Commander Redgate's office went quiet after the simplified explanation ended. The people in the room all looked at me for my reaction. I looked inwards, away from the excessively tall people surrounding me. I peeled my mind away from the strong gravity and let myself lean back in the oversized chair. Relaxing allowed me to take in the information served to me as undeniable facts of the world, and assess the rest of my life most likely under the thumb of some incredibly advanced species I did not even know the name of. What could I do? I could barely get around on my own because of the gravity. I was back to being broke if money even existed in this world. I guess ill start with a couple questions.
After explaining a few of my concerns, the commander patiently offered Micans as their race and gave a simple description of the standard credit. Seeing that I was still not comfortable with my knowledge so far the Granite man who I now noticed was only a foot taller than me gave me a thin glassy tablet the size of my torso with a shoulder strap attached. He said he had it prepared when he was assigned to be Earth's facilitator. I accepted the tablet and was given a brief description of the search engine and where I could find station maps. The Summoner even transferred one hundred credits to me as starting funds to access the cafeteria or food court. When I had proved I could use the touch screen to access basic functions I was given my freedom to think on what actions I would take next. Summoner Juniper Keeps was given orders to take me to her quarters and give me all the support I needed in getting comfortable today with my surroundings. Commander Redgate then ordered Summoner Keeps to report to this office no later than six hours into the day tomorrow for details on her new position as lead summoner.
The world was becoming more difficult to pay attention to as the conversation carried on about a scanner for food to make sure I could digest the contents and not be poisoned. Much of the information was going to be lost by tomorrow if I did not get to sleep soon. I yawned heavily, breaking the flow of the conversation in the room. A quick apology from me led to a similar one from Commander Redgate.
“Keeps, Can you get him to your quarters by yourself? The station has needs that I have been neglecting.” Redgate asked. “No problem Commander. I will take him there right now if you are done with him” Keeps replied. “I trust you can behave yourself in front of a gentleman Summoner Keeps. Don’t prove me wrong” Redgate said with a stare through Keep’s soul. “I wouldn't dream of it, Commander. I will report back here by six tomorrow. By your leave Commander” The suddenly serious Summoner said. “Carry on. Literally and carefully if you have to.” Redgate clarified.
With a quick motion Keeps was at the door and waiting for me to leave. I slid down from the chair onto my legs, then straight onto the ground. “One second please” I stated as I pulled myself up using the chair. Climbing up to my legs again I waddled over to the open door and through with as much composure as I could muster. I was sure my legs were shaking worse than an Oldsmobile at a overlook in the middle of the night but I walked out of the office with purpose. I managed another few steps before the door closed behind me and immediately collapsed onto the thin light blue carpet.
“I feel bad asking Summoner Keeps but Could I perhaps Borrow your shoulder” I said through the ground my face had planted itself into. A strong hand reached under my chest and pulled me to a standing position. Then before I could protest I was being princess carried through the hall. I will never live this down, I thought to myself. What man would let a lady carry them because they were not strong enough to walk on their own. I felt helpless so I began trying to absorb the world around me. The hall we were in had similar white patches all along the walls past the office we had just left behind. Being carried I could get a good look at my surroundings. The hall opened up into a street for people as I could not see any vehicles anywhere. The road looked like polished concrete and had a small ramp up into other halls. The buildings were more metal grating holding up square rooms inside them. You could see the design let air flow freely around the individual rooms while also leaving room for pipes and vents to flow efficiently. I suppose the easy access was a great boon to the maintainers of the station.
The ceiling of the station was more than thirty floors up as close as I could count. The glass ceiling was supported by widely spaced triangular beams that kept as much open glass as possible while acting as an attachment point for the tallest floor to ceiling buildings. Open walkways between upper floors had glass railings and minimal organically shaped supports below them. I bet the views from above would look incredible in more open areas with shorter buildings.
We traveled without talking as I took in the sights. The ceiling angled down, turning into a wall that connected to a solid building with four long metal legs that connected to the ground, one in each corner. In the center was a series of what looked like elevators. A group of what looked like Naga with a human looking body from the waist up and a snake body from the waist down entered a glass elevator and rode it up the building.
We soon entered our own and took off upwards with a smooth action from the precarious glass box. I was set back on my feet during a moment of weightlessness. “Hold on to the bar there.” Keeps said. I grabbed the dark metal bar with both hands barely able to get my fingers wrapped around enough for a good grip. The elevator flipped over with us following the motion making the new ground the previous ceiling's direction. With a deft hand I was picked up again and carried off the elevator. The world became quite loud and the area we entered must have been a gathering spot for this sphere's residents. A smell of barbeque hit my nose and I immediately felt my stomach cry out for food. “That smells delicious” I said “do you mind if we pick up food before heading back?” Summoner Keeps looked down at me “are you sure you are up for a meal so soon?” She asked carefully. “Absolutely” I stated. With that we were off. “I am kind of hungry too. Summoning you really took it out of me and I could use an early lunch.” Keeps said.
