Chapter 4

Blue awoke early the next morning with a genuine pain is his neck, and I don't mean Calla.

"Hey; watch what you're write about me or else!"

Umm... sorry.

"Damn authors... think they're so damn smart..." Calla mumbled to herself.

After a heavy breakfast consisting of some kind of meat and vegetable stew with scrambled eggs on the side, Blue, Calla and Abigail were shown around the town outside the tunnel by Nancy, who also introduced to some of the people who lived there. They were told about the long term plan for everyone to have a home deep inside the mountain, but for now they had to do with just sleeping inside until enough homes could be dug out from the rock.

Each day the population of Gran's little village would emerge from the depths of the tunnel and get to work. They had greenhouses for growing food, with more under construction, and various workshops where needed items were made and repaired. Blue found he could not help but compare the place to the Railgun Complex that had once been his home, although his place was much rougher and unfinished.

The stronger people took turns to go deep into the tunnel to dig out more space, while a few others took trips into the nearby forest to check their animal traps. None of the prisoners were allowed anywhere near the gated wall that enclosed the canyon that led to the tunnel, but Calla still took every opportunity to look for any weaknesses or gaps in their security. Probably the biggest surprise from that first day was the discovery that they were the only ones taken to this place by force; everyone else was one of the original inhabitants.

"In the past, Gran wouldn't let other people come here because she didn't want the place to be over run before we could take care of ourselves" Nancy explained "But now we're getting to the point where we need to bring in just a few more young people so... well... you know."

"You might as well say it" Abigail sneered "She only wants us for our genetics; you really don't need us specifically, so why do we have to be your prisoners."

"Oh you won't be prisoners forever" Nancy argued in such a pleasant manor "Once you get to know everyone and realise what a long and safe life you'll be having here..."

"You think we're eventually going develop some kind of freaky Stockholm Syndrome stuff, or something like that?" Blue half laughed at the thought.

"I'm sure you'll come around in the end" Nancy's smile was sickly sweet and rather disturbing.

In the afternoon, the three newcomers were in for a surprise when loud siren sounded and their guards herded Blue and the girls back to the tunnel, along with the rest of the population; the last ones in being the guards from the front gate. Everyone was sent deep into the tunnel, a head count being taken as they passed the first intersection. As soon as they arrived and were all gathered in the one place, they were lined up to be counted again.

"What's going on?" Blue asked the person nearest to him.

"Don't worry, it's just a drill" the man replied "We have an outpost on the top of the mountain to give us warning if a meteor should enter the atmosphere nearby. When the alarm sounds, we all head down here where it's safe and when the space rock has exploded, we head back out again."

"How often do you have these drills?" Calla asked.

"Oh they're pretty random, but once a month at least" the man told them.

With what was left of the day, the three were given the opportunity to spend time in the village carpentry shop so they could start working on some basic furniture for their room. Nancy continued to stick close by and managed to convince some of the more skilled crafters to help the newcomers along. After sunset there was another community meal in the same part of the tunnel where they had earlier gathered for the safety drill and when they had finished cleaning up, the three were all locked up in their room again.

Whilst still quite barren, their large living area had been made a little more comfortable with a few more additions. The old mattress they had slept on the night before now sat on a good sized bed sitting against the far wall opposite the door. Blue had managed to gather up some old unused tarps to put on the ground under the bed for him to sleep on, while Abigail and Calla slept with their heads at opposite ends of their new piece of bedroom furniture; sometimes there were advantages to being short. Blue was pleased he would not have to sleep on bare rock, and it was quite cozy under the tall bed, but they could all use more bedding and pillows.

"Just think, this time yesterday I didn't even know what a dovetail joint was, yet today I used them to help build a bed" Abigail noted.

"Given time, maybe we could turn this place into a home" Blue added. "Eric said because of the help we gave today, tomorrow he'd try and get a few people to help me make a start on digging out a second room. Considering how tough the rock is, it'll take a month or two to get anywhere."

"Listen up you guys" Calla interrupted "I don't want either of you getting emotionally invested in this place. I for one just want to get out of here as soon as humanly possible."

"No fear of that happening" Blue smiled to himself "But I still think it's a good idea if Abby and I pretend to fit in, while you act very hostile to this place. If there appears to be a separation of ideals between us, Abby and I may be able to find out some helpful information."

