"The Galactic Alliance was established under the joint leadership of three parties — the Starlight Empire, the Holy Radiance Empire, and the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth — with a number of small and medium interstellar civilizations besides. But the ones who truly hold the say are these three interstellar overlords. And the borders of all three interstellar civilizations happen to abut the Mechanical Race — a case, one might say, of the lips gone and the teeth left cold. Through this millennium of war, the two sides have held all along to a seesaw stalemate, wins and losses on either hand, but neither able to wipe out the enemy at a stroke." Lilith finished, and looked to Zhao Chen. "And the Chu River Star Region of the Starlight Empire's northern star region happens to be the region nearest the Mechanical Race; it stays year-round in a war-ready state. That the Chu River Star Region's governor is also a five-star marshal — an appointment like that is not without reason."
Zhao Chen looked at Lilith, well satisfied; over this stretch the girl had already mastered and fused a great deal of knowledge, her mind like a small computer.
"Though our escort route this time skirts near a contested zone— —Mechanical Race ships rarely appear in this quarter, and there'd be no cause for them to attack our little interstellar transport fleet. So by all rights, this escort task should carry no great risk." Lilith offered her view.
"In theory, yes; but for some reason, ever since I saw that sergeant-major, I've had a very bad feeling." Zhao Chen rubbed at his temples.
Lilith soothed him. "It may just be because it's your first time in an environment of this sort, Commander; one's bound to feel some nerves, more or less."
"Perhaps." Zhao Chen let himself stop dwelling on it.
Whatever happened when the time came, he'd no right of choice now anyway.
To abandon an imperial-military bounty task partway carried grave consequences — it might even be reported straight to Zhao Chen's academy, and then, never mind skipping grades, whether Zhao Chen could graduate smoothly at all would be another matter.
"Commander, there's a thing that might take your mind off it — you'll surely find it of interest," Lilith said suddenly.
"What thing?" Zhao Chen was curious.
Lilith raised a hand, and a holographic image appeared: a little girl of only a meter 20, a slave-shackle Zhao Chen knew well clamped about her neck.
A slave?
Was this an underage-girl slave?
"Why would you think I'd be interested in this?" Zhao Chen looked at Lilith, his face gone dark. What conduct of his had left Lilith with such a misapprehension of him?
"Hm? You're not interested?" Lilith was surprised.
Zhao Chen's expression was complicated; he didn't know how to explain it to Lilith.
"This is a dwarf; I thought the Commander might be rather interested."
"A dwarf?" Zhao Chen came to himself at once, and pointed at the meter-20 girl. "This isn't an underage girl?"
"Underage?" Lilith shook her head. "Of course not. She's already an adult — older than you, Commander, by a few years, in fact. But because of their racial genes, a dwarf stands a meter 30 at the tallest, and the short ones only a meter."
So that was it — Lilith hadn't misjudged him after all.
"Why are you showing me this?" Zhao Chen asked, curious.
Lilith called up material on the dwarves. "The dwarves are, like the succubi, one of the rare interstellar races. Very long ago they too were a powerful interstellar civilization, but were later defeated by others. And so the dwarves became a landless, wandering interstellar race. The dwarves have no strong bodies, nor any gift for battle — but they are born technical engineers! At researching every sort of technology they excel above all. Their ability to learn technology is several times that of other interstellar races. Fully half the dwarves alive now hold posts in the interstellar-industry works or technology research institutes of the various interstellar civilizations. They have a byname — 'Interstellar Artisans'!"
In an instant Zhao Chen grasped Lilith's meaning. "You mean for me to recruit her!"
Lilith nodded. "What our Owl Dragon Fleet most lacks right now is exactly this sort of technical talent. Our two T2 Iron-Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships may have a batch of beast-folk repairwomen and engineers in charge— —but plainly their ability can only be reckoned passable; they can't fully draw out the T2 Iron-Hammers' efficiency. With an Interstellar Artisan on hand, I believe we might greatly increase our interstellar industrial ships' work efficiency!"
