Somebody else was quite professional in putting Ray's foot in his ear, and he barely managed to soften the blow thanks to his enviable reaction. Oh, you stinking, wookie freaked out! Quinn threw away his last sentiments and pulled the hijkatist out of the scuffle, whipping his knee. I wish I'd gotten a belt, and then waved my legs, the milk sucker! Ray couldn't figure out who was in front of him anymore, hitting everybody in a row. He stopped only when one of the brawlers he knocked over a table by the wall. A young woman drank a café at the table. A second before the push, she successfully removed a saucer with a cake from the countertop.
- I'm sorry, miss," Ray said gallantly. - I didn't see you right away.
- It's dark in here," she smiled.
And she was fine, Quinn thought. Big, expressive eyes, a snub-nosed nose, puffy lips... That's exactly what Ray thought the most attractive type was. And that she wasn't human, it was nothing. In relations with women, he considered the main mutual sympathy, not racial nuances. For example, his school love Kilindi was a nakutolanka, that is, different from people much more than this girl with a cafe.
- Come here, smelt of hairless! - growling from behind. Some shistavanan tried to hit Ray with a bottle. Quinn elegantly placed a block, struck a distracting blow to the throat with his other hand, and when the opponent repulsed, he punched the attacker's sensitive nose from above. The one with the squeal, which turned into an ultrasound, bounced away and immediately fell under the hot hand of one of the wikis.
- Can't you see I'm talking, the plaid is fleaish? - Ray gave him a pass and turned to the girl again: "Is it getting noisy here, miss, maybe, to walk you to the exit?
- Well, perhaps," she said. - I don't want to be a part of this.
Throwing everyone out of the way or knocking them down, Quinn led her to the exit. His hands and feet acted independently of his consciousness, after all, fifteen years of experience, counting the boyish showdown on the vacant lot behind the school. Near the doors in front of them there was a figure in an embroidered galloon vest and baggy pants.
- Madame, wait a minute... - A Kabbah bouncer started with a husky voice. And he got a straight hook in his nose bridge from Quinn. Ray's fist hit the bony forearm, but he wasn't going to stop the attack. Of the two subsequent blows, one hit the target before the girl suddenly found herself between him and the enemy, stuck her blades in Quinn's chest.
- Stop it! - Strictly she said, pushing harder and harder, which made Ray step back. - He just wants me to pay for lunch, right?
- That's right," the bouncer missed. - And so did mister. And there's nothing to wave my fists at. I can move too, you'll fly to the toilets.
- Try it, the log is more walking!
- I am not a log. I'm Zeb," said the yellow eyes of the exot.
- Brack, I said! - With the term Echani, their girlfriend stopped them. - Is that enough for my order?
- Yes, miss. A generous tip.
- You don't get bored," the girl said ambiguously.
- Here, take this," Ray counted down the amount by adding two credits from above for possible damage. The bouncer nodded, and then something happened. Ray seems to have blinked, and in that fraction of a second, a huge bouncer just disappeared as if he wasn't there.
- Such a handsome man," the girl shook her head.
- Do you find this pretty? - Ray was surprised.
- I mean it figuratively," the woman looked down on him. - Perhaps in strength and agility he will not yield to you, despite the apparent clumsiness.
- Yes, that's right. And in cold blood, too," Ray agreed.
The girl smirked at the corner of her mouth and didn't comment on his phrase in any way.
- Will you let me walk you home? - He asked.
- I'm afraid I'm not from around here and I live in that hotel across the hall.
- What a pity. But I'm not from around here either, and I'm leaving soon. Can I at least be of any use to you?
- Enoo... Tell me, judging by your uniform, are you a crew member of the Sartan Corporation ship?
- I'm the captain of the ship," Ray corrected. He would have punched a man in the face for that kind of belittling, but a woman doesn't have to know her military and corporate ranks.
- Oh, in that case, Captain, could you take me aboard for a fee? I, you see..." the girl stumbled, "broke her ship. And it is impossible to buy something with the means on this planet.
How lovely, Quinn begged for it. The ship was broken, my dear! When landing, no other way. Over the past millennia, from the moment intelligent creatures began to go into outer space, women have become fluent in speeders and sounds, but spaceships still obeyed them with difficulty. It is clear: other scales, other speeds...
- Yes," Ray agreed. - There's not much choice here, and the prices bite. Well, I can take you to Columex, where we're going, and there you can get to Ryan Var, for example, where there's a good ship's market.
- Of course, it would be better to go to the Rien Var, but Rien Var is also good," she said. - Well, in that case, let's get acquainted.