3
Disguised Serenity was swarmed with humanoids.There was far more there than usual, Bahran thought as he worked his way through the crowds.
Many, however, parted for him simply because of his size.While not as large as Jedriek, Bahran wasn't tiny by any means compared to other humanoids.
"Are you sure you do not wish to come?"Jedriek asked as he crossed to the lift.
Bahran shook his head."I have other business."
Jedriek shrugged."The pleasure women would help with things."
"You enjoy your time.I have a friend I promised to say hello to when I returned."
Jedriek's eyes opened wide."A friend?You have a friend?"
Bahran nodded."And I would appreciate it if you did not mention it to anyone."
"As you like."He grinned as he stepped on the lift.
Bahran sighed.
Let Jedriek think what he wanted.It mattered not.
Rhimodians did not have friends, really, anywhere.There were quite a few who believed they were in the wrong for fighting the Terran Empire.And they tended to share their opinions regularly with the Rhimodians.Bahran stayed away from those influences whenever he could because he did not want more trouble.
As far as friends on the space station, when did he have time for that?Jedriek had requested to come to the station for his Craving, and Master System let him.Bahran was able to go with him.Mainly under the guise of keeping Jedriek out of trouble.
But there was much more to this than just making sure Jedriek behaved.
And he would--he was going to see the pleasure women.They would not let him get away with much.
Bahran made his way through the station and down a backside area.The station was a collection of old-generation ships and pieces of broken space stations.It was cobbled together to make a significant port for any weary traveler or tradesman wanting to sell their wares.Most of the station felt like a spaceship--metals and polymers and forcefields keeping it all together.A few areas were actual biomes with growing plants and vegetation.Parks, they called them.Several large parks in different corners of the station generated the station's oxygen supply.
And humanoids could walk through them and appreciate the living greenery as a change from the stars of space.
However, where Bahran was now was not nearly so pretty and appealing.This was the backside of all the lovely things.The path he headed into was so narrow, he wondered if it had been initially a maintenance access tube.
The instructions were clear, and he knew where he was supposed to go.Narrow walkway or not.
He felt nervousness rising in him.He would need to see maintenance when he returned to Sol.Something must be malfunctioning in his protocols for him to be feeling such nervousness.A part of him recognized the recklessness of what he was doing.The primitive side, though, should not be having such an organic response.
Reckless or not, he must track down and find his brethren.Primal fears notwithstanding.
He reached the door and pressed in the command code he'd been given.
The door opened with a bit of a grind--evidence the door had not been opened very often--and he stepped inside.
The interior was as dark as the exterior, and inside, it smelled of fresh plants.The aroma was a contradiction to the dark and almost unkept location.This opened to a private storage area.His scanners immediately gave him a layout and reading of all the lifesigns in the immediate area.One was here, in the dark, waiting.Another was not far away.A couple of rooms away, more were conversing.The location looked like a storefront, but he would meet his contact in a private room in the rear, not far from where he was now.
A humanoid stepped out of the dark.Large even by humanoids standards.Not as big as he was, of course, but large enough.
The humanoid looked him up and down."Alone?"
"As requested."
The humanoid nodded."Come."
And led him through the small back door and into another room.