An area of smooth floor had a small market style center with metal framed seating surrounding it. The individual stalls all had their own miniature kitchen and a floor above that seemed to be the storage area. Smells continued to berate my nose. Sweet desserts and savory meals filled the air around us and my hunger grew to a fever pitch. “How much are the meals here?” I asked as I pointed out a stall with a slow roasting hunk of meat in the back. I was salivating at the prospect of taking a huge bite out of anything I could get my hands on. Place I pointed out did not have a line and it soon became apparent why. No sooner that our order was taken two brown paper bags appeared on the tabletop and payment was taken from my tablet. Keeps stood still in front of the stall before a ding announced successful payment. Our minds must have both ben in the same place because we moved to one of the closest open seats while I carried the surprisingly heavy meals on my lap. I noticed stares immediately upon leaving the market section by people eating their meals around us.
“Don't panic Keeps but I think we are being watched.” I joked looking up at my ride’s face. A look of embarrassment had firmly taken hold of the summoner’s face and left no doubt in my mind that she was not used to carrying people around in public. A quick survey showed that I was in fact alone in my debacle. She set me down in another oversized wooden seat and took her steaming lunch bag from my hands. I felt even worse than before. People had probably been staring the whole time and I was too busy gawking at the brand new shiny station that I didn't see the problem. Guilt washed over me as I began apologizing. “I am so sorry Summoner Keeps. Please tell me if I am causing a scene in the future. I do not want to spoil your reputation with your fellow crewmembers.” I said quickly. Without warning a hand landed on Keep's shoulder. “So you finally pulled it off Juniper! Congrats. You just lost a ton of people's money with the betting pool we had going on. But I never doubted ya Jun. I'm going to go collect. Tell me all about your summon when I get back alright!” The mysterious oversized woman said excitedly before almost skipping away to a nearby table.
“I don't know who that was but I knew about a betting pool surrounding my research. You see I have never successfully summoned anyone before. You are my first success.” Juniper explained to me. The blushing on her face became fuller as she spoke. “I am so happy for you, Summoner Keeps! I said as proudly as I could. “Just Jun is fine when we are not on duty.” She said across the table before shoving some kind of pulled meat into her mouth as an excuse to not talk anymore. I followed suit and was not disappointed by the tenderness. Even the grease was not too overwhelming. We ate in silence for a little as cheers and laughing began to fill the room. Everyone dressed here was wearing the same camo uniform that Keeps was. “Jun” I tested the name. “Are all the other people here summoners just like you?”
“Well, they are summoners but they are not successful yet. You could say they are in training to be summoners. They are all naturally born to be able to control mana. No one here has a Containment Squad yet. I will be leaving this area soon because I have you now.” Jun said between mouthfuls of meat. “It seems like you are a big deal around her or at least well known.” I commented back as I ate. Two glass bowls landed on the table deposited by a surly hand that had way too many scars to be followed around by a heavyset body in a cooking apron. “Keep your meals more balanced from now on Jun. We can't have you keeling over now that you have a containment squad to train up” The deep voice attached to the generous hands announced.
Jun’s face blushed even harder as she looked over at the vegetables which I'm guessing were a rarity in her diet. “I have been stuck here you might say.” Jun admitted. “To be specific, my class all summoned individuals about three years ago.” She answered my unasked question. “Three years must be a long time to wait but I am guessing you really wanted to complete your research before you left training” I said. “I wanted to find a new wraith planet because it had been so long since we found one. I knew that my research would be necessary before long. The school let me stay here so long as I continued my search” Jun explained. “Jun, have you ever seen the other side of a summoning before?” I asked, finishing up my meat and munching on the strangely sweet vegetable. “I know what it is supposed to look like normally but I have never seen it.” She said quietly. I smiled and explained the appearance of the circle in as much detail as possible.
“That should not be possible” She stated as I explained the flickering. “A circle should never be so weak as to see flickering.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
Jun knew in her head that the description of the last bright appearance of the circle right before the summoning was her resolve to expend her mana entirely and her willingness to pass out before she gave up. Jun could sense a willing soul so close to her circle and knew that this chance was her best bet so far. The appearance of a figure before her was enough to let go of the magic. She could relax and let every one of her efforts go to the wayside as the ground collected her limp body. She knew that the summoning was part luck but was too prideful to admit that to her new subordinate. Wait, He has not decided to form a containment squad yet. He might think she is incapable of leadership after telling him how long she took to do her job. This couldn't stand she had to appear as a strong leader in front of her summon. How she thought to herself. What does he need? One look at him revealed that Master Walker did not have more than 1 uniform to wear let alone any loungewear or casual clothes for days off.
