by M. D. Cooper
“Dragonflies. Athens’ atmosphere is rich in oxygen, so they can grow pretty big. Makes lighting a fire risky, but it means we get to enjoy beauties like that.”
The huge dragonfly skimmed across the clearing, hovered for a moment, and then darted away again, its shimmering wings little more than a blur.
“Is that one of the insects whose larvae make silk?” asked Isa.
“No,” Martin replied. “But I can see why you would think that. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Whoa!” Isa exclaimed.
The dragonfly had perched on her head, balancing on the tips of its six long legs.
“Stay still,” said Erin. “I’m recording.”
Isa was more than ready to comply, but the sound of the approaching aircar spooked the insect. It flitted away within a moment.
“Oh no,” Isa said wistfully. “Still, it makes a nice end to our trip.”
“Tent’s put away,” Martin announced, picking up the pack.
The aircar appeared above the clearing, casting everything into shade.
“Move back, and I’ll tell it to land,” said Erin.
The vehicle from Attica dropped slowly into the clearing until it hovered a few centimeters above the ground. Erin unlocked it, and they loaded in their packs before climbing in.
The aircar swept up into the sky, and the spot where they had spent the night became a green splash in a steaming sea of brown, red, orange, and yellow.
“Bye-bye, Badlands,” said Isa. “I’ll be back when you’ve cooled down.”
Erin hoped that would be sooner rather than later, but it depended on her or the Transcend engineers being able to find out what was wrong with the PETER.
If the current situation continued, Athens would become more and more volatile and unstable. One extreme scenario was that the planet would become unlivable, even at the poles. All the tourists and the permanent residents who provided their services would have to be evacuated.
Erin didn’t know the figure without checking, but she guessed it might be as many as fifty thousand people.
What a nightmare it would be if they all have to leave at short notice.
She shook her mind free of the thought. Her worries were getting the better of her again.
In another couple of days, after finishing off her vacation in the luxurious resort at Attica, she would be able to get her teeth into the PETER assignment. Until then, she was determined to have fun with Martin and Isa. Usef was going to be there too, and Erin was glad of the opportunity to ensure the air between them was clear.
* * * * *
The tsunami surf-off was finally on.
“I can’t believe it’s taken so long for our schedules to match up so we can do this,” Martin said to Usef as they awaited the approaching, gigantic wave.
“Time’s flown, right?” the major replied. “The invasion defense prep has kept me pretty busy. I hope you’ve used your time well,” he added with a sardonic twist of his lips. “You better have gotten plenty of practice in. You don’t want to embarrass yourself.”
“Practice?” asked Martin, mirroring Usef’s challenging tone. “Who needs practice? I was surfing before I was in school. Had a little board about yay big.” He held his hands about a meter apart. “Must have been a second birthday present or something. But don’t let my greater experience bother you. I’ll teach you some moves later on if you like.”
Usef laughed good-naturedly.
“You guys!” said Erin, bobbing in the water beside them. “This is just a bit of fun, okay?”
“OK, sure,” Isa added a snort as she floated a little farther down the line of tsunami surfers. “That isn’t what you were saying at the limbo-dancing competition last night. When Usef nearly beat you, I thought you were going to injure yourself getting under the pole.”
“That was totally different,” said Erin. “I had a reputation to preserve. I wasn’t going to pass along my Limbo-Dancing Queen title to some upstart on her first vacation in Athens. But with Martin and Usef, it’s only a casual contest between buddies, right?”
“Yeah, sure,” said Martin, giving Usef a mock steely-eyed look.
When Usef returned the look, Martin wasn’t so certain the major was kidding.
The truth was, his own attitude was all fun and bravado. He didn’t really think he stood a chance against Major Usef, pride of the Marines and probably the fittest and strongest man in New Canaan. Martin only hoped that Erin and Isa wouldn’t tease him too much that evening, which was to be the last of their vacation.
“Here it comes!” called Isa.
Martin turned to see the wave barreling toward them like a megalodon on the attack. He powered his board forward while looking over his shoulder and watching the wall of water. He could hardly believe the size of the thing. Even for a tsunami, this was a monster. He guessed the excessive seismic activity that Athens was experiencing was responsible for the mammoth surge.
Timing the right moment to jump up on his board would be critical; if he miscalculated, he would be swept under the water and forced to wait in utter humiliation for the rescue team to arrive.
