“How’s the Wayfarer?” Pepper asked. This was always her first question, and it was not small talk. Her interest in his ship—in all ships, for that matter—was genuine.
“Flying smooth as ever,” Jenks said. “Just did a blind punch to Botas Welim.”
“That’s the new Aeluon colony, right?” Pepper asked.
“Yup.”
“How’d it go?”
“Textbook. Except our new clerk didn’t take to the sublayer well. Blehhh.” He pantomimed an explosion from his mouth.
Pepper laughed. “Oh, I want to hear all the gossip. You got time for a cup of mek after we get our business sorted? I’ve built a brewer that’ll change your life.”
“Well, I can’t say no to that.”
“Good. So what’s next? You got something else lined up?”
“Yeah, actually,” Jenks said with pride. “You hear about the Toremi alliance?”
Pepper rolled her eyes. “Honestly, what the fuck are they thinking?”
Jenks laughed. “I dunno, but we’re getting some awfully good work out of it. Tokath to Hedra Ka. That’s us.”
“No way,” Pepper said, her mouth falling open. “You’re going to the Core?”
“Yup. And an anchored punch, to boot.”
“Shit. Really? Wow, that’s a serious haul. How long?”
“About a standard. GC’s got our tab, though. All we got to do is get there and punch back.”
Pepper gave her head a quick shake. “Good for you guys, but I’m glad it’s not me.” She laughed. “Oh, man, I’d get so twitchy on a ship that long. Still, though. The Core. How many people can say they’ve been there?”
“I know, right?”
“Wow. Well, that explains why you’re here. I take it you have a shopping list for me?”
“Most of it’s from Kiz. She’s off getting sundries.” Jenks handed her his scrib.
“You tell her she better poke her head in here before you guys leave orbit. I won’t let her leave without a hello.”
“Like she’d let that happen. We could meet up with you and Blue on the dark side later, if you guys don’t have plans. Do dinner or something. I did just get paid.”
“I like that idea a lot. Especially the part where you’re buying.” She scrolled through his list, slowly. Reading wasn’t her strongest suit. “Okay, current modulators. Go to Pok, the Quelin down by the bot alley. You know him?”
“I know of him. He’s creepy as hell.”
“I can’t argue there, but he’s not a bad guy, and he doesn’t package his stuff in grax like the others do. Trust me, his modulators are top notch.”
“What’s wrong with grax?”
“It’s good, cheap protection for your tech, but it’ll dull your receiver nodes if you leave them wrapped up too long.”
“No kidding?”
“Well, folks who sell grax disagree, but I swear my tech’s been pluckier since I stopped buying anything packaged in it.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
Pepper continued with the list. “Switch couplers, go to Hish.”
“Hish?”
“Open Circuit. Hish is the owner.”
“Ah, okay. I’ve never been to Open Circuit. I’ve always gone to White Star.”
“She charges more than White Star, but I think she’s got way better stuff. Tell her I said so, she might knock a few credits off.” She read on. “Six-top circuits I can do you for, as long as you don’t mind getting them used.” She reached up to a shelf, grabbed a hand-wrapped circuit pack, and set it on the counter.
“Your version of used is usually better than new,” Jenks said. He meant it. Pepper was a wizard when it came to bringing tech back from the dead.
Pepper smirked. “You charmer, you.” Her eyes flicked over the scrib. “Coil wraps,” she said. “Hmm. I think I’ve got some tucked away somewhere…” She pawed around, then tossed a bag of tiny metallic bundles onto the counter. “There ya go. Coil wraps.”
“How much?” Jenks asked, pushing back his wristwrap.
She waved her hand. “You’re buying me and my man a meal. We’re square.”
“You sure?”
“Positively.”
“Fair enough,” he said. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice. “Pepper, there’s something I’m looking for that’s not on the list.”
“Go for it,” Pepper said.
“Just out of curiosity. Nothing serious.” It was, of course, a very serious request, but even with a friend like Pepper, it required a bit of caution.
Pepper gave a slow, understanding nod. She leaned forward on the counter, speaking in a hush. “Purely hypothetical. I gotcha.”
“Right.” He paused. “How much do you know about body kits?”
Pepper raised her eyebrows—or rather, the spot where her eyebrows would be if she had any hair. “Damn, you don’t start small, do you? Oh. Uh, no offense.”
“None taken. Look, I know kits are tricky to find…”
“Tricky to find? Jenks, that kind of tech is so banned it practically doesn’t exist.”
“There’s got to be somebody, though. Some modder with a bunker somewhere—”
“Oh, I’m sure there is. But nobody I know offhand.” She searched his face. “What do you want a body kit for anyway?”
Jenks tugged at the spacer in his left ear. “If I said it was personal, could we leave it at that?”
Pepper said nothing, but he could see in her eyes that she was putting pieces together. She knew what his job was. She’d heard him talk about Lovey, however casually. Jenks could feel himself begin to sweat. Stars, I must look pathetic, he thought. But Pepper just gave a lazy smile and shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She thought for a moment, her face growing serious. “But may I say, as a friend, that if a body kit comes your way—and yes, if by some astronomical stroke of luck I find a supplier, I’ll contact you—I really, really hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“No, Jenks,” Pepper said. All room for discussion was gone from her voice. “I’m not talking about you getting arrested. I’m talking about you doing something dangerous. I hate to pull the my-past-is-a-sad-story card, but listen: I am the end product of a few very stupid, well-intentioned people who thought it would be a great idea to redefine Humanity. It didn’t start with much. A tweak here, a splice there. But things escalated, as they always do, until it became something completely beyond reason. That’s exactly why body kits are banned. Some people who know a hell of a lot more about ethics than you or me decided that they didn’t think the GC was ready or equipped to support a new kind of life. And yeah, as things are now, AIs are treated like shit. You know I’m all for giving them full rights. But this is murky territory, Jenks, and much as I hate to say it, I’m not sure body kits are the solution. So however innocent your intentions, think about what you’re doing first. Ask yourself if you’re ready for that kind of responsibility.” She held up her thin hands. Her palms were thick with old scars, leftover from a decade of digging through sharp junkyard scraps. Memories of hunger and fear and a world gone wrong. “Ask yourself what the consequences might be.”
Jenks thought hard. “If you feel that strongly about it,” he said at last, “then why would you tell me if you found a supplier?”
“Because you’re a friend,” she said, the edge leaving her voice. “And because making connections is what I do. And if you’re serious about this, I’d rather you go through me than some back-alley hack. Though, truth be told, I’m also hoping that by the time I find someone, you’ll have decided I was right about it being a bad idea.” Pepper put a little sign on the counter: In The Back, Yell For Service. “Come on, we need some mek. And I want to hear about this spacesick newbie of yours.”