A Chance Pineapple

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Euphrides, Capitol of Eiren

The cacophony that rose from Larentine's Market was perpetual. A tapestry of food, wares, and music, the market was a modern day bazaar. A decade or so back a man named Icar Larentine made a business out of other people's business. He bought a strip of land near the outskirts of Euphrides and rented plots of land to vendors for a fee. Different plots came with different utilities, typically running water, electricity, and cybernet. Today hundreds of budding entrepreneurs flocked to Larentine's to flock their wares.

Scents of cooking fish and perfume wafted through the bazaar's muggy air. Dusk was swift approaching, but the market didn't sleep with the sun. In fact the main street was packed with customer and cart alike as Analuna's yellow sun slowly sank into the earth. Amongst the crowd stood Lav, staring blithely at a man cooking the ears of some bizarre creature, and wishing he had the credits to eat a few. A man bumped Lav as he pushed by, shaking him from his hunger induced stupor. The destitute explorer pulled out his bank card, staring at the flashing red 0010; his bank account was nearly empty.

Meandering through the market, Lav looked at the many wonders to behold. To his left a man played four instruments at once. Up ahead an AI was giving out free samples of some canned meat, which Lav took four of. In one stall he saw a cobra salesman, though Lavrentios couldn't fathom why anyone would want such a creature. It was unfortunate that after fifteen minutes he'd completely lost track of his whereabouts.

A sleek looking fruit stand was up ahead, with its low prices advertised in faintly glowing blue letters. Heaps of produce lay stacked on metal tables. Mostly it was standard fare from Roshoq, what most Eirenians were familiar with. However occasionally Lav happened upon one of the bizarrely mutated or foreign species. Small drones hovered above the baskets, spraying a frigid mist to keep the fruit hydrated in the warm summer evening. Lav enjoyed the water as it prickled his skin, though what drew his attention was the delicious fruit before him. The pineapples! Their sumptuous yellow rind called to him, hinting at the sweet flesh within. What's more it only cost 9 credits! Reverently, Lavrentios reached out to grasp the pineapple.

Traax stared at the grimy digits clutching her pineapple. It was just on the cusp of ripeness, when the fibers were still taut and strong, dense. It would explode with the consistency of a cybernetically enhanced human head.

It was also the only one on the table that hadn’t succumbed to the preliminary stages of decomposition. Of course there were others in this market, but further exploration would involve prolonged exposure to the stench of human decay. The one with misguided notions of procuring said pineapple could be offered as a prime example of living rot. Did he not know how to bathe?

“Excuse me, sir, please, could I have this one?” The woman’s voice spilled forth like a dollop of honey, ruby red lips pursed in hope. Blue eyes sparkled like diamonds cast over the ocean, and looked at the hungry man as though his one concession could irrevocably change her future for the better. She was taller than he, by a good few solid inches. But her build was willowy and lithe, clad in standard lower-class Eirenian fare although clear eyes during a peak solar period betrayed her for an off-worlder.

Truthfully, Kanaaji operated comfortably in low levels of light and her absence of armor beneath the holo-disguise was starting to make itself known. Most humans couldn’t manage efficiently aboard dimly lit Fleet ships, and she was suspecting that she should avoid double-sun exposure on Eiren if possible. Maintaining composure and a tight grasp on manners, necessitated by the culture, was stressful above and beyond simply acting human. Thankfully, her human holo implant made for a package most humans found attractive and forgivable, they wanted to believe the face. A simple language chip broached the communication barrier.

She was too well trained to indulge anything but what the moment dictated; prejudices and distastes had no part in this interaction. She would be as her disguise required: polite, interested, and sweet.

Behind her, a small spheroid prolate peeked over her shoulder at the human male. A five fingered hand unfolded from its smooth white shell and brushed aside a tumble of blond curls obscuring its view of him.

Just give me the pineapple so I can test the conduit upgrade and go kill that Cerunian bastard. It’s really fucking bright out here.

“Hello,” it said, modulated voice suave and friendly. She glanced up at it with a fond smile then looked back to their amicable rival in pineapple procurement. Its hand dropped to pick up another tasty looking fruit, offering it to the man. “Sir, this one looks to have attained a satisfying level of fructose, its juice will be sweet and its meat succulent.”

Splitting pain started feathering down her temples, market noise seemed to escalate with every passing second.

Come on, listen to the little guy. I’ve got all the parts for the upgrades, I just need something to test them out on in the privacy of my nice, dark hotel room.

Stunning was a word for it. Some others were gorgeous, beautiful, and serene. Lav's filmy eyes froze as they fell upon the woman before him. The contrast was stark, he was a pauper in faded slacks and shirt, she an epitome of feminine grace. But Lavrentios' hand never budged from the fruit. His gaze bored into her as she spoke, her voice sultry and thick to his ears. An alarm sounded in his head as he realized the woman was actually speaking. He did not register much, though one fact got through his head: she wanted his pineapple.

A shake of his head served for an answer. His glass demeanor cracked as a grin broke out across Lav's face. "Salutations. I'm Nim. One moment." A thousand needles rippled across his skin as the conduit opened. The familiar sensation of channeling filled Lav to the brim, a strange concoction of joy, awe, and discomfort. Within moments he'd lost track of the woman. The market fell away as Lavrentios left his body. Whispers surrounded him, a thousand ghosts drifting through an empty chamber. All was black to the channeler, though to his adversary he would indubitably appear slack jawed. Meanwhile Lav began to sift through the voices, picking out the woman's peculiar manner within moments. Each voice was a thought, a piece of information produced by the individual's conscious brain. When Lav entered Eidos, he pulled information with him like an angler.

He listened. Desire. Kill. Cerunian. Bright. Upgrades. Hotel. The stream of thought ended, for Lav could sustain it no longer. He severed the connection and felt himself reenter his body with a sickening wave of nausea. Bracing himself on the table, Lav glanced back to his opponent in procurement. "It occurs to me, in retrospect, that I've failed to acknowledge seventy five percent of what you've said to me." The churning in his stomach had run its course, and Lav straightened a bit, keeping the prize within his grasp. "However, I believed you had a mental illness due to your bizarre speech. As it turns out though you simply wish to kill someone."

Lavrentios permeated an aura of cheeriness as he bathed in the afterglow of his work. He enjoyed channeling in a way few others seemed to understand. Perhaps it may have seemed awkward though, given the circumstances. An epiphany struck Lav, eyes widening. "Oh, yes, I had forgotten. You want this pineapple correct? Unfortunately it's mine, but I'll split the cost and share it with you."