Counting Shadows On the Wall

Posted on Sun 16th Apr, 2017 @ 12:09am by

601 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night
Location: Promenade
Timeline: MD 5, 1100

A day off. Jenna had been looking forward to the end of all the diplomatic furor and the departure of many visitors from the base, so she could enjoy a day of doing whatever bit of nothing appealed to her. Now that she had the day, she wasn't quite sure what to do with it. The first thing she'd done was dress casually in black jeans and a soft buttery yellow peasant blouse with matching yellow sandals. She wanted something as far from business attire as she could get without being vulgar.

Though her apartment on Deck 615 didn't have a window, she'd been able to get a holographic display installed and, at the moment, it showed the moons of Rentaro Five. They were magical against the dark sky, but she knew Rentaro Five never saw a night sky, so no one would ever view them in quite the same way she was at that moment. Viewing the moons made her restless.

"Computer, change the holoview to the Garden of Eden," she said, and the view slowly shifted from the moon-bright night sky to an early morning garden, puffs of mist rising from the ground like small smoky clouds. It didn't dissipate the restlessness, however.

Following an impulse, Jenna left her quarters, thumb-locking the door behind her. It was a short walk down the corridor to the abatement doors which snicked open to admit the noise of the Promenade on this deck, and allow her to exit the civilian residential area.

She walked along the railing that looked down on a fountain which shot up over five decks and tumbled back on itself. Leaning on the railing, she watched the water, listened to the sound of it falling, and felt calmer. After a few moments, she walked again, one hand lightly touching the railing. A force field kept the water from dampening the rail, but she found herself wishing it didn't. She'd like to feel the cold, wet drops against her fingers.

From her position, Jenna could clearly view all the shops she passed. There were side corridors which led off to more shops, but she wasn't looking for anything particular today. Idly, she thought of how many shops there were on the 100 decks of Promenade. Who kept them all functioning? She knew there were somewhere around 200,000 sentients living on the base, which made it a small city. Still, one hundred decks, each with twenty or more shops ... a shop for each 200 residents. It seemed excessive. Of course, there were always visitors, and there were a lot of species with a variety of needs. Still ....

Typically a loner, Jenna wandered through the promenade by herself, and as she climbed the circular stairs to the next deck, rather than take the lift, it didn't even occur to her that she was alone. On the new deck, she meandered closer to the shops, peering in windows. Some held attractive displays and others were so foreign to her, she couldn't even imagine what the items shown did, or what purpose they could possibly serve.

Finally, she stopped at one particular display. The window acted as a cage for three Algoran puppies. Once their fangs had been pulled, they were adorable looking pups, and served as faithful protectors when mature. Of course, maturity meant they stood at least three feet high at the head. Really, they needed space to exist and to run and play. Who would have brought them aboard a space station? She gazed at them tumbling over each other, only small, big-footed animals now, and thought about the efficacy of owning an Algoran.

 

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