Free Drysine Legacy (The Spiral Wars Book 2) by Joel Shepherd Page A

spray some scent on him that smelled like tree moss. And always there were animals, from little long-armed things that shrieked to little four-legged things that shrieked, to jars of colourful insects to bouncing amphibians.
    “You see Lieutenant,” Romki shouted from amidst it all, “if someone really wanted to kill me from within this crowd, there isn’t actually a lot you could do about it. So I asked specifically to come alone because alone, I can blend in and avoid notice. But with four big steel monsters tramping after me, I make a much more obvious target.”
    “Yeah, well that sounds all nice to your exotic, alien-wandering ears,” Dale replied. “I bet you’d like to believe that. But you’ve never been hunted by the kind of folks now hunting you, so you’re not actually qualified to make that judgement.”
    Dale still wasn’t sure what had happened that Romki was suddenly allowed to leave the ship. Word was that neither the Major, Hiro nor Jokono wanted him wandering, but now, suddenly, orders came that he was allowed to visit a tavalai contact who might have useful information. The Major had told Dale to stick with the professor like glue, and Dale didn’t think it was entirely Romki’s safety that concerned her.
    Romki stopped by a stall selling precious stones, surprising a tavalai who was haggling with the owner. Romki chatted easily in Palapu, while the tavalai blinked in astonishment at the sudden appearance of this human — the demon race that had eaten half of all tavalai space in the last hundred and sixty one years. Possibly he’d never seen one in person before, and had least expected to see one out here, in Outer Neutral Space. Then he turned, and found four armed human marines standing behind and around him.
    “Gidiri ha,” Dale told him. The tavalai just stared, halfway between bewilderment and defiance. Had to hand it to tavalai, Dale thought — they didn’t scare easily. He’d always found their expressions hard to read, with their big long heads and eyes so far apart, it was hard to know where to look. Alongside the tavalai, a barabo security man looked on, massive within a big leather jacket, like the little cluster on the train. One of the big mountain races, from the barabo homeworld.
    “Man,” said Private Tong, looking at the same. “What do you think he lifts?”
    “Whatever he wants,” said Forrest, still watching the crowds.
    “Just up here on the left,” Romki told them, and thanked the stall owner. “Let’s go marines, double time.”
    “No one says that,” said Reddy as they followed. “Do you say that Sarge?”
    “I don’t,” Forrest admitted. “But I could if you’d like.”
    They turned left between stalls, and up a hallway past a flashing display. On the right was a barabo hair salon, animated displays showing the latest styles, while in the main room, barabo women gathered in ecstatic clusters to examine the latest crazy-beaded and woven arrangement being tied into another woman’s hair. Their yelling conversation and shrieks of laughter were deafening even from the hallway. Beyond that was a smoking den, where barabo men reclined on chairs and puffed on water pipes, and the haze was so thick it rolled in waves across the hallway ceiling.
    “How the hell do these people ever get anything done?” Tong wondered. “If they’re always stoned or putting things in their hair?”
    “That’s why we run the galaxy now,” said Dale.
    Romki smirked. “Is that what you think, Lieutenant? Well well.”
    A corner, then on the left a big glass wall with turnstile pressure doors, and images of lake reeds and lilies on steaming water. “Hey, tavalai baths,” said Forrest, quite intrigued. Ahead, tavalai were entering with small bags of bathing gear. Inside, the air looked steamy. Tavalai preferred the pressure and humidity much higher, and loved the water. Dale had been on their stations newly captured, with the environmentals set to tavalai preferences,