Once they finally made it out of the tower after another nice meal it had started to drizzle. Gabriel looked up at the grey skies and out over the park. Two officers approached, one male and one female Phigos. Gabriel could clearly note the differences now that they stood side by side. Phigos women have bands of smooth plates across the skull and men have two separate plates colliding in the center, creating a small peak of sorts. There was a slight difference in the shape of their cheekbones as well, the woman had higher ones.

“Hello, I’m Vnara and this is Orlon,” the female said and gestured to the other one. “And I suppose we are the other part of your double date,” She finished.

“Nice to meet you,” Gabriel said. “We are planning to head back to the hotel for a bit before heading out, is that alright with you?”

Orlon nodded, “Definitely, we will observe from the cafe across the street.”

“Talk casual,” Vnara said to him. “We’ll hang out at the cafe while you two get ready.”

“Right,” Orlon said.

Gabriel nodded to them and turned to look out over the park once again. Some families were still out, but most had either rain gear on or were holding up in roofed areas while the kids played..

“Maybe we should invest in umbrellas,” Gabriel said.

“At least it’s warm,” Madeline sighed and grabbed his hand. “If we’re lucky we’ll get back before it gets worse.”

They walked out into the drizzle and hurried on back towards the hotel, the two cops following behind at a distance. Unfortunately, they did not make it before the rain really got going and by the time they were back, both were drenched.

“Well, that sucked,” Gabriel said as he took off his jacket and dug around in his bag for a towel.

“Look on the bright side,” Madeline said as she wrung out her shirt in the bathroom. “Now we know that we should bring umbrellas or rain gear. And we needed to leave our bags in either case.”

“It’s better to get wet now rather than later?” Gabriel asked and hung his towel on a hook in the bathroom after drying his hair.

“Precisely, it's not like we are wearing our finest,” she said and accepted a dry towel from Gabriel.

“I suppose, I just hate having wet socks,” Gabriel grumbled and stripped down to his underwear, which was the only garment still dry. “But I do get to stare at you undressed again, so it’s not too bad.”

Madeline chirped and grinned at him through the mirror, “Why don’t you make yourself useful and bring my brushes?”

“Can do,” Gabriel said and wandered over to her bag. It was packed in an orderly manner and he easily found several brushes which he delivered to Madeline. Then he went through his quite limited wardrobe and decided on one of the button-up-shirts he had from US 535 and black pants to go along.

As his jacket was still dripping wet he had to go without. White shirt and black ‘jeans’, that would have to do. He sat down and rummaged around for his phone. It still had plenty of charge so he laid it to the side and waited for Madeline to get done which as usual took quite some time.

But eventually, she walked out in her undergarments and Gabriel smiled as she bent over to look through her bag.

“Are you doing that on purpose?” He asked. Madeline shot an innocent look over her shoulder and wiggled her butt.

“I have no idea what you mean.” She said and managed to keep a straight face.

“Of course, my mistake,” Gabriel chuckled and leaned back on the bed, enjoying the show. Madeline finished dressing and joined him on the bed.

“Pcu,” she said and held out her hand. “No, wait, you called it a phone?”

“Yep,” Gabriel said and handed her his phone. He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “That icon is for pictures,” he said and pointed. Madeline turned the phone around for a moment before tapping the icon with her claw, which did exactly nothing.

“How does it work?”

“With things carrying a static charge, you need skin contact,” Gabriel explained. Madeline poked the icon again and the gallery opened. She pressed the first image, which was a picture of a serial number of something Gabriel had been working on. “Swipe to the right to see the next picture.”

Madeline swiped past several more pictures. Some were of damages to computers that needed to be fixed, some were codes or serials Gabriel had needed at work. “Do you have nothing but work pictures?”

Gabriel tried his best to remember, he didn’t take many pictures and his phone was new, well new a hundred years ago. “I do have some further back that are more interesting. A few with Victoria, some nature pictures, and…can I see the phone for a bit?”

Madeline held it out of his reach, “Why?” She kept swiping.

