The next morning, I wake up to an empty bed. "Damn Ko-lee, you didn't wanna sleep in and cuddle on our first day off? Big sad," I think as I stare at the ceiling. She always gets up earlier than I do, but I always feel a bit disappointed anyways to face the morning alone. I roll over to the edge of the bed, swinging my feet around and bringing myself to a seated position, before taking a deep breath. "I miss caffeine," I think. "And nicotine. And methylphenidate." I sit on the edge on the mattress, feeling my brain and body slowly come to terms with consciousness over the course of about half a minute, before I start to move. I reach into the drawer, and dig through the few outfits inside, looking for something to wear. While all of the outfits are clean, due to the fact that I've worn most of them during work, they are nearly all stained to some degree or another, and it takes me a moment to find the one clean outfit I've yet to wear in the tower. "My Sunday best," I think, while looking at the cloth. The tones are subtle, but warm, and the lack of rust colored kuva stains makes it perfect for a meeting with a religious figure.

I get dressed, and head down the hall, meeting Heya at reception. "Morning Heya," I say, doing my best to avoid yawning as I do so. Her focus shifts from the project in her lap; something that looks vaguely like hand crocheting, but with adornments woven in. "I have a quick question for you. I'm looking to talk to a preist," I say, making my way to the front of the reception desk. "For the Unum, I'm assuming. What for?" she asks, setting her project down on the shelf at her knees. "That's a long story," I lie. "But Konzu recommended it to me." Her eyebrows raise at the name drop. "Konzu? The one in the Conclave?" she asks, and I give her a quick nod. "Well don't you end up in the most interesting situations," she says, her demeanor cheerful as usual. "Haha, yea..." I say, before continuing. "Anyways, I've been putting it off, and I have no idea how to get in touch with anyone of the... uhm... faith. I don't know if it has an official name," I say, ending with a shrug.

She gives a gentle shake of her head, her voice light. "There's no formalized name for those who worship the Unum. Those who do are often called adherents, but as a whole..." she gives a wiggle of her hand. "Got it," I say. "I've talked to the Vox, obviously, but other than that... I wasn't sure if there was a church, or some place to go to or something along those lines." "There is!" she says brightly. "It's quite beautiful. I don't follow the faith all that strongly, but I've been to the church a few times. Most who work or live within her do the same." She reaches her hand out, and I pass her my badge, so that she can mark out the path for me. A few moments later, and she hands it back, and I give her a big smile. "Thanks so much!" I say, as I head out the front door. I take a look at the map, memorizing the first few turns, before setting it in my pocket and heading off.

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Roughly 25 minutes later, I arrive on a higher floor that is almost entirely unoccupied. The few I do see are wearing what could be best described as parts of the Unum herself; gold from her bones as jewelry, Unum shell cut into hexagonal tiles and layered on top of each other to form arm braces and shoulder adornments. The various bits of cloth I see are white, reds, and yellows, in clear mimicry of the color scheme of the tower. Many of the outfits and accessories have a homemade feel to them; dulled colors or awkward cuts give them a less than professional feeling. Some of the outfits, however, are the opposite, with sharply edged accessories, and perfectly pressed and cleaned outfits that nearly sparkle in the warm lighting. Very occasionally, in contrast to the first two, I also spot people who stand out wildly. "Tourists," I think, as I look at those in extremely varied outfits; some recognizable, some not.

"I wonder what camp other people think I fall into," I muse, as I continue to follow the directions on my badge. It's only a minute more before I pass through a pair of doors into what is very clearly a church. "Holy crap," I think, as I take in the space around me. "Was it always like this? Or did they have to zhuzh it up I wonder. 'cause this is a church T M. On god I think the Catholics might sue." The space is long and tall, and rather than go for the maximalist approach of something like St Peter’s Basilica, the design is simple, leaning more into the interplay of light and shadow on the subtly textured white walls. The light sources are bright and directed, coming not from the sun, but instead from a frankly excessive number of fixtures dotted about the place. Many of the lights shine onto the exposed gold around the room, every surface polished to an intense shine.

