Rick adjusted the cuff links on his lab coat and headed up a ramp to one of the only docked spaceships. The ship was jet black, befitting its name "Beacon of Night." Although its exterior was completely smooth, there was a conspicuous button that served as a doorbell. Rick hit it, and after a long pause, a door opened, revealing a man wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

"Come on in." he said.

"Art, I presume."

"Yep. Do you want something to drink?"

"Coffee." was Rick's easygoing reply.

"Lenenennia, could you get Rick a coffee."

A pretty young woman emerged from somewhere else in the room.

"What would you like?" she said.

"Something feminine."

"Would you like a seat?"

"I prefer to stand. Actually, I'm ready to move in."

"Perfect. I'll help you get your things." Art said. "We're having barbecue chicken for dinner tonight, with coleslaw."

"Excellent."

After a brief moment, Lenenennia slipped beside Rick and gave him his coffee. It looked exquisite. A sea of rich coffee floating under a sky of foam and whipped cream.

"Need to pick up some groceries?" she said.

"I don't need anything from this tired place."

...

The Beacon of Night was truly owned by a woman. There was no other way to explain the comfort Rick felt as he relaxed in a tub of fragrant bubbles.

His "room" was an entire suite, complete with a kitchen, and although it was lavish, it was the comfortable sort of lavish that Rick loved best. Everything was nice, but not too nice, unlike his bathtub. It was perfection. As was the selection of alcohol in his minibar.

...

The Celestine had come to rest nearby a giant object that looked like a seed hanging in space. Kaiju flew around the seed; kaiju Core had never seen before.

Menakin warned Core that the seeds were the kaijus' nests, and that it was best to stay well clear of them, but Core couldn't help but look at the soaring kaiju longingly. They were more majestic than any kaiju she'd seen before and she wondered what they tasted like.

As she watched them from afar, she noticed something odd. A spark of light that wasn't one of the stars which orbited the spiral. As she stared it, it flared to life in a rainbow brilliance which was both beautiful and haunting.

She wanted someone to talk to about it, but in the end, she found no one.

...

Art was in the business of selling Idealized Spaces, or spaces for short. These were pocket dimensions hidden in space by Alegway, and each had its own unique quirks that made it potentially interesting to humankind, such as being filled with fast-growing lumber, or having endless beaches perfect for creating sea glass.

Rick didn't need to know the intricacies of Art's business, but he also didn't want to look like an ignorant country bumpkin. Thankfully, Art was happy to share the history Rick had missed for the last 10,000 years, usually over a shot glass of scotch.

From what Rick had gleaned, spaces were prized by everyone, but only the wealthy could actually buy them. They were more or less just vast expanses of valuable real estate, and some had even been transformed into their own sovereign states, though they usually became the estates of affluent families.

It was all quite interesting, especially when Rick learned that Lenenennia had an extensive library with an extensive number of books on idealized spaces. He would have to ask her about it, if only to ease the pain of his own ignorance.

...

As Core flew past the Celestine, she saw some men working on a large device, and felt a sneaking suspicion that it was meant for her. So she drifted over to it.

"Could we get your measurements?" Menakin said. There were a lot of people working on the device, but Menakin and a roundish man were separated from the main group.

"Why?"

"We would like to build you a body suit and VR device."

"What do I do?"

"Cogopher will walk you through it."

The roundish man clicked a button his headset and cleared his voice awkwardly.

"S-spread your arms out wide, a-and stand up straight."

Core did as she was commanded. "I need to give the signal."

"Okay?"

After a long moment of waiting and silence Cogopher gave the signal, which turned out to be him saying "Now." in a rushed voice.

The device emitted a faint beam of light which started about Core's head then swept her body. As it did so, Core felt its warmth and could tell that it was somehow wrapping itself around every curve of her body.

"That should do it. But before you go, I have one piece of advice. Make yourself comfortable. The Celestine is your home so don't insult everyone's hard work by ignoring that fact." Menakin said.

"What hard work?" Core said dismissively, but just then, she smelt a delicious smell and she scanned the ship hurriedly to find its source.

"It's an order." Menakin said. "Do you accept it?"

"Yeah." Core said. "Is that smell for me?"

"Go find out."

...

Rick found himself surrounded by large boxes, each stuffed with books of all shapes and sizes. The boxes were placed haphazardly around the room; as if their owner didn't particularly care where they fell.

This was definitely a woman's ship.

