To Senjen, two years of treatment sounded like a lot of time for Light to live in stress for his life. In that way, he certainly did not envy organics. If a Utaysi had a problem part, “treatment” just entailed replacing it, then getting on with their life. He had read that organics could replace most of their parts too, but the process was much more of an ordeal. He guessed that Light had probably considered all of his options already, so he just hoped that his treatment would be as simple as he made it sound.

Senjen had no problem picking up a few things while waiting for Light, though the list he sent was certainly necessary. He really had no idea what sort of supplies a Quelun-Vosh would want or need, and he had need of very little himself. Electricity in any form was enough to keep his frame powered, and the ship could provide that easily enough. Replacement parts and tools for maintenance were also a necessity, but he had bought enough of those before leaving home and had not yet used any of them, so he was not in need at the moment.

While the district as a whole was not a place that seemed to attract a crowd, the market seemed to be a different story. There were stalls and shops set up anywhere space permitted, and with it existing in microgravity, that meant they could also stack shops from ceiling to floor that pedestrians could still navigate. A QV owned shop would probably have been the most logical starting point for whatever Light was searching for, but Senjen’s own curiosity did pull him elsewhere first. This whole district was such a mix of cultural styles, and there was one stall he spotted on the ground floor that he could not help but to visit. It was obviously Tekeri-owned, because in contrast to all the surrounding stalls, it had the appearance of being made of wood. Not only that, but the floor in its little space was dirt and grass, instead of metal. There was grass, of all things, growing on a space station, and that fact simply tickled him. He floated down in front of the stall and let his claws on one foot dig just slightly into the dirt to anchor him in place while he browsed. He could not tell by sight if it was real or not, but it did feel convincing.

The Tekeri inside the stall that Senjen approached was designing a 3D cross section of a spaceship from a holo-pad. It was a bog standard Tindrel warship, but was bedecked with all sorts of additional features. Lichen growth on the rocks, ornamental gardens in the crew room and an aviary in the cargo bay. The Tekeri wore comfortable clothes and floated sedately in the air, occasionally bumping into the sides. When she noticed the Utaysi waiting, she flinched. When she realised what it was, she let go of the pad and drifted down to Senjen’s level.

“Hello, are you looking for nature design? I can make bespoke packs for any type of ship or building.”

-

Light gingerly opened the door to the gel shop and slipped inside. The door closed quickly and tightly behind him. Smart, to avoid gel getting away. The shop was a long rectangular warehouse with the short side facing the street. There were only two storeys and one floor, packed with compressed gel suits of all different varieties. Soft QV music flashed from light displays on the ceiling and floor. Light spotted fitting rooms in the back for privacy, thankfully.

An elderly QV female and one of her offspring manned the whole shop. The elder flashed a friendly greeting and came over.

“Greetings, to-be-friend, this one is Resplendent-In-Divine-Apostasy. Your gel requires replacing; you have come to the right place. Would you like some help?”

Light recoiled slightly at the QV’s name. It was the sort of thing a religious zealot would name themselves, and he’d had bad experiences with their type before. But this one didn’t seem dangerous, or deranged. Perhaps they’d lost their faith and turned to the service of others instead. He decided to give her to benefit of the doubt.

“Thank you. This one would appreciate some help. I am Into-The-Abyss-In-Search-Of-Light.”

RIDA flashed a demure blue. “Come with me. I shall introduce you to my daughter and give you a tour of our humble shop.”

Senjen too ended up distracted briefly by the design the Tekeri was making. Even just the concepts were so...unique. For a moment, he imagined what Light’s ship would look like decorated up in the Tekeri style. To him, a bit of greenery made any place seem more inviting; after all, that was precisely what had drawn him to her stall. He had not though of the idea of modifying another species’ ship in their style, but it was honestly an appealing thought.

A Utaysi had plenty of physical cues for their emotions, and with their hyperempathy, a Tekeri could certainly read them, as long as they were familiar enough with their kind. Senjen showed genuine curiosity, as well as being mildly startled when he was snapped out of his thoughts. “Oh, um, hi.” His expression was a close equivalent to a smile. “Sorry, I’m new to the station. New off my homeworld, really. My friend sent me to buy some supplies. I don’t think you sell them, but...these packs you mention are interesting. I guess it’s probably common out here, but Tekeri designs just seem so unique to me. I do love nature and the outdoors, but the idea of bringing that feeling into a ship never would have occurred to me before leaving home.” He lifted up one foot and glanced down. “Is this real grass? How do you get it to grow up here?”

