This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Telemachusfar on 2024-10-31 03:41:32+00:00.
What do you mean. It's Tuesday. Shut up? I didn't forget to post... Anywayyyyy I like to put little referential easter eggs in most of my chapters. Some intentional and some I don't even realize till after I've written them. there is a very intentional one in this chapter, though, so see if you can spot it. ill give a hint. George Lucas MMO. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading.
What if I make the hyperlink "Tea", wouldn't that be ironic...
Pen walked into her room and over to her dresser. It wasn’t made for humans but she had so few clothes that she didn’t need much space anyway. She didn’t open the drawers though. instead, she knelt down and reached for the item stuffed under the dresser. The thin plastic bag crinkled as she grabbed it and moved over to her bed.
“Hmm.” She evaluated her dress greys.
They were creased in more places than where they were folded but she’d expected that. She hadn’t cared to treat them well at all and only kept them cause she could never manage to just toss them in a trash can.
Pen pulled the plastic sheath off and unfolded them. They were simple but elegant and still had her medals pinned from her last ceremony. They jingled quietly as she laid the uniform out on her bed.
“When was the last time I wore you?” she mumbled.
It must have been Samir’s silver star pinning. He probably had one or two more by now… she hadn’t asked about that when they chatted. Her focus came back to her dress uniform and she undressed quickly. It was a quick and practiced series of movements that had her looking far more professional than she had in some time.
Formal wasn’t her style by a long shot, but she admired the clean and crisp air her reflection struck. Without looking away her hand picked up the beret and pulled it onto her head. The breather wasn’t easily overlooked, but didn’t clash too much with the idea of professionalism that the formal dress was supposed to present. It was at least grey on grey. After her final inspection she turned and made her way off the ship.
Open air and unmanned transports waited outside the landing bay. She stepped onto one, which jostled slightly as it accounted for her size, and sat down. She couldn’t help but feel like an adult in a kiddie pool but a buzzing voice grabbed her attention.
“Please state destination.”
“Uh, the trade conference thing.”
“The Unifect annual conference is taking place in Adrezti Hall, is this where you would like to go?”
“Yes.”
“Excellent.”
The transport lurched forwards and sped up into the sky into invisible but universally understood roadways. Pen noticed that none of the various types of transport had real drivers. Everything ran on a fully automated system; at least they did here in the city.
As the city splayed out below her she was offered a view of the most varied fusion of architecture and style she’d ever seen in a single city. It was nothing less than a complete jumble of constructions all smashed together. Pen imagined a kindergarten lego work that had every single child’s input. Yet as she looked there was an impressive genius to it. Gareth had said that the city supported an incredible number of different species. That meant an incredible number of different living requirements. From atmosphere to aesthetics, each species might have completely opposite needs. As she looked she noticed that this chaotic fusion of architecture was, in fact, a marvel of engineering that successfully allowed people with completely incompatible living requirements to live side by side.
“Hey car… uh voice thing…”
“You may call me ‘PAT-a-Kay’ and yes I can answer any questions an alien guest might have about our fine city.”
“How long did it take to build this whole place?”
“The initial settling and terraforming was conducted by Wielan colonists 900 years ago and took 80 years to complete. But I assume your question refers to the current, and wildly different, state the city is in today. What you see is a work that began only 40 years after the Weilan settling when Ossian and Corvul relations improved to a point where the desire for a metropolitan community was put forward. From that point every Federation member state, if requested, has been allowed to add their own living space to the city. To date that number has reach 118 with the latest being the Mari, a vaporous avian species who simply flew one of their already built city’s into the airspace above.”
“Where is it?” She looked up and around.
“The large cloud formation to your east obscures a rather dashing stone polis, would you like to tour it miss? I can reroute.”
What Pen thought to be an incoming stormfront was apparently the newest addition to this place. She watched it for a moment and did notice that its movement was very unlike any naturally occurring weather pattern she knew of. Once or twice she even managed to catch the sharp dark edge of something poking out from one corner or another.
“Miss?”
“Uh, no. Maybe another time.”
“Very well.”
She rested her head in a hand and watched the city as PAT-a-Kay continued silently. They flew over a bulbus dome-like structure that was filled with a sea-green liquid. Something about the way it moved and how obscured objects moved about within it told her it wasn’t liquid water. Various ancillary spheres connected to the main dome filled and emptied with that green liquid as transports entered and exited
More odd buildings and fabricated habitats passed by before she saw what she assumed was her destination. A tall high-rise stood like a spear climbing well above the other buildings that connected to it at its base. At its top was a wide rail-less walkway where transports could dock. On either side stairs led down and into the lower floors while one stairway in its center led up to a palatial marble (or marble looking) building. A few fellow latecomers were making their way up.
There were a few other high climbing buildings around but none of them reached quite as high. Pen couldn’t help but think the place was a sniper’s dream. Any one of the shorter buildings would make an excellent position. Anyone on a walkway would be clearly silhouetted by the sky behind them.
“Ma’am? We have arrived.”
“Thank you. What's the fare?”
“... I am afraid I don’t understand…”
“The ride, what do I owe you.”
“Transport is free of charge Ma’am... naturally.”
“Oh… well, thank you for the ride then.”
She stepped off as she realized that she had just thanked an inanimate object not once but twice. Her embarrassment was at least singular, though, as there was no-one else nearby.
“Free rides huh… could get used to that…” she muttered as she walked up the stairs.
A cordoned off walkway at the top of the stairs led her to a small individual in a chair. Not that it was easy to tell but they looked utterly bored; that is until Pen walked forward.
“Oh my uhh… hello, part of the human trade delegation?”
“No, Security Officer of the Blue Nebula. Penelope Aster. Captain Deag and First Officer Gareth should have preceded me?”
“Ah yes, let me see here… nebula… crew compliment…security…”
He held up a datapad and looked between it and her.
“Well, there’s no question there. Needless to say there are no weapons of any kind allowed inside. Its only because… I have to ask everyone, it not because you’re…”
“Not unless you count one of these pins.” She said fiddling with a medal.
“…” three large eyes looked back at her.
“That was a joke. I don’t.”
“Excellent. Thank you and uh welcome, please go on ahead.”
He stepped aside and motioned for her to proceed, and she gave a curt nod as she passed by him.
Now that she was closer she marveled at the scale of the building in front of her. Even by her standards it was large, and not just as a whole. The entrance archway towered well above her. As she passed through them and another set of arches that led inside, the halls were equally tall. Aesthetically and materially different, the architecture reminded her of something between old Aztec and Greek stonework. In fact, the place was surprisingly low tech for a building at the zenith of a metal spire made by ages old spacefaring species.
“Trade, peace, diplomacy… none need refined metals or fusion reactors. Besides there's a certain universal familiarity with stone… mostly at least, cant please everyone.”
She looked behind her to find a grinning and jovial Corvul whom she was quite familiar with.
“Deag. How did you…?”
He shook his wrist at her.
“It may look low tech but it’s just made to look that way. Guest list updated. You look… good? I’m not going to lie I have no concept of what is considered good when it comes to human formalwear but… by Corvul standards, not bad. Very sharp.”
She chuckled.
“Thanks.”
“There are delegation offices that follow this hallway all the way around but the event is being held at the center. Come on.”
He led her down the curving hallway until another tall archway opened to a wide open ballroom where she almost verbalized her surprise.
“Good L-“
“Ha! More different species than you’ve ever seen in one place huh?”