by Adair Hart
Dr. Snowden had expected to see them carrying weapons, but instead they had large forearms that looked a weapon was fused onto them. One of the meerkat-like humanoids he had seen earlier greeted them. He was not sure if the others noticed it, but the humanoid had a strong musky smell.
The humanoid bowed. “Welcome to Corunus. I’m Jax and will be your registrar.”
Evaran bowed with his left hand across his stomach. “I am Evaran, and with me are Dr. Albert Snowden, Emily Snowden, and V.”
“Noted! Please follow me,” said Jax as he bounded over to the table on the right side.
After they took their seats, Dr. Snowden asked, “Are you … a Kalesh?”
Jax looked up from the embedded console in the table that he had been looking at. “You’re quite right. From what I’ve heard, humans say we look like weasels.”
Dr. Snowden bobbed his head. “I would say meerkat.”
“That’s an Earth creature. I have studied Earth’s animals to some degree, and I would agree with you. Impressive. I’m even more impressed that you’re fluent in Kreagan. Do you use an augment for that?”
Dr. Snowden glanced at Evaran, then back at Jax. “No … it’s something I picked up.”
“Uh-huh,” said Jax. He focused back on the console. “This is interesting,” he said, stroking his small snout. “There are no Kalesh records on you, but the United Planets has cleared you, but no reason has been given. Give me a moment.” He tapped at the console and, after a minute, looked up. “No … no … it’s right. Somehow you’ve been cleared, and quickly too. I’ve never seen that before.”
Evaran rested his chin on his right hand. “Interesting.”
“Very,” said Jax. He got up and walked over to a cabinet-like device. He opened the doors and pulled out four wristbands. After returning and handing them out, he said, “These are your physical registrations. They have a language translator for our native tongue as well. To access the interface, just squeeze them.”
Emily snapped hers on and twisted her wrist around. “Do they also tell you where we’re at all the time?”
“Of course. However … only someone of the appropriate authority can actually look at that information. For instance, I couldn’t, but law enforcement could.”
“I see,” said Evaran. “What restrictions do we have in regards to going to the planet?”
“You’re cleared, but you’re also a new arrival. All new arrivals usually go to Follisat, where I’ve registered two rooms for all of you and access to a replicator cafeteria. The coordinates are in the bands.”
Emily narrowed her eyes. “What if we don’t want to go there?”
Jax shrugged. “Your choice … but if you’re new to Kalesh culture, it would be advisable to go there first.”
Dr. Snowden glanced at Evaran. “That sounds good to me.” He looked at Jax. “Can we check out the station?”
Jax peeled back his lips and made snickering sounds through his nose.
Dr. Snowden’s eyes widened.
Jax showed them his palms. “Don’t worry. This is how Kalesh laugh. Most humans are startled by it. You’ll get used to it. I enjoy human curiosity. It’s one thing we have in common.”
“Oh … ,” said Dr. Snowden. He noticed Emily had instinctively reached for her PSD.
“Nonetheless, given your clearance level, this station is yours to explore.”
“I’m looking forward to checking it out,” said Dr. Snowden.
“Before you go, I do have one question. According to the scans, you,” said Jax, pointing at Evaran, “have mass, but your internals weren’t visible.” He looked at Dr. Snowden, then Emily. “And you two have nanobots, but not any that I’ve seen before. Where did you all come from? I’m guessing Earth but …”
Evaran raised his head up a bit. “We came from far away.”
Jax snickered. “I see … well … once again, based on your clearance level, you don’t have to tell me. I was only curious. You’re registered and free to go. I hope you enjoy the station.”
Dr. Snowden stood and extended a hand. “Thanks. Any place you recommend to eat at?” He noticed Emily shaking her head.
Jax returned the handshake. “I would suggest checking out Krells. He runs a somewhat exotic eatery. Your wristbands have a map of the station.”
