Settling a Grievance: Chapter 5
04 Jul 2016LordPsymon
Previous chapterSettling a Grievance: Chapter 5
Newjack? Who’s this guy think he is?
Slightly offended at the man’s comment, I decided it was best just to play along. I was on his turf after all, and who knew what that prosthetic arm was capable of?
“Name’s Simon… Simon Datura.”
“Rax.”
I raised my eyebrow in anticipation of a surname. “Rax…?”
He extended his prosthetic arm. I hesitated for a moment, then stood up and shook. “Just Rax, pup. Now, sit down.” He turned to Benito. “Hey Benny, get the kid a drink would you?”
Benny returned to the desk with a bottle of Old Sol, pouring the three of us a glass. Rax held up his prosthetic arm, clicking the metal digits against each other. “And yeah, I’ve got a new arm. Go ahead. Stare at it, get it out of the way.”
I gulped and nodded, unsure of what to do. He leaned forward. “Well?”
My mouth opened, hesitating once again. “Well, what?”
An amused look crossed his face. “Ain’t you gonna ask what happened?”
I looked at him sideways, raising my eyebrow and decided to take the bait. “Alright… What happened?”
Rax leaned back on his chair, taking another puff of his cigar. “Turns out I'm a better broker than exterminator. If you ever get tired of the piloting life and settle down on good ol' Eravate, don't buy anything with a basement. That's all I'm gonna say.”
Benito walked up with an empty glass in his hand. "You're making me look bad, Rax. I specifically told Simon here to not ask about the arm."
The cigar-smoking man on the other end of the desk looked up at Santiago and grinned. "Benny, all you gotta do to look bad is roll out of bed. Now grab that holo from that filing cabinet, will you? I think I've got a job for Mr. Datura here."
Benito returned, handing the holo to Rax as he took another puff of his cigar. He scanned it with his eyes for a moment.
“See that woman?” He asked as he passed the holo to me. On it was a greyscale photo of a middle-age woman with fair hair.
“Her name’s Rosa. She picked up my slack after my little accident. The bitch is raking it in over my old legacy while I’ve pretty much had to start from scratch.”
He took another puff of his cigar. “I would be grateful if you could steal some computer equipment off her. You do that, and I’ll see about helping you track down your buddy Reck.”
I leaned back on my chair, stroking my chin slowly trying to figure out Rax’s intentions. “Couldn’t you just buy some computer equipment legally?” I questioned.
Rax leaned forward over the desk. “Two things, pup. One, I ain’t exactly swimming in cash right now. Second, this gives us an opportunity to undermine her relationships with one of her clients. If you could obtain the equipment and make it look like one of her larger clients did it, it would cause a bit of tension between them - perhaps provoking Rosa to do something that soils her reputation.”
I leaned forward again, putting the holo down on the desk. “So you want me to make it look like someone else did it? Who exactly?”
“The Gang of Aphra seems to be fencing a lot of goods through Rosa.”
My eyes shot open, and I sat back further into my chair. A look of amusement took over Rax’s face.
“Heard of ‘em have ya?”
I swallowed, maintaining composure, thinking back to the slave camp. Unfortunately, yes I have heard of them.
I hesitated. “I’ve umm… Had an encounter with them in the past, yes.”
“Judging by your reaction, I’d say more than an encounter.” Rax stubbed out his cigar, letting it rest in an ashtray on his desk. “There won’t be any problems, will there?” He said sternly.
“No, there won’t be any problems, only that they know who I am. I won’t be able to just turn up and ask them nicely for a ship.” I said as I rapidly gulped the drink that Santiago had poured earlier.
Rax looked at me curiously. “You got a history huh? By the sounds of it, not an overly friendly history either. What’d you do to piss ‘em off, pup?”
“I stole their ship and used it to escape their captivity.” I said, sighing. “So yeah, I doubt they’ll let me do that again.”
Benny strolled back toward us, with a confident expression. “Well, lucky for you, amigo, I should be able to obtain one of their ships without too much hassle.”
Rax stood up, giving Benny a firm pat on the back. “Well there you go, pup. There’s that problem solved.”
“Okay, then how do you suppose I obtain these computer components?” I enquired.
Rax rested his hands on the desk, leaning over toward me. “Ever done piracy?”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Can’t say I ever have.”
He stood back up, putting his hands behind his back. “Well you ain’t going to complete this task by pulling the honeypot on Rosa. It’s fairly simple. Interdict one of Rosa’s chums, scan their cargo, then intimidate them into dropping it. Normally, whether or not you let them live afterward depends on the person. In this case however, you’re best to let them get away once they drop their payload.”
I sat back again and averted my eyes to the ground. Piracy… There’s a low I never thought I’d sink to. I looked back up at Rax, who was standing tall, looking at me expectantly. But then again, my motif is revenge so… I guess I can’t talk.
I stood up and held my hand out. “Alright. I’ll do it. Once Benny gets me a ship, I will get to work.”
Rax took my hand and shook it firmly. “Excellent. Bring the stuff back here in your own ship. Just one thing, though.”
“What is it?”
]“Benny here tells me you fly around in one of them Clippers. Don’t return here in that ship.”
“I have a Cobra in storage at Kremainn… May I ask as to why you’d prefer me not to fly the Clipper?”
“You fly around Eravate in that thing, you might as well be firing off flares. Even the most braindead of Imps know not to fly around here in a goddamn Imp ship.”
I thought over it for a moment. “Okay, point taken. I will return in my Cobra with your goods.”
Benito signalled me to follow him. “I’ll drop you off back on Wohler Terminal, then I’ll go get you a ship for the job.”
As Benny’s Type-6 left the atmosphere of Eravate 5, I looked out the window, watching the blue fade to black.
If I never have to see this damn planet again, it couldn’t come soon enough.