Down Comes the Rain

Unusual Assistance - Jock makes... an Impression...

Jango hadn't exactly expected the locals to be so... helpful. Sure, there were those who panicked and attempted to bolt from them or attack on sight, but the presence of the local emergency workers seemed to comfort most, especially the Ade.

Strangely enough, with the help of a couple of local businesses and the takeover of a local park, they set up a small base of operations and a beacon for a carrier to later pick up more people from this spot. Radio alerts were sent out rapidly, and local farm workers, cargo drivers and other seemingly touristy people had taken off to start pulling people towards the city to regroup.

Jango sent out Tork and a few verde to a nearby settlement with a guide and a strange six wheeled truck, and Jango himself investigated the surprisingly big problem that was the Gouge.

The Gouge was about nine stories deep, enough to reach the area's underground water supply and start to ring it dry. Parts of it were still hot enough to sear flesh and a couple of unlucky animals had strayed too close. Jock, a delightfully fierce little Eterran with a bone to pick with the whole galaxy, had explained why a five-hundred-kilometre ravine was a problem. Especially if it suddenly turned up overnight.

"Ninety percent of our travel is done by road. And all our cable runs on ground. We've lost contact with dozens of smaller towns that need our help, and many are cut off from supplies of food and water. And with our tower knocked out of action due to the shockwaves, there's no way we can call in assistance or support from any of the bigger cities, let alone state capitals."

Yeah. Big problem. The surrounding area may not have been terribly populated, but the meaning of remote in Jango's mind steadily changed. The sheer number of towns amazed him for such a small world, but they were surprisingly far apart in this island's center. It had surprised him, how utterly devoid of water and vegetation this little island was, when so many holovids of the planet showed jungle and ocean.

"So," Jango turns his visor back to listen to Jock, who looks just as disgusted by the tear in their planet as his verde are. "What's the verdict? Any way to cross it?"

One of his new verd, Mahana, sighs. "I'm afraid not. As for communications, we're going to have to leave you with one of our onboard Long Comms – that means stationing verde in shifts, too. We'll have to empty this place faster than planned."

"Or at least, start a Refuge Centre here, instead." Counters Jura. He turns to Jock. "You said it was the cooler season now, right? That means it might be better everyone groups here, where we can all land on flat, stable ground."

"I'd avoid Hillsville – the town is entirely beneath the ground, nowhere near steady enough to hold your ships before, let alone after that hit." Jock seems to take a deep breath, fortifying themselves. "Then again, I don't know if anyone made it out of that town alive. We haven't heard any word from them."

Jango curses.

"Is there any other form of communication other than radio? If the towers are down, and if they come down occasionally in sandstorms, how do you people radio it in?"

Jock then stops, and starts searching their pockets frantically. "I have- hang on. Last year, I went out on a whim and bought a sat nav, and a satellite phone – I swear it was on me- aha!"

They whip out a thin black device, clunky in its design with more buttons than sense, and a frankly ridiculous antenna.

"The hells- have you had this the whole time?!" demands Jura, and Jango could tell he's at the end of his rope with their new temporary ally.

"Well, it's no exactly legal for everyone, mate," Jock returns. "And I wasn't sure if the blast had knocked out our satellites."

"You're telling me those floating bits of space junk," drawled Mahana, "are satellites."

"Yep."

"Well," ponders Jura, sending Jango a breathless look. "You learn something new every day."