- Where are we going? - I asked, following Anthony.
Instead of replying, Anthony briefly gazed upon Arika, who whipped up a tablet. I looked at the screen, which depicted a circular map of the All-Seeing Eye.
- We need to make it back down, to the loading bay. That's where cargo spaceships, akin to what our enemies labelled the escape shuttle as, are loaded and unloaded - Arika explained briefly, pointing at a large room towards the bottom of the colony.
- We have to make it past that gap, yes? - I saw a big interval right before the loading bay.
- Yeah - Arika nodded.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qUk0NYiOG
I gulped. Crossing that gap meant using the jetpacks again and I've almost killed myself the last time I used one. I hoped that I'll do better now.
- You can make it, just don't get distracted and you'll be fine - Anthony advised me.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkPAy90tW0
The area we found ourselves in was a working sector of some kind, with offices all around the floor, connected by a giant, ring-shaped catwalk. The vines, seen earlier from below, were hanging down from the ceiling. There were other plants on the catwalk, but they were grown in plant pots and much smaller than those seen in the main hall.
As we almost made it past half the ring, I spotted a sign labelled LOADING BAY. Before I got to tell the others about my finging, we stopped and I saw the gap from the map.
It was uncannily large, with a drop all the way to the main hall and its greenery. There was some railing, which could be grabbed in case the jetpack stopped working, but it was only placed near our platform and the one on the opposite side, with nothing in the middle of the gap. I saw this as an oversight, but the colonists seemingly didn't mind, casually flying over the void as if it wasn't there.
They were very calm in general. While I didn't spend much time in the All-Seeing Eye, I couldn't see any arguments or tensions. I, an earthling, found this strange, as the colonists were of many different nationalities. There were Americans, chatting about life in the colony. We also found many Chinese people and even a few Russians, many of which were tending to the impressive spectrum of plantlife found in the main hall (we checked if the Russians were suspicious, but they appeared to be innocent and not connected with the Perseids in any way). There were also people from other nations, mostly different countries from Europe, but some Indians were also visible.
Despite the Second Cold War being a raging conflict on Earth, it appeared to be distant and pretty much nonexistant here on Venus. Everyone was living in harmony on this planet, which was quite soothing.
The only exceptions were probably Vlad and Bruise, wherever they were, unless they were trying to blend in with the real colonists, which was plausible, but we had no way of knowing if that was the case, up until now.
We were headed for the loading bay in search of answer, hoping to find that shuttle, maybe even the thiefs or the samples. Who knows...
One by one, we started flying across the gap. I was hesitant to go, but knew I had to. Dad and Nebula being on the other side did make me a bit more confident, along with my peers flying along, so I wasn't alone in this trial.
So, overcoming my fears and anxiety, I fired up the boosters and got lifted off the ground. Loosing my footing so quickly was unsettling, but I had other things to focus on right now. Like making it across the gap in one piece.
The lush view below was nice, but also distracting and I had to make sure that I won't fall down, so I ignored the tempting vegetation. I maintained a relatively constant thrust, flying in a nicely straight line, with only the occasional waving when I tried to adjust the thrust.
After an anxious minute, we successfully made it to the other side.
- Congratulations on learning to steer the jetpack! - Anthony congratulated me.
- Good thing you didn't smash into the roof, but we still have some learning to do - Agent Nebula did so too, albeit reluctantly.
- Alright, let's find this space shuttle - Captain Nigel sighed.
The loading bay was right up ahead. Upon entering it, I once again felt like entering yet another world. The vegetation was... lacking, to say the least. In fact, it was completely absent.
- Wow, this place is dull... - Sebastian commented.
The only things that added color were containers loaded with supplies brought from other celestial bodies, mostly Earth, but also the Moon and even Mars. Interplanetary trade was still a fledgling business, but it had already made its impact. Every container had a special label, detailing from which corner of the Solar System it came.
Besides the mountains of containers, we saw robotic arms bringing crates out of space shuttles. The shuttles were parked in a concrete trench with their fairings detatched, allowing the claws to reach the supplies inside.
We started combing the area for the escape shuttle. There were many workers, but thus far, we didn't attract their attention. The space shuttles were of all shapes and sizes, but we were specifically looking for large, black and white ones, akin to the one used by Vlad and Bruise.
- There are some big ones over there! - I noticed a row of large shuttles in the colors we needed to find, notifying my allies about it.
- Let's see what's there - Claudius left to get a closer look at the row.
Most of the spaceships in that row were very similar, but one stood out. It was very battered, compared to the others, as if it passed through a cloud of micrometeorites. Looking closer, there was a robotic arm within the ship's cargo bay. This claw was the cleanest part of the whole shuttle, as if someone made sure to rub off something. This something was most likely the sample of the alien goo, which stuck onto the claw when it nibbled on Icebreaker-5.
I had no doubts: it was the escape shuttle.
- I think I found it - I notified the others.
- Yes, that's definitely it - Amber nodded.
- Chris, you'll go there and try to talk the guards into letting you inside. Tell them that you are an inspector, running a mandatory check-up on the carrying conditions within each spacecraft. Once inside, tell us about anything out of the ordinary. Okay? - Einstein explained his plan to me.
- Sure... - I agreed - ...sir - I added to sound more professional.
- If they don't comply instantly, show them this ID card - Nebula handed me card which labelled me as a "Safe Transport Inspector", with a modified picture of mine, edited to make me look older. I memorized my assumed title and slid the card into my pocket.
With the others observing silently, I made my way to vessel, not knowing what to expect from both the guards and the spacecraft itself. I found myself being a lot more anxious than I expected. My hands were trembling and I was sweating uncontrollably. I gulped once more and decided to focus on my line to think about something else than all the scary possibilities.
The guards turned around as soon as I approached them, glaring at me disdainfully.
- Hey kid, this isn't a playground... - one of them started. He wasn't as nice as the other colonists appeared to be.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Emand8kWL
- I'm no kid - I started playing my role - I'm a Safe Transport Inspector, running a mandatory inspection of this ship's cargo-carrying capabilities and the conditions provided for orbital transportation - I said, pulling my fake ID card out.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQ3I2bEaIe
- Uh... sure... - it seems like my eloquent language impressed the guard, who bought my imitation.
- I'll let you in - the second guard opened up a hatch with a window, through which I saw Bruise during our latest encounter with this spacecraft.
This further confirmed that this was the spacecraft we've been looking for. Inside, I expected to find evidence of evil, but the shuttle has been cleaned up after the end of our previous mission. There was, however, one interesting thing: a test tube with a tan, gooey substance.
This was none other than the alien goop.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOw5TEjgxud
and then Add to home screen.