Chapter 14
Governors Island Space Port
New York City
It was three hours from DC to New York via the Acela Express. It was twenty minutes from the train station to the ferry dock. Spencer would have had ample time to bail if Penelope had not been with him.
The ferry building at the tip of Manhattan was an utterly gorgeous, fully restored Beaux-Arts building. It was from the same period as his apartment, an architectural style Spencer loved. Only he was too nervous to even stop to admire it. The street in front was lined with military vehicles, and armed soldiers were keeping a careful eye on everyone who moved close. They had to show their IDs a number of times just to get into the waiting room. "Okay." Penelope said as they finally sat. "What's wrong?"
Spencer thought about it a long moment. "I like my life." He finally said. "It may not be perfect but it's mine and I like it the way it is. I worked very hard to get where I am and I don't want these…people coming in and making it…weird. Disrupting it somehow."
"We won't let them do that. Besides, they may make it better, you know? There's always room for improvement."
"True."
"Did you tell your Mom where you were going today?"
"Yes. She thinks it's a good idea. She also said to tell them that you're my legal companion for the day."
'What does that mean?"
"Not sure. But she said it would help with their version of HIPAA laws."
"Oh. Okay."
They were the only ones on the ride over. One of the ferry crew spotted them patiently waiting on the wooden benches in the cabin. "You should come up to the top." He said. They duly trooped up and stood at the rail with him. A few moments later a shimmery blue ship, all not quite right lines and angles, rose straight up from the far end of the island with a soft rush of sound. It reconfigured it's wings in mid-air and zipped out toward the Atlantic. "That never gets old." The crewman said.
"Oh my god I knowww!" Penelope said. "This is so awesome."
It was a short trip on the ferry. On the other side they had to negotiate another series of check points. The UN does not use local soldiers on their missions, but the Canadian military was similar enough to the US to make it all quite familiar. They were shown to a security office to check in and show their ID and whatnot. "All right agents." The Sergeant behind the desk said. "Here are your translators, you place them behind the ear and then hold your finger down on the left one until you hear the beep. Then don't look at anyone's mouth when they're speaking to you. The whole island is wired to the translator net."
Penelope took pair and put them on but Spencer felt behind his ears. "I have a pair." He said.
"Oh. Then you should hear it activate when you leave on that side of the gate. Just so you know, there's no outside food allowed on the island. There is a Terran kitchen in the UN HQ in building 298 that's open to guests, but all food there must be consumed on the premises. Some of our guests have had some pretty bad allergic reaction to processed foods."
"What about coffee?" Spencer asked.
"Coffee or tea with real sugar and real dairy can leave the building, but that's all. Now the Mrr'tani have set up a joint mess hall in building 550. If you're at all into localvore, whole food type cooking, go. It's amazing. You don't need a meal chit and they keep it open 24/7. Just say thank you a lot, their cooks enjoy the praise, they deserve it."
"Alien cuisine. We'll have to try it." Penelope said. "What else?"
"Since Terrans appear to be Q they've asked us all to wear gloves. Apparently not wearing them makes some of the other species very uncomfortable. There's a rack by the door right behind you."
"Did they ever say why?" Spencer asked as they moved to pick out thin cloth gloves in their sizes.
"We're not sure, but the current theory is that it's a modesty sexuality thing."
"Got it." Penelope said. "Anything else?"
"Not that I can think of. There is cell phone service on the island but 911 re-routs to our switchboard."
"Good to know." Spencer said. "So how do we get to medical?"
"Building 515. There's a tram that loops the island, there's a stop at the top of the hill here, just tell the driver which building. Just go out this door, and you'll have to show your visitors passes on both sides of the gate. Oh, and um, don't call the Mrr'tani pets or say they're cute or anything like that. They find it very offensive."
"We'll remember that. Thank you." Spencer and Penelope stepped out that door, opposite the one they came in. "How will we know which ones are Mrr'tani?" Spencer asked
"No idea." Penelope replied. "Was it in one of those videos?"
"I haven't watched them yet."
Penelope rolled her eyes and presented her pass to the Canadian guard on this side of the gate.
On the other side they found out which ones were Mrr'tani.
There were four guards on duty. They were all about Spencer's height, strong and muscular. They were also covered with a thick layer of fur, had long tails. Pointed ears, muzzles, whiskers…
…and assault rifles.
Spencer and Penelope stood there wide-eyed as a large, well-armed cat checked their passes. "Tram stop up there." The cat-like figure said with a hissing accent. "Welcome to the island."
"Thank you." Spencer replied as they moved to the stop.
"When we get back," Penelope said quietly. "we are watching those videos."
Spencer hadn't wanted to. He didn't want it to be real. The figures behind him were very real. "Yeah."
.
Note: So I did not create the Mrr'tani, my wife did and gave me permission to use them in this story. If you know anything about Elder Scrolls/Skyrim, she says they closely resemble khajiit.
