Page 42 (1/2)

To go farther would strain resources to the limit After a brief debate with all the various leaders, Skyler pointed out that unless they could soiven their numbers and the limited aura towers, the best course of action was to si of extermination" once a week, in order to keep the buffer zone around the ca missions beyond that one-klick area would require special perether

By the height of wet season, the caain

Climbers worked their way up or down the Elevator cord daily, sometimes even in eable levels as the weekly purges became a camp routine Indeed, the colonists becahting the over shoulders, or pistols holstered at the waist, became the norm

Every month, with only some variance, Melville Station would receive another forty "volunteers" from Darwin The people who could be vouched for by friends or relatives in cah Everyone else, those chosen via suspect criteria by Russell Blackfield, were kept on the station under guard for a few days, and then sent to places where they could be watched around the clock To everyone’s a spies A few reported that Russell no longer bothered to pick the ated the task to one of the old Orbital Council rant, Skyler heard, told of a newfound sense of purpose in Darwin Gardens apparently flourished, and along with the farm platforms Russell had schemed out of Tania, the food situation was almost under control Neither Tania nor Zane was overly troubled by this news, as neither felt the colony could handle tooeach Elevator would no longer have need of one another, and this worried Skyler

Skyler woke one Deceainst the roof of the APC, which had become his home He checked the adjacent vehicle and found Ana’s bunk was e her brother Depression behind her, the girl woke early with an abundance of energy and often slipped out to wander the camp before Skyler stirred She had a voracious appetite to learn, and he rarely found her in the saether So load or unload a cli concrete, dis Always she would be under the tutelage of one camp expert or another, and she made fast friends with just about everyone she spent time with

None of this troubled Skyler in the least A multitude of friends within the colonyhim around like a puppy Not that he didn’t enjoy her coht and funny and, sometimes, impossible Where Tania always seemed to enter into conversations as an equal, Ana either played the eager student or the headstrong, passionate firebrand There was little in the way of round for her, and itaffair

So her absence s didn’t bother Skyler at all, and indeed he learned to love the early hours as he used to Coffee and a serving of oatmeal with fresh fruit or avocado He’d sit around a s and nothing hoever happened to join hih he talked little Vanessa could hold her own on just about any topic, but tended to sleep late

Karl would drop by to share a cup once in a while They saw each other s anyway, for the list reviews, and anyway the older man’s motor home was all the way on the other side of cae who had been some midlevel analyst on Platz Station, and Karl’s rare appearances forcoffee seemed to corroborate the ru when he found Karl seated at the cook fire, next to a pot of boiling water and a pair of s

"This is a rare honor," Skyler said as he pulled on a sweater All of the vehicles left behind by Gabriel were parked with their back doors facing one another, for A fire pit had been set up in the center of this, surrounded by a mismatched collection of plastic chairs and tables Rain druiant blue and white patio umbrella that covered the s vehicles

"I ht," he shot back With two hands he carefully extended a fullto Skyler A few drops sloshed over the side and sizzled as they hit the portable stove

After a careful sip, Skyler rubbed his eyes and settled into a low beach chair The constant prattle of raindrops on the umbrella drowned out the sounds of the colony around the ain," he said flatly

"Give it a good smack on the side"

"Tried that But it seeh a hole in the roof of the container and fried the antenna dish"

"Is there a spare?" Skyler asked "Wait, don’t answer You wouldn’t be here if there was"

Karl took a noisy slurp at his own drink "I was thinking, er dish,in froive us a lot more bandwidth to Melville Hell, we could even reach the farms or New Anchor without the relays"

"Have one in mind, or are we supposed to track one down?"

In answer Karl slipped a slate from his inner jacket pocket and handed it across The thin black tablet’s screen came to life as soon as Skyler’s thumb brushed its surface

"Those boys from Eden have started an effort to do a photo survey of the city, so we can ‘scout’ from the coe appeared on the screen of Belém’s skyline, taken from the eastern slums somewhere north of the Elevator base Karl had dropped a ’s rooftop It appeared to be the largest building in Belé its side Skyler zooenius of a photo survey The ih resolution and even had illusory depth to it Skyler tracked in until he looked at a singleon the building’s top floor, and still he could e of the city alone could be studied andthe safety of hoe until he found Karl’s ain The notation pointed to a white dish-and-antenna assembly on the roof

"It’s about a meter tall," Karl said "Compact but heavy I suspect you’ll need bolt cutters or even a torch"

"Rain has ha for five years," Skyler noted He usually eschewed electronics that he didn’t find indoors "ItI’ve seen that model before Expensive as hell, but it’ll last ten wet seasons without batting an eye"

Skyler zoomed in even farther, ale as he ith the clean, white surfaces of the con of discoloration or rust anywhere on it

The rest was details By noon that day, Skyler and his creere clanging up the steps of Belé