“Zero six point one, this is dispatch. You have a pickup scheduled.”

“Holy throne, Koviia, you've scared me!”

“That was the point, zero six point one. You're late. Something's wrong?”

“Can you just call me Schaw? You know, all these numbers make me feel small, insignificant.”

“You are small and insignificant... Schaw.”

“Ah, you see? Now I still feel miserable, but at least it sounds more personal.”

“Too much talk, zero six point one. I've asked you a question.”

“Yeah, yeah... I was taking a smoke break, alright? Was just about to light up my stick, but you've come up right in the middle of me doing it.”

“It's your second break for today already... Besides, smoking is bad for your health, especially in your line of work.”

“Thanks, mom, I'll keep that in mind.”

“You do that. Now hurry up and go to the pickup point.”

“Can I first—”

“No.”

“Fine. Checking the coordinates now.”

“You should've done it six standard seconds ago.”

“Give me a break, Koviia.”

“You've just had one, second time for the day.”

“Ha-ha, funny. I'm heading out.”

“You do that, Schaw.”

Schaw glanced at the coordinates, made sure he arrived at the pickup point, then sighed, seeing tiny purple creatures crawling up the windshield, scratching it with their nasty-looking claws.

“Why can't you just ignore me, little ones,” he said without much hope in his voice and turned on the wipers. “I'm driving the same routes every day. Would be nice if we both could… you know, get used to each other, maybe coexist even…”

With hissing and popping sounds, the creatures began dissipating from the windshield the moment wipers touched them, leaving purple marks on the tempered glass.

“Have to clean these stains one day…” Schaw sighed again looking at the long streaks. “And then polish the glass, it's scratched all over.”

He finally saw a pair waiting for him, carefully drove towards them and connected the airlock, hearing the sound of decompression once it started to open.

“You're late,” said one of the two, or rather spat the words out like something she refused to digest. She was tall and slim, with sharp features. Her cheekbones looked like two razors framing her haughty face, and her voice was cold and filled with expressive superiority.

“Yes,” Schaw thought about a proper form of addressing her and couldn't come up with anything better than: “ma'am. I’m sor—”

“Don't talk to me," she snapped with arrogant dismissal, “just drive.”

Making sure that her companion was inside, Schaw closed the airlock and disconnected the vessel. The couple paid him no further attention, as though he was some object serving a simple purpose, part of the transportation system, delivering them where and when they wanted. For his own sake, Schaw rationally decided not to engage in any kind of further contact and simply drove them to their destination point.

“I've told you, several times in fact, I'm in no mood for this... festivities,” the one who talked to Schaw earlier addressed her companion once they took off. “Why have you insisted on going?”

“Listen, Muu'raa,” her companion replied, “if you think I am doing this out of pleasure, you are terribly mistaken.” His voice was as cold and arrogant as hers, but also had shrill notes in it, as if he was on the verge of shrieking, but felt it too low for him to actually do that. “The higher ups have demanded us to come,” he continued. “And so we have to come.”

“Since when do you care about higher ups demands?” Muu'raa asked him with a venomous sneer.

“Since the moment when it can bring me promotion and personal benefits,” he answered in his shrill arrogant voice, ignoring the mocking. “I will not miss an opportunity to get me that title I've told you about.”

“Oh, you and your titles…” Muu'raa produced a long sigh filled with barely hidden disgust. “How many more do you need? No,” she raised her hand, preventing his reply, “don't answer that rhetorical question.” She sighed again, louder this time. “I don't even have anything new to wear for the occasion…”

“I've just paid for this…” her companion vaguely gestured at the extravagant tenue she wore.

Involuntarily glancing at the reflection in the rear view mirror, Schaw realized he couldn't even describe it properly: the clothes resembled something coming from a different world, a mass of floating fabric circling around a thin body inside of it.

“Whatever you call it,” Muu'raa's companion added, probably also having no idea what to call the clothes.

“Oh, this?” Muu'raa's long finger ending with a very sharp and dangerously looking acid-green nail pointed at her chest. “Just picked up the first thing that seemed appropriate for the soirée.” Schaw noticed that, despite having almost the same disdainful tone as before, she was pleased with her companion’s remark. “It's nothing, really…”

“It sure as void didn't look like nothing when I saw the price. A real leather from Ist—”

“Not now!” she hushed him, indicating Schaw's presence with her eyes. “We shouldn't talk about it here.” The last word sounded like an insult, as if Schaw's vessel was something abysmal and disgusting and she had to cope with the fact of being temporarily stuck there.

“Yes,” slightly bewildered, her companion nodded in agreement, “we should not. You are right,” he admitted and Muu'raa produced a little, carefully measured smile of satisfaction.

