Tailspin, page 34
“Seventeen,” I said. And I tracked it on the map.
“Yep, we’re actually under Station Five now, with the medical team from Section One.”
“They’re from Section One?”
“Yes, they came in for your specific assessment,” she said.
I swallowed. “Is all of this common knowledge?”
“No, only as we grow do we get to see more and more of the base and meet some of the staff from other sections.”
“You obviously spend some time in Section One.”
“You’re too smart,” she said. “Come on.” She linked my arm in hers and I inwardly let out a sigh.
“We can eat in one of the bars designated for us. Still in Section Four, likely a lot closer to Station Five than anywhere near Sectors Two or One. They’ll have similar burgers there, just not served with the same flair.”
“I wanted to stare at those abs of his again,” I said and sighed.
Malaki laughed. “I’m sure you did. This place is huge,” she said. “We’re mostly only ever going to be in this section, four.”
“No crossing the central area and hijacking a helo, then?” I asked.
“No.” She squeezed my arm. “Don’t even joke about that.”
Her face was so serious, so I added, “Fair, I just needed to know.”
Would I ever hijack a helo? I didn’t know. Maybe for the right reasons. I pushed that thought to the back of my head, seeing her immediate worry.
“All areas have wrist passes,” she said. “You can’t get in anywhere you’re not allowed. They’re very strict. Section One and Two are very out of bounds for us.”
I wanted to ask how often she went over there, or for whom. I refrained. “So, we just stay here till we’re trained, then move to Sector Three?”
“Usually, average is five years each for Sectors Four and Three, ten for Sector Two.”
“And Sector One?”
“I don’t know. They’re all out of bounds. No one knows anything about them, only that they’re special and the elite. No one sees them in our groups, not at all.”
“Okay,” I said. “No more questions on that. Let’s get food, then you can show me where I’ll be bunking.”
She pulled me to an elevator that took us back up toward the surface. “We’re in the inner city here,” she said. “There’s no coastal spray, and it’s shielded from most of the winds. You can run anywhere, train any route, and you won’t get frostbite or fall into the sea.”
“Will you show me what the edge of the city looks like?”
“If you wish, after dinner?”
“Deal, I want to know everything about where I am so I can plan for all eventualities.”
“Doomsayer?”
“The ‘what if the city sinks’ never crossed your mind?”
“At some points, yes. But not anymore.”
“Well, I can do my doomsayer planning on my own.” I laughed.
The smell of food drew me in, and Malaki found the bar and ordered us both food and drink. “The usual canteen is down a few decks. You can eat there as many times a day as your physique requires.”
“That’s a lot of food time,” I said. “Can I get protein bars and drinks?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Okay, I’ll work that out too, when I get to know what I like and don’t like.”
We moved to a small, sectioned area and sat. This was a normal bar, much to my disappointment. “Do the Techean only have certain places to move to?”
“They’ll flag up on your map too. Every area has enough swimways for them to move around, even inside the main structural building below and above ground.”
I pulled up my map and looked closer, asking my HUD to display the Techean pathways. They were very intricate cut pathways throughout the whole of the city. “This is amazing,” I said. “I never expected any of it at all.”
“They’re not a secret,” Malaki said. “But most regular people don’t expect them, nor for this to be as complex as it is.”
“If this city is so brilliant, why haven’t we expanded further into the ocean?” I asked.
“Very good question, which is easily answered.”
“With?”
“Cost, just like us it costs a lot of money. Sure you can buy your way onto OF, into the Techean, but water scares a lot of people. Especially deep water. Putting your life completely in the hands of tech—would you?”
I had to shake my head. “Underwater, no way.”
“Exactly. It’s specialized.”
“So this bar?”
“Just another way to earn their upgrades,” Malaki said.
Our server placed our food and drinks down on a tray, then backed away from us.
I stared at the burger and fries.
“Eat up,” Malaki said.
“It’s not real meat though, is it?”
Malaki laughed at me. “No way. You could add a few zeroes on that price. Just fake beef. Next time is on you, though, remember?”
I cringed. “How much?”
“Fifty credits,” she said and waved her spork at me. “Each.”
“Fuck, what!” I said and coughed. “They are raking it in for those upgrades.”
“It stops most people from coming to the surface,” she said. “Yes, it’s great food, but it’s not as nutritionally balanced as what’s available below decks.”
“Sucks, but good junk is good junk.” I picked up the burger and bit down. The bread was just the right amount of fluffy and sweet, balanced with the tang of meat, onions and sauce. It was perfect.
“Good?” Malaki asked.
I could only groan and nod.
My HUD pinged at me then, and I glanced at Malaki, who just ate her burger. “Welcome to Ocean Oil Fields,” Betty reported into my ear.
It was only as several people entered the bar area that I realized Malaki had never answered my question about why we never expanded further into the ocean.
Two of the newcomers looked straight at Malaki and waved.
