Paradise Lost

The next day, after returning home from yet another unproductive day at her day job, Anna was gearing up with Elsa for their real work. Their meeting last night with Alyosha, while certainly not the way they may have wanted it to go, was still useful in a few regards.

First, they received confirmation that Lizzie was indeed in Arcadia. Second, they received confirmation that Alexei was indeed in possession of Soviet IFF codes. Even so, they were still forced into working for Alyosha, and worst of all was the fact that there was still someone else out there who was more powerful and more influential than him. Whoever that person was, they knew the true identities of Anna and Elsa.

Until they were in a better position to retaliate, they would have to play along for the time being.

"That corpo agent, what was her name again?" Anna asked as she filled a few speedloaders for her hand cannon with hollow-point rounds.

"Nyle Cohen," Elsa looked up from the map of Cinnabar Bay she was examining. "It may be worth getting in touch with her if we want more intel."

"Well," Anna put her hand cannon down on her workbench and reached up for her katana. "We're already working with gangers, might as well toss working with a corpo into the mix. How far away is the resort?" she polished the blade with a cloth and sheathed it.

"At least an hour's drive by the rover. It's waiting for us by a service tunnel near Elysium Park. Along with the rest of the gear that Alyosha provided."

"Okay, no time to waste then," Anna strapped on her weapons and looked over to Elsa. "Let's call this Cohen and find out what she knows," she brought up her omni-pad and dialed her number that was provided to them by Alyosha.

After a few moments, a woman dressed in a gray business skirt with slicked, blonde hair picked up. "This is Cohen," she scowled in irritation. "First, start by telling me how you got this number."

On the other end, there were the sounds of blows being landed, followed by grunts of pain. Nyle was picking up a call in the same room as someone being interrogated.

"Know more than just your number," Anna said. "Heard you misplaced a convoy."

Nyle glanced off to the side. "Shut him up," she looked back at Anna. "Spill what you know. Don't make me wait."

"Nope," Anna shook her head. "Not on the horn. Let's meet. Work out a deal."

"A deal," Nyle pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Fine. Corpo Plaza. Alley down on the corner of innovation and heirloom street. Meet you there," she ended the call.

Elsa was already pulling up a map and plotting their destination. "She was pleasant."

"That's about as pleasant as these corpo types get," Anna looked around for anything else they might need, eventually settling her gaze on the railgun she had acquired some time ago. "I'm thinking we should head in there with a little bit of insurance," she walked up and took it down from its slot in the wall. "From the sounds of it, she's got her own goon squad with her. One of us should hang back and provide some cover in case she gets jumpy."

"Good idea," Elsa examined the weapon in Anna's hands. "But which one of us should be the insurance?"

"You," Anna passed the railgun to Elsa. "I'll talk to her."

"Me? You're sure?"

"Yeah. If I have the gun and if they try even anything on you, I'm liable to shoot first and ask questions later. We need to keep cool heads and, well, you know me."

"True," Elsa hefted the railgun in her hands and then slung it over her shoulder. "But let's try and avoid that. She didn't tell us to meet her in the sub-city, so it seems like she wants to avoid making a scene. We should still make a signal in case things go south."

Anna tapped her chin in thought and then snapped her fingers when an idea came to her. "Oh, how about this? I'll say, Elsa, start shooting! That'll be your cue to start shooting."

"Subtle," Elsa said.

Anna laughed as she walked out of their office. "Come on, we're burning daylight. You're driving."

… … …

After the short drive to Corpo Plaza, they came to the meeting place in a secluded alleyway that was sandwiched between three buildings. At one end, there was an armored ArmaRex car and Nyle was standing in front of it, accompanied by two bodyguards. Elsa pulled her car to a stop a considerable distance in front of them.

Anna sized up Nyle, then turned to Elsa. "Alright, time to go and have a chat," she opened her door. "Just hang back and keep your finger on the trigger, okay?"

"Okay," Elsa nodded.

They both got out of the car and Anna started walking towards Nyle. Meanwhile, Elsa casually leaned against the hood of her car, holding the railgun in her hands in plain sight. Ahead of them, the bodyguards brandished their pistols and held them at the ready.

Nyle stepped ahead of them and pointed her chin at Elsa. "Who's your friend?"

"My insurance policy," Anna replied, crossing her arms. "You didn't think I'd come here alone, did you?"

"Hmph. She's got some balls, drawing iron like that."

