(I don't quite know how you want this place to look, so I'll leave description to you.)
Elizia took a deep breath in. The air tasted of rain and ship fuel. A small courier bot sped along the ground and bumped into her toe, then held up a piece of paper. Her parking paper. She gave the robot a pat, sent it on it's way, and turned to Val, "So this is Ame?"
"This is it." Valentina gazed off across the hanger and out into the city. Towering skyscrapers and domes, sparkling fountains catching the rain, shimmering gray sky. The wealth and industrialism was evident in every crevice of the capital city. The town bustled with affluent citizens and visitors alike, all dressed in sleek rain gear.
Valentina couldn't help but imagine the boy in the purple raincoat who'd lead her through these streets last time she was here. She sighed, beginning to trek towards the main road. "Cmon, let's catch the train."
Elizia stared out into the city and wondered how anything so business-like and modern could be as beautiful as this. Despite the gray, the domes and towers seemed to shine, and the fountains here and there collected the pure rain from the sky. All around her, people in well-made rain gear walked to and from going about their business. Many were also dressed in formal attire, or flashy dresses and suits that seemed to made for no other purpose than as status symbols.
She was so in awe of the busting city she almost forgot to follow Val as she made her way through the crowd. As quickly as she could, Elizia gathered herself and ran after Valentina.
Winding her way through the crowd, Valentina kept her head down. She knew her markings were distinctive to some, especially people coming in from off-planet. She ignored the snooty, dirty looks from those around her.
They reached the train station within a few minutes of walking. It was larger than a usual train station, and the trains were high-tech bullet trains. They hardly made a noise as they zoomed out of side.
A sign flickered above them. "Next train departing in two minutes to Main Street," Val read.
Elizia couldn't get enough of the area.
Everywhere she looked was business, innovation, industry, progress, the same things the Lovuthan Seekers have been missing since their rise. Despite her outfit, which seemed rather blue collar compared to many others, people greeted her with a smile and a kind word. Some tourists even went so far as to address her in Lovuthan, though the language itself was an insult to most Mechanists. She kindly corrected them.
At the train station, Val read out the sign marking the next train. Elizia barely heard her. She was too caught up in her own thoughts to reply.
When Elizia didn't reply right away, Val turned to her and frowned. She looked absolutely enthralled, as Val had expected. Luvotha was a main factor in their trade route. "Don't be fooled," Val grumbled, "this place should be called unchecked capitalism."
Eliza nodded quickly, "Yeah, maybe, but look at all the people! And the progress! This world is what the ancient Lovuthans must have been like! Yet a tour through all the old ruins back home doesn't even come close to this!"
Slowly she realized that Val wasn't quite sharing her enthusiasm. "Is there something amiss, Val?" She asked.
Valentina rolled her eyes. "Gee golly, Elizia!! This place is perfect and everything is a-okay!" Her voice dripped with sarcasm and fake cheeriness. She let her syrupy grin fall away. "Listen, I'll tell you a secret. This city is a shithole. The sooner you realize that, the better." She hated to sound so cruel, but it was better to make sure Elizia was prepared.
(Headed to bed)
(Alright. Goodnight!)
(Goodnight!)
Elizia dropped her smile, and let her hand fall to her side, where her gun sat in it's holster. She didn't say another word until the train arrived.
The train zipped up and the doors opened. Citizens piled out of the cars, their voices mingling as they headed outside. Valentina strode towards the first car, where a security guard stood.
"Are either of you from Earth?" He asked in a deadpan tone.
"No. Lovuthan." Elizia answered, "Why?"
The secuity guard smiled, a bit less stiff. "Earthlings aren't allowed to ride in the front cars. We have back cars set apart for them. Separate, but equal."
Valentina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's real fair. I'm Stovian."
He nodded, holding out his data pad. "That'll be twenty credits a piece."
Elizia ran her data chip through, then boarded the train.
(Funny enough, we're covering the civil rights act in history right.)
(I just went to a civil rights museum and the phrase really stuck out to me lol)
Valentina headed to the two seats in the very back of the car, sinking into the plush white cushions and staring out the filtered-glass window.
"Earthers have separate seats? What for?" Elizia asked, "That seems counter-intuitive."
Valentina rolled her eyes. "By now it's just prejudice and superstition. After Earthers destroyed their solar system with nuclear warfare, people tend to look down on them. Some call them warmongers, killers, etc. By Ame's standards, and Stovia's standards, they're scum."
(I won't really be on all of today)
(I'm back!)
"By Lovuthan's standards, they'd be competitors," Elizia commented. The Cultist Lovuthans weren't war-starters, typically, but they always saw a war through, win or lose. It was always bloody, and always filled with Lovuthan propaganda about purging infidels from the Universe.
Glancing out the window, Elizia noticed a towering building isolated by water on every side. Bridges connected it to the rest of the city, but that was it. She pointed to it, "What's that?"
Valentina's eyes followed Elizia's line of sight. She surveyed the building, her eyes dimming. "The president's main building for business." She frowned, her mouth drawn. "He's there most of the time."
Elizia nodded, taking note of Val's expression but saying nothing. She slipped her data pad out of its pocket and began typing out a standby order for the dock crew.
"That's where Brella would be?" She asked, not looking up from her data pad.
She bobbed a brief nod. "Mm. Third floor is the research facility. West wing is technology."