To his surprise, it wasn’t hard to find the bar the off-duty Interior Agent most frequented. Though, as he stepped into the place he decided that he really shouldn’t have been.

Much in the same way that being human drew eyes to him the moment he stepped into a room, Pernora apparently had a presence about her that seemed to automatically repulse the other patrons of the rather fancy establishment. The woman was sitting alone at a corner seat, staring at nothing, a half empty drink in front of her, and not a soul within two meters.

Of course, in his search, it had also helped that the capital of Gurathu didn’t have that many bars. It didn’t have that many of anything, really. It was, in almost all ways that mattered, a frontier town. A big frontier town in a space age society, but still a frontier town.

As his eyes roamed over the agent’s slightly glum looking form, he couldn’t help but feel a hint of camaraderie in their relative isolation. Certainly, he wasn’t isolated, but he was the only human on the planet, and there were days where he certainly felt it. He could only imagine it was worse for a woman whose vocation was essentially spying on others.

Was this why cops and veterans had cop bars? To avoid this sort of thing?

“Not that I’m saying ‘no’ or anything,” Scales said from behind him as she bustled in out of the cold, shaking snow off her thick coat – and ignoring the look of irritation sent her way by a nearby waitress in the process. “But did you really have to pick this spot? I know a gentleman likes to be wined and dined properly, but couldn’t you show a little mercy to a lady’s cred chit?”

“Who said you were paying?” he asked, turning back to her. “I’m the one apologizing for pistol whipping you in the face here.”

Which he was. He just happened to be killing two birds with one stone by ‘coincidentally’ bumping into Gurathu’s sole Interior Agent as he did.

“Besides, even if you were paying,” he continued, glancing behind the woman to the second figure that came in after her. “I figure it couldn’t be that bad, between the two of you.”

“You’ve clearly never been to the Hork and Whistle before, kid,” Assisse said. “Gurathu’s a pricy place to live, but I’m pretty sure this dump takes pride in it. Food’s decent at least.”

Jason very deliberately didn’t look at the nearby waitress as he was reminded that the place was actually a bar and grill. “Well, you needn’t worry for your cred chits. This kid’s old enough to pay for himself.”

“Not going to happen,” Scales jumped in, gripping him by the arm. “I dare not think of the look my mothers would give if it were known I let a man pay his own way.”

Seeing the serious look in the scaled woman’s green eyes, he glanced to Assisse for support, but the other woman just grinned. “Ain’t got anything else for us to spend our money on out here, kid. At least let us pay for tonight.”

He frowned, before it turned into a wry grin.

“It’s your money.”

He resigned himself to just giving up and letting them do with their money as they pleased.

This date was already on the Shil’vati end of the spectrum when his date decided to show up with a ‘date’ of her own, so he decided he might as well go with it.

He also felt a little bad, given that the two of them were clearly putting on an effort for this when he was mostly here for Pernora. Scales’ scales looked freshy buffed and shiny as she pulled off her coat, and if he wasn’t entirely wrong, Assisse was dressed up a little more nicely than usual.

Once upon a time he might have assumed the tanktop looking ensemble she was wearing was entirely casual, but recent journey into high society allowed him to recognize that the garment’s padded nature was a result of it imitating a breastplate. Which, in Shil’vati chic, meant fancy.

“Right, let’s grab a seat,” deliberately looking away from the pairs’ beaming smiles.

…He was putting out tonight. If only to quell this burning shame deep in his gut. The pair of them deserved that much.

He’d already cleared it with Yaro; who’d seemed more bemused than anything that he’d bothered to ask. A little flattered too, if he’d been reading her right.

Given that the place was a bar and grill, and on the fancier side of the spectrum, they were guided to a table by a waitress. It had been the work of but a moment to gently request to be positioned close by to Pernora’s position.

The Rakiri waitress, who’d already been a little wide-eyed – likely on account of his species – only got more so at his request to essentially invade the no-man’s land that had formed around the agent, but she acceded without an issue.

Said request got a slight uptick in eyebrow from Assise, but little beyond that as they took their seats. Scales didn’t notice at all as she practically danced in her seat. If Pernora noticed that the no-fly zone around her had been violated, she gave no notice of it as she continued to stare off into space. Jason noticed she had a data-pad on the table in front of her, which at least told him that she hadn’t spent the whole evening doing that.

Oh god, am I feeling sorry for the bitch that dragged me in for an interrogation on the flimsiest reason imaginable?

He shook his head as he glanced at the menu, written in Shil and the remarkably similar looking Rakiri script. Most of it was gibberish to him, but he’d grown accustomed to that by now. He did what he usually did in such situations. Pick the thing that had the least uses of the word ‘fried’ in it.

Shil’vati and Rakiri liked their fats, salts and sugars. Those bodies required a lot of energy to move around.

“So, why’d you pistol whip my friend – and your superior by seniority – in the face?” Assisse asked.

Jason nearly choked on his own spit. Scales’ reaction wasn’t quite so pronounced, though her eyes did widen slightly before she scowled at her friend.

