The airship secured by Methuselah's associates has touched down in Gateway Town, and its passengers have disembarked. The elderly cheetah has no baggage to carry, and he has only his faithful servant Yoshua as his retinue … plus his fellow travelers, the Dack Family.

Fortunately, the airship arrived at night, so there's no scorching summer sun overhead. That just might be unbearable right now. As it is, the night is surprisingly chilly, and there are many dark shadows in the makeshift town where the lamplights and the soft glow of the Procession fail to make things clear and bright.

Methuselah leads the way through the streets, firmly grasping his staff in one gnarled and spotted hand, bound for the tunnel that heads through the perpetual storm that encircles the Gateway Tower. "It is not much further," he signs during one of his frequent stops to catch his breath.

A gray Skreek trailing behind the aged cheetah nods, tightening her grip on a black kitten's hand at her side. She tugs at the veil around her neck and looks up at the sky. "I wonder which star we'll end up under at the end of all this… "

Nene mews, "Where we going?" She's asked it countless times before, but technically it's the first time she's asked since the airship landed.

A couple of Hookas bob past, making whonking noises to each other as they go along. Some of the other people lurking about seem less harmless – felines in tightly drawn cloaks, hammer-wielding barbarian wolves, bats in Babelite garb, men in uniforms and light armor with faces hidden by gas masks that give them an insectoid appearance.

"We're going to Abaddon first. This is the place where I met your godmother's sister … the one who told Mommy about the Star for the first time, remember? And after that we're going to Methuselah's home." Willow keeps her tone soft and smiles at the kitten.

Methuselah turns a corner … and then the tunnel leading through the perpetual storm is in sight. Wagons line up to make the journey – as while the journey could potentially be made by foot, even with the shielding offered by the erected walls, the storm is a magical one, and there are still strong gusts even within the shelter of the tunnel, making it a rigorous journey by foot.

From one of the wagons, a white feline waves cheerily at the two cheetahs and their Skreek and Khatta companions. "Happy Unity Day!" the girl – apparently only twelve years of age or so – mews happily.

Nene's eyes light up, and she squeals, "AAAAAR-YELL!"

"Sebazhan, if we're hoofing it, you should probably carry Nene. The winds will probably blow my skinny little tail… " The Skreek blinks and then grins as recognition sinks in. "Hey! Happy Unity Day to you too! I was wondering if we were going to be able to see you before heading out."

Beside the wagon is a black feline, also female, dressed in a wild-looking dress with gauzy shawls thrown about her shoulders and a wide-brimmed hat tipped at a garish angle on her head. Although Willow hasn't necessarily been kept up to speed on goings-on in Rephidim as of late, odds are, it's probably one of the latest trendy fads in clothingstyles among the nobility in Rephidim City.

Ariel mews, "I found Kassy, and we went ahead and reserved you a wagon for the ride in. I hope you don't mind?"

Sebazhan smiles. "Awfully thoughtful of you."

Kassy shrugs. "Least I could do, to see you off on another one of your planet-hopping adventures."

"At least he's getting out more!" Willow grins and taps Methuselah on the shoulder. "Hey, we've got a wagon ride in. No need to walk." She gestures to the two lady cats. "These are my sisters, Ariel and Kassy Dack."

The elderly cheetah bows to the two felines on the wagon. Ariel smiles and bows back in turn, though Kassy's response is a bit slower, less quick to recognize this strange cheetah as an equal, let alone a better.

The Skreek moves to help the old cheetah into the cart. "I've not seen you in awhile, Kassy. How have your travels been going for you?"

Kassy smirks. "Oh, profitable and occasionally exciting. But nothing to compare to any of your adventures, I'm sure." Kassy just watches, as Willow – and the attendant, Yoshua – help Methuselah into the cart.

Sebazhan lifts Nene up, and Nene squeals in delight, waving her hands about. "I'm FLYING!" she mews. Sebazhan plays along, twirling her around a couple of times, before finally depositing her onto the wagon.

"Profitable? Ooomph!" Willow dusts her dress off and rubs her nose. "What sort of business have you been doing lately? I hope you've been steering clear of Gallis."

Kassy shrugs. "Oh, I mostly trade in intangible goods. Information. Favors. I have a sort of network of friends, you might say, and I move around a lot. I'm just very good at spotting opportunities when they arise, and taking advantage of them."

Sebazhan finishes loading the last of the luggage into the wagon, then climbs in, taking a seat next to Willow, and settling down Nene between them. "I'm all set to go," he tells Kassy, though he glances to Ariel, as if not quite sure who's in charge of this part of the trip.

A beige Khatta in robes lighter than his fur, with the faintest traces of stripes, climbs into the driver's seat. "Many pardons in advance for the ride! It will be most blustery!"

The Skreek scoots closer to Sebazhan, forming a wall against the wind with her body and that of her husband around the kitten between them. "Well, I deeply appreciate the ride. It's one less burden on our trip, and I think I need all the load lightening I can get at the moment."

Kassy just quietly nods … and then the wagon starts rolling forward. Methuselah draws his cowl low over his head, and his cloak tight about him. The wagon rolls on up to the wall of storm – It looks for all the world like a raging storm had been neatly sliced away, and someone had attempted to stick a large half-tube – large enough for wagons to roll through – through the bottom. There is no disturbance at all, until the wagon strikes the edge of the unnatural storm … and then the wagon and its occupants are buffeted to and fro by a sudden fury!

