“This is the guest cabin assigned to you.” Erlyn selected a few buttons on the display and pressed his hand to the wall. “If you place your hand upon the scanner, it will save your data and give you access to your room.”
“I take it there are others who will be able to enter my room?” Jaiya asked, following his directions. The moon base had a similar set-up for private cabins.
The door slid open and a wall of humidity smacked into her immediately.
Jaiya stepped over the threshold, confused by what she found beyond.
The space consisted of one large room with no other doors. The most surprising and confounding item within the room was a small stairway leading up to a box of fine greenish-gray sand about the shape of a king-size bed. Dividing the raised sandbox from the rest of the room were two lounge platforms in two different wave-like wedge shapes. The sand platform transitioned into a stone-tiled waterfall-like shower equipped with a bench in one corner. A variety of plants spanned the entire back wall, heavy with hanging vines, flowers, and fruit.
If she hadn’t been told this was her room, she would have thought it was some sort of indoor greenhouse with a patio sitting area. Her travel cases sat on its centered glass table.
“Are you sure this is it?”
“Is there a problem?” Erlyn asked, his voice laced with concern. “Prince Idris picked this room personally for the lead diplomat. It is equipped with fresh bedding sand and plants grown from the royal family stock.”
“Bedding sand? You can’t be serious.”
His silver prehensile tail danced behind him as confusion laced his expression. “We sleep in the sand; it cleanses us every night, retaining the warmth from the plant’s solar lamps.”
Jaiya scooped up a hand of the warm sand, feeling its silkiness as it fell between her fingers. It reminded her of the volcanic mud baths that were popular amongst the rich on the three major planets in the Cosmic Trinity Alliance.
“You bathe in this?”
“We cover ourselves in it every night. The sand removes dead scales and foreign particles and helps repair everyday damage,” Erlyn explained. “Each morning, we grab an offering from the wall garden, to clean our teeth, and freshen our breath before we rinse off the night’s sand in the shower.”
“I thought you hosted the diplomatic party twenty-five years ago. You should have known that humans don’t sleep or wash in a pile of sand.” She pulled open the wall drawers, finding them empty. “We have mattresses wrapped in fine cloth, equipped with pillows and blankets.” After failing to find anythingnormalto sleep in, she faced the confused assistant. “Have you truly never heard of such things?”
“This starbase was not yet built when the original meeting took place. The human representatives insisted on staying aboard their ship between talks. The other species we have come across within the galaxy are accustomed to similar living conditions. This is the first time I have heard about this human custom.” Erlyn pulled out his tablet and frantically jotted down notes. “Is there anything else I should know?”
Jaiya surveyed the room once more, making sure she didn’t overlook a hidden door. When none was found, she eyed the shower stall-like corner. “Where do I go to relieve myself?”
He pointed in the direction she feared. “In the grate along the wall,” he choked, his face darkening. “Daextru waste is liquid, and both genders urinate while standing. Our waste is collected and used as fertilizer.”
“It is a good thing that I came alone after all,” Jaiya sighed, crossing her arms. “While this room may be a fine spa destination for a day trip, as living quarters the room is unacceptable.”
Erlyn flinched, as if she had hit him. “You can’t be serious. I know you are not aspaworker. These are the finest rooms on the starbase, other than the royal suites.”
“Spaworker?”
Jaiya tested the Dzexet word in her mouth a few times as she tried to identify the error in translation. Whateverspawas, she had somehow offended him by describing the space that way.
“Yes, I assure you that no one on this starbase believes that you are a pleasure attendant.” His tail twitched as he locked his pale eyes with hers, projecting reassurance. “It is of utmost importance to us that this peace treaty is successful. Offending you is our greatest worry.”
Ahh, a ‘spa’ to them must be the equivalent of a ‘whore house’ to humans.
Pleasure workers weren’t illegal in the Cosmic Trinity Alliance. In fact, there were whole islands and resorts dedicated to fulfilling visitors’ wildest dreams. If one had a kink, there was a safe place to practice it. While Jaiya had never been to any of them since she avoided going planetside, she understood their importance; they gave the people a secure space to live out their darkest fantasies.
But that didn’t help her here.
What could she do in order to make the best of the situation without offending her hosts any more than she already had? Clearly, they believed that these rooms were the best they had to offer.
At one point in time, humans had lived in caves and clay huts. While this may not be the standard of living in today’s time, there were still extreme adventurers who trekked into the wilderness to live off the land.
She could make do for the course of the mission. They would provide all other necessities she needed to survive, she was sure—things would just be a little more barbaric than usual.
“Is there anything I can do in order to make the remainder of your time with us more pleasant? Anything you need that isn’t already here?”
She glanced around the room one more time and shrugged. “I would greatly appreciate a blanket, if there is any way you can bring one. For everything else, I will make do.”
