57 Isirus

The MK.1's journey to the Isirus Space Station didn't take very long. The Zetark-designed subliminal drive which powered it was incredibly efficient and powerful, able to outperform many Federation ships of a similar size.

On the way to their destination, the crew discussed many things. Each of the crew members was quite different from the others, with perhaps the most contrast between Antanria, a little girl from an extinct alien race, and Colonel Ralfot, a disciplined military man from the Federation.

Despite the strangeness of the crew's composition, the atmosphere was surprisingly good. Chocolate, Lotus, and White discussed girlish things to try to entertain Antanria, who seemed to be listening attentively. She was picking up more and more of their language as time passed. It was incredible how much more quickly she learned from talking to actual people compared to reading books and watching TV!

Hulk, meanwhile, was fascinated by the stories of military affairs which Colonel Ralfot was happy to talk about.

Only Apophis, who sat alone, was lost in silent thought.

But none of this activity lasted long. After a few hours, the ship finally arrived at the Isirus Space Station's docking platform.

The station was huge, almost the size of Hong Kong! It served as a central commercial relay for the surrounding systems and was therefore absolutely vital for the Federation's revenue in the area. This abundance of wealth had led, over the years, to the development of an entire set of related services. All these amenities eventually made the Isirus Space Station one of the largest commercial destinations in the galaxy.

After landing, the crew disembarked and made their way from the hangar to the station's main entrance. There was an incredible queue of several thousand people there, all waiting to pass through the Federation customs post. Apophis noticed many players among the NPCs who were queuing and was surprised at how quickly they'd managed to get there. It seemed that the time Apophis had spent negotiating with Azerof and waiting for the military ceremony had made a noticeable difference.

Fortunately, Apophis and Ralfot were senior officers of the Federation military and could skip the queue completely. Their group passed in front of everyone in a wonderfully arrogant way, only pausing to present their military documents.

Inside, an incredibly diverse and dense crowd of xeno species thronged everywhere. Elves, Golems, Lizardmen, and Orcs all rubbed shoulders. Apophis even spotted such magnificent species as the "Nestarians," humanoids with angelic appearances.

In his former life, Apophis was used to the melting pot of the galaxy, but the other players shared none of these memories! For them, this was a truly unique experience.

In addition to all the people, the entrance hall was filled with many kinds of exotic stores. Though all the players wanted to explore these stores, Ralfot cared little for this sort of shopping and remained stoic. He continuously scanned their surroundings, watching for any hidden threats.

Apophis saw this as an opportunity for a little peace and quiet, and gave each of the other players 1,000 GC from the guild's treasury. He asked Ralfot to escort them, then found the station's Chamber of Commerce and registered for the Galactic Auction. He also learned that it would take place in only a few hours. They'd just barely made it in time!

But just as he left this building, Apophis noticed a crowd of people outside who hadn't been there when he'd entered. They were all staring at the news screens on the side of the building, which were broadcasting urgent news.

"Hello!" said a human woman on the screen. "I'm Helene, your anchor for Federation news and galactic politics. Today, Chancellor Souley announced the mobilization of the Federation's military following the Orc raid on Planet Era.

"Though Orc Emperor Xarxar XVI has denied any involvement of his army in the recent events on Era, the Chancellor has announced a massive military exercise on the border of the Orc Empire. Our sources say this exercise will be led by the recently promoted Grand Admiral Azerof."

Apophis hadn't considered the possibility that anything would actually come of the claim that the Orcs had attacked Era. He'd assumed that both sides, wary of a war, would simply forget the entire event. Surely this sort of supposed border skirmish was quite common! He hadn't realized his and Azerof's lie could cause such damage.

But he finally signed up for the Galactic Auction and went to the main hall to await the auction's start.