Endo-Stellarz:War on the Horizon

Chapter 7: Intergalactic Space

(Rolund Hea Yong - GT 0932 154)

It has been three days since we started our journey, we have been taking shifts at the controls to ensure the autopilot does not mess up during a space storm or something else crazy happening.

"Not much longer until we are out of DLT space and into Quarvian space." I said to myself as I watched as the stars around us slowly pass by. "Space is so deadly yet so cool."

Ileen has been inspecting something on her new COM in silence for several hours now but suddenly she spoke up. "I've been reading the instruction manual on this thing to see what it can do over our old models."

"Anything interesting." I asked.

"Well you've got the usual spiel about how it is designed to be one of the toughest pieces of technology around, and describing all of the corporations who have contributed technologies into it. But what I find most interesting is the ability for it to sync up information with your eyewear or cybernetics making it so you don't even have to have it out to get use out of it." She detailed.

"Now you are making me wish I got that cybernetic eye back in high school." Cybernetics while expensive are not seen to often in most areas of Stellarz mainly because of Rekoverol brand healing products limbs are much more cheaply regrown than replaced with mechanical cybernetics. Now a days cybernetics are seen as retro and as such many get them to stay hip and cool even if they are losing a part of themselves.

"Oh and also, no ads! So now we do not have to deal with pesky companies like Vorture or Aivin TEK trying desperately to sell stuff to us." Ileen ranted. "I mean they are practically an oligopoly on popular planets, while monopolies on smaller planets. It just bothers me when one of them comes by and just purchases up smaller businesses and replaces what they had with arguably worse food."

"Calm down Ileen. Hopefully were we are headed that is not the case. I know how much that one crab place meant to you, you told me the story at least thirty times since we met." I said smirking. "Perhaps you could tell me some facts to keep your mind off those things, and to pass the time."

Ileen looked to the side defeated before looking at me with a grin. "Alright then, lets see. Ah! I know. Did you know the "GT" in our date stands for "Galactic Time"? Also the year GT 0000 is not based off of when the first species entered space, but instead when the humans and yovloi first made contact, the first official contact between two alien races in the galaxy."

"That means that was not even a thousand years ago? I thought it would have been longer." I said curiously.

"Technology advances quickly." She added in before continuing. "Have you ever wondered why the days, minutes, and seconds, nearly perfectly match that of Tharum time despite all planets having different day lengths, time systems, and so forth? Well the Galactic Calendar was only officialized and implemented on GT 0087 when the humans and yovloi joined an alliance with one another. As part of the treaty between the two aliens the humans got the Souhn System used as the "anchor points" that the galactic coordinate system is based off of and Galactic time being based off a simplified Tharum calendar. Due to the fact they did not include the leap days Tharum experiences in the Galactic Calendar the two calendars have drifted apart since then."

"Did the yovloi get anything in return for giving those standards to the humans?" I asked intrigued.

"The yovloi would get the rights to retrieve any of their criminals from human territory and get the right to study anything they wanted of human origin created before GT 0200."

"Interesting indeed, I never would have guessed a calendar would have a history in it of itself." I told her. "So when we get to Roneiron what should we do? Split up? Find someone who can show us around? Maybe even possibly get permission to settle down in a Quarvian system?"

"We should definitely grab a hotel for a night or two, as nice as your ship is, it is a little cramped for me for trips this long, also get some fresh elixa." She said.

"Elixa?" I questioned.

"Oh that is another name for what you humans call oxygen. It comes from the magic in the air."

"Magic? I thought all of those tricks people did was just down with advanced technology."

"Oh the yovloi and Quarvi are very into magic and religion not unlike the DLT and industrialization."