An Unexpected Guest for a Long-Expected Visit [closed]

[The 44th Indp Legion]

It had been exactly ten years since the Akûla had first stepped foot on Paraxus II. Since that time the Akûla had found a place and built a home on Paraxus and through hardship and hard work, they had finally come to the point where they had stabilised to the point where the first state visit was in order. Of course, since Aiëlla had a fair amount of personal interest and involvement in these affairs, she would have preferred to visit them sooner, but as the Akûla had come to know, there were many rules and regulations within the 44th that weren't always practical.

Aiëlla's mood was good, her simple, yet formal clothes were highly hydrophobic, so the rain was of little concern to her, apart from her having to wear the hood on her coat, which was fixed in position by two strings from the sides of the hood to the front main body of the coat, preventing it from being blown off by the wind in the open-topped transie. She was accompanied by her secretary, mr. Himvordal, and a translator by the name of mr. Freirikssen, just in case. To her protest, she was also escorted by a single Huskarl, which was completely superfluous, though, like all Huskarls, thankfully silent. Through the filing of a small mountain of paperwork she had been able to force the Huskarl to have his weapon systems not charged and therefore de-activated and safe. Currently, the huskarl sat in the co-driver position in the cockpit of the vehicle.

Though he was driving the transie and had been assigned the formal liason between the two nations, mr. Strangheim would not be joining the party during the state visit, he had a funeral to attend to. Aside from them there only two other passengers, an elderly lady with some groceries and a Saurai in an unflattering, dull grey templar cloak. The latter did not speak, and mostly hid his head and face behind a crude, heavy hood of similar fabric. Although they both could read standard saurai and some variants thereof, neither Aïella nor the translator could read the almost absent markings on the cloak. Aiëlla payed it little heed, she was reading one of her books, a theological classic by the name of 'Da er!'. It wasn't a datapad, but an actual physical book, a durable luxury alternative in the form of thin silicate sheets with pressure-moulded letters, sometimes in addition to preservative technologies discreetly hidden in the back of the book. Expensive as it may have been, it was not the customary gift she was going to give the Akûla for her first visit.

The kitchen knife she was going to give them was no ordinary kitchen knife. It was not technically even a kitchen knife - it was in fact a knife meant especially for the preparation and 'cooking' of raw fish suitable for human consuption. Needless to say, this kind of knife design was much older than the relationship between the 44th and the Akûla, but, to her, it represented a common, perhaps even unifying utility - a tool with which a dish suitable for both Akûla and humans could be made. To this end, the hilt of the blade had been adapted for ease of use and the edge had been sharpened to the point where safety regulations demanded a magnetic clamp-sheath rather than the usual synthetic leather or block type. Though not particularly light, the weight was, considering it's abundance of heavier elements, a remarkable feat of engineering and weight-saving. The blade itself was mostly composed of alumino-hexadite* with an overall hyperferrite abundance of no less than a staggering twelve goromril parts per million, whereas the outside of the handle was mostly an iridium adamantite. On the hollow inside of the handle resided a small conservation device of undetermined function, accessible by screwing off the small pommel on the bottom. The edge of the blade was, for a significant portion, composed of a heavy adamantium substance known as 'gorptir'**.

The old lady looked at the knife in the secretary's hands.
"That's a good looking knife you have there." She said
"Oh no, it's not mine, It's hers" " Denied the secretary immediately, nodding to the reading Aiëlla.
The lady looked at Aiëlla, squinted, thought visibly and concluded "Are you the young Lady Lawncaster?"
Unexpectedly flustered Aiëlla smiled and said "Oh you flatter me, I'm not that young anymore...though I guess compared to Mother I'm still quite young."
"It looks expensive, is it-a your first time visiting them Akûla?" Asked the old lady.
"yes, it is, though I've seen them before." Asnwered Aiëlla
"ah yes, I remember, I heard on the news that you handled business when they first arrived, it must've been like five years ago, the least." Remarked the old lady.
"It's been ten years to the day" corrected Aiëlla kindly.
"Time flies, doesn't it." Cackled the old lady amused.
The hooded saurai threw a chilling glance.
"but I digress, has it got an adamantium edge? since it's got the magnoclamps, you know." Continued the Old Lady on a different subject.
"Yes" Said Aiëlla, who was slowly falling back into her reading.
"Monomelecular?" inquired the old lady, her interest piqued.
"No, it's for cooking, not stabbing."
"Pity. I would've liked to see a 1-gauge again, you just don't see those around out here"
Aiëlla lifter her brow in hearing the misnomer, but did not correct the old lady, and continued to read until their arrival, which was about a minute earlier than expected. A timely arrival for public transport by any measure.



