Fic: Altered Trajectory (cont.)

[jeriendhal]

With that they entered a shuttle and were flown down to the planet. Rufus began to regret having their lunch interrupted for the trip when they hit the atmospheric interface and the shuttle began to shake as it plowed through the atmosphere. In the seat across the aisle, Admiral Gisko looked over in alarm as he grabbed a sick bag from the pocket in the seat back in front of him and began to noisily vomit.

“Are you ill?” she asked.

He coughed up the last of the sick and spat into the bag, sealing it shut. “That’s a very long and complicated question that I’d much prefer not to answer. I’ll be all right once we’re on the ground.”

“He doesn’t do well in zero-g anymore,” Hazel provided. The look on her face was dangerously close to mothering.

Rufus sat back in his acceleration couch, wishing he had a travel sized bottle of mouthwash, as they skimmed through the sky. The shuttle curved in a lazy arc around a gleaming white city made made up of tall turrets set on a cliffside by a roaring sea. Then the ventral thrusters began to fire and they landed at a private spaceport in front of large complex that seemed to be at the center of the city.

They emerged from the shuttle, blinking in the harsh light of the world’s double suns. Wordlessly, a galapagos flight attendant handed them both a pair of sunglasses, which he and Hazel slipped on. In front of them sat the palace, for that was only what it could be described as. The bright light of the suns rendered it nearly shadowless, a multitude of turrets clinging to a central, domed structure. Emerging from the central doors was a robed galapagos, male and heavily muscled, wearing a open necked tunic embroidered in gold, who strode down the stairs to meet them, gathering up the Admiral in a hard embrace.

“Skora, I am glad that you are home,” Oryon Gisko, the galpagos’ chief administrator said to his evident mate. “You were missed.”

“As I missed you, my love.” She rubbed her scaly cheek against his, then stepped back, returning to a more businesslike stance. “You received my data pack?”

“Yes.” Oryon turned to Rufus and Hazel, finally acknowledging them. “Greetings to you, Lord Ru Ofanius. My thanks to you for coming to us with this information.”

Rufus did his best to ignore the remaining painful twinges in his stomach and concentrate on proper manners. “My pleasure, Administrator. May I introduce my partner to you, Lt. Hazel Swiftfoot, formerly of my homeworld’s defense force, honorably retired. Hazel, the is Administrator Oryon Gisko of the Varn Dominion. He's the chief Galapados, as I understand it.”

“I serve my people's needs, so that our Wise Master might concentrate on the betterment of the Dominion as a whole,” Gisko explained, bowing slightly to Hazel.

“Great,” she said. “Why don't we talk to him so we can figure out what to do to keep the Human Federation from stomping all of you flat.”

“That is not possible at this time. My Lord Gene Mage is currently indisposed... concentrating on an important project.”

“The restoration of his Ferin?” Rufus asked, not missing the slight wobble in Gisko's remarks.

“That has almost completely occupied his time since the arrival of Terinu and his companions,” Gisko said, some of the tension dropping from his face as the conversation moved away from the Gene Mage's current status. The old varn had been in almost as bad health as Rufus himself had been at the time he'd seen him, almost at the end of his lifespan. He wondered how much closer that was now.

“Is Lt. Freeman with you? I would very much like to speak to him about the current situation, and with young Matt and Terinu as well.”

“They have rooms here in the primary administration center,” Skora said. “We shall take you to them immediately.”

Comments

[mjkj.livejournal.com]

Wow, nice update :)

Though I am wondering why Skora all so suddenly is willing to show them deep secrets like Teri and Lance etc. when not long ago she had forced them to comply... (it is just all of a sudden, like: ok, hubby is there now you can get in the deepest security issues and secrets)

mjkj


PS: some typos:
Wordlessly, a galapagos flight attendant handed them both a pair of sunglasses, which he and Hazel slipped on.
here and in several more sentences you have "galapagos" instead of "Galapados" (like the island, not the race of the Teriverse)

Emerging from the central doors was a robed galapagos, male and heavily muscled, wearing a open necked tunic embroidered in gold, who strode down the stairs to meet them, gathering up the Admiral in a hard embrace.
it should be "...an open necked..." (and of course "Galapados")

Hazel, the is Administrator Oryon Gisko of the Varn Dominion.
I think you meant "...this is..."

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Well, Admiral Gisko already knows that Rufus knows about Lance and Teri. He was there during the whole Grace of God incident, and saw what Teri can do, and met the Galapagos during his trip back to Vulpine Prime

As for the spelling, that's a deliberate choice on my part. In this universe the Gene Mage was paying a bit more attention when he picked up his Lava Lizard samples, and got the spelling correct. :)

[mjkj.livejournal.com]

Well, I know that he knows - but Skora did/does not (otherwise she would have treated them differently) - so unless Gisko would share this information (and here it is nowhere hinted that it is shared...) she never would be so frank like that...

Well, that is ok, if it is on purpose but then you should be consistent and change the Galapados into Galapagos in this sentence: (Rufus:") ...He's the chief Galapados, as I understand it.”

mjkj