[AP] PRODIGAL SON, A Rogue's Tale - Book II

[Zalym]

To Scion and all of the authors from Part 1 and the few chapters thus far in 2, thank you for a great read. I found this epic tale after my HDD crashed on my PC and I was on my laptop perusing for info on X:R while waiting to get back into my, now I realize, very humble little AP game. So while I waited on the part and then a replacement for the broken replacement I was able to read this monster of a story.

Bravo to all of you!

[Knucles2]

Just a note to let you know we're still here.

Hope things are ok with you, Scion.

[Scion Drakhar]

Hey folks.

Once again I have to apologize. I've been struggling quite a bit with real life issues lately and when I have been able to focus on writing I've found myself working on a novel that I've had on the back burner for years, a novel that I've decided to finish.

So as of this moment I don't know when I'll be able to release the next chapter of Prodigal Son, but please know that I do intend for there to be another. The story isn't finished. So here we are in the most common of all states: uncertainty. I'm doing what I can and hope you all know how much it means to me that you've stuck with me all this time. It's been an inspiration just knowing there are people who want to read what I've written. In fact that's probably what resurrected this novel in the first place.

In any case, until I can ...

Cheers

[Triaxx2]

Real-life consists entirely of one disaster after another, after another. Sometimes it's just a matter of riding the waves. I seriously can't wait to read anything from you, be it you new novel, or another chapter in the harrowing adventures of Nathan Drake Treasure Hunter! Oh, hang on, that's not right. OTHAR Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer! Sorry, hang on...

Ah, right. Lord Drake, Emperor of Pirates!

(Seriously, what IS Drake's full name?)

[_Zap_]

Don't worry, we'll be here. When you deem your other novel finished, just think of signing a couple of the pre-orders :-)

You should have had something in your inbox for a couple months now as well. Did it reach you? Hope the box wasn't full when I sent it :-/

[Zaitsev]

Good to know you're still around, Scion. As _Zap_ said, we'll be here. This story is just too good to give up on, so I'll wait until the sun dies if I have to.

And ... You going all Norwegian on us, Triaxx?

(your gentleman adventurer sounded an awful lot like Olav Tryggvason, who was king of Norway a thousand years ago. I just had to comment on that )

[Knucles2]

Is cool Sci...Maybe, when you get a chance , you can give us a clue about the novel you're writing.

[Triaxx2]

Actually he's a character from Girl Genius, so he might well be based off of King Olav. He's slightly loony though, so it might be a parody. I'm not much up on my Norweigan history so I don't know.

[Olterin]

Yep, I'll join in with the others here, Scion. Real life issues do have a tendency of popping up at the worst of times and screwing your long-standing plans over. So it's all good - this story is just too good to give up on, I will wait for as long as I have to. Oh, and about that novel of yours... when will pre-order of a signed copy be available?

On the upside, I might actually get around to writing Malcolm's interim story if you take more than a year

[Kirlack]

I too have had a lot of shit going on these last few weeks, so I can sympathize with you not having time to get another chapter done Scion. As I've always said to you though, we'll all be here to read whatever you post when you're ready to post it

As far as Ps'y and the crew of Sirrush are concerned, I will have an update at some point, but I'm afraid I'm offline from home lately (bloody virgin media......grrrr).

[Triaxx2]

Presumably jokes about Sacrificing Virgins would be unappreciated then eh?

[Scion Drakhar]

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

Hola!

So, after my last communique I found myself thinking about Drake, and the X-Universe, and soon those thoughts were tapping away at the keyboard and oddly enough, that led to a chapter. Personally I blame all of you. It's your fault. I hope you're happy.

Oh! One more thing. It doesn't show up in this chapter but I have added a mod: Cadius’ X-tra Ship Pack v2.01. For those of you who don't know it adds new ship models to the game and, at least in TC, replaced some of the models with cooler versions. I particularly liked his version of the Cobra. One of the thing this mod does is add the ability to many ships in the game to dock one or two fighters. The aforementioned Cobra for instance would be able to dock one or two M3 or smaller ships, which just makes sense if you think about it. Huge ships like that would require the ability to dock shuttles or be completely dependent on transporter technology or the rare station that can dock capital class ships. So, if during the future I refer to a ship docking at another ship that in the vanilla game doesn't permit docking this mod is why.

