Episode 122. Part 2
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Nika shushes the engineer, who rolls her eyes, and we continue around the bend of the corridor. We see a door with a sign saying Geothermal. And this door, unlike the others we’ve seen so far, is outfitted with a key card lock. We take out the blank key card that had been given us and swipe it through.
The door opens and reveals a geothermal energy control room. There’s a fair amount of pipes and valves and gauges and consoles and such. Rina’s like a kid in a candy store, all eyes for the machinery. Arden steps back outside and follows the corridor in a tight circle back to the door for the Geothermal control room. Nothing else appears to be on this level or any other levels below this one.
The control room is apparently 50 feet across. It’s dusty and disused looking. A data book lies plugged into the consoles like an afterthought and checking the book’s screen we see it’s a systems log, tracking the last date of inspection. There is no signature of the inspector, only an indicator that the facility had been checked in the past, with the date.
We look up and around at the room and the piping. There’s a viewport, showing nothing but dark water and our reflections in the glass. Rina checks the filters we’re ostensibly here to swap out—it checks out within acceptable parameters. The others check out the rest of the control room. We find a pipe, about a meter across, that has an access hatch on it big enough to admit a person.
Nika: Bang on this, make sure it’s not full of water or somethin’.
Rina bangs it with her wrench. It’s hollow. So far, so good. How do we get inside? There’s a place for a key, the cylindrical turnkey style of key, which we don’t have. But Arden can pick locks and Rina’s got her tools. Arden takes first crack at it and gets it open.
Christian is watching the data book when this happens and he’s the one who sees a new line scrawl across its screen: Code 02.
Inside the access tube is a ladder going down. Arden asks if Rina’s got a light, she produces it and he shines it down inside. Nika takes it and goes down the ladder. She goes down about 10 meters and at the bottom is a narrow door.
It’s not locked and it opens into a room similar to the one above. Shining the torch around, she sees it’s a laboratory and it hasn’t been used for some time. Dust is everywhere. Nika calls up the ladder.
Nika: I think we need to go quickly and check this out.
Arden climbs down with Rina right behind him. In the room above, Christian starts checking the data book for an explanation for the Code 02.
Arden’s got the big torch and Rina has her penlight. The lab is about 50 feet in diameter. There are places in the dust where big items may have been plugged in at one point, computers most likely, and there are tables set up. Nika finds the power box and turns on the lights overhead. They flicker a bit but they work. Going by what he knows, Arden determines this lab used to be a genetics lab. This strikes him as odd, because Erewhon colony already has genetics labs and fairly sophisticated ones, too. What’s a genetics lab doing here, hidden under a utilities control room surrounded several metric tons of water?
He can’t determine how long the lab’s been sitting here, or when it was last used—all the computers with that information is gone. He and Rina start going over the room for any clues they can find.
Meanwhile upstairs, Christian discovers a glossary of terms on the data book. Code 02 means “unauthorized access”. Oh, great. We’ve just tipped off the powers that be that we’re doing something hinky. Christian calls us over our earmikes and tells us the good news. Nika tells us to hurry up and she climbs the ladder to provide back-up for Christian.
Outside in the corridor the elevator dings! and Christian warns everyone that company’s coming. Nika relays the warning and closes the hatch to the access ladder. Arden and Rina keep searching the room below. And just in time, too, because two security people walk in, a man and a woman. They do not have gold bands on their cuffs.
Man: Stop what you’re doing.
Nika: What’s the problem?
The security woman looks at the paperwork.
Woman: There are four in your maintenance crew. Where are the other two?
Christian: (in a pure Brooklyn accent) Bathroom.
Woman: Stay here.
Christian: Okay.
The two security guards draw what look like stun sticks from their belts.
Woman: Did you make an unauthorized access to—did you open any panels?
Nika shows the guard the filter that was replaced and indicated where the new one was installed.
Christian: Well, first you gotta spend some time figurin’ out what th’problem is, then ya gotta come up wit’ a soloo’shun, and then ya gotta put in th’f ix, yaddah-yaddah, ya know? And then, ya hafta—.
Woman: Stop.
Christian shuts up.
Down below, Arden spies a scrap of paper lying on the floor, stuck under a table leg. Rina and he both look at it and see a mess of letters and numbers. Maybe it’s a receipt of some kind? Knowing that the clock is ticking, Rina stashes the paper in her bra for safe keeping. Over their eamikes they hear Nika murmur we’ve got problems. They can also hear Christian rambling in the background and know the man can’t hold the opposition off forever. Arden and Rina both make ready to leave.
On the floor above, the two guards check their data and go right over to the pipe where Arden and Rina went down. They exchange a look and draw their stun batons.
Man: Where are your colleagues? Can you contact them?
Christian: Sure! (engages his handcomm) Hey, Russkie.
Down below, Rina engages her earmike.
Rina: Da.
Christian: What’s your –ten, over?
Rina: I’m almost done, here.
Christian: Geez! How long dozzit take ta’ use the frikkin’ can?
Rina: Bozhe moi! (In Russian) How about some privacy?
Rina rants some more in Russian for effect, draws her pistol and makes sure it’s got a round chambered.
Christian looks over at the guards.
Christian: Do ya speak Russian?
Apparently not.
Christian: Yeah….Sorry. She’s got that irritable bowel syndrome.
Man: Move over.
Christian: Sure. That’s no problem.
Man: (to Nika) Did you touch this pipe?
Nika: Um, yeah.
Man: Did you open the access panel?
Nika: No, it was locked. I did jiggle it though. I wasn’t sure which panel we were looking for, so when we went by I jiggled it. Is that a problem?
Christian: You gotta unnerstand these engineerin’ types. They always gotta be stickin’ their hands everywhere.
Nika: And I’m just a trainee, so….(shrugs) I don’t really know what I’m doin’. I’m supposed to be observing. Sorry if I touched something I wasn’t supposed to
The male guard pulls out a hand comm and calls in his report: the alert was an accident but now we’re missing two of our repair crew. Meanwhile, the female guard pulls out the key to the access hatch and opens it.
Christian: Hey! Don’ open that, lady! You’ll leddin all th’watah and we’ll drown!
The woman opens the door anyway and puts her foot on the ladder down.
Christian: (warning) Hey, uh…be careful down there! You don’ wanna fall!
‘Down there’, Arden and Rina flank the door. ‘Up here’, the remaining guard stays with Christian and Nika, keeping an eye on them.
Christian: (looking at his watch) Hey, whaddya know? It’s break time! Sorry, Union rules.
Christian takes a seat and puts his feet up, clearly refusing to work a second longer. Nika surreptitiously checks her pistol inside her coveralls. Down in the access tube, the woman opens the hatch to the lower room.
The door swings toward Rina, giving her cover. She takes full advantage of it and viciously slams it closed into the guard’s face. The guard is knocked out cold. Arden grabs the woman’s stun baton. Above, the remaining guard hears the noise and calls down to his partner via comm.
Man: Are you all right?
Arden keys his hand comm.
Arden: Okay, we’re all finished here. We’re coming right up.
Nika quick draws her gun from under her coveralls as Christian distracts the guard.
Christian: Uhhhh….quick question? What does ‘magma overload’ mean?
From the corner of his eye, the guard sees Nika draw her gun and immediately calls into his comm:
Man: Security alert!
And the cat is well and truly out of the bag.
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