 |
 |  |
 |  |
|  |
The Hijinx saw little traffic in the early hours, with many people busy with business transactions and such. Thus, Liam had it mostly to himself. Sitting in a booth, he motioned over a droid and ordered a mug of cider. He was a few minutes early, so he decided to catch up on some reading. As he was about to insert his data crystal into a vidpad, he saw his contact enter. Placing the vidpad and crystal on the table, he waved over to the man as his drink arrived. Liam looked at the man. He was just short of six feet and was as round as a blimp. Liam was sure that this man spent more time eating a meal then doing paper work. Catching sight of Liam, the official came over to the booth. "Ah, Mr. Ares. It is good to see that you are interested in this job. May I sit down?" The captain nodded and sipped his cider. He took a good look at this man. Versan's reputation was small, as he had little influence among the Griffin Tech. board. Liam had never heard of him and he knew that Jason Reeves, the main liaison officer, a man well known in many systems, often took charge of things like this. Well, might as well get this over with. "Nice to meet you, sir. I was surprised that you called me for a deal like this. I was leaving dock in six hours. You said that you were willing to pay 200,000 credits for the job?" "Yes, that's what I said. This passenger is special. She's a diplomat sent to Clotho to help strengthen ties with the government there. Your job is to provide transport and protection should you be assaulted by PriCon ships. There is a slight risk of them attacking, as we repelled an invasion of theirs a few months ago. Failure is not an option. Do you accept this mission and the knowledge of the risks?" Liam thought for a minute. Eight months ago, before Zaxted had joined the Merchants' Guild, Griffin Freeport had been assaulted by the Pirate Consortium. Through the brave actions of the same merc who had protected Zaxted, Freeport had survived and flourished. Ever since, PriCon ships had been itching for revenge by raiding Griffin's supply convoys and even once tried to hijack five new blockade runners from Freeport itself. "If pirates are the only risk, then I'll take the job. I need the credits anyway. I've fought PriCon many a times and they're either floating debris or limping back to whatever hole they call home with a hole through their hull. Tell your diplomat to meet me in Dock 3A Beta. I leave in six hours." The suit was grinning with pleasure. Shaking Liam's hand enthusily, he said, "Thank you, Liam! You won't regret this. I'll have your passenger in the docking bay in six. Again, thank you." With that, Versan got up and ran out the door, moving with a speed that bellied his over-weight size. Liam chuckled at the sight and took another sip from his drink. Looking at the time, Liam saw that it was 8:15. Time to get things ready for take-off, though the captain. All in the life of a mercenary. Finishing his drink, Liam slid a credit chip into the terminal next to his table and paid for his tab. Grabbing his vidpad and data crystal, he stood up and was about to leave when he ran smack dab into someone. Two seconds later, Liam was on the floor, dazed. "Sorry about that, sir," came a raspy voice. Shaking his head, Liam regained his vision and stood up. Looking down he saw a slight man on the floor. "No problem. It was my fault. Didn't watch where I was going." Helping him up, Liam saw that he had dropped his things. He reached down to pick up vidpad and saw that there were two identical crystals. Damn it! "Uh, I have a slight problem. It seems that our crystals are mixed up." The man, obviously a research type as he looked like one who got little exercise, looked puzzled for a moment then picked one up. "This one's mine. It has a certain tinge to it. Worked with it long enough to tell it apart from other crystals." Liam just nodded and said his goodbyes. Picking up his crystal, he went on towards the docking bay. "She's all ready, sir. That'll be five hundred credits, sir," replied the junior tech. Liam nodded and handed her a credit chip. "Thanks. Here's five-fifty. Keep the change, lass." Leaving the young women stunned he headed up the egress ramp. He would wait five more minutes or he would leave, 200,000 credits or not. Liam's passenger was ten minutes late and the captain did not want to pay a fine for using docking space. Already there was a waiting vertigo waiting for dock. Just as he was about to enter the ship, he heard someone call out his name. "Captain Ares! Over here." Liam looked out over the short-term bay and saw a cloaked woman with a bag running towards the Aeris. About a meter from the ship, she stopped and gasped for air. She looked like she had run the length of the promenade. Taking a deep breath, she spoke again. "I apologize for being late, Captain, but I was being briefed on my mission and was unaware of the time. Trying to run down the promenade without hitting someone is hard task." "I'll take your word for it, ma'am. I welcome you aboard the Aeris, MsÉ" The woman shook Liam's hand. "I'm sorry. My name is Lynn Harding. Please call me Lynn. It'll be two weeks in hyperspace, and I don't wish to be addressed professionally. I have enough of that when doing my job dealing with berrucrats and government officials." "As you wish. May I take your bag?" Lynn handed him the bag and undid her cowl. When the captain looked at her, his heart skipped a beat. She was beautiful. In fact the most breathtaking woman he had ever seen. She was perfect in every way. Gorgeous and radiant with a supple form. Her blue eyes were dazzling and her black hair shined in the light. It took Liam a moment to catch himself, but he couldn't help it. Lynn seemed not to notice and if she did she didn't show it. She just walked up the egress ramp and entered the ship. Liam shook his head again and walked up the egress ramp behind her. As he entered the ship, he stopped and hit the console, extending the ramp and closing the hatch. Turning around he walked on down the corridor. Lynn followed, curious about the ship. "This is a blockade runner, then where is the crew? Normally, it would serve a crew