@_ZAP_, When I try that link I get an error. Would you mind sending it again?

Okay, without further ado:




15. Trust, and a Hard Decision

Odin held his robe closed with one hand and blinked down at the message in his other. He read it three times before the meaning sank in through the sleep haze and then he sighed. The day was starting early … well, sort of. Thirteen hundred was zero six hundred somewhere, right?

O’dann Rider,

please report to the bridge immediately.

No more than that. Just get your ass out of bed and present it to the people making the decisions … and do it now. He sighed through his nose, feeling that old itch. He tolerated it better now that he was past fifty jazura than he had at twenty but still … being told what to do always made him feel like misbehaving.

“What should I tell the Captain, sir?” The message had been hand-delivered by a boy not yet old enough to grow more than a downy fuzz on his chin. Yet this boy was dressed in black combat armor with the word ‘SECURITY’ stenciled in white across the chest and back, and wearing one of those ship-safe sidearms that wouldn’t put holes in any necessary bulkheads when the fool holding it missed what he was shooting at but would still turn about twenty cubic centimeters of a person into something that would look just about right coming fresh off a barbeque grill. Right then this particular fool was staring right at him with the utterly humorless expression of a boy who thoroughly believed in the gravity of his responsibilities, a boy exuding all the competence and authority of a man three times older with decades of experience behind him. Odin just grinned at him and glanced at the message again.

‘Captain’. That was what they were calling Gin Ookami these days, the kid’s second in command and full time alpha-babe. He took a deep breath and thought of those pitiless blue eyes and the Split-made knives that always decorated her pretty, tight little waist and hips, even when she was pretending they weren‘t. He took a breath and deliberately remembered the way she stood, with her back to a wall whenever possible, perpetually scanning her surroundings and subtly, perhaps even unconsciously, shifting her balance and footing to be ready for any and all perceived threats. The stance and hyper vigilance marked her, and spoke volumes. They said she was a killer, and one adept at using her hands. Scary in and of itself, that. It took a very specific kind of ruthlessness to kill someone at close range, to hear them breathing as they fought for their life, to feel the heat of their blood on your hands, to feel them slowly succumbing as they lost the strength to resist, and to finally watch as the light left their eyes forever. It wasn’t a thing many could do.

Yet that wasn’t all there was to little miss Gin Ookami, was there? No. At some point the woman herself had been hunted. She’d lived in fear for her life and Odin would lay short odds that she’d had to defend it more than once. Very short odds. Which meant that whenever dealing with her he needed to see twice as much, think twice as hard, and step twice as carefully. People who’d lived on the ragged edge of survival tended to think in black and white from then on, seeing only friend or foe, death or survival. His guess was that little miss Ookami was always less than a heartbeat away from putting one of those blades somewhere vital if it meant preventing an enemy from doing the same.

He gave the boy in front of him his best smile. “Tell her I’ll be up as soon as I’m dressed,” he said.

“Yes sir,” the boy said. Then “I have orders to wait for y…”

Odin smiled and closed the door in the kid’s face. Then he glanced at the data pad again and shook his head. He wasn’t worried. He was pretty sure he could handle the woman. She was little more than a girl herself and both she and Drake saw the world through the same filter. Living with them mostly entailed just making sure they didn’t perceive him as a threat. A mistake he’d already been foolish enough to make with the boy.

He shook his head as he turned around. How had the kid gotten so strong so quickly? The first time they’d clasped hands Odin could have crushed the bones in the boy‘s hand and tossed him around the room like a rag doll. He’d known it. He’d enjoyed it. Admittedly it had been a crude, even foolish pleasure but still, it had delighted him. Which made it stand out in his memory. He hadn’t just imagined it. Just as he hadn’t imagined the kid…

… the kid …

Odin shook his head and sighed. Yep. That was his mistake right there. He underestimated the boy. He’d looked at him and seen a child, someone he could bully and toy with. Then Drake put him on his ass and pressed a gun to his head.

