As the human female brought me over to the testing booth I realized why Gershwin liked being naked so much. Without clothes and other embellishments everyone had to focus on him. They had to see him and try to figure out who he was rather than on what his clothes meant about his status or character. It was incredibly freeing.

I had walked into the brothel dressed as a handihund with a prostitute at my side, two untouchables not worth a second glance. Now, nobody knew who I was.

The booth inspected me, took samples of various fluids with its mechanical arms, then produced an ear cuff for me to wear. I slipped the gilded plastic onto my left ear and pointed at it. "I take it this is some kind of proof that I don't have fleas or something."

The human looked me over then nodded with approval. She hadn't spoken and I didn't see any translation devices. "What languages do you speak?" I asked in Möhin.

The woman ignored the question and gestured for me to follow her. I thought we were going either back to the tub or into a bedroom but instead I found myself naked at a buffet table standing across from Sacher. Smells of incredible intensity and unfamiliarity radiated over me.

"Try the speck wrapped figs first." He suggested. "One good thing I've found about Homeworld is it's a pretty good earth analog. So all our livestock and plants thrive here." Sacher popped one of the figs into his mouth and chewed happily.

I wondered how that fit into Gershwin's theory about humans genetically engineering us. The question, of course, was why? Why would humans even make us in the first place? If they were that advanced I had a hard time believing that they needed us as slaves or workers. So if Gershwin's theory was right, what were the humans really up to?

I took one of the small smoked ham wrapped figs and devoured it. The fruit was sweet and firm, yet creamy. The meat was salty and rich. They paired perfectly and I smiled happily as the flavors washed over my tongue. I looked over at Sacher expectantly, all existential thoughts momentarily forgotten.

He selected a small golden ball of baked dough stuffed with cheese. "Now, try one of the Gougères. This one is made with thyme and sage."

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I was in heaven as I bit into the still warm pastry. Everything in the north was usually bland reconstituted garbage. Even the "real" vegetables and fruits tasted like flavored water. But as I was beginning to realize, I had forgotten how good food could taste.

"Now, the popcorn lobster with chives." He led me by my taste buds around the table. The human female watched with amusement, sampling various dishes for herself. She said something to Sacher in their language which made him laugh. I couldn't understand the words but the tone and cadence suggested she was in a good mood.

I looked around for Gershwin and saw him at the intoxication station tapping away on the screen. A group of admirers had gathered around to watch him work. It looked like he was either modifying an existing drug or designing one of his own. The large refrigerator sized machine whirred happily as it followed his instructions. A cheer broke out and Gershwin held up a vial of clear almost opalescent crystals.

"Looks like I'm not the only cook here." Sacher observed. "I wonder what he made."

"Knowing him, trouble." A Döbian female with night black fur said as she joined us at the buffet table. She was taller than me with a silver emblem hanging from her neck. It consisted of two circles stacked one on top of the other pierced with a V. The hulking Hund held out her hand. "I'm Sally Bones."

"Kerner Braverhund." I said as I shook her hand. "How do you know Gershwin?"

"I used to be his driver and bodyguard when he came to Möhi. Before the war, of course." She loaded up her plate with tasty treats.

I looked her over, she was my age and very attractive despite her size. She wasn't fat by any means, she was proportional in fact, it was simply that she was built to a slightly higher standard than the rest of us. "You don't seem old enough." I observed.

"I started young." She replied.

Sacher laughed. "Ja, that's an understatement, Sally was practically born in a car. She's the best driver in the city and one hell of a pilot as well."

"Made in a car. Born in a car. Hopefully die in a car." Sally said happily. "Old Iron Ass here informed me that you're taking on the Bone Syndicate. I'll be helping out with that."

I nodded. "Are we paying you or do you have some other motivation?"

"Ruhern's brother Niko stole my favorite car and killed the driver, a human named Daisey." She turned towards Sacher. "How is our hardware coming along?"

"I'll know more in the morning." Sacher replied. "Ivan and Yakob are doing their best with what they have."

The human female from earlier took me by the hand and started to pull me away from the group.

Sacher laughed when he saw what was happening. "Have fun you two." He said.