The docking bay of The Profit Motive was in every way as opulent as wherever Jelendaressia had been when they’d first made contact. Several other ships the size of The Nightcutter and even larger sat in the cavernous room, and some of the gemstones imbedded in the wall seemed nearly as large as some of their dimensions.

The gold details were decorated with holograms of ships, and projections of star fields, all in Xaron Industries teal. Every marble surface was as clean, smooth, and well-polished as the outside of the ship itself.

Every last detail screamed decadence.

“Have you ever seen anything like this before?” Tiana’s eyes darted around, her antenna stretching out this way and that. “It’s so… elaborate!”

“Yeah, it is… but no, I really can’t!” Kelly tried to keep her discomfort from showing, and that much was obvious. “Elaborate doesn’t even begin to… I’ve never even imagined anything like this before.”

The large nature of the docking bay meant that it would have been impossible for the welcoming committee to greet the two friends with any level of surprise. The three Icosian women, one familiar and two they had yet to see, were visible far before they arrived anywhere near the two friends.

All three had the same ghostly white skin tone, and a similar shade of yellow eyes, but there were many details that rendered them distinct. While Jelendaressia’s hair fell in curls, and her crisp clothing emphasized her curves, one of the others wore her hair long and light green with very flowy clothes, and the third dressed in a way that seemed to emphasize her more athletic physique perhaps emphasized by her short, dark blue hair.

“Remember!” Tiana smiled wider as the women approached, and smoothed out her hair in an attempt to look more presentable. “Open mind!”

“Open mind… right!” Kelly forced her smile to be wider, and stood beside her friend. They waited patiently for the Icosians to approach, Kelly’s eyes occasionally shifting to look around the large chamber even as Tiana’s stayed focused on the approaching women.

When at last they arrived, the curly-haired Icosian they’d met first stood in front, with the short haired woman to her left, and the lithe Icosian woman with light green hair in elaborate braids standing to her right.

“Greetings!” Jelendaressia briefly bowed her head. “…and welcome to The Profit Motive! I’d like you to meet my associates, Mierinaleen Aardinarak…” She motioned first to her blue-haired companion who nodded. “And Dethelania Greezartal.” She then motioned to the Icosian in flowing clothes.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both!” Mierinaleen offered her hand. Kelly looked shocked as she offered her own only for it to be quickly grasped and shaken.

If Tiana shared any of her friend’s confusion, it was impossible to detect through the sheer excitement as she accepted Dethelania’s hand with a squeeze. “I’ve never had the pleasure to meet a Gral woman before. Your antennae are even cuter than the pictures make them look.”

Words failed the green-skinned woman, who could only flush an awkward purple as she continued to shake Dethelania’s hand, her antennae shyly shifting this way and that.

Kelly gazed over to her friend with a brief look of concern before she smiled instead.

A moment later, Jelendaressia spoke again. “The three of us work for Xaron Industries’ public outreach department. We don’t usually make a point of finding stranded women trapped due to engine trouble, but this makes a perfect opportunity for a bit of outreach—though of course we’ll be helping you regardless of anything else.”

“But we would be failing to do our jobs if we didn’t try to make the most of the unusual circumstances!” Mierinaleen squeezed a little tighter before finally drawing her hand back.

“Of course, there will be plenty of time to discuss things like that.” Dethelania spoke up again, still holding Tiana’s hand. “We’d love to give you a tour of the ship, share a meal, and we can figure out where you’d like to end up and how. I do hope you’ll be willing to consider our offer—I think it could be very lucrative to all five of us. When opportunity knocks, it’s rude to not at least hear out its pitch.”

“Of course!” Tiana responded nearly as soon as Dethelania quieted. “You’re saving our lives, and stopping us from needing to eat any of those horrible emergency rations. I’d hear out anything—we can always turn you down if the idea doesn’t work for us!”

The three Icosian women laughed, before being joined by Tiana. She took a moment longer to join in, but Kelly did soon enough follow suit.

“Naturally. Xaron Industries heavily frowns upon coercion. Freedom of choice is paramount. If we don’t make a convincing argument, you telling us so makes sure that our next pitch is that much better.”  Jelendaressia chuckled to herself. “But please, come. I’d love to show you The Profit Motive—starting with a good meal. It’s been a long time since I’ve visited anywhere near Eterna. I’d be very happy to catch up on all of the interesting news that I’ve missed.”

