Chapter 17: A Storm

Ceres was a water planet, with one large continent. This continent spanned about eight thousand kilometers from east to west and six thousand kilometers from north to south at its widest point. The rest of the planet was covered by one huge ocean.

The continent’s southernmost point was two-hundred kilometers south of the equator, with most of the inhabited region being about a thousand kilometers north of the equator.

There were a number of small islands off the coast of the continent, the largest being about fifty kilometers in diameter. Along the western coast of the continent there were half a dozen smaller islands, all occupied by the fisher folk. As far as Olaf knew, most of the islands off the coast were occupied by fisher folk, people who did not really mix or identify with the mainland population.

The deep ocean had a few perpetual storms floating around in circles without ever encountering land. These storms were visible from the space station, but the station was mostly orbiting in a geosynchronous orbit over the center of the continent. These storms rarely caused any issues since their mostly circular path brought them over the equator and then they drifted south again. Once every decade or two one of the storms would brush against the continent. The only people who kept track of the storms were the fisher folk.

“That looks like a nice storm brewing out there,” Herman commented a week later. He and Olaf, along with Vanessa, Aster, Mona, and Olaf’s cousin, Lucia, who seemed to have attached herself to Herman, were all sitting outside on the roof garden of Olaf’s condo having lunch. Olaf’s attention was not on the horizon, so Herman’s comments caused him and Aster to jump up and look out to sea.

“I hate those storms,” Aster commented. “I’m very glad that you don’t try to swim in the sea anymore.” She said as she turned and wrapped her arms tight around his chest, hugging him.

“You swam in that?” Herman gasped in surprise.

“Not in a storm” Olaf laughed as Aster’s grip got even tighter. “I only swam when the sea was calm.”

“A calm sea is not a flat sea,” Aster commented. “That storm will result in a few boats never coming home again.”

“Alec, can you find out if the harbor master has some form of communication channel with the harbor master on the island, please,” Olaf called. Alec and two of the troopers were nearby, giving Olaf and his group privacy while keeping an eye on them.

Alec nodded but stayed where he was. A few seconds later another trooper came out, talked to Alec, and left again. About ten minutes later the trooper came back and talked to Alec again. Then Alec approached Olaf.

“Sorry for the delay, My Lord,” Alec said. “The harbor master seems to be a bit busy battening down the equipment in the harbor. He also seems concerned about the storm. He said that the fishermen knew about the storm before he knew, which resulted in no fish deliveries this morning. He does not have any form of communication with the islanders.”

“I wonder if we could get a communicator to the island before the storm gets there,” Olaf commented.

“The hand-held models will have the range to the island but for boats out at sea they will need a bigger model,” Alec said.

“Can you find out what communicator models are available, models that have the same range and power as the militia but not the same frequency?” Olaf asked. Alec was obviously not a communications specialist, with the result that he escorted another militia lieutenant into Olaf’s office about an hour later.

“Lieutenant Deon Mayo will be able to answer your questions, My Lord,” Alec said as he introduced the lieutenant. Olaf invited both to have a seat.

“Actually, there are radios in the Militia Communications store which were apparently assembled for your predecessor, My Lord” Deon Mayo said. “I came across them recently when I was doing a complete inventory. They were commissioned by Viscount Vasa about twelve years ago, but they were never used. They are identical to the militia and imperial marine tactical radio systems but have a limited bandwidth and frequency range. With the repeaters up on the space station, they were never needed by the militia, but I can now see that with their particular frequency range they might just be able to work some distance over the horizon, especially over the sea.”

“The storm is still a bit away, and according to the weather forecast, is heading a bit more north, following the coastline,” Alec said. “We can deliver one of them to the island if you want, My Lord.”

“Will the islanders be able to operate one of them?” Olaf wondered.

“I would suggest we deliver an operator as well, My Lord,” Mayo said.

