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As the trip progressed, the drone explained to her how to use her tablet to view the outside cameras. By pointing it anywhere, she could essentially see through the floor, and gaze at the Earth below.
As soon as she looked down, she saw the storm.
“Uh . . . is that a problem?” she asked.
“There is no cause for alarm. While a rare storm is moving through the area, it is not any danger to Lundgren Tower’s cable or this car.”
It looked serious to her. The clouds were dark and angry, occasionally lighting up with a flash from the inside.
They were less than a hundred kilometers from the surface, within the atmosphere, and nothing blocked her view of the storm from above.
She’d never seen anything quite like it. She knew of storms, they were a proverbial sign of trouble even among spacers, but there were none on an asteroid colony. Supposedly Hope’s Dawn had some monster storms, but she’d never seen them . . .
Her nervousness increased as they closed with the storm, and as they dipped inside the cloud she jumped in her seat.
A woman strapped in nearby looked over at her, concern on her face, and Apollonia awkwardly looked away, pretending not to notice.
There was a lot of tension among the people in the lowering car, it had been rising noticeably in the last few hours. She saw sweat beading on their foreheads, eyes flickering around nervously at every shake and bump.
“Unusually strong Storm out there,” one man said to another.
But it wasn’t the storm, she thought. It was because of her presence.
Whatever it was that caused her to see and know things that no one else could know also made people innately and acutely uncomfortable in her presence.
The storm, at least, gave them an external locus for their discomfort. People couldn’t always pin it on her specifically if the situation itself was a little stressful.
She was always acutely aware of the fact that people were bothered by her presence, but at least right now there was something of an out. They – hopefully – wouldn’t just blame her and think there was something wrong with her.
The camera view was just grayed-out, and she could see no more until they broke through.
The rain looked like it was falling in sheets, and she gasped aloud, drawing more eyes.
“I’ve never seen rain before,” she said, tired of pretending she wasn’t amazed.
“Me neither,” one young man said. “I grew up in the asteroid belt. Where are you from?”
She hesitated; would these people even know where the Begonia system was? Or even worse, had they heard of the terrible conditions there and would pity her?
“I’m from a distant colony,” she finally said. “I just happened to be this way so I thought I’d see Earth.”
“You’re lucky,” the woman said kindly. “I’ve waited five years for a pass to the surface!”
“Five years!” Apollonia echoed, surprised. “That’s a long time.”
“It’ll be worth it,” she replied, looking satisfied. “For just to one time touch the world where we came from?” She took a deep breath, closing her eyes.
Apollonia felt a tingle down her spine. “Yeah,” she said. “I kind of feel the same way.”
She hardly noticed when gravity had returned on the elevator, but now that she had reached the surface she felt almost wobbly. The gravity seemed a little higher than on the Craton, though maybe it was her imagination.
Walking slowly off the elevator, she felt her heart pounding in her chest.
She had arrived.
The base of Lundgren Tower had massive windows, the likes of which she’d never seen before. They were actual windows, not just screens. It was hard to tell any difference from a good screen, but just knowing that she actually looked out upon reality made a difference.
The storm still thundered above, the rain splattering the glass, but it didn’t seem to be coming down that heavily. It limited visibility, but it did not hide the thing she was most impressed by – the ocean itself.
“How do I go out there?” she asked.
“There is an observation platform that way-” the drone began. She was already jogging over, and it had to catch up.
The doors opened, and a heavy scent rolled in with the air, along with a spray of rain. She had wondered if falling rain would hurt when it hit you, but these drops felt just pleasant.
She gasped then laughed and ran out, letting the salty smell and raindrops surround her.
Practically dancing, she found herself near the edge of the balcony, and looked out, seeing, for the first time, the ocean up close.
A few of the waves were whitecapped, but mostly it simply heaved, roiling and rising and falling under the winds of the storm.
“It’s all water?” she asked the drone that still hovered with her even as she braved the rain.
“The depth is approximately 3,000 meters,” the drone told her.
She leaned to look off the edge, and suddenly a new drone was in her face.
“Please step back from the railing,” it said politely but firmly. “It is dangerous to risk falling into the water.”
“I just want to see it,” she said.
“Miss?” a person’s voice spoke.
She turned and saw it was a uniformed young man, watching her with some concern.
“I’m Glyndwyr, Station Steward. I can help you get settled in for the night.” He looked up at the sky. “It’s not a good day for sight-seeing. Not a lot to see, with these clouds so low.”
“I’m happy just seeing the water,” she said.
“I understand, but the drones aren’t going to stop bothering you if you look off the side like that – it’s because of the storm and rain, more chance you’ll slip off. I suggest getting some rest and then coming back to look around tomorrow.”
He seemed nervous, and growing moreso. She knew it was a reaction to her, and she suddenly felt weary.
“All right,” she agreed. “I’ll come back in the morning.”
“Just follow me, miss.”
Other Terrestrial 