by M. Alan Marr
“You don’t have to press a button?” Chaz says.
“Unless you press a button for another floor, the lift assumes you want to go home.”
The lift doors open on Dev’s floor, revealing a beautiful vestibule. Dev’s residence is smaller than the penthouse in Atlanta, but not by much. The ample spaces are open and airy. Floor-to-ceiling windows form the exterior walls throughout. The decor is high-tech and stylish. It looks to Chaz like an ultra-modern apartment from a metropolitan architectural magazine.
“I see you’re the same wherever you go,” Chaz says jokingly. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t exactly rough it.”
“Hey, I worked very hard to get here.”
“I know you did.”
“So, galley and dining room are to the left. Living room is ahead. My study is up there. My sleeping quarters, bathing, and privy to the right.”
“Why do you call it a privy?”
“Because it’s something you do in private.”
“Okay; “Chaz says as he looks around, then back at the lift. “Wait, so if you pressed someone else’s button, you’d just end up in their entry foyer?”
“No. In that circumstance, the doors would not have opened until the resident granted access. That’s why I had Chamberlain list you as in-resident status.”
“Is chamberlain his name or position?” Chaz follows Dev into the living room.
“Position. Chamberlains are like building managers.”
Chaz walks through the foyer into the living room. “Wow, this is gorgeous!” He looks out the windows toward the crystal-blue sea. Dev presses an icon on a wall panel, and the large glass doors to the balcony slide open, letting in the gentle sea breeze. Chaz steps outside on the glass-railed balcony.
“Oh, Dev, I could totally live here.” Chaz smiles and leans against the rail, gazing at the sea. Dev takes a few moments to lean against the railing and take in the beautiful view he has missed for these last six months. He takes a deep cleansing breath of sea air and happy to be home.
A pleasant tone is heard in the room, and then the sound of a door closing off the galley.
“Commander,” a voice says, approaching the balcony, “welcome home, sir.”
Dev looks over to where the voice is coming from. Chaz turns to look as well. It is Dev’s adjutant, Bross, a Lieutenant specializing as a military aide and domestic.
“Ah, Bross,” Dev says. “Good to see you, Leftenant.”
“And you, sir. I’m sorry to intrude.”
“No intrusion,” Dev says. “Bross, this is Lieutenant Commander Chaz Ronaldi. He is from Earth, and someone I plan to spend the rest of my life with. At least until he decides to leave me for someone far less interesting.”
“My congratulations, sir,” Bross says to Dev. “Salutations, Commander Ronaldi. Leftenant Ben Bross, Military Adjutant.”
“Bross.” Chaz nods.
“Bross, accord Commander Chaz every courtesy,” Dev orders. “Complete access and support.”
“Of course, sir,” Bross replies.
Chaz and Dev stand upright and turn around.
Bross sees the bloodstains and horrid condition of their uniforms. “Sirs— are either of you injured?”
“No, Leftenant,” Dev replies. “We saw action in Lyra.”
“I’m relieved you’re back safely, sir.” Bross looks at Chaz. “Commander Ronaldi, do you have any baggage, sir?”
Chaz leans his head toward Dev. “Just him.”
“Sir?”
“Earth joke,” Chaz explains. “But no, nothing.”
“I’ll prepare fresh uniforms for you both.” Bross pulls his personal electronic device off his belt buckle and speaks to Chaz. “Sir, if you don’t mind, I will read your measurements.” Chaz stands upright, and Bross directs his device toward Chaz. The device chirps.
“Thank you, sir.”
“That’s all it takes?”
“Yes, sir.”
Dev interjects, “We’re going to bathe, then head back to the Admiralty. We should be here tonight, unless anything changes.”
“Yes, sir,” Bross replies. “I’ll ready fresh uniforms and then go to the market.”
“Flight suits, Bross. I have a fighter standing by in case there’s further action.”
“Yes, sir.” Bross nods and departs, leaving Chaz and Dev alone.
