Notes from the author:
Hello reader. Welcome to part four of Ask Alice. In the first three installments I left the reader with a relatively complete tale. Part four got a little long so I'm breaking it up into two installments. Hopefully it's still a good read. The next half will be published as soon as possible.
*****
Part One-Imperial Navy Space station orbiting planet New Nippon... sometime in the future.
So this is what zero gravity feels like, Alice thought with delight as she floated with a slight spin above the floor of the space elevator. Her best friend Joy Maeda floated next to her giggling like a fool.
"We were told to keep our seats," a stern and slightly ill looking young woman said. She was strapped snugly in a seat in a line of them to Alice's right.
"Come on Ishani," Joy said to the woman." loosen up, have some fun."
The mention of the young woman's name caught Alice's attention. Two mirrors ago Ishani was the makeup girl at a movie set Alice visited. Like the other Ishani, this one was dark skinned and very beautiful even though she was on the verge of being ill.
"Watching you guys spin is really gonna make me barf," Ishani said, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "Told you I wanted to take the full gravity ride up."
"Where's the fun in that?" Joy said as she spun in a circle, her long dark hair floated around her head in a goofy halo that made Alice laugh.
A chime sounded followed by an announcement.
"Gravity will return in thirty seconds. Please make sure that all possessions are secure. If you are not in a secure seat, make sure that your feet are oriented correctly. Blue surfaces will be the new down when the elevator stops."
Alice scrambled to get back in her seat. Joy and the few other brave floating people propel themselves to the blue wall at one end of the elevator. None of them seem overly worried about the returning gravity so Alice turned and pulled herself along the seats to join them.
"Gravity returning in ten seconds," the announcer said over the steady chiming. "nine... eight... seven... "
"We would never be allowed to do this on a regular civilian trip up," Joy said as she pressed her back to the the blue wall.
Alice did the same and she frowned... Did Joy just say civilian? Are we in some future army or something? Alice's stomach did a flip flop and it had nothing to do with the returning gravity. I'm am so fucked if I'm in some futuristic space army, she thought.
Alice's weight returned and her back press down onto the blue carpeted floor. What she had thought of as the floor seconds before was now a yellow carpeted wall. The rows of harness seats stretched above her. A mechanical whine filled the space as the seats reoriented themselves to the new down.
"Please exit through the glowing orange hatches," the announcer said.
Alice watched the people in the seats above her file off to their right in the direction of flashing orange doorways.
"You getting up lazy ass?" Joy asked standing over Alice. Joy offered a hand and pulled Alice to her feet. Joy wore a black cotton skirt and a nice comfortable looking gray top. The Joy Maeda of this world was physically identical to Alice's best friend from two mirrors ago. Alice was barely five feet but that still put her a couple of inched above Joy. Alice's slim figure with A-cup breasts seem voluptuous compared to Joy's petite frame. Alice had her beat in every bodily category except perhaps the butt. Joy's ass was always ripe and kicking to Alice's opinion. That particular feature of Joy was well displayed as Alice followed her up a ladder to get to one of the flashing orange exits. Alice couldn't help but notice that Joy wore bright pink panties.
"Stop looking up my skirt you fucking pervert!" Joy said.
Alice laughed for the Joy Maeda of her world would have said the exact same thing.
They stepped into a white luminescent hall that curved and wound upward opening up into a large light infused space made of glass and steel that looked a lot like a shopping mall. Hell it WAS a shopping mall! On a deck above them Alice saw a sign for McDonald's. On her level, next to a place called No Kill Kobe Beef & Sushi was a Starbucks!
"All honorary Imperial cadets gather here please," a tall blond woman holding what looked like a razor thin I-pad called out.
"That be us," Ishani said standing joining Joy and Alice. Ishani was an inch taller than Alice. She wore a florescent skirt, fuchsia tights and a lime green top. The combination of colors made Alice's eyes hurt. Ishani's eye makeup and lipstick was just as flashy as her outfit. Most the group of so called honorary cadets were dressed in the same gaudy fashion. Oddly, even the men wore eye make.
"What are you wearing?" Ishani asked Alice frowning at the the Rolling Stones symbol of lips and hanging tongue depicted on her t-shirt. Alice rolled her eyes. She now wished she had put more thought into picking her clothes back in 1983 Los Vegas... barely an hour ago for her.
