Author's Note: RE: this chapter – I'm not a rock climber (have read a little obsessively about it, but my knees say NO WAY), so I apologize for anything inaccurate here. I did my best with my imagination + Google. : )
Note, this is set in the context of my other stories, but relatively unnecessary to read those for this to make sense – just be aware that in my context now, Wash and Taylor are married and have a little girl named Gracie, and the Sixers have come back to Terra Nova.
Disclaimer is as usual – no profit, not mine (except Gracie, of course), just borrowing.
If anything can go wrong, it will.- Murphy's Law
As they plow into the foothills, heading towards one of their outposts that is actually in the mountainous area beyond the colony, Shannon twists in his seat in the rover to look at the still-sulky Carter in the back. "So, how hard is it to get to this thing?"
He's silent for a moment. "It's not easy, that's for sure. You saw we packed climbing gear?"
Shannon nods, and Alicia just listens closely. Carter goes on, "We'll actually need to go at it from above. We'll need to rappel down. Climbing up to it will be too hard. A few of us could likely do it," Alicia can almost feel Carter's eyes on her, "But most probably can't."
"What are you trying to say, Carter?" Alicia challenges him.
He snorts. "I'm not trying to say anything, Wash. You're in the former category, not the latter. Guz filled me and Mira in. I know you can handle it."
She swallows a smile as Shannon whips his head towards her. "What would Guz be filling him in on, Wash?"
She shrugs. "On occasion, when we had leave, I'd do a little rock climbing."
Carter snorts. "A little rock climbing?"
If she didn't have to watch the terrain in front of their rover, Alicia would likely be shooting Carter a warning glare. As it is, she just says, "Carter, shut up."
She hears him laugh, and Shannon jumps in. "No, Carter, don't shut up. I want dirt!"
Carter laughs again. "It's not dirt, man. 'A little rock climbing' is just an understatement. According to Guz, one of Taylor's favorite war stories about our Wash here is about a time when they were pinned down against a nearly-sheer rock face. They needed a sniper, so this one strapped a sniper rifle to her back, put an ammo belt on and scaled the rock face, about sixty feet straight up."
Alicia feels Shannon's eyes on her, and she just rolls her eyes and shakes her head. Carter goes on, "And apparently, the bad guys also had a sniper, one who kept trying to pick her off, so halfway up the rock face, she got a hold, whipped the rifle off, took out their sniper, put the rifle back on and finished the climb. Taylor says she then proceeded to pick off about two dozen enemy soldiers in less than ten minutes, clearing their path out to clear ground. She did all that without gear and without belay. All she had was her combat boots and those damned fingerless gloves they both wear."
The vehicle goes quiet, and Alicia finally says, "It was forty-five, maybe fifty feet, tops, not sixty. And I took out two snipers on my way up."
Carter laughs again, but she can feel Jim's eyes on her. "What, Shannon?"
He jumps a little and settles in his seat. "Is there anything you can't do?" His voice is slightly petulant.
She knows it was probably meant to be a smart-assed rhetorical question, but she can't resist. "Knit."
"What?"
"I can't knit. Oh, and I can't pee standing up, at least not without making a big mess. Otherwise, no. There's nothing I can't do." She sweeps her eyes over to him briefly, shooting him a feral little grin before going back to paying attention to the terrain.
As Carter laughs even harder, Jim grumbles to himself. "Scary woman." He's silent for the rest of the ride to the outpost, making Alicia grin, the ride quiet except for the wind whooshing through the vehicle and an occasional snicker from Carter.
**WT**WT**WT**
As they pull into the outpost in the lower part of the mountain range, Alicia notices a stiff breeze. They climb out of the rover, and she gives Carter a concerned look. "Was it this windy when you were here before?"
He furrows his brow. "No. We may have to start with just you and me going down if it's still this bad tomorrow. We can't let inexperienced people down there in these conditions."
Alicia nods, and Jim says, "That will piss Malcolm off."
"What will piss me off?"
Alicia turns to him. "If this wind doesn't die down, only experienced climbers will be going down to the mine site."
