Yet again, I found myself aboard a shuttle, though this one was far more opulent than the last few I had been aboard. Clearly, it was the personal shuttle of the Imperial family, and I had to admit I found that I preferred the overt comfort of it better than I had that of the last shuttles. Everything was so… soft! I swear I’d never felt anything so soft. It was also a bit big, in height that is, so my drone escorts could stand easily and did so without issue or complaint. I suppose that’s one nice thing about having non-sentient drones, they don’t complain.

My pleasant thoughts were briefly darkened by that line of thinking, as I suspected that was what Intra’s creators had once been hoping to make, but had failed to do so. I shook my head quickly, then looked over the Imperial family as they talked quietly on their side of the shuttle.

The Emperor was tall and strong looking, with the aura of being a bird of prey about him. He exuded strength, and restrained violence as well. His wife, the Empress, on the other hand, was far more gentle looking. At least on the surface. When I studied her I found myself feeling that where her husband’s ability to commit acts of extreme violence was worn openly on his sleeve, her’s was well hidden. He would declare his intent to fight you, but she’d quietly slip a blade into your back with an innocent smile. She looked most like her son as well, more like an Earth peacock.

Zreeth I already knew pretty well, but it was nice to see him amongst his family and how he interacted with them. He seemed happy, properly so this time, and he was quietly gushing about his stay aboard our ship.

I smiled, and peered out the window to my right, gasping softly as I beheld the surface of Pelevon for the first time. Like Earth, it was home to large spires of metal and glass, but with a slightly more organic look to their construction. And there were so many trees, I could barely see the ground. It was like every square inch of ground that wasn’t covered by stone or buildings was covered in turn by a tree. It was beautiful, and when I caught a glimpse past the canopy I spied many of Zreeth’s people flitting about with their wings. Above the trees was the sort of traffic I’d seen on Earth, personal ships and larger transports. That was normal to me now.

Eventually we turned to pass around a skyscraper, and I got a look at the palace itself. It surrounded the largest tree I had ever seen, a tree older than anything around it. The palace was built up to the midpoint of the trunk, and spread out around the base, twisting and covering the large roots perfectly. It was marvelous, majestic, and I wanted to learn everything I could about how it had been built.

“What do you think?” Zreeth said suddenly from my immediate left, causing me to jump with a squeak.

“It’s… Breathtaking,” I answered truthfully. “How long did it take your people to build it?” He thought about my question, trying to recall the answer.

“I’m… not sure. I know the answer I just can’t remember. Father, how long did it take the palace to be built?” He asked, and the Emperor looked up from his conversation with his wife.

“Hmm… two hundred years, give or take a decade if I recall.” He said, nodding to himself in the process.

“That’s…” I snort, shaking my head and looking back out at the palace as it drew closer and closer. “It’s beautiful, I could look at it all day long.”

“Just you wait till you see what’s inside, my people took plenty of time making sure the interior was perfect.” He waggled his feathery brow and I couldn’t stop myself from giggling. The view was replaced with that of a hangar, and the shuttle set down.

We all stood, and I smoothed out my admittedly less than formal attire, hoping I wasn’t going to look like some sort of servant or something. Perhaps that’s another reason why Intra had designed my guards to look so rich, so that even if I dressed like a servant, with them around everyone would know I wasn’t. I’d have to ask her about that later.

The door opened and I was met with a familiar figure, that being… Zreeth? But he was standing right beside me, that didn’t make sense. I looked between the two in confusion, before the Emperor clarified things unintentionally.

“Ah, Rutaq, I’m glad you were able to make it.” He said, and the well dressed avian bowed his head.

“Father, as always it’s good to see you. And you as well, brother.” Rutaq said, peering up slightly at his brother. Nettal slipped past us and bowed to Rutaq.

“Lord Inquisitor.” She said, and he took the moment to regard her.

“Inquisitor Nettal, please report to headquarters for your debriefing. You’ve done well.” Rutaq said, and Nettal nodded, before bowing to the rest of his family and marching off. It seems he was a fairly important person, perhaps not quite as important as his brother, but still important. I’d have to be careful around him, and not just because he was seemingly Nettal’s boss, but because royal siblings tended to be a bit… jealous at times. “And you must be Captain Ula, a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for the safe return of my brother.”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

He extended a hand, which I hesitantly took, bowing my head respectfully. “And you as well, Lord Inquisitor Rutaq. Though I ask that I be referred to as Ambassador. I’m not… that great of a captain in all honesty.” He raised a brow at this, but nodded, and we let go of the other’s hand.

