Chương 16: Tiered Approach

I growled at the salesman.

"You've got to be kidding me. They're hiding heated seats behind a subscription again?" I could hardly believe it. Dad had told me stories about how in the late 2010s manufactures had tried to lock installed features like this, but supposedly consumer protection laws had put down any more of those attempts.

"Mister Conway, Felix, please, can I call you Felix?" The car salesman just smiled, and I could imagine the venom leaking out from his hidden fangs.

"Surely you understand, the control module is a rental item with a controlled firmware. You're not paying a subscription for your seats, you're renting the module! There's a difference!" So that was how they were getting around the laws this time. Probably because the laws were left loosely worded as well as poorly written. I was livid.

"I'm not paying rent for equipment installed in the car!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but if you won't pay the fee, we cannot get you the module, and installation of an aftermarket controller voids your warranties and is against the loan agreement…wait, where are you going?" I stormed out of the dealership. I'd find somewhere else to shop.

"Daddy, please?" I smiled at the little cherub-monster parked in the kitchen, surrounded by what had previously been the contents of the freezer, even though I wanted to scream inside. The entire left side of the dual unit had been emptied during the exploration. A whole bag of frozen chicken nuggets had been poured onto one of the toaster oven's trays, the still-cold chunks piled high and dripping with half a bottle of honey and a handful of ice cream. That too was also pooling on the floor.

I knelt beside Ana, pushing down the anger, focusing on the girl with bright eyes and a sticky dress, hands… legs… face… That was a lot of honey. A laugh bubbled up, and I let it free. She smiled back at me, no longer sad and scared of me being angry, but happy to have me nearby.

"Dear one," I said, setting my hand on her back, "not like this. I appreciate the…initiative, but you know the rule. You can't just go do…." I waved my free hand around.

"This. It needs to get cleaned up before we can talk about snacks." She stuck out a lip, pouting, then looked up out of the corner of her eye at me. A twinkle was there, and a smile tugged at her cheeks. I pulled her into a hug, stickiness and all.

"You know the rule. And we were going to have movie night tonight, with popcorn and ice cream." I looked at the melting, spreading puddle.

"That was the last of it."

"We could get more?" She asked, hope in her voice. I rolled my eyes.

"I suppose. After we clean up this mess. And you too!" I tickled her side, and she shrieked with laughter. [SKILL UNLOCKED: NEGOTIATION (0)] [SUGGESTION: USER SHOULD CULTIVATE PATIENCE IN FURTHER USE OF NEGOTIATION SKILL FOR IMPROVED SUCCESS WITH ADULTS.] Felix stumbled, one hand leaping out to grasp the shelf to catch himself while the other pressed against his forehead and over his eyes.

He sucked in a deep, shuddering gasp as more echoes of memory paraded through his mind as different attempts to negotiate replayed themselves, faster and faster. Without the press of danger and the Magpie's interface to blunt the effects, the flood of memory was almost enough to drown him.

"Hey now, no medical emergencies in my store, please, especially not back here." Al glanced over to Kyra, who ran over to help stabilize Felix.

"He's not going to pass out or die, is he?" She shot a glance his direction.

"I don't think so..." As suddenly as the moment had come, his mind cleared and the world returned to focus. Felix let out a long, slow breath and stood straighter. All the memories were present, but now waited quietly, no longer pressing against his whole mind. The System's advisory blinked at him innocently in the corner, and he dismissed it with a mental flick. The message shrunk, but refused to disappear.

"Sorry," Felix grimaced.

"Happens occasionally. Ever since I got here, really, still adjusting to everything." Something tickled his lip, and he gave it a swipe. A spot of blood came away on his hand, but the nosebleed had already stopped.

"No bleeding on the merchandise!" Al admonished, this time standing up to Kyra's returned glare.

"Give him a break, something went sideways when he jumped in and the System keeps playing merry hell with his head." Kyra turned to Felix.

