Disclaimer: I don't own the BLoSC series or the movie. Enjoy!
Chapter 15
Capital of Diversity
Capital Planet, an M-class world that is the political center of upholding the enter-galactic law, a busy metropolis with numerous buzzing establishments and generally make things easy for decent, law-abiding souls under the Galactic Alliance.
Because of its precautionary measures against any threats to the planet and its citizens, all kinds of sentient life-forms stopped off in one of space sub stations orbiting around the ozone layer of Capital Planet as a crossroad for a better relation with those who wish stay there and gave their support to the alliance.
Especially how well they handle fighting off Evil Emperor Zurg from invading the planet in a large scale numerous of times.
But how good is their security when it comes to individual entry? For an era that strives on technology, even criminal acts can evolve with it and use it to their own advantage.
A small space shuttle lands on Sub-station Alpha, it serves as a checkout point for any foreign and diplomatic aliens before entering Capital Planet. A sleek white facility with pastel colors in different sections that provides a means for passengers to purchase visitation tickets, board spaceships and dropped off to one of the planet's cities once they passed the clearance.
Another area within the station holds an emigration/immigration aisle for those who wished to stay in Capital Planet with definite reasons such as work, which Zyra is currently waiting in line for.
Dressed in an emerald green dress with white shoulder point pads, white high heeled boots, white shoulder purse bag on one shoulder and a short blonde wig to complete the look.
The person behind her is a tall brown haired, light tan skinned man in a blue casual jumpsuit is none other than Desmond in disguise.
His clawed hands are covered in thick gloves. It took a great deal amount of time to make a holographic facial projection to cover the whole head with defensive and disruptive codes. Even though it only covered the upper area, it is still an ideal figure to play a role as her android servant.
Both of these disguises fit well on how she presents her background story.
With the death of her parents in Morph at a young age, she was put with her horrid relatives and tries to make a living for herself instead of relaying others. When she turns sixteen, she hightailed out of her home planet and went straight to a nearby planet along with her android servant, the last gift given to her by her late parents, which was kept hidden by her relatives until she found it locked in the basement.
From there, she continued her study to become a scientist for two years, managed to pass the most difficult exam and got a ticket to work under one of Star Commands Research Facility as a junior scientist in training.
Kind of a cliché type story but it gets the job done and all her non-existent educational and personal records are covered by Gibbles, so that if they want to contact her referral, it will be through him.
Zyra was glad to learn this procedure through her lessons back in Planet Z. This goes to show that the series didn't explained much details around how the galaxy works and how different each planet's diplomacy as it doesn't fit the criteria for a kid's show.
Zurg isn't one for scheming in the shadows, he rather go out with a bang and let the galaxy know him personally with fear. So lessons of espionage was given to her as an extra credit and was taught how to present oneself to others, to deceive them perfectly with unimposing records that no one would dare enough to ask more about her life before.
Something that made her feel well accomplished, proud to have done it.
But that train of thought gave her a major headache, which reminds her what she experience few nights ago.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS, STARLIGHT?!" Zurg yelled through the screen while throwing his hands up in the air as he continues, "What if something happened to you? I swear! I will send my armada to scour all over Trade World for you and IF! IF THEY dare harm my little princess, I will RAIN DOWN ON THEM WITH EXPLOSIVES and letting them scream to the heavens –."
Zyra ignore the rest of it. She was sitting in her co-pilot seat as she organized the paperwork at hand.
Desmond was busy with other tasks in the ship, lucky him to be free from the fury of Evil Emperor Zurg. She couldn't concentrate with Zurg nagging at the background. It is late in the night, according to the digital clock from the monitor, she should be checking out important documents in case if she missed any errors in the pages.
They were extremely important for her persona. Profiling in Capital Planet is strict and absolute.
They follow a certain criteria for certain jobs in the whole government system, especially if one wants to get in to one of Star Command's highly secured laboratory, even janitorial positions are included in the process.
Now that Zyra thought about it. In the series, this level of strictness never appear in the show, all goof and aloof around, well maybe except the Conspiracy episode. Perhaps the lack of it became lax in the next coming years, when the unity of the galaxy through the Galactic Alliance becomes stronger and hold more power to rival high-profiled criminal's or Zurg's.
But it was worth putting the paperwork aside for now if it means to stop her father from doing something drastic if she hadn't made the call to reply.
Who knows? Sometimes Zurg makes ridiculous threats that no one would dare to believe he will do it. But with his evil intellect and unpredictability, he can do anything if he set his mind into it. Which would be a major catastrophe for Star Command and the Galactic Alliance.
