smallpox in their blankets to decimate the Native American population, although the historical accuracy of that "fact" was still debated. In the end, though, the intent mattered little. Death was the reward for their hospitality.
The stars formed a beautiful backdrop as another round of Broadswords fell into the atmosphere, the sound of their re-entry like far-away drums, beating a tune she could barely hear.
The sight was beautiful, but she reeked of diesel fuel and shit.
They had all seen better days.
C HAPTER III
The Rain
*****
Isle 301, southern Velsharn
36,411 SOULS .
T HAT WAS ALL that remained of humanity when the last head-counts were complete.
1,969 over the age of 65. 730 children, nine infants. In total, the sum was 19,100 females, 17,311 males. Roughly a third Asian, third Caucasian, third other.
Broadswords came all night, dropping off new people and supplies from the Madrid and the Washington high in orbit. It turned out that the Americans possessed in their ship's inventory an array of tents. Huge open-air tents. The settlers had no room to erect them yet, so they were stored in a pile near the hangar bay entrance.
The first night passed with the civilians crammed into the hull of the ship. In space, heat was the enemy, so the Beijing was optimised for cooling; its air-conditioning easily drove away the muggy night. The insects proved to be a problem, though, entering the ship through the open hangar doors.
Space was at a premium, but with the hangar bay emptied of strike craft, there was more than enough room to house the civilians that continued to arrive, even if they had nothing to sleep in but their clothes. Eventually the numbers on the Washington and Madrid became manageable, and no more were sent down.
Liao finally slept some time before dawn, a few hours' reprieve, and then she was up again.
She welcomed the fatigue. The constant distractions.
They kept her from thinking of Allison.
Cheung was as good as her word. Come daylight everything was seen to, from the small to the major. Latrines were dug. Bodies were buried. Fuel was gathered from the surrounding woods and brought in to be burned. Areas of the woods were cleared, providing them more space to work in. The ship's nuclear reactors were kept online, and power cables were run out of the ship. The tents were set up and given to the civilians. The military would continue to operate in the ship, as they were accustomed to doing, and in time the civilians could begin to move away from it.
It was an arrangement that frayed nerves. Shepherd explained to Liao that the heat and insects were affecting them. She was sympathetic but understood the hygiene issues that maintained overcrowding would cause. Anyone who was sick, injured, unwell or overworked could sleep in the air-conditioned hangar bay, but unless there were exceptional circumstances such arrangements were not to be permanent.
Shepherd didn't approve, but Liao's word was final.
The civilians banded together much better than she had anticipated. She had a history of underestimating the Americans, but for all the stereotypes about them, they pulled together in a crisis. The Beijing crew, who were bilingual, assisted with the integration and translation for the growing arrival of Chinese from the Washington . They too straightened their backs and met the challenge ahead of them.
By the end of the first day, basic infrastructure was set up. The river was divided into segments for drinking, bathing and then waste. Food was cooked in the tents and taken from the ship's stores at an alarming but temporarily sustainable rate. Cheung's plan, so impossible and prophetic to her, was enacted swiftly.
Liao's only material contribution was to burn the latrine.
The second twilight fell. The Beijing 's external lights shone bright, illuminating the camp as marines patrolled the outskirts. Velsharn was good to them; no predators bothered them in the night, nor were there signs of any land
The stars formed a beautiful backdrop as another round of Broadswords fell into the atmosphere, the sound of their re-entry like far-away drums, beating a tune she could barely hear.
The sight was beautiful, but she reeked of diesel fuel and shit.
They had all seen better days.
C HAPTER III
The Rain
*****
Isle 301, southern Velsharn
36,411 SOULS .
T HAT WAS ALL that remained of humanity when the last head-counts were complete.
1,969 over the age of 65. 730 children, nine infants. In total, the sum was 19,100 females, 17,311 males. Roughly a third Asian, third Caucasian, third other.
Broadswords came all night, dropping off new people and supplies from the Madrid and the Washington high in orbit. It turned out that the Americans possessed in their ship's inventory an array of tents. Huge open-air tents. The settlers had no room to erect them yet, so they were stored in a pile near the hangar bay entrance.
The first night passed with the civilians crammed into the hull of the ship. In space, heat was the enemy, so the Beijing was optimised for cooling; its air-conditioning easily drove away the muggy night. The insects proved to be a problem, though, entering the ship through the open hangar doors.
Space was at a premium, but with the hangar bay emptied of strike craft, there was more than enough room to house the civilians that continued to arrive, even if they had nothing to sleep in but their clothes. Eventually the numbers on the Washington and Madrid became manageable, and no more were sent down.
Liao finally slept some time before dawn, a few hours' reprieve, and then she was up again.
She welcomed the fatigue. The constant distractions.
They kept her from thinking of Allison.
Cheung was as good as her word. Come daylight everything was seen to, from the small to the major. Latrines were dug. Bodies were buried. Fuel was gathered from the surrounding woods and brought in to be burned. Areas of the woods were cleared, providing them more space to work in. The ship's nuclear reactors were kept online, and power cables were run out of the ship. The tents were set up and given to the civilians. The military would continue to operate in the ship, as they were accustomed to doing, and in time the civilians could begin to move away from it.
It was an arrangement that frayed nerves. Shepherd explained to Liao that the heat and insects were affecting them. She was sympathetic but understood the hygiene issues that maintained overcrowding would cause. Anyone who was sick, injured, unwell or overworked could sleep in the air-conditioned hangar bay, but unless there were exceptional circumstances such arrangements were not to be permanent.
Shepherd didn't approve, but Liao's word was final.
The civilians banded together much better than she had anticipated. She had a history of underestimating the Americans, but for all the stereotypes about them, they pulled together in a crisis. The Beijing crew, who were bilingual, assisted with the integration and translation for the growing arrival of Chinese from the Washington . They too straightened their backs and met the challenge ahead of them.
By the end of the first day, basic infrastructure was set up. The river was divided into segments for drinking, bathing and then waste. Food was cooked in the tents and taken from the ship's stores at an alarming but temporarily sustainable rate. Cheung's plan, so impossible and prophetic to her, was enacted swiftly.
Liao's only material contribution was to burn the latrine.
The second twilight fell. The Beijing 's external lights shone bright, illuminating the camp as marines patrolled the outskirts. Velsharn was good to them; no predators bothered them in the night, nor were there signs of any land
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