Episode 2
Part One
Rae awakened as a flash of lighting split the sky over hab dome eight. Though the accompanying thunder rocked the sky and the smell of ozone filled the room, Rae lay quietly. Gradually, she opened her eyes and peered out into the gray light. Another burst of lightning split the sky outside, but she did not blink.
Slowly she got up and crossed to the tiny clear plucite observation window and looked outside. Where one or more of the Centauri suns usually illuminated rolling orange/purple fields of xenofungus, held at bay by a makeshift fence, she now looked out into a dark gray world. Thick clouds churned overhead, yet no rain fell.
At the edge of the fields, tall spindly cranes sat abandoned. A flash of lightning turned them into silhouettes, and she could see the drone workers running from the construction site. And at their feet...scores of xenotoads hopped, fleeing the fungus, their bulbous yellow green eyes unblinking.
The clouds seemed to press down, lowering toward the human settlements like a great hand. She glanced at her timepiece...fourteen metric hours, so both suns should be revealed in full glory, but she could barely tell their position in the sky.
The drones continued to run as lightning licked down around them. Her quicklink, refitted for Planetside communication, bleeped urgently, but she continued to look out her window.
It all seemed so...peaceful.
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