Fast Food Tavern was its usual din of pleasant and rowdy dining. It was evening, so a lot of the locals had clocked off work and were enjoying a few drinks with friends at tables and bar. Veronika noticed the place was more crowded than her last few visits.
“Happy hour?” She said to Kelakis who was moving masterfully behind the bar counter serving drinks, cleaning up glasses and instructing the waiters with the table orders.
“Always. But, ye, today’s pay day, so everyone’s credits are going to a good cause, my credit register.” He laughed and moved on to attend to another order with a smile. Obviously, it was a good day for him when business was pouring in.
She paid for her drink, he plonked before her, on the counter register and slipped onto a far stool to drink in peace.
“Did you hear that she was the one that disarmed the bomb?”
“This clone?”
“Still don’t trust her. Probably a ruse.”
“You know I can hear what you’re saying behind my back.” She grumbled at the back-chatter of her from the nearby tables. But decided to ignore it and just down her drink.
Meanwhile, Kami was given an honor spot on a cushion at a quiet corner near the staircase. He was greedily eating a bowl of meat stew on a low table that was set just for him.
“Wait. Kelakis! Why is Kami given a privileged seat?” She bluntly pointed to the wolf, who briefly inclined his head her way and then dismissed her and continued eating.
“Because he not only saved our heir, he also dragged in a few braddles for tonight's meal.” Kelakis informed her like it was a fact she should have known.
“Braddles?”
Kelakis described the native beasts as a cross between an Earth brown chicken and pig. Their bodies were round like a pig’s even with a curly tail, but they had wings and feathered skin like a chicken. Their legs were chicken claws and their heads were long with a beak and beady red eyes.
“They probably taste like your Earth chickens too.” He dumped a steam bowl down on the counter before her.
She sniffed in the aroma and recognized the soup broth she had eaten upon recovery. So the meat was from a Braddle. Welp, if it was from an organic farm beast, then it was probably alright. She messily ate up the stew and was unable to hide her glee at the tastiness.
Kami had noticed her gluttonous gorging and shook his head: this two-legs was unrefined. His mind wandered to thoughts of his litter and how his pack had abandoned him just out of the Veridium Lake Forest area. A darkness crept into his thoughts, which started to impact on his hunger. But when he took a look at Veronika’s messy eating and noisy declaration of joy at each mouthful, he felt the darkness ebb. He was still coming to terms with his pack’s abandonment. Even if he didn’t have many allies or bonds with the other pups and wolves. To be estranged and ostracized had been hard on him. Some nights he had almost died from starvation. But situations were on the brighter side these days, and for the first time since being cut from the pack, he had thoughts of gathering his own from other pack outcasts.
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“I’ll be an alpha leader of my own pack one day with a rule that no one goes starving. And maybe with these two-legs be able to claim some land.” He nodded smugly to himself and pictured a plot of land in a lush valley away from the tech junk, where his pack could frolic in nature with pups that would grow healthy and fat.
“Yes, yes. I’ll one day make my own pack and lead them to comfort and glory.”
The tavern door slammed to a dramatic open. Veronika screwed up her face at the fanfare a biodroid was making as she strutted inside with party poppers going off around her: the colorful confetti vanishing before it hit the floor. A number of patrons eagerly flocked around her with greetings and requests.
“Peddler?” Veronika mused to herself when she caught the name one of the patron’s had called the woman.
[Did you say Peddler?] System’s console text popped up in her mind.
Veronika’s eyes ran a scan over the biodroid who was elegantly pushing her way through the milling crowd to take center stage at a clearing to one side of the room. Her scan drew over the lines of her qipao long gown that was split at her right leg just about the knee to allow freer movement: a delicate and intricate pattern of yellow chrysanthemums on a jade green material, made her seem wealthy. The woman’s long legs were made longer in matching jade green slim heels. It wasn’t unpleasant to stare at the woman’s friendly face, which was tastefully made up with light shades of mauve and beige to compliment her pale skin. Wispy strands of hair dangled over painted eyebrows that framed large, round, blue eyes to balance the fine blond hair held up in a tight bun with a long silver hairpin, which shimmered with electronic code.
The scan deepened on the hair pin and returned a result to Veronika’s mind.
[Chingu Merchant Orbital. A freeman merchant’s guild with over 160 planetary access to trade low grade and everyday goods to the common people]
“Chingu? So they’re not affiliated with the Star Council.”
[Not quite. Their planet Chingu borders between the Milky Way and Starway galaxies. So they have some jurisdiction loopholes. They run contract agreements with the council to be merchant partners. They pay a council fee to deal goods in the civilized areas]
Veronika’s eyes narrowed when she felt a weird sensation come over her, like a compulsion to do something.
“Um, System. Do you want to buy something?”
[Veronika. Let me assume control over you for a short while. I want to talk to that woman]
“Oh? And will this get me in trouble?”
[Unlikely. As reassurance, you’ll be aware at all times. I’ll capture the events for prosperity]
Veronika groaned. So aware but unable to stop the train wreck if System causes it.
“Fine, but just be nice okay.” She downed her last bit of ale and closed her eyes to slip into a moment of meditation where System was able to assume her consciousness.
“Step up and grab a bargain!” The peddler eagerly clapped her manicured hands then moved them about the space with an exaggerated flourish to stir up magic about the space.
A dark space popped up before her, which opened a portal. With another over the top arm flourish and dance, her magic drew out various boxes and packages from the space. She grabbed a small bronze orb, dropped it on the ground and kicked it to activate a self-building stall. Within minutes, she had a full setup of goods on display for sale.
System-Veronika approached the booth with a serious expression. It was time to do business.