Moon Fall

The small taxi slipped through the streets and into one of the main transport tunnels between the lower dome and the Upper levels. Approaching the presidential district the white walls slipped by and the view behind them opened up wide to view the outer world through the dome’s glass surface. Sculptures blurred by the taxi’s ascent up the winding hillside, and memorial buildings jutted out overlooking the lower residential districts. People dressed in all manner of outfits and designs walked the sidewalks and children ran across green grass covered walking areas. There were few trees but under those people had lain blankets and brought lunches and drinks to enjoy the coming Moon Fall. The two moons were bright in the sky, just nearing the horizon. The sun was a few hours from setting, the two moons only twenty more hours.

As they approached the entrance to the presidential residence the gates opened up and two sets of guards watched as the taxi came to a halt.

One of the guards leaned in, the window opened automatically.

“Dr. Hollman. Dr. Bucket.” The man’s voice came over through his helmet. “You’ve been expected, please go on ahead. There will be a representative to lead you to the west wing meeting hall.”

“Thank you.” Grace smiled.

Peiter nodded.

The taxi rounded a corner and up another slope to a large circle drive. At the bottom of the famous Hundred steps to the Common’s of Law and presidents wing, a thing man in a black suit stood straight and stepped back once as the taxi came to a stop.

Peiter eyed the man as the doors opened and sucked in air through his teeth.

“Oh, a mimetic. Now that’s something you don’t see everyday.” Grace grinned and the man helped her out of the taxi.

The mimetic didn’t speak, most were not built with the capability. It bowed and it smiled. It’s skin was baby soft and it’s eyes blue and reflective. Slight purples and pinks glinted in the light as the eyes shifted between the two. The mimetic inclined a hand forward and up the steps. Peiter and Grace followed it.

“It’s really well made.”

Peiter looked to Grace and then noticed the pattern of metal protruding from the back of the robots neck. He recognized the pattern.

“He reached down and pulled out his PDA and tapped a few keys.”

Grace reached into her purse and pulled hers out then looked at it then to Peiter questioningly. She mouthed the word ‘really?’ and he nodded.

It was a military grade mimetic, most likely re-purposed for security for Alexi. The fact that he’d had it meet them made Peiter very uncomfortable.

When the robot turned it’s flawless slick backed black hair shifted only slightly, and it lead them to a set of double doors that it opened. Words on a plaque to the left of the door read ‘West Wing, President’s Hall’.

The room was large, three stories high, with one wall of glass showing the two moons in the sky off in the distance.

There were several large plush reddish couches with golden wood along the edges. Glass topped with silver legged end tables and coffee tables in large circles, three of them in different sizes at each couch. These were meant to represent the three bodies that made Whitehome. The floor was decorated in a kind of bronze like metal and etched with the solar system in scientific distances from the sun outward, the lines running below their feet and none of the planets covered by a stationary object. Peiter had never been in this room before, but he was sure it had been designed in part by Alexi. Several pictures lined the innermost and side walls. Each had thick wooden frames and large plaques underneath describing the events taking place upon the canvas. One was a oil painting of the first orbital surveyor ships hovering over Whitehome. The next was another oil painting of Whitehome and it’s two moons. The rest were holographic inlayed screened displays that shifted to tell a story.

The mimetic shut the door suddenly behind them and settled itself right in front of the in-swining doors.

Peiter eyed the robot and shifted his eyes to take in the entirety of the room. Above them three large Chandelier’s hung glinting the light all over the room. It didn’t take much to make him paranoid, as Grace has pointed out only a few minutes earlier. Being in this room, most likely now being held hostage, was just another thing to cause him to worry.

Grace seemed to be thinking the same thing as she clutched his hand in hers.

“Look at that view.” He pointed to the windows and pulled her away from near the blue eyed robot.

“Oh.” Grace said looking out over the entire dome.

The meeting room had a drop off on the other side of the glass and it was so steep that unless you were up close you might not even see the city below. Off in the distance the sun shown brightly over the jutting rock like pillars and sand like desert. Greyish long shadows striped the ground like the ancient zebras of earth. They slowly grew and shifted as the sun set, but they were not pure black shadows as the two moons reflected light upon them, though dimmer.

“Peiter! Welcome.” Alexi entered the room and the door he came through shut loudly behind him. He strode across the room in his Presidential Ceremonial white and gold regalia.

“Dr. Bucket, may I introduce President Alexi Koba.” Peiter waved a hand in the man’s direction.

“I’ve never had the pleasure.” Alexi smiled and bowed his head. “Sorry for the dress... I have to prepare for my speech and doing it in... costume tends to help.”

