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REKTAR

It's always a good day when the pretty little human stops by the office

Risda's port of authority—called simply “Port” by the locals—is the only civilization on the pastoral planet on the edges of the galaxy Other than hundreds offarms, Risda boasts one mesakkah lordship, one spaceport, a tiny, backwater town, and lots of hu, but I don'tshipped from war outpost to war outpost, Risda is serene Quiet Peaceful

And it's full of females

That last part s difficult for a male like me I've always been the type to keep to myself, but it's worse around females As a poor bastard son to a noble house, I was sent off to a rown to their full length, and all my life I've been around males The few run-ins I've had with females were aard and brief

Prior to Risda, of course Now, I can't see into feather and talk in front of the general store, and they have s—a “book club” once a month in the town hall, and they show up to the oods or to si

The ot himself killed by outlaws The mesakkah military sent me and my partner, a male named Khex i'Yani, to head in and take over We've been here a standard s are s, but it'll take a while to root those out

For now, it's just important for us to work hard and show the people here that we're in charge Most of the locals haven't been all that friendly, though While it irks Khex that we're so poorly received, I get it These people are used to living on the fringes They knowHow can I bla when soldiers step in to take over? Doesn'tmany friends

So yeah, most of the people here are unfriendly…except one

"Your female is back," Khex says in a dry voice, his boots kicked up on his desk as he scrolls through the day's news on his data pad His seat is nearer to the , so he's got a good view of Port's paved street I look up just in time to see an air-sled pass by and nearly run over the fe in our direction

The colonists here are particularly bad drivers, I've noticed Maybe it's because there's not a lot of traffic and so they usually have their run of the skies? Whatever it is, they're dreadful, and II wonder if these drivers are even licensed? Probably not From my official reports, most of the female population is comprised of freed slaves of human descent, and the male population are thieves and ex-convicts It's a volatile mix, and one you wouldn't expect froreen fields of Risda

The female that was al in my chest, ht yearnings…and the one that's ood notch inhere As I stare out thelike a fool, she shakes a small fist at the sled that zips past, then continues on her way down the ay, heading for our office, as she always does

Surreptitiously, I s if it's all still in place Khex just snorts in a idiot around women, but it doesn't matter She'd never be interested in me in a thousand years Lucy is just like every other female here—abused by slavers and wary of aliens She wants nothing more than to be left alone, so any hopes I would ever have are useless

Not that I've everto Lucy

Not that that ever stops her fro by

So tells me she's lonely, and our poor company beats no coh, as soon as she gets close enough to the port authority office to peer inside the tinted s, she waves a hand eagerly in the flailing gesture that humans make when they're excited to see one another She steps in front of the auto patiently on the identity pad