LF Friends, Will Travel [HFY]

There was an impressive sense of scale to the structure. As the small government-provided FTL-vehicle travelled through space, the station's immense… mass filled the viewport, spreading out as far as the eye could see. It was a diverse, moon sized, artificially created mass, floating out in the middle of nowhere, a single blip in the infinite vastness of space.

Lena could see the station was awash with activity, vessels moving too and fro, military fleets hovering in its orbit in defense of the research station. The occasional explosion erupted against the surface, visible even from this distance, the evidence of some kind of weapons test causing new craters to appear in the lifeless gray rocks that made up an eighth of this station's mass.

The rest was a strange mismash of biozones, a kaleidoscope of colours: the greens of a verdant forest, the blues of a vast endless ocean, the reds of a hot dead desert. It was as if someone had taken slices out of other planets and fit them together like lego bricks, to create the perfect testing environment for anything special R&D projects the Terran Alliance might want to create.

Lena couldn't help but feel impressed by such a feat. Most stations of this size, such as the neutral Federation created structures that the galaxy used for diplomacy, would normally build upon an existing uninhabited planet. That way you didn't have to worry about what to build your station's core out of, or how to keep its orbit regular enough to not eventually collide with nearby systems. To build something like this, a new moon sized station in the middle of nowhere, outside of the view of prying eyes, was an impressive feat of engineering.

Of course the Scythen's own technological feats far exceeded that of the Terrans, to the extent that building such a structure in normal reality was an outdated concept. This didn't change Lena's admiration for the project: it was still impressive, much like seeing a complex clockwork machine go about its business; even if it was obsolete, it was still interesting and a work of craftsmanship.

They stared out at the structure that would soon become the Scythen's new home, the station getting larger and larger as they approached, passing by enough orbital defenses to take on even the most mighty of Estorian fleets. Lena had heard the station be referred to by a number of names during the process: "The Death Star", "Site-19", "Blackbox". The official documentation however gave the location a simple name: "Research Location 9". Lena had been told that research locations one through eight did not exist, that it was a common Terran naming convention to pretend they had more resources than they did.

"I miss you as well sweetie, I'm counting down the days until I see you again."

Johnathan spoke enthusiastically, eyes twinkling as he continued to speak with his wife. Lena wasn't getting much from the one side of the conversion they could hear, all while the Terran prattled on about random topics and people the Scythen had never met or heard about. The Doctor had done this for the last half an hour, filling the otherwise silent two person vessel with incessant noise.

"I will! I'll single handedly discover how to give some slavers a good kicking, then be home for tea. Anyways, I've got to leave you now, we're about to land, I'll call you tomorrow."

This was indeed the case, as the station had grown from a very large moon in the distance, to encompassing the entire idea of the 'ground' as their vessel moved quickly towards the section of the planet filled with buildings of various sizes, the AI driving the vehicle silently dealing with the business of securing a landing spot.

"No, I love you more…. Nu huh, love you more… Nope, I love you even more!... I really gotta go now, so as a final statement…. Loveyoumore."

Lena watched with amusement as Dr. Fletcher spoke with the same enthusiasm of a love struck teenager, quickly whispering out the last three words before ending the call, a smile stuck to his face as he did so. While Johnathan, like most Terrans, did look to be in his earth twenties, his current marriage had been going strong for over a hundred years. The Scythen had long since gotten used to Fletcher's constant calls of doting and adoration with his family back home: Whether speaking to his two sons, or his loving wife.

"Question: what are your thoughts on this situation? Is Friend Johnathan excited?"

Lena was still in the dark about what exactly they were going to be doing: Even after the Terran alliance had accepted them immediately into the position, there was scant little information about what that their job would entail, apart from a generic title of "head researcher".

And a hefty paycheque, if one cared about such things.

"Heh, being taken to a government blacksite to do mysterious research to help win a war. How could one not be excited?"

A gentle shudder signaled the end of the pair's journey as the vessel they were traveling in softly touched down at its final location, the doors opening and allowing them both to exit with a stretch and a sigh, to see their new residence for the first time.

Or at the very least, the space port of their new residence.

For a secret government research facility, two things immediately stuck out to Lena. The first was how busy it was. Based on Terran media you'd have assumed the entire thing would be clandestine and run entirely by faceless people in black suits, but everything looked… normal. A bustling busy location that wouldn't be out of place at a million and one different spaceports around the galaxy: ships taking off and landing, cargo being hoisted one way and another. The only real difference at Location 9 was the passport control being replaced by a strong military presence.

The second thing was the makeup of the people around them. While the concept of "Build an artificial moon to do science on" was clearly a chaotic Terran idea, the people who walked, flew, slithered and jumped around were not just Terran. While they were the largest contingent at the station, they weren't the majority, hundreds of species and thousands of people all being represented in one place.

