ShipCore

USD: Three days after returning to MIL-1A

Location: Meltisar, MOR-1, Ambassadorial Station Segment, Near Meeting Room A

Station MOR-1 had just a slightly higher-pitched hum than MIL-1A, but it was enough to annoy Alex as they continued down the hall. MOR-1 was the largest orbital in Meltisar, the primary civilian hub, and had hundreds of super freighters and tankers attached to its seemingly endless forest of mooring arms. The vistas had slowly disappeared as they moved deeper into the station’s' guts and disappeared completely after leaving the tram station.

They had not had to go far. Their mooring had been a high priority zone near the center of the station, and the ambassadorial section was near the main elevator. That gave it and its users convenient access to the elevator service.

Why the ambassadorial service would need access to the space elevator, or even their very own high-speed rail that serviced them exclusively seemed stupid, but Alex was sure they had an excellent reason.

Like probably needing to spend all of their ridiculous yearly budget every year and having a hard time finding enough things to spend it on.

[Notice: Would Avatar wish this unit to perform a financial record check of the Meltisar Foreign Services Administration? On average, a 22% clerical error rate has been detected in most government organizations within the system.]

“You’ll give them all heart attacks; I don’t think those errors are by accident.” Alex mumbled.

Admiral Westlake looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She gave him an innocent smile, not feeling the need to explain her conversation with Nameless.

They’d finally reached their destination, a meeting room inside the embassy section of the station. A threat monitor highlighted four people already in the room through the wall. In her peripheral vision, eight PDC-K cannons offered green check marks and happy electronic signals that indicated they were ready.

‘Nameless, if something happens, please perforate any threats.’ Alex gave the mental order. Rather than reply, a single additional line appeared on her HUD.

|Personal Defense Systems Activated |

That made her feel better while the polished floors and ornately decorated walls did not. It looked like they had used real gold alloy and wooden framing for some of the artwork, and the normal deck plating had transformed into some type of soft, short fibered carpet. Wasteful extravagance.

Rachel appeared at the other end of the hall, leaning around the corner and waving at her before giving a thumbs up. A small smile crept on Alex’s face as she waved back. But her thoughts leaped back to the meeting as Captain Mackey opened the framed wooden door and held it for her.

Admiral Westlake put a hand on her shoulder. “We’re right here with you.” He said in support.

Captain Mackey nodded, “You’ve got this.”

Alex stopped and took a deep breath to steady herself before nodding. Stepping inside the meeting room, her threat indicators beeped unhappily as the red rectangles that had been highlighted through the wall blinked around the inhabitants.

She ignored it.

The room was dominated by a long mahogany table, stretching through the long rectangular room. It was flanked by high-backed chairs upholstered in dark colored smart fabric. The scent of fresh flowers filled the air, masking the scent of metal and oil that pervaded the rest of the station.

The four envoys were spread out around the table, flanked by two human aides apiece. The noticeable gaps between each group hinted that none of them wanted to be closer than necessary to each other. As they all turned their attention to her, Alex realized they’d all been in some type of glaring contest with each other.

The closest representative was from the Ertan Republic—a female wearing a flowing white robe highlighted in purple. Her emerald eyes stared fiercely at her, and the warning indicator displayed her authentication rank as Sigma.

Alex hadn’t memorized the authentication table, but she was pretty sure that was somewhere in the upper middle of NAI ranks. She started toward her seat at the near end of the table, eyes moving to the next representative.

The Corporate Systems envoy was wearing a black business suit, that hid a white dress shirt underneath it. Gold trim was lavishly dolled out along every seam, and her yellow-hued eyes seemed to gleam with an almost predatory stare.

Alex didn’t miss a beat. She nodded to them as she reached for her seat. “Thank you all for meeting here today,” she said evenly. “We have a lot to go over.”

As she moved to sit down, the Solarian envoy caught her attention next; a third Sigma rank dressed in a crisp white naval uniform. Her lavender tinted eyes held no hint of friendliness as she locked onto Alex’s gaze.

Westlake and Mackey pulled out their chairs on both sides of her and sat down. Across the table from her, she came face to face with the Imperial Envoy on the opposite end of the table. Her vision automatically adjusted to the distance, making her feel a bit too close.

Her HUD flashed |TAU| in warning, but the ranks really didn’t matter to Alex. She pushed the indicators away and focused on the woman herself. She was wearing an ornate formal uniform that seemed to combine a military and ‘noble’ look. A red capelet was adorned with gold braid, and Alex recognized the seal of the imperial family thanks to some reading she’d done when she had been interested in Tia’s past.

The woman’s ruby red eyes seemed like banked flames waiting to ignite.

“I hope that through open dialogue and understanding,” Alex started earnestly, “we can work together to find solutions that are in the best interests of everyone involved.”

