Deep in the underbrush of a small planet chunk, four figures struggled through the swaths of tangled shrubbery. Besides a motley collection of skittish wildlife, they were the only living things on this chunk- that is, them and the Maelstrom, if living it can be called.
The planet chunk had no name, only a number: 3172. The Venture League had only recently added it to star charts. At its conception, the faction had been assigned the incredible task of scouting, mapping and recording all the Crux chunks that now littered their system. Despite the enormity of the job, Venture League continued pegging away at it with an enthusiasm and tenacity that no one else could have provided.
And while they could discover and explore these chunks, it became evident that they did not have enough resources to clean out the ones that had Maelstrom on it. Hael Storm discussed this shortage with his fellow leaders and suggested a solution.
Enter the Vanguard. A collection of remarkable units, each team comprised of one warrior from each faction, under the direct supervision of Hael Storm. They existed solely to travel along perilous space-routes to battle the Maelstrom that were found on new chunks.
The squad on 3172 were officially known as Unit 12. 3172 was the third chunk they had been to this month alone. They were scheduled to go on furlough as soon as it was clear of the enemy, and they were looking forward to it.
"What are you going to do on furlough, Gambit?" asked one of the party members as he used his buccaneer sword to hack away at a clump of vines.
The Paradox Marauder replied with a dark voice from underneath his equally dark helmet. "No plans." He revved his wormholer and used the rotating chain to obliterate a leafy obstruction.
"No plans?! How can you not have anything to do? It's like a vacation, man!" the buccaneer exclaimed. "Why don't you hang out with me? We'll have a GREAT time!"
"No," Gambit said shortly.
"I'll take you up on that if he won't," the Assembly cut in. He was wearing a mish-mash outfit comprised of whatever expanded his Imagination capacity the most, and was currently battling the vegetation with a pair of serratorizers. "I don't have much else to do. How about you, Percevel?"
Percevel was at the forefront of the group, wielding a "little friend." He was using it to clear most of the plants out of the way before the rest of Unit 12 came through.
"I might tag along every once in a while," he shrugged. He stopped and rested his over-sized weapon over his shoulder as he turned to the Assembly. "Can't wait until we destroy this last group so we can head home. How much farther to the Maelstrom, Thomas?"
Thomas quickly consulted a small device. "Half a mile or so, but we've strayed too far south."
"Better readjust the old trajectory!" the buccaneer piped up. He stuck a quicksicle in his mouth and dashed ahead of the group, nimbly weaving out of sight.
Percevel shook his head and tried to catch up. "Peragrine!" he called into a commlink. "Get back here and help the rest of us clear these plants! Not all of us can squirm through them like some kind of squirrel!"
There were a few moments of silence before they heard a reply. "Heeey," came Peragrine's voice over the comm, then announced in a sing-song tone, "I found somethinggg!"
Peragrine's teammates exchanged glances of terror; there were few phrases uttered by the daredevil that caused them as much anxiety as this one. Indeed, Peragrine had said it many times before, and it had always- always- ended in near disaster, with each encounter more deadly and stress inducing than the last. They couldn't even begin to imagine what this new "something" might entail.
"Peragrine!" Thomas demanded as they renewed their hack 'n slash journey through the entangling bushes. "Get back here!"
"In a minute," the response came distractedly. Then, "Ooh, this looks like a button!"
"PEREGRIN!" Thomas screeched.
The trio struggled forward and very soon saw their friend not too far away, partially hidden by the mossy trees. Percevel grunted and started wading over, exclaiming, "Peragrine, what are you- get away from that thing!"
Thomas and Gambit brought up the rear, unable to see what Percevel was talking about. They heard Peragrine's voice waft over now, close enough to be heard without the commlink
"This wasn't in the Venture League precursory report," he commented. They could see him lean forward towards something.
"PERRY-" Percevel's yell was immediately cut off by loss of sound.
Thomas and Gambit braced themselves as everything around them fell into silence. It seemed like all the sound nearby was getting pulled out of the area and into something else, something near Peregrine.
Percevel noiselessly plunged ahead, his two teammates on his heels. They worked their way close enough to see Perry standing in front of a metallic, circular contraption. In the circle, swirls of a myriad of colours morphed into fantastical landscapes one after the other, faster than the eye could follow.
Peragrine's mouth moved, but his words were pulled into the portal and were never heard by his friends. Then with an insatiably curious look, he started walking towards the whirling mess of colour. Percevel said something that was probably better left muted and lunged forward to pull the Venture Leaguer back.
Unfortunately, as soon as he touched his friend's shoulder, Peragrine reached out and touched the portal. It pulled them in instantly and as soon as they had disappeared, the swirling colours snapped shut and were gone. Sound returned to 3172 like an exhaled breath.
Gambit lowered his wormholer as he stared at the now lifeless metal circle, then turned to the Assembly.
"Uh-oh," Thomas said for both of them.