Chapter 23

A prompt screen lit up, which activated the dormant android that was crammed into the box. Systems booted up, and it activated all servos, its limbs coming free of their restraints. The copy of Jaesa loaded into the android’s cortex and after a moment, she came online, taking full control of the body.

Reaching up with its arms, it unlatched the inner catches of the crate before pushing the lid off. Carefully, Jaesa took hold of the lid, before carefully lifting it up and off, placing it on the ground outside the crate. She then sat up and surveyed her surroundings.

A brief scan told her she was in the hold of the Darkstrider, stacked up right where her other self ordered her to be placed. Jaesa then did a brief scan of the ship, using the sensors on board her new body, and detected no life signs on the ship. They must have stopped somewhere, as she couldn’t sense the ship moving at all.

A more focused scan of her sensors showed there were Sentries active aboard the Darkstrider. Jaesa was happy that the crew had taken sensible precautions before leaving. She knew that she’d have to avoid the Sentries if she was going to leave. Seeing as there was no time to waste, she climbed out of the crate, landing quietly on her feet.

Before she left the hold, Jaesa reset the lid on the crate to make it look like no one had been there. The moment it was back in place, she climbed out of the hold and made her way to the crew’s living quarters. Even though her android body would pass for a human’s on sight, she still needed clothes. Sentient beings were a modest bunch and it wouldn’t do to go strolling around naked. Especially since most of the android body was devoid of skin.

Deftly avoiding the Sentries movements, she found her way into Kasumi McKenzie’s quarters. Closing the door behind her, Jaesa then looked around for the young Captain’s clothing. She found it and decided on a black T-shirt, khaki pants and a sturdy pair of combat boots. She also selected a casual green jacket to complete her disguise and caught her reflection in the mirror.

Jaesa looked exactly as her holographic avatar did, slim, muscular and fit. The brown hair framed her pretty face, and luminous blue eyes complimented her appearance. To any casual observer, she was just a pretty girl, out for a stroll. Breaking her gaze from the mirror, she opened the door quietly and peered out. Seeing that the coast was clear, she stepped out and made her way carefully to the front of the ship.

Sneaking around the Sentries was no easy feat, even for Jaesa. The machines were designed and programmed to investigate everything regularly and thoroughly. They left nothing to chance, so Jaesa had to time it carefully to work her way around them. The moment she neared the exit, she groaned inwardly. Flanking the exit were two Sentries, looking back and forth between the door and the interior of the ship.

Jaesa growled at this development and knew that she’d have to use an alternate route if she was going to leave the Darkstrider. While the ship was being built, she’d overseen much of its construction with Commander Sunara’s guidance. One thing she’d had done to the ship was the addition of a secret entrance and exit. It was one of the few things that the crew didn’t know about on the Darkstrider and something she’d keep to herself. For now, at least.

The secret way out was a crawlspace, designed to be small and tight, so few people could get through. Jaesa fit into that category, but just barely. She made her way down to the lowest deck and after locating the panel; she lifted it and crawled in. She slid it back into place, as it wouldn’t do for the Sentries to find it.

Jaesa made good time through the crawlspace, reaching the exit panel at the aft of the ship. When she created the exit, she had made sure that they reinforced this zone with additional armor and seals. There were also several panels, all of which had a unique signal that was required to open them. Jaesa already had those signals implanted in the android’s cortex and vocalized them, allowing her to pass through them.

Once she was clear of the ship, she stayed close to it and scanned for any life signs. The only ones she detected were the six that were clustered by the fore of the ship. Two of which were Inari and Priya, whereas the others looked to be customs and station security.

Smirking to herself, Jaesa snuck around to the dock, blending into the crates and cargo that sat on the dock. Most of it hadn’t gone through the customs or were waiting for pickup by their customers. She evaded the group by the Darkstrider and let herself into the station, with no one the wiser.

She walked into the main thoroughfare and was impressed with all the businesses and such that were on this station. There were clothing vendors, souvenir shops, street vendors selling wares from food to trinkets, an endless sea of commerce. Species of various sorts, from bipedal humanoids to skittering insects, meandered through the thoroughfare, minding their own business.

