Inward spirals

I've always liked Persephone from orbit. It's not the prettiest world, or the largest, or the most or least populated, or the most important. But it's always looked pretty from above. A pretty world. named for the Queen of the Underworld from an ancient myth from Earth that Was. Appropriate, really, considering its role as the unofficial gateway to the Core. Or the Border, depending on your perspective.

Like most high population Core worlds, Persephone had a fairly varied culture depending on where you set down. Unlike most, their local government included an actual "noble" class that was more than just for show. While I'd been raised to an equivalent social standing on Ariel where Olde Money was akin to power, I'd never been entirely comfortable in those circles. Too much pretense. Too little substance.

My interests weren't in the highly polished parts of the planet in any case. No, the people I wanted to talk to frequented the transport hubs rather than the commercial plazas. Especially the ones where Customs agents were scarce and questions were few. In this case, the big transhipment facilities at Eavesdown Docks.

Over the last few months, a number of my friends from the Rim had migrated inward with more than a fair share of them winding up at Eavesdown. I could understand the drive too. The transhipment ports on Persephone felt a fair bit like some of the busier Rimworld space ports. Plus Eavesdown was a bit, shall we say, loose, in their interpretation of local customs regulations and law enforcement. For most of the folk I knew who'd moved there, it would have felt like home.

That made this trip more Pleasure than Business, though I'd be mixing a little of both. Persephone was also a cultural and business hub, a stepping off point for far more than just hard goods. It was also home to a number of Intel assets I needed to catch up with before I talked to Taggart.

But that could wait. Before I got to work, I'd take some time and see some friends.