"Oh yes. I have a wife and two sons. Here is a picture," said Fu as he pulled the pictures up on his comm unit and showed them to the trio.
Ron said brightly, "I have an idea, if it doesn't offend you. Why don't you call them and we could all go to eat supper. It would be our treat."
Fu was almost flabbergasted. He said, "My family has always wanted to meet a space traveler. I have told them about the ones that have come through here and have even sneaked a picture but they have never been close to any of them. Let me call to see if the wife had anything planned."
While Fu called his wife, the trio was trading thoughts.
"That’s laying it on pretty thick, isn't it?" Tik asked Ron.
"No, he'll be able to keep us out of trouble with the locals and I'll bet the paper work will zip right through. Besides, if we ever come back this way again, we'll go to the head of the line, as far as he will be concerned," Ron tossed back.
"I agree with Ron. I'm scared to death that I'll do something taboo and all the local population will be after us. We need to get those food supplies and this is one way to test our trading skills. I know when we dealt with the Jiangau back home; we always tried to be extra polite with them. We never had any trouble and always got a good deal. Some of the other Sandghost groups were pretty rough with them and they had to double-check every deal they made. The Jiangau didn't really cheat them but they drove a very hard bargain," Gus declared.
Fu came back and said his family was ecstatic about meeting them and would gladly accept their invitation. He was to pick them up right after he got off of work. The trio saw that a thought crossed his mind.
"I have a small vehicle. How will we get you to the eating place?"
"Do you have taxies here or other vehicles for hire with drivers?" Gus asked.
"Yes, there are vehicles with drivers who take space travelers around. They are larger vehicles that will haul persons of your proportions," Fu cried excitedly.
"Well, if you can call one for us, we'll meet you at the eating place. We'd like to look around your city anyway and this will be the perfect excuse," Ron said.
Fu called the driver, who told him he would be there in 10 minutes. He gave them a slip of paper with the eating establishment's name and address and then Fu excused himself to go finish the paper work so the trio moved out the front of the building. Ron divided the money and gave each of them a third. After the landing fee, parking fee and permit, they each still had almost 20,000 rudia. They still didn't know if they were rich or how they would fare for prices but Ron had the feeling that they had a lot of money.
The driver arrived in 10 minutes as he said he would. Ron checked on the price and was satisfied with the charge. They loaded in the vehicle and the driver started up. He started to turn east but Tik stopped him. She directed him toward the city. She explained that they wanted to see some of the sights in town and that they were meeting someone. She handed him the slip of paper and asked if he knew where that was. He did and he took off for town. They plied him with questions and he gladly answered and volunteered information about the different buildings on the way into town. He gave a guided tour of the local points of interest. He went into a history of the area, which the trio knew in general but their guide filled in a lot of blanks. Ron asked if he was booked for the rest of the week and the driver said he was open. Ron hired him for the rest of the week to drive them around. The driver dropped them off early at the eating place and Ron told him they would need him later when they were finished eating. The driver gave him a phone number to call but said he was just going to wait in the parking lot. Ron asked if he needed to eat and the driver said he had brought a meal. Right now, they wanted to walk around a little bit before they met with their appointment. The entire trio was impressed with how clean the city was and how friendly the people were. The buildings all seemed to be four stories or less and were painted in pastel colors. There were lots of shrubs, flowers and trees even in the downtown area. The trio all agreed that it felt good to walk on solid ground with the sun shining on their faces. They noticed that some of the people stared at them but were very polite about it. Tik saw that it was getting close to time to meet Fu so they returned to the eating place. As they walked up, Fu and his family were just getting ready to enter the building. Fu introduced all of them and only had to struggle a little with Gus' name. Gus told them to just call him Gus because it was much simpler and he might not recognize his full name anymore. The Fu family laughed and led the way into the building. Gus had to duck to get in the door and then had to watch his head inside. The ceilings were only seven and a half feet tall. Lights and other fixtures were right at head height for him. The eating place had two special chairs for Ron and Gus to sit in. They were larger and much sturdier than the other chairs in the room.
