Zeplynn stepped off the ship to the 5 Sisters of Fate and the Lord Councilor standing in a semi-circle waiting for the door to open.

       "Travia!" Zeplynn cried delightedly. "I haven't seen you for so long." she surged forward and hugged her cousin. "How have you been?"

       Travia returned the hug, "You look wonderful, Lil one." she held her back and looked her up and down. "You are so beautiful," she sighed.

       Todd Garret emerged, glancing around suspiciously before stepping down. He spotted the Lord Councilor and moved towards him with a grim expression.

       Kilshraya went to the ramp, "Come out of there, Scarecrow!" she raged.

       Enderheim appeared, his face blank. "I've asked you not to call me that," he said, stumbling slowly past her, unseeing.

       "What's the matter with you?" Locura called to his retreating form.

       Enderheim glared back, his face dark and unhappy. He made a shooing gesture behind him but kept moving, shaking his head from side to say as if to rid himself of something. He disappeared through the door to their quarters, still mumbling and shaking his head.

       Kilshraya turned to Zeplynn, her eyes flickering with flecks of red and gold. "What's wrong with him?" she hissed. "What did you do?"

       "Well, how would I know?" Zeplynn blinked innocently. "You're the ones who made him like that."

       Meanwhile, Todd Garret had quietly pulled Swaggart aside and whispered recent events in his ear. Swaggart nodded slowly, trying to listen to both conversations at once.

       "I like your dress," Aurara fingered the material with her fingers. "How did you get it?"

       "I bought it with numbers from Amok," Zeplynn turned this way and that, posing. "They have places called 'stores' where you can get all sorts of stuff. "Amok told me that if I ever wanted anything, all I had to do is put in these numbers. He said he had a chunk of something called a World Bank or some such, I dunno." she twirled her perfect blond hair absently for a second.

       "Oh ... My... God," Swaggart's mouth hung open.

       Todd's eyes narrowed, and he eyed his friend judiciously. "What did she say?" he whispered harshly. "They're talking in that language our implants can't translate. How can you understand them?"

       "We need to talk," Travia grabbed Zeplynn by her elbow. "In the lounge. You're going to tell us, step by step, how you broke Enderheim.

       Halfway there, the whole station suddenly vibrated under their feet. Zeplynn, startled, jumped straight into the air. Travia grabbed her ankle and pulled her down before she flew away in the low gravity.

       "What was that?" Zeplynn's eyes were round with wonder. She looked down.

        Kilshraya waved casually. "That's the new smith," she said, pulling Zeplynn towards the door to their quarters. "You'll get used to it."

       Todd elbowed Swaggart and whispered fiercely, "We need to get in there and stop whatever this is. They talked in that language, the one our implants can't translate, but whatever she said shook him to his boots."

                                                                                              .................................................

       "We're in the middle o' nowhere, sir," Stanton called as he leaned against the tiller. "There's nothing out here's far as the eye can see. What are ye a-lookin' fer?"

       "An Aperture, Mr. Stanton," Amok stood in the bow with his telescope extended. He cast back and forth for several moments and stopped. Without taking his eyes from the scope, he waved to his left. "A little more to port. We're almost there."

       Shaking his head wonderingly, Stanton leaned on the tiller a little, and the nimble craft complied. Suddenly, the blue aura of the shield bubble surrounding them intensified.

       "Hold us right here," Amok set down the scope and picked up a peculiar-looking device that looked like a crossbow with wires extended outward like cat whiskers.

        A light grayish ring appeared in the space just before them. At the same time, the surrounding area began to ripple and wobble all around them.

       "Sir," Stanton breathed in an awed whisper... "In the name of Morrigan, what is that?"

       It's an Aperture Mr. Stanton," Amok was busily stowing away the crossbow device into a hardshell leather case. He went back to his seat and picked up a long staff with an orange jewel on top. "Into a pocket Universe. That's a little over-simplified, but that's basically what they are."

       "Like a wormhole, sir?" Stanton scratched his head.

       Amok laughed lightly. "There are no wormholes, Mr. Stanton, despite your mathematicians and theorists efforts to prove there is. Different areas of space have different mass densities depending on how the area is clustered. The gravity waves fluctuate wildly. It would be nice, though. Our teleport Hubs use enormous amounts of power to maintain."

