Galactic High

“This pool is loooovely!” Alora sighed dreamily as she leaned back, enjoying the swirling bubbles of the hot whirlpool. “Why anyone would willingly subject themselves to severe cold like that I have no idea!”

One of those ‘macho’ things I suspect. Chiyo shrugged. Let the boys and the other idiots suffer if they want, even a dip is far too much for me!

“I hope they don’t stay there too long, there’s so much around to enjoy!” Alora pointed out. “All the slides, flumes and lazy rivers! Why would you miss out on all of that for a glorified ice bath!”

They don’t wish to look weak in front of their peers. Chiyo shrugged, releasing her power to sit on the smooth stones of the raised seating, allowing her to recline comfortably, spreading her legs and allowing them to float in the water, feeling the bubbles dancing along her skin. I suspect when one breaks and leaves the rest will join them.

“I’m sure we’ll catch up with them later,” Alora reasoned as she kicked her legs up and down, making small ripples in the water. “Until then, I’m just happy to relax.”

Same, Chiyo agreed, before looking back to where they had come from. The small hot pool they had found for themselves was tucked away from the bustling main attractions of the Aquaplex, surrounded by more of the lush tropical foliage they’d come to expect, adding a natural curtain of privacy just off the main path, with an added scent of exotic flowers, likely added to provide added relaxation.

Occasionally a discreet staff droid traversed the path with a tray of colourful fruit juices, its movements seamlessly blending in with the grey sanded cobblestone of the paths, and Alora perked up on seeing one approach. “Shall I get us some drinks?

Yes please! Chiyo nodded with an enthusiastic smile. Could we order a fruit platter as well? I suspect I’ll be here a while.

“Sounds good to me!” Alora nodded with a smile, quickly beckoning the droid over to her where she procured two glasses and quickly placed her order, offering one to Chiyo who floated it over towards herself. “Those idiots don’t know what they’re missing!”

I could call them towards us. Chiyo shrugged.

“I wouldn’t bother.” Alora grinned, contentedly sighing with her drink. “Besides, at least Jack won’t be bothered by Luvia anywhere where it's cold. I don’t think she’d ever do something bad, but she has a tendency to cross the line a little at times. You know how dragons can be!”

Indeed, Chiyo agreed. I think she and a few others went to the big slides on the opposite end, and there’s a pool nearby them for megafauna species that she can polymorph into her draconic form for. Vanya and Svaarti went for the lazy river that travels the perimeter of the Aquaplex and I’m unsure where Obeda and the Squa’Kaar went off to.

“Do we have any enemies around?”

Not that I’ve seen. Chiyo shook her head. I think we’ll be fine. The Aquaplex has very good security so few would be dumb enough to start a fight.

“That’s good.” Alora sighed contentedly, leaning back and taking another good sip of her drink.

“Woof!” Dante agreed with a happy bark from where he sat partially submerged on one of the raised rocks, watching the two of them.

“Life is great,” Alora agreed.

*****

“Alright, we’ve been in here long enough. I’m bored now.” Jack rolled his eyes as he stood up, surprising both girls clutched to him for warmth as they broke the surface of the water, his hands clasped over their ass cheeks for support.

“Jack’s gonna be the first one out!” Vaal grinned.

“Hey I’ll take the ‘L’ here.” Jack shrugged with a smirk as both Sephy and Nika let go, following him. “If it means I get to try something else it’s fine by me. You guys can stay in here if you want…”

“I don’t think that will be necessary!” Zook spoke up from where the bat-like Strallea was clung onto Vaal, a sentiment that was backed up by several nods around the pool.

Jack sighed as he stepped out of the pool, officially being the first to leave, before Kritch hurriedly scrambled for the edge, happy enough to be the second. Pretty soon he was followed by most of the others, with Plooderoo being the last, the aquatic hulk of coral and tentacles not having really suffered at all in this environment, but still happy to hold it over the others.