Zyra sighed aloud while tapping the desk out of shear annoyance as the rambles of an overbearing parent echoes around the brig.
It took forever for the Evil Emperor to stop talking but in the end they made a compromise.
Zyra agreed to contact him once daily to satisfy his endless worries. But there are just some things that are not meant to be talked about, like her going into the heart of the Galactic Alliance. If her father knew that, he would flipped out. She had to come up with background screens during video calls to discern her location if anything possible.
Let's just hope that there are no ex-Grub or Brain Pods spies in Capital Planet.
All that long talk with him and from the Trade World adventure fiasco left her so exhausted that she barely sleep that night. Or the next couple of nights after.
Now she has no choice but to put on foundation to cover her heavy eyebags.
"Next!" a mild toned male voice called out.
Both Desmond and Zyra stepped up to the wide long counter, where a formally dressed alien looks up at them and out his four-digits out.
"Papers, please," asked the officer.
Desmond retrieve the files from his compartment and hold it out to the officer behind the desk. While he looked into each paperwork in scrutiny, Zyra couldn't helped but smile that the whole process has gone smoothly as planned. No reject stamps so far as the immigration officer scans each page, looking for any falsified information.
The officer looked at their names: Penelope Thibault and Hugh the android servant, and check the data system for any confirmations.
"All seems clear. Please proceed to terminal 746…" the officer said as he gave back the papers to them.
They gather the papers in an orderly fashion manner and took off from the counter. They almost made it to the entrance to the next shuttle ride when suddenly…
"Wait…Hold on just a second!"
One of the officers called out, making them turned to him stiffly. Base from the badge on his left side, it is an Immigration Inspector's badge.
Craters. Did he found out about the fake papers? Zyra thought in a panic. Impossible. They were all well prepared for and flawless to boot. If only she can access her weapons in their luggage, a bag made out of alloy that evades x-ray detection for a short period of time once activated.
She doesn't have a choice but to relay on Desmond's power in anticipation for a fight. Zyra hid her hands behind her back, signalling Desmond to get ready. He tapped his foot for her to hear, replying that he is on stand-by.
The lanky stern looking- alien officer walked up to them with a frown, unease crept into her body until he pulls a smile and present a bunch of papers from behind his back.
"You forgot your brochures!"
He handed over to the dumbfounded Desmond while Zyra recovered fast and smile at the man nervously.
"Ahaha Thank you, officer."
"Don't mention it! Enjoy your stay and welcome to Capital Planet!"
When they landed on another station, they were given the same security protocol before they can be released to the open colourful sight of the busy city.
Far contrast from the gloomy sight of Trade World, the bristling, ultra-modern towers and skyscrapers are visuals of wonder. It was a sunny day.
Desmond called for a ride by raising his hand among the fast moving cars in the four-lane road.
One yellow cab pulled up and the automated door lifts up to the both of them. The hood at the back of the car popped open for Desmond to put the luggage inside and off their way. Zyra was surprised to see the driver is an automaton attached to car, like an extension of itself.
Still, technology never cease to amaze her.
Driving through the crowded street in a service shuttle made both of them relaxed a bit. Desmond was just glad that they got out from that while Zyra massages her temple from such a sticky situation. Looking out on the window, the cities screamed of elegance and beauty, one such place is the Capital Plaza as they passed by the closed gated borders.
Many cities from other worlds tried to capture its design, which has inspired practically every major world capital to follow it.
Every turn or through the intersection, the picturesque streets are often overlooked, filled with charming lanes and captivating details, high end shops and stunning parks spoke volumes how loaded Capital Planet is…base on the huge investments from allied planets to its agenda from universal statistics, courtesy of hacking. Which is ridiculously big enough to feed a quarter of the galaxy.
And most of it goes to funding Star Command with better quality weapons and advance equipment.
By the window side, Zyra saw numerous Space Rangers patrolling around, giving her shudders just being near them. But she calm her nerves and remind herself that she is still safe behind the guise. None of the rangers look familiar to her.
Which is good and at the same time unsettling.
An hour in the drive and they entered a middle class-residential area at the edge of a large city while passing by a sign that states:
WELCOME TO HENOSIS RESIDENTIAL AREA!
Zyra looked over her home files and told the driver to stop at one of the house lots.
She got out from the door and walked over to the lawn of their new home. She spread her arms in a welcoming way, gesturing out to the home that was all theirs until the mission is complete.
