"I have secured a deal with the Oluken." Mondi Starlost had been negotiating for nearly three weeks before he commed them with the good news.

"Oh, thank the Bright Lady," Lissa approved.

"No, thank me," said Mondi. "Mims, do you have any idea what you almost did?"

"Me?" asked the Captain. "What'd I do?"

"The Oluken had no idea the Confederation was a slave state," Mr. Starlost told him. "They nearly cut ties with us when they saw the specifications for the implants."

"Huh." Mims grunted. "Can't say I blame them."

"Don't take this lightly, human," Mondi warned. "The medpods we get from the Oluken are the most profitable thing in Venturetech. They account for nearly forty percent of our revenue." A brief pause, then he continued, "They are also the source of four thousand, six hundred and eighty two lawsuits brought by medical industries. We are rendering most of their products obsolete. Between them and Unatco, we might be looking at a Corporate War on a scale never before seen. Any sign of weakness could set it off."

"War between corporations?" Yvian frowned. "Wouldn't the Confed Military crack down on something like that?"

"The Military does the bidding of the wealthy," said Mims. "If the rich want to fight, they'll stay out of the way."

"Exactly," Mr. Starlost confirmed. "Right now, we have too much money and too many ships for the other companies to risk a confrontation. If that changes, if there is even a hint that we might be vulnerable, they'll descend on us like frat boys on a passed out pixen." He cleared his throat. "Pardon the expression, Ms. Kiver."

"No need," Lissa told him. "Sounds like an accurate description."

"My point," the CEO continued, "is that the Oluken are very sensitive about this technology, and losing their cooperation will be a catastrophe that could doom the company. Do not," his voice turned stern, "fuck this up."

"Aw, come on, Mondi..." the Captain started. Lissa elbowed him. "I mean, Mr. Starlost. Have you ever seen me fail a mission?"

"I've worked for you for decades, Mims," the CEO pointed out. "I've known Chroniclers that were less good at pissing people off."

"I'll be on my best behavior," the Captain assured him.

"I should hope so." The CEO sighed. "Ms. Kiver, will you please keep an eye on him?"

"Don't worry, Mondi," said Lissa. "I'll make sure this goes smooth."

"I would appreciate it." The comm pinged as the Venturetech CEO sent over a data packet. "Give the data packet I just sent to the Oluken representative. I've included the time and coordinates. And above all, do not anger the Oluken."

"Thank you, Mondi," said Lissa.

"Happy to help, Ms. Kiver." Mondi Starlost almost sounded like he was smiling. "Venturetech takes care of its own." He ended the transmission.

Captain Mims donned his helmet. "Alright, let's go."

The Random Encounter was too well known to risk taking into Oluken space. Elements of the Federation government were still hunting them, and even civilians would try to kill them if they saw Mims. Instead they took one of the captured Gladiator class fighters, which Yvian had renamed the Lady's Mercy. Yvian had advocated for taking one of the battlecruisers, but Mims had vetoed the idea. He said they didn't want to draw too much attention. Still, Yvian supposed they wouldn't be helpless. The Lady's Mercy had the same capabilities as the Random Encounter, and it was better armed with human energy weapons.

Yasme Kiver had been moved to the ship's medbay. She was still under sedation. Keeping her comatose probably wasn't very healthy, but it was kinder than leaving her awake and aware trapped in her own body.

All the human ships they'd captured had come equipped with a jumpdrive. Yvian had wondered at that, but Mims had explained that nearly all Federation ships had one. Apparently, the humans had spread the technology far and wide as soon as they got it, making them available as cheaply as possible. It had seemed strange to Yvian, but the policy made the Federation as a whole far more capable than the Confed, where jumpdrives were hideously expensive and relatively rare.

The Oluken lived on the other side of Federation space. It would have taken over two years to reach them with conventional engines, but the jumpdrive took them there in just under a minute.

"System checks complete," Lissa reported. "All systems green."

"No hostile forces detected," said Yvian. "There's a lot of people out here, though." Nearly a thousand stations and tens of thousands of ships were scattered through the sector. Yvian saw Federation vessels, Vrrl ships, and dozens of other kinds she did not recognize. Oluken vessels patrolled through the system, groups of ten smaller vessels escorting three frigates and a cruiser, each. The vessels were odd, each consisting of an egg shaped main body with dozens of long thick mechanical tentacles undulating behind them. A closer look told Yvian each tendril had an energy weapon on the end of it.

The other ships all ignored the Lady's Mercy, though Yvian was still nervous about the large number of Vrrl in the system. Mims had assured her that they wouldn't be a problem, but she couldn't help but tense at the proximity of so many vicious hunters. They would eat her if they could. Only the Oluken's strictly enforced rules prevented them.

Captain Mims set a course for the station Mr. Starlost had specified. A quick comm to the station reserved a docking bay for them, and Mims engaged the autopilot. They would arrive in eleven hours.

