Orbital Movers Association

The door to the elevator opened and six people pushed their way into the already stuffed lift. Kevin was trapped in the back with at least thirty more floors to go before he would reach the lobby. The elevator space was large enough to fit fifty people but between the bags, tools, space suites and other miscellaneous items they were already at capacity. Kevin wished he had left the box at his apartment since he isn't going to his locker anymore. To keep the contents of his cardboard box from getting crushed he had to hold it over his head.

What made it worse for everyone was that the door seemed to open at every floor as more people tried to squeeze into the crowd. Then the sound everyone had been waiting for finally happened. A monotone buzz and red light meant that they were at full capacity. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief because now the elevator would not stop unless someone was getting off. The elevator did stop a few times and someone would squeeze out just to be replaced with another body.

It wasn't long before they finally reached the lobby. The door opened and the mob moved in a mess of legs and conflicting directions as people reoriented themselves. Kevin was one of the last people out and immediately turned right. The lobby was a massive multi floor room with minimalist design. The floor and walls were the same reflective white metal. Thin metal beams held up the upper floor from the lower one. The lobby wasn't more than twenty yards wide but stretched left and right for at least a mile and a half.

People scurried in and out following their normal routines of work and sleep. Kevin was walking to the local Housing Authority office knowing that they would otherwise throw a fit in him changing his move out date. The Housing Authority offices interspersed between other amenities along the lobby floor. As he walked along he received a call and answered it as soon as he saw Wilma's name.

"Kevin, hey how are you?" Wilma said as soon as the phone connected.

"I am alright. I Just spoke to Jason a few minutes ago. He seemed out of it." Kevin responded.

"That idiot went home instead of to the hospital?" She said angrily.

"You know how he is about the hospital." Kevin responded with a slight chuckle. "He didn't look like he was injured, just dirty. So you may have a mess to clean when you get home."

"It's better than him being one of the unrecoverable." She let out a sigh.

"That's true. How are things going on your end? I am surprised you aren't swimming in paperwork or something since this happened."

"I am good, a little bored honestly. I am out on patrol and my partner is sleeping in the back now. Normally something like this would fall under the Bridge Police jurisdiction. We would come to play if the accident happened outside of the bridges. The weird thing is I am told that the Home World Gaurd has taken over the entire incident. So no one knows what is going on."

"That's really weird. Was it a terrorist attack?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Anyway I was calling to check on you. I know you were supposed to be leaving today. Because of what happened at the dock I am guessing that's not what's happening."

"Yeah, I am on my way to the Housing Authority now," Kevin said with audible grumbles.

"Oh, you should call the Orbital Movers Association first. See if they can transfer you to another ship at a different civilian port. Then when you talk to the Housing Authority you will have a timeline of how long you need. If you are lucky you will be able to leave today or tomorrow. If not, at least I'll actually be able to see you before you go and Jason and I can throw you another going away party!"

The two talked for a bit longer as Kevin finally approached the Housing authority office. The line inside was so long that it stretched outside into the lobby. Kevin went to the kiosk and scanned the Sensory Augmentation jewel on his left wrist. The ticket number D-1505 and wait time of five hours appeared in his vision. He shook his head as he looked at the line deciding that calling would be better than standing in a line for five hours.

Kevin and Wilma talked about a variety of subjects as he made his way back to his apartment. She was obviously just passing time with little to do while drifting in space on patrol. When he got home they ended their call and he called the Orbital Movers Association. The representative Ms. Solina sounded tired like she had been dealing with a lot of logistic backlog since the spaceport was closed. They moved him to a ship that would be leaving for the interchange in two days. She also informed him that the Housing Authority is notified.

He closed the call and looked through contacts. Now that he had everything figured out he wanted to call Jessica and let her know. He scrolled through the contacts with his mind and found Jessica's name. He selected her name with a thought and there was a low ringing as the call connected to the nearest HTN tower.

"You are connecting to the Hyperspace Telecommunication Network brought to you by HyronTec Inc. Interplanetary Fees may apply. Please hold as you are connected." An automated voice stated as the ringing continued for a few seconds. "Connection established, thank you for using the Hyperspace Telecommunication Network brought to you by HyronTec Inc."

Kevin and Jessica had a short conversation but she was in the car with her sister so she had to be vague on her side of the conversation. Kevin understood that her family did not like him and would most likely stop her from leaving Mars if they found out if the two of them were moving in together. Kevin also knew Jessica planned to tell them when she knew it would be too late to stop her. Kevin suggested that they talk in the game Deicide since there is no way her sister can eavesdrop on them there.

Kevin had already sent the majority of his gaming equipment which stabilized the connection to Deicide with the movers so things would load slower than he would like but he did not have a choice. He dimmed the lights to a soft glow as he walked to the center of the room. He lied down on the bare hard floor and looked straight up at the ceiling. The floor was cold and uncomfortable but he knew he would not feel it for long as he scrolled through all of the apps he had saved in his Sensory Augmentation. Everything was done with a thought as he closed his eyes and the senses of the real world were cut and for a second. The sensation of floating weightlessly in a cyberspace void rushed through him as his body was recreated as little more than a black silhouette with a dim blue light separating him from the virtual world.