Amelia Montrose's Story

The elevator was spacious inside, large enough to fit a small group of adult humanoids. It was also luxurious and matched the neo-Egyptian retrofuture aesthetics. Inside was a sizeable touch screen (about 32 inches across) that displayed an empty virtual space decorated like the inside of a neo-Egyptian retrofuture pyramid chamber. There was a small question mark button present as the only tappable feature. The elevator itself descended astonishingly fast, despite the extremely smooth and even ride down, and the stop at the bottom was gradual and soft, despite the speed. As a whole, in less than 15 seconds, Amelia had descended 54 floors; the elevator's indicator reading that it was now on the 1st floor.

As the doors opened, several men were standing there, waiting for the elevator themselves. Most wore business suits, though a few were more casually dressed, and they seemed to be young to middle-aged for the age range. Furthermore, the area right outside the lobby's elevators was packed with men waiting for other elevators, even with six elevators going at all times. The short trip on each was likely what kept everything moving. There were no women currently waiting for elevators; the clientele seemed to be exclusively male.

As she exited the elevator, Amelia would feel the gazes of a couple of the rougher looking young men who entered the elevator, the pair looking like troublesome delinquents. One of them chuckled as he flashed a dangerous smile at Amelia while the doors closed.

Troublesome Young Man:

Hey, hot stuff! When do we get to see you on stage, eh?

As the doors closed, Amelia found herself surrounded quickly by more men, most of whom were just waiting for the elevators. A few of the older men, however, couldn't help but leer, and the attitude of the leering group was starting to become somewhat dangerous.

The lobby was decorated and designed similarly to the rest of the location, though the only exits were to Employee Only areas and the hallway that lead to the building's exit.

"Where I come from, I would be well within my rights to have you shot, for that remark." Amelia bit back as the doors closed, and she grimaced slightly.

She could feel the men leering at her, and it made her distinctly uncomfortable. Did the uniform she wore mean nothing here? It all seemed to make her sick to her stomach, but she maintained her composure, and used one hand to somewhat guide her through the crowd of men, while the other arm kept her officer's cap tucked under.

The weight of the disruptor pistol secured to her hip offered some reprieve from the mounting anticipation of danger. Her eyes quickly surveyed her surroundings. The hallway to what she perceived to be the exit was quite a walk.

The crowd was closing in on her it seemed.

"I am an officer of the Imperial Aschen Navy and I command you to make way!" She called out, her voice carrying the weight, and the authority of a military officer for the Aschen Empire.

She was used to the muted praise of Aschen Citizenry in crowds like this, people making way to allow her to pass. She was used to the muted whispers of fear when she walked on an Aschen occupied planet. But here, she could feel the danger, and it seemed her mounting mental objective now was to get out of this place.

The pathway to the exit was easy to navigate, comprising mostly of a simple dual lane hallway that leads through two corners before ending in front of the doors leading outside. However, she ran into an issue once she reached them; the doors would not budge, and although the clear material should have allowed Amelia to see outside, the area outside the building was entirely pitch black. At the same time, there was a momentary flicker of the lights as she approached the doors, though it was so brief as to not be particularly noteworthy to most.

The sparse, but assorted, paintings on the walls that had been present all were replaced by blank white backgrounds. All that was present within each painting was a sentence in bold, capital letters. It seemed each painting had a different sentence chosen at random.

"KNOW YOUR WORTH, BECAUSE YOU ARE MINE NOW."

"EMBRACE YOUR PURPOSE, FOR YOU ARE MINE NOW."

"ACCEPT YOUR NEW FATE, SINCE YOU ARE MINE NOW."

"SUBMIT TO YOUR MASTER, AS YOU ARE MINE NOW."

From behind her, the sound of nondescript talking was heard. As soon as she looked, three men dressed in formal business attire in assorted colors and styles were able to be seen advancing toward her. One was armed and ready with what seemed to be a submachine gun of some kind. The other two each had pistols holstered at their sides. All three also had a baton ready to be wielded at a moment's notice. The shared designs among the trio of men were that all three were broad-shouldered, and they all dwarfed Amelia by a good four to eight inches, with their eyes entirely a solid and murky black color, sclera and pupil both.

Behind them, four more men similar to them, and equally armed rounded the corner of the dual lane hallway, also advancing toward her. Though they were all muttering something, it was completely incomprehensible speech akin to raving gibberish, though it sounded professional and formal nonetheless.

Shoving her way through the men, and into the hallway, the disruptor pistol was pulled free from it's leather holster, and in one swift motion, Amelia switched the charging indicator to on, and the weapon began to power on as she made her way through the hallway at a somewhat hurried pace.

She crossed the intersection towards the doors, and reached down to pull them open. They didn't budge. She barely noticed the lights flickering as she took three steps back, and pointed the muzzle of the disruptor pistol at the doors. She had planned to try and blow them open before the paintings caught her eye, and only served to make her more uncomfortable.

