Gabatrix: The Warrior of Silence

As they walked in, a couple of customers were browsing the wares but not paying any attention to the two. This place was clearly a gun shop. It was stunningly beautiful, consisting of multiple clear cases that depicted guns of numerous types, gun kits, locks, tools for firearms, survival gear, ammunition boxes, bulletproof jackets, holsters, and more. This place was armed to the teeth, even having sentry gun turrets mounted on the side corners of the store. If anybody dared tried to rob this place, they would be dead before they would even think twice about their mistake.

Three staff members were present, with one that looked directly in Stone's direction. A gigantic smile appeared on his face. He wore clothing that had a long yellow and black t-shirt and black baggy pants that went below his knees. He had the typical dark complexion, dreadlocks that flowed down his shoulders, and a big black beard on his face.

"Ah....." the man said as he held his arms out. "My favorite customer, mon."

Ioren showed a hint of curiosity. This man spoke English, but the accent was unusual that she barely understood at first.

"Tarone, I have a couple of things that I need from you," Stone addressed him as he slapped the palms of his hands to the counter.

"Stone, why do you always have to be so strong towards me?" Tarone noted as he waved his hands to the counter. "I love your fixation on my wares and merchandise, but I am afraid you will break my things too."

"Hmph....." Stone replied. Ioren walked up naturally, looking at the variety of items. It caused the storeowner to look down at the Itrean and her pistol enclosed in her hand.

"Well.....I'll be....." Tarone said as his sights went to her. "I saw you walking into my store openly carrying that, lady. Of course, I saw you both walking in together." His eyes narrowed as he looked at the marine. "Stone.....you didn't, right? I knew it!" as he pointed both his fingers at him. "You found an Itrean woman to be your wife...."

"No!" he sternly replied. Even Ioren momentarily looked at both of the men. She gave an equally stern look at the man, but it was easy to tell that he was joking by now.

"Ah.....relax, mon. Who is she?" he gestured and tried to whisper to him. "Maybe I can give you a special discount to help you out, but I need to hear you say it."

"Argh....." the marine relented. "Fine.....she is my new partner for the precinct. Her name is Ioren."

Tarone snapped his fingers. "Ha....oh, I feel sorry for you, Ioren. Let me tell you something, though. Talk guns, and you talk with him for life. He puts my staff to shame. If he ever lost his job in the UHN, then he will be my favorite worker."

"I would sooner buy this store than work for it," Stone noted.

"Even better! Now you know why I like him, Ioren. Welcome to my gun store, one of the best in this area. I supply guns of all types.....at least the legal ones on Oshun. I wish I could move my store to Aphadus.....ah....why did I not just try to stay on Batrice?"

"Because they are idiotic enough to ban all firearms," the marine explained. "Leaves it perfect for a fascist regime or some other power to come and reign supreme. Take away the guns and ensure that only a few have them, and before you know it, those few will rule the planet. Their word is law, while the rest of the good people suffer wishing that they had the guns to fight back for their freedom."

"Spoken like a true person from Aphadus."

Ioren was curious enough to ask questions. She pulled out her tilon again and pulled the two strips apart. The projection screen appeared as she held the backside in one hand. She used the other hand to type her words as fast as she could.

"Your partner is not the talkative type, isn't she?" Tarone said.

"No....." Stone replied. "She prefers to use something else to let her talk....even if she is supposedly fluent in English."

"Relax, mon. Everyone is equal in my store.....especially if you have the mard to keep the humble establishment from collapsing on itself."

"Are you from Batrice?" the tilon stated.

"Nope. Well.....I had a store there a year ago, but word got out on the.... 'reforms' that were coming in. I am actually from Palora. Before that.....my family came from the island of Jamaica on former Earth long ago."

"Your accent is pretty," she replied, typing the words as fast as possible.

"Ha.....well, you won't find many people like me speak like this anymore.......replaced by the Martian and Cebravin accents. It is....more of a trued and tried imitation that I won't let die." He happily splayed his hands outward with a gesture of a serene grin to accompany it.

"Ugh.....enough of this past shit," Stone grumbled and impatiently tapped his fingers to the table. "Tarone, we need some things for my......partner."

"Of course. Of course," Tarone replied as he held his hand out to the Itrean woman. "May I see your gun, Ioren?"

