Tamiyo was taking all manner of new risks today. She’d landed her ship far away from a spaceport, ripped a control cluster out of the engine, then walked through miles of alien jungle. But what choice did she have? The man on her ship needed help.

  At least this planet appeared safer than the one she’d fled.

  She stood at the edge of the treeline, watching Owangara from a distance.

  The forest had been cleared away for several hundred yards, leaving a wide buffer of exposed soil and wild grasses before the town’s outer wall. It rose forty feet high, weathered steel braced with angled supports, and stretched across the eastern border before meeting a natural plateau that cradled the city’s northern edge. She couldn’t see how far west it expanded, but the southern boundary faded into the blue gleam of ocean.

  And that ocean wasn’t still.

  From where she stood, Tamiyo could see the tide surging against the coastline in erratic swells, the water climbing higher than her nav charts had forecast. Not dangerously high, but irregular enough to be noticed. Even the gull-like birds circling the dock pylons looked unsettled, wheeling away from the mist-heavy air as if the weather didn’t quite feel right.

  According to her ship’s database, Owangara had begun as a fishing village before evolving into a spaceport hub. That legacy was still evident: she spotted crane booms along the harbor, stacks of cargo crates, and the faint shimmer of solar-drying nets strung between buildings near the sea. As she watched, a bulky freighter, slightly larger than her own commandeered vessel, rose slowly into the sky from the city’s interior and vanished through the cloud cover.

  The eastern gate stood open, flanked by a handful of pedestrians and a single posted figure, likely a guard. She drew her cloak around her shoulders and walked forward.

  From a distance, she could almost pass as human, a young woman in her mid-twenties, slight of frame with a graceful, athletic build—but a closer look made her origin clear. Her limbs bore fine black lines etched near each joint, marked with a soft, metallic blue sheen—visual tells that she was a CIPHER, not true flesh and blood.

  Her skin was smooth and fair, and two sleek antennae extended from either side of her head, angling back toward her ponytail. Each was about the thickness of two fingers and six inches long, made of white alloy accented with subtle blue trim. They twitched or shifted subtly as she reacted to the world around her, an expressive design feature meant to make her emotions readable without words.

  Her eyes were a luminous electric blue, and her hair, platinum blonde with the faintest pink undertone, was tied in a layered, complex ponytail that bounced slightly with each step. She wore a form-fitted white and black outfit that blended the silhouettes of a nurse and maid uniform with the utility of a field medic: long coat, long skirt, hidden pockets, and sleek boots with a modest two-inch heel. Everything about her appearance had been calibrated to feel comforting, attractive, and warm.

  When she was about 200 yards away from the guard, Tamiyo realized that he was not human. He was a lazarco, tall and broad shouldered with four arms and leathery blue-green skin. His head was elongated, allowing for two eyes on each side of his head, giving him a sweeping field of vision. He wore light armor that looked like a local militia, and he cradled a simple rifle in his upper set of hands.

  Tamiyo had never spoken to a non-human before fleeing Batist. That changed a week into her escape, when she docked briefly at Garrick Station. She’d barely stepped off her ship before being overwhelmed by the sight of aliens in every direction—tall, short, some with extra limbs. A d’moria man had noticed her shock and kindly walked her through the basics. He’d looked almost human—just short, stout, with a long, thick beard, and dressed like a frontier tradesman. “Those SERC bastards don’t wanna talk to nobody don’t look like they just stepped off Earth,” he’d muttered with a grin.

  He meant the Sovereign Earth Conservatory, the human-dominated government Tamiyo was running from.

  After a brief conversation with the man, she thanked him and excused herself, not wanting to become too familiar with anyone as a newly made fugitive. She found a quiet terminal booth and spent several hours learning about some of the alien races she had seen around Garrick Station. From this, she learned that they all spoke either human dialects, or dialects derived from human speech, which she found curious.

  Rather than trying to sneak into Owangara and risk rousing suspicion, Tamiyo approached the gate, saying, “Excuse me! Could you please help me out?”

  The lazarco turned to her and responded, “Hello young miss,” in a derivative dialect. “How can I help?”

  Tamiyo may have been designed with antennae for ears, but the upside is they helped her understand most languages.

  “I was hoping you could give me some directions,” Tamiyo spoke in Terr-English, which was an almost universal language across the galaxy. “Is there somewhere in town I would be able to acquire some basic medical scanners and equipment?”

  “Medical equipment? Hmm, medicine yes, there are several drug stores throughout town, but actual scanners and equipment you would need somewhere more specialized. Are you a nurse? Or a doctor?”

