Hybrids

Monorail

Pushing open the double glass door that was in the rather fancy reception for their apartment building, the Stars felt the pleasantly warm sunshine hit their skin when they stepped out onto the streets of Mons. Their noses were hit by a mixture of smells, from the sweet scent of pastries being baked by stall owners, to the faint oily musk of the industrial district on the other end of the park that was just across the road. The roads and paths were bustling with people, all of them enjoying the music that was playing from the city loudspeakers, that were normally used just to announce things and warn people of accidents on the road. But today they were being used as a way to entertain.

Cloude held both of his children's shoulders and gave them a gentle but firm grip, he crouched down to Rez's level and said "There's a lot of people around here, so I want you to keep close to me, your mother or Riza. If you get separated from me and Flower, Riza'll keep you safe. Okay?"

Rez had heard this from him before, but there was far more people here than any other place prior. So he nodded and held Riza's hand tightly, who looked down in response to feeling his grip. It took her a few seconds to realise what had been said, but after she did she squeezed his hand back "I'll be here" she spoke, just enough for him to understand her over the crowd.

Flower looked about the street before leading the other three along, brushing past other bystanders as the family began to make their way to a monorail station that was only a few blocks away. 

The election was to determine the next Head of System, the person who would be tasked with keeping all of the planets in check and functioning properly. It was a big pyramid. At the top was the Head of System, and under that was the nine governors that would be stationed on each planet. The governors would then run a normal government to keep the planet running smoothly and efficiently. Being the Head of System was a colossus undertaking, as it required unbreakable focus and attention, a cool level head, and it practically meant that the Head of System needed to be constantly on the move. So the governments of each planet put together the biggest project in human history. A moving fortress, designed to keep the Head of System safe, healthy and of course working. It was called Absolute Authority. A gigantic ship that would cast a shadow across an entire state, it could go five years without refuelling, and its position is always kept behind the highest classification. But today it was in a low orbit, and one of the candidates would be leaving on it.

Riza felt a tapping on her arm as she walked behind Flower, she glanced down to see what it was, and of course she saw Rez there, who was a bit confused, she smiled gently at her younger sibling and patted his head "What's up?" she asked, making sure to keep behind their parents whilst still giving him attention.

Rez pointed up to the orange Martian sky, and Riza's gaze followed his finger "Do you think I could be the Head of System one day? So I can be on the big ship and travel all across the solar system... I've always wanted to see Venus" he said, his point referring to the Absolute Authority that was above in orbit.

Riza smiled and chuckled as she looked forward "Well, if you want to get involved in politics and all that nonsense, I'm sure you can. You'd just need to learn all the laws and the uh..." she searched for the words, but she struggled to find them.

"Rules?" Rez chipped in. Riza knew full well that laws and rules were basically the same, but she went with it, wanting him to feel happy "Yeah, rules. Thanks buddy"

The two were as close as a brother and sister could be. They had their occasional arguments of course, but the two were inseparable. They played their games together, walked to school together, and in the case of a nightmare, Riza would even let Rez sleep in her bed to calm him down. Although he would never admit it, Rez admired his sister and finds himself aspiring to be as kind as her. 

Whilst the two were chatting a long, a loud bang interrupted them. Their heads snapped in the direction of the noise that still echoed between the big buildings. They were worried that it was a car hitting something, but to their relief it was merely people setting off a special type of Martian firework that was used in times of change. It was a cylinder that would be placed on the ground, with a fuse that went off to the side. When lit and the fuse all burnt, the top of the cylinder would burst open, and a rocket would shoot up before falling apart. It would go up so quickly that it would look like a solid pillar with the smoke it left behind.

Rez had been startled by the noise, but he continued to walk on. His eyes looked straight ahead and locked onto Flower and Cloude who had managed to get a little bit further ahead, but they were still only about a cars length away from them. 

They continued onwards towards the train station until they eventually arrived, as the majority of the walk was rather uneventful. The station itself was built right above a normally busy road, held up by strong metal 'arms' that were attached to buildings next to it so nothing would be obstructing the road. A simple staircase was on both sides of the road, so passengers could get on the monorail going the right direction. The Stars were simply waiting for one to arrive at this point, so Rez being the curious child he was, walked over to a security drone.

The security drone wasn't anything special, it was a cube with sharp angles etched into its chassis, and two rotor blades on either side to keep it up in the air and working. This particular model only had a camera and voicebox on it, but there are many different kinds. 