“Master Walker” Jun stated firmly “Would you like to go pick up a few articles of clothing to wear other than your current uniform. Perhaps you would like something more comfortable to sleep in?” She asked.
Ben, looking up from his vegetables, smiled. “Id love to have a look at some workout clothes” he said excitedly. Jun stood taking her vegetables and scarfing them down, moved towards the food stalls to return the bowl and throw away the food wrapper. I quickly followed suit and barely managed to carry the large bowl back to the waste container. Jun grabbed my hand and showed me a White bod on the wall with a glass basin underneath. My hands only took a couple seconds to wash off in the soapy water. A familiar brown paper dispenser was available next to the wash station that was used to dry our hands. Hands now sparkling clean, we were off. Jun held my hand at my shoulder height with her arm almost fully outstretched. I felt like a child but I was not about to stop the hyper focused Jun who was now marching at a good clip through a shopping center with a bunch of the same grate framed buildings. These had open storefronts with all sorts of armor, weapons, and furniture on display. After a brisk walk that was threatening to turn into another jog we arrived at a store with a closed front and an opaque glass door. The sign above read Menswear in bright red font.
Jun steeled herself while I opened the door on its hinge outward for her. The blush on her face as I held the door from closing was only added to by the sputtering and half formed sentence that followed. “I was, let me, uh Sorry, I mean thank you, you didn't have to” all came out at once from Jun’s mouth. She gave up and slunk through the doorway in defeat.
Jun was greeted by metal racks displaying running shorts and stretch fit tank tops. As she turned to retreat Ben closed the door and began searching the shelves. The damning words of the commander echoed in her mind. She had to stay and keep a careful eye on Ben. benevolently Ben only took a couple minutes to pick out a couple sets of workout clothes, socks, and underwear. She paid for Ben in an attempt to leave the shop as quickly as possible. Seeing her making large advances on the exit door Ben followed close behind with his new treasures.
A revelation came to Ben as he exited the door. “Where were all the men at?“ he asked the far wall with spacy wide eyes. “Most summoners are female following the typical ratio of thirty to one amongst Micas. And even then most summoners are born female. I think my class had a male back in the day but that was a while ago. Why do you ask?” Jun asked me.
After picking my jaw up off the floor I answered “I am from a place with a near one to one ratio.” It was Jun’s turn to recover her jaw from the floor. Ben could have sworn there was some drool for a moment before Jun composed herself. “That must be why you held the door for me” She stated to herself. We made our way back to the open area with the food stalls while we pondered the implications of our recent revelations. “I bet Offsman knew and didn't say anything about the ratio being wrong on Earth!” Jun exclaimed. Ben let the statement pass as his legs began to lose their strength again. The walk back proved to be too much for Ben’s legs and part way down the dormitory hall Ben ended back up in Jun's arms.
A white patch on the wall which Ben now knew as a door opened and let the pair in. Jun pointed at a door on the wall inside the spacious suite. “Go take that room and just ask if you need anything that the tablet can not help you with.” Jun said. “Hold off on your decision to join The United Front or not until you have had time to think it over.” Jun said. She entered a room on the far side of the lounge area and went about sorting some books while her room’s door was set to remain open.
I approached the door I was pointed to and it automatically opened. Inside was a simple mattress on a metal frame sized up to thirteen on the bed size scale which I just came up with. The scale only went to ten but I figured that it wouldn't include beds of this size normally. Setting my burden of new clothes on the ground I explored the room some more with my eyes. A sheet metal dresser dominated an entire wall on the right side upon entering the room. A writing table was placed in the corner of the room opposite the bed. On top was a notepad and a set of glassware for drinks right next to a spout on the wall. A quick test confirmed that the spout was dispensing water. I remembered that the meal we had eaten was only lunch somehow. I felt that the day should be wrapping up by now.
I made myself comfortable by changing into a set of workout clothes and nesting on the gigantic bed with the tablet. I discovered that the days were thirty hours long as a standard and that it was barely past hour seventeen. I knew I would not last until the real evening of the day but I stayed up reading the maps to find gym locations and a couple lookouts to explore the next day. After some searching on the maps I reluctantly began reading the station rules. Sleep came to me after only a few pages of rules and mercifully led me to a good night's rest.
I had thought that waking up was difficult already but waking up in double the gravity is the nightmare material. My legs were jelly at best and the tablet corner left a spot on my face I could feel was not going away anytime soon. The thumping on the door that woke me up in the first place was not going away anytime soon by the sound of it. “Good morning mister prince” came a feminine voice from the other side of the door. It was not Jun which would have worried me if not for the joke of a wakeup call betraying the lighthearted nature of my caller. I rolled to the edge of the bad and worked on getting my feet under me. I dressed as quickly as I could with my back on the floor, seeing as I did not want to repeat the fall I took yesterday when I tried to stand on one leg. Dressed and with my tablet hanging under my arm I opened the door.
