The guard led TO not back to the general party, but to a VIP section where special guests were sitting. It seemed unnecessary to TO that they needed a VIP section there, given how carefully curated the rest of the party was, but it was just such excess that they were starting to expect from Thalassa. Being in the VIP area also meant they were further away from DH. Sure, as a Synth they couldn’t talk to DH, but at least at the general party they’d know that DH was somewhere nearby. Being so far away from their mate made their ears twitch and their stomach hurt.
They walked further into the trees and towards a dell carved from a thick cluster of trees. Strings of light hung overhead, illuminating the area in a soft glow. TO could still see the glowing fish outside, but there seemed to be more of them than before, and some of them were moving oddly. They used their helmet to zoom in, and to their surprise they realized that it was a group of small bots scurrying across the inside of the dome. A quick scan told TO that they were maintenance bots; normally employed full time to ensure that the domes have no structural issues. TO couldn’t see them clearly, they could only see the blinking green safety lights on as they worked on the inside of the dome.
“Maintenance bots, Honored synths.” The guard said as he noticed TO watching the bots, “Though I thought that Mr. Mustela had the maintenance process postponed for the day.”
“If it’s essential maintenance, it’s probably best not to postpone such a thing.”
“Absolutely!” the guard said, suddenly standing at attention once more. “You’re entirely correct. Mr. Mustala must have thought of that.”
In the tent, there was a single table around which several ServAis hurried about, filling cups and bringing food. Vassel Buteo was there, a glass in one hand as he leaned forward and spoke to Sally, who sat right next to him. Upon seeing Buteo, TO wondered if maybe the other praetors were there, or even other ministers, but there was nobody else that they recognized. They had expected to see Pholi there, but after their brief conversation earlier they were glad that the minister of language and translation was absent.
At the head of the table there was a tiny creature, no taller than the length of TO’s forearm, sitting on a very tall chair. White, downy fuzz covered him, growing longer at the end of his long tail. On his head he had several long white prongs sticking up with red balls on the end, and his face had a distinctly rodent-like look to it.
Their helmet gave TO the rest of the information.
======
Stephan Mustela- He/him.
Entrepreneur; Art dealer
Species; Passitami
======
Mr Mustela looked up, saw TO, then stood on his chair. The others around the table stopped what they were doing, and when they saw TO they bowed their heads slightly. Mustela pressed a button on his tiny communicator, and when he spoke, his voice seemed louder than it should have for his size.
“Honored Synths- er, Synth.” He said, giving another bow, “To have you attend my humble little get-together is as much of an honor as having King Decon himself here in attendance.” He gestured to the other side of the table, where two large chairs sat. “We understand, of course, that you do not eat among the public, but we have prepared a seat for you.” He raised a hand and snapped twice. A servAi came up to Mustela and leaned forward to hear the diminutive host as he whispered frantically. A moment later, another servAi came forward and removed the extra chair. “My apologies.” He said as the bots hurried away, “I was told that both of our honored synths would join us today.”
“Ark-88 had other, pressing matters to attend to.” TO said. “I came simply to represent King Decon.”
“That an honored synth and representative of King Decon could spare the time to appear at such an event is a pleasant surprise.” Vassel Buteo said as he dropped two dissolving tablets into his drink. TO’s helmet identified them as a type of legal, recreational drug, and warned that such a drug would make a synth very ill.
“Of course, part of my duty is to represent King Decon.” TO said. This was more a formality, and something to keep synths on peaceful planets busy. “Though, given the state of Arkane and the work I have to do, you’ll understand if I don’t stay long.”
“We have arranged for entertainment.” Praetor Sally said, “A display of some of the local talent in honor of King Decon-”
“Not concluding with another execution, I hope.” TO said, and by the way everyone but Buteo flinched, TO knew that the helmet translations had taken their already stern and angry tone, and amplified it.
“An execution, Praetor?” Buteo said with a click of his beak, “Such things require approval of all Praetors, and myself.”
“Only for civilian executions.” Sally said, “This person was not only indebted, but didn’t even possess planetary citizenship.”
“Ah, I see.” Buteo said carelessly, and drank his drugged beverage as he looked around, bored. His eyes caught the maintenance bots on the dome overhead. Mustela’s eyes followed his look, and his tail lashed at his chair when he saw the drones. With a snap of his fingers, he called over a servAi. “Bring the entertainment, and have the maintenance drones recalled.” He said.
“Of course, Mr. Mustela.” the ServAi said before hurrying off.
“Apologies.” he said, “I was certain I had them disabled for the day.”
“Is that not unwise?” TO asked, “In such an environment, I’d assume that constant maintenance would be ideal.”
“Having them off for a day is fine, I promise!” Mustela said. “I’d never endanger my guests, or my precious collection.”
