I manoeuvred my ship into the hangar of Linc Pleasure Station and slowly brought it down into a landing.
Once I completed the landing sequence, I pushed myself back from the console and stood up from the pilot seat to exit the cockpit.
Lea and Ries were already waiting for me outside and all of us were unarmed.
We would be required to disarm ourselves the moment we stepped into the station anyway so we might as well just leave our weapons in the ship instead of with them.
"Are we ready?" I asked.
Ries shifted uncomfortably, "Sorry Boss… But…"
I waved my hand, "It's alright, I'll just borrow some drones from the hangar to move the cages, no need to bother with it."
Both girls lowered their heads as a sign of gratitude.
She was apologising for the fact that neither of them were comfortable enough in helping me move the two cages that contained the dogs of course. And after seeing their reaction to the dogs and how scary dogs could be, I don't blame them.
The three of us left the ship and I was immediately greeted by the sight of pulsating lights, suggestive holographic projections and music blasting all around the station.
And unlike the dull, monotone colours that I usually saw plastered around the hangar sections of all the space stations I visited, this one was decorated intricately to make it look like the entrance to some kind of theme park instead of just a simple hangar.
I guess they really have to make you feel welcomed from the very start as a Pleasure Station huh?
I sought out one of the hangar staff who was wearing a rather sexualised version of mechanic overalls and got him to lend us some drones meant for moving cargo.
It seriously felt weird to see that… Since it looked like he was only wearing his overalls and nothing else underneath.
The dogs stayed quiet while we unloaded them from the ship, moving them to the edge of the landing platform where we would have to wait for the client to show up.
According to that trader, the client should be informed of the arrival of the dogs as soon as we got within a certain range of the station so they should already be aware that we are here.
Amber soon joined us while we had just finished bringing the cages out, my blonde haired lover eyeing the cages with a look of apprehension on her face.
"Are you worried they will break out of their cages and attack everyone in the station or something?" I asked.
She turned to me and with a voice that told me she was absolutely serious, she answered, "Yes."
"Come on, I don't think that would happen…"
"I've seen it happen before Tera. It was not pretty."
I blinked at her.
Lea turned to frown at Amber, "You've seen dogs attack a space station personally?"
"Yes…"
"How did you even survive?"
"I was on the side of the ones who released the dogs…"
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"Oh."
Err… I'm going to guess that she took part in some raid of a station as a Merc and their side made use of dogs to attack the station?
Looking at Ries, I saw the cat girl pulling her hood over her head further while trying her best not to look in the direction of the dogs.
Speaking of which, Lea was also wearing a hooded cloak to hide her ears now after Ries lent her one of hers.
Unfortunately for the Alv, Ries was obviously smaller in size than she was so the cloak was more like a crop top hoodie than a cloak.
Not gonna lie, that made her look pretty hot.
Amber looked around, "So what are we doing here? Is the client supposed to show up by themselves or do we bring these things to a drop off point?"
I nodded, "They should be coming to find us if I'm not wrong. There's apparently a tracker or something on the cages that will let them know that we are here."
"Well, where are the--"
"Are you the courier?"
All of us spun around to see a relatively short man wearing a questionably fashionable leopard print suit with what seemed to be a pair of oversized wraparound sunglasses.
It wasn't even a normal pair of sunglasses as holograms started playing on the surface of the glasses, making me wonder how he could even see through them properly.
Also, he's about Ries's height as well but he was clearly human at least.
Behind him were several larger sized men including one who was suited up in power armour watching us with rather unfriendly faces.
I'm guessing those guys must be his bodyguards.
Ok, so I know this guy was probably the client but I want to be sure that he's the right guy and there's no mistake about it.
I gave him a look, "I'm not sure what you're talking about. Do I know you?"
The guy grinned and lifted his hand to snap his fingers.
I thought he was trying to get his guards to threaten me but one of them came up and presented a personal terminal to him which he picked up casually.
He then tapped on it a few times before turning it around to show me the screen.
On the screen was a receipt for the delivery of two dogs with an order number beside it.
I realised there was also a number on the cages and checked them to make sure they matched before nodding at him.
"Yes, I am your courier."
His grin widened, "Perfect! Did they give you any trouble? I heard they can be a pain to deal with."
I'm guessing he was referring to the dogs so I shook my head, "Ah… Not at all. I… I have experience with them."
Technically not a lie since I've dealt with dogs before in my own universe.
He went over to look at the cages and I quickly stepped in front of him which in turn made his bodyguards take a step forward as well.
His smile disappeared as he looked at me for an explanation.
"Be careful not to get too close," I warned him.
His grin came back, "Relax girl. Do you think this is my first time handling dogs?"
I shrugged and stepped aside.
He walked up to the cage and…
Honestly, with how confident he was, I was totally expecting the dogs to be quiet, but the two dogs immediately started barking at him and even clawed against the cage as though they were trying to maul him.
To his credit, the guy didn't even flinch and actually smiled at the sight of the dogs.
"My, sprightly little mongrels aren't they? Seems like you weren't lying when you said you have experience with them. They seemed to be well taken care of. You won't believe the state of the dogs some of the couriers would bring them in. Even had to put one down the last time because the courier mistreated them during its transportation."
I paused and looked at him, "You really like dogs huh?"
He stepped back and smiled at me, "Like? I love them! Aren't they the cutest things?"
I sucked in a breath, "You think they're cute too?"
He understood my meaning immediately and stretched out both his arms in a welcoming gesture, "Ah! I see you're a woman of culture too! It's so difficult to find anyone who agrees with me on that!"
I nodded, "Oh I know exactly what you mean! These two were so cute!"
"Ahahaha! I know! That's why I bought them! I can't wait to collar them and see just how cute they are! Especially when I get them to start tearing off the limbs of idiots! That is the cutest!"
Oh… Ah fuck… I actually thought I found someone who really thought they were cute because they were so cuddly and… Well… Cute. Not because they could tear off limbs and decapitate your enemies…
Yes, they're cute while they're doing that too but that's not the reason why they are cute.
He didn't notice that my attitude changed slightly after I knew that as he turned back to smile at the cages, "You even delivered them early too! Can't wait to have some fun on this station yourself, eh?"
I nodded, "It's our first time here, actually."
"Ahahaha! Good, good! In that case, go have fun!!"
He snapped his fingers again and another guard came forward holding a Credit Chip.
The client took that Credit Chip from the guard and handed it over to me.
I looked at it and raised an eyebrow, "What's this?"
"Just a bonus for you. Take it and have fun here!"
He then gestured to the guards and the guy in the power armour came forward to pick up the cages to lift them up over his shoulder before the entire group walked off.
I stuck the Credit Chip into my Codex and… Holy fuck, did that guy just give me five million Credits?!!