II. Jagellowsk-1
604 Words
II. Jagellowsk
* * * *
Half an hour later, Mayhew was sitting behind his desk again with Natalya in the second chair and a three-dimensional hologram of Jagellowsk hovering in the space between them.
It was a beautiful world, Mayhew noted, a world of deep blue oceans, fertile green land and snow-capped mountains. When the original colonists to come here from Old Earth had first seen it on the viewscreens of their generation ship, they would have considered themselves very fortunate indeed to have arrived on world so perfectly suited to human life.
And now all that was about to end. A world of two billion people about to be snuffed out, just because someone had made a fatal mistake.
Mayhew threw a sideways glance at Natalya. She was holding up well, better than he would under the circumstances. But he could see the strain on her face, the horror and the unshed tears in her eyes.
“Do you still have family on Jagellowsk?” he asked.
Her parents were dead, killed in a shuttle crash five years ago, that much he knew. But there might still be others.
“Of course,” Natalya replied, “Aunts, uncles, cousins, old friends from school…”
“If there’s anybody you want to…”
“No, sir,” Natalya brushed him off, “Not that I don’t want to, of course. But we have a duty here and there are clear protocols for cases like this.”
Mayhew knew the protocols, as well as Natalya did. Children under twelve were evacuated first, then youth between twelve and eighteen, young adults up to thirty, first women, then men. Then adults thirty to fifty and finally the seniors. It was an accepted system, proven and fair.
However, in an emergency of this scope with a whole planet about to be destroyed, it was woefully insufficient. They wouldn’t even be able to rescue all the kids under twelve, let alone anybody else.
Though Natalya was right. The rules and protocols were there for a reason. They might be woefully inadequate, but they were the only guidance they had.
“All right, so what can you tell me about Jagellowsk?” Mayhew asked Natalya, “What are the major centres of population?”
“The capital is Tarkovsky. Other major cities are Kaidanovsky, Bondarchuk, Demirdova and Strugatsky.”
“Any suggestions where to land?” Mayhew asked.
Natalya considered for a moment. “The Kosiolkovsky Laboratory is located on the outskirts of the capital, so Tarkovsky will be too badly affected by the seismic disturbances.”
She lowered her head, as the reality of it all sank in. “That’s one million people condemned to death.”
Mayhew reached out and wordlessly squeezed her hand. “Natalya, if you’d rather…”
She shook her head, as if to clear it. “No, I can do this.”
Natalya focussed on the map again. “Kaidanovsky and Bondarchuk are both only about an hour from Tarkovsky, so they’re probably too badly affected as well. Demirdova is further away, but I’d say that our best bet is Strugatsky, since it’s not even on the same continent.”
“Population?” Mayhew asked.
“Three hundred thousand.”
They couldn’t evacuate that many, not even close. The Fearless Explorer had a crew of two hundred and forty-six. Officially, the maximum capacity was five hundred fifty, though they could probably push that up to seven hundred, maybe eight hundred, if they maxed out the safety limits. Not enough. Never enough.
But they’d do what they could, save as many as possible. Because that was what they’d signed up for, what they’d trained for, the oath they’d all sworn when they joined the service. To defend and protect the people of the Republic from all harm. Even if the harm came from their own scientists.
“Strugansky it is then,” Mayhew said.
“Strugatsky, sir,” Natalya corrected him. A brief, humourless smile flitted across her face.
- Writer
