Planet Telex

"Go on, get out of here." Tern had told Swan, motioning her towards the door. "Go do whatever it is that you used to enjoy."
Swan had expressed some confusion at the concept of having "leisure time" -- her training period was work every day, for what seemed like months, until she was deemed worthy of the full privileges of a Class C Assistant. Thus, suddenly having a weekend -- not actually at the end of the week, mind you, as the different Class Cs on the floor took different days off -- was a little frightening. What would she do with the time?
"I've... kind of forgotten." Swan confessed, not having thought about leisure time since the chip mostly extinguished any thoughts than her office tasks. "This isn't even the sector I used to live in..."
"Oh, they're all the same." Tern said, wriggling into a fresh Assistant dress. "You know the area, at least the chip does, when you're allowed out there."
Swan pulled on the hem of her own Assistant uniform, not too comfortable with the idea of going 'out there'. "And they won't just shoot me if I leave?"
"You'll have to present your ID card to security, and then you're free to come and go as you please, provided you're not recalled for a priority task. We're Assistants, but we still get some nice things."
"I... I guess I'll go find something to do, then." Swan said, wondering what was nearby. She was sure the chip would make up her mind soon enough, if nothing else.
"Good. Now, take this." Tern took a packet of papers from her clipboard and thrust them into Swan's hands. "Your official Class C paperwork, along with your new schedule and privileges."
"Oh, um, thanks. I uh... guess I will see you tomorrow, then."
"Yes, I will. And tomorrow, you can probably try and not watch me dress as much."
Swan's face turned red as she started to stutter an apology.
"Just kidding." Tern said, grinning. "The change-rooms are probably the only time we get to ourselves, anyway..."

Swan quickly read through the documents she had been given. Her forms, amended to a full Class C for her records (not that she really kept any), a templated letter from the staff manager on her floor thanking her for her service (not that it was voluntary), and a quick primer on what being full Class C meant. A lot of the document assumed that she was a Personal Assistant, kept by some other Avian, but a handful of them were kept on Ministry staff for secretive tasks that still required a working mind, and one that could be wiped clean at the end of the day. Swan didn't really enjoy those days, as the feeling of getting out of your pod only to feel as if it was time to get back in was disconcerting to say the least.
"Your allocated Leisure Time is ALL DAY, DAYS [ X X 3 X X X 7 X ]" read the form. Two days off of the eight day week wasn't that bad... plus, it says her pass would now work at the cafes and lunch stops dotted around the city -- not anywhere fancy, obviously, but it was almost like she was an actual free Avian again...
Swan put the documents in her locker for the moment, and neatened up her Assistant uniform. "Okay, well... time to find something, I guess."

The elevator trip up to the lobby was nerve-wracking, as she always had the thought that there'd be a plasma rifle trained on her if she dared step outside the lower floors or her office floor. Once the doors opened into the wide-open, sunlit lobby, she was able to breathe a little easier. Nothing was threatening her quite yet. There was a security checkpoint near the front desk, though, which must have been what Tern meant...
"ID card, please." Asked the lone guard, as the Assistant approached.
Swan patted along her dress, trying to remember where the seam was, still quite nervous. She eventually found the hidden pocket, and pulled out the metal card, handing it to the guard.
"C29, correct?" The guard probed. "I haven't seen you before."
"Yes, ma'am." Swan replied, gaze darting between the plasma pistol on the guard's belt and absolutely anywhere else. "I just finished my training, ma'am."
The guard nodded, and passed the card back. "I've heard what they do to you up there, so I'm glad you're getting some of a break from it."
Swan wasn't sure how to react to the guard, not used to a free Avian -- especially an armed one -- being nice to her. "I, uh... thank you, ma'am."
The guard chuckled, sensing the discomfort of the Assistant before her. They were always like this on their first time out. "You're free to go. Curfew is an hour after sundown, be back by then."
"Y-yes, ma'am, I will be!" Swan replied, before briskly walking towards the huge open steel and glass doors of the foyer -- the ones that would take her into the open sun once more.

