Void Office

By Avery Dance

Infiltrator Ms. Gwena moved across the galaxy to the space station called Pillar, the first place where humans and xenos live together in relative peace. Because of her criminal past, she cannot get a high-paying job while she waits to recover from her full body gender transformative surgery. While she waits for her surgical wounds to heal, she saves money by working for a species she hates. She's offered a high-paying job by a shady human and her decision to take the job leads her down a long and painful path.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Avery Dance
• Release date: Oct 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201995850

Avery Dance

I hate the about author page where they don’t tell you about the author; they tell you what the author did: four years of college, wrote two best-selling novels, has a family. That really doesn’t tell you WHO they are. Only that they lived and did stuff. Anyhow, this is me in all my idiosyncrasies. I created the pen name Ms. Dance to stream on Twitch. I began with dancing in VRChat, a VR social application. Over time, I branched out into other mediums, such as YouTube and writing. Publishing a novel is something I’ve wanted to do since sixth grade, but never had the patience to sit through the editing process. With the support of my community of friends and viewers, I kicked my butt into gear and set the goal of releasing a novel. I wanted to publish this novel for either dirt cheap or free. I’d rather have people read my work, then make money from my work. There are no plans to write another novel, so if you’re looking for a sequel or additional novels from me, I’m sorry. If you’re interested in video game, YouTube videos, or Twitch streams, then find my other content. I think it would be a fun challenge for you to find my other social media without me directly pointing you to it. If you came from my social media to this novel, welcome! Thank you for making it to the end of my novel. If you read this first, why? It’s an interesting way to read a novel by reading about the person who wrote the book before reading the book. I usually know nothing about the author I’m reading unless I fall in love with the book and want to see more of their work. Congratulations on getting it this far. I hope you had a fun time. Have an exceptional life. - Avery Dance

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

It wasn’t illegal to schedule an interview with an employment agency. At least, that’s what I told myself, to relieve the guilt of hacking into their office to bypass the four-week processing window. Besides, I was applying for a job as a software engineer, and it would look great on my resume. Well, that’s how I’d spin it if they caught me.

I sat on a matte gray metal bench that matched the hallway’s utilitarian gray brushed design. A handless sliding door stood across from me. The glare from a screen interface implanted into the wall next to the door made me squint. Heavy footfall echoed down the metal tube of a hallway. I studied my nails as two men in blue security uniforms walked past me.

Placing a hand against my bracelet, I swiped against its touch-activated sensors and opened my console. Semi-translucent windows popped up in my vision as my optical contact lenses powered on. Navigating the windows by gesturing against the console bracelet, I activate my sniffer device that hid in a knock-off designer handbag.

Several networks sent data to the station’s wireless ISP relay. I searched for the network labeled Pillar’s Human Employment Agency. Once found, I sent disruption packets, using my sniffer as the new wireless relay for the agency. After executing the man-in-the-middle attack, I scrolled through net traffic, searching for the front desk assistant.

Found him.

Copying his message authentication token, I sent an appointment invite to the next social worker on my list. I closed everything up and put on my black heels. Standing was a mistake. The tight black pencil skirt combined with the god-forsaken heels helped me trip and slam against the wall. I righted myself and walked to the employment agency’s door.

I waved my hand in front of the door’s interface and the hydraulics hissed as the door slid open. The office was a nightmare of sharp angles, uncomfortable chairs, and frosted glass cubicles. At the entrance of the room sat a clean-shaven man wearing a pastel button-up shirt with the first two buttons undone, black hair swept to the side. His muddy blue eyes looked up at me as I entered. Good morning Ms. Gwena. His smile reminded me of a programmer after an eighty-hour workweek.

Good morning Lewis. I stepped over the lip of the door, focusing on keeping my ankles straight.

When I arrived at his desk, he continued our ritual. You have another appointment?

I’m here to see Ms. Valentine. I leaned hard against the desk to relieve my feet and give Lewis something to distract him from asking too many questions.