Dr. Snowden squeezed his wristband, and a projection shot up with spheres with words in them. He selected the navigation sphere, which expanded to show another series of spheres. After selecting the station one, the projection changed to a layout of the station. He used his other finger to navigate through it. “Where’s Krells?” The map zoomed into a location briefly, then zoomed back out with a line from where they were to Krells. “Okay … voice activated. That was pretty nifty.”
Jax snickered. “It has some other commands, accessible by voice, or augments, if you got them.”
“You mentioned that before. What are augments exactly?” asked Emily.
“You know, cybernetic implants. They’re quite popular in the United Planets. They’ve been helping integrate them into Kalesh culture. Since I work here, I’ve been able to get quite a few useful ones. To be honest, I’m surprised you have nanobots.”
“Elaborate,” said Evaran.
“No one has been able to get nanobots to stick around in the body for long periods. Augments, yes, nanobots, no.” He waved his clawed hand between Dr. Snowden and Emily. “The fact you two have them is very interesting to me.”
“I see,” said Evaran. “Due to our clearance, I am afraid we cannot go into that.”
“Of course, of course. Anyways … if you have questions, you can ask one of the metalheads.”
V’s chest lights lit up as he tilted his head.
Jax raised his hand. “Sorry, sorry, it’s nothing personal. Kalesh are not quite as … comfortable … around robots and androids as humans are.”
“Acknowledged.”
Evaran stood and gestured toward the room exit. “Come, let us explore the station.”
As they exited the room, Dr. Snowden looked back at Jax. Jax was bobbing his head around as if trying to figure out who they were. Dr. Snowden liked Jax. If the Kalesh were like that in general, he figured he would get along great with them.
He wanted to spend more time learning about Kalesh culture, but the summons hung around in the back of his mind. A smile crept onto his face as he looked around. The hustle and bustle of the large open area they were in was a nice change from the last time they were on a space station. He noticed Emily scanning around. She seemed less tense. He wondered if her sense of exploration was fighting her now-guarded nature.
Emily swiveled her head toward Dr. Snowden.
Dr. Snowden half smiled.
Emily raised an eyebrow.
Dr. Snowden smiled as they continued on.
Over the next hour, Dr. Snowden soaked in the environment as they traversed it. The station had spotless floors, but it was the walls that caught his attention. They were metallic and segmented into several sections by thick black strips that showed both holographic and static displays of information.
The design intrigued him, as every twenty feet, a portion of the wall jutted out with a sloped segment. Lights were interspersed throughout. The floor also had lights embedded in it, and the floor area near the base of the walls had a strip that glowed blue. It gave off a very high-tech feel to him. The smell of fresh air wafting by seemed unusual on a space station.
There was no shortage of activity around him. He saw Kalesh, humans, and a variety of aliens he had never seen before. A grin crept onto his face when a Kreagan in a somewhat elaborate robe passed by. Maybe an ambassador.
The humans encased in an advanced heavy armor suit did not escape his attention. They looked like they were ready to fight at a moment’s notice. Their forearms were huge, and he could not identify half the items hanging off the armor. One of the items reminded him of Evaran’s baton. He suspected that it probably served a more lethal purpose. Unlike
the humanoid robots he had seen before, these humans had weapons on their backs. There were also three small drones flying around them at all times.
The amount of humanoid robots and androids intrigued him. The androids were usually flanked by at least two robot guards or flying drones. He remembered that Z7 was essentially border patrol, but wondered what they did other than security. He figured the humans handled the higher-risk areas. The idea of artificial intelligences being common gave him hope that there was not an AI singularity that had destroyed Earth. “Interesting that they have robots for guards given the humans in suits I saw. I wonder if the androids have their own AI.”
“They do. Their design is inferior to mine,” said V.
Dr. Snowden snorted. “Really? How’d you come to that conclusion?”
“Analysis. They tried to contact me remotely. After an exchange of data, we concluded that I was of superior design.”
“You’re not modest at all, are you?” asked Dr. Snowden.
V tilted his head.
Dr. Snowden chuckled.
