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Ed Japhet was glad his wife was at home. Inside their quiet little neighborhood, you couldn’t see any of the damage that had been caused just outside of town. They’d gotten a text from Jenny that morning telling them she was alright, but the non-disclosure agreement she had signed with the company she now worked for wouldn’t allow her to say where she was.
He almost wished she was ghost-writing again. She couldn’t talk about her writing, but it didn’t take her all over heck and its half-acre so that she was almost never home. Her little house in the foothills of Los Angeles was nice enough, but it seemed a shame she couldn’t just stay home and enjoy it more often than she did.
He had stopped listening to the radio in the car. The news was all just too sad. And it wasn’t just in the states, but everyone was struggling all over the world. Their government had ruled out the possibility it was an attack from a foreign power, as there wasn’t a single country that didn’t get blacked out.
Several smaller countries were still struggling to get the power back on, as their power plants weren’t as automated as most of the power plants worldwide. Organizations like the Red Cross had been inundated with pleas for help. The United States Army Engineers had been deployed to help with the power situation, and the National Guards and Reserves of every state had been called out to help with the crisis within the states.
Based on nuclear science, there should have been a few nuclear power plants melt down, or in the process of a meltdown. Since even battery power had ceased to work, the backup generators in the power plants shouldn’t have been able to keep the nuclear fuel cool enough to prevent it.
But for some reason none of their scientists could explain, all of the nuclear reactor fuel in every reactor on the planet had been at optimum temperature.
That didn’t prevent trains from going off the rails or the many injuries when every automobile on the planet just stopped. It was particularly ugly on the freeways of the world, where speed limits could be up to 80 miles per hour. An instantaneous stop, even if no one hit anyone else, at high speeds caused many injuries and fatalities, even when people were wearing seatbelts. In the cases of the kind of drivers who typically tailgated the injuries and deaths were multiplied.
He shook his head. He knew his two oldest still moaned when remembering riding with him when he was in rant mode about following distance, directional signaling and paying attention while in a car. By the time Jenny had come along, he had mellowed out somewhat, but she still got the same advice when he was teaching her to drive.
He missed his kids. For forty years he had hauled his family all over the world with him, when he wasn’t stationed in a war zone. The times apart were always hard on his family, but they had all been “good little soldiers” and learned quickly how to make new friends and get engaged right away in community resources and events.
He had once asked them if they had resented all of the moving and constant readjustments they had been required to make as a family. Without exception, all three of them, and his wife had adamantly assured him that few families had the opportunities for new adventures and seeing the world the way they had done.
Driving to the armory, the road was cluttered, but quiet. Broken and stalled vehicles were all over the place, but there was no traffic. One of the first things the United States government had done was to shut down all road traffic other than rescue or clean up vehicles. The moment the power had come back on, radios had started broadcasting stay at home orders to everyone who could hear it and the word had gotten out quickly. The people had been so shaken that most had adhered to the orders.
The news reports, although sporadic so far, were saying that in many larger cities and towns there were those who were either taking advantage of the situation by looting and robbing or just going out because they could. People who had not been on the road when it had happened still had operating vehicles, and his had been parked happily in his driveway at the time.
He had been surprised when the emergency broadcast system had announced that batteries were now working again. Most home computers were still nonfunctional due to data loss, as they hadn’t had any shielding, but large corporations and government agencies still had working computers due to earlier shielding protocols based on the worry about EMP warfare.
One of the mysteries in all of this was how cell phones continued to work, as they were just small portable computers that happened to provide communication. Most apps on phones still weren’t working, but for reasons no one could explain the basic operations of phone calls and texting still seemed to be functioning.
He arrived at the National Guard Armory. The military had recalled every retiree and former soldier to help out in the crisis, giving them active duty status for the duration. So, once again he left his home to do his duty and this time he had to leave his wife by herself. Since the kids had all left on their own adventures, he and Donna had been comfortable together, traveling to visit old friends from their army days and seeing a bit of the world they hadn’t had a chance to do before.
Donna stayed busy, volunteering in the community and with their church, and always had one project or another going on to help someone who needed it. She was an accomplished seamstress, crafter, and baker, and he was so proud of her. He had asked her from time to time if she wanted a job outside the home and she answered happily that she had never had any desire to do anything outside her home to make money and she kept busy enough without that, “thank you very much”.
He grinned every time he thought about her, even after all these years.
He pulled into the parking lot in an area reserved for officers and high ranking enlisted men. He had achieved the rank of Command Sargent Major in his military career. He could have easily been an officer, but he told people who asked why he didn’t, “I’m just a hands-on kind of guy” and left it at that.
He was greeted in the reception area by a pink cheeked corporal with a clipboard. For some soldiers, this was as close as they ever got to a weapon outside of basic training. But the army would be in utter chaos without the clerks who kept it all organized. Clerks, cooks and medics were the backbone of a fighting army and the leadership of the military knew it very well.
“Command Sargent Major Japhet, please go to the command center at the end of the hallway. The meeting will begin at 0800.”
He nodded and arrived at the meeting before most of the rest had assembled. It was a quirk of his to never be at an appointment later than fifteen minutes before it was supposed to start. It had driven his family crazy, but he felt strongly that punctuality was a sign of respect for the time of the people you were meeting with and a matter of integrity for him.
The meeting was a fairly straightforward thing as military meetings went. This wasn’t a discussion. It was intended to give out assignments and clarify any of the fine points of each person’s responsibilities if necessary.
