Rogues Resurgence Ch 17 Part 1 & 2.
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Rogues Resurgence Ch 17 Part 1 & 2.
It's been some tim since i posted so here's the first part of the next chapter, just to stop me rewriting it. Will be more in the next day or so, possibly even today. Edit - second bit added.
Chapter Seventeen: Unwise Words
Daht shifted uncomfortably in his seat and smoothed the sea of medals flooding his chest. Catching himself in the indecisive looking gesture he focused on what he wanted to say, shutting out the bustle of the flight bay the Teladi News Network insisted was the correct backdrop for the interview. Behind him, a Falcon fighter prepared to launch as Fly-Cams jerked and darted around, seeking the best framing shots.
Finally, as his patience reached threadbare, Umyquos Cafomos Alelais III arrived, trailing a comet tail of appearance technicians. Of course, she looked magnificent, as always, even more so in the flesh. Daht licked his lips, wishing away the years, as she took the seat opposite. The Fly-Cams darted to cover her as she flicked through the notes on her padd.
Satisfied she looked up and said.
“Ready General?”
Daht nodded, the voice in his earpiece already counting backwards from five.
“Seera, do the translation honours if you will. Standard Argon, no sibilance.”
Artur glided across to the dispenser, deftly manoeuvring his chair around the sparse furnishings of his office. With half an ear on the translated programme announcement he removed the sandwich. Two cardboard bites later he dropped it into the recycler and turned to the screen, where the Teladi female was extolling at length on the details of the General’s military career, culminating in that famous victory at Ianamus Zura. Daht himself appeared to visibly swell with pride.
“General, it is no secret that you and Director Morn have fundamental disagreements on the course the Teladi Trading Company should plot. Would you care to elaborate?”
“No you would not.” Artur muttered impotently.
“Of course.” Daht replied, leaning forward.
“The continuing rise in profits is fundamental to our civilisation. Of that there can be no dispute. What is good for the Teladi Trading Company is good for the Teladi.”
He leaned back and looked at Umyquos for a moment, weighing his words carefully.
“However, I believe the fluctuating stock values of recent months are indicative of serious structural problems. To begin with, far too much of the gross profits end up in the hands of illegal entities.”
“Illegal entities?” Umyquos interjected, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. “What do you mean by that?”
“The Clans.” Daht snapped back angrily. “As you well know. Parasites that pay bribes not taxes. Scum that monopolise the most profitable industries, robbing the honest investor of their gains, whilst lining the accounts of those with blind eyes. Do you have any idea how much of our industrial production is siphoned off to provide them with the means to wage their wars?”
Umyquos indicated a negative with a clawed gesture.
“Neither have I, with all my resources, neither have I. But I know that when the Xenon attacked Scale Plate Green the glorious Teladi fleet had to be rescued by the Argon. Why must I scrape and beg for fighters when, even as we speak, a Clan Carrier orbits our home-world loading up our latest fighters and who knows what else?”
“You are referring to the Stoertebeker Clan Transporter?” she asked. “As Director Morn has said, it is a civilian vessel, not a warship. The sale of a few of her own obsolete fighters is a mutually profitable exchange. Perhaps it is a bit more blatant than anything we have seen but we all know it goes on and we all know there are unwritten rules.”
She checked her data-padd.
“And Director Morn states it is a vital counter-balance to the growing threat represented by the Argon, Max Force, who many see as little better than a pirate himself, regardless of the Decree of Incorporation you championed.”
“Commander Force breaks no laws.” Daht responded angrily. “And trades on the open market and so helps bolster Teladi stock values. To compare a legally constituted corporation to the festering sore that is the Stoertebeker Clan is an insult and indicative of the corruption of the Teladi spirit that comes from permitting illegal trade for the private profits of a few.”
“Moving on.” Umyquos said quickly. “You said ‘problems’. What are these and how would you correct them? We are running out of time.” She added in response to the voice in her earpiece.
“We are constrained.” Daht stated.
Artur willed time to expire. It did not and Daht continued.
