Round 1, Day 1 - Mission Briefing

Aaron was nearly late to the morning meeting. He’d woken up far earlier than he’d intended, despite the extreme comfort of the bed. At first, he’d had to spend most of an hour mentally psyching himself up just to get out of bed and face the day, all the while berating himself for panicking about seeing people who, for the most part, he saw every day. Of course, Daisy was a major exception to that, and the whole scenario created a more loaded situation than a typical day at work. Instead, he was now in a situation where the fate of six women, and who knows how many more C2 planned to kidnap next, relied on him being a charming and friendly person who women would be attracted to.

“We’re doomed!” He’d groaned as he finally got out of bed and got himself cleaned and into a fresh T-shirt and jeans. C2 hadn’t said anything specific about requiring him to wear the suit, which he’d been provided several copies of. He also wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with the one he’d been given the night before. Apparently, it was supposed to be self-cleaning, but he’d always been careful never to wear the same clothes twice without washing them, in case there was a stain or odor he didn’t notice, and he saw no reason to change what he saw as a safe habit just because he was in space. Still, the suit's material felt like the sort of thing that, on Earth, would probably require a special cleaning process and notably lacked any familiar care tags. He’d set the suit aside, adding a reminder to his terminal to ask C2 whether there was a deep-cleaning process he could put the suit through or if it could simply be tossed in the laundry chute he’d found in the closet.

At that point, he’d looked at the time and realized he still had several hours till the meeting, so he’d moved to the workroom he’d been provided and spent several hours dumping everything he knew about the six women into a document. He did his best to remember their favorite foods, their hobbies, their dislikes, and what he knew about their histories. He also tried as hard as he could to remember any conflicts he’d had with them in the past, or that he knew they’d had with each other. He took a particularly long time recalling exactly what had happened with Daisy, making sure that he had the story right in his own mind in case anyone asked. The memories still caused him so much stress that, occasionally, he wondered if he had exaggerated them in his own recollection. He finished off each of the women’s profiles by pulling up their transformations on his terminal and transcribing them into the profiles he was creating for them. He was surprised to see that Jenna appeared to have picked up a new transformation, and figured she must have purchased it for herself.

That discovery led him to browse the BP store a little bit himself. In addition to the transformations he didn’t receive in the votes, which were all priced at 4000 BP, he also saw that there were several transformations he could buy for himself; there were generic ones that would increase his height or penis size or fix his vision and erase other small quirks that had long pestered him about his body. There were also more potent boons which ranged from the sexual (Such as one that would make his penis the perfect size for any woman) to the incredibly convenient (Including ones that would prevent him from ever gaining weight no matter what he ate) to what seemed like full on superpowers (Such as super speed and a version of the hard light change Jenna had been offered) but all but the most generic were so prohibitively expensive, he doubted he’d have a chance to buy any of them for several rounds at least.

He was, however, the first one to discover the shop’s second window, which contained various upgrades for the ship. At first, he’d thought that this might be the mechanism for improving the ship’s engines, reactor, weapons, or armor, but instead, he found that it was filled with facilities that could be added to the ship, mostly for entertainment purposes. Next to each one there was a short description, including the size of the feature, but some didn’t make sense. Several seemed far too large to fit on a ship the size he’d seen, and several seemed just ludicrous to have on a ship if that ship had any intention of combat. How would a water park even fit on a ship? And what would happen to it if the ship was attacked? Still, he noted that he had been issued a special credit for the purchase of one facility and started considering what he should get when he glanced at the time and realized that his desperate attempts to avoid showing his face in the crew quarters were on the verge of making him late. He made his way to the lift and asked it to bring him to the crew quarters.