Fu's boys were miniature copies of their dad -- right down to the funny little hat. The only difference was that the boys wore a dark blue suit whereas their dad wore black. When they sat down to order, the trio had to ask what all the menu items were. Fu explained what the different dishes were and Gus asked how big the portions were. Fu told him and Gus decided to order two entrees. Ron sat next to Fu's youngest son and soon started entertaining him with sleight-of-hand tricks. The family had never seen anything like it and was delighted. Ron knew he wasn't very good but it was fun amazing the family. Other patrons sitting around were watching and enjoying the show as much as the Fu family. Fu's boys wanted to hear about their space ship and their home planets. Tik made a deal with them. They would tell two stories and then the family had to tell one. The trio wanted to learn about Europaische and the inhabitants too. Tik told the boys that their space ship was named the Galactic Antiquarian but they just called her Auntie. The trio kept quiet about escaping from the Bugs and all of the special equipment on the lower level. They did tell about finding the asteroid and mining the silver but skipped the part about getting fuel from the blue super-giant. Ron noticed that when they were telling stories about Auntie or their home planets, the conversation at tables near them died out. Those patrons were listening just as intently as the Fu family. The food arrived during one of the stories and the aroma brought the story to a halt. After eating the slop the Bugs had provided and the plain fare on Auntie, the food was heavenly. The trio savored each bite. The Fu family could tell they were enjoying the meal and were delighted that they had been a part of bringing the trio here. As the meal progressed and the trio wasn't so absorbed in eating, the stories started again. Ron had an idea and broadcast it to the other two. He took out a small silver bird and presented it to the youngest son. Gus gave a silver animal to the oldest son and Tik gave another silver bird to Fu's wife. The family protested that they couldn't accept such rich gifts but the trio insisted. They said that anybody who introduced them to food fit for the gods deserved a lot more than these little trinkets. Ron gave a small six legged silver animal to Fu. The trio didn't realize that those little trinkets were worth thousands and thousands of rudia because they were from space travelers. Those four little trinkets were worth two to three times what Fu made annually. The entire trio did notice the buzz of interest from the other patrons in the eating establishment. Everyone wanted a closer look at those trinkets. The waitress was at their table a lot, not so much for service but so she could hear the stories and then to see the trinkets.
The trio debated by thought most of the evening about inviting the family into Auntie. They knew they couldn't allow them to see the lower level but would it hurt if they saw the upper level? What about the middle cargo bay? They didn't think anyone should see the conservatory or a lot of the other rooms right now. They decided that they could invite them to see the upper area. Ron asked if the family would like to see the inside of Auntie. He asked Fu if that would be against any rules or regulations and Fu said it was permitted but he had never heard of anyone in his ten years of service getting to do it. The boys were ready to go right then but Ron told them that they needed to clean up thei
r rooms first. He told them that they had wanted to get on the planet so bad, they left everything a mess. They arranged the tour for three days from now. The boys had school for the next two days but would be off on the third. The trio could see out of the corner of their eyes that it wouldn't take much and the entire population of the eating establishment would volunteer to escort the family on the tour of the space ship. The trio was surprised by the interest.
The boys started talking about the friends at school who they were going to tell their story to tomorrow. They asked their parents if they could take the silver trinkets to school to show their friends and teachers. Mrs. Fu said she would have to go to school with them if they did. Gus started asking questions about the school and what subjects they taught. He asked what the classrooms were like and the boys said he should come to see for himself. Gus said he would if Fu could arrange it with the school authorities. The boys instantly started pleading with him to set it up. Fu said he would try to arrange it for the day after tomorrow. Ron had to grin as he saw the reaction from the tables around them. He wondered how many parents and grandparents were going to find a need to visit their family's school on that day. Fu announced that tomorrow was a school day so he needed to get the boys home. There were groans from their side of the table until Tik reminded them that they would be seeing them at school the in two days and at Auntie the day after that. If their dad decided they hadn't behaved enough to visit Auntie, the trio would have to back him up. The groans stopped immediately and the boys politely thanked them for the silver trinkets and all of the stories.
