With a quiet trickling sound ever shifting concentric circles rippled out across the surface of the artificial pool, a fuchsia leafed palm tree leaning across the hotel complexes centrepiece as reeds stemmed from the shallow end of the water. Ashley sat herself down beside the pool, sighing as she stared into the depths of the hotel's luxury. The luxury was not intended for her and she knew it, somewhat resigned to her fate as a convict in what was effectively a penal legion of explorers, but that wouldn't stop her enjoying the luxury her handler insisted on being kept in even as she scratched uncomfortably at the bulk of the tracking collar she was equipped with.
Removing her boots Ashley rolled up her combat trousers and sat herself beside the edge of the pool, feet dangling into it and kicking gently. The water was cool on her legs, likely the water feature was intended as a courtesy to those species who favoured aquatic environments and indeed, as Ashley looked into the seemingly endless depths she could see numerous creatures presumably relaxing as she was, perhaps even holding conversations in whatever alien tongues they possessed.
Beneath the hotel pool’s sparkling waves, an aquatic woman swam in lazy circles. If she could stand, she’d be about six feet tall, and was heavily curved. Her skin was mostly brown to the waist, and then it shifted into a glimmering orange fin. If Achieng knew that others were watching, she might not have been so carefree. But for the moment, she was utterly relaxed and at peace, trying to soak up the last few hours she’d have in wide-open space. Being confined to a ship wasn’t going to be a particularly fun experience for someone used to the expanse of an ocean. Achi would adapt, though - she always did. That was one of the joys of sharing a homeworld with large predators. You learned early on to go with the changing current, or risk being dragged under.
Pushing herself up to the surface, she burst free with a splash and delicately spit a mouthful of water. She looked around at the other guests, easily treading water with slow movements of her tailfin. How strange - she’d thought this was more of an aquatic-based hotel, but there was a human woman settled nearby. Her endless curiosity about other beings took hold, and she swam toward the woman in what she hoped was a nonthreatening manner.
Lost in reverie as she was, it came as something of a surprise when one of the creatures Ashley had been idly watching in the depths below splashed up to the surface. Ashley looked at the mermaid, because that is what it seemed to be to her, in mild bewilderment, hoping her surprise wasn’t as evident in her expression as she suspected it was. In the week since Ashley had arrived at the Spire Ashley had found herself wishing more and more that she had listened to the lessons her foster-father Dillan had tried to teach her. She was sure somewhere in there had been an entire plethora of the alien species with which Humans shared the universe but, now that such knowledge could have presented itself as useful, Ashley didn’t have a clue and it was, frankly, embarrassing.
Alpha Centauri, or at least the part Ashley was from, was still predominantly Human occupied and so Ashley had an incredibly hard time telling species apart. Sure she could recognise the four Galactic council races but she sure as hell couldn’t tell you whether one was a he, a she or otherwise. Over the last few days she had performed all kinds of cultural faux pas, including but not limited to, greeting people’s pets rather than the sentient member of the pairing, staring too hard for too long with mouth agape, and mistaking an individual's gender on multiple occasions. By this reasoning Ashley was mildly relieved when the mermaid-creature greeted her, answering the first question she had. Yes, this was a sentient creature. She ran a hand back through her hair awkwardly, stalling for time and pulling the collar up on her aviator jacket in an effort to conceal the symbol of her imprisonment here.
“Hello there.” Ashley returned a little awkwardly, withdrawing her feet from the water and crossing her legs in the soft grass that verged the edge of the pool.
Achieng smiled, her lips curving up without showing any teeth. She’d learned quickly, but not quickly enough to stave off scaring several tourists, that her predator teeth put certain types on edge. Her smile felt insincere, but it was necessary.
“Pardon my blunt question, but… are you human? I don’t want to start out with a false assumption of things.” She had to stare a little upward at the woman, and noted how uncomfortable she seemed. Immediately her mind flew into questioning. Was she standing too close? Were her teeth showing? Had she offended some cultural sensibility that she had no knowledge of? So many things to keep track of! If only every being came with neatly written dossiers like the crew of the ship she was to join, that way she could prevent such awkwardness before it happened.
