Volume 3: Gamma-12, Chapter 3.10

“That’s no moon, it’s a space station.” I said in my

amazing

Obi-Wan Kenobi impression.

Everyone in the shuttle looked at me with confused or curious expressions, Eve just sighed, “For heaven’s sake, Adam, how long have you been waiting to get that one out?” She asked.

“Ever since we left Earth.” I confirmed promptly.

Eve giggled sitting beside me and hugged my waist, “You’re absolutely adorable.”

We dropped out of G-drive and were cruising towards

Luxury-1

, and from my viewport I could finally see the massive space station. It wasn’t quite as moon-like as the Death Star, more like a gigantic golden egg with thousands of glowing red horizontal lines spaced evenly, with hundreds of smaller golden half-orbs all over that appeared to be fused onto the egg.

“Does that mean something, the station isn’t a moon?” Kianna asked in front of us, while Densdor looked through his own viewport, trying to see what I was talking about.

Eve pulled off me and rolled her eyes, “It’s a quote from Star Wars—classic Earth movie, one of Adam’s favorites.”

I wanted to tell Eve how much I loved her for getting all my dorky references but figured I shouldn’t get too indulgent with the current company. However, I was sure she could sense what I was feeling with the way she looked at me now—looking up from her long eyelashes, that playful smile just barely dancing on her lips. Yeah, she knew.

“We’re cleared to dock, making our approach now.” The pilot announced overhead.

Everyone got back in their seats and buckled in. I stowed away my laptop back in my carryon bag and held it in my lap. Eve leaned her head against my shoulder and held her hand in mine, trailing her nails slowly along my skin, but I could tell she was getting antsy, her legs bouncing a little to keep herself from dancing.

“Excited?” I asked.

Eve smiled, looking up at me, her eyes glowing brighter than normal due to her enthusiasm, “Am I that obvious?”

I half-shrugged, not moving the shoulder Eve was leaning against, “Maybe I just have the extra-sense too.”

“Wouldn’t that be fun?” She pointed a delicate black nail against my forehead, “I could give it to you, you know? Any enhancements you might want, I can make them all possible.”

I shook my head, “Give me a couple centuries of being human before we start manipulating my genetic code, alright?”

Eve trilled a little giggle, “Of course darling, whatever your heart desires.”

Luxury-1

was so massive it was hard to differentiate anything once we got too close, but I could tell we passed through some vacuum-shielding and then touched down for a landing a moment later. Another little hum, a gentle rocking, and the bay doors opened behind us.

“Thank you for flying with us today, good luck on your mission out there.” Our pilot announced.

Everyone got up in pairs and exited the shuttle; Vinnago and Lobae, Roote and Uinda, Gorgam with Sorra, Kianna with Densdor, Zyno with Yun, and of course myself with Eve. The fake married couples had been given rings to sell the bit, but nothing fancy, just plain black or colored metallic bands that had little location transmitters—nothing else we could really risk installing, so they were mainly just for show (I still had my silver fidget thumb ring too, but hadn’t felt the need to use it since I started dating Eve). Once we were all off the shuttle, we just ended up staring for a few seconds as we took in our surroundings. Even the docking bay to

Luxury-1

was fancy, with black and gold plating, looking a mix between futuristic and ostentatious. There were lines of red lighting directing foot traffic, but beyond that I swear there were thousands of crystal accents on the walls covering any mechanical joints or bolts—

millions

of them, maybe.

We were the only party in the docking bay, which was no surprise given how huge the station was; everyone probably had a private bay, cleared ahead by the pilot and docking staff and all that. I looked around to see our little chrome helper-bots passing off our gear to large droids moving with furious efficiency; they were gold and black, with four arms arranged as a cross just below their dome heads, hovering without legs as their torsos ended in small glowing red upside-down triangles. Everything seemed to be squared away with our luggage, we just needed to get ourselves organized now.

Eve held my hand as we followed last in line behind our other teammates—the other couples; of course, no one seemed to be acting as a couple now, or they just didn’t want to be blatant about it. We walked up and around a small ramp towards a booth with a golden android that looked much more like a person; it had a vaguely feminine figure, with a black screen for a face with a red digital display that was minimalistic and cute—a couple red cartoon eyes and a mouth.

