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Fathom's Phantoms Transportation

Jocelyn Schultz hadn't been up and around for long after her release from the medical bay. Having survived the trip to and from the Sigma system's asteroid field she no longer had a team to supervise and therefore had to be assigned new duties. Although her preference was to always find a way to remain busy the lack of direction from Central meant that she'd had a lot of downtime; they told her it was so she could recover but in truth it was driving her crazy.

While most of her wounds were 'healed enough' she still walked with a faint limp; the medical doctor had told her after she was released that it would heal given time but she found it difficult to trust the orange-coat-wearing Cat. Regardless, she did what she could within the confines of her temporary duties: interact with and serve as liaison between executives and employees. It was a wide-reaching job description so she made it a point to push at the outer-edges of the assignment and that was what took her to the lower Central Hub.

She'd had many opportunities to work with different members of staff both individually and in group, but it had all been very low-key and lacking in energy. That was, of course, until the impact; she found herself both disconcerted and excited all at the same time. Jocelyn proceeded down the hall on her way to assess the damage to the Comm tower, but first she had to get almost half way across Sigma-Echo... and that was no easy feat.

The Sub-Decks were technically connected physically to the Operations Hub but there were several miles of corridor separating them from one another. Needless to say it was imperative that Jocelyn put together the best route: a trip on the trams would cut their travel time down by HOURS. Despite her limp the woman continued moving down the hall at a purposeful speed without the frantic look of someone who had given over their good sense to the chaos of the moment; she made it a point to remain unshaken. It was a trait that ended up coming in handy when she arrived at the tram station.

The woman came to a halt as she stepped through the double doors leading into the eight track hub that was the Sub-Level Transit Station. Despite the late hour Jocelyn was astonished to find that every single waiting bench was taken. Not only that, she noted, but there were several groups of people lounging about on the floor with their backs to the transit center walls looking none too pleased. One such individual spoke up to his companions upon noticing the new arrival. "Oh look... the crowd's growing."

Jocelyn wasted no time in heading over to speak to the man directly. "What's going on here? I haven't even seen crowds like this before."

One of the man's companions, a pretty-looking Gazelle spoke up. "No idea... there hasn't been a tram by in over an hour and everyone wants to go somewhere."

Jocelyn glanced across the station to the upper-deck line where a tram sat on the tracks just short of the passenger loading zone. "What about that one?"

The man that spoke up originally was quick to explain. "That was the last tram to arrive... it stopped a few yards away from the tram dock and the passengers had to force the doors open so they could get off. It hasn't moved since and there haven't been any repair teams to fix it... s'kinda like the whole tram system shut down or something."

During the explanation Jocelyn had moved closer to the tram. "Everything LOOKS operational from here. The trams are still powered-- or, at least this one here is."

Another man in the lounging group spoke up. "Feel free to look... s'not like it's goin' anywhere."

She nodded and stepped out onto the walkway between the sunken rails. "Alright... Let's see if we can figure this out."

Out of everyone watching only the Gazelle bothered following her. The Gen trailed along a few steps behind, waiting until Jocelyn approached the tram before speaking up. "Do you think it's fixable."

The Human woman checked the doors one at a time. "I'm not a technician but it's worth a shot... I DO know that the emergency breaks on the tram won't let it move if the doors aren't shut and they're open right now. Go around to the other side and we'll try to close them."

The Gazelle moved to the opposite side of the entryway and waited as Jocelyn counted to three and then, in unison, the two managed to return them to a closed position. After that the Human woman nodded appreciatively to her and they made their way to the front cab of the tram; the driver's door was open and the cockpit was empty. Jocelyn went right away to the secondary conductor's seat and then brought up an automated quick diagnostic on the tram system. "Everything looks like it's in working order... equipment-wise, anyway."

The Gazelle smiled encouragingly. "So... it'll work?"