Odin chuckled to himself, wondering just how close he’d come to getting his ticket punched. He tossed the data pad onto a counter as he stepped back into the bedroom he shared with Hayla and leaned against the doorframe with a grin. The woman was still asleep and he could hear her snoring softly. It was a soft, feminine sound and it pleased him almost as much as the sight of her. She was laying as if still molded to his side. One hand rested on the mattress where Odin had been before the boy with the gun brought the message. He stood there for a moment and watched her, wondering how this was all going to turn out. It had been a long time since he’d believed in any kind of ’happily ever after,’ especially with a woman. Yet he had to admit that it did feel good to make Hayla smile … and it had been a long time since he’d met anyone cagey enough to really dance with, and Drake had both the chops and enough hidden depth to be a lot of fun. Odin grinned broadly. A lot of fun.

All he had to do was avoid getting himself killed.

_________________

Oi! So there I was, starin’ at all that red on the section map with my last order still hangin’ in the air when I realized that Gin had turned around to look at me.

“It’s not Vassar, Drake,” she said.

“Huh?!” I grunted and met her eye. “How do you know that?”

“It just doesn’t add up. The life of his son hangs in the balance. Do you really think he’s going to come out of retirement and use his influence with the Pirate Guild just to harass one of your freighters?”

After a moment I growled and shook my head. She was right, of course. Sally was in a different league. He wasn’t some crude thug that was gonna hit me over the head with a club at his first opportunity. No, when Sal-va-dor-ee Vassar decided to come for me it would be sideways. He’d play the game, lure me in and probably hit me right when I thought I’d won. So I sat there, starin’ at all those red contacts and sucked on my left eyetooth, tryin’ to think my way around the problem without losing myself to the fire in my blood that was screaming that I should just solve all my problems with nuclear fire. After a long time I turned back to Gin and grinned, showing a lot of teeth. “Let’s still stick Sin in the airlock,” I growled. “I think it’s time to take his Daddy’s temperature anyway, and I want Sal thinkin’ about how close his boy is to the big empty.” Her lips twitched just a hair as she picked up the comm and called down to the brig. It’s hard to tell with her, you know? Most of the time she gives so little away with her face. But I think she likes it when I’m feelin’ evil.

Anyway, I listened to her relay my instructions and continued to boil away my situation. I don’t like the predicament. Not one bit. Not the freighter holed up in the sidearm fab. Gin’s right. The freighter is an irritant. All said and done, pilot, software and the kitchen sink it’s maybe a three-quarter million cred investment and if the Guild decides to wipe out the entire sector it’s not gonna cause me any permanent injury. I can get another freighter, and there are plenty of idiots willin’ to fly around doin‘ my tradin‘ for me for chump change. No. What’s botherin’ me is the the principle of the thing. After the terrans smashin’ me, and these idiots stealin’ from me, and seein’ the Teladi roostin’ in Avarice … which was MINE!

… Breathe. Right. Just breathe…

I guess it’s all just sorta addin’ up. Legion would prob’bly tell me it’s a question of ratio. Yeah, well, I’m not likin’ the ratio right now. It seems to me that the number of people wantin’ my head on a plate compared with the number of guns at my disposal is decidedly outta balance. I’m startin’ to think that sendin’ Ea’t and Z’ppt off in their own directions was kinda boneheaded. I mean I’m sure Ea’t would have kept his crew together regardless of cash flow and with the Tiger, Dragon and the Tenjin and Endless at my disposal getting’ that Panther ship shape again would have been a lot easier. Honestly I’m not sure I did Z’ppt any favors leavin’ him with that mess.

Frak! Of all the things that could have happened at the same time! As if the terrans bringin’ the hammer down wasn’t enough, right? These bloody cumpàs have to come along and STEAL from me! Yeah. Well that’s what I was thinkin’ about when I realized Gin was lookin’ at me, and believe it or not she was actually showin’ some expression on her face. Namely worry. Apparently I’d growled and hit the arm of my chair. I was about to apologize when I saw something else on her face, and strange as it might be, I think it was guilt. “What?” I asked.

“Odin’s on his way up,” she informed me.

