NOTE
Aurelia is a lot like Earth. Breathable atmosphere. Dusty, desert-like biome. Gold rich and terraformable. Farmers use wells and canals to bring water to the surface and cultivate farmland.
Homes are built ouf of 3D printed concrete to withstand the occasional strong winds and dust storms. Farms use long stretches of windbreaker walls to protect crops.
“Donaldson, farm 12 reported a disturbance. I don’t know details, they were talking nonsense. Investigate, please?”
“I’m on it. Farm 12 is usually pretty quiet, wonder what’s going on.”
“Yeah. Me too. Let me know as soon as you find out.”
“Got it.”
Donaldson his Mark II Kyberpod in the direction of farm 12 and presses the throttle to full. With every step, the deep red dusty regolith kicks up on it’s armored feet.
“Can we upgrade this to a confirmed emergency? I would love to blow a jumpjet right now and go for a ride.”
“Easy there, turbo. As much as I’d like to give you the greenlight, they didn’t seem like they were in any danger. Honestly, it sounded more like a prank call.”
“That’s weird coming from Pete and Sarah.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. It’s weird enough to look into, but not weird enough for a code red.”
“Just take all the fun outta my job, why don’t you? :P 10-4, i’ll be there in a minute.”
“Copy”
Donaldson b-hops his Kyberpod to pass the time, jumping over farm 7’s gate. He knew the code, but where’s the fun in playing like a delivery driver?
Donaldson pulled up to the homesteader’s front driveway, shifted into and prepared to disembark his Kyberpod. Canopy open, unbuckle, jump out, but not before a feet dangling hang from the edge of the hull. Just for a moment, Donaldson whimsically swung back and forth with a smile, before letting go and falling about a meter to the dusty Aurelian soil below.
He instinctively grasped his sidearm to check it was still there, then looked up at the concrete home. Like most of the homes on Aurelia, the front door was on the second floor, accessible from a flight of outdoor stairs.
He jumped up, skipping every other step. He reached the landing and knocked on the door.
“Pete? Sarah? The cavalry’s arrived.”
No answer.
Donaldson leaned to one side to peek through a small porthole in the home’s thick concrete wall. Not much of a front window, but because of Aurelia’s nasty dust storms, a 15 cm cylinder of thick transparent aluminum is as good as it gets.
Pete and Sarah were seen within dining room, running in circles with their hands flailing in the air.
Donaldson knocked again.
“I’m coming in!”
Donaldson tried the door, which was unlocked.
“SolFront Security!”
Donaldson announced himself.
Pete and Sarah stopped running to stare at Donaldson. Like deer in headlights, Pete inquired.
“Santa?”
Donaldson was caught off guard.
“No? It’s me, Craig Donaldson. What’s going on here? Why are you two running around your living room?”
Sarah looked at Donaldson like she had never seen him before.
“Not Santa? But I wanted a present!”
Craig decided to play along.
“No, not Santa, but I am the Easter Bunny!”
Both Pete and Sarah’s eyes lit up.
“What a treat! I can’t wait for my chocolate egg!”
Donaldson’s patience was running out.
“Guys? Are you alright? Don’t tell me you ate some pase brownies?”
“Pace? Are we in a race?”
Pete and Sarah looked at each other, dazed and confused, then resumed running in circles.
“Guys? Are we going to need an ambulance… Or maybe a taxi to the nut house?”
“Nuts? I’d love one!”
Pete’s eyes lit up again.
Donaldson took a step back and tried to piece together what was happening.
“Folks, do you mind if I take a look around?”
Pete looked like he was in a different place, with a smile so large and an innocent laugh.
“Around, around! Haha!”
Pete threw his hands in the air and joined Sarah running in circles.
Donaldson stepped into the kitchen, glancing at the countertops. They were clean, no sign of food prep.
He looked at the oven, the microwave, the stovetop. All powered off, all cold.
“When did you folks last eat?”
Donaldson cracked open the refrigerator. Pete and Sarah were in their own little world.
“Look at me, I’m a plane!”
Sarah spread her arms wide, jumped up on the couch, and jumped off off it.
“HA HA HA HA! I want to be a airplane too!”
Pete jumped on the couch, copying Sarah.
Donaldson moved some leftover food aside to get a glimpse into the back of the fridge. Nothing unusual.
Donaldson closed the fridge, then went to the cupboards where he grabbed two glasses.
He filled the glasses with water from the home’s purifier, making sure to fill it all the way to the top. Pete and Sarah gathered on either side of him to see what he was doing.
He sniffed the water from one of the glasses. Smelled like nothing.
“Drink up! Doctor’s orders!”
Pete and Sarah looked surprised.
“He’s a doctor!”
“Oh my! He’s so handsome.”
Donaldson handed the glasses over to the confused couple, and they each took a sip.
“Keep drinking! Last one to finish is a rotten egg!”
“I love eggs!”
Donaldson stepped aside and keyed up his radio using his speaker mic.
“Unit 74 to Dispatch”
“This is Dispatch. Go ahead.”
“Yeah, so I can see what you’re saying about these two speaking nonsense to you. I’ve never seen them like this before, but if I had to guess, I’d say they were tripping on something.”
“Uh oh, do I need to send for a medevac?”
“Look, my water is wetter than yours.” Pete dipped his finger in his water.
“No! Mine is definitely wetter.” Sarah stuck her whole hand in her glass, water welling up and spilling out. Pete and Sarah both laughed at the splash.
“Eh, I’m not so sure they’re on the type that’s going to stop their heart. But I’m not an expert, so I’m going to say we should air on the side of-”
Donaldson stopped mid sentence. A moment passed.
“Unit 74?”
Donaldson’s hand slowly released from his speakermic, and slowly drifted down to his side. He stared blankly at the watery mess Pete and Sarah had made, his focus and clarity drifting away. As if his mind had reset, he cocked his head to one side and asked sheepishly.
“What are you guys doing?”
“We’re eating the water!” Pete replied with a smile.
“It tastes good.” Sarah stuck her whole wet hand in her mouth and sucked on it.
“Can I have some?” Donaldson asked earnestly.
“Unit 74? You there?”
Donaldson was startled by the sound coming out of his speakermic.
“Ah! Who’s there!?”
Donaldson looked around the room, trying to locate the source of the sound.
“Unit 74? Donaldson? What’s going on?”
“He has two voices!” Pete pointed at Donaldson and laughed.
Sarah said something unintelligible, her whole hand still in her mouth.
Donaldson realized the voice was coming from the box clipped to his shoulder.
“AH! Get away!” he frantically swiped at the device, trying to rid himself of it.
“Unit 74, come in please.” Jules persisted, just as Donaldson pushed with enough force for the clip to break free. The speaker mic hit the floor with a thud, triggering the PTT button just enough for a brief, noisy transmission with Pete’s laughter and Donaldson’s panic heard in the background on Jules’ end.
NOTE
To be continued