“Because my last girlfriend sent me some pictures that might be...and you found them.” He finished as Madeline swiped over to a nude neck down picture of Maria, Gabriel ex from a few years before he was kidnapped.

“Huh,” Madeline said and tilted her head. “Your description of human women was quite accurate.” she mused and swiped through the pictures, some more tastefully nude and some not so much. “Why do you have these?”

“We ended our relationship on good terms and she said I could keep all that didn’t have her face in them.”

“Why?”

Gabriel blew out a breath “I’ll let you figure out the reason a man would keep naked pictures of a woman,” Gabriel said. He should have remembered the pictures, or at least that he had transferred them to this phone.

Madeline chirped as she swiped over to a picture of a path in the woods, “I can’t believe I had to go through your masturbation materials before seeing nature pictures.”

“I saw trees every day back on earth, not so many naked ladies,” Gabriel said. “And to be honest, that phone is—was—new.”

“Fine,” Madeline grinned. “Still you might want to hide those better.” she swiped through the various nature pictures Gabriel had taken over the years. “Why do you have so many pictures of nature?”

“My phone was always with me so it’s easy to snap a picture of a forest path or whatever. I lived in a quite small town so I was close to the woods.”

“I guess that makes sense, I suppose I have quite a few as well. Or rather had as my pcu was taken.” she swiped past some more, asking about pine trees in particular and some other questions before one again, reaching a few work-related pictures. “Trees and work I see,” Madeline chirped.

“Yep,” Gabriel agreed and wrapped both arms around her. She settled in against his chest and swiped. The next picture up was a selfie taken by Victoria. His and her face side by side with a Christmas tree in the background. Gabriel felt a pang of nostalgia go through him.

“That has to be Victoria,” Madeline said.

“Yeah,” Gabriel confirmed. They were almost close enough to appear as twins. Both had light tanned skin, dark brown hair, and dark green eyes. The main differences were their mouths and chins. Madeline noticed the similarities as well, her finger tracing over the image.

“She’s pretty,” she said. Gabriel just nodded and hugged Madeline closer. “Sorry for bringing the mood down just before our date.”

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“Double date,” Gabriel reminded her. “And It’s fine, I honestly should have gone through my pictures before...for several reasons,” he chuckled. Madeline swiped past a few more pictures of the Christmas tree and some food before reaching the end. “So, which ones do you want me to hand over to the Union?”

“Getting permission for sharing the nudes too late by about a hundred years, but I think they can learn some from them. Though you should keep the very sexual ones private,” Madeline said and handed over the phone. “I have no opinion on the rest.”

Gabriel sorted a few, or rather about half the pictures of Maria to another folder and locked it with a passcode, “Done, now, how about that date?”

“I guess we should get going,” Madeline said and sighed leaning her head back against his chest. “But it’s comfy.”

Gabriel chuckled and looked at the time, “It’s still quite early, we can snuggle for a bit, or go shopping.” Madeline sighed again and rolled out of bed,

“...Shopping,” She said after a long pause.

Then they got going. After meeting up with Vnara and Orlon—and procuring umbrellas—they headed into the city, counterclockwise around the park surrounding the Union building. They strolled slowly around various stores, Gabriel looking at mostly everything seeing as it was new. The cops mostly kept their distance and acted like a couple out for their own date, though they were not as close as Gabriel and Madeline. They managed to spend several hours looking at clothes, appliances, and Gabriel made sure to pick up some movies.

“So, what kind of food are you in the mood for?” Vnara asked them when it was beginning to get dark.

“Something spicy,” Gabriel said.

“Like with Quizeateran fire-root?” Orlon asked.

“Exactly like that,” Gabriel said. “But I’m open to suggestions, I barely know any dishes as it is. Madeline usual orders for me.”

Madeline chirped, “That might have to change if you’re planning on actually being an ambassador in more than just name.”

“Surely I can have a beautiful assistant that picks my meals for me?”

“Oh, assistant am I?” Madeline asked.