*: GorAl6[Al3Ti5Ir]12, counted as 27 (one of which hyperferrite) particles total for ppm counts.
**: 5-10 percent 24[Co, Rh] * GorPt2Ti4 in alloy with mostly iridium.

[Carcharhinidae primari]

A couple of minutes later a distant rumble could be heard, combining the sounds of a high-speed engine with metal grinding on the lanestone surface, but the sound was still quite docile compared to the 44th transie that just moved of. Mere seconds later a dark shape began to be outlined through the endless rains dominating this section of the continent, resembling nothing so much as a miniature of an fairen class strike craft done in blackened steel plates with a half-track added along each side; a thin, wide strip of glass-like material halfway up the 'nose' of the craft defining the steering compartment. As the vehicle clattered to a halt further decorations become visible, with faint lines forming a complicated pattern of seaweeds and kelps, and the wheels holding the tracks embellished with the cogwheel-and-shark flag used by the Akûla.
The overal form, however, was still quite close to the Cruiser mentioned, with plates and segments following similar vectors all along the sides and top.
Not quite visible however were the two impeller nozzles places towards the rear, and the openings cut into the front profile for the water intake were equally shrouded by the shadow of the craft.

with a few more metallic sounds a large part of the rear plate unlocked and swung down, supported by two hinges attached to a lower segment, and an Akûla wearing a deep blue robe stepped out. For this ocasion they had recognized that most humans were accustomed to being clothed for it's own sake, and not merely heat conservation or safety reasons, and had 'dressed' accordingly. He bowed, somewhat stiffly, and smiled at the assembled party. His Ord, though spoken with an accent and a few mispronounciations, was very passable.
"Lady Aiëlla, it is good to see you again. Driloi will join us momentarily, as soon as he's disentangled himself from the controls."
The Carcharanoid's breezy tone and intonation might have reminded Aiëlla of Daros, if she had remembered their names and voices over the 10 standard years since their last meeting, and he turned to the other members, looked apprehensively at the huskarl before cautiously glancing at the saurai. With a slightly distracted air about him he looked down at a small pad he pulled from a pocket in his robe, working his jaw as though framing unknown words before looking up again.
'Øhaaa, sulya Daros. Watak chia Skopargis Afraki nair' he managed, speaking to the Saurai and looking slightly uncomfortable, being certain he'd gotten at least some parts wrong. And looking almost gratefull as another of his kind walked down the ramp briskly.
'Greetings on behalf of the Akûla council, Lady Aiëlla Lawncaster, and company. I am Driloi-Oura Ordanata, and this is Daros Vorentas.' Driloi began, his own accent clearer and more direct that daros'.

[The 44th Indp Legion]

<Afraxi å närte? Mloj da.> Said the Saurai softly, but his pronunciation was intentionally slow and impeccable.
[OOC translation: You haven't been assigned an observer callsign yet? It strikes me as likely that you are currently misinformed on the subject. (he's being polite, 'Mloj da' is the least offensive way to imply a claim or statement is incorrect.)]
"My apologies, it's good to see a friendly face again, but it was none of intentions to interfere with state affairs." Said the Saurai as he gestured to Aiëlla and softly moved out of the way and tried to remain out of focus. Once situated near the vehicle, he inspected it and softly muttered. <Tverdnak> [lit. "how geometric", a mostly disused Saurai compliment]

Aiëlla looked mildly flustered. In truth, she had expected the Saurai to continue with the transie, let alone disembark alongside with her, more curiously still she had not expected it to have an interest in the Akûla. It did not disturb her though, she knew a threat when she saw one, and this Saurai clearly wasn't one. Not to the Paraxians or Akûla, anyway.
"thank you, and in return I may greet you on behalf of the houses of Lawncaster, Vladimirov, Xho'tar-"
She struggled with the guttural utterance of the latter, but continued unabated after a brief pause for breath.
"-Uïnov, Yjillitch, their allies and our nation as a whole."
As with many a state visit, it began with a candid handshake. However, no photographers or press was present. The friendliness with not a front, or a ruse. It was heartfelt and well-meant.
"Honestly, mister Driloi-Oura I am eager to see your city, and I imagine your cooks and/or engineers will be equally thrilled at the gift I brought...But I don't want to break the surprise just yet." Said Aiëlla with a smile.

