Invited

Thirty-Nine - Wicken

The great thing about the market, was there was access to everything. Also, much like every regular marketplace, there was also an underground system for items that were more complicated to obtain or dangerous – contraband. Stuff, that if I was caught with it, I could probably get myself killed over. Illegal drugs, weapons, computers, and alien technology.

"This is...wow," Talia said, staying close to me. By the end of the day, people would think we were dating, I'm sure – she was that clingy. We weren't quite touching each other, but she was letting her fear get the better of her and more or less gravitating toward me. Every time I'd step to the side, she moved with me.

I shrugged. "It's different."

"But there's so much stuff. It's almost like one of those big box stores with the groceries inside of them. Only instead of aisles, there are kiosks."

"Yup. Whatever you need, you get it here. I'm sure in your orientation with the Gorgachan, you'll get some kind of money until they give you a job to do. Don't be disappointed if it's something disgusting." I glanced her way, unsure of how much down and dirty working she'd ever done. If I remembered correctly, she was only a couple of years older than me, and had been famous since she was about sixteen. Something told me she hadn't worked retail or food service.

The somber expression on her face hinted I was probably right. "I'm sure I'll adjust to disgusting. Can't be that bad, right?"

"Depends on what you do. The bathrooms suck. I'll see if I can cut you some slack since I have an influential job, apparently." I rolled my eyes. "Maybe you'll luck out and attract an independent business owner's attention." I pointed to the kiosks. "A lot of the entertainment goods are produced and run by people not a part of the actual market system. All of the food and life essentials are like the first party branding of a store. Everything else is like a franchise or third party brand. It's there, but the first party doesn't have control over the merchandise. Does that make sense?"
"I think so. Are these kiosks owned and run by humans or aliens?" she asked.

"Again, it all depends." I honestly didn't know a whole lot about the system since I had been taken in by the official market and caught Layla's attention. Now that I had a position of power, I planned on using it for my advantage and learning a whole lot more.

She nodded, looking around with wide eyes. "Got it. I'll trust your judgment. I won't make any decisions without you."

"If you have that luxury, that's probably a good idea."

"What do you mean 'if'?"

I laughed. "You're assuming you get a choice in the matter. I mean, sure, there's always a choice, but it will probably be something like: you do the job that's given to you, or they'll eat you."

Talia blinked. "Eat...me?"

"Supposedly it happens." I pulled her along to a small kiosk toward the back. "Come on, we'll start here. You need to meet Will." I paused. "He's kind of crazy, so if he says anything weird, just nod, smile, and take it with a grain of salt."

Crazy or not, he knew things, and I trusted him more than any of the other people on the ship. Including Nancy, and I liked her more than most. Her relationship with Michael made things sketchy, unfortunately. Will didn't have any kinds of loyalty ties. All he cared about was hearing stories. People gave him their tales, and he collected them for his library. I'm not sure what his ultimate goal was, but his agenda didn't come across as dangerous. Maybe, he was just bored...and crazy.

When we approached, Will's face lit up with excitement. "Wicken! You're here! Do you have more of your journey for me? I'm eagerly awaiting your next installment."