Zhao Chen rubbed at his chin. "There's much in what you say. But this is only one dwarf; won't that be too few?"
"One dwarf is indeed few. But perhaps she can help us make contact with other dwarves? We can give it a try." Lilith suggested.
"There's sense in that; we have nothing else on just now anyway. How do we buy this dwarf?" Zhao Chen asked.
"She's a piece of goods listed straight on the No. 3 System network's slave roster, priced at 3,000 star coins. We can contact the owner directly to purchase," Lilith said, calling up the detailed data.
3,000 star coins.
That was a good deal pricier than when Zhao Chen bought the hundred beast-folk slaves, Charlotte among them, before.
Had it been the old days, Zhao Chen would have felt the pinch a good while.
But now, Zhao Chen didn't so much as blink an eye.
"Wait… this person…" Zhao Chen saw the owner — and it was, of all things, someone he knew.
"You negotiate with the other party; once the price is set, I'll go bring the person back," Zhao Chen said.
"Understood."
Lilith went to negotiate with the other party, who soon responded.
The two sides quickly agreed on a deal at 3,000 star coins.
Zhao Chen glanced at the transaction address, then left the ship to go fetch the person.
In a private room of a tea-restaurant within the starport, a dwarf was pushed in.
"Boss, here's the good you ordered — eh, it's you!" The leather-clad woman looked at the Zhao Chen before her, greatly surprised.
"What a coincidence." Zhao Chen had realized earlier that the one selling this little dwarf was this very leather-clad woman.
"I never took you for the type to like this sort, little handsome." The leather-clad woman eyed Zhao Chen with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
"Ahem, ahem, ahem… let's just get on with the deal." Zhao Chen proposed the transaction outright.
The leather-clad woman didn't dawdle either; once the 3,000 star coins landed, she pushed the little dwarf over before Zhao Chen, and tossed him a button besides — the controller for the slave-collar.
"Handsome, any interest in adding one more to the party?" Deal done, the leather-clad woman set to teasing Zhao Chen again, licking her red lips.
"Sorry, I have no such notion. I need to inspect the goods now; might I trouble you to…" Zhao Chen issued his eviction notice.
The leather-clad woman took no offense; she'd made a 3,000-star-coin sale — delighted was more like it.
That dwarf might be a peculiar thing, but no one had ever been willing to take her at 3,000 star coins; just as she'd been thinking she'd have to cut the price and unload her, Zhao Chen had appeared.
"Then take your time inspecting the goods, handsome — oh, and… she's still a maiden… go gentle with her. If it comes to it, I can lend a hand." The leather-clad woman, at the door, didn't forget to feel him out once more.
"No need," Zhao Chen said.
The leather-clad woman tossed him a can't-take-a-hint sort of eye-roll and walked out of the private room.
Zhao Chen looked at the little dwarf, who, once brought in, had timidly shrunk into a corner.
Small as she'd looked on the holographic image before, seeing her in the flesh, she seemed smaller still.
Hard to believe so tiny a frame was, of all things, an Interstellar Artisan.
"What's your name?" Zhao Chen asked.
The dwarf girl shrank into herself and said in a small voice, "Annie…"
Zhao Chen held out a hand to the dwarf Annie; the dwarf girl at once ducked her head in fright, for all the world like a startled little mouse.
Grrrr, grrrr, grrrr…
Just then, her belly gave a growl.
"Was that your stomach?" Zhao Chen asked, knowing full well.
"No… no it wasn't…" Annie said in a voice faint as a mosquito's.
Zhao Chen held out his hand. "Then come with me — I'll take you to eat something good."
Hearing there was good food, Annie at last lifted her head, her big watery eyes fixed on Zhao Chen.
For reasons he couldn't name, this scene left Zhao Chen with a pang of guilt.