***

A few hours later, Alan was aboard a dropship, headed towards the planet of Khersath. He’d said a brief farewell to Thiago and the rest of the group. Things were still a bit tense, but at least they weren’t outright hostile. Alan didn’t think he’d see too much of Thiago any time soon. Kitana, on the other hand, had agreed to try out for the Black Rose guild along with Alan.

Once the Titan was orbiting Khersath, Pharaoh sent Alan a message, letting Alan know that he was free to take the dropship wherever he wanted to go, and that he’d be in touch. Pharaoh was definitely involved in human politics, somehow. The Titan was an ambassador ship, after all, and Pharaoh was the captain. All these details and conversations seemed to blur in Alan’s mind though; he was now focused on one thing, and one thing only: Khersath.

Alan opened up a screen; it showed the shuttle’s descent, and Alan got his first look at the planet. It was distinctly portioned, each quadrant appearing remarkably different, even from space. Half the planet was muted grey, the color of endless buildings that spanned the planet, a single landmass divided into the living and merchant quadrants. The private quadrant was a familiar green and blue, small to medium continents as well as a smattering of islands. It looked beautiful, like Earth. The military quadrant was hidden, blocked by a massive blue shield of energy. A long queue of specks were lined up outside the quadrant, waiting for clearance to enter.

The central, final portion of Khersath lay beneath Alan: the Main Plaza, an open area of almost 250 square km, almost ten miles end to end, about a third the land area of New York City, all for a public square. At the center, Alan could make out the outline of a building large enough to be seen from space.

As the shuttle continued to descend towards the Main Plaza it weaved into an unimaginable flow of traffic, cutting in and out of lane after lane of strange looking spaceships, flying contraptions, airborne creatures and unknown beings. Dumbfounded, Alan stared as what looked to be a dragon arched straight upwards, almost crashing right into the shuttle as another spaceship chased after it, shooting a barrage of red laser fire at it. The spaceship had cloaking enabled, making it difficult for Alan to see. The pair were closely followed by a squadron of Administrator fighters trying to keep the peace.

Alan watched the screen as the surface of the planet came closer and closer, their destination highlighted, a gigantic, 100-floor skyscraper located on the east side of the plaza in the residential quadrant. The building was of an indistinct, chaotic shape, painted an aquatic blue among a series of similar buildings. Up until now Alan had held back his sense of disbelief, thinking that the technology and abilities in this game were unlikely, but possible. Now, he had to wonder. Was all this possible?