Ion 417: Raiju (16 page)

"This is a bit of a rough port, rife with corruptible bureaucrats. It will be easy as a hot bath to find someone to give us a new look."

As the final count scrolled downward toward zero my nerves began to clench up again. This was a critical stop along the way, and it would allow us to drop completely out of his sights. Everything had to work right or else. If that stress wasn't enough, Lafiel had warned us that nav info for this system might be a bit rough. The repair scans at Reliance hadn't shown a problem in the nav systems, but she found some damage to the data banks there. She warned us that there might be minor inaccuracies with the nav plot. The worst error might be the misplacing of one of the moons.

System information had detailed the existence of three governing factions on the main world that all lay exclusive claim to the space above. All three had outposts on both moons, that occasionally participated in armed skirmishes. That was the problem that Lafiel had noted. Only one of the moons was listed in the nav information.

Normally ships arrive above the orbital plane to avoid major shipping lanes. This meant that collisions were virtually non-existent. We dropped back into normal drive relatively close to Rage. This was Lafiel's first high drive run, and she had wanted to make a dramatic entrance. Instead of the normal drop out above the system elliptical, she had actually brought the ship to within a few hundred kilometers of the missing moon's surface. Lafiel was apologizing for the close call as Traxel turned the ship toward the moon. We hadn't had enough information to make an informed selection of landing spots, so I had told him to go to whichever one was closest.

Lafiel's drop out, virtually in the middle of a shipping lane, could have had disastrous results, and would certainly have had a few traffic controllers angry had the ECM pod not been masking us. The odds of a ship being anywhere near us at the moment we dropped in were nearly a billion to one. We lucked out.

Panzo told me that most patrols like to cruise the area above the orbital plane to catch arriving ships fast. A few ships monitor the shipping lanes to keep them running smoothly. Only a fool, or someone with bad charts will come down from high drive within the orbital plane. And only a fool, or someone desperate, travels with bad charts. I wonder which category we fit into. A ship full of desperate fools using bad charts.

For the first minute Traxel was twisting the ship through some very complicated maneuvers as he dodged through the shipping lanes to get us in line for the nearby moon. It didn't take long for the first message to come in demanding that we stop and prepare to be boarded for inspection. Lafiel volunteered to handle the comm demands. The patrol ship calling was also demanding to know where we were.

It wasn't even a moment later that a second demand arrived from an opposing faction. She did a great job of pitting them against each other as they wrangled with the issue of who had jurisdiction since they weren't sure of our exact location. While the government goons were arguing with each other, she took a few comm signals from competing companies that offered all sorts of landing arrangements. I let Traxel drop us into the closest one that he could find. We were on the ground in very short order with the roof closing over us.

Suited figures were already connecting lines as the air hissed into the landing bay. By the time we lowered the ramp there was a plump figure waiting for us. The dock master welcomed us with a smile, and a seemingly endless list of fees. I think he delighted in reading each of them off with little comments to make us feel the fees were justified, "So much air escapes each time the doors are opened that it costs a fortune to boost it up from Rage Prime. The harsh environment puts an extra strain on my dock handlers' suits. I've had to replace them twice this year."

There were fees for everything from power non-usage to entrance fees for mechanics. The biggest fee was for air usage, which was understandable being on an airless moon. I handed him enough to pay the fees and a little extra to cover anything else that would come up in the two days we expected to be here. The fuel price was nearly double what I had paid on Reliance, but I didn't argue. I told him to fill the tanks first thing. I had no intention of being stuck on this moon with empty fuel tanks. Stacks of gold coins weren't worth getting caught. As soon as the coins fell into his hand we were awarded with blue collars to signify that the air tax had been paid. We had seventeen hours before they would shift to yellow.

I looked around at the landing area. It was big enough to drop one of the Reliance Guard ships into, but this was nothing like the repair bays on Reliance Station. I was standing on actual dirt! The gritty stuff shifted a little with every step I took, sending up a tiny cloud of dust that slowly settled in the low gravity. Images just don't compare to feeling the sand and gravel through the thin layer of shipboard booties. Not to mention the difficulty in controlling my strides in low gravity. The first big step I took sent me several meters into the air.

Panzo and Traxel both got a good laugh at seeing my reaction to the dirt. Panzo suggested that I find some real boots to walk around on planets with. I hadn't thought about that. I had no idea what Terra was going to be like. I guess I always thought in terms of what the orbital lab had been. That statement sent them both into laughing fits once more. Places like that were the exception it seemed.

The door out of the landing bay slid aside bringing us to face a small band of workers offering all sorts of services. Most of them looked to be of the same type as our dock master, but there were a few that had obvious come from other planets. Before I could ask any of them about changing the look of the ship, or were to find boots, Panzo waved them away. He promised them that we would contact the dock master if any services were needed.

I knew that they wanted to go exploring around the various establishments on their own, so I handed them each a couple rolls of the gold coins, dropping five into my own bag. Traxel wasted no time in heading off in the direction of a cantina that the workers had told him about -- something about drinks and exotic entertainment.

The thoroughfares wound between structures carved straight from the sandstone of the moon's surface. People wandered aimlessly, seemingly oblivious to the ground transports that nudged their way through the dusty roads. Only about half of the pedestrians wore the blue collars; the others wore breathing masks. Stealing air was one of the crimes punishable with death. I thought that if they were so concerned with the air, they could at least filter it better. This whole place smelt of sweat and burned machine oil mixed with a hundred other odors.

