Megaspace /
Mega
It was early morning in Adella, the capital of Mega, and the Buck Rogers spaceport was bustling with activity. There were no less than three starliners in orbit that day; their size could be judged by that of their landed shuttles: big bulky things that could barely take off a planet. A constant stream of people flowed from them and huddled on the rolling sidewalks that would carry them through the customs.
There were people from all over the Megan Space in that crowd. Here, a radical Cyblan walked stiffly in his exoskeleton. There, a Tsheia nobleman paraded his gorgeously ornated uniform. A Caino, almost twice as tall as anyone else, delicately balanced a ceremonial spear that must have weighted a hundred kilograms. A bunch of insect-like Unaani scuttled around his feet to get in front. And everywhere else there were humans, Mythians, Kinac... any species who could get around on Mega without a spacesuit. Which was most of them.
Somewhat further afield, a single passenger disembarked from a small private starship. He looked very much like a stereotypical mad scientist; but at least he had the common sense to wear a blade-proof coat (and, one could hope, a bullet-proof vest underneath). It was a sure sign he traveled a lot, and not just in civilized places.
For a long moment he stood there surveying the landscape, while the wind played with his white unruly hair. Then he shouldered a small, floppy bag and started towards the customs gate at a brisk pace.
Mega is an arid world circling an F-class star at the virtual center of the Megan Space. Once a home to the Elders, it is now inhabited by a mix of sentients from many species. Oceans poisoned with heavy metals and a dearth of biomass make thorough colonization a difficult proposition at best, but most space travelers pass through Mega at some point, either en route to other destinations, or in order to scour the vast Elder ruins for ancient artifacts and/or scientific data. Rumors aside, little of interest has been found to date.
First-time visitors are usually shocked to discover that the government of such an important world actually has very little power; Mega is effectively ruled by private corporations.
Tags: Fiction
Page last modified on September 06, 2009, at 04:41 AM
