Page 28 of Resolution
Ryan was on his own, sorting through the container which held armaments and setting aside the items needed for an assault on a facility, once Cody’s drones located the alien lab.
Devora and Tamsyn, aided by Mike and keeping an eye on Jenny, dug out the crates containing the basic housewares modules Jeff had purchased. He’d gone for the top of the line option, with add-ons to reflect the fact there’d be five men living in the house. Now their group had increased in numbers, he was glad he’d been defiantly extravagant and suspected the women would tell him he needed more.
After lunch the house signaled him it was done with adjustments and ready for occupancy, so everyone took a break from their labors and explored their new home. The first thing which struck Jeff when he stepped inside was the fresh smell—lemons and pine, but not overwhelming. The furnishings were built in and modular so the rooms reminded him a bit of hotel accommodations in the MidSectors. There were faux woodgrain items but for the most part the decor was white and gray, with touches of black and a splash of navy here and there. He’d assigned himself the master bedroom suite since he was the commanding officer and he knew Melly would appreciate having their own bathroom. He stood in the room for a long time, wishing she was here, safe with him, exploring their new home. Soon, he promised her mentally. I’ll get you out of the trouble you’re in because of me and bring you here.
Unable to deal with the grief and anxiety he felt, Jeff went to check on the others. Cody and Tamsyn had a room, as did Les and Devora. For now Jeff had assigned the small office as a room for Jenny because it was close to her parents and he figured the couple deserved to have their privacy. Trent and Zach shared a room and Ryan and Mike were in another. The sixth bedroom was reserved for team meetings, the interstellar com and any other gear Jeff decided to install there.
Concluding his tour of the house with the kitchen, he found the two women there, putting away pots and pans. “Well what’s the verdict?” he asked.
“I think you did a good job,” Tamsyn said. “For a starter house, this is well laid out, as comfortable as modular is ever going to be and we seem to have most of the essentials.”
Devora nodded. “There were enough linens for all the beds—barely—and towels. I think we’ll be able to manage here. Much better than living in the APC’s.”
“No argument there. They weren’t designed to be a home away from home.” He squatted next to Jenny, who was pretending to feed one of her stuffed animals from a small pot. “How do you like your bedroom?” he asked.
“It’s great,” she said enthusiastically. “I can spread out all my furry friends and have a tea party. You’re all invited too.”
“Tell me when and I’ll be there,” he promised.
With a serious expression Jenny said, “I’ll give you the invitation myself when it’s time.” She evidently took her hostess duties for the imaginary party very seriously.
Cheered by the child’s happy attitude, Jeff headed outside and resumed his tasks related to the flyer. It was nearly ready for the checkout ride, which he and Les would do.
“Captain?” Tamsyn called after him, following him onto the back porch. “There’s a storm coming, don’t know if you’d noticed, not being from these parts.” She pointed at the mountains and Mike pivoted to follow her direction.
There was an ominous line of black clouds literally boiling up over the peaks and the breeze had picked up just in the short time he’d been inside. “How long do you figure we’ve got?”
“Couple of hours maybe. It’ll probably last all night and most of tomorrow. We should get everything into the containers and seal them.”
Surveying the cargo containers in the field, Jeff realized he and his crew had been a bit careless about opening the pods and scattering the contents while plucking out the items they wanted most. Military discipline had definitely lapsed in the face of excitement over exploring the cargo. “Get whoever’s in the house out here, would you, please,” he said to Tamsyn. “We’ve got no time to waste.”
When the others joined him, exclaiming at the change in the weather, he took a moment to ask Cody why he hadn’t reported it earlier.
“I didn’t tell the drones to surveil the weather,” his friend admitted a bit sheepishly. “They’re set to watch for infected primarily and any vehicles coming our way.”
“Lucky we have Tamsyn to keep us from getting in trouble then. No problem but definitely add the weather to the program, would you? None of our briefings before we arrived on Randal Four indicated it was so variable but now we know.”
They all worked feverishly to secure the cargo containers. By the time Jeff and two of his soldiers were battling to lay the camouflage netting over the flyer and making sure it was well tied down, the winds had begun gusting heavily. Thunder rumbled in the near distance and big fat drops of rain splashed like rubber bullets.
“All right, that’s it,” Jeff yelled over the storm, testing the tiedown one last time. “Everybody in the house now.”
Dinner was waiting in the big dining room. There was enough room for all of them at the table with chairs left over. In ordering the top of the line modular house, Jeff made the assumption he and his team might end up hosting gatherings of the malcontents they’d been sent to infiltrate, and the large dining room was perfect. Now it worked for the motley group he’d gathered along the way.
Tamsyn and Devora had cooked up a pasta dish and sides from various items left in the APC’s cargo compartments. Jeff took his place at the head of the table and after a painful moment looking at Melly’s empty chair at the foot, he clinked his fork against his glass and raised it. “A toast to our new home,” he said. “And also to the two lovely ladies who made this wonderful dinner.”
Everyone clinked glasses around the table and drank.
As the dishes began circulating along the line of diners, Jeff said, “I appreciate all the hard work the two of you put into getting the house organized and making dinner but going forward we need to make sure the work is shared equally on the team. Can you draw up a duty roster including all of us? I’ll give you my guard duty schedule for the team so you can take that into account.”
“I’ll be happy to take the assignment,” Devora said. “I used to do the work schedules for the police force in Rosewater so I’m experienced at balancing requirements.”
“Thank you. I’ll give you the guard duty roster after dinner.”
“What’s Jenny’s job?” Mike asked from midway down the table. The little girl was seated between him and Devora, on a makeshift booster seat. Jeff watched her feed Buddy a long noodle and giggling as the dog slurped it up.
“If there’s something she can help with, I’m okay with it but that’s up to her mom,” Jeff said. “Otherwise her job is to be our resident sunshine.”
“Oh dear,” Devora said with a chuckle and a glance at the windows, where the storm could be seen buffeting the trees and sheets of rain were blowing sideways. “I’m afraid she’s not in control of the weather, captain.”
