There were a number of vehicles at The Outpost capable of making the land journey to Urv. Most of them were intended for personnel transport, but in this case, Euphrankes chose the largest in their fleet. It stretched nearly fifty feet in length, and was designed to fit narrowly within the confines of the road, providing maximum cargo space. Before the road had fallen to disrepair, the tracker, as they'd dubbed it, had made regular runs, carrying airlock mechanisms and other products of The Outpost's factories to the city. The return trips had restocked food supplies, and carried in natural resources concentrated in remote areas.
Euphrankes father had discovered the lighter-than-air qualities of Freethion gas, for instance, but had not discovered a plentiful source of it near The Outpost. As it turned out, a large pocket existed on the outskirts of Urv herself, so trade had been brisk. The trade continued, but it was much more difficult to move supplies through the cities’ airlocks. The Vector could carry quite a bit of freight, but could only deliver smaller items and machined parts to Urv. There was more leeway in some of the other cities, where larger airlocks had been installed and the airship technology had been more fully embraced, but that trade was precarious as The High Council was the acknowledged governing body over all the cities.
Without the roads, though they would never admit it, The High Council and The Temple ruled over a shrinking and dying world. Half the roads out of the city were damaged, and the half that were still in operation were showing signs of wear. The High Council had been forced to change their stance from complete opposition to traveling between the veils to a grudging acceptance. They had taken a stance against progress, and regardless of the stunning short-sightedness of it, the people had followed their lead. Now the entire structure of their society was on the verge of collapsing from entropy.
When the outlying cities had begun work on the Freethion-powered airships, emissaries and priests traveled the roads, usually by foot, to condemn them. When the Merchants Guild approached The Council with plans for the first airship tower, they were turned down, and taxed. It wasn't until the third of the great roads had to be sealed that they acquiesced, and they put strict limits on the size and number of seals that could be attached to the First Veil.
"The veils protect us," Myril had said. "They have always protected us, and to presume to breach that protection is blasphemous and foolish. Each time we allow ourselves to slice another piece of that holy veil, we weaken it – and we show the weakness of our faith. A higher power encased us in the veils, and that power can be counted on to protect us in the future – but only if we show faith. Only if we do not presume to know things we were never meant to understand."
The High Council had taken a slightly more lenient, but infinitely more greedy stance. They taxed the merchants heavily for anything moving in and out of the city via the airships. They gouged any out-city merchants coming in for trade, and before one could travel from city to city on one of the ships, at least one who was not part of the crew that flew in on it, it was necessary to obtain travel papers and make an insurance "donation" to The Temple.
Euphrankes had not tried very hard to prevent the collapse of the road joining his outpost to Urv. It was the least damaged of the thoroughfares to have been closed off, but he felt safer with the airlocks than he did with The High Council having direct access to his home. If lives had not hung in the balance, he'd never have attempted to reconnect with the city.
Now that they'd committed to re-opening the roadway, they'd split the crew into shifts. Slyphie and Bonymede went in first. Bonymede was adept with the remote-controlled robotic units they used when working beyond the veil, and the first thing they needed to do was to get the patches into place beyond the first seal. Then they could test it by slowly pressurizing that segment of road. If it held, then the next crew, Leones and Myklos, would come in and disassemble the airlock, moving it out of the way and making room for the tracker to pass. They would then perform the same action on the far side of the rift, clearing any debris that might have sifted in from beyond the veil as they passed through.
There was one major leak to get past, and if they were successful, two smaller breaks closer to Urv. The trick would be getting the attention of someone inside the city and convincing them to open the locks. Such a repair was unheard of, believed impossible, and despite the fact that it reinforced the veils put in place by "a higher power," it would no doubt be condemned by The Temple. If there hadn't been a fiery ball of –something – falling from the sky on a collision course with The High Council, Euphrankes would never have risked it.
While the others worked through the night in shifts, Euphrankes and Aria loaded the tracker and tested its systems. It had been sitting idle for a very long time. They'd even begun using the cargo compartments for extra storage, a practice the pair came to regret before the night was through.