Dinner was mostly silent. Lissa had been less surly after the Captain yelled at her, but not by much. Yasme's condition was still eating at her, and she still refused to talk about it. The Captain had returned to his usual stoic calm. Yvian suspected he was still annoyed, or maybe just worried, but she couldn't piece together what he was thinking. Yvian was still brooding a little, herself. Old memories, old hurts, and old worries kept floating through her mind. She wanted to share them, but Lissa was in no mood to listen, and the Captain... well. He was her friend, and he loved her, but she still couldn't imagine opening up to the man. Yvian picked at her food, feeling alone.

They got what sleep they could. When the Lady's Mercy began its docking sequence, the crew gathered in the medical bay. The Captain had doffed his armor, wearing a business suit similar to the one Mr. Starlost sported. It was strange to see the man out of his armor. The Oluken would allow neither weapons nor armor on their stations, and Mims had instead donned the most formal outfit he had on hand.

Lissa was decked out in a skin tight body suit. The white outfit was what she'd worn when she was job hunting as an engineer before they'd purchased their original ship. The suit was non-traditional, as it covered most of her skin, but traditional pixen attire would leave her mostly naked, and they'd learned the hard way not to show too much if they wanted to be taken seriously in a business environment.

Yvian had considered wearing her own body suit, but instead went for the fanciest and most expensive piece of clothing she owned. Mims had called it a swimsuit. It was all of one piece, form-fitting, but left her arms, back, and legs exposed. The suit was crimson, with "SPACE CAPTAIN" emblazoned on the front in gold letters, along with a picture of the Captain of Space himself. It was built out of very comfortable, very expensive material, and came with a self cleaning function. Yvian didn't know if it was more appropriate than her body suit or not, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity to wear it.

Mims looked Yvian up and down, then performed a much slower and more appreciative inspection of Lissa. His lip quirked. "It'll do."

"I thought you'd be wearing human clothes," Yvian remarked.

Mims shrugged. "I don't have any." He looked down at the medpod and grimaced. "Alright. Let's get this over with."

A few taps on the med console woke Yasme Kiver. She stayed unmoving as the cover lifted off the pod. Lissa took up the control rod and spoke gently. "Alright, mother. We're going to get you some help. Come out of there and follow us. Everything's going to be fine."

Yasme Kiver exited the pod. She was wearing one of Lissa's old outfits. The clothes she'd been wearing had been so soiled and damaged that Lissa had thrown them away. She exited the pod, eyes vacant.

Yasme's blank expression disturbed Yvian, but it beat the alternative. If ordered to, the implant controlling Yvian's former mother could approximate the expression of a free person, but it would be just that. An approximation. There was no way to give Yasme control over her own body. By unspoken agreement, they'd decided to let the implant operate in the default state. Yvian didn't know if it would be better or worse for Yasme, but forcing the woman to fake her own freedom seemed...wrong, somehow.

They walked down the hall and through the cargo bay, descending a ramp down into the docking bay of the station. As they descended, Yvian got her first look at an Oluken.

There were three of them. Each had three sturdy looking legs leading to a roughly pixenoid upper body. Two arms each, with masses of tendrils where the hands should be. The creatures were greenish brownish in color. The lead Oluken wore a yellow robe, and the two behind it wore some kind of blue uniforms. Their heads were thick and elongated, with four nostrils and four thick short tentacles rising out of them. A large eye topped each of the tentacles, complete with thick, heavy eyelids.

The lead Oluken was unarmed, but the two behind it each had some kind of whip on their belts. The lead Oluken stepped forward as they approached. It burbled something in a deep voice. Being on the other side of the Federation, the Confed had never contacted this species. Yvian's translator didn't work. Fortunately, Mims had uploaded a translation program into the pixen wrist consoles that would convert their language to one of the human ones, which Yvian's translator could understand. Her wrist console pinged and said, "Welcome to Qeevo Station. You are from Venturetech?"

Mims waited for the wrist console to finish relaying the Oluken's words before he replied. "We are. I'm Mark Mims." He gestured at himself, then at the sisters. "This is Lissa Kiver, and that's Yvian. No last name. The woman behind them is Yasme. She is the one we were hoping you could help."

The creatures eyestalks bobbed up and down. It raised one of its arms, and the tendrils waved. "Greetings. I am Nulon." One of it's eyestalks lowered. "Do the blue ones not have translation?"

"They do not," Mims told it. He? Yvian decided Nulon was a he. "They're the first pixens to meet one of your kind. We've got a workaround through the wrist consoles, but I know it's a little clunky."

"I see," burbled Nulon. Two of his eyestalks swiveled to regard Yasme Kiver. "Is that the patient? Have her step forward please."

Lissa asked Yasme to go to Nulon. The woman walked over, eyes vacant. The oluken drew a device from within his robe. He waved it over Lissa's mother. One eyestalk tracked the screen of the device, while the others watched the group.

