Civilization (I'll Stay Right Here)
By Kachimoochi
Chapter XX
The Male Asari
Around a single Earth day had passed, as the blue whirlwind of galactic travel terminated its engine, and the Lincoln Futura arrived to the planet of Innsmouth.
Anaximander had long since driven himself to exasperated slumber, after confusion upon confusion concerning the identity of their next candidate. Kaisar could have easily explained the identity and situation they would soon find themselves in, but he secretly found pleasure in the banter and confusion which permeated their conversation.
Kaisar wasn't supposed to feel emotion, but mischievous pleasure was a module he intended to keep. The Prince of Persia surrendered his inquisition and fell into a slumber as well, it was an awkward fit, having to fit his 6 ft 2 in body in a 4 by 4 ft bubble sticking out of the car. Before he slept, he gave thanks to god that no other being had elected to join them directly, lest Kaisar fabricate another driving compartment in the old Earth car.
The Futura had been turned Turquoise now by Kaisar's choice, the Geth felt it better suited their space travel, and it was his master's favorite color. The car, as one could imagine, looked a deal different that it had looked when the pair first left Freedomain, it was elongated at either edge, fitting a bubble compartment to house each of the three passengers. It was always a fantasy of Anaximander's to travel the infinite landscapes of space in an old Earth car. Anaximander was disgusted by the Human craftsmanship of regular space vessels, they were all substance, no style.
He developed a favor towards Turian and Quarian designed vessels, as they were able to achieve both style and substance. That was until Anaximander became civilized, in which he chose the next best thing.
Kaisar thought of this as the whirlwind ended, and Innsmouth appeared before them. The planet was an Earth-appearing planet, but with a rather drawl color scheme. The entire orb was comprised of either green, grey, and brown, not seeming anything like what Jack's home planet had been like.
"Gentleman! I present you…Innsmouth!" Kaisar yelled, amplifying his voice modulator, awakening the pair of humans in a violent fashion.
The Prince and Anaximander jumped from their cramped, respective seats and collided violently with the bubble ceiling of the car, nearly exposing their bodies to the vacuum of space. They each screamed as if their lives depended on it, causing Kaisar to guffaw in his usual robotic fashion.
"Goddammit Kaisar! What part of your programming does it allow you to torture your master?" Anaximander yelled, trying to control his heart rate, to little avail.
"The part that is Geth Sir, it is in our nature" Kaisar said facetiously.
"For imitating an Englishman, you truly don't inherit their manners!" The Prince spat out bitterly, equally annoyed for being denied his otherwise peaceful slumber.
"A thousand pardons your majesty, as it was only my intention to prank my master, not yourself" Kaisar softly said, thanking his creators that Geth didn't possess mouths.
"The more pranks you pull, the closer you come to becoming my bust, Kaisar!" Anaximander sleepily threatened.
"Is my own bust not enough to satisfy you, Sir?" Kaisar spoke with a feminine inflection.
"Oh inuendo, how mature! Thank your lucky stars that I need you to pilot this thing, or I'd turn you into a female android like EVA, I bet she never pranks Nasir" Anaximander hissed, cursing the day he enabled Kaisar's innuendo attachment.
"Your fetish is safe with me brave Anaximander" The Prince joked, eliciting a glare from his bearded companion.
"Kaisar, prove to me your usefulness and land us near Jack's location" Anaximander demanded, deciding to drop the subject.
Kaisar obeyed this command, preparing the Futura for its final approach as it entered the atmosphere. As they inched ever closer to the dark planet, they noticed that the atmosphere seemed encased in a permanent fog. It was a thick and dark fog, clouding the view of all but the Geth, and conjecting the sinuses of the poor humans.
The entire planet also, strongly enough, seemed comprised mainly of water, with deep and dark green seas covering the entire landscape. From up close, the sea almost appeared black, save for a neon green glow emanating from the ground below every now and again.
The Prince of Persia, having thus far been only accustomed to desert gas stations, desert palaces, and woodland mansions, was troubled greatly by the seemingly endless sea.
"Have you…been here before Anaximander?" The Prince inquired.
