Author's Note:
Here concludes the story of Cherry and the crew of E16.
Thank you for reading and thanks again for all the very kind ratings and comments.
***
Cherry felt a little embarrassed when she learned that Hyfax 7 wasn't a planet as she'd assumed, but rather an enormous space station along the lines of Apollo - the huge trade and travel hub in Earth's orbit - only many, many times larger.
It got its name from the Hyfax Corporation, an interstellar, multi-species conglomerate that owned and operated twelve such stations. Not only were they each home to around a million residents, many admittedly short term, they were also among the most well-known centers of commerce and trade anywhere in the galaxy. Hence Cherry's embarrassment.
"So Cherry, this is probably your first visit to a Hyfax station, huh?" Tor asked her.
E16's crew were gathered in the galley for dinner, as they gathered almost everyday. She was on final approach to Hyfax 7.
"Uh huh - I'm excited!" Cherry acknowledged happily.
"You know, I remember my first time on a Hyfax, Hyfax 4 I think?," Fem began, looking to the middle distance as he recalled the memory. "I honestly thought it was the most overwhelming place I'd ever been. It was like, total non-stop party mayhem!"
Cherry smiled at Fem's happy memory and she noticed Heb and Tor laughing in agreement and for the rest of dinner her crew mates shared stories of their many trips to various Hyfax stations over the years and Cherry's anticipation grew.
"You know some asshole tried to shake us down on a Hyfax once?" Heb said as a lull developed between stories.
"Oh yeah," Tor joined in, "I remember that fucker. Tried to say we owed like thousands of credits in import fees. Hyfax 10 I think."
"Oh my god, why?" Cherry asked and Tor and Heb looked at each other and smiled.
"Well, if memory serves," Fem piped up, "it was because the Skipper here made a fool out of him at a poker tournament, in the guy's own casino."
"It wasn't even a big money game, some kind of charity thing I think, he just wasn't a very good loser," Heb said.
"So, how did you... I mean, how were you able to get clearance to leave?" Cherry asked.
"Oh, an old buddy of mine from my navy days was working dock control, I told him the story and he let us go, said it wasn't the first time that asshole - Noparion I think his name was, a Gollomite - had tried the same shtick."
"Wow, what a dick," Cherry agreed.
After docking, they made their way to the station's main social hub known as The Diamond. Like the center of a land-based city, it was the jumping off point for all of the activities life on the massive station had to offer.
Heb had arranged some meetings with various contacts to discuss possibilities for E16's next job and Tor and Fem had a list of mechanical and other supplies they wanted to source.
Much to Cherry's objection, they had all insisted that, because it was her first time on a Hyfax, she be exempt from any tasks so she could immerse herself in station life.
They arranged to meet at a bar on The Diamond later in the day and went their separate ways. Cherry had downloaded a map and guide book of the station to her Biohud. She was most attracted to the area known as the Reeper Plaza - the center of the city's more hedonistic entertainment and recreational activity.
Like the district of the Earth city of Hamburg from where it got it's name, it was a veritable hive of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Cherry took some time to wallow in the assault on her senses the plaza provided and marveled at how crowded and busy it felt at what was, ostensibly, the middle of the day by station time, before picking a particularly lively looking club to head inside.
As she took in the sights and sounds of the place, she knew she'd made a good choice. Alien music, strange to her ears, formed the backdrop to the veritable theater of entertainment she witnessed. There were so many different species present, there was no way she could possibly count them all.
At the center of the huge space was a large dance floor, slightly sunk into the floor so that the various tables and seating areas that surrounded it were raised above it. Cherry located the bar along one wall and made her way there as a starting point.
She had a quick drink but the noise and excitement of the place was too much and Cherry just couldn't help making her way almost immediately to the dance floor, letting her body move and react by itself to the high paced and incredibly rhythmic alien music.
Automatically, she smiled broadly as she moved. It had been too long since she'd been in a place like this, had allowed herself to just give her body over to the music and revel in how it made her feel.
Given how crowded the place was, she couldn't avoid bumping into various other patrons as she danced, but she didn't really care and they didn't seem to either. Like sex, Cherry found that as much as she loved dancing alone, it was always better with someone else.