20 OCT 3302: An Interesting Opportunity
20 Oct 2016Pitchzer0
"Incoming message."No. No. NO. I just laid down a few hours ago! The trip back from Martuuk's took longer than expected. After unloading the little cargo I had left at the docks, I was looking forward to a long bit of sleep before I had to leave out again. I even had the computer play soothing rain sounds from the forests of Sol to help me drift off to sleep.....
"Incoming message."
Ugh... dammit! I rolled over onto my back, swinging my legs off the side of the bed, and sat up. Fresh waves of aches and pains shot up my back, proof that hard labor does NOT do a body good. Wiping my eyes with my hands, I check the chrono on my arm, I see that I , infact, have only been sleeping for 45 minutes. Someone is going to pay for this.
"Incoming message."
"Alright, dammit. Computer: raise lights, end audio, and open comms." I don't know if the rain sounds were even helping. I haven't been planet
side with an atmosphere in so long, I forgot what rain sounds like.
"Ahh Rand! Dear me, you seem to have seen better days, my boy!" It was Hassan.
Shit.
Hassan and Hamaan Amir are twins. They won't tell you which was born first, it is just assumed that Hamaan was first, she is the more...legitimate of the two. The Amir family runs a mining/refinery business that also contracts with traders for shipping their ore. Hamaan works in the family trade, preferring her accounting ledgers and spreadsheets to social interaction. When the head of the Amir family was ready for his children to take control of his legacy, it was Hamaan who stepped up. Her brother, had other ideas.
Hassan learned at a young age how to make a profit. As he got older, he learned that if you can make a small profit legally, you can make an even bigger profit doing the same thing, illegally. He has hands in a lot of cookie jars: smuggling, black market deals, drugs, weapons, slaves, ships, pirating... You name it and Hassan already has it for you, or he can get it for the right price. Hassan preferred the nightlife and the underground scene to the suits and corporate life that his sister leads. I met Hassan shortly after I moved to Suri Gateway, and have done a job or two for him. He is one of the few individuals who knows my actual first name. That was my first mistake. Hassan likes to be informed about EVERYTHING. If it moves in his sphere of influence, he knows about it. I don't know what he has learned about me or my past but even a small insignificant detail like a first name can become fatal when dealing with someone like Hassan. After working for him, seeing how he operates, and the ruthlessness in which he deals with those who cross him, I learned to never let information slip again.
Everyone now only knows me by CMDR call sign, or Zero for short.
Generally, a late night call from Hassan usually involves hired muscle at your door and you ending up missing. A vid comms call wasn't his usual calling card, either that or he got soft while I was gone.
Consider my interest, piqued.
"Still alive. Barely, I might add. Especially after that bit of trouble you got me into at Gefland Landing, in Zarya Manas. I got a scar from that one. Wanna see it?"
OK maybe that wasn't the best opening to use in this situation...
Hassan flashed a big smile and a bit of laughter.
"Rand, I do enjoy our little chats! The other business partners I deal with lack the nerve to say such things to me. You on the other hand, always seem to inflect just enough snark that I genuinely enjoy it!"
Business partner? That definitely waived a red flag. I raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Besides my boy, we are good friends you and I! When have I ever sent you on a job that put you in danger?"
"Recua, Quivira, Cemiss, Vequesse. Who can forgot the infamous Soontil Relics scam in Ngurii?"
I really need to work on not being a smartass, one of these days someone is going to give me a tour of an airlock, from the outside. But I am tired. He woke me. Frak it.
"Nonsense! I knew you had those situations well in hand! You aren't like the rest of these spacenoids. A man with your skillset is in high demand. Consider me shocked that my good friend had returned from Colonia without telling me. I checked the station docking logs, but there was no mention of that fancy Clipper of yours. When you disappeared, why, I feared the worst! But here you are safe and sound, don't tell me that gorgeous piece of Gutamaya artwork is wreckage somewhere?"
Hassan is more well informed than I thought. I went to Colonia on a whim, I didn't log a flight plan or even notify the Pilot's Federation until I landed at Jaques. Will have to keep that in mind for later...
"The Ghost is fine. I put a lot of light years on her space frame, so I left her behind to get overhauled in a secure facility."
Not entirely true. She is not being overhauled, she IS under security though. Damn dockmaster.
"I see. What ship are you using now? The Asp? How about that Python I sold you awhile back. It was a steal at that price!"
"It was a steal all right..because it was stolen! Your boys stripped it down to nothing but a shell and a pilot chair! I had to rebuild most of it!"
Hassan had a smug look on his face.
"Is that why you just came back from Martuuk's place? I did notice your ship seems a bit more agile on the thrusters. Did you get an upgraded frame shift drive too? That's great. In fact, it was one of the reasons I contacted you so urgently."
Note to self, Hassan is VERY informed about what I do. Next pre-flight check, search for homing devices.
"Let's cut the poodoo and just get to the gorram point. I ain't got time for this."
I wanted to sleep dammit!
"See, that is what I like about you. CMDR Pitchzer0, no time for the fluff, a man of substance! I have an interesting opportunity for you. I have a priority shipment that needs to be in Butors in 24 hours. I need a pilot I can trust to get it there as quickly as possible, which makes your recent upgrades all the more, fortuitous."
"That sounds great and all, and I appreciate being the first person you contacted, but unfortunately I am all booked up. I was trying to sneak in a nap before I headed out on these next jobs. So if you will excuse me...."
"I saw your logbook and personally saw to the reassignment of those menial jobs to pilots of lesser skill. So, your schedule is in the clear." He smiled at the screen and steepled his fingers in front of his chest. Smug bastard.
But now I was PISSED.
"Look here you smug son of a bi..."
"Four million."
What the frak did he just say? I swear it sounded like four million. Confusion must have registered on my face, his smug grin grew even smuggier. He let it hang in the air for a bit longer.
"Four million. You get my cargo there on time, and upon receipt at the drop off point, I deposit four million credits into your account immediately."
I DID hear him correctly. My mind started racing. How the hell am I going to get the cargo loaded, and the ship prepped and ready to go to make a 24 hr deadline? HOLY FRAK FOUR GORRAM MILLION CREDITS!!!!!!!!
"Judging by the look on your face, I take it that you find my offer acceptable?" Smiling bastard knew he had me. I really need to work on a poker face. "Good, I have taken the liberty to fuel your ship, cargo is loaded, and all legal documents are awaiting your final check on your ship's computer."
My mind was still racing, but I quickly got control of myself. No one just drops four million creds for a long haul. There had to be a catch.
"What's the cargo? Do I have to worry about being scanned?"
"As I said before I do enjoy our chats. Your mind in like a steel trap, my boy. Most spacenoids would have been blinded by the credit amount. But you....you pay attention to the small details. It is all perfectly legal. Humanitarian Aid. Food stuffs. All documents signed and verified by the cargo inspector." There is that smug smile again.
"What's my launch window?"
"As soon as this comms is done, ladd! Time waits for no man, and credits are earned, not given! Fly safe, CMDR!" The comms ended with a black screen and a click.
I sat on the edge of the bed, trying to put all the pieces together. Hassan doing humanitarian aid? There has to be an angle I am not seeing. But Four million credits! I started pulling my boots back on. Four million creds can get The Ghost out of impound and would be a nice down payment on a T-9. Then I can head back to Colonia and leave this all behind me and start fresh. I grabbed my jacket, and ordered a quick meal and some coffee drink pouches to be delivered to the dock where I was berthed. I couldn't shake this uneasy feeling I had about the whole situation. I only hope I can see what Hassan's angle is before its too late.
I really hate surprises....