Emily woke up on the day of her team's departure feeling a little nervous. This was a totally different universe they were going to. She headed to the departure point and breathed deeply to calm her nerves. Moradelia then saw her. "Pre-mission jitters?" she asked Emily.
"Yeah, and for two reasons," replied Emily. "One, I hope the mission goes well. Two, I hope this universe is as friendly as you say it is."
"I don't know how much this is worth, but I can assure you, the Adrexians are a lovely bunch."
"What are they like?" Moradelia smiled as she answered Emily's question.
"I'd like to keep that for the briefing. Gotta make sure everyone knows what me, Verdutha, and Rojenthi know."
"Fair enough." The two women then arrived. Bashoon, Cosmo, Dinara, Elmpam, Famine, Firestorm, Fitri, Gabriella, Geltar, Lacey, Llyra, Malnar, Maria, Natalie, Override, Palmarta, Rojenthi, Rouge, Scorpainia, Sophie, Trema, and Verdutha were gathered as everyone else wished them well. Emily took one last breath, then adopted her signature confident smirk. "Are we all ready?" she asked her team.
"Yeah!" cheered everyone.
"All right, then all that's left is the briefing on the universe. Moradelia, Rojenthi, Verdutha, take it away." The three Chizaran Princesses took the stage.
"Like us," began Moradelia, "the Adrexians are a race of God-like immortals. However, they achieved their power through technological means whereas we achieved ours through magic."
"Thus, we've always called them our technological cousins," continued Rojenthi. "Unlike us, where we have all the gender and sexual identifications, the Adrexians are a race of women with both sets of…equipment. An accident that went awry, but everyone became so used to it that they stopped trying to bring men back."
"And while everyone on Chizara is rich," said Verdutha, "there's a hierarchy on Adrexia. It's not totally enforced, though. An Adrexian could be a Queen one day, then decide to be a maid and let a farmer take her place. Everyone's been the Adrexian Queen at least once or twice."
"So, the social classes are just where people decide what jobs they want to do for a while," guessed Bashoon.
"Exactly!" confirmed Rojenthi.
"Takes the fun out of having riches," muttered Rouge.
"What's the use of them if we all make the same income?" asked Moradelia.
"All right, ladies! It's time!" called Emily. "It sounds like this universe is gonna be a breeze!"
"Why'd you say that, Emily?!" protested Famine as she finished her candy bar. "Now it's gonna be harder!"
"Emily's right on this one," said Verdutha. "The Adrexians and Chizarans are our friends. They won't succumb to evil so easily."
"Coordinates set," reported Cosmo. "Let's go!" Emily opened a rift and the ladies went through.
They all landed in a hallway of some sort. The place looked absolutely spotless. "…It's quiet," muttered Bashoon.
"Too quiet," replied Trema. "Something's wrong."
"Visitors detected," called a computerized woman's voice. "Welcome to Homeworld Station."
"Who said that?" asked Override.
"I am the station itself," replied the voice. "May I inquire as to the purpose of your visit?"
"We're looking for a woman called Peace," explained Natalie. There was no response.
"…Hello?" asked Emily. Still no reply.
"…Computer, you were given an explanation," hissed Verdutha.
"My apologies, Lady Verdutha," the computer finally described, "but I cannot answer questions from servants and low-class ladies."
"Excuse me?!" snarled Emily.
"Who's the idiot who programmed you?!" demanded Override. No answer. "…I am Override, the Nitro Convoy of Velocitron and as the duly appointed leader of my planet-!"
"My apologies, Override," said the computer. "I had no clue you were a lady of such high repute. Your questions are now valid ones."
"Then answer me this; who programmed you to spout such nonsense?!" repeated Override.
"That would be our Eternal Queen, Auriella Seflowa," answered the computer.
"You don't have Eternal Queens," said Moradelia.
"After the Great Disaster, we had no choice but to elect a permanent Queen," explained the computer. "This required a new social structure that was rigid and everyone knew their place."
"Fluid social structure, huh?" Emily snapped at Rojenthi.
"Don't blame us!" protested Rojenthi. "It was fluid last time we were here!"
"What disaster?" asked Verdutha.
"I'm sorry, but that is classified information," answered the computer. "Please excuse me, the stand-in Queen is about to speak." A portly, blonde woman appeared onscreen.
"Good morning, everyone," she said. "Welcome to Day 37 of the 800,000th year of our five-year planetary cleanup. I can see from our systems that our Chizaran cousins are visiting and they brought people from other universes here with them. As long as they abide by the rules, I'm positive there will be no incidents. Also, today we have a play scheduled for this evening for our flesh and blood servants, so I'd recommend giving them a break from serving you and letting the robots do their work. Other that…it's same old, same old as we've been doing for 800,000 years. My Chizaran cousins, you'll be escorted to the throne room while your retinue will be escorted to their respective quarters according to their social status. Thank you very much for visiting. You'll get the full story soon." The woman vanished and robots arrived. They looked like robots you would see in shows like The Jetsons or other various sci-fi shows of the 50's and 60's. The Chizarans were taken to the throne room in the center of the station as everyone else was bustled into quarters relating to their social status and height. Emily found the questions very annoying.
"Name?" asked the robot.
"Emily Williams," replied Emily.
"Title?"
"Dame of the Feudal Nerd Society."
"Occupation?"
"General practitioner and surgeon."
"Universe of origin?"
"Beyond City." After that, the robot began calculating.
"Our computer sends her apologies for the misclassification from earlier," said the robot. "You will be assigned Section 3, Room 1. Have a pleasant stay here."
"…Thank you," replied Emily. She was then escorted to a rather spacious suite. "Computer, when will I be meeting my friends again?" Emily asked once she settled in.
"Contact with those outside your social class is forbidden," replied the computer.
"Forbidden?! They're my friends!"
"Irrelevant."
"It most certainly is not!"
"No further questions related to communication. Eternal Queen Auriella was quite clear. Good day." The computer switched off.
"…Peace really has her work cut out for her," muttered Emily.
