I looked just like an average person as I went out shopping. No one paid me any mind and I enjoyed the anonymity. The first place I stopped was an electronics store. I picked up a few little odds and ends and then saw something I thought Luxea would really like. I bought it and went to a data store next. I gave their catalogue of programs a quick run through and didn't see anything that could pique Luxea's interest, so I left there and went to a clothing store and discovered the downside to looking anonymous and having no one pay attention to you.
No one paid attention to you.
The thought made me chuckle as I tried, to no avail, to get someone to help me find a good outfit to wear. The sales people were too busy standing around and talking to each other to bother with me. I wasn't even upset about it and plainly told them that they just lost their business a few thousand credits. They didn't believe me until I held up a handful of high number credit chips.
“We'd be happy to help you...” One of the women started to say.
“No, thanks.” I said and put the credit chips away as I walked over to the door. “Maybe next time someone asks for help, you'll be smart enough to treat them normally and not dismiss them as if they are beneath you.”
“Just because you have money, doesn't mean you can talk to people like that.” The other woman said.
“I have half a mind to...”
“I'm sure security would be curious as to why you think I'm the one being rude after the way I was treated here.” I said and opened the door. “Or, I guess how I wasn't treated would be more accurate.”
She didn't respond and both women watched me with regret as I left their shop.
I walked over to what looked like an information booth and asked it about clothing shops. I found one a few streets over and went there. As soon as I entered, a little bell rang and the man behind the counter looked up to see me at the door, then he walked over to me.
“You look like a man that's in need of a good suit.” He said. “How long do we have to get ready?”
I grinned at him. “I've got to pick someone up promptly at eight.”
The man made a low clicking noise with his tongue as he measured me with his eyes. “Hmm, well... I suppose we can try the ready made suits and see if we can't alter them to hang properly.” He hooked his arm around mine and dragged me to the back of the store. “Normally, I only use these as a template so that a client can see with his own eyes what he likes before I create something for him.”
“Are you okay with leaving the counter like that?” I asked.
“It's fine.” He said and waved my concerns away. “If someone else comes in, I'll set them up and come back.”
“You do all of this by yourself?” I asked as I caught the thoughts from his mind.
The man chuckled. “Even with the modern conveniences of technology, it's much more difficult to get the youths of today interested in making good clothing than it is to make them wear it.”
I had to laugh at that. “I'm guilty of that myself, actually.”
The man nodded and pat my arm before he let it go. “Let's see what we can find.” He flipped through several hung up suits. “No. No. Too formal. Too stiff.” He gave me another glance and then looked back at the suits. “What will you be doing primarily tonight?”
“Should I make a joke and say 'my date' or do you want the truth?” I asked and the man laughed.
“You just made the joke, so the truth.”
“Dancing, both close and at a slight distance.” I said.
“Oh? That new trend that the Hero of Chofaris started?” The man asked.
I nodded. “He's showing up at the same bar tonight.”
“Oho!” The man gasped. “I really must make an appearance as well.” He said and took a quick breath. “All that hair!”
I laughed. “It sure was a sight with all those women brushing it, that's for sure.”
“I could never maintain that much myself.” The man said. “Once it gets past my shoulders, it takes more and more effort to handle it and I always have to cut it.”
“I'm sorry about that.”
He gave me a an odd look, then he smiled. “You really are, aren't you?”
I nodded. “I think that's why everyone seems to be so enamoured of it. They know it's kind of an impossibility to get it to that length and maintain it.”
“I wonder how he does it?”
“Presence.” I said and the man nodded.
“Yes, something like that would need a supernatural force to support it!” He said and laughed. “All right. Enough flights of fancy!” He said and pushed half of the suits on the rack aside. “Dancing, dancing, dance... ah, here we are.” He pulled out a dark blue pinstriped suit that was well cut and stylish. “Try this on and don't worry about the length of the pants. They are intended to be hemmed and I'll fold them up after you put them on.”
