Renna had been working the housecleaning detail for several days, and the supervisor had long since decided that Renna knew the job well enough that she no longer needed to be accompanied on the rounds.

Actually, if the truth were told, Renna had come to enjoy this job quite a bit. It was no less menial than waitressing, and the upside was that she no longer had to deal with the overbearing Jex.

Renna was currently in the lift heading for the top of the North building, towards the penthouse suites were a lot of the high rollers and bigwigs tended to stay. It wasn’t usual for a new comer like herself to be assigned the luxury suites, but they were severely short-staffed and Lizel, her supervisor, had decided that Renna was competent enough to handle the rather… particular way their high-tier guests liked their rooms to be dealt with.

As far as Renna was concerned, it wasn’t much different than the finicky orders she’d handled as a waitress.

The lift came to a halt with a jolt and the doors slid open. She stepped out into the hallway and glanced at the task list in her hand. First up was the office of one of the top shareholders in the hotel’s parent company.

No pressure.

Pulling her supply cart behind her, Renna maneuvered her way down the hall. Mentally she ticked off the room numbers until she found herself at the right room.

She slid her access card through the lock, and then pushed the door open when the indicator light turned green.

The lights in the office flicked on as soon as she set foot inside. Renna was immediately envious of the posh accommodations in the room, from the large heartwood desk to the comfortable looking furniture. This was only a workspace and it was nicer than her entire apartment.

With a sigh, Renna pulled her supply cart inside and began to work her way through the checklist, starting with dusting all the furniture.

A sound startled Sam out of the fitful dream he’d been having. A moment later the lights snapped on. Sam blinked until his eyes were able to adjust and he could see clearly.

He found himself looking at an unfamiliar Titaness. Unlike his captor and handlers, she was obviously dressed to work. Her clothes were neat, but well-worn, her short black hair was just a tad messy, and her tanned skin had just the lightest sheen to it that showed she wasn’t wearing any makeup.

The cart of cleaning supplies that she dragged in behind her was a pretty big hint as well.

Sam stayed as still as he could and watched as she began her work. She moved about the room without any sense of urgency beyond that needed to finish her work in a timely manner. She even, at one point, began humming to herself.

After weeks of hearing nothing but insincere niceties and hollow words on the one hand and cold almost brutal ruthlessness on the other, the sound was a bit jarring.

But it was pleasant, nonetheless.

So Sam watched her, uneasily at first. He had no reason to believe she would be any different than every other Titan he’d yet encountered. For all Sam knew, their entire race was nothing but a bunch of hedonists who wouldn’t hesitate to use him in whatever way they saw fit.

Still, he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her.

She drew closer as she wiped down the furniture with a dusting rag. Eventually, she made her way to the shelf where his cage was. She knelt down and began at the bottom, carefully wiping down the bottom shelves and working her way up.

Sam watched apprehensively as the top of her head slowly rose underneath him; until, like a submarine rising from the depths of the ocean, her forehead and then the rest of her face was revealed.

She blinked in surprise, not expecting to find a human in the room. Then she smiled.

“Well hello there.” Her voice was soft and gentle.

For a moment, Sam had trouble finding his voice. She wasn’t talking to him like he was a person, her tone of voice was more appropriate for addressing a particularly adorable hamster… but it was such a vast improvement over the cold condescension of Syon Fand or the complete dismissal of Yvenna that Sam was finding it hard to care.

He wasn’t foolish enough to believe that this wasn’t so act on her part. Not from just a single sentence. He’d become jaded enough over his months of captivity that it was all too easy for his mind to devise ways that any interactions with a Titan could go wrong.

After all, as horrible as life as Syon Fand’s slave was, it could always be worse.

“What’s your name little one?” She asked sweetly.

“Sam.” He couldn’t see any harm in answering her.

“Oh…” Her eyes crinkled a little as her smiled widened. “I like that name.”

Despite himself, Sam found himself relaxing, just a bit. Something about her put him off his guard. She was just so unlike anybody else he’d encountered in this strange Hell he’d found himself in.

“Here.” Her hand appeared and she opened the top of his cage. She reached inside and set a small brown object that was about the size of a football to Sam on the floor of his cage. He cautiously reached over and took it in his hand.

“It’s a zetzi nut.” The Titaness explained. “I keep some with me to snack on, even though I’m not really supposed to be eating on the job. Try it. It’s good.”

