It was another six klicks to the small village at the mouth of the Sylvan Valley. Hael was one of the few dome less cities on Aten. It’s location between the two ranges of the north Fallan Mountains protected its citizens from the intense heat and winds of the desert. There wasn’t much in Hael. It was mostly a supply outpost for anyone mindless enough to live in or cross the desert. There was a ship hanger that many officials used to store their space fairing ships for long periods of time. There was the solar train. Hael is one of two stops on the line between Hallen and Astrid. Unless you had your own ship or transport, the solar train was the only way to cross Aten.
The rain pounded against us as we flew over the wet sands. The flats between the ranges were unforgiving. The winds blew straight from one side of the planet to the other through here. The winds battered against our right sides. Gabriel’s arms snaked tighter around my waist as the winds rocked the trekker. Lightning struck within a klick of us. I could feel the electricity surge around us. I could feel the storm grow even stronger.
I don’t like this, Gabriel’s voice echoes through my mind.
What? The rain, storm, or my driving? I asked, pushing the thought into their mind.
Yes, they replied. A snort escaped from me. The storm is getting stronger, they replied. And we are out in the open.
You’re welcome to teleport us to Hael. I could almost hear them roll their eyes at me.
Yes, with my luck we’ll just pop up next to a Saeris.
I snorted again. That would be very much our luck. I squeezed the accelerator a little more. The trekker whined slightly as we gained speed. Lightning streak across the dark sky above us. Even though the sol was above the horizon, it grew darker. This storm was becoming more and more unusual.
Briel? I asked pushing my thoughts to them again. Do you think that a Saeris is strengthening the storm?
I felt them shrug against me. It’s possible. They have been targeting more of the rebel cells recently. Though mainly in the domes. But it could just also be a storm.
It doesn’t feel like a normal storm. I could feel electricity snaking through the clouds now. Even down here, I could feel it tingling against my fingertips. Almost as if someone was asking me to take it.
How so?
Its power is building up. Jaymes and Zeb said it would get stronger. It has gotten much stronger. I’ve never felt a storm like this. It’s stronger than even the electrical storms during the dry seasons.
Stay alert, was all they said.
I focused my attention on driving the trekker. As we neared Hael the path became rockier and harder to navigate through. If you hit a rock at the wrong angle you would be sent flying. If I put a scratch on this already banged up trekker, Zeb wouldn’t let me hear the end of it. I carefully drove us through the rocks. Gabriel squeezed at my hips as I made several sharp turns around the rocks.
I could see a low glow on the near horizon. The lights of Hael filtered through the rain and clouds. The Fallen Mountains rose high around Hael. Jagged rock points and shear edges were dark against the now blackening storm clouds. There was a tinge of green in the clouds. Lightning illuminating the peaks and ravines of the mountains. The rain continued to pound down on us. As I drove, I could see the little river trails that the rain had left in the sands.
The path into Hael was rough from the rain washout. I could make out tracks from another transport that had passed along before us. We passed under the first security light as we entered into Hael’s territory. There were a few rock residental structures out this far from the city. Light glowed from their small windows. I saw a small herd of dromedaries alongside one of the buildings. Those fauna were one of the few that could still survive out here in the deserts.
We rolled into the edge of the city. Hael wasn’t walled, but many of the buildings did line the outer edge of the city serving as a wind break for what wind did reach the city. We passed between two buildings, a tavern and a repair shop. Hael was buzzing even in the storm. People were everywhere running from one shop to another. I let the trekker roll up alongside another newer trekker and let the engine die. We would leave the trekker here and go into the city on foot. I popped up the display panel and reached in. I plucked the green wire out. Without that wire the circuit wasn’t complete, and the trekker would not start; no matter how much electricity I push into it.
Gabriel slid off the trekker. They held their hand out to me. I gripped their hand, the heavy leather of their gloves soaked from the rain. I slid off the trekker and stood next to Gabriel. They were surveying the ever-changing crowd running around us. I reached up and pulled my goggles from my face. I let them hang around my neck. Gabriel did the same.