"Uh…no…I met him on a mission with Altair and Nasir about a year ago, that's when he gave me the PIN to his planet, he gave me permission to visit someday" Anaximander answered, trying to relieve the pressure building in his cranium.
"Fear not your highness, we appear to be approaching a landing pad" Kaisar said, trying to calm his own nerves.
The Futura broke through a particularly thick section of fog to find an area completely clear of the grey blanket. The three pressed their heads to their bubbles to view the outside, shocked at what they were witnessing. A small town, no bigger than a thousand yards across on either side appeared in the middle of the clearing.
The trio turned their heads to find the town was surrounded by fog. It appeared as if the town was protected by some sort of atmospheric shield preventing the fog from penetrating it. They also took this opportunity to look towards the sky, now realizing that it was the only space in which they could view it.
The nighttime sky unsoiled by the smog was bright and alluring. The moon was whole and bright, perhaps even brighter than the sun would have been. The stars appeared to be alive, dancing and moving in peculiar directions without any rhyme or reason. This paled in comparison to what they would realize mere seconds later.
As the Futura began to automatically taxi itself to the landing pad, the Humans looked upon the edge of the town, only to find that the town had no natural edge. The town was not supported by Earth, but rather by wood. Large wooden pillars and planks connected and intertwined with one another to form a flimsy and rotten support system.
"By Ahura Mazda!" The Prince exclaimed, praying to his ancient god.
"There's no way that'll hold" Anaximander whimpered.
The Futura made contact with the wooden platform serving as a landing pad, miraculously supporting the weight of the space-age vessel. The wood creaked and croaked loudly, tilting and careening slightly, but still remaining intact.
Anaximander and The Prince gripped their seats in fear and prayed to every god in existence between themselves. Perhaps their prayers were answered, as when they opened their eyes with fear subsiding, they were still alive.
"Oh, ye of little faith" Kaisar exclaimed with little ceremony.
Still not convinced of their good fortune, the Humans demanded that the Geth be the first to depart the Futura and set foot on the wooden plates making up the ground, to which Kaisar begrudgingly accepted. The Geth stepped and then stomped on the square wooden platform around the Futura, eliciting screeches and whimpers from the frightened humans, though still convincing them of their relative safety.
Anaximander and The Prince exited their respective bubbles, and made small and deliberate steps leading away from the Futura, and exiting the landing pad. They met Kaisar at the front of the pad, and crossed a wooden dock bridge leading to the main part of the town.
As Anaximander crossed the platform with Kaisar, he turned his back to check on The Prince, who was slowly but carefully making his way to them, as well. He also noticed that The Prince was gripping his arms with either hand. His face revealed that it was an attempt to bring warmth to him. It didn't occur to Anaximander to bring The Prince a change of clothes, as silk trousers and a sleeveless leather breastplate didn't suit them for their present atmosphere.
The atmosphere was indeed cold, not to Anaximander who was a native of the Midwestern America, but most certainly to an inhabitant of the Middle East. The Prince's teeth chattered and grinded against one another as he sauntered across the croaking wood. He made eye contact with the Geth and Human, though through his discomfort offered a confident smile, he had a royal image to uphold after all.
Anaximander decided to commit his good deed for the millennium and disrobed himself of his navy-blue trench coat. He at first felt it a shame to not wear his trench coat in a climate which actually warranted a trench coat, but he could stroke his own ego at the expense of someone else, ideally Kaisar. When The Prince reached the two, Anaximander fashioned the coat around the arms of The Prince, despite his temporary objections.
"You'll freeze your "Dagger of Time" off here, put this on" Anaximander sneered at his new royal friend.
"Ormazd bless you, Anaximander" The Prince whispered in thanks.
The trio then looked upon the town they had passed into after narrowly escaping certain death. It still amazed them that the town could be so rotten and rustic, and yet be held above a heartless sea by little more than twigs and mud. The town appeared to be consumed in a vortex of darkness, with the only light source in the town being old oil streetlamps littering every other block or so.
They didn't notice any inhabitants throughout the town, leading them to believe the town to be abandoned. Such was an observation to be disproven shortly.
