[b]THE HARMONY[/b]
THREE DAYS BEFORE THE COUNCIL
EARTH ORBIT, SOL SYSTEM
THE STARPORT[hr]

Were she younger, thought Wen Ten Xei, the Most Serene One, and you had told her that she would be at the Throneworld of an alien empire as a representative for her entire people, she'd have laughed and scoffed at you. Perhaps she might've even kicked you playfully out of her Simulation. And yet, somehow, after so many years of living carelessly by following the wind, she was indeed here, staring with mesmerized eyes at Earth, the capital world of the Humans. It was a quaint, almost frail looking thing from far away, but the shuttle had come nearer now. Now it was giant, strong, arrogant and indomitable, taking up the entire window and most of her vision. Verdant at the daylight side with forests and oceans and luminous from the numerous human cities in the dark side, Wen concluded that, though imperfect, it was indeed full of charm.

Earth reminded her of a time long gone by. A time when her home planet, Hi, looked just like it. It was a transitional period wherein the first ascendants gave up their mortal bodies to become truly perfect as electronic gods. Their courage and foresight inspired the rest of her kin - including herself - to do the same.

She still remembered her ascension like it was yesterday. Oh, the pleasure she felt, as the Guru mounted her while her mind thrashed in limbo between-

Wen bit her lip. Such thoughts were inappropriate, especially on a mission as unique and important as this one. Her capacity was a prestigious and coveted one - she was the Most Serene, the woman to represent the entire Harmony in the most auspicious of coming gatherings - a council for the Great Powers of the Galaxy. And here she was, thinking about being mounted.

"Most Serene One," came a raspy, metallic voice. Her hair that reached all the way to her hips, black as the void and silken like morning dew, fell softly over her upper shoulders as she turned around. Her gaze fell upon one of her Honor Guards. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Of the nine members of the mission, only she possessed a platform that mimicked her past, biological self and made it perfect. There was no questioning her beauty, as her golden eyes stared with promise and daring; as her crimson dress, flush with elaborate embroidery in golden thread, parted by the hip to reveal the smoothness of her thighs, and hugged her body to emphasize the shape of her full breasts. Her hairdress, crafted by an artificer, was made of gold and inlaid with sparkling, perfectly cut sapphires, and from it hung ribbons whereupon are inscribed poetic adulations to the perfection of her form. The hue of her skin was a deep indigo: sultry, lustful, and playful. In her hand she held an obsidian staff decorated with golden rings and topped with a masterful sculpture of a female Wo swooning, also in precious gold. A delightful, flowery fragrance was always about her. Back home, she would be sex incarnate.

Her honor guard, however, had none of these luxuries. She had taken four men and four women, and she had petitioned that they be afforded the same bodies as her, but in the end The Most Harmonious One gave them eight standardized constructs to operate in: large, metallic and crude-looking simulacrums of a male Wo, with bald heads of plasteel and feature-wise they had only a single, unblinking blue eye that dominated their faceplates. They stood on hind legs as opposed to regular ones. Built to kill, they carried around long, double-bladed spears whose blades, when activated, could become charged with intense, destructive energy. The potency of these melee weapons were enough to destroy tanks.

They were ugly, thought Wen. And she did not delight in this. She did concede, however, that purely combat forms were the most reasonable to take given the short amount of time she was afforded to prepare for the mission - the elections for her position took longer than normal. Fools. But in the end, they saw that she was the most perfect among the House of the Enlightened Ones.

She smiled. But the ease and grace with which she had done it would have driven any male Wo mad with lust.

"I'm quite fine, captain. Thank you for asking."

The Guard bowed deeply in understanding, his mechanical joints whirring under the strain of an unfamiliar pose. Nothing was said beyond that. For a few minutes more, she continued to stare at Earth's titanic form, and sometimes at the human starships that came and went. Humans and humanity - they were imperfect, to be sure, but they did have charm. Their similarities to her people were quite striking; it seemed as if only the amount of limbs, eye color, and skin color differed between the two races in that the Wo had greater variety. Come to think of it, some of their males did look quite ni-

She bit her lip again. Inappropriate thoughts.

A chime and a green light brought her eyes to a flashing data panel. The docking sequence, performed entirely by her shuttle's AI, had been completed. Without a word, she and her Honor Guard assembled by the airlock. Their movements were brisk, forced and brutal, but she was like gliding across the cold, metal floor. When the door opened, they rushed out in a perfect military march, stopping when the rearguard had cleared the ramp, and turned towards the red carpet. And in the moment Wen stepped on it, there was a barrage of camera flashes, to the point where it almost overwhelmed the pleasantly surprised Wo. As she passed, the Guards saluted her with their spears, and after gliding past the threshold of the captain, she looked towards the gathered alien crowd that were fenced away from the docking area with the help of uniformed human servicemen. To them, she turned, and bowed. And to their mediamen, she also bowed in a manner that was graceful and elegant, but also humble and unassuming. Immediately, she detected a spike of activity from the Terran Pathways - her simple, courteous acts had inspired a wave of talk.

And Wen absolutely [i]loved[/i] the attention.

She smiled to herself. In just a night, she would dispel the commonly held belief that the Wo were a race of metal husks, forever doomed to walk the stars as an undead race. The humans had expected the Harmony's ambassador to be plasteel skeletons like her eight Honor Guard, but instead they got an exotic alien beauty.

The translation software booted up within the depths of her computerized mind as she saw her human counterpart approaching. Also a woman, she was dressed formally, but without individuality. That was a shame, as these humans were clearly a race of potential - a high-strung race that would achieve so much culturally, if only they winded down and invested in the pleasures of life like hers did. They met, shook hands, and exchanged pleasant greetings. Surrounded by flags hanging from the towering walls of Earth's main starport and amidst the blaring of national anthems, such was how the first Wo landed upon Earth. Wen, oh beautiful Wen, was now the face of the Harmony.