Chapter 6 - Station

A chromatic waterfall filled their vision, and just as their feet had lifted, they felt them gently embrace a new, cold, and smooth surface. The stretched view came into focus as the colors found their shapes, and a taste of spicy banana with a hint of cucumber flirted with their tongues.

Mari, Jerro, Greg, and Phlip found themselves standing on a dark gray circular platform with the edges tilting slightly towards the center. The platform was divided into a series of thin triangular slices, all joining in the center.

As they looked around, they noticed the ceiling—or was it the sky?—appeared as a dark void dotted with stars, similar to the night sky they had seen a few times when venturing out from The Burrow. This sky was different, though; it was as if they were closer or somehow within it. Streams of color streaked through this dark void. A sort of dome seemed to be enclosing the space they were in, as shimmers could be seen sporadically reflecting and distorting the colors.

The sound came next, as if it were lagging behind the visuals. It rushed in as a discordant mess of noise that began to sort itself, like an orchestra tuning their instruments and warming up into coherent notes.

Rufus’s voice was the first to bring the trio's attention down from the spectral illustration that painted the sky. 

“Welcome to Station,” the words came together in a distorted cadence as if they were passing them at high speed.

Mari, Jerro, and Greg all looked at each other. Phlip dropped a quick pile of pellets to the ground and scratched one of his big floppy ears with a hind leg.

Behind Rufus, the rest of the scene became apparent to them. The pad they were standing on was only part of a larger structure, the size of a small town perhaps; it extended out, reaching towards the edge of this dome-like ceiling.

A walkway stretched in a straight line from this smaller sectioned platform they landed on, directly towards what would be assumed to be the center of this larger structure.

Almost like a long dock, ships of all different shapes, styles, and sizes were lining the walkway in series. These ships, however, were floating in nothing, hovering in a void of swirling space.

As their gaze followed the rows of ships down the dock and even further down the path, they noticed a cluster of buildings in the distance centered around a series of massive floating rings that gently moved vertically as if they were tracing a structure.

The entire scene was a contrast of the sleek gunmetal gray of the platforms and structures, dotted with subtle illumination and backed by the bright rainbow of color in the sky emanating from strange celestial objects the three friends had never seen before.

“Alright kiddos, follow me, I’ll give you a quick tour as we make our way to your quarters. I know you all must be quite tired after that eventful evening in The Burrow,” Rufus said as he gently spun in a circle, still effortlessly levitating—a skill they had never seen in The Burrow, let alone from Rufus.

The three of them, in modest bewilderment, looked at each other again, nodded in agreement, and began to follow Rufus, but their legs struggled to move in coordination, and Jerro stumbled to the ground. Rufus slowly rotated around again to see the young trio struggling.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Mari let out with a gag as she doubled over, a wave of nausea taking her by surprise.

Rufus chuckled a little and said, “Ah yes, I remember my first transit like it was yesterday. The nausea is typical, and you will get your legs about you shortly—just push through it. Come on now, we’ve got much to do!”

Greg seemed to be the least affected besides Phlip, who stood there staring blankly into the oblivion of space. He helped Jerro up, then patted Mari gently on the back. “Let’s go, guys, he’s getting ahead of us,” Greg said, encouraging them on.

Rufus kept talking as his voice trailed and the distance grew between them, “At least that isn’t as bad as a Godunal traverse. You know, back in the day, we used to have to climb into the Godunum of cows that were capable of bridging the space-time continuum—not the most pleasant way of traveling, let me tell you!”

They hurried to catch back up with Rufus as they passed all sorts of strange ships being loaded, unloaded, and readied by burrowing rodents like themselves and other creatures they had never seen.

As they moved together, many of the creatures working on their ships stopped and saluted the group, presumably to Rufus, but he just kept talking about the most random topics that seemed truly inapplicable to the current situation.

One of these dimensional sailors hopped off his smaller ship, gave it a quick tap, and shrank it to the size of a ball. He tossed it to another sailor and hurried down the walk ahead of them. Then they witnessed the scene in reverse but with a caravan of Capybara who expanded a ship shaped like a giant wagon in an empty space next to the walkway and climbed aboard.

As they approached the end of the walk, an armored guard stood decked head to toe in red layered armor, two long, thin curved swords—one shorter than the other—holstered at the waist.

Rufus addressed this guard by name, “Master Larude, always a pleasure to make your acquaintance. These three are the newest recruits, Mari, Jerro, and Greg.”

Master Larude drew the short sword with lightning speed and flourished it in an incredible display of skill and accuracy, finishing by presenting it vertically. With a flick of her head, she raised the visor.

