by Marc Stevens
Tria and I made our way from the docking areas and found Tam Lin’s transport. I spoke to the AI that operated the coach and gave it Osa’s location. It took off at a moderate pace until it got to a trafficway. It rapidly picked up speed and blended neatly into the flow of vehicles traversing the outpost. We took a tunnel that spiraled down a couple of levels then slowed before pulling into a large parking area. The solid appearance of the transport’s sidewalls turned lucent. A business with an oversized gaudy sign above the door was highlighted on the view screen. Turning to Tria, I squeezed her hand and smiled.
“Do you have any history on the Gawanny you would like to share with me? I don’t want them thinking you are out walking your primate pet.”
“As long as I have credits, they won’t care where I walk my pet,” she joked. “Just don’t relieve yourself on the floor once we are inside.”
Her sarcasm got me laughing, and I leaned over and kissed her.
“I will make sure no one is looking before I relieve myself,” I promised. “Do you have any more nuggets of wisdom for this backward-thinking alien?”
“It has been a long time since I have had any contact with Gawanny traders. I will give you the high points from my memories, but it is not much. They are a midlevel tech race that are, for the most part, industrious and hardworking. They have three known home worlds and a military that has ambitions of power but not enough capital to achieve it. I would go through the trouble of describing their appearance, but it is just easier for you to see for yourself.”
The side of the vehicle opened, and we stepped out into the moderate crowd moving up and down the walkways. Tria took my arm, and we went to the storefront door but could not find an obvious way to open it. This wasn’t the welcome I expected and was going to turn away. Tria held tight and spoke to the door in Chaalt.
“We were going to Droop’s for new attire but decided to take a chance and stop here first.”
I smiled at Tria. I should have thought of that. With a small click, the doors parted, and we stepped inside. I was impressed. What the store lacked in storefront width, it made up for in depth. It was at least two hundred feet deep and had tall ceilings that glowed brightly. Thousands of bolts of cloth were stacked all the way to the ceiling. Down at the far end of the shop was an open area with a lone creature waving its six arms at us. It spoke to us in Chaalt.
“You do not want to waste your credits at a secondhand store! Peruse my wares and choose from the finest the galaxy has to offer,” it told us. “When you have made a selection, I will tailor it to any specification you desire!”
Since I wasn’t a connoisseur of clothing, I let Tria take point. I was confident she would have better taste that I did. I was a jean and T-shirt guy back on Earth. Smart cloth and battle armor were my go-to wardrobe out in the galaxy. I found a bench with several pushcarts next to it. I pulled a cart out and pushed it toward Tria, then sat on the bench for what I hoped would not be a long wait. She surprised me by coming back twenty minutes later with a bolt of a silver-gray material that was soft and silky to the touch and had a very fine pattern to it. I, of course, nodded my approval and went to finally meet the proprietor of the establishment. The alien was wearing a shiny blue cloth suit that fit his rather unique proportions perfectly. He had four eyes spread wide on his large head and a bushy beard that appeared to be made of coarse spines. He was about six feet tall with two thick legs that looked a lot like Klutch’s. He had a rather large truncated rear end that he was sitting on. As we got closer, he leaned forward and rose up off it. This guy would never need to find a chair; he always had one with him.
He stopped short and stared at us for more than a minute. “You do not appear to be Chaalt?”
“Does it make any difference?” Tria shot right back in a voice that had an edge to it.
The creature quickly held up all six arms. “No! I did not mean any offense. Please step over to my scanner, and I will take the required measurements.”
Tria stepped onto a grid pattern on the floor and was swept by a band of light. The Gawanny then pointed for me to do the same. When that was done, he went to a large monitor on a table and selected wardrobe designs that fitted the number of appendages we possessed. It was now time to figure out what we wanted our new duds to look like. I again let Tria take the lead. After more than an hour, she had designed some pretty snazzy getups. Hers was a pantsuit design, and both our jackets had storage for knives and handheld weapons. The overcoats were duster length so we could still conceal longer weapons if we chose to do so. Osa took Tria’s selected bolt and scanned it with a small wand.
“The cost of the fabric you have chosen is forty-two thousand credits per outfit. Is this agreeable to you, or do you wish to select a less valuable material?”
This was the part I could handle without any input. “We are in agreement. Please continue.”
“There is a custom manufacturing charge that will need to be added. It is twenty thousand credits. Are you agreeable to this as well?”
I nodded in agreement and told him to carry on. He loaded the bolt of material Tria had selected and fed it into a large fabricator. Twenty minutes later we had two new dress outfits. Osa insisted we try them on to make sure the fit was perfect. I looked around and didn’t see a dressing room anywhere. When I turned back, Tria already had her uniform off and was looking at me like I was holding up the party. The Gawanny was staring with four large gawking eyes at the bandages wrapped around Tria where she should have had a set of arms. It didn’t take him long to notice we had fighting knives in scabbards strapped to the inside of our arms and a pistol in concealed holsters at the small of our backs. He then looked over at me like I should have an explanation. He got one of my patented mind-your-own-business stink eyes. He suddenly found some setting on his replicator he needed to adjust. I ditched the uniform and slipped into the new suit. It was cool and slick to my skin, and the fit was perfect. We both stood in front of several mirrors, and I had to smile. Damn, we looked good!