I took the suit and he opened the changing room door for me. I quickly changed into just the pants and put on the coat and stepped back out. The man knelt and pulled up the long pant legs and folded them up to where they should be and pulled them taught, creased them with the palm of his hands, and stood up.
“Well, give it a whirl.” The man said and waved at the mirror.
“You want me to...”
“Let's see if it will work before I make anything permanent.” The man said. “I can hum a little if that will help.”
I chuckled and looked into the mirror, then did one of the standard dance moves.
“Okay.” He said and knelt, pulled the pant leg's hem down half an inch and creased it again, then pinned the cloth. “That's the pant length done.” He stood. “Give your arms a good rotation and tell me when the suit coat pinches.”
I did as he said and he nodded and slipped the coat off my shoulders, did something with a knife-like tool on the coat's underarms, then tugged on the arms. He gave it back and I did the same motion again. It didn't pinch at all.
“I'll have the alterations done in half an hour.” The man said, so I changed back into my normal clothes and handed him the suit.
“I'd like two others, preferably in different colors.” I said.
“Any preferences?” The man asked.
“Not yellow.” I said and he blanched for a second, then he burst out laughing.
“You said 'not'!” He laughed. “Thank the goddess!”
I had to laugh, too.
“I'll need more than an hour to do all three suits.” The man said.
“Is there a public communications hub nearby?” I asked and he told me where to go. “Thanks. I'll be back later.”
I left the shop after marking it on my datapad, then went to the closest communication hub. They were spread out all over the city for people's convenience, and it didn't take me long to find Tessa's number. I called her by voice only, just in case she was in the middle of something she didn't want me to see. I also used Presence to create a sound barrier around myself so that no one else would hear.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Hello? Who is this?” Tessa's voice asked. “Why are you calling with voice only?”
“It's Hunter.” I said. “I'm using voice in case you and Jaset were naked in bed together.”
There was a man's laugh in the background and then a muffled 'how did he know?'.
“Quiet, you!” Tessa said and I heard a light slap and Jaset laughed again.
“I'm waiting for a suit to be altered and wondered if you two wanted to grab a bite to eat.” I said. “Oh, and I'm going to the bar again tonight.”
“I'm there!” Jaset yelled in the background.
“He means at the bar.” Tessa corrected for him. “He has to meet with his friends this afternoon.”
“What about you? Are you up for visiting an old friend without boyfriend supervision?”
“I think that's a possibility.” Tessa said. “Where are you?”
I told her where I was and that I was in disguise, and she said she would meet me in twenty minutes. She showed up twenty-five minutes later and looked around for me. I stood barely ten feet away from her and she didn't notice me at all. I walked over to her and tapped her shoulder. She turned and gave me a look that said to leave her alone.
“Can I help you?” Tessa asked, her voice slightly lower than normal and she clenched her fists as if she was about to fight.
“I told you I would be in disguise.” I said with my normal voice.
Tessa's mouth dropped open in shock and her eyes took in my short black hair an her eyes started to brim with tears. “H-H-Hunter? Wh-what did you do?!?” She asked as her emotions fluctuated wildly.
“Calm down. It's just an illusion.” I said. “I didn't cut it.”
Tessa took a shaky breath and nodded several times. I took her hand and led her over to what looked like a good restaurant and we sat down. It took her a few minutes to calm down and her eyes kept darting to my short black hair. I ordered food for the both of us, because she didn't look like she was going to be talking for another little while, and we waited for it to arrive in silence.
“Are you going to be okay?” I asked when the food came.
“I... it's just... you look so... it's wrong.” Tessa said, finally. “If you really wanted to hide in pain sight, you picked the perfect disguise.”
I chuckled. “That's exactly what I was doing.” I said and started to eat, then I told her how I was treated in the first clothing shop I had visited. She was immediately outraged and I had to use Presence to calm her down. Once I told her about the second one, her anger receded and we talked about how quickly I had found a suit to wear.
