Kolya jolted awake with a shrill cry, threw her arms across her face, and rolled off her bed. She couldn’t breathe for a few seconds after hitting the floor. Finally, she sucked in a gasping breath, opened her eyes wide, and whipped her head around as the last remnants of the nightmare faded away. Her heart pounded as she pushed herself upright and climbed back onto her bed. She fumbled for the control panel on the wall beside her bed and dialed up the lights slightly, just enough to make out the close walls of her motel room.

Same old dream. Luckily, it came rarely, these days. Maybe once or twice every few months. Not like it had eight years ago when debris from that explosion turned the left side of her face into a thousand miles of bad road. The nightmares had plagued her for years after all the surgeries and physical therapy restored her full mobility.

Her insurance company had refused to cover the "purely cosmetic" matter of the scar tissue covering one whole side of her face and part of her neck, shoulder, upper arm, and thigh, so she’d avoided mirrors for almost as many years. She’d adjusted to it well enough, eventually, but every now and then, the nearly-forgotten nightmares came out of nowhere and sucker-punched her.

Kolya sighed, dialed the lights up a bit more, and heaved herself off the bed. She trudged into the bathroom, yawned, turned on the wash basin, and splashed water on her face.

What time is it? She leaned back through the doorway for a glance at the info on the hard-light panel beside the bed. Eh. Almost time to get up, anyway. She’d landed a hired-hand gig on a ship scheduled for departure today, and didn’t want to start her first day on the job by missing its launch.

She braced her hands on the edge of the wash basin and stared into the mirror. Could be worse, I guess. At least she hadn’t lost any sensation or functionality. She’d needed pain meds for a long time after the accident, but in the end, that was preferable to being numb or paralyzed.

Her solid white, damaged eye contrasted sharply with her ebony skin and practically glowed in the dim light. Even though she couldn’t see anything out of it, it kind of … stared back at her from her reflection. The insurance company had used the same "cosmetic" excuse to weasel out of paying for a cybernetic eye, which had infuriated her. She didn’t much care what it looked like, she just wanted to be able to see out of the damned thing.

At least the good half of her face still looked okay. After finishing school, she’d been on a fast track to a career as a supermodel. She could’ve had any number of hot guys. Or women, had she swung that way. Then, just as her career had started to take off … kaboom. While talking with a friend in a shuttle repair bay, a faulty fuel cell blew. Even though she and her friend had survived, Kolya’s career had ended that day. And, it had seemed for a long time afterward, so had her life.

But a new one began, eventually. She’d moved on because she hadn’t really had any choice, and one day discovered something more rewarding than a life of posing in front of a camera. Something far more satisfying. More fun.

Kolya turned away from the mirror and stepped into the shower. By the time she turned the water off, she was fully awake. She picked up her comb and gave her shoulder-length, dark brown hair a quick work-over, while the warm air jets in the walls dried her off, and then she walked back to her bed. She stretched and plopped her ass down on the edge.

The thought of what was in store brought a smile to her face. Sevastopol Station wasn’t quite on the edge of Terran space, but her ship’s destination definitely was -- past the frontier, as far as humans and their synthetic and genetically-engineered derivations were concerned. For the aliens who lived and worked out there, it was simply home, but for Kolya, it was an adventure. There were so many new things to see, far too many to experience in a lifetime, but she intended to give it her best effort, damn it. That explosion could’ve killed her, but it didn’t -- and she didn’t want to waste her second chance.

She grinned, threw her cargo pants, boots, and T-shirt on, and packed her few belongings into her duffel bag. Even though she’d been hitchhiking on starships for several years, this would be the first time she’d ventured outside Earth-controlled space.

The rest of the galaxy awaited her.

***

Ah, that’s more like it. Kolya inhaled deeply and smiled at the mixture of aromas from various food carts and shacks drifting around the corridor. She’d chosen a motel in one of the less affluent areas of the station, which was not only more interesting than the higher-income sections, but she also got stared at a hell of a lot less in places like this.

She spotted a few aliens here and there, mingling around the open space filled with vendors packed in wherever they managed to fit their shops. Most of the population was made up of humans, synthetics, and bioengineered creatures of various species.

Most of the aliens were the zorai, who looked a lot like orcs -- dark green, leathery skin, neanderthal foreheads, and a pair of long fangs jutting up from their lower jaws. They’d been brought to Earth decades ago from their homeworld, where everything in the environment was constantly trying to kill them. Conditions there were so harsh that the zorai had been on the brink of extinction throughout their history, and were eager to leave the planet when the option became available. They’d gladly let several Terran corporations strip-mine the whole world in exchange for a ticket to Earth. They hadn’t even bothered to give the planet a name until long after they’d left it behind, then one of them had finally summed up their hatred of their former homeworld in two words -- Hell’s Heart.

Life on that planet had shaped their culture, making them quite hedonistic. Carpe diem, and all that. Kolya hadn’t fully understood the mindset until after she’d almost died. After relocating to Earth, many of them had become sex workers -- if not as a career, then as a hobby -- even though they were ugly as hell by human standards. Back when she was in junior high, Kolya had lost count of the number of her classmates who’d slipped out of their homes late at night and lost their virginity to a zorai hooker simply because the newcomers to Earth were the only people willing to let them get past first base.

