Mistrunner 3 - Chapter 33 - Information (Patreon)

To Mira, Jeremiah was a god-like figure. Rationally, I think she understands that he was a flawed man and the product of a seriously messed-up situation, but from an emotional – and much more powerful – standpoint, he was everything she wants to become. If I do nothing else in my life, I hope I can prevent that from happening.

Patrick Ward

I followed Gala’s directions through the Bazaar, eventually finding myself in an area I’d never visited. That wasn’t so surprising, really; it wasn’t as if I visited the place all that often, after all. Couple that with the fact that it was enormous, and my unfamiliarity should have been expected. Still, it was a little unnerving to look around and see a wholly unfamiliar environment.

The setting wasn’t so dissimilar from what I’d seen before. Each hall was lined with plasti-steel panels, curiously shaped lights, and subtle, blue lighting, and the intermittent chambers were populated by the same cube-shaped shops manned by a wide variety of aliens that looked at me with unabashed suspicion.

Because I didn’t belong.

It had been quite some time since I’d even seen another human being, which was my first hint that I’d gone off the beaten path. On top of that, the aliens didn’t wear the welcoming expressions of shopkeepers like Gala. Instead, they looked angry at the intrusion, as if I’d interrupted something far more important than commerce.

But more than anything, I recognized something familiar in those alien faces. Or perhaps it was the environment itself. There was something about the dingy film covering every surface, the sometimes-flickering lights, or the overall demeanor of the population that made it clear that I’d come to the slums. Or whatever passed as such on a space station.

In a lot of ways, it felt like I’d come home. Back in Nova – and in the years since it fell – I’d spent quite a lot of time in the poorest parts of various cities. So, I could easily recognize the signs of poverty. Of desperation.

“Lost, little human?” grunted an alien who was leaning against one of the cubicles. He was a hulking creature with reptilian scales, a prominently ridged brow, and an upturned snout that made me think of the wild boars I’d seen in the wilderness. But as massive as he was, I didn’t feel any real danger. After all, I was a mere projection. He couldn’t hurt me.

Probably.

I wondered if that was truly the case, though. Through the use of some sort of skill, Gala could make physical contact. It would have been ridiculous to think that others couldn’t do the same. And while the giant minotaur woman had only used that ability to hug me, these strangers would likely have other, more dangerous things in mind.

“No,” I said. “Just passing through.”

“Well, keep on movin’,” he said. “You ain’t welcome ‘round here.”

His accent was curious, and though I knew it had been manufactured by my Universal Language ability, I felt like it fit his appearance.

“Good to know,” I said, pushing on.

Over the next few minutes, I endured many such comments, though I was quick to notice that no one tried to bar my way. Still, I garnered quite a lot of attention, which made me nervous. Once, I’d heard that aliens often thought humans all looked the same. Many had difficulty telling us apart. I could only hope that was true; otherwise, my passing would be noted, and there was a chance that some of my enemies would be able to trace my route.

That would bring trouble down on Gala’s head. And while I thought her capable of dealing with whatever came her way, I didn’t want to be the cause of any issues that might befall her.

So, I hunched my shoulders and continued on my way as I tried to remain as unobtrusive as possible. It really wasn’t effective, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances. If I’d had my skills available to me, things would have been different. I could have disguised myself with Mimic or used Stealth to remain unseen. But with my body back on Earth, that just wasn’t in the cards.

Which left me feeling extremely vulnerable.

On Earth, I could depend on my skills, abilities, and attributes to see me through. But in the Bazaar? I was completely exposed.

I pushed forward until I finally arrived at my destination. It was a cube just like any other, though the glyph on the door indicated that it was the premises of the information broker.

I knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, it slid open to reveal what could only be described as a humanoid rat. It was only about four feet tall – big for a rat, but small for a person, I suppose – and it had all the hallmarks of a rodent. Small, beady eyes. A long, hairless tail. A narrow snout. You know – a rat.

“What’choo want?” it hissed.

“Uh…Gala sent me,” I said. “She told me you could help me with an information problem.”

“So cryptic,” it spat. Literally, spit went flying with each word. “Come on in. Ain’t got all day.”

I reluctantly took the invitation and followed the rat-like alien into the cubicle. Inside was, in a word, disgusting. What looked like trash was piled in one corner, while boxes that still contained bits of food were strewn across the floor. There were even insects skittering here and there. As I stepped inside, however, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was bugging me, though.

“What’choo wanna know?” it asked. Pointedly, the little creature hadn’t bothered to introduce itself. Nor had Gala given me a name. Instead, she’d only provided a location and told me what kind of cost I should expect.

“Uh…there are some aliens – invaders, I guess – called Pacificians,” I said.

