Undersea (6 page)

“OK. I’m OK. Let’s go.”

Thom activated the hatch, and it opened, revealing the seabed, the dome in the distance, and the looming submarine
Population
. They stepped out of the transport and onto the canyon floor.

VII

It was slow going. The seabed had a layer of silt that swallowed their weight-laden feet. They stopped twice in the first hour, but pushed on. The dome didn’t seem to get closer, and the abandoned transport barely got smaller.

It took them the better part of the day, but they were finally somewhat below where they could see some open bays, visible as tiny squares of light in the otherwise black hull. They decided they would risk it from here, and removed the weights on one of each of their legs. While they had stood out slightly against the lighter colored silt, as they ascended they disappeared into the murky sea. The canyon walls, featureless in the dark and distance, offered little sense of movement. Occasionally, the running lights of transports would ascend or descend close enough to seen, but not close enough to see them.

It was excruciatingly slow, but rising any faster would have been too risky. They also didn’t mind the respite. The ship got larger and larger, soon occupying their entire field of view. The black hull stretched off in every direction as far as they could see.

Then, suddenly, they cleared the canyon. The sea floor extended in every direction, a vast barren wasteland. The
Population
loomed, a solid near-black cloud over a gray landscape of nothingness.

It was well into the night, their time, when they touched the composite keel of the
Population
. They had drifted away from the few open bays on their ascent, so they pulled themselves along the hull headed aft in search of them. As they approached the first open bay, they froze. A transport sub was rising, all lit up, from the dark crevasse below them. They remained perfectly still, no more than a few body lengths away from the lit hole in the bottom of the
Pop
. The transport passed them, breaking the surface of the water in the bay, and floated for a moment on the artificial surface. Then it rose out of the water and disappeared. Thom activated his comm.

“This is our best chance. Follow my lead,” he said. Ralla nodded, and Thom immediately started inching along the hull. He paused at the edge of the bay, his chest flat against the hull, helmet out into the opening. As slowly as he could, he bent his head around, broke the surface, and peeked inside the ship for the first time.

The bay layout was very similar to those on the
Uni
, with subs lining the walls and a crane to remove craft from the water. There was no one near the opening, but what looked like maintenance personnel were attending to the recently arrived transport. The sub’s hatch opened, and people started filing out. Their dress was obviously a uniform, not totally dissimilar to those found on the
Uni
. This offered no help as to whether or not their casual clothes were similar or not to what Thom and Ralla wore. After a few more minutes, the sub was apparently empty, and the techs moved out of sight on the far side of the bay.

“Slide down a bit with me,” he said over the comm. She tapped his leg, and they shuffled down the edge of the open bay. When they were positioned better behind the resting transport, Thom slowly pulled himself around the edge, and rolled out onto the bay floor. Ralla did the same. They crouched behind the transport. It was one of theirs, from the dome.

“We should just take this.”

“Even if we could get it in the water with no one noticing, it’s not speedy enough for us to get away. No, we’ll have to figure out something else. Take off the suit.”

They removed their dry suits, wrapped them around the helmets, and pushed them into the water. They sank out of sight.

“We should at least see if there’s anything on the shuttle we can use,” Ralla said. Thom nodded. They checked around for any other people in the bay, and then moved quickly up the ramp. The inside was similar to the one they had left that morning, though this was a larger model meant to transport 18 people. They sat in the seats, ate a few of the emergency rations, and drank packets of water. Otherwise, there was nothing of value.

Voices. They were headed towards the shuttle. There was definitely an accent, but it was at least the same language. Thom jumped up and sat down next to Ralla and started kissing her. Her eyes went wide, but seeing the terror in his, she went along. The voices stopped as the group of three men stood in the doorway of the sub.

“You really need to do that here?” one of the men said. He was rather lanky and gaunt, but stood tall in a way that implied authority. The dialect had vowels that sounded longer than Thom was used to hearing, so he tried to mimic it the best he could.

