Several hours later…
Stowik strapped in after he removed his cumbersome orange suit and was startled to see Dalrin climb up the hopper. He reached the hatch and climbed in the cockpit.
“My suit’s off,” Stowik warned.
“At this point, whatever flu you’re carrying is the least of my worries. I’m coming with you,” he stated firmly as he tossed in two plastic tube devices into the cockpit.
I’m not going to argue. What is a flu?
“Just do me a favor and keep your mask on. Before we take off, here,” Dalrin handed him a plastic tube device. In response to Stowik’s questioning look, he said, “It’s called a rifle.” Dalrin showed him how to use it, “and keep the safety on until you mean to shoot.”
Stowik pushed the throttle forward and felt the hopper lift. Pushed by a new sense of urgency, he navigated the hopper back to Alpha India.
“How many Opposition are we expecting?” asked Dalrin.
“Two. I told Imbria how to reach Alpha India and she took one person along. That was right before the blast hit.”
“Two for now,” Dalrin corrected. “The Opposition hideout you were staying in was one of many. By now they’ve directed others to follow.”
“I don’t think the more the merrier applies here,” said Stowik.
Dalrin let out a hoarse laugh in response.
“So why is the Arksent bent on helping Alpha India?” asked Stowik as he held down the throttle which poured gallons and gallons of compressed liquid methane and oxygen into the combustion chamber of the hopper.
“I wish I could tell you that it was for the sake of your people, but I’m going to be real with you. The people of Alpha India have some type of mutation that increases your pupil size. Years ago one citizen of Alpha India left and came upon the Arksent. When one of us was exposed, that person acquired the same trait. We don’t quite understand it, but it must be some kind of virus. If it has any negative side-effects, we don’t know, but we would prefer that the Opposition not have such an advantage in their vision,” said Dalrin.
“So why not let the rest of the Arksent become infected?” asked Stowik.
Dalrin glanced sideways at Stowik, “I’m afraid Arksent can’t afford to take that kind of risk—we don’t know how it works. But it’s not beneath the Opposition to try, in their desperation. The second reason we’re helping is that it’s likely the Opposition will recruit the inhabitants of Alpha India to fight us. I see now that you have rocket propulsion technology that neither we nor the Opposition are capable of, and now that they know you’ve got it, they want it. I’d prefer the hopper technology not fall into Opposition hands.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. This is the last one we have, and I’m the only one who can build them,” said Stowik. Dalrin’s eyebrows shot up as he realized that Stowik could be a huge asset to the Arksent war effort.
The hopper crested Castle Mountain and Stowik saw one Opposition rover on the outskirts of the crater where Alpha India resided. He pointed it out to Dalrin, “We have company.”
“I can’t see it. It’s way too dark,” said Dalrin as he strained to see the rover in the pitch-black conditions. “Is that Alpha India?” he asked.
Stowik was guiding the hopper to what appeared to be a circular mound many kilometers across with a artificially flattened top: the filled-in crater that housed Alpha India.
“Yes,” replied Stowik through gritted teeth as he fought against the wind. “How long will it take the Arksent soldiers to get here?” asked Stowik.
“Hours. The terrain here is quite difficult to traverse. When they do arrive, though, it will be in force,” assured Dalrin.
The hopper came to a halt and descended a little too quickly to the ground on top of Alpha India. Stowik and Dalrin retightened their masks over their mouths and descended from the hopper.
“Where is everyone?” asked Dalrin.
“They usually stay inside Block Two,” Stowik pointed to a large grey door on the top of the platform. “It’s where most of the housing is. You check and see if everyone is okay. Go downstairs from the door and ask the first person you see if you can talk to Tom—that’s my dad, and can take it from there. I’m going after Imbria and Tharsis.” The first thing they’ll go after is the hopper plans.
