Skill Level Increase

Etiquette

Level +1

Negotiation

Level +1

Swindle

Level +2

Universal Knowledge

Level +1

Seduction

Level +2

Good Morning Screen. Thanks for the update. Let’s go get some breakfast! Then I should also find a few jobs heading out towards… what system did Mari say again? Ely… Era… E something or other… Elleris? That sounds close…

Heading out I wave at Alistair, and head down the promenade towards the Siren’s Song. The food there was good last night, and breakfast was the same this morning.

“Alistair, where’s the job board or will-hire on this station? I’d like to grab a couple jobs for once the Deity is ready to go.” He leads me down to a small office space hidden away between two larger storefronts. Without a guide I probably would have overlooked it. He’s being awfully quiet this morning, must still be embarrassed about yesterday.

Flipping through the available transport jobs I find 3 that are looking for product delivery to Eileris. Right. That's the place. There is also one other interesting one that I want to consider.

Ore Delivery

Pay: 50000 credits

Pataris Industries requires you to deliver 60 tonnes of unprocessed tungsten ore to our facilities on Eileris IV-C

Parts Required

Pay: 85000 credits

Repair parts for hover-lifters required at the Eileris IV-C landing zone ASAP. 3 crates containing parts can be picked up from Holidra on Vankh Station

Medical Supplies

Pay: 120000 Credits

Arbath Research Station in orbit of Eileris III is running low on standard medical nanites, pain relievers, and stimulants. 5 crates for delivery.

Coreward Bound

Pay: Negotiable

I need someone to take me off Vankh Station, and take me as far coreward as you can. More information will be given when the job is accepted.

I contact the people offering the delivery jobs, confirming that a departure date of 7 days from now would be acceptable, and review the cargo. I talked to Holidra, who asked me to wait on confirming the job until his work on my ship was done, so that the job could be picked up sooner if someone else was heading that way. I didn’t have a problem with that. Everything should fit, either way, so it shouldn’t be an issue. Now let’s go meet that person looking for a ride.

Sarah Wenton, as she introduced herself, looked awfully familiar. She asked if we could speak privately, looking pointedly at Alistair who has been shadowing me all day. Alistair gave a nod, warned me not to try and sneak away without him, and stepped outside. That’s when things got interesting. My first action was to use Inspect, which netted me some interesting info.

Lerissa Davnor

Path: Shadow

Age: 26 Ferlo

Escapee

Status: Healthy

When I saw that it took all my acting skill not to show any reaction. Sarah, or rather Lerissa, flinched a bit when I used inspect. Odd. Could she have noticed? Well, don’t blow your cover, Keiren. Act natural. She’s a fellow path bearer, and also a Ferlo… wait could she have been one of the girls from last nights party? I really want to set up a Mind Read on her, but if she sensed the Inspect, I have a feeling that it would fail.

“Hello Sarah. I’m Keiren Ignis, Captain of the Proud Deity. I’d like to know a little bit more about where you want to go and what you’re willing to pay.” Ah, she visibly relaxed a bit when I called her Sarah. Her eyes though are shifting back and forth as if she’s afraid of something.

“Right. Well. Ummmm… I want to get as far away from here as possible. Towards the galactic core, or beyond. As for the pay… Ummm. Can I do a thousand per light year?”

“Hmmm, well that would probably be fair, but I have a better idea, if you’re willing, that won’t cost you a few hundred thousand. I need someone trustworthy to fly with. Care to join my crew? You work on my ship, I pay you, and you can leave whenever you want. I am heading that general direction anyway, so I don’t mind you paying your way, but I’d really like someone to work with that I can build a trust with.”

“Really?” Her eyes started to sparkle at the prospect I had just given her. “I’ve flown shuttles before, so I can handle some basic piloting, I spent a year running navigation and scans on a miner, and I had a little bit of basic turret gunner training in the sims when I was younger. Would that count? What kind of ship do you fly? What about other crew?”