"Wash, come on!" Malcolm sounds outraged.
"It's not up for debate, Malcolm. I will not risk personnel. Carter and I can go down and get you a sample, and we can determine the workability of mining." Alicia levels a firm look at him.
He throws his hands up as Reynolds and Dunham join them, the two privates and Malcolm's assistant staying clear of the drama. "Oh sure, Lieutenant, because you and Carter here have so much geological background. What next? A treatise on the laws of physics from the Terra Nova brain trust?"
Reynolds' face darkens at that. "Dr. Wallace, you know I respect you, but that's out of line."
Even as Shannon and Carter bristle, Alicia holds up a hand to all three of them. "I got this, guys." She turns and advances on Malcolm. "Dr. Wallace, while I appreciate that you will be highly disappointed if I have to ground you tomorrow, let me be very clear. I don't give a damn whether you think I'm smart enough for this assessment or not. If the wind does not diminish, only Carter and I have the experience and ability to safely rappel down a cliff face. If it looks promising, we'll wait a day or so to see if the wind abates. If it doesn't, we'll come back again at a later time. But I will not jeopardize anyone's safety, not even yours, for this, something you yourself characterized as a nice to have. Do you copy, Doctor?"
A clearly cowed Malcolm nods, and she stalks away towards the outpost. "I'm going to check in with the colony. Reynolds, sort out watch duty for tomorrow."
Reynolds calls a "yes, ma'am" behind her, and she just waves in response. She already has her pack on her shoulder, and she's heading inside to call Nathaniel. After talking to him and to Gracie, she settles into one of the private rooms in the outpost.
A knock on her door frame makes her look up. Shannon and Carter are standing there, packs in hand. She realizes that they are likely wanting to crash with her instead of the scientists and younger soldiers. She waves them in. "Make yourselves at home."
They each drop onto one of the empty cots in the room. Shannon speaks first. "You OK? I know Malcolm pissed you off."
She sighs. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't like it when anyone is cavalier about safety. And no, for the record, I'm not upset that he was a wise ass about how smart or not smart I am." She looks at Carter. "I figure you're OK with that too, seeing as we're both reasonably intelligent and all it did was make Malcolm look like a bit of a jerk."
Carter grins. "No worries here, little sister. But I wonder if now is the time for me to tell Malcolm that I actually did go to college."
Jim and Alicia both look at him, incredulous. He smirks. "What?"
Alicia recovers first. "Are you serious?"
He tries to look affronted, but he fails miserably, shrugging. "I really am, as unexpected as that might be. I didn't finish, but I was doing pretty well before I had to drop out."
Jim blinks. "What were you studying?"
"It's too perfect, to be honest." Carter grins. "It was geology."
Jim and Alicia go back to staring at him, and then they both dissolve into laughter. Alicia shakes her head. "You're right, that really is perfect."
"Why did you have to drop out?" Jim lifts an eyebrow at him.
Carter's face falls a bit and he goes silent, and Alicia figures it out pretty quickly. "Same reason I lived on the streets on my own from fourteen until I enlisted?" She refers to her own past after her mother's death made her an orphan, something both Jim and Carter already know about.
He nods stiffly. "Pretty much, or at least close. I dropped out to take care of my mom while she was dying. Didn't have the heart to go back once she was gone."
They all go silent after that. After a while, Jim says, "So, I spent two years in prison for attacking the cops who tried to go after Zoe."
Alicia and Carter both give him a funny look. He looks back at them with a crooked smile. "Just trying to find a shitty moment in my life to share. I was feeling left out."
Alicia rolls her eyes and Carter throws a pillow at him, but they all laugh. Alicia shakes her head. "Misery loves company, right Shannon?"
"Always!" He grins at her. With that, they all go and get ready for bed, all of them still smiling when they turn out the light.
The next morning, pack slung over one shoulder, Alicia steps out of the outpost and into the sunlight, closing her eyes and arching her back in a stretch. She is relatively relaxed for being OTG, because there aren't many dinos up this way. They have a fence, but it's basically unnecessary here. "Good morning, Lieutenant."
