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A lone figure sat silhouetted against the dim planet Kraz in the early morning hours, hunched over the Makchuga’s ornate bar, muttering to no one in particular.
Like a celestial alarm clock, Odia’s star glared over the horizon of the huge gas giant, its light streaming through the gigantic vismetal pane and glinting off of the overturned shot glass in LeberMac’s hand. The bar had been closed for hours, yet he had been allowed by the management to remain, seeing as he was the bar’s single biggest patron. He wondered how long that would continue to be true as he cracked an eyelid and was immediately punished for it by the intense morning starlight.
The piercing light moved slowly, tracing a widening arc of brilliance through the bar, reflecting off of the bottles, the glassware, and every other reflective surface. The airborne dust motes danced in the hushed glow of morning that streamed into Corvus Hold.
“Mrrfff. Alright. I’m awake...” LeberMac said as he rustled up the energy to move to a darker corner of the bar. He shuffled to an interior booth near the entrance, cursing his bad luck as he stumbled into the seat, poured himself his breakfast and recalled the events of the previous week.
Fired. Yes, he’d been fired from [TGFT]. That was essentially it; all of his hard work put into becoming accepted to that guild had ended up giving him nothing. His hand went to the small bald patch on his head where he’d put the Fuse-A-Tape™ to secure his [TGFT] beanie in place. How proud he’d been when he’d had that on! Obsidian herself had given it to him... oh, right. Obsidian.
He’d crushed her precious collector’s Axia Guardian Wraith on that mission for Moby Dick. Purely by accident, of course! He’d offered to get her a new one, hell, Axia wraiths were cheap nowadays, but she’d opted to send out TPG Teradon hunting parties after him instead. Wonder what the big deal was, anyway, She had it out for him now, that was for sure.
He’d been taken in by those traders after being kicked out of [ITAN], apparently they’d thought that he could provide some combat support or something. Failing that, they’d tried to turn him into a trader. Apparently, he’d also failed at that somehow, and they’d turned him out of the guild and into a drunk. Or had he done that himself? Regardless, he was about to be kicked out of THAT position as well. Money. It always came down to money.
He’d sold off everything he owned and made his way back here once it was apparent that he wasn’t going to be able to honor Anevitt’s contract terms, and the noncompliance penalties were harsh indeed. He’d made the payment, but only barely; at least now he was free and clear of any obligations besides his own. He patted his last batch of credits as they jangled in his pocket, he hoped he’d have enough for another bottle or two to make it through the day. In dire need, there was always the datapad he'd swiped from [TGFT] HQ. It was probably worth at LEAST a bottle. He resolved, in his drunken state, to figure out what was on it sometime soon.
He finished the remnants of the previous night’s bottle and attempted to stand, but failed. He slumped down on the seat of the booth in a half-conscious state as a group of four tough-looking customers walked past the bar purposefully. LeberMac lost his last grip on consciousness and fell out of the booth awkwardly, losing his grip on the shotglass, which rolled in front of the group of toughs. The hooded one stopped to pick it up.
“Tequila. Disgusting.” he said as he tossed the shot glass away and kept moving. The smaller greenish one kicked the unconscious LeberMac as he went by, and the bald one regarded the drooling body, pondering whether or not to get out the permanent markers. He decided against it, and the first three continued on into the new day, while the last of the group lagged behind and grinned to herself.
She pulled a card out of her cloak and slipped it into the empty bottle that LeberMac clutched like a teddy bear. “Sometimes we all need a fresh start and new opportunities,” she said quietly as she stood to catch up with her team, who was about to pull off the stunt of the year in [VPR] headquarters.
LeberMac snored peacefully, lying on the deck outside the Makchuga.
Like a celestial alarm clock, Odia’s star glared over the horizon of the huge gas giant, its light streaming through the gigantic vismetal pane and glinting off of the overturned shot glass in LeberMac’s hand. The bar had been closed for hours, yet he had been allowed by the management to remain, seeing as he was the bar’s single biggest patron. He wondered how long that would continue to be true as he cracked an eyelid and was immediately punished for it by the intense morning starlight.
