by M. D. Cooper
She watched the sleeping woman for a while, drinking in her perfect, petite form. Eventually, though, she had to get up, and her movement woke Erin. As she saw Isa, she smiled and opened her arms, inviting her back to bed.
Isa couldn’t resist. She obliged, and the two women cuddled.
Isa brushed Erin’s hair with her fingertips. “I really like your hair. It suits you.”
“Thanks. I like to keep it short. So much less of a hassle to deal with.”
“Mmm…. So, what do you want to do today?”
“Today?” Erin said, a sad sigh escaping her lips. “Sorry, I have to go to work.”
“But it’s a rest day.”
“I know, but I just received the reply to an important message I sent yesterday. I have to leave right away. I’m really sorry.”
“Oh, it’s OK,” Isa said, though her heart sank a little. “Do you want to go out again soon?”
“I’d love to, but I don’t know when. I have to leave Landfall for a while.” Erin kissed Isa and got out of bed. She began to gather her things. “It’s for a project I’m working on. And I have a list of other work lined up after that’s finished.”
Isa’s heart sank further.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Erin went on. “I really like you, Isa, and I loved spending time with you. But I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you again, and I wouldn’t want you to put your life on hold for me.”
Those words echoed in Isa’s mind for some time after Erin left, making the apartment feel even more empty than it had the prior day.
PROGRESS
STELLAR DATE: 11.29.8935 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Landfall, Knossos Island
REGION: Carthage, 3rd Planet in the New Canaan System
By the time Erin arrived at Government House, she’d managed to push the pleasant memory of her date and night with Isa from her mind. She needed to concentrate on her work.
During her journey to Tanis’s offices, Erin’s excitement at receiving the go-ahead had begun to fade.
Tanis had taken a long time to consider the proposal before giving an answer, and it was obvious why—using the picotech wasn’t something to be undertaken lightly. Tanis had been explicit in her message; deploying the picotech carried risks. If it didn’t, they would have used it to build the entire infrastructure of Carthage and all the other terraformed planets in New Canaan within a few months, if not weeks.
Erin’s orders were to establish tight security before bringing the module to the site, and it had to be guarded at all times. Her engineer’s mind was psyched to be using the picotech, but the elation was tempered by the fact that it came with a huge responsibility.
Sasha was already in the building and waiting for her. Erin had given her the good news as soon as she’d received the reply from Tanis. Erin went straight to the meeting room that had become an impromptu shared office for the two engineers.
“Hi,” Sasha said, looking up from the plas sheet she was reading as Erin walked in.
“Hi,” Erin said. “Thanks for coming on such short notice.”
“It’s no problem, I’m eager to get started. This is going to be so cool.”
“I think so, too. But I’ve also been thinking about what we need to do to make this go smoothly. The governor’s message emphasized the security requirements of the project. I’ve assigned a construction team to build admin and security offices on the next rise from the bluff; we want to make sure that if something goes wrong, it won’t affect the entire project.”
Sasha nodded solemnly. They both knew that was a way of saying that someone would need to be alive to sound the alarm.
“I’ve also requested a security team,” Erin continued. “Admiral Sanderson has sent down one of Jessica’s former police lieutenants from Tara who has been working on establishing civilian security teams.”
“I guess we do have to make the place secure,” Sasha said. “I hadn’t thought of that—I mean…I had, just not what it entailed.”
“We have to make it tight as a drum,” Erin said. “We’ll have twelve security officers on site at all times for the duration of the project.”
“How long will the excavation take? I thought picotech was incredibly fast. Like, shouldn’t it only take a few minutes to do what we need it to? The vids I saw showed it eating through those AST ships in minutes.”
“To be honest,” Erin replied, “I’m not exactly sure myself. This will be my first hands-on experience with the tech, so I need to discuss the details with Earnest Redding. But the governor suggested that if we’re going to use picotech, we might as well go the whole way. As well as excavating the site, we can use it to construct the entire SATC.”
“It can do that?”
“As far as I understand, it can do whatever we want—well, short of matter transmutation,” Erin said with a laugh. “If we do decide to use it for both the excavation and the SATC interior, I’m pretty sure we’ll have to deploy it in stages. We won’t be able to just set it and forget it. We’ll be there a couple of days at least.”
