Fan Fic and More

<center> Sliding Into Antar </center>



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Reflections, Of Course

Chapter 34

XXXIV

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Varec lifted the “guts” of the timer out gently, all the time watching Quinn out of the corner of his eye to make sure that Quinn’s heart was still holding out. Quinn was silent, but the look on his face was a perfect picture of pure agony. It spoke volumes that Quinn had even agreed to let Varec dismantle the timer. There was almost certainly no one else in the universe… any universe in any dimension, actually… that Quinn would have willingly allowed to even touch his timer, much less dismantle it; but in spite of the agonized expression on his face, deep down, Quinn trusted Varec. He had seen what the Antarian scientist was capable of.

“This is it,” Varec announced, as he carefully separated a small chip from the rest of the timer and plugged it into an improvised machine of his own invention. Immediately, the screen in front of them lit up, and on it appeared a long string of code. The code was still printing out over a minute later and did not appear to be letting up. Four minutes after it had started, the code ended.

“That’s it… the record of every slide you’ve made.”

Quinn pointed at a segment of the code not far from the beginning… “That’s where Conrad Bennish’s double in an alternate dimension got a hold of the timer and reset it during one of our earlier slides. He corrupted all the code up to that point. That’s why we couldn’t use the internal memory to find our way back to our home world.”

“The code was scrambled… but not undecipherable,” Varec replied calmly, “To decipher it, it is necessary to determine what was done to it. It’s like following clues and leads that unlock a mystery… or untangling a knot. Once the aberration has been revealed and resolved, the code can be read in the same way as any coded message might be.”

Quinn nodded. “That’s what I figured, too, but it was impossible to ‘untangle’ the ‘knot’ with the capabilities I had at my disposal. I thought it was a lost cause.”

“Not lost, Quinn Mallory, just tangled. I unraveled it once before.”

Quinn wanted to point out again to Varec that he must have unraveled the code wrong the first time… that the world they had wound up on had not been their own world… but he could not force himself to say it. The truth is, he was terrified, deep inside, of being asked one more time to explain his previous failure to provide a systematic and thorough scientific appraisal of the evidence they had encountered on the world they had been on. It was like arguing with God about religion. No matter what Quinn said, he just wasn’t going to win.

Varec was a bit older than Quinn, and certainly wiser, in terms of experience, and he knew that he intimidated Quinn. It was purely intentional. Quinn was a genius beyond any doubt. Varec found it much easier to deal with geniuses if they felt a little intimidated by him, though his methods were subtle. He never claimed to be smarter or to know more than anyone. He merely had a way of identifying and capitalizing on their missteps or weaknesses… all very subtly. Varec had turned geniuses who were full of themselves and who were totally convinced of their own vast superiority into quivering masses of Jell-O after being with them for only minutes… without ever claiming to be at all superior or smarter himself.

Quinn was not like some of the “geniuses” Varec had met, who were conceited and convinced of their own superiority; but Quinn was a genius, and he was aware of the fact that his knowledge of science exceeded that of most other people he met. He did not claim to be or pretend to be smarter than anyone else, he just usually was.

Varec highlighted the portion of the code that had been corrupted and ran it through an internal filter in the device he had built, and moments later, a string of Antarian symbols popped up on the screen.

“There it is.”

Quinn looked at the screen. “There what is? All I see is more gibberish.”

“That’s Antarian,” Varec said with a smile. “I will have to transcribe it into your symbols so that you can read it.”

Quinn stared at the screen intently… “What’s this symbol,” he asked after several moments, pointing at a symbol that appeared several times in the code.

“It’s the equivalent of what you call ‘pi’ in your language.”

Quinn nodded and pointed at another symbol… “And this one?”

“It means ‘tangent’ to you”

Quinn thought for a moment and then nodded. “What is this one here?”

“It is what you call ‘sine.’ Sine and cosine functions are useful to diagram cyclical trends, among other things.”

Quinn stared at the symbols on the screen, mentally making sense of what he was seeing…

“It’s like mathematics… it’s just another code.”

“You mean sine?”

“No… your language. The symbols are a logical sequence of thought… like higher math.” Quinn pointed at one that Varec had not translated for him… “This one here, period pi… tangent or cotangent?”

“Tangent.”

“Then this is cotangent,” Quinn said, pointing at another symbol.

Varec nodded.

Quinn began pointing at other symbols, usually identifying them correctly through logical analysis of their positions and interrelationships with the other symbols, then Varec produced another string of code from the timer’s memory chip and positioned the new code beneath the first one for comparison. Quinn stared at the two strings of code displayed on the screen in Antarian symbols, and he appeared to be mentally tracing them backwards from the point where the first code had been corrupted to the beginning…

“I need something to write on.”

Varec handed Quinn a pad and pencil, and Quinn jotted down a series of calculations then gazed, somewhat triumphantly, at what he had written… “This is the earth you sent us to… and the one above it should be our map home.”

Quinn turned back and stared again at his calculations, mentally working out the coordinates of his home world and comparing them to the coordinates of Varec’s earlier code. He appeared to check and recheck his figures, as though what he was seeing was impossible… then all the color slowly drained out of his face, leaving a canvas of conflicted emotions, as he tuned to Varec again…

“We were there… We were home…”

Varec nodded, and the corners of his mouth rose ever so slightly into the barest suggestion of a smile.


<center> <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>> </center>


Alex spotted Liz in the hallway… “Have you seen Quinn?”

“Not recently. He was with Varec earlier. They were going to go over some of the data from his timer together. Maybe they’re in the lab.”

“Yeah, I should have thought of that. Thanks.”

Alex turned to walk away, but Liz stopped him…

“Alex…”

He turned around again and looked at Liz.

“Alex, I know what you’re doing.”

“I’m not doing anything… well, nothing illegal or immoral.”

Liz smiled. “Maybe not… but have you considered Maggie’s feelings?”

Alex was silent for a moment, then he nodded.

“Well, don’t you think maybe she loves Quinn, too… and maybe he may love her? I’m not suggesting anything, but maybe it’s something you should keep in mind. I know you wouldn’t want to cause anyone any undue pain or hurt.”

Alex sighed and nodded, then he looked up at Liz with an indefinable conviction in his eyes…

“I do think Maggie loves Quinn, and I think he loves her, too… but it’s different.”

“How so?”

“Well… Wade’s love has deep roots. She and Quinn have grown together in so many ways for so long. Maggie’s love… it’s real, I’m sure, but it’s more superficial. It hasn’t had time to grow deep roots the way Wade’s has for Quinn and Quinn’s has for Wade, even if he doesn’t quite realize it yet. You know, Liz, Maggie had a whole life before Quinn, and it’s still a very big part of her. She’s not from Quinn and Wade’s world. They picked her up on one of the alternate world’s they slid to. Her people were under attack by the KroMaggs, a vicious but advanced species of humans who descended from the Cro Magnons and Neanderthals. Maggie was a soldier… I think she was even a captain or a general or something high up. She had this life that demanded her full attention and total dedication. She didn’t have time for love.”

Liz nodded. “She was a U.S. marine captain. But her world was taken over by the KroMaggs, then it was destroyed by a pulsar. She has nothing now except Quinn. That former life is gone, Alex.”

Alex shook his head slowly… “Maggie’s strong… and independent. I’m not saying that she doesn’t love Quinn, but I wonder if she’s really as devoted to him as he believes she is… or even as devoted to him as she believes she is right now… You know what I mean? Wade’s love has withstood the test of time already. She’s followed him everywhere. She’s totally devoted to him, and even she doesn’t realize it. He IS her life. He’s every breath she takes. It’s not the same with Maggie.”

Liz nodded. “For whatever it’s worth, Alex, I think you’re right… but I’m just worried about the possibility of hurting people by interfering in their lives. Maybe it’s not our place to interfere. I’m… I’m not telling you not to… I’m just cautioning you. Think about it, and consider the consequences… to everybody, especially Maggie.”

Alex nodded and sighed.


<center> <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>> </center>

Two hours after leaving Liz in the hallway, Alex knocked on Quinn’s door.

“Quinn… it’s Alex. Are you there?”

The door opened and Quinn smiled at Alex… “Alex… What’s up, dude? Come on in. I was just getting ready for bed.”

“Yeah, sorry to bother you so late. I know it’s almost midnight.”

“No prob. I never actually hit the sack before midnight anyway.”

Alex walked in and started to sit down, but he decided to remain standing instead. This time he had thought a lot about what he was going to say. Yet somehow, now that he was facing Quinn, he wasn’t sure. But he quickly vanquished any doubts from his mind. He knew what was right, and he was determined to see right win out…

“How do you feel about Wade, Quinn?”

Quinn looked at Alex for a moment, puzzled, then he laughed… “I love her!”

“You DO? I mean… yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Wade’s been my best friend since we were kids pretty much. Wherever I’ve gone, Wade’s always been there.”

“Exactly! Wow… this may be easier than I thought.”

“I can’t imagine Wade not being there. When Maggie and I get married, we want her to be the maid of honor… I mean, it only makes sense, with Wade being someone so special to me and all, and since Maggie’s friends are all gone…”

Alex sighed… “Or not…”

“Huh?”

“Or maybe not easier… nothing, forget it…” Alex thought for a moment and decided to just go for broke… “Quinn, the reason I wanted to talk to you was to try to convince you that you and Wade belong together.”

“Yeah, well, I know that, Alex. She’s my buddy.”

“She’s more than that, fool.” Alex stopped suddenly and reddened considerably as soon as the words had left his mouth, and Quinn looked like he was unsure he had heard right.

“I’m sorry, Quinn! I didn’t mean that. Well, yes, I guess I did, but I didn’t mean to say it out loud… Damn! I’m not making this any better, am I?”

Quinn shook his head, but then he smiled.

“Look, Alex… I know that to a lot of people it may look like Wade and I are… closer than we are. I mean, we are close, but Wade only wants to be my buddy, and I don’t want to destroy that relationship by acting like a lovesick idiot and making her run away. I don’t know if you could understand that, but… I’d rather have a platonic relationship with Wade than no relationship. It’s an understanding we’ve had since we were kids, so it’s not like I’m going to be heartbroken or she’s going to be heartbroken when I marry Maggie. It’s just reality. We’re buddies… friends… soul mates.”

“Soul mates?”

“Well… you know what I mean… close… for two people who will never be… Why am I telling you all this?”

“Because I’m so lovable?”

Quinn rolled his eyes. “Because I don’t want to mess up this nice room by pounding you into the carpet.” Quinn smiled, letting Alex know that he was kidding, but Alex wondered how far he could push before Quinn might decide the kidding was over. He decided it was worth the peril to his health to go on…

“Well, you see, Quinn, the thing is, Wade loves you. I mean, she really LOVES you… She’s buddies with you because she doesn’t want to lose you and she doesn’t think she’s good enough to be your wife.”

“That’s crazy! I’ve never told her she wasn’t good enough! Wade is… she’s the equal to any woman… more than the equal to any woman!”

“Except Maggie?”

Quinn was silent for a minute. Alex had put him on the spot, and Quinn wasn’t sure how to answer. Alex prepared himself to be pounded, but Quinn shook his head thoughtfully…

Wade is equal to Maggie… in every way. I’m not going to put myself on the line here and say that either Wade or Maggie is more woman than the other.”

Alex smiled. “That’s probably smart. But, you see, Quinn, Wade does believe that she’s not woman enough for you.”

“Well, I’ll tell her differently.”

“You will?”

“Yeah…” Quinn thought about it then groaned… “Or maybe not. I can’t tell her that. It’ll sound like I’m proposing or coming on or something. How do you know that Wade feels this way, Alex? You barely know her? I would think I’d be more qualified to say how Wade feels. I’m a lot closer to her than you are.”

“Maybe that’s the problem, Quinn. You’re too close to see things in focus… especially matters of the heart.”

Quinn reflected on what Alex had said for several long moments, then he sighed…

“Do you have a Y chromosome, Alex?”

Alex grinned. “I think so, but I’ve been told that some people do have doubts.”

Quinn nodded. “I can see why.”

“Okay, Alex… okay… you’ve made me think about it. Do me a favor, okay?”

“Anything.”

“Get out! I’ve got a lot of thinking to do.”

Alex nodded and quickly left Quinn’s room. Outside in the hall, he took a long deep breath and then blew it back out slowly, relaxing his tensed nerves…

“Well, that went pretty well… I think.”




<center>End of Chapter 34

tbc…</center>

<center> Sliding Into Antar </center>



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Highs And Lows

Chapter 35

XXXV

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Morning on the New Granolith found everyone heading to the dining hall for breakfast. It was ten minutes till seven, Antarian time, and most of the members of the crew had already gone in. The five “Sliders” all showed up together, as a group, and Alex noticed that Maggie was still holding onto Quinn’s arm. He wondered what Quinn was thinking at that moment. Had he decided to stay with Maggie after all, or was he biding his time, trying to think of how he would set things right?

Precisely at seven o’clock, Antarian time, the little diner droid came out and rolled up to Liz, who quickly told it what she and Max wanted to eat. Then it proceeded to Isabel.

Isabel thought for a moment… “I feel like something different… a couple of blue hen eggs… poached… and maybe a piece of pashita bread, lightly toasted, and some Betonian vinis. Do we have any vinis left?”

The little droid replied affirmatively… “We have four vinis fruits left in the storage cooler. The Betonian vinis fruit is out of season, so the vinis trees in our gardens are not producing any more at this time.”

“Well, one’s all I want. Thank you, Ylomo.”

“Ylomo?” Max asked, looking at Isabel curiously.

Isabel smiled. “He needed a name.”

“Ylomo?” Max asked again, “Isn’t that a Vellustian creature that looks like a big turtle or something… with a really high shell?”

Isabel nodded. “They do have really high shells, and he kind of reminds me of one, so…”

“Ylomo,” Max repeated, shrugging. “Okay.”

There was some good-natured chuckling around the table, and the droid proceeded to Alex, who asked for two Aluzian golden eggs, scrambled, with pashita toast and coffee. The next person at the table was Professor Arturo, who seemed to be as fascinated by the little droid this time around as he had been the first time the Sliders had been on the ship.

“Does he understand everything we say?”

Max nodded. “He does… in Antarian and in English.”

“Amazing! I don’t suppose you would have any brown eggs produced by a Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire, or Plymouth Rock hen… or by any other brown-egg-laying earth hen…”

“No, sir.”

“Ummm… too bad. How about white eggs… from a leghorn hen, then?”

“No, sir.”

“Uh… I believe we have some Krolian pink-and-green-spotted gruvyyi eggs left,” Kyle said, looking rather impish.

Maria gasped and shook her head vigorously… “Oh, no, we’re not doing that to them! They’re our friends!”

“Krolian gruvyyi eggs aren’t bad,” Kyle retorted, “They’re just different.”

“They’re different all right,” Michael agreed, laughing, “They’re chewy… and they taste like bubble gum… one of those giant redhot things.”

Professor Arturo chuckled, although he appeared mildly aghast… “How would one cook something like that… and why would one want to?”

“Usually they’re poached and then chilled,” Liz replied, “Like Michael said, they’re chewy and taste a bit like fire hots or bubble gum… quite a bit like strong cinnamon bubble gum, actually.”

“I don’t guess they can be scrambled then,” Remmy said, chuckling.

Michael shook his head. “You’d get something all fluffed up and stringy… like cotton candy… but it would taste like redhots. Actually, that might be pretty good! I might try it sometime! I like gruvyyi eggs.”

“See!” Alex said cockily, “Michael likes them! What does that tell you?”

“Well, I think I’ll try the ‘groovy’ eggs,” Remmy said adventurously, “They sound interesting! Do you swallow them or just chew them like bubblegum?”

“You eat them… They’re actually pretty nutritious. And yeah, they are interesting, for sure,” Liz said, looking at Maria and giggling. “You can try them. If you don’t like them, we’ll cook you some Aluzian golden eggs. They taste more like real eggs are supposed to taste… a little exotic maybe, but basically eggs, not redhot… uh, bubblegum.”

“How would you like your Krolian pink-and-green-spotted gruvyyi eggs prepared,” the droid asked.

Remmy thought for a moment… “Uh… the usual way… poached… and, uh… chilled… I guess. Can you bring me some toast and coffee with it?”

“Certainly,” the droid replied, moving on to Wade Welles.

“Do you have cereal?” Wade asked, fully expecting a negative reply.

“Cocoa Puffs or Raisin Bran?”

The corners of Wade’s mouth rose into a broad smile… “Raisin Bran! I can’t believe you have real earth cereal!”

“Michael likes it,” Maria said, “So we try to keep some on hand all the time.”

“See! I’m not so abnormal,” Michael said smugly, casting a “so-there” glance at Alex.

“Will you have your cereal with milk, or will you have it in Tabasco sauce the way Michael always has his,” the droid asked.

Everybody turned and looked at Michael, and Alex grinned angelically. Michael shrugged and sank back into his chair… “It tastes good. So sue me!”

The droid proceeded around the table, getting a quick, “The usual,” from most of the remaining crew. Quinn asked for two Aluzian golden eggs with pashita toast and coffee, and since Remmy was trying them, he asked for one Krolian pink-and-green-spotted gruvyyi egg on the side. Then the little droid rolled back into the food preparation area.

“I thought you were going home,” Quinn said to Max, after the little droid had gone, “Are you guys on another mission already?”

Max shook his head, and Quinn noted a definite hint of sadness in his face. “Our mission never ended. It just changed. We were thrown off course, and every Antar we find now is in the wrong dimension. Our only goal has become to find our way home to our own Antar… in our own dimension.”

Quinn looked stunned and seemed to consider what Max had said for several long moments… “Our timer… it must have moved you out of the dimension you were in… into a different dimension.”

Max nodded. “We could get back home if we knew where we were exactly. The problem is we have no point of reference from which to calculate the return route home now.”

“I’m so sorry,” Quinn said contritely, “We never meant to draw you guys into our predicament. You helped us get back home, and we doomed you to be lost out here in interdimensional space. I don’t know what to say.”

Max shrugged. “It wasn’t your fault… It wasn’t anybody’s fault, really. It’s just the way things turned out. We’ll find our way back home eventually. It’s just going to take us a little longer than we had planned.”

“Maybe together Varec and I can figure out how to get you back home,” Quinn said with a smile.

For Quinn, offering to work with someone else was actually fairly extraordinary. He was accustomed to working alone. Quinn had little patience for trying to explain anything to a “helper” who couldn’t even begin to understand the scientific theories on which his timer was based. Varec was an exception, though. In Varec, Quinn recognized someone who not only understood his timer but who knew even more than he did about… probably everything. It was such an unusual occurrence that Quinn actually savored it.

“Have you ever found an Antar in any of the other dimensions you’ve been to and found that it was just way different,” Wade asked.

