Incipience

Chapter 14

As soon as we exit the stadium, a sleek silver hovercar pulls up to the curb. Its doors glide upward to reveal a pristine interior. The cab of the car resembles the back of a limousine with what looks like a retractable control console in the middle. The four of us wordlessly file into the vehicle. Rombag and Xiomoazi share one of the seats while Vorem and I are on the other. The confidence the youngest Bagzah had earlier has fizzled out now that we're in such a close space. He looks uncomfortable by our proximity, which is more than fine by me. The less he wants to be near me, the better.

Vorem taps at his holo watch before muttering 'Nimfizija' into it. The console comes to life, projecting the words 'Zinigeim: Nimfizija' in the air for a few moments. The faint hum of electricity is the only indication I receive that the hovercar has taken off. Even though the car's outer tint is as dark as black ink, the view looking out is as clear as can be. I take advantage of my window seat and soak up the scenery before me greedily. Who knows if and when I'll get this chance again.

I didn't get to see the city when I was getting shuttled down to the surface. The windows of the shuttle I was sent down in were all blacked out. I'm assuming they wanted to keep me disoriented so that I'd be less likely to make a break for it, so I wasn't able to catch a glimpse of anything, but now that I have, I've got to say that I'm impressed.

Qi' Dejiz is admittedly a beautiful city. The architecture is grand, the buildings are gleaming, the streets are pristine, and the technology is astonishing. It's one thing to see hovercrafts, holograms, and automated devices in movies, but it's really something else to see it in person. Outside of the fact that the Inovarians found a way to make all these things actually work, what amazes me the most is that the energy here is clean. There's not a trail of smoke to be seen in the sky. Everything here is as eco-friendly as it gets.

The ride doesn't take long, though that can be chalked up to the speed of the hovercar. Qi' Dejiz is a coastal city that serves as the capital of the Qi' Dejiz district, so getting across it is probably the distance equivalent of traveling from one end of Los Angeles to another but without the traffic. It seems like the hovercars are in communication with one another because hundreds of the devices zip through the air without so much of a scratch on their paint job.

Once we are all out of the hovercar, Vorem types in a command into his holo watch, likely sending it off to its parking space. Once the vehicle starts floating away, the Inovarian turns his attention to me.

"Charlotte-Amalie, this is Nimfizija. Amongst other things, this building serves as the site for our consulate meetings. This is where my primary office is located." Vorem briefly looks between me and his cousins, "I propose that we hold our conversation here since it is technically a neutral ground for all parties. Does anyone object?"

I remain silent while the other two give him small smiles. The encouraging gesture seems to brighten Vorem because he returns their grins with one of his own. Had it been another situation, I would've called this familial exchange cute, but I'm still to upset to fawn over the moment. 

I watch how the three interact as we pass through the different security measures to get to Vorem's office in attempts to figure out exactly who's who. These three's dynamic is definitely different than the one Rombag has with his two younger siblings. He still has their respect, but he's not necessarily the default leader of this group. 

By the looks of it, they take turns taking control over situations. Rombag obviously has the most experience with armed conflicts, so he's the first to step in when things have the potential to get unruly. Xiomoazi has a softer and more welcoming personality, so she's the default ice breaker and conversation starter. Those two I'd be able to get even if I hadn't just spent nearly every day of the past three months with them, but Vorem? He's a bit of an enigma to me.