After Nirazera had seen the data, she forgot all about asking for the ‘Why’. Instead she had shuffled us out of her office telling us that she needed to confirm and figure out some things but that she already had an idea on how to use it. She also let us know that she would contact us within 24 hours and that we should not leave the station. So instead of getting back to the claim or trying to get into the relic, I was relegated to station duty.

Since I didn’t have any pressing business, I contacted Krn and Mrk and updated them on the situation but left out the destruction of Rustbucket and that I got to the station using another ship. I did tell them however that the conflict had heated up and that we were hopefully close to a solution. They took it in stride, asked some questions and told me that they were happy they had left when they did.

Then I tried contacting Brelic but the com request went into the void. No busy signal, no can’t be connected message. It simply went nowhere. Which at first had my stomach in knots. Was he gone? Did he not have a CLON contract? But then Ralgau told me that if someone would be dead the com request would be denied. Going into the void was not a normal thing. So I assumed he was alive.

But that also made me question what the hell was going on. Was he a spy for the Red Moon? Had he sold us out? Did he have any designs on the ship? That little shit… Yes, I admit, I let my paranoia run rampant for a while. Because you know, it’s not paranoia when they are really out to get you.

Ygglog on the other hand responded and told me to thank Ralgau for blowing his brains out because it was the strong thing to do. Okay, he didn’t really say ‘blowing my brains out’ but it was pretty close and for sure one of the stranger thank you messages I had to deliver. I told him he could contact Ralgau himself as he was on station with me but Ygglog insisted that it fell to me as the leader, even as a weak one. I rolled my eyes. At some point I would figure out what he and his culture considered strength and weakness.

Then Ralgau and I went to the bank where he paid off some of his debt, he also paid me back the 21k he owed me from bailing him out.

Among all the administrational things, we also spent some time shopping. The thing that caught my eye, after Ralgau pointed it out, were the combat rated vac suits. They came in several variants. There was the standard armored version, which was basically like my vac suit but it was hardened in such a way that the usual piercing impacts would not penetrate the vac suit. You would walk away with bruises but things like flechettes and most propellant projectiles would not get through.

Something that I am sure the pilot would have wished he had. I would have rung his bell but he would still be alive. I corrected my thought, he would not have died by my hands. I still had a hard time coming to grips with that even though I wasn’t sure that he was dead. The body I killed was but considering the prevalence of revival technology meant that there was always a possibility of someone getting killed and then stabbing you in the back. So while I still felt horrible about the execution, I simply couldn’t linger on that any longer.

Back to the vac suits. Another variant was self-deploying. Similar to airplanes and their oxygen masks / cabin sealant technology, this suit could be carried like a collar around your neck and when certain programmable parameters were met, it auto-deployed some form of smart fabric over the whole of your body. The helmet was supposed to close within 0.8 seconds after these parameters were registered and it took 3 seconds for the complete vac sealed deployment.

The third variant were combat rated self-hardening vac suits. These things would register any impact and harden the impact spot and then redirect and redistribute the force over the surrounding fabric in microseconds. Thes sales-Grelic was also very adamant about the fact that these suits would stand up to most laser and plasma fire by redirecting not only the force but reflecting the light and heat. Guess which one of these three variants were the most expensive ones.

Of course there were combinations of variants as well and most were fabricated by Tangent Technologies, a major arms manufacturer in Lord’s space. The problem: Even the cheapest ones of them cost more than Rustbucket was ever worth. So while I had the money right now and was sorely tempted, especially considering the flying shit we were up against. In the end though, I decided against buying any but at least I knew there were options.

* * * * *

The next morning I was woken up in my hotel bed by an alert. Yeah I had decided against staying on the ship. For one, the previous crew had not exactly kept it in the cleanest state. And secondly, why not. Sure, I had spent 1k ICU on the hotel but in comparison to the prices I was up against, that seemed like chump change for a good night’s rest. And after the long awake time with only a couple of hours rest flying in, I had decided that I deserved it.

The alarm kept beeping in my mind and flashing in my HUD though. The weird thing was that I had never seen or heard that one before. I menatally commanded the notification to expand on my HUD.

You have received a contact request from Irene Adler.

Would you like to accept the request?

