Chapter 2: The Stenian Discrepancy (1)
The trouble with selling stardust is that it's priceless, but there's not exactly a great way to actually sell it. Usually, you'd have to go around the upper systems and start hawking it to every denizen there, and even then you'd have an issue selling it, because there's always the one guy that tries to undersell it to you and rip you off. Luckily for me, I found an ad from Eagle I that was asking specifically for a cosmic veil. I mean, it's incredibly suspicious that someone would publicly look for one of these things, but I just want this thing off my hands. Historically, those who publicly flaunt the fact that they own a cosmic veil tend to brutally die in various horrifying ways. Some have taken to calling this phenomenon "The Stardust Curse". Personally, I theorize that there is no curse, and the Created just have a way of tracking these things down, like a sort of interstellar tracking device. It's not exactly impossible to create something like that, but the main reason why my theory doesn't hold much weight is the fact that a device such as that couldn't be made small enough to be concealed by the veil, nor energy-efficient enough to sustain being tracked for longer than a week. Still, too many coincidences create correlation, and I don't exactly plan on dying just yet.
As the Llamrei sets down on the Haquian deadzone of Eagle I, I hear a loud Clang! from the back of my ship. Flicking the monitor in front of me up, Rei comes to life as her keyboards light up and machinery begins to whir. "Rei, what the hell was that?"
"If I knew, I'd tell you" She sighs.
"Alright, thanks Rei. Always helpful, you are." I say, reaching for the power button once more.
"Wait, I don't want to slee-" Rei's robotic, yet melodic tone slowly dies down and slurs as she powers off. I comb my way through the ship, searching through each room methodically. Yet I found nothing in the dusty pantry of the kitchen, nor anything among the well-oiled machinery of the engine room, nor in the barren guest rooms which seemed so devoid of life that I was sure I was the first being to step in each one for at least 5 years. I hear the familiar Whoosh of the doors from the direction of the cargo hold, and I cross through one last door to find-
A young woman, around my age, runs right into me and knocks me over. She lands right on my chest as I lay back on the floor and I must tilt my head up to see her. I first noticed the ethereal shine of her emerald eyes in the dimly lit hall between the crew quarters and cargo hold, and as my eyes slowly adjusted to the yellow glow of the cargo hold's lights I was able to make out her dirty, yet enchanting long ruby red hair. Her beautiful pearl-like skin nearly had me confuse her for a Vrek, but upon closer inspection she has the clear complexion of a human. Admittedly, I am nearly enchanted by this woman, however she is inexplicably wearing a tattered, thin white shirt and her well-shaped face is covered in dirt. That is, I have to assume the shirt was originally white, as it's now covered in brown and gray splotches. The girl breaks the silence and eye contact as I'm in thought by hurriedly stepping off me. She tries to run away as I get up, but I manage to grab her arm.
"A stowaway, I see." She crosses her arms and looks away from me.
"Hmpf! Let me go." I comply, releasing her arm.
"You don't look the type to be let into Stenia, my dear." Folding my arms across my chest, I take in the large height difference between the girl and I, which is truly astounding. She appears to nearly be a snap shorter than I, perhaps around 9 tuns, to be conservative.
"We're on Eagle I?" Her eyes widen with nearly childlike excitement and wonder.
"Indeed"
"I've never even seen the Eagle system, let alone land on a planet here." Her green eyes sparkle as she speaks.
"Yes, well, that's unsurprising" I say, gesturing to her tattered outfit. At this, she scoffs and looks away. "I'll drop you off in a middle system the next chance I get" She gives me an odd look that I cannot for the life of me decipher, but I think nothing of it and turn away.
Returning to my quarters, I grab the case that holds the stardust before making my way to the airlock.
"I'm coming with" Says a feminine voice from behind me, and I merely sigh and refuse to acknowledge the stowaway. "Please, I can help!"
