Fuck. I needed to get out of here, fast.

‘Larissa, I would love to see your room again. Let me talk to my friend and I’ll join you there.’ I smiled and she slinked off.

‘Cloe.’ I slid closer to her. ‘You need to go. Now.’

‘Ok.’ She quickly blipped out as I paid for the order and discreetly headed towards the back rooms. I found Larissa’s, rushed in and closed the door behind me. She kissed me and unzipped my jumpsuit, her hand running down my stomach. Pulling myself away was tough, but Colleen’s face flashed into my mind and I knew I had to get out of there.

‘Larissa, wait.’ She looked worried as I grabbed her hands.

‘What’s wrong?’ I had to go and I realized that I would have to take her with me.

‘I need to leave. Is there a secret way out?’

‘Of course, it’s a whorehouse. Do you really have to go right now though?’ I didn’t want Colleen to hurt her in an attempt to get information about me.

‘Come with me.’ She backed off and I realized I would probably need to tell her a little more about what was really going on before she would trust me enough to flee her home.

‘Look, my name isn’t Doris, it’s Aia. I, uh, ran into some trouble and need to leave Manos O right now. Come with me and I promise you won’t get hurt.’ She looked doubtful. ‘You’ve never left this planet, right? This is probably your only chance to get the fuck out of here and start a new life.’ Her face softened a bit and I leaned towards her and kissed her intensely. ‘I promise nothing bad will happen to you.’

She nodded and shoved a few things into a bag. Grabbing my hand, she pulled me towards the door and we rushed through a series of steps and secret passageways and into an alley. I looked around the corner and saw someone that looked vaguely human.

How did they find me so quickly?

I told Larissa where I parked. She got us to the hangar and we managed to avoid the security guard by hiding behind some crates before dashing towards my ship. The coast was clear so I jumped into the cockpit and motioned for Larissa to hide in the back. I maneuvered my way out and managed to avoid a patrol that was headed straight for us.

‘Larissa, I’m going to have to jump. It’s going to hurt like hell so strap yourself into the seat back there and don’t release the buckle until I tell you it’s ok.’ She nodded her head and secured herself. As soon as I got into the upper atmosphere, I punched in some coordinates, sending us careening through the artificial fold in space.

It was a relatively short jump and when I looked in the back to check on Larissa, she was hunched over and thoroughly out. I chuckled a bit, remembering the first time I went through the body altering experience. I wasn’t sure where to go, but at least there didn’t seem to be anyone following us. Scrolling through my contacts, I found a name that I hadn’t thought of in years. I punched in the coordinates and jumped again, bringing us into relatively familiar territory.

I guided my ship through the atmosphere and headed towards the southernmost point of the southern continent. The barren planet was sparsely populated and would be the perfect place to hide out for a while. I doubted Ursana would squeal on me, we had been lovers years ago but she had tired of my attitude and moved on. Calling in a favor was always a tricky balancing act. If you had parted amicably and had no further interactions, it was usually fine, but if you had interfered in their business, you may not even know it and could possibly be headed into a trap.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

I would just have to take my chances.

Finding the large compound was surprisingly difficult. The sprawling complex was mostly hidden because of its location inside a cliff and had a holo projector concealing the massive windows overlooking the cerulean sea. I got closer to the coordinates I remembered and punched in the code that disabled the defense system and opened a large hangar. There was plenty of room to maneuver and I landed solidly, waking Larissa who whimpered pitifully.

‘I thought you said nothing bad would happen to me.’ I crawled into the back and helped her with her straps. She wretched and vomited on my boots then started sobbing and buried her pukey face in my chest.

‘I guess I deserved that.’ Gently, I pulled the hair from her face and led her out of the ship. When she saw the view from the cliff, she gasped. A robot emerged from around the corner and I entered a code on its chest.

‘Aia, Earth. Greetings from Ursana. She requests you join her in her study.’

I grabbed Larissa’s hand and led her into the massive lair. The robot guided us through a series of corridors filled with stolen objects of inestimable value. Some I recognized, some I had sourced for Ursana, most were new. Larissa was still space sick and was walking very slowly beside me, looking nothing like the hot Manusian I had fled with.

We finally reached the study and as Ursana turned to face me, she smiled- but I knew I wasn’t totally in the clear yet.

‘Aia! It’s such a pleasure to see you.’ She walked towards me, giving a wide berth to the woozy looking hooker on my right. ‘And who is this charming young lady?’

‘Hi, Ursana.’ We kissed each other’s cheeks and stepped back to see how nasty time had been. ‘This is Larissa. She’s a friend.’

‘Yes, I’m sure. Bibi, take Larissa to guest suite three and make sure she’s looked after.’ I nodded at her and she followed the robot obediently, no doubt currently regretting her decision to leave Manos O. I walked over to the bar and spotted my favorite green drink.

‘How’s everything?’ I wasn’t sure how to broach the subject of my current issues, but I was fairly sure Ursana would help me out for a few days at least. She was one of the few traders who stood up to Colleen and they had a mutually beneficial relationship.

‘Better than some. Aia, you smell like shit but are looking fabulous.’ She crossed her arms and leaned against the desk, using her flowing caftan to full effect. ‘You always knew how to attract the galaxy’s best talent.’ She nodded in the direction of Larissa.

‘She cleans up well.’ I smiled and finished off the contents of the glass. ‘And I like her dots.’

‘I’m sure.’ Ursana turned and stared out of the window. ‘You’re in big trouble Aia. I can protect you for a while, but Colleen will come here looking for you. She knows about our history.’

‘Yeah.’ I swallowed, realizing that Ursana already knew everything and trying to figure a way out of this mess, preferably in my favor. ‘Do you know anyone who buys..’

‘Oranium?’ I was shocked. ‘Aia, everyone knows what you’re selling and no one is going to touch it. Not after what Colleen did to Manuk Kai.’

‘Really?’ I didn’t want to know the details, but could imagine what he looked like after it was over. ‘God damn it!!’ I had nothing. Ursana was my last contact who could possibly help. All of this effort, calling in favors and spending money that I didn’t yet have, for what?

‘Look, you found something incredible, but you need to know when you’ve been beaten. If you want, I can arrange a meeting between you and Colleen and try to smooth this whole thing over.’

‘That’s not what I want to hear right now.’ I glared at her. ‘I need that money.’ I felt defeated and alone. ‘I need some time to think. Which room is mine?’

‘Bibi, show her to master suite 2.’ I grabbed a bottle of the booze from the sidebar and followed the chirping robot to my room, wanting to drift off into oblivion.

Normally I would have taken full advantage of all of the luxurious amenities Ursana had to offer, but my only indulgence was some Choco-no-nos™ from the replicator. I sat on the bed, rapidly depleting a bottle of green brandy and stuffing my face, feeling worse than at any point in my life. Fuck it, I figured. Let Colleen do her worst. I would never, ever return what I had taken. It would be impossible for her to track down Cloe and I would at least have this last fuck you as she beat me to death.

I kept drinking but the liquor wasn’t improving my mood and instead, I got more and more agitated. Finally, after draining the bottle and consuming four bags of Choco-no-nos™, I passed out in a heap of misery.