As he stood there trying to warm himself back up, Jack felt a series of uncomfortable tingles as his body began to accept the room temperature, causing him to scratch at himself to try and alleviate the sensation, shaking the water droplets off in the process. As he looked around he could see most of the others in a similar predicament, some worse than others. Kritch was clearly suffering, with the Lizta looking much thinner as his wet fur clung to him in matted clumps, shivering hard as he leaned against a wall to support himself.

“Rayle, could you give me a fire to work with?” Zayle asked, and the Druid dutifully complied, producing a small candle flame in her palm, which quickly coalesced and manifested into a small, floating form, conjured forth by Zayle as the Shaman gave her fire spirit a physical presence to work with, heating up the immediate area around them with a pleasant warmth.

“We did say that staying in there too long was bad for you,” they pointed out as several of the people around huddled close to the fire spirit.

“Kritch, let me help!” Rayle smiled as the Druid touched the Lizta on the shoulder with a glowing palm, causing healing energies to work their magic.

“Hey, I’ll be alright, others might need it more.” Kritch sighed dismissively, half-heartedly waving the Squa’Kaar away. “But thanks, Rayle.”

“So what do we do next?” Jack asked Nika and Sephy, who were jogging up and down to better warm themselves back up.

“A hot pool sounds tempting, but I’m pretty sure the rapid change in temperature wouldn’t be great. I dunno, that’s something Chiyo would know.” Nika shrugged. “Rapids would be great though! They’re pretty close by!”

“Rapids?” Jack asked curiously.

“Yeah!” Sephy grinned. “Sort of like a river of slides, hurdles and currents. It’s hard to describe but it’s so much fun!”

“Hah, I’ll have to take your word for it!” Jack grinned. “Sounds good to me!”

As they split from the others and joined the main path, Nika pointed out the twisting artificial river from their vantage point, with other park goers happily allowing the current to carry them along its winding path before stopping at a pool area, with other winding paths leading further down.

“Entrance is just over there!” Sephy pointed towards a small pool up ahead that looked like it fed into the rapids, with a queue of several excited swimmers.

“Looks popular,” Jack observed as the three of them joined the queue, which seemed to move relatively quickly as people just had to vault an underwater hurdle and allow the lukewarm currents to carry them off. Vaulting it himself, Jack planted his feet firmly on the ground beneath him, halting for Sephy and Nika to make it across before allowing the winding current to pull them all together, surrendering to the whims of the water as the sounds of their excitement echoed against the backdrop of splashes all around them.

“Holy shit this is awesome!” Sephy whooped as she twirled and spun with the movements of the guiding currents, swimming under Jack to pop up in front of him, playfully splashing him before using her wings to give her some elevation before bombing into the first landing pool.

“Yes it is!” Jack agreed the moment he recovered from the landing, quickly shifting to the side and just about avoiding Nika falling on top of him.

“We’re only about a quarter of the way.” The Kizun informed them. “Race you to the bottom? We can find the others and hit up the slides?”

“You’re on!” Jack grinned as the three of them dashed over to the next set of rapids, vaulting over the hurdle. They were then immediately engulfed by the strong current, pulling them along a very twisty route that took them under many bridges with other swimmers observing the chaos below them.

God damn this was fun!

*****

“So, I take it you got bored with your mega-macho adventure in the cold pool?” Alora giggled, raising her eyebrows as the three other members of the team rounded the secluded corner of the path where she, Chiyo and Dante had been chilling for the past half an hour.

“Pretty much.” Nika shrugged as she dipped her toes in the warm water, sipping on her bottle of brown ale as she did.

“Yeah, I think people were starting to suffer so it was a good idea to stop,” Jack added, roughly plonking down and dropping beneath the surface of the water to warm himself, holding his own ale above the water as he did before resurfacing. “A bit dumb, but not something I could say no to.”

Why not? Chiyo asked with raised eyebrows.

“To prove how hardcore we are, Chiyo!” Sephy grinned as she sat down. “What self-respecting Shadowrunner wouldn’t step up to the challenge?”

