You're Letting Him Escape? 

"Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things that escape those who dream only at night." 

- Edgar Allan Poe 

Sweden picked himself up off the floor. His fractured rib screamed in response to the exertion. He was not entirely certain what had just happened so he stayed crouched and looked around warily. 

The delivery pod sat at the opposite end of the dome. Its normally silver skin was glowing a dull shade of orange and it was making ominous pinging sounds as the metal rapidly cooled. 

Sweden hustled over to where he had dropped his broken sword. The blade had snapped three-quarters of the length down, but the jagged piece that remained could still be used effectively as a dagger. Keeping low, he moved quickly over to Antigua. He eyed the pod warily before cutting her loose from the bulkhead, being careful to ensure that her hands and feet remained securely bound. He then manhandled her over to the dome wall and with some considerable effort, lifted her up in front of him and used her as a human shield. He kept one arm firmly around her waist and held the shattered blade of his sword against her throat. He paused for a moment, holding his breath. Jaw clenched in nervous apprehension. 

Nothing happened. The pod just sat in its landing bay. An ominous tension filled the dome. 

"What fresh wizardry is this?" he hissed into Antigua's ear. 

"It's probably an engineering crew," she responded through gritted teeth. The blade was pressed tightly to her throat and was making her very nervous. A small rivulet of blood trickled down her neck pooling in the slight depression of her collar-bone. 

Sweden had no idea what an engineering crew was, but he did not like the sound of it. 

Inside the pod, the three engineers were watching their visor displays intently. The various cameras and sensors distributed throughout the dome gave them perfect three-hundred-and-sixty-degree situational awareness. They were still strapped into their chairs, not by choice, as these were on a timed release to ensure that all safety checks had been completed and that the pod's ambient temperature was within tolerable levels.  

"What should we do?" Mali said, breaking the silence. 

Guam shrugged in response. He was about to send a request for orders back to Britain, but Chad took the initiative before he could initiate a commlink. Chad flipped up his visor and tapped an instruction into his console. 

A klaxon alarm sounded outside the pod. The exit to the dome hissed open. It just so happened that Sweden was leaning with his back against the door as it opened. He toppled backward through the opening dragging Antigua with him. 

"You're letting him escape?" Guam demanded incredulously. 

"Mistress Antigua can look after herself," Chad's response was terse.  

Everyone, even lowly engineers, knew about the High-Born Ranger class. Antigua was something of a legend amongst the lower classes. Tales of her adventures in the Badlands were swapped and embellished to such a degree that she took on an almost mythological stature.  

"We have a more pressing concern. Did you notice the temperature reading?" 

Guam had not, but Mali had and had already scanned the event log to identify the source of the problem. 

"Sensor readings in one of the refrigeration units are showing a drop in hydraulic pressure. Probably a tear in some of the piping." 

She powered down the unit and assigned a repair task to their work log. She flagged it as urgent, which automatically bumped it to the top of the list. 

"There you go," she said, tagging the unit so it was highlighted on their visor HUDs, "looks like some piping has been torn from the framework. It's now the top priority in our jobs queue." 

Chad nodded. He checked the Southlander and Antigua were clear of the doorway before closing it behind them. 

"Good luck, Mistress," he whispered. 

Guam rounded on him. 

"If she gets hurt it will all be your fault!" 

Chad made a face behind his visor but kept his mouth shut. 

"I think it was the right move," Mali said, coming to Chad's defense, "our job is to ensure that the Gateway remains operational, we aren't trained to deal with anything else." 

She patted Chad on the shoulder. 

"She's no damsel in distress. We all know what she is capable of. Anyway, by the looks of that brute, I don't think any of us would have been much use to her at all. Come on, let’s get started. We can argue about it while we work." 

Chad lifted his visor and gave Mali a beaming smile. He turned to Guam and shrugged. 

"Sounds like a plan. You take the point, chief." 

Guam seethed for a moment. He did not like the way the power dynamic was playing out within this team. He needed some way to reassert his dominance.  

There was a clicking sound as their seatbelts unlocked. The pod had cooled sufficiently to satisfy the automated safety protocols. Guam signed off on his systems checklist and activated their task list. He punched the pod door release and switched on the robotic systems that would unload the supplies that they were carrying. These were two generic, single-purpose manipulators that were integrated into the domes infrastructure. They were large, flexible arms that could travel remotely across the dome's inner skin, giving them end to end access to all areas. 

"Mali, you're on robot babysitting duty. Make sure those arms have unloaded everything and prepped the prefabs for Chad and me. In the meantime, we'll sort out the leak."

Chapter 29

Art  by Daniel Sheldon https://www.facebook.com/speednperspective & https://twitter.com/Beatroute