“Welcome to Station, young Fragments. May your journeys be non-linear,” she said with a serious glare.

“Uh, thanks?” Mari replied with a slight question.

“Come along, come along, we’ve much to do,” Rufus continued along the path past Master Larude, and the rest followed, leaving the armored guard at her post.

“What do you guys think she meant by that, and what even was she?” Greg asked quietly so only they could hear.

“I think she’s a wombut,” Jerro replied, and added, “but I’ve got no idea what she meant by the non-linear journey part.”

“Master Larude is a ‘wombat,’” Rufus corrected them as they all looked up, surprised he overheard the conversation. “And she is the guardian of the Astral Landing, the pathway we just walked down, and the chronoarch we just utilized to travel here.”

They were approaching a large open-air cantina, which seemed to be a sort of hub. There were all sorts of creatures coming and going—burrowing rodents, beavers, capybara, a few porcupines, and many others that were new to the group.

“Rufus, why did she call us Fragments?” Mari asked. “Because you are,” Rufus replied. “By rank and reality. When we used the chronoarch, we fragmented the timeline, and that is what all new recruits start as: fragments of their former selves.”

“I don’t feel fragmented,” Greg added. 

“And you wouldn’t; the mind cannot comprehend,” Rufus reassured him. 

“Oh, okay…” Greg replied, pretending to understand.

“Alright, here is where I leave you for the time being. This is The Hub, a gathering place, dining hall, and hangout for all denizens of Station,” Rufus gestured at a table where they took seats. “Grellin and Mellin will take care of you, get you set in your room, and we will continue the tour when you awake for the new lune.”

“Who?” Mari asked as they all looked around, but Rufus was gone and could not answer.

Two gerbils popped their heads up over the edge of the table.

“Greetings, young Fragments!” They beamed in unison. 

“I’m Grellin,” said the tan one with a white belly. 

“And I’m Mellin!” said the other one with a long emphasis on the ‘I’m.’ She was patterned with black and white blotches.

“First things first, how about we get a round of ice cream for this gang? You all look plain ole tuckered out,” said Grellin enthusiastically.

Mellin elbowed Grellin, “Look at their wrists; they don’t have trackers…” Mellin informed Grellin quietly.

“By the Trimarmot, you’re right…” Grellin said with less subtlety. “Hang on, I’ll be right back!” he added.

“Don’t worry, this isn’t completely uncommon, but I have to ask, when did you last have ice cream?” Mellin asked them gently.

“Uh… never?” Answered Jerro, looking at Greg and Mari for concurrence.

“NEVER?!” Mellin said with astonishment, and added, “Well, you’re all in for a bit of a treat, but it’s very important to remember you cannot have more than twenty-seven ounces in a seventy-three lune period. Buuuuut if you have just the right amount, you will experience certain benefits. Plus, it’s simply delicious!”

Grellin returned with three ice cream cones and three bracelets. “Alright , these trackers are multifunctional—they will transmit your location in both space and time back to Station, they will track your ice cream consumption, they will track your exposure to eldritch radiation, and a bunch of other cool stuff that you’ll figure out later. Just slap these bad boys on, and you’re good to go!”

With their bracelets on, they partook for the first time in ice cream. Hesitant at first, but after the first lick, they found it challenging to stop eating—it was amazing. Grellin and Mellin watched enthusiastically but didn’t have any themselves.

“We’re all tapped out on our ice cream dose,” Mellin said as they held up their tiny wrists and showed their tracker bracelets.

“What did you think, though? How was it?” Grellin asked excitedly, waiting for an answer.

“That was insane… so good, but what certain benefits are you talking about?” Mari asked back.

“Let’s just say you will notice your powers will be significantly… stronger, in the coming lunes,” Mellin answered.

“Okay, we gotta get you all to your room. Rufus told us not to let you linger here too long!” Grellin said, looking at Mellin.

“Follow us!” They said in unison.

The three friends and Phlip followed the two little gerbils. The Hub seemed to be quieting down as they left, but it appeared to have the capacity to get quite busy.

It was brightly decorated with lots of tables and a long ice cream bar with seats lining the front. The backside had a series of displays showing crystals of various colors and sizes being grown in a strange digital setting.

They walked between buildings and didn’t make it far when Mellin let out a little squeak and announced their arrival, “This is it! Home sweet home!”

“When you wake up, come back to The Hub, and we can help you get going with the rest of your orientation. Get some rest, ya little Fragments!” Grellin told them all in a sweet yet firm tone.

The three friends and Phlip opened the door and said goodnight to Grellin and Mellin before stepping inside their new quarters for a much needed rest.