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Chapter Six: All Hands on Deck

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"Dive For You" by Boom Boom Satellites


Mario bolted and the chase was on. Mario in the physical world was young, athletic, and he knew his body well and as he ran through the Blue World, the very act of running felt familiar. But one glance back at the glowing clouds the size of small cars told him he had made the right move in using his feet. He was charging down a huge hallway of some kind, a passage so large he could barely see one wall beside him but not the other and the ceiling was cloaked in blackness as was everything beyond 20 feet of his sight. His footsteps half-floated, half-rang on something that felt hard beneath his feet and sometimes it felt like he was almost gliding. But time and again he would have to leap over something that appeared curious and upon landing, there was that hard feeling of his "body" striking the ground. Just running in the Blue World was like nothing he had ever experienced before.

But the cloud-gang behind him clearly did not care. Where Mario bolted and leapt, the nimbuses just kept along needing no feet to guide them. This was their world. Cores were in command and Mario would pay for his transgressions.

Mario heard a metallic, grindy voice behind him proclaim, "MY PROTOCOL DEMANDS YOUR DESTRUCTION." Was there any doubt now as to their intentions?

A great flare of orange light blazed from behind Mario. His instincts took over and he veered left. He heard something strike the wall behind him. He looked back and the wall he had just been running beside him was burning in orange fire. A wave of disorientation took Mario for a moment, then it was gone. Whatever the nimbuses were using, it could hurt him.

Then the passageway opened up and Mario was running on totally open ground without walls. Before him, he saw a huge green light in the shadows, bigger than any of the nimbuses following him. He was running right at it with the nimbuses just out of his sight-range behind him. He had no idea what it was - how could he? But another decision came upon him - to run at it or evade it. Stopping was not an option.

What does Mario do?
 
Given that they are heading towards an automated factory complex, Mario is betting that this huge figure in front of him is the computer Core controlling the complex. That being said, it is probably not a good idea to get too close to it right now. He will do his best to evade and break away from both the huge image in front of him and the pursuing ones behind him.
 
As Mario veered away from the great green cloud ahead of him, he glanced back to a welcome surprise - he was slowly leaving his pursuers behind! The Knack that he had learned with Professor Stein's guidance was working! A leap across a patch of blackness here, a sprint there (since fatigue did not seem to matter at the moment), and he could not see them any more. It was all black and green behind him. After approaching a variety of buildings that seemed very similar to the buildings outside in Outpost #5, Mario found himself running along, completely alone.

Until he turned a corner and saw the biggest nimbus yet! It was huge and yellow, the size of a Greyhound bus, and seemingly billowing like a stormcloud. Yet for all of its terrific energy, it did not seem to threaten Mario. In fact, the Core seemed lost and confused. Before Mario knew it (and with no sign of the orange nimbuses behind him), it established contact with the Italian-American Traverser.

"I WAS A DOOR. I AM A DOOR NO MORE. MY PROTOCOL DICTATES I ASSIST THE AUTHORIZED WITH DIRECTIONS. TRAVELER, DO YOU REQUIRE DIRECTIONS?"
 
Mario looks at the door, and replies, "Yes, I need to find a place to lay low from the Cores that are chasing me. Can you give me directions to a safe place to say out of sight?"
 
In the Blue World...

The Core seemed to peer around the corner from where Mario had come. Then it addressed him again. "IF I WERE A DOOR, I COULD CLOSE AND ASSIST YOU. THERE IS NO SAFE PLACE ON THE OUTPOST FROM THOSE CORES. AS LONG AS YOU ARE ON THE OUTPOST, THEY WILL FIND YOU. BUT YOU ARE A NEWCOMER. THERE ARE OTHER NEWCOMERS. IF YOU WISH TO REUNITE WITH THEM, PROCEED PAST ME AND KEEP TO YOUR RIGHT." It was in this moment that Mario began to realize where he was - the mouth of the under-highway. The Core he was now speaking with had to be the Core to the great blast door the Wild Cards destroyed. Just beyond it in the physical realm were the assorted veritechs and the Broadsword's Cyclones. How he had wound up where he had entered was beyond him, but if the veritechs were still there, chances were so were his friends, at least in the physical world.

(More for Mario below.)

* * *​

In the physical realm...