Alright, let me check our system. I leaned over to watch him pull up the appointment application on his terminal.

You won’t find it there. I pointed to another program on his desktop. The messaging system should have sent out a notification to Ms. Valentine already. It’s a bug in the software that the supervisor knows about but isn’t willing to spend the money to fix it. I gave him a smile with too many teeth.

You know more about the software than I do. He closed the application and opened the messaging software, looking through his history. Says here you’re scheduled to meet with her a couple of minutes ago. He stood and walked around the desk, escorting me further into the office, passing the cubicles with social workers in the mix of eating, working, or scrolling through social media feeds.

Lewis walked back to his desk when we got to her cubicle. Ms. Valentine. I knocked softly on the wall of her cubicle. A burly woman with hair to her waist swiveled in a chair that croaked in protest.

I just got the message. Her voice was gravelly as she gestured to a chair in the corner of the four meters squared cubicle. The drab decoration-free workspace and LED lighting gave off a queasy vibe.

I chewed on the idea of standing, as I was afraid of touching my knees with this woman. But the pain in my feet outweighed the pain of physical contact. Thank you.

I barely pulled up your file. It looks like you’re looking for a job.

I raised my eyebrows and wanted to hand her a sign describing her intelligence. Yes, that would be wonderful.

She swiveled in her chair and I flinched backward, afraid of impact. Let’s see. She scrolled through my record for a couple of minutes in blissful silence. Got it. She turned around. I choked on a dry heave as her knees brushed mine. It doesn’t seem like we have anything for you.

Yes, you do! I paused. That was abrasive. I focused on my breathing and continued it in a subdued tone. What I mean to say is there is an opening for a software engineer at the relay station.

I’m sorry, but there are no jobs for you.

I checked the job database myself and there is a job. They posted one today! My voice raised and my chest burned.

She folded her hands in her lap and looked at me through her brow. Look, you have a criminal record. No one is going to hire you to do any job that deals with non-menial tasks. You’re lucky you even have the job you have now.

Yeah, but the relay station isn’t even part of Pillar.

Pillar has jurisdiction over this space. Her brow furrowed. Our records say you’ve been in here every week for the past month. You won’t get hired under any Pillar-controlled space. She took a breath, blinking hard. Look, save up your money now so you can afford a trip out of here. She glanced at my records. You have an impressive resume. I’m sure you would be more than excellent at any technology-focused career you put your hands on. But if we allow you to get a non-menial job in Pillar-controlled space, not only would that be illegal, but it would also open up Pandora’s Box related to other criminals on Pillar.

A private business owner hired me, aren’t there any more private business owners looking to hire from Pillar’s Employment agencies?

You’re in our system; we’ll contact you when that happens. She reached out to place her sausage hand on my knees. My eye twitched. To be frank, you will not get a better position than the one you have now. Not unless you find someone willing to give you a job.

My burning heart deflated into a stinging pain. I looked at my ankles and the stupid heels; playing with the hem of my skirt. I just thought that if it wasn’t on Pillar itself. I trailed off and stood. Not meeting her gaze as I walked away.

I felt a warm hand touch my arm as I turned to leave. Flinching, I looked back at the woman. I’m sorry. She let go, and I left. My walk of shame accented with shaky ankles.

I sat on the bench outside of the office, slipped off my heels, screamed, and threw them down the hallway.

Ms. Gwena. I looked up to see Lewis poking his head out the door. Are you doing alright?

Yeah, I’m fine. The taste of salt flowed into my mouth. I wiped my eyes and my hand came back greased with black. Stupid makeup.

Lewis walked over to me and crouched to eye level. Hey there. He reached out halfway to touch my knee but decided correctly and pulled his hand back. No luck?

