Moonliner: No Stone Unturned (31 page)

After a few minutes of silence, Cedric speaks.

              “So how are you guys holding up?” he asks; “are you doing okay?”

              “We’re doing fine,” Chara replies, speaking for both of them.  “How about you?  We’ve been worried about you.”

              “I’m okay,” Cedric responds; “I went through a rough patch, but I can honestly say I’m okay.  Thanks for your concern.” 

              “Thanks for calling,” Oriona says; “we’ve been meaning to touch base with you to see how you are.”

              “I appreciate that,” Cedric tells them.  “Both of you are dear friends of Nikki’s, and through Nikki, good friends of mine.”

The mood is little too somber for Cedric. 

              “How’s are things at the station?” he asks the women. 

              “They’re fine,” both of them reply.

              “They had a memorial service for Nikki at the station and we didn’t mention it to you,” Chara tells Cedric, getting it off her chest.  “We felt so bad that you weren’t invited that we didn’t have the heart to tell you,” she adds.

              “It was nice Cedric,” Oriona says; “sorry you weren’t there.”

              “Oh you guys, please don’t worry about me not being invited.  It’s fine with me if the station wants to keep it internal.  I don’t worry about those things, and Nikki wouldn’t want you to either,” Cedric replies.

              “Thanks Cedric,” Chara says with a sigh of relief, hanging her head. 

Cedric hangs his head down too and the two of them softly bump foreheads for a few seconds as a simple gesture of mutual sorrow.  Oriona smiles, feeling relieved too that Cedric would be so dismissive of not being invited to the service the station held for Nikki.

The sun is riding high in the afternoon sky.  Part of the park, like most of the city, is parched from the long summer’s toll.  The air is crisp.  It’s hot again, but the late summer now has a pinch of autumn to it.  There are subtle differences to the sky that are hard to put a finger on, reminders that summers are finite.

              “She really loved to come here,” Oriona says, steering the conversation back to Nikki.

              “It’s true, she was the one who first dragged us here on our lunch breaks, when we weren’t out on assignment. It was her way of stepping out of a hectic day,” Chara adds.

Cedric smiles, letting them speak their minds, knowing what a powerful impact Nikki had on their lives.

              “You know I was jealous when she got the assignment to go to the moon,” Chara says.  “Then I felt lucky that I didn’t go when I learned of the crash.  I feel so guilty for thinking this way.”

              “No Chara, don’t,” Cedric tells her; “those are all natural feelings that anyone would have.  Look, Nikki always thought the world of both of you.  She couldn’t have been happier and she valued both of your friendships deeply.”

Oriona and Chara both smile, comforted by Cedric’s words.  Despite speaking honestly and harboring genuine concern for Nikki’s best friends, Cedric has ulterior motives for meeting them today; he hopes to find a link to Nikki, or a larger target window to aim a transmission, perhaps a time when she was near a DOT-5 receiver, viewing a screen.  The station has some of the most powerful equipment in the game.

              “You were both with her a lot,” Cedric mentions; “what was she like leading up to that trip?”

              “She was excited, but nervous to go,” Oriona answers. 

              “Did she use any of the satellite communications equipment at work at any time that you remember prior to her trip?” Cedric asks.

              “Why?” Chara asks, truly curious.

              “Nostalgia,” Cedric answers; “I’m trying to put together a personal portfolio of her life.”

              “I don’t remember her using any of the comm equipment, do you Oriona?” Chara asks.  Oriona gives her head a small shake “no” and a look as if she wished she could, but she really can’t remember any such occasion.

A young family of four follows the footpath over the stone bridge and to the gazeebo.  Nikki, Oriona, and Cedric remain silent as they take a long look at the garden from inside.  They speak a few soft words of Chinese amongst themselves, snap a few pictures, and soon leave.  Cedric, Oriona, and Chara continue their private conversation.

              “What about the day she got the assignment to go to the moon?” Cedric asks.  “I remember she told me she was with both of you that day.  She mentioned the library.”

              “Yes,” Oriona answers; “we went to a coffee shop first, then to the library on that day.  I remember it rained that afternoon too,” Oriona goes on to say as Chara remains quiet.

              “Did you guys link in with the library, or use any of its equipment at all that day?” he continues to ask.

              “We used the floating catalogue,” Oriona answers.

“Is that it?” Cedric asks.

“Yeah,” Chara answers this time; “why do you want to know?” she asks him.

“I wanna make sure that I didn’t miss any messages from her, that’s all,” Cedric answers. 

“We didn’t really use much at the library.  We used our press credentials to access the stacks,” Chara tells Cedric, wanting to help with whatever he’s up to.