“Nine thousand credits for basic information,” it interrupted. “Forty for a more in-depth dossier. Two-hundred thousand if you want everything I got.”

“No. I mean…I’m not…wait, two-hundred?!” I exclaimed.

“Dangerous entities. Big money.”

“But that’s just extortion…”

Indeed, two-hundred thousand credits was an extreme amount for a little information. Of course, the value of said information might very well exceed that sum, especially if you were at odds with a civilization like the Pacificians. Still, I wasn’t there for information on them; indeed, I felt confident that I could discover what I needed on my own.

Besides, I didn’t have two-hundred thousand credits to spend. Perhaps I could come up with it, but running the Leviathan was extremely expensive, and so, I rarely had any accumulated wealth to speak of.

“It costs what it costs,” said the rodent.

“Fine. Whatever. I’m not here about them anyway,” I said. “I’m looking into some of their allies.” I explained what I knew about the elves in question. They were known as Ithids, and thankfully, information on their operations was far cheaper than the files on the Pacificans. Still, when I transferred the required ten-thousand credits, it was with a degree of regret.

After all, I had the ability to gather information on my own, didn’t I? That I’d had to pay for something I could get myself just seemed sloppy, and it left me feeling a little lazy.

I was just about to accept the credit transfer when I realized what had been bothering me ever since entering the cubicle.  I watched as the same insect skittered across the floor in precisely the same way it had gone before.

It wasn’t just similar, either. It was identical.

Which meant that none of it was real.

I was very familiar with holographic displays, and while mine weren’t nearly as advanced as whatever the rat-like information broker was using, they still had many of the same issues. Like repeated patterns.

“You noticed, huh?” said the information broker in an entirely different voice. “That’s unfortunate.”

Then, the entire scene shimmered. The trash disappeared, the stains on the walls vanished, and, most importantly, the rat-like broker’s illusory appearance faded away, revealing her actual form. She wasn’t any bigger, but her rodent-like features were gone. Her fur had been replaced by purple skin, and face had taken on something approaching human proportions.

However, I couldn’t tear my attention away from her eyes, which were huge, oblong orbs speckled with pinpoints of light that made them look like miniature galaxies.

“What gave it away? It was too much trash, wasn’t it?” she said. “I based the hologram on a slum I visited a few decades ago, so I’m sure it was accurate. Or was it too much? I’m told that humans associate rodent features with dishonesty and filth. Is that not the case? Was there some discrepancy?”

“I…it was the bugs,” I said. “The hologram looped.”

“Damn the ancestors, really?” she said. I don’t know why I thought of her as female – her figure was androgynous enough that it threw her gender into question – but I felt certain about it all the same. “The bugs. I never thought of that. Now – would you suggest I remove the insects altogether? No. The more I think about it, the worse that sounds. The bugs tie everything together, don’t you think? You can’t have a disgusting trash pile without a few roaches, am I right?”

“I…um…I guess?” I said, completely unsure of how else I was supposed to respond. The air of danger that had surrounded her had faded completely, but I got the feeling that, if I were to make even one wrong move, that could change. I had no basis for that, but I felt it in my bones.

“Oh, right – you’re probably a little unsure of what’s going on, aren’t you?” she said. “Understandable. I’m trying something different on 2341-M. Earth, I suppose you locals call it. Seriously unimaginative name. May as well have called it dirt. But then again, that might just be the auto-translation at work. Perhaps your word for dirt was influenced by the chosen name for your planet, hmm? In any case, as I said – I’m trying something new with this Integration. Or upcoming Integration, as it were. Soon enough, you and your people will be flooding the Bazaar – also a silly name, by the way – looking for information. So, I decided to invest in a few new tricks just to keep you all on your toes. Still working out the kinks, as it were. So – what do you say? Bugs or no bugs? Now, be honest. At Infotech, your input is valued.”

“Infotech?” I mumbled, still a little taken aback, as much due to the situation as it was because of her rapid-fire speech pattern.

“Oh. You don’t like it, do you? I knew it was a silly name, but the one I really wanted was already taken,” she said. “Well, I can’t change it now, so you’re just going to have to get over your issues. It’s just a name.”

“I…um…I didn’t say I didn’t like it…”

She cocked her head to the side, and some of the little pinpricks of light within her eyes flashed. “So you didn’t,” she said after a second. “Do you, though? I don’t. but I’m a bit biased, I suppose. I had my heart set on Goblsonger’s Information Emporium. But my sister beat me to it, the bitch. Did I use that word correctly? My information says it refers to a female canine – curious creatures, those – but it also says it’s meant as a derogatory term associated with…well…lots of unsavory things. Because my sister is quite unsavory, she is not comparable to a female canine.”

“I…I think it’s probably a good idea just not to use the word.”

