The white tunnels creaked as the sunlight hit them, illumination bringing
the intense heat, muffled only by the ancient reflective coating on the
outside, the a brilliant gold mirror, an ostentatious austerity, while the
interior was the sparse, flat white, utility alone and no quarter given to
comfort. They did their jobs, though, and had for years.

The tunnel ahead opened, a slight hiss at the door as the air pressure
changed. Ray paid it no notice, but Ashanta was still attentive to every
detail. This tunnel smelled ... richer. It looked the same, but the air had
a quality to it that Ashanta could not quite find words for.

Another wait while the door behind them closed, before the door ahead
opened. Ray tried to convince herself that there was no urgency.

The door finally cracked, and the moisture billowed out of the opening, an
invisible hand, the cool moist air flowing into the dry tunnel. Ashanta
gasped in relief, then in awe.

The water lay before them, a perfectly round sea under a sky of gems. They
stood on what seemed to be a high cliff, the grey basalt holding them on a
little spit of land over the sea. The height made Ashanta pause, though
after a moment's math, she had to override her intuition, realizing it was
no more dangerous than a three meter dive would be on Earth. It was an
expanse she wasn't prepared for, and the sky of glittering glass shards was
like nothing else she had ever seen.

"Can we swim?" All traces of anger was gone, and even the usually carefully
measured mystery and intrigue had been erased by awe.

"I didn't bring swim clothes. I could go back ..." Ray started for the door. 

Behind her was a splash. On the little spit of rock, there was a neat pile
of Ashanta's well-worn clothing. She turned back.

Ray peered down into the water, and saw Ashanta bobbing up and down in the
water, her brown skin gleaming against the brilliant blue.

"This is amazing! I thought swimming was as close to weightless as you could
get, but this is ... " She trailed off as she did a leap almost out of the
water before splashing back down gently.

"Come on in!"

"You sure you don't want something to wear?" Ray weilded the offer to go
fetch them as if it were a shield, though she couldn't quite tell what she
was trying to shield herself from.

"Do you think we need them?"

Ray tried to think of a good reason and came up short.

"Just a moment."

She stepped away from the side of the water, out of view and feeling shy.
She squirmed out of the jumpsuit, the humidity making it stick, until it
finally made a red and grey heap beside Ashanta's.

She lept off the spit of land, falling the twenty five meters first flailing
a little, then after a split second, pulling it into some graceful glide.

She slid into the water gently, carrying bubbles with her, the sudden
slowing after the dive tickling her skin and letting them swirl about her
lazily. She was surrounded by brilliant blue. She slowly, slowly rose to the
surface with the bubbles. Everything was new and different and brilliant.