“Yeah?” I cocked my head to look at her with my good eye. “What of it?”

That’s when the damn broke. “I need you to talk to him, Drake. You need a captain for this ship and I am not it!”

“You’re gonna sandbag me with that NOW?!” I growled at her and her expression instantly became ice. Yeah, I really am stupid. “Oh, shit,” I muttered.

“You haven’t left me much choice, Drake. I’ve tried talking with you about this for the last several days and you’ve very successfully avoided dealing with it. This ship needs a captain. I am not it. I’m a fighter pilot. The Magus had a crew of a dozen and I was barely comfortable with that. There are thousands of people aboard the Endless, Drake. THOUSANDS.” She stared at me and honestly it was kind of hard not to wince. Her eyes could be as sharp as those amarra blades she carries. “Besides,” she went on, “you need somebody watching your six out there.”

“I’d rather watch your six in here,” I said, “but we need the money and that Tenjin is…”

“I’m not arguing that,” she interrupted me. “What I’m saying is that…”

“Gin, I don’t trust the man! He’s a swindler and a con man and his intentions are murky at best…”

“How about Hayla?”

“What?!” I shook my head, not sure I heard her correctly.

“Do you trust Hayla?”

“Well … yeah!” I said. “Of course I do! But she certainly doesn’t have the skill set to manage this ship!”

Gin stared at me like I was an idiot, which I suppose I am, but it’s not my fault … bloody hell. I swear I’ve never met a woman that can’t turn a man’s head inside out and backwards with just a frown. “She’s not going to be managing the ship, Drake.” She gave me a level look and waited for me to understand her meaning. After an embarrassingly long time it clicked.

“Oh!” I said. “Huh.” Gin leaned back and stared at me. “Did …?” I frowned at her. “Did you … talk … with Hayla about this … already?”

“She also has been rather put out with you, Drake. She wants you to start taking at least some of her calls.”

I groaned. “Gin what is my Ma supposed to do if Odin decides to steal one of my ships or betray me to one of my … many … enemies?”

She gave me one of those looks that only women are capable of. You know the kind that makes you feel both stupid and unwashed at the same time? Yeah. One of those. And you know, in retrospect, this day really hasn’t exactly been one of shining clarity for me. “Drake,” she says with that patient tone people normally reserve for drunks or misbehaving children. “Kao t’Kt and Latasha Seldon have been training the ship’s security force and you do remember what they used to do for you?” I glared at her. “You don’t doubt their loyalty do you?“ My glare became a scowl. “Drake, if anyone attempts to steal this ship with those two on board I don’t expect it will go very well. So no. What Hayla will do is keep tabs on Odin for you…”

“Hayla’s in love with the guy!” I exclaimed. “And he’s a con-man! And she really wants to believe his bull-shit! Do you really think he’s not gonna be able to pull the wool over her eyes?”

Gin stared at me. It was a cold stare and she stared at me for a looong time. She stared at me long enough for me to become very uncomfortable. My throat even got dry and I found it decidedly hard to swallow. Finally Gin looked away with a gesture that said she gave up. Yeah, and if you believe that I‘ve got a sector I‘d like to sell you.

“You don’t give her enough credit, Drake,” she said. Then she met my eye again. “After what she’s been through do you really think that any man will be able to deceive her again?”

Now THAT I thought about. I looked Gin in the eye and after a little while I found myself wondering if I really was an idiot ... and the evidence isn't lookin' good. “How much did the two of you talk about?” She actually smiled then. It was a small smile, and very pretty. Yet as pretty as it was I almost wish she hadn’t. It was kinda scary.

“Some things are none of your business, Drake.”

Yeah, very scary.

Then the door comm chimed and the marine outside announced that Odin was here. I glanced back at Gin. “You still sandbagged me,” I griped.

“Yes,” she said, still wearing that pretty little smile. “I did.”

Yeah. It made my skin crawl. Bloody hell. Women! I tell yah…

______________

Right. So I talked with Odin. Then I had dinner with my ma and talked with Hayla. About Odin. About her and Odin … which made me feel kinda sick to my stomach honestly. Then, takin’ it on the chin like a man I talked to her about keepin’ an eye on the guy she’s currently sleepin’ with for me. Which made me feel kinda creepy, kinda sleezy, decidedly uncomfortable … and when it was all said and done, completely naive.

