Tallurre Ufushimi made incredible amounts of money for his seven years as a respectable attorney, which is why when Stanley saw the car in front of him, he expected such high quality from such a big name. People from many corners of the world knew his name for his law skills and his incredible sums of money.
The deep travel car that was in front of Stanley, like it was a normal car parked with the rest, was an Aethon "Valkyr" deep-space cruiser.
Aethon was one of the few leading brands that took the old, fashionable car brands' spots, like Ferrari. Aethon fit perfectly into the fast-growing development of space exploration as an experience, so it made sure that going near one was indeed an experience.
Tallurre's model Valkyr had a long, sleek body with smooth silver-black Termintine alloy coating that looked liquid under starlight. Thin blue light strips ran along the sides of the car, glowing brighter as the engines charged. Instead of visible windows, the ship uses polarised panoramic projection walls that can turn transparent from the inside.
The crazier part was the inside of the car.
The interior felt more luxurious than a hotel, complete with dark matt floors with glowing edge lines. Floating holographic controls at the front and some at the back seat. Gravity-adjusting seats that mould around the passenger cosily and snugly. Soft ambient lighting, perfect for late-night drives. And a central observation dome displaying 360 live space visuals that show around the car's exterior.
{So. I've rarely seen THESE cars before. I'd totally expected him to have this. This is Tallurre Ufushimi. The "Drake" of lawyers. I don't even remember who Drake was. All I know is that he made a huge amount of money compared to the other music artists at that time.}
Tallurre: "Cool, right? I know you're a rich boy. But you still haven't encountered the 'rich' Rich, like the honourable self."
Tallurre talked, full of himself, and grinned at the car while standing on the footpath.
He could definitely see the looks of passersby's emotions getting jealous of him.
"Have you even seen the back, by the way? Revolutionary technology at first glance here, you brat." Tallurre said to Stanley loud and proud, different to his nonchalant and focused tone earlier.
The rear of the ship contains three massive circular engine rings suspended apart from the hull by magnetic stabilisers.
"When activated, the rings rotate independently, bending surrounding spacetime into a compressed corridor called a slipstream lane," Tallurre commented. "I'm a car guy. I'm supposed to know these things."
"Says who?" replied Stanley.
Tallurre quickly glanced at him, losing his look of joy, converting to annoyance at the smart-arse comment by Stanley.
Tallurre: "I tell myself I'm supposed to know these things because that's what I like, me. To make me remain me, I put myself on an imaginary pedestal and tell myself this is what I want."
"Get in," Tallurre said quickly as the butterfly doors on the left side swung open for the driver, which was Tallurre.
"Alright, alright."
Stanley quickly hopped inside the car, sliding in and moving a bit before getting a comfortable seat in the passenger seat next to Tallurre.
The whole front area of the car was sleek, furnished as expected with the highest-quality leather from selected endangered cows, complete with trails of lights and more to admire.
Tallurre was busy tinkering with the dashboard and preparing for the commercial travel that this car brings, and Stanley was in awe once again, mainly for his situation and what he was inside right now.
{Such a peculiar situation. I ran from home, lived elsewhere for at least six months, and now I'm inside a car of the man I really dislike as a colleague. I don't even have a job right now. Fuck, this is a bit exciting and terrifying. Mainly terrifying. I do genuinely feel scared for myself, but I am emotionally stable enough to not worry, as this is a man of "honour" and a "role model" for the new generations of law. Heh. I'm taking this situation heavily for granted. I literally, in the morning, was inside Andromeda dealing with a breakup and recovery from my fuck-up. A door inside an abandoned building fucking transported me here casually. Now I'm supposedly inside a plan. A plan. A plan of what? I never agreed to this. I make my own decisions, but this seems nice enough, and nothing seems off about this besides the obvious fact that I'm about to get involved with the most important people ever. CELESTICA, GALACTICA, SOLARR. If I had a job there, my life and career would be set for life. Gosh, I'm jealous. I'm jealous of that handsome man next to me who seems to be pretty focused on some things involving this amazing vehicle. My fate has to be bad. I can tell. I've accepted it by now since I casually followed this man to his car and I'm not even bothered to get out.}
After some silence and sounds of the car menu being controlled for a minute, Tallurre asked, "Alright, Mr Kleitos? We are on our way now to Rizer, Ranstona. It'll take some time, so I'd suggest you rest while I get some work done on autopilot." "Unless you want to talk with me. I'd be open to a conversation with you."
Tallurre briefly looked at Stanley with a mere glance but held the meaning of Tallurre's thoughts of Stanley's meaning to him. Someone "important."
"I—I think I'd like to keep to myself for now. I might randomly come and talk to you, so be warned," said Stanley calmly.
Tallurre: "Be warned? You're not so insane that every word you say is crazy."
Tallurre replied with a cheeky comment in a toned-down voice.
He quickly took off his coat and put it in the backseat behind him with one toss.
{I really don't want to talk to him. I am not comfortable enough or man enough to talk to someone that high-calibre, even if he is nice and kind to me. I am slightly scared of Tallurre Ufushimi. He and I could be the bestest of friends if I just said yeah. I want to talk to you. I think you're interesting. Tell me more about yourself. But I won't. I'm afraid of new things, like meeting such a famous person and being in their car.}
"Yeah, get ready and put on your safety gear and belts," shouted Tallurre over the whirring of the modern vehicle.
When the Valkyr prepares for takeoff, the ship becomes almost completely silent. The blue lines along its hull slowly brighten while the three rear engine rings begin rotating at different speeds. Air around the ship starts to distort slightly, like heat shimmering above asphalt.
Instead of blasting upward with fire, the Valkyr lifts gently off the ground using gravitational repulsion fields. Dust, rain, and loose debris float upward around it before being pushed outward in a circular shockwave. A shockwave exactly underneath the car prevents any sort of civilian damage. It accelerates towards the edge of the atmosphere to reach orbit around the planet. Once in orbit, the Slipstream Drive activates. The stars ahead stretch into long beams of light as space itself bends inward. Passengers barely feel movement because the ship is not accelerating normally — the Valkyr compresses the distance ahead of itself. Outside the observation dome, galaxies appear warped and fluid as the ship glides through a glowing tunnel of distorted spacetime.
{The entire thing feels eerily smooth, almost motionless.}
The moment Stanley zips all of his safety equipment that comes with the ship, the seat tightens gently around his body, shaping itself perfectly to his posture. The cabin lights dim slightly as soft blue lines appear along the walls.
{Everything is quiet — unnaturally quiet for something about to leave a planet.}
Stanley would've expected a violent launch, like most other forms of common economic transport. Instead, his stomach barely shifts. Outside the panoramic projection windows, the city slowly drops away beneath the ship. Clouds slide underneath like waves as the atmosphere turns darker and darker. There's no engine roar, only a deep vibration that he can feel through his chest. Then the driver, Tallurre, announces Slipstream activation.
The blue lights suddenly intensify.
For a split second, it feels like your body becomes weightless and impossibly heavy at the same time. The stars ahead stretch into glowing lines, bending inward like thick liquid being pulled down a drain.
Some thoughts and scenery made him stare in amazement.
He looks away immediately because the view feels wrong — space folding in on itself isn't something the human brain naturally understands.
But after a few seconds, the sensation fades into calm silence. It almost feels like floating through a dream while entire solar systems pass outside it.
{This really was for the extremely rich. This car. Gosh.}