The air outside the capital was…surprising clean. In all honesty, it was almost so clean that Vindril had trouble breathing.
He was shocked. He didn’t exactly know how or why, but he had always associated the word capital with the picture of a metropolitan area where the vegetation had been swallowed by an endless sea of glass, metal, and any other polymer in between. On Girunne, that wasn’t the case. While obviously there were many, many skyscrapers that were so high the local star rays couldn’t almost illuminate the in-between roads, most of the scenery had been left like mother nature had crafted it. Only the roads had been completely cleared out, but that was for obvious reasons. People and transport needed to reach their destination after all. The same people that were now coming out the gigantic spaceport that Vindril had just gotten out off. Sorin and Luzir too had just gotten out. It seemed that he wasn’t going to aimless wonder all alone after all.
“So, my dear captain…” said Sully, his grin now evident on his face. “Where should we begin? I’m aching to finally get my hands back on action.”
Ignoring his banter, Vindril considered what to do. They had to acquire some food, along some other minor things that were most probably sold by the same merchant. And if they weren’t, he knew they were surely sold nearby that. Well, that was fairly simply. And cheap. Problem was, he had to find a way to have them shipped to the orbital station and loaded on Silver Death’s hold. Now that was surely going to cost him.
A bigger problem than that was securing all the meds the ship needed. In their line of work, many accidents could happen. Not to mention diseases were still a thing that could be potentially be contracted by just landing on the wrong place. As a captain, he felt the absolute need to secure the crew’s wellbeing, no matter the cost. The problem? He didn’t even nowhere near the necessary funds to buy all he wished to. Well, meds were mostly ok to buy. They weren’t cheap, but they also didn’t cost an eye. The real problem were adrenalins and boosters. Those were insanely costly.
The price for the most basic adrenalins went for the ten thousand of star coins. Why were they so expensive? The reason was as simple as it was complex. Adrenalins, as the word might imply, were a medical byproduct of adrenaline and other hormones that were studied to slightly augment physical prowess of every being that injected a vial of it. The blood stream would carry the product through the heart, only to be pumped all around the system. The result? On a civilian nothing more than a rush. A good, gooood rush, but nothing more; on a trained fighter, a soldier, or any other being that found itself on a fight or flight situation? That was another thing entirely. Vindril could still remember the day had managed to…take possession of one of those and tried it out. Truly, he had felt like his whole body had suddenly became capable of lifting mountains, or jumping over them. An exaggeration of course. But the power unlocked through the use of those things was nothing to sneer about.
So what about boosters? If adrenalins were already augmenting the senses like that, what were boosters used for? To answer those questions, one had to consider the price tag to begin with. The most basic one, unlike adrenalins, was sold on the market for more than a hundred thousand coins; a fortune, if one consider the small amount of product that was contained in a single vial. But…why were so sought after it they were so expensive? Simple. The results were brief, no more than an hour, but utterly real.
To make a comparison, adrenalins’ only purpose was to push the body into upping a little more the limit of what could be its performance. That was it. Nothing too complicated, right? Boosters instead augmented the ability of the muscle to produce power beyond what was normally possible; or it pushed the brain into calculating more complex matters at higher speed. Essentially, it was like forcing the body to perform beyond its natural limit. That’s why those little vials were so fucking expensive. That’s why those kinds of things were secured tightly in specific compounds that had restricted access. If there was a product worth stealing, those were certainly it.
“Adrenalins and boosters.” stated weakly Vindril. “Though I don’t even know if they’re even available on this planet.”
Sully’s eyes opened wide. A laugh, genuine and unfiltered, soon followed after. “You want me to steal adrenalins and boosters? Are you fucking crazy?”
“Ehi! You’re the one who asked me, didn’t you?”
“Well…yes. But that’s beside the point. How in the hell am I supposed to steal something we don’t even know if it’s available?”
“I don’t know.” he shrugged. “You’re smart. And creative. You’ll figure something out.”
“Figure som- Listen, I cannot steal something that-”
“There is a place.” Luzir said.
“That has those kinds of things? Here on Girunne?”
“…Yes.”
