On Her Majesty's Secret Service-Dead is Dead, and he's DEAD

[Timsup2nothin]

Rum Runner

Jula made the flight back to Three Worlds at half throttle, studying the reports his ship computer had logged from Boso Wa. They had underestimated the start-up costs for Crop Circles Wheat Exports pretty badly.

One problem was that the contract with the second distillery in Herron's Nebula wasn't secure, and Lidya was trying to supply them on an as needed basis. The Demeter Jula had sent from The Hole had arrived, but Jula needed to clarify the terms with the distillery owner.

Another problem was that the export side of the business was completely stalled. Jula now understood why, having seen that the economy of Kingdom End and Rolk's Drift had ground down to an almost complete stop.

The third problem was that Jula had made a decision to put the 'under the table' aspect of the business, which was actually the reason he had started it, off until the other areas were stable. Now he recognized that the space fuel operation would provide a needed trickle of cash flow to at least keep the payroll moving until everything else took off.

He sighed. Nothing that couldn't be handled, but he had to get there to handle it. And he needed a pilot for the Dolphin first. He landed at the equipment dock, told the pilot who had been keeping an eye on the Wikstrom he wasn't needed any longer, and promised the other pilot that the Dolphin would be taken care of shortly as well. He set the autopilot on the Wikstrom for Kingdom End shipyard, sure that some Boron pilot looking for a job could be found there, and headed back to the Rigg. Before he could launch his ships the station announcing system changed his plans; 'combat in the sector, all pilots please stand by, combat in the sector.'
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The Kha'ak didn't have a name. It did not need one. It knew its place in the insectile hive mind of the Kha'ak with no energy expended on frivolous designation. It knew its eight appendages, in their faster but lightly armed scout craft. It knew its equal, leading a similar swarm into the southern part of the sector. The throb of the uncounted elements in the main hive mind was present, but less clear with the distance from home. Its appendages sensed the larger, slower ships that the enemy used for transporting freight and began shredding them with their kyon emitters.

As ships fell before the swarm the Kha'ak felt a dim satisfaction. The hive accepted the loss of the swarms when they made the jump into this alien sector. Their task was simply to inflict greater damage than the cost before they were destroyed. They were getting close, and had not yet encountered any resistance. Then two of the biped's heavy fighters came into scanner range of an appendage. The Kha'ak reformed the swarm, its appendages swirling around its ship in ever changing patterns.

The two Novas took an arcing approach vector, and the swarm shifted to meet them from an angle that forced the faster one between the swarm and the slower one. The Kha'ak felt the twinge as one of its appendages was vaporized by the focused energy of the Nova Vanguard's main battery, but the effectiveness of the swarm was barely diminished. That was the point. Most of that firepower was wasted on the tiny scout craft of the appendage, and seven appendages remained. Their kyon emitters bit into the Nova's shields. The three far more powerful kyon emitters in the Kha'ak's fighter locked on as well.

The rear turret sprayed energy wildly, unable to lock onto any one of the fast moving scout ships. The wingman fired a burst from its main battery and destroyed another appendage, but could not fire again as the Vanguard flashed across in front of his ship. The kyons continued to find their marks, creating a tooth grinding buzz in the cockpit of the Nova Vanguard as they rapidly drained the ship's shields. A sudden twist of the rudder caused a collision, destroying one of the scouts at the cost of another significant loss in the shields.

Three appendages were lost, but the Kha'ak was fairly glowing with pleasure. The shields of the Nova Vanguard were near collapse. Destruction of the single heavy fighter by itself would nearly make its mission a success. With the cargo ships already destroyed the victory would be clear. Satisfaction enveloped it from the distant hive mind. The satisfaction was offset by a sharp pang from the equal across the sector. Unpredictably, there was a large task force of the aquatic creatures in the sector, and the other swarm met a quick and unfulfilled end.

The Kha'ak felt a pressure building inside its body, the success or failure of the mission as a whole settling like a weight. If the enemy fighter could be destroyed quickly, without loss of further appendages, the swarm could turn on the second enemy fighter and have a good chance against it. It took a risk and accepted a hit from the target's turret cannon in order to once again lock on the heavy beta kyons. The enemy's hull began shedding droplets of molten metal into space.

Jula No cycled his gun mounts, rolling all six particle accelerators into firing position. His laser battery would be drained in seconds, but he planned to make only a single pass. The two Nova's wildly spraying energy were as much a danger to him as the Kha'ak, but he could plot a line through and speed on out of their range...probably. He locked his targeting system on the Kha'ak heavy fighter and entered the fray at maximum speed.

The Kha'ak sensed a brief image of green hull from one of the appendages, then it was blinded in the storm of a blue-white particle stream. The appendages wavered in their flight, and one fell to the enemy turret.

The beta kyons slid off the mark, freeing the Argon pilot from much of the earsplitting buzz that he had expected to be the last sound he heard in life. Instead he was blessed with the voice of the computer system as it tolled the list of alarms and system failures his ship was suffering. He squeezed the trigger and his main battery spewed high energy plasma into the path of one of the Kha'ak scouts. "Threat list," he snapped. The screen showed only three scouts remaining, plus the fighter...but the fighter was shields down and disintegrating fast. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Jula rode the trigger, even as the low energy alarm rang through the cockpit. The steady stream from the cannons fell to a stutter. The hull of the Kha'ak fighter, glowing white hot and streaming fragments, grew in the view screen. The data screen showed the hull at five percent and still dropping. Jula wrapped his shorter tentacles around the acceleration cuffs. Even after the Rigg burst through the scattering debris Jula wasn't sure if a final shot from the cannons had destroyed the target or if it had been torn apart by his shields.

He cycled through the remaining ships flagged as threats. Three scouts. None of them in pursuit. He hit the sector map and saw that they were still in close proximity to the two border control Novas, which he expected would make short work of mopping them up. He set course back to the equipment dock.
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The com in Himi Di's office chimed the code for a special branch operative. He pulled up recent arrivals on his terminal, noted the Rigg in bay seventeen, and guessed it would be Jula No that was looking for him. He swam to the lift and rode down to the hanger decks. It looked like an ordinary encounter between a civilian or mercenary pilot and a middle level station bureaucrat, and in most respects it was. Himi and Jula swam into a booth to transact their business.

"I need you to handle a transaction for me. My account is black," Jula said as the panel slid shut, isolating them from any interested listeners. "I brought you a ship." Jula didn't know, or need to know, how high Himi ranked. He knew he was tech division, and that was enough.

"Do you have one of your ships at the shipyard?" Himi asked. He continued after Jula nodded, "So what's the problem? Your shipyard contact will pay into your ship account. What have you got?"

"I also need to make a purchase at the equipment dock. My extension shows they have PACs and one meg shields. You are out of stock on both."

