by M. D. Cooper
The buzz of the careening drone behind Erin grew quieter. When she looked back, she saw that it had changed direction. She looked forward just in time to see an autolift speed across the end of the aisle. The background noise from the warehouse’s automated transports seemed to be growing louder, as if all the vehicles were converging on the area.
Erin knew what would happen if those were exposed to oxygen; she picked up her pace. Then, as if on cue, an explosion shook the ground and air around her.
Walter said.
Movement above caught Erin’s attention, and she leapt aside just as a drone dropped out of the air directly into her path. She managed to skirt it as it lifted back off the ground and began to wobble toward her.
A second blast shook the warehouse, and she felt this one more than the last.
Damn, that’s close by.
She was just a hundred meters from the exit, and pushed herself to the limit. Though her ears still rang, Erin could hear the noise of the warehouse transports growing even louder. She hadn’t spotted any in her aisle, though—she expected to see them block her escape at any moment.
Suddenly, the shelving to her left quivered. She blinked, wondering if she’d really seen the movement.
She was still forty meters from the end of the aisle when the shelf moved past its tipping point. All around her, containers began to slide off the shelves and crash to the ground. One fell right in front of her, and she dove to the side as it split open and cultivator blades flew out.
Then another crashed next to the first. Erin tried to stop herself, but she slid right into the pile, slicing open her shin.
Knowing there was no way she’d get out in time, she ducked down next to the container, tucking herself into a ball. Something hit her shoulder, causing her to gasp in pain. Blood trickled down her back.
Her hands over her head, Erin peered upward. The shelves were dropping like felled trees. She braced herself for impact, but it never came; the toppling rack smashed into the one on the right side of the aisle, and by some miracle, it held.
She peered around the crates, considering making a run through the narrow gap to the exit.
With a slow groan, the row of shelves to her right gave way and fell, hitting the next row, which went down under the combined weight. Erin clasped her ears as the thunder intensified. It sounded like the entire place was collapsing, the cacophony seeming to go on forever.
When the din finally stopped, she looked up to see that the two crates together had managed to support the rack’s weight, saving her life.
She patted one and spoke into the eerie silence. “Glad you were better made than these racks.”
Erin peered out. To her left, the warehouse looked almost normal. Except for downed drones and halted autolifts, the storage area appeared as neat and orderly as before. To the right lay utter devastation. Row after row of shelving had fallen, all the way to the edge of the warehouse. It was like the shelves and containers had gone to war and, whoever had won, it was a pyrrhic victory.
“Wow,” Erin breathed. She moved to stand up.
Walter said,
Erin looked down at her bloody shin, and then remembered the cut on her back as well.
Erin hoped that the man hadn’t been able to use the disaster to make good on his escape—she’d sorely underestimated him.
She consoled herself with the fact that, realistically, Max had nowhere to go. It would be nearly impossible for him to survive on Carthage without accessing the Link, and as soon as he connected, he would be identified and found.
Sooner or later, he’d be caught and would get his just desserts.
A JOB IN PARADISE
STELLAR DATE: 03.16.8937 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Shuttle approaching Usha City
REGION: Tyre, New Canaan System
The shuttle entered Tyre’s upper atmosphere, and the window shutters lifted, giving Isa a magnificent view of the world’s surface. Watching the world slide by below, she accessed its welcome infopacket, matching the recitation against what she was seeing.
‘Of the four habitable planets in the New Canaan system, Tyre orbits closest to Canaan Prime and is the only planet that did not require terraforming. Tyre’s land masses lie primarily along its equatorial line, yet due to the high altitudes of the central regions, their climates aren’t tropical. The past seventy-eight million years of tectonic activity have resulted in several mountain ranges all but girdling the planet. However, nowadays, most of Tyre’s volcanoes are dormant, and earthquakes are rare.
‘Tyre’s three major cities are Ushu, Kedesh, and Mount Carmel. Ushu is the planetary capital—'
Isa peered down to see the settlement that was the site of the air and spaceport, but something else distracted her and caused her to catch her breath. Poking out from the cloud cover was the tallest mountain she’d ever seen. She hadn’t noticed it at first because the slopes were the same blue-white of the columns of cumulus that were hiding Ushu. But the mountain rose much higher than the highest cloud.
‘The tallest of Tyre’s mountains is the supervolcano, Mount Athos. Several peaks crown the mountain, but the highest is 28,562 meters above sea level.’
The plain words did no justice to the sight that greeted Isa as the shuttle bore her down. Quickly, before she drew so close to the mountain she wouldn’t have a good view, Isa began to record what she was seeing. Just the prospect of viewing the spectacular natural structure in real life should be enough to draw visitors to Tyre, she reasoned.
