Garibaldi sat nervously through the reentry into Mars' thin atmosphere. The transport was capable of docking on the Red Planet, with its fraction of Earth's gravity, so they didn't have to transfer from an orbital spacedock. As the long journey was about to come to an end, there was excited conversation in the cabin, and people moved about in their seats, anxious to be off the crowded vessel. But not him. The safe confines of the shuffle had been just fine; now they would have to chance the craziness of Mars. As far as he knew, Talia considered him the enemy, and she might freak when she saw him. He could feel Gray tensing beside him, too. The timing of their actions would have to be perfect. There could be Psi Cops at the dock, eyeing everyone, rousting the attractive women. Maybe somebody would be meeting her - maybe the man she had traveled with. Or maybe that man was somewhere else on the craft, making it look as if they weren't traveling together. No, he decided, it would be best to let Talia get through the security check-in alone, then they would make contact. But they had to be ready to move immediately if things went wrong. They might have to fight for jurisdiction over her. Despite being so close to her, he felt far away from Talia. What was her mental state like after the bombing, the accusations, and then running for her life? Not good, he imagined. "This is where it all began for me," mused Mr. Gray. "About a week and a half ago, I got off this flight, and Mr. Bester was there waiting for me." "Well, let's hope there's not a repeat of that," muttered Garibaldi. They heard a heavy clanging and a thud as the air-lock mechanism latched on to the ship's hull. Everyone else heard it, too, and they rose from their seats in unison, ready to bolt from the transport as quickly as possible. "Welcome to Mars," said a synthesized voice. "The time is 13:11, and the temperature is 379 degrees Celsius. It is hot and dry. Please watch your step as Mars has thirty-eight percent of the gravity of Earth." The people in Talia's row began to file out, but she hung back, stricken with fear. She knew her identicard was going to get her arrested, and she couldn't go through that again! Not the lights, the accusations, the raised fists, and the angry shouts from people who wanted to punish her' Talia's heart was starting to do flip-flops in her rib cage, and she couldn't make her legs move. She felt ill, physically ill. Come on, she told herself, you've felt ill for days now. If this is the end of the race, then so be it. Face it like a woman. For a moment, Garibaldi got excited, thinking that Talia would hang back in the cabin long enough for him and Gray to approach her there. But she suddenly got a determined look on her face and leaped from her seat, inserting herself forcefully into the herd of passengers moving toward the hatch. With maybe twenty people between them, be and Gray had to push and shove just to keep up. Even then, Talia's lithe body moved through the crowd faster than they could. "She's getting away!" whispered Garibaldi. "I can always send her a message," said Gray, "as long as she's in my line of sight." "Hold off," ordered Garibaldi. At least the two Psi Cops were already off the vessel, Talia noticed as she worked her way down the line. She hoped they got waved through the check-in and were long gone, but there was no such luck. When she reached the gate area, she could see the Psi Cops standing patiently to show their identicards to security. There were two more Psi Cops standing beyond the barriers, waiting for them. Once again, Talia almost bolted, but there was no place to go. She held up her identicard and looked at it, hoping that Brother Lizard had outdone himself when he had chosen Frieda Nelson as her identity. Maybe Frieda was the stay-at-home type who never went anywhere, never had any call to use her real identicard. Maybe the system was not yet wise to there being two Frieda Nelsons. Right, she thought cynically, and maybe she would live to see her next birthday. Behind her, two men inched forward, straining their necks to see what was happening. They were so close yet so far away, thought Garibaldi. With a few strides, he could touch her - and scare the daylights out of her. Her shoulders were hunched, and she moved as if she had aged ten years. More than anything, he just wanted to wrap his arms around Talia and tell her it was okay. There would be a happy ending. He only hoped that was true. The two Psi Cops met their friends, and there were hearty handshakes among gloved hands. To everyone's relief, they wandered off, apparently not on duty and not particularly interested in their fellow passengers. Talia swallowed what was left of the saliva in her mouth. She would get through this - she would. The card would work one last time. Somehow, the people in the line in front of her melted away, and she found herself gliding forward in the light gravity, confidently presenting her card to the waiting security guard. The dock area was so much like B5's dock that it almost felt like home. Home, she thought wistfully. There's no place like home, except when they take it away from you. "Thank you," said the security guard, taking the card from her trembling hand. "Are you all right, miss?" She sniffled and gripped her hands to her chest. "Yes, just a bit air-sick." "I get that way myself," remarked the guard pleasantly. He ran her card through the slot in his scanning device, and her heart and her breath held perfectly still. "Hmm," he said puzzledly. "You are Ms. Frieda Nelson, aren't you?" "Yes," she gasped. "From Eugene, Oregon?" "Last time I looked." She tried to sound disdainful, but she felt as if she was going to be stricken by a heart attack. "Could you please step to the side for a moment while I finish with these other passengers." His tone wasn't so pleasant anymore, but it wasn't angry either. "There's an irregularity on your card. These glitches happen." To make sure she wasn't going anywhere, he put the card in his pocket. Talia stood to the side, as ordered, and she wondered if she dared to send him a telepathic suggestion to the effect that her card was really okay. That was the sort of thing Mr. Bester could do with ease. Unfortunately, she felt so shaky and distressed that she didn't know if she could concentrate well enough to pull it off. Well, nothing ventured nothing gained. Just as she had screwed up her courage to send the guard a message, an outside voice invaded her mind. Very clearly, it stated, "You are among friends. Do not panic." Then, a monstrous explosion ripped the building!
