replied.
‘This is Dig Site Command. Our thanks to Colonel Torrek. We like to warn our working teams of aerial activity, because sudden distractions from crashing spacecraft can cause accidents. Zulu Survey, you are cleared to enter Zulu Dig Site air space.’
Everyone around the site stopped work and looked up. The vid bee team adjusted their vid bees to cover the sky. I’d expected to see an aircraft coming into view above the trees, but there was nothing. The Military usually timed these things better than …
There was a sudden flash directly overhead, followed by a sound like thunder. I gasped in disbelief as I saw the dark ring appear and hang in the sky, and the black aircraft appear from it. I’d seen this on vids about Planet First, showing how the Military portalled ships into new solar systems. I’d seen it on Ventrak Rostha’s vid about Artemis, when dart ships portalled in to surround the solar array that was attacking the planet. I’d seen it on vids, but I’d never expected to see it with my own eyes.
The Military had used their most famous technology, the five second, drop portal that had given humanity interstellar travel, and they’d used it here in the skies of Earth!
‘Zulu Survey to Echo Base, Adonis,’ said Drago’s voice. ‘Portal to Zulu Dig Site, Earth completed.’
The dust ring in the sky blurred to become a patch of smoke, then faded and vanished completely, but I still stood there, grazzed, staring upwards.
33
I woke, was bewildered by my strange surroundings, then realized I was lying on a couch in a Field Command sled. My initial gasp attracted the attention of a Military Captain with long blond hair, who looked like a younger and more handsome Arrack San Domex. He came over, sat on the edge of the couch, and smiled down at me. I was lost for a moment, caught in the borderlands of the dream world and reality.
‘Did they really use a drop portal?’
‘Yes, they did,’ said Fian.
I sat up. ‘I dozed off for a few minutes and thought I’d dreamed it.’ I saw repressed laughter in his face. ‘What?’
‘You’ve been asleep for four hours.’
‘Four hours!’ I shrieked the words. ‘Why didn’t you wake me up?’
‘You needed the sleep and your deputy has been running things in a perfectly brilliant manner. I expect you to recommend me for promotion after this.’
I giggled. ‘I can’t. We’re Twoing so Military regulations forbid me being involved in your promotion or disciplinary procedures. What have I missed?’
‘Not much. Drago has been babbling endlessly on Earth Rolling News, with Marlise bringing the odd moment of sanity into things. Dalmora, Amalie and Krath have been roaming around with vid bees while the dig teams battle their way through the trees. Krath caught a parrot to entertain the viewers, and it bit him. He’s still complaining.’
‘Surely a parrot couldn’t bite through an impact suit.’
‘Of course it couldn’t. Krath was playing the wounded hero for Amalie’s benefit, but she just kept making withering remarks about killer parrots. We did have one exciting moment when a group of dire wolves strolled out of the trees, but they took one look at the dig teams and decided to run for it. Other than that, Pereth has asked three times if we agreed his idea for dealing with various problems was the best one. Each time I consulted Playdon, we decided Pereth knew far better than we did, and we told him to go ahead. There seemed no point in waking you up for that.’
‘No,’ I admitted. ‘Pereth and Playdon know far more than me.’
‘I’ve been giving hourly progress reports to Colonel Torrek. He hasn’t asked why he’s been hearing from me instead of you. I’m pretty sure he realized the strain you’ve been under, and wanted you to rest while things were quiet.’
Fian paused. ‘Now, you must eat something. After you finished giving the site tour, you staggered in here, took off your impact suit, sat down and went out like a light. You haven’t eaten properly in days, so I’m not accepting any arguments from you.’
‘You aren’t getting any. I’m starving.’ I stood up. ‘What food do we have?’
‘There’s a whole range of cartons in the cupboard, and a mysterious stasis box.’
I stared at him. ‘A what?’
‘A stasis box. There’s a note saying it’s for you from Marlise. For chaos sake open it, because I’ve been dying of curiosity for hours, wondering what was so important it’s stored in a stasis box.’
I was already opening the cupboard. Fian wasn’t making a nardle joke, there really was a cube in there with the distinctive black fuzziness of a stasis field. ‘I hope they sent a stasis key as well, or …’
‘It’s right next to it. Playdon’s over with Pereth, checking sensor readings, should I call him back to …?’
‘Don’t be silly. We don’t need a Stasis Q to open this. It won’t have a bomb in it.’
‘True. I wouldn’t trust Drago, but Marlise is sensible.’ Fian peered over my shoulder as I used the key, the black stasis field vanished, and I opened the box inside. ‘No!’ he yelled. ‘Not cheese fluffle!’
I stared in rapture at my treasure trove, grabbed the spoon inside, and started eating.
‘Why?’ asked Fian. ‘Why use a stasis box to send you cheese fluffle?’
I swallowed a glorious mouthful. ‘Perfectly logical. It keeps it hot and fresh. Congealed cheese fluffle wouldn’t be the same.’
‘And I just said that Marlise was sensible! Have some frujit as well.’ Fian opened a carton and handed it to me.
I shovelled more cheese fluffle into my mouth, gulped my way through two cartons of frujit, and gave a huge sigh of satisfaction. ‘I must shower. Please put the rest of the cheese fluffle back into stasis.’
I went into the minuscule bathroom cubicle, experimented with the controls for a while, and came out feeling a lot fresher. I gestured back at the door behind me.
‘There’s a control setting in there for radiation mop up. Hard to believe we’ve got a shower with a setting for dealing with radiation exposure.’
Fian laughed. ‘Not as hard to believe as the fact I’ve just put leftover cheese fluffle into stasis.’
I found my Military lookup still attached to my discarded impact suit, and set it to Earth Rolling News. I wrinkled my nose as I saw the vid sequence of my leg getting fried during the Solar 5 rescue, and hastily turned it off again.
‘Haven’t they got anything better to show people than old coverage of me screaming my head off?’
‘I think they’re getting a bit desperate,’ said Fian. ‘They keep showing vid clips about Tellon Blaze too. Watching people cutting a path through trees gets a bit monotonous after a while.’
I felt guilty. ‘I should be out there, shouldn’t I?’
I sighed and picked up my impact suit. Fian instantly went to the front window, and feigned a deep interest in what was happening outside. If I couldn’t force myself back into my suit, he’d pretend I hadn’t even tried to put it on, but I couldn’t hide indefinitely inside the Field Command sled. I’d have to call Colonel Torrek, and …
Oh this was ridiculous. I’d been wearing impact suits since I was eleven. My school history club had to make special arrangements to get one small enough to fit me. It had been a running joke that I didn’t need to set the identification on my suit because it was obvious who I was from my size.
Yes, I’d had a problem after the accident, but I’d put on this impact suit in my fit of fury after Gaius Devon called me an ape, I’d stayed in it for over twenty-four hours without it biting me, and I could get back into it now. I started grimly rolling the special fabric over my feet. It felt strangely like when I first put on my flowgold ring, my skin crawled nervously as it felt the touch of the fabric, but I kept going and suffered a dizzying sensation of relief as I pulled up my hood and sealed my suit.
Fian turned and caught my arm as I swayed. ‘Jarra? Are you all right?’
‘Yes,’ I said shakily. ‘I’m in.’ I shook my head to banish the odd feeling of wetness around my eyes, and spoke again in a more controlled voice. ‘I’m fine. We’d better give Earth Rolling News a thrill by showing