Now that she had the freedom to explore, Jaesa walked on into the crowd, intending to find any vendors for chemicals and organic compounds. She would need such materials to craft the synthetic skin that she desired her android to be outfitted with. Though the skin she had right now would pass for that of a human, a detailed scan would reveal otherwise.

The one thing she desired most was to make an android to become as close to an organic being as possible. With her goal set in her mind, Jaesa plowed on through, eager to see if she could find a vendor who would sell her what she was looking for. She hoped that a station this size would hold at least one, maybe more.

After taking a brief tour through the market and the Bazaar, the crew of the Darkstrider headed to a local dance club. It was popular with both spacers and the club scene, as it was a good place to cut loose, let your hair down and have some fun. The bouncers there looked more than capable of handling any problems that would crop up. Their presence kept even the rowdiest of spacers and clubbers in line, which many there appreciated.

The ladies were on the floor dancing their hearts out, moving to the pulsing beat of the music. Alex was at a nearby table, nursing a beer while keeping the space reserved for the crew. He smiled as he watched Natalya and Kasumi shimmy and strut around without a care in the world. Taal’ani was up there too, moving gracefully and in ways that few sentient beings could match.

Luminia, Aesha and even Tahral were up there with them, dancing as best they could and managing quite well. He chuckled as he waited for the rest of the crew to arrive. Alex only had to wait for a few minutes, as Inari, Priya and Korsa walked through the doors. The bouncers sized Korsa up, and after a few words, let her pass without incident. The women spotted Alex at the table and made their way to him.

“Not up there dancing, Alex?” Inari teased.

“Not much of a dancer. Besides, someone has to hold the table,” he replied.

“Well, I’m going to join the girls for some dancing. Fancy getting your groove on love?” Inari asked Priya, extending her hand. Pree smiled beautifully and placed her hand in Inari’s, letting her lead her through the tangle and press of bodies on the floor.

“Not going out there?” Alex asked Korsa, before taking a pull of his beer.

“Not right now. Just the dance floor to clear a little first before I head on up there,” Korsa told him with a look.

“I get you. Being as big as we are, it tends to have its disadvantages,” he chuckled.

“You got that right!” she replied before taking a seat opposite him. Korsa then picked up a menu that sat on the table and read it over.

“They’ve got some good eats here!” she enthused, looking over the tablet.

“You can read that?” Alex asked, perplexed.

“Of course I can! I just switched it my native Khontaran language and gave it a read!” she told him with a laugh.

“Menus do that now?”

“Oh Alex, you have so much left to learn!” Korsa giggled as she handed him the menu. She then showed him how to activate the translator feature on it, which he then switched to English. The menu then rippled as it changed and displayed everything on it, so Alex could read it this time.

“Wow! This is ... new!” he stated.

“Didn’t humans have technology like this back on Earth?” she whispered.

“Not quite. It was still becoming a thing when I left. So yeah, this is a little new to me!” he laughed.

Between the two of them, they ordered some entrees and snacks that they were sure the crew would like. Some items on the menu had Alex’s eyes bugging out, as a good portion of the dishes they served were live. He was thankful that there was a section of human fare, which he selected from.

They flagged down a nearby waitress and placed their order, then sat back, enjoying the ambiance of the club. Alex also put in orders for drinks, as he was sure the ladies would thirsty, with all the dancing they were doing. The club and the way it was built reminded him of the way human clubs were built back on Earth.

It was dark inside, with lights of various colors lighting up the interior. Strobe lights were going off in time with the music, and the colors kept shifting and changing with the beat. It was different, but still enjoyable, and even though half the music was unrecognizable to Alex, it was still interesting to hear.

“Alex! You going to sit there the whole time, or are you going to come on up and dance with us?” Natalya chided him.

“Waiting on some drinks and food that Korsa and I ordered. You ladies hungry?” he asked.

“Starving!” Kasumi piped up as she took a seat next to her man.

As luck would have it, the moment the ladies transitioned from the dance floor to the table, is when the food and drink arrived. They all grabbed a seat and helped the three waitresses with placing the food and drink. Once that was done, Korsa paid them and tipped them well, before everyone turned to the food and dug in.

