Chapter 13 -- Varian
#13 of The Oroyo Arc
It has been more than thee months since the explosion.
Someone wants to know why their people have not returned.
--- Varian.
The two strangers stumbled blindly into the air gap between sets of automatic doors, with their gloved hands over their eyes, as large vent fans stripped the dust from their clothes and the air which had followed them in. Dressed head to tail in heavy thermal clothes, they had been prepared for the bitter cold, but not for the choking amounts of powder-fine dust blowing through the air.
When the interior doors opened, they stepped into the general store, coughing as they peeled their gloves off and began wiping at their faces. Like most of the buildings here, it had been constructed of multiple cargo containers, welded together in an array, with most of the interior walls cut out to make it into a single large space. Walls and ceiling had been sprayed with an insulating foam to shield customers from the freezing temperatures, and to seal it against the ever present dust. The interior of the store was laid out in rows of shelves, offering all of the essential tools and supplies that the people of a mining outpost should need in their day to day lives.
"You should watch out for that calcium dust. It gets into everything, and will coat the inside of your lungs with concrete if you aren't careful," said the raccoon behind the counter. "You can find filters and respirators against the far wall," he added, gesturing to the back of the building.
"We do not plan on staying long enough for that to happen," said one, as the pair pulled their hoods back, revealing themselves to be Guild representatives. Both were female mephitine, and both wore a Trading Guild stud high in their right ear as an indication of their rank. One silver, one gold.
"Can I help either of you with anything else?" asked the clerk.
"Possibly. We are looking for some friends of ours. Would have arrived in town a few months ago," said the one wearing Silver.
"Oh, then probably not. I only started working here last week, and I hardly know anybody yet," he replied, before glancing to the back of the store. "But you can ask Varian, he's the owner. He has been here forever, knows everybody," he said, pointing to an old skunk meticulously sweeping dust from the floor. "Or at least he did. His memory isn't what it used to be."
The two women surveyed the rest of the store as they made their way around the stocked shelves toward the old man, stopping in front of him. He continued to sweep the floor slowly, his entire attention focused on the end of his broom and the small pile of dust it was pushing around. It wasn't until his broom nearly brushed one of their boots that he stopped and looked up, a look of surprise on his face.
"I'm sorry, I did not see you there", he said with a cheerful grin. "Sometimes I don't know if I am picking the dust up, or just spreading it around."
Silver and Gold gave each other a surprised sideways glance as Varian continued to smile. Not only did the old skunk not bow at their appearance, but he was daring to maintain eye contact with them.
"Can I help either of you young ladies?" he added, still smiling.
Silver almost choked at the audacity of this male and was about to slap him, but Gold grasped her elbow before she could raise her hand. "He is a long way, and I suspect a long time from Mephus," she said to her subordinate. "Forget he is Meph, and treat him like any other Federation citizen."
Wresting her arm away from her superior, Silver huffed and turned her attention back to the old skunk. "Do you know where we might find Miranda and Dolan Uwuru?" she asked with annoyance, obviously still incensed.
The old skunk looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook his head. "I do not recall either of those names."
Gold produced a data pad and held it out to him. Official identification images of both Uwuru rotated on the display. "Perhaps you recognize them?"
Varian squinted at the display, then his face brightened. "Oh yes, I'd recognize her anywhere. That's Melinda, she's one of my best customers."
"Melinda?" queried Silver.
"Probably an alias," said Gold.
"She and her boyfriend come in every week like clockwork for supplies. They have a small mine west of town." His face suddenly turned sad as a memory intruded. "Then he stopped coming, 'an accident at the mine' Melinda said. Just like yesterday, when the ground shook, and the dragon came."
"A dragon?" asked Silver, suddenly taking interest.
"Yes, a big one with yellow scales. He was very nice, but he told me that Melinda had died in a terrible mining accident, just like her husband," said the old skunk, rubbing his muzzle and sniffling. "He asked me to help bury her, since I was the only other mephitine in town. He even paid me, though he did all of the digging."
"He paid you?" asked Gold.
"Yeah, one of those fancy Federation coins. I've got it right here," he said, as he began digging through his pockets. After rechecking the same one twice, he produced the shiny ten-thousand credit green coin.
Federation coins were rarely seen this far out in the fringe, most preferring to barter or trade things of tangible value. The trading guild had created its own fiat currency for transactions which did not fit neatly into that system, though the exchange rate could fluctuate wildly depending on how remote the location was, and how solvent the local banks were.
Both Guild representatives continued to stare at the coin clutched in the old man's fingers, knowing that even on the worst day, it was worth enough to buy the entire contents of the store they were standing in. Once they were able to tear their eyes away from the coin, they glanced at each other. "That's a very pretty coin," said Silver, still admiring it.
"Sure is," said Varian. "Don't know where I am going to spend it around here, though."
"I'll give you a thousand Solaris for it," said Gold.