Dev leads Chaz to his bedroom, where Dev places his hand against a security plate on a door near his bed. His handprint is read, and the door slides open, revealing a small closet containing all of Dev’s military issue clothing, uniforms, and accessories. Dev unholsters his weapon and places it muzzle first into a charger block integrated in the shelving unit in the closet. “Sidearm, please.”
“What is that?”
“Gun block. It will recharge and degauss our weapons.”
Chaz carefully unholsters his gun and hands it to Dev, keeping the barrel pointed away from them both. Dev plugs Chaz’s weapon in the block, takes a step back, and the door closes and re-locks. Weapons secure and recharging, Dev and Chaz both disrobe in the bedroom and head into the bathroom. The bathroom itself is large, with high ceilings. A tall swath of tropical jungle flora behind a glass wall catches Chaz’s eye. A closer look reveals a separate glassed-in compartment surrounded on three sides by broad, leafy plants and flowery vines. The exterior wall to the jungle-compartment is also glass, filling the bathroom with natural sunlight.
“What’s with all the plants?”
“That’s the shower,” Dev replies.
“Looks like a rain forest.”
“Funny you should say that . . . Come on, you’ll love this.”
Both are in bad need of a shower. They both have dirt and grime and soaked-through bloodstains on their skin from the engagement and rescue efforts on Lyra. Dev opens the shower door, and they both step inside. The inside looks similar to a modern shower on Earth. There is a conventionally placed shower head above a central unit containing shelves of soap and grooming products. There is also a control panel. Chaz looks up and notices the plants and vines reaches about twelve feet high with open sky above them.
“How is there blue sky above? I thought the building had flat sides.”
“The front of the building is flat. The back is anything but.”
“The floor plans must be staggered if everyone gets one of these.”
“They are.” Dev activates the main shower head. No wait for the water to warm up.
“This is great.”
“This is nothing.” Dev touches an icon on a control panel, causing the shower compartment’s interior glass walls to retract into the floor, opening the shower fully to the foliage. Warm water and mist cascades down from unseen shower heads activating high above them, very reminiscent of a tropical rain forest. Pleasant aromas from of the flowers and plants is noticeable right away.
“Incredible!” he marvels.
“The plants are all varieties of what we call bathing flora,” Dev says. “The warm water releases essential oils and plant enzymes that are great for your hair and skin.”
Chaz looks at the seams in the floor. “Where does the glass go?”
“Down into the walls below.”
“This is cool as shit! Does everyone bathe like this?”
“Even the seediest hotel room on Trieste will have at least one plant in it,” Dev jokes. “But honestly, I’m usually in such a hurry I leave the walls closed and just shower the old-fashioned way.” Dev smiles at Chaz. “But you’ve given me reason to pause and enjoy some of the things I often take for granted. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” Chaz agrees. “Pretty bad situation, though.”
“Yeah,” Dev agrees. “I was hoping we could take a couple of weeks off so I can show you around.”
“Speaking of time off . . . I didn’t think about this before we left, but I have to do something about my work schedule. I can’t just disappear off the planet.” Chaz adds, “You too for
that matter. People will notice.”
“I’m sorry,” Dev says sincerely. “I didn’t consider your work schedule. Everything happened so fast.”
“That’s okay, Dev, it didn’t occur to me until just now.” Chaz considers the time. “I don’t even know how long it’s been since we left.”
“We left Earth three days ago.”
“It’s been three days? That means I’m supposed to fly to Paris four days from now.”
Dev thinks about the dilemma. “With all that’s happened, I may not be able to get you back in time.”
“Hmm,” Chaz says. “Is there any way I can get in touch with crew scheduling from here?”
“Direct communications aren’t possible.” Dev thinks for a moment. “However, we can access the relay buoy we left in orbit, and you’ll be able to get onto the Internet.”
“That would be great. I really don’t want to no-show. It would raise way too many questions.”
“Our signal techs will have to set up the link back at the Admiralty.”
“I’ll put my next couple of trips up for giveaway. I’ve got Paris and Lyon, so they’ll go fast.”
“And if that doesn’t work, we can use some electronic trickery.”