"Okay... but as long as you're only pretending to like it here" Calla agreed.

"Who knows... it may not work anyway" Blue admitted "But we gotta try it I suppose."

None of the three managed to sleep well this night either. Calla even spent much of her time in the dark plotting and planning, giving her some very unsettling dreams.

'

'

At that very moment, over thirteen thousand kilometres away, a second Dream Chaser space shuttle was launched from the Railgun Facility in West Sumatra. Although capable of carrying up to seven people, the small craft brought nothing but cargo on this trip. A few hours later it docked with the MTV Star Cruiser, recently returned from a trip to the Asteroid Belt via Mars. As soon as it had been unloaded, two and a half passengers boarded with their belongings for the trip bak to Earth.

"Do you have any idea how much I'm going to miss you?" Luis Dias told his wife.

"I just can't believe you're going to be off in space during the birth of our fourth child" April replied "That's four for four; a perfect record."

"You know I never planned for it to be this way" Luis defended himself "For this one I thought we would all be together on Mars... but fate had other ideas."

Soon the time had come for April and her daughter Saffron to take the small ship back to its launch site as the Star Cruiser came back around the planet on another orbit. Ten year old Saffron Dias had no trouble with the seat harness straps, but the heavily pregnant April needed quite a lot of help to get seated and ready.

"Mom, are we going to be shot at like Abigail and Blue were?" Saffron asked as the ship undocked.

"Don't worry Saffy" April reached over and squeezed her daughters hand "We'll be taking a polar orbit over the South Pole and re-enter the atmosphere over the Southern Ocean. We'll be way out of range of Sage and his missiles."

The young girl crossed her fingers anyway as the shuttles rear engines fired briefly to redirect and slow the ship.

A few hours later later, not far from the beach south of Tiku Sumatra, Peter Moke scanned the sky through a pair of powerful binoculars. His two-way radio had just given him an update on the shuttles arrival and even though it was still thirty minutes away, he was already feeling very anxious. The last time he had been in this position, the shuttle had never arrived, and many hours passed before he finally learned that his friends Blue and Calla had not died in a fiery crash, but had landed safely at the abandoned Edwards Air Force Base in California.

"Relax; they'll be okay" the driver of Peter's Land Rover predicted as he half dozed in his seat.

Peter glanced at the ambulance on his left, then to the fire truck on the right as he took a deep breath. He was glad to have them near but hoped they would not be needed. Finally after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, a voice on his radio informed him the shuttle was on its final approach.

Peter glanced back at the emergency vehicles to steady his nerves as he took another deep breath.

"Okay, start 'em up" he called to the drivers.

Taking up his binoculars again, Peter resumed scanning the sky until he at last saw a tiny speck in the distance. As soon as he had sat back down in the passenger's seat, the Land Rover started down the dirt road parallel to the runway with the other vehicles close behind. Several seconds later the shuttle flew past at high speed and touched down just ahead. Peter directed the driver to pull onto the runway and give chase as fast as they could manage. With the Dream Chaser's braking chutes deployed, the shuttle soon rolled to a stop allowing the slower vehicles to finally catch up.

"Shuttle to Star Cruiser; we are down and safe" April reported to her anxious husband.

It took the signal a few seconds to reach low Earth orbit, but eventually they received Luis's welcome reply.

"Ah good, I can breathe again" he admitted "I'll be moving out of range soon. Give my best to Sarah and... good luck my darling; Star Cruiser out."

At the back of the craft, April and Saffron heard the hatch open; they turned to see a tall man climbing in.

"Welcome to Earth; I'm Peter" he smiled.

"Hello Peter" April smiled back as she unbuckled herself and attempted to rise up out of her seat.

"Let me help you" Peter offered the struggling lady.

"This was a lot easier in micro gravity" April admitted.

"Yeah it looks like you're carrying a future rugby player in there" Peter joked "Are you sure there's only one?"

"According to my last ultrasound there is" she replied.

The crew of the Ambulance helped April down as her feet touched the Earth for the first time in over sixteen years. Peter then turned around to help the shuttles second passenger and was surprised to see her cowering in terror at the front of the craft cabin.

"You alright little sister?" he asked with concern.

"Th...there's.. n-no airlock" Saffron stammered.