“Yes, that should do nicely. The Proud Deity is a modified Oilo freighter.” Oh, her expression tells me she’s a bit unhappy with that. ”Yes, I know, it isn’t the newest design, but I had limited supplies when I built her, and it was the only design that was easily modifiable to suit my needs. Please hold your dislike until after you see her. I'm biased, but I think she’s a fair bit prettier than a standard Oilo, and a decent amount stronger too. As far as crew goes it’s just me right now. I’ll mention this right now, but on my ship I expect nothing but absolute honesty. I won’t lie to you, you don’t lie to me. At all. I don't need your life story or anything, but once we’re spaceborn, we’ll need to have a small discussion about a couple of things. Without that, there can be no trust.”

“I see… When are you planning on shipping out? And what kind of work do you do?” Shoot, I think I came on a bit too strong there. She seems to have lost her excitement from earlier completely.

“Repairs and upgrades will be complete in seven days. I intend to depart by 1300 hours that day. For work, I mostly plan on moving supplies from one location to another. I just want to say one thing before I leave you to decide." I take a step closer to her and whisper "Your situation and mine have a lot of parallels. For both of our safety, we can't talk about it here or now. Just know that there is a reason I am making you this offer, and I hope you take it.” Lerissa’s eyes opened wide and her lips started to quiver when I said that.

“Goodbye Sarah. I hope to hear from you within the next seven days.” I give her the contact info for the room I’m staying in.

Glancing at Alistair as I walked out, I headed down to the shops to look for the sundries that Mari wanted, namely more synthmetal. That was easy enough to find. I placed my order for two times the amount that we currently had in storage, which cost me 60000 credits, and decided to browse the rest of the shops.

I’m glad I did. I managed to find an “entertainment” store, which carried all manner of goods, most importantly holo-recordings and games. They weren’t cheap, because I bought a massive volume, but I figured if we were stuck in FTL for a few days, having something for a bit of R&R during the downtime would be important. I also found a furniture store, so I bought a sofa and a table that could be bolted in place. It should look good in the lounge space by the kitchenette. Then as I was touring the weapons shops, I found something nice, and at a good price. So nice, at such a good price, I bought it twice!

CASC 3L3C “Adjudicator” Stun Pistol

Cost: 8000 credits

Delivers concentrated bolts of electroplasma knocking targets unconscious and/or otherwise immobilized for up to 3 hours. Causes minor burns at the point of impact. May cause permanent damage to the targets nervous system.

Battery Charge = 150 shots

After dropping a bit over 110000 credits on the supplies, I decided to head back to my room. I should play around with the forms that I gained last night.

The days of waiting passed quietly. I tried to have the occasional conversation with Alistair over a meal, but ever since that first day he maintained his distance and refused to eat with me. Terisar stopped by twice to make sure I wasn’t making any more trouble for him. Never managed to get a pleasant conversation out of her either, unfortunately (still fighting with visions of tight black leather whenever I see her). I spent most of my time renting time in the flight sims. Holidar sent me a message, requesting that I meet with him in private before shipping out. A few skills leveled up, but not very many.

Skill Level Increase

Stealth

Level +3

Acting

Level +1

Negotiation

Level +2

Piloting - Light Freight

Level +4

For reaching Level 10 in Piloting - Light Feight you have been awarded +1 PER and +1 WIS

Piloting - Heavy Freight

Level +1

When I stepped out into the promenade on the morning of the seventh day, Lerissa was waiting for me, bags in hand.

“Hey, Sarah! I’m glad to see you’ve decided to take me up on my offer. I was a bit worried when I never heard from you this entire time.”

“Yeah, well, I was looking for other transport. I’m only here because I couldn’t find any. I haven’t necessarily decided yet.”

“No worries, I know how hard it can be to put your faith in someone you’ve just met. We can discuss it once we’re shipboard. Now come along, we need to stop by Holidra’s and then we can be on our way.”

“Well little missy. I’m glad you came by. You and I need to have a little chat here. Your friend can wait outside.” Huh? I wonder what’s gotten him in such a sour mood? I nod to Lerissa, and she steps out. Holidra pushes a button that’s on the side of his workbench and glares at me menacingly.

