Salvage Rights and Benefits
10 Oct 2017Jellicoe
"Alright Jell, fancy a Cutter?" The grinning face of Charlie Riggs asked in his chirpy Cockney accent, 'Riggsy' as he was universally known was one of the senior mechanics at Jameson Memorial station in Shinrata Dezhra and, as Jellicoe had always considered it wise to be on good terms with the people who kept your ship running the two had become good friends, this apparent offer though caught him entirely off guard."A Cutter?" Jellicoe answered mystified.
"Yeah you know, big ship, Imps love them, looks like a dildo." Riggsy replied cheerily. "Do you want one?"
"Somehow I doubt Her Imperial Majesty will see fit to favour me with a ducal coronet." Jellicoe answered chuckling.
"You don't want to be worrying about that." Riggsy said. "Serious offer, do you want one?"
"How exactly are you going to get me a Cutter?" Jellicoe asked, still laughing but rapidly becoming interested.
"Private enterprise at its best my son. Do you know how many Cutters they lost in the Pegasi during the war?"
"A lot I'd imagine." Jellicoe answered.
"Fuck ton." Riggsy supplied the detail. "A load of them's been patched up by Delaine's boys, 'avin a Cutter's become a big status symbol for senior Kumo's, real must have accessory."
"So how does this help me get one?"
"Who do you think they get to patch 'em up? Me 'n' the boys are the best mechs in the bubble and trust me, big shot pirates like the best, so we fix 'em up, off the books like, the Kumo gets 'is ship we make a few creds, every one's a winner.£
"So where do I fit in?" Jellicoe prompted.
"Trouble with doing business with Pegasi big shots." Riggsy continued. " is you never know when they're going to vanish, so this geezer pisses off some pirate queen down there and next thing I knows he aint returning his calls an' I've got a red hot space dildo sat on the pad."
"Inconvenient."
"Anyways I think, my old mate Jell's a gent of taste and discernment who'd appreciate a ship like that so whadya say?"
"And when this chaps crew come looking for their missing ship?"
"Mate it's the fucking Pegasi, they don't keep fucking receipts."
"Alright." Jellicoe replied stifling a smirk. "So captured ex military stock, presumably taken some damage, what kind of nick's it in?"
"Good as new mate, completely replaced the plating and most of the internals, everything else 'as 'ad a full going over. Trust me Jell these people don't pay what I charge for second best you could put this ship in the front row of the Achenar tattoo."
"So I'd be buying a ship registered to the Imperial Navy, logged as lost in action?" Jellicoe asked thinking. "I don't spend much time in the Empire but as soon as I get scanned what's going to stop me lighting up like Blackpool Illuminations?"
"All sorted, we've re-jigged the transponder so you'll show up as a duke from one of their outlying systems. I wouldn't go trying to gatecrash one of Her Maj's garden party's but unless they really go digging you'll be fine."
"Alright I'm interested. Let's talk price."
"Good man." Riggsy replied happily. "So what we've got here is a top of the line engineering masterpiece fully customised by the best mechanics in the galaxy, living quarters even the Smurf princess'd be happy with, but cos you're a good mate and I wants a quick sale let's say cost plus 5%."
"Don't take the piss Riggsy." Jellicoe chuckled at the outrageous suggestion.
"Okay." The mechanic said holding his hands up. "Cos it's you I'll do it for cost price, can't say fairer than that."
Jellicoe was still chuckling, he couldn't help but admire the mans sheer brass neck. "You have a stolen ship that you need to get rid of quick, that rather gives me the whip hand wouldn't you say? Cost minus 20%."
"Come on Jell this is our retirement fund mate, you seen what a mechanics pension is these days? This is a once in a lifetime chance I'm offering yo ugeezer."
"To buy a stolen ship that's been restored from a wreck with zero warranty? Cost minus 10%, and you throw in free servicing."
The Gutumaya Imperial Cutter was truly a thing of beauty, sleek and stylish her every curve and line an expression of Imperial aesthetics, true she lacked the raw power of the Corvette, but this was much more than just a warship, this was a platform for grand diplomatic soirées, schmoozing local grandees and the projection of soft power in a way the functional brutality of the Corvette could never hope to match. If the outside was impressive the interior was magnificent, truly a spacefaring palace to project Imperial power and majesty to the whole galaxy.
"What name d'you want on it?" Riggsy asked as they stood at the foot of the grand entry ramp. Jellicoe thought briefly, a name coming to mind that was a play on the rank usually required to own such a vessel but also a homage to the waterborne ship of an ancient namesake.
"The name of the ship is Iron Duke."