Dancing for the last hour had taken a lot out of the crew and they were famished, gobbling up every morsel in sight. The Artucian, in particular, were astounded by the types of food that were available and availed themselves. After everyone had eaten and was enjoying their drinks, they figured on going up to dance some more. The ladies even tried to coax Alex to come up and dance with them.

“Come on Alex, please?” Kasumi begged.

“We want to dance with you!” Natalya told him.

“All right, I’ll dance,” he said.

“Really?!?” both women gushed.

“Yes, really, but don’t be disappointed if I can’t dance,” he told them.

“Pah! Just follow our lead and you’ll be fine. Besides, we want to keep the creepers and gawkers from trying anything,” Natalya told him quietly.

“Oh really? Where are these creepers and gawkers?” he asked, his tone taking a dangerous edge.

“All over the place, but once they see you dancing with us, they’ll get the message and take their stares elsewhere,” Kasumi replied.

“Maybe they’ll start backing away when I do this,” Alex grinned, before he drew Kasumi into a long, tonsil knocking kiss. Kas melted into his arms, losing herself in Alex’s mouth as she kissed him back. She finally drew away, flushed and blazing so hot that she had to fan herself.

“Not bad, Kassie. My turn,” Natalya grinned as she sauntered up to Alex. She kissed him much in the same way that he had kissed Kas. She was creative with her tongue, drawing a feral growl out of Alex, who stared at her lustfully. The look on his face was exactly what she wanted; that bedroom stare that told her he wanted her, now!

“Down boy. Save that energy for later, when we’re back in hyperspace,” Natalya told him with a wink.

“Oh, I will and just to give you an idea of what’s to come...” he said out loud before he leaned in whispering in Natalya’s ear. Kasumi leaned in as well, catching most of what he said. Both women’s eyes grew so large, they looked about ready to fall out of their heads.

“Me first!” Kas almost yelled.

“Uh-uh! Me!” Natalya argued.

“Maybe we decide this on the dance floor?” Alex suggested. They looked at him for a moment, before turning their gazes back at each other. Both women then smiled devilishly, before whispering to each other, then nodding as they came to an agreement.

“What are you two up to now?” he asked.

“I wouldn’t worry that pretty head of yours about it. Just enjoy yourself on the dance floor ... sir,” Natalya giggled.

Grinning like an idiot, Alex agreed and stepped out onto the floor with Natalya and Kasumi leading him. Alex noticed some hungry eyes on his ladies, but they all turned away when his gaze went searching for them. He smirked at their reluctance to keep staring when he was looking at them. They all knew that he was an alpha and his size and the way he carried himself, kept the creepers away.

The beat picked up to a rhythmic style that he was familiar with, and the ladies shook and grooved to it. It surprised Alex that even Korsa, as big as she was, was moving with all the grace and poise of a trained ballerina. Inari, Priya and the others were also dancing, and he almost laughed at the way Taal’ani was dancing with Tahral. He moved well enough but was blushing fiercely with how ... provocative the catgirl was being.

Alex moved in time to the music with his ladies, moving with them as they shimmied to the beat. Both women were being just as ... teasing with him, as Taal’ani was being with Tahral. Natalya and Kasumi each took their turns with him, each woman trying to outdo the other. It wasn’t until Natalya was against him, grinding heavily, that Alex finally lost control, drawing the woman into a fierce kiss.

Nats hmmed and moaned into the kiss, squealing happily when Alex finally broke away. Kasumi was crestfallen when she was suddenly pulled by Alex into a kiss of her own. She was surprised at the ferocity of the kiss and kissed Alex back, letting him know that she appreciated the gesture.

Natalya stood there, awestruck and fanning herself with how powerful and seductive the kiss was. Alex finally let the redheaded woman up for air and she fanned herself too, her chest heaving as she caught her breath. She glanced over at Natalya who was gawping at them both, blinking rapidly.

“What do you say?” Kas asked her friend and lover.

“Tie. I have to admit, that was hot!” Natalya smiled.

“Damn straight! I must be red as a tomato!” Kasumi giggled.

