Chapter 45: Split Up
Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; VS Stargazer
The jump into the Estriduros System goes like expected and after we arrive, Maja immediately sets course for the planet Estriduros itself. It’s going to take another two days as the planet is currently on the other side of the sun, but that’s not an issue at all, as it means two more days of spell practice.
Speaking of spell practice, Jack and Alex both joined me on the bridge for the jump. They both wanted to see me using Space magic, as the Space Mage on the courier ship they were on never left his cabin and coordinated the jumps from there, without anyone able to see. Not that there is much to see when I use the spell for wormholes, but still.
Anyway, now that we are here, we can finally think about what to do next. “We need our IDs sooner or later,” I call out to begin with.
The others voice their agreement. “True enough, who knows what other nations do to secure their borders,” Jack answers. “There could be checkpoints next to the wormholes leading in or something.”
“That’s what I was thinking too. So we need to find someone who can make us new IDs… at least for Maja and me. You guys should be good.” I scratch my chin in thought. “Hmm, maybe one for you too, Jack. The distinct mention of you being a Mage in your current ID could cause problems.”
Jack eagerly nods. “Good idea. If we find a decent supplier, we should get some for Lucy, Simon, and Greg too. And for whoever else you have planned.”
He’s right, best would be if we can get a stack of blank IDs… Maja should be able to handle programming them. “Okay, I think our best bet is down on the planet, so we don’t have to change our course. What else do we need?”
Alex, who has been silent till now, clears her throat. “Well, we need to find out where to find the others.”
Maja nods eagerly. “Yes, that’s where I come in. I already have an interest in checking out a military base, so I can catch two birds with one stone. The main base is right here in the system. If I can access the central database, I should be able to get everything we need. Actually, I could take the yacht and fly over. Sara, you said the wormhole leading there was an enhanced one? The one you did your graduation flight through.”
Huh, she’s right. The wormhole was very short and only led to that military base. “Yeah, it’s close to the academy, so we should pass pretty closely on our way to Estriduros proper.”
Wait, she only ever said I! “Do you want to go alone?”
“Yeah, you guys have to look for our IDs in the meantime. It’s better if we split up, you would suck faking a military officer.”
I try to contradict her claim. “Hey, I could play an officer very well. All hail Admiral Sara Valterion!” Dang it, my voice sounds very weak. That’s embarrassing, I just reinforced her point. I blush deeply, my face almost as red as my hair. Maja just raises an eyebrow. “Fine, you can do it better… So we’re going to split up then.”
“Yes, I’ll take the yacht, as it’s an Estriduros ship anyway. You guys stay on the Stargazer and head for the planet. I’ll leave as soon as we are closest to the intra-system wormhole.”
Maja leaves on the yacht without a hitch and we are left alone on the Stargazer. Luckily, Alex learned to fly the starship very quickly, so she can take over when Maja goes on her own adventure. It takes us another day to circle the sun and catch sight of the planet Estriduros. I only have one thought in my head at the sight of the planet. It’s huge! Almost double the size of Prival, which was about the size of Earth. Making that planet habitable must have been a hell of an effort.
“Have you guys ever been there?” I ask the others but I don’t think they have.
Jack shakes his head and Alex replies while continuing to watch the controls. “I haven’t been myself, but a few of my former co-workers have. It’s very busy down there.”
Just like I thought. “Okay, so we’re all going in pretty much blind.” I start pacing back and forth. “It shouldn’t matter though, as we are looking for people who are on the shadier side, and it’s not like one of us ever dealt with such people.”
“True enough,” Jack chuckles. “How do you plan to find someone making IDs anyway?”
I keep pacing, now with a frown on my face. “I was counting on Maja… Now that she’s gone, we’ll have to improvise. I guess we have to look into it once we are down on the planet. Maybe S-57 can find something on the web?”
Alex keeps an amused expression on her face. “Have none of you ever watched spy movies on your holo projectors? We just have to visit some trashy bars in the shadier districts and keep an open ear. Sooner or later we will find what we’re looking for.”
I have to laugh after hearing this. I did watch those movies! “I guess that’s better than having no plan at all. Maybe we’re in luck.”
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Docking at a space station above the planet isn’t cheap, but with Jack's funds, we manage, and can even pay for an express shuttle down to the planet. That saves us a day of waiting for the regular one. The city we land in is the second largest behind the capital and is called Duros. Yeah, I know… I almost smashed my head against the wall when I first heard of it. The capital is called Estri and the second largest city is Duros… On planet Estriduros in the Estriduros System of the Estriduros Republic. Who was so dense in the head and named everything the same? I mean a bit of creativity clearly isn’t too much to ask, right?
Anyway, the city is huge and divided into different levels, as the buildings are just that tall. The top level is way above the clouds and screams expensive. Our shuttle brings us down to a landing pad somewhere in the middle levels. Everything is connected by walkways that are a maximum of five meters wide. This pattern continues above and below us, leaving plenty of open space in the middle for grav vehicles to move and sunlight to reach the lower levels.
