"Bottoms up."
"Good job."
A clap or two registered in Stanley's brain.
{Something is definitely missing.}
Stanley: "I'll decide what to do to protect my mind. I know what to put on there. But I'm not telling you that." Stanley swallowed.
Then Tallurre announced something.
"We're practically here. Look at how close we are."
Outside the front window was the full image of Persei Ymir-22, with all its magnificent calm. The big brown planet only had two moons and a big atmosphere that nearly reached one of the moons. It wasn't clear but cloudy from strong winds moving at high speeds and picking up dust, yet the surface looked like a smoother version of what Mars looked like long ago, with semi-large water bodies of brown and terracotta colours.
Tallurre: "Heads up, I am shifting out of the slipstream."
He immediately pressed a button located near the steering wheel, and the world around both of them stopped looking fast-paced. Now incredibly slower than before, Stanley could really take in the proper image of his destination. Tallurre then started tapping his hand onto the steering wheel in musical sync as a little habit of his to do while being calm and happy.
{What the fuck. Why is this solar system so massive? Gosh…}
Persei Ymir-22 did look like what Stanley thought it was. Except it was nearly eleven times larger than he had imagined. This planet didn't have a big atmosphere; it was dust and particles launched out from the planet or asteroid material. It soaked the outside of the vehicle, making vision cloudier with a rusty, copper-looking effect as Tallurre drives further. Noises of little clinks and dinks were heard from everywhere at the front as hard dust attacked the front.
"We'll continue our conversation once we land safely at base camp." "My team is friendly. Don't worry about it. I think you don't need to worry. Yeah."
"Yeah, alright."
Stanley stared through the windscreen hard, looking like a modern-thinking philosopher.
What happened in that dream remains a mystery to him.
But he knew one thing about himself that he wouldn't doubt.
Tallurre hasn't said anything without manipulative intent. He was being used like a tool, just as he said.
Stanley: "Whoa, whoa, whoa, are we supposed to move this fast into the planet? Shouldn't you slow down?"
The car was indeed not slowing down the further they went through the dust storm and into the first layers of gas and air of Persei Ymir-22.
"Well, we have to break through the hard rocks after this. Better to zoom through it rather than stay there longer." Tallurre then grabbed the steering wheel tightly and leaned forward whilst having his left foot near the brakes and right foot holding the right momentum on the accelerator.
Rattles that made the vehicle seem unsafe were now everywhere, bouncing the sound into Stanley's ears, and the dinks got heavier and rougher. He could now visibly see the rocks hit the front window at high speeds with loud noises.
"God damn. Gosh. Oh shit. Wow. My goodness." Every noise that sounded louder was added with a comment from Stanley, implying his surprise and uncertainty in the vehicle he is now trapped in.
{When are we getting out of this? We've been here for around five minutes already. I'm starting to not get confident in Aethon cars. This shit is worrying, you know? Thuds and booms don't fill me up with happiness or joy.} For around five to ten minutes, the two were silent, listening to the rocky clunks and staring at the gas that surrounds all vision in the car. Stanley had the freedom to look around at the back while Tallurre locked in and put all of his attention into driving forward, looking to the sides and maintaining the pedals. His eyebrows got more tense, making him look more annoyed and focused than ever.
"Move your head," He said with an order.
Tallurre forcefully pushed Stanley's head into the headrest as Stanley blocked his vision on the left. Thump.
{Oi-Wait, never mind. He's right in this moment.} Stanley looked back at Tallurre once he had gotten back to looking straight ahead and gave him a stare of disgust and annoyance for about a second or two, then joined in with looking straight.
Suddenly, the copper fog disintegrated. No loud sounds, no blurred vision. What they saw was a calmer version of Mars compared to the clouds left behind.
The brown, dusty surface looked more rugged and rough than expected, a desert-like world with plenty of plains, incredible volcanoes, and a few water sources that could be spotted with the naked eye from five hundred kilometres up, plunging directly into the ground. Giant crystals embedded in the dry ground could be spotted from many places around, though they were not easy to spot to the careless eye.
"Now, the easier part. Grab something to hold." Said Tallurre after a bit of silence. He continues to tap his left hand onto the steering wheel at a musical tempo while humming ever-so quietly.
He pressed another button located on the steering wheel, which in turn made the car vibrate a little and gave Stanley a feeling of the car making considerable changes to itself.
Tallurre next grabbed the steering wheel tightly and turned hard to the right, but instead of it feeling like you're being pushed by the force of turning, it glided. Smoothly changed from directly downwards to the bottom side facing the ground, and the car itself positioned itself at the location of one of the moons. Stanley expected his body to twist, churn, and more and his body to slam sideways. Nothing like that happened. The vehicle simply obeyed physics as if physics had agreed to make an exception for it. It dragged itself through the air and put itself in that position with ease.
{Where the fuck is this huge ass base? I don't see anything at all related or similar to a man-made fortress. Is it underground?} Stanley: "Is base camp underground, or can I just not see it yet?" He asked with a sense of calmness.
Tallurre: "Actually, we just got the planet to ourselves recently. We haven't had any time to change the name or build giant bases as you expected." He said with a voice, addressing Stanley in a similar tone.
"Just a research post and a few big testing grounds. There's more, but that's for later. Take it or leave it."
Stanley: "Oh, um, alright then. You kind of gassed yourself up there. Making it seem bigger than it should've been." "My fault."