“Oh I understand. I detest public speaking, too nervous. Holo projections for big events are the only way I kept my grants early on.” Grace smiled and nodded.

The Present nodded. “I would love to do that, and in occasions I can but most times it’s just not possible.” He turned to Peiter. “So how’s the regenerating treating you? You seem to be handling it well, any queasiness or anything?”

“Oh, no. I think it must have gone well. I’m sure you have all the data though, your men are thorough.” Peiter made a point of adding the last bit with a big smile.

“Ah yes, glad they were able to get a hold of you.” Alexi waggled a finger at him. “You’ve been a hermit far too long,” He patted Peiter on the shoulder, “I see you’re coming out of your shell though.” He pointed to Grace. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

Grace turned her head and gave a little cough and squeezed Peiter’s hand. “Sorry, sobriety pills always make my throat a little dry.”

Alexi nodded. “The tickle in the back of the throat, I know what you mean.” He waved a hand to the large table. “Please sit, I have water and some ordurves prepared ahead of time. After dinner treats.”

Peiter felt the hairs rise up on the back of his neck. Grace squeezed his hand again. “That sounds lovely.” She spoke before Peiter could respond.

“Peiter?” Alexi said as Grace walked pass. “May I have a moment?”

Grace turned and Peiter raised a hand and nodded indicating she should go ahead. When Alexi looked away from her she gave Peiter a dark look but turned to get a drink of water and sat at the far table.

Alexi brought a hand to Peiter’s side but did not touch him and moved closer to the glass overlooking the city.

“If you wanted me to have any kind of newfound trust in you, you could have started without the security checkup and the spying on my outing with Dr. Bucket.” Peiter said flatly looking out the window but focusing on Alexi’s reflection in the mirror.

“Well, I had to make sure you were alright. The last time you had someone die on you...”

“She didn’t just ‘die’ on ‘me’, you lost a sister. I don’t remember you grie...” He saw Alexi tense up. “Look,” he sagged his head, “I didn’t come here to fight with you, I came here...”

“I know why you came here. I requested you come, remember.”

“No, that’s not it. I’m talking about your little cloak and dagger maneuver with everyone on this planet.”

“Ah, so your pretty doctor friend tipped you off to the gravitational anomolies?”

“The equatorial storm has engulfed literally a hundred micro-domes, two type 4 domes and it’s looking like several other larger domes were evacuated. You know that. You can’t tell me that an event we were not aware of met with literally no casualties. Dr. Gillispie’s death could...”

“Dr. Gelispies death will be looked into, is being looked into, Peiter. “

“We might not have enough time.”

“Right now, as far as I have been told, there have been no subsequent casualties that can be specifically attributed to this possibly natural event. There is no proof that the equatorial storm will reach this far north and if it did I have scientists who are fairly certain that it’s spread over the planet will show us a weakening in it’s strength. It could blow itself out, there is even the possibility that we might be on the cusp of revealing what lays beneath the storm. See what lies beyond the storm at the planets equator. Wouldn’t that be amazing?”

“What would be amazing if we all died, we could witness all of this from orbit.” Peiter turned, looking at his old friend in shock.

“You’re taking a hell of a chance that this will all blow away.”

“I have experts assuring me this is going to be fine.” Alex straightened. “I can’t have the entire planet evacuated over some questionable data.”

“I sent you this data already, I know you’ve seen it.”

“And?” Alexi gave him a blank look.

Peiter brought out his PDA and ran his thumb over the screen and activated the file features. He tapped it agianst the glass and a screen appeared showing all the data he’d collected. “This isn’t going away, the winds are not decreasing, and you can bet your precious presidency that someone else has died. I came here to show you that something needs to be done.”

Alexi stood there, his arm crossed as he looked at the data. He eyed Peiter and then looked to Grace who was chewing on a little biscuit. Stepping closer he ran a finger over the data and raised a few key pattern analysis’s. “And where did you get these?”

The large door opened from the far end of the room and two mimetics who looked exactly the same came in, the door shutting behind them.

“I have some been in talks with several geologists and meteorologists in several regions. I even have found some of Gillespie’s data from his mainframe before I was pulled out.” He leaned in. “There’s something bad going on here, this isn’t about you and me it’s about everyone.”

Alexi’s eyes narrowed. “When did you get the data from Gillespie? His systems were down, the dome cracked, by the time you arrived. There were no power readings.”

“He sent me the data, I thought he was crazy, I didn’t get a good look at it till recently.”

“Does anyone else know about this?”

“Grace brought in some of her data when she was coming for Moon Fall, wanting me to check it out. It matched Gilespies, that’s why I brought it to you.”