“I don’t sense any Saeris,” Gabriel said quietly. “I highly doubt that they aren’t here.”
“Yeah,” I said nodding. “We have to be careful as always.” I watch Gabriel as they loosened their hood slightly. They looked over at me and nodded back. We stepped into the crowd. There was a large group moving towards the tavern that we slipped through. Gabriel caught my hand and guided me through the group of large and burly men. I could feel their eyes on us as Gabriel pulled us along.
We made our way towards the center of Hael. The paths were muddy. Rocks appeared in the path as the rain had washed the sands and dirt away. Mud was splashed up to my knees. Gabriel kept ahold of my hand as we walked.
“Are you afraid you’re going to lose me?” I asked squeezing their hand.
“Knowing you, yes,” they replied. They looked over their shoulder at me and smirked. I couldn’t help but smile at them. They squeezed my hand as we continued. A trekker sped past splashing mud across our legs. I heard Gabriel sigh.
The rain began to lighten. Lightning still flashed across the dark clouds; the thunder echoing off the mountains and rocks in the distance. I looked up at the buildings as we walked. Lights shined through the small windows. In a few I could make out figures inside. Most of the ground level units were shops and stores and above were residential. It was still early in the morning, only a pass or two after sol rise. Shops were beginning to open as the foot traffic outside began to pick up.
Gabriel pulled us off the main path and into a passage way between buildings. They grabbed my arm and pushed me back into the shadows. They pressed close to me standing along the edge of the shadow. I knew better than to ask.
In front of us, passing by on the pathway was two Saeris. They had the dark grey uniform of the Saeris military. Pulse weapons holstered at their sides. Gabriel squeezed my hand. I held my breath as the Saeris disappeared. I looked over at Gabriel. They bit at their lip as we waited for enough distance.
Gabriel squeezed my hand and we slipped out of the passage way. I looked over my shoulder as we started back up the pathway. The Saeris were gone from sight. Several others like us had ducked into the surrounding passage ways when the Saeris came through. I hastened my pace so that I was walking side by side with Gabriel.
A tall and skinny Zahren walked past us. “That’s the Saeris guards,” they said to their equally tall and skinny friend walking alongside them. “They’ve been walking the city for weeks now.”
I glanced over at Gabriel. Guards? I thought to them. Are Saeris stationed here?
They gave a very slight shrug. If there are, which it seems, we might be in trouble. Hael isn’t that big. If they have been here for weeks, then they know the locals.
We need to lay low then.
Gabriel nodded. I pressed close to them as a large group of Zahren passed close to us from the opposite direction. Thunder rumbled, echoing off the rock faces around us. The center of the storm had moved away from us. The rain lightened even more, but the storm still raged out on the desert.
We walked a little farther up the pathway. There was a little store to our left. It looked like a regular grocery and supply store from all angles. Even inside. They sold all sorts of foods and supplies, but also smuggled goods and information. Gabriel and I carefully moved our way through the growing crowd and to the door.
The doors slid open with a whoosh. A blast of cold air hit my face. I reached up and pulled my hood back. Gabriel looked at me and I nodded. I grabbed a mesh bag from the bin by the doors and started through the aisles. Gabriel trailed along behind me.
The shelves were well stocked. Colorful packages of food and treats filled the shelves. I knew what we needed, but I hoped I could squeeze a package or two of treats in. I grabbed a few cartons of oats and dropped them into the bag. Twenty credits. Gabriel handed me a couple small jars of spices. I dropped a couple boxes of powdered goods into the bag. Forty credits.
I walked past the rest of the sweet foods and went to the staples. Gabriel helped me grab two packages of flours. Sixty credits. Samirah would be happy. The last run they were out. The bag was starting to get heavy. Gabriel wandered off through the aisles and returned with a glide cart. I put the big packages and boxes of things into the cart.
“Did Sam say what kinds of cans she wanted?” I asked Gabriel as we walked through the staple shelves.
“She said something about…vegetables?”