Gabriel paused, scrambling for words, “Must be the translator, the word I used is higher in status, though assistants though hold everything together.” Gabriel said, rather unconvincingly.

Madeline chirped, “Must be, though assistants usually get paid.” She hooked her arm around Gabriels and addressed the two Phigos. “So, any recommendations?”

“Yes,” Vnara said and squinted with all three eyes. “What’s that place called? the Cecaiampal place that has that stew and wonderful bread,” she asked Orlon.

“Waystop on the journey towards aging or something like that,” Orlon said.

“That’s the one,” Vnara said and turned to Gabriel and Madeline. “How does that sound?”

“I don't think I’ve ever had Cecaiampal food so I’m game,” Gabriel said.

“Me too, as long as they have something without hot spices,” Madeline said.

“Yeah, they do, I recommend the wraps, they come in many flavors.” Orlon said.

“Lead the way,” Gabriel said grinning, he was getting excited to try some new food.

Now that Gabriel had heard the rumors he caught glances that were less than friendly, but the vast majority were still curious looks. They walked several blocks and ended up close to another entrance to the park.

The Waystop on the Journey of aging was a quite large restaurant. But then again Cecaiampals were pretty large. The interior had several tables set up, plenty with chairs but some had a low and wide cushioned stool. Or whatever it was called. Gabriel blanked on the correct word. Regardless, it was clearly meant for Cecaiampals to squat on. Most of the tables were taken but a few towards the back were still empty. Walking past the occupants they selected a booth at random.

A screen sat in the middle with pictures of dishes and the names. Gabriel had enough knowledge of the Station standard alphabet to make out the words, though if they had any meaning beyond the names he could not tell. There were a lot of stews and soups on the menu.

“So, I recommend this,” Vnara said and pointed to a dish resembling a very orange, almost red Jambalaya, though obviously without the shrimp or chicken he was used to. “It’s quite spicy but very good.”

“I’m convinced,” Gabriel said, “Oh, and order some bread as well.”

“Done,” Vnara said and gestured for Madeline to order. She selected two wraps, Gabriel only recognized one name, which was included in the burritos they sometimes ate. Some kind of meat substitute. Vnara chose the same dish as Gabriel and Orlon settled on a plate resembling a chicken salad with sliced blue potatoes.

“So, what have you heard about this ‘date’?” Gabriel asked the two cops. He decided that calling everyone officers or guards got confusing and they were more or less equivalent of cops.

“Not much, we were told that you wanted to go out and that we needed to act as the other couple.” Orlon said.

“Quite a nice assignment in my opinion,” Vnara said. “We even get extra pay since it’s after work hours.”

“Right, well, apparently there are some rumors about me going around and we were advised to keep two guards with us,” Gabriel explained.

“Alright, we’ll jump in if anything looks to be going out of hand, but we can’t arrest anyone for spreading rumors,” Orlon said.

“I don’t expect you to, I just want to avoid getting into fights, it might be bad for my reputation.”

The food arrived and Gabriel realized he had been wrong about his dish, sort of. It was something resembling rice with vegetables but everything floated on a thick sauce. It was also a very large portion and very good, and after asking for a few more pinches of whatever spice they used it might have been the best meal he’d had since coming to space. The bread—which resembled flat-bread—was also good. It tasted a bit nuttier than the Earthly bread he was used to.

Gabriel and Madeline got recommendations of some stores to check out. Some Roniean and Igris stores might have clothes that fit Gabriel and Kirini stores for Madeline. Gabriel would at least get an idea about what clothes to custom order even if they didn’t find anything. He had a pretty good idea from the ones they had already been in, but testing some clothes on wouldn't hurt

“This was great,” Gabriel said and leaned back, rubbing his stomach.

“I’ll assume so, you almost finished a Cecaiampal portion,” Vnara said looking at his plate. The rest had half or more remaining while Gabriel had one fourth. She pressed a button and some takeaway boxes arrived a minute later.

“Are there no smaller portions?” Gabriel asked.

“No, but the boxes are free, which means good lunch tomorrow,” Orlon said happily.

