“Great,” said Mari, as she pulled herself up.
“Pardon me if I’m not reassured,” said Mari.
Up in the cockpit, Mari was about to ask Zane something, but the question died in her throat as she got a look outside the window.
There was a massive octagonal ring out before them, large enough to fit a ship three times the size of Songbird through, and behind it, space seemed to be distorted, colored lights shimmering into view and fading away, almost like an aurora.
Zane was already engaged in a conversation with somebody.
Zane nodded, and sat back, starting to tap out a few commands and realign the ship slightly.
On the other side of the ship, Ash was communicating with the technicians on the other side of the Lahmu gate, providing them with a series of coordinates.
Not sure what else to do, Mari took up the seat next to Zane’s and buckled in.
“Nervous about the gate?” said Zane.
Jayna sat down next to her.
“How would I get seasick? We’re in space,” said Mari, as the songbird started to vibrate.
If Zane had an answer to her question, he didn’t have time to share it, as the aurora in the middle of the gate turned into a spiral. Zane pressed a switch, and Songbird began to proceed through the gate.
There was nothing that could have adequately prepared Mari for her first time through a wormhole. THe other three had attempted, but it was something foreign. Man had started his space endeavors on a single ship, visiting a single satellite.
Even back then, they all knew that space travel had been about math and physics, and there was one core problem. The more fuel you needed to get further, the heavier your ship became, and so the more fuel you needed. It was a vicious cycle that nearly killed the space program before it had began.
And then they had found the first wormhole. Something that could propel a ship hundreds of light years away. And with that, the boon of terraforming and populating every planet began.
The Lahmu gate was a relatively old one, and one that Songbird used frequently. It was right around a nebula known for its fantastic hues of blue and purple, and so all the light waved at them in cool tones, lapping against the windows of the ship as if the concept of time as a theory became a physcal manifestation.
Mari felt like her body was being turned inside-out, if being turned inside-out tickled instead of hurting. Then there was a sensation like everything being stretched out, like a huge piece of taffy… and then, just as suddenly as it had began, everything snapped back into place. Mari’s head was swimming.
“Everything tastes like chartreuse,” she said, eyes unfocused and head swimming.
A moment passed in silence. Jayna cleared her throat.
“I think she means, where are we going in the Lahmu Sector,” she said helpfully.
“Oh!” said Zane. He tapped a touchscreen on the console and a star system materialized. One little moon had a glowing circle around it.
“It’s just a little moon,” said Zane with a shrug.
“Kind of by accident,” said Zane.
“‘Pokers’?” said Mari, interjecting a bit.
Mari nodded. InPoCo was the closest thing to a universal law-enforcement body that existed, mostly being there to deal with high-profile crimes that spanned multiple galaxies, as well as enforce the odd trade embargo.
The rest of the ride was rather uneventful. Mari watched as Exeter grew more expansive, the light blue orb becoming all encompassing the closer they traveled.
After a few moments a chime sounded.
“We’ll be staying for a day or two, you’ll have time to check,” said Zane.
“Not wasting any time,” said Ash, scooting back out of the cockpit. Mari watched him go.
“Is he always like that?” she asked.
“They found me in a ditch,” said Zane. Mari gave him a strange look, then looked back to Jayna. She just smiled.