Kelly’s gaze fell to the downright giddy Tiana before she could no longer resist the tug of her own lips that practically demanded she allow herself to enjoy the moment. “That sounds nice. I’m no one important—just a fitness model—but I’m sure that I’ve heard something that you might find interesting. I’m confident anything you have to eat would make Tiana happy. The downside of powerful senses is being that much more aware when something is bland and unpalatable!”

Tiana pouted, but the Icosians didn’t laugh or mock. If anything, their quick nods seemed to immediately lean towards sincere agreement.

“Life’s too short to not enjoy only the best it has to offer.” Dethelania smiled a little softer. “I should have guessed that you were a model. Even found in dire circumstances you still look like you’d catch anyone’s attention. This opportunity is seeming to be even more perfect by the moment.”

The five women made their way out of the docking bay, The Nightcutter left behind in the oppressively large chamber as its once-occupants made their way deeper into the opulence of The Profit Motive.

*                      *                      *                      *

Every room within The Profit Motive, be it a small antechamber or a large hallway was every bit as lavishly designed and decorated. If someone were to scour it from stem to stern looking for a single place without the design sensibilities of flaunted wealth they would only have found scuffed marks on the floor that were soon attended to by a cleaning staff that seemed to somehow be omnipresent without crowding.

Tiana could barely keep her mouth closed as they toured enough ground to be worthy of a tourist’s first trip visiting Halcyon City on Eterna. They might have been aboard a ship, but from hydroponics bays providing fresh food to systems that recycled water, to every manner of shop or leisure activity from sport to art galleries, it would be hard to find any way in which The Profit Motive failed as a society.

But it would be equally impossible to forget that the ship was but one piece of a larger whole. Xaron Industries was the most commonly uttered organization by the three hauntingly pale women who lead the two friends on their tour of the expansive vessel.

“At last we reach the final stage of our tour!”

Jelendaressia stood blocking the path to a large pair of ornate double doors. To say that they looked like a vault, sealed together by long, solid strands of interlocking gold coiled around large what looked like teal sapphires and finely cut yellow zircon would be an understatement. Even in a place so obsessed with the conspicuous accumulation of wealth, this door stood out as capital “I” Important. A holographic projection of shifting stars emanated around the edges of the doors and the center as if space itself were guarding whatever chamber lie beyond.

Red eyes stared wide and large.

A dark brown pair faintly contorted in concern, but only enough to be easily noted before shifting to be part of a mildly awkward smile.

“Which is fortuitous that our tour ends here, for it relates directly to what we hoped to discuss.” Jelendaressia’s smile deepened before she looked between her guests. “I hope our earlier stop for food was satisfying enough that you wont mind indulging us now. If you would rather rest and indulge us tomorrow, then—”

“After even one bite of those ration… things… I think I can safely speak for both of us that you’ve earned us hearing you out!” Tiana interrupted before her cheeks quickly purpled yet again. “S-sorry! I just wanted it to be very clear that I think you’ve been gracious hosts. You’ve encouraged us to ask for anything we need from breaks to food, you’ve offered us new clothes… I can’t think of a single way that you could have been kinder to us without considering that you’re responsible for saving our lives!”

The curly-haired Icosian woman chuckled, shaking her head. “Xaron Industries prides itself on a thriving hospitality industry. While the three of us might instead represent the Public Outreach sector, it would be unacceptable if we made our guests feel anything but welcome.”

Tiana again found herself without words, merely nodding as her eyes darted from the ornate door, to her three hostesses. Dethelania’s braided hair coiled in ways almost as fanciful as the interlocked gold that sealed the door. Mierinaleen’s piercing yellow eyes looked every bit as sharp as the zircons in the door.

Not a single strand of Jelendaressia’s ringleted locks fell out of place.

“You must be curious now that my colleague has built this up so much, too.” Dethelania’s tranquil yellow eyes sparkled as she stepped beside Jelendaressia. “You may have heard that no civilization in known space has as finely crafted an information network sharing up-to-the-nanosecond information on the prosperity that Xaron Industries brings to its served territories, but none of that happens on its own.”

“Only the most accurate, most valuable information can be prioritized.” Mierinaleen took Jelendaressia’s other side once again, her short hair seeming to emphasize the curtness of her statement. “It wouldn’t do to have some unverifiable detail block an important update. That means that someone needs to be curating what people see, and how it’s presented. Unless people are properly informed, they can’t make the proper decisions they need to benefit themselves, and their colleagues as much as possible.