Kolya hadn’t tried it, herself. She’d figured there would be plenty of time to get around to it. Then, after the accident, she’d been too busy recovering from her injuries. After that, she had started her long journey to wherever the next ship took her, which hadn’t left time for much of a social life.

A specific aroma from the background -- a mixture of hotdog, vegetables, a variety of mustards, and seasonings -- caught her attention and she made her way through the locals shuffling back and forth. Most of the Terrans were roughly her size. A few of the bioengineered "anthros" were walls of muscle, having been produced by one of the corporations that had kept the "bigger is better" approach from the early days of the genetic experiments over a century ago.

Kolya dodged out of the path of an eight-foot reptile dude in tight-fitting shorts and a muscle shirt. She paused to admire his physique as he passed, and then resumed her course to one of the food shacks on the right. She stepped up to the short counter, peered at the foods cooking inside, closed her eyes, and inhaled again.

"What can I do for you?"

Kolya opened her eyes and found the shack’s owner, a middle-aged human in a stained white apron, smiling at her. She pointed at one of the items on the menu glowing softly on the rear wall.

"Sonoran hotdog, please."

"Comin’ right up." He hurried over to the counter on the right, grabbed a bun, and began packing it with the requisite ingredients. He finished, brought it over to her, and she paid for it.

"Thanks."

"Any time, young lady." The guy grinned and shifted his attention to the young man who’d lined up behind her.

She took a bite as she walked on down the corridor. Not bad at all. It wasn’t the best hotdog she’d ever had, but was probably in the top five. She chewed another bite and glanced around, taking in the scenery as she headed for the elevator that would deliver her to the hangar where the Mae Jemison waited.

She spotted a trio of shonari up ahead, chatting with a group of humans near the elevator doors. Around seven feet tall with dark red skin, glowing yellow eyes, horns, and digitigrade legs ending in hooves, they resembled many depictions of demons or devils she’d seen in various mythologies. Despite their appearance, the ones she’d met were quite friendly and easygoing. Their society seemed to produce more scientists and engineers than other occupations.

As Kolya approached, one of the shonari glanced at her and then instantly snapped his gaze toward something behind her. His smile faded out and he leaned over to mutter something to the rest of the group. They turned toward her and whatever they saw made them freeze in place and stare nervously.

Kolya flicked a quick glance to either side and realized the crowd around her had dispersed. She winced.

Great. I’m probably about to be mugged or raped. She turned around slowly and arched an eyebrow at the half-dozen humans and two anthros behind her. One anthro was a tall, muscular panther type and the other was a hulking minotaur. Both of them, as well as the humans, were scruffy, dirty, and carried themselves like people who were used to just taking whatever they wanted.

"You look like you’ve got some money," one of the humans said, his voice low and growly.

"Not as much as I wish I had." Kolya shrugged and glanced around as several of them maneuvered their way behind her, boxing her in. She pointed the hotdog toward her ruined eye and added, "If I had that much money, I would’ve had this fixed."

"Well, whatever you have," the panther snarled, "hand it over."

She raised her eyebrow again. "Can I at least finish my hotdog first?"

They pulled out a variety of clubs, chains, and knives from within their clothing and closed in on her. She sighed.

Guess not.

"Last chance, girl," the minotaur rumbled.

In the corner of her eye, Kolya noticed two of the shonari, a male and a female, exchange a glance and clop toward her. She shifted her hotdog from her right hand to her left as she turned back to the goons, and took another bite. As their eyes tracked the movement, she picked her first target -- the human wielding a baseball bat. She smirked as she stepped closer to him.

"Whatever scarred your face up must’ve caused brain damage," the human with a long chain clenched in his fists said with a guttural laugh. "Did you not hear anything we’ve said?"

"Oh, I heard it, alright. I just don’t take any of it seriously."

"Maybe you will when we tear up the pretty side of your face," another human snapped.

Keep it up with the comments about my face, wankshaft. Keep at it and see what happens. Kolya sidled closer to the guy with the bat.

At the same time, the two shonari stepped up behind the minotaur and turned to Kolya.

"Are these guys giving you any trouble?" The male’s voice was deep and had an eerie echoing effect, which only intensified the unsettling vibe his species gave off.

"They’re trying to." Kolya shrugged and took a step to the baseball bat guy’s left, moving as if to walk past him.

The minotaur spun around and pushed the shonari away. "Mind your own business!"

The knife-wielding human lunged forward and clamped his hand onto Kolya’s left arm. "We didn’t say you could leave!"

Kolya snapped forward and slammed her forehead into his nose. Bone crunched and he dropped the knife and collapsed with a howl, pressing his hands against his face and rolling on the floor. Kolya turned and whipped the edge of her hand into the baseball bat guy’s throat. He gagged, dropped the bat, brought his hands up to his neck, and staggered backward. He bumped into the female shonari and she rolled her eyes and casually slammed his head into the wall, knocking him out cold.