“Sorry, sorry,” Thom said as he pulled away from Ralla. She was doing her best to smile and play along. The man eyed them suspiciously. Thom stood, and helped Ralla to her feet. “Sorry, sorry,” he said again, this time with a smile. He started moving towards the three men, holding Ralla’s hand as he moved. The men said nothing, and parted as they approached. Thom and Ralla stepped down from the sub, and walked quickly, hand-in-hand, toward the exit. They waited for the lock in front of them cycle, and by extension, the one they had come in to close. Thom kissed Ralla on the cheek, and out of the corner of his eye, he looked back at the sub. The lanky man still stood in the doorway, watching them, but the others had moved further into the sub.

Thom and Ralla stepped out into a long corridor, almost a twin for the one of the same purpose on the
Uni
. As the lock slid shut, they released each other’s hand, and moved quickly down the corridor.

There was a track for a tram, but no tram was in sight. The lights were set low, and it was difficult to see. 

“I think we may have lucked out. It seems to be really late or really early.”

“Or they’re calling security.”

“Nothing we can do about that now. We need to find a change of clothes.” They kept walking at a fast pace, but soon slowed as they came across no one else.

“Is there anything even down here?”

“Well, on our ship I worked down here. So did my father and just about everyone I know.” Thom said it without malice, but Ralla didn’t say another word for some time. “There should be an elevator up into the ship up ahead, as long as they followed roughly the same design as our ship.” They soon arrived at a bank of elevators. One arrived with a disconcerting bang, and the doors scraped open.

When they opened again, both Thom and Ralla stood in shock for a moment. Unlike the
Uni
, whose interior was broken up into three sections, with substantial cross bracing and bulkheads in between, the
Pop
was an open tube, bow to stern. From their vantage point near the bow, they could see almost all the way to the other end of the ship. Fog obscured the far end, and along the roof there seemed to be tiny clouds. There were gardens everywhere, different levels, angles, and sizes. Walkways crisscrossed the open spaces. Instead of picosuns, a single lighted strip ran the length of the ship, dead-center along the roof. It wasn’t very bright, further evidence it was night local time. The walls were ships, just like on the
Uni
, but in addition, there were ships placed in the open areas as well, sailing in a sea of gardens and walkways. Even the area near the elevators was impressive, an enormous open amphitheater that gently sloped towards the forward-most bulkhead. Thom closed his mouth.

“This is only the third place I’ve ever been,” he said quietly.

“Me too,” Ralla replied, equally impressed.

They found some uniforms in a bin near some kind of store a few minutes’ walk from the elevators. They were all the same orange color, and a similar design as the uniforms the men down in the docks wore.

Thom and Ralla, now clothed in local attire, found a secluded corner behind another shop, and passed out.

The next morning, what felt like only a few hours later, Thom and Ralla woke to the din of people streaming past their hiding spot. Most wore uniforms similar to those they had borrowed the night before, but of a variety of different colors. Others wore clothes that wouldn’t have looked too out of place on the
Uni
. Simpler, perhaps. Everyone was headed in the same direction, and all were talkative, even jovial. After checking themselves for wrinkles or anything else that would seem out of place, Thom and Ralla joined hands, and stepped into the flow of pedestrians. The few who saw their exit gave them a good looking over, but soon went back to their conversations. The crowd was headed towards the amphitheater.

All the seats were filled by the time Thom and Ralla got there, and as the crowd continued to build everyone moved as far forward as they could and just stood there. There was a genuine friendliness to the greetings, the waves, the exchanges that perplexed Thom and Ralla.

Applause started near the stage and spread quickly to the back of the standing crowed. Thom and Ralla joined in. The clapping was more salutation than excitement, though there were some in the crowd that had noticeable enthusiasm.

