The next morning Max woke Moonie up in time to take a shower and then double-checked the shuttle schedule. It wasn’t easy to leave or enter this hab dome, so he wanted to make sure that they were aboard the morning shuttle, giving them plenty of time to make their way across the Comor Station and get settled into their new homes aboard Abraham Kepler.
Of course, he wasn’t the only one that had that same idea, and the upper floors near the hangars were absolutely packed already when he checked the cameras. Getting off the base shouldn’t be an issue, the military was nothing if not efficient in planning transportation, but it looked like it might be wiser for them to wait a while.
[Attention all Staff Transfers. Cargo pickup will begin in fifteen minutes for those wishing to send their luggage ahead. Please schedule your luggage pickup with the Transportation Department.] An announcement repeated all over the station’s public areas, as well as appearing on the wrist devices of the crew that were leaving today.
Max barely had time to read the message before the confirmation of his luggage pickup arrived, and a message dinged on Moonie’s wrist device as well.
“That was quick, did you send it while the announcement was playing, or did you arrange it in advance?” The blonde researcher asked.
“Neither. I’m willing to wager that Major Nico arranged them both, and likely a pickup for Sister Lilith as well. Her skills are uniquely well suited to mission organization.” Max explained.
As expected, a few seconds after the message there was a knock at their door, and the cyborg in question was waiting outside.
“How did she get here so quickly? That’s just crazy.” Moonie muttered and Max couldn’t help but laugh.
“She lives right next door, she was literally five steps away.”
Max let Nico in, and she handed them both a small digital token. “These are your boarding passes. The mob that assembled upstairs forgot that this is a military transfer operation, not a public bus. You don’t just cram yourselves aboard at the first opportunity, everything is organized. We are all on the transport leaving at zero nine hundred, so we’ve got over an hour before we need to start heading for the hangars. The staff should be here soon to gather all our luggage, and Sister Lilith is on an earlier transport, so she won’t have time to come down and meet us.”
Moonie nodded in acceptance. “One last trip to the breakfast burrito stand then? I go there all the time on my days off when I’m not eating in the lab.”
That was a good enough plan for the day, and the shop ended up being a rather good takeout food place, with breakfast burritos as the daily special every single morning. More than a few people were here, despite it not being close to a standard shift change, but it didn’t take long to get their breakfast ready and head back to the rooms so that the staff could come to get their luggage.
As usual, all baggage would be scanned, disinfected if necessary, and randomly inspected before being allowed aboard Abraham Kepler, despite coming from another military facility. Protocol demanded that baggage was checked at every entry and exit incidence, so sending it separately meant that you didn’t have to personally wait for it to be done before you could go aboard yourself. It was a real time saver when there was a large movement of troops, like today.
The luggage carts arrived only a few minutes after they finished eating and took their bags, leaving them sitting in an empty room with time to spare.
“Why don’t we head up early, in case the chaos isn’t cleared yet? If the shuttle is waiting by the time we get there we can get the good seats near one of the curved windows, so we can watch the planet as we leave?” Max suggested.
Their rooms already have an amazing aerial view of Comor, but there is just something about watching it fade as you leave the planet’s atmosphere that makes the view a little more amazing in his personal opinion. Unlike a combat drop or lander pickup, leaving in a shuttle you really get to appreciate the trip into space in a shuttle.
The elevator was almost empty when they went up, containing only a single security officer whose identification badge identified him as part of the Cyber Security team.
“Majors, Corporal. The general wanted to give you an update on the unauthorized signal situation before you left, but he couldn’t come himself due to last-minute obligations. Both the user who modified the tablet and the intended recipient have been identified and detained.” He greeted them once the doors had closed, isolating them from any outside listeners.
“Domestic or foreign?” Max asked, wondering how much the officer could tell them.
“Domestic. Both were affiliated with the same noble family, who is a major producer of Redemption Pattern Mecha. Questioning has determined that the incident was a corporate one, but their home planet has been placed under temporary administration of the military as a precaution.”
That wasn’t entirely unexpected, other labs are constantly trying to come up with a design that the military administration will approve since the royalties for a new pattern of mecha would make them both immensely wealthy and respected.
Though if the whole planet is now under administration by the military, there might be much more to the story that they aren’t authorized to know.
“Thank you for your consideration, it will let us leave with a clear conscience knowing that the incident is resolved,” Nico responded with a polite salute.
“I’ve got to get back to work, but I will give you one last piece of advice. Room A7 will have the best view of the Western Mountains as you leave. I highly recommend claiming it early.” With his piece said, the officer tapped the button for the next floor and got off the elevator, leaving the three of them alone for the short trip to the flight deck.