CHAPTER 20
TALIA screamed, along with hundreds of others, as she staggered to the floor. She saw a flaming refreshment cart go rolling down the middle of the mall, spewing great clouds of choking, black smoke. The security guard was trying to hold back a panicked line of passengers while yelling into his link, and he wasn't paying any attention to her. She jumped to her feet and dashed through the smoke. She bumped hard into a strange man, who wrapped his arms around her. Talia shrieked at his bizarre appearance, but then she realized he was a regular man wearing goggles and a breathing mask. She looked closer and saw his long white hair, like the mane of an old lion, and the devil-may-care smile under the mask. "Hiya, Talia!" said his muffled voice. "Uncle Ted," she gasped, and she dissolved into a coughing fit. "This gas won't last forever," he warned, grabbing her arm and yanking her down the corridor. She staggered after him, her senses overcome by the smoke, shouts, and noise. Then a competing voice sounded in her head. "Talia!" it called. It was a real voice, yelling above all the others. "Wait for me!" She pulled away from Uncle Ted and whirled around. A telepathic voice popped into her head, saying, "Do not panic, Talia. It's Garibaldi and a friend." Her uncle regained a grip on her arm and tried to pull her along. "What's the matter with yo u!" he growled. "Stop!" she demanded. "I'm not alone!" Two men came charging out of the smoke, hands over their mouths, coughing. A Psi Cop rushed by in the other direction, waving his PPG. Uncle Ted drew his own PPG and looked as if he was about to blast Garibaldi and Gray. "No," she said, grabbing his arm. "Please wait." "I don't want to shoot them!" He pulled on her arm, but Garibaldi reached her that same moment and started to pull on her free hand. The bare contact sent a shock of distracting intimacies through her mind. There was no time for greetings or explanations, and Talia knew it. She pulled her hand away and saw the shock of the contact register in Garibaldi's eyes. "We've got to go with my uncle now," she told Garibaldi. "Don't speak, just follow." "But . . ." She let her uncle drag her away, and she barely had time to glance over her shoulder to make sure Garibaldi and Gray were following.
