The ramp closed behind them and Mira locked the ship down. “Everyone ready for this?” She asked.
“Clothes shopping first, right?” Aurelia asked.
“As agreed.” Duke said. “Lead on Mira since you know this place.”
“As agreed.” She echoed as they followed her out of the hangar and into the main station. Once they exited the hangars, the corridor was much wider than Duke had expected at nearly sixty meters across. He did find exactly what he expected right outside the hangars. That being bars and brothels with the occasional pawn shop thrown in for good measure. Just like stepping off any airbase. Oh, and there’s the no-tell motel. Perfect. At least some things never change.
They quickly moved to a “nicer” part of the station where shops catering to the more long-term residents were to be found. It did not take long to find a clothing store they all agreed upon.
They were greeted by the salesclerk’s automatic upbeat greeting, “Welcome to Mozzie’s.” It was immediately followed up more seriously as she looked up and saw the four of them. “OK, what’s the budget? There’s an awful lot to fix here.”
Lya spoke up before anyone else could say anything. “Let’s not worry about the budget but try to keep it under a million credits. That should cover anything we need.”
The clerk brightened up as Duke’s face fell, realizing that he did not have a single credit to his name. Aurelia gave him a look saying the exact same thing. Lya smiled at the looks and rescued them. “Don’t worry. This one is on me.”
Mira gave Lya a look of her own to which she answered, “We’ll talk about it later, OK?”
Before anyone could say anything more, the clerk grabbed Aurelia and took her into the back of the shop. “Oh, honey, the armored knight style is so last century. Let’s get you something more up to date.”
When Aurelia emerged, she was wearing a short top that gave the hint of a uniform in black with golden accents with a matching short skirt. The outfit was finished with a pair of high boots and a flat newsboy hat that fit the outfit perfectly. Duke’s jaw dropped and Aurelia’s smile broadened.
“Yep, that’s the reaction we were going for.” The smiling clerk grabbed Mira next.
As they disappeared, Aurelia did a twirl in front of Duke. “You like it?”
“I’m going to get into so many fights, but damn, you look good. Real good. Too damned good.”
Aurelia blushed and wrapped Duke up in a hug before kissing him. He kissed her back, forcefully causing her to utter a soft moan and kiss him back just as passionately. Moments later, they were zapped by an electrical jolt.
“Enough of that! My shop is not the place for that no matter how beautiful I make you all look!” The salesclerk waved a glowing wand in their direction.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” Duke replied, stepping back from Aurelia but still holding her hands. “Have you seen this woman?”
“Yes, I’ve seen her. Who do you think picked out the outfit. Now go sit over there and wait. How am I going to find pants that fit you like that!”
Duke realized what she was talking about and took the seat indicated, slightly chagrined but not entirely able to take his eyes off Aurelia.
“You’re next,” the salesclerk beckoned to Mira. She thought for a moment before adding, “You come back here again too, blondie.” Aurelia followed Mira into the back of the shop, leaving Duke and Lya alone.
He turned to her, but she shook her head. “We can talk, but keep that thing pointed away from me.”
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He sighed and spoke, “Are you sure you can afford to pay for all this?”
She laughed and came up to him, whispering in his ear, “The Landassians are paying for all this. I drained the ship’s account before we left it behind.”
Duke looked at her quizzically, “How did you do that? And how much was in the account?”
“I’ve had their security codes cracked for years and without anyone there to actively manage them, it was child’s play to drain the accounts. All nineteen million credits worth.”
“That’s a shit-ton of credits.”
“Sure is, so going shopping on their dime is just fine with me. It doesn’t even begin to pay back the debt they owe me for betraying Hollis. They are the ones who betrayed him to the Concordiate. They could have left well enough alone but, no, they had to get involved and that got by beloved Hollis killed.”
“I’m sorry that happened. But I am glad that we have one of their ships then. Maybe we can find a good use for it.”
