They eventually drew close enough to see what was beneath the beacon. Sam, Jeffrey and Rax already knew of course, but it was the first time that the others had seen an outpost before. Sam was still not sure exactly what their purpose was, but they were a peaceful trading zone for aliens and humans to exchange goods and services. However it seemed a little down on its heels. Many people were likely using the Interweb to buy things now, rather than going out of their way to a town such as this. A bored looking four legged alien sat in front of the gate, with a vacant expression on his face. As Sam drew near, he looked up languidly.
“You here for trading or accommodation?”
“Trading, hopefully,” Sam replied. As the guard looked at him, his eyes narrowed. Then he suddenly scooted backwards.
“Shit! It’s you!” Apparently he recognized Sam.
“Why does that matter? I’m not here to destroy your town if that’s what you think.”
The alien's face softened and he looked at Sam with hope in his eyes.
“Really? We’ve had quite a few raiding parties come around here, trying to kill us. Most of your kind hate anyone who is different, and I don’t know why. This never used to be an issue for us. Now there are only three humans left in this town, and they are too afraid to leave.”
“How did humans get here? Wouldn’t they all be in factions by now?” Lao asked.
“They were fleeing some place called Kane City. Apparently one of the top placers in the planetary tournament has not been treating his citizens very well. These three were being used as mana batteries to keep the city’s nightclubs running at full capacity all hours of the day and night. They managed to escape however, and they are taking refuge here.”
‘Rodney Kane. It doesn’t surprise me one bit that he’s doing things like that,” Addas growled. “That man is a self serving, arrogant bully who only backs down in the face of overwhelming force. The only good thing that he has going for him is his ability to fight. Some time in the future, we should make a stop at this Kane City and teach him a lesson.”
“After we have completed all our quests, then perhaps,” Sam answered. “For now, we need to focus on our main goal.”
The guard opened the gate without prompting, and they walked in. The interior of the town was almost empty, with despondent alien traders sitting behind booths filled with dusty goods. Nobody had bought anything here for days, perhaps even weeks. As soon as they saw the newcomers however, they started shouting out their wares lustily, creating a deafening clamor. It grew to the point that Sam had to intercede. He clapped his hands together, imbuing them with his Dao, and a thunderous boom caused everyone to go still.
“We are looking for someone who sells fast modes of transportation.A flying craft would be best, but any boat that goes at a decent speed would work as well. If you can give these to us, we will buy something off of each of you.”
This was the right approach, and everyone pointed them towards a large booth at the end of the road. A distinguished looking Teruvarian sat behind it, and in front of him were small replicas of what looked to be spacecraft. He exuded the aura of a high F Ranker, and he was clearly a cut above the others in this town. He had been the only trader to have not started shouting as soon as Sam and the others had entered the town, and even now he was studiously ignoring them. Sam walked up to the booth, and leaned against it amiably. The trader gave him a frosty look, and he removed his hands from the table.
“I have what you seek, human, but I will not be cheated out of its value. These fools here might be desperate for credits, but I am not.”
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“Of course not. We would never try to cheat you.”
The other man let out a loud bark of laughter.
“That’s what they all say, young fellow. I doubt that you are any different. My prices are written on the tabletop, and if you are unhappy with them, then you are welcome to leave.”
"Damn, a real hard seller, aren’t you?”
“No, merely prudent.”
Sam shook his head in amazement, and then read the sign.
Gorlack’s Vehicular Wares.
G Rank Intercontinental Craft:250,000 Credits
G Rank Interplanetary Craft:2,500,000 Credits
F Rank Solar System Traversal Craft:10,000,000 Credits
F Rank Interstellar Craft:100,000,000 Credits
There were only four options, but they all looked quite impressive. The last one ignited childhood dreams of sailing the stars within Sam, but the price tag was prohibitive, and it would be useless in the short term. Sam withdrew from the booth, and consulted with the others.
“Which one would be better? We need one that can reach Europe right now, which would be the Intercontinental Craft, but the second one might be useful soon. We might never see this trader again.”
It took a minute for the others to reply, but eventually Lao voiced his opinion.
“We should go for it. We have the money on hand, and the ability to traverse the space between planets would be invaluable if we are ever overwhelmed.” Lao shot a glance over at the scowling Teruvarian behind them. “However, this seems more than a little suspicious. For something like this to pop up right when we need it? We could have just been lucky, but we should remain vigilant.”
“Agreed. I will try to find out what his deal is. I wonder why someone like him would be in some random place like this,” Sam said as he started walking back to the vendor with his credit balance ready to transfer. He sidled up to the table, and then looked at the other man.
“Why are you here?” he said, trying to sound friendly.
“Excuse me?”
“Why is someone like you in this dead end town? Nobody else here is even close to your level of power, or has anywhere near the same quality of goods. It might be just a coincidence, but you were what we were looking for,” Sam replied.
“Wait, you think that I was sent here to sabotage you with substandard goods? How dare you! I will have you know that my business has been vetted three times over by the regulatory Board of Transportation. All of my goods are top of the line, and infallible.”
“Perhaps, but how did you actually get here?” Sam said, repeating himself.
“Well, that’s a long story. I originally had no intention of coming here myself, but I was stranded here a few weeks ago, after a universe just appeared around my ship. The sudden interference from the matter around me shorted out the ship, and I was left with only a substandard model to travel to the nearest planet, which was this one. I need to get enough money for repairs to it. Now, does that satisfy you?” It could easily have been a lie, but the man seemed honest enough to Sam. He nodded, and forked over the money for the first two ships. The Teruvarian smiled briefly, and then handed over two scintillating orbs of crystal.
“Just place these down and add some of your mana to them, and they will expand to their full forms.”
“Thank you. If this was a trick however…”
“Damn it, you really are paranoid, aren’t you? It’s not a trick. Just take them and leave,” the other man said in exasperation.
Sam sighed, and carried off the two orbs back to his companions. There was a whooshing noise behind him, and when Sam looked around, the Teruvarian and his stall were gone. Shaking his head, Sam showed the orbs to the others. Lao inspected them intently with one of his Dao skills, and nodded when he found that they were what they said they were.
“These are both flying vessels that work as intended. The first one can go up to a thousand miles per hour, and the interplanetary one can go up to a million, but only within space. Attempting to use it within the atmosphere at anything more than the speed necessary to get into orbit will cause it to detonate, wiping out everyone on it.”
“Damn, we need to be careful then,” Sam replied, raising an eyebrow. A million miles per hour was some serious speed, faster than anything that humanity had even built before. No wonder using it in the atmosphere at full speed would destroy it. The sheer drag from the air alone would be immense. Sam tucked away the interplanetary craft, and picked up the other one, ready to use it when they got out of the town. Only…
“Hey! Humans! You promised to buy our wares!” The aliens had remembered the deal that they had brokered with Sam and the others.
They looked up, and saw hundreds of aliens all gather around them, each eagerly clutching various goods in their hands. There was no way out of it save for slaughtering them all, which Sam had no intention of doing. Instead, he gritted his teeth, and prepared for his credit balance to run a little empty.