The call went out on all comm channels. "Hello..." said the Duke. Several people, already on their way to Tannhauser Gate station, tapped their ear pieces to open links.
The doctor was first with a chipper "Hi!"
The temple healer said somberly, "Greetings from the dark of night."
The Duke said "The Warp Gate...is being deployed. Please expect disturbances near Tannhauser."
The healer did some rough calculous, tilting his head, then spoke in a considered voice. "This suggests moderate risk to multiverses as the Warp Gate is deployed."
The Duke only nodded, not caring the movement wouldn't be heard. He warmed up his personal shuttle for launch into orbit around the station.
The Duchess, for her part, after disembarking, quickly pondered station maps, and decided her best bet was the Refuge. She made her way to the floating cathedral, only then realizing that every place that was at the right angle was--outside. She sighed, cobbling together a limited envirosuit from leftover bits and pieces the builders had tucked away, and phased through the barrier in the upper door.
She wandered along the crossing for a bit, still not getting a good grasp on where it was, finally climbing to the tallest finial past the transept. She had to lean out far, seeing a shuttle sweep past...and then she looked up.
"Oh," came Emilly's hushed voice over the comm.
The Countess, for her part, was piloting her own craft just to the side.
"What happens if I pass through it?" Justine asked, then shook her head as Meyers swooped by around the Gate.
Emilly thought. "Oh, my. Not sure? Has anyone tried flying through?"
She made her way back to the energy field across the upper archway, dropping back into the bell tower, making her way back to the station.
"I'm going to try now!" Justine said. Emilly held her breath.
"I bounced off!" she heard, after a few moments of silence.
Justine swung around to try again, and finally sighed over the comm. "Tried the other side. Can't pass through there either."
"Maybe it needs to be powered up?" Emilly asked. "I mean, more than it already is."
"Maybe," Justine said dubiously. Then shook her head, turning her ship towards the nearest dock.
"Drinks are on me in the Redshift Bar for anyone who wants them!" Justine said, jumping down to the flight deck.
"I'm in!" said the poet. "I'll have a Valarion scotch, please."
"I'll meet you there."
Emilly heard several clicks of channels closing after Justine's last statement, shaking her head in bemusement. But the bar it was. She wondered if she'd remembered to bring up that keg of catnip brandy...
(Continued in part CXXXIX.)
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