Lords of RPG

Cam exited the tram that had brought him from the Odyssey's landing pad to the heart of Luminar Nexus.  Veridian's only space port was a city of glass and steel entertwined with the lush greenery of the jungle planet.  Ancient trees supporting gnarled vines towered above the city's walkways and metal foot-bridges.  The young man, who had lived his entire life in confines of Starlight Haven, wondered at the open sky above him, the wind on his face, and just the simple fact of being able to walk anywhere…go anywhere…on an entire planet.

The last week of exploration on Veridian was foremost on his mind.  He had never anticipated the insanity of the past few days.  Fighting security robots and facing alien horrors in an abandoned genetics lab.  Gun fights with pirates of the Shadow Fleet in a massive hole in the jungle, and surviving a parley with a real life pirate captain.  A visit to a monestary full of cult-like celestial monks, and an audience with the venerable Star Whisperer.  And finally, the crashed spaceship and that journey into madness and the visions Mist had bestowed upon him.

As Cam passed chrome storefronts under massive tree branches, his hand wandered to the lump in his coat pocket.  Mist.  He had brought one of the Mist nebulizers with him on this little outing.  He had snuck off without really telling any of his crew.  Cam smiled.  Zhukov would be so pissed if he knew what Cam was doing.

Cam passed out of the nicer part of town, with its clean streets and well maintained buildings and plant life, and entered the part of town that most sophisticated citizens would do anything to avoid.  Cam stepped over garbage in the street, eyeing it to see if anything of value had been discarded.  A dirty man stumbled out of an alley, reeking of grain spirits, and Cam easily sidestepped him and kept going.

A few more turns, and Cam stood before the Chip Cafe.  A large man, dressed much too nicely for the neighborhood stood in front of the closed doors.  Cam walked toward him, and the large man shook his head.  “Nah…no urchins…move on kid.”

Cam walked right up to the man.  “I'm a client, not some street kid.  I'm going in, and I'm doing some business.”  

The two of them kept eye contact for a few moments, and then the large man stepped aside.  “Knock yourself out,” was all the the large man said.  Cam opened one of the doors and walked in.

The neon glow inside the Chip Cafe was almost blinding.  Neon murals adorned the walls.  The ceiling was a mix of wires, conduit, and neon tubes running here and there.  Even the floor, a mix of concrete and glass panels, flooded light into the room from below.  The bar, at the far end of the room, was lit with ornate glowing glass tubes.  Behind the bar, a thin man with a handlebar mustache wiped a glass with a rag.

Cam looked around.  There were ten codeshadows seated at tables around the place, each of them working a custom-built hacking rig.  Akhil was seated in a corner, clacking away at a strange keyboarrd with one hand, and gently moving his other hand on a flat pad to his right.  Cam walked over and sat down in a chair next to him.

Akhil didn't even glance up from his screens.  “Hey, Cam.”

Cam leaned forward.  “Hey, Akhil.  You busy?”

Akhil seemed to finish something up, and turned his focus on Cam.  “Nah…just working a little side gig.  It practically runs itself.  What you got going on?”

Cam patted his coat pocket.  “Ran across something forbidden.  Something I can't unload without some serious risk.  Would you be able to help with that?”

Akhil grinned.  “5%.”

Cam shifted in his seat.  “You'll help me sell it for 5% of the cut?”

“Well…no…no.  I'll get you the information on some people you could approach.  Folks used to handling the forbidden.  My only role in this is information.  But I want 5% of the sale, for hooking you up.”

Cam thought about it.  Yeah, he could look for people willing to buy illicit drugs, guns, and illegal genetic material…and it would be a lot of work…and a lot of risk.  Or he could spread the wealth a little, and reduce the risk.  Plus 5% almost seemed too reasonable.  “Akhil, tell me this.  Why only 5%?  Seems sort of sketchy.”

Akhil laughed.  “No, the people I'm going to point out to you are the sketchy ones.  I'm legit.  Seriously, I'm working on my reputation here.  I've got a career to build.  I direct you, a sale goes down, I make a little money, and these powers-that-be of the criminal underworld on Veridian learn I'm someone of value.  It's a win-win.  Don't overthink it.”

Cam sat back.  “You're right…you're right.  Sounds fair, man.”

Akhil spoke in a low voice.  “So what sort of forbidden we talking about?  Drugs?  Combat-stims?”

Cam paused before answering.  Then in a voice just as low as Akhil, “Drugs, guns, and illegal genetic samples. I'm talking pretech weapons…and Mist. It's the real shit. I tried it out.”  He opens his jacket and shows Akhil the nebulizer.  Cam observed the young codeshadow closely.  The young man was trying to hide his shock, but he had swallowed hard, and his eyes had widened slightly.

“Sure…sure.  Okay.  Put it away.  Not here.  Give me a couple of hours.  I'll get you some options.  Let me see your compad.”

Cam handed it over, and Akhil connected it to his hacking rig.  A few clacks on the strange keyboard, and then he disconnected the compad and handed it back to Cam.  ”I put an encryption on there.  As unbreakable as they get.  I'll send you the data.  After you read it, the data will hard-wipe off your pad.  No trace.”

Cam clutched the compad to his chest, and stood up.  “Thanks, man.”

Akhil gave him a nod.  “Not a problem.  Keep your head down.”