As Aiëlla and Driloi engaged in polite small talk chit-chat about insignificant things, the weather, road maintenance works, the likes, as Aiëlla eagerly guided herself to what seemed to be the entrance to the vehicle, The Saurai approached Daros. His voice bore an uncanny mixture of cheerfulness weighed down by grief now that he spoke as normal.
"I see the timing of my arrival is a bit unusual. I would like to request to be allowed to meditate on your shores, for the time being."
Airx shook off the water from his waterlogged hood to little avail, but kept it on regardless.
"The century is still young, I can wait a a bit longer. However, I've been told the seas help ease the worn mind. It would please me if you took me to it's end." Said Airx.

[Carcharhinidae primari]

Driloi seemed equally eager to show of the vehicle he and Daros had arrived in, having designed some of it himself in conjunction with Daros, so he quickly guided Aiëlla up the ramp and into the passenger compartment.
The inside was lit by several embedded glowing strips along the high ceiling, about 3 meters above the fine metal mesh flooring. Along the sides of the compartment were several long benches, set about 2 meters apart and made of a steel framework which was then padded and covered in a dark red synthetic fabric. Along the central line of the floor, which ran from the front of the compartment to the rear, were solid steel plates. Though Aiëlla would not be able to see any sign of this, these plates could be lifted up to form segments of a wide table directly between the benches. Sitting down comfortably he began to explain a little about the craft; How it was powered using a hydrogen-oxygen reaction turbine, two chemicals the akûla had easy access to, linked by a toggle-able driveshaft to either the track-wheels or the impellers. And several other topics of increasing technicality if Aiëlla would not stop him.

Daros, in the meantime, was slightly more flustered then before; perhaps even a little uncomfortable.
"what? erm. You are more then welcome to join us, Templar, we'd be honored to show you our city as well.' Here he paused for a moment, before adding ruefully: ' Though it is bound to be considerably less impressive then one of the Templar temples.'
He idly tapped his fingers on the chest-high track beside him, probably out of nervousness. To the Akûla the saurai were still considered strange and aloof, albeit no longer threatening to themselves.

[The 44th Indp Legion]

what? erm. You are more then welcome to join us, Templar, we'd be honored to show you our city as well...Though it is bound to be considerably less impressive then one of the Templar temples.

"I think your view of the Temples may be a bit askew due to the local Sulian temple. There are but a handful of temples of that scale...and fewer still are still intact. The Sulians¹ wield vast political and economic power though their technologies, and the same goes for the Taiyo² and the Tiëva³, but the other Temples are not generally quite so well-endowed - well...not anymore, anyway, most of their influence is apocryphal by now. Regardless, an old Kvet⁴ like me has little use nor desire for an empty, claustrophobic building. I've seen enough small empty and narrow corridors to last a lifetime. I'd prefer somewhere under an open sky, or with waves. Perhaps both.

For quite some time Aiëlla was engrossed in technicalities with Driloi, though she had taken the initiative of taking their engineering-related talk inside the vehicle so no unnecessary delays would be incurred. Aiëlla did a quick rundown on protocol for the talks that she hoped would commence reasonably, but not very, soon - The age-old 'what is said off the table stays off the table unless it is scheduled to be repeated at the table', initially created to keep psychological and metaphysical debates off the negotiation table, still was the third-most prolific doctrine, only "no mortal combat" and "keep all weapons (if any) out of hand and on the table" carried precedence of it. Aiëlla did mention the latter two, just in to be sure the future held no surprises, but she did so light-heartedly, seeing as they would hardly be needed. Apart from those three so-called 'pillars of politics', saurai doctrine had little to no rules concerning negotiations, which was fairly in-line with their crude and often-times rude and/or violent solutions to political disagreements. The 44th Independent Legion had expanded this ruleset with a few things most would consider common sense: "do not insult the participants", "refrain from physical and/or psychic violence, intimidation and/or threatening", simple things mostly. Over time this had evolved to a more complex system of unwritten rules, which included the usage of formal(-ish) language at the negotiation table, the gifting of an item upon first visit, merged with a dash of Hyperion politeness⁵. All-in-all, the system was a bit unrefined, but it was robust and allowed for effective dialogue, much more so than standard Saurai protocol anyways.