The waitress brought the check and Ron paid it, as well as a generous tip. The waitress acted like she didn't know what a tip was and Fu explained that their culture didn't do that. Ron took the money back but gave her a silver trinket. He said his culture tried to show their appreciation for a job well done. The waitress was on cloud nine with the gift. Ron could see that they were going to have to make a lot more of these. Small things like this didn't cost them a great deal but paid big dividends as gifts. The trio arranged to meet Fu early in the morning to start touring the countryside and figuring out something to trade. They told him that they had hired the driver and vehicle for the rest of the week and he could ride with them. He said he would meet them at the space port.
Everyone got up to leave and Gus forgot about the low ceilings. He bumped into the light fixture and the boys giggled until their father glared at them sternly. The trio tried hard to suppress their grins but it was no use. They chuckled and soon the boys were giggling again. They went outside and the Fu family got into their vehicle and drove off. The trio went to their hired vehicle and told the driver to take them back to the space port.
Chapter 10
The trio arrived back at the space port and went through the doors to get to Auntie. They walked up the stairs and stepped into the airlock. Auntie had opened the airlock and they didn't have to wait. The faint metal odor struck them as they stepped in the door. Auntie had been changing the air inside but it still hadn't erased the older odor from long ages of sitting empty. It wasn't a terrible odor but after the freshness of open air, it was hard to go back inside.
"Ugh… I was just getting used to fresh air and sunshine," Tik said.
"I know. The smell of those flowers was delightful," Ron quickly agreed. "It's hard to go back inside. When I was on Earth, we used to camp out under the stars but I'll bet they would frown on that here at the space port."
"Too bad Auntie couldn't pull in some of this air and direct it to our sleeping quarters. It'd be nice if she could vary the lighting during the day too. Maybe we should add some UV lights in the places where we spend a lot of time to mimic sunshine," Gus stated.
"Oh, but I can do that. I did that long ago with some of my other crews," Auntie broadcast. "I just didn't realize that you wanted something like that."
"Well, for tonight pipe, the outside air into here and when we get ready for bed, dim the lights. Tomorrow you can wake us to simulated sunshine," Gus ordered.
"Yeah, too bad we couldn't hire that chef from tonight to be out here in the morning to cook our breakfast. You know, that it's going to be really tough to choke down our usual breakfast after that scrumptious meal we had tonight!" Ron dreamed out loud.
Both of the others agreed. They sat down at the galley table to recount what they had learned that day. They made a plan of what they wanted for tomorrow as well. Ron brought up that the small trinkets had been such a hit that they might have to make more of them tomorrow. Gus said he would set things up with Auntie right away. He asked how many trinkets Ron wanted and which ones. Ron said he would have to look at what they had again and they all decided to go look at them right then. None of them were really sleepy and besides, it was earlier than they had normally been going to bed.
They went to the storeroom and looked the shelves over carefully. They discovered ten more molds of different figures of the trinket size. They picked up the ones they had used before and decided to make at least five of each of those and the new ones. They laid all of the molds on a bench beside the door. Auntie acknowledged that she understood and she would direct the robots tomorrow. They told her to use the ingots that had zinc mixed in with the silver first and then start with the larger ingots. Auntie replied that the mixed ingots would be more than enough to do the figures they wanted.
Since they weren't sleepy, they had a shooting competition. They moved the miners out on the cargo deck and set the targets for only about four inches in diameter. They directed Auntie to move the targets in and around the miners and other items in the cargo bay. They decided to walk to the rear of the bay and back to the front as they shot at targets. Auntie suggested that she make one target a deep blue and they would lose points if they hit it. The trio agreed and they started their competition. The competition was spirited and lively. They all hit some of the blue targets at first but by the time they walked back, they didn't fire at them. Tik won by two points, so she was really rubbing it in. They decided they had better go to bed because they wanted to be fresh in the morning. Auntie put the targets away and reminded the trio to check the charge on their weapons. They were a little over half and thought that would be enough but Auntie insisted they completely recharge them. They followed her advice and went to bed.