"Supply has been a bastu lately. I can set you up at the dock I suppose. What did you bring us?"

Himi rolled his eyes as Jula said "A Discoverer Hauler."

"Be still my quivering fins! No wonder you were asking your favors first. I can hardly wait to see what technological leaps we will make!"

Jula had not been excited about the Discoverer either, but in the wake of the Kha'ak assault some Argon pilot had been desperate to end their career in space and had sold the little ship for under two thousand credits. "I also picked up a missile from some Kha'ak wreckage."

"That's a little more interesting but I think you still owe me one."

Just as Jula had no knowledge of Himi's rank, Himi knew nothing of his. Jula interacted with special branch through an endless series of bartered favors. He could have gone to the equipment dock and found some back channel for himself, but he also wanted to find a pilot. "What do you need?" he asked.

Jula sent the new pilot, Nini Fa, back to the dock in Three Worlds with the Wikstrom. He set out for Red Light to retrieve Himi Di's pet project.

As he passed through the gates along the way he watched the ships. It was certainly true that ships on autopilot were readily identified by their erratic maneuvering in the heavy traffic. Himi Di had developed an auto pilot system that could pass for a live pilot, in theory. Since special branch often had reason to make people believe that someone had left a particular sector, being able to register them as pilot on a vessel that was actually unmanned would be a valuable thing. Being able to blow up the ship and apparently kill someone who you merely wanted to disappear was another application that came immediately to mind.

The tech team had sent an Octopus Vanguard on autopilot, which due to its high speed would be among the most obvious to observers, into Argon territory with a live pilot registration. Then they had monitored Argon police bands to verify that it passed undetected. There had been no chatter of any kind, but suddenly their test vehicle had stopped responding.

When Jula arrived in Red Light he could clearly see why. The Octopus floated in space less than a kilometer from a large asteroid. On the surface of the asteroid a streak of scorched rock marked where the ship had glanced off. Her shield generators were fused, and had there been a live pilot on board there would not have been after the impact. Jula made what repairs he could including reactivating the standard autopilot, and sent the ship back to Himi Di.

When the Octopus Vanguard was secure in the hanger bay Himi Di accessed the ship's battered systems and retrieved a recorded message.

"Your system does not quite simulate a live pilot, however it passes perfectly for a dead one. I hope the cover was solid on the registration, I used it for a shield purchase at the complex in Red Light. All the best."
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Busi La and Jula No were both swimming hard. The thin atmosphere of the Argon trading station provided little purchase. They were each weighted down with a five megajoule shield generator in addition to their rebreathers. Cycling through the airlock into the hanger bay assigned to the Kitzmiller was a relief. It was the final trip. They had already pushed a grav truck laden with particle accelerator cannons over from the Rigg's assigned bay three times.

As they installed the equipment on the Kitzmiller Jula want over the terms of the job one last time. "You weren't hired to be a pirate. Boso is only providing the shielding and weapons in case you encounter pirates. Hopefully they will be friends, or at least respect that you are supplying liquor to their base. If all else fails hopefully the theory of peace through superior firepower will keep you out of most scrapes. Anything big enough to take on a fully armed Mako Sentinel you should be able to outrun."

The erstwhile pirate nodded. "And if the ship is scanned by the cops just drop the cargo. The Boron is scouting the wheat market and the freight must have been loaded improperly on the ship when the Boron stopped at a potential buyer. The Boron has got it."

"Excellent. You'll never have more on board than we can afford to lose."

They finished the installations, and the Kitzmiller left the hanger. Jula watched her go from a corridor viewport and headed for the low grav recreation decks. In the thin atmosphere of the Argon station the main recreation decks, located in the great rolling barrel of the station where centripetal force augmented the grav generators, were far too uncomfortable. He joined Humko and Nini at a viewport overlooking the freight docking pod. They were admiring their ships. The newly christened Kwouk gleamed in the docking clamps, looking like a smaller spawnling of the huge Sakata docked in the next bay.

"First order of business is to upgrade your shields. A proper salvage freighter should never have less than 25 MJ," Jula said as he arrived. They infused one more drink into their rebreathers to celebrate the founding of Humko's new company, then set to work.

Cold hard facts

Crop Circles Wheat Exports is now fully operational and meeting its objective, that being a steady trickle of trade with the pirates to offset the inevitable clashes with red pirates in race space. Each of the trap ships at the distilleries is set to buy up to thirty units at 700 credits. With both of them as sources the Mako should have no trouble keeping the trading station topped off as well as maintaining a steady stream into the pirate base in Atreus' clouds. It's not exactly swamping in profits, but the system is now completely full, so from here on out the only purchases will be refills replacing profitable sales. Boso Wa moved up to courier, so I added the fourth power plant to his potential sources and added a cattle ranch as a potential dump for excess e-cells, after the topping off stop at the company farm of course. Since the system filled faster than the credits could keep up it's pretty clear trapping the power plants won't be necessary.

Time to move on to the next objective.

Assets

Rigg, my Mako Vanguard. Full 10 MJ of shielding, 2 PACs with 4 IREs. Fully expanded speed, handling, and cargo bay, and all the conveniences I can think of except for jump drive, transporter device and best buy/best sell.

Wikstrom, my Octopus. Full 2 MJ of shielding, 4 IREs, lacks the same things the Rigg lacks, plus docking computer and freight scanner which I am getting tired of swapping back and forth. Full speed, handling and cargo bay of course. She's parked at CCWE HQ.

Associates

Humko Fo, pilot of the Sakata, a Dolphin Tanker XL, currently with just 5 MJ of shields. Cargo bay has some expansion, eight thousand and some odd units, speed and handling fully upgraded.

Nini Fa, pilot of the Kwouk, a Dolphin, currently with just a single 1 MJ generator. Standard cargo bay at 4000, full speed and handling.

Companies

Crop Circle Wheat Exports, 56,208 credits

Credits, 6,751
Flight time, 1-02:53

[Timsup2nothin]

Failure

His boots clanged lightly on the docking pod deck. The magnetics helped to make the light artificial gravity feel more normal. Jo Silarne strode towards docking pod three.

He had worked at the shield complex for over a year, starting as a simple dock hand and recently moved up to a receiving agent. Since his promotion it was not really his job to enforce the company policy about customers doing installations in the docking bays, but he could still hear the station's owner, commonly referred to as 'the old man', snarling "we're in the business of making products, if I wanted to rent out hanger space I'd have built a trading station". The policy was clearly posted.

The cockpit canopy of the Boron ship was open, a containment field surrounding it and connecting it to the docking hood to extend the station's life support. "Excuse me," Jo called out, "but the company has a clearly posted policy against doing repairs in the docking bays."

