“Method of payment is confirmed, sir. I can recommend the Otter’s Forge if your taste for libations runs on the Human side. If you have a strong constitution, the Bear’s Refuge, a Lyten establishment, is recommended.”
“No Drafer recommendations?” Jadis attempted to make the question sound casual.
“My mistake, sir. There is a Drafer establishment that doubles as a hotel. The Lizard’s Inn. The environment is not always suitable to Humans. Is this the destination you have in mind?”
Jadis craned his neck. “Yes. I think it might be just what I need. Take us to The Lizard’s Inn.”
The doors closed and the cart buzzed away as it sped down the paved roadway. There were other carts taking different pathways or passing them as they ran in opposite directions. Most were empty. Some few carried employees from place to place, their purple and grey flight suits easy to make out. The movement of the open compartment also made for an increase to the simulated breeze that carried the scent of something sweet he could not identify.
Most Drafer establishments did not come with windows and the outsides were rarely extravagant. The Lizard’s Inn was no exception. It looked like two large spheres stacked on top of one another and made of aluminum. The smell that drifted out overwhelmed all others, and it was extraordinary. It was earthy with hints of herbs and a mix of Drafer aroma. Inside his mouth, Jadis’s tongue writhed to be free of the prosthetic that held it in place.
“Would you like me to find a more Human friendly hotel, sir?” The A.I. interrupted his perusal.
“No, Sam. This is perfect.” Jadis exited the cart.
“As you wish, sir. Shall I wait to be certain you are compatible with the environment?”
“No, Sam. I will be fine. You are free to go about your duties,” Jadis said.
“Yes, sir. Have an excellent stay. If you have any questions you can make the request anywhere in the station by saying ‘station’.”
A holographic kiosk appeared near the cart. “Hello. Station responding. How may I help?”
The voice was mechanical. From the structure of the code that ran against a split-screen that only his retinal implants could see, Jadis could tell it was a default interactive. All of these structures and employees, and the smallest details were easily forgotten. Craning his neck, Jadis waved away the station.
“Quit station interface,” Jadis said in annoyance.
The kiosk vanished and he walked to the doorway of the Lizard’s Inn. Taking a breath, Jadis raised his right hand, pulled back his right sleeve to reveal a ball of flesh a quarter way up his forearm. It pulsed once, then again before a spray of mist hit the air and the door slid open.
The light was dim inside the structure. Jadis welcomed it in relief. He looked back at the cart that stood empty.
“You see. I’m fine. You are free to go, Sam,” he called.
“If you don’t mind, sir, I will give you a few moments to acclimate yourself. I will be nearby, if needed,” Sam replied.
“Thank you, Sam. You’re very loyal.”
“Indeed, sir.”
The empty cart whirled away with a hum.
Jadis lifted a booted foot and entered the aluminum structure. The door behind him slid shut and he waited, pulling the fleshy pink human tongue from his mouth to reveal a forked tongue that tasted the air about him.
This time the impression was strong. He knew the flavor well. It was what the Drafer’s called Iqsepa. It was an approximation of the way the city of Iqsepa smelled and tasted before it fell to galactic usurpers centuries ago. If one were to look up Iqsepa now, they would not see the lush fields of herbs, the many rivers and tributaries that cut into grassy land. They would not see the deep green, mossy pools where many of the Drafers dived. They would not feel the spray of moisture as the heavy waves of the planet struck land and swept over them. They would only see the smog-filled air and the dry wastelands of a planet whose resources were plundered by those that had no forward thinking or eye for beauty.
The itching had ceased to a low throb and his dark eyes had adjusted easily to the dim light. Every part of him that wasn’t covered in clothing was damp. The scarf about his neck clung heavily. He could have switched to any spectrum to reveal the lifeforms that bobbed and swayed nearby. He could have, but that would have ruined the experience. Even so, his cybernetic implants did a customary search for hidden observation tech. There was no need to give away all of his secrets.
There was no spy tech that he recognized. Given the semi-operational state of the station, and the preparations for its first customers, it stood to reason there was little time for them to set up such surveillance.
Jadis took a step forward and felt the gravity lighten. It was just a fraction, and enough to make him smile. He undid the scarf at his throat, revealing two blue packs of oxygenated water that bubbled and throbbed against black gills.
Five steps later, Jadis was rising to the second sphere where a group of five Drafers swam lazily in a suspended mossy green pool of water. They were near the top, or was it the bottom?
As Jadis’s head touched the surface, he stripped away the oxygenated water packs and placed them in a special pocket in his long coat. The gills stiffened and his lungs fought for dominion before his neck was fully submerged. He relaxed, his lungs pausing in their efforts to retrieve oxygen as he took in heavy swaths of the mossy water.
His body matched the temperature of the pool and Drafer aroma struck his tongue strongly. There were indeed five, and there was a question in the scent, then amusement and elation. As his body slowly became submerged by the shift in gravity, Jadis lifted his arms and pushed downward, forcing himself deeper into the pool. The push was enough to send his body bobbing forward.
The five Drafers, their tails and webbed-feet easily traversing the water in contrast to his bulky trench coat and heavy boots, swam toward him. They wore no clothing, but their sexual organs were internal after all, though the larger ones were obviously the females.
A chirping and whistling sound rippled the water as the Drafers spoke in their underwater language.
Jadis understood most of it.
The heavy female on the right said, “The famous Jadis Ter shares our water.”
One of the males asked, “Tainted?” or maybe “Dirty?”
The smaller female said, “Jadis Ter? The mistake?”
Emotions were difficult to read in the chirps and whistles, but Jadis was familiar with a certain disdain for his appearance by nearly every race he encountered. It was particularly easy to read when they knew what he was.
The smaller female studied him carefully while the three men showed their teeth. It could have been grinning or in threat. Jadis hardly cared as he settled himself in the gravity pool and allowed the moisture to soothe his sore gills. He didn’t realize he’d closed his eyes until he tasted a sudden release of pheromones. This one sexual. His eyes flew open.
The larger female chirped something he did not understand and the small female dashed away. Jadis watched her go, suppressing an urge to release his own pheromones to linger with the smaller female in the mossy pool.
Another of the males clicked and chirped, pointing downward. Jadis sighed internally and pushed upward, forcing his body downward. As his neck breached the water, his gills stiffened, and he returned the oxygenated water packs to his gills. His lungs struggled for a brief second then he relaxed and released a mouthful of water followed by a breath of air while drifting to the floor.
He could see the layout easily now. It ran like a primitive cave structure. There were stalagmites hanging from the ceiling. Their placement was not the natural formation one might see in a cave, rather they were placed for decoration and uniformly at that. They were arranged from small to large all across the cave. The ground at first glance was uneven, as though formed naturally from centuries of erosion, yet this too was artificial and a combination of the dim lighting and the structure of the room.