Planet Utania in the Viandis Star System
The last time I had seen President Solano and his crew, they were retiring to their chambers in the palace before the ball was even over. Our conversation there hadn't ended very smoothly, so I had no idea why he asked for me to join them on their trip. I didn't know if he had a chance to explain to the other Paguans that I was an ambassador and not a prostitute, so I hoped they all believed I was there as a tourist guide and not something else.
The Paguans decided it would be a great idea to travel to Tartua by boat. And by boat, I mean the last ancient, archaic boat left in the Ryla harbor. The vessel was a relic that had once served as the pleasure cruise for an emperor no one remembered, and it was refurnished and modernized just to accommodate the Paguans on their journey. They said they wanted to see the planet, and they wouldn't be able to do that if we traveled by high speed flighters.
So we traveled by boat.
They probably regretted their decision as soon as they realized that all they could see was kilometers and kilometers of ocean for at least ten hours. Utania is a small planet with a surface made up of 97% water, and the larger islands are far away from each other. Most of the Paguans couldn't even stay on deck without having to throw up every ten minutes. Apparently, they weren't the seafarers they thought they were. My assigned cabin was above deck, next to the captain's cabin, and I could hear them vomiting outside. I hoped they were able to reach the water before throwing up on the hardwood deck.
I finally left my cabin a few hours after departing, when I was sure most of the Paguans had gone downstairs. The only one who seemed to be unfazed by the journey was Astra, their only female representative. She stood on the highest part of the boat, facing the horizon with her hair blowing in the warm wind. A droid was cleaning the floor beside her, but she seemed oblivious to everything around her.
I walked towards her and stopped behind her, and decided to gaze at the horizon too. There was something mesmerizing about the way it went on forever, with only the waves and the roar of the ocean surrounding us. I wished I could be flying instead of stuck on the boat. I didn't want to startle her, so I cleared my throat. She ignored me, so I decided to interrupt her trance.
"What happened to the rest of your crew?" I said.
"Oh, hello. Alysia, right?" she said, turning and leaning back on the railing. "I apologize on behalf of them. They thought they could stand the seasickness, but it seems it got the best of them. I can't even feel the ship moving, but I guess their stomachs couldn't take it."
"Please, there's no need to apologize for anything. I'm here to answer any questions you may have about Utania and our islands. So as soon as they feel better, please feel welcome to talk to me. I hope President Solano had a chance to clear out what my role as courtesan, or ambassador, is. Perhaps that's a more appropriate word to describe how I serve the Empress."
"Yes, he did. Frankly, I was kind of disappointed," she said, and smirked.
I was so taken aback that I almost fell off the ship. I found her very attractive, but it was a strict break of protocol to flirt with foreign dignitaries.
"I am jesting. He also explained that your relationships are somewhat different to the ones in Pagua. I find that very interesting," she continued.
"Yes, I had a hard time understanding some of the things President Solano said. I've encountered so many other species and races in my short career as a courtesan and none of them have ever questioned the types of relationships we have between genders here. I guess it's just a cultural difference."
"President Solano inherited a fractured planet that has been fighting among themselves for decades. So it's natural he has some viewpoints that may not reflect the entirety of Pagua. But he has a vision to modernize and expand our planet's influence in our star system. We've only just realized that in order to survive, we have to stand as a united front against other planets," she said, and her smile disappeared from her eyes. "That also means we have to adapt to other ways of life that don't reflect our own."
"Are you threatened by another planet?" I asked.
"Not formally. But we're on the bottom of the chain. There are three inhabited planets in the Kira Star System. Us, Balia and Aruan. Both of them keep mostly to themselves, but if they ever decided to invade us, we wouldn't stand a chance. Our problems are mostly internal, though. The sixteen continents that make up Pagua are very underdeveloped compared to most of the other planets in the galaxy. That is why we are here."
"Yes, President Solano mentioned that during our conversation."
"The cost of this journey alone was a planetary effort. It took us five years to be able to construct our long distance spaceship. We could have rented one from Balia or Aruan, but President Solano refused. He wanted us to do it ourselves."
"I think that's very admirable," I said.
It was, in a way. It was hard for me to imagine a place where travelling between star systems was hard to do. Ever since I remembered, we had been in contact with hundreds of planets in the galaxy. The spaceport in Ryla was one of the most active ones in the galaxy, with hundreds of spaceships docking there every day. And it had been us who had colonized their Star System a few centuries ago.
"I suppose," she said.
Then she abruptly straightened her back and faced something behind me. I turned, and it was President Solano himself coming our way. He stopped and nodded towards Astra. She returned the nod and looked at us both.
"Good evening," he said, giving a small nod towards me.
"Good evening," I replied, returning his nod.
"Alysia, if you don't mind, I'd like to speak with you alone."
I wanted to say that I didn't have a choice, but I couldn't do that.
"Of course," I replied, and he turned and walked towards the captain's cabin. I wanted to tell Astra that we could continue speaking after I was done with President Solano, but she had gone back to looking at the ocean and ignoring everything around her. So I followed him and closed the door behind me.
After that, nothing would ever be the same.