Chapter 1 _ Possibly a Prologue

This is the beginning of a project some friends and I talked about. Meet Drealyn, the FMC of the Moons of Midgarden series. This is all very experimental for me, so critiques welcome!

Drealyn woke in the plush, unfamiliar bed of a richly furnished studio apartment, stretching with arms raised above her head.  It was too hot, and strips of her long, white hair were sticking to her neck and shoulders.  She rolled onto her side, quietly casting off the blankets and grabbing her tunic from the pile of clothes on the floor.  Her eyes fell across the other body she'd nearly forgotten about, cloaked in the sheets beside her; a woman only a little older than herself, with beautiful tanned skin and a close-cut brown haircut. 

She left the woman to her slumber, stepping lightly toward the window.  Memories from the night before flooded into her consciousness, sensual and hazy, as she pulled an electronic pipe from her tunic pocket.  She gave the pipe a light flick to get it started (the thing was barely operational but she refused to replace the old friend), and took a long, deep drag on the end, expelling SynthKush vapor from her nostrils as she breathed out.   She pulled the blackout curtains away to look out from the window, getting a great view of the built-up block of skyscrapers.  The Vaniron skyline stood tall and black against the gargantuan blue and green planet on the horizon that blocked out any chance of a starlit backdrop in the moon's Atmo'Sphere.  It's thick cloud layers swirled and churned; Drealyn watched them as the SynthKush washed through her system.  After a while she turned her sights on the bustling moon colony.  Compartment cars sped down the various city tracks while government ships hovered in the atmosphere, their coat of arms merely a blur of red from this distance, circling around until it was their turn to park in the docking tower at the center of it all.

The last of the SynthKush cartridge burned out.  Drealyn set the trusty pipe on the windowsill and headed toward the bathroom, snagging her bag on the way.  The bathroom was outfitted in the way she tended to expect:  fresh towels on a warming rack, heated tiles, an AI program adjusting the lighting after sensing her approach, and an assortment of options that could be spoken or keyed in at the vanity mirror.  At her entry a motif of ice crept up the glass shower walls, a stunning visual effect, she had to admit.  Drealyn wished she had seen it the night before, but she probably wouldn't have been focused on those kinds of details at the time.

She took one of the towels, going to the sink and wetting it a little.  She looked into the mirror above, tapping one of the surface buttons to dim the room for her sensitive eyes.  She pulled her hair to one side, exposing her neck, and the patch beneath, half-torn open.  Through the broken skin cloning material she could see her Port, the metal glinting even in the low light.  Drealyn berated herself inwardly, with many 'what were you thinking's and 'you could have really fucked up's.  She fully removed the material and wiped down the Port walls, careful not to drip any water into one of the harder to reach crevices.  Rust was the last thing she needed in there, as unused as it was for the last couple years.  She re-patched the area, the new, deeply pigmented skin blending well enough with her own. Then she finished up in the bathroom, returning the towel to its proper place, and dropping her hair back over her neck.

Drealyn returned to the bed.  She sat on the edge, trailing her fingernail lightly over the woman's rib cage while her eyes roved over the naked form.  She tried to recall a name or some other kind of clue to her identity but was coming up short.

The nimble woman stirred, leaning into Drealyn's touch.  Her eyes fluttered open to look up at Drealyn through thick lashes, pulling the sheets around herself as if her guest had not already seen everything.

"What.. time is it?" she asked, reaching for a clock that must have fallen to the floor during last night's romp.

"13:00," Drealyn replied.

"Mm.. Didn't you have a flight out tonight?" the woman asked.

"Yes.  But that gives us at least a few more hours..."

The woman smiled but shook her head, "As much as I'd love that, I've got a meeting with my superiors at 16:00 hours.  On the other side of this block."

Drealyn nodded, disinterested in whether this was true or a lie.  She distractedly braided her hair into a long plait down the middle of her shoulders before grabbing the rest of her belongings.

"At least let me get you some breakfast before you head out." The woman slid out of the bed, dressing herself quickly in an expensive robe.  Drealyn was about to join the other woman in the kitchenette, but she stopped at the dull vibrations of her earpiece sliding across the bedside table.  A call was coming in for her.  Drealyn clipped the phone over her ear and mouth, tapping the button at the side and saying, "Accept voice call".

"Dre, where are you?" came a male voice over the phone.  A voice she knew all too well.  Her best friend, to be specific.

"I'm in.. Uhh... Looks like a place on the West 27 block, not too far from the docks," she replied in a hushed tone, "Where did you end up?"

"In our hotel room, where you're supposed to be.  We've got bad news."

"What's going on Torias?" Drealyn asked him.  She heard him sigh, and then:

"Our flight was changed out of f*****g nowhere, something about the later flight being canceled.  We've gotta be at our gate in an hour."

"Alright, over and out."

Drealyn clicked off the headset and shrugged, exasperated.  She didn't keep her plans too tight, but never enjoyed when they were altered by someone else's discrepancy.  Especially when that discrepancy was on the part of their great governing authority.  Even though she was now in a rush, Drealyn kept her composure and was honestly fine with leaving early.  It absolved her off that awkward "I need to get out of here but I don't want to be a b***h" thing.

She said her good-byes to the woman, who slipped her a card scrawled with her first name and number for their next contact, and headed out to the elevator.  The halls were kept pristine and bright, skylight simulators spanning the ceiling, lighting the way through the closed-off space to an ornately styled elevator.  The scrolling, organic style was reminiscent of the Earth, or so she'd been told.  She'd never been there, didn't know anyone personally who had, but despite its mythic status, it was always there at the top of her bucket list.  She pressed the down arrow and waited.  No one else seemed to be around; in a building this expensive, they were probably working in an equally as expensive office, or possibly a government assignment.  Or better yet, on an all-inclusive galaxy cruiser.