Flattening her ears against the wind, Willow throws an arm around Sebazhan's shoulder. "It's j-just like flying, Nene!"

Nene grins at her mother, and at first seems to enjoy the surprise. Her voice can only be barely heard through the commotion as the winds echo through the tunnel, but at first it sounds like she's laughing. However, after the first few moments of riding into the storm, when it's evident that this is something that's going to last a while, her laughter wears out, and she soon starts bawling, despite Willow's assurances.

The Skreek clenches her teeth and holds one of Nene's hands with her free one as she braces herself. ( Once this is over with, the gateway should be no problem. Just hold on … don't think about airships in storms… )

The wagon ride continues in pretty much the same fashion. Ariel seems to be totally unaffected by the storm, and she notices Nene's distress and does her best to lend comfort, but Nene, when she's crying, is slow to be taken out of it, especially when the cause for her alarm is so present and hard to ignore. This goes on for a few minutes … but at last, and without any warning at all … it all suddenly stops, leaving only a ringing in everyone's ears. The wagon rolls out of the tunnel and into the strange "eye of the storm", so clearly marked off, that contains the other part of Gateway Town – the part in the center of the Forbidden Zone, and with the Gateway Tower at its heart.

Nene stills sniffles and whimpers and clings to Willow, though she's not yowling at the top of her lungs now, at least.

Willow sputters some grains of sand out of her mouth and pats the kitten. "I wish you could come with us, Ariel. You'd probably be a great speaker for us on this trip." She starts brushing some stray grains from Nene's clothing as well as poking at Sebazhan's shirt just for good measure.

Ariel looks a bit sad. "I'd really love to. It's so sad to know that there are places that I just can't – never will – go. Sinai may be the whole world to most folks living here … but for me, it's small and familiar." She soon shakes out of this contemplation, however, and purrs, "But you can tell me all about it when you get back!"

Nene blinks, watching Willow spit out bits of sand. She tries to help out by wiping off her mother's face, forgetting her crying for the moment. "Icky," she mews. "Phoo." She makes a face.

Sebazhan shakes out the folds of his cloth, and pulls out a handkerchief, blowing his nose into it. "No dignified way of getting here yet," he weakly complains, grinning.

"Mind the hair." The Skreek leans her head over to give Nene a better grasp at her face. "Ariel, this is an odd question, but it's something I'm curious about… it might be a useful argument when we get to where we're going. Can Dagh leave Sinai? Or is he so anchored in the magic that it would be like why the imps can't leave Bosch?"

Ariel shakes her head. "Dagh is as much a prisoner here as I am. Uhm … Well, I don't mean a prisoner, really. I mean, it's not like we're cooped up in little jail cells or anything. Most folks never even leave Sinai, after all, and they don't think they're trapped … but, sorry to go off on a tangent – No, I don't believe he can."

Nene gently wipes at Willow's face a bit, knocking a few grains of sand off, then seems satisfied that she's gotten the job done, and begins to look more curiously at her surroundings.

"What about leaving the gods' realm? Is it hard for him to do that as well?" Willow kisses Nene to thank her for the work and straightens herself up again.

Several cheetahs wait up ahead, and the wagon rolls right up. Methuselah nods to them, the driver looks askance back to Ariel and Kassy, and Kassy says, "Please stop here. I think these are friends of our … companion."

Ariel nods to Willow. "Yes, that is difficult for him as well. I was made to be able to get around … but I can't get around on my own without magical assistance, or, well, the curious things that happen on holidays. I sometimes wish that every day were a holiday, but I think the more holidays there are, the weaker my presence is, somehow. In any case, he would require some very powerful magic to come here, but I'm certain that if he managed that, he'd be here all the time, holiday or no."

Ariel ponders something, then says, "It's not like I get to speak with him on a regular basis, but I still overhear things on occasion. All right, so I'm a snoop. Anyway, have you heard of a lady named Amenlichtli?"

"I ask because I've been thinking about what I might be ableto say to convince the Silent-Ones to leave Sinai alone. Maybe if I tell them the price of the power here, they'll be less prone to want it." The gray rat pales a bit at the name. "Yes I do. One of her servants almost killed me back in Rephidim. It's why I went through the whole look and name change thing five years ago."

The driver's ears flick a bit, and he casts a nervous glance and makes a furrowing brow as he looks back at Ariel and Willow conversing, then he turns around, shaking his head. Yoshua, meanwhile, helps Methuselah down from the wagon, once it has come to a complete stop. The cheetahs – wearing plain white robes – gather about, dipping their heads and making signs that don't form words, but seem to have some obscure symbolic purpose as they address Methuselah.

Ariel nods. "Well … apparently he's been having some sort of dealing with her … or not. Or she's tried to win favor with him. Or not. I don't really understand it all. But apparently some servant of hers, acting under her direction, made some sort of 'portal' that he can use … under conditions that haven't been met yet, obviously."

Willow pulls her veil up to obscure most of her face. She glances at the driver and falls into the Krozite tongue. "Just my luck, they'll both try to kill me if Amenlichtli has more puppies like the one in Rephidim." Her brows pinch together in thought. "That reminds me of something I read several months back while I was in the Savan. This portal wouldn't happen to be a Shiga-skin cloak, would it?"

Ariel blinks a few times, then says, "I heard something about a skin."

