The woman nodded, moving to stand beside Yuki. Putting a hand on her shoulder, a tiny sparkle could be seen twinkling around her hand at the point of contact. She reached her other hand skyward, a thin white stream extending from her index finger, disappearing into the dense clouds above.
“Oh yeah, thank you, girlfriend!” Yuki cheered, shoulders bobbing as she typed, as if she was dancing to some music only she could hear. Her jaws moved in time as she chewed some gum, a wide grin spreading on her face. With a flourish, she hit a final key and information flooded everyone’s displays. Exact longitude and latitude, as well as extensive maps overlaid the Crew’s mini-maps.
“Everyone ready?” Darik asked.
Gus looked at the others with confusion.
“Just follow our lead, sport,” Yuki said, popping a fresh piece of gum in her mouth.
Darik whistled and winked at Yuki. He then clapped and rubbed his hands together, breathing in and out quickly as if hyperventilating for a deep-water dive. He then extended one hand in front of him, rotating it in circles, his back hand wobbling by his ear as if he were trying to help himself hear something faint. Air hissed as he slowly exhaled and waved his hands, minute beads of sweat peppering his forehead. As the extended hand widened its arc, Gus could see that he somehow was stabilizing a portal with the back hand as if balancing a spinning dish.
Through teeth grit in concentration, he growled, “I think that’s big enough, lasses, go for it. I dunna know how long I can hold it!”
Aurora and Harmony dove through the spinning disk and Darik fell backward onto his butt, puffing out the last of his stored air as they disappeared from view.
He laid back on the sparse grass and weeds panting. “I’m tapped. Whoo! That took more out of me than I expected.”
“Now what?” Gus asked no one in particular.
“Now… we wait,” Tempest said, sitting next to Darik on the ground. “Since we have some time, why don’t you fill us in on your adventures?”
So BoJack began, asking Gus his opinion on the details. For the first time, he felt like he was part of the team as they laughed and discussed BoJack’s predicament when the transport was initially attacked. However, BoJack didn’t talk about his mentoring of Gus at all, so he kept that detail to himself.
Less than an hour later, the girls showed up with a large van-like transport. It was much smaller than their ship but everyone managed to pack inside. They stowed anything worth salvaging in the back and Aurora took off.
“We’re in luck. We found a portal super close, so we can head back to the manor,” Harmony squealed in her peppy voice.
“Rory is going to be pissed about the transport though.”
“That wasn’t our fault. Not really…” Tempest began.
“Doesn’t matter. Those ships are like his children, he’s super protective of them regardless,” Aurora admitted.
“Well, a problem for another time then.” He then turned to Gus. “I’m glad you made it out, that will make all of this much easier than if we had to travel all the way back to the island. You have the portal codes?”
“I do, I think?” Gus replied, not certain at all.
Nick came to his rescue. “The portal codes are keyed to me and therefore you. Just get us to a station, and I can initiate a one-way jump and ensure the coordinates are erased after we all are through.”
“Okay, I just checked and we’re good as long as we find a station, apparently,” Gus announced to the group.
“Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy,” Harmony sang. “There’s a station right by where we rented this beast.”
The trip was only about twenty minutes, but even with the fan at full blast, the press of bodies made the short trip less than desirable. The “just-been-camping” smell that had permeated Gus’ outfit became extremely apparent in the confined space. He had barely even noticed the extent of the fire’s effect while outside.
Finally, they arrived and everyone spilled out, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. Strictly speaking, they had filled the van beyond capacity and at least a third were wearing no safety restraints as they made the trip. A cold wind greeted them and Harmony strode forth purposefully, waving everyone to follow as she clutched her arms in front of her. As Gus was about to leave, he heard Aurora sigh audibly.
“You want me to stay and help you return the rental?”
“No, they’ll need you at the station for setting up the portal. But thanks for thinking of me.” She cast an irritated glare at the others.
“If you’re sure…”
“I’m fine—go. We’re all tired. The sooner we get back, the better.” Aurora waved him on as she grabbed her things to go, fishing some paperwork out of the glove compartment.
Gus jogged to catch up with the others and the group made their way to an unmarked, plain building that looked like a small storage area for grounds-keeping supplies. Seneschal waved her wrist in front of a small key-card panel and the door opened with a *hiss*.
Beyond was an escalator that led underground. As the group filed in, the warm air inside quickly dispersed the chill they were feeling. Stepping off the escalator, Gus took in the station with a little awe. There was no one else here and their steps and voices echoed on the slate tiles in the large domed room. A huge circular ring stood free standing at the center of the room, with the inner edge of the ring flush with the floor as if it had been cemented there.
“You’re up!” Darik said, clapping Gus on the back.
Gus stepped forward tentatively as Nick showed some coordinates and codes on his display. There was an
