Apparently, there was a process that one could use to grant an AI program a type of citizenship which would allow them their own personal access to the web. However, it was also a long process that invariably costed money and required a great deal of time and effort to make it official. The shorter version was essentially allowing the program to ‘piggyback’ on Kibum’s personal access. It created a ghost account of sorts. Fine in theory and harmless in reality, up to a point.

                Considering their purposes weren’t nefarious, their situation would allow them to escape the worst of scrutiny even if they were ‘caught.’ But an AI, especially a young one, didn’t have the same limitations and self-imposed restrictions a typical Terran had. And giving one relatively unfettered access was like a Pandora’s box. You never knew what was going to come out until you opened it.

                Which was how, a few days later, Jinki and Kibum found themselves meeting up with the friend of a coworker of an employee who worked with Crawven for Psitassi’s parent company: the Syrinx Conglomerate. Their meeting place was innocuous enough: one of the many eateries that peppered the bottom floor of the corporate district. And it didn’t feel like it should be anything worth being nervous about, but Kibum and Jinki couldn’t shake the sensation entirely.

                I don’t know what you’re both so worked up about, Taemin commented from his usual invisible vantage in Kibum’s shoulder pin. In public, he remained invisible, though in private, his holo form could appear at will.

                “Well, anytime you start working through the friend of a friend of a friend…” Kibum mumbled with a quick look around. Lots of business types here, though he did see a few casuals peppered throughout at least.

                It’s the friend of a coworker of a-

                “It’s okay, Taemin. We know,” Jinki smoothly interrupted with a smile and a reassuring pat on Kibum’s shoulder. “It can just be a little hard to trust a stranger for something like this.”

                He’s not-

                “He’s a stranger to us,” Jinki interrupted again, gently explaining when he knew what the next question would be.

                Well everyone you don’t know starts off that way, Taemin reasoned in his defense.

                Kibum had to laugh at the response. He wasn’t wrong but he wished life was as simple as that. “Right. And how are we supposed to know him?” he wondered, glancing around as he nibbled on his bottom lip.

                Taemin made a quiet sound that was probably supposed to be a shrug. He said we’d know him when we saw him.

                “That’s helpful,” Jinki laughed first, reaching out to give Kibum’s hand a light squeeze.

                Oh! I bet that’s him, Taemin suddenly gasped with a helpful blinking light in Kibum’s visual overlay.

                It startled him as it always did and Kibum flinched. “Please stop doing that, Taeminnie,” he gasped, hating the way it made him feel when he had no control over such a simple thing.  It was one of the side effects of him piggybacking on Kibum’s browser but it wasn’t easy for him to get used to.

                Sorry, Taemin apologized quickly, dimming the flashing but leaving a very faint marker to remind him.

                “I think I see who he’s talking about,” Jinki murmured with a sympathetic look at his boyfriend.

                “Oh?” Kibum perked up, turning to confirm for himself. “Oh.” That was possibly one of the brightest and definitely one of the shortest Moladhi he’d ever laid eyes on. Brilliant rainbow hues were visible on every part of his feathered form that was uncovered. He appeared to have a slightly longer beak than average and slightly more energy too if the bounce in his step and the sheer aura around him was any indication.

                Said Moladhi approached the pair confidently, his height not quite matching Kibum or Jinki’s, and pointed at the Kibum after a brief moment of hesitation. “Taemin?”

                “Taemin?” Kibum asked, directing his question at the program on his pin.

                I had to give him someone to look for, the AI responded quickly, a shrug obvious in his tone.

                “Close enough,” Kibum nodded, his expression neutral as he continued to appraise the newcomer. He wasn’t outright threatening which was nice, but he was equally unreadable. And that was odd for Kibum, considering all the time he’d spent around Moladhi at work and at school.

                “And you are?” Jinki asked deftly, leaning closer to Kibum so the newcomer would not miss the fact they were together.

