She sighed and started pulling her long black hair into a straight ponytail. The outfit might be ridiculous and humiliating but it did bring in the tips, so many that she had almost saved up enough money nearly six months ahead of time. And her boss paid her in straight creds, no taxes, no way to track her. Things were finally going her way.
The newscaster's voice snapped her out of her daydream.
“-Planetary government is urging citizens to remain calm after Clockwerx's Space Palace was destroyed yesterday. Furthermore, it appears that Almighty Overlord Clockwerx himself was slain in some sort of over-the-top duel, possibly involving his army of invulnerable Doombots, seen here in stock footage from last year's All Glory to Clockwerx day parade.” A brightly colored video of a column of Doombots walking in rank-and-file with cheery music playing in the background scrolled across the viewscreen in the corner. “Secretary General Vrim Greelox asserted in a press conference that despite a seven-minute loss of contact with the Orbital Defense Grid's AI yesterday it is now fully functional and capable of protecting the planet from any-”
The display shut off as Jenny held the remote in shock, her feelings in turmoil. One one hand, Clockwerx was a vicious tyrant who brought misery and suffering to the whole system, and the people here would have a better chance even in the chaos spawned from the power vacuum then they had yesterday. On the other hand, the whole reason she'd came to the Clockwerx Imperium was because of his policy of killing people like bounty hunters and pirates on sight. That policy also extended to humanitarian aid workers, refugees, and most domestic cat breeds, but she was in no condition to be picky.
“Bad. Very, very bad.” Jenny muttered to herself as she paced the room. The only protection she had now was her anonymity. “I have to run,” she thought. “I have to get away from here. They have to have tracked me to Bochco by now. And now the doors are open and the master's away, the rats have escaped and the cats are jumping over the, uhh. . . .” Her brain skipped a beat. “I'm in the second biggest city on this planet. They'll start at the spaceport and fan out from there as it's the biggest city. I have at least a week until they come here.”
A week. It would be close but it should be enough time for her to get all her money together and finally be able to get away from the Hunters and go somewhere they can never follow.
A week. It would be enough. It had to be.
She was shaking. Not good. She couldn't show up to work like this- “COMPUTER! WHAT TIME IS IT?” she asked, eyes wide.
“It is currently 09:41 Galactic Average time.”
She had to hurry or she was going to be late. She finished dressing and ran out the door, hoping her boss would let her eat between tables again.
Kelley's Place was a restaurant located in the downtown of Sikking City. It was a “retro” establishment, featuring actual human cooks and waiters, using robots only for cleaning duties. It was unique in the solar system due to this and had consequently gained a small but loyal following of regular customers and of people passing through wanting to experience the novelty of having living humans serve them. It was a surreal experience for most people, often causing them to try and touch the servers to reassure themselves it was real. For whatever reason, this often took the form of grabbing for the female servers' buttocks. Multiple times, even after they had confirmed their biological exclusivity.
Jenny deftly spun away from the customer's approaching hand, so used to the maneuver that she did not even pause in reading back the customer's order. The offending customer looked confused and returned his hand to his side. From somewhere behind her, another customer applauded.
“Sorry hon, I've come down with a bad case of Sirian Death-Clap, so unless you're in the mood for sticky buns-” The customer paled visibly as he protectively clutched his stomach. He pointed to something light and waved her away. Jenny flashed her sweetest smile as she transmitted the order to the kitchen and headed to the break room for a quick bite to eat.
Cole was in the break room, updating his list of rules that he called “Cole's Laws.” As much as she liked her boss that list made part of her wish for a torch-bearing revolution in the break room. He looked up and smiled as Jenny walked in.
“Jenny! How's my number one waitress today?” Cole's massive frame almost swallowed her up as he hugged her.
“Grmph erm mrmph.” Jenny replied. Cole released her. “Luna's armpits, Cole! I thought I told you to throw out that cheap cologne!”
Cole laughed. “Sorry, girlie, but I still have half a gallon left. I can't waste that much!” He grew serious. “And don't worry, I saw the guy at table three. I switched him over to an Autowaiter and added the tip to the bill. Take a break and eat your lunch. You look a little pale today.”
“Cole, you really don't need to-”
“I've told you before, girlie, my employees are my family. Now take a break. I need to go make sure Luigi's not sleeping in the walk-in freezer again.” Cole walked out of the room while waving over his shoulder. Jenny couldn't help but smile slightly. She turned to see what he had added to the rule list on the wall.
#82: No Autowaiter Duels During Business Hours. True, there had been some complaints.
#83: No Sleeping in the walk-in cooler. She shook her head. Luigi.
She grew dizzy.
#84: They are already on the planet Jenny. You need to hurry. Wait, what?
She blinked and shook her head. The dizziness abated and she looked again. The list stopped at number 83.
Another message. Another warning. Her time was growing short.
She turned and walked out of the room. There was no time to eat. She had tips to earn and overtime to request.
She wasn't going to die here.
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