Escape Velocity

    Tabitha and Jane stood together amongst the group of prisoners about to be set to work in the Solar Farms of Tannhauser.  The gate had just closed behind them, leaving their small guard escort waiting patiently by the checkpoint on their right.
    One Sentinel dwelled inside the small building while another waited outside with the guards.  Tabitha glanced up at him, his uniform differed greatly from the other guards she had seen.  He wore a green rubber mask, which completely covered his face, and had the Olympus symbol blazoned on his forehead in dark yellow, as if he had been branded.
    Tabitha looked as intensely as she dared at the two reflective dark golden slanted ovals, which covered the spaces where his eyes should’ve been, but she couldn’t see anything through them.  She couldn’t see his true eyes, nor any other sign of humanity behind the mask.
    Eventually, the Sentinel inside the checkpoint building came out and nodded at his partner, who in turn waved the guards and their captors on through to Tannhauser.
    The group of prisoners had been given a canteen of ichor and a bottle of what looked like a type of shiny oil.  Tabitha looked above her, she was definitely in Tannhauser, it was a self-contained dome, just like that covering the Pit, only a lot smaller.
    In the sky above, the colossal Sun still hung there, as it had done every second since Tabitha had arrived at Jotnar.  The polarised light filtering down from the tinted dome still hurt her eyes, but she didn’t care.  It was a welcome change from the Pit.
    The guards brought the group of workers deeper into the fields of Tannhauser, allowing Tabitha to see the beauty of the Solar Farms.  She saw long rows of tall silver machines, sprouting out of the ground on long stalks, which spread out into large flat black solar panels at their tips.  They looked like tall metal trees with dark wide leaves stretching high up to the bountiful Sun.
    Through the tunnel, which connected the central Pit to Tannhauser, the prisoner had been loaded into carts on a set of rails and transported down the tunnel.  During the journey, they had been given their equipment and told what they were meant to do.  The prisoners were expected to examine the readouts of each light collector and oil every moving part, to keep them operational and fully able to rotate so that maximum light energy is absorbed.  Through this onwards field of man-made crops, Tabitha was sure the Governor’s Mansion was somewhere past and through them.
    As the prisoners were beginning to be divided up in preparation for being scattered throughout the Farms, Jane held onto Tabitha’s hand so that they wouldn’t get separated.
    The pair were taken by a single guard to somewhere in the middle of the metallic field and then told to get to work.  The guard disappeared to presumably patrol the rest of the Farms and keep an eye on the other workers, leaving Tabitha and Jane by themselves.
    The two friends held hands and leisurely strolled among the fields of light, enjoying every twinkle, each little sparkle of reflection as tiny quanta of photons bounced off all parts of the metal trees around them, from trunk to leaves.
    It was so relaxed and carefree that the two could’ve been walking through any of the parks on Earth in the middle of an uneventful Summer’s afternoon.  Tabitha didn’t even feel as hot as she did everywhere else in Jotnar, she was just warm.
    Neither Jane nor Tabitha was quite sure who first started to speed up, but the stroll soon transformed itself into a saunter, then a jog.  And before they knew it, both Tabitha and Jane were running between the extensive lines of light collectors, tracing through each gap flanked by the Farms’ furrows.
    Tabitha felt like a child again, only Jane was with her too, so it was even better.  Jane might not have understood why Tabitha fought all those fights in the Arena, simply for some time among the Solar Farms, but it didn’t matter, all that did was that Tabitha was satisfied with her decision.  On Earth, it wouldn’t have been a fair deal, but that’s not where they were, and Tabitha just wanted a pleasant experience again before she forgot what it was like.
    Jane stopped suddenly, causing Tabitha to copy her.  What caught her attention was the light collectors on either side of her, they were starting to move in perfect harmony with each other.  These machines were far taller than any human and the sight of them moving so elegantly together mesmerised the pair, even Jane who had no doubt seen it before couldn’t help but stare in awe.
    Tabitha watched in fascination as pneumatic pistons extended and contracted in corresponding locations to make it possible for the collectors to rotate and tilt, allowing a better angle to drink in the dark light falling from the nearby star.
    The light collectors moved together, but further down the line were ones turning slightly slower, which created the effect of a wave.  Tabitha thought that they looked like dancers.
    During this ballet of machines, the light twinkled off their glittering bodies in strangely hypnotic patterns.  The intensely bright light was at the same time quite dim from the dampening effect of the heavily tinted roof.  It was like an amplified twilight of Earth.
    When the collectors were finally satisfied with their new positions, Jane took Tabitha over to one and showed her what they were meant to do.  The ‘trunks’ had a small computer monitor attached, which showed the diagnostic status of each light collector.  Jane showed Tabitha exactly how to apply the oil to each joint and mechanical linkage to help lubricate these robotic dances in the baking Mercurial Sun.
