The two women walked into the public armory carrying four bags of Jill's new clothes. Jill's reed dress was also stuffed into the bottom of one of the bags, as she had changed into a new outfit.
The armory contained a number of armor suits mounted on a side wall and on a few displays around the shop, and a wide variety of guns mounted on the opposite side wall. Other displays included rows of helmets and boots, racks of handheld scanners and other equipment, different types of batteries to put into the equipment, and a bucket at the end of one rack holding spear-like portable shield generators.
A sign gave notice that all of the weapons were powered down and tracer tagged. Most of the weapons were one-handers but several larger weapons were available as well.
Jill went to the largest gun, put her bags down, and lifted it to see how heavy it was. "Wow, this is heavier than my nanogun."
The armory's saleswoman, a red-headed woman in her early thirties, interrupted Jill from across the store. "Miss, that weapon is for a heavysuit with bearing gloves."
Jill leaned over to put the weapon back. "Yeah, that's more than I would be wanting to carry around."
The saleswoman rushed over to her. "Are you alright? You could throw your back out trying to lift one of the heavies."
Jill stood up and smiled. "I'm fine. I'm stronger than I look." Behind her, Celestia attempted to test the weapon's weight for herself. It did not want to move. She wisely chose not to strain herself trying further.
The saleswoman was astonished. "No kidding. I'm surprised you could lift it at all." She got to business. "So, you two are in the market for a weapon?"
Jill shook her head. "No, I already have a gun. I was just looking."
Celestia explained their presence. "We would like to purchase a soft suit for Jill."
Jill added to that. "Yes, and Mick said there should also be a suit of armor for Tia here."
"Celestia," Celestia corrected her, "and the armour might be in the name of Miguel Legato."
The saleswoman checked her records on a holographic flip-display. "We are holding a suit of armor for a Mick Legato."
Celestia sighed at Mick's lack of decorum. He used his nickname on a contract? Regardless, it was his choice to make. "He often uses that name."
The saleswoman looked over the order. "It's a custom model... the numbers look do like it is made for someone your size and not a Mick or Miguel unless he is a really small one. It'll be... twenty million creds. We have multiple loan services that can help you out."
Celestia handed over Mick's chip card. "Would this cover it?"
The saleswoman took it. "You're still using a chip card? We can handle that." She scanned the card and was shocked at the astronomical balance. "Wwwow. So, will you be paying in full upfront?"
Celestia agreed. "Yes. The fewer obligations that bind us, the better."
An appealing question came to the saleswoman’s mind. "This Mick Legato that you work for..." she leaned forward and spoke in a whisper. "Is he Counselor Mick?"
Jill could not answer that. "I just met him today."
Neither could Celestia. "I have not heard him use that title, but I have known him for only a few weeks."
The saleswoman grinned. "I think it's him! There have been rumors that there is a businessman called Counselor Mick who is rich enough to control the Galactic Council like a puppetmaster. No one knows who he is, or where he got his money, or where he came from. And this armor, I think it's a confidential design. I've seen some unpublished designs and this suit has a new optical system and higher shielding than anything I've worked on, and the plating is an unusual multilayered design of different alloys and was shipped from three forges that are rumored to service both the Enforcers and criminal syndicates along the frontier." The saleswoman suddenly got a worried look on her face. "Hold on. I should close the store."
"For what cause?" Celestia asked, worried by the saleswoman’s worry.
The saleswoman explained as she walked towards a button on the rear side wall. "If you work for Mick then someone might be after you or this armor. One of the ships that parked here a little over an hour ago belongs to a bounty hunter named Alex Smith who is notorious for taking down high profile targets."
That confused Jill. "Doesn't she work for Mick?"
Celestia quickly continued. "Alex should not be a problem. Are there any other bounty hunters who might be a concern?"
The saleswoman returned to the two customers. She leaned in to Jill, grinning. "She?"
"Umm.." Jill remembered that she was supposed to keep that a secret, and did not know how to respond. The saleswoman drew back smiling and giggling, having another rumor to spread through the backchannels that evening.
Celestia changed the subject. "I suppose I should test the armour to ensure that it fits."
"Oh, it'll fit," the saleswoman said confidently as she returned the laser rifle to the wall display. "It was built precisely to your measurements and the padding will adjust if you gain or lose a little weight, but I like your attitude. On the frontier the paranoid survive, right?" She smiled.
Celestia hesitated. "If you guarantee that it will fit me, then I will accept your word."
The saleswoman smiled. "Oh, great! Then I'll call the porters over and we'll get that loaded onto your ship. Now if I remember rightly, we also wanted a softsuit for the young lady here?" She turned to Jill.
Jill, still uncertain of anything, said "I think that's what it was called."
"Oh, you're new to this! Let me explain." The saleslady was happy to explain, and she had plenty of experience helping novices. "A softsuit is armor made of soft materials that can be fitted to you the same day. They have enough shields to take a hit from lighter weapons, although heavy guns like the one you were looking at will go through them. If you add a hydropack it will keep you alive in most environments. They are favored as basic defenses by civilians and private security forces."
She brought the customers to a display that held up a white suit with blue highlights that had a thin and streamlined look. The suit was open in the lower thighs and the side of the abdomen, and did not cover the lower legs or forearms. "The Alco Arbalester is a good midrange suit with high mobility--"
Celestia immediately rejected it. "It is vulnerable to attacks to the midsection, legs, and extremities."
The saleswoman corrected her. "The shield output covers the whole body." She saw that Celestia was not convinced. "But if that's a concern, then you won't be interested in this one..." She passed by a pink suit that was in the shape of a woman's one-piece swimsuit but thicker, and showed them a navy blue full-body suit covered in solid plates and studded with small silver protrusions. "The Zetak suits are popular with professional security forces. This model gives you good protection for its weight class, and its mobility is good since it connects directly to light and midrange boots. If you're interested, we can take your measurements and get one fitted for you.
