After dinner came drinks as the meal settled.
Gaylen went with a single glass of mild beer. He’d been scaling his alcohol intake back for a while, and was finding that the more he did so the less appeal the stuff really had.
Bers, predictably, indulged himself more before vanishing along with some of those Outer Fringe types whom he could communicate with so fluently. Ayna had vanished as well at some point, and Herdis had switched tables to make halting attempts at conversation with a pair of locals who seemed to find her interesting.
Gaylen’s mug was near-empty, and so was the dining area, when two men approached the table. One was dark-skinned, maybe forty years old, with closely cropped hair and clad in a plain green jacket/pants combo. The other was younger, paler and quite a lot less unremarkable.
He wore a loud red jacket that clashed with yellow, ill-fitting pants, his black hair was just long enough to badly need the steady care it clearly wasn’t getting, and he carried a hefty backpack as well as two barely smaller side bags.
“Hello,” he said in Larin, and nodded stiffly. “You’re the... you’re the flyers? The... ride? Off planet, I mean?”
“We are,” Gaylen said. “Potentially.”
“Good,” the man said. “Good.”
“My name is Iso Vek,” the dark-skinned man said. Gaylen felt he knew the accent but couldn’t immediately place it. “We’re not actually together,” he added and indicated the other man. “We’ve just both been waiting for a flight for a few days.”
“And I’m Damon Dulel,” the paler man said.
He half-raised his hand, before dropping it as if unsure, then fully raised it for a shake after a moment’s hesitation. Gaylen did grasp it.
“I need a flight further out on the Fringe,” Dulel went on. “I need to reach Wembella. Can you get me there?”
“Well, we are on our way to Uktena Station,” Gaylen said.
The man looked at him blankly.
“It... is in the right direction,” Gaylen clarified. “Haven’t you studied your route?”
“Oh...”
The man scratched his head absent-mindedly.
“I did, sure. Some. But I’ve just been drifting Fringe-wards on any flight available.”
“Hm,” Gaylen vocalised, and took a moment to examine both men.
Kiris didn’t subtly prod his foot with hers, so she wasn’t picking up any lies or ill intent.
“Look, our standard rate for a flight like this is 400 Gybo-Rils, although I’m willing to negotiate regarding other forms of currency. That’ll get you to the station. Assuming everything is still fine by then we can talk again about taking you to Wembella.”
“Oh, that’s fine,” Dulel said.
He opened one of his side bags a bit and showed a bunch of tightly-packed money notes.
“I’m ready to pay.”
He sure was. Gaylen’s quick estimate was that the man was carrying at least 4000 rils. In a plain, unlocked, unprotected bag.
“And you?” Gaylen said to Iso Vek.
“I do need to move on after the station, but I might also stop,” the man replied. “I’ll think about it once I get there.”
“Alright,” Gaylen said. “Luggage?”
“Just a single bag,” Iso Vek said. “They’ve been holding onto it for me here. It’s about this big.”
He indicated with his hands.
“Oh, I have two more,” Dulel said. “Bigger than these. A bit.”
“Right,” Gaylen said. “Again, it’s four hundred. We arrange simple sleeping arrangements in the cargo hold when we get passengers. It’s not luxurious but they’re comfortable enough, warm, and you’ll have access to a portable toilet. Do you carry any weapons?”
Vek parted his jacket enough to show a small holster. It held a basic civilian stunner.
“Just for protection,” the man explained with a disarming smile. “Since I am travelling by myself.”
“Naturally,” Gaylen replied, then turned to Dulel. “You?”
“No no,” the man. “I don’t like violence.”
Gaylen cocked an eyebrow and the words ‘It’s not about liking’ almost exited his mouth. But it wasn’t his business. Even if he couldn’t help but wonder if he was delivering this man to his death.
“How long have you been travelling by yourself?” Vek asked the other man.
“Uuhh, thirty... five days, now.”
“Well, anyway,” Gaylen said. “We have a policy of guests storing weapons in a secure locker. And you’ll be banned from entering the engine room, the cockpit and our sleeping quarters.”
“That’s all fair,” Vek said, and the other man nodded.