“I am,” she said, then quickly resumed her complaining: “I hope Thie'Gui won't be there. That little contemptuous…”

Schaw stopped listening, not expecting to hear anything else interesting, and focused on the driving. The little purple creatures kept hitting the windshield with their regular ferocious tenacity and he once again thought about the cost of cleaning and repairing the glass.

When they arrived at the destination, Muu'raa and her companion left without saying anything to Schaw, barely noticing his presence. For them he was a tiny part of a mechanism that had served its purpose and was no longer needed.

He followed them with his gaze, seeing the couple entering a luxuriously looking structure he could never be able to even approach. His world was not part of theirs and vice versa. There was an abyss between them and for his own sake he should avoid staring into it for too long. All he could allow himself was take a brief glimpse and even that could be considered an offense if they noticed it.

Once the couple had disappeared behind an immense golden portal of the structure’s entrance, leading them to their high life and constant prosperity, Schaw looked at the old and scratched front panel in his cabin and checked the ride details and his personal rating.

They had left him one skull, without any comments, and a very generous tip, which was their way of insulting him. So very typical of their kind, Schaw thought while reaching for his pocket for a smoke, but a sudden loud beeping sound prevented him from that.

“Zero six point one, this is dispatch.”

“For throne’s sake, Koviia,” Schaw exclaimed, trying to mask his fright caused by her call, “use my name! Please?” For some reason he said it as a question, then added calmer: “Can I have a moment to smo—”

“You can't,” she interrupted. “A new ride is waiting. Check the pickup location.”

“Great,” Schaw rolled his eyes, giving up. “Fine, heading out.”

“It's a green one,” Koviia added in a slightly warning tone.

“What?” Hearing her words, Schaw even slowed down for an instant. “Koviia, no! We've talked about it already. Last time I had a green one, I needed to spend a week fixing the salon. They just can't…” he thought about the right word for a moment, then let it out: “behave! They just smash everything they see.”

“Are you done?” Koviia asked in a bored voice. “Passenger's waiting.”

“Have you heard what I've just said?”

“I have,” she replied with a yawn, “and I don't care. You are the closest vessel we have for that one and the client has an excellent personal rating.”

“An excellent rating?” Schaw’s brows flew up. “How's that even possible for a green one?”

“No idea. You can ask the client yourself.”

“Koviia, please…” But she already hung up on him, and Schaw had no other option but to pick up his next client.

It was a big one, very big, though it should probably go without saying. Every time Schaw saw one of them, their tremendous proportions made him tremble in primal unstoppable fear that wrapped him like a cloud of inevitable doom and despair. A huge green figure covered with bulging muscles was just waiting outside, not needing any protection, airlock connection, decompression, and all the rest of the safety measures. The client was simply standing and waiting for the ride, as if it was just another sunny day in the park. The tiny angry creatures, for some only to them known reasons, avoided the mountain of green flesh, passing by it, as though pretending it was not there.

Before letting the client in, Schaw carefully checked the integrity of the cabin and its isolation from the passenger section, making sure it wouldn’t be possible to reach him. Then, with a quiet curse, he opened the airlock, mentally preparing for the worst.

The enormous figure went in, instantly taking all the available space, barely managing to squeeze in there. A green menacing mass of pure brutality was all Schaw could see behind him. He unconsciously swallowed, having serious doubts about the security of his cabin and his chances of living through the ride.

After some intensive fidgeting, the passenger glanced at Schaw and growled: “Go-go.” It sounded like one word, and it was hard to tell if that was an order or a polite request. They had their own unique ways of expressing their feelings and desires, these green ones.

Schaw decided not to say anything, being quite surprised by the fact that the giant green body was rather calm and quiet once its owner got as close to being comfortable inside the narrow space as possible for such impressive proportions.

For some time both of them remained silent and Schaw couldn’t decide if that was actually a good thing. So far he had never had a quiet peaceful ride with this kind of passengers and he was starting to get afraid that something was about to happen.

“U haz muzik?” the passenger’s low growling voice threw Schaw from his grim thoughts right back into reality.

“Sorry what?” Schaw kinda understood the accent, just couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

“Muzik,” the passenger said, then added, trying to clarify further: “Dum-dum… Tra-ta-ta…”

The bulk of the tremendous body moved, trying to support the words with gestures, but that made the vessel’s walls squeak, clearly indicating there was not enough space for any minor movements, so in the end the passenger stopped doing that and said again: “Dum-du—”

“Music, yes, I understand,” Schaw said quickly, trying to prevent the need for any further explanations that could anger the client.

He had no idea where this was all going to and just hoped for the best. Though, at the same time the situation started to amuse him slightly, making him wonder what type of passenger he’d just got.

“Do you have any preferences?”

Schaw instantly regretted his words’ choice, realizing that could be an overkill. He was about to rephrase it in simpler terms, but suddenly the passenger replied: “Me likez clazik.”