Max nodded. “Plenty of times… about half the time. Half of the Antars we’ve been to were pretty normal… maybe different but… still kind of like ours; but one of the Antars wasn’t even there. It was just a black hole.”

“Omigod!” Wade gasped, “What happened to it?”

Max shrugged. “We don’t know. Maybe they had a nuclear holocaust, or maybe it was a natural event. But all that was there was this black hole. No Antar.”

“If you were that close to a black hole,” Quinn said, with a puzzled look on his face, “You should have been pulled into it. It would be inescapable. Black holes are pure mass and gravity. Even light can’t escape from them. That’s why they’re called ‘black holes.’ How did you avoid being pulled in?”

Max smiled and nodded toward Varec. “Gravity is not a problem if your ship has anti-gravity capability. The black hole was just a curiosity for us. We circled it and studied it… Well, Varec and Liz studied it. The rest of us just stared at it and wondered what happened. It was a somber moment… kind of like a funeral. It’s hard to explain.”

Professor Arturo nodded, and Alex noticed that Maggie was nodding, too. Her world had been destroyed by a super nova. If anyone understood, she did.

“One Antar we found had been taken over by our worst enemy from earth, an FBI agent named Daniel Pierce,” Kyle said. “We totally could not understand how he could have got to Antar. Turned out he got trapped in the other granolith… the original one… while trying to capture Max, and it blasted off with him onboard. Once the people on that Antar saw Pierce for what he really was, though, they took care of the problem themselves… even if we did give them a little help.”

“Oh,” Maria said, waving her hand, “And on one Antar that we found, Michael and I were the king and queen… That was WAY cool! And on another one, Alex and Isabel were the king and queen, and we took them back to earth to visit their parents. That was cool, too, ‘cause everybody on earth thought they were dead, so it was really emotional.”

“And on another Antar that we visited,” Tess added, “They had twelve different countries, and there was no monarchy. Max was the president of one of the twelve countries, called ‘Western Coruz,’ and Kivar, our old enemy, was the president of a large eastern peninsula called Traznyk. Nicholas was the high Admiral of Kivar’s Navy, such as it was, and Michael was Max’s vice president. Alex and Isabel were senators… I was, too, and so was Maria… and the Secretary of State was Maria’s mom… Amy DeLuca!”

Maria almost choked on her food laughing and nodding, as she recalled their visit to the Antar that Varec had named, “#36 - Democratic Antar.”

“Well, I have to admit, Amy made a darn good secretary of state,” Max said, grinning, “She never took no for an answer and never took any guff. Wherever my double sent her to negotiate, they always threw in the towel and gave her whatever she wanted. She was definitely her country’s Ace up the sleeve, if you know what I mean.”

“More like their weapon of mass destruction,” Michael said under his breath, with a trace of a smile on his lips. Maria gave him a quick elbow in the side, but then she smiled and nodded grudgingly… “Well, some of the other presidents may have thought so… especially Kivar. Mom made his life pretty miserable. That guy couldn’t put together a Navy of three rowboats without Mom finding out and scuttling his plans. It frustrated Nicholas terribly, because he was Kivar’s high admiral, and he probably could have just about floated his whole fleet in Kivar’s royal bathtub.

“She was just looking out for her country,” Max said, “It’s what she was elected to do.”

Michael nodded then grinned… “She WAS pretty impressive, wasn’t she!”

“Well, I have some more exciting news for you,” Varec said to Quinn and his group, “According to my calculations, we will be visiting another Antar in less than ten of your earth hours. So if this one turns out to be our Antar… you may get to see our home.”

Liz, Maria, and Tess all gasped at once, hoping beyond hope that Varec’s words would turn out to be prophetic and that this would finally be “the one.” Even Max sighed deeply and smiled. Quinn looked at the other Sliders, and they all smiled. Apparently, the idea of visiting an alien planet… a friendly one… was an idea that they all approved of.


<center> <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>> </center>


As the New Granolith drew nearer to Antar, the crew and guests watched from the huge bridge window. Already they could make out the Golden Sea; it seemed to cover everything on this side of the planet.

“We need to go around to the other side,” Michael said, “This side’s all water. I don’t remember there being this much water with no visible landmasses on any part of Antar.”

Max nodded and put the New Granolith into a lower orbit around the planet… and they watched… and watched…

“It’s… it’s all water,” Michael said, incredulous. “I don’t see any land at all… anywhere!”

Max was silent; he just stared at the sea below. It was endless. Michael was right. There were no landmasses… There was only sea. It was a drowned planet.

“Let’s go,” Michael said, heartbroken, “There’s no need to hang around. We’ll just be wasting time we could be looking for our own Antar.”

Max nodded solemnly, but as he passed his hand over the sensors to take the ship around and back out into space, a sound came over the high band-width radio receiver. At first, it sounded like static, but then Max felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, as a voice came over the air.

“To the vessel approaching our planet… you may dock at Port Orland. You have clearance. Please identify yourself.”

Michael and Max both stared out the window of the ship, looking in vain for a landmass… any landmass… even a small island… but there was none.

Varec quickly picked up the communication device and replied to the call… “Uh… Antar, this is the ship, ‘New Granolith.’ We are visitors to your planet from another dimension… But we do not see any ports or land at all. Please direct us to Port Orland.”

A moment later, the radio crackled again… “New Granolith, if this is your first time here… is your vessel capable of subsea travel?”

“Yes, it is,” Varec replied.

“Then you will find Port Orland at the following coordinates: North 258 seb, West 397 kor, Depth 543 rys. We look forward to meeting you.”

“Understood,” Varec said, laying the communication device back down slowly. Then he looked around the room. Max and Michael had their mouths open in disbelief, and Varec knew that both of them had grasped the meaning of the conversation… so had all the others. They were going under the sea.




<center>End of Chapter 35

tbc…</center>

Okay so I suppose Under the Sea by the Little Mermaid should not be floating though my brain right now, but it is...I'm bad, I know it

As always Gerry incredible part

Thanks, Tracie! :D Here's the next part... and a little Maria mischief.

<center> Sliding Into Antar </center>



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

141 Leagues Under
The Golden Sea

Chapter 36

XXXVI

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Michael took the New Granolith down at a 45 degree angle, and Max and the others braced instinctively, though unnecessarily, as the New Granolith impacted the surface and slipped effortlessly and quietly beneath the waves. Inside the ship, no one felt so much as a shudder, but the view through the bridge window changed dramatically… this was definitely not the view that they had grown accustomed to in space… the stars had been replaced by fish that now darted this way and that, dodging the huge ship.

“New Granolith,” the voice came again over the communication device…

Varec picked up the transmission module and spoke into it… “This is the New Granolith.”

“New Granolith, maintain a depth of 200 rys and bearing of 36 degrees north until further notice. It is imperative that you not deviate from this course or depth until advised to. This will keep your ship and our cities safe.

“Cities?” Maria asked, her eyes opening wide, “Did he just say ‘cities?’”

Max replied with a nod.

Maria searched the waters below the ship through the bridge window but saw only fish… and more water… “Maybe they’re like Atlanteans or something… you know… maybe they’ve turned into fish people… or mermaids and mermen! That would be so cool!”

“Or maybe they just built their cities beneath the sea because there’s no land above sea level, and they pump air into the cities from above,” Max suggested logically. “It’s more likely than mermen.”

Maria wrinkled her nose. “Well, I hope they’re mermen. I want to see what Michael looks like with a fish tail.”

Tess and Liz both giggled. “It might frustrate you, Maria,” Tess said with a wink, “Mermen are all fish below the waist.”

“I didn’t say I wanted my Michael to be a merman or to have a fish tail… I just want to see what he would look like with one. Then I could have a Merman Michael, a King Michael, a mountain man Michael, and all the other Michaels we’ve seen, plus my Michael.”

Tess and Liz giggled again, and this time Isabel laughed, too… “You’re starting a collection of Michaels? Does Michael know about this?”

Maria just smiled. “Hey, you collect romance novels, and Liz collects… her diaries. I can have my fantasies if I want them.”

Isabel shrugged then grinned playfully, as a thought came into her mind. “Maybe when we get back to our Antar, you can have the royal artisans make you some little figurines of a Merman Michael, a King Michael, a Mountain Man Michael, and all the others. Then you can put them all on a shelf and look at them whenever you want.”

“Omigod! That’s a great idea! Thanks, Iz!” Maria exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with joy at the thought.

Isabel looked at Liz, and both of them giggled. “I was being sarcastic,” Isabel said with a shrug.

At that moment, a voice came over the communication device again… “New Granolith, please descend to 500 rys and assume a bearing of 49 degrees north by northeast. You will see the port in approximately two clicks. When the port becomes visible, you will see signals that will guide you the rest of the way.”

“Understood,” Varec said into the module in his hand.

“That’s less than two minutes,” Michael said, straining to see into the distance. He didn’t have to wait long. First, everyone saw reflections of lights sparkling through the moving waters ahead, then immense domes appeared off in the distance. As these domes became clear, the crew and guests saw that some of them reached hundreds of feet upward toward the surface. In front of the New Granolith, at a depth of 543 rys… roughly 850 feet… sat a city of impressive proportions, with probably hundreds of thousands, and possibly even millions, of residents.

As the man on the communication device had promised, they also saw a series of signals that appeared to be guiding them onto some type of approach line. Michael brought the ship down until it was in line with the level indicated by the signals and slowed the ship to a crawl. The signs indicated that the ship should descend lower still, and Michael complied, then he saw it… In front of them, beneath a mammoth dome, was an opening large enough for the New Granolith to pass through. Michael looked at Max, and Max nodded; then together, they guided the ship under the opening. Once inside, the signals flashed “UP,” and Michael took the ship back up again slowly, rising from the water into an air filled area easily three times the size of the New Granolith, which was no small ship.

As soon as the ship was above the surface, the controls were taken over automatically by a remote parking system that turned and oriented the ship and placed it neatly into a berth.

“It looks like we’ve arrived,” Michael said. Max nodded, just as the voice came back over the communication module…

“New Granolith… you may disembark by any of your usual methods. Welcome to Antar!”

“Thank you,” Max replied, then he turned to Michael and the others… “Michael, Jim, Alex, Liz, Maria, and Tess come with me. The rest of you wait until I call for you. I’m pretty sure the air and environment are safe for us… and that the people are friendly, but it’s wiser to be safe than to be sorry.”

The others nodded. The truth is, Max was almost 100% certain that it was safe, or he would not have taken more than one other person with him… and it would almost certainly not have been Michael. Max preferred not to risk both of their lives when it was unnecessary. Michael, too, obviously felt that it was safe. Had he not, he would have been objecting loudly to Max’s going out first and would have insisted that he and Jim or he and Kyle go first instead.

The members of the first group transported down and found themselves standing on solid ground and breathing fresh air. They also saw that their host planet’s representatives were already there waiting for them. Maria looked at the three men and two women in front of her. She didn’t recognize any of them, but she did notice one thing right away… they did NOT have fish tails. In fact, they looked exactly like every other Antarian she had ever met… and exactly, well, normal. Maria sighed and smiled at her hosts.

“Welcome to Port Orlyn and the City of Coruz’Antar,” one of the two women said, smiling. “We’ve been asked to take you to the palace. Is this all of you?”

“Well, actually,” Max said, “There is another group waiting to transport down. We couldn’t all transport at once.” Max signaled the others, and within moments, Kyle, Varec, Isabel, Rayylar, Quinn, Maggie, Wade, Remmy, and Professor Arturo stood beside them.

“Now we’re all here,” Max said… “Except Jung-Jo.”

“Oh, is he in charge of the ship,” the young woman asked.

Max looked at Michael and smiled.

“He kind of is,” Michael said, grinning, “He thinks so anyway. Jung-Jo is a pawgor.”

“What’s a pawgor,” one of the two men asked.

Michael appeared stunned by the question. “You don’t know what…” he started to ask, but then he realized that these people would not have pawgors… or a Nan-Torel forest. Theirs was a water world.

“It… takes a little explaining,” Max said, “We’ll introduce you to him later if you’d like.”

The five members of the welcoming committee smiled and nodded.

“If you will all come with us,” the first young woman said, “We will show you to our slider. It will take us to the palace.”

“You slide?” Professor Arturo asked.

“Of course,” the young woman replied, leading them to a somewhat strange-looking vehicle that vaguely resembled a very long and rather sleek-shaped limo with no wheels. The young woman opened the door, and Liz and Max got in, followed by Michael and Maria then all the others. Once they were all in, one of the young women got into the driver’s seat and the other got in beside her. The three men got into a different vehicle and went off in a different direction. Then the young woman who was “driving” pressed a switch, and the vehicle rose from the ground.

“It’s a hover craft,” Liz said.

The driver turned the vehicle and guided it into a large clear tube that seemed like a perfect fit for it. A moment later, she pushed a switch, and something propelled them forward at an amazing speed.

“0 to 150 in two seconds! I like it!” Michael said, “I need to get one of these!”

“It’s a slider,” the young woman sitting beside the driver said, “It slides through the tubes propelled by jets of air inside the tubes. The air is brought down from the surface by powerful compressors. The same air that propels the sliders is then vented into the city to supply air to the inhabitants.”

“Amazing! Absolutely amazing!” Professor Arturo said, watching intently as they jetted along through the transparent tube beneath the sea.

It took only about a minute and a half to get to the palace. As they approached, the driver pulled back on a yoke that resembled an airliner’s yoke. Apparently, this remotely released air on the other end of the tube, or somewhere along the route, causing the vehicle to slow. Once it had slowed sufficiently, it coasted quietly and softly into the palace, which, like everything else here, was a dome… a very magnificent dome, though, both inside and out.

The slider coasted softly to a stop, and the young woman beside the driver jumped out and opened the door for the guests. One by one, they each got out and looked around.

“How do you like it?” a familiar-sounding voice asked… “Does it compare well with the others you’ve seen?”

Max and Liz turned around at the same time to face the previously unseen person, but both of them already knew who it was.

“It’s… beautiful!” Liz from the New Granolith said to her double. “It’s incredible!”

“Have you seen many other Antars during your travels in other dimensions,” the hostess Liz asked.

“Too many,” Liz said. Max nodded.

“I would love to hear about your travels. Max and Michael are out right now. They should be back soon, though. This will be a big surprise for them… a pleasant one.”

“Are they tending to affairs of state?” Maria asked.

“Usually that’s where they would be, but I convinced them to go fishing… to relax.”

“Fishing? Under the sea?” Maria asked… “With a fishing pole?”

“Where else would you fish,” the hostess Liz asked. “And no… they don’t use poles, they use a net. One holds each end of the net, and they swim it around the fish and trap them in it… underwater.”

“Oh, they’re SCUBA diving then,” Maria said.

Liz shook her head.

“No SCUBA?”

Liz shook her head again.

“How long can they stay out there?”

Liz shrugged. “Three… maybe four hours. Longer if they have to.”

“Without air?”

“Well, without coming in to breathe… just with the oxygen they get from the water.”

Maria turned and smiled at Isabel. “He’s got a tail! He’s a merman! I know it!”

Isabel rolled her eyes and smiled back. “Why don’t the rest of them have tails then? Why would Michael and Max be the only ones who are different?”

Maria thought about it for a moment, then she turned to their hostess… “Can you stay under water that long, too?”

Liz laughed and shook her head. “I’m not Antarian. I might last two minutes… or three, gasping for air. Antarians can stay under water for hours.”

At that moment, Max and Michael both walked into the room, dressed rather unroyally in swim trunks and nothing else, though Maria and Liz saw no reason to complain. Both Max and Michael did a double take when they saw the visitors, and they quickly ducked back out of the room, reappearing after hastily donning a shirt and pants.

“I didn’t know we had guests,” Max said, looking the guests over and noticing that some of them looked very familiar.

“No tail,” Maria shrugged… “Darn!”

“Wait’ll I tell her about Santa Claus and the Easter bunny,” Isabel whispered to Liz, standing beside her. Liz smiled and shook here head. “You’re mean, Iz!”

Isabel grinned.

“While you guys were out fishing, Dear,” the hostess Liz said, “I got a call from Space Port Orlyn that we had guests coming, and I asked to have them sent over when they arrived. They’re from a different dimension, and I think you may notice some resemblances.”

“Another dimension? Another Antar?” Max asked, looking over the doubles from the New Granolith.

“We’ve seen quite a few other Antars,” Max from the New Granolith said, “But it wasn’t our intention. We seem to be having a little difficulty finding our own Antar again. We keep finding Antars that aren’t ours.”

The host Max nodded thoughtfully… “Interesting! Well, I’d love to hear about it. Maybe there’s something we can do to help… or something Varec can do. Our Varec is the smartest person I know.” Suddenly realizing that Varec’s double from the New Granolith was standing right in front of him, Max hurried to clarify himself…

“But two Varecs should be even better than one, right?”

Liz patted Varec on the back, “Varec has been our lifeline more times than I can count.”

The host Max smiled and nodded… “Ours, too.”

At that moment, Maria let out a small gasp, and everyone turned and looked at her. The host Michael was holding her hand.

“Maria!” Isabel exclaimed.

“No! No! It’s not what you think, Isabel! I swear it!”

“I don’t have to think. I’m seeing it,” Isabel said, turning to Michael from the New Granolith, who was standing with his mouth open.

“I was just seeing if he had gills,” Maria said, “I thought I could do it without him noticing.”

“She touched my collar… It tickled,” Michael said, still holding her hand down.

“Maria,” Liz said, trying to talk and laugh at the same time, “Have you ever known Michael not to notice it if someone touched him!”

“I just thought…” Maria stammered, turning crimson red and reclaiming her hand brusquely.

“For the record…” Michael said, rolling down his collar… “No gills. See? I’m not a fish. We can breathe underwater… but not as efficiently as fish, just enough to stay under for several hours.”

“How…? if you don’t have gills?” Isabel asked.

“Every pore on our bodies has adapted to obtain oxygen from the water when our lungs can’t obtain enough,” Max said, “Our pores don’t look any different than yours, on the outside, but they’re becoming increasingly specialized internally. As a people, we have been slowly gravitating toward a total underwater existence… since all the land masses sank beneath the sea some 100,000 years ago.”

“Incredible!” Professor Arturo exclaimed excitedly, “Evolution in progress!”

“You mean they’re going to turn into dolphins,” Maria asked.

