Cracks in the Spires

36: This way in.

The moon was low in the western sky and Gilfi-Jon judged there was about an hour to go before it set. He glanced to the east and thought the first hint of light was coming into the sky behind the mountains. He rubbed his eyes and yawned and returned to squinting through the night vision binoculars.

"Any sign of anything?" Kiri called up from where he was sitting by the radio.

"Nothing."

"Want to swap places again?"

Gilfi-Jon was about to say yes but as he opened his mouth he saw what might have been movement in the sky. He squinted harder and then he saw it more clearly. "No get on the radio I think they're finally arriving."

Kiri wound the handle of the laughably old fashioned field radio. It's design hadn't changed much in four hundred years but then it had been obsolete technology until the satellites stopped working.

"Yes it's skimmers. Can't see how many." Gilfi-Jon peered through the glasses again "Several coming from the north west." He heard Kiri relaying the information then the sound of him clambering up the slope to the top of the ridge. He flopped down beside him.

"Asken says we don't need to stay up here. We might be seen if they have searchlights. Da radioed to say they'd be taking off in half an hour. We could get about three hours sleep. "

Gilfi- Jon yawned "Good idea. I can hardly keep my eyes open anyway." They scrambled back down to the entrance to the tunnel. There was no bedding but a few sacks of provisions made something marginally more comfortable than rock and concrete. Jon wriggled his head into a semi comfortable position and tried not to think about Essy being inside the City. The feeds would be going live soon and she would be broadcasting from the Admin building. She'd taken her mother's behaviour very hard and even if Asken had wanted to back out of revolution Essy would have had none of it. She'd become even more determined than Varlon that the whole rotten edifice had to be pulled down.

The emergency lighting by the gate to the skimmer field was on illuminating the entrance but leaving deep pools of shadow between the buildings on either side of the boulevard that led from the gates to central plaza. Here and there a single light shone out in the darkness accentuating the darkness of the rest of UpCit. The flat roof of the Esta Villa was shrouded in darkness. Only the pinprick of light that was Varlon's torch broke the gloom in the gardens below. PO Boswin Picked up his binoculars and as he did so his Pcom buzzed. Asken Verde himself came on

"They've been spotted. Ten minutes or less before they land." Boswin acknowledged the message then switched to the conference channel that connected him to the teams in UpCit and relayed the message. He heard the crunch of Varlon's footsteps as he went to open the escape tunnel. Everyone was in position and waiting his signal. He peered through the binoculars searching the sky to the north west. He felt a sense of anger that surprised him at the idea of another city attempting to take over Esperance. It hadn't needed Essandra's passion or Asken Verde's logic to make him determined to do his utmost to trash this invasion. He harboured ambition to succeed Verde but by careful manoeuvring rather than hostile action. While a shift in the power structure could be used to secure that advancement there was no benefit to be had from Futura taking over. They'd bring in their own trusted administrators and people like him would be demoted at best. Stripped of everything including citizenship at worst. His knuckles whitened as he tightened his grip on the binoculars as he continued to gaze at the sky. There they were! Eight large transporters flying in a loose V formation. With only the elite section of the field safe to land in they'd have to come in in two batches. He waited a few moments to make sure they were lining up to land then opened the conference channel.

"Three minutes until the first one touches down. Don't act prematurely. I'll tell you when they start disembarking. Everyone set?" A chorus of 'yes sir' from the six teams and a 'ready' from Varlon greeted his words. He swallowed and licked suddenly dry lips. He was about to be in a fight for the first time in his life.