“Classic?” Schaw was so surprised, he even shrieked a little.

“Aye, piano and violin.” For some unknown reason these two instruments' names were pronounced flawlessly. “Me very likez diz two.”

“Piano and violin,” dumbfounded, Schaw repeated the request, “classic, yes. Let me see what I have here.”

He reached for the knob on the front panel, turning the music on, then tried to find something as close to classic as he could have in his small collection.

“I think, this should do…” he muttered, more to himself, once again hoping that his choice would not cause any disagreements with the passenger. Music preferences had always been a very sensitive topic after all.

“Gut, me knowz diz,” the client said and Schaw couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw something vaguely resembling a smile, appearing like a crack in the rocky surface of the slab of a green face. “Gut muzik,” the passenger made an attempt to shake the head to the rhythm, but stopped doing that right away when the vessel swayed by the movement. “Tank u.”

Schaw honestly thought he forgot how to speak once he heard a gratitude coming from the green muscle mass behind him.

“Erm…” it took him a moment to be able to reply. “You’re welcome… I’m… Glad you like it.”

“Mhm…” the giant murmured, blissfully listening to the music. “Me likez violin part here.”

Schaw realized he’d never actually paid any attention to the mentioned part. For him it had always been just another tune, but now he could clearly hear the violin, as the passenger noticed.

“You…” Schaw hesitated, remembering his intention to avoid any extensive verbal exchange with the client, but his curiosity took over. “You play any instrument?” he asked at last.

“Aye, drumz.” Hearing that, Schaw let out a quiet sigh of relief. The world hadn’t gone completely off the rails after all. That was the only instrument that seemed to be fitted to the giant. “Me tried violin,” the passenger continued and Schaw’s doubts about the world’s normality came back. “Not work wi me,” a tremendous amount of air came out from the green mouth and Schaw came to the conclusion that it was potentially a sad sigh. “Very litl, very… trickzy instrument. Me handz very big, break it alwayz.”

“Oh…” Schaw ran out of ideas of a proper reaction and just added: “Sorry to hear it.”

“Tankz,” more sad air came out from the green mouth, filling up the passenger section, and Schaw was glad it was isolated, he could only imagine the smell of… whatever his client used to digest.

“You play in a band?” Schaw once again couldn’t remain silent. The fact that he was having a normal conversation with such a passenger was something so out of the ordinary that he let his guard down a little.

“Band?” the passenger considered the question for a moment. “Aye… Me in band. We all in band. Wa-a-a…” the rising growling sound began coming out from the dark depths of the passenger’s throat. Schaw got pale and desperately sought for any kind of prayer to produce, coming to the conclusion that it was probably the last thing he was about to hear, but the sound suddenly got cut off. “Soz…” the passenger said in confusion. “Me haz diz… habit,” the word was clearly very unnatural and hard to pronounce for the green mouth surrounded by the long sharp fangs. “Sometime me just wantz to say diz. Den it all getz very fuzzy and me can’t remember what happenz next…”

Schaw knew exactly what would happen next if the passenger actually said what was about to be said and it was not at all fuzzy for him. In fact, he had quite clearly seen the results of it before, but decided not to go into any explanation and was just happy that it didn’t come to that this time.

“We have arrived.” It was very hard for Schaw to hide his relief when he was saying that. He glanced at some sort of an enormous gate near which he parked, or rather a pile of suspiciously-looking materials, very closely resembling garbage of all sorts. It was painted in yellow and black and looked like a frame of a gaping wound in the void that somehow managed to serve a certain purpose.

“Tank u,” the passenger said, making tremendous efforts to get out of the narrow space of the vessel and not to break it in the process. “Gut talkz.”

“Yes, very… gut,” Schaw unconsciously mimicked the passenger’s accent. “Good luck with your… music.”

“Tank u,” the giant said again, then turned around, holding the vessel’s door and not letting Schaw close it. “Me wantz giv u many skulz,” Schaw got pale again, but then he saw that the passenger was showing him five muscled fingers spread in all directions and realized that meant his rating for the ride.

“Oh, that’s very… kind of you.”

“Mhrm…” that was probably some sound of acknowledgement. “Diz for u.” One of the green fingers pointed inside of the vessel, Schaw followed it, and saw a ball of mud lying on the floor.

“Oh…” there was only one possible way of reacting to that, if he wanted to keep his head on his shoulders, and Schaw was evidently intended to do so. “That is very generous,” he said, inserting as much fake gratitude in his voice as he could. “Thank you very much.”

“Mhrm…” the giant said in return, let go of the vessel's door and the shovel of his hand waved at Schaw. “Ba-bye,” with that, he turned around and walked towards the monstrous yellow and black gate.

“What was that?” Schaw managed to say, once he closed the door and increased the distance between him and the giant passenger to feel relatively safe again.

