Chapter 17: Banana Republic

I woke suddenly. I had dozed off in the pilot’s seat. I sat up and saw on the map projection that Flipper was still flying south at altitude, but now was over land and soon would begin descending. Off to the east, over the Caribbean Sea, the sky was brightening in the predawn light. I looked below but did not see much as the ground was still in darkness. Ahead a few kilometers, I saw the running lights of Shadow, much lower and descending.

“How long?”

“We will arrive at the field base in twenty-six minutes John.”

I unstrapped and went back to use the facilities, washing my upper body while I was there. Not having hair again meant that a simple washcloth would give a good substitute to a shower. I brushed my teeth, made a cup of tea and went back to the pilot’s seat. The remainder of the descent was very smooth as the Sun had yet to rile up the still, early morning air.

“Agent, how come you did not revive the guy in bio-suspension at the base ahead to do this rescue?”

“Two main reasons, John. The first is that you have extensive experience with the current conditions of the planet and are already familiar with the aircraft, their power source, and my methods. The second is that even starting from here, the rescue would have taken the same amount of time due to the many trips the two local aircraft have needed to ferry supplies down into South America. Using you, and starting with Flipper and Shadow, and then adding Raven and Raptor from the base ahead allows four aircraft for the South American segment. This makes the logistics of that part of the rescue mission much simpler,” Agent explained.

I guess that made sense. I remembered all that I had learned in the short month I have lived in this new world previously. The man sheltering in the base ahead, Manuel Rodriguez was his name, would have had quite an adjustment to make and would have been poorly prepared to run off on an urgent rescue mission. For him, waking up would have seemed like the morning after the events of the Berserker attack nearly six centuries ago. Who knows what baggage he might be carrying around from the past.

We landed at the Nicaraguan field base about a half hour before dawn. The landing area here was also a large hard surfaced area like back at my base in Tennessee. One readily noticeable difference though was that this base was surrounded by a forest of jungle-like growth. There were fewer above ground structures though, with only two hangar buildings visible. One was clearly for the deployed power kite and the other for the aircraft.

We came to rest as the final aircraft in a fleet of four. Raptor and Raven appeared to be the same design as Flipper and Shadow with only minor differences apparent like probes and sensors. Mules and mobile units were rapidly moving around the landing area on various refueling or cargo loading tasks. Our aircraft were both spooling down and raising cargo hatches as I left the cabin and stood stretching, taking in the scene. I noticed that both Raven and Raptor had already been loaded and must be ready to go, as their hatches were closing and the mules near them were leaving and heading back to the hangar. Two loaded mules pulled up behind Flipper and Shadow and I jogged around to help.

Agent instructed me to remove the three depleted ESUs we’d used getting here from Cuba from both aircraft. I moved the various crates in the way and brought out the depleted ESUs, replacing them with the energized ESUs the mules had already staged near the rear of each aircraft. At near one hundred-forty kilograms each, I had to barrel walk each of them carefully up the ramp and jockey them into their sockets. At least I did not have to lift them up off the deck or carry them.

“Agent, why is there not a wheeled dolly here for me to use to move these damn things around?”

I must have embarrassed Agent, for she took a moment to reply.

“I will create such an aid in the future. Unfortunately, I cannot create one in the short time before we have to depart this base.”

After I had the three new units inserted, I helped guide two more spare ESUs on pallets into Flipper’s cargo hold leaving her with six. Shadow would get four in the sockets and four spares on pallets for a total of eight. Agent had told me that Raven and Raptor also carried a total of eight. I finished up the loading tasks on Shadow and barely had enough time to take a piss before aircraft began spooling up.

Raven and Raptor took off while I was still making my way back to Flipper and I took a moment to watch them climb heavily away. The sun had risen an hour before and the scene of the aircraft passing in front of its bright orb and out over the jungle was spectacular. I finished my woolgathering, boarded my aircraft, and strapped myself into the pilot’s seat. A few minutes later, Flipper and Shadow were both in the air climbing after the other two aircraft.

Our destination this morning was the staging area outside of the former city of Cali in western Colombia. This leg would be about 1,400km, our longest so far. It would take over five and a half hours to get there as we would need to cruise at a slower speed to save energy. We had to be conservative since we needed to make the greater distance still using only three ESUs. We were heading southeast this leg and would be flying over the Caribbean for the first few hours, then cross Panama before continuing over the Pacific Ocean for another few hours.

We would eventually hit the Colombia coast forty minutes before landing. Agent had explained she had chosen the old international airport ten kilometers east of the city as a staging point because the thick base under the runway and the remains of the concrete runway itself had limited tree growth and provided a clearing to land.

Once we were at altitude and flying level and stable, I got up and went back to the built-in sink and brushed my teeth and gave myself another sponge bath. I stripped, expanding my sponge bath, and dressed again in a fresh pair of underwear I had found in the clothing crate. I had noted the crate held four pairs so I would have at least a few days’ supply before I needed to do laundry. Next, I grabbed breakfast and made myself a hot coffee, noting that I’d already used half my water supply. Agent said that there were another twenty liters on board Shadow when I ran out. There was also a filter along if that proved insufficient.

Back in my seat I studied the map reviewing this leg of the plan. The distance from Nicaragua to the southern Amazon basin where the woman lay injured was almost 3,100km. Our Colombia staging point would get us only 1,400km, or less than halfway there. We would need a second staging point after Colombia and this one would be around 1,100km from the first. This second staging point was to be near the Amazon river where it entered Brazil from the west, so we named it the Amazon staging point.

