"Muahahaha, behold the power of the universe!" A girl with silver hair cackled, her eyes gleamed crimson and her arms outstretched as black holes manifested on either side of her, eldritch-like leviathans clawing at the air, violating the laws of the reality. "Behold the power of gods!"
"Man," another girl with long, dirty gold hair said calmly.
Silver eyes narrowed "Excuse me?"
"That is the truth of humanity you hold, the truth of the universe to which we are beholden," Dirty Gold said, her eyes emanating a bright blue flare. She held two flasks, one full of obsidian dust and the other containing a white liquid.
With the utmost elegance, she poured the liquid onto the ground. The substances connected beneath her, mingling like magnets, and then climbed up her legs, covering her body up to her neck.
"Behold the power of humanity. Come to me, my Moa!" Dirty Gold outstretched her arms, and the ground beneath her ruptured. A two-legged, beaked creature emerged, its mechanical legs crushing the earth. Its eyes gleamed a fiery green as it let out a roar a mutant of living machine and flesh.
"Sacrilege!" Silver snarled. "You dare play God?!"
"Hahaha," Dirty Gold laughed, amused. "No, I dare play human."
They charged at one another, and a clash between the power of the universe and the will of man ensued.
"Wake up."
The Moa rammed into one of the leviathans with raging zeal, launching its rider forward into the air.
"AZ, wake up."
The two met in the sky, the clouds warping around them before dispersing. "the only limit humanity has are those they place on themselves"
"Azzy, you're going to be late!"
Silver slashed at Gold's eyes, blinding her momentarily, only for the biotech of her suit to climb up her face and heal her sky-blue eyes. Gold retaliated, delivering an energy-shielded punch to Silver's gut.
"Azazel Wahrheit Horner! Your experiment is overheating!"
Silver threw water into Gold's face, and she gasped, her dirty gold hair turning dark brown, messy, and short. Her eyes turned a colder blue, her hair cascading over he left eye as she sat up from a cushion on the floor.
"My research notes!" she shouted
"Good, you're awake." A muffled voice spoke
Azzy looked up at the voice, her roommate, a girl with round glasses and an old-fashioned gas mask, was looking down at her with a disgusted expression.
"By the Savior, girl, this room is a hazard chamber."
Azzy glanced around, the familiar mess of her bedroom coming into focus. Flasks and computers cluttered the tables, while the stench of expired fast food clung to the air, mixing with the faint smell of burning circuitry
"Ah, I've got to get ready!" Azzy jumped up, her baggy eye searching for her drawers and closet.
"No need. You packed up all your essentials last night," Glasses said, signaling to the door where a suitcase and bags were already waiting.
"Ah, right," Azzy stretched, her messy hair cascading over her eyes. "I was having the craziest dre—"
"It's 14:23."
Immediately, Azzy jumped to her feet and bolted for the door, only to be caught by the arm.
"Forgetting something?" Glasses pointed at Azzy's bare feet.
Azzy, not realizing, hugged Glasses. "Thank you!"
"No, you fool, your shoes and your food," Glasses grumbled, though she didn't push Azzy away. Instead, she handed her the lunch box.
"Ah, r-right," Azzy said, quickly slipping on her shoes and grabbing the lunch box. She then fumbled with her bags before finally making her way to the door.
"Fool," Glasses muttered walking out the gas chamber that was that room, taking off her gas mask as she watched her senior of the same age struggle. Occasionally, she wondered if this was really the Epsilon graduate who had earned the chance to get a Martian sponsorship for her unique projects.
Azzy took a cup of thick residue and poured it over her suitcases. Instantly, they seemed to come to life, sprouting spiked legs from their corners. As she hurried out the door, she called back to her roommate without turning around. "Thanks, Glasses! Couldn't have made it without you."
Glasses could only sigh enviously, respecting Azzy's brain despite her chaotic habits and clumsy nature.
Rushing to her vehicle, Azzy tossed her bags in callously, the suitcase latching onto the roof as she hopped into the driver's seat. She tapped the car interface as she sped off.
"Ballas, I need some assistance."
The car interface lit up, and a male voice responded, dripping with disdain. "Yes, Child?"
"Mind taking the wheel? I don't want to be late to the spaceport."