Sam looked at the strange seed warily, and then shrugged. There really wouldn’t be any point in the cleaning lady poisoning him. Even if she, say, wanted to get back at Syon Fand or something, killing her “pet” seemed an odd way to go about it.

So he broke a piece off the nut a put it in his mouth. The sharp tang flavor surprised him and he found himself actually enjoying it.

“There we go.” Renna laughed. “Good huh?”

She watched him eat for a few more seconds, before remembering she was there for a reason.

She continued to clean, and Sam continued to watch her. Neither of them spoke.

After several minutes, the door hissed open and Syon Fand stepped imperiously into the room.

“Can I help you?” Her voice was so cold, Sam was somewhat shocked that frost didn’t appear on the side of his cage.

“Oh!” Renna’s body stiffened and Sam could see her trembling from across the room. “Ms. Fand! Um, s-sorry… I was just finishing up in here. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“I see.” Fand replied distantly. “Well, I would appreciate it if in the future you could finish your task in a more timely manner.”

“Y-Yes ma’am.” Renna muttered and quickly gathered her supplies, before pushing her cart out the door.

Fand didn’t seem to spare the girl a second thought. She sauntered over to her desk, but not before pausing in front of Sam’s cage. The Titaness peered inside and for a moment Sam wondered what had captured her attention, until he followed her gaze and realized the nut Renna had given him was lying in plain sight.

Fand’s eyes narrowed and her mouth turned down in a frown. She didn’t say anything, merely glared at him for a moment before seating herself in her chair to begin her work.

Sam was certain that wouldn’t be the end of it, however.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Vasha Zakrov was inordinately pleased with herself.

The hotel heiress watched the screen in front of her with wry satisfaction as her computer finished downloading, encrypting and saving Syon Fand’s latest “secret conversation.”

The young woman had been quietly compiling evidence of her erstwhile “partner’s” treasonous communications with the insectoid hive. Vasha had known for some time that Fand was in deep with the incomprehensible alien faction, and was more than happy to wait quietly until an opportune time to use that information to her advantage presented itself.

“The download is complete, Miss Vasha.” Vasha’s assistant, Meeyli handed her the small device that stored all the data and Vasha slipped it back around her neck for safekeeping.

The young heiress smiled at the petite brown haired girl. “Thank you.”

“She really is becoming rather desperate, isn’t she?” The young woman observed mildly.

Vasha smirked. “She has every reason to be, she promised them something huge. Something that is well beyond her current ability to deliver.”

“Oh?” Meeyli’s interest was obviously piqued, though her expression remained one of polite indifference. “What could she possibly have offered them that would be of any interest to that bunch?”

Vasha chuckled. “She promised them Earth.”

The mask of indifference fell from Meeyli’s face and her eyes widened in surprise. “Why would she ever do that?”

“The insectoids often open their negotiations that way. To their thinking, the best way to negotiate is to open with something outlandish that you know you’ll never get and work your way down from there. It has a certain logic to it, really. You won’t get more than what you ask for; so that’s what they do. They open with what they most want: ‘Give us Earth.’ It’s really as close to a joke as insectoids get. They never expect anybody to agree with it, especially not a Titan.”

“Except Fand did.” Meeyli stated flatly.

“It’s not really as outlandish as it sounds. Had she succeeded in getting the Tarsuss fortune, she would have had enough resources to galvanize the small but not-insignificant minority that sees protecting Earth as a waste of resources. It wouldn’t have taken much, relatively speaking, to grease the right wheels and get things moving in that direction. Once the Empire abandoned Sol Terra, the Hive could freely move in.

“But things didn’t go as planned.”

“Nope. Pryvani’s advisors were able to pull a switch that Fand wasn’t expecting. Now she’s caught in a trap of her own making. The Hive did their half, and now they want their payment.”

Vasha giggled and leaned back in her chair. “I’d almost feel sorry for her. But really, she did bring it on herself.”

*.*.*.*.*.*.*

“Miss Tarsuss!” The concierge behind the desk greeted Pryvani warmly as she strode confidently into the hotel lobby, Rixie only a half pace behind her. “Welcome to the Imperial Jewel hotel of East Zennikar. Your suite has been prepared as per your instructions. Your luggage arrived an hour ago and is waiting for you upstairs. Everything is ready and waiting your convenience.”