Rick picked up a box and placed it upon a sturdy cart. After loading the cart with identical boxes, he headed for the Beacon of Night's library, a place he'd never been though he had familiarized himself with the ship's layout.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

The library itself was cozy. High wooden shelves were mostly filled with books but there was a conspicuous empty space where the highest books should be.

As he stepped deeper in, he spotted Lenenennia sitting at a round table reading a book. She looked fully engrossed, so he began his work.

He was just tall enough to reach the highest rows of shelves, but first he needed to organize the books. He could tell at a glance that the library was organized the same way libraries were on his home planet. Apparently there were universal principles of book organization that didn't change with time.

After unloading his cart, he began filling a table with books, putting each of them in a line.

"Thank you." Lenenennia said.

"You're welcome." Rick said.

The line of books became three lines and then Rick was finally ready to start placing books upon the shelves. It was pleasant work; especially considering the meditative vibe of the library's silence.

As he worked, he felt the distinct impression that he was being watched. But Lenenennia didn't say anything until Rick decided to take a short break. Picking up a large tome, he began leafing through it.

"Feel free to use the library any time." Lenenennia said. "I have a lot of books."

"That you do.”

Lenenennia said. "You can call me Len. I'm surprised you could pull off saying my name."

"I'm used to such names. Let me guess, your parents were wealthy?"

"My dad wanted a name with four ns in it." Len said. "I don't like hearing my real name. Is that silly?"

"Of course not. It's your name. My real name is Richard but I have some bad memories associated with that name. If I could change my birth certificate, I would. My parents didn't even give me the decency of a sane middle name."

"What is it? If you don't mind me asking."

"Everlasting. Rick Everlasting Sanctum."

"I think its beautiful."

"It does have a nice ring to it, but imagine calling me Everlasting. What an absurdity."

"I don't know..."

"I hear you love idealized spaces." Rick said as he began organizing a new round of books.

"What do you know about them?"

"That they are what their name implies."

"Nothing more than that?"

"Not particularly."

"Each of them has a rich history." Len said, excitement leaking into her voice. "It's so interesting."

"Ah, you're interested in history. That makes two of us."

"I wouldn't say that I'm interested in history... It's more like I want to be a part of history, to have my name attached to an idealized space forever."

"Ah, you're a romantic. That makes two of us. You see, I too want my name written in the stars. Rick Sanctum, the greatest scientist." Rick said. "Since both of us are ambitious adventurers, what about a toast? Prepare us some coffee and let us toast our delusions of grandeur."

"I want something feminine."

"That makes two of us."

…

Core was onto them.

First, they'd apologized. Then they'd tempted her with mountains of baked bread. Now they offered a custom headset built just for her.

But their plan wouldn't work.

Though the headset was sleek and wondrous, Rick's would've been a million times better.

How could they compete with that? Even if she liked it for argument's sake, it wouldn't be a betrayal, not even close.

…

Rick stared out into space, at a towering monolith surrounded by ships. The monolith itself looked man made, but its scale dwarfed anything in Rick's conceptions.

It had on it 7 giant symbols, some of which were surrounded by ships and machinery.

The symbols themselves were unrecognizable; no doubt part of some kind of puzzle.

The Beacon of Night came in slowly to land; it looked like it was destined for a space among a sea of ships. Most were not as grand as the Beacon, but were the sort of ships laborers would use.

As Rick flew closer to the body of the idealized space, its size and splendor became even more pronounced, pronounced enough for Rick to feel overcome with a sense of awe. But the sense passed away quickly, for Art had given him important matters to attend to.

…

A quick peek wouldn't hurt.

Core kept her eyes closed as she slipped on the VR headset. She could tell that she was surrounded by light, but not much else. She opened her eyes slowly and blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted.

She found herself standing somewhere unfamiliar. It wasn't that she hadn't been there before, it was the kind of unfamiliarity that only comes when you see something you've never seen, even in your dreams.

Core twirled as she took it all in. The white path which stretched off into the distance, the looming presence of gleaming white buildings, the line of trees which she knew must be decorations. If she wasn't mistaken, she was in a city.

Or maybe a suburb.

Dictionary definitions weren't very helpful here.

Before she knew it, Core found herself exploring, her soul eager to take in every part of this new world, but she stopped herself. She was so overwhelmed that she didn't notice a man waiting a short distance away.

