Ion 417: Raiju (12 page)

"I was informed that you sold dinners here."

The little tag hanging from her neck proclaimed that it was La'Noree that led me over to a table overlooking a spot outside where water geysered from artificial flowers. At least I think they were artificial with a somewhat metallic sheen. She waited patiently for me to settle into the chair before handing me the folding list of foods served here, and once again asked if I was alone. My confirmation prompted the replacement of the plate opposite me with a small arrangement of flowers.

She departed with the assurance that Heb'hada would be serving me. Even as I turned my gaze back from her retreat, there was another Kanari filling a glass beside my plate with a clear amber fluid. I cast a puzzled look up at him, and he just smiled.

"Honey mist. It's one of the specialties we have. I'll be back for your order shortly."

He tapped the menu I still held as he turned away to pour some of the sweet smelling drink into the glass on the next table. I looked over the menu, and saw nothing that I'd eaten on the trip out here. I had no idea what anything was. What was the difference between sauté and pre-gested? I was about ready to close my eyes and tap a spot to choose when I overheard the humanoid at the next table list off his choices. A glance at the menu showed that what he'd asked for wasn't even listed. Well, if he ordered that way, then perhaps that was what I needed to do as well.

When Heb'hada passed by a few moments later I repeated the order that I'd overheard. I could see the look of bafflement cross his face, and panicked for a moment. Had I just ruined the disguise of a Director? The only thing I could think to do was to ask him for a recommendation that would be better. He just smiled and nodded. He quickly departed with the menu, passing another Kanari bearing a plate piled high with a squirming mass.

As that plate was set before the other humanoid part of me wanted to bite into the writhing worms, while the bigger part cringed at the thought. I was accustomed to having my food already prepared by the time it came to me. I'm sure that it was my father's influence that gave me the desire to kill my food. About ten minutes later Heb'hada returned bearing a plate that he introduced as a Hulame filet; a very tasty fish from the planet below.

The fish was indeed very tasty, and I was grateful that he helped steer my choice to something better than a plate of worms. He returned a few times while I was eating to keep my glass of honey mist filled; a drink that was worthy of bringing me back there should I have the chance. I spread the fifty coins from the roll on the table, and asked how many of them were needed to trade for the meal. He lifted one telling me that it was more than enough; he would return with what remained of it. I plucked up another to drop in his hand as a gratuity. He had earned it.

"One for you as well. Can you tell me of a place to purchase clothing?"

He listed off directions to several places that would have clothing and other items a ship's captain might find useful. I was currently in the inner ring, and shifting to the outer ring put me in the place where the ships brought in their trade goods. Many of them had entire shopping areas within their hulls where they had docked against the ring.

The waiter had suggested that I make my first stop at the currency exchange, where I could convert the gold into the local trade rounds. These were usable anywhere within Reliance Station, and would save me from being cheated. Gold can be traded anywhere, but not always at a good exchange rate.

After swapping two rolls for an amazingly large stack of the hexagonal 'Rounds', I set out for the first of the clothiers that I had heard of. In this area the shops were right down on the grassy flats with walkways that lay flat as well. Most of the shops gave the appearance of cloth tents only set up for the day, though I realized that inside the station 'day' could be anytime. Most of the merchants were standing before the shops calling to the people passing by, trying to entice them to look closer. I never imagined there would be such a wide range of things available.

A sign hanging from the tent awning read simply as Peraline's. This was the first suggested shop, and once I stepped inside I could plainly see why. The five meter square tent outside stretched back into the hold of a large cargo ship. The Humanoid section encompassed the front two-thirds, giving me the choice of thousands of styles from three planets.

I knew that life aboard the ship meant that close fitting clothes would work better. I had browsed past a few spinning racks, trying to decide what to buy first, when a tripodal person approached asking if I needed assistance. I want to say she, though really I wasn't sure. She pointed out things that would look good on a body shaped like mine. My hesitancy to believe her was entirely because her body was so different, but the first outfit that she held out was a sleek aqua-colored dress that snugged along the sides and flared out to a short skirt.

I walked out wearing that dress, along with a matching bag to replace the ammo pouch. I had left a handful of outfits with her to have minor alterations accomplished and delivered to the ship. All of them together had cost me only a fraction of the rounds.

Two more clothiers each supplied me with a few outfits that would be delivered straight to the ship for me. I had never imagined how much fun it could be to look through the clothes and try them on. There were a great many things that looked reasonably good on the rack, but once they were on me they looked horrible.

So now I had two more shipsuits that looked much better in the gold that matched my eyes, and several other outfits that would be suitable for various occasions. One of them with bright geometric patterns I planned to save for when I met my fellow Humans for the first time. I had purchased all of that with less than half the rounds too.

Not much further around the ring I came across a shop that specialized in what was referred to as fitness equipment. Before I had even stepped fully inside a Delvan rushed up to show me the perfect machine to keep my shape on those long high drive runs. Towing me along by the arm that he grabbed, I found myself staring at an assemblage of frail looking rods and small weights.

"This is the latest model that will keep your shape toned up to look its very best."

My studies in metallurgy told me that it was simple Gelvander, and though it far surpassed steel for strength, it was still no match to my workouts. The rods were so delicate looking that I knew they couldn't bear more than about a hundred fifty kilos. I begged off, trying to convince him to show me a sturdier machine, but he insisted that it would hold.

The very first thing he wanted to demonstrate was the ability of it to add variable weights with the slide while still in lifting position. I slid it up to the max hundred kilos and lifted. The bar went up, and bent. Then the mountings holding the machine to the floor broke.

"You'll have to pay for that!"

"I did warn you, but you..."

