Acta Non Verba

As I gained consciousness, the soft bed I had logged out on reintroduced itself. I imagined that this is what it would feel like to lay down on a cloud.

However, something felt different but also the same. Without opening my eyes, I felt around the bed. If before this game felt almost real, then now it was indiscernible. There was no difference.

I opened my eyes but quickly closed them as rays of light snuck through the shades that covered the windows. I proceeded to slowly open my eyes. I really wanted to get a good look at everything around me.

Taking a deep breath as I sat up, the air felt so real. Compared to outside, the air was so fresh. It felt as if it was put through a forest before being pumped through the ventilation shafts and into my room.

It smelled exactly the same as the air in the real world. I was sure that outside, the air would not be as clean, but would still feel more real.

Oh how I wished I had this before leaving Alderaan. I couldn't imagine how amazing it would have been.

As I got out of bed and walked around the penthouse, I recalled the tank that I had just gotten into.

It was a massive cylindrical tank that was about eight feet tall and six feet in diameter. On the front side was a hatch that opened outward. The back side had a large aluminum container that was attached to the tank. Within it, I presumed, was all of the electronic, water filtration, and other systems. Large cables and hoses were plugged into the container and the wall.

Inside the tank, a hefty piece of headgear was hanging from the top. This was the headset and breathing tube. Nothing else was exposed or visible.

After getting into the tank and closing the hatch, I put the headgear on and secured the oxygen mask on my face. Upon pressing the button on the side of the headset, a voice was the last thing I heard before my vision went black. "Identify confirmed, welcome Kyle Zimmerman."

I didn't really pay attention to the personal space as I was rushing to get into the game. Once I was through that, I was in the hotel I logged out of.

At this point, I had made my way out to the balcony that overlooked the Senate District. This hotel was right outside of the Senate District in the surrounding high class area.

The wind blew against my face and the sensation was just so real. It even brought back a memory of my family visiting New York City and going to the top of the Empire State Building.

A large transport flew by a couple thousand feet away but I could still feel my entire body vibrating from the intense sound of its engine. This whole experience was just mind blowing. It was truly as if I had stepped into another dimension rather than a game.

Turning around, I went back inside only to find my three friends back online. Only the three of them were here and not my dad. He opted to remain on Alderaan to milk as much content out of the conflict as possible.

We probably would have done the same but we had things to do. Very, very important things.

I smiled and gestured towards the door. "Shall we?"

They all nodded so we quickly left the hotel room. On the way out, I informed the droid at the front desk that we were checking out and dropped the credits on the counter. Once we got outside, Galen and I's speeder was waiting for us. The four of us hopped in and I took off headed into the Senate District.

It was a short ride due to the relatively small size of the Senate District. If I had to guess, it was approximately the size of a major city on Earth.

We parked in a port that wasn't far from the Senate building and finished our journey on foot. The Senate building was truly magnificent. Aside from being shaped like a mushroom, everything screamed prosperity and dominance.

After an obnoxiously wide set of stairs, there was a huge courtyard with a wide path cutting through it. The courtyard was lined with tall statues of individuals all but lost to time and flags of some of the more major systems in the Republic. Having your system's flag in this courtyard was a symbol of status that placed you above the rest. Although it didn't really mean anything tangible, it was still a very high honor.

At the end of the courtyard lay the footprint of the building. The bottom floor consisted of countless sets of doors and a few garages that were mostly used by Senate Guards. We entered through one of these doors and found ourselves in the main rotunda of the building. This rotunda extended around the entire outer edge of the bottom of the building. There was an insane amount of reception desks, doors, and security checkpoints.

We made our way over to one of the desks and stood in the shortest queue we could find. The queue lasted about 10 minutes as most people would get sent off to the proper personnel to handle their business or receive datapads to fill out.

When it was finally our turn I stepped up to the desk as I usually do. I'm a better talker than Galen after all.

The receptionist smiled at me. "Good morning, sir."

I nodded, wearing a warm smile. "Good morning."

A ringing came from behind the desk. She tapped her ear. "Hello, this is the Galactic Senate, please hold."

She then tapped a button on the desk in front of her and then looked back at me. "I apologize for that. How may I help you?"

I nodded. "No worries. I wish to found a guild."

Her eyes widened slightly. It took her a few seconds but then she nodded and started typing on the terminal in front of her. "Very nice. It's not everyday that a guild is founded. I've also not heard about any travelers starting a guild. Regardless, I'm happy to help you. What is your name?"

I shrugged. "I'm not your typical traveler, haha. I am Soryn Brenko."

She nodded and typed for a few seconds. "What will your guild be named?"

I glanced at Galen and he nodded so I looked back at the receptionist. "Acta Non Verba."

Her brow arched slightly, exposing the intrigue she held towards the name. "That is a very interesting name. If you don't mind me asking, what does it mean?"

I chuckled and nodded. "It is a small phrase from a dead language. The translation comes out to 'Actions Not Words'."

She smiled and typed in the name quickly. "I like that. Alright, I need a cosigner for the guild contract. Will that be one of your associates behind you?"

I nodded and gestured towards Galen. He was going to be leading the guild with me since the funding we would start with belonged to both him and I. "Yes. This is Galen Ursula."

She nodded. "Very good. The contract for a guild is quite simple. There are only two conditions. Firstly, your guild will not facilitate the violation of the Republic's system of laws. The other condition is that your guild will not act against the interests of the Republic. The violation of either of these conditions may subject your guild to various penalties that range from small fines to forced dissolution. Do you have any questions?"

I shook my head. None of the questions I had were related to this and could be figured out through a quick analysis of Republic Law. It would probably be a good idea to hire a legal team for the guild at some point. "Nope, I think I understand."

She smiled and nodded, handing me a data pad. "I just need your signature and Galen's signature. After that, I will collect your registration fee and then give you your welcome package."

I tilted my head. "Welcome package?"

She nodded. "Yes. Apart from being registered, the fee also covers what can be considered a gift. It includes 10 tokens that signify your status as an officially recognized guild, a voucher for a tailor to design and create uniforms, and a base level membership card for a wholesale arms distributor."

My eyes widened slightly with surprise. There were so many benefits! Despite being sure that the uniforms would be purely cosmetic, they were still an awesome thing to have. "Oh, perfect!"

I took the tablet and signed before handing it to Galen. He then signed and placed it on the counter. The receptionist smiled and grabbed the tablet, handing it to a droid behind her. "Wonderful. Now I just need to collect the fee of ten thousand credits. If you don't have the credits on you, I can put the registration on hold until you acquire them."

I shook my head, pulling out a singular credit. "I've got it right here."

Different colored credits were worth different amounts that ranged from 1 to 1 million. It was still weird to me that there was no type of credit card or currency transfer. It was all done through cold, hard cash.

She received the fee and then nodded. "Very good, you came prepared." She then gestured to my left. "This is your welcome package. Congratulations on the founding of your guild! Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

As she said this, I received a notification stating that a new application has been added to my communicator. I was slightly blindsided by this but I quickly recovered.

I shook my head as I reached towards the droid that had walked up to me. "That will be all. Thank you!"