She wondered if Mount Athos were tall enough that the peak would be visible from its slopes, due to the planet’s curvature. She thought it probably was. She would have to wait for a cloudless day to check, but as she planned on spending a couple of months on Tyre making her infomentary, that wouldn’t be a problem.
Excitement was churning her stomach. It felt good to have a purpose again, and her former boss’s immediate acceptance of her application for the role had been a nice ego boost. She loved Erin and Martin, but being around two s
uch smart, capable people dampened her self-esteem at times.
The shuttle dropped into the clouds, and for a while, all Isa could see was white vapor. Then the clouds broke, and Ushu spread out beneath her. The city lay to the south of Mount Athos, which entirely dominated its northern aspect. Grassy foothills and forested slopes were all that could be seen in that direction. Ushu was tiny compared to Landfall. When Isa looked up its population, she was amazed to see it was only twenty-one thousand. Ushu was barely a city, and yet it was the biggest one on the planet.
Tyre had plenty of scope for expansion, and Isa would make it her job to drive it.
* * * * *
New Canaan’s chief planetary engineer, Tony, had offered to meet Isa at the air and spaceport and show her around before she began work. As she walked out of the arrivals gate, she guessed he was the curly-haired man who stood waiting near the barriers. It was an easy guess—he was the only person there to meet an arriving passenger.
She waved.
Tony began to walk toward her, smiling. “Welcome to Tyre,” he said when he was within speaking distance. “Did you have a good flight?”
“It was fine, thanks, though it was just my luck to make the trip while Tyre’s at its most distant from Carthage, so it was a little boring. And the ship was half-empty. Is that normal?”
“Yes it is, sadly. Only a two day flight between Carthage and Tyre, yet they struggle to fill it. The governor has put more resources into building up the military bases in the outer system, but with Tyre being the closest world to Canaan Prime, that puts us pretty far from the action.”
“No kidding. I didn’t realize things were that…uninhabited out here. I mean, I saw that the population of Ushu was low, but I didn’t know so few people were even visiting.”
“It’s true, and it’s a great shame. Tyre is a beautiful planet,” said Tony. “Er, shall we go? I’ve arranged transportation.”
They walked across the sparsely peopled arrivals area, the trolley carrying Isa’s luggage and following after them.
“Personally, I’d love to live here,” Tony said, “but my work means I have to base myself in Landfall. Still, I try to come out when I can. I hope your project succeeds in making Tyre a more popular spot for settling down. Most New Canaanites don’t know what they’re missing.”
“I hope so, too,” Isa enthused. “I read the information packet on Tyre that’s up on the Link, but it really doesn’t do the place justice, according to what I’ve already seen. People don’t want to know facts and figures about the topography and climate and career opportunities. If my work with Placement Services taught me anything, it’s that what people are most interested in is how to have fun. The original Intrepid colonists are already geared up to work hard, but they want to play hard too. And the people who joined the ship on Victoria are thirsting for adventure. If they weren’t, they would have stayed back at the Kap.”
Tony’s expression fell. “Lucky for them that they didn’t.”
A familiar shadow settled over Isa. She regretted mentioning the Kap and Victoria, as it brought thoughts of how that colony had later been wiped out. Though Isa hadn’t expected to see any of her friends or relations again any time soon, the hope that she might meet them one day had remained. So the knowledge that the Lumins had finally managed to get their revenge and destroy the colony often weighed heavily on her.
They walked outside to a parking lot and over to a small pinnace. The vessel was wedge-shaped and black. At their approach, doors lifted on each side, revealing a snug, two-seat interior.
“Hop in,” said Tony. “If you aren’t too tired from your flight, I thought I would take you on a brief tour of the immediate area before delivering you to your lodgings. I’ll be leaving on this afternoon’s flight back to Carthage, meaning the pinnace will be yours for the duration of your project.”
“A pinnace of my own?” Isa asked. “Thanks! But I’ve never flown one.”
“Don’t worry about it. Unless you want to do something out of the ordinary, the thing just about flies itself. Just input your destination, and it will take you there.”
“That’s it?” Isa climbed into the passenger seat and strapped in.
As Tony started up the ship, he said, “The only caveat is she isn’t certified for anything more than quick jaunts up into the troposphere, so don’t try flying her back to Carthage, even if you do miss the one flight of the day.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Isa said. “Though it’ll be handy to have my own transportation. I thought I would have to rent something. Thanks a lot.”
“No problem.”
The pinnace lifted above the air and spaceport, then swerved sharply left, forcing Isa to the right.
“Whoops,” said Tony. “I’m used to flying her by myself. So—”
“Wow,” Isa exclaimed.