       "You mean the disks?" Stanton was frowning.

       "No," Amok grunted, looking into the widening gap with his telescope. "There are 9 Teleport Hubs throughout our space. Enderheim calls them "Dial a Gate. You can jump to almost anywhere from one of the central hubs, even into another universe entirely."

       "Okay," Amok collapsed his telescope and stowed it in a pocket of his robe. "The opening is big enough for us to fit through," he turned and started heading back to his chair. "Give me a second to ...." he frowned suddenly. "Mr. Stanton?"

       Stanton's face had turned white. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. He pointed weakly towards the bow.

       Alarmed, Amok turned to see what Stanton was pointing at.

       A huge tentaclelike appendage was squirming at the opening aperture, frantically trying to squeeze itself out.

       Amok watched the struggling creature with a surprised look. Suddenly, his mouth twisted into a grin of sardonic amusement.

       "Well, hello there," he said as if greeting an old friend. Opening his robe, he dug in the watch pocket of his jeans. "How did you get trapped in there?" He slipped a ring on his finger and held it up. "Come on," he said coaxingly, "It's okay, it's okay. Good boy. Wow!" he remarked, looking up. "You're a big one, aren't you? How long you been stuck in there?"

       The Snath that popped out was fully half a kilometer from tip to tip. It hovered before the tiny craft; its attention fixed wholly on Amok and the ring he wore.

       The scene held for several moments, and the Snath started moving away. Amok watched it go, a small smile on his face. "You're quite welcome," Amok said gently. "Safe travels to you too, old fellow."

       "Close your mouth, Mr.Stanton," Amok laughed once. "You're drawing flies. Take us in."

       Stanton closed his mouth with an audible snap, his eyes showing white all around. He looked down and fumbled around in his haste. "Aye, sir, aye." he moved the tiller slightly and the little boat eased forward.

       Amok stood at the side, one hand on the bottom spar where the grey sail was attached. As the ship went through, the sail rippled and warped. Amok hung on grimly, his hand and most of his forearm glowing with bluish energy. The sail settled when they were fully through.
       Amok let go of the sail with a happy sigh of relief. He pulled out his telescope and sat back in his chair. He swept the telescope around for a few seconds and stopped suddenly. He pointed. "That way."
       "If'n ye dinna mind me askin'," Stanton's accent was thick. "What was that?"

       "Huh?" Amok's brow furrowed as he continued to look through his scope. "That was a Snath, Mr. Stanton. You never saw a Snath before?"

       "Can't say as I have, sir," Stanton replied stonily. "Certainly not from that angle. I think I'd a remembered if I had."

       "My apologies, Mr. Stanton," Amok chuckled deep in his throat. "I sometimes forget you're a human and haven't seen anything of our culture."

       "I'm not sure, sir," Stanton laughed. "I think I've just been insulted."

       Amok laughed with Stanton. "Not at all, Mr. Stanton, not at all. Quite the opposite, I assure you."

       Stanton was looking up. "I see what you mean, sir," he said wonderingly. "This space is different. I can't say exactly how. It's as beautiful as home space, but the texture is..."

       "I know what you mean," Amok growled. "It gives me the creeps too. I never liked it around here."

       "Beggin' yer pardon, sir," Stanton was irritated. " But, what are we a doin' out here? Tryin' ta scare me to death to top off our vacation?"

       "No, but I'd consider it as a bonus," Amok laughed. "No, we're out here because of what Locura and the Lord Councilor said." he looked through his scope again. "I was all through here about 300 years ago," he musingly. "There were no Snath when I closed it all down." he cradled his chin, thinking furiously.

       "The Snath have no concept of time like we do," Amok chewed his lower lip.  "But from the size of it and all these rich asteroids in here, I'd guess it's been stuck for 150, maybe 200 years. Without another Snath around, they just get bigger and stronger and meaner. That's one of the biggest brutes I've ever seen."

       "I thought it was gonna swallow us, boat and all," Stanton shivered. "Like Cpt Ahab."

