Ten Zero

It's been a few days since our "weekend", and Ko-lee and I just finished up a shift with Nakak. I haven't had any more run in's with any Tenno, so my shifts have started to become somewhat routine, but luckily not so much so that my brain has started to self-sabotage. I watch idly as Ko-lee finishes counting the last of our pay being doled out by Nakak, before she makes her way over to me, a calculating look in her eye. "Antimony, I was counting our pay for today, and if my math is right, I think we may have enough for a trip over to the Unum and back. On our free day, I did a bit of checking around, and there's not really a set price, but as long as we ask, we should be able to find someone who will fly us over for cheap," she says, her hand held out as though I've already agreed to offer up my funds. "Although let's be real, I'm gonna," I think, outwardly nodding my head at Ko-lee's words. "Alright! I am actually so excited for this, you have no idea," I say, a grin stretched across my face. "I think I, and everyone else in the market, are very aware of how excited you are," she says, amusement in her eyes. "Damn it," I think, as I feel the blood rush to my cheeks. "Yea, alright, I get it, I'm loud," I mumble in English, but even her light heckling isn't enough to keep me from being excited about the prospect. We start to make our way over to Salt of the Sea so that I can grab the rest of my money, which unfortunately places the Unum behind us, meaning that the entire walk I'm basically resisting the urge to spin around to look at the Orokin tower.

"The only time we ever get to explore the Unum is during New War, and she's all fucked up from that Murex sitting on her like a headcrab. Big hype to see what she looks like prim and proper. Also, Nakak is great and all, but it'll be nice to make more than like 12ish dollars an hour," I think, as I sprint up the stairs to my room to grab my money. While there's no way to confirm my suspicions on the exchange rate of credits to American dollars, it feels like our pay is somewhere between the 12 to 20 dollar range. A single credit is definitely not an entire dollar, but neither is it a penny. That being said, it did settle somewhat nearer to the lower end, although I'm willing to concede that my entire basis of this is on the cost of various goods found within the market. Since a case could be made that the market is somewhat of a tourist trap, I have no idea if my valuations are anywhere close to realistic, but I also knew that I'm unlikely to get better numbers if I was to end up in somewhere like Fortuna. So for now, I'm willing to assume I have a moderate stash of cash; not even enough for a months rent back home, but enough for food and drink, and apparently, a ride over to the Unum.

As I make my down the stairs and back out into the sun, I hand over my stack of credits to Ko-lee, who stuffs them into a colorful bag she was carrying. "I guess the slang makes some sort of sense," I think, as I watch her place the magnetically linked credits somewhere within. I had found out, soon after I had a chance to rub more than two credits together, that the actual credits themselves can magnetically link with each other, to form a literal stack. All types of credits can do this, except for the smallest white ones, for some reason. As well, when they link together, a series of lights on the body of the credits light up, so you can easily tell at a glance how many are stacked together. Trying to over stack or under stack them is easily visible by both parties, which makes trying to pull one over on your trading partner a bit harder. I had tried to pick Ko-lee's brain about some of the specifics of the inner workings of credits, but beyond knowing that they were originally of Orokin make, she couldn't tell me much. "Makes sense I guess," I think, as we approach the beach, and the various hot air balloon landing pads. "I never really did see anyone using credits back in Sharip."

I let Ko-lee take the lead, as she makes her way over to the first person within eyesight. "Do-lah, surrah. Quick question, if you don't mind. Would you be someone to talk to if me and my... friend here, were looking to cross over to the Unum?" she says, and I can't help but notice her brief pause before the word 'friend'. "I mean, we are friends, aren't we? God, I hope so after everything, would actually suck so much if she was like 'yea, I kinda don't fuck with your vibe if I'm being honest .' Although, I'm like 99 percent sure it isn't that," I think, as I watch her haggle a price to fly us across the water to the living Orokin construction. "Maybe she wanted to try to pass me off as a sister or something to try to get a better deal, and balked at the last second. Eh, it's literally impossible for me to ask, I guess I'll never know," I think sarcastically, as they finalize payment. "All good, 'friend'?" I say, and I watch her face grow a shade more vibrant, although she refuses to acknowledge the verbal poke. "Yea, probably embarrassed about the fact that I caught it. We've all tried to fudge a truth or two for a cheaper ticket."

