Hereafter

[Wayne23]

1/15: 5-9, 1-4 Nebraska is here. They have an outstanding C and just about nothing else.

1/16: Early lead. Up 24 after 10. They're not very good. Up 22 at the half. 13, 11 for Stok against their highly vaunted C. 17 for Scot.

Holding them to 30%, 3-14 on threes. +15 RBs. Up 30 with 10 to play. I just hope no one gets hurt...

88-58. What a stinker.

23, 14 for Stok who absolutely destroyed their C. 18, 3, 6 for Scot, 14, 2, 4 for Berr, 13, 7 for Tuck. +19% shooting. +19 RBs. +22 in the paint.

[Wayne23]

1/19: 10-5, 3-3 Iowa is here. We won by only 3 there. On paper this is an easy game. They don't score, they don't rebound. Their D kept them in it, and a MAD late rush almost let them steal it after we had led by a wide margin most of the way. Believe me, I've been talking about that in practice!

1/20: They take a quick lead but we bounce back. Up 5 after 10. No big early lead this time, down 1 at the half. We're outshooting them 50% to 38.9% but they're winning! They're beating us inside and their SG has 10 points.

“You're better than this.”

Up 4 with 10 left but we look like crap.

85-73. We finally woke up but it took forever. I do NOT want to play these guys in the post season! But it could happen!

18, 7, 3, 4 steals, 3 blocks for Tuck. 11, 3, 11 for Berr, 13, 6, 3 for Cole.

11 TOs to 20. We outshot them by 15%. +12 in the paint.

We're alone in 2nd, 1 back of 1st, 1 up on 3rd.

“It's definitely winding down, although no one is talking about that.”

“I want you back!”

“Me too, Jed!'

[Wayne23]

1/26: At 7-10, 2-6 Purdue. They give up 3.7 more PPG than they score. They're not very good...

Our people talk about leaving and the Krul go absolutely nuts. Evidently they assumed we were here for good.

“They're saying all kinds of things like, 'You cannot leave us now that we are family.' 'You have become us. You must remain here.' and lots of other things like that.

“We try to explain our mission and it gets nowhere. It's a difficult and delicate situation!”

1/27: We can't make a shot. And suddenly we can't miss. Up 4 after 10. Down 3 at the break. Terrible D, they're shooting 63% and have scored 49.

Unacceptable!

“Play some freakin' D!”

We're playing lousy ball; down 20 with 10 left. I could understand it against a good team but these guys are NOT a good team!

82-96. I'm shocked and speechless. I just go to my office without saying a word to the kids.

They shot 57.9%. We were -10 from the line. 20 TOs. We beat them inside but it didn't matter. -19 in bench scoring.

Expensive loss. We're now in a 3 way tie for 2nd, 2 back of 1st, 1 up on 2 teams.

“It's getting worse down there. I'm kind of nervous about going back down.”

“Why? What's going on?”

“They're just fanatic on the subject of us leaving. It seems unimaginable to them.”

“We've tried to explain that we've shared the knowledge we've gained from travel and now we need to travel to gain more knowledge. No effect. 'You must stay; we are family now.'”

“Have they threatened you?”

“No, but they have hinted that we will not be allowed to leave.”

“I call that a threat.”

“I suppose. We tell them we cannot breathe their air or eat their food, and they answer that our ship provides for those needs. We explain that it is not natural for us to live in a hazmat suit and sleep essentially sitting up in a shuttle. No effect.”

“This is not good.”

“No, it isn't.”

[Wayne23]

1/29: Rematch with Northwestern, 15-5, 6-3, here. They won by 4 there. We played terrible D that night. We need to play good D. It's that simple.

Hal Tuck is #17, Trey Berr #22 on the Norton list.

1/30: We take the lead. Up 16 after 10. Up 20 at the half. Very good O, better D, and lots of people scoring. +6 RBs, 2 TOs. 52.9% to 25%. +12 in the paint,
+10 on 2nd chances. Up 30 after 30 minutes.

90-64. 18, 2, 8 for Berr, 12, 10, 3 for Tuck, 15, 5, 3, 3 for Stok.

+8 RBs, 6 TOs. +19.6% shooting. +20 in the paint, +12 on 2nd chances.