Dalrin nodded and began his march to Block Two. Stowik made his way over the icy surface to the entrance of the Concrete. He planted his hands on the cold rungs of the ladder and descended into the icy depths. Stowik reached the bottom and let his eyes adjust to the gloom. The familiar surroundings offered some level comfort. I’ve got the advantage here. He unslung his rifle from his back and moved forward. He began scouring the cavernous tube-lined rooms, looking for any sign of Imbria and Tharsis.
Clink. He heard the sound of plastic meeting plastic and headed in that direction. For what seemed like ages, he wandered the Concrete until the sound of shuffling caught his ears. He followed his ears for some time until he saw her. Imbria. What the hell is she doing? Stowik’s enlarged pupils followed her movements. She had found the hopper blueprints on the table, that much he could tell. Why isn’t she taking them and getting out? Where is Tharsis? Stowik kept his rifle trained on Imbria and watched her clamber around the room. She found what she was looking for. The blowtorch. And then it dawned on him. She’s here to destroy the hopper plans. Is she trying to keep Alpha India out of the war? She must not know I was captured by the Arksent.
Imbria looked up, but not at Stowik. He registered shock in her eyes and her mouth began to formulate words, “Da—” but a deafening outburst cut her off.
Stowik dropped into an instinctive crouch, reacting to the earsplitting sound of the shot, and saw Dalrin’s black boots move across the room, his rifle still aimed at the Imbria’s crumpled body. Then, another shot rang out and echoed throughout the Concrete. Dalrin clutched his leg as he fell to the cold ground. Tharsis stepped out of the shadows and shot again. This time the bullet connected with Dalrin’s chest. Stowik looked on in shock. His brain registered what his eyes saw seconds after they happened, which left Tharsis enough time to peel Imbria’s fingers back from the hopper plans. Erratto turned the hopper plans once over in his hands, stuffed them into his thermal suit’s chest pocket and ran. Stowik stepped up and briefly looked at Dalrin’s and Imbria’s motionless bodies. Now it’s up to me. Stowik didn’t quite know what to think of Imbria or her death, nor did he have time to. He gave silent chase to the thief and pursued Tharsis through the endless rooms of the Concrete with only the sound of his opponent’s footsteps to guide him. Stowik followed Tharsis through a door leading to a long passage. What is this place? Now he was in unfamiliar territory, which wasn’t surprising in the Concrete, a place that seemed to go on forever. It felt like Stowik had been walking for an hour, or was it two? It seemed to Stowik that time moved differently in the Concrete, where the only company he kept was his own thoughts. Stowik continued along the passage until it came to a dead end. He looked around and saw no doors, but he spotted a ladder leading up a narrow crawlspace Stowik slung his rifle over his shoulder and began climbing. He panted from exertion and took a break to look down. I must be seventy meters up by now. He continued to ascend the ladder until he reached a circular hatch above him. Stowik balanced carefully on the ladder as he twisted the handle and pushed upward. Fresh air flooded around him as the breached hatch revealed the cold ethane mist from outside. Stowik climbed out and found himself on sturdy ground, relieved to feel the cool, fresh air around him.
Stowik looked up and saw he was surrounded by eight soldiers, all with their rifles trained on him.
One stepped forward, “Stowik? Lieutenant Caplock.”
“Arksent or Opposition?” Stowik challenged.
“Arksent,” Caplock responded.
Exhausted, Stowik sank to one knee, “Dalrin’s dead. I chased the Opposition soldier who shot him this way. Did you catch him?”
The Lieutenant shook his head, “General Taylor isn’t d
ead. He is in critical condition, but our medics are treating him and he should be fine.” First bit of luck.
General, did he say? Then Imbria wasn’t lying about that. Stowik exhaled sharply.
Lieutenant Caplock continued, “We did not apprehend the target. We have been instructed to take you to General Taylor now.”
