by Magus Tor
Suddenly Aurelia had a very good idea of where she was going to find her mother, though only the idea of the place, not the location. For that, she'd need Lukas's help. Rushing back into the living pod, she interrupted the men's conversation.
“I think I know where Mum is,” she said.
Her father looked up, eyes gleaming. “Where?” he asked sharply.
“That's what I need help with,” said Aurelia, kneeling on the floor. “I need to get access to the City database. I need to find out which Workers live in which buildings. Can we do that?”
“Sure,” said Lukas, grinning. “We've got access to all the databases. You'll find the link and the password on your screen. Who exactly is it that you're looking for?”
“I don't want to say until I'm sure,” she said, suddenly shy about her idea. It was a sentimental one, and she didn't feel like sharing it right now. “Just give me a couple of hours. If this doesn't pan out, then we can try some of your contacts, right?”
“Sure,” said Lukas.
“Alright,” her father said. “But we can spend only a day or so here, Aurelia, so use your time wisely.”
“I will,” she promised, and reached over to squeeze her father's hand.
Returning to the sleeping pod, winter uniform in hand, she sat cross-legged on the bed and figured out how to get access to the City database. In truth, it wasn't tough. It wasn't like there was a bunch of secret info there; it was more administrative stuff. Still, it took her a good half hour before she found what she was looking for. That done, the location marked on her screen map of 04, and her winter uniform put on, complete with her mother's shoes, she was ready to go.
Coming back out into the living pod, she saw that both her father and Lukas were gone. At first she was hurt that her father hadn't come to say goodbye to her, but when she thought about it, she was glad that he was treating her as he would any other Resistance member. It made a change from Jonathon, who was constantly trying to protect her from things, though she understood why he wanted to. There was a stack of heavy capes by the door, so she took one before venturing out into the chilling night.
The place that she wanted was about fifty blocks away, and she dreaded the walk. But as she reached the corner of the street, she saw a public transport pod sliding down the street. When it stopped, she got on, reaching into her pocket for a token to pay. Then she sat, ignoring the handful of others on the pod, and pulled out her screen, tracking the pod's progress towards her destination. Once close, she pressed the button next to her seat and hopped off before the pod had even stopped properly.
She found the building easily. The com system by the door allowed her to enter the pod number she wanted, and with aching fingers she keyed in the number. Then she stood, shivering even in her warmer clothing, as the com attempted to connect. She tried three times before resigning herself to the fact that the person she wanted wasn't there. Time for another plan, she thought; she wasn't about to be put off that easily. This time she keyed in the number for the neighbouring pod and was answered almost immediately. When she gave the ID number of the person she wanted, she was met with an uncomfortable silence, then the man cleared his throat.
“I'm afraid she was taken to the hospital late this afternoon,” he said, his voice friendly but hesitant.
Aurelia thanked him and disconnected. Crap. It was still a lead, though. Now all she had to do was find the hospital. She assumed that just like in City 01, there would be a hospital for every four-block area, so she needed to find the right building. The cold was biting into her bones as she looked around her, trying to identify the direction that she needed. Her skin stung, liquid was coming out of her nose, and she wondered how the hell anyone could live like this.
Just as she was about to start walking, a huddled figure appeared.
“Hey!” she shouted.
The figure looked up, a middle-aged-looking woman who quickly pointed Aurelia in the direction of the hospital building, just a block away. Again thanking her luck, Aurelia walked. Keeping her head down cut most of the sharp wind that blew into her face, but she still felt like she'd been deep frozen by the time she stepped through the sliding doors of the hospital to once again be assaulted by powerful heating machines.
Immediately she felt at home. Hospitals were where she belonged, and she authoritatively strode to the reception desk and gave the ID number of the patient she wanted. Behind her back, her fingers were crossed in an old-fashioned sign for luck. There was a small chance that the patient would have been taken elsewhere; after all, the neighbour hadn't said whether she'd been taken from her home or from her workplace, which could be in another catchment area.
The receptionist eyed her suspiciously, but she pressed a couple of icons on her screen.
“The patient is here,” she confirmed.
“And exactly which room is she in?” Aurelia asked, feeling the heat now.
“I'm afraid I can't tell you that,” the receptionist replied. “If I could have your ID number, please.”
Shit. Aurelia suddenly realised that she didn't have an ID number. At least not an official one. She stripped off the heavy cape she was wearing, her skin starting to prickle with sweat, and the receptionist's eyes widened.
“I'm so sorry, ma'am,” she said quickly. “The patient you're looking for is on the fifth floor, ward thirty, seventh room.”
Surprised at the woman's sudden helpfulness, Aurelia was halfway to the elevator bank before she realised that whoever had chosen the winter uniform she was wearing had inadvertently included the bright flashes on the sleeves that indicated she was a Lunar med Worker. Well, they served their purpose, she thought with a smile. She'd have to make sure to remove them when she left the hospital, though; there was no point advertising the fact that she was here from Lunar.
