the ride over to the gate only took a few minute once we reached the asteroid it was small enough that it didn't have much gravity but it had just enough for there to be a sense of down we landed and bounce shuffled towards the door approaching the door Jean said well we know one thing about the gate Builders what's that genan I asked that they were about our size that door is a pretty normal looking door for Ry it that the size of the door on the kooxy gates yes so far this gate follows the
standard plan of the gates we found as we approached the door I noticed that there wasn't any markings on the outside no handles no wheels how do we open the door I asked we don't fesi said as he said that the door opened automatically I could hear his grin it opens as we approach walking in there was a large vaed chamber dark and cold it didn't look like a control room there were no consoles no screens no seats even it's almost like this is like a mausoleum Jean said looking around or a tomb yes we
wondered the same thing fessi said agreeing it does not seem to serve a purpose other than a place to store the directory Stone we walked more through the dark corridors our headlamps sending Spears of light into the vacuum we passed through the first large room and came across another door much like the first usually fessi said the directory stone is through this door only usually I said Riley I could sense him nod at least three gates did not have a directory Stone in this room one had it in the main room we're in now and
two had it in a further room as we approached this door I expected it to open but it remained closed to us fessi do we have to do something to open it uh not usually he said hm I'm not sure look around see if you can find something Jean and fess's lights began to swing around the room searching for a switch or a panel or a pressure plate something to alert the door that we were here I stayed and looked at the door it was maybe 3 m tall big for a door but not gigantic
I approached the door and without thinking reached my hand out I touched the door in the light of hindsight this might have been a mistake immediately there was a clang as the door behind us slammed shut lights sprung up all over the chamber bathing it in a bright white light fessi must have jumped a meter he was so startled what is happening what did you do he looked at me accusing nothing I said well I touched the door but that was it this is far reach the radio crackled with Captain Quarry Mullen Frankfurt and parinam
what's going on we registered a massive power Spike on the gate and now the door has slammed shut the gate is lighting up too far reach himself added it's bathed in spotlights and there is lighting all over the gate complex you're in uh sorry captain that was me I said I decided to own up to things right away in case something goes wrong I touched the inner door with a gloved hand and the outer door slammed shut and more lights came on we were in the dark before but now the room is bathed in light
hm you could hear the captain deliberating well radio contact is still strong and it's only a door far reach could probably blow it if we needed to do you feel safe I don't feel unsafe I said what about you two it's pretty weird but no I don't feel unsafe yet Jean added this is fascinating fesi said I do not want to leave yet we haven't even found the directory Stone all right then Captain Quarry said you may proceed but the moment you feel unsafe abort the mission and return we're here to explore not to get
injured has the door opened uh no Captain the door remains closed I radioed back switching to the suit to suit I said fessi what do we do honestly Melody I have no idea We're Off Script now try touching it again shrugging and not knowing anything else to do I reached out with the same hand and touched the door and held it on the door this time a port opened at the top top of the door and a small device came out looking almost like a camera I could feel a hum through my suit and the
camera thing panned around the room and paused at me at Jean and at ferrai after a moment it went back into the port it came out of and with a shaking of dust the door rumbled down into the floor beyond the doorway was another room larger than this one also lit now in a bright clean light we all entered the new room and fessi gasped the room is much taller than the previous room maybe 10 m tall it was a vaulted ceiling coming to a very sharp angle at the top it was lit evenly with
almost no shadows in the room on a pedestal in the center was a monolith it was a stone black as space maybe 3 m tall on the surface of the stone was writing I think it was a series of symbols or letters or something fesi is this the directory Stone I asked turning to him I it appears so he said nervous it's different than any other we've found however oh different in what way most directory Stones had two or three entries many only one some had four if I'm reading this correctly there are I could
hear him counting quietly to himself nearly 50 of them I was stunned and zeni never came here F's suit Shrugged I don't think so they knew about this gate but by the time they found it we were at War so they were busy with other things it's hard to believe they didn't come back after to explore but it seems like that's what happened Jean walked up and stared at it with us what if they did come back learned all this stuff but didn't tell us doesn't matter now I guess I said we're here they're not
we the ones on the exploration Mission I switched us to the Ship Channel far reach far reach this is the ground mission we've found something Captain Quarry came back immediately what did you find Lieutenant we found the directory Stone but fessi says it's different than the others the caxi have found different in what way Melody this time it was far reach thems asking it's amazing fzi answered for me we have never come across a directory Stone quite like this one ever where there were normally two or three or four entries this one seems to have
more than 50 of them silence over the radio I'm making a copy now we'll have to see if any of the entries match known addresses but I have a feeling we've stumbled on something like a Nexus station maybe a place where he struggled with words where many lines converge I don't know it's rather overwhelming Captain Quarry came on this time well it sounds like the first part of our mission is arousing success we'll have some addresses to try finish up your your work and come back it's time to plan next steps so um I started