Ashley blinked, momentarily taken aback by the question, before laughing. Ashley had always assumed her humanity was readily apparent, and so it was a pleasant surprise to find she was not the only one who experienced uncertainty when introducing themselves to individuals of other species.
“Why yes ma’am… yes I am.” Ashley replied warmly, leaning forwards a little and setting her hands in her lap. “And you are?...” Ashley enquired, hoping she had not been rude. For a moment it fleeted through Ashley’s mind that actually perhaps the individual she was speaking with was not female and Ashley flashed a sheepish smile, quickly substituting it for a confident, borderline cocky grin she had learned for winning over cops.
Achieng was initially unnerved by the woman’s sudden laugh, but once she realized it was a happy one instead of a mocking one, she relaxed again. “I am a Watumaji. We are aquatic, as you may be able to tell.” Indeed, a few of the chairs set out around the pool were actually half-submerged in the water, and there were a few beings who looked similar to Achi lounging happily in them.
“I am called Achieng, from Clan Chima. I apologize if I’m being…” She fiddled her fingers in the air, trying to search for the right word and failing. “Too familiar, I suppose, but it surprises me to see a human here. Usually they stay at the hotel that has a hard-bottomed pool with strange blue water, don’t they? N-not that I’m saying you should not be here. This is not my home, you can stay where you wish. I’m merely… surprised.” She was talking too much and she knew it, but was only able to stop herself after stumbling over a half - apology and explanation.
--
Ashley shook her head slightly by way of response to Achi, fringe drifting down over a brow before being flicked out of the way with a brush of a fingertip. “I didn’t choose the hotel, besides… I prefer places without limits anyway. I’d probably get bored in the restrictive uh... human pool you describe.” She replied softly, winking to Achieng as she found herself more and more at ease. Ashley uncrossed her legs, letting her feet dangle into the water and sighing contentedly once more. “Ashley Hunter.” Ashley said casually. “And it’s nice t’meetcha.”
Ashley gave her legs a slight kick before cocking her head a little thoughtfully then shrugging to herself. She shrugged off the leather of her aviators jacket, putting the prisoner collar on full display for anyone who might recognise such a thing before slipping into the pool, combat trousers, tank-top and all. Treading water Ashley spread her arms to either side before kicking slowly off the wall backwards to drift further into the pool, still facing Achieng as she trod water calmly.
“I probably shouldn’t be here in all honestly.” Ashley continued, thoughtfully. “But that’s never stopped me before.” She finished, speaking almost to herself then letting her head drop below the surface briefly before she kicked back up to the surface and shook her head vigorously, droplets of water cascading from her now sodden hair.
Achieng looked surprised as Ashley dropped the jacket. She had a strange bit of jewelry on, but it was almost familiar to her. Maybe it was some new trend? Achi was so far behind on such things, but that was nothing new. She’d always been slow to catch on to popularity. Reading was always far more forgiving than socializing, even when she was young.
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.” She giggled very softly, watching Ashley shake away water. Achi swam in slow, lazy circles, staying above the surface to be polite. Humans were capable of a lot, but speaking underwater was not on that list. “Though, I hope the water doesn’t corrode your jewelry there. It’s… a very unique piece, isn’t it?” In truth, Achieng thought it was a little bit clunky and didn’t really flatter the woman at all. But it wasn’t her place to judge. For all she knew, it was the apex of human fashion, and everyone would be wearing one soon.
---
Ashley’s smile faltered for a second as the collar was brought back to the forefront of her mind, but only for a second. She’d briefly considered what would happen if her Council handler turned up and decided to activate the large plastic shock pack that bulked out the back of the collar whilst she was swimming. Her handler seemed to, frankly, delight in having access to such a button and liked to remind Ashley on a regular basis that there was an additional button he could push that would be less forgiving. This being said, Ashley was quite enjoying her interaction with this new alien, it was the first social stimulation she had had all day and she wasn’t about to let such negative thoughts ruin it.
