Planet: EQOS

System: NETO

Sector: PROSPECT

Date: 04-JUL-2432

Location: SUMMIT CITY, CHAINLAND RANGE

When Honey exits the Summit City Landing Station her eyes feel like they have been set ablaze. The light from Neto is more intense on Eqos than it is on Lillian, despite there being thick gray clouds in the sky. The air is warm and moist, which is far different from the Dumas Biodome, or any biodome for that matter. The biodomes use UV light rails and networks of air heating and cooling units to create weather, and sometimes the biodome glass domes got fogged up with some clouds trapped up top, but what she is experiencing now is insanity.

Honey feels like water is oozing into her skin and going into her nose and throat. Her heavy heart races and she looks side to side frantically. There is a loud rumbling up above, and Honey looks up, expecting to see rocks falling from the sky or the atmosphere breaking. But all she sees are the thick gray clouds partially covering Neto. The rumbling returns, making Honey jump, and she drags her luggage to a covered kiosk with a map of Summit City displayed on it.

"Okay... okay... okay..." Honey takes a deep breath, lifts her finger, then jumps and curses when an even louder rumbling rolls through the air and rattles her bones. Her jaw and fists clench, and she glares at the gray sky, which is now getting darker, and goes back to the kiosk. Summit City is massive to say the least. It is 70 square miles and encompasses multiple mountains, all of which are connected by monorails and road networks, with large patches of the mountains reserved for wildlife, making many areas small but densely populated. Honey is fine with the dense population, but what she needs is a hotel. So, she types in "hotel" in the search bar and gets 382 results.

Honey's jaw drops. Then she hears an odd, watery patter, like a leaking pipe. Only multiply the leaking pipe by maybe several hundred and she looks behind her and her eyes bulge and her hand slides off the kiosk.

Innumerable water droplets fall from the sky, splattering against the asphalt and concrete, and beating against the kiosk roof. Neto is completely gone now, and the rumbling shakes the kiosk and Honey's bones. She feels like she's going to vomit as she turns back to the kiosk and limits her search to the nearest hotel. Which is down the block. Honey hits a map printing button, and she has to swipe her card to pay for the 50 fedos fee. After she pays, a laminated map is printed out with the quickest route highlighted.

The good news is that the route is a straight line. The bad news is the rain is getting heavier. So, Honey takes a deep breath, grabs her luggage, and marches out.

A few minutes later, she opens the door to her destination. Water pours off her soaked body, her curly blonde hair is hanging over her eyes, her soaked clothes add an awful amount of weight to her, and the worst part is no one seems to notice or care that a young woman has waterfalls dribbling off her body.

The clerk at the desk is doing computer work; some guy is reading something on a couch; and an automated vacuum droid is going in a grid pattern on the thin carpet floor.

Honey takes a deep breath and marches forward, leaving a trail of watery footsteps and streaks while her luggage wheels and boots squeak and squelch on the checker tiles. She passes flowery wallpaper, decorative pillars, and when she gets on the carpet, the odd noises stop. When she reaches the clerk, she rings a bell. He responds with the speed of molasses and looks at her with a slightly annoyed expression.

"Welcome to the Summit Community Hotel. How can I help you?" he says in a recited voice void of all life.

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"I need a room. One bed. Please," says Honey.

"How long are you staying?"

"I don't know. A week, maybe? I'm trying to apply to the Academy of Irregular Defense, and I'm not sure how long that'll take."

The clerk looks at Thor-Ton's case, and then he looks at Honey.

"It is two thousand fedos a week," he says.

"That's fine," says Honey.

The clerk sighs heavily, types in his computer, and prints out a key card. Honey gives him her card, and after she pays, he gives her the key and a receipt.

"If your application is successful, give the receipt to the Academy of Irregular Defense Human Resources and they'll reimburse you," says the clerk.

"Cool. Thank you," says Honey.

"Uh huh. Room 621. Sixth floor. Left side."

Honey thanks him again, and he waves her off despite her already walking away, and she approaches the elevator at the lobby and hits the button. While she waits, she hears a pair of footsteps approach her, and she looks behind her to see Rocky and Emma standing close by, also waiting for the elevator. And carrying folded umbrellas.

Honey looks back at the sleek metal door and groans irritably while rolling her eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me," whispers Honey.

"Hey Honey," says Emma. She slides next to her and leans against the wall with her arms folded across her chest and a wicked smile on her face. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Small world," says Honey.

"What floor are you on?"

"None of your business."

"We're on the fourth floor."

"Glad to hear."

"Did you not get an umbrella?"

Honey clenches her jaw, and Emma looks at Rocky.

"She didn't get an umbrella," says Emma.

"Not our problem," says Rocky.

Honey hits the elevator button again, and this time the door opens with a loud ding, and she slides inside, but before the door can close, Emma and Rocky slide in, and Rocky hits the emergency close button. Honey frowns and massages her hands, but as she does this, the fain blue lines hidden by her clothes flare. But Rocky sees a little bit of the activity from the lines on her neck. Rather than getting worried, he waves dismissively and looks at the door.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you just yet," says Rocky.

"Oh? How kind of you to wait," says Honey. "What's your problem with me, anyway?"

"My problem is that you're Prunella Thornton, the daughter of Tobias Thornton, the baron of the Dumas Biodome," says Rocky.

He turns his eyes to Honey, and her blood runs cold at the sight of the fire behind them.

"Tobias Thornton evicted my family from our dwelling in the Dumas Biodome. Now I see his daughter in my presence heading to the same prestigious academy. Am I supposed to be happy about that?" says Rocky.

"My dad doesn't evict people for no reason. Maybe your parents didn't pay rent?"

"We had a mortgage."

"So, your parents couldn't pay the mortgage?"

"We were evicted for no reason."

"You're lying. My dad doesn't evict anybody for no reason!"

"Yes, he does. He did it to my family and who knows how many others."

Honey growls. "Alright, that's it. I'm going to knock some honesty into you. I won't let you dishonor the Thornton name with your lies!"

Rocky hits the emergency stop button and turns to face Honey fully. The light in the elevator switches to swirling yellow lights, slinging their shadows on the wall, and the colors reflect off his eyes as he and Honey stare each other down.

"Is that a challenge to a duel?" asks Rocky.

Despite Honey's heart racing, she still nods slowly. "Yeah. That's a challenge."

"There's a gym three blocks from here. Let's say noon tomorrow?" says Rocky.

"Fine by me." Honey extends her hand. "Honey Thorton."

Rocky grabs her hand. "Rocky Rochefort."

A TV near the elevator flashes on and the clerk's face appears.

"Hey, are you guys okay in there?" he asks in the least concerned way possible.

Rocky flips off the emergency stop, and the elevator begins rising again.

"We're fine," says Rocky.

"Alright, cool. Don't mess with the buttons. Enjoy your stay at the Summit Community Hotel or whatever," says the clerk.

The elevator dings shortly after and opens up to the fourth floor. Rocky and Emma get out with their gear, and Emma waves farewell to Honey with wiggly fingers. Honey hits the emergency close button, and slumps against the wall as the elevator continues to rise. By the time she takes a breath, the door opens to her floor, putting her face to face with a giant bronze "6" hanging on the wall.

Honey pulls away from the elevator wall and takes her luggage down the hall to her room. The card works as intended, and when she opens the door, she finds her room to be quaint. There's a bed, a dresser, a TV mounted on the wall, a small fridge and microwave, and a simple bathroom. The curtains are thin so she can still see the rain beating against her window, and the floor's thin carpet is an odd shade of brown.

Honey sets her stuff down the bed, takes another deep breath, and then face plants the mattress.