Chapter 1:

The Unnatural Beauty and the Inexperienced Employer

Everything In Between

Fasti leaned against the metal wall of the lift complex as he surveyed the surrounding area. He was unfamiliar with it. He only knew what lay underground, nearly three hundred meters below.

His unremarkable brown eyes watched the two places someone could approach from - the entrance to the lift complex, a glass wall patterned with transparent airlocks, and an escalator descending from the building above.

It was quiet. The sounds of the city outside were nearly indistinguishable from his own breathing. The air inside the complex barely moved, though a vent mounted overhead steadily replaced it before it could grow stale. With only Fasti in the room, it was hardly necessary. The gentle drafts failed to move the few short, almost invisible dark-brown hairs sticking out of his messy mop.

He checked the flat screen of his watch. The display illuminated as it detected his gaze.

Two minutes past the agreed time.

He sighed, though there was little emotion in it. He was too wound up for that. And for what? It wasn’t anything special.

Well. Except for the whole new job thing.

But really - nothing special.

At least the complex was empty. Standing nonchalantly against the curved doors of a lift was bound to draw stares no matter how much he tried to look casual. It wasn’t like he stood out much anyway. The dark grey full-body pilot suit he wore was identical to countless others seen in lift complexes across the system: classic, well-known, a symbol of thoroughly mediocre status.

At least, to him.

To others it might represent awe. Or prestige. Or someone barely worth noticing at all.

Shiny metal buckles and connection hooks lined the suit from shoulders to calves, designed for external restraints and high-acceleration operations. He had never used them. His work didn’t require it unless he was paranoid, and legally he didn’t need to engage them as long as he kept acceleration and deceleration within regulated limits.

He rarely pushed the throttle that far anyway.

So the buckles remained untouched.

The pockets, however, held a few small tools and personal items - none of which he considered particularly important.

He checked his watch again.

Three minutes.

His foot began tapping against the floor. Impatience. Anxiety. He wasn’t sure which. Whatever it was intensified as a car pulled up outside, floating gracefully to a halt.

He suppressed a frown.

Wheelless cars were expensive. Even people who could afford them often avoided using them in cities - they were sports vehicles, built for long-distance high-speed travel, not short urban hops.

The rear door folded downward and a figure stepped out.

Fasti deliberately avoided direct eye contact, watching instead through reflections and peripheral vision. The car lifted away almost immediately. A muted hiss filled the room as the airlock cycled.

He could feel the newcomer watching him.

He waited until they passed through the inner doors before finally glancing up.

He already knew who it was.

That didn’t stop his heart from pounding.

A woman.

She was young - both biologically and chronologically. Apparently only a few years younger than him. That alone was surprising. When the average working adult was in their sixties, anyone under thirty stood out immediately.

Her hair rolled gently at the ends, cut to her shoulder blades, mahogany brown save for two dyed blonde strands tucked behind her ears like racing stripes. According to her file, her beauty was entirely natural; she had never undergone any biological alteration procedures.

Unnatural ones, however, were another matter.

A pair of cat ears rested atop her head, matched by a tail that flicked lazily behind her. They had clearly been installed within the last few years. He made a mental note to ask about them someday, though he suspected the answer would amount to trend following.

What surprised him most, however, was her outfit.

It had once been a pilot suit like his - that much was obvious. But she had decided she disliked its original form and modified it extensively. The suit had been cut just below her chest and refitted with what looked like an elastic reinforcement, tightening it against her body which with the help of a deep V cut left absolutely no ambiguity about her femininity. Below that, it became difficult to recognize the garment at all. A grey skirt, similar in color to the original suit, fell neatly into place, with only the dangling buckles hinting at its origin.

It didn’t look homemade. If anything, it resembled an official variant issued somewhere he’d never heard of.

Semi-transparent thigh-high stockings completed the outfit, black garters disappearing beneath the skirt, running upward along her midriff before vanishing into the top.

The list of questions forming in his mind was growing faster than he cared to admit. Still, he had already made his decision and had no intention of backing out now. Besides, withdrawing without valid justification would technically qualify as a criminal offence.

So instead, he met her eyes - a vivid, striking pink, despite no recorded modifications - and nodded.

“Achakos?”

She nodded as she approached, slightly hurried.

“That’s me. But please, call me Acha. Are you Fasti?”

He nodded.

“I am. Nice to finally meet you.”

She beamed and took the hand he offered.

“You too!”

Her handshake told him two things.

First, she was confident. Possibly too confident.

Second, she was almost certainly an extrovert completely unafraid of public embarrassment - something no CV could ever communicate. He found himself wishing he’d conducted interviews, but his work schedule had made that impossible. It had taken enough effort just to get here today.

Too late now.

He attempted to match her enthusiasm.

“Excited to begin, I’m guessing?”

She nodded brightly, stepping back.

“I am! When do we go?”

He glanced around the empty complex.

“Now, but… you don’t seem to have any luggage?”

She nodded again, smile unwavering.

“Nope!”

He frowned.

“No changes of clothes? No toiletries?”

Now she frowned.