                “Ceyxin,” the Moladhi preened, short feathers fluffing up at the name. Obviously he was proud of himself.

                “I’m Kibum and this is Jinki. Taemin’s my AI program,” he explained, gesturing at the pin on his chest.

                Ceyxin’s feathered brows rose, making his black eyes much larger than normal. “Fascinating. I thought there was something a bit odd about our interactions. I figured he was just a Varium or Dawbn on the net.”

                Our interactions were not odd, Taemin grumbled in Kibum’s ear, making him fight not to smile.

                Jinki did at least allow himself to chuckle before he gestured at the counter. “Would you like to order something or are you better off with continuing the discussion?” he wondered, turning to focus his attention on the shorter Moladhi.

                Ceyxin waved off the suggestion and a slightly troubled look came over his face. Eventually he gestured, “I’d like to continue our discussion but… I need to make sure you’re aware the scope of my and my backer’s intentions have widened a bit.”

                “Your backer?” Kibum said at the exact moment that Jinki spoke up, “Widened?”

                Ceyxin looked between the two in mild surprise. “Did Taemin not mention anything?”

                Kibum looked at his pin and Jinki frowned. “Taemin?” he mumbled, exhaling slowly.

                I thought… you might not agree… if you knew who… the backer was, he answered hesitantly, the mental image of an uncertain child shining through.

                “Who’s the backer?” he asked, glancing between Ceyxin and Jinki to let them know he was asking Taemin and not them.

                Hmm… he hummed hesitantly, obviously not eager to explain. I’d like you to know that you have a lot of possible contacts through your connections. Did you know that Jackson knows a techie on Earth 3.0 and she comes here fairly often? And that Henry has a friend in the shipping industry that might be able to give you a heads up on contracts in the future. Oh! And your former boss, Garum, knows a whole slew of-

                “Taemin,” Kibum interrupted him once, his voice firm but soft.

                The program was quiet for a moment before he finally murmured, Psitassi.

                “No,” he shook his head immediately. “We’ve talked about this.”

                “Kibum?” Jinki asked quietly, reaching out to place his hand on the other man’s shoulder in a reassuring gesture. When Kibum leaned close to whisper who it was – he didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention with a big name like hers in this area, he opened his mouth in silent understanding. “You could just hear him out, though,” he encouraged, slightly tightening his hold on Kibum’s shoulder. “There’s no harm in listening.”

                Kibum glared at Jinki for half a second, a flash of frustrated betrayal shooting through him. But it was gone just as quickly. As he’d said earlier, there weren’t many people that could help them with their situation without asking for an arm and a leg in the process. The fact that it was Psitassi meant she wouldn’t be requesting money, most likely, but that didn’t mean the end price would be cheap… “Fine,” he relented after a long pause. “We’ll hear what… your backer has to say.”

                “Wonderful!” Ceyxin beamed, clapping his hands together excitedly. “Should we move somewhere a bit more secure then?” he suggested, gesturing towards the door he’d come in from.

                “Do we need to?” Kibum asked, glancing at Jinki with some doubt.

                “For the second part, yes,” the Moladhi confirmed with no hesitation.

                “Second part?”

                “Let’s just hear him out, love,” Jinki soothed, adding his other hand to grab Kibum’s arm so he could pat it consolingly. “We can still decide once we’ve listened.”

                It didn’t sit right with Kibum, but Jinki wasn’t wrong either. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before he wrinkled his nose and regarded Ceyxin once more. “Fine. We’ll listen but to be clear, I haven’t agreed to anything other than listening.”

                “Of course,” the Moladhi smiled, taking a step towards the entryway. “We’ve got a hover taxi waiting outside if you’d like to head out now?”

                “Taxi?” Jinki wondered with a bemused smile.

                “It draws less attention than the usual limo or ominous black cars the corporate types are known to travel in,” Ceyxin laughed with a shrug.

                “That’s true,” Kibum agreed, going along reluctantly. Though he didn’t say it, he was definitely going to have to have a talk with Taemin later.