“No,” Max said firmly, “We aren’t changing into anything, we’re just adapting to an environment that is, geologically speaking, still fairly new to us. We’re still Antarians and always will be. Everything adapts to changing environment over enough time. If you spend a lot of time out in the sun, you tan, making it less likely that you’ll burn. That’s adapting. This is no different; it just takes longer. Changes that happen over many thousands of years can seem radical, but we aren’t ever going to turn into dolphins… or fish. In another 100,000 years, we may be able to remain under water without having to return to breathe air in the cities every few hours, but we’ll still be Antarians… and we’ll need some place to sleep and eat and live, so we’ll still return to our cities. Who knows, maybe we won’t need to pump air into the cities anymore, but we’ll always be Antarians, just as we are now. We just have specialized pores that breathe underwater… and a little webbing from the knuckles to the base of our fingers.” Max spread his fingers so they could see. No one had noticed it until now. Even Maria, when Michael had grabbed her hand as she touched his collar, had not noticed.

“Max, Michael, Isabel, and Tess grew up on earth,” the hostess Liz said, “They were two years old when they came out of their pods and were found, and child welfare thought they had a congenital defect, because they had webbing at the base of their fingers, so the agency had the webbing surgically removed, and they grew up with no one else ever knowing. It was actually a good thing it was removed, because it made them look totally human. Later, when they returned to Antar, the Antarian doctors restored their webbing to the way it was supposed to be… on Antarians.”

“As much as I’m enjoying this,” the host Max said, “I would enjoy much more hearing about you instead of about me. But I insist it be over dinner and not while standing here in the welcoming parlor. You will stay for dinner won’t you?”

Everyone looked at each other and then at Max again… then each of them smiled from ear to ear.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Max said, smiling back. “Kyle will show you to separate rooms where you can relax and get ready for dinner. Dinner will be served in three hours.”

“Kyle is here, too?” Liz from the New Granolith asked. Her hostess double nodded. “Kyle was the only one who came to Antar with Max and Michael the first time they came. They had to come back for us later. It’s a long story.”

“That’s just like us!” Maria exclaimed… “Exactly!”

The host Max turned to his wife, Liz, with a questioning look…

“He’s coming,” Liz said, “He was in his room… polishing Buddha’s tummy. They told him.”

“EXACTLY like us!” both Liz and Maria said, looking at each other and giggling then looking at their own Kyle, who smiled a bit and shrugged.

“Except for all the water and stuff, of course,” Maria amended.

As they spoke, the other Kyle appeared and smiled at the guests. “Are you ready?”

The group followed him into a corridor that led through the center of the palace. It was ornate and beautiful, and it reminded them quite a bit of the grand hallway in their own palace back on their own Antar. A lot here, they were discovering, was like their own Antar.


<center> <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>> </center>

Two hours later, shortly before they would be heading to the royal dining hall to eat, Alex passed Maria in the hall outside their rooms. He smiled but didn’t say anything as they passed each other. A moment later, Maria called to him… “Alex!”

Alex turned around. “Yeah?”

“I know what you’re thinking!”

Alex smiled. “That’s a pretty good trick, Maria, ‘cause even I don’t usually know that.”

“Don’t make fun of me, Alex. I didn’t do anything wrong, you know.”

“I know. I didn’t think you did. A little… unusual, maybe… but not wrong… in a wrong sort of way.”

“Exactly. You understand, don’t you, Alex?”

“That you wanted to know if Michael had gills? Sure, I understand.”

“No, not that. Well… that, too… but I meant about me saying I liked all these different Michaels and would like to have little figurines of them all.”

Alex smiled. “I guess if I had a whole bunch of Isabels, I wouldn’t be complaining… although I’m not sure I could handle it.”

Maria smiled. “I love Michael. Michael is everything to me. I just can’t get enough of him. I want him every way I see him. He’s my Michael no matter where he is or what he looks like. I don’t mean that I want to jump into another Michael’s arms, just that each one makes me think of my Michael and how he would look if he looked like that… It’s like dressing up a doll in different clothes… It’s… exciting… especially if there’s a way you can have them all. Can you understand?”

“I never dressed up a doll.”

Maria sighed. “Noooo… about… you know… how I feel…”

Alex nodded and smiled. “Yeah… I understand, Maria. I really do.”

Maria threw her arms around Alex and hugged him. “Thanks.”

“No problem. I’m here for you, Maria… anytime, you know.”

“I know. Thanks for that, too.”

Alex smiled and walked back into his room, and Maria went back to hers and Michael’s.

“Was that Maria you were talking to, Alex?” Isabel asked.

“Yeah.”

“She was trying to convince you that nothing was going on between her and Michael’s double, wasn’t she?”

“Nothing was.”

“I know.”

“Isabel… when you see all these other Alex’s… my doubles… do you ever wish you could have them all?”

“Why?”

“Well… I don’t know. It’s just something Maria said… about not being able to get enough of Michael because she loves him so much.”

Isabel looked at Alex and smiled. “Alex, one of you is man enough for me. What would I ever do with more than one of you? You’re perfect just like you are. I only need one of you.”

Alex smiled and enclosed Isabel in his arms. “I guess so, but after talking to Maria… well, I kind of understand, too… I mean, from a Maria point of view, you know? It is kind of cute… her wanting all these different Michaels on her shelf so she can admire them all… because in a way, they’re all Michael, and Michael is hers.”

Isabel smiled. “Yeah, it is pretty adorable… like you say, in a Maria kind of way.”

“So you think so, too?”

Isabel nodded. “But if you ever tell her I said so, I’ll deny it!”


<center> <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>> </center>

Wade Welles left her room and walked down the long palace hallway, stopping occasionally to take in the amazing view through one of the many palace windows to the sea. But she did not stay long in one place. Deep inside, secretly, she hoped that she might run into Quinn and he would ask her… well, she dared not think about it, but she hoped. It did bring a smile to her face, though. Maybe Alex was right. Maybe Quinn did feel something special for her, too… like she felt for him… like she had ever since they were young.

In another part of the huge palace, Quinn Mallory had also gone out for a before-dinner walk. He found Maggie Beckett gazing out at the sea through one of the palace windows, and he walked up quietly behind her…

“Hi.”

Maggie turned around and smiled. “Hi. I was just watching the fish… and thinking.”

“What about?”

“My world. If only it could have just sunk slowly into the sea over time like this one did… instead of being wiped out by a super nova. There’s nothing to go back to when a super nova…”

Quinn winced. This was not making what he had to say any easier…

“I’m so sorry, Maggie. But you guys did get a lot of people off of the planet before it was destroyed.”

Maggie nodded. “Yeah! We did!” Then she sighed and looked into Quinn’s eyes sadly… “And I don’t know where any of them are now…”

Instinctively, Quinn reached out to Maggie and enclosed her in his arms; and she put her hand behind his head and kissed him… passionately. It might have appeared to be a happy scene… even as short as it was… two young lovers kissing… idyllic setting. But at the end of the hall, unseen by Quinn or Maggie, Wade wiped a tear from her eyes and turned and walked back the way she had come… quietly and without anyone knowing she had been there or that she had seen anything.

“Maggie,” Quinn said, gently but firmly separating her from him… “What would you do if there was no ‘us…’ if we didn’t have each other? Would you be…”

Maggie smiled. “Are you feeling insecure, Quinn? Don’t be! I do love you… very much. You know I’m a strong person. I’ve always been a fighter… in more ways than one. But don’t ever think I can’t love you because of that.”

“But what would you do if something happened to me, Maggie? Would you be able to pick up your life and move on?”

Maggie stared into Quinn’s eyes, trying to discern the deeper meaning of what he was asking. “I love you, Quinn. If something happened to you, I guess… well, I KNOW… I’d be devastated. But we’re fighters the two of us… I know you wouldn’t want me to roll over and just die. You’re strong, too.”

“No… no, you’re right. I wouldn’t want you to give up or anything…”

“Are you having second thoughts, Quinn?”

“No! Well… yes… in a way…” Quinn took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment… “Maggie, I love you… I really do… and I always will…”

“But…? Quinn, when someone says it like that, there’s always a ‘but’ attached.”

“I think I may love someone else, too.”

“May?”

“No, I… I do.”

“Wade? Don’t be so surprised, Quinn. I knew she was in love with you. I always wondered why you didn’t do anything about it. I thought maybe you weren’t interested in her.”

“Was I the only one who didn’t see it?” Quinn asked.

Maggie smiled. “The real question is how do YOU feel about HER? If you feel the same way, that’s kind of going to be a problem… for us… you know?”

Quinn nodded. “I do. I do feel the same way about her. I just never thought about it. We were so close… I don’t know, Maggie. I haven’t said anything to Wade about this yet. We’ve always had this special… ‘friendship’ thing. If I say something to her now about… you know… getting married or being something more to each other… something different… she may run.”

Maggie smiled. “I think she will! But not the way you think. I think she’ll run TO you. Quinn… I’m not going to tell you that I’m thrilled about this, but you have to be sure of what you want. Go find Wade. I’m not going anywhere. If she dumps you, I’ll let you live it down… some day.”

Quinn smiled. “You’re right. I have to tell her how I feel… whatever the consequences.”


<center> <<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>> </center>

A few minutes later, Quinn found Wade… alone, staring out a window into the sea…

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it!”

Wade smiled and nodded silently but did not turn around or let Quinn see her face. Instead, she continued to stare out at the sea. Quinn put one hand on Wade’s shoulder and noticed that she flinched, but she did not remove his hand.

“There’s something that I have to tell you, Wade, and I should have realized it a long time ago. I don’t know why I never did. Sometimes other people see what we --you or I-- already know so deeply in our hearts that we… missed it altogether.” Quinn took another deep breath. “I’m… I’m trying to say that I love you… and that I’d… like for us to be something more than just friends. I always knew it. It just took someone else to make me see it.”

Wade smiled. “We are more than just friends, Quinn. We’re special friends… bosom buddies. That will never change. But you belong with Maggie.”

“Well, see, that’s just it, Wade… I don’t think I do. My real feelings are for you… they always were. I know that now.”

Wade sighed and stared back out the window, trying to keep Quinn from seeing the tears that had begun to roll down her cheeks. The truth is, Wade wasn’t angry with Quinn; she was trying to protect him… from what she was convinced now was a noble “delusion” that he loved her, but only that. Seeing him with Maggie convinced her that he and Maggie belonged together… that their true happiness was tied up in each other. It was a hard pill to swallow, especially when he was practically proposing to her now. Summoning all the courage she had in her, Wade turned and looked Quinn squarely in the eyes…

“But I don’t… I don’t… love YOU, Quinn… not that way.”

Wade choked on the words as she said them, and they tasted bitter, but she had said them. In her heart, she knew that it was the right thing to do… for Quinn. As for herself, well, she would get over it… someday… maybe… in a million years.



<center>End of Chapter 36

tbc…</center>

okay, i'm not done yet, but OMB, merman Michael and Maria collecting the diff Michaels

Thanks, Tracie! :D When you finish that part, here's a new one! I'm trying to move along and finish this story. It's getting near the end, but there are still a few parts left. Wade's situation looks sad, but don't forget that Alex can be a very determined guy! He is not going to take things sitting down the way they are.

<center> Sliding Into Antar </center>



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Salt Also Comes In Tears

Chapter 37

XXXVII

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>




“It can’t be!” Alex said, waving his arms in the air excitedly, “I talked to both of them, and they both love each other. Quinn can’t marry someone else! He loves Wade!”

“Well he’s marrying Maggie,” Liz said with a shrug.

“I was sure he would ask Wade… I was sure! He lost his confidence! That has to be it!”

Liz shook her head. “Wade turned him down.”

Alex sputtered for a moment and looked as though he had just been struck by lightning.

“That can’t be true, Liz… It just can’t be… Wade’s whole existence is tied up in Quinn. Anyone whose brain had more than one sparking neuron could see it!”

Liz shrugged. “Well, she did it. You know, Alex, maybe you can’t fix all the wrongs in the universe or be the universe’s cupid. I know you feel strongly about this, but sometimes… lots of times really… people make mistakes in relationships. I know it sucks, but it happens.”

“Not if they would consult me first,” Alex replied with a distraught look but a wink.

Liz smiled. “You’re just going to have to let things take their course, Alex. It’s their lives.”

“To ruin?”

Liz nodded. “To make… or to ruin… their choice.”

“Maggie does not have the same depth of attachment to Quinn that Wade does, Liz! Wade would march into Hell with Quinn and never look back; Maggie would march with him to the gate, but Quinn would be on his own after that. Besides, Maggie had a former life that occupies a big place in her life… maybe a bigger place than Quinn does or ever will.”

Liz smiled and nodded… “For what it’s worth, Alex, I agree with you. But you’ve done all you can do. It’s their lives.”


<center> <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>> </center>

As the palace clock struck six o’clock, or, to be perfectly precise, the Antarian equivalent of six o’clock, which looked quite a bit different, the crew from the New Granolith and their guests, the Sliders, entered the grand dining room through the large entryway. It all looked very much like their own palace… except for the omnipresent aquarium-like windows to the sea. Max had been very impressed by these, but he couldn’t imagine any way to have them in his own palace… short of sinking their own Antar under the sea… which was out of the question. He even considered the possibility of having huge aquariums built outside the palace and placing windows to them throughout the palace. But, then, he didn’t want to seem overly envious of this Antar. They had their pleasures, and his Antar had its pleasures. In the end, it all balanced out… but he had to admit that he did love those huge romantic windows to the sea.

The host and hostess, Max and Liz, welcomed everyone as they entered and then showed them to their seats. Liz noticed that the table was exactly like the one in their own palace and capable of seating up to seventy-eight people, just like theirs… except that it appeared to be made of a different type of wood. It was set lavishly, and the food, which was already on the table, smelled divine.

As soon as everyone was present and seated, the host Max held up a long-fluted goblet filled with a rosy blue colored liquid and offered a toast… “To our friends from beyond our known dimension.”

This got a rousing cheer from the other “Aquarian Antarians” present.

“To our hosts,” Max from the New Granolith said, lifting his own goblet in turn… “And to new friendships!”

“Indeed!” and “Hear! Hear!” were heard from all around the table from everyone present. Then, three servers went around the table removing the lids from all the pots and plates, allowing the delightful aromas to waft freely through the room and causing Michael’s stomach to growl. Maria looked at him and grinned.

“Sorry. It smells good… and I’m really hungry.”

There was food already on their plates, which also had been covered; and these, too, were now uncovered by the servers.

The host Max raised his goblet again. “I want to hear your stories, but I suggest that we begin eating first.”

“A wise man… a very wise man,” Michael mumbled appreciatively, taking a bite of something that he did not recognize but that tasted divine. After several bites, he paused and took another drink from the goblet…

“Jubish?”

The host Max smiled. “It’s our own blend of Jubish, Corvian Brandy, and Ke’cje da’nish.”

“No wonder it tastes good!” Michael said, “Corvian Brandy is like liquid gold… and Ke’cje da’nish will knock your socks off! What am I eating? This is great!”

“That is the specialty of our house,” Liz said, smiling, “It’s Kryyken Antar… Kryyken ink bladder stuffed with pink deep sea eel, pargi fish, and purple-golden seaweed. It’s slow cooked for three to four hours in Kryyken ink and Corvian Brandy.”

Michael smiled and his eyes got a bit wider, but then he shrugged and took another bite… “Well, it’s really good!”

“I don’t think they have any yegg burgers and Tabasco on this planet,” Alex said with a grin, “No land… so everything is seafood.”

“That’s pretty much true,” the hostess Liz said, “But we do import some foods from dry planets. Obviously, they’re not our specialties. They’re more of an exotic item here.”

“Well, I think this is delicious,” Professor Arturo said, swallowing a small bite of stuffed Kryyken and patting his mouth with his napkin, “I don’t think I’ve ever tasted anything quite like it. The texture and flavor are a bit like squid… or calamari… but much more like Maine lobster and sea scallops… and it seems to be imbued with a smattering of other delicate yet tasty flavors. I even detect a taste like veal in it. I’m sorry, but that is the only way I know to describe it.”

Quinn nodded, swallowing another bite himself. “It has a ton of flavor. It’s really quite good!”

“It is,” Maggie and Wade both agreed.

The hostess Liz smiled… “Thank you! As I said, the Krykken Antar is our specialty. The Kryyken ink gives it a lot of its flavor… so does the purple-golden seaweed.”

“And the Corvian Brandy,” Kyle said.

The host Max nodded and smiled… “The Kryyken is a large squid-like creature that is found only in the Golden Sea and only at depths greater than three thousand feet. It can be two hundred feet long, including the arms or tentacles, and thirty feet in girth.”

“Wow! That would make some BIG calamari rings,” Isabel said.

Alex laughed and nodded.

“Aren’t you worried that they’ll attack your cities,” Kyle from the New Granolith asked.

Max shook his head. “None of our cities is deeper than 1200 feet… and the Kryyken has never been known to rise above 3000 feet. So we’re safe.”

“If the Kryyken were to rise to a depth less than 3000 feet,” the Aquarian Varec added, “It would rupture because of its own internal pressure, which cannot be equalized at the lesser depths.”

The Aquarian Michael nodded… “When we catch a Kryyken, we have to take care of that little matter before we bring it into the city. An exploding Kryyken could do a lot of damage.”

“You said that your jubish is mixed with Ke’cje da’nish,” Michael from the New Granolith said, “Do Ke’cjes live on your Antar, too?”

“They do,” the host Max replied, nodding, “They live in the Ke’cje Valley.”

“But… I thought this planet was all under water?”

The host Max nodded. “It is. In fact, their valley city is the one at 1200 feet… it’s the deepest of all our cities.”

“The deepest and the highest,” Liz from the New Granolith said… “The Ke’cjes’ valley is the highest occupied land on our planet… and the deepest on yours. They live in extremes.”

“They’re shape shifters,” Michael said, “They are extreme.”

“We met the Ke’cjes on one of the planets we were on,” Liz from the New Granolith said. “Their leader was a woman named Ta’lan, and she had an adopted son named Rahn who helped our doubles escape from the military and the FBI on their earth. Ta’lan and Rahn were both very nice. We had dinner with them in the Ke’cje Valley, and they gave us a gift to take home.”

“What is it,” the hostess Liz asked.

Liz shook her head and shrugged. “We don’t know yet. We have to find Ta’lan’s double on our own planet and give her a letter from her double in the other dimension… and then our Ta’lan on our Antar is supposed to give us the gift.”

“I wonder what it is,” the Aquarian Kyle said, “It sounds mysterious.”

“They’re a mysterious people… most shape shifters are,” Liz said, “But the Ke’cjes are very nice.”

“That’s not the reputation they have,” the host Max said, “People here are afraid of them.”

Liz nodded. “People are always afraid of anyone who’s different. Shape shifters are different. The Ke’cjes realized this, and they capitalize on it by encouraging the rumors. It keeps others away from their valley.”

“Hmmm… perhaps I should visit them… with Liz,” Max said, “I heard they were autonomous and did not recognize the royal family.”

“That’s not quite true,” Liz said, “They consider themselves to be loyal Antarians and subjects of the king, but they also have their own Ke’cje government and rules. They are very independent… but still loyal.”

