Wills turned into the crowded dining hall and grinned at the scene; almost all the tables were full with a variety of coffees and teas washing cinnamon rolls down every throat. He wasn’t surprised to see Helt there, but it was a bit odd to see him fiddling inside an open panel on the master conduit at the back of the food prep area.
“So, what’s the problem?”
Helt turned to Wills, “Did you notice the higher strength of the cinnamon smell as you stepped off the elevator?”
Odd question, “Well, yes; I would have to say it was a pleasant slap in the face. Why do you ask?”
Helt pointed at the screen inside the open panel, “One of the normal functions of the Weasel’s ventilation systems is to suppress odors as much as possible; the galley systems are especially effective at that. The first night we had these rolls, I heard someone say that this is one odor that should fill the ship. So, I verbalized a half-hearted order to the AI to allow cinnamon roll smell to flood CD1.”
Helt moved closer to Wills as though to minimize the possibility of being overheard, “It did it; it set up a very nonstandard airflow pattern that starts at 2230 hours and switches back to standard mode at 0100.”
Wills considered the implications, “Is there anything that you can point at and say that it’s wrong?”
Helt’s eyes lost focus and wandered, “Ahh . . . no; all I can point at is things going right.” He locked eyes with Wills again, “Have you got any idea how much that bothers me?”
Wills smiled, “I promised CeCe a roll and coffee; so I’m leaving before your paranoia rubs off on me.”
##
“<Monster>”
Hayes’ feet had barely touched the ground at the bottom of the Santana’s ladder when he heard the familiar tiny voice. The little girl that he now called Eva came running up to him and took his hand; she had a smile on her face. Apparently what constituted a monster on Forest was not too awfully frightening.
He pulled his bag from the open hatch and started walking to the seating area. He could see Pressler and Mays were already there; they were both holding cups of hot coffee. Many of the locals were still camped out around the sides of the field but none had moved back onto the field itself since they were told to clear it last night.
Hayes diverted slightly and stopped where Eva’s parents were sitting at the edge of the path to the town. “Will you sit by me and my friends? I would like to talk to you.”
Hayes took his usual seat and got out a piece of butterscotch for Eva while her parents moved their stuff to a spot near them. He pointed at Pressler, “This is Pressler and this is Mays. They command two of the ships that have come to help your people.”
He then indicated Eva, “This is Eva, and these are her parents.”
They both said “hello”; Eva pointed at Mays, “<Female monster>”
Mays’ eyes shifted from Eva to Hayes, “Ah . . . what?”
He grinned at the look on her face, “When we first met, she asked me if I was a monster. Since then, humans are generally classified as monsters but in a friendly way. It also seems that she recognizes you as a girl.”
“Okay, thanks for that.”
Hayes turned his attention to Eva’s parents, “My two friends and I are the small workers here; Ames and Twisst are the leaders of our group and they are talking to the leaders of your people. We would like to know what you and your friends think about this. Are any of your friends ready to leave?” He pointed at the floaters, “These small ships are ready to take some of you to the ships that will take them to my planet where it is safe.”
They looked at each other and exchanged a few words too quietly to be heard. Eva’s Mother spoke, “We have <several> sky watcher - <susan> speaks loudest about danger - others say she is young and <unskilled> - she has been a source of amusement for many years - you arrive here <and> our <peaceful/quiet> world becomes our <tomb> - our life has become our death and it began with you - there is great fear of you and what you <offer/give> us”
Hayes lowered his eyes and nodded; he turned his head toward Pressler and Mays, “I think they see us as the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. Everything was fine until we arrived with a message of doom.”
“CONTACT WITH SHIP’S BEACON - IDENTITY, CARGO VESSEL WINSLOW.”
“AI, acknowledged.”
Mays stood up and walked closer to Eva’s parents, “Another ship has just arrived; it will be able to take a thousand of you to safety. It is unfortunate that you know about us only because of the problem you face, but we are doing what we can do and all that we can do.”
She pointed at Hayes, “I have known Hayes for many years; I know that he is a good man, and I can see now that he likes Eva. If he has to leave here knowing that you refused to leave and that Eva died because of your fear, he will carry an evil memory of her useless death for the rest of his life.”
Mays was getting slightly agitated and shaking a finger, “You have known for many years, probably all of your lives, that there was a problem; you ignored it and hoped it would go away. Well, it hasn’t, and the day has arrived that you must choose to die here or get on those ships and leave. In two or three of your days, the last ship will arrive and your
