The Fall of Soruvis

Deliberation

<- Day 9 | Sect 1 | Year 0 ->

Pilzi gazed out among the stars from his apartment window. The planet Asturn lay below him, completely still from the viewpoint of the station's geostationary orbit. Brown and green continents scattered the surface, fading into the slowly-approaching terminator line where the city lights began to glow.

He'd been to the highest peaks of the planet, but nothing compared to the awe of the view from orbit. The country borders, even the physical ones, weren't visible from up here. The planet was simply one giant organism exploring space.

The Hub, the orbiting superstructure built over several centuries, was alive with extraplanetary activity. Ships were constantly departing from and returning to outer space. Shuttles regularly brought passengers to and from the planet surface and smaller, closer-orbiting stations. Countless Asturnians, including Pilzi, owned a semi-permanent residence on the Hub, and the ones who did were usually a part of an exploration crew. The Hub was also a popular luxurious vacation destination, beside the other planetary outposts in the solar system.

The Hub took the form of several concentric rings, the outermost of which would take several hours to circumnavigate with walking. At the center of all the rings lay the Asturnian Triumvirate Council, the controlling entity of the entire operation.

Pilzi shifted his gaze to the nearest docking bay, one of hundreds of massive conical structures that jutted out from the rim of the outermost ring. The Zenith floated in the middle, seemingly relaxing after the past Sect of work. He smiled at it. Its black-and-green design, along with the double-pronged forks on both ends, gave it a menacing look. Fortunately, the Asturnians had given up war as a way of living long ago, but they couldn't help themselves in designing the most intimidating ships possible, even if they were for exploration.

A beep sounded from his living room door. He whirled around. Were they here to take him in already?

The door slid open and revealed two concerned female Grephens, each garbed in loose clothing that draped off their tails and grazed the floor. Pilzi relaxed as a smile melted onto his muzzle. Rarely did the sight of his mates fail to elevate his mood.

"Pilzi!" they both shouted at once, racing around the furniture and nearly tripping over themselves in their frenzy.

"My ladies!" Pilzi shouted, opening his arms while bracing himself for the impact.

The wall of fur slammed into him, causing him to stumble back and use his tail to keep himself from falling over. He took in their flowery fragrances as they nuzzled his cheeks.

The hazel-eyed one gave him a small lick. "We missed you so much!"

That one was Nel. The silver rings in her ears twinkled in the light of the room. Her golden-brown fur was dotted with dark brown spots in a line from her forehead to the tip of her tail. The genetic modification to get the spots lined up had been expensive, but he and his other wife, Koya, had arranged the operation as her birthday present. She had never really liked the pattern on her fur before that.

Pilzi brushed his hand through her whiskers. "And I missed you two more."

He pressed the tip of his nose against hers in the Grephen tradition of kissing, then did the same to Koya, who fluttered her green eyes hypnotically at him. "You better have a good story to tell for being away that long."

Koya's chocolate-colored fur was especially smooth today. Unlike Nel, she hadn't undergone any genetic modification, nor did she wear any jewelry. To Pilzi, she was just as beautiful either way. She tried to give him a stern look, but he could tell that her joy at seeing him was too great to mask completely.