The Captain has just called an emergency Council meeting.

“Do not go to the Council chambers. Go to the nearest video capable device and log in. The meeting will start in two minutes...

“Council members, we are facing a crisis on the planet. Our party has been kidnapped... (She waited for the chaos to die down) We are negotiating with the Krul from here on the ship. I have a translator, a psychologist, and I'm part of the negotiations. I can only stay here for a few moments. Before you ask, we have explained that our people can't live on their planet, and that the shuttle only has about a 10 day supply of food. It needs to come back up to the ship to get more-”

“That's not true, the 3D printers-”

“Yes, Max, we all know that. But the Krul don't.”

“Ah.”

“So we're negotiating and we're preparing the ship to take off immediately upon getting everyone back on board.”

“Who do they have?”

“My 2nd, Bruno, the translator, Lars, and the psychologist, Millie.”

“Damn!”

“We're working on it. I need to leave. If the Council wants to continue the discussion, go ahead.”

We did, for a long time. In the end I spoke,

“Look. This is very difficult. I know you're all trying to help but my feeling is we need to let the negotiators do what they need to do. If the Captain asks for ideas we should distill ours down to as small a number as possible. If he doesn't ask we shouldn't jog his elbow. As all of you know, I have a pretty big stake in all of this.

1/31: No news from the negotiators except that talks were ongoing.

2/1: “This is the Captain. Prepare for immediate departure. We have our people and they're on the way up to the ship. We hope to take off in 10-15 minutes.”

Best news I've ever heard.

Once we were on our way the Captain came back on:

“The rescue was successful. Only a few very minor injuries. Head of security Lor Dani led a party of 15 on a raid. We immobilized the plants holding our people, temporarily, got them free, brought them back to the rescue party's shuttle, sent three of the rescuers to pilot the other shuttle. Everyone headed back to the ship. We got everyone on board and the shuttles battened down, and as you know, we are in motion, increasing to maximum speed, away from the planet and moon.

“Sick bay is testing everyone who was on the planet to make sure they're okay- they seem to be. We'll release everyone as soon as possible. Loved ones can wait near sick bay but please don't enter sick bay or get in the way. That will only slow the process.”

Late in the evening I was reunited with Millie in sick bay. She, Bruno and Lars are staying for a day or two. They need IV meds in order to regain their strength.

“How bad was it?”

“They treated us well, but they have a very difficult time understanding our needs; they have from the start. Things like breathing and eating don't make sense to them since they take in nutrients directly through their roots, water through the roots mostly, and breathing is totally different for them.

“We were really getting hungry. Since we prepare our food via the 3D printers and didn't want to tip our hand about that, we didn't eat for a couple of days. Fortunately we keep our water in bottles- heck, you know that, we do it on the ship, too. Anyway, we were able to stay hydrated. But a couple of days without food is not easy.”

“How long could you have gone?”

“Well, the problem is that if they found out we had a virtually endless supply of food and water they were never going to let us go. We privately discussed it and thought we could last at least a week as long as the water held out, which it would for at least that long. At that point we'd need to tell the Krul that we had access to food.

“It was scary to see the rescue party come in with guns blazing so to speak.”

“Yeah, tell me about that, if you're up to it.”

“I'm fine, just a little weak. So we were kept in a... they don't really have buildings, but this was a 'structure' where they keep any plants that have diseases while they heal- weirdly they always do heal. Anyway, the rescue party stormed in and started spraying something. We had no way of knowing if the spray was going to penetrate or even dissolve our hazmat suits. We weren't thinking. Obviously it wouldn't or it would have happened to the rescuers, but you don't think straight at a time like that. Within seconds the plants all started to droop, the rescuers grabbed us, and we got out of there and onto the shuttles.

“We were told that the plants would recover within minutes so we needed to be airborne immediately. We barely had time to strap in and we were on our way back here.

“They gave us some liquid with lots of nutrients but the three of us all but collapsed and we weren't able to drink much. When we finally got onboard they rushed us to sick bay and the Ivs were hooked up.”

“How do you feel now?”