“That was a tip,” he flinched, suddenly hearing Koviia’s voice. “I wouldn’t recommend taking it though.”

“A tip?” It took Schaw a moment to figure out that Koviia was talking about the ball of mud left by the passenger.

“Yeah, seems like the client really liked you,” Koviia chuckled. “You might even get a chance to receive five skulls from that one. Well… if such logs of fingers manage to press the right buttons.”

“Have to clean this now,” Schaw complained, turning around and looking at the floor of the passenger section, preparing to see mud smeared all over it. “Wait a sec…” He stared at the place where the client had left a ball of mud, but instead of it there was a shiny brick-shaped object. “It looks like… gold?” he raised a brow in surprise.

“Can be, yeah,” Koviia acknowledged. “You know, when these green ones really focus on believing in something, it may actually happen. Perhaps this one wanted to believe that mud was gold. I still wouldn’t recommend touching it,” she noticed thoughtfully. “They always leave their spores all over… Then you’ll have a cute little green family right behind your cabin.”

“No thanks,” Schaw pressed a few buttons, activating the decontamination procedures in the passenger section. “I prefer to remain a child-free bachelor.”

“Good,” Koviia said, “that means you’ll have more time to work. New clients are waiting already. Hurry up.”

Schaw was about to argue, but in the end just let it go and set up the new route.

“Salutations, good sir,” was the first thing Schaw heard when a pair of new clients went inside. “Your aura looks… cosmically fantastic!”

“Great, these ones…” Schaw muttered, barely moving his lips, almost like saying it in his mind rather than actually pronouncing the words. He immediately cursed, realizing that the client had a certain amount of skills allowing him to basically read others minds. “Good time of day… whatever it is at the moment,” he said louder, trying to quickly change the subject and glancing at the strip of cloth that was covering the first passenger’s eyes.

“Indeed,” the passenger confirmed, “in this environment we have no idea if it’s a night or a day, right, Viala?” he addressed his companion who got inside once he’d moved further, letting her in.

“I have an idea,” she said dryly. “Contrary to you, I can see it quite well.”

“Oh you and your silly little jokes,” he waved her off, “I’d rather say you see too much.”

“I do,” once she said that, Schaw mechanically glanced at the dark blue bandana that was covering her forehead. He knew what it was covering and didn’t like it at all. “Want me to show you how?” she added.

After that offer, although it hadn’t been addressed to him, Schaw instantly shut his eyes and froze, but the first passenger just laughed.

“No-no, thank you,” he simply said, then knocked with the tip of his cane at the glass separating them from Schaw. “Don’t you worry, young man, my dear friend is just kidding. Right, Viala?”

“Right,” her voice didn’t really sound like a confirmation, but Schaw took a risk of opening his eyes. “Please, let’s go,” she said. “The shortest route, if you may. We’re in a hurry.”

“Sure thing, ma’am,” Schaw muttered and took off. “The shortest one possible.”

“Good lad,” the one with his eyes covered by a strip of cloth said once the vessel was set in motion. “Told you, Viala, he’s got quite the aura. A bit tense though,” he added thoughtfully. “You should really take some time off for yourself, young man. Meditation, breathing exercises and yoga do miracles when applied on a constant basis—”

“Loibar, will you let him be?” Viala snapped with irritation. “Your blabbering distracted him and he took the wrong route. We’re going to be late now.”

“Erm, ma’am, I don’t want to be rude, but,” once Schaw’s professionalism had been questioned, he couldn’t remain silent, “I have taken this route on purpose. This is the shortest one.”

“No, it’s not,” Viala said firmly, “I know better,” she tapped her bandana. “You should’ve turned left at the previous intersection.”

“There’s a traffic jam over there.” Schaw tried to remain calm, but his voice got slightly louder and rang with a touch of tension. “They’ve recently purged the sector and, well, some wreckage is blocking the route now.”

“I don’t see any traffic,” Viala frowned. “Are you lying to me to cover up your incompetence?”

“Listen,” client or not, Schaw could not just let it go. He had been in that business for years after all. “I would kindly ask you not to tell me—”

“Whoa, friends!” Loibar threw up his hands peacefully, and, frankly speaking, Schaw was grateful for that interruption, otherwise he would’ve said something quite inappropriate and Koviia, who’d clearly be contacted afterwards, would need to interfere. “Let us all calm down, take a few deep breaths in—”

“Oh, shut up, Loibar,” Viala waved him off, getting calmer nonetheless. “You could instead help us resolve this ridiculous argument. You’ve a buddy over there, haven’t you? Just poke him and ask if there’s an actual traffic issue.” She looked at Schaw defiantly. “Then we can see who’s right.”