I gave Osa my credit voucher. Before I let him pull it from my hand, I looked in into all four of his eyes.
“What you think you may have seen is a private matter and nobody else’s affair. Your discretion is mandatory and comes with a bonus of ten thousand credits. If you agree to this, I will insist all of my associates patronize your place of business. If I find out you have done otherwise, I will tell them to spend their credits at Droop’s and to spread the word that you cannot be trusted.”
That did the trick, along with invoking Droop’s name for a second time. The Gawanny swore on his clan and a number of other unknown things. We gathered up our uniforms and went to the transport. I told the AI to take us to Cralmo’s. It took us down another level and drove for a considerable distance before stopping, this time in front of what looked like a fortress. The stuff this guy had inside was not leaving without a receipt attached to it. Looking around, I noticed there was not a lot of foot traffic in this section of the outpost. It may have had something to do with the two weapons turrets on the front wall of the establishment. It was a little off-putting but not enough to make me abandon the desire to give Tria the complete Earthman treatment.
I did not know if it had anything to do with our fancy new outfits, but the vault-like door opened as we approached. I took a good look around and noted no other pedestrians. Even the traffic on the roadway was nothing like the levels above us. While I did tell Tria about the new wardrobe, I didn’t tell her I was going to buy her jewelry. She had a small frown on her face while she scrutinized our location.
“Nathan, what is this place?”
“It is a jewelry outlet,” I said. “I wanted to add a finishing touch to your new attire. It is traditional on my planet to give those we choose as our mates exotic adornments to show others how much we care.”
My explanation made her laugh.
“You should know by now I really do not care what others think! I would personally rather have a new weapon
.”
I tried my best to hide it, but she obviously noted my disappointment, or somehow felt it.
“Perhaps some small embellishment would be appropriate.”
I grabbed her by the hand and marched into the entrance. I stopped short just inside. We were boxed into a narrow hallway with a view screen on the wall and nothing more. A face appeared on the screen. I remembered Tam Lin making reference to the Kasulla as slugs, and now I knew why. The dark glistening head had two eyes on short antenna like stalks. Its four short arms were protruding from some sort of bodysuit.
“I am Cralmo, and this is my establishment,” the face said. “I sell the finest ornamentations that credits can buy. May I see your credentials?”
Tria and I looked at each other, puzzled. Tam Lin didn’t say anything about needing credentials to get in the place. I was on the verge of telling the slug that Tam Lin sent us, but Tria intervened before I could spit it out. She reached into her jacket and showed me one of her credit vouchers. I quickly did the same, and we held them up for Cralmo to see. A band of light flashed across them, and the slug’s eyes both snapped forward. Without checking, we had no idea what the denominations totaled on the cards, but it must have impressed the Kasulla.
The walls around us rapidly rose up and disappeared into the ceiling. Around us were display cases loaded with jewelry of every description. Some of it was huge and other pieces were so tiny we had to squint to see what they were. Cralmo came forward on a gravity sled designed to hold his stubby wormlike body. The suit he was wearing covered all but his arms and head. There were several tubes attached to the suit that were connected to unknown devices on the cart. I quickly remembered the Troop Master’s warning about staring and moved my eyes to the many displays surrounding us. Tria seemed more interested now that we could actually see some of wares this guy had. There were a lot of eye-catching pieces, but I wanted the best. It was a safe bet the really good stuff was not on display here. Rather than start throwing Tam Lin’s name around and tying my reputation to hers, I tested the waters on my own.
“An associate of mine informed me you have a Starfire artifact for sale. I wish to see it.”
I thought the slug’s eyes were going to jump off their stalks.
“Who gave you that information?”
“Do you possess such an artifact or not?”
Tria was giving me the what-the-hell look and grabbed my arm. I was fairly confident she was going to turn me away and ask what I was up to. The Kasulla took it another way and though we might leave.
“Yes!” he cried. “Please come this way, and I will show you the very finest I have to offer.”
Cralmo’s conveyance turned around, and we went to the back of the room. Tria was giving me a small negative shake of her head, trying to stop me, but I would have none of it. Another wall lifted to the ceiling, and we were again facing another impressive vault door. The Kasulla turned back to us and two dangerous-looking security bots approached us from both sides. I felt the urge to go for my weapon but stifled it. The bots stopped on both sides of the door. I got the distinct impression it was just a display of power on the part of Cralmo, as well as a warning. Tria and I stood neutral-faced. After more uneasy moments of weird eye contact, he turned and messed around with the door for what seemed like several minutes before it opened. There were a few items in the vault, but only one that I could see was behind a power shield. It was a necklace or bracelet, depending on the size of the wearer. Tam Lin was right: the piece was stunning. It was a little large for Tria, but that would just make it hang a little lower on her chest. Looking at her new suit, I decided it would fit the low cut of her blouse perfectly. It would never hide her loss of two arms, but it should get people who knew she once had four to look at something else.
