As his boots clicked on the artificial flooring, Jadis moved toward the bar that revealed itself, easing into the room from one of the cave walls. A set of brown stools also rose from circular impressions in the cave floor.
Jadis clapped wet hands in appreciation. “Now this is what I was hoping for!”
The three men were dressing the large female in a purple and grey fight suit with a spinning planet belted to her middle.
Hiding a look of disdain behind a cough, Jadis placed the fleshy pink human tongue over his forked Drafer tongue. This Betta, this station CEO, was such a child! It was humorous to see the Humans dressed like cartoons, but it was insulting to see a Drafer wearing it.
The large female studied him as the flight suit fit to her bulbous stomach and around her thick tail. Her forked tongue struck the air once and then again.
Jadis bowed formally. “I give my greetings, proprietor. I am Jadis Ter. I seek accommodation, comfort, and discretion. Betta of Arys has extended credit during my stay on this fine station.”
The Drafer female nodded and gestured toward a stool. They both sat as the males maneuvered to the other side of the bar.
“I am T’enic of Ysi, House of Amb, Listener of Gyb and Jyn. The rumors are true. Your taste is tainted.”
“I am not a true Drafer.” He could not keep the apology from his voice.
T’enic studied him a moment more before turning to the male before her. “Two Alynic brandies.”
“A drop of honey in mine,” Jadis said to the bartender.
“The taint. May I ask?” T’enic inquired.
Jadis sighed. “What is there to say? I didn’t choose this. I was made this way and cast aside. An experiment—“
“A mistake,” she interrupted with another shake of her scaled head. “It is a sad story. You confirm that it is true. You should not be.”
Jadis sipped the brandy, allowing the burning fluid to mingle with the warm pool water that lingered in his system. There was the hint of honey. Let her take that. Honey was hard to find in this sector. The cost would make her think again before extending unlimited credit to a visitor. He meant to teach her the lesson well.
“I can set aside a pool for you. Are there other… needs that you have?” T’enic kept her eyes to the glass in her hand.
Jadis suppressed a smile. “No worries. The female is safe. I didn’t come for pleasure. I am here for business. A pool will be sufficient as well as Human accommodations. I won’t need the pool at all times. Something very posh. Remember, Betta of Arys is paying.”
“You mean to ruin her before the trading season begins?”
“No, I mean to teach her a lesson. She’ll hardly be ruined. T’enic.” Jadis waited for her head to turn so their eyes met. “I would appreciate your discretion about what I am. Drafers are far more understanding than Humans. I have a deal in the works that does not need added complications.”
“You are famous for your… condition, and your deals, Jadis Ter. What deal will you make with me to keep your secret?”
Jadis wrapped the wet scarf around his neck to conceal his pulsing gills.
“You should not be.” T’enic said again, staring at his wet scarf.
“Yes. There are times, I wish that were the case. The House of Amb, is it?” Jadis asked knowingly.
“You know my people?”
“Amb.” Jadis closed his eyes, his flickering tongue recalling a flavor, though the prosthetic in his mouth only pushed the fake Human tongue forward. “The waters of C’innic in I’en. They have a salty weed there, a taste like rust, and rains ease the salt with a sweet spray.”
T’enic blinked a set of lids. “You’ve tasted C’innic. I have not been able to get that flavor. I have searched the outlying sectors near the Homeworld. There is no apothecary that can duplicate the experience. What does exist are usually fakes. How did you come to know C’innic?”
“I can have it duplicated, T’enic. I have contacts. Not your old-fashioned apothecaries. I know experts in this sector,” Jadis said.
“You would do this merely for me to keep a secret that is well-known to the Drafers?”
“Let’s be clear, T’enic. It’s not free. I will get you a good deal on C’innic flavor if you, and those that work for you, keep my secret for as long as possible. They will find me out eventually. I’d rather it was as far in the future as possible. Keep in mind, there are other flavors that my contact may be able to obtain or synthesize that are also rare.”
T’enic blinked both sets of lids in sequence now. “U’im?”
“I don’t know that one. You’ll have to talk to my contact. As soon as my room is ready, I’ll make a few calls,” Jadis promised.
“And what about the Antogin? You know they are here, on this station. They have vowed to kill you.”
“The glorious hive mind!” Jadis waved at the bartender. “Another brandy. Two drops of honey this time.”
T’enic showed her teeth then. “You have no fear, Jadis Ter. You are famous for that as well.”
“Oh, I have plenty of fear. It’s just not for Antogins.”
T’enic opened her mouth to speak, then hesitated.
“What is it? We are friends now, T’enic,” he assured her.
“I have heard rumors that their queen comes soon.” T’enic’s tongue flicked the air. “There it is. There is the fear.”
Jadis tenderly touched the sides of his neck. There were other sore spots that he ignored while in the presence of the Drafer. There was no need to call more attention to himself than needed.
“I told you, I have plenty of fear. Is there an ETA on this queen?”
“A few weeks. She comes to take back The Five and to negotiate with the Drafer royals.” She hissed. “Traitors. All of them.”
Jadis downed the second glass of brandy and managed to find his courage. “I’ll probably be far away by then, at some important trade negotiation.”
“I will speak nothing of your secret, nor will my employees. Will you be needing a toilet, like the Humans?”
“Well… yes.”
“That does surprise me. Can we have discussions on—“
“No, T’enic. I will not tell you the details of my freakish mutation. The less you know the better.”
Her teeth reappeared. “Perhaps, when the queen has gone and your business with Betta of Arys is finished, we can make another deal?”
“One where I tell you about the toilet?” Jadis asked, unsurprised. It was a typical conversation with common Drafers. Royalty was curious, but polite enough not to question.
“And what goes in the toilet? How it goes in? What it comes out of?” T’enic’s eyes were wide. “Is it quite painful?”
“I’m gonna need another brandy,” Jadis waved at the bartender. “Four drops of honey. No, six. Make it six.”
Betta was crossing the threshold of her compartment when everything in her stomach came pouring out without even a hint of warning. In the light gravity, it poured down in a strange stream that was both sickening and fascinating to watch.
“I’m sorry,” Betta said to the two women that followed behind her.
“Don’t worry, dear,” Gretchen admonished, “I suspected you had no stomach for the solid foods. It’s written all over you. You’ve been making it on nutrient drinks and such. I’ve seen this in the past. You’ll have to ease into the rich foods. I’ll prepare you a nice broth after you clean-up and rest a bit.”
While Gretchen spoke, Teena was already retrieving cleaner and towels from a silver panel that Betta didn’t even know existed. She had the mess clean in a few seconds.