“Excellent idea, colleague!” Loibar slapped his knee with excitement, as if her suggestion was something so outstanding that he needed to praise it out loud right away. He then got serious and pressed one finger to his temple. “Now quiet, please, I’m going to call Choiko.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea, sir?” Schaw glanced at the tiny purple creatures on the windshield. “The reception in this area can be quite… abnormal.”

“No worries, lad, I’ve got this!” Loibar exclaimed with his rising enthusiasm. “Now hush, I’ve got a good signal.”

Schaw already regretted his silly argument with Viala, but it was too late, so, once again, he let the flow of life carry him further and hoped for the best.

“Choiko! My, my! It’s been a while!” Loibar turned his head aside and covered one ear as though it could help him listen. “Sorry, what? Couldn’t hear you. Ah! Yes, yes, work is good. The usual, I mean. Not a minute of rest to have a laser correction, ha-ha!” He mechanically adjusted the strip of cloth that was covering his eyes. “Listen, I’ve a question for you. Has there been a purge in your sector recently? Oh, yeah? Really? Holy throne, even the suits were involved? My, my! Which ones? Oh dear, those brutes from the internal investigations bureau? Someone’s really turned to the dark side, eh? Tough times, my friend, tough times. Dare I say, you never expect these black ones, yet they come for you every time. Say it again? Ah, yes-yes, sorry for bothering you, lad. You’ve just settled our little argument over here. I won’t be taking any more of your time. Thanks again. Of course!” A bit in a hurry, as if he’d forgotten some formal obligatory farewell phrase, Loibar added: “May he protect us… always.”

He removed his finger from his temple and pressed his palm against his forehead.

“The reception was indeed far from the best one,” he complained wearily. “Always gives me a headache when I need to talk longer than a few seconds. Anyway,” he then added in a happier voice, “I’m afraid our kind driver scores a point, Viala. There’s indeed been a purge.”

“Yes, I’ve heard,” she said in a cold voice, then turned to Schaw. “I apologize. You did know better.”

“Oh…” Schaw got confused by her sudden conceding which also made him feel guilty of his stubbornness. “It’s nothing really. It’s just… I’ve been circling these routes for quite some time, you know.”

“Ah, so nice when we can come to an understanding,” Loibar blissfully mused. “I’ve always said, if parents could listen to their children, the latter ones would have no reason to rebel against them—”

“Don’t say that!” Viala and Schaw exclaimed simultaneously, both getting pale.

“Oh, don’t worry, you two,” Loibar chuckled, waving them off lazily. “Just some old man rant…”

“You’ve just heard from your friend what such talks could bring upon your head,” Viala whispered. “Don’t tempt our fate!”

“Alright, alright! I won’t,” Loibar gave up, but also added in the end: “You should really try to relax, dear…”

Their languid arguing continued till the end of the drive, but Schaw just focused on the road and was simply glad that Loibar stopped bringing up dangerous subjects to the conversation.

“We’re here,” he said upon arrival. “I hope you aren’t late.”

“Just in time, lad!” Loibar knocked with his cane at the glass again. “You’ve been absolutely positively spectacular!”

He quickly went out, as if already expecting his next adventure outside.

“Sorry again,” Viala suddenly said in a tired voice before leaving. “Didn’t mean to be rude… Just too much work recently. Too much responsibility. You know… Guiding the big brothers through the grim darkness and all…” She waved her hand vaguely in the air. “You tell them not to go there, they don’t listen; you tell them to avoid certain areas here, they threaten you and so on… Got a bit out of focus with all that maneuvering in our chaotic line of work.”

“I understand ma’am,” looking at her tired eyes surrounded by beams of wrinkles, Schaw suddenly felt really sorry for her. “I hope it gets better one day.”

“Hah,” she cackled loudly, “that was a good joke, buddy. A really good one. Do keep that attitude to stay positive. Perhaps it’ll help you live longer. Thanks for the ride,” she said when closing the door already, but Schaw could still hear her giggling voice once she walked away. “Gets better one day, oh boy…”

Schaw sighed, mechanically glanced at the interface panel, seeing five skulls and a small tip. Though he was grateful for both, he felt sorry, ashamed even, as if he didn’t deserve it. Looking at the couple getting away, he realized his life was actually not that bad, especially taking into account the fact that those two experienced constant burnout at their line of work. Literally. He felt both sorry and sad, but all he could do was accept his next ride. And that was what he did, without even waiting for Koviia to poke him.

They wore strange robes of white color, their skin was blue, and they spoke quietly with a soft, yet distinct alien accent. And that was all Schaw needed to know about them.

“Diplomats. Official delegation. TALK. TO. A. MINIMUM.” Schaw saw a red warning message from Koviia on one of the screens on the front panel. He knew she’d be monitoring the ride from now on and tried not to react and remain as indifferent as he could pretend. “Don’t even try to engage in ANY conversation yourself!” another message screamed at him.

