01. Something comes to an end, something begins
04 Jun 2020Archived
Pilots Federation Detention CentreWolfsegen System
Landing Pad 04
“Mr Kerensky?” - he asked a gray-haired man who sat on a bench, with elbows on his knees and head lowered. He was the only person present in the bay - a pickup place specified in the passenger transfer contract.
The man slowly looked up. His face was bruised, beard long and unkept. Steel-gray eyes taxed the young commander for a few seconds, before he answered in a deep voice with thick, foreign accent.
“Yes. That would be me. Now let’s get of this hell hole, shall we?”
“Of course. Please follow me” - the young pilot turned towards the Sidewinder, which sported a popular yellow and black paint scheme. Kerensky followed him, examining the brand new flight suit, polished helmet held in left hand, and a holster with a laser pistol on the right thigh.
As they entered the miniscule cargo bay, he waited for his host to close the hatch behind them, then took a jump seat near one of the walls. The man turned towards him and flashed a smile:
“Your destination is just two jumps away, we will be there in no time. Just sit back and relax”.
Kerensky nodded once. He watched as the pilot entered combination on the pad next to the cockpit door - an old and barely used system in the age of retina scanning. As the door shut close behind the young man, he buckled up and leaned against the cold wall. Free at last.
Deep Space
Azoth System
The pilot turned back abruptly at the sound of banging at the cockpit door.
“Mister?” - Kerensky’s voice was muffled, but audible - “I don’t feel well.. Can you help me?”
He got up from his chair and pressed the button to exit the pit. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, an incredibly strong punch in the stomach took all his air away. After another one he lost control in his legs, and didn’t fall to his knees only thanks to a strong arm which held him in place. He felt his pistol being wrestled from the holster, just as his back hit the compartment wall. He heard the shot, and then there was only darkness….
Deep Space
Azoth System
20 minutes later
Vadim Kerensky sat in the pilot’s chair and watched the container slowly drift towards the sun. He didn’t feel any pity for the young fool that soon would turn into the space dust. Such were the universal laws of the galaxy. If you make stupid mistakes, you will not last long. That noob clearly wasn’t meant to become a good commander.
He sighed and looked around the small cockpit. After over two years in Pilots Federation detention centre it sure felt good to be flying again. He marvelled at the fiery vista of hot, flaming gases outside. Two years… there were some debts to collect and answers to be found. Some people who had to pay for what they did to him. But first things first. He needed to set the records straight in PF database - part of his sentence was temporary revoke of the license. He could either file a lengthy official process with the Federation, that would last months and require a lot of money for bribes, running costs and other expenses - money he didn’t have. Or there was always the other way...
If you spend time in jail, you meet people. You learn things you probably would not hear about otherwise. And that is how he first heard the name Liz Ryder. Engineer with net of different contacts that could help him out. He didn’t know how to reach her, but knew who would: an organisation called Eurybia Blue Mafia. Now the only thing was to find them.
He brought up the galaxy map and checked the distance: 86 light years. Even this sorry excuse for a vessel he was in should be able to get that far. Vadim promptly plotted the course… and then swore badly in Russian. There weren’t enough inhabited systems along the way to make it, and the Sidewinder did not have the fuel scoop installed.
He checked his account - and was not surprised by seeing mere 400 credits. He probably wouldn’t even be able to buy enough fuel to get to Eurybia. Which meant he had to find some quick jobs in one of the nearby systems before moving on.
Kerensky sighed and plotted new course: AY Indi...