I mean I’ve always known that Hayla is deeper than she lets on. Hell! She taught me at least half of what I know and I’ve gotten to watch her play people for jazura. So I thought I knew all her games. Yeah. It seems today has been all about me discoverin’ either just how thick I really am or just how much I don’t know. Yeah, Hayla surprised me.

We ate in the quarters I share Gin and Gin stayed on the bridge. So Hayla and I got to be alone. For much of the conversation it was just Hayla natterin’ away. She started with a very lengthy guilt trip about how I haven't called her. Then she alternated between naggin’ me about tired I look and naggin' me about why I haven’t been takin’ her calls. But how do you tell somebody that as much as you love them they can be kinda drainin’? And I am tired. And I don’t have any time to sleep or worry about myself. Half the damn universe is out to get me and I’ve got twenty five hundred people aboard that all need me to make sure they have air to breathe and clean water to drink and food to eat and opportunities to make money and that … oh yeah! … they don’t all of sudden end up dyin' horribly tryin’ to suck vacuum as the ship explodes in fiery death all around 'em! So I sucked it up and let her fuss over me and tell me I needed a shave and that I should talk to her friend Shauna in the massage parlor for some deep tissue work and how I should join her and Odin for dinner more often and that there are these magnificent beaches off the coast of New Italy on Argon Prime that she’d just loooove to visit if I could arrange it …

… yeah. I thought I was gonna lose my mind. Which is when all of a sudden it was like the clouds parted and the sun came out. All the bull disappeared in a heartbeat and there she was, lookin’ me dead in the eye, as clear as a bell and as fierce as I’ve ever seen her.

“Alright kid,” she says. “So talk to me already.”

“Huh?”

“Talk to me!” She says again, eyes blazing. “You know Gin talks to me more than you do?” She leveled a finger at my eye. “And tells me more when she does?!”

“Yeah,” I said. “Honestly I’m not sure if I should find that reassurin’ or not.”

She scowled at me and planted her fists on her hips. “Don't you trust her?”

I thought about it. I thought about it hard. I mean I really looked at it and after a long time I found myself noddin’. “Yeah,” I said. “I do.”

“Of course you do,” Hayla said, and she said it gently, which got my attention. “Because you can, Drake. You can.”

“But how do you know, Ma?” I asked her. “I mean how do you really know? I mean I don‘t want to upset you or anythin’ but … I mean, are you really the best person to be givin’ me advice about who to trust? I mean…" I looked away. "Shit.”

She stared at me and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “You want to know if I trusted Gil.” She said it calm and cold and level and I nodded, havin’ trouble meetin’ her eye. She got up and walked away from the table to look out one of the windows. For a moment I thought she might be about to cry and felt like shit about it but when she turned around her eyes weren’t just dry. They were blazin‘ hot and terrifyin‘. Seein’ her like that I felt my blood tingle and my teeth actually bared themselves in a smile I didn’t expect. She looked like she had a decade ago when they called her ‘the Bandit Queen.’ Back when people used to wonder who was really runnin’ the show. Gil. Or Hayla.

“If I ever see Gil again I’m gonna cut his balls off and feed ‘em to him. But Drake,” she held up that finger again. “He did me one favor by betrayin’ me.”

I was squintin’ at her. If I ever saw Gil again she might not get a chance at him and my blood had leapt to a boil at the thought. “Oh yeah? What might that be?”

“He taught me to trust myself,” she said.

I tilted my head at her, not gettin’ it.

“I wanted to trust him, Drake. I wanted to believe the lies he told me. I wanted to. So I did. Even when there were all these whispers of doubt inside me. Even when I knew he’d just lied to my face. I wanted to believe him. What Gil taught me is that wanting doesn’t make it so. So you trust yourself, kid. Trust the whispers inside you that let you know when somethin’ doesn’t feel right.”

“Is that what you’re doin’ with Odin?”