Jocelyn nodded and took a seat in the primary conductor chair. She began typing rapidly at the console, monitor flipping through system diagnostic of the tram's computer; she'd always had technicians in her teams but she still considered it an Overseer's job to know a little about everything-- that turned out to be particularly helpful. She came to stop after the sixth or seventh screen when she realized the problem. "Hmm... that's strange-- someone ordered a lock down of the tram system. The entire thing stopped."

"Why would they do that?"

Jocelyn shrugged. "I couldn't say for certain. Anyway, it's not a security override and there's no authorization code... it might be some glitch in the station's emergency system that tripped when the Comm Tower went down."

The Gazelle rubbed her hands together nervously. "So... the trams are down for good?"

The Human shook her head. "No... I should be able to override the lock down. I have system clearance and since there's no authorization code I don't have to worry about outranking the administrator who placed it. It'll only lift the lock down on THIS tram but it'll be more than enough for us to get where we need to go."

The Gazelle paused, looking at the terminal in front of her. "What if someone else overrides the tram lock down? We won't have any way to communicate with them. If they're heading down in number while we're heading up wouldn't that be... uh... bad?"

Jocelyn stopped keying in her code and nodded thoughtfully at the objection. "True, yes... but the traffic indicator on these trams don't use the Comm system. If I remember correctly the lights show at each station to let conductors know if there's another tram using the tunnel."

The Gazelle appeared reassured. "You know a lot about trams then?"

The Human laughed in response, shaking her head. "No... not really, but one of the technicians I oversaw spent years working on a land-based transportation system in Australia, Terra... he'd go on and on about them and I guess I might have paid more attention than I thought."

"You're an Overseer?"

Jocelyn smiled but it didn't last long. She sighed, confirming her override. "Was. Things didn't go as well as they could have last time I was out and I lost most of my team. Right now I'm in limbo until Central figures out what they want to do with me on a long-term basis."

The Gazelle looked down. "Oh... I'm so sorry."

The Human nodded at the sympathy and she pressed the auto reset button on the console in front of her. The tram lurched forward and came to a slow stop at the loading zone. "Okay... we're back on the programmed route. As long as we don't touch the controls and the tram should take care of everything."

As a minute passed with no further movement the Gazelle glanced toward her. "Is... is there some reason we aren't moving? I thought we were going on to the Central Hub."

Jocelyn laughed heartily, suddenly feeling very much like she was the technician reassuring her Overseer-- it was a strange juxtaposition. "Don't worry. Like I said, it's on a programmed route and that means we're parked here for three minutes to let people on and off the tram. After that it'll start moving again."

The Gazelle nodded and even smiled as she pointed to a few monitors displaying the outside of the tram from several different camera angles. "And it looks like more than a few people are taking advantage of that."

Jocelyn watched as the tram seats began to fill up quickly; unsurprisingly it appeared as if everyone that had been waiting at the tram station was piling in. They continued filing in way past the seat occupancy, which was something the Human had never seen before considering the space station was nowhere near maximum capacity-- even during 'rush hour' there were rarely a lack of seats. Even after every last seat and every last hand-rail was occupied people still tried to get on board and were stopped only once the 'clear the door' signal sounded.

Her attention went back to the console in front of her, watching a green light activate to signal that they were free to proceed. "See? No problem... and we even get to help some of the station's impatient commuters while we're at it."

Jocelyn sat back in the conductor seat, letting out a deep breath as she finally felt the confidence she was trying to convey. They were moving along and the tram would proceed to its next stop; she was one step closer to her goal. Everything was turning out right-- up until the moment the tram gave a sudden lurch and a shudder, at which point she cursed. "Damn it!"

The Gazelle was even more concerned. "Oh my god! What's that?!"

The Humans' thoughts of frustration turned to ones of fear as she looked at what the Gazelle was indicating: the camera feed from the back tram car showed bodies... lots and lots of unmoving bodies. The Gen murmured anew. "Those... those people... what's going on?"

