Chapter Text
“No coffee? What do you mean, there’s no more coffee?” Maryse bit her lips, not wanting to cause more of an outburst. But it was hard to control her indignation and outrage at this news. After last night’s quake and the ensuing panic attack, she had woken hoping for one small ordinary thing she could count on. Losing even that made the morning feel suddenly less steady.
“Sorry. We used the last of the coffee last night at the celebration and the quake spilled the coffee urns.” Ameril remarked, shaking her high-piled hair. “Have some klah instead. It’s almost like coffee.”
Maryse tried to control her shudder of revulsion. The tepid stuff tasted like sweat-soaked socks left inside combat boots for several days. A big gulp had nearly left her gagging when she had mindlessly drawn a cup and taken a big drink.
The woman beside her shook her head. “Ameril, this klah isn’t any good. Something’s wrong with the mixture.”
Ameril sighed, looking harassed. “Oh dear. The night crew left it for us. We’ll have to make a new pot then, before the breakfast crowd gets here. But that has to wait until after our morning meeting.”
She stepped up beside her husband, Martin, standing at the front of the room in front of the big windows. He cleared his throat loudly, getting everyone’s attention. “Good morning breakfast crew! We have lots to do this morning, so listen up and decide what you want to take on. I know we’re all tired after last night’s party, but we’ll have people coming in with hangovers and wanting breakfast. Ameril will tell you more about the day’s plan.”
Maryse set the coffee, or rather klah, mug down, reaching for a glass of water instead as she listened. She really needed to get the taste of that horrid stuff out of her mouth. Ameril raised her voice; for a civ, Maryse thought, Ameril had a carrying voice.
“Pierre is off today after yesterday’s push for the Thanksgiving dinner.” Ameril said. “Last night, he also found out that he needed to send meals along with the construction crew going back up to the ships today. He and Joel, from Supply, spent most of the night pulling things together. So, we told him he needed to rest and we could take care of the meals today. We can do this, right?” Ameril looked expectantly at the morning work crew. People nodded back, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
“So, we need to put out easy breakfast fixings and make new pots of klah. There’s no more coffee if anyone asks for it. Then, after you have breakfast, we need to make sandwiches with last night’s leftovers for the kids at school. Yes, school officially begins today upstairs, and they’ll need a light meal at midday. And we need to meet with Joel over in Stores to organize supplies for the geology crew who are going to investigate the cause of that little ground quake last night. So, let’s get to work lucky people; check the list that Martin has for your duties.” Ameril stepped away from the front, towards the serving area which signaled everyone to get moving on breakfast set-up.
Ameril seemed entirely too chipper for this early, Maryse thought. Especially without coffee! And after her PTSD attack last night with the quake, she really craved that burst of caffeine and heady coffee taste.
Emma Radelyn, who had remarked about the bad state of the klah, turned to Maryse. “That was quite a festivity last night, don’t you think? Want to start putting dishes out for breakfast with me? I’m not sure how to make klah, so we’ll leave it for someone with more knowledge. It’s not as simple as coffee, from what I’ve heard.”
“Oh sure. The food last night turned out well, and everyone seemed to like the wherry the way we prepared it.” Maryse turned, pleased to find someone she knew. “What happened with the construction crew? My neighbor is going up to the ships this morning.”
Maryse hoped there weren’t any problems with the shuttle launching today since Henry Morgenstett was on it as a metalworker and welder. The crew was going to finish dismantling everything they could take off the three cold sleep ships that had brought them all to Pern. After all, Henry and Vera had asked Maryse to watch over their son, Elias, last night so they could have some time alone at home before Henry was gone for about ten days.
“It seems nobody ordered food and supplies for the crew for all the days they’ll be staying up there. Captain Carter, the engineer in charge, was checking over the manifest of mechanical equipment. He saw that people supplies were missing, so he talked to Pierre and Joel, over in Stores, and they spent most of the night pulling supplies and those military meals together. Pierre made a few things for them to take along so they would start with some fresher food.” Emma tsked sadly at the state of the planning, pulling mugs off the shelf, and stacking them onto a trolley cart.
