Joah Maroon 1

Two eateries that were much like the cafeteria style of an Ikea store.  And no alcoholic beverages whatsoever.  Liquor and such were banned by the Maedas.  Bringing any illegal drink or drugs aboard was a crime that could get you sent to a planet-based prison or executed depending on the volume.
It just so happened that Plith Sunderin intended for us to deliver such contraband here regularly.  That was what made this run so lucrative, which in turn dramatically increased our cut.  For our virgin voyage, however, we stuck with only safe cargo.  But during this visit I needed to make contact with a buyer for the next run.  That had to be done in person, of course.  And in the shadows, so to speak.
I approved the deal offered for our legal goods without a second glance.  The delivery wasn't under contract per se, yet it was standard pricing.  Instead of companies competing against each other, all cargo was sold to the government.  The authorities would then sort what was needed on station and what could be sold to visitors from other parts of the galaxy.  That is what made contraband so tricky.
Any illegal goods unloaded here would go to a warehouse section run by the government.  Our shady contact would need to extract it from there before it was discovered.  Failure to do so would implicate the vessel that delivered the taboo cargo.  In most cases the ship would already be gone, but their crime would not be forgotten.  All future visits after unloading illegal goods here would have the risk of facing punishment for the previous wrongdoing.  Then scrutinizing our incoming cargo could double the volume of contraband and put our lives at risk.
It was no wonder that I was offered the job as captain.  I may not have been the first choice even.  Everyone else would turn it down, just like they did the opportunity to join my crew.
Androids were not permitted on Andromedas.  That was another strict rule.  However, Portia could control both loader units remotely from inside the Terran Capsule.  Those devices were bulky tank-tread mechs with huge clamper arms to move the two-meter cubes that all our cargo was shipped in.  Her process held my interest as I awaited a clear path to exit the ship.
Our female shaped AIRE unit used one loader to unload four crates onto the dock from the elevator.  It would then ride the lift back down to the lower level of our ship to find four more stacked in the go-between section and ready for the next ride up.  When the last cube was placed in the holding area, the second unit took over loading the lift as the first one waited above.  The procedure was extremely efficient and made to appear effortless.
Once the loaders were returned to their charging ports in the cargo bay, I made my way up to the dock.  There wasn't much activity.  Just one other ship busy loading cargo as it arrived.  The high ceiling made the place seem much bigger than it was.  This species preferred their port level twice as high as humans did.  Above us were more than a dozen levels where the Maedas went about their daily business.  The sloped ceiling gave the bottom three floors a balcony view of the dock scene.
We were on the outermost section of the spinning station.  The centrifugal force supplied an artificial gravity that was at least twenty percent higher than Earth's, and even more versus space standard for humans.  Our ship was able to adjust to compensate after we latched on and joined the rotation.  But I could feel the difference as soon as I exited our craft.  For me it was like carrying a fifty-pound squat bar on my shoulders.  That would be roughly twenty-three kilograms these days.  When it came to workouts I tended to still think in the old format.
I headed for the closest restaurant which did not have a sign that I could read.  Just a square within a square with a few wiggly lines followed by a triangle inside a circle.  Then a dot, a dash, and another squiggly.  That matched the description that I had been given for meeting my contact.  I fought off the temptation to check the second eatery to see if the sign was identical.  Perhaps the word posted in Maedas simply meant restaurant.
Inside the structure was five extremely long counters and no chairs.  More than twenty people were gathered to the far left.  Probably the crew of a single ship.  Others were scattered throughout the rest of the dining area which was the entire room.  No bar or kitchen.  The next level above us, which was still in the dock section, is where the Maedas did all their food and drink prep.  I had been told that the air composition on all the levels where we weren't permitted was adjusted for the local aliens.  Actually, it was vice-versa.  They were graciously providing easily breathable air for us.  In reality the content was halfway between our preference and theirs, both oxygen rich.
I ordered from a touch screen in the long cafeteria style table and waited only a couple minutes for my food and drink to arrive.  I decided to eat slow to allow time for my Maedas contact person to find me.  If no one showed by the time that I was done eating, I'd try the second restaurant.  As a newcomer to this station there was no need to act nonchalant, but I tried anyway.
The bread of my sandwich was exceptionally soft, like marshmallow.  Between the two thick slices were four strips of a moist green thing.  Meat?  Maybe.  Vegetable?  Just as likely.  It was something from their planet that didn't exist anywhere else in the universe.  And the selection was rated the highest on the menu by human visitors.  That's why I chose it.  The strange looking food was surprisingly delicious.