“Greetings to you, transport agent,” one of the passengers said.

He took his place without any hurry and only after that the second one entered as well, demonstrating a certain level of caution and examining the interior.

“Greetings to you, transport agent,” he repeated his companion’s words with exactly the same accent and tone.

Schaw nodded and his mouth produced a sound distantly resembling the word “hello”.

Once they took off, the passengers started talking in their own language. That gave Schaw a fraction of hope that the rest of the ride would go without him needing to interact with them.

During the conversation however the passengers threw some quick, yet meaningful glances at their driver. That gave Schaw a very bad feeling that the rest of the ride would require at least some interaction with them.

“Tell us, transport agent,” the first passenger said and Schaw’s assumptions instantly got confirmed. On top of that, he saw a red exclamation mark coming as a message from Koviia. “Do you believe in progress and salvation?” the first passenger finished his question.

“CALMLY SAY NO AND DON’T LOOK THEM IN THE EYE!!!”

The thick flashing red border around the text in capital letters, ending with exclamation marks, made it a bit hard to say calmly, but Schaw did his best.

“No,” he said after a loud swallowing sound.

The passengers exchanged a few glances and short phrases in their language, then the first one turned to Schaw again.

“Interesting reply.”

Schaw couldn’t really tell what was so interesting about two letters forming a negative statement, but knew well enough to not show any kind of reaction.

“May we ask why?” The passenger wasn’t about to give up that easily.

“I AM A HUMBLE SERVANT OF MY MASTER. BY HIS WILL ALONE I PERFORM MY DUTIES. I AM NOT AUTHORIZED TO PROVIDE FURTHER ANSWERS. SAY IT LIKE A BRAINWASHED IDIOT!”

Schaw read Koviia’s message, then repeated it out loud in a blank mechanical voice. He almost added the last sentence as well, but managed to stop just in time.

Another exchange of glances followed the reply and the passengers had a new short discussion. Schaw sensed a little bit of tension in it, but it was hard to tell, their language wasn’t really something filled with emotions.

“Interesting position,” the first passenger stated in the end.

“Void be damned, will they ever stop?” Schaw was ready to read the message out loud, but in the last moment realized that Koviia just expressed what she felt. He also figured that there was probably some brainstorm group gathered near her, listening to the conversation and preparing the replies. They were most likely in the process of reprimanding Koviia for that last message.

“We will respect your position, transport agent,” the first passenger said and Schaw relaxed a little.

“With that being said, we would also like to tell you about a wonderful opportunity we could offer you,” the second passenger began talking and Schaw went back to being tense and alert.

“SAY NOTHING!” Koviia’s message appeared, as if Schaw hadn’t known that already.

“We are a peaceful society based on progress and mutual understanding,” the second passenger continued his pitch. “We accept everyone and offer innovations, stability, and a bright future. We wish no one any harm. We respect and value all cultures. We share common goals and purpose.”

“YOU ARE A HUMBLE SERVANT OF THE THRONE. YOUR MASTER PROTECTS. HE IS YOUR SHIELD IN THE DARKNESS. HE IS REDEMPTION. HE IS THE LIGHT.” Schaw knew that wasn’t Koviia but one of the officials from the brainstorm group around her. He also knew he didn’t need to say that out loud. The words were aimed at him directly. Two ideologies just faced each other, fighting their invisible fight on the battlefield of his little insignificant mind which was just a conduit, a mere thread of the endless rope that had been pulled in opposite directions for ages.

“Funny,” Schaw suddenly said, imagining himself being a brainwashed thread. He also wondered how long that thread would last.

“What?” both passengers asked, staring at Schaw.

“WHAT?” the message on the screen also asked him.

“I AM A HUMBLE SERVANT OF MY MASTER. BY HIS WILL ALONE I PERFORM MY DUTIES. I AM NOT AUTHORIZED TO PROVIDE FURTHER ANSWERS,” Schaw said all of that very loudly and in a very stupid voice. His jaw even started to hurt as he was shutting it hard after each word, as if hitting an anvil with a hammer. “We’ve arrived,” he added, stopping the vessel and opening the doors without even asking for permission, as if telling the passengers to get out right away.

A long moment of silence crawled inside the vessel.

“That was…” the first passenger thought for a moment, “educative.”

“We offer you,” the second passenger said and Schaw froze, preparing for the offer he’d be obliged to refuse but potentially couldn’t, “our gratitude,” the passenger finished and Schaw resumed his breathing, hoping that was something he could still accept without repercussions.

“Khm, uwlcm,” he carefully muttered something as incomprehensible as possible, but still with a hint of a response in it, so both listening parties could be equally dissatisfied.

“We see,” the second passenger was watching Schaw closely for a rather long moment, as if making a final decision. “Farewell,” he exited the vessel at last, saying something to his companion in their alien language.

