His attention momentarily returned to the GenSha and Kaa working at their apparatus. The Kaa had a tube in one pair of tentacles, holding it to his mouth. What looked like venom was dripping into the tube, which he handed to the GenSha. Rick continued to observe in fascination as the GenSha used a computerized pipet to extract some of the venom and input it into a receptacle on the larger apparatus. Do they use Kaa venom in the creation process? he silently wondered.
Sato was carefully watching the process now, which of course meant he wasn’t watching anything else. Rick increased his perception of the former merc pit interior, bringing himself to full awareness. He calculated this was the moment of highest risk.
“We need your biometric signature,” the GenSha grumbled.
“Sure,” Sato said and produced a data chip. “We’re both on this one.”
“We prefer live data,” the Kaa complained.
“I prefer you use the data I’m giving you.”
One of the Kaa’s tentacles stretched out and scooped the chip from Sato’s hand, holding it up to the alien’s vision strip as if it were reading the device just by looking at it. Despite the being’s lack of facial expressions, Rick felt it was examining the chip suspiciously.
“I don’t understand your reluctance to provide live data,” the Kaa hissed.
“Could it have something to do with the fact you’re doing this in a burned out and abandoned facility with hired killers hanging around?” Rick asked. When he was relatively certain both were looking at him, he turned his head toward the three Pushtal, who suddenly stopped talking and looked up at him, realizing they were being addressed.
“They’re just other customers,” the elSha said. Rick’s translator made the offended tones of the reptilian alien’s voice obvious.
“Sure, only makes sense. Why wouldn’t they be hanging around? Not like having a trio of heavily armed notorious killers would be a bad sign for any potential customers.”
“You call us criminals?” one of the Pushtal howled in mock outrage.
“Being only a criminal would be an improvement,” Rick said with a laugh.
All three Pushtal made a noise that sounded amazingly like an outraged housecat, which made him grin. Luckily, they couldn’t see his smile, or it might have caused a rapid escalation. As it was, Sato looked at him with some alarm.
<What are you doing?> Sato asked over their pinplants.
<Clarifying our situation before it clarifies itself. Sir, let me do my job. You don’t know these lowlifes the way I do.>
Sato cast a curious/confused look at Rick, but he didn’t say anything more.
All three Pushtal came to their feet, flexing arm muscles and extending, then retracting hand claws. Good, Rick thought, let’s get this party started. He was a split second from drawing down when the GenSha spoke loudly.
“Enough,” he bellowed at the Pushtal. “Get out.”
“But you…” one said.
“I said get out, now,” the massive bison-like alien said. The last word was bellowed so loudly a light rain of ash fell from the charred ceiling. “Come back in six hours.”
The Pushtal were clearly confused by this turn of events, which furthered Rick’s conclusions. The biggest of the three gave Rick and Sato one last furtive look, then gave a hacking spit before turning to leave.
“See you around, fur face,” Rick said with a growl. The Pushtal headed out, hurling curses back, many of which the pinplants didn’t translate.
The elSha let them out, one eye on the exiting felines and the other on the GenSha.
The GenSha looked away from the door and at Rick. Rick nodded to the alien, who huffed once and returned his attention to his Kaa partner. The huge snake-like being had slid the data chip into a slate, examining the data. His head came up and pointed at Sato.
“You said two Yacks; there is data here for three.”
Sato blinked for a second, then spoke somewhat hesitantly, “I’m sorry, I misspoke. Yes, I need three.”
“Where is your other person?” the GenSha asked.
“Why does this matter?” Rick asked in turn, glancing at Sato, who was staring off into space and blinking rapidly. He looked confused and possibly shaken by something. Again Rick wondered how stable Sato really was. The other man had said the idea for a new pinplant design had just occurred to him. Who has a random design simply appear in their minds? Taiki Sato, apparently. “You are being paid.”
“Three million now,” the elSha said, both eyes focused on Rick. Clearly they were uncertain now who was in charge of the pair.
“Naturally,” Sato said, and produced another chip for biodata.
“We also want a million in small chits in exchange for another million chit,” Rick added hastily. The elSha’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“Let me see one of those credits,” the elSha said.
Sato moved to hand him one; Rick intercepted it. He held the chit out to the alien, who took it, but Rick didn’t release it. The elSha tried to take it, but Rick’s hand could exert enough force to bend the metallic coin in half or crush the diamond into powder. The elSha looked up into his cloaked face with its glowing blue eyes and visibly swallowed. His point made, Rick released the chit.
With a furtive look at Rick, the elSha inserted the chit into a handheld validator, a device made by the Science Guild designed to read the microscopic etching in the red diamond. Like serial numbers on old Earth currency, the etching was a unique identifier proving the diamond was cut and inserted into the chit, thus assuring it was a real one-million-credit chit.
He’d never seen one, only heard about them. Merchants who routinely took large