of 40. Are you the only one onboard?" Liam always had that problem. Because he was the only person aboard a ship that served 40, many people wondered how he maintained it. He just took it as it came. "Aye, I'm the only person aboard the ship. I served aboard the Ossais for a few weeks. A starglidder is not one place to live. Besides, I didn't have enough credits to hire a crew." Lynn nodded understandably. "I know how you feel. I traveled on a courier for a week, and there is little room in a ship like that. But if there are no crew, then who keeps up all the work? I've seen no droids and surely you can't do it by yourself." "Easy enough. The computer system on my ship was specially designed by a friend of mine. It was his fee for taking transporting him. It worked alright. It takes care of the auxiliary power, plasma core, and life support. If need be, I'll do some repairs, but the computer is mostly efficient. The helm, weapons, and other systems needed to operate from the bridge are routed to the helm station. When I'm not there, the auto pilot takes care of hyperspace flight." They entered the turbolift and Liam ordered for deck three. "Amazing. But don't you ever worry about what you would do if you were attacked while not on the bridge. Your cabin must be at least two decks away. Unless the computer where to operate weapons. too, you would be a sitting duck." "Aye, but I occasionally take on passengers, and they help me for the most part. Besides many pirate have mistaken this vessel for defenseless and they've been sent back to port with many a hull breach." "Point taken." The turbolift came to a halt, and the two exited. After a minute's walk they came to Lynn's quarters. With a silent whoosh, the doors opened to reveal a large room; a cabin only reserved for diplomats and government high-ups. It was highly decorated and fit with a few delicacies. Liam motioned for Lynn to enter, then followed her in. Gazing around in amazement, Lynn gasped. Although she was a diplomat, she had never stayed in such wonderful accommodations. This was amongst the most relaxing places she had seen. She was wakened from her reverie after a moment. "I hope this room fits your needs. The replicator has many selections and the computer can see to your needs. If you want something not synthetic the mess hall is on deck two. There's a holo-deck on deck five with more than enough programs to chose from. The sick bay is on this deck and if you need anything I'll be either on the bridge, my office, or my quarters," said Liam. "Thank you, Captain. I will be fine. And thank you for your hospitality," replied Lynn. Nodding, the captain exited the room and headed for the turbolift. Upon entering he nearly fell. Holding out his hand, Liam leaned against the side. She was beautiful and kind and smart as well. It would be a hell of a trip traveling with her. It was going to be a long two weeks. Hitting his head against the lift wall, he said, "Bridge." and turbolift thrummed to life, heading towards its destination. A moment later, the doors opened and Liam stepped out onto the bridge. Passing the dusty command chair, Liam stopped and glanced at the chair. Despite the dust, it was still in very good condition. He looked at with a sudden desire to sit in it. His hand lifted out to touch, then he jerked it back. "One day, Liam. One day you'll sit in it. Just not now." Walking over to the helm, he hit the communications console. "Aeris to Freeport, requesting clearance for blast-off." The comm. crackled to life with an immediate response. "This is Freeport, request granted. Have a nice flight, Captain Ares. Hope to see you again." "Thanks, Freeport. Aeris, over and out." With that Liam shut down the comm.. Two seconds later the docking bay doors opened and the Aeris' thrusters roared to life. Taking his seat, the captain tapped the console and accelerated out of the bay and into open space. Looking at the view screen, Liam saw many ships. The system was always busy with commerce as ships from many factions came here to trade. There where 'gliders, freighters, a few blockade runners like his, but bearing IFF signatures of Griffin Technologies, Colonial interceptors, and many shuttles. Wait a minute, thought Liam. Checking the sensors, Liam saw what had puzzled him. Two Colonial fighters were in system. Liam's brow furrowed. What where Empire ships doing in Griffin space? According to the stellar news, Griffin Tech. had declared independence six months ago, defeating an Empire task force in the process. With the loss of many assets to one small station, the Empire had let it been. He shrugged and figured it was none of his business. Accelerating to maximum thrust, he headed out of the system's gravity well to prepare for transit into hyperspace. Hitting the console to jump, the ship slowed down. It would take a minute or two. The comm. console near the confused captain beeped. Looking he saw that the transmission was coming from one of the two fighters. Even more confused, Liam hit the console and opened a link. What the hell did two Colonial fighter want with him? "This is the Aeris. How may I help you, good sir." Liam didn't like this. He avoided military vessels when possible. He had no clue what they wanted. The transmission was distorted by the engines reading for transit. "This is the Empire shipÉwe believe you areÉpower downÉscanÉ" "Please repeat. I can't read you. My comm. system is having problems." The same garbled message sounded, except more distorted. Liam was about to repeat himself, but it was to late. The ship thrust into hyperspace, leaving two shocked fighter pilots to stare at the stars. Liam sat back, cursing. One small quirk about his advanced AI system was that the ship's commutations would become distorted when entering hyperspace. Once in hyperspace, it would act normally again. Liam tried a few times to filter out the message, but gave up. Didn't really matter. Might not have been important anyway. Oh well. Liam's stomach suddenly growled. Realizing he had skipped breakfast, the captain ordered a set course for the Curzson system and then left the bridge, heading for the mess hall. Time to get something to eat.
| ||||||||