13/1/2002 Title: City of Light Chapter: 1 Author: Squeezynz Universe: Land of the Giants Rating: PG Adventure Feedback: Lovingly read and kept Note: Follows on from Lifelines Archive: Sure, just let me know Disclaimer: all IA's...just making it up as I go along ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Steve sat at the controls of the spaceship, Windsifter, and contemplated his future. He also contemplated the events of the past week, particularly their narrow escape from Marna's former friends. He had yet to decided what to do about Marna. The girl remained in ignorance of how close she came to being reunited with her former Giant protectors. Mark and Dan, together with Valerie and Betty, had kept mum about who the Giants were. They were waiting for Steve to take the initiative about their next move. Steve had decided to hold off until they found another safe haven, then he would reconsider the matter. Steve wanted to believe that Marna was innocent of plotting their capture, and certainly the evidence was slim against her. Either way he felt they needed to let some time pass before addressing what would be an emotional situation. They had been flying for three days, only stopping long enough to refill their water cans and recharge their batteries on the second day, then flying non-stop through the night. Steve and Dan took turns piloting, with Mark or Barry sitting in as co-pilots. Steve had suggested that they start to learn the rudiments of flying the new ship, as it would take the pressure off Dan and himself, if circumstances meant one or the other were unable to fly in an emergency. Barry had been studying the flight manual, getting quite proficient whenever Steve quizzed him on basic procedures. Mark was already half way there with his knowledge of the technical side. He just needed the hands-on flying knowledge to become adept. Steve didn't feel threatened by letting the others gain his knowledge, in fact it freed him to concentrate on the job in hand, finding a new permanent, safe home. He was happy to lift even a smidgen of the load of leadership. Knowing that if anything happened to him, the others still had a good chance at survival gave him a measure of peace. For now he watched the dark landscape flash pass the viewport as the Windsifter effortlessly flew further North. They hadn't sighted any towns or signs of Giant habitation since their last lift off. The radio remained stubbornly silent, giving no clue as to their location. The radar only showed clear skies and nothing to raise a blip. The landscape was still just rolling tussock and occasional pockets of Giant forest. It reminded Steve of the lake district in Northern Minnesota where he'd had a hiking holiday. He had been impressed with the towering red pines and dramatic shorelines. He saw echoes of that in the coastline they were following. One more check of the instruments and he could go get Dan to take over. Everyone else was asleep in the passenger cabin, unaware of the miles being travelled that night. Steve was just about to get up from his seat when he noticed the radar sweep. It was showing an irregular pattern, indicating some obstacle up ahead. Steve checked his other instruments, while glancing out the front. He realised that the skyline, immediately ahead, was considerably lighter than the surrounding sky. He adjusted the altitude control and switched on the radio. He was assailed by the sound of static. By adjusting the frequency he thought he might be picking up indications of Giant broadcasts. The light on the horizon was becoming brighter, indicating maybe a Giant town or city. Steve slowed their air speed, not wanting to plummet headlong into Giant airspace. They had been flying low to avoid any possible radar if an airport was nearby, but so far there had been nothing. The radar indicated a high ridge, so Steve banked to the right to bring the ship running parallel with the ridge, preferring to approach whatever was behind the ridge from the East. Mark came through the cabin hatchway, having been checking some of the output monitors in the engine compartment. " Trouble Steve ?" " We seem to be approaching a town or city, there's a ridge between it and us, I'm just going around the ridge to approach from the East." Steve explained. Mark sat in the co-pilots' seat, checking the radar scope. " Not much movement out there, maybe they don't have an airport." Mark observed. He put on the headphones and tried different frequencies while Steve piloted the craft around the looming headland. Below them the surf pounded the coastline, sending up spumes of foam, like fingers trying to reach them. The Windsifter rounded the headland and Steve and Mark got their first look at the light source. " Wow...that's some town." said Mark. In front of them stretched a large, curved coastline. Edging the cliff that rose from the sea about a hundred feet was a huge illuminated dome. It stretched for miles in either direction, sitting like an enormous half buried sun in the ground. Below the cliff