Eventually I notice signage on the walls, carved in such a way that the text only appears as I make my way deeper into the space. "By her will she protects, by her flesh she provides," states one. "Through her blood she sees, of our blood she knows," says another. Then, finally, what appears to be an extensive description of who the Unum is and how she came to be, albeit in flowery language. "Wait," I think, as my eyes scan the text. "Isn't this the lore? The in-game lore about Gara?" I'm unable to remember the specifics, as she's not a frame I owned, but enough wiki diving had let me piece together bits of the story. "If I recall correctly, it was like... one, the Unum comes down from space to ice a Sentient, and then something something she needs help maybe? And then Gara nukes the Sentient and herself and now we have Eidolon's on the plains," I think. From a quick glance of the story being presented in front of me, it seems nearly identical, bar a few inconsequential details.

"So Gara wasn't a protector, at least according to this. She was like... the hand of the Unum. And she exploded due to being powered up by the Unum. Hmmm... I wish I knew how much of this was true, and how much is propaganda," I think, my eyes scanning the text. Beyond the story of the Unum arriving, there's also an explanation for why she only disables and protects, rather than attacking those like the Grineer directly. "You're kidding me, she goes by Batman rules? That's pretty god damn stupid. 'Oh I could totally use my super powered laser to wipe out the Grineer, I just don't because murder bad.' Please. If I had to guess, she's probably stuck here, and straight up doesn't have a weapon because why would the Orokin give their skyscrapers a gun?" I can't help but chuckle at the thought, before a frown crosses my face. "Also not a big fan of all the 'Oooh, Golden Lords are da best' type shit I'm reading everywhere."

"I don't care if they created the Unum, do not worship the space bourgeoisie," I think, a frown on my face. "You seem troubled," says a voice to my right, and I quickly rearrange my expression to one of frustration rather than disgust. "Oh, I'm just... a bit upset at the idea that she could kill the Grineer, but she chooses not to," I say, getting a look at the man. "Ding ding ding, that's a priest," I think, looking at the man's stark white outfit, and shaped gold accessories laying across his face. "She is judge and jury, but she is not an executioner. There is plenty of death in the system, and she is powerful enough to keep us safe without."

"Now, is there anything I can help you with?" asks the man, and I'm suddenly reminded of what it is I'm actually doing here. "Oh, right. Uhm, so... my name is Antimony and I... well... this is sort of silly..." I say, trailing off. I'm unsure of how specifically I want to explain the the situation to the man, since I barely buy into the theory myself. The priest nods his head in understanding, his hand gesturing towards the benches. "How about we sit," he says, and I make my way over to the hard wooden surface. My eyes roam the room, occasionally glancing at the abstract gold and white art dotted about the place. The priest catches my wandering eyes, and speaks up. "We don't need iconography," he says, and I give him a glance of confusion. "We need no pictures, no representation of the one we worship," he says, a look of contentment on his face. "She's here. On Earth. With us. She's in us, as we are in her. Our art isn't meant to capture her, but instead meant to capture her light, the life that she brings to the Ostron people."

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"Mom would love this place," I think. "Neat. Anyways," I say, doing my best to switch the topic of discussion, "do you know Konzu?" My hopeful appeal to authority is dashed when he shakes his head no, but I forge on anways. "Oh, well, he's a member of the Conclave. He... when I was in Cetus, he was talking to me, or rather, he wasn't talking to me, and then I explained to him I was hearing a faint woman's voice and-" The priest cuts me off with a wave of his hand, his content expression all but gone. "Are you trying to tell me you're hearing the voice of the Unum?" I nod my head and he gives a subtle scoff. "I'm sorry, but if I may be so blunt, you're not of Ostron descent." There's no question in his words; he's stating a fact. I shake my head and start to speak, but I barely manage a phoneme before he talks over me. "Many people come from off-world to request an audience with the Unum, to hear her speak. Her words are prophetic; this is known across the system. It is not often that she chooses to speak to those outside of her chambers, and it is... very unlikely that would speak to you, an outsider. Specifically."

His expression holds derision, and I try to placate him, saying, "I know it sounds absurd, but-" He cuts me off again. "However!" he states, a smarmy grin forming on his face, "We can never truly rule out the desires of the Unum, not without asking her directly. We would need to make our way to her chambers, and there we could clear up this... misunderstanding." He stands, and I follow, unsure about his behavior, but unwilling to look a gift horse in the mouth. He takes a single step, before turning, faux disappointment on his face. "Ah, what am I thinking," he says in Ostron, a hand on his forehead, before following up in Origin. "I forgot, there's a process! Many in line in front of you, as I'm sure you can imagine-" but I take the opportunity to return his medicine. "Sure, whatever. Put me in line," I say, and at this, the priest's expression drops slightly.

