[After a whole heck of a lot of writers block, Trippin' is done. 
Take a look, tell me what you think.

kat]

Operation: Marraketh 
"Trippin'"

"Cathy I'm lost, I said, though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all come to look for America"
			--Simon & Garfunkle, "America"

	The day had arrived. Calculus and Katze would be Chicago 
bound in a few hours. Katze bounced around a little as she 
cleared some paperwork off her desk, stamping them with the well-
used "DENIED"  stamp. "Another one gone," *SLAM* "Another one 
gone," *SLAM* "Another one bites the dust!" *SLAM* It was just 
one of those days.
	After the DENIED stamp lost its appeal, Katze glanced 
around her messy office. With a sigh of resignation, she decided 
she would clean the office after she got back from Chicago. The 
Jihad and the Rangers had been pressing too harshly onto her mind 
again. It would be nice to take this vacation.
	She tucked the DENIED stamp into her pocket and thought, 
[Speaking of Jihad responsibilities, I'd better call Shad, let 
him know that I won't exactly be in my office or anywhere else 
that he would know where I am.]
	She picked up the phone and dialed a familiar extension 
number. Katze listened to the phone ring and sighed as nobody 
answered it. Ripping a piece of paper off the post-it note pad, 
she made a hastily scrawled note to call Shad as soon as she got 
back. She chewed on her pen for a second and added the note to 
clean her office. That done, Katze turned off the lights to the 
office, grabbed her bags, and headed for the motor pool.
	The motor pool was well lit. Why this thought was the 
first one to cross Katze's mind, she did not know. Of course, her 
mind had not been very cooperative these days. "Light, darkness, 
what's it matter, all I seek is the truth," she mumbled to 
herself.
	She looked around at all the cars. There were all sorts 
of interesting ones, and if she'd ever been into cars, she might 
have recognized some of them. She weaved her way past a few 
strange vehicle designs to what looked to be a perfectly ordinary 
Mercury Villager. She blinked, wondering where Calculus was. He 
had said he would be meeting her here.
	And he had been. Calc was in the front driver seat making 
a few minor modifications to the dashboard. He looked up and 
waved. "You ready to go?" asked Katze.
	"Phoe is supposed to be coming down."
	"Ahh, I see. And I suppose you have a list of what he's 
supposed to do while we're away."
	Calc pointed to an electronic pad sitting in the 
passenger's seat. "Yup. You need to put anything in the back?"
	Katze nodded. Calc got out of the car and opened up the 
cargo area. "Here you go," he said helpfully.
	"Oh gee, he's gentlemanly enough to open the trunk, but 
he can't put the bag in there," Katze said to nobody in 
particular as she lifted her Army-style garment bag and placed it 
next to Calc's suitcase.
	Calc didn't say anything in response to this comment, 
preferring instead to just shrug and grin.
	Katze swung her green duffel bag up on the cargo area 
next to the garment bag and decided to check if her notebook was 
in the duffel bag. As she was doing this, she thought of 
something. "Calc, did you get that Phoe is supposed to work on 
the routers?"
	Calc grabbed the pad out of the front seat of the 
Villager and hit a few buttons on it. "Yup, supposed to at least 
get the number two router working."
	Katze looked up on the stairwell to see Phoe coming down. 
"Speak of the devil." she grinned and then went back to the hunt 
for her notebook. "Phoe! Come to see us off?"
	Phoe grinned as he came closer to the Villager. "Yeah, I 
suppose."
	Calc, ever the pragmatist, punched a few more buttons on 
his console. "He's probably here to push us out the door." He 
glanced one last time at the datapad and handed it to Phoe. "But 
before we go, here's a list of things for you to do."
