If Grand Port Kama was an amazing location that surpassed Clouds every imagination, then what lay beyond that was something the silver-haired youth couldn't even fathom.
A sprawling city that stretched as far as the eye could see. That's what greeted Cloud and Morn the moment they stepped out of the Port.
Clean streets extended in every direction, crossing one other at repeated intervals whilst rising and falling in various places. Atop these well maintained roads, hovering vehicles of every shape and size moved through the numerous lanes, flowing smoothly and effortlessly. A ways above the assorted traffic, flying cars, mopeds, and other vehicles followed their own designated lanes as well as their very own laws.
Buildings existed everywhere no matter which way Cloud looked. Hotels, bars, offices, hospitals, homes, other things that the youth couldn't even begin to describe. From simplistic to highly sophisticated, the structures differed greatly from each other but somehow still managed to mesh together without ruining the overall aesthetic. Just the buildings alone were enough for Cloud to lose all sense of speech, reduced to a bumbling idiot who could only look around in wonder and amazement.
"Quite the sight, isn't it?" Morn asked, stepping up beside the youth. "This is the city of Varx Kama. The largest city in the country. Maybe even Vemelox as a whole."
It had taken the two individuals about twenty minutes to leave the premises of the Grand Port, having taken their time admiring the wide variety of ships along the way. Now, positioned in the very front of the Ports exit, they had immersed themselves in the sight of the grand city layed out ahead of them. Morn had seen the sight hundreds of time, but even she could still admire the sheer beauty.
"It's amazing." Clouds hues stared off into the distance, a gust of wind blowing a scattering of red leaves through the area. "Haven't seen anything like it."
"Yeah. Unfortunately, we can't spend too much time admiring it." The pink-haired woman tapped the watch located on her left wrist, something the youth hadn't noticed until then. "We still have to phone a Cab Service to bring us to Private Holding. Then we have to see about getting you a proper room. Quite a number of things honestly."
"What's a....cab service?" Cloud asked, more than a bit confused.
Though probably not as confused as Morn as she stopped what she was doing, finger hovering over a few holograms that had appeared after tapping the face of her watch. Glancing up from her wrist, she locked eyes onto the youths stormy grey hues, as if attempting to detect traces of deceit or mischief within them.
"You don't know? Did they not teach you the basics in school?" Morn lowered her hands, letting the watches holograms fade out. "Even on Libruhj 9, they should have taught you about basic living in major cities."
Libruhj 9, a planet dwelling within the renowned Libruhj System, a group of star clusters that were more on the isolated end of the Migril Galaxy. Dwelling near the very edge, very few people took up residence there, for a multitude of reasons. Boasting an extremely small population of around a few million, most of them only lived within the three main cities scattered across it. Due to this miniscule amount of inhabitants, lessons in various subjects were taken even more seriously than even other planets living in the Inner Sanction of the Galaxy. In fact, school was considered mandatory and a punishable offense if avoided.
If Cloud had grown up on Libruhj 9, which is what General Runald had heavily hinted at, then he would've learned what a Cab Service was. Heck, he would've known what a Docking Bot and a Port was.
"I didn't go to school." The silver-haired youth said it extremely calmly, clearly unfazed by the woman's questions.
"But they don't allow anyone to within the cities to not attend school-"
"I didn't live in the city," Cloud interrupted, dropping a bombshell on Morn as if it was perfectly natural. "I grew up outside of the walls built around the city. I think the locals called it Kondal's Hell. It was a large forest that took up most of the planet."
Kondal's Hell. Now that was a name that a good portion of the Galaxy had heard of, and it was the main reason that Libruhj 9 had so few inhabitants.
A dangerous section of continuous woodlands, home to some of the most vicious native animals to exist within the various star systems. Ferstal Bears, Mulo Deers, Ugolian Tigers, and a slew of other creatures that could end a common life at the drop of a hat. No one who had ever wandered in alone had ever made it back in one piece, hence where it had gotten its name from.
