Operation Rock of Ages: Triumphant Illumination

ORA: TI Chapter 2

Chapter 2

William made sure Christina was asleep and didn't need anything before he started walking around. He was so restless ... not knowing if they were compromised, not knowing about the cave, and worried about Christina's arm. They were going to need a field surgeon down here; someone who could take care of more severe wounds as necessary. He was also worried about how to preserve the crystal cave. He walked, muttered to himself, and thought through all his issues. The soldiers knew him enough to know he was just thinking, but the new people to the cave, who were still out and about, were leery of this huge man muttering to himself.

William set aside the things out of his control, made a note about the field surgeon on a small pad he kept ready for moments like this, and then concentrated on the cave. He grabbed a high power lantern and walked towards it. On the way he stopped to look at the rock that nearly took his life ... and decided that he better go back and get some sleep. He couldn't afford to be so tired tomorrow that he made another stupid mistake like that one. He made a few notes about paths and so forth. The stunning rock he had found was not a diamond but it looked convincingly real. He was looking forward to seeing more of the crystal cave in-depth tomorrow.

The next morning, William was awakened by a ruckus not far from his tent. He grumbled his aggravation to being woken up but got dressed in a hurry. Christina was already up and handed him his breakfast. "Thanks, what's going on?"

One of the civilians was arguing with a soldier. "I think the man wants more for breakfast than he got, and went from that to complaining about the overall conditions, and basically being a pain in the butt."

William ate and watched the show until he was done. He got up and stood behind the soldier, slightly looming over the upset man. The man took a step back as he looked up and William. "What's the problem over here?" William asked.

"We did not get enough to eat," the man whined.

"Did you get less than your neighbors?" William asked.

"No, but they do not like to eat like we do."

"Really, you feel like you should have a bigger portion than I get?" William cocked an eyebrow at the man.

"Um, no ..." the man said squirming a bit.

"We all get the same amount here. Period. We have a certain amount of food per person and everyone gets the same. Check with people around you; see if they don't want all they got. If I catch you bullying anyone for their food or even hear about it, we will have a very not-so-nice chat, understand?" William said. "We all have to make do with what we have and share equally; there are no food markets down here. When the facility is fully built, we will have more but until then we will all do our best to get along and remember things are different down here. Understand?"

The man nodded and walked away, still upset but not willing to tangle with the giant man. "Keep an eye on him," William intoned to the soldier. "If he gives you any trouble, send for me, I will take care of it." The soldier nodded, relieved to be out of that situation. He had nearly given in and offered some MREs, which was their back up food for when the other supplies ran out. "Where's Scott? I would like to see how the scanning went."

The soldier pointed to a corner of the camp and William went searching that way. Scott was walking down a line of people and scanning as he went. The people seemed to be ok with the fact this needed to be done, which William hadn't expected. He waited until Scott was finished and approached.

"Got anything interesting or scary?" William asked.

"Nah, it has been fairly straight forward. No one complained but this one guy. He complained about everything," Scott said shaking his head.