Airx was about to enter the passenger cabin when his gaze crossed that of Aiëlla. The conversation between Aiëlla and Driloi stifled immediately. Aiëlla almost seemed to glare politely at Airx, who thought the better of it, turned round and quite suddenly joined Daros in the cabin, taking the empty seat without asking, but explaining slightly.
"Best not to interfere with politics." Muffled Airx as he closed the door, in doing so revealing a thick metallic wristband, which appeared a little too much like a shackle for comfort. airx quickly slid his sleeve back in place.
"So how many g's does this thing pull when you step on it?" Asked Airx as the vehicle grumbled into action.

1:formal adherents to Quet Sul
2:formal adherents to Taiyo Shi
3:formal adherents to Tiën Ki
4:formal adherents to Quet Li
5: the Hyperion system is known for it's polite citizens. A major part of their cultural perception of politeness is allowing the other person to finish speaking, though there are a few exceptions which allow polite interruption of speech, such as correcting an apparent false premises, severe logical fallacies and combat-related situations.

Note that 'formal adherents' covers a group larger than just the Templars, and includes the non-militant branches of the Temples as well as pious believers who are not bureaucratically part of the temple, who may or may not have an honorary Templar Order title given to them.

Also note the difference in meaning between 'Tiënva' -"seeker(s) of knowledge"- and Tiënval -"Gatherer/collector of Knowledge"-, which also is the name of a prominent adherent to Tiën Ki after which the infamous Ar'Tiënval is named.-

[Carcharhinidae primari]

Driloi nodded as the various points were fitted in. He had taken the opportunity to look through the materials regarding diplomacy that were more readily available from the 44th's database, this being the first official diplomatic encounter of their entire species he did not wish to make a bad impression. The old city-states on their former home planet had generally not been into talking much until one side surrendered unconditionally, and he mentioned as such before asking that any mistakes the Akûla might make during the process be taken in the context of a species new to diplomacy as a concept.

As the conversation stifled for a moment due to Airx, he looked curiously from Aiëlla to the saurai and back again. But shrugged and did not pursue the matter after Airx had passed them into the cabin.

With the interpreter having also taken his seat on the opposite couch and the huskarl looming somewhat near the entrance he reached up to flick a small switch, which brightened the lights a little as well as starting the cylinders that pulled the door back to it's original position. As the faint sounds and vibrations of the gas turbine started up he flicked another switch, and reached down to lift up one of the plates to form a table, and spread out a map made of a synthetic material on the top.
'This is a map of the area assigned to us, with the structures we have built or are planning to build in the immediate future marked on it. Also marked is the area where our salvage vessel has begun to search the debris field for what we would consider advanced materials and technology of note.'

Whilst Driloi explained the projects undertaken by the Akûla Hegemony, as they had come to call themselves, Daros turned the vehicle around in a wide circle.
'Kvet.. Quet.. Li? Like the reverend Air-...' he paused, and turned his gaze back to the controls, remembering that their meeting with the reverend was not supposed to be mentioned and unsure how far that restriction ran. The cabin was a bit noisier then the passenger compartment, so the Akûla had to speak up a little to be heard over the rattling of the tracks.
'As.. for the Amphitrack, we've got about .3g acceleration on land and we can get .5 on the surface if the waves aren't too bad.' he commented, taking some pride in the result of his design.
'At least to start with, the curve flattens out some once we pass 15 and 31 m/s of course...' He added as an afterthought, switching gears and letting the engine drop down to a lower hum as they left the town on an agricultural road.

