World of the Twin Suns

Posted on 27 Jan 2014 @ 5:36pm by Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Commander Andreus Kohl & Lieutenant Olsam Mott & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius

1,445 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Akkadia
Timeline: MD21 - 1100

ON:

The shuttle came out of warp just about the first gas giant out with its many necklace set of moons. As the warp field dissipated and normal views could be seen the brighter jewels of the inner system could just be made out as bright dots but that is not what made Allyndra's hearts rejoice and beat faster. Almost appearing as one star from this far out due the closeness of their dance were the Twins. No matter how close the holodeck the simulation was never quite the same. She turned to the others and smiled pointing out the bright dots.

"That one there is Anesidora. Mostly covered in heavy cloud and uninhabitable but for a spot that is a titanic shield volcano. It thrusts high enough above the pressure to be M-class." Her arm and finger traced to another further off and just as white looking, "That is Kylisandra. A cold world of ice. A few out worlders go there to observe and sometimes hunt the large mega-fauna." Her arm and finger moved yet again to another which even from this distance shown bluish. "And there is home, the world of the Twins, Akkadia. The Queen of Nights promise, the rings one cannot quit see properly from here."

Olsam had his face and hands plastered against the window next to him, trying to get a better view. His breath was beginning to create a fog and no doubt the remnants of his earlier jumja stick were going to leave sticky fingerprints. Nevertheless, he seemed fascinated with the sight.

"It's a very beautiful system. Are we going to visit all of them? I'm not a fan of volcanoes. Nothing good ever happens around a volcano."

"Hell no, I don't wanna visit any volcanoes," Lamar piped up with an incredulous laugh. The thought of being stuck in a steaming hot EV suit near lava was less than appealing, but he did enjoy some of the interesting other sights while looking out of his window.

"Uhhhhhh, yeah," chimed in Andreus Kohl from one of the seats in the rear. "Our shuttles don't have an amazing track record with volcanoes. Might be best not to get too close to that one."

Allyndra laughed. "Understood, though there is an amazing set of wildlife that lives in the jungle around the upper part. I will leave Kylisandra to any who wish to go there. Our kind does not do well in cold."

The shuttle turned and begin its approach to further inner system. Allyndra watched as the Twins resolved themselves into two distinct suns each smaller than Earth's own sun but one almost as yellow and the other distinctly reddish.
It was their tight orbit around each other that allowed for such a stable multiple star system.

The blue jewel that was Akkadia resolved itself as well now forming a world rather than a dot. The great rings surrounding it just catching the light of the Twins.

"Five years," she whispered. "Five years since I have seen and walked and flown in its skies." Allyndra looked at the others, "Sorry, just a tad of homesickness."

She shook her head and then went back to being guide. "The Twins as we call them, Damquim and Alu'u, the yellow and red respectively though hardly anyone uses the names just the Twins. The rings, those are called the Queen of Night's promise. One of most favourite times is at night sitting under the stars and the turn of the planet causes the light of the Twins to just catch them. Ring rise we call it, a great titanic silver rainbow in the sky.....well you will get to see it for yourself. Questions gentlemen before we land?"

From his seat, Kohl remained silent. He watched Allyndra with glittering, fascinated eyes. This wistful reverence for her homeworld was a side of her he hadn't seen before, and it was warming, just being in the presence of it.

"Um, will there be any more jumja sticks served before landing?" Olsam asked, hopeful.

"I am not sure there are, but when we arrive I will get you Waimelia stick. It is a sweet confection consisting of a mix of something like honey and flavoured with the juice of various fruits. You might find it interesting. There are off world foods in small supply at the port proper but once away it is Akkadian only. Not many are allowed away from the port mind you so you may find many very curious about you. We have a meeting with the Guild Council in two days time and it is only that, that has granted you the proper travel permits."

She had laid the case of looking at the records of the medical files of the past to find more about the ability in Akkadian's that allowed them to heal completely. Allyndra had also laid out the case earlier as well that such a 'gift' or even to look into the archives would be greatly appreciated by many worlds. Luckily while generally not open to all, medical information was not in the highly restricted section concerning the past.

Jumja sticks...waimelia sticks...whatever happened to good ol' beef jerky? Lamar wondered. He had to admit, though, the idea of a fruit juice and honey confection sounded pretty delicious, and he privately contemplated what other sorts of unique foods he might sample while on Akkadia. "What type of livestock is native to your planet? Anything resembling a cow or chicken or a pig?"

"What about a turkey? I killed a turkey once," Olsam interjected, speaking matter-of-factly.

Allyndra shook her head. "You should know by now that our digestive systems do not handle very heavy foods. Thus, mostly all there that you might find palatable is the fruits. Now there are other animals, the largest is a the Qwiklicks, sort of a little like your Terran cows. Nothing like birds either. The islands have been pretty much long tamed but if one wants a challenge the seas have various creatures which may prove 'interesting'. Many Khar'atah do not survive their year at sea."

The Bolian doctor tried to envision a roasting Qwiklicks. "Okay, fruit it is. Whoa...wait a minute..." He shifted nervously in his seat. "We have diplomatic immunity or something, right? I'm not gonna wake up with an Akkadian latched on to my neck, will I? That might be a rude surprise for them given Bolian blood."

Allyndra sighed. She knew the doctor was trying to be funny or at least hoped he was. "Not unless some girl would like to try. However, the Guilds are pretty specific about whom the woman end up unless it is in an Irsemia house and you do not qualify for that."

From his seat, Kohl was tapping his feet against the deckplate. The confines of a starship never really impacted him psychologically, but the close quarters of a shuttle were feeling closer than ever after their long journey. He sounded sheepish to be asking this only now, but Allyndra had made the arrangements. "Where will we be staying?" asked Kohl.

"House Warraquim. I would imagine that rooms will have been set aside in one of the towers. Though the village proper may also be the case I am not sure. Either way I would imagine you will be provided servants, one fertile male and one female is the usual, all apprentices. We all learn to serve before we become leaders and teachers."

The planet filled the screen and like a necklace the chain of islands that girded the equator were plain to see. It was all the land of the planet, the northern and southern seas unbroken. Just the smallest hint of ice lay to cap the northern pole while the south was free.

"Alright here we go."

Excited as always to visit a new world, Lamar continued to look out the window as the shuttle began to descend towards its destination on the Akkadian homeworld.

Olsam closed his eyes tightly, trying to imagine that they weren't descending toward a planet in a fiery blaze.

Considering Kohl's own tortured history with shuttlecrafts, he chose not to look. He turned his eyes down on a widescreen PADD in his lap, but his eyes wouldn't focus on the words displayed there. His mind was caught on that thorny word, servants, and precisely what it meant here.


OFF:

Lt Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

MWO Lamar Darius
Chief Support Craft Pilot
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Saalm]

Lieutenant Andreus Kohl
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Olsam Mott
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

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