The piercing light moved slowly, tracing a widening arc of brilliance through the bar, reflecting off of the bottles, the glassware, and every other reflective surface. The airborne dust motes danced in the hushed glow of morning that streamed into Corvus Hold.
“Mrrfff. Alright. I’m awake...” LeberMac said as he rustled up the energy to move to a darker corner of the bar. He shuffled to an interior booth near the entrance, cursing his bad luck as he stumbled into the seat, poured himself his breakfast and recalled the events of the previous week.
Fired. Yes, he’d been fired from [TGFT]. That was essentially it; all of his hard work put into becoming accepted to that guild had ended up giving him nothing. His hand went to the small bald patch on his head where he’d put the Fuse-A-Tape™ to secure his [TGFT] beanie in place. How proud he’d been when he’d had that on! Obsidian herself had given it to him... oh, right. Obsidian.
He’d crushed her precious collector’s Axia Guardian Wraith on that mission for Moby Dick. Purely by accident, of course! He’d offered to get her a new one, hell, Axia wraiths were cheap nowadays, but she’d opted to send out TPG Teradon hunting parties after him instead. Wonder what the big deal was, anyway, She had it out for him now, that was for sure.
He’d been taken in by those traders after being kicked out of [ITAN], apparently they’d thought that he could provide some combat support or something. Failing that, they’d tried to turn him into a trader. Apparently, he’d also failed at that somehow, and they’d turned him out of the guild and into a drunk. Or had he done that himself? Regardless, he was about to be kicked out of THAT position as well. Money. It always came down to money.
He’d sold off everything he owned and made his way back here once it was apparent that he wasn’t going to be able to honor Anevitt’s contract terms, and the noncompliance penalties were harsh indeed. He’d made the payment, but only barely; at least now he was free and clear of any obligations besides his own. He patted his last batch of credits as they jangled in his pocket, he hoped he’d have enough for another bottle or two to make it through the day. In dire need, there was always the datapad he'd swiped from [TGFT] HQ. It was probably worth at LEAST a bottle. He resolved, in his drunken state, to figure out what was on it sometime soon.
He finished the remnants of the previous night’s bottle and attempted to stand, but failed. He slumped down on the seat of the booth in a half-conscious state as a group of four tough-looking customers walked past the bar purposefully. LeberMac lost his last grip on consciousness and fell out of the booth awkwardly, losing his grip on the shotglass, which rolled in front of the group of toughs. The hooded one stopped to pick it up.
“Tequila. Disgusting.” he said as he tossed the shot glass away and kept moving. The smaller greenish one kicked the unconscious LeberMac as he went by, and the bald one regarded the drooling body, pondering whether or not to get out the permanent markers. He decided against it, and the first three continued on into the new day, while the last of the group lagged behind and grinned to herself.
She pulled a card out of her cloak and slipped it into the empty bottle that LeberMac clutched like a teddy bear. “Sometimes we all need a fresh start and new opportunities,” she said quietly as she stood to catch up with her team, who was about to pull off the stunt of the year in [VPR] headquarters.
LeberMac snored peacefully, lying on the deck outside the Makchuga.
(fade back to a few days earlier)
Obsidian quietly closed the refrigerator in the TGFT galley. Lebermac was so predictable. She would leave the data pad in the fridge next to the bowl of limes. Lebermac would surely would find it if it was left there. The plan was sent into motion and all she could do was sit back and watch things unfold.
Obsidian quietly closed the refrigerator in the TGFT galley. Lebermac was so predictable. She would leave the data pad in the fridge next to the bowl of limes. Lebermac would surely would find it if it was left there. The plan was sent into motion and all she could do was sit back and watch things unfold.
