Taxi Man Chapter 1

[Ed Man]

Taxi Man
Chapter 1

Ted rolled out of the bunk his head felt like a balloon that was about to pop. His stomach was kicking whatever was in there out as he hugged the toilet just in time. Ted looked around he was alone and somehow had made it back to his ship.
After the forth or seventh cocktail that girl was ordering us everything was a blank.

Ted checked his pockets all his tokens were gone he couldn’t remember if he spent them or if she robbed him. Then fear overcome him as he pulled a panel of the locker floor and checked inside his lockbox the gold tokens were still there. The fear had left for now as he sat down it the floor and rubbed his pounding head.
He had been saving up for a Piranha and Lifter for over four years since he lost all his savings to a sweet talking woman who about knocked his brains out when she robbed him and disappeared.

The Disco he had was fast and had a first class passenger compartment. Being a taxi driver wasn’t so bad it was the people that made it suck!

Ted climbed to his feet and fixed a recovery drink and choked it down. Washed the stench of last nights partying off put on some clean clothes. Eat and went to check on the board for a fair to anywhere since he spent all his credits he had made the week before.

As Ted looked one stood out and just the kind of run he liked. An out of sector run taking some poor mug to a station in a nearby sector, which meant good pay and a chance to make new customers.

Ted contacted the Man and told him he could leave immediately and were the Disco was docked.

As Ted dropped his passenger of at a station in Aladna Hill a young man approached him asking for a ride to a station in the pirate sectors.
The young man was anxious as he keep looking over his shoulder watching his back. Ted was uneasy as he scanned the young man and his bag behind his coat.

He was carrying gold tokens about 30,000 credits worth and he had 6,000 in his hand trying to by a ride.

Ted took the man onboard and told him to tell him what was going on and make it the truth or get off the ship. As Ted stood looking at the man with his hand on his pistol in his coat pocket ready to shoot.

The young man started telling Ted how he had met the love off his life and she was waiting on a station for him in the pirate sectors. The man explained how his girlfriends’ younger sister had to work off a debt for her freedom and he and his girlfriend was going to pay her debt and rescue her.

Ted shook the Mans hand as he told he would be glad to help him as he took the credits.

Ted took the man to the passenger compartment and gave him a drink and a snack to enjoy on the ride.

Ted thought as he went to the cockpit and strapped in this has got to be one of the dumpiest saps he had ever meet to fall for the poor little sister bit.

The poor sap wasn’t going to lose his savings to the girl Ted thought as he smiled leaning back in his seat.
He was going to lose them to me!

Ted set a course for the pirate sectors with his rider in back drinking a drugged drink.

As Ted flew into the pirate sectors he got up and checked on his rider. He was dead to the world as Ted took his tokens and stored them in his lockbox. 36,000 credits worth of tokens and a slave for his pirate buddies to sell.

Ted docked at a station and went into a bar looking for his friend. There She was as Ted went up and told her he had her a young and tender gift she could have cheep.

As the two haggled back and forth for a while trading Ted a missile for the man.

The two meet in the docking area as a drone took a crate delivering the missile and putting the man in the crate.
As the two left the station and flew to a remote area as Ted ejected the crate and told his friend to have fun.

Ted knew that the Pirate Woman would take the young man and use him like a cheep toy. And in a few weeks when she was tired of him and his brain was fried from the drugs she would feed him he would end up as a mindless slave for sell.

Ted flew to the station the young man was to meet the woman at pulled up the station register.

There she was waiting in a lounge. Ted went in and set down and ordered some food and scanned it before he ate and watched the woman.
Ted went to the counter and asked for a friend he knew was nowhere around and sat back down and waited.

As the hours passed and Ted was about to give up a man walked up to the woman and said lets go he’s not coming. You must be losing your touch lets move on.

Ted watched three men leave with the woman as he ordered a drink and smiled.

After finishing his drink and tired of watching a drunk trying to get a date with the barmaid Ted got up and headed back to his ship.

As he got to the docking area Ted stopped and looked around for muggers and thefts before going to his ship.
There she was hiding in the shadows the thugs she was with were nowhere in sight. Ted pulled up the station manifest they had left leaving the woman to fend for herself.

Ted thought what a stroke of luck if I play this right she’ll come to me like a fly to the spiders web.

