Silence. It is something Simon has grown all too familiar with. It is almost a comfort to him. The ocean is an unforgiving mistress but one the young man has come to love. It is all he has known after all.

"Simon, focus." The intercom crackles as the man shakes his head, tearing his gaze away from the abyss. His metal suit whirls to life as he stands, the magnetic boots sticking to the steel-infused glass dome. Two miles below four other domes create the main sections of Meridian City and a massive metal pillar connecting the floor and ceiling. He sighs as his helmet's respirator rasps. His team of six walks the length of one glass panel or two hundred yards. The Great Dome. The second line of defense against the waters of the ocean. Fifty miles wide, four miles at its tallest point. Simon has often envisioned what it would be like to fall off the dome. A morbid curiosity he has no interest in actually experiencing.

The lights of the city illuminate their path through the icy waters until the team approaches their destination, A massive metal box with a door. One of the enormous transformers that power the density shield, a field of extremely dense water that relieves the pressure on the glass dome as well as preventing objects from colliding with it.

Simon's intercom crackles, "Simon, Marco, and Martin. You three stay out here. The rest follow me."

"Sir!" The group says before entering the transformer room.

The remaining three take positions outside of the door, facing the void beyond.

"So, still have reserves about being a dome tech?" The one named Martin asks, having opened a private line between the three. Simon can hear the humor in his voice.

"I never had reserves in the first place." He replies stiffly.

Martin lightly taps his shoulder, the metal-on-metal sound reverberating through Simon's suit, "Oh come on. You practically pissed yourself during your first mag walk. If the suit didn't have an auto-activation function you would have fallen right off the dome."

Marco chuckles, "Seriously, how did you forget to turn on your mag boots? That is like the first thing you learn in basic."

"Shut up." Simon's cheeks burn. It's not my fault the ocean is much scarier in person than in an augmentation sim.

"Speaking of basic, I heard one of the recruits went nuts. Destroyed a couple of the decommissioned suits."

Marco sighs. Simon can't see his head, but he imagines him shaking it, "Yeah, turns out he got the levy, poor bastard."

Simon speaks up, "There's a guy not far from my house that has it. He always babbles on about the ocean parent or something. Either that or his desire to swim in the waters. Man is insane."

Before either of them could respond the door opens as the other three step out, "Enough chatter. Everything looks good on our end, time to head home."

"Sir!" the team replies. With lumbering steps, the group crosses the panel, comms silent. That is until Simon notices something. He crouches down, staring at the panel.

"Uh, Captain? You might want to see this." One of the units steps forward, a large golden C displayed on its chest. Simon points to a small crack that has appeared in the glass. No more than a few feet wide, but it is evident it is deep.

"Hmm. Strange. Cracks are not unheard of, but this one is fairly large. I'll write up a report when we get back. Good job."

"Thank you, sir." Simon smiles. Despite his lack of experience he always has trust in his eyes, even after the surgery. They approach the end of the panel which has a large metal square fitted at the bottom. The team stands by as their captain taps away at the keypad beside it. The panel rises, revealing six slots for the suits to fit into. With one last look at the abyss, Simon backs into his designated docking pod. With a hiss the panel lowers, the suit locking all movement functions.

"I hate this part," Tarma says, a more quiet member of the team. Simon nods to himself as various clanks and metallic whirls can be heard. It's like a metal coffin. I can't move a muscle. There's a jerk as they start moving. It never gets easier. With a sigh, Simon waits as his pod speeds to their destination. Several tense minutes pass. Simon closes his eyes, envisioning their path. The center pillar is the command headquarters, in charge of the dome and most of the city's infrastructure and resource management. Massive metal ribs branch out from the center and are attached to the ceiling. The Domeway. The main form of travel for dome techs and repairmen to access the various panels and electrical components that make up the city's only lifeline.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Simon shudders. Despite being in a massive metal suit, they aren't designed for waterless travel. It's too heavy and with no water to support it, the metal mech has a very good chance of falling over or even breaking completely. Before he can get too deep into thought the pod shudders to a halt, and the doors open upwards, revealing a small room that Simon can bearly make out. Someone taps on his suit and it opens from the front, allowing the young man to hop out, more relieved than he lets on.

