A week had passed since Lutrex had her final test. During her last days on her home planet, she did her best to tend to the needs of the villages near her home before spending her final moments at her mother’s grave before she left.
Now she, Pancake and Calian are riding a starliner towards the planet where her mother first started as an agent. While the older agent sat back on a bench to watch over his niece’s belongings, Lutrex and her companion were watching the outside through one of the many windows inside the vessel.
Lutrex wore a simple gray shirt and black jeans under a black cloak to hide her identity among the people. Pancake wore a small service cap on his head placed between his ears. The hat sports a badge on the center that says ‘Service Companion’ on it.
The pair stood in front of one of the many large windows of the vessel, watching as they passed by the dark side of the moon known as Luna. They could see numerous specks of lights from the dark side of the moon, emanating from Arkham’s moonbase that stretched across the entire surface of the satellite.
As the ship they’re in continues to move past the remnant of a violent past, their destination is revealed. Floating in the void of space, a pale blue sphere greets its newest visitors.
The planet was Earth and it was going to be Lutrex and Pancake’s new home for the foreseeable future. Seeing the blue oceans and the lands lush with green vegetation already made her miss her home.
And she was not the only one who felt some kind of feeling looking at the blue planet a few hundred thousand kilometers away. Looking away from the window, she could see the humans on the ship were either in shock or crying.
She didn’t dwell on them for too long as she returned her focus back to the planet because a structure on its surface caught her attention. It was a massive pillar-like structure found in the center of a vast desert.
Lutrex wondered what it was and its function. She would get her answers in the form of the intercoms lighting up with the voice of a bubbly, female steward.
[INTERCOM: “Good day everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful time because we are now arriving at our destination, Earth! The origin planet of the numans and their old capital!"]
[INTERCOM: “Now some of you might wonder what the massive structure on the planet is. That used to be one of the support pillars of a planetary megastructure called an Orbital Ring.”]
[INTERCOM: “These megastructures are often used as docks, shipyards or a means to transport people and objects in an efficient manner out to space.”]
Many of those looking out from the window or listening to the stewardess were amazed at the facts about the superstructure. Lutrex assumed that such objects did not exist in their previous universes.
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[INTERCOM: “The orbital ring, or what remains of it, was originally owned by the old Numan government twenty thousand years ago as a means to receive resources from other planets to Earth for the population to use.”]
[INTERCOM: “After the collapse of the government and the Coalition of Nations as a whole, the capital descended into anarchy. Those that weren’t able to escape all perished within the megacities because of starvation and other factors.”]
[INTERCOM: “When Tellus was rediscovered, the entire planet was completely devoid of life and practically dead. Thanks to Sovereign Roko’s intervention though, the planet has now been revived.”]
[INTERCOM: “As for the fate of the orbital ring, the sovereign had ordered its destruction as it disrupted the ecosystem of the planet save for the one in the desert to serve as a reminder of the past.”]
[INTERCOM: “The pillar has been nicknamed Babel, after the biblical tower found in Abrahamic text. While the structure itself is still standing, Arkham has labeled it and the area around it as a hazard zone.”]
[INTERCOM: “Now that was a fun little trivia, right? If you want more information regarding Earth, feel free to ask for pamphlets from our dear stewards. We’ll be arriving at the port in 30 minutes so please check your belongings before you depart."]
With that, the ship comms return to the looped music that plays in the background. Many of the foreigners at the windows have started to return back to their seats to prepare for landing or to do something else.
With the planet getting closer, she and Pancake turn around to head back to their seats. In front of the two, seated on one of the benches with the oni’s luggage to his right, was Calian.
The man is dressed in a light green dress shirt with a dark denim jacket over it, gray trousers and black dress shoes. He was busy typing on his console to notice his niece walk back to their seats.
He finally notices his niece when she sits down to his left, giving a small wave hello. Lutrex and Pancake, curious to who the older man is talking to, decides to ask to pass the time before the ship lands.
“Uncle? May I ask who you are conversing with?"
“Oh, I was just informing the lobby guard of my apartment that you’ll be crashing at my place."
Lutrex raises an eyebrow, confused as to what her uncle said.
“Why would I be crashing at your apartment, Uncle? I have no intention of destroying your home."
“I didn’t mean that you’d be literally crashing into my apartment. I meant that you would be staying there for a few months until you got your team."
“Oh, I see. I suppose telling the security in advance would save us time and explanation."
“That, and so the apartment’s defense systems don’t start attacking you."
“...Defense systems? In the middle of Arkham territory?"
“Yeah, it's pretty excessive. But I guess that’s what happens during retirement. You get bored and do nonsensical stuff.”
“Do you plan on retiring, Uncle?”
“Maybe. Haven’t really decided yet.”
“I see that you are also as unsure as me.”
“Guess so.”
The two finish their conversation as the ship descends onto the planet.