Gaia Lost

Chapter 7-Tunare

Joseph and Takeshi stepped off of the large transport, the sound of their feet hitting the heavy metal stairs signaling their arrival. They walked down the boarding platform and stepped down onto the ground below. The air above them bustled with activity. Ships of all shapes and sizes jostled for position in the crowded airspace.

“I had no idea that Tunare was this busy.” Takeshi said.

“What else would you expect from the capital of the Deltian Republic? Its always like this, it always has been.” Joseph said back, an air of uneasiness in his voice that made Takeshi feel uncomfortable.

Takeshi knew what was going on almost immediately but didn't dare say a word to Joseph. He decided it would be best to just let him work through it. Its how he would want it.

They walked up to the first security checkpoint which was only a short walk from the transport. The guards stood tall, fully covered by white armor with flowing blue and yellow robes underneath. Their helms completely obscured their faces.

“Welcome to Tunare, present your passes and you will be let through to the next station.” said a strange voice, whose origin was hard to find.

Joseph handed the guards the two passes. After quickly scanning the two men and passes with some unknown device they opened the gate.

“Thanks” Takeshi said to the two guards.

Neither guard budged or made the slightest indication that they had even heard him. Takeshi and Joseph quickly walked through the gate, heading for the next station.

“Why are the national guard at the space port, I thought they were only used in times of war.” Takeshi asked.

“We might as well be at war since the terrorist attack. The republic cannot afford another attack, cant afford to tarnish its pristine image.” Joseph said, a slight sneer on his face.

“What do you mean?”

“I grew up here, you know? I know this place for what it is. The corporations run the republic now, not the people. Thing is, the corporate bigwigs aren't up to the challenge, too corrupt for their own good. In a time when war can be declared at any moment, the last person you want pulling the strings is some corporate hotshot.”

“War is a thing of the past, the Nevians wouldn't dare launch an all out attack now, not after what happened last time.”

“The Nevians don't care about casualties, they live off war. They wont ever stop.”

“I hope your wrong” Takeshi said softly, not wishing the conversation to turn into a debate. Takeshi knew Joseph was probably right though, the Nevians were fanatics in every sense of the word.

They soon reached the next security checkpoint. This one was manned by only one guard, this one with his face uncovered. He held his helmet under his arm and was looking out into the city as if he was studying it. Joseph an Takeshi walked up to him and he quickly turned around, as if he was shocked to see another person. He stood up tall and put out his hand, another strange device in hand.

“Whats that device for?” Takeshi asked the guard politely.

“Its simply to check for any foreign chemicals or metals, we cant let anything potentially dangerous into the city.” the guard responded as be continued to scan them.

“I see”

The scanner remained silent and the guard let them through. They walked through into the spaceport terminal. The terminal was packed to the brim with people. Joseph and Takeshi jostled for position in then crowded room, trying to maneuver in the limited space.

“Is Tunare always this crowded?” Takeshi asked just as a man nearly knocked him over.

“This is nothing, wait until we get into the city, then you will see crowded.” Joseph said, nearly yelling over the noise produced by a large transport that had just begun to land.

They continued to walk through the terminal, stopping at two more checkpoints along the way. Eventually they reached the gateway to the city, a gigantic opening in the terminal, big enough for a small transport to slip through. What seemed to be hundreds of people walked into and out of the city through that gateway. Joseph and Takeshi walked through into the massive city along with them.

The city was gorgeous in every sense of the word. Towers of gleaming white pierced the sky and the sky was crowded with ships of every size and shape. The ground was equally crowded. Thousands of people moved through the wide streets, seemingly at random. Joseph and Takeshi waded into the horde of people, thankful they didn't have far to go.

“Your definitely right, it is crowded here.” Takeshi said.

Joseph didn't say a word. He didn't even make any indication that he had heard him.

They walked for over ten minutes until they got through the crowd outside the terminal. The streets were more narrow and clear in the area away from the spaceport. Now they only had to get to the Cufris Mining Company's personal spaceport, the launching point for the convoy to Earth. The spaceport was on the outskirts of town, so walking was not an option. They walked up the stairs along the side of the street onto the upper level, the level where transports traveled along magnetic rails. They walked up to one of the stops and waited, hoping the wait would not be a long one.

“Do you have the passes for us to get into the convoy on you? Or do we need to pick them up somewhere?” Takeshi asked as they waited.

“Don't need any.”

“What do you mean?”

“We are personal guests of Catherine Belotz, we will be accompanying her on the Victoria.”

“You have to be joking, how did that happen?”

“I'm not joking, I sent her a message and she wants us to accompany her.” Joseph said, a small smile on his face. It was the first time Takeshi had seen him show even the slightest sign of happiness in days.

A transport could be seen in the distance a few moments later. It was a chain of simple looking segments, each consisted of little more than a small sphere. The chain split, with half the segments going up a curved rail towards one of the higher levels. The other half stopped right in front of them. The only sound it made was a light whirring.

“Guess our rides here.” Joseph said as he stepped onto the transport. Takeshi got on after him, the circular doors sealing shut behind him.

