It was easy to move around in space, although the air was thick and tasted like hot rocks, metal, and something sweet. Their planet had islands on the water-space barrier, either sitting above it or hanging upside down, but they were heading to one that was actually floating in space miles away from it. It was recently spotted by a watcher, and they wanted to claim it first before anyone else got involved. Watchers look for floating islands, incoming threats, and other possibilities. They have good eyes and have to be quick with reporting such things. They are one of the few to have direct contact with the rulers of the sea.
This island was quickly linked to their planet before others from the outside could capture it. The watcher labeled it a high priority because it seem to hold valuable resources. The watcher said it was traveling so fast that there was no time to waste! Although the famous Harizot race with their Dagon companions they use to ride on had interests in it, their planet had not succeeded in securing it and labeling it as 'Property of Planet Zenonz: Zelox Island: ID 1127855: Official' (Space authorities authorized it just before the Harizots disputed it). If they were to have succeeded, they both would have had to come to an agreement in a meeting with the Galactic Property Managers. The process could take who knows how many spins before settling.
The three of them had made it to the Yoken Star Cluster. The stars were blue here and they made sure to pick a time to travel when they weren't exploding.
Sherrie asked for a break.
"I still think we should get a vehicle so we can get there faster." Said Meena.
"I don't want us to be tracked." Said Juu.
Meena shrugged.
They stopped at a slow moving rock and Sherrie mixed a potion on top of it and gulped it down.
"Whew, that's the stuff!. She said.
"Make me one Sher!" Said Meena.
"Here!"
Juu took out a packet of fortified mixed gobbleseeds with a faramite drink and used this opportunity to really glance around at their surroundings.
Their planet was long out of sight, and out here in space, it was different. Things traveled at either dangerously rapid speeds or so slow that time doesn't even seem to exist. He wondered how he ended up with investors that were also his coworkers and wondered about their reasons for their interest. This was something big, and not too many went after floating islands as it can be risky, but he knew there was something special about this one.
Floating islands in space are detached from on top of the space-water barrier on water planets. Detached islands are floating islands still within 5-10 miles from their home planet and cannot be claimed by other planets or outsiders. Each water planet has their own rules on how far an island has to be to be claimed from their territory. Free floating islands are ones that are let go. The Galactic Space Rulers required each water planet, with rare exceptions, to release an island with some of their planet's resources. This is to keep the space economy flowing and interesting. It also helps stragglers on their journeys.
Sherrie and Meena have known each other since birth. Their parents did too. The mers were a tight culture and usually those they grew up with stuck together. They had long lasting alliances with the other sea creatures and formed a great sea world where everyone could fit in and work together.
New companies keep emerging after Zenonz rulers decided that the planet could be more prosperous. They also decided that security needed to be raised in preparation of the boom. Things have gone well, and things have also gotten stricter. No one worries about theft too much nowadays, but the guards make the seafolk anxious sometimes. It was hard to freely move around when you had to keep stopping at checkpoints. This was hard on the bigger sealife. Whales and sharks could not stand it and protested. The rulers listened and decided to have trackers for them instead. No they did not have to stop at checkpoints and stations.
Some of the sea creatures traveled and made their home on the outskirts of the planet population and in the depths of the ocean where they would not be bothered much. For those that continued to live on in the busy horn to horn operations, their life could get quite hectic. The Zenonz rulers even have some on pay to track what's going on around the water-space barrier and in the depths of the sea, which wasn't too shabby!