“Thank you darling.” Pryvani smiled graciously and slipped a hundred credit chit into the woman’s pocket. “I always expect the best when I’m here, and you never disappoint.”

“We always aim to provide the best service.” The concierge replied with her best hundred-watt smile. “Is there anything I can do for you, or shall I have the porter show you to your rooms?”

“No, I’m sure everything is spectacular, as always. I would like to freshen up a bit before my dear Vasha’s soirée this evening. If you’d be so kind?”

“Right away.” The concierge snapped the fingers of one well-manicured hand and a young man in a crisp uniform suddenly appeared at her side as if by magic.

“Leston, please show Miss Tarsuss and her guest to penthouse suite sixteen.”

The young man smiled. “Right away. If you ladies would please follow me?”

Pryvani smiled cordially at the bright eyed young man and allowed him to lead them to the elevator. She didn’t actually need him to show the way, she’d been to the hotel enough times that she could find her own way blindfolded; but there were certain rules of etiquette around this sort of thing.

Besides, she was certain he was looking forward to the gratuity she’d be leaving.

Surreptitiously, she slipped her hand into the pocket at her side and made sure that Zhan was still doing okay. Earlier he had been feeling a bit fatigued. This was fairly common for people who weren’t used to space travel, so Pryvani wasn’t too worried about him. Still, she smiled when she felt his tiny hand softly stroke the tip of her finger.

“And here we are.” Leston pressed his hand against the access plate and the door to the suite opened up.

Pryvani stepped inside without a glance; she’d seen the room plenty of times to no longer be impressed by it.

Rixie, on the other hand, barely resisted the urge to stare wide-eyed at the size of the room. They stepped into a large living-room like area with a fully stocked kitchen and a complete dining set to one side and several comfortable looking couches and chairs on the other. On the far left was a circular staircase that led to a landing and then split into two separate stairs that each led to a bedroom.

The entire back wall was taken up by massive floor to ceiling windows, which led out onto a private patio. And if all that wasn’t enough, hanging from the ceiling was a massive crystal chandelier.

“So this is how the other half lives.” Rixie muttered quietly to herself.

“Is there anything I can do for you Miss Tarsuss, to make your stay more comfortable?” Leston asked politely from where he was standing by the door.

“Not at the moment, no.” Pryvani said graciously as she slipped another chit into the young man’s hand. “But thank you.”

Leston nodded with a smile and showed himself out.

Once he was gone, Pryvani carefully reached into her pocket and withdrew Zhan from her pocket. She smiled sympathetically at the human, who was curled up in her palm, clutching his head and looking a little green.

“How are you feeling?” The Titaness asked softly.

“A little better.” The small man muttered, sounding absolutely miserable.

“Poor thing.” Pryvani murmured sympathetically. “Let’s get you upstairs so you can lie down for a bit.”

She left the room, heading up the staircase and into one of the bedrooms, leaving Rixie alone with Alex in the main room.

“I’m pretty sure this room is bigger than some cities back on Earth.” Alex muttered into her ear after Rixie lifted him to her shoulder.

The Titaness grinned at the obvious exaggeration. Still, she had to admit the room was rather impressive.

“Come on,” She said to the human on her shoulder. “Let’s go take a look at the patio.”

She stepped through the sliding glass door and out into the bright sunshine. The patio was decorated with a number of potted plants that looked like redwoods to Alex.

Rixie stepped over to the waist-high wall that marked the edge of the patio.

“Oh Rix…” Alex muttered, clutching at her braid. “Can you not stand this close? I don’t usually have a problem with heights but we’re well over a mile up from my perspective.”

“Sorry.” Rixie responded and stepped away. “Too bad, it really is a nice view.”

“I know. I just had a bit of vertigo there.”

Rixie smiled sympathetically and sat down on one of the chairs that dotted the patio. Fortunately, she was tall enough that she could still see the skyline of the city around them.

“You sure you want to do this, Alex?” Rixie’s electronic voice buzzed softly.

“Yes. Pryvani’s right- Titans won’t watch what they say around a human. Why would they? I could learn something useful… and Zhan’s in no shape to be going anywhere.”

“Okay.” Rixie sighed and nodded. “Let’s go get dressed.”