I laughed quietly. “But what kind?” They shrugged. “What kind do you want?” They looked up at me with a confused look on their face. “Briel, chose what you want.” I pushed them towards the shelves with the canned goods. They hesitantly walked over. I followed behind them with the glide cart. They slipped their gloves off and ran their fingers along the labels under the cans. As I followed along, I grabbed a few cans of what I could recognize. Seventy-five credits.
I looked at the labels. The characters were foreign to me. The curved characters were only designs to me. It was Basic, the language I could speak but not read. Most of the products sold on Aten had a picture to describe what the product was. I relied on those pictures and those that could read to guide me.
Gabriel set some cans down into the cart. One hundred twenty-five credits. “What do you want?” Gabriel asked me. I looked at what they had set in the cart. Lots of green things that I love. I looked over at the shelves. There were some cans with colorful designs. I grabbed one. It showed a picture of a round reddish and green fruit. I have never seen it before.
“What is this?” I asked Gabriel.
“It’s mango.”
“What’s that?”
They rolled their eyes at me. “It’s a fruit. Tastes kind of like a peach.”
“Oh,” I said looking at the can. It was fifteen credits instead of the five that most of the other cans were. Gabriel took it from me and set it in the cart. “Briel, that’s expensive.”
“Nat, it will be fine.”
One hundred forty credits. I set my hand on the cart and pulled it along to the next line of shelves. Starches. I grabbed a medium sized bag of potatoes and set them in the cart. One hundred eighty credits. Gabriel tossed a bag of rice in. Two hundred credits. This was getting expensive. But everything was needed. It had been weeks since we had been able to grab any sort of supplies. Gabriel set another bag of some sort of grain in. It looked like the grains that Kannan liked but could rarely find. Two hundred twenty-five credits.
I pulled the glide card away from the shelves and walked across the store. We have a reliable water source with the aquifer, but it was always good to have extra water. I looked at the lines of bottles. Some bottles were large and others were small. I was looking for a specific symbol. A little lightning bolt. Gabriel came and stood at my side. They held their hand out and pointed at one of the larger bottles.
“This one has electrolytes,” they said softly. “I don’t see the one that you like.” I groaned slightly. I grabbed two bottles of the one Gabriel pointed out. They grabbed one bottle of another. Two hundred seventy-five credits.
“Anything else?” Gabriel asked looking over at me.
“Not that I can think of.”
They nodded. We walked to the counter back by the main doors. The glide cart following along behind us. I set my bag on the counter and pushed the cart to the end of the counter. The clerk sitting behind the counter, a young Zahren with green and brown eyes, eyed me for a second but started to scan the items.
Gabriel’s hand brushed against my shoulder. I nodded and they disappeared to the back of the store. Hopefully their errand would go well. I turned my attention back to the clerk. They hurried through scanning the items. I watched the total rise on the screen. I clenched my jaw each time it went up.
“Two hundred seventy-five credits,” the clerk said. I felt a little pride in having kept an accurate running total. I slipped open my satchel and pulled out the coin purse. I counted out fives fifty credit bars, two ten bars, and a five bar. I set them on the counter for the clerk. They took the credits and waved me ahead. The glide cart slide down to the opposite end of the counter. I pulled several cloth bags from my satchel and began bagging our purchases.
Gabriel reappeared; a bag slung over their shoulder. They helped me finish bagging the items and setting them back into the glide cart. Gabriel kneeled down and tapped at the glide carts control panel. A light flashed on their wrist gauntlet. I set a twenty-credit bar on the counter. The fee for taking the glide cart out of the store. We slipped from the store, the glide cart hovering along in front of us.
The heat was slowly building as the storm moved away. The electricity the storm was creating was stronger than ever.
How’d it go? I thought to Gabriel.
Perfect, they replied. All the files Kannan requested. Even the new mandate from Janus for Hael.
This was a great success then.
Gabriel gave me a slight nod and slipped their arm around waist. There’s Saeris near. I pressed a little closer to them. The two Saeris from earlier were more Saeris interaction than I wanted. Gabriel’s hand cupped my hip, pulling me closer to them. The glide cart hovering along in front of us.
.....continued
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