The Spider Queen

(Alpha Star System- Planet Gaia)

(N'rean City- National History Museum)

The three girls were oddly silent as they moved from exhibit to exhibit in the hall of conquest.

The remains of the different alien civilisations were put on display like trophies on a collector's shelf.

Sophie glanced at a broken thermal weapon used by a race of bio-mechanical creatures and furrowed her brows.

She was not ignorant and knew that the Federation could not have become an intergalactic superpower without wiping out the civilisations that posed a threat to its existence.

And yet… as she wandered through the hall where hundreds of relics stood motionless in front of display cases…

It was hard not to feel sick to her stomach.

Some of these alien races were aggressive towards the Earth Federation, but many others were simply destroyed because they lived on resource rich planets.

The crime of having wealth but not the strength to protect it.

The universe was a cold and heartless place where the winner took all.

Sophie approached a plaque and read the words on its metal surface. It described the race of the aliens whose tattered uniforms were pinned against the wall.

This alien civilisation had no name and primarily communicated via telepathy. They appeared to share one singular consciousness which they referred to as 'X'ron'.

A hive- mind race. They were more common that one would expect since strong individuality was not a winning survival trait.

"Should we go further inside? I really don't want to see anymore," Rachel said softly as she turned away from one of the displays.

"Yeah… that's probably for the best…" Sophie replied solemnly as she led the way to the back of the hall where a door was open.

She stretched out her hand and captured Cleo's palm. The princess' hand was soft, and Sophie needed the comfort right now.

She hoped that whatever happened in the future… she would be able to protect her girlfriend and the ones that she loved.

Cleo squeezed her fingers gently and gave Sophie a small smile to let her lover know that she was okay.

Growing up in the royal family meant that Cleo was exposed to more of the darkness of the Federation that the average citizen or even noble.

Sophie walked through the door and found herself standing at the entrance of a long corridor with multiple doors leading to different locations.

There was a floating holographic display of a map in the middle of the corridor with explanations of where each door led.

"Do you want to check out the art gallery first?" Sophie asked curiously as she stepped forward and peered closer at the map.

"I don't mind… I've actually never been to one before," Rachel responded casually as she reached into her pocket to pull out a small mirror.

She held up her finger to let the girls know that she needed a minute and then raised up the mirror until it was level with her face.

Rachel frowned slightly and then adjusted her eyebrows to make them a bit thinner.

She wanted to shorten her curly hair as well but decided against it for the time being.

"I can't get over how crazy it is that you can just change your looks, height, appearance at will," Cleo commented with awe in her tone.

"Thank you! Is my avatar cute?" Rachel coyly replied as she fluttered her eyelids and struck a pose.

"Very cute," Sophie chimed in casually and then stiffened as she felt Cleo pinch her sides.

The princess grinned at her girlfriend who smiled sheepishly and then whispered something naughty in her ears.

"Of course, you are the cutest," Sophie hoarsely growled as she lowered one of her hands and brushed it against Cleo's hip.

While the couple flirted, Rachel walked towards the door on the left that led to the art gallery, she opened the door and entered a plain glass elevator.

"Come on you two! We don't have all day!" Rachel yelled in mock anger as she saw Sophie tilt her head down and capture Cleo's lips.

Sophie broke off the kiss and then blushed as she saw her friend rolling her eyes. For a brief moment she had forgotten that this wasn't a private date.

But who could blame her?!

She had basically been by Cleo's side every day for the past month so randomly kissing her girlfriend was something that she was used to.

"Coming!" Cleo said cheerfully as she dragged Sophie over to the elevator and then pushed the button.

The glass doors slammed shut and then the elevator slowly descended downwards to the fourteenth floor.

Sophie hummed a soft tune under her breath since there was no music in the elevator and she didn't want an awkward silence.

The tune that she hummed along was based on a song in Sui Meng's memories called 'Baa baa black sheep'.

It was a nursey rhyme that her mom used to sing to her when she was having trouble falling asleep.

"What's the name of that song?" Rachel asked curiously as she tilted her head and stared at Sophie.

"Oh… err… it doesn't have a name… I'm still writing it," Sophie stuttered slightly and then replied since she didn't expect the sudden question.

"I didn't know that you wrote songs!" Rachel replied in shock as she gave Sophie a look of admiration.

"Yeah... just in my spare time," Sophie nonchalantly replied. Her casual attitude was able to fool Rachel, but Cleo had a confused expression on her face.

Fortunately, the elevator had reached its destination and a loud ding echoed through the crowded space.

A soft feminine voice came from the speaker and welcome the three girls to the art gallery in the museum.

Rachel bravely stepped out of the elevator first and gasped in amazement as she saw a large room that was entirely white.

From the walls to the floor to even ceiling. Everything was bright white colour that slightly hurt her eyes since the lighting was a bit strong.

This strange place made the paintings that hung on the wall stand out amidst the sea of whiteness.

"Who designed this awful room," Sophie muttered quietly as her golden eyes narrowed. She yawned sleepily as she stretched out her arms.

"Come on… it might be good to experience some culture," Cleo sweetly whispered as she walked over the closet painting.

Rachel and Sophie followed behind her and soon all three girls had different expressions on their faces.

The painting that was on display… well… if you could call it a painting was a single red dot in the middle of a blank canvas.

"Wait… what?" Sophie exclaimed in confusion as she tried to see if there was something on the canvas that she had missed.

"Hmmm… it's definitely… something…" Rachel nodded and pretended to understand.

"This is an original painting done by Senor Valseuq! I had no idea that his works were available to be seen by the general public!" Cleo could barely contain the excitement in her voice.

"He is an artistic genius!"

Sophie listened to her girlfriend explain why Senor Valseuq was one of the greatest painters in the modern era but the confused look on her face didn't go away.

Was there something that she was missing?!

The painter just poked a canvas with the tip of his brush!