Aliens and Apple Crumble

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Alena stood up, glad that they were finally moving on, though she wasn't looking forward to experiencing that dizzy side-effect again, even if it was a rather small cost for such transportation that on Earth, people were still trying to figure out.

However, Andrew suddenly froze, interrupting his own sentence that might have turned into another ramble should it have continued. She had no idea of why he froze, and it only served to make her uneasy, "There anything I should know about?" she said, but lowered her voice, since if a crowd could go in a frenzy over someone yelling 'fire', she didn't want to know how bad a room full of panicking aliens could be
 
"Only that it's got no brand on it. That's not a security drone, and if memory serves, there's probably a gun in there waiting to shoot me dead on the spot."
Bluntly put and to the point, Andrew's explanation would likely require no explanation. He was a man on the run, and that drone would not be giving him a cake. Yet, even as he dragged Alena hastily away, he couldn't help but think there was something else to it - something about how it was scanning every now and again, a minute red light flashing on it whenever it seemed to find something. He didn't feel easy about leaving it there, but the recall beam (which was essentially an evacuation trans-mat beam installed on his ship) would do it job.
 
It took a moment for Alena to realize that he was talking about the mini-helicopter-device that she saw flying only a few minutes earlier. And here she thought it was some child's toy... She hurried along with him, though she still managed to be dragged, usually the positions were switched with Alena leading ahead and expecting whoever was following her to catch up. Even if she wasn't the target, she was still screwed if he was killed; she'd be stranded on what was to her an unknown planet, the only facts she knew were whatever tidbits Andrew chose to tell her. Not only that, she'd probably be arrested due to association with the man who managed to seriously get on the bad sides of over half the galaxy. Why did she go again? To escape her brain being turned to mush? Would that have even happened?
 
"Come along Dejanole. The heat on the slopes'll mess up its targeting system. Whoever sent it out here must not be very smart, that thing was designed for use in sub-sub-zero temperatures. That reminds me, there's this planet in the outer reaches of the Valgon Galaxy, with warm snow. Warm snow! You've got people running around in summer clothes, in the snow! Even in all my travels, that's still brilliant."
Having gone off on a tangent once again, Andrew had only barely noticed that he had stepped through the portal. Conveniently, it had a sign above it, saying 'This Way to Slopes.' It seemed to be only one way, judging by the fact that nobody came out of it, but that made little difference to anything. Upon materialising on the target destination, a wondrous sight would be seen. A gargantuan volcano, one that made Everest seem like a molehill by comparison, had lava spewing continuously from it, never relenting. It only seemed to trickle downwards, at a rate that could be walked faster. Even so, people still managed to ski down in, on what appeared to be normal skis - some even used a board. The entire surface was caked in the molten rock, with an obsidian-like series of high-walled walkways constituting a means of getting around. Anyone who had the misfortune to drop into the liquid, would be picked out of it by drones, and would promptly be put back at the top of the slope, where they could either choose to start from a different area, or pack it in altogether. Upon closer inspection, they seemed to be shielded by a sky-blue force field, one that surrounded them - hugging closely to their body - as soon as they were in close proximity to the lava. They were activated by heat, so as soon as anyone who had signed in stepped into the heat outside, they would be cooled to a comfortable temperature. Remarkable technology to some, but to the rest of the universe, it was fairly basic.
 
Well, Andrew seemed to have bounced back fairly quickly from the grave tone he had earlier, perhaps he was just used to this? She could imagine that, and he did mention that apparently the thing was made for sub-sub-zero temperatures. What first came to mind was anything that stepped outside was turned into a frozen-ice statue in such temperatures, but hey, if they could somehow manage to stand being a planet made out of the surface of a volcano... But anyways, the thing would probably melt as soon as it got outside, right? Though a gut feeling told her that probably wasn't all concerning his enemies, heck, for all she knew, he might have managed to make himself an outlaw on this one too.

Apparently she didn't notice that she stepped through either, but it soon became apparent to her, with the visuals sharply changing from the crowded reception to what was the surface of the planet, at first seeming like a closer look of what she had seen earlier on the ship. She felt some dizziness come to her again, or maybe that was what she could describe as 'stuffy' air. Probably both. However, it didn't take long for her to notice the humongous volcano, and so close too. She rarely stepped out of the city, so any mountains up close would have been quite a sight, and seeing the volcano was almost like seeing all the aliens for the first time.

