Only two days later, Lus was back in his quarters getting ready for the date. He was lucky enough to have gotten on an earlier shuttle down to the planet so he had some time to shop and get a few things he needed for some of the fancier recipes his system [Recipes] required. Scallops would be handy for the [Galloping Scallops] recipe which in turn would give him a nice speed boost to whatever else he did that day.
Avil waited by his feet as he buttoned his dress shirt, the only thing close to “nice clothes” he had even after two years on board. Lusac didn’t really go anywhere that required formal dress, but he knew enough about dating to know that he couldn’t show up in his usual casual clothes. The button down was actually repurposed from his Corporate military uniform, but he’d long ago torn off the insignias that denoted it as such, so now it was a simple black button up shirt.
“How do I look?” He stepped back and spread his arms wide, presenting the entire outfit to his cat who gave him little more than a passing glance.
“That good?” Lusac asked with a smile as he reached down to pet him.
The door chimed, and Lus begged the Watcher that it was anyone but Tremt-Fusi. The doctor finally seemed to be getting close to putting him back on regular duty, but Lusac was tired of the daily check ups.
As he answered it, he stiffened upon finding Xwvl. She was still in her Runners uniform, but her face held no ill-will. She held out a piece of paper.
“The registration for Avil. I put him down as a ‘cat’ since he’s close enough to one,” the Kremel explained.
“Thank you,” Lusac squeaked out in disbelief as he took the paper. As his hands grasped it, a notification popped up in the corner of his vision.
[Quest Complete: Certified Pet Owner]
Xwvl nodded. “I guess I should have specified I wasn’t interested in a double-date, but I’ll take it anyway. Next time, however, I expect that you’ll clarify that kind of thing before you go ahead with it.”
“Sure thing, Xwvl,” Lus replied, though he’d already promised himself to never end up in that kind of situation again.
She grunted a goodbye, and Lus shut the door with a sigh of relief. The first thing he did was set the certificate on his desk where he knew it would be safe. Then, he held Avil up to his face and explained the good news. The cat offered his usual screechy meow in response, though Lus suspected it might actually be more of a protest of the hold rather than a celebration of the good news.
“Let’s check out that new [Skill].” Lus said as he set a disgruntled Avil back on the ground. He called up the blue screen of the system and went to the [Quests] tab to complete it and claim the [XP] and [Skill] rewards. Back on his homepage, next to his stats was the list of his current [Skills].
[Cooking]
[Chef’s Intuition]
[Sixth Sense]
[Summon Companion]
“[Summon Companion]? What does that do?” He glanced down at the cat. “Oh, right. Probably exactly what it sounds like.” That 1 [Common Sense] was coming in handy yet again. “But how do I use it? Why would I use it?” It wasn’t like Avil was all that powerful… Unless he could transform into that huge cyclops form at will. In which case, this was a very useful [Skill] in tight situations.
As much as Lus wanted to experiment with the new [Skill], he needed to get going to make his shuttle. They were in orbit around Zaxo which boasted a city with one of the largest open air markets in the entire Juno sector, and Lusac was excited to see what he could find in regards to ingredients for his [Recipes]. The next system [Recipe] he planned to make was the [Simple Sweet and Savory Sandwich] he earned from his [Quest] against Relf. When he last checked the ingredients, most of them were common, but he did need a paral fruit which they didn’t often buy. Since it was for himself, he was going to go ahead and get it himself with his personal funds.
Saying goodbye to an indifferent Avil, Lus stepped into the corridor, a few small chunks of valer in his pockets to pay for things as he went through the market. He also carried his cryptin card to give him access to the digital currency he had stored up, but all the Runners knew they could only use their cards a couple times a year or else they ran the risk of being tracked. Valer was much safer and untraceable, making it the go-to form of currency.
It was a relatively quick walk down to the shuttle bay where the others waited. Poor Oaty was stuck piloting the craft and back and forth to give everyone a chance to get down to the planet if they wanted. Normally he and Yonnex-Quniwel shared the duty, but for obvious reasons, Oaty was running it solo.
The man came up to Lus, his black hair pulled out of his face by a sports headband. He was around ten years older than Lus, but his age had never been a barrier to their friendship.
