Zombie Road , Simpson, A. [best authors to read TXT] 📗

out the things she’d taken from her soldiers. There were coins of the Federation, Shock trooper belt buckles and insignia, fine game pieces and various adornments they wore when they were off duty. The lizard man made a different clicking sound at the back of his throat and looked at them closer.

“Where did you get these? This is 1st age Federation and they’re perfectly preserved.”

“Are they worth anything?” Jessie asked and the man considered for a moment before answering.

He could probably buy the whole lot for a few credits, the backwaters didn’t have a clue. He glanced down at his son who had picked up a coin and was reverently turning it over in his long-fingered hand. He’d never seen one before in real life, only in holo’s when they studied ancient history. This could be easy credits, he could give them enough to pay their dock port fees and a little extra so they could pick up a few supplies. The profit from those coins would be more than he made in the whole season. They’d never know they’d been swindled. He watched his son carefully place the coin back on the counter. His boy would know, though and think less of him for it.

He made the clicking sound at the back of his throat again and told them to put their things away.

“Jazrah,” he said, making up his mind. “Take them down to the Collector on two. Introduce them and come right back. Don’t stop at the gamers lounge, you have work to do. You hear?”

The kid was fast and they had to hurry to keep up as he led them away from the docks, the hum of machines loading and unloading freight and gatherings of revelers going down to the party planet. He led them away from the main terminal, slipped past a pair of heavily armored enforcers and down an employee stairwell. Jessie tried to play it cool, didn’t gawp at everything and everyone while Maddy absorbed as much information as she could. She listened, analyzed and sorted a thousand snippets of conversation as her metamatter cells categorized risks and danger and her eyes roved and missed nothing. There were all manner of people and creatures, some armed, some not. Jazrah pointed out a few of the people he knew and gave a running commentary until he spotted someone else. The men he identified were different races but all had a similar look, all wore blasters at their sides and all were captains of their ships. Some freighters, some smugglers, some pirates. Jessie recognized the type, revelers instinctively got out of their way and they kept their eyes moving, always on the lookout for danger. Their guide seemed enamored by them.

Much of the technology was the same or similar as it had been thousands of years ago. Gravity generators, oxygen synthesizers and other life support systems operated in the same manner. The machines worked then, they worked now. She didn’t spot any new races of people, she was familiar with the dozens they encountered and as much as she could, she relaxed a little.

The boy led them to a well-lit avenue with bustling shops that had the feel of a tourist area. Wares were displayed in windows, many people were strolling casually and sipping on various drinks as they spent the last of their credits waiting for their transporters to take them back to their home planets. It reminded Jessie of an airport concourse. Jazrah took them down an alley, away from the hustle of the main walkway and after a few more turns they wound up in front of a dusty shop with a holographic battle playing out across its display windows.

Jessie puzzled out the words over the entrance and came up with Chala’s Military Antiquities. He smiled his crooked smile. An army navy store. Some things were universal no matter where or when you were.

They thanked the boy and stepped inside. It was similar to thousands of shops on earth with an eclectic mix of new and old. Uniforms and weapons and all manner of gear was displayed. Some haphazardly, some exquisite pieces in cases or mounted behind faintly shimmering lights. He didn’t have to stick his hand through the glow to know it would give him a shock or maybe worse.

The proprietor was human of the large eyed, six fingered variety and watched them both with curiosity. He’d never seen creatures quite like them and he’d seen a lot in his lifetime. They’d either been altered to work in a particularly harsh system or like some of the radical youth, they had gone under a skin doctors’ knife to change their appearance. The male wore animal skins that had been armored with spikes and metal plates. Ridiculous. He wore blacked out blasters low on his hips and from the looks of them, the handles had been hand carved. They were playing dress up. He frowned slightly at the silliness of the young but greeted them cordially. If they had credits to spend, he didn’t care what they looked like. When they said they were selling, not buying, his frown deepened and he waved in annoyance for them to lay out their trinkets. Probably more useless nonsense from one of the minor border skirmishes, a spent blaster recharge or a damaged helmet…

He stopped his internal grumblings and his eyes shimmered in surprise as Jessie laid out the coins and bits of ancient memorabilia. He carefully picked up one of the coins and examined it then did the same with the medals, the buckles and the insignia. He knew, or thought he’d known, of every 1st age naval coin in existence. Specimens of this quality were in museums or private collections. Most that remained were damaged and only partials. They had been internal currency on the ships, a hard money, not an electronic credit. They were used by soldiers of the Federation, mostly for gambling and making purchases they didn’t want traced. They