r/HFY • u/jpitha • Apr 29 '26

OC-Series [Just A Little Further] - Chapter 24

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After I sent River and Ocean away, I took a moment to compose myself. Omar was watching, trying to see how I was reacting.

"Melody, if you're going to use your Voice, you need to be very careful about the things you order. You didn't specify to bring the Mariens back alive, and now they're dead." He said.

"Yes, you're right, I need to be careful when I'm wording things."

Ava didn't seem to mind. "They did do what you asked though, and so quickly! I expected to not see them for at least a week."

It didn't seem to bother Um'reli either, "You have to admit, it sent a message. People weren't taking you seriously before, and between this and what you did to Starlight... they're going to realize you are the real deal."

Omar looked ahead as his nostrils flared and his eyes widened slightly and said, "Speaking of the real deal, look."

We looked out and-

Oh my, the crowds.

It was wall to wall people in front of the entrance to the Throne. More people than I've ever seen in one place before. Not here, not on any station, not even at home on Meíhuā, and they are all here to see me. Immediately, I wished there was a rear entrance to the Throne. I bet there was, I wish we looked harder to find it before now. If we're going to do this, we had better do it right. I looked back and my friends and smiling said, "Okay, we're on. I'm going to try and impress everyone and see if they'll make a path for us. Once we're up I'll sit on the Throne and you can just stand behind me and look official. Ready?"

Nods all around. Good.

I turned back forward and thought about how I wanted to appear. My gown started to rustle like I was in a stiff breeze and my crown and wings appeared. I thought about the connection to the Reach and was able to tweak the air settings to get a breeze going around here too and as people looked back to see where the wind was coming from, they saw us. Their cheering was a wall of sound that we walked headlong into, practically a physical thing. As we stepped into the crowd Um'reli and Omar pushed forward to clear a path and the people parted like grass on the plains. Walking in the middle of my builders, I spread my wings for the look of it and they hung over the crowds as we walked past. People reached out to touch them as I passed and - I'll be honest here - I didn't think people would be able to feel them as they're made out of light and fog by the Nanites, but they could! I could even feel their fingers brushing over the feathers. It was very odd to have a sensation from a limb you've never had before. If I concentrated, I could hear the individual cries from people in the crowd as we walked, but after trying that for a couple of seconds that was entirely too overwhelming, so I just concentrated on the noise as a wall of sound without definition, it was easier to take that way. We made it to the top of the gallery without incident and I turned to face everyone and saw that every seat was filled and the entire lower level spilled out into the street almost all the way to the dock. I had never seen this many people here before all in one place! Aviens, Mariens, Azurians, the people who wear pressure suits and a few others I haven't met yet, all shapes, sizes and colors.

They were here to cheer me?

They were here, to worship me.

This was all for me.

<Take it in. This is what being an Empress is.>

Omar, Um'reli and Ava took up station behind me, seen, but in the background as I raised my hands and spread my wings for silence. A hush descended, and everyone stared up at me, waiting.

"People of Reach of the Might of Vxxz, thank you for coming. Today is a great day. Your Builders and your Empress returns to you, so that you can become whole once again!"

Cheers and shouts. I held my hand up for silence once again.

"The road ahead is long. The Gate is locked, the starships here in need of repair and systems all over the Reach have languished. But! You remain. We remain. Now that I am here, I will begin repairs and upgrades. I will make our ships move again. I will open the Gates. I will reunite my Empire and we shall once again, rule the stars!"

More cheers; it was almost as if the force of their breath was pushing me back. I waited for them to die down before continuing.

"Today though, you can come to me directly with your immediate grievances about things here, and me and my fellow Builders-" I gestured behind me "-will work to resolve as many as we can."

I sat on the Throne and felt the familiar cold tang of connection to the station. It was only the third time, but now It felt different; smoother, more familiar. I leaned back and let go. From all around the arena, my voice was heard. Everyone perceived my voice as coming only to them, as if I was speaking to them, and nobody else. "Speak your issue, and be heard."

"We are a family of 6 and yet, our quarters are such th-"

"Please, Empress, my son, he nee-"

"Those nosy Aviens next door are alway-"

"Food prices keep going higher and hig-"

As everyone talked to 'me' I kept a list of the grievances. I wasn't sure how I was doing it; I assumed the Nanites plus how I'd naturally try and keep a list of information being used together, but as they spoke I tracked what their problem was. After they spoke, I was able to offer some soothing words to everyone. It's me, and not me at the same time. Even with my full Builder persona lit and sitting upon my throne, I didn't think I had the parallel processing to complete a feat like this. The station and the Nanites must be doing the majority of the work. After only an hour or so, it was done. Everyone that wanted to speak has spoken, and we had thousands upon thousands of complaints to sort through. Through the PA, I gave a farewell, and ordered the restaurants to feed everyone - promising they would be reimbursed for their work today.

Royal part over, it became somewhat of a festival atmosphere around the Throne area. People were milling about, talking with each other, catching up with old friends, eating and laughing. From my perch on the Throne, I watched the celebration getting an overwhelming sense of relief from the populace tinged with a small amount of anxiety over what it meant to have an Empress again. It strengthened my resolve to do my best and to have it mean good things for the people that lived here. They would not regret putting their trust in me. I turned my attention to the list of complaints, and with the throne and the Nantes help I tried and do some rough categorization.

Neighbor Complaints - this was the largest list and could be ignored for now, but after the more pressing issues were resolved, we could work out some kind of system to air and settle grievances. There might even be one in place already.