                There was no physical driver in the taxi, as expected. To give them room, Ceyxin hopped into the front passenger seat while Jinki and Kibum got comfortable in the back. The ride to the official corporate building wasn’t long, but it was nerve wracking for Kibum at least. He’d been to this part of the city a couple times, and none of them had been for any good reason. Furthermore, the building they were heading to now was literally the Syrinx Main Office in Yonichi. There might have been one in each of the dome cities for all he knew. The only other thing he was certain about was that the actual HQ of Syrinx was stationed on Earth 2.0 since it had been the friendliest in terms of setting up interspecies business relations back in the day.

                “I always forget how big this place is,” he whispered, looking up and down at the multistoried building.

                “Have you ever been here before?” Ceyxin wondered, turning around to peer at them over the back of the seat. Kibum shook his head and Jinki followed suit. “That’s actually not that surprising. Mrs. Psitassi hasn’t been in her position all that long after all.”

                “I’d heard she was moving up after she got married,” Jinki nodded to himself, brow furrowed as he obviously tried to fill in the gaps.

                Youngest of five children, Psitassi Syrinx married the youngest son of the interspace shipping magnate Tyton Guild who owns the Kettle Guild. She is set to oversee the merging company on Yonichi with her husband Strigid Guild, her first real foray into business and politics, Taemin helpfully answered, obviously reading something he’d come across.

                “She’s got her work cut out for her, but she’s learned a thing or two since she went to University,” Ceyxin mused, his expression thoughtful as he regarded Kibum and Jinki smoothly. “None of her siblings ever thought she’d want to get into the business. But you know how the baby of the family is. Her father couldn’t say no,” he shrugged with an amused laugh.

                “That explains it,” Kibum nodded in understanding. Personally, he thought it was rather Passeri’s influence that had the most impact on Psitassi but he hadn’t been keeping up with either of them as well as he could have…

                “Indeed! But here we are!” Ceyxin grinned as the taxi came to a stop at one of the many elevated drop off points. He got out first and waited beside the taxi for his guests.

                Jinki grabbed Kibum’s hand lightly with a reassuring smile and led the way out first. The shining building was one of the marvels of technology in the city. Made almost completely of the same kind of material as the protective dome, the walls were see-through on demand, and the doors were comprised entirely of nanobots. Well, minus the first floor which had the standard safety and security protocols in place. It looked like something out of a museum though: pristine and not a building the average person should be in.

                Nano barriers washed over them, the sensation not unlike walking through a water curtain, and the interior appeared before them, as sterile and intimidating as the exterior. The only difference was that there were far more Moladhi inside. Kibum could see a couple non-Moladhi, but on this floor at least, they were few and far between.

                Ceyxin led them easily through the identical walls and waved at nearly everyone he came across. Apparently he was a known figure in these parts. On either side of them, he pointed at opaque rectangles set within the walls that looked as if they were probably doors of some kind. It seemed as if he was counting more than anything else. Before they reached the end of the hallway, the Moladhi ducked into an offshoot pathway and then stopped in front of an opaque door that seemed exactly the same as every other one they’d passed.

                “Here we are!” he announced, gesturing at the door. When all he got was uncertain looks from Kibum and Jinki, his brows furrowed, narrowing black eyes in the process. They widened comically when a thought occurred to him. “Right! Terrans can’t see the markings on this floor. Apologies!” he said, clapping his hands together and nodding his head towards them.

                Want to see what he sees? Taemin asked quietly, the voice in Kibum’s ear making him jump.

                “You can do that?” he whispered back, glancing at Jinki who simply shrugged.

                Instead of answering, Kibum’s viewing screen came up, the surface blank but see-through. Then it shimmered, like a filter had been put in place, and the heretofore unseen image on the door abruptly appeared. He gasped at the fluorescent holo image that stood out regally on the surface of the door. It was an exact image of Psitassi, but her colors were even more spectacular than usual. The usual hues of her teal, gold, and red had added shades or took on entirely new colors under Kibum’s modified vision. He felt cheated at the lack of vibrance in his everyday vision for just a moment.

