Tales of the Courier – The Long Road Home
Taking the long way is always an option. Not every road needs a shortcut, some are better as they are, long and winding. 1courier is thinking this as they arrive in 5universe, from Timblerain.
Much has happened since he left dispatch a week ago to make the delivery of an oddly shaped and slightly heavy package. The more important part of what has happened sits in the seat beside him, as the ride careens down another highway.
She is quiet and focused intently on the road rushing under the ride. There has been the occasional thump from the rear compartment, especially when he aims for potholes, but other than that, it’s been a quiet ride.
5universe was the only discovered universe that wasn’t opened from this side. The top knowledge in any known universe became stymied trying to understand why this universe was unreachable. It became a matter of going around the long way, open it from that side. Too bad there hadn’t been any oddly shaped keys available, in those days.
The m-com link flashes as they barrel down the iridescent highways of Deritrous, the first world of 5universe. It is day on this world and both suns illuminate everything with brilliant, intense clarity. 1courier places the ride along the edge of the highway and eases to a stop.
Time to get some answers. The container in the rear compartment bangs loudly again as the ride stops. He watches the road ahead, trying to wrap his head around the situation. After several minutes he asks the obvious question. “A defector?”
Cheeky turns her head towards him as she responds, “Yes, from another dimension, to this one. The known unknowns, are enough to make things…unpredictable.” She pauses and appears to listen to something internally, then continues, “It is an effect, of the movement of the key. It is no longer dormant, many things are now in motion, some are too far along to avoid. “
He watches her eyes as they change color, it happens often now. The effect is mesmerizing, and he thinks to ask her of this after they make the delivery. If they make the delivery. He sets the ride back on course, and they continue towards Nalphia, the largest of the only two cities on Deritrous.
The m-com link flashes again as he pushes the ride harder, got to make up some time. Defectors from other dimensions, oddly shaped packages that are really keys, and that damn purple world with the whiskey barrel. All of it was fresh in his mind, and yet there was still the lingering feeling he had missed an important connection.
The m-com flashes angrily this time, and Cheeky breaks the silence with some happy news. “Rain is coming 1courier, we have precious little time, and courier17 is on the m-com waiting for you.”
Rain. Happens once, maybe twice in a cycle on Deritrous. They have landed in one of these cycles, and now their very lives hang on the speed of the ride. He snaps on the m-com for courier17. “1courier, by now you know of the rain. The scientists at Nalphia say it’s a freak event, unprecedented, third time this cycle. An enclave is set up in Nalphia with shielding. The AI think your toast, your numbers are down a bit, might want to hustle up friend.”
Rain is sometimes a good thing on other worlds, Deritrous is different. Deritrous rains diamonds and other hardened gems that are coveted on worlds such as Earth. What’s left after a rain storm on Deritrous is little to nothing, unless it is protected. It was one of the first hard lessons learned on Deritrous when the door was opened.
They are minutes from Nalphia as an object, small but solid, strikes the hood of the ride. 1courier knows they have only minutes. Once enough of the rain is on the iridescent roads, the ride will lose the wheels, and within minutes anything in the rain will no longer be anything. Now it’s getting interesting. Flooring the ride, he checks the m-com, as more hardened pellets begin striking the hood and roof of the ride.
He looks at Cheeky, she is smiling as she looks at him. He grins back, it’s go time.
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