Maryse raised her eyebrows at this news, pulling out the flatware trays. “That’s not good to forget all that. They’re lucky that guy in charge was so alert what with the party going on. Why not postpone the shuttle lift-off a day or two?”
“Admin wanted them to get up there and start taking the big ships apart. I guess if they have problems, they can always come back early.” Emma replied, lifting a big stack of plates onto the cart to be wheeled out to the serving tables. “Hope the kids have a good first day at school. It’s odd not to have my chillens running around with me. There’s a lot going on today with the colony, that’s for sure.”
This sort of morning reminded Maryse how new everything was for the colony, and she wondered how Elias was doing with his new classmates and teacher. A missing supply order, a bad pot of klah, reactions from an unexpected quake during their celebration, and children starting school were all part of the same uncertain day. She wondered if her mental attitude was completely back to normal after her PTSD flared up, since feeling this apprehensive wasn’t typical for her.
As they prepped for breakfast, people started arriving, in varying degrees of hungover-ness from the big thanksgiving party yesterday. Maryse spotted Rondo, Herschel, and Valli arriving together. Rondo was wearing a different shirt sporting the letters PFRF with several other people in the room also dressed in the garb. She stopped by their table after they had food.
“So, what’s going on with you all today? Rondo, how’s your head and what’s with the shirt?” Maryse inquired.
Valli snorted and patted Rondo on the shoulder. Her blue tipped hair straggled down around her neck today. “He’s vertical and moving. I’m heading out with the geology crew to find out what caused that little shake up last night that wasted the last of the coffee. We should be gone a couple of days, I guess, so you’ll have to look after Rondo until I get back.” She wrinkled her nose at Maryse and grinned. “And keep an eye on H2 so he eats enough, too.”
Maryse chuckled, “Can do. Now, what’s with the letters on the shirts I see people wearing?”
Rondo finally looked up from his plate of food he had been tentatively picking at. “The letters stand for the Pern Fire and Rescue Force. Guess admin decided we needed something like that. There’ve been a couple of small fires here in the colony already and people who got hurt a few times needed rescuing. So, we start training today. Now if I can just get my head to quit pounding like the music last night...”
Hershel pushed his plate away, food only partly eaten. “Yeah, Rondo, your brew last night was sure strong even after it ‘breathed.’ Lucky Sabra doesn’t have to work until tonight, so she can sleep in. That quake left us with more work going over the data on it.”
“You seem awfully awake this morning, Maryse. Did you get the kid home before his bedtime?” Rondo ribbed her. He sipped carefully at his steaming mug. “I don’t remember much about the quake or anything after that. This is not anything like coffee, at all!”
Maryse frowned slightly, hoping they hadn’t caught her panic attack. “Yeah, the boy and I left shortly after the quake. He has his first day of school today. Sure glad they got the lights on at the street intersections for last night. It’s pretty dark out there compared to other places I’ve lived.”
“I agree. Lights are much better; guess I better get used to the dark on this trip. Who knows where we may be going.” Valli smiled, then pushed back from the table. “I need to run and meet the rest of my crew so we can take off exploring. Don’t party without me.”
Maryse watched Valli go with a prickle of unease and a frown twisting her mouth. Everyone had work to do this morning, with some of the work leading away from the semi-safety of the colony base and there was no way for Maryse to provide protection to Valli or Henry. Her feelings must have shown on her face because Rondo put a hand on her shoulder in commiseration.
He looked at her, remarking, “We both know there’s no such thing as the perfect planet, even if others don’t realize that.”
“Don’t I know it. I just have that itch between my shoulder blades, you know?” Maryse sighed. “Hope everyone will be safe.”
Rondo nodded in agreement. “Yep, that’s why I’m joining the PFRF, just in case. You should think about it, too, with your background. Gotta get to work.”
Maryse tipped her head in consideration, thinking she might need to look into it.