Zanzarian Port: The Divine Skies

The Divine Skies were filled with a buzz that evening as the sun cast an array of intense blues and purples across the skies, lining the snaking clouds that coiled around the tips of the highest of Zanzaria's buildings. That light pierced through a particular glass-tipped skyscraper, flooding the vast room and all its visitors.

Within that room, a special show was being held for high-paying guests willing to see the several performances that had just begun. The Nizzriala, it was called, starting with a display of the most glorious and upcoming fashions that big dog designers had artfully created.

The stage was in the midst of the room with four catwalks stretching in opposite directions. The stage curled up in a spiral staircase that grew into a tiny platform made of a material of crystal that absorbed the sun's violet hues. The models poured out from a portal inside of the bottom platform, and the flickers and clicks of hovercams began.

Every model was both bizarre and unique to one another, from their species to their outfit. One woman had a set of horns that curled wide around her head, adorned with so many golden chimes that one could hardly see the ivory horns anymore. Another had a dress that trailed in a ghostlike fashion above the floor, dissipating into mist and reforming as the model walked. Yet another, an alulan man who was tall, lithe, and handsome, had his plated tail end with what seemed to be the skull of a callandaline, a native Misranan cat. It rose high above his head, growling sassily at the crowd as the man crouched onto the floor at the end of the stage.

Sitting at a table in the back, alone, was a young woman with a set of small blue horns coiled closely to her head of thick, golden-brown curls. Her eyes matched the sapphire of her horns, which also matched her dress, which stood out much less than the models on stage, but was still pricey and expensive compared to most others. It had a slit that started mid-thigh and a fur collar around her shoulders. She leaned her chin atop her fingers, watching with giddy intrigue.

The models strutted their colors and charms across the walkway, the hovercams flashing, the crystalline light dancing vibrant patterns across the walls.

From the milling throngs of aristocrats and photographers came a tall, handsome human man garbed in an elaborate gilded robe. He talked as quietly as he could to the aide at his side amid the white-noise and the music, his counterpart diligently scribbling away at a holoboard in his hands.

The man's icy blue eyes passed briefly over Kaza before doing a quick double-take. What was this? Pretty girls at the Nizzriala were not uncommon, but the smart ones attached themselves to a fat-pursed date the first chance they had. Perhaps even more alarming was the unfamiliarity. He didn't recognize her... and this particular patron knew just about every Misranan in the room down to their million-Meldel shoes. Or hooves.

"Paramis," the human said to his aide, "who is that girl? I thought I had the names of everyone coming to this event last night."

The aide, a squat, fat-nosed Malemni, shuffled uncomfortably. "I meant to tell you sir. She's a walk-in."

"A walk-in? When's the last time we had a walk-in?"

"I don't know, sir, but I'm afraid she flashed such an unseemly sum of money at the door that it would have been..." Paramis gulped, "...imprudent... to bar her entry. There were many bystanders."

The human sighed. "Tell me these things ahead of time, Paramis."

"I'm sure it won't compromise anything, sir. Just the daughter of a nobleman with money and time on her hands. A passerby. It shouldn't interfere-"

"That's not the point," his voice took on a steely edge, his white teeth flashing like fangs in his mouth, "she's an unknown variable. A wild card. I don't like not knowing who my guests are." He straightened up, brushing lightly at the sleeve of his robe. "You know what this particular show means. You know what we're staking."

"How in the gods' names will she disrupt..."

"She will disrupt nothing," he snapped, glaring, "but if she's different than the rest of these people, then there will be... complications." He frowned. "Go attend to the preparations. I'll see to her myself." The Malemni wandered off.

The human walked gracefully over to Dallin, offering the young girl a charming smile. Tall, broad-shouldered and lightly tanned, he cut quite the figure despite the relative modesty of his dress-ware. "Madame," he bowed slightly at the waist, "my name is Aarim Stromn, assistant to Mar'ique Slovi'um, chief director and designer of this year's Nizzriala." The last he pronounced with a masterfully accented flare. "I must extend you by deepest apologies. I try to make a point at greeting all my guests personally before the show starts. You appeared to have slipped by." He offered a carefully manicured hand. "Perhaps we can rectify this oversight?"

