Itinerate Tree Dweller
03-09-2004, 05:35
First Meetings, Chapter 1
The day had come for the Emperor to meet his bride. She had arrived in ITD via boat, which was the traditional method, in Hades Cluster, of delivering a bride to her husband to be. The morning was cold, as it was now the equivalent of fall in ITD. The waters going into the port near Tol’Kethis Prime was wild and dark, it had taken down many ships over the years. Some people say that the seabed is covered in sunken ships and priceless artifacts, but these claims were widely ignored. The princess was sleeping in her cabin, preparing for the arduous task of planning the marriage with the Emperor.
A knock is heard on the cabin door.
(Princess) “Yes?”
(Voice) “Persephone, we have docked. Prepare your things. The Emperor expects you.”
(Princess) “Father? I thought we were not to arrive for another 3 hours.”
The princess sits up, fully refreshed from her nap. She had recognized the voice as belonging to her father, the former King and now Governor of Hades Cluster. He had returned the rule to the rightful heir of Xerik, Emperor Lazarus.
(Governor) “Yes, yes. You obviously fell asleep. That was 3 hours ago, my dear. So get ready. I will be waiting for you on the dock.”
(Princess) “Yes. I am preparing.”
The princess began packing what little things she had unpacked for the ride over. Her comb, her mirror and her drawing pad, which was filled with pictures of the various animals of Hades Cluster. Lastly she came across a picture of her future husband. The picture was vague and shown only the shape of a tall man and what appeared to be a business suit. There were never many pictures of the Emperor. He refrained from being in the public eye, opting to use his advisors and close friends as his way of addressing the nation. It was considered an honor to look upon the Emperor. An honor she will soon receive. She packed the image and went above to the dock.
(Governor) “Really, my dear. Must you always take your time? Please remember that, while you may enjoy a life of luxury, I have an entire colony to return to.”
(Princess) “Relax. I am ready to go the palace. It’s our transportation that we should really be worrying about. Where is the car that was sent to pick us up?”
Indeed, there was no car in sight. They had been promised swift and immediate transportation to the royal palace. So it was upsetting for them to be forgotten like this.
(Governor) “Maybe they are late getting here. This city is a very large place. They are probably stuck in...”
Just then a helicopter began to fly toward the dock. It had the imperial crest painted on it. The helicopter slowly descended and landed on the dock.
(Princess) “Swift indeed.”
They walked toward the helicopter, where a man exited and greeted them.
(Man) “Greeting, sir and miss. The Emperor thought you would enjoy a view over the city, so he sent us.”
The helicopter ascended and began to slowly fly toward the palace, which was prevalent when compared to the rest of the buildings in the city. Most of the buildings were tall skyscrapers, designed to show the engineering mastery of ITD. Magnificent towers of glass and steel, all were bearing testament to the empire’s greatness.
(Man) “To the left is the first residential tower ever built. All citizens live in tower complexes, all of which are complete in amenities and necessities. We designed all the rest after the first. They have automatic window cleaners and have built in solar panels to provide some of the city’s power. 4 fusion generators, all of which are stationed over the ocean, provide the majority of the power. If they go critical, we dump them and pray for the best. Never go swimming near a generator station.”
The man laughed he thought he was being funny. Sometimes the truth isn’t funny. To date there has been 3 generators go critical across the empire. One of those generators took was only partially emerged in the ocean. Half a million died in the ensuing explosion. Another million died from exposure to radiation. The solution, cold fusion is slowly being added to the power supply systems. It has yet to become prevalent among the generators. (ooc: remember, ITD is postmodern tech... about 5 to 15 years ahead of modern.)
(Princess) “How could all these be built so high?”
(Man) “Advances in structural metal has enabled us to make huge buildings. Amorphous metals enable us to make incredibly strong armor and support for buildings.”
(Governor) “Who built them?”
(Man) “The Venom Corporation, mostly. They handle the majority of the nation projects.... mostly because the Emperor is the CEO.”
The helicopter arrived at the palace, where a welcome crew prepares to escort the guests to their prepared rooms.
(Crew Leader) “Princess, we were sent here, by the Emperor, to escort you to your rooms. We are also to escort your father to his room also. Please follow us this way.”
The crew leader motions toward an elevator door, which is waiting for the guests to enter. The noise of the elevator plus the general noise of the city temporarily distracts the princess. She then focuses on the palace, which seems to be constructed of white marble with gold trim. She never imagined that a building this high could be made of marble. She is simply amazed at the building.
(Crew Leader) “Amazing, isn’t it.”
(Princess) “What?”
(Crew Leader) “This palace was built 32 years ago by the former emperor, Emperor Lazarus. The building has since undergone massive upgrades following the assassination.”
(Princess) “Assassination?”
(Crew Leader) “Of Emperor Lazarus. You didn’t know about it? It was broadcasted all over the empire.”
(Princess) “Oh, yes. Now I remember. I blanked out for a moment.”
(Crew Leader) “Please follow me. Your room is on the 14th floor. Security will meet us there.”
The elevator went down 82 floors before stopping. They stepped out of the elevator and were immediately met by government security forces. The supposed leader of the security detail walked forward and greeted the Governor and Princess.
(Security Leader) “Princess, the floor is secured. We will be providing you with any security needs you may require during your stay. We will then join the Emperor’s personal guards after the marriage ceremony. Governor, your room is the left. Princess, yours is to the right.”