“Despite the heroic role played by our armed forces in expelling the Xenon from their long-held sectors we did not get our just rewards.”
“We have eight new sectors I believe.” Umyquos interjected. “More than the Argon. How is that unjust?”
“The Teladi need expansion room.” Daht answered with enthusiasm. “Yet we are hemmed in by the Argon at the edge of the New Frontier and still have the Xenon astride the key Scale Plate Green – Eighteen Billion trade route. Furthermore, we have no bridgehead from which to expand further into the Xenon sectors beyond Menelaus Frontier. None of those markets or sources of raw materials will boost our share prices.”
He leaned forward for emphasis.
“The future appears to be Boron.”
“What do you suggest?” The interviewer asked eagerly, ignoring the gasps in her earpiece.
“A renegotiation of the colonial settlement. Our own legends clearly state what is now known as Great Trench was a Teladi colony sector, before the Xenon drove us from our first empire. And we should demand a share of the spoils beyond Black Hole Sun. The Teladi must have room to expand.”
“Anything else?” Umyquos gulped.
“The unclaimed sectors.” Daht replied. “Those festering reservoirs serve only to swell the coffers of the Clans and their associates. If other races dare not seize them, under my leadership we shall. For the good of the Greater Teladi Empire.”
Artur attempted to bury his head in his hands. He was only partially successful as his mechanical arm slapped his face.
“Seera.” He winced. “Show me the Teladi Trading Company stock market.”
He watched the numbers fall in silence.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Wake up Max.”
The voice was low, indistinct through the buzz in his temples.
He rolled over and stretched a lazy arm across the warm body next to him and pulled it close. The hug was returned, unconscious, instinctual.
“Wake up Max.”
His head hurt, a dull, familiar throb in time with his heart. Dimly he realised the voice was above him and someone was prodding his shoulder urgently.
Cautiously, he opened one eye.
“By the cringe!”
“Holy shit!”
Jackson hit the floor micro-seconds after Max lurched from the bed, stumbling into Tyre, sending himself and the girl falling to the carpet.
“Take me now, Universe.” Max managed to mumble through the several extra tongues that appeared to have taken up residence in his mouth. The sound of his own voice intensified the pounding and Tyre’s scream lanced like an ice-pick through his skull.
“Well, I hope I got a movie and a decent meal first.” Jackson joked half-heartedly. “And I can still sit down.”
Tyre helped Max to his feet.
“You stink Max,” she snapped. “In more ways than one.” She added, propelling him into the shower.
“Uh … we didn’t..?” Jackson indicated the shower as he fumbled for his clothes. “I mean..”
“Is it that cold in here?” Tyre asked archly and threw his jeans across the room. “Perhaps I should turn up the heating. And the air conditioning. You still alive in there Max?”
“That depends on the answer to Jack’s question.” Max groaned. “Can you pass me my blaster please?”
“No, it’s in the top drawer for safety. Yours too Jack. Given the state you were both in I guess not. Disappointed?”
The denials came in stereo.
Grinning she added. “But I had to sleep on the floor so who knows. Thanks for that kiddies and let yourselves out real soon, I’ve got a late shift to catch.”
She paused in the open doorway.
“And boys, you were both magnificent!”
She shut the door on the groans of dismay.
“She was kidding right Max?” Jack called as she left. “You know her, she was kidding right?”
“Know her?” Max answered, stumbling from the shower. “I can’t even remember her surname. And did she say, late shift?”
He checked the chronometer and groaned. “What the **** were we drinking?”
Max began climbing into his own clothes, with painstaking concentration.
Jackson sniffed his stained tunic gingerly, before putting it on.
“Just about everything it seems. Does the electric chick take in laundry?”
“You could ask.” Max replied leadenly. “So long as you aren’t standing near an airlock. We should eat. Should we eat? I’m not hungry.”
“Or making sense, here take this.”
Max took the stim and triggered it against his carotid. Jackson followed suit.
“Hey, that’s better.” He pulled a pipe from his jacket and stuffed the bowl with space-weed from a cracked leather pouch.
