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Maomao hurried down the corridor. She had not wanted to be kidnapped and sold into service on the Class 3 space station nicknamed the “Inner Court.” In truth, the “Inner Court” was not that different to the pleasure planet where she’d gown up, but she missed the bustling metropolitan areas of her home world with the food stalls and the constant influx of visiting species. She missed her adopted father and her sisters and even Granny (that miserly old arthropod). She especially missed the garden she used to cultivate with her father, as well as all the other flora and fauna that lived freely planetside. The small amount of plants she had set up on every surface of her small cabin to grow hydroponically could not compare. At least she was able to borrow tools from the onboard medic to prepare her ingredients properly.
Anyway, there was no use complaining about what one couldn’t change. At least she only had a few more cycles on her contract, and then she could return home. (As long as she could go back to her father, and she hadn’t racked up too much debt with Granny.)
Right now, though, she had been summoned by Overseer J’nshi. The being was very annoying, but xe was the highest authority on this space station and often came to her now with interesting puzzles for her to solve. (She didn’t see why she should be doing xis work for xim, but at least it kept things more interesting than her first few cycles. Plus, xe sometimes gifted her with rare flora from distant reaches of the galaxy in thanks – or bribe.) The problem was that xe had a celestial beauty that seemed to capture the attention of almost everyone else on board. Honestly, there were beings here from every reach of the galactic empire – and even beyond – all kept here for the emperor’s pleasure. Surely there should be some species whose tastes in beauty differed? But no, all except Maomao seemed to faun over the long-haired beauty.
Maomao bowed as she arrived in front of Overseer J’nshi. Xe sent a sparkling smile at her, and she resisted the urge to shudder. Ugh! Instead, she looked over xis shoulder at Gaoshun, the celestial being’s trusted aide. At least there was one sensible being in the room with her – not that xe ever did much to curb xis master’s whims when the other being was tormenting Maomao.
With an unnecessary flourish, J’nshi removed a cloth on xis desk to reveal what looked like some sort of ancient relic from some foreign planet’s culture.
Maomao looked at it, then stared at xim, deadpan – what was she supposed to do with that? She was not a historian nor a xenoarchaeologist.
With a decidedly non-celestial pout, J’nshi flopped back into xis chair, carefully not touching the artifact. “This was brought on board last week, and since then both the consort to whom it was sent and several of her attendants have all become quite sick.”
Eyes widening, Maomao leaned forward and barely refrained from touching the artifact herself. A poisoned object? Was the poison as ancient as the artifact, or was it a recent addition? What symptoms did the ailing consort and her attendants show? Had they received any treatment from the onboard medic? Were they worsening or improving? She fairly wriggled in place from her excitement to study the item more closely.
A piece of fabric suddenly blocked her view again, as Gaoshun re-covered the artifact. Xe then placed a stack of datapads and a pair of sturdy tech-weave gloves next to it on the desk. “This artifact seems to originate from a new trade partner in the western reaches. These datapads contain all the research I was able to acquire on artifacts similar to this one. However, I ask you to please take precautions. Wear these gloves and avoid handling the artifact more than necessary. It would not do to endanger yourself in your search for answers.” Xe cut a glance over at the now serious and anxious-looking J’nshi.
Why did these two always dangle such exciting treats in front of her face, and then spoil all her fun? She wasn’t that irresponsible, honest. (She blithely ignored all the times she’d purposely endangered herself in the name of science – that was irrelevant.)