Honeymoon in Hong Kong

[imthepilot]

Bodhi takes the card Jay give them and opens the door. It opens into large five star hotel suite - champagne chilling in a bucket and roses by the bed. In the corner of the living room are several large crates labelled climbing equipment. There's a welcome pack with maps and travel guides, ferry tickets and the number a car service.

Comments

[galen_erso]

Galen walks in after Bodhi, looks around, and steps up to the window.

"It's a city!"

A proper one, almost like a core world

[imthepilot]

Bodhi was too busy being fascinated by the roses.

He follows Galen to the window, looking out at the skyline. They are quite close to the top of the building so the view is quite something. "Wow... but where is all the traffic?" In any city he knows, there should be air cars and speeders zipping around at window level.

[galen_erso]

"I have no idea," Galen admits. "There's no landing pads, either. Oh, there!"

A helicopter has appeared between the buildings. "But only one."

[imthepilot]

Bodhi cranes forward. "Lots of ground-cars though. Maybe flight isn't that common here."

He glances over to the welcome pack Jay put together. "It says here we get to the best climbing spots by boat!"

[galen_erso]

"On the water!" Galen says, turning around to look at Bodhi with the paper in his hand. "How exciting!"

[imthepilot]

He lays out a map of the city and surrounding areas. "All these islands." He marvels. "And there's mountains on all of them."

[galen_erso]

"So it's water, and climbing, and more water, and more climbing," Galen says. "That will be great. Look, there is a bigger craft, high up."

There is a plane in holding pattern high above the city.

[imthepilot]

Bodhi came back to the window, looking up. "Aerodynamic wings. It must be an in-atmosphere craft. I wonder what they use for propulsion."

[galen_erso]

"Steam, in some way?" Galen suggests, looking up at the white, puffy trail the plane is leaving in its wake.

[imthepilot]

Bodhi shakes his head. "I think that's atmospheric byproduct. Could be hydrocarbons. That would leave a water vapour as a byproduct."

He laughs at his own nerdiness. "What are we doing staring out a window? Let's go explore the city."

He picked up the small leather folders Jay left for them. With pieces of coloured paper, plastic cards and metal discs. "Currency? Oh, and ID. That's useful."

[galen_erso]

"ID?" Galen asks. "Who are we?"

[imthepilot]

"Riz Ahmed and Mads Mikkelsen." he passes the folder with Galen's image to him. "Strange names. But this one says I'm a British citizen. That's not so bad. I don't mind British food. It's filling." because that's all Bodhi knows about Brittan.

[galen_erso]

"I hope we're saying those names right," Galen grins. "Mads Mikkelsen, at your service. Let's go and explore those ground cars and boats, mountains and islands."

[imthepilot]

Bodhi can't help but laugh. "I'm still going to call you Galen. Mads is just too strange."

He grabs his jacket and stuff the little folder in a pocket. The hotel lobby is as plush as the their room and the white gloved man who opens the door for them is more than happy to provide directions to somewhere they can find a good meal.

As Bodhi steps outside, he pulls a face, tasting the air. "Definitely hydrocarbons." There might not be much smog this time of year but he can still taste it.

[galen_erso]

"Meaning to say, they are burning some sort of fuel for chemical energy?" Galen says, sniffing.

[imthepilot]

Bodhi hums an affirmative and looks around, "Something like that." But then the wind changes and they can smell the sea. It doesn't smell like Scarif - coolers, saltier.

And the smell of spices and cooking. "Hungry?" The doorman might have pointed out the restaurant district but Bodhi smells markets.

[galen_erso]

"Oh yes," Galen declares. "And if I was merely peckish, this smells so promising."

[imthepilot]

"Emcee mentioned that it was a market city in his time." Bodhi follows his nose, watching the zipping little two wheeled speeder that duck and dive along the road. "Do you know he's from seventy years before Jay's time? I didn't realise."

[galen_erso]

"Yes, je told me at the party," Galen says as they walk. "And some of those 60 years seem to have been quite unpleasant."

[imthepilot]

"But it sounds like Jay's found him a way around for him. To keep him safe." Bodhi huffs, "I wonder if we would have taken a work around too."

[galen_erso]

"Of course we would," Galen says, "if we could still have made sure the Resistance got the plans for the superweapon and destroyed it?"

[imthepilot]

Bodhi huffs softly and walks ahead a little, pausing to look at a market stall selling electronics primitive by their standards. "We shouldn't play the if game. We have what we have. and that's this. I guess this is our work around."

[galen_erso]

"Makes sense," Galen says. "Doesn't make to ask 'what if?' when we already have all the 'what'."

[imthepilot]

"We have us." He reaches out to squeeze Galen's hands. "Oh, spices!" He's off like a curious lothcat at the smell.

[galen_erso]

Galen laughs, and follows.

"I didn't know you could jump like that!" he exclaims. "Yes, spices!"