"That's right... you don't need one here" Peter reassured her.

He held out his hand to the young girl who slowly gathered the courage to step forward a little. As Peter led the shivering Saffron closer to the rear hatch, he could feel her trying to pull back.

"I'll go down first" he said and dropped to the ground.

Realising what was happening with her daughter, April mover over to where Saffron could see her.

"It's alright Honey" she smiled at Saffron.

Peter held up his arms and helped lower this new visitor out of her ship and onto the runway. Still looking like a frightened rabbit, Saffron held her hands close to her chest as she looked around.

"Mom... what happened to the air" she said in mild panic.

"What's wrong with it Saffy?"

"I can't smell it... are you sure there's enough?"

"Yes Saffy, there's plenty of air" April nodded.

The Ambulance crew did their level best not to laugh as it was clear to see Saffron was genuinely scared.

"Why... how... how is it all moving like that?" the young girl asked with urgency.

"That's just the breeze" Peter knelt down "I'd be happy to tell you how it works when we get back to base; is that okay?"

"Mom... can I put on the rest of my pressure suit?"

It only took a few minutes to retrieve Saffron's gloves and helmet from the shuttle and fit them to her suit, but the emotional change in the girl from Mars was almost instantaneous. Riding back to the Railgun base in the Land Rover no longer filled Saffron with fear. She no longer cared that this strange Earth vehicle was not sealed because she was safe inside her pressure suit breathing its supply of bottled air; air with the slight aroma of light oil, air she more was familiar with. After their transport had been parked deep underground, the new arrivals were greeted by a familiar face.

"April... Mars has been good to you" Doctor Sarah Spencer declared.

With her arms outstretched, Sarah rushed forward and hugged her old friend before helping her out of the Land Rover.

"So many years since we were in the same place together, and you're just as big as the last time I saw you" Sarah smiled at April's baby belly.

"Maybe... but this one is three kids later" April noted.

The rear door of the vehicle opened and a short figure clad in orange with a white helmet stepped out and approached them.

"What on Earth have we got here?" Sarah wondered.

"This my dear friend is what I believe to be the first person in history to suffer from some form of Interplanetary Agoraphobia; meet Saffron my youngest daughter... currently."

"I think I'm okay now we're inside Mom" Saffron declared while fumbling with her left glove.

Peter Moke joined the group and began to help Sarah as she assisted the young girl to remove the pressure suit.

"I have a feeling this could be a common problem for any Mars born person on their first trip to Earth" April explained. "From the time their education first starts, we are always training our children in the dangers of being on the Mars surface. They are so accustomed to triple checking each other's surface suits and proper use of airlocks, being outside made Saffy very anxious until we refitted her safety equipment."

"Very interesting; I must tell Doctor Vieira about this" Sarah nodded "but for now, we need to discuss what we are going to do about Neville Sage and his private army."

"I suggest a large wooden stick followed by a sturdy jail cell... welded shut! "April declared only half in jest.

'

'

Far away on the small rock island in the North Atlantic, a flock of very nervous birds continued to protect their eggs, even though none of them dare challenge the small dragon as it rested nearby at the centre of their nesting grounds. About fifteen minutes earlier, they had all witnessed the fate of a large male bird when it had returned from its afternoon fishing trip. Not having seen what had happened to the others when they had attacked the winged reptile, this bold sea bird swooped in low and pecked at the dragon's head as it sped by in a vain attempt to drive away the intruder. The late birds only reward for it brave attempt to protect the nesting grounds, was to take some satisfaction in giving the small yellowish green dragon a slight case of indigestion.

'

'

I know some of you may live in places that have ice and snow each winter but as an Australian, I start to feel chilly when it gets below 20 Celsius (68F). I'm sure any of you from warm places can relate too. Today it is 13C and I am wearing so many layers of clothes, it's hard to move. ;) Boo the cat refuses to move far from the window, wanting any amount of sunshine her fuzzy fur can get.

Not much to do here in winter so I have gone onto a seven day work week. Fortunately winter is short here with the coldest weather only lasting about ten weeks, so in another forty days the temperature should be up to 17 – 18C. That small increase makes a very big difference in local lifestyle.

Big hi (and wave) to Vin, Draco38 and all you others giving my story a go. I am pleased and thank you for giving me your time. See ya in a few weeks, Marty.