Escape from the Sanctuary

[lady_detective]

I slip through the door, push it shut and simply lean back against it for a few moments, eyes closed. "Next time," I mutter, "Simon can wear the nun disguise." It's not the first time I've masqueraded as a Druidic nun (purple and blue habit, hood, wide-brimmed flowered hat and, in this case, bare feet) for the sake of an investigation, but so

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[works_in_space]

Not too long after Emma's arrival, the door opens from a small white-on-white room, and closes with a scwhup. In its wake there is a starship captain.

"Emma!" He calls to her, quite happy to see her.

[lady_detective]

I look up, startled because I have been working under an alias for more than a week and therefore hearing my real name causes a bit of panic. After a moment I come to my senses, and then I am glad to see a familiar face.

Swallowing the bite of sandwich in my mouth and wiping my hands on a napkin, I get to my feet. "Captain! Come, sit down," I say, gesturing at the empty stool next to me.

[works_in_space]

Captain? He's going to have to work on getting her to call him Jim. But subtly. He knows she's big on being proper.

"It's been a while, Emma. Maybe a month? How's the universe been treating you?" Clearly he's glad to see her. Maybe more than realizes.

[lady_detective]

"Not so well for the past week and a half," I answer with an involuntary grimace. "I'm doing an undercover investigation in a convent, believe it or not. That's my excuse for the outfit," I say, plucking at the habit and lifting the ridiculous hat off the bartop for closer inspection. "Err, are there convents where you come from? Or nuns?"

[gravity_shifter]

Sikozu isn't generally one to notice what people in Milliways wear. In the near two cycles that she's been here, she's learned that clothing is as varied as the people who enter.

However, the bare feet are of mild interest.

"Shoes are not required for service," she offers from a nearby stool.

[lady_detective]

"What?" I find myself facing a redheaded young woman with bright blue-green eyes and what look like iridescent scales on her temples and neck. "Oh, that. Going barefoot isn't a habit for me." Just for certain bloody Druidic nuns.

[gravity_shifter]

Sikozu nods.

"It is an Earth saying, I believe. 'No shoes, no service.'" She tilts her head at Emma. "Did you lose yours?"

[lady_detective]

"Oh, Earth. I don't come from Earth." And neither does she, evidently. "I didn't lose my shoes, by the way. I came here from a convent in which one may not wear shoes indoors."