The inside of the sphere was small, designed to hold four people at most from the looks of it. Two benches sat facing each other, Joseph and Takeshi both took one of the benches.

“How long will it take until we reach the spaceport?” Takeshi asked.He was anxious to get out of the city, the sheer amount of activity in the city was overwhelming him.

“Shouldn't take any longer than five minutes. The better question is what we should talk about for those few minutes. Got any ideas?”

“No, I don't.”

The sphere continued to move. It rose up to one of the highest levels of the city. Soon the entire city could be seen though large window.

“So you grew up here? What was it like?” Takeshi asked out of curiosity.

“Its what you would expect, I guess. A regular dream, until you discover its dark side.”

“What possible dark side could this place have?”

“Its not just this place, its the entire republic that suffers from this problem.”

“And what would this problem be exactly?”

Joseph looked out the window as the scenery flew by. He leaned over and put his hand against the glass, apparently in deep thought.

“The problem with the republic is this. We havfe great body but no soul. We go about our daily lives, feeling unfullfilled and unimportant. Something more is needed than what we have now.” Joseph responded as he continiued to look out the window, focused on the people they passed by.

The sphere then split off from the others and followed a curving rail down and outwards towards the edge of the city.

“You better not be saying what I think your saying.” Takeshi said.

“I am.”

“You honestly think religion will solve peoples problems? Nothing good ever comes from religion, just look at the Nevians.”

“It dosent even have to be religion, anything that gives our people a feeling of worth and hope would be enough.”

“What do you propose then?”

“I say we find Earth and learn about ourselves. I would say that would be enough, am I right?”

“I suppose.”

They spent the next few minutes in silence. Takeshi watched as Joseph continued to look out the window, even as the sphere came to a stop. Takeshi tapped Joseph on the shoulder as the doors opened. Joseph got up and they both stepped off of the sphere onto the platform.

The platform was devoid of people, rarely did anyone go out that far. Joseph started walking down the platform. Takeshi followed closely behind.

Soon the spaceport was in view. It was a massive structure, a giant tower with a guide rail running along its entire length. A transport was tethered to the building, ready to launch at any moment. The transport just barely fell short of the building three thousand foot height. It was their ride to the Victoria, which was waiting high above them in orbit over Tunare.

They walked up the steps to the large doors of the building. It's doors were made of a thick glass and opened automatically. They both walked through into the lobby of the building. Takeshi was nervous, though he didnt know if he could say the same of Joseph.

The inside of the building was nothing short of incredible. From the lobby you could see all the way to the top of the tower, its glass domed cap giving a magnificent view of the sky above. The floor was also clear, though it merely offered a view of the lower city sections. Massive pillars held up the higher sections and spherical elevators ferryed passengers to the higher levels of the tower, all of which where arrayed along the walls in a circular pattern. Joseph walked up to the front desk, Takeshi decided to follow.

“May I help you?” asked the young man at sitting at the desk.

“Yes we are here to see Miss. Belotz.” Joseph answered back. He was cracking his knuckles, obviously nervous. Takeshi could understand, their lives were about to take a major turn in the road, what man wouldn't be nervous?

“I see, do you have an appointment?” the young man asked.

“Just call her and tell her Joseph Keldan is here, she will explain.”

“Ok, just give me a minute.” the young man said as he touched the side of his head, right behind his left ear. His face went blank, his eyes closed. Within a few seconds he was back.

“She is expecting you, you may head up. She is in her office on the two hundred and eighteenth floor. You can take the elevator to the right to get there. The code for the top floor is three, two, eight, six.”

“Thank you.” Joseph said as he tossed a small card to the young man. He then walked to the elevator as instructed. Takeshi hurried to his side.

“What did you give him that?” Takeshi asked.

“Do you know how expensive those second generation implants are? He needs it more than I do. He is just a kid, theres no way he is has the money for them.”

“Oh, ok.” Takeshi said.

They walked into the elevator which was already at the bottom, waiting for them. Takeshi pushed the button for the top floor and the elevator flew upwards at high speed.

“Why dont you get the new implants?” Takeshi asked. Joseph always seemed like the kind of guy that need the latest and greatest.

“I dont have that kind of money, I would them in a heartbeat if I could.”

“Funny coming from a man with no heart, much less a heart that beats.”

“Are you speaking figuratively or literally?”

“Both”

The elevator began to slow, the trip already over. They stepped off the elevator into Catherines office. The office was a relatively simple one. Large windows ran the height of the room and looked out onto the center of the city, and a circular desk sat in the center of the room. Catherine was standing next to one of the windows, gazing out onto the city. She turned around and greeted the two men.

“Hello, welcome to my little operation.” she said coldly. She didnt come off as all that inviting in Takshi's eyes. “I suppose you want to know when we are leaving, sit down, we have things we must discuss first.”

Joseph and Takeshi sat down at the desk. Catherine sat down next, choosing to sit next to the men rather than the center of the desk.

“So whats going on?” Joseph asked.

“We have a problem, a big one.”