  Tamiyo let down her hood to reveal her antennae, “I'm a Custodial Care CIPHER, my master has been having some increased difficulty and I need to acquire some additional equipment to diagnose him”

  “Nurse droid, eh? That makes sense,” he placed his lower two arms onto his hips. “Head on in through the gate and follow the road in for about five blocks,” he gestured into the town with his upper right arm. “On your left-hand side you'll see Susie's Saloon, take a left on the street there and keep walking. After a couple more blocks you'll see a drug store come up on your right. They should be able to point you where you need to go.”

  “Left at Susie's, drug store on the right,” Tamiyo repeated. After a moment, she gave a slight bow, “thank you so much.”

  “You're most welcome, and stop into Susie's if you need anything else, the staff there are very helpful.”

  Tamiyo was a little surprised by that suggestion, but she responded, “I will, thank you,” and stepped off into the town.

  This planet was becoming quite the learning experience for Tamiyo, and she found herself hesitantly enjoying it. She had never before been invited to any sort of dining establishment or venue where alcohol was served, because CIPHERs were strictly forbidden from them on Batist. She had retrieved deliveries from grocery depots before, but those had service entrances that humans would never stoop to utilize. The deliveries she would pick up were always packaged and waiting for her, so she would not even be seen by anyone out in the general stores browsing.

  Noting that she had just passed her fourth block, Tamiyo looked over to the left side of the street. Up ahead, just above the second story windows of a corner building, a big sign read “SOOZY'S SALOON.”

  Tamiyo stared at it for a moment before muttering aloud, “I wish people had subtitles.”

  She spent most of the afternoon running her errands—first going to the drug store and acquiring anti-nausea, fatigue aids, painkillers, and a stimulant compound to help with revival if needed. From there she was directed to a medical supply depot across town, which she had to dodge midday foot traffic, vendors shouting over crates, and children darting across intersections to reach. The grumpy d’moria man inside was able to provide her with the equipment she needed, but it ended up costing her almost every last bit of money she had left.

  On her way back, she found herself reflecting on the town itself, comparing it to the only thing she had known. On Batist, everything was required to look new, beautiful, but regulated. Here, chipped paint and imperfect signage weren’t flaws—they were signs of life.

  She came upon SOOZY’S SALOON again and stopped to observe it. She felt drawn to the old building, but couldn’t figure out why. It sat on the corner of a busy intersection, the front entrance angled to give access from either side. Tables were dotted outside, both on the ground floor and up on the balcony that wrapped around both street-facing walls. It looked like it was probably as old as Owangara itself, but it buzzed with conversation, music, and smoke.

  She should’ve kept walking—her ship was waiting, and the man aboard needed her help. But something tugged at her. If she didn’t step inside, just once, then what had she escaped for?

  Tamiyo lingered at the edge of the saloon’s deck, her hand hovering near the doorframe. Her antennae twitched at the noise spilling out from within, voices overlapping, the hum of music, the smell of spice and smoke. Her programming had once flagged environments like this as ‘off-limits.’ Even now, she half-expected to be stopped, but no one looked twice. That alone unsettled her more than it should have.

  Just a moment, she told herself. Then I’ll go.

  She stepped inside.

  The saloon’s interior hit her in a wave: clinking dishes, overlapping conversations, and live strings drifting from a small stage in the back corner. She slipped quickly off to the side to avoid blocking the entrance, standing just beneath the interior balcony. To her left, patrons sipped drinks and shared laughter. Along the back wall stood a long bar, its shelves glittering with bottles in every color she could imagine. Servers zipped between tables, going in and out of the kitchen. Some were human—others, like her, were CIPHERs.

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  It felt… strangely normal.

  The front door swung in and lightly bumped into her shoulder.

  “Whoops, excuse me!” she said in reflex.

  “Apologies, I didn’t see you ther—hey! You’re the girl from this morning! Good to see you again!” It was the lazarco guard from the gate.

  Tamiyo blinked at him a couple times, unsure how to respond. “Hello again.”

  “Were you able to find what you were looking for?” he asked.

  She hesitated for a long moment. “Mostly, yes.”

  “Glad to hear it. I didn’t catch your name before, I'm Inelius.” He offered one of his upper hands.

  She forced herself to grasp it briefly, perhaps too briefly, not wanting to accidentally offend. “Tamiyo.” The contact made her gut tighten, but she kept her expression still.

  “Pleasure, Tamiyo. Would you care to sit for a bit?”

  Tamiyo froze. Her protocols flared, warning her against sitting alone with a strange man in a public venue. This wasn’t Batist, but some instincts were harder to shake.

  Before she could answer, a voice called out from across the room. “Hey Inelius! Who’s your friend? Come sit in my section!” It was one of the CIPHER servers, waving them down with a grin while wiping down a nearby table.

  Tamiyo still wasn’t sure. She didn’t know this Inelius, but the other CIPHER seemed friendly with him. And if she was allowed to be…

  “I… shouldn’t stay long,” Tamiyo said warily.