“We’ve always done it, more or less. Being among nature has physiological benefits for most species, but Tekeri in particular. I read an article on it.” The shopkeeper beamed proudly.

“Yes, it's real grass. We’ve bred species that grow in mats for easy application to surfaces. They even have their own covered irrigation system, to stop water floating away.” The Tekeri floated to a mat about one metre by half a metre that was hanging from a hook near the ceiling. She levered it gently free, then returned with it in her hands.

“For you. It is to wipe your feet on when you step inside your ship, but can grow to cover the whole floor. Consider it a gift.”

-

The elder QV introduced Light to her daughter, who was also called Resplendent-In-Divine-Apostasy. It was a thoroughly awkward experience, as the younger female was actually very attractive and for some reason seemed ready to court him. But she was less than half Light’s maturity. It was absurd to even speculate as to what a potential courtship between the two of them would look like. He was reaching the end of his sexually productive lifecycle, while she was just entering hers. Light quickly steered the conversation back towards buying some gel, saying he was already late for another appointment.

Gel suits and vehicles were a huge business for the QV, and this gel shop had a lot of different varieties of gel. Extra rugged gel, body obfuscating gel, vacuum-resistant gel, poison-skinned gel, gel for other species, gel that shot shards of dried gel like darts, the list was endless. He even spotted a gel technical waiting in front of a corrugated loading door. A large rectangular gel frame with a Human heavy laser repeater fixed to the top.

The old QV shopkeeper had a particularly rambly sales pitch where she went into far too much detail and didn’t ask any questions about what Light actually wanted. So in the end he sort of tuned her out and just examined the small flashing plaques with each suit’s product specifications. After about five minutes of this he realised how much time it would take to read them all and grew exasperated. He turned to the elder who was still mumbling on and interrupted her.

“I just need something cheap, that can survive a vacuum for about five minutes and has enhanced respiratory efficiency. Got anything like that?”

“Why, yes! You should have said. Come with me.”

Senjen laughed lightly. “It feels like botany comes naturally to Tekeri, though I guess that’s what thousands of years of experience will do. I’ve only ever seen pictures of Tekeri cities, still haven’t...visited one, but it really is incredible how alive they look. Maybe one of these days, if the Utaysi and Tekeri get stronger diplomatic connections, that technology can help revitalize Orostro? It’s a nice place now and everything, but they’re trying to bring its ecosystem back to what it was like before the extinction.”

Once again, Senjen was surprised for a moment when the Tekeri offered him a gift. He accepted it readily, and was glad to receive it, though he also showed a tinge of guilt. “Oh, thank you, I wasn’t expecting that. I...well I don’t have my own ship. I came here in my client’s. I can definitely use this, but I don’t know if I can buy too much right now, since it’s his ship.” He leaned back somewhat to look around the stall and see if it had its own name, though not all in this market did. He was not sure how long the stalls around here stayed in the same place, or even if they set up in the same spot every day. “Say, what’s your name? When I do get my own ship, or maybe my own place on Korit, I’d like to keep you in mind.”

The Tekeri hadn’t heard of Orostro, but could see an actual paying customer approaching the stall.

“I hope so. Tekeri are always happy to help.”

She saw Senjen looking for some kind of name for her business and readily produced a business card. There was a physical option, or you could just touch the card and your implant would store her business details.

“I’m Kreena. Come see me some other time and we’ll talk about your plans. Not your client’s.”

-

The elder meandered down one of the five main aisles towards the fitting rooms before stopping in front of a reddish brown cube.

“This is perfect for you. Came in last month from mountain desert nomads on Buktaw 4. Very hardy, good for breathing in high altitudes, and best value for money. I’ll give you a good price, since you are a nice male.”

“It is…red.”

“It is desert camouflage.”

Light looked on the plaque for the price per cubic metre and found she was right. It was pretty good value. He supposed he could live with this racy new colour for a few months.

“Fine. Do you do trade in, for my current suit?”

The elder floated back so she could study Light’s current gel layer. She flashed disapproval.

“It is not in good condition. It would cost more for me to repair than it's worth.”

They haggled back and forth for a little bit. Eventually Light agreed to a knockdown rate to recycle all his current cubic meterage, and a decent price for the same size suit of this new type. He didn’t feel great about the deal, as his old suit was arguably much more valuable than this one once repaired. But he didn’t have space for two suits and they had to be moving on.