[The 44th Indp Legion]

Airx smirked. Despite his burden, he was adept at enjoying the little things in life where he found them, though the pace of his emotional scale may not have exactly made him seem like a pillar of mental health.
He began talking slightly playfully, in part mocking his heritage for it's transience.
"Quet Li, yes. The godess preferring motion, precision, and the guise of featherbeasts now forgotten, whose temple was, at one point, counted the most powerful and influential of all the temples."
His voice saddened slightly.
"But that was long ago. Not too long after the reforms that re-arranged the Itzloz -which were a hardcore steel-faced lot or so I was told, apparently didn't speak much either- and the Temples into what now is, uh, the Guard and the various Temples. All to make things a bit simpler of course, which it did initially, until it got complicated again of course. And that was before the madmen conglomerate lost it's structural integrity, if you know what I mean."
He sighed and sought to derail his tangent back onto the subject.
He tried to talk again but had to pause mournfully.
"I know the name of all the kvets who currently hold the title 'reverend', and so do you and whomever might be your neighbour, for there are none.See, our numbers took a bit of a fall at one point. Everyone who didn't keel over between then and now has died anyway or has been promoted, like me - though I'll have to say there's a bit of a disparity between the various brass in terms of power. By memory and the other temples, these titles still hold weight, but our names are light and drift around like feathers."
Airx suddenly cheered up.
"Speaking of drifting, what kind of turning circle does this thing have at optimal speed? Wait, don't answer that. This is a comfort vehicle. Performance is a bonus, not a feature, correct? I would assume so, yes...Is it long to sea's end?

[Carcharhinidae primari]

The rest of the trip went fairly smoothly, the transition from land to ocean mostly marked by a slight swaying motion as the waves washed against the side of the amphitrack, it being heavy enough not to roll noticeably. Daros explained to Airx that it was, firstly, a transport, and that he saw no reason why performance or comfort should suffer if one designed for both.
With the main sea-current moving down the coast going in roughly the right direction, it took less then an hour to get to the city, though of the passengers only Airx got a good view. Out here the rains were less constant, with wide breaks in the weather letting in the light. From a distance the city seemed to shine, the light reflecting sharply of the steel and glass used in it's construction. The amphitrack made for a large dock; passing by several large and low barges laid up in an artificial inlet; and certainly Airx could pick out the shearing spaces left on the keys and between large building to allow the independently floating structures to move slightly.
Up ahead a large ramp led into a hangar of sorts; with another pair of amphitracks still under assembly. To Aiëlla the clattering of the tracks as they moved up a mostly-metal ramp would be an unusual sound; perhaps even new.
Driloi stood up from the bench and folded the table back into the floor before the ramp was dropped, standing beside the opening to the wide and high hangar, lit brightly through several large skylights. The airy space open on one side to the inlet and on the other side onto a large square of metal gratings.
“Lady Aiëlla , welcome to Akuleseides. May the waves stay calm.”

[The 44th Indp Legion]

"Thank you, it's a pleasure to finally set foot here." Said Aiëlla as she looked about with wonder and second-hand pride.
"It's...so different. I mean I've seen the blueprints, but I had never expected that independently developed architecture would look so- so alien. Is that...bare steel? So peculiar. I've never seen anything quite like this." She continued.
She took a moment to let the marvel sink in.
"It's very elegant. You have good reasons to be proud." She concluded.

"You know, Saurai law has gotten really weird." Said Airx casually.
"-I probably should say weird-er, considering your perspective." He added.
"Or maybe anyone's perspective, once politics and the guard get involved." He contemplated.
"Speaking of which. Remember that projection pistol back then? A peculiar thing, that was. I did a little bit of research and it turns out it's a rare antique these days. I can't wrap my head around it. I found it...I found it- I don't think i'm supposed to say where I found it, but what I mean to say is that when I found it, it was more advanced than anything I could have imagined. Now it's 'outdated' and riddled with 'superflous functions'. When I spoke with the brigadier-general earlier I couldn't help but notice it didn't have the weld and cauterise functions, amongst others. Isn't that telling? They're supposed to keep us from harm, they say..."
He paused briefly.
"I honestly don't know how the Guard is involved in all of this this, but frankly I don't appreciate them deciding....well, anything, really."
"It serves well to watch your back, they play by the rules, but don't for a second think they play nice."
"Now I'm not saying they're hypocrytical, but rather that they're...a-political." He hastened to add.
"That being said, I'd like to see firsthand what you people can do...and maybe do some experimenting myself." He postulated.
He softly handled the chackle-like bracelets on his wrists.
"If only to see how these damn things function." He murmered to himself.

<<Huskarl! Visir!>> Barked Aiëlla in a quite uncharacteristic tone.
Appearing from the unseen, her bodyguard handed her her standard issue infantry helmet, which she deftly nested in her armpit, as if she had done just that a thousand times. Deftly and silently, the bodyguard excused him self from plain sight.
"Shall we proceed with the tour of the city?" She asked enthusiasticly, hoping for it to be a rhetorical question.
"I have my own rebreather right here, so the underwater sections should not be too troublesome - though verbal communication may suffer. I can't dive below 20 though, doctor's orders."