Tarone's personality and work ethic easily swayed her to handing her pistol to the former Jamaican individual. The marine watched as he lifted the gun up and looked at it closely.

"Ah.....beautiful," Tarone said.

"I agree," Stone added.

"An AKT-1...." Tarone continued with pure passion in his voice, marveling at the gun. "Such elegant beauty in such a piece. You Itreans should feel a sense of pride in your firearms. Don't let the Shal'rein bully the Yutilians and Aksren to not thinking that they can't make their own guns. I know.....because I see them enough."

"You work with Itrean guns?" she typed.

"Well, I wouldn't be a good gunsmith if I didn't. Even the Itreans assigned to Oshun need to have a place to take care of their guns. Some sell their guns, and some want to have certain modifications to them. Hell.....I might even have a Shal'rein come and work with me in the following weeks if all things go right." He pressed the magazine eject button as he went and looked at the rounds in it. "Fully loaded too."

"Unfortunately, those 7mm rounds aren't as effective as the 9mm," Stone added.

"Ehh....I wouldn't be so quick to say that, my marine friend. True that the penetration from these rounds isn't as good. These guns make up for many other things. The gun is small enough that some smaller hand individuals prefer them. Like most of the Itrean guns, the organic metallic components can even regenerate."

"They can fix themselves? Even I didn't know that."

"Mostly.....mostly, it can. Certainly helps in the maintenance compartment."

"Our people used disease and biological warfare on everything," Ioren typed on her tilon. "There were even diseases that could target the guns. Our own weapons had to be enhanced just as much as we were."

"Hmm.....the fold-up RMR scope is working alright. You know I am getting a modification kit in the next couple of weeks that can turn this into the TRN-1. I could modify it into a silenced pistol."

Ioren smiled briefly and did a quick nod upon hearing that.

Tarone shook his head, satisfied with what he was looking at. "These are the best smaller brand pistols than even my OCP-3Ps that I have."

"And those guns are shitty as it is," Stone added.

"Ah....here he goes again. I already sell Aphadus brands if you don't like my Oshun brands. I take pride selling Oshunian made guns on the planet that makes them."

"And what gets cleared out quicker in your stores?"

"The Aphadus brands," Tarone answered while he busted out in a laugh. It was said so well that even Ioren displayed a brief smile from it. While Stone didn't find it funny, he did give a neutral look to the Itrean that seemed pleased from hearing it.

"Hmph....." Stone remarked.

"Hmmm......" Tarone continued. "I have some nice accessories for your pistol, Ioren. What is it that you need?"

At first, she seemed to think about it, which indicated to Stone that he needed to say something. He knew immediately what was required.

"She needs a holster for open carry," the marine jumped in. It was enough to cause the Itrean to nod her head in agreement.

"I do have holsters for smaller guns, but it wouldn't be anything specifically oriented for this specific pistol. Usually, these guns are simply just magnetized to the Itrean wrap armor of soldiers if they don't have their Y-6 assault rifles, but I do have ones for the two barrels."

"Get the best one you got."

Tarone was quick as he looked at his stock. He was looking at an area that had a small belt-like holster. These were ones that were more met for children or shorter adults. It wasn't Ioren's fault, as her shorter stature naturally had to make do with what worked. Finally, he plucked out a simple but effective belt design. It had a high-quality polymer design with a couple of pouches that lined the sides.

"One of the best," Tarone said with pride. "Tenix small size."

He handed it over to Ioren as she placed her tilon on the counter. She immediately began to wrap the holster and belt around her waist. The Velcro quickly slapped together, and she worked with the harnesses to get them adjusted. It was black, and the store owner was nodding his head in agreement.

"Perfect," Tarone said as he handed the pistol back to her. "Try it out with your pistol."

She took her gun back as she holstered the gun to her right hip. Pointed away from the other customers, she quickly drew out the small pistol and pointed it at the wall before she reholstered it again. She gave the nod to him.

"Hmmm....the question is body armor?" Tarone asked while she picked up her tilon again.

"Yes," Stone questioned as he thought about it. "I saw the wrap armor disks that you brought with you. They won't be needed for this line of work."

"Are you sure?" Ioren typed.

"Yes. Even you won't see me walking around in marine power armor as much as I would want to. Police prefer more subtlety. The same goes with you."

