Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Chapter 1(Intro): Just Another Day

The sun shone down brightly as Aldrin drifted through the City Park, happy to not have a passenger for a moment during this beautiful day.  He took a moment to breathe in deeply before banking off towards the park exit, taking in the clean smell of the air out here on the edges of Crastleton.  The fumes of the factories and ambient pollution of the industrial district were just a far off blemish, across a small city's worth of people and places.

Aldrin hadn't been having a bad day by any means, in fact most of his passengers had been either quiet or polite.  This still didn't stop him from wishing he could just enjoy the day, especially considering how bad his last week had been.  I'm not going home sober... not tonight... he thought to himself, wincing as he remembered the way she said those words, "If you want to do anything for me, just leave me alone."  Fine, you weren't that fantastic either...

After making his way slightly into a more occupied part of the city, Aldrin parked his cab and let the machine idle in a near-ready position.  He soon slipped into thought about his recent troubles, drowning out the electric hums and hisses of steam as Crastleton around him bustled with life, but more so, energy.  The city was one of the more developed cities, having taken great strides in harnessing the powers of steam and electricity to produce many modern wonders, like the FloatCabs he himself piloted.

FloatCabs were low-flying vehicles typically holding three to four occupants, often kept near a hovering altitude, but not limited to roads nor placing stress upon them.  These were in fact one of the older innovations that came from Crastleton, often known for trying to "better people's lives".  Aldrin didn't consider the Administration very highly, though it would be hard to argue that life there wasn't pretty easy.

A movement to his right caught his attention, pulling Aldrin from his reverie sharply to see a well-dressed woman part-way through her third decade, quite nearly sprinting towards his cab.  She seemed to have began her day well-kept, though the day's events had clearly taken a toll on her intended appearance, with locks of hair falling astray and a general look of... annoyance, perhaps?

The woman pulled open the door and quickly slid herself inside, nearly alarming Aldrin with the alacrity of her movements, despite the cumbersome and pomp dress she wore.  Clearly she was concerned about presenting herself well, but by all signs to Aldrin, something must have gone horribly awry.  Before she had even fully settled into the seat in that motion, she began directing Aldrin, smoothly saying "Drive west and out, with haste sir."  The moment later as she was firmly in her seat she turned to him and looked sternly as she continued, "Time is of the essence."  No sooner had she finished this statement as men wielding shock rifles came storming from the same alley the woman had came so suddenly out of.

Before Aldrin could decide how to react, one of the uniformed men fired his rifle in the direction of the cab, causing the situation to escalate in a heartbeat.  The woman raised her voice a little more and took quite the urgent tone as she said, "Like it or not, you are a part of this.  They can not stop us from showing the truth.  Launch goodman!"  Aldrin throttled his cab and took off in the direction the woman had told him, suddenly forgetting the peacefulness of the day and becoming unwillingly drawn into a violent chase, involving a woman who was rapidly proving to have far more about her than he might have guessed in any other situation.

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