"Fantastic! Credits in my hand, and a seat in yours," says the man, and although I imagine his enthusiasm is feigned, I still can't help but find myself excited, as I watch him attach some sort of construction to the bottom of the balloon. There are a number of cables and carabiners, and with practiced ease the man finishes attaching them to the wireframe structure to reveal... a seat. "Oh holy shit! It's like one of those seats on the spinny carnival ride except we're gonna be dangling thousands of feet in the air! That is so terrifying, I can't wait!" I think, as the man begins to speak. "Is this both your first time visiting the Unum?" he says, a knowing grin on his face. I just nod my head, too busy vibrating in excitement to say anything in response. Ko-lee, for her part, is even quieter than usual, and I glance over to see that she's incredibly tense. "Uh oh, is she afraid of heights?" I wonder, but before I get a chance to ask she steps right over to the suspended chair and sits down. "Well, I see we're quite eager! Don't let me be the one to stop you," says the man, as he buckles Ko-lee in, and reaches up to rotate the balloon.

I watch as he presses a button, and pulls a lever, and a drone underneath the balloon itself spins to life. "Oh, so not a hot air balloon," I mumble, but clearly not as quietly as I had thought, since the man responds. "Hot air? No, the balloon itself is filled with a special gas mixture that is inert, but otherwise lighter than air. The drone underneath is what moves the vehicle, but it is pre-programmed with commands. It simply takes a straight line from here to there," he says, pointing roughly two thirds up the body of the Unum, "and I have an associate on the other end who sends it back. The drone has basic avoidance capabilities, but otherwise is a pretty simple piece of tech." As he says all of this, he's attaching a second chair on the other side of the wireframe structure, which means that Ko-lee and I will be facing out and away from each other. "So you couldn't drive one of these anywhere you want?" I ask the man, watching him as he finishes attaching the seat. At my question, he takes a moment to think, but his hands never stop moving, and he gestures for me to sit as he does.

"Well, I guess you could, if you stood above the bars, and physically spun the drone around. Otherwise it mostly does straight lines," he says, buckling me in. "But I don't know anyone who'd do something like that. The wind can be a bit nasty at times. You'd have to be pretty crazy to pull a stunt like that." "Or an unkillable robot," I think, but outwardly I just give him a reciprocal nod. "Anyways, like I said, this'll be a straight shot for you. Just hang out, enjoy the sights, and you'll automatically dock with my friend at the top. He'll get you out of your seats, so you should have no need to fiddle with anything, alright?" he says, momentarily dropping his relaxed persona. I just nod, doing my best to match his energy, even though all I feel is an endless well of excitement. Ko-lee, who has been rotated to be dangling off the short cliff this entire time, gives a terse, "Understood.", and apparently that's all that's needed, as the man switches right back to happy customer service mode. "Great! You are going to have a great time, and I hope you enjoy the Unum!" he says, and with that, hits a switch that begins our ascent.

Our movement is mostly horizontal, which makes sense as the Unum itself is farther out to sea than she is tall. But as I look between my dangling feet, I can tell we're rising as we continue to move; the various details I can discern on the ground become less and less. We pass over the small grassy knoll that barriers the beach proper, then end up passing over the beach itself, at least 40 or 50 feet high by this point. Then, we end up over the water, and I start looking outwards, watching the market, and Cetus proper, get smaller and smaller. "How are you doing, Ko-lee," I ask, feeling as light as the balloon carrying us. "It's... alright," she says, and I can tell she's just putting on a brave voice. "Not a fan of heights?" I ask, and I just barely manage to hear a scoff, the empty air around us stealing our voices. "Not particularly. The roof of my house is as high as I ever really felt comfortable with," she says, and I just nod my head, before I realize that's she's unable to see me. "I get that. I'm scared of heights too," I say, as I wave at some people returning on their own balloon. As they wave back I hear Ko-lee bark out a short laugh. "No you're not, Antimony, I saw how excited you were."

