HOME BUT NOT HOME

Chapter 9 - Getting New Rides

Chapter 9 – Getting New Rides

Vertigo Town
Arlington County, VA
Wednesday, April 29, 2076
14:00 EST GMT-5

So, it was settled. Aurora picked up two jobs, one as a mechanic for Jerry and one for Shelley, in helping with keeping the robots active. We arrived at Jerry's Mechanics and Auto Shops. Yes, he already had two robots working there, but needed an extra hand. Jerry stepped out; he was quite a tall person. Like Wheeler and Shelley, he was dressed like a biker.

"Welcome to my auto shop!" said Jerry. "I'm Jerry Montgomery. I also do serve as a dealership, I have many branches across the country, some even overseas and some on Mars."

"On Mars?" I asked.

"Yes, people from NASA and SpaceX met together in Silicon Valley and Houston, to expedite a lot of human habitation projects on Mars, in the light of the meteor shower, which also accelerated technological progress!" explained Jerry. "And while most of the world's population perished to its radioactive effects, many millions moved to Mars about forty years ago. In fact, they have full domed cities, in the Korolev Crater. One of the biggest craters on Mars."

"Strange!" said Aurora.

"That's what happens when you miss decades of your life, in hibernation." Jerry chuckled. "Oh, I know who you are. All of you."

"Then you know why we are here." I said with seriousness.

"I'd love to provide you some brand new vehicles." Jerry said. "However, you'll need to find the power sources. They're outside the city in the desert. They are power crystals, which can last for years before you replace them. Each vehicle can run a good four years, with each power crystals."

"So that means?" asked Ranger.

"Every four years, you'll need to harvest more from the desert." Jerry said. "Look, I can give you these at a good price, and I can give each a discount, but you'll need to get those crystals to help start them up. Hover vehicles are very sophisticated, we stopped using fossil fuels for cars, forty years ago."

"So that means, one of us has to go and retrieve some, from the wasteland." I said to my team.

"You must be extremely careful. You'll be dealing with mutants and marauders." Jerry told us.

"Whatever it takes to survive, as far as I'm concerned, this is our home now." I said with a sigh.

"You can borrow my hoverbike. It comes equipped with guns, and a small container to store the crystals you find." Jerry offered. "You bring those crystals, I'll have your vehicles ready."