Yes / No

I rolled my eyes. I mean I know there are not many people I am awaiting a contact request from. Add to that the amount of people that would choose that name. Subtract all non-players because I am sure there is not one local named in that manner and you come to the conclusion that the person behind the request is? I mentally hit the ‘yes’ button.

Hey Kade,

I just wanted to let you know that I am on my way. I couldn't get the captain of the ship I was hired on to come out here. Apparently he has regular deliveries to make in the area we were in. And he said that “as much as he liked me, even I wasn’t worth the trip to the ass-end of nowhere”. Can you believe that? I mean he is right, you really started at the ass-end of nowhere. But way to make a girl feel appreciated. I mean come on. I had him wrapped around my finger and he basically gave me free reign on his ship. You better make it up to me with some epic adventures and a way to make a living now that I am throwing in with you.

Anyway, I got myself a shuttle and with my navigation skill I was able to plot a pretty quick route to you. I am right now in system Frieda and close enough to get a message to you. Apparently chat, even direct isn’t a thing in this game until we are in the same system.

Frieda 4 is also the closest planet to your location that has a university with a high rated university department. I already spoke to the anthropology department and they connected me with a Master Scholar by the name of Arilou Lalee. He specializes in relic cultures and told me that if I really found a relic artifact he is more than willing to tag along to study it. Right now he is talking to a friend / colleague who is an archaeologist specializing in technology. So if everything goes according to plan, I will be able to pick both of them up on Frieda in about 12 hours. That means 26 until I can say ‘Hi’ via com.

See you then.

The love of your life (and you know it!) ;)

Yup, definitely the person I thought it was from. Damn, she moved fast and had already hashed out everything. I had actually planned to look into the whole ‘finding specialists’ deal myself but now I didn’t have to. Thank gods for competent exes that stayed friends. Believe me, best investment ever.

So I made my way to the Rocket-Wrench, ordered myself breakfast and one of the fun coffee substitutes made from algae and composed a return message to her.

Hey Nic,

Thank you so much for jumping on that. I was just about to get on it myself when I got your message. Having some hassle here with the local criminal element but hopeful a solution will manifest today. And wow, I didn’t actually count on you being here so quickly. How did you manage that?

Talking of which… the name is a little on the nose, don’t you think? I know you like SH and that character in particular but I would not have expected you to use it here. Might be stuck with it. ;)

As for the shuttle, that might actually come in handy down the line as my miner got totalled and I forgot to get insurance for it. Not that it was worth a lot in the first place. Anyway, ping me another message when you have the specialists collected and are on your way. And also what they expect in terms of payment.

Looking forward to hanging with you.

The guy who’s love you left to wither and die (but who would totally do you again) :P

Then I paid the 5k that this message cost. Pricey communication. No more replies from me missy. My breakfast had barely arrived at my table when the notification plinged again, telling me she already sent a reply. She must have been very bored in her shuttle.

Hahaha, your signature actually made me laugh out loud.

Only if I can stream it live and have you tell my audience who you are. I am sure they would love to critique your technique.

I’ll let you know what you need to plan in terms of cost for the guys but honestly, the scholar dude was so eager to see a newly discovered relic, that I am sure I can sell him on the “studying it is payment” idea. Got to see though.

As for the name, I would love to play her character in this game. So powerful. Still thinking about what skills I need to get for my character to be like her. I am thinking there must be something like observation or deduction, information gathering or spycraft of some kind, some kind of leadership or social engineering skills. We will have to see. Make a note if you can think of anything else or where and how I might get these skills.

Anyway, later mole man!

I shook my head and chuckled. Yeah, not going to happen. I mean Nicola was right, there were definitely still feelings there from my side. And I am pretty sure from her side as well. But back then we had come to the conclusion that we work as friends much better than as lovers or a couple. And I wouldn’t change a thing. Competitive gaming doesn’t lend itself to relationships. Especially not when we didn’t even play the same games. Which made me think… would it be different now? But I also planned to hook up with Damian ingame. And he might have the same feelings. Meh, we’d burn that bridge when we’d get to it. Until then it was nice to know that she was in my corner.

I was sorely tempted to send another reply commenting on the BDSM skill she forgot in her list but the tease wasn’t worth 5k. So instead I chowed down on my breakfast and com’ed Ralgau to let him know where I was.