Benefaction - Prologue
02 Jul 2016Do
01.07.3302 - Lalande 4268, Lowry RingThe docks were busy. Ships carefully dancing among one another in lively traffic. It was serene to watch. Each gliding to and from their bays. Pilots showing what they could do when not fearing for their lives. It was something you couldn’t find in the dangerous beyond.
It was something that gave Andrew reason to enjoy being portside.
Standing in the observation tower of his assigned hangar, Andrew looked lonesome in the broad window frame. Having been here for hours, quiet and alone; he at least looked as though he belonged. Dressed in a dated Remlock flightsuit, the pilot seemed ready to depart at any moment. The truth was...he would be on Lowry Ring for a long time.
He was a pale fellow. Made paler by his profession as a spacefarer. Another symptom of his career were the bags under his eyes. Remnants from times when he spent days isolated to a ship’s cabin. His hair was light brown, and cropped rather short. A convenience. What facial hair he had was kept trimmed just the same.
While living from one sealed environment to the next...it paid to be neat and clean.
With the coming and going of each new ship; Andrew found his thoughts stirred. The agile ships made him think of combat; bounty hunters and dogfights. He didn’t watch them often. The freighters, heavy with cargo, made him think of pirate interdictions and market profits. Andrew’s eyes tended to linger on ships like these.
After all, they reminded him why he was here.
Pulling his hands from the rail on which he leaned, Andrew turned to sit himself upon it. Shedding his lonesome vagrant look, for one of suave professional. An act that he and most pilots had to master in their careers.
Rolling his wrist over, he turned a small screen to where he could see. Flickering on at his touch, the embedded datapad opened up to a nearly barren digital mailbox. Opened to the “Archive” tab. To all the messages he ever saved. All two of them. Opening the most recent of the pair…
[Subject: Thankyouthankyouthankyou]
Hey there CMDR
Thank you. I’m not always good with manners or words, but I never forget when I owe someone. and I owe you my life. I want to repay you someday. maybe with a drink? If you ever find yourself out in the Lalande cluster let me know. I have family in Lalande 4268. Family I get to see again because of you.
Romero Estavez
There grew a small curl in the corners of his mouth. Andrew had read and reread this same letter several times in the last few days. It was this message that brought him all the way to Lowry Ring. It had nurtured a hopeful idea the pilot had been harboring for...for far too long. The possibility of starting something new.
13:27:54
Andrew’s eyes flicked away from the displayed numbers. It was just about that time. The spacer reached down to gather up the duffle that contained everything he owned. Turning to leave the observation deck behind and head on to the man he met so long ago.
The interior of the station, the areas away from the open docks, were just the opposite. Tight, closed spaces. Skyscrapers built so close together that they might as well be cubicles. The only time these clustered structures broke apart was to make way for the few streets that circulated through them. It was on one of these such passages that the port had delivered Andrew.
Looking up to the glittering lights of the building windows. Watching the countless advertisements play in excited holograms. The pilot felt out of place. Exposed. Despite the constrictive nature of the urban scene, it was unpleasantly open for his taste. Years spent living in his ships and dock bunkhouses had made claustrophobia the norm. He wasted no time rushing to the first packed tram he could find.
Squeezed in with the station locals, he found himself meeting a new stranger’s glance every couple of seconds. Sticking out in his flight suit, how could he avoid their inquisitive peeking. It was fine, though. He used each new glare as a chance to practice his smile. On occasion, he even got a few in return. Kids, mostly. They seem to love neat suits like his.
It wasn’t easy to smile for them, but he still managed.
When he wasn’t doing his best to be personable, Andrew’s mind dwelt on the up coming reunion. It had been a long while since he first met Romero. The circumstances weren’t really that pleasant, either. Staring at the passing skyscraper lights, he became slightly mesmerized. The memories from long ago playing more vividly as a daydream.
It had been years ago. A distress signal pouring through his sensors. The wake trail he struggled to find...
The sudden josling of the train. A jarring shake, like dropping out of supercruise. It shook him back from his thoughts before he could become too lost. Looking around him, passengers were exiting in a flood. Thankfully, over their stampeding footsteps, he could hear the trolley’s AI announce his stop. Moving quickly to the doors, Andrew found himself placed before towering, residential structures. Bright with lights of occupation. Even a little rank with the stench of habitation. Oh boy, he had come to the slums. Clenching his duffle a bit tighter, he made his way to the address he had memorized.
It was a simple inquiry into the station directory to find Estavez’ address. Getting there had proved just as easy. Actually approaching the door, that was another story altogether. Instead Andrew lingered outside of the old trader’s apartment. Simply staring at the holo-address flickering [15J - Estavez, R]. Unable to knock now that he was actually here.
Giving out a sigh, ”Uhg. What am I doing.” Andrew took another moment to weigh his reservations. Reading the address information over and over. Just like the letter before it. ”I just show up at his door. No call or post. Just...here…” His hands came up to rub across his short hair. Trying to ease his nerves. ”What am I even doing here.”
Glancing up and down the cold, alloy halls that lead in either direction. Empty and silent enough for him to hear his every thought. ”If I take too long...he’ll probably just show up. Won’t have a choice but to explain myself then.” Looking back to the door, ”Hey! How are ya? Why am I here? A-huh...good question!”
Getting to the point where his even nerves grew anxious, Andrew hands were starting to shake. Even some paranoia setting in.
Certain he heard someone walking through the corridors. Not wanting to look like a loitering weirdo. *bang bang bang* Knocking the heavy, metal door with the butt of his fist. Taking out the fresh anxiety on the sturdy barricade.
It was done. The dice dropped...err, slammed. Now came the hardest part. Waiting to see Romero’s reaction to a long forgotten stranger lingering outside his home. His stress escaping in another deep sigh, ”Pheeeeeeew...don’t be awkward.”
The time it took for the door to be answered, well, it felt like jumping through Wytchspace. An almost instantaneous trip...that seems like it will never end. There was even the onset of panic that came with his first interstellar jump. The desire to just drop...escape. In this case, to run away.
Instead he just stood there shifting his weight nervously from one foot to the other. Going nowhere.
*ssssshhhhhhhhhkkk*
The pneumatic door gave out a swift hiss. Sliding open in an instant. The open entryway producing the silhouette of a man.
He was just as tall as Andrew, but far thinner. Then again, with his puffy flightsuit, Andrew would have looked fatter regardless. Still, the old fellow was lean. Thin limbs protruding from baggy, worn out clothes. He had tan, wrinkled skin. Hair that was salt and pepper, not completely white or black. Not completely there, either. The aged fellow was balding on top, even sporting some liver spots.
Romero Estavez, in all his venerable glory. Standing guard at his doorway. Eyes leering down the space jockey who lingered in his threshold. The old merchant had his head cocked to the side. Eyes squinting to find clarity in the bright lights of the hall. Taking their time to really examine the stranger. Andrew himself, staring back...frozen in place. Even sweating slightly, as he waited helplessly for something to happen.
With Andrew’s heart beating like a drum between his ears, he reached out his hand in greeting. ”Mr Estavez…” In that moment. The pilot’s voice spoke out to the old man, and echoed back from memories long ago. In his eyes there flickered a spark. On his face there grew a sudden grin…
”Hey there Commander!”