Chapter Four
Jonathan moved slowly, one foot over the other as his eyes scanned the large, bulbous ship before him, Tablet Teacher in the crook of his arm. He glanced down at the checklist and ticked off the third on the list: hull. He then moved behind the ship and reached out to run his finger along the cool metal, tracing the outline of the hatch, checking for a possible leak. Jonathan then glanced down to check another box.
This was the ninth time Jonathan had looked the ship over. While the work was long and tedious, he was grateful for the extra precautions. If he was going to trust this thing to take him Upstairs, he wanted to make sure it was capable.
A small click sounded the release of the airlock, and then a rush of cool air escaped the ship as the door opened. It lowered, creating a ramp down from the ship to the dock.
“It’s a good thing the trip’s only a couple hours,” Jeffery sighed as he stepped down from the ship, stretching out his back. “Not sure how much longer I’d be able to stay cramped in there.”
Jonathan smiled as he stepped aside, glancing into the relatively small shuttle. The inside was four paces wide, nine paces long, and three tall. The control panel was up at the very front, before a monitor, with a chair in front of it. Three seats lined either side of the shuttle, each turned in slightly. The back and sides were cluttered with storage compartments, and a small handle on the floor, between the seats, hinted at another. All the storage space seemed excessive for a shuttle built for only one trip Upstairs and one trip back, but so long as it was safe, Jonathan could not care less about the design decisions.
“Who you bringing again?” Jeffery asked as he plugged in the code on the small panel beside the hatch. The ramp began to lift and slowly reinstated the airlock.
“My cousin,” Jonathan replied, clasping his Teacher under his arm. “And I think he’s bringing along a friend of his.” Jonathan turned to the door that led from the docking bay and flipped up a small box on the wall, revealing a keypad. He plugged in the code and the door slid open. He waited for Jeffery to slip through before following him. The door shut automatically behind them.
“Do They know?” Jeffery questioned, stopping so Jonathan could catch up. Jonathan shook his head.
“You think They’d let ‘em tag along?” he asked, his tone cynical. Jeffery gave a small laugh.
“How do you expect to hide ‘em?”
Again, Jonathan shook his head in acceptance of the seeming hopelessness of the situation.
“I have no idea.”
Jeffery sighed and clapped his hand to Jonathan’s back, giving him a reassuring smile.
“No worries. They probablly’ll be too busy fretting over the innocence of the Utopians to notice your stowaways.
While Jonathan knew Jeffery was right, he also knew the risks of allowing Christopher to tag along. He had argued his cousin, of course, but anyone who had gotten in a spat of wits with Christopher knew the outcome was inevitable. Christopher was coming. And he was bringing a friend.
The two came into a large conference room, nearly empty aside from the large table, the ten or so chairs, and the three men, all dressed in neatly-pressed, white suits. Jonathan glanced warily over at Jeffery, who merely gave him a small, encouraging smile, and led the way to the end of the table. He nodded greetings to the men across the way.