Just as they began to jaunt from plank to plank, absorbing the bleak culture of the fishmonger shops and decrepit haberdashers, they heard a gurgling voice shout out to them in violent intent.
"WhAt ArE YoU DoInG HeRe StRaNgEr!" A voice exclaimed, sounding as if they were both suffocating and chewing simultaneously.
Kaisar's green eye immediately turned orange in caution, while Anaximander and The Prince turned their backs startled. What they were met with would be the stuff of nightmares, if they knew exactly what they were looking at.
There was a figure that appeared behind them, not making themselves known previously, as if he appeared out of nowhere. It was a small, stout man with a shaved head, but that wasn't the only notable thing about them.
The being appeared Human, but possessed physical attributes which alienated themselves from such beings. The man possessed what could only be described as gills on the side of his short neck, in addition to his big, bulging, glassy grey eyes.
He wore tattered business attire, patched with cheap fabric from head to toe. His exposed hands appeared to be sticky, or at least covered in a fluid membrane, with severely untrimmed fingernails. His throat bulged as well, perhaps excusing his phlegm-filled vocabulary and wheezing moans.
Anaximander, of course knew what they were, but The Prince on the other hand was scared out of his wits. The royal, fearless figure was rendered as silent as the grave, as his mouth opened agape, and his eyes twitched in discontent. A small part of Anaximander was joyous that the otherwise stoic Prince began to display some emotion, but he didn't appreciate the present expense.
"We're not hear to cause no guff, friend. We're looking for an old pal of mine. Maybe you've heard of him? Name of Jack Walters?" Anaximander drawled, putting his best Transatlantic accent, which he'd been practicing for years.
"YoU MuSt MeAn ThE OtHeR StRaNgEr, He CaMe HeRe YeStErDaY. He'S BeEn CaUsInG AlL SoRtS oF TrOuBle, AsKiNg ToO MaNy QuEsTiOns. MaYbE YoU CaN TaLk SoMe SeNsE InTo HiM, FoR HiS OwN SaFtEy. YoU'Ll BoTh LiVe LoNgEr!" The ghoulish busybody lectured ominously, seemingly gagging on each passing syllable.
"That sounds like him, I guess. Where can I find him?" Anaximander continued in his fake voice.
"In ThE HoTeL At ThE EnD Of ThE StReEt, JuSt MaKe SuRe He StAyS OuT Of TrOuBlE. We InNsMoUtH-FoLk DoN't TaKe KiNdLy To StRaNgErS!"
The stout being limped away from them, ignoring the Geth and The Prince, disappearing into a dark alley. As he departed, or more accurately disappeared, more of his kind began to repopulate their town. Small, gilled women passed from shop to shop buying things. Old, monstrous fish-like beings, dressed in similar business attire took their places as business owners. Patrons of restaurants and food stands bit hungrily and beastly into carcasses of fish, and other sea life.
The Prince had now almost become catatonic, his eyes still fixated on the deformed humanoids populating the fragile wooden town. The Prince would later remark that the beings appeared to be the results of crossbreeding between Humans and Drell, no that it would explain much.
"Wh-wh-wh-what are those things?" The Prince muttered, between jagged breaths.
"Remember I told you Jack based his world off a horror story?" Anaximander asked.
"These are monsters?"
"No, they are crossbred human-fish creatures, I think" Kaisar answered.
"The Male Asari fights these things?" The Prince choked, adjusting to the fear slowly.
"He isn't a-, aw forget it, just follow us, and try not to make eye-contact with the Innsmouth-Folk, they may drive you crazy" Anaximander ominously muttered as he and Kaisar took the lead to the end of the street.
They walked slowly, still not trusting the safety and reliability of the wooden fixtures, whilst perusing the atmosphere of the "haunted" fishing village. What happened on the outside of the streets wasn't unusual, just the creepy fish-folk going about their daily business. The most interesting sights were in the wide and dark alleys in between the modest buildings surrounding the main street.
