* * *
Re-lee steppedonto the transport just as her communicator buzzed again, and she pulled it out for a quick message. She assumed it would be from Addy, who had been a part of the situation with the cyborgs and the women from the other dimension. Addy, a Terran Empire soldier, was one of the officers who had brought the Rhimodians to freedom as part of the treaty to create peace between the Terrans and the Rhimodians.
Addy had shown strong skills and was working out very well with the Intergalactic Dating Agency. Re-lee was considering hiring her as a permanent employee. When the business grew, she would need a strong staff. Addy was a prime example of how the program worked--she was matched to the Rhimodian cyborg Soldan, though neither of them had ever considered such a connection. Yet here they were, happy as they could be.
"What else is there?" Re-lee said into the communicator.
"Do you need more from me?" a deep baritone voice asked.
Re-lee sat up straighter and tapped for the visual because that was not Addy's voice.
Sure enough, Addy did not appear before her.
It was Fwan.
Her contact in the Mining Guild.
Dark skin that glinted in the low light, with lighter marks of scarring on his brow, Fwan intrigued her. The shadows from his transmissions gave him a mysterious look. Everything around him was dark and it was unclear whether he was in a mine or in an office, or in deep space, as far as that went.
In any location, he would be an intimidating figure.
Even in the small size of the communicator, he could frighten someone.
Re-lee liked that about him.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked.
"Confirming my males can head over to Disguised Serenity."
She smiled at him. "Of course. You spoke with Addy, and she checked everything, correct?"
"She is not you. I deal withyou," he said, his deep voice extra rough on the last word.
"As you like," she said. "And yes, I will be ready for your miners when they arrive at the station, with everything I promised for them.”
He harrumphed.
"Fwan, I told you, this was not my assistant's fault."
"Are you sure?" Fwan asked.
"I made the initial mistakes that put us in a bind. Not my assistant. She, however, informed me of the issue at the mines.”
He grumbled again and shifted in his seat.
“And I promised you then that we would get it all taken care of to the best of my abilities. You have been so willing to work with me and I appreciate it. I prepared several special arrangements specifically for your men to make up for this inconvenience."
She had promised everything she could, including top-tier apartment upgrades for all the miners because their appointments had to be rescheduled. Because Re-lee had assumed the Rhimodians were her customers instead of properly checking everything before, she charged ahead. She had been so enthusiastic when the ship hit her airlock that she leaped in immediately.
As such, it made the miners, who had already booked, wait.
To make up for rescheduling, she offered Fwan the best facilities she could, as well as extra meal and shopping credits so they could be comfortable while they stayed on the base for the thirty-day trial.
"They need the mates. They don't need all the other."
"Fwan," she said, tilting her head to the side. "Don't you think the new couples should spend some time together before returning to the Mining Guild?"
"There is no need," he said.