	Phoe took it and grinned some more. "Woo. Looks like I'm 
going to have fun being in charge."
	Katze grinned at that remark. "Welcome to the world of 
running a department. But you can handle it. Otherwise we 
wouldn't be leaving it in your hands." 
	Phoe nodded. "Thanks. Besides, it was time for you to 
take a vacation anyway."
	Katze looked off in the distance. "Yeah, I suppose..." 
Her voice trailed off as she remembered the dream. The only 
person who knew was Ari. Then why did she fear that the whole 
complex knew? [Stoppit, Katze, stoppit. Paranoia is gonna get 
you nowhere. Get ahold of yourself.]
	Somehow she managed to get herself and her green duffel 
bag into the front passenger seat. Phoe looked to Calc. "Well, 
you guys better head out. Have fun in Chicago!" He turned, as if 
to walk back to the stairwell.
	Calc hopped into the front seat of the Villager. He 
started the car up, rolled down the window. "And don't forget to 
work on the number two router!" he yelled over the engine. Phoe 
said something back, but Katze didn't catch it over the motor. 
Calc then sped out of the garage. Suddenly they were in bright 
sunlight. Katze blinked. 
	"Bach, Beethoven, or Tchkavski?" asked Calc suddenly. 
Katze grinned and chose the music of the Russian composer. Calc 
happily obliged by blasting the "1812 Overture" the way most kids 
blast their Metallica or Tool.
	The two of them were so busy getting into the music that 
they didn't notice that a third person had joined them in the 
car. So it was a shock to Katze when a bag of Bic pens ended up 
in her lap. She turned to see Ari grinning like a maniac. "I 
didn't want you to be hungry on your journey, peneater," she 
said, with a huge grin.
	Katze motioned for Calc to turn down the music and then 
looked at the bag of pens. Finally, she just shook her head and 
laughed. "Ari, what would I do without you?"
	"I dunno, Katze. Now you have fun on vacation, and try 
not to worry too much. You're always...," Ari paused for a 
moment. "...worrying too much."
	The unspoken thought passed between the two of them and 
Katze nodded. "I'll try. It's a bit hard not to worry though."
	Ari grinned. "It'll all be okay, Katze. You'll come back 
running down the hallways." She faded out with a huge grin on her 
face as Katze reached over the seat as if to swat her friend. 
Calc just shook his head and turned the volume back up, as they 
emerged. 
	Alamosa turned out to be a fairly sleepy town. Calc sped 
through as fast as he could and made the turn on Highway 160. The 
journey to Chicago was underway.
	Katze stared out the window, glad they had made the 
decision to drive and not to teleport. Calc was going at a fairly 
average speed, the scenery was pretty, and the drive would give 
her time to think-- and maybe come to some conclusions.
	She thought about what she had learned in the course of 
the past few weeks. Was it true that the Wyrm himself wanted her 
dead? She couldn't bring herself to believe it, but there wasn't 
any other conclusion to draw. Someone had set up that trap in the 
foyer of their apartment. She hadn't done it, so that only left 
one person-- Josh. But that was impossible! She had known Josh 
since first grade. He'd never hurt...
	The incidents of the past few weeks flooded into her head 
again. All evidence pointed to Josh lying about where he had come 
from. Which meant that Josh and her were both lying about their 
present. But Josh was lying about his past as well! It was 
frustrating.
	But then again, she knew not who she was even. Her world, 
her belief system, had gone topsy turvy, and she knew not how to 
fix it. [So you're running away from the problem?] she asked 
herself. It was a question she could not answer.
	Perhaps it was best to shut her mind off for a while. She 
leaned back in her seat, checked the time, and closed her eyes. 
The darkness calmed her, and soon she was asleep.

