To Love and Prosper
Captain's Log
Stardate 1366.12
We have arrived at the Deviluke's star system for nearly a week now. We are staying in this gigantic space port, orbiting one of the massive gas giants. Here, the Astroboy could dock and get resupplied for the next leg of our journey.
Space station just doesn't explain what this monstrous place is. It's more like a floating metropolis wrapped into a giant ball like yarn. The city buildings sprout out around the yarn, turning the outer surface into roads and parks and footpaths. It is surreal to walk along the streets. You can see the road you're on curve up and over your head. Looking up, you could see the tops of buildings hang down like stalactites.
Meanwhile, the hangers are actually built into the city floor. Just like how your digestive system is an extension of the outside world, the space docks exist in these tunnels and are directly connected to the vacuum of space. Enclosed in this floating city was a bubble of air that everyone used for breathing. Lala tried to explain to me how the ventilation worked to keep the air fresh, but it all went right over my head.
Everybody aboard are hard at work these days. Save for some brief excursions out into the city, it's been all hands on deck. Most people are working hard to fix the damage from after many days of traveling at warp. Even without the Ferengi attack, our ship has still been worn out from our journey. While Zastin's team are working on repairs for the external hull, the rest of us have been busy scrubbing the decks from top to bottom.
There has also been a general change in room assignments. We had to shift living quarters so we could accommodate Kotegawa, Mio, and Risa. Yami and Mikan are now living together, with Yami taking my old bed. Risa and Momo are sharing a room, and Mea is now bunking with Nana. Finally, Mea and Nana round off everyone living in the bottom deck. On the flight deck quarters, we have Zastin and his crew. Some of the security team have left the ship and are going off to their home worlds. I would love to visit those places sometime.
As for me, I've got this spacious place underneath the bridge. It has a spectacular view into the depths of space. The viewscreen is slanted downwards, so that you could actually lie on it and see the stars underneath. Originally, it was a meeting room/second dining room, but Lala went and put in this giant bed large enough to sleep five people with room to spare. In fact, She, Haruna and me have been— ahem—using it together every night since. The old table is now my writing desk, which I am using to record this very log.
We have to stay here for a while. As the planet Deviluke is now the seat of King—or rather Emperor— Gid's galactic realm, we can't just drop in unannounced and expect a warm welcome. We're waiting to gain permission to visit the capital. Lala, her sisters, and Zastin have already left. They're going to talk to Gid. Hopefully, they could grant us a royal audience. As foreign travelers, we couldn't just waltz our way into the imperial palace.
I remember how they were greeted by crowds of onlookers when they emerged from the spaceport. Lala, of course, wanted me to join in with the royal procession, but Zastin flat out refused. I watched from the Astroboy's bridge as the three sisters were escorted to a royal shuttle. The vessel would thus carry the girls off to see their father.
Hopefully, they could secure safe passage for us.
In the meantime, there are still things to do.
Currently, I'm stuck at my desk filling out all sorts of forms. There's a lot of paperwork alone to document our ship, including what it looks like, who made it, and what we are carrying onboard. I also have to write down who we are, where we're from, what we want, how many of us are there…the list goes on. I say paperwork, but it's really a bunch of tablets, each with many, many pages of boxes to check and lines to write. Ugh! Such a bother! My hands are sore now for filling out all of these documents.
And I still have to get Yami a brand new ship.
*sigh* the duties of a captain are never done.
This is Rito, signing off.