Without a word Jocelyn simply pointed to the next monitor in line. They both stood silent, watching as a wave of color flowed across the tram car burning holes in each and every passenger. She took her eyes away only once she realized that whatever it was happened to be drawing nearer to them. She started pressing several buttons but to no effect. "We have to uncouple the tram cars..."

The tram gave another lurch and Jocelyn watched as a tram station shot past them out the window at a pace so quickly it was little more than a blur. Her heart began to race even faster and the Gazelle seemed to notice too. "...are... are we speeding up? Why are we speeding up?"

The Human nodded. "I don't know what's causing it. Hold on-- I'm going to hit the emergency stop and see if it slows us down. Strap yourself in."

The Gazelle climbed into the secondary conductor seat and buckled herself down. She placed her hands against the console and nodded; only then did Jocelyn press the button. She lost track of what happened in the following two minutes. When her senses came back to her, however, she was still in her seat, upside down and restrained by the belts holding her in place. Everything hurt and there were screams somewhere far behind her, and shouting ahead and above her.

It took a few seconds for her to realize that her head was pounding, and another few seconds until she gained enough mental capacity to force her safety restraint open; she fell several feet to the ceiling, which had become the tram's new 'floor'. The screams were getting louder... and a matter of seconds later Jocelyn realized why.

* * * * * *

If there was one thing Jeremiah disliked the most about the tram line on Sigma-Echo it was the number of times he had to switch trams. Just from the Executive Deck to the Central Hub it took three different connections. The fact that their service was becoming more and more inconsistent made things harder for him; he'd been sitting at the Central Hub station for almost a half hour which was well more than three times the standard wait.

The fact that he'd only seen one other tram come and go in that time did not bode well-- especially since they were supposed to arrive and leave to and from SOMEWHERE every four or five minutes. Regardless, he planned on making his way down to Atmospheric Controls and that meant he wasn't quite half way through his seven tram rides. From Central Hub 1 he had to go to Central Hub 2 then the Logistics Hub... after that was Agroponics and then, FINALLY he would proceed on to the Primary System Station. Of course, going at the rate he was he anticipated it easily taking hours.

Despite having left the Executive Suite only a short fraction of time into his off-duty cycle the Pointer was convinced that the Atmospheric Controls needed to be reviewed in case the shudder that went through the system messed with the sensitive instrumentation or, even worse, in case there was damage to the outer hull and the station's atmospheric system was leaking. Regardless, if each stop required he wait longer and longer for each tram he would be surprised if he even made it in time for his shift to begin... in five more hours.

The Dog sighed to himself, looking up the track and down the track, finally standing up as he began to grow restless. Even during the off-hours for Sigma-Echo the trams ran at half pace which still meant at LEAST three or four trams should have come-and-gone while he was waiting... and he should have been on one of them within twenty minutes let alone-- he glanced at his PCD: thirty four. The engineer, having nothing left to do but continue the wait, began pacing. He continued that for nearly ten minutes before his isolation ended.

It started as a slight creak in the circulation duct over his head but it was enough for the Dog to snap out of his quiet musings. Raising his ears Jeremiah looked at the metal duct and took a step back when it shuddered; he retreated further when the metal groaned and shifted. The Dog called out. "Hello? Somebody there?"

He jumped in surprise as the vent grate popped free and he took another step back when a disheveled young Human woman dropped down from the ceiling. She looked as though she'd probably been in the duct for at least an hour; dirty splotches, matted hair, and the obvious scent of grime permeated her. A few seconds later a Fox descended from the opening to join her. Although the woman's companion was much more finely dressed the vulpine nevertheless looked just as grime covered and messy.

As if their dramatic entrance were nothing out of the ordinary the first vent-traveler knelt down and picked up the grate; she handed it back to the Fox who carefully returned it to its original frame. The Vulpine smiled at Jeremiah and, with a courteous nod of his head, offered up a polite, even-toned "Good evening."

