Skating Away on the Thick Ice of a New Day

by John A. Frochio

 

Nathan shivered when the clarion call ripped him out of his dreams of soft sand beaches.  It was time.  Pluto's ice was calling.

He slipped out of his sleep sack and pulled on his thermal undergarb and outer gear.  He was hungry and thirsty, and he wondered if he had enough time for a quick syntha breakfast.  A quick glance at his chrono wrist implant told him, No.  He'd have to grab a protein stick on the way out.  Water later, too.

He met up with his team at the exit portal.  They exchanged quick nods.  They'd all been here before.  They knew what was ahead of them.  Within minutes they were outside pounding the ice trail.  Ice Trail C.  The longest trail.

They skated fast and furiously toward their destination.  A new outcrop was about to break loose, and they had very little time to get to it before it fell away and was lost to them.  Seconds could make all the difference.

Nathan tried not to think about their last effort, which was a total failure.  They couldn't afford to lose many ice masses.  They didn't crop up as frequently as they were needed, and they couldn't be forced.

As the team approached the heaving mass, Nathan released an inaudible sigh when he saw the vast slab of ice was still in place.  It glistened like a sheet of diamonds until the bright panorama of stars above.  The view should be old hat by now, yet it always gave him an inexplicable thrill like the very first time he'd seen the ice slabs.

Team Jai took their usual initial positions around the ice mass:  Nathan went to the north corner, Kamal west, Jai east, and Melanie south.  Nathan tested the growing crack with his electrode stick, circling around the fissure while the others watched and waited.

 Seconds dragged by.

"It's not separating fast enough," said Nathan over their comm link.  "I'll give it a nudge or two. 

"Not too much," said Jai.  Of course not.  Nathan was no rookie.  Jai was a great team leader, but he was sometimes lacked trust of his team's capabilities.  That was fine.  There was nothing wrong with being overly cautious.

Nathan circled once more, then found an acceptable spot near Jai, set the hammer thrust to 2G, and brought it down.  The ice shuddered beneath him.  He hit it again.  He felt a brief shifting which made him adjust his footing.  A second later a sharp and sudden rumbling reverberated through him.

Jai said, "That's good enough.  Let's begin."

Jai led his team in their synchronized circling around the ice slab, moving clockwise at a steady rate, regularly tapping their electrode sticks to monitor the vibrations resonating through the ice.  Beyond them, the freshly carved slope glistened under the artificial light from the monitor drones, keeping their runway well-lit for the herding.

"Biggest slab yet," said Melanie.

Nathan nodded, though none could see his nod through his helmet.  "Close to the transport's limit I would say."

The ice groaned and shifted beneath them.  Nathan's left foot slipped briefly, but he quickly recovered his footing.

Nathan shuddered remembering how they had lost Cal back in the early days of ice herding.  That incident led to a major redesign of the skates (wider and flatter with retractable spikes) and the addition of safety enhancements, including unique compressed air parachutes.  Despite all that, it was still a highly dangerous job.

Team Jai were the best ice herders on Pluto.  They knew that, in spite of all the safety equipment, they never let their guard down.  Jai made sure of that by reinforcing the rules constantly to the point of annoyance.

The cracking increased in intensity and frequency.  They crouched in tandem and drove their spikes into the ice around the perimeter.  They tightened the ropes that tied them together.  They worked together as a single unit.

Minutes crept by.  How many?  No one kept count.

Finally, the ice mass broke free.

Each of them crouched as they worked their electrode sticks, directing the path of the sliding slab toward the man-made chute.

Nathan's body tensed, readying for the expected impact.

They hit.  Downward they flew.  They held their positions.

Kamal called out, "Spike broke loose.  I'm free riding."  His voice was calm.

Jai said, "Keep the ropes taut everyone ‘til he can reconnect."

Stunned, Nathan watched Kamal's body bounce off and on the ice like a child's toy.  Nobody could do anything to help him except pray.  He had to re-sink the spike on his own.  In the meantime, they all had to concentrate on keeping the careening block of ice on the track.

Nathan cringed each time Kamal contacted the ice.  Despite their layers of padding, each strike would be painful and jarring.  He had to reconnect soon, or he could break free and become lost to them.

Kamal struck out with his spike, missed, bounced outward again.

Melanie called out, "Don't give up, Kamal!  You got this." 

The next pass he missed again, but this time the spike flew from his hand and skidded along the ice toward Nathan.  Without thinking, he leaped out and grabbed hold of the spike as it slid several feet past him.  The others tensed and held their positions as the ice block slammed against the side walls.  Nathan regained his position.

Kamal's only hope now was for Nathan to slide the spike back toward Kamal at the right time for him to grab it.  The timing was critical.  His heart raced.  If the spike was lost, there would be little hope for Kamal's survival.  All he could think of was Kamal's wife and two small children.

Again, Kamal came flying back.  He cried out, "Send it to me, Nate."

"What if I miss?"

"I won't hold it against you.  Just do it."

Nathan counted the seconds.  He launched it.  Kamal hit the ice, reached out, snagged the spike, almost fumbling it, then rapidly spun around and drove it into the ice.  He lurched, fell to his knees, and cried out in pain.

The others cheered.

Melanie said, "I knew you could do it!"

After a few moments, Kamal staggered into position.  "I wasn't so sure myself.  Thanks, Nate."

Jai said, "Good work, everyone.  Now let's get this ice to transport.  There are worlds of thirsty people out there waiting for water."

The ice slab bounded downward, like an out-of-control steam locomotive hurtling down a mountainside toward its ill-fated destiny below.  However, soon they would be leveling off toward a softer landing at the space port's loading zone.  There they would climb down the massive ice block and let the dock crew take over.

Nathan took a deep breath, remembering how thirsty he was.  Soon he would get his reward, a drink of water.

"Drinks on me!"

The team laughed, echoes bounding and rebounding.

Before he got back to base, the ship would be dragging the ice mass toward its final destination, one of the colonies scattered throughout the solar system.  He wasn't the only one anxiously waiting for water.

 

The End