Chapter 14

"God Damnit, First ... I don't know isn't going to cut it. Find out."

"Yes, Sir." First Sgt. Smith, an E-8 with 32 years in, turned away from the Colonel and shouted to his people, "You heard the Colonel ... find out." The E-6's turned to the E-4's and screamed, "Set up a perimeter, Radio ... you're with the First ... move it, move it, move it."

"First!" shouted the Colonel.

"Sir."

"Get those choppers in and send out a squad. Use the Blackhawk. Three men on the military ridge of ... Lieutenant ... do we have a map yet?"

"Sir ... no Sir."

"Why not?"

"Sir. The GPS doesn't work."

"Do something about it!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"And Lieutenant? Get rid of the white hat and armbands."

So it went. The Lieutenant went out with the squad and took digital photographs of the surrounding area. He and the best artist in the outfit stayed up all night and drew up a general area map with particular attention to the views on the down side of the hills. Observation posts were quietly installed and manned.

Their little valley was like a meteor crater that had been mostly filled in with loess. A shallow grassy bowl about three miles from rim to rim. The rim was pretty damn steep and resembled lava on the off side.

In the very bottom was a little lake ... maybe ten acres with a little wooded island in the middle. The water was very clear. The lab tech took samples, ran his tests and reported to the Staff Sergeant ... who didn't believe him and made him run the tests while he watched. The results were identical. There were no impurities in the water ... not even fish poop.

The S.Sgt. kicked the results up stairs ... In the way of the military, people dithered ... requested conformation ... dithered some more ... and passed on the report.

Sgt. Smith said, "You're kidding me, right?"

"Nope, First ... no residual hydrocarbons, fly ash, nothing ... it might as well be distilled water. There's absolutely nothing in it"

"Who ran the tests?"

"Jonesy."

"Have him drink a glass and watch him."

"No need."

"What? He's drinking it?"

"No, First ... he's brewing beer with it. Him and Maggie ... er ... Corporal Hendrik ... they got 'em a little hooch across the lake." Staff looked a little miffed. The only damn female in the outfit and Jonesy was tapping it.

They'd been in the field a little under two weeks when the first recognition that they weren't in Kansas any more showed up on the horizon. Rim observation post number three bumped his radio three times. That woke up the radioman ... who woke up the First ... who woke up the El Tee ... who woke up the Major ... who woke up the Colonel ... who wasn't happy. By the time the radioman was summoned, the reason for the report was visible in the western sky.

"Oh Shit!" exclaimed the Colonel.

"Mommy," whimpered the Lieutenant.

"Fuck me running!" cried the Major.

... which caused everybody watching to utter, "Whoa! That would be most difficult."

The Colonel said..."I'm NOT going to make General."

Jonesy said it best..."That's one big moon ... no. wait ... That's water ... clouds ... islands. Fuck ... that's a planet ... WE'RE the moon!"

They were close enough to see the shadow of their moon on the surface of the planet above ... below ... whatever. They cast a shadow that was visible

Jonesy was watching the planet when he saw a shadow on the water rushing towards their shadow on the water. A tiny moon rushed between the two planets from north to south ... they felt the tremor of its passing ... the little moon was maybe a thousand miles across ... big enough to do some serious damage if it hit either orb.