The door opened in response to the coded call from her commlock and the first impression she had of the room was the scent. Suddenly Julie Langstrom was no longer in a tunnel on Alpha, but standing on a hillside near Lake Wales, breathing in the familiar odor of early spring. She closed her eyes and breathed, basking in the warm simulated sunshine, the scent of the orange blossoms almost a physical presence surrounding her. Her companion’s sneeze brought her back to the present.
“Will you look at that!” Christina said, awed by the sight of the white blossoms covering every tiny tree.
Julie stood still and looked. It wasn’t the hectares of land around Lake Wales, Florida, all covered with well-established trees three times her height, but it pleased her. Despite Breakaway and all the troubles since, her little citrus grove was in full bloom. She surveyed the four straight rows of trees that stretched down the long tunnel. There were four hundred trees. Each root ball was carefully immersed in nutrients and water provided by separate pipes and computer controlled to provide just the right nutrition. The folks at the University of Florida’s ag station might scoff at the small grove, but it was a pleasing sight to Julie. Her research grant had placed her here on Alpha three years ago, well before Breakaway. The hoopla about Alpha being a self-sufficient lunar city had been more hype than truth, but the Lunar Commission’s efforts had provided for people like her, agronomists with vision and the will to stretch their knowledge. This was the first ‘real’ bloom for her babies. Their root stock had been shipped to her here on the moon, and she herself had grafted the leaves of carefully selected fruit: Navels, Valencia’s, Temples, Honeybells, Tangelos, Satsumas, Ruby Red’s. She glanced toward her right at the tiny key lime tree and the much larger lemon tree. They were also in bloom.
For a moment she had a surge of intense pride and happiness. Since Breakaway, Alpha needed her fruit more than ever. Her duties had actually expanded. Especially after that idiot Mateo had managed to get himself and several others in their department killed with his mystic mumbo jumbo. She loved growing things. It had been her passion as long as she could remember. Her grandmother had given her a rock garden with Narcissus bulbs every year for Christmas, and her father had built a small greenhouse for her off her bedroom when she was a teenager. So she didn’t mind being busy, either up in the main section of hydroponics, or down in the caverns where they grew grains and vegetables for Alpha’s consumption. But her heart was here in this room with her own little citrus grove, and she knew it was the scent of these blossoms that was at the heart of this passion. And Alpha would benefit from it. In another nine or ten months, these blossoms would be nothing but a memory and in their place would be the round balls of citrus fruit.
Assuming, of course, that they survived. That foam stuff had been scary, and she had insisted on retreating down here with the fruit trees instead of one of the deep shelters used for storage and emergency refuge. The foam had never come this deep and she had been relieved. She turned to the computer to check nutrient levels for her babies. Everything appeared to be running smoothly. Christina had already moved forward, her routine job was to check the water levels for each tree by sight, just to make sure all instruments were working properly. From down the first row she called, “Well, did he say anything to you today?”
Julie smiled. “No, he didn’t.”
“He certainly does keep an eye on you in the gym. It’s almost creepy.”
“Oh, I don’t think he’s creepy, or anything. Maybe just shy.”
“And don’t you think he’s awfully hairy? I mean, he’s obviously fit and everything. I saw him at the weights with all those other guys today, and he’s really strong, but he’s just… hairy.”
Julie shrugged even though she knew Christina couldn’t see her. “Some guys are hairier than others. It doesn’t really bother me.”
“Well, it would bother me!” Christina kept pictures of Chippendales dancers from a 1999 calendar on the wall in her room. It was a nice fantasy, but Julie preferred a real guy who was available and did occasionally talk to her. Jack even liked big band music. She would have to ask if he liked Sinatra, who was one of her favorites. She remembered her first boyfriend, Tony Stockton, from the wrestling team at Lake Wales High. He had been hairy like that too, and dark and stocky, and a very good kisser. He had also been quite the romantic, bringing her chocolates and flowers. And since he was on the wrestling team and not the football team, he had been in the stands with her on Friday nights at the football games. Then out to the groves to park and neck until it was time to go home. She smiled. It had been years since she had thought of Tony. She had headed to University of Florida and he had gotten a wrestling scholarship to some college in Virginia and they had parted on friendly terms at the end of high school with no regrets. Somehow Jack reminded her of Tony, even though they really hadn’t spoken much. Tony hadn’t been much of a talker, he’d had other very pleasant attributes, however.
