The pistol came with a belt and holster that attached at Yi Cao’s hip using the mass of clips up the length of his technomancer clothes.

“I can’t sell you the fancy magazines that’ll let you spit fire for a day and a half.” The proprietor buzzed. “That stuff’s illegal here, but they do let me sell the extended holster. Hit this switch here.” The proprietor demonstrated on the holster. “And magazines will pop out of a subspace here.” A thin cube of pins stacked within a thin framework of finely wrought metal popped out into the man’s hand and he showed Yi Cao how to replace the empty magazine in the weapon.

When the proprietor depressed the control to remove the empty magazine the empty fairly launched out of the bottom with a low boom.

The proprietor shook the pistol. “Calm down you.”

“Sorry.” The pistol whispered.

The proprietor slid the new magazine in and handed it back to Yi Cao. “Mechanical magazines will give you about twenty seconds of continuous fire.” He told him. “That might sound like a lot, but if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to use it, take my advice and set it to burst fire.” He tapped the rotating safety at the back of the weapon which flipped up and down excitedly until the proprietor put his thumb on it to lock it down. “That will make your ammo last longer.”

“That’s terrible advice.” The gun replied. “Don’t listen to him.”

The proprietor made Yi Cao go through the pistol’s onboard tutorial before he let Yi Cao belt it onto his robes and the pistol cackled maniacally again as he clicked through its various firing modes, even learning the controls that allowed him to change the velocity of the rounds from “Pitiful Stinging” to “Wicked Shredding” in the gun’s own words.

The gun’s voice grew a little weepy as Yi Cao went through the final steps of the tutorial disassembling a section that let him run a realigning rod down the microscopic barrel before snapping it shut again.

“Now. You own me.” The pistol told him. It made a loud sniffing sound. “At this point in the tutorial you are allowed to give me a new name to make me unique from other pistols of my kind.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” The proprietor informed Yi Cao from the counter.

“Shut up!” The gun screamed. “I could kill you.” It whispered. The safety snapped quietly to automatic fire.

Yi Cao flippped the safety back on again.

“What do you name a gun?” He asked. He looked up at the proprieter. “Have there been any legendary guns?”

The proprietor shrugged. “A gun is just a tool.” He replied. “Name it whatever you want.”

“My father had a sword named Fu Yichen Yuchen.” Zihan said, he gave Yi Cao a twisted smile. “And a spear called Stand and Die Bravely.”

“Those are good names.” The gun purred. “I like them. But I would do Stand There While I Shoot You Many Times Over and Over and Over… and Over… Again.” It sighed.

“That’s a horrible name.” Zihan replied.

“You’re a horrible name.” The gun replied.

“How about Bo?” Yi Cao asked. “Or Bo Bo.”

“Bo.” Zihan said, nonplussed.

“Bo Bo is also good.” The pistol replied immediately.

Yi Cao shrugged. “He was named Bojanwuantoang or something like that before. This is shorter.”

Zihan looked to the heavens. “Your gun.” He said. “Name it what you want.”

“Bo Bo.” The gun whispered. “Bo Bo. My name is Bo Bo and I love you.”

“Alright, that’s getting weird.” Yi Cao shoved the pistol into its holster as the pistol made noises as though it were weeping.

Zihan eyed it with a look of mild horror. “You sure you want that thing?” He asked. “We could get one that doesn’t talk.”

“Let’s go shoot something.” The pistol whispered from its holster. “Please. I’ve been in this place for so long. Let me kill. Or just maim even. Please. It will be lots of fun. I promise.”

“Not sure I want to sleep in the same room as that thing.” Zihan added.

“Pistol comes with one more thing.” The proprietor said. He lifted something like a black metal clip and held it up. “You ain’t got no augments I assume, since you didn’t want none.”

Yi Cao shook his head and the proprietor sighed. “I thought as much. Come here.”

Yi Cao approached.