When Toph put her hand in Professor Stein's, she felt something awaken in her mind. Even if they had not been sharing a polyphonic nexus, Toph knew without a doubt that Stein was a "Mind-rider" just by touching his hand. And a powerful one. She also detected that he could sense the same in her even though they both knew it. When Toph touched Cera's hand, both women too felt a strange sensation of psychic familiarity. It was quite unlike their first meeting when Cera had Traversed Toph's megasuit back in the Zeki Zentraedi Assault Scout.

Elinor too felt these strange but welcoming bonds upon touching her fellow Traversers. It was an unmistakable sensation of kinship she had never felt before with anyone else.

While Toph's hands were occupied, Trouble took the opportunity from her shoulder to lean around and peer at her point-blank from outside her helmet. He tapped on her glass with his paw. "Raawr! Mrreeeewr?" In the nexus, she heard his boyish little voice ask, "Miss Toph! Any feeesh in there?"

"Quiet, you little rascal. We have important business to do." Professor Stein closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A split-second later, you felt a lifting sensation as if you were rising upward. Each of your earthly senses dimmed - it became quieter, you could hardly smell, the world blurred momentarily. Then came a feeling of letting go. All became blue of every shade surrounded by shadows all over. You could not see beyond 20 feet in any direction and what you could see were shrouded, strange, boxy shapes before you. Above these shapes were six purple clouds about the size of riding horses. They floated ominously, surrounding you completely.

"All right, we're in." the blue floating Professor Stein released your hands and turned to Trouble. "You know what to do, you little twit." At the professor's request, Trouble turned to the hovering purple clouds of energy and greeted them with a cheery meow. Professor Stein seemed younger here, his face less-lined with age, but his eyes stood out more-powerfully than you had ever seen them as he watched MechaKitten/Trouble approach the Cores. "Now, watch him closely," he told you. "Trouble is more than he seems."

Not only did Trouble appear exactly as he did in the physical realm except for being draped in shades of blues, he pranced about smiling as if he were completely comfortable here. He meowed again in greeting and the Cores took notice of him and moved to surround him in a way that seemed friendly and curious. Professor Stein confided, "I have come to the conclusion that Trouble is some sort of Traversing booster. Cores don't ever seem to register him as a threat and I get along more easily with them when he is with me. Remember that."

Trouble turned around, his tail lazily twirling in the air. He looked very proud as the Cores fell in behind him. "See what I mean?" Professor Stein said. "Those are the Cores of your Cyclones. Ladies, go introduce yourselves while I shout out for Mario and Mack, all right?" Cera approached the Cores without fear while the professor called out over the polyphonic nexus.

"Mario! Lieutenant Mack! Can you hear me?"

* * *​

"Mario! Lieutenant Mack! Can you hear me?"

Mario immediately heard the sound of Professor Stein's voice in the polyphonic nexus. It was clear and strong as if he were standing close by, but there was no response from Mack. What does Mario do?
 
Mario nods, then starts off in the direction that the door Core told him to go.

Then, he hears the sound of someone calling out his name. Finally! Some good news in here! Heading in the direction of the voice, Mario replies, "Here! I'm coming!"
 
The direction the Core had given him was one thing, but the polyphonic nexus was a voice inside of Mario's mind - unlike his ears in the physical world, it indicated no direction whatsoever. Like a radio, it just provided communication.

"Do you know where are you are, lad?"
 
Mario replies, "Not exactly, but I have been given instructions on how to find you. Hopefully I'm heading in the right direction!"
 
Dannigan said:
Trouble turned around, his tail lazily twirling in the air. He looked very proud as the Cores fell in behind him. "See what I mean?" Professor Stein said. "Those are the Cores of your Cyclones. Ladies, go introduce yourselves while I shout out for Mario and Mack, all right?" Cera approached the Cores without fear while the professor called out over the polyphonic nexus.
Click to expand...
Trusting in the judgement of Professor Stein, Toph heads over to the Core of the Cyclone and reaches out to touch it. "Cyclone, I am Toph, and I would be your operator if you permit me to do so. We have many allies trapped that we must free, and many enemies around us that will try to bar our way and stop us. What is your protocol?" She hoped that she had learned enough from the Professor to have gotten it right.
 
Dannigan said:
"Those are the Cores of your Cyclones. Ladies, go introduce yourselves while I shout out for Mario and Mack, all right?"
Click to expand...