"And that piece of iron is a railgun. You're ArmaRex, you should know what that thing is capable of. Let's just talk, nice and easy like. Nobody needs to get turned into mincemeat."

"Fine," Nyle looked at her bodyguards and whistled, making a quick gesture with her hand. "Get him out here!" she looked at Anna. "First, you're gonna answer some questions."

One of the bodyguards went towards the back of the car and opened the door, pulling out another corpo in a business suit. His face was bloodied and bruised, while his hands were cuffed behind his back. The bodyguard brought him up next to Nyle and placed the pistol against his head.

At the same time, a drone had popped out a compartment on their car, hovering in front of Anna and training a focusing lens on her face. It was scanning for subtle facial movements, eye tweaks, and thermal readings of her body to detect if she was going to lie. Similar technology was employed in Krylov-Reidiker tests when assessing empathy development in androids.

"This piece of shit," Nyle pointed at him. "Sato. Do you know him? Is he your contact? Is he the one who leaked info on the convoy?"

"That guy?" Anna frowned. "I've never seen him in my life."

The drone chirped in response.

"Shit, checks out," one of the bodyguards said.

Sato struggled against the bodyguard restraining him. "I told you, I fucking told you, I'm not the mole. Jesus Christ!"

"Goddamn it," Nyle sighed.

"You're dead, Nyle, you hear me!" Sato yelled, spitting on the ground between them. "Fucking dead!"

"Son of a bitch," Nyle swore under her breath and rubbed her eyes with his hand. "Shut him up."

Sato continued to yell indignantly as he was shoved into the back of the car once more, and the drone returned to its compartment. While that was happening, Anna looked behind and saw that Elsa was still standing ready and waiting if need be.

"Now you," Nyle turned her attention back to Anna, walking side to side slowly. "Let's hear what you have to say."

"I can help you. I know where the goods from your missing convoy went," Anna replied. "I just need a favor in return."

"I'm listening."

"I need a hover-tank. The Drachen. Guys who ripped you off have it. You promise me that tank, I'll point the finger."

"You have a plan to deal with them?"

"My partner and I could just take it by force, but the gangoons are expecting payment. Could go that route too."

"Fine," Nyle nodded. "The latter, but on one condition. You pay with our money," she went to the car, opened the driver's side door, reached in, pulled out a credit chip, and held it out to Anna.

Anna took the credit chip and examined it in her hand. "Alright, sounds solid enough."

"You pay with that chip and that's all you gotta worry about," Nyle turned around and started walking back to her car. "Try to fuck me in any way, and I'll be seeing you real soon."

The bodyguards returned to the car as well, and as they peeled out, one of the windows rolled down.

"You're making a mistake!" Sato yelled. "This cunt's as good as dead already, and she'll take you down with her!"

Once they were gone, Anna released a heavy sigh and turned around, heading back to Elsa. She came to a stop in front of her and shrugged as she ran a hand through her hair.

"How did it go?" Elsa asked.

"Well enough," Anna showed her the credit chip. "Corpo lady wants us to pay for the tank using this chip. Gave it up a little easily if you ask me. She must be in some pretty hot water."

"I thought that too, based on what the other one was saying."

"Either way, we can just use this to pay for the tank if need be. Sounds like she's happy to let us have it, because, from the look of things, she's more concerned with finding out who their mole is."

"Sounds good to me," Elsa nodded, then went around to the driver's side and opened her door. "Let's hit the road. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can put all this behind us."

… … …

Another short drive later, Anna and Elsa found themselves in Elysium Park, heading towards a service tunnel by the edge of the biodome. The location that Alyosha had pointed them to was a garage, owned by the Verenkovs. Elsa parked the car outside, and together, she and Anna proceeded inside.

Parked within was the pressurized rover that they would need to traverse the Martian desert. It was a large truck that had eight wheels and a large bed attached to the back that was reinforced and wide enough that a hover-tank could sit on it. The keys were already waiting for them on a table nearby, along with two EVA suits and oxygen tanks. Clearly, Alyosha had been quite thorough in his planning.

Anna whistled as she walked around the rover, taking it all in. "Wow. Never thought we'd get to drive one of these bad boys," she climbed on one of the wheels and inspected the cargo bed. "Huh. Takes you back doesn't it?"

Elsa picked up one of the helmets for the EVA suits and inspected it closely, making sure the pressure seals were functional. "Back to what?"