“This is our card,” the first passenger added while getting out, leaving something on the couch he had been sitting on. “In case you change your mind.”

“I AM A HUMBLE—” the door had been shut before Schaw managed to finish, but he still decided to continue, just to satisfy the other listening party: “I AM A HUMBLE—”

“Admins have left, Schaw, relax,” Koviia was now talking to him directly, without sending new text messages.

“Phew, Koviia,” Schaw wiped the sweat off his forehead, “that was one void of a ride.”

“Yeah, close one,” Koviia agreed. ‘What’s with that ‘funny’ word?’ she asked, and Schaw prepared for a reprimand.

“Sorry, boss,” he said guiltily, “my bad, was just too much tension… Kinda slipped my tongue.”

“Alright, forget it,” Koviia sighed, surprising Schaw with such an easy outcome. “I mean literally forget it all. This ride never happened, those two were never here, you are your master’s humble servant and so on, got it?”

“Sure thing. Guess I should get rid of the card they’ve left.”

“It’s taken care of already. I’ve decontaminated the passenger section as we talked.”

“I see,” Schaw should’ve expected her to take remote control of the vessel in such exceptional circumstances, just forgot about it with all the stress.

“Wanna have a break?” Koviia suddenly asked. “Go ahead, smoke that stick of yours…”

“Nah, I’m fine,” it was Schaw’s turn to surprise her. “Need to see some new faces to get rid of the memories of these two.”

“Alright then, coordinates sent.”

“Hello-hello, mister driver!” the happy voice exclaimed before Schaw even saw the passenger. “I am so happy to meet you.”

A human, Schaw noticed. A very ordinary, normal-looking human. Literally a human, the real one. The true one. Without anything special about her. Schaw realized that was actually the most special thing about her.

“Hello,” he replied, unconsciously getting relaxed. “Nice to meet you too,” he allowed himself to add.

She smiled, then turned to her companion who was getting inside after her. “Hurry up, Boilar, darling, let’s not make this nice person wait any longer.”

“Coming, dear, I’m coming,” the man replied and Schaw saw a second normal, ordinary human entering the passenger section behind him. “Hello, sir,” the passenger said with a short nod.

Schaw nodded in return, closed the doors and took off.

“Ah-h-h…” the woman said almost immediately in a dreamy voice filled with excitement. “I can’t wait, Boilar! Just can’t wait, darling.” She looked at Schaw and winked at him, as if sharing a secret. “We are visiting the…” she lowered her voice and whispered loudly, “holy land! We’re going to see the throne!”

“Oh, dear…” her words filled Schaw with instant regret. “They don’t know…” he muttered to himself.

“DO NOT TELL THEM ABOUT THE THRONE!” He immediately saw a red warning message from Koviia.

“Is something wrong, dear?” the woman asked Schaw, seeing his confusion.

“Nothing, ma’am,” he mumbled, “absolutely nothing. Just… happy for you,” he felt sick saying that, but managed to keep a neutral facial expression.

“Thank you so much!”

“Yes, thank you,” the second passenger added. “What a nice person, right, Cihili?” he then addressed the woman.

“Indeed he is!” she exclaimed. “This journey just keeps on giving! I feel so much excitement already! So much joy! Boilar, we are going to see the throne for the first time!”

“And for the last…” Schaw stated quietly.

“SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! FINAL WARNING, ZERO SIX POINT ONE! DON’T YOU DARE TALKING ABOUT THE THRONE TO THEM!”

“Excuse me, did you say something?” Cihili asked him, a little bit of concern appearing on her happy face.

“I think I heard the word ‘last’…” Boilar noticed.

“THE THINNESS OF THE ICE UNDER YOUR STUPID FEET IS APPROACHING A VERY DANGEROUS STATE, ZERO SIX POINT ONE! EVERY WORD MATTERS NOW!”

“My last ride for the day, sir,” Schaw said to the couple, realizing that could be quite true and not only for the day, “Just my last ride, that’s it…” he added in a tired, distant, and hopeless voice.

“Ah, of course,” Boilar nodded, satisfied with the reply. “Rough day, eh?”

“Just another day, sir,” Schaw tried to smile without any visible success. “Just another day on the road.”

“Good attitude, lad,” Boilar turned to Cihili. “Working class, eh, darling? Just like us!”

“Indeed, dear, the very blood of our kind.”

“Not another word, Schaw,” Koviia’s messages calmed down a bit. “Do not react.”

“Ah, my soul is singing, Boilar! I heard the throne can heal, would you imagine that? I have this back pain, you know. I hope it helps.”

“I do not doubt it, darling. And I’m sure I’ll get rid of these terrible headaches once and for all.”

“Remain calm, zero six point one, think about the next clients or anything else but these two.”