As the pinnace had turned, Mount Athos had come into view. The mountain was even more awe-inspiring up close than she had imagined it would be—even though the upper reaches were cloaked in clouds.
“Ah, yes,” Tony said. “Impressive, huh? Had you heard of it?”
“I had,” said Isa, “but nothing compares to actually seeing it. It’s a supervolcano, right? Isn’t it a little dangerous for the capital to be situated so close to it?”
“No. Athos is entirely dormant; the upwelling of magma that made it has completely dissipated. It’s a magnificent backdrop to the city, though, don’t you think? Ushu is only in its shadow for part of the day.”
“Breathtaking. Carthage doesn’t have anything like it.”
“It would be a great selling point for Tyre,” said Tony, “if only people knew about it. But there’s more to the mountain than just the sight of it. The FGT excavated a chute right from the peak to the base—and they didn’t even mention it in the information they gave us! It was only when someone went to the top and found the entrance that the chute was discovered.”
“Maybe compared to everything else the FGT did, they didn’t think it was a big deal. But that sounds fantastic. So people can travel the whole way through the mountain?”
“In specially designed capsules, yes,” Tony replied. “I’ve done it myself. It’s quite a ride.”
He was flying them closer to the supervolcano. The clouds were clearing, revealing brilliant white slopes that faded from sight above.
“Carthaginians will be flocking here once they hear about this,” Isa said. “For a vacation at least, if not to stay.”
“Well, the more people who come to visit, the more people will decide to make Tyre their home.”
“That’s right. Are we going up to the crater?” Isa asked.
“Yeah, that’s where we’re headed. It’s a caldera, actually. I’ll show you the entrance to the chute. Maybe later on, you can return and take the ride to the bottom yourself. You can command the pinnace to fly down to meet you afterward.”
“Sounds like my plan for tomorrow is decided,” said Isa.
Tony guided the pinnace up Mount Athos, skimming close to the surface and giving Isa a clear view of the thick stands of dark green, snow-dusted pine trees. As they sped higher over the slopes, the horizon beyond shifted to a curve. Peaks, valleys, and vast chasms spread out across the land, stretching down to the cobalt ocean.
“Here we are,” Tony said.
Isa had been so distracted by the landscape, she hadn’t noticed that the nose of the pinnace had crested the caldera’s edge at the ancient volcano’s summit.
Tony brought the pinnace around. The wide hollow held several small peaks created by smaller volcanic eruptions and was entirely coated in thick ice. Now Isa could see the large opening in the caldera wall that led to the chute through the mountain. A few pinnaces hovered in a line, waiting to enter it.
“You land the pinnace inside once you’re through the airlock,” Tony said. “The interior of the mountain is a controlled environment.”
“Fantastic.
And it’s only a short distance from the city,” said Isa. “What else would you recommend that I include in the infomentary?”
“It’s hard to pick. Tyre is the only planet that was habitable when the FGT began work on the system, so rather than having to spend their time simply terraforming, they went to town on enhancing its features. Something that people often forget is that the FGT worked on the New Canaan system for almost a thousand years; most of it was spent engineering the other planets, but a team spent centuries crafting Tyre. They opened up remote caverns and canyons and made them navigable even for the nonexpert. This is really a playground for the adventurous.”
“That makes it sound like Athens.”
“Oh no,” said Tony. “It isn’t the same sort of adventure. There’s no tsunami surfing here. Athens is still settling down geologically; it’s a place for going wild. Tyre is more for discovering spectacular hidden gems. It has the tallest and widest waterfalls, and deepest and longest caves in all of New Canaan. I’ve been to deep caverns that are made entirely of crystal, and others that are lined with gems. And that doesn’t even get into the glacial caves,” Tony continued. “Kilometers of tunnels through the ice. Additionally, Tyre and Troy are the only two worlds that they seeded with animals, so you’ll also find some amazing creatures out in the wilderness.”
“It sounds like I’ll have plenty of material to work with,” said Isa.
“That’s right,” Tony replied. “And if you want any more suggestions, just let me know. I’ll be in Carthage, but I’ll reply as soon as I hear from you.”
“Thanks, I’ll do that. And maybe I could interview you, too, at some point? Your enthusiasm for Tyre really comes across strongly. It’s bound to sway viewers’ decision-making.”
“Of course,” Tony replied with a wink. “I’d be happy to. Like any good professional, I love to talk about my field.”
* * * * *
The next day, Isa squinted up into the sky above Mount Athos, her heart still racing from her experience of traveling down the chute. Sliding down what amounted to over one hundred and thirty-five kilometers of tunnel through the mountain had sent her adrenaline levels through the roof. She’d seen underground rivers, massive caverns, and open shafts that led almost all the way to the planet’s mantle.