"I must make contact..." She said to herself, about to squeeze the trigger before she heard indistinct talking behind her, she glanced back briefly to catch the silhouette of large, armed men coming in behind her.

She assessed her surroundings for the briefest moment, there was little cover save for some small end tables, and planters. They'd provide excellent concealment.

The decision was made, and the woman galvanized herself, she would rather die, than be made a slave to this man. The Empire would burn this world to avenge her death, and she'd receive a hero's funeral back home.

She whipped around, giving no care to what was behind her, her right arm was outstretched and her finger squeezed the trigger as hard as she could. The disruptor pistol barked it's terrible report, hurling dazzling, boiling green bolts of light down the hallway at the men. She kept squeezing the trigger, hurling one after another, hoping to make them scatter, run for cover, anything to buy her precious seconds as she dove towards a planter up against the wall. She turned and fired at the doors leading outside, a double-tap near the center.

She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the inevitable report of their weapons as she squeezed one after another, the disruptor pistol barking with a deafening crack, spewing a gout of green energy in a streak down the hall, heat welling up inside the stock of her weapon, as it drew everything it could from the fusion cell secured within. A fusion cell that was beginning to become taxed.

Amelia's Disruptor shots were effective, each bullet dispatching the men in a single shot. As each man hit the floor, however, they melted into a mist of purple and gold that quickly dispersed. The shots aimed at the door dissolved into the door harmlessly. When all was done, the hallway was empty once more, and an eerie silence settled upon the area.

---

---

Ethel stood in his personal room as he looked out the window overlooking the city, his back toward the door. Adjusting his glasses, he began speaking.

I never thought a mercenary would be snooping around in the business that I run, in employee-only areas. I'll admit that it impresses me that you could handle my elite guards but fall prey to such simple traps.

Turning around, Ethel walked forward towards a woman with her arms bound behind her by what seemed to be a magically enchanted rope. She looked to be in pain and was on her knees with two guards standing beside her, flanking her position.

The woman looked up at him with an aggressive and rebellious look befitting her race. She was dressed primarily in a black sports tank, black briefs, and black socks. She also wore a pair of black gloves and black boots, both made of what seemed to be a durable and flexible material. The boots sported dark gold armored toe guards, and apparently, were the only protective items that weren't confiscated from her.

Okora, was it? Your name was easy to find. You have quite the reputation as a mercenary of renown. Do tell me, if you will, why you were running around in areas off-limits to the public. It would help us smooth our negotiation here.

Okora looked aside for a moment in defiance.

Guard:

Answer the boss, punk!

As she looked aside, one of the guards hit her face with the butt of his peculiar rifle-shaped firearm, causing her to recoil and look back up at Ethel again. Ethel took the moment to observe her features carefully. She looked very similar to a Human with a darker skin tone on the outside, though a monkey-like tail wrapped around her waist was a giveaway that she wasn't one. Her lithe and athletic form, black hair in a medium-straight cut, and dark irises also drew his gaze. A relatively youthful look was also a plus in his eyes.

Like I'd tell you anything. I only deal with scum like you when you make it worth my while. Not a Copper earlier.

The negotiation seemed to only be beginning, though Okora's firm and angry staredown of Ethel was contrasted by his absolute confidence and smugness.

Amelia furrowed her brows for a moment, and looked out from behind the planter from where she had fired widly into the hallway. The men were gone it seemed, but the door didn't give way. She looked down at her weapon, and inspected it for a moment. The small red indicator had begun to fade, this indicated the weapon's temperature was beginning to reduce.

She switched another small button, the fusion cell only had about a dozen more discharges left before it became depleted, but Amelia had about three more fusion cells secured inside a leather pouch on her sam browne.

She looked towards the door, and began to run, throwing her body against it. It didn't seem to budge. Turning back down the hallway, Amelia would have to find another way out, so she tightened the grip on her disruptor pistol, keeping it at the ready, she started back the way she came towards the elevators.

New Directions? : Elevators

---

Amelia would find herself back before the elevators. Everything seemed off, however. The decorations that were there beforehand were now replaced by similarly sized decorations of a more ancient and musty feel. Coffins replaced sofas and various jars replaced the plants. Lights were replaced by lanterns of similar lighting. It was almost like a tomb. The elevator doors had various symbols upon them but otherwise worked as normal, with the buttons still calling for it.

A note on the floor provided no answers to what was happening, merely stating a single phrase that was unfinished:

My Umbrella May Make You...

--

New Directions : Ethel's Penthouse

---

A man quickly ran into the Penthouse, swinging the door open as he found Ethel seated on a wide sofa. Ethel was dressed in his business best, a formal and comfortable suit that seemed impeccably expensive and of high-quality. He was in a state of relaxing, taking his time as he studied numerous graphs that were being displayed upon a large screen. The man began speaking.