Stowik followed, and they climbed aboard the massive ten-story-high rover he had observed in Arksent earlier. Spotlights lined the outside of the vehicle and illuminated the desolate landscape around it. He was directed to a grey-lined room where Dalrin lay on a bed. His orange hazard suit was removed and he was smothered in bright, red-stained bandages. A tube connected his arms to a number of bags filled with clear liquid.
“I thought you were dead,” said Stowik.
Dalrin dismissed the guards.
“Just a scratch,” Dalrin replied good-naturedly, but Stowik could see that Dalrin was in a lot of pain.
“They got away with the hopper blueprints,” said Stowik.
Dalrin nodded slowly, filing away the information for later. “Stowik…there’s something…worse,” he began, “we didn’t find anyone in Block Two.” He paused again, “or any of the other Blocks.”
Stowik nodded knowingly, “They must have seen Imbria and Tharsis arrive and escaped.”
Dalrin coughed, visibly uncomfortable. “No, it didn’t look like anyone left in a hurry.In fact, it didn’t look like anyone lived there at all. And I don’t think Imbria or Tharsis had anything to do with it. I don’t know how to say this kind of thing in a tactful way, so I’ll just say it the only way I know how. Stowik, Alpha India is in total disrepair; there’s nothing even growing in the greenhouses. It looks as though no one has lived there for years.” At that moment a loud, fast beeping emitted from the machine next to his bed. A doctor came in and rushed Stowik out.
Can it be true? The Blocks being empty can mean anything. They could have escaped. Stowik wasted no time. Unsure of Dalrin’s intent from his strange news, Stowik headed for the only place that neither Dalrin nor the Opposition knew about; the only place he could test if Dalrin was correct that Alpha India had long been abandoned. He broke into a sprint, pushing violently past soldiers and bursting out into the dim light of day. He hit the ground running and maintained his pace. He was surefooted on the ice, and soon came across the familiar path. He sprinted up the shallow incline that led to the magnificent view of Castle Mountain. Though worn by the wind and rain, his eyes recognized the exact spot where he had hit the ground in grief when his brother died. He kept running but slowed his pace when he realized he had many kilometers to go. Eventually, he came to the place where his brother had crashed the hopper.
But there was nothing there. No hopper. No bits of plastic. No scarred ice. Nothing. It was as pristine as the rest of Titan.
Doubt clouded Stowik’s mind, which was moving faster than the wind that tore at his cheeks. Is it true what Dalrin said? That no one lives in Block Two—no one at all lives in Alpha India? How is that possible? Would he lie to me? No one can lie about this: where is the hopper? Did Rockhead not die here in the hopper crash? No! I saw the green light! I saw him crest Castle Mountain and crash here. I saw the smoke. I heard the crash. I felt it.
But there’s nothing here. Stowik knelt down and clawed at the icy surface. He filled his palm with scrapings of ice particles and hydrocarbon dirt and squeezed tightly. He slowly unclenched his fist and let the debris fall out of his hand. The fragments fell to the ground and drifted away, swept violently by the swirling wind.
Ice and more ice. And hallucinations. What is real? Are the Opposition real? The Arksent? Have I gone crazy? Where does a schizophrenic fit in with their plans? Maybe if I’m lucky they’ll just leave me here.
Stowik gazed at the horizon and caught the last glint of orange as the light danced through the air. Where is everyone? Was it the Fire? Was I the only survivor? Why can I not remember it? Do I even remember what Block Two looks like?
Am I one of one?
The sun set, and Stowik didn’t move from his position, knees drawn up to his chin, open eyes staring at the place no hopper ever crashed. At one point the ground shook violently; one of the longer quakes, but Stowik didn’t notice. The steady plodding of boots did nothing to gain his attention.
Stowik heard Lieutenant Caplock’s voice, “Stowik, time to go.”
“The hopper isn’t there,” Stowik replied dazedly, “there was no crash.” Lieutenant Caplock looked at him strangely but didn’t reply.
