Chapter 595 - Day MMCXLII, Part II

It was quite obvious that I'm moving towards him, so the imperial official focused his attention on my persona.

- More questions? - he asked with the synthesized voice.

- Actually yes. I was wondering why it will take us so much time to travel to High Queen that you gave us all rooms.

- The reason I gave you your rooms is because of comfort. You are my guests. I would do it even if we were to arrive in an hour, but yes, it will take some time.

- Why? We moved to Dispur quite fast.

That was the part that was making them confused. Why the hell were we even staying on this ship? I hoped he might clear my confusion.

- To arrive at Quel'kabar you need permission, otherwise, your ship will be taken down immediately, and there is no warp gate there, so we have to use coordinates to travel, and those change. The process looks like this. You send a notice that needs to have who, and on what purpose will be arriving, with details about their vessel. Then you wait for confirmation. It takes longer since we will be arriving closer to the Sky Palace, which needs the approval of the queen herself. If they agree they will send a notice back, with a date. Only then we can move there. Since it's an official visit of the representatives from the new vassals, it also takes additional time. That's why we will be waiting in the space nearby your planet until we are approved.

- You know that we could wait on Earth for that? And go on with our lives?

He smiled at me.

- The notice might arrive at any moment. I did gather you here for the purpose of keeping you together to avoid having to chase you around your planet.

There was some sense in what he just told me.

- Ok. That would be one question. The other is, what should we expect out there?

- Are you perhaps anxious?

- No. I'm just curious.

- We will visit the palace, where you will see the High Queen herself. You will pay your respect, and she will officially acknowledge you as part of her empire. Mainly you will stay in silence and watch me talk. I have to present your case, answer the Queen's questions, and even present some evidence if she asks. Moreover, there is also the issue with Zor'xal. He probably already sent some of his officials to try to slip his way out of the mess he put himself in, but he won't. I can give you my word.

- So we will have to also watch you argue in our case?

- Not necessary. I will present the case in hope that we will get an immediate judgment from the Queen. If she will ask about additional details, the debate will probably be postponed to a later date. The Queen is quite busy, so there won't be enough time for me to argue with the rats Zor'xal has sent.

I nodded.

- Anythings we should avoid in the presence of the Queen? The last thing right now I would want is to offend her.

Ashal Kal Anur smiled again.

- The Queen is competitive by nature, so if you don't want to die, then better avoid showing any signs she could read as a challenge to her. She is a being on completely another level. You saw the Calludin named Nall, who was killed by your friend, Will?

- Yes, I did - I admitted.

- They couldn't be even compared, as the Queen is in a whole different dimension, so please follow my advice.

I nodded. The last thing I wanted, after what we had already sacrificed, was to piss her off in any shape or form. If it was just me, then I probably wouldn't care, as right now I was quite the competitive person as well, especially when challenged, but It wasn't just me. It was the whole of humanity at stake. For that reason I, although not happily, were adamant about even sacrificing my own pride.

- Do you have any other questions? - asked Ashal Kal Anur, as I remained silent thinking.

- No. That would be all. Thank you for your time - I slightly bowed.

He responded in the same manner. Then I left the hall and found Will waiting for me in the corridor.

- What was that about? - he asked immediately.

- I had some questions, and he was willing to give me answers.

- Like what? - his eyebrows rose.

- Like why aren't we already in the Queen's palace.

- And why is that? I was actually also curious about that...

- Bureaucracy. We need a permit, otherwise, they will take down the ship without asking questions.

He nodded.

- That sounds reasonable, but we could wait on the ground, not here.

- I pointed out the same thing. He just wants us in one place, so he won't have to chase us around when we have the date of our arrival set up. Oh, and we are actually in the space right now. At least according to him?

- Really? Damn. I always wanted to see the planet from space - he said, and immediately looked at one of the aliens standing next to us, and patiently waiting.

It was a woman of the same race as Sor. She nodded.

- Please follow me. There is a suitable place for you to see such a view - she said, and then they left.

- Would you like to see it too? - Sor asked me.

I shook my head. I didn't really care, but since there was nothing really to do except have 'fun' with my designated caretaker, I quickly changed my mind.

- You know what? Let's see it.

She took me on a long route, and we eventually ended up arriving in a completely closed room, alone, but after the door closed behind us, she spoke a word. This caused the whole wall to shimmer and turn into something like glass, revealing a view of my home planet.

It was like I saw it on TV or the monitor of my computer, just more.... Magnificent? It took my breath away.