The noise as she entered the concourse hit her like a thunderclap, going from a muted rumble to a disorienting roar with startling abruptness. People talked loudly to hear each other over the din, vendors hawked their wares and haggled even more loudly, and advertisements on holograms and displays enticing passersby with wares provided a constant background jangle. On top of that, music from at least a dozen different sources blared, all clashing with each other until they sounded like cacophony.
Lana stood in a daze under the barrage of sounds, flashing lights, and various odors, most of them foul, that were wafting past. After the relative quiet and order of the Last Stand, this place seemed like some kind of nightmare, and she felt literally rooted to the spot in growing panic. People gave her curious looks as they passed, some seeming amused at her gawking, others vaguely contemptuous.
Go back to the ship. Go back to the ship. GO BACK TO THE SHIP!
Her confidence in her decision to go alone into this strange, loud, frightening place was crumbling, and she wanted to at least seek out Captain Aiden, see if he really would help her. But it was almost as if something forced her to finally keep going, one step after another farther down the concourse.
Was she really that determined to find out about her past? Apparently, she was, because her legs kept moving forward in spite of her growing desire to go back.
To Lana's vast relief, before long she came to a spot where the center of the concourse was lined with allnet terminals, each in its own private booth. She hurried towards them, shoulders hunched against the deafening noises of the busy station, the constant jostling of the staff and various other travelers. She felt like a small cornered animal among predators, with curious, unfriendly, and even hungry eyes resting heavily on her.
Midpoint Station catered to everyone, Captain Aiden had told her. That meant slavers, thieves, and who knew what else. She cursed herself for deciding to come here alone, against his advice, as the crowd thickened around her, others also jostling for a turn at the terminals, most of which seemed occupied. She felt like she was being smothered under a blanket of humanity, and considering how filthy and disreputable some of the people around her looked, a bad-smelling and unhygienic one at that.
Then she jumped halfway out of her skin as someone casually groped her; even with her memory taken from her, she knew that wasn't acceptable behavior.
Turning furiously, she looked at the faces around her. But everyone swept by as if she didn't exist, no one paying her any special attention. Shaken and scared, she ducked into the nearest open terminal and slammed closed the privacy screen.
“Please insert one of the accepted currencies into the slot,” a pleasant female voice said from the terminal's speakers, “or an authorization code, fingerprint, or retinal scan for a recognized financial institution account. Price for use is one DMC chit an hour for on-station usage, two for allnet connection, and three for accessing adult or restricted hubs, not including any extra fees. Antiseptic solution and sanitary wipes are available beside the display, and a rubbish bin is located beneath the terminal desk. Please be considerate of future users.” On the display, she saw the words repeated, along with more details about hourly rates and various disclaimers.
Lana ignored the voice and the words both, slumping into the seat and breathing hard as she worked to get her emotions under control.
Well, she was here. Exactly where she'd been trying to get to. She could use what she'd learned with Ali to search around the allnet and try to find information about herself, maybe research what her options were other than going back to the ship. Then, once she'd done as much as she could on the allnet, she'd either retrace her steps back to the Last Stand or continue on to whatever new life she'd found for herself.
That second option seemed like a more and more remote hope, since even this spaceport was turning out to be a more confusing and frightening place than she'd expected; what would the rest of the universe be like?
Well, first things first. Lana leaned forward and slipped the chit Aiden had given her into the proper slot.
* * * * *
All animals, prey and predator alike, had a sense for how dangerous other animals were.
Aiden was keenly aware of that fact as he strode through the crowded spaceport, watching as the people around him all sized each other up for potential threats.
Or prey.
Most of that sense was physical: muscles stood out, as did sheer physical size. And scars tended to command respect, as did brutish looks and a surly demeanor. Weapons commanded even more respect; even the most unimposing sort was given a wide berth if he carried a cauterizer strapped to his hip.
But there was something else to it, as well. Aiden was tall, yes, and he did a good job keeping fit. And his old, trusty cauterizer from his days as a Stag certainly got noticed. But even bigger, more grizzled criminals with weapons of their own avoided his eye and cleared a path for him, and more normal sorts practically scurried.
Maybe they smelled the military on him, in his look or how he carried himself. Or maybe the dead he'd racked up during his career carried a weight of their own that others could sense.
Belix was an even more obvious example of that unquantifiable menace: with her looks and tiny frame, she should've been as big a magnet for trouble as Ali. Maybe even bigger. But he'd noticed that even