	The trip through Colorado and Nebraska passed 
uneventfully. Calc had almost managed to get himself arrested 
twice, but was somehow able to talk the officer out of it... or 
if that didn't work, somehow getting the officer to believe he 
was insane. (I mean, what would you do if you were talking to a 
person about speeding and he suddenly turned into a penguin? 
What would you do?)
	Katze had woken up to see a Nebraska state police officer 
suddenly start stuttering. Then she realized what Calc had done 
and quickly whispered to him: [Stop it.]
	[Stop what? He's the one that wanted to arrest me.]
	[You could have escaped from jail.]
	[I wanted to avoid being arrested in the first place. Now 
go back to sleep, or at least pretend.]
	But it was too late for that. The officer had noticed 
Katze had woke up. "Ma'am...," He gulped, trying to find the 
words. "Why are you letting the penguin drive the car?"
	Katze smiled innocently. "Because he has his driver's 
license and I don't?"
	The officer blinked at this response. "I'll pretend I 
didn't see you." He backed away from the car carefully. "Because 
nobody would believe me anyway."
	They sat there on the side of the road, waiting for the 
police car to disappear into the horizon before going again. Calc 
changed back into his normal self and continued on his merry way.

	It was about eight in the evening when the two travelers 
hit Des Moines. Calc suddenly thought of something. He swerved 
off I-80 at one of the exits and started driving northwest.
	Half an hour later, they were still going northwest at a 
reckless pace. "Calc, where are we going?" said Katze.
	Calc smiled. "Boone, Iowa. I've been dying to do a spork 
raid, and Nick said if we're ever in the area and want to do a 
spork raid, to come and get him."
	At about 9:30 PM, Calc pulled into a parking lot. There 
were two building sitting next to the lot and a few cars parked 
there. Of course, Katze was able to tell exactly what these 
buildings were. One was a closed KFC (oh well, didn't want 
chicken anyway) and the other had HUGE lighted letters on the 
outside proclaiming this place to be "Godfather's Pizza." Calc 
grinned some more as he looked towards the building. "You 
hungry?"
	"Not really, I munched on the sandwiches in the cooler on 
the back seat around the state line."
	"Ahh, okay, then we can kidnap Nick and go." 
	Katze shrugged. "I guess, if you really want to do that." 
	The two of them got out of the car and walked across the 
parking lot, neither wanting to spoil the moment. Katze had only 
met Nick briefly when he had been inducted, and they'd only 
talked occasionally, usually when Katze was passing along orders 
for Ari. However, Ari did most of the talking with the 
Explorations crew, and that was Nick's department.
	Calc pushed the door open, and walked in. Katze followed 
slightly behind. There wasn't much to see, was your typical 
middle to high end pizza joint. There was carpeting on the floor 
in part of it, and some nicely shined brass. Then, Katze suddenly 
realized why she was getting a feeling of deja vu. How many times 
had her friends and her headed downtown to the Godfather's pizza 
in Chico? Two thirds of a continent away, this thought comforted 
her.
	Calc poked Katze, dragging her off memory lane. "We got a 
job to do, in case you haven't forgotten."
	Katze blinked. "Oh no, I hadn't forgotten... just got 
reminded of home." She glanced around the restaurant, taking in 
only a few people -- a family in one of the booths with two kids 
squabbling over the last slice of pizza, a sedate old couple in a 
back booth looking like they were about to fall asleep over their 
pizza, a slightly balding young man at the cash register watching 
it print totals, and somebody filling up their cup at the soda 
machine. "Hmm... you think that's him at the soda machine?"
	Calc looked. "Ayup, I'd say that's him. Let's ambush 
him."
	They walked towards the person at the soda machine. Calc 
was the first to speak. "Nick M., I presume?"
	The person turned around. Katze noted that he was taller 
than she was, a rare thing. He wore glasses and had blond hair. 
Katze was pretty sure this was Nick, but the person said, "Uh?"
	There was a moment of silence. Suddenly, the light of 
recognition clicked on. "You're Calculus, and you're Katze, from 
the Jihad," he said, pointing to each of them in turn.
	Calc nodded and grinned. Katze extended a hand, and said, 
"Ayup, that be us. So what time do you get off?"
	"Well..."
	The conversation was interrupted by the man at the 
counter. "Nick, you need to get back to work."
	Nick turned towards the guy at the counter. "Corey, I 
just got some guests in from out of town. Do you mind if I get 
off now?" 
	"You got everything done back there?" 
	Nick thought for a second. "Yep. Just gotta sweep and 
mop. Link can take care of that."
	The manager nodded. "Okay, then, you're off at 9:30."
	Calc starts motioning at the door. "Where's the nearest 
Taco Bell?" he asked.
	"Ames," Nick replied. "But I don't see how you're going 
to make it in time. I've gotta stop at home and change."
	Calc grinned mysteriously. "Drive home fast and change. 
Katze and I will follow you. And then we'll go to Taco Bell, 
don't worry, we will make it on time."
	Nick nodded. "Alright, follow me home." He hopped into a 
Ford Escort. Calc and Katze got into the Villager and Calc 
started the motor. He then said, "Oh, Computer?"
	"Yes, Calculus?"
	"See that Escort? I want you not to lose it until I say 
so." 
	"Gotcha. Can I do anything else for you? I learned a lot 
of interesting things about African tree frogs."
	"No, that won't be necessary. Thank you, Computer."
	"Okee dokey. Computer over and out."
	They followed Nick home without incident. Calc released 
the computer from its program as Nick ran upstairs and switched 
clothes. He had put on a Spam[tm] shirt. He jumped into the back 
seat of the Villager, and then looked around. "Nice car."
	Calc grinned. He then looked seriously at Nick. "Got your 
seatbelt buckled?"
	Nick looked confused. "Of course I..."
	Calc started up the jet engine and the car took off into 
space. Nick blinked. Katze scowled at Calc. "That was real 
inconspicuous."
	Calc just shrugged and grinned. "We gotta get to Ames on 
time... lemme brief you on what I want to do..."

