3
"What we have here is a case of mistaken identity," Vinka said as she pressed her hand on her head, smoothing down the tight hairstyle she wore.She sat on a little chair just inside the door from the corridor.
It was a kind of secondary entry, with more doors that were numbered and separated by columns.It resembled a meeting area of some sort.
It wasn’t a cell.
Marcin liked that a lot.
Though he didn’t know what was behind the numbered doors, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to know yet.
"Explain," Solkan said, his gaze darting from Vinka to the doors and back again.
Guess Solkan was a little nervous about the doors too.
Marcin ran his hand over his short hair-styled short and slicked back from his face.
He looked like himself.
Or a better version, anyway.
He couldn’t help touching his arms or his hands, to feel themnotbeing dirty.He would never diminish the importance of a cleansing cycle again.
They’d come to in a medical bay, were checked out, and this pink humanoid had them taken straight to a groomer—a barber—to get haircuts after they were finished.
Like she was sprucing them up for a market.
Marcin clung to his hope that they were going home, but once the woman said it was the Intergalactic Dating Agency, then he knew this was not what was planned.
Vinka continued explaining what happened."After the explosion, we docked here.The ship was crippled, and we managed to hook onto the closest air lock on Disguised Serenity.Barely."
"And we were taken to the medical facility," Marcin said."How is this mistaken identity?You know who we all are."
"But the Intergalactic Dating Agency doesn't."
The agency, tasked with finding humanoids their compatible matches, worked with every known species of humanoid and helped them find their mates.Due to the vastness of the galaxy, sometimes, finding those mates proved a challenge, so the Intergalactic Dating Agency assisted with this.
The Rhimodians had not worked with the Intergalactic Dating Agency.Rhimodians could not have children due to their incompatibility with any other species, so a company that specialized in finding ways to mate humanoids was not worth the Rhimodians time.
"We were dirty and beaten up," Kolvin said.
Marcin nodded.They were not ready to meet any dates or potential matches.That should have been the IDA's first hint they were connecting with the wrong people.
"They were expecting some miners in from the Eros Kante belt.Being dirty and beaten up goes with the miner's world.They did not realize you were not the miners.You all were brought in for processing before any of us officers realized what was happening."
"But we're Rhimodian cyborgs," Solkan said."Can they not tell the difference between Rhimodians and the miners?"
She waved her arm."I don't know why they didn't better check.I would think they would have more notes.Maybe the miners are enhanced humanoids too?They just took you into their care and started working with you.Cleaning you up, getting you clothing.Re-lee's really nice but she doesn't know you're the wrong humanoids."
"We have to tell her," Kolvin said."We are taking someone else's position and opportunity.We were supposed to go home."
"That's the funny thing," Vinka said."The way the IDA works, they findyourmate.Yours.No one else's.Even if you left, the female would not be able to mate with anyone else, because they're programmed to be yours."
"Programmed?So, they're cyborgs?"Marcin asked.
"Not cyborgs, but there are enhancements, or so I was led to believe."
He raised his eyebrow."I can work with that," Marcin said.The idea of an enhanced humanoid that could be his mate?A companion for him to have outside of the Rhimodians?He was starting to appreciate the idea.
