New Edit: Chapter 24 - Interlude 1: Pluribus

Interlude 1: Pluribus
 Garry Nu-Chang wore a stylish silver gray tailored suit of Sitaurian brocade with an intricate design of platinum metallic threads. Sitaurian Brocade, coming across the Bridge from the Andromeda galaxy, was the latest fashion craze for those who could afford thousand credit suits. Underneath, a shirt of olive colored Terran Silk. His shoes came from New York City. Even though he never been to Earth he too wore so called sunglasses, a metal frame held dark lenses of a transparent material before his eyes. Sunglasses usually were a sure trademark for someone from the Sol System. He never really felt the desire to visit Earth and had never really left Pluribus other than per Matter tunnel to visit the pleasure moons circling around the fifth planet of this system, but that did not really count. Everything anyone could possibly want could be found right here. This was where Garry came in, this was his business.

 Pluribus, the central planet of the most successful multi culture Trans-galactic society in known history of this spiral galaxy was a place of extremes. Enormous buildings, many billions of beings from all over the Union lived and worked here, and unimaginable sums of money in form of Union credits and wares were exchanged every second of every day. True this was no lawless planet like Sin 4 or some of the other planets in Free space and for the most part it was an orderly world. Union Federal Police and Pluribus Law Enforcement had their Headquarters right here to keep it that way, but if you wanted it and had the money it could be found right here. Garry was one of a group of individuals calling themselves Connectors and Garry was one of the best. He tugged at the suit’s jacket to adjust its already immaculate fit and entered the plush office he maintained on the 345th floor of Soaring Delights, a relatively modest sized skyscraper of only 2000 meters near Enroe Park, named after the first Union President, still the rent was astronomical. He remembered how he started in this business twenty years ago with nothing but a Cardboard box set up next to a Junkers Yard in Skid Row Sub level 4. Sullivan McDonkin his former partner was, as far as he knew, still there. He had made it far and he had no plans to stop here. His goal was to have a top suite in Enroe towers, too bad Schwartz Industries did not lease offices in the Needle.

 Lillifee, his reception girl, he had hired originally just for her looks sat behind her Hover desk sipping a cup of coffee."Good Morning Mister Nu-Chang." She chirped happily.

 Every time he saw her, he congratulated himself for not opting to get an Apple Syntho I-Assistant. Surely these efficient computronics could do many things and appear in any shape, there was a reassuring feeling to know that these ample breasts squeezed by a skin tight deeply cut copper metal mini dress to a most alluring cleavage were not a holo but quite real. The fact that the blonde girl turned out to be quite competent was an added bonus.

 "Good morning Lillifee."

 "Vat Gerson is here waiting for you."

 Garry who was of Chinese-American-Saresii and Plutonian descent sighed and rolled his eyes he had surgically replaced with golden metallic pupils, not that anyone would see this 40,000 Credit cyber enhancement or his expression since he decided to wear Sunglasses. Vat was the son of his sister. While he was a connector and such things as morals and scruples did rarely influence his judgments, he almost cared about her and agreed to take the young man and introduce him to the business. Besides if he was able and had the skills maybe he could expand a little.

 The man in his office was dressed okay for someone starting out; of course he would have to lose that cheap looking cucumber green Gal-Mart suit and get something better if he should keep working for and with him. After all he had a reputation to uphold. Other than that Vat appeared well groomed and the color of his suit was a good match for his reptilian skin. Why his sister chose to get involved with a Shiss was beyond him and their decision to raise an Inbetweener was even less understandable to him.

 Since Humans and the reptilian Shiss did were genetically not compatible, they had to go to a Gen Mix facility, get the Federal approval to produce offspring with traits of both species and hope that the product did not turn out to be a Frankenstoner as the botched examples of such trans species mixes were called. On the other hand he actually envied the young man for his slit eyes and rows of sharp teeth as he imitated a human smile. "Good morning Uncle Garry."

 "Don't call me Uncle in the office or anywhere during business hours. I am Mr. Nu-Chang for you during that time!"

 "Yes Mr. Nu-Chang."