  He smiled and led her toward a booth in a quieter section of the saloon. They passed a table of d’moria playing cards, their laughter booming, pipes clutched in thick fingers. Just like all other d’moria she’d met, they looked strong, stout, and less than five feet tall, each with a long, thick beard—but they otherwise looked like humans.

  Tamiyo kept her head down and followed the lazarco.

  Just before sitting, Tamiyo found herself caught completely off-guard, staring at one of the most magnificent creatures she had ever laid eyes on.

  A large, beautiful woman sat alone at another booth. Her skin was pale and her long black hair was pulled back out of her face. She looked mostly human—except for her sheer scale, and the long ears covered in short hair that swept back like a fox’s. Her entire presence seemed to glow. She had the build of a temple statue brought to life—lush curves layered over corded muscle, radiating both power and impossible softness. Even seated, Tamiyo guessed she stood well over six and a half feet tall. But her chest—

  Tamiyo’s thoughts stalled.

  In the Conservatory, everything was regulated, even physical appearance. Most women she’d known had figures tailored toward efficiency. Those with a generous bust were regulated and used for sales and other less pleasant things—their genetics tracked and measured. This woman would’ve broken the metric.

  Her chest was huge, full—at least twice the size of what Tamiyo had ever seen on another person. And yet nothing about her looked excessive. She wore those proportions like a queen wore her crown: without apology and without effort.

  “First time seeing a lacravida?” Inelius said with a smirk.

  Tamiyo quickly turned away, cheeks warming with embarrassment and confusion. She nodded meekly, trying not to squirm. “Yes.”

  “They’re a proud bunch. Don’t stare too long.”

  “I wasn’t—” she paused. “Just surprised.”

  “They’re hard to miss. The day you see a tall d’moria is the day you see a short lacravida. And they’re all very beautiful.”

  Tamiyo sat down, her expression a mixture of reverence and disbelief.

  Inelius gestured to the woman, “If you think she’s impressive, wait until you meet Aura, maybe I’ll get to introduce you one day.”

  “Aura?” Tamiyo tilted her head to the side.

  Inelius chuckled, leaning back. “Aurania Enderchild, War-Chieftess of Berilinsk—she’s the tallest and strongest lacravida alive. Their settlement isn’t too far from here.”

  “You sound like you know her well,” Tamiyo noted.

  “I’ve done a couple ops with her, yeah,” Inelius said casually. “But she’s known to have a temper, even more than they all normally do. So just be careful when talking to them.”

  A bouncy voice piped up beside Tamiyo. “What can I get you two to drink?” It was the CIPHER server that had called them over.

  Her design was similar to Tamiyo’s but rougher—darker synthetic skin and visible budget cuts in her construction. Her arms were fully mechanical from bicep to wrist, but she still had human-like hands. Her legs followed a similar pattern, transitioning from flesh at mid-thigh to sleek metal that gave her the appearance of high-heeled, armored boots. Her eyes were pink, her hair purple, and she wore a cute, black waitress outfit that exposed plenty of skin, which Tamiyo guessed was so she could siphon tips out of her guests.

  “Hey Raine,” Inelius said. Then he glanced at Tamiyo. “Would you care for something?”

  “I’m not sure,” she looked back and forth between the two of them. “This is… my first time somewhere like this.”

  The waitress seemed to understand. “Are you from the Conservatory?”

  Tamiyo stiffened, then nodded once.

  “You poor thing,” the waitress said softly.

  “Raine, can you bring us a couple Comet Tears please?” Inelius asked.

  Raine nodded and left, and Tamiyo sat quietly.

  The saloon around her hummed with life. Laughter, footsteps, the low thrum of synth strings from the corner stage. No one here seemed to care what she was. They greeted her, served her, spoke to her like she mattered. She wasn’t used to that.

  Raine returned with their drinks and a small tray of food, some fried roots and pickled slices Tamiyo didn’t recognize.

  “The kitchen made some extras,” Raine said with a wink. “First-timers get a sampler.”

  Tamiyo picked up one of the crispy pieces, sniffed it, then cautiously bit. It was salty, sharp, and oddly satisfying. The tall glasses contained a fizzy yellow liquid with swirls of orange, and bubbles were popping up over the tops. Tamiyo took a cautious sip and blinked at the bubbles tickling her nose. She felt warm as she swallowed the tangy substance.

  “How is it?” Raine asked.

  “…Good,” Tamiyo admitted. “Thank you.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Raine said smiling, then zipped away.

  After a few moments, Inelius asked, “You’ve really never been in a restaurant before?”

  Tamiyo shook her head no, but stayed silent.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Inelius spoke up again. “If you’ll forgive my ignorance, why not?” He looked genuinely curious, she didn’t think he was asking to be mean.

