Issue 1 Downtime

After exiting what Anu had referred to as a wormhole, the ship approaches an enormous disc-like structure floating in orbit around a small planet. In the center of it appears to be a city of spires under a dome.

"This is Xuthaphi Nexus Station, one of many hubs built where wormhole routes converge."

[The previous thread may continue, but I decided to speed up getting to the fun part]

Will, dressed in his, erm, dress uniform, came back into the central waiting area on the ship.

"How long until we dock?"

"Finally come around to being excited have we?" Steve asked, wearing a rather exquisite suit and even more exquisite fedora hat provided by their host.

"Come again?"

"You seem as impatient to dock as I am."

"I suppose I am, in a manner of speaking. But just because I've been...reserved, doesn't mean I wasn't excited."

Rachel, looking mildly uncomfortable in a mildly slinky evening dress, walked up "So, I guess this is our big entrance."

Nailah looks perfectly comfortable in her dress, though she seems somewhat nervous about this whole docking thing and acting as some kind of representative for 'her people'.

Nash walked in wearing a suit, well most of one, he was missing the tie. He then looked around the room at the people gathered there so far, though did did take a better look at the two women in their dresses than the two men.

Bear was wearing a black turtleneck, a beret, and a discrete camera (for her) slung over her shoulder.

Samantha for her part had dressed well as she walked out to join the others. She too seemed a bit tense, but was managing to hide it behind a smile.

There is a small vibration as docking clamps seize the ship and the two aliens rise.

"It is time. Please follow us," Anu says, smiling.

Exiting the ship brings them into an impressive docking area where the group is met by a serious looking reptilian alien and a pair of humanoid robots of silver and gold, their strange rifles at parade rest.

"May I introduce K'San O'bu, chief of Nexus Security. He will be escorting us to the festivities.

The reptile-headed officer nods, "But worry not, you are in no danger. Your escort is a formality."

As Anu had promised, a quick telepathic contact had made Galactic Standard a breeze to comprehend,

Steve tried desperately not to stare at the toothy lizard man.

Teeeeeeeeeeeth...

"It's a giant talking lizard..." she mumbles to herself, for some reason being more perplexed by this than by the two aliens that had brought them here.

Bear took a discrete photo of the guard lizard.

"Keesan Obu, was it? Lead on."

"Wow." Rachel said softly It makes sense, though. If the dinosaurs hadn't gone extinct....

Nash was staring more at the robots than the lizard man.

Hmm, I wonder what makes them tick.

"Right this way," O'Bu says, turning to lead on.

The robots flank the group protectively as they proceed down a series of corridors and into a large round elevator that eventually begins moving on the horizontal and emerging into light. The view of the city around them was of a busy glittering metropolis under eternal starlight, vehicles flying between the towering buildings in branching rivers of traffic.

"How...how is that....what's your rate of accidents?"

"Roughly a dozen a standard year. Traffic is only this dense because it isn't every day that we get to welcome the representatives of a new world," O'Bu answers.

"This is simply amazing."

"Wouldn't think that we'd be celebrities. Not in... all this."

"Makes me feel a little relieved, to be honest."

"Suppose you could look at it that way. Then again... we're the oddities, here."

Steve was transfixed by the wondrous alien metropolis outside the elevator, not actually hearing any of the others when they spoke.

The elevator enters a building and returns to vertical motion. It soon stops but the doors do net yet open.

"We're here," Anu says, giving the humans a moment to steel themselves before nodding to Chief O'Bu.

The doors open to a wide hall with a long blue carpet down its center. It is flanked by more security robots who simply stand immobile guard as they pass. O'Bu and his robots stand aside as the great doors at the end opens for them.

There is an eerie silence as the group steps into the pavilion under the stars. Beings of all shapes and sizes watch them with almost as many emotions, though few recognizably negative. Anu introduces the humans with a short speech before looking to them again with a kind smile.

"Welcome to the galaxy," he says to much applause, or what was equivalent.

One of the 'beings' is a woman with strangely smooth looking skin. Instead of hair stone and crystal formations jut out, similar features noticeable on her knees and elbows. She's wearing what looks like ceremonial robes and jewelry, though it's hard to tell in parts where those stop and her natural features begin.

"Just act natural, aye?" She said as a quiet aside to her compatriots.

"Don't poke anyone to see if they're real, gotcha," a whispering Steve joked nervously, the unreality of it all finally showing in his voice.

"Imagine we look just as strange to them, though they've had more time to deal with differences."

The woman waits politely, watching the humans for a moment before taking a step forward.

"Welcome. I have been chosen by the Resonance to represent my people. I am Princess Sa'rachalcednesoinolas of the Tectites."

"I'm Captain William Stanton of the United States Air Force, and Earth, more generally."

Bears mouth was agape at the sheer variety of intelligent beings she had never seen before.

"Doctor Samantha McManus. Pleasure to meet you, Princess."

"It is a pleasure to welcome you. This all must be very strange to you. We felt the same way when we first ventured beyond our native moon and encountered carbon-based life."

Will looked a little lost at that, but soldiered on. "I'll admit it's outside anything of my experience. There weren't exactly classes on this at the academy."

"I think she's saying that her people are mineral-based, as opposed to organic life."

She looked to the princess. "Am I correct?"

"That's right. It was odd to learn what we thought was normal very much wasn't."

"Now, THAT much I can understand," Will agreed.