Cherven 4, 


Faustus “Chev” Borov 
Solomon Square, Bactria

The rain always made getting around the city that much harder. Most of the streets in Bactria remained unpaved and got really sloppy when it rained for more then five minutes. Unfortunately for the inhabitants of Bactria the rainy season was upon them.
	Faustus trudged through the busy Solomon Square, dodging those stopping to shop at the many stalls in the open air market. The constant roar of rain hitting the thin wood and metal roof was almost completely drowned out by the sound of artisans trying to sell their wares. The smells of cooked meat and spices wafted through the large expanse as he made his way across the market, stopping at the edge of the pavilion. 
	Water cascaded off the edge of the pavilion roof, forming a kind of water barrier between the interior of the market and outside. Sighing, Faustus pulled up the hood of his cloak and pulled the material over his shoulders before walking out into the rain. Mud already began splashing onto his high boots as he walked his way down a narrow street, weaving his way through the heavy foot traffic. Pulling the hood back slightly, he squinted through the rain to try and make out the building numbers before stopping at a doorway. 
	Stepping up under the awning, Faustus eyed the call box to the right of the doorframe. Following the list with his finger before pressing a button beside the name “ Kiyvch”. A faint ringing sound could be made out over the roar of the rain before a loud “ Da” could be heard. “ Its Chev….let me in, its fucking pouring out here” he said swiping the hood off his head. “ Aye, ill buzz ya up” the voice replied before the door quickly slid to the left.
	He walked through the doorway and into a antechamber before the door quietly shut behind him. A collection of equally muddy boots sat scattered to his right just before a stairwell leading up to the first floor. “ Chev, Im up here…” a man called out as Faustus quickly pulled off his boots and walked upstairs.
	The second floor was dimmed and a large holographic map of the immediate area around the planet was floating around the room. “ Whats all this about?”, he said rather surprised before making his way to the closest chair and sitting down. “ You haven’t heard?” the man said “ The King has called for pilots, exploration missions! We are finally going to start colonizing!”. Chev, smirked and raised an eyebrow at his friend’s excitable outburst, “ What does this have to do with us?” he added skeptically. “ I have acquired a privateer contract from that beautiful clerk I’ve been talking to. Told her that I will discover scores of planets in her name” the man said with a chuckle. “ We have permission to draw supplies and head to these coordinates for exploration” the man added, quickly typing a series of commands into a small dome on the table between them. 
	The map snapped to Itil and then slowly began expanding to the limits of known space to the Monarchy, which wasn’t much. Before the end of the Three Century War both nations observed the solar system independently. There was no time or desire at the time to send manned exploration missions to the different planets of the solar system. Since the end of the war, only one planet has been explored and is in the beginning stages of colonization. The only data the Monarchy had on the other planets were based on observational data and speculation. With Itil quickly becoming overcrowded the Monarchy needed to expand and find more habitable planets or planets that can be made habitable. Since its founding in 2220, the “ New Monarchy” had dedicated its greatest minds to establishing reliable faster than light travel. Now it is used regularly to travel between Itil and the new planet Zhivot. Long distance faster than light travel is largely untested and has not been researched thoroughly. 
	“ There, maybe 90 million meters past the edge of the map, thats our destination”, the man said anxiously tapping the wooden table with his thumb. “ We are to observe the gas giants along the way and drop probes that will be supplied by another party”. Faustus looked at the distance between Itil and their destination, trying to estimate how long they would be in space. “ We would have to jump between planets and cool our drive at each stop”, he said with a sigh “ Even if we cut corners this will take months, who is supplying us with provisions Kiyvch?” he said looking towards his friend.
	Kiyvch nodded and shrugged “ The state is supplying us and do you really care how long it takes”? he said rather matter of factly. “ We have the opportunity to break from the norm, create a whole new class in society. Recognition!, Glory!, Adventure!” he said rising his voice with excitement. “ This is the first time in our history where we are finally taking steps towards becoming a greater power, our ancestors would be pleased” he added solemnly. Chev nodded in agreement, he had no objections to the plan but his nerves were beginning to get to him. They were literally traveling into the unknown with now safety, the pair would be on their own. 
	Kiyvch tapped another series of commands into the map control, replacing the holographic map with the image of a ship. “ This is what we will use to get us there” the man said proudly, “ Designated the MX-20. This vessel is my baby and she is a runner let me tell you”, he said zooming onto the four engines that adorned the back. “ Quad Impulse V engines and my own custom dual core reactor will make this thing the fastest ship ever piloted. Ive stacked her with enough navigation, guidance and detection devices to rival the legion. We might not know where we are, but I can guarantee you the ship does” he said with a laugh. “ Weapons?” Chev added inquisitively, eyeing the holographic mock up. “ One twin 88mm cannon and 60 rounds, APHE and APDS, I wouldn’t expect much by ways of defense. We aren’t conquering, we are exploring, peacefully exploring” Kiyvch assured him.
	a sigh escaped Chev’s lips as he looked over the mockup again, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they would find something out there. The Hol had sat in this corner of the galaxy rather isolated, or so they thought. Chev felt that there was more out there, and he didn’t want to meet it with just good intentions and a royal seal. “ Alright, I’m convinced…..when do we leave” he asked, looking towards Kiyvch one last time.

Kiyvch laughed and stood, stretching his back with a loud groan “ Tomorrow….” he said with a smile “ Funny how things work out that way huh?”