As the bartender delivered Mystic her second drink, she received a comm message from Splash. "Its done", was all that was said. Not that Mystic needed anymore to know what he was talking about and that he had been successful. Now to just sit back and wait.
Finishing her drink, Mystic headed back upstairs. Her mind was still too busy to sleep, even as her body screamed for rest. So instead of her apartment, she headed back to her office. All the plans were laid,everyone knew their part, it would just take time to fully execute. For now, she had other guild business that needed her attention.
Most important a list of possible new recruits, seemed being a pirate was becoming more and more popular. Some approached them, but there were some that Mystic or others saw potential in. Perusing the list, she made notes about each one.
The rumors about TGFT booting Lebermac hadn't failed to reach even here in Grey. A decent pilot, if you could ignore that he loved his tequila, he would make a great addition to the team if the conditions were right.
Fate seemed to agree with Mystic, for as she and the others headed to execute their plan, they had seen him, passed out, just outside the Makchuga. On impulse she had left one of her cards with him, either he would contact her, or he wouldn't.
After what she had seen and been through during her life, she understood the need for someone to just care and to offer a new start. Her life altering chance had come from BLAK , if he accepted, CLM might do the same for Lebermac.
Finishing her drink, Mystic headed back upstairs. Her mind was still too busy to sleep, even as her body screamed for rest. So instead of her apartment, she headed back to her office. All the plans were laid,everyone knew their part, it would just take time to fully execute. For now, she had other guild business that needed her attention.
Most important a list of possible new recruits, seemed being a pirate was becoming more and more popular. Some approached them, but there were some that Mystic or others saw potential in. Perusing the list, she made notes about each one.
The rumors about TGFT booting Lebermac hadn't failed to reach even here in Grey. A decent pilot, if you could ignore that he loved his tequila, he would make a great addition to the team if the conditions were right.
Fate seemed to agree with Mystic, for as she and the others headed to execute their plan, they had seen him, passed out, just outside the Makchuga. On impulse she had left one of her cards with him, either he would contact her, or he wouldn't.
After what she had seen and been through during her life, she understood the need for someone to just care and to offer a new start. Her life altering chance had come from BLAK , if he accepted, CLM might do the same for Lebermac.
Miharu closed and locked the door to her apartment on Corvus Hold, tucking her PDS under her right arm.
It was early in the morning, especially for her, but she'd woken up early and had been unable to go back to sleep. Normally she would have just curled up in bed and stared at the ceiling of the dark apartment until she fell asleep, but for some reason, the dim blue glow from her hologuide, Aoikun, had prevented her from doing so.
So she'd gotten up and gone through her morning routine, and worked on some guild business while drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Eventually her alarm went off, and she remembered she had to go down to the bar to check up on Leber, who she had allowed to stay in the bar overnight.
Joyce would have frowned on it, but Miharu knew that while Leber was an alcoholic, he wouldn't touch a single thing other than tequila, and she kept a generous stash for him in the bar separate from the rest of the bar's supplies.
She checked the screen of the PDS and noted she had some new mail since she'd left the apartment. She tapped the screen with the stylus and scanned the topics.
There was a note from her elder sister in Eo, another from Joyce... neither of which contained anything urgent judging from the topics... they were just checking in, seeing how she was doing. A note from her doctor about an upcoming appointment... nothing major.
Miharu tucked the PDS back under her arm and looked up. Leber was lying half inside the bar, half out in the corridor. She sighed and shook her head. She walked around Leber, put the PDS down on the counter and started dragging Leber back into the bar.
It took her a few minutes, but she managed to get him into a booth; once he was stable enough to not fall out of it she checked the bar's security logs. She idly picked up the datapad that fell out of his pocket while she was dragging him and tossed it onto the bar next to the PDS.
Nobody'd been in or out of the bar, but the automated defenses by the door had activated when Leber had fallen near it... presumably because of the late hour. According to the log, nobody (aside from Leber) had crossed the threshold of the bar entrance, but Miharu did a quick check of the bar's inventory anyway.