    Tabitha and Jane did as they should, the pair made their way through a single row, checking and oiling, until they decided that they had earned a break.  No guards were around so Jane and Tabitha sat with their backs against the thick stalk of one of the light collectors, each facing in opposite ways but still within talking distance.
    Tabitha Roth found she was having the best time in years, simply by the beautiful scenery, the friendly company and a full canteen of ichor, which she was presently gulping down.  It was the most delicious drink she’d ever tasted.
    “This place is amazing,” Tabitha said.  “You didn’t fully describe how wonderful it all is.”
    “I called it beautiful,” Jane protested.  “What higher word is there to depict a location?”
    “You know, I’m really starting to like this stuff,” Tabitha referred to the drink in her hand.
    “I knew you would,” Jane said as she examined her bare feet.  “Hey Tab?”
    “Yeah?” Tabitha said.
    “Who decided that a foot would be a measurement the size of twelve inches?” Jane said.  “What human has twelve inch feet?”
    “It’s an old measurement,” Tabitha pointed out, not even questioning the unusual query.  “Maybe people back then had larger feet.  It would have been a world full of five-foot tall people with twelve-inch long feet.  They must’ve looked like hobbits.”
    Jane let out a sudden laugh that was louder than she intended.  “I’m actually glad I got a chance to come back here,” she said.
    “So you admit the Arena was a good idea?” Tabitha said.
    “Now that there’s no risk?” Jane said.  “Sure.  What about you?  Do you think it was worth it?”
    “I think things turned out pretty well,” Tabitha commented.
    “I should’ve had more faith,” Jane said, taking in her surroundings.  “You know, as horrible a place as Jotnar is, you still have to admire the technological achievement.  Underneath the ground, the roots of the Solar Farms spread out through wires to the rest of the facility, providing everything that makes Jotnar exist.  And you have to take into account the amazing fluctuation between extreme heating and cooling.  When we’re on the Sunlit side, all the Solar energy is sent to the cooling apparatus and when night dies eventually fall, they have to take some of that energy they stored up during the day and use it in the heating system.  Just look up and you’ll see the kind of wonder I’m talking about.  The filtration power of that polarisation field can be altered remotely in tiny increments.  When we’re not working here, Somnus will let much more light in than usual to feed the Farms to their full capacity.  The most amazing thing about this technology is that it can let through huge amounts of light while still insulating against most of the thermal energy.  That’s why those Sentinels back at the checkpoint wear those masks, the inbuilt goggles have light-vision capability, a kind of anti-night vision.  They allow them to see during these times of intense light, which would normally burn their eyes out of their sockets.”
    “I don’t need to know the science behind it,” Tabitha murmured.  “I’m content with just enjoying it.  How long will I get to do this?”
    “Until every light collector is serviced,” Jane said.  “We’ll be here most of the day today and everyday for about the next two weeks.  It might sound like a long time but it’ll go faster than you think, and then you’ll be stuck back down in the Pit, so make the most of it.”
    “Oh I will,” Tabitha said with her eyes closed as she basked in warmth of the lessened Sun.  Back on her home world, Tabitha had experienced days when she had felt angry or depressed for no real reason.  These had bothered her, but she put up with them because she knew that it was worth it for the few days of random happiness she felt in turn.  Today reminded her of one of those days.
    Tabitha’s eyes opened as something niggled at her mind, she still had a certain degree of suspicion with regard to Jane.  She knew that she needed to ask her something before she could properly relax.
    “Jane?” she said.
    “Hmm,” Jane let her know that she was listening.
    “What are you here for?” Tabitha asked.
    “What on Mercury are you talking about?” Jane said.
    “Why are you at Jotnar?” Tabitha said.  “What was your crime?”
    “I’ve already told you,” Jane pointed out.  “Why are you dwelling on this?”
    “It’s just something I need to know,” Tabitha explained.
    “But why?” Jane said.  “You don’t need to know why I’m here at all.  I never asked you, did I?.  It doesn’t matter what brought us here, all that’s important is that we are here now and we have to deal with it.  The knowledge won’t change anything.”
    “Please,” Tabitha asked.  “Just tell me what you did and I’ll believe you?”
    “What’s brought on this sudden mistrust?” Jane demanded.
    “I just had a feeling,” Tabitha said.
    “That’s it?” Jane said.  “I don’t believe this.  I’m a thief, I stole things.  Actually, I stole lots of valuable things during my life, but you’re right, that’s not why I’m here.  Why I was imprisoned for life was for a time when I didn’t steal a single thing.  I broke into the palace of a Councillor, I was just trying to show off.  I didn’t prepare, it was just a kind of impulsive decision.  I got past the first couple of automated defences, but then a guard caught me and some time later I was sent here.  I never even got a chance to see what I could’ve stolen.”
