“I reserved the best room in the hotel for you,” she said. “It’s got a lovely view of the forest, and the stars.”
Mr. Binn smiled. “Thank you very much, Ms. Greene-Moone. I’m so glad I cleared my schedule for a few days to enjoy this little getaway.”
Holly led him down the newly carpeted hallway and up the short lift ride to the second floor. Biometric scan doors, preset to Mr. Binn’s wrist comm, opened with a soft click. Inside, the rooms were redone. New furnishings each decorated with a unique, creative flair. Her parents had contributed enormously to this, because Holly could not find the will to decorate all twenty guest rooms individually. It was a task her parents had taken up with relish. Even remotely, after they had returned home following the reinspection, three-dimensional rendered models of each guest room, each with a unique theme, had appeared in Holly’s inbox.
“This is the Soprano’s Room,” she said. Some of the rooms had been designed with certain species in mind, as a tribute. This one had been inspired by Shava’Lor, the famous Lokrian soprano who had donated the proceeds of a concert to the station. It was one of the most in-demand rooms, as it was occupied by the Lokrian soprano when she came to visit.
“This is by far our most luxurious room, and I wanted you to stay here,” she said. “You will not be charged, by the way.” She smiled. “It’s my pleasure that you’re here.”
Mr. Binn blinked, looking around the room with obvious amazement. “I don’t know what to say, Ms. Greene-Moone. This is absolutely beautiful.”
Even Holly agreed that it was. The suite was awash in shades of blue and lavender. Soft, silken curtains hung from the windows. The sofa in the living section of the suite was a curved,plush creation that looked as if it had been carved rather than constructed.
His assistant bot entered with the luggage container. “Where shall I put these, sir?”
“In the bedroom, please, Rokk,” Mr. Binn said to the bot. “And don’t worry about unpacking. I’ll see to it. You may return to the shuttle to recharge. Your power cell must be low.”
The bot, whose face was a featureless shield of polished metal, nodded. “Very good, sir. I will do that.”
As the assistant bot approached the door, another robot rolled inside. Much shorter, and certainly not as expensively molded. Luv blinked her optical sensors at the sight of the tall metal android. “Well, well, well. What do we have here?”
“Luv,” Holly said in a warning tone. “This is Mr. Binn and his assistant bot, Rokk. They’ll be staying with us for a few days.”
“I know who he is,” said Luv. “And I heard him speak to this fine model. Shows good manners.” She turned to Mr. Binn. “Nice to meet you. I am Luv, Holly’s assistant. You’ll let me know if you need anything. Anything at all.”
Mr. Binn’s lips twitched. “Thank you, Luv. I will.”
But Luv had already turned her attention back to Rokk, who stood near the doorway, hovering as if unsure what to do. Holly was fairly certain Rokk was not quite as sentient as Luv, but the bot stood there, apparently processing this new interaction, uncertain whether to address Luv or ignore her completely.
“Luv, Mr. Binn has sent Rokk back to the ship to recharge. Why don’t you let him do that?”
“Oh, of course, of course,” said Luv in her thick British accent, sounding much friendlier than she usually did. “Off you go,” she said, gesturing for Rokk to leave. “In fact, I’ll escort you there myself.”
Rokk turned his smooth, featureless head toward Mr. Binn, as if in question.
Mr. Binn waved him on. “Go ahead. We wouldn’t want you to get lost.”
Both bots left, leaving Mr. Binn, Rasker, and Holly in the room.
Mr. Binn chuckled and shook his head. “Your Homeboti is quite a character. She may be the only one left that didn’t get the patch to remove autonomy and personality.”
“Living with Luv is an adventure,” said Holly. “I don’t think I’d have her any other way, though.”
Mr. Binn nodded. “I have been adding some personality to Rokk,” he said. “Small patches, here and there, so both of us can get used to it. I find it useful to have an assistant who can keep you on track.” His eyes twinkled. “Sometimes, we all can veer off into dark waters.”
Holly sighed and nodded, remembering the six days she’d spent in her room, hiding from the station, its residents, and mostly her own feelings of failure.Andheartbreak. Fortunately, the heartbreak had not remained. Rasker had been by her side ever since that day in the square when Cody’s treachery had been revealed.
“Well, I’ll let you get settled in,” she said. “Let me know when you’d like a tour around the dome. As you can see, all the guest rooms have new NuProd devices, so you can program in anything you might want to eat. There’s also the lounge. We have drinks and food, and I’ll be baking up a fresh batch of savory pies for dinner.” She paused at the door. “We can talk about that thing I wanted to discuss with you. Did you happen to bring the agreement?”
Mr. Binn patted his case. “It’s all in here, Ms. Greene-Moone.”
“Please, call me Holly. Everyone does.”
Mr. Binn inclined his head. “Very well, Holly. Why don’t you go ahead and call me Ferg.”
Holly had been vaguely aware of Mr. Binn’s first name, but it had never crossed her mind to use it. He did not seem like the type of person who invited familiarity. But she smiled even wider. “Very well, Ferg. I will do that.”
The day moved on.
