The two off duty guards loomed over Eva as they processed her words. They had their translators reconfirm her meaning, then glanced at each other in complete puzzlement.
To them, she was just some frail human girl. In fact, they viewed all humans as rather frail. The fact that the two of them tied in a brawl against seven humans was more than proof of it. If they fought her, it would have been a complete massacre.
The one that barreled through three people stepped forward and puffed up his chest a little. A hint of annoyance was laced throughout his voice.
“Imagine just what that report would look like to our superior - two of us against one of you. We would be flayed alive for doing such a thing.”
“Oh, so you’re afraid to hurt me, then?” Are they the law?
Eva and Miko found themselves cruising high above the city, which the Justicars referred to as Lacroseth, the capital of Taloren Prime, and of the Drogar Imperium as a whole. Their EyeCasts hovered nearby as they looked at the sights all around.They rode in a relatively common transport gondola. Similar to the Federation’s van-like hoppers, the gondola was the standard in hover transport in Drogar society. Unlike the hoppers, the gondolas were essentially simple platforms with a control deck in the center, and capped by a transparent dome.It pretty much mirrored the huge domed city of Lacroseth itself, though far smaller in size.In comparison, the city was incredibly wide. Every city on Taloren Prime was exactly 200 kilometers in diameter, and each one was filled with roughly half a billion people. From wha
High above one of the many red spiral towers, Admiral Chase settled down into a slightly-oversized chair. As all the furniture was Drogar-sized, she felt like she was an overgrown child sitting in one.Opposite her, across a dull metal desk sat Stormfather Retholis.Both wore their everyday uniforms rather than their dress uniforms. They were clean, simple, and only bore the markings of their ranks along with the symbols of their nations.The room around them was cozy and sparsely decorated. Behind Retholis was simply a transparent metal window that showed off the city. To their sides were shelved walls filled with books, medals, commendations, and various wartime memorabilia.“I was under the impression that someone like me wasn’t allowed inside of a Red Zon
Although Eva and Miko certainly enjoyed the views from above, they were drawn by the Drogar themselves, and wanted to see them up close. They were technically prisoners, but were treating the whole thing like they were simply on a tour.And in a way, they were.“Thanks for letting us take a look down here,” said Eva.Their gondola hovered down towards the ground, in an open-space parking field. Other gondolas and hover vehicles were lined up in it as well, inside of appropriately-sized spots.“Don’t expect most Drogar to talk to you,” said Doleth. “Half don’t even have translation nanites installed.”“Are Drogar an insular society?” asked Eva.
A short and stout Drogar with rippling muscles and a large gut stood in front of an anvil. Although his facial spines were long and a little droopy, his scales were still taut on his body.In one hand, he held a long bar with a glowing slab of metal at one end, which he laid down in the middle of the anvil. In his other hand was a small metal hammer that looked incredibly well-worn.He adjusted the glowing slab and tapped it a couple of times with his hammer. The moment he moved his hammer away, the assistant by his side brought his two-handed sledge down on the glowing slab.As the assistant struck it, the bladesmith adjusted the slab back and forth, left and right, centimeter by centimeter. Sparks and flecks of blackened metal fell away with each and every hit.And at
Miko pointed at an image of a fat, goofy-looking fish. It had a perfectly oval body, wide eyes, and hilariously stubby fins. The colorations on its scales were absolutely beautiful, however. They were a shimmering red with a purple streak along the body, and flecked with gold. Especially along the belly.The Drogar cook grunted in approval at her choice, put away the pad, then went into the back of his food stand. When he came back, he had a short stack of fish fillets, all of which were perfectly round.The cook rubbed some sort of oil on both sides of every fillet until they were coated, then set them under powerful heat lamps to cook slowly. As they did so, the smell of the fish cooking rose up and surrounded the air around them, and caused Eva and Miko’s mouths to water.He then turned towards a numb
After their meal, they quickly set up a plan to meet with the Ferreshii through Alevos. But they found that the bladesmith himself was incredibly interested in bringing them together. So much so that he offered to bring them to his friend in person.They couldn’t have asked for more, and so hopped into their gondola and traveled over to the Ferreshi clan’s district in the city. It was thankfully still a Green Zone, though Eva noted a part of it was marked in Blue.The gondola touched down at one of the pads closest to the district’s HQ. This section was absolutely a madhouse to Eva and Miko.There were hundreds of Drogar at any given time, busily going to and fro between buildings. Above their heads, industrial and commercial drones sped around the skyways. Some carried various crates and mac
“Perhaps you’re underestimating me,” said Eva. “Sure, I might not be the best Drogar knife skirmisher or whatever you call it, but I don’t have to be. Train me up for a little while and pit me against a few rising stars. Really work those odds. We’ll crush ‘em.”“And besides,” added Miko. “If you are creating a sports team as an investor, you should be the one to properly equip your athlete. If the odds are 100 to 1, then you have plenty of room to invest and still turn a profit.”The moment Miko said the word ‘profit’, it was as though every Drogar in the room became mesmerized.Alevos in particular was in deep thought for a few moments. But he was the first to break the silence.“
At the spiral towers in the center of the city, one of its parliamentary floors was rife with subdued activity. Thousands had come from all over the Imperium to listen to senators argue their side, and ultimately cast their votes on one of the more critical issues of their lifetimes.Even as one of its senatorial members spoke to the entire floor on behalf of the Empire’s border territories, many others held hushed conversations with each other. Their aides rushed from table to table and helped extend their spheres of influence. Hundreds of promises and compromises were made or refused or negotiated as the cycle drew on.Everyone still tried to influence the vote one way or another, even as the vote itself drew more and more imminent.Every table in the grand hall was seated by multiple senators from all over