Supply Run (2)

Sayer checks the map quickly and sees that he'll never make it to another one of his locations before he needed to be back at the shuttle. He was a little disappointed that it had taken so long to get to the first greenhouse and that he had been unable to learn much about their hybrids. But he had gotten the name and contact inforamtion of the person he should talk to, so it hadn't been a complete waste of time.

He spots a small place to stop for something to drink. It looked almost like a trailer with barstools in front of it. Sayer hops up on to a seat at the counter and leans forward to peer into the interior. He clears his throat. "Hello".

Evie scurries about, throwing a slighty dirty kitchen towel over her shoulder as she checks on a pot of noodles. "Yeah, gimme just one second..." steps over to a tray of chopped green onions, slides them into a nearby bowl, and quickly scrapes down the cutting board. She turns to the man, an expression of fatigue and boredom in her eyes, and rests on her elbows in front of him "whaddya have?" she says in practiced habit, the words almost indistinct.

Sayer notes the expression on her face and tries to be the least bother he can be. "You have tea here ma'am?"

Evie starts to recite the tea flavors the Belching Dragon offers, but is caught off guard by the word "ma'am" and hesitates, flashing a quick half smile before standing fully, plopping the towel on the counter and wiping it absently as she speaks "yah, I got green and black. Heratago?"

"Whatever you recommend would be good with me. I'm guessing you are the expert on what's tastiest here." He looks around the food joint curiously. "I've never been here before, but it looks like this place has been around awhile. You own this place?"

Evie smiles. A tourist. She leans forward again, so he can hear her better. "Nah, nah, hun... fah here." points downward "Or ta go?" points out toward the street.

Sayer smiles back at her, "For here please, if you don't mind."

Evie turns to a nearby panel, covered in greasy smudges. She touches a few buttons on the screen, then asks again, resuming her normal rapid pace of speech "Green or black, hun?"

"Green would be fine ma'am." he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his credstick. "You accept UBC creds here?"

"Sha thing, hun." she says, pointing at a pay slot in front of his seat. She grabs a bowl, looks at it, frowns, tosses it in the sink, then grabs another one, and walks over to a metal teapot. "I used ta."

Sayer slides his credstick into the slot in front of him, squinting a bit at the small screen making sure it had registered. He pockets the chip. "You used to? So you don't own this place anymore... who owns it now?"

Evie puffs up her pride "I stillz got a 20% stake." She pours the tea, spills a bit of it, then puts the cup under a strange looking fluid dispenser. "Code, hun?"

Sayer looks at her quizzically, "Code? What is that?"

Evie blinks and looks at him, surprised. She laughs slightly "Ya suveyah code - ya know, supplements. What supplements you up fah?"

He shakes his head, completely at a loss. "I have no idea what those are. Can I get just the tea? With no ... um... extras?"

Evie shakes her head "You must be havin a fun night, huh? I want some a whateva ya took. Ya suveyah, it's puttin a code in yah head - a number. Just tell me the number." Her hand hovers over a numeric keypad.

Sayer starts to think it was a bad idea to try the local cuisine, even if it was just tea. "Um... I'm just visiting. I don't have a number."

Evie looks at him incredulously and slowly puts down the tea. "Yah from outta town, and yah walkin around wit no spacesuit or nothin?"

"Well, I guess I'm not a very good tourist. You think I need protection? I was told the air here wasn't that bad... that it was safe?"

Evie steps over with his tea, a look of concern on her face "Hun, the only reason yah seez me walkin around breathin this fine air is because I got a suveyah" touches her stomach "constantly filterin everything I breathe, eat, and drink to counta the effects of the toxins. Somebody shudda toldya."

Sayer's face pales and looks a little green. "Toxins? What kind of toxins?"

"What kinds? All kinds! Widout suveyahs, we'd all die in weeks from canca or somethin." She makes a shrug gesture.

Sayer wipes his forehead with the sleeve of his sweater. "Weeks? So being here only a day there isn't much to worry about?"

Evie looks at him with pity "I dunno, hun, I never saw nobody breathe the air witout a space suit on."
Sayer stands up a little shakily. "I better get back to the shuttle and get a suit on then." he looks at the tea and his stomach quivers thinking of it being full of toxins. "I'll pass on the tea. Thanks for the information."

"I'm sahrry, hun, I wish there was somethin I could do. You might wanna go by the Realcov clinic on yah way out - 2 levels up, around just there, left, right, left again, and downstahs."

Sayer nods at her but is thinking he should just get back to the space station where someone he trusts can check him out. He remembers now why he always used his supplier to handle shipments. "Okay... thanks again." he turns and hurries down the walkway towards the docking bay.

Evie grabs his cup and tosses it, tea and all, in the sink.