"I wish we had more of the patches ready," he said, driving a small cargo truck up the ramp toward the tracker's hold. Aria controlled the doors and the lifts that moved the cargo into position. The system was designed for the most productivity possible with a small crew.
"We didn't even know if they would work," she said. "And really – what would we have done with them? This is an emergency, and I'll grant you that they may not fine us, banish us again, or throw us in irons, but if we'd taken one of the patches into The High Council, they would have called it blasphemy. They'd say we were meddling with the affairs of higher powers, and the repercussions would ruin us all."
"You're right, of course," he said. "Still, if that thing creates too large of a rift for us to seal, this is all for nothing."
"We'll be running a rescue mission if that happens," Aria said. "I vote we leave The High Council and the priests and cart out women and children first."
"Deal," Euphrankes said with a grin. "That might not be a bad way to fix things, all considered."
He deposited the crate of parts he'd been moving on Aria's lift and backed away.
"It's only going to take about two more trips," he said. "We either have enough, or we don't. I don't want to overload the tracker first time out. I think it's okay – I checked the engines, and the seals are good, in case something goes wrong with the patches and we have to rely on her for life-support, but she's been idle for too long. Machines that are made to move should do so. Otherwise they fall to entropy far too quickly."
"She'll hold up," Aria said. "It seems like a very long time since the roads closed, but it has been less than a year. Things are changing much more rapidly now."
"Thanks to rebels like yourself," he laughed. "It's a good thing we're out here. If it weren't for rogue scientists and rebel engineers, the days of Urv, and all the cities, would be short."
They finished the loading, sealed the tracker, and drove out across the compound on one of the cargo vehicles to check on the road and the seals. The second shift was underway, and they could see, even from a distance, that the patch was holding. Pumps were in place pressurizing the road beyond the portal, and Leones waved to them as they approached.
"I have most of the supports loose," he said. “Once the pressurization is complete, we'll be able to slide them out of the way and move on in. You want to bring the tracker up now?"
"No," Euphrankes said. "Let's give the patches overnight as a test. We can drive the tracker up when we're ready to leave. We're going to try and get some rest. When you finish your shift, do the same. Slyphie and Bonymede will be first up, and they can load food and personal supplies before we hit the road. You two can sleep in the tracker."
"It's been a long time since we did that," Myklos grinned, brushing dust off his hands as he joined them. "I used to love that trip."
"Let's hope we're successful enough that you'll get the chance to make it once or twice more," Aria said. "If we do a good enough job, maybe we can bring the tracker back loaded with Freethion. If we tell them we need it for the patches, we might be able to add enough to the order to finish the outer hull of the Tangent."
"Believe me," Euphrankes said, "if we can pull this off, that will be only the start of what I'll be asking for. They'll be able to recreate what we've done on the patches, but not without time to deconstruct one, which they'll have to pay for, and they'll still need someone equipped for the manufacturing. This time, I don’t think they have much choice but to deal."
"Progress," Lyones said, "is a road paved with emergencies."
They all laughed. Then, with a few suggestions on how to handle the removal of the debris on the road, Euphrankes and Aria drove back to The Compound and climbed to their quarters. They made their way through the locks and seals quickly, but carefully. With work being done on the road, it was more important than ever that they protect their life-support systems.
"It's going to make me nervous all night," Aria said. "Just the thought of that patch collapsing, and all of the air…"
"It's going to hold," Euphrankes said. "You know it. You helped design it."
"Old habits die hard," she said. "I'm used to worrying about air."
"With a little luck," Euphrankes said, drawing her after him onto the bed, "We'll soon be dreaming and worrying about space. All around us. Space with no boundaries."
Aria shivered and curled into his arms.
"Sometimes you frighten me," she said.
Euphrankes laughed and kissed her on the cheek. They slept like that, tangled around and over one another, as their world changed around them, shaping their dreams.