by Pete Molina
Chapter 27
After they’d taken a few minutes to recover from the shock of the landing, they all initiated the camouflage to hide them from prying eyes. Before they disappeared, they mapped out their path based on some high resolution images that Ignus had had stored on board the Express. This provided them with an overlay through their visual implants that showed them where they should be going in dull green light. They wouldn’t be able to speak with each other while they were camouflaged, or rather they could, but then someone could triangulate in on their position from their radio emissions. Fortunately, they weren’t completely invisible, just well hidden. Sam could see the footprints forming in the loose gravel in front of him from Terra, and he imagined he was doing the same for Jeff who was bringing up the rear.
They worked their way up the canyon wall along a path that Terra had taken several times before in her private treks when she was younger. It was only few hundred meters deep and didn’t take them long in the one third gravity. They could jump between ledges without much fear of falling. Their spacesuit systems provided their companions with software that could help them predict where they would land so they could adjust their course midair accordingly. They reached the top of the canyon after ten minutes of good climbing and traversing some natural switchback type formations. As they did, they came into the full sunlight. It was somewhat pinkish as the sun was still low on the horizon, but the light provided them with a spectacular view of Olympia.
Sam followed the green virtual trail with his eyes and found that it stopped at a Dome that was far closer than the cluster of domes that made up the city, the Gates family dome. It was immense for a private residence, and Terra had informed him while they had still had some time to talk on The Express that originally her whole family had lived there together. Then, over time, they had all moved out to their own smaller domes or into the vast residences available in the main city domes. Now the Gates family dome was occupied by Terra and her caretakers.
Sam could see that the terrain they had to traverse to reach the dome was slightly rocky but nothing too rough, and he really wanted to try running. He had gone on a few field trips to space and even one to the moon. These had been great, especially when he donned small wings that attached to his arms and took a flying lesson in the one sixth gravity environment of the Luna City main dome.
He knew that he could ask his suit to augment his jumping ability and he could bound over the surface very quickly, but they hadn’t discussed it and he didn’t want to suddenly disappear on his friends, who would wonder where he went. Sam let out a sigh. It would have been fun, though…perhaps he would get a chance later. They continued to walk for twenty minutes.
Sam accessed the suit system via Ralphie and had it give him a drink through a nipple that formed between his lips. He sucked a little and was pleasantly surprised that it was a good rendition of orange juice, without the pulp. The suit had some stores of both food and drink that he could access, eventually it would run out and he’d have to provide the suit with some waste material to work with to make more. It was a good arrangement and all it took was power which his suit collected from the sun and, in the event of an emergency, a molecular-bond battery pack…that and a strong stomach, eating your own waste even when it had been scrubbed at the atomic level wasn’t much fun to think about.
Ralphie, can you have the suit give you an aft view and pipe it to my displays in a small window? Sam asked, wanting a rearview mirror. Ralphie quickly provided him the display and he could indeed see the footprints he was leaving and the ones that Jeff was making about two meters behind him, but everything else appeared quiet. He didn’t see any one following them or any activity towards the canyon, which meant that by now they had made it undetected.
They continued to trek across the landscape with the dome that was their destination growing larger with every step until finally they reached it. Terra had instructed them that they needed to proceed to a certain section of the wall for which she couldn’t give them coordinates. Instead they watched the prints she made in the dirt as she skirted around the edge of the dome. It was a good hundred meters or so in diameter at the base and had a wall that went up for about ten meters. After that there was a transparent dome that continued upward another twenty meters. It wasn’t a huge structure, but considering that for a time it had been the largest private structure on the planet, it held a certain fascination.
Terra’s footprints stopped and Sam had to halt himself before he ran into her because he hadn’t been paying close attention while taking in the sight of the dome. Sam had no idea what Terra was doing, but it took a minute and then a section of the ground lowered away revealing a set of stairs that led under the dome. Sam started downward into the dark.
Once inside he saw that the corridor was only a about five meters long and ended at a metallic door with a small transparent window. He proceeded towards it but bumped into an invisible obstacle which he figured must be Terra. He felt a hand on his arm holding him, then after a few more seconds he was bumped in to by Jeff who was bringing up the rear. He, like Terra, put his hand on Jeff’s arm to hold him. Then he felt Terra release, him and a moment later the stairs that had led them down lifted back up sealing the entrance. After a moment of darkness a light came on.
“You guys all right?” Terra’s voice came over the radio, which now that they were enclosed was shielded.
“Yeah,” Jeff said.
“Yep,” Sam replied. The trip had been far easier than he had been expecting.
“All right, we can disable the camouflage now,” Terra told them. Sam had Ralphie access the camouflage system and turn it off. They all reappeared in the light of the corridor. “Okay, I’m going to open the airlock.” Terra placed her hand on a panel next to the door. There was a pause and the door slid sideways, allowing them to enter the small airlock that had room for maybe five people. Once they were all inside, Terra accessed another control panel and the door to the outside closed behind them. There was a hissing sound, and then a green light appeared on the panel.
“Okay, you guys. We’re here. Now my caretakers aren’t expecting us, so please if you see someone just follow my lead. I’m sure they’ll recognize me in short order.”