“Appetite stimulant?” Jackson sucked the pipe to life, holding a long lungful. “And that’s much better! You sure?” He proffered the pipe.
Max took a big hit, letting the world brighten to colour as the alkaloids reached his brain.
“The New Frontier. Breakfast, or whatever damn meal it is now.”
Jackson clapped him on the shoulder.
“You’re the big boss Max, it’s whatever you say it is. What’s the use of power unless you can abuse it for your own convenience?”
“Words to found a civilisation on Jack.” Max replied laconically. “You ready?”
“Almost. Guns, we need guns, big, big guns.” Jackson rummaged in the dressing table drawer, holding something in translucent black chiffon against his torso.
“What do you think?”
“That you need professional help Jack, put it down.”
He adroitly caught a tossed holster and strapped it to his thigh.
“You joining me?”
“Nah, I’d better see how the box is coming along. See you there in an hour?”
“Give or take.” Max agreed.
The New Frontier was almost full but Ray led him through the crowd to his table and served a fried breakfast, keeping the sarcastic comments to a minimum in deference to his condition. Max left an extra large tip and made his way to the cargo bay where Xela was converting the re-sequencer for the Data Hub penetration.
Chapter Seventeen: Unwise Words
Daht shifted uncomfortably in his seat and smoothed the sea of medals flooding his chest. Catching himself in the indecisive looking gesture he focused on what he wanted to say, shutting out the bustle of the flight bay the Teladi News Network insisted was the correct backdrop for the interview. Behind him, a Falcon fighter prepared to launch as Fly-Cams jerked and darted around, seeking the best framing shots.
Finally, as his patience reached threadbare, Umyquos Cafomos Alelais III arrived, trailing a comet tail of appearance technicians. Of course, she looked magnificent, as always, even more so in the flesh. Daht licked his lips, wishing away the years, as she took the seat opposite. The Fly-Cams darted to cover her as she flicked through the notes on her padd.
Satisfied she looked up and said.
“Ready General?”
Daht nodded, the voice in his earpiece already counting backwards from five.
“Seera, do the translation honours if you will. Standard Argon, no sibilance.”
Artur glided across to the dispenser, deftly manoeuvring his chair around the sparse furnishings of his office. With half an ear on the translated programme announcement he removed the sandwich. Two cardboard bites later he dropped it into the recycler and turned to the screen, where the Teladi female was extolling at length on the details of the General’s military career, culminating in that famous victory at Ianamus Zura. Daht himself appeared to visibly swell with pride.
“General, it is no secret that you and Director Morn have fundamental disagreements on the course the Teladi Trading Company should plot. Would you care to elaborate?”
“No you would not.” Artur muttered impotently.
“Of course.” Daht replied, leaning forward.
“The continuing rise in profits is fundamental to our civilisation. Of that there can be no dispute. What is good for the Teladi Trading Company is good for the Teladi.”
He leaned back and looked at Umyquos for a moment, weighing his words carefully.
“However, I believe the fluctuating stock values of recent months are indicative of serious structural problems. To begin with, far too much of the gross profits end up in the hands of illegal entities.”
“Illegal entities?” Umyquos interjected, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. “What do you mean by that?”
“The Clans.” Daht snapped back angrily. “As you well know. Parasites that pay bribes not taxes. Scum that monopolise the most profitable industries, robbing the honest investor of their gains, whilst lining the accounts of those with blind eyes. Do you have any idea how much of our industrial production is siphoned off to provide them with the means to wage their wars?”
Umyquos indicated a negative with a clawed gesture.
“Neither have I, with all my resources, neither have I. But I know that when the Xenon attacked Scale Plate Green the glorious Teladi fleet had to be rescued by the Argon. Why must I scrape and beg for fighters when, even as we speak, a Clan Carrier orbits our home-world loading up our latest fighters and who knows what else?”
“You are referring to the Stoertebeker Clan Transporter?” she asked. “As Director Morn has said, it is a civilian vessel, not a warship. The sale of a few of her own obsolete fighters is a mutually profitable exchange. Perhaps it is a bit more blatant than anything we have seen but we all know it goes on and we all know there are unwritten rules.”
