The Revelers (Serial 1)

Act 3 - Chapter 41: Ari

The wind is picking up, and visibility is becoming poor from the sandstorm. Yet, we continue to follow Skylar's car through the desert about ten kilometers away from Black Rock City's borders. After some time, we arrive at an industrial charging station for commercial transport units. Truckers from various companies charge their big rigs while enjoying snacks and coffee from the vending machines.

We park our bikes and cars about fifty meters away from the depot, behind some foliage.

Skylar says while remaining seated in her Civic, "Looks like this is where we part ways. I wish you all the best of luck."

"Thanks," I say with a light salute while Rowynn and I attach my motorcycle on to the dual-bike hitch behind the Challenger.

"I hope you return with Mathilde. Take care." And then Skylar drives away.

Samza pulls out a book and summons her bronze floating jellyfish-like familiar, Alexander.

"Alexander," Samza commands, "take the car and assist The Revelers and The Hoon Squad."

"Of course," Alexander says as it hovers itself on to the driver's seat of the Challenger and follows Skylar back to Black Rock City. "I'll report to you if anything strange is worth mentioning."

Rowynn says, looking ahead, "From here, we hitch a ride on to the truck leading to The Aether Dome. From there, we get in, shut it down, and get out."

I ask, "In what way do we shut it down?"

Mezos answers, "Ideally, we want to keep the facility intact. Samza and I can hack the controls and reset permissions to The Remnants."

Samza adds, "If that doesn't work, I have explosives in my backpack. Let's hope we don't have to use them."

Plan A and Plan B. The latter being the nuclear option. The thought of mixing explosives and aetheric energy can be devastating. Still, if it boils down to it, then we have to do it.

I follow behind Samza and Mezos, watching our backs, while Rowynn leads.

The En'ari android leads us to the back side of a 16-wheeler with CrystalCorps' branding on the sides. "Assuming the truck sticks to its schedule, it should leave this facility in five minutes. From there, the truck will arrive at The Aether Dome in about fifteen to twenty minutes, depending on the weather. Once we arrive, we can use the digital maps Milani provided us to navigate our way to the central core."

I activate Librascope and scan the truck's surroundings. The app detects cameras on the truck, but only the interior cameras are active while the exterior cameras are not. "We should disable the cameras."

"Good idea," Mezos says as he pulls out his tablet and begins a hacking program.

Samza adds while doing the same, "We should also disable the truck's cellular communications modules. That should prevent the truck from calling home."

Rowynn and I climb on to the roof of the truck, but keep ourselves prone to minimize our visibility. Rowynn radios, "Samza, Mezos, how's the hacking?"

"Communications disabled," Samza says over the radio.

"Cameras down," Mezos answers.

Rowynn motions to me, "See that lumpy thing next to you? That's an antenna. Use your utility knife to pry it off."

I find the bulb-shaped antenna and use my knife to cut the it off the container. With a quick lift, I remove the antenna, leaving only an exposed wire.

Meanwhile, Rowynn opens a hatch and enters the storage area from above. "Come, Ari," she says, motioning to me.