"Do you know what conditions haven't been met yet?" Willow creakily stands and starts to help Nene off the cart.

Ariel says, "I think there was something about 'won't be the right time until someone suitable has the portal'."

Nene seems to be quite glad to get off the cart, as if it were at least part of the cause of her ill experience in the tunnel. "We there yet?" she mews.

A cheetah rolls up a cart, and starts to help Sebazhan unload the baggage from the wagon, and onto the smaller cart.

"To Abaddon, almost. Look around, Nene … this is where I met the woman that I named you after and who told me all about the Star." The Skreek stretches herself out. "Ariel, could you send some messages out for me after we leave? I'd like to get one to Envoy at the College Esoterica and another to the Champion of Shadows in Rephidim. Just tell them what we talked about. I know the Champion has a personal grudge with Amenlichtli and Envoy hopefully has the clout to make sure they keep the cloak under lock and key if its still at Caroban."

Ariel nods. "I could do a bit of message-delivering right away, once you've left for Abaddon. I can't follow you, after all, and there's no sense in me staying around here. Not when I'd have an excuse to see fireworks at Rephidim and Caroban!" She beams.

"Thank you, Ariel." Willow nods and leans over on Sebazhan's shoulder. "I hope that someday I can do something to help you so you'll be able to visit us more … if you wouldn't mind being a mortal, that is."

Ariel smiles sadly. "There's no such thing as 'immortal'. Just different ways of living. Some better … some not."

Sebazhan pats Willow. "I think I've got all our things taken care of. I gather that Methuselah's friends will be escorting us the rest of the way."

The Skreek leans down and hugs the white Khatta girl. "It's all a matter of living how we were meant to live, I guess." She nods to Sebazhan. "I think so. I hope they're prepared for three extras. Er … do you know if Nene will have to wear a veil as well? She might be a tad fussy about it once she gets bored with it."

Sebazhan scratches his head. "Well, it'd be, I suppose, like a little cub running around in the fur in public. Nene's a little past that age, I think, so we'd best not chance it. Maybe … maybe she'll like it. Being just like Mama, after all, eh?" He winks to Willow. "And I guess I'd better pull up my hood, too, just to be on the safe side." He does so, his black features melting into his cloak.

Methuselah, his face hooded now, walks over toward the felines. "Are you ready?" he signs.

Willow nods and takes Kassy's hand. "And thank you for helping us out. I don't suppose I could convince you to come with us? It's an adventure that you'll probably never get another chance to do again."

Kassy laughs, then shakes her head. "No. It's not for me. But thank you."

The Skreek nods and pulls Nene's hood and veil up. "We're going to play dress-up like on Midsummer's. Plus this will keep all that icky sand out of your mouth." She waves a hand to Methuselah. "Almost ready. Just saying goodbyes."

Nene mews, "Okay, Mama," and tugs at her hood.

Ariel rushes up and gives Nene a big hug. "Be sure and let me know if you see any new kinds of flowers there, okay?"

Nene giggles. "Okay, Aryell!" She hugs back.

"Goodbye, both of you. I know this sounds like a corny thing to say as a goodbye but … may the Star watch over you." The Skreek pulls her hood up over her ears. "I'll try to send word as soon as we get back."

Kassy purrs to Sebazhan, "Don't do anything stupid, Blink." Sebazhan sighs, grinning and shaking his head. "You know me," he says, bracing himself for an obvious come-back … but Kassy doesn't seem inclined to throw in a cheap jab this time. Instead, she just adds, "Take care of yourself – and my sister-in-law and niece."

Sebazhan smiles back. "I will." He puts an arm around Willow's shoulder, and uses the other hand to pat Nene.

"You be careful too, Kassy. By the sound of it there's plenty of trouble brewing on Sinai as well." She kisses Sebazhan's cheek. "But we shouldn't dawdle. It probably won't make all that great of an impression if we drag Methuselah's friends down. Take care of yourselves."

"BYEEEE!" squeals Nene, as she waves wildly. Kassy and Ariel wave back – Ariel the more enthusiastic waver of the two, naturally – as the Dacks head along with the cheetahs toward the Gateway Tower. A few wagons are rolling through, most of them laden with soil and produce.

Willow grasps Sebazhan's hand and curls her tail around the kitten's waist. "I wonder if Abaddon is less red now that they've been shoveling our dirt around there for the past five years." Her voice softens and then fades out altogether as she joins Methuselah's band, unsure if she'll offend them by speaking.

At last, they make it into the Tower … and then the cart rolls toward the portal, through which can be seen Abaddon. Yoshua steadies Methuselah for the passage through … and the other cheetahs pass through as well. The cart rolls through next … and then it's time for the Dack Family to make the jump. Sebazhan takes a deep breath as he faces the strange portal. "Get ready, Nene," he whispers loudly. "This will be like jumping into Daddy's arms, okay? Only … different. Just remember that everything will be okay."

The Skreek tilts one ear down and then gently removes Nene's veil momentarily. "There… you can see better without this, although I'll put it back on after we go through." She nods to the cheetahs. "Ready."

As the Dacks go through, there is the "familiar" sensation of touching the cool surface of the window and finding it liquid rather than solid … and then shooting through, as space contorts and twists, as the two felines and rat find themselves hurtling up and away from Sinai, through the expanse of space, past Abaddon's red moon, and toward its rusty surface. At last, the experience is over … and reality reasserts itself in a more recognizable form, as they find themselves in the tower on Abaddon, following the caravan as it heads out of the tower and into … a new life-dome that has been constructed around it.