The Fox then followed the young Human woman past the confused Engineer as the two moved to the bench the Pointer had previously been occupying. With something to focus on aside from the delay in tram service Jeremiah followed them. "So... I'll go 'head an' ask the obvious question: is there any reason you two're crawlin' 'round in th' vents?"

The Human shrugged. "Beats crawling through the sewage ducts?"

She flopped down on the bench with nothing more to say but the Fox was much more forthcoming. He spoke calmly and affably in an accent Jeremiah thought came from the British Isles on Earth. "A combination of security teams, drunks, and uneasy shoppers are making travel within the Central Hub rather difficult. We decided we would have better chances squeezing through the ducts rather than squeezing by small riots and police actions."

Jeremiah scowled at the announcement. "Why're people riotin', exactly?"

The young Woman shrugged. "It's a day ending in 'y'? I mean... it's not like people NEED a reason to riot, do they? They're people."

It was Jeremiah's turn to shrug, though his was not as carefree. "Not unless they wanna keep their job... or stay out a th' lock-up."

It was the Fox again who had a reasonable answer. "There were a number of Ghouls up from down below... not the nicest sort of blokes, and with the comms down I wouldn't be surprised if they fancied a round or two of 'public disturbance'."

Jeremiah lowered one ear as he looked at the red furred Fox incredulously. "Whadda ya mean by 'public disturbance'?"

The Englishman chuckled in response. "Well... considering how highly controlled they are when the comms are working I would consider some activity likely at someone else's expense-- either physically or fiscally... anything from 'A' to 'Zed' that involved blowing off some steam..."

The Human woman grinned wide, calling attention to the Fox's pronunciation of the second letter he referenced. "Zed?"

The Fox glanced to his long-eared companion. "Sure... 'A to Zed'... haven't heard that expression before, Lydia?"

Jeremiah decided to not-so-subtly try out introductions, first addressing the woman then the Gen. "So... you're Lydia... and you are?"

The Fox extended a paw. "Henry Maxfield."

The young lady interjected at that. "STAFF SARGENT Henry Maxfield... emphasis on the staff."

She giggled in a seemingly inappropriate manner but Henry didn't seem to be bothered by it, rather, he simply offered a straight-forward correction. "Retired."

Rather than let the girl further introduce the Fox, the Pointer accepted the offered paw in his own. "Jeremiah Fowler, LSS Engineer, First Class."

The Vulpine gave it a firm shake. "A pleasure."

Although the conversation could have continued in a positive direction the calm discussion was interrupted by the sound of a door slamming open and an obviously agitated Brown Bear stalking through it. "I can't believe they threw me out!"

A much quieter though obviously still agitated Fox woman passed through the door before it swung closed. Despite her own obvious distress she was apparently trying to calm the Bear down. "It's for our own protection I'm sure, Mr. Cruise."

Henry's ears raised as he regarded the two newcomers. "Vikki?"

The Vixen glanced toward the Fox and the Human. "Henry?"

The Bear looked up from his own wringing paws as Henry approached the two of them. The large Gen spoke up in a surprisingly mid-toned, smooth voice. "Mr. Maxfield... I see you've been 'exiled' by security as well."

The English Fox took the Bear's paw and gave it a firm shake. "Is it that bad? Apparently I had left before they got heavy-handed."

The female Fox sighed dramatically. "It was horrendous."

Henry turned and exchanged cheek-kisses with the Vixen as they took one another's paws. "Hello, darling. So good to see you again."

Having little better to do with his time as he waited, Jeremiah strolled over to the conversation, timing his question for a break in the hellos. "What were you saying about being thrown out and security?"

Only when the Pointer saw the Vixen roll her eyes in exasperation did he realize his mistake of getting the Bear started. "Those damn gun-happy thugs threw me out of my own business! The Central Hub is a place of commerce! I pay my rent to DRC so I can conduct my affairs and make money and now they're throwing their weight around, conducting some kind of martial-law maneuvers and forcing people out of their leased shops."