“Lusac, about time. We were going to leave without you,” he joked.
“Hi, Oaty. How’s it going? Enjoying being a taxi driver?” Lus asked him with a smile.
“Oh sure. It’s way better than racing,” Oaty replied.
“Come on, Oaty. Some of us have appointments down there. Enough chit-chat,” a disgruntled Nemarian called out.
Oaty rolled his eyes. “I hate resupply days.” He turned around to face the small crowd. “Alright, everyone onboard. It’s a quick flight down so I’ll have you guys in Viccian in no time.” The other eight people coming on the flight loaded up, but Oaty made sure Lus got the secondary front seat next to him instead of having to squish between the Kremel and Nemarians behind them.
The shuttle engine hummed to life, the doors closed, and soon they were sprinting out of the Argo and towards the planet. Even with the speed and some fancy flying, it was still a very comfortable shuttle journey, especially after having to deal with Dasht’s skills for several days. Oaty’s former days as a racing prodigy were what landed him the gig with the Runners (that, and his desertion from the Federal military). From Lus’s understanding, the Runners had grown significantly thanks to the influx of willing crewmembers due to military deserters and the increased number of jobs due to broken trade routes.
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True to Oaty’s estimate, they were landing on Zaxo within ten minutes, and everyone prepared to disembark.
“Are you going to get a chance to get out and see the city at all?” Lusac asked his friend as he undid his seatbelt.
Oaty shrugged. “Not this time. In fact, we may have to get a new assistant pilot if Quniwel doesn’t recover properly. Fusi isn’t too sure he’ll be able to take up piloting again with his missing eye and the slight brain damage.”
Lus bit his lip, unhappy with the news. “That sucks. I hope it works out better than that.”
“Me too. I’d rather stick a cutter in my own eye than be the only chauffeur during the next resupply.” He chuckled and slapped Lus’s back. “I guess I’ll see you later tonight. You sure are spending a long time on the planet. What’ve you got going on?”
“Just some shopping and dinner.”
“A date?” Oaty asked with raised eyebrows.
“Yeah. Sort of,” Lus admitted. Everyone else was out of the shuttle, giving him the privacy needed to admit such a thing.
“With Becks?”
“Yeah. We are doing a double-date with Yrqw and Xwvl.”
Oaty smiled wide. “Well make sure to give everyone a kiss from me. Especially Becky, eh?”
“Shut up.” Lusac stood up before the pilot could tease him further.
The man smacked his butt as he stepped away. “That’s right. Atta boy. Go get ‘em.”
“Bye Oaty,” Lus called back without turning around. The last thing he needed was for the playful pilot to see his red face.
Outside, the afternoon sun shone on the colorful city of Viccian. It had plenty of buildings, though most weren’t towers or skyscrapers but rather short, wide buildings that were covered in beige clay and painted with brilliant designs. The streets were composed of different shades and sizes of bricks laid in a complex pattern while green trees and flower beds lined the sides, providing plenty of shade and natural beauty. In terms of cleanliness, it easily ranked within the top ten cities Lus had been to.
It seemed to be late summer with the way the heat permeated everything. Being out in the sun reminded Lus that he was wearing a black, long sleeve shirt. He was regretting that he hadn’t worn something lighter for the weather, but all he could do now was hope he wasn’t going to sweat through it before the date.
From the vantage point of the shuttle landing pad, Lus was able to see deep into the city streets and directly into the heart of everything where the open market lay. The colors of the tent stalls and flags waving around made the painted buildings look dull in comparison. The streets were designed to funnel people directly from the landing site to the market since it marked the biggest tourist attraction Viccian had.
Lus dipped into the stream of people wandering that direction, happy to go with the flow as they approached the plaza. Zaxo had been colonized by a mixture of species, mainly Kremel and Humans, which was reflected in the population. Very few Nemarians passed by Lus, but that wasn’t surprising given the lack of humidity in the air. It was nice to have a similar experience to Rika, where he didn’t feel like he stuck out just because of his species.
All the buildings seemed to be in good repair, which was a surprising sight for a city this large, but the people clearly went to great efforts to present such a stunning atmosphere. Of course, something like an open air market would require enjoyable scenery to become as famous as this one.