“You said you talked to several experts?”

The line of questioning started to bother Peiter. “Yes, some of Sheila’s old acquaintances. Grace also checked with some others before bringing it to my attention.”

“I can’t verify this data in the time allotted, you know that.”

“Verify?” Peiter almost yelled. He noticed the two mimetics were standing at the doorway, not moving, he looked back to Alexi. “These are data recordings not just from orbital satellites but from individual vetted scientists.”

Alexi put his hands behind his back. “There are over thousands of data records I’ve received that say just the opposite. The fact that you’re bringing this to me now leads me to wonder what your motives are.”

“What?” Peiter asked incredulously.

“I think this is just an excuse to bring me down, what you’ve been waiting for all this time. I make a decision to calm fears about a world wide event that experts say will blow over, and you come in with this...” He pointed at the glass images. “Why now?”

“What are you talking about? There is a clear...”

“Why are you coming at me now. Why not years ago, after Sheila!” Alexi turned, his face red. “I’ve done nothing but give you the clearest path to success, give you space and time to grieve. You fought me at every turn, disgusted with me, throwing your hate at me. For what? Because I didn’t care that my psycho of a sister slit her wrists?”

“Alexi!” Peiter shouted and stepped forward just to see the mimetics moving towards him. “This has nothing to do with Sheila!”

“Oh, but I think it does.”

“Something big is on the horizon Alexi, and you’re blind to it. Why?”

“NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN!” Alexi shouted, spittle coming out of his mouth. “This planet has been here for millions of years, we’ve barely scratched the surface of what happens over time. There are more mountains and pillars nearest the poles meaning if any storm increase happens it has never reached this far north. Sure we’ll have to rebuild some of the old domes, but people are evacuated and safe. I won’t have you destroying what I built!”

“Peiter!” Grace shouted as he sent Alexi flying with a right hook.

The man toppled back against some chairs and righted himself clutching his face. “Arrest them!”

Peiter turned to the two mimetics. Grace stood up in panic.

Looking to her and back to the two oncoming robots he lunged forward and grabbed Alexi by the fancy coat. His hands wrapped around the man’s neck.

“Stay back.” He shouted, the two robots stopped. They looked at one another, then back to Peiter.

“Go on, trying to blackmail and then assaulting the President of an entire planet!” Alexi shifted his weight and pushed Peiter away who loosened his grip and backed away towards Grace.

Alexi straightened his collar and glared at Peiter. Pointing he shock his finger and laughed through a cough. “Just like old times huh? Well this will be the last time I save your ass. Old Friend.”

Grace got behind Peiter and he put one hand in front of her. “What do you mean.”

“I’m going to have you arrested, and I’ll drop the charges of assault against you after this has all blown over. I’ll blame your outburst and this conspiracy theory you have on your regression. You’ll see what it’s all a hoax and after say a week you’ll be apologizing to me and your new friend here.”

“No... it..” Grace shouted her protest but Peiter cut her off.

“Alexi, I’m trying to warn you. Why won’t you believe me?”

Alexi walked up to the wall and pulled out his own PDA. The screen lit up with the recording of the dream Peiter had experienced.

“How did you...”

“There are rare cases of some mental stress after aggressive regression. I put out a few feelers to see if you would ignore the physician I set you up with, in fact I bet you would.”

“Those are my personal files. You’ve illegally hacked into my...”

“Oh, I don’t think I’m the only one who uses a few alternative methods to get what I want. I’m sure if I dug a little harder I might find all kinds of things that could get a high ranking member of the environmental offices into some big trouble, now wouldn’t I?” Alexi let out a sigh. “Peiter, this is very similar to what happened to Sheila, don’t you see? You’re imagining things, and your obviously using what happened with Sheila to invent some wild theory.”

Peiter grit his teeth. “It’s just a dream Alexi, but it’s not swaying my judgment. This is not about Sheila. These files are all legitament, even if your discount Gelispie’s work. Something bad is going to happen.”

Alexi sighed in resignation. “Because you dreamed it? And from I heard, you’ve had bad feelings about this planet from the start. I don’t know why you believe this crazy theory of yours but after all this is done and Moon Fall passes, we’ll talk again. Her first.”

“No!” Grace shouted as one of the mimetics came up and easily pulled her from Peiter. He tried to stop the machine but the other grabbed him by the wrist and toppled him to the ground.

Alexi knelt down and got on one knee. Leaning down he spoke softly into his ear.

