Among Stars

Boarhead

The Travelstar landed on a remote pad with a resounding clang and a slight wobble. The hangar doors closed and a huge fan blew the air back in and normalized the pressure. Large green lights lit up in the walls.

Naina opened the ship's side door and climbed down the ramp. She had donned her proper uniform - a dark gray shirt with a pink stripe going from her left shoulder to her right hip. Black pants, black shoes. Name tag on the shirt above her left breast said "Captain N. Melcey, Explorer. ISS Travelstar, Class 15." She adjusted her clothes and her hair, which she had tied to a neat ponytail, and walked toward the hangar doors.

The doors opened and a woman in full battle gear stopped her. "ID", she said with through a speech port, so it sounded very mechanical.

"Naina Melcey, ISS Travelstar, Landing Pad B2, ID transmitted at the time of request,", she said and showed her wrist to the woman. There was a small device on her wrist, like a small screen, but tattooed directly into her skin. The woman just grunted and nodded towards the end of the hallway, into the direction that the signs on the walls said to be "Elevators." Naina shrugged and walked past her.

The woman watched her go, and muttered under her breath, "Elf. A fucking Quenstarian no less. At least she wasn't a damned Edgewalker." She walked back to her station and resumed her duties.

Naina made her way towards the elevators, glanced at the info panel, and sighed. "Galactic Common is common for a reason," she muttered under her breath. "Why write a panel in Glaxxian, of all things?" She raised her hands in a exasperated motion and let them fall down. "It's like the only standard alphabet I can't read!" she said. Defeated, she looked at the standard symbol of information and shuffled in that direction.

The station looked like it was built by skilled artisans, but ones that only had scraps for material and the only tool they had at their disposal was an ancient hammer than had a broken handle. Panels of every color around the stars were scattered around the walls, with materials that ranged from a piece of one of the most durable materials known to the galaxy, to a panel made of grass. The hallways were narrow, but now enough to feel cramped. Various posters advertising shops, nightclubs, products and services filled the walls almost completely, some of them lay torn on the floor.

Naina arrived at a decently sized room with several chairs and tables scattered around and a desk with a glass wall in front of it at the other end of the room. There were two people sitting on the chairs, but otherwise, the room was empty. She walked to the desk and peered inside. There didn't appear to be anyone present. She knocked gently on the wall.

"Hello?", Naina said. Nobody answered. She turned to look toward the other people in the room. "When will they be back?", she asked. The first person just ignored her and turned back to whatever they were doing. The other one shrugged at her.

"Dunno," they said and shrugged again. "Been waitin' fer hours already," they said. Naina rolled her eyes and looked downward. She turned away and shuffled away, defeated.

"Quera," she said. "Do we have the Glaxxian alphabet chart anywhere?"

"Yes, Captain Melcey," Quera answered.

"Would you transfer it to my comm. I'll be standing in front of the info screen for the foreseeable future, and I really need the chart," she said.