Sir. An important matter has arose, and requires your input.

At Ethel's right side was a young woman who looked very similar to a human, albeit with a darker skin tone on the outside. It was soon discernable however that a monkey-like tail wrapped around her waist, showing she wasn't one proper. Her lithe and athletic form, black hair in a medium-straight cut, and dark irises also created a stunning figure. She was sitting beside him incredibly close, dressed in a rather revealing two-piece micro string bikini made of what looked to be gold. It was decorated and adorned with various dark green gemstones of an incredible rarity; even down to the open-toe heeled sandals. It managed to look extremely expensive, and it left little to the imagination.

Ethel's right arm wrapped around her waist possessively as she looked at the man who entered with a stern and aggressive look, hostile and ready to fight. Ethel replied.

Of course it does. Remind me what I pay you for again?

Ethel fixed his glasses and smirked before directing his view to another woman that was on the screen; a lithe and well-developed lady of darker skin with black hair and eyeliner dressed, unsurprisingly, in only a two-piece micro bikini that was jeweled with vibrant blue gemstones of an incredible rarity in addition to looking quite expensive. Even her open-toe heeled sandals had no expense spared. It was clear this woman was not a real individual though, as her entire appearance was more stylized as if she was an animated character; an image created to represent something.

She was quite animated for being an image on the screen. She then spoke.

Um, like, Gillium. Are you really sure it's, like, so important that Ethel's own director of Public Relations and Human Resources cannot handle it? Wow, uh. I never thought you'd be so incompetent. You even interrupted the boss' relaxation time! That's of super importance, you know? Like, you can't perform your best without plenty of rest!

The man, Gillium, quickly apologized profusely.

#Ahtikhet, my apologies. Ethel, sir, my apologies as well for intruding on your time, but this is a matter beyond one of my decision making power. I forwarded the documents to the system, #Ahtikhet. They can be displayed on the screen.

#Ahtikhet made a few different faces before causing the papers to be displayed on the screen in text form.

All done! Well, boss, like, this is news!

Ethel smirked again.

I see. I suppose this does require my attention. Very good, Gillium. Now, tell me. How goes our new work policy among the new hires? It's a small price to pay, I'm sure, for the benefits they get, hmm?

The woman with the tail spoke up.

Let me guess... You blackmail them into demeaning themselves like this for you. Am I correct?

Ethel laughed.

I wouldn't use such harsh terms, but sure, if that's how you want to call it.

She just scowled and returned to leaning against him, fuming to herself.

Gillium nodded.

The policy seems to be most favorably received. I can confirm most of the new hires take home a little bit more pay than before.

Excellent. That is all I need to hear. Now, begone! I desire to relax and enjoy my time... In private.

Gillium nodded and turned around, leaving the room as the door locked behind him.

There! Like, that should stop any further disturbances! They can't open that door without defeating me first, after all. I'm, like, unbeatable! I am #Ahtikhet, almighty Vizier who works with the Pharaoh!

Ethel grinned quite ominously as #Ahtikhet finished her spiel and disappeared from the screen. Then, after removing his glasses, he pulled the woman with the tail even closer to him, bringing her lips to his forcefully as his eyes glowed vividly. As her surprised gaze met his shining eyes, her resistance to the act slowly begun fading. Breaking the embrace momentarily, Ethel continued to smirk.

Let us continue, Okora... PSI Charm! Beta!

There was a momentary purple flash throughout the room, and then a brief lull as he placed his glasses back on. Suddenly, the woman with the tail willingly placed her lips back against Ethel's, only with intensity and willingness that was not present but a second prior as his arms wrapped around her.

His power worked just as expected. He'd have plenty of time to deal with the documents later.

Amelia picked up the letter and observed it closely, after holstering her disruptor pistol. She then looked at her surroundings, and frowned.

"What does this mean..." She said to herself.

Kathryn brought her gaze over to Demor, taking in the various hallways in front of them, before pointing to the one that showed the stairs leading up, and down.

"We need to find our room, so we can get established, and plan from there." Kathryn said quietly, before she approached the console, and turned back to Demor. "Maybe we should scan your compass, so we can find out what room we're in?"

The clouds carried away the smoke of the impacts, and Pramia continued to turn.

An exploration vessel from the college trudged it's way to a newly formed scar in the mountains.

A farmer scratched his head at a strange shape one hill over, which wasn't there the day before.

“Well...?”

“Well what?”

“Arent you going to investigate?”

The Captain looked up to the sky in the direction of whatever had crash landed, “Don’t particularly feel like it, no. Why?”

“Just seems like the prudent thing to do in this scenario.”

“Ugh fiiiinnee. We’ll send out a drone or something. Two of them. And a Servitor with each.” Turning his hat up, he went back to his afternoon nap. “Wake me if they find something neat.”