Nene stands on wobbly legs. "Mama … Mama, I gunna … " Her ears pale, and she looks ill.

The Skreek quickly drops to her knees and tries to nudge the kitten into a forward leaning position so that she'll be less prone to spoiling her clothing. "It's all right Nene… most people do on their first ride through the gate. Go ahead." (Thank the Star I took her veil off or things would have been a LOT more messy. )

When Nene is finished, Sebazhan wipes her mouth with a clean kerchief, then sighs. "I guess we should have gone longer without … " He shakes his head, and helps Nene back up again, along with Willow.

Nene, however, seems to be in pretty good spirits, all things considered, quickly recovering.

Sebazhan looks around. "My … they've been busy." There are still signs of construction in progress, but the Tower is now enclosed in a paneled dome of respectable size, and there are plants in abundance – off to the sides of paved walkways.

The Skreek gets the kitten's veil back on and looks around herself. "Rather impressive indeed. You'd think they would have thought to set up buckets around here by now though." She winks through her veil.

Sebazhan says, "They must have driven off the Kavis."

Nene mews, "Can we do it again?"

"When we come back, Polykitten. Now, let's not dawdle too long." The rat looks to see how Methuselah faired through the trip.

Methuselah seems to be leaning on Yoshua moreso than usual, but he's still evidently capable of carrying himself. At last, the group heads on out of the life-dome, past several Khattas and uniformed humans … and back out into the usually rusty and dusty land of Abaddon. The red moon that they seemed to whisk by on their trip to the planet can be seen hovering in the night sky.

However, a shadow passes in front of the moon, more solid than just a passing cloud, of which there seem to be none in the sky this night. No, it's an airship of curious design, floating overhead, passing over the Life-Dome.

"You see the big star in the sky, Nene?" Willow gestures to the moon. "The Titanians who took us here when Daddy and I were here last kept howling at it." She blinks at the odd airship, her nose quivering through the veil as she hastens her step to catch up with the group of cheetahs.

Nene oooos at the sight. "Pretty!" She closes one eye and holds up one hand, playing pretend at grabbing the red orb once it appears again as the airship passes.

"Nene. While we're here, we're going to pretend to be Savanites, all right? That means that we hide our faces like your godfather does and we use our hands to speak." The Skreek moves her hands slowly so the kitten canunderstand better, hoping that her time spent playing with Reed has helped her grasp the language.

The cheetahs lead the family over to one of several open areas, where the ground has been packed hard, and supplemented by heavy tiles set into the ground in concentric rings to form a circular platform just rising an inch or two over the ground around it. The airship continues to float overhead. It looks like some sort of sailing vessel, complete with oars jutting out from the sides and sweeping back … but it also has curious spines radiating outward, something like the designs of Babelite ships, but more thin and sparse. There are also large cylinders jutting out from the sides, and the airship makes a curious whining noise that occasionally drifts downward as the wind shifts just the right way. Most curious of all, though, is that the airship sports no envelope whatsoever.

Nene nods several times, and puts a finger over her mouth.

( And they say there's no magic here. Amazing… ) The Skreek follows the path of the ship with her eyes while she walks.

The ship slows to a stop over the center of the circular platform, and the ship begins to descend. As it does so … it appears to be even larger than Willow first realized. What might normally be the "gondola" of an airship appears to actually comprise the space that a whole envelope would occupy on an airship from Sinai. The wind picks up, and the whining gets louder and high pitched. As the craft continues to descend, it's evident that the oars to each side are moving as if they're actually rowing through the air, and the craft itself looks to be patched together from pieces of metal and ceramic and other substances, in a patchwork quilt of colors and varying types of corrosion. It may be a marvelous craft, and its shape might be intriguing … but in many respects, it's not necessarily attractive.

"Bug!" Willow signs to the kitten and then looks questioningly to Methuselah. "Is this … our transportation?"

Methuselah looks to Willow, and nods, his expression hidden under the hood, though the wind seems to be doing its best to try to toss the hood and every other bit of cloth this way and that.

Nene squeals as the wind blows up dust, and hides her face in the folds of her mother's skirts.

The Skreek puts a reassuring hand on the kitten's head. ( I suppose this is better than having to tromp around in a veil and not say a word for several weeks. And if this thing looks the same on the inside as on the outside, I think Nene will love it. I just have to keep her out of trouble. )

Several large metal skids … each one in a different shape … lower from the bottom of the craft … and touch the ground. As they do, the craft continues to sink a bit further, as the "legs" of the craft let out hissing noises as they contract … and gusts of vapor shoot out of nacelles and vents as the whining subsides, and the oars stop rowing. Briefly, a sound can be heard like a loud drumbeat cadence, which slows and slows until it stops.

Sebazhan's head turns to look to Willow, though his face is hidden under that hood of his. He reaches over and gives her hand a gentle squeeze.

Willow leans her head against the Prince's shoulder, resting it in the crook of his neck for a moment. "Me too," she whispers softly.