were jetties and wharves with warehouses and, what looked like elevators, going up the side of the cliff faces. Steve slowed their approach even more, veering to hug the ridge on their left, keeping as much distance between them and the dome as possible. They could make out the network of girders that provided the framework for the enormous structure, and through the semi-opaque dome they could just make out building of differing height, interspersed with what looked like green parklands. It was the most fantastic sight they had seen so far on this bewildering planet. " What on earth is it....and why under a dome ?" Asked Mark. " That's just the point, it's not on earth..." replied Steve. " Maybe they have weather extremes up here and need the dome for protection ?" Mark suggested. " Who knows...all I want to know is, do we stay and investigate or do we fly on ?" " It's too fantastic to ignore. Maybe we'll find information that we can use to get us home." said Mark, his voice rising in excitement. " What can they have that we need, Mark ?" " Look closely at that turret, the one near the side of the dome." Mark pointed to the side they were flying past. " I see it, what do you see ?" " It's the closest thing I've seen on this planet to an observatory. Think Steve, proper star maps for this planet and its solar system. It would sure cut our time spent with me trying to guess our position." "Okay, fill me in on the details." " Steve, with accurate star maps and accurate planetary maps I can pinpoint where the space anomaly last appeared within a few minutes. Not the days or weeks it would have taken me using what we have so far." " Okay, I getting a picture. But we know where the we landed on this planet, why isn't that enough." Steve persisted. " Because without knowing the planetary rotation cycle and what adjustments I need to make for the planets tilt I'm only working with half the information I need. We could fly around for years and never be able to pinpoint the exact location of the anomaly. Plus if they are a halfway decent observatory they will have observed the anomaly themselves and could have accurate records that would pinpoint its location and occurrence to within the minutest error." said Mark, pressing his case. Steve thought about what Mark was proposing. They continued to circle the dome, the light almost as strong as daylight. The brightly lit walls towering over their heads. What Mark said sounded so logical and made good sense. Ultimately, Steve had to make the decision. To risk it all for the possibility of getting the information they needed and getting home that much quicker. " I'm not prepared to take this decision alone. We need to get more information about this city...we don't know if they have what your talking about. I suggest we find somewhere to land and wait 'til morning and let the group decide." " Okay Steve, I'll go with that. Once the other's see this dome, they'll at least want to see what's on offer...we could do with some replacements in the pantry and other supplies." " Let's find somewhere to land." said Steve. They had circled the Dome, keeping it on their right all that time. Now Steve scanned the surrounding area, looking for somewhere that would give them a shelter while not being too far from their objective. They found a small patch of forest that bordered a cleared area around the city, it would give them enough cover for a stop-over visit. " Lets prepare to land over there, Mark." Steve pointed out the site. They took the ship in, weaving between the gigantic trees, using the radar as well as their front vision to avoid a collision. " That looks perfect, lets take her down." Steve indicated a clearing between three trees forming a grove. The Windsifter glided in, landing smoothly on the pine needle strewn ground. They could still see the light from the domed city shining through the trees, casting eerie shadows over the ground. Steve and Mark finished their landing check list and power-down procedure. Mark checked the ground radar but reported only minimal movement outside, mostly just night creatures on the hunt. Finally they both got up to move back to the passenger compartment. " We'd better get what sleep we can before daylight. It's going to get busy later on." said Steve, hiding a yawn behind his hand. Mark nodded and passed through the dimly lit corridor to the cabin. Steve checked the cockpit once more before following and closing the door behind him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Valerie was awake when Mark settled himself down on their pallet, pulling the blankets around them, snugly. " Have we landed ?" she asked, stretching. " We have, but its a few hours 'til dawn so snuggle in and let me get some shut eye." muttered Mark, already dozing. " Boy, talk about a grouch..why...." Valerie started but Mark put a finger on her lips, silencing her. " Let it be Val, you'll find out everything in the morning." " All right, but I'll hold you to that." Valerie groused, snuggling down as Mark curled himself