The minefield was dark and only small objects like herself and the troopers could penetrate it -- if they were careful. It was much to Sharon's delight that the patrol men moved away from it.
She wondered where on Earth, or rather where under water, where they going now. It seemed to her that they were circling the minefield counterclockwise. The only stop they made was to let Sharon see another message, "Worry not. Thou shall be safe soon."
After having gone around the minefield for a little while, the troopers turned and moved straight away from it. Sharon, puzzled, followed -- of course she could have outswam them any time, but unlike them, she didn't know where to go. Only about one thing she was positive -- these four were all but Soviet soldiers.
They reached a shallow reef. Away from the war zone, the marine life flourished again; the reef gave a good example of what the clean waters of the North Sea can host. Sit atop the underwater hill was another installation, a much smaller one. It had been carved from the primal rock and shaped in such a way that it didn't bother native life the least bit; it had two large bubble-like windows which remembered Sharon of the Gungan underwater city.
The bubbles, it turned out, worked just like in the movie. The four soldiers passed the jelly barrier and found themselves surrounded by breathable air again, then signalled Sharon to wait as they got rid of the scuba gear. To her surprise, the patrol leader and one of the soldiers were women -- in fact, the leader somewhat resembled Sharon's old human self.
Other people came from the installation's innard. They all were wearing Roman togas, and looked very healthy.Two of them positioned next to the patrol members into two rows of three, and the oldest -- a dignified man of about sixty, which in the past had to be quite athlethic -- signalled Sharon to swim through the bubble barrier.
Sharon was uncertain. Were they going to catch her before she hit the ground?
"Trust me, child. You will be returned home soon." a voice resonated in her head. Sharon understood it was the elder. What was that? A Jedi mind trick? Whatever she thought, since this Uchronia madness started, these people seem the sanest I've met so far.
Sharon leaped, and as promised the people -- three men and three women -- tackled her softly. Within seconds, a seashell-shaped bathtub was brought inside the bubble through a bronze-cast pressurized door and Sharon was lowered in.
"Wh... where... Where I be, please do tell, and will my fate turn out for well?" Sharon asked, trying to use her voice to get some truth.
"Good. So you speak English, child." the elder said. "We are Gaians, travellers as are those who brought you here. We don't mean you any harm, and will return you where you belong..."
Tue Sep 21 16:53:45 1999