the door opened and the gate activated even further when I touched the inner door do you think I should touch the directory Stone fesi didn't look up from his notes we've touched them many times nothing happens they're just carved pieces of stone go ahead and satisfy your curiosity with that rousing note of confidence I walked up to the stone even though my suit it radiated cold I bet it was awfully close to Interstellar ambient if I touched it with an ungloved hand I would probably get frostbite nearly instantly safe in my pressure suit though I
reached out and touched it I awoke in the infirmary on Far reach with a start sitting up I realized I was belted to the table from my waist down panicking I started hyperventilating and was about to lose it when Dr irum came running over Melody Melody concentrate on my voice you're safe you're on Far reach everything is all right his soothing lightly kooxy accented voice was calming me down still wild-eyed I swallowed and coked W what happened that is what I would like to know Captain quar said walking in with a worried look on her
face what do you remember I thought back wasn't it only a few moments ago I asked fesi if he thought I should touch the directory Stone he said that caxi touched it all the time and nothing happened so it was fine for me I reached out and touched it and now I'm here and you don't remember anything else the captain asked I thought hard I touched the stone and then right when I touched the stone I felt something like someone Captain quari was taken aback like an AI I don't know it was surprised to feel
me then there was a feeling like an intake of breath and I woke up here Commander parinam said you tipped your head back and screamed and then shouted in a language that he's never heard and then passed out he and ensen Frankfurt carried you back wow I blinked I have no memory of that Dr irum nodded given how your brains process trauma I'm not surprised at that given time you might remember more of what happened he Shrugged but you might not far reach and I did a full body and brain scan you appear unchanged and
there are no known pathogens or unauthorized cybernetic mods installed if you feel up for it I'm approving you for Duty he made some notes on his Pad but stay on the ship for now I started to fuss at the belt around my waist and legs Dr irum came over and helped why the restraints his ears vibrated in a way that showed embarrassment and sheepishness I didn't want you to get hurt mostly I looked at him over his head while he bent down and raised an eyebrow I don't think that was the whole story I looked
up at the captain did fer reesi get the data from the directory Stone copied she nodded yes he has multiple options for addresses now in fact now that you're awake we were going to discuss it after dinner at the mention of food I realized I was starving I got down from the bed gingerly I could go for dinner when do we eat far reach chimed in the chef say dinner will be ready in about an hour but there's hot water ready to go if you wanted to make some coffee first I smiled it's like you
read my mind far reach I'd love to do that dinner was amazing as always it really helped to give a sense of family to the crew that we all ate together whenever we could there was a real effort to make dinner a whole crew Affair and you could tell that fzi and Mitchell really go all out for dinner as much as they tried I could tell everyone was worried about me I'm sorry I scared you I said after we all sat down if I knew that was going to happen I wouldn't have touched the directory
Stone honest a few tight Smiles across the table fi was the only one who didn't look worried for me he looked jealous it really is amazing that it happened Melody he took a bite of food I think you're the first human to ever touch a directory Stone I know that you never really used them and any of your ships that have an addressing module have a caxi one with caxi dresses in them I wonder if it happens when any human touches it he trailed off but what does that mean Omar asks Omar works with far
reach on the laser batteries and also the printer he boasts he can make anything with far reach's help it's pretty neat fessi Shrugged without any more humans touching any other directory Stones we have no idea this one is clearly special maybe it would have happened to anyone who touched it I took another sip of my coffee it was my own Supply and it was divine but what about what Captain quari said she said you said I shouted in an unknown language Jean nodded here it was super weird it was like you were chanting or something
we recorded it but far reach and faresi both agree it's nothing known I even tried working back from the phones to see if we could find something shared far reach said but other than the fact that it's pronounceable by humans and presumably caxi that's all we know so far for all we know you were shouting the terms and conditions that we had to agree to use to use the warp gates far reach chuckled at his own joke as dinner wound down and Chef fessi brought out some treats and nuts to chew on Captain Kari stood
okay now that we've eaten and talked about what happened yesterday this was my first indication that it's been a day since we were on the gate asteroid it's time to discuss next steps Commander perm if you would fessi stood from the table and walked to the Head behind him a screen appeared with the tablet one side and a listing of symbols on the other as I had mentioned previously we have never come across a table with so many addresses before these he clicked a remote and 15 of them were highlighted represent every single address that
is known to us currently they're all here on this one table literally centuries of work finding and deciphering the various tables we've come across in space and they're all right here he shook his head and smiled Riley he clicked again and the rest lit up which means that these other 35 addresses or I should say probable addresses represent some other points in space unknown to us at this point I can only recommend starting from the top and entering them into the addressing module and see where they go we could be methodical about it enter one
explore come back here enter another explore come back here and so on there was a murmur from everyone at the table but this means that this Mission suddenly got a whole lot longer that was AA Williams who works in environmental systems she makes sure we have air to breath and water to drink and that our waste is processed safely fessi nodded yes if we were to continue on without a break I estimate that going to all 35 addresses would take 5 years or so upset noises from the table but that doesn't mean we have to
