The Constant Star (29)

THE STORY SO FAR

And if they knew who she was, would she be safe in the midst of such charged aggression? As much as Macy has managed to make her accepted, can they truly see her as anything but an upper-level oppressor? Siff returns her attention to the window, not wanting to think about those things too much. The repetitiveness of the confining scenery is a welcome distraction from her anxious thoughts. The dim lighting gives her a hypnotic dream-like affect. She soon finds herself lost in pleasant imagination of what is soon to come: her escape to the Chosen Ones. She dreams of the new adventures that await her in a land of freedom and peace.

“We’re almost there. How’re you holding up?” Karl must have seen her spacing out. Siff jolts back to reality and sees herself in the window reflection once again. The military gear shocks her back into her nerves, “Feeling like I might puke after all. I can’t believe I’m here right now.”

“Neither can any of us. Things really accelerated this last week. But we have a chance to make our lives better and we’ve got to take it.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I said it before, we’ve got your back. I’m watching out for you Siff.” He puts his hand on her shoulder and makes sure she makes eye contact, “You’re going to be okay.”

The transport begins its deceleration as the tunnel opens up to a massive hall filled with machinery. Siff looks in wonder at the marvels of technology and engineering that lay bare before her, “I’ve worked in this section my whole life. That door ahead, that’s where we’re going. It’s a separate accelerator that will connect us with the grav module.”

“What does the grav module do?”

“It’s connected to the Tube. There are eight of them in total, each connected just below the Needle and expanding to the outer circumference where it connects to the ship. They keep the Tube spinning with zero friction. Where we’re entering, the grav-module is spinning at over to three thousand kilometers per hour. We’re going to enter a grav transport to get us up to that speed.”

“And the security forces are coming in from there?”

“They’re making their way to us however they can. It’s not a terrible idea to enter from the Needle: we don’t have access to those systems. Of course, aggravating conflict this close to the Chosen Ones isn’t a great idea in my mind. But hey, Diana’s the genius, not me.”

“Why do you call her that?”

“I reckon that’s her title. We’re at war, so I’m a captain and she’s Diana. Kind of a noble thought, I reckon. Anyway, here comes our stop.” The train comes to a halt and the doors slide open, “Okay troops, let’s head out!”

The units disembark and head their separate ways. Siff doesn’t have much time to wonder where the other troops might be going, as her team jogs to the door Karl pointed to earlier. They enter a small loading platform and wait for the door to close behind them before the next one opens. They step into the small transport, just large enough to seat their six-person team, and strap in.

“Want to know something amazing?”

“Do I?” Siff isn’t so sure.

Conner laughs and knocks on the wall of the transport, “Sure you do! We’re about two meters away from the outer wall where the grav modules rotate around the Tube. Right there is something traveling at over three thousand kilometers an hour!

“And you can’t hear or feel a thing because between us and that wall is a vacuum: nothing but space. If this transport malfunctions we’re going to collide with a wall moving at three thousand kilometers an hour and then what’s left of us is gonna get ejected into space!”

“Happens a lot, does it?”

“Not often, but you can tell when a transport’s gonna malfunction when it shakes during acceleration.”

The little shit. Siff knows what he’s doing, but she can’t help feel her nerves pick up as the doors close and the transport begins to move. And yes, it shakes. It shakes like a bitch. Siff glares at Conner who smiles and waves back. At least the grav is working in this one. Accelerating to these speeds with the shaking would definitely have her redecorating the room.

Fortunately the shaking starts to die down after a few minutes, “We’ve reached correct velocity, now we’re lining up with the grav module.” There are a few more seconds before a click is heard and the door on the opposite side of the room opens. Suddenly the shaking is completely gone, “Okay, here we go. Stick together and follow me.”

Karl leads them through an entranceway and into a hall where they meet up with three other units. Siff sits with her team and waits for Karl to return with news of their mission. It doesn’t take long, “Okay guys, here’s the deal. We have intel that Brainers are attempting to infiltrate from the Needle to secure the grav modules. We’ve got teams on all eight, but our mission is to hold number seven. They still don’t have control of the elevators so they have to use the vents and wiring corridors. Our unit is stationed by the main elevator to keep an eye on the panelling on the floors and ceiling. We are unit four. Units one and two are entering the vents as we speak, and unit three is guarding the secondary elevator shaft.”

“So we have to sit here while those other guys get to have payback? That’s bullshit.”

“This ain’t the place for sulking Addy. This is serious. The Brainers could still make it by our guys in there. There are a lot of vents and shafts to cover. We have to stay alert.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Okay team, let's move.”

Siff jogs with them over to the main elevator, where they set up watch. Karl points out possible points

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