One with sense I suspect. Chiyo shrugged.

“What do you guys want to do then?” Alora asked, moving things along. “The lightshow might be good when it gets dark but that won’t be for another hour or two. The Floating Food Court might be fun if we’re hungry, and I think when it gets darker they’ll be projecting some films on the ceiling so we should all head to the lazy river for that.”

“I was thinking we should go for some of the big slides.” Nika grinned. “Especially Hi-Air! Much better with people around to cheer you on!”

“I might not go for some of the more dangerous ones, but I fear if I stay here any longer I’ll fall asleep and miss out!” Alora chuckled.

Yeah the slides are fun. Chiyo conceded. Let’s go there!

“Woof!” Dante barked in agreement.

I forgot how many stairs there were. Chiyo groaned about five minutes later, as the group ascended the towering staircase leading to the summit of the waterslide area.

“Oh stop whining, Chiyo!” Nika told the Ilithii as they kept ascending, anticipation mounting with each step. “At least there isn’t a queue!”

“I think we’re nearly there!” Jack grinned with excitement, pointing ahead.

“Yep, that’s the summit!” Alora panted as she climbed up after them. “See Chiyo? It’s not so bad!”

Why can’t this damn place invest in a lift? The Ilithii retorted grumpily. At least we’re here now, what ones are you all going for?

“I don’t know the difference between all of them,” Jack pointed out. “Might as well go for all of them unless you don’t want to come back?”

“We can all split and do whatever before meeting back up for the lightshow?” Sephy proposed. “They should give an announcement ten minutes before so if we head back to the wave pool when we hear it we can get some inflatables and find one another.”

“Good idea!” Nika nodded. “Though I think I’ll stick with the slides for a bit longer.”

“I’ll admit I want to explore a bit.” Jack shrugged. “I’m sure we can do our own thing for a bit without getting into any trouble!”

“I think you underestimate us!” Alora laughed. “But this is a safe place, we’ll be fine. Nobody’s being stingy on security after the latest conflicts.”

“First thing’s first!” Nika grinned, pointing to the lip of a huge, intimidating-looking white slide that had a very steep incline. “Jack, you’ve gotta try Hi-Air!”

“Holy shit…” Jack muttered, walking over and having a look, taking in the panoramic view that revealed the vast expanse below them watching the ant-like swimmers milling about beneath the gaps in the canopy of tropical trees. “No way would this shit be allowed on Earth!”

Descending down at an almost vertical angle was an absolute monster of a slide that curved out towards the bottom, extending into a long ramp that launched out into a gigantic pool below that was occupied with many spectating swimmers who began cheering the moment they saw someone at the top.

“Yeah it’s pretty wild!” Nika grinned. “Anyway! You first!”

“Huh!? Why me?” Jack scoffed. “That’s more hardcore than an Olympic ski jump!”

Olympic? Ski? Chiyo asked, confused.

“Hey don’t worry, it’s not that bad!” Nika grinned. “There haven’t been any confirmed fatalities in years!”

“That’s not helping!” Jack snorted in amusement. “But it does look kinda awesome!”

“Probably best to sit on the edge of the slide and drop rather than trying to jump!” Alora pointed out, attempting to be helpful as Jack walked back to the edge.

“Yeah, no shit, Alora!” Sephy grinned. “I heard the last dude that died jumped head first!”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be trying that…” Jack began, tentatively sitting on the lip of the slide. “But I doubt it’s any worse than anything we’ve done so far if I’m honest.” He shrugged as the spectators below cheered him on, before without thinking, he just went for it.

“Oh fuck!” He gasped, immediately regretting the decision as he dropped quickly, feeling the adrenaline run through him as he fell free through the air, dropping for several seconds before he felt the hard fibreglass begin to scrape his back while many sounds of whoops and cheers could be heard above the rippling wind rushing past his ears.