TO didn’t like the idea of the maintenance bots being turned off. Maybe the insurgents were even waiting for that to happen, waiting for their opportunity to sabotage the party. Despite all the security, TO still worried that they had some kind of plan, some kind of trap. Maybe there was even some kind of backup that made sure the bots performed maintenance if there were any issues or attempts at hacking. They could only hope that Thalassa’s extensive security permeated their networks as well, requiring a certain level of clearance for mere access.
“Please, take a seat, honored synth, and enjoy our offering of entertainment for King Decon.”
TO made their way to the head of the table, where only one lonely looking chair sat. As soon as they sat down, they sent off a message to DH.
== Maintenance bots are still functioning today, which makes me feel a little safer at least. Still, be careful on your own. Any sign of trouble, and you need to run and change into your armor. How’s Lendulin?==
They were still waiting for the reply when the entertainment arrived. A lithe woman with scaled, cream-colored skin and a tiny blue bikini entered the dell to the sound of drum beats that came from a hidden sound-system somewhere nearby. TO’s helmet told them she was a performer from Thalassa by the name of Basi, but she went by ‘Hydria’ when she performed. Two ServAis came before her, one carrying a long hose and the other holding a cone. When they set it up on the grass, the cone spurted water from its tip.
The lights overhead faded and hidden spotlights in the grass came on. Low music joined the drum as she stood, swaying before the small fountain, the sound of trickling water accompanying the staccato notes.
TO started recording; They’d show this to DH later. Maybe when they got back home, they’d be able to watch this and enjoy it together.
She put her hands in the water, and seemed to collect the streams, moving her hands rapidly until the water formed a ball under the rapid movement of her hands. It glittered against the lights, shimmering and sending off reflections everywhere. She threw it up, letting it arch in a stream above her head before she collected it again with hands that never stopped moving as they appeared to defy physics.
If TO’s helmet wasn’t feeding them information about everything around them, it would appear to be magic. Unfortunately, the helmet pointed out the special folds on her hands that increased surface tension, the hydrophobic cream she had slathered about her body, and the practiced way she moved her hands to keep the water roughly in a ball.
TO turned the notifications off. They didn’t want all this to be ruined for DH when they watched later, and they hoped maybe they could remove the notifications that they had already seen so far.
Once she had done a few simple tricks with the water- spinning it about, drawing it out and flicking it like a ribbon, splitting it into a few balls and juggling them with a clear carelessness which could only be achieved through countless hours of practice- she then started dancing with the water. It reminded TO of the fire dancers that they had seen in the entertainment district, and though water wasn’t nearly as dangerous as fire, fire didn’t obey the laws of gravity as water did. Even though they roughly knew the method that was used to make this trick happen, TO could still appreciate that it took a lot of hard work, a lot of focus, and a lot of practice.
The lighting faded to a low blue, and golden lights turned on from the trees. It wasn’t enough to illuminate the area, but it was just enough to create some gold reflections on the streams of water that spiraled around Hydria, who moved as though she were a part of the water, or that the water was just an extension of herself, creating a glittering aura around her as she moved. It was mesmerizing and before long, TO found their mind slipping into silence as they just watched the show. It was different from the contentment that they felt around DH when their anxiety drained from them. Hydria’s movements drew TO into a trance, and once they were pulled in it was difficult for them to give any thought to the worries in their head that babbled on. Droplets of water fell about all over, sparkling with light and coating the grass in a shiny glaze.
The music built, and her movements became more and more frantic. It was building to a crescendo as she spun, like a dervish draped in water and light. Her finale would have been amazing, TO was certain, if not for the sudden beeping from overhead that finally drew their attention, and the flashing of orange lights that flashed from the bots overhead just as the balls of water Hydria had been playing with exploded into a cascade of droplets that caught the surrounding light, forming a misty rainbow for mere seconds before it disappeared.
Mustela gave a vicious curse, and stood up on his chair, “I said disable the maintenance bots!” he snapped at the nearest ServAi, “Why didn’t you do that!”
“It is not a concern.” TO said, though they. Their tone was flat thanks to the helmet, but inside the disappointment over the ruined end of the show flooded their heart.
“We sent off the order to have them disabled, but as per procedure, it’s still pending approval from the honored synth.”
“Our honored synths are not to be bothered with such things!” Mustela snapped. “That’s not part of your operations.”
“It is as per the last software update.” The ServAi responded.
Panic flooded through TO as they checked their messages, and though they saw a response from DH, they saw nothing else.
“I have no notifications to approve.” TO said, “Did you send it to the other synth? Ark-88 is presently occupied and will not be able to respond to official requests.”
“No, honored synth.” The ServAi said, their placid voice speaking in the same calm, even tone that all ServAis spoke in, “The order is pending approval from N-94”
N-94. N for nothing. N for nobody. N for a synth stripped of rank and awaiting a new one. N for a synth set to be corrected, repurposed, reassigned-
Or N for a synth that escaped before any of that could happen, like GiDi.
The warning alarms from the drones overhead gave a loud blare to give the notice that the lasers were being employed.
