Cath

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

The Tekeri hadn’t heard of Orostro, but could see an actual paying customer approaching the stall.

“I hope so. Tekeri are always happy to help.”

She saw Senjen looking for some kind of name for her business and readily produced a business card. There was a physical option, or you could just touch the card and your implant would store her business details.

“I’m Kreena. Come see me some other time and we’ll talk about your plans. Not your client’s.”

-

The elder meandered down one of the five main aisles towards the fitting rooms before stopping in front of a reddish brown cube.

“This is perfect for you. Came in last month from mountain desert nomads on Buktaw 4. Very hardy, good for breathing in high altitudes, and best value for money. I’ll give you a good price, since you are a nice male.”

“It is…red.”

“It is desert camouflage.”

Light looked on the plaque for the price per cubic metre and found she was right. It was pretty good value. He supposed he could live with this racy new colour for a few months.

“Fine. Do you do trade in, for my current suit?”

The elder floated back so she could study Light’s current gel layer. She flashed disapproval.

“It is not in good condition. It would cost more for me to repair than it's worth.”

They haggled back and forth for a little bit. Eventually Light agreed to a knockdown rate to recycle all his current cubic meterage, and a decent price for the same size suit of this new type. He didn’t feel great about the deal, as his old suit was arguably much more valuable than this one once repaired. But he didn’t have space for two suits and they had to be moving on.

“Wonderful! My son will collect the rest of your gel from your ship tomorrow morning. Now, let's get your new suit calibrated.” The elder gently guided Light towards the fitting room while flashing for her daughter to join her.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“We’ve always done it, more or less. Being among nature has physiological benefits for most species, but Tekeri in particular. I read an article on it.” The shopkeeper beamed proudly.

“Yes, it's real grass. We’ve bred species that grow in mats for easy application to surfaces. They even have their own covered irrigation system, to stop water floating away.” The Tekeri floated to a mat about one metre by half a metre that was hanging from a hook near the ceiling. She levered it gently free, then returned with it in her hands.

“For you. It is to wipe your feet on when you step inside your ship, but can grow to cover the whole floor. Consider it a gift.”

-

The elder QV introduced Light to her daughter, who was also called Resplendent-In-Divine-Apostasy. It was a thoroughly awkward experience, as the younger female was actually very attractive and for some reason seemed ready to court him. But she was less than half Light’s maturity. It was absurd to even speculate as to what a potential courtship between the two of them would look like. He was reaching the end of his sexually productive lifecycle, while she was just entering hers. Light quickly steered the conversation back towards buying some gel, saying he was already late for another appointment.

Gel suits and vehicles were a huge business for the QV, and this gel shop had a lot of different varieties of gel. Extra rugged gel, body obfuscating gel, vacuum-resistant gel, poison-skinned gel, gel for other species, gel that shot shards of dried gel like darts, the list was endless. He even spotted a gel technical waiting in front of a corrugated loading door. A large rectangular gel frame with a Human heavy laser repeater fixed to the top.

The old QV shopkeeper had a particularly rambly sales pitch where she went into far too much detail and didn’t ask any questions about what Light actually wanted. So in the end he sort of tuned her out and just examined the small flashing plaques with each suit’s product specifications. After about five minutes of this he realised how much time it would take to read them all and grew exasperated. He turned to the elder who was still mumbling on and interrupted her.

“I just need something cheap, that can survive a vacuum for about five minutes and has enhanced respiratory efficiency. Got anything like that?”

“Why, yes! You should have said. Come with me.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

The Tekeri inside the stall that Senjen approached was designing a 3D cross section of a spaceship from a holo-pad. It was a bog standard Tindrel warship, but was bedecked with all sorts of additional features. Lichen growth on the rocks, ornamental gardens in the crew room and an aviary in the cargo bay. The Tekeri wore comfortable clothes and floated sedately in the air, occasionally bumping into the sides. When she noticed the Utaysi waiting, she flinched. When she realised what it was, she let go of the pad and drifted down to Senjen’s level.

“Hello, are you looking for nature design? I can make bespoke packs for any type of ship or building.”

