Tsv-base-zero

Tem-Space Variant 5: Alternatives

11. The Lunaside Hiso-Courts

The Hiso-course in Sector Green was the most complex course Madkro had ever seen. It was also the most dangerous. The entrance was a walkway, aligned by metal posts and tall hedges, which led to the edge of a cliff. There was a metal guard-rail at the edge, which led to the right and the left, to 2 different elevators. One led down, into a canyon, the other led both down and up, into a small, 3-level structure.

As they reached the metal rail and looked out and down into the Hiso-courts, about 100 meters down, they were fired upon. They ducked back, into the cover of the nearest hedges, away from the edge.

"I'll cover you," Lisa said, as Madkro hesitated, "and follow you, after you have made it down."
"Which tube do we take?" he said. "Right or left?"

"It may not make a difference," she said. "But all Hiso-courts tend to follow a general rule, which is clockwise; the left to the right."
"But we're on the Moon, Lisa," Madkro said. "Not on Earth. That may make a difference."

"Good point," she said. "Still, there's only one way to find out. You may be right. The tower is to the left. If that sign tells us anything, it's probably the end of the course, rather than the beginning."
"We don't need to traverse it to the end," he said, "just get into the center court to see Rem."

"Right," she said. "Like I said, there's only one way to find out. Ready when you are."
He made the move quickly and she ducked low to the ground and aimed her ray-gun. He chose the right, and ran swiftly along the walkway, as he was fired upon. Lisa zeroed in on the tagnet, suspended above them, attached to metal girders which hung from the high biosphere ceiling, about 60 meters out. After firing 3 times, she managed to tag it, and Madkro made it to the travel-tube. He ducked inside, after tagging the circle over the doorway, and the doors closed and it started moving down.

The tube descended slowly into the canyon, and he studied the course below with intrigue. His eyes traced it, through a maze of obstacles, out into the center of the canyon, where a pyramid towered upward to the ceiling. He knew Rem was some- where at the top of the pyramid, and wondered if he'd reach him on the first try. Under the circumstances, with his lack of practical expertise, even with Lisa covering his back, he tended to doubt it. The odds were against him, but he had to try.

About a minute passed during the descent, then the tube slowed to a stop at the base, and the door opened. Madkro stepped out onto a ramp-way, leading down into a field of gray desert sand, and was immediately fired upon. He quickly ducked to the right and jumped over a rail, to the side, and took cover in the shade of the ramp. The field of sand was a bit larger than he imagined, as he spied over the edge of the ramp, and out and about, seeking the best way into the course.

There was a parkway 40 meters away, and the sand was deep. Crossing it would be risky, but he could see no other way. He recalled Lisa and heard the tube start moving. He looked to see it was ascending. He decided he could use her cover for this, and waited. 2 minutes later, the tube arrived again, with Lisa, and Madkro covered her as she joined him.

"The sand is deep," he said. "It'll be slow going."
"They sure don't make the beginning easy," she said. "Have you located the nearest tagnet?"

"Just across the sand," he said, "midway up that tower." He pointed his ray-gun and she followed it to the mark.
"I see it," she said, taking aim. "I'll keep it distracted. Ready."

He took a heavy breath, got into stealth-mode, pushed away from the base of the tube-station, and ran into the sand. Lisa began firing at the tower tagnet as he did so.
The tower gun fired at Lisa for a few shots then turned its rays on Madkro, as he struggled across the deep sand with all the energy in his legs he could access. The rays his the sand about him for about 5 seconds, then cut out. He heard Lisa cry out positively, as he covered the last 10 meters, and dove into the cover of a hedge-row at the edge of the parkway green. He turned to look back, and she was following.

Seconds later, she joined him on the grass by the hedges, and grinned. "We're in," she said, with satisfaction.
Madkro studied the maze-map, which was provided, and looked in across the courts. The first major obstacle in the perimeter of the parkway was a railway, which encircled the entire court. There were high, metal fences and stations which had to be tagged for passage, and then there were railway cars which were moving along slowly, invariably linked in different numbers.

"I'll contact Senzo," Lisa said, and took out her cell-phone.
Madkro used the spy-spex to zoom in on the station ahead, another 40 meters across the parkway green. Through the gateway, he saw the railway carts pass by, and counted the seconds. 5 seconds passed and a gap appeared. 5 more seconds passed and the gap was closed by more carts. 10 seconds passed, and then another gap and 10 seconds before it was closed.