“Hello and welcome to

Luxury-1

, the start of your journey through paradise. I believe we have the American Automations party?” The android asked in a cheery feminine voice.

Taking point, Agent Lobae stepped forward with Agent Vinnago right behind her, “That’s correct.”

“Wonderful!” The android’s digital face beamed, “If you would be so kind as to present your documentation, we can start processing you.”

Lobae and Vinnago produced their communicators and placed them on some locking mechanism that fit perfectly; lights spun around and lit up, then a chiming sound and they were all done.

Imperial communicators were like smartphones and wallets combined. They didn’t have all the games and apps like Earth phones did, but they handled everything you would need for communication and identification; they could private message, voice call, video call, hologram call, they held your banking info and could transfer credits, they held your Imperial Citizen profile and worked for all identification processes—no need to have multiple forms of government ID when you had the communicator. They looked like large white pocket watches that fit in your hand, with a large black screen that took up most of the face and could project holograms and everything.

Everyone on the team went through and verified their identity until it was Eve and my turn. We put in our communicators together, and when the chiming sound gave us the all clear, the android’s face suddenly changed to show heart eyes, “It seems we have a couple newlyweds on board!” She cheered.

Eve giggled and wrapped her arms around my waist while I held an arm around her back, “That’s right, best decision I ever made.” I declared.

The android clasped her hands together in a strangely authentic gesture, “Well congratulations! Here at Glorva Corporation, we believe in fostering young love, as such, any passengers that book a trip in the Holistia Nebula within their first year of marriage is automatically upgraded to a honeymoon suite.”

Eve’s eyes opened twice as wide, “

Really

?” She nearly squealed with excitement.

“That still part of our company’s trip package?” I asked.

The android bowed slightly, “Of course, at no additional cost! Consider it a wedding present from Glorva Corporation.” She handed us two discs no larger than a quarter, both gold with an iridescent coating, “Here are your upgraded room keys. Your itinerary with your work group will remain the same, all that will change is your room suite upgrade.”

Eve and I collected the little gold discs; everyone else on the team had regular gold keys, ours were the only ones with the iridescent shine to them.

“Will we be in a different area than our work colleagues?” I asked.

The android laughed a little chiming sound, “First time in the Holistia Nebula? All that will be explained in the welcoming presentation.” She bowed again, “Thank you for choosing Glorva Corp! We

know

you’ll enjoy your time with us.”

Eve was nearly giddy beside me as we returned to the rest of our team.

Agent Roote, the bulky rock alien—our investigation team lead nodded down at us, “They upgraded you to the honeymoon suite?”

I quirked up an eyebrow, “You knew?”

He shrugged, “We discovered their policy after we already submitted the marriage documents for you and Eve, weren’t sure if they would still offer the upgrade on a company-package trip.”

Vinnago waved it off, unconcerned, “I think it works out great—a nice bonus for you two.”

I didn’t care how it worked out for the mission, I was just beyond excited to get the honeymoon treatment with Eve now.

Instead of admitting that, I just shrugged, “Works for us.”

We followed along more glowing red lines with a few feminine androids directing us along the way, offering us greetings and well-wishes, already taking requests what all we might like to find in our rooms once we get to our station. It was all rather aggressive servitude, how diligent they all were, but since they were just androids, it didn’t feel strange to me yet. After all, I was just some random dude back on Earth who’d never had anyone wait on me like a servant before, so I wasn’t sure if I’d find the treatment uncomfortable. This, however, I didn’t mind or find awkward at all so far. But of course, this was just the docking bay.

They led us to a dark room lined with luxurious red silks with a few black loveseats and recliners scattered in a wide semi-circle, all centered before a small white orb floating in the middle of the room. The androids directed us to our seats, and Eve pulled me down into a loveseat in the back and almost crawled into my lap. I didn’t protest at all figuring it was about time we could start acting like the newlyweds we were supposedly posing as.