 "This has business reasons and if you work out you find out why! Now tell me what do you know about the Connector business and do be frank. Don't mince words. I want to know what you know."

 Vat's voice even had the hissing quality of a Shiss as he spoke."Connectors are a group of semi legal usually freelancing professionals, connecting those who seek with those who offer."

 Garry crossed his arms and leaned against his own hover desk, "what is the semi legal part all about?"

 Vat's face did have human characteristics but it translated no easily readable emotions, another thing Garry liked."This is the part I am not entirely sure about. Why would one need a Connector? If you can't find something all you have to do is use GalNet and you find it and if you have the money you can order it."

 Garry smiled."Is that so? You are as green as your suit! Where would you go to get a good decent human flesh steak? Where would you order a live sex slave? How about a shipload of Califerm or some other drugs? Where would you go to watch a Death fight? How about buying a Class 4 weapon or a container full of Battle robots?"

<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> Vat shrugged, at least that was quite human."I don't know but I get the idea. You go to a connector."

<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> "Exactly! A good connector knows an answer to all these questions and for a fee will make the connection. The better you are the more unusual are the requests and of course such requests are associated with higher fees. Technically we are doing nothing wrong. Dealing in information is not illegal and the 4th act of the Declaration of Universal rights," Garry pointed to a document framed behind his desk," prohibits the Government and all its agencies from limiting or deciding what information a citizen might seek or give. The trick to survive in this business is to make sure no one can proof you actually facilitated illegal activities and to make sure you never ever ask your customers three questions. If you can answer me what questions you never ask a customer, I make you a partner right now!"

<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> Vat thought for a moment and said."After hearing your explanation what it is you do its actually quite logical never to ask why a customer wants something; who he is and what he intends to do with it."

<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> "Paint me an Ult; you are a smart son of a Crocodile. You're hired!"

<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> Lillifee came in as she always did instead of using tech as she knew her boss liked to see her legs of course the rest of her body. "Mr. Nu-Chang we have a client."

<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> Chang motioned his nephew to remain utmost silent and find a seat in the extra chair by the window. Then nodded to Lillifee, who returned in a moment with a huge human dressed in a fur and leather, the fellow wore heavy boots. He had long hair braided and it was as black as its massive beard. An anachronistic helmet was sitting on his head. The strange dress of his customer was nothing that surprised Garry, not on Pluribus. There was nothing any being could wear to really turn heads or raise eyebrows, but usually his customers dressed a subtle and non descript as possible. With a flick of his hand he brushed over the Privacy Field activator. His office was already shielded but this was an advanced privacy field that would not only prevent visual and audio surveillance, but jam all forms of known communication devices and with its Saresii Psi tech prevented any Psionic snooping as well. "What can I do for you?" Chang said then after the readout inside his sunglasses relayed that no bugs or other means of eaves dropping were active or present and that his guest did not have a hidden police ID chip. This part of his scanning sensors was of course highly illegal.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> "I want to hire an assassin. I need the Representative of Nilfeheim killed, how much will that cost?"

<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> Chang immediately knew this was no plant and or spy to trick him into something. This was the hick of some colonial world who wanted for whatever reason the representative of that world dead. He had a whole list of contacts he could make who would be able to do that. However killing a rep was serious and would bring the Union Police into the game and they were quite good at their game. "My dear customer, I do not want to know who you are from where you come from or who you want dead. I will explain you what a Connector does and then provide you with a few suggestions solely as general information as how something like that could be accomplished. My fee has nothing to do with whatever service you might decide upon. My fee is solely based on the Information I give you and in that case it will be 100,000 credits." Of course that was ten times as much as he would charge usually but he wanted to see how much of the hick was show and how much was indeed genuine."

<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> The human giant pulled a Credit strip."Do you want it as transfer or in Palladium Chips?"

<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> Garry wished he had the same expressionless reptilian face as his new partner and he decided to rectify that with a nice expensive surgical procedure he paid for with part of that money, he pushed his Cred Receiver across the desk. "Union credits will be fine."

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