1.9.12

Food and War: Part II

     Dam-Torsad was a riot of color and sound; quite unlike any of the expectations he had, but it being the first city he had been to, those expectations were rather paltry compared to the reality, and enormity, of the Imperial capital.

     Still reeling from the orbital descent, he couldn't stop looking up.  As the last rays of the sun struck the golden-skinned towers and spires, the feeling of wonder and awe almost overwhelmed Akai.  The noise and stench of a billion people intermingled with the dusty smells of the desert, so new and so potent, nearly choked his nose and throat.  Used to stale air that had been recycled and reprocessed a few trillion times too many, his mind raced to catalog every new smell and taste, unable to keep pace with what lay in front of him.  His escort, a squad of Inquisition troopers armed and armored in gold and scarlet, had to keep prodding him forward about once a minute, as his body couldn't seem to process the new sights and sounds and smells while walking at the same time.  For his first planetfall, Akai expected little difference in walking through a metropolis compared to docking in high orbit.  Despite his capsuleer status, and his wealth, Akai's naivete was not very surprising to the guards politely shoving him forward.