41. Once and for all

When pyramid started to lose altitude, everyone on board was sitting on top of piles made out of blankets and cushions that they moved into the top lounge area.

Tzol said 'everything that goes up, must come down eventually', so they thought of this solution to have everyone together and safe in case of rough landing. If levels below crumble, they will sit on top of the rubble. Better than being under it, in any case.

Also, in full spirit of 'whatever could go wrong, will probably go wrong' Xul had them not only move up, but also to prepare all the food, tools, gear and equipment that could be handy in emergencies. Like, if there is fire. Or if station does not connect to the underground structures properly and power gets cut. Or whatever else might happen.

And they were right to prepare well, as rough landing it was indeed. Shaking when they moved up was nothing compared to feeling of being dropped and free falling at the end. It only lasted a second, yet despite cushions and blankets, they all got the air knocked out of their lungs when they dropped back down on the floor. The pyramid held together though.

Groaning and gasping, they were still trying to get their bearing back, when squealing came from down below.

"It's trying to reconnect," Veles said as he sat up. He pulled Notos up, and they both looked around to check how others are doing, picking up their fire extinguishers, just in case. It seemed no one got injured, yet all were a bit shaky, and nothing caught fire.

"What now?" Ah Kin looked at Xul, everyone was more or less fine, although bewildered.

"Lets go up on the roof to see where we are." From the top of the pyramid their view was mostly just flat expanse of green, with some hills in the distance. Even though Xul did not expect it to change much, to see it with their own eyes should be confirmation that they did not imagine that station flew up.

And then, the lights flickered, and before they managed to do anything, total darkness enveloped them. Not even night lights were on.

"On it." Soma and Rudra said in unison. They were in charge of electronics maintenance, and they did bring their tools up with them. Rudra clicked on a holy lightning rod, that they normally used when working in hard to reach, narrow spaces. Pale light enveloped them and they took the lead, leading everyone out of the lounge.

Dagda followed in the dark, feeling Wuo squeezing his hand. He squeezed it back, feeling unsettled as well. It was not going as it was supposed to happen at all. According to the Protocol, landing should have been soft, and station would reconnect and start producing energy before their generators ran out of reserves. If Xul did not think ahead, they would all be dispersed all over top floor in this sudden blackout.

Soon they arrived to the Ah Kin's apartment, then climbed the stairs up to the terrace above it. Veggies left to dry up there were now all over the place, but no one paid attention to it. Sun was falling behind the hills on the West side, and as they looked around, it seemed as if they landed in a bowl.

There was a now a river sparkling as it flew between hills, out of the valley where they were located. They moved indeed.

"Something is smoking on the North," they heard Hama saying, and they all went to that side to look down. Indeed, from the trees on the hillside, not far from sparkling waterfall, sparse smoke was rising.

"Did we set it on fire?" Veles asked, but Rudra interrupted him, "No, we burned the East hills, its still smoldering." Indeed, there was a wide stretch of trees on that side, broken and obviously charred.

"Where are Yax and his team?" Utu asked, hanging on Olaf and not letting him go.

Ler snickered. "Hopefully not under us right now." and then he got smacked on the back of the head by Kane.

"That smoke on the North hills could be their camp." Geb said, and then they all looked down in that direction again. From how high they were, nothing could be discerned, even with their enhanced vision.

"Should we wait for them up here, or go down to meet them?" Ah Kin asked, but Xul did not answer right away. He looked at the sun sinking beyond horizon.

"Its nightfall out here, and inside is black out." Xul did not feel that climbing down through total darkness only to end up in the unfamiliar dark jungle was a good idea.

"We will spend the night in the lounge, and then move down in the morning." If Yax's team climbs up during that time, they will help carry food and supplies down.

If pyramid does not light up again, only thing left to do is to move out of it. Without electricity, its useless as a habitat.

"There are some old lanterns in the royal storage" Kane said after searching through his inventory lists "they use oil as fuel so they can be used tonight."

Xul nodded, so Soma took Kane and Ler downstairs with his torch light. That storage room was just next to the lounge, so not too far away to search for it in the dark.

Ah Kin looked over people standing around, young ones looked in shock, and some older ones were no better as well, as this was their first time standing up here under the sky.

"Geb, can you and Hama pick up the veggies up here," they were the ones placing it there, "while rest of us go down and prepare lounge for sleepover."

"Sure," Geb looked at the synthetic sheets spread over the terrace. It was mostly just to pick up corners and all will be nicely packed up.

"We will help as well," Dagda said, pulling Wuo with him. It was his idea to dry them up here anyway.

Four of them started to fold sheets with dried slices of tomatoes, salted potatoes, and anything else they tried to experiment with during past few months. Others took one more look at darkening sky, and moved down. Rudra led the way, and soon they were back in the lounge.

Blankets and pillows were messed up by the fall, and they just started to straighten them up in dim light of only torch when Soma came with Ler and Kane holding four more light sources. These lanterns were from festivals that used to be held in artificial night of the pyramid, back when priests still performed sacrifices to the Moon God.

Filled with oil, they flickered and shed little light, but in total dark anything was better than nothing. Placed on the tables in the lounge, they turned the room into a romantic getaway instead of emergency shelter.

"There are a few more back there," Kane said, "should we bring them?"

"No," Xul refused, "this will be enough for tonight." Yet, they could be taken with them when they move out. He already started to plan for it, as electricity was still out, and nothing suggested it would be back.

"Lets eat something, then take rest." Ah Kin looked at him as he wanted to say something, but Xul just slightly shook his head.

He knew what Ah Kin wanted to say, but he would rather talk about it in the morning. They were all still in shock, and he wanted to ease them into the idea of permanent move slowly, as they gradually become aware of situation on their own.

He observed how his crew organized itself in pairs and groups. He was aware of some gossip, yet there were some changes in personal relationships that he could notice now, as he sat on his bunk with Ah Kin leaning on his shoulder.

Olaf was like a rooster, holding Utu on his lap, while Pwyll and Q'uq nested in a bed next to them.

Notos, Veles, Soma and Rudra bunked near Ler and Kane. Players sticking together through thick and thin, supporting each other and having fun with each other.

Xul never truly understood their interpersonal dynamic, yet it was their private business so he never interfered as it worked for them. Even when others joined them in their games, it never caused any discord or tensions, so why to meddle with it?

There were two other occurrences that had him raise his eyebrow though. On one side, Dagda was cornered by Wuo? Or was it the other way around, it was hard to tell in the dark. Yet what surprised him even more was the casual way Hama brought a box of pastries to Tzol, then just landed himself in his bed, not showing any intention to move.

And Tzol actually picking up those pastries and munching on them, not showing any understanding of Hama's obvious intentions. Did that old porcupine got tamed by sweets?

Well, he found it a good thing for both of those oldies. Dagda's last relationship was with Zed, and that one ended in tragedy. Same as that half-relationship Tzol used to have with Mone. It would be good for them to move on.

That left Geb. Xul looked at his biologist slash cook, but that one was already covered in blankets and snoring.