by Sam Lippert
“Nobody's brought in any of those in quite a while. I hear Zantril is giving the best price for them right now. What are you planning to lift with?”
“Floyd, you know better than that. I open my mouth in here about that and before you know it a couple of upstarts beat me to the punch and my cargo ends up being worthless!” Nathan downed the second shot that Floyd had set up. “Besides, I usually don't know what I’m buying until thirty seconds before I make the deal!” With that, Floyd left to serve some new arrivals.
“Is that true, what you said?” Remi asked.
“Which part?” Nathan responded.
“About not knowing what you are going to buy until thirty seconds before you buy it?”
“Close enough,” Nathan said, lifting the remaining shot that Floyd had set up in front of Remi. He tossed it back, and slammed down the empty. Just as the glass hit the bar, Nathan felt the Barrel of a gun in the small of his back.
“Captain Danielssss,” a Rhadasian hissed, “I do believe we have sssome unfinishsshed busssiness.” The lizard moved around to the stool on Nathan's left, which Nathan noticed had been vacated by Remi. 'What is that girl up to?' Nathan thought.
“Third things first, Ixlar,” Nathan began casually. “I'd hold that gun a little lower if I were you. Floyd doesn't take kindly to people shooting his customers, and he's only slightly more forgiving of people threatening them.”
The lizard shifted his weapon to make it less visible to the barkeep. “Do not worry, Captain, I am not going to shoot you .... yet. I am sssimply here to collect the money you owe my bosssssss from your last trip.”
“How does he figure I owe him a dime?”
“He made you a perfectly reasssonable offer for your lassst cargo, but you ssselfisssshly sssold to sssomeone elssse. you owe him for the profit he lossst.” Ixlar waggled the gun. “Let'sss go captain. He wants you to pay in person.”
From out of nowhere Remi flew into action. Her first kick knocked the gun out of Ixlar's hand. Her second swept the stool out from under him. As he fell, Remi pinned his head to the bar, letting his body dangle from the neck.
Nathan stared into the lizard's terror filled eyes. 'Poor sap thinks we are going to kill him,' he thought.
“I've got two messages for you to take back to your boss. First, if he's not willing to pay top dollar for my cargo, then he doesn't get my cargo and I don't owe him a micro-credit!” Nathan paused for emphasis. “Second, if he wants me taken anywhere, he'd better send more than one stooge with a cheap gun!” Nathan signaled to Remi. She let go of the lizard's head, he fell to the floor and quickly scampered out.
Nathan signaled to Floyd for two more whiskeys. “I had things under control, you know,” he said to Remi as the ales appeared in front of them.
“I seem to remember someone talking about 'do unto others',” she responded with a smile.
“Yeah,” Nathan grinned. “So, thanks.” They finished their drinks in silence. After leaving the tavern, they went out to the marketplace, which literally surrounded the spaceport on Rhadasia. as they wandered through the stalls, Nathan stopped and talked with every merchant who was dealing in Halifren gems to find out what they were paying. Since Floyd's information was usually correct, he planned for their last stop to be Zantril's stall. As they walked, Nathan explained cargo selection to Remi.
“As you know, Rhadasia has very little advanced technology, and little industry,” he explained. “That means that nearly everything they export is handmade. With their population problem, they are able to export no food, but there is no shortage of workers, so Rhadasia produces the best hand made goods in the sector.” Nathan waved an outstretched hand, taking in many stalls. The pair saw many hand crafted items for sale, leather goods, stoneware, wood carvings, sandals, rugs, clothing, etc.
“So, how do you decide what to take?” Remi asked.
“Well, first, the Nola's hold isn't that large, so we need high value cargo. What Rhadasia
produces is high quality, but the problem is that items like this...” He stopped at a booth and picked up some stoneware. “Can only handle small mark-ups and aren't worth hauling very far. Shorter hauls mean less profit.”