“Jules?”
“Yeah?” Julie was headed up the other row now, checking the blossoms, roots, and nutrient valves.
“What kind of pollination method do orange trees need?”
Julie remained silent for a moment, remembering the bee hives that had lined her father’s grove and Tony’s father who had been one of the local bee keepers. It had originally been her intention to write another grant and obtain funding to bring up a hive of bees, but the trees weren’t mature yet at Breakaway, and there had been no need at the time. She stopped and looked up and down the row at her four hundred babies, each just about her height, and each covered with hundreds of blossoms. She stepped closer and examined the blossoms. She had been so busy trying to keep the trees alive, and growing other food she had forgotten about pollination! Why, here in this environmentally controlled room she didn’t even have any kind of wind device to assist with pollination. The trees were calling with their scent and there were no bees or other insects to respond!
“Christy? We’re going to have to pollinate them by hand!”
Christina stopped and turned toward her. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I wish I were! But if we don’t pollinate them, we’re not going to have any fruit.”
“Julie, if you and I have to pollinate all these trees by hand, we’ll still be here next year some time.”
“It’s worse than that. We only have about two weeks to get them pollinated. Three at the most!”
“We can’t do that! We can’t possibly do that.”
“Christina, we need this fruit. We need the nutrients, the vitamin C. We’ll all end up with scurvy and die.”
“Well, that’s an alarmist attitude.”
Julie’s real horror went unspoken. If they couldn’t produce fruit, then her babies would be considered a waste of time and resources. They would shut down the project and kill the trees. “We’ve got to ask for help. And we’ve got to start right away. Oh, how could I have been so stupid!” Julie took another deep breath, but the beloved scent simply reminded her of how little time she had.
“As soon as we finish checking, I’ll go talk to Alfredo.”
Christina snorted. “A lot of help he’ll be. He’s the only botanist I’ve ever seen who doesn’t like to get his hands dirty.”
Alfredo wasn’t much, but he had been the senior botanist left after the Mateo fiasco and Julie held a secret suspicion that Alfredo had been given the supervisory job because he wasn’t much use for anything else. In his favor, he was a good organizer and delegater. He kept Hydroponics running efficiently, as long as you didn’t ask him to fix a fertilizer pump.
“Go on, I’ll finish up here. Maybe Mr. Clean Hands can think up something.” Christina suggested.
Julie nodded, anxious now to find him and work something out. She was already calculating how much time she could spend here in her off hours, or trade time with others so she could stay here and pollinate. She hurried out of the citrus lab and back upstairs to the main Hydroponics office. She entered the lush green lab and into the alcove that served as Alfredo’s office. “Alfredo, I have a problem...”
She stopped. Alfredo had a visitor, standing and looking over his shoulder at the computer screen was Dr. Russell. The CMO was one of those women that are just too beautiful to be real. She always seemed poised and distant and perfectly coiffed, no mater how grave the emergency. Julie was always a little tongue-tied around her.
Alfredo gave her an annoyed look, and Dr. Russell just stood and looked at her, not unfriendly, just waiting. “Can’t it wait Julie?” Alfredo asked.
Julie screwed up all her courage and shook her head. “Not really. The citrus trees are in full bloom, but they’re going to have to be pollinated by hand. We should have a bumper crop of oranges this year, but only if we have enough extra help in the next two or three weeks to get the blossoms pollinated.”
Alfredo still looked annoyed, but Dr. Russell looked interested.
“The citrus trees need to be hand pollinated? Is that the usual method?”
“The trees are very young. Last year, I didn’t allow them to bloom in order to accelerate growth. This year, we need this fruit, and the trees are ready to produce,” Julie explained.
“What method is used on Earth?” Dr. Russell asked.
“Bees. Other insects as well, but mostly bees, and a little bit of wind. Unfortunately, we don’t have any bees.”
Dr. Russell nodded. “How many people will you need?” She looked at Alfredo, “Do you have the personnel to spare right now?”
“The citrus lab is very low maintenance. We really don’t have the people to spare at the moment,” Alfredo offered. “Julie, can’t you and Christina handle it.”
“If we work 24/7 for the next two weeks, I estimate we would only get about half the blossoms pollinated. Of course, not every blossom will produce fruit, but that just means that you have to pollinate as many blossoms as possible.”
“What does it entail?” Dr. Russell asked. “I’m afraid I don’t have much experience with plants.”
