. Don’t know if it’s friend or foe yet. You and Doctor Wallace stay at the rover.”
Alicia hears Reilly’s pistol power up over the comm. “Yes ma’am.”
Silence reigns again, but only briefly. It’s only a matter of seconds before the question of what it is gets an answer. A slasher bursts out of the trees, luckily - at least in Alicia’s mind - towards Alicia and Reynolds. “Reynolds, gun!” She hits the comm again. “Reilly, get Doctor Wallace in the rover and go for the outpost! We’re going to need help!”
“But Wash!” She hears Malcolm’s voice over his own comm.
“It’s a slasher, and there’s always at least two. Go now, that’s an order!”
The slasher stalks towards her and Reynolds, clearly believing that it has them trapped. Alicia breathes a sigh of relief when she hears the rover come to life and tear away through the trees. The slasher is getting closer to them, and Alicia is about to open fire when she hears Reynolds mutter, “Shit.”
It’s then that she realizes that the second slasher has emerged, approaching them just as ominously as the first. Time freezes, and then it races ahead, both of the slashers shrieking and heading straight for them. Alicia knows they can’t fight these things off. She holsters her gun and turns to Reynolds, who has gone as still as a statue, his face a picture of horror and disbelief.
She knows they’ve got no time. Hoping that the ropes hold, she gives Reynolds a shove, toppling him backwards over the edge of the outcropping. He yells out in surprise as she follows him over the edge, leaping out into space, the outraged, angry shrieks of the slashers piercing her ears. She tries to keep her body loose, not wanting to be tensed too hard when she bounces at the end of her line.
She and Reynolds both fall about fifteen feet, landing hard against their harnesses. The line swings, and she bounces off of the rock face, gaining what’s she is sure will be some very colorful bruises and scrapes in the process; at least her pack protects her back. Once she stops bouncing, she looks over at Reynolds. He looks equally beat up and a little dazed, leading her to believe that he bumped his head at least once.
“Kid, you OK?”
He blinks a few times before responding. “I think so, ma’am.”
She nods, tapping her comm. “Reilly?”
“Yes ma’am, already getting closer to the outpost!” That explains the expected scratchy connection - the distance.
“Get there. We have at least two slashers…”
“Ma’am!” Reynolds’ panicked voice makes her look over at him.
Her eyes widen in horror when she realizes that his line is bouncing. One of the slashers must be attacking it. Just as Alicia reaches for him, her hands just brush his as his rope snaps and he, with a yell, plummets towards the swirling water below, landing with a huge splash.
“Mark!” Alicia watches as he falls and surfaces, and she makes a split second decision. She can’t leave him alone to the water. She pulls out her knife and says into the still-open comm line, “Reilly, one of the slashers cut Reynolds’ line. I’m cutting my line and climbing down after him.”
Alicia finds hand and footholds on the rock and, slicing through the end of her rope, she starts to climb down. “When you get to the outpost, have Guz, Lieutenant Guzman, radio the colony. Have him tell Commander Taylor to send a rescue team towards two rivers. He’ll know what that means.”
She only manages to descend about ten feet when her boots slip on the rocks, damp from the mist rising up off of the rivers. Her feet go out from under her, and she finds herself clinging to the rock face with her fingertips. “Damn it.”
“Ma’am?”
“Reilly, did you copy all that?” She struggles to regain her footing, hearing yells from Reynolds below as she gets them back onto footholds.
“Yes ma’am. Two rivers.”
“OK, then…shit!” Alicia thought she’d gotten secure, but her feet hit another wet spot, and this time she can’t hold on.
She falls the last twenty feet to the water, angling herself into a position that will let her sustain minimal damage. As she falls, all she can hear is a stereo chorus of “ma’am” and “Wash” in her ear, fading to nothing when she hits the water’s surface and goes under.