"Well, yea," I say, doing my best to speak up so she can hear me over the gentle wind. "I am excited. I can be both. I do not know, there is something about facing my fears that gets me giddy. For example, I love to go skydiving, when I can afford it." "What is skydiving?" she asks, and I can't help but feel a little dumb. "Yeah, somehow I doubt the extreme sports industry is alive and well in Warframe," I think, but out loud I explain, "It is jumping off a high object, while you are attached to a device that can slow your descent. I call it a parachute. It is made of fabric, and sits in bag on your back, and you fall without it for a bit, and then pull it out as you get closer to the ground. It is pretty scary for a lot of people, but there is something about the free fall that is just...," I trail off, struggling to find an appropriate word for the feeling. "Exciting?" Ko-lee offers up, and I give the so-so hand sign, even though I'm aware she can't see me. "Yes, but... more than just that. Freeing. There is something about it I wish I could explain. I am not all that great with words, unfortunately," I say, trying and failing to come up with a term to explain the ineffable.

"Your words are fine," says Ko-lee, and I have a moment of confusion at her response. "Oh, no, I am not saying I can not find the words in Origin, I am saying, even if I spoke in English I would not have words. It is indescribable. It is just... something more," I say, watching the various colored balloons pass us by. As we continue to rise, our balloon is slowly rotating, but the drone seems to compensate, so our path isn't disrupted. Instead, I just get an insanely beautiful 360 degree view of the deep blue ocean, stark gold and white tower, and vibrantly colored city around us. "This is no skydiving, Ko-lee, but it is something special, I think." I don't expect a response, but moments later, I hear one anyways. "It-it's definitely pretty," Ko-lee says, and I feel a grin form at the comment. From that point on, we just soak in the views, accompanied by the sound of the wind, and the gentle whirring of the drone above us. The ride takes about 45 minutes, and I start to feel a little apprehensive as we get closer to the tower. "I really can't tell if she's bigger than a skyscraper, or if it just feels like it cause we're a couple thousand feet off the ground," I think, as we level off, and approach what appear to be a series of walkways terminating in the middle of the air.

As we get closer, I soak in the activity on the docks; a large majority of the workers are hanging huge slabs of meat onto balloons two to three times larger than ours, piercing them on hooks that are only attached to the balloon's bars via gravity. I briefly get the image of stereotypical pirates dangling off their own balloon, lifting the meat hooks off in midair, and flying off with their fleshy booty in tow, and the image in my mind is so absurd I laugh out loud. It's only a minute or two more until we reach the section of the dock that we were expected at; another man looking very similar to the one we just left throws a rope with a hook on the end and pulls our balloon in, tying us off and using a step stool to flip a few switches on the drone. I feel moderately nervous for the worker being so close to the edge, but another glance at his outfit shows that he's clipped into the railing surrounding the dock itself. "I wonder if the Unum was already like this, of if she grew it for people in Cetus specifically," I think, as the man rotates the balloon to begin unhooking Ko-lee.

It only takes a minute for him to finish, and after Ko-lee uses the step stool to make her way onto the walkway itself, I hear a small "Whoop!". "You did not want to 'whoo' on the ride over?" I ask, as I wait for the man to unhook me. She just looks at me, a huge grin on her face, and says, "I wanted to make sure we landed first." I let out a chuckle, and the worker unhooking my straps seems to find it a bit amusing too. "Fair enough," I say, and I join her on the walkway. We start off towards a set of huge double doors, at least 30 feet tall, with a round taper at the top end. Both doors are propped open, with goods and people streaming in and out of them constantly. As we get closer, I begin to hear a cacophony of sound, not unlike the market. I can even smell food, although it's not nearly as prevalent as it was in Cetus proper. The excitement just continues to snowball as we approach, and finally, we enter the Unum.

It's a little overwhelming at first, as my mind tries to take in everything all at once. While I had some level of expectation from the quest that allowed me to explore the inside of the Unum, I'm actually surprised to see how different everything is. I was expecting a very wooden industrial vibe; lots of scaffolding and harvesting, meat piles stacked 10 tall, and unlooted Orokin containers scattered about, and to some extent, I'm not entirely off base. However, it's very clear that the Unum is not just focused on being a thing to carve meat from, but a place to live, and that's represented in the various people and businesses I can spot. There are restaurants and shops dotted along the walls, tucked into alcoves and marked by various signs, both holographic and material in nature. I see a great number of workers, but also what appears to just be visitors; both Ostron and otherwise, wandering up the halls. The entire place is temperature controlled, which sort of blows my mind considering how tall the ceilings are, and the voices of life echo about within the main thoroughfare we've found ourselves in.

