ic Ill Met in CoVic Station

[Heritage]

Election Day

 

It was early yet, and Ditra Fifty-Five wandered out into the Main Plaza feeling sick to her stomach; she'd just voted in the Republic Election, and part of her thought it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference who won. The green-skinned Nameless agent wandered over to a public bench and plopped down on it, still with her arms wrapped protectively around her belly. Like many of her more 'humanoid' behaviors, it was partly programed and partly legitimate, but it meant something a bit different when a Nameless did it. The lower abdomen is where a unit's pilot rested, safely coiled up inside an armored 'womb', so the gesture was really one of protection towards the bug that was the living core of cyborg.

 

Ditra sat there for several minutes, watching the crowds line up outside the polling place. Street vendors began to set up their carts to serve the voters, and soon the smells of grilled meats and hot drinks wafted her way, and her pilot shifted and wriggled inside her, filled with pangs of hunger.

 

I guess I did forget to have any breakfast before we left...

 

And with that, she hopped up off the bench and strolled back across the street towards a Gandari noodle seller, his head wreathed in steam. "Good morning, young lady? What can I get for you?"

 

"Good morning! I'll have a deep bowl of the ghat soup, with extra noodles, aaaaand a bottle of Triple-V." 

 

"Very good, miss! Coming right up!"

Edited July 3, 2017 by Heritage

[Thunder King]

Solar Sentinel was at CoVic, not to vote, but to just see the process up close. He also worried, vaguely, that something might happen on the station on this distinctly important day. His fears were likely unfounded, of course. He also had to admit he liked CoVic Station. It was such a lively, strange place, full of all sorts of people from all sorts of places. It represented the kind of unity one rarely saw in the universe. It was, however, a fragile unity. Needed to be watched, and cared for. So he stood, nursing a drink, watching the comings and goings. 

[Heritage]

Soon Ditra was slurping down a deep bowl of noodles, a delightfully humanoid activity that brought her immense pleasure. She was trying to juggle her wooden tongs, soup bowl and her bottle of Triple-V when she noticed the strange figure standing near the edge of the plaza; he wore a brightly colored suit that covered his whole body (colors oddly familiar, begin datascan) except for a sort of flap he'd pulled up to drink.

 

 What an interesting humanoid! No, an actual human from distant Terra...with a war record that...wait, there must be a data error; he can't be-

 

The green-skinned beauty found herself inexplicably drawn to this human, this Earthman so far from home; as she crossed the footpath heading in his direction, she pondered the many wonders he must have seen during such a life, and the horrors...

 

The agent was soon standing before the Earthman, her cheeks tinted a slightly darker green and a sheepish smile on her lips. Records indicated that he spoke the human language known as 'Americanish', so she started with that.

 

"Hi." Her accent was hard to place, possibly Midwestern. "I'm sorry to bother you, but are you...the Solar Sentinel?"

Edited July 15, 2017 by Heritage

[Thunder King]

Henry tilted his head. She was green, and pretty. Meant she was of the Nameless. He'd heard they were trying to get a foothold on things. Although, having someone walk up and ask him that was somewhat odd. Although, he supposed he earned a bit of a reputation.

 

"Yes, I am. Nice to meet you." He smiled politely, his lower jaw visible due to his lifted mask. He glanced around. "Election day." he said. "On Earth, lots of nations use voting to determine leadership. As diverse as the universe is, it's interesting to see where the similarities lie. I think this is a good similarity to have, all things considered."

 

He was trying to make small talk, or, at least, try to relate to this young?...woman? Probably female, probably young, but there was no way to know for sure. What qualified as female in her species, what qualified as young, he didn't know enough about them to make that kind of determination.  He'd long ago decided that none of that was worth fixating or worrying about. Applying human standards to other species was an exercise in futility and madness. 

[Heritage]

The Nameless clucked her tongue and shrugged. "Tell me, do the elections back on Earth make things any better? I wonder how much this will actually change things; I know your expression about 'the lesser of two evils'..."

 

Then the alien shook her head and bopped her forehead with her wrist. "I'm sorry, I'm being terribly rude." She smiled and shifted her drink into the crook of her left arm to offer a firm handshake. "Ditra Fifty-Five, Coalition Councilor for the Second Hive. Nice to meet you, Mr. Sentinel."

 

How exciting to engage in human customs!

Edited July 30, 2017 by Heritage

[Thunder King]

He shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Ditra. As for the lesser of two evils thing, well...on Earth, politics are often corrupt. It's inherent in the system. Sometimes you're not so much voting for the best candidate as you are the least worst. I think it's better than the alternative, letting a small group of people or one person make all the decisions, but I'm probably biased. Earth is still fractured, see. There are hundreds of sovereign nations all over the planet. The nation I'm from practices voting in the same way. Maybe some day we'll be unified as one people, but we're not there yet."

 

Still, he liked the voting process. For better or worse, more voices was better than few. Power corrupted, and you always needed someone to poke flaws in plans. He just wished the system worked as he intended it to.

[Heritage]

"Hmm; sounds like politics are truly universal...throughout the Universe." She wrinkled her nose at her silly joke as she fished for more noodles with her tongs. "Tell me, Mr. Sentinel, do you miss your homeworld? You are so very far from it out here." She looked back toward the bench, then indicated it with a nod. "Care to join me?" She raised her arms slightly. "This is rather awkward."

 

The green-skinned beauty headed on over, smiling encourangingly over her shoulder.