Said the spider to the fly...

Who: Cassandra
Where: Fourth Base
When: Before the Zograth started running amok (and a bit after that)
Amidst billowing clouds of venting steam and the strobing blink of hazard warning lights, the shuttle doors hissed open and Cass slunk nervously out of the Starbug into the main Fourth Base hangar
It hadn't been too difficult to sneak onto the Starbug and make her way down into the hold while Harris and the others had bickered amongst themselves about who was going to fly the 'bug over to Fourth Base; but once the others had disembarked ahead of her and left her safely alone to contemplate what it was that she was actually getting into, Cass had found herself beginning to feel the hatefully familiar feelings of self doubt clouding her mind
Everything had seemed so easy and plausible during the time she had spent closeted away over the past couple of weeks; things had seemed simpler in the quiet seclusion away from the humdrum spitefulness of day to day human contact with only her cold, beautifully intricate code for company
But now that she was actually here, the usual feelings of self doubt were beginning to emerge; perhaps it would be better if...?
"Gah! What the smeg am I even thinking!?" Cass spat in frustration
This wasn't right.
Cursing under her breath, she moved across the hangar towards immigration control.
There was no way she should be thinking like this and considering backing out at this stage of the game; the Fallen Madonna was simply too great an opportunity of a new start at life for her pathetic insecurities to get the better of her again; and if needs be, since it was looking like she hadn't managed to root all her confidence issues out, she could always sneak back into the science labs and re-edit her personality again after she had gone through with this; but in the meantime, there was no other option: She just had to do this!
Letting a ragged sigh out, she tightened her grip on her shoulder bag and marched as purposefully as she could towards immigration
Taking the humanoid female channel, Cass quickly weaved her way through the empty cordoned waiting area, making her way towards the immigration control desk where two burly, overweight women were lounging in chairs, one salaciously leafing through a stained, and well-thumbed copy of Playbeing, the other snoring gently with her feet up on the desk.
Cass loitered unnoticed in front of the desk for a second or two, and unsure of what to do, elected to simply clear her throat, startling the women with the magazine into looking guiltily up, and quickly jamming the magazine out of sight under the desk
"Welcome to Fourth Base" the woman smiled ingratiatingly as she slapped the other woman's feet off the desk, jerking her awake
"Huh? Vas?"
"Wake up Sniff! There's someone here - a woman!"
"Mein Gott" Sniff sat up rubbing her eyes "Zis must be vot? Ze serd vun today?"
"Yeah" the other woman breathed "Third time lucky..."
"I'm sorry...?" Cass asked
"We don't get so many women visiting Fourth Base" the woman continued in explanation "Unless of course, their tastes run to the slightly more ...exotic"
She paused, looking Cass up and down, her lips parting involuntarily letting the tip of her tongue dart out, moistening her lips
"What do you think Ms. Sniff? How exotic do you think this one's tastes are?"
"I dunt know. Verr hard to say... sie looks like sie could vell be a bit of a, how you say? Goer?"
Cass tried not to cringe at the unpleasant sensation of her skin crawling
"Um. Any chance you could just grant me my visitors pass and let me in?" she looked hopefully between the two women
"Nein!" Ms. Sniff snapped "Zere are regulations unt procedures to follow. You must be certified disease unt contaminant free before you vill be allowed to get to Fourth Base. Isn't zat right Ms. Scratch?"
Cass snorted
"You're kidding right? Scratch and Sniff? On the immigration and disease screening desk?"
"I'm not sure vot it iz zat you find so funny, mizz..." Sniff retorted bristling
"I... No..." Cass struggled stifle a giggle
"Oh, I don't know about you Sniff, but I'm feeling an exhaustive battery of disease tests will be appropriate in this case" Scratch rumbled, heaving herself to her feet to leer at Cass "With a full and very thorough internal!"
"Save your breath" Cass smirked, fishing in her bag to pull her 'exotic dancer' union card out "I'm a Flesh & Sleaze Industries member; you wouldn't want the union down on your ass for harassing its members, would you? You really don't want disagreement with the union and the Fourth Base management, do you?"
"Gah. Damnit" Scratch was near apoplectic "You... You're just another one of those cheap harlots aren't you? Fine! Here's your smegging visitors pass!"
The woman swiped a pass card through the card reader in front of her and tossed it at Cass
"Enjoy your smegging stay"
"Thanks" Cass smiled, scooping up the card "I will"
She turned and ambled through immigration out into the bright lights of Fourth Base
"Mmm. Such sweet meat" Scratch murmured, watching Cass' retreating back "Such a pity"
"Ja. Nothing spoils ze taste of schnitzel like unrequited luff" Sniff replied sagely "You got ze hots for zat one, fur sure."
Once inside Fourth Base, Cass pulled her handheld out and called up the public schematics from the local net
First stop the flesh pits for a couple of things, and then onto the Hilton
Several hours later after a frankly hairy time in the Flesh Pits, dodging strange monkeys with throbbing brains sloshing around in glass domes on top of their heads, Cass had concluded her business there and was safely ensconced in the Hilton's Paris suite. Strains of Glass's Etudes for Piano were playing over the sound system, and an array of fine entrees laid out with a bottle of Chateau Haut Brion opened, decanted, and breathing nicely in the parlour rooms
Frowning in irritation at whatever smeghead had decided it would be nice to crank the Jacuzzi up and scatter rose petals everywhere for the visiting Royal, Cass wiped the mist off the mirror with a cloth and checked her appearance for what must have been the twentieth time in the last half hour.
All fine, just like last time
She was starting to get jittery again
Where the smeg was Seymour? Did he get the message? Was he coming? Was...
Her handheld, logged into the suites network, chimed discretely to announce the arrival of a visitor, making her heart hammer wildly; it was no good, she was really going to have to go back and give her personality another serious re-edit when this was done
She frowned critically at herself in the mirror one last time, straightened her suit and picked up the handheld, before taking a deep breath; she walked out of the bathroom to greet Seymour
"Mr. Niples" she called across the expanse of the suites main reception room as she moved towards Seymour "I've been expecting you. I'm Regina Butcombe her Royal Highness's new major-domo; will you walk into my parlour?"
<tag Seymour>