While she still tried to play the 'pretentious, cool' client role, she showed a bit of a grimace, her mouth slightly open at the sight of what appeared to be a tourist on skis (and they seemed to be normal one too, surely just in appearance) falling into the lava. She wondered how many lawsuits they got, if you could possibly file any here- that thought was soon interrupted when she saw the same tourist not a charred, falling apart skeleton, but rather perfectly okay as some machine picked them out. If anything, they seemed unfaltered, ready to go for another round, "How's he...?" she slipped out, unintentionally thinking out loud as she peered closer, seeing some sort of blue force around some of the other visitors.
 
"Heat dependent field generators. Anyone gets too close to the lava for comfort, and the generator detects it. Projects a force field around them, before they fall in, and drones then go and put them back. Of course, to everyone else, this just seems like a banal safety measure. Like handrails, on Earth."
The slightly offhand comment was elaborated upon no further, and the traveller paced purposefully off to the right. 'Ski and Board Hire' the sign read, and most likely held a selection of boards and skis for hire, by people who had paid for the right to use them. In an almost childlike manner, Andrew flitted about the racks and shelves, seeming like a young boy in a sweet shop. He was simply assessing which ones would work best for him, outside of size. It was worth noting that lava skiing was only vaguely similar to snow skiing, so the shape and texture of the skis and boards would be slightly different.
Instructors for beginners were being advertised, but Baker had been before, so he supposed they weren't needed. Though, given that he was inconsistent at the best of times, Alena entrusting him with her safety was a topic up for debate.
 
"Oh." Alena said, accepting the explanation as she quickly followed him towards where there were various skis and boards for rent. She looked around the shop, she didn't have to glance at the equipment to tell that it had to be different from 'normal's skis and boards, since it would be absolutely insane to go down a volcano with what was back at the ski resorts on Earth. ... Though doing such a thing wouldn't have ranked too far up with what she saw so far.

Finally noticing how he was browsing the shop, she couldn't help but be amused, a slight smile spreading across her face, even if he probably had some semblance of what he was doing... hopefully. Obviously he was going to go down one of the volcanoes, and he might have expected her to go with her. While she did contemplate asking to just stay at the bottom, a strange sort of courage rose within her, ready to take the challenge. She might as well have the full experience, right? And her safety was guaranteed with those Heat-field-things anyways.

Don't ask yourself 'what could possibly go wrong?', you know what happens when you ask that question.
 
"Are you coming or not?"
Now clutching a board that resembled what would happen if you spread cow skin over an ironing board in one hand, while placing the other irritatedly upon his hip, Andrew looked towards Alena, expecting her to know what sort of skiis or board she should pick. Granted, they were all uniform in how standard-quality they were, the only difference being the size. Andrew had seemed to pick his less-than-subtly-coloured one on a complete whim - some would doubt he even knew he was holding a board. Yet he, a person who did not think about his actions, seemed to have the audacity to hurry someone else along. He'd help, if need be - he would pick something for her if she took much longer. And then, there was the glint just behind the counter - but it could easily have been a stray piece of obsidian. He shrugged it off, for the time being, but still kept his guard up a little.
 
Alena realized that he had expected her to pick her own board, she thought that he would do that for her, seeing as how she didn't know where to begin with... well, anything outside of Earth really, "Oh, yeah, sure. Don't get your panties in a bunch." she said, waving a hand but also glancing among all the boards. Should she pick one of the more ridiculous looking boards like Andrew had, or maybe that was just him being eccentric? Though perhaps skis would be easier. She'd be just as clueless on Earth at some resort as she was here. She could ask Andrew, but then him telling her everything there was to know about this might take even longer combined with how he tended to ramble. She picked out a pair of blue skis that were subtly shaped differently than they would be on Earth.

"Alright, lets go. Well, after you pay for um' of course." she said, tucking the skis under her arm.
 
A slightly sheepish look crossed Andrew's face - evidently, he had encountered an awkward position. Namely, the fact that he forgot he still had to pay for rentals. He had paid for permission to use the slope, not for equipment. So, he handedthe necessary payment over to the bored clerk at the desk, who was too busy attempting the crossword on her(?) desk to notice the fact she was being paid by one of the most wanted men in the universe. She waved him off with a half-hearted 'Stay safe and have fun,' and returned to seven-thousand, eight-hundred and fifty-three across. Andrew pondered for a moment, before judging the slopes' height and position, amongst other things. Roughly once a week, the volcano erupted though the lava was rendered inert by the field generators. While some liked the experience of being flung about by nature, more tame indivduals liked to just watch it up close. And, judging by the lava flow and other factors, the volcano would erupt at around midnight.
"Come along, then. You want to take the beginner's slope?"
 
