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28 Feb 2024Ryuko Ntsikana
New Heading
Vitto Orbital, Metztli System
Colonia Region
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The outpost security department appeared as interested in Ethan and his story as the stars outside cared about what gas passed between them. The last time I had seen such a strong lack of interest was back in the bubble, catching grief for having to pay the bounty on a member of a clan they were on the payroll of. Whether that was the case here or not, I honestly couldn’t care.
There wasn’t much to this place, and finding Aby wasn’t difficult. From my perch, I could look down on him, meeting with the system’s local land agent and two persons who arrived on a fleet carrier from the bubble. I eyed them both, sizing them up. The one standing nearest to Aby was a towering broad hulk, towering above me at six feet tall. The other was a little shorter than myself and lean. Both were dressed in casual one-color Remlock suits. Nothing flashy, all business.
I couldn’t hear them above the din of the others around me, especially two of the more obnoxious types. It wasn’t difficult to locate them as my gaze lingered on two individuals who stood out like sore thumbs. A man and a woman, both dressed in clothes that screamed for attention, talking loudly in a poor example of the local pidgin slang while making exaggerated gestures.
I'd seen their types before. The pirate group I used to run with would have spaced the guy and sold the girl off to one of the station’s madams, to make as many credits off her as possible, until she was spent, then resell the husk off to a mining colony, or whoever was willing that we could squeeze the last credits from.
It was surprising how many of their types we had sold off that ended up as entertainment on fleet carriers, going off to fight the dreaded alien invaders, or to explore the deep black, or the hundreds making their way on scheduled trips between the Bubble, Colonia, and other distant stations and regions. Flesh was always in top demand, ever since the dawn of man.
I turned my attention back to the meeting, which was beginning to wrap up as everyone shook hands then the two strangers from the Bubble bowed slightly in what was easily recognizable as an Imperial gesture. Not a surprise really, since my benefactor was Imperial and it made sense that his designates out here would be similar. What was a surprise was their departure as Aby noticed me and walked over.
“Thought those two would be coming with us?”
“Not at this time. They have other business on a local planet that we scanned for your benefactor.”
I would rather be making a profit doing something other than standing here. In my current position, there was nothing at this station that I would find useful.
“Are the two obnoxious ones the reason for your desire to depart?”
“I was only reminiscing over the profit I was not making by standing here.”
Aby studied them for a moment. “He would not be worth much but the other could make a hundred thousand credits.”
My eyebrow rose at that unexpected comment as Aby looked at me with those deadpan eyes.
“I have been studying more relevant information to better understand the nuances of the life you once lived and to prevent misunderstandings.”
A sigh escaped. “You forget I was hunting the types that would have sold them before ending up out here. Besides, I don’t run in those circles anymore and that would invalidate the terms of my benefactor.”
Aby looked to the elevators that lead to the hangar deck. “We need to talk and here is not the place.”
Never expected Aby to deal in intrigue. Today was full of surprises.
Aby led the way back to the ship, not saying a word until we entered the ship, making our way to the bridge, where he stopped and turned to face me.
“You understand your selection was not by accident as is your presence in this region of space.”
This was annoying. “I had a clue. What’s with the intrigue and statement of the obvious?”
Aby motioned for me to take a seat. “Ryuko Ntsikana. You were orphaned during the pirate attacks against the refugee ships in the Amitrite system. You and the other survivors were taken to the Munshin system. There you recovered and found employment with a group that was rivals to those pirates, who were themselves pirates.”
That was the first time I heard Aby use my name. I stood up to pour myself a drink. If I wasn’t going to be making a profit, I at least wanted to relax while Aby droned on with his history lesson.
“You were with a crew when the Tjakiri and Njikas systems were cleaned out before they retired to the Kadu Mist system. You were part of the group that would later form the Blue Brotherhood … before they lost their way and became something opposite of what they stood for after their leader was killed in a mutiny.”
I took a sip of the smooth burning liquor, remembering when I heard the news while leading a wing to engage the escorts of a painite shipment.
I looked down my glass at Aby, taking another sip. “And so, what does all of that have to do with all of this?”
“Your actions at that time set you apart. You had what those who took power did not, morality.”
Great, now this android was a soothsayer. If these continued statements of the obvious were going to continue much longer, I would need to empty the bottle.
“Had your benefactor’s warnings been heeded, you would never have been orphaned.”
I almost choked at hearing that. “Wait, you are saying he was there?”
Aby nodded. “Not only there but inside the local group that provided the targeting information that was used during the raid.”
“But he is Imperial, or I thought that he was?”
Aby nodded again. “He was then as he is now, but he was a simple liaison, not part of any operational force.”
I wasn’t understanding the point Aby was trying to make.
“Ok, so he is Imperial. What does it matter? That still does not explain this history lesson.”
“Your benefactor has paid close attention to the reports of our progress. Your display of past morality has continued with your recent choice to rescue Ethan Bodey. This has led him to make certain revisions, based on your past and your present.”
I finished off the first glass and began pouring myself a second, waiting to hear what changes to my fate had been made.
“As you have demonstrated a positive historical trait, and as your past skills are of benefit, you are allowed to interdict and pirate whomever you so desire, as long as his missions take priority.”
Aby looked at me, waiting for a response as I sipped on my drink, a list already forming in my mind.