It was a common misconception of the other empires that the Accord detested nature, from the condition of the worlds they owned. In truth, the Avians took great pride in their greenery strips, sections of land inamongst the world-covering cities with trees as tall and dense as any rainforest planet. Most agriculture took place in massive complexes of greenhouse domes in each sector, and bio-diversity domes for the public were rich in flora and fauna not only transplanted from the Avian homeworld, but also from Accord-colonised worlds. They were essentially zoological gardens the size of small cities, each microclimate filled with what the staff biologists found most interesting to study, and the public most pleasing to observe.
Swan found herself on the monorail into one of these garden domes, looking over in wonder at the cityscape as it flew past. It had only been a few months, but she forgot what it was like to see the city like this...
"APPROACHING SECTOR H7 BIO-DIVERSITY DOME. DOORS OPEN ON THE LEFT."
Swan barely needed to pay attention to the automated announcer, the innate navigational capabilities of the chip unrestricted whilst she was out and about. In the office, she knew it back to front, but little else... here, it was like she had mapped every street, seen every crack in the pavement, investigated every alleyway. It was an interesting and slightly exhilarating feeling for a mind that had resigned itself to walking the same hallways for the rest of their life...
"WATCH YOUR STEP."
Swan walked out onto the monorail station, the glass roof and walls of the station revealing the lush green tropical plants that surrounded it inside the dome. A single transit guard was patrolling, and Swan couldn't help but freeze as she saw that they were heading towards her.
"Excuse me, are you lost?" The guard said, the tone not quite as conciliatory as the one inside the Ministry.
"N-no, sir, I'm uh, it's my leisure day..." Swan stammered, reaching for her ID card.
"Mmmh. I see. Usually don't get Class Cs this far out." The guard said, a little less confrontationally.
"I am from, uh, the Ministry... it's just a few stops down..."
"Oh, Internal Affairs?" The guard asked, his interest piqued.
Swan nodded. "Yes, sir. Floor 112, Frontier Assignments."
"Heh, I am not sure you should be telling me that..."
"I wouldn't be able to tell you anything interesting or revealing of my work, sir. Even if it let me..." Swan tapped on her head, assuming the guard knew what lay inside.
"So the rumours are true, then?" The guard was indeed now rather curious. He had heard the rumours...
"That we don't remember? The chip suppresses the memories, yes, sir."
He nodded, not actually sure he was happier knowing the truth. "I... see. I'd best not waste the time you will remember, then."
Swan nodded, now embarrassed at the guard's discomfort regarding her situation. "Thank you, sir."

The central dome was always home to the Accord Homeworld biosphere. The thick forests and artificial streams gave the whole dome a cold humidity that the outside planet didn't have, which was strange but oddly comforting to Swan.
"So this is what the Homeworld is like..." Swan muttered to herself, as she stood in the entrance area, looking around at a level of greenery she wasn't familiar with. There were multiple paths from the entrance to various areas, but the fountains offered in the middle path seemed most interesting.
The forest slowly gave way to a more open garden the deeper Swan walked into the dome, trees and ferns interspersed with immaculately kept flower beds. The flower beds were arranged in blocks of colour, a discordant rainbow along the paths. Swan couldn't help but stop at each, looking over each variety in wonder.
"Beautiful, aren't they?"
Swan bolted upright at the voice behind her, turning on her feet to face them. The one that had spoken, an older Avian with greying feathers, dressed in a dirty pair of overalls, simply smiled.
"I, uhm. Yes, yes they are! I haven't seen anything like it."
"Based on what you're wearing, I'm not surprised. Anyway, what brings you here?"
Swan blushed in embarassment as her dress instantly flagged her as an Assistant. "Leisure day, ma'am. I... decided to explore."
"Hm, nothing wrong with that. Just thought I'd check you weren't a new one of mine that managed to get lost." The Avian slipped her gardening gloves off, hitting them on her overalls before putting them in a pocket.
"One of yours, ma'am?"
The older Avian motioned over to down the path, where another Avian was tending to a tree. They were in a much less colourful pair of overalls, the barcode down the side obvious once they moved, leading Swan to guess that they were an Assistant in a more fitting uniform for their assignment. "Wings of Silver, lead botanist in the H7 Bio-Diversity Dome." She held out her hand in greeting.
Swan timidly took her hand, which Silver shook firmly before letting go. "C29, Assistant at the Ministry of Internal Affairs." She said, wondering if that was how free Avians would introduce themselves. She could barely remember.
"Mmm, or, Swan, yes?" Silver said, tilting her head to read the identifier on Swan's dress.
"I-I... yes." Swan replied, not used to non-Assistants using that. "If you want..."
"I prefer names. I never did get used to calling my staff by serial numbers, either."
Swan shifted in discomfort at her identifier being called a 'name', the chip rejecting the thought instantly, but she decided not to argue the point with a free Avian. "Is... the Homeworld really like this?"
Wings of Silver rubbed her chin in thought. "I can't tell you. I've been to a lot of planets, some even colonised, but not the Homeworld. Maybe one day. But, I can tell you these are from the Homeworld." Silver pointed down the path, to the collective of fountains and water features that marked the center of the dome. "See that tree there?" She said, referencing the large hardwood sitting in the middle, nearly stretching to the glass roof. "That was moved from the Homeworld when I was just a hatchling. Along with a few other smaller trees, it seeded the rest of the dome."
Swan nodded, looking up to see the imposing canopy of the central tree blocking out the light that was filtering through the dome glass. "And... the flowers?"
"They're finicky things. We have years worth of original seeds saved up, but there's been enough crosspollination that we've got things like this..." Silver led Swan down the path to a bed of roses, one large plant unlike the others, with white and red speckled petals. "It's fascinating."
Swan wasn't entirely sure why it was, but nodded along anyway. It was indeed pretty.
"Let me show you around. It's usually very quiet this time of week, so I've had nobody to take on my usual tour. That is, if you have time?"
"I have all day, ma'am." Swan said, cautiously grateful. She wasn't sure why this Avian was being nice to her, but she decided not to question it. Maybe things were different, outside the Ministry.