How boring, Drealyn thought with a smirk.  She had once entertained the idea of working for one, but knew she'd grow tired of the safe, repeating paths she'd have to take.  That was no place for a woman like herself, dying to get off the grid and traverse the deadly unknowns.  Away from the schedules and hands of officials.

Well, maybe not deadly, but at least mildly dangerous.  She was risky, but in a calculated fashion.  Her days in Academy had taught her at least that.  The elevator doors opened and she stepped inside, riding it alone to the ground floor.

The air outside was crisp and clean; the ventilation systems kept it completely scentless.  Every now and then, on some of the lesser moons, you could get a bad batch.  But with all the wealthy patrons vacationing in Vaniron, things were always kept in ship-shape.  She should be grateful, but Drealyn actually enjoyed the little hiccups of some of the other moons when they weren't too serious.  All this perfection was a bit off-putting.  Harmless clouds flitted over the Sphere's breathable but restricting surface.  That was one system where she, and likely everyone else, appreciated the special attention paid to ensuring things ran smoothly.

"Visor," Drealyn spoke aloud to the earpiece.  It obliged her command, a thin and semi-flexible synthetic glass sliding across her face to shield her eyes from the sunlight.  It was much stronger on this moon than the seedy one where she would typically be found dealing.  A forced paid vacation had brought Torias and herself to Vaniron and they'd made due with the circumstances.

Drealyn tapped the button of the cab post on the side of the road, lighting up the sign at the top to let nearby drivers know she was a potential customer.  Within minutes a passenger cab zipped up the track, screeching to a halt before her.  She got in, let him know the destination, and they were swiftly on their way.

As they neared the central blocks of Vaniron, the street tracks became more tightly packed.  The buildings were built further apart, allowing for more pedestrian walkways over the tracks between the tourist hotspots.  Greenery drifted down the sides of these towers, meticulously maintained to give the best image of the famed moon.  Many who vacationed here would never venture past these blocks, maybe to the 30th if they were especially curious.  But beyond that point, even the great Vaniron begun to look like an overcrowded mess.

But Drealyn had to give the officials of Vaniron some credit:  their front was very believably serene.  Whether or not their Chancellor was involved in something unscrupulous, he knew how to be likeable enough to avoid  suspicion, and how to keep most of this moon from collapsing without bogging it down in over-zealous government oversight.

The cab transferred tracks to pull up into the parking garage, sliding up into a temporary slot and disengaging the power.

"Your fare is 400 credits," the automated voice told her.  She cringed at the price and thought she might haggle, until she looked at the driver, noticing for the first time that he was not even human, but one of the Midgardians, of the main planet.  Assimilation into the moon cultures was tough for their people, but he must have his reasons.  She swiped her card and left him an extra 100 credits as she took her leave.

A call notification flashed in the corner of her visor, a small photo of Torias beside it.

"Accept voice call," she said.

"Dre, are you here yet?"

His voice was strangely apprehensive and stiff.  She slowed her gait, busy commuters bustling by, her boots clunking against the metal pathway to the gates.  She passed nervously through one of the scanning booths, but the light remained a happy green, meaning she could continue on in peace.  No authorities were interested in her just yet.  Why else would her friend be so uptight?

"What, Torias?  Did something happen?"

"Not exactly.  But there's a man here, asking for you."

She turned the corner, and sure enough, a tall man in an old-fashioned suit with his visor on stood waiting at the gate, Torias beside him clicking off his earpiece.  Drealyn approached them cautiously, though she tried to hide it as not to alert any passers-by that alerting the authorities was necessary.  She gave a pleasant smile to her friend, and a tight one to the other man.  She opened her mouth to begin questioning, but the man with the darkly tinted visor was quicker,

"Captain Asher, my employer will speak with you and your colleague in person immediately."

Drealyn's tight smile eased into a scowl.

"Well, when you say it like that, a girl doesn't have much of a choice."

Author's Note

The times listed are in military but the time clock for the moons in the story may change after further research. Any suggestions for this or other sci-fi related details is appreciated. Also, the fantasy aspects are not in the story just yet but in time hopefully readers will see the blend in later chapters.

Thanks in advance, everyone!

Reviews

[Nusquam Esse]

At the part where you talk about the cab, you misspelled tough as though. It seems in this society, that augmentation is completely feasible, so I am a bit uncertain as to why her ear-piece is a separate device; although I suppose she may have just detached it for convenience? This is actually very exceptional, a tier above the average story writer on this site. Can't wait for your following chapters, feel free to send me read requests as you release them. After more chapters I will feel more inclined to give advice. Ummm, I really like your general flow on this introduction though, you did a good job introducing new ideas and locations without bogging down the reader; and the transitions were all well done. As long as you can keep this up, an keep the plot contiguous, it should end up being great.

[Lex Ferguson]

Good typo catch, thank you! As far as the phone/earpiece situation, they are one attached piece but I see now that the way I wrote it was confusing and I'll work on fixing that. Any suggestions for a name? Thank you for the critique, I will definitely let you know about future chapters!

[Nusquam Esse]

No names come to mind, I would have to see more of the story, get more a feel for what you are doing, before I could offer relevant suggestions. Once that happens, I can totally help you out some, so don't worry about chapter names for now.

[Lex Ferguson]

Ohh, I meant more a name for the phone/earpiece thing haha. Clearly I need to work on being more precise about what I'm saying.

[Nusquam Esse]

I dunno... not great with names... If you read my stories you will realize that I often don't both to name even main characters... :P If I was to come up with one off the top of my head, Lumicept (or maybe without that T?)... Latin root for Light Lumine, although it also sounds close to luna (moon), merged with something like Intercept? *shrug*