It had come from a ring of other stations down-orbit from them, and they had been the last stop before it left space and returned planet side to deliver it’s cargo and passengers. From the crèche, some bio alts had joined them, machine techs and two pilots, including the ones she’d met in the dining hall.
No one had spoken though.
Now they were heading to their destination and she was starting to get nervous about it. Until they landed, she could just experience everything in sort of a neutral way, as a new thing, but once they got to where they were going it would start to get a lot more real, and the hard part would begin.
She was really glad Doctor Dan was going too. He seemed very relaxed. “Do you go on these very much?” She asked him.
“Oh, I’ve done my share.” Doctor Dan said. “When I was younger, I did a lot of different things.” He added. “But I haven’t in a while. I don’t think it’s changed much though. There are only so many ways you can enter a planetary atmosphere, you know.”
Dev’s ears popped, and she reached up to rub them.
“Almost there.” Doctor Dan remarked. “Interforce’s Base Ten is on the northeast coast of what was originally referred to as the North American continent.”
Dev nodded. “I remember that from basics class.” She said. “Now it’s just Atlantia.” She added. “It’s much smaller now too.”
“Under water.” Doctor Dan said. “Only the highlands survived.” He tightened his straps a little. “Okay, Dev, we’re gong to land now so sit back.”
Dev did, and took a breath as she felt the stresses change, and the rumble suddenly got a lot louder. The craft altered it’s trajectory, and she felt it tipping upward, the vibration of the engines making the cabin shake and jostling it’s passengers in their seats.
“Retros.” Doctor Dan commented, over the noise. “That’s normal.”
Then the rumbling died down and she felt a thump under them, and they were still.
“Please remain seated.” The PA voice came over. “Vessel is being secured. Do not attempt to stand.”
Dev could hear bangs and thumps outside, and then after what seemed a very long time, she heard the clash of locks being released, and a sudden change of pressure that seemed to thrum against her ears.
The inside hatch opened, and one of the flight attendants appeared. “We have arrived. Please debark.” The man said, pressing a button on the wall. The straps around them all slacked, and they were free to stand up.
Dev did, as the others did, and she paused to stretch her body out after the ride. Moving felt a little strange, and she glanced at Doctor Dan as he likewise manipulated his body. She took a breath, and found a strange scent hitting her nose, rough and chemical smelling.
“Ah, the smell of rockets.” Doctor Dan muttered. “How I haven’t missed that.” He indicated the row. “Go on, Dev. Let’s get outside.”
Dev moved slowly along the seats, watching the rest of the passengers get in line in front of her. She found herself at the tail end, and used the wait to get used to how different the gravity felt. It wasn’t bad feeling, just strange, and she flexed her hands as they reached the exit of the craft and she found herself at the top of an outside ramp.
Outside. Dev felt a prickle of shock as a gust of air blew against her, and she could taste and smell all kinds of things on it, from machine oil to salt. It felt wet to her, and she licked her lips a little as she started down the ramp after the others.
They were in a landing bay, she realized. Ahead of her was a tall uneven rock wall, and a sealed opening dug into the bottom of it, with some lockers and benches outside and a loading platform full of sealed containers.
Seated on the benches were two people dressed in charcoal jumpsuits and as Dev looked at them, the closer of the two looked up and met her eyes.
It was a woman, with dark hair and a planed, angular face that looked tired, and defeated and sad and Dev’s heart gave a thump as she felt a surge of empathy for her without having the least idea why.
Then her foot caught on the ramp and she missed her step, and Doctor Dan was catching her, and when she looked back over, the woman had looked away, and it was over.
They were down the ramp and past the benches, and the big door was sliding open to reveal a group of men with weapons, dressed in steel gray armored suits and she had to set aside the strange encounter and focus on this new thing instead.
Everything was strange. The smell of the air was almost overwhelming, and she was almost glad when the door behind them slid shut and the movement of it was blocked out. She stood back as three men came forward and took charge of the other bio alts, pointing them towards an orange painted corridor.
They passed through a gateway on the way, and she could see the pale blue light as it coursed over each one of them, the gateway softly chiming and data flickering on the console as they passed.
The armed men ignored all of them. Dev wondered what they were there for, then she was being guided forward by Doctor Dan and it was her turn to go through the gate. “What is this?” She asked him softly.
“It records who you are.” Doctor Dan said. “Don’t worry. They’re expecting you. We sent them your scan ahead of time.”
Reassured, Dev entered the gateway, and felt a sharp tickle against her skin as the beam passed over her. It felt a little bit like being connected to a programming cradle, and it wasn’t entirely comfortable. She stepped out of it at the chime, and waited for Doctor Dan to join her.
A man in a green jumpsuit approached. “You the new experiment?” He asked Dev.
Doctor Dan quickly came up next to her. “This is NM-Dev-1.” He said. “I believe she’s expected.” He gazed steadily at the men. “Although I probably am not.”
The man in green studied something on the pad strapped to his arm, then he looked up sharply at Doctor Dan. “The director asked me to bring her to the ready center.” He said. “He didn’t say anything about you.”
“Well, let’s just go ask him, shall we?” Doctor Dan put a hand on Dev’s back. “I have the transfer authority for my friend Dev here, so I’m sure the director will be happy to talk to me about it.”
Dev felt very unsettled. She could sense the hostility all around, and the man was looking at Doctor Dan in a very wrong way.
The man in green entered something on the pad. “One minute.” He said. “Detail, stand down.” He ordered, directing his voice towards the men with the weapons. “The exit event went without issue.” He said. “Return to barracks.”
The soldiers safed their weapons and shouldered them, then started back towards the inside of the building, heading down a blue colored corridor without any comment. That left the man in green alone in the entryway with Dev and Doctor Dan.
“The genetiscan won’t positive ident you.” The man said to Doctor Dan. “It just passes your scan and given name as secure.”
“Mmhm.” Doctor Dan agreed. “That’d be about right.”
“Please wait here.” The man in green went over to a console on the wall, and started typing into it.
Doctor Dan chuckled a little. “Some things never change.” He sighed. “Well, Dev, this is your new home. What do you think about it?”
Dev looked at him in apprehension. “Everyone seems angry here. Or upset.” She said. “Doctor Dan, who were those people outside?”
“Which people?”
“The ones on the bench.” She said. “The ones in dark suits.”
“Ah.” Doctor Dan cast his memory back a short while, running through their arrival in mental pictorial shorthand. He called up a shot of the wall, and the bench, and two figures…. Ah. “Those were enforcement agents, Dev. “
“Oh.”
He half shut his eyes and focused on one of the two faces, and then his body stiffened a little as he put the presence, and the security troop together.