The pair shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot, or in Lena's case hoving in mid air, looking around anxiously as they weren't sure what they were supposed to be doing now that they'd arrived in the midst of all this activity. The vessel they'd been taxied in silently rose into the air once more, towards whatever new location it was required to be at, as if signaling to the both of them that the time for any second thoughts had quite literally left them behind.

"Did any of the documentation mention what we were supposed to do once we got here?" Jonathan asked slowly, hoping the Scythen had a better idea as to what to do next.

"Negative response: No, it did not."

Luckily for them, they wouldn't have to wait around for long, as someone very important and official looking was speed walking over to their position, with the energy of someone who knew very clearly where they were going and why.

The first thing that stood out to Dr Fletcher, was that this new person looked… old, probably around about in their early forties. Of course, humanity and Terrans as a whole had long since conquered the aging process, meaning visible age was a poor indicator of experience. Jonathan himself was 20, going on 300, and like most Terrans looked like a young adult still in their prime. So for this person who strode towards them with purpose to choose to look older, was in of itself a noteworthy thing.

If anything, it was the only noteworthy thing about a woman, who looked like a factory produced government official. A boring dark grey suit, hair tied up neatly into a bun. This person looked like she'd spawned spontaneously from a pile of forms and bureaucracy, had said their first words signed in triplicate, then made her way directly towards the pair.

"Dr Johnathan Fletcher and the Scythen going by the name Lena."

The voice was firm, purposeful, not a question about their identities, but a statement. The hand she held out was firm and robotic, along with the handshake she gave to Dr Fletcher.

"Yes, you are?..."

"Susan Carter, Head of facilities here at Location 9. Follow me please, I don't have a lot of spare time, I have a lot of meetings after this, so walk and talk."

Just as rapidly as she had arrived, Carter started walking towards a different location across the spaceport without waiting, leaving Fletcher and Lena to scramble after this one woman on an unknown mission.

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"Well it's very exciting and an honour to be offered-" Johnathan began to talk as they moved, only to be cut off by Susan.

"Yes yes, it's an interesting position, everyone is honored, let's leave the unimportant social niceties for later." Her voice was dismissive as she spoke, a sign that she'd had this conversation many many times with many many people. She didn't look up from the holopad she held in her hands, furiously pressing buttons as she multitasked, doing goodness knows what. "For now, let's go over what you'll be doing here, as I'm sure you have questions."

The bustling spaceport was left behind without fanfare as they walked, a single normal looking hallway leading to a single normal looking door, opening out into the rest of the city. From here the scale of what had been created was somehow more visible than from orbit, towering structures and a mixture of designs from the entire Terran Alliance.

There was no sign that in this location, three years ago, there had been nothing but the empty void of space. Instead now hundreds of thousands of people lived, researched, or helped those doing the research, in utter secrecy.

"Confused statement: Yes, we were given sparse details about the exact project we will be working on." Lena asked simply as they approached an awaiting black glossy vehicle, following after Susan as she climbed inside without a word of gesture, both presuming they were supposed to follow, finally able to sit as the vehicle took off down the streets of station.

"That's by design." Susan stated, eyes still affixed to her work. "It goes without saying, everything done here is not to leave this location, telling anyone anything about the work here will involve you and whoever you told going to jail for a very long time. Rather simply, Location 9 is the perfect laboratory for all and any experimental advances in science in order to aid the war effort."

The vehicle was nice, having that very special air of quality and expense without trying very hard at all, enough room for the trio to comfortably sit while the vehicle sped up to immense speeds through the more industrialized skyscrapers and factories of Location 9.

"It hosts seven different biomes, eight if you include the residential and infrastructure area that we're in now, but there's no labs here as doing experiments that might go boom where people live is considered 'bad form'. Practically every habitable environment you might need to test in and for is represented, and if it isn't we'll set it up for you. Plenty of space and time to develop whatever you may need. Money and resources are no object here."

Jonathan couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed as the information and the general scale of the place was being shoved in his face. He could see the streets outside of the vehicle as they sped through them with blistering speed, a hive of activity as masses of equipment and factories churned out who knew what were glimpsed, machines and containers being dragged around as they were sent on their way towards wherever they were needed.

There hadn't been much information on what this job role would actually entail. Dr Fletcher had just heard the words 'Help against the Estorians' and 'Special research', and assumed the rest would fall into place. Yet even after turning up he still didn't know what was happening, just that it was big.

"I'm sorry, that doesn't answer my question at all. What am I working on, who am I working under?"

"Additional statement: I too am concerned about this, especially considering my religious pacifistic requirements."

As soon as the Scythen spoke, Susan looked up from her holopad and her masses of work for the first time, giving Lena her full undivided attention, showing how important this was.

"Firstly, Lena, I do understand your issues, and I do hope you report back to your government that we can work alongside the Scythen's limitations: There's more to wars than guns and bombs, and we are very interesting in working with people such as yourself."

With that Susan turned back to her pad once, fingers returning to a blur as she continued to chip away at the near infinite amount of work she had left to accomplish.

