The Sands of Time Ch 30

 

They floated through water. The way to Farpoint  Station was elegantly simple. A tube connected Harmony-1 with the great base at the bottom of the sea- a tube filled with water and pressure controlled. The descent was leisurely- it took about two hours. Even Howie joined them, encased in a force bubble that kept him dry. Only Maia had been able to coerce him into it. 

Him? Joon wondered. He still didn't know if Howie was a him, or an it, or what. He shrugged. Didn't matter. Did he even breath? Joon had no idea. 

The view was breathtaking. Marine life in abundance- many of the creatures they saw were unlike anything he had seen on Earth. Which, he thought, made sense. And yet there were some similarities. Cetacean- like creatures, some odd jellyfish looking things, and fish. Fish were universal, he supposed. He wondered again at the technology that made all this possible. The tube, the sheer immensity of the domes... they didn't have anything like this on Earth. Sure, the complex was there. Sanctuary. But that wasn't technically on Earth.  And he marveled at how he could be in Command and be clueless about all this. 

Hillier was quiet. That worried him. Not for the first time he wondered if he had made a mistake bringing her along. Or was she a her? Was it a mistake letting her retain Hillier's form? He didn't know what she was. Her true form he'd seen briefly, once or twice- he was sure she was female- but he knew zilch about her. Apparently Stella knew more- enough to know that inhibitor collars would work. He wondered how many Intruders Stella had tortured to figure that out. 

Hillier sensed him looking in her direction and smiled at him. 

Maia swam over and brushed his arm. He grinned at her and put his arm around her. He no longer cared about hiding their relationship. Everyone knew about it now anyway. They continued to float downward, and eventually lights came into view. The ocean of course got darker as they descended, but the lights of Farpoint Station grew brighter as they approached. The station itself was a series of underwater domes, quite large though not as immense as Harmony, with the tube descending into the heart of the largest dome. The various structures were connected by covered walkways. Joon thought hamster tubes for a second- and there were submarine like craft around. 

The tube debouched into an airlock structure, and the water slowly drained away as they acclimated themselves. A sphincter type door whooshed open and they emerged, dripping wet, into a larger chamber. There were several people waiting for them, including a distinguished looking man with silver hair, holding a clipboard and a portable screen and apparently trying to read both. Leo Valerus, Joon assumed. 

"This structure was here before we were," Valerus explained. They were in his office, trying to pay attention and not be distracted by the sea life visible through the transparent ceiling and walls. "The bones of it, anyway. We've built around it and added things, but we don't have the technology for this. At least not entirely." He smiled indulgently at Hillier, who had her feet up on his desk. 

"Poseidon is the most advanced operating base we have," he continued. "I've been here almost a year now. Stella keeps pestering me to return, but where else would I be? I can do my work here, and I'm only a gateway away. Although I understand we're having problems. You're not here to sightsee, or listen to me ramble, are you? 

"No, sadly," replied Joon. "This is fascinating, and I'd love to learn more. Stella, however, feels the Gate needs to be closed, due to... cosmic horrors coming through, or that may come through. We've had more Incursions. The base is in rough shape. Dimensional convergence, Mallory says. And the Directorate is being... uncooperative." 

"How is Mallory, by the way?"

"She's good. Running herself ragged but hanging on." 

"Well, she's in a tough spot. Stella is an able administrator and also hard to work with. Part of the reason I'm here." 

"What is your take on the Gate?"

"Right to the point. Well, just as well. My point is simply this. We have thousands of people, bases... the resources. If you shut the Gate and can't reopen it, that's all gone. At the same time, you have danger and dimensional chaos. It's an impossible choice. My counsel is... try to find a way to stabilize the Gate, so we can continue our work, not to mention exploring the multiverse. But if we can't then we may have no choice. If Stella is right about her cosmic horrors. I assume that's why she's here?" he motioned to Hillier. 

"Yes," replied Joon. 

"How exactly did you secure their cooperation?"

"They didn't," replied Hillier. 

"Hence the collar," he observed. 

"Another indignity that will be addressed." 

"Wise to bring her," he told Joon. "Do you know their history?"

"A little. Between her and Stella..."

Hillier laughed. 

"Well, she can certainly enlighten us. I'm sorry for what's happened to you, by the way. Although you have killed many of us in indiscrimate fashion, you have been poorly used as well."

She dismissed him with a snort. 

"At any rate," he continued, "let's get to the point. We have to stabilize the Gate, if we can." 

"How exactly," Joon asked, "have we been using it and now we can't? 

"For the simple fact," Valerus stated, "sabotage." 

5 HOURS AGO

 

They stood before the Gate as it hummed, arcs of lightning playing around the edges, and world after world revealing itself to them. Normally the Gate stayed inert until activated, but it was a loose cannon now. Showing them worlds beyond imagination. Other planets, other times. To step through might be to be lost. Forever. Mallory told them that typically they could control the Gate, for the most part. Not now. 

She was, however, hopeful that they could still manage it long enough to get them to Poseidon safely. An 80% chance, she figured. Not the worst odds. She was at the control panel now, the arcs of lightning reflecting in her goggles. 

It was now. Or never. 

There was a misty view facing them within the Gate, and then a mix of colors as Mallory adjusted controls. When she gave the word they stepped through. There were no goodbyes. This would either work or it wouldn't. 

There was a flash, a feeling of disorientation and nausea- almost vertigo. Then the sunlight was blinding and the crash of waves filled their ears. They were there. 

Poseidon.