Cedric is then hit with strong but momentary déjà vu.  His vision blurs a little and his mind echoes with Chara saying, “access the stacks.”

“You mean the actual stacks, not the digital ones?” Cedric tries to clarify after regaining focus.

“Yes, the real books,” Chara answers; “nothing linked to the system.”

“Interesting,” Cedric says to lighten the conversation; “I didn’t even realize the old books were still kept in the library.”

“Neither did we,” Oriona says; “they were fascinating.  It was like going back in time.  Nikki was really into it.  She spent quite a while looking at old books, and thumbing through them.”

“Whose idea was it to go to the library?” Cedric asks.

“It was Nikki’s,” Chara recalls; “she wanted to learn more about the moon, whether she went or not.”

“Did she express any reservations about going?” he asks them.

“Yes,” Chara answers.  Oriona nods in agreement. 

“She was nervous,” Oriona says; “excited but nervous.”

“Did she make any video calls?” he asks in a last ditch effort to find any connection to Nikki that he can.

“Not that I remember,” Chara answers with Oriona shaking her head to show that she couldn’t either. 

“That’s okay,” Cedric responds; “I’m just asking.”

The three sit silently for a few more minutes, listening to flowing water and letting their minds wander before checking the time.

              “We have to get back,” Oriona notes, fearing for her job.

              “She’s right,” Chara adds, a little less fearfully. 

              “Would you like me to walk back with you to the station?” Cedric asks.  The garden sits in one of the city’s less safe sections.

              “No,” Chara answers; “thanks.  We do this every day and we’ll be fine in the daytime.”

              “Sounds good,” Cedric says; “take care, and if there is anything I can do for either of you, please don’t hesitate.”

              “Thanks,” they both say in unison.  They wave and walk away, toward the station. 

Cedric sits alone in the garden, thinking.

Moonliner
5:11

The city’s gondola is in full swing, whisking tourists along Georgia Street between Science World and the park.  A new double-decked Skybus glides slowly overhead, giving its riders a spectacular view of the entire Frasier valley.  It silently drifts over the downtown, then rounds the park before crossing the water and stopping on the north shore. 

Well below, in a small, grassy park tucked neatly into the bustling downtown, Cedric sits on a bench, quietly thinking to himself.  The little park does a wonderful job of drowning out the city’s noise.  It’s an oasis of sorts. 

Pender enters the park looking for Cedric.  The two spot each other.  Pender walks over to the bench and sits next to Cedric. 

              “Thanks for meeting me here,” Cedric tells Pender. 

              “It wasn’t a big deal; I’m downtown all week anyway,” Pender responds.

              “Did you bring the repeat sequencer?” Cedric asks.

              “Yeah, I brought it,” Pender answers; “but I had to check it out, so it’s my ass if anything happens to it.”

              “Don’t worry,” Cedric responds; “I’ll be careful with it.”

              “And don’t get me in any trouble for illegal transmissions,” Pender adds.

              “You worry too much,” Cedric tells him.  “I’ll have these back to you soon and nobody will know a thing.”

              “I hope so,” Pender adds, to reinsure Cedric he’s concerned.

              “So how is everything going on campus?” Cedric asks.

              “Alright I guess,” Pender answers; “but they’re running out of patience with you.”

              “Why?  What’s been going on?” Cedric asks.

              “Dr. Ridpath is growing uneasy, asking me daily if I’ve heard from you,” Pender answers; “and there’s been this guy from the National Communications Commission at the school, lecturing us on the legal limits of our transmissions and warning us there could be legal consequences if we don’t follow them.” 

Cedric remains quiet, looking carefully at the sequencer, listening to Pender but not seeming concerned in the least with any of the matters he’s mentioned.

“What do I do if they ask me about any transmissions done with equipment under my name?” Pender asks Cedric, suspicious of what he plans to do with the sequencer.

              “Don’t worry about it.  Deny doing anything,” Cedric answers.

              “And if they ask me about any specific transmissions they’ve documented from this sequencer, what should I tell them?” Pender asks.

              “Ask them for time stamps for any transmissions in question,” Cedric answers.  “Tell them you’ll compare them with your notes to see if any messages may have been sent using either mistyped or miscalculated data.  They won’t have any time stamps.  They’ll be the only parts of the transmissions they don’t have, but they won’t have them.”

              “You’re sure of that?” Pender asks.

              “I’m sure,” Cedric answers; “and without a time stamp, all indicators lead to faulty equipment.”

              “Is the equipment really faulty?” Pender asks.

              “No,” Cedric responds; “it’s just that the transmission has originated in another time, confusing the temporal sensors.”