The Imperial envoy tsked at Alex. “There isn’t much to discuss. Chi Celestia has overstepped herself gravely and taken advantage of a few lost low-ranking NAI to create this circus. Meltisar has truly overstepped the gracious leeway all of us have granted it, giving a dirty black eye to the reputation of all NAIs with their gross and negligent illegal experiments.”

Alex let out a breath; she’d expected pushback like this. “Thank you, Envoy Talisa. Indeed, things have been complicated with a portion of the Meltisar Navy going rogue; we can’t deny that. However, Psi Celestia is—“

Talisa hissed and stood up, glaring at Alex with hate. The royally entitled snob in her voice caused Alex’s temple to twitch. “The only thing you need to do is submit to our authority before the only way for you out of this is to be recycled, you jumped-up low—“

Alex stood up angrily, slamming her fists into the wood table. Westlake and Captain Mackey flinched away from the cracking wood.

“I am the only one in this room with her firewall not on—please, why don’t you shut yours down so I can shove sapphires into your eye sockets before letting you call home to tell your beloved empress why she needs to send a new envoy? The delay will surely be very helpful!” Alex shouted back.

Admiral Westlake groaned, and Captain Mackey hid his face with a hand.

USD: One day after negotiations began.

Location: Meltisar, New Brisbane Space Elevator Terminal, Landing Area 11A

Elis stepped off the elevator and strode toward the edge of the station’s landing area. The crisp, cool air of Meltisar’s atmosphere brushed her skin in periodic breezes. Somehow, the cool wind had snuck in through the large heat lamp arrays, which warmed the expansive open space.

A bustling crowd of humanity filled the area, with thousands boarding the same massive elevator she had arrived on. The landing tower pillar reached high into the sky, surpassing even the colossal skyscrapers that formed the cityscape.

As she approached the railing, Elis found herself captivated by the awe-inspiring view. Her home world had also featured a space elevator; in contrast, Meltisar boasted eight. She had only ridden her home world’s elevator once, ascending to leave her planet and dedicating her life to becoming a corpsicle in the Federation Marine Corps. This marked her first time riding one back down, and only the second time groundside since their departure from Dedia.

Despite receiving drug cocktails and working out in artificial gravity, Elis felt the pull of Meltisar’s moon on her body. The moon’s gravity wasn’t even a full Earth grav, hinting that she had some way to go to returning to peak fitness.

She had spent countless hours undergoing therapy and physical retraining. Despite her initial apprehension, she had agreed to let Alex use nanites to repair her neural damage and heal her body from its near-death state. Ultimately, if she couldn’t trust her sister, who else could she rely on?

Ultimately, the choice proved to be the right one, bringing immense relief to her. She had not become a mindless puppet or a cyborg. She still didn’t fully trust Nameless, though.

Her choice allowed her to regain her independence, freeing her from the constraints of a wheelchair. Additionally, she recovered her ability to speak, which had been a constant source of frustration.

Her datapad beeped, and a quick glance gave her a landing pad number. She took one last glance at the breathtaking vista before her and then turned and made her way toward the assigned location.

As soon as she stepped outside the structure, wind gusted around her, high above ground level. Catwalks and railings provided protection from potential falls. Several other passengers stood hesitating at the exit, holding onto the metal while searching to see if their ride was ready. Elis wasn’t concerned and strode right out toward her pad.

An aircar descended onto the metal structure while she waited. Its door opened automatically, and she climbed in without hesitation.

Once inside, the door closed and sealed itself shut. The vehicle was entirely automated, leaving her as its lone occupant. Basic displays on the front panel indicated their flight plan and current vehicle status.

The square main screen in the center illuminated with a familiar face—Thea.

“Couldn’t you get me a direct flight in a shuttle?” Elis asked.

Thea smiled and shook her head. “Those are expensive, and this is more low-key.”

“I checked; you took a shuttle yourself. Do you know how annoying a night trip down the cable is?” Elis said.

“I needed time to get things set up,” Thea replied cautiously.

For her part, Elis stretched out and tested her seat’s ability to recline. To her satisfaction, it tilted back to an acceptable angle for relaxation.

Thea cleared her throat. “It’s an eight-hour aircar flight, non-stop.”

Elis shrugged. “Yeah, whatever. As long as my gear and suit are ready?”

“You’ll have a chance to check and maintain it yourself, Ms. Federation Marine,” Thea explained. “Nameless manufactured it for you personally, and it has just arrived. I haven’t looked at it myself.”

Elis closed her eyes and settled into the seat, getting comfortable. “Fine, fine. Wake me up when I get there. I can probably sleep now.”

“You can sleep in an aircar but not on the elevator? It’s way louder,” Thea remarked.

“Here I only have to worry about one person getting me killed instead of being cornered with a dozen strangers at arm’s length,” Elis replied.

Thea nodded and said, “Sure,” before signing off.

The soothing hum of the aircar’s engine enveloped Elis like white noise, lulling her into a sense of calm. The windows dimmed as if on cue. A comfortable darkness filled the aircar’s interior.

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