As they walked away Lewis looked at long coat and wasn’t surprised to see him looking back across the tables. Lewis nodded and pulled out a chair next to him. The fellow gathered up his food and strode over to sit in the offered chair.
“Permission to join you, Sir?” He asked before sitting.
“Granted, I’m Lieutenant John Lewis and you are?” Lewis said, as he stood to greet the stranger.
”Master Sergeant Lawrence Dumond, at your service, Sir.”
“We’ve been meeting lots of new people today, what can I do for you?” Lewis asked.
“I will get right to the point. My brass sent me to ask you if you came from space,” Dumond said. “They want to know what’s going on.”
“Well,” Lewis replied. “Are you here to exchange info?”
“Within reason,” Dumond told him.
“O.K. we came from space, if you want more than that, I need answers too. For instance, what organization are you with?”
Dumond didn’t hesitate. “I am a tracker with the Defenders of Andar. They were the homeland army during and before the war. They are now what’s left of the government and military of Andar. And you, who are you with?”
Lewis gave that some thought. “I was part of a regular army, but now it seems I’m a long way from home. A person has to eat, however, so I now work for one Captain DeLeah. He’s the guy who brought me here and he needs some help.”
“Care to elaborate?” Dumond asked.
“Well, I don’t know how this works exactly, but apparently we ended up here by accident. Now I am looking for some kind of star chart that will accurately pinpoint our location. Also, we are looking for trading partners while we are here,” Lewis answered.
“Why do you use the singular?” Dumond wanted to know. “When I know there are others, because the man I’ve been tracking is sitting over there with that young lady. How many are there in your party?”
“There are a few of us,” Lewis said pointing at Telini and Gomez and nodding them over. When they got there he made introductions. “This is Sergeant Telini and Sergeant Gomez, meet Master Sergeant Dumond.” They exchanged pleasantries and then Lewis said. “We were shopping today, why don’t you guys continue with it. Tell the others not to get into trouble and if you don’t see me before, I’ll meet you at our room by dark.” Telini saluted sharply before he and Gomez departed.
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“Sometimes I wish I was given a unit to lead,” Dumond said as they watched them leave.
They left the market and spent the afternoon down town. Dumond took Lewis to the library and helped him search for star charts. They discussed politics and other various groups. Dumond called the people from Vakum pirates and said that his folks were known locally as ‘The Knights.’ He explained how Ladzoo had demanded independence about thirty years ago. The defenders had cleared most of the mutants out and suppressed pirate activity to the point where they believed Ladzoo had an outside chance of success.
They ate in a restaurant on the ground floor of one of the high rises, the place was clean and the food was good. Dumond and Lewis looked a little out of place here among the suits and ties. Lewis spotted the now familiar blue uniform of the Aquanauts, as Dumond called the submarine folks.
When Lewis mentioned this to Dumond, he replied. “Yes, see the braids?”
Lewis looked and said. “Two black ones, bodyguards I presume. What about the wide silver one?”
“Not silver,” Dumond replied. “It’s platinum. That’s Rear Admiral Spex; I believe he’s a citizen of Ladzoo and he runs an office for the submerged people in the mayor’s complex, that man sitting across the table from him is the mayor himself.”
Do the defenders have an office here?” Lewis asked.
“Yeah, also in the mayors complex, as does Vakum, Port Mist and the Hagen,” Dumond said. “Hey isn’t that your sponsor?”
Lewis looked in the indicated direction and saw Fingers in a beautiful flowing orange dress, sitting at a table across the room. Her table had a dozen men and women in fine clothes engaged in what appeared to be an animated discussion, but their voices were low and Lewis couldn’t hear any of it.
He turned back to Dumond. “Tell me about the ‘Hagen’.”
Dumond shrugged. “What’s to tell? They were the indigenous peoples who were here before Sylog found this place. They mostly live in the wild places. The mutants almost wiped them out, and the defenders stepped in and helped them clear a few areas. Anyway, they have a loose tribal system and keep a representative here.”
“Sounds like they are smart enough to realize that Ladzoo is a happening place,” Lewis commented. “How will I know these people if I see them?”
“You know,” Dumond mused. “The feeling among the Defenders was that Ladzoo’s independence was a joke. About ten years ago a Hagen shaman told me that Ladzoo was a gem from which prosperity would grow. I do believe he might have been right. Oh, the Hagen tend to be smaller, darker of skin tone, and faster paced than other people you’ll meet here.”
After dinner they walked back to the market, which was shutting down in the late afternoon. Dumond gave Lewis his radio frequency and told him to only use it in the evening. They parted ways and Lewis walked back to the warehouse in the gathering dusk.