The Repeat Offender
02 Dec 2020Sheronimo
Five days we have been hauling cargo for the Empire. Lots of parts for capital ships, fabricators, furnaces, tools, assemblies, lots of stuff. Profit margin has been great, and, the parties on the station have been fun. Lots of different people here, all looking for a profit, and then celebrating half of it away in the cantina. Human nature, nothing new. After I recover from the most recent party, I decide it's time to check on things on board the carrier. Usual stuff taken care of, I then stop in to check with the Doctor on our youngest crew member. The Doctor reports he has been good, mood seems to have improved, and he appears to be settling in, but, very little information has been offered about his past. I decide it's time to at least ask. If his response is bad, I will leave it be for now, but, we are all curious, and if anyone is going to anger him, let it be me. I head down to Housekeeping, where he has been pitching in on regular chores around the ship. I walk in to the supervisors office, and ask how he is doing, and where I might find him. The Super responds with, "He is fine, works hard, no arguments or complaints. He is in the Mess Hall, assisting with the daily cleaning." That's good news, perhaps he will settle in and be a permanent member of our little family. I enter the Mess Hall, and I spot him sitting down in front of a desk, sorting utensils. "Hey John, How are you?" He responds with a small smile, and a thumbs up. "John, I have to ask you some questions. They may make you uncomfortable, can we meet later when your shift is done and talk?" He responds with a nod. "GOOD, that's great. I will see you in..... 1 hour, my office."I head to my office, only to be paged to report to the Bridge. SIGH, whatever, what is wrong now, food shipments delayed? Payroll messed up? I get my answer upon entering the Bridge. Three Clippers, hovering 10.2 km distant, hardpoints out, and not responding to hails. The Bridge is a din of voices, different officers informing other people of the situation, weapons turrets being armed, Deck Officer walks over to me. "They sent us one message, surrender the data." Surrender what data? This is the second time an Imperial Officer has asked for some data I apparently have. "Send them a reply, ask them to send a representative here to talk to us. Remind them that any hostile action on their part will be responded to in kind." Three Clippers would be quite a fight, depending on their pilots and equipment, but I cannot allow random people to just show up and threaten my crew. If word got out we were pushovers, who knows what kind of pirates we would deal with. "Sir, one of the ships responded with a request to dock, the other 2 are still sitting there" I tell him to allow them docking permission, and ask they bring the pilot to my office. What happened next, well, changed everything.
You have to understand the universe we live in to understand my response to the Clippers. Pirates, spies, mercenaries, and general bad people, teem through this universe. Most people are generally good, but, as a carrier owner, and a opportunist myself, I seldom see the good ones. As time goes on, you get a reputation in different systems. If that reputation is always rolling over, always losing your battles, then the wolves will find you, and end your suffering. You have to make sure, when you enter a system, as you enter a room, there is an air of confidence, strength, power, or, you will get no where. I always make sure, you threaten me, or my kind, I will respond with equal or greater strength. My response set a precedent with their leader, who came to talk. That leader is coming down the corridor now, towards my office. It's Duke Morgan.
He enters my office, but this time, he does not look friendly. No salute, no hello, just, "I need that data, NOW!" Oh boy, he is angry. "Duke, I told you, I don't know what you are talking about." With that response, he reaches towards his waist, as if he is going to pull a weapon. He never gets that far, as his hand is going towards his holster, Hero enters the room at a run, and grabs his hand, biting down hard, forcing the Duke to drop to his knees and scream out in pain. John enters the room, and calls to his dog with a whistle. The dog releases his hand, growls and backs away. I page the Doctor, and John offers the Duke a cleaning cloth for the wounds. The Duke sits down, frustrated and hurting. Before he says anything, John reaches down and removes Hero's collar, and hands it to me. "Commander Sher, he is looking for the data stored in the pocket of the collar. There is a storage key in there." The Duke's jaw drops in disbelief. He says, "Boy, have you looked at it?" John nods. Commander Sher, I sincerely apologize for my actions since we have met, but there is good reasons. First things first. I request sanctuary aboard your carrier. He removes his uniform coat, lays it on the chair, and begins to remove his rank insignia and weapons, placing them all on the floor. "I surrender."
Now, my jaw drops.........