“Wonderful! My son will collect the rest of your gel from your ship tomorrow morning. Now, let's get your new suit calibrated.” The elder gently guided Light towards the fitting room while flashing for her daughter to join her.

Senjen laid a finger on the business card. His frame had similar software hooks to match galactic standards for cybernetic implants, so he could use them just as the organics could. “I will.” He answered. Seeing as Kreena seemed to have other business to get to at the moment, he decided not to take up any more of her time. “Let’s see, does this thing roll up…” He muttered to himself as he took a moment to figure out the best way to carry her gift. Utaysi frames tended to take advantage of any space they had, as most spaces that were not used for internal components were designed as storage compartments. The smallest compartments were like pockets in his forearms and thighs. There were two long compartments along his back, while the largest were along his underbelly. Most commonly, he carried some spare parts and tools for repairs in the event of an emergency. He had never actually needed them, but it was the responsible thing to do, especially now that he was off the homeworld.

As soon as he had taken his leave, Senjen took another look at the list Light had given him. He probably could not afford to waste more time if he wanted to be finished by the time Light returned. He seemed to want food, and a few things for the ship. Easy enough. For the former, the best place to start to look for something Light wanted would probably be a QV vendor, which would be easy enough to spot from a distance.

The market was growing busy. The noise was rising as more people haggled with vendors and chatted with their friends. An eatery in one corner was particularly raucous, with half a dozen Tindrel making a mess of the furniture.

The nearest QV stall to Senjen was a few rows along. It was two storeys of grey gel crammed between two large pillars. Some of its wares were hung outside the gel blob for all to see. Senjen might see seafood, water sacs, gel suits and a variety of suit mods, that sort of thing. Two small QV played a game together on the upper level. Two adults sat out the front watching a QV news holo.

-

The elder Resplendent-In-Divine-Apostasy opened the fitting room door and chucked the compressed reddish suit inside before motioning for Light to go inside. Her daughter took her position at the control pad.

He looked inside sheepishly. It was a small, slightly cube of a room, not much bigger than his cubby on his ship. In the middle was a raised bed moulded to the QV form.

“Don’t worry. It is perfectly safe. My son changed his suit here just last week. Lay on the bed and relax. When your new suit makes contact, let your suit cede control then remain still.”

Light sighed in the affirmative, then wafted inside. The elder closed the door behind him, and he was alone. He got up onto the bed then lay down - at least it was comfortable. After a few seconds, he detected the clamps releasing on the new suit and it quickly expanded in size until it lapped up against the edges of his current vehicle. A message entered his brain.

New gel layer detected. Requesting permission to cede symbiotic function?

Light flashed with fear for a few moments, before steeling himself. Lets get this over with.

Request approved. He replied, before trying to go limp while every impulse in his brain screamed to tense.

In all honesty, the market was a bit overwhelming for Senjen. It was crowded, sure, but so were cities back home. The part that could easily make him nervous was how little he realized he understood about everything going on around him. There were Tindrel causing trouble in a restaurant nearby...or were they? Was the chaos he saw a sign of actual troublemakers, or was that just something expected in that establishment. Either way, he was going to keep his distance from that one. Senjen had done as much research as he could to try to prepare when he left home, and one thing he had learned was not to make assumptions, but where did that end? How small or “obvious” of things could he make assumptions about? Hopefully, aliens were used to outsiders not understanding their ways, because now that he was alone, he had only his own instinct to guide him.

At the very least, it was indeed easy enough to find a QV shop, as they stood out rather strongly beside any other species. He approached the lower floor out front with the adults. “Hello, is this your shop? A QV friend of mine sent me to pick up some things. I have a list here…” He said, accessing a document to send over a list of anything he did not recognize to whoever the shopkeeper was.

The adult QV closest to Senjen turned to look briefly at the Utaysi, before flashing up to the children on the second storey.

“My offspring will give you a quote.” They said distractedly, then drew their attention back to the newscaster.

The juvenile QV came down together and unabashedly took the list from Senjen. One of them plugged it into their inventory and pricing system while the youngest looked him up and down.

“Are you a droid? Wanna live here with us?”

“Enough, they are Utaysi. Echoes of extinction…These [untranslatable] Tindrel, I swear..” The adult QV turned to stare at the boisterous insectoid beings, aggressive colours flaring across their suits.

“The Tkclakytor Remnants destroy an entire planet with gridfire and these [untranslatable] Tindrel act like nothing is happening.” The other adult complains to Senjen, gesturing to the holo.