  “It’s not allowed on— er, in the Conservatory. For CIPHERs, I mean.” She said it like a report, not a confession. “We’re property. And property doesn’t get to sit down next to its owners.”

  “That’s, wow I’m sorry. I appreciate you telling me, that must have been painful to live through.”

  Tamiyo took another small sip, then set her glass down. “I should go,” she said, rising a little too fast. “I’ve stayed longer than I meant to.” Her fingers had already found the strap of her bag, like they had minds of their own.

  Inelius nodded. “Be careful heading back. This late in the day, the roads can get dangerous. Raiders. Sometimes beasts.”

  “I’ll manage.”

  Raine reappeared suddenly. “Aww, are you taking off so soon?”

  “Yes,” Tamiyo said. “I have someone on my ship I need to care for.”

  “Okay,” Raine said, her expression disappointed. “Could I maybe walk you back to the spaceport?”

  Tamiyo hesitated. “I uh… didn’t land in town.” She glanced at Inelius. There was no use lying about it, he’d seen her walk out of the jungle this morning. “It’s about five miles east of town.”

  “You have a ride, right?!” Raine said immediately. “Don’t tell me you’re planning on walking.”

  Tamiyo averted her gaze awkwardly.

  “Well perfect timing then,” Raine said. “I was about to clock out for the night until I saw this one walk in,” she smacked Inelius playfully with her tray, never taking her eyes off Tamiyo. “We’ll give you a ride.”

  He almost choked on his drink, then sputtered, “We will?”

  Tamiyo hesitated again, unsure.

  “Unless you want her walking through the dark jungle alone,” Raine answered him with a playful glare, already untying her apron.

  Tamiyo looked between them, then gave a slow nod. “Alright. Thank you.”

  She slung her bag onto her back and followed Inelius toward the doors. Raine joined them a moment later, her apron draped over one shoulder. As they stepped out into the fading daylight, the sounds of Soozy’s grew muffled behind them. Raine walked between Tamiyo and Inelius, chattering idly while he led the way.

  They walked a couple blocks back into the city and turned down a quieter residential street. A few houses in, Inelius gestured toward a truck parked at the curb. It was nothing fancy, just four doors, a compact bed in the back, and a wide cabin that could fit his broad frame and extra arms. Raine climbed into the passenger seat with a little hum under her breath and Tamiyo crawled into one of the rear doors. As Inelius was driving them out the eastern gate, Raine shifted in her seat, one arm draped lazily over the backrest. “You comfortable back there?”

  Tamiyo hesitated. “I— Yes. Sorry.”

  “No need to apologize,” Raine said softly. "Hey—Tamiyo."

  Tamiyo slowly raised her eyes up.

  "You're safe," Raine said. "The Conservatory can't get to you out here."

  Tamiyo didn’t answer right away. Finally, she said, "That's... hard to believe."

  Raine nodded, like she understood more than she let on. “It takes time. And sometimes a few drinks with friends and a really good cry.” She turned back to face forward and playfully poked at Inelius to punctuate her last point.

  Tamiyo watched them, then said, “You two… seem close.”

  “That’s a word for it,” Raine said. “I call it aggressive friendship.”

  Tamiyo let the silence stretch. Her hands folded tighter in her lap. “I don’t know how to be around people,” she admitted. "How to have friends."

  “You’re doing fine,” Raine said warmly, glancing back. “Nobody’s grading you.”

  That pulled the faintest smile from Tamiyo.

  “Seriously though,” Raine said. “If you need anything; food, gear, space to breathe, just ask. You don't have to wait to be told it’s okay.”

  Tamiyo looked down at her hands. “That’s not something I’m used to.”

  “That’s alright,” Raine said. “We’ll figure it out.”

  The rest of the ride passed without tension. Raine kept chatting, light and casual, filling the space like she was holding the silence open for Tamiyo to walk into when she was ready. No one watched her. No one expected her to perform. It felt… unstructured. And oddly safe.

  It only took about ten minutes to reach the clearing. The sun had fully dipped beneath the horizon now, and the jungle was settling into dusk. When the headlights finally cut through the brush and caught the hull of her freighter, Tamiyo immediately tensed. The hatch at the top of the ramp was standing open, and light from inside the ship was shining out into the night.

  “Oh no,” she said, already moving to jump out of the truck. She ran inside to look around, and the more she did, the more her dread grew. She’d spent every last bit of money she had on the medicine and scanning equipment, and she didn’t even have enough fuel to make it back off this rock.

  “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” Tamiyo yelled. She heard footsteps on the ramp and rushed back to it. Raine was halfway up with Inelius behind her carrying Tamiyo’s bag over his shoulder.

  She flailed her hands at them in frustration.

  “He’s gone!”