Jo had plenty of dealings with Borons. Sometimes he found their excessive courtesy grating. He had never seen it completely missing. The Boron rose out of the cockpit with multiple tools clenched at a variety of angles. The only way Jo could describe the pilot to himself was 'one angry ball of tentacles'.

"Since you have almost no stock the Boron could not see any way his ship would be in the way, and the job did not take long. I am finished and will depart."

"Ah, yes, okay then. Uh...thank you for your business."

The Boron just stared at him. Tools passed from one tentacle to the next and into storage compartments, appearing to slide down the Boron's body. Jo suddenly became acutely aware of the number of scars along the hull of the light fighter craft, the number of battles this pilot had apparently survived, the number of other pilots who probably had not survived those battles.

"Well...ah...you travel safe." He backed carefully away, making sure at least one mag boot was clamped to the deck at all times.

Jula sighed. It wasn't very Boron like to take out his frustrations on some innocent dock worker. But it had been a trying day.

Cold hard facts

This was a most frustrating game session...and a constant karmic test of my willingness to follow the rules.

I started from Herron's with my two MORTs and no money...having to pass up minimum prices on ore and cahoonas despite having barely more than 1000 e-cells of cargo and almost 11,000 units of space. Sent Humko to Argon Prime and the faster and empty Kwouk towards The Wall, figuring to sell what I had and buy more e-cells, alternating the ships until I could pick up a full load either by buying or catching a Paranid poaching from the plants in The Wall.

Killing time in Argon Prime I scout the missions, most of which sound great except the rules won't let me do them. But I find one I can do. Not only a mission from a Boron, but a covert mission, so it is allowed in two ways. And has a 250,000 credit prize. Of course it sux. Go follow the Teladi, he's in The Wall.

I give the Sakata a destination and duck into The Wall thinking I can duck back when it lands...but the Teladi is close enough to the gate that the mission triggers and I have to follow him. And of course he's headed North. Slowly enough that I have time to direct the Kwouk to an SPP selling for minimum, but having not made the sale I can't make the buy either, even though the Kwouk lands before I get out of the sector. I look at the rules and gnash my teeth.

I look at the Teladi, in a Vulture Hauler, and see that he is apparently headed to SIEZEWELL. I have signed on to follow someone in a ship that moves slower than a turd stuck crossways in a drain, and it is going to the far side of BFE. Now I'm really gnashing my teeth. Then of course we plunge into the green goop of The Hole, which makes the endless pursuit seem, well, endless.

I look at CCWE...at least that's going well. I look at my two potential MORTS, which could be doing well were I there to give directions. I look at the green goop of Atreus Clouds, which eventually gives way to the strikingly similar green goop of Rolk's Fate. I look at any number of red icons representing Split ships, and some Paranid ships. Caimans pass me and my Vulture prey like we were asteroids.

As the Vulture finally disappears into the North gate I'm looking forward to a non-goop view at least...and don't notice that among at least a dozen red icons one is a pirate Harrier. When the mission spawned pirate opens up he catches me completely by surprise...so completely that I hit the 'select target' key and opened fire on a Split Jaguar escort just because it was close. The Split bails, the Harrier is still blasting away, and I figure out who he really is. Unfortunately the Iguana high tech trader and his other Jaguar escort are now mighty upset so they're blasting away too.

I manage to outdistance the Iguana's guns and dispatch the Harrier and the second Jaguar, though I ran out of shielding and took a whopping 4% damage to my hull in the process. FOUR percent. Had to be just one hit beyond my shielding. Which was enough to cue the computer to say 'five megajoule shield, damaged'. About then the 'mission failed' message comes in. Through three sectors of green goop I've kept myself mildly busy figuring out a good story to be spun around this eternity of a mission to Siezewell, and now the mission failed.

But the Iguana is a high tech trader and now has no escorts, maybe I can get some good swag. I make one pass, blow his shields off far faster than expected, realize I should have scanned him for swag, or at least to see how much shielding I was up against, and he bails. Apparently he stuffed all the swag in his spacesuit, because there's nothing left but an Iguana skin.

So. At least I have an Iguana and a Jaguar. Of course the rules say I have to take the Jaguar to Kingdom End, and the only way I can do anything with the Iguana is if I land it somewhere and transfer some software so i can hire a pilot. I have no long term interest in the Iguana, and it isn't that much slower than the Jaguar, which I can't really afford engine tunings for anyway. I might just as well haul it along as have to come back for it, so I set off with my caravan headed for KE. At least we're a little faster than the Vulture caravan, and we're out of the goop...well, for one sector anyway. My teeth are actually tired from gnashing at this point.

The trek to Kingdom End feels endless, but I get through it by comparing it to what the trek to Siezewell at Vulture speed would have been like. Sliding through the gate into KE is like coming home after a double shift in the ditch factory. I'm waiting for the two cap ships to dock so I can wash my hands of them, so I'm looking around.

Someone is selling a Barracuda Raider for just under a half million. I'd like to have that, but of course can't come close to affording it. I'd even like to just buy it and sell it to the shipyard, since I suspect that would cleanly double half a million into a million...if I had the half million. I sell the Iguana and the Jaguar for something over a quarter million. I look at CCWE and recognize that I could transfer the station account into my ship account, buy the Barracuda and sell it, and transfer the funds right back...if they weren't two sectors away and such transfers weren't against at least two of the rules.

At this point I write the rules on a small notepad sheet so I can actually chew them up and spit them out.

But wait! A Paranid in a Pericles with two Peg escorts, headed into Three Worlds. If I can cap the Pericles and one Peg I might have enough to buy the Barracuda. Of course I'm down to half shielding and the Pericles has a dragonfly. I should save before I try this hare brained scheme. The spitball with the rules in it gleams on the desk. Somewhere in there I know it says 'dead is dead'. I probably should just skip this all together.

But I don't. And I eat the dragonfly point blank. One of the escorts hits me with a couple rounds from his single IRE, doing a whole eight percent damage to my hull and destroying my spare 1 MJ shield in the process. And none of the Paranid bails. They don't even drop any swag.

Assets

Rigg, my Mako Vanguard. Again with full 10 MJ of shielding, 2 PACs with 4 IREs. Fully expanded speed, handling, and cargo bay, and all the conveniences I can think of except for jump drive, transporter device and best buy/best sell.

Wikstrom, my Octopus. Full 2 MJ of shielding, 4 IREs, lacks the same things the Rigg lacks, plus docking computer and freight scanner which I am getting tired of swapping back and forth. Full speed, handling and cargo bay of course. Parked at CCWE HQ.

Associates

Humko Fo, pilot of the Sakata, a Dolphin Tanker XL, currently with just 5 MJ of shields. Cargo bay has some expansion, eight thousand and some odd units, speed and handling fully upgraded.

Nini Fa, pilot of the Kwouk, a Dolphin, currently with just a single 1 MJ generator. Standard cargo bay at 4000, full speed and handling.

