Leo spent several minutes educating Gelt on the virtues of coffee. Gelt showed interest in the drink, especially when Leo pointed out it's popularity in human society.

After finishing their drinks Leo asked Gelt, "So, how exactly do you propose I introduce you to human culture. I'm not exactly an expert in cultural exchange, not to mention that human culture is extremely diverse to begin with."

"You have a few errands to run and things to buy, yes? Why don't I accompany you. Rather than asking questions which may or may not provide useful answers, you can give me a firsthand experience."

Leo mulled the idea over. It wasn't a bad proposition and he could certainly use a guide. If he found something lucrative it could even earn him some GC to get moving.

"Alright, it's a deal."

He stuck his hand out and waited before mentally slapping himself.

"This is a common human custom that you'll probably want to learn if you're going to be trading with humans. We often shake hands as a friendly way to seal a business deal."

"Ah."

Gelt stuck out his four fingered hand to meet Leo's five fingered one. Gelt got the hang of it after a second, and the deal was finalized with gusto. Leo was surprised at the texture of the skin on Gelt's hand. While it looked smooth, in reality it was slightly rough, like that of a shark.

The two set off towards the nearest transport pod.

"Alright, the first order of business is clothes. If I'm going to be representing humanity out here I'll need something better than this."

Contrary to Leo's expectations, there was no clothing store. Instead, clothes were fabricated according to the specifications of the customer in a NanoFab. Various options were available according to species and numerous base designs could be chosen and edited at will. He picked out a some T-shirts, jeans, and a couple of button up shirts for daily wear. Gelt watched the whole procedure on the holoscreen with rapt attention. After taking care of the basics, he realized that having something slightly more formal might come in handy and checked what templates were available for suits. He picked out a pair of black slacks with a matching blue sport coat and white button up. He finalized the order and looked over at Gelt, who had what Leo guessed was a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Interesting. Human clothing has some potential. Many species have similar body structures, my own included. While not all species require clothing, many do. I'm sure there are many who would be happy to get their hands on some new designs."

Leo wasn't surprised. While walking through the docking bay earlier, he had seen beings of every shape and size. He had caught glimpses of ones with fur, feathers, even several with chitin like shells. Clothing and decoration was bound to be a popular commodity.

He had a dilemma on his mind now though. He wanted to buy a ship, preferably something fast that would let him travel around with ease. He was excited to check out other parts of this extremely well fleshed out game, but credits were a problem. He realized that his dilemma was rather similar to the one he faced on Minos. He turned to Gelt.

"I need to get some GC together for a ship. I'm a trained fighter pilot, is there any way for me to use that before I have my own ship?"

Gelt was surprised, but that surprise quickly turned into a frown.

"Unfortunately most reputable mercenary groups only accept applicants that already have a ship. Unless they have sufficient proof of your skill or some type of recommendation that's not an option. The GateHubs are considered neutral ground as they appear at the same time as a gate appears in a new system. Several have been attacked by foolhardy groups in the past and none have tried since. The gatehub's automated drones will police your home sector for the next two standard cycles, as your system is new to the gate network. While this is good news for your system, it means that you are unlikely to find a job flying security forces."

While interesting, this information put him right back to square one. He needed a ship in order to earn money flying. Thinking back to Daisy's Cafe, he wondered if it was possible to earn money with his music here. One way or another he wasn't going to travel the galaxy without a guitar, so that was the next item on the list.

They headed over to a nearby NanoFab kiosk. It seemed like most templates were widely available and could be easily ordered without the hassle of coming in person. These were mainly used for custom designs, which weren't in particularly high demand. He linked his commchip to the UFS HoloNet and downloaded a basic acoustic guitar template, which he then uploaded to the terminal. Gelt watched over his shoulder as he made several modifications to the design. The light wooden guitar became denser and darker, turning a dark shade of racing green and the scratch plate was eliminated. He sharpened the shape of the bridge, making it slightly more aggressive while casting the fretboard in a dark matte black. He also added a piezoelectric microamplifier before saving the template to his commchip.

He finalized the design, adding in a standard carry case and watched as the fabricator started to spool up. He was rather interested to see what the reaction would be to a bit of good old fashioned busking.

Gelt looked away from the NanoFab which he had been watching with rapt attention.

"Leo, what is this item you're making?"

"It's called a guitar. How much do you know about music?"

"No more than most. Elasmo celebrations often involve singing and dancing. Unfortunately it doesn't translate above water. You're hearing a translated version of my native language right now. While breathing water my species is capable of producing some rather beautiful vocalizations, above water though..."

Gelt trailed off and motioned for Leo to turn disable his translator. When he next spoke Leo was taken aback as a sound like someone chewing broken glass through a mouthful of peanut butter came from the friendly looking Elasmo. Leo rubbed his ears as he reenabled his translator. Gelt looked rather rueful after that display.

"As you can see, not the most pleasing of sounds. I've seen a few other species that sing for celebrations. A number of musically focused Aposor have created tunes that many species enjoy listening to, however; their achievements were rather limited."

Leo became thoughtful. It was hit or miss whether his music would be well received, but it was worth a shot. After experiencing the effect of the translator, he realized that if he was going to be singing he would need his audience to disable their translators for the rhythm to carry across.

"Well Gelt, I'd like to say that this will be a good experience, but I guess we'll just have to find out. Are there any rules against me playing in the trade hub?"

"Well, it would be a good idea to rent one of the trade stalls so you don't get fined for using the public space. No other problems though."

Leo walked over to one of the small sized stalls and grimaced before paying the fifty credit fee. The stall came with configurable seat, and a table which he moved out of the way before sitting down. He took out the freshly constructed guitar and started to get a feel for it. Several minutes passed as he plucked a couple strings and adjusted the tuning until he was satisfied, garnering him several odd looks from the people shopping nearby. Paying them no attention, he set his guitar case down on the table along with a small 'Donations appreciated' sign that he had printed out as an afterthought.

He adjusted the microamp, and played a note which carried nicely through the nearby area before launching into a song.

As light notes filled the area a number of heads turned towards the small booth in curiosity and confusion. The sound cut clearly through the white noise of the trade hub and a number of people in the area moved closer to get a better view of the strange creature coaxing sounds out of such a simple and primitive looking instrument.

Leo felt a stirr of elation, but calmed his mind and sunk back into the music. Closing his eyes, he went with the rhythm and danced his fingers across the strings. The music flowed out, and many of those nearby found themselves nodding their heads and closing their eyes as the soft wistfulness of the tune washed over them. Gelt found himself remembering his childhood on Asul, frolicking through the clear water with his parents.

As the last few chords faded out, the whole trade floor had slowed to a halt and fallen silent. It was peaceful, like laying on a beach as the last rays of a warm day slowly fade. Leo opened his eyes and looked around, stunned to find all eyes on him. Figuring he wasn't going to get a better opportunity, he stood up and addressed the crowd.

"Well, that went better than expected. My name is Leo, thank you for listening."