Chapter 6. It was all that Kett Baxter could do to keep from whooping for pure joy as she

raced through the blackness towards a speck of light in the distance. Feet first she blazed

forward riding a cushion of air as she streaked over the smooth walls of the tube at great speed

towards a hidden layer, far below a fashionable district of the city. The first time she had

ridden in one of these man-sized pneumatic tubes, the red panda had left the emergency service lights on for her.

They bathed the tube with an eerie blue glow through its clear walls and certainly demystified the process.

But she didn't want the boss to treat her like a baby and insisted ever

after on riding with the lights off. Besides, the sight of the earth and rocks beyond the narrow

confines of the transport was actually a little more claustrophobic than racing through the pitch

darkness, though she'd never have told him that. She felt the pressure of compressed air

flowing up to meet her to slow her descent. She pointed

her toes to eliminate the drag and keep as much of her speed as she could for a few more seconds,

which he had expressly told her not to do. The tide of air rolled up her legs and buffeted against

her face for a moment until she finally flexed her feet and accepted the

deceleration. Seconds later, she slowed to a crawl just at the very moment that her feet touched

the waiting bottom of the tube. She smiled as the tube opened with a hiss. Kett was born

fearless, but if anyone else in the world had tried to tell her that a giant

pneumatic tube was a perfectly safe way to travel, anybody but him, she smiled to herself with a

sudden skip at the thought. She caught herself, just as suddenly, and composed herself slightly.

She straightened the jacket of her chauffeur's uniform and stepped forward at an even clip.

Behave yourself, she reminded herself by rote. Kit walked away from the tube marked mansion.

She had just exited and passed half a dozen more, each bearing a sign that indicated its destination.

...