"Take the wheel? To the spaceport? How…quaint. very well" He spoke as if it was beneath even the dirt he stood upon, that is if he had feet to stand on.
"Well, I don't exactly want to be late on my first day. That would make me a bad student, and I'm already at the bottom of the appeal chart," Azzy quipped as they navigated the road, taking calculated risks to get ahead. She glanced out the window, spotting a giant aircraft structure being lifted vertically.
"Going at about 1,000 feet long, with a height of 240 and 235 in width, it's abso—" she wanted to speak of the majesty of the space vessel but simple could not in the moment.
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"Eyes on the road," Ballas interrupted, his tone sharp.
"Oh, r-right." Narrowly passing bus transports and child workers, she made it to the spaceport, only to be stopped by security.
"You can't take that," the security guard said, pointing at the crawling case. Its spiked appendages looked a bit too sharp for policy comfort.
"W-what? Why not? I-it's just a suitcase," Azzy stammered, frantic and worried that she had done something wrong.
The guard looked around at other people within the space port their bags being handheld, rolled, or floating on magnetic plates. "the spikes on that case are a hazard, and against safety regulations"
"B-but they're harmless! The ends are rounded, and the weight and pressure are light," she pleaded, hoping he would let her through.
"Sorry, ma'am, but that's simply not an option," the guard said flatly, nodding toward the auto-dismantler standing by. "Either lose the legs or no entry."
Not wanting to waste any more time, Azzy reluctantly submitted. Her case's legs were dismantled, and a magnetic plate was attached to the bottom. The process took too long for her liking, and she fidgeted nervously as she watched the dismantler struggle.
"Alright, your go-"
"Th-thanks, I've got to go," she mumbled, grabbing her case and rushing forward. But as she reached the gate, her heart sank, her flight had already taken off.
"No, no, no, this can't be happening," she muttered, pacing back and forth. Panic set in as she imagined explaining this disaster to her roommate. She slumped into a nearby chair, burying her face in her hands the bag on her lap seemed to move on its own. 'How could I let this happen? I'll be late for sure…'
"Oh no, this is so embarrassing. I'm going to be late! I've got to book another flight, yeah!" she thought, only to quickly realize every flight was already booked. "Oh, I'll be kicked out for sure. Well, there's always next time… Who am I kidding? A Martian sponsorship is a one in a million opportunity! And what about my roommate, ah ma-"
"Quiet already!" a surprisingly calm yet antagonistic voice said from behind her.
Azzy jumped, a bit spooked and flustered. She looked behind her to see another person sitting back-to-back with her. "O-oh, I'm s-so sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you."
The person didn't bother turning around and it simply looked as if he was looking into empty space and didn't hear her, Azzy leaned in, intrigued by the boy's odd appearance, pitch-black hair, pale skin, and baggy synthetic clothing that shimmered under the lights. It wasn't just the clothes themselves that caught her eye, but the strange material they were made of. She hesitated, hand hovering over his shoulder, when he suddenly spoke.
"Do you need something? Please refrain from touching me," he said calmly. Azzy hadn't even touched him yet, her hand was still hovering over his shoulder, and the boy's gaze was directed away from her.
"Oh, s-sorry, I was just curious about your cloth—uh, I mean, sorry for disturbing you, I just missed my flight is all" Azzy stammered, beginning to fidget again, feeling lost.
The boy turned to look at her, his face calm, though the air around him seemed subtly disturbed. He studied her for a few moments, letting her analyze his strange features. The first thing that came to her mind was that he reminded her of an empty canvas, until she noticed the jagged scar on the side of his neck, which made him seem like a repaired stitched together canvas.
"My clothes are of synthetic fiber the specifically material being eden cotton... what was your flight, mono eye" He spoke calmy the air around him seemed to loosen.
Azzy blinked, taken aback by the casual use of "mono eye." She wasn't used to people addressing her appearance so directly, especially not in such a blunt manner. Her hand instinctively brushed the side of her face, feeling the uneven texture where her skin had melted and mended over her left eye forever blinding it.
"Mono eye? That a new one, it's Azazel but just Azzy is fine" she replied, a hint of awkwardness in her voice. "And, um... my flight? Well, it was to Veloria... i missed it." Her shoulders slumped a bit as she admitted it, the frustration of the day creeping back in.
