Of Smoke and Stardust [[COMPLETE]]]

CHAPTER 15-ALYA

Standing in an urban center, Delhi Heights wasn't the tallest skyscraper in the City of Karma, but the penthouse window provided a handsome view of the cityscape. From the glass panel, Alya watched the metropolis sprawl out below her; a jungle of steel and glass, drastically contrasting against the bright green landscapes. Networks of trees lined the boulevard, and elevated tracks of bullet trains wound through the city, snaking past the towering building but staying away from the path of flying cars. The lakes glimmered like silver mirrors, solid and unmoving.

The terraformed sky should have taken to blue, like Earth, but as a result of the sun emitting radiation of a different wavelength, the sky of the planet Arsania changed colors, from pink with a light green overtone of daylight, to a twilight hue of purple-grey dusk; an after effect of terraforming. Rich tourists came from far away planets just to see the sky, taking pictures that could never capture the full beauty of it.

She walked back to her bed and flopped on her back. After being away from home for the past two years, sleeping on bunkers and hard mattresses, the puffy bed felt too comfortable to bear.

Her wrist Comm buzzed. Jorrit.

"Is everything alright, Jor?" she asked into her Comm device.

"You mean beside the fact that I'm stuck in front of Holo-Screens, while you're all getting dolled up for a party? I'm great."

Alya couldn't help but laugh at her friend's peril. Zion already had him in the surveillance room of the building, to keep an eye on the screens and notify the others if he suspected something fishy. Nevertheless it was a huge building, with thousands of rooms to cover and a lot more people to shift through. While they would be attending the banquet—albeit as part of their duty—poor Jorrit would be shuffling though security images.

"Come on, Jor, you know we won't be enjoying it without you." Alya tried to console him.

"Yeah, yeah. Are you ready for the big feast?"

Alya's eyes flicked to the vanity table, where instead of makeups, she had laid out a set of throwing knives of different sizes and two ERGs along with their holsters.

"I am." Alya smiled to the comm unit, a satisfactory sound at her own preparations.

"Right, well, enjoy. I'll be here, watching from a distance...eating instant noodles probably..." with a beep, Jorrit terminated the connection.

Alya sighed and let her wrist flop back onto the bed. She should get up and get ready; changed, maybe put some make up on and look presentable, if possible.

With a sudden need to find a dress—a gown preferably—that could hid all the weapons, Alya walked to her wardrobe to check if her dad had delivered anything beforehand, since she'd been living on board the Kerostatia, Alya owned nothing but a few uniforms, a couple of plain t-shirts, trousers, and sweaty training clothes. There were shops in town, but the time it would take to go shopping would probably take longer than an hour.

"Excuse me, Miss Nayar, may I come in," a female voice blared from the door intercom, tearing Alya out from her musing.

"Yes, Come on in," she said, half-turning over her shoulder.

The panels slide open, and a young woman entered the room with a rolling rack. She was a class-A gynoid, her smooth porcelain skin, long lashed eyes embedded in a doll-like face and perfect curves were too artificial to look human. "Mr. President has personally asked that these dresses be delivered for the banquet this evening," she said in a reedy tone, gesturing towards the garment bags hanging from the bar. "Should you require any assistance, I would be more than happy to aid. Just press the hotline button on the assist panel by the door and I will be at your disposal."