By the time the Skytrain started to operate again, Star had been startled by its passing no less than five times. The storm hadn’t let up much however, though the haunting high and low wails of the alert sirens had ceased some time ago, meaning the storm defense walls had been deployed by now, hopefully.
It was then that Star realized that the sun had just started to peek over the horizon, meaning she’d been up the better part of the night. She envied the fact that Snowy didn’t need sleep in the traditional sense, while she felt just about ready to check out for most of the coming day.
There were a few mostly intact office chairs piled up in what was affectionately called a “utility room” on the deed, amounting to a few electrical boards, net routers, and water pumps crammed into a plastic tamper-proof box.
It didn’t seem safe that there was water so close to high-voltage electricity, but those were the breaks when you lived in a district that was one big afterthought supported by calculated, but continual mistakes in judgement.
This is why she disliked politicians and adamantly refused to become one herself.
The little office and what little furniture she could scrape together would be hers though and there was nothing those two could do about it. She’d earned the right to have first pick when she went through all the trouble to secure the place, but she sensed that someone, probably Access, would disagree and kick up a stink about it.
Hearing an engine outside, followed by a dull thud made her think that argument was moments away from turning the place into a warzone, but instead to her gleeful surprise, it was Scarlet who walked in out of the rain instead followed by Bulwark, heavy boxes perched on his back.
“I mean, it’s no damp room in a disused utility tunnel, but it’ll do!”
“Now I don’t remember inviting you two.” Star joked. “I suppose the others told you I bought you all a present.”
“Your Synthetic, actually.” Bulwark pointed out, placing the boxes he was carrying onto the floor. “You weren’t going to leave us out of the fun, were you?”
“To be frank, I wasn’t aware you still wanted to have anything to do with us.”
“My issue is with Access and Sheet Rock, not you.” Scarlet remarked. “They’ve made their apologies. Besides, you aren’t responsible for their poor decisions.”
“Set up wherever you like then, I mean there’s no walls yet so you’ll just to imagine it in your head for now.” Star said awkwardly, stepping out onto the catwalk. “Where are they anyway, I thought they would’ve been with you.”
“Shopping.” Bulwark stated. “Sheet’s using the last of her forged scripts to get Access his Baloperidol. I don’t suppose she told you what she’s been up to?”
“Maybe? If she did I don’t remember.”
“Understandable, really.” Bulwark shrugged. “So, where do we set up?”
Star shrugged back. “Wherever you want I suppose.”
Bulwark had but a single slightly damp box of his own, while Scarlet had several almost twice the size. Some were still sealed, while others had been delicately opened but resealed at some point, presumably to help shield the contents of the boxes from the rain.
The largest of them was stamped with the drab striped logo of Equestrian Business Machines, a manufacturer of high end computers found in corporate offices the world over. They weren’t cheap, but were extremely reliable, and as such could be depended upon for years or even decades with proper maintenance and regular upgrades.
Star recognized the model name stamped into the lid, a Model-7 Personal Data Processor, one of EBM’s more lavish offerings. The box looked untouched, meaning it had just been purchased, or perhaps stolen.
“Expensive tastes I see.” she remarked sarcastically as Scarlet unboxed it onto a folding table she’d dragged in behind her. “Even brought your own furniture!”
“The tables are one of the few things Matterhorn and Riot managed NOT to break, clearly they weren’t trying hard enough.” she replied just as sarcastically. “The EBM machines were a gift actually, to replace some of the equipment we lost.”
“From who?”
“Who do you think?” Scarlet said, as if it was obvious. “To be frank, I haven’t touched mine yet but Bulwark couldn’t help himself and tore into his almost as soon as he got it. We prefer running via our computers rather than a standalone Cyberdeck, so you can probably appreciate that we’re a little attached to our old machines.”
“I haven’t paid for net access yet, by the way, so don’t bother trying.”
“You actually PAY for Net access?” Bulwark said in disbelief. “Look, come down here and we’ll show you just what you’re missing out on.”
Scarlet nodded. “There’s a few tricks you can use to get free access, we’ll show you a couple.”
A quick jaunt into Upper Canterlot to collect Access’ medicine had turned into a full-on shopping trip, which was the last thing Sheet Rock wanted to do with her morning, especially seeing as how Snowy could’ve sprung for delivery using Star’s credit chip. The very same chip she knew he had slotted in his head but refused to lend to them.
The roads were slick with rain and the drainage systems that still functioned were just barely keeping up with the sudden influx. It made a change from the usual dust storms and sweltering heat though.
Canterlot resided in the middle of a semi-arid wasteland to be fair, so it was expected that there would be the associated weather patterns to contend with. It seemed to happen on a rough cycle. A couple of weeks of extreme heat accented by a windstorm or two, then near constant rainstorms for a few days, rinse repeat.
If the history books were to be believed, the area Canterlot and Rift City sat upon was once rolling hills as far as one could see, small rivers and brooks streaked throughout, and the sound of birds was a constant backdrop to the gentle serenity of the countryside. But now, it was a barren wasteland only just barely inhabitable thanks to the weather manipulators GeneTech placed out in the desert to try and save smaller settlements from the dust and heat.
But when those broke down as they eventually did, ponies had a choice to make. Flee, or choke on the dust and sand created by the over extraction of moisture for the endless farming needed to feed millions.
The data Scarlet had given her brought up some unpleasant memories, but at this point, Sheet Rock found it hard to be upset for any length of time. Instead, she’d rather just move on with her day and forget about it.
Her train of thought was suddenly broken by the sound of Access sneezing himself awake. It was as if he subconsciously knew that she wanted a moment to herself and now would be the best time to ruin that.
“That was the last thing on the list wasn’t it?” he said groggily. “How come his highness isn’t doing the heavy lifting?”
“Probably the same reason Star decided to act on her own.” Sheet Rock grunted. “A purchase like this is going to attract attention from all the wrong ponies. I just know it.”
“Doubt she had the euro to buy it herself, daddy’s cred maybe?” Access chuckled. “I’d be okay with someone taking the blame for it as long as it isn’t us, or her.”
“The less we know the easier it’ll be to play dumb. I’d like to think Star knows what she’s doing, but I’m having a damned hard time believing it.” Sheet Rock stated. “Read the list through again for me, I’m not heading out again if we’ve missed something.”
“Well, everything on the list is ticked off to be fair.” Access replied. “If she wants anything else she can get it herself.”
Truth be told, Sheet Rock had never noticed the property Star had bought before, nor heard of the company that once rented it. They cant have been there very long, seeing as how they’d lived in the district for much of their adult lives.
The weathered brick buildings and asphalt roads that made up their little neighborhood were comforting in a weird kind of way, though empty properties and bombed out husks of abandoned shopfronts towards the outer edges of the district were not.
“That’s it down there!” Access pointed out. “See?”
“Right underneath an overpass, an arterial overpass no less.” she replied sarcastically. “At least it’s nice and hidden for the most part, it’s good cover thanks to the occupied buildings around it.”
“Reminds me of your old place a little.” Access mocked. “Just without the dust covering everything.”
“Go to hell, Access.” Sheet Rock chuckled back. “Don’t forget you came from the same kind of hellhole, but at least you had a weather manipulator that still worked.”