Chapter 8 #3
“It used to take about a week,” Tamsyn said, smiling at his enthusiasm. “And cattle can be real unpredictable and dangerous so I’m afraid it’s an adults only chore. But thanks for offering.”
“I can’t spare another week sitting here.” Jeff’s protest was immediate.
“And I’m not asking for a week. The point of the cattle drive was to move the animals to a lower pasture area, preparing them for shipment out.
” She decided not to expand on the ultimate fate of the cattle, since Mike was a city boy and probably didn’t really make the connection between her cattle and his burgers.
“Obviously that’s no longer a concern but I do need to ride up there and take down the fences keeping them out of the lower pastures.
The herd will be on their own now and they need free range to survive long term.
A herd this size can’t survive on either the upper or the lower pasturage year-round. They have to move.”
“How long then?” Jeff asked.
“Three days. One to ride up there, one day to take down the fences if I have help, and a day back. I could be ready to leave the next morning, But I do need one person to go with me to get it all done in a day.”
“I’ll go,” Cody said instantly. “Always wanted to ride a horse and play cowboy.”
Hooting and teasing remarks greeted his mock confession. Tamsyn noticed Melly didn’t join in. “You have reservations?” she asked the doctor.
“Not really. Any other patient who recovered from an ordeal like Cody has would be foolish to undertake so much activity right away but I believe he’s fully himself, thanks to the nanobots. I was reluctant at first but he’s not an ordinary patient, as we all know, so yes, I’m okay with it.”
“I can command the drones surveilling the ranch from there almost as well as I can from here,” Cody said. “She deserves our help, boss.”
“I agree,” the captain said. “All right, but three days is the maximum. Get done whatever you can and be back here on time. That’s an order.”
“Yes, sir. And if we run late for any reason, we can follow your route in the ranch truck and catch up,” Cody offered.
“Don’t be late, soldier.” Jeff’s answer was flat .”Now let’s review our immediate plans after leaving here.” A holo sprang up on the table as he flicked a finger on the pad of his handheld. Tamsyn leaned closer, recognizing landmarks.
“There’s basically only the one road north,” the captain went on.
“We’ll follow it to Glastine, where the big refugee camp is.
We’re getting three coms a day from them, automated calls for anyone left to come there to receive medical care, food and shelter.
We caught one tight, encoded broadcast going further north, to the secret research facility we believe.
Our objective at Glastine is to learn what we can about the people running it.
Cody unearthed some intel on our trip to New Damarkal indicating the general in charge may be compromised in some fashion. ”
Reluctant to ask questions, being the newest member of the team and nonmilitary, she put a check on her curiosity and resolved to ask Cody later, when they were riding to the high pasture.
She didn’t understand the issue with the person running the refugee camp and her conscience pricked her because she’d sent the few refugees from Rosewater to find the camp.
I hope I didn’t send them into a worse situation than what there was in our town.
The mention of a secret research facility was kind of jaw dropping as well.
Was the old planetary government trying to find a cure for Western Flu?
Tamping down the flare of excitement she felt at the idea because Jeff was still talking she waited for more.
“We’ll develop our strategy for Glastine once we scope the place out, before making contact,” he said. “This is a general overview briefing, not battle plans, not yet.”
“What about this town here,” Melly asked, indicating a spot bearing the legend ‘Millersville’. “Are we stopping there at all?”
“Not planning on it,” Jeff said.
“We’re not a rescue mission, I know,” she replied with a smile. “But the people there might be glad to see a doctor.”
The two of them had a silent standoff while everyone else sat and drank their coffee.
“I’ll re-evaluate conditions once we’re on the scene,” Jeff said finally.
“Thank you.” Melly seemed satisfied.
“After Glastine, depending on what we find, our next stop is the research facility. We don’t have the exact location pinpointed as yet but we know the vicinity.
I’m hoping to acquire more intel at Glastine that’ll help us in pinpoint the place.
And then finally we’ll head cross country to our veterans’ acres holdings where we’ll rest, regroup and formulate our next set of action plans. Any questions?”
Unsure of the etiquette, Tamsyn raised her hand.
“Not a question exactly but I have an old friend up near Glastine and Millersville. He’s a tough old rancher name of Perry Norwood.
If anyone can survive what’s going on these days, he could.
If we can get in touch with him, he might be able to fill in some of the blanks for you about conditions in the area. I can give you his comlink.”
“We haven’t heard any broadcasts from him,” Zach said.
She shook her head. “Yeah, he’s the last person who’d be issuing invitations to come find him.
He was kind of a doomsday guy, ready for any catastrophe.
He was also the first person I know to be suspicious of the line the government was feeding us all about the flu.
He tried to organize us ranchers at one point but the government shut him down.
I only talked to him briefly once after that, but if he knows I’m with you, I’m sure he’ll at least talk to us. ”
“If he’s still there,” Zach said. “Sure, give me the private link and I’ll try it.”
“Good suggestion,” Jeff told her. “Where’s his ranch along this route?”
Tamsyn left her chair and walked closer to the captain before indicating a segment of the highway between Verder’s Ford and Millersville.
“His place isn’t shown here but it’s in this general area.
I was there a couple of times as a kid when my father had business with the Norwoods but I didn’t pay much attention to the route.
My impression is it’s pretty far off the highway and secluded.
” She glanced at the group around the table.
“We northern ranchers are all pretty spread out and isolated from the towns but we have—had—a council meeting in holo form once a month and some of us became good friends in subgroups. I’m sure Perry will help us if I ask him to. ”
“Good enough,” Jeff said, making the map holo wink out.
“All right, Cody and Tamsyn will get ready for their cattle drive today, with departure time dawn tomorrow. The rest of us will continue patrols as usual, finish the maintenance on the APC’s and begin packing up, preparatory to our exfil in four days’ time. ”
“Tamsyn,” Melly said before the meeting broke up, “What do you need done here at the ranch in order to be able to leave with us on the fifth day? There must be some tasks? Or things you want to pack? We travel light though, I have to warn you.”
She appreciated the doctor’s thoroughness because her head was full of the necessity for this trip to the high acreage and of course Melly was right, there were a number of things to be done before she could walk away from the Double Comets for an unknown length of time.
Or maybe even forever. She sat next to the doctor for a few minutes and discussed her priority list before she left the house to seek Cody out.