The Princess and Governor entered their rooms, and began to settle in.
The day had come for the Emperor to meet his bride. She had arrived in ITD via boat, which was the traditional method, in Hades Cluster, of delivering a bride to her husband to be. The morning was cold, as it was now the equivalent of fall in ITD. The waters going into the port near Tol’Kethis Prime was wild and dark, it had taken down many ships over the years. Some people say that the seabed is covered in sunken ships and priceless artifacts, but these claims were widely ignored. The princess was sleeping in her cabin, preparing for the arduous task of planning the marriage with the Emperor.
A knock is heard on the cabin door.
(Princess) “Yes?”
(Voice) “Persephone, we have docked. Prepare your things. The Emperor expects you.”
(Princess) “Father? I thought we were not to arrive for another 3 hours.”
The princess sits up, fully refreshed from her nap. She had recognized the voice as belonging to her father, the former King and now Governor of Hades Cluster. He had returned the rule to the rightful heir of Xerik, Emperor Lazarus.
(Governor) “Yes, yes. You obviously fell asleep. That was 3 hours ago, my dear. So get ready. I will be waiting for you on the dock.”
(Princess) “Yes. I am preparing.”
The princess began packing what little things she had unpacked for the ride over. Her comb, her mirror and her drawing pad, which was filled with pictures of the various animals of Hades Cluster. Lastly she came across a picture of her future husband. The picture was vague and shown only the shape of a tall man and what appeared to be a business suit. There were never many pictures of the Emperor. He refrained from being in the public eye, opting to use his advisors and close friends as his way of addressing the nation. It was considered an honor to look upon the Emperor. An honor she will soon receive. She packed the image and went above to the dock.
(Governor) “Really, my dear. Must you always take your time? Please remember that, while you may enjoy a life of luxury, I have an entire colony to return to.”
(Princess) “Relax. I am ready to go the palace. It’s our transportation that we should really be worrying about. Where is the car that was sent to pick us up?”
Indeed, there was no car in sight. They had been promised swift and immediate transportation to the royal palace. So it was upsetting for them to be forgotten like this.
(Governor) “Maybe they are late getting here. This city is a very large place. They are probably stuck in...”
Just then a helicopter began to fly toward the dock. It had the imperial crest painted on it. The helicopter slowly descended and landed on the dock.
(Princess) “Swift indeed.”
They walked toward the helicopter, where a man exited and greeted them.
(Man) “Greeting, sir and miss. The Emperor thought you would enjoy a view over the city, so he sent us.”
The helicopter ascended and began to slowly fly toward the palace, which was prevalent when compared to the rest of the buildings in the city. Most of the buildings were tall skyscrapers, designed to show the engineering mastery of ITD. Magnificent towers of glass and steel, all were bearing testament to the empire’s greatness.
(Man) “To the left is the first residential tower ever built. All citizens live in tower complexes, all of which are complete in amenities and necessities. We designed all the rest after the first. They have automatic window cleaners and have built in solar panels to provide some of the city’s power. 4 fusion generators, all of which are stationed over the ocean, provide the majority of the power. If they go critical, we dump them and pray for the best. Never go swimming near a generator station.”
The man laughed he thought he was being funny. Sometimes the truth isn’t funny. To date there has been 3 generators go critical across the empire. One of those generators took was only partially emerged in the ocean. Half a million died in the ensuing explosion. Another million died from exposure to radiation. The solution, cold fusion is slowly being added to the power supply systems. It has yet to become prevalent among the generators. (ooc: remember, ITD is postmodern tech... about 5 to 15 years ahead of modern.)
(Princess) “How could all these be built so high?”
(Man) “Advances in structural metal has enabled us to make huge buildings. Amorphous metals enable us to make incredibly strong armor and support for buildings.”
(Governor) “Who built them?”
(Man) “The Venom Corporation, mostly. They handle the majority of the nation projects.... mostly because the Emperor is the CEO.”
The helicopter arrived at the palace, where a welcome crew prepares to escort the guests to their prepared rooms.
(Crew Leader) “Princess, we were sent here, by the Emperor, to escort you to your rooms. We are also to escort your father to his room also. Please follow us this way.”
The crew leader motions toward an elevator door, which is waiting for the guests to enter. The noise of the elevator plus the general noise of the city temporarily distracts the princess. She then focuses on the palace, which seems to be constructed of white marble with gold trim. She never imagined that a building this high could be made of marble. She is simply amazed at the building.
(Crew Leader) “Amazing, isn’t it.”
(Princess) “What?”
(Crew Leader) “This palace was built 32 years ago by the former emperor, Emperor Lazarus. The building has since undergone massive upgrades following the assassination.”
(Princess) “Assassination?”
(Crew Leader) “Of Emperor Lazarus. You didn’t know about it? It was broadcasted all over the empire.”
(Princess) “Oh, yes. Now I remember. I blanked out for a moment.”
(Crew Leader) “Please follow me. Your room is on the 14th floor. Security will meet us there.”
The elevator went down 82 floors before stopping. They stepped out of the elevator and were immediately met by government security forces. The supposed leader of the security detail walked forward and greeted the Governor and Princess.
(Security Leader) “Princess, the floor is secured. We will be providing you with any security needs you may require during your stay. We will then join the Emperor’s personal guards after the marriage ceremony. Governor, your room is the left. Princess, yours is to the right.”
The Princess and Governor entered their rooms, and began to settle in.