By now an older Delvan was running over to meet us. A few terse words to the younger one sent him off to some other part of the shop while the new one assisted me. Right away he took me over to another compact unit, only this one had been built with solid Duratanium struts. I was still a bit skeptical until I tried it. There were still a few weights left when I reached my maximum. After a half hour's testing of all the features it worked smoothly. I dropped four of the gold coins into his hand to have it delivered. There was a good corner of my cabin that would hold it.

There were so many vendors along the rim of the ring, and every one of them had things I had never seen before. I was rushing from one to the next just as fast as I spotted the next unique thing that I just had to see. There were so many of those that I held off getting any of them in the hopes of finding the best. There was even a small holo unit like Traxel had, that displayed underwater images that moved as though real creatures were swimming past you. The merchant claimed them to be from a planet called Chiku, noted for its vast oceans. That was one of the few things that I purchased just because I liked the way it looked.

I was ready to return to my ship, feeling like I had explored enough for the day, when I encountered one of the permanent booths displaying oceanic creature shells turned into art forms. Although this was intriguing in itself, the real items of interest were the merchants.

The banner proclaimed the display as Nezumi sacred art. The Nezumi themselves were like a cross between a razor fish and an Alzahar Flitter. Their head streamlined back into the torso with a crowning fin that continued on down to the tail flukes, and similar fins webbed under the arms like miniature flitter wings.

The displays arranged around the front of the booth were all sorts of carved shells from other creatures that inhabited the oceans of their world, and I could smell the slightly salty smell of their environment; it lingered like a favored incense on the items they displayed.

One of the smaller Nezumi was tending to the customers that perused the collections spread among the displays, by use of a mobilized suit. The shell art was beautiful, and I intended to add some to the shelves of my cabin, but my thoughts were on how good it would feel to be in that water.

Waiting for a moment when there were no customers in the shop I keyed up the comm unit connecting to the Nezumi in the larger tank. My questions concerning the nature of the water they swam in were met with rebuff. They supposed I was attempting some bit of humor. I knew the smell of that water, and could fairly imagine how good it must feel to let it slip over my skin.

They even declined my offer to purchase some of the water as well, telling me that a being such as myself would be unable to drink due to the high mineral content. It would poison me within moments. The longer I smelled the water, the more I became adamant that I wouldn't be leaving here without the ability to have it available on my ship. My body ached to feel it.

"If I purchase one of your trinkets will you allow me a glass of water?"

I placed one of the gold coins on the counter next to a blue coral prayer fan that was worth only a handful of the local trade rounds. This immediately gained their attention, and the one that had been doing the talking for them signaled to the mobile one.

"If the simian wishes to poison itself, then let her! The Guardsmen will remove the corpse before it seriously impacts our sales."

A mere moment later the mobile one returned with a fluted tube shell that was full of the water. There was probably closer to a liter and a half within it, but I didn't care. I would show them that I could drink every last drop of it. Somewhere along the way the gold coin had vanished from the counter. I held the sloshing shell up to my nose and savored the rich smell of the nutrients within it. Ignoring a jibe about losing my confidence, I drank the entire shell full, pausing only for a few breaths between gulps. I could feel the wonderful minerals waking energy levels within me that had felt muted at best for the last week.

The entire time I was drinking it, I had the complete undivided attention of all three of the tank dwellers. I would have the secret of that water at whatever cost they asked. I even smiled as I set the shell down, and thanked them for one of the best drinks I'd had in a long time. This was the opening to barter for a water system like they had. In the end it turned out that all I required was a modified version of the one they used for their tank.

It was the second smallest version they made. The smallest one was the mobile suit, but it lacked the durability for extended usage. I met with one of their engineers and discussed how to connect it into my stateroom. It took a little clarification to ensure that they understood to connect only my room. He named a price of twelve gold coins to get the job done. I handed him an entire stack to have it done in two days.

The mobile suited one wrapped up a few of the nicer pieces they had on display, including the fluted tube shell I'd drank from. This was a gift for the enjoyment of watching me drink the water. There wasn't much I could answer about how a surface dweller could do something like that. In the end I let it rest that I must be part eel or something.

I didn't see Traxel at all for three days, but part of the reason was that I spent little time aboard the ship myself. It was difficult to keep dodging out of the way when the workmen were stringing new power junctions throughout most of the ship. It seemed like every time I turned around Panzo would be tracking me down with a list of questions. My favorite answer seemed to be 'I don't know'.

After several times of telling him to make his best choice in it, the questions ended. I wasn't the one to ask about ship systems, but I couldn't tell him that. My knowledge didn't extend past what I'd read in the manuals, and I already knew that was severely lacking in relation to this ship.

True to his prediction, Panzo's crew had finished all of the work in the upper deck in less than two days. Since the AI was still completely unusable he strung an optic line up to the Captain's cabin for me, with a portable terminal connected so that I would be able to conduct the business a Director needed to do.

My biggest task was going to be staying one or two steps ahead of any hunters following my trail. The first part of that would be to figure out just who my hunters were. I knew the name Teyrn Elon, but beyond that had no idea what he was connected with.

I looked up Flux Genetics to get an idea of just what I was getting into. Turns out that Flux Genetics was a big name; It owned a few other companies as well, which in turn owned others. Down a long line of ownerships I found that Cynet Systems was the majority owner of Flux Genetics.

In all there were about eighty companies that were mixed into the whole maze of ownerships with not a single one actually owned by a person. All these companies somehow owned themselves. These weren't little companies either. Through the various connections Flux Genetics owned, among other things, about seventy percent of the Reliance Guard ships. No wonder that captain had been so congenial.