The Sands of Time Ch. 37

 

"We have to go." 

Alarms were flashing. Maia was looking at monitors, trying to deduce what was happening. Hillier calmly began working controls. 

"What are you doing?"

"Buying us time. The asshole jackboots are trying to bring the Gate online so they can murder us. We need to go."

"Can we get out of here before they arrive?" 

"Hopefully. I've delayed them as long as I can. Ready?" 

She made a show of stretching, then proceeded to exit the room, heading for the entry area. 

"Don't forget to dress warm," she said as she donned her parka. 

Joon was struggling with all the papers and things that he'd collected from Valerus, including the crystal. 

"That's inert. Leave it," said Hillier. 

"Can it be... re- energized?"

"I don't think it can," she replied. "Valerus didn't think so," she smirked. 

Maia glowered at her as she tended to Howie. There wasn't much she could do, just try to comfort him. There was no protecting him from the frigid temperatures outside. 

"Horus," Joon muttered. "Should I expect a desert world then?" 

"Of a sort," Hillier replied. "It has varied biomes but where we're going is... dry, yes." 

Joon got his parka on, led the way to through the door into the freezing cold. The wind nearly knocked them off their feet, and Howie wailed. Maia tried to comfort him. They trudged through drifts, approaching the Gate. 

Stella brooded, nursing her mug of coffee as she bathed in the light of the workstations. She was alone in the room. Running the events of the last few hours through her mind. The secure communication from the Directorate had finally come. Director Grant had confirmed some of her worst fears. 

She had not been abandoned. Rather, Grant and others still were in her corner. Although they were decidedly unconvinced about closing the Gate. Too many resources, too many teams out there. An opportunity that could not be duplicated soon. Of course, the price of that was the Incursions. Dimensional instability. Nameless, amorphous things that were so far beyond them as humans were to amoeba. 

At what point do you close the Gate to protect Earth? 

No, the Directorate was at war with itself. They had teams in the past, teams in other places. It wasn't just about artifact retrieval. It was now about... changes. 

She looked up as Mallory came into the room. She rubbed sleep from her eyes and had a mug as well. 

"Can't sleep?" Stella asked. 

Mallory yawned. "No."

Stella took a drink as her friend got situated. 

"Any updates?"

"Not since the last one."

"How do you think Joon's holding up?"

"Who knows? We don't even know where he is." 

"Or when."

"Don't even say that." 

They sat in silence for a time. 

"Valerus was concerned about the risk. He didn't want to abandon the facilities, but he also knew the Incursions showed that we didn't have control. It would take years to ever master that Gate. We may never actually understand it. We're like children," Stella mused. 

Mallory didn't reply. 

"And now I don't know where he is. He'll go for the crystal if he can. Probably figure to secure it in case this all goes sideways. Although if we close it it's not much value." 

"How strong is the faction opposing us?"

"Hard to know. We're supposed to get reinforcements, says Grant. Take the base back, stabilize things, and they'll make a decision. Do NOT close the Gate without prior approval." 

"Even if multi- tentacled cosmic horrors keep appearing?"

"Even if that," agreed Stella. 

"What about our shapeshifters?" 

"A wild card." 

"Can we... use them?"

"We are, to a point. I've closed off sections, tried re- routing. Trying to make things difficult for Rodriguez." 

"The enemy of my enemy...". 

"Yup." 

The air was dry and the sunlight dazzling as they came through. From one world to another. Passing through the immensity of space. Who knew how far they'd come? A cosmic shortcut. Joon was on his third new world since getting up that morning. 

Maia stumbled and and started doffing her parka. They were on a dry, dusty world from the looks of it. Almost like the American southwest. A plain cracked with dry riverbeds and fissures, mountains in the distance. The Gate behind them, shimmering. And before them an adobe like structure, a walled compound with people and animals milling about. 

There were a group of people approaching, and Hillier suddenly changed. She was Valerus now. Maia started to object. 

"Quiet. Go with it," Hillier said. 

Joon glowered but there wasn't time- their welcoming committee was almost there. 

"Don't go off script," he said to her before stepping forward to greet their welcomers. They were a mixed group, five of them led by a woman with long black hair. Two other women and two men, all looking rather warily at them. Two were armed, he noticed. 

The leader introduced herself. 

"Welcome to Horus. We weren't expecting visitors." 

Hillier cut in before he could speak. 

"Rachel," she said warmly. Although to everyone present it appeared as if Valerus were speaking. He came forward and kissed her on both cheeks. "How are you?" 

She smiled, pleased by this. 

"Leo. You're always welcome here. And who's with you?"

"This is Joon. Stella's right hand man." Valerus smiled. "And this is Maia, one of our experts on Gatecraft." 

Maia kept her composure. 

"Is it true what we're hearing?" Rachel asked quietly. "Fighting on Poseidon? Unrest... but, oh, please forgive me. You must be exhausted. Let's get you situated and we can all catch up." 

"Splendid," agreed Valerus, and they led the way to the compound, chatting amiably. 

Joon exchanged a glance with Maia.