All except Kaisar couldn't see well into the darkness, and neither of the Humans possessed the courage to venture past the intimidating shadows. Kaisar didn't see much of anything, some homeless people, some drunkards singing, some ritualistic murders, nothing out of the usual. He decided the unknown is what truly frightened his mortal compatriots, never knowing if something was lurking in the dark shadows, ready to pounce on them.
"Being immortal rules" Kaisar silently decided.
As they passed by the citizens of Innsmouth they received multiple dirty looks. Sometimes they were just blank stares coming from passerby's, and sometimes they would get growls and phlegm spat in their direction. It was also at that moment they realized that they were entirely surrounded. They had no reason for this to go south, but the fish-man they talked to gave off the impression that the Humans and Geth were little less than welcome.
"We're almost at the Hotel, everybody stay close" Kaisar announced, viewing the Hotel building in his peripheral vision.
As they neared the brick building, they began to get more than stares from the fish-folk. It started as mutters, then as comments, and soon graduated to anonymous threats.
"ThEy MuSt Be HeRe FoR ThE StRaNgEr!", "ThEiR KiNd DoN'T BeLoNg HeRe!", "ArE ThEy AfTeR ThE OrDeR?" Were some of the quotes they heard as they sped up towards the neon sign marked "Innsmouth Hotel"
"What kind of madman would model their home world after a horror novel?" The Prince asked.
"I don't know, but from what I saw of Jack Walters, something tells me he's right at home" Anaximander muttered in response.
In no time flat, the trio reached the brick building. It was the only building comprised of a material besides wood, as far as they could tell, and it seemed to be the only location in the town which wasn't populated by the Innsmouth-folk.
They entered through the wooden door with great haste, desperate to rid themselves of the deathly cold and murderous gaze of the locals.
The interior of the hotel was extremely warm in comparison to their location. The inside didn't contain any suspicious fish-people, or termite-infested wooden architecture. Rather, the hotel was immaculate, lit dimly by another oil light contained by a fanciful chandelier. It's clean marble staircase leading to another two floors of rooms, beside which lay an intricate wooden table with a ledger upon it, no doubt to check in guests.
Anaximander flipped through the pages looking for Jack's name, while The Prince and Kaisar peered through the windows of the establishment, on the lookout for the omnipresent busybodies they had the pleasure of dodging phlegm from. He eventually found the name "J. Walters" and beside It "Room #302".
Anaximander couldn't imagine how a two-story hotel could contain more than 300 rooms, but then the entire point of Civilization was to break boundaries, even those of the laws of physics.
"If you're lookin' for the manager, he ain't in" A lone voice, matching the transatlantic tone of Anaximander's spoke from an adjacent room.
Anaximander looked up from the ledger, and Kaisar and The Prince removed their eyes from the windowsill to meet the mysterious voice. They figured the voice emanated from the bar across from the stairwell.
The atmosphere in the bar was even more pleasing than that of the lobby of the hotel. The light was even dimmer, almost to the point of being in complete darkness, but enough to see where you were walking. The bar didn't have a theme, rather a classic pre-prohibition era cantina, with rack upon rack of fine liquors and wines.
Tables were staked upon with wooden chairs all over the bar, as if it had just recently closed for the night. There were stools around the main bar, each empty except for one.
In the lone stool sat a man brooding above a single malt on the rocks. He appeared to be a middle age man, wearing a fedora covering most of his face. The Trio walked ever closer to the lone figure, in a futile effort to get a better look at the man through the dim oil lamps.
The figure wore a white dress shirt with a brown west and brown tie. His trousers were the standard black, and his fedora was long and equally brown. Such a brooding personality and clothing style spelled out detective clearly, but the Human hybrid didn't give much value to the cliché stereotypes.
"Jack Walters?" Kaisar asked.
The Figure remained silent.
"Jack Walters?" Anaximander repeated his Geth.
The detective took a long gulp of the remainder of his malt, before gently placing it back on the table piece, as if preparing for a good bit of drama.
"That isn't what I thought a male Asari would look like" The Prince muttered innocently.
The figure jerked a bit in place, and swiftly spun around to face the trio in his bar stool, a sly smirk upon his face.
"Looks like I'm not the only one far away from home" The detective spoke in a low voice, yellow eyes beginning to glow.