trans_9 | Marriage Planet

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Marriage Planet

Stacy's voice came over the comm, blaring across the entire ship.

||Attention, Attention. All personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention. All personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention, all personnel...||

The mouth in the main sculpture on Obs Deck opened, revealing a screen with the image of a mottled blue and purple planet, rotating slowly.

Planet Designation: Gondepetil
Status: Terrestrial, H-class. Mass slightly larger than most Earths.
Non-sentient life: Extensive flora and fauna.
Semi-Sentient Life: Yes.
Sentient Life: Yes.
Water: 88% of the planet's surface.

Climate: Similar to Earth's Mediterranean climate. Warm but hospitable. [Click here for cultural equivalents for non-Earth cultures.]
Landscape: Short trees and scrubs. Most mountains are plateaus, terrain is hilly and rocky on 65% of the land surface.
Air: Normoxic concentration: 25% oxygen, 65% nitrogen, 5% xenon, 5% trace gases, such as hydrogen, neon, krypton, and argon.

Air Pressure: 17.02 pounds per square inch. Heavier than ship's air pressure, but breathable.
Sky: Blue/purple with silver clouds.
Sun: A class G2V, yellow star. The planet is unusually close to its sun, but its ozone layer is fully capable of filtering out harmful radiation.

Mission: Spiritual elders of the local inhabitants are in possession of an artifact of great importance to the war against the Ohm. The crew will participate in the inhabitants' rituals of judgment and joining to enter the region known as the Sacred Mount, where the artifact is being stored. The crew is to negotiate with the spiritual elders to acquire this artifact. The crew is expected to comply with any of their demands in order to successfully complete negotiations.

Time for another mission, then.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Hey."

Hit Girl had decided to come along, not that she understood what the hell was going to be going on. People were being annoyingly unaware of what was going on, and she was more or less wondering what was going to happen.

"You seen Ruff at all, Overlord Zetta?"

"Saw her the other day," Zetta said listlessly.

"All right," she said. "How was she."

She said it lightly, but she wanted to know.

"Pretty upset," Zetta said candidly. "Apparently some fallout from that whole possession thing had been eating at her."

"Yeah, I heard about that," Hit Girl said, knowing exactly what he was taking about.

"What'd you tell her?"

"That an Overlord has a responsibility to his Netherworld, so an apprentice has a responsibility to her tribe, and she couldn't duck it." Zetta looked at Hit Girl for a moment... then decided she probably didn't need that lesson herself.

Hit Girl stared back at him. "I thought you'd say that. Good."

She was quite a moment. "You kinda favor her more than me. I've seen that."

"You're a hero, Hit Girl," the Overlord said. "I haven't forgotten that. I don't want to take that away from you or replace the guy who taught you it in any way. I'll help you with strength, but I didn't think you'd want the whole apprentice Overlord training package."

A speech like that? From the Overlord? Probably crystal-clear proof he's out of sorts.

Hit Girl glared at him, a cold, quite fury there. "The guy that trained me is gone, all right? If I didn't want it I wouldn't be here. Stop thinking about the hero stuff, all right? No one cares about that shit, not here. They just want someone fighting or whatever."

She looked at him. "What's up with you anyhow?"

"YOU care, don't you?" Zetta said.

"And what do you mean, what's up with me?" The book attempted to look at itself for some sign of obvious difference, a task destined to fail.

She glared. "I do, you know it, but it doesn't mean I don't notice you're looking at Ruff's progress more. Yeah, I know I look at thing more analytically and stuff, but whatever, I gotta know I'm not fucking it up."

She stared at him. "You seem different."

"Ruffnut has the soul of a demon," Zetta said, looking steadily back at Hit Girl. "You... You're on a fine line. A little push one way and you would too, but you don't fight for strength and glory. You're trying to get stronger for a reason, not because your reason is to get stronger."

He ignored her second statement. "You want the whole deal, Hit Girl? I can train you to become an Overlord. That'd be easy."

"A demon?" Well, she thought there was a lot about Ruffnut that was different, but she certainly didn't think of Ruffnut like that, especially after it came to certain matters of things she cared about. Even the idea of it, Ruffnut not caring about things she cared about now, somehow bugged her.

She stared at him. "What do YOU think I want?"

"...You really want me to answer that?" Zetta said, with a ghost of a smile. "Because I will, and I dunno if you'll like it."

"Gimme a fucking break," Hit Girl said, looking at him. "I chose you like you chose me, Overlord. So at a time like this, yeah, i want honestly."

Zetta considered for a moment, then said, "I don't think that, in some small part, you're not your age. I think you don't want to be alone."

He grinned, darkly. "Okay, Hit Girl. You want the full regard of the Overlord, you've got it. I'll stop treating you like a hero, and start treating you like an apprentice."

More quietly, he grumbled, "To think I vowed never to take ONE again. Now I've got two. Ha!"

Hit Girl sniffed. "Whatever. I'll be alone whether I want it or not half the time. Life isn't nice to people.a'

She nodded. "Good. You have plenty of people who want to be a hero. They have powers and mutant abilities. I'm just me. I want to know how you get strength."

She stared at him. "Ok, Overlord Zetta. You've seen the lengths I'd go. Don't hold back."

"Hmph. Life is damn good if you make it that way," Zetta said. "Be honest. Are things that crappy for you right now?"

Hit Girl snickered. "Easier what way? Life being good? I don't know what you;re talking about. I want to beat these Ohm fucks. That means doing whatever I can."

"You've got at least one friend," Zetta said. "And all the fighting training you could ask for. Someone teaching you magic."

Hit Girl stared at the demon a moment. "Why do you care I've done those things though? Shouldn't you be pushing Ruffnut to do the same?"

"You and Ruffnut are veeeeeeeeeeeeery different people," Zetta said, obviously.

"I know that," Hit Girl said. "Does it matter?"

"Yep," said Zetta. "She's a lot more reactionary. You're a lot more thoughtful and disciplined. You guys have pretty different needs. Actually... you guys are really good for each other." He grinned. "Not that I believe in all this friendship and love crap, but for you two, I'll make an exception and be glad for it."

"Look," Hit Girl said, "that girl is my friend, and I'm gonna make sure she reaches her goals, whatever. I don't care what anyone calls it: Ruffnut is a viking, and I'm a ten year old girl. You do the math."

She shrugged. "And for that to happen, and for me to kill those damn bugs, I gotta get stronger. Make it happen."

Marriage Planet

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