Meltdown Ophilion - Book One

10_OUTBOUND

"We've still got twenty mec-tah," Orion said looking at his wrist-com.

"Maybe we should just get on the transport," Celli suggested, casting a glance in the direction of the information booth. She had no desire to loiter around the dock. It was as if the people here lived under a blanket of fear and mistrust even thicker than the one in their district. This is madness, she found herself thinking. I just don't see how it was meant to be like this.

As they walked through the gate the fare was automatically deducted from their com-chip implants . They stopped to look at their transport before they boarded. It was a mid-sized passenger transport that had obviously seen better days. The brown and silver paint was chipping in places and there were three dark gray streaks near the back from the exhaust of the port side forward thrusters.

"Think it'll get us there?" Fel wondered aloud.

Orion shook his head and walked aboard.

There weren't many passengers, so they climbed up to the third deck and claimed two couches facing each other by a window. They took off their packs and placed them by the wall.

"Anybody want a snack?" Fel asked, feeling generous with the credit he had won from the game. "My treat."

"Yeah," Orion said, "I'll have some poglo sticks."

"Me too," said Celli.

"Poglo sticks for everyone!" Fel announced, and proceeded to the snack bar in the center of the transport.

Orion looked out the large window at the platform. Two dock workers were connecting a blue hose to one of the transport's intake valves.

"Orion, I need to tell you something," Celli said quietly. Orion turned to face her. "It's about the dream I had." He was immediately interested. "There were... people... we met some people." She pursed her lips as she contemplated her presentation. "They were not people like I have ever met before. They had a certain... look to them," Celli tried to explain what she had felt, "something about their eyes." She smiled as she remembered her dream. "They were very..." Celli sighed, "happy," she said for lack of a better word. "They were unconnected from the Com." She swallowed. "They were... wild, in some way; powerful in another way... alien..." She smiled sheepishly. "It was confusing, but it felt good. I don't know how to explain. It was like they lived in a different reality or something." She looked into Orion's eyes. "They invited us to come with them."

Orion looked intently at her. "Where?" He asked.

"I don't know." Celli shook her head. "They were going somewhere and they wanted us to go with them."

Orion nodded.

"Doesn't make much sense, does it?"

"There's more to this than we realize." Orion heard himself say.

Celli knitted her brow, looked out the window. "If there were any people like that," she held her breath then exhaled, "I would go with them."

"Is that why you decided to come?"

Celli turned and studied his face before answering. "I don't know... I'm not sure. It's something about the way I felt in my dream... and I can still feel it now." She turned her gaze back to the scene outside the window. "It's something connected to what happened in our game."

Orion nodded. He felt the same way.

Fel came across the floor with three bags of poglo sticks and three cartons of manra juice.

Orion and Celli smiled. "Thanks, buddy," Orion said, accepting the treats, "I owe you one."

"Forget it," he said, putting a poglo stick in his mouth, "I still owe you quite a few. Mmmm, these are not bad, pret-ty-fresh!"