Chapter 25

WEDNESDAY 7:36 P. M. CST News Stand, Chicago, IL

As Mike was bundling up the unsold evening copies of the Sun Times for pick up, Elnore's voice entered his mind, 'Michael, I take it that our travelers got off alright?'

'Oh yeah, smooth as silk from this end. With the filter I installed in place, we have our first crop of federation citizens out there right now. You're going to love this part though. Before we bid them bon voyage, I sneaked in a little parting gift for President Emeritus Williams and the former First Lady. Two of those special badges, you know?' Mike snickered.

'You rascal, tell me you didn't do that?' Elnore queried back.

'Of course I did. We could have our first interstellar mages in the works right now. That mage army of yours is looking a lot more possible by the day, ' Mike sent with a chuckle.

'Michael, even though your heart was in the right place, you needed to think this through. You just tossed both of them into the deep end of the pool and I'm not talking about the wading pool either. They're going to be busy as all get out trying to put a basic infrastructure in place. Now, on top of all that, they'll have possible mage talents popping up without one clue what's going on, or anyone there to guide them.' Elnore sent with a hint of exasperation for what he considered Mike's recklessness.

'Hey, untwist your shorts a little bit. Before they left I told them both to call if they had questions, or just wanted to chat with home base. You know those gates are going to be open 24/7 from here on out and both of our pioneers are equipped with comm systems. I'm betting comm signals will travel through the gate just fine and we both know the gates are rigged for two way traffic.'

'If worse comes to worse, I'll just use Gaia's new Nexus hallway to slip in the back door. Those pins should act like homing beacons.'

'NEXUS HALLWAY!?! What Nexus hallway?' Elnore practically screamed.

'Uh oh. I knew there was something I forgot to update you on. OK, here's the deal. When Gaia activated the Gate network, she also expanded the Nexus. You know how it always just led off to the five realms? Well now there are hallways, for lack of a better word, branching off those five pathways. I only got a quick peek before Gaia hustled me out of there. I'm betting that each of the thirty six worlds are now connected by gate and a hallway entrance. Want to do some exploring, Boss?' Mike sent back with a deeper chuckle.