Alicia opens her eyes in surprise, looking in the direction of the voice she just heard. She blinks when she sees Malcolm there, leaning against her rover. She walks over to him, and she can see that he looks a little nervous. As she walks, the same stiff breeze from the prior afternoon hits her. "Morning, Malcolm. Did you need something?"
He looks even more nervous. "Yes. I need to apologize. I was unforgivably rude yesterday. I shouldn't have said what I did, and I understand that you are responsible for the safety of everyone here."
She sighs and throws her pack in the back of the rover. "Don't worry about it, Malcolm."
He nods. "I see the wind is still up."
"Yes, it is." She's not going to make this too easy for him.
"I will respect whatever you decide about today, Wash, but I do ask that you consider letting me go down with you. I've done some climbing, though I know I'm likely nowhere near as adept as you and Carter. But I'll follow all instructions and wear whatever safety equipment you require."
She levels an appraising look at Malcolm. "I'll think about it, Malcolm, but I won't make a decision until we're up there and can properly assess the conditions. Even then, either Carter or I will go down first, and if we think it's too difficult or too unstable, it's a no-go. Clear?"
He nods again. "Crystal. And thank you, Wash."
Two hours later, standing on a cliff face, all Alicia can think is that this is a bad idea. The wind is a little lighter, though, and the face is actually sloped just a little, maybe enough to make a return climb a little easier. She's considering letting Malcolm go down.
She's already geared up, in a harness, helmet, gloves and shoes made for rock climbing. The shoes are old, but lightly used, one of the things she got sent from the future before they lost the portal. Her clothes are her regular fatigues and tank. She slips on a small backpack loaded with water, a first aid kit, snacks, a space blanket and a light jacket.
She slips on her comm, and she looks at Carter. "I'm going to see how it is. You and Malcolm go ahead and gear up. If I think it's safe, you can both come down. If it's moderate, just you, and if it's bad, I'm coming back up."
"Understood. Be careful, Alicia." He gives her a very un-Carter-like serious look.
"Always am, Carter." She won't admit it to anyone, but she's actually looking forward to this a little. It's been forever since she's had time to do any climbing, and she misses it.
She walks over to where they have lines put in, driven through multiple clips in the surface. After a primer on procedure, they've got Dunham, Reynolds and Jim set up to belay them. She briefly considered having Jim belay Malcolm, but she decided that the temptation to drop him, or more likely, just to mess with him a little, might be too great.
As she hooks in and prepares to rappel down to the cave Carter pointed out, she also checks that her gun is in place, just in case any unfriendly winged dinos have taken up residence. She looks up at Jim. "OK, Shannon, you ready?"
He nods tightly. "As I'll ever be."
"Shannon, relax. All you have to do is not drop me. That's it."
"Yeah, and if I screw up, your very scary husband will gut me." He actually looks genuinely scared.
She rolls her eyes. "He won't gut you, Shannon. He'll just banish you and drop you off in slasher territory." Giving him no time to reply, she nods at him and says, "On belay." He reacts instantly, and when she sees he's ready, she steps back off the cliff edge, smoothly rappelling down the face to the cave opening, pushing off the rocks twice to get there.
It wasn't too bad, but Alicia isn't particularly happy with the condition of the cliff face. Rocks rained down after each push off, leading her to worry about their ability to easily get back up. The wind is also stiffer here. She activates her comm. "Am down. Will assess and call back."
She peers down off the ledge she stands on, and she can actually see some paths that could be used to descend, but it would be tough going and would require rappelling past a few spans. Also, Carter was right that ascending from the bottom up would likely have been too difficult. She might've been able to manage it, but it would have been a challenge. It's about fifteen hundred feet straight down to get to a point that a rover could reach. They're only about thirty-five hundred feet above sea level, but the air is already thinning a bit.
She taps her comm again. "Carter, you copy?"
His voice comes back immediately. "How's it look, Wash?"
"You come down first. Jury's still out on Malcolm, but I'm leaning towards no. There's some degradation of the rock face that worries me a little."
