Blending In
07 Mar 2024Ryuko Ntsikana
Blending In
Colonia Region
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I didn’t understand Aby’s cloak-and-dagger approach to the whole affair, but then again, I had no clue what he downloaded for reference. His history lesson was open information, and none of it made a difference to me. The pirates who ambushed the refugee ships when I was a kid were long dead. The only pirates that I cared about and had learned from were also dead. If I thought about it, there might be enough still alive that I could count on one hand, but that would be a waste of time in this vast galaxy.
All I thought about was the here and now. What would make me the most credits and how to advance my reputation with the minor-faction clientele. All the changed agreement did was loosen the leash -- but my benefactor would have already known that. I saw this as a test. It was nothing I hadn’t experienced before. He wanted to see if I was a reliable and smart earner.
During my passenger missions, I had scanned a large portion of the systems out in this sector and was already making a mental list of who could be a source of profit. There were a few pirate organizations out here. Most of them were small and suppressed, but there were a few large ones. They were organized, keeping their little fiefdoms safe, and providing reliable resource hunting grounds for upgrades.
Walking down the corridors of my Python, looking at all of the fancy cabins, droids, food, booze, and all of the little amenities, the idea of getting a second ship for additional business activities was not the worst idea. It would work out better to keep my business ventures separate. Fortunately, half of what I needed for such a prospect I brought with me, carted away in the cargo holds I stored at a station in a nearby system. The rest I would need to get engineered, and out here that would be far easier than what it would have been in the bubble. A smile crossed my face as I thought about the first-hand education Aby was going to get.
***
TolaGarf's Junkyard, Kojeara System.
Unlike the bubble, it was hard to mask the intent of purchases that had one clear purpose. The Vulture heavy fighter had a singular purpose in its design, and trading goods or hauling passengers was not among them. Aby flashed me a curious look but was learning to not stare, at least not in public.
After I purchased the ship, I paid a transfer fee for it to be delivered to a nearby system, with a planetary shipyard. I could tell that Aby was experiencing the Android equivalent of confusion, trying to process the variables to achieve statistical certainty for my actions.
There were only two items that I needed that I did not have crated in the cargo holds I had in storage at another facility. By the time this Vulture arrived at its new home, the cargo holds would be in place waiting for it inside of the hangar I had rented. The additional items were a single jump away in the Colonia system, for a modest ten percent markup from an orbiting fleet carrier vendor.
Aby remained uncharacteristically silent as the flight, purchase, and transfer fee for the additional modules took only thirty minutes. I could almost smell the burnt ozone of circuits short-circuiting as he contrasted and compared reality to all of the information he had downloaded on pirates and piracy. Aby was learning that all of the information he could stuff his processor full of was different than the facts.
I followed the ship ferrying the parts to the system that contained the planetary base, where everything would be put together. Entering orbit above the planet, I took a moment to send down probes and survey its entire expanse. It was smart to know where one could and should not go. Aby studied the information, turning to look at me with what I could honestly say was the first time I saw what could be interpreted as a surprise in his android eyes.
“Why did you choose a planet that would be defined as what you humans would define as hell?”
Amatsuboshi A 2 was a hellish world, orbiting close to the system’s main star, keeping its surface temperatures around 959 kelvin.
“It is simple. First, they have a planetary base with an adequate shipyard that can house my purchases. Second, you will note that the latest purchase was a heavy fighter, whose design is useful for only one task. At this time there are four of the minor factions at war, so a heavy fighter basing itself here would not be out of place. Third, if you look at who the system owners are, and then look at my face, you will see that I blend in well. I would be considered a local, at first glance. This has its own benefits if someone seeks me out within the station’s confines.”
Aby processed all of this information as I entered into a shallow descent toward the planetary port.
“Your actions did not match any of the historical records I had downloaded for review. The thought of blending in as part of an ethnic group to shield yourself was not a consideration I had anticipated.”
The Tenjin Pioneers had emerged from an Earthen Japanese community, who sought a new beginning out in the Colonia region when it was in its infancy. They grew to a decent-sized organization, maintaining several of the customs and traits from their heritage, more than 22 thousand light-years distant.
“Don’t worry, we are not aligning ourselves with them. This is a simple place to base operations out of.”
Aby nodded, looking out the cockpit window at the hostile barren terrain around the spaceport. “Camouflage never looked so inhospitable.”