Faith

I snatched a station log before slipping unnoticed from the docks. I had hoped to use it for its maps, but I got lucky. An order come through on the system. There was a door in need of servicing. If it hadn’t been for that fact the locking mechanisms would have been practically impossible to break into. But with a station order, it was easy as pie.

I was feeling awfully lucky when I hacked my way into the loose door panel using only the paltry tech of the station log. A whorehouse would serve my needs well enough. Not that I was in the market for companionship. No, I was looking for clothes to steal—something to replace my gray prisoner’s jumpsuit. I knew this was a service entrance so didn’t imagine anyone would be inside. Usually these places are nothing more than a dusty cellar filled with circuit boards. Instead, the sight of a massive alien bent over one of those circuit boards made me stop dead in my tracks. I stood there frozen for a second or two before I noticed he hadn’t heard me come in. There were little round pads over his ears. He was listening to music.

I quickly considered my options. He was a big guy, so when he started to pop those pads off his ears I hurried to conceal myself in an attempt to avoid a fight. Hide first, fight when necessary. When push comes to shove, though, I’ll do what I have to, and these idiot aliens always seem to underestimate a human when things get physical. Too bad for them, huh?

I brought the heavy, disembodied arm of one of the bots down on the guy’s head and for all of his size, he still went out like a light.

So, that’s where I stand, frowning down at him as he lies unconscious on the ground. I think I’ve finally been out here for too long, because this guy actually looks kind of hot for an alien. His skin is a gradation of pearly white, filtering to a deep avocado green, before it becomes nearly black in some places. He wears his hair shaved along the sides, but the rest is nearly as long as my own and he keeps it tied back by leather straps. For clothing he wears only a vest and plain trousers, along with oddly shaped black boots. Based on boots alone, I’m guessing we don’t share the same number of toes.

His clothes conceal any other unique anatomical differences we might have. Still, I can see he’s a giant compared to me, with broad, muscular shoulders and an animalistic look about him. His nose is wide and flat, reminding me vaguely of a cat. That being said, the rest of him is nothing like a cat at all.

He has these absolutely biteable lips and when his eyes were open I saw they were an electric green color, practically illuminated. His hands are wide and sport one less finger than I’m accustomed to. They’re tipped with gnarly looking onyx claws that would have left me terrified a few short months ago. Now, I just think they make him look kind of tough, like a badass. Yup, he’s definitely giving off badass vibes. Hell, claws or not, his sheer size is something to reckon with. Walking around with a guy like him, on a station like this…a girl might actually feel safe. As if there is such a thing.

“Sorry, buddy,” I murmur, before I begin to scramble around the room, looking for clothes I can rip off the old robotic sex dolls. Everything’s dusty, but it’s still better than the alternative. I find a brightly colored crop top. Unfortunately, since I pulled it from a sex doll, it’s meant to be revealing and my boobs are practically bursting out of the thing. Luckily, I find some more serviceable pants, with decorative metal plates sewn across them. I pull off my prison clogs and quickly don a tall pair of boots whose only saving grace is the fact that they don’t have heels. All the better to run in.

The last thing I have to do before I make my grand escape is rob the hottie who had the misfortune of crossing paths with me. I hastily dig through his bag. It’s filled with a bunch of alien computer gadgets and spare hardware pieces. Some I recognize, but they aren’t worth much and I don’t have a need for them. Other than that, the poor sap doesn’t even have a weapon. Doesn’t he know how dangerous it is to walk around on a brothel planet without a piece? I shake my head, silently reprimanding his unconscious body. I don’t find anything useful in his bag, so I move to his pockets and try not to grope the guy too much.

Score. He’s got a station badge, which is like a VIP card to this whole place. It can get me food and a place to sleep. I also find an e-lock port. That means he has a ship at the docks. My heart races. If I’m quick I might be able to scan his bio read and create a synthetic one I can use to steal his ship. Hurriedly, I try to unhook the personal comm from his wrist, but he begins to rouse at my touch. Damn it. Out of time. I grab the station badge and push my prisoner jumpsuit under a broken sex doll on my way out the door.

Even though it hurts to pass up a ride out of here, I’ve learned to not get greedy. Greed can get you caught. No, what I need to do is simply bide my time. I’m a pretty girl on a brothel station, for Christ’s sake. Another opportunity will be right around the corner.