“You're buying one for each night?” Tessa asked, surprised. “Are you going to the bar all three nights?”
“I was thinking about it.” I said. “It might be too much for the bar to handle that many people three nights in a row, though.” I chuckled. “I'll probably just stay in my room the last two nights.”
“Alone?” Tessa asked with raised eyebrows and kept eating.
I thought about lying and decided to say the truth. “I don't know.”
Tessa let a little worry show on her face and then she let her face go blank. “Okay, tell me everything.”
I nodded and explained about everything that had been going on. Since she already knew about Luxea's reaction over people congratulating her for killing aliens, it didn't take her long to get the whole picture and her hand moved across the table and took mine. I finished with having to remove Hector from the ship and then coming down here.
“Wow.” Tessa said. “That's... wow.”
“Yeah.” I said and we didn't say anything else. We finished eating and I paid for the food, tipped the waiter, and we left. Tessa came with me as I browsed through a few stores and waited for my suits to be finished. We both went to the clothing shop when it was time and the man behind the counter came over at the sound of the little bell.
“Is this beautiful woman your date for the night?” The man asked. “Lucky you!”
I chuckled. “She's just here as company.”
The man put a hand on Tessa's arm. “Don't worry. You'll find your man.”
Tessa was a little surprised at the man's boldness. “I... I have someone...”
“Good, good.” The man said and pat her arm and looked at me. “I have the blue pin stripe all ready for you in the change room, as well as the proper accessories.” He said. “Shirt, underwear, socks.”
“I was going to take it back to...” I started to say.
“Nonsense.” The man said as he led us over to the change room. “You're wearing it out of the store, since there's not much time left before you need to go pick up your lady friend.” He said. “I've got the other two suits wrapped and ready to go behind the counter as well.”
Tessa motioned for me to go into the change room and I went in to put on the suit.
“Socks first!” The man said as the door shut. “They will let your feet ease through the cloth.”
I didn't respond and took off all my clothes and stored them, then assembled my outfit in the order he said. Socks, underwear, shirt, pants, and then the coat. I looked at myself in the large mirror and the suit fit me perfectly.
“I don't know what you did to get this so well tailored so quickly, but...” I said as I opened the door to the change room and saw both the man's and Tessa's reaction. “...I look good.”
“I... I need a picture.” The man said and left for a moment and then came back. “Splendid. Simply splendid.” He said and took my picture. “This is going up on my wall.”
“Tessa, what do you think?” I asked.
“You look like a million credits.” Tessa said. “Even in disguise.”
“In disguise?” The man that ran the shop asked, confused.
“Let me pay the man before you blow my cover.” I said to her. “Should I ask you how much it is, or should I just hand over a few high credit chips and let you take it?” I asked and held out several chips. “Make sure you include the rush job and the accessories.”
The man looked at the several chips, plucked a thousand credit one out of the small pile, and put it in his pocket. “That should be enough.”
“Hey, don't give me a deal just because it came out so well.” I said and he laughed.
“Just make sure you tell everyone where you bought the suit and we can call it even.” The man said. “What better way to advertise than to have you walking around wearing it?”
“I hope you're ready to get really busy tomorrow.” I said and we walked over to the counter. He handed me the other two bundles with the suits in them and I tucked them away.
“How are you doing that?” He asked.
“Magic.” I said honestly and he laughed again. I took Tessa's hand and we walked over to the door. “By the way, I think you should take one more picture before I leave.”
“Only one more?” The man asked with a smile.
I let Tessa's hand go and took off the small wooden plaque I had hung around my neck and I stopped feeding it Presence. The wood crumbled into dust and floated away as the illusion faded and my original appearance was revealed.
“S-s-somebody pinch me.” The man whispered. “I must be dreaming.”
“One more picture.” I said and he nodded and took my picture.
The man walked over to me and held out the camera to Tessa, who understood what he wanted. She walked a few feet away and just as she was about to take the picture, the man took my arm as if he was my date and smiled as he blushed. Tessa grinned and took the picture, then she gave the camera back to the man.
“I don't want to wake up from this dream.” The man said as he looked at the picture.
I leaned forward and pointed to my cheek. He caught his breath and thought about accepting the invitation, then he shook his head.
“I want to keep the dream alive.” The man said and smiled demurely. “Thank you, Hunter.”
I nodded and left the shop with Tessa. No one noticed me as we started to walk down the street, then someone whispered something. Someone else turned to look and shouted.
“I hope your hover car is nearby.” I said as I grabbed Tessa's hand and we ran.
*
“He's doing it again.” Uzahne's aide said as she looked onto what was considered the planet's social media sites.
“Who?” Uzahne asked and took another bite of food.
“Hunter.” The aide said and changed her datapad display to show on the room's vidscreen.
“Oh, for goddess' sake!” Ahaen exclaimed as she saw the bar's advertisement. “What is he thinking?”
“That he wants to relax and have fun?” Sheph asked and the other two women at the table gave her a glare. “He has a right to enjoy himself.”
“We've marketed him as the Hero of Chofaris.” Ahaen said. “Does that look like the actions of a hero?”
Sheph looked at the video clip of Hunter doing a weird dance with a random woman. “Well, I know it looks odd to dance like that; but, when you're doing it, it's actually quite fun.”
“Are you serious?” Ahaen asked, incredulous.
“Did you watch him?” Sheph asked.
“Yes. We all did.” Uzahne said. “The whole planet has seen it by now.”
“You're missing my meaning.” Sheph said. “Look at who he is dancing with.”
They all looked at the footage for several moments without speaking.
“She's no one.” Ahaen said.
“Yes! That's it exactly!” Sheph said. “She's not a government official, a celebrity, or even a prominent businesswoman.” She said and the three women looked at her. “He doesn't care who he's dancing with, as long as they are having fun.”
“Which included you.” Ahaen said.
“I managed to get three dances in a row!” Sheph said, proudly. “The competition for time with him was fierce!”
Uzahne's aide laughed before she could stop herself.
“Any woman could approach him and ask for a dance, and a few he asked himself.” Sheph said. “We were all just women. I wasn't a government official and his date wasn't a military lieutenant. If we wanted a dance, he treated us all equally.” Except at the end of the night. She thought and fought her blush as she remembered his hug and that she had received two kisses on her cheeks and not one like all the others.
“That... is beside the point.” Uzahne said. “What do we do with him?”
“I know what I would like to do with him.” Ahaen said and the others stared at her. “Not that!” She exclaimed. Well, not only that. She admitted to herself. “We should censure him for embarrassing the government like this.”
“The public would revolt.” Uzahne's aide said and they shifted their gazes to her. “He's currently at a ninety-five percent approval rating.”
“Did... did you say ninety-five?” Uzahne asked, surprised. Ahaen was at seventy-eight, Sheph was at eighty-five, and she was only at ninety-one.
“The statistics review board expect it to go up to ninety-seven by the morning, if the trend continues.”
“We created a monster.” Ahaen said, her fervour over trying to knock Hunter down a peg or two faded away. “He's a public relations juggernaut now.”
No one spoke again until they had all finished eating their meal.
“Thank you both for coming over.” Uzahne said and the three women stood up at the same time.
“We need to do this more often.” Ahaen said. “We shouldn't let our busy schedules keep us apart for more than a few days.”
“Tell the rest of the government that.” Sheph said with a laugh and gave her a quick hug, then did the same to Uzahne and walked quickly towards the dining room's door. “See you later.”
“Where are you going so fast?” Ahaen asked.
“I don't know about you; but, I'm going to see if I can somehow get into that bar again.” Sheph said with a grin and left the room. Ahaen and Uzahne exchanged looks, then they both sighed. Unlike Sheph, who had become bolder over the last little while, they were much too reserved to admit that they were tempted to go to the bar with her.