But Nayla's acquisition of a huge CK 5500 heavy-duty pickup, one of the biggest production trucks on the market, somewhat surprised everyone but Yan. She added the optional six-wheel-drive package and went with a deep forest green color. As the contemporary counterpart of the antiquated 'dually' configuration, 6WD provided noticeably more power and traction. She clarified that her decision was mostly based on tradition and familiarity because she had driven a truck of the same model on the Zantara family ranch on a regular basis.
Kieran didn't buy a car, stating only that he already had one on board the Kyara without going into further detail.
Nora and Zayn drove back to the ship together in his van, talking about plans for their long stay and hiding until the Solyn controversy eventually subsided in the galactic news cycle. Having already notified the dispatch of the local Doryn police department that his convoy would be passing through the city, Zayn had casually advised everyone to ignore the posted speed limits. He explained that his business operations only targeted Core interests when asked about this ostentatiously bold move. Because Doryn 7 was technically a Rim world, the local authorities were generally very accommodating to him, helped along by the fact that many officers liked him personally and valued his anti-Core stance. Torin joined Nayla in her new truck, and Kieran rode back with Nora and Zayn. Yan and Amelina sped forward in their new vehicles, racing through the city streets in good fun. This late at night, there was little traffic, which reduced the possibility of other drivers complaining.
Torin drove his Mercedes off the ship after returning to the landing bay of the Kyara, where Yan and Amelina had already been waiting impatiently for ten minutes. And then Kieran pulled out his own car. Yan was the only one who was clearly impressed.
"What is it?" Yan inhaled while running a tender hand over the car's sculpted lines, an intriguing combination of natural curves and abrupt, sharp angles. The car was striking to look at and almost visually addictive due to its fiery, nearly incandescent red paint job.
Kieran said, "2313 Chevrolet SS," with pride. One of only thirty produced in total. And the only one that's still around, as far as I know. Based solely on a rumor from an old friend, I discovered it rusting away in a scrapyard on a backwater moon.
"They truly don't make them like this anymore," Yan said in a respectful mutter. Amazingly, the vehicle had an internal combustion engine that ran on gasoline fuel, which was renowned for being extremely inefficient despite being highly refined.
Kieran went on, "Turbocharged V-10," obviously relishing the attention. produces roughly 850 horsepower. Would you like to look inside?
Yan settled into the soft black-and-red leather sport seat and slid eagerly into the driver's side. At first glance, he appeared confused by the controls at his feet. He pointed to the three pedals and questioned, "What are those?" All contemporary automobiles have long since switched to fully manual controls.
"Accelerator, brake, and clutch," Kieran said. "It's a manual transmission." Nearly six centuries ago, manual transmissions were phased out; today, they are only mentioned in historical footnotes in technical manuals and archives of automotive history.
"Weird," Yan said... He gave a cheeky smile. "I bet mine's faster overall, though."
"I bet it is," Kieran admitted with ease. However, I wager that I can outpace your hover-Vette in terms of acceleration, stopping, and cornering. Besides, you can't leave a patch," Kieran continued, grinning tauntingly.
Yan refused to fall for the trick. He was in no mood to lose any competition, no matter how small, and had very little knowledge of the internal combustion engine's performance characteristics or subtleties of operation. He said tactfully, "Maybe another day," and got out of the driver's seat.
The direct mechanical linkage of the manual transmission made the machine feel like a real extension of the driver, and Kieran grinned to himself as he slid into his car and enjoyed the familiar feel of the smooth leather crinkling beneath him.
The seven friends went back on board the Kyara to stuff duffel bags with enough personal items for their anticipated two-week stay. After fifteen minutes, they came out again and put their belongings in their cars. Kieran turned the ignition key in his SS. His companions, used to the near-silence of contemporary cars driven by electric motors or fusion cores, where acceleration was instantaneous and essentially noiseless, were startled by the V-10 engine's guttural snarl. It was a throwback to the visceral sound of Kieran's revving engine.
Zayn led their newly organized motorcade in the direction of a hotel in the center of Doryn Station. Soaring more than 500 meters into the artificially maintained atmosphere, the building was one of the tallest in the enclosed city. It contained a number of different hotels, each with a separate area and services for guests. The hotels were arranged in a hierarchy by floor, with the more opulent accommodations found at the top.
There were a dozen distinct entrances and parking lots surrounding the building's circular base, each representing a different hotel. Zayn arrived at a covered entrance with a small cul-de-sac dividing the main parking lot from the drop-off area. A small army of valets, representing at least three different alien species, appeared to serve the eight vehicles as they arrived. Their elegant, simple uniforms were made of black fabric with subtle silver trim around the seams, and they wore matching black toques to complete the look. Their names were written in seventeen different languages on little nametags that were pinned to their chests. Though they did a good job of hiding it, it was very likely that the valets were carrying a concealed weapon given the nature of Doryn Station. At least fifteen valets appeared; two came to each car, one to take the luggage, the other to park it. Only a parking valet helped Zayn, who had no luggage. To the initial embarrassment of the Njalaa valet assigned to him, Kieran courteously insisted on parking his valuable vintage car himself. Despite this, the servant was still generously tipped for his efforts.
There was no denying the hotel's impressive exterior. Every surface, from the enormous doorframes to the sweeping awning over the valet area, was adorned with polished black marble. The most common accent metal was silver, which shone on everything from the elaborate lamp posts bordering the parking lot to the door trim. The lavish black-and-silver motif persisted in the interior lobby. A receptionist behind a large, glossy marble desk handed them their room keys. In a show of foresight, Zayn had carefully reserved the same suite for Yan and Amelina.
They rode a long, quick elevator ride up and were dropped from the very top on the second floor. The hotel's ultra-exclusive presidential and honeymoon suites were located on the floor directly above. Each of their designated rooms took up about half of the floor area and was situated along the same corridor. Zayn wished them all a good night and told them to meet him for breakfast and planning the following morning at 8:00 in the hotel's main restaurant. It was getting close to midnight when the seven friends finally made their way to their opulent temporary accommodations. After a long and exciting day, exhaustion finally caught up with them, resulting in a restless night's sleep.