He was standing next to a tall mirror and when she locked eyes with him, she knew somehow that the mirror was for her, and so was he. The man was plump and his head was crowned with a cloud of puffy hair.

He looked away and scratched his cheek.

Core skipped up to the mirror and noticed her outfit for the first time. She was wearing a light-colored dress that went down to her knees, and was she wearing makeup?

Anyway, the man was looking at her again and he made a swiping motion with this arm, as if he were turning the pages of a giant book.

Core mimicked him and grew exited when she noticed that her reflection in the mirror changed. Now she was wearing some kind of blue pants and some cool-looking shoes.

She swiped again. Overalls? They were cute.

She swiped her way through a few more outfits before deciding that nothing compared to the outfit with the blue pants.

"Thank you." she said, twirling in happiness.

The man nodded and scratched his cheek.

He turned and began walking while Core stuck to his side. The world opened up up ahead, into a wide plaza with many little shops decorating it like beads on a necklace.

Once they entered the plaza, the man stopped, as if waiting for Core to make the first move. She twirled around him, trying to decide where to go, but as she did, she heard the excited chatter of feminine voices and realized that they were surrounded by women.

She felt a feeling she'd never felt before; almost like a desire to run, but instead of giving into it, she forced it down. After all, what she thought might be shops looked really inviting.

She headed over to one, then, to her horror, she heard the sound of woman's voice and she knew in her heart that it was directed at her. Running would be weird but so would be talking. She looked to the man for help, but his head was buried in a tablet he gripped in his pudgy hands. All this happened in an instant, and the in the end, Core decided to humor the woman because ignoring her would make her feel too guilty.

"I love your hair." The woman said. "Where'd you get it?"

"My parents, I think." Core said. The woman laughed. The rest of the conversation was a blur, but eventually, the woman walked away with a smile on her face.

Once she was calm enough, Core found the man standing a short distance away, and in that moment, she saw amusement in his stormy gray eyes. And a little guilt.

He started leading her again, but this time, he avoided every woman who crossed their path, even if he had to stop in his tracks and give them time to wander away. He was an expert at looking busy and Core tried looking perturbed but she couldn't tell how well it was working. Maybe her hair wasn't that special and the woman just had weird taste.

The man led Core into a large building. It was all one floor and it was filled with people who were either looking intently at screens, or dancing with these strange pictures floating above their heads. Well, it wasn't really dancing, but Core didn't have a good word for it. They were kind of swaying and some of them were tapping their feet to a rhythm.

"They can't talk to us in here." The man whispered. "Wanna listen to some music?"

Core shook her head. "They have karaoke booths; I'll go grab us one."

Core whirled around the karaoke booth, taking all of it in. The equipment she didn't recognize, the screens, the lights. The humoring expression on the man's face.

"What is karaoke?" Core said breathlessly.

"You sing a song into the microphone." The man said, pointing. "You follow the lyrics on the screen and your song is recorded to listen to later or whatever."

"Can we try it?"

"I'm out. Singing with a girl is too terrifying."

"That's true." Core said.

"Do you like shopping?"

"Yeah."

"We could try somewhere with fewer of them."

"That's okay."

The man scratched his cheek.

"I'm Cogopher."

"Hi, I'm Core."

"This got weird, didn't it?"

Core laughed. "What are we supposed to talk about?"

"Don't ask me. This is the most I've ever talked to a girl. But you're different. When I saw you struggling like a fish, I knew you were just like me."

"It wasn't that bad.” Core pointed accusingly at Cogopher. “How does that even happen?"

"I grew up with seven sisters; I don't understand it either."

"What even was that feeling?" Core said, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Awkwardness."

"I never want to feel it again."

"That isn't healthy."

"Why did you bring me here? To traumatize me?"

"I think you have a problem."

"I don't have a problem!"

"Okay."

"Whatever."

"I just thought..." Cogopher said. "...that girls like shopping."

"You wanted to take me shopping?"

Cogopher nodded.

"Why?"

"Because you're part of the team. Actually, everyone wanted to do it but you've been acting kind of standoffish, not that anyone blames you. We really messed up."

"Have I been that bad?" Cogopher stared at Core and said nothing. "I promise I'll be better."

"That's all anyone wants."

"I'm ready for my training!" Core said and punched the air playfully.

"That was sudden." Cogopher said. "You know, you don't have to rush into anything."

"I'm not rushing." Core said as she punched the air.

"I'll let the team know." Cogopher said as he backed away.