Evaran laid a hand on V’s shoulder. “To a human, that would appear arrogant, even if it is true.”
V dipped his head. “I did not mean to appear arrogant. I apologize.”
“It is okay. Consider it a learning moment.”
“Acknowledged.”
Dr. Snowden was used to treating V like a human. Although V’s logic was objective, Dr. Snowden had made it subjective. He realized that he would need to be more aware of that.
When they were halfway to Krells, Evaran pointed at a hallway with no one in it. When they entered it, he placed his UIC on the embedded console on the wall. After a moment, he pulled it off and perused his ARI. “Intriguing. The station systems are host to many AIs.”
“Is that a good or bad thing?” asked Dr. Snowden.
“The UIC has a protocol to avoid AIs and route around them. However, due to the amount of AIs, the UIC was not able to retrieve much.”
“Oh … I take it you weren’t expecting that?” asked Dr. Snowden.
“I was not. I do not recall humanity having this type of AI setup in this time period.”
Dr. Snowden gulped. “Okay … that doesn’t sound good. So humanity is a bit more advanced than it should be. We’ve seen that before …” He shook his head.
“It is possible that maybe it did exist and I was unaware of it,” said Evaran.
Dr. Snowden mused over the situation as they continued on. He recalled on their last adventure seeing humanity jump almost three thousand years technology-wise due to a timeline change. Hopefully this was a case of Evaran not knowing about this far-off setup. If not, then maybe it was the first clue on what the summons was for.
Emily tapped Dr. Snowden’s arm.
Dr. Snowden looked forward and then swerved to avoid hitting a pillar. “Thanks … I was just thinking.”
“I know,” said Emily. “I got your back.”
“What about my front?”
Emily shook her head.
Although Dr. Snowden would have preferred a laugh from her like he was used to, this would have to do. He was happy to have any interaction with her that caused her to do something other than draw her lips flat.
After another hour of journeying across the station, they reached an entryway with a holographic sign above it that displayed Krells.
Dr. Snowden sniffed. “It smells good over here. I wonder how much it costs.” He rubbed his chin and looked at Evaran. “Speaking of which, how are we going to pay?”
“It is free of charge,” said Evaran.
Dr. Snowden chuckled. “Yeah, well, I guess not everyone has a UIC. Did you wire some money or something?”
“I meant that the food here is free of charge. At least the food created by replication rations.”
Dr. Snowden glanced at Emily, who shrugged.
“Humanity can replicate matter in this time period,” said Evaran. “The resources needed to do it are simply the base elements. The more rations you have, the more you can replicate for yourself.” He raised a finger. “However, based on what I saw from what the UIC gathered, it would appear that Krells is paid in replication rations by the United Planets to be here.”
“That’s an interesting economic model,” said Dr. Snowden. “I’d guess then that replication resource gathering is a big industry.”
“Yes. It appears the process for converting matter and storing it in this time period and region is a complex process. Perhaps the United Planets has a facility here for that and provides this service to the station as a symbol of good faith,” said Evaran. “Shall we enter?”
Dr. Snowden shrugged and gestured forward. His eyes popped open as he surveyed the interior once they were inside. It was spacious and much larger than he expected. It could have easily supported several hundred people. There were segmented dining and lounge areas off the side, with a central eating area. The noise from patrons reverberated throughout.
They sat at a small rectangular table near the entrance. When they sat, holographic menus appeared before them. Touching the food items would switch to them and blow it up full-size.
“Now that is cool,” said Emily.
“Yeah,” said Dr. Snowden as his hands navigated the menu. “There’s a lot of interesting choices.” He selected the closest thing to a burger. The menu disappeared, and a timer appeared on the table in front of him. He admired the efficiency of it.
When the timer hit zero after five minutes, the text “Served by Ellix” appeared.
Dr. Snowden shot Evaran a quizzical look. “What’s an Ellix?”
Evaran pointed at an alien coming their way. “I would assume him.”