    “So that’s it,” Tabitha said, satisfied.  “Sorry I mistrusted you though.  I guess there was just some embarrassingly bad decisions that you didn’t want other people to know.”
    “That’s alright,” Jane said.  “I may not have lied to you, but I have kept certain details from you.  I have one more confession to tell you, Tabitha.  It’s about the murder of the Patrol Supervisor in my block.”
    “What?” Tabitha said.  “I thought you said it was suicide.”
    “I lied,” Jane said.  “I do that sometimes.  He was really murdered.”
    “How do you know that?” Tabitha asked.
    “I guess you could say that I just have a feeling…” Jane said in a tone that Tabitha recognised and didn’t like.
    “So what was it you wanted to tell me about him?” Tabitha nervously asked, awaiting the answer with a tingle all over.
    “I’ve always known that it was you who killed him,” Jane said.
    “What did you say?” Tabitha said, turning around to her in hope that she had misheard her.
    “I know you killed him Tabitha,” Jane said.  “Don’t worry, we’re free to talk here, there are no cameras whatsoever.”
    “But I didn’t…” Tabitha began to protest.
    “Don’t Tabitha,” Jane said.  “Don’t waste your well practised excuses on me, just admit what you did.  I don’t blame you, I would’ve done the same if I could.  I so wish I didn’t have to bring this up, but you just kept on insisting.  Now confess your crimes to me.”
    “It’s not fair,” Tabitha said quietly.  “Everyone has their passions, everyone has at least one thing in their lives that gives them pleasure.  It’s just not fair that mine is considered illegal.  My hobby is killing people, I like to kill all the people in my life who I find rude or irritating.  When I was young, I thought that life was simple, I believed that you were just meant to do what you’re best at.  That’s all I do, Jane.  I’m good at killing people, and I like it, maybe too much.  That’s what the my analyser thought.”
    “Tell me what you did on Earth,” Jane said.
    “It started in school,” Tabitha explained further.  “There were just certain people I didn’t like, so I got rid of two of them.  These two girls who I really hated, I made sure that they would never come back to school.  People noticed but no one was caught.  I wasn’t even careful about covering my tracks.  The police didn’t make much of an effort, not while the sensationalist media was filled with something that they called the third world war.  Everyone had more important things on their mind that just a couple of dead teenage girls, far more were dying everyday overseas as the Corporate Wars raged on, so I got away with it.  I couldn’t stop there though, it became like a compulsion.  I began seeing more and more people I hated.  By the time I was eventually caught, the war was long over and the Olympus Enforcers found evidence that I had been the one who murdered my boss.  I hated that guy, he was just so rude to me.  If he had only been a bit nicer, he’d still be around.  Once I was arrested, the Enforcers investigated further and linked many more murders from my past to me.”
    “So that’s why you’re here?” Jane said.
    “Those are my crimes,” Tabitha admitted.
    “I don’t care about any of that Tabitha,” Jane said kindly.  “I just want to know how you did it.  How did you kill the Patrol Supervisor within Jotnar?  I don’t need to know about your past crimes on Earth, but I really want to know your secret here.”
    “You want to know how I kill people at Jotnar?” Tabitha whispered.  “There isn’t much of a secret, I just improvised as best as I could and got lucky.  That rude Patrol Supervisor wasn’t the first person I’ve killed since I’ve been here.”
    “I suppose that’s true, but I don’t think your first Arena conquest counts,” Jane scoffed.  “I saw that fight, there wasn’t much of a mystery behind how she died.”
    “I was talking about that woman who attacked me in the Pit,” Tabitha said with a more solemn tone than Jane usually heard from Tabitha.
    “Oh her,” Jane remembered.  “But I saw how she died as well.”
    “No you didn’t,” Tabitha said.
    “What are you talking about?” Jane said.  “You told me that she died of her wounds in her cell.”
    “I lied,” Tabitha said.  “I knew the truth.  As she slept, I snuck into her cell and smothered her with a pillow to make sure that she would never wake up.  I didn’t want to spend so much time near a person I found so irritating.”
    “What do you mean, you ‘snuck’ out of you cell,” Jane said.  “You can’t just sneak out of your cell.  How did you do it?”
    “I’ve had a lot of jobs in my short time on Earth,” Tabitha said.  “I never settled down into a permanent position.  I just spent some time at one job and then another.  Wherever they needed someone to do a job that didn’t require too much skill, I went and did it.  This suited me because I usually didn’t have to be at a job long before someone would annoy me.  It usually didn’t end well so it was good that I could move on so frequently, I got a lot of fresh starts.”
    “You killed them?” Jane said with an inappropriate laugh.  “You’re a serial killer, Tabitha.”