-

Light gingerly opened the door to the gel shop and slipped inside. The door closed quickly and tightly behind him. Smart, to avoid gel getting away. The shop was a long rectangular warehouse with the short side facing the street. There were only two storeys and one floor, packed with compressed gel suits of all different varieties. Soft QV music flashed from light displays on the ceiling and floor. Light spotted fitting rooms in the back for privacy, thankfully.

An elderly QV female and one of her offspring manned the whole shop. The elder flashed a friendly greeting and came over.

“Greetings, to-be-friend, this one is Resplendent-In-Divine-Apostasy. Your gel requires replacing; you have come to the right place. Would you like some help?”

Light recoiled slightly at the QV’s name. It was the sort of thing a religious zealot would name themselves, and he’d had bad experiences with their type before. But this one didn’t seem dangerous, or deranged. Perhaps they’d lost their faith and turned to the service of others instead. He decided to give her to benefit of the doubt.

“Thank you. This one would appreciate some help. I am Into-The-Abyss-In-Search-Of-Light.”

RIDA flashed a demure blue. “Come with me. I shall introduce you to my daughter and give you a tour of our humble shop.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Light cringed as Senjen asked yet another probing question. They had only been acquainted for five minutes! He outwardly sighed, dispelling bubbles around his suit, and didn’t reply for a moment.

“Two years, maybe? I am by no means the VC’s most prolific operator. I am merely an old smuggler with breathing problems. So I have to spread the treatments out more. We could get there sooner if we get into very high risk jobs, but I would actually like to stay living long enough to be cured.” Light offered eventually.

Behind them, the following droid began cross referencing the acronym ‘VC’ with all known entities in the Fourteen Factories. Venture Capital? Valuable Creations?

Boss, you ever know of a ‘VC’? That’s who these bozos work for. Doesn’t sound above board.

Maybe. Do you think you could take the clanger alive on your own?

Maybe. Could use that back up though.

They are fifteen minutes out. Proceed as planned until then.

Roger.

They were moving at a fast pace through the segments, but Light was still surprised when they got to Tanguska Boulevard. It seemed having a bulky, noticeable assistant had its advantages.

This area was old, and had begun as low-rise buildings before having further and unrelated additions made above them. The result was a confusing jumble of different cultural and architectural references piled on top of one another up to a height of eight storeys. The plots were uneven, so many of the buildings had side and rear access where vehicles or goods could be moved. The occupants had taken advantage of this, turning many plots into warehouses, workshops or event spaces. It was a lower class area, and many people did not hang around outside for long. About halfway down the mile long boulevard was an ancient QV gel repository opposite a cavernous provisions market with hundreds of different stalls. Light directed Senjen to stop between them.

“This might take a little bit of time. Why don’t you go over there and look for cheap supplies for our next trip? I’ll send you a full inventory of what i usually stock and previous prices i’ve achieved for them. If you hear of any honest and freight work while you’re at it, find out a bit more. I’ll message you when i’m finishing up."

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Light examined the statue and his suit provided a helpful summary from the station’s internet.

“They…saved a bunch of people in this segment during an explosive decompression a century back. Apparently some fault with a power grid opened a hole in the hull and that Tekeri flew their ship into the gap. Its shield stopped the decompression long enough for them to patch the hole up…sounds foolish to me. They could’ve done a lot more harm than good. Take this left!”

They turned off the wide avenue into a smaller but well appointed thoroughfare with little foot traffic at this time. On it was a Myrmidon showroom, several corporate recruitment offices (mining, biosciences etc) and a couple of fancy restaurants. The sight and smell of them made Light’s stomach cramp. That tube of crustacean paste had barely hit the sides.

“I must eat again, properly, after the drop. Perhaps this…Cantonese restaurant we are going to cooks edible food.” He remarked casually, before wondering why they were dropping this data in such a random location.

“We mustn’t dally too long afterwards; is there anything you need to buy before we set out on the next job?”

Behind them, the black clad droid followed along the high speed line, listening in.

They are not discussing anything of note, unless there is a cipher here I have not detected. It reported back.

