Silcania

Rashelle flopped her suitcase down on her bed with a loud thunk as she looked around the room she had been assigned.  The futuristic metal trim and shimmering white walls were slightly oppressive in their unspotted cleanliness. It wasn’t as nice a room as she had had on the trip to Earth, but then, she hadn’t expected it to be. Mars was not exactly known for its fancy space liners, and this one had been no exception, on the outside at least. The bed was up against the far wall. It was made of some dark wood, a nice but mismatched touch in that glaringly white room. The blankets on it were striped earth sky blue and silver, a very pretty combination, and one reechoed around the room, especially noticeable in the towels hanging by the washstand and in the area rug covering most of the floor. The washstand was wooden as well, with a simple mirror hanging over it. The food dispenser was in the back, a small shelf in the wall with a table in front. 

The room had been adapted for Aridonians, which was good. It was awkward to have to sit with your knees up to your chest on a chair, or sleep with your legs hanging off the bed. At least she was short. The human-Aridonian height difference was never quite so bad for her as it was for others of her kind, though she still towered over most humans. She sat next to the suitcase, flipping open the prettily-decorated latch that covered half the top of the bag. 

It popped open as soon as the clasp was undone, partly because it was supposed to, and partly because it was packed so full of clothes and souvenirs. She pulled out a tiny snow globe with a picture of the Rocky Mountains on the back. The snow swirled at the slightest motion, and brought a small smile to her face. After reaching over and setting it on the night stand next to her bed, she reached for the stack of clothing that sat in the center of the case. It took a quick look around the room to locate a place to put the clothes. There hadn’t been a dresser noticeable before, but now, on closer examination, she saw a few lines on the wall about ten feet to the right of the nightstand. Still carrying the clothes, she walked over and placed her hand in the exact center of the lines.

“Open.” Her command was instantly rewarded by a blue glow from the drawer as it slid from the wall. She placed all of her shalnás, tunic-like shirts, in the top drawer, then repeated the process for her getion (pants) and filmars, a common headdress often worn by her people. It resembled a simple sunhat with a floppy brim, but it had a veil in front and the material hung down a foot in back, necessary extra protection against the boiling rays of the sun on her planet, Aridon. She closed the drawers and finished unpacking her things, setting most of them on the nightstand or leaving them in the bag, which she slid under the bed. It was only mid-afternoon, ship time, leaving her with a little time to explore the ship that would be her home for the next month and a half. Her family was known for being late, and she had missed the ship’s tour. She opened the door in the same way she had opened the drawers, with a  simple spoken command. The hallway just outside her room was deserted except for the occasional service auto coming along. There was another door just down the hall. The faint outline was just visible. The captain had said that there was another girl on board that was about her age, and that she would be down the hall from her. Rashelle decided to go and say hi. It would be nice to have someone to talk to on the long trip, so she walked down the hall and knocked on the door politely. The person inside called out,

“One second! I just have to finish putting away my shirts!”  

Rashelle stared. Whoever it was had an extremely strong Martian accent. The Martian accent, for the uninformed, sound like an English accent on Earth, but a lot stronger, and with a slight American Southern influence. Almost before Rashelle had time to process this, the girl appeared in the doorway. 

She was about 5’ 8” or 5’ 9”, and had long dark brown hair, pulled back in a braid, and greenish-gold eyes. She was dressed in a simple, comfortable t-shirt and a well-worn pair of blue jeans.  Rashelle stared at her in a panic. She had never met a human before, and had never wanted to. She had heard that they were fearsome creatures that looked much like the aridonian stine, a monkey-like creature. This girl certainly wasn’t that ugly, but she was different, shorter and less colorful than all but young aridonian children.  She didn’t look didn’t look particularly frightening either, though it was hard for her to be when she was almost a foot shorter than Rashelle. The girl was standing there in puzzlement, probably wondering why the outsider wasn’t saying anything. Rashelle took a deep breath and managed to get out,