Companies

Crop Circle Wheat Exports, 206,825 credits

Credits, 240,570
Flight time 1-05:11

[stads]

thx for the chapter

out there good day and bad but thats a total disaster

think the boron might want to tweak his re-breather so he can feel the space fuel tonight

[Timsup2nothin]

thx for the chapter

out there good day and bad but thats a total disaster

think the boron might want to tweak his re-breather so he can feel the space fuel tonight

Thanks back for the comment. I see the view count going up, so I know people read...or at least look...but it's nice to see a response.

As for Jula, I suspect you're right about adjusting the rebreather. That was a rough ride.

[Darshu]

Sounds to me like Jula might have had a roofie accidentally drop into his rebreather...

Excellent story so far!

[Sabrina Bergin]

My Vision of Jula is of a squid with eight boxing glove's on and a cunning plan.
Enjoying the read.

[Scott C.]

Split say Jula must die!

I say nice work.... for a squid.

[Timsup2nothin]

Caravan

Humko floated comfortably on the command deck of the Sakata. His tentacles were still, but his mind was whirling. For at least the thousandth time he wondered what in Atreus' blessed fins made anyone think he was qualified for this job.

Fila Po clearly doubted that he was qualified for any job. Of course the attache to the Argon shipyard thought that Humko was a special branch operative assigned as, among other things, handler to the contract mercenary Jula No. The attache was feeling the heat from Argon intelligence because the mission the attache was managing for them had gone badly. The attache was passing on that heat to the agent's handler with no way of knowing that Humko was by no means overseeing Jula No, and was in fact of such lower rank that Jula may as well have been the Queen. In his supposed roll of handler Humko could not very well say he had not the first clue what had gone wrong and in fact had no idea where Jula even was. How could he explain special branch not being able to track one of their own contractors?

Then the com link buzzed, and Jula's voice burst into the thick methane atmosphere. "Sakata, complete transaction. Humko, are you on board?"

"Acknowledged."

"Once the transaction completes head for power plant alpha in The Wall."

"Acknowledged. Jula, we need to do something about Fila Po and Argon intelligence."

"This Boron will make apologies, and eventually we will make amends. Fila Po knows that such missions can go awry, and so does Argon intelligence. The next time they have such a task they may think they have a better asset than us. And they may have a better asset than us. But we have a good track record. They will ask us again."

Humko took heart from the way Jula said 'us' repeatedly. Maybe Jula had a good track record with Fila Po. Maybe Fila Po was wondering why special branch had let Boso Wa get away and Humko take his place...poorly.

The transaction completed and he took the Sakata out of the docks. As soon as he cleared the clamps and activated scanners he saw a Paranid mineral hauler passing near the station. Since his scanners were tied into Jula's scanners Jula saw it as well; a Paranid trader, piloting a Dolphin Hauler. He touched the icon for Jula's ship just as it changed course and came up to full speed.

He hit the com link, opening the personal encrypted channel Boso had helped him install. "Jula, I know you don't like the independent trader agreement. In fact having heard your arguments I don't like it either. But that apology to the attache will fall better if you make it before you start shooting up traders in the Argon home sector...even Paranid traders."

"I agree completely. This Boron will have to apologize even more profusely, and offer even greater amends. But Fila Po would be beyond surprised if I did not try to liberate that Dolphin. Please report to Fila Po that you have made contact with me and that we will present a full report to her in seven minutes, in her office aboard the shipyard. Or any time after at her discretion."

"Oh, she will be wanting it right away. But seven minutes? Sakata can't get there in seven minutes."

"Rigg can, with time to spare. EVA suit. I will pick you up."

Humko made the appointment and slid into his spacesuit. He was outside in time to see Jula strip the shields from the Dolphin Hauler. Apparently Jula got across to the Paranid pilot that he had no time for parley, because the Paranid ejected almost immediately.
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As the Rigg headed back to the Sakata from the Argon shipyard Jula said "That went well."

Humko stared at him.

"Well, it could have gone worse." Jula smiled. "Actually, it couldn't have gone any worse, or any better. That's the beauty of our secret service. No one really knows quite who they are dealing with, so everything happens with a certain degree of smoothness and a certain degree of chaos."

"This Boron doesn't completely follow."

"Take Fila Po. We know she is the attache to the shipyard. You probably know, and I certainly know, that she is also special branch tech division. But is she an operative? A director? First undersecretary to the head of tech division? Or is she the head of tech division, answering directly to the head of special branch? We don't know, so we treat her, probably, with more deference than we have to."

"And she doesn't know that if you shot her the only person you might have to answer to would be the Queen, or if you are really just a mercenary operative."

"She doesn't know that. But she doesn't know that is not the case either. She doesn't know about me...or you."

Something clicked in Humko's head. "So as long as I act like I can get away with anything..."

"You generally can. And if you end up facing the Queen you can just tell her I told you to do it."

Humko couldn't tell if Jula was serious or not. Then he figured that was the whole point, and moved on.

"What are you going to do about your new ship?"

"Your ship. You are accumulating that fleet we talked about. Have you given any thought to our problem?" Humko looked puzzled. "Resources in Kingdom End? Power plants in Queen's Space?"

"You talked about that. I...you are saying we are going to do something about that? That's our problem?"

"Who else? If you end up in front of the Queen you have to have accomplished something."

"If I end up in front of the Queen it is not going to be because you kept Nini Fa hanging around in The Wall for so long that she figured us out and blew our cover," Humko said. "That much I can tell you for myself."

Hung in a noose of my own tentacles, Jula thought to himself as he passed through President's End. The Sakata and the Kwouk were trailing behind him, both laden with e-cells. The newly acquired Dolphin Hauler, under command of an Argon pilot, was headed to Three Worlds. The Argon pilot, Gil Nedley, had been chosen by Humko.

The argument that the life support system had already been distorted and could be repaired when a Boron pilot was hired made sense. The argument that in the meantime an Argon pilot could take the ship where they wanted it to go made sense. And the fact that Jula didn't know for sure that Humko wasn't assigned to eliminate the economic analysis unit as an out of control embarrassment if he saw fit couldn't be argued with either.
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The trip to Cloud Base Southeast was a success in some ways, and an irritant in others for Jula No. It was good to see the Argon had the same problems with supply that the Boron had. But given that the Argon were the Boron's only real allies and CBSE was supposed to be a major supplier of military equipment, seeing the factories languishing for lack of supplies was discouraging.

When the Sakata entered the sector Humko came over their private channel. "This is exactly what you saw in Kingdom End, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"The independent traders don't get into corners like this."

"That's why we can't rely on the independent traders."

"But the independent trader agreement says the government and military can't be involved in trade of basic products."

"Good thing we aren't the government."