“I told you it was an accident,” the cultured woman said. “My fault, really. I shouldn’t have snuck up on the dear.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Assisse allowed, eyes boring into his own as she spoke. “I’m just curious as to what had our human friend so jumpy?”

Jason gut’s turned to ice. Could Assisse be aware of the disappearances? His investigation? Meager as it currently was. Could she have been on Hela’s payroll!? His final words to her having tipped the noble woman off to his suspicions!?

“You aren’t being harassed by any of the local girls are you?” Assisse continued on. “Because I’m happy to convince them to back off if you are.”

Jason nearly felt his soul escape his mortal form as the tension flew out of him.

“N-no,” he coughed. “Nothing like that.”

This time it was Scales turn to interject, her earlier irritation at her friend turning to concern for him. “Are you sure?”

Jason smiled wryly. “If I was, and I’m not, wouldn’t you guys already know? What with you tailing me at all hours.”

Assisse rolled her eyes, while Scales averted hers.

“Tailing is a strong word, dear,” the partially reptilian woman said softly. “It was more that our dear captain… suggested that if we were in the same area while out and about we should… keep an eye on you. I was being truthful when I said I spent your meeting with Hela in that little café.”

The thought rankled but he forced it down. That… wasn’t as bad as he feared. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t totally awful either.

Assisse just snorted and bulled ahead. “Point is, we haven’t been following you at all hours or anything like that. So, if you are being harassed by someone, none of us have seen it.”

“Well, I’m not,” Jason smiled.

“Are you sure?” Assisse persisted. “Even if it were someone… in a position of power, we have means of dealing with it.”

Jason felt his heart skip a beat as the woman glanced in Pernora’s direction.

“Nothing of the sort,” he said, perhaps a little hastily.

Assisse didn’t look entirely convinced, but under his persistent gaze, she at least seemed inclined to drop the subject.

“Honestly, Assisse,” Scales hmphed. “We’ve come out here for a nice meal, not an interrogation. Whatever business our human friend has with the good Agent is his own business.”

Jason winced, but found he wasn’t entirely surprised. “You noticed that too, huh?”

The reptilian woman favored him with a quiet smile. “Dear, you are many things, but subtle is not one of them.”

In that moment, he wished the floor would just open up and swallow him.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” He had the strangest urge to apologize.

However, rather than seem upset by the fact that they’d been asked out on a date under – mostly – false pretenses, both women just seemed amused as they regarded him.

“I’m sure you have your reasons, dear.” Scales put a finger against her cheek in a surprisingly dainty notion for the marine. “But if you truly want to make it up to us, please put whatever business you have with Agent Penora out of your mind for now. Let us just enjoy the evening until such time that you manage to intrude on her little island of isolation.”

“It has been a while since I’ve managed to snag a guy for a date.” Assise tapped the table. “Be a shame to ruin it over a little hiccup.”

Still feeling like a world class heel, Jason managed to favor them both with a smile. “I think I can put my business with Agent Pernora aside for a little while to focus on the two lovely ladies across from me.”

He didn’t miss the way both women flushed at what was apparently an unexpected compliment.

And he could do exactly as he said. Pernora was in his line of sight, and he was pretty sure he could intercept her should she get up to leave. More to the point, she didn’t look like was going anywhere for a while yet. That would hopefully be enough time for him to allow Assisse and Scales not to feel like they’d been robbed of an evening.

Anything else that might have been said was put on hold as the waitress from before came over and took their orders.

“So, have you come to rub my nose in it?” Pernora asked without prompting.

Jason paused on his trip back to his own table.

“Rub your nose in what?” he asked, secretly relieved that the woman had spoken to him. His plan had always involved him ‘bumping’ into her, but it was only as the evening wore on that he realized he didn’t really know how to go about making that happen.

Her speaking to him unprompted had neatly segued that issue, even if it had caught him off guard.

“That.” The Interior Agent happily pointed to where Assisse and Scales were happily chatting to each other, both occasionally bursting into giggles.

“My dates?” he asked.

And wasn’t that a weird phrase to use? One that was made even weirder by the fact that his two companions for the evening had spent just as much time focusing on each other as him. It had been enough that he’d begun to think those rumors about the pair being ‘involved’ might have had some truth to them.

“And my lack thereof,” Pernora said blankly.

Jason resisted the urge to scoff. “Your personal life is of no interest to me, Agent. I’m just here to have some fun with a few friends.”

Pernora just rolled her eyes, before she took a swig of her drink.

“Which is why you’ve been glancing my way all evening?” she prompted, pinning him with a cool stare.

Jason flinched mentally, even as he struggled to keep a straight face. He probably should have known the woman would notice him, even if she did seem out of it. It wasn’t like his presence was subtle, given his gender and species. More to the point, watching for watchers was probably amongst the set of skills an Interior Agent was expected to have.

“Well… when you put it that way,” Jason said, frantically thinking, “I do have a question for you.”

Pernora frowned. “And I should entertain this question, why?”

Jason glanced pointedly down at the set of empty bottles covering her table. “Got something better to be doing?”

The woman’s frown seemed to deepen, but in the end she sighed. “Fire away then, perhaps entertaining some uplifted primitive from out in the boonies might give me some momentary amusement.”