When he arrived, he looked around the room, which, while sharing much of the same general design logic as his luxurious quarters, was clearly intended to be more spartan and to force the women into closer proximity to each other. Stepping off the lift, he spotted Serena and Jacqueline in the kitchen making omelets. Jacqueline was in her normal cooking gear, an oversized Seahawks jersey and jeans, while Serena was wearing a colorful concert tee from a band Aaron had never heard of and a pair of loose flannel pajama pants. She gave him a quick appraising glance, but didn’t say anything. Jenna was at the dining table, devouring a stack of soufflé pancakes in a sports bra and yoga pants, which led Aaron to wonder what Jacqueline had done to anger her daughter. Jenna gave him a big smile when he entered, her cheeks stuffed with pancake. Sarah was seated on the couch in the entertainment space, looking at something on her terminal, and Aaron had to look away quickly when he realized she was wearing a mesh-and-lace bodysuit along with a pair of matching thigh-highs. While the outfit technically covered more than she probably would at the pool, the strategic placement of mesh and lace teased enough that Aaron knew he shouldn’t be looking.

The whole situation felt, disconcertingly, normal. While the staging was different, this scene had played out dozens of times before on early-morning stocking days, before the shop opened and the staff prepared for the day. Normally, there would have been more people there. The restaurant crew would be eating their staff meals while discussing the specials, section assignments, and special party reservations. The game shop staff would be stocking the new shipments, picking out items from Aaron’s list to pack and ship to a customer, and then grabbing their own meals once they were done. The tradition had waned over the past few years, as the need to cut hours led to fewer people being asked to help with the morning shift on both sides, until Delia was often left to open the shop side by herself while Jacqueline and one or two of her people handled the restaurant. Aaron and the other game shop staff had volunteered to come help off the clock, but Delia had always refused. It had reached a point where Aaron usually did his item picking and several other small tasks off the clock later in the evening, when everyone went home, so that Delia had fewer tasks to start the day.

He had expected an interrogation, accusations, anger, and confusion from the women. What he saw instead were his coworkers, scared, but leaning into old patterns and finding comfort there. He hated that it made him feel more guilty than if they had screamed at him. Still, he had to wonder if there was something more at play that was keeping them all from descending into the panic that would have been a perfectly reasonable response. C2 had already clearly demonstrated that he had ways to influence their minds. Was he doing something to keep their emotions within an entertainingly dramatic range without being excessively reactive? It was something to keep in mind.

Jacqueline spotted him and called him over to the kitchen where she quickly plated an omelet for him. Aaron briefly looked at the omelet with suspicion before looking back up at Jacqueline, who sighed with good-natured frustration.

“It’s sausage, cheese, and some peppers. No mushrooms.” Aaron gave the green woman one final look, filling it with joking distrust, before accepting the omelet and heading over to the dining table. Her markings flared yellow with just the tiniest bit of pink as she let out a laugh.

“A little mushroom’s not going to kill you, you know.” She called after him.

“Unless it’s one of the literally hundreds that might.”

“I’m not picking them in the forest; they’re coming out of this food synthesizer thing. I’m pretty sure it won’t let me synthesize poisons. You should try one sometime. They’re delicious and very healthy.”

“I told you. I tried them when I was younger and several times since. I don’t hate the flavor; just the look and the texture of them freaks me out. And then I tried to get over that by learning more about them, and that just freaked me out more. Fungi are way too powerful for their own good. Like those zombie mushrooms.”

“Oh! The ones from Last of Us!” Serena chimed in. “Those were freaky. Definitely some of the grossest zombies I’ve ever seen.”

“Is this really good breakfast conversation?” Delia asked as she emerged from the adjoining room. She was in her younger form, back in her corset-and-spacesuit combo from the night before.

“Jenna, you were right; that sonic shower is a miracle for keeping your hair dry. I forgot how much of a pain it is to have it this long.” She was trying to wrangle her hair into a long braid and had difficulty until Jenna signaled her over and began helping.

While they worked, Jacqueline deposited an omelet in front of Delia, and she began eating. The kitchen duo prepared a few more, including one they put into a machine they’d discovered put the food in stasis so they could keep it warm, before coming into the dining area to sit and eat themselves. Seeing that food was ready, Sarah came and joined them. However, her face became both embarrassed and a little suspicious as she spotted Aaron. She had apparently been too engrossed in what she was looking at to notice his arrival or their discussion. She didn't make any effort to cover herself, but she sat slightly sideways on her seat so that her front wasn't displayed to Aaron too directly. Aaron, for his part, made every effort to look anywhere else.