“Oh you like it?” Ashley replied perkily, albeit with an edge of amused sarcasm. “It’s council issue, in all honesty… I’m not sure how many others there are and I am a little surprised they didn’t add a little pink pendant stamped, ‘Ashley Hunter. Property of the Galactic Council.’ They missed a trick there but oh well… One mustn’t get down about such things.”
Swimming with clothes on was always an odd experience and it was one that Ashley had only had a few times prior in her life. Now she was in the cool waters of the pool she was intensely aware of the way her clothes billowed in the water, dragging behind her limbs as she made each of the repetitive motions that kept her afloat. Once again Ashley’s fringe had fallen down over her brow, drawn down by the weight of the water. Ashley reached a finger up and flicked it aside once more.
Achieng blinked a few times, then covered her face in an almost universal gesture of embarrassment. “Oh, oh no! I’m so sorry, I -- I never thought. Oh, my goodness, you must think me the worst sort of person, I really had no idea, I’m sorry!” How did one recover from that? “I… I promise, I won’t mention it again!” She took some deep breaths, and slowly removed her hands from her face. Ashley was pushing away her hair again. Interesting - Achi wondered what it would be like to have such long hair. Most of her people didn’t have much to speak of. Nothing that was visible to others, in any sense. There was a fine layer of white fuzz on the top of her scalp and the back of her neck, but that was really all that would be growing.
“Hm… Maybe I can help.” Achieng tipped her head in thought, then removed one of the many bracelets from her wrist. It was gray and set with small, brightly colored beads, all of it apparently made from some kind of organic material. “Here.” She held it out to Ashley with an open palm. “Consider it a gift, and to soothe the unintended insult. It’s meant to be worn, but it does stretch well. Maybe use it for your hair?”
--
Ashley simply stared at the bracelet a few moments, her first instinct being to appraise its’ value on the black market before she realised that she was being rather rude in the face of being offered a gift. Unable to free her hands whilst treading water, Ashley kicked out and pushed herself to the edge of the pool, bracing her weight on a small boulder to accept the gift.
“You have nothing to apologise for.” Ashley assured Achieng offhandly. “If anyone should be apologising it should be the person who decided to change the vault opening times at the last possible moment without notifying me… The civilians received quite a shock when I burst in through the ceiling.”
Ashley held the bracelet between her thumb and forefinger, letting it dangle as she looked up at it, and looking between it and Achieng. Ashley was frankly, a little shocked the alien hadn’t immediately judged her and left her quite literally it’s wake and so, pleasantly surprised, she offered the bracelet back. “I’m not sure how to wear it best... “ She confessed. “But if you insist, you could show me how to put it on maybe? And uh… Thank you.” Feeling somewhat awkward now, Ashley tried to change the topic. “What brings you here?”
Achieng did look a bit surprised at Ashley’s casual confession of being a criminal. Then again, she was already wearing the collar, which said as much. Perhaps the woman had made peace with it. “Ah. Well, there are always strange currents in life. Maybe this one is leading you to a better future, whether it looks like it or not.” She followed the human, gliding through the water with effortless ease. “I hope you weren’t hurt going through a ceiling like that. It must have been rather startling for you too, I imagine.” She certainly didn’t condone criminal activity, but she didn’t know how this woman had started on such a path in the first place.
It could have been a choice, but it could have been the only alternative from an early death. Achieng herself couldn’t say that she would have starved to death rather than steal food to eat - it had been a close thing when she’d left home. Some nights it had been her and her singing granting her meals and passage, and some nights even that had failed. Moral standings certainly didn’t fill an empty stomach.
“That is meant to be jewelry, because our people don’t have hair that grows like yours. But it stretches very well.” She took it back, and set it across her webbed hand. As she flexed her fingers as far as they would go, the bracelet widened too, and then went back to it’s original shape when she relaxed. “See? Maybe you could use it to keep your hair from your face.” Achieng realized she may have made a mistake. Not having any hair, she wasn’t entirely sure how to make it work. “I’ve seen humanoid ladies wear all sorts of things in their hair, and some of them were very simple bands. I was thinking something like that.”