around her. Steve lay for a while longer, with his hands behind his head, staring up at the cabin ceiling. He was tired, but couldn't keep the images of the domed city out of his head. Mark's idea's about the observatory were a nice dream but Steve thought it ambitious in the extreme. They had more chance of getting caught than getting the information Mark held such store in. But, if it was possible, it was worth an attempt at least. Steve turned on his side, willing his brain to settle and allow him a few hours sleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ " Give me one good reason why we should risk our necks in this outlandish escapade !" Fitzhugh shouted. " How about a quicker return to Earth." Mark returned, getting to his feet. Valerie laid a hand on his arm to calm him. " That old chestnut...you've used that excuse so many times it's got whiskers." Fitzhugh retaliated, turning his face away from Mark, who fumed. " This isn't getting us anywhere....I think Mark has a valid point. We do need more information about this planet. Now we have a ship that can take us off this place, we should try and get the information Mark needs for his calculations." said Steve. They were all sitting outside the Windsifter, having finished their breakfast and been brought up to date with the nights' events. " Didn't Mark say he could do the calculations himself ?" said Marna. " Sure I can do them...but it's going to take more time than we've been given so far....every time I get a chance to sit down and start we get interrupted. At this rate of progress we might as well kiss goodbye to getting off this planet all together." replied Mark. " What do you have in mind Steve." asked Betty. " I propose, if we all agree, to do a reconnoitre of the dome, see what entrances there are, see how many Giants are there and then form a plan of attack." " Are we all going, Captain ?" asked Barry. " We need someone to stay with the ship, Barry, but otherwise we go together. We'll need to split into groups to cover as much ground as possible. Radio's will keep us in touch with each other and the ship." " Then I suggest myself and Marna to take care of the ship." said Fitzhugh. " We'll that's a big surprise." muttered Mark. " If you have a problem with that, say it to my face." demanded Fitzhugh, bristling at Mark's comment. " Come on, we don't need to fight about this. Fitzhugh, you take care of the ship, Marna can help you camouflage it, together with Barry. Mark, Dan, Valerie and Betty will come with me and scout the dome. Any questions ?" Steve looked around the circle, taking in the various expressions. No one spoke, so Steve took it as an agreement. " Right, we'll get the gear together and look at leaving for the dome by midday. Dan, you and the girls get the packs and the usual equipment. Mark, you check the radio's, we'll need atleast three. Fitzhugh, while we're here, take Marna and Barry and gather as many leaves as you can to cover the ship. Okay, people, lets get to work." Everyone scattered to their allotted tasks. By midday everyone gathered back at the ship. Fitzhugh and Barry had gathered a sizeable pile of leaves. Dan was packing the last of the radio's into the packs while Valerie and Betty wrapped food to go as well. Steve was in the cockpit, checking the radar while Mark listened on the headset to the radio signals, switching between channels. " It's odd Steve...I'm not getting anything but static...no radio stations, no chatter, no shortwave...you'd think a place that size would have some sort of communication." " Maybe they're trying to keep their location a secret, maybe they're using a different form of communication. Who knows...all the more reason for us to find out." " We can still take off and leave here..." said Mark. " No...I think your idea is valid. We do need more information about this planet. We keep tripping over machinery and technology we have no defence against and no knowledge of. We need to tip the balance in our favour. That's why I support you on this expedition." Steve looked up to meet Marks eye's. " I appreciate your backing me on this Steve. Coming so soon after our near disaster last week, I wouldn't have been surprised if you had vetoed it." said Mark. Steve's reply was to smile and clap Mark on the shoulder. " Let's make sure we don't get caught again in a hurry, okay ?" He said. The two men left the cockpit and joined the others gathered outside the ship. Dan looked up as they jumped down the steps. " Already to go Steve." " Fine. Fitzhugh, you're in charge. We'll radio you when we reach the dome. Lets get moving people." Steve passed Betty, picking up his pack and slinging it over his shoulder. Dan handed a pack to Mark, following Steve as he set off away from the ship. Valerie shifted her smaller pack and walked beside Mark as Betty followed Dan. They left Fitzhugh, Marna and Barry standing in the clearing, watching until they were out of sight, then Fitzhugh rubbed his hands together. " Let's get this ship out of sight....pass me a leaf my boy."