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Writer's pictureKendra Cassidy

A Quiet Revolution - Chapter Three

How to Launch a Revolution, Luna Edition.

Something like that, anyways.

There was always a chance something would go sideways, no matter the planning, but it was a tribute to their collective professional paranoia that nothing actually did go spoing!


CHAPTER THREE

Tycho Under, Luna

Compared to Artemis City, Tycho Under was nothing at all. But then, Artemis City was over ninety cubic kilometers, while Tycho Under was less than ten. That was still enough to support a population of nearly a million in relative spaciousness.

The limitation on size was tied directly to the unique nature of the city. The central cavern it occupied was discovered accidentally during the early years of the Colony, as a wave of mapping expeditions were sent out across the surface of the Moon. When they reached Tycho Crater the selenologists were surprised to discover an emptied magma bubble three kilometers below the central peak of the crater. Seismological readings revealed the extent of the hollow. The selenologists speculated it was formed when the original impactor created the crater over 100 million years earlier.

Whatever the nature of its formation, it was seen as a potential location for habitation, with its own challenges. The thickness of the surface structure would prevent any but the largest meteor from ever damaging the space. No branch of the cavern came closer than five hundred meters from the surface, and that arm was more than four kilometers away from the central space.

Still, by 2050 the cavern had been accessed and the development of what would become Tycho Under was underway. As nearly as possible, Tycho was self-sufficient, a throwback to the original ‘lifeboat’ concept behind the establishment of the city. Some of the more credulous administrators of the original colony, recalling memories of stories which involved Lunar catastrophes, thought it wise to plan ahead for that particular ‘what if’. Specifically, they imagined they were protecting against an impact event which would destroy Artemis City, either by a direct hit or through a Luna-wide disaster. What they conveniently forgot was any event large enough to ‘remotely’ destroy Artemis City would also wreak havoc across all of the Moon.

Tycho Under, as a direct result of its ‘lifeboat’ status, was the only major Artemesian city connected directly to the other major warrens and cubics. Double pairs of underground tubes, similar to Earthly subways, ran to Artemis City, Scipio City, Hong Kong Luna, and others, providing continuous two-way traffic flow. As a direct result it became the natural transshipment point for goods for all points across Luna. It was faster, and cheaper, to load a pallet of equipment aboard a tube through Tycho than paying for a suborbital hop through vacuum. It was also easier for people to move through Tycho from one warren to another.

Transient populations, large volumes of goods, and lax inspections meant smuggling. Perhaps the smuggling came first, leading to lax inspections. Whichever way it formed, smuggling wasn’t just a hobby for the citizens of Tycho Under; it was a major profession. And since the various officials were as corrupt and venial as Inspector Renault, and just as likely to be conducting their own operations, it was a perfect location for Stone and her companions to begin their active operations.

“I don’t mind spending your money, but I could wish the prices were just a bit better,” groused Nour. She’d been tasked with finding more permanent cubic for them, despite the risks.

While renting rooms provided a degree of anonymity, especially with Mac’s ability to chew through any computerized scrutiny, it was a double-edged sword. Other guests could, and likely did, conceal their identities and true purposes. Adding to their concerns were Nour’s memories of her time in MinSec. She remembered well the special attention they gave to travelers.

A long-term rental was almost unheard-of in Tycho, or truly in Artemis; there was simultaneously too much demand for short rentals and not enough for long ones. A lunar? Two? Three? Certainly, cobber! Six lunars? I can’t tie my property up for so long!

Purchasing cubic would provide many benefits, not the least of which would be stability. Between Mac’s computer skills and Nour’s expertise, they should be able to avoid getting on the radar of any of the local MinSec staff. At least, avoid the ones that couldn’t be bribed or otherwise persuaded to look the other way. It would give Mac the chance to really dig into the LunaNet and make them disappear, as well as providing that indefinable sense of belonging to a place.

They would need a second space, or spaces, for meetings with their growing cells. Those could be rented, with false identities and burner credits which would vaporize almost before their rental was up.

“Like ye said, though, it’s our credits. It’s our shout but you have to tee up, so that’s true blue,” said Stone. “Besides, I know you haggled them down as far as you could without making them suspicious, and the digs you got are fair dinkum.”

She waved an arm expansively, demonstrating her point without another word. The cubic Nour had acquired had originally been office space, but a not insubstantial ‘gratuity’ to the broker had changed the designation to multipurpose. That allowed the conspirators to move beds into the space without worrying about an inspector asking for more baksheesh than they were entitled. The rear entrance, off the pedestrian corridor and unobserved by any sensors Mac could detect, was a bonus, but what sealed the deal was the upper floor.

Most Lunar cubic extended horizontally, across a single level, so it was rare indeed for any second floor to exist. Buildings with multiple floors tended to be the same footprint on different levels, with limited internal access to the upper or lower floors. Not so this cubic; there was a proper lift in the back of the office space, as well as a cargo lift that rose on a hydraulic pillar and pushed up through a hinged hatch in the ceiling.

More importantly, the upper floor had never been used. As the broker explained, “The builder had intended to put in a combination factory and sales floor, with the product, whatever it was, I don’t actually know, it was a double dozen years ago or more. Where was I? Factory on the upper floor, offices for the company below, and a shop in the front to sell the stuff. The upper floor is completely bulkheaded, so maybe he ran into problems because he was going to make things that were hazardous to construct, like I said it was a long time ago.”

The upper walls were more than a meter thick in places, made of solid lunar rock, and had no access to the level they were on. Even power, air, and water came in through the lower level and was routed up into the space.

Stone, Jordan, and Mac took one look at it and knew they had their base. It was completely invulnerable to electronic spying, and a careful recce of the exterior showed it simply as walls of three corridors. The fourth wall went straight into an existing pillar of rock fifty meters thick. While it wouldn’t do for a refuge, since it would be vulnerable to utilities being cut from below, it was perfect for planning and meetings. They were also able to store any potentially sticky items in the upper floor and present the face of perfect innocence to the rare official visitor.

“Chief?”

“Yeah, Alyssa?”