Navartis

My cheeks and chest flushed from my usual cool blue to a violet glow. A combination of the warmth from the transportation beam and my kindling apprehension set my whole body ablaze. The mirrored metal ‘N’, boldly decorating the wall on my left didn’t help. Its warped shape contorted my complexion, intensifying under the bright white lights; even the overhanging hood of my cape was unable to cast a shadow to disguise it. I tried to breath deeper, slower. The window on my right stretched along the entirety of the corridor. It framed the icy crystal sands that glittered under the cold blue sun of my planet and relaxed me enough to gain composure. This adventure was important, and I needed to make a strong first impression. I focused on the colour blue; let it envelope me – calm me. I clutched my fist visualising the landscape balled up inside my grasp, as I continued down the corridor. Following the ‘N’ was an ‘I’ that stretched my body tall. My black, polyelastic tank-top and trousers combination morphed into one skinny line. N-A-V-A-R-T-I-S. I read each shiny new letter aloud as I let  them lead me down the corridor to the Navartis marketplace access-gate. Just as I reached the ‘S’ and the stretched window on my right reached an end, the nerves started to kindle again, reaching up to my neck. Turn back, it warned me. Alien species marched around me like I was an empty hole in their path, leading to the unknown. I felt like it too. I thought back to my mother and sister waving me goodbye earlier.

*           *           *           *           *

“Don’t. Trust. Anyone” my mother had warned as she forced a packed lunch of plant-loaf and oiled-lova-seeds into my travel-sac; lovingly swaddled in a biowrap bag. “I know you think you’re tough for a 67 year-old Oriyan, but most Azurian…”

“…don’t leave their Mothers until they are at least 85”. She joined me at “85” but her serious tone contrasted with my mocking one. She gave me a look I recognised – her left eye squinted and the corner of her mouth mirrored it, twisting upwards. You know better than to talk like that to your Mother, it scolded me. But she only held the expression for a moment before her eye twitched and her face wriggled into a smile instead.  Grinning, I pushed a little further: “I know you are worried, but I’ve got this”, I reassured her with a hug before continuing quietly into her ear, “and you know I love you.” I squeezed her tight before she knew she had to let me go..

In her hands, dampened with worry, my mother sheltered my fingers and traced them with her own. She gently kissed the crescent-shaped Azurian marking on my temple; she was sealing its proverb: The eye of the moon will guide us. “I love you too and that’s why I worry about all these aliens. Especially those human type. They are a little too overzealous if you ask me.”

My eyelids concealed my eye roll as I closed them and shook my head. “I’ll send you a hologram as soon as I’m settled. And maybe I’ll be able to send over a souvenir for my little Spruceling.” My sister giggled as I lifted her high into the air above me, tiny arms and legs paddling under the blue sparkling sun. Like my Mother, I kissed my sister on her crescent mark but with an exaggerated puckering noise that she followed with tiny symbol claps with her little hands, before passing her back into Mother’s empty hands. “Bye” I waved as I was already bounding over to the transport beams in the distance that were beginning to suck people into Navartis. “I love you.” I shouted to tell her once more.

“Please be careful Oriyna!” her voice echoed behind me.

*           *           *           *           *

             “Please be careful.” I whipped my head around expecting my Mother to appear behind me. Instead a golden robot-shell-of-a-being stood in place of my imaginary expectance.

             “Huh?”

             “Please be careful and head inside. The Navartis marketship is preparing for lift-off and this corridor is not motionproof.” I squinted at the golden helmet, trying to locate its visual organ. A black visor veiled its face. In not being able to see any eyes I shivered, fantasising about what the visor hid underneath.

             “Ugh… I think I’m just going to…”. As I raised my foot to begin walking back to the ships beam entrance, the ground jolted and pushed me back towards the access-gate. The Shell grabbed my wrist and pulled me upright.

             “You are just going to what?” The monotonous voice asked.

             “Nevermind.” I pursed my lips together at the decision that had been made for me. “And thanks”.

