"Bwok! Bwok! Bwakok!”

Running into the room, Venus screamed, “What in tarsus was that!?”

“What? Oh, that was just Mr. Chicken, letting me know we’re approaching the station.” Jack mumbled, rubbing his eyes. He had just taken a nap on Venus’ divan. “Don’t tell me you don’t know what a chicken sounds like…”

“Of course I do!” Venus claimed, “But I just haven’t heard one in real life, I’ve only heard recordings... Wait, did you say we made it to the Apollyon?”

Venus ran over to the porthole and looked out. Thick dark clouds engulfed their ship. She was unable to see anything, but still eagerly looked through the window from different angles, trying to make something out.

“They said it’s basically impossible to see…” she said, “But I always thought it was hyperbole. No way one space station could produce so much smog to keep it covered all the time, but here we are. I can’t see a thing.”

“Here, let me show you something…”

Jack walked over to Venus and took something out of his jacket pocket. He unwound a pair of goggles, which he stretched out over Venus to fit the size of her head.

“Wait! What are you doing?”

“Relax! Just trust me, I want to show you something…”

He brought the goggles over her eyes, which displayed a green lit up field of vision on the insides of the lens.

“Look out now, straight in front of you and tell me what you see it…”

She craned her neck forward and began to make out a highlighted figure through the goggles. It had four huge protruding segments, each circular in shape, all connecting to one main body, like the cross formation of a quincunx. If observed for a long enough time, one notices it slowly rotating resembling the wheel of a windmill. Small little highlighted spots, which were other ships, could be seen swarming around the station like bees around a hive.

“Wow! I would’ve never imagined… It’s so feminine in shape! I was expecting sharp, hard edges and surfaces, like Khalid. Instead the Apollyon has such nice round, curved features, like that of a woman. It makes sense though. The inside, I hear, is absolutely beautiful and luxurious. Why not the outside as well?”

“Well, I’m glad you can appreciate it!”

“Thank you for allowing me to see it” Venus said, handing back the goggles to Jack, “Another ancient invention you’ve discovered?”

“Matter of fact, yes.” Jack said, and then smiled, charmingly looking at the dancer. He then changed the subject, “So, you’ve never actually met Khalid, have you? Tell me, what do you honestly think his intentions are for you? Perhaps of the romantic sort? I’ve heard rumors he’s been searching for a feminine influence on his life…”

“He’s an old man––though he may not look it––there’s no way he would be interested in me, considering how young I am, compared to him. No, it’s obvious he has a ravenous taste for the arts and is willing to pay a hefty sum for performers, like me, to display their talents in person.”

“Alright, if you think so… I’m actually very much looking forward to seeing you dance tonight. I promise you, I will not for the world be missing your performance.” Jack promised.

He gave a wink to Venus and walked towards the cockpit.

“Chicken, how long until we dock?”

“Bwooook, bwak!”

Jack said nothing further and stared out into the shadowy smog.

“Wait, you understand… Mr. Chicken?”

Jack turned around and looked at Venus, as if he didn’t understand what she was saying for a second.

“Hm. Oh, yeah, I do, actually. Spending so much time with him over the years, I guess I’ve become sensitive to his intents. What he said was that, we’ll be there shortly…”

----------------------------------------

Potted plants, everywhere. Low-light vegetation, like English ivy, dracaenas, ficus draped the walls and insinuated the walkways nearby the arriving ships. Situated life placed to cover up the inorganic material that composed the satellite’s vast metallic framework. A welcoming sight that let the King’s guests know they weren’t too far from home when they arrived there in their shuttles. A large, luscious fountain, as well, filled with stone hummingbirds encircling a giant angel, wingspread, gushing with clear, fresh water, awaited the visitors before they were to enter the turbolifts, taking them to other parts of the station.

The docking bay on the Apollyon was always bustling with parties of affluent people, coming and going, with various business having to do with the King and his enterprises. As usual, you could find warlords, bluebloods, social-organizers, and diplomats arriving to bid for the King’s attention as best as they could with the influence they possessed. Rarely was anyone actually seen though, personally, by the King, due to the heavy filtering process of the royal court’s systemizing of priorities, but still, most stayed to enjoy the entertainments the prestigious space station had to offer, with its complimentary amenities, nightly banquets and iconic performances, and the occasional gossip and/or drama.

Madame Tellus––an elderly woman, married into the illustrious carbon baron family, whose esteemed lineage goes as far back as the 21st century and has survived numerous cataclysms and collapses throughout recent history––was enjoying her first time visiting the Apollyon. She had first heard about its construction when she was just a kid and finally had decided she would go see the mythical spectacle in space herself after all these years. Her robotic servant though, for whatever reason, was giving her a lot of trouble, which began to upset her. It was frozen in place, like it needed some oil, stuck carrying her bags, and all Madame Tellus did to help was whack her little purse against the malfunctioning robotic body. It began to move slightly, as if it was moving in slow motion, as Madame Tellus continued to whip it with her purse.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Come on. I’m not going to be late because you’re having issues” she demanded.

It did not respond.

“Well, you know where to find me, I guess.” Madame Tellus said, turning up her nose, turned around, and headed towards the angel fountain.

She passed by groups of people meeting, chatting with each other, exchanging ideas, lounging after a long space flight and/or waiting for their robots to bring them their luggage as well. Three or four jinn lined the surroundings of the docking bay, habitually weaponless and stoic, on call to apprehend any situation with only their brute strength and impeccable authority. The only movements that could be seen from the King’s statue-like men, aside from their periodic leaving and relieving of posts, was the slow scanning of their spectral eyes, back and forth, over the pedestrian traffic, like that of a siamese cat, anticipating unsuspecting prey. Most were.

