Chapter 97 — The Last Seed Keeper

The sandstorm came without warning, a giant reddish-brown wall that rolled up from the western horizon and swallowed the sky in less than an hour, and when the first warning signal sounded over the inter-Dome radio network, Khe Mien was at Vom Cat, supervising a shipment of seeds preparing to leave for the two newest Domes that had just joined the network in the far south. She felt the change in the air before she even heard the sirens—a heavy pressure on her chest, the smell of dry sand stronger than usual, and the afternoon sunlight suddenly tinged with a strange yellow, the kind of light that anyone who had lived long enough on Ash Field had learned to be wary of.

"This is not an ordinary storm," Cau Bach Thinh said, hastily entering the command room with a tense face, a rudimentary meteorological map compiled by the alliance's observation stations in his hand. "Observation stations report its range is more extensive than any storm recorded in years — potentially affecting nearly a third of the Dome members at once."

Diep Ba Nhan, standing next to the central communication desk, read aloud the list of reports that were pouring in continuously. "Pebble Dome reports the loss of part of the roof of the new growing area. Pottery Dome reports three kilns damaged by strong winds. Rice Dome reports the risk of flooding of the underground water system if heavy rain accompanying the storm is not controlled promptly."

Khe Mien felt a familiar tension rising inside her, different from the fear that had gripped her during political or military confrontations, but no less urgent — this was the kind of crisis the network they had built had never faced on this scale, a true test of whether the system of sharing and cooperation they had worked so hard to build could withstand a natural disaster that affected multiple places simultaneously.

"We need to activate the joint emergency response procedure," she said, her voice regaining the composure needed to navigate the situation. "Prioritize by severity, not by distance or affinity. The arch that is suffering the most damage will receive support first."

During the next two days, as the storm raged through the vast area of Dong Tro, the radio communication network became a vital lifeline connecting all Vòm members, with Diem Quynh, who had just returned from a technical inspection trip at Vom Da, taking on the role of central coordinator, monitoring each report, allocating each relief team to where it was most needed.

"Rice Dome needs an engineering team urgently," she reported over the link, her voice tense but steady. "Their underground water system is at risk of collapse if not reinforced within the next six hours."

"Stone Dome has sent a team of ten people, carrying reinforcement materials, to depart right now," Wei Ba Cuong replied over the transmission, his voice without any hesitation. "We'll arrive within four hours if the weather permits."

Son Ba Dat, leads a mixed rapid response team from various Vòms, moving between crisis hot spots, assisting in the evacuation of the most dangerous areas and coordinating with local relief teams. At one point, while his team was helping to reinforce the roof at Vom Soi, another unexpected report came through his communication device.

"A group of strangers were spotted near the southern border, heading towards a small settlement that was heavily damaged by the storm," the reporter's voice sounded worried. "Unknown intentions."

Son Ba Dat frowned, an unpleasant premonition rising in his heart. "Describe their equipment," he requested.

"Black leather armor, some still bearing faded wave badges," the reporter replied.

"Kich Ba Hoanh," Son Ba Dat said softly, recognizing him immediately. "He is taking advantage of the chaos of the storm to plunder defenseless settlements."

He immediately reported to Khe Mien and Bach Lam via the central communications channel, and in less than an hour, another rapid response team was dispatched to the threatened settlement, arriving in time to stop the looting before it could cause further damage. Kich Ba Hoanh and the remnants of his army, realizing they were outnumbered, retreated deep into the mountains, but this time, leaving behind three captives, who later reported that much of the remaining group had begun to languish from lack of food and low morale.

"This may be the last chance to end this threat once and for all," Bach Lam said in an emergency meeting held just as the storm began to subside, "but I don't think we need to pursue with force. If his group is disintegrating from within, perhaps time and isolation will finish the job without further bloodshed."

Khe Mien agreed, and the decision was made to increase patrols of the southern border area without actively attacking, leaving the door open for anyone in the remnant group who wanted to surrender or leave Kich Ba Hoanh, a strategy that had proven effective with Son Ba Dat himself before.

At Green Arch, although outside the direct range of the storm, Tang Dieu Lam voluntarily organized a volunteer team of more than fifty people, preparing dry food, medical supplies and reinforcement materials to send to the most affected Arches as soon as news of the storm spread. "We can't be there to help directly," she said over the radio to Khe Mien, her voice both tired and excited, "but we can make sure no one goes without during recovery."

Su Dinh Lam, now in charge of technical coordination of the entire relief campaign from the Green Dome side, worked through the night to calculate the safest transport route through the still wet and muddy Dong Tro area after the storm, ensuring each truck arrived exactly where it was needed without wasting precious time or resources. "This is the first time in my life that I feel like my engineering work is actually saving lives in a place I've never been to," he told Bien Ba Uy, a rare contentment in his voice.

When the storm finally dissipated after three days of raging, the damage was assessed as significant but not as catastrophic as initially feared — thanks to the rapid and coordinated response of the entire network, no single Arch member faced the crisis alone, and the damage to facilities, while severe in some places, was resolved in less than two weeks thanks to support flowing back and forth between Arches.

"If this had happened before the alliance was established," Diep Ba Nhan said at the closing meeting held at Vom Cat, "I don't dare to imagine the number of people who could have died, the number of communities that could have collapsed as completely as Vom Suong collapsed many years ago."

"That is the clearest proof that what we built is not just an ideal," Khe Mien said, looking around at the tired but determined faces of the representatives who had overcome this challenge together. "It's a system that really works, proven not by its words, but by what it can do when things get the hardest."

That night, when Khe Mien finally had time to rest after many days of non-stop work, she sat with Bach Lam on the steps looking out at the sky that had become clear again after the storm, the stars sparkling as if they had never been obscured.

"I used to think peace meant no more trials," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. "But I think, real peace is not the absence of difficulties. It is the ability to face difficulties together, instead of alone."

She closed her eyes, feeling the remaining warmth of the past day radiating from the stone floor beneath her feet, and letting the fatigue in every muscle be acknowledged, for the first time in three days, she allowed herself to rest without watching for an emergency report that could ring out at any moment from the radio set next to her pillow.

"And I think," Bach Lam replied, kissing her hair lightly, "we have just proven that we are ready for whatever challenge comes next, whether it comes from nature, from the remnants of the past, or from whatever else this world has to offer."

Khe Mien closed her eyes, listening to the now gentle night wind, gently blowing through the makeshift tarpaulins still strung across the Cat Dome during the recovery work, and she thought of all the hands, from all fifteen Dome members, that had reached out together over the past few days — not because they were forced, not out of fear of punishment, but because they had learned, through their own life experiences, that helping each other always brings results in the end. more than anyone could hoard on their own.