Anna climbed up on the cargo bed and jumped up and down, testing the suspension and finding that it was solid. "New York. Two years ago, remember?" she went up to the main cabin of the rover and peeked through the windows. "That time we went on a road trip, and I taught you how to drive-"

"And you called me a smartass," Elsa smiled fondly at the memory as she set the helmet down.

"And then we got attacked by a pack of mutated wolves, and then I got my hand nearly chewed off, and then you risked your life to save mine, and then I got this metal arm, and then you took care of me while I was sick-"

"Yes, I remember."

"And then I got better, and then we had sex in the shower-"

"Yes, Anna. Yes, we did."

"Heh," Anna snorted and chuckled. "Good times."

"Maybe not the word I would use, considering everything else that happened," Elsa looked up at Anna. "But it was an interesting chain of events."

"Now look at us," Anna hopped down and came over to Elsa, inspecting the EVA suits. "Life is funny. Oh, remember the last time we went outside the biodome? We pulled our tiny tourist rover into that cave for some low gravity sex?"

"You remember low gravity sex," Elsa laughed. "I remember fifteen minutes of my life cramped in a small space I'm never getting back. It took longer just to wiggle out of our suits in there and you got so dizzy after, I thought you would throw up all over the place."

Anna sighed pleasantly. "Yeah, those were the days. Anyway," she picked up an EVA suit and unzipped it. "Let's get going."

They both shed their regular clothing and slipped into insulated bodysuits that would protect them from the colder temperatures of the Martian surface. After that, they both wiggled into their respective EVA suits. They were colored white for high visibility and were constructed out of space-grade ballistic fibers layered on top of one another to create a tear-resistant, impact-resistant, and puncture-resistant outer shell.

Additionally, EVA suits designed for usage in space or in vacuums – like on the surface of Mars or the moon – had been vastly improved from their previous iterations from the early twenty-first century. They were more streamlined and less bulky to create slimmer profiles, allowing for a greater range of movement and flexibility. Useful to avoid getting tangled up in equipment. Their built-in systems included a heads-up display in the helmet visors, providing the statuses of life support functions like temperature and oxygen levels.

As for the rovers, while they were pressurized and had their own independent oxygen supplies, it was still necessary to wear an EVA suit when driving one. That way, they could still operate the rover even if its oxygen supplies failed, or if they needed to head out onto the Martian surface for whatever reason.

When they were fully suited up, Anna and Elsa stowed their gear inside the cabin of the rover and climbed in. Anna sat in the driver's seat and Elsa sat next to her in the passenger seat. Once the engines were started, they pulled out of the garage and turned down the service tunnel, heading out of Arcadia and into the Martian desert.

"Okey-doke," Anna glanced at the readouts on her heads-up display as she drove. "Let's do a comms check. One two three, are you reading me, babe?"

"Loud and clear," Elsa gave her a thumbs up. "Almost too loud and clear. Is there a mute function?"

"Haha, very funny. O2 levels are looking good. How are yours?"

"One hundred percent. Emergency reserves are also one hundred percent."

"And nav coordinates?"

"Functional," Elsa gestured with her fingers and threw on a map to the dashboard display of the rover, highlighting their route to Cinnabar Bay.

"Awesome," Anna settled into her seat as comfortably as she could inside her EVA suit. "Better settle in then. We have a long ride ahead of us."

They continued driving down the service tunnel for some time, eventually reaching a checkpoint and an airlock that permitted entry in and out of Arcadia. It was manned only by robotic security guards as well as autoturrets, useful since they could persist in a vacuum. After providing them with their credentials, the robots waved them ahead and Anna drove into the airlock.

An automated voice then spoke out as the doors behind them were sealed shut and red lights began to flash.

Beginning depressurization sequence.

First, the artificial gravity generators were shut off in increments. Minute by minute, Anna and Elsa felt lighter and floatier as the gravity inside the airlock was gradually brought down to match the gravity on the surface of Mars, only a third in comparison to Earth.

Anna giggled as her entire body began to feel more buoyant, waving her arms around as she did. "Never do get used to that."

Second, once the gravity was equalized, the volume of air filling the airlock was sucked out and replaced by the thinner Martian atmosphere. At the same time, all sound would have become noticeably quieter and more muffled, but since their rover maintained its own pressure, everything still sounded the same to Anna and Elsa.

"All systems are looking green," Elsa said, interacting with the rover's holo-display. "Almost there."