Schaw’s teeth started to grit hard once he’d read Koviia’s advice.

He reached for the front panel and typed the response: “They are just ordinary, normal people, Koviia. Just people. They don’t realize what the throne does…”

“Do you realize it?”

“Well, I didn’t mean it like that…”

“Then stop talking nonsense, Schaw! Unless you want to see the throne as well…” The three dots at the end of the message was all the menace Koviia needed to deliver.

Schaw sighed and stopped typing. That was too heavy of an argument to counter.

“Have you seen the throne, sir?” It took Schaw a moment to figure out that was a question to him coming from Cihili.

“No, ma’am,” he said, “Haven’t got the chance.”

“I bet you really want to, huh?” Boilar asked, smiling happily, as if seeing right through Schaw, which he clearly wasn’t.

“Afraid not, sir,” Schaw replied, but then added quickly: “Too much honor for such an insignificant cog like me. I prefer to stay in my machine,” he tried to say it as a joke, tapping the front panel with his knuckles.

“Ha-ha,” apparently Boilar liked it. “Some sense of humor you have, sir! Remarkable attitude. Right, dear?”

“Indeed, darling! What a happy day!”

Their joyful twittering continued for the rest of the ride. Schaw did his best to not interfere and only occasionally added some yes-no-thank-you answers.

“Your stop, sir, ma’am,” he said in a very sad and quiet voice when they arrived.

“Spectacular ride, sir!” Boilar exclaimed. “Five skulls without any doubts!”

“And leave him a good tip, dear!”

“Obviously, honey!”

“Thank you, but please don’t bother…” Schaw muttered, then gave up, realizing that financial questions would soon stop bothering the couple. “You stay safe out there,” that was the silliest remark he could produce, but he just needed to at least try giving them the slightest hint.

“Oh, we will for sure!” Boilar exclaimed with absolute confidence. “For he protects us all!”

“Always!” Cihili added with a lot of passion in her voice.

“Always…” Schaw repeated with zero passion, shaking his head.

“Here, dear,” Cihili clearly misinterpreted his sorry look, taking it for tiredness most likely. “I’ll leave you my best cookies to cheer up your day!” She pointed at the small square box she’d put on the couch. “Don’t eat them all at once! Good-bye!”

They closed the doors before Schaw could say anything else. The happy couple entered giant golden doors that closed behind them with ruthless inevitability.

“Don’t you dare get rid of the cookies,” Schaw said with unexpected firmness in his voice. “I’m taking them, regardless of what you think.”

“Fine,” to his surprise, Koviia had no objections. Her voice sounded tired and distant. “But you’ll leave me at least one then, deal?”

“Deal, boss, I’ll leave at least a couple.”

He stared at the windshield where tiny purple creatures were being thrown away by the wipers, an endless rain of chaos pouring down on him, not being able to get inside. At least for the moment.

“I’m done, Schaw,” Koviia suddenly started talking. “Let’s consider this ride the last one.”

“For today you mean?”

There was a long pause before she replied.

“Sure… For today.”

“A couple of close ones, huh?” Schaw tried to cheer her up. “I wonder how you’ve managed to get me out this time…”

“Us, Schaw…” she corrected him. “Get us both out.”

“Yes, right. Sorry about all the mess, boss.” Schaw rubbed his eyes. “I just keep forgetting that every day is just another day in our grim dark world surrounded by chaos. Just keep thinking I could actually do something about it.”

“I know,” Koviia said. “Let’s just hope tomorrow has a tiny chance to be a smidge better. Maybe it really has.”

Both knew it hadn’t the slightest chance, but Schaw just said: “Maybe it really has.”

They remained silent for a moment and Schaw was about to call it a day, when Koviia added: “My sister works… well, I mean serves…” she hesitated a moment, “among the bold and fencing ones.”

“You don’t say!” Schaw was genuinely surprised. “I didn’t know that.”

“Well, it’s not something I’m eager to share with everyone. You know how peeps feel when they are around this type of individuals. I can hardly remain near her myself for longer than a few minutes.”

“I see. So, I guess today you’ve asked for her help?”

“You wish,” Koviia chuckled. “I never ask her anything, for my own sake. Just use her name and status when needed. With some clever wording you can have a certain influence on others. Have to be careful of course, suits never sleep.”

“I understand now,” Schaw said. “Thank you, Koviia. And sorry again it came to this today.”

“It’s fine. What’s done is done.” After another pause, she added: “Alright, I believe we’re done as well… For today at least. Till tomorrow?”

“Till tomorrow, boss.”

“You can finally have that smoke of yours, eh?”

“You know what, Koviia, I think I’ll quit.”

“Good choice. The only right one.”

“I guess you’re right. By his will alone.”

“Always.”

Was once posted somewhere else. Not anymore. Just want it to be here.