---
Being able to talk of her criminal exploits was at something of a novelty for Ashley who, up until now, had always had to reserve such talk for her few related conversations with Dillan. This silence had always borne heavy upon her naturally extroverted shoulders, there was a reason her criminal alias had been called Pride. Far from feeling an iota of guilt for having robbed her carefully vetted victims, Ashley took pride in having performed seemingly impossible robberies and could quite easily have bragged about them all evening had an interest been shown. Any guilt had been mitigated by charitable donations to various causes Ashley felt fit and a plethora of deeply ingrained grudges too numerous to list.
“A better future?” Ashley intoned thoughtfully, resting her elbows back against the rock now supporting her weight. “The Expedition Forces are not a place one usually goes for a better future… But I suppose ya can never be too optimistic huh? There’s a bright side to every black hole… Somat like that.”
Ashley smirked slightly and flicked her tomboyish haircut back from her brow once more. “It’s quite short actually.” She assured Achieng. “Jus’ the water making trouble for me is all… Anyhow… You dodged my question. What brings you here?”
“Ah, my apologies. I didn’t mean to be evasive. Well, I’m going on my first off-planet job. I’ve been hired to be an observer and therapist of sorts to an Expedition crew. Maybe that’s why I feel so optimistic about it, I suppose. In truth I’m a bit nervous, but I think the excitement is winning out.” Achieng smiled a bit. “They’re two sides of the same coin, you know. Fear and excitement. The flutters in the belly, the flush of heat. The only difference is one’s attitude toward the situation.”
Trailing her fingers in the water, she thought briefly. “Perhaps it's the same with your situation. The collar is one thing… and if I was actually a member of the Council’s forces instead of just hired by them, I would find someone to speak to about it. I still might.” She shook her head, dropping the subject despite clear frustration in her voice.
“What I mean to say is, your imprisonment is surely a negative, but in this, you’ll get to see new places, discover new worlds. Perhaps you can put talents that were used for criminal acts toward a different cause entirely.” She opened her hands, palms up, her species’ version of a ‘who knows?’ shrug.
--
Swiftly, Ashley’s expression sombred, the smirk fading as something in the topic struck a deep chord within her psyche. As Achieng spoke Ashley pressed her palms down onto the rock on which she had been supporting herself and pushed suddenly downwards, propelling her sodden form from the depths of the pool with a noisy and cumbersome splash sound, her form dripping across the slate grey surface of the rock below. Ashley swivelled her gaze once she found herself standing, listening to Achieng’s optimism in stony silence. She tugged at the collar, the weight of it suddenly seeming both physically and metaphorically heavier on her mind and shook her head slowly to the alien in the pool down below.
“I appreciate your optimism… I really do.” Ashley sighed, before stating sternly, every syllable pronounced with unmistakable clarity and sincerity. “But I am no soldier. And nor do I intend to be.”
And with that Ashley gathered her items from beside the pool, grabbing her boots by the laces and slinging her leather jacket over her shoulder before striding away without a glance backwards. Her sodden clothes dripped across the smooth tiles of the space beyond the pool and she raised one arm in a casual overshoulder wave, little more than a flick of the wrist really, before turning away down a corridor.
As Achieng maneuvered her tank toward the port section of the Spire, the woman named Ashley was still on her mind. She would never know what she said to upset the woman so badly, and she would never have the chance to apologize. That bothered Achi more than anything else. She'd wanted to chase after the human, beg forgiveness, but she knew by the time she got back to her room and in her tank, the Hunter woman would be long-gone. Maybe she was giving what amounted to a random interaction far too much importance, but Achieng knew what it was to have other people hurt her and not even think of apologizing. Achieng never wanted to be that kind of person, not even accidentally.
Reading off ship markers aloud, she weaved her sloshing machine through soldiers and Council workers, until she saw the sign denoting "The Monroe". Well then - her new home for the foreseeable future. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, bracing herself and trying to convince her brain that her fear was just excitement.
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