The room is sparse. Only a few lockers and benches decorating the space.

His captain walks up to him, "Good job out there. Hopefully, the crack can be fixed quickly." Simon nods as he stares at the blurred out face of the man. He rubs his eyes, frowning. "The implants still bugging you?" The man asks.

Simon nods, "It's weird. Your face a blurry and I can't make out any features, but my eyes don't want to believe it. I get nauseous just looking at your faces."

A hand claps his shoulder, "You'll get used to it. If you have to go talk to medical. They'll set you straight." On his wetsuit is Martin's name embroidered into it.

"I'll do that." The rest of the team goes to their lockers as they peel off their swimsuits, shower and put on their civilian clothes.

Martin follows Simon as they leave the room, suit mechanics waiting outside, "So, got any plans later?"

Simon shakes his head, "Nah. Might go catch a movie. Maybe check out the new restaurant that popped up near my house."

"A new restaurant huh? Those are rare."

"Tell me about it." The two walk to the elevator, taking it down to street level. Outside the artificial sun has just started to dip, and the fourteen hours reaching its end. Martin waves goodbye as Simon heads to his slick luxury car. He sighs as he plops onto the comfortable soft seat. The inside is featureless, a glass touchpad making up the entire dash. Simon taps the home icon and the car starts driving, leaving the massive parking lot that surrounds the command pillar. A mass of roads surround the command pillar, each one eventually entering into one of the four six-lane highways that connect to the four domes, hundreds of cars moving in and out of the tunnels.

Upon entering the resident dome, Simon visibly relaxes. Home at last. Every single time I walk the dome, it's always a stressful few hours. The Silence. And darkness. Simon shudders. Around him hundreds of houses line the streets and restaurants and parks break up the monotony. In the center, a few dozen glass buildings rise far above ground level, some hundreds of feet tall. He gazes at the faceless people, happy and blissfully ignorant of the terror of the deep.

It takes half an hour to reach the resident center, where the buildings change from classical homes that all look the same to tall glass and metal buildings, with actual stone blocks making up the roads and sidewalks. The people here are rich, with designer clothes and fancy electronics, and the restaurants are upscale. There are even a few shopping buildings, places usually reserved for the commerce dome.

Simon continues past the center, arriving at one of the few gated communities. Where the real rich people live. He flashes his ID card at the guard who opens the way. Inside grand mansions and personally designed houses dot the area. His car drives up to a particularly unique house. One surrounded by trees, cut off from the outside world. The house itself is made of dark wood and glass, three stories, and oozes a calming but cozy atmosphere.

He hops out, the vehicle driving itself into his garage. He can't help but smile as the front door opens, a thirteen-year-old boy popping his blurred face out. "You're home!" He exclaims, running up to give him a hug.

"That I am. How was school?" The teenager stares at him. Despite not being able to see faces, Simon can still tell their expression based on body language and voice. It was clear to him the boy was beaming, "Same as usual. Boring."

Simon follows the boy into the house, the inside filled with plants of all kinds, decorating the walls and shelves. "Laris, you know how important school is."

Laris waves the young man off, "Yeah, yeah. You sound like mom. You're always so high-strung."

Simon shakes his head. I can't tell if he gets that attitude from mom or dad. "Speak of which, hear anything from her?" The boy shakes his head and irritation flares through Simon. She could at least have the decency to call now and then. He shrugs it away. "I'm going for a jog. Call if you need something."

"Already? You just got back." Simon ignores him, changing clothes and heading out. He smiles as he jogs through the neighborhood, greeting people on the sidewalks, the night lamps illuminating the way as the air turns crisp. An hour goes by as he makes his way around his usual route, and eventually runs into the old man. His clothes are shabby and unkept, and wrinkles crease his hands. Simon cringes slightly at the pungent smell the man gives off.

The old man waves at him, and Simon sighs. Might as well humor the man.