Herat space was... rather nice.
They'd gotten off the ship in what looked more like a park area than a docking bay, and the herat were everywhere.
Super comfortable... chill... relaxed... The people were so friendly...
"Gah!" Arin was suddenly accosted by Cherry sticking a mask onto her face. "What gives?"
"Didn't you read the brief?"
"I skimmed it. No reason to muzzle me."
"Herat naturally secrete pheromones that people with sensitive olfactory organs - like you - react to in one of two ways. Relaxation or rampant violence."
"I could use some relaxation after a day on that ship listening to Thrisk sleep-singing. I thought the walls were supposed to be soundproof."
"They are if you don't fall asleep with the intercom open, now let's get you situated. The last thing I want is for you to make a pass at the wrong herat and get stampeded." With the mask's filtering system now in place, Arin could see past her thoughts of "pretty" to identify the herat as something like zebra-striped beings resembling capybara... until she noticed their teeth were sharper than hers and the friendliness they expressed had notes of condescension for anyone not wearing a mask...
She caught one suggesting a minor payment to a big, hammerhead-elephant-looking alien only to wander off as soon as they were handed a small credit chip.
"Bawo?" the alien said in a low, sonorous tone, clearly unable to realize he'd been scammed.
Arin's translator didn't have whatever that word meant in its database. But she imagined the big guy was saying "Hey...".
Further up the docking park, the opposite effect was on full display as a four-eyed amphibian-looking person was wrestled to the ground, the herat having tackled them two to a limb before forcing a mask on their red-eyed face.
"Why aren't you affected?" Arin asked as they neared a transport hub.
"Mija, I've had my nose broken so many times they called it 'popping Cherry' when I was in lucha. The only reason it works at all is because healthcare is free in Sol."
"What about you?" Arin asked Thrisk.
"My species relies on song to attract mates. Pheromones have never been part of the equation."
All she could do was shrug as they began to wait for the caravan of cars needed to transport Arin and her team - but mostly the security detail - to their hotel.
During that twenty minutes, however, something unpleasant happened.
"Bwajot! Greetings, humans and Proc-ctor, welc-come!" a deep yet grating voice called out. Lorzha were the walking embodiment of greed, resembling hippopotami with their mucus-covered, corpulent bodies and razor-toothed pigs at their heads. "I am His-Wealth-Vast Washc'clyntan, Proctor for the lorzha's Paragon and the Corporate Authority."
This time, Arin's translator interpreted the first word as "Profit!" And as if in juxtaposition to Heavy Wash - as Arin nicknamed the lorzha Proctor almost immediately - the lorzha champion approached with massive, stomping steps, towering about eight times Arin's size and clearly all muscle where Heavy Wash was all fat. Both of them were wearing masks the size of salad bowls.
"This is Taskmaster Gwano Freedom Cola." The lorzha Paragon opened both his palms in greeting.
Arin raised her eyebrows. "Was his name in English?"
"I was born on New Amerikkka," the Paragon's razor teeth managed to roll the hard c-sound. "I greatly enjoyed my jobs before bekkoming Paragon."
"And what jobs were those?"
"Schedule enforcement. Loss prevention."
Heavy Wash clearly sensed the hostile mood, because he suddenly clapped his enormous hands together. "We come in good faith, to greet our opponents. And as a gesture of shared security, we will be staying at the same hotel."
Arin peeked around the other Paragon, noting that their security only seemed to be two guards and one droid, which was laden with snacks.
More like they're cheaping-out by using us for security... Where have I heard the word "gwano" before?
Arin yawned behind her mask and made herself look relaxed, not wanting to give Gwano the time of day as he glared death at her.
What does Cherry call this crap? Oh yeah, kayfabe. Fuck that. I'm in, I'm out... and maybe I can get a bottle of those herat pheromones to go...
Arin had no history or beef, and she didn't want to generate the perception of any. But she did sense that Gwano had very little metal on him. Not that she could move his mass without overcharging in the first place. Sadly, her blood trick only seemed to work on herself - which was the psionic equivalent of having to invite a vampire inside. Otherwise, she would have felt confident handling any iron-blooded opponent.
Once the "pleasantries" were taken care of, which in lorzha speak meant attempted bribery while Thrisk and Cherry both refused, Arin was finally ushered into a proper car and lifted off the ground as the motorcade took its sacrificial positions around both Paragon teams.
"That was unpleasant," Cherry said. "Wish I had your mask back then... be grateful you couldn't smell the lorzha."
"Why is a lorzha the Proctor for the lorzha? I thought outside species got assigned those roles."
"The lorzha are considered veterans of Warsport," Thrisk replied.
"Meaning...?"
"Meaning they have more than ten systems and are permitted to name one of their own as Proctor."
"How many systems?"
"Last count, one hundred thirty-seven. Most of them have been exhausted or converted into dumping sites, but they are one of the longer-standing governments in the galactic community."
"So they don't even need the Independence System."
"Not so. Lorzha culture highly emphasizes profit as a means of purchasing rights. As a result, their population has been in a somewhat steady decline. It might take centuries before a male accumulates enough wealth to be allowed to reproduce, much less afford to raise a child outside of shareholder control."
"Wait, so Gwano..."
"Grew up as the property of Freedom Cola after the Lorzha acquired it," Cherry interjected "punched his way through a few thousand humans to grab enough profit and bid for Paragon. I had it all down in-"
"-In the briefing, yeah, yeah..." Arin sighed. I really need to read those sometimes... ugh, but reading is so boring...
What wasn't boring was suddenly getting a chime on her comms.
"Hello?" Arin spoke using thought-to-audio only.
"Arin! It's me! How are you?"
"Autumn?! How did you get my comm code?"
"We tapped numbers the first time we met, remember?"
"I certainly don't remember doing that."
"Oh. Well then, trade secret."
"Uh-huh. I tried to watch your recent video by the way. I got a 'Restricted' message."
"Well, I maaay not have been able to get as far as I wanted. No one wants to see me fail to sneak around, hehe."
"I guess not."
"Say, where are you right now? Because I just got back to Sol and girl, they are partying up a storm thanks to you getting Lyra back!"
Arin grinned at the thought.
"Sorry Autumn, I'm out in neutral territory for another reclamation Wager."
"What? No way. I wanted you to show my around High Jupiter. I'm here all by myself at this fancy restaurant, and I thought about you."
"Oh, that's sweet. Maybe we can meet up when I get back in a week or so."
"We better! Because I've got perfect date ideas lined up!"
"Oh? How perfect, Miss Summers?" Arin chuckled, unaware that Cherry was frowning at her.
"Absolutely to die for," Autumn replied, her voice smiling through the comm.
As soon as they hung up, Arin finally noticed Cherry's glare.
She didn't say anything, only pushed her fist through a ring made by her other hand before exploding out her fingers, imitating the grenade she'd warned Arin would get up her ass.
"Oh, come on, mom," Arin scowled.
"Mija if I were your real mother you'd get the chancla every day."