Ed was given command of a small battalion that was going to be clearing the highways in about a 10-mile radius of the city limits. When they completed that task, they would be assigned to a unit outside the area. Each battalion was covering a different type of disaster relief, including medical teams, running soup kitchens, and creating emergency housing for those who had been displaced. The battalion he was in charge of was an engineer’s battalion with access to heavy machinery necessary to remove vehicles from the road and repair any damage to the road itself.
They would be accompanied by a small team of combat medics in case there were any unrecovered bodies from the wreckage.
The one reason they could even do this operation was that batteries now worked again. Scientists had reported a mysterious power wave that had happened simultaneously worldwide. They seemed to think the two events were connected but were unable to explain either one.
At this point, Ed didn’t really care all that much. He had always told his kids to do the work that was in front of them, and that was how he operated. He didn’t want to remain ignorant of events, but he also didn’t want to dwell on the things he had no control over. Once a thing had happened, and when you were dealing with the aftermath of something like this, the best plan was to simply get to work at whatever you could do and let someone else worry about the things you couldn’t do.
He called Donna before he set out to brief his battalion to let her know he had arrived safely and to tell her it was going to be a very long day, grateful for the reestablishment of communication, mystery or not.
“Guess what? Jenny called! She was checking to see if we were all right. I told her we were fine. It was so good to hear her voice. She said to tell you not to work too hard. That’s what your troops are for.”
It had been a standing joke amongst them, but they all knew that Command Sargent Major or not, he would roll up his sleeves and get to work right alongside his men when it was necessary.
“I’m glad you got to talk to her. How’s that job of hers coming along?
“She says they have power and finally got cell phone coverage, so she’ll be able to get back to work after she helps them make sure they didn’t lose any data in all of this.”
“That’s our Jenny. She does her duty.”
“You taught them well, Ed.”
“WE taught them well, Donna. I think you had a little bit of a hand in their raising, as I recall.”
They both laughed at this and then signed off with an “I love you.”
She had been crystal clear from the beginning of their relationship that saying I love you to one another was important. She didn’t ask much of him and after a while of being a bit embarrassed about it in a public place he had finally decided that it wouldn’t hurt his men to know that he loved his wife.
He arrived at the training ground where his men had assembled. On other training grounds within earshot, he could hear the sounds of other troops assembling and being given their orders. He wasn’t one for rousing speeches.
“You all know why we’re here. Thank you for answering the call to duty. Let’s do our job. Your platoon leaders have their orders. We will assign two platoons to every sector with appropriate equipment. I will be coordinating the work schedule. You each should have a day’s rations with you and any tools you require in your packs. Each section will also have medics assigned for body recovery and any injuries. But we don’t want to distract them, so there will be no injuries. Am I right?”
“YES, Command Sargent Major!” They thundered in unison.
“Then let’s do this thing. Company dismissed!”
They immediately went to their assigned areas to assemble and move the equipment. Ed got up into the passenger side of the cab of a Dusenhalf that would carry troops to the worksite. The young Sargent driving the vehicle nodded and waited until the bang-bang of a flat hand on the side of the truck indicated all were aboard and ready to leave.
The convoy left within fifteen minutes, having prepared everything before they had gotten into formation on the training grounds. It was very apparent where they would be working. Vehicles weren’t only scattered all over the road, but there was broken windshield glass all over the highway. These roads weren’t as highly traveled as in many large cities and the blackout didn’t happen during “rush hour”, but the damage was enough to be going on with.
His men immediately went to work, and he was proud of the way they systematically worked as a team. Civilians had enough on their hands taking care of the many injured people and making arrangements for children orphaned by the disaster, not to mention property damage. Who knew a power outage could cause so much destruction and loss of lives?
The sound of large machinery working was nearly overwhelming, and yet he heard her voice instantly.
“Dad? It’s Jenny.”
He looked around, confused. He could see no one, and...how could she have gotten here? There were no planes in the air until further notice. “Jenny?” he hollered in a random direction.
“You don’t have to yell. Just think what you want to say, and I will hear you.”
“What? How are you doing this? Am I finally losing it? They say as you get older...”
Her warm mental laugh was disconcerting and yet comforting in a way.
“I can’t tell you. Let’s just say that there are more things in heaven and earth, Dad, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. I’ve always wanted to use that one on you...”
“OK, so let’s say I’m not losing my marbles and you can’t tell me how you’re doing this. What is this all about?”
“It’s about you doing what I already knew I’d find you doing. It’s about you knowing that this might not be the end of it and I can’t tell you how I know this. It’s especially about you knowing that none of the governments of Earth are responsible for this.
I can’t tell you much more than that, and I don’t want to worry you or mom, but you need to know that there are good guys working on the problem and Earth is being protected. But even with all of that, please make sure that when you are done cleaning up this mess that you make your usual preparations without alarming Mom. Nothing may come of it, but if it does, it will help me to stay focused, if I know you are as safe and prepared as you can be.”
“You aren’t ghostwriting at all, are you?”
“Got it in one, Dad. But don’t tell Mom. I know she can be as tough as nails when she needs to, but I’d just as soon not worry her unless she needs to be worried. OK?”
“I agree. Let’s not worry her if we don’t have to. I’ll take your advice under consideration. Does this thingy work two ways? Can I contact you this way from my end?”
“Sorry Dad. No. But I’ll stay in touch as often as I can, I promise.”
“OK, Jenny. You know your mom and I miss you, right? I love you.”
“I love you too Dad.”
And then she was gone, and he had work to do.