“I think you should go down a dark alley.” The pistol whispered. “Maybe with your credit card in the open or lots of sparkly jewelry. Then I could shoot someone when you find yourself in an emergency and no one has to go to jail. You wouldn’t even have to erase my memory and I could go over and over and over it again while you aren’t shooting people with me.”

“Lean over.” The proprietor said.

Yi Cao complied and the proprietor reached a hand behind Yi Cao’s ear. There was a sudden and sharp pain and Yi Cao jerked back as the proprietor put up both hands.

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“Ow.” Yi Cao pulled his hand from his ear and examined it for blood, then pressed it back where he’d experienced the sharp pain. He found the little clip stuck there, snugged tightly around the lobe of his ear.

“You have experienced pain.” The pistol whispered. “You should let me shoot the-”

The voice cut off abruptly and Yi Cao heard a soft feminine voice in his ear. “Mating.”

“Mating?” Yi Cao asked.

“What did you do?” Zihan asked, looking at the proprietor.

The store owner held up his hands a little higher. “Not, an augment.” He said. “That’s an ear clip. Think of it as jewelry. It’ll allow you to synch with the pistol so it can talk to you and you alone instead of whispering in your room mates ears all night.” He gestured to Zihan. “It will also, allow a level of verbal control that you wouldn’t have without it or some kind of similar augment. Without it anyone can tell it to change its settings, but now that you’ve got it on, the gun belongs, uniquely, to you.”

A light shimmered on the wall behind the proprietor and an absurdly happy doodle of a smiling face coalesced in brilliant green lines across the wall.

“Pistol: Bo Bo now officially paired with owner operator: unregistered.” The pistol said in Yi Cao’s ear. “In system space I would now be authorized to grant you your first level in Gunmanship, to influence your class options, and introduce you to system sanctioned guides and advisors in the relevant guilds.”

The face flickered to something sad and downcast. “Sadly, this is not sanctioned space.”

For a moment the face danced and flickered on the wall, shimmering as Yi Cao moved his head, then it flicked back to the happy face.

“But I love you.” It said.

Yi Cao flushed then realized that only he could hear the thing.

“Bo Bo.” He said. “Shut up.”

The face flicked back to sad. “Okay.” It said. Then disappeared.

The proprietor tapped the wall it used to occupy. “Targeting reticle”. He said. “As you level up the pistol will give you additional functionality. You shouldn’t need none of it, but you’ll get it as you use it.”

Yi Cao nodded.

“Are you boys done playing yet?” Kalemal called from the counter near the door. “Fun as it is to watch boys play with their guns all day, I’m getting bored.”

Zihan looked at the proprietor and raised his brows.

“Just, payment left.” The proprietor replied.

“I thought the colony gun was payment.” Zihan said.

The proprietor held up a hand to calm him. “It was, it was.” He buzzed. “Just, the formalities now. I’m not gonna charge you for the pin gun, but there’s legal stuff linking me back to everything, so we just need to do the paperwork.” He made a face. “You wouldn’t happen to have your, agency documents, would you?”

Zihan just looked at him blankly.

“Piss and vinegar.” The proprietor reached up to rub at his balding pate. Eyes splitting to rove around the room as he thought. “Should’ve asked first. Alright. We can still fix this.” He turned and clapped his hands together. “Girls!” He said. “It’s your lucky day. Uncle Zarbul is going to buy one of you a pistol for this young master to steal from you.”

Kalemal raised an eyebrow at that. “Steal from me? Already? I’ve only known them for a shift.”

“You won’t even notice it’s gone.” The proprietor continued. “Just, let me see your documents.”

Neither of the girls moved.

“Bealtiel.” Zihan said. He nodded for her to join them.

The girl grimaced but slid off her stool and approached. She looked at Zihan, then at the proprietor. “Am I going to get into some kind of trouble for handing him a gun?” She asked.

“Absolutely not.” The proprietor replied. “As long as you report it.” He risked a glance at Zihan who remained leaning on the cabinet impassively. “The Governor can link all this stuff to me, but, it can’t tell what kind of deal we strike in here. You don’t tell anyone about that rifle you sold me and I won’t tell anyone there’s an unregistered running around with a pin gun.”