Once everyone was seated, the lights dimmed down and the white orb shimmered and shifted into a vaguely humanoid shape, a hologram woman that didn’t seem any specific race or species, almost like an androgynous combination of everything so everyone in the audience could identify with it.

“Welcome to the Holistia Nebula.” The hologram announced in a clear, somewhat feminine voice—deeper and richer, more serene than the cheery androids. “I am the heart of

Luxury-1

, you may call me Luxury.”

“Hello Luxury.” Zyno offered, then looked around to see no one else join in, then buried his face in his hands in awkward shame.

“Thank you.” Luxury bowed to Zyno regally, then turned to the general audience, “Glorva Corporation would like to thank you as well for choosing us for your company retreat. We would like to personally thank American Automations for allowing us to join with your work family for this wonderful bonding experience, and we hope you can return to work refreshed, renewed, and with a collection of unforgettable memories.” The hologram turned to Eve and me, “And I understand we have newlyweds in the group; we at Glorva Corporation believe nothing is more important in this universe than love, so we welcome you to grow and share that love with all your hearts, and if there’s anything the two of you require to make your honeymoon experience even more magical, please do not hesitate to ask.”

The preamble out of the way, several more holograms lit up around Luxury, all white, looking like various space stations in a large galactic map, “You will start your journey aboard

Bliss-87,

known for relaxation and a perfect launching point to your vacation. There you will be served by our diligent automated staff during your stay.

Bliss-87

is modeled after a paradise world in the Kreeve system, with rich atmospheric scents that relieve stress and calm anxieties. You will stay for a cycle aboard

Bliss-87

before moving onto your next station, travelling through 30 different stations for 30 cycles, all designed to maximize relaxation and pleasure, all modeled after paradise planets.” The map zoomed out more, showing purple, blue and green gas giants, “You will be orbiting three of Holistia’s gas giants.” The purple planet flashed once, “HHK-33, known for its erratic static lightning storms.” The blue planet flashed next, “DGK-22, known for its terrible, endless hurricanes.” The green planet flashed last, “And GY-60, with an acidic, methane atmosphere. All three planets are dangerous and deadly, yet there is beauty in such violent nature, and you will spend plenty of time orbiting the planets, safe from your stations, but able to see such sights you would never experience anywhere else.”

The holograms all zoomed out again, replacing the map with one white space station that looked like a classic flying saucer. “Now, I imagine you are all curious how you get from one station to the next? Surely a vacation couldn’t be relaxing if you must change rooms once a cycle.” Luxury shook their head, “Worry not, once you have your assigned room, that will be the same room you stay in during your entire tour in the Holisita Nebula.” A second flying saucer floated next to the first, and a large tube seemed to connect the two, then they rotated internally together, and then pulled apart once more, “Every room fits with every station, able to mix and match and move all over the nebula without even having to get out of bed. Most people even sleep through the transfer.” A red flashing light appeared on top of the flying saucer, “Following Imperial safety regulations, your room will act as an emergency escape vessel and will jettison into space in the event of a catastrophic failure with one of our stations, where you will be promptly retrieved by our rescue vessel.” Luxury held up a hand, “Please note in Glorva Corporation’s entire history, we have never once had to eject a room as an escape pod, but in the unlikely event it happens, you will be awarded a lifetime pass aboard all our stations, able to come and go whenever you want, or to live within Holistia Nebula for the rest of your life in endless luxury.”

“Now, I believe you have your tour itinerary, your list of stations and a schedule for all available activities on each station. Do you have any further inquiries for me?” Luxury asked, bowing forward slightly. When everyone confirmed they were good, Luxury smiled brightly, “Excellent. From here you will be escorted to the station docking bay to join in with some of your fellow passengers.

Bliss-87

is already loaded with all your rooms, but it’s also the launching point for several different tours, meaning some of those passengers will continue on with you, while others might be leaving for different stations. We encourage you to meet as many people as you can to spread your friendships all over the Holistia Nebula.” The hologram bowed once more, this time much deeper, “And once again, we thank for choosing Glorva Corporation.”