The shower is long and refreshing. Increasing the water temperature seems to increase the aromatic nature of the plants. The Tertian soap is thick and lathery and just smells of cleanliness.
Dev shaves, then instructs Chaz on the finer points of using a Tertian razor in the shower. Chaz is amazed how smooth and energized his skin feels. They hear the soft door chime, signaling the return of Bross.
After drying off, Dev ‘brushes’ his teeth. He changes the head on the dental appliance and instructs Chaz how to use it. Afterwards, Chaz rinses his mouth and looks in the mirror at his gleaming clean white teeth. “Wow. People pay a fortune for teeth like this back home.”
“This is the one piece of Crown technology I refused to give up on Earth.”
Chaz looks at Dev. “I just realized, I don’t have any clean underwear.”
“I’m sure Bross will think of that.”
“What about clothes? Is it even legal for me to wear the uniform?”
“Technically, no. But I’d rather you keep a low profile. The Admiral can approve a continuance of your previous commission.”
“My commission is a little out of date,” Chaz says. “I’ve been out of the Navy for almost eleven years.”
“Here in the Crown, good sir, a commission never expires. Your rank and title are yours until you promote, die, or get so old you forget you have it.”
They enter Dev’s bedroom, where Bross has two clean flight suits laid out, along with appropriate fresh undergarments for both as well; Chaz’s still in new packaging. Freshly polished boots sit at the foot of the bed.
“Where did your guy find a flight suit in my size?”
Dev looks at the inside collar of Chaz’s flight suit. “Leftenant Pummil. He lives in the building. Tall man. Bross must have borrowed it from him.”
“Nice of Leftenant Pummil.” Chaz says, then picks up Dev’s shiny platinum bangle off the bedspread. “What is this thing?”
“Chronometer,” Dev says, taking the device and putting it on his lower forearm.
“Oh, cool. You wear it with the display facing inward?”
“Yeah. Anatomically, it’s more correct. I’ll order you one.”
They dress in their flight suits and pull their boots on. Dev adjusts the forearm cutout on his flight suit so it locks in place around his chronometer.
Chaz looks around for a hat. “No covers?”
“Covers?”
“Hats. In the Navy, we called them covers.”
“Oh, normally, yes, but optional with flight suits. I usually don’t wear it with the flight suit unless I’m giving instruction. Hats are also optional if you’re in uniform but off-duty.”
Dev opens the secure closet and pulls their weapons. After holstering his weapon, Chaz pulls the interlink device off his belt.
“Say, what’s the deal with this thing?”
“Your interlink device,” Dev says. “Communications, remote detection, minor analytics, basically a military smart phone.”
“Cool.”
“I’ll show you how to work it later, but we need to get back to the Admiralty.”
Chaz clicks the device into his belt buckle and follows Dev out. They waste no time departing and board the next train to the Admiralty. Once again, passengers on the train notice their sidearms and give them room. The civilians are polite and respectful, making Chaz wonder whether he’s visiting a perfect society or a military dictatorship.
Chaz leans in and speaks quietly to Dev, “Do you live in a military state?”
Dev replies conversationally, “The military and civilian government are two parts of the same machine. The military handles territorial defense, astral regulation, and extra-planetary law enforcement. The civilian government, the Regency, handles infrastructure and food chain, civic programs, education, public health, and civil engineering.”
“Regency? Like royalty?”
“No, no, it’s comprised of a Board of Regents; regional ministers and officials.”
“Do the two sides get along?”
“Yes, of course. It’s not Washington, DC. Here, military officers and civilian officials serve the people. It’s not a power play. We don’t have politicians pandering to a radical base pushing ideological agendas. And here, you will not find groups trying to marginalize others based on their theological tenets.”
Chaz stares out the windows, even though the train is run completely underground. “Why are there windows?” he asks suddenly. “I mean, it’s an underground train.”
Dev shrugs. “Humans as a species don’t like confinement. The windows and lighting in the tubes make it more comfortable.”
“Interesting.”