Two people I recognized. “Niko and Lacy?” I asked.
Malaki glanced over with a nod. “Oh yeah, I told a few people we were heading here.” She then smiled. “You made it, Rusty. This is no easy feat. We’re celebrating!”
Niko came straight to me, and I stood. “Good—gawd!” He pulled me into a bear hug. “You have to start looking after yourself better. Lacy already filled me in on the state you’re in. How the hell?”
Lacy hugged me next. “You do look a lot better.”
“I feel it,” I said. “Thanks.”
“Eat,” she said. “I’ll go order and be right with you.”
Niko sat in front of us and smiled at Malaki. “You picked a rough one,” he said.
“Tell me about it,” she said, but under the table she bumped her leg against mine. “He’s got a lot of potential, just like you all have.”
“I’m going to be out of my depth in lectures tomorrow,” I said. “Won’t I?”
“You will be, yes,” Niko confirmed. “Just don’t show it. Sit back and watch. We’ll load your HUD for everything else you need at night.”
“I can’t pay for that.”
“No, but we already did. It’s a loan,” he said. Then he grinned and grabbed some of my fries.
When he tried to take more, I went to stab him.
“Fair.” He grinned. “Tonight, though, we’ll show you around, settle you in, and Malaki can go back to her side of the block.”
I frowned at him. A moment later, Lacy wandered back with two large drinks spilling over her hands. The other men and women they’d come in with had gone to sit elsewhere.
“You can comm me,” Lacy said. “None of us are out of touch.”
“The others,” I said and nodded to the group. “Anyone I need to be wary of?”
“Of course,” Niko said. “We’ve learned a lot in the last ten months, but there’s still always that competitive spirit. Two you need to look out for are Justin and his friend Kadar.”
“Okay,” I said and flashed Lacy my wickedest smile. “I’ll make sure I try to befriend them first, then.”
“You’re going to be the death of me,” Niko said.
“Hopefully not,” I added. “I want to bring the best to the teams, not make it impossible to survive.”
I did watch the young man he’d pointed out. Justin, I thought. I’m going to love getting you to hate me.
I had no idea how much this guy was going to hate me till I walked into that classroom tomorrow, though. That I’d deal with then. Justin and his friend were the epitome of rich.
Even if they both wore uniforms, it was the way they carried themselves. Justin’s tall muscular frame, blonde hair and blue eyes were just perfect. I thought I was pretty good looking, but damn, against him no one stood a chance. His friend, Kadar, was short yet stocky, with thick bulging arm muscles, he looked more like a bodyguard than a friend and when he glared my way, I could only stare back, mesmerized.
***
Malaki had left me in the hands of Niko, who had thankfully come with me to the bunks. Even with a map, it was easy to push the wrong button. He watched and let me do it all: the navigation and the doors. “Got to get used to it,” he’d said.
“I know.”
“Bunks are easy, like pods,” he said. “Though at this level, they’re more than claustrophobic.”
We walked to the assigned room, and at the center was a lounge set of desks with a few people milling around. “Two levels?”
“Yep, your whole section’s here,” he explained. “Twenty-four bunks. You’ve been assigned number—”
“Five.”
He pointed to it. “I’m only in the next block, number twenty-two. If you need me for anything else, just shout.”
I nodded at him. “Thanks, I’m good from here.”
“What time are you up?”
“Four.” I let out a groan.
“Sheesh. Have fun. I’ll see you in class, yeah?”
“Cool by me,” I said, and clicking my wrist to the panel, I opened it up and looked inside. It literally was just a pod. The shielding opened to reveal a bed, a small jack in unit for Aug-World, and a locker. That was it.
This was home for a good long while.
I wonder what Mom would think of it.
Then I threw off my clothes and went to bed.
***
The alarm went off, and I cursed it.
No way it could be 4 a.m. already.
It was.
Dressed and heading out the doors on my own, there was not another soul around.
The route I was following was from Bitchin’ Betty.
“Didn’t expect you to be this attentive,” I said to the AI I’d gotten to know and understand why they called her Bitchin’ Betty. She really did nothing but go on, and on, and on. Was she friendlier towards me? I couldn’t honestly tell now.
“I want the best from you,” she reminded me. “That is all.”
Up the elevator from my floor, level twenty-seven. I stepped out onto the street, and I ran left around the block, over a small flat area, and then around the helo spiral toward Station Five. It was interesting seeing it from this side.
I settled into a nice, steady, rhythmic jog.
OOF’s streets were no different than any other street to run over. My feet pounded the pavement, feeling each and every bump or change in the surface. My X1 was spotting the changes if they were too much so I could avoid ending up on my ass most of the time.
The buildings from this view stretched high into the skies. I also took the time to note the locations of the helo pads and their connections to the base from under this level. Everything was huge. There was no getting away from that. It was at least the size of the Duan Leeatre. Several helos came and went while I was running, and I watched them more easily than I watched the road.