They were all still eating when there was a tone, indicating five minutes until the meeting, and Daisy finally emerged from the other room. She appeared disheveled and was wearing the same suit she’d been wearing last night. The minute she entered the room, Aaron found his eyes naturally dropping to his own plate, having difficulty even looking up at the woman, but he felt her glare.

“It’s been a little loud this morning.” She commented before looking at the plates everyone had in front of them. “Did anyone think to come ask if I wanted anything?” She asked, her pink-tipped tail thrashing in agitation.

Jenna looked like she was about to spit acid, but Delia put a hand on her shoulder as Jacqueline stood up and retrieved the omelet she’d put into the stasis machine and placed it at an empty seat at the table.

“There’s also a whole machine that will make you literally anything you want in like five seconds, so no need to wait for us to cook you something.” Serena pointed out. Daisy ignored the comment, but started digging into the provided omelet.

“Thank you. This isn’t half bad.” She said to Jacqueline. Jenna was stunned by the cognitive dissonance of Daisy actually thanking someone, but the words had a different effect on Delia and Aaron, who felt their guards rise. Luckily, the tension ended when C2 emerged from the ceiling.

“Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our first full day of Harem Hotel: Intergalactic. This morning, we’ll have your first mission briefing, which will provide a general overview of your goals. While you each have been introduced to the mechanics of the individual competition, you also have a larger group mission to complete. Doing so will significantly improve your standing in the galaxy and make your lives much easier and safer in the future. Of course, if you decide to end the season before completing your full mission, there will likely be long-lasting consequences for you, but I can’t technically stop you. Just keep in mind that if you are able to end the game early, you will relinquish my protection and assistance and be forced to make your way in the galaxy by yourselves.”

Most of the table were giving him a look that said they would all prefer whatever consequences came from quitting the game early, but he ignored them and continued.

“Your mission will be divided into three overall phases, with different objectives each round. The first phase will focus on gathering your crew and reaching the Centroid, a cluster of systems near the galaxy's center that serves as its political and economic nexus. It is the seat of the Centroid Council, which is roughly equivalent to your UN, only for the whole galaxy.”

C2 turned to Jacqueline, his spherical body tipping slightly forward as though excited.

“Would you like to explain to the Master what you discovered about the identities of your missing crew members?”

Jacqueline, somewhat disturbed by the robot’s excited tone, explained how, based on the number of sleeping areas and the fact that Serena had been included instead of potentially more conflict-rich candidates like Evelyn, she had guessed that the rest of the Roost’s staff would likely make up the rest of the crew.

The women watched Aaron carefully as Jacqueline revealed what she’d deduced, watching the emotions war on his face. In particular, when Jacqueline mentioned Evelyn, they saw him become very sad for a moment before he returned to a face of shock and horror.

“Indeed. The other six members of the staff and former staff of the Raven’s Roost have already been collected. They are being held in stasis, but were lucky enough to catch the intro episode and will be getting highlight reels every round to keep them informed. Your mission now is to find them.”

A projector in the middle of the table whirred to life, and a hologram of an egg-shaped pod with a small window appeared floating over the table.

“Each round of the competition will be designated either as a Traversal round or a Retrieval round and will, generally, alternate. During a Traversal round, your job as a crew is to reach your destination on time, where you will find the pod in an easy-to-locate location. During a Retrieval round, you must search the destination using the means and hints I provide in order to locate where your missing crew member’s pod has been hidden. You will have till the end of the round to locate and collect the pod. Pods will only be opened after the round’s challenge, so that we don’t have to worry about new crew members experiencing stasis sickness in the middle of competition. If you fail to reach or locate the pod by the end of the round, the round will go into a special overtime.”

“If you’re the one setting the destinations and the time limit, doesn’t that mean it’s your fault if we’re late?” Sarah asked

“Not necessarily. As I informed the Captain during the challenge, your ship has been specially designed so that its maximum speed depends on the crew’s total VP. Luckily, you’ve managed to get into the positive; otherwise, you’d be going backward. So, the more you bond with the Captain, the more likely you are to reach your destination on time. Additionally, some sectors of space will require more active control of your vessel, so your skill at navigating such obstacles will also have an impact on your ability to reach your destination on time. I strongly suggest that some of you start working through the piloting courses available to you as quickly as possible.” Serena notably perked up at the mention of the piloting lessons.