“Very well, Ambassador. Welcome to Pelevon.” And just like that, our conversation was over. Everything became a blur after that. It only really started to make sense hours later as I sat in a lavish bedroom, which was attached to another room that was some sort of sitting space. I had been shown around the palace, and there had been so many dazzling sights that I had been a bit overloaded. I could barely recall anything that’d been said, except that someone would be by when it was time for dinner.

Quietly I tried to relax, but was finding it difficult to do so. So I did the only thing I could think of. I decided to take a bath. The water would be soothing I hoped, and I could just soak for a good long time.

As I sank below the surface, gills opening to filter oxygen from the water around me, I lost myself in quiet contemplation. I found my thoughts turning towards Zreeth, and pondered why. I hoped he was settling in, then again this was his home, he wouldn’t have to try too hard to do so.

Closing my eyes, I settled in to meditate.

⫷⟪∞⟫⫸

Deep in the uncharted reaches, a lone station hung in the void. It was between two large chunks of what had once been a planet, anchored to both of them. It wasn’t that important a station, just a general research station investigating the systems ancient and total destruction. They had many theories, but none of them had truly been proven and likely wouldn’t be proven for many years to come.

As such, a research station was not rightly prepared for what dropped out of FTL nearby, and their cries for help, their pleas for mercy went unheard as the station was torn apart by Yil’kaa bio-starfighters. The fleet descended upon the shattered system, and began its search for any hated technology.

Fourteen research outposts were eradicated in a matter of hours, and the fleet moved on to its next target, leaving no survivors.

⫷⟪∞⟫⫸

I found myself roaming digital halls, but soon those became boring and so I projected myself into the palace proper. Clearly my presence had been relayed to the guards, as they gave me wary looks but didn’t accost me, not that they could really do anything, I was just a hologram after all. Still, my sudden appearance had startled at least one servant, who embarrassingly squawked in alarm when I appeared right beside them. That was not my intention of course, and I apologized profusely.

Now though I was alone, and I peered at works of art and other artifacts with keen interest. This place had serious history, and I was a glutton for history, absorbing every tidbit of information I could about what I was seeing. It took some doing to translate the Eltrani written language, as much like humanity there were so many different dialects and variations that I had to ensure I was translating something properly. Worse, it seemed like they would just substitute words from other dialects into things, as if the writer had handed it off briefly to someone else and let them finish it. It was confusing, but engaging and I delighted in picking it all apart.

For a time that is, till I received the summons to prepare for dinner. I took the time to take a glance at what was going to be served, and made sure to copy how the cooks made the food to the letter as I wrote the code for my own meal. I didn’t want to be rude after all and just not eat anything. Granted, I couldn’t actually eat the physical stuff, so this would have to do.

Ula ended up calling for me, and I appeared beside her in her room. “Yes?” I ask, prepared to do whatever she asked.

“I uh… I don’t have anything nice to wear. Or well, I do, but it’s all up on the ship.” She said, clearly unhappy that she’d forgotten it all.

“Ah, I can help with that… I think I have access to… mm, yes, I do. One moment, I’ll make you something nice.” I say, and get to work designing a flattering outfit for tonight's dinner.

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver… Did I use that right?” She asked, and I laughed with a nod.

“Yes, yes you did.”

“Oh! How are you going to eat anything?”

“Don’t you worry about that, I have it covered.” She nods, looking relieved. I can tell she’s nervous, and so I move closer, resting my hands upon her shoulders. “Hey, it’s going to be alright. I’ll be right there with you, and if they ask you something you can’t answer, I’ll do it for you. You can count on me.”

She looks me in the eye, then nods and I give her a gentle squeeze while stepping back. “Now, I think I need to go prepare my own outfit. I’ll see you at dinner.” She waves, and I vanish, sequestering myself away while I scroll through my clothing options. So many choices I’ve never had a reason to use, but clearly my reasoning of better to have it and not need it, rather than need it and not have it has paid off, because I start piecing together the perfect outfit to wear to my first actual dinner. It’s weird to think of, going to dinner with organics. I mean, sure, I had dinner or shared ‘meals’ with other H.I.s a few thousand years ago, but this is different… right?

I sigh, and get ready, just waiting on the call to show up for the main event. That said, I keep getting flickers, whispers on digital winds. Something’s happening, just outside my range of awareness. Normally I’d just go looking for it, listen in, but not here. As simple as their systems are, they have far too many security programs set up and I am not programmed for espionage. Besides, I wouldn’t want to go snooping around and betray the trust these people are showing by opening up their computer systems to me. So I will just condemn myself to blissful ignorance for now. A prompt appears, and I look it over with a soft smile.

It’s time for dinner.