The elder child shoves a paper-thin gel parchment with a quote for about three quarters of the list into Senjen’s face. It's about 20% higher in total than Light had secured before.

“Are you going to fight in the war?” The youngest asks Senjen.
-

It would be unacceptably dangerous for Light’s old suit to decouple before the new suit has assumed control of his vital functions. The gel was the only thing that enabled him to breathe, or move out of water with his boneless anatomy. So the reddish suit mixed into his existing blue-grey gel and for a moment Light had the disorienting feeling of being connected to both. It felt like having double the amount of limbs, double the amount of thoughts and double the mass. One side felt old, familiar and safe, the other was new, sprightly and unpredictable. They fought each other despite this being a willing transfer, gel swirling around inside the bubble with Light at the centre.

Light cried out at a sharp pain in his head as an untidy handover took place. Then gradually, the warm and comfortable embrace fell away, and his new suit pushed out the old. The blue-grey gel slopped onto the floor and lay still. Light tried to move, and found that he could. He could move quickly in fact; this nomadic frame handled well, despite feeling draughty and sterile. Perhaps a little too well, for being unused to it, he fell right off the bed. Light got up quickly. His breathing felt clearer too, which was an unexpected relief.

There was a voice outside. Light figured the fitting must be over, and moved for the door.

Then his breathing choked, and his movement became laboured and stiff before paralysing completely. Light tried to reach for his old suit, but his new home wouldn’t obey him. Instead he hopped back onto the bed and lay flat.

“Help!” He called feebly, colours disjointed and blurry across the surface of his suit.

Senjen had not expected that the children would be the ones to do business with him, though if he was being honest, he hardly knew what to expect from alien children. From his understanding, Utaysi had accelerated childhoods compared to organics. They had no physical maturation, so all of their development was mental. Without the former, the latter could proceed a lot more quickly. It also did not help that most of the aliens matured at different rates as well, so he did not really know how to guess how an alien child of any age would be expected to act. In any case, as long as they knew what to do, Senjen supposed it did not matter.

In any case, it was not long before Senjen found himself pulled into a conversation he was decidedly ill-equipped to handle. Tkclakytor Remnants? This was the first time he had even heard of them, and he certainly did not know about any planet being destroyed. He wondered, for a moment, if there was more preparation he should have done before leaving. Maybe he should have looked more into current events than more distant history? “I never really...heard of any of that on Orostro. I haven’t spent that long out in the galaxy...yet.” He said, unsure of what, if anything, he should say about the Tindrel.

The question from the child was much more direct in startling Senjen. “Fight? I, um, oh no. I don’t plan on fighting in any wars. Utaysi don’t have a reason to fight anyone, really.”

Now that he had a chance to focus on the quote he was given for a moment, Senjen took a moment to compare it to the list Light gave him. It was more expensive than it should have been, by a fair margin. Had Light been wrong, or were they trying to take advantage of a tourist? Would the children even think to do that? “Can you go down on this at all? My friend gave me the prices for these things, and it wasn’t as much as this.”

When the door to his fitting room opened, it wasn’t Resplendent-In-Divine-Apostasy senior or junior who came to Light’s aid. It was a large bipedal combat droid with black armour. It held the room’s control panel in one hand and a pistol in the other. Light’s suit wasn’t scanning the environment properly, but he got enough of the picture to realise he was in really, really deep trouble.

Senjen! In his panic he’d forgotten about his assistant. Light tried to message him via his implant but then his respiratory system suddenly stopped being able to access oxygen. In the blind chaos of his mind, Light found he couldn’t even compose a message, let alone talk directly. So he just sent a load of nonsensical signals to the Utaysi. Much like slamming one's appendages on an old keyboard. The QV prayed he would get the idea.

“Into-The-Abyss-In-Search-Of-Light, what is in the package you are carrying today?” The droid asked gruffly. For a moment, Light could do nothing at all to respond. Every sinew of his body was in agony, he couldn’t breathe and he couldn’t move. Eventually the droid realised this, and released the chokehold. Light spluttered, lapping up the new supply of oxygen, before saying “I don’t know what you’re talking about! Let me go!”

The droid tapped a few options on the pad, and Light was pushed hard into the bed as if being strangled inside his own suit.

“Don’t hurt him!” The young QV female pleaded. Both her and her mother were floating side by side just outside the room, holding onto an aisle as if they’d been ordered to stay put.

“Silence!” The robot snapped, visor spinning nearly 180 degrees to face her. It then looked at the elder QV.