"I can buy them off of you....." Tarone insisted.

"No. Keep it until you need it." Even as Stone had said it, Ioren was inclined to do her quick nods in agreement.

"But what you need is something more fitting....." Tarone wondered as he headed over to the closed room. "I will be right back. I might have something for you that might work."

Ioren gave a satisfactory nod as she looked over her belt. Even Stone had a nod to go along with it. His eye, however, became quickly distracted as he looked at the variety of firearms that covered the store. Even the Itrean was looking at the area with a similar interest. Most of the guns, however, were small brands. There were subcompacts, pistols, submachine guns, magnums, antique guns, revolvers, laser pistols, and scatterguns, but nothing more significant than rifles. This wasn't to say that that they didn't exist. Amongst the largest in the stocks were a couple of rifles and shotguns, but it was clear that this was an Oshun civilian gun store and not some military arsenal.

The reptilian woman now had an easier time using her tilon since she had a holster. Her free hand allowed her to browse the wares as Stone felt inclined to do the same thing. The clear cases depicted guns, and his face almost showed a smile develop on it. Like a kid in a candy shop, the marine was in his element.

"He has an antique Vektor SP1 pistol made in the 1990s on Earth and the old original bullets before we ever used caseless....." Stone remarked. "Still in good condition, but the price is too high. Hmph...." His eyes befell a series of revolvers, but he quickly moved along. "Even an original MP5, but the extendable stock is not functional. Shame.....if I were back on Aphadus, I wouldn't mind buying that and getting it to work."

"You collect guns?" Ioren typed on her tilon.

For a brief moment, the marine hesitated in answering that question, but he partially relented. "Not on this planet."

There were the cheap OCP-3Ps made in different styles and colors, including various kits to go along with them for home defense. Ioren had little interest in them except for their naturally small size. But, as she was walking down the series of guns, they naturally got bigger. Her tail wagged a little bit as her eye spotted a small section specifically labeled novelty and rare firearms.

Stone picked up what was labeled as an "Aphadus SW-SH40 Scattergun." The handheld double-barreled shotgun was made with a shiny gray and black polymer. The caseless shells would be loaded in the back after you popped open the loading chamber. It allowed the user if the user was strong enough to fire one-handed before having to reload it again. It was cheap and viable for home defense, but the price was too high as he placed it back on the rack. His head turned to look at Ioren that was standing next to the rare/novelty section. His brow lifted, knowing why she was there. It caused him to walk beside her.

This section consisted of other historical guns, but it also had a few Itrean firearms. There were was an AKT-1 available, but there were also laser pistols. Her open hand picked it up as she looked at it. It had a similar style grip to the AKT-1, but the firing chamber was much broader. The magazine was replaced with a battery that went into the magazine well.

"An AKL-32," Stone noted. "Used during the Emphra Wars. Surprised that this one is here. Ugh..... I hate laser weapons."

Ioren went and placed the gun back as she horridly typed on her tilon. "These are the type of guns that saved my parents."

"True....but against people, laser weapons are shit. You might as well tell the target to stand still as you try to fry them. Long-range and against unarmored targets, you might have some luck, but a caseless sniper or anti-material rifle can still work and do it better. Of course, railguns....."

His eyes went and looked at a rifle with a unique look to it. It was shaped like an elongated polymer cannon. It had a barrel on one side, a magazine mounted in front of the trigger, and a scope mounted on the top. On the back section was not a buttstock but a narrowing venting chamber.

"A Chinese QBZ-520 Recoilless Space Rifle...." Stone said. "Made before they introduced the cheaper magnetic boots. Always wanted a chance to fire one of these guns. These were used long before we ever used the Rocket Propelled Sound Suppressor systems we use today. Even then, these guns were perfect for firing in space. Zero recoil when you fire them. Even the modern RPSSs struggle to achieve that."

"My people used similar guns too," Ioren typed. "Very long ago."

"Yeah, not exactly the types in treating it as a normal rifle either. I know some fucking moron on Aphadus would treat that vent as a buttstock and mounted it on their shoulder. When they fire it.....well.....better be ready to get an augmented shoulder. No wonder the gun is deactivated."

"Why are some of these guns deactivated?"

