Page 39 of Truthful Deceptions

Blinking back tears, I looked around the cabin. Like all the hallways, the floor was covered from wall to wall in colorful rugs. The guys had created a massive storage cabinet by removing the retracting bunk and adding doors. All the clothing they’d bought was hanging in there.

The cleansing unit had a large container full of skin and hair products. They’d bought anything and everything the Massoc had that might work for me.

I was even wearing my resoled shoes that somehow were even softer than they’d been when I first bought them despite the new, rigid soles.

I was being treated like a princess and a crewmate. If I’d read a story with this plot line, I would’ve rolled my eyes.

The ship jolted, telling me it was finished being secured. They’d start off-loading soon. I needed to make my escape now if I was going to have enough time to find a transport before they realized I was gone.

Picking up my bag, I opened it and thought about what to take with me. I packed my personal information square at the bottom. I tucked a second information square into a deep pocket in the front of my bag. It was the one they’d slipped to me when I’d hidden in the storage room, and it had access to all the ship's systems.

Although I felt a little guilty for taking anything, I tucked a set of pants and several shirts in there and a few of the toiletries. I gave in to temptation and wrapped one of the smaller, soft blankets around my shoulders.

With my bag bulging with items, I took a last look at the nest, forced back my tears, and left.

It wasn’t long before I made my way to the small access hatch at the fore of the ship. Standard procedure during the off-loading of fuel was to unlock everything so if there was an emergency it was easier to leave or rescue crew that might be trapped. That meant the access hatch would open easily when I pressed. Except it would also alert Tolly and the others through the comms, so I had to disable that first.

Sitting down next to the human-sized hatch, I went to work on the system through the information square they’d given me. The access allowed me to shut down the warning for this hatch.

I made sure it would only last for a few minutes so it wouldn’t be a vulnerability for them in the future. Setting the information square down on the floor, I opened the hatch and slipped out. It was a tight squeeze and a hard drop, but I managed to stay on my feet.

The bay was busy with bots moving the large, triple-walled fuel cases from the ship, their metal legs loud on the bay’s floor. There were several Marpers shouting at each other across the bay and another set shouting from the entrance to the specialized corridor for the bots to travel through.

All the noise and movement made it easy for me to slip around a bot and out of the bay.

The corridor beyond the bay was empty, so I jogged until I got to a more crowded section of the station. The change in noise level was a bit jarring.

I’d never been to this station before, but the majority of individuals I saw were Marper, so I could only assume this was a Marper station.

Marpers were a giant species with light gray, hairless skin. They were massively round, but I knew the fat on them hid a lot of muscle. I’d watched one of them pick up an entire maintenance bot charging station without any help. The Massocs I worked with had been as shocked as I was and watched with wide eyes as the Marper carried it onto her ship. She’d been cheerful and talking the entire time, as if it wasn’t heavy at all!

Despite the giant tusks jutting out of their lower jaw, they didn’t have any issue talking clearly and showed it with how loud they liked to talk to each other, even in enclosed, quiet spaces. The Massoc had been very happy when the Marper had left Bright Star Station.

That Marper had been friendly. I could only hope she was representative of her species.

Edging around a corner, I made my way to an interactive display that allowed me to look up the businesses on the station.

I wasn’t surprised to find they didn’t have any kind of service for commercial travelers. Stations that weren’t major hubs of trade usually didn’t bother with that kind of thing. There wasn't enough work for companies to have dedicated ships for passengers instead of goods.

Thankfully there was a travel broker on the station. Ships hauling cargo might have a spare bunk and decide to make a little extra wealth on the side by allowing someone to ride with them to their next destination. These were called low-luxury accommodations and usually meant one meal a day, bunking in the same room as the crew, and were limited to no access to cleansing facilities.

This wouldn’t be the first time I’d traveled like this. I could only hope that there was a ship going close to Bright Star Station. The closer I got, the easier it would be to arrange a quick jumper flight home.

Memorizing the route, I turned to face the crowd. It was intimidating to see a wall of slowly moving Marpers, talking loudly and gesturing wildly to each other with boisterous laughs.

Tightening the strap on my bag, I watched for a gap and slipped in. The Marpers were so big they didn’t notice me, and I was forced to practice defensive walking or risk being stepped on.

“What are you?”

I startled at the deep voice and looked up to find a curious Marper staring down at me.

“I’m human,” I said, then gasped and jumped to the side when another Marper nearly squished me against the curious Marper.

The curious Marper reacted swiftly and with violence. She grabbed the unaware individual and tossed him. Several other Marpers broke his fall. They didn’t get upset, only laughed and moved away.

The individual stood up, glaring until he realized the curious Marper was much larger. With a grunt, he stormed off, pushing several smaller Marpers out of the way.

It seemed that among Marpers, bigger was dominant.