The hover bike ride was quick and before Gordon could really process the fact that he was on a hover bike behind Jessica and holding her tight, it was over. Landing on the back of the corvette Gordon was forced to let go only to catch his balance when the hover capability of the bike turned off. Very carefully crouching down he navigated his way to a back seat. Both security guards had already jumped up from the ground into the front seat of the hover car.
For her part Jessica casually and easily dismounted her bike and hopped into the back seat next to Gordon. The bike folded itself up and slipped into a compartment at the back of the vehicle.
It was all too much for Gordon to really process. Sure he had been on many hover vehicles before, but only the bus or the train. An the many people didn't count trains as a true hover vehicles because they were still bound to hover over a predefined track.
"Are we going to make it?"
This was Jessica talking to her guard in the driver's seat.
"Yes, ma'am, we have communicated with the pilot and they are holding the plane. Ma'am are you ready? We're going to punch it."
Calmly the driver touched some buttons flipped the steering wheel to a specific baring and then gripped the steering wheel tightly.
"Yes, go ahead."
Then she turned to Gordon.
"Quick grab something!"
Jessica said urgently.
Heart in his mouth Gordon grabbed the seat door handle with his left hand. Ergonomically designed it seemed to be the perfect hand hold at just the right height. With his other hand he fumbled with the seat beat and buckled it in. Looking up he saw that Jessica had already buckled in and Gordon was disappointed that he had not seen how she did it so fast.
The next moment they were off and for the first time in this life Gordon felt the G force of faster than sound travel. Almost as soon as it started it stopped as they had already reached their destination and were slowing down gradually enough to prevent any knocks as if everything had been preplanned the ending to the journey was incredibly smooth.
Once the excitement was mostly over and they were just pulling through the parking lot of the airport Jessica turned to him.
"Alright, here is the deal. I negotiated with my family for you to come as one of my guests. They can't really prevent me from bringing you, but they can keep us separated. You are going to be on your own, but it is not a slight. My family is very fair. Everyone is going to be dropped on the mountain. The goal is to travel from your drop zone to the Philos temple, they will give you a map and some rations."
Gordon swallowed and still gripping the door handle said.
"Okay. Got it."
"This is a well known secret pretty much all the kids in my family know, they say the purpose of the drop is to get to the temple, but the real reason is for the initiates to explore and build up their power. Mount Renier has a powerful spirit spring. Just being in the vicinity will increase your cultivation. Don't rush to the temple, take your time and cultivate."
This time Gordon had to interrupt.
"I don't have a cultivation technique, though..."
"Don't worry, here is one. Take a look now and on the plane. I might not see you till we both arrive at the temple. Stay safe and keep away from all the other initiates."
She rummaged in consul between their seats and then handed him a book, more like a pamphlet and gave him a few last words of advice before her guards rushed her to the plane leaving Gordon to awkwardly follow along behind.
Having never been on a plane before Gordon was awestruck by the size of the craft and the size of the terminal behind. He knew from books and other people's experience that normal people had to go through all the security and boarding checks in the terminal. Evidently this one time Gordon was going to be able to skip over all those processes.
Or so he thought, until he boarded the plane and had to wait in the airlock area for the plane's security professionals to search his backpack and body. It was extremely invasive and embarrassing, but they were efficient and the process was done within ten minutes.
The plane was huge. A guide map on the wall of the plane showed multiple levels, restaurants, dance halls, laundry, pools, it was basically like a luxury cruise.
Most of the amenities here were things that Gordon or anyone raised in the pit would have ever seen or would ever see in their entire lives.
A smartly dressed ship's crew took Gordon to his assigned cabin.
"Welcome to the Ventura Gay! I am called Taylor. On board we have a selection of different options for your leisure and entertainment. I am your attendant for the duration of this flight and would be happy to serve you however you would like. You can call me on this number whenever you wish and I will do whatever is necessary to meet your needs."
The thirty something man bowed and extended a hand to Gordon. Confused at this gesture Gordon reached out as if to shake the hand, but instead Taylor grabbed his hand firmly and kissed the palm.
Instinctively Gordon snatched back his hand feeling a little violated, but Taylor suddenly smiled and winked at him.
"Right this way."
Instead of addressing the social error Gordon had made Taylor ignored the incident and just continued to lead Gordon to his cabin pointing out the various points of interest along the way.
The walk was a long one and he was very overwhelmed before going even twenty steps. The lights, sounds, smells, and even touch when the hallways were so packed that people had to brush by each other was stimulating. He supposed that it was supposed to be stimulating for these rich citizens of the empire. In the pit everyone gave each other plenty of room, even in the tightest of quarters. When people were forced to be close and to touch each other as a matter of course throughout the day he supposed they valued their personal freedom more than these high class people ever would.
Eventually they arrived at a long hallway with other more modestly dressed passengers and crew members bustling along. Ever five meters there was a door on either side of the hall. Every door had a port hole window at eye height, but as they past Gordon could see that most of these windows had a closed curtain blocking the view inside. Those that didn't were empty and he could see that these cabins were a small four by three rectangle with just enough room for a double bed a desk and a two doors. One door he assumed was a small closet and the other would probably be a toilet and shower.
Once they had traveled most of the way down the hall Taylor opened a specific door for Gordon and ushered him in.
"What would you like to do first? You stop is the Philos compound, is that right? You will be with us for a short two days."
Taylor nodded before finishing his sentence already knowing exactly where Gordon was going Taylor didn't allow Gordon time to process the information, before prompting him again. The length of the flight was all news to Gordon.
"Would you like to visit the casino or perhaps visit the water park?"
Hurriedly Gordon ignored all the questions in his head and said.
"No, no, I need to do some studying."
Taylor looked at Gordon questioningly.
"Are you saying you would like to stay in? Would you like some personal attention? Perhaps you would like a massage?"
Gesturing to the bed Taylor made as if to come farther into the small cabin.
"Oh, no, no, no, I mean. That is alright. I can study on my own."
Hurriedly Gordon went to stand behind the door and then saw a mischievous smile flick the corner of Taylor's mouth just briefly. Then Taylor frowned and pouted a little.
Taylor had already been standing at the door so Gordon had to squeeze by the ship's attendant and then awkwardly stand behind him.
Turning around while lessening any perceived threat Taylor moved closer to the open door without actually stepping foot across that threshold.
"Are you sure there is nothing I can do?"
Feeling bad suddenly, guilt rose in Gordon's mind for rejecting this fellow so harshly.
"Sure, can you point me to the nearest place to eat. I will probably need to grab some food once in a while."
At Gordon's request Taylor flashed a beaming smile.
"Yes, I will bring you a tray of food morning, noon, and night. No problem."
The attendant gushed as if this was the culmination of what would make him happy.
"Oh, okay. That will be fine."
Frustrated with not being able to completely rid himself of this guy who was getting way too personal with him Gordon just acquiesced to whatever Taylor wanted to do. Moving to shut the door he wanted to get to reading the cultivation technique.
"Will that be all? Good evening!"
Taylor tried to say a few more parting words through the shutting door.
Shaking his head after securing the door with the bolt Gordon took out the cultivation manual and went to sit at a short desk on the wall of the tiny cabin.