             Dusting myself of (pointless here with the slick, clean floors; but force of habit) my fingers pressed on the revolving bar of the access point and it abode the motion. The whirring door opened round to reveal a whole new world on the other side. Where I was used to ice shacks and burrow mines; there were dark walls, wide windows and fluorescent lights to light up every corner. The lights were arrows and images that pointed to an array of stalls. One had a water tank for a counter, floating colours of swimming species swimming up to suck at any intrigued fingers that touched the glass. Another had eggs of all sorts of colours and shapes. When its seller moved to speak to a customer, an egg exactly his height and width was revealed behind his that had morphed to the colour of his emerald jacket. There were hologram technologies emitting from the ground, bizarre fruits hanging from vines weaved in the roof. Everything was new and everything was alien to me.  

Shouting and grunting alerted my attention and sounded displaced between the busy but harmonious humdrum of the crowd, so I followed it. As I edged the corner, just past a drone stall, I found the source. An octagonal room was curated into the ships edge that, in architecture didn’t seem to fit the ship at all; but was accepted by the population of the ship. There were crowds around it, observing and talking before moving on but I wanted to spend more time. This was exactly what I had come to Navartis to look for.

On the floor in the middle of the room was a mat of the same shape that nearly filled its canvas. On levels running up the side that towards all the way to the extensive roof of the ship were observation stands that overhung the matt They seemed to be viewing platforms but on the highest level you would be much closer to joining the stars. The most unusual and extravagant people littered the stalls, particularly the lower levels. Binoculars and one-eyed scopes accompanied outfits that were an exhibit of riches: unconventional and over-amorous. Exotic feathers decorated their wigged heads with crowns and crystals lined their garments with reflections of everything about them. With faces that were works of art and painted as such, they chatted among each other, laughed, discussed and when their eyes turned to the matt they used their money to bet against one another for the strongest prize.

These potential prize fighters were of stark contrast. Plain, paintless faces were instead distinguishable by varying expressions of focus, rage and hurt. Their clothes were simple and aerodynamic, similar to mine, and their limbs showed their fortune of training as they fought in pairs or groups of three. Not seriously fighting – not like they were going to kill each other but they were definitely skilled. The infamous Navartis bodyguard try-outs were underway.

“Yes?” another golden Shell was sat at the desk. Still distracted by the unusual eye replacement exterior, I forgot to talk. “Can I help you?”

“Uhh yes…sorry. Is this the bodyguard trials?”

“Yes”

“How do I sign up?”

“You don’t.” The limit of social cues in this social interaction were really making the Shell’s tone difficult to evaluate.

“I’m looking for work. How do I, you know.” I pointed in the direction of the bodyguards with an awkward smile.

“If you’re looking for work, Navartis is currently hiring at the bar.”

“Oh I think there’s been a mistake. I don’t want to work for Navartis. I’ve come here to find work that will lead to space travel and related missions. I want to be a bodyguard - to travel around the universe. I want to do what they are doing.” I nodded in the direction of the bodyguards, too awkward to point this time. “I want to train.”

“I already told you: you can’t. Bodyguarding isn’t for Azurian’s. Look at who you would be up against”. They didn’t look like me. I was small and skinny; they were huge with wide shoulders and heavy legs. There was a leaderboard on the back wall with all of their faces on, they had strong features that alone looked as though they could take on anything in their path. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t capable. “You would be more suited to general selling. Look if you don’t want to work at the bar, I think Old Clave is looking for somebody to model his new boutique fashion collection. Maybe someone big will scout you. All sorts of people pass through the Navartis market.”

“Can’t you just write my name down. When they see me…”

“No. Nothing I can do.”

A sighing puff of deflation escaped me and although I could visualise my Mother’s disappointment at my attitude, I was too frustrated to care. “Fine.”

             Luminescent stands and curious faces that had fought for my attention before, were now just a reminder of what I had been denied the chance of exploring. With no means of money and no companion, employment at the Navardis bar would have to make do, so I moved towards it: head down and hopes trodden. Perhaps I could save the money myself and start my own team of explorers. Even so, I had convinced my Mother I would be able to make it by myself and fast – clearly, I was wrong. My temples throbbed and I massaged the crescent mark as I looked for an empty stool. The eye of the moon will guide us.