    “That’s what they called me,” Tabitha said with the smallest smile humanly possible.
    “So how did you kill that woman who attacked you?” Jane asked.
    “It was the spoon,” Tabitha said.  “When my nose was broken and I got the rest of the day off, I spent virtually all my time behind the partition, scraping the handle of the spoon I hid on the shower grate until I sharpened it to a point.  I once worked in an office that dealt in security systems and I was taught a little more than I should’ve been about electronic locks.  I jammed the pointed end of my spoon in the slot of the control panel outside my cell, I only had to experiment for a few minutes before I knew the angle I needed to force it up into the slot to disable the Sensitivity Field.”
    “How did you get to the control panel outside your cell?” Jane said.
    “I waited in the bathroom,” Tabitha said.  “You know when you spend a while behind the partition, how the camera gets bored and looks around outside your cell?  I waited for that to happen and then I ran out underneath the camera, all I had to do then was wait for the camera to turn back to the partition and then I was free to move around without being watched.  I put the spoon in my left hand and stretched my arm out the edge of my cell while keeping my right arm, which the Sensitivity chip was held in, behind the threshold at all times.  I had to really stretch, but I managed to reach the control panel with the tip of the spoon.  Once I had the Field down, all that was left was to avoid the patrolling turrets on my way across to the other cell and disable that Sensitivity Field.”
    “And then you killed her?” Jane said.
    “Almost,” Tabitha said.  “First I waited underneath the camera until it momentarily turned away from the sleeping woman, then I just placed a pillow over her unconscious face, it didn’t take long.”
    “And then you just replaced the field on her cell and returned to your own?” Jane probed.
    “That’s about right,” Tabitha said.  “I’m quite small and agile, so it was easy to negotiate past the cameras back to where I should have been.  When I was back in my cell with the Field back on, I just waited underneath the camera till it got bored and looked away for a second, then I rushed back into my bathroom.  Some careful timing and a lot of good fortune made it like I’d never been gone.”
    “Did you do the same for the Patrol Supervisor who broke your nose?” Jane asked.
    “Pretty much,” Tabitha shrugged.  “After I finished my first Arena fight, I had a lot of time to myself.  I snuck out of my cell and made my way to the lift the guards use at the end of the level, all the time avoiding the gaze of the turrets.  I waited for a turret to pass by my cell and then I went as fast as possible before it returned.  I finally made it into the lift where there were no cameras.  Eric had taken me through the guards quarters on my way to the Arena and I learned the layout, like where the quarters for the Patrol Supervisor were.  I crept through that level and across the divide until I made it to the guards quarters of your block.  It may have taken me a while to avoid all those cleaning drones and wandering guards but I had plenty of time to spare before my next fight.  I found the quarters of the Patrol Supervisor of Psi-Block and I let myself in.  I was smarter this time, I didn’t just kill him, I cleaned up afterwards.  That’s how they caught me last time and since you told me that they have my DNA on file, I made sure that I cleaned up after myself as best as I could.  I even wore two of those plastic bags that they keep the bowels of broth in on my feet.”
    “This was a big risk just for revenge,” Jane commented.
    “I suppose,” Tabitha said.  “Like I said, it’s like a compulsion.  I don’t really think about it all that much, it just seems to come naturally.  How did you know it was me?”
    “Who else would it have been?” Jane said.  “He broke your nose and then he dies a few days later, I just had trouble believing it at first.  I couldn’t even imagine how a prisoner could do that but after I spoke with you in the Arena, I was convinced you killed him.  It was just something about the way you talked about it.”
    “Was I that obvious?” Tabitha said.  “I never was a very good actor, my talents lie elsewhere.”
    “I agree with you there,” Jane said.  “You know how to deactivate the Sensitivity Fields, this is huge.  You can walk freely around the facility.  Don’t you understand what this means?”
    “What?” Tabitha said.
    “We can escape,” Jane hissed.  “I think I’ve just come up with a plan.”
    “Go on then,” Tabitha said.  “Tell me.
    “All you have to do is break out of your cell again when they return us to our blocks,” Jane said.  “Then sneak up to the guards quarters and kill two of them.  Put on one of their uniforms and bring me the other one, don’t forget the guns and key cards.  Once you’re dressed like a guard, you won’t have to sneak.  You can just come for me, let me out and bring me back to the lift.  I’ll get dressed in the other uniform on the way up and we’ll be guards.  We can just use the key cards to leave and no one will stop us because we’ll be dressed the part.  Then all we need to do is take one of the surface buggies, drive over to the Portcullis and onwards to the Quays.  If we keep our heads down at all times, have our caps pulled low and try to avoid looking at any of the cameras, I don‘t see why we can’t do it.”
    “What do we tell the guards at the checkpoint?” Tabitha said.