“I doubt if the harbor master here will bother with a radio,” Alec said. “Leon, get three sets ready, each with an operator. I will arrange to have one operator with a radio and his own food and bedding delivered to the island. One of them will have to stay near Lord Olaf, or rather near me. The third one can be stationed at the militia base in case Lord Olaf needs to talk to somebody there.” Leon saluted and left.

For the rest of the afternoon, while Olaf had several ‘goodwill’ visitors, nobles who wanted to meet him in person, and maybe introduce their nubile daughters to Olaf, Alec had a few conversations using his military-issue personal communicator.

Olaf kept checking on the storm and by early afternoon he had had enough and went back to the palace after sending Gwen home. Just as Alec led Olaf into the hovercraft, another military hovercraft landed and a trooper with a duffel bag and a bulky square backpack got out with Mayo. The two had a few words with Alec after which Alec waved the trooper into the hovercraft.

By the time Olaf and his team got back to the palace, the storm was already causing a lot of white crests, called white horses by the fishermen, on the sea surrounding the island. Up at the level where the palace was, the wind was blustery and uneven but not really very strong.

After placing the radio operator in a small office off the ducal reception area and asking Becker to find a room for the trooper to sleep in, Olaf turned to the news channel to find out what was being reported. Just then Ruth walked in and told Olaf that Viscount Asgaard was on the line for him.

“Olaf, Herman told me that you are concerned about the storm, “ Viscount Dirk said as Olaf identified himself.

“I am, particularly about the island here in the bay because I have family living there,” Olaf said, “but I am just as concerned about all the other islands in the path of the storm. The weather station predicts that the storm will brush the coast, which will mean the islands might get hammered.”

“I have concerns as well, “ Dirk said. “I already ordered the militia to assist the people of Bergen, up the coast. They have a few low-laying areas that might get flooded. The reason I called is not to make excuses or apologize for ignoring the fishing islands, but to explain why it might seem that I don’t do anything for them.”

“Viscount Dirk, before you go further, I grew up on the island,” Olaf said with a chuckle. “I can tell you why you might not have done anything for them in the past. They want nothing to do with the mainland people in general. I would have been very surprised if they accepted any assistance from you or anybody else.”

“If you understand them, and they know you, maybe you stand a better chance of assisting them, “ Viscount Dirk said.

“I guess there is not a baron assigned for the islands,” Olaf said.

“There never was, right from the beginning, “ Dirk admitted. “I would suggest that you try to use your family connections to offer them whatever help they might need; assure them that they do have a voice, that of Viscount Vasa himself. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the fishing island would have a viscount looking after them and not a baron.”

“You have a call from Colonel Vercuil, My Lord,” Ruth informed Olaf a short while later.

“My lord, Colonel Vercuil here, I have been informed by Viscount Asgaard that you might be inspecting the islands as soon as the storm departs, to check on any damage and injuries, “ The colonel stated when Olaf took the call.

“That is my plan, yes, colonel,” Olaf responded, not quite sure why the colonel was calling him.

“I will release some of the big shuttles to convey you and your team to the various places you want to go, My Lord, “ The colonel continued. “The shuttles will have extra personnel and emergency equipment in case you need it. I will task Captain Jellico as your liaison during this process. Anything else that you might need, he will be able to procure.”

“Thank you, colonel,” Olaf said. “I appreciate your cooperation.”

“My lord, not to talk out of turn but your intentions are exactly what the militia and the people of Ceres need right now. It is a pleasure to perform my duty under your guidance, “ the colonel stated.

Olaf tried to keep his calm even when the night fell, and he could no longer make out the few lights on the island where he grew up. Even before the sun had set, an event he had to confirm using meteorological data since it was heavily overcast, he could not see the island through the heavy rain. As the wind picked up, Olaf had this urge to do something.

He could remember, before he left the island, how they ran around in the rain tying stuff down and securing the boats and their sails. Then, after the storm passed, they all watched the sea for any boats that didn’t make it back in time. He was eager to use the two shuttles promised to him, but until the sun came up and the storm departed, he was powerless.

