3
I spent the rest of the trip to Vrassk-Ka avoiding Kaveri at any cost. I didn't go into the guest quarters or talk to her on the com. I didn't even watch her on the monitor. I had hoped that a few hours alone might break her spell over me, but that misguided hope was shattered the moment I opened the door to her quarters to tell her that we had arrived.
"This station is enormous," she said, still peering out the window. "It has to be twice the size of Briton Chalo."
"Probably closer to three, and it's a whole hell of a lot cleaner," I said, wincing as my eyes drank in her beauty again. She was leaning back on her palms, her long blue legs crossed casually at the end of the bed. Every time I blinked, I remembered the way she had looked down on her knees in front of me, her lips and tail and tendrils doing things to my cock I hadn't even imagined possible. And then I remembered how easy it would be for me to ask her to do it again.
"I can't wait to see it," Kaveri said, turning and smiling at me. "Will you show me around?"
"Actually, I, uh..." I trailed off, completely lost in her luminous eyes.
So much for breaking her spell. If Raxyl weren't three steps behind you, you'd already have your hands on her horns and your cock in her throat.
"We believe it would be best if you remained on the ship for the time being," Raxyl said. "Until we know more about why the Convectorate attacked us, caution seems like the prudent course of action."
Kaveri's expression sank. "I see," she whispered. "I will stay wherever you wish, masters, of course."
I closed my eyes and sighed. I felt like I had just kicked a narr pup. "I know it's not exactly fair, but..."
"You should do whatever you believe is right, master," she said, smiling again. Though, for the first time, I could tell it was forced. "I will be here waiting for you when you return."
"Good," Raxyl said. "Then we should—"
"Why don't you come with me while he fuels up the ship?" I asked. "We're the ones who woke you up. It doesn't seem right to stick you in these cramped quarters the whole trip."
My partner didn't look at me like I was crazy—he looked at me like this was exactly what he had expected me to do all along. Somehow, that was even worse.
"Are you certain?" Kaveri asked, standing eagerly.
"Yes," I said, a little unnerved by the lack of any dissenting voice in my head. "I think you'll enjoy seeing the sights. Though we'll, uh...we'll need to stop in a clothing shop and get you something else to wear."
She glanced down at herself as if she had only just remembered that she was ninety-eight percent nude. "If you believe that is necessary. I do not wish to make you uncomfortable."
"I'm a lot less worried about my comfort than I am about drawing unwanted attention." I stepped back into the corridor and opened one of my lockers. Nothing I owned would come close to fitting her, but I did have a brown cloak that was better than nothing. "Here, in the meantime you can wear this."
Kaveri took the cloak and slung it over her shoulders. It was hilariously oversized, but it would still draw far less attention than her bountiful blue assets. Plenty of alien cultures around here wore similar attire, and with luck, it would at least get us to the clothing store.
"Much better," I said.
"If you say so," Kaveri replied, smiling again. "Are we ready to disembark, master?"
"Good question,
master
," Raxyl said, a blue streak shimmering across his neck. "What are we going to do?"
"Just pay the techs and start refueling as soon as possible," I told him. "And try and slice into the station datanet while you're at it—preferably without getting caught."
"I will do my best. Somehow, I doubt that I will be the one dodging security."
"We'll be fine," I promised, wishing I felt half as confident as I sounded.
"Mm," Raxyl murmured. "Just remember that in the event you end up dead or incarcerated, I plan to confiscate the entirety of our advance payment."
"I always appreciate your honesty," I said before turning back to Kaveri. "Come on, I'll show you the sights."
She placed her arm in mine, and I led her through the hangar and into the actual port. Vrassk-Ka was the largest commercial station in the sector and possibly the entire region. Its Rakashi owners hadn't taken sides in the Thirty-Year War or any of the other major interstellar wars of the past few centuries, and their persistent neutrality had paid enormous financial dividends. Traders from all over the Far Rim came here to do business without the judgmental eyes of the Convectorate or the creepy telepaths of the Dominion.