    “It doesn’t matter,” Jane said.  “We could say that we were ordered there and we don’t know why, or we’re just visiting friends.  Or as a last resort, we could just kill them, we’ll have the guards’ weapons after all.  Once we’re in the Quays, all we have to do is find an unattended ship and we’ll be off.”
    “Do you really think that’ll work?” Tabitha said.
    “It’s the only idea that I’ve ever thought had even a chance of working,” Jane said.  “Besides, what do we have to lose?  We’re both here for life, remember.”
    “Alright,” Tabitha said.  “Let’s give it a go, but not today.  We’ll do it tomorrow.”
    “Why not today?” Jane said.
    “Because today isn’t tomorrow,” Tabitha said.  “Relax Jane, we’ll be working here for a while.  The escape can last one day.  We get to go back to our cells earlier than those working in the Pit so we’ll have the same amount of time and solitude to carry out the plan tomorrow as we do today.”
    “OK then,” Jane said.  “I guess you’re the one who starts the escape so we’ll go tomorrow.  You just better not say the same thing tomorrow, or I’ll end up waiting for eternity.  We can’t put this off for too long, it won’t take them long to figure out that you killed that man.  This place is full of cameras and it’s impossible to completely clean up after yourself, believe me.  There’ll find something eventually and probably kill you for it.”
    “We’ll go tomorrow,” Tabitha reaffirmed.  “If I die before then, at least that’ll be second choice after escaping.”
    “Is the reason why you want to go tomorrow because you just one more day in the Farms?” Jane asked.
    “Well, I’d like to take at least one nice memory from this place with me back home,” Tabitha said.  “And I think I might need just one more day to cement this image in my mind forever.”
    “So you’re a serial killer, huh?” Jane came out with suddenly
    “Technically I’m a mass murderer,” Tabitha said in a relaxed kind of way.  “I never had one specific MO, I just improvised a lot of the time.  Maybe that was why I got caught.”
    “You were lucky to have the war help with covering up your early kills,” Jane pointed out.
    “I suppose,” Tabitha said.  “I didn’t really see why everyone was so worried about the war.  Before it began all the news was moaning on about overpopulation and how we may need to start building space colonies to contain our expanding numbers.  The way I see it, the Corporate Wars did us a favour, now we don’t have that problem as much.”
    “Wow you’re morbid,” Jane commented jokingly.  “Is that what you thought you were doing?  Culling the numbers for the good of the rest of us?”
    “No,” Tabitha said.  “I just like to kill people.”
    “I think I like you even more like this Tabitha,” Jane laughed.  “It’s so nice when you can stop pretending and be who you really are around other people.”
    “Yes,” Tabitha said.  “It is.”
    Jane and Tabitha’s resting break lazily stretched on for longer than it really should have, but they eventually eased back into working.  The pair leisurely did what they were supposed to do until it was time when they weren’t meant to do it anymore.  The guard escort rounded up all the prisoners from various corners of the Solar Farms and brought them back to the gate.
    As Jane and Tabitha joined the group awaiting to return, Tabitha mind raced forwards to the escape.  She meticulously planned exactly what she was going to do and when.  In truth, Tabitha wanted to postpone the escape attempt for one day simply because she was nervous, and too afraid that she’d mess it up having to go so early.  Tabitha wasn’t really paying attention as the gate opened, they were all taken through and loaded up into a kind of open topped tram to transport them down the tunnel and to the gate of the Pit.  The tram had no wheels, it just floated effortlessly on air.
    As the second gate opened, within a few seconds the Portcullis opened on the opposite end of the Pit.  A squad of Jotnar guards appeared through it, no more than a dozen.  This was a common sight, groups of guards were always coming and going from Jotnar for shift changes, holidays and many other miscellaneous reasons.
    These guards carried large bags filled with their personal belongings, which were ready to be set down within their new quarters.  A guard at the checkpoint stopped them all.
    “Hello there,” she said cheerily.  “Please clock in.”
    One by one the guards swiped their key cards through a slot by the checkpoint and their names and faces appeared on the woman’s computer screen.  She had done this hundreds of times and didn’t really bother looking at their faces to make sure they were who the key cards said they were.  They all had their caps down low anyway so she just checked that the information said they were all guards and was content.
    “OK,” she said.  “Off you go.”
    The guards were about to pass through the checkpoint when a voice stopped them.  It was of the second checkpoint guard who had just appeared from inside the guard post.
    “Wait,” he said.  “You forgot to put them through the retinal scanner.”
    “Oh yes,” she said.  “I’m sorry, these new security measures are quite recent, I’m still getting used to them.  Please look into here.”
    Mounted on the checkpoint was a machine with two eye slots.  As it readily awaited the retinas of the guards, they looked at each other nervously.