They sold all the e-cells they had, bringing three of the dormant factories back to life. Jula picked up three 25MJ shields, paying a premium price as they were the only ones the factory had in stock. The plant manager would have preferred an Argon customer, but Jula pointed out that the Boron were the ones who brought e-cells to the sector, and there were more buyers than supplies.

They worked together getting two of the shield generators installed on the Sakata and the Kwouk. Humko and Jula included Nini Fa in the conversation about their immediate plans. Running more e-cells to the Cloud Base sector was considered, but discarded. They were Boron, and even though they had come all this way for shields they didn't have to stay. They set out for the Kingdom. The decision sat well enough with Nini. Jula didn't even have to point out that after buying the shields they didn't have the credits to load up with e-cells anyway.

They did have credits for a couple purchases that Jula hoped would ease some tensions with tech division. A Discoverer Vanguard for seven thousand credits, perhaps giving some insight into their allies more advanced scout ships, and a Teladi Buzzard Sentinel for under thirty thousand. With the Teladi theoretically neutral in all wars but profiting on every side Jula considered them the ultimate enemy. The Paranid had apparently gotten the message, as they saw no Paranid traders on their journey, in Dolphins or otherwise.

The five ships arrived in Three Worlds, and Jula landed at a wheat farm to settle his final debt to Crop Circle Wheat Exports. He found that Mulu Da and the Argon Gil Nedley had done a fine job of restoring the life support systems of the Dolphin Hauler. He exchanged registries, rechristening the larger ship as the Burton II, then installed the last 25MJ shield and turned her over to Mulu Da for the export route. The Burton he would leave with Gil Nedley until a more suitable ship could be found for him. The Argon had justified Humko's faith in him and Jula saw no reason to let him go.

As he was concluding these arrangements his personal com chirped and he quickly headed back to the Rigg. "Rigg, go ahead," he said as he slid into the cockpit.

"We may have a chance at some salvage before we get to the Kingdom," Humko advised him. "Two Paranid traders in the southern part of the sector. Demeters."

Cold hard facts

This was just a clean up session really. The lack of 25MJ shields is a monster pain. I keep hoping the complex in Rolk's fate will reappear, though I don't really understand how. I certainly can't buy the stations that make up a 'Boron medium shield complex' since the fabs don't exist, but hopefully the GoD algorithm has some clever way around this that mere mortals don't.

Assets

Rigg, my Mako Vanguard. Full 10 MJ of shielding, 2 PACs with 4 IREs. Fully expanded speed, handling, and cargo bay, and all the conveniences I can think of except for jump drive, transporter device and best buy/best sell.

Wikstrom, my Octopus. Full 2 MJ of shielding, 4 IREs, lacks the same things the Rigg lacks, plus docking computer and freight scanner which I am getting tired of swapping back and forth. Full speed, handling and cargo bay of course. Parked at CCWE HQ.

Disco Vanguard and Buzzard Sentinel parked at the closest station to the north gate of Three Worlds waiting for the final dash to the scrap pile.

Associates

Humko Fo, pilot of the Sakata, a Dolphin Tanker XL with 25 MJ of shields. Cargo bay has some expansion, eight thousand and some odd units, speed and handling fully upgraded. Currently gathering wheat that some Paranid spilled all over Three Worlds before limping off towards the nearest Paranid shipyard.

Nini Fa, pilot of the Kwouk, a Dolphin with 25 MJ of shields. Standard cargo bay at 4000, full speed and handling. Currently full of e-cells, also spilled by a clumsy Paranid.

Gil Nedley, currently guarding the former Burton, a Dolphin with about 4200 of cargo bay.

Companies

Crop Circle Wheat Exports, 198,859 credits.

Credits, 18,696
Flight time 1-08:15

[Timsup2nothin]

Collecting Pilots and PACs

Gil Nedley caught the bigger man with an uppercut that had started somewhere around his knees. The farm worker's mag boots let go, and in the minimal gravity of the docking pod he rose rapidly towards the overhead, pinwheeling slowly. Gil did a deep squat, flexed his toes to release his own mag boots, and launched himself in pursuit. His shoulder struck in the lower part of the farmers back and Gil adjusted to absorb the spin. The farmer used arms and legs to protect himself when they hit the overhead, but still came away badly stunned by the impact. Gil swung his mag boots quickly into position to get a grip and flung the man towards the floor, which he would hit even harder.

Before Gil could launch himself again Mulu Da placed a tentacle on his shoulder. The Boron swam easily, upside down, making it seem perfectly normal for Gil to be in effect standing on the overhead. "I think he has had enough," the Boron said. If there was any doubt the sickening crunch of breaking bone when the farmer hit the deck dispelled it. Blood welled from a compound fracture of his upper right arm.

Toes flexed and the mag boots released. A slight kick of one leg established a slow rotation as the light artificial gravity took hold, the rotation timed to bring Gil feet first to the deck. There wasn't much he could do during the slow free fall, and Gil called to the struggling worker below. "If you still want to fight now's your best shot and you better make the most of it. If you're in the compartment when I reach the deck I'm going to tear that arm off and beat you to death with it." Disabled and demoralized, the man cradled his broken arm and fled.

As Gil reached the deck, with Mulu Da still slowly paddling alongside, the other Boron in the compartment swam in front of him. "The Boron appreciates your assistance, but such violence was not really necessary," Bosa Pa said

Gil knew that was true. He considered himself to be pretty highly skilled in low grav brawling and knew that he couldn't lay a hand on a Boron. The clumsy farm hand certainly couldn't have. But, when the taunts had turned to threats Gil couldn't just stand idly by either. He didn't have it in him. "It may not have been necessary, but he asked for it. I just gave it to him. It won't bother my conscience, don't let it weigh on yours."

The incident didn't bother the station management either. The recently arranged deal with the new wheat exporters had given them a consistent and profitable customer and they weren't interested in losing out just because of one or more bigots in their work force. The station security officer thanked Gil for interceding and apologized profusely to Mulu Da, who had not actually been the target of the abuse, and somewhat less profusely to Bosa Pa, who had.

When the guard left the docking pod Gil laughed out loud. "Mulu, you should have made him eat a bofu nugget. They are so happy to have a buyer he'd have swallowed it whole, with a smile."

Bosa Pa looked puzzled. "Why wouldn't he smile? And why would he swallow it whole? Chewing releases the flavor."

"Most Argon do not have appreciation for bofu," Mulu answered. "Our friend Gil is an exception."

"An exceptional friend, and I have a small supply of exceptional nuggets. A celebration is in order."

