988: 988 Of Everything

988 Of Everything

Max pushed the ship to Warp 12 and made his way into empty space, away from any inhabited species, and looked for a good spot to Portal from while he confirmed the safe zone around Absolution.2

There were a lot of Warp trails around, and he didn't want to leave a Portal signature in the middle of one, as it would encourage other ships to think that there was a reason to wait here for a Portal to open so they could save money on a trip home.

That would only mess up traffic in the area even more, and he could tell that his detour had attracted attention from some of the ships who had been further from the mandated stoppage.

Sure enough, as soon as he came to a stop and started to power up the Portal Generator, he started to get messages requesting his destination from ships looking to piggyback on his trip.

Most of them had recognized the design of the Cutter, and Reavers were well known for being able to Portal from any of their major ships.

So, Max sent back the coordinates of Absolution, which eliminated most of the vessels but left two that were headed to nearby systems.

[Please hold for a piggyback trip. We will be there within five minutes.] The cargo freighter pleaded.

[Understood. Make it snappy; we have an Envoy on board with meetings to attend.] Max replied.

That got the ships moving at a much higher speed. Holding up a political meeting for a free ride wouldn't earn their companies any friends, and so much in the Alliance relied on political connections.

Max stabilized the Portal and informed Absolution of the additional ships that would be coming through before them, then settled in to wait for the freighters to arrive.

Nico took the extra time to show Dahlia the details about the cargo freighters and how they lacked the power output to use the same form of transport that the Cutter did despite their massive size.

The girl seemed to be getting more and more nervous as time went on, though, and Nico couldn't see a good reason for it.

"Alright, spill. What is bothering you? Tell me, and I will see if I can fix it." She finally demanded.

"The other place. It's dead. There is nothing there, nothing at all, and it feels like I'm going to fall into the void every time I accidentally look into it.

Um, how do I explain it? It's like standing on the edge of a cliff, and you get that sudden feeling like you're going to fall, even though there is no good reason that you should. Does that make sense?" She asked.

Nico nodded. "I understand the feeling. Vertigo is a strange thing to feel inside a spaceship, but if you can see the empty layer of space, it makes sense. I'm not sure how your vision works, so I'm not sure if you can block it out."

Dahlia considered that for a while, then sighed and closed her eyes, then smiled. "Alright, I think I know how to do this now. It's just a matter of focus. I'm not seeing it with my eyes at all because I can still see it with them closed. If you can give me a moment, I should be alright."

"Tak all the time that you need. I'm sure it's a big adjustment to have nothing in that layer. Almost like going blind." Nico agreed.

"Good to go," Dahlia announced, then suddenly stopped and turned back toward the planet.

"Wait, there is something wrong with the Anomaly. It's leaking energy." She announced in a terrified voice.

[Huntress Khan, be aware something has changed with the Portal. The Envoy says that it is leaking power.] Nico informed the Huntress.

[We're working on analyzing it now. All of the sensors that we left in orbit have cut out, and we are unable to get a proper reading.] Khan replied.

[I suggest you get to orbit, and I will patch you through to the shuttle.] Nico offered.

[I am already on my way to the mothership. Send the patch whenever you have a moment.]

Nico opened a full-speed link to the shuttle's sensors for both herself and Khan while the Envoy waited impatiently, not aware that Nico could communicate silently.

"Sorry, I have a digital communicator, and I was talking to the Hunters on the planet," Nico explained while she tried to make sense of what was going on around the planet on the other side of the Anomaly.

There seemed to be some sort of massive space battle going on, but the combatants weren't visible in either layer of space that they could detect. The effects were visible, though. Asteroids and everything else were being crushed to dust, and the system's outlying planets were not in their calculated positions.

[We are reinforcing the planet's shields, including a thousand layers around this side of the Anomaly. All Hunters retreat from the Anomaly entrance.] Khan ordered.

Nico noted that there seemed to be minimal damage to the other layer of space, which still had objects in their normal positions, so she prepared to power up the ship and have it shift before the damage reached the planet they were on.

The Myceloids seemed to think that this was the rapture, and they were throwing some sort of huge party as the destruction approached.

The spectacle had caught the attention of Max with Khan's first announcement, and now he was preparing them to get as far away from the area as possible as soon as the Portal was clear.

The freighters were thinking the same thing, and they only dropped out of warp a half second before reaching the Portal, which had them pass through well above recommended speeds, but in the situation, they didn't think they would get in too much trouble.

Max moved the Cutter to the far side of the Portal and minimized the size of the opening, leaving just enough for them to see through with their sensors.

[Shifting the shuttle to the other layer in an attempt to save the vessel.] Nico announced.

It couldn't power the barrier from there, but the generators on this side of the Anomaly could do it for a few seconds.

That was all they got, as a distorted shell engulfed the world, the same unnatural portal that the Cathedral ships had used to move about, and the entire planet was sucked out of reality, Myceloids and all.

"Feth." Max sighed, unable to put the spectacle into words.

The planet was gone. Not destroyed, but taken.

Then, a blast of energy rocked the area, throwing the shuttle light years away through the other layer of space and destabilizing the Anomaly, which began to fold in on itself like a piece of origami artwork before collapsing and closing entirely.

[Status] The Alliance military leaders were demanding over and over, with nobody being quite sure who should answer or even how to answer that question.

Finally, it was Nico who took up the task.

[Alliance Security. It is the opinion of the Terminus Trading Company, based on the sensor logs that we have, that the Anomaly has been closed.]

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