Three steps later she broke into a run, crying.Three steps later she broke into a run, crying. Nickolai turned and looked out the window, looking at the stars. Sometime early this morning they were supposed to be docking at Parma. It was going to be a long flight, he thought, as cold tears came to his eyes as well. "Good afternoon, Gentlesentients, my name is Luarna, and I will be your guide for your trip to Pendor. My race is Mephit, characterized by my pronounced black and white fur, a large and heavily furred tail, features found more commonly in the non-sentient skunk species, Mephitis Mephitis. I am of the racial variant Spilogale, and if anyone would like to come close enough to actually check, you will find I don't smell at all. I get questions about that. "You are now in the receiving lobby of Parma for vacationing guests; I'm going to dim the lights in a moment and if you look below your feet, you will see all of Pendor below you. Parma is actually on the orbital radius of Pendor, but we are above the plane Pendor, Pandora, and Pin inhabit. Parma is not actually in orbit; large gravitic drives and occasional boosts from fusion reactors keep us in place. It isn't actually necessary that Parma be where it is, but it does make for a good visual effect, both to remind natives that yes, they are home, and to show off-worlders just what it is they have come to visit. "Now, one of you somewhere will find a small red circle lighting up under your feet. If you look directly down at the small red circle you will find a small, moving spot. That is Pandora, a one-gravity planet that is actually inside the orbit of Pendor and provides additional forces to act upon the atmosphere and oceans of the ring, creating a tide, necessary for the continued health of our oceans. Pandora has it's own moon, Pindam, to provide it with a tide of its own as well." Nickolai smiled as he heard people shuffling about. "There it is," a voice said somewhere. "Now if you will all come with me, I'll show you to your hotel rooms in the space station. |