The iridescent fringe decor with pink uplighting and hypnotic centerpieces was dazzling. Servers with wearable trays around their waists wore metallic and robot-patterned leotards, while multicolored laser lights turned the setting into a cosmic blend of hues.The atmosphere was clearly designed for a party rather than a serious conference. With the use of projection mapping, this majestic dome was transformed into a kaleidoscope of psychedelic colors and a futuristic paradise. It was not just a location for business and profit, but also entertainment and socializing.After everyone was seated, the projections changed, showing now images of the items put for auction. Not all people there were watching the pictures. Instead, many were dancing on some weird hypnotic rhythms that were completely new for Shayla.Her awe for the event was interrupted by Tejeda’s exclamation. “Look! I think you have a competition. She is smoking hot!”As they

Glasses collided with dull, atonal clicks, while the waitresses of different alien species served the drinks. For Shayla, the rest of the people there were mere shadows sitting at distant tables, conversing through muffled murmurs.She took a sip of Tomengaria whiskey, emptying her glass. The drink burned her throat, falling into her belly like a burning ember. After Tejeda left, things had become boring for Shayla. The worst was the constant flirts she had to endure. Why had she agreed to attend the meeting in that red dress?A Globonian approached her table, nodding at her empty glass. "Do you want another one?"The massive man had a T-shirt that barely managed to hide his filth. He didn't seem to be a waiter, more like another man trying his luck with the little woman dressed in red. "No, thanks!""What a pity," he said from across the table, his fetid breath reaching her even so. "I like a woman who can hold her liquor."“And I like a man

Like a shuttle revving up for takeoff, the dome filled with a loud hum, shaking the table on which Tejeda and Shayla were leaning. Their growing uneasiness was worsened by the steady increase in volume and tone.Shayla pressed her hands over her ears as the continuous noise scraped at her brain. The commotion died down just when she felt she couldn't stand it any longer. She opened her eyes and took her hands away from her ears just in time to hear Uni1 speak."L-403 is now ready for action. We are not a tolerant race in general. But our curiosity for the Nubilae compels us to be lenient this time. We are scientists at heart, and we like knowledge. One of our deepest desires is to capture a Nubilae while he is still alive. I will give you two minutes to consider your surrender. We will even think about letting your companion leave."Shayla wanted to decipher what was beneath the smirk on Admiral Vologorn’s face. He had a plan now for sure, but was that for

Billions of years ago, a life-supporting planet imploded from its very core. The civilization that used to inhabit it developed weapon technology way above their intellect levels. I say this because technological advancement should be as high as their level of understanding of how to preserve their planet, especially before the process of colonizing other worlds.The debris left after the destruction of that planet, its name lost in time, scattered in multiple directions as the explosion threw them in a perpetual motion. Without friction forces, they kept moving through space. Some were simple masses formed from frozen water from the seas and oceans of the destroyed planet. One of these crashed on Nubilonia.It contained marine diatoms, carbon-based organisms, more specifically microalgae. When the ice melted under the perpetual sun of Nubilonia on the side where it was forever shining, those diatoms extracted silica from the sand in that desert and incorporated it int

A silver sky hovered over Sphitt, with shades of grey, orange, and cream lining its high-density rings. The three planetary rings were formed from dust, gas, and ice. I will let you guess which substance created each hue.The Interplanetary Police Headquarters towered over the entire city of Hitarra and beyond. In fact, the building was a town all by itself. The one thousand floors housed all the branches of the police. Also, high-ranking officials lived there with their families and, thus, certain levels were designated for schools, parks, and shops. One could stay there for a lifetime without leaving the Headquarters. The admirals did. Perhaps this was why they were so disconnected from reality.“Beautiful on the outside and wretched on the inside. Exactly like the people living here,” Tejeda whispered to himself as he reached the glass doors.In the color of the Interplanetary Police, the walls were all metallic blue, so polished that Tejeda could