At the next stall, Nathan's eyes lit up. “One exception to that rule is this.” He stopped, then at a stall of exquisite china. Remi's eyes went wide, the china was more beautiful than anything they had at the palace. “As you can see, Rhadasian china is pretty much the finest anywhere, and the further you can haul it, the better price it will bring. The problem is that everyone knows that, so it's usually in short supply. That raises the price. Plus, with virtually every trader that comes here leaving with china, you increase the risk that someone will have just landed ahead of you with a load of china, and you can kiss your profit good-bye.”
The pair continued to walk the market, inspecting the goods that were offered for sale. In addition to looking at potential cargo, they also spoke with several potential buyers for their gems. When they were almost to Zantril's stall, Nathan stopped, and Remi followed suit.
“So, what cargo do you like, Captain?” Remi asked.
“You just walked this entire market with me,” Nathan responded. “What item did you see most of? That'll be what we can buy for the best price.”
Remi thought about it. “Sandals. I saw sandals everywhere, mostly fashioned for humans but plenty for other races as well.”
“Good eye, I noticed the same thing, which is good. The question is, what can we do with a hold full of sandals?” Nathan started over to talk to Zantril. “Think about it, we'll talk more later.” Remi followed.
“Captain Danielsss,” Zantril greeted Nathan as they walked up. “Word is you have some Halifren gemsss you are wisshing to sssell.”
“That's right, Zantril,” Nathan replied. “Three hundred of them for you, if the price is right.”
The lizard's eyes looked around independently, and his tongue darted out, grabbing an insect between Nathan and Remi's heads. “I'll give you three hundred thousand for the whole ssshipment,” Zantril said.
“Zantril, Zantril,” Nathan shook his head. “Floyd said you were offering the best price, but there is a lizard over there...” Nathan pointed to his left, “about four hundred meters who said he'd give me three ten, plus he was willing to cover the import tariffs. We all know there's a bit of a shortage on. so you've got to do better.”
The lizard mulled it over. “Three forty-five, but you pay the tariffs,” Zantril's tongue lashed out again.
“Three fifty and you've got yourself some gems.” The lizard nodded and the pair made arrangements for the pick up later that evening, after the market had closed.
When they were out of earshot Remi spoke up. “Nathan, the best offer we had was three hundred, 'no tariffs.'”
“Exactly, but the fact that we got the same offer from two merchants other than Zantril meant there was a good chance he wouldn't call my bluff on the three ten price, and if he had, we wouldn't have been any worse off.”
“But what about Zantril?”
“Remi, a merchant who has been in business as long as Zantril doesn't pay more than he can afford for anything. The trick is getting them to pay just as much as they can afford.” The pair came to an abrupt halt, as three burly lizards with various weapons blocked their path. Moments later they were surrounded by Ixlar and eleven others.
“Well, it looks like he delivered at least half of your message.” Remi said conspiratorially.
“How's that?” Nathan asked.
“There's more than one stooge with a cheap gun.” Nathan couldn't help but give her a half-smile.
As the pair were led away, no one noticed the shadowy figure that followed them.
* * *
Omany had taken less than an hour to re-provision the ship. With that complete, he decided his duties as Princess Remini's protector required he do more. He took up a position unseen outside the tavern, and waited for Nathan and the Princess to come out. He didn't want th
e captain to think he wasn't trusted to take care of Remini, so he just waited and waited.
Omany watched as a Rhadasian with a gun and filled with confidence, entered the tavern. He noticed a few minutes later when the same lizard, weaponless and noticeably defeated, scurried out of the tavern and was quickly lost in the crowd.
'That can't be a good thing,' Omany thought.
When Nathan and the Princess finally left the tavern, Omany followed them, keeping his distance and blending into the crowd as much as possible for a human. He facilitated this by thinking and moving like the Rhadasians. That, combined with the fact that Nathan and the Princess were engrossed in the goings on of this marketplace, allowed him to go unnoticed by his quarry.
