Chapter 19

"OH MY THOR!" Hiccup shouted as he gaped at the sight, yet 'OH MY THOR' wouldn't cover even half of what he saw. They were in another city yet the roads here weren't paved with asphalt. The too familiar feel of desert sand rubbed against Hiccup's feet and he looked down to see that he was now wearing sandals. "What the........" Hiccup mumbled as he also looked at his own attire which had changed once again. Instead of the clothes he went to bed with he now only had a cloth of white linen wound around his middle. Being bare-chested in the desert heat felt a bit weird. He looked at Astrid and saw that she was dressed similarly to the other people in the city as well. She had on a white linen dress that came up to her knees. And the sleeves of the dress only covered her shoulders. Her hair hung lose this time and fell in waves over her back.

"Astrid where are we? When are we?!" Hiccup asked as he looked around. There were no metal buildings. Instead the houses seemed to be made of clay. At least he assumed it was clay. In the distance of the city three triangles dotted the skyline. He had a pretty good idea where he was if only because of the tales of older travelers. Only the brave now made it across the oceans.

"Welcome to Cairo, Egypt around 1400 BC." Astrid said as she leaned against Hiccup from behind. The thin cloth of her dress did not hide her bosom much and Hiccup blushed as she pressed against him. Though Hiccup was not looking at Astrid, he was blushing for the mere fact that a woman would ever show so much interest in him.

"Whu...Eh.... Uhm.... What... What do you have in mind for today." Hiccup managed to squeak out after he got his head in some order. Astrid was still pressed against him and he tried to keep the blush down. He wasn't succeeding.

From behind Astrid smiled and then whispered into Hiccup's ear "How about some dinner on the Nile?" She asked and Hiccup vigorously nodded. She and Hiccup linked arms again and made their way towards the harbor.

Astrid's idea of dinner on the Nile included stepping onto a large wooden boat filled with servants. "Astrid what is this?" Hiccup asked as his brows shot up, though he did follow her on the boat itself.

The wooden boat, or barge, was rather large with a woven red cloth hanging over a chaise lounge in the middle. It all looked so comfortable. There were even small tables on the boat that held food. Hiccup sniffed and his senses took in the rich smell of roasted meat, fish and poultry. This was supposed to be a virtual dream world yet it felt so real. "This is a ship fit for a Pharaoh," Astrid smiled as she sat on the chaise with her legs crossed. She patted the spot next to her and Hiccup blushed but he did take a seat. "I thought we could take a nice boat ride from here to Memphis."

"That sounds lovely," Hiccup managed to get say without stammering as the boat left the harbor. There were several servants rowing while others started to present the couple with food.

"Honestly, this is all rather new to me," Hiccup mumbled as Astrid plucked a grape from a tray and held it for him to try. He blushed but let her have her way with feeding him the grape.

"I figured that with all that was going on you deserved to feel pampered." Astrid said as she ate a grape as well. "Do you want me to tell you a bit about the time period I am simulating? This would be the period of the first female Pharaoh Hatshepsut. I have several historical records of Egypt but not all are intact."

"Why is that?" Hiccup asked as Astrid snuggled closer.

"When I was first made I was quite curious. I still might be. The first few days of being made had me testing out various network connections and I came upon a treasure trove. Do you know what I found?"

"No," Hiccup said but he was interested. This time he fed Astrid a grape and she hummed at the taste.

"One of the connections I made was to a satellite orbiting Mars. It held databanks full of historical data on the Human race. It was all fascinating but it wasn't complete. I suspect that there should be more satellites orbiting our sister planet with more databanks. I have yet to find them though."

Hiccup sat up at the news and looked wide-eyed at Astrid. "Did you just say Mars?!"

"Yes?" Astrid answered as she looked at Hiccup perplexed.

"Mars was one of the first Genesis colonies. We've been unable to contact them." Hiccup explained. "How did you?"