“I hope that is also true of the Ke’cje people here,” Max said, “I will definitely plan to make a trip to meet them and find out. In fact… why don’t we do that tomorrow! You can go with us!”

“Uh, little problem there, bro,” Michael from the New Granolith said, raising his hand, “We don’t have those specialized sweat gland thingies that you guys breathe with underwater. When we got there, we’d be drowned.”

“That’s not a problem,” Michael’s Aquarian double said, taking another bite of his dinner.

“Well, not for you maybe,” Michael from the New Granolith retorted, “But we would prefer not to drown, thank you.”

“You won’t drown,” his double replied, “We’ll go in a slider.”

“Oh… You have slider tubes to the Ke’cje Valley?”

“No. The tubes can only take us as far as a couple of cities on the way to the Ke’cje Valley. From there, we would have to leave the tubes. The slider can navigate underwater on its own. It’s a lot slower than in the tubes, but like you said, the tubes don’t go to the Ke’cjes’ valley.”

“So the sliders are like submarines, too?”

Michael thought about this description for a moment then nodded… “Sub-marine… that would be an accurate descriptive name for our sliders, I guess. They do not need the tubes to operate; the tubes just give them speed… and bring air to the cities.”

“Then it is a done deal,” the Aquarian Max said, “I hope you will stay and go with us. Your knowledge of the Ke’cjes would be most helpful.”

Max from the New Granolith looked at Michael, and Michael shrugged, then he looked at Liz. Liz smiled… “I don’t know, Max… I’d kind of like to see the Ke’cje Valley here. And I’d love to see Rahn again!”

Max nodded and looked back at his Aquarian double… “Okay… tomorrow… we’ll go with you.”


<center> <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>> </center>

On her way back to her room, after dinner, Wade stopped again to look out one of the palace’s windows to the sea. It was peaceful out there in the sea; at least, it gave the appearance of being peaceful. Wade watched as a couple of small eels entwined their bodies around each other in a sort of age-old mating ritual, and she smiled. If only it could be so simple. Things were never simple for humans. She sighed and kissed the window, symbolically giving the two little eels her blessing, and when she kissed the window, she tasted salt. Momentarily alarmed, Wade stared at the window, but it wasn’t leaking. Then she wiped her hand over the corner of her mouth and up her cheek and nodded… Salt comes in tears, too.




<center>End of Chapter 37

tbc…</center>

<center> Sliding Into Antar </center>



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A Very
Remarkable Trip

Chapter 38

XXXVIII

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>




As morning arrived in the underwater kingdom of Antar, two sliders silently departed from the palace. Inside one of the sliders were ten Aquarian Antarians… Max, Liz, Michael, Maria, Isabel, Alex, Kyle, Varec, and the two young women who piloted the vehicle… and Max, Michael, Jim, and Varec from the New Granolith. Inside the other slider were Quinn, Wade, Maggie, Professor Arturo, Remmy, Liz, Maria, Alex, Isabel, Tess, Rayylar, and Kyle from the New Granolith, plus the two young women who piloted their slider… and one other individual, Jung-Jo, whom they had picked up from the ship, with the blessings of the Aquarians.

The two young women piloting this slider spent a lot of time looking over their shoulders. The guests, however, spent their time watching the scenery, entranced, as their sliders surged forward through the tube out of the palace then left the city of Coruz’Antar, headed for the next nearest city on the way to the Ke’cjes’ valley.

As for Jung-Jo, he was enjoying every moment, looking very much like he wanted desperately to stick his head out a window somewhere and enjoy the breeze… if there had been a breeze… and if there had been a window. Instead, he sat behind the young woman who occupied the seat next to the driver, an “arrangement” that was changed when the others noticed that every time Jung-Jo swung his head from one side to the other to see the fish going by, his long tongue slapped the poor girl on the back of the head. Already, this had produced “pawgorlicks,” hair standing out sideways in both directions, on the back of her head… and one very paranoid young lady who was certain that at any moment she was going to be eaten whole… at least, she prayed that it would be whole… and fast… and painless.

It took sixteen minutes, at a speed of approximately 150 miles per hour in the tube, to reach the next city. This gave the visitors time to see a lot of the underwater environment; and even though the closest objects were sometimes a blur, the water was extraordinarily clear, and there was plenty to see in the near distance. All too soon, the slider was sliding into Merplex’Antar, Antar’s second biggest city in this Aquarian world, and a city that did not exist on any other Antar that they had been to, including their own. Merplex’Antar appeared to be a very modern city, but then everything on this Antar had a modern look to it. That was probably because it had to be scientifically advanced in order to survive under the sea.

The slider continued on through Merplex’Antar, passing through several large domed buildings that were under a much larger dome that covered the entire “downtown” sector of the city. They recognized one of the internal domes as a mall, because there were numerous different stores and shops inside it, and it was a designated stop and exit point. However, the slider vehicles did not stop for shopping on this occasion. Two other stops that they passed may have been merely access points, places where sliders could access the tubes.

Within minutes, they had passed through Merplex’Antar and were speeding toward the outlying cities of Jarnat, Aluzia, Chanesio, and Grelligo. These were names that the group from the other dimension did recognize. Jarnat was where the Kiren mist was first used successfully, Aluzia was the provider of Antar’s golden eggs, and Grelligo was famous for its hallmark Grelligo soup. As for the Chanesio “region,” as it was known in the other dimension… well, it had a permanent place in Michael’s memories as the place where he came out of hyperspace the first time he tried out the jet bike that Varec had given him. The wind blast from reentry blew the hair off of a field full of shebbles, leaving them pink and bald and costing the royal treasury, which had to recompense the shebble herders for their losses, since the shebbles’ hair was a marketable commodity. Max paid it, considering it worth every kyrin for the humor value alone, but Michael still reddened slightly whenever he thought about it. That never kept him from retelling the story, though, to anyone who would listen.

It took twenty-four minutes to reach Jarnat from Merplex’Antar. Jarnat was a small city, entirely enclosed under a single huge dome, and the sliders slid through the city in less than twenty seconds without slowing down. The next city, Aluzia, was only eight minutes from Jarnat. Even in this underwater world, Max and Michael both recognized this city immediately… maybe it was because of all the signs advertising their claim to fame… Aluzian golden eggs.

“I didn’t know you had hens here,” Michael said, turning to his Aquarian double. But the Aquarian Michael just looked at him, puzzled… “Hens?”

“Yeah… those things that make golden eggs,” Michael retorted in a sort of “duh” tone of voice.

“Oh,” his double said, scratching his chin… “Kryykens?” Actually, the Aquarian Michael did know what hens were… he had lived on earth when he was growing up. But he enjoyed jerking his other-dimension double around a bit.

Michael stared at his Aquarian counterpart for a moment… “Hens… you know… feathers, wings, beaks, cluck, cluck, cluck… ta-da! Eggs!”

The Aquarian shook his head… “Long tentacles, slippery, beaks, swishing, growling sound… ta-da! Eggs!”

“Squid eggs?”

“Squid eggs… fish eggs… eel eggs… the Aluzians turn them all golden through some process that no one else has ever been able to copy. It gives the eggs a rich golden color and an even richer flavor.”

“Squid eggs?” Michael repeated, incredulous. Well, it made sense. This was an underwater world, so the Aluzians would not have their famous hens. But squid eggs…?

“Ooh! Golden caviar!” Michael exclaimed, suddenly putting a whole new face on the Aluzian enterprise. “They might just have a market after all!”

“A pretty BIG market,” the Aquarian Michael replied, “Aluzian golden eggs are famous all over Antar and on a number of other planets.”

“Does Grelligo produce their famous Grelligo soup here, too?”

“They do,” the Aquarian replied, “Although I suspect it’s made a bit differently than the Grelligo soup you may be accustomed to.”

Michael nodded. “Yeah, they probably make it out of seaweeds here.”

The Aquarian nodded. “That… among other things.”

It had taken three minutes to pass through Aluzia, which was a fairly large and spread out city, though not as large as the Chanesio region that lay ahead. Eleven minutes after passing through Aluzia, the sliders reached the city of Chanesio’Antar and slid into the first of several massive domes. This had been a shebble herding region in the other dimension, the one the New Granolith group had come from, and it was huge, though it had been only sparsely populated there. Chanesio, in the other dimension, had mountains, pastures, and lots and lots of land… uninhabited land. This Chanesio, as they would soon see, was equally large and spread out… and mountainous; but it had a much larger population… and not a shebble anywhere.

“What do they do in Chanesio on this Antar,” Michael asked.

“They manufacture sliders, like the one we’re riding in,” the Aquarian Michael said. “Chanesio is our biggest manufacturing center. They also manufacture space ships… for us and for other planets.”

Michael nodded. “Shebble herders to manufacturing center… interesting. That’s different!”

It took a full seven minutes to pass through Chanesio’Antar. They had to pass through five domes, each of which could have been a respectable-sized city itself. Max and Michael noticed the fact that the slider tube went up and down a lot here; this was a mountainous region. At one point, in fact, they passed through, rather than over, an underwater mountain that rose over a thousand feet upward, to within nine feet of the surface. If it were only a little higher, it would be this Antar’s only dry land above sea level.

Twelve minutes after leaving Chanesio, the sliders came to Grelligo’Antar. Though not a very large city, Grelligo had the singular distinction --besides producing Grelligo soup-- of being the furthest point that the slider tubes went to. It took a mere sixty seconds for the sliders to pass through Grelligo, but they were now at the end of the tubes. The young pilots expertly maneuvered their sliders through designated exit tubes and emerged into the sea. Now, they were on their own… at the mercy of the sea… but the pilots seemed confident and unfazed.

The sliders operated differently outside the tubes. They had their own power source, a series of hidden water jets underneath, at the rear of the vehicle, and a guidance system that used small, rotating jets to turn and control the vehicle. But even outside the tubes, they still ran smoothly and dependably… and the view seemed to only got better and better the further they went, perhaps because now they were going slow enough to see even the closest objects clearly!

Partly because of the distance and partly because the sliders could no longer travel as fast as they had in the tubes, it took almost fifty-five more minutes to reach the outskirts of the mountains surrounding the Ke’cje Valley. Max noticed that they had been going deeper, which made sense, because the Ke’cjes’ valley was the deepest inhabited area on this Antar, at 1200 feet. But now, it appeared that they would have to go over the mountains; and these, like the Chanesio Mountains, were no small mountains. Several of the peaks, in fact, reached to within twenty feet of the surface.

The young pilots plotted a course over the lowest mountain, one that rose to within 400 feet of the surface, and took their sliders upward. As they crested the mountain, at a depth of 385 feet, they saw a magnificent sight… six huge, manta-ray-like creatures swimming together in formation. Each creature easily measured at least 25 feet across the wings and had seven 30-foot-long trailing tails and a ridge of multiple, 10-foot-long, training filaments down the middle of their backs. This drew “ahs” from everyone in the other-dimension group, including the Sliders. But as they descended toward the valley on the other side of the mountain, the manta-ray-like creatures followed, surrounding the smaller sliders and occasionally bumping them. Max noticed that the young pilots’ looks began to change from one of total confidence to worried, and he quickly consulted with Michael. They agreed between themselves to wait and see if it got any worse. So far, the bumps had only been minor. These huge creatures could easily have crushed them if they had wished to. It was probably only accidental bumps by curious creatures… or maybe the creatures were testing the sliders to see what they were. Either way, so far, they had not actually shown themselves to be hostile, merely intimidating.

A fairly harrowing fourteen minutes later, the two sliders safely approached the dome over the Ke’cje Valley, and their pilots searched for a way in. They found it on the far side of the dome, well-concealed under a huge outcropping of the mountain. Max realized that it was probably only by sheer luck that they had found it as quickly as they did… and maybe at all. Obviously, these were a people who valued their privacy. And they were about to be invaded by outsiders.

The two sliders coasted through the opening under the dome, and the manta-ray-like creatures followed. When the sliders rose into the air-filled sector of the dome, the mantas rose, too, to the top of the water. There, they began to change…

“What’s happening?” the Aquarian Maria asked.

“They’re Ke’cjes… shape shifters,” Michael from the New Granolith said, realizing the truth. “They were checking us out… and probably trying to scare us away.”

“Well, it was working,” the Aquarian Maria said.

Judging from the looks on the others’ faces, Michael could see that they agreed. But they were here. Now they had to meet these strange people who were almost never seen outside of their own reclusive valley… the legendary, and often feared, Ke’cje shape shifters.



<center>End of Chapter 38

tbc…</center>

<center> Sliding Into Antar </center>



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Ke’cjes

Chapter 39

XXXIX

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>




The young pilots maneuvered their sliders over the nearest dry land inside the dome and set the vehicles down, then they opened their own doors and got out, letting the others out after them. Max and Michael got out quickly and found themselves face to face with the six Ke’cjes who had followed them into the dome…

“Who are you,” one of the Ke’cjes, a surprisingly good-looking young man, asked.

“I am Zan… King of Antar,” the Aquarian Max said, “We came here to meet you… and, we hope… to be your friends.”

The Ke’cje appeared doubtful. “You are King Zan?”

“I am.”

“He is,” Maria agreed, vouching for him.

“We would like to see Ta’lan,” Liz said.

The first Ke’cje looked at Liz suspiciously… “How do you know Ta’lan?”

“We… well, some of us… met her before. Actually, we met her double in another dimension, not your Ta’lan. But we became friends, and we wanted to meet her and have her meet our… uh, doubles here.”

“We come in friendship,” the Aquarian Max said, “Just as our doubles became friends with your people in another dimension.”

“The Ke’cjes have no friends… outside of our valley,” the second Ke’cje retorted, “We are feared; others are suspicious of us, because we are different.”

Max nodded. “I know. Rath and I were once feared for the same reason… so were Vilandra and Ava.”

“But you are like the others,” the first Ke’cje said, “Why would they fear you?”

“We lived on another planet before we returned here to retake the throne from Kivar. The people on that planet had no powers of the sort that most Antarians consider routine and normal.”

The Ke’cje nodded. “So they feared you… and you had to keep your lives and your identities closely guarded… and secret.”

“Exactly,” Michael said, realizing that the Ke’cje was also telling him why they, as a people, were secretive and guarded and kept to themselves in their own valley.

“I cannot change the nature of people… nor can I promise you that I can do that,” Max said, “But I can promise you friendship and peace with the royal family and our friends… and a government that will not see you as its enemies but as friends and allies… if that is what you will be.”

The Ke’cjes looked at each other and then nodded. “We will take you to Ta’lan. Come with us.”

The six shapeshifters walked off down a trail, and their visitors followed. As they walked, the outsiders were surprised to see things they never expected to see here… trees … and flowers… beautiful flowers… on the ground and on the trees!

“These are real!” the Aquarian Liz whispered breathlessly, smelling and touching the garden flowers and staring at the trees. Omigod, they’re real!”

“Where did you get these,” the Aquarian Michael asked, surprised, “These things disappeared a hundred thousand years ago when the last land sank beneath the sea. I’ve only seen them in history books… and painted plaster replicas in museums.”

The shapeshifters smiled, perhaps for the first time since the outsiders had arrived… “We have had them… always. Our people brought trees and flowers with them when the first dome was built, almost a hundred thousand years ago. We have protected them and propagated them through the centuries. They are our treasures.”

“Fantastic!” Professor Arturo exclaimed, genuinely impressed.

Wade reached up to smell some of the fragrant flowers on a tree branch that was hanging down near the walk.

“Uh, I wouldn’t do that… not those flowers,” Liz from the New Granolith said, but Alex stopped her, shaking his head… “Don’t tell her.”

“Alex!”

“I have my reasons.”

“Unh… I don’t know Alex…”

“Trust me, Liz!”

Liz sighed. “Well, alright… maybe… I don’t know…”

“You know you trust me…” Alex said confidently, flashing Liz a big grin. Liz gave him a friendly shove… “Don’t get too cocky, Alex. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I do.”

“These trees smell divine,” Wade said, spinning around several times and doing a little pirouette. “I could live here and be happy forever!”

“Delightful indeed!” Professor Arturo said, as the scent of the trees’ blossoms reached him, too. “I don’t believe I’ve ever smelled anything like it! The fragrance is simply irresistible!”

“I like it,” Remmy said, starting to look a little misty-eyed and dreamy.

Quinn smiled and just looked happy… a little too happy. Maggie was hanging onto him as though she was afraid he would go “poof” if she let go. The Aquarian Antarians also seemed to be getting a bit overly happy. The two young slider pilots were doing pirouettes under the trees with Wade now, and Maria was hanging onto Michael, with a dreamy look in her eyes. The Aquarian Liz even seemed to be doting on her Max more than usual, if that was possible, and he was smiling from ear to ear.

A little further down the walk, Professor Arturo and Remmy started doing pirouettes with the girls, and Professor Arturo performed a beautiful saute followed by an Arabesque that no one would have thought him capable of. The six shapeshifters looked at each other and smiled, then they looked at the Aquarian Max, the king… “Did you really come in peace?”

“We’re a peaceful people,” Max said, a bit giddily, “We do not wish harm on anyone.”

“Are you afraid of us?”

“Naw!” Max waved his hand dismissively and smiled, “I’ve seen things before… scarier things. We just want to get to know you and be friends.”

The shapeshifters smiled.

“Well, I was afraid of those big honkin’ things you guys turned into out there in the water,” Remmy said. “I thought you were going to crush us.”

“Are you afraid now?” one of the shapeshifters asked.

“Nooooo…” Remmy giggled, putting an arm around the guy as though they were best friends who had been drinking together all night in a bar. “I like you! You’re COOL!”

“Cool is good,” Max from the New Granolith said, smiling and at the same time breathing as shallowly as he could and keeping one hand over his nose. The other members of the New Granolith’s crew were doing the same thing. This made the shapeshifters smile again…

“So some of you HAVE been to our valley before.”

“Oh yeah! We have!” Max said through his fingers. Liz nodded and smiled, keeping one hand over her nose and taking short breaths.

“Quinn,” Wade said, suddenly taking Quinn by his free arm, “Let’s get married… right here… right now.”

“He’s mine!” Maggie objected, pulling him back by the other arm, “He loves me!” Maggie smiled at Quinn… a bit predatorily, it seemed to Wade.

“He loves me more,” Wade said, pulling Quinn the other way again.

“Girls! Girls!” Quinn exclaimed, “Don’t pull me apart. There’s enough of me to go around.”

Wade shook her head vehemently… “I want you all! I have to have you all!”

“Can’t have him,” Maggie said, pulling him back.

“Quinn,” Wade pouted, looking at him with puppy dog eyes, which she would probably never live down if she remembered any of this after it was over.

Maggie reached around Quinn with both arms and pulled him against herself tightly.

