The uptown area of the city is a grand mass of towering habitats and mexaplexes housing countless souls and millions of shops.  Whole districts are dedicated to some form of commerce or another - casinos, restaurants, adult entertainment, clothes, tech, pets, vehicles and so on - with all of the higher-class establishments being right up the top of the towers.  The lower down one goes the lower the establishment with the middle-class shops only getting grimy half-light through most of the day and the cheapest places in perpetual shadow from their gargantuan neighbours.  The brilliant glare of neon-bright holovid ads and banners light the whole scene with a garish blaze as shops try to out-do each other, peacocking for shoppers' attention.

Across the air zoom airspeeders, both private and public transports, locked to their automated destination flightpaths.  Like many major urbanised worlds drivers don't have to do much driving until they need to get on or off the flightpaths at unexpected junctures.  The net effect is that while the whole scene looks unbearably crowded the traffic continues to flow at a very tolerable rate.  Landing platforms are generously wide and many have a security guard or two loitering around as people disembark.

There's no lack of options no matter what the distinguished (or even not so distinguished) shopper is looking for.  A few of the more wealthy tourists even hire small landspeeders with drivers to chauffeur them to whichever shop they want to go to.

In reply to Master Raiwaw (msg # 1):

Janine let Vyn choose the salon and set up the appointments, after checking to make sure she had enough money to cover everything.  She found a taxi to take them there and let Vyn tell the driver where to go.

Heigren knew exactly where he was heading, already having looked up the best spas on his datapad back at the hotel.  The journey there was neither direct nor fast as the Zeltron seemed to be distracted constantly by various sights, sounds and attractions.  He approached many commonplace attractions like it was the first time he'd ever been there.

Finally reaching the spa, he flashed the person at the front desk his best  smile and said.

I'm here to make sure this lovely lady has such a relaxing time she feels like she's floating on repulsorlifts.  I want the full relaxation treatment for both of us and credits are no object.

Heigren will refuse any attempts by Sheila to pay for anything.  This day was his treat.

The spa in question isn't right at the top of the tallest building but it is the uppermost floor of a tower nearby, offering excellent views of the surrounding urban vista.  The rich opulence of the place is immediately obvious in the holographic art on display in the waiting rooms, the high-class furnishings and the perfectly manicured and body-sculpted attendants.  The few clients - mostly businessfolk - there look very wealthy indeed and more than one is greeted by name as if a regular.  On a world covered by city the issue of relaxation isn't a small one amongst those who run companies.

The attendant who sees Heigren and Sheila is a beautiful Cathar woman with soft patterning on her desert-yellow fur and a gentle sway as she walks.  As with all fo the attendants here she's dressed in an exotic-looking robe that seems halfway between stylish dress and bathrobe.  She looks as if she could be on bathroom tiles or (ahaha) a catwalk with equal grace.  After greeting them pleasantly she seems delighted by Heigren's choice.  "Well, sir," she says smoothly, "it certainly is nice to see someone out to treat their lady well.  You'll want our complex neurostimulus package.  Massage, specialised aromatherapy, cytotoxic boost, hair styling, skin treatment - it's very comprehensive."  She doesn't need to add 'and expensive.'  "We'll need to take some biological readings before we get started," she adds, tapping a datapad up with a collective charge and passing it to Heigren for his approval and details.

In a very professional manner she angles it discreetly so that Sheila doesn't get a look at the screen unless Heigren wants to let her.  'It costs how much??' is probably heard here on a semi-regular basis.  "The package comes with complimentary comfort robes as well," she adds as Heigren's looking over the datapad.  Running a hand down one of her hips she indicates that the comfort robes in question are the same sort of thing that she's wearing.

Sounds wonderful, I'm all for 'complimentary comfort'.  Heigren gives the Cathar a look that clearly suggests he'd rather see her robe lying on the floor, then quickly hands back the datapad.

Take whatever readings you need, my body is at your disposal.  Would you like to start with me or my work colleague here?

Sheila isn't sure about this, but Heigren won the argument in the taxi.  SHe'll just have to hope she has enough money to cover anything he can't.  She suspects they will be spending the rest of the vacation in the hotel room playing board games and eating the provided meals.  She waited and let the Cathar tell them which way to go.

"We can cater to both of you.  It won't take a moment," the Cathar says, subtly ignoring Heigren's flirting (though her smile grows a little wider).  Her kind mate for life so chances are good that if she has a partner that his charm is blocked by her instincts, but she might be partnerless and simply too professional to rise to his throbbing bait.

She guides them both into a tasteful room with a few booths separated by curtains, like an emergency department at a hospital, joined by a second attendant, a tall male human.  They take a sample of their hair and weigh them, then get them to fill out medical report forms stating any past illnesses or injuries as well as any allergies.  The forms end with a short disclaimer and a waiver (for insurance reasons).  With those signed and returned the two are then taken into a different section of the spa.

The next few hours are... remarkable, to say the least.  An hour of full-body massage eases away tension.  Exotic substances slathered onto their skin cleanse the follicles and revitalise (as well, Sheila is pretty sure, as containing a few ingredients that should be great for healing scar tissue).  The attendants stay by their side for most of the process, explaining what the substances do and speaking to them in quiet, calming voices that almost carry a hypnotic quality.

Later, wrapped in their new comfort robes, they are transported on beds (outfitted with repulsorlifts) to a separate room that they call the 'aromatic chamber'.  They're left alone in their comfort robes (and nothing else) with emergency buzzers should they become claustrophobic.  The aromatic substance, the Cather explains, is called <tilexil and it functions by stimulating the nervous system, causing a sudden spike in neural activity followed by a state of relaxation (similar to a TENS machine in function but without external electrical sources).

Soothing music plays as the room slowly fills with an aroma similar to jasmine and sandalwood.  After only a few seconds of exposure to the substance the pair begin to feel a pleasant tingling fill their bodies.  It's a strange sensation of stimulation and relaxation coming one after the other in long, rolling waves.  This stuff must be very popular - or very expensive.  Before too long they're easily too relaxed to concentrate on anything much other than the feeling of being a wave on a calming beach.

Some time later - they have no idea how long - the air starts to clear and a new scent they can't readily describe is pumped in.  It takes a while but their senses are cleared and they feel very refreshed and aware.  The attendants come back in, then, equipped with rebreathers.  Wheeling them out they head to a different room where the beds are folded up into a more chair-like shape.  Discreetly removing their rebreathers the attendants then buzz about the pair, washing and styling their hair as they best wish.

Finally, after a few minutes to get their bearings, they're led out to the clinic-like room again.  Their clothes are returned and their comfort robes are taken away to be replaced with new, fresh robes to take away and keep.  The pair of them feel like completely new people as they're led back out into the spa foyer.