The next morning they got up and could only eat about half of what they normally did. The meal last night had ruined them. They rounded up some more trinkets and two more ingots of silver. They were early for their appointment with Fu but they just walked around outside basking in the fresh air and sunshine. It seemed they had landed in the middle of summer and the weather was pure joy for someone who had been cooped up in an unchanging climate for two or three years.
Fu arrived a few minutes before their hired vehicle. He asked what they wanted to see today and the trio told him they would like to see some of the country and the business district where goods were sold. They said they might spot something they might want to trade for when their permit came through.
The driver pulled up and asked where they wanted to head today. Fu told him they were going to tour some of the country and then back into the city. Ron saw the driver hesitate and ask Fu how far into the country. The driver and Fu had a short conversation and Ron could see there was a problem.
Fu approached the trio and said, "The driver says he has a problem if we need to travel very far into the country. He has used his fuel allotment and won't get another for six more days. He suggested we look around the city today and he could take you into the country after he gets his fuel allotment."
"Does this have to do with the war your country is involved in right now? What sort of fuel does he use?" Ron asked.
"Yes, because of the war, some items are rationed and fuel is one of them. His vehicle uses fusionable material which is in very short supply." Fu answered.
"Here is where you earn your consulting fee. By the way, we haven't discussed how much it should be. Would 10,000 rudia be en
ough for the next week?" Ron asked.
The trio thought poor Fu was going to drop to the ground. He looked like Ron had hit him right in the solar plexus. He turned pale, his eyes widened and he was gasping for breath.
"What's the matter? Isn't that enough?" Ron asked with great concern.
"No, No, that's not it. I thought the little silver image you gave me last night was my fee. You are offering me more than my annual salary and I couldn't take that for just a week's work," Fu gasped.
"Nonsense! Just look, you've already saved us from making a mistake and spending way more than we need to. The silver image was a gift and doesn't count as any part of your fee." Ron snorted. "Now, a question for you, Mr. Consultant. Can we get this vehicle out near our space ship? Can we legally and morally give this driver some of our fuel?"
"Yes, we can get the vehicle out there. We have vehicles deliver goods to space ships all the time. I don't know about giving him fuel. I don't know how that will affect his allotment. Let me go inside to my computer to check," Fu stammered.
He rushed into the building and was gone about 10 minutes. He came back outside and told Ron that the driver would keep his allotment and would actually be awarded a cash bonus for conserving fuel. Ron told him to direct the driver to their space ship and they would meet them there. He broadcast what was going on to the other two and they headed for Auntie.
The driver pulled up next to Auntie and they asked him to show them how he fueled his vehicle. He showed them the fitting and Gus said he could make their fuel transfer system work with his vehicle. Gus made the transfer, giving the driver about the same amount of fuel that he gave the robots. They closed everything up and climbed into the vehicle. The driver climbed in and suddenly he had the same shocked look that Fu had earlier. It seems Gus had given him a six month supply of fuel.
They were ready to tour the country and Fu directed the driver. He took them out to where fields of grain were growing. They drove past orchards with fruit and other fields with all sorts of vegetables. Fu and the driver explained some of the history of the countryside and told about the different uses for a lot of the food. They saw some animals at a distance and the two Europaischens told how they were raised and used. About noon they came to a small diner beside the road. Gus said that his breakfast hadn't lasted and wondered if they could stop to eat. At first the driver wasn't going to go in but the trio insisted, so they all went in to eat. They had to have the two Europaischens explain the menu again. They picked out some different dishes and loved what they were eating. Gus broadcast that they were eating in town tonight. He wasn't eating any more on the space ship until he had to.
Alcantaran 1: Alien Abduction Page 22