Wade took Quinn’s arm and tried to pull him away, but instead, slowly, she collapsed and crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Maggie smiled victoriously, staggered for a moment, then fell to the ground, too. Quinn looked back and forth at the two girls, deeply concerned but too dizzy to lean over for fear he would keep going and plow head first into the ground. Two shapeshifters picked the girls up, and another supported Quinn…

“They’ll be fine,” one of them said, smiling, “Once we’re past the Qu’rosk trees.”

“We know,” Liz from the New Granolith said.

Just as the Ke’cje had promised, once they were past the fragrant, flowering Qu’rosk trees, both Wade and Maggie began to stir and reawaken, and Quinn regained his strength. The others, too, soon returned to normal. It was impossible to know exactly how much any of them remembered. If any of them did remember anything, they probably hoped that no one else did… or would… ever!

The shapeshifters led their visitors over a footbridge and a circular fishpond then along a small but quaint, neatly kept little lane for a distance of about six blocks, stopping in front of a nice-looking if surprisingly modest-sized house. It was only at this moment that Max and the others realized what they were seeing… Houses! Real, honest to goodness houses! Granted, they were under a huge dome… the whole valley was… but these were actual houses, just like the ones they had seen in the Ke’cje Valley on land in the other dimension. The house in front of them had an upstairs and a downstairs and looked like it might have two, maybe three bedrooms… assuming it was built similarly to an earth home for its size.

The shapeshifter touched a small module on the door, and a brief lilting melody played softly inside the house. A moment later, Ta’lan came to the door and opened it by touching her finger to something that looked like a lock. Then she led the group into a living room or parlor and motioned toward several comfortable-looking chairs and a sofa…

“Please! Sit down. Be comfortable. I heard that you were coming. Word travels fast here.”

Everyone sat down, and Ta’lan dismissed herself momentarily. Jung-Jo stretched out on the floor beside Jim and yawned. The inside of the house seemed much larger than the outside would have suggested. On the far side of the spacious living room, there was a large convex window that reached all the way to the floor. It looked like a clear, solid membrane. To their left, there was a wide semicircular stairway with a banister that looked surprisingly earthlike. The chairs, too, were fairly normal, though their design was clearly alien. The sofa was long, perhaps fourteen feet, and had a large number of contours that really didn’t seem to match any known body shape… well, any that they had ever seen, anyway, though the overall look was very interesting… even elegant in an alien sort of way. Each end of the sofa had a very ornate arm, partially wrapped in a plush, soft, velvety fabric. It was very much like the sofa in the other Ta’lan’s house, in the other dimension… in fact, the whole house was very much like the other Ta’lan’s house in the other dimension.

Ta’lan returned to the parlor with a large tray that held numerous very tall, thin, flute-like glasses filled with a bluish-amber liquid. The New Granolith crew and the Aquarian Antarians… even those who had never been to the Ke’cje’s Valley… knew what it was. They had seen it before. But the Sliders had no idea.

“Are you sure this is safe for humans,” Remmy asked, holding the glass up and examining the sometimes bluish, sometimes amber liquid in the light.

Max from the New Granolith nodded and grinned. “It’s da’nish. Try it.”

Remmy took a deep breath and tilted the glass bottoms up, while Max watched and smiled at the look that came over his face. Then Remmy took another deep breath and slowly let it out again… “Wow! That was good!”

With that endorsement, the other Sliders tried it, too, most of them only sipping it.

Ta’lan picked up another tray and passed it around. It looked like large cookies.

“Qnist’as,” Liz from the New Granolith said, remembering having had them in the other dimension… “They keep you from getting plastered on the da’nish.”

Ta’lan nodded. “They keep you sober, yes… and they also go well with da’nish.”

Each of them took a Qnist’a and ate it.

“Is everything in this valley intoxicating,” Maggie asked.

Ta’lan smiled. “Only to outsiders. Long ago, we became accustomed to the Qu’rosk trees… and we always eat Qnist’as with our da’nish. We rarely get outsiders here in the valley… but when we do, the Qu’rosk trees always let us know their intentions. The fragrance of the Qu’rosk flowers makes people talkative… and amazingly honest.”

“Cool! lie detector trees!” Remmy said, laughing, “I’d love to see them!”

Ta’lan smiled. “You did.”

“I did? When?”

“On the way here,” Liz from the New Granolith said.

“I don’t remember that,” Remmy said, looking puzzled. “What did I say?”

Liz smiled. “Don’t worry, Remmy. We won’t tell.”

“What did I say?” Remmy asked again, looking more worried now than before. Everyone laughed, but the truth is, no one remembered what Remmy had said… or even if he had said anything at all. They didn’t even remember what THEY had said or done on the way here… except the crew of the New Granolith, because they had visited the Ke’cje Valley in the other dimension and knew to take shallow breaths and keep one hand over their noses while near Qu’rosk trees.

“We met someone in the other dimension,” Liz said cautiously… “A Ke’cje… His name was Rahn…”

Ta’lan smiled… “My son! Rahn is my son… my adopted son.”

Liz smiled… “Rahn was with us for a long time in the first alternate dimension we went to. He helped our doubles there escape from enemies who wanted to kill them… or worse. He had been a prisoner there himself, but he escaped. We all love Rahn! He was amazing!”

Ta’lan’s face lit up. “Rahn is like that. He never really liked being isolated in our valley. He wanted to get out and see things. There is much to see here in our valley… especially for a shape shifter… but Rahn wanted more. He wanted to see the universe. He went with the first group in search of a place to hide the royal four, but he was captured after his ship was damaged, and he spent years in a bad place. He has never told me about it… except that it was… unpleasant.”

“He… he made it back then… right?” Liz asked hopefully.

Ta’lan nodded, much to everyone’s relief. “Rahn escaped, using his shape shifting ability, and he was able to repair his damaged ship and return home. I fear that he is not cured of his desire to wander and discover the universe, however.”

Liz smiled. “Rahn was pretty unique.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Ta’lan agreed. “But I wouldn’t change Rahn even if I could. He is who he is, and that is what I love about him… everything that he is… is who he is.”

Liz looked at Maria, Isabel, and the others. They were all nodding.

“I really loved watching that little roadrunner come and go,” Maria said with a grin.

“That’s a kind of bird on Eluymer,” Liz explained, noticing Ta’lan’s puzzled look… “Rahn delivered messages sometimes to our doubles’ parents and to the sheriff, who was their friend. Rahn would usually turn himself into a roadrunner to deliver the messages.”

“Or a bat… in the caves…” Isabel said.

“That was cool!” Michael agreed. “Rahn was pretty cool.”

“And that is good, right?” Ta’lan asked.

“Very good,” Alex replied, “Cool is very good.”

Ta’lan smiled.

“So is hot… sometimes,” Isabel added.

Ta’lan smiled. “Yes, Rahn told me that it is a confusing planet.”

The others laughed.

“How long can you stay with us,” Ta’lan asked, “I am sure that Rahn would like to meet you and hear about your adventures with his double in the other dimension. He loves that kind of thing.”

“We can’t stay very long, I’m afraid,” the Aquarian Max said, “There is the kingdom to attend to.”

“Can you stay one night?”

Max looked at Liz, and Liz grinned. He shrugged then nodded… “It looks like it.”


<center> <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>></center>

Dinner with the Ke’cje shapeshifters had been a lavish affair. It stands to reason that beings who are capable of altering their shapes to almost unimaginable forms would also be able, for that very reason, to locate and capture some of the most reclusive… and succulent… sea creatures. There had been a great many items on the table that the non-shapeshifting Aquarian Antarians did not recognize, and Max and Michael made a pact to find several of them later for their own table, but there is a good chance that they never would find most of them. They weren’t capable of turning into giant boring augur worms and finding and extracting the cores of gigantic coral oysters, which lay deeply buried in the hard rocky substrata beneath a hundred feet of sand under the Golden Sea… or of shapeshifting into a creature capable of diving to the deepest depths and chasing down the elusive… and dangerous… Antarian Black-Fanged Lobster. So dinner with the shapeshifters was likely to forever remain a unique event.

After dinner, they had spent some time talking with their guests as a group and then had gravitated into smaller groups, each group according to its separate interests. No one had said, “Okay, let’s break up into groups,” it had just happened, as different individuals, talking with different Ke’cjes, followed their own discussions.

The Aquarian Max and Liz walked into the parlor with Ta’lan and found most of the New Granolith’s crew sitting around in a circle on the floor with an odd-looking bird in the center of the circle. Jung-Jo watched curiously from the side.

“I think the tail should be a little longer,” Maria, of the New Granolith’s crew, said. The bird complied, and the tail increased in length.

“Oh! And the wings of roadrunners are a little shorter,” Tess said.

The bird reduced the size of its wings.

“But Rahn used to make his wings longer,” Isabel pointed out… “In order to fly long distances. Roadrunners can’t fly very far.”

“Unless they’re Rahn,” Alex said with a grin. The others smiled and nodded.

“Okay,” Maria said, “You can make the wings longer again.”

“That looks like Rahn to me,” Isabel exclaimed, “That looks just like him!”

The bird immediately began to twist and rise then took on the shape of a man.

Liz nodded. “That was what your double looked like in the other dimension… when he delivered messages to Jeff Parker or to Sheriff Jim Valenti for our doubles in that dimension.”

“Interesting,” Rahn said, “It would seem that I… he… had quite an adventure in that dimension. I was fascinated by the bat.”

“You did that one perfectly!” Alex said.

“Too perfectly… ewww,” Maria agreed.

The others laughed.

“And the red-tailed hawk… Did he become that one often,” Rahn asked.

“A few times,” Maria said, nodding, “And once he turned into a big snake and wrapped himself around that horrible low-life Judge… uh… Judge Lewis. We were wishing he would have eaten him, but he didn’t.

“Even shapeshifters can get indigestion,” Rahn said seriously. The others all looked at each other then started laughing. Liz nodded. “You’re right, Rahn! That would have been a rotten meal!”

“Rahn has a sense of humor!” Alex said with a grin, “I love it!”

“Of course he has a sense of humor!” Liz said, “Remember in the other dimension?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, Rahn had a sort of dry, subdued sense of humor. He would seem totally serious, and then it just hit you and you had to laugh. Rahn never ha-ha’d it. He just had this natural, low-key humor about him… I mean, it was a good humor, you know. He was funny, he just did it so that… that… you didn’t realize he was doing it… and that made it even funnier.”

“He knew he was doing it, though,” Liz said, “It was intentional.”

“I know,” Alex agreed, “It was just Rahn’s sense of humor.”

“It would appear that this Rahn has that same sense of humor,” the Aquarian Liz said, joining in the conversation with the group from the New Granolith.

“He does,” Ta’lan agreed. “Rahn can be very serious and very funny at the same time. I love that about him.”

Rahn smiled.

“I still can’t believe how good that meal was,” Tess said to Ta’lan. “I never heard of half of the things I ate, but I loved them all!”

Wade nodded. “At least you’ve heard of half of them. We never heard of any of them… And they WERE great! I wish we had them all on earth!”

“Do you know how Rahn makes his living,” one of the other shapeshifter men asked.

“How,” several of the outsiders asked at the same time.

“He supplies the Xor aspic for the entire valley.”

“You mean that stuff that you put on all the food to season it with?” Liz asked.

The shapeshifter smiled. “Yes. Do you want to know how Rahn gets the Xor aspic… and why no one else can?”

The others all nodded.

The shapeshifter grinned, and Rahn looked a little uncomfortable. “He turns himself into a froyylic. The Xor aspic is only found at a depth of precisely 4,378 rys… no more, no less. It is produced by a communal creature called a sharv shrimp, which is somewhat dangerous. Sharv shrimps are not large, but they have a long, pointed piece of shell on their head and they will ram it into you and poison you. Sharv shrimps attack as a group and can incapacitate almost any creature… including a shapeshifter… quickly. The only creature that can get past the sharv shrimps is a froyylic. The froyylic is not very large, either, or even very fierce, but it gives off an odor that the sharv shrimps find intolerable. They abandon their Xor to the froyylic, and the froyylic would eat it… except for one thing…”

“What is that,” Michael asked.

“The froyylic is the favorite food of the tyar’ma’zot, a very large, fierce creature that is not the least bit offended by the froyylic’s bad smell. The sharv shrimps always make their Xor in a cave where there is a tyar’ma’zot… or perhaps the tyar’ma’zot moves in with the sharv shrimps. Either way, they have a mutually beneficial relationship. The sharv shrimps’ Xor attracts froyylics; and the tyar’ma’zot happily eats the froyylics. Then the sharv shrimps return and go about their business of making Xor until the next stupid froyylic shows up. I would guess that one froyylic gets a taste of Xor for every thousand that wind up in the tyar’ma’zot’s belly.

“I am not stupid,” Rahn said insistently, “I have a way to get the Xor… AND keep my life. I have not yet wound up in the tyar’ma’zot’s belly.”

“He has a way,” the other shapeshifter agreed. “He’s not telling anyone else what it is, though.”

Rahn smiled. “It is my secret.”

“A valuable secret,” the other shapeshifter agreed, “Xor sells for 3,400 Coruns… for a very small flask.”

Michael whistled… “Seven thousand dollars! That’s more expensive than Corvian brandy!”

“One does not have to get past a hungry tyar’ma’zot and ten thousand poisonous sharv shrimps to have Corvian brandy,” Rahn pointed out, logically. “Nor do they have to find the Corvian brandy at a depth of precisely 4,378 rys.”

“Wow,” Wade said softly, “If I’d known the food I was eating was seasoned with seven-thousand-dollar seasoning…”

“Well, I don’t make my mother pay for it,” Rahn said… “Just these guys over here… and everyone else.”

“The Xor has a market on several other planets, as well as in our valley,” the other shapeshifter pointed out. Rahn does pretty well for himself. Some day we’re going to find out how he does it… if he doesn’t get eaten by a tyar’ma’zot first.

Rahn smiled. “Just be careful that you do not get eaten by the tyar’ma’zot while trying to find out how I do it.”

“Is this one of those Don’t try this at home… we’re the professionals kind of things,” Alex asked with a grin.

Rahn smiled. “I am the only one who can get the Xor aspic and not get eaten by the tyar’ma’zot. Others have tried it. They are not here to tell what mistakes they made.”

“Where are they,” Rayylar asked.

Tess elbowed him gently in the ribs.

“Oh… Oh!”

The other shapeshifters laughed. “None of us have tried it. We value our lives more than our greed. The shapeshifters who were eaten by the tyar’ma’zots were from two other planets… and they were not Ke’cjes. Actually, they’re not shapeshifters either… anymore.”

“Ewww,” Maria groaned, “Do all men get a kick out of talking about gory stuff?”

“I thought it was interesting!” Michael said.

Max nodded. “Me, too. It’s not like he went into details about how the tyar’ma’zot bit them in two and chewed them up or ripped their heads off or anything.”

Liz whacked Max on the arm. “Max!”

Max smiled at Michael, and Michael grinned.

“Men are the same wherever you go,” Tess said, “It’s a fact of life. Get used to it!”

In fact, what was true was that everyone there was feeling comfortable with each other. New friends… and lifelong friendships… were being made. Before the night was over, Ta’lan and Max had signed a hand written agreement confirming their status as allies and encouraging understanding and friendship between their peoples. Max agreed that the Ke’cjes were entitled to their own local government, and the Ke’cjes confirmed that they were still, first and foremost, Antarians, and loyal to the king… as long as someone like Kivar did not come back and take over again. All in all, it had been a very successful, and historic, trip.




<center>End of Chapter 39

tbc…</center>


Coming Next: The Last Shopping Trip

Great updates, Gerry! It was good to see Rahn again, even if it was in a different dimension. And it's good that they now have an ally in the Ke'cjes. Keep up the awesome work! :D

Thanks, Jenny! Here's the next chapter!

<center> Sliding Into Antar </center>



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Last
Shopping Trip

Chapter 40

XL

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>




The young pilots navigated their sliders back into the water and took them down to the level where they had originally come into the Ke’cjes’ valley, underneath the dome… and moments later, they were back in the open sea.

Just ahead of them were the mountains that surrounded the Ke’cjes’ valley, and the slider pilots began to ascend in order to go over the mountains, as they had before. But as they began to rise, Max noticed that they were once again surrounded by the huge ray-like creatures with long trailing filaments…

“Looks like our friends are back.”

“What do you think they want,” Michael asked, as the creatures circled the sliders several times.

“I think they want us to follow them,” Max replied, motioning to the pilot of their slider to follow. She nodded and turned the slider in the direction the ray-like creatures were swimming. The other slider followed; but after a few moments, some of the passengers became concerned…

“Uh… we’re going to run into the side of that mountain up ahead,” Kyle said, “If we don’t turn some way or other soon.”

In spite of appearances, the ray-like creatures continued straight toward the cliffs. But they had no intention of running the sliders into the mountain; they were actually heading for a very large, and well concealed, cave. Liz was the first to see it and quickly pointed it out to the others…

“They’re showing us a way through the mountain.”

The rays swam into the cave, and the two sliders followed, turning on their lights in order to see in the darkness. The cave was huge inside; but most surprisingly, it appeared to be natural, not a man-made or Antarian-made phenomenon. All around the two sliders, there were huge stalactites and stalagmites that were undoubtedly hundreds of thousands of years old… formed when these mountains were still above sea level. But now, strange sea creatures swam among the cave’s many outcrops and made their homes in them. The slider pilots followed the rays as they turned a bend, in the darkness, and they noticed thousands of little eyes watching them from among the projecting calcium and lime deposits…

And one not-so-little set of eyes…

“Look out!” Kyle yelled, but the pilots had already seen the thirty-foot-long flopping creature with eyes larger than a semi tractor-trailer truck’s tires, and they skillfully avoided it. Though impressive in size and appearance, the creature made no effort to attack them. In fact, it seemed to be looking for a hiding place… probably from the huge rays that were leading the sliders through the tunnel-like cave.

In only six minutes, the sliders emerged on the outer side of the mountain. The cave’s opening on this side projected downward and was all but invisible to anyone looking straight at the mountain. And as if this were not enough, it was further concealed by a large rocky outcrop above it and tons of Antarian pink and green corals, making it even better hidden than the one on the valley side had been.

“No one would ever find that entrance,” Michael said, shaking his head in wonder… “Unless they knew exactly where it was.”

“Well, going through the mountain just saved us twenty minutes,” Max said, smiling.

The huge rays rolled over and headed back toward the cave, and the sliders’ occupants waved a last goodbye as the creatures seemed to simply disappear into a solid mountain. Moments later, Wade watched the mountains fade and disappear in the distance behind them… just as the domed valley had on the other side…

“That was fun! I still can’t believe I’m really on an alien world… and that I met a real alien shapeshifter. I didn’t even know they actually existed. But Rahn was so cool! And Ta’lan! And those guys that change into the ray things! I wish the Ke’cjes were hooked up to the internet… It’s a shame that they can’t access the worldwide web.”