“Well, that is just unacceptable!” she said, throwing one finger into the air. “I must fit in. Otherwise, no one will trust me!”

I wanted to point out that nobody was going to trust her if she kept trying to deceive them, but I thought better of it. Instead, I asked what seemed like an obvious question. “What’s your name?”

“Kith,” she said. “Kith Goblsonger. I know exactly what you’re thinking. Another Goblsongr?”

“Uh…”

“Very common name. Like Sith on Earth.”

“I think you mean ‘Smith’.”

“Oh, no – Sith is definitely the right name. It’s all over your history. Really – it’s your planet. Perhaps you should get to know it a bit better instead of cavorting with a bunch of aliens.”

“I’m not cavorting,” I sighed. “I just…you know what, never mind. That’s my bad, I guess. Is there anything else you can tell me about the Ithids?”

“No, no – it’s all in the packet I sent you,” she said. “But between you and me – and not to sound specist or anything – they are vicious little creatures who deserve to be wiped from the galaxy. With extreme prejudice.”

“Right…”

With that, I accepted the transfer, exchanging the credits for the packet of information she’d promised. I only gave it a cursory glance to make certain that it contained the proper information, but in doing so, I saw that the Ithids were not elves in the same way that Askar had been. Instead, they were small, winged creatures that more closely resembled the fairies from Earth’s myth.

Except for the sharp teeth, faces that looked like someone had smashed them in with a hammer, and the fact that the photos included in the packet had them wielding weapons that were at least two or three sizes too big for their small bodies.

“Brutes,” Kith said. “They always think bigger is better. And don’t get me started on how they respond when you accuse them of having an inferiority complex.”

“You say that like you have first-hand experience.”

“I may have dated one a few cycles ago,” she stated. “But in my defense, I was at a low point. My sister had just stolen my business’s name right out from under me, and on top of that, this was the only Integration where I could manage a slot. I don’t need to tell you how unlucky that is, what with the Dingyts running around as they are. Ugh. My luck just keeps getting worse and worse.”

“S-sure…”

I barely managed to get the word out. I hadn’t even mentioned the gnomes, but it seemed that their presence was common knowledge. And even other aliens were wary of them.

“And that’s not even considering the Templar presence,” she said. “Biggest mobilization in the past hundred cycles. There’s something special about that little blue planet of yours, and everyone seems to know it. Except me, of course. You wouldn’t happen to know what’s going on, would you? Why are three major factions interested in Earth?”

“Three?” I said. The Dingyts and the Templars were two of them, but I wasn’t sure about the third. Perhaps she meant the Pacificians.

“Ah, but that’ll cost you! No information for free. That’s my motto. Not like my sister, whose motto is ‘It’s mostly accurate.’. No professionalism there. But she got the good name, so of course she’d be the successful one. Right – which reminds me. I’ll be sending you a questionnaire about your experience here. Now, be honest. My goal is to get better, and I can’t do that without your input!”

Just then, another packet arrived. This one was labeled “Infotech (ugh, I hate that name) Customer Survey”. I was tempted to refuse it, but then I thought better of it. Kith seemed a bit quirky, but if I could cultivate some sort of relationship with her, her information could prove invaluable. So, I accepted the transfer, sequestering it into a partition of its own before extricating myself from the situation. For her part, Kith seemed reluctant to let me go; she kept going on about her sister, and I kept nodding along as I backed away. I think she was a little lonely.

Finally, I managed to get away, and a few hours later, I transferred back to my body on Earth.

If I’m completely honest, I half expected that I’d arrive to find myself surround by Gunther and a bunch of hired mooks. It certainly would have fit with my recent string of bad luck. However, when I felt myself return to my body, I opened my eyes to see the same unassuming chamber I had left behind. No armed mooks. No vindictive gun runners. Just a bunch of bored guards waiting out their shift.

It was a little anticlimactic. However, as Patrick often said, “Boring can sometimes be a good thing.”

I tried to remember that as I made my way out of the ruins of Nova City. Appropriately, the trip was uneventful, and before long I was back in the driver’s seat of the ATAV and ripping across the terrain. I passed a couple of stray wildlings on the way back to the Leviathan, but nothing was really interested in barring my way.

Finally, I arrived back at the ship to find that no one had ventured within a few hundred feet. So, I quickly loaded the ATAV into the cargo bay, closed everything up, and headed to the cockpit.

That’s when I got the surprise I’d been waiting for the whole time.

There he was, just sitting in the pilot’s seat like he belonged.

“You visit the most wondrous places, Mirabelle,” Alistaris Kargat said. “Tell me – did your visit assuage your guilt?”

I stared down at the Dingyt, unsure how to respond. Then, I yanked Ferdinand II for his holster, pointed it at the little man, and pulled the trigger.