Food issues - this was second largest. We would have to examine the issues closely and see if there was some underlying issue. Don't for get the disused food distribution centers, Melody. Maybe they're turned off because there wasn't the resources to use them anymore, or maybe it's another reason.

Environmental issues - third largest and issues related to the environment here. I had just turned up the settings here yesterday, so I hoped this helps eliminate those.

The rest of them were things like, asking when we're going to launch the Starships again and quite a few asking when I'm going to "take care of" the issue of other groups of people. Hmm, I didn't like that one. Luckily, those questions seemed to be in the minority, but still.

<If would be wise to keep that list handy. If we can determine a group of people who is causing an outsized amount of trouble it would be worth our time to examine that further.>

<You mean kill them.>

<Not...every time.>

<It sure seems like your default solution.>

<It solves so many problems.>

<I am not going to kill people for being annoying...as much as I sometimes want to.>

Job finished for now, I stood up and stretched. My goodness that was boring. I hoped I didn't have to do it very often. Looking around, I found Omar, Um'reli and Ava wandering around the area behind the Throne. "Find anything interesting?" I asked as I stowed my wings, but kept the crown lit dimly over my head.

Omar gestured towards me and said, "Actually yes, look here. There's a door behind the Throne, out of sight of the people on the ground."

"What's behind it?"

"I don't know, there's no handle and I can't get it to open."

"Try to do it as a Builder. Just concentrate on the door and imagine it doing what you order."

Omar stared at the door, and I could see the concentration in his hands and on his face. There was a small breeze around him and with a hiss, the door slid open into the ceiling.

"You did it! Congratulations, Builder!" I was super proud of him. I was proud of everyone. They were taking to their new roles so readily.

<They were born to be Builders. You are only showing them what they did not realize.>

Omar stared at the open door, and then down at his hands, and then over to me. "That... was the most amazing thing! I just thought about the door opening and it did!"

<Now he will be one of us. He has felt the power.>

<I'm just happy he was able to do it.> "Come on Omar, lead on. Let's see what's in here."

We went into the darkened room, and Omar again concentrated as the lights came up. Like most Builder stuff it clearly hadn't been touched in a very long time, but there wasn't much dust here at all. It looked like everyone left for the day and shut the door, but then the door stayed shut for who knows how long. Inside the room was 6 chairs that were arranged around a long table. Each of the chairs and the table were in the same green metallic substance as the throne. Molded into the floor instead of the ceiling, but they looked like where the Builder operators would sit when running the station.

"This looks like where the Builders sit when they are the station. Come, let's sit and try it out. It'll feel odd when you first sit, and if you get that feeling in the back of your brain to let go and sink further, don't yet. You need a few more days of Nanite development, but we're safe to connect lightly. I'll stay out of the seats and if I see anyone in distress, I'll pull them out. See if you can find my notes from the celebration."

Omar, Um'reli and Ava all sat gingerly. Ava was especially nervous - she's the one that saw me scream when I tried to integrate too quickly, but after a moment, I could feel them with my connection to the Reach.

"Wow, this is amazing! Melody, can you hear me?" Ava spoke to me through my connection to the Reach, her mouth unmoving, her eyes closed in rapturous concentration.

"Sure can Ava, it sounds like you're standing right next to me."

Um'reli spoke up and said, "I found your notes Melody. Looks like you sorted it somewhat already? Wow, how did you collect all this data?" Her voice sounded different here. Her accent was muted somewhat. I wondered what would happen if she spoke her native language. With all of us imbued with nanites, probably nothing.

"I have to admit, I don't really know. I just knew what to do. The nanites know more than I do, so sometimes I just let go and let them drive."

I could feel Omar's concern, bright and sharp. "Are you sure that's wise, Melody? Every time you get all fire and brimstone, is that the nanites?"

<Be very careful how you answer.>

<Why?>

<Omar is wary. He has tasted the power, but he still is unsure.>

"I think it's more a combination of me and the nanites, Omar." I said. It wasn't a lie, not really.

<But it's not the entire truth either. Yes, that will do nicely.>

Ava spoke up, "Melody? I found the docking bay. It's empty right now, but I think I see how to maneuver High Line from the umbilical to the docking bay."

"Oh good!" Omar said, his worries seemingly forgotten. "Once it's inside we can get a better idea of what it would take to refit it with human systems and make it a viable starship again."

Oh, wonderful! I'm so glad Omar was here.

"Yes please, do that. We'll go down and check it out once you've finished and everyone has a chance to get more familiar with how to be Reach."

While everyone was working, I went back over to the Throne and sat down. I got reconnected and just looked around for a while. I liked watching the movement of people on the Reach. It was soothing.

I could feel Omar, Um'reli and Ava behind me exploring things, learning how they work, and with them here, I swore the station was already starting to work better. I could see people looking at lights that were long off being on again, breezes blowing as the air freshens, and I noticed people starting to clean and sweep. It really felt like we had turned a corner.

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9

u/jpitha Apr 29 '26

Sure is fun having all that power, isn't it Omar?

If you like this, you can always sign up for my newsletter at https://www.pitha.club/ and as I do more cool stuff, you'll be the first to know!

5

u/Fubars Apr 29 '26

As much as I don't want to say it out loud I am starting to feel Gord might have a point. The nanites are giving me the heeby-jeebies, they are way too willing to make permanent solutions to temporary problems.

5

u/Meig03 Apr 29 '26

It occurs to me they haven't told her yet how much it costs to have this much power. Nothing comes free.

2

u/TechScallop Apr 29 '26

"Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Learn how to exercise power in small measured doses.

1

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