As the machine makes several more loud creaks and groans and hisses, a hatch opens up in the side, revealing … another hatch. This in turn opens, revealing … another hatch. And then this one opens, and a long gangplank extends outward at an angle, rattling and shaking on its joints, until it finally touches the ground. More mechanisms slide into place, reinforcing the segments of the gangplank … but, even before this is all done, several Titanians start striding out, dressed in outfits that look like a mishmash of salvaged uniforms, armor, and pieces of junk and carapaces of strange creatures for good measure.

( Maybe I can learn Hammersong on the trip. Good thing I thought to bring my herbs with me. ) The Skreek tries to keep up the gangplank and into the body of the ship. ( Or maybe they'll set us to rowing the whole way. Ouch. )

Some of the cheetahs remain on the ground, but Methuselah, Yoshua, and several of his cheetah companions head up the gangplank and into the ship, pausing to bow to the Titanians, as they do a lot of chest-thumping and make exaggerate gestures that could charitably be translatedinto overly enthusiastic attempts at Silent Tongue greetings. Some Titanians heft up the baggage of the Dack Family as well … and it just seems so much lighter in their care. It also seems somehow much more vulnerable, but they don't seem to be banging it around, thank the Star.

"I guess we're supposed to follow," Willow mumbles to herself. She turns to the cheetahs that seem to be staying and bows, her hands sign her thanks for allowing her to join them for such a short amount of time. Then she follows after Methuselah, bowing to the Titanians and keeping close to Nene as she heads up the gangplank herself.

Nene giggles, overcoming any dismay at all the noise and confusion of the mechanical airship. Sebazhan seems a little more reserved, being among all these big, brawny – and careless – brutes.

Once up the gangplank – and past the multiple hatches – it looks like the interior of the ship is as cobbled together as the exterior. There are exposed sections of wiring and mechanical parts, much of it looking as if it probably has no useful function, other than to take up space, or else it was just part of whatever the Titanians ripped apart and stuck together to make their own airship, and they never bothered to clear out the unnecessary bits. There are lots of dents that look like they were made by hammers – or very thick skulls – and once, there was a spot that looked for all the world like toothmarks in a panel. The steel and ceramic and other artificial materials are joined by wood in many places, and this seems to increase the further one gets into the ship. On the interior, there is more of the ship made of wood, decorated with furs hanging on the walls and large skulls or carapaces of alien creatures hanging as macabre trophies.

If one hasn't a weapon, the Titanians seem determined to make sure that there's a hammer within easy reach, no matter where one goes on the ship, and the hammers are firmly bolted and strapped into place – lest they fall and bonk someone on the head when the skies get bumpy, no doubt.

At last, the group is led into a wider chamber that is built around a furnace in the floor that lights the room, and the surfaces are a mixture of wood and other materials, though the floor is covered in shaggy furs, and several large Titanians are seated around the furnace. A long hall stretches back from this furnace chamber, where several Titanians are seated on benches at the handles of impossibly massive oars … long enough to jut all the way out of the ship.

These are no normal oar handles, though – They're not made of wood, but some other material, and there's enough mechanical gadgetry here and there to suggest that there's more to it than meets the eye … but these are Titanians, so it just might be only worth taking it at face value, where they're concerned.

Willow waves to Methuselah and tugs at her veil, checking to see if it's all right to remove the extra bits of cloth now, or if it would be proper to wait a bit longer.

Methuselah nods to Willow, and, as if only remembering it now himself, removes his own hood.

A big Titanian in green – green armor, green cloth, green furs, and green shells, some of it looking like it's just badly painted that way, with flecks coming off here and there – walks up to Willow, Sebazhan and Nene. "Me Grillfang! Me good with hammer! Catch many big'uns in sea of stars!" He thumps on his chest proudly with the head of his hammer. "And me show rooms for happy little people!"

"Okay, Nene… we can stop playing pretend now, unless you want to wear the veil a bit longer." The Skreek pulls her own veil and hood off and vigorously works her hands through her hair, happy to have it free. She shakes her fur out and shouts back at the Titanian. "Thank you Grillfang! I hope to hear lots of stories about things you've smacked with your hammer during your travels. Is this your ship?"

Grillfang nods his head in the affirmative, but then a larger Titanian in black furs and with a battered helmet with spiraling horns attached to it comes up and bonks Grillfang on the head. "No! I am Rushfighter, son of Gutripper the Second! And this is my ship – " He gestures with his hammer in one hand and the other hand open, sweeping outward as if to embrace the whole of the contraption. " – the Dainty Mauler."

Grillfang rubs his head. "You translate wrong. It Precise Killer."

Rushfighter rewards Grillfang's correction with a growl and a glare.

Nene just blinks several times at the behavior of the Titanians. Sebazhan reflexively leans over her a little more to shield her from any overly enthusiastic gesturing with hammers.

"Translate?" Willow tilts her head to the side.

"Into yakky talk," Grillfang explains, protectively shielding his head with a meaty hand. "Hyooman talk. Yakkety-yak-yak. Not hammer-talk or old Titanian yakkety."

"Could you speak some 'Titanian yakkety' for me? I don't know hammer talk but I know quite a few languages." The Skreek's tail flicks eagerly.

"Uhhh … sure!" offers Grillfang. He starts making noises in a very guttural tongue, somewhat harsh-sounding, but more on account of the voice of the speaker, than the nature of the language of the Kampfzengruppe and Chronotopia. It is a language that seems to carry a cadence to it, somehow, a rhythm, if a brutish one, and the words – although they are alien to Willow – are separated by clear breaks in speech, rather than running them all together as some are prone to do when fluent in many of Sinai's more common languages.

