The heavily developed coastline of Hobbe’s Island had been sliding by on their right for several minutes when the mirrored windows of the span came into view. Skylifts were still relatively new, and the crippled local economy was slowing their adoption. Each of the Nine Islands was connected to its neighbors via a multitude of bridges and tunnels, but Canden-Cherviq Span, or, more frequently, The Span, was the only dry link to the Altal mainland, and had required more building materials than all of them put together.
It projected out from the southernmost shore of Hobbe’s Island, continuing well beyond the visual horizon in a gentle arc that followed a ridge of submerged peaks that were the oldest members of the island chain. One hundred miles later, the span encountered the comparatively shallow Urathi continental shelf, making a slight bend to head directly south for the last sixty miles to the Altal coast.
Ninety-eight gigantic columns rose from the ocean to carry the road via suspension cable above and arch below. The queue of columns supported sixteen lanes of road traffic and four magnetic rail lines, layered in four stacked road beds. Each thirty miles, a hugely oversized column glowed with windows from sea level to the peak high above. Looping ramps slung from cables led to parking platforms below road level, offering opportunities to pull off, rest, and refuel. The hotels and restaurants they supported, some extending below the waterline to the sea floor, were often destinations in and of themselves.
Ten miles from the southern shore of Hobbe’s Island, the largest of the columns supported an enormous, stylized seashell known as the Bowl. Its glassy exterior housed a small town, and marked the seaward boundary of the narrow city clinging to the road between it and landfall.
Half a year after coercing his way to power, Umari Heseq had ordered barricades at two locations along the span, miles out to sea beyond the bowl. Once trains had stopped and the roads had cleared, fourteen columns were leveled by seaborne artillery, and the span between two hotel towers dropped into the sea. Whatever the economic impact, Sky City residents now boasted the least congested urban traffic on the islands.
At three quarters of a mile in height, the Bowl’s supporting tower had been visible for most of the flight. Sky city was now in sight below, beginning as a series of closely spaced high rises supporting the Span’s oversized bundle of roads as it rose above abandoned seaside resorts, reflecting the coastline in mirror-faced windows. The towers, connected at various heights by covered pedestrian bridges, contained a mixture of commercial and residential spaces. The last of them stood somewhat beyond the high tide line, overlooking the surrounding reef. More living space clung to the gently arching roadway five hundred feet above the sea, ten stories of windows and open walkways that tripled the Span’s width for the miles leading out to the Bowl.
Hakrin sat in the military transport’s cockpit, Krameleon piloting beside him as Teriq fussed over the equipment in back. Their targeted apartment was highlighted in a neon overlay projected across the windshield. Krameleon slowed as they approached, and settled the craft onto a thick, railed platform jutting from the glassy western face of the Span. Most housing in the area sported private skylift parking integrated into the structure, and a blazing red skylift occupied the parking platform opposite them.
Hakrin and Krameleon remained seated as Teriq exited, clad in a stained, grey jumpsuit that largely concealed the light combat armor beneath, her helmet primed yellow to resemble industrial safety equipment. Her fumbling at the door’s key panel was an act. The transport’s computers had interfaced with Span security, and Krameleon was in the process of disabling the lock remotely.
The door opened and she stepped inside, messaging Hakrin to join. Krameleon remained behind to monitor the area’s security feeds on the windshield display. Though they were all capable pilots, Krameleon's immense stature was unmistakably Urathian. Nearly all of their activities since leaving the Elites relied to some degree on infiltration, so he had traded his usual role as walking heavy weapons platform for the hardware-lined transport cockpit.
Hakrin shouldered a heavy pack from the rear of the craft. Once inside, Teriq helped him lower it to the floor beside the wall that had been the subject of the morning’s discussion. The apartment’s two-story glass front concealed a high-ceilinged hollow, paneled in something resembling driftwood. A loft above the kitchen and main living space supported the bedroom and an open area furnished as a home office. Opposite the high, painting-strewn side wall, the bedroom extended overhead to the windows, maintaining the room's privacy while affording it an ocean view. Teriq climbed the steeply inclined ladder to ensure it was as unoccupied as the security feed indicated.
Hakrin began transfering paintings from the wall to the shelter of the kitchen, before unpacking the bag removing an assortment of explosive charges and a handheld utility laser. Teriq joined to help a moment later.
“I've got some company out here.” Krameleon’s voice came in clear through the helmet’s headset. “Great hair.”
“So, zealots?”
“Looks like it.”
“Does he look curious?”
“He eyed the transport briefly, now he’s just watching the view.” The adjacent flats were mirror images of one another, and their respective parking platforms were separated by enough distance to keep the transport from standing out. Its dimmable windshield obscured the occupant, as well as the information being projected onto its inner surface.
Teriq giggled. “The ladder worked.”
Krameleon remained serious. “I’ll take care of it if he isn’t inside for the fireworks.”
Once the wall was clear and the safe exposed, Hakrin shouldered the laser and began cutting through the wood panel immediately above it. An inert gas pumped from the laser’s stock chilled the incision, preventing the wood from igniting. Hakrin had stumbled across it while searching for the ladder, and it eliminated the noise issue as he had hoped.
The section of wood fell free into Teriq's hands, revealing the wall’s metal frame to either side of the safe. No wiring was visible. He cut a small section from the hollow metal beam on the left, finding it empty. The beam on the right contained a thin cable wrapped in a braided metallic sheath. Hakrin dragged over a chair, standing on it to cut another window into the beam well above head height, before clamping a small black cylinder to the cable within. The automated device monitored current in the wires via induction, deciphering the system’s communication signals before intercepting and replacing them. The output from the safe's alarm would instead be relayed wirelessly to Krameleon’s monitored network. Briefly.
Teriq had begun adhering twelve identical charges at regular intervals corresponding to the wall’s framing, half at floor level, half at arm’s length overhead. Four larger charges went within the bounds of the rectangle formed.
Hakrin checked the time, and pulled a flat, heavy panel from the bottom of the bag. He expanded it in the middle of the apartment, unfolding six triangular struts. These he fastened directly to the floor with bolts driven quietly into the glossy wood, forming a low, rigid wall that he and Teriq crouched behind.
Krameleon spoke up again. “Hakrin, Teriq, looks like you two are ready, and on time. I still have one guy out here, but feel free to proceed.”
“Alright. Ten seconds.”
Hakrin placed the detonator on the floor between himself and Teriq. She had retrieved her weapon from the demolition bag, pointing the massive handgun’s familiar barrel towards the floor, her back a few inches from the temporary wall. He counted silently down, made eye contact with her, and depressed its trigger. The peripheral charges detonated a moment before the larger central ones, burning through the thin but tough metal columns before the ragged section of wood and metal disintegrated into the neighboring room.