She found nothing to be missing aside from several bottles of tequila from Leber's stash, which were revealed by a quick glance at the bar itself. She looked back towards the door and spotted the empty bottle that Leber had been holding--it must have fallen out of his hand when she had moved him back into the bar.
As she walked over and picked it up, she noticed the card inside it, and the familiar text on it:
MysticRogue
Commander, [CLM]
Turning the bottle over, she saw the words "the second chance" scrawled on the back of the card in pointed script.
Scowling, Miharu put the bottle on the table in front of Leber, the card still inside, noting the comm number under the text on the front for later use. She sat down behind the bar, picking up her PDS and getting a little work done before the first customers of the morning started to trickle in.
The datapad from Leber's pocket caught her eye as she put her PDS down, the small green TGFT logo in the corner beckoning.
You're not a spy, Miharu, she thought. Pick it up and look at it and you're no better than a pirate. What would Joyce say? She reached out and stopped short.
Leber had it in his pocket. Like hell it has sensitive material on it. Nobody's that stupid. She picked it up anyway and it activated in her hands, loudly chirping,
"TGFT Council only. Level Twenty access required. Please enter your quantum encryption key, councilor."
She dropped the datapad to the bar counter as if it were a hot coal. What the hell was Leber doing with something containing information that sensitive? Level Twenty access was reserved only for the commander and a certain few councilors. Not even TGFT's lieutenants had access keys for this datapad. Whatever was on it, it was sensitive, it was important, and Leber probably was not supposed to have it.
And furthermore, it was probably useful.
She picked up her PDS and was about to start writing a response to Joyce's message when she saw movement from the table where she had put Leber. She hopped off her stool and filled a glass with cold water, putting it down on the table in front of him as she sat down with her PDS and the TGFT datapad in her lap.
"You know," she said, pushing the water to him as he looked up and squinted at the bright interior of the bar, "even though your alcohol tolerance is pretty high, don't you think ten bottles of tequila is just a tad bit much for even you?"
He groaned, closing his eyes.
"Seriously. Drink this."
She pushed the glass of water towards him until it was pressing into his forehead. He groaned again.
"It won't make you feel better right away but it's better than sitting there with a massive headache for the rest of the day, ne?"
He took the glass, his hand shaking violently as he did so, sloshing a bit of the water onto the table. It took him a few tries, but he managed to get about half of the water into his mouth and the rest went all over his flight jacket and the rest of the booth.
Miharu got up and refilled the glass of water when Leber put it down, filling a pitcher as well before bringing both back to the table.
"You told me the why last night with the long sob story. Want to explain the what?"
He looked at her, puzzled.
"Namely, what the hell you're doing with this datapad?" She held up the TGFT datapad and turned it so he could see the bright error message on the screen. His eyes opened wide as soon as he realized what she was holding and he made a grab for it. She pulled it away.
"Well? Why do you have it? You know, the amount of trouble you're already in with Obsidian is probably *nowhere* near the amount of trouble you'll be in if she finds out that I've seen it, whether or not I've seen the contents. I'm tempted to give it back to her."
"I shaw it *hic* in the fridge next to the *hic* limesh..." he mumbled, taking a gulp of water. "It wash right *hic* there... even had my *hic* name on it!"
Miharu could barely understand him through the slurred words and hiccups, but she got the gist of what he was saying.
"Leber, I don't see your name anywhere on this datapad. At all."
"It'sh right *hic* there!" He pointed at the screen of the datapad, which had reverted to the animated TGFT logo. Miharu rolled her eyes.
"Leber, this isn't yours."
"Yesh it is!"
"No," she said, putting it down on the table, "no it's not." She refilled the glass of water.
She sighed and looked at Leber. He usually looked rather unkempt, his flightsuit usually wrinkled, his hair often a mess, but today he really looked horrible. Much worse than normal.