“Extremely weak, but better. The doc says it will be a day or two and I'll need to slowly rehab to get back to normal. It may be as long as a week. Part of that is due to the slightly greater gravity on the planet, and part is due to some of their atmosphere, not very much but some, getting inside the suits. I have a rash. I'm sure you noticed, and some had to get into my lungs.”

“Do the docs think that will be okay?”

“They think we'll recover fully but they can't be 100% sure.”

“Damn!”

“Hey, I'm back. It's great to see you.”

“I'll be here whenever I can but if you're sleeping when I get here I won't wake you.”

“That's probably a very good idea...”

[Wayne23]

2/2: #19 Maryland, 15-5, 6-4, is here. Their starting C is out with a broken hand. His replacement really did NOT get it done in the one game he's played since the injury happened. Their forwards do the scoring. We won by 24 there when they were at full strength. Our guards had a field day.

Millie's going home to her living quarters today. She's stronger but not at 100%.

2/3: They take the lead right out of the gate. We come back. Down 2 after 10. Down 5 at the break. They're shooting 50% but we're at 48.6%. -6 from the line so that's the difference. We're +16 in the paint but that's not good enough, since we're behind. Their SF has 22, but he also has 3 fouls, as does Wain, who's guarding him, and the backup, Cole, has 2.

“We need to play D!”

It's a war, tied with 10 left. We go on a late run!

88-73. 19, 9 for Cole, 19, 7 for Stok, 10, 4, 6 for Scot.

+11 RBs, 8 TOs to 17. An amazing 50 in the paint! They had 16. Their SF had 26 but it wasn't enough.

We're one back of 1st, ½ up on 3rd, 1 up on 4th. Everyone else is out of it.

Millie had a relapse. I visited her after the game- she was too weak to attend, and after about a half hour it was clear that something was not right. I called sick bay and they came and got her, and took her back with them. I'm still here at 2:00 a.m., but no news.

2/4: At 6:45 in the morning the docs woke me- I was sleeping in a chair in the waiting room, to tell me that Millie was in a coma.

“I won't lie to you, Jed. She's fighting for her life and we don't know how to treat her. It's definitely something from the planet that's infecting her. We have samples, and we're trying things, but it's like nothing we've ever seen. It doesn't look good.”

“... Look doc, gamble. Get as close as you can to finding something that works and then try it. Sounds like time is a huge factor.”

“Yes it is. But Jed, we could kill her by giving her something without adequately testing it.”

“But if you do nothing she doesn't have a chance, does she...”

“... That's the way it seems.”

“Well then...”

“Let me get back in there. We have our entire team on this but one more pair of hands could make a difference.”

“Thanks doc.”

[Wayne23]

2/5: 8-12, 3-8 Ohio ST is here. We have a big edge in all areas.

Millie is near death, according to the docs. Lars is dead and Bruno is in the same condition as Millie.

2/6: It's really hard to stay focused. I've told my assistant, Ty Gore, to be ready to take over.

Up 7 after 10. Up 19 at halftime. We're outshooting them by a LOT, only 2 TOs, +17 in the paint, Stok has 14.

Ty Gore here. Just as we were about to head back to the court for the 2nd half Doc Stevens came in and took Coach Clark into his office. Coach told me to take over, and he never came back and wasn't in the locker room after the game.

Anyway, the blowout continued and we won 86-65.

23, 7 for Stok, and good numbers for everyone except for Kay Scot, who didn't play much due to fouls. Guy Bara had 11, 2, 3 in his place.

10 TOs to 20, +20 in the paint.

I hope everything's okay.

“Jed, you'd better come to sick bay. It's not good at all. And Bruno just died. We have the entire rescue party in isolation as well. None of them have symptoms but we can't let this thing get all over the ship.”

I went to sick bay. They made me mask, glove, and gown in order to sit by Millie's bed. They didn't want me to hold her hand but I did anyway. She was breathing on her own but it was shallow, ragged breathing and she was still in the coma.

“Jed, I don't know what your beliefs are but you should prepare yourself for the worst.”

My beliefs are that we have this one life and that's it. I'm still trying to find hope that Millie can somehow pull through but my eyes are telling me that's not going to happen.