Willow's ears flick at the words. "Not a language I know, unfortunately. But … how long will this trip be? Perhaps I'll have a chance to learn."

Rushfighter whurfs, "Many stops along way. Many … " He pauses, drumming his chin. "… ur … many sleep-cycles."

"This many?" Willow holds up one hand, fingers splayed out. "Or this many?" She adds her second hand to the number. "Or this many?" She flashes her hands open and closed a couple of times.

Rushfighter bites on a claw-tip, then says, "One, two hands of sleep-cycles. Maybe. Depend if winds favor us."

Grillfang seems to be more confident now that his skull is safe for the time being, so he's stopped cowering and covering his head. "Many hands if not!" Grillfang puts in.

The Skreek nods. "Is there anything we should know while we're on your ship? Or perhaps anything we can do to help? I'm a fairly trained doctor … and my husband is a fair cook." she winks at the Khatta over her shoulder.

The ship shakes a bit. Rushfighter barks, "Time to shove out!" Someone starts banging on a gong, and the rowers get into position. Other Titanians grab onto anything they can, but Rushfighter just walks around, barking orders.

Sebazhan says, "Maybe we'd better … Is there anywhere to strap ourselves in?" He looks over to Methuselah.

"Airships in storms!" Willow curses and looks around for something on her level to grab onto.

Methuselah gestures toward the Dacks, and heads off toward some fur-covered seats with some arrangements of pipes on braces around them. Yoshua helps Methuselah into one of the chairs, and pulls down on a metal arm, which braces the cheetah in place, and then he straps the metal arm with a fastener. Each of the seats appears to work a little differently, but the principle seems to be about the same. None of them look large enough to hold a Titanian. But then, they probably don't bother.

Willow scoops Nene up and plunks her down in one of the seats. "It's just like one of the rides at Safarland, Polykitten. Just sit back and watch the big wolf guys whack each other with their hammers." After she's sure the kitten's secure, she makes a dive for an empty chair herself.

Sebazhan reaches over from his own chair, trying to help Willow with her own restraints, but it's simple enough that she can pretty much handle it herself anyway. After a bit of fumbling – and rocking of the ship – they're all secured, with a few chairs to spare. The Titanians row to the cadence set by an enthusiastic drummer, and Rushfighter walks (or staggers) about, shouting and bellowing, and waving his hammer about.

Nene squeals and yells … but it looks like this time it's not from being scared, but just because with all the noise, she expects she can scream and yell all she wants and have the time of her life while she's doing it.

Willow grits her teeth and clings to her chair. ( The moment we stop, I'm changing clothes. This is no place for me to be gallivanting around in a dress. At least Nene'salready gotten sick once. )

Some time later, things calm down, the ship stops shaking, though the Titanians keep rowing, and the drummer keeps drumming. Grillfang shows the Dack Family to their room, a surprisingly large cabin as far as airships go, though the furnishings aren't exactly luxurious. The beds consist of two bunks bedded with thick furs of all imaginable colors (some of them dyed, some not), and the walls considerably dented here and there. There are no portholes, but there is actually a wash area, and much of the plumbing mechanisms are similar to those on Abaddon, so it doesn't take much work to figure it all out.

Lockers are built into the walls, some missing doors, and some with doors that refuse to open, but there's still ample space regardless to stow away luggage. While Willow gets changed, Sebazhan heads out to look around the ship (at least, those areas he can be assured are safe for him to look around).

*flush!* "(squeal!)" *flush!* "(giggle!) *flush!*

"Nene … don't waste the Titanians' water. They probably can use every drop they can get." Willow buttons up the front of her vest. She's opted for her casual "work" clothes, an outfit not too unlike what she wore in her airship days. She wears it now to hopefully send out the message that she's willing to work right alongside any of the men in the ship, and also because this is the one outfit she can probably afford to get scuffed up the most. "Do you want to tour the ship with me, Nene, or do you think you can stay here and behave yourself?"

Nene looks at the handle on the commode, and then back to Willow. She bites her lip a bit, and shakes her head, and walks over to her mother. "Lezgo!"

The Skreek binds her hair back and hands the kitten her tailtip. Once she's ready, she opens up the door to the room and heads back in the direction of the room with all the oars.

Along the way, Willow passes a window. Actually, oddly enough, it looks like a circular window that continues up above the ceiling and below the floor, maybe to floors above and below, and it's reinforced with a heavy framework that breaks up the window into smaller panels. There's a space beyond, and then another layered window. By the way the features outside the ship visibly refract, the windows must be especially thick. Outside can be seen stars … and the red moon. It looks much bigger than it did before, filling up a large part of the window.

Nene squeals when she sees it. "It growed!" she mews, pointing.

"Yes it did." Willow pauses at the window and presses her palms against it. "It might get even bigger soon enough." She tries to look down in the direction the ship took off from.

The surface of Abaddon can be seen below, stretching off in unfathomable distances. Only part of the disc of Abaddon can be seen, mostly red, with wispy clouds and crisscrossed by networks of canals. It's not really possible to pinpoint exactly where the ship lifted off from … but this "airship" is definitely high above the highest of clouds.

The Skreek feels a moment of vertigo and pulls herself back from the window. "I wonder how high you get until you're too high to fall?" She shakes the thought from her head and tugs the kitten onwards.

