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Lounging on a sunbed in the spa area, I turn to my bro Kish. "Hey, babe, look. Aren't those jockeys from Green serpent gang?"
Kish looks over her sunglasses, turns to me, draping herself over my shoulder. Her breath is a hot whisper that makes my skin tingle. "Good spotting there, babe. But only three of them. I don't think they've seen us." She cuddles against my side on the wide sunbed. "What now?"
Kish draws her comm from *somewhere* (I know her swimsuit has no pockets) and pokes me.
"Smile babe." She snuggles up even closer to me and it makes me shiver in the heat of the spa. I raise an eyebrow and grab her waist.
>snap<
"Now let's see what the flygram crowd has to say."
Kish reads the comment and looks at me, wriggling her eyebrows. I shrug nonchalantly. "Well, if the crowd wants it."
She snuggles close and kisses me while live streaming the whole stunt to flygram. Did I mention what a tasty snack Kish is? And Bro, she can kiss. On my retina screen I can see the likes and comments explode.
Kish smiles reading the comment section. I press another kiss to her shoulder. "I'll get us some drinks, babe." She nods, typing something on her holoscreen.
I go to the bar, wait my turn and order drinks and some food. Beside me someone clears their throat.
I'd already seen the green serpent in my peripheral vision.
I can still appreciate a work of art when I see one, can't I? I blink just *so* and on my retina screen's left corner a recording symbol appears.
"You're Spyglass," they point with their chin to Kish. "And that's Riptide."
Their swimwear leaves not a lot to the imagination and a emerald green serpent tattoo runs from their back, across the shoulder down the right arm. "I'm Medusa."
I lean back against the bar.
On my retina screen a message from Kish pops up.
"What you're doing babe, need help?"
More text crawls across my screen while I lazily eye up Medusa. "Should I call up the others from the sauna?"
I sub-vocalize.
"Naww, babe. I'm good. Let me have some fun." I stream the recording to her, with a 10 second delay to make sure I can cut it, if something goes sideways.
Medusa speaks again. "It was you who stole that pharma shipment last week, wasn't it? And out under Weylands nose." Kish will edit that.
Their ears go slightly red. "That was some impressive piece of stealth you did their."
Medusa speaks again. "It was you who stole that pharma shipment last week, wasn't it? And out under Weylands nose." Kish will edit that.
Their ears go slightly red. "That was some impressive piece of stealth you did their."
I give them half a smile. "Naw, that was nothing. Just an exercise." Turn to them to let them get a good look at me. Their ears turn a darker shade of red.
How can they be so boots cute? That look should be scudding illegal!!!
"That's a nice piece of line work you have there"
They give me a confused look and I point at the serpent tattoo. "You jockeys all got that?!"
A shake of the head. "I drew that myself."
I whistle genuinely impressed.
"Medusa, darling, you've got talent." I lean in closer, touching their bizeps, imitating Kish's hot whisper:
"What other talents do you have, darling?"
A message pops up on my screen, Kish.
"Babe, hidden depths. 😘 I got you some intel on Medusa." Words scroll over my screen, while I give those arms a caress.
"You're order." It comes out a bit squeaky and their ears are a deep red now. I smile, turn around (intentionally brushing their torso) and pick up the tray. "Wanna join me an' Riptide? You're cute. We have a private booth. I'll tell you more about that stealth manoeuvre..."
"Sure, just let me get my towel." I walk back to Kish and stop the recording.On my way I sub-vocalize. "Riptide, you got that?"
"Every second of it, babe. You streamed with delay. We talked about that." The last sentence sounds sulky. She hates it when I do that.
Back at the sunbed I engage the privacy screen and put down the tray. Kish throws me my bag and I grab the two bracelets from the folds of my towel. Just when I let the bag drop back to the floor there is a knock and Medusa steps inside, ears still red.
Before they can think better of it, I snap the jammer bracelets around their wrists and behind them Sixways and Subterran crowd into the booth.
Medusa presses their towel into my now empty hands. Inside I feel something round and heavy and on my retina screen all sensors redline. I feel my knees buckle and I sit down hard on the sunbed. Sixways grabs Medusa by the neck, giving them a shake. I hold up a hand to show I'm okay. Then I uncover the thing in the towel. A smooth metal sphere, perfectly round, not bigger than an pool ball. There's some alien script on the surface, gently glowing.
Subterran curses, then hands me a box with bath salts from his bag. I let the sphere drop into the box, then add a liquid from a bottle. The salts and the liquid react with each other, covering the sphere and my screen quietens. I look at Medusa.
"Riptide will give you the account data for your payment. Nice doing business with you."
My hands still prickle from where I touched the sphere. I have more cyber implants than most of my crew. Sometimes I can hear my datastream sing. I shake my head to get rid of the thought.
Medusa looks from one to the other, then blurts out:"take me with you. I'm a good pilot."
There's a headache brewing behind my eyes.
"Sorry, you're a snack, doll. But that wasn't in the arrangement."
This time the flush runs from their throat up to their ears.
Sixways takes their arm.
"I know where they found that artefact."
We all freeze. I thaw first.
"Scud, scud, scud." I stand gripping the front of their swimwear.
"If you're lying or exaggerating or try to bite us, little serpent, I'll personally cut off your head."
"Spyglass..." Kish sounds sulky again.
"No fomo, Riptide. Sixways and Subterran get the sphere out." I gesture at the spa outside. "And we give them a nice show. Them and the flygram crowd."
I settle back on the sunbed and grab my drink, put the other arm around Kish.
"Come on, little serpent. There's space enough for three." I pat the sunbed.
On my screen a message from Kish pops up. "You never make my life any easier, babe. Nova will go spare."
I kiss her shoulder. Nova is our Queen. "Naw babe, I'll take care of Nova."
Medusa settles beside me.
I lean over them and repeat my threat. "If you try to bite me, I'll chop off your head." then I give their earlobe a tug with my teeth.
They look at me and blurt out. "Snakes you're hot, you know that?"
Subterran chortles on their way out and disengages.
The privacy screen.
I settle back against the sunbed.
"You have no idea doll, I'm not only hot, I'm burning."
The End