The Nathan Daniels Saga: Part 1 by Sam Lippert Read Free Book Online Page B

bars in the galaxy) run by a human.  Humans seem to have a knack for the bar industry, even though they were not the only race to have discovered the joy of fermented sugars.  As the pair sat down, the owner came over.
    Floyd was a large man, so large he made Nathan look like a Rhadasian by comparison.  The size of his biceps led one to believe he could successfully arm wrestle a robot.  He wore a patch over his left eye, which he lost a couple of years ago breaking up a bar fight.  Had his establishment been on a more advanced world, he could have had it re-grown.  But not on Rhadasia.
    “ Nathan Daniels!  Haven't seen you in ages!  I see you have put your daughter to work!” He chuckled, nodding in Remi's direction.  “Actually, I take that back, there is no way a man as ugly as you sired a woman as beautiful as this.”  He took Remi's hand and made a big production out of kissing the knuckle of her index finger.
    “ Floyd, you old weasel.” Nathan retorted.  “This is Remi, my new apprentice.  She needed passage off-planet, but she couldn't afford it, so she agreed to work as my apprentice for a while.”
    “ My sympathies, Miss Remi.”  Floyd grinned. 
    “ What the Captain neglects to tell you,” Remi chimed in, “is that the apprenticeship was negotiated only after I turned down his first proposal, which he insisted was the “standard fare” for those without the financial means to pay for passage.”
    At this, Floyd guffawed, slapping the bar and shaking it from end to end.  “Rest assured, however hard he works you, you made the right choice!”
    “You are not the first to tell me that!” Remi said with a sly smile.
    “ Floyd, what new poison do you have on tap today?”
    “ I actually just received a shipment of whiskey from Dixie.  I'm quite sure you'll like it.  May be a bit on the strong side for the little lady, though.”  Floyd nodded in Remi's direction.  He lifted a shot glass to the bar, and filled it with an amber liquid.
    Rising to the challenge, Remi grabbed the glass and downed it.  Nathan watched her face.  There was a slight flicker of distaste in her eyes, but that was all.
    “So, what are you hauling this time, Nathan?”  The barkeep asked. 
    “ Halifren gems,” Daniels replied.  Floyd let out a long whistle.
    “ Nobody's brought in any of those in quite a while.  I hear Zantril is giving the best price for them right now.  What are you planning to lift with?”
    “ Floyd, you know better than that.  I open my mouth in here about that and before you know it a couple of upstarts beat me to the punch and my cargo ends up being worthless!”  Nathan downed the second shot that Floyd had set up.  “Besides, I usually don't know what I’m buying until thirty seconds before I make the deal!”  With that, Floyd left to serve some new arrivals. 
    “ Is that true, what you said?”  Remi asked.
    “ Which part?”  Nathan responded. 
    “ About not knowing what you are going to buy until thirty seconds before you buy it?”
    “ Close enough,” Nathan said, lifting the remaining shot that Floyd had set up in front of Remi.  He tossed it back, and slammed down the empty.  Just as the glass hit the bar, Nathan felt the Barrel of a gun in the small of his back.
    “ Captain Danielssss,” a Rhadasian hissed, “I do believe we have sssome unfinishsshed busssiness.”  The lizard moved around to the stool on Nathan's left, which Nathan noticed had been vacated by Remi.  'What is that girl up to?' Nathan thought.
    “ Third things first, Ixlar,” Nathan began casually.  “I'd hold that gun a little lower if I were you.  Floyd doesn't take kindly to people shooting his customers, and he's only slightly more forgiving of people threatening them.”
    The lizard shifted his weapon to make it less visible to the barkeep.  “Do not worry, Captain, I am not going to shoot you ....  yet.  I am sssimply here to collect the money you owe my bosssssss