She grinned at me. “Oh, kid. I’m usin’ him every bit as much as he’s usin’ me.”

My temper must have shown on my face ‘cause she laughed at me. “Relax Drake,” she grinned at me. “It’s just part of the game we play and we’re both aware of it.” I opened my mouth to tell her that if he ever hurt her I’d kill him and she cut me off. “It’s okay, Drake. Really. I have no illusions about who he is and I don’t expect any more from him than he gives.”

I sucked that eyetooth of mine and she laughed at me again.

“Trust me,” she said.

“There’s that word again.”

She gave me a very direct look but her eyes were full of laughter. After a moment I couldn’t help but smile.

“You know I like you this way,” I said.

“What way?”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “Here somehow. Sometimes it feels like you’re a thousand klicks away, natterin’ on about everythin’ but what’s important. Then sometimes, like now, you remind me of the way you used to be. You're like this tigress,” I grinned, “and all I can think is that I’m glad you’re on my side.”

She crossed the room, then, and took my face in both hands. Her eyes were so fierce that for that moment there was just nothin’ else. “I’m always on your side, Drake.” I don’t know why or how but that gave me the chills. I knew in my soul that she was tellin’ me the truth. It made me want to weep. She spared me the indignity by kissin’ my forehead and then huggin’ me. “I love you, kid,” she said. “You and no one else.”

That choked me up so bad that it actually took me a couple of tries to get the words out. “I love you too, Ma.”

She gave me one more ferocious squeeze and then stepped back to look me in the eye again. “Don’t worry, Drake. I’ll keep an eye on Odin for you.” I didn’t know what to say. So I just stared at her. Then she smiled at me, as kind and gentle as any mother to any son. “And if he tries to betray you,” she said, still smilin’, “I’ll cut his throat while he sleeps.”

So, aah, yeah. The Endless has a Captain. I spoke to Odin again and when it was all said and done he took the job. He took it with less hagglin' than I was expectin', too. Which kinda worries me. But either way, he took the job and Kao t'Kt, Tasha Seldon and my Ma will all be watchin' him for any hint of mischief, which he might find somewhat terminal if he tries it.

So, with that done I sent a burst transmission to that phone we put in Sally’s hand. It showed his son pacin’ around that airlock with the flashers all lit up and circlin’, so he knows his kid is just the press of a button away from bein’ spaced. You know, just to remind him. With the message I also told him to pray that nobody tried to board the Endless. Cos if that happened one of the first things we'd do would be to vent poor little scumbag Sin out into space. You know, again, just to remind him.

Then we jumped the Endless to Elena’s fortune where the Argon military has a reasonably strong presence. And now I’m off to commit some piracy, hopefully to find some microchips … or, you know, some nukes. And Gin is back in the cockpit.

Watchin’ my six.

[stads]

yay welcome back

good to see the story move along
still se drake has some real trust isue's though cant blame him

[Zaitsev]

Hum ... *cough* Ahem ... SQUEEEEEEEEEE!

*jumps up and down, totally behaving like an idiot*

Yay, Drake is back! Great chapter, Scion. If I'd had long enough arms I think i would have hugged you out of pure happiness

Or ... uhm ... yeah, I think I'll just wander back to my own story now *walk away, whistling*

[Triaxx2]

Excellent work. I just noticed that we filled three pages since the last update. Can't wait to see what you do next. Of course, it means I get more fun with Ea't so I'm giddy.

[Scion Drakhar]

You guys just make my day. I love it.

The next chapter is already in the works.

Cheers!

[Malren]

Yes, yes, yes! I'm with Zaitsev, *SQUEEE*

It's great to have you back in the saddle, Scion!

Also, love Hayla. Mama's fierce!

[Triaxx2]

Excellent. *steeples fingers*

---

The door buzzer startled H'nt out of his bunk. Split ships being war craft, from the lowest TS to the largest capital, accommodations tended not to be particularly spacious, mostly to make more room for armor, or weapons. On the Sword of Rhonkar, H'nt was located beneath the port turret, which meant that as long as the gun wasn't firing, it was relatively peaceful and quiet. H'nt liked that, since he'd been stationed on Tiger's before and had found himself near the rear guns. He hated that, because it was inevitably where the very forward focused Split captains would mount their flak guns.

