Confessions of a Freelancer Episode 2 (part 1)
15 Jul 2016CharlieSix
Msg sender: CMDR CharlieSixPriority: Black
Log Date: 15.7.3302
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Msg Decoded: Playing...
Wow, its cold in here! I can see my breath against the cockpit glass. The ice crystals forming on the windows. I can't help but wonder if it was all worth it, if there was some other way this could've played out? ...Nope... Too late to turn back now.
By now I've probably got you wondering, "What the hell is he talking about?"
So, let me tell you...
As you can imagine, after leaving General [REDACTED]'s compound. I was extremely pissed at the fact that I had been double crossed by the people who hired me. It was not so much the fact that they had done it... (Lord knows in my line of work it happens regularly). It was that they hadn't had the decency to pay me first. And worst still, they sent a moron to do it too. Now that's really offensive!
So yeah, to say “I was pissed,” doesn't quite cover it. It was more like I was SUPER fucking mad! Oh, coincidently this was also the reason I decided to let the General go…
"A CONTRACT, IS A CONTRACT." It’s rule number one.
When the idiots in the [REDACTED] Government of [REDACTED] decided that, they could hire me to do their dirty work, and then devised a scheme to not pay me… they broke their end of the deal. And that was the point.
Now, let me stop you here because I don't want anyone getting funny ideas. I didn't have a problem with completing the contract on the General, I've done it before... but I've got rules. And when [REDACTED] decided to do what they did. They broke the rules. And for this they must pay.
But to make them pay, I would need information. And when it comes to information, as far as I'm concerned, there’s only one real source in the galaxy...
After I left the [REDACTED] system I headed to [REDACTED] to see an old contact... "G'Reelo" (that's pronounced Gree-low or "Gree" to his friends). He's a slippery, maniacal, tricky, bastard… And one of the closest things I have to family. Which is pretty sad. Living at a remote facility on the outskirts of the system's fourth planet, he doesn't get much in the way of visitors.
I approached the planet, letting Phantom roll over so I could get a good look at the red soil below. My thoughts raced back to when I first met G'Reelo. I remembered how he gave his lectures... How he used to go on and on, about discipline, and duty… blah, blah, blah... Man I hated that shit! Probably no more than the others... but… Now I'm getting off topic.
So yeah…
I dropped out of orbit, just off the compounds outer range, and was immediately greeted by the chilly sound of the automated security system.
"THIS IS A SECURE FACILITY... AUTOMATED RESPONSE AUTHORIZED... STATE YOUR DESIGNATION COMMANDER..."
I opened a communication link with the system and said,
"Commander, Sierra, Dash, Zero-Charlie-Six..."
The system responded...
"DESIGNATION RECOGNIZED... WELCOME ZERO-CHARLIE-SIX... AUTODOCKING INITIATED..."
"Yeah…” I said, “…Fuck you too…"
From there landing was easy, the automated system engaged, (which is they only way you can dock at G'Reelo's facility), so I grabbed my pistol and headed out.
On the docking pad was "Kira", or was it "Kaya"? I can't remember… there are so many... G'Reelo likes to surround himself with beautiful, young women. This one couldn't have been older than twenty-eight, which was kinda old for G'Reelo.
Really, I should take this moment to revise my earlier statement... When I said, G'Reelo was; "The closest thing I have to family," I should have added the clarifier, "...For someone who has no family." G'Reelo was my... Well... Our... instructor. And by us, I mean Project Sierra. The corporately run, top secret, Federation program, which took kids from their homes and made them into what I am today.
Actually… Now that I think about it... It was originally authorized by President Halsey. Yes, THAT President Halsey… President Jasmina Halsey... The same one they recently released from the mental facility. It's one of her ugly little secrets…
Now, I'm not worried about telling you all of this, because I'm fairly certain the encryption software I'm running will redact this entire section later... But it sure feels good to get it off my chest.
Anyway, where was I... oh yeah, "Kaya"...
So, there I was. Standing on the docking pad with Kaya, my ship being pulled into the hangar, the wind blowing a light breeze through the air, and I could smell the scent of lavender coming from Kaya's hair.
She approached me and said,
"Welcome home Zero-Charlie-Six, What brings you in?"
"This," I said, "...Is not my home. Where's G'Reelo?"
"Master G'Reelo is in his antechamber, shall I take you to him?" she asked.
"Yes," I said, "Please do."
The two of us walked off the platform and into the facilities main visitor's chamber. It hadn't changed a bit since I had been there last. It was a circular, well lit room, with florescent lights in both the walls and ceiling. In the center of the room was a large, water fountain with big round stones at the bottom, and a few small fish. Off in the distance I heard the faint sounds of an orchestra playing a slow, sad, melody...
"Master G'Reelo will be out shortly," Kaya said. "He's very eager to see you."
'The feeling is not mutual," I said. "...Just tell him to hurry."
I waited there for what felt like an eternity. Then a door to the right slid open and out came G'Reelo in his wheelchair, accompany by Vara, who I guess you could argue was both like our keeper and something of a mother. She was flanked by two other women who looked to be in their mid to low twenties, the normal age for G'Reelo's entourage.
"Six!" he exclaimed, in that sly tone of his. "How good to see you! You have come to see your old headmaster? Maybe come to chat about the birds and the bees? No, that can’t be it... perhaps you've decided that you miss your old home? Yes, that's it! You've been longing for a warm bed and a good meal!"
With a finger he gestured to one of the girls and said,
"Be a good dear and bring Zero-Charlie-Six something to eat, will you..."
That's when I cut him off.
"Don't." I said, "I'm not hungry."
"Nonsense," he said, "You flew all this way here. You must be hungry. I insist... Really..."
I scanned the room, two more attendants had entered. But these were actually male. They bore some kind of tribal marking, but I couldn't make it out.
"Alright," I said. "If it'll make you satisfied... then let's eat."
"Splendid! Just splendid!" G'Reelo exclaimed. "Mara, Tysha, prepare the dining room..."
"...We have a guest tonight..."