Pylo had apparently already left to go do some kind of errand related to the ship that sounded significantly more lascivious then usual.

That had been a FUN discussion.

The trio had deliberated it amongst themselves and decided that the most tame consensus between Quarti and Omega was it probably meant ‘grope’ or ‘massage’.

Aleph decided she wouldn't ask the ship what it really meant for fear that it actually WAS as bad as it sounded this time.

Most of the time she trusted that Pylo’s ‘accent’ was just making things sound more ‘kinky’ then actually intended.

But when it came to the ship?

Pylo got especially ‘poetic’ about her ship.

So Aleph honestly gave it good odds that their host might actually be doing something disturbing with the vessel.

Or maybe it was just regular maintenance.

Either way Pylo had promised there would be a guide or something to escort them around the ALIEN SPACE PORT!

Which was something Aleph had only dreamed she would get to see before they reached the colony!

And they were even getting to meet another ALIEN in order to guide them around.

Quarti had insisted that Pylo had gotten them a prostitute to ‘show them a good time’ but Aleph was about seventy percent sure that was not actually the case and it was probably a diplomat or something.

Either way they were promised that they would be perfectly safe as long as they stayed inside their bubble.

Which is where they were.

Trying to get out of the ship.

The suspense honestly was driving Aleph crazy as the thing swayed and climbed its way to the outer layers of the hull.

And then swayed to a stop waiting in front of some kind of wall.

Aleph looked around and bit her bottom lip.

“This is where she said to wait for the guide right? I can barely tell my way around here... Quarti?”

Quarti laughed and nodded from across the little rainbow bubble.

“Oh absolutilicious lil sprly! Sweetest spot to stop for our exotic caller”

Aleph rolled her eyes but turned to the blank wall that seemed hardly different from any other part of the ship.

Then the wall trembled and began to part like a set of lips the size of a small canyon.

Omega stretched out her arms and legs enough to make her vertebrae, hips and shoulders pop.

“Well looks like we found the right place... So what do you think it’s going to be like? Anything like the edgewall ports?”

Aleph shrugged and just turned to watch as light began to pierce through the two flanks of stone grey wall.

The passage split open, slabs of grey ‘muscle’ analogue pulling apart with the unreality of airless silence, and then the first vista of an Alien world fell upon them.

Aleph didn't know quite what she was seeing.

Quarti laughed and pushed the control lever on the bubble bot forward and it dutifully crawled towards the passage and...

Was that a feather?

Aleph blinked several times, distracted from the vast ‘something’ beyond by the sheer absurdity of what she was seeing before her.

There before them was a feather or something that looked a lot like one but furled out at a curve that Aleph had never seen any animal on Terra manage.

Except it was longer than the entire diameter of Aleph’s home town.

And it was a feather.

Not some strange and vaguely crystalline alien form.

No it pretty much looked like a feather.

Quarti and Omega were looking up and about when Aleph turned back to give them a glance of helpless befuddlement. Which was apparently lost on both of them as Quarti shoved the control stick and the entire bubble pod lurched into a climb/walk down the ‘feather’ easy as you please.

Aleph sighed, so the ship had feathers? What effectively looked like actual giant feathers when she got close up to them.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

She wondered what that translated too.

Only after they reached the end of the incongruous and ridiculous appendage of their conveyance did Aleph turn her gaze up and out.

Oh wow.

The place was intense.

[https://i.imgur.com/doCGmWO.png]

Honestly the best comparison Aleph had for it was like the time she had visited the university at Carpa. The train station at that place had teemed with people and had a vast overhanging archway. But here the shapes were all wrong, and the dimensions were a lot bigger. And there was FAR too much traffic in the ‘air’ but then again Aleph considered, that flat expanse all around them was as validly wall or ceiling as it was a floor.

She tilted her head a little to consider the surface as a flat cliff and immediately felt a rush of vertigo and reoriented herself to consider the whole thing as a safe and consistent floor.

Aleph did not want to throw up on her first visit to an alien world.

Of course Quarti had decided to let go of the control stick and start spinning so that there was absolutely no way she could have a sense of up and down. The prophet was insane. Spinning like that would have had her hurling up her breakfast.

Aleph suspected it was to mess with her. So she took hold of the control stick and looked over at Omega.

“Anyon see... uh... anything that looks like our guide?”

Omega jolted a little and met Aleph’s eyes with a lopsided grin.

“Oh yeah... uh... huh... How about that?”

Aleph looked over at the direction her friend nodded and blinked.

That was just...

Really?

“Really!?”

Quarti had turned to look and started promptly choking on her own spit in laughter.

There ‘floating’ with a limb clinging to the lip of the massive ‘hold’ their ship was resting in.

Was an alien.

Which honestly resembled some kind of ridiculous bug eyed toy.

Who was almost certainly their guide.

After all It was holding what looked like a hand written white paper sign.

With perfectly legible if a bit casually written Aoria script.

“Terran Tourists, Party of Three”

Aleph groaned and just, pointed at the alien and made a face of pained frustration at Omega.

Her friend just shrugged and smiled crookedly.

“Yeah... I guess it does take some of the romanticism out of it, but... uh... after dealing with Pylo I’m honestly relieved...”

Aleph glanced at Quarti who still couldn't breathe properly, but apparently just gasped and wheezed harder when she saw Aleph’s face so that was probably fine.

“I guess it is convenient, and it does show that Pylo is probably responsible? I hope she didn't actually get us a prostitute though... Like I was pretty sure it wasn't but uh... you know”

Omega looked like she wasn't so sure either way but shrugged.

“Well we can just say that we just want to talk if that’s the case right? And have them show us around anyway? I’m sure it will probably be a relief if that’s the case... Uh probably”

Aleph glared at Omega... Maybe Quarti would choke herself out with laughter at this rate and save them from having to hear her disjointed commentary for the trip?

Actually no that’s mean Aleph gave her head a quick shake and shouted over to their resident millennial.

“Hey Quarti! Do you need me to resuscitated you over there?”

The prophet wheezed out a raspy “H’m faine!” between gasping laughter. Which Aleph took to mean she would actually recover. Then gave Omega a weak smile before taking hold of one of the control sticks and directing the quadrupedal bubble bot in the direction of their guide.

“Well let’s go see what an alien tour guide is like”

Quarti managed to wheeze out in a breathless chuckle.

“ESCORT”