He walked up to the Dock-masters counter and ordered 5galiion of water and some ready meals and cleaner and told which ship to send it to.
Ted told the man how he had to get back to Aladna Hill and pick up a client, as the woman listened in on every word just out of sight.

As the drone was delivering the supplies Ted noticed the young woman headed his way.
Now just to play stupid and pay attention to her lies and act concerned as she tells of some tragedy.

Ted smiled and asked can I help you as the woman walked up.

“Yes I need to get to Aladna Hill my mother and baby sister have been badly hurt in an accident and I need to get to them! The Dock-master said you was headed that way. All I have is 500 credits can you help me?”

Ted thought this girl is good as the tears ran down her cheek. “Sure I’ll be glade to help you out Young Lady just store your things and have a seat. And tell me which station there on, and I’ll drop you off.”

As Ted helped her onboard the ship and into the passenger compartment.

Ted thought as he exited the station, I’ll drop you off but it won’t be where you want.

The ship flew out of sensor range and headed out to space. As He opened the hatch and asked the woman which station.
She looked up and started to speak as Ted stunned her with a shock stick.
Smiling as he said. “You won’t be going there today or tomorrow or ever. I got plans for you!”
As he laughed and tied her up and put her in the cargo hole.

After an hour in the dark and coldness of the cargo hole Ted went to the woman and explained.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way! Which will it be?”

As the woman looked up at Ted replying. “By all means lets do it the easy way.”

After Ted finished and had got up and was looking at the woman she started trying to talk Ted into letting her go. “Please mister all I want to do is to get to my hurt family. I promise not to tell anyone just take me to them!”

Ted smiled as he told her to cut the crap he knew she was lying.
“Ok I have a mark I been working he was suppose to bring me 20,000 credits. If you take me to the station I’ll find him and get them and half-them with you. I have 3,000 in my bag take them as a good will gift.”

Ted smiled. “Ok I take you to him. Don’t give me any trouble or I’ll throw you out!”

The woman was relieved as she lay back on the crate.

Ted set a course for his pirate friends Lifter she had hid in deep space by a small asteroid in a nebula.

A few hours later Ted closed on the nebula and opened a COM. “Dolly this is Ted all’s well please answer. I have our friends girlfriend and she needs a place to stay can you help her out?”

“Give me a minute Ted hold your position. I’m not real fond of women send her picture.”
Ted sent Dolly a video clip of the woman. “I’m moving my fighter out of the way please dock I definitely want her. She has baggage we’ll need to take care of I’ll tell you inside.”

The Disco docked with the Lifter as Ted climbed down through the hatch into the Lifter.

“Come on in Ted let me tell you about her three friends. Two weeks ago I was making a delivery to the new Base and these ------///// jumped me in my Orinoco. After a while they wore my shields down and I had to eject a load of weed. They have a Bayamon and two Mandalay ships. As I engaged the Bayamon the two Mandalay ships wore my shields down. You help me kill them and I’ll give you 10,000 credits for the girl and your help. Or weight and her friends will kill you. We’ll split anything we capture or pick up. There’s no other way Ted they have to die!”

Ted knew Dolly was right the Dock-master had no record of the woman boarding his ship. But a trigger-happy thug can find out any thing he wants and someone had to have seen her board.

Ted wasn’t very happy about having to go up against three hostile ships. The Orinoco was classified as an M3 and had a large cargo hole but the M4 Piranha was twice as fast and had the same shielding and could turn on the fastest M5 and blow it out of the air.

“Dolly I don’t like fighting 3 to 2 if I take the Mandalay ships things could go bad for us quickly if they get the upper hand.
No mater how you look at it I need to get that Piranha or one of the Mandalay ships has to be taken out first.”

Dolly smirked saying. “I’ll drug little miss sugar lips with my special mix and she’ll say or do anything we want. I’ll have her tell them to meet her in this sector in 16 hours at their favorite station in the bar. The mark has a Disco and 25,000 in tokens ready for the taking.
When the first Mandalay exits the gate we’ll be waiting above to drive wasp missiles up his //////.
Then we can take the other two out one on one. I been stocking some wasp just for the party.
And when this is over I know a Teladi that has a new Piranha with two 5 Meg shields and two GPAC for 375,000 credits. I all ready have a down payment on it. It’s legal and yours when were done!”

[blazermick]

Different storyline Edman, very different. A Taximan with benefits. As long as you don't forget about Alphaman, I'm interested in seeing how you'll play this one out.