Nene follows along with her mother, as they head past various curious mechanisms and odd decorations. It's Titanian, but not quite the same as Sinai Titanians would cobble together … not by a long shot. (For starters, this actually flies, and doesn't seem to be threatening the passengers' life and limb at every opportunity.)

They make their way back to the main hall, where the Titanians are busily rowing, and the drummer is still marking the pace – or, that is, a different drummer. As strong as Titanians might have, they haven't inexhaustible reserves, and have grasped the concept of taking shifts, at least.

Sebazhan is seated near Methuselah, and seems to be straining to follow the cheetah's signs – as Methuselah carefully signs things slowly and clearly. "… we are going past the moon, to escape the pull of the world, so that we may enter another … path through space," the cheetah signs.

The Skreek rubs her chin and wanders next to one of the rowing Titanians. "Can I help?"

The Titanian gives Willow a happy dumb dog tongue-lolling grin, then barks, "Yah!" He frees one hand to slap an empty spot on the bench nearby him. "You sit closer to wall. Otherways handle go too high for you to reach!"

"Thank you!" Willow grins and nudges the kitten to go join her father. "The both of you can laugh at Mommy," she whispers in Nene's ear before settling down in the seat next to the wall. She grasps the pole and starts shoving at it, trying to mimic the motions of the other Titanians. "So … *hff* … What do you *pff* know about the place we're *oomph* going to?"

The Titanian ponders this, then barks, "First? First we go to star-sea! Then, we go to trading post! Then back to star-sea. Then … uh … we go off to spotty-land!"

"Trading post? What do you trade?" The Skreek continues to shove at the bar.

The Titanian grins. "We give bad junk and get good junk!"

"And what about spotty land? What's that like?" Willow wriggles her fingers, trying to work out the cramping in them.

The Titanian furrows his brow. "Uh, spotty-cats real quiet. They is smart. Me is not. They gots pretty lights and shiny things. And they have big things go BOOM real good!" He nods happily. "But they don't like us much. We break things."

"They don't attack you or anything like that, do they? I mean … do they keep to themselves or do they seem to go out and look for trouble?" The gray rat continues swimming the pole around, glancing over her shoulder at Methuselah and Sebazhan.

The Titanian frowns, thinking very hard. After a few strokes, he says, "We used to take things from spotty-cats. They put up good fights. They have nice big ships and boom-things, and they gots big titans, too." He smiles dreamily. "But Rushfighter, he is real smart. His papa get skooshed in fight with spotty-cats. Rushfighter, he get charge of ship, and he say – nuh-uh! This is STOOPID! He think of new way to get cool stuff from spotty-cats."

"So you trade with them instead, right?" Willow grins toothily, trying to mimic a Titanian smile.

The Titanian nods. "Yeah! We give them bad junk we don't want, and they give us good junk that they don't want." He looks off into space as if utterly overwhelmed by the idea. "Rushfighter is so smart!"

The Skreek licks her nose. There's always a catch, just about always. "What sort of junk do you give them?"

The Titanian says, "We hunt big'uns in star-sea, get lots o' stuff from big'uns. Hides make good armor. Meat makes good eatin'. But we is no needing too much, so we gives extra to spotties. And we find scraps of busted ships. What we no need, we gives to spotties. And we picks stuff up on planets that spotties don't mess with. Critters, shinies, plants, stuff the locals make."

"Is there any type of junk in particular the spotties seem to like? Do they have any junk from Sinai for example?" Willow suppresses a frown. ( I wonder how many people from Sinai might have taken this trip, or if any magical things we dumped off might have ended up there. )

The Titanian nods. "Yeah. Shinies from … uh … Sinai, yeah. They get real good prices! The big shot spotty leader type, he really likes those. But Rushfighter, he's so smart, he made good with a spotty-leader type even higher up than the other one!"

"Who would that be?" The Skreek remembers herself and starts shoving on the pole again.

The Titanian nods, in the direction of the fore of the hall. "The old spotty-cat. He is a big hoo-hah! And Rushfighter is buddy-buddy with him. Good move, huh?"

Willow relaxes considerably. "A very good move, yes. Rushfighter knows how to pick his friends very well. What do you know about the other big shot leader type? How have your dealings with him been?"

The Titanian frowns. "He not nice. He kill lots. I mean, not even in fair fight. He say he is 'Star'. But Grampa Hoo-Hah say he is not."

"He's right. The other leader has been lying to people on Sinai as well. Made a princess friend of mine not like me anymore because I tried to tell her that this person wasn't the Star. I'm going to try and keep him from invading my planet and killing lots of people there." The Skreek shrinks down in the chair a little. "I hope he'll at least listen to me. If not, it's going to be one hell of a fight, and I doubt that we'll win it." She shakes her head. "Arethere others like Rushfighter who don't like the mean boss spotty?"

The Titanian nods. "The spotties useta have treaties with other big peoples … but they losing friends. The mean boss spotty, he thinks he don't need no friends anymore. He thinks he is 'Star'. But most of them, they gots their own business off, way off, so they don't mess with the spotties much, if they don't have to."

"What made him think he was the Star?" Willow wipes a trickle of sweat from her brow.

The Titanian shrugs. "He get too big shot, get big head? I dunno."

"Could be," Willow smiles to herself. "Does anyone here follow the Star? Not the spotty leader, but the real Star?"