"It's a Night City megablock," I muse, as Ko-lee and I make our way down the hall. The analogy isn't perfect by any means; there's basically no children that I can spot, nearly every shop is exclusively focused on harvesting, and other than a few people who seem to be pretty clearly visitors, there doesn't seem to be that much relaxing. Still, it's the first comparison my mind draws, and the similarities get me about 60% of the way to understanding the space. I glance over at Ko-lee, who, for her part, looks a little overwhelmed too, and I tap her on the shoulder to get her attention so we can move out of the way of the foot traffic. "So," I start, doing my best to avoid letting my gaze wander. "We need to get a badge, right? Do you know where?" She just shakes her head, and I take a quick glance around, on the off chance that there would be sign that would point us in the right direction. Lo and behold, there actually is, and after pointing it out to Ko-lee, we make our way over to where it leads.

After a few minutes of walking, we find ourselves in front of an unassuming door, with a simple, hand carved wooden sign that just says BADGE. I hesitate a little bit, but Ko-lee seems to have no compunctions and heads right on in, to the seeming displeasure of the lady inside. I make my way in after her, and after a quick glance around, I realize we're just standing in a tiny office. There's less paper and more holopads, less motivational posters and more Cetesian decoration, but it's very clearly the exact sort of office I've been in a million times for a million jobs. "Are you here for badges?" says the older lady sat behind the desk, her mouth pinched thin as if already frustrated from having to deal with us. "Yup," I say, "two brand new skinners, reporting for duty." She just looks at me, clearly unamused.

"You are aware there is a fee, yes?" she says, and flips a holopad over to point at a line item scrawled in Origin. I take a look at it, but I can tell at a glance that we'll be tight if we both try to buy badges now and then head home. "Hmm, Ko-lee, I do not know if we can both get a badge and head back to Salt of the Sea," I say, and this prompts her take a look for herself. Her lips turn downward, the elation of the balloon ride and the experience of the Unum wearing off now that we have to deal with a real world problem. "Yeah, I think you're right. Shit," she says, and her exclamation gets her an even colder look from the office lady. Ko-lee doesn't seem to notice though, clearly doing some quick math in her head, before she turns to me. "One of us could get a badge, and one of us can head back, but that's it. The number I got for the price of the badge was... lower than this," she says, a look of frustration on her face.

"Yes, we've had to raise the price, recently. Funding from Cetus has been tight, as I'm sure you're aware," says the office lady, somehow managing to frown even more than before. Ko-lee just nods her head, although I doubt she even heard the office lady. "I can stay," I offer to Ko-lee. She just stares at me, an indecipherable look in her eye. "You sure?" she says, and I just nod. "Yea, I will be fine. I will get a badge, find a place to sleep for the night, and start work bright and early tomorrow. You head back to the tavern, work a few more days with Nakak, and when you head back, bring our stuff," I say, doing my best to come across nonplussed by the situation. "Although I am, in fact, very plussed. This is gonna be the first time I'll be away from Ko-lee since I met her. Like, we've split here and there, but she's gonna be gone gone for a few days, and I'll just be here by myself, and I am introspective enough to know that I tend to eat it in social situations. And by it, I mean, my foot."

Still, a decision needs to be made, and I'm willing to step up. She nods her head, and says, "Well... I guess I'll head on back down then. The sooner I get back, the sooner I can come back." She starts to turn towards the door, before pausing for a moment. I'm about to ask her if something's wrong, but she quickly spins back around and grabs me in a hug. I react instinctively, wrapping my arms around her, and neither of us is particularly eager to let go. Still, I can feel the office lady's eyes boring a hole in the back of my head, so I untangle myself from my friend, and give her a smile. "Have a fun ride down," I say, and some small part of her previous elation returns. "Whoop," she says softly, before closing the door, and leaving me in the office alone. "So!" I exclaim, turning back around to face the dour expression of the office worker. "What's the next step?"