Swan was no stranger to being on her feet all day, but there was a difference between carpeted offices and kilometers of concrete path.
"Ah yes, here's one of my favourites." Silver said, as they entered another, smaller biodome, and encountered a tall tree. "Gifted from one of the empires in the west of the galaxy, they call it Eucalyptus globulus. The clean lines of the leaves and mottled patterns of the bark are interesting."
Swan looked up at the specimen, screwing her face up a little bit at its interesting scent. "It smells... rather strong."
"That it does." Silver said, reaching up to pluck a leaf from a low-hanging branch. "I'm sure you'll find it more pleasant in isolation. Here, take it."
Swan took the leaf, turning it over in her hands. A gift? "U-uhm, thank you." It did smell much nicer when away from the overwhelmingness of the tree. However, outside of the thicker-covered domes, Swan was now able to see the sun again. "I... it looks like the sun is setting."
"It is about that time, in this season." Silver replied, clipping off a few more leaves and putting them in a specimen bag. She commonly used the tours to visit the various things she was studying, so was glad Swan provided an excuse. "Why, is something wrong?"
"I do have a curfew, ma'am. Being an Assistant and all..." Swan replied, heart sinking.
"Oh, don't worry about that." Silver replied. "You can't see everything here in one day, let alone two. You're welcome back, anytime."
Swan nodded, slipping the leaf into the pocket beside her ID card. "I should probably make sure I'm back on time, for my first day out..."
"That sounds like it would be wise." Silver slipped the specimen bag into one of her pockets, the scientist seemingly covered in them. "Shall I escort you back to the station?"
"I... that would be nice, thank you..." Swan replied, taking one more look across the so far unexplored biodome. So many interesting things to see. "But, only if you have time!"
"Of course, it's on my way back to the labs. I have plenty to drop off back there, thanks to our little walk."
Swan winced. 'Little' wasn't quite how she would describe it.

Swan returned to the Ministry building on-time, the security guard waving her through to the elevators. As the doors closed, Swan looked out longingly at the setting sun, something she'd not feel on her feathers properly until her next leisure day. At least she had them, now, she thought, as the elevator took her down to the levels where the mess hall and pods were kept. Even though she had some food -- actual food! -- for lunch, it was back to... whatever it was they served for dinner back in the Ministry.
"Oh, you're back early." Tern said, as Swan located the table they usually sat at, and took her spot.
"Uhm, yes... I didn't want to be late on my first day, so..." Swan stuck her spoon into the sludge that consisted of most meals, and dipped some bread in it to try and make it more palatable.
"Fair enough. What'd you go see out there, hm?" Tern replied, idly motioning with her spoon. "You look exhausted."
"I went to the Gardens... It's beautiful, there." Swan thought back over the various things she'd seen over the day, and sighed a little bit. "The Homeworld dome looks so pretty..."
"I doubt either of us will ever see it in person." Tern swallowed, and then dug her spoon back in to the meat sludge. "That being said, if you get reassigned as a Personal Assistant, you might get taken along, if your owner's important..."
Swan blinked in confusion. "You mean... that happens? I might not be stuck here forever?"
Tern chuckled, and ate another spoonful, wiping her beak with a napkin. "Don't get your hopes up too much. It'd be to an Agent, and you know how... well... they treat us around others? Well, imagine them with nobody watching..."
Swan shrunk back a little, reconsidering her feelings on being a Personal Assistant. "Oh. Well. I guess being a Class C here isn't too bad. All things considered."
"Mmmhm. Besides, our floor head has a Personal Assistant already. At least, until she chews that one up, like the last..."