It was a dress. McAfree couldn't believe how she ever imagined it would be anything but a dress.

McAfree stood in the bedroom she had been taken to, arms crossed. Everything in the room was lavish but really old and so fragile looking McAfree felt like if she touched anything it would crumble.

There was a hook on the door from which hung the light purple dress she was expected to be changing in to. There was a bunch of other stuff that came with the dress and McAfree had no idea what to do with half of it.

It seemed like every time she did anything with Lieutenant-Commander Mitzner she ended up in a life-or-death situation where she was forced to wear a dress.

McAfree took off her bloody clothes and put on as much of the fluffy dress components as she recognized. Then she slipped the dress on over-top.

She checked herself in the mirror. Naturally she looked ridiculous.

McAfree was finished dressing but wasn't quite willing to leave the privacy of the bedroom just yet. She was going to need some psyching up. She continued to stare at the mirror.

McAfree decided she would focus on the Emperor's good qualities for a while in the hopes that it would make him seem less disgusting. She immediately became stuck on listing his good qualities.

He was the same age as her, she finally came up with. That was actually probably why he was so completely infatuated with her, or at least the idea of her he had in his head: she was the first breeding-age woman he's probably seen in his entire life. That was gross. So it looked like she was back to the drawing board vis-a-vis good qualities.

The Emperor was eloquent. The things he chose to say were universally asinine but the command of the language he had when she spoke was undeniable. It was actually extremely annoying how well spoken he was given his general stupidity. He made High Martian sound distasteful.

He did feed her a really nice dinner. Omitting all other factors if another man had taken her on a date and bought her a dinner like that she would have certainly given him a chance. The Emperor had of course gone on to blow about eight chances worth of chances. This was the best one so far.

Trying to think of the Emperor's good qualities was a fool's errand. You can't get blood from a stone. This assignment wouldn't require sincerity, it would require acting.

McAfree was struck with a sudden bolt of inspiration. It was perfect. She would pretend he was someone else. He was a intelligent, interesting man with whom she was playing a game. A contest. They were both merely pretending to be the two worst people in the galaxy to see who could out-horrible the other. McAfree would take everything the Emperor said from this point forward as satire.

This could work. If anything else it was better than all her previous merely-okay ideas.

McAfree turned the knob of the door, half-worried it would snap off, and walked out into the hallway.

* * *

McAfree was ushered to another of the palace buildings by a cadre of guards. They brought her to a parlor where the Emperor had chilled wine, and the two spend over an hour chatting.

"Without a permanent underclass who do all of the onerous work on threat of starvation, no true wealth can exist," said McAfree, smiling.

It was her first genuine smile of the evening. She was drunk and starting to believe her own lies about this being a game. She wondered what horrible thing the Emperor would say to one-up that.

"Yes!" agreed the Emperor "Oh fair Yoshiko I feel a connection to you in my soul! So few understand that the basis of wealth is power over other men. Look at me! My imperial line has taken refuge from our enemies in the far end of the galaxy, disconnected from any possible trade with the outside world, and I am still enormously wealthy! How is that? The men and women on this moon are bound to me. They will do anything I tell them. That is wealth. That is power!"

He was too good at this topic, McAfree decided. She would have to change subjects.

"I would literally murder an entire family for another glass of wine," she said.

The Emperor smiled and leaned closer.

"I could arrange either for you."

Damn he's good at this game. There's just no winning with this guy.

"I suppose I'll have to go with the wine," said McAfree "I'm a little tipsy for murder this late at night."

"All things in their time," said the Emperor, taking another bottle from a decorative cabinet and popping the cork.