He counted the seconds for about 3 minutes before it began repeating itself again.
"There's a 14 second gap in the pattern of the carts," he said to her, as she put away the cell-phone. "If we catch it then, we should be able to run through.

He handed her the spy-spex, and she took a look.
A minute later, she handed the spex back and said, "There are 2 tagnets at the station. If we each take one, from different sides, we can rejoin inside the station gateway."

"Well, it beats running through sand," Madkro said. "Ready when you are."
They counted 5 seconds and made the move. They were immediately fired upon and began dodging rays with evasive patterns. They both took cover on the grass by trees, and fired at the tagnets. The rays hit the trees, missed them, and after half a dozen shots, they hit the tagnets and ran for the gateway.

Inside the gateway, they hid in the shadows of the station, and caught their breath, while the carts rolled by on the railway.

Base-Zero	Tsv-01 Tsv-02 Tsv-03 Tsv-04 Tsv-05 Tsv-06 Tsv-07 Tsv-08	Tsv-09
Contents	Lpnet1 Lpnet2 Lpnet3 Sci-shorts-01 Sci-shorts-02 Sci-shorts-03 Sci-shorts-04 Gallery	Animation
Tsv-05-100 Alternatives Chapter 1: Knight to king's Base 4.5 Chapter 2: What Reality is this? Chapter 3: The Hisorian Way Chapter 4: Fresh Air and Exercise Chapter 5: Stranger in a Strange Land Chapter 6: Point Man Put to the Test Chapter 7: The VR and the Videodrome Chapter 8: The Tem-Space Variant Returns Chapter 9: The Amazing R-Wing Chapter 10: The Lunaside Vacation Chapter 11: The Lunaside Hiso-Courts	Tem-Space Variant 5: Alternatives 11. The Lunaside Hiso-Courts The Hiso-course in Sector Green was the most complex course Madkro had ever seen. It was also the most dangerous. The entrance was a walkway, aligned by metal posts and tall hedges, which led to the edge of a cliff. There was a metal guard-rail at the edge, which led to the right and the left, to 2 different elevators. One led down, into a canyon, the other led both down and up, into a small, 3-level structure. As they reached the metal rail and looked out and down into the Hiso-courts, about 100 meters down, they were fired upon. They ducked back, into the cover of the nearest hedges, away from the edge. "I'll cover you," Lisa said, as Madkro hesitated, "and follow you, after you have made it down." "Which tube do we take?" he said. "Right or left?" "It may not make a difference," she said. "But all Hiso-courts tend to follow a general rule, which is clockwise; the left to the right." "But we're on the Moon, Lisa," Madkro said. "Not on Earth. That may make a difference." "Good point," she said. "Still, there's only one way to find out. You may be right. The tower is to the left. If that sign tells us anything, it's probably the end of the course, rather than the beginning." "We don't need to traverse it to the end," he said, "just get into the center court to see Rem." "Right," she said. "Like I said, there's only one way to find out. Ready when you are." He made the move quickly and she ducked low to the ground and aimed her ray-gun. He chose the right, and ran swiftly along the walkway, as he was fired upon. Lisa zeroed in on the tagnet, suspended above them, attached to metal girders which hung from the high biosphere ceiling, about 60 meters out. After firing 3 times, she managed to tag it, and Madkro made it to the travel-tube. He ducked inside, after tagging the circle over the doorway, and the doors closed and it started moving down. The tube descended slowly into the canyon, and he studied the course below with intrigue. His eyes traced it, through a maze of obstacles, out into the center of the canyon, where a pyramid towered upward to the ceiling. He knew Rem was some- where at the top of the pyramid, and wondered if he'd reach him on the first try. Under the circumstances, with his lack of practical expertise, even with Lisa covering his back, he tended to doubt it. The odds were against him, but he had to try. About a minute passed during the descent, then the tube slowed to a stop at the base, and the door opened. Madkro stepped out onto a ramp-way, leading down into a field of gray desert sand, and was immediately fired upon. He quickly ducked to the right and jumped over a rail, to the side, and took cover in the shade of the ramp. The field of sand was a bit larger than he imagined, as he spied over the edge of the ramp, and out and about, seeking the best way into the course. There was a parkway 40 meters away, and the sand was deep. Crossing it would be risky, but he could see no other way. He recalled Lisa and heard the tube start moving. He looked to see it was ascending. He decided he could use her cover for this, and waited. 