Our current level is mostly filled with shops and hotels and even a few parks. It’s quite the sight, as the parks are either on the top of smaller buildings or in other cases, the towers have open spaces on our level for the park, before continuing to the clouds above in higher levels. After walking around a bit, we manage to get a room in a middle-class hotel. I offer to sleep on the couch, while the other two get the actual bed. They try to decline, but I stand my ground and they finally accept. We all go to sleep early, being all quite tired after the trip here. Before falling asleep, I wonder how Maja is faring all alone out there.
The next morning starts with a nice breakfast provided by the hotel, and we all dig in with gusto. Alex tells us a bit more about what she heard about the planet and Jack and I both listen attentively.
The whole government is located in the city of Estri, and that city is more like the place where all the upper-class and influential people of the republic live. Duros on the other hand is the home of the middle class and below. So we’re at the right place then. We just have to find the actual underbelly of the city.
That’s why we all leave the hotel after breakfast and start to explore the city. I take a moment to roll out my tablet – I’m still using the RHT I found on the yacht – and connect to the city net. A few taps later, we have a three-dimensional map of the city projected above the tablet. Three thoughts intrude into my head. One, I should probably look for a new tablet soon. Even if Maja cleared it of everything, it still belonged to a General of the Estriduros Republic. Two, we really have to upgrade the Stargazer to holotech. Three, what the hell?
Alex and Jack look at the map in confusion and Jack voices what everyone thinks. “How are we supposed to use that map? This is useless.”
He’s right, the whole map is a confusing mesh of streets, walkways, grav train lines, and who knows what else. Every level is shown and there is no sign of a filter. Even zooming in doesn’t help as it stays as confusing as ever. There is a red dot indicating where we are, but it doesn’t help at all. I grumble under my breath, cursing about Maja’s absence. She surely would have been able to make sense of this.
Hmm, maybe? She said she worked a bit on him in her free time… “Hey S-57, can you clear up the map a bit? We need to find a place where the not-so-law-abiding people frequent.”
“Certainly. I can clean up the map, but to find your place I’d have to access the city net directly, which will draw attention, as I’m a Mage AI.”
Oh, I haven’t thought of that. “Okay, just do the map for now… We do want to stay under the radar.”
The others raise their eyebrows, as they can’t hear S-57, but before I can reply, the map changes before our eyes. All the annoying traffic lanes going through the air disappear and make way for an actual 3D representation of the buildings around us. Only the walkways on the level we are currently on are still shown, which makes it finally comprehensive. A slider on the right allows us to shift through the different levels. Neat! “Thanks S-57.”
“You’re welcome, Sara.”
“That’s quite an improvement,” Jack whistles through his teeth. “Now, do you have an idea where we should go?”
Alex again voices her impressive movie knowledge. “We should head down, almost all the way to the ground. It’s always where the shadier dealings happen in the movies.”
Well, it’s not that we have any better ideas. We need a place to start our search… why not at the bottom? “I can’t say that movies are the best source for information, but I don’t have a better idea, so let’s go.”
We head to one of the nearby towers and look for an elevator. A nice receptionist points the way, and a few minutes later, we start descending levels. This particular lift only takes us down so far and over the next hour, we have to switch buildings and elevators a few times. But we’ve finally arrived. We’re as low as we can get, as the actual bottom of the city is not accessible, as there is only the infrastructure, that keeps the city above running.
It's quite a bit darker down here despite the numerous open spaces on all the levels, but it’s still quite a normal part of the city. Luckily, it’s not a filthy sinkhole like what you would expect when you hear underbelly of a city. But the difference is still there. While everything is pretty clean, the colors are way more muted and some people already cast weird looks at us once we exit the elevator. Our nice-looking clothes do not fit in down here. The people mostly wear dark coats with raised collars and try to keep their heads down while rushing along the streets.
Yes, there are actual streets down here, as there is no need for spaced-out walkways, that leave space for the sunlight from above. Plus, it keeps the support systems below hidden from view. I glance at Alex and groan upon seeing her smug grin. I can’t believe she was partially right. The people here look and act exactly like in the movies…
Jack speaks up. “What now? Should we head for a bar or something like that? To keep an open ear?”
“Sounds like a good start,” I reply and turn to Alex while frowning. “Any more genius insights out of your superb movie education?”
She laughs a bit. “No, that’s it for now, but a bar does sound good.”
“Alright, let’s search for one. Can’t be too hard, right?”
Yeah, that jinxed it, again… An hour of searching leads to nothing and I decide to ask S-57 for help again. He needs a few minutes, but after analyzing the city map, he concludes, that there isn’t a single bar at the bottom level.
So we move up and this time I consult S-57 immediately.
“There are several bars here. The closest one is about half a kilometer to the west. It’s called The Diving Tiger.”
I relay the name and location to the others and Jack shakes his head. “I thought felines dislike the water…”
Alex just laughs and puts an arm around his shoulder. “Feel free to question the owner about the name of his establishment. I’m sure he’d like that question.”
We all laugh at that, and Jack uses the pause to kiss his wife. Then he turns around and starts walking toward the east. “Come on, we’ve got a tiger to tame.”
I glance at Alex and snort. She shows mercy and calls out. “Wrong direction, honey.”
He turns around with a red face and rejoins us. Then we’re off. This time heading west.