"Do we need to get you back to Doc?"

"No, I'll be fine. Let's finish here." Al's expression became guarded, lowering his voice again.

"I'd suggest you keep that to yourselves." Then he burst into another wide smile.

"And if you're going to have more episodes like that, I'd appreciate it if you did so outside! Now," he said, rubbing his hands together, "you mentioned negotiations. What did you have in mind?" The salesman's warning caught Felix off-guard, and the nagging at the back of his mind grew. He exchanged a concerned look with Kyra, then tried to match the same cheerful energy as Al.

"Well, seeing how we're just down on our luck merchants who you very much value, maybe a two for one deal? How does three hundred sound?" A whine began to fill the warehouse as the notification flashed again, and Felix attempted to dismiss it a second time. This time, it did disappear after a brief delay, though the sound only continued to grow. And, apparently, was coming from the green and white striped beachball turned salesman whose face was rapidly turning purple. Kyra burst out laughing.

[NEGOTIATION ATTEMPT: FAILED] Yeah, I kinda noticed, thanks for the help. Felix put his hands up and took a step away.

"I see that's probably not a good price, maybe we should try again… five hundred?" Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The whine changed pitch, rising from merely a deflating balloon to something similar to a dental drill, and the beachball began to vibrate. [WARNING: REPEATED FAILURES COULD RESULT IN PRICE INCREASE OR TRANSACTION CANCELLATION.] If the System could feel the irritation Felix was directing at the red text it had thrown up, it would have probably started on fire. He thought briefly about walking out, but turned to Kyra instead.

"Maybe you should talk to him…"

"Misty is going to love you when you go out looking for work with her next time." Her eyes twinkled, and she set a gentle hand on Al's shoulder. A brief, blueish ripple spread from where her fingers touched his suit jacket.

"Is there something you can do for us?" It took a few moments for Al's breathing to get under control, and he gave Felix a very irritated look before he smiled at Kyra.

"For you, I could see a small friends and family…deal. And for him,"—again, a sour glance toward Felix—"perhaps something to welcome him to the circle of distinguished trust. As long as he doesn't try to negotiate prices with me again." The man glared with the fury of a miniature and rather well fed lizard.

"Ever." Felix put his hand to his heart.

"Promise." Al nodded.

"Six-fifty for the parts, and I want you to bring back these things for me." He produced a list and a data chit and passed it to Kyra. She whistled, then passed the list over to Felix, who had no idea what anything on it actually was.

"Give the chit to the supplier, and they'll charge it to me so you don't have to take it from your funds."

"Not sure if we'll be going by anywhere that has this kind of hardware, so it might take a little while," Kyra said.

"I have the utmost confidence in you!" Al held out his hand.

"So, deal?" Felix shot a questioning look to Kyra, who nodded.

"Yeah, it's a good deal. And I'll handle Misty." He accepted Al's hand and shook. The salesman grinned, seeming to forget the offense he'd felt moments before.

"Thank you, Captain Conway. I hope these upgrades serve you well when you can use them." A notification appeared in Felix's vision as the credits vacated the ship's account balance. [TRANSACTION COMPLETED: 650, 000 CREDITS AND DELIVERY OF (AL'S BARGAIN CRIB SHOPPING LIST) CARGO FOR (1) ADVANCED SHIELD HARDENER – TIER 3- (1) MEDIUM GATLING DEFENSE LASER, RESTRICTED – TIER 3.] [WARNING: PARTS INCOMPATIBLE WITH MAGPIE. CAPTAIN LEVEL (2) INSUFFICIENT FOR USE OF TIER 3 UPGRADES.] Felix groaned.

"It could have warned me before we bought these. Kyra?" The engineer looked like she was about to explode as she whirled to face the swiftly retreating salesman, murder in her eyes. Kyra hadn't spoken since the warehouse. Al had fled behind his office door, which was surprisingly well reinforced, while Kyra snarled outside like an angry wolf.