Lydia's not-so-courteous comment chimed in from the back. "You're a bear. they'd have to have a LOT of weight to throw around if it got YOU moving."

Henry gave the girl a light nudge. "Mr. Cruise is a respected member of the Central Hub Chamber of Commerce and none of us like having our customers harassed."

Mr. Cruise nodded with finality. "Exactly."

Henry looked back to the bear. "And no idea why?"

The Bear shrugged. "Something to do with the lack of comms, I'd bet... that, and some Ghouls were causing trouble. Damn fascists probably don't want people gathering together in groups for fear that they'll be overthrown."

Vikki swatted him lightly on the shoulder with a dainty paw. "Harold, this is corporate property-- they can handle their affairs however they want."

Mr. Cruise glanced at the Fox woman. "Honestly, Victoria, after what happened with YOU I would have figured you'd be on MY side in this."

Lydia interjected before anyone else could, voice soft but dire, though it held an obvious tone of satire. "Gang rape, huh? Yea... can't trust anyone in an Orange jump suit these days."

Henry elbowed the girl, who grinned in response. He then addressed the Vixen. "Did something happen, Vikki?

She let out a breath, lowering her gaze to the floor. "They suspended my operating license pending review."

Jeremiah's ears went up; there were any number of jobs around the station that required a license but he couldn't think of many that would be suspended for any reason. In the end curiosity got the better of him. "What do you drive?"

Henry looked toward the Pointer. "She's a doctor at the Executive Deck Med Bay."

The Vixen scowled. "WAS."

The Bear, for a moment at least, was pulled from his own grumpiness and rested a paw on the woman's shoulder. "They'll come to their senses, Doctor Baxter."

Lydia improved her level of courtesy with sudden sympathy. "Oh man... that sucks. What happened? Why would they do something like that?"

Her response was very emphatic. "NOTHING! There WASN'T a reason!"

Lydia pushed on. "Well... SOMETHING had to have happened if they suspended your license... what did they say you did wrong?"

Henry put it much more eloquently. "Why did you have your license suspended, Vikki? It has to be some kind of mistake."

The Vixen sighed and ran a paw across her forehead to move some of her red mane out of her eyes. "Back during the VAC attack I had the med bay closed for the night and I was heading to a meeting on the Science Decks. I was SURE I'd locked up but apparently an injured security guard got into it and died."

Lydia let out a breath, shaking her head. "They wouldn't have done it if you were Human-- they look for any reason to keep Gens down."

The Doctor leveled her gaze at the programmer. "They said that I was responsible for the security guard's death."

Henry's ears went up before falling back, accentuating his scowl. "That's shite... you weren't even there! How could they claim you're responsible just because the bay was unlocked when they found the guard? He could very well have used an override to get in!"

Vikki sighed. "Apparently when they checked him it looked as though SOMEONE had administered a numbing agent."

Jeremiah thought back to his limited experience with post-combat triage and offered his two cents. "Maybe he did it himself."

The Vixen shook her head. "No... it was the right dosage of a controlled medication... someone with medical training had to have applied it and since the medical bay was my assignment they cleaned up the mess neatly by saying it was my responsibility and whether or not I was the one that administered the drug and it was my fault he died without care."

The Bear grumbled. "Sounds just like DRC management... they're going to take the med bay offline without a doctor just to call an investigation complete without having to actually do the work to find out who really WAS to blame."

The woman rubbed the pads of her paws on her knees. "No... they brought a Cat up from the Lower Decks to manage it while I'm on administrative leave."

Lydia raised an eyebrow and her response was not in the least consolatory. "Wow... replaced by someone from the 'Underworld'... that sucks."

At first Jeremiah thought the rumble was the Vixen about to explode at the callous comment but as the sound of rending metal and a shaking in the ground intensified the Dog realized it was so much worse. Turning around, he watched the shower of sparks and cloud of vaporized metal signal the approach of a tram... or, rather, the wreckage of one.