"Thanks," Gil said. "I'm going to suit up. I think this celebration would be better if we had it on the ship." It was strange having to wear a space suit on the command deck, when he was technically listed as the pilot, but Gil took that in stride. Jula No had promised him a long term job as pilot of an Argon built ship, and he would have flown to Ore Belt in the spacesuit for that.
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That promise had been made as Jula went north into Kingdom End to deliver his ships at the Kingdom End shipyard, and he had repeated it as he sped through the sector heading south. He found the opportunity to keep that promise just beyond the gate in Cloud Base Northwest. A Mercury Tanker in fair condition for a fair price, her pilot looking to move into a larger ship. Jula promised to return and sped on. His passengers could not afford the delay.

Jula marveled at how fast fortunes could turn in space. When he had appeared at the military base it had only taken one look at Himi Di to know that word of his failed mission had spread to the tech division operative, then Himi Di greeted him with a sarcastic "Well, if it isn't our benefactor! The Kingdom can never repay you for all the secret technology we found in that Disco Hauler you brought in."

"Okay, okay, the Boron apologizes," Jula said. "Perhaps the Vanguard model will offer some new insights in scanner interface technology. It is docking now at the shipyard, along with a Buzzard Sentinel."

Himi Di nodded. "Those at least have some hint of promise. I assume you need some favor."

"No. I figure I owed you one." Besides, Jula was very pleased with the nearly half million credit payment he had received for the ships.

Usually at a time like that the two sides would have parted, giving some time for the 'balanced accounts' of exchanged favors to settle. But that moment was when Jula sensed his fortunes swinging towards the positive. A Boron swam into Himi's office abruptly and said "The transport you arranged has been delayed. If you don't have something for us we are going to miss the conference."

Himi looked at the odd sight of the angry Boron, then looked at Jula. Jula smoothly said "this must be that back up transport thing you mentioned earlier."

"Right," Himi said without missing a beat. "Looks like I will be needing you." He looked at the Boron, who had gone rapidly from angry to embarrassed.

"The Boron was not aware that back up plans had been made. Please forgive my outburst."

She swam out of the office. "Please have your team on the docks in five minutes," Jula called after her. As the door closed he turned back to Himi. "So where am I taking them?" By the time the twelve scientists were aboard the Rigg Jula had only twenty-two minutes to get them to their conference, at the trading station in Ringo Moon. He also had Himi's stamp on a voucher for another almost half million credits as long as they got there on time. And now in the ever changing balance of favors Himi owed him one.
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The pilot took the transfer direct from ship to space suit and flew off. Just shy of a hundred thousand credits. An hour before it would have been beyond Jula's means, and now it just barely dropped the account out of seven figures. For a Mercury Tanker that was about a fifty percent price. For a Mercury Tanker with about twenty percent damage to her hull it was a good deal. Jula set the autopilot for the wheat farm where Gil Nedley waited and flew the Rigg through the gate.

In Three Worlds he idled around. The Kwouk was filled with e-cells, so he sent Nini Fa on to the Kingdom. The Sakata had picked up all the wheat, so he found Humko a buyer at one of the local cahoona bakeries. Not a great price, but he didn't want to get into competition with Crop Circle in the export trade. He watched as the Mercury cleared the gate and set course for the wheat farm, then com linked the station. After a pause Gil Nedley appeared on the screen.

"Watch the docks," Jula told him. "Your new ship is headed your way."

"That's great! Do you have a pilot for the Dolphin?"

"Not yet. Set her autopilot for the military base in Kingdom End please. I'm sure I can find one there."

"Will do. I thought I found one for you here, but the Boron isn't a pilot. He's stuck here, and if you don't mind I'd like to give him a ride out to Menelaus' Frontier."

"It will be a while before I have shields for your ship, and it doesn't have any life support in the cargo bay. I will give the Boron a ride myself."

Since Bosa Pa had planned on catching a ride by freighter it was clear he had plenty of time. That was a good thing, as suddenly Jula No had a lot to do. Three Paranid ships emerged from the Kingdom End gate.

Word had passed among the Paranid traders that the sectors around Argon Prime were certainly risky, and Jula had seen no Paranids at all on the trip to Ringo Moon and back. Unfortunately for these new arrivals word had not spread so far North, and they had set out through Argon space headed for the Paranid sectors far to the South. They had unloaded in the Kingdom and were running mostly empty, Jula noted as he scanned their freight; a few odds and ends all they carried between them.

Knowing they had no cargo to buy their passage two of the Paranids abandoned their ships. The third refused, and Jula let him go. He salvaged the Hermes passenger transport and the Vulture freighter and sent them to the equipment dock. He opened the com link and spoke with Lidya Marval's cousin. Mak set out to find two Argon pilots for Lidya's company to hire. The terms would have to be worked out later, and the pilots would have to be willing to risk flying the unshielded ships to Crop Circle headquarters in the next sector, but Mak assured him there were good candidates to be found.

As quickly as the battered ships landed they were off again, headed for the East gate. Jula picked up his passenger and followed the Dolphin that Gil had sent towards the North gate. He opened the com to the Sakata and told Humko to follow as well, pointing him towards a power plant in Queen's Space.

The trip to Menelaus' Frontier was uneventful. Jula did interviews over the com link and hired Tata Mu to pilot the Dolphin. He told the new pilot that he would return with heavier shielding before giving him any tasks and suggested that he just get comfortable with the ship. He completed a transaction, selling the e-cells aboard the Kwouk as he passed through. He sent Nini Fa on to the other Queen's Space power plant.

Bosa Pa turned out to be good company, and Jula was pleased to hear how his Argon pilot had stood up for the Boron. He dropped him off at the trading station and launched the Rigg, expecting to return to Queen's Space and direct some e-cell trading.

But, while the Paranid had taken to avoiding Argon space the arrogant Split were still inclined to use Boron space as a highway.
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Himi Di swam hard for hanger deck four. He had not been summoned, but rumors had reached his office. He had to see for himself. The receiving clerk was just swimming away from the Rigg, a grav pallet floating along beside him. "Jula!" Himi called out.

Jula turned slowly. Two tentacles hung stiffly, and Himi could see the pseudoskin where it had been sprayed on to seal the wounds.

"I would have brought you a Mamba, but the thrice cursed Split rode it to the end," Jula said with a wan smile.

"The Split must have been a good pilot," Himi said with a glance at the injuries. "Are you alright?"

"The Boron will be fine. And the Split in the Mamba had nothing to do with this. As you know the Mamba has no defenses to the rear, and this Mamba was not as fast as Rigg."

"So what happened?"

"A Split weapons trader in a Caiman. An irresistible target. High reward, but high risk."

"Caiman is probably the toughest freighter in space, but it is still just a freighter. You got shot up by a freighter?"

"No, but he had an even dozen fighter drones and they shot me up pretty good. Then one of the sensing arrays took a direct hit and my mineral scanner module exploded."

Himi looked after the grav pallet with its load of crates. "So you being you...you finished off the rest of the drones and went after the Caiman."