In fact, the only reason life existed on Libruhj 9 was thanks to the massive metallic walls that had been built around the 3 main cities. These walls were charged with a special energy, an energy which in turn kept the monstrous beings away, deterring them from tearing the walls down like rocks through wet paper. Morn wasn't an expert on the world of Libruhj 9, but she had never heard of someone who had grown up outside of the main cities that wasn't a Space Marine.
"If you didn't live in the city, then where-"
Beep! Beep!
Before Morn could start asking the slew of questions bubbling up to the very surface, her watch slightly vibrated, alerting her to an incoming call. Putting the conversation with Cloud on hold, the young woman collected herself as she once again raised her wrist up to her face, pressing a button at the watches bottom.
"Go ahead."
<"Do you know how long I've been trying to get ahold of you??!!">
A loud feminine voice echoed through the watch, prompting Morn to immediately hold it away from her face.
<"Don't you dare take the quest to that Libra place!! Do you even know how many people have died on that planet?! I'll talk to the General for you. I'd rather deal with Voragens then have you go there!!">
Morn let the caller finish talking before offering a response, a look of exasperation on her face. "Pareia. Try to take a second to breath girl. You sound tense."
<"Damn straight I'm tense!! Have you ever heard of Kondal's Hell?! Libra is the last place I want you to be!!">
Morn smirked, glancing over to Cloud, of whom looked greatly intrigued. Walking over, the youth leaned towards the watch, no doubt mystified by the voice coming from such a small device.
"Well, it's a bit too late for all of that. I already made the trip."
<"Wait....what!">
"I already finished the mission. Currently on my way to Private Holding to-"
<"Where are you right now?"> The voice asked, not bothering to let Morn finish her sentence.
"Grand Port Kama," the young woman readily replied, not too bothered by the sudden interruption. "I'm escorting the mission objective to his destination now."
There was a long moment of silence as the person went off line without properly hanging up. After a minute or so though, Cloud and Morn began to hear numerous other sounds such as random bits of banging, rummaging, and loud shouts of pain. Eventually, the mysterious watch woman's voice returned, though more than a bit out of breath.
<"DONT MOVE!! I'll be there in five minutes. You leave the area and I swear I'll have you assigned to the most disgusting job you can think of!!">
With that, the call ended with a series of light jingles.
"As lovely as always," Morn said, letting out a slow breath, slouching over slightly in embarrassment. "That woman is gonna be the death of me."
"Who was she? The Cab Service?"
The young woman shook her head, standing up straight from her bent position. "Pareia Casew Varn, a fellow Yellow Corp Space Marine operating within Platoon #1. My platoon. She's a definite handful at times but she's the closest thing I have to a sister."
"So she's family." Cloud gave her an intrigued look.
"I suppose you could say that." Morn grinned slightly as she recovered her composure. "Seems like you'll be meeting her in person though so I won't say too much else. Trust me, you'll learn plenty about her soon enough. Mark my words."
For some reason, the pink-haired woman had managed to make the whole ordeal sound rather ominous. Of course, Cloud didn't pay it too much attention, grey orbs shifting away from Morn and back onto the glorious city sprawled out before him.
For the next twenty minutes or so, the two of them stood in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts and their own separate worlds.
Morn thought about a number of things within that time. Her past, present, future. The current mission she was on, a meal she planned to prepare once the mission was finished, and even the missions she planned to take afterwards.
But perhaps the biggest thing floating through and around her noggin was the child the mission pertained to.
What was his story? How had he survived in Kondal's Hell? Had he been there his whole life? If so, how had he learned to speak Migril's Standard? On top of that, how had he managed to speak it so fluently? Who were his parents? So many questions with so little answers. A burning desire to throw aside etiquette and courtesy swelled up within the woman's chest the more the mysteries piled up. However, Morn kept her mouth shut as she mulled over everything.
Cloud on the other hand was transfixed on his environment, smoky hues shifting every which way as he took it all in. Just like Morn, he didn't utter a word as he drunk his fill of the scenery.
Ferrrrr! Ferrrrr!