Quinn smiled. “Yeah, I heard you suggest to Rahn that they form an Antarian-Ke’cje web and connect it to earth’s web so you could chat with them from time to time. Do the Ke’cjes have computers?”

Liz from the New Granolith nodded. “On our Antar, we have computers… and so do the Ke’cjes.”

“Here, too,” the Aquarian Liz said, “Of course, our computers use a different alphabet and language than earth ones, but their functions are similar. We don’t have an Antar-wide web, though. I think that would be a good idea… Max?”

Max shrugged. “I like it.”

Liz smiled at Wade. “You may be the inspiration for Antar’s first web. Maybe we’ll call it the Wade Web… the WW.”

Max smiled and chuckled.

“Cool,” Wade said, with an exuberant grin, as she glanced back at Quinn. But when she saw Quinn’s face this time, she had a very quick flash… like a repressed memory… of herself… “Quinn, Let’s get married… right here… right now.”

Wade shook her head vigorously, trying to dislodge the strange and unexpected “memory.”

”He’s mine!” Maggie objected, pulling Quinn back by the other arm, “He loves me!”

Wade flushed and then turned pale, as the dialog continued in disjointed flashes…

“He loves me more,” Wade heard herself say, and she saw herself pulling Quinn the other way again.

Wade shook her head briskly and rubbed her eyes.

“Is something wrong,” Quinn asked, looking concerned.

“I… I think I got an eyelash in my eye or something,” Wade replied, still looking somewhat pale.

“Let me look at it,” Quinn said, moving to sit beside Wade.

“I’ll do it,” said Maggie, moving ahead of Quinn and taking the seat beside Wade. She looked at Wade’s eyes and then shook her head. “It must have got out on its own. I don’t see it, Wade.”

“Yeah… I think it did,” Wade agreed, “I think it’s gone now.” She looked at Quinn, and Quinn smiled. Then she turned and stared out at the sea. She wasn’t sure what she had just seen, but she decided that it was best not to mention it.

For the next fifty-five minutes, they rode in relative silence, everyone marveling at the wondrous sights around them. The water of the Golden Sea was clear beneath the surface. Viewed from space, or even just from a distance, it had a rich golden hue, just as earth’s oceans have a blue hue. But down here, it was as clear as a glass of pure spring water. And there was plenty to see! Fifty-five minutes actually went by faster than anyone expected; and all too soon, they found themselves approaching Grelligo. The young pilots expertly maneuvered their sliders into the tube that connected all the city domes from that point on; and moments later, the riders felt a distinct jet-like surge, as their sliders suddenly accelerated in the tube to roughly 150 miles per hour.

Twelve minutes later, the sliders sped into Chanesio… and straight through Chanesio’s five huge domes… without slowing down, which took seven minutes. Eleven minutes after that, they sped through Aluzia, and eight minutes later, Jarnat. Twenty minutes after passing through Jarnat, the sliders entered the city of Merplex’Antar; and as they passed through several smaller domes inside the main city dome, the riders noticed that their sliders were slowing down. As they entered the fourth internal dome, the vehicles slowed even more.

“Are we there?” Wade asked, suspecting that they still had another stop to go.

Liz smiled. “Max and I asked the girls to stop the sliders at the Merplex mall. We thought you might like to do some shopping before you go home.”

Wade’s eyes lit up; but just as quickly, she looked suddenly crestfallen…

“I don’t have any money. Will they let me window shop?”

Liz grinned and handed Wade a silver button about the size of a dime.

“What’s this?”

“It’s the Antarian equivalent of a credit card,” Liz said, smiling, “It will adhere to your clothes wherever you put it. I have one for each of you.”

“Cool!” Wade exclaimed. “How long do we get to pay it off?”

“You don’t have to, the Aquarian Maria said, “This is the good kind of card! Everything gets billed to Max. I’ve been trying to get one of those forever!”

Michael grinned and looked at Max.

“Oh, wow!” Wade said, sounding a bit emotional, “You mean I can buy whatever I want… with this?”

Liz nodded. “Just put it on you… here. Then pass your hand over it.” Wade did. “Now it’s encoded to your DNA. Only you can use it. When you buy anything now, the cashiers will automatically charge the purchase to Max… as long as you have this on.”

“I don’t suppose this would work on earth…”

Liz shook her head and smiled.

“Nice try, though,” Michael said with a grin.

Liz placed a similar button on each of the other guests, including their doubles from the other dimension. “You’re all set!”

“I don’t think we can buy much,” Wade said, “We don’t have any way to get it home. We kind of like have to slide.”

“But we slide, too,” the Aquarian Isabel said.

Maggie laughed. “Okay, but you slide in a slider… we do it the hard way… free style! It’s kind of like… tumbling through this tube to where you’re going without a vehicle.”

Liz smiled. “Well, see, here’s the best part. Our Varec and his double have been going over some things together with Quinn and Max… your Max… and Max agreed that they’re going to get you home a little differently this time. When you open your vortex with that timer thing of yours, the New Granolith will go through it. You get to ride home in style.”

Wade looked at Quinn, and Quinn grinned, then Wade, Remmy, Professor Arturo, and Maggie all cheered.

“That way, I can tie you to a tree myself and make sure that you stay there this time,” Varec said, with a wry grin on his face. Quinn smiled and seemed to turn slightly red.

At that moment, the slider turned and exited the tube through one of the mall’s access points. Then it circled around the mall and came to a stop in what could only be described as a slider parking garage. Looking around, the guests saw hundreds of sliders of every possible length and style. The basic shape of each was the same; it had to be to fit into the tubes. But that seemed to be the only major similarity. They were all different colors. Some had more windows than others. Some were almost all windows and had clear roofs to boot, and others had almost no windows except in the front. Some were short, and some were really long, like buses or limos. But they all conformed to the shape of the tubes, a kind of sideways oval shape.

The guests and their Aquarian hosts got out of the two sliders they had just arrived in, and Liz herded the group toward a long escalator that led upward…

“That’s the way in. Shall we go forth and conquer the mall?”

Everyone nodded, grinning with anticipation.


<center> <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>> </center>

As they reached the top of the escalator, the visitors looked around at all the different stores and saw that the inside of the mall was huge. Directly in front of them was something that appeared to be a department-type store. The name on the sign above the door said, “Kyyks At Merplex,” but the Sliders couldn’t read it. To them, it was all a bunch of swirls and hieroglyphs.

“Looks like Sears or J.C.Penneys,” Wade said, walking toward the huge store.

“More like Saks Fifth Avenue,” Maggie said, looking around as she followed Wade in. Quinn, Remmy, Professor Arturo, and the group from the New Granolith followed the girls in, as did the Aquarian group, their hosts on this planet. It didn’t take Wade long to spot something that interested her… especially since it seemed that the ladies department was strategically placed where it would be seen as soon as one walked in. Wade and Maggie began looking through the clothes. Quinn looked at Remmy and the professor and shrugged. But a moment later, Wade pulled out a contour-fitted emerald-green gown that seemed to have a natural shimmer, though it had no sequins or other visible attachments…

“Ooh, slinky… and elegant!” Wade exclaimed, holding the gown up in front of herself… “It looks like it could fit!”

“Try it on,” Liz suggested. “The fitting rooms are right over there.”

Wade took the gown and rushed into the fitting room. Maggie shook her head and grinned. A few moments later, Wade opened the door and stepped out with the gown on. She looked stunning, and from the look on Quinn’s face, he thought so, too. His lower jaw dropped, but it was his eyes that told the story. It was understandable. He had never seen Wade in a formal-type gown before… especially one like this one. It made her look so… different. It seemed to hug and emphasize all the right features just the right way. Maggie noticed, too. She also noticed Quinn’s reaction…

“Uh, Wade, Dear, just between us,” Maggie said, pulling Wade aside after she had taken the dress back off, “That gown’s not really right for you. It makes you look fat… here.” Maggie indicated Wade’s buttox and tummy and gave her a sympathetic look. “And the boobs… the gown makes them look kind of… distorted… fakey. I’m sorry.”

Wade looked at the gown again then at Quinn, who was still looking her way, and nodded. “Thanks for helping me decide, Maggie!” Then she put the gown into her hover cart and pushed it down the aisle, a smile on her face. Maggie watched Wade walk away, with the gown in her cart, and shook her head. “That girl may be more of a challenge than I thought.”

“Do they have a sports and entertainment section,” Remmy asked.

Liz pointed to another escalator. “Up one floor.”

“That’s where I want to look,” Remmy said.

“I’ll go with you,” Professor Arturo hurried to add. “Quinn?”

Remmy smiled and took Quinn by the arm, pulling him with them. “Oh, yeah… yeah! I’m coming, too!”

“I’ll join you,” Michael from the New Granolith said, going with the three Sliders. “Me, too,” Kyle said. Then Jim joined them, too.

“Well, that’s most of the Y-chromosomes,” Maria from the New Granolith said. “How about we look at shoes… Oh, you know what? There’s somewhere else I want to look at first!”

Liz nodded, knowing exactly what Maria had in mind. “Me, too, Maria! Wait up! Isabel’s coming, too, I think!”

“Here it is!” Liz said a few moments later, pointing at the sign over the department. Maria smiled from ear to ear and quickly began to shuffle through one of the racks, as Isabel and Liz tackled another rack nearby…

“Ooh, this one is darling!” Maria said, pulling out a boy’s medium-sized shirt that appeared to be made of something waterproof. “I can just see this on Zorel!”

“You’ve got to get it!” Liz said, “It’s perfect, Maria!”

Liz gasped and pulled something off of the girls’ rack that looked vaguely like a cross between a jacket and a blouse. It was made out of blue denim… or something that looked like denim… and it was waterproof like the boy’s shirt Maria had pulled out. The denim-look blouse or jacket was tied at the waist with a color-coordinated sash, and it had a large, oversized, stand-up collar that was vaguely retro, though the overall look was futuristic. On the back of the jacket –Liz had decided that it was a light jacket- there was a great picture of a swimming dolphin. Liz pulled out two more of the jackets with the same denim look and design but different colors. One was dark off-red, the other forest green; and each had a color-coordinated sash at the waist…

“If they don’t like the colors, Jayyd will gladly change them for the girls, I’m sure, huh, Maria?”

Maria laughed and nodded. “There’s nothing Jayyd likes better than changing colors for people. She’s a real helper!”

“Those are for Maya, JoLeesa, and Andya?” Isabel asked. Liz nodded, as she pulled a boy’s small-size T-shirt with a large glow-in-the-dark starfish embossed on the front of it off the boy’s shirt rack and held it up with a grin.

“For Alyyx?” Maria asked. Liz nodded.

“Oh, Liz! It’s darling! You have to let me come over and see him with it on!”

Liz grinned. “I need to find something for Jeffy now. Is everything here waterproof?”

“I think so,” Isabel said, “It makes sense… they’re a water people… kind of.”

“What kind of fabric do you think these are made of,” Liz asked, showing Isabel the jackets and the T-shirt. Isabel shook her head. “I don’t know. It has a nice feel… it should be comfortable. It’s definitely strong… whatever it is. It should last a long time!”

“You don’t know Zorel!” Maria said.

Isabel laughed. “Yeah, well, Mareeya and Ceelya can be hard on clothes, too! You’re lucky with Jayyd. But she’s still little.”

“Yeah,” Maria agreed. “I need to find something for Jayyd… and Kryys!”

While the girls shopped for the children they were missing so much back home, some of the guys had already left the department store and had walked down the mall to see what else they could find. They were currently in an electronics outlet.

“What would you reckon the function of this unusual gadget to be,” Professor Arturo asked, holding up a hand held device about the size of Quinn’s timer. Quinn looked at the device in Professor Arturo’s hand and shook his head. “I don’t know. It emits a signal from the diode in the front, obviously. It appears to be watertight. And it has a small, inset video screen on the top. If I had to guess, I’d say it was some kind of hand-held laser.

Michael asked the clerk about the device then nodded. It is a laser… a laser sonar.”

“That is a contradiction in terms, my good fellow,” Professor Arturo said, “A sonar is a sound emitting device, whilst a laser is a light emitting device.”

“The clerk said that it emits a laser light, which in turn creates a sound wave in the water. The returning sound wave is picked up and rides the laser light back, then a picture is recreated on the screen… in color. You can see anything underwater up to about three thousand feet away with this thing… in full living color!”

Quinn took the device and looked at it, impressed. “That’s amazing! I’m not sure what I would do with it…”

“Well, I am,” Professor Arturo said, reclaiming the device from Quinn. I will take this, my good man.”

The clerk touched a screen, and a small, multi-colored light instantaneously flashed on the dime-sized button on the outside of the professor’s shirt pocket.

“What was that?”

Michael smiled. “That was the machine reading your credit card.”

“That’s all there is to it? I don’t have to sign anything?”

Michael shook his head. “Nope. It’s coded to your DNA and billed to Max’s double here. No one else could use it even if they did have it.”

Professor Arturo smiled. “I may buy something else! This is quite stimulating!”

Michael picked up something that looked like a plastic mechanical fish and asked the clerk about it. After a short conversation in Antarian, he had the clerk put three of them in a bag for him.

“What are those for,” Professor Arturo asked.

“They’re swim buddies. They swim with you in the water. They can play tag with you and do tricks like leaping out of the water; and the clerk claims they can be trained to do other things like finding lost objects underwater, protecting their owner from dangerous creatures, and even pulling a disabled full-grown man back to safety.”

“Those little plastic fish can do all that?” the Professor asked, amazed.

Michael smiled. “I wouldn’t bet my life on it. It’s sales hype. But it’s still pretty amazing. I’m getting one for Zorel, one for Kryys, and one for Jayyd.”

The Professor nodded and smiled. “Lucky children. They will have a great time with them if those creatures can do half of what was promised.”

“That’s the way I see it,” Michael agreed.

“You miss them, don’t you,” Quinn asked.

Michael nodded, and his eyes misted up. “We’ve seen a lot of things in all these other dimensions… it’s been a real experience. But I’d give anything to hold Jayyd in my arms again or play games with Zorel and Kryys… even if I can’t ever beat Kryys at anything anymore.”

“Is he the oldest,” Professor Arturo asked.

Michael shook his head. “No… he’s the middle one. Zorel is the oldest. But Kryys has special abilities. He’s kind of unique… even on Antar.”

The professor nodded understandingly. “I’m certain that he is. But in their own way, all the children are, aren’t they?”

Michael nodded and wiped his eyes quickly then smiled.

In a small shop nearby, Alex and Max from the New Granolith were looking at items inside a display case.

“Can I look at that one,” Alex asked in Antarian.

The clerk smiled and removed a stunning double ringed choker made of perfect pearls and highly polished red-black corals.

“It’s beautiful,” Alex said, taking it in his hands carefully and spreading it around his fingers. “What do you think, Max? You think Isabel will like it?”

“If she doesn’t, I’ll marry you myself,” Max said.

Alex looked at Max and raised his eyebrows. “That’s more than I want to know, Max.”

Max grinned. “It’s a joke, Alex! I just meant that, yeah, she’ll like it. She’ll love it! Who wouldn’t?”

Alex smiled and turned back to the clerk. “I’ll take it.”

Max asked to see a pearl heirloom cameo locket and necklace set from the case, and the clerk took it out. Max held it up and admired it. “What do you think, Alex? Will Liz like this?”

“Wow! If she doesn’t, I’ll discuss that marriage with you.”

Max looked at Alex and raised his eyebrows.

“Or not…” Alex said, “But if you wanted to give me the necklace, I wouldn’t turn it down.”

Max turned back to the clerk and handed her the necklace… “Can you gift wrap it?”

“Mine, too,” Alex said. “They’re for our wives.”

The clerk nodded and smiled, as she wrapped the gifts silently.

Over the next two hours, all the guests visited at least a dozen different stores in the mall, and each one bought something to take home. In fact, most of them bought a number of items to take home. Their host would have a pretty sizeable bill after this trip, but Max from the New Granolith was pretty sure that his Aquarian double was good for it… and then some.

As the hour approached to meet at the kiosk, everyone headed in that direction. Max and Alex found Tess and Rayylar already there. They had gone for a romantic walk and had watched a movie together, but they were also carrying a couple of bags, so they definitely had bought something to take back with them.

Within minutes, the entire gang was there. Maggie was conspicuously wearing a new pair of shoes and had a rather chic looking pink coral bracelet on her wrist. She also had some items in a bag.

“Look what I found,” Wade said, taking a pair of shoes out of a box. The shoes were emerald green and matched the gown she had bought perfectly. She had also found a small matching purse.

“They’re beautiful!” Tess said. “Where did you find them?”

“At Kyyks Merplex store,” Wade replied excitedly. “I also got a couple of blouses and some really far out jeans! What did you get?”

Tess smiled. “Some things for Jiba and Drel.”

“Who are they?”

“Our children… back home.”

Wade looked at Tess then at Rayylar, momentarily not knowing what to say, then she hugged them both. “I hope you find your planet real soon.”

“Thanks,” Tess said, wiping the corner of her eye and smiling.




<center>End of Chapter 40

tbc…</center>

Dude, can I go on a shopping spree on Max's dollar? :

Great part, Gerry. I can't believe that Maggie said that to Wade about the dress! She's quite conniving, isn't she? But I had to laugh when Wade's response was to buy the dress anyway. And what was with that vision Maggie had? Can't wait to read more! :D

Thanks, Jenny! That would be one great shopping trip, wouldn't it? Well, in this next chapter, Karma strikes, I guess. Max finds a way to repay them. There will probably be two chapters after that, but even at this point, that's a guess. Here's the next chapter.

<center> Sliding Into Antar </center>



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

One Good Turn…

Chapter 41

XLI

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>




Max walked forward and stood facing his Aquarian double for a moment, then he smiled… “I know I speak for all of us from the ship when I say thank you. You’ve made this an extraordinary visit. I wish there were some way we could repay all your kindness properly.”

The Aquarian Max gave his double a satisfied grin then turned and watched as some of the children, including his and Liz’s, ran through the palace lounge yet again chasing Jung-Jo, who was enjoying the romp through the underwater palace as much as the children were enjoying chasing him. None of the Aquarian children had ever seen a pawgor… or any other kind of land animal for that matter. Jung-Jo was a completely new life form for them. But he had taken no time at all to grow on them.

“You could leave that incredible pet here,” the Aquarian Max said with a smile. “The children would be in seventh heaven.”

Max smiled and raised one eyebrow slightly. “I’m afraid if I returned to our Antar without Jung-Jo my own children wouldn’t let me back into the palace… I would have to get Jung-Jo back before they would ever talk to me again.”

The Aquarian laughed.