You cannot let them pass on whatever the Utaysi is holding without knowing what it is. Get alone with the QV if necessary; they seem to be leading this merry goose chase, perhaps you can throttle the information out of them.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Light undulated in agreement. “That is pretty much the size of it. Organised chaos.”

He looked distastefully at Senjen’s tail then back into the lizard-robot’s face. It was obvious that they wanted to explore the city outside of the confines of the monorail, but that just filled Light with dread. Unfortunately though, the monorail wasn’t much faster to their destination. It also raised the odds of being spotted and cornered by any bad actors. They could blend into the bustling crowds of the street and escape easier if detected. At least that's what Light assumed; he’d never actually really had to evade detection like this. He didn’t even know if anyone was looking for them. The data package could be something completely mundane.

“Fine. I think I know a route that takes us past a gel repository where I can replenish. I’ll mark the location on your map.” The QV wobbled over to Senjen and his gelsuit adhered to Senjen’s tail and back. It was as if the Utaysi was wearing a very large and impractical backpack.

The monorail station opened out onto a small square with a statue of a Tekeri in the middle. It was completely packed with people. On the left was a narrow street that cut between two dense blocks of buildings. Mostly Tindrel mounds on one side and a mix of the other species on the opposite. Upon looking at the street entrance for a couple of seconds, adverts from shops down that route began popping up on both their HUDs.

In front of them across the square was a wider avenue with small trees planted on either side. An impressive Human structure took up a sizable portion of the street frontage, the adverts suggested it was some financial services company. Other side streets veered off from it at regular intervals.

“Left looks quickest but more winding. Difficult to maneuver. Straight on looks more open, isolated.” Light peered round Senjen’s bulky frame.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Your optimism is admirable. A touch naive, perhaps, but admirable all the same. People will always find something to compete for. Some people more than others.” Senjen may not have noticed it yet, but Light didn’t speak like most QV. A long time on the road, mingling with all different species had made his ‘vocabulary’ decidedly more cosmopolitan than most.

“My view? This war isn’t about habitable space to live. Not really. It's about power over the people who live there. The power to control them, the power to choose who lives where. People’s lives are the ultimate untamed resource; some crave the chance to try and tame it. My advice to your people is to stay well clear.” If Senjen was perceptive, he may detect a note of bitterness in his employer’s voice.

When the Utaysi brought up the QV as a species, Light felt a pang of sadness, maybe even regret. He hadn’t been in a habitat his species would consider ‘natural’ for a very long time. He’d almost forgotten what being out of his gel suit felt like.

“It's not just our bodies that make the light down there. We’ve cultivated bioluminescent plants to do everything from living in, warning of danger and luring prey. Large Quelun-Vosh settlements are alive with a rich story of colours that you can see from miles away. There are no large predators to hide from anymore on the homeworld, so we lost any reason to hide long ago. On frontier colonies that is not true.” Light’s tone had turned nostalgic. Even though he couldn’t be a part of his civilisation right now, he felt pride at what they’d accomplished.

After a little while, the spoke’s residential tiers abruptly ended and the train entered an airlock. The train pressurised and filled with breathable air, though gravity remained low. In fact, they were close to weightless now. The Grand Concourse was at the middle of the station’s vast centrifuge, which meant it benefitted from its pull the least. Light fiddled with the small thrusters built into his gelsuit to make sure they were ready for when they disembarked.

“The drop is at the Guangzhou Cantonese restaurant, in sector 7.4. That means it's three whole segments away and on the opposite side of the tube from us. Stay vigilant for anything suspicious.” He whispered to Senjen.

A black-clad bipedal droid who’d got on at the same stop as the pair stood at the opposite side of the crowded monorail carriage. They gripped an overhead handhold and faced nonchalantly away from them while listening to every word they exchanged. Then they relayed it to their handler.

Well done - I knew something didn’t feel right. Follow them, try to find out if it is the access key. I’m sending back-up to that restaurant.

Copy that.