“Will we be on site the whole time?” Sasha asked.
“Yes. I want to complete the construction in one go…. It’s safer that way. Then you can deal with the mechanics of combining the air and space systems while I move on to other stuff.”
“Whatever you say. But I didn’t bring anything with me, no change of clothes or anything. I didn’t realize I wouldn’t be going home tonight.”
“That’s not a problem. I have some things I still have to sort out with Earnest. Go home and pack, then come right back. I should be ready to leave for the promontory by the time you return.”
While Sasha returned to her apartment, Erin reached out to Earnest, who was working on the defensive emplacements within Carthage’s moon.
Erin sent a mental shrug.
Erin didn’t think the picotech would ever be ‘out of mind’.
Earnest chuckled, the few light seconds of delay in the comm making his mirth sound ill-timed.
The thought of the look on Martin Ryland’s face if a cubic kilometer of the island disappeared entered Erin’s mind, and she held back a sound that was half laugh, half dismay.
Tanis had impressed all the same concerns upon Erin in her initial message, and then in a follow-up message.
The engineer snorted.
As she closed the connection, she shook her head. That man had a multi-layered sense of humor, and half the time, she really couldn’t tell when he was being serious or not.
Erin glanced around the room, thinking over what she needed to take with her, when she realized that, like Sasha, she had nothing to take with her to the construction site.
Her AI fell unusually silent after her comment, so Erin spent some time ordering items she might need for a two or three-night stay. As soon as Sasha arrived, they set out for the promontory.
As the shuttle settled down on the rise they’d been using for their landing site, Erin found the view a welcome one. The rocky tooth of land was as bare and windswept as ever, but surrounded as it was by azure waters, it had a raw beauty to it.
Being planetside does have its advantages.
The construction team was still in the midst of building the structures Erin had requested nearby. The foreman told her the buildings would be finished in another couple of hours, so Erin and Sasha remained in the shuttle to wait. While they were reviewing Earnest’s instructions, the security team arrived.
The chief of the team was a man named Cullen. Erin asked him to wait outside for a few minutes while she concluded a point in her discussion with Sasha. She also wanted to review his record before going out to meet him.
The man had a solid history in his field and an entirely clean record; nothing she read gave her any cause for concern. Jessica had even given him a commendation at one point.
When she exited the shuttle, Cullen was waiting at the bottom of the ramp, his expression entirely stoic.
After briefly introducing herself to the bony-faced man, Erin said, “The construction crew is setting up perimeter barriers and a screen around the site,” she said. “I want around-the-clock security patrols. What else would you suggest?”
“This place is so remote,” Cullen replied, “that I would be suspicious of any activity in the area. We’ll simply turn back anyone who arrives unexpectedly, and thoroughly examine all craft that land. It’s easy to see this is a construction site.
“And we can direct Link to satellite data and pull down information on movement nearby, any boats sailing by or aircraft passing overhead. I don’t think this is on a flight route—what, with the plumes just off the coast—but I’ll check.”
“And what will you do if you do see anything suspicious?”
“A polite warning that tectonic activity has rendered the area dangerous usually sends innocent passersby on their way, even airborne travelers. No one wants volcanic ash in their engines or filters. If the warning doesn’t work, we’ll know we have someone on our hands who warrants further investigation.”
“Sounds reasonable. I want to see the backgrounds on all your personnel.”
“I’ll send their names right over,” said Cullen.
The man left, and Erin returned to Sasha, who had walked down the ramp partway through the conversation.
The young engineer asked, “Doesn’t all this super-tight security we have signal that something top secret is taking place?”
“I don’t think so,” Erin replied. “Who’s going to see it? Like Cullen pointed out, there’s no one here. Anyone who arrives and won’t leave easily has probably come here for a dubious reason. The presence of security wouldn’t tell them anything they didn’t already know.”
“I guess so,” said Sasha. “I still don’t like it. I’d been looking forward to using the pico, but security guards everywhere is going to make me uncomfortable. Now all I want to do is finish the job and go home.”
