Waiting Shapeless

Chapter 2. Junit

Tyler smiled, remembering how her older sister had picked one of the dazzling flowers that grew along that very same walkway and tucked it quickly into Tyler's hair, only seconds before an older, senile security guard came around the corner and told Tyler off for defacing the grounds.

Tyler was upset afterwards, but Maty thought it was the funniest thing that had ever happened.

Tyler smiled and inhaled deeply. The small memory was laced with joy, but there was deep sadness behind it. Her older sister had been missing for two years now. The Pentaverse Police Department had been searching for her ever since, pulling up clues now and then, but nothing that held much promise. Maty was still missing. Tyler didn't want to give up hope; she refused to. The Pentaverse was a big place and Maty could be anywhere.

Tyler shook her head as she walked, her thoughts troubled.

But she was going to work now, and all of her troubled thoughts would only hinder her concentration on the new mission.

A new mission she thought, playing with the words in her mind. It had been a while, which was a little worrisome. Tyler wondered if the CSC would eventually run out of business.

The CSC, or the Conservation of Species Committee, had become a very prominent organization since its founding. When the Pentaverse was organized and the Holy Ruolten disappeared, a few of the species that were at first thought to be stable went extinct due to the sudden unification of the universes. Kind of like an animal going extinct due to other invasive animals being introduced into its habitat.

The Committee was formed to stop that from happening. And that was Tyler's job; to keep exotic aliens from going extinct. Or at least that's how she explained it whenever someone asked.

She soon made it to the CSC headquarters.

The impressive structure was about the same size as the other large commercial buildings surrounding it, though maybe a bit taller.

It was definitely an alien design, though Tyler could only guess which race it came from. Its exterior dimly reflected light like a mirror, but it had a dark blue hue to it that changed to a vibrant red every split second before you blinked.

As a rule, Human architecture wasn't very popular in the Pentaverse, so it was rare for Tyler to see a building that wasn't alien.

The doorway opened up as she approached the building, revealing the dozens of beings all rushing from one place to another. She dodged through the crowds and registered herself at a check-in dock, then quickly made her way off the base floor to the floor where her team meeting was being held.

It didn't take long for Tyler to find the right room.

Though her team only met here before they departed for a mission, she had been there enough to not have to ask for directions.

She had worked for the CSC for almost five years now, the whole while progressing up to the position she was in now: Team Seven's engineering expert.

Tyler was only 25 years old, and holding such a high-ranking position at such a young age was practically unheard of.

Tyler was supposed to be an intern still, working in a secretarial position for a CSC team. But one of the team leaders discovered how she had a knack for catching engineering deficiencies on intergalactic vessels and got her a position in team 12. Then she just climbed her way up to team seven.

Although she was good at what she did, Tyler felt like she was really just lucky. There were a lot of intelligent beings out there; not everyone got to work in one of the top ten CSC teams.