Julie remembered belatedly that Dr. Russell was in charge of all life sciences, so was also Alfredo’s boss. She explained how pollen must be carefully collected from the anther and brushed against the stigma of the flower. It was imperative for the production of fruit that enough pollen be applied to the stigma, without damaging it. It would be a tedious and time consuming process, and they only had two weeks.
“How many people could work at the same time?”
“Several dozen. The equipment needed is very minimal.”
Dr. Russell pulled her commlock from her belt and lifted it to eye level. She touched a button and waited a moment before saying, “John?”
The volume on the tiny speaker was too low to hear and it took Julie a few moments to figure out that them man she had called was Commander Koenig. She listened while Dr. Russell succinctly explained the problem, then listened to a question he asked. She turned to Julie. “Do the citrus trees need darkness for part of the day, or can we work around the clock.”
“There’s no reason we can’t work round the clock. I had already intended to.”
Dr. Russell nodded as if she had expected that kind of dedication. Julie had heard rumors that the CMO was in Medical Center whenever needed, at all hours, even though most people still kept to an eight hour work day except for certain emergencies.
“Be ready to train some volunteers. I can’t guarantee how many, but we’ll find someone.”
Julie nodded. “I’ll be ready. Thank you, Dr. Russell.” She nodded to Alfredo, who was still her boss, even though he had barely said a word during the exchange, then she turned and headed back to her babies.
Julie and Christina spent the next twenty-four hours training an ever-changing group of volunteers. Four Eagle pilots had been the first to show up, laughing and joking. They flirted with Julie and Christina, but they also grasped the concept quickly and were hard at work when two people from the kitchen staff showed up. Those two girls asked more questions, but were a bit more dexterous and settled in to the next tree industriously. When they left, they sent back down trays of food for Julie and Christina, and set up a pot of coffee. Two orderlies and a nurse showed up from Medical Center around the time the girls from catering had to leave and two more pilots and two Eagle mechanics showed up shortly after that.
As first shift ended, the place took on a party atmosphere. The four pilots who had been there most of the day took others under their wing and began to show them what to do. About an hour after first shift ended, another half dozen people from various departments showed up. The pilots left once they had passed on their skills, but promised they would be back tomorrow. Three more pilots arrived, saying they were on call, but would probably be here for most of their shift. About the time Julie was usually in the gym, the entire EV construction team arrived, and she found herself next to a tree with Jack, showing him how to use the tiny brush on the delicate blossoms. His big hands seemed out of place, but he was cooperative and willing to learn.
“Reminds me of weddings,” he said.
“Weddings?”
“Yeah. It was kind of a tradition in our family to have orange blossoms in the bridal bouquets.” He grinned, “I had six sisters,” he explained.
She nodded and smiled.
“I always liked they way they smelled. Must be nice to work with flowers all the time.”
“I like it,” she said. “I always have.” They talked flowers for a few minutes until she was called away. More people were coming to help. She saw Dr. Russell and Commander Koenig enter at the same time and she led them to a tree and showed both of them how to collect the pollen on the small brushes, and locate the stigma of the blossoms. The two seemed to enjoy the chance to stand close together and work with the flowers. She noticed they way the smiled at each other and talked quietly while they worked.
The short weeks of blossom season passed quickly. Even Alfredo came down and helped once he heard that Dr. Russell and the Commander were putting in a few hours each evening. Julie didn’t get much sleep. She and Christina spelled each other, both feeling that one of them should be there at all times, even though they did more directing and answering questions than pollinating themselves. People donated a few hours at a time, coming and going as they needed to for their other jobs, and most people showed up faithfully each day.
The number of open blossoms waned, and Julie began spreading the word that people wouldn’t be needed any more, thanking all who had come to help. When Jack showed up that evening Julie was a bit surprised. She had called several supervisors, including Jack’s, to say she no longer needed the help. But Jack was carrying two trays of food and a coffee pot. Christina winked at her and shooed out the last of the pollinators, following them out the door. Jack gave a shy smile and said he had thought she might like a bit of a picnic before all the blossoms were gone. He produced a plaid wool blanket which he spread on the floor over top of the white petals that were falling steadily, their work to attract bees to the pollen done for this year. The picnic was very romantic and Julie was suitably impressed. She still wished they had some bees, but they had proved that the trees could be pollinated and her babies were safe. It was time for a celebration, and a chance to get to know Jack a bit better.