They were! As she and Uncle Ted approached a clearing in the smoke, he whipped his mask off and stuck it into the pockets of his greatcoat. As always, she marveled, he was quite a dashing figure. Even in his sixties, he had that handsome boyishness that had always gotten him into trouble. She hoped that she would age that well, although she felt as if she were aging fast at the moment. Uncle Ted whipped out a cardkey and got them into a door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY. Talia stopped to hold the door open for Garibaldi and Gray. When the two men tried to talk, she put her fingers to her lips and glared at them. The telepathic message she sent them wasn't subtle either - it said they could follow or not, but they were not to stop her and Uncle Ted. Garibaldi followed without question, and Gray looked around like he needed some encouragement. But with the others rushing away from him, he sprinted to catch up. The strange caravan of a dashing figure, a frightened woman, and two confused men swept through a sweltering kitchen where workers were baking doughnuts. The bakers glanced up from their work with minor interest, as if they were prepared for such intrusions. After they rushed out another door, the group found themselves in a gray, unfinished corridor full of conduits and ducts for ventilation and life support. Uncle Ted suddenly pulled his PPG and pointed it squarely at Garibaldi. "Honey, I wasn't expecting you to have friends from Earthforce." Garibaldi just tried to ignore him. "Listen, Talia, we caught the real bombers - we all know you're innocent." Talia scowled. "Oh, now you know! And I see what happens when you 'catch' someone - shot to pieces all over the sidewalk." Self-consciously, she pulled on her gloves. Garibaldi's eyes followed the action with fascination. She turned to Gray. "Are the Psi Cops still after me?" "Yes," admitted the telepath. "Then I'm still running." "Please, we've got to talk," begged Garibaldi. "Let us come with you!" "Out of the question," declared Uncle Ted. "If you come with us," said Talia, "you've got to swear that you won't turn us in." "I swear," he answered. "Besides, I know your Uncle Ted." The flamboyant man squinted at him. "From where?" "Here. It was almost two years ago, and I arrested you for creating a public nuisance, remember? You were railing against the new emigration rule - good speech. I was supposed to rough you up, if you'll remember, but I let you go with a warning." "Yes, yes! Thank you!" beamed Uncle Ted. Then he frowned. "Those were the days when I could still speak in public. So, are you with the movement?" "Not exactly," admitted Garibaldi. "But I'm not gonna let your niece out of my sight again. We have to talk somewhere about what to do next, and it might as well be at your place. Right, Gray?" Mr. Gray looked stricken with fear at the thought of continuing with this dangerous group, but he didn't say no. Uncle Ted motioned for them to follow, and he took off at a jog down the dimly lit corridor. Talia could hear nothing but a rush of air coming from the ducts overhead, plus their pounding footsteps, echoing between the narrow walls. Uncle Ted stopped at a large hatch in the center of the floor and motioned to Garibaldi. "Help me with this." The security chief put his back into it, and the two men managed to twist the wheel enough to open the hatch. They threw back the cover, and Uncle Ted took a small flashlight out of his pocket. He turned it on and blinked the light three times into the hole. There was an answering beam of light that flashed three times across what looked like a river of coffee at the bottom of the conduit. Talia leaned farther over the edge and peered down. She saw the flashlight beam sweeping eerily over the black water, and it was followed by the noses of three inflatable rafts gliding into view. The first raft had a young woman in it, and she was steering the other two rafts with her hands. "With two people in each raft," grumbled Uncle Ted, "we'll probably all get wet. Don't worry, it's clean water. Or as clean as recycled water gets on Mars." A metal ladder descended from one side of the cavity, and Uncle Ted started down. The woman floating below carefully positioned an empty raft underneath him, and he dropped into it with hardly a splash. He motioned for Talia to come down, and she did so without question. What was her fear of caves and tunnels anymore, when hundreds of Psi Cops were chasing after her? She wasn't as adept at getting into the raft as Uncle Ted, and water came sloshing over the sides, coating the seat of her pants. Thankfully, it was warm water, almost the temperature of bathwater, although it did smell strongly of chemicals. Garibaldi came down next, and the young woman expertly guided the last empty raft underneath him. He alit in fine shape, only swamping it a bit. He grabbed a paddle and began to position the raft for Gray. "You!" called Uncle Ted to Gray. "Shut the hatch before you come down. Don't worry about getting it tight." Gray did as he was told, getting the hatch closed with no problem. He descended the ladder cautiously, doing everything right, but Garibaldi overshot him as he tried to position he raft. Gray landed half-on and half-off the inflated rubber, and he finally gave up and slid into the water when he realized how warm it was. He treaded water until Garibaldi extended the paddle to him and pulled him aboard, swamping the raft and getting both of them soaking wet. "Earthlings," muttered Uncle Ted. The young woman laughed heartily and said, "You're lucky. A lot of Martians don't know how to swim." "Keep your voices down," ordered Uncle Ted as he put his paddle in the water and angled the raft into the current. With powerful strokes he took off, and the others followed, trembling flashlight beams leading the way. Soon the only noise in the darkness was the sound of paddles slipping through liquid and the steady drip of condensation over their heads.
Babylon 5 01 - Voices (Vornholt, John) Page 21
