Chromium

10.1

Unedited/first draft

You can call the Umbra a lot of things but you can't call him stingy.

Dia thought, running her hand across the leather of her seat. It was real animal leather, not the synthetic reproduction Dia was used to seeing on the empire's cars. To begin with, the only thing the vehicle she was traveling in had in common with a car was that both of them were on wheels, though Dia expected this thing could fly if necessary. It looked like a small shuttle from the outside, but inside it was a bit like the palace: luxurious, extravagant and flashy.

There were a lot of useless hi-tech accessories, and everything seemed gold-plated, even the armrests. Not that Dia really cared at this point. Strangely she was having a good time, though probably it was just the whiskey. Selene, the only person in the shuttle-car aside from Omen, had offered her some champagne but Dia had never liked that thing. Besides, she needed something stronger than champagne to forget she was about to meet dozens of criminals wearing that kind of dress and without a gun to protect herself.

The fact she was about to walk unarmed in Hall's territory was something both Omen and Reyes conveniently forgot to mention. Not that she could hide a gun in that dress, and apparently her purse was so small that there was just enough space for that Drainer thing.

Of course, the fact she was guzzling down a two thousand credits single malt was a hell of a way to forget what it was waiting for her at the club. The only downside, as Omen reminded her many times, was that she was getting drunk and fast. Apparently, alcohol tolerance wasn't one of her new "gifts", something she was very grateful for at the moment.

"The dresses here are so colorful" She slurred a bit, staring out the window as the shuttle slowed down to a crawl, a crowd of people flooding the street as they reached an intersection.

"They are" Omen answered, a bit laconic.

Dia didn't bother with him. She was having fun for once---though it was alcohol-induced---and she the intention to enjoy it until it lasted. Besides, she had to admit the atmosphere was more vibrant here, on Daxum. The clothes were varied, fascinating and attractive---though they showed too much skin for her taste---and the people much more unrestrained, joyful even. Many of those folks spent their lives underground, unable to see the light of the sun, or lived under the thumb of criminals, but they didn't seem to care. They looked...free.

For sure a lot freer than the people at home.

The empire had a lot of notions and rules about the so-called "proper behavior" every citizen should keep. The laborers had to dress in gray, the soldiers in their uniforms, the doctors in their coats and so on. Every social class had a role and mingling in public, or worse, making a ruckus like those people outside were doing at the moment, was a crime.

But seeing those people having fun, Dia thought that maybe, and just maybe, there was something wrong with the empire. Perhaps it was because of her drunken state, but for the first time in her life, she actually believed something had to change. However, as the shuttle kept slowing down and then stopped for good, Dia realized something was wrong. There were way too many people outside. At first, she thought it was normal around here, but then she started noticing the food stalls, the colored lights placed at the sides of the street and the festive atmosphere permeating most of the city. It seemed like a special day for the Undercity.

"What's going on?" Dia asked Omen.

"Took you long enough to figure it out." Omen answered. He sounded a bit grouchy.

Maybe he doesn't like I'm the only one having fun? 

She uncharacteristically giggled as she imagined Omen's body with the Sarge's head, and laughed out loud when Omen scowled at her like a big bulldog.