“Then I just need you two to show up by the ship on time,” Gaylen told both of them. “We’ll be leaving in... two hours?”
He gave Kiris and Jaquan a questioning look, and they both nodded.
“Right. Two more hours planetside it is. Payment once you step on board.”
The two of them left and Gaylen and his two friends looked at each other.
“You wouldn’t be thinking of robbing that clueless oddball?” Kiris asked with a faint hint of a grin.
“No, Kiris,” he replied. “As you know. Yourself?”
“No no, I’ll behave,” she said, and the grin became a bit more visible.
“Do you think he was putting any of that on?” Jaquan asked her.
“No,” she replied with a shake of her head. “Total wide-eye.”
“Regardless, I’m sure Ayna will be happy for conversation,” Gaylen said. “And probably Herdis as well.” He took out his comm. “I should tell them we take off in two hours. Do you two want to stay here until then or maybe go for a stroll?”
Stolen novel; please report.
It was less of a question than a request. Gaylen simply wanted company. Kiris turned her golden eyes his way and of course saw right through him.
“Oh, let’s enjoy having a sky up above,” Jaquan said. “Together?”
“Sure,” Kiris said, still looking Gaylen’s way.
They got up and he sent a message to the other three. Herdis could see them get up but was clearly engrossed in her conversation, and he signalled her to be at ease.
Just a casual stroll with friends during free hours. Like normal, civilised people.
Gaylen was behind the other two as they walked to the exit, and he smiled to himself.
# # #
Ayna was the last to arrive, as had become rather customary, coming at a run after Gaylen had finished moving the last fruit crate on board.
“Sorry, sorry, I’m here!” the girl announced, smiling as she hurried up the ramp. “I know, I know!”
“You know that I am paying you,” Gaylen reminded her, not angry but somewhat annoyed.
“I don’t think I’ve ever actually been late,” she responded.
She exhaled, short of breath, then turned to the two strangers who were coming along.
“Ah, you’re the passengers?”
“We are,” Vek said for both of them.
“They are your new victims,” Gaylen said. “She really likes to talk to new people,” he told the two. “Just so you’re forewarned.”
“That’s fine,” Vek said with a smile and shook her hand. “I talk too.”
“You’re very pale,” Dulel said bluntly.
“No, I’m a perfectly ordinary Dwyyk,” she replied good-naturedly.
“Oh!” Vek said with obvious interest. “Are you actually raised on Dwyyk itself? I know there are communities...”
“Born and raised, yes,” the girl said. “Canny survivor, right here.”
She patted her chest.
“I think we are going to talk,” he said.
“Let’s just finish things first,” Gaylen said.
He pointed into the cargo hold.
“We’ll lay the sleeping mats down over there,” he said, meaning the spot between the two doors further into the ship. “And you two will put your luggage in that container over in the corner.”
He remotely activated the ramp and it started closing behind them.
“It will-”
“Wait!”
Gaylen turned around at the female voice. He spotted a figure outside and reversed the closing of the ramp. Rather than step in she waited for him as he strolled on over. Once there he took a couple of moments to take her in.
She was pale, her bob was that downright strange shade of red, and a small group of those Outer Fringe types stood at a distance, apparently watching the proceedings. She was maybe thirty years old, wore form-fitting pants, a sleeveless mesh shirt and some kind of shawl. Coupled with an incredibly sinewy form she would have looked like a fitness instructor if not for the strange tattoos that decorated each bare arm. And the eyes. Gaylen wasn’t Kiris, but a brutal life had taught him to recognise dangerous people.
As a final touch of oddness she wore a sword on her hip.
“I hear you are headed Fringeward?” she said, her Larin marked by a thick accent and rolling R’s.
“We are, yes,” he replied neutrally.
“Do you have room for one more?”
“Potentially.”
Gaylen went through his inner list of known pirate markings and compared her arms to it, but came up empty. But then most of the known ones were native to the Nearer Fringe.
“You’re one of the immigrants?” he asked.
“In fact, no,” the woman told him. “I am simply passing through.”
“Hm. Well, we have a policy about weapons.” He pointed at the sword. “Is that your only one?”
She displayed a knife on her other hip, partially hidden by the shawl.
