Call of Worlds by K D Lovgren

Author:K D Lovgren [Lovgren, K D]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grey Kestrel Press
Published: 2019-11-29T16:00:00+00:00

Her target wake-up time was 2 a.m. She planned for the whole expedition to take no longer than two hours. With a roller to take her there and back, she’d leave herself an hour to explore the Land.

She put on her usual clothes. If she were discovered, she’d say she saw a light, or heard a sound, and gone to investigate. It was cold outside at night, much colder than during the day. A fluffer coat, hat with ear protection, and gloves were necessary garb to keep off frostbite.

Rolling over the golden, low-slung hills in the darkest hour of night was exhilarating. She hadn’t had occasion to take a roller out by herself. She thought of Roan, warm in his bed. He would like to have gone; she was sure. He’d said he would take her. This was something she had to do herself, without assistance or interference. It was something between her and Mech, strange as it sounded, even to herself.

Vision goggles lit up the surroundings well, so she could see what was coming. None of the biohabbers had clocked large, visible life forms in any of their forays, but Kal thought better safe than sorry. It didn’t hurt to be prepared.

Before it felt like any time had gone by at all, she was nearing the Land. She glided the roller down into the hollow and right up to the rear entry, so she’d have a short distance to travel between the roller and the starship. Pulling one glove off, she opened the roller door and exited, excited and ready.

With careful precision, she fit her hand up into the right rear wheel well, the location of the code panel on the Ocean, which she had checked for when Roan showed her the Land. Her hand fit perfectly over the invisible but skin-responsive panel. It warmed under her touch and the rear cargo hatch began to descend with a slow hiss. She backed away, waiting for the hatch to touch the ground.

She swept the entry lights off and stepped aboard.

The walk up the ramp was exactly like the Ocean. She didn’t need light to know it. Once she was off the ramp she turned and faced back where she came from, looking toward camp. No light. No movement. No sound except for the wind. Kal found the interior code panel by feel and waited for the hatch to close.

Hatch closed, she was in total darkness. She waited for her pupils to expand before she keyed on a path light. Walking swiftly out of the huge cargo hold space, she headed toward the level one corridor and the spiral ramp to wend her way up, up, to the bridge. All was the same, so far, except for the indistinct shapes in the hold, cargo varied from the Ocean’s.

A little out of breath, she paused on bridge level, level four. She faced the short corridor leading to the gangway, a bridge to the bridge, suspended over the atrium below. “Captain Black Bear,” she said softly.

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