Vindril looked at the giant with newfound respect. If what he was saying was true, than it seemed he had been underestimating him all along. But…how did he come to know that? As far as information went, that kind of thing wasn’t exactly advertised on Starnet…
“Stop it with your jokes.” said Sully incredulous. “There’s no way you know that.”
“…I…overheard some people talking. They said they had encountered some problems at the site. That some adrenalins had been thrown out due to some mistake on the production.”
Vindril’s ears perked up. “And where is that site you’re talking about?”
“They weren’t exactly specific…as you can imagine. But I strongly believe it’s neither in town, nor far out of it.”
“And why is that?”
“…Convenience.” he stated. “Were they set up shop in town, they would have risked getting entangled with all the battles that had taken place on this planet in the years past. The same could be said otherwise. By opting a sort of middle ground, the owners ensure that the business safety.”
“So…how the hell do we find that?”
“I don’t know.” said Vindril. “But we cannot lose too much time here. I feel like Klevaric could catch up with us any time.”
“You’re exaggerating.” said Sully. Even though he looked like he was dismissing that hypothesis, it was clear he lacked some strength behind his words. “I admit Klevaric, as far as I could tell, has always been a resourceful individual. Utterly terrifying, but resourceful. In the couple of years that I’ve worked in that bar, many were the stories I heard. And none of them were cheerful. To tell you truth, I’m kinda glad I moved away with you all. He has always given me the shivers.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“I know…” admitted Vindril. “That’s why I don’t want to waste even a single second more than necessary. I’m probably being paranoid, but I’ll feel better once we’re aboard the ship.”
“…It’s wise to worry. Actions have consequences.”
Vindril stopped for a moment. His face was the perfect representation of what he was feeling in that moment: confusion. “…I swear, sometimes I wonder if I’m the strange one.”
“…If by strange you also mean naive, then yes. You’re the strange one.”
“…Anyway, let’s get going.”
//////
While Vernist wasn’t exactly all that big or imposing to be considered a megalopolis, it certainly was the biggest city in all of Girunne. If there was a place in that planet that might have all Vindril and his crew were looking for, that was certainly it. Problem was, none of them had any real idea where to find them.
At first, they tried to search the local market that was nearby. They knew that was the case by the constat flow of people and goods that were coming and going from the plaza they was near them. But they quickly found out how limited such an option was. So, in order to be as quick as possible, they consulted the giant map that was displayed in the center of the plaza, overlooking everything and everyone.
After a quick consultation, Vindril soon realized they needed to board a taxi at all costs. At the bottom of the map that was displaying the entire disposition of Vernist, with roads and avenues that connected the city center to every part of townlike arteries jointed to a pulsing heart, there was an icon that closely resembled a stall. By the shape and dimension of it, it must have been the biggest market of them all. With that ascertained, they just needed to find a way to reach it.
//////
“Is there something I can do for you?” asked the man, who had one of the greyest skins Vindril had ever saw. “If you’re not going to buy anything, than move. You’re making me loose coins here.”
Vindril was staring right at the goods that were carefully displayed on metallic counter, neatly organized as if that simple shrewdness could somehow assure a constant flow of customers. To him, that was going a bit over the top. Still, he had to admit that none of that mattered to him. So he focused on the actual goods, instead of the manner in which they had been displayed. He would have never admitted it, but he found all of that a bit too difficult. Especially that red fruit that was in front of him. The round shape and the pungent aroma it constantly emitted were a real challenge to ignore. He didn’t even know what kind of fruit that was; but in his mind, he was sure it tasted heavenly…
“Hmm, I know. It’s just…I need to confirm a couple of things.” Vindril said, trying to decide on a course of action. He would have asked Sully’s and Luzir’s opinions; surely they would have provided him with some context that would have helped him in securing the best goods at the best price. However, both had left some minutes ago, just a couple of moments after they had climbed down from the blackish taxi that had carried them all the way there.
