---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Did you really need to... What is the word.. Park? Land? Your flying boat in front of my house? You're scaring my ex-neighbours." Vattitha complained, hauling a rather large case of papers into the shuttle and dragging it over to her seat. "Not that I care anyway since it won't be my house anymore if all goes well." "We're still on the road." Michael replied, looking around at the houses and noticing a large number of eyes peeking out the windows. He could tell it was a high-class district. Many of the homes were near twice the size of the ones by the gate, and most had high fences with shrubbery cut in lavish designs. "Sorry." "They could use some surprise in their life. Perhaps it will help to embolden them." Srettia added, fighting off sleep as she reclined in her couch. Vattitha clipped herself into what she now knew was a crash couch and looked over to the armoured Michael. "Let's go to the bank. I'll get my withdraw slips and asset assessment. We can head over to the merchants union after that." "Well, alright." Michael replied, powering the shuttle engines and lifting off into the sky, blowing dust and rocks into the nearby fences and walls. "So. Which way is the bank?" " Just head down this street, straight to the end and fly over the houses. You'll see a big clock tower that denotes the spot." Vattitha replied, rummaging through her paperwork and pulling out a slip. "This shuttle is pretty handy... What's the cost of one of these things?" She asked, her face going serious for a moment. "You can't buy a military shuttle. But a general use civilian one is free as long as you can provide proof of employment." Michael replied, spotting the clock tower as he flew over a relatively large house. "That looks like it was difficult to build." Vattitha was silent for a moment, shifting around her papers before looking back over to Michael. "What level of employment? Government? Military? Finance... Or perhaps medical?" "Work... You know work work.. any job." Michael replied, doing a circle around the bank before finding a nice quiet spot to land. "You can run a hotdog stand on a corner, and they consider that work. As long as you're contributing in some way, most things for us are free." Vattitha placed all her papers back in her bags and unclipped her harness, standing silently as Michael powered the shuttle down. "I see... I'll be back soon." Michael watched as Vattitha exited the shuttle, noticing her clothing had changed from the vest and pants they had printed for her to a rather delicate backless dress. "Guess you need to dress the part when money is involved." "Like you would know. When was the last time you had to look at your bank?" Srettia teased, poking Michael with her armoured tail. Michael reclined in his couch as he watched the shuttle's power safely reach zero, thinking hard on the last time he had to think about using a large number of credits."Uhh.. I dunno. Besides the few times I bought you real food on Leda... Maybe a few months before this all started. I was thinking of getting a water rider and decided just to go fly around the belt instead." "And what are the chances of you going broke from mismanaging your credits?" Srettia asked, crossing her arms in smug satisfaction. "Umm.. Zero, I think. Most people make more than they could ever spend." "Exactly!" Srettia replied, pulling up a picture of a run-down area they flew over. "Look at this and tell me what you see. Do you understand what this is?" Michael studied the picture, nodding in understanding at what Srettia was showing him. "Yes, I do. We have social programs to prevent slums from forming. It's part of the United Terran Living Agreement. It promises all Terrans will have everything they need to live a happy life. Working just makes it so you can afford travel and all the fun stuff." "Well, from what I'm seeing. The Voktlix are still figuring that out... As well as my own people... Vattitha must work very hard to be able to afford the house she lives in." Srettia said, panning the camera around. Michael hummed in agreement, watching as Srettia swapped from picture to picture she had taken on their short flight, noticing stark differences in the city districts and living conditions. It wasn't until a knock at the shuttle door that he realized just how long he had been investigating the city and its layout. "Got everything you need?" Michael asked, watching as Vattitha entered the shuttle with a smile. "I did. My house was worth more than I thought as well. We can head directly towards the Union headquarters now." Vattitha replied, sitting down in her seat. "Right, It's on the opposite side of the city. A large statue of a female Voktlix with her hands behind her back stands in front of the building." "I remember seeing that." Srettia said, powering up the shuttle and grabbing the controls. Vattitha began quickly working through her papers, organizing a new bundle and mixing in odd clips and notes as the shuttle flew towards the headquarters. In her mind, she began to form her arguments, knowing full well that the master would be a brutal opponent. "We're here. I think." Srettia announced, landing far enough away in a clearing in hopes of not drawing attention to the shuttle and having to claw through a crowd on her return. "For now. You two stay here, please. I will call you with this communication device when the time is right. The element of surprise will be needed to win this negotiation." Vattitha said, standing and dusting herself off. "Alright, then. Good luck." Michael said with a wave, opening the door for Vattitha. As she left the shuttle, entering the middle of the walking park as she did. Vattitha made her way down the marked path, continuing to form arguments and counter-arguments in her head before finally coming up to the large building. "Of course, they would have this many auto-movers." She grumbled, walking past the cars and into the building. "Dr. Vattitha... The master is expecting you." A clean dressed secretary announced. "He is in his office. Please do not tarry." "He was expecting me, was he? Does it have anything to do with the expired lihne powder he mixed in with my shipment?" Vattitha replied, ignoring the secretary's response and beginning her trek to the top of the building. Four flights of stairs wasn't much for her. But she knew it was a tactic to make the more unhealthy of visitors winded before meeting with the master. Though she had to admit, it was a simple but brilliant tactic. As she finally made her way to the top of the stairs and down the hall, standing in front of the union masters' door, she knocked twice and waited. Chuckling to herself as the wait was about as long as she thought it would