Sniffling, I closed my eyes, wishing for this embarrassing conversation to vanish. I’m sorry for screaming. I slung my handbag over my shoulder, stood, and walked around Lewis to pick up my heels. They were expensive, maybe I could still return them. I put them in my bag and hesitated. Should I sit and put on my sneakers or walk away from Lewis and the office of broken dreams? The cold against my feet decided for me. I sat and pulled out my socks and sneakers. When I stood, Lewis stood with me.

Do you know the park?

His outbreak of friendliness and odd question made me wobble and spin to face him. I took a beat to gather myself before answering. I’m sorry but I’m not into men. I couldn’t even give a polite smile before turning to walk away. Better to leave no room for misinterpretation. I hated it when ladies didn’t give me a straight answer.

Oh no, it’s not that. He huffed a chuckle at his poor excuse to save his pride. I wanted to offer you a job. That stopped me. I’m looking for someone with your skills and I believe you are the best person for the job.

I’m listening.

He walked into whispering distance. Meet me tomorrow at the park during your lunch break. I opened my mouth to ask what this was about, but he walked back into the office and away from the conversation. What kind of job would he want me to do? Is it something illegal? I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.

The image of Ms. Valentine’s terminal crossed my mind. Should I spend the time to erase my criminal record? No, too many people knew about my past. So deleting the record would look even more suspicious than leaving it there. I’m also sure Pillar has redundant data centers across galactic space. That would be too large of a job with just my current resources. I blinked and felt my eyelashes stick. I needed to clean myself up.

Walking to the nearest public restroom, I changed out of my prison skirt and into some unrestrictive slacks. While removing my makeup, I read my planner. There was a work meeting in half an hour, my last doctor’s appointment after work, and a movie night with my friends in VR close after that.

I exited the restroom and took the long walk through the oxygen markets series of tunnels and elevators. I wished there were more windows aboard Pillar so I could look out into space while I walked across the station.

I entered my office. The chilly tin can hallways gave way to a warm wood-paneled interior with tan linoleum patterned flooring. Fake plants adorned the walls and corners of the room. One wooden desk lay center with two cozy blue woolen upholstered chairs and a black pleather chair on the other side. There was an ancient terminal laying sideways on the desk with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Several translated motivational posters hung around the office. My personal favorites were, home is where the dead buy young and death is to prepare. Buy low and save your children money. I wasn’t sure what our human clients thought of the strange posters. In the end, they wouldn’t be alive long enough for it to matter.

I set my stuff on the desk and admired my handiwork. For months I had picked at the desk’s laminated vinyl, exposing the cheap particle board underneath. I opened a drawer revealing several containers of wet wipes.

The office’s back door hissed. I swiveled in my chair to look at the two-meter-tall bipedal bird. Bright blue, green, and yellow feathers covered its body. A rainbow-colored woolen poncho draped over its body and hid its thin scaly legs. A large beak protruded from its head with two soulless, beady, black eyes.

It squawked at me. I reached behind my ear and clicked on the translator. Ms. Gwena, how did the job hunt go? The hollow mechanical voice spoke in my ear.

It went swimmingly. I pulled the wipes out of the drawer and replaced them with my bag.

The bird cocked its head to the side. Idioms must wreak havoc on the translators. It closed the office door and walked over to me, stooping to my level. I know the past few months have been hard, but I value you as an employee. You’ve helped me tremendously, and it will be sad to see you leave.

I didn’t get a new job. I picked at the desk.

I saw the talons coming and swiveled out of the way. It pulled back. I’m sorry to hear that. They are missing out on a wonderful employee. It looked at a motivational poster and back at me. You’ve helped many people here. My stomach turned when it said the word people. I hope that you’ll consider coming to church with me this weekend.

I turned my attention from the desk to its black, soulless eyes. Religion isn’t for me. How many times do I have to tell you no?

You need to find your life’s purpose. If you need someone to talk to, I’m here for you.

I clamped on my tongue, willing myself not to vomit or scream. Thanks.

