As the ship docks at the spaceport, boarding bridges emerge from the ship and the wall to create a path for the passengers to walk along. The massive door of the decompression chamber opens up to let the passengers out.
Lutrex emerges from the ship holding a plush resembling her father’s sphere drone with Pancake still on her shoulder, leaving Calian to deal with the luggage.
After being inspected for contraband and weapons, they pass through the checkpoint and enter the port’s lobby.
The area was quite large, with the roof serving as the building’s ceiling. Like with many of Arkham’s interiors, it was pristine white with a few gray, black and yellow colors placed all over.
The lobby was sparsely populated, the passengers largely comprised of those outside of Arkham that are either visiting the planet or going back home. Majority of them were either numans or humanoid foreigners.
“C’mon, let’s get to the apartment so you can settle in."
Lutrex nods and follows her uncle towards the exit, the latter on his console as he calls for an autocab. While they and many others wait for their rides, Lutrex’s eyes wander towards the downtown area.
The buildings at the center of the city were large, sleek and white like pearls. Their appearance was abstract, their bodies twisting and curving like water.
Such sights would distraught most foreigners, especially those that come from less advanced worlds. Lutrex herself was used to the architecture as she arrived in the universe very early in her life, giving her plenty of time to get used to the architecture.
Those weren’t the reason why she looked however, as her eyes were fixated on the black, crystal-like structures that towered over all of them. The majority of the strange towers were over 5 kilometers high, arranged in a circle that surrounded a tower over 6 kilometers in height.
Lutrex knew just by looking at them that they were her father’s handiwork but she wondered what function they served. She didn’t have to wait long as her uncle seemed to have read her mind.
“I’m guessing you're staring at the towers?"
“Yes. It is the first time I have seen such a structure before. What is its function?"
“Defense. They function like the barrier emitters we have on our suits but bigger, producing a massive electromagnetic barrier that covers Arkham’s territory."
“Interesting. Are there more of its kind?"
“What? Across the planet or throughout the galaxy?"
“Both."
“To answer your first question, they can only be found in large Arkham settlements. As for the last question, they’re only found in frontier worlds like Earth."
“I see. Thank you for the insightful answers, uncle."
“No problem. Also, our ride’s here."
The three walk towards the automated vehicle, Calian opening the door for his niece before entering and closing the door. The cab then hovers off the ground to its recommended altitude before zooming off to its destination.
They eventually reach Calian’s apartment, a cube shaped building with rounded edges with honeycomb patterns covering the front. The building was beside an intersection, making it a very busy area for traffic.
Hopping off the car and getting their things, they enter the lobby of the apartment while the vehicle flies away. The lobby was similar to the airport, spacious and simple.
In front of them was a desk with a single numan sitting behind it, reclining in his chair. He was wearing an electronic Mask that displayed a happy face on it. One could reasonably say the man was dead if not for the snores coming out of his obscured mouth.
The three move past the sleeping man and head to one of the elevators, riding the box to the 36th floor. Arriving at their stop, they exit the elevator that brought them to the back of the building with a whole row of doors leading to other apartment rooms.
The corridor was clean but very plain looking save for a few nondescript paintings hung around to break the monotony. Cleaning drones shaped like flat discs were also present, moving up and down the hallway to remove any dirt they came across.
Looking back to her uncle, she noticed that he’s already reached his apartment door while she was busy admiring the scenery. She hurriedly ran towards him just as he opened the door, heading inside with the two luggages.
Reaching the entrance, Lutrex could see her two bags placed beside the sofa in the living room. Lutrex enters the apartment before closing the door and locking it as Calian speaks to her from an area she can’t see.
“Go ahead and unpack, I’ll be cooking some breakfast for us."
Still holding the plush drone in her hand, she and Pancake look around at their temporary home for the time being.
To her right were a set of doors that she assumed led to a storage room. To her left is what she thinks is the bathroom due to the mat placed in front of the door to absorb the water.
Removing her boots on the mat in front of the entrance, she starts walking to look more at what the apartment offered. Beside the double doors was another door; opening it led to the small laundry room.
Moving further in, she finds herself in the living area, standing in front of her two bags. To her left was the kitchen where her uncle is and to her right was a dining table with four chairs.
In front of her is the living room complete with a sofa, coffee table and a TV on the wall with shelves and bookcases on each side while the walls had some photos of him and other agents during missions and tours.
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The bookcase is filled with trinkets, souvenirs and pictures of him with Lutrex and her sisters when they were kids, their mother and her other uncles and aunts.
At the far end of the room is a double door that leads to the outside balcony with the curtains pushed to the side. To the right was a wooden patio chair and a coffee table and to the left were a few potted plants.
Letting her eyes wander around, they eventually land to a door on the left side of the living room. By elimination, she assumed it was the bedroom loaned to her.
Opening it, she is greeted by a king sized bed that took the majority of the space inside the room. Lutrex wondered how it was put inside, considering how small the doorway is. Perhaps it was built alongside the apartment?
Closing the door behind her, she noticed that its walls were quite blank compared to the living room in terms of decorations. Turning to her left, she sees a large wardrobe taking up the whole side of the room while a large window was on the right side.
Seeing all that there is to see, she takes off her cloak before returning to the living area to retrieve her luggages before gently closing the bedroom door.