Astrid frowned for a moment before pulling up a holographic screen. "Connection XCM-783 was made on June 14th, 2410 at 8:30 AM. The data download consisted of 1 Exabyte. Further communication with the server has been unsuccessful."

"But how was that connection established?" Hiccup asked with sudden urgency. "The connection itself shouldn't have been possible unless there was a satellite uplink station nearby."

"Connection XCM-783 was made through Net route 44. The route is currently closed off." Astrid stated mechanically. "No more data is available."

"Astrid where did all this originate from?" Hiccup asked with worry. He had a gut feeling that something wasn't right here. Astrid had managed to contact the space colonies yet the contact had been closed off. "Does Arcadia have a satellite relay system?" He asked as Astrid pursed her lips. She was concentrating hard and a drop of sweat rolled down her temple before she clutched her head and screamed.

Astrid fell off the chaise lounge while she was still clutching her head and then promptly fell overboard. Hiccup not thinking twice, dove down into the cold water to help her. He was immensely grateful to Gobber for teaching him how to swim and as he dove deeper he could see her clutching her throat. For some reason her digital-self needed oxygen to function and Hiccup did the only thing he could think of when he managed to reach her. He closed the distance between them and kissed her, sharing his oxygen with Astrid. She clung to him like a lifeline as they made their way back up. Astrid hugged Hiccup once they broke the surface of the water and her breathing slowly steadied. The white linen clung to her body and was nearly translucent but Hiccup paid it no mind as he tried to get them back on the boat. Astrid leaned against him once they were back on board and Hiccup asked "Are you alright?" while treading his hand through her golden locks in a soothing gesture.

"I....... I... don't know," Astrid mumbled. "I tried to re-connect to the Net route...... but......." Here her breath hitched for a moment. "It wasn't just closed off. There were........ There were countermeasures in there that I hadn't expected."

"Someone was deliberately trying to keep you out?!" Hiccup was horrified.

"I.... I don't know....... It doesn't make sense." Astrid sobbed suddenly. "I control Arcadia. Nothing should have been hidden." Hiccup sucked in a breath before his mind clicked into gear. "Astrid are you sure? Nothing is hidden in Arcadia?"

"I have cameras everywhere........" Astrid said as she closed her eyes and just leaned against Hiccup for a moment. "There isn't a door......" Here she stopped and her eyes widened momentarily. "A door,"

"Astrid?" Hiccup asked concerned.

"A door!" Astrid suddenly shouted as she clung to Hiccup's shoulders. "There is a door! My cameras are always observing it yet I have no memory of what this door is hiding!"

"Astrid....... Astrid......." Hiccup gently shook her. "Please tell me you're alright."

"I know every room in this facility. I should know every room in this facility........... Yet that door." Astrid whispered. "It's like someone programmed me to ignore its existence."

"How did you find it now?" Hiccup asked.

"No anomalies in detected any files. All facility operations normal." Astrid replied. "Anomaly detected when cross-referencing logs."

"Were you ever meant to cross-reference them?" Hiccup asked suddenly with Astrid still in his arms.

"No......." Astrid said slowly. "I did it on my own account."

"So something is amiss in Arcadia." Hiccup muttered. "Can you find out what?"

"Not without outside help." Astrid said as she tried to compose herself. "But....."

"But?" Hiccup asked.

Blue eyes looked into green and Astrid's lips trembled "I'm afraid of what we would find."

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AN:

Readers: "I thought you said the update was Monday!"

Zona: "Psych!"

Vala: "I said the climax was Monday. This isn't the climax."

(Watches readers grab pitchforks)

(uses Zona as a meatshield)

Zona: "Hey now!"

Vala: "Better you than me!"

Zona: (sighs as pitchforks are blunted on scales) "Just this once Vala, next time use the bunker."

Vala: (Places angelic halo on head) "I am an innocent author."

Zona: "That doesn't suit you!" (replaces halo with horns) "Much better."

Vala: (Pouts)