Steel Rising

Chapter 26: My name is Persivale

Exiting the UCSB Branch office No. 9696, Tellius had two goals in mind as he stepped back onto the bustling Main Street: to buy provisions and hire a lawyer to acquire Sarah's debt from Cerberus.

One significantly harder than the other, the towering, intimidating cyborg began scanning the shopping district for a  Community Traders before he remembered that those didn't exist anymore, and so he began his search for an alternative.

Meanwhile, as his eyes scanned the stores and shops lining the street, his mind began going through the lawyers that he remembered his father had used. Going through them one by one, Tellius's mind began to repeatedly circle back to one name in particular.

'Uncle Spencer, aka Henry Spencer.' He thought, just as he spotted an old, faded, non-neon sign amongst the first of the neon signs that read: 'Supplies & Provisions'.

Simultaneously, just as the former commander walked over to the store sign, he also began to search for his uncle on the net. Apparently having survived the assassination attempt on Warfield Senior, Uncle Henry had retreated from the spotlight of interstellar politics and opened up his own 'little' law firm.

In his research, Tellius began to realize how deceptively subjective the term 'small' law firm truly was. In Henry Spencer's case, it meant an entire skyscraper on Lopolis with wealthy, high-profile clients.

On the law firm's website, he even found an up-to-date photograph of his Uncle Spencer. Dignified in both age and appearance, Henry Spencer looked every bit the fifty-year-old lawyer that he was, with some wrinkles, silvery white hair, and a billion-credit tailored suit.

'Curiously enough, as far as he could tell, no corporate clients.' The cyborg thought just as he walked into Supplies & Provisions, or S&P, as the shop's updated logo on the sliding door showed.

*Ding!* The front door's buzzer chimed just as Tellius stepped inside, and the sliding door closed behind him. *Swush!*

"Welcome to S&P! I'll be with you shortly, Mr. Customer, purr!.." A young male voice purred from behind the nearby counter.

Looking from the counter around the shop, he found numerous samples of different types of supplies and provisions on tall, floor-to-ceiling shelves. Spotting Tina's beloved Ghost-Waffles among the samples, Tellius instantly knew that he was in the right place to get supplies.

"... Thank you for your patience..." The clerk, a young cyborg with a sleek feline body modification, jumped up from behind the counter. Yet as he did, his long black tail that poked out of his overalls unintentionally kicked over the tin pyramid behind him. Hit by the falling cans, the young clerk cursed. "...  Shit!.." Yet noticing Tellius's intimidating size, he instantly ignored the tins and instead asked. "... How may I help you, Mr. Customer?"
"I need supplies for three people, two females, that should last us for a few years, minimum..." Tellius answered casually, willing to spend a small fortune just on supplies for Sarah and Tina alone. "...  What do you recommend?"

"The ages?..." Asked the feline clerk, his tail dancing happily. "... Any preferences?"

"Six and..." Tellius needed a moment to calculate Sarah's age as she was no longer the same age as him, or was she? "... 34. The younger one loves Ghost-Waffles, the older one loves burgers & fries, and I prefer steak & whiskey."

Baffled, the animal-themed cyborg clerk questioned him, confused. "Your... full cyborg... What kind of digestive system are you packing for steak?"

"I am currently not packing, but in the future..." Tellius pronounced the last few  words of his sentence for added effect. "... I WILL!"