“It’s only through striving for the most for yourself that you reach your full productive potential.” Mierinaleen’s smile stretched across her face, immaculate as if it had been painted on her face and viewed from every angle to ensure maximum market approval. “And we’d like you to help us expand the reach and appeal of this information. Jelendaressia?”

The centrally posed Icosian woman nodded, clapping her hands.

Tiana and Kelly watched, equally awestruck, as the long interlocking gold coils slowly twisted open, gemstones revealed to have been actually cut into several smaller pieces. The holographic projection shifted much like stars aligning for some grand prophetic event.

At last, the doors opened, revealing a room that looked of no less impressive a scale than the docking bay had before. The biggest difference was that instead of being filled with ships, this chamber was full of holographic projections of various sizes and shapes, showing everything from productivity numbers, to climbing wages, to deals, to new opportunities and a special emphasis of those who had achieved some notable degree of success.

Kelly stared, wide eyed. Much like Tiana, her mouth even fell open enough to be notable. “Wow… I’d heard… something about this… but…”

“But you’d fallen for the propaganda that Icosians are nothing but money hungry clones, am I right?” Jelendaressia laughed quietly as she and her two colleagues stepped inside. “We are clones, and we view profit as the noblest pursuit… but I think that you’ve been lied to about just what that means, just what that entails… and I’d like if you two would allow me to show that to you.”

“Please do.” Dethelania cut in as she motioned the group to step towards the left. “There’s so much about us that is spoken of… unfavorably… thanks to political disagreements far beyond mere economic labeling. I think you would both be quick to see that.”

“Quick to see… and to share.” Mierinaleen nodded.

Tiana was almost breathless as she replied. “I want to keep an open mind. You’ve been nothing but kind to us, and the galaxy could do with more people trying to understand each other. It’s obvious you aren’t only concerned with profit over the good of others or you wouldn’t have taken the time out of your lives to save us, much less show us your gorgeous ship…”

Kelly was less quick to chime in, but she still nodded as her eyes drifted over products prices fluctuating by the moment. The teal coloration drew her eyes, and held them caught until she found herself drawn to the next impressive sight.

Before long, the five found themselves in a small auxiliary chamber tucked away in the corner of the larger hall. Three large walls of holographic projections formed an enclosure, which Jelendaressia motioned towards the center. “Please, Kelly, Tiana? The best way to truly understand is to become immersed.”

“Of… of course…!” Tiana rushed within, staring wide eyed at the sight of Icosians being praised for their work on the galactic economy, to the ever-rising quality of life.

Kelly’s face twisted again however briefly before she nodded, and followed her friend within.

Once the two were within the center of the projections, Jelendaressia removed a device from within her clothes, and tapped three buttons in sequence. The first shifted the three existing holographic panels from a long dead end hallway into a slanted shape. The second, and two more arose to extend the shape, before at last another three appeared between the guests and their hostesses, trapping the friends within an octagon of holographic screens.

“What are you… doing…?” Kelly’s voice came out as a slow slurr, one that even seemed to confuse her. Almost as thought everything were slowing down, she found herself not sweeping her vision across the holographic panels but instead caught until the natural movement on the panel caused her eyes to look to the next. “Ti… Tiana… what’s… what’s happening…?”

The green-skinned woman’s antennae hung half-slack, much like her eyes were half hooded but trapped on the screen directly in front of her. “We’re… being shown… the truth of Xaron Industries… the truth behind… behind the… propaganda…”

Though Tiana’s voice was every bit as distorted and slow as Kelly’s, there was no concern in her glassy red eyes or in the tone of her voice. Instead, her lips took on the shape of a lazy, half-asleep smile. Even as the information of branches of Xaron Industries changed, branches she had no reason to ever know the name of changed, some dipping, some rising, some shifting so quickly it would be hard to keep track of where the numbers had even been when they’d started, Tiana couldn’t seem to stop herself from being delighted.

One thing was clear through all of the data, all of the names, all of the information that streamed into her receptive mind: Xaron Industries was improving the galaxy. Xaron Industries was on the rise.

Xaron Industries was the future not just of the Icosian people, but of the citizens of the galaxy itself.

“Tiana… Tiana you sound… sound… wrong…” Kelly whimpered. For how strong she might have been, there was nothing that her muscles or her suspicion could do when confronted with so much data surrounding her from all sides. There was even information being streamed on holographic panels above her, and it reflected down on the marble floor at her feet. “This is… wrong… it’s all… all… wrong…?”