He continued running the device over Yasme for over a minute. Lissa opened her mouth to ask a question, but a look from Mims silenced her. Nulon became visibly agitated as he used the machine. Frills unfurled from around his neck and arms, vibrating menacingly. The two behind him, some kind of security force, picked up on his distress. They lowered their tendrils to the whips on their belts.

Finally, he lowered the machine. "This is an abomination," Yvian's wrist console translated. While the translator repeated the words without emotion, the anger in the creature's speech was unmistakable.

"I agree," said Mims. "We were hoping you could remove it."

Nulon's eyestalks bobbed. His frills shook harder. "How could you allow such a thing to be?"

Mims grimaced. "It's not-"

"I wasn't speaking to you," the angry Oluken cut him off. "You are a human exile." It's burble softened. "I know it's not your fault." One of his arms undulated its tendrils at the pixens. "But these others... an explanation is owed. You three will come with me and explain."

Yvian nodded. "Ok."

Lissa frowned. "Can we? Can you even understand us?"

Nulon's frills slowed their shaking. He took a breath and let it out slowly. "I can. Mr. Starlost provided a lexicon of all languages spoken in the Confederation of Systems. Our translators have been updated." He turned back to Mims. "You will have to stay here, I'm afraid. The other humans would react badly if they knew the Kinslayer of Aldara was here. I do not wish for an interstellar incident."

Mims nodded. "I understand. I expected as much." His voice betrayed no emotion.

The Oluken's eyestalks lowered in what Yvian took to be an apologetic expression. "For what it's worth, we do not blame you as your species does. What you did... We know it was all you could do. You saved as many as you could. The fault was not yours."

For a moment, the human's eyes watered. He wiped a hand over his face, then he was calm again. "Thank you," he said, "but nothing you say can change my mind."

The eyestalks bobbed. "Yes. A heavy burden." He gestured at the security guards behind him. "These two will stay just outside the door. They will make sure you are not disturbed." Unspoken was that they would also make sure Mims didn't enter the station. Nulon gestured with his tendrils. "You two, come with me. Bring the patient."

As the door to the rest of the station opened, Yvian was slapped with a blast of hot, wet air. She followed the Oluken into a corridor that looked more like a jungle than a space station. Plants and vines crawled along the walls and clung to the ceiling. The center of the floor was metal and clear of debris, but the sides were lined with wet dirt and murky waters.

A short walk took them past another docking bay. This one was full of Vrrl. The creatures were unarmed and unarmored, carrying heavy looking crates and placing them on an anti-grav platform. Yvian thought it odd that they weren't using freight drones until she remembered that the Vrrl disdained automation.

One of the Vrrl, a large tan specimen, looked up after setting down a crate. "Pixens..." he rumbled. His three eyes met Yvian's. "Delicious..."

Another of the Vrrl swatted him across the nose. "Shut your maw, Hithac! You know our orders." This one had black fur, and a silver mane. "No trouble on Oluken stations." He turned to the group and placed all four of his hands behind his head, thrusting his belly forward. "My apologies, soft paws. I'll make sure he doesn't bother you again."

Yvian and Lissa looked at each other. "Uh... no problem," Lissa assured him. "Have a nice day."

The silver maned Vrrl nodded. Hithac bared his teeth and started to growl. The other Vrrl swatted him again. "I swear to the Ancestors, Hitchac, I won't give you the honor of killing you myself. Disobey orders again, and I'll send you to Histel, to be hunted for sport. You understand me?"

Hithac's eyes widened. He eyed the pixens, then forced himself to look at the ground. He put all four hands on the back of his head, and thrust out his belly. "My apologies," he rumbled.

"Accepted," said Yvian. They kept walking.

After an hour of travel, Nulon led them through a set of doors and into a medical bay. The room contained half a dozen Oluken, and an array of what Yvian assumed was medical equipment. Nulon instructed them to leave Yasme there, along with the control rod. Lissa handed the rod to one of the other Oluken, then wrapped her arms around the slave, promising that everything would be alright. Then they followed Nulon out of the room.

They were lead to another chamber a little farther up the corridor. Nine Oluken were lounging in tanks. The tanks were made of some transparent material, and Yvian could see they were full of water and some kind of plant matter. The lower halves of the Oluken were submerged, but their upper bodies were relatively dry, and each had a console next to them. Tendrils danced across the console controls as she watched.

"Have a seat," Nulon instructed. He indicated a pair of chairs in front of the water tanks.

Yvian did as instructed, taking a seat and facing the new Oluken. Lissa did the same, but asked, "What's this about?"

"This is about answers," said Nulon. "These are the Elders of Qeevo Station." He pulled a device from inside his robe and showed it to them. "These devices will tell us if you lie, or try to hide information. You will tell us how and why this abomination has been performed on that woman. We will listen, and decide."

"Decide what?" Lissa looked nervous. Yvian was starting to feel worried, herself.

"Decide if we should help," one of the Elders spoke. "Decide if we should kill you. If we should destroy your entire species, perhaps."

Yvian and Lissa shared a look. "Oh Crunch," said Lissa.

"Shit," Yvian agreed.