Chapter 2

The gate to the city was locked and guarded. The inspector came out of his office and nodded to Mom. He checked the seals and glanced at the import stamps on each container. From all outward appearances, folks would think, Mom was as calm as if she was waiting for a scooter to pass so she could cross the street. But I could see her fingers tapping her leg like she always does when she’s nervous.

I just happened to glance through the open door of the inspector’s office, and I saw three bottles of Danton’s red wine on his desk.

The inspector scanned our barcode identifications embedded in our wrists. Then he initialed the import stamps and entered the date and time into his handheld. At his signal, the guards unlocked and opened the gate. We walked through with our cargo and headed down the street toward the warehouse district.

Walking on a planet with natural gravity, sunshine, and oxygen with pleasing sights and smells was a treat. On one block, we would smell flowers and, on the next, a bakery. Even unpleasant odors were welcomed. So we didn’t bother to hire a HoverCab to take us to the warehouse and tow our containers. The warehouse district was close to the port. It took us about 45 minutes to get to Warehouse 56, check in with the watchman, and drop off five of the six containers. Mom took out her handheld and informed the merchants that their shipment had arrived.

With the remaining container in tow, we headed to the merchant district to peddle our un-taxed contraband. We had a few regular customers who would pay a fair price for our goods. It only took five hours in the afternoon to empty the container of goods. Mom smiled as she hit total on her handheld and transferred the credits to our account at Galaxy Four Central Bank.

Oxy reached into her pocket and pulled out the list of the spare parts she needed. Our next stop would be the junkyard. Why pay full price when you could get slightly used for less than half the price of new? Oxy knew what to look for and saved us a lot of money.

To get to So’ Bermmun’s Junkyard, we had to pass through the red light district. The sights were always interesting. The streets were always crowded and slow going hauling the empty container. We took our time and checked out the local talent. The talent, male and female, was naked and enticing. I counted nine different species soliciting business within the first block. Some were just giving us a come-hither look, and some were performing sex acts for our enjoyment and promising even better entertainment inside the establishment.

We were just passing a male Pelitan when he said, “Hey beautiful, want a free sample?”

Pelitan males and females were among the most sexual beings in the galaxy. Both sexes were popular with the male and female clientele. The offer of a free sample was not unheard of but highly unusual. The idea was to get someone from the crowd on stage with them, tease the prospective client enough so that they would go inside for more, or show off their talents to the crowd.

Mom stopped, “You talking to me, handsome?”

“I sure am.”

“What are you offering?”

“You can suck my dick, and I will give you 50 credits if you can get me off before this timer runs out.”

“Okay, sweetheart, I’ll give it a go. What’s your name?”

“It’s Canoo. What’s yours?”

“Duma.”

I put my hands together. Mom put her foot in my hands, and I gave her a boost up to the stage. Canoo put a pillow on the floor for Mom to kneel on.