Chapter 33 #2
Aside from that, she really didn’t get much.
She purchased a few essentials and splurged on a new blanket for her nest, but she spent most of the time just admiring the things that the other females were finding.
She looked appreciative, she even went along with their excitement and encouraged them to buy things they were interested in, but she herself wasn’t that invested in buying a lot of things for herself.
Grace was that way too though. She bought things sometimes, but most of the time, she wasn’t that interested in physical possessions.
She said it was because she came from old wealth and had already owned almost everything, so nothing was that interesting anymore.
He kind of understood, having come from wealth himself, but not really.
Which told him more about exactly how much wealthier her family must be compared to his.
But Haven hadn’t come from wealth like that, so he didn’t understand where her lack of interest in things came from.
However, he got his answer the next day when he took her to the last level of the station, to the lot sales. There, more than anything she and the other females found the day before, she became excited over everything she saw.
The lowest level of Trek-Nine, not being part of the destination half of the station, was a lot simpler and industrial in design.
The docks here, meant for ship repairs, lacked the flare and luxury of the docks for those coming for the station amenities.
It was greasy and dirty and much more comfortable in Vytln’s mind.
As it was to Haven, who looked around at all the machines and ongoing repairs with open interest. But when they got to the lot sales, she gasped and her entire face lit up with joy.
At the far end of the repair docks, there was a warehouse that was used for storage of parts. Both those used to replace broken pieces of repaired ships, and the broken pieces they’d replaced. As the docks operated, they’d accumulate more and more of those parts.
And as they got too many, they’d box them up in crates and then sell the crates, auction style, to anyone interested. The crates had tags on the side, indicating the crate’s weight, whatever was inside, and whether or not it was fully, partially, or totally nonfunctional.
That was the only hint they got to what they were buying.
The dock crews set out the crates, possible buyers got the option to look at what was inside each one, and then they’d be auctioned off one at a time.
There was an inherent risk in doing so, because a non-functional part could be missing one, small, key piece or it could be absolutely shattered and in pieces.
It was like gambling. The dock was hoping to sell junk for a high price, while the buyers were hoping to buy treasures for nothing.
Vytln enjoyed the hunt of it. He found it enjoyable to take the risk, and he got a rush whenever he purchased said treasures. Regardless of what he ended up with, however, he could always use whatever scrap he found for their ship.
He thought Haven would enjoy the experience just for whatever broken machines they might find for her to tinker with completely risk free.
But he didn’t expect her to come alive, excitedly rushing around with him, looking at the crates, debating their contents, and judging how much they should spend.
Much more than the fripperies she and the other females had appreciated yesterday, she had a wonderful time with him, looking at and buying the crates from the lot sale.
They even managed to find a crate that had parts of a medscanner. It wasn’t a full scanner, it only indicated parts, which could mean almost anything. But even if it was completely busted, it would still be something for her to learn on.
Together, they ended up buying two large crates and one medium sized crate.
The medium crate was the one with non-functional medscanner parts.
There was more in there though. The dock deliberately mixed parts so that buyers couldn’t guess from the weight alone if the crate held the entirety of the objects listed.
Once purchased, the dock took charge, getting the information on the location of their ship.
All sales were final, and if they were dissatisfied with what was inside, they couldn’t leave the crate and its contents here in their annoyance, leaving the problem with the dock.
So, instead, the crates would be delivered to the Humility first, then they would be able to open them and check everything that they had purchased.
But they’d have plenty of time to do that later. For now, there was a lot of the station left to enjoy, and now that he understood better what really captured her heart, he knew better where to take her and what experiences to give her.
As they left the lot sale, she attached herself to his arm, beaming like she had just been given the world. All for some unknown junk in standard crates.
“This has being so much fun,” she sighed, smiling like she had reached the height of contentment.
“I have a lot more planned,” he assured her.
She beamed up at him. “Looking forward to it.”