The crowd Lusac had buried himself in split apart the instant they entered the market square. Dozens and dozens of stalls stretched out before him, the rows spaced apart enough for people to stand at a stall at either side without inhibiting the flow of walkers between them.
“Where to start?” Lusac asked himself. He knew he needed scallops and a paral, but trying to find either in the chaos of the plaza seemed like an almost impossible task.
The market did seem to be organized into various sections since all the vendors closest to him were selling cooked foods that made Lus’s mouth water. He reminded himself that he was going to dinner and that would be just as tasty, so he quickly left that area behind. The next section he came to overwhelmed his nose with the scent of various spices. Bags of colorful powders were lined up on the tables of each stall, with vendors loudly proclaiming the pure origins of their products. Lus gave in and bought himself a small bag of stifel, a yellow-colored smoky seasoning, since the one they had on board the Argo wasn’t anywhere near as fresh.
After the spices came the section Lusac was looking for: fresh foods. He bypassed the butchers with all the hanging animal carcasses and bolted straight to the produce stalls with various fruits and vegetables waiting. Many stalls were selling similar products, so Lus just chose one at random to start with. The vendor was a female Kremel who smiled brightly as he approached.
“You have good eyes for a Human,” she said. “Brrc’s offers the best produce found in all of Viccian. You’re looking for something familiar, no? Like garoots or nabras?”
“Paral actually,” Lus corrected her. “But I don’t see any.”
“Bah, Nemarian fruit isn’t as good as Kremel and Human. You want a cvrt or a kixi. Those are proper fruits.”
“I need a paral specifically,” he replied firmly. “Thank you for your time.”
He stepped away as she shooed him off, obviously unhappy she couldn’t provide something for his money. The next stall offered almost the exact same selection, lacking parals to both his and the vendor’s disappointment. On his third attempt, Lusac found someone selling parals, but the quality was not quite what he hoped.
“Parals are difficult to find. They don’t grow well here on Zaxo with our dry climate,” the Human running the stall explained. “These are from a greenhouse near the coast where the humidity is enough to keep the trees alive. You won’t find better unless you travel to a Nemarian world.”
“I understand. I’ll take two,” Lus said as he dug in his pockets for a small valer. The man accepted his payment and handed him a mesh bag with the two fruits. Lus waved as he dipped back into traffic to seek out some seafood stalls, though based on his luck with the parals, he wasn’t sure he’d find one.
Still, even if he didn’t, he appreciated the chance to explore more of the market. He passed more food stalls, and his taste buds got the best of him. After handing over a sliver of valer, he received a deep fried dough ball covered in a red glaze. Lus took a large bite, discovering a nutty spread inside which oozed from the ball. The soft flavor of the filling combined with the sharp, fruity sweetness of the icing balanced out nicely with the simple dough that brought it together. In another two bites, the treat was gone, but Lusac was satisfied with his purchase.
He’d continued to walk while he ate, and just as he finished and threw away the carton, he discovered a small grouping of stalls with tanks holding lobsters and fish.
“Finally,” he said to himself as he walked over, wiping the last of the stickiness from his treat onto his pants. The first vendor he approached was a Nemarian who wore a traditional toga. His maroon fins flickered as Lus approached, but he wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not.
“Hi. Do you have any scallops?” Lus asked.
“Sure. I have a few. They’re fresh from the Minneso Sea to the south,” the Nemarian confirmed with a wide grin.
“Great. I’ll take a pound.”
“Are you going directly back home?” the merchant queried, not yet moving to fulfill the request.
“No. I have some other business in the market and city still,” Lus answered, though he didn’t quite understand.
“Scallops don’t stay well in this heat. I can throw them in a cooler and properly pack them with ice if you’d like for an additional cost.”
Lus hadn’t even considered that his food would need to be maintained. “Yeah. That would be great.” Now he regretted wasting some of his funds on that dessert, but at least he’d know his scallops were safe to eat.
The Nemarian launched into action, and only a few minutes later, Lusac had his cooler of scallops. Wandering the market had taken up a good chunk of the day, and the sun was hanging lower in the sky. With a sigh, Lusac realized his next stop was going to be the restaurant for his unwanted date.