"Blue jeans and a holy stone t-shirt," Joy answered for her.
"Rolling Stones," Alice automatically corrected.
Ishani said, "Nina, search Rolling Stones, please."
Alice looked around for this Nina person Ishani was speaking to.
Ishani pulled out a wafer thin cell phone and pointed it at Alice's chest. "Search that image too."
"The Rolling Stones were a popular rock n roll band in the mid to late twentieth century Earth," came a soft female voice from the cell phone. "Would you like to hear a song?"
"Sure, Nina," Ishani said.
'Sympathy for the Devil' came out of Ishani's phone and Alice barked an involuntary laugh at hearing the old familiar rock tune in this strange futuristic place.
"That's by Nova Sin from Orion II," Joy said.
"No," Ishani said, "it was done by an older band. I think it was Red Sand from Mars."
"Both those bands made covers of Sympathy for the Devil," said, Nina's voice coming from Ishani's phone. "But it originated with the Rolling Stones from earth."
"Thanks, Nina," Ishani said.
Alice wondered if Nina was a friend or relative of Ishani's.
"Didn't know you were into old Earth rock bands," Joy said.
"Um... the Stones are great," Alice said lamely. "I like Nirvana too." Weirdly, Alice had considered those bands to be ancient history back in 2014.
The blond woman with the razor thin I-pad spoke over everyone else.
"Orientation for all skin-fighter trainees will go with Carmen."
"That be you and me," Joy said to Alice with a lusty tone and a gleam in her eyes. The Joy Maeda from Alice's world used that same expression when checking out hot guys.
"You guys are gonna ace this," Ishani said, excited for her friends. "Especially you Alice. All time highest marks for a civilian trainee."
"Bet you get a free ride at Imperial Academy," Joy said sounding a little envious.
"It's because she studies," Ishani said. "Unlike you party girl."
Joy gave Ishani the finger.
Oh my God, Alice thought, I'm gonna ruin this Alice's career because I know shit about being... what did I-pod blond call us? Skin-fighters? What the fuck was that! Do we strip down naked in this future world and duke it out in some kind of arena? Visions of Mad Max and the Hunger Games flashed through her mind.
"None skin-fighter trainees come with me," I-pod blond yelled as she backed up and waved for people to follow.
"That be me," Ishani said and shuffled off with the larger group of people.
"Johannes, Kang, Matisse, Mihara, please stay here for a special interview," Carmen, the person in charge of the skin-fighters called out. The skin-fighters not singled out followed Carmen.
"Already, standing out," Joy said. "Goddess be with you." She hugged Alice and then trotted off with her designated group.
Panic gripped Alice as she watched the Joy Maeda of this strange new world walk away.
"You four come with me," came a stern female voice.
A tall, dark skinned woman with Polynesian features stood looking at the cadets with an expression of bored contempt, she had long black hair done up in tight dreadlocks, her eye were painted pure black with sliver highlights giving her a stern almost sinister look. She wore a dark blue, skin tight outfit that left nothing to the imagination. Every plane and curve of her body was well define. Fortunately for her she had one hell of a body. In her hands was a I-pad thing like the blond had. The woman turned crisply and strode away. The three young cadets, all female, fell in step behind her. Alice considered not following. Perhaps she could hide out in the Starbucks just a few feet away. Its familiarity pulled at her like iron fillings to a magnet. She quickly nixed running off for if she truly were in some kind of space army they would probably just arrest her for desertion. Alice broke into a run to catch up with the group and fell in step.
"Look at her butt," one of the cadets whispered.
It was hard not to. Their guide had what Joy would call a sprinter's ass, round full and solid.
"Those are the new skin-suits," another in the group whispered.
"I think that they're obscene," another commented.
"All Navy personnel will be wearing these by years end," their stern escort said without looking back. "It's form fitting because the skin-suit is the essential first layer in operating a space suit. Before these new skin-suits came along a person had to remove their standard navy jumper, put on the old skin-suit and then the space suit. With a hull breach who has that kind of time? In fact, these new suits can serve as an emergence space suit in a pinch. And I agree with you Johannes, the new skins are obscene... but that's what I like that about them."
Cadet Johannes' face flushed red.
"Excuse me ma'am," another in the group said.