It stood and walked to its office. By the way, I put wipes in your drawer. You’ll be meeting with a Chilorian mother today. The door hissed. I slammed my head on the desk, waiting for my inevitable demise.

I didn’t have to wait long before death arrived. The office door opened and a three-meter centipede scuttled its way into the office, leaving behind a streak of yellow fluid. Leaking translucent yellow egg sacks covered its back. The odor of decaying meat wafted my way, and I used the gag reflex to stand up and greet our visitor. Thank you for coming. I’ll move these out of the way. I pushed two chairs aside. Using my smile to breathe through my teeth, I couldn’t decide which was worse, the aroma or the flavor. What can I help you with today? I took my seat.

The centipede hissed, and its hand-sized mandibles clacked and forearm length legs gyrated in a wave down the upper section of its body. A moment afterward, the hollow mechanical translator sounded. Thank you for meeting with me on brief notice. It will be my birthing soon and I want to set everything in order. It tilted its head sideways, letting a dozen black eyes look at its birthing sacks. The light glinted off a few of its eyes and sent a rainbow of light scattering against the wall.

Of course. We are more than capable of dealing with your needs. Do you want full coverage or partial? I opened up our business software on the ancient hardware.

Partial, I have someone who will take ownership of my kin.

Name and identification of the Kin Keeper?

Kikklesh, Identity 981621984.

Do you need a clean-up crew?

Yes.

Do you want fertilization or burial rights?

Burial.

Cremation or Home Shipment?

Cremation.

Do you want us to transport the urn or have it available for pickup?

Transportation.

Location?

Chilorian habitat section 9 room 20848.

Do you want any of our specialty packages?

That will be all.

We have you in our system. Our clean-up crew will be in contact. Do you have questions?

No. The centipede skittered across the floor and out into the hallway.

You’re welcome, I said while the door closed. Thank you for being in so much pain we didn’t have to talk long. Chilorians stank, but at least they weren’t belligerent, pushing their religion on you whenever they got the chance.

Sticky slime covered my palms as I used the desk to stand. I shivered and used the wet wipes to sanitize my ooze-covered desk. I walked to a panel mounted on a wall and tapped a button. The wall opened and a cleaning bot went to town on the floor. I waited for it to finish before heading to the bird’s office. Hey boss, the report is in the queue.

I startled it awake. Thank you, Ms. Gwena.

Are there any other appointments today? I have a doctor’s appointment I need to get to.

That’s it for today, but you have a few more tomorrow. Have a good night Ms. Gwena.

You too. I turned to leave.

She. I turned back to apologize for calling the centipede an it, but the boss had fallen asleep. I left to go to my doctor’s appointment.

###

Hey there Ms. Gwena, how are you today? A young petite lady with auburn hair tied into pigtails spoke. She looked out of place compared to the older people working behind the desk. Like a cheerleader pretending to be a medical professional.

The sterile pearl-colored human hospital lounge had none of the stenches that came with Xeno cohabitation. I took a breath of non-Xeno air and smiled. Much better now. The cheerleader nurse smiled and handed me a tablet to check myself in.

She should be with you soon.

I sat in my usual spot with a line of sight to the front door and the patient’s rooms. I swept my eyes over a semicircular domed camera embedded in the ceiling. Its glossy black glass covered the camera’s direction. Pillar had a lot of security. If someone breached the hull of the station, it could lead to thousands of people dying. But that didn’t make it any less creepy. That being said, why hadn’t anyone breached the hull of Pillar? Dozens of species lived under one roof. Several of them had warring factions fighting on the front lines. It’s as if they brainwash everyone into playing nice. Or Pillar council members are superb at covering up incidents to not let people get the wrong idea. Maybe I should look into that later.

Ms. Gwena, the cheerleader broke me out of my trance.

I stood to attention, twitched, and relaxed. I followed the cheerleader to a room with medical measuring equipment.

Stand here. She pointed to a scale. Her voice went from cheerful to clinical as I followed her instructions. "61.2 Kilos. No signs of