Kolya grabbed the bat, swung it around, and swept the panther’s legs out from under him. He landed flat on his back with a grunt, and Kolya crashed the bat straight down into his face. He let out a sharp grunt and flopped over, unconscious.

The minotaur leaped at her, but the two shonari tackled him to the floor. Kolya grinned, turned to face the four remaining humans, rested the bat on her shoulder, and took another bite of her hotdog. One of the humans dropped his knife and ran down the corridor. The other three turned to gape at his receding backside.

The third shonari rushed forward to join the fight. Kolya handed her hotdog to him and caught a glimpse of his bewildered expression as she gripped the bat with both hands and marched over to the nearest of her attackers.

"Uh." The shonari glanced at the other two, who were still struggling with the minotaur.

"Hey," one of the other humans bellowed at his fleeing cohort. "Get back here!"

Kolya raised the bat into position, drew in a deep breath, and blurted, "Have you seen my baseball?"

"What?" The man spun toward her and she swung for the fences. The end of the bat connected with his jaw. The resultant sickening crunch was followed by a long, warbling shriek. He spun around and toppled over.

Back at the elevator, one of the onlooking humans burst out laughing.

Kolya risked a glance over her shoulder and found the female shonari clamping her arm around the minotaur’s neck and bearing down until he stopped moving. She released him and he sprawled face-down.

Kolya turned back to the third shonari and took her hotdog back. "Thanks."

"Uh … sure. Happy to help."

She grinned and turned back to the last two thugs in time to catch one of them yanking a pistol from under his vest. She whipped her arm out, spinning the bat through the air to slam into his face. He stumbled backward and dropped the gun.

Kolya rushed forward, scooped up the knife from the floor, and whipped it out to the guy’s belly. She jabbed him with the tip, not quite breaking his skin, and he froze. His breathing turned shallow and sweat beaded up on his forehead. He backed up until he bumped into the wall, and she stepped forward to keep the knife against him. Kolya held his gaze, took another bite of her hotdog, and chewed slowly while the shonari planted themselves between her and the last goon.

"Walk away," she finally said to the guy she held at knifepoint. She pushed a little harder and the tip barely pierced his skin, prompting a whimper out of him. "Now. Or I’ll turn your innards into outards."

He slid slowly along the wall, trembling, keeping his hands raised, until he’d gotten out of her reach. He turned, bolted, and immediately tripped over the guy with the broken nose. He faceplanted, picked himself up, and scrambled around the corner and out of sight.

The shonari female took a step toward the last man and he flinched. "Leave, bitch." Her voice was deep but still feminine and had the same slightly unnerving echo.

Staring wide-eyed at her, he backed away slowly, turned, and launched into a sprint.

One of the males picked up the dropped gun, unloaded it, and shook his head. The other male gathered up the rest of the weapons.

"Let’s get someone from Security down here."

Kolya picked up the baseball bat, finished her hotdog, and grinned. "Now I don’t have to buy a souvenir. Nice."

The human at the elevator continued laughing and leaned on the wall to brace himself upright.

Kolya chuckled, smiled at the three shonari, and headed for the elevator. "Thanks for your help."

"Any time." The female smiled back.

The laughing guy finally regained control of himself as she stopped at the elevator and tapped the button on the panel. He took a few gasping breaths and grinned at her.

"I think I’m in love!"

Huh. Okay. The doors parted and she stepped inside.

The guy darted in before the doors closed, stood beside her, and continued smiling. "Name’s Donovan McCallister."

She tapped the button for the hangar level and gave him a quick look-over. His skin was a bit on the pasty side, like he’d never spent much time in the sun, but other than that …

He’s gorgeous! She took a few deep breaths. He had a supermodel’s face and body, and his brilliant smile seemed genuine.

Can’t be, though. He wouldn’t really be interested in ol’ Scarface, here. He’s probably up to something.

Still, finding out what he wanted might be a fun ride. Just another new thing to explore. She smiled at him.

"Kolya Mason."

"Pleased to meet you." He leaned against the wall. "You live here or …?"

"Just passing through."

"Ah. On the way to where?"

"Anywhere." She chuckled at his arched eyebrow. "I’m more about the journey than the destination. Got myself a job working on a small ship heading out into alien space. When they get there, I’ll do a little exploring and see where I end up going from there."

"Interesting way to live." He laughed. "You’re way too young for a midlife crisis."

She snickered. "Yeah, I just wanted to see what’s out there. Life’s too short to stay home and never have any adventures." She turned to give him a good look at her scars. "Had a close call a few years ago. Survived something that should’ve killed me, so I decided to make the most of life."

"Ouch. I bet that’s a hell of a story, if you don’t mind talking about it."

"Maybe eventually, if you stick around long enough."

He aimed that glowing smile at her again. "I just might."

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Kolya raised her eyebrow again, shrugged mentally, and walked out onto the hangar floor.

Hmm.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2: The Mae Jemison