It had taken Felix almost ten minutes to lead her out of the warehouse with their new and extremely heavy paperweights, and while she was willing to help strap down and cover the upgrade parts, every so often she'd look up at the warehouse door. The third time it almost appeared as if she would make a break for it, but when Felix turned to look he saw the 'OPEN' sign had been extinguished and a metal grate had been lowered to cover the entrance.

The truck only protested a little when she spun the wheels leaving the parking lot. The sun was nearing the horizon, and tired disappointment had overtaken Felix. The day had been long, fraught, and overwhelming in too many ways. He should have listened better; Kyra had mentioned the parts were tier three several times, as well as the rule about captain tier in addition to ship tier. Then again, who could blame him?

He'd woken up to fly a ship in a galaxy far, far away, spent his lunchtime under the literal gun of a predatory lender strapping unbelievable debt to his neck, and then found a possible way home if he was willing to dirty his hands a bit before getting ripped off—again—by yet another denizen of this miserable place. Rounded out with that all-powerful, yet seemingly apathetic System watching as he blundered from one disaster to the next.

"You know," he finally said, "I'm still surprised it didn't stop me from buying that. You'd think there would be a safeguard against that sort of thing, some kind of level gating. It seems like it's there in other ways." Kyra's nails dug into the steering wheel.

"Why would it?" Her voice was hurried, almost manic.

"Of course it was a black market deal. I should have seen it! There's no protections on those, if you want to dabble in illegal trade the System will let you have the consequences. That dirty, lying son of a—" She cut herself off with an enraged scream. It wasn't enough to hurt Felix's ears, but it was loud enough that a driver in a car alongside glanced up at the passing truck.

"Now," she continued, "we're going to fly around without half our hardpoints in use. And I'm going to have to explain to Misty why we're running cargo for a scum sucking bottom feeding walking sack of—" Her jaw worked, tight.

"You're going to level up, and I'm going to have to float out onto the hull in the middle of nowhere and start sticking these things onto the ship. I don't mind space, I don't mind walking on the hull, but I hate installing modules because you always miss a part and have to go back in and…" Felix's mind wandered as she continued to rant. Level up. Such a weird world he found himself in. Measured, gated, given abilities and points… He sat up, flicking through his menus.

[YOU HAVE (1) ABILITY POINT AVAILABLE] [CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE NEW OPTIONS!] [AVAILABLE CHOICES: CAPTAIN, CIVILIAN] [COST 1 – PACK RAT: YOUR CARGO CAPACITY KNOWS FEW BOUNDS. YOUR SHIP MAY STORE 10% MORE CARGO] [COST 1 – NONDESCRIPT: YOU ATTRACT LESS ATTENTION TO YOUR VESSEL] [SHIP CLASS TREE OPTIONS AVAILABLE!] [COST 1 – BIG STICK: CAPTAIN MAY EQUIP SHIP WITH WEAPONS OR DEFENSES ONE TIER HIGHER THAN CAPTAIN LEVEL] Felix stopped scrolling, staring at the last option.

Everything else were further upgrades to abilities he'd already chosen, and all the Combat Pilot options were greyed out due to lack of sufficient points. Not that he was looking for those. No, the solution had been waiting for him to notice it the whole time, and again Felix wondered about the coincidence. [SPECIALIZATION ABILITY SELECTED: BIG STICK!]"Kyra."

"…But she's going to ask why I let you do it, I was responsible, even though she's the one who got us into this mess and…"

"Kyra!"

"What?" she snarled back, glaring at Felix.

"We can mount the new stuff. I had a spare point from the capsule sale, I forgot about it when Goff shoved that datapad in my face for the money." She blinked, pulling the truck to the side of the road. Her eyes fluttered as she checked her menus, then she put a hand to her mouth, taking a deep breath.

"Felix…. I'm either going to punch you or hug you."