[IC] Letters for Tomorrow

[Fox of Spades]

It was his first time on a train and his first time outside the dome's walls.

Noah sat rigidly on one of the seats, shoulders tense and feet numb. He hadn't moved, not since the train roared to life, and not even when his sister grinned brightly and called him a fraidy cat. The latter had taken a lot of self-restraint, and on regular days he would have rolled his eyes and flicked her on the forehead, but today wasn't just a regular day. Today, he and his fellow couriers in training would be given their first mission outside of dome four's walls--their first mission that would be punishable by death.

They would be delivering top secret letters to the group of rebels hidden in one of dome Four's underground chambers.

There was shrill beep and Noah was snapped out of his thoughts. He stared at the blinking green lights on his watch and pressed the answer button. His watch made a soft ping before a holographic chat log appeared before him.

Isaac Romanov said
Sent at 4:30 am

Good morning, team.

I heard from Alina and Kas that you guys boarded the train bright and early. I'm looking forward to hearing about how things go, but before that I just have a few things to say. First, I'm proud you guys have made it so far and am glad to have been one of your mentors. Look out for each other when you get to dome three, security is a bit more uptight there and the peace keepers have been known to have a mean streak. Stay out of their way as much as possible, if any of you get caught with an unapproved letter you'll be taken away. Remember, delivering unapproved letters and leaving one's own dome is punishable by death.

But, you don't need all these reminders. I've told you hundreds of times in the past. Just keep outta sight, deliver those letters, and come back in one piece. When the six of you get back, Ali, Vin, Kass, and I will be sure to throw you all a party.

Noah stared at the message, he was nervous enough as it was and now he was feeling even more so. There was another beep, followed by a flash of green. Another message had been sent by their mentors. He clicked the button.

Isaac Romanov said
Sent at 4:42 am

Alina told me there'd be a change in plans. An important package has been left with the couriers of dome three, but they're a little shorthanded. They want you to take the package and bring it back to dome four so we can take a look at it. I'll send you the coordinates to their warehouse ASAP.

The boy pressed another button and the hologram expoded into shards of transparent lights. Another green light began flashing and immediately as his watch received the new coordinates. Noah felt sick to his stomach, what was supposed to be a delivery had turned into a recovery mission as well. The boy frowned before slowly getting up on wobbly feet. The train was empty save for the trainees and the operators. It was the only train the government didn't know about, the only one the rebels owned. It was old and in need of spare parts and a cleaning, but beggars couldn't complain. It was better than sneaking out of the dome and walking to another one on foot.

"Isaac sent everyone the new coordinates," he stated as he gave his teammates a smile. The six of them had been training together for three years and the thought of losing each other on this mission scared him. "We'll need to recover something from the couriers of dome three." His eyes flitted to his twin sister. She was seated on one of the chairs, feet propped on a table, headphones over her ears, and eyes closed.

She was almost never serious and it irritated him to no end. Noah reached out and tugged her headphones off.

"Noelle, this is important." He stated, looking almost desperate. He didn't want anyone to get hurt. The boy was a bit of worrywart when it came to things like this, but he meant well. He looked down at his watch and pressed the map button. "We should be arriving at Dome three's station in ten minutes. I think Isaac wants us to split into groups of three. There are two pouches of letters and two underground bases we need to get them to, they're both in opposite directions though. If we split up, we can regroup at the station then head to HQ together, pick up the package, and be back in time for dinner." He gave the others a smile and waited for a response.

[Scout]

Mara gave a wistful sigh as her cloak billowed about her. She was on the rear end of their car, resting against the railing as the train flew down the rails. She had never left Dome Four before today, and it was still so surreal that she was leaving the place she had called home for so long. Her smile seemed almost permanently plastered across her face as her eyes slid smoothly over the wastelands around them. There was little to see beyond the domes, that much was clear within the first few minutes of their trip, but there was something serene about the land. It seemed to stretch on endlessly, an infinite space of rolling hills and craggy rocks. She could swear that she saw dust clouds that would intermittently appear beyond the plains, trailing after... something. She figured that perhaps it was a far-off dust storm or something even less significant; after all, there was nothing outside of the domes apart from the trains and their rails. The air was strangely refreshing... While it did feel a bit less pure than that which was inside of their massive, safe biodomes; it filled her lungs with genuine air. She wondered how long she had been out there when her watch began to beep and she looked down curiously and headed inside, where Noah was reading a message and the others were milling about. Noelle, as usual, was not paying attention.

Jacob sat stoically in one of the uncomfortable seats, acting as the simple observer he often was as his eyes moved slowly about the car, watching everybody else in turns. Mara always felt a little bit uncomfortable around him. Simultaneously, he also created a sense of safety for her - like a dutiful guard, watching over them all without faltering. As the coordinates and mapping data were sent to all of them, the red-haired rebel activated the hologram on his watch and began to study it. It was very similar to their own city and he looked for potential paths from their point of arrival to the two destinations they were given and finally to the rebels' HQ. It would be quite the run. As he observed their options, he could hear Noelle and Noah having a small argument. For the life of him, he couldn't understand it.

Mara pulled her cloak over her shoulders more tightly, taking a seat of her own as she crossed one leg over the other, her foot bouncing idly. Ten minutes from now, she would be in a whole different dome, running across buildings she had never seen before. A small sense of emptiness washed over her - what would happen if they were all separated or any of them were captured? She accepted those consequences a long time ago, but it seemed more real with each passing moment. Before they left home, she had bummed her very first cigarette from John... It didn't go over well. She bet him that she could finish hers before he did his and, it being her first smoke, she inhaled far too deeply on her first puff and began to hack endlessly. It took her minutes to get over it and by the time she tried to take a smaller second hit, her throat was already closing and John was nearly done. Luckily, they hadn't really bet anything, but she was red in the face for nearly an hour after, still coughing and tearing up from the memory of the smoke. How did he do it? She swore to never touch another one. It was a comical scene to witness, though: her confidence in her ability to be a natural at even something so trivial as smoking and losing so pitifully.

She taped idly at her knee, shaking her head of the thought, "So, who is with whom? We could easily split into girls and guys," She suggested simply, though there were likely plenty of ways for them to decide. They had quite a bit of ground to cover in a short time, but as long as they were prepared for it, they would be home with plenty of time left.

"Or... What if we did three groups of two?" She asked, scratching the back of her head, "Two of us go to HQ for the package, and the other two groups deliver the letters and we all meet back at the station? I mean, if the plan is to be in two groups, that's fine. There's power in numbers, they say, so... Staying together should be fine, we can spread out a little bit and keep an eye on each other so that we're all safe. Stick to the training right?" Mara realized that she had been talking far more than she meant to - it happened far too often. Every little comment needed an explanation and background and alternatives from her, resulting in a rather large amount of rambling.

Jacob did not speak, he just followed orders. Whatever they were there to do would get done and that was that. He closed down the interface floating above his watch and rose to his feet, stuffing his hands in his pockets while he waited for the train to finally come to a halt in the dome.