“All this time you’ve blamed me for being uncaring and unfeeling about Sheila’s death, but let me share a secret with you. Let me enlighten you just a tiny bit, perhaps crack those walls you’ve built up.” His voice grew harder. “I didn’t push my sister into continuing work that would take her nowhere. I didn’t let her obsession get the better of her, in fact I fought against it. I wanted her to go back to earth, or somewhere else, wanted you to go too. I came to her and even set up a meeting with some TeraCorp colonization admin to get you guys onto another planet terraforming project. Sheila said she wanted to stay.”

“You set those up, she told me...”

“She turned them down. Did she tell you that? She told them she was happy here. Why? Because you were happy here, you thought being here was good, or good enough. Even your dreams were telling you the opposite, you still bullishly kept on. I made it look like the offer came for you and her, to get you both out of here. Give my sister a chance at something more than just an rig job sweating and scratching away like our parents. She was too proud, she was obsessed with this ball of rock, all the inconsistencies and anomalies. She chose to chase a fairy tale and you just went right along with it. I didn’t give her enough rope Peiter, you did, you remember that..”

“It was her choice...”

“You let her stay, you said it was ok! You said you’d take care of her! You kept her here!”

“It’s what...”

“Yes, it’s what she wanted. But you... you wanted to be a big shots all those years ago. You wanted to run a department, build new worlds. I knew you were going places, so why didn’t you take my sister? Huh? Why didn’t you? You just let her wallow in your crazy theories.”

“Alexi, she...”

“She killed herself. You know damn well it wasn’t the medicine, but you kept doubting me, kept pushing me out. This time, I’m...”

“You do what you think is best Alexi, it’s what you’re good at. Doing everything YOU thinks is best.”

Alexi stood up. “Take him away. Put them in a cell together, wouldn’t want them experiencing Moon Fall alone.”

“Alexi! Don’t do this!”

“You’re not right in the head Peiter, and I’ll get you help if showing you that you’re wrong doesn’t work. I’m showing you what a real friend is, what a brother should be. Something I lost back then. A sister, a brother, and a friend.” Alexi turned and walked out of the room.

The mimetic pulled Peiter off the ground like he was a puppet. Peiter tried to find back but the mimetic crimped a hand around his neck and he heard a pressure sound like air escaping something sealed. His neck felt a sharp pinch and he lost consciousness.

When he woke up he was on the floor staring up at a dark metal ceiling.

“Peter?” Grace came into view, leaning over him.

He sat up and pushed himself up against the far wall of the cell. It took him a few seconds to get his surroundings. The things Alexi has said rang in his ears.

Doubts started creeping up and he tried to think about everything that had happened since just before Sheila died.

“You’ve great friend there.” Grace pointed out disgustedly as she sat down on a bench. It was then that he noticed they were both dressed in gray jumpsuits with orange undershirts. Bright orange bands on their collars and around the thighs were prison attire.”

“How long have I been out?” He rubbed his neck.

“About four hours.” She pointed to the digital clock on the wall of the square cell. “The sun set already, I’m guessing the First Moon Fall will set in about three hours.”

Peiter hit the floor with his fist. “Shit. I should have known better. I should have...”

“What? Tried to trust in an old friend? Tried to save everyone on this planet?” Grace stood up and put a hand out to help him up.

He reached out and he got to his feet. He checked his pockets noting his PDA was missing but the small vial of the yellow liquid remained. He’d planned to tell Alexi about Gillespie’s liquid solution but now it was kind of pointless. He let out a sigh.

“You did what you thought was best.”

“Like hitting the leader of an entire planet?”

“Tough love?”

“That’s what he thinks he’s doing for us. He’s so sure I’m wrong, he could have known all along. I don’t know what he knows and doesn’t know, but I do know he doesn’t believe the data we showed him.”

“For a friend he’d not very friendly, or trusting.”

“That’s partially my fault, or rather Alexi is a pushy, self centered, power hungry asshole.”

“Oh, so he’s one of those friends.”

Peiter rolled his eyes. “No, Alexi’s a go-getter. He pushing limits, takes chances, and always comes out on top squeeky clean and pockets lined. He discovered white water and that was that, he’d made it big. A whole planet to run and almost limitless potential.”

He leaned against the wall. “His parents were roughnecks, interstellar space monkyes. Mining and terraforming was their trade. It’s not for those who want to be rich, but if you want to explore and be the ones on the front lines of discovery...” he tilted his head in a sord of, ‘know what I mean?’ kind of look.

“So this sister of his, Sheila. Was she...”

He shook his head. “They saved up and put both Sheila and Alexi into good Terracorp schools, sciences and engineering. That’s where I met them.” He went to the metal doors and looked out the small window with plated glassesshowing a long hallway. “Isolation wing I think.”

“A room with a view would have been nice.” Grace faked a pout. “So what’s his beef with you?”