       "It would have passed us by," Amok shrugged. "There's no metal on this craft. Plus, I have my ring. It tames them as soon as they see it. Gifts from the High Ones to help us do our jobs." he snorted bitterly. "It came in handy this time, though. Wild ones can lash out at objects they don't understand. It could have gotten dicey. This boat has a beach towel for armor and not even spitballs for weapons."

       They flew along for nearly an hour, with Stanton at the tiller and Amok calling directions.

       "We're almost there," Amok gazed through the scope. "Here," he said, handing the scope to Stanton. "You take this, and we swap seats. I'm a little more used to maneuvering this boat, and it gets tricky in a few minutes."

       Stanton took the scope gratefully. He'd feel much better with Amok piloting in this hellish looking place. He looked through the scope, and his eyes widened. "Sir? Is that what I think it is?"

       Amok chuckled. "Yes. Besides myself and Enderheim, you are the only person that's seen it that I know of."

       "It's incredible," Stanton cried as they rapidly approach. He set the scope down and stood looking up and up till he almost fell back in his chair."

       Before them, hanging in space, was the dark grey statue of a man standing at the top of a great pinnacle, holding a long black sword aloft, as if pointing to something far distant.

       Amok carefully eased the tiny boat until it was aligned with the hilt of the sword. Sighting along the edge of the weapon, he started moving in the direction the sword pointed.

       Amok stood and retrieved the scope from Stanton, "Steady as she goes, Mr. Stanton. Amok tramped forward and opened the case containing the crossbow like device. He lashed it to the short bowsprit with a cord and picked up his staff. He picked up the scope, casting about quickly. "Okay, Mr. Stanton, that should be close enough in 3... 2.... 1 ... all stop. That'll do fine."

       The orange jewel suddenly started flashing all colors of the spectrum like a high-intensity strobe light. Amok touched the jewel to the probe device on the front. The probe emitted an orangeish red beam outward for 500 yards and seemed to stop. The ray bisected, and both beams and made a giant circle. The beams bisected once more straight down the middle. When the glare faded, a giant circular doorway hung in space before them.

       "Take us in, Mr.Stanton," Amok stepped forward and unlashed the scanning device. He stowed it back in its case. He took the case and stashed it away under the tiny bench that also served as a seat.

       Stanton felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck as he gazed in wonderment. "Aye, sir."

       "Slowly, Mr. Stanton," Amok held out a palm turned down. He made wavy motions of caution. "I've only been in here a few times with Enderheim. The lower levels are unexplored, and there are traps everywhere."

       "I thought this was yours, sir," Stanton raised his eyebrows.

       "Partly," Amok was sweeping his scope this way and that, "The statue is one of Enderheim's creations, pointing the way to this portal. Who or what built this Data Repository remains a mystery. It took us a long time to figure out how to activate all the systems."

       "A Data Repository?" Stanton scratched his ribs. "Fer what?"

       "Good question," Amok remarked, using the scope to scan the misty gloom beneath them. "The data is indecipherable, but we found that there are 2500 more of these bubbles interconnected by apertures like the one we entered through. I have the equivalent of the Tapestry in this structure. It will save us the trouble of going to each bubble to see what's in there.

       Presently, out of the gloom appeared a pier. Stanton docked the tiny craft. Amok, surrounded by a blueish aura, jumped out and tied the boat to a bollard. Stanton stood up and started forward. Amok waved him back. He tried to shout, but there was no air between him and Stanton to carry the sound.

       Stanton sat, having seen Amoks personal shield in action when they were sifting through the wreckage for May Bell, waved to Amok, calling. "I'll wait here," he moved his mouth slowly and pointed to his seat.

       Amok nodded that he understood and gave him a gesture with his thumb and forefinger to say okay and then held up one finger to tell Stanton to wait one moment. He vanished, teleporting to somewhere deep in the structure.

       Stanton only waited for maybe a minute, and there was a giant clanging sound that reverberated through him. The mist swirled all around and dissolved.

       Amok appeared, walking towards the boat on the pier. He waved his arms at Stanton to follow him. "Life Support is up and running," he called loudly. "C'mon! It's safe."

       Stanton jumped to his feet and grabbed his twin hammers. 'Now, this is more like it," he thought, grinning.

 

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