"Laws on Oshun. Wouldn't have to worry about it on Aphadus. Every Aphadus person can buy military-grade firearms without a license. So even with a military there, the civilians make the second army."

She seemed to give a look of intrigue as she considered it.

"It works," he continued. "On Oshun, though, the citizens do a good job following those rules, but the criminals don't care. Tarone is taking a long time in finding that item....."

His impatience was replaced the moment that Ioren reached up and grabbed another Itrean firearm. This was larger than the pistol she had. It had more organic features with spiked vents near the rear section. The collapsible buttstock would fold into the gun, and it had a similar foldable lens scope on the top. It carried similar green and gray colors and had a larger top to it.

"An AKT-2 submachine pistol, one of the replacements to the AKT-1," Stone said. He didn't even have to look at the label to know what it was. "Damn, it is expensive......I might recommend getting that, but your holster wouldn't hold it."

She looked at it closely. The gun was indeed an excellent design, but it was bulkier. It might have been just as better for her profession to stick with something that she already had. She placed the gun back on the display before she resumed typing.

"Maybe later I can buy it."

"Surprised your people didn't just give you one. The AKT-2s are just as common as those AKT-1s."

She shook her head as if she had nothing to comment about it. Tarone finally appeared from his backroom as he carried something of particular interest. It was a vest but not shaped like the traditional bulletproof vests. It was thin and had black with slight tinges of gray weave to it.

"Finally....." Stone said under his breath.

"Ah, it took some digging, but it finally showed up," Tarone explained as he walked up to the counter. "The latest in Tenix hardware that might work for our little friend here." Both of the two walked up to the counter in response to look at it.

"A bulletproof vest?" Stone asked.

"Ah, it is but much better, especially for somebody like her. Might end up replacing the Mclevar bulletproof vests eventually, but these guys are practical and not practical." He stretched the material out for her to see. "Tenix Mclevar Elastic Armor. It can handle most rounds except the high-powered rifles and armor penetrators."

"In other words, most small arms fire on this world."

"Yeah.....it wouldn't stop your hand cannon. Check it out," Tarone gestured for her to feel with her scaly fingers. "This armor is designed to flex on the skin with almost no profile to it. It can be worn over the clothing, but they look silly when it does when compared to the original Mclevar vests. It is designed to be worn underneath the clothing. It will cover your chest, torso, and stomach area."

"It almost seems perfectly meant for Itreans, especially her," Stone added.

"I agree, but I recommend that she find a restroom to try it on first."

"Do you have one here?" Ioren typed on her tilon.

"Yes, down the hall here." He pointed in the direction that she needed to head to.

"Thank you." With that, she began to head away with the folded-up vest and tilon in tow. She had left the area before Tarone looked at Stone.

"She is quite interesting," Tarone told him. "I have seen my share of Itreans. She knows perfect English, and yet she uses a tilon to communicate for herself."

"Ugh...." Stone remarked. He looked away in disgust.

"Ah, cheer up, Stone. Even in my store, you bring bad juju to my customers and staff."

"I don't care."

"Maybe that Itrean will knock some sense to you.....besides the rather large bill that you will get from all the purchases today."

"It doesn't matter. The UHN will be paying for this."

"Hmmm.....true.....true, then again, maybe I can tempt you with something." Tarone reached down and pulled out something. It looked similar to Stone's impressive firearm. The rather large pistol chambered with magnum rounds had a similar shape and design. Parts of the barrel and handgrip were slightly different. It had a mini foldout lens scope near the top end of the slide. Along the bottom of the slide were additional components and attachments as well.

"A TT-450......" Stone remarked.

"Yes. I still have this guy on sale."

"I can't buy it." There was a hint of hesitation in his voice.

"Are you sure? Technically, I can't sell military firearms, but these guys are civilian guns, though. Very close to the MF-5 with only two slight modifications. This guy has the RPSS built-in just like all the other guns and much quieter than your TT-50."

"Hmph......no. My gun is good enough."

"I can even make a trade for your two-hundred-year-old model TT-50 to reduce the price for this too."

"No."

"Hmm.....alright....have it your way. It will still be sitting in my rack waiting for you to come and get it."

"I will take some ammunition, though," Stone said.

"Of course, I have two 45 caseless 50 AE round packs sitting on the shelf. 90 rounds sound good?"