                “And in we go!” Ceyxin announced as the door swung open.

                Taemin dropped the filter as soon as he did and Kibum felt like he’d had the wind knocked out of him. He could feel Jinki’s concern and he squeezed his hand reassuringly. “Is that how Moladhi see all the time?”

                Most of them anyway, Taemin answered affirmatively.

                “I’ll tell you later,” he promised, turning his attention to Jinki as he took a steadying breath. He needed it too, for as soon as they stepped inside, the Terran-vision-pale-in-comparison Psitassi was waiting for them, perched on top of her desk with one leg crossed over the other.

                “Kibum! Jinki!” she greeted excitedly, hopping up and prancing over to them excitedly. “it’s been too long!” she added, grabbing both of their hands in hers as she looked at them from a slightly higher vantage.

                “Hey, Psitassi. You look well,” Kibum greeted, somehow managing to smooth his features into a mask Almighty Key might wear. It was honestly the only way he could interact with her just then, given the comparison he’d seen a moment ago.

                “So do you. Both of you!” she added, looking each Terran up and down with a genuinely happy expression on her face. “I’m sorry I couldn’t go see you in the hospital, Jinki. I was just so busy during that time,” she admitted with a pained grimace.

                “It’s fine,” he assured her with a shake of his head. “I got your gifts and it was the thought that counted anyway.”

                “And you,” she continued, giving Kibum’s hand a small shake. “You should have called or said something. I’m still mad at you for not accepting my calls,” she chided with a glare that should have been intimidating.

                For Kibum, who was fairly well versed in Moladhi facial expressions and mannerisms, it was an honest showing of concern. “Yeah,” he admitted after a slight pause.

                “We’re working on that,” Jinki promised, grabbing Psitassi’s attention so that the expression shifted to one of polite interest.

                “Slowly apparently,” she snorted, glancing at Ceyxin who was watching intently but staying respectfully silent. “You should have called me first, or at least early on,” she amended, gesturing her hand at the room around her, “when you were having trouble finding… crew members I guess.”

                Kibum wrinkled his nose and he saw Jinki raise a hand as if to temper his words. “You ask friends for reasonable amounts of help. If I’d contacted you immediately, it would have seemed like abusing your position or our friendship or both,” he explained as plainly as he could. And all of it was true, but his biggest concern was not being in anyone’s debt. He had a hard enough time not feeling like that with Jinki, much less anyone else.

                “Still,” she complained, waving one hand at him with a small frown on her face. For a second, she paused and then turned her attention back to the other Moladhi in the room. “Ceyxin. Could you go get the android from the back room?” she asked, gesturing towards the rear of her office.

                “On it, your Ladyship,” he saluted quickly and scampered off, disappearing into a well-hidden door.

                Kibum suspected it was another vision thing, but his focus was on Psitassi instead. “Android?”

                “Yes,” she nodded simply. “It’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about. Ceyxin filled me in on your weapons master situation. It’s a pity about Crawven really, but understandable,” she mused, tapping at her beak lightly. “He is recovering nicely, but I don’t think he’ll ever leave the planet again. Though maybe one day,” she shrugged, gesturing at the air as if to say anything was possible.

                The door in the back made a soft whispering sound as Ceyxin returned leading a humanoid android that was taller than him. He was wearing a simple black bodysuit that did little to hide his toned physique beneath it. His face was stoic but handsome with full lips, bright brown eyes, and a fall of wavy black hair that covered the top half of his head.     In perfect sync, Kibum and Jinki pointed at the android together.

                Psitassi giggled and covered with one hand. “This is Ming. Or so he says. And it’s the name that is etched on every identification marker in him,” she admitted with a shrug, a slight note of uncertainty in her voice.

