The Sentinel Fulcrum, 2: Contrasts
29 Oct 2021Meowers
Yep, let's proceed with the contract. So, this encrypted pile of files, that will probably... Yeah, just probably give me some whereabouts of my target, as it looks like he's trying to hide, not very succesful though, hah.. Those files got processed in a... Damn, can't say exactly. But it was long enough for... Okay. I woke up in my pilot seat with fabric marks all over my cheek and an empty cup dropped on the floor. Hah. Happens when your sleep pattern is so messed up that you sleep 3 hrs a day. Pilot rendered inoperable right in the seat. Sleep accident!
Ah, those Imperial noble folks. Have to give them credit. They really know how to come up with names that weird so any spying on them becomes a challenge. Maximillian Philippe Joubert-Cartier! Uh. Well, spying on Feds is none less difficult as you have to point out one certain Joe Fartsmith out of thousands living on the same station... At least they have those digital IDs because Hudson likes to mark his slaves. Anyway, I'm publishing these records because intel also says that he's trying to stay away of GalNet, keeping a low profile. And all that datapads tend to monitor your location and search history to fill up the messagebox not just with random useless crap, but with precisely-targeted useless crap.
I had to concentrate on my contract nevertheless. So, I jumped a bit away from crowded space to set Marshmallow adrift in a low-populated independent system, and opened the intel files again, bringing them on the HUD main screen. And... Well, that abandoned ship coordinates, some photos made from quite far away... Can't recognise the type of this vessel, and its lights were off, but it was big. Anaconda maybe? Wasn't looking like Imperial Cutter and I doubt that Imperial nobles use Fed Corvettes.. Or brutal space bricks like T-9 or T-10.
Anyway, that Herthans Labour guy suggested to start with shooting and then proceed to searching. Attacking that guy in the first place looked logical enough, as his bodyguards won't be interfering with that 'retrieving of something' part of the contract. And retrieving... No data on that subject. Except a little 'you'll know when you see it'. And a note that it could be carried by one person without any difficulties. Uh... Hell suspicious anyway...Is that a relic of sorts? Something valuable enough to justify that monstrous payout? Ah. Another reason to take care of that Imperial first... I don't know how long the search will take.
More info on the ship, however. Last known coordinates, path and probable destination point, cargo...Uh. No exact cargo manifest, but hey. Our Imperial friend, that high and noble person was...uh. Hitting the rock bottom? Like, intentionally? Hah...He rides a...T-7 freighter! As a hired pilot! It wasn't even his own ship...And some video footage of tha...Aaah. Damn. What a mess. That's...you know. That's really the lowest low. The ship is a flying dumpster. Looked like..it wasn't washed since it left the shipyard. And its ID...check. Even the name is partially visible. Any by 'partially' I mean the paint is scratched like hell. 'Ru..ing Pelican' with some symbols completely unrecognisable... At least something.
Rusting? Rumping? Oh...
Also a video footage of that guy, working with cargo-loading machinery. Was too blurred, though, can't see the face, but at least he looks completely not like his companion. He looked... quite usual. And the second guy looked like a giant hamburger. And that dingy dock, oh. Even the Bluford, quite a standard station, was looking super neat and clean compared to that grey, dull and bleak place... Totally different. Reminded me about how contrasty this life may be.
So, they were heading from somewhere...around the Cephei sector, to..Pollux? Something like that, or somewhere close to Pollux. And..yup. Marshmallow is a combat spacecraft, she can't jump too fast, make too much consecutive jumps, and all that... But that rusty T-7 makes things much easier. It's, like, really slow. I guess I could even intercept them... Anyway, I was already on their trail soon, scanning one jumping beacon after another along their way. Jump range of that freighter was poor, so, they had little choice of possible directions, and also their cargo bay was full, according to video feed and scrapes of that cargo manifest.
One jump after another...
Ready or not, here I come.