The futuristic house was surrounded by a wall, high enough like all the other houses in the suburbs with two surveillance cameras in front and back. On one side was a river and on the other a wide grass field, a rare sight to see vegetation growing inside the city.
All together they form an aesthetic uniformity that make the city one of the most charming in the world.
With Desmond behind holding on to their bags, they made their way into the house. A key card in hand, she wiped on the security console, and the door opened to them.
Inside the two –floored house, the design elements of the place conveys the message of simplicity. Clean lines and monochromatic palette on the furniture gives an accent. A sense of order and essential quality. Two bedrooms, a kitchen area connected to the living room area, making the open floor plan more assessable.
One major detail to the ground floor is the home computer console on the side near the window. It is used for those work at home or communication purposes.
"Des, my bag." She said.
Desmond had over her luggage and Zyra dug round to look for something. She pulled out a disc storage.
She selects a disc and walks over to a large computer terminal, the one that manages the whole house. She loaded the disc into the tray, which buzzed, clicked and flashed a hue of violet over the screen. Zyra took over and immediately worked on setting through commands until she got an entry prompt.
She typed:
OVERHAUL
The machine hummed and in seconds, the whole system is under their controlled program. All files will be linked to her wrist guard and Desmond's hard drive for easy access.
"Ah finally!" Zyra exclaimed, "We have the place all to ourselves!"
"Proceed Protocol Route Survey?", Desmond asked, putting away most of the luggage.
"Yes, indeed," said Zyra, then paused quickly to look around and up and down the wide room, "Scouting around the area, where the stores are, where the main patrol routes are, we need to know every inch of it. And to do that…."
She picked up her purse and pull out a make-up kit.
"We need to venture outside."
After putting away their belongings away, Desmond and Zyra made their way out to the door and to the streets of the quiet suburbs. All around, they are surrounded by friendly alien neighbors who wished them a warm welcome. Which gives them an edge that they are normal new citizens who are happy to welcome their inquiries.
How do you like the house?
Where are you from?
I wish to invite you two for lunch, when are you free?
Have you been to this place yet? It is lovely.
Luckily, they never asked for more personal questions. They are well-mannered folks who don't snoop around other people's lives unless they were told about it, which is why Zyra chose this place for that reason.
Most of the neighbors here are part of a home friendly community organization that strives to make outsiders feel welcome and not out of place. They had face discrimination before. Whether they are humans or different alien species, they join together to face down any ill intent towards them and work together for a better community.
Truly. The perfect place for undercover job. One can never tell if those smiling faces are criminals in disguise or not.
Zyra memorize each individual who questions them, down to their outfits and accents and hopes Desmond does too, it would be easy if she had some data to compare to if they suspect one of them in the near future.
On their way out of Henosis, they spotted a park from afar and start their investigation from there. The park is one of many beautiful sites of Capital Planet's cities, there has to be booth that sells maps of the city. The brochures she received from the immigration inspector only shows the food menu trips and places for vacation, not much of valuable information there. She only got the whole area mapped out in squares and rectangles when they arrived but can't tell which building is which.
They stopped at the booth and purchase some maps and headed towards an empty bench, near at the edge of the lake, and sat on it while looking around the park. Desmond was able to match some parts of the map to the temporary map design using the data pad in hand.
All places are aligned and label, easy for them to take note on places.
Base from where they are currently living, they were able to discern few government buildings, which are quite close to them. One is the main library, the hospital and the city hall. Zyra knew that the major ones are more likely close to the center of the main city such as the Capital Plaza and the Main Frame Data Computer Base.
Two of the most highly secured places in the whole planet.
She will have to climb her way to the ranks while working as a junior scientist in order to get even near those bases. Its not that easy as how the series show. Keeping in mind that it is still the early stage of the Galactic Alliance formation and of course the places will be infested with Space Rangers and Star Command guard bots all day and night.
But first, Professor Lepton's laboratory will be her main priority. His research is something worthwhile, which hasn't made public as of now and its her best chance to snatch up data and work her own to study it.
What intrigues her is the Crystal's ability to allow anyone to absorbs it and use its powers. She wants to research it and come up with a solution to extract it safely, to harness its power while making sure that she won't fall into its madness like what it had done to Lepton later on.
Zyra has a lot of work ahead of her.
"Let's call it a day. We have the whole week to familiarize ourselves in this place before my big day comes."
Author's Note: Happy New Years, Everyone! Thank you for reading the latest chapter. See you all in the next one!