“Go tend to the shop front. If a Utaysi robot enters, keep them distracted there. If you fail or give me away, I'll shoot your daughter. Go!”

Naturally, Senjen was confused in the message he received. It was...something, alright, but what that “something” was, he could not guess. It was not even words, though it was sent to a port meant for communications. It was not as if his translator was failing, because the data itself was jumbled. Corrupted, maybe? If Light had just bought a new suit, then maybe its transmitter was busted? In any case, Senjen had to err on the side of caution. It was his job to keep Light safe, so he had to investigate.

Distracted as he was, Senjen was not sure if the shopkeepers had responded to his question, or what they said if they had, but he did not have time to worry about that at the moment. “I...sorry, I have to go check on something. I’ll be back, probably, but...I have to go.”

"Your message is garbled, what are you trying to say?" Senjen sent back in response. Regardless, he knew where Light had gone. He still had the spot marked on his map, and following it led him to a long, rectangular warehouse. He doubted the place got very many non-QV visitors, so he expected he would be drawing some attention the moment he floated through the door. It closed quickly enough behind him that he was scarcely able to yank his tail out of the way of it before it sealed. His awkwardness aside, he tried to keep calm when he spoke to the QV woman tending the shop. “Hi...there, I’m looking for a Quelun-Vosh friend of mine. Ligh- or, um...Into-The-Abyss-In-Search-Of-Light. Have you seen him?”

Double post

“G-greetings, to-be-friend. I am Resplendent-In-Divine-Apostasy.” The elder QV said to Senjen, glancing back down the shop. The words came from speakers positioned nearby, as was common in QV establishments when dealing with other biologicals. But her colours were not warm and welcoming, in fact there were tinges of black, green and yellow in there.

“Into-The-Abyss-In-Search-Of-Light is currently having their new suit fitted. If you’d like to wait here, they will be out shortly.” RIDA glanced back up the shop towards the fitting rooms, where hidden by aisles of gel suit packs her daughter tried to make herself as small as possible. The droid kept their gun trained on her from through the open fitting room door while they questioned Light.

“Tell me who you’re working for, I can make all this stop.” They soothed as the QV writhed pathetically on the bed. Light felt as if his lungs were about to explode. The droid released their grip momentarily. “So?”

“Torture is forbidden on the Fourteen Factories!” Light cried, using little speakers embedded within the suit to speak out loud.

“Be quiet! Use your colours, I can understand you. Who do you work for? What are you carrying for them?” The robot asked again, smacking the top of Light’s suit with the fist that carried the control pad.

The QV’s answer did little to assuage Senjen’s concern, especially as her attitude was so strange. He recognized that she probably did not receive many non-QV visitors, but that did not feel like an explanation. Out of all the species out there, QV had perhaps the hardest time hiding their feelings. Her colors were off, and he felt it worthwhile to do a quick search on what they meant. “Well, I got a message from him a little while ago, but it was jumbled nonsense. I doubt he would message me for nothing. Are you sure he’s alright in there? Have you checked on him?”

Before she could answer, Senjen heard a voice from the fitting room, and his auditory sensors were more than sensitive enough to know it was Light. What he said was not exactly calming, either. The message, the voice, the QV’s attitude and emotions, everything about this situation pointed to something being wrong, and his concern for Light overwrote any fear he perhaps should have been feeling at the moment.

Senjen gave Resplendent-In-Divine-Apostasy a sharp, serious look. She was not above his suspicion herself, and he wanted answers right then and there. He used the lights on his frame to do a basic rendition of the QV’s visual language without speaking aloud. ”What is going on here?”

“Yes, he is perfectly fine. My daughter is with h-him. What you heard must have been some interference caused during the suit handover. It is very common.” RIDA assured Senjen out loud.

When he asked her what was really going on, RIDA hesitated. She looked back towards the fitting rooms, as if trying to spot someone watching. Then she signed using just a small patch across her midriff.

“Someone is here. They are holding my offspring and your friend hostage. They said they’d kill my sweet daughter if you go back there, please help me!”

-

“They’re called the Vermillion Consortium, that's all I know! Please, just let me go!” Light cough, his suit struggling to drink in enough oxygen when the droid released their grip via the control pad.

“What has this Vermillion Consortium given your Utaysi friend? You must have some idea, tell me!” The robot hissed. It dropped the control pad then picked Light’s suit up with him inside and slammed him against the wall. They pushed their large handgun through the pliant gel and shoved it into Light’s face.

