Greg stepped into the building. From the outside, it had looked silent, lifeless even. Inside, it was anything but.
Noise hit him like a wave. Voices overlapped in different tongues, some guttural, others musical. The air was cool and thick a faint metallic tang of old machinery. Rows of tables stretched across the hall, each one crowded with sellers and buyers of every kind.
Humans, Wevers, Zatermen, Cadvians, even a few Gillars in their thick moisturizer suits. They haggled, traded, and shouted over one another, their glowing devices flashing with transaction codes.
Every table had something strange or dangerous on display. Cybernetic limbs gleamed under neon lights. A man with silver eyes whispered about a stolen nav-chip that could bypass EXNEC patrol routes. Another seller pushed small vials of heak juice across the table, their faint orange glow pulsing like heartbeats.
Greg knew the stuff. Heak juice could make a man twice as fast and strong for an hour before it tore his body apart. EXNEC had banned it everywhere in the Fringe. But Rekov was not EXNEC. Rekov did not care.
He moved deeper into the market, keeping his jacket closed. The energy core pressed warm against his chest. Somewhere in here was a buyer rich enough and reckless enough to take it off his hands.
Greg moved through the crowded rows, eyes scanning every table. Most sellers avoided his gaze, too busy counting credits or arguing with buyers. Others looked up, assessing him with that sharp, calculating look that only came from years of surviving on the edge.
He stopped beside a stall where a Zaterman in a long brown coat was selling plasma detonators. Her pale scaly eyes flickered toward him.
"Looking to buy or sell?" she asked, voice crackling like a broken speaker.
Greg leaned closer. Seeing a Zaterman without a gas mask was strange. "Sell. Something rare."
The Zaterman's nostrils flared, her tone instantly curious. "How rare?"
Greg reached into his jacket and tapped a finger against the hidden pocket where the core pulsed faintly. "Rare enough. I think it's ancient tech."
The Zaterman froze, then slowly shook her head. "Not here. Not me. You will want the back tables near the coolant vents. Those ones buy things like that. Whatever strange stuff, you'll find there."
Greg's eyes lingered on her face for nearly too long. Her green scales made her face weird, well he'd seen weirder things. The air grew cooler as he walked deeper into the hall. The crowd thinned, replaced by smaller groups speaking in low tones. This was where the real business happened.
A man in a black three-piece suit sat behind a half-lit table. His eyes were augmented, glowing faintly blue. Two armed guards stood nearby, they wore dark shades. On the table lay pieces of old tech, crystals, and a few sealed cases that Greg could only guess were stolen goods.
He approached slowly. The guards shifted forward. "Heard you might be interested in what I bring." He raised his hands to seem less hostile. The man signalled for the guards to back down. He got up, "And what exactly do you have?" Greg smiled."Old tech."
The man's eyes glistened with greed. He rose grinning ear to ear. "Come with me."
____________________________________
The front doors of the tower slid open. Edin walked in, flanked on both sides by Serhik and several personnel in white.
"No need to worry, sir," Serhik said. "We just need to do a minor check." His tone was steady, but the faint tremor in his voice betrayed him. Edin's silent manner was enough to make anyone uneasy.
The lobby was dim, lined with white panels that hummed softly. The air smelled sterile, like metal and cleaning fluid. Beyond the reception desk, two elevators stood waiting, their indicator lights pulsing in slow rhythm.
One of the white-suited personnel stepped forward with a handheld scanner. "Standard inspection. It will only take a moment."
Edin extended his arm without protest. The scanner beeped several times, its blue light gliding up his sleeve. When it stopped, the man hesitated, frowning at the readings.
"Something wrong?" Edin asked quietly.
"No, sir. Just a fluctuation. Possibly interference from your internal system."
Edin's lips barely moved. "Possibly."
They continued toward the elevator, the echo of their boots filling the empty hall. Serhik followed, tablet in hand, flicking through data. "You're the first Kasman we've had on Rekov, but your DNA doesn't fully match the samples we have." He frowned. "Seems we need to update our systems."
Edin shook his head. "That will not be necessary. Doubt you will see another in your lifetime."
They stepped into the elevator, the doors closing with a soft hiss. Serhik spoke again. "We'll check a few things and you'll be on your way."
Edin did not respond. He watched the floor numbers blink upward, his reflection caught in the steel wall. Beneath the calm surface of his eyes, something flickered, a quiet awareness that suggested he already knew more than anyone in the room.