She wondered what 'beeg lahdee' meant. It was obvious they were using it to refer to her but as long as the combined tones of awe and respect accompanied the words, she didn't mind. Still, she would like to know what it meant.
The male creature who'd first approached her … the one she found herself thinking of as S'tolqui o'Komees … was no longer in sight and she reasoned that he was probably with his seriously injured sire. Scent alone had told her one had come from the other and his actions had quickly confirmed it. Unfortunately the majority of buildings were too flimsy for her to enter so she couldn't go see what was going on.
Seeing that the creatures were finished with the vehicle, she set it down gently and strolled away, thinking over what she had read on her trip back to her home world. The information had been sparse, simply outlining what the Hissarsi had been doing. Once the ships had left the Hissarsi home world, the information had dropped to the barest trickle. They did have spies on the ships themselves but once they were on their way, the spies had had no means to send back reports.
Pausing outside the building she was using, she glowered at the computer. Due to her size, it was difficult to use the machine but she managed to skim a number of the files that weren't solidly locked behind layers of security codes. She wondered briefly why anyone would bring such information within arm's reach of the beings they were trying to subjugate then decided that the Hissarsi were seriously underestimating their opponents. But what she really had to do is somehow tell these creatures … these 'hu-mans' … what the Hissarsi planned. This meant she needed to be able to communicate with them. And she needed to get the information from the computer faster then she was capable of getting it.
She needed help.
With that thought, she vanished.
One of the first things they learned in fillyhood was never to teleport where they weren't expected. She did it anyway.
Luckily the teleport dais was empty and she stepped quickly to where the indignant operator stood. Slipping her credstick from the holder carved in her armor, she slapped it into the reader and tapped out a payment triple the normal fee as well as the amount of the customary fine for unannounced teleporting. The operator scowled at her then shrugged. "Just be sure to set up a time next time." S/he … the being was a Shikito and she couldn't readily tell his/her/its sex … ordered sternly. "Now go check your axe."
She stepped from the teleport room and into the weapons check area, offering her axe to the Simian behind the counter. He slapped a null-gravity unit on it and used it to lessen the weight to a manageable level before taking it and handing it off to an assistant. He handed her a claim disc.
"Careful walking, cousin." He grunted and she snorted in amusement then stepped out into the wonderful world of the MallStation.
The MallStation, where you could literally find anything. The size of an asteroid, the station traveled throughout the Confederation, dispensing trade wherever it went. It the best place to find anything and everything you may need. She took a moment to rent a personal helper and used it to map a way to the Library.
Not that you could possibly miss the Library, It took up the several floors and contained, if not all the written material of the known universe, at least the vast majority of it, as well as the means to quickly acquire the remainder. She stepped inside and wandered the many rooms until she found the acquisition department. The being on duty was known to her from her days as a cadet and she slapped down her credstick, though not hard enough to break the desk. At least not this time.
"I need some books."
"Learned how to read then, have you?" The Firebird said in a mellow voice, not bothering to look up. Her flame-hued feathers rustled as she turned the pages of the book she was reading.
"If it has really small words, yes." She outlined what she needed and the Firebird blinked at her in surprise.
"I can't give you that last one in English! Why would you want it in that language anyway?"
"The Hissarsi are on Terra 3-9-717."
The Firebird closed the book she had been reading. "Terra 3-9-717 is a closed world." She said carefully.
"Tell that to them."
The Firebird opened her beak, closed it then opened it again before finally speaking. "You're joking. No, ignore that. You don't joke. I still can't give you that last book in English. I can do it in Common Confederation."
"That'll do. I'll need a second copy of that first book in a smaller size as well. When can I pick them up?"
"Beautiful Dreamer?" The Firebird addressed the Library's Ish'Kirien computer, who had naturally been listening in.
"Two C-days." Was the prompt reply.
Two C-days. Almost three Earth days. She slipped her credstick into the reader and watched a large amount being transferred away. "I forgot. Do you have an info card on Earth Humans?"
"Since there are no Earth Humans in the Confederation, no." The Firebird turned to snatch a card just emerging from the printer and slapped it on the counter. "But here. They are the same species so what's correct for one is correct for the other. No charge."
She grunted her thanks and took up the card, still warm from the printer. About half the size of her hand, it had two human figures printed on it, a male and a female. Between them was the Confederation symbol for 'Human'. On the other side was printed the species' basic information in Common Confederation. She slipped it under her armor with her own species info card and made her way to the reference area to double-check something before having the personal helper map out a path to the next place she wanted to go.
By law, all shops had to either be big enough for any member of any species to walk through it or had to have an outside counter. The alchemy shop had an outside counter. Since it barely came to her thighs, she dropped to a knee and set the card down. "I need medicines for this species."
She wasn't surprised to see that the being who appeared behind the counter was another Firebird. They tended toward the scholarly or healing occupations. He picked up the card and slipped into the appropriate slot. "For what type of injuries?"
She hesitated then outlined the injuries she remembered on the older male. "And wounds caused by tech five-seven-a weapons." She added. That brought her an odd look but the Firebird didn't ask any more questions of her. He examined the information on the screen intently before nodding.
"It will take me awhile to mix this entire order up." He said.
"Two C-days?" She slipped her credstick into the reader and he eyed her credit limit thoughtfully. It was impressive and should it ever falter, she carried another fortune quite literally on her back.
"If I hire someone to help, I can have it then."
"Do it please."
He transferred over the fee along with the amount needed to hire someone temporarily and handed her back her credstick.
"Another question." She said quickly before he could remove the info card. "Would numbing kuta made for me work on that species?"
The Firebird asked the question of his computer and studied the answer thoughtfully. "It would be much stronger then needed but it wouldn't do the being any permanent damage. It would be better though if it were diluted. Here." The Firebird disappeared back into the shop then returned with a white jar. "Dilute it with this. If you use a standard jar for your species, this should be enough. No charge." He added as she reached for her credstick. "It's nothing more then a diluting agent and we happen to have an overstock at the moment anyway."
"Thank you.' She said sincerely. "Do you know a good hiring shop?"
"The place I use." He gestured across the way and several shops down.
After another very sincere 'thank you', she made her last stop then headed back toward the teleport area. There seemed to be several beings leaving and she ended up in a heated discussion with a Minotaur before managing to finally drop off the personal helper and retrieve her axe. After setting a time to return two C-days from now, she vanished.