Tech Scavengers [Humorous, Action-Packed Space Opera]

Negasi kept alert. While Luna's Layover was a fun, flashy place, it was also a dangerous one.

Especially because just a few hours before, a crazed mercenary had been telling everyone who would listen that he wanted to kill them.

It had been an honest mistake! How could they have known those Imperium flechettes were anything other than what they appeared?

They should have laughed it off over some drinks in a bar. Hell, Negasi would have even treated him to dinner as an apology.

But there was no reasoning with that guy.

The main corridor from the docking bays led past crew quarters, maintenance rooms, storage units, and workshops to a giant domed central chamber with two stories of balconies. A giant ice sculpture rose from the center to nearly touch the ceiling high above. The carving showed a beautiful naked human couple intertwined in an embrace. That was only the central figure in a complex carving. There was also a Grish couple, and a Zenobian couple, even a pair of Awaari furballs doing whatever it was they did. Negasi didn't look too closely.

This was the heart of the station, the main floor and each balcony lined with shops, bars, and restaurants. While anyone could rent space here, the biggest and best of every type of business were owned by Luna. In a single glance, Negasi saw Luna's Lounge, Luna's Layaway, Luna's Liquors, Luna's L'Arms and L'Armor, and Luna's L'Hardware. Luna had a taste for alliteration but not much talent for it.

The main floor was given over to the smaller stalls of private vendors, rented by the day or hour as they made a quick stop at the station to turn some credits before moving on.

They wouldn't find what they wanted in this bargain basement section of the market, but nevertheless Negasi examined the stalls as they passed. A tall, lanky Grish, looking like an oversized version of a mythical ghoul, was selling a variety of used computer parts. A Bipedal jellyfish from Sirius Zeta sat in a tank of bubbling water, a screen on the side offering computer hacking services. A shifty-eyed human had a stack of army-issue rifles from Sagitta Prime. Negasi recognized the model. He had had several of them pointed at him when he got evicted from his last ship. Negasi wondered where the guy got so many. It looked like enough to arm a platoon.

Negasi decided not to ask. You didn't ask questions in this sort of place.

The rest of the stuff was mostly junk, some common Imperium scavenge items and lots of modern electronics and gear, mostly used.

They passed by the ice sculpture and felt a chill from the cooling jets that kept it from melting. Behind it was a moving ramp that spiraled up to the next floor.

"Do you know a place to buy disguises?" Negasi asked.

"No, but there's got to be one," Jeridan replied.

A short little green alien with big pointed ears popped between them.

"Hi! You need to buy a disguise? What do you need? Holosphere? Implants? Synthflesh? I can steer you in the right direction."

Negasi kept his hands on his pockets. "We can find it ourselves."

"Sure, but you won't get the best. Only bottom-shelf stuff. I can get you the best of the best, the stuff they don't even put on display."

"Why wouldn't they put it on display?" Jeridan asked, sounding as suspicious as Negasi felt. He had his hands on his pockets too.

This alien was a Kibwengo, a species considered only slightly more trustworthy than the Awaari, meaning not trustworthy at all.

The Kibwengo's eyes went wide. "Ooooh. That intel is gonna cost you."

"You're annoying. Get lost."

Negasi and Jeridan stepped off the ramp and strolled along the second floor, peering into the shops. The Kibwengo dogged their footsteps.

"You guys need anything else? Stims? Duty frees? An automatic popsicle maker? I can get you anything. Max is the name, wheeling and dealing is my game."

"Your name is Max?" Negasi asked.

"Actually it's Maxiputlabnophrenia. Everyone just calls me Max."

"I wonder why."

Max gave him a curious look. "Because it's easier to pronounce."

"Right. How silly of me."

Negasi tried to ignore the little runt, a difficult thing to do when he was watching Max's every move. The alien had "pickpocket" written all over him.

"We going electronic?" Negasi asked his friend, making a point of ignoring the alien who still walking between them.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"I think that gives us the greater edge where we're going," Jeridan replied.

"Good point."

Eridanus Delta was only a moderately high-tech world. If they spent enough, they'd outclass any detectors they would be likely to have.

He headed into Luna's Lectronics. Max followed. So did Jeridan, right behind Max. Always good to have backup when a Kibwengo was tailing you.

With most other species, Negasi telling him to get lost would be taken as a sign that he didn't want the alien around. Kibwengo thought differently. Subtlety was lost on them, and direct confrontation was generally seen as being on the point of coming to an agreement.

How this species survived long enough to evolve sentience was a mystery to him. Maybe there weren't many natural predators during the Kibwengo Stone Age.

The store was impressive. Floor-to-ceiling shelves and a central shelf were stuffed with everything from handheld scanners to radar installations. Most were new, while some were refitted Imperium models. They built things to last in those days, and a bit of cleaning and repair often made them usable.

Unless you found an intact research station, then everything was sitting there waiting to be powered up and switched on.

Negasi felt a shiver go through him. He still couldn't believe they'd made such a big haul. The scavenge of the century!