                “But why is he here?” Kibum asked, glancing between the two and feeling a surprising thump in his chest when Ming’s dark eyes settled on him for a second. He was attractive. Too attractive for anything they’d need in the ship.

                “He’s a medical android,” Ceyxin answered with a wide grin.

                “Eh?” Kibum and Jinki chirped.

                “To be fair, he was previously a companion bot at one of the establishments my grandfather shut down. He’s been in a storage unit for quite some time actually. I only recently discovered him when I was going through some of our property to see if there was anything useful for me,” she admitted.

                “So how do you know he’s a medical android?” Kibum demanded, tearing his gaze away from the humanoid so he could look at the Moladhi again.

                “Despite his appearance, he has so many subprograms of medical code built into his hardware that it’s the only thing he could be. At least that’s what the programmers here said anyway,” she explained, reaching out to brush Ming’s hair down where one piece was sticking up more than it should have been.

                He deftly reached out to catch her hand, patting it in a genteel manner and offering a seductively sweet smile in response. “Allow me,” he encouraged, releasing her hand so he could brush his hair back himself, the act almost a show as he composed his expression with a smirk and narrowed eyes while he combed his hair with long, slender fingers. Though he only spoke two words, his voice was resonantly deep and… sensual if Kibum had to describe it.

                “He does have a tendency to follow his most recent protocol from time to time,” Ceyxin commented with a raised brow.

                Thoroughly confused and very distracted, Kibum glanced at Jinki and then at Psitassi. “What do you…? I’m… I’m not sure what your intention is right now,” he finally admitted, forcing himself to stop looking at Ming as he turned his frustration to Psitassi. He didn’t exactly miss the way that Jinki was looking between him and Ming as well either.

                “About that,” she started to speak, clapping her hands together and directing her attention to him. “I’m aware of your financial situation and, given my last attempt to pay for Jinki’s hospital bills,” she added, glancing at Jinki herself, “I’m relatively certain you would have a similar reaction in regards to any funds I might offer.”

                “You would be right about that,” Kibum confirmed with a nod as he crossed his arms.

                “I’d like to propose an exchange and present a proposition to you,” she went on. “Now, I can’t have a direct hand in configuring your weapons master program, but it can be done,” she explained, gesturing at Ceyxin.

                “I can be the go-between for the various departments it would need to travel to for the full overhaul,” he promised, raising one hand like he was taking a vow.

                “As you’re probably aware, the process is generally costly in time and funds. And I’d have to bend a few rules to make it happen so that my father and my husband don’t hear about it too. The fewer people in my family involved, the better,” she laughed, shaking her head with a rueful smile, the response almost too flippant to Kibum. “So, what I would like is two things in exchange,” she reasoned, holding up two fingers. “One, you do me the favor of taking this…” she hesitated as she gestured at the now composed Ming beside them, “medical android with you. He’s wasted here amongst Moladhi. His primary processes are all geared towards Terrans anyway.”

                Though he knew they needed a medical person for their ship, Kibum didn’t entirely trust the setup. “Why?” he asked, a suspicious gleam in his eye.

                Psitassi crossed her arms and laughed once. “I don’t know if you’re just very suspicious nowadays or that you’re actually better at reading people.”

                “Probably a bit of both,” Jinki smiled, patting Kibum on the shoulder with a knowing look.

                “Hey,” he grumbled, glancing at Ming and then looking away when he thought he saw a tiny smile on the other man’s lips.

                “Okay. I know you need a medical assistant for the ship, but I also think there’s more to Ming than we’re seeing. The programmers explained it as him having black spots in his data. They’re not empty but they are apparently coded or locked or something. They could probably figure it out given enough time and energy, but none of them thought it worthwhile. If you must have a better reason, feel free to chalk this up to my curiosity,” she nodded, gesturing at the android with an elegant hand. “But in all honesty, I’d like you to work with him to see if anything interesting happens with him. As I said, the programmers couldn’t tell me anything useful, and I could be wrong, but I am curious to see what you might find in his company,” she explained, expression turning thoughtful for a second. “There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with him or to otherwise worry about.”