He refrained from asking the signalman, as the trooper was referring to himself, but by eight pm the signalman, whose name Olaf could not remember, reported that the signalman on the island had reported that four of the sixteen fishing boats had not made it back to the harbor yet. That in itself was not a reason to be concerned since the fishermen often encountered severe storms and while boats have gone missing over the years, a lot of them actually made it back after the storm had passed.

Olaf and Aster ended up sharing his bed, more out of concern about the storm and their families on the island than any romantic ideas. Neither of them slept well that night. An hour before his regular wake up time, Olaf was up and dressed but not for running. To his surprise he found the radio operator awake and on duty.

“There seems to be a fair amount of damage on the island, My Lord,” the signalman reported before Olaf could ask. “I lost contact with the operator on the island around midnight, but he came back a short while ago. It seemed the place which they gave him for his radio got blown away, as did a number of the shacks, ah..., houses, but no serious injuries reported yet.”

“They do live in shacks,” Olaf responded. “They use anything they can find to build the shacks. My stepmother lives in the only brick building on the island.”

“Ah..., Tom reported that it seems the wind is dying down,” the operator continued with a mildly embarrassed look.

“I guess no news on the missing boats,” Olaf commented. The operator just shook his head.

By sunup Alec reported that the regiment of troopers at the main base were out patrolling the coast looking for people needing help. The wind had died down to where the sea birds were flying again. The storm was still visible but further to the north-west.

Alec could see Olaf was concerned so shortly afterwards two of the large militia shuttle arrived. They were the same models used by the imperial marines but were seldom used to go into orbit. There were a number of troopers on the shuttles as well as a lot of emergency equipment.

“Lord Vasa, this is Captain Harmon Jellico,” Alec introduced the captain in charge of the two shuttles.

“Lord Vasa, the colonel, under advisement from Viscount Asgaard, made these two shuttles available for your use to inspect any of the islands or coastal regions you want to inspect. We have tents, emergency equipment, medical equipment, and food onboard, as well as half a platoon, purely for muscle power, a doctor, two medics.”

“Good, let’s go check up on the island,” Olaf said as he headed towards the nearest shuttle. Alec and Jellico jogged to stay with Olaf. On the shuttle one of the flight crew pointed Olaf towards the cockpit. By the time the crew member checked that Olaf was strapped in, the shuttle was already off the ground.

“Be advised, my call sign is now Militia One” the pilot announced over the radio.

“I thought that call-sign was only for the duke,” Olaf commented to Alec.

“With all due respect, My Lord,” Jellico responded. “You are the current regent of the system, and as such, also the acting commander in chief of the planetary militia. That is the correct call-sign.”

Olaf had a great view through the cockpit windows as they approached the clearing just behind the fish processing plant, where a lot of islanders seemed to be milling around. The pilot hovered a bit to clear the area before both shuttles settled down.

“Don’t wander off on your own, My Lord,” Alec commented as Olaf jumped out the side door.

“Hey, Olaf, you came to help?” A young man called as Olaf made his way towards the front of the fish processing plant and the main part of the island’s small harbor. Everybody stopped and stared but mostly at the troopers who were trying to surround Olaf.

“What is the word on the missing boats?” Olaf asked in a loud voice. The shack which used to be the office and home of the island’s harbor master, the de facto governor of the island, consisted of a heap of rubble. Just then the grizzled old harbor master, Jems, and a trooper with a bulky radio pack on his back, came out of the factory building.

“Why do you want to know, young Olaf,” the harbor master asked.

“Because I am ultimately responsible for every person on this planet, Jems,” Olaf said as he shook hands with the harbor master. “Your house and office is gone.”

“Wilf told me you are now a very important person,” Jems said as he looked the two officers and troopers up and down.

“Important enough to get things done,” Olaf said. “How many people lost their homes, and how many people are injured?”

“The entire front row of house blew away.” Jems said as he pointed towards the rows of shacks usually occupied by boat crew. “Nobody killed or injured there. We do have some injuries, but we need a real doctor for that.” On hearing that, the doctor and two medics in Olaf’s group stepped forward. Both medics had heavy packs on their backs.