Martin drove his board onward, waiting for the exact split second to rise to his feet and surf.
The moment came.
He made it! He was up. Behind him, millions of tons of water surged forward, relentless and unstoppable. Looking around, he saw that Erin was also on her board—though appearing unsteady—but there was no sign of Isa. He checked again. Usef was up and riding the wave, but there was only a gap in the line where Isa had been.
Martin guessed she’d been waiting until she surfaced to reply.
Her rueful tone came through the Link once more.
He rode the wave about a third of the way down from the top and was streaming steadily across it. Behind him, the still-rising deep blue bank roared.
Martin said.
Things had gotten serious. Martin didn’t mind losing if it was only his pride involved, but he didn’t want to let down Isa and Erin.
His gaze had remained on Usef during the conversation with his spouses. The major hadn’t tried to do any tricks yet. He was probably waiting for Martin to make the first move.
Martin considered what to do first. There had been no need to agree to the rules; they were always the same in this kind of match. He and Usef would attempt more and more daring feats until finally one of them wiped out. Whoever remained on his board was the winner.
Deciding this called for some serious concentration, Martin pulled his favorite music from the Link, an instrumental piece with a heavy beat. Exactly what he required to block out any interfering thoughts or anxieties and clear his mind.
One of his best tricks popped into his head. Martin shifted on his board to alter its angle just a little. Soon he was rising, sliding inexorably upward to the crest of the tsunami towering above. The force of the water was so powerful, he found himself hurtling to the summit.
When he reached the top, his momentum car
ried him onward. He flew out into pure air, leaving the watery wall behind. Already, his board was turning, guided by his feet. He had just enough time to spin a perfect three-sixty-degree twist before gravity dragged him down, and he hit the wave again.
Martin glided smoothly back to his former position, Erin’s whoop so loud he could hear it faintly over the rushing of the water. He caught Usef’s glance as the major turned his head away. He had been watching.
Martin was keeping an eye on the major, waiting for him to make his move. His own trick had been something most skilled surfers could pull off. What would Usef do to top it? The competition had only just begun.
Major Usef was already traveling like an arrow up the aquatic wall, the muscles in his massive legs rigid as iron. Usef’s speed increased as he neared the top.
Was I going that fast? Martin doubted it.
The large man rocketed off the highest point of the wave, sailed into the atmosphere, flipped head over heels in a loop, and splashed down again. If Martin hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would have found it hard to believe that someone of Usef’s physique could pull off such a dexterous maneuver.
But the heat of competition was on Martin now. He was sure he could do better. He’d barely started, in fact.
Turning his board, he headed downward.
Martin had almost forgotten she was there.
The huge swell of water at the base of the wave zoomed up toward him. A moment before he reached the beginning of the long, tapering curve, Martin executed a bottom turn to bring himself around.
Rising again, he aimed himself at an angle that would lead him toward the peak of the tsunami high above. He gripped with his feet and rose, driving upward, drawing on the monstrous power of the water. All the way to his destination, his momentum increased until finally he felt like he was flying.
In spite of the music thumping in his head, an anxious reminder crept in: he had only succeeded in performing this trick once before.
Can I pull it off again?
He compressed his body low and tight. The open air approached at a breath-taking velocity.
He was there.
Martin burst upward like a cork from a champagne bottle. He looped. He looped again. The nose of his board slid toward the curling, white water. Martin had a vision of himself hitting at a bad angle, tumbling over and over down the entire height of the wave, disappearing ignominiously into the blue depths.
Then the bottom of his board hit the wave, and he was surfing again.
When Martin looked at him, the Marine was already doing a handstand on his board. So the major wasn’t going to attempt to outdo Martin’s stunt? That was a telling decision. Martin jumped and flipped onto his hands.
Martin also lifted a hand from his board, though he pretended to pick something out of his teeth. Erin’s laughter echoed in his mind.
Usef was standing on two hands again. As Martin watched, the major executed a figure-eight move on the near-vertical surface.
That was easy. Martin copied him, and then tried to think of a feat that would be impossible for Usef to perform. He had it.
As Martin flipped onto his feet, he checked with Eamon that his trick could work.
She was below him and just ahead, so Martin watched as she began to edge her feet forward. He could feel Usef’s gaze on them both.
Martin surfed closer and closer to Erin until his board was so close to hers they were almost touching. The tsunami would be petering out soon; it was now or never.
He made the leap.