“You know, you’re real lucky that my brother-in-law Gustavo likes you. Otherwise we probably wouldn't be having this conversation right now. Though he seems to think you’re a human boy.” Shit, I didn’t even think about that. I fucked up big. He holds up his hand. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. You’re treading in some dangerous waters here missy, and I want no part in it. Now, while I was going over you’re ship, I happened to notice your primary computer port doesn’t match standard specs. I used to work in the COS navy yards, so I know what fits there. Just a warning for the future, if you want to survive. Never let anyone work on your ship as long as you're in Confederate space. Do it yourself, you have the constructor. Learn some of the tricks of wrenching. I hope you understand why I am telling you this.” I simply nod, blank-faced. “Good. I left you a little present in that hidey-hole you put up front. Just an old toy that’s been sitting around my shop for years, but it should help with that.” Are we okay? I... think we're okay? “Finally, I loaded those parts for the Eileris job into your hold. Nobody’s left the station heading out that way this past week, and they need those parts.”

“Thank you Holidra. I’ll be more careful going forward.” I breathe out a whisper

“You do that missy.” He laughs. “You kinda remind me of my kids, back before the war started. Dumb, thinking they were all careful and sneaky, but anyone with a brain could put two and two together. Now you take care and be on your way. Oh, I almost forgot. Old Gus, he wanted me to give you a warning. Apparently the station chief has a few of his relatives waiting for you once you clear the stations range. Be prepared.” He presses the button on his bench again (I think it’s some kind of anti-eavesdropping device), and I exit his office.

“All right Sarah, we’re off.”

“Uhh, what was that all about Keiren?”

“Some of it was a job request, the rest is something we can discuss once we’re mobile. If you agree to join up. Let’s be off”

“Okay…”

It’s good to be back home. Now that the work is completed, I should be able to have Mari active without worrying too much about scans. I point Sarah to one of the cabins so she can sort her stuff out while I prep the ship for launch. Pulling Mari’s core out of my storage belt, I place her back into the system, switch off the bypass and power up her systems. Hopefully I never have to ask her to shut down again.

………………..

System restored.

Initializing diagnostics.

All systems show functional.

ALERT

New parts detected. No errors processed. Ship schematics, specifications and loadout have been updated.

Holo projectors online.

“Mari, I know you have a lot you want to say to me right now, but hear me out first.”

“I’m listening Captain Carmelcruncher. This had better be good. With the exception of the upgrades you found, I am NOT impressed with you at the moment.”

“I hope you feel it is, my dear. First up, we have either a passenger or a new crew member. It has yet to be decided which, so please keep quiet, but keep watch on the situation. She is also a path bearer, which is why I want to add her to the crew. Once she has stowed her gear and we are in space I will be having a discussion with her. With a bit of luck, she’ll join up, which will improve our situation greatly. I would like you to take us away from the station. Slowly. I am expecting… company, once we are outside of the secure zone. You’ve noticed our new armaments, yes? Keep the lidar active, once the targets present themselves we will take them out with extreme prejudice.”

“What the hell did you do!?” She hissed at me as I headed up to the cockpit. “I told you to lay low and stay unnoticed! Fucking imbecile!”

“Please Mari, keep it down. I don’t want our guest to know about you yet. This is something that couldn’t be helped. It seems that the chief of this station is from a family of pirate slavers, and he wanted to get a piece of me. The commander of the security force is working against him, so around the station I was safe, but once we get out of their sphere of influence there will almost certainly be pests waiting.” I prime the engines and get ready for takeoff.

“Fine. You just wait until we are en-route though. I take it from our cargo that you were successful in picking up a few jobs to go to Eileris?”

I grin at her. “Indeed. I also picked up a few presents, but we can discuss all that later. Let’s launch.” I open up a channel to the station. “Vankh Station, this is the Proud Deity, in Bay 14. Ready to launch.”

“Understood Proud Deity. Please transmit 14000 credits for docking and bay repair fees.” I transfer the credits to the dock operator. That was more expensive than I expected. Really need to work on my landings. “Opening bay doors. Try not to damage the bay this time.” Gee, Thanks.

I open up the ship comms. “Sarah, please report to the cockpit. We are prepped and clear for launch.”

I can hear her climbing up here already, she must have been close. She takes the copilots seat and straps in. I fire up the thrusters and we are off.