[Carcharhinidae primari]

"It is quite unusual for us as well; we really have arrived at the future." Driloi said, leading the way to a wide pontoon walkway into the city. "This is the architecture our people have been dreaming about since we discovered metalwork and only the abundance of materials we can get from the 44th has made this possible."
As the party passed along several buildings the walkway would shift slightly. With segments of walkways and buildings all moving slightly differently in the waves washing along below them. Several were clearly still under construction or being modified, with the flickers of welding tools visible from inside and under the surface.

Back in the Hangar Daros excused himself from Airx, Stating that he had to go with Driloi and the group but that the Saurai was more then welcome to go where he liked; provided he took care in the laboratories.

It was a short walk before they reached the large circular plaza at the centre of the city with many more walkways opening up from it like so many spokes to a wheel. In it's centre was a low, circular structure of steel columns and a synthetic fabric roof. Through the open sides the inside proved to be open to the sea, with stairs leading into the water.
Driloi now headed for.the structure at the centre; the metal grid that formed the walkways further out now making way for concentric circles of thick glass plates; showing the ocean below. With the clear view from the glass the reason why thus far only a handful of other Akûla had been seen became clear. While above the surface the city had few buildings rising up far and most were wide compared to their height, they continued to go down a long way underwater.

"This is what you could call the heart of our city, if you'd like we can go down to one of the conference rooms where we can give an even better idea of our city, and we can decide where exactly you'd like to visist."

[The 44th Indp Legion]

Aiëlla peered down through the glass for a little while, squinting, trying to gauge how far the structure extended below the surface, but it was hard for the spire denizen to tell.
"Excellent" She said, and put on her helmet, which rather distinctly lacked a face guard or mouth attachment.
"Let me just fiddle with the settings for a moment and I'll be ready to go." She said, pressing something -a button, presumably- somewhere on the inside of the helmet near the ear.
<<Aktung: vokalmod chativye>> Said the helmet in a commanding, well enunciated voice.
<<Aktung: Burj ta'nai>> it continued.
<<Aktu->>
<<Klyppa tungen Paraksje>> Interrupted Aiëlla, sounding unusually uncordial. Maybe it was the accent.
"Language changed to Parxian. Confirm." Said the helmet in a rather more friendly voice.
"Confirmed."
"WARNING: Vocal mode activated. WARNING: silent running mode disabled. WARNING: Radio silence disabled WARNING: repulsors disabled. WARNING: magnetic field disabled. WARNING: Unable to connect to spire. WARNING: biofilters require maintanance. WARNING: PSU disconnected, running on internal power. WARNING: internal power at 87% WARNING: IOS at 97%" It blared.
Aiëlla muttered something unintelligible to herself and took out a small agenda out of the inside pocket of her coat, took out the writing implement residing in it's spine and scribbled a number of glyphs.
"WARNING: vocal mode activated. WARNING: unable to conne-" Blared the helmet once more.
"Quickmute warnings, please." Said Aiëlla, as she continued scribbling glyph-like wiring.
"Activate civil mode, Paraxus two, spire nine." She said.
"Civillian mode activated. Connecting...connected. Parameters updated. Please specify usage time." Said the helmet.
"12 hours or less." Said Aiëlla.
"All systems nominal." Said the helmet.
"Alright, all set up!" she said enthusiasticly, walking down the stairs and into the water.

The extremities of the hydrophobic clothing she wore floated very peculiarly before they were dragged down and submerged too. As her head reached water level the helmet said
"closed circulation field activated. IOS at 97%"
As she submerged further, the water failed to flow into her helmet, some invisible force stopping it as if it were a steel wall, creating what effectively was a dive bell. Underwater, Aiëlla moved with awkwardness and with a lack of balance, though her footsteps clamped down on the stairs systematically like a well-drilled space-walker, it was obvious the density of her medium was completely alien to her.
"Can you still understand me like this?" She said, her voice distorted by the air-water interface.
"If possible, I'd like to walk as much as possible, at least initially, I'm not a very adapt swimmer. Are the conference rooms far from where? What other facilities will we pass on the way there?" She asked.