“Well after...” He tried to think how to explain it and he sat down. “after we all got onto the same terraforming project right after graduating we found out we were being sent to Whitehome. They didn’t call it that back then though. It was Sheila who got us to apply for the profiling project, we came with a crew of two hundred and we tried to determine if there was any underground water or chance of terraforming this planet. You remember how early on there were all those gravitational anomalies?”

“Yeah, the fact that Whitehome and it’s two moons seem to have a greater gravitational attraction to asteroids and meteors than the other planets? Orbiting ships have to orbit at a distance greater than they normally would for a planet this size? That for some reason sometimes the moons can generate some kind of electrical magnetic pulse that was a danger to the first few ships that approached them? The fact that the planet has no view-able fault lines, no detectable type of core. Just theories, no real evidence. Basically Whitehome shouldn’t even be in it’s orbit in this system? Those anomalies?”

“Yup, Sheila ate that up. She had a theory that Whitehome was artificial. Something made it and put it here, and the two moons.” He shrugged. “But she could never prove it.” Pausing he leaned back against the wall.

“It’s a ball of hardened stuff that changes into whatever material you want. It because less of an interest when it became a center of commerce. No one wants to find out why it was here, just that it was here. Money over Science. Then she got depressed and stopped working. That’s where Alexi came in. He took advantage of that, at the same time dashing his sister’s dreams. He might have done that on purpose.”

“He didn’t do it on purpose though, there were other people who had dreams about why Whitehome exists, hell it’s on the brochure for crying out loud. Sure he found whitewater but he didn’t make it, sooner or later someone else might have found it and you’d be where we are now.”

“True, but after years of nothing but ‘product’ and no ‘evidence’, colleagues dropping out as interest waned, she started to lose it. Who do you think was her most vocal antagonist? Her own brother. After a while she decided to seek medical help, regression therapy and medication to control her depression. I...” He looked down at his hands laying palms up on his thighs. “I tried to stop her, tried to get her some help... “

“Peter you couldn’t have...”

“At first she was less depressed, went back to work. A month or so later she started to sleepwalk, she began obsessing over her time at the rig.” He shook his head. “I could have gotten her off the planet, like Alexi said. Maybe if I’d have drugged her, gotten her to Earth or something. She became obsessed with the core, and then... one day.” He made slashing motions on his wrists. “She deactivated her PDA and...”

Grace stood in front of him and pulled his head to her chest. She cradled him as he felt tears welling up.

“We fought so much, we fought that morning. Alexi was there, then he was gone and she was gone. She’d taken a skiff to the rig, It had been evacuated due to the storm’s intensity. The vid showed her standing at the well hole. She... took out a knife...”

Grace ran her hands through his hair and stroked the back of his neck. “It’s not your fault.”

“I know.” He said choking back the tears. “The storm hit shortly after, they couldn’t find the body.”

“That’s not surprising giving the storm.”

He nodded. “Alexi showed me the video. Said I needed to see the truth, she didn’t die in an accident. That she took her own life.”

“That ass.” Grace growled.

“No, I’d lost it.”

“Like earlier?”

“Oh, he didn’t have as much authority then. No military grade bodyguards. Broke his nose.” He sniffed and chuckeled a little. “He then came the next day and showed me some medical data from her psychological profile and the video they’d retrieved before the rig vanished in the storm.”

“He wasn’t negating that he fought with her, or that maybe due to the arguments we’d all had with her that she’d taken her life. He never said who was to blame save for her own mental state.”

“What was she so crazy about, I mean...” Grace stopped realizing what she’d implied.

“It’s ok.” He looked up. “She thought that Whitehome and the moons were not terrestrial to the solar system. That perhaps under the later of coral might be something amazing. Perhaps an element we haven’t encountered before. She even thought that perhaps Whitehome might be a rogue planet or had been at one time captured by the solar systems gravity.”

“That’s a pretty wild theory but it’s been brought up before. I remember all the early hype. It was that kind of thing that brought me here.”

Peiter nodded. “You came in around the time that the domes were being built, people were learning the super healing powers of whitewater, and we’ve been growing ever since.”

“The mystery never died, it just kind of became the prevailing appeal to come here.” Grace sat down next to him.

“Hey, why don’t you lay down. Get some rest. We’ve got a few hours till First Fall.

“Not exactly how I wanted out first date to go, ya know?” She rested her head on his shoulder and looked straight ahead. “Was hoping for something more romantic.”

Peter laid back against the wall and sighed. Grace curled her feet up on the bench and rested her head in his lap.

They fell asleep and didn’t wake till after the dream came again, and the first quakes hit the complex.