CMDR Eldrich Thames Logbook, entry #11, March 14, 3303
14 Mar 2017Eldrich Thames
It's been a while since my previous entry - eleven days to be precise. But after Gipsy Danger's shakedown me and my new crew haven't done much. Mostly boring trade runs in and around Kokojina. So I don't think that kind of thing is worth mentioning in a logbook.
But yesterday I was gently reminded about my Corvette being a Federal asset of interest - meaning I must take any jobs the Feds throw at me unless I want Gipsy Danger being confiscated. Aide Madilyn McCarthy, Ali Ring's administrator and my main contact within the United Kokojina Future, summoned me to her office to brief me about this new job.
Turns out it was a kinda illegal operation. UKF and other like-minded organizations in the sector, Federal and independent, have this so-called "Freedom Runs", where pilots hired by them go to agricultural starports controlled by Dictatorships or Anarchy groups and buy slaves - Imperial and unregulated - to smuggle them into stations where such wares are forbidden. They are sold into the black market and later bought by people working for the groups organizing the runs, for the sole purpose of liberating them afterwards.
These Freedom Runs are conducted periodically to avoid suspicion from the slavers, and are completely off-the-record so they can deny involvement if one of their hired pilots gets caught with slaves in their cargo holds. For all intents and purposes these are independent smuggling operations. Payment for participating is whatever you make selling the slaves in the designated black market.
I normally don't engage in illegal stuff trading. But this was for a good cause (as these people are forced into slavery for whatever reason by their sellers); the money's not bad either. But more importantly, I did it because I don't want to lose Gipsy Danger. Madilyn gave me a list of four spaceports where I was to sell the slaves. As for where to buy them, that was up to me. So I decided to go to De Sousa Ring in the Mantxe system, currently controlled by the United Mantxe League, the local Yuri Grom fan club. Turned out to be a good call, as that market was fully stocked with Imperial Slaves, so I bought them at a good price.
The designated selling ports for my part in this operation were Ali Ring itself, Roberts Enterprise in Ross 720, Evans Hub in Khronos, and Tanner Orbital in LTT 7138. Ali Ring was the hardest, being a Coriolis starport with lots of Fed cops swarming around. But with the help of my crew I managed to enter the docking bay at almost full speed, despite the warnings from traffic control and the "Speeding" warning in my cockpit.
The other three ports, on the other hand, are small, remote outposts, which have zero patrols. I could advertise my cargo with blinking neon signs and no one would bother to check. Piece of cake!
I returned to Ali Ring to a warm welcome by Madilyn, telling me their buyers had taken care of the rest without a hitch, and the slaves me and the other participating pilots brought would be transported to systems well beyond the reach of their captors for liberation and resettlement. She handed me a nice bonus on top of the roughly 450K Credits I made smuggling the slaves.
When I returned to Greedy Mamba to resume my normal schedule, Jules informed me of a message received while I was away. When I asked about the sender my XO shrugged.
"No name... But it's marked as urgent.", Jules replied.
Indeed, it had no name and its subject was simply "Very Important". Its sending coordinates were heavily encrypted. I opened it up.
"I've heard from this guy.", Jules said. "It's a name... or rather nickname... that came up quite frequently during my Black Paladin days. Supposedly one of the best starship engineers in the Galaxy, but only deals with those versed in the ways of the Underworld..."
"His message comes with the coordinates for a place in the Wyrd system. His workshop, I assume..."
"Wanna check out, Commander?"
"Prep the ship. We are leaving in ten minutes."
"Right away!"
CMDR Thames signing out!