“I do not know why, but this place is almost exactly what I expected…”
In the distance, a vast, translucent dome could be seen. A metal ring ran across both its vertical and horizontal hemispheres, emitting glassy, gassy vapours that formed a protective shield around the main facility. Inside was a floating lump of rock and sediment, held up by colossal trusses, with a variety of buildings on top of it. Beneath the structure was a mostly empty parking lot, while various drones made pretty patterns in the otherwise blank sky above. At the front of the sphere, a small opening could be seen, where a handful of ships could be seen pulling in and out.
This massive construction wasn’t too far away, but was located in the middle of a dense gravitational field. That meant that the Thantir Two had to move at a snail’s pace, at least, in ship-faring terms.
“Were you expecting something else?” Galyn asked as he peered behind him. Retvik and Litvir always sat in the two rear seats, while the co-captain’s chair was empty. Galyn didn’t trust Litvir to not press anything, and Retvik was a bit clumsy. Not when it came to pushing buttons, mostly just that Galyn disliked having a fire demon sitting too close to the sensors and touch screens.
“Well…” Retvik shrugged. “Somewhat? It just looks like a pretty standard Skyan shopping mall, but inside a massive bubble.”
“There are Skyan shopping malls like that?” Litvir asked.
“Yes… Well, there were. I very much doubt any of the Void Fields survived. But I did definitely get dragged through a mall like this once by the All-Ksa, for goodness knows what reason…” Retvik paused, then smirked. “I forget that you never left your cave, Litvir.”
“I was a very busy General with none of the fame!” Litvir tutted back. “You had the freedom to do as you please.”
Retvik shrugged some more. “You did not have to work constantly… Still though, part of me was expecting something fancier, but I also just did not expect… anything at all. Semi-related question, why have we slowed down?”
Galyn tapped a nearby console. “Massive gravitational field from a nearby universe. Forces us to slow down. Speaking of which…” Galyn turned back around, having heard footsteps. “Welcome back to the land of the living, Arkay.”
Arkay stood in the doorway, holding a blanket and rubbing his eyes. “Hi guys, how long was I out for?”
“A couple of days.”
“Oh… piss…” Arkay fell quiet. “I didn’t mean to sleep that long. Did… anything happen? Is Theocydes dealt with?”
“Everything is fine, Arkay. Litvir’s plan worked and the Void Lord buggered off somewhere…” Retvik smiled. “We are going to a shopping mall.”
“I also suggested he go and kill his masters, but I doubt he will actually do that…” Litvir muttered.
Arkay gave Litvir a funny look, then stepped into the room and climbed into the remaining empty seat. “So we are going shopping?”
Galyn nodded. “Yes. Shopping, some nice food and some overall fun. You all deserve it.”
“Yay…” Arkay chirped. “That sounds fun.”