“If you do end up pushing a round into overtime, there will be a penalty of 1 VP for every 2 hours past the deadline it takes to locate the pod for all active contestants. Additionally, once the deadline passes, the pod will activate a special beacon. While this will make the pod easier for you to find during Retrieval phases, it will also make it possible for other parties to locate it.”

Everyone at the table began to protest before C2 emitted a high-pitched, extremely grating tone, forcing everyone to stop talking as they covered their ears. Aaron seemed especially affected by the noise, slamming his hands over his ears and curling in his chair as his body instinctively tried to protect his ears, his face a grimace of pain. When the tone stopped, he looked around, embarrassed, before allowing himself to uncurl, his breathing suddenly rapid and distressed. As soon as Aaron was back to his normal posture in his chair, C2 continued.

“If you’ll allow me to continue. As I was about to say, I have no intention of allowing anyone else to take your crew members unless they are eliminated or you reach the game’s fail state. Only the Captain will be able to open the pods, and no one will be able to move the pods in such a way that will put them permanently out of reach. However, if another party reaches the pod first during overtime, they will have the option to negotiate the pod’s release or challenge the Master. Failing to abide by the terms reached during the negotiation or a failure to achieve victory in a challenge issued to the Master will result in the next Contestant Challenge being an Elimination Challenge, where the last place finisher will be immediately eliminated and replaced.”

“Why would anyone do that?” Serena asked.

“For reasons that I expect you will discover rapidly, the Master has a great deal to offer this galaxy, and there are a large number of factions that want something from him. These entities will most likely prefer to negotiate rather than issue a challenge. However, several groups will want to end your game altogether, and see having you all on the auction block as the best outcome for their purposes. Those groups are more likely to issue you a challenge in the hopes that they can get you closer to the game’s loss state.”

“How would they even know about us?” Aaron asked, his head still hurting from the tone that C2 had used.

“Oh, that’s easy. I told them. I issued a galaxy-wide announcement and informed the galaxy’s most powerful factions exactly what is and isn’t allowed. I have to protect my players after all.”

“Sounds like you just put a target on our backs and told everyone exactly how to fuck us over.” Serena pointed out.

“Po-tay-to, po-tah-to. Either way, I leave it up to all of you to handle whatever the galaxy throws at you. Your first round will officially begin at the end of this meeting and will be your first Retrieval round. The pod you will be looking for is somewhere on the Terminal Insigne station. The pod will be located somewhere generally accessible to the public, so it will not require trespassing or theft to locate. It will not require you to enter any areas that are generally unsafe. The first hint I will give you is that the pod in question has a small, harmless leak of stasis energy, which I will tune your portable scanners to detect. However, the type of energy it is leaking is also a critical component of many of the station’s facilities, so don’t be surprised if you come across false positives. I have arranged for your terminals to grant you access to most of the station; however, given your status, I make no guarantees about how welcoming or hospitable the station’s residents will be. If any of you have any errands you would like to run before we depart the station, I suggest you handle them. The teleporter platform will unlock, allowing you to explore the station at your leisure, as soon as this meeting is ended. However, for the duration of the first round, the Master is to be confined to the ship.”

“What? Seriously? A whole alien space station and I have to stay on the ship? Why?”

“For reasons that your crew members will rapidly discover, your presence at this stage will be counterproductive. Future transformations will provide you with additional protections, but until then, it would be beneficial for your crew if you remain on the ship. Don’t worry. You’ve got the rest of your lives to explore the galaxy, and I do not doubt that you’ll be able to visit the station again.”

Aaron drooped, looking utterly dejected.

“I thought you were supposed to be protecting us,” Jacqueline commented.

“The physical safety of the Master would not be at risk, but the effectiveness of the crew to achieve your goal would be. Believe it or not, this decision is intended to be helpful.”

