If it wasn't for the translation function of his armor Harrison would not have been able to find his way around this labyrinth of a place. He thought the Mall of America or Singapore Chang Airport were complicated. This place was on a totally different level. He was glad that he ended up giving Kir the full ten thousand that they got from the scrapper or else he would've spent quite some time impulse buying and probably blowing his cover. He remained focused on his way to Dello's.

He knew immediately that he found his man when he saw the flamboyant merchant trying to draw people's attention to his wares. Harrison approached the storefront and stood in front of Dello silently. He was right. He was aware that he'd be coming this way. The scrapper was at least good for something.

Dello eyed Harrison curiously. "You can't be the enforcer I was warned of. I don't see your X'hondrian pet."

Harrison grunted. "I don't need her here to help me with someone who should know better than to short me. But you know she exists and that's all that matters for this." Harrison pulled out Kir's slave bands. He couldn't wait to get these things out of his possession. He dropped them on the counter in front for Dello to inspect while he inspected the arrayed artefacts and antiquities. "As you're aware, she was an imperial slave, but I have no need for such constraints. But I expect to not be cheated." Two treasures in particular caught his eye. One was a dagger. It reminded him of one of the ancient weapons he found in one of the tombs he excavated. He wanted it and almost wished he didn't give Kir all of the money. But he wanted what he saw beneath it even more. A black obsidian bracelet with diamonds placed strategically around it to resemble the asteroids that bedazzled the galaxy. Kir would love it. With jewelry being tainted for her this was perfect.

Dello finished inspecting every single centimeter of his soon to be new and shiny toy. It was in such wonderful shape. Perhaps the story of its origins were true, though he had no way of truly verifying it. He decided to take the enforcer's word for it. He looked up and noticed Harrison's wandering eyes and looked at the knife. "Ah. A beautiful weapon, isn't it?"

Harrison was surprised, but refused to show it. "Yes. Amazing craftmanship. Excellent blade and seems strong enough to not be destroyed by my armor." He turned his head back to Dello to see him smiling coyly. He didn't trust him, but he didn't need to. He just needed to get through this exchange. He turned his attention back to the knife and noticed that the bracelet beneath it was gone. He scanned the area to see if he could see anything or anyone to explain how it disappeared, but everyone seemed to be acting inconspicuously. 

"A good eye, my friend. Well, I have a deal for you. I'll give you 25,000 and I'll toss in the dagger. When people see an enforcer wielding one of my blades it'll drum up good business." Dello said reaching for the dagger and the sheath that came with it. He then went under his counter to collect some imperial credits from his safe. They were sorted enough to where he was just able to reach in and grab the amount he needed. He handed everything to Harrison and Harrison placed the credits in his utility belt and the dagger attached itself to the hip of his armor like a magnet.

[hr]

Harrison stood in front of a Station Directory to find the different hangars. He didn't know which one he was supposed to meet Kir in yet, but he might as well know how to get to each of them. He committed each route to memory and turned to walk to one, but was immediately hit in his torso by someone's body. He looked down to see a blue-skinned girl with furry-elf like ears. Her hair was white and her eyes seemed to stare into his soul. He reminded her a bit of Kir.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Enforcer, sir!" She said with a tone as innocent as her appearance. But she was anything, but.

Harrison grabbed her hand as it pulled out some of the imperial credits he just acquired. "Not so fast." He said, intending the pun. He didn't see her move for his belt. He just knew she was. He could tell she was a thief and he was her mark. He was actually setting her up for this very moment. He knew someone used super speed to steal the bracelet and figured that if he gave them the chance they'd try to steal from him, too. He was right. He brought her into an alley so they could talk without any prying eyes.

"Please don't hurt me, I'll scream!" The yellow-eyed girl said using them to try and gain sympathy.

"And? No one here will stop an enforcer from disciplining a thief." Harrison said still trying to maintain cover. He didn't actually plan on doing anything with her besides getting the bracelet she stole.

"You're not an enforcer." She said, giving up all pretenses and showing her true colors.

Harrison stepped back, but still held onto her hand. "How'd you know?" He asked, genuinely curious. If someone could figure out he wasn't who he said he was his first day out into the galaxy then their mission of rebellion was screwed.

"You don't walk like one and you try too hard when you talk like one. Plus, any enforcer with a X'hondrian would know what a Serennian is. The other most coveted species in the galaxy. Yours truly is one."

"Okay, you got me. I'm not an enforcer. I'm a human from Earth. I used this armor to become a superhero until I found out my government held Kir, my new X'hondrian friend, prisoner."

The Serennian girl held her hands to her mouth to contain her laughter. For one this guy expected her to believe that he was a human and that someone would use the enforcer's armor for good. She looked at him over her hands and none of his body language gave that he was lying or joking. No. He was serious. "Let me see your face."

Harrison was hesitant. "Why should I? You're a thief and I don't even know your name."

"From my point of view you're probably a plunderer who stole that suit and slave bands. But fine. I'm Lyris of Serenfolia."

Harrison willed for the helmet of his armor to open and peel back to reveal his face and hair. "I'm Harrison of Earth. But they called me Aegis, the world's shield. A pleasure to meet you."

Lyris couldn't believe it. A real deal human. She thought they were just rumors, myths, nightmarish stories that you told kids. But here was one and not only was he really handsome, but apparently he was some kind of hero and shield for his world. And wait. If he was actually a human and was being honest about his X'hondrian friend, then there was a free X'hondrian roaming the galaxy. Could it really be happening? No. She shouldn't get her hopes up. "Okay. I still don't truly believe you. If your X'hondrian is really your friend then why were you eyeing this?" Lyris asked pulling out the diamond obsidian bracelet with her free hand.

"I knew you took it. That's why I set my trap." Harrison said feeling confident.

"Actually, you fell for mine. I saw you wanted it and I was curious as to why." Lyris said with a smile. "But now I do. You like her, don't you?"

Harrison lowered his gaze and looked the other way. "No, I mean, she's pretty. I mean, she hasn't had anything nice in a long time and I thought she'd like to."

"Okay. It's official, I have to meet her. Where's your ship?" Lyris asked ready to join them.

"She's stealing one for us now. Hold on. That's her now. It looks like she found us one and a friend." Harrison said, finally letting go of her hand. He activated his helmet and projected a response to Ikir. [i]"Yeah. And you're not the only one who picked up a friend. We'll meet you there. What do you know about Serenfolia?"[/i]