“If you’d learn to cook you could have good food every day,” Vnara said and closed her box. “But I have to agree that this ranks high up the list.”

Gabriel chuckled and loaded his own box. It would do for a small lunch, “This might have been the best meal I’ve eaten. To be fair, it’s like the second meal out in a restaurant.”

“We do find ourselves on ships more often than not,” Madeline said nodding. “Last time we were at a station was where we picked up Cani. Last time we were together that is,” She added.

“Yeah, I went and got kidnapped again didn’t I?” Gabriel said.

“You sure did,” Madeline smiled. “Oh, speaking of that, I will get my fingers fixed tomorrow.” She said and wiggled her prosthetic fingers at him.

“Remember to do the exercises they give you,” Orlon said and wiggled his own fingers, “I lost a finger when I was younger and ignored them, took an extra month to get it to bend like the rest.”

“Will do,” Madeline said. “Now that we have eaten, let’s go get those clothes made.” They got up and walked out the door of the restaurant, into a group of angry-looking aliens of various races. Orlon and Vnara hung back slightly but tensed up. Madeline stepped up beside Gabriel. “Can we help you?” she asked.

A tall Igris walked forward, “We have heard some rumors about the human and don’t want him around.” He stepped up and poked Gabriel in the chest. “I suggest you—”

“What kind?” Gabriel interrupted, keeping his voice friendly and casual.

“What?” The Igris asked, caught off guard.

“What kind of rumors? You wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to hear them to your face,” Gabriel chuckled. “Like trying to herd cats.”

The Igris looked confused for a second before repeating the rumors about Gabriel’s time in the arena and his… violation of women. “As I said—” The Igris began.

“False rumors,” Gabriel interrupted cheerily. “Glad we could clear that up, was there anything else?”

“What?” the Igris asked confused.

“Well, alright, let me explain,” Gabriel said and rubbed his chin. “Let’s start from the arena. I was indeed put there after going to a market, which we learned might not have been legal,” Gabriel said sheepishly. “We were just looking for my stuff you see. Pcu and all that, It had pictures that would be lost and… well you get it.” Gabriel shook his head. “Where was I?”

“Arena dear,” Madeline said.

“Thanks,” Gabriel said. “So, about those rumors, I’m thinking that the only ones that were there to see what happened and could spread rumors were either the ones paying for illegal bloodsport or the fellows running the arena right?” Gabriel asked.

The Igris looked around at the gathered group. “Sure,” he said after a while.

“And why would they say anything nice about me after I escaped?” Gabriel asked. “I’m honestly surprised you haven’t heard more absurd rumors about Zilgi as they put a stop to the operation,” Gabriel said smiling.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Orlon said nodding. “I heard some rumors about Zilgi appearing at the same time as yours,” He finished, his acting quite good.

“Right,” Gabriel said. “Spread by criminals upset they were not allowed to kill for sport anymore I wager.” He turned back to the Igris with a friendly expression. “Thanks for seeking me out, I’m glad we could clear this up, have a pleasant evening,” He said and took Madeline’s hand, leading her out of the group while saying hello to the mob as they let him past, mostly due to the confusion.

“Huh,” Vnara said as they were out of earshot, “That went well.”

“Didn’t think that would work,” Gabriel chuckled. “But shifting the blame is a human specialty.”

Vnara laughed, “Good thing that. And that you did not initiate anything. If they could claim self-defense it would be difficult to put them in jail.”

“You think they were just misguided citizens or people that you would rather have behind bars?” Gabriel asked.

“Missguided citizens don’t usually gather in organized mobs outside restaurants,” Orlon said. “But it is a possibility. However, my guess is either a small gang or thugs paid to start trouble.”

“In the case that they’re paid,” Gabriel said. “Are we being followed?”

“Maybe,” Vnara said and sighed, “Which means we have to stick to public and preferably recorded areas.”

Madeline huffed, “We have to get this sorted, I refuse to leave this planet without having an actual date.”

Vnara laughed again, “We will do our best. Now, do we try and enjoy our double date or set a trap?...”