"Yes. This base always seems to be out of stock, so I brought you some PACs."

Cold hard facts

Taking on the twelve drones was remarkably stupid. Wide open space with nothing to throw them off. I had been on such a hot streak. Of the three Paranids two had drones and neither of them even launched them, and I had just pulverized the Mamba without taking a hit. Of course the Split popped out the whole load as soon as his shields touched zero. I was at 46% hull and back up to 30% shields when the IREs finally ate the last drone. By then the Rigg was so sluggish that getting turned on the last couple took some time, but with only the last couple the shields were coming back. I did have a serious moment where one part of my brain was plotting the 'goodby Jula' chapter.

Assets

Rigg, my Mako Vanguard. Full 10 MJ of shielding, 2 PACs with 4 IREs, again with four PACs I can roll in if I need a one shot max firepower pass. Fully expanded speed, handling, and cargo bay, and all the conveniences I can think of except for jump drive, transporter device and best buy/best sell...now also short one mineral scanner.

Wikstrom, my Octopus. Full 2 MJ of shielding, 4 IREs, lacks the same things the Rigg lacks, plus docking computer and freight scanner which I am getting tired of swapping back and forth. Full speed, handling and cargo bay of course. Parked at CCWE HQ.


Associates

Humko Fo, pilot of the Sakata, a Dolphin Tanker XL with 25 MJ of shields. Cargo bay has some expansion, eight thousand and some odd units, speed and handling fully upgraded.

Nini Fa, pilot of the Kwouk, a Dolphin with 25 MJ of shields. Standard cargo bay at 4000, full speed and handling.

Gil Nedley, pilot of a Mercury Tanker, waiting for shields at a wheat farm in Three Worlds
Tata Mu, pilot of a Dolphin, waiting for shields at the military base in Kingdom End

Companies

Crop Circle Wheat Exports, 477,013 credits, plus Marelle Sillarn in a Hermes and Mak Brano in a Vulture awaiting their assignments.

Credits, 1,529,575
Flight time 1-10:34

[Timsup2nothin]

Rescue

The viewport was huge. What the Argon would call floor to ceiling and almost the full width of the compartment as well. The red planet loomed off center, in counterpoint to the velvet blackness studded with stars. The two Boron floated with barely a stroke of a tentacle in the luxuriously thick atmosphere.

"Nice," Jula No said. A drink bulb was carefully caressed in one tentacle, and another picked a sweetened bofu nugget off of a silver grav tray that followed his movements.

"Too nice," Boso Wa replied. "I never expected this. I don't need it."

"Boso, what did you expect? This is the station owners suite on a major factory station. You thought they would recreate a slum grotto from the home world?"

"Well, no...:

"This is your role now, and this is the stage that role plays on. Get used to it. That shouldn't be too hard, really."

Jula saw the smile spread over the end of Boso's long snout. "For the Kingdom!" he cried.

"That's the spirit. We all have our hardships to bear."

Boso looked at Jula's two injured tentacles. "Some more than others. And really since this was all your idea and you made all the effort it should be you living here like a Lar and me out there getting shot at."

"I would go crazy living here...and Boso you aren't exactly top gun as a fighter pilot."

"Keep getting the Rigg shot to pieces and no one will think you are either."

"Good point." They floated silently for a few minutes. "I need you to contact Humko in the Kingdom."

"And tell him...?"

"That I will be unavailable for a while. He and Nili can leave their ships docked and catch transport to the trading station. Take some R and R. There is plenty of credits in the account. He needs to show her a good time, keep her occupied."

"While you...?"

"Do something he can't tell her about."

"Where are you going?"

"I met a Boron with a request...and the most amazing ship." Boso looked at him with the patient sleepy eyes. The eyes that knew Jula was evading the question of where he was going. But he kept trying. "Technology a dozen years ahead, at least; more; maybe a lot more."

Boso continued to look.

"You know how this business works. To get close to him, get access to that technology...the first thing to do is help him with a problem. A problem I am better suited to solve than he is."

"A problem that involves going...where?"

"He has friends...they may even be the source of the technology...I don't know...and they could be in trouble."

"They are lost, and you are going looking for them. Where?"

"The Xenon sectors."

"You have got to be kidding. How do you plan to survive in the Xenon sectors? The Rigg is a light fighter, not a destroyer. How do you even plan to get to the Xenon sectors? Do you have jump coordinates?"

"No, I'll have to fly there, and yes I know I'll have to cross either Split space or Paranid space."

"That should save the Xenon the trouble of blowing you to bits."

"I'm not going to get blown to bits, and I'm not taking the Rigg. I'm taking the Wikstrom. I have no intention of fighting my way through Paranid space, Split space, Xenon space, or any space. This calls for running, and the Wikstrom can run."
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Time weighed heavily on Boso Wa. His luxurious compartment felt like a prison cell, and he would find himself floating idly in front of the panoramic window. His ship, the Bernard Lee, could make the rounds in the sector without him, but he flew her manually anyway. In his term as liaison officer he had gone through similar stretches with Jula No out of contact, but then he had the resources of special branch and could reassure himself that if death caught up with Jula somewhere he would at least hear about it. Finally, as he was guiding the Bernard Lee down the approach lane of the docks at the largest power plant in the sector, the ship's computer gave the report he was waiting for; 'the Wikstrom is in the sector'.

Boso activated the encrypted link to Humko's ship and accessed the sector map of Queen's Space. The Wikstrom was indeed in the sector, just entering through the East gate. A Paranid Perseus flew on one side of the tiny ship, a Teladi Harrier on the other. Boso accessed the scanners on the Sakata and saw that neither ship had any active shields, or pilots. Jula had apparently not followed through on his plan to run away from combat. Apparently Humko was watching the scanners also. "At least he's back," he said, "and he's completing transactions as if he's just gone for a swim around a recreation reef."

Boso acknowledged and closed the link.

Jula arrived some time later, docking the Wikstrom on the same pod as the Rigg. He was guiding a small grav sled towards the larger ship when Boso swam out of the lift. He surveyed the contents of the sled as he approached. "Mineral scanner, freight scanner, docking computer; you shouldn't have to move those every time you change ships. It's not as if the Boron were poor."

"The Boron is guessing the Paranid would not sell a docking computer."

"You could get the others though. So the Boron assumes the Perseus did not have a docking computer installed."

"Checking up on me?"

"Just watching for you to return, along with Humko."

"The liaison early warning network," Jula said with a smile.

Boso nodded. "Liaison to the unit is a dirty job, but someone has to be stuck with it. So we stick together." He set the grav sled to hover. "Of course now I'm also a station owner. I'll have these installed." He started swimming towards the lift. "Did you find what you went seeking?"

"Not exactly. I did find three interesting things though." Jula followed him towards the lift. Some conversations were best not had in the docking pod.