She checked her data-padd.
“And Director Morn states it is a vital counter-balance to the growing threat represented by the Argon, Max Force, who many see as little better than a pirate himself, regardless of the Decree of Incorporation you championed.”
“Commander Force breaks no laws.” Daht responded angrily. “And trades on the open market and so helps bolster Teladi stock values. To compare a legally constituted corporation to the festering sore that is the Stoertebeker Clan is an insult and indicative of the corruption of the Teladi spirit that comes from permitting illegal trade for the private profits of a few.”
“Moving on.” Umyquos said quickly. “You said ‘problems’. What are these and how would you correct them? We are running out of time.” She added in response to the voice in her earpiece.
“We are constrained.” Daht stated.
Artur willed time to expire. It did not and Daht continued.
“Despite the heroic role played by our armed forces in expelling the Xenon from their long-held sectors we did not get our just rewards.”
“We have eight new sectors I believe.” Umyquos interjected. “More than the Argon. How is that unjust?”
“The Teladi need expansion room.” Daht answered with enthusiasm. “Yet we are hemmed in by the Argon at the edge of the New Frontier and still have the Xenon astride the key Scale Plate Green – Eighteen Billion trade route. Furthermore, we have no bridgehead from which to expand further into the Xenon sectors beyond Menelaus Frontier. None of those markets or sources of raw materials will boost our share prices.”
He leaned forward for emphasis.
“The future appears to be Boron.”
“What do you suggest?” The interviewer asked eagerly, ignoring the gasps in her earpiece.
“A renegotiation of the colonial settlement. Our own legends clearly state what is now known as Great Trench was a Teladi colony sector, before the Xenon drove us from our first empire. And we should demand a share of the spoils beyond Black Hole Sun. The Teladi must have room to expand.”
“Anything else?” Umyquos gulped.
“The unclaimed sectors.” Daht replied. “Those festering reservoirs serve only to swell the coffers of the Clans and their associates. If other races dare not seize them, under my leadership we shall. For the good of the Greater Teladi Empire.”
Artur attempted to bury his head in his hands. He was only partially successful as his mechanical arm slapped his face.
“Seera.” He winced. “Show me the Teladi Trading Company stock market.”
He watched the numbers fall in silence.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Wake up Max.”
The voice was low, indistinct through the buzz in his temples.
He rolled over and stretched a lazy arm across the warm body next to him and pulled it close. The hug was returned, unconscious, instinctual.
“Wake up Max.”
His head hurt, a dull, familiar throb in time with his heart. Dimly he realised the voice was above him and someone was prodding his shoulder urgently.
Cautiously, he opened one eye.
“By the cringe!”
“Holy shit!”
Jackson hit the floor micro-seconds after Max lurched from the bed, stumbling into Tyre, sending himself and the girl falling to the carpet.
“Take me now, Universe.” Max managed to mumble through the several extra tongues that appeared to have taken up residence in his mouth. The sound of his own voice intensified the pounding and Tyre’s scream lanced like an ice-pick through his skull.
“Well, I hope I got a movie and a decent meal first.” Jackson joked half-heartedly. “And I can still sit down.”
Tyre helped Max to his feet.
“You stink Max,” she snapped. “In more ways than one.” She added, propelling him into the shower.
“Uh … we didn’t..?” Jackson indicated the shower as he fumbled for his clothes. “I mean..”
“Is it that cold in here?” Tyre asked archly and threw his jeans across the room. “Perhaps I should turn up the heating. And the air conditioning. You still alive in there Max?”
“That depends on the answer to Jack’s question.” Max groaned. “Can you pass me my blaster please?”
“No, it’s in the top drawer for safety. Yours too Jack. Given the state you were both in I guess not. Disappointed?”
The denials came in stereo.
Grinning she added. “But I had to sleep on the floor so who knows. Thanks for that kiddies and let yourselves out real soon, I’ve got a late shift to catch.”