be. Another tactic of his. "Apologies, You may enter." Came a smooth voice from behind the door. Vattitha took a deep breath and exhaled, opening the door and giving the male a warm smile. "Hello, Gonikel. How have you been?" "Quite unwell. As you may know, I'm rather low on stock due to siege." Gonikel replied, motioning for Vattitha to take a seat. " So what will it be today, hmm? I may be low on products, but I still have what you need." "That is rather kind of you, Gonikel. But today, I have come to you with a new offer." Vattitha began, gently sitting down and pulling her bag up to her legs. Gonikel waved his finger as he gave off a pleasant smile, not letting Vattitha take him the direction he was thinking she was trying."Now, now. We both know I sell my products to you AT cost. Any lower, and I would be losing money on just the purchase alone. Not to mention the cost of shipping them to our city." "Yes, I know. You have been rather helpful in supplying me with products since the pharmacy union expelled me." Vattitha replied, grabbing her first piece of paper. "And whose fault was that hmm? Had you collected the payments from your patients like they wanted you too, you would not have had to come begging me to import your products... Though the fact they let you keep your licence is still quite remarkable." Gonikel replied, taking the papers and placing them in front of him, not even bothering to look. "I did collect payments. It's a shame they did not see it as such." Vattitha replied. Gonikel smiled and leaned back in his chair, remembering the distraught look on Vattitha's face when she first approached him. "Ahh, yes. A slice of bread or some grain... Not much you can tax from that. You are lucky you are the best, and the wealthy pay mountains for you to tend to them or the union would have taken everything away from you for that.." "I took payments as was expected of me. If the poor can only afford a handful of grain for me to treat them, then that is that. I will not let others suffer because they are ill-fated. Now about my proposition." Vattitha replied calmly, not letting her anger seep through over the union's greed. "Good... What is this deal you have for me then?" Gonikel replied, opening the folder and studying its contents. "No." "You haven't even heard my request yet." Vattitha returned, breathing deeply through her nose to calm herself. Gonikel shook his head in disbelief. What he was seeing is what one does when trying to avoid slavery... Or worse. "Your entire being. Everything you are is in here. Excluding your body, that is... But from what I'm reading, I wouldn't be surprised if you were to give that to me as well... I am no fool Vattitha, and will not be apart of whatever trouble you got yourself into. Besides, If you hand over your assets, the wealthy will have my head as you will no longer have an office to treat them in." "I want the secret of how you avoid Stydun during travels." Vatthitha replied, not backing down from her stance and pushing the papers forward. "HA! That's even worse. What makes you think I will divulge my secrets to you? You could turn around and sell it to another company or rival for more money than you are giving me now." Gonikel replied, letting a bit of a laugh slip by, much to his annoyance. Vattitha took a deep breath and began to spin her web, hoping Gonikel wouldn't catch onto her true plan. "You have my word. I will not sell your secret. Nor will I create a rival union for you to face. I want to explore. I want to see what's outside the walls... These past few days, this siege. I find myself wanting to live like my ancestors." "I see. I don't believe you, and I think you're lying... But tell you what, Vattitha. You tell me what you're really after, and I'll tell you my secret. Though I will be keeping your estate." Vattitha gave a sly smile to Gonikel, finding that though her plan somewhat failed, she still got what she wanted. "Alright then, Gonikel. I'll tell you. But promise me you won't back down upon hearing my answer. I want your word as union master that you will not lie to me when I tell you why I want your secret and am willing to give you my entire fortune in return." Gonikel dug into his pocket and pulled out his guild coin, placing it on the table and pushing it over to Vattitha. "Done. I swear, I will tell you... Because I know your hiding something big. Something that will stir things up, and I want to be ahead of this new wave." "Good. I knew you would come around." Vattitha said with a smile. "Shortly. Our money.. Our tools. Our knowledge. It will all, very soon, be worthless. Only our historical documents. Art. Cultural sites and anything that is directly linked to us as a people. Meaning our history. Or what it means to be A Voktlix will have any value." Gonikel leaned back in his chair, staring at the female with amusement before chuckling to himself. "Alright. To keep the Stydun away, you need to yell at them and ask nicely." "I'm serious, Gonikel. The Terrans are here. They stopped the siege and plan to share their tools and their knowledge with us. They can fly through the sky and stars, land massive ships underwater. Create food from nothing... Even create life. They might as well be gods to us." "Ahh, and I suppose this mythical Terran might as well be linked to the god people claimed to have seen walk into the central lake. If you're so certain of their existence, then I will make you a new deal. Bring one here. Now. If you can bring a Terran into my office, I will tell you personally, even show you how to repel Stydun." Gonikel stated, putting his feet up onto the desk. "I'll hold onto these for now. I can't have you running around the city with your fortune. When you're done with this foolhardy adventure, my assistant will return them to you. Please. Just be safe. I don't need you hurting yourself trying to get my secret." Vattitha grinned as she heard the shuttle engines roar over the building, watching closely as Gonikel fought to smooth his fur and stay in his chair. "There is nothing to be frightened of Gonikel. It's just one of the Terran machines. You know, the one that can fly through the sky. They will be here shortly." "I.. I see... Perhaps I have been a bit harsh on you Vattitha." Gonikel replied, taking a sip of his water and patting himself down. " Say... How would I address these Terrans when they arrive?" Vattitha grinned and leaned forward in her chair, staring Gonikel directly in his quivering eyes. "The one coming is the Captain of a ship that sails through the stars. He is strong. Very strong, and will not tolerate misbehaviours or lies. You will address him as Captain Michael Graeme of the Terran Star Navy." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------