Jarvick walked through the laboratory assigned to Ben and into his office just as his printer spit out the last page of a report that he was working on. Ben picked up the sheets and said “Oh, I’m glad you’re here, I may have something for you to do. This is a list of geographical locations I need you to check out.”
“Sounds like fun, what do you need me to do?” asked Jarvick.
“When that asteroid exploded, we were able to track six fragments that were expelled back towards Earth that did not burn up in re-entry. This is a list of their GPS locations. Most of them came down in the southwestern Pacific Ocean in a line from Hawaii to Australia. The closest one was halfway between Hawaii and Midway Island; the next one was near the Marshall Islands, one in the Marianas, another in the Solomon Islands, then the Coral Sea, and lastly Australia. All of them are underwater except the one in Australia, which is where you’ll be going. I’ll have the travel department book you a flight tomorrow, take a satellite phone because it’s in an uninhabited area, and I’m sure your wristphone won’t work there.”
Jarvick wished he had a jump belt that worked, but he didn’t have access to the computer on his ship that programmed them. When he thought about it, he asked “Did you track what happened to my ship?”
Ben’s fingers danced across the keyboard and said “A lot of the pieces either burned up in the atmosphere or splashed down south of Hawaii. There is still a large piece up there, but it is in a degrading orbit. It is expected to come down in about two weeks.”
Jarvick’s pulse quickened a little, he wondered what had happened to his ship and was trying to figure out how to get back home. “Is there any way to determine what part of the ship is left, and what about bringing it down safely?”
Ben thought a second, and said “The only way to see what’s left is to visually inspect it. We also have a satellite retrieval ship that we use to make repairs; we could try to bring it down with one of those. Why? What are you thinking?”
“I would like to get home someday, and I want to see what I can salvage from it, see what may still be usable.”
Ben handed the sheets to Jarvick and said “I’ll check into it while you’re in Australia. Call me when you get there and have a good trip.”
Jarvick was awakened by the flight attendant’s announcement about the tray tables and seatbacks need to return to their upright position. He was sitting in the window seat, so he yawned and looked out the window, seeing only blue ocean. The travel department had only booked him a flight to Darwin, Australia, gave him a credit card and told him to find his way from there. The GPS coordinates indicated that one piece of the asteroid had landed near a town called Alice Springs. He was to locate the meteorite and report from there.
Looking out the window he could see the waves in the sea getting closer and then land appeared under the aircraft. A minute later he felt the wheels bump the runway and the jet’s thrust reverse clamshells deployed. Jarvick had only packed a carry-on bag with three changes of clothes, a pair of work boots, a handheld computer and a satellite phone. While the plane was taxiing toward the terminal, he asked the man next to him “What time is it here?”
“9:45 AM”
Jarvick had to think for a second about his answer, the man’s Aussie accent was so thick. “Thanks. What’s the best way to Alice Springs?”
“South” is all the man said.
“I’m sorry; maybe I should have asked a more specific question. HOW can I get to Alice Springs?”
This time the man opened up more. “Well, you can rent a car and drive down there but it’ll take you all day and then some. Or, you can catch a flight, there’s two a day from here. You’ve already missed this one and the next one is in four hours.”
It took a second for Jarvick to process his reply through his Aussie-English mental translator.
“I really don’t want to wait that long, know of any other alternative?”
“You could try Charlie’s Outback Tours. He’s got a small storefront near baggage pickup.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll check into that.”
The plane came to a stop and people began to stand in the aisle and retrieve their carry-ons. A few minutes later, Jarvick exited the aircraft and walked down the long terminal following the signs for baggage pickup.
Jarvick walked past the rental car counters and saw a hand lettered sign next to a glass door that said CHARLIE’S OUTBACK GUIDE SERVICE. Close enough. He walked into the small office and was greeted by an awful smell and a cloud of smoke, apparently coming from whatever was burning in the glass dish that was sitting on the metal desk. Having never seen or smelled a cigar, Jarvick thought someone had accidently left it burning, so he stubbed it out, erring on the side of caution.
“Hey there mate! That’s my stogie!” A leathery skinned man walked out of the bathroom in the back, zipping up his shorts. He was wearing a wide brimmed hat with one side of it folded up, tan colored shorts and a matching button up shirt, both in dire need of washing, and a pair of well worn boots missing the laces. His skin looked like cracked leather, blond hair and blue eyes. He looked about fifty but carried himself as if he were in his mid thirties. The man re-lit his cigar and said “What can I do ya’ for?” Jarvick looked around the place and said “I need to get to Alice Springs. I was told you were the man to talk to.”
“Have a seat, let’s talk business.” He said.
Jarvick sat down in the chair next to the rusty metal desk and looked at the large map on the wall. It covered the entire wall and had stick pins in various places. Jarvick pulled his computer out of his bag and located his GPS list. Comparing this to the map on the wall, Jarvick stood up and pointed to a spot on the map and said “I need to go here.” He pointed to a spot northeast of Alice Springs.
“No worries, mate. I got a Cessna 180 outside and a ranch right near there. We can fly down there and drive one of my jeeps out to where you want to go. I provide all transportation, food and water, anything else you need is extra. I’m Charlie, by the way.”
“Jarvick. Nice to meet you.”
Charlie opened a drawer and pulled out a receipt book and a pencil. “Well, now, Mr. Jarvick. When did you want to leave?”
“Now. If you don’t mind.”
“Now it is. That will be $1500 cash.”
Jarvick pulled out the credit card and showed him.
“Cash only.”
“I’m afraid all I have is this card.” Jarvick said.
“There’s a cash machine by the ticket counters.”
Jarvick said “I’ll be right back” and walked out, following the signs to the ticket counters.