No matter what other scientists said, H'nt knew that space was not a perfect vacuum, and that it transmitted sounds, especially low frequency sounds like those generated by flak cannon plasma detonations, extremely well. And since the designers for the Tiger had believed that, there was no sound dampening, so the entire ship sounded like a tin bath tub, being hit with ten thousand tiny hammers. All in all the echoing resonations of the magnetic accelerators discharging the balls of super charged plasma, that were fired by the Incendiary Bomb Launchers was a welcome noise after the constant pounding of a Flak gun. True, some might be concerned by the sound of an IBL discharging, presuming there was a capital ship attack. Truth was however, that Split gunners mostly just like to shoot the guns, no matter what they might be, or what exactly they're shooting at. Split local traffic habitually gave capitals large clearances, partially because of ancient, universal laws of ships at sea that had cropped up on worlds more distant than could be believed, which said that more maneuverable vessels automatically gave way for those less able than themselves. And Partially because it wasn't known to smaller ships when a capital might need to turn to defend itself, against a threat,real or perceived and thus it was wise to fly wide.

But mostly, because they knew quite well that Split gunners tended to open fire on anything that caught their attention. From a lowly spacefly, to a piece of asteroid debris that might float past, to occasionally other Split warships. True, this could cause a little friction between capital ships. And between families. And yes, it did indeed occasionally make Split captains feel more like they were herding monkeys with ADD than military leaders, but it was always a challenge and that was something Split loved above just about anything except fighting. And fighting was a challenge, so Split were generally quite happy with either situation.

The trouble with H'nt being startled was two-fold. For one he'd been having a dream, and in it had been running. He could tell this for a fact because his blankets were tangled around his legs. Which explained why, when he attempted to leap to his feet, he instead fell to the ground and banged his head on the bunk. The other issue was that he slept with a loaded phase derringer, a single shot version of a phase pistol that had one use, mostly because the round was actually roughly twice as powerful as a shot from a conventional weapon, but was useful to delay an attacker long enough for him to reach his primary weapon. (Though only a Split or Paranid would need a follow up shot if it connected.)

He also slept with a sheathed Jatra beneath his pillow. Some Split kept their Jatra unsheathed. They seemed to universally be called a Split word, translating roughly to 'Stumpy'. H'nt was smarter than that. Or rather thought he was. In this instance it wasn't helpful, since the Jatra's sheath caught on the pillow, bringing it down with him so that as his head bounced off the bunk it also smashed into the sheathed Jatra, though fortunately through the pillow. H'nt was in the midst of attempting to untangle the blankets, but even as he was engaged in this, the door buzzed again, starting him, and causing his head to jump up. And bang on the bottom of the bunk. H'nt let out several words, in several languages.

After a couple minutes of work, H'nt not only managed to reach his feet, but also dress himself, now with his Jatra in it's proper place at his waist, and his face calmed. At least, in as much as it's possible to calm a Split face. He took a deep breath, walked the short distance to the door and pressed his thumb to the pad that controlled the actuators, which opened the door for his 'visitor'. On the other side was a truly enormous Split, whom H'nt recognized as one of the duty sergeant's. Not least because of the word's Duty Sergeant written across his chest in three different languages. Split, Teladi, and Argon. It was highly unlikely they would be hosting Boron, and the Paranid were quite seriously down on 'lesser beings' writing in their holy language. And Terran was all but the same as Argon, and with trade making Teladi the most generally used language around, it wasn't really any sort of issue.

"Captain wants you." the sergeant wasn't the sort to mince words. Pulverize them, and drink them as a shake, yes, but not mince them. H'nt considered asking for more, but said nothing instead, as the sergeant moved on. H'nt took a deep breath, and headed towards the bridge.

[blacksteel27]

o no i cought up!! now i have to wait
-sigh- ah well so umm i feel really stuiped for asking this but umm what about the freighter?? am i just being blind though?


o yea who dosent love a cut throat mom therethe best

[Triaxx2]

Which freighter?