They settled into Boso's office. The panoramic viewport was just as expansive, but looked out on the approach lanes to the docking ports, which could be seen through the four corners of the thick plasteel. "So, three things?"

"First, the identity of Mahi Ma's 'friends'; Julian Brennan and Bala Gi."

"The Boron keeps fast company," Boso observed, raising an eyebrow. "An Argon hero and the Boron's candidate for the universe's leading industrialist."

"Not much question where Mahi Ma's advanced technology ship came from. They aren't just friends either. Mahi Ma works for Bala Gi, and when Bala Gi has a puzzle he can't immediately figure out, he calls for Mahi Ma."

"So you did find them?"

"No, but the second thing I found was their ship; the remains of it anyway. Bala Gi had sent Brennan back to retreive Mahi Ma. He didn't make it. No body in the wreckage though, so he may have survived."

"What was the third thing?"

"The artifact they were looking for."

"Ah. And that is the puzzle Bala Gi could not immediately figure out. You found it? Was it in their ship?"

"No. Actually their ship was in it."

Cold hard facts

I wrote it this way because the trip itself was long...and totally uneventful. The Wikstrom did indeed outrun any problems I may have had. I was told to get out by the Paranids on the way, and by the Split on the way back when I took a different route, but no one ever got even close to shooting distance, including the Xenon. I behaved myself until I was in Family Whi, where I shot up a couple couriers, one of whom bailed the Harrier. Toting that along I was going a lot slower through Teladi space and scanned some prospects. A Paranid freight transporter in a Perseus, with only one IRE in his main battery, was too much to pass up and he bailed. The Teladi locals were appeased easily enough, but the Teladi won't let me land any more.

Fortunately I have a much bigger cushion with the Boron, since the next irresistible Paranid was in Menelaus' Frontier; a Pericles Tech Trader who gave up sixty-five computer components after some persuasion. I sent the Sakata to collect them as I passed through Queen's Space, then went back to collect Humko after selling the ships. On that return trip I picked up a used Dolphin Superfreighter, got it landed and hired Bolo Ni as a pilot. Pretty much all my resources are gathering at Crop Circle HQ, though of course the Wikstrom arrived way ahead of them.

Assets

Rigg, my Mako Vanguard. Full 10 MJ of shielding, 2 PACs with 4 IREs. Fully expanded speed, handling, and cargo bay, and all the conveniences I can think of except for jump drive, transporter device and best buy/best sell.

Wikstrom, my Octopus. Full 2 MJ of shielding, 4 IREs, lacks the same things the Rigg lacks, plus docking computer, mineral scanner and freight scanner. Full speed, handling and cargo bay of course. Parked at CCWE HQ.


Associates

Humko Fo, pilot of the Sakata, a Dolphin Tanker XL with 25 MJ of shields. Cargo bay has some expansion, eight thousand and some odd units, speed and handling fully upgraded.

Nini Fa, pilot of the Kwouk, a Dolphin with 25 MJ of shields. Standard cargo bay at 4000, full speed and handling.

Gil Nedley, pilot of a Mercury Tanker, lacking shields but headed for Crop Circle HQ
Tata Mu, pilot of a Dolphin, lacking shields but headed for Crop Circle HQ
Bolo Ni, pilot of a Dolphin Superfreighter, lacking shields but headed for Crop Circle HQ

Companies

Crop Circle Wheat Exports, 631,321 credits, plus Marelle Sillarn in a Hermes and Mak Brano in a Vulture awaiting their assignments.

Credits, 2,483,683
Flight time 1-15:12

[Kirlack]

Finally got all caught up! I gotta say Tim, there were a few points in the last three-four chapters that had me laughing away to myself. I think the Mrs. thinks I'm mad She's probably right tbh

MOAR!

[Timsup2nothin]

Finally got all caught up! I gotta say Tim, there were a few points in the last three-four chapters that had me laughing away to myself. I think the Mrs. thinks I'm mad She's probably right tbh

MOAR!

There is no greater reward than knowing I made someone laugh. Thanx.

[Timsup2nothin]

At the End of the Day

Humko floated into the large office. Boso hung in front of the huge plasteel window, adrift in the slight stirring currents from the ventilation system.

"The pilots are starting to get anxious," Humko said.

"You have six ships, including your own. Do you have a good idea of what Jula intended you to do with them?"

"Generally. But no idea how he intended to do it. He wanted to corner the energy distribution market and drive out the independent traders, providing stability in the market."

"The info block on the desk is a summary of his theories. You should be able to figure it out."

"You think he's not coming back."

"At this point we have to assume that he's not."

Very Cold Facts

I got tied up playing a different game for a while. When I went back to this maybe I was rusty, or maybe I didn't get myself into the 'dead is dead' mindset well enough...or maybe it was just flat bad luck. At any rate I jumped Mahi Ma to the Hub, and landed right in a swarm of Xenon passing through. In retrospect I might have been able to jump right back out if I had just immediately hit J before they really took notice, but I didn't. I was looking to see just how many and what they were and whether I could use some combination of running to spread them out or whatnot, and got roasted.

Somewhat anti-climactic end. Sorry.

[stads]

sniff to bad our 007 squid died

here hoping that the story it self with the other chars wil continue in some way

thx for all the fun reading if this is truly the end

[Timsup2nothin]

I could carry on the life and times of Boso Wa and Crop Circle Wheat Exports, but the Boron dialog is very tiresome. As an alternative I'm thinking about writing a pure fiction set in Argon space in my new game. Not a DiD, as it will have very little reference to my playing activities...if any...but I think I can provide a good story.

[Kirlack]

Awww, that bites mate. I was thoroughly enjoying the adventures of Jula No Congratulations are in order nonetheless though I feel, for entertaining us and for some of your combat solutions! I'd be very loathe to take on even a TS in an M5, so I salute your piloting skills Tim! You've also given me the inspiration to try a bit more third person writing in my own story

[Timsup2nothin]

Awww, that bites mate. I was thoroughly enjoying the adventures of Jula No Congratulations are in order nonetheless though I feel, for entertaining us and for some of your combat solutions! I'd be very loathe to take on even a TS in an M5, so I salute your piloting skills Tim! You've also given me the inspiration to try a bit more third person writing in my own story

I've always thought that combat was the weakness in my game. I'll take on a TS in an M5 any time they have weak enough shields...except for Caimans. But over many many games over many years I have to admit that if you leave out freight haulers, their escorts, and fighter drones I probably have less than twenty kills. I have never flown anything bigger than an M6 in combat. This was in fact the first time I played a game without being actively friendly with everybody, though I always steal freighters once I can stand the rep hit.

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I'm percolating an idea for a story featuring a character from this story as the central figure. Possibly more of a first person journal format with some third person side stories.