No one looked like they fully believed that C2 had any intention of being helpful, especially Aaron, who looked like C2 had canceled Christmas.

“Oh, fine. I suppose it will help more with crew bonding if you’re out in the field than if you were just locked on the ship. I’ll tell you what. I’m going to put two transformation options in the store, just for you. If you purchase either one of them, I will allow you to go onto the station if you agree to use it. But since you didn’t make much BP betting on the first challenge, they’ll have to be penalty transformations.”

Aaron was exuberant. He almost didn’t care what the transformations were, if it meant that he got to explore such a unique destination. Both the traveler and the geek in him were jumping for joy.

“Two more matters of business, and then I will release you. First off, the Meta transformation chosen by the audience will mean that you will be encountering some of this galaxy's strange phenomena, all of which will attempt to cause you additional transformations. These transformations can potentially affect all crew members, including the Captain. As soon as the phenomenon has been identified, you will receive a notification on your terminals indicating the objective you must complete to remove the transformations. These objectives may be either group or individual. If it is a group objective, completing it will remove the transformation from all crew members, though an option will be provided to keep it if you find you enjoy it. If the objective is an individual one, each affected crew member must complete it for the transformation to be reversed. The deadline for all objectives will be the same as the deadline to find your crew member’s pod, so you’ll likely have to divide your efforts.”

He looked around, searching for any signs of confusion, but all he got were various balances of anger and focused attention from the assembled group.

“The last matter of business is this round’s date nights, which have been randomized. As a note, if you go into overtime, date nights will be assigned at the Master’s discretion. The order for the first round is the following.”

Jacqueline
Delia
Jenna
Sarah
Daisy
Serena
Challenge Day

“That is all for now. Another hint will be provided to the pod’s location tomorrow. Morning briefings will continue on this schedule unless another factor interferes. Everyone must be present at this table every morning, even if that means I have to teleport you out of the depths of space. In the meantime, if you all have any questions or would like to speak with me, your terminals will allow you to message me or call me. I make no guarantees, but I will try to respond if I am able.” And, with that, he floated back through the ceiling as if it wasn’t present.

The minute C2 was gone, Daisy stood up from the table and headed back towards the sleeping area.

“I’m going to get myself cleaned up and then get out of this dump,” she called, not waiting for a response.

Jenna turned to Delia.

“Would you want to go shopping with me? I want to see if there are any cool alien clothes that I can get that will fit my clothing restrictions before I decide if I want to pay for the upgrade that relaxes it, and I’m guessing you probably want to stock up on corsets and stuff to go with them.”

Delia clearly intended to agree, but Sarah interjected.

“Any chance you two could wait on that so I can join you? Just till later today? Serena and I need to look through the upgrades to see if we can fix some of the issues with our transformations, but I really want to see what they have that I can wear, and I’d feel better not wandering around alone.”

“Of course. I don’t think we’re in a hurry.” Delia looked to Jacqueline and Serena. “You two are obviously welcome to join us if you’d like.”

“Sorry, I’m going to pass,” Serena said.

“Me too. I’m guessing I won’t be able to avoid it forever, but for now, I’m just going to stick with the clothes I’ve got.” Jacqueline said.

“While we’re waiting for Sarah, any chance we could get a tour of the Captain’s Quarters?” Jenna asked, batting her eyes at Aaron.

At first, Aaron recoiled from the idea. He had always hated having other people in his space. But he quickly realized that it was just a matter of time until they were all spending the night there anyway. And if everything went as C2 had planned, they would eventually move in.

“Sure, I’d be happy to,” he said, with a tone that only barely hid that he’d be anything but happy to do so.

Jacqueline considered for a moment before speaking up. She knew that her daughter was still frustrated with her and didn’t want to aggravate the issue further.

“Actually, I think I’m going to go do some exploring. Our terminals let us message each other, though, so I’ll be sure to tell you all what I find.”

With everyone’s plans for the day resolved, they all split up, taking their plates and leftovers to a machine that had been identified as a “Matter Reclaimer.” Delia collected Daisy’s abandoned plate while handling her own.