Aloha, and Welcome to Marraketh
by Maruchan
Maruchan popped into the dimensional research room just in time
to be run over by a frantic-looking Nexxus. "Where do I..." she started
to ask.
"Go! Over there, back of Theseus!" Nex yelled over the humming
of the room, pointing at a man in a line of people standing in front of
the gate. Maruchan hurried over and got behind Theseus, brushing him
slightly. "Sorry 'bout that!" she apologized. Theseus turned around.
He looked like a Smurf through her purple-tinted glasses. "I'm
Maruchan," she said, smiling apologetically.
"Theseus," he answered, grinning.
"Happy?" Maruchan looked at him curiously. "What are you
smiling about?"
"Oh...nothing." He tried to smile mysteriously.
Maruchan shrugged. "Well, it was unusually nice to meet you."
"Likewise." Theseus nodded and turned back around.
[Damned crazy-looking dude,] Maruchan thought, and turned her
attention to the gate in front of her.
Intimidating. All Maru could see was a jumble of wires and
machinery. That, and Theseus's backpack. Being short had its
disadvantages, especially when everyone else was at least a foot
taller. She *could,* however, see Nexxus talking to a guy at the
controls, the same one who had given the briefing. She had heard
someone call him Mal, which meant he was the High Councillor. [Dammit,
I really should know this already.] She made a mental note to explore
the base when she got back - she hadn't been around since VRDET was
founded.
Nexxus disappeared, and popped into existence near Maru,
startling her. "Okay, people, let's go!" she yelled, and walked into
the gate. Maru watched the people ahead of her walk into the gate and
disappear. A man she knew to be Calculus; a tall skinny man; then
Theseus.
She was next. Now that she was up close, the gate reminded her
of the third gateway in _The_Neverending_Story._ She half expected the
light in it to flash out and hit her, but stepped up to the platform. A
strong wind blew her hair back - perhaps from the fans placed around the
gate - and she could smell ozone, or maybe it was smoke...
[Can't turn back now,] she thought, and stepped into the gate.
"Oof."
Maru slogged through the sand over to the nearest rock and sat
down. Teleportation was fine when you did it yourself, but with the
gate, and being between dimensions instead of in one, well...
She scanned the immediate area. They were on a white-sand beach
of some sort, no different from the ones at home. Nexxus was a little
ways off, looking impatiently at the gate. Calculus and the tall guy
were setting up some kind of equipment. Theseus was sitting on a rock
near Nexxus. There were two more people walking away from the gate, a
woman with two backpacks, and a man wearing a polyester disco-suit type
shirt.
Five minutes passed, and Maru realized they were still missing
some people, one of them the XO of the mission. Nexxus was trying to
keep calm, but Maru could tell she was getting worried.
"Where the hell is everyone else?!" Nexxus frowned impatiently.
Several people answered this question with a worried look. The woman
with the backpacks and the disco-dude were talking together with the air
of experience. Maru guessed they were probably R&D techies. "Okay, no
panic, it's probably just a small delay, someone probably freaked out
and they'll be here any minute," Nexxus said, mostly to herself.
"I wonder if the gate's stable." The tall guy put down a piece
of equipment and walked over to Nexxus. "How long can Mal hold it
open?"
"Come on, we haven't got all day!" Nexxus pouted at the gate.
In retaliation, the gate shivered and disappeared into thick air.
Nexxus looked alarmed, then immediately turned and ran towards
Calculus. "Cal, can we get a confirmation on their location? Are they
still at HQ?" she asked.
"That's a negative," Calculus replied. "The connection with HQ
was severed when the gate shut down." Maru frowned. That meant they
were on their own, at least for the time being...
Nexxus screeched loudly, startling everyone. She grabbed the
tall guy's hand. "Phoe, you come with me!" she commanded. "Everyone
else follow through with the plan, Calculus is in charge. Stick
together and avoid running into any more people than you have to. Phoe
and I will start looking for the others, assuming that they are here and
not dead or stuck in limbo somewhere." The two grabbed their equipment
and hurried down the beach out of sight.
Maruchan walked over to Theseus. "How does Nexxus know where to
look?" she asked, not expecting Theseus to know.
Theseus shrugged and bent down to draw in the sand with his
fingers. "I'm sure she'll figure something out. She's good at this
sort of thing."
Maruchan nodded. "What's that?" she asked, looking down at the
oblique figure in the sand.
Theseus looked surprised. "I...I'm not sure..."
Maruchan shrugged and sat down next to him on the rock. The
other rangers were talking together quietly. Several minutes passed.
Finally Calculus stood up. "I know that nobody's sure what the other
group is doing. However, we will be leaving in fifteen minutes,
regardless of whether the other group is here or not."
Maruchan sighed and began packing.
To be continued...