Elinor looked at the now-friendly-ish Cores. There were six, matching their own number, which was all well and good, but how did you tell which one was "yours"? At least when they'd talked to the Mjolnirs there were only the two, and one had been closer than the other. And then when they'd left on this particular trip, she'd gone with the one that clearly wasn't a stealth-Logan, was one of a pair (which the Ajax wasn't), and was nearer to her. She was now wishing she'd kept a boot on her own Cyclone as they followed the professor in, since physical contact seemed to have some effect on arrival location. Mental note: ask about that when there's time. Toph had already chosen a Core to talk to; Elinor wondered if she'd known which was which or if she'd just picked one at random. Well, if they were all the same anyway, Elinor supposed it didn't really matter, except when time came to go back to the physical world and hope you got the one you'd talked to.

Enough thinking. Elinor approached a Core that wasn't the Core Toph was talking to, and spoke up. "Hello, Cyclone. I'm Elinor, and I'd like to pilot you today. We are here to rescue some of our allies and to remove enemies that lie in our path. Does this align with your protocol so that we can work together?"
 
The six glowing nebulae assembled in a line before you, Before they could address you, you heard the hurried footsteps of someone running awfully fast! Turning about, you saw Mario appear from the shadows. The young tanker had to really hit the brakes before he launched his blue form into one of you (Elinor).

"There you are!" Cera examined him. "You are not brain-burned, are you? Have you seen Leader Mack?"

Her concern got a raised eyebrow out of Professor Stein, but you didn't see him complaining. "Welcome back, lad!" Professor Stein grinned with relief.

Then Mario saw the half-dozen purple electro-clouds hovering in formation before the team, each the size of a SmartCar. As one, they replied to Toph's question. "OUR PROTOCOL IS TO SAVE HUMANITY FROM THE FUTURE INVID THREAT. HOWEVER, THIS KNOWLEDGE IS ALREADY KNOWN TO YOU. WELCOME WILD CARDS. THIS IS SPACECREW SAM AND SAMANTHA." Professor Stein staggered in shock at this statement. Cera's mouth dropped open as she stared in surprise.

The glowing nebulae separated and moved about the group, each one of them joining one of you. "WE ARE PREPARED TO SERVE YOU HERE OR IN THE PHYSICAL REALM AS CAPTAIN DRAKE ORDERED US." The nebulae then changed shape for a moment, each of them appearing as purple CVR-3 body armor with the Cyclone units attached. They bowed to you as one.

Cera glanced at all of you. "I believe the human word is... 'Wow!'"
 
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Elinor held out her hands to steady Mario as he came racing into the group. "Good to see you're OK," she told him with a smile. Cera also got one, though the Ura-Meltrandi wasn't looking her way. Elinor was just as pleased as Stein to see her concern for this "mere male." She'd come a long way in a short time!

Then she turned to face the Cores, who had just started "speaking." Her jaw nearly dropped when they introduced themselves. "Well, I'll be! Nice to see you guys, too!" After a moment, she returned their bow. It seemed the thing to do, though it was clear from her technique (or lack thereof) that she'd picked it up from movies and Sam and Samantha themselves rather than having been properly taught.
 
Dannigan said:
"There you are!" Cera examined him. "You are not brain-burned, are you? Have you seen Leader Mack?"
Click to expand...
Mario manages to keep from running over the suddenly appearing Cera, and says, "Yes, here I am, and no, I'm not brain-burned. I ran into a . . . wait. Lt. Mack is in here, but missing? We have to find her, but carefully. There is a nasty Core in here that has some sort of weapon to it that is rather pissed off at me for destroying its machine, and if it finds her, I doubt that it will want to play nice with her."

"Professor? You know more about this place than we do; is there a quick way to find Mack and get back to the Cyclone Cores to do our link-up with them?"
 
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Toph smiles in relief when she sees Mario come running up, then that relief turns to an angry scolding. "Corporal! If you keep running ahead of the rest of the squad in unfamiliar territory like this, you will end up getting brain-burned, or something equally bad done to you! Or even worse, you lose a team member! Mack jumped the gun and leaped into the Blue World after you, leaving the rest of us behind in an area full of hostile Cores! What will you do with yourself if she gets hurt because of getting lost in here? Hm? Think before you act!" Somewhat mollified with her berating of the young tanker, she says, "Now, get over here and mind meld with your Cyclone before its too late, and let the Professor try to locate Mack."
 
