Planatae

Surprises

"This place is designed, however poorly, to give people an exotic Caedish experience," Dani said. "That's what gets people to eat, drink, and gamble in here instead of eating, drinking, and gambling somewhere else." When Ricardia stayed silent, Dani continued, her voice growing softer. "Look. I'd only ask you to perform parts of the Nine or Tenth form. Just enough to interest people. Or, you could scrub dishes - and even worse."

"People don't seem to like Factors very much around here," Ricardia said.

"Oh, that's just the Purists. And they never leave the station to visit - usually," she amended. "So what do you say? We can help each other."

Ricarida regarded Dani, the first familiar presence she'd felt in a long time. But it was her Factor that was keeping her on this hollowed-out asteroid. What if it only got her into more trouble?

"It doesn't seem right to perform the Forms like that," she said finally." Dani suddenly got to her feet, closing the distance between them.

"You came to me," she said, voice now pitched hard. "I'm offering you a way out. You're the one who left the temple. What's it matter to you?" Ricardia flinched at the expression on the older woman's face.

"You wanna know 'what's worse' than dancing?" Dani continued. "Doing it with somebody inside you. We always need more pleasure girls."

Ricardia could only stare. She knew her mouth was likely gaping. But then a split-second later she felt a surge of that now-familiar anger. It was almost a comfort.

"I came here for help. Because I thought you would be someone who cared about another person in need. Not to make a deal. Or to sell myself!" She forced herself to turn away from Dani's intensity. "I'll figure something else out."

"Wait," Dani grabbed her arm, and Ricardia resisted the urge to scream, the touch too similar from the hacker's. But she saw the sudden guilt on her face, and her rage faded a bit.

"Look, you're right. We're both Caedish - far from the colony. We should stick together." She sighed, backed away. "I've lived here a long time, Ricardia. Places like Onyx change how you think. Sometimes you can't help but see an opportunity and what you can get out of it. The alternatives are usually worse."

Ricardia paused, thinking about that. She knew she couldn't ask Dani for her story - at least, not without explaining her own troubles. But she had a sudden moment of clarity. The Onyx she had encountered in the past day had been horrendous, to say the least, but something told her she was just scratching the surface of what this place could do to her. Did she really care about performing the Forms for non–ritual purposes? Or did it simply remind her too much of home? And if she was being honest with herself, this mildly-terrifying woman had offered the most help out of anyone so far.

"Okay," Ricardia said finally. Dani, who had evidently been studying her face for a reaction, gave her a careful smile.

"Alright... alright. Let me search the links for - what, southern city you said?" Dani began to murmur to herself. "...I can get the basic melodies at least. We'll clear part of the chamber for a stage."

"Wait," Ricardia interrupted. "You want me to start right now?"

Dani looked at her, genuinely confused. "I've got a business to run, little cousin. You don't change that for me. Tell me your sizing - I'll have Sana run down to a costume shop. People won't even notice what you have on, really."

Ricarda wanted to point out that anyone with a feed could simply check the links to see correct traditional attire, but that was the least of her concerns. Fighting this woman on anything seemed exhausting.