Nobody's Servant 1.0

Living Situation

I'm sitting on one of the side balconies of the upper lounge. The recent happenings have understandably made the other passengers hesitant to go out in the open, which works just fine for me. I need the solitude.

More specifically, someone I need to see needs it.

I don't even have to check if he showed up; I begin speaking without so much as a glance to the empty seat next to me. "So, the prince, hm? How'd you land that?"

"He prefers admiral to prince," Suraokh says. "The one he earned is worth more to him."

"Admiral, then," I correct myself, turning to look at the kangaroo, who arrived, or rather appeared, to fill that seat. "I'd like an answer, though."

"I have been important to important people for a long time. He is simply the newest."

"Alright, but what for? What is it you do for him?"

"Difficult to convey so briefly," Suraokh deflects again. "Not in so few words."

"Yeah, yeah..." I almost look away, but then double-take back to him, irritation surging to my surface. "Hold on a moment, you were literally just using longer sentences! You've got a new module, you can't play that card."

"You should reflect long and hard on why it almost worked," Suraokh says. It's not like him to be so snippy but ever since we got on this train he's had a real nasty attitude.

"Look, I just wanna make sure I'm not gonna be like, a sacrifice or something like that."

"Admiral Jen will clear things up for you far better than I will," the doll says. "You will meet him once his ship arrives."

"Do I have to?" I groan.

"Yes. Look, we are almost there." He raises an arm to point.

"You'd better not vanish as soon as I look away," I tell him.

"I am going to vanish as soon as you look away," he says back.

"Fine, but hear me out first. I know what I need you for, and I know you need me for... something so I'd appreciate a little bit of transparency. I already had to beg for it from someone else so I really just wish you could give me a little more incentive to trust you."

For several seconds, there is only the sound of the railway and wind rushing by us, as Suraokh stares at me. "What are you afraid of? You have already lost more than I could take from you."

"...Fine, get out of here then. I'll see you at our stop, I'm sure."

"You will see me when I feel like it."

I stay staring him down in return for a few moments, and I can feel the plateau in our tension. It will stretch on forever, unbroken and unmoving, if we let it. Before looking away with a sigh out at the horizon. Gone is the view of barely touched land on the other side of the channel; instead, seated in the widest part of it is an island crowned by the largest city anywhere, its lights filling the dark early morning sky. The skeletons of urban decay left behind by the previous regime have been reshaped and reskinned to the point of being joined all together as a singular entity we call Iyakamraa. It's really just absurdly vast.

It's considered a marvel here on Paliputra. Frankly it would probably be a marvel on any world, but here it stands at the edge of the traversable universe, throne to an imperial capital watching the other nations bicker from afar. Well, mostly.

The track turns gently, guiding the train along a wide trajectory toward one of those bridges. It won't be long until we arrive, so I head back inside. The others are doing fine, for the most part. Jori is taking Leonov's condition surprisingly well; there's only so much she was able to do for him here, but she seems positive she'll be able to revive him as good as he was before once she's in the proper environment.