“I like your shuttle, Uncle Lu. Is this a local specialty design?” Max asked, admiring the elegant thirty-meter-long private spacecraft through the viewport on the docks while the pilot got it ready to depart.
“Indeed it is. The design was originally supposed to be a stealth insertion ship for special forces, but after the alliance with Kepler, it was redesigned to be a low signature transport for VIPs. With the hybrid propulsion system, it is also a very capable terrestrial aircraft. The government has a hundred on order, but they won’t be ready for a few more years.” The scientist explained before going into more detail on the propulsion systems that linked anti gravity technology with an experimental faster-than-light slipstream drive.
While the three of them were deep in the midst of discussing the potential uses of slipstream technology the shuttle has been prepared and the two bodyguards that were supposed to accompany Uncle Lu were impatiently waiting.
Finally, one cleared his throat and spoke. “Sir, the ship is ready if you would like to continue this conversation on board.”
When the group didn’t change topics and only moved to take seats on the shuttle the bodyguards both knew this was going to feel like a very long day.
Thirty-two minutes later when they landed in the capital the trio was still discussing the merits of the slipstream drive versus the Alcubierre Warp Drives more commonly in use within the Kepler Fleet.
The conversation had slowed down though, as everyone took the time to admire the natural beauty of the planet from above and the incredibly high-tech city in the clouds..
The entire ten million citizen population of the Capital lived in an elevated city made up of tubes and globe-shaped biodomes, the neighborhood habitats as Uncle Lu called them. A thousand years ago, a movement swept the planet that insisted humans should limit their interaction with the natural world, mostly in the name of animal rights.
A dozen megacities were built of materials that were believed to never corrode or degrade, and the Comor population moved into the sky and the outlying planets, which had no native animals.
The movement faded centuries ago, but the decision was made to keep the surface of the home planet as a resort world.
“Our first stop will be the Comor historical museum. I know it’s a bit bland, but every first-time visitor to the one very really should get a chance to see it. We’ve got a fine collection of exhibits on every intelligent alien species we have come across, along with historical artifacts.”
As Uncle Lu described the Museum, large doors on the top of a habitat dome opened, allowing their shuttle to enter and land. The shuttle hangar spayed them down with what Max suspected was liquid nitrogen, cooling the shuttle exterior to safe levels before the red lights by their parking pace turned green and they were allowed to exit.
The hangar had the same Steampunk theme as the Station did, but more industrial and less elegant, this clearly wasn’t a commercial airport.
“The museum is a bit of a trip from here, but the theoretical research lab is in this building and I left my car here.” Uncle Lu explained.
That made sense to Max. He didn’t look like the sort of person who would demand a government vehicle meet them somewhere or the sort of person who would regularly take public transport.
“The Museum is below the level of cloud cover so it can see the ground every day. We will exit the building over to our right and head down.”
The hovercar he led them to was a limousine with harsh angles, mixing the feeling of an armored car with modern art, painted in neutral white, blending in with the dozens of luxury cabs they passed on their way down.
Anti-gravity vehicles were everywhere in the city, due to the wildly varying elevations of the various habitats and the space between structures, making an intricate three-dimensional network of traffic passing between regions of the city at breakneck speeds.
“We should buy some hoverboards. It will likely make getting around the tournament venue tomorrow easier, and we will want them for sure during our vacation afterward.” Nico suggested.
Max hadn’t thought of it, he can run faster than any hoverboard, but being able to just float along would be nice.
“Most areas in the commercial districts have a vertical lane for flying pedestrian traffic. A local board will properly limit speed when you are in restricted areas. The flying lanes near the venue are pretty busy though, but so is the ground, since it is a shopping and entertainment dome.” Uncle Lu explained.
“They will still be nice to have for the next few months while we are off. There’s a lot of the planet to see, and it’s easier to see from the air.” Max agreed with Nico’s plan.
He had a skateboard as a kid, but a hoverboard was way out of his budget. Max briefly wondered if it would be able to do tricks the way his old board did, with his new physique he should be able to pull off some impressive stunts.
He might be a little overdressed for it though. Not as much as Nico, but common sense and Nico weren’t exactly friends, so she might actually go hoverboarding in a kimono.
“There is a competition board shop by the museum, can we stop in there first?” Nico asked, doing her best imitation of red mechanical puppy eyes for Uncle Lu, which somehow worked on the Mecha-obsessed scientist.
“We can do that, and then walk over. Maybe it will help us blend in and distract the paparazzi.” Uncle Lu agreed.
“Are they a problem here?” Max asked, wondering if he had misjudged the man’s fame.
Uncle Lu shrugged. “Normally, no. But all three of us together after you just made the news could bring them out. You know how they can get about foreign news stories.”
The street in front of the shop was quiet except for a few local youths with band patches all over their leather jackets smoking some local herb. They all had highly modified hoverboards, so Max knew Nico had found the right place for them.
“What’s good, Army?” The lone technician working in the shop asked as they walked in, addressing Max first.
“Extended combat leave. You got anything here worth riding?” Max asked and the man nodded, the high spikes of his hairstyle bobbing with the motion.
“If you have the credits, I’ve got the gear to outrun a Sheriff’s bike.” The man’s confidence was inspiring and Max began looking at the assorted parts while Nico started pulling items from the shelf.
“I will need a longboard and a bigger output gravity plate than you have on the shelves here,” Nico told him with a frown.
“What are you trying to do? Acrobatics with a Cyborg?”
Nico let her hand shift back to a more armored look and the clerk stared at her in shock.
[0)??? “Didn’t see that coming. I’ve got some pre-made competitive Enduro Boards in the back if you’ve got the credits. Better than anything you will find or build from the shelves.”
“Don’t worry about the cost, I’ll put it on the research division’s tab.” Uncle Lu cut in, not knowing that the unit had recovered a huge amount of valuable data and materials on Belmont even before the rewards they had gotten for the recovered Planetary Governor and the engagement against Cygnus. Successful Crusader Pilots were never short on money unless they had very bad habits.
“We will make it up to you, Uncle Lu.” Nico bowed, not wanting to be impolite by turning him down. His family ruled the planet, surely a few hoverboards wouldn’t be beyond his daily spending allowance.
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