The Titanian nods. "Yeah. Rushfighter, he follow Star. He bonk everyone onna head until they follow Star, too." The Titanian grins.

The Skreek laughs loudly. "Rushfighter sure is smart, indeed." She looks at the 'oar' she's rowing. "Umm… I was just wondering. What exactly is all of this oar turning doing? I thought the air ended after you got so high, and we couldn't be moving these fast enough to keep the ship from falling down."

The Titanian furrows his brow deeply, then shrugs. "I dunno! Rushfighter says it keep us outta trouble!" His tail wags.

"Flaming truffles!" Willow lets the bar go and shakes her head. "It figures. So … do you ever see people like me when you travel? I've seen Titanians and Vartans and Eeee and Korvs and Nagai and even weird Khattas around gateway … but never another Skreek like me."

Titanian shakes his head. "Nope! Uh … you mean, you is not li'l Titanian?"

"I wish I was. It would make all this rowing a lot easier." She grins. "I'm a Skreek … although one of the armored humans called me a 'maus' once. Another word people on Sinai use is 'rat', but it's not a very polite word to use."

The Titanian nods. "So, you is Skreek! I is Blammo!" His tail wags.

"What I am is a Skreek, like you're a Titanian." She laughs. "My name is Willow-the-Wisp Dack, but you can call me Willow. It's very nice to meet you, Blammo."

Blammo nods enthusiastically. A horn blows up front. The Titanians start cheering and stomping their feet.

Willow perks her ears at the noise. "What's happening?"

Blammo shouts over the noise, "We far enough from planet, we go to star-sea now!"

The ship begins to vibrate, and a loud thrumming reverberates through the floor.

"Should I go and sit back in the furry seat again?" She glances back at the three felines and then just opts to cling to the oar pole instead.

Up at the front, several elder Titanians seem to be busy at work around the central furnace, fine-tuning a machine here, slamming one with a hammer there.

Blammo yells, "Nahhhhh!"

"First the storm, then the gateway, then the takeoff … now this." She wraps her arms around the pole. "Scruddy flaming airships. No wonder I quit this line of work."

It feels as if the ship is lurching a bit, though not so violently that Willow can't stay in her seat. It seems more than anything to be jerking forward, then letting off, accelerating, then cutting the power, several times … and then … it feels like something has struck against the hull of the ship … but aside from a few flickering lights, the ship seems to be holding up just fine.

Then … everything is fairly calm, all things considered. One of the elders bellows, "Raise the oars and raise the sails!" The Titanians cheer again, and push their handles downward.

The Skreek creaks open an eye as her leaning post suddenly starts to tilt down. She straightens herself and pushes along with her rowing companion. "Well, that was more like being in a crashing wagon then a crashing airship. Very different."

The handles lock into position with an audible click. Mechanical whines can be heard behind the walls, and most of the Titanians are getting up from their benches and heading toward stairs leading to an upper level. Sebazhan picks up Nene, and makes his way with her over to Willow. "I guess this means that things are going well so far."

Nene carries a little drum that someone gave her, banging on it with a tiny hammer. "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" she mews.

Willow shakily pulls herself up and rubs her arms. "They'renot as violent as the ones in Titania at least. Probably because the stuff they build doesn't break down the moment it's built. I think I've got a long way to go, though."

Blammo walks by. "Hey, you wanna see? Gonna go topside now!" He doesn't linger any longer, though, and heads up the stairs.

"C'mon, Sebazhan. We might as well take in as many sights as we can. Hopefully we won't ever have to repeat this trip." She winks at the black Khatta and dashes after Blammo.

As the Dacks head upstairs, they find themselves in a chamber that is … opening up? The ceiling seems to be folding away, revealing … an expanse outside the ship! Despite those tales of the vacuum of space, somehow there's still air to breathe … at least in the vicinity of the ship. Up above, there are flickers of light, as what look to be something resembling sails blink into existence on the spines radiating outward and upward from the ship, though they are of some translucent, glowing, insubstantial material. The ship seems to be, instead of floating through space, floating in liquid … or something that looks very much like it.

An ocean stretches out in all directions, and an unfelt "wind" fills the sails. The ocean, rather than disappearing at any horizon, though, curves upward … and goes all the way up to the "sky", forming a tunnel that the craft "sails" through. The Titanians cheer and stomp a lot up on the upper deck, going through the motions of operating various examples of arcane machinery (or hitting it in the proper places).

The Skreek freezes in her tracks as soon as the sight of it all reaches her eyes. "This… isn't… " She rubs her eyes to make sure it's real. "Space isn't supposed to be like this, is it?"

Methuselah stands nearby, shaking his head in the negative. He signs, "This is not space. It's a hole through space. The Titanians, Star bless them, found a way through this."

"Just the Titanians?" The Skreek sniffs at the air.

Methuselah nods. "Each of the space-faring peoples have developed their own ways of passing between the stars. The People use 'Gates'. The Titanians use the 'Star-Sea'."

The air smells no different, really, than it did before. There are no smells of ocean brine … maybe a faint hint of ozone, but that's about it.

"I've heard mention of the gates before. You can't come to Sinai without one. But who is building the one that will take people there? Doesn't someone have to come to Sinai … er … the Primus system and build it to begin with?" The Skreek tries to tear her gaze from the sky and focus on Methuselah's hands again.