“Oh, I’m sure that’s not true,” the Aquarian Liz said, “I know your children must miss you, too. And Max was kidding. He knows you can’t leave one of your crew behind.”

Max smiled. “He is like one of the crew, actually. We’ve gotten so used to him being underfoot all the time.”

“Yeah but he’s a great foot warmer,” Liz added, putting her arm around Max cheerfully.

Max and his double both jumped, as Jung-Jo trotted through again, this time with the Aquarian Michael’s youngest daughter, Serina, who appeared to be little Jayyd’s double, holding onto his tail and giggling hysterically as Jung-Jo pulled her around through the palace. And the other children were not far behind.

“Actually, I might not be able to get much work done if he stayed,” the Aquarian chuckled. “The thing is, Liz and I… and Michael and Maria… and Isabel and Alex… and Tess and Kyle… all grew up on earth, so we’ve seen land animals before. These children have never even seen a dog or a cat… or a bird. For them to actually get to play with a real land animal, one that hasn’t existed here for a hundred thousand years, is worth every Kyrin I may have to pay for that little shopping trip.”

“Um, I don’t know,” Max said, “Some of us can get really carried away when we’re spending someone else’s money.”

The Aquarian Michael laughed.

“It must have been weird for you,” Liz from the New Granolith said, turning to her Aquarian double, “Coming from earth to a water planet and living under the sea 24/7.”

The Aquarian Liz smiled and put her arm around her Max tightly. “Yeah, it’s different. But I never really questioned it. If Max had lived in a volcano… I guess I would have jumped in with him.”

Liz from the ship nodded and smiled understandingly.

The Aquarian Michael looked at his Maria. “Would you have followed me if I lived in a volcano?”

“Sure,” Maria said, teasingly, “If it was a dead volcano and if I was dressed in a fireproof suit just in case.” She looked into Michael’s eyes, and a grin slowly spread over her face… “I followed you here, didn’t I? I guess I’d follow you just about anywhere, Spaceboy.”

Michael smiled.

“When we came here,” the Aquarian Liz said, holding her hands up for everyone to see, “Their doctors offered to give us the same webbing that Max, Michael, Isabel, and Tess have now… right here between their fingers. But Maria and I decided not to change. Some day we may go back home for a visit, and Mom would freak if I had webbed hands. The idea of her little girl going to live under the sea… never mind on another planet… never really took with her.”

“And your dad?” Liz asked.

The Aquarian Liz smiled. “He just wanted to make sure that Max would take good care of me… and keep me happy.”

“I had to put it in writing!” the Aquarian Max said.

Liz looked surprised. “You mean you guys have never been back home since you came here… even once?”

Her double shook her head. “The factory at Chanesio is working on a large, intergalactic ship for us, but it’s still at least two years from being finished. Max doesn’t trust the ships we have now to make that kind of voyage. They’re getting kind of old.”

“Most of them were built around the 1930’s or 1940’s, earth time,” Max said, “They’re sixty to seventy years old now… some of them may be even older. I don’t intend to lose Liz in space. Jeff would kill me!”

Max from the New Granolith smiled.

“I wish Liz’s spheres worked here,” Michael said, shaking his head, “They only work in our own dimension. If they worked here we could send you home for a visit in the blink of an eye.”

“Spheres?”

Michael nodded. “In our dimension, we found these four spheres on a little moon off Jupiter. This guy named Shaqor, from a far away planet called Xarius, gave them to a girl named Maya when they were still both very young… twelve or thirteen thousand years ago, and she left them on that moon. Anyway, it turned out that Maya was a very distant ancestor of Liz’s, and the spheres responded to Liz.”

“What do they do,” the Aquarian Liz asked.

“One of them opens a portal to anywhere you want to go… well, almost. It’ll take us to earth and back or to another planet… or even into the past, but not into another dimension. Otherwise, we’d be home already. Another one is like a protector thing. Another one lets you see things that are somewhere else. And the last one helps you find things that are lost.”

“So, let’s see if I have this right,” the Aquarian Isabel said, “With these spheres, you can find something, then ask to see it, then go get it, and if there’s danger, you’ll be protected.”

Michael nodded. “Well, the sphere of protection has to be asked to protect you… and the sphere of the portal… the one that takes you places… kind of doesn’t like me, I think. If I ask to go somewhere, sometimes I step out into a river or something; and if I ask it to take me to someone, I may find myself in the bathroom with them or in some other embarrassing situation… unless I’m really, really specific with my instructions.”

“Michael learned how to be very specific very fast,” Liz said, smiling, “I let him use my spheres once to go on a long trip.”

“Do you have these spheres with you now?” the Aquarian Max asked.

Liz shook her head. “I don’t need them. I just have to call them. They work wherever they are… but only for me or for someone that I authorize to use them… and only in our own dimension.”

The Aquarian Max looked at his own Liz… “It’s possible that these spheres exist here, too, in our dimension. They may be on that moon.”

“But we would still have to wait until the ship is ready in order to go there and find them,” Liz said.

Max nodded.

“Maybe not,” Michael said, “If Maya in this dimension was related to your Liz, and if she left her spheres on that moon, maybe your Liz could call them.”

Liz from the New Granolith looked at Michael, and her jaw dropped. “Michael! That’s a great idea! They could go home anytime they wanted then!”

“That’s what I was thinking.”

“Hold out your hand,” Liz said to her Aquarian counterpart. “Ask for the sphere of the portal.”

The Aquarian Liz did, but nothing happened. After trying a second time, she gave up…

“It’s either not there or it doesn’t respond to me, I guess.”

“I’m sorry,” Liz said, “It seemed like a good idea.”

Michael closed his hand into a fist and groaned dejectedly… “Lousy sphere! I can get over ours dumping me in a river. It’s got a twisted sense of humor. But you don’t even care what happens to Liz!”

“This isn’t our dimension,” Liz reminded him softly, “Maya may have never existed here. There may not be any spheres here.”

“I know,” Michael grumbled, “But…”

As Michael spoke, the air in front of him shimmered momentarily, and a portal appeared. No one was more surprised than Michael…

“It came! You did it, Liz! You do have the spheres in your dimension!”

“I am not of this dimension,” a voice from within the portal said, “I came because you called me.”

“Me?” Michael asked, “You mean… you’re our sphere… from our dimension?”

“I am.”

“I thought you couldn’t function in another dimension.”

“I cannot.”

“Then how are you…?”

“I cannot function here… in the way that I was designed… but I never said that I could not appear.”

Michael looked at the portal. “So you can’t take them to earth… or take us back home?”

“I cannot.”

“So you just came to torture us?”

“Torture is not a part of my personality.”

“Personality!” Michael exclaimed, “Is that what you call dumping me in the river when I asked to be taken to one of my children?”

“He was in a boat… on the river. There was no room in the boat for you. I obeyed your request. I took you to him. You did not wish to sink his boat did you?”

“Yeah, well… I guess… but you seemed to enjoy it a bit too much.”

The sphere did not reply, and Max snorted. “It does have a sense of humor!”

Michael scowled. “Yeah, well, it wasn’t you that stepped through and fell into a river on another planet, Max!”

“Why ARE you here?” Max asked.

The portal seemed to shimmer for a moment, and Michael feared that it was about to leave…

“No! Don’t go!”

“I was not going; I was calculating. I cannot function in this dimension, but the spheres of this dimension exist, and they can.”

“Well, they don’t seem to want to answer,” Michael said, “ So I don’t guess they’ll do us any good.”

“They cannot hear you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I checked on the spheres. They are in the cave on the moon off Jupiter… just as I was in my dimension. But in this dimension, a meteor has destroyed the cave, and large parts of the meteor lie near the wall where Maya hid the spheres, deep underground. Something in the meteor is preventing it from hearing anyone call.”

Michael nodded. “Then it can’t help us. They would have to go there and dig it out… when their ship is ready in two years… Just how do you HEAR anyway? I’ve always wondered about that.”

“The word ‘hearing’ is not accurate. No word exists for the way we perceive. It is a connection with a mind that we are in tune with. But there is another way that the sphere of the portal in this dimension may function for them. I can relay the call. Right now, it does not come, because it cannot perceive the one calling.”

“Then it could take them to earth?”

“Yes.”

“And bring them back?”

There was a pause. “Only if I relayed the message again.”

There was a long silence. “Listen,” Michael said at last, “You didn’t take all that stuff I said before seriously, did you… about the twisted humor and torture and all?”

Michael could almost feel the sphere’s satisfaction. “It is okay. Being offended is not part of my personality. There is much that you do not know about us. We have the capacity for… enjoyment. But we are loyal. I would never let Liz fall into a river.”

“Oh, I’m so lucky!” Michael exclaimed, “I’m special!”

“In a way,” the sphere replied.

“So, listen… would you, you know, be willing to relay messages if these people want to visit their families on earth sometime? And would you answer their call to relay a message when they’re ready to come back?”

“I belong to Liz… and to Maya and Shaqor. One of them will have to ask; if they ask, I will do it. Liz gave you permission to call me, but she needs to give permission for anyone else.”

“I do!” Liz said excitedly.

“You will have to give me your instructions,” the voice from the portal said, “I will convey them to the sphere in this dimension. You will not be able to talk to the portal when it appears… nor it to you.”

“Is this safe?” the Aquarian Max asked, “I mean, if the sphere here can’t hear us, is it possible that it might not be able to bring us back?”

“It is functional in every way except perceiving your thoughts,” the portal said.

“I’ll go now!” the Aquarian Liz exclaimed excitedly. “I want to see Dad and Mom. Would you ask it to take me to the CrashDown… on earth… in Roswell… New Mexico?”

The portal disappeared. Fourteen seconds later, another portal appeared.

“Are you… our portal?” Liz asked.

There was no response.

“Liz,” Max said with a worried expression on his face… “Maybe I should go with you.”

“It’ll be fine, Max. I’ll be back in an hour… or two. Three at the most.”

The Aquarian Max looked at his double.

“It’ll be fine,” Max said. “If it doesn’t bring her back, we’ll go get her for you in the New Granolith. It would take about a week, round trip. But the spheres have always been dependable. If ours believes that the one here can function normally, I think we can trust it.”

The Aquarian nodded then hugged Liz and kissed her… “Take care of yourself, Liz.”

“I will. I’ll be back before you miss me.”

“Not possible.”

Liz smiled then stepped into the shimmering ether of the portal and disappeared.


<center> <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>> </center>

Jeff Parker wiped the sweat off his forehead again and stuck a spatula under each one of the burgers on the grill, deftly flipping them over. Since Michael had left, Jeff had gone back to doing most of the grilling and cooking himself… but he had to admit that he sometimes missed Michael, even now; Michael certainly had a way with rush orders! Jeff sighed and turned around to look for the buns. Finding the package, he laid four buns out on the grill and pressed them down slightly for a few seconds then scooped them up and flipped them onto platters. Then he laid the burgers on them and added the particular accoutrements and fixings that made each one whatever it was that had been ordered. Finally, after a quick look to make sure that everything was exactly what had been ordered, he picked up the tray and carried it to the service window, ringing the bell for a girl to pick it up.

Jeff barely looked at the girl with the antennas on her head and the alien-themed apron as she smiled and picked up the platter. But when he turned back around to prepare the next order, something flashed in his mind… the face… the smile. For a moment, Jeff’s heart stopped. He was sure of it. He spun around and gazed through the window at the girl who was placing the orders on the table. A second later, Jeff flew out of the kitchen and across the dining area and scooped Liz up in his arms, spinning her around and around, to the surprise… and apparently the delight… of all his patrons.

“Liz? Omigod! When did you get back?”

“Just a little while ago. I came straight here.”

“You hear that?” a girl at a table nearby whispered to her companion. “She just got back into town and first place she comes is to the dinah to work.”

“Yeah, but they really, really appreciate the girls here. Ernie throws me a apron an’ sez ‘Hope ya had fun. Now get yer arse back to work.’”

“The other girl chuckled. “If Ernie had you in his arms, it’d be cause youse broke somethin’ and he wuz takin it out in an equal number of yer ribs.” She smiled and sighed, as she watched Jeff spin around and around with Liz in his arms, tears streaming down both of their faces. “But if Ernie looked like this guy… and treated me like that… I could cut him a lot of slack.”

“I think you better set me down, Dad,” Liz said, “The customers are staring.”

“Let them stare. Come on. I want to hear everything. I’ll get Marge to cover for me here for a while. Let’s go upstairs.”

Jeff put Liz down then took her by the hand and walked briskly toward the CrashDown’s lounge, where Marge was taking a break. A few moments later, they were upstairs in the apartment.

“Nancy! Nancy, I have a surprise for you! Where are you?”

Nancy came out of a back room, with a handful of books. When she saw Liz, she gasped, and the books fell precipitously to the floor, as she rushed to her daughter, hugging her, kissing her, and crying. After a couple of minutes, she leaned back and looked Liz over…

“Is Max taking good care of you, Dear?”

“Funny! I thought Dad would be the first to ask me that. Yes, he’s taking very good care of me, Mom! And before you ask, Yes! I’m happy! Very happy!”

Liz looked at her mother again. “You’re not disappointed, are you, Mom? You thought I left him and came home to live?”

Nancy smiled and hugged Liz again. “No, of course not! Though it would be great if you lived here again.”

“I’m a grown woman, Mom. Grown women get married and move out of their parents’ house.”

“But not off of their planet,” Nancy said, giving Liz another kiss.

Liz grinned. “Okay, you got me on that one. But I’m really happy. You have to believe that!”

“Where is Max?” Jeff asked. “Are the others here, too? Are Maria and Michael here?”

“I came by myself this time, Dad.”

Jeff looked at Liz, and his eyes seemed to widen… “By yourself? Did you have a pilot?”

Liz shook her head. “I didn’t fly. Well… actually, I’m not exactly sure what it was. I stepped through a portal and I was just here.” Liz proceeded to tell Jeff and Nancy all about their visitors from the other dimension and about the strange sphere that talked… and the one that had brought her here.

“You see, if this works like it’s supposed to, we can come here any time at all to see you, just by stepping through the portal.”

“But it sounds like you took a big risk,” Jeff said, “I’m surprised Max didn’t stop you.”

“He wanted to come with me, but if something didn’t go as planned and the sphere didn’t show up to take us back, I didn’t want him to be stranded here, too. He’s needed there.”

“You mean that could happen?” Nancy asked. “You could be stranded here… with us?”

Liz smiled. “Mom!”

“I was just wondering. I didn’t mean I was wishing it.”

“Well, Max… the one from the other dimension… seems to trust his sphere a lot… I mean, Liz’s sphere. It actually belongs to her. And this one, we think, will respond to me once we find it and dig it out of the cave it’s buried in on a little moon off Jupiter. But that’s at least two years away. Until then, I have to call my double’s sphere and tell it where I want to go, and it passes along the information to my sphere.”

“Kind of like a booking agent, huh,” Jeff said with a grin.

Liz laughed. “A lot faster, though! And a lot less hassle! You know what this means, Dad? You guys could come see us!”

“In an underwater world?” Nancy protested, “I’m not too sure about that! I never liked being enclosed. I can’t see myself underwater.”

“That way you could see your grandchildren,” Liz said, dropping the bombshell.

For a moment, there was silence, then Nancy sat down, pulling Liz down beside her on the sofa. “How many? How old? Boys or girls? What are they like?”

“I’m not sure I have enough time, Mom. I kind of promised Max I’d come right back. He’s worried about me coming here alone.”

“He should be!” Jeff said.

Liz stood up and called the sphere of the portal from the other dimension; and in seconds, something began to happen in the room. The air shimmered, and something resembling a large, borderless mirror that one might easily get sucked into and be lost in stood in front of them. It was the portal. Liz looked at Nancy then at Jeff. “I could send you back here in a few hours… or whenever you’re ready to come back.”

“Wait a minute,” Jeff said, picking up the phone beside the sofa and dialing a number hastily…

“CrashDown Café! Marge speaking!”

“Marge… would you close up for me tonight? I’ve got to go somewhere. I’ll be back before opening time in the morning. There’s a bonus if you’ll do it.”

“Sure, Mr. Parker. You have a good time. It’s nothing bad, is it?”

“No… No, it’s not bad. Thanks, Marge!”

Liz turned to the portal… “Would you ask my sphere to take the three of us to Max, where it found me before… please?”

The portal disappeared and another one reappeared in fourteen seconds, just as before.

“This would be our flight,” Liz said, taking Jeff with one hand and Nancy with the other. “Are you ready?”

Both of them nodded silently, then Liz stepped into the portal with them by the hand.


<center> <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>> </center>

Max saw the air shimmer, and he knew that the portal was appearing. But what happened next was totally unexpected…

“Mr. Parker! Mrs. Parker! I… wasn’t expecting you. Welcome to Antar.”

Jeff smiled. “We wanted to see how well you’re taking care of our little girl, Max.”

“Very well,” Max’s double from the other dimension said for him. “Trust me on that!”

Jeff looked at Max’s double then at the others. “This could take some getting used to, seeing two of you.”

Max hugged Liz. “Did everything go smoothly? You’re okay, right?”

Liz nodded, as she hugged Max back and kissed him… “I just stepped through. That’s all there was to it. Smooth as silk.”

Max looked at his double from the other dimension and held out his hand, a big smile on his face…

“Thank you! This is something we never, ever expected in our wildest dreams. It’s going to change our lives so totally for the better.”

His double from the New Granolith took his hand in his and smiled back…

“You know what they say… One good turn deserves another. We owed you.”





<center>End of Chapter 41

tbc…</center>

<center> Sliding Into Antar </center>



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Earth Prime

Chapter 42

XLII

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>




Jeff watched as Jung-Jo trotted into the palace lounge then out the other side, disappearing down the long royal hallway, followed closely by a string of children… and Nancy.

“She’s in Heaven, Max… or her second childhood one.”

“Well, I guess she’s entitled. She has four grandchildren she never saw before and didn’t even know existed until six hours ago.”

Jeff nodded. “Triplets… that was a shock.”

“It kind of was for us, too,” Max said with a grin. “Alexina, Claudie, and Bria. Then Jeffrey came along a little over two years later. We’ve got a full house.”

“And we’ve got an empty one… with Liz gone. You may have opened a Pandora’s Box with that sphere of yours. Nancy will be on your doorstep every day now.”

“She’ll be pretty wet then. We’re underwater.”

Jeff laughed. “Yeah… That’s another thing… I know you said the palace and everything on your planet was underwater, but I never really expected something this… sophisticated.”

“Aw, shucks, Mr. Parker. You didn’t think a good old Roswell alien boy like me had it in him?” Max asked, doing the best Andy Griffith impression he could muster.

