The Black

Eleven

  Jol walked carefully off the ship through the tube to Luna Station. It was surreal, the Guild ship had docked with Station 00003, then they had taken a shuttle to Luna Station. It was old, that was evident by the pitting on the dome that covered the station, and the clear patch from at least three different breaches that had been made over the centuries. That was a little worrisome, but he also knew that only six people had died in all three breaches. The other strange thing was the gravity. Joel had rarely been in gravity that was not one standard. This was 1/6 and walking was strange to say the least, especially for anyone not used to it.

They moved forward into Luna City, and were suddenly at a full one standard. The artificial gravity was in place in the city. It was dark, the lighting was old fashioned, and not as bright as on stations. Still they opened into a huge road way. There were ground vehicles going by on the road, and they were on a sidewalk, looking out like the tourists that they were. The guide, a small drone with a alternating blue and red light, was hovering to allow them to look around. It noticed that they were starting to move, and took off down the sidewalk with the humans in tow. They passed not just humans, but a dozen different races. They were mixing with humans and the blazons of the Guild showed just how many races belonged to it. There were plenty of people that did not have the sign of the Guild, but those with it were much larger here, and rightly so for the Capital of the Guild. They followed down the street, the sounds, the unnatural light, and finally the smell. This air was recirculated, in fact it had been recirculated for dozens of centuries of humanity in space. The smell was all Luna, nothing like he had ever smelled before, like people who had been here had said, the smell of Luna was not like anything that someone would smell anywhere else.

It was Jol thought like smelling a thousand strong scents at the same time. Then the drone went into the building, on their right. It was old, very old, kept in good condition, but made from moon rock and concrete, not the new kind, but in the old fashion when they first came. They walked into the foyer of a major office building, and it was ultra-modern. There were real people on security, and several other military races as backup for the humans. But from the look it was unlikely to need any backup. A pretty young woman smiled at Jol and his Companions. She said, "Welcome to Guild HQ, I see that you are expected, so please go to elevator seven and you will be taken to your floor." She was still smiling as they walked past the desk, down the wide hall with at least twelve numbered elevators.

Seven was open, and they entered, the drone had left while they crossed the foyer and then to the elevator. When they were all in the machine, it started up, and it was odd. It did not glide like tubes in the stations or in major cities. It pushed up and you felt the change in pressure on you as it went up, and this was a sign of a very old design. Jol was hoping that this elevator was newer than it felt. He only knew about the elevators doing this from old books he read. He could see not all his companions had that information. There were no keys to press to go to a level, it was just going up.

It slowed then stopped, you could feel it move a little, up and down, then the door opened with it even with the floor. They walked out of the box and into a wide hall. As they walked forward, the door in front of them opened, without anyone there. They entered, in the reception room it was odd. There were seating around the walls of the room, with the door they had gone into, then one going to the right and left, but not open. When they all were inside the door shut, and the voice began to speak.

"I am sorry that the official you are to report to has been detained," the voice sounded actually sorry, which was kind of new. "If you will make yourself comfortable, if you wish to sleep please do so, it will not be seen as impolite. If you wish refreshments just say what you want and it will be delivered. Again we are sorry for your inconvenience." It went silent.