“Wrong?” Jelendaressia scoffed. Her voice almost seemed to come from every panel at once with an ethereal quality not wholly different from the phantasmal white of her skin. “This is only the most accurate information that’s fit to be shared. Our advanced blockchain ledgers can only be made more true with the introduction of more information and we’ve spent generations advancing in data storage and transmission technology that you’ve never even heard in hushed whispers.”

“Surely, even a human woman can tell that the Xaron Industries Information Network is the most accurate flow of information in known space.” Mierinaleen’s plastic smile deepened. “We have so much information. Can you even find a single point of inaccuracy?”

“Do you even really want to try, or have you fallen victim to Eternan propaganda?” Dethelania sighed in obvious disappointment. “You should try to be more open minded, like your friend. Open your mind, Kelly. Open your mind.”

“Open… my… mind…” Kelly whimpered, her posture slackening as her eyes hooded lower without being anywhere near closing. “I… my… mind… feels… so hard to… to think…”

Tiana quietly moaned, but the sound was only enough for Kelly to perceive—not enough to jar her out of the informative reverie that was swiftly submerging her. “Don’t… need to think… Xaron Industries… can tell us what we know… how we feel… all we need to do is… open our minds… let them… take control…”

Though the green-skinned woman’s clothes were hardly skin tight, it would be impossible to miss the way that her nipples began to prominently stand out at her chest. Her antennae slackened more, yet stayed rapt on the steady stream of new data.

Every new bit of information streamed right into her mind, pushing out something less accurate, less important, less coroporate approved to make room for what would surely come next.

“Let them… take…” Kelly moaned, her thighs clenching as her own nipples began to stiffen at her chest. “C-control… don’t need… to think… they can tell me… what to know… what to feel…”

With each moment red and brown eyes became emptier and emptier, all the better to reflect the steady stream of information the three professionally smiling Icosian women chose to stream to their vulnerable, supple minds. Kelly’s struggle was soon forgotten, her fists loosening as her mouth hung all the more dramatically open.

Both guests moaned as information poured into them, leaving less and less room for their own thoughts, their own beliefs, their own feelings… even their own selves. Instead they trembled, their thighs slickening as those things were taken care of for them by their gracious hostesses who watched them with increasingly hooded eyes. It was so much easier to accept the information fed to them when it came so quick, and so alluringly. Finding even one inaccuracy, one worrying iota of detail, it all would have been simply far too much work.

“Adding a Human and a Gral to our network would not only show greater inclusivity, but would go well with our initiatives to welcome in the displaced Nerani now that their Vexian… management… can no longer ensure their loyalty.” Jelendaressia quietly sighed. “I told you that making Ferren allies would be an important stepping stone in working towards expanding Xaron’s grasp.”

“You did, you did.” Dethelania waved her hand dismissively even as she greedily drank in every slight sign of Tiana’s surrender from the drooping of her antennae to the further slumping of her posture. “Hyrokians seem the natural next step in our expansion. Needing to adopt more strenuous standards for Seyqla aquatics would be an unacceptable operating cost.”

Mierinaleen smirked. “Unless we just… didn’t. They’ll be quicker to adopt cloning and memory replacement once mortality numbers receive a ‘brief but predictable spike’ from the ‘difficulty of integration’.”

The three women laughed in perfect synchronicity as the two women of Eterna moaned, and slowly slumped further down until they landed on their knees.

Gaping mouths, heavily lidded eyes, and parted thighs soon joined the signs of glassy eyes and distant moans. That they were invited to the chamber to be offered an opportunity was a memory that neither of their minds were in any state to consider. Instead, they were both all too ready to take in whatever the Icosian women offered them.

“Oh Mierinaleen! How cruel! To think that capitalism would lead to more replacements and destruction of culture in the pursuit of profit and expansion!” Dethelania rested a hand over her chest as if aghast. “Surely you would never encourage such a thing.”

“Why encourage it when she could do it herself?” Jelendaressia smirked, waggling her eyebrows before the three again burst into delighted cackling.

The two kneeling women, trapped on all sides by holographic projections they could no longer even imagine resisting, writhed and moaned. Out of sight, cleaning staff awaited their chance to clear the scuff marks from the grinding hips of the alien women, and scrubbing up the puddles of lust that stained the marble beneath them.