"Understood. Coming down." He clicks off, and a moment later, she hears him call out that he's on belay. Reynolds is anchoring him, and she knows the big kid can handle Carter's weight. Dunham will hold Malcolm if they let him come down.
She watches Carter push off, twice just as she had, before he lands clean next to her. "I see what you mean about the face."
She gives him a rueful half-smile. "We can't let him come down."
"I agree, Wash. It's not safe. It'll be tough for us to make it back up. This is honestly pretty significantly worn down since the last time I was here." He looks around. "I'm wondering if there's been seismic activity here."
"I'd say it's possible. There are tons of hot springs and fissures in the foothills." She taps her comm a third time. "Malcolm, you there?"
She hears static, and then a resigned sigh. "You're not letting me down, are you?"
She chuckles. "Sorry, Doc. It's too dangerous. With the wind and the slippery rock slope, it's going to be tough even for Carter and me to get back up."
"Understood, Wash. And thanks for even considering it. Take lots of pictures, and get me samples, OK?"
"You got it, Malcolm." She taps the comm again, ending the connection. Pulling out her sonic pistol and a flashlight from her harness, she nods at the cave opening. She sees Carter do the same, and they each take a side and proceed cautiously into the cave. Once they see that there aren't any dinos, Carter starts to chip away some samples of a greenish rock that she sees deposited around.
She pulls a small camera from a bag on her belt, and she begins to take pictures. They're not deep in the cave, so they have enough line to stay clipped in, something she's glad of a moment later. Out of nowhere, they feel a rumble travel from under their feet to reverberate up the cave walls and beyond. They look at each other in alarm and head for the opening of the cave.
She shoves her camera back in the bag on her belt, and she sees Carter pulling a drawstring on a bag he thrusts into his pack, she assumes with the rock samples. A hail of smaller rocks begins to rain down over the entrance of the cave, and then they feel an even deeper rumble and the sound of large rocks shifting above them.
Alicia suddenly has a thought about what the sound might be. She hits her comm. "Mark, Shannon get away from the edge, now!"
The rumble and vibrations suddenly get even stronger, and then, with a sickening feeling, Alicia realizes that the rope to her harness, taut a moment ago, has gone slack. She looks over to see Carter's do the same. In unison, they say, "Shit."
The smaller stones have stopped falling, so Alicia steps cautiously out to the ledge area to peer back up towards Shannon, Reynolds and the others. All have moved back except Jim. As Alicia looks up, an even louder crash sounds, and she hears Mark yell, "Mr. Shannon!"
Carter emerges from the cave behind her just in time for them both to watch in horror as the cliff edge they'd rappelled from completely dissolves under Jim's feet. In the next moment, in a tangle of lines for their harnesses, Shannon is sliding and tumbling towards them. Miraculously, he doesn't go flying off the face, but instead manages to take a controlled fall in their direction.
Carter does his best to push Alicia out of the way, making her step to the side to keep her balance. Unfortunately, the ledge they're on just isn't all that big. Shannon ends up colliding with Carter, and the force of the impact throws Carter backwards towards Alicia.
Shannon lands hard on top of Carter, but as they come to a stop, they hit Alicia. She can't stop the shriek that she emits as she tumbles backwards off of the ledge. The only thing that keeps her from plummeting fifteen hundred feet to the slope below is her belay line, which goes taut with a hard snap, leaving her dangling about a foot below the ledge. Her momentum makes her spin, and she cracks her helmeted head on a rocky outcropping.
Dazed, she tries to stay as still as she can to keep from putting more pressure on the rope. "Wash!"
She looks up to see Shannon peering over the lip of the ledge above. She's relieved to see that outside of some nasty looking cuts and likely a multitude of bruises, he seems OK. Her relief, however, is short-lived. As she looks up at Jim, and her rope gives a little, making her drop another six inches. Blinking, her eyes meet Jim's as they simultaneously realize that her rope is coming loose from whatever is holding it.
He lunges forward as she throws her arms upward with a cry of, "Shannon!" As she desperately reaches up for him and he reaches for her, she feels her rope go completely loose and the world drops away beneath her.