"Azzy, then," he corrected himself, his tone still neutral. "Missing a flight happens. Not ideal, but not the end of the world."
Azzy sighed, still frustrated but slightly reassured. "Yeah, I know… but this flight was important. I was headed to a research facility for a project I'm working on. It's kind of a big deal a-and i had the opportunity for a chance at a Martian sponsorship."
The boy's gaze sharpened slightly. "Martian sponsorship? What type of research are you doing there?" Veloria was one of the rare planet of many biomes and evidence of ancient civilization at least according to what he heard listening to foundation gossip.
Azzy brightened up, her enthusiasm bubbling to the surface. "Oh, it's about bio-synthetics! I'm working on a project to combine organic and synthetic materials, think adaptable habitats for humans in extreme environments. It's a pretty niche field, but I see so much potential in it. My appeal was accepted and I was let over to prove myself capable!"
He nodded, showing a bit more interest now. "That's impressive. Bio-tech is an old field, isn't it? Not many if any people are into it since other fields were popular at the time we only got as far as increased crop development, slightly extended life, med gel, and chimera troops."
"Exactly!" Azzy said, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she sat next to him. "But that's what makes it so fascinating! Everyone else has moved on to other things, but bio-synthetics could be the key to further advancement. Imagine creating tools that adapted and grow with us instead of stagnating in the same form i which we forged it, i want to see it, to see humanity grow and blossom further into the future for a better tomorrow the only limit we have are the limit we put on ourselves!"
The boy absorbed her enthusiasm, though still as bland face as ever he felt it oddly refreshing but those word 'the only limit we have are the limit we put on ourselves' it made him feel strange not good but not bad either. He considered her for a moment. "You said you missed your flight. Does that mean your project is on hold?"
Azzy's expression darkened slightly at the reminder. "No, infact this is probably were slows down or ends completely. I finally get a chance to prove that this old tech still has value, and now I'm stuck here my appeal will probably be disposed of. Having a mars sponsorship would have been a real life saver to my work"
His voice was calm. "Maybe I can help. I know some people who could expedite your trip, get you where you need to be."
Azzy looked at him in surprise. "You'd do that? But why?"
He shrugged slightly. "I am… was a retriever Clip. My job was to get things where they need to go, Azzy's eyes widened with interest. "Was? A retriever? That's fascinating." She didn't know much about retrievers, but she did know they were essentially delivery agents who often undertook dangerous assignments. Depending on the company, they might travel extensively. "You must have traveled a lot. What happened?"
"I became a system user. That's why I'm heading to a training facility on Sylvaris," Clip explained.
Azzy's eyes widened further, recalling that Sector 19 was one of the sectors with a law that mandated the enlistment of system users. Not only that, but Sylvaris was a planet relatively close to Veloria, so this arrangement worked out. "So you were born in Sector 19? How unfortunate…"
Before Clip could respond, Azzy's bag shook again, and she suddenly remembered something. She quickly opened it, revealing a small bird's beak poking out before the creature jumped out and landed in Clip's lap.
"M-Moa!" Azzy exclaimed, her face flushing with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry! They usually don't do this…"
Clip's neutral expression cracked slightly as he caught the bird, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. The bird chirped and nuzzled against him, causing him slight discomfort. "A Chimera?" He picked the bird up and examined it closely, noticing the mechanical parts integrated into its body. He observed a metallic liquid coursing through the bird's veins. Chimera were often gene-spliced animals, their production outlawed and banned within the Terran Dominion, with some considering them sub-human or even abominations, depending on the genetic combinations involved.
"Is this part of your project? Im asuming this isn't test tube made." Clip remarked, though he didn't seem particularly concerned whether it was naturally born from the union of other chimeras or not.
"No, that's something of a personal project. H-He's resilient and adaptable, or at least, he's supposed to be. He's proof that bio-synthetics have real potential," Azzy stammered, her voice tinged with a mix of pride and nervousness.
Clip handed the bird back to her, though the Moa seemed to resist a bit, clinging to him for a moment before reluctantly returning to Azzy. As the bird settled back into her lap, Clip stepped aside and took out his communicator, his mind already working on how to arrange her transport.