Aware now that she was playing the part of a highly ranked med Worker, she walked briskly out of the elevator and barked at the first med Worker she saw to direct her to the ward that she wanted. The young blonde woman glanced at the flashes on her sleeve before escorting her to the ward door. Once in the ward, she easily found the room that she wanted. She marched in, seeing that a male med Worker was already inside, as well as the patient and someone else.
Her mother turned as she entered, and though Aurelia saw a glimpse of recognition in her eyes, she collected herself quickly enough to not cry out.
“You're too late, doctor,” her mother said.
“I've just completed the injection,” said the med Worker. “I'll leave you alone for a moment.”
“What are you doing here?” asked her mother, as soon as the Worker was gone.
“I had come to see the patient, but it appears I am indeed too late,” Aurelia said, aware of the fact that there would be listening devices in the room as there were in most hospitals.
Her mother nodded, and Aurelia desperately wanted to hug her. Instead she surveyed the woman on the bed. She was old. Older than most people Aurelia had ever seen. Her skin had begun to sink into wrinkles, though she could see that they were concentrated around the eyes and the corners of her mouth. This woman had smiled a lot. Unable to contain herself, Aurelia briefly reached out and touched her hand. It was still warm. Then, with a quick nod, she informed her mother that she had more important work to do.
“I too must be leaving,” said her mother, formally.
She reached down and gently kissed the forehead of the dead woman. Aurelia thought she saw tears, but said nothing.
“I shall escort you down, then,” was all she said.
The elevator ride was silent, and once past the reception desk, they parted ways outside the hospital door. Without speaking, Aurelia knew that her mother would quickly make her own way back to the Resistance safe house. So all she did was pull the thick cape tightly around her and walk away, not looking back.
The quarters were still empty when she returned, but she knew the code to get inside. The heating machine was running, and as soon as she stepped
through the door, she started stripping off the cape and winter shoes. She knew that when the snow on them melted, they'd quickly be wet. She was just placing the garments close enough to the heater to dry without danger of them catching fire, when the door opened.
“Mum!” she cried and launched herself into her mother's arms.
Her mother held her tightly for a moment before pushing her away. “Aurelia, what on Earth are you doing here?”
“Come, sit,” Aurelia said.
She waited while her mother pulled off her own outerwear, then opened the metal canister, pouring a bowl of stew. Once her mother was seated, she explained as quickly as she could what was going on. She did wonder how much she was supposed to tell her mother, but she figured that if she didn't say, then her father would, so there was no point keeping secrets.
“Seems like a fair plan,” her mother said when she was done explaining. “Things are moving fast, though.”
“And you, what are you doing here?” Aurelia wanted to know.
Her mother shook her head. “Nothing important. A little recon is all. But as you saw, I got distracted. I'm assuming that you're looking for me because I missed my contact calls, which was stupid. I just...I lost track of time.”
Aurelia had rarely seen her mother sad. In general, she was a smiling woman, always content with what she had, even when it wasn't much. “It was her, wasn't it?” she asked gently.
Her mother looked up at her, eyes tear-filled, and nodded.
“That was my grandmother?” Aurelia tasted the unfamiliar word, wanting to be absolutely certain, though she already knew it was true.
“Your grandmother,” her mother confirmed. “I only wish you had been a few minutes earlier.”
“She...” But Aurelia wasn't sure what she wanted to say. She'd had only a quick impression of the woman, after all. “She looked nice,” she finally said, knowing that the words didn't convey what it was she really wanted to say.
“She was,” said her mother. “You would have liked her, I think. But we never wanted to attract suspicion by bringing you here, even if we could have got the permission to travel. I'm sorry you didn't get to meet her.”
Slowly, her mother began to spoon up the still-warm stew.
“She was very...er...old?” ventured Aurelia, once her mother was eating.
Her mother grinned. “That's tactful,” she said. “But yes, she was. 04s tend to grow older than most of the rest of the City dwellers. I mean, we're healthier—Gods know why in this kind of climate. It's not unusual for an 04 to be over sixty before being injected.”
“Maybe the cold freezes out bacteria or something,” Aurelia said.
“Maybe. But whatever the reason, I'm glad that I got to see my mother. I never saw my father before he went.”
“Were you close?” Aurelia asked, watching her mother eat.
“Yes,” she answered. “As close as we are as a family.” She gave a small laugh. “And you, my dear, have a long and illustrious background in the Resistance.”
Aurelia was surprised at this. “You mean...?”
Her mother nodded, scraping out her bowl. “Yes, both your grandparents were also freedom fighters. It runs in the blood, apparently.”
Aurelia smiled. “Father is here,” she said. “He's working, and I don't know when he'll be back, but it shouldn't be too long.”
“Gods,” said her mother, putting down her bowl. “He's going to be angry with me for putting personal things ahead of work. I can't believe I didn't make those contact calls. I just couldn't leave; there were so many things that I wanted to say before...well, you know. I wanted to spend every minute there. Does that make sense?”
Aurelia nodded. “And I think Dad will understand. He was so worried, and he'll be so relieved to see you that I think all will be forgiven. You might not want to say anything to Jonathon for a while, though,” she added.
“I feel you might be right about that,” her mother said, stifling a yawn.
