The Heplion Contingency

Chapter 10: Party of Five

The entrance interview at the portal station went smoothly enough, for someone loaded with enough weapons to furnish a small squad. Much to Jekh's amusement, the only moment in which the officer showed some resistance was when they mentioned being in Harmony for professional purposes, although the USIC's paperwork settled that after some examination. Guess their biggest worry is that outsiders will steal their jobs, not that we'll kill them, the eblian mused as they put away their passport, on the way out of the border control booths and into the reception area.

Jekh paused for a moment to take in the crowd, both of arrivals and of those waiting for them. A small group of fleshy, bloated creatures gathered around one of their own kind, in a long, silent embrace. Insect-like humanoids exchanged curt greetings before hurrying on. A young man with shriveled gray skin tried in vain to shake a hulking scaled creature's claw. Humans, of course, of several different colors, accounted for a large portion of the people, perhaps most; still, this was by far the most diverse crowd the eblian had ever seen in person.

"You Jekh?" a squeaky voice asked. The mercenary looked around, but failed to find its source. "Jekh Telok?" it insisted. Looking down, they saw a small monkey, decked in tactical leather, holding a sign with that butchered version of their name.

"Almost right," they said. "My full name's... ah, nevermind. Call me Jekh. And you are...?"

"Kemut. I'm the crew's infiltration specialist. And, uh, a sen-ji, if that's what you're wondering. Local species." The monkey extended a hand, grinning.

"I was, actually. Glad to meet you, and to get to know your people." Jekh shook the small hand. "So... how's it gonna be?" they continued, after a moment of awkward silence.

"Right!" Kemut crumpled up the sign and dashed to the nearest litter bin. "I've got a cab waiting outside and a hotel reservation for you. Anything you need to take care of before meeting the folks?"

"Nah, I'm good to go. Just gonna check in and drop my luggage." They flicked Kemut's shoulder pad. "I see you're geared up, so maybe I'll do that as well."

"Good, good." The sen-ji walked toward the promenade with a bouncing gait. "We're on a tight schedule here, probably rolling out tonight... sorry for the short notice."

"I'm ready. Got some good sleep... dunno, little enough ago. Hard to tell with that fixed sun."

Kemut bared her large teeth in a wide grin. "Austolus, right? Man, that place sounds like a handful." She motioned to a waiting two-horse cab as the pair reached the street. "But hey, at least there's no gate-lag to worry about, right? Since it might as well be Harmony time there anyway."

"They keep time with some city back in the human homeworld, but I get your point." Jekh heaved his bags up to the cab's baggage compartment when it pulled up. "Any hour of the day is as good for sleeping as any other."

"That's true, but then again, that's just as true anywhere else, if you're determined enough!" Kemut leapt up into the cab, perched herself up on the far end of the leather seat, and motioned for Jekh to follow her.

"Hah! Good joke!" Jekh crashed into his side of the seat, making the cab bounce a little bit. The driver closed their door and moved to the driver's seat in front of the cabin. "And not just a joke, a truth as well! You're a smart guy."

"Girl," Kemut said. She tugged at the short fur on the sides of her face. "See? No white whiskers. No white tuft at the tip of my tail either." She pulled her tail forward and wagged it a little for emphasis. "So you can tell the next time you meet a sen-ji. Got it?"