A proposition...
11 Mar 2016Sinaarrgghh
The smell of metal and oil filled my nostrils in the yard. It was a nice smell, familiar and comforting. The feeling of being about to remember something was strong here. I tried not to force it. We walked between precarious looking racks of shelving covered in parts, gleaming and clean, neatly labelled. It was an impressive sight and I could see where Andrews had gotten his love of order from.The space the cheif called home was behind a maze of shelves in quite large clearing. There were several desks, covered with tools, parts, diagrams as well as dirty cups and plates. It was a clever space, surrounded on all sides by shelves, from here you could clearly see anyone entering the yard yet they'd need to duck and know where to look through the bewildering array of stuff to see you. There were two openings, the one we'd walked through and the bigger one to the back looking to the ship hoists and beyond into the station. There was an adder hanging in the nearest hoist. As ever it looked massive from the ground, especially when hanging nose down like it was about to plough through the deck.
The cheifs desk was large and even more covered than the rest. He picked up a cup and went to a shelf nearby, behind what looked to me like a hatch plate from an eagle there were more cups and a thick brown coffee brewing in an old fashioned machine. As he poured, slowly, the mixture into two cups the smell of the coffee cut through everything else. He handed me the worrying brew, it lurked in the cup, bubbling gently. It tasted like battery acid but probably more dangerous. Given the rubbish I'd been drinking for what felt like days I didn't think I was going to hurt anything that was left and took a mouthful.
The cheif chuckled as I choked and made his way to a chair.
"When you've finished being a drama queen have a seat. I've got the list of ships for sale somewhere here."
He rummaged on his desk rejecting data tablets that all looked the same to me until he found the one he was happy with. He started to tap through looking for the asp.
"we've got quite a few in storage at the minute. Had a load of ships moving through recently, not sure why."
To anyone else it would have been pilots or commanders but it was clear they weren't the important part to the cheif, Andrews was the same.
"Ah here she is 'Cookie Monster' have a look at that"
I took the tablet and looked.
"Stupid bloody name for a ship but she looks tidy."
"I know, but then the commander called himself Grobblestonk so it could have been worse. Named after an explorer from Sol, theres a tablet in the cockpit all about him. I'll get her pulled from storage if you like."
I nodded and carried on looking at the details, she wasn't brand new but not old. Had done some exploring and had a few fights but the cheifs notes reckoned her 9+ out of 10.
The cheif made his call and leaned forward almost eagerly.
"So whats your budget for loadout?"
I smiled, the game was afoot.
"That depends what you want for her really."
"5 Mill."
That wiped the smile off my face. A new one was only 6!
"Are you serious? I can go get a new one from one of the discounters for 5.1, theres one only about 40 light years away!"
"Akkadia?" He laughed. "You'd be welcome to it. I've seen their 'new' ships. New ship smell from a can and dodgy wiring behing every panel."
This went on for a few minutes while we sipped at our coffee, eyeing each other like poker players looking for weakness, until the notification that the Cookie Monster was freed from storage.
"Right come and see what you are buying for you you money!"
He strode away from his desk. I followed on keen to see the ship. The cheif wasn't budging far on the price but was adamant that she was worth it.
As we approached she loomed, gleaming, sharp and angluar. We were behind and the engines dominated our view. The little tail wings that I'd always thought the only odd element suddenly pretty and perfect.
Inside she was pristine. I sat in the cockpit looking through the huge canopy, the ship almost invisible behind me. It was no wonder so many people used it for exploring. It was eating most of my budget but I had been intending to fit her as a trader to start with anyway. After a few minutes of poking around and totally failing to find a flaw I shook the cheifs hand and we left the ship to go deal with the admin.
We got back to the hidey hole to find Zara sitting waiting. She took one look at my face and grinned.
"Another willing victim?"
The cheif and I both nodded as we took our seats. I chatted with Zara while he prepared the documents I needed to verify.
"Shame I was going to see if I could give you a demo flight in her."
This suprised me.
"You're a commander?"
"Yes, done the basics but haven't flown much out range of the station. Saving up for a Viper."
"Nice, I guess you have something pretty in storage?"
"We might know where there's one that has been tweaked a little."
"You do right saving to get one in decent spec, I'm pretty much cleared out after fitting this up. Going to have to do some trading runs in basic spec for a while."
She went quiet as we signed, looking thoughtful.
"Right, this calls for a bite to eat and possibly a drink." Announced the cheif, it sounded like a good idea to me.
"You got a bargain, you're buying."
I should have seen it coming but I was happy enough to oblige, I know I'd had a good deal even if I'd been hoping to spend a fair bit less.
As we made our way to somewhere the cheif had suggested Zara moved closer to me and out of his earshot.
"I've got a little proposition for you..."