Third, the external doors to the airlock slid open, revealing the full extent of the alien landscape before them. The sun was hanging high and bright, while the sky was a grayish blue with not a cloud in sight. An endless tract of rust-colored sand and rocks stretched away before them, covering the expanse of the Hellas Basin. Far ahead in the distance were mountains, cracked open and bleeding with glaciers for water harvesting.

"Wow," Anna's eyes widened as a smile played across her lips. "That view never gets old."

"It's nice and all," Elsa looked at Anna and smiled. "But I like this view much better."

"Oh my god," Anna rolled her eyes and shifted the gear to drive, slowly guiding the rover out of the airlock. "That was so lame. I love you."

"Aw, I love you too," Elsa leaned forward, intending to touch her visor against Anna's. "Helmet kiss?"

"Helmet kiss, mwah," Anna returned the gesture and lightly tapped their visors together.

"So," Elsa settled in more comfortably into her seat, adjusting her EVA suit. "Any ideas on how to pass the time?"

"Wanna play I spy?" Anna asked.

"Not particularly."

"What? Come on, you love that game! We played it on the flight all the way here when we moved, remember?"

"You mean you love that game, and you made me play it."

"Oh, don't be like that. Here, let's just go a few rounds. I'll start," Anna leaned forward in her seat and looked out the windows, scanning the selfsame red rocks and sands that stretched on for miles around. "Okay, I spy... with my little eye... something... red!"

"Here we go," Elsa sighed as she shook her head. "Is it a rock?"

"No."

"The sand?"

"Try again."

"A boulder? A pebble? The mountains? What do you expect me to say? Everything out here is red."

"Nope, nope, and nope. Want a hint?"

"Yes."

"It's something... definitely on this planet."

Elsa looked at Anna and stared at her for a few seconds, unblinking. "You could not possibly be any more vague," she said. "How is that supposed to help me at all?"

"You give up?" Anna snickered and started giggling to herself.

"Not yet. Is it something inside the rover?"

"Mmhmm!"

"Is it your hair?"

"Ooh, close, but no. Nuh-uh."

"The reflection of your hair in your visor. In my visor. In the windows."

"Ha! Wrong on all fronts."

"Unbelievable," Elsa closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat. "Fine, I give up. What is it?"

Anna raised her right hand and used it to wave at Elsa, showing off the red accents on the material of her EVA suit that could only be seen upon closer inspection.

Elsa looked at Anna and shook her head, then turned away to regard the desert passing by. "I hate this game," she muttered quietly. "It's silly and childish."

Meanwhile, Anna snorted and continued to giggle to herself because flustered Elsa was the funniest thing in the universe to her. "Okay, so it's still my turn because you gave up," she said. "Now, let's see here."

At that, they continued on down the road across the Martian desert, heading towards Cinnabar Bay, which was visible far in the distance. For much of the ride, Anna unsuccessfully tried to pick a different color of something for Elsa to look for, but there was just too much of the same thing all around. Elsa, loving Anna as much as she did, reluctantly and unenthusiastically played along.

While the surface of the red planet may have been incapable of supporting life, there was plenty of evidence to testify to the resilience of the human race. Well-used roads indicated frequent travel by other rovers, while ships and skycars darted over the landscape.

Outside of the main colony of Arcadia, there were smaller biodomes that housed research stations, defense grids, long-range satellite arrays, mining operations, factories, and solar energy farms. Between the dunes and the rock formations, tracks off the beaten trail indicated passage from tourists and thrill-seekers who had taken their rovers for a spin, utilizing the lower gravity to go off jumps and dives.

Indeed, the horizon of recreational activities was broadened with the possibilities afforded by extraterrestrial colonization.

After an hour of driving down a mostly straight road, they arrived at an airlock entrance outside of Cinnabar Bay. The biodome that shielded the desert oasis and resort was significantly worn, covered in some parts by sand and dust from the frequent storms that blew across the planet. Nonetheless, its construction was still solid and it was still functional, likely maintained by the denizens that resided within.

"Hmm," Anna leaned over the steering wheel and peered up through the windows, examining the airlock. "No cameras, no bots, no automated systems to let us in. Guess they don't get any visitors."

"That isn't surprising," Elsa said, unbuckling her seatbelt. "Let's get out and take a look. Maybe there's a control booth we can use to open it up."

"Okay, right behind you," Anna reached up the panel above her head and hit a few buttons, depressurizing the interior of the rover.