The drone noticed Rez looking up at it and tilted itself to face him, before speaking in a monotone and robotic voice "Greetings citizen of Mons. You appear to be adolescent. Please return to your parent or guardian if possible. If you are lost, I shall contact a member of staff to escort you somewhere safe".

Rez's eyes widened as he waved his hands gently in front of him. The last thing he wanted to do was waste a staff members time "Oh, no no" he spluttered out, pointing over to Flower and Cloude who were chatting on a bench on the other end of the platform "Those are my parents over there"

The security drone's camera pointed in the direction of them, then back down to Rez. Though it didn't seem to have a voice line to acknowledge that it knew he was safe, and skipped ahead "Please enjoy our lavish monorail service. Providing the good people of Mons with safe and easy transport since 2801"

"Huh, I knew that these have been here a long time. But I didn't think it was that long ago" Riza's voice came from behind Rez, making him turn to face her and nod.

"Yeah, the entire city's monorail is older than everyone in the city" He said with a lot of surprise in his voice "I wonder how much of the city is that old".

Riza shrugged and patted his shoulder "Not a clue, I'm sure you can look it up when we get home" and as she finished speaking, the loud and echoing horn of the monorail came from behind them.

Cloude and Flower were already standing in wait, beckoning the two over. The platform was empty so they ran over quickly just as it pulled into the station. As it stopped, it made a hissing noise as it lowered ever so slightly and extended a ramp to bridge the gap. Rez was eager to climb aboard and charged forward as soon as it opened, but he didn't notice the man in front of him and ran right into him.

Not expecting the sudden obstacle, Rez fell backwards onto the floor with a grunt. He looked up at the person he had accidentally barged into as Riza crouched down to help him up.

The man was tall and slender, with brown hair that was short and slicked down, the only messy piece of hair was a few strands that poked up right in the center of his forehead. He had pale blue eyes, and one of them was even slightly milky. He had a very flamboyant jacket on that seemed too big for his arms, and was mostly black except for a few places that were dark gray. His boots were large and heavy duty, which was odd as he looked like someone who wouldn't bother with anything laborious. He looked down at Rez and paused for a few moments, before chuckling. His voice was rather gruff and elderly sounding, but also had a charm to it that was hard to explain. In his English accent, he crouched down and extended his hand "Terribly sorry young man, I probably should have stood a little bit to the side when the doors opened. I myself would have been washed away if the station were busier". 

Rez looked to his hand and hesitantly took it. He was pulled up and he briskly brushed himself off before scratching the back of his own head and looking away "N-No it was my fault..I shouldn't have ran forward..." he mumbled. Riza ruffled his hair and playfully punched his shoulder, making him pout.

The man waved him off and smiled "Well, let's both agree that we both made a mistake, shall we?" he said, before looking over the four "Hm, what a humble little family you have here" he glanced over Riza and Rez, before looking up at the parents "Oh my. Forgive my rudeness, you must be the parents".

Cloude nodded and looked over the man, a bit curious at his odd demeanour, but he kept it to himself and extended his hand towards him for a handshake "Yeah, I'm Cloude. And this is Flower. We were just heading into the city center to see some of the festivities that are happening there".

The man smiled and held his hands together "Oh yes, I was just coming from there. It was a bit busy for my tastes though so I began to make my way here to this quaint area. Maybe take a stroll in the park for a while" 

Flower's eyes looked up to the man "Oh, the park? We live just across from it. If you do visit there you just need to try the sandwiches at the little cafe they have. They're gorgeous".

"I will keep that in mind. Thank you very much, Flower. But I think I'm going to stay on the monorail for now. I'll save the park for after a big meeting I have later"

Riza cleared her throat rather loudly and obnoxiously, which did earn a glance from Flower, but when she spoke it did make sense "We should probably get on the train. We're just standing on the ramp right now".

Cloude looked down and made a little gasp as he remembered "Oh right, sorry!" he said, walking past the man and finding a place to sit. Which wasn't difficult as the rest of the train was completely empty. But it was nice and spacious. Each booth had four seats and a table, extra comfortable as sometimes the journey could be hours long due to the cities sheer size.

Flower walked past the man, who turned and looked to the four. He walked over to the area they were in, when Flower made an audible gasp and looked over to the man "Oh, what might we call you sir, if we're going to be talking whilst we travel?"

The man smiled brightly and took a dignified bow, placing his left hand across his heart "Why of course! I should have told you ages ago" he glanced upwards "Theodore Lamirrion, at your service!"