"They will not allow you to pass through with me" Checking the mirror, I notice that my tie is slightly loose. Fixing my yellow adornment, I say to the girl "You don't even know what the job is"
"I-I'm sure it's got to do with that case there, right? That's why you're all dressed up?"
"Firstly, I wear this suit because it's Elegant. Secondly, simply knowing that isn't nearly enough to bring you with me." I engage the airlock, and the stowaway's protests are muffled by the cycling of the doors. I flick the ship's computer on and I speak into the microphone. "Rei, watch over the girl"
"Fine" She says, with a robotic sigh. Did I program her to do that? I'm rather an impressive programmer if so. If I didn't, that would imply I created the universe's first smart Ai, which would also make me an impressive programmer. It's too bad that smart Ai violate just about every morality code there is.
I step off the Llamrei and take in a deep breath. Eagle I's atmosphere is slightly heavier than Lion 5's, but I don't expect to be doing any heavy cardio or anything today. The man at the gate greets me in the same welcoming manner as any guard who has to stand around doing nearly nothing for 8 hours a day.
"Name and business?" He scoffs, no doubt at my superior sense of style.
"Stanley Kingsly. I've come to sell the contents of this here case" I hold the case up and pat it briefly.
"And its contents?" The man says languidly.
"..." He looks me in the eye. You can never lie to someone when they look you in the eye. Not because it's impossible, rather because it would be uncivilized to do so. Men must be able to have conversations between each other, that's what my mother would tell me. After a moment passes, I reluctantly reveal the contents of my case. "Stardust"
"What? Prove it" The man's eyes widen as I open it, revealing the ethereal cosmic veil for just a moment.
"Satisfied?"
"Fine, go ahead" He says, attempting to regain his composure. I begin to walk into the sparkling city of Vilehelm. The buildings are all notably constructed from Bartlem, which is what makes Stenia such a sight to behold in the-
"Hold on. Who's she?" I whip my head around to see that my stowaway has snuck out of the Llamrei's beautiful interior. She gives me a guilty look as she approaches, and appears to attempt to use me as a barrier between her and the guardsman.
"Ah, well..." She looks at me with hopeful eyes, as if she's but a peasant who hasn't eaten in days asking for a breadcrumb. "She's... my servant. Yes, that works." A look of surprise crosses the girl's face, but she's clearly more than intelligent enough to figure that she shouldn't say anything if she wants to tag along.
"Well, that explains the- well, everything. And her name?" I look to the girl quickly. I hadn't asked her name, and the façade could fall through if I don't answer quickly enough.
"She's... err, Abigail." The one who I referred to as Abigail looks as if she's about to speak up, but decides against it.
"All right. Go ahead." The man says as the gates open again.
"It would be fruitful if you actually told me your name, you know." I say to the girl as we wait for the next transport to arrive.
"It's Kassidy. With a Kay." The girl looks down at her tattered clothing as she speaks, seemingly only now aware that her outfit doesn't quite match the well-dressed gleam of the Stenians around her.
"Worry not. I too, clearly look nothing like these people." I say, placing my jacket around her.
Wiping her face, she looks up to me. "What's the plan? Where are we going?"
"Barrenford." I point to a map, tracing my finger from Vilehelm to Barrenford. Pointing to the lower east side of Barrenford, I tell my new companion where specifically the buyer wishes to meet.
After a moment, the transport arrives. Sitting down, Kassidy tugs on my sleeve. "They're staring..." She leans against me, as if this action will hide her from the stares of the judgemental Stenians.
"I did tell you that you don't look like you belong here" I take a cloth from my pocket and wipe a bit of dirt off her face. "You don't know what it is that we're selling, right?" She shakes her head. "You'll find out. But don't think for a second that you get a cut of my profits. I gave up an entire wall for this"
"Right, I wouldn't dream of it... Wait, did you say a wall?" I grin at her as the transport slips into the underground Stenian network, enshrouding all of the passengers in darkness for a few moments just as the lights flicker on.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone