Rachel wanted to pay attention to whatever the Zxx’thi tour guide was saying. Even though she had spent her whole life on Unity she had never taken the time to tour one of the many warships that pulled into port here. It always seemed like something that wouldn’t be fun to do alone, and asking one of her work friends would have been awkward. Had humans been allowed to join the Union navy she could easily imagine herself falling into a life aboard one of these ships. Spa’s, good food, travel, the navy had it all. And as a bonus she would be helping to secure the space lanes from piracy and activity.
But despite her earnest desire to pay attention to the long and droning tone of the tour guide, a certain distracting pirate kept pulling her attention away from the tour guide.
Rachel had spent three hours agonizing over what was the appropriate attire to wear to a warship. Her Arbiter cloak was off the table and that left her with very few options. Besides her sleeping gowns Rachel owned very little that could be worn in public. Despite the smart fibers in her cloak that helped cool down the dark cloak, Rachel still felt hot under the stuffy thing so she would wear a sports bra and shorts underneath to compensate. Even when she pulled her hood down she never removed the cloak so it had never been an issue. But now the idea of walking out of her safe house in that was too scandalous for her to imagine.
She had briefly entertained the idea buying a different colored cloak so that she could dress like she normally did without being identified as an ADCU officer. But the pirate had interacted with the Arbiter twice now and she was worried Astarte might make the connection if she dressed too similar to her other persona.
Eventually she had just browsed the net until she found something appropriate and had it delivered by drone carrier.
And then the pirate had showed up practically naked.
Okay, well, not totally naked.
She was wearing enough to cover any lewd or obscene parts of her body, but barely more than that. Rachel felt her face flush in embarrassment just by being in proximity to Astarte.
Seriously, she had heard that the standards of propriety on her specie’s home-world was low, but wasn’t this a bit much?
The damned pirate didn’t even seem concerned about how much skin she was showing, if anything she seemed a little upset that Rachel had come properly dressed.
“So, did you just have a school teacher outfit laying around, or was this something you just bought?” the pirate asked as soon as the guide stopped talking.
“Just bought?” Rachel asked bewilderedly. Surly the pirate couldn’t tell these clothes were brand new.
“Yeah, they smell like fresh clothes. Just out of the printer if I had to guess.” Astarte answered.
“You can’t possibly smell their newness. And what do you mean printer?”
The pirate glanced her way, one eyebrow arched. “online clothiers have automated fabric printers. You order what you want, a vat chemicals spin out synthetic threads to match your selection, and automated looms and sowing machines throw it all together. The fabric itself is scentless, but the factory is full of some tangy smelling chemicals from the artificial dyes. You have wash new clothes to get rid of the smell.”
Rachel blinked in shock. Then buried her face into her hands as embarrassment made her face feel like it was on fire.
The pirate laughed “You didn’t know that?”
“No” Rachel moaned into her hands “Why would I?”
Astarte shrugged “I thought it was common knowledge. thirty years ago almost every textile mill and sweat shop on Earth shut down when clothing companies moved everything to online shopping and automated warehouses. It was the third major global layoff. Guess you guys didn’t hear about that here in the core sector.”
“Global layoff?” Rachel asked, glad for the change in subject.
“Yep, there were four I think, or maybe five. They all happened a bit before I was born and caused a worldwide spree of unemployment and a spike in crime and poverty. Lots of people lost their jobs, which meant they couldn’t afford to buy things, which meant shops had to close down, which meant more people lost their jobs. And then since it became an employers market there were major pay cuts for the people who still had jobs. Made all the remaining nice cities on Earth go to shit. Though New Mombasa was a shit hole long before that.”
Rachel felt a wave of sorrow as she imagined what it must have been like to have your livelihood pulled away so fast. “What happened after that? Did people find a new way to earn a living?”
Astarte looked troubled “Sort of. When all the good legal jobs went away all that was left were the illegal ones. Crime went through the roof as everyone fought for any little scrap they could get. Drugs, robbery, fighting pits, sex trafficking.” Her voice became bitter.
Rachel nodded in understanding “Yeah, I guess that’s what happen when law and order break down.”
“More like law and order purposely drove the planet into the gutter to make a quick buck.” Astarte snarked bitterly.
“What?”
Astarte looked at Rachel like she was completely clueless. “What?”
Rachel scowled “You make it sound like it was the government’s fault.”
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Astarte frowned “Partially the government, and partially big business. The Union put huge restrictions on Terran’s ability to grow and expand, and our whole economy was set up for infinite growth. With room for expansion capped and a growing population the 0.01% was running out of ways to continue boosting their profit without undercutting the remaining 99.99% percent of people. So they did.” She made a dismissive shrug “Its an age old story, rich get richer while the poor get poorer.”
“That, that sucks” Rachel said honestly. She had been born into an affluent family, poor by Unity’s standards, but insanely wealthy by all other measurements. And despite all that wealth her parents were never happy with what they had. They were always picking and scraping for any opportunity to get a leg up.
Rachel had always thought that behavior was despicable, because her parents only wanted to get richer just to one up their supposed friends. Envy, greed, pride, lust, gluttony, sloth, and wrath were all traits her parents had in abundance. They were the worst. Them and everyone like them.
Then something occurred to Rachel. “You talk about the rich and powerful like you aren’t one of them. But you were at my parents party, you were even the guests of honor.” She accused, momentarily forgetting that she was supposed to earn the pirates trust and learn her secrets.
“Ha, you got that right. I’ve got enough money to make your family look like peasants.” She said with a wry grin. “The difference is that I started at the bottom, and in just eight short years I’m more powerful and affluent than a family whose been rich for generations. Your father seemed very bothered by that fact and hid it poorly, your mother on the other hand…” she let her words trail off suggestively.
Rachel knew what she meant. Her father was brash and boorish, while her mother was a hidden viper. Coiled and poised to strike.
A thought struck her. “You got this rich on your own in only a few years?”
The pirate shrug “On my own, no. I had Kar’s support to get started, and I certainly wouldn’t have gotten this far without my crew. I got luck, but that’s still more than anyone can expect from a street rat. And that fact has led me to understand that money is just a number, not some divine blessing only afforded to those special few who deserve it.”
“My parents would disagree with you on that.” Rachel pointed out.
“Oh I’m well aware, insecurities like that are common with people like them who have never really accomplished anything.”
Their conversation lapped into an awkward silence as they continued to walk through the spacious hallways of the Iron Tree. Astarte seemed completely oblivious of the fact that she had just insulted Rachels parents. Or she was aware and knew that was the surest way to get on her good side. Despite knowing what she did of the pirate Rachel couldn’t help but like Astarte. She had a charisma about her that drew people in.
Rachel had just glanced away to look at the clean and industrial-looking reactor room when movement from Astarte drew her attention.
The pirate had stretched her arms above her head and sucked in a breath as she yawned. The movements of her arms moved her scandalous shirt and way that let Rachel catch a glimpse of something white and lacey underneath.
Once again she felt her face flush like it was under a heat lamp and she whipped her head away. She focused her gaze firmly on the reactor set and didn’t let her eyes wander. “So, uh, New Mombasa, what was it like growing up there?” she stuttered as her mind spun to find a new topic of conversation.
“Oh, it was the worst. Literally the worst city in the galaxy to raise a kid. Everyone who grows up in a city like that grows up to be twisted deviants rearing for a fight.” She said boldly with a hint of pride in her voice.
Rachel let her eyes dart towards Astarte, who had thankfully put her arms down. “You realize that includes yourself?”
“I know what I said.” She said with a wry smile. Her smile softened into something more wistful “Ah, but for all the shit its still home.”
Rachel saw the soft nostalgia in the pirates dark eyes and felt and empty sort of feeling. She claimed it was the worst city in the galaxy, and yet she still had a place in her heart for it. “Do you visit it often?”
“Eh, not often enough. My work keeps dragging me aways.”
“Do your parents still live there?” Rachel asked before her mind could really think about that statement. Of course her parents didn’t live there, she knew at least one of Astarte’s parents was here on Unity. And said parent was a disgusting, vile, excuse for a man.
“Sort of.” The pirate answered without noticing Rachel’s wince. “Never knew my dad, and my biological mom left when I was three. But my adoptive mother still lives there. Saint Mary the Maiden.” She said with pride.
Okay, that was more that she was hoping to get. Belatedly she realized that the whole reason for this meet up was to probe the pirate for any information. “Saint?” she asked.
“Mom’s got reputation for taking in strays who have nowhere else to go, so people started calling her a saint. Kinda like Mother Theresa.”
“Strays as in animals, or people?”
“Mostly people, she basically runs an orphanage at this point.”
“Oh, I see.” Rachel said as things lapped into silence again. Judge had said the name Maidens-Daughter had strong links to an organized crime ring in New Mombasa. Assuming that this ‘Saint Mary’ was someone notable then they now had a pretty good lead for looking into Astarte’s past. Her biological mom being absent was problematic for Judge’s idea of gathering his brother’s victims to build a case against him.
That was all good information, but what she really wanted to ask was how Astarte knew the Assassin Vera, or why the hell pirates needed terraforming equipment, or why the hell she was here. Unfortunately those were all things only the Arbiter would know, and try as she might she couldn’t figure out how she could ask about them.
As their tour continued on they occasionally passed crew members currently on active duty. They were respectful as they passed, though they gave the two humans aboard the common look often given to their species. Part of Rachel wanted to protest at the unfairness of it, she had never done any of the violent acts that her people were know for. But she understood that it was unfair of her to try and start a confrontation with people just making the most logical decision.
Astarte on the other hand seemed amused “How much do you wanna bet one of them will start to tail us?” she whispered conspiratorially.
“Why would they tail us?” Rachel asked in confusion.
Astarte raised an eyebrow “come on, two humans, aboard a Union warship, seems suspicious.” She said jokingly.
“These people are professionals, and have better things to do then stalk a pair of humans.” She said firmly.
“If your so sure then lets put some money on it. I say ten credits if a crew men stalks us, and fifty if its an officer.”
She raised an eyebrow at that. Her parents, and everyone else she knew, said that gambling was a tasteless pass time. But she had to admit that she was intrigued, “And what do I get if no one follows us.”
“Sixty credits obviously.”
“Deal.”
Astarte smirked as they began to walk. Rachel almost immediately put the bet out of her mind, but not even five minutes later Astarte bumped her shoulder “You owe me fifty credits. I will accept payment in the form of dinner and wine.”
Rachel scowled “What?”
“Carkic, on our six.” She answered.
“Six?” what the hell did that mean?
“Directly behind us, have you never seen a clock?”
“Only Union digital clocks. I’ve only seen Terran clocks in history books, I don’t know the first thing about how they work.”
“Huh, I guess that makes sense. Anyway the Carkic in the uniform who just walked in.”
They stopped at a display and Rachel took the chance to casually glance towards where Astarte had described. In the doorway where they had entered was a large well groomed Carkic resting on all four of his knuckles with his eyes firmly focused on them. “That could be a coincidence.” Rachel declared.
Astarte didn’t turn from the plaque she was reading “Another ten says your wrong.”
This woman. “Fine, that makes it seventy.”
The corner of the pirates lip curled upwards “Actually that makes it sixty for me” she said cheekily before walking around to the other side of the display.
Rachel stopped reading and walked around the display, but when she turned the corner the pirate was no where to be found.
She blinked in confusion, the pirate was only out of sight for a couple seconds. Where did she go?
In response to her unspoken question a loud throat clear drew her attention to the Carkic at the door. Boldly standing there was Astarte, nearly thirty meters from the last place Rachel had seen her. How did she do that?
“Excuse me, I was hoping you could settle a bet” Astarte asked loudly enough to be heard by everyone.
The Carkic even resting on his knuckles loomed over the woman who was at least a foot taller than Rachel. “What bet?” The Carkic asked.
Astarte grinned “You see I bet that you were here to stalk the two human females touring this fine ship, but she thinks its coincidental.”
Astarte had pointed Rachel’s way as she said that last part, and Rachel felt the desire to hide behind the nearest post as everyone focused on her.
The Carkic scowled “Of course I came to check in on the two suspicious humans aboard my ship.”
Now it was Astarte’s turn to look surprised “Does that make you Tharadun?”
“It does indeed.”
Her shock remained for only a few seconds before her teasing grin returned “Oh good, that means you could probably give a better tour than that old windbag.” She said with a point towards the tour guide.