A few ships arrived every minute through the fly-thru forcefield protecting the docking bay, as about same amount ships left. One of the cubed chrome sarcophagi models landed and had already deployed it’s side-hatch door. The passengers were casually exiting the small, inconspicuous shuttle.

“I sure hope this works…”

“You were so confident before. Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts…”

“Oh, there’s no hesitation in me at all. I’m only acknowledging the all-powerful, unforgiving force we know as Fate that looms over us all. There’s always a chance…”

“Everything seems to be going fine.” Venus said, trying to reassure the Anglo.

Jack stretched out his arms skywards, stretched, and scratched the back of his head. Mister Chicken stepped off the landing ramp and joined Venus, Char-on, and the Anglo, who were looking around the vast forested hangar.

“Alright, this is it.” Jack said and led the others in a trek towards the turbolifts.

Some laughs were heard. Men in suits excitedly grabbing at each other’s shoulders with gaped mouths and wide eyes. The gang passed by Madame Tellus’ robot, who had made it a good five meters from where it started, continuing its snail-like pace. The Anglo stopped and examined the metal servant carrying the lady’s bags.

“Hmm, I bet the GCR processor is tripping on this thing. Hold on while I–”

“Jack, look, over there!” Venus said in a loud whisper.

The Anglo looked towards the fountain and immediately noticed three jinn had gathered together and were heading straight towards them.

“Yeah, I think they recognized us, Chicken…”

A loud monotone deadpan voice projected across the docking bay “Halt! The terrorist known as Jack the Anglo, you are under arrest. Do not make any sudden movements or we will be forced to use lethal action.”

There was a sudden eruption of murmuring from the by-standers, as they watched and comprehended what was happening. They had been warned there might be something exciting like this on the Apollyon. No one stirred from their spot.

“Lay face down on the ground with your arms out now or we will have to physically apprehend you!”

Jack and Chicken didn’t move.

“Alright, you ready Chicken?”

One of the jinn picked up a huge potted ficus that would have been too heavy for a regular human or humanoid and held it up, above his head, as if he was about to throw it. The other Jinn approached, meters away from the ‘terrorists’.

“Okay now, Chicken!”

They both reached behind their backs and grabbed long tubes that were connected to packs they were wearing and held them out. Both flipped switches on their devices, which began a loud continuous raging sound, and then, both pointed the nozzles toward the approaching Jinn.

Almost instantaneously, the bodies of the two soldiers dissolved into smoke and were sucked in through the hoses, into the backpacks of the Anglo and Chicken.

All that was left was their unoccupied white uniforms lying limply on the ground of the hangar.

The last jinn that was left standing there was still silently carrying the potted plant over his head and didn’t move. Beyond his newly discovered panic over the loss of his comrades, he seemed to be deciding whether he should stay and fight, or just run. But, it was too late. Jack and Chicken pointed their nozzles at the Jinn and sucked him right up as well, leaving the pot in mid-air.

Crash!

A scream was then heard. People began panicking immediately. They either raced towards the turbolifts to fight for a spot away from there, or simply retreated to their ships and zoomed out, back into space.

Wiping the sweat off his brow, Jack took a breath and walked back over to where the near-frozen robot was. He touched a button on the back of its metallic neck, and suddenly, it was off, walking at full speed towards the turbolifts with Madame Tellus’ bags at its sides. After a few seconds, as it continued to walk, it looked back and observed his liberator with cold indifferent eyes, like that of an animal that had been released from a snare in the wild.

“I guess you weren’t kidding when you said you figured out a way to handle the jinn… What do you call those things again? Vak-yums?” Venus wondered.

“Yep, Vakyum cleansers. I told you not to underestimate an Anglo…”

“Well, you still have the whole rest of the station to worry about now, who’ll probably be arriving soon.” Venus warned, “I’m not sure you should be riding the turbolifts with me Jack.”

“That’s fine. Chicken and I always are prepared; we have a back-up plan.”

The Anglo looked at his poultry friend and made a hand signal towards one of the plant-covered walls of the hangar.

“Well I appreciate you getting us this far, Miss Venus. I owe you one.” Jack said warmly, “We’ll be seeing you.”

He smiled at the dancer, who made a sultry wave goodbye.

Both Mister Chicken and he sprinted to where Jack had pointed and begun shifting masses of dangling ivy off to the side. They uncovered an air vent that they could fit through and immediately went to work on it.

By the time reinforcement jinn had arrived, Jack and Mister Chicken were already gone and in the vents, making their way to who knows where in the Apollyon. Venus, casually, was walking with her robot Char-on through the now empty docking bay as jinn rushed passed her in search of the intruders.

When she made it to the fountain, they were greeted by an older man wearing a toga, who was on the other side of the splashing water. He had a big goofy smile on his face.

“Welcome, Miss Venus of Kali, to King Khalid’s Royal Court! We truly are honored to have such a talented superstar as yourself here, on the Apollyon!” the man boasted, making his way around the hummingbirds, approaching Venus and Char-on. “Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Aesop Galanos, a humble servant of his majesty, King Khalid, who sends his apologizes he couldn’t greet you at present in person at this time.”

“Oh that’s fine, I could only imagine how busy he must be...”

“Always he seems to be working on something new––He’ll be in touch with you very shortly, after I show you to your room and get you settled.”

With her robot trailing behind, Venus was off to the turbolifts with the old man, who didn’t seem to be too concerned about the terrorist attack that had just taken place, nor her involvement in it.

Sliding doors parted. They stepped in. Aesop pushed a button. The doors closed, and then, they were gone.