“Load it up with well-cloaked but barely contained anti-matter and fly it on autopilot back to their homeworld. That would be a good use for it.”
Duke let it drop as the salesclerk came out to grab Lya. He quietly waited until it was his turn. When he came into the back of the shop, he did not see any of the ladies but the salesclerk rushed him into a changing room with several outfits to try on.
It took all of ten minutes for them to create an outfit for Duke. Ultimately, he decided on something that looked like a military uniform in his favorite black and red. The shoulders had epaulettes that carried the silver oak leaf of Duke’s Earth rank with a crimson braid looped through the left shoulder. The jacket had golden buttons that each had the imprint of a glowing red gem. The pants were sharply creased and carried a red stripe down the side. Duke felt the uniform looked menacing and intimidating and he had checked with the salesclerk to make sure that he hadn’t unintentionally enlisted himself in someone else’s military. Duke wasn’t sure what fabric the uniform was made from but he found that he had full freedom of movement despite wearing a jacket.
“OK, now it’s time to integrate a storage device for you. Would you like it in one of your pockets? Perhaps the inner pocket of the jacket?”
“That won’t be necessary. Thank you.” Duke came to the sudden realization that he hadn’t known where Aurelia’s armor or sword had gone but now knew she had a storage device for them.
“Are you sure? They are rather convenient.”
“Alright. Make it the front left pocket of the pants.”
It took another five minutes to complete, but the storage device was integrated into the pocket. “That will hold up to five cubic meters of material.”
Duke smiled and thanked the salesclerk, suppressing the urge to brag about his million cubic meters of storage space in his INVENTORY.
When he returned to the front of the store, all three women were there waiting. And they were all stunningly beautiful with outfits that accented their curves beautifully. They looked up to him and he received two approving nods from Mira and Lya and one very hungry look from Aurelia.
Lya stepped up to pay the salesclerk, thanking her with a generous tip.
“Please do come back anytime if you need something adjusted or if you would like something new.” The salesclerk’s smile appeared genuine and warm as the group headed out.
As they moved down the corridor, many eyes turned to look at the four of them, human, and otherwise. After a few minutes of this, Duke stopped them.
“What’s the matter?” Mya asked.
“Have you noticed how much attention we are getting just walking the halls looking like this? I have a serious question that is probably going to make me look like an asshole for asking, but I want the understanding laid out beforehand.”
Lya furrowed her brow, “What’s on your mind, Duke?”
“All three of you are attracting more than casual glances which will inevitably lead to someone hitting on you. I know all three of you are capable of handling yourselves so I’m not going to step in for you Lya or Mira unless you want me to. Aurelia, sorry, you are stuck with me stepping in.”
Aurelia grinned. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, love.”
Lya shrugged. “If someone wants to proposition me, they are in for a rude awakening. Hollis may be gone, but he still holds my heart. They won’t enjoy what comes if they are persistent or pushy. If it gets truly violent, they’ll get to see what a Tier Three Celestial Tracker can truly do.”
“You Tiered-up?” Mira asked.
“Sure did. On our flight in and it’s a badass Class. Holding off for so long got me an Epic-grade Class. And I even had enough experienced left in the bank to jump all the way back up to level 50!”
Duke wondered how to bank experience like that and would have to ask about it sometime but for now, he still needed one more answer. “Lya, that is so freakin’ awesome. Congratulations! Mira, don’t think this gets you out of answering my question.”
Mira grinned at Duke, “Simple answer is this. I don’t mind if someone hits on me. If they get handsy at the bar, I’ll break something. If they have friends that want to get in on the action, then stepping in might be a good idea. And thanks for asking and not assuming. It doesn’t make you an asshole. It means you are a friend who doesn’t want to spoil my fun. I appreciate that. Now, let’s head to the monster parts dealer. Rubric’s is not far from here and Lya can brag about her new Class on the way. Celestial Tracker? I’ve never even heard of anything like that. Dish, girl!”