Jocasta obediently pushed the grav pallet that carried the body of the dead outlaw into the center of the room. In its travel mode the polymer case was opaque, a bland gray, but with the press of a stud the walls turned translucent revealing the preserved corpse for all to see. Nitrogen gas, cheap and inert had been pumped in at pressure to retard the natural process of decomposition. Combined with a biocide spray and a near 100 percent humidity scrub that would keep the body in good condition for a long while. Eventually the anaerobes in the mans gut would devour him, oxygen or no, but that was a much slower prospect than natural aerobic decay.

Volkavax turned his vast eye upon her in surmise and grinned a toothy grin, six inch long fangs interlocked in a net of bone. A dark purplish tongue slithered out from between his jaws and then sucked back with an audible hiss.

"And who is this?" the xenos all but leered. Jocasta glanced around the harem girls that surrounded them, noticing the irritation on the skin of the girl who had been disturbed by her entrance. Perhaps the tongue was very rough, or perhaps the creatures saliva was slightly acidic.

"I am no one to be trifled with," Jocasta replied projecting her voice so that it filled the room. The xenos reared back slightly and then chuckled.

"Spirited too I see," the thing hissed.

"If we can return to business?" Jocasta suggested, tapping the transparent case that contained the body.