“You know what I mean, Max… and for the record, it took me a good while to come to terms with that… your past and all, I mean. But this whole complex is huge and… and… well, sophisticated. I forget that I’m underwater at all in here. And your transportation system is amazing. Everything seems to work so well here. You’ve really made a place for yourself… and for Liz… and for the children.”

Max smiled. “Well, I can’t take responsibility, really, for the complex. The original one was built a hundred thousand years ago. It’s been refurbished many times over the years and was rebuilt completely twenty-seven times, or roughly every 3,500 years. The last time was about four hundred years ago.”

“That’s some pretty outstanding lasting power. What do they build these city domes out of? It can’t be steel and glass!”

Max shook his head. “Steel would rust in a short time… and glass is too fragile, even in its strongest forms. The domes… and all of the structures in them… are composed of a polymer made from the nacre-like secretions of three different Antarian mollusks. In a sense, our domes are huge, clear clam shells and our cities are reefs.”

“Well, that explains why they’re so durable and appropriate for the environment. But don’t you have a problem finding enough clams… or whatever the mollusks are that you get building materiel from?”

“We don’t harm them, we farm them… the way some pearl cultivators grow pearls in oysters. There are huge farms of two of the mollusks we use outside of Aluzia. The other is not far from Grelligo. These farms harvest copious amounts of the nacreous substance from the mollusks, with no harm to the mollusks. We keep the substance in solution until we’re ready to shape it into a dome or a wall or whatever. Once it’s shaped, it’s allowed to harden. The original cities were made using nacre from only one species of mollusk, known here as the xerat. It looks a lot like a giant clam but grows to be about fourteen feet wide. The xerat’s nacre hardens into a sort of mother-of-pearl, which is what nacre is. The original inhabitants polished it until it was thin enough to see through in places. That original dome was still functional and solid when it was replaced with a bigger dome 3,000 years later. None of the domes has ever worn out or broken. They’re only replaced to make them larger, to accommodate something new, like the slider tubes, or because we’ve upgraded the product, as we did when we combined the xerat’s nacre with the nacre of the kopro and the axlyy. Kopros look like huge, hundred-pound queen conchs, and axlyys… really can’t be described. The axlyy’s nacre is the clearest substance known on Antar. It needs no polishing and can remain equally thick at all its points. The unique polymer obtained by combining the three substances is also virtually indestructible. It practically lives and breathes. It just doesn’t deteriorate. Our biggest problem is getting rid of the old domes when we want to replace them.”

“Well, if this one’s only four hundred years old, you won’t have to do that for, what? Another 3,100 years, give or take?”

Max nodded. “Or whenever someone decides that something should be upgraded or expanded. It could be ten years from now or ten thousand years from now. Either way, this dome will still look just like it does now when it’s finally replaced.”

“Amazing.”

Jeff and Max watched the children chase Jung-Jo through the lounge again. Nancy was still with them; if she was tiring yet, she wasn’t showing it.

“I’m really surprised that your double agreed to leave his pet behind when they left.”

Max nodded. “He caved in to the kids. But we won’t get to keep Jung-Jo. They’re sending the portal for him before they jump to the other dimension.”

“How are you going to coax that thing into the portal?”

“I have a feeling we won’t have to, but we’ll solve that problem when we come to it.”

As Max spoke, three of the children ran up to him.

“Did you guys get tired of playing with Jung-Jo?”

Alexina sniffed and looked at Max with sad eyes. “Jung-Jo disappeared. The portal came, and he went in it.”

“Well, that answers that,” Jeff said.

“Aw, Honey…” Max picked his ten-year-old daughter up… “Jung-Jo had to go back home. He has a family to return to, too. I know he’ll miss you guys, though.”

“Daddy,” Claudie said, as an idea seemed to pop into her ever-scheming little head, “Couldn’t we use the portal and go to a dry Antar and get our own pet pawgor?”

“It wouldn’t be Jung-Jo,” Alexina said emphatically.

Max nodded. “I’m afraid Alex is right. Jung-Jo is sort of special… I’ve been told. Pawgors aren’t usually friendly like Jung-Jo was. They’re dangerous. Jung-Jo is the first one ever tamed. They saved him when he was a baby, and raised him.”

“We could save a baby pawgor, Daddy,” Bria said, “And bring it back.”

Max smiled. “It wouldn’t work like with Jung-Jo, Bri. He’s just one of a kind.”

Bria nodded. “I know, but I miss him.”

The girls looked upward, then all the other children looked upward, too, as Nancy stood behind them, her arms around as many of them as she could reach around.

“Goodbye, Jung-Jo! Don’t forget us!” eight-year-old Jeffrey said.

“I can guarantee you that Jung-Jo will never forget you,” Nancy said, “He had a great time.”

The children smiled and turned to Nancy… “You’re it!” Bria said, tapping her grandmother on the arm and running. Instantly, the other children scattered, too, disappearing in all directions. Nancy took a deep breath and breathed it out slowly. “I know I’m going to feel this tomorrow… but what the hey… You only live once!”

Jeff looked at Max and chuckled, as Nancy rushed off after the children.

“Fame is fleeting… even for a pawgor.”

Max nodded. “But the warm place in their hearts will never forget him.”


<center> <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>> </center>

Onboard the New Granolith, the air shimmered and Jung-Jo stepped through onto the ship’s bridge.

“Our crew is complete,” Max said, turning to Varec then to Michael, who was at the controls in the co-pilot’s seat. “Take it away, Sulu.”

“Yes, Captain,” Michael replied, passing his hand over the preset control. As he did, a beam leapt out in front of the ship, and an immense tunnel-like vortex appeared in front of them. Max turned and looked at Quinn…

“Impressed?”

Quinn nodded. “Very!”

“Take us in, Michael. Everyone hold on.”

Michael aimed the ship at the mouth of the vortex and took it over the rim. Suddenly, the ship was grabbed by something within the vortex and pulled in at the speed of light. Then the vortex was gone.

A moment later, the New Granolith shot out of the vortex on the other end, and Max looked out the bridge window and smiled. “There it is… Earth… your Earth… straight ahead.”

The five Sliders gathered in front of the window to look. They were probably about twice as far out as the moon, a mere hop for the New Granolith. Michael pushed the ship forward at approach speed, and five minutes later, they passed the moon. Then he slowed the ship to final approach speed. Twelve minutes later, they soared into earth’s atmosphere, fully cloaked, and made their way across the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco. As they approached Quinn’s house, Michael took the ship down to two hundred feet.

“You’re all staying for the wedding, aren’t you?” Quinn asked, putting his arm around a smiling Maggie Beckett, “Maggie and I plan to be wed three days from today. We need long enough to prepare and to get my family together, but we knew that you guys wouldn’t be able to stay any longer than that. Maggie and I would really like for you to be there.”

Max looked at Michael and the others. Everyone shrugged then nodded and smiled. He noticed that Wade smiled, too; but it was only her lips, not her eyes that were smiling.

“If we all have to be off of the ship at the same time, we will not be able to leave it parked here. There’s too much air traffic,” said Varec, “So I created a remote control for the ship. We can send it into space and put it in a safe orbit. When it’s needed, I’ll be able to recall it.” Varec handed Max and Michael separate controls, like the one in his own hand, a small, flip-cover device that looked like and was about the size of a matchbook.

“What’s this,” Max asked.

“Redundancy… in case we lose one of the remotes or something happens to it… each one of us has one. Any of us can call the ship back.”

“What if someone else found the remote… or stole it,” Michael asked.

“The devices are coded to the DNA on file for the three of us. Any of the three of us will be able to operate any of the three remote controls, but no one else can.”

“Good thinking.”


<center> <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>> </center>

The day of the wedding found everyone up early. Professor Arturo taught his morning classes then headed to his favorite barber shop for a much-needed touching up of his hair and beard, but he had to ask the shop keeper to pull the shades. It seemed that everywhere the Sliders went now they were followed by news teams and paparazzi. They had, in only three days, become celebrities. Everybody wanted to know everything there was to know about them… about their adventures… and about the amazing vortex. Max and the rest of the crew of the New Granolith tried to keep low profiles; and for the most part, they had more or less succeeded… only because the cameras had plenty of other targets of opportunity at the moment, and because most people assumed that they were from Maggie’s world, which had been destroyed by a supernova. So they assumed that, like Maggie, these new arrivals would still be around to talk to for awhile.

But far from San Francisco, one person sat in darkness, watching the news tape he had recorded earlier. He saw Quinn and his companions, but he was more interested in the shy group shunning the cameras. He paused the tape again and leaned in close to the screen… “I knew they’d turn up again someday. So it begins.”

Daniel Pierce stood up and took out his cell phone, as he closed his office door and locked it…

“Andy? Yeah, Dan here. Have you been watching? Yeah, it’s him… the ‘king’ himself… and his whole entourage… the ones that gave us the slip down in Roswell before we could get our team together. It looks like they’ve finally returned… and they brought an advance invasion force back with them… those kids pretending to have accidentally discovered parallel worlds. Get the guys together. We’re going to a wedding.”

The morning passed peacefully in San Francisco, as everyone prepared for Quinn and Maggie’s wedding. Alex had resigned himself to the apparent fact that Quinn would not be marrying Wade, in spite of his lingering certainty that Quinn and Wade loved each other and that Maggie wasn’t right for him. But he had done all he could. Now he had to accept that their lives were in their hands… maybe…

Four o’clock came, and the guests gathered in the garden outside a small chapel not far from where Quinn and Wade lived. Because of the wedding couple’s celebrity status, great effort had been taken to assure the wedding group as much privacy as possible from the media and from curious prying eyes, though quite a few people were allowed in as guests and as guests of the guests. The street leading to the chapel was closed off, and a police cruiser was stationed at the end to enforce it.

By 4:15, all the invited guests were present and seated, and the wedding began, with Liz, Maria, Isabel, and Tess acting as bridesmaids, and Remmy, Michael, and Max acting as ushers, and Professor Arturo as best man. Wade had been asked to be maid of honor but had declined.

“…We are gathered here today to…” the preacher began.

Wade closed her eyes, as something tugged at her heart, like a memory that just wouldn’t come out and yet wouldn’t go away…

“Quinn, Let’s get married… right here… right now.”

She put her head in her hands and rubbed her eyes.

”He’s mine!” Maggie objected, pulling Quinn back by the other arm, “He loves me!”

“He loves me more,” Wade heard herself say, and she saw herself pulling Quinn the other way again.

“If anyone knows any reason why…” the preacher continued…

Maggie looked at Quinn and grinned.

Wade looked up at the sky for a moment in an effort to remove the unwanted flashes from her mind; and as she did, the silence was broken…

“NO! STOP!”

The words had a terminal effect, like a record being scratched by someone suddenly pushing the needle across it. The “music” came to a quick and sudden end, and everyone turned to see who had spoken the fateful words…

“This marriage cannot proceed…”




<center>End of Chapter 42

tbc…</center>


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<center> Sliding Into Antar </center>



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

For Whom The Bells Toll, part 1

Chapter 43

XLIII

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Wade gasped and put both hands over her mouth. Had she said what she was thinking out loud? She was mortified to think that she had let her personal feelings ruin Quinn’s wedding. And now everyone was staring at her. What would she say?

“This marriage cannot proceed… until I have spoken with Captain Beckett.”

Wade jumped and turned around. She had not even noticed the mist that had appeared in the aisle beside her, nor had she noticed the man who had stepped out of the mist. It was he everyone was staring at. Wade sank into her seat, somehow relieved.

The man walked purposefully down the aisle, as a general might, as though he owned the place, and Maggie gasped…

“Jonathan? Oh my gosh! Where did you come from? I thought… you had died!”

“I am happy to say that any rumor to that effect was premature. Many of us found refuge on an uninhabited world before the super nova destroyed our world, but the KroMaggs followed us. We’re making a stand, Maggie. I was charged with finding you and bringing you back… if you will come. We need all the help we can get. Your experience could make the difference between our people… what’s left of us… finding new lives on a new world or… being eradicated totally by the KroMaggs.”

Maggie looked at Quinn apologetically and handed him her bouquet. “I’m sorry, Quinn. I love you… I really do. I hope you know that and will always remember it… but my duty…”

“I’ll come with you.”

Maggie shook her head. “No… It’s not your fight. We may not survive against the KroMaggs.”

“Then don’t go.”

“I’m a captain in the marines. I have a duty.”

“Your duty ended when a super nova destroyed your world.”

“My duty to an institution ended… not my duty to my people. Can you understand, Quinn?”

Quinn looked down then nodded quietly. “I’ve put my life in danger before, Maggie. I’ll come with you. I’m not afraid to die.”

Maggie shook her head and kissed Quinn lightly on the lips. “You would be a distraction… for me. I need to give all of me to the cause if we are to succeed. Goodbye, Quinn.”

Quinn staggered and watched as Maggie disappeared into the mist with Jonathan. Then he looked at the crowd that had gathered for the wedding. What would he say? They looked as stunned as he was.

Alex leaned over and whispered something to Jung-Jo, lying quietly beside him on the far side, away from the aisle, and Jung-Jo hopped up and trotted gingerly around the seats until he got to Wade. He took her gently by the arm and pulled, but she resisted, so Jung-Jo put his mouth around her waist. This brought gasps from the guests, many of whom believed that the strange saber-toothed cat that the Sliders had brought back with them was going to eat Wade right in front of them. But instead, Jung-Jo gently lifted her off her chair and carried her to the front, then he put her down next to Quinn, on her feet.

Quinn looked at Alex and shook his head in disbelief, then he smiled at Wade.

“I lied,” Wade said quietly, “I do love you, Quinn. I didn’t want to ruin what you had with Maggie, because I knew she was what you wanted… and what you needed to be happy.”

Quinn took Wade’s hands in his and shook his head. “You turned down my proposal just so I could marry Maggie?”

Wade nodded sheepishly.

“Wade, Maggie is an amazing woman, but she can’t hold a candle to you. As much as I loved her… and I did… I love you more. You’re special. But you and I always had sort of an agreement… to be friends. I didn’t want to ruin that. And when I asked, you said…”

“I know,” Wade nodded, “I said that I didn’t love you like that. It was the hardest lie I ever told in my life. I was sick all night.”

“And you did that for me?”

“Well, I didn’t do it for her?”

Quinn smiled, then he got down on one knee, still holding Wade’s hands in his…

“Wade, will you marry me?”

This unexpected turn brought thunderous applause from the guests.

Wade smiled, and tears ran down her cheeks. She dared not try to speak, so she just nodded, but the smile on her face told Quinn all he needed to know. And this time, the smile was also in her eyes.

“I’d like to have time to prepare, Quinn… a day or two. I want this to be our wedding, not yours and Maggie’s. I don’t want to be the leftovers at her wedding.”

Quinn smiled. “Wade, you’ll never be leftovers. You’re definitely…”

Wade put one finger on Quinn’s lips. “Save it. You can tell me later… after we’re married.”

“When do you want to do it, Wade?”

Wade’s eyes opened wide, and she smiled.

“Get married! Get married, I mean!”

“Can I have till day after tomorrow… about this time… right here in the garden?”

“You can have anything you want.”

Quinn turned to the guests… “We’re going to have a slight delay, just till day after tomorrow… same time. I hope you’ll all be here.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” one man said, standing up with his wife, “This is real entertainment!”

His wife smiled, looking slightly embarrassed, but she didn’t contradict him. One by one, the guests all filed out of the garden and drove off, leaving Quinn and Wade together with just each other and the group from the New Granolith.

“I wanted Mom and Dad to be at my wedding,” Wade said to Quinn. “I want Dad to give me away. But I want you guys to be here, too,” she said, turning to Liz and Max. Can you stay just two more days?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Michael said, mimicking the man who had left earlier, “This is entertainment. How often do you get to see a pawgor carry the bride up to the groom?”

Wade grinned. “Well, I had something else in mind for Jung-Jo this time. Isabel told me that he has some experience in this already.”

Liz looked at Jung-Jo, then she suddenly knew what Wade was talking about. “You want Jung-Jo to be the ring bearer?”

Wade nodded emphatically. “Is that okay?”

“I think Jung-Jo would be delighted,” Liz said, “He’s becoming such a ham.”

“Do you think… the droids on the ship could make me a wedding gown, too? Isabel said they work fast and they’ve done it before.”

Liz nodded. “I’ll get them right on it. You’ll need to come back to the ship tonight and choose the style you like… and take some measurements.”

“Okay. Eight o’clock?”

“We’ll come get you at eight.”

Max and his group turned and walked into the little chapel. From there, they would call the ship and transfer up to it… out of sight of prying eyes. Finally alone, Quinn and Wade went for a walk together, but as they reached the road, they were suddenly surrounded by black cars. Then seven men jumped out, armed to the teeth.

“Stop right there!”

“Who are you?” Quinn asked, stepping in front of Wade.

“Name’s Pierce… Daniel Pierce. You can relax. It’s Max I’m looking for. I’ve already checked you both out. You’re human.”

“You’re the FBI guy… the one with the secret unit,” Quinn said, remembering Max and the others telling them about Pierce once.

“Where’s Max?”

“You’re too late. He’s gone.”

“Gone where?”

Quinn pulled out his timer and pressed the button; and when he did, the vortex appeared.

“Where does that go?”

“To another place… where they’re safe.”

“They walked into that thing?”

Quinn nodded.

“Come on,” Pierce said, waving to the other men, who looked a bit less eager than Pierce did. Pierce rushed into the vortex followed by all six of his men, then the vortex closed.

“Where did they go?” Wade asked.

“I’m not sure. I think it’s a KroMagg world. They want to fight aliens… let them fight KroMaggs. They’re not aliens, but they’re as alien as you can get on earth. We need to tell Max that this guy was looking for him. When they come to take you to the ship at eight, I’ll go with you.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Do you think Pierce can get back here?”

Quinn smiled. “Not a chance. He doesn’t have the timer.”

“The KroMaggs have slider capabilities.”

Quinn nodded. “He would have to form an alliance with them. Somehow I don’t see that happening. My bet is, Pierce and all his men will either be dead or in a KroMagg camp by nightfall.”

“Ugh! As repulsive as that thought is, I can’t think of anyone more deserving.”

Quinn smiled.




<center>End of Chapter 43

tbc…</center>

Hehe, Pierce is so gullible. : He wasn't a threat for very long.

I'm glad that things have worked out for Quinn and Wade.

“I’d like to have time to prepare, Quinn… a day or two. I want this to be our wedding, not yours and Maggie’s. I don’t want to be the leftovers at her wedding.”

I was hoping Wade would say something like that. It would have been weird for them to just pick up and marry right there after Maggie left.

Keep up the awesome work! :D

i have almost caught back up. let me tell you. kivar as good. hysterical. someone should write an alt-fic with that as a story a good kivar. and a girl nicolas. hee hee. isabel and michael are crazy. and the sliders are back. i love alex as match maker. you listen to him, he knows what he's talking about