Just as I managed to locate a free stool at the bustling bar, a monstrous brick of a person with hard red-brown skin and green veins protruding it’s crevices, bouldered over to a human sat at the bar in front of me. With strong, steady hands, Brick picked up the human by the scruff of his white shirt collar and threw him across the room. His back hit the wall hard and launched an agonising groan from his body as it slumped downwards, and all of his limbs sloped limply onto the floor. A shiny little drone that he had knocked over in his misfortunate flight path extended a robotic arm with a clink, a blue whizzing emerging from its core, and tasered the man sending his floppy limbs into a shock induced rigor.

“Hey!” I shouted to the Brick, “you can’t just throw people around you know?”. When he turned his attention on me, my sudden adrenaline fuelled confidence had left me and I stood completely still.

After staring at me for a moment, he made a low grunt and then slumped onto the chair and scanned the drinks menu. “Me and that puny human had a contract, and he didn’t hold up to his side of the bargain. He has no respect.”

“My mistake.”

“Oh don’t you give me any of that crap Horus.” The human had managed to scramble up now and although his body appeared shaken, his confidence was apparently not. I didn’t know I was signing up to selling off half the Dronar population as slaves.” He gave a little kick to the drone that tasered him and sent him rolling on the floor on his cylindrical frame.

“We would have made our millions Jack and you screwed it up, for the both of us.”

“I’d screw up your face but you’re already a mess, you sack of rocks.”

At this Horus slammed his hands on the table and all drinks in his proximity either shattered or fell and the barman threw his hands in the air in frustration. Horus squared his feet up to Jack’s and the two looked down each other noses, Jack having to lift his chin excessively high to be able to do so and still see be able to see his rival’s face.

Horus pulled his arm back and made a big swing for Jack’s head. But Horus’ strength was a limit to his speed and before his fist was able to make contact, Jack had managed to squat down and ram his whole body weight into Horus’ knee. Horus growled out in pain or annoyance, lifted up his injured knee and stomped down onto the floor. Although he only caught a few of Jack’s toes it was enough break and jack fell backwards in disbelief. Their little back and forward of quick, harmless hurls and heavy, slow movements caused me to cover my face with my hand in shame. This needed to be over with before one of these idiots accidently harmed somebody else.

I jumped up onto the empty bar stool and used it as a stepping stool to the bar. I could feel everyone’s focus on me as their eyes burned into my skin. I was turning purple again. Jumping off the side I launched myself into the air and managed to land with my legs straddled on Horus’ shoulder’s. I dug my heels into his chest and as he folded over I slip onto his arm. He was so tall my feet dangled above the ground as I used both hands to hold onto his wrist as though it were a tree trunk. I used my legs to create momentum as I pushed my weight against his body and then let myself swing back into the side of his hip. I had hit him hard enough for him to lose balance and fall the ground, too busy nursing his wounds to stand back up.

Jack laughed and clapped his hands like my little sister did when I would throw her up in the air. My arm formed an arch and I scooped up behind jack, positioning the arch around his neck. He stopped laughing. “Look the only reason I didn’t harm you is because of what you said. Because you seem like a decent human.” I let go and stepped over Horus’ foot to get to the bar. “My Mother was right though, you humans are overzealous.”

“Damn are you some sort of a bodyguard or something?” Jack coiled in his chin and stood with his hands on his hips, looking at me with more interest than anyone had given me outside of my planet so far.

“I wish” I said as I slumped onto a bar stool, propped my elbow onto the counter and collapsed my chin into my palm.

Jack waved to the bar man: “two Navartis cocktails please. You looking for work?” Jack was looking at me waiting for my answer, eagerly. My one-armed threat hadn’t stunted his excitement and it was infectious.             

He must have sensed my excitement because as my eyes lit up, so did his smile. I nodded intently, “Yeah, do you need a bodyguard?”

“What’s your name?”

“Oriyna.”

“Oriyna, I’m not just looking for any old bodyguard. I’m asking if you want to be my mission partner.”