                Kibum took a small breath and looked Ming up and down quickly. “Okay,” he frowned, turning his attention back to Psitassi. “If, and I do mean if, we agree, what’s the second thing you wanted in exchange?”

                “Now this you might consider a win-win for both of us,” she preened, feathers rising up in her excitement.

                “Oh?” Jinki prompted, looking at Kibum with a slightly excited expression.

                “Yes! Once you get out there, the only thing I ask is that you keep me in mind for any new information, scrap, products, or things that might otherwise be useful for a growing business partner in a challenging world,” she admitted, exhaling heavily as her feathers flattened with some of her exuberance dissipating. “I’m not asking you to break your current contract,” she assured them both, waving her hands in their direction to banish the thought. “I’m only asking for you to be my eyes and ears and occasional salvagers when the opportunity arises. I can and will compensate you fairly.”

                Kibum suddenly felt lightheaded at the offer. That was a lot. It seemed almost too good to be true and that was an immediate red flag for him.

                You okay? Taemin asked, obviously monitoring Kibum’s vital signs.

                Kibum nodded to let him know and took a slow breath. He glanced at Lee again and then shifted his attention to Ceyxin and Psitassi. Feeling a bit lost, he turned to focus on Jinki who seemed pensive but had an otherwise open look on his face. “Thoughts?” he asked, desperate for some kind of feedback.

                Jinki wrinkled his nose and looked at the people in the room once. “I’m interested,” he admitted, gaze lingering on Ming for a second longer, a tiny furrow appearing between his brows. “But hesitant too.”

                That was reassuring for Kibum at least. “Same,” he admitted, his lips before biting on the bottom one. “Can we think it over first?” he asked, directing his attention to Psitassi.

                “Of course,” she nodded. “Would you like me to send you the tentative contract so you can read it over at your leisure?”

                “You already have a contract drafted?” he nearly choked.

                “Absolutely.” She gestured at the space they were in and shrugged, “I’ve learned you must be prepared for just about anything, especially if you want to make something happen.”

                “Ah,” Kibum mumbled, embarrassed by his lack of eloquence. “Then yes. Send us the contract. We’ll look it over shortly and let you know.”

                “Wonderful,” she smiled, the expression seeming to be genuine, but Kibum had the suspicion it could also be an act. Not unlike the ones that he’d put on in The Stars Aligned. It really did seem too good to be true at first blush.

                “Would you like to stay to check it out or do you want to go back first?” Ceyxin asked, making a motion at Psitassi as he pointed at his wrist like there was a watch there.

                “Oh. Right. I have a meeting coming up soon,” Psitassi explained, taking a breath and pulling herself up to her full height. The shift was definitely something she had probably picked up from Passeri; Kibum had seen the other Moladhi do it often enough to recognize the same mannerisms.

                “Then by all means,” Jinki encouraged, gesturing at the door to let her know to go if she needed to.

                “We’ll look over the contract and get back to you soon,” Kibum promised, his lips again as he managed to keep himself from looking at the medical android once more.

                “Please do,” Psitassi smiled, leaning closer to grab their hands again, giving them a comforting squeeze. “And if we all have time, I’d love to catch up sometime. Maybe we can get together with Passeri and Jackson and the chicklets,” she suggested, for a moment just the University Moladhi she’d been when they first met.

                “I think they’d like that,” Jinki smiled politely, glancing at Kibum who gave him a little nod. “As would we.”

                Psitassi’s smile widened just a touch and then she sighed as she glanced at Ceyxin once more. “Ceyxin will show you out. But thank you both for coming in today. It really was good to see you again,” she promised.

                “You too, Psitassi,” Kibum echoed, nodding at her once and then waving when she stepped away to smoothly head out the door.

                After she’d left, Ceyxin turned to them and grinned. “That went well, I think.”

                Well, that was one way of describing their meeting.