I don't think he properly means that. He didn't even use an apologetic tone or a sad one. He kinda just spoke it.}
Tallurre once again started turning his car left and dragging the steering wheel downwards like a plane's wheel, and once again it flew through the wind like there wasn't any interference to stop it, like wind. The car moves like it is connected to something and being dragged like a zip line, and it moves people smoothly and comfortably. Its descent was continuously getting more comfortable than the twenty minutes ploughing through rock earlier. The humongous crystals were easier to look at from a distance. being incredibly light-reflective and shiny in many colour variants ranging from mauve to turquoise.
Tallurre: "I think it's time you might want to get to know my small team better. You're going to be working with them for a bit, so get used to it." From a glove box on the side, a piece of paper was taken out that housed many weird things, like a half-used needle and more.
"Read it. It's a list of the people who I work with, including me, and by the way, we aren't all CELESTICA.
Stanley: "Okay, let's see this paper." The paper had a few crinkles here and there and a few pen scribbles in a corner, showing that somebody was testing out a new pen, and it had been folded about four times when it got handed to him. The paper also smelled faintly of cocoa butter and grease. A weird combination. It had clearly been passed around plenty of times to others. It also had a really rough-looking corner, as its bottom right corner got torn. When it opened, it revealed only a few names. Small amount for a man who talks a big game. It read:
BROKEN HALO
CURRENT OPERATIONAL LIST OF MEMBERS AND MORE
LEADERS: 7
Magnus Turner - Broken Halo
Sheng-Ri Parano – Broken Halo
Jordan Renner - Broken Halo
Tallurre Ufushimi - Broken Halo + CELESTICA
Daryl Carter - Broken Halo
Ren Walker - Broken Halo/MISSING
Oblivion Veryon - Broken Halo
DISCIPLES: 2
Johnny Wilkinson - Broken Halo
Lori Forria - Broken Halo
UNCONFIRMED INDIVIDUALS NEXT: 5
Stanley Kleitos: Door Anomaly Experience
Tono Xbanlanque: Brother of Kyle Xbanlanque
Aurora Castillo: Human Anomaly
Chidieberre Zohran: Gravity Bloom Flower Experience
Oswald Trifon: Related to Nagito Navvarrox
The further the list goes, the weirder his expressions get.
"So, Broken Halo is what, exactly?"
"It's the group name. Picked out by the leader."
"Yeah, alright, thanks."
Then Stanley went back to reading.
{Magnus, I don't know; Sheng-Ri, I don't know either. I obviously know who Tallurre is, but why does it say he's part of CELESTICA if he isn't? I still don't have a clue who Daryl is, nor Ren.}
Stanley glared at the Name "Ren Walker".
{I never even had a chance to know the person, nor to miss them. Just Missing. Not dead. Huh. Who the fuck names their beloved child "Oblivion"? Like you had eight months to think of a name, and you come across "Oblivion"?}
Stanley goes further down the list and looks at it with more interest than before he got the paper.
Tallurre: "You seem like you have some criticisms worth saying."
Stanley: "I haven't finished. But only with the choices of naming."
Tallurre made a quiet snort, as if he were covering a laugh. A sign of his unprofessional side.
"Fair point."
"Now, let me read." Stanley then quickly straightened the paper, as it had flopped earlier and continued to read. {Disciples? Someone's learning something important. Johnny and Lori aren't ringing any memory bells here. Now, unconfirmed? Must mean something like 'People who haven't been properly collected or part of this 'Group'. We got little old me, and at that time I met the door. Is that really all I am to them? An experience to recollect? I'm just a fucking name on a sheet of paper. Wow. Shit, I'm more annoyed now. Whoever Tono may be, it's pretty sad how their biggest achievement is being a sibling. Yeesh. Reduced to being someone's brother. Human anomaly? The fuck does that even mean? Don't tell me an anomaly and a human somehow had a thing for each other. However, I did hear about the Gravity flower incident. Feel bad for that planet, since it imploded because of the flower releasing a butt-tonne of seeds. Was Oswald related to Nagito? THE Nagito Navvarrox? Yeah. Shit. No wonder this guy made the list. I would've thought Nagito himself was an Anomaly. I just can't believe that a genius and scary man are in the race to succeed the Supreme Chancellor.}
Stanley, after a bunch of re-reads, hands it back to Tallurre after it's been folded again in its older creases, which go back into the glovebox.
Stanley: "Now, are you sure they are nice? This is one of the most random bunches of names that, yeah, I'm curious to meet and almost excited about, but this is a group organised by one of the best lawyers eve—"
Tallurre interrupted Stanley's comment quickly and smoothly without seeming pushy.
"It's not me who organised this group. Magnus is the leader here. If the "Broken Halo" group were a TV show, Magnus would be the main character, while I'd just be the very important side character who was needed for this plan. My interests also lined up. It's best if you know this before we meet them."
Stanley, after hearing the reply, was a bit curious and star-struck at the fact "THE FACT" wasn't the best there. How important was Magnus?
"Looks like I got a hella big greeting to make later." Said Stanley.
Stanley never saw the faint grin appearing at the corner of the lawyer's mouth.
"Seems like it."
Stanley, after a few seconds of quiet, said, "H-how important actually are these people? They can't be randoms from what I just got."
These people will shape the world according to their imagination. Some already have. You're about to meet real-life history makers."
"Huh. That sounds really important. I guess."
Stanley then turned to the window on his left, leaning his head on the glass, looking out at the fried-looking skies of Persei, Ymir-22.
{Am I jealous already? Have I just joined the most influential group in Andromeda? I'm just a random guy who came across a door, and look at where I am. I don't belong there. I'm not a life-changer. I want to be one, though.}