Between the Black and Grey (Starlight Brigade AU)

7 - The Market

Two days later they landed.

Nad seemed very excited to finally get off the craft, as was evident by his overflowing energy and inability to sit still. Once they were off it was all Sung could do to stop him wheeling off on his own and getting lost. He didn't even have Brian to keep an eye on him; the mute had decided to stay on the craft, which while Sung wasn't especially happy about leaving him alone, there wasn't much he could do to persuade him.

The dock they touched down in was full of cargo ships, machines unloading stacks of crates, all holding the many resources the universe had to offer. Sung looked back at their craft, a tiny scavenger vessel by comparison, and couldn't help but feel inferior. To say they called themselves a brigade, their craft was far from impressive.

Leaving the dock the group emerged into a more industrial area. Rovers trundled past with crates stacked on top of them and the smog of machinery filled the air. People surrounded them, all sorts of merchants and people looking to buy from these intergalactic imports. There were dozens of hastily set up stalls - desperate efforts to take advantage of the influx of people. Sung felt a kind of protective instinct take over and he found himself holding onto Nad's chair. Usually he would let him follow by himself, but now he didn't want to risk losing him in the crowd, especially given his childish naivety that could easily land him in a whole deal of trouble.

"What is this place?" wondered Nad at some point, swiveling his head back to gaze up at Sung.

"It's a market," Sung replied with a slight chuckle.

"Whoa, I don't think I've ever been to a market before."

"They're great! All the cool new scents..." piped up Meouch, then adding to Sung, "Oh, and before I forget, remember we have to find a replacement battery for that scanner."

"Scanner?" Nad asked.

"Yeah, its battery was fried. No idea how that happened."

Sung stayed silent on the matter, mindful of the gemstone still tucked away into his pocket. The rest of the crew seemed to have forgotten about its existence altogether, though with a glance at Havve he knew that his memory was concrete; he'd remember. Havve wasn't the most talkative, however, and only really answered questions or spoke up when something was wrong. Then again, to his binary brain the gem was nothing but an unidentifiable rock, so he really had no reason to bring it up.

"Let's stock up on other supplies first," Sung said, quickly changing the subject.

Everyone seemed in agreement, and the group continued, deeper into the bustling market until thankfully the people started to thin out a little.

Nad seemed extremely taken with everything, and Sung enjoyed watching his childlike wonder as he stared wide eyed at everything around him. Personally he didn't like markets like this; too crowded. Meouch liked them for the food. Phobos liked them for the array of clothes. Havve didn't like anything. In any case, it was the cheapest place to stock up so they took it.

They started with food, using Meouch as a sniffer dog of sorts to pick out the best items, which they carefully stored in a chamber in Havve's stomach. Usually reserved for important samples or weapons, today it was their shopping basket. The robot didn't seem to mind.

Then the group split, Meouch and Havve going off to find the battery they needed while the other three started browsing for clothes for Nad. Phobos wasn't obsessed, but he definitely had an eye for clothes. Sung, however, was hopeless when it came to matching colour schemes and sizes, so he enlisted his crew mate to help.

"What kind of thing are we looking for?" Phobos asked when Havve and Meouch had gone.

"Uh, I'm not sure. Just some clothes so Nad doesn't have to keep wearing yours," Sung shrugged.