    As the checkpoint guard waited patiently, she noticed that one of the guards was eyeing the white earpiece she wore.  All the guards wore one of these, including him, but this man was watching it intently, as if he could hear anything being broadcast through it if only he stared hard enough.  Eventually, some time had passed and the checkpoint guard was about to ask them again for their retinal scan when something happened that had never happened at one of these checks before.
    “Forget this,” one of the guards said and shot her in the chest with his shotgun.  The second checkpoint guard activated the alarm from inside the guard post before being killed himself by one of the intruders.
    The entire groups of fake guards removed their black hats at once to reveal that they were all wearing the same dark purple bandanna underneath.  They ran past the checkpoint along the mining rails toward the Pit itself, before their leader was struck down from a sniper’s bullet all the way from the other side of the Pit.
    As Tabitha, along with the rest of the Solar Farms workers, awaited transport back to their respective blocks, she heard the snipers occupying the towers above open fire on unseen enemies.
    A great panic ensued involving both the guards and the prisoners.  The guards desperately tried to contact someone on their wrist-communicators to find out what was happening.  The gunfire had gone on for two long to just be an escape attempt and the wailing noise of a siren encircled everyone at surface level.
    Soon, the guards received an emergency broadcast through their earpieces and grabbed the nearest surface buggy.  All the guards sped off in the direction of the Portcullis, leaving the prisoners they were supposed to be watching to run around like freshly decapitated chickens.
    “What the hell is going on?” Jane said.
    “I don’t know,” Tabitha said.  “But let’s find out.”
    Tabitha grabbed Jane and practically threw her onto another surface buggy, she had seen enough that she could guess how to drive it.  She quickly sped off around the south side of the Pit, always keeping the buggy she was following in sight.
    “What are you doing?” Jane said.
    “Let’s find out,” was all Tabitha said.
    The entire prison yard had been quiet before the air was filled with alarm sounds and gunshots.  Most prisoners were working down in the Pit with the rest back in their cells.  Tabitha and Jane had been working in the Solar Farms, which kept much more irregular hours than other jobs, so they were free to explore when this opportunity presented itself.  Now things weren’t so quiet, Jane saw guards pouring out of the main doors of the blocks, they looked ready for battle.
    At the Portcullis, turret fire from the mounted machine guns on the balconies were raining down upon the Indigo Guardians, who had retreated back inside the guard post by the checkpoint.  From nearby blocks, squads of guards had charged out into the courtyard and were assaulting the makeshift fort.  The Indigo Guardians removed fully automatic weapons from inside their bags and began firing back at the ground troops, killing some out in the open.
    Surface buggies arrived full of guards near the Portcullis to reinforce the defensive troops.  They set up a perimeter around the Portcullis and gunfire filled the ears of everyone involved.
    Tabitha sped up to the area of conflict, she skimmed the wall of the female wing on the far right until she arrived at the infirmary, which blocked her path.
    The last soldiers of the Outer Circle, mistaking Tabitha and Jane’s buggy for another wave of Jotnar guards, opened fire through the windows of the guard post.
    Bullets bounced off the buggy, rendering it useless.  Tabitha and Jane jumped out and hid behind it.  Jane bravely poked her head out to see who was shooting, it wasn’t the guards that she expected.  Instead, she spotted the purple bandannas.
    “It’s the remnant of Broda’s Outer Circle,” Jane said to Tabitha.  “They must’ve come to break her out.”
    “Let’s go,” Tabitha said.  “Quick, while they’re distracted.”
    “What are you talking about?” Jane cried over the background noise of combat.  “Go where?”
    “Now’s our chance,” Tabitha said.  “We can escape.”
    “What?” Jane said.  “No!  We have that planned out.  You’re going to get us killed.  What are you thinking?”
    “I’m not,” Tabitha said.  “Come on!”
    Tabitha grabbed Jane and pushed her up against the wall of the infirmary, edging closer and closer to the corner.  As Tabitha peeked around the corner, she could see that the Outer Circle were actually winning.  They had killed most of the guards at surface level and even a couple of guards up on the mounted big guns.
    Most of the turrets were two far down the line to get an accurate shot and the first wave of guards had virtually been destroyed.  Only a few were left, still firing their shotguns from behind a wall of buggies.  The Indigo Guardians took advantage and pushed forwards towards the Pit, which unfortunately took them closer to more mounted guns.
    The Outer Circle had attained information back on Earth to the location of Elena Broda and were heading straight for the Pit.  They took cover behind a line of mining carts as sniper fire still sunk into the rock around them.
    This was what Tabitha was waiting for, now the path to the still open Portcullis was clear.  She was about to make a mad dash for it when Dr. Farrington appeared out of the front door of his infirmary to find out what was going on.
