"Come on, son. It’s time that you become a man," Markos Zabat told his fifteen-year-old son, Kai, as they walked through the door of the most popular Aspasian brothel on their home planet. Kai was terrified. He had spent most of his life on a ship in the middle of space somewhere, so the only woman he was used to being around was his mother and she spent most of her time in her private quarters – cursing at his father for making her come along.

Several women walked by him, touching his shoulder or winking at him as they made their way to the other side of the room to their clients.

His father walked him over to the front desk and leaned on it with a smile.

"Hey, Paola," he said, passing her a handful of bills.

"Hey, Colonel. Are you here for your usual?" the Aspasian woman asked with a wink as she leaned up on the counter. Her skin was the usual pinkish hue of her species, and her long brown hair was in a high ponytail. The low-cut shirt she was wearing was showing more than enough to make Kai try to keep his gaze anywhere else.

"No. I’m here for the kid," he said as he motioned to Kai. "He’s becoming a man today." Markos slapped his son on the back hard, hard enough to make Kai stumble forward a step.

"Should I see if Circe is available?"

Markos laughed, tossing his head back.

"No, I don’t want to scar the kid. He’s not ready for a minute with her. What about Gaiane? She’s good enough to know how to handle him without traumatizing him. She could break him in just right."

Paola nodded and tapped on the keyboard for a few seconds. Then, she looked back up at him with a friendly smile.

"She’s in room fifteen, waiting. Go over the rules with him as you take him up there. I don’t want to have to zap your son. Make sure he’s on his best behavior."

Markos took Kai under his arm and led him to the stairs.

"Just up these stairs, manhood is waiting, my son. Now..." Kai tried to tune him out as they walked up the large staircase. He didn’t want to have sex with anyone. He had barely started noticing girls his own age. Jumping into sex with a professional just because it was his fifteenth birthday sounded like a bad idea.

But his father insisted. His grandfather got his father the same thing for his father’s fifteenth birthday. It was a Zabat tradition - one that Kai had already sworn to end when he had children someday.

"She’s just through that door, son. Give her hell!" He gave Kai another clap on the back and shoved him towards the door.

Kai’s hands shook as he grabbed the doorknob. He didn’t want to go in, but his father was right there watching. If he didn’t do it, his father would surely throw him into the room and make a scene.

"Happy birthday to me," he grumbled under his breath as he opened the door and walked in.