Twenty minutes later, Jill walked out of the dressing area wearing the Zetak ZC-70 suit. "It's warm."
The saleswoman explained. "That is a result of the reheating process. The resizing. We started calling it reheating and the name stuck. It should normalize to your body temperature in a few minutes."
Jill stretched her arms. "This is very comfortable. It probably doesn't look like it, but it is. Do you mind if I walk around to get a feel for it?"
"Go ahead." the saleswoman encouraged her. "Just stay in the store. There's a lock that disables the suit if you walk too far away."
While Jill wandered around the store and stretched to test out the suit, the saleswoman made conversation with Celestia. "By the way, that's some interesting armor you're wearing. The cloth cover is a unique touch. I've never seen that done before."
"This is the style where I am from." Celestia gave a terse answer to discourage further conversation. She felt somewhat embarrassed to be wearing her conventional armor in a place where people normally wore powered suits with technology well beyond what her world could imagine developing, but she would feel defenseless if she were not wearing it.
While Celestia had hoped her terseness would keep the conversation short, the saleswoman continued looking her over. "It looks like something really old fashioned, from ancient times. I mean pre-flight when there were people living in castles and fighting dragons with swords. I love those old stories."
Celestia surrendered a smile. "I believe that was the designer's intent."
Jill returned to speak to the saleswoman. "It's starting to feel a bit stiff. Is that normal?"
The saleswoman assumed nothing was wrong. "If you're not used to wearing armor, then the extra weight might be a surprise."
"Hold on." Jill stood still for a moment. She lifted an arm, and stopped. "It froze up."
The saleswoman came in close to look at her. "Oh, that's not good! Let's get you out of that."
"Wait," Jill pleaded. "I think I've got this figured out." The saleswoman stepped back as Jill lowered her arm and raised it again. A visible arc of electricity left her shoulder and was absorbed into the suit's shields. "Ah!"
The saleswoman pulled a control device out of her pocket. "I'm shutting it off."
"No, wait--" Jill pleaded. The armor's shield shimmered briefly as the suit's power turned off. It shimmered again as the power turned back on at Jill's silent command. "I might be able to fix this."
The saleswoman turned it off again. "No, I can't sell you this. I've never seen a suit misbehave like this. Is it staying off this time?"
Celestia offered a resolution. "Perhaps you could recommend a suit with superior mobility."
Twenty minutes later Jill was wearing a suit with fewer, smaller, and rounder navy-blue plates over its base. She looked down over herself, then turned to Celestia. "Does it look good on me?"
Celestia laughed at the unexpected question, and replied with a quip. "That is the last consideration for war and the first for court."
"So..." Jill took a moment to comprehend the advice, then repeated her unanswered question. "How do I look?"
Celestia gave her the answer she wanted. "You look good."
Jill smiled and turned to the saleswoman. "I'll take it."
The saleswoman smiled back. "Glad you like it! Can I interest you in a helmet to go with it?"
Jill had no idea what she needed. "I dunno. Do I need that?" She turned to Celestia for advice.
Celestia relayed this question to the saleswoman. "Jill's equipment should enhance her abilities and should not be a hindrance should it fail unexpectedly."
The saleswoman was happy to suggest something. "Then you will want a helmet with a viewplate rather than a virtual display. This is a good model. You'll see Enforcers using it."
Jill tried on the helmet, got a sudden burst of claustrophobia, and immediately took it off. "No. I don't think I'll be wearing a helmet."
The saleswoman introduced her to headband-style shield extenders. Some had an adjustable strap on the end. Some had an extender on the sides built into a chinstrap. "These shield extenders increase the rate of energy flow from your armor to the shields around your head. They won't give you anywhere near the protection of a helmet, so don't rely on them to stop anything from a high angle larger than a laser pistol."
Jill tried one on and didn't mind it. "This doesn't get in my way at all."
The saleswoman walked over to the display of armored footwear. "If you want high-jump boots, we should have several things in your style." Size would not be an issue.
Jill declined. "I don’t think I’ll need them."
The saleswoman turned to Celestia. "If that will be all, I'll take the credit chip again." She turned back to Jill as she began processing the payment. "Now, if you do have any ideas of getting into serious combat, you will want to buy heavy armor. Softsuits only give you the most basic protection."
Jill turned to Celestia. "So, Celestia, what am I getting into? I was supposed to fighting one person and it was supposed to be dangerous but then he says it's just a training match but I'll have to stay somewhere for a week or two and who knows what he'll be wanting us to do next. Do you know?"
Celestia knew a little. "He wants us to join a fighting tournament."
The saleswoman was curious. "Oh, like the Show Trials?"
Not having any familiarity with this universe's tournaments, Celestia gave the non-answer "perhaps" and continued. "If that does not work out, he has suggested to me the possibility of mercenary work."
The saleswoman interrupted again. "If you pardon me for saying this, neither of you two look like the mercenary type. Are you sure that is something you want to do?"
Celestia calmly said "I believe I am capable."
Jill hesitated for a moment. "I think I could manage it."
The saleswoman smiled and shrugged. "If that lifts your rocket then have fun doing that, but real combat is very different from combat sports. I mean, people die. Have either of you killed anyone before?"
"Thousands." Celestia answered without hesitation or emotion.
Jill's lost all of her happiness at once as her bad experiences came back to her. She looked away and muttered angrily. "The Lizards don't count."
The saleswoman was surprised by these answers. "Well... good luck."
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