The value of a Life: Part 1
04 Jun 2017Cartlidge1000
“So I just let the docking computer take control?” Ten asked through the comms, just as the familiar die shape of our home station came into view.“Yes. Just request to dock, then throttle to zero,” I typed in reply. With almost no experience flying a ship, it was more than stressful to watch as she struggled to leave Citi Gateway. Thankfully the docking computer I installed in the Merchant would prevent a second incident.
I quickly followed with the Paladin, docked, and retreated to my cabin to change out of my flightsuit. Nick said something about a surprise in his message, and we had kept him waiting for a little longer than I had expected. A part of me dreaded the idea of a surprise, especially since he had been hired to kill Ten and me originally. Pulling on my favorite jacket, I brought my hand to my face and thought. Would that make him a triple agent? Or just… an agent?
Letting out a long breath, I dismissed the pointless question and finished gathering my gear. Nick had asked us to meet on pad 10, near where Ten had landed. As I walked, I couldn’t help but wonder why he had chosen that particular pad, since it catered to much larger ships than his eagle.
“Let’s see. Persing’s an Imperial, so maybe he stole a clipper or something?” I asked myself. Naturally Ten reached the pad before me, and I found the pair waiting somewhat patiently for me at the entrance to the hangar bay. Ten was still wearing her white flight suit, and had her hair up in a knot, rather than its usual mess. Nick, however, wore a more casual outfit of blue and grey.
“Took you long enough,” Nick quipped with a wide grin running across his face. His excitement over the surprise was more than obvious.
“You know perfectly well how long it takes to get out of those flight suits. What is it you wanna show us?” I asked.
Nick’s smile only grew wider as he silently turned and pressed a few keys to open the door. Inside the hangar bay was a gorgeous sapphire blue Anaconda, sitting only a few dozen meters away from us.
“I stole it from one of Persing’s thugs on the way out, along with the data we need,” Nick explained, as if he knew what I was about to ask next. “Wanna see the ship up close?”
I could feel myself nod, and before I knew it we were walking towards the ship’s access ramp.
“Yeah, Persing didn’t let me take it easily, so I had t’do a lotta repairin’ and refittin’ t’get her space worthy again. She’s tough though. This beast’s got more armor than you’ll know what t’do with, not to mention her shield strength. She ain’t ‘A’ rated yet, though, so there’s a lotta room to improve”
“I’ve already got plenty of credits, the question is where do I start?” I replied, my mind already racing with possibilities.
“Yeah, see, about that… I didn’t have enough credits on my own t’fix the ship.”
I stopped walking and felt a chill run down my spine as Nick spoke. “What do you mean, ‘you didn’t have enough credits?’”
“Well, a lotta the modules were ruined in my fight with Persing, and they were all under his name so insurance wouldn’t cover the costs, so I had t’get them replaced. Naturally that took a lotta money, so I had to borrow some from your account.”
“How much did you spend?” I hissed. A knot was starting to form in my stomach.
“Only the bare minimum,” the assassin replied with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
“Approximately 120 million credits,” Ten announced, staring apathetically at her datapad.
“Nick!” I nearly shouted as I took hold of the man’s shirt. “Are you insane? How much my money is left?”
“Hey, wait, just hear me out! You were plannin’ on buyin’ a ‘conda anyways, so I saved you some serious money and time by refittin’ this one.”
“120 million?! I probably could’ve bought an Anaconda for that price!”