Buddy, Nes and Chips are deep in the bowels of the flying city. They have a huge stockpile of numenera, but no way to carry it all through the long path back to the surface, even if they knew the way back. Which they don't. Luckily Kel has been spending a great deal of time researching the city systems and as well as the comms system they discovered long ago, he has recently discovered a teleportation system that can lock on to anyone keyed into the city comms. They decide to make use of it so that they can do multiple trips back and forth easily and transport all their loot to the spire. Kel activates the system and they all disappear in a burst of crimson light. Not just Buddy, Nes and Chips but also Valheese and Kel. After a brief moment of agony, Buddy finds himself standing on a metal platform standing in infinite void. Far in the distance, rips appear in the fabric of the firmament and then close up again within minutes. Other platforms can be seen in the distance on either side, one with what looks like a human figure sitting on it. All platforms have a metal beam leading to a central point far away. This platform itself has remnants of blood, skin and cloth stuck to the surface. As Buddy is standing, wondering what has happened, Kel appears beside him, then disappears. Then Buddy disappears and reappears to find Valheese there. Valheese disappears and the Chips and Nes appear almost simultaneously. Nes then disappears, leaving Chips and Buddy alone on the platform. After a long wait, they decide to take action and start to head along the beam. This become difficult as the further they progress the less they are affected by gravity, until at last they are pulling themselves along by hand. As they progress they see giant moth like creatures detach from the beam further up. These fly towards them and as they get closer they appear to be made of giant flaps of skin with pincers attached. They manage to defeat them with difficulty and continue along the beam. They can see the the beam finishes on some sort of metal globe with various settlements dotted around on the surface. Gravity returns (although to a lesser degree than they are used to) and they find themselves climbing down the beam to the dust covered surface. They wade through the dust, disturbing large grubs as they go, and make their way to the nearest settlement. However they quickly realise that the settlement they enter requires that they either join them in killing the inhabitants of other settlements for food, or that they become food themselves. They flee and leap into a hatch that they find on the surface, sealing it shut behind them.