“If you prefer, I can shoot your head off, then tear the Utaysi apart to find out what it is. They’ve just entered the shop now; I can hear them. Is that what you want? Don’t even think about calling for help; they’ll never get here in time to save you.”

“I swear, I have no idea! Our only instructions were to drop it at a restaurant a few segments away!” Light spluttered. The robot had made a mistake talking specifically about Senjen. This focused the QV’s mind enough to allow him to send a short text message directly to his assistant via his body implant.

HELP DROID WITH GUN FITTING ROOM

As if the QV’s warning was not enough, the message Senjen received shortly afterwards was crystal clear. Light needed his help, and he needed it now. Swinging open the compartment on his thigh, Senjen grabbed his pistol almost immediately, but even near-panicked as he was, he knew he could not just rush in. He had never been in a gunfight before, and his frame was not even designed for combat. Plus, the droid was armed, with hostages. He...needed a plan. Yes, something to even the odds. Just a bit of creativity to make up for the more material disadvantages, but whatever he did, he needed to do it quick.

Senjen’s pistol he had bought on Orsostro, so it was at least meant for fighting other robots. It was a magnetic accelerator weapon firing armor-piercing rounds, and he needed to keep that in mind. Second, he needed to see what was going on in the fitting room. The daughter was a hostage, but maybe she could help? He could see her, probably trying to act normal and not frightened. With the angle he was at near the front of the shop, she could “speak” with the colors on one side of her body without anyone in the room seeing, so he faced her and did the same. ”Can you see in the room? Do you have any implants? Anything ocular? Can you share the feed of what you see with me?”

The aisles of gel suits filling the entire front half of the warehouse were held together with chains bolted to the floor, ceiling and in some instances the walls too. They clinked gently in the microgravity any time someone touched a suit or a strong breeze came in. Each suit in the chain was spaced about a foot apart to minimise damage, so small gaps between the aisles existed at regular intervals all over the shop.
RIDA junior had been subtly looking through one of the gaps at Senjen when the combat droid wasn’t paying attention. One of the many great things about QV suits was that the occupant could float around to survey any direction without moving the outside gel one inch. You could also glaze the skin to make it very difficult to see what was happening within. When Senjen noticed her and began signing, she thought the robot must have good eyesight, as they were over thirty metres away.

She was scared, but determined not to let this thing kill the kind older QV in the dressing room. Careful symbols beamed through the foot wide gap. “We may see things very differently, but we can try! Please be quick, they are killing someone!” RIDA Jr sent Senjen a request to access her sensory implants; a very unusual request to send a total stranger, but these were not normal circumstances.

If Senjen accepted the request, they’d unlock a blurry fisheye view from RIDA’s perspective. Colours danced in all directions as they swirled to look towards the fitting room.

Inside, the droid looked back at RIDA Jr. Or more specifically, they listened for noise. The conversation between RIDA Sr and the Utaysi had gone quiet. The young QV had also gone suspiciously still. They dropped Light’s quivering blob of a suit to the floor where it convulsed violently. Magnetising the control pad to their left thigh, they gripped the pistol firmly in both hands close to their chest and moved quietly to the door. A black disc the size of the droid’s clenched fist detached from its back and hovered up to float just in front of their head. Together, they both poked out and they took a look out into the warehouse.

Senjen took the video feed from the QV and pushed it into a window in the corner of his field of view, so he could keep an eye on this droid. Unfortunately, a QV’s vision was...less than ideal. Their species saw the world in different ways than through a camera feed, and he did not have time to set up any conversion software to interpret that data in a way he could understand. Maybe that was something he should figure out after all of this was over, but for now, this would have to do. He could at least make out the general image of this droid, and could see that it was moving to the door of the fitting room.

This was no good. Senjen probably should have been louder keeping up the conversation. He was not confident in winning a straight up fight, he needed some kind of advantage to have a chance. He needed the droid to think he still had not caught on, so he put his pistol away before the droid could make it to the door. It had only been a moment of silence between him and RIDA, so he could come up with a reason. Something about what she had just said...like a search. An online search to confirm what she was telling him; that was reasonable, sensible. Most people would probably do the same if they were concerned for a friend.

“Interference…” Senjen muttered, acting as if he had found what he was looking for. “Okay, fine, sure. It says that only lasts a little while, though. Does he not have access to comms after the transfer? I can wait, but how long does this take?” He asked RIDA. If this did not work to lower the droid’s suspicions, though, then probably the only plan he would have left would be to talk his way out of this.