The two attendants in the shop were both human, and both stunningly attractive. The man looked like he should be in a band getting swooned over by swarms of teenage fangirls and the woman … well, the woman could sell them just about anything.

One of the pleasures of shopping at Luna's businesses was that the attendants were always easy on the eyes.

The woman stepped forward.

"Welcome to Luna's Lectronics," the woman said, giving them a sultry look that showed she had correctly guessed their sexuality. "How can I help you three gentlemen today?"

"Two. This guy followed us in."

The woman treated Max to a level gaze. "Is there anything I can help you with today?"

"No, just talking to my pals. I'll leave you folks to it."

Max left.

Negasi was impressed. Short of gunfire, it was almost impossible to shake a Kibwengo. This lovely lady had done it with nothing more than a glance and a hint.

But of course she had all of Luna's power backing her.

"Thanks," Negasi said. "He was getting to be a pain."

"For twenty credits I can tell you more about his proven and suspected activities."

"We can figure that out ourselves. We're in the market for two electronic disguises."

The woman gave Negasi a smile that made him melt on the spot. "Then you've come to the right place. We only stock the best, and we only serve the best. It's always a pleasure when a real man comes into the shop."

The logical part of Negasi's mind knew she was giving him a sales pitch, but the logical part of his mind wasn't properly appreciating the aesthetic perfection of this pinnacle of the female form.

An elbow to the ribs woke Negasi up a little.

"Let's take a look, shall we?" Jeridan said.

Yeah, like you aren't bowled over by her too.

The woman showed them three models, one budget and the other two expensive. All three were made to look like gold chains you wore around the neck. In fact, they contained highly sophisticated electronics that cast a hologram around the head and body to change the features.

Negasi recognized the first as an older model he had used on a couple of his early adventures. It was cheap, easy to fix, but a lot of sensors could detect it.

It might fool the regular folks on Eridanus Delta, but he wouldn't want to risk it if he was going anywhere near the palace.

The other two models were much more expensive and came from established companies on high-tech worlds. He chose the most expensive model.

"Let's try this one."

Jeridan gave a price tag a significant look.

"We'll be making money," Negasi told him.

If they really did get to unload that Sagittan whiskey on the king of Eridanus Delta, they'd make their investment back several times over.

The attendant put the chain around Negasi's neck, making him tingle all over. Then she handed him a small controller.

"You give spoken signals to the controller and it offers you a variety of body types that you can pick or modify. This model also adjusts the body to any size and shape you want."

"Well, I can't be shorter," Negasi chuckled.

"No, but you can be taller or stouter."

"Until someone tries to touch me."

The woman smiled. "Try it."

He looked down at the controller. "Show me a Chinese male two centimeters taller than me and thirty—no, fifty—kilograms heavier."

The result that appeared on the screen wasn't going to win any sports games. It did, however look completely different than Negasi's lean and powerful body, which the attendant no doubt was admiring.

Right?

"Activate," Negasi said.

"Now look in the mirror," the attendant said, pointing to a full-length mirror on the wall.

Negasi turned this way and that, impressed. He looked just like the image he had come up with.

But appearances weren't good enough.

Jeridan pulled out a scanner and examined him on several wavelengths.

"You check out, but then again this isn't a security model."

The male attendant stepped forward and handed him a top-of-the-line security scanner from one of the shelves. Jeridan tried that and nodded in approval.

"Impressive."

Unless that model was a plant, Negasi thought.

"Touch your friend's belly," the male attendant told Jeridan.

Jeridan chuckled and reached out for Negasi's illusory paunch, which stuck out far enough that Negasi couldn't see his own feet.

His hand pressed against it and the belly squished in a bit, just like a real one.

"I can feel it!" Jeridan said. "An impressive tactile forcefield. I can even feel the buttons on your shirt. Ew, squishy. You need to cut down on beer, buddy."

"Now check the top of his head," the female attendant suggested.

Jeridan patted him on the head. "I can feel the hair and the skull." He slammed his fist down on it. Negasi didn't feel a thing. "This forcefield reacts pretty quickly."

"It won't stop a full punch," the female attendant said. "Nor will it stop weapons. It will, however, fool anyone who is shaking your hand or even wrestling with you." A slow, suggestive smile spread across her face. "Or engaging in other activities."

Negasi's breath caught. "We should buy these."

"We should totally buy these," Jeridan agreed.

There was no haggling in Luna's shops, so with a tug of pain at spending so many credits, Negasi and Jeridan bought one for each of them.

They put them on, tucking them under the collars of their jumpsuits, but didn't activate them.

As they walked out of the shop, they saw Max on the other side of the walkway, his back turned to them.

Good. We can give him the slip.

Then Negasi hesitated, Max was talking to a tough-looking human spacer with a long scar down one cheek. He had his head inclined as if to look down at the Kibwengo.

But his eyes were level, looking across the open space between the balconies and right at Negasi and Jeridan.