White mist hissed out from the seams on the doors until the cabin was fully emptied of oxygen. Then, Anna and Elsa climbed out of the rover, hopping down to the gravel in the lower gravity. Together, they walked over to the thick airlock doors that towered over them and began looking around for a way to get inside.

Elsa approached a staircase leading up to a small structure connected to the side of the main airlock, looking up at it. Meanwhile, Anna tapped her foot against the seam of the airlock doors, frowning to herself.

"See anything?" Anna asked.

"Yes," Elsa waved for Anna to come over and pointed up. "Looks like the control booth."

Anna followed along and the pair ascended the stairs. When they reached the top of the platform, they stood before a set of metal doors, partially wedged open by a piece of debris. It was another airlock, smaller and intended for foot traffic, providing direct access in and out of the control booth.

Elsa took hold of the debris, pulling it out with a bit of effort. Next, she reached into the gap between the doors and pried them apart using her enhanced strength, grunting from the exertion. The metal screeched in response but eventually gave way, parting before Elsa who gestured for Anna to go in.

"After you," Elsa smiled.

"Why, thank you," Anna returned the smile.

The second set of doors ahead of them were already opened, likely from having malfunctioned at some point when the construction project on the resort was abandoned. In the years since, sand and dust had crept their way into the control booth, covering much of the floor and blotting out the windows. Anna and Elsa entered, dipping their heads somewhat to accommodate the helmet of their EVA suits in the limited space.

Elsa knelt on the sand by a console, wiping it away to reveal the buttons and switches beneath. Across the control booth, Anna went over to a lever by the wall that had a blinking red light next to it, indicating that the power was still running.

"Sand's gotten into everything," Elsa said. "If the power is still on, these circuit boards would be fried."

Anna wiped some dust off the label by the lever and saw that it indicated emergency manual control. "Power's still on, alright," she pulled the lever down. "What does this thing do?"

A loud rumble and a bang by the airlock entrance sounded out, drawing Anna and Elsa's attention. They quickly departed from the control booth, opting to hop down from the platform rather than take the staircase. Before them, the airlock doors were grinding open, scratching and squealing from the amount of sand that had accumulated everywhere. Once it opened wide enough for their rover to fit through, the doors came to a halt, permitting entry into the interior chamber of the airlock.

"Cool," Anna grinned and looked at Elsa. "Teamwork!" she raised her hand for a high five.

Elsa high-fived Anna, smiling happily.

"Yeah," Anna said, pleased.

Inside of the airlock, it was the same tale as the control booth. Sand covered everything, but the doors ahead of them were still sealed shut, indicating that the airlock was operational. They found another control lever, which Elsa stood by while Anna drove the rover inside. Afterward, the lever was pulled, the door behind them closed, the interior was pressurized with oxygen, and the artificial gravity was activated.

When the doors in front opened, they proceeded through, driving down a service tunnel similar to the one they had left from in Arcadia. However, this time, the walls were covered in graffiti and gang signs, left behind by those who dwelled within. Once they cleared the length of the tunnel, they emerged into the daylight and entered the abandoned resort town of Cinnabar Bay.

Far ahead of them, sitting at the base of the furthest edges of the biodome was the artificial beach, dry as a bone. The white sands contrasted against the red sands outside, and the beach spanned a third of the biodome's circumference. The rest of it was filled with luxury hotels, high-end fashion stores, fine restaurants, and sprawling casinos. All of which were incomplete and left to rot. Palm trees lined the streets and sidewalks, meshing with the pastel coloring of the architecture, and contrasting against the urban decay like some bizarre, hazy, vaporwave, fever dream.

Elsa gestured with her fingers and expanded the map of the entire resort. "We should find a safe place to park the rover and proceed on foot," she said. "Environmental scans show that the exterior oxygen levels are adequate, so we can get out of these suits as well."

"Probably best we do that," Anna said, unbuckling her seatbelt and glancing behind her seat to their gear. "We wouldn't want them to get damaged in case we run into trouble. And besides, we'd look like dummies talking to a bunch of gangers in these things."

"There's no telling how many there are out here or what we might run into, so let's try and keep a low profile until we can reach the location."

"Where are we supposed to find them?"

"The Calypso Galleria," Elsa highlighted it on the map. "Not far from here."

"Okay, let's do this thing," Anna released the pressure seals on her helmet and pulled it off.

After getting changed back into their usual clothing, they found a secluded spot in an empty parking garage to park their rover. Then, they gathered up their gear, strapped on their weapons, and headed out into the resort.