Page 2 of Instinct for Disaster

* * * *

The overseer looked at his tablet and snorted. “She’s at it again.”

The captain asked, “She is?”

“Yes. That makes thirty-two days in a row. I think I need to get to the bottom of this.”

Captain Grethon nodded. “I will have her invited to a captain’s dinner.”

“Tonight.”

Grethon nodded. “Tonight. Your chef is going to hate me. What species is she?”

The overseer checked the manifest. “It says she is one of the Terrans from the collection five years ago. Unusually, she registers a zero on compatibility with any species.”

“She can’t be a zero.” The captain paused while checking for the message code to her quarters. “You have to be unconscious to be a zero. Is she a mutation?”

“We will need to check and see over dinner. See if you can find something formal for her. I doubt she has anything suitable.”

Grethon nodded. “Noted.”

Overseer Yasku watched the short-haired woman wiping dark sweat from her forehead and breasts. He wanted to know why she stained. It wasn’t something he was familiar with, and Hmrain were nothing if not curious.

* * * *

When Cassandra got back to her quarters, there was a flat box on her bed, and the message light was flashing.

She activated the message.“Miner Cassandra, you have been invited to dinner at the captain’s table. A dress to meet the formal requirements has been sent to your quarters. Please join us at seven in the evening.”

Cassandra checked the time and had enough time for a shower and dry her short hair.

The blue-grey staining on her towel made her sigh. She hung it in the cleaning unit with her exercise gear. Naked and streaked with the khimerion, she got into the gel shower and slicked it over her from head to toe.

The light flicked on, hardened the gel, then the air blew the rigid flecks off, and a vacuum on a hose was set up to suck the remainder off her skin.

When she was finally clean, she returned the cleansing unit to its ready setup and went to see what the captain considered to be suitable.

She opened the box and blinked at the heavy layers of silk that would flatter any figure. She lifted the aqua gown and put it on, turning to catch a view of herself in the mirror.

The dress floated along her skin, and the sleeves were transparent panels that covered her hands if she held her arms at her sides. Her sister-in-law would have loved it and put dibs on in the moment Cass was done.

Cass felt a smile cross her lips. Aside from choosing her retirement world, she hadn’t thought of her family in a while.

A soft knock on her door interrupted her internal focus. “Be right there.”

She finger-combed her short hair and then turned to open the door. Two crewmen in formal uniforms were waiting for her.

“Miss, you have been invited to dinner in the captain’s dining room.”

“Thank you. Please lead the way.”

The taller of the two nodded and offered her his arm.

Her mind went back to the education station and the etiquette class she had taken. She placed her fingers on the back of his forearm and saw a smile on his plush grey features.

They walked through the halls and turned toward the VIP section of the ship. There wasn’t polite chatter, for which she was grateful. She didn’t do casual conversation easily, but etiquette demanded that she attend when the captain requested. He had bothered to find a dress for her, after all.

They walked until they stopped in front of the glyph for the VIP dining room.

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