“Sure.”

The proprietor held out a hand for the girl’s documents but Bealtiel hesitated.

“I’ll pay you.” Zihan said.

The girl looked up at him. “How much?” She asked.

Zihan shrugged and looked at the proprietor. “What do you think? A hundred do?” He looked back to Bealtiel.

She scrunched up her lips then held up one tattooed hand and let it drop into the proprietor’s.

The two stood that way for a moment as they conducted some kind of technomantic exchange Yi Cao couldn’t perceive then the proprietor grimaced and straightened.

“I’m afraid you’re already at the limit of what is allowed on your permit.” He said. He looked at Zihan. “Her augments preclude me from selling anything to her.” One eye crawled in Kalemal’s direction.

“I see.” Bealtiel lifted her hand to look at it, then dropped her hand and looked at Zihan.

“Interesting.” Zihan said, studying her. He dismissed her with a flick of his fingers then looked to the blonde girl still lounging on the stools at the front of the store.

“Mal?” He asked.

The girl sighed and dropped off of the stool to saunter to their end of the store. She looked at him, then at the proprietor who extended his hand to her as he had for Bealtiel. She crossed her arms.

“You want me to supply my permit for your pistol and you’re going to have to get me more than a hundred C.”

Zihan raised an eyebrow. “What do you want?” He asked.

She looked at the proprietor, then ran a finger along the glass display case until she paused over a small collection of misshapen lumps like molding charcoal.

“What’s this stuff?” She asked.

“Iakhta.” The proprietor said. “Stillborns. Monkeys I think, or pigs. It’s hard to guess. The Kispuhru use it in their Magery. Something to do with… their blessing.” He grimaced. “I just sell the stuff. Comes in labeled as weaponry, so I put it in the store. I don’t know how to use it.”

“I’m not buying you witch craft.” Zihan said.

Kalemal smiled at him. “I wouldn’t use it.” She said. “Not on you. Anyways. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. I’m not Kispuhru.”

“Not without the right sacrifices.” The proprietor said.

Kalemal gave him a look then shrugged. “I’ve got boyfriends for that sort of thing.” She said. “Why would I need magic to come after you.” She moved on all the same until she came to a bunch of brass mechanisms. She tapped her fingers on the glass and looked at the dealer. “Have you got Sairoobye?” She asked.

He gave her a flat look. “No one around here has Sairoobye.”

She studied him, fingers drumming on the glass. “I can hear you you know.” She said. “We all can.”

The ticking and whirring inside the proprietor seemed more pronounced in the short silence that followed.

“Honey.” He said after a moment, voice vibrating in sympathy with his rattling insides. “If I had Sairoobye, do you think I’d be on some crummy guild outpost selling half rate armaments to the outcasts of the eight worlds?”

Kalemal shrugged. “I suppose that’s true.” She tapped the glass. “What about the imitation?”

“That shits toxic.” He replied. He tapped his chest and gave off a “ping” as though some spring in the mechanism whirling on his insides had sprung. “I’m an old man girl.” He said. “I’ve had time with mine. Take my advice, and give yours time too.”

“I have.” She scowled at him. Then tossed her hair and refocused on Zihan. “Two hundred C’s.” She said.

“One hundred.” He replied levelly. “And nothing more.”

She pouted and sauntered up to him. “Haven’t I been good to you?” She asked. “I thought that would be worth a little extra.” She moved to put one arm around his neck. He flicked her wrist with enough force that she cried out. She stepped back, rubbing her wrist and scowling.

“Do what I told you to.” Zihan said, crossing his arms. He nodded towards the proprietor.

She glared up at him then snorted and took the proprietor’s hand.

“Fine then.” She said. “But don’t think I won’t remember this.”

Zihan looked non-plussed. “I’m counting on it.”

A moment later the transaction was done and the proprietor transferred the additional thousand credits onto Zihan’s card before showing them out of the store.