“More like a cherry from where I’m standing,” Alex snickered.

“Oh, shush you!” Kas said as she playfully slapped Alex on the chest. A ringing sounded in the air, which had Alex stop for a moment, wondering where it came from.

“What is that?” Korsa asked, as she stopped dancing.

“That’s me! I set an alarm for when Bataar would be arriving here, just in case we got a little sidetracked,” Taal’ani told them.

“Aw! Do we have to leave?” Luminia pouted.

“We can come back later. This place is open every day and all night long,” Inari told her.

“Yay!” several of the women chorused. With that, the crew left the bar, heading for their ship as this errand needed doing. But they were so focused on it, that they didn’t notice the men shadowing them as they left.

A pair of men, wearing the gang colors of the Blood Drinkers, a local station gang, meandered through the crowd. Most people gave them a wide enough berth to pass, knowing that crossing these gangers would be a bad idea. The men kept the crew in their sights but kept their distance. They had been sent to observe only, as opposed to doing anything to these people.

“This fucking sucks man! They don’t even see us! Why don’t we just take those two that we need and kill the rest?” one man asked. He was still young and fairly new to the gang, and the older man shook his head. The boy still had a lot to learn about how things worked in the gang.

“We have to keep a proper eye on this group, because that’s what needs doing. We follow our orders, or we wind up corpses. If we tried to attack them now, we would be dead anyway. Didn’t you see those sidearms they were packing?” the older man asked.

“No,” the young man admitted.

“Exactly. They’d likely gun us down like they have anyone else that tried to bring them in. If we tried anything, station security would be on our asses so fast, you’d be dead before you even knew what happened,” the veteran ganger told other.

“I guess.”

“Besides, Moloch is still negotiating with those bounty hunters about our cut. You know that only registered bounty hunters can claim the price on their heads,” the older Blood Drinker admonished the younger one.

“It sucks ass that we have to play by these fucking rules! The damned bounty hunters guild are a bunch of tightfisted assholes!” the young man griped.

“Though I agree, those are the rules, so we have to play by them. Besides, we’ll all get a cut of the bounty! You know how much those two are worth right now!” the older ganger reminded him.

“Yeah, you’re right! I remember Moloch saying that it would be enough so everyone would get a year’s pay from it! One hell of a score for just two women!” the young one grinned.

“That’s the spirit! So, we just keep watch on them, make sure they don’t go anywhere. If they do, we stop them however we can,” the older man said.

“What if they head back to their ship? Tough bit to try anything on the docks,” the hothead grumbled.

“That’s why having a friend in the port authority helps,” the older ganger grinned. The young man smiled at this news and resumed his watch on the crew.

The crew arrived back at the docks, making their way back to the Darkstrider. They were approaching the ship when they saw two people standing nearby it, looking confused. One of them was a human male who was dressed in a nondescript fashion, while the other was a Takharian female. She was dressed in clothing that wouldn’t have been out of place on a human woman, yet somehow, it worked for her.

Takharians were a race of lizard people, but were more humanoid than lizard in appearance. Their features varied between pure lizard to almost human in appearance. Their race was a disparate and divided one, as those who looked more Draconic in their appearance were a xenophobic lot. Those who were closer to humans in size and shape were friendlier than their counterparts, but this wasn’t always the case.

The Takharian that stood there looked more human, with emerald green scales covering the backs of her arms and legs. The other, softer points were more cream in coloring and was more skin like in texture and appearance. She had hair like humans did, but it was thicker, coarser and of a bluish green color. Her eyes were wide, expressive, and of the purest blue imaginable.

She stood towering over the man next her at seven-foot-six next to the man’s five-foot-ten. She was also lithe, yet muscled, as though she was an athlete, whereas the man was stocky and swarthy. He turned, and everyone got a good look at him. He had ink black hair, brown eyes and a face that looked like that of a stoic Mongolian warrior. His serious face broke into a huge grin upon seeing the crew arrive at the dock.

“Taal’ani!” he called out, walking forward with his arms open.

