Episode 124, Legacy
08 Nov 2024Ryuko Ntsikana
Clair Dock
Tjakiri System
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Captain Akio knew something was afoot when, multiple times each standard day, a steady stream of transport ships arrived, each offloading modules purchased from distant stations. By the third day, a particularly notable delivery came through fifty-one tons of androids, accompanied by detailed instructions. Akio could only shrug, activating the communications system as he reviewed the cryptic orders. Knowing Ryuko, asking for specifics would have to wait until he returned.
Meredith had long since learned never to ask questions he didn’t want answered. The summons to return to the carrier had been puzzling enough; then a team of androids boarded his ship with instructions to complete one final passenger transport from Clair Dock. They were to disembark the androids there, load up their usual business passengers, transport them to their destination, and then return swiftly to the carrier.
Ceri entered the bridge, her expression mirroring her confusion as she settled into her seat, pulling up the ship’s security feed and staring at it, seemingly in disbelief. Meredith glanced her way from the corner of his eye as he lifted off from the carrier, setting a course for the Tjakiri system.
“Since when are androids, first-class business passengers?”
Meredith smirked, shrugging. “In my experience, sanity’s best preserved by not asking.”
Ceri raised an eyebrow, her gaze still glued to the feed. “None of them are armed, armored, or contain anything… explosive?”
“Nope.” Meredith’s voice was casual as the ship entered hyperspace. “Every last one scanned clean.”
She shook her head, still trying to piece it together. “So, we drop them at Clair Dock, pick up our usual fares, take them to their destination, then hightail it back to the carrier?”
“Telling you, it’ll drive you mad trying to figure it out,” Meredith said with a chuckle. “Better to let it go.”
But Ceri’s brow furrowed, her tone thoughtful. “They’re here to cause a stir, and your ship, with us front and center, will be all over Clair’s security feed.”
Meredith nodded, his smile wry. “Yeah, I’m betting on that too. But here’s the thing—if you’ve noticed, most of our ‘clients’ have been refugees from one side…and not the side our side is backing.”
“If the war’s all but won, then why stir up trouble now, at the end?” Ceri shook her head, still puzzled. “Why not do this at the beginning when it’d have made sense? I’m telling you, something’s off.”
The ship slipped out of hyperspace, and Meredith adjusted their heading, aligning with the approach corridor to Clair Dock. “You’re already giving yourself grey hairs over it.” He cast her a sidelong glance. “Probably best not to think too hard.”
Ceri sighed, still frowning at the security feed. “Fine, but if we end up with a mess on our hands…”
Meredith chuckled. “Think that is what they are for.”
The transfer went smoothly as the over paying refugees, seeking to flee the system, didn’t pay attention to anything getting off the ship as long as they got on it.
The androids set about their task with calculated efficiency, each finding a public recharge terminal to top-up their power before moving to strategic locations, near to and on the levels where Black Omega was housed. A part of their members went to the plasma power conduits and disrupted the power while others began to mark the station with graffiti.
When the power surged back on, it wasn’t just the station lights that flickered to life. Painted in bold, molecularly bonded letters across Black Omega’s sectors, the messages left no room for subtlety: “Remember Wilson Price—Remember the Pegasi Pirate Wars.” Another stretch of wall shouted: “Wilson Price remembers Black Omega,” and further down the hall: “What is Gary Winkler hiding? Ask Black Omega about the Protectorate lawsuits. Wilson Price died for you to learn the truth—ask Black Omega.”
Each message was a calculated reminder of Price’s legacy, a haunting memorial to a pirate who had once commanded admiration and loyalty in equal measure. For those who remained—who had been part of the clan’s split under Price—it was a bitter, open wound revisited. It wasn’t merely a reminder of their betrayal or his death; it was a demand that Price’s story, his legacy, be burned into the walls, minds, and news cycles—a story that wouldn’t fade until the truth of his sacrifice had left its mark on all who’d turned on him.
Estrellas de la Mirage (M3Q-W9Z)
Pegasi Sector MS-T c3-14 System
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As the crew of his fleet carrier took turns touring the newest factory fresh engineered ship to join his fleet, the Mandalay explorer, Ryuko had spent the relative afternoon in a conference transmission, in his bridge wing office. The settlement offered by the Protectorate was indeed lucrative, but Ryuko was not interested in credits. His counteroffer was cheaper and more appealing to the Protectorate’s hierarchy. Ensure that everyone remembers Wilson Price, especially the media pundits and those seeking to do business with Black Omega.
Ryuko’s face lightened from its dark hue, as his piercing eye watched as the holographic images of the Pilot’s Federation and Protectorates attorney faded.
Tara examined him closely, knowing he was twisting the dagger of his old pirate mentor’s legacy, deep into the heart of the faction responsible. Those who had encouraged the split of the old faction Ryuko belonged to, and encouraged the purge, were long passed, but not so with the memory of their victim.
Tara remained quiet for several minutes, allowing Ryuko this moment and waiting for a smile to break the statuesque appearance of his features.
“What’s next,” she asked, as his smile broadened and a twinkle replaced the hardness in his eyes.
“Now, I pull the rug out. No more funding, no more interdicting, no more nothing. We head out and go exploring, Make some real credits for our people, and shake down our new ship.”