    The groups of Indigo Guardians made another move forwards but were surprised by the flanking doctor.  Believing him to be an enemy, a guardian fired in his direction.  As the young doctor’s body was riddled with bullets, Tabitha screamed and jumped back behind her cover not wanting to look.  All she heard was the few bullets, which didn’t hit Jon Farrington, pinging off the door to the infirmary.
    Tabitha couldn’t move, she didn’t want to look around that corner again.  Jane could though, she saw the Indigo Guardians push forwards to the barrier of buggies.  There numbers were officially down to less than half their original strength as one of the snipers shot a high velocity round right through the sternum of a slow guardian.
    “Are we doing this or not?” Jane demanded.  Tabitha didn’t say anything, she couldn’t.
    This time it was Jane who grabbed Tabitha.  Roles reversed, Jane pulled Tabitha round the corner and over the blood sodden corpse of Doctor Jon Farrington.
    The distraught Tabitha was reluctantly dragged past the infirmary and to the wall of the dome.  There they made their way along the thick barrier to the now empty and bullet holed guard post, bullets still whizzing in their direction from the gun battle in close proximity.
    Jane helped Tabitha through one of the windows and soon did the same, but before looking at the increasingly unlikely escape attempt by Elena Broda’s Outer Circle.
    Tabitha was shoved through the incredibly damaged guard post.  Jane only stopped to pick up the shotgun and key card of the dead checkpoint guard, whose body lay only a few feet from the alarm button.  Tabitha still wouldn’t move on her own, she wasn’t even speaking.  Jane took hold of her hands as if she was an infant and helped her through the guard post.  Once they were out the door, the pair found themselves at the unguarded and unbarred checkpoint of the Portcullis.
    Jane glanced at the dead female checkpoint guard, but only for a fraction of second, then she was through the open gate.  Jane swiped her newly acquired key card in the panel on the wall to close the gate.  Then her and Tabitha ran, hands clasped to each other’s, with Jane free hand still holding her new shotgun.
    Jane looked back one more time through the small gap as the Portcullis closed shut behind her.  She saw what was left of the Outer Circle, four men, preparing for more fighting against a second wave of guards as a huge number of surface buggies arrived, filled with the full force of Jotnar’s military power.
    Things might’ve looked bleak for the Outer Circle, but they had never seemed so positive for Jane Williams.  She ran as fast she could with Tabitha down the tunnel to the Quays.  A set of tracks ran along the entire tunnel, but there was no tram to help quicken their escape.  These tracks were for the mining carts, which transport huge amounts of iron ore to the Quays, but not for the moment.
    Jane had always known that Olympus had the capability of making the mining carts float on invisible magnetic cushions of air to make them easier to move, like the tram of Tannhauser, but they didn’t.  The mining carts were old-fashioned ones with heavy rusty wheels, which took extra effort for inmates to budge.  Some parts of Jotnar’s design weren’t made for efficiency, some parts were just cruel.
    Jane’s face was drenched in sweat when they arrived at the gate to the Quays, through fear more so than exhaustion.  She swiped the key card through the control panel with a shaking hand.  As soon as the gate was open enough for the two to fit through, they did.
    Jane held out her shotgun, preparing for resistance, but there was none.  Her first task was closing the gate behind her, the Indigo Guardians were probably all dead by now and Somnus must’ve seen them both on its monitors and informed the guards of their escape.
    There were two buildings built into the wall on either side of the gate.  Tabitha’s senses had partially returned by now and she ventured into one of them.  She found a room full of people in green jumpsuits, all the people were dead.
    Jane explored the opposite building, which was another guard post, or it was once.  The guards within it had also been killed by the Outer Circle, they must’ve thought that surreptitiously killing these people now meant less resistance when the rescued Elena Broda and tried to bring her back to their ship.
    Tabitha stepped out of the technicians quarters to find Jane holding another shotgun, which she looted off one of the corpses from the guard post.  Jane tossed it to Tabitha, who caught it coldly.  Jane nodded to the side, when Tabitha looked at what she was gesturing to, she saw the medium sized ship the Outer Circle used to get to Jotnar.
    Both Tabitha and Jane smiled in almost perfect unison, they rushed over to the ship as fast as they could.  It was a Hermes Mark II transport shuttle, painted mostly in yellow and had four light sails protruding from the top of its body, which were covered in solar panels.
    One section of the ship’s body had four large capital letters painted on in black, announcing the name of the ship.  Apparently, it was called the ‘LOKI’.
    Neither Jane nor Tabitha cared what the ship was called or what it looked like.  What they liked about it was that the access ramp was already lowered in preparation for a quick getaway.  The two fugitives clambered up and Jane ran as fast as she could for the cockpit while Tabitha raised the ramp.