A loud horn brought the two back to reality as a baby blue vehicle came to a sharp halt beside them, a series of intricate melodies emanating from its insides. Once fully stopped, the front right side of the car opened up and an unknown individual popped up.
The person was a bipedal species similar to that of humans, except that her skin possessed a deep shade of green reminiscent to an emerald or something lighter. She was about 182cm tall with short onyx colored hair that just barely reached her shoulders and eyes that possessed a deep shade of black. Protruding from her back were two sets of oval shaped wings. The wings overlapped slightly, similar to an insects, and were almost completely see through. She wore an extremely simplistic oversized hoodie, one just a few shades lighter than her own skin, and black leggings that hugged rather long legs.
Based on context clues and the fact that she immediately waved to Morn the moment she popped into existence, this was Pareia Casew Varn.
"Morn! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" The green-skinned woman grinned from ear to ear as she waved towards her friend. "Don't just stand there. Hop on in. We gotta catch up on everything we missed."
Morn scoffed as she walked over. Before she left Clouds side though, she leaned in closer and lowered her voice so that only the youth could hear.
"When we get to our destination, immediately get out if you don't want to spend the rest of the day inside of her car."
The silver-haired youth nodded, not fully understanding what she meant but not bothering to ask or argue.
"We caught up two weeks ago," Morn said in amusement as she walked up. "Highly doubt there's anything worthy of me knowing. Unless you wanted to go over your life story....again."
"Trust me. I got something you'll be interested to hear. Top secret information."
The pink-haired woman moved to the very front, opening a door with a thin button located on the side of the vehicle. Following her examples, Cloud moved to the back end of the ride and felt around for something similar. It took a solid minute, but he eventually located it just underneath the frame of the car window. Upon pressing it, the door slid upwards, allowing the youth to crawl inside and sit down.
For just this short interaction, Cloud was enjoying every bit of it.
As soon as all the doors were closed and sealed, Pareia pulled out of the area and into the ongoing traffic happening on the main streets.
"Okay. So spill. What information does the Galaxy's Varniew Gossiper have up her sleeve?" Morn crossed her arms over her modest chest.
"I know who will be participating in this years Space Marines Enrollment." The woman's grin grew wider, her pearly whites flashing as she gave her pink-haired friend a side glance. "Every single one of them."
At this piece of information, Morn immediately sat up straight, fully at attention. Even Cloud perked up, though he had already been listening out of curiosity.
Everything about the Space Marines Enrollment, from its various tests to those participating and helping ensure it ran smoothly, was highly classified. Many steps were taken in order for everyone to remain on the same playing field, ensuring that no one had a leg up on the competition. Doing this, no one could profit or benefit from any garnered intelligence. For decades, everything had always been airtight with no potential for leaks.
And here was her friend claiming she had Intel.
"How did you-"
"Ah nananana." Pareia was having none of it as she waved away Morns question. "You go first. If I'm gonna risk my neck telling you, then you'll have to fill me in as well. Who's the kid? What's his deal? What was the trip to Libun like? Did you get to see Kondal's Hell?"
"Girl. Breath." The young woman laughed, having already expected as much from her companion long before getting into the car. "We got a long ride to Private Holding. Let's take it slow. What do you wanna know first?"
"Who's the kid?" The green-skinned woman asked without hesitation. "Obviously he's of the humans species. However, the muscle density on him is freakish!!"
Cloud was incredibly confused by this statement, namely the comments about muscle density. However, as if expecting the child to be perplexed, Morn was quick to fill in the blanks. Turning her head to the side, the pink-haired woman gave the youth an apologetic look.
"Pareia is a Varniew, from the Hubler System. They're a race that excels in identifying various species, be they intelligent or not, by various methods." Morn made sure to make everything as simple as possible, ensuring that the youth could understand. "Via sight, sound, smell, touch, body temperature, heart rate, so on and so forth. The more proficient ones in this skill can even identify the statistics of the species by analyzing muscles density and overall anatomy. It's quite an interesting ability."
"A Varniew," Cloud repeated. "I'll remember that."