As he was following the pair, Omany noticed he wasn't the only one. The lizard that had left the tavern humiliated appeared when they were halfway through the market. Watching the movements of the people there, Omany could see that the lizard was directing nearly a dozen others.
By the time the captain and the Princess stopped at the final gem seller’s, it was obvious there was going to be an ambush. It was equally obvious to Omany that there wasn't anything he could do about it. His only consolation was that the lizards didn't want the pair dead. It was not necessary to send twelve to kill two, but Omany knew it took at least that many to capture these two.
Omany watched, helpless as the ambush happened. He was very proud of his protege for knowing when she was outnumbered and not attempting to fight, therefore prolonging her life. Omany could do nothing but follow as Nathan and Remi were led away.
He followed them out of the market and into the city proper. He found it odd that this gang of thugs could be openly escorting prisoners and go unnoticed and un-harrassed by any form of law enforcement. Either this group was very well connected, or the Rhadasians were not overly concerned with 'law and order.' Omany imagined it was a little of both.
The procession entered a large warehouse, through an unguarded door, leaving two of their number behind to guard it. Omany smiled at the observation. It increased the likelihood that twelve was all they were going to have to deal with. Timing was going to be the important part.
If he was going to get the timing right, he had to figure out what was going on inside and that meant at least a guess as to why they had been brought here.
A lone lizard had likely confronted Daniels in the tavern. Probably because the captain had done something to anger a local crime syndicate. The syndicate, knowing Daniels was a loner, had dispatched the single lizard to confront him and bring him here for a meeting with the syndicate boss. When that failed, the larger group was sent. The fact that Remi was brought as well was a mystery. Possibly it was because she either witnessed or was a part of the altercation in the tavern.
It was possible the syndicate had discovered who Remi was and this was some kind of kidnapping ransom plot, but if that was the case, more than one lizard would have been sent immediately to make the grab at the tavern.
So, they were probably only there for a meeting. If Daniels agrees with the crime boss's perception of reality, they'll be let go. Omany silently 'harrumphed.' More likely Nathan would say something that would get both of them killed, and sooner rather than later.
He glanced back down at the guards. They looked rather relaxed, like they didn't expect trouble. Obviously they knew Nathan's reputation for being a loner. Omany made his move. Subduing the first two guards would be easy.
* * *
Nathan and Remi were led into a large room, obviously an audience chamber of sorts. Their guard had dwindled to a half dozen. Most of the room was in semi-darkness, several bright lights shone down on a raised platform in the center of the room. On the platform was the biggest, oldest lizard Nathan had ever seen.
“Captain Danielsss,” the big lizard said as they entered the room. The door they entered from shut behind them, reducing the light in the room still more. “The last time you were here, you cheated me.” The lizard's voice filled the room. It was impossible to tell if the volume was real or artificial.
“I got the best price for my cargo fair and square. You were not cheated.” Nathan was defiant.
“We had a deal at a fair price!” The big lizard bellowed.
“Your thug Ixlar came to me when I landed and told me we had a deal. I never agreed to it because I knew I could do better.”
“Sssilence!” The impact of the sound nearly knocked Nathan and Remi over. “I understand you have a load of Halifren gems. You will sell the gems to me for 250,000 which will still allow you a small profit. Once you do that, your debt will be clear. To ensure you do not cheat me again, the girl stays here until I have my gems!”
Nathan and Remi were separated and Nathan was marched out by the guards.
* * *
After subduing the two lizards at the entrance, Omany used their clothing to bind and gag them. He removed the power packs from their lasers. One of the lizards had a staff that he used for support when he was on his hind legs. Omany took that, it would be a useful weapon.
He entered through the door and found himself in a wide hallway. He looked carefully for any type of electronic surveillance equipment, but was unsurprised not to find any. The hall was dimly lit, but there appeared to be doorways every three meters along the hall. Omany made his way up the hall, hiding in the shadows of the doorways. He knew the door he wanted would be guarded.