"What, did you think I was gonna make a big ol' stink about it because 'O M G I'm so special fast track me?' I could honestly care less man," I think, doing my best to hide my satisfaction at his disappointment. "Ah. Well, the application process may take quite a while-" says the priest, before I cut him off again. "That's fine, I'm in no rush. I'm a skinner, I'm not going anywhere. Just hand me the forms or whatever," I say, slightly failing to hide my satisfaction at the second rug pull. His eyes narrow, and he takes a moment, before following up, "And I'm sure you're fine with the fee as well, then?" I had already begun opening my mouth to interrupt him a third time in a row before his words reach my brain. "A fee?" I ask dumbly, and his smug grin starts to return. "Of course! It helps support not only us adherents, but also helps support Cetus as a whole! You don't have an issue with that, do you?" I grit my teeth for a moment, before placing on my best 'dealing with the general public' mask.

"Of course not! The well being of the Ostron people is so important to me. Ah, but... I'm actually low on cash right now. I work within her, harvesting her sacred flesh, but unfortunately I do not have the money for a fee. I am more than willing to pay, I just wonder if maybe we could... defer the payment? Until the day of the meeting, if at all possible?" I flash my pearly whites at him, smiling as fake earnestly as I can, and I can see him briefly hesitate as he considers the idea. "FUCKIN' GOT YOU," I think to myself. "Chink in the armor with that 'sacred flesh' bit! There's no way he won't bite. I mean, I still don't have the money, nor do I wanna pay his bullshit fee, but if I can get out of here, wallet intact, I'll take the win." "It's... not standard... but I think we can manage something like that," says the priest, making a note on some sort of device. It looks similar to a skinner's badge, but it's white instead of gray, with slight gold insets decorating the sides.

"So, once your application is processed, the Unum will choose whether or not she wants an audience with you. Which, if your story is true, should be no issue. I will note that, even is she is to deny your application, you will still need to pay the fee," says the priest. "But of course," I say, with my most plastic smile. "At the end of the day, this money gets put into the hands of those who need it the most, right?" There's the briefest of hesitations as the priest nods, and I continue, "then start handing me forms, I'd love to get started." He brings me over to a desk tucked away in the corner, and passes me what is effectively a holographic tablet, identical to the one I had used when filling out forms for Aley. "This is so fucking bullshit," I think to myself, as I scroll down the page. "What is this 'pre-approved to see the Unum' type shit she's playing at? I'm sleeping in her goddamn liver, why won't she just say something?"

My eyes pass over the amount for the fee, and I choke slightly at the number. "Is there an issue?" asks the priest, and I quickly try to pull myself together before speaking. "Nope, no worries! Just... clearing my throat." "I'm sorry, fucking how much? I need to pay 1 point 5 MILLION credits just to go stand in her special room!? Grow a goddamn speaker in my bedroom! For fucks sake," I think, as my eyes scan the nightmarish mix between scripture and legalese. "How am I even going to make a fee like that?" I briefly consider asking the priest if there's any way to lower the fee or get some sort of discount, but one look at his self satisfied grin removes that option from my mind. "I should talk to Jae, honestly. I bet he would know. Worse comes to worse, I'll just tell them day of that I don't have that sort of money. If they turn me away at the door, well boo fucking hoo for the Unum again. She's side quest material at best."

"Like, I do want to know what she wants, but I don't want to know a million credits badly. If it's time sensitive, then she'd be more active about it. The fact that I didn't have a priest drag me to see her the day I walked through the Great Doors shows that it can't really be all that important," I muse, as I finish up the form. "So..." I say to the priest, handing him back the device. "One point five million for the fee, huh?" His smug grin grows wider before he opens his mouth. "Like I said before, her words are prophetic. The Golden Lords may have created many towers, but the Unum is the last standing. She has something everyone wants, but few will ever get. That being said, if the fee is too much for you, I can toss your application right now. I'm aware you're working on a skinner's budget," he says, fake sympathy in his eyes. "I know where you can put that application," I think, before giving him a placating gesture.

"Please, keep the application. Run it through the process. It's clear that the Unum desires to see me, as per her whispered words in the market. If it truly is her desire, well then, money is no object," I say, piety in my eyes. "All that church camp practice paying off." The priest gives me a bow, before placing the device on his desk in a pile of what looks like a hundred others. "By her will," he says, and I give him one in return. "By her will," I say, before turning to head out the front doors. "Besides, if I had that kind of money," I think, as I exit the church and head to the nearest lift, "there's something else I'd much rather spend it on."