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John White | Outpost CA-55

Ever since he was little, John had been waking up to the sound of a rooster crowing at the rising sun. Here at the outpost, he was glad to be able to continue that tradition. For an organization that operated like a precision machine, he was always amused at it’s embrace of the little things. Namely, in this case, allowing a flock of chickens to roam the outpost. As he explained to his roomate their first season at the complex, he was from a small town in Iowa. Surrounded by nothing but rolling green hills and grassy plains. His Pa was a hard-working farme; and while John knew his path would be a little different than planting crops, strong work ethic and drive flowed strong in the white family. Pegasus outpost CA-55, nestled high on a platuea overlooking the ocean, was his current home. On his 18th birthday, John marched into the closest ember to his house and signed up as an oupost tech. He knew ever since he was little that this was what he wanted to do. Pegasus had an amazing program with even better benefits. They’d train you the basic of working at an outpost, such as fixing cars, calibrating instruments, taking inventory for the PDRF— basic repetitive things— and then you were off. Anywhere in the world you wanted to go, Pegasus most likely had an outpost there. The work was hard, but they treated their employees well. Truthfully, he didn’t even feel like an employee. He felt like family. And this outpost- this was his temporary home. On his days off, John would go fishing for steelhead trout, hiking the tall peaks, and sitting by the never ending streams created by the daily fog. Life here was good. The pay was minimum wage, but he truthfully didn’t mind. He didn’t have any need. Food, board, and basic healthcare were provided at the outpost as part of his employment package. He worked 4 days, got 3 to do what he wanted. He was constantly meeting new people, solving new problems, discovering the world around him, and learning about new cultures. John made his way to the mess hall, where he saw his roomate sitting with 2 girls. One wore an african headwrap while the other was dressed like she belonged in an urban sprawl. Johnny approached and sat down, introducing himself. “Sup Caleb. Hello Ladies!” He said with an enthusiastic smile. “I’m John!‌ You can also call me Johnny. Where are guys from?” “Hello. I’m Imani! I’m from Africa. I’m here with the Evanescent Society studying environmental preservation of steelhead trout.” John felt a pang of guilt at that admission. He had just had her lifes work for dinner last night. He looked over at the white girl, turning his head slightly to mask his embarrased blush. “I’m Chloe! I’m from New York! But I‌ live in Oregon.”‌ The girl was bubbly to a fault, but John didn’t mind. It was refreshing to see someone so unjaded by life. “I actually work at pegasus park in the cyber operations center. I was sent here to install a new beehive sensor for Becchie. P.O.W.E.R. just finished designing these ultra-low latency transmission coils that are going to revolutionize how we’re able to interface globally!”‌ She had so much enthusiasm, John almost felt excited too. Except, he wasn’t really into all the computer stuff. He was aware of the other branches of Pegasus- they all were. But he preferred his simple life with the chickens and the fish. Caleb let out a laugh. “And I thought I was smart when I‌ figured out how to connect my smart fridge to the outpost wifi!” They all laughed, Chloe the most sincere of them all. “What do you boys do here?”‌ Imani asked softly. “We keep the outpost running, and help out with different branch related tasks. Like today, we have a Project Wander group that needs supplies for their campout tonight.” “How’d you girls end up with Pegasus?”‌ Caleb asked “Imani looked at Chloe, who gestured Imani to continue. Imani told her story, and when an old timey bus pulled in to the main outpost gate seemed to grab the boys attention, she wrapped it up. John let out a dejected sigh. “Welp. Looks like we’ll have to catch up later, ladies. It was great meeting you both!‌ I’m looking forward to the next 3 months you’ll be with us!” He turned and looked at Caleb. “You ready?” Caleb stood, a playful face of anguish. “Lets go load this bus.”

The driver, a jovial fat man by the name of Phil, walked down the steps of the bus. He was something of a mascot at this outpost. Everyone loved him, even though he only came through once every 2 1/2 weeks. He let the boys know that he had just dropped off his group with Seth at the viewpoint, and that Caleb and John had 2 hours before they reached the campsite on top of the range. For the boys, that meant 2 hours to load the jeep with tents and dinner for the campers, and deliver it to their site before the hikers arrived. They got to work, and soon we’re driving up a long dirt road that wound its way throught the hills. They came to a dead end, and picked up the bags on their backs. A short walk to the overlook- maybe 3 minutes. They took the bags and a singular crate, depositing them on the ledge and returning to the car. “And with 10 minutes to spare!”‌ Caleb proudly announced. “Awesome. Lets get back to 55 and get the bus loaded for tomorrow. Then, maybe we can invite the girls to go fishing!”‌ “Um, Johnny… Did you forget that…” “Oh. Ha!‌ You’re right!‌ My bad. No fishing. But I’m sure we’ll find something we’ll all enjoy.” “Sounds good to me,”‌ Caleb said, content as they watched the sun dip over the Pacific. “Let’s get home.”‌ And with that, they drove off, heading back toward Pegasus Outpost California 55.

When they got back, they both immediately noticed a different vibe in the air. People looked concerned, running between buildings. Some were looking at their snowseeds, while others discussed in circles. To John’s left, other techs were pulling out heavy machinery. Just then, he saw his supervisor Ted jogging past. “Ted!”‌ He yelled, probably a little too loud. “What’s going on?” “Fleet Control flagged an emergency 30 minutes ago. A‌ small town 70 miles northeast is experiencing major flooding, and a mudslide just cut off their power. 1000 people are in the path of a flood and can’t even see where to run to safety. High command moved to mobilize the PDRF, so get a move on boys!‌ Aether 3 will be here in 45 minutes to pick up a hephaestus unit, so make sure one is ready to go!”‌ He turned and kept running, dissapearing into the even more frenzied crowd.

John hopped out of the jeep and ran to the main storage yard, Caleb hot on his tail. They scanned their keycard, and a door slid open, granting them access. He never truly got accustomed to the sight inside. Rows upon rows of shipping containers, all intentionally designed with a single purpose:‌ To save human lives. Much like Pegasus itself, each unit played a small role in a larger system. And again, much like Pegasus, each unit multiplied its force when coupled with its brothers and sisters. Ted had ordered a Hepheastus unit:‌ A state-of-the-art generator capable of bringing a small town back online. Beside it sat a water purification unit, and on the other side, a small mobile hospital. These marvels of technology were developed a few years back by the Pegasus Office of Wrighthood, Engineering, and Robotics:‌ Power, for short. John approached a small panel on the side of the container and touched it, igniting the screen to life with the power of his fingertips. For being such complex machinery, operating it was stupidly simple. He tapped a button on the screen that read,“‌Prepare for deployment”, and scanned his finger at the prompt. The metal box whirred to life, running through cycles, checking for issues, warming it’s gears, and when it was completed, each of the top 4 corners illuminated a bright red color. These were the beacons for Aether 3 to lock it’s guidelines onto. When the airship arrived a few minutes later, its belly opened up, and 4 cables with red lights dropped down gracefully. Caleb and John lined them up, and the robotic connections did the rest. One by one, the lights shifted from red pairs to single green dots as they made contact and locked. And just like that, this multiton box lifted into the air like it was a feather. In its past life, it probably delivered food or cars. Now, it wsa delivering life. They watched as Aether 3 pulled the unit effortlessly close, and dissapeared into the night. John looked at Caleb and patted him on the back. “Good job, partner.” Caleb offered a smile in return. This is why John loved his job. Sure, the fishing was good, and the chickens were nice… but he got to make a difference, every day. And to him, that meant everything.

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