She paused in the open doorway.
“And boys, you were both magnificent!”
She shut the door on the groans of dismay.
“She was kidding right Max?” Jack called as she left. “You know her, she was kidding right?”
“Know her?” Max answered, stumbling from the shower. “I can’t even remember her surname. And did she say, late shift?”
He checked the chronometer and groaned. “What the **** were we drinking?”
Max began climbing into his own clothes, with painstaking concentration.
Jackson sniffed his stained tunic gingerly, before putting it on.
“Just about everything it seems. Does the electric chick take in laundry?”
“You could ask.” Max replied leadenly. “So long as you aren’t standing near an airlock. We should eat. Should we eat? I’m not hungry.”
“Or making sense, here take this.”
Max took the stim and triggered it against his carotid. Jackson followed suit.
“Hey, that’s better.” He pulled a pipe from his jacket and stuffed the bowl with space-weed from a cracked leather pouch.
“Appetite stimulant?” Jackson sucked the pipe to life, holding a long lungful. “And that’s much better! You sure?” He proffered the pipe.
Max took a big hit, letting the world brighten to colour as the alkaloids reached his brain.
“The New Frontier. Breakfast, or whatever damn meal it is now.”
Jackson clapped him on the shoulder.
“You’re the big boss Max, it’s whatever you say it is. What’s the use of power unless you can abuse it for your own convenience?”
“Words to found a civilisation on Jack.” Max replied laconically. “You ready?”
“Almost. Guns, we need guns, big, big guns.” Jackson rummaged in the dressing table drawer, holding something in translucent black chiffon against his torso.
“What do you think?”
“That you need professional help Jack, put it down.”
He adroitly caught a tossed holster and strapped it to his thigh.
“You joining me?”
“Nah, I’d better see how the box is coming along. See you there in an hour?”
“Give or take.” Max agreed.
The New Frontier was almost full but Ray led him through the crowd to his table and served a fried breakfast, keeping the sarcastic comments to a minimum in deference to his condition. Max left an extra large tip and made his way to the cargo bay where Xela was converting the re-sequencer for the Data Hub penetration.
Last edited by SteveMill on Fri, 31. Jan 03, 11:03, edited 2 times in total.
My boss is away so it might be today.Al wrote:Wow. Great stuff and it just goes to show that confidence can go to some folks heads. Cant wait to see what the other teladi directors and indeed the other races make of this!
any rough estimate when the next section might appear?
Al
Ha, I'm a poet and didn't know it.
-
- Posts: 2185
- Joined: Sat, 9. Nov 02, 12:21
Hi Steve,
Am slightly lost myself hear. Last time I remember, we were with Comidor James on the Intimidater.
What's Daht doing giving a Braudcast and What's Jack and Max up to? Is it the big rade then? Could just be the gap between the chapters, but could we have a little recap?
Am slightly lost myself hear. Last time I remember, we were with Comidor James on the Intimidater.
What's Daht doing giving a Braudcast and What's Jack and Max up to? Is it the big rade then? Could just be the gap between the chapters, but could we have a little recap?
some who deserve life receive death. Others who deserve death receive life. Can you give it to them? Don't be eager to deal out death in judgement, for not even the wise can see all ends.
If there is such a word as glid I want it hunted down and shot.KiwiNZ wrote:Excellent one!! I agree, worth the wait. Can also imagine that it was not easy to put that together as it is quite a bit different from the normal story line.
Now hurry up with more of it
BTW: is it really 'glided across; or is it 'glid'. just me being uncertain
I might rewrite the second bit when I get time. The transition was abrupt and part of that problem is that although its only a few hundred words after Max and Jack went off the get drunk its weeks since it was read. continuity can be difficult, which is why I deliberatley try to write in a TV/Movie structure of self-contained scenes.
I was also trying for a bit of light relief as well as touch on homophobic issues.
Sadly my boss has returned and, unaccountably expects me to crunch numbers and write papers in return for my salary. I turned up, isn't that enough! Will this vale of unremitting toil never come to an end?