A New Beginning Ch. 07

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"OK we got that settled," I continued. "Chantelle, give the .45 and the ammunition to Joshua. Joshua, you're the best shot among us. You're in charge of the gun until further notice."

"Sure thing Captain Antoinette, but who should I give the taser guns to?"

"You're still security. You take one and give the other to your assistant. Then I want you and Anthony to form two groups to cut some foliage to camouflage any part of the James Cook that might be seen by those up there. Later we'll plant some trees and stuff around it. Right now we'll have to settle for some tree branches and such."

"How many should we take?" Anthony asked.

"As many individuals as you think necessary, five or six extras I guess," I answered him. "Are there any volunteers to help Chantelle and Anthony?" Juan, Leonard, Thomas, Veronica, Regina and David immediately raised their hands. I told Anthony to get two of the hunting knives from Joseph for their group.

Next I turned to Yves. "Doc, I want you to choose a couple of bodies to help you remove the seats from the upper flight deck."

Then to the rest of the crew, "Folks, we're going to lose our electricity soon and Doc and I figure that below the windows will be the cleanest, safest place for him to do his thing. If Joseph can't fix the solar panel, it will be the only place with light that's for sure. So we're converting the front section of the bridge into an infirmary."

Doc nodded. Laci, Vickie and Josephine volunteered to help him.

"Joshua, get with Joseph and Louis and go scout the area. Joseph, you and Louis make sure y'all have your knives and axes with you. Joshua, make sure to bring the .45 with you. There should be a small lake about a half a kilometer east of here. See if there are any nearby streams that feed into it."

"Yes ma'am," Joshua answered me.

"Also, see if you can get us something to eat, dino eggs or bird eggs or something. We only got enough food to last us a couple of weeks and I would like to stretch it out as long as possible."

"Yes ma'am. Sounds like a great idea."

"The rest of y'all, Natalie, Aleks, Beth, Akira, I want y'all to help me remove all the gear and supplies and the center navigation table and the seats from the lower flight deck so we can eventually convert it into sleeping quarters."

"Yes ma'am," Beth and Aleks answered. Natalie and Akira just nodded.

"Sam, get the third hunting knife from Joseph. Then I want you, Carli and Valarie to pull the parachutes from the rear of the James Cook and rip them into sheets. We can use them for curtains between everyone's sleeping areas once we clear the lower flight deck of all the gear. After, y'all can help us in the lower flight deck."

The three of them just nodded.

"Where are we going to set up our kitchen?" Natalie asked.

Before I could answer her "under the wings right below us," there was a loud thump from above. Everyone froze. It was immediately followed by another loud thump. Then several more thumps. I glanced apprehensively at Joshua. He pulled the .45 from the holster strapped to his hip.

"Joseph open the hatch and lower the stairs," I cautiously ordered him.

To be continued . . .