Dead Cities and Deader Men (Operative Title) Day 29 of 30 12/19/2020

Dead Cities and Deader Men (Operative Title)

Day 29 of 30

12/19/2020

There it is. The opening to the tunnel. Even wide open, there are so many guns and it will only admit a track in size, The City is perfectly safe. Home. Down into the dark, only the spots and floods to mark the passage. Off the pilot so I can make sure it is driven safely here in the last moments before shutdown.

Pulling into the garage, down to idle, finally just barely moving towards an open bay.

All are open right now, that never happens. So much difference right now. No maintenance crews working, no other tracks heading out, where are all the incoming tracks, what is going on?

Finally see a crew chief, recognizable with his helmet and safety black and yellow vest. Get close enough, external mike, “Where do I put it?”

He looks at me, mask slung on his hip and pistol ready next to it.

“Didn’t you get the last communication. Drive up the ramps, head into the city. Take the track to the landing field, they will direct it. Think you are one of the last ones that are going to make it.”

Points towards the up ramps, never driven on that before. Behind us in the cameras he mounts a small cart and races in front of us and up the ramps. There is no one behind us in the garage. Nothing is moving.

The more I look, the emptier it looks. No carts, no tools, power supply cables, nothing. The lights are dimming behind as we head up.

Into the City. No movement, no one around. It is deserted. All the people are gone. No one is around at all.

Takes another twenty minutes at idle speed to get to the landing strips. The few airborne vehicles are normally parked there. I would look at them from my space in the res center, out of the armored glass windows the few times I am not in a Track. Look out and marvel at the place it all started, when we first arrived. Where people stepped on this planet in reconnaissance.

Finally get to the landing fields and they are packed. All the old landing shuttles, that brought us down from the black, all are on the fields in even rows. Tracks are starting to haul them onto the launch rows, like they are getting ready to leave.

 

We get flagged and directed to pull in alongside dozens of other tracks just sitting there. Another crew member signals to stop and finally I turn the drivetrain to halt.

 

I crack the hatch open and on the internals all the others start to dismount. A couple of med types are flagged and move in to grab the two other Drivers.

 

An officer enters and I open the Compartment Door for her.
She reaches out and hands me some papers. “All drivers report to the launch control. This track will be stripped and loaded up. Departure commences in three hours. All drivers will drive the shuttles up. This is a complete evacuation. The enemy is approaching, we are heading back home for the final defense.”

 

I just stare at her. The kid has no idea what is going on. Neither do I really.