	It was just around closing time at the Ames Taco Bell 
when a van pulled up in front of the store. A short statured man 
in a business suit got out of the car and walked into the 
restaurant. He pulls a badge out of his pocket and shouts, 
"Bomb Squad!" 
	Everybody looked up from their wonderful soft tacos and 
burrito supremes uncomprehendingly. A bomb in Taco Bell? Surely 
this had to be some sort of a joke. A low grumble started through 
the crowd, and Calc realized he was losing control. "Listen. I'm 
with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bomb Division. If you 
don't believe me, then fine, you are entitled to stay here. But I 
don't guarantee your safety. We've gotten a few reports of 
exploding sporks, and I've been told to evacuate this place."
	Out in the van, Katze whispered to Nick. "That's our cue. 
Let's go."
	The two of them raced out of the van, white lab coats 
flopping every which way. They pushed through the crowd of people 
that had suddenly started stampeding out of the restaurant. "Bomb 
squad tech, bomb squad tech." they yelled out as they squeezed 
their way through the crowd.
	Calculus looked up as the two of them entered the 
restaurant. "We're ready, Officer Barbrady. What do you want us 
to do?" asked Nick.
	Calc shrugged a bit. "How about you go after the sporks 
in the storage room and Mary here will get the sporks out here... 
we're gonna have to bring them to a safe place."
	Katze shot Calc a look. [Mary? Why in god's name did you 
pick Mary?]
	[Only group I could think of was Peter, Paul, and Mary.]
	Just then, another man pushed through the door. Calc 
looked up, a bit surprised. Even the Taco Bell employees had 
started running for their lives when he said "exploding sporks." 
So who was this guy? 
	Nick came out carrying a boxful of sporks. "What do you 
want me to do with these?" he asked.
	Calc looked at the new man again and suddenly saw what he 
was carrying. [Katze?]
	[Err, yeah?]
	[He's got a bomb.]
	Calc looked at Nick. "We're going now."
	"Without the sporks?"
	"Yes."
	"Why?"
	Calc concentrated for a second. [Get outta here, Katze!] 
he thought as he yanked Nick out of the Taco Bell hard.
	The two of them appeared inside the van. Nick looked up 
at Calc. "What the heck did you have to do that for?" 
	"He had a bomb."
	"A REAL one?  And where's Katze?"
	"Yes... and she should be here." [Katze?]
	Meanwhile, inside the restaurant, Katze looked at the man 
standing there. "Who are you?" she asked.
	"At's for me to know and you to find out, ma'am." The 
bomb man made a wink. "But I know you've been siding with dem 
dirty Jihaddi, and I decided dat I'd come and teach y'all a 
lesson. But one will work."
	Katze groaned, wishing she'd listened to Calc a little 
more closely. Maybe then she wouldn't find herself in this mess. 
"Okay, but why would you want to kill anybody?"
	"Because, because... because Barney said so!"
	Katze watched him regress into sponge-minionism. [Oh 
great. What do I do now.] Then it hit her. "Can I see your bomb 
please?"
	The minion scowled. "No! Barney said it's mine."
	Katze tried to stay calm. "But Barney," she said, trying 
not to pronounce it in the Jihad way, "said to share."
	The sponge minion nodded. "Barney wants me to share." He 
handed the bomb over. "I'm sharing my bomb with you."
	Katze erped. It was live and about ready to go off, there 
was almost zero friggen time on the bomb. [I have to get it out 
of here!]
	She made the quick concentration of teleporting to a 
remote location, threw the bomb as hard as she could, and 
appeared back in the van. At the same time, residents of 
Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Montana reported a sudden bright dot 
in the sky that very quickly faded into the quiet summer sky.
	Katze still had not mastered slowing down during the 
teleportation, and landed rather harshly on her feet in the van. 
The shock absorbers handled most of it, but Katze's ankles took a 
fairly harsh beating. She looked up from seat on the van floor to 
Calc's scowling face. 
	"Spare me the lecture, Calc. And if you don't, I'll order 
you."
	"But that was..."
	"I know it was really stupid. But I learned a few things. 
Things that may save my life next time."
	Nick looked confused. "Would either of you mind clueing 
me in? I thought Katze was normal, for the most part."
	Katze stared in the distance, suddenly pained. "When the 
time comes, Nick... it is not yet here."

	The next morning. Calc had dropped Nick off in front of 
his apartment and then drove all night to make the rendezvous 
with Cyohtee. Katze had slept most of the night, sleeping off 
some of the adrenaline high she had gone through in disposing of 
the bomb.
	When Katze woke up, Calc was already maneuvering the mess 
of freeway entrances and exits that seem to accompany most any 
city. She watched this process, until Calc got off the freeway 
and gave Katze her first glimpse of the city of Chicago. It was 
amazing. 
	Calc parked the van in a parking lot near downtown. "Cyo 
said to meet him by the Art Institute at nine, so we'd better get 
going now." He looked at his watch.
	Katze heard him, but didn't. Her head was spinning trying 
to take in this new city, so she followed him right along. This 
city held a surprise for her, she knew it.
	Chicago! 

to be continued in "And My Fathers Before Me."