“Fine by me,” Sam said.
Terra tapped another of the controls, and the inner door opened. Terra also had her spacesuit open the helmet portion and retract it to her collar so her hair moved about freely again. Sam didn’t mind the suit; it was comfortable, but he had his helmet retract as well and Jeff did too after a minute. It would let them talk without needing the radios.
It wasn’t but a minute until two men stepped out in front of them, both holding hand weapons.
“Is that you, Terra?” one of them asked.
Terra smiled happily. “Jordan, it’s good to see you again, and you too, Carl.”
The men didn’t lower the weapons. “We’re waiting,” Jordan reminded.
“Right, the password is ‘Quote the Raven “Never More,’” Terra responded, and the two men immediately looked relieved and lowered the weapons.
“What are you doing here, Terra? You’re not supposed to be back for decades,” Carl said, stepping forward and giving her a hug which she returned.
Terra hugged Jordan also. They both came up in Sam’s displays, and they were both much older looking than Terra. Their cumulative years came up quite a bit older than she was as well. They must have seen her grow up from a young child, a long time to work for one family.
“But just as well you did. I assume you’re back because of the vote?” Jordan added, releasing her.
“Yes, that among other things, but the vote is my top priority right now,” Terra agreed, smiling at the two of them.
“So how is it that you got in without the surveillance cameras picking you up? And who are these men?” Carl asked with almost a scolding that she hadn’t properly introduced them.
“This
is Jeff, and this is Greg, Jeff, Greg this is Carl and Jordan, the most trusted members of my staff and like family to me.”
“Pleasure to meet you.” Jeff greeted them.
“It’s always good to meet a friend of Terra’s,” Jordan replied, taking Jeff’s hand.
There were brief greetings all around, and then Terra broke up the reunion with a sudden announcement. “The vote’s been moved up; my companion just informed me when he reconnected to the net. It’s in thirty minutes. If we don’t leave now, we won’t make it.” She starting to push away from them and head down the hallway.
“Terra, you can’t just walk out there. You’ll be seen. Wait. We have a few minutes don’t we?” Jeff, followed after her.
She stopped.
“It’ll take at least twenty minutes to get there. Maybe twenty five at most.” Jordan said, backing Jeff up.
“But….” Terra started.
“Look, we don’t want to be there early. We want to be there right on time, so nothing can stop us,” Sam added.
“That’s right,” Jeff agreed. “And we need the appropriate camouflage. The one we used outside won’t work well indoors with too many straight lines, patterned walls and floors and other people. That’s why we didn’t use it on the zip tube. We need to personify someone who wouldn’t be suspect if they were seen leaving the dome.”
“You’re right,” Terra acquiesced. “Can we add a person to the camouflage system?”
“Yes, we just need to have a three-D scan of a person to make it work, Jordan and Carl will work, but we need one more.
“I’ll get Fiona,” Carl offered. “She’s across the dome but she can meet us at the entrance. I’m sending her companion a message to meet us there now.”
“Well, let’s go. We need to get over there,” Jordan prompted, taking the lead. Sam didn’t get to see much of the inside of the dome though he did have a brief glimpse of a very large atrium with running water and more that must have been at the center. He really wanted to go back and see it, but there wasn’t time. They walked quickly through hallways and took several flights of stairs before they arrived at the entrance. A large woman was waiting for them. She grabbed Terra the moment she was within range.
“Oh, Terra, we’ve missed you. And you look so young,” she exclaimed, giving Terra a squeeze. They were about the same height but not at all the same mass. Still it would have to do.
“Fi, no time to explain. Please just stand there for a moment while we scan you,” Terra instructed, stepping back. Terra made a quick circle around her, having her companion build a three dimensional model which she then had routed to the camouflage. After a second Terra herself disappeared, and a copy of Fiona was standing before them.
“Well, get going,” the doppelganger said in Fiona’s voice.
Jeff repeated the procedure with Carl who was closest to his build and Sam had Ralphie start the scan of Jordan to build his three-dimensional model. Adding the voice patterns from the brief conversation the companions had recorded earlier, they then transmitted the models to the camouflage and activated them. Now there were two of each person.
“Oh, my, this is strange,” the real Fiona said, stepping back, her hand coming up to her mouth.
“I’ll explain it all later, Fi. But we have to go now. Please don’t leave the dome and don’t go into the atrium. We need it to seem that you have really left the dome for this to work,” Terra warned.
“Of course, Terra. Now go,” Carl said.
Terra, in Fiona’s form started towards the large double door which opened for her. “Come on, guys,” she called.
Jeff and Sam followed her out. They passed into a large airlock. Terra hit a few controls on one of the walls, and the airlock cycled, opening the exterior door when it was finished. The airlock was really there only for emergencies and for when the dome was originally constructed, but it kept people out.
Once the door opened, it revealed a long corridor that was perhaps ten meters wide and five meters tall. It was composed of hard packed Martian dirt and had probably been bored out centuries ago.
“Come on,” Terra said, leading them to a small ground vehicle that was parked on the side of the corridor. They all climbed in, Terra taking the controls, and then they were off to drive the half kilometer to the closest perimeter dome of Olympia through the enclosed tube.