Drinks over Rapids

[Unseelie]

Planet Nuremburg consumed huge ammounts of cardamine. It was a wonderful place for many other reasons. Unlike Berlin, it had a temperate climate, and sported a bustling colony atmosphere. Families landed, bought little houses and set up shops, hotels, farms. New vacation resorts sprouted and wilted every season, attracting various guests and investers to the roadside markets and open plaza bazars. On Nuremburg, the Rhienland Police were cheerful and bright, and the streets were safe. Criminals were shipped to New Berlin, and people with questionable reputations were denied entry by an extensive census process.

Sophie had been very careful to construct her alias as Amelia Hartmann, a cheerful pilot on a sealed prison barge, innocent and bright. Amelia didn't even understand the charges her prisoners were tasked with, and it showed in her naivete. Officers at the dockyards nodded to her, and she smiled back. Today, she was genuinely cheerful. Frank was coming! They'd meet at a little corner cafe which had an exquisite view of the river, with even a glass deck overhanging the crystal rapids.

At the cafe, she ordered scones and a strudel, along with a mocha chai. She pulled off long gloves, draped herself across her seat, and layed them over her shoulders, brushing her hair out of the way.

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