    The interior of the spacious ship was quite well furnished for a prison ship.  Usually they were the bare minimum, but this one looked as if someone had made some additions to make it seem, for a moment at least, that it was mildly luxurious.
    Tabitha has no time to take note of every detail of the ship.  Instead, she joined Jane in the cockpit, which had no additions to it.  Jane was already in one of the pilot’s seats and fiddling away with the various switches and toggles.
    “Do you know what you’re doing?” Tabitha asked as she sat down next to her.
    “I think most of it is automated,” Jane said.
    A loud clunking sound suddenly echoed all throughout the ship, soon followed by an electronic whirr and the soft hum of the engines.
    “What did you do?” Tabitha said.
    “I don’t know,” Jane admitted.  “I think I just turned it on.”
    “Well keep going,” Tabitha said.  “There’ll be coming for us soon.”
    “I think the remote launch codes are already programmed in,” Jane said as she pressed something on the computer screen in front of her.  They both heard another noise, but it wasn’t from the ship, it came from somewhere outside.
    Tabitha looked up out of the main viewer to see the circular base of the docking tower open.  Jane grabbed the controls and jerked them upwards, causing the Loki to unevenly stutter off the ground as the propulsion thrusters were activated.  Jane did it again and again until the ship was within the docking tower.  She pressed the same button and the blast door below her closed shut again.
    “I think I understand it now,” Jane said and touched something else on the screen, which made the second set of doors above her open, allowing the unhindered might of the Sun into the airlock.  Fortunately, the tint had been left on by the former owners of the Loki.  The polarisation of the windscreen was still activated on its highest setting, so that combined with heat shielding, which was galvanised all over the ship’s body, made sure that Tabitha and Jane’s escape wasn’t cut short.
    The Loki ascended even higher and the blast doors closed automatically behind them.  Now, there was nothing but space in between the two women and their home planet.  Jane was about to improvise her way home when something started blinking on the computer monitor in front of her.
    “Something’s happening,” Jane commented.  “The ship’s asking me if want to initiate the preset autopilot program.”
    “Do it,” Tabitha said.  “See what happens.”
    “Fair enough,” Jane said.
    Jane gingerly pressed the icon on the touch screen ahead of her and the Loki suddenly hurled itself up from the Jotnar Basin.
    “What’s going on?” Tabitha asked.
    “It says that we’re going back to Earth,” Jane said.  “It’s on full speed.  I guess the Outer Circle wanted to get away as fast as possible.  The computer read-out says we’re going at a hazardous speed for the ship itself.  The navigation system’s plotted a route to slingshot around Venus so that the engines won’t burn out until we get back to Earth.”
    “That’s good news,” Tabitha said.  “How long is the journey?”
    “A week or so,” Jane said.  “We’ve still got some time to wait.”
    “Do Jotnar have any armed ships they could send after us?” Tabitha asked.
    “I don’t think so,” Jane said with a huge beaming smile.  “There’s really nothing they can do by this point.  We’ve just escaped from the Jotnar Centre, no one has ever done that before in history.  We’ll probably be famous.”
    “I don’t really care about that,” Tabitha said glumly.  “I just want to go home.”
    “Why aren’t you happier?” Jane asked.  “We were supposed to be imprisoned forever in Jotnar, being forced to labour in the iron mines and toil our lives away.  Now, we’re free, we can do whatever we want.”
    “I just think we shouldn’t get so hopeful until we can feel the Earth under our feet,” Tabitha said.  She then hugged her knees, began to chew on her collar and went quiet for a while.
    “Are you still thinking about Dr. Farrington?” Jane wondered, Tabitha didn’t reply.  “It wasn’t your fault.  Even if we weren’t there, he still would’ve died.  There was nothing we could’ve done.”
    “I know that,” Tabitha said.  “It doesn’t mean I can’t just feel sad about it.  He was probably the only good person in all of Jotnar, including us.”
    “I think you should get some rest,” Jane said.  “When you wake up, I guarantee you won’t be able to think of anything but returning to Earth, just like me.”
    Any more suspicions of Jane had been erased from Tabitha’s mind.  When she was in shock after the death of Dr. Farrington, Jane could’ve very easily just left her behind.  That’s what Tabitha would’ve done if someone had been slowing her down, but Jane didn’t.  She hadn’t needed Tabitha any longer, Jane could’ve escaped on her own, but she chose to take Tabitha with her.
    The Loki hurtled through space at an incredible speed while Tabitha Roth slept peacefully within.  Her friend and fellow escapee, Jane Williams, watched over both her and the ship that was bringing her home with a kind of passive guidance.
    So that was how the most infamous day in the history of the Jotnar Detention Centre finished.  The 24th of May, 2152, the day that Tabitha Roth and Jane Williams became the first people ever to escape from the Jotnar Centre.