Commander Zesta stood in the station's docking bay, waiting for the Captain's Dropship to arrive. Once she had secured two guards for the Terran male, Zesta made her way with them and several station command personnel. Due to the size of Border Station Five, Cruiser class ships were too large to land, so everyone onboard the Pride of the Matriarchy had to use Dropships. As Zesta waited, she looked around and saw that two Destroyers had docked since the small fleet, commanded by Captain Ema, had entered the system.
Both ships sat next to each other. A dozen or so pipes and cables had been attached to their respective hulls, and their purpose was to refuel and charge each ship. The streamlined grey hulls of the two Destroyers shined in the light of the hangar, and Zesta could see that the armoured bays of their Vortex engines had been opened. The station's engineers were performing routine maintenance checks. She watched as a nearby engineer ignited their Jump Pack, the two jets on either side of the boxy device launching her up in the low gravity of the hangar.
Something moved within her peripheral vision, and Zesta turned away from the Destroyers and watched as a large, dark grey Dropship pushed itself through the docking bay's thin, light blue shield. Beyond it was the airless vacuum of the Arroganza system. The Dropship's four engines, located on each corner of the boxy craft, activated and then rotated so that they pointed down, their combined thrust slowing the craft as it descended onto its designated landing pad. When the Dropship was about six feet above the pad, four sets of landing gear, one near each corner, lowered and with a metallic crunch, it landed.
Zesta and her entourage walked up to the Dropship and waited for the side door to open. With a hiss and a mechanical clanking, the door unlocked and slowly began to open. An automated ramp lowered from the craft, and Zesta was bathed in red light from inside the Dropship. Standing at the top of the ramp was Captain Ema, the light of the hangar shining off her obsidian black scales. Zesta could also see how bright the Captain's bioluminescence was as it glowed a lovely, warm purple.
"Captain Ema," Zesta said, stepping forward and slamming her right fist against her chest, "May I be the first to welcome you to Border Station Five." She retracted her hood and bowed. Her entourage copied the salute and bow.
"Thank you for your warm welcome, Commander," Ema replied. Zesta heard her descend the ramp, the clink of her Uniform's claws tapping on the ramp as she walked down it. Standing up again, Zesta noticed that Matriarch Theka had appeared.
"On behalf of the entire station crew, may I also welcome you, Matriarch Theka," she said, and again, Zesta saluted, retracted her hood and bowed deeply. Zesta heard her entourage copy her movements once more.
"There is no need to be so formal, Zesta," Theka replied warmly. She, too, made her way down the ramp. Zesta stood up straight again and saw an unknown figure appear in the doorway of the Dropship.
"Are you sure the pilot knew what they were doing?" the person asked.
Zesta recognised them as a Terran Male and was surprised by how much she found him attractive. Granted, he had no scales, a tail, or bioluminescence. However, the Terran had lovely smooth skin and was taller than the Viper males. He smiled at Zesta as he walked down the ramp. She was surprised by how friendly he was with the Matriarch.
"May I present to you, Captain John Lawrence," Theka said, pointing with her right hand at the Terran. Zesta and her entourage saluted him.
"Were they meant to do that?" John asked, looking a bit confused.
"While you are not part of the Matriarchy," Zesta said, "you are a Captain. I thought it best to treat you with the appropriate respect," she then smiled at John when she finished talking.
"Commander," Ema said as she stepped forward, "I assume you have made available a Primary Male Suite for John?" she asked.
"Yes, Captain," Zesta nodded. "It is located in the VIP section of the station's living quarters, and I have also assigned these two to guard him," she then gestured towards two female Vipers standing close by.
*****
John looked to Zesta's left and watched as the two guards stepped forward. They were both wearing Nanosuits, which appeared to be black, but as the light of the hangar reflected off of them, John realised that they were a dark purple. He also noticed that their primary and secondary scale colours were opposites. The primary scale colour for the guard on the left was white, while the secondary colour was charcoal grey. The secondary scales started from the top of her blunt nose, up their head and down the back of her hood. They were also located on the softer inner part of her hood. The colours were the other way around for the guard on the right. John liked how they both had the same bright, neon blue bioluminescence, which made their eyes, mouth, and tongue glow blue.
"This is Nisku and Etsala," Zesta said, gesturing to the Viper on the left and right. "Both of them are the Station's finest guards," Zesta boasted. "You can normally find them working in the station's best Brothel. They are very experienced with preventing females from getting too close to the males we have on board," she finished and then made eye contact with John.
"Thanks, although," John looked up at Zesta, "am I in so much danger that I need two guards?" he inquired.
"We are treating you as a VIP," Theka chimed in, "while I am sure none of the crew on this station would break our laws," she said, "the presence of both Nisku and Etsala will help to prevent any incidents," Theka gave John a reassuring smile when she finished talking.
"Matriarch Theka is correct," Zesta agreed, "you are the first Terran to visit Matriarchy space, and so it was decided to treat you as a visiting dignitary," she said and then looked up at Ema, "we have also made a VIP suite available to you Captain," Zesta said with a curt nod.
