“We just want some information.”
Hesitating a moment longer, the store owner closed the door. From behind the thick wood, Keryn could hear a chain being moved aside. As quickly as it had closed, the Uligart opened the door once more and invited them both in. As Adam stepped into the blessedly cool interior of the store, Keryn keyed the throat microphone.
“Talon One, this is Talon Six.”
“This is Talon One,” Rombard called back, his thick voice rumbling even more in her earpiece than what it does in person. “Go ahead.”
“We’re heading inside a store to get some information. Keep your eyes peeled for Cardax but be careful. I think he already knows we’re here.”
“Roger that.”
Taking one last glance up and down the main road, Keryn stepped into the darkness and let the Uligart close the door behind her.
As far as Rombard was concerned, Keryn’s words were unnecessary. He and Keeling had felt the same unease that she and Adam experience as they walked down the parallel road. The Oterian could see his Uligart partner fidgeting, his eyes darting from side to side. Though Rombard’s weapon was clearly visible, he was sure that Keeling would be the first to draw his pistols and fire should they run into trouble.
“Settle down, Keeling,” Rombard grumbled, looking down on the significantly shorter man. “You’re making me uneasy.”
“I don’t think it’s me,” Keeling quickly answered. “It’s this damn town. It’s this damn heat. It’s… well, it’s something I can’t quite figure out.”
Rombard nodded. His thick fur was soaked with sweat from the heat and each breath huffed loudly through his flared nostrils.
“It’s like the town is alive,” the Uligart continued. “The whole place is one living, breathing organism. And we’re its prey, being led right into the its maw before large teeth rise up from the sand and rock to close in around us.”
“I don’t think I’m going to let you read any more mission reports from the edges of known space,” Rombard joked. “They’re piquing your imagination a little too much.”
Keeling stopped walking and turned to the Oterian, though he only came up to Rombard’s muscular chest. “Laugh all you want to, but you feel it too. I know you do.”
Rombard nodded. “I do. There is something wrong here.”
Reaching under the thick fur of his neck, Rombard activated his microphone. “Talon Three, this is Talon One.”
Cerise responded almost immediately, though her voice carried a musical discord of impatience. “Go ahead.”
“Do you see anything from up there?”
Cerise peered over the lip of the wooden scaffolding on which she was lying. From her vantage point, she could look down on most of the town and, if need be, fly to either team’s aid. She had been watching the town since both groups entered, but had yet to see any movement on the streets or roofs.
“Negative,” she answered. “All is quiet.”
“And that doesn’t strike you as strange?” Rombard responded.
“No stranger than any of you.”
“Keep your eyes open,” the Oterian said. “Let me know the second you see something.”
Frustrated, both with the situation and the Avalon, Rombard turned off his microphone. He turned to speak with Keeling, but saw the Uligart standing in a guarded stance. Following his gaze, Rombard looked into one of the heavily shadowed alleys that separated the dirty clay buildings. He saw nothing moving.
“What is it?”
Keeling shook his head slightly, his eyes never leaving the alley. “I saw something in the alley. Something big.”
Rombard strained again to see anything in the alleyway. “I don’t see…”
He was interrupted by a loud crack, like wood splintering or a box being torn open. The sound, he was certain, came from the alley.
The pair looked at one another.
“Shall we check it out?” Keeling asked, nervously.
Rombard nodded. “Let’s go.”
The store was blissfully cool, but it took some time for Keryn’s eyes to fully adjust to the dimmer light. Blue lights danced in her eyes; artifacts from too much time outside under the imposing, setting sun. As her vision cleared, she took a look around the cluttered store. A multitude of items sat on shelves and on tables placed chaotically around the room. Many items she recognized, having seen similar craftsmanship in the stores in Farimas Space Station. Other items were foreign to her. Her fingers slid across a number of items as she walked around the room, her eyes moving to take in all the oddities within the store.
“We’re a border planet,” the store owner explained as Keryn looked at a strange electronic scanner. “We get traders in from both the Alliance side and the Empire side. You’re looking at some of the very best in Terran biological research equipment.”
Keryn dropped the scanner as though it had suddenly become hot, or that it suddenly carried an unseen contagion. She could hear the Uligart hiss in displeasure behind her as the object clattered loudly onto the wooden table.
“You said you came for information only,” the store owner said impatiently. “So how about you leave my wares alone and ask your questions. I’d like to get this done quickly so that you can leave me in peace.”
Though her back was too him, Keryn still frowned in displeasure. Something had the Uligart on edge. Whatever it was, she intended to get the information from the store owner, one way or another. Luckily for her, Adam’s cooler head continued to intercede before she had the opportunity to play the damning inquisitor.
“Have you seen anyone unusual here in town?” Adam asked, leaning heavily on the wooden table behind which the Uligart stood.
“Everyone here in town is unusual,” the store owner answered, while avoiding the question at hand.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Adam said, his voice taking on a threatening edge.
“Then perhaps you should have started by asking the question you actually wanted answered,” the store owner taunted.
Keryn snarled as she turned, drawing her pistol in one smooth motion. Pulling back the hammer on the pistol, she pointed it directly at the Uligart’s face. “I don’t have time for your games. We’re here looking for an Oterian named Cardax. Do you know where he is or don’t you?”
The Uligart’s posture never changed; he still stood defiantly with his arms crossing his chest and an eyebrow raised in defiance. “First of all, girl, let me tell you that this is not the first time I’ve had a pistol pointed at my face, nor will it be the last. Do us all a favor and put that toy away.” His cold eyes stared straight through her as he spoke. In the silence that ensued, Keryn realized that the Uligart had been serious. Realizing the pistol had little effect, she holstered her pistol under her jacket.
“Secondly,” the store owner continued as soon as the pistol was away, “let me offer you a word of warning. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. You go around town, waving your guns like you have some authority here. But you don’t. No one has authority in this town except for the miners and the people that work here. And we take care of our own. This Cardax you’re looking for, he comes here often. He brings good money into town. If you go around thinking you can strong arm him into coming with you, you’re going to be sadly, sadly mistaken. Do us all a favor and turn around. Take your friends, get back on your ship, and fly home. Leave Pteraxis and never think of it again.”
“Sorry,” Keryn snarled, “but I don’t take advice from cowards who hide behind closed doors every time a stranger walks into town. If Cardax is here, we’re going to find him, and the Gods can damn any man who stands in our way.”
As they stared at one another, Keryn’s transmitter in her ear crackled to life. “Talon Six, this is Talon One. We’ve spotted the target. He’s moving through an alleyway, heading your direction.”