“How much?” I asked.
The way the Kasulla was acting indicated no one had asked him that in a while. My translator picked up a gurgling and sputtering noise but no translation. Tria was again shaking her head, and Cralmo did not miss that at all.
“It is the rarest of artifact antiquities and one of a kind. For you, today only, one billion credits!”
“Sold!”
I extended my hand with a couple of credits vouchers in it. I was getting a lot more gurgling and sputtering and still no translation. Tria looked at me like I was nuts, and she was probably right. It made no difference because I had already made up my mind. Cralmo stood staring at the vouchers in my hand like they were a live grenade.
“I said we have a deal.”
He slowly reached out and took them. He put the first into the scanner he wore around his middle. It swallowed the card, and then he did the same to the next one. The device subtracted the additional four hundred and thirty million that was required and showed that I still had in excess of twenty million left on it. He handed back the card and was giving me the strangest look. I didn’t like the vibe I was getting. Tria seemed oblivious to it because she couldn’t believe what I had just done. The Kasulla’s small hands were physically shaking when he turned off the shield and handed me the necklace. Turning to Tria, I held it up until she finally lost the incredulous look on her face. She leaned forward so I could place it around her neck. I could not think of a more fitting place for such a treasure.
“Thank you, Cralmo. I will be sure to tell all who inquire about the beauty of the artifact that I purchased it from you.”
He stood there staring at me. For reasons unknown, I had the urge to run the hell out of there. I instead took Tria by the hand and walked out the door as if I didn’t have a care in the world. When we got into the transport, she gripped my arm tightly.
“Nathan, I did not like the way the Kasulla looked at us. I have had my fill of squandering credits and think we should go back to the Legacy.”
I nodded my agreement and told the transport AI to take us back to Tam Lin’s private docking area. I made it a point to say we were in a hurry. It took off at a clip that verified acknowledgment of my wishes. A small amount of traffic quickly fell behind us. Our pace gave me a feeling of security, and I smiled at Tria. She was holding the necklace out from her chest, inspecting it.
“I must admit, I have never seen such a beautiful adornment. Thank you, Nathan.”
“Does that mean we can fool around a little?”
She rolled her pretty green eyes and laughed.
“Possibly.”
20
I leaned over to kiss Tria, and the world around us exploded. The transport flipped a couple of times, maybe more. I lost count because I hit my head hard enough that I blacked out. I came to with Tria yelling in my ear to wake the hell up! It was obvious the transport was now lying on its side. The seats we once occupied were not at the correct angle. Looking up, I could see the exit sign for the door was above us. Sparks and droplets of molten metal started shooting into the cabin from the edge of it. The inside of the transport was filling with smoke. I was having a hard time coming to grips with what just happened. Tria, however, was not.
“Nathan, we are being targeted by assassins!” she shouted.
That cut the fog from my head and got the beast stirring around in my brain. I could feel my demeanor change and my intentions turn deadly. With the beast egging me on, I went into combat mode. The sparks were from someone or something cutting its way inside. Whoever or whatever they were, they had a fairly large circle almost completed in the side of our vehicle. Tria had her pistol out, and I was fumbling around, trying to get mine out from under me. The molten circle ripped up and out of the hole, and a head appeared in the opening. Tria shot it in the face at point-blank range. I rolled over in front of her, tearing at my holster, trying to get my weapon free of my new overcoat.
Something heavy and metallic bounced off the edge of the opening and landed in my lap. Instinctively, I flung it back over the side of the opening. The blast that followed turned the transport right side up. It also sent Tria and I spilling out of the ragged hole and onto the thoroughfare.
Several bodies were scattered about, and they all possessed grasshopper-like legs and large upper torsos. These guys were Coram mercenaries, and I could think of more than a few reasons they might be here to kill us. I activated my IST.
“Justice, we have been ambushed and need some help!”
“I have already alerted Sig forces, and they are already on the way Commander,” Justice calmly said. “Coonts and Klutch have been notified but have been ordered by Pasta to stand down. The outpost security forces might target them as hostiles if they intervene.”
Coonts and Klutch both started calling on our IST, but I didn’t need the distraction. I lied and told them we were fine and I would get back with them. I heard a loud explosion from somewhere down the road and wondered how many of these bastards were sent to kill us. Looking underneath the badly warped transport, I saw a set of oversized feet moving around to get an angle on us. I fired under the vehicle, shearing them off at the ankles. A Coram dropped face-first on the pavement, screaming for all he was worth. Tria put a shot into its head, silencing the assassin permanently. She took up a firing position at the rear of the wreck, and I took the front. Nothing was moving on my side.