Melissa had been sent to escort the human for the day and she would revel in the day off. She wore her armor with a sidearm in case of emergencies but received no specific orders on locations to visit or avoid. Just keep Ben Walker safe. Melissa had grown tired of waiting for the mysterious visitor to wake as she had been waiting for a couple hours after the departure of Summoner Keeps earlier in the morning. Breakfast would end in an hour and Melissa was hungry. She did not need to wait after receiving a message through her comms device from Commander Redgate. “Take the human to the deployment shuttles and introduce him to a reliable looking squad. He will be visiting the voidborn today on their own turf.” The order was certified by Redgate herself and sent through encrypted squad comms. If not for the trouble it would be to fake the message, Melissa would have thought twice. The human was done sleeping, it was time to get food and kick some alien ass.
Breakfast was similar to lunch in location. The meals all seemed to be as calorie dense as possible. I sat down next to The armored eight foot tall behemoth that called herself Melissa and ate a stack of pancakes. The pancakes had no deviations from the ones I remember on Earth. Zero differences syrup and all. Well the syrup tasted a bit off but I almost missed it at first. A taste of home must have been what I needed because I caught myself crying in the middle of my meal wishing I was home. I thought to myself after a few minutes and too many tears to count that maybe I would be better off here. At least I was not the victim of a summoning circle every day. The scene shook me to my core. I could have ended up in a very different situation on the other side of the universe as food for a voidborn colony. I shook as I regrounded myself over another mouthful of sweet carby goodness. Swinging my legs and touching my torso checking I was still in the present, I relaxed. I was not in this made-up alternate space. I was summoned by super tall Space aliens that just so happen to be a scaled up human. I knew that I would laugh if I was told aliens evolved to look the exact same as un but here I am. I must have been staring because Melissa was flexing her arm and giving me a smug look when I returned from my thoughts. I nodded and polished off the glass plate with another funny similarity. I was using a space fork. Who would have guessed that they would have so many similarities. Hehe, space fork, for my space pancakes. I guess green eggs and bacon would be too on the nose.
With breakfast finished I was informed of the deployment area and the very real experience I was about to have. “We are heading across to the shuttle platforms area anyways. We will just fly there. It will save your legs from having to carry you across the whole station” Melissa said. “I will absolutely take the ride if you are offering. I should probably give them a bit of a break before I hurt myself” I answered. In truth the walk to the cafeteria had already exhausted me and I was about to collapse already. Melissa took us to a double door at the top of a way to a tall set of stairs. I attempted to hide my heavy breathing but about half way to the top I was clearly winded. The top floor had a quarter pipe on it where gravity shifted and allowed the antechamber door to lead outside the dome.
Melissa pressed a button at the door entrance and a red light outside the glass lit up. Only a few seconds after the light turned on a shuttle shaped like a can with a glass top half turned and backed into the station. A few mechanical noises followed by the antechamber door spinning open. We both stepped in and let the door rotate to the back of the flying tin can. “Welcome aboard, Where can I take you to?” came an excited female voice from a seat centered in the glass half of the can. “Take us to the deployment area. Commander Redgate's orders” said Melissa. “Copy plotting route. Please enter your permissions to land in the restricted area. I love getting to land in the nice hangers. Those combat shuttles have some big guns if you know what I mean.” returned the voice. A panel lit up next to some cloth seats on the side of the can. After a quick swipe of Melissa’s communicator we unlatched from the antechamber door. I scrambled to pull myself onto the high cloth seats and looked for a buckle. I couldn't find one and just held onto the chair in anticipation of multiple Gs during maneuvering. The wait seemed to take forever so I opened my eyes and almost let go of my brace when the station’s glass roof passed by incredibly fast. I could not feel the turns at all. “Incredible” I let slip. “You must not ride shuttles around if you think this view is cool” said the pilot. “You want me to take the long way there mister?”
I accepted the longer trip with the gunships that were apparently waiting at our destination. Melissa confirmed the detour and the pilot whooped and peeled away from the station. The flips and corkscrews were probably overkill but the view after the pilot calmed down enough was scary. The scale of the station was completely understated by the maps. Glass domes of varying sizes connected by thin metal corridors. Pipes and conduits ran along the connections. The dark metal reflected the light of the sun we had seen briefly on our wild detour away from the station. Even the glass that was in direct sunlight seemed to darken. “The station rolls all the way around once a day. Everyone gets to see the sun once a day.” said the content pilot. “Alright enough sightseeing lets get y'all to the deployment area before I get yelled at.”