Omany had progressed five doorways when he could just make out two guards at the end of the hall. He tried the door he was standing in front of. It was unlocked and he entered the darkened room. Once he was out of the hall he tossed one of the captured power packs into the hallway, generating a loud clacking sound.
As he had expected, one of the guards came down the hall to investigate. As the guard picked up the power pack, Omany knocked him out with the staff. He saw a laser flash from the second guard, and could smell fabric burning. He hit the floor, grabbing the pistol from the downed guard. He aimed for the flash and saw the other gun spark and nearly explode. The guard panicked and that gave Omany the time he needed to rush the lizard and take him out of commission with his staff.
* * *
As Nathan was brought through the door, he was alert for any opening that he could use to his advantage. Nathan heard a 'crack' and one of his guards went down. He grabbed the handle of the gun held by the second and forced it to point at the third, just as the gun went off, killing the third guard. The second guard went limp and Nathan finally noticed Omany brandishing a staff.
“Nice job, old man,” Nathan said. “Remi is still inside, with at least 4 of them.” He grabbed a laser pistol and they dashed through the door. They saw Remi being led across the large room by her three captors.
Nathan took aim, shooting one of the lizards in the back of the head. Before Nathan could get another shot lined up, Remi had the other two lizards down and had retrieved a laser for herself. “Stop!” the big lizard bellowed from the dais. Nathan and Remi both turned their lasers on him.
“It doesn't look like you are giving orders here anymore,” Nathan responded. “We are leaving. It is just a matter of if we shoot you first, or not.”
The dais lights went out and there wasn't another sound from the lizard.
“I guess he didn't like the idea of being shot,” Remi said.
“Too bad,” was Nathan's response as they headed to the door and the three made their way back out to the street.
They jogged about a block and a half, with Nathan leading, to a busier part of the city. Once there were more adult lizards around, Nathan stopped the group.
“We should get off-planet as soon as possible,” He said. “It won't take boss lizard too long to regroup and have practically an army after us. We've got a buyer coming for the gems in...” He looked at his timepiece. “A little over two hours, but we still need cargo.” He thought for a minute. “Remi, you and Omany return to the market. You need to buy four hundred fifty pair of human sandals. Don'
t pay more than twenty thousand! Have them delivered to the Nola at least three hours from now.”
“Sandals?” Remi asked. “What are we going to do with sandals?”
“Nothing if the boss catches us first. My guess is he is going to put most of his effort into finding me which is why we are splitting up. After you've cut a deal on the sandals come straight back to the Nola. If I'm not there by the time the sandals arrive, finish the deal and get the hell outta dodge! Take off and head directly home. Get it?”
Remi nodded in assent and they split up. Nathan was going to return to the Nola, but he had one stop to make first.
* * *
Nathan was back at the Nola when Remi and Omany returned. They reported an uneventful time at the marketplace. Remi had a huge smile on her face.
“What are you so happy about, Princess?” Nathan inquired.
“Well...” she began. “It took a little work but I got the sandals for fourteen thousand!” She beamed even more, if that was possible.
“Excellent work!” Nathan congratulated her.
The remainder of the day was spent unloading Halifren gems, loading sandals, paying duties and preparing to lift. Nathan had turned quite a tidy profit on this trip, not counting the money he would get in a year from the Empress. After the day's events he could see it would be hard giving up Remi and Omany when the time came.
With the ramp down for the loading and unloading, Max had made a game of keeping the tiny Rhadasians off the ship. Every time one would venture too close to the top of the ramp, she would bare her teeth, hiss and bat it back down with her front paws. The cat seemed genuinely sad when they finally closed up for the night.
“I think we'll all sleep better in orbit,” Nathan said, heading to the control deck.
As soon as everyone was strapped in, he obtained clearance and they said goodbye to Rhadasia. On the way up, Remi asked where they were heading with the sandals. Nathan promised to tell her at breakfast.
When they reached orbit, Nathan engaged the autopilot to hold a parking orbit and they all went to bed. It had been one hell of a day.
