Page 27 of Escape Velocity

“Just got off the farm.”

“Oh.”

He opened the lock, and they stepped out into a featureless metal corridor, much like what was on the Golden Fleece. It led to a wider corridor with numbered doors indicating docking stations. At the end was an exit. He ushered her through, and suddenly everything changed as they emerged between a Copa bar and a shashlik house in the main trading hall.

He looked back to mark the location as he heard Amber drag in a quick breath. He glanced into her wide eyes and tried to take in the scene from her perspective. He didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it probably wasn’t this. He supposed it could be compared to a market plaza in a rural village on one of the planets except that there was a ceiling high above the stall. The lower floor and a balcony were filled with colorful stalls selling everything from Danalon herbal medicines and Palamar farm tools and minerals to Farlian jewelry, and surplus Confederation weaponry. Other entrepreneurs cut hair, did beauty treatments, piercings, tats and tarot card readings. Interspersed with the goods and services were food stalls offering selections from around the nearby planets.

The visual collage was overlaid with aromas—unwashed bodies. Exotic perfume. Cooking smells. It all came to them in a babble of voices of shopkeepers and would-be customers wandering through the aisles, looking for a bargain or just something unusual to take home.

He saw many of the sellers eyeing him and Amber as they walked along the aisles—evaluating them as potential customers—or easy marks. Some called out, offering good deals.

“Special for you.”

“On sale now.”

“You’ll be sorry if you don’t stop.”

He ignored the come-ons and hustled Amber through the crowded aisles. They were almost to the other side of the trading hall when he realized she had stopped short in front of a dress shop called Ilina’s, which was packed with brightly colored feminine wearing apparel.

“Those are . . . beautiful,” she murmured as she reached out to touch a silky scarf. And so soft.”

“Maybe we can stop back later. We need to finish our business here.”

They had entered at one of the most crowded sections of the great hall. At the other side the crush was thinner because there were more restaurants and bars than stands, and Max steered Amber in that direction.

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On one of the metal balconies above the main floor, two men leaned casually on the railing, drinks in hand as they scanned the crowd. Both wore standard attire favored by the lower class of station dwellers—in other words mismatched pants and shirts. One had close-cropped blond hair. The other had dark hair tied at the back of his neck. Neither looked like they were doing anything besides idling time away, in fact they had picked up a temporary assignment the day before. Because they knew all the people who frequented the station, they were watching for visitors.

“Down there,” the blond one gestured with a tip of his head.

The guy with the long dark hair followed his companion’s direction and saw a man and woman making their way through the aisles.

After a moment, he scoffed. “Naw. She’s not pretty enough.”

“You think somebody’s just going to parade a Naxion beauty through here like she was a prize pony?”

“Okay,” the other man conceded as he watched the couple.

The guy who had pointed out the visitors was named Kado. His partner was Lomax. They were regulars on the Freedom Station and did various jobs—legal or illegal—for anybody willing to pay them.

“I’m going down,” Kado said. “You stay here in case something more interesting turns up.”

“Sure.”

Kado headed for one of the stair towers. When he reached the ground floor, he checked his communicator. “You read me?”

“Loud and clear.”

“Okay. If I need you, I’ll call.”

He vanished into the throng, and Lomax kept scanning the crowd. They’d been alerted to look for a woman illegal arriving in the next few days, and if they found her, it would mean a nice fat finder’s fee—plus a little unauthorized fun before they took payment.

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