I stopped only once as one helo struggled. I waited till it was safe, then carried on.
Showers here were regulated by tech, as were personal showers everywhere. They were timed to perfection so no water was wasted, and it was understandable as to why. The more you used, the more they had to process. When you stepped inside, you got a thirty second burst to get wet before it turned off; you then got thirty seconds to soap up, then another minute to rinse off. While I waited for the water to rinse me off, turning so I didn’t miss anywhere and enjoying the water, I ran through many things in my mind.
A sharp stab hit me behind my eye, and I instinctively put my hand to it, to try to pull out the thing that I felt stabbing me. When it stabbed me again, it brought me to my knees.
“Fuck,” I cursed, and blood dripped from my nose.
Betty? Anyone?
I’m sending in nites now to help. Hold on.
The pain eased.
Blood Detected - You may choose the following
Call for Medical? - Y/N
I clicked the N even if it was my blood this time.
Extra wash off - Extra time allowed will be noted in your logs.
Would you like extra time? - Y/N
I clicked the N again, I didn’t want to waste the water.
I pushed ignore and then stood, though shakily, and finished my last ten seconds of washing off.
What was that?
You ran too hard, Betty said. Was that really Betty? Tomorrow we’ll schedule a slower run.
That seemed fair. The X1 was still healing inside my skull and mind in many ways. I needed to keep being reminded of that, to take it easier on myself and not push, push, push all the time.
I changed back into something that resembled a uniform, frowned at my reflection in the mirror, sucked it up, and made it in time for breakfast, then my first lecture.
There was, of course, no one out for breakfast just yet, and I ate everything they gave me, then asked for more. I was still lacking from the day before.
Then I walked to my first lecture, making sure I was nice and early. It seemed I wasn’t, though. There were already several people in the classroom making use of the time to study, I guessed, their heads buried inside themselves.
“Any special seats for anyone?” I asked.
The young man I’d learned last night was Justin looked up at me from his nose in his system. “You’re Ruslan Korolyov?”
“Yes,” I said, and I never took my eyes off him, even if the others in the room had suddenly made themselves busier.
“No special seats,” he groused. Then he snubbed me.
41
I moved away then and sat just to the left of him and nearer the back. The workload was scheduled, and I picked it up where they should be in the curriculum. Then I scanned across the room to see if I could pick up where they were actually at.
Most of the desks weren’t locked, and I got a few interesting pieces of info from looking over them.
Niko came in a few moments later with another young man.
I checked his tag. Walter Kestrel. That was interesting. It seemed as if they already knew each other. Niko smiled at me, as did Walter, but they kept clear of my desk for now.
Justin saw and frowned. I just nodded at him and picked a module to study. Both Malaki and everyone else had said I was way above this side of the course, so I pulled up the first week’s lectures and scanned over the information.
You are already way ahead of all of this. Why are you even looking? a voice said inside my mind.
I’m just checking. But if you already know where I am up to, why don’t you tell me where I should start? I replied.
That’s not really my place.
This was harder than I’d imagined. Like getting blood out of a stone and I wanted to throttle that voice.
You are not Betty, I said. You were never Betty in Ground School.
The screen in front of me twitched, the name Betty flickering around my HUD.
I am Betty. I am Betty.
It repeated over and over.
No, you’re not. Who are you?
I am Betty. I am Betty.
You can keep going round and around in circles. I know you’re not. Tell me your name.
I have no name, it said. It also lost the female edge to its voice.
Did you want to be Betty?
No.
X1?
No.
Well, when you decide on something, let me know.
The screen changed before me once more, to a helo and drone unit. One I’d not seen before.
I’m starting here?
Yes, came the reply.
What is it?
The details to the helo popped up.
Helo - E-21 - 4 man
General
Not as nimble as a Pelican Seabird, but still light and fast, more comfortable.
The Enigma - AKA E-21- helicopter is the first mission-bound bird. Usually for dropping divers into the ocean for training or taking small parties out to land for scouting missions.
The E-21 is almost double the weight of the P-77, with a maximum load of 4 people. It’s the second easiest to train in with a co-pilot, though it doesn’t respond as fast. It gives ample opportunity to grow as a pilot.
Cockpit? I asked.
The view came up then and I started to note all the buttons.
The P-77?
The image changed again, and I asked—
Overlay them both, please.
The differences were obvious then in size and shape, slightly.
What’s the class learning?
Another picture popped up then. The Bumble 64.
Differences from the 23 and 44?
Another overlay, and I noticed a few, but not many. Mostly the weaponry.
This is easy?
Yes, it is.
Anyone struggling with it?
Two are.
What’s after the E21? What’s Malaki flying?
Another image popped up. Now this image was something else.
It was four times the size of the E21.
Its details came up but flickered.
Apologies, I should not be showing you this.
The signal strengthened then, and I focused in on it again.
CRD/CRS - 17 - Triumph