Martin landed as lightly as he could on the back of Erin’s board, only mildly unbalancing her. A beat later, he bounced blindly backward onto his own board, estimating its new position. The board had flipped up, of course, but his feet hit the firm surface, not water, and he quickly brought his board under control.
I did it, first try! Martin almost jumped in elation, but he restrained himself.
he replied.
One of Usef’s pals was dropping down the tsunami toward him. The woman was a typical Marine, tall and heavily muscled.
Martin’s hopes rose. He had a strong feeling that both Usef and his friend were too heavy to achieve the board-to-board jump.
The two Marines were lining up.
She’s right, they’re never going to do it, Martin thought. His gaze was fixed on the pair, who had worked across the wave’s surface until they were some way along it.
Martin cut the music that had been pumping in his mind. Now all he could hear was the thundering water and the wind that beat steadily against his face.
Usef’s friend was trying to edge forward as Erin had done, but her board wobbled dangerously. She gave up trying to move any farther, clearly knowing that she would end up in the ocean if she moved another centimeter. That didn’t leave much room for Usef to land, but it looked like he was going to try anyway. The beefy Marine was eyeing his tiny landing space.
Usef leapt.
Suddenly, there was nowhere for him to land. At the same moment he’d jumped, the woman had slid slightly forward, and the tip of her board dipped. When Usef left his board, she began to tumble and her board overturned.
Usef smacked into the water like a breaching whale. The tsunami swallowed him like he had never existed.
Yes!
Martin had done it. He felt a boyish pleasure.
said Eamon.
Erin was already hollering. She turned toward Martin, raised two fists into the air, and pulled them down. The action unbalanced her, and she fell sideways. In an instant, the tsunami took her as well.
From somewhere in the watery depths, she asked,
Martin replied, chuckling.
CHAPTER FOUR
STELLAR DATE: 04.14.8942 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Attica
REGION: Athens, New Canaan System
That night was their final night together on Athens. The next day, Erin would start work at the PETER, and Martin and Isa would return to Carthage. It was also Erin’s final chance to enjoy the luxurious benefits of an Attican tourist resort, and she wasn’t about to let the opportunity go to waste.
After dinner, she suggested that they go to the hotel’s outdoor pool to lounge about for a while and drink expensive cocktails. None of the other guests had the same idea, and the family found they had the pool area all to themsel
ves.
The water was still, and brilliantly mirrored the lights of the hotel and the outdoor lamps. Sounds of the remaining diners chatting drifted out from the hotel restaurant, but otherwise, the night was quiet.
Isa lay down on a lounger and closed her eyes.
“Don’t fall asleep yet,” said Erin. “There’s an after-dinner show I want to watch.”
“I’m not sleeping,” Isa replied. “I’m watching Martin’s surfing tricks again. They’re amazing. I wish I’d been there.”
“That’s definitely a vid for the family records,” said Erin. “I sent it to Jude already. He’ll be so proud of his daddy.”
“You did?” Isa’s eyes opened and she sat up. “That means the first thing he’ll want to do after we get back is get in the water and copy his father.”
“Don’t worry,” Martin said. “The swell in the Med doesn’t reach anything like tsunami heights.”
“I guess so.” Isa lay down again. “I miss him. And the triplets.”
“But they aren’t even born yet,” said Erin.
“I know, but…”
A servitor appeared, bringing their drinks. They were all trying something new. Erin had ordered a New Canaan Iced Tea, Martin was having a Picobomb, and Isa had been tempted by a Davy Jones Soda.
“We still haven’t thought of names for them,” said Martin.
“Huh?” asked Erin.
“The triplets.”
“Oh, right.”
As she sipped her drink, she wondered if Martin had thought up some more nonsensical names.
Isa said, “It’s hard. Maybe we should—”
“I have a suggestion.” Martin put down his cocktail and propped his elbows on his knees. “What about Chico, Harpo, and Groucho?”
Erin snorted with laughter, sending a mouthful of cocktail up her nose.
“Aghhh, that burns! Walter, do something.” Her eyes were watering with the pain of alcohol inside her sinuses. At the same time, she couldn’t stop laughing. “Those must be the most stupid names I have ever heard!”
Isa was aghast. “Aren’t they boys’ names? They definitely sound like boys’ names.”
“Possibly,” Martin said. “I noticed them in an article on cultural icons of ancient Earth, but I didn’t read it closely. They have a ring to them, right?”