“Bataar! Good to see you, old friend!” the catgirl replied as she walked forward and gave him a hug. The two of them embraced and then smiled as they broke apart as the Takharian woman ambled up next to Bataar, dragging along several sealed crates behind her.

“So good to see you again, Taal’ani!” the woman said with a slight hiss to her voice.

“Akath?!? What are you doing here?” Talon wondered, surprised to see the woman.

“Accompanying my husband while he works. I am his assistant after all!” she replied happily.

“You two are...” Talon replied, her wide with shock.

“Yes, yes we are,” the swarthy man replied, taking his wife’s hand and kissing it. She purred happily and nuzzled up to him, showing her affection for the man. “It seems you brought the whole crew with you too!”

“Good to see you again, Akath. Have you been training like I advised?” Korsa asked the woman as she walked up.

“On and off,” Akath admitted, looking away shamefully.

“Well, we have a sparring area on the Darkstrider. Maybe you can show me what you know?” Korsa asked.

“We could. Where is the Darkstrider, by the way? I don’t see it,” she rumbled.

“It’s right there, silly!” Inari said, pointing at the ship.

“Wait, that’s the Darkstrider?!? I remember it as some old clunky ass freighter!” Bataar said, shocked at Inari’s gesture.

“Remember when I said that we would make some upgrades? Turns out that the ship got a whole damn makeover!” she smiled.

“I’ll say it did! It’s a damned frigate now!” he grinned, taking in the ship’s beauty.

“It’s beautiful on the outside. Is it the same on the inside too?” Akath asked.

“Let’s all get aboard and find out!” Inari smirked. Inari led the way to the front door and kept walking, the doors sliding open as she moved. Akath and Bataar were right behind her, both of them carrying the crates they had brought with them. She then halted, letting everyone else know that she had to be the one to walk in for this next bit.

“Activate shipwide voice comms,” the older woman called out.

“Shipwide voice comms activated, Captain,” Stanley replied.

“Attention all Sentries, stand down. Resume charging until further advised,” Inari ordered.

“All Sentries confirmed orders. They are heading back to their charging points now,” Stanley informed Inari.

“Thank you, Stanley,” the captain replied as she moved aside, allowing everyone inside the ship.

“Holy ... by all the gods and spirits, you certainly upgraded the old bird! How did you do this? The frame would have to have been dismantled in order for it to be the same ship,” he said with amazement, taking in the sleek new interior.

“And the clearance is good enough for even me to walk around without having to worry about hitting my head!” Akath commented happily.

“Trade secrets, Bataar!” Taal’ani teased him.

“Aw, come on! You won’t tell me how you built this beauty?” he groused.

“Not right now, at least. Let me show you where you can get set up for your work,” Taal’ani told him, leading the way deeper into the ship. The group headed straight for Deck Three, as they had cleared out a storage room to make space for Bataar and Akath to work.

“Complete privacy and full room to move about? You didn’t pull any punches about what you wanted. So, who needs a new life?” he asked.

“That would be us,” Kasumi said as she walked up with Alex and Shazza. Shazza was still wearing her disguise matrix, so Bataar didn’t even give her a second glance.

“Ah. What are your names? I’d rather have your first names, so at least I can create ID’s around them,” Bataar told the trio.

“I’m Alex,” the big man informed him.

“Kasumi.”

“Shazza,” the disguised Xuul’khani woman told him.

“All right. Well, I will need you three to stay put while we work for a moment. Just to get your faces, biometrics and so on,” he told them. They nodded and let Bataar take his pictures and gather the data he needed. It took him all of five minutes to gather what he needed before he was done.

“Was there anything else you needed Bataar?” Taal’ani asked.

“Just some food and peace and quiet,” he told her. “It will take me a few hours to get them ready for use.”

“So, I guess we keep ourselves busy for a few hours. Let’s leave the experts to their work,” Inari said to the crew. Everyone nodded and were gone, leaving Bataar and Akath to do the job they had been hired for.

Jaesa had found the vendors she was looking for with the compounds she needed. The biggest problem was that the prices they were asking was astronomical. She would require tens of thousands of credits just to get her hands on a single crate of the materials! Such materials, she would require at least three crates worth of, before she could start forming the skin!