"As for your question Dr Fletcher, only you can answer that. While I'm certain any of the other teams here would be more than willing to take on someone of your expertise, the simple fact is, what you work on and how is entirely up to you."

Jonathan couldn't help but frown as they took in this statement. The vehicle had slowed down from its original speed to something more manageable, the decor and surroundings taking on a more 'homely' approach. Gone were the industrial looking highways and looming buildings of industry, and instead rows upon rows of different looking 'suburban' housing lined the streets.

"Wait, you're saying there's no project?"

"Quite the opposite: You are the project" Susan responded simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You are Dr Johnatahn Fletcher, a man who has pushed forward science for Terrankind quite rapidly over the last century. My job is not to tell you what to do, my job as head of facilities is to get you anything you need to succeed, no questions asked."

Jonathan was still lagging behind in this conversation, a life of filling out grants, awaiting approval of various boards and funding teams not preparing him for what he was being offered right now.

"Anything? Like caffeine, pizza and a whiteboard?"

"Food and living quarters are obviously included, that's where we're heading right now: Your new home. It's not limited to just that though." Susan added. "You need a team of bright research students to help you? Done. You need miles of empty space to shoot at asteroids? That's why we're in the middle of nowhere. If you need a unicorn's horn, I will find the single leprechaun who made one, shoot the magic horse, and then hand you the remains. Like I said, money and resources are no object here. All we care about is winning the war as fast and as easily as possible."

Dr Fletcher looked outside the window of the vehicle once more, watching the people who walked along the streets as they went about their day. A pair of Hatil, a black labrador uplift, a group of humans. Upon a second glance he realized he recognized some of them, professors and leaders of various fields, all powerful minds in their own right. Had all of them been offered this? Been given a vague job offer then offered an experience which was.. unthinkable.

"So you're basically giving me infinite resources to work on whatever I want?"

"Whatever you think will help the war effort the fastest." Susan clarified once more. "There is a quote from Henry Ford about the creation of his cars: 'If I asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses'. I am and always will be a bureaucrat. If I, or any of the other hundreds of people in military or governmental positions, were in charge of these projects, we'd ask you to make us a faster horse. We have plenty of other teams to build us horses that explode 15% better, or do their thing 3% more efficiently. I don't want a horse. I want you, Dr Johnathan Fletcher, to make us something we'd never think of. I want you to help us win a war."

"Clarifying statement: Whatever Friend Johnathan is working on, I will aid them with."

Lena's interjection almost caused a panic response in Dr Fletcher. Sure, he would with confidence say he was a leader in his scientific fields, but to be given nearly free reign with near infinite resources, and a willing Scythen researcher as his partner, all to work on whatever he wanted.

On the one hand, it was everything every academic would dream of getting. On the other… the trappings of choice and the growing feeling of a pressure to perform started to form at the back of his skull, the idea that this much effort from the Terran Alliance would be going into him, with the expectation that he'd work out how to change everything due to his inherent brilliance?

"I couldn't… where would I even start to build something to win a war? This is nothing like what I've done before."

"You're surrounded by some of the most brilliant minds in the Terran Alliance, and have access to the current war feeds, unfiltered by the media and propaganda: I'm sure you can pick up some ideas. We're not expecting anything from you any time soon, this is a long term investment in you. Speaking of which, we've arrived at your new place."

The vehicle had indeed stopped, outside one of the many houses that made up this area. The first thing that was apparent to Jonathan was how… familiar it looked. It looked like his place back home on Kawkab, the same two story design and well tended to garden, even the same navy blue door. The only thing the government hadn't been able to duplicate was the sight of his wife waiting for him, but even some things would be impossible to pull off.

The door to the vehicle slid open without a noise, Susan motioning to the exit politely.

"Take some time to get settled in, if you need anything changed or added at all, call me, you should already have my number in your system. Now if you'll excuse me, I have 5 meetings, 2 deliveries of sensitive items and a very overdue report to file…"

The pair did as asked, leaving the vehicle and stepping onto the well maintained sidewalk, Jonathan turning back one last time to look at Susan, who was already deep into whatever work she was furiously tapping away at.

"This can't be real. What if I pick something stupid, like making blueberry muffins."

"If someone of your expertise truly believes making muffins is the best way to defeat an alliance of slaving races, and save potentially billions of lives, then these muffins better be the best muffins in all of existence."

With that last sentence, the door to the vehicle closed and it sped off down the road, towards whatever meeting or greeting Susan had been scheduled to head towards next on her infinitely busy job, leaving the Scythen and Terran pair alone to start their new job.

Jonathan couldn't help but wonder what exactly had just happened. He'd accepted a government job, been given infinite resources, and then told that it was up to him to save the galaxy in any way he saw fit. A trickle of excitement combined with a deluge of worry and anxiety, as the thought of the work ahead of him caused his heart to beat a little faster.

Just what have I gotten myself into.