The piece was as big as it could be without going over. They gathered around to make sure that it was not only fair but sufficient. The man, John, would soon be coming to oversee things, but he wasn't there yet.
From far off in the distance, Gretchen stepped foot onto a new plane. This was to be her new home. She had doubts and other worries, but new it had to be this way. Whatever she had faced in the past had also come to pass. At the moment, the new situation felt a little bit bleak, but that was because she could not feel or see anything changing at any time soon.
They all waited patiently just staring at the piece when something extraordinary happened. A green light appeared about 50 feet above them and began to sort of open up. Not like a regular door, but more just like a a cloud parting and leaving a space. Something came out of the door quickly and landed beside them. They all turned to see. John stood there. He seemed out of focus somehow and vibrating rapidly. He began to speak telling them that he would soon be adjusted to this atmosphere and would appear normal very soon.
Gretchen wasn't sure what she would do first and so followed protocol. She set out to find the base of the project, so that she could begin what she set out to do. In the past, she would have thought 'I want to get this over with and move on,' but so many times she had really gotten to like where she had been and ended up having a great experience. She would give this plane the benefit of the doubt.
John spoke to them and asked about the piece. Teresa was the chosen representative for the group because of her ability to think quick on her feat and answer or ask any questions that were necessary. She went on to explain to John that it wasn't as much as they thought but would suffice. John looked over, now fully in focus, he concurred with her. John started explaining to them their next step. The group listened with trepidation, uncertainty always brought that on. John picking up on this explained that with certainty comes the loss of fear. "What's to happen will happen or not but what can be done now is to be done with your utmost commitment, focus." The groups journey would not be an easy one.
Gretchen looked out into the distance finally spotting the base. It had taken her over two days to find it but now the project could begin. For her really it didn't make too much sense, but that is not what she was trained to do. She had gone through this stuff in her head so many times before but the result was always the same. She did what she was told. Perhaps because of the guilt or fear or some other thing but the end result was the same. When she came upon the base, she looked around. The place was lush with a wild nature but also with spots of dried up land like something from below had sucked out it's moisture. The climate was pleasing, at least in this season, a cool 15 degrees. She was pleased with that. She had been on many planes that were almost unbearable with temperatures hitting, must have been - 15 degrees. It didn't quite matter because of the new temperature controlled bubble they outfitted her with. She could go on any plane, open the bubble around herself and just set the temperature to her liking. But, really, she liked when the plane was nice on its own.
The group didn't really know what to make of John. What was he? Where did he come from? etc. They also knew that he knew what they were thinking and that, for some, increased there wariness of him and this mission. John standing in front of them, on a very dry looking piece of land, put up a holographic image of women. They all looked at the image and started to ask questions. Mark, the son of the old leader's group, spoke up to ask John, "we failed so miserable on the last mission, what makes you think we can do it this time?" John, unperturbed, responded "This is what you are set to do. There is no other path." Mark, never satiated by John's answers, went quiet again. John went on to explain. "On this plane, her name is Gretchen. She is destined to finish what she has already started out to do in exactly 26 days. That is how long you have to find her and shut it all down. I will help you in the same way as usual but it's primarily your responsibility."
She reached down to examine and see if the base was intact. If it wasn't, this mission would fail right off the bat. It appeared to be fine, and so she pulled out the bag and place it in there and headed back to the landing spot. Her thoughts went to her last spot and how kind everyone was. Although she was not one of them, she could appear to look like those on that plane. She had made love with a women there and it was glorious. She hadn't done that for a long time and had really missed it. What a shame, she thought. Her attention now back on the task of the moment. Was she cold hearted? Was it because she wasn't loved as a child? She laughed out loud at these thoughts. They were irrelevant and not really even hers, just thoughts of that plane.
Jeff, the youngest of the group, asked John if they succeeded would they be called home. John responded honestly, "I don't know and don't make those decisions." Jeff knew he would say that but wanted to ask anyways. He missed his walls and pictures. Teresa took charge and told John that they would do there best and continue to do so. The group would never give up. That was what united them. Although sometimes full of fear, they never wavered on giving it their all. John pointed the way, and they headed off but not before he gave them the weapon. Joanne was the one to hold it and really the most level head of the group. She was not the leader of the group but definitely the backbone. She looked around and started to see what this plane was like. So much wild life and aliveness was happening everywhere. There were scattered trees, a lot of plant life, rivers, very small islands surround by small lakes and many patches of dried up land like a an old ladies lips, she thought. This place was... nice! She also wondered if there was going to be some sort of intelligent life forms here and not just animals and bugs.
She reached the landing spot surprisingly easy. This plane was pleasant, she concluded, but instinctively knew never to let her guard down. This job looked to be a cinch. How many planes has she been to? Was she even a she? It was all very subjective to the plan that she was on. But, she always knew her point; that was clear, crystal clear. She set about putting everything together. It was a process. After sometime she stopped and looked over her progress. She'd done quite well for that day. She reached into her pocket pulled out a remote control and pressed energy. Beside her head a small window opened and out rolled a ball covered in a dense metal. She caught sat down, opened the ball buy tapping on it twice and ate the tennis ball sized ball. Luckily it wasn't about taste, she thought. She pressed another button on the remote that said chair and then another one that said entertainment, and then she relaxed and faded off.
Teresa and Mark were discussing there last mission while Jeff and Joanne walked silently behind them. Joanne was reminiscing about home in her head. Jeff was lost between fear, and how great Joanne's jeans looked on her.
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