"You don't want to take some time to settle in?" I said, feeling dismayed at the idea of rushing around.
"Everyone else will be settling in, and there will be fewer people on the tour," Jess pointed out. "And if you go in your room first, you're going to vanish in there, and we won't see you until dinner time."
"Tour it is!" Dani clapped her hands. "Let's go!"
"Oh, okay," I said, smiling at her enthusiasm. It was nice to be around my friends, and the anxiety tension started to melt away from my body, replaced by the burgeoning sense of anticipation and glee. I got to hang out with my friends, doing whatever I wanted, exploring the solar system, for months. I was a bona fide space adventurer. For not the first time since entering my late thirties, I felt a sense of deep pleasure for where my life had taken me. I was financially stable enough to commit to going on this cruise. I was emotionally stable enough to have a steady group of friends who appreciated me for who I was rather than what I could do for them. The only thing missing from my life's checklist was a husband and a baby, and I'd already decided that I didn't need either of those things if I couldn't find a guy who met my very reasonable standards.
I hadn't been able to find one in the human dating market, so a singles cruise surrounded by a bunch of aliens who were specifically there to meet humans, with friends who would drag me around and force me to meet new people, seemed like a great idea.
"Let's go fuck some aliens!" Mara lifted her hand up for a high five, and Jess met her halfway with enthusiasm.
I gasped and looked around, only to see several of the Norratar staring at us.
"They heard you!" I hissed, trying to hold in my laughter.
"Good," Mara said. She grinned back at the aliens, and they all flattened their ears back at the sight of her bare teeth.
"Did you even read the pamphlet?" I asked, already knowing the answer, as we all moved towards the door, the other humans were streaming through. She wouldn't have given them a threat display if she had read the pamphlet. Then again, this was Mara, so maybe she would. "There are several species on board that don't do casual very well."
"I'll stick to the easy ones," Mara waggled her eyebrows at me as we entered a hallway filled with doors. Up ahead of us, a door slid open as a man walked past it, and he stopped, staring at the open door in surprise before going in. "You can go find Mr. One in a Million."
"I'm not that strict about it," I said. "He just has to be right for me."
"I thought he had to be tall, own his own home, have a dedicated hobby or passion he could share with you, be a good cook, be willing to try roleplaying, give good massages, be able to have intellectual conversations, want kids but be okay without them if it doesn't happen, and be willing to change something about himself for you," Lin said, holding up a finger for each trait she listed.
"I still don't understand the willingness to change part," Dani said. "Some people can't change. You just have to love them the way they are."
"Everyone is changing all the time," I said.
"You either grow, or you decay," Lin said. "There are pauses in life, sure, but staying stagnant isn't a real option. Stagnation is just unacknowledged decay."
"Humans aren't plants," Dani said. "I see what you're getting at, but I still don't think it's a good idea to make that a requirement for a partner."
A door slid open on my right.
I looked into it, seeing a large, comfortable bedroom stretched out in front of me, like a luxury hotel that was callingmy name while whispering promises of privacy and solitude. My luggage was there, parked right next to my bed.
"No, don't do it," Mara said, grabbing my hand and hooking my arm through hers. "To the tour!"
"To the tour!" the rest of my friends repeated after her, and with laughter, we all headed deeper into the ship.
Chapter
Two
Masak
Acommunication request pinged at the edges of my attention, a subroutine set up to watch the hallways. There were too many people on board for me to watch all at once. I wasn't a computer; my ability to take in information was limited by my attention, so having automatic systems set up in place, as well as crew members to handle some of the less important aspects, was essential. I'd even created a bridge with navigation controls! My younger sister thought it was hilarious. I'd started sending her short-form complex communication art in the human format, called memes, in response, which she found even funnier. I'd sent her an entire data packet of human images without any context, so she could make up new ones and send them back without having any idea of the origin or meanings of the photos.
The subroutine pinged for my attention again.
The subroutine I set up wasn't a security one, which would have been routed to the onboard security crew first and only asked for my attention if it was a severe issue.
This particular subroutine was designated to watch for guest organics who were specifically requesting to speak to me.
I focused my attention on the optics I had installed in the hallway near the request origin. A human female was standing in the hallway, her hands twisting together as she looked up and down the hallway, as if she wasn't sure which way she should go. She was interesting to look at. I loved the way all of the humans looked; my fascination with them was one of the reasons I worked with the Chyrrith and Norratar Empire to set up this singles cruise in the first place. This particular human had come off the third shuttle transport from Earth, and I had noticed her the moment she arrived, not just because of the lovely auburn sheen in her smooth, wavy hair, but because of the fabric she draped around her body, disguising every inch of her in bright fabric.
At first, my interest was just in her clothing, and I did what I always did when I saw a new alien material I hadn't seen before. The Norratar had already connected the Earth's information system with their networks, and I hopped on, looking for a place where I could buy the material to add to my stores.