She drags the two luggage bags near the bed and sits on it to start unpacking while Pancake moves from her shoulder to her head to get a better view. She places the drone plush on the bed first before opening the first bag.
On top of the neatly folded clothes are two plushies and what seems to be a plastic t-bone steak. The first plush she picked up was an old chicken drumstick with a cheeky cat smile on it.
Lutrex gives a warm smile as she looks at the toy before placing the old plush behind her. She goes to grab the next one, hesitating to pick it up. The next plush was one in the likeness of her mother, Iruonix, wearing a white dress with a blue ribbon below her chest and another one shaped like rabbit ears on her head.
She gently holds the stuffed doll in her hands, memories of her time spent with her mother flooding her mind. Feeling the threat of tears, she places the doll on top of the drone and moves onto the next object.
Spotting the chew toy, she picks it up and places it on her mouth. After hearing the squeaks come out after she bites down on it multiple times, she removes it and wipes it off on her dress.
The steak toy was something Calian bought her when she was at her “teething” stage. Not wanting to have his hand severed, he buys the thing and gives it to her, garnering strange looks from the cashier.
She herself didn’t mind as it helped her over the years when it came to anxiety or just hunger pangs. After wiping it, she places it on the bed alongside the chicken plush.
Now all that's left inside the bags were the necessities. Clothes, towels, handkerchiefs, gloves, socks and everything else she needs gets neatly placed on the bed. With them out, she took a deep breath and started to pick up her towel, bath soap, toothbrush and toothpaste.
Gently opening the door to not disturb her uncle, she and Pancake slowly walk towards the bathroom near the entrance, entering the room and closing the door behind her and locking it.
The bathroom was decently sized for a single person, but it was quite tiny to what Lutrex is used to. Standing by the doorway, she notices that the toilet is placed at the corner to her right while the laundry bin is on the other side.
In front of her is the sink with a mirror, the cabinets to its left and the shower to its right. Lutrex was a little bit sad that there was no bathtub but she knew she had no right to complain or act spoiled.
Before taking a shower, she heads first to the sink. She plugs up the sink’s drain then turns on the faucet to let the water run and fill up the basin while placing her stuff inside the cabinets above.
Lutrex closes the faucet before the water overflows out of the sink. She picks up Pancake and lowers him onto the water. Seeing that he’s enjoying himself, Lutrex then starts to undress herself.
She shortens her hair first before taking off her clothes and undergarments, revealing a rather ominous symbol placed on her back.
The mark is very crude and hastily drawn in appearance. Its many arms are uneven or dislocated from one another and its tail is rough and jagged like broken glass.
Those aspects are not what makes the mark sinister, but the fact that it absorbs all light that touches it. And at the center of the primitive looking symbol is a perfect circle in the center.
Now naked as the day she was born, she picks up the pile of clothes and places it on top of the laundry bin. She figured that she’ll need to buy her own so she doesn’t have to see her uncle’s undergarments.
With that done, she moves and heads inside the transparent walk-in shower and closes the door. Lutrex turns on the left valve with a red circle above it, getting warm water from the shower head.
As she lets herself get soaked, she wonders how different her life would be now as an agent. She wondered if she would be able to live up to her mother’s achievements.
After her shower, she and Pancake head back to their room so she could change into her black dress. Exiting the loaned bedroom, they head towards the dining table where Calian was waiting for them.
The aroma of sizzling bacon went into Lutrex’s nostrils, causing her to run towards the table with Pancake holding on for dear life on her left shoulder.
Reaching the table, she places the cephalopod down on the table on his plate of food before sitting herself down and picking up her utensils to start eating. The dish itself was a simple bacon and eggs with wild rice as a side-dish.
In a span of just 30 seconds, both monsters devour the sizable meals while the older man takes his time with his food. As Lutrex was cleaning Pancake’s mouth with a napkin, Calian talks to her.
“Lutrex, you still plan on visiting the university today?”
“Yes. Why do you ask, uncle?”
“HQ’s called me in for a meeting so I can’t go with you to Brun.”
“I understand, uncle. I will be back by 5pm.”
“Good. If you’re back and I’m not here yet, go heat up dinner and start without me.”
“Understood.”
After the conversation, the two clean up before preparing to leave for their destinations. Grabbing her black shoulder bag and letting Pancake sit on top of her head, she and Calian exit the apartment and head back down to the lobby.
The aroma of sizzling bacon went into Lutrex’s nostrils, causing her to run towards the table with Pancake holding on for dear life on her left shoulder.
Reaching the table, she places the cephalopod down on the table on his plate of food before sitting herself down and picking up her utensils to start eating. The dish itself was a simple bacon and eggs with wild rice as a side-dish.
In a span of just 30 seconds, both monsters devour the sizable meals while the older man takes his time with his food. As Lutrex was cleaning Pancake’s mouth with a napkin, Calian talks to her.
“Lutrex, you still plan on visiting the university today?”
“Yes. Why do you ask, uncle?”
“HQ’s called me in for a meeting so I can’t go with you to Brun.”
“I understand, uncle. I will be back by 5pm.”
“Good. If you’re back and I’m not here yet, go heat up dinner and start without me.”
“Understood.”
After the conversation, the two clean up before preparing to leave for their destinations. Grabbing her black shoulder bag and letting Pancake sit on top of her head, she and Calian exit the apartment and head back down to the lobby.