"Thank you, Commander," Ema replied.
"If it is okay with you, I will be heading to my quarters," Theka said as Uszu walked down the ramp, carrying what John thought was a suitcase. Theka took hold of her steward's free arm and pulled him alongside her as the Matriarch headed for the nearby doors leading into the station proper.
"I assume you have received the docking requests from the fleet and the Pride's Dropships?" Ema inquired.
"Yes, Captain," she nodded, "as you can see," Zesta then gestured towards the vessels nearby, "we have received two of your Destroyers, and we expect the other ships to dock soon," Zesta then looked back at John, "if you would follow your guards, they will take you to your suite," she said, smiling when John looked up at her.
"Okay, sure," he said, walking up to the Nisku and Etsala, both Vipers smiling at John when he stopped before them. "Hello," he said, looking up at them.
"Hello," Nisku replied, "Captain," Etsala said with a curt nod, "I will lead the way," Nisku said and then turned about and walked towards the exit.
"Before I forget," Zesta called out as John followed behind Nisku, "your guards are also acting as stewards. Feel free to enjoy them, as they will be staying with you in your suite," she then watched as they left the hangar. Turning to face Ema, Zesta looked up at her "Will the Terran be okay?" she asked.
"Oh, John will be fine," Ema replied, "he managed to survive an encounter with Officer Thissa," she said. Zesta hissed at the mention of the Officer's name.
"You still owe me for the last time she came on board," the Commander said.
*****
Etsala watched John as she walked behind him. The first thing she noticed was that he was taller than the average Viper male. His body also appeared to have a slightly muscular physique, just noticeable under the dark grey Nanosuit he wore. When John approached Nisku and herself, Etsala picked up a whiff of pheromones. Following behind him while Nisku led the way, she took a deep breath. Rubbing her forked tongue against the roof of her mouth, Etsala was able to ascertain that John was both unsure about his current situation and aroused.
"What do you think of our station?" Nisku asked as she turned her head and looked back at John. Etsala guessed he was lost in thought as he seemed surprised by the question.
"From what I've seen so far, it looks nice," he replied.
"Perhaps you would like a tour after you have rested?" Etsala asked. She watched as John turned around and started to walk backwards. She smiled at him when he looked up.
"That would be nice," he answered with a smile. John then turned back around and continued to follow close behind Nisku.
After about ten minutes of walking along the corridor, Nisku stopped before a pair of doors. She placed her right hand against the palm reader, and after a few beeps, the two doors slid open.
"This is the VIP section of the station," Etsala said as the three of them walked through the now-open doors.
From where they were standing, Etsala saw the three matching corridors, one to their left, one to their right, and the last was directly in front of them. Each corridor's floor, walls, and ceiling were padded, similar to the standard quarters of the station or a Matriarchy vessel. However, what made them different was the quality of the material used and the softness. Hanging from the ceiling, at set intervals, were simple chandeliers, gold in colour, and they emitted a pleasant and warm glow.
"This was not what I was expecting," John said as he looked around. Etsala watched as John removed his pad from his right thigh and deactivated the Nanos from around his feet. After a flash of neon blue, she cocked her head to one side as she looked at his feet.
"They look weird," Etsala said. John turned to look up at her and then down at his feet. Nisku turned around and also looked down.
"No claws, how weird," she said.
"Hey, no foot shaming," John complained and went to reactivate the Nanos. Etsala stepped forward and placed her large right hand on John's.
"Sorry," she said, looking down at him, "you did it for a reason," Etsala stepped back, removing her hand.
"I was curious to see what it felt like," John said, smiling at her. She returned the smile. "It does feel nice," Etsala stated.
"That's what I was going to say," John replied, then started to scrunch his odd-looking feet as he took a few paces.
"I like it too," Nisku chimed in.
"Where are we going now?" John asked as he continued to enjoy the softness of the padded floor.
"Let me get my map," Etsala's sister replied, "believe it or not, but we do not get to walk around the VIP section that often," Nisku said as she tapped away at her pad. "Ah, found it," she announced, "if we go down that corridor," Nisku pointed to the one on their left, "we will go past several doors and then enter a large square room. That will be the communal eating area," she then started to walk down the corridor. Etsala fell in behind John as he hurried to catch up with Nisku. "Once we get to the eating area, we take the corridor marked with the green light, and your suite is the third door on the right," Nisku then turned around and walked backwards, looking down at John. "I hear you like the smell of our musk," she said, and John laughed while scratching his neck.
"Er yeah," he said, "I kinda told about fifty of the crew when I was in the canteen," John then looked back at Etsala.
"I hope you like it strong," she said, "both my sister and I have the smelliest musk on the station," Etsala then winked at John.
"To be honest," he said, looking forward again as Nisku turned back around, "I find it distracting. Sometimes I have to concentrate on what I'm doing," John admitted. A few minutes later, they arrived at the communal eating area.