“You must be exhausted,” Aurelia said, looking at her mother's pale face. “Come on, let's get you into bed.”
Lying in the dark in her mother's arms, Aurelia felt like a small child again. She missed that feeling of security sometimes, those dark nights when she had had nightmares because her father had been telling her scary stories. She’d always known that she could crawl into her parent's bed and be safe. And she’d always slept soundly.
“I would have liked to have met my grandmother,” Aurelia whispered, sleepily.
“I wish you had,” answered her mother.
“I know one thing, though,” said Aurelia, letting her eyes close.
“What's that?”
“That when the time comes, my children will see their grandmother as often as possible,” she said, yawning.
Her mother laughed a little. “I hope they shall,” she said, stroking Aurelia's hair. “But let's not make that for a little while yet. We've got work to do.”
“I know.” She was almost asleep.
“And I'm proud of you, Aurelia.”
She was smiling, even as she drifted down into sleep.
Aurelia woke to the sound of the main door closing. From the depth of her mother’s breathing, she could tell that she was still sleeping; so she carefully extricated herself, jumped out of bed, and pulled on her uniform.
Her father and Lukas were both in the living pod.
“I've found her,” Aurelia said immediately. “And she's fine.”
Her father sank down onto the couch. “Where is she?”
“Sleeping.”
“And?” he asked, his face still clouded with worry.
“And...” Aurelia wasn't sure how to say it; the words still felt weird to her. “And Grandmother's dead.”
Thankfully, her father didn't ask any further questions; he just nodded sadly and after a moment of stillness bent to take off his wet shoes.
“Have you done all you need to?” she asked.
“Me, no,” said Lukas, flopping down onto the couch tiredly. “I'm going to need to stay here for another couple of days at least. Other than City 01, 04 has the busiest shuttle bay. And the one here is less secure, meaning it's a better bet if I want to move people around. I've got a fair bit of work to do before I can leave.”
“I'm done,” her father said, also looking exhausted. “I've been as persuasive as I can be, and thank the Gods, the Resistance representative for 04 is a smart woman. She's taking care of the rest of the details, so I'm free to leave.”
Aurelia was sure that it wasn't yet morning, but it had to be close. “Are we going now?”
Her father shook his head. “No, we'll wait until this evening. We all need rest, and Lukas has arranged a cargo pod that will take us onwards. Is your mother able to travel with us, do you think?”
“I think so. She's just a little tired, and emotional maybe,” said Aurelia, considering. “I think it would probably be good for her to work.”
“Excellent,” her father said, standing up. “We've always worked better as a team, and the Resistance leader in City 03 is a gruff old bear. He's got an eye for a pretty lady, though, so maybe your mother can be more persuasive than me. I'll go and com Jonathon with the update before I turn in.”
Lukas stretched and rolled his shoulders. “I'm going to grab a couple of hours now, while I can. The sec Workers at the shuttle bay won't be there for a while yet, anyway; it's best to let them get settled into their routine before I try to distract them. Everyone gets bored in the middle of a shift.”
Aurelia, having already slept, wasn't tired yet. Looking around for something productive to do, she noted the almost empty food canister. Well, that should keep her busy. Grabbing the canister, she went to the kitchen pod and began preparing another batch of stew. At least they'd have a hot meal before they left. She shuddered at the thought of going back out into the snow. Gods, she was glad she'd been born in City 01. Mind you, if they were going to 03 next, then she might want to take advantage of bei
ng cold. Lukas had said it was impossibly hot there.
When the stew was finished, she peeked into the sleeping pods and found her parents asleep in one and Lukas in the other. Smiling, she took her screen and a blanket and went to the couch. Best to let her parents have a little private time, and as for sleeping with Lukas, she didn't think Jonathon would be thrilled. She spent a little time reading up on City 03 before ordering the lights off and snuggling down to sleep the morning away.
They left Lukas with the promise of meeting up in City 05 when the time came, and made their way to the transport depot wrapped up as well as they could be. It was strange travelling with her parents, but she was happy to see that her mother took her cue from her father and in general treated Aurelia as she would anyone else. She'd always respected her parents, but seeing them together and working made her realise how truly lucky she was. As they walked through the deepening snow to the depot, Aurelia noticed that her father reached out and took her mother's hand, as naturally as if they had been newly paired, and she smiled.
Lukas had arranged everything, and getting into the depot was as easy as getting out had been. The only minor hiccup was a sec Worker doing a random check of the pods, but he got nowhere close to where they were hiding behind crates, and soon they had their chance to get onto their designated pod. Aurelia's heart skipped with excitement. She was about to have her very own whirlwind tour of Earth Cities, and she was thrilled. But first, they were back to that terrible game of waiting....
Looking back, Aurelia could remember only snatches of her first impressions of the Earth Cities. The primary impression of 04, obviously, had been the awful cold that had chilled her bones. City 03 had been quite the opposite. She remembered the blistering heat that meant there were off hours around noon when no one was allowed to leave their building. The roads and landscape were all a deep, dark red looking more Martian than Terrestrial. The City itself was small, the smallest of all the Earth Cities, and if she'd have wanted to, she could have walked the length of the place in a day.