"A thousand?" gasped the old skunk. His eyes narrowed as he contemplated the coin, turning it over and over in his fingers. "No, I think I'll keep it, as a reminder of the dragon. Its the only time I have ever met one. It will help me remember," he said with a sigh. "Have you ever met a dragon?" he asked. Then he noticed the data pad again, still displaying Miranda's face. "Say, are you looking for Melinda?" he asked, tapping on the plastiglass tablet. "The dragon said someone might come asking about her. She isn't in trouble is she?" His eyes suddenly saddened as his whiskers and ears drooped. "She died yesterday. Terrible accident at the mine."
"He just kept going on and on like that. He remembers everything that happened, but for him, it all happened yesterday. Lucid with facts, but no sense of time," said Gold, addressing her data pad and the jittery figure displayed on it. Reaching into her pocket, she removed a large green coin and flipped it in the air. "He sold the coin to me for one hundred Solaris the third time he brought it up."
"And what of Weston and his team?" asked a scratchy voice from the tablet.
"The old man does not remember him at all," replied Gold.
"Continue your inquiries with the locals, and find out where they were living. The local police are not on our rolls, so proceed with caution," replied the voice on the pad.
"Understood, Mistress," nodded Gold. The figure on the display returned the nod and the connection was dropped, leaving only the Oroyo family crest rotating on the display.
"Looks like we will be here longer than expected," said Gold as they approached the front counter. "We'll take two respirators," she added, tossing them onto the counter.
"Good choice. Those are the finest respirators we sell. In fact, they are the ONLY respirators we sell," said the clerk with obvious annoyance. "Better quality ones are available, but you have to special order them."
"Why is that?" asked Silver.
"Well, the limited variety is mostly thanks to Guild contracts," he said accusingly. "For special orders, once you add in the inflated shipping costs, and other mysterious Guild fees, the price is so high that most people out here can't afford them. But who cares, its only your lungs, right?"
Gold only glared at the Raccan. "These will be fine. How much?"
"Well, on Racca, you can buy them for ten Solaris, but once the Guild takes their cut, cost of shipping and tariffs, that raises it to fifty. Then we have to sell them for seventy-five so we can afford to bribe the Customs guild, so they wont impound our shipments for months at a time," he replied in an overly polite and cheery way. "But for you two ladies, I am willing to make a special deal. I will sell them to you for an even one-thousand Solaris... each."
The two skunks were so stunned that they looked at each other to confirm that they each had heard the same thing.
"You must be insane if you think we are going to pay a thousand Solaris for a stupid piece of plastic," said Silver.
"I assure you that I am not insane, in fact, I think you are still getting off cheap at twelve-hundred a piece," he replied.
"Twelve-hun--," began Silver before Gold clamped a hand over her muzzle.
"I'm sure I misheard you before, but I could have sworn that I heard you try to sell a fifty Solaris piece of plastic to an official Guild representative for twelve-hundred Solaris," said Gold with her eyes fixed on the clerk.
"Oh, I apologize, did I say twelve-hundred? I meant to say fifteen-hundred," he countered, unshaken and folding his arms.
"Do I need to remind you, that either one of us could shutdown all trade to this gods forsaken dirtball with a word?" she asked, a waiver of anger entering her voice.
"I saw what you did to the old man... Swindling him out of that coin," he said not bothering to hide his anger. "What is its market value at today's rate? Fifty? Eighty-thousand Solaris?"
Gold tilted her head slightly, "So?"
"So.. Varian is well loved in this community," he continued. "I'm sure I could easily find a few people who would make your medical bills exceed the value of that coin, if they learned how you acquired it. So go make your threats somewhere else."
The two skunks glanced about the store and noticed that a number of customers in the store were now looking in their direction, including a pair of large Ursids.
"So are we in agreement then, or would you like to go for two-thousand?" he said with a malicious grin.
Each of the skunks fitted a respirator to their own face, then checked the fit on the other to make sure there were no leaks or gaps. Gold could see Silver was still seething, her breath fogging the inside of her visor.
After resealing the thermal seams in their coats, and putting on their gloves, the pair walked to the inner doors of the shop, and palmed the access button. Just as the doors began to cycle, the Raccan clerk called out to them. "Before you go, you should know that those are almost worthless without filter elements installed. Lucky for you, we sell those too."
Some time later, after the doors had closed, and the two angry Guild members had disappeared into the churning clouds of dust outside, Varian approached the front counter. He looked at the Raccan disapprovingly. "That was not good business, overcharging customers that way."
"I'm sorry Mister Abara, I couldn't stand by and let them get away with that," said the clerk apologetically. Reaching into his pocket he retrieved the green coin and placed it back into Varian's hand. "They didn't have enough cash on them for the respirators, and since we don't take credit, they were forced to trade."
At this, the old man's face lit up. He thrust his hand into his own pocket and pulled out the one-hundred Solaris they had given him. He quickly arranged them into two neat stacks.
He stood admiring the coins with a broad grin on his face, then he turned to look at the doors. "Do you think they will come back?" he asked.
"No, I don't think those two will ever set foot in this store again," the raccoon replied.
Picking up one of the stacks, the old skunk placed them into the clerks hand, and patted him on the back. "Good."