do them all at once Captain Kari said we've gone from figuring that we'd have two or three addresses to explore at most to 35 we've officially moved beyond our original scope let me tell you all here we are not going to be gone for 5 years we will continue with our original plan of two or three addresses and then home then another exploration team can be sent out to try the others there is no reason to expect that we'll have to try them all additionally fessi added most of them I suspect will be empty systems
you notice that I've said that we caxy have found 15 addresses yet other than cax we only have two Colony planets we have five other star bases not counting the joint human caxi Starbase picaresque which means then six of the addresses known to us go to empty systems it's entirely likely that the majority of addresses we have here also go to empty systems we could visit quiet a few quickly if that's the case Kieran asks so then where should we go first Captain quari replies as fessi mentioned unless someone has a better plan we were
just going to go to the first address on the list and work our way doubt no I said interrupting start with wild DPS ssara everyone stopped and turned as one to look at me I blushed a deep crimson red mea was the first to recover uh what was that I don't know I just know that's the one we should start with oh okay Captain Kari said can you tell us why um I racked my brain it's the one that feels right so wait Jean looked at the list and then back at me you can read
them no or yes or I don't know I was starting to get a headache okay then fessi said kindly which one is or the one you said fifth one down they all stared at the entry I mean maybe because we've been told to look at that one Mitchell says cautiously but it does look a little different than the others is the text like Bolder more prominent there were murmurs of agreement fascinating fessi said looking at it closer I do believe you are correct Captain Quarry Shrugged it's as good of an option as any maybe even
better than any does anyone have an objection to taking Melody's suggestion nobody had an objection then it settled tomorrow morning we'll put that address into the addressing module and activate the gate the next day after breakfast we all gathered on the Command Deck with there being only 12 of us there was room though it was tight farreach said that they would watch the systems so that everyone could see the gate activ F Lieutenant Mullen Captain kari's uniform was pressed fresh and sharp I think she brushed her fur until it shown too has your address been
entered into the addressing module ha my address yes Captain the entry for wild ssps SS Mara has been input funny the more I say it the easier it is to say I'm still not sure what the words mean though far reach are we ready to depart yes Captain all systems are green we you can leave at your command Lieutenant Mullen activate the gate like I did the first time we arrived I sent the hello ping to the gate this time with an address entered into the module the gate reacted differently the ring out in space
that was attached to the asteroid started to Glow dim at first but with a blue almost like cherenov radiation it started to grow in intensity growing almost painfully bright the blue increased in intensity until there was a Flash and a sensation of almost like being on a dingy and Heavy Seas a feeling of up and then down and the gate has responded and is active we may Traverse I said more calmly than I felt Captain Quarry nodded proceed best speed far reach Traverse the gate as we approached it was almost like the gate got further
from us the closer we got to it I knew it was some kind of optical illusion and our reports about gate traversal and our own experience said it happens but but every time it's still weird to see we touched the gate and a rumble and tinkle of debris hard contact Jean shouts peering at his station we've entered a debris field it's pretty messy out here farreach added nothing too large I don't think we'll be damaged so long as we go slow proceed best speed then far reach Captain Quarry says stoically release Point defense array to
destroy any debris that gets too close from his station on the Command Deck Omar confirms Point defense ey free and tracking Lieutenant Mullen any contact I'm scanning the area but it appears like there's nothing negative contact active scanning with friendly caxi and human signals no reply as we proceed along at a very slow pace the amount of noise from the debris field lessens until far reach says we have traversed the debris field recommend we stop and get our bearings Captain Quarry nods agre read all stop relative to gate there's a little feeling of movement as
thrusters fire and then it dissipates Commander Desmond tell us where we are please omell Desmond is a short caxi with fiery red fur she's our Navigator and is extremely skilled she's served on many caly ships and this is her first tour with a joint crew I captain scanning stars for known pulsar and magnetars one moment while she works we all busy ourselves with other tasks though I'm pretty sure we're just really waiting for word about where we are the captain says we can order a beverage if we want I request some coffee and Quarry gets
tea but everyone else abstains after about a half an hour Umi speaks up visibly distressed Captain I think I have our location narrowed down I apologize for the delay I ran the numbers three times to make sure they were correct that's all right Commander where are we she gulps she doesn't want to answer captain as near as I can tell we've traversed the diameter of the Milky Way we're about 95,000 light years from home my head gets light 95,000 light years from home if we could train a camera on Earth the light we'd just be
getting now would be from before the last ice age the first ever recorded houses would be busily being built Captain Kari stares at her mouth open slightly Commander are you sure she nods yes Captain Within my ability to be able to measure and confirmed with sighting of four known pulsars and two magnetars for triangulation we're on the other side of the Milky Way She blinks far reach can we link home a pause a longer pause Captain Quarry I'm not sure I know the coordinates of the joint human caxi star base but I don't know if
we have the power to make a link that deep it's never been attempted I'm going to conservatively say no that's too far to link if we get into a bind or it's an emergency I'd be willing to try it but for now I think we're stuck traveling the gates just then my station lights up contact we're being pinged I say shakily