Once the airlock had pressurised, the blast doors opened and the monorail rushed out into the Grand Concourse. This was the fifty mile long cylinder that ran through all fourteen of the station’s rings and connected them to Korit’s space elevator. The Fourteen Factories’ designer had gone with an open plan space with maximum customisability and interoperability built in. Over the centuries it had evolved naturally like a living organism. Covering most of the internal surface area of the cylinder was a tight mish mash of different buildings suited to each of the species that used the station. There were rocky mounds favoured by the Tindrel, wobbly gel orbs for the QV, tall open aviaries for the Tekeri and monolithic skyscrapers for the Humans, with everything in between. Monorail lines snaked between them, and small flyers traversed the open space in the middle. At about a mile in diameter, the space was so large and so overwhelming that Light’s suit struggled to parse all the available data from its scan.

“We’re on the wrong line. We have to get off here.” Light announced after consulting the route map.

"We can either find another monorail, but who knows what the wait time will be like. Or we can hire a flyer, or walk, I suppose?"

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“I would take the safety and quiet of Orostro over Korit any day. Isn’t it funny how we all seem to be looking for cleaner water in the next cave?” Light replied, using an old QV saying. He detected movement above; looked up he saw a train with four carriages dangling from a rail come to a stop.

“Ah, of course! Let's take the monorail, we can get past this lot. The station door is there.”

Taking the lead as he was more familiar with the Fourteen Factories fast transit system, Light pushed to a door that opened into a large cargo lift. It elevated them onto a shelf platform about two thirds of the way up the corridor wall. The monorail had just left, but it would only be a few minutes before another arrived.

“So what is your impression of our melange of species in this galactic zone? We have been integrated for so long, everyone seems so jaded. But you, you have a fresh perspective.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Light sighed. It seemed to him like the gravity of his situation hadn’t properly landed with his assistant. After being bugged to elaborate on his ailment, It was vaguely irritating to be fobbed off with directions to hospitals light years away. The QV supposed it must be difficult for a synthetic to truly understand, even if they did look like an organic lifeform in armour.

“It is hard to say for sure - different doctors say different things. But on average I’d say about 1.5 billion more GCs to give me a good shot. I could probably sell my ship for that, but then I’d have bigger problems. Shuttling is my livelihood - without it I’ve got nothing left.” Light grunted eventually.

The gangways either side of the main road where the parade marched were getting packed out with people. The last few cargo bays they had passed seemed to have waiting passenger liners, and people were pressing together trying to secure passage. The parade ground to a halt.

“We don’t have time for this…” Light remarked, but did nothing about it. The thrumming mass of bodies made him anxious. He asked Senjen the first thing that came to his head, mainly to soothe his jangling nerves.

“Was that your homeworld you just mentioned? What made you leave?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Light undulated sagely at Senjen’s first question.

“A lot. I must admit, I was briefly tempted to agree on your behalf. That money could do a lot for both of us. But you’re right, it was much too risky. Even surgery aside, we are on a special mission to transport…you know what.” The QV looked around but couldn’t see anyone eavesdropping in the crowd as they flowed down the corridor together.

Then Senjen asked about his health. Light flashed signs of fear, anger, anxiety and embarrassment. “I, uh, have to eat.” The QV left the parade for a stall on the sidelines, and bought a tube of crustacean paste. It was still expensive, but not as bad as the cargo bay, which made him feel slightly better. Light eagerly engulfed the tube in his gel suit. The suit helpfully squeezed the contents out then directed it all into his maw. For a moment, he felt euphoria at having sated some of his hunger. Then he realised Senjen was still waiting expectantly. He sighed and studied the floor.

“I have this…condition. Some of the cells in my body grow and spread uncontrollably. It started off here.” He raised one of his tentacles up - it had an unsightly growth about ten centimetres across on one side.

“Now it has spread to my respiratory system. It makes it hard to breathe sometimes, even with the suit. I’ve been trying to save enough for treatment, but doctors aren’t cheap. That's why I've started taking on more risk; it pays better. But I'm not in good enough shape for all this activity, normally I just pilot my ship from place to place. Thats why I’ve hired you.” Light flashed embarrassment again.