“Just kidding! Well, not entirely.” Tordan added after he saw my frustrated face. “Those types of mods are Level 2.” He explained his face apologetic.

“C’mon! It’s always the good stuff!” I complained. I massaged my temples. My dreams of smiting dangerous beasts one handed was crumbling before my eyes. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“I don’t know. Ask your senator or congressmen. Your planet your rules.” Tordan growled. I glanced at his face and saw that he too was frustrated about it. “Our Association had been lobbying both your government and the Dalsau to remove the restrictions for months but..” He didn’t finish. I guess he thought he was preaching to the choir.

I sat there deflated and unable to speak. I mulled over what he said. My frustration was slowly waning. I wanted to start a career in hunting as a sideline while I was still in school. I can still do it, but for the Level 2 mods, I’ll just have to wait until I was eighteen. I didn’t have to wait long anyway. So I shook myself internally and stopped my dashed hopes from ruining my mood. I swore to myself to find another way.

“So. Are you going to buy the other mods?” He asked me when I didn’t say anything. I was a little disappointed about the whole thing. There were still some good mods and I can buy those. I shrugged and told him what I wanted. Tordan eyes narrowed and stared at me for a long time. I suspected that the dwarf knows I wasn’t telling him the whole truth. I melted under his hard stare until his eyes softened and he snorted went back to his old self and we bargained for the price.

I bought the rifle plus ammo, the monoblade, four storage mods, and one auditory mod. After I thought about it, I also bought two Rejuv mods for my parents. Those were pricey but they were for my parents. I was about to buy a comm mod but remembered that my family and friends still used a cell phone, so I ditched that idea reluctantly. I ended up with three thousand Creds remaining. I winced when I converted it to dollars even though I promised myself not to. I still had more money to collect anyway and the thought cheered me up.

Tordan piled the items on the table and placed an empty tote bag for me to use. He threw something at me I caught it. It was a very dark brown bomber jacket with a light brown fur collar. I looked at mouth open he was smiling smugly.

“We’re aliens. We ride spaceships. We bend the fabric of SpaceTime” He stated as if that explained everything and he smirked.

“Try it later. C’mon, check them all.” He said as he glanced at the other waiting customers. I checked the items quickly and they were all sealed. Toldar with a knowing smile on his face extended his hand and I shook it. He said something solemn in dwarvish and I raised a questioning eyebrow at him. He just shook his head still smiling and patted me on the back. I said my goodbyes and walked back to my car.

I sat inside the truck, I wondered what the dwarvish words and smile meant. As I turned the ignition, I glanced back to the direction of the store and I made a promise to tell the dwarf the truth. I think he already knows anyway. I was just probably making a big deal out of it.

I pursed my lips and pondered claiming the bounty, but the thought of my Altech items on the car while I waited for the check made me queasy. I glanced at the weapons, mods, and my heart skipped a beat in excitement. So I eagerly drove back and I couldn't wait to get home.

--

I sat on the on my bed and took out the Storage mod from the bag. My hands shook a little bit in anticipation. I broke the seal with my fingernail and opened the clear plastic cover. I looked at the mod in my hand turning it slowly, looked at it in all angles. The mod looked like a small matte gray matchbox only thinner and had a wafer texture. I wore a latex glove on my left hand and slowly placed the mod on the back of my right sweaty palm.

At first, it didn’t do anything but after a few seconds, the mod slowly melted like butter in a heated pan. My heart raced and I concentrated on keeping my hand level. The metallic liquid spread out near the edges of my palm. It moved and looked like mercury, but it stuck to my palm even when I accidentally tilted it. I frowned when I felt a slight pressure on my palm and after a few moments, the pressure increased. As I started to feel the pain I started to panic but calmed myself and beads of sweat fell down my cheeks. The silvery film then started to disappear in some spots and slowly it disappeared altogether absorbed by the skin. The pain receded slowly until it went away. I sighed in relief and my heart rate fell. The only evidence of the mod was a slightly red patch on the back of my palm. I tested my hand slowly rotating it and feeling the area where the mod was. That was an experience I won’t likely forget.