Jason very pointedly resisted the urge to point out that Pernora herself was currently out in the boonies. Earth by contrast was currently home to an entire Shil battlegroup and was a veritable hive of industry as the Imperium sought to uplift the planet.

“I was just wondering why Shil’vati ships are so damn inefficient?” he said casually.

Pernora glanced at him. “You, a primitive from a world that didn’t have real void craft until we showed up, want to accuse the Imperium of having poor ship design?”

Jason shrugged. “Essentially, yes.”

“Want to cite an example, or are you just talking out of your ass like most men?”

Jason very deliberately kept a lid on his temper. The last thing he wanted was Assisse or Scales coming over now that they’d noticed he hadn’t returned. The pair were trying not to be obvious about watching him, but they were about as subtle as he imagined he had been.

“I actually got the idea from looking at the stats on the Maw,” he said. “She was close, and I figured a good target for familiarizing myself with the goings-on of ships in general.”

“The Helrune girl’s gaudy pleasure boat,” Pernora grunted, though there was no missing the hint of envy in the woman’s tone.

“Cargo ship,” he corrected. “Though from what I’ve seen, your descriptor might be closer than you think. I can’t imagine any trader worth her salt would be happy with the inefficiencies I’ve noticed.”

“Ooh, harsh words for your former date,” Pernora teased. “Had a falling out? The rich girl toss you aside?”

Ironically, that insult bothered him less than the one about his engineering skills. Mostly because of how laughably far from reality it was.

The lack of a reaction seemed to disappoint the woman, who slumped slightly.

“What inefficiencies?” she asked. “Helrunes are many things, but I don’t think anyone could label them as being careless when it comes to coin.”

Jason shrugged as he brought up his data-pad, spinning it around. “Perhaps Hela’s the blacksheep of the family?”

Pernora glanced, slightly blearily, at the cargo manifest on the screen, before her gaze returned to him.

“The fuck’s a sheep?”

Jason sighed. “Irrelevant. I basically just meant the odd one out.”

“Quaint,” the woman said, before her gaze returned to the screen. “And what am I looking at? Beyond a bunch of numbers?”

“It’s the Maw’s cargo manifest from deliveries it’s made in the last few months.”

“Pretty sure those are private,” the Agent pointed out.

“By company policy, not law,” he shot back just as quickly.

He really wouldn’t have put it past the woman to arrest him on such a flimsy thing – if only to ‘ruin’ his evening.

Fortunately, as it was company rules and not Imperial law he’d broken by sweet talking one of the warehouse managers down at Customs, there was nothing she could do about it. More to the point, if anyone was going to be punished for said violation of policy and procedure, it would be the rather flustered Shil’vati woman he’d spoken to.

“Alright, so what’s the issue?” Pernora continued.

Jason sighed at the woman’s refusal to actually look at what he was showing her. “There’s a deficit.”

It was small. Just a tiny twitch of a thing to be honest. But he saw it. A tiny spark of interest in the woman’s eyes.

For the first time since their conversation began, he felt he had her attention.

“Of what?” she asked.

“General goods,” he responded. “According to these manifests, the Maw is moving less tonnage than she should theoretically be capable.”

“And you would know what a Shil’vati cargo ship would be capable of?” Pernora asked, a hint of condescension in her tone.

Jason’s spine stiffened and he struggled not to glare. “Given that the stats for a Helk Class Cargo Cruiser are listed in the sales details of the Helrune Dynasty’s sales page, quite prominently, I’m sure even you could figure it out.”

This time it was Pernora’s turn to stiffen. Of course, Jason’s feeling of triumph at needling the woman was short lived as he remembered that he was technically here to garner her aid.

…Then again, his plan involved him setting her on Hela’s trail without directly implicating himself as the source of the information.

So maybe he could continue to needle her?

“Alright, so what’s the big deal?” she asked.

Jason shrugged. “I’m just wondering why the need to lie? If the ships aren’t capable of what they say they are, admit it and be done with it.”

Pernora rolled her eyes. “You might be able to read numbers, but you aren’t great at maths, are you human? A single example ship does not a pattern make. The stats for new ship designs are confirmed by the Civilian Trade Commission. If the number on the site say the ship can carry a certain tonnage, it can do it.”

“But Hela-”

“If the heiress of the Helrunes is running a little light on her deliveries, that’s on her. Not the ship. Careless rich girls,” the woman grumbled.

Jason cocked his head to the side, in a motion he hoped was obviously feigned. “Funny, she didn’t seem that careless to me when we were together. Quite the opposite.”

There it was again. That spark of interest.

“Probably just talking herself up,” the woman said distractedly as she stood up suddenly.

Jason took a step back. “Leaving?”

“Yeah, I’ve gotten bored of this little conversation,” the woman said, swiping her credit chit against the reader on the table. “See you around, human.”

With that said, the woman stormed out.

Though I’m hoping I’m seeing a bit of purpose in that gait, Jason thought as he watched her go.

Either way, he’d done what he could. All he could do now was sit back and wait to see if something came of it.

With that thought in mind, he turned his gaze back to Assisse and Scales, who had apparently returned to their conversation at some point during his own with Pernora.