Desirée stepped out of the sonic shower, fluffing her sandy blonde hair. She stretched her naked body, trying to relax muscles still aching from early morning calisthenics. In that regard, being a courtesan was hard work; she had to be in excellent physical shape, so she'd be as attractive as possible for her guests.
She padded barefoot over to her locker, and opened it with a thumbprint against the door scanner. The locker slid open and she removed her hairbrush, trying to bring some order to her curls. The locker room was empty: other courtesans had to rush off to entertain their guests, but Desirée's schedule was relatively empty.
She was of two minds about that. On the one hand, she appreciated some time to relax but she still remembered the staggering amount of money she owed the Guild for her tuition. It was a debt that weighed on her mind a lot, a seemingly insurmountable amount that never seemed to get any smaller, no matter how hard she worked.
She shrugged, trying to get herself out of her funk. She still had 4 and-a-half years to go, and Veronica Franco told her that one or two guests were already asking for her by name. She grabbed her red thong from inside her locker, sliding it up her long, smooth legs. Then she slipped on her dress, in the standard Guild colours of red and gold. She then stepped into her matching pumps, and eyed herself in the full-length mirror at the far end of the room. Her body was taut and rounded in all the right places. Her nipples were hard, showing through the fabric of her dress. Even though she was a few months shy of her 22nd birthday, her face still had the softness of a teenager. She had pretty much lost hope that her plump cheeks -- the bane of her existence as a child -- were ever going away.
Just as she was about to start applying makeup, a green light flashed in the upper corner of her right eye, signaling an incoming call on her UTD. The number flashed on her display: it was Veronica Franco. Desirée mentally accepted the call, and a holo image of the curly-haired brunette flashed in front of her corneas.
"Good morning, Ma'am," Desirée told her boss. "How many I help you?"
"Good morning, darling," the older woman smiled. "When can you be at my office?"
Desirée mentally added up the time she needed to get ready. "I can be there in ten minutes, Ma'am. I still need to put on makeup."
Veronica shook her head. "Save it. I need you here as soon as possible. Don't worry about makeup: there won't be any guests present."
"All right." She blinked in surprise. Courtesans were expected to look presentable at all times. "Is seven minutes acceptable?"
"Make it five if you can, dear. I'll see you then." The holo image disappeared when Veronica ended the call.
Desirée grabbed her kit and slammed shut the locker door. She quickly ran out of the locker room, carrying her makeup bag with her.
***
Desirée was surprised to see Kalyani waiting in Veronica Franco's office. The young Dalit stood up with a cry of welcome, holding her arms out for a hug.
"It's good to see you again!" Desirée said warmly as the two friends embraced. Other than Veronica, Kalyani was the only other human female in the Guild of Courtesans. She had been invited to join the Guild after being sentenced to death for a crime she did not commit.
"You too!" Kalyani replied. "How have you been doing?" They sat in their respective smart chairs, the white round balls automatically adjusting to conform to their body shapes.
"You know," Desirée shrugged. "Guild life has its ups and downs --"
"And its ins and outs!" the two friends chorused together, giggling at their shared joke.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, girls," Veronica Franco bustled in the room, seating herself behind her desk. "It's been a hectic day and it's only going to get worse."
"Why have you asked us here, Ma'am?" Desirée leaned forward, crossing her long, slender legs.
"This holo should explain everything." Veronica punched several buttons on her desk computer. An image of a mousy-looking alien, wearing a long white gown, appeared above the projector.
"Greetings, Guild Administrator Veronica Franco," the alien spoke in a high, reedy voice. It had what looked like a crown of laurels draped around its head. "I represent the Throzaahli Collective. It has come to our attention that your Guild facility has acquired the services of a pair of females of the dominant species from what is commonly known as the Sol System.
"With your permission, we would like the opportunity to conduct a series of scientific experiments on your two human females. These tests will be highly invasive but we promise that we will not permanently injure your courtesans in any way. Naturally, we will have no difficulties complying with your standard rates for their services.
"Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any further information." The alien fell silent and, two seconds later, the holo projection ended.
Veronica leaned forward, toying with a statue of Aphrodite on her desk. "The Confederation only initiated contact with the Throzaahli Collective within the last six months," she began. "The denizens of that system are a space-faring race, but they haven't yet established the necessary technology to develop an interstellar drive. Ordinarily, that would preclude them from being eligible for Confederation membership, but the Diplomatic Corps wants to make an exception in this case."
She paused for several seconds. "Several planets in the system possess abundant amounts of neutrinium. I don't need to tell you how important this discovery is."
Desirée and Kalyani nodded, speechless. Refined neutrinium was the optimal power source for Confederation shipping. It was highly efficient, and lasted virtually forever, but was extremely rare and expensive. Given that the Throzaahli System possessed such a bounty of the mineral, it was no surprise that the Confederation wanted closer ties with the Collective. The cost of interstellar travel could be halved at a stroke.
"Given the current political situation, the Central Government wants the Throzaahli to join the Confederation under equitable terms," Veronica continued. "However, the major issue is finding out just what the Collective wants from us.
"Unlike many space-faring races, they have neither interest in interstellar travel nor contact with other races. Plus, they're indifferent to any other inducements we've offered. The Corps has had little or no luck in establishing their motivation or understanding their psychology. We even have grave doubts that the creature in this holo," she restart, then paused, the message so the mousy alien stood silently above her desk, "even represents the dominant species in the Collective."