Dr. Snowden noted that the plump alien was short with gray skin and big ears. He glanced at Emily, who he thought would be repulsed by Ellix’s bug-like face, but Emily showed no emotion. When they were on Kreagus in the past, the food was served up by the table. He wondered why a server was needed.
Ellix arrived pushing a hover slab with the ordered dishes. He unloaded them onto the table. “I hope you enjoy your meal.”
Evaran gestured at Ellix. “You are a Crustican.”
“I sure am,” said Ellix. He paused as he scrutinized Evaran. “Not many people would’ve known that.”
“I have been to Octoris and know several Crusticans. I can speak fluent Oakarish as well.”
Ellix laughed. “It’s a small galaxy, huh?”
“It is. What brought you out here?”
Ellix turned and waved a hand around in an arc. “This place. The United Planets pays my family quite well to be here. It seems they want the best restaurants from around the empire. I don’t have the automated food tables, but I don’t mind. I get to interact with others.” He tapped his chest. “In short, they chose well.”
“They must pay pretty good then,” said Dr. Snowden.
“Of course. I’ll have enough to replicate my dream cluster back on Octoris in a few years. Where are you all from?”
“Earth,” said Evaran.
“Ahh, quite a journey to get here then,” said Ellix.
“Indeed. Do you have any recommendations on places to visit while we are here?”
Ellix bobbed his head. “Well, you’ve probably already been told to go to Follisat. That’s a good start. It’s the only place I’ve visited myself.” He leaned in. “The Kalesh sorta creep me out. They remind me of a predator from our history”
“A gorbcrad,” said Evaran.
Ellix nodded as he leaned back out. “Anyways, there are also space habitats, but those are off-limits.”
“Elaborate.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t heard,” said Ellix. “They’re all quarantined. Every single station. Advanced Dynamics has pretty much shut down any travel to and from them.”
“I would’ve thought the United Planets owned the habitats,” said Dr. Snowden.
“No … and one thing you’ll find is reverence for Advanced Dynamics on Roeth,” said El
lix. “Their technology was the tipping point in the Voss Imperium wars. The Kalesh regard them quite highly. Not to belittle the United Planets. After all, they helped out quite a bit in the war. The United Planets still has some influence. This station is one of their first joint ventures.”
Dr. Snowden glanced at Evaran, then Ellix. “So … what presence does the United Planets have then?”
“A few United Planets Bureau of Law Enforcement offices on the outskirts of some of the major Kalesh cities. They provide assistance as needed and also serve as a liaison for all alien races on the planet,” said Ellix with a chuckle. “I’m glad they’re there. The Kalesh … are a bit skittish about aliens in general after the war. Their justice system was a bit biased. They wanted to join the United Planets, though, for security reasons.”
Emily narrowed her eyes. “Is Follisat a safe place?”
Ellix laughed. “Safe is not the word I’d use to describe it. It’s a diverse city, and some Kalesh point to it as why aliens visiting is a bad thing.”
“Oh … ,” said Emily with raised eyebrows. “It’s nothing we can’t handle.”
Ellix looked Emily up and down, then surveyed the others. “I can tell you all probably won’t have any issues,” he said, waving a finger at V. “Especially with a robot bodyguard.”
V tilted his head.
A device beeped and lit up on Ellix’s wrist. “Looks like I need to get back to work. Enjoy your meal and appreciate the conversation. They’re so rare nowadays.” He took off toward the back.
Dr. Snowden pondered their discussion. It seemed that there were multiple power factions. The Kalesh, who inhabited Roeth; Advanced Dynamics, who built space habitats and supported the Kalesh in some war; and the United Planets, a latecomer that was slowly integrating. He could not shake the feeling that the summons was going to be messy. “He seems like a nice guy.”
“Crusticans generally are. They were one of the first species I met when I arrived in this galaxy,” said Evaran.
Dr. Snowden dove into his burger-like food item with green-tinted meat. “I thought you met humans first.”
“I met them as well,” said Evaran, looking far off.
