Yuletide Special
23 Jan 2018Tuts
*** Mahene, Levchenko Settlement (shipyard), Stardate 12.22.3303 ***"Here she is, guvnuh", announced the simpering used ship salesman. Quite unnecessarily - the Federal Assault Ship was over 70 metres long and hard to miss. From this angle, it looked surprisingly similar to a giant bottom-feeding carp I saw once, in an aquarium exhibiting unaltered lifeforms from old Sol.
I nodded without making eye contact. The man's pathetically contrived accent was probably his gimmick to be memorable to customers; it was working splendidly because we were only 5 minutes in and he was already on my last nerve. Oblivious to my irritation, he continued. "Core Dynamics is havin' a holiday sale. This one's the last on me lot, an' we already sold off the last of the 'ought three gunships! Twenny percent off. That's better than the toffs on Shinrotter Dezary are gettin' !!" He followed up on his little bon mot with braying laughter.
My right hand clenched - my subconscious yearning to destroy his witticisms with multicannons. Instead I turned and expressed my intention to pay all credits up front, today, but I would require a hard copy of the ship's prior ownership history as well as any outstanding fines or bounties attached to the previous owner's records, would you kindly. He scurried off, leaving me to my inspection in peace.
The little toady was correct about the price - 20% off WAS a good deal - but it wasn't Yuletide generosity. Everybody knew the Thargoids were turning nasty. Every spacer's bar was full of hunched pilots muttering darkly about the station attacks in the Pleiades, or the capital ships they saw limping back to port with bizarre, corroded battle damage. Nope, the Feds were ramping up their ship production for the galactic war to come. It was the best opportunity to buy myself a gunboat.
I'd already decided the gunship, even discounted, was too much for my wallet anyway. The dropship, on the other hand, was a bit too jack-of-all-trades for my purposes. But the FAS - she was just right. Equal to the dropship in shielding and armor, but also fastest of all 3 variants, with the best jump range, and four hardpoints (two medium & two large). Properly fitted she was going to approach Lateralus in cost & insurance, but I needed something that could absorb punishment as well as dishing it.