“Are those keremak?” he asked.
She unsheathed the sword by an inch or so, displaying plain old steel.
“No, I cannot afford it.”
“Then... why a sword?” he asked. “I know they’re good against energy shields, but people wielding them usually wear armour. Or shields of their own.”
She shrugged. It seemed to be an attempt at casualness but she couldn’t quite pull it off. Her face remained rather severe.
“Feel free to call it eccentricity,” she said.
Her grammar and vocabulary seemed pretty decent but he got the feeling she was rusty in actually speaking Larin.
“Fine, I will,” he said.
It really was no business of his whether strangers took appropriate precautions or not, but it was his business what kind of person stepped on his ship. Kiris was already in the engine room, helping Jaquan prep the engine. It would be a simple enough matter to call her over, but what kind of leader would he be if became entirely reliant on a Chanei’s overpowered empathy?
“It’s 400 for a flight to Uktena Station,” he said. “We could renegotiate there, if needed.”
The woman pursed her lips a bit.
“What do you say to... two hundred and this?”
She reached into her shoulder bag and took something out. It was greyish-green and the shape was quite confusing until she popped it open. It was one of those collapsible combat helmets.
“Where did you get that?” he asked.
“Picked it up, while travelling,” she replied simply, with no indication that further explanation would be forthcoming.
Gaylen looked the thing over for a few moments. He’d seen the make before, and was in fact simply checking for dried blood. He found none, and dropped the helmet on the ground. Then he drew his pistol and set it to low strength. He checked the woman’s face for any objections, then fired a shot into the helmet.
It held. And while standing up to a minimum strength pistol shot was no great feat, at least he wasn’t being handed a counterfeit. And two hundred seemed like the minimum amount he could pawn it off for. If not at the station, then at the next big thoroughfare.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Call me Saketa.”
“Luggage?”
“All here,” she said, and patted the bag.
He beheld her in silence for a few breaths. She simply stared back, just as unmoving as he was.
“Alright,” he then said. “I’ll accept this as payment.”
He unfolded the helmet.
“But your blades stay in a locker until we dock. Understood.”
“That’s fair,” she said casually.
“And payment up front.”
She produced the money from the bag; a bunch of badly crumpled-up notes that nevertheless seemed legit. He pocketed it and motioned for her to follow him. She turned around and gave those watching a strange wave before following. They replied with one that was similar but not identical.
Gaylen closed the ramp and led her over to the other two.
“Ayna, ready three cots and the sani-unit,” he said into his comm.
“Three?” the Dwyyk replied from wherever she was on the ship.
“We have one more.”
He motioned for the passengers to step with him through one of the doors and into the main entry area.
“That’s the engine room straight ahead,” he said and pointed at the two opposite doors on either side of the space. “No entry, I’m afraid. And that’s the bunk areas up above.”
He pointed at the two hatches in the ceiling.
“No entry there either.”
He pointed at the sheer flight of stairs leading up.
“But that’s the living room and you’re free to join us there, for meals or rec or whatever. You can also use the exercise equipment if no one else is. Now, Ayna will take care of you and I’ll have those weapons.”
Gaylen took the stunner and the two blades and stepped up into the stairs just as Ayna opened one of the hatches and dropped down like a cat. He walked up into the living room, past Bers as the man arranged small food items he’d bought, and into the cockpit. Herdis was at her spot in the copilot’s chair.
“That’s another planet done,” the woman said through a wide smile. “And others to come.”
“Maybe you can take your family on a bit of a tour,” Gaylen suggested as he opened the secure locker. “Once you return home from your... pilgrimage.”
“The kouru. And... I think I’ll let stories and pictures do. Many of these places aren’t exactly family-friendly.”
“Most places have families in them,” Gaylen replied as he closed the locker. “But I see your point. Also, I guess it’s hard to arrange that many vacations at once.”
He sat down, fired up the engine and then activated the intercom.
“Okay, that’s it for Josi Ja. Nice little place and we made some nice little business. Our next real stop is Uktena Station. It will be about a forty hour trip, with seven leaps and one charging stop.”
He took the Addax off the ground and steered them up towards the Sea of Stars.