Chicklings
21 Apr 2024Xochitl Khae
Chicklings
Colonia Region
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Ryuko's personal conference room, although attached to his onboard suite, served as a distinct space where he began his first day as a contractor. Tara sat at the end of the conference table while Ryuko remained standing, with Aby and Zaria positioned near the entrance door. The first three of his pupils stood at the opposite end of the table, prompting Ryuko to shake his head in disbelief. "Seriously… this is the best this ship has to offer?"
Zaria merely smiled as Aby stepped forward, positioning himself behind the candidates.
"Based on my observations of your… 'unique' is certainly one way to describe your style… these candidates should suffice, though I understand your concern. Each could benefit from a bit more… let's say, a little less pristine," Aby suggested.
Tara chuckled. "Took you that long to notice?"
Ryuko smirked and glanced over his shoulder at her.
"Alright, each of you, tell me what you think pirating is. If I hear anything resembling a holo-vid script, you'll spend the evening polishing every limpet collector I can mount on my ship."
"What about the cute one?" Tara quipped, nodding at the short-haired blonde with blue eyes.
Lianna Wise shrugged. "I come from a family of spacefarers and have piloted transports most of my life. Every pirate I've encountered has started shooting before I could comply. I've been in more escape pods than I'd like to admit. Figured it was time to switch sides and give a little back."
Ryuko nodded in approval. "They were the foolish ones. Payback is in order." He pointed at the next person in line. "And you?"
Jabir al-Habib, his suit barely concealing the scars on his arms, shrugged. "I've been a refugee most of my life, learning first to survive, then to fight, and finally to fly. I've spent most of my time dodging patrols while running supplies and survivors. My encounters have mostly been with bandits and raiders."
Ryuko nodded again, acknowledging the response. "So, you've been up against second and third-string opponents."
Turning to the third individual, Ryuko inquired, "And how about you?"
Scyle Kostya's eyes blazed with a fierce intensity as he met Ryuko's gaze. "I've sent my share to the aftervoid. I'd happily see more follow their lead," he growled as Zaria stepped forward.
"His parents were rescued. He grew up among a local nomadic tribe that protected him from the pirates who had captured his family. They sustained themselves by raiding the facilities run by the same pirates and those they employed. His family is now safe and secure. Instead of rejoining them, Scyle chose to train with us. He's an excellent horseman, a capable soldier, and a natural light fighter pilot."
"That's promising," Ryuko acknowledged, fixing his gaze on the young man. "I need discipline out there, not a loose cannon. Follow orders without question, and you'll benefit from what I have to teach. Disobey me even once, and I'll leave you behind, no matter where we are. Can you commit to that?"
"Easy enough," Scyle replied, a grin on his face.
"Good," Ryuko affirmed. "Then it's time for some on-the-job training. We launch in 30 minutes. Meet me onboard my Krait."
As the trio began to file out, Tara stood, looking at Zaria, "Scyle may be intense due to his past, but he's reliable. The other two might need more guidance, but once Scyle warms up, he'll be an excellent assistant."
"We'll see," Tara remarked, a touch of frost in her tone.
***
Ryuko led his recruits to the bar on the fleet carrier, his presence immediately drawing the bartender’s attention. “What’ll it be?” she asked as Ryuko leaned confidently against the bar, a smirk playing across his face.
“I hear your employer’s looking for a solution to their power regulator issues. I understand you're the one to talk to,” Ryuko said, maintaining his casual demeanor.
The bartender, Felicity, finished drying off a glass and placed it on the counter. “Name’s Felicity, and yes, I’m handling that for him. You selling or buying?”
“Selling, and I can meet his needs, provided the price advertised hasn’t changed—or better yet, improved,” Ryuko replied, tapping the glass as Felicity reached for a bottle on the shelf.
Felicity nodded and poured an amber liquid into the glass. Ryuko swirled it in his hand, taking a sip and savoring the smooth burn. “How about eleven? He advertised for ten, but one extra can’t hurt.”
She poured herself a small glass, clinked it against Ryuko’s, and knocked it back in one go. “Payment on delivery. A docking droid will be at your ship for the handoff. Anything else?”
Ryuko finished his drink and set the glass down with a satisfied sigh. “That’s all for now, but keep me in mind if you need anything else.”
Felicity nodded as Ryuko pushed away from the bar and headed back toward the service elevators that led to his hangar.
“What just happened?” Lianna asked, bewildered, as they entered the lift.
Ryuko, still smiling, keyed in a command on his wrist device before responding. “Like a predator needs prey, a pirate needs profit. Always monitor data links for current buyers, especially those offering the best prices for engineering goods or data—anything needed for engineering mods. You can scan incoming ships from a safe distance, build a database, and do your homework on where they’re coming from. If they’re close to your boss’s supply routes, strike first, make a profit, and protect your interests.”
Jabir, intrigued, asked as the lift doors opened onto the hangar level, “What kind of profit are we talking about?”
“Watch and learn,” Ryuko said, leading them towards his Krait where Aby was already overseeing the loading of eleven power regulators by a carrier android.
As the loading system retracted, Aby gave a subtle nod to the group. Ryuko’s wrist controller beeped, and he flashed the display to the recruits.
Lianna gasped as Jabir whistled in astonishment. “59 million credits!”
The trio's boots clicked on the hangar decking, as Ryuko led them to the ship. “The pirates themselves, will not come to this, but one of their members, in a lesser noticeable ship. Their faction identifier will still be the same, on a cursory scan, which is just as good."
"Looks like a duck with its little chicklings," Tara sniped in a taunting tone as Ryuko shook his head, boarding the ship and making his way to the bridge.
As everyone began strapping themselves in for departure, Jabir leaned forward in his seat, looking at Aby, Tara, and Ryuko. "With all of the wars that frequent this system, where do you find the time to raid enough of their settlements to obtain enough to make that kind of profit?"
"As you have correctly observed this system is in an almost near continual state of war. To use a human idiom, 'there is more than one way to skin a cat,' whatever a cat might be. As such they rarely raid the settlements," Aby stated flatly.
"Then how then," Lilianna asked.
"We search planetary bodies for signal sources, then descend on those that look the most promising," Tara said as Scyles made a grunting noise from his seat behind her.
Tara chuckled. "I take that as a vote of your approval? Good, then you will land with Ryuko on our next drop."