From the Amazon staging point it would be a quick hop of 650km or so to the spot along the Purus River where the woman lay injured. If all went according to plan, I would be at that river a bit after 19:00 tonight. It would be long after sunset and dark, but if she were still alive, I’d be able to find her easily with the thermal imaging built into the goggles. There, I would stabilize her, get her aboard Flipper, and then we would take off and return back to the Nicaragua base, where she would be treated further as necessary.

I studied the Colombia staging point. Raven and Raptor had already delivered a cache of twelve ESUs to that location east of Cali. Each of the four aircraft now flying towards the staging point would deplete three ESUs getting there leaving five each for Raven, Raptor and Shadow. Flipper would arrive with three energized ESUs remaining. Raven would leave two of its five ESUs at the staging point and then return to Nicaragua for more using her final three. This would bring the cache at that staging point up to fourteen total ESUs temporarily.

Raptor, Shadow, and Flipper would be refueled at the Colombia staging point each taking on three of the fourteen, dropping the cache back down to just five. The three aircraft would then continue to the Amazon staging point, each with a full complement of ESUs. While Raptor, Shadow and Flipper did that, Raven would need to make two more ferry trips from the Nicaraguan base to Colombia to restock the cache there back up to the nine total needed for when the rest of the aircraft returned from the Amazon.

I saw on the map display that we were now approaching the coast of Panama. I looked, but the cloud cover below was solid, so I reclined in my seat and listened to music with my headbands. I was thinking about the woman in South America. We did not even know her name! If she was dead when we arrived, we might never get to learn her name either. I decided to call her Jane for now. Jane of the Jungle or Jane Doe. Either worked in this case.

“If we find Jane alive, how are we going to transport her back to Nicaragua if she is badly injured?”

Agent never even twitched at my new name for her. She must be becoming more intuitive.

“If Jane is able, I recommend that she be strapped in the pilot’s seat. You will have to make yourself a temporary seat behind the pilot’s seat among the crates. If Jane is incapacitated, I recommend that the inflatable mattress be utilized. If the supply crates in the front cabin are repositioned into the rear, the mattress should fit snugly behind the pilot’s seat in the aisle way in front of the side hatch and toilet.

“The door to the cargo area will have to remain open to provide room for Jane’s legs and feet. I recommend that she be fitted with the spare pair of goggles so the noise canceling headbands can help mitigate the increased cabin noise levels resulting from leaving the cargo access door open.”

I looked back and studied the cabin. Yes, that might work although maneuvering around an incapacitated person laying on the floor would be tricky. I’d also have to give up the use of the toilet and use a jug if necessary, but at least the sink and water supply would still be available. The mattress was a bit wider than the cabin space and would probably curl up and around somebody laying on it, but that would help secure the person while in flight. It would make for a very snug return trip for both of us though.

It seemed that Agent had done a thorough job of planning this rescue. Thinking of that, I noticed that she seemed to be responding much faster than she had on our journey from South Dakota to Tennessee eighty years ago and I asked her about it.

“The new survey and observation satellites provide a more thorough communications link to my various presences around the world and to the orbital station, John. I will have higher than usual capabilities while in flight for most of this journey.”

“I bet we won’t have as many surprises with the weather also,” I mentioned.

“That is correct John. I am now able to monitor and forecast weather conditions with a much greater degree of precision. I will also be able to more accurately chart our course through the mountain ranges ahead in Colombia,” Agent explained.

That got my attention and I spent some time studying the map of Colombia. Wow, there were a lot of tall mountains and many of them were higher than our normal cruising altitude. Colombia had three mountain ranges that ran from the northeast to the southwest. I saw that our course to the staging point at the former airport ten kilometers east of Cali would cross the Cordillera Occidentals, the first of the three ranges.

After we departed the Cali airport staging point and were on course to the Amazon staging point, we would have to cross the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Oriental mountain ranges. The former range had the highest peaks and I could see that we would be passing right beside the Nevado del Huila, the highest active volcano in Colombia. Last, we would cross the Cordillera Oriental which had lesser peaks. Finally, after crossing the three ranges, we would enter the Colombian portion of the Amazon basin.

We were now over the Pacific and would be for the next hour. The clouds had thinned, and I stared at the endless sapphire blue slowly passing below. I began to daydream a bit about what it would be like to be down there on that endless blue, alone on a raft as a castaway. Nothing around but the endless waves, not another soul anywhere. Soon my thoughts returned to Jane.

“Agent, what do you think Jane’s condition will be when we arrive.”

“Extreme dehydration is almost a certainty. There are high chances that she will be suffering from exposure. The reason for her incapacitation is unknowable at this time but numerous types of accidents could be responsible”.

“For example?” I asked.

“Injury suffered in an animal attack is a likely cause. Another possibility is having been struck by a falling tree or heavy branch which is a common occurrence in a fast-growing jungle. Or, she might have fallen while climbing a tree in search of food. I estimate that a severely broken limb or limbs leading to reduced mobility followed by an infection are likely reasons for her incapacitation, John.”

“Do you think she is suffering from a lingering nano-plague or something?” I asked.

“That is highly improbable due to the changes most likely made to her body during bio-suspension.” Agent replied.

“What do you mean by that?”

“All humans were medically treated upon entering bio-suspension, John. These treatments, along in improving the human’s health and physical conditions, also included resistance against many natural and artificial maladies.”