Misranan hospitals were more curious than those belonging to other planets. Then again, the same could be said for anything Misranan.

The hospital room that the female Xupra had been brought to featured soft floors, from which her heartbeat could be felt, and she was hooked to various tubes and wires that were not made of plastic or metal, but thin tendrils of a translucent, organic material that pumped liquids into her body. She was lifted on a steadily floating bed, very soft, but not because of pillows. The surface of the bed, itself, was soft.

All around her was a soft blue light, coming from veins in the walls, except from the window, where a yellow light poured.

And out of the window, a height so great with a view of the entire city was presented, flying dragons and jellyfish creatures included.

Essie felt content. She felt happy and safe in her dreams. The babies felt happy and safe. Something she knew she hadn't felt for some time. Why hadn't she felt happy and safe for some time? Why was she feeling safe at the moment compared to the panic before? What was the panic about?

The disease.

Despite not being awake yet, her heartbeat would be rising with the memories of being on the ship, escaping the disease yet not knowing where they were heading or if they were going to survive. They hardly had food, they had no idea if the disease was in them already as they escaped. They had no idea of anything. And then the ship had started to run out of fuel.

The last thing she remembered was Emmett shouting at her, her hand trying to protect her babies, and then darkness. Had she died? Was she safe because she was now in Idiety... The Xupra's equivalent of heaven? As her mind remembered the crash, her eyes flew open and a sharp intake of breath was taken as she panicked. Her red eyes darted over her surroundings in panic, her heart rate picking up more in confusion. Her hand moved to her stomach. The babies. Were the babies okay?

Was this really what Idiety looked like?

The first thing to float over towards Essie's room was not a nurse or a doctor. Not the ones she might have expected, anyhow.

Into her room, alerted by the rising heartbeat, was an organic medical robot. With eight tentacles it clung to her doorway, aiming a cameraeye at her. Its body was round, and it carried a strong resemblance to an octopus. It swam through the air the same way it might have through water.

"Rubatan 695-P reporting. What seems to be the problem?" it asked. It wasn't a foreign language, either. It was Eddie's own language. Logs from her brother's rants were taken in consideration and over the past few days, carefully translated. The whole language hasn't been decoded, however.

When she saw something foreign, Essie panicked, screamed even. She covered her stomach and scrambled up on the bed. This wasn't Idiety. Nothing was described like this when they spoke about Ideity on her home planet.

Her heart rate picked up and she spoke in Xi. She cried, "help! Don't hurt me, please."

When it spoke in her language though, she stopped, confused but afraid. Something that wasn't from her home planet spoke in her language. Was that possible?

"Who are you? Who are you? Where am I? Where is Emmett?" She finally spoke, though it was obvious she was scared.

"Not here to attack," replied the robot, the voice changing to a higher, softer voice, one that it normally used for the children in the nursery. "Be calm. Cannot speak in your language easily. Emmett is in holding." The machine paused, tapping what was supposedly its chin with a tentacle.

"Pri....son... I am Rubatan 695-P. No panicking please."

Essie frowned as she listened to what was been told. Emmett was in prison? How come he was in prison? What had he done? She frowned more as she thought. They weren't going to attack her. Did that mean they were here to help her? Still, if that was so, why was Emmett in prison?"

"Bring me Emmett. I want my brother. Please. I want him."

"Your brother has made many threats on our people. We can not..." There was another pause. "Release. Him. We cannot release him at this time. Please... no panicking. Rubatan 695-P is here to help." It jibber-jabbered shortly in Misranan as it floated to the end of Essie's bed.

"I am yours," it said, when it was really trying to say "I am here to take care of you."

Translating was awful business.

Essie was still scared. But then again it was in her nature to be scared. They were trained to be scared of what would happen if they didn't listen to their mates. Her mate had died of the disease on her home planet though, which now made Emmett in charge. What was she to do if Emmett wasn't around?