“If we end up spending some time here, remind me to take you out to the Western Inhabitance. The travel tubes pass through a vast crystalline cave system. Just spectacular. In fact, the trains slow down as they traverse the cavern network only because they’re so beautiful. The centers of the crystals are inhabited by a bioluminescent species of bacteria that light up the caverns. Truly wondrous.”
Chaz smiles at the prospect. “What else you got here?”
“We have the northern glacier fields, and some of the southern routes pass through parts of the Shallow Sea. Incredible reefs, and amazingly clear blue water.”
Twenty minutes later Chaz and Dev arrive at the Admiralty Transit Station and emerge topside near the outer gates. Chaz muffles a big yawn.
“I’m suddenly feeling really tired.”
“Compression flight produces a side effect similar to jet lag,” Dev says and then adds, “I’m exhausted myself.”
“That’s got to be it, then,” Chaz replies. “I feel like I just flew the red-eye from the Coast. I could use some coffee.” Chaz jokes, “Got a Starbucks here?”
Dev points to a cafe down the street. “There’s our version of Starbucks. It’s called Cafe Capua.”
“Capua was a city near Rome. I think they trained gladiators and sold slaves there.”
“Now they make us slaves to capulus.”
“Is it as addictive as coffee is back home?”
“The Capua Conglomerate has thousands of outlets in the Southern Inhabitance alone, and more all over the Crown. Their doors are always open. In fact, a lot of them don’t even have doors. And, yes, it is. Why do you think I spent so much time at Starbucks?”
“Where does it come from?”
“One of the worlds of Eridanus. The planet is about the same size as Earth and grows nothing but Capulan plants.”
“The entire planet? Nothing else grows there?”
“That’s it.” Dev adds, “Other stuff would grow there, but Capulan is the only native species. We haven’t introduced anything else into the ecosystem.”
“Must be nice to ne
ver run out of coffee.”
Dev jokes, “Capulus is the single-most exported good in the Crown. I just hope that wasn’t one of the planets hit in the attack. That would be a crisis for Humanity.”
As they walk down the sidewalk, Chaz and Dev continue talking. “What’s the protocol on saluting? I didn’t cover that.”
“If you’re passing a fellow officer a nod will suffice. If there is conversation beyond pleasantries between junior and senior, the junior will typically render a salute first. Indoors, it’s either or. Generally, if you’re responding to an order and you’re departing, you’ll salute. But it’s not exactly what you’re used to. We don’t hold the salute and wait until it is returned. The senior will eventually render the courtesy, unless they’re displeased. A senior will also sometimes initiate a salute if they’re dismissing you.”
“As in, I’m done with you, get out.”
“Basically. It’s a signal to carry on,” Dev says as they walk. “A few kinds of salutes: If you’re wearing a hat, officers from Trieste use a three-finger touch to the right brim; thumb, index, and middle fingers. It’s a modified version from the days when officers would actually lift their hats to one another. If you’re not wearing a hat, it’s basically the same. There is some variation around the territories.”
“How do you mean?”
“Long time ago, the Garrison Field Marshal on Lyra lost the thumb and index finger of his right hand. Even here, the middle finger is considered rude, so the Field Marshal used his last three digits to salute. As a sign of respect, Lyran officers did the same, and a several centuries later, they still do it that way.”
“That’s awesome,” Chaz says with admiration.
“Officers from Hercules use their whole hand, sort of like your Navy salutes, but in the middle of the forehead, to shade their eyes.”
“Why?”
“Very bright in Hercules. By shading the eyes, you can better see the other officer.”
Chaz never considered the individual characteristics of different worlds and how they translated into daily life. “What about enlisted personnel?”
“Enlisted crewmen use their right-hand index finger with middle knuckle crooked and touched to the middle of the forehead, but the protocol for enlisted personnel is fairly relaxed, otherwise they’d be doing nothing but saluting all day. Generally, enlisted guys will salute when it’s a one-on-one situation with an officer, or when they want to convey an additional sign of respect, but don’t take it too personally if they don’t.” Dev adds, “Most of the crewmen tending to fighters always salute the pilots.”