Vetri's Ventings: The Mystery Popsicle
07 Feb 2016Phrae Vetri
Let's just pretend that little excursion into drugged-up lunacy never happened, shall we? Probably best for all concerned.So, here's a little puzzle for you to change the subject - what's a couple of meters long, about a meter across, has a frozen person inside, is valuable enough to kill for... and of absolutely no interest to anyone, honest?
That's what I'm trying to figure out, at any rate.
The insurance and bounty payouts definitely did the job, as did the medics, so I'm back in the skies again. I decided to break in the brand-new Gypsy Ranger with a nice 'n easy cargo run, and everything worked so well I nearly had to pinch myself to check I wasn't dreaming. Well, with the ship at least. Unloading and getting the new cargo aboard took about three times longer than normal, so there was plenty of time for me to browse the local bulletin boards for anything of interest.
What does this have to do with anything? Wait and see.
On the return run, I apparently attracted attention. The sort that wants your cargo, and your own continued survival is... well, optional. Now, in the Lil' Bus, I'd have had little choice but to run. Not this time. Not when I had the teeth to bite back.
Damn I love this ship.
So, something about the guy's ID bugged me, but I was more interested in replacing the cargo cans that got wrecked by the fight by scooping up the ones that were drifting free from his busted up remains. One of which happened to be... well, refer back to my little riddle earlier.
So, I get to my destination, dock, and have a chance to think over what had nagged me about my would-be pirate. It was browsing the boards again that did it - he was on there, listed as a "person of interest" in a kidnapping case.
It seemed I'd just managed to liberate the person he was meant to have made off with. So, like a good, mostly-responsible little citizen, I got in touch with the authorities to let them know.
This is where things got interesting.
There had been no such kidnapping, apparently. Everything I had seen on the boards was simply a work of journalistic fiction. On the other hand, since I'd proven such a fine, upstanding example of pilotness, I was given some credits for my time and a (metaphorical) pat on the head.
I was also told that, should I wish to dispose of my deep-frozen passenger, it was of no interest at all to the authorities how or where I did it. If I was not so inclined, then it would probably be best if I was to go explore the advantages of seeking out trading opportunities a long way from Synteini. A very long way away. And for as long as it took for me to jettison the cryopod in my hold.
All of this was merely a suggestion, of course. Most polite in its delivery, and quite clearly not any form of treat at all.
The under-the-table tip on a contact that could hook me up with a consignment of Vidavantian Lace made me almost tempted to take it as the 'suggestion' it was being presented as.
Almost.
So, time to think on my next steps. Not like it's every day I end up with a mysterious meat popsicle as a passenger, after all.