On some level, that freedom was just an illusion, of course. Every galactic power with a remote interest in this sector—which was basically everyone at this point—had spies embedded somewhere on Vrassk-Ka. The Jadari, the Kreen, even the V'rath...you never knew for certain whether the person you were talking to was just a random customer or an operative. Still, the station was incredibly safe, at least as far as random violence was concerned. Spies didn't assassinate anyone on Vrassk-Ka; they just watched, waited, and planned how to do it later.
Thankfully, those agents often spent so much time dealing with one another that they usually couldn't be bothered to focus on independent spacers like myself. Kaveri and I attracted far less attention than I'd feared, and after a short tram ride into the heart of the commerce platform, we found a shop with Velothi-style clothing. I knew as much about fashion as I did about slicing—which was to say, virtually nothing—but I had a feeling that my new associate would know what she wanted when she saw it.
I was right. A few minutes after disappearing into the changing rooms, she emerged in a sleek white outfit that was still obnoxiously sexy but far more in line with typical Velothi fashion: a short skirt, knee-high boots, and a bandeau that covered her breasts but left her shoulders and midriff achingly bare. She would fit in perfectly on a hundred different planets, which meant I didn't really have a right to complain.
And to be honest, it's not like I really want to. I could kiss that sculpted blue belly of hers for days on end...
"What do you think?" she asked, spinning around for my viewing pleasure.
"Better," I said, biting down on my lip. It was hard enough not to stare at her stomach, but the way her tail was flicking about just reminded me of all the things she could do with it...
"I am glad you are pleased," Kaveri said. "I am certain my new master will compensate you for the cost of—"
"Don't worry about it," I said, waving a hand and glancing around to make certain no one else was nearby. "Let's, uh...let's head up to the main promenade so you can see more of the station."
"Anything you wish, mas—Cole," she corrected with a coy smirk. "I am yours for a few more days, at least."
Don't remind me.
I paid the automated cashier, and the two of us walked out the door into the concourse arm-in-arm. Even though they hadn't sold perfume in the store, I could have sworn she smelled even better than she had before. Everything about her was so infuriatingly intoxicating she seemed more like a hologram than an actual person.
Maybe this is all just an elaborate prank by Raxyl. Maybe he programmed some kind of simulation so he could watch my reactions and further evaluate human behavior. Maybe he's standing over me in a lab coat right now...
"You seem troubled, Cole," Kaveri said after we hopped into a lift and started ascending. "Have I done something wrong?"
"No, it's just..." I paused and glanced up to the security camera in the ceiling. I needed to remember that true "privacy" was basically impossible in a place like this. The Rakashi had an unparalleled surveillance and information network.
"What?" she asked, her brow creased in concern.
"Forget it," I said. "I'll tell you later."
When the lift stopped, I led her out into the massive sprawl of foot traffic in the main promenade, as brightly lit as a clear summer afternoon. There were probably a hundred thousand people here at this time of day, and Kaveri's eyes widened at the sight of the crowd.
I smiled as I watched her. "I don't know much about Chalo Prime, but I doubt you've ever seen this many people in one place."
"Not even in holo-vids..." she whispered.
I grinned and placed my hand in the small of her back to guide her toward one of the wide observation decks. From this vantage point, it was nearly impossible to tell that we were even in space. Based on the flashing signs, the holo-ads, and the seemingly endless trams, we could have been standing in the heart of almost any metropolis in the sector—with one subtle difference.
"What is that?" she breathed.
"A gas giant," I told her, nodding at the familiar cascade of colors swirling outside the translucent force fields that enclosed the vast habitat ring. "It's magnified, of course—that planet is a few hundred million kilometers away from the station. But part of the reason the Rakashi built it here was because they knew people would come just for the view."
Kaveri shook her head, completely enthralled. I didn't blame her in the slightest. The first time I had seen this little optical illusion, I had probably stood here for an hour. It was like overdosing on adrenals, minus the headaches and addiction.
"It's beautiful," she whispered.
"Yeah," I said, though I wasn't looking at the gas giant. I was honestly more transfixed by her flawless silhouette. The subtle parting of her lips, the iridescent glow of her blue eyes, the excited twirling of her tendrils...
And then I made the mistake of glancing down at her cleavage again. The way her bandeau was cupping her breasts was driving me crazy. No matter what else happened here, I
had
