A long and arduous traffic awaited Sy and the others. The city's transportation had been cut off. It will take some time before reparations to the damaged arterial infrastructures commence. They needed to navigate the entire outer rim so they could access a narrow road leading to the central region.
Even with such a hassle, life went on for the people of Logria. A hard-boiled citizens of the Union.
The hover bus was stuck on a narrow bridge hanging over a deep depression on the rocky terrain. An intersection ahead with endless streams of vehicles had stranded them for over an hour now.
"Hey, Eran." Sy leaned forward to the driver's seat, getting bored. He held the visor of the white cap on his head, shuffling it, "Why are we wearing this?"
The Losac was also donning the same headwear with the word 'Union' inscribed on it - only revealing tiny strands of his luscious bright yellow hair. He shrugged while holding the steering wheel, "We're a team, remember?"
Sy raised a brow.
Behind him were Genevieve and Nasena, and opposite their seat were Jinae and Vii. The Runerie had some business with the mayor and decided to come along.
On the far back, Theon and Dylan conversed quietly. They had already booked a trip to Pyr Prime in order to patent the designs in the mech association.
The air was dry and hot as the punishing sun made its way across the sky. Luckily, the vehicle was equipped with a good ventilation system and air-conditioning. Without it, they would have been cooked alive within a few minutes.
After ten minutes of waiting in-line, a few police hover cars finally arrived and eased the traffic - gradually allowing the vehicles enough space to move forward. Still, it was a snail-pace and Sy realized that it will take them five hours to get to their destination with how fast they were going.
Seeing the irritation on his face, Genevieve chuckled. She suggested, "Why don't you tamper with the bus so we can fly over the city?"
Sy gave her a strange look. He remembered the time when they rode across the city above the safety limits. He shuddered, "Once is enough. Twice is courting death."
"Damn!" Theon rushed to the front to join the conversation, "I heard about that from Flint and his men. You two are badass!"
"Sy removed the safety circuit allowing the hover bike to go to overdrive." Genevieve explained, braiding the dark-gold hair of Nasena.
"That's insane!" Theon exclaimed, "I would have never thought of something like that."
While they discussed, Sy glanced at the girls. He was planning to bring them to his virtual workshop - show them how to use the fabricator and operate the assembly line. Perhaps, they might easily learn the Mecha specialty if he showed them the ropes.
Vii was looking out the window with grimes settling in from the persistent particles of dust in the air. The view was obstructed, but she could probably see beyond it with her enhanced eyes.
Jinae was practicing new expressions using the camera of her tablet. She was learning new ones everyday. He shuddered at the thought that behind the smiles of the silver haired girl was an emotionless persona.
Nasena steadily sat, letting Genevieve fix her dark-gold hair. Out of the three, she was the most approachable. Although, sometimes, she did not want to be bothered. Just like the other two, she preferred to be left alone once in a while.
Well, that was good. Socializing too much would stagnate one's self improvement. Alone time will make you self reflect. Be philosophical. Design a way of life. Albeit in a positive way. Negative was still good. It meant that one understood the world where humans live. A balance between the two was ideal.
It was up to a person to grasp that there was nothing absolute in where they live. Everything was a conduit to their own actions. A harmless stone can become a tool of evil when in their hands.
[What a load of crap!]
There was an amused look on Sy's face as he mentally questioned, 'System? You can read my thoughts?'
When there was no answer, a mischievous smile appeared on his face. Perhaps, he could torture the insufferable System by being philosophical? After all, it gave him a couple of nonsensical missions. It was only fair that he retorted in equal measure.
With that, he redirected his attention to the road ahead. Still, it was a good stretch of mind to theorize if the System was a part of his consciousness and not an autonomous external installment. Or perhaps it was, manifesting to his thoughts.
The journey continued lively. Theon was effortlessly spouting thousands of words while Dylan added a few teasing remarks. For some reason, they acted sheepishly toward the Runerie. Well, she was a celebrity throughout the Union. An accomplished woman, even having an independent business apart from being one of the youngest female ace pilots.
Sy steered his thoughts to their purpose in visiting the Starport. Eran proposed that using the training ground would not be as realistic as the battlefield since it was a new expansion of Steel Arena. They would have to dive straight into the maws of crazed pilots if he wanted to experience 99.9% realism.
Furthermore, using 4th Gen Mechs would pit them against military trainees. That was tantamount to handing out easy meals to a pack of hungry wolves. So, they'll have to go down the rankings. A 3rd Gen Tier 4 should be an adequate difficulty for the two of them.
Time quickly flew as he pondered. Soon, the base of the Starport came to view, and Eran had to squeeze the hover bus through countless of vehicles before entering its vicinity.
After that, it was smooth sailing as the highways of the Starport provided ample space for every vehicles. As soon as Eran parked the hover bus, the three girls impatiently stormed out to gaze at the titanic structure stretching out into space. Their eyes were full of marvel.
Sy and Genevieve warily followed them outside.
The Pioneer smiled while observing the three, standing shoulder to shoulder, and straining their necks to peer above. He started, attracting their attention, "We once build Spacedocks and Spaceyards to assemble starships. Problem is, we did not have any way to efficiently transport heavy materials into space. So, we built orbital factories. An ingenuity back in the days. But it required a lot of resources and effort to build one. Each would almost take decades to finish. So, we came up with a new one."
He gestured at the titanic structure which the girls followed in anticipation. "A Starport! We are always effective on the surface of a planet, and so, a Starport could be easily erected instead of toiling out in the void putting together small pieces of an outpost. With this mighty architecture, we could effortlessly lift objects into orbit or lower them down."
Sy raised a finger, "So, if you design a colony ship, you must make sure that it's hull can be divided to construct a Starport. With that, the colonists can streamline their effort in settling the new planet."
The three girls blinked their eyes.
"This Starport is the hull of a ship?" Nasena asked with curiosity painted all over her face.
Sy shook his head, "No."
There was disappointment in their eyes, even Genevieve.
Eran was also attentively listening with Dylan and Theon.
"But the Starport in Pyr Prime is. Its framework is believe to be the remnant of the battleship Nebuchadnezzar which Exalted Pioneer Supreme, Pyr, commandeered from the Dominion then across the vast void before finally reaching its resting place in the heart of what we call now; The Union of Pyr." Sy triumphantly narrated, finding his throat dry from the long talk. But it was worth it. All of their faces were as bright as the sun above.
"Can you tell us about Pyr?" Vii tugged his armed, the first time her neutral face showed a tinge of emotion. Her action excited not only the other two girls, but even the four adults.
However, Sy was reluctant to part his knowledge about the topic. He might destroy the entire childhood of Genevieve, Eran, Dylan and Theon if he accidentally spouted that Pyr was a woman.
The Unionists called the Pioneer their founding father, and he was not interested in rewriting that in their heads. The Pioneer Supreme was greatly revered in the entire faction, and that was enough. No need to make conflicting accounts on her.
"Next time, maybe. We are here for something very exciting." He dismissively said, guiding Nasena and Vii toward the Starport.
Genevieve held Jinae's hand as they followed. The Runerie was even more curious now that she asked, "Come on, Sy. Tell us more about Pyr. And what did you mean he commandeered the Nebuchadnezzar?!"
Sy's eyes widened. He panicked inside, and secretly motioned the two girls to fasten their pace. And so, they fled.
"Wait! Stop!"