Welcome to Illadeph

Posted on 10 Jan 2014 @ 5:41pm by Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius

2,478 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Philadelphia, Earth - 30th Street Station, South Street
Timeline: MD 05 - 1540 hrs

[ON]

Allyndra knitted her brows as she looked out the transport window. There was white on the ground, snow. She remembered her time in the mountains of Akkadia and it also how mind numbingly cold it was. She had prepared with a heated wrap but it brought home the reality. She turned her eyes to take in the rest of the city. Surprisingly it looked much fresher than she expected but then many parts of the city had been rebuilt. There was a lot of Earth's or at least one nation's history here. That would be something she would have to look at, surprisingly most had been spared over the time.

There was a bump and hiss as the transport settled down and already people were grabbing packages, cases and the buzz of talk rose up. She waited. There was no way she was going to be able to contest with those more massive beings. Finally she got up as well and slipped on that special built coat with its built in heaters. Akkadian's were not endothermic and she would if in the cold long enough begin to just slow down and go into a torpor.
She brought no luggage but one small case for any clothing she would shop or go to a replicator. The case though held the presents she had brought along for Lamar's family and one special dress.

She had almost wondered if it would arrive in time, but just before she was to leave the scarf she had requested had just arrived. It was made of the same material as her dress: Treillium spider silk. The material could not be replicated and considering the spiders were active only once in twelve years and spun just small amounts of the material it was rare stuff indeed. It had the property of catching any ambient light and transforming it into scintillating cascades. Well, Allyndra hoped she would like it.

Finally the last of the crowd had gone by and she shrugged the coat into place letting it cover her wings and picked up her case. She still could not help but feel that she was an imposition but she was curious as well and finally stepped off the transport and into the station already looking for Lamar and then spotting him. She waved.

Dressed in a warm winter down coat with blue jeans and baseball cap on, Lamar recognized the tall Akkadian when she stepped out of the transport and he returned her wave while flashing her a big smile. Fortunately he hadn't been waiting long, and the cold temperature outside had yet to make him feel chilly. He walked forwards towards her and stopped rather close, reaching up with a gloved hand and giving her a gentle squeeze on her shoulder. "Welcome to Philly," he grinned. "How was your trip?"

Allyndra forgot all about the winter weather, so unlike her home when Lamar came up to her. "Uneventful, how have you been? Your family? Is it always like this? I read there is a lot of history..." She realized she had bombarded him with a lot of questions and she began to laugh.

"Sorry, consider an Akkadian asking a lot of questions to be a sign of excitement. I do hope though I am not an imposition on your family?" The laughter disappeared replaced with genuine concern.

He smirked and shook his head, "Like I said last time, if it was an inconvenience I wouldn't have invited you. They're all doing well and wanting to meet you. I told my brothers you have wings and they thought it was pretty cool." He looked down at the case she was holding and reached out for it. "Let me carry your stuff for you. My car isn't parked far."

Allyndra nodded. She knew she would say similar even if it was but she would take his word at it. "So they want to see the 'alien'. You said they were interested in things from far off places right? I brought a couple of gifts I hope they will enjoy. I also have something for your mother as well in there." Allyndra nodded to the small case. "It is from my home world."

He took the case and briefly studied it, then decided it could wait till they got to his house. "I'm sure they'll love this stuff. It'll be a fun surprise for them." He led her across the station and out into the parking lot where his hovercar was parked.

They reached the car which reminded her of her days long ago when she spent time with the Wussuru Order. She laughed lightly, "I had thought most everyone would have used transporters or such." She touched the vehicle and ran a gloved hand down it. "Almost an anachronism, but then coming from someone who once worked with something more resembling one of your ox carts... I will have to tell you the story sometime. Shall we?" Allyndra touched the door. "And you will have to narrate the entire way. I told you we are a curious people."

"Well that's why I brought my ride," he teased. "You can't really get a feel for the city and see the sights if we just transport all over the place." He walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for her, then placed her case in the back seat before waiting for her to get in.

Allyndra got in winching slightly as the cramped quarters and coat tugged at her wings. They might be less infused so she could sit but tugs still reminded her that they were never meant to be cramped and covered. She pushed that aside and looked out the windows of the car. She wondered if Lamar had mentioned to his family about her, well dietary restrictions. She figured he had but left out just how much.

"I must see sometime Independence Hall. I read about the history and it sounds amazing. However, what is first on tour and yes I am dying to meet your family."

He grinned at the mention of Independence Hall, one of the city's most famous attractions. "Sure I can take you there...but not today. I want to take you through some of the more fun parts of the city then get you settled at the house. There'll be plenty of time for a proper tour tomorrow," he replied, then walked around to the driver's side. He opened his door and sat down, started the car, and put the heat on full blast, then brought the anti-grav thrusters online and ascended the vehicle delicately through the parking traffic. Once they were at an altitude of about 50 feet, he took a left turn and headed for the South Street district.

"I figured we can see some of the places where I used to hang out as a kid...nostalgia, you know?" he chuckled lightly.

Allyndra simply nodded and huddled into her coat. When the blast of hot air came through she relished it. The coat warmers were fine and the air in the car was as well but it seemed to combine to remind her of her times when she spent in the cold and snow. Perhaps that was too much nostalgia for her.

She looked out the windows and watched the city past just trying to take in everything. It was large, larger than anything on her home world and built and overbuilt. She mentally shook herself and realized she was a guest.