“The security is just a precaution. I seriously doubt anything’s going to happen. We get to be the first to use cool tech, for the first time ever on Carthage, and in two or three days, it’ll all be over.”
Erin and Sasha returned to the shuttle and got back to discussing the nitty gritty of the work. Cullen soon returned, bringing someone with him.
Erin shared a look with Sasha. “I think I may have upset our scientist again.” She went out to see Cullen’s find.
Outside, Martin Ryland was seething. His arms were folded tightly across his chest, and he glared at Erin as she descended the shuttle ramp.
“Doctor Ryland,” Erin said. “Nice to see you again. Cullen, it’s fine. I do know this man. You can go. I’m sure you’re very busy.” To Ryland, she said, “I’m sorry about this. We’re about to begin work and so—”
“You said you were going to find another site,” Ryland said. “I told you there were plenty of spots just like this where you could build your development. You said you were going to find another site! But not only do you put up a fence across the beach, you have your man drag me up here to see you like I’m some kind of criminal.”
“I didn’t say I would find another site,” Erin replied. “I said I would try. I did try, and I couldn’t. But I have come up with an alternative to the blasting. We won’t be creating any shock waves, I promise. And I apologize for Cullen bringing you up here. He’s just being zealous.”
“This has to be the most ridiculous few days I’ve ever experienced,” Martin said. “Don’t you understand I have important work to do? Why can’t you just leave me alone to do it?”
Erin was about to answer and try to calm him down, but Ryland didn’t wait to hear what she had to say. He stalked away across the rocky ground.
“Doctor Ryland,” Erin called after him. “There’s no need for us to be at loggerheads about this. We both want the same thing. We want to make Carthage a beautiful, safe place for everyone to live in. The construction will be over in a few days, and then all you’ll see is a few employees…”
She gave up. The scientist hadn’t turned back or even acknowledged that she’d spoken. She resolved to tell Cullen to instruct his crew to stay well away from Ryland. The poor man had been disturbed enough.
She went back to Sasha, and together, they completed the schedule for the deployment of the picotech. Unless there was a hiccup, the main structure of the SATC would be complete and ready for the finishing touches within three days. After another couple of days—during which Sasha would work to combine the two traffic control systems, and make the center operational—Carthage’s air and nearspace would finally be safe.
Sasha went to check on the construction of the site buildings, and Erin settled down to read the details on Cullen’s security team. He’d brought i
n seven men and five women. Erin scanned the names, settling in with a cup of tea for a long read.
VACATION
STELLAR DATE: 11.29.8935 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Landfall, Knossos Island
REGION: Carthage, 3rd Planet in the New Canaan System
Isa made her decision as she finished her breakfast of a steamed bun and warm soy milk. She needed a change of scenery and a change of pace. A trip to Athens would be just the thing. The vacation would take a bite out of her savings, but the cost would be worth it. Doing something different, exciting and challenging might give her a helpful kick in the pants and some ideas for a direction to her life.
The truth was, if she didn’t do something other than sit around her apartment or go for walks, she was in danger of moping over Erin. The time they’d spent together had been wonderful; she didn’t think she’d ever felt such a strong connection. But it didn’t look like things were going to progress on that front for a while—or perhaps ever.
Isa hadn’t been able to tell how genuinely “busy” Erin really was…maybe she just hadn’t felt the same connection. On the other hand, her date hadn’t seemed to be the kind of person who would dissemble. Isa was sure Erin was just being honest.
Arghhh! I’m moping. I refuse to mope.
She checked the flights leaving Landfall for Athens that day. There were two: one morning and one evening flight. If she was fast, she could make the morning one.
She purchased her ticket and went to pack a bag, looking up the climate and weather in Athens as she worked.
It turned out she wouldn’t need much in the way of clothing.
Isa had known Athens was warmer than Carthage, but not just how much. The fourth planet out from Canaan Prime and Carthage’s nearest neighbor, Athens was only temperate from its poles to the sixtieth parallels. Between the two parallels, the regions were subtropical, tropical, and then, around the equator where the planetary ring continued to draw out the excess heat, it was hot. Athen’s crust was still settling, which made for some spectacular effects. Thrilling storms, tsunamis, and kilometer-high geysers were just a few of the things she could expect.