2 minutes later, the tube arrived again, with Lisa, and Madkro covered her as she joined him. "The sand is deep," he said. "It'll be slow going." "They sure don't make the beginning easy," she said. "Have you located the nearest tagnet?" "Just across the sand," he said, "midway up that tower." He pointed his ray-gun and she followed it to the mark. "I see it," she said, taking aim. "I'll keep it distracted. Ready." He took a heavy breath, got into stealth-mode, pushed away from the base of the tube-station, and ran into the sand. Lisa began firing at the tower tagnet as he did so. The tower gun fired at Lisa for a few shots then turned its rays on Madkro, as he struggled across the deep sand with all the energy in his legs he could access. The rays his the sand about him for about 5 seconds, then cut out. He heard Lisa cry out positively, as he covered the last 10 meters, and dove into the cover of a hedge-row at the edge of the parkway green. He turned to look back, and she was following. Seconds later, she joined him on the grass by the hedges, and grinned. "We're in," she said, with satisfaction. Madkro studied the maze-map, which was provided, and looked in across the courts. The first major obstacle in the perimeter of the parkway was a railway, which encircled the entire court. There were high, metal fences and stations which had to be tagged for passage, and then there were railway cars which were moving along slowly, invariably linked in different numbers. "I'll contact Senzo," Lisa said, and took out her cell-phone. Madkro used the spy-spex to zoom in on the station ahead, another 40 meters across the parkway green. Through the gateway, he saw the railway carts pass by, and counted the seconds. 5 seconds passed and a gap appeared. 5 more seconds passed and the gap was closed by more carts. 10 seconds passed, and then another gap and 10 seconds before it was closed. He counted the seconds for about 3 minutes before it began repeating itself again. "There's a 14 second gap in the pattern of the carts," he said to her, as she put away the cell-phone. "If we catch it then, we should be able to run through. He handed her the spy-spex, and she took a look. A minute later, she handed the spex back and said, "There are 2 tagnets at the station. If we each take one, from different sides, we can rejoin inside the station gateway." "Well, it beats running through sand," Madkro said. "Ready when you are." They counted 5 seconds and made the move. They were immediately fired upon and began dodging rays with evasive patterns. They both took cover on the grass by trees, and fired at the tagnets. The rays hit the trees, missed them, and after half a dozen shots, they hit the tagnets and ran for the gateway. Inside the gateway, they hid in the shadows of the station, and caught their breath, while the carts rolled by on the railway. They relaxed at the railway station, on a bench in the shade, and recounted the seconds, waiting for the 14-second gap to open in the pattern as they passed. "The carts are going faster," Madkro said. "It must have been set to increase speed when we entered the station. The gap is only 10 seconds now." Lisa studied the maze-map. Beyond the railway, the next obstacle was a court of red and blue squares with stone and metal statues, and 4 different tagnets, including one mobile droid-unit. "We don't get another rest-stop," she said, "until we get through the court-squares, just before the canal-way. This one may be tricky. The map only tells us where 2 of the tagnets are. The other 2, one which is mobile, are variable." Madkro spied through the gaps in the moving carts, sited the court-squares, and beyond that, a thick forest of tall trees. Towering over the trees, in the distance, was the huge pyramid. He wondered how Rem had managed to gain so much influence in this par that he held such a high status that he secured himself an office which seemed even higher than the director of Lunaside himself, Longray. Certainly Longray's own security wasn't anything like this fortress. He took a swig of water from his flask, and said, "Once we get through the gap you go for the stationary tagnets, and I'll keep an eye out for the variables." "All right," she agreed. "But Mak, this has got to be timed just right, and we can't both go at the same time, it's too dangerous." He thought about that. It meant she'd have to wait for about 2 minutes before the gap to open after him again. "I think you should go first," he decided. "I'll be right on your tail, to make sure you don't trip. 10 seconds will be enough time, if we make it quick." "Well, all right," she said, somewhat reluctantly. "Ordinarily, the pointman goes first, but this is no ordinary course." [Back] [Next]	Chapter 12: On Space, Time, and Parallel Alternate Realities Chapter 13: Longray's Plan Chapter 14: The Lunar Mines Chaper 15: The Maze of Illusions Chapter 16: Main Power Tagnet
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