Even if Sully had not said where he was going, nor what he was going to do, Vindril just had not doubt about that little man’s intention. By the way his eyes had shined the moment he had landed on the gigantic market they were now in, Vindril immediately understood his wish to procure some bottles of fine alcoholic beverages to experiment with aboard the Silver Death. Even if the ship had no real room that had been thought out to serve as a sort of lounge to relax and enjoy some well-deserved rest amidst the endless night, it seemed that Sully had no problem with it. Oh, Vindril had no doubt he was going to be asked to build a proper bar for him sooner than later; perhaps even in the entrance room, right beside that magnificent sofa that ran all around it. He hated to admit it, but a luxurious bar filled to the brim with multi coloured drinks of various origins was going to be a perfect fit in there.
Luzir instead had remained dead silent this time. Not like he was a chatterbox to begin with; usually, as far as Vindril could tell, that giant was more a man of action than words. And when he chose to speak up, he did so because he really felt like he wanted to. So Vindril had not been all that bothered when he simply walked off without even saying bye. What he found strange was the silent treatment Sully had received. Since the day he had set foot inside the bar Sully worked for, all the way back at the Academy on Keelo Prime, he had immediately understood the tight bond that the nulnarian and the halwerian shared. So why had Luzir acted that way, if he regarded Sully in such a high esteem? Vindril didn’t know. And so did Sully. When asked about it, he simply shrugged it off.
Those considerations aside, Vindril’s thoughts were interrupted by the merchant. “What do you need?” he asked a little bit annoyed. “C’mon. Tell me, boy. I don’t have all the day to waste.”
“Well, in case you didn’t notice, I’m not from these parts.”
“I noticed.” affirmed the man. “A bit too hard not to, if you ask me.”
“Why?” he asked confused. “I might not have the most common appearance, but surely there’s no way I’m sticking out that much.”
The merchant smiled. “You can dress up all you want; you can even camouflage yourself, if you so desire. But trust me, you’ll never get rid of the outworld aura you off-worlders carry with you.”
“Huh. Well, here’s the thing. I have a star ship. And I need to fill her hull with supplies. Problem is, I don’t know when I’ll be able to restock again…”
“Ahhh…I see. So you’re worried about the food going bad? Well, I can recommend you a couple of items that usually are long lasting.”
As he uttered those words, the man grabbed something from the counter. It was a sort of blue vegetable, round at the bottom and shaped like a five star at the top. “This is a Mindar root. They’re pretty tasty, and can last you for a couple of months. Store them under a cloth and you’re good to go.”
“Sounds pretty good. Anything else?”
“Of course. Just take a look.” he said, pointing his index finger at the bottom left of the counter. “Anything on there will last at least for a month, and doesn’t require any special conditions. As for fruits, berries, meat and the like, you’ll obviously need to conserve them in a cryo room or they’ll spoil pretty quickly.”
Vindril looked perplexed. Did the Silver Death even have a such a room? While he had not specifically asked Yurian to build such a thing, that was a room that was found on all star ship that travelled long distances. Surely the Silver Death, the stock one, had to be built with one, right? Perhaps it wasn’t enormous, but it had to come equipped with one. It was a risk to buy all of that without checking, but decided to proceed anyway.
“Alright. I’ll buy some of everything. But I still have a problem to solve.”
“Is it something I can help you with?”
“Well…I like to think so. I need to find a way to send all that stuff to my ship. You can understand how…complex that is.”
“Nah. If you’ve got the money to pay, I’ve got you covered. I just happen to know the right person for that.”
“Alright. How m-”
“1000. Star coins, obviously. Not negotiable.”
Vindril’s eyes shot up in surprise. A thousand?! Was he fucking mad?! To pay a thousand star coins just for a single trip to the orbital station was fucking lunacy. Why the hell would he ask for such an exorbitant amount?
“You’re joking. You must be.”
“I’m dead serious.”
“Oh, c’mon! That’s a robbery.”
“Nope. That’s the only way you’re getting those goods off this planet at record speed.”
“…At least give me a little discount.”
“Ehi, that’s not up for me to decide. But I can tell you the person you’re supposed to bargaining with won’t move an inch from that price.”
“Fuck it…” exclaimed Vindril. All in all, he really had no choice. “Alright, damn it! But tell your contact I’ll kick his ass if something ends up broken or missing, okay?”
The merchant smiled as only a merchant knew how. “Of course, of course.”
“Good.” he said, suppressing the sudden impulse he got to punch him in the face. “Good…”