floating

The warm waters of the bath washed over Lily as she sank down. Her aching muscles relaxed, strained from the day's arduous work. The screaming faces of angry managers were stuck in her mind alongside snide and sarcastic customers. She wanted to quit her job, to drift away from it entirely, but she needed the pay. Tuition didn't pay itself. Shaking her head, she tried to relax in the bath, but she couldn't seem to just forget the days worries.

No.

She could.

Closed eyes, deep breaths.

She knew what to do.

The young woman was confident, the young man nervous.  She, tall, red-haired and freckled in a crop top, jeans, and sandals with a duffel bag over her shoulder; he, a tanned brunet, in deep blue swim pants, being lead along by her by a long leash connected to a collar.  They did, naturally, draw attention from others in the park, if not when they appeared than when they stopped, in the middle of the widest expanse of grass.

Prg gazed in awe at the planet that filled the view from his cockpit.  Water, in at least three of the fourteen known states of matter.  Plant life.  And that’s just what he could see with his own borp.  Turning his attention to his scan readouts, he also found the planet teeming with life in numerous forms.  Countless structures made of alloys and composite materials dotted the landscape in varying densities.  There were even thousands of artificial satellites in orbit.  Not just life, but intelligent life!