A man stepped out onto the stage from a space in the front wall. Many in the crowd immediately clapped louder, though most remained rather neutral. He waved out at the audience. His hair was a wavy light brown, and as much as Ralla and Thom could make out, he had a sharp jaw and a defined chin. While older than either of them, he didn’t seem to be into the age where either of them would really call someone an “adult.” Maybe old enough to have a young family. His first words, though amplified, were drowned out by the applause. He paused as it died down.

“Good morning,
Population
,” he greeted with a smile.

“Good morning, Governor Oppai,” the crowd replied in unison. Thom and Ralla mumbled along, but still got a few odd looks from the people near them. Oppai looked amused.

“You know, that really makes me laugh when you do that. All right, let’s get down to it. A few morning announcements before we get to the good stuff. Food production shipwide is up 4.6% over last month. Let’s hear it for the farmers,” he said, motioning with both hands out into the audience. There was heavy applause. “Tram 2 is going to be down for maintenance. When I asked them when it would be ready, the crew said ‘when it’s done’.” There was some mild laughter. “We also had 87 births last month. Let’s hear it for the new moms and dads!” The applause was much louder this time. He waited for it to fade, then started again. “OK, now on to the good stuff. And this is real news: I just found this out a few hours ago. We have fully reclaimed our stolen mining facility!”

The applause was immediate and thunderous. Shock hit Thom and Ralla as if the clapping had brought it.

“Did he just say...”

Ralla grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. The citizens all across the amphitheater seemed thrilled. It took several minutes for the applause to die down. 

“We did lose a few of our people, but you all know that we couldn’t let this attack on our solidarity stand. We offered free passage or asylum to the miners who had taken over. It pains me to say they chose to seal themselves in the mine and flood it. Sadly, such is their way, I suppose.”

The color drained from Ralla’s face. Thom wrapped his arm around her, pulling them close like a couple would and supporting her as her knees began to wobble.

“We expect to resume mining operations within a few weeks. Tomorrow, we head for New Unstalla, and liberate our people there. We will not let them take our fair share anymore! We will not let them take our mines and our farms anymore!” The applause nearly drowned him out. His face beamed out onto the crowd. He waved them quiet.

“OK, that’s it for today. Now I have to get back to work...”

“And so should you!” the crowd and he said together.

He waved at them all again as they applauded. He left the stage the same way he came in, and almost immediately the crowd started to disperse. Thom and Ralla went with the flow. Passing the series of shops where they had slept, they were able to break off and sit on a bench. Ralla’s hazel eyes were moist, and her nose was running. Thom took her hand in his, and she squeezed it tight.

The shops had started to open, and some from the crowd stopped and took seats. Thom watched them as casually as he could, both to see how they interacted, and to give Ralla as much privacy as he could without leaving the bench, or her hand. People passed them without a second glance. They all seemed jovial, and most seemed in a hurry. A few of the shops nearby started to spawn lines of patrons.

The closest shop, a cafe not unlike Eerre’s back in the Garden, opened its doors, and there was a semi-organized rush for seats. As he thought of Eerre’s cafe, he suddenly felt very alone, very small, and very far away from home. He watched the customers for a few more moments, and then turned back to Ralla. Her eyes were clearing. She pulled her hand from his to wipe her eyes.

“There’s no money,” he said quietly.

“Huh?”

“I’ve been watching these shops. People walk up, ask for something, they get it, and then they walk away. There’s no hard credits, there doesn’t even seem to be a scan to charge an account.”

“Maybe they tell them their name or their cabin or something.”

“I guess so, but I can kind of make out what some of the people are saying and it doesn’t sound like they’re even saying that.”

“You know what this means?”

“I know what
you
think it means, but
I
think it means we’re going to be able to eat,” Thom said with his eye on the cafe. Ralla made like she was going to object, but was too hungry.

The meal was uneventful, and though they were ravished, they came away unimpressed. At the end, the waiter thanked them in the same accent the whole ship seemed to have and they went on their way. An older couple at the table behind them was finishing up at the same time, and caught up to Ralla and Thom as they headed back towards their bench.