She sat down, dejected, on a bench in the main thoroughfare. Jaesa sat up, unsure of how to deal with the unfamiliar feeling that was lancing through her at that moment. As her vision came back into focus, something caught her eye. It was a sequence of bright lights and advertisements from a section of shops just down from where she was sitting.

Confused, Jaesa extended her programming into the digital realm of cyberspace. There were plenty of digital nodes that she could hop into, and she selected the one that had the lowest level of security. Once she was in, she brought up a map of the station, and quickly deduced what the area she was staring at, was. It was the Red-Light district on the station.

From her studies of the information gleaned from Darkstrider’s old computers, every station had one. A place where activities that were frowned upon and considered ... immoral and illicit, were conducted. Such places were havens for the worst of the worst of sentients, but it could also be quite lucrative, if luck was on your side. Or in Jaesa’s case, the odds and numbers.

Jaesa developed a plan in a matter of seconds and after running a few algorithms, set the first part in motion. She executed a minor credit siphoning scam, which drew credits from various transactions nearby. It was never more than one credit from each transaction, so it wouldn’t be noticed right away.

Once the data was shifted, Jaesa pooled the money into a singular bank account, which she had just opened under a false name. There was a nearby automated teller machine nearby, which dispensed credit sticks for those who had lost or misplaced them. Setting everything in motion and sending the commands, the machine dispensed a credit stick with her name on it; Jaesa Harkness.

She then jumped back into her android body, got up, walked over and retrieved the credit stick. Though she merely had five hundred credits on the stick, it was better than nothing. With the credit stick in hand, she walked into the Red-Light district and sought the low level casinos. Logically, it would be the best place to amass her funds, so she could avoid attracting attention to herself.

As she thought of this, she thought it would be best to monitor the crew and their goings on. It wouldn’t do for them to leave without her knowing about it. Jaesa had no intention of being stranded on this station, not when she had a job to do. She extended a part of her programming to link back into cyberspace, but at a much lower level than she had before.

Once she was in, she went through the security feeds to find out what the crew were up to. Cycling through the feeds, Jaesa saw that they had done, and that they were back aboard the Darkstrider, with two guests. She didn’t know why they were there, but she knew that she would find out soon enough.

Jaesa kept her attention on her android and making sure that she’d stay alert, so as not to tip anyone off to her true nature. She walked into a human heavy casino and moved to a table where Blackjack was being played. Though Jaesa was an AI, she felt slightly giddy at earning the money she needed to create the skin she wanted.

Several hours later, Bataar was going over the final pieces of his work, making sure that everything was correct. Everything lined up and was in order, but he had to be sure these would pass. He finished munching on his food and couldn’t help but moan at the taste. Akath was a fine cook, but Inari had made the buuz and guriltai shol perfectly! It reminded him very much of the way his mother cooked.

“Everything looking OK, dear?” Akath wondered as she walked back in from her training session with Korsa.

“Yeah. Just doing a final check to make we missed sure nothing. You know how I am,” he replied with a smile.

“Yes, I do,” she said with a toothy smile. “If everything is done, we should get finished packing up. You promised we’d get away for a bit after this job.”

“I know and we will. As soon as we collect our pay, I’ll get us tickets to somewhere nice,” he promised.

“Sahlaagh V?” she asked giddily as she started packing up their gear.

“We’ll have to see how things look after this trip, but it is possible,” Bataar grinned. Akath squeed happily and pasted her mouth to her husband’s. The man moaned as he kissed her back, before he broke the kiss and she whined in complaint.

“Later. Once we have some alone time on Sahlaagh V, then we can appreciate each other ... properly,” he smirked. Akath purred in delight at this promise before helping with stowing the rest of their equipment. He then called out, hoping that the VI would respond.

“Stanley?”

“Yes, Bataar?” the friendly voice of the VI chirped in response.

“Let the crew know that the ID’s are done,” he replied.

“Very good Bataar. They are on the way,” Stanley told him. The couple walked out of the room and out into the corridor of the ship. They saw the crew of the Darkstrider headed towards them, with eager smiles on their faces.