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Tordan said to tell my Dad (Me) that the mod “installs” after full night's sleep. He also said we could only install a mod once a day. I was amused by the term we used like our body was a computer. I laid on the bed and contemplated the whole process. I regarded my hand and the reddish patch of skin. I thought about the procedure and the term made sense. The body was the hardware and the core was its operating system. The average person only had the most barebones windows installed on it. With a little activation prompt on the bottom right. The mod acts like a peripheral you add to your computer. The whole analogy fits. Maybe not with Apple.

I was probably tired because I fell asleep and I woke up when my mom called out that the dinner was ready. So I stretched my body, stood up and walked to the dining room. Dad was already there still on his Epad. He sat at the end and Mom was placing food on the table. I sat down on his left and stared at the food. There was a lot more than usual and I asked mom about it.

“You’ll need a lot of food” She said. She sat down and pinched my Dad’s elbow.

“Sorry babe.” My Dad said wincing and he placed the Epad on the empty chair behind him. He looked at me and he grinned.

“You’re gonna eat a lot for a few weeks.” He smiled as he recalled his own core induced hunger. “Let’s say Grace” he announced.

We gave our thanks and we dug in. We talked about non-consequential things like the weather, who’s marrying who, and other stuff. I ate a lot of food so I was a bit embarrassed, to be honest. While I was on my third pie Dad asked me about my trip to the traders. I quickly finished the pie and took the items from my room.

I told them about my bargaining skills and showed them the jacket. They said jacket looked good on me. Then I gave them the Rejuv and Storage mods.

“These are expensive hon. We were planning on getting some for the both of us. Thank you.” My mom's eyes teared up as she looked at me. I dropped my head and gazed at the table a little embarrassed.

Rejuv mods slowed the natural aging process of the body. The nanites did it by manufacturing an enzyme that stopped most of the cells from breaking down. It's not an immortality potion though and I can’t use one because my body needed to develop some more.

“Told ya not to spend it all in one go. This is useful. Thanks” My dad said softly examining the storage mod and picked up the monoblade. I kicked myself when I forgot to buy a one for dad.

“They only had one in stock. I ordered one for you.” I lied again. I sat there bemused that I was lying a little more than usual. I promised myself to control it later.

“You guys know how to use it. Right?” I asked them while they were busy admiring the mods.

“You eat them right hon?” My mom picked up the mod and placed the plastic box in her mouth.

“I don’t think so, babe. I think you insert it in the ass.” My Dad grinned his hand motioned that particular area.

“What! No! You...” My eyes widened in horror. My parents then laughed.

“We were kidding hon. You put them on the back of the palm. Right?.” My mom smiled at me.

“Hehehe. Gotcha there!” My dad laughed.

“Yeah. Okay. Okay.” I sat there chagrined. I acted like a know-it-all and I got my just desserts. “I never did ask what mods you had”

“Hmm. None. We didn’t have a lot of money before hon. We were still paying my student loans when these came out. Your Dad at that time just started the company… and..” she shook her dead unable to continue speaking, her face full of emotion. Then she stood up and hugged me hard. I patted her shoulder. “Thank you hon” She whispered to me. My eyes watered a little. I looked at dad he gave me a thumbs up.

We were doing alright financially now. Dad and his buddy founded a small private security company maybe six years ago. It grew into a big one after three years. Dad passed the reigns of running the company to his friend and he still gets a check every month. My Dad earned his retirement after years of abusing his body when he was in the Marines.

I wanted to give something back to my parents who raised me. Seeing their reactions made me happy that I did the right thing. As I laid on my bed after dinner I was thinking of my future. My goals were now solid. All I need was to make the first step. The problem was there were obstacles blocking my path. My goal was very simple. I wanted to see galaxy... I wanted to meet interesting and stimulating aliens of an ancient culture...I wanted to see exotic and dangerous beast... and hunt them.

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