Quickly covering his head to prevent any injury, Jack couldn’t think of anything else as his body fully met the slide, quickly turning horizontal as he met the curve, watching the blur of the glass roof and green palms above him, before finding himself abruptly yeeted into the air. Panicking, he scrambled in the air, trying to right himself and get his bearings, before he impacted the water below. Taking a few seconds to get his bearings, Jack quickly kicked to the surface to a massive round of applause from the gathered spectators.

Rubbing his eyes clear of the water, he got out of the way as he heard the crowd cheer again around him. Looking back his eyes widened in shock at actually seeing the size of the ramp he had just flown off, and at the small pink fluffball that was scrambling in the air as Nika overshot him and landed with a splat ahead.

“Wooo!” She yelled out as she broke the surface. “That was fucking amazing! Come on Sephy! Let’s see how high you can jump!”

Sure enough the Skritta followed behind them soon afterwards, launching herself into the air with her wings before dive bombing right next to the two of them, surfacing with a grin.

“That was awesome!” She grinned, as yet more cheers erupted from the spectators. Quickly turning around to see what the new commotion was about, the three of them quickly cheered as three new shapes were launched into the air, the panicked scream of Alora easily drowning out the rest of the noise as she, Chiyo and Dante all plummeted clumsily into the water nearby.

“Well Gods damn!” Nika grinned. “Looks like you two aren’t going to be complete prudes while you’re here! Wanna go do that again?”

I am afraid that once is enough for me. Chiyo panted as she surfaced and quickly moved towards them.

“Likewise,” Alora agreed. “It was fun, but I’m not doing that again! I think I might head to the sunbeds!”

The glittering caves for me! Chiyo spoke up. Nice and quiet, and I can be at peace for a while.

“I’m gonna bomb down the tubes!” Sephy grinned. “I can go super fast down them!”

“Back to the slides for me!” Nika shrugged.

“I’m gonna explore.” Jack smirked, looking back to the ramp they all just went down. “But I’ve so got to do that slide again!”

“Woof!” Dante agreed.

*****

“I have no idea how we had the energy to do all that.” Jack sighed as he leaned back in his hammock, chilling out in the aqualounge, with his drowsiness finally catching up to him.

“Woof!” Dante agreed from next to him, having somehow acquired several necklaces of flowers during their time exploring the Aquaplex with Jack, who had sadly only picked one from a very enthusiastic staff member outside one of the slides.

Jack had great fun exploring the Aquaplex, going down a few more of the slides and flumes, before visiting places that would have been rare on Earth. The aquatic dancefloor with a live DJ was certainly something, with many of the students really going at it, though Jack didn’t join in, not being a fan of clubbing in the first place, and being paranoid about drowning in a crush. Instead he spent much of his time trying out the obstacle courses that would have put Wipeout to shame…

“Attention! This evening’s lightshow shall begin in ten minutes!” A voice called out over the intercom, and Jack groaned and got up on reflex.

“Welp, no rest for the wicked.” He sighed, walking out of the pool and following the crowd of swimmers down to the main wave pool.

“Woof!” Dante barked, dutifully following him, happily accepting a sausage from one of the food stands on the way as Jack tried to find some snacks he could carry while swimming, eventually getting to the wave pool, which looked packed to burst with the number of people entering - even more so than when they first entered with the waves turned on.

“Jack! Over here!” A voice called out, and he turned to see Alora waving from halfway across.

“Ah crap, you might need to sit this one out, boy.” Jack apologetically patted Dante’s head. “Unless you can blink onto an inflatable or something, it probably isn't safe for you, let alone me!”

Dante whined for a moment as he blinked to the side, observing the madness below.

“Wish I could do that…” Jack grumbled as he strode forward through the crowd, trying to work out a route to where he wanted to go. Walking until the water was up to his knees he tried his best to politely bypass a group of girls taking selfies, declining their requests to have him in the photos as he kept going, dodging past another group all on inflatables.

Now treading water and trying to keep his chips above the surface, he awkwardly edged past a circle of students having a natter, briefly giving polite greetings before moving on, cursing as his food got splashed by a group of lads engaged in a spirited water fight, before spotting Alora and a bunch of their friends just up ahead, leisurely floating on a bunch of bobbing tubes and inflatables like some kind of impromptu flotilla.