Only the plodding of their boots could be heard as the two men climbed into the rover and unhurriedly drove back to Alpha India to rendezvous with the Arksent army. The rover’s headlights bobbed up and down as they traversed the bumpy terrain. Neither man spoke a word throughout the drive. When they arrived, Stowik climbed out of the rover and descended to the depths of the Concrete, where he threw himself in his familiar cot and fell asleep instantly. That night his dreams were filled with burning sandstone blocks. “Where is Rockhead?”
2122
Day 16, Entry 2, Commander Neil Taylor: Several of the crew members have suffered minor fractures, which was to be expected upon entering a gravity field after so long in zero g. I’m not sure what the numbers are but the average decalcification of our bones must be pretty significant. Studies in the 21st century showed that bone density went back to normal within several months of being back on Earth, so I’m confident that our bodies will respond to Titan’s gravity in the same way, and we’ll be back to normal soon. Collectively, we decided that it was important that we maintain our natural circadian rhythms. Of course, we’ve been doing this since day one on the Caeculus space craft, but the sheer darkness is a lot more evident now that we can’t see the stars or much of the sun through Titan’s hydrocarbon haze.
Maybe Nicole was right—we seem to be functioning much better now that we’ve split up. There’s more room and people are fighting less. We were cooped up for far too long. The worst part was knowing that there was nothing for us back on Earth even if we could make it back. As the Commander, I’m probably the only one thinking of these things, though. That’s just as well because the crew is doing just fine here on Titan, besides the broken bones. Hell, Nicole went behind my back and distilled alcohol onboard! Of course I had to confiscate a small portion to make sure it was safe for the crew. That reminds me of this time one month before launch when Nicole and I hit the casinos in Las Vegas. We each ordered a bourbon ginger from the bar (don’t ask me why we paid, since the bartenders thought it a game to provide astronauts with alcohol) and when Nicole tasted her drink, she swore that the bartender put some low-tier whiskey in the Woodford bottle because it tasted like crap. The bartender apologized and offered to pour it again, but apparently Nicole’s auditory input capabilities shut down by that point (plus seven drinks and minus seven hundred dollars) and she started yelling that she could distill better whiskey in her basement. Well, it’s not her basement, it’s not technically whiskey, and it’s certainly not better, but it’s something.
But I digress. My primary concern on landing was materials—the Caeculus has a lot of parts that can fail…it’s a miracle we’ve even survived this long. Damn, we launched off of Earth over three decades ago. I guess that’s not too surprising, considering some of the first rovers on Mars lasted for almost a decade, when only six months was asked of them. Sorry, I’ve gone off on a tangent yet again. The bottom line is that Nicole Thom accidentally figured out a way to synthesize some weird gummy material out of the ethane from a nearby lake that could act as a tape or something to make temporary repairs: specifically, suit repairs. What does this mean? More extravehicular activities (EVAs), I guess. That’s all anyone wants to do, though I shouldn’t be surprised. Kristen Bennett came up to me this morning with an idea: making concrete out of the surrounding ice. Instead of drying water and limestone grains like on Earth, we would melt the water and it would solidify as a matrix around hydrocarbon chains. Probably, this woul
d be stronger than concrete on Earth due to the compressional strength of ice at these pressures and temperatures. A clever idea, but I couldn’t help but point out that we’ll need a way to melt it. Sion said he could build us a bigger combustion engine. After a bit of stammering, it came out that it would require disassembling our only hopper. So be it. I was already convinced, but I guess I didn’t show it in my face because Sion kept going. He told me our kids can’t grow up in the Caeculus. I wasn’t aware that anyone was planning on having kids, but apparently, from Sion’s incessant monologue, youngsters do better in concrete structures. It’s not clear to me that we could make these airtight, but who knows? With Kristen’s new gummy stuff maybe it’s possible to seal up the leaks. We’ll have to run some pretty extensive tests to figure out what this stuff can adhere to. Anyway, that’s all for now—I’m on greenhouse duty and apparently vegetables don’t pick themselves.