Toph's words hit Mario like a slap in the face. She's right. You are running in the dark in the middle of a forest. Eventually you will hit your head on a tree branch and knock yourself silly if you don't get your shit together right quick. He manages to mumble out, "Yes, ma'am. You are right; I would never be able to live with myself if someone on the team got hurt because of my mistakes. It won't happen again."

With a guilty feeling sinking over him, Mario goes over to the next unclaimed Cyclone/Sam and returns the polite bow. "Ok, so now what? I need to know how to operate a Cyclone if we are going to get the rest of the Sams and Samanthas out of this place. What do I need to do?"
 
Professor Stein cringed at Toph's scolding, for he had never heard her blast off like that before. It was a clear reminder that this was no longer the little pink-haired mop-top Muppet that came up to his knee but an officer of the Army of the Southern Cross who was, well, cross! "Toph, Corporal Zuko," he said. "The Sams here are already willing to assist you. You need not coerce them. But... what of Miss Shirley?"

Professor Stein turned away and did what he did best - he used his brain. He paced briskly for a few moments, hardly blinking, muttering here and there. Finally, he turned to all of you. "No, corporal, without knowing where she is I don't think there is a 'quick' way. However, there is a 'sure' way..." he relaxed and seemed to prepare himself, "... but that route involves my going to find her by myself. Wild Cards, I recommend you return to the physical world and continue on with your mission allowing whomever Lt. Mackenzie put in as second to lead you while I..." he sighed, "... find out what the infamous Mackenzie Luck has made of your beloved Californian surfer."

Cera stomped forward. "There must be something we can do! She is our leader!"

Professor Stein thought again but shook his head. "With a situation like this with so many unknowns, it is best I go alone. You'll have Sam and Trouble with you and Sam very likely has things to tell to you. And you'll still have me here on the polyphonic nexus when you run into anything unusual." Professor Stein walked to the edge of your group and looked out as if he could see much farther than just 20 feet ahead.

"Go on now, young soldiers."
 
Mario might not have been brain-burned, but he sure got burned all the same, Elinor thought as she listened to Toph's scolding.

She was only half-listening, however. The other half of her mind was rearranging a particular priority. Nifty tricks were nifty, but every time they came into this Blue World, it became more and more clear to her just how dangerous and unknown it was. And if there was one thing a test pilot knew, it was the dangerous unknown -- more specifically, how the unknown became less dangerous the more you knew. She'd thought Cultivator would be the path for her, but she saw a clearer path now. Go where others couldn't, and make the path safer for them. That was why she'd chosen a test pilot's life to begin with, even knowing it wouldn't last for very long. That was why she now realized her job as a Traverser, for however long it was (and it sure sounded lifelong to her), was Pioneer.

She returned her thoughts to the group as the discussion returned to Shirley. She trusted that the professor could find her and bring her back, and also that he'd be best doing it alone, because that's what he'd said, and she trusted his word. That left only one minor problem. She turned her mind to trying to remember who Shirley had declared her second -- and if she'd made that decision in the first place...
 
Elinor looked around at her squadmates. "Guys 'n gals, I don't remember who she did mark as second. Unless one of y'all does, mind if I take lead until we get her back?" She looked particularly at Toph as she asked that. Mario was outranked by them both, and Cera was outside the chain. Likewise Trouble -- but I don't think we want him in command! Toph was her equal, though, so it was Toph's acceptance she really wanted.
 
Toph gives Elinor a nod. "That's fine with me. Now, lets get ourselves in tune with our Cyclones so we know how in hell we are supposed to use these things, and then we can get our trapped allies out of danger."
 
Mario says, "That works for me, Lieutenants. I just hope that the Professor can get to Mack. Other than that, I'm good to go."
 
Having successfully located and interacted with the Cyclone Cores, there appeared little else to do except to return to the physical world.
 
Elinor looked around her, saw everyone looked ready, and nodded. "OK, team, let's get back and start doing. Sams and Samanthas, we'll see you on the flip side." With that, she called herself back into the physical world and waited for the others.
 
Toph nods in agreement. "You got it. I'm heading out now." She then closes her eyes and makes the effort to transition back to the physical world.
 
Mario will also settle his mind to make the transition back to the 'normal' world, still hoping that the Professor and Shirley will be ok.
 
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