Panzo decided to follow along with me as we went in search of trinkets that we probably didn't need. We didn't have far to go before we found ourselves wandering through a market of open-air stalls serving the things that would never have made it onto Reliance Station. This whole place seemed to be tossed together from the scraps of some building project of thirty years prior. It took an act of great courage to set foot into the ramshackle shops that looked ready to fall apart at any moment

The merchants were all very eager to boast about the things they had crammed into the shops, as being the most unique items found anywhere in the galaxy. We passed by three shops before something caught his eye enough to draw Panzo inside. The sign scrawled on the rock next to the door proclaimed the offerings of a thousand worlds awaited within. I entered in time to see him handing over a coin for a small box. When I asked about it he just smiled and said, "You'll see."

As we exited the shop a lizard-like being ran right into me, grabbing my pouch as he tried to leave. It was merely a reflex to grab it back. In the process of which I ended up throwing him a good twenty meters. He was certainly no Selstlak; I could almost have looked over the top of his frill. It is surprising how things move in a gravity that's about a fourth of what you're used to. The lizard picked himself up and turned to face me. The frills on his neck raising as he prepared to charge. I felt the thrill rising in me, anticipating the fight.

"I wouldn't mess with her if I were you. She might not let you walk away next time."

The lizard paused and looked over to where Panzo was casually leaning on the shop doorway. It was probably that he wasn't threatening that caused the lizard to take a more careful look at me. I gave him the most inviting smile I could muster. The entry rules said self-defense was acceptable. Self-defense could cover most anything short of puncturing the air chamber. His eyes narrowed as the thoughts slowly sorted themselves out in his brain. He must have decided that my pouch wasn't worth risking his hide as he turned and slunk away.

The incident bothered me, but I couldn't figure out why until Panzo let me know that the lizard had been trying to steal my pouch for the coins it held. I couldn't believe that the governments had let crime become so open. He had not been concerned about being spotted by an enforcement officer, only whether he could overpower me. A few steps further I realized that wasn't the problem either. What had been a bit unsettling was that a part of me wanted that lizard to come back for more. Something in me wanted to make him pay for his crime. I wasn't used to feeling so aggressive. I would have happily laughed as I turned him into charred rodent bait.

My mind kept mulling over the incident, and it turned toward realizing that Traxel could be a target as well. I told Panzo that we should go look for him in case he ran into the same trouble and Panzo laughed. He reassured me that Traxel could manage himself, and had enough experience to expect the trouble that I hadn't seen coming.

"Besides, he's got one of the pistols with him."

I hadn't expected Traxel to think he needed a pistol, but then again, he was the one that jumped for the guns anytime something happened. When I expressed this to Panzo he lifted the edge of his coat to show that he had a pistol also; that was Lafiel's idea. At least I knew they wanted to keep me safe.

We came upon a merchant that specialized in ship accessories. I don't think there was a single item in his place that was new any time in the last decade. The little shop in front was just the bargaining area for a large yard behind it. His walls were covered with hundreds of gadgets that I had no clue as to what they could possibly be. This was Panzo's area of expertise, and I watched as he sorted through the various bits of salvaged starships.

Some of the accessories were weapon mounts, which inspired me to get Lafiel a 'pistol' to guard her and the ship. Panzo and Traxel both had pistols, and well, I was a weapon, but Lafiel had nothing to protect her. I guess she could use a missile, but that would likely make a sizable crater; not the best way to deal with an individual person close up. I mentioned this idea to Panzo.

Of course the dealer had just the thing we needed. With a minor exclamation to wait there, he ran through the draped cloth that exited to the rear yard. We could hear rummaging mixed with curses that I had no clue about. Finally the noise of metal being moved around ended, and footsteps announced his return. He brought out a large box on a lifter marked in a language I'd never seen.

Panzo looked in the box and started laughing before getting down to bargaining the price. I guess they were good enough for him. They bid back and forth before settling on a price for ten items. After dropping nearly a whole stack of coins in the palm of the merchant, he held the last two aloft.

"You can have these as well if you can get them installed by tomorrow."

The merchant eagerly nodded and the coins dropped into the outstretched palm. He called into the back room for his assistant to get busy. This was going to cost even more when the dock master hit us with the worker entrance fee. Panzo poked me to remind me that we were wanting to make the ship look different anyway.

Just about the time I was ready to call it quits with the shabby things I was finding, we turned the corner and walked straight into a shop that dealt in clothing. The entrance had swallowed us before I even knew it. They carried everything from under garments to outer wear for every occasion. I picked up a nice ship suit that was guaranteed against damage. It could even self-heal if the tear was not too large. It seemed made for me with the yellow and green patterning. I was examining a Meldin leather jacket when Lafiel called.

She was telling me that a couple of Shitala'bu had sneaked into the landing bay, and nearly got to the ramp before she lifted it. The ramp moving had startled them, and they had run off. Panzo was standing close, and quietly mentioned that it was likely my lizard buddy looking for an easy route to our money. I guess he'd heard of these Shitala'bu before.

We decided to head back since he figured that they wouldn't run far. They would likely return quickly, and with a way to open the ramp. I didn't want to leave Lafiel alone with no way to protect herself, so I urged Panzo to help me drag Traxel back to the ship. It took only moments to settle with the merchant for several outfits and two pairs of boots.

We hurried back to the cantina where Traxel had stopped. He had moved to the one next door where he was trying his luck on some dice. We let him finish the round before dragging him out. From the looks of things, it was good that we did; his stack of coins was nearly depleted. He was also a bit wobbly on his feet. Panzo laughed when I suggested it was food poisoning.

There was another of the Shitala'bu standing outside the entrance to our landing bay when we arrived, but he ran off ignoring our calls. I almost went chasing after him, though when he dropped to all four limbs I didn't think I had a chance of catching up. Panzo muttered something about lookouts.

Inside the landing bay we found the ship still closed up. I held off calling Lafiel to open the hatch as I took a close look at the ship. I was walking under it looking at the scratches and scorch marks that Panzo explained as the missile 'near hits' we had used to escape, when a little commotion started up by the side entrance.