"My babies." She finally said in English rather than Xi. Half of what the thing had said she hadn't understood. Maybe English would be better. She knew English was the next dominant language from studies, though even she didn't know it that well. Just from parts of her young teachings before she'd started been trained as a mate.

"How are my babies?" She repeated in English.

The machine turned its head to the side, as though perplexed by the sudden turn in events.

"This is much better," it replied in fluent English. "Your language has not been put in our databases yet. Only what we could scrap from your brother. The children are healthy, as are you. We had a very difficult time attempting to treat you, however. Your bodies are different than anything we have have to treat in the past. We did not use any strong chemicals. Let me know how you are feeling. Your vitals seem normal, but we could be wrong, for our lack of knowledge."

Essie was struggling to keep up with the English now, but it was mainly because she was very rusty at the language. The men were taught fluent English. Not the women. Women didn't need English. They rarely held power. Essie had no power. But she understood that her babies were healthy and so was she. That was the main thing.

Now it was back to her brother. She needed orders from her brother on what to do. She couldn't do anything without him. "My brother... I need orders from him. Can you get my orders from him." She asked, sitting herself up though she didn't feel all that well. It was a shock to the system after a big crash while eight months pregnant.

"He is your captain?" asked the machine, hovering over Essie slightly as she noticed a slight change in the readings. "As of this moment, I cannot get in contact with your brother. The jails are not located near the hospitals, I am afraid. Give us time and when you are well, we will schedule a meeting."

Essie looked horrified and her heart rate was rising as she struggled to comprehend anything. In the end she was getting so worked up that she wanted to get out of bed and find her brother. She was panicking at the thought of her brother not been around though she didn't understand that he was in prison.

"No. No. I need my brother. My brother."

With that, Essie tried to get herself sitting up, but cried out in pain. She was heavily pregnant and the babies were due soon. She moved her hand to her stomach. But she wouldn't stop saying the words 'my brother'.

Rubatan tilted its head to the side as Essie began to panic. The machine attempted to guide her back to the bed, to lie down.

"Very well. Do not panic. We shall contact your brother as soon as we are able," said the medibot, switching on a tentative button that would swarm Essie with a sedative to calm her down. "If you panic, you will become ill."

Rubatan's eye glowed briefly as a message was sent out to the doctors of the hospital, one of which came by quickly.

She was a little thing, no more than two feet high, and very thin. Her features were delicate, but the ends of her black eyes pinched in age. She was dressed all in white, her robe stopping just under her knees. On her back were a set of wings, much like an insect's, glistening in the light of the room.

"Ah, I believe you are Essie," she spoke, somewhat more fluently in Essie's language, though some of it still seemed broken. It was evident she wasn't using a translator, however. "I am Doctor Azhia. I will be sending Six-Ninety-Five here to your brother. I hope the presence of another humanoid will help soothe you further, though we are a bit different."

Essie soon calmed down with the help of the sedatives, but she wanted her brother. Her brother knew what to do. She had no idea what to do. She needed him. She was scared of what was happening. This was out of her understanding. This wasn't her country or her planet. She didn't know what to do.

"Please..." She begged now. "I want my brother."

When the doctor came in, Essie was more scared. On her planet there had been two type of people.the females and the males. The animals and plants had been limited. She was scared. But when she said that her brother was going to be gotten she calmed down. She wiped the tears that had formed out of her fear.

"Thank you." It calmed her to know that the person could speak her language. All she wanted was her brother.

"Sleep for now. You're shaken up," hummed the malemni woman with a soft smile. "When you wake, we'll have your brother's orders."

Rubatan sailed out of the room as they spoke, swimming down the pristine hallways of the hospital.

"Orders..." the machine spoke to itself. "So shaken over orders."

A young scruffy looking human went along and put up posters for a show coming to the Zanzarian Port.

It was technically an EDM tour, though a local electro-swing duo would be opening the show. They were the secret attendance booster. It was a good idea to include them in the show. Humans weren't the majority here. Synthe Gridd, human, took up the majority of the poster with her face.

Someone stopped him as he put up his second to last poster of the day, asking for details on where to buy tickets. He told them, and off they went.