“Attention! The light show will begin in two minutes!” The announcement chimed out over the sounds of cheers from the excited crowd.

“Great…” Jack sighed as he yanked his food back from a frisky couple that were going at it, blissfully ignorant of everyone else around them as they got handsy underneath the water, before hurrying through an ongoing water volleyball match of some kind that had been set up, even though the crowd was very quickly engulfing the pitch, requiring room to watch the show.

There he is! He sensed Chiyo inform the others. Over here!

“Yep! I see you!” Jack called out. “I don’t suppose you can grab my chips!”

Sure! Chiyo smiled as she telepathically pulled them to her float as Jack made his way over to them much quicker, no longer encumbered by the snacks.

“Climb aboard!” Alora invited, and Jack pulled himself up onto their inflatable raft, while Chiyo nonchalantly started munching on some of his chips. Looking up he could see that his group of friends had settled into their corner of the crowded wave pool with a floating flotilla of inflatable tubes, linos and rafts that they all attached closely to one another.

Seeing that he didn’t have much room to work with he shunted himself further inwards away from the edge, playfully grabbing his chips back from Chiyo, as he looked around and confirmed that all his friends were accounted for. He was the last one.

Several seconds followed, and as the solar plate floating in orbit above them covered their access to light, turning day to night, the crowd cheered in anticipation as a new, warm light turned on above them, engulfing them in a faint blue glow.

The crowd then began to quieten as the first flickers of activity emanated from beneath the surface of the pool, creating a shimmering dance of colours beneath them. Slowly these began to intensify, casting a gentle glow that reflected off the ripples caused by the crowd. Making themselves more comfortable, Jack barely noticed as Chiyo moved in close for a cuddle, enchanted as he was by the display.

As the waves gently waxed and waned around them, the many hues of the light conducted a slow waltz of blues, greens and purples that cast a serene ambiance over the pool. Slowly, the sounds of a musical accompaniment began to play, though as he looked around Jack could not tell where it came from, seeming to echo all around the Aquaplex.

It was a strange melody, something he would describe as classical, but so far removed from the old music he had been forced to learn in school. It was harmonious, but impossible at the same time. He felt that no human could possibly replicate the timbres and deep, resonating sounds that echoed within his very soul as the lights beneath swirled to their command, intensifying into a vibrant symphony of colours that refracted off the rippling waves.

As the music heated up, the lights transitioned to fiery pinks and oranges, as the water below and the ceiling above became a living canvas, with flickering glows of colour that told a tale with no context, reason or sense. It just was.

Nobody said anything as they were caught in the mesmerising embrace, and Jack’s eyes went wide as the light seemed to rise up from the water like fireflies, painting a picture of sensation all around him.

He had never seen anything like it.

Yet still the music intensified. Faster, stronger, louder as the waves around them seemed to be commanded by it. As the sensation swelled to its zenith, the lights reached a dazzling climax, illuminating the entire Aquaplex in a riot of colours as the crowd cheered and applauded, taking over as the music came to its conclusion, and the light seemed to retreat back in on itself, fading away before the water itself glowed fluorescent and multicoloured, almost appearing to Jack like the liquid of a glowstick.

“So what do you think Jack?” Alora asked him with a smile, leaning back to take a look at him. “Did you enjoy the show?”

“I’ve never seen anything like that before…” Jack finally gasped out, utterly gobsmacked by what he had just seen. “That was amazing!”

“I’m glad.” Alora sighed in relief. “I wanted to show you that there is good to be found in this realm of existence. Not everything has to be so bad!”

“Yeah…” Jack nodded in agreement. “Everything here’s been amazing. The slides, the pools, the drinks, the atmosphere…”

Your super attractive teammates wearing barely anything? Chiyo teased.

“Alright, I’ll admit it.” Jack chuckled.

“Things aren’t so bad here…”