"Very good Lamar give me the tour. I want to hear more about your past. Somehow I do not think you was a young apprentice that got her knuckles wraped for sneaking off to fly, or spent hours mucking out stalls of animals."

"No, I didn't do a lot of flying or spend time around animals, but I did sneak out a lot...typical kid stuff, you know?" He took another turn and the hovercar emerged near the harbor. Pointing out of the window, he referenced a robust waterfront area with several commercial ships in port. "This area is called Penn's Landing, it's a popular tourist spot right along the Delaware River. Penn refers to William Penn who arrived in Philadelphia in the late 17th century. He's the founder of the state we're in, Pennsylvania." He slowed the car to a slow cruise and descended closer to street-level so she could get a better look.

Allyndra watched out the window and looked at the area. It was mostly shops and others areas and while interesting she much preferred to listen to the history of the area.

Once they had driven by the waterfront, Lamar took another turn which put them directly onto South Street. "Alright, this is South Street, one of the trendy shopping and nightlife spots in the city. There's a lot of restaurants and bars all up and down the strip...lots of pizza places too," he grinned at her as they slowly drove down the street. Although it was only midday on a chilly winter day, there was still a lot of activity with many people walking about on foot. "Over there's the TLA," he pointed out a popular club venue, "the Theater of Living Arts. I used to go there a bunch when I was a kid to see live shows. It's got a great setup for acoustics inside and they get really good bands and music groups coming through there."

Allyndra laughed lightly at the pizza comment. "I have learned other cooking. Believe it or not I am finding it a lot of fun." The comment on food brought up something else she remembered. "Did you not say that your mother ran a shop? I would like to see that if I may."

The whole tour was nice but Allyndra noticed he had not mentioned his girlfriend and there was no indication that she had come along or would. Now was not the time to talk about such things though.

"Yeah we have a shop, it's called Deli Darius but it's not here on the South Street strip, it's closer to our house further south in the city. I'll drive you by it as soon as we start to head home, we're almost finished." The hovercar proceeded on its tour and Lamar continued to point out various interesting restaurants, tattoo shops, and music stores. "Oh! That's my barbershop," he called out and pointed to a small store window with a blue awning. "I used to go there all the time as a kid and a teen."

"Let's stop then. Perhaps someone there who you still know and besides I could always use the stretch of my legs." Allyndra asked. She did not mention to get the coat off and stretch her wings as well. "Unless you have other plans?"

He shook his head and pulled back on the wheel to bring the car to a higher altitude. "Another time, maybe. They looked kind of busy in there and we're almost ready to head home anyway. Should only be a couple of minutes," he informed her as they drove down into the heart of the city and into one of the residential neighborhoods.

Allyndra sighed. She wanted to stretch but he knew this place better and when he mentioned his family that peaked her interest. She wondered just how much if anything Lamar had told his family about her.

The car stopped along a row of houses on 11th Street and Lamar delicately parked the car in a vacant spot. Powering down the craft, he quickly stepped out then opened Allyndra's door for her and pointed to his three-story town house. "We're here."

Allyndra looked at the row houses. They were actually not much different than those found in the village that surrounded the Guild House. One wall sharing another. The big difference was that the windows were smaller and so were the balconies. They also looked of an age which those in the village did not.

She waited, feeling her hearts pumping and then as he opened the door she stood. "Here we go Lamar. Should I make the big entrance with wings open or just surprise them out of the coat?"

"The coat might be more fun," he smirked.

"Very well, coat it is but though we are endothermic I could well survive a bit of time. Come then, let's show the unusual alien off shall we?" Allyndra laughed and encircled his arm with hers.

She had asked to carry the case though he had insisted. It was a silly thing but she wanted to be the bear the presents herself.

"Hmm..." he mumbled as he approached the house and looked through the windows, then back around the street. "Doesn't look like anyone's home right now. Lights are off, car's gone...maybe they're at the deli," he surmised, then shrugged and tapped his entry code into the door's keypad. With an audible click, the entrance swished open and he stepped inside with Allyndra in tow.

"Anyone home?" he called out, then waited as fifteen seconds passed with no answer. Shrugging casually, he turned back to Allyndra and closed the door behind her. "Guess we've got the place to ourselves for a while."

"And whatever shall we do with the time?" Allyndra asked looking around. She had not thought how it might sound.

He shrugged and looked around the place, then turned back to her. "I guess we can get settled. Maybe there's something fun to watch on the LCARS. Or if you're hungry, we can make some food?"

Allyndra made a polite nod of the head. "Very good, let me cook something though, I find it is something of a new found hobby." She followed Lamar though first and got settled into a nice small room. The Trellium dress she had brought she shook out and then hung up. The material would under its own weight take the wrinkles out. She would have to replicate other items or go shopping but that would be something for another day. The coat had been left in a downstairs and it was nice to have that freedom again.

As she headed back down, she heard the LCARS already on and peeked in and saw Lamar already relaxing enjoying what appeared to be an Earth style sporting event. She smiled, even though it was different from what her husband would have done, it still had that stamp of domesticity on it.

She turned her feet in the direction of the kitchen and quickly got things prepared. Even though it was still alien, as was the food, there was still that feeling of peace that swept over her.

[OFF]

--

MWO Lamar Darius
Chief Support Craft Pilot
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Saalm]

Lt Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

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