Alena was glad that she had apparently reminded Andrew about paying for the equipment, if only because more than once had someone tried to sneak off with some merchandise from her stand, although she ran her stand independently and somewhat depended on what others paid her. As Andrew paid the clerk of ambiguous gender, she looked at a local magazine out of curiosity. She might as well try to be sort of informed about what was going on here, even if she wouldn't be able to read anything- Or, to her surprise, maybe she could, since the magazine appeared to be printed in English. She wouldn't have thought it to be that common of a language, if anything she seemed to be the 0.1% here, unless Andrew had some device that translated text too. She shrugged her shoulders.

She glanced over sections of the magazines, seeing that it was sort of like those on Earth, but with a wider range. Instead of states and countries, there were planets and galaxies. Corrupt politicians (that didn't surprise her)... Some new 'Egoractic Booster' (whatever that was)... The wanted list...

"Oh, yeah, sure," she said, not getting too far into the wanted list as she tucked back the magazine, "So, this is like regular skiing and snowboarding, right? Just... rockier with lava?"
 
"And that I'll probably have to teach you how to keep your balance. The sub-repulsors only keep you on the surface, and lava isn't solid. Come along then, there's work to be done."
Andrew marched purposefully out of the door, ignored thoroughly by the desk attendant. It was hard to place whether he was eager, breezy, free spirited, or any number of things. He was, however, one thing for certain - wary. The helicopter-like object had been designed for much colder climes, but the fact remained that somebody had wanted to observe something, and that someone wasn't staff. He shook his head, ridding himself of such thoughts - he was here to enjoy himself, and have his companion experience the thrill of the universe. Not ponder over such matters.
 
As Alena followed Andrew out the door, a wave of heat came over her again, and the stuffy air that she had felt earlier returned. She was starting to regret not asking Andrew about how this sort of stuff worked earlier, if only because she wasn't looking forward to falling in lava no matter how protected she was from it, she sort of doubted that the same shields would protect her from any scraps she might get from the rocks. How... eccentric Andrew was being distracted her from how cautious he was, though what had appeared earlier, the robot that Andrew described, still lingered on her mind. She didn't focus too much on it, her thoughts mostly focusing on skiing on a volcano and the planet itself, but occasionally it'd come up, like if you worried about the house being robbed while on vacation.
 
The walk along the raised platform, strangely enough, never changed temperature throughout its entire course. While the temperature control units had no hope of suppressing and controlling heat as the people attempting to wanted, suppression was not impossible, and was being done at that very moment, for each and every individual in the area. Andrew, meanwhile, was busying himself with 'sonic-ing' any security device within the vicinity. It was obvious that he did not feel easy about something, for even with his blatant disregard for social norms, such behaviour was not typical of him. However, upon reaching the exit to the training slope, he returned his 'keys' to his pocket, and donned his skis.
"Now," he said, his mood swinging right to him being informative once again, "The trick to getting these on is to put it in slowly. The plastic inside uses the heat to mould itself around your foot, so…"
The explanation, while thorough enough, was simple and efficient. However, teaching her how to ski on lava would be more of a challenge than he had ever faced of anything before.
 
Now Andrew's uneasiness was more apparent to Alena as they walked, and in turn she began to feel the same, looking around, the heat seeming to be more annoying than it was before. She knew that her safety wasn't guaranteed with this guy, as she was warned before, but he was the leading her through this, seeming like a galactic encyclopedia, and when something seemed wrong to him, then... She looked up, did there happen to be any other, heat-resistant bots out here?

"Right, right." she said, nodding as she glanced at the skis under her arm, appreciating the brief and uncomplicated explanation, though she was starting to think that this might not be as hard as it seemed, at least until she caught a glimpse of a guy flinging himself off the slopes, splashing into lava for a bot to pick him right up, "Anything else? Or are we ready to go?"
 
"well, there is one thing that you should know, but it's for the less adventurous among us. And that, is as follows - don't look down. Actually, that's just common sense, but it's more applicable to the people who feel uncomfortable skiing over lava on an alien planet while their only protection is a Grade Four protective field. Believe me, someone got scared at seeing a Carpva leap across their path - a Carpva! It's just a carp, you know. Just a little more... Lava-y. Anyhow, allons-y!"
Without a further word, the skis were moulded over Andrew's feet, and he himself stepped clumsily out onto the molten rock. His hand, outstretched towards Alena, seemed strangely clean - almost as if his constant travels had never left even so much as a small graze on him. Though they had, there was an explanation for such a thing as him not having any scars from anything, but he deemed it better not to tell her until he felt the time was right. It hardly seemed important at the time, but the camera still preyed on his thoughts, eating away at him, causing him to constantly shift his thoughts back to what the thing was doing there.
 
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