[Wayne23]

2/7: Ty Gore here. We're at 8-13, 4-8 Nebraska and Coach phoned to tell me I'm coaching tonight. Their starting C and #3 guard are both out, and at full strength they wouldn't have much of a shot against us. We won by 30 at our place. Oh, considering everything that's going on it doesn't mean much but we're #1 in the latest poll.

Jed here. It's noon, and Millie is still hanging on, but barely.

2/8: Ty again. They take an early lead. Down 3 after 10; we're really flat. A very late rally puts us up 7 at halftime. 13, 5 for Stok, 9, 3, 3 for Berr, 9, 4 for Cole. +6 RBs, 4 TOs. +12 in the paint. Took us awhile to wake up but I think we'll be okay.

Up 19 with 10 to go.

82-64. 19, 8 for Stok, 18, 4, 4 for Berr, 16, 6 for Cole.

9 TOs to 22. +24 in the paint.

2/9, 2:45 a.m.: “Millie! Millie!”

“DAD... She's gone.”

6:15 a.m.: June and I are back home. She was with me most of the time at sick bay over the last few days, and thank goodness she was there at the end. She held me together. I felt I couldn't go completely to pieces in front of her, but aside from that she knew how to comfort me somehow.
It's over, and I can't quite take that in yet. I'm exhausted but I can't seem to close my eyes.

2/10: Biggest game of the season coming up in a few days and I can't focus on hoops... or anything else. Ty Gore is running the team.

“Dad, you're the coach. The team needs you.”

“I know, June.”

“So go to practice. At least make an appearance.”

“Not today.”

“Dad...”

2/11: We had the ceremony for Millie, Bruno, and Lars today. I was mostly numb.

2/12: I went to practice but I let Ty run it. Hugs from everyone but I didn't say much. I want to take over practice tomorrow. Trying to find a way to be able to do that.

“Dad, drinking isn't going to help. Matter of fact it will make it worse.”

“You're right, June.”

“So I can pour that down the sink?”

“No. Last one for today.”

“And none tomorrow!”

“You're right.”

2/13: I ran practice. It actually mostly got Millie off my mind for a lot of the time. Doc tells me that three of the rescue party are showing beginning signs of what killed Millie and the other two. He says they've been working at finding something to treat it all along but no luck yet.

[Wayne23]

2/14: At #3 Michigan, 21-4, 13-1, alone in 1st, 1 up on us and #2 Illinois. So the top 3 teams in the country are in our conference. Michigan is a strong favorite to beat us. They probably have the best outside shooting team in the country, and they take good care of the ball. They average 2.3 RBs more than we get.
But they're 2-3 vs. Top 25 teams, interestingly enough. That gives us some hope! This shapes up as a shootout so it may come down to which team has the hot hand.

Hal Tuck is #19 on the Norton List.

2/15: Early lead but they come back. Down 2 after 10. Down 4 at the half. Their Sg has 14 and their SF has 10. We don't have anyone with more than 7. We're shooting 29% to 37.9%. 4 RBs, but -4 from the bench. +6 from the line. Their PG has played 4 minutes, picked up 3 fouls. The back up has 7 points, 3 assists.

“You're in it guys, just start making shots. Move without the ball!”

Down 3 with 10 left but we're playing catch up and not quite getting there. They go on a late run.

68-84. We didn't hit shots all night long, 28.3% to 42.3%, and it was still close for 35 minutes. The refs called a ridiculous 52 fouls, which actually hurt the other guys more than us but still. They had 12 threes to our 4. We didn't stop their outside game- 63 points from their guards and SF.

13, 8 for Stok, 12, 3 for Cole, 11, 3 for Scot. They may be the better team but I'd love to play them when the refs stay out of it.

We need to go 5-0 in our last 5. Really only one tough road game in there so it's possible.

2/16: Council meeting:

“We didn't act quickly enough to isolate the rescue party and the 3 hostages. This thing is spreading, and we don't know how to treat it.”

“What have you tried?”

“Everything we can think of. Our medics, our scientists, and our robotic medics and scientists are working round the clock- the robots are working 24/7, and have been since we brought everyone up from the planet.”

“Anything promising?”

“Not even close...”

[PointGuard]

"A rose by any other name would".........

be deadly.

Obviously that's true...just think how many people have looked at and smelled roses and are now dead.

[Wayne23]

Um... Uh...