"I am a little curious what's on the datapad, but in the interest of staying on relatively good terms with TGFT, I'm not going to pursue it." She pushed the TGFT datapad aside, and pulled the tequila bottle in front of her.
"However," she continued, "I am more curious about why MysticRogue is interested in recruiting you." She fished the card out of the bottle carefully and pushed it into Leber's hands.
"Wha...? Whash thish?"
Miharu shrugged. "I was hoping you would tell me."
Leber shook his head and put the card into his pocket after staring at it for several minutes. "I'm no pirate," he mumbled. "I'd probably pay the *hic* target inshtead of hailing them!"
"You're not much of a trader, either, it seems," she said, smirking.
"No..." He took another gulp of water.
"But you're dependable in a pinch," she continued, fishing around in her pocket. "Sigma could use that."
She pulled out a small card, roughly the same size as the one Mystic had crammed into the neck of the tequila bottle, and handed it to Leber.
"Here," she said. "take this."
He looked at the card and blinked. Miharu picked up the TGFT datapad and held it out to Leber.
"I hope you'll do the right thing. Let me know how it turns out, okay? And don't be afraid to call the number on the card. We'd be glad to have you."
Leber cautiously took the datapad and hiccuped.
It was early in the morning, especially for her, but she'd woken up early and had been unable to go back to sleep. Normally she would have just curled up in bed and stared at the ceiling of the dark apartment until she fell asleep, but for some reason, the dim blue glow from her hologuide, Aoikun, had prevented her from doing so.
So she'd gotten up and gone through her morning routine, and worked on some guild business while drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Eventually her alarm went off, and she remembered she had to go down to the bar to check up on Leber, who she had allowed to stay in the bar overnight.
Joyce would have frowned on it, but Miharu knew that while Leber was an alcoholic, he wouldn't touch a single thing other than tequila, and she kept a generous stash for him in the bar separate from the rest of the bar's supplies.
She checked the screen of the PDS and noted she had some new mail since she'd left the apartment. She tapped the screen with the stylus and scanned the topics.
There was a note from her elder sister in Eo, another from Joyce... neither of which contained anything urgent judging from the topics... they were just checking in, seeing how she was doing. A note from her doctor about an upcoming appointment... nothing major.
Miharu tucked the PDS back under her arm and looked up. Leber was lying half inside the bar, half out in the corridor. She sighed and shook her head. She walked around Leber, put the PDS down on the counter and started dragging Leber back into the bar.
It took her a few minutes, but she managed to get him into a booth; once he was stable enough to not fall out of it she checked the bar's security logs. She idly picked up the datapad that fell out of his pocket while she was dragging him and tossed it onto the bar next to the PDS.
Nobody'd been in or out of the bar, but the automated defenses by the door had activated when Leber had fallen near it... presumably because of the late hour. According to the log, nobody (aside from Leber) had crossed the threshold of the bar entrance, but Miharu did a quick check of the bar's inventory anyway.
She found nothing to be missing aside from several bottles of tequila from Leber's stash, which were revealed by a quick glance at the bar itself. She looked back towards the door and spotted the empty bottle that Leber had been holding--it must have fallen out of his hand when she had moved him back into the bar.
As she walked over and picked it up, she noticed the card inside it, and the familiar text on it:
MysticRogue
Commander, [CLM]
Turning the bottle over, she saw the words "the second chance" scrawled on the back of the card in pointed script.
Scowling, Miharu put the bottle on the table in front of Leber, the card still inside, noting the comm number under the text on the front for later use. She sat down behind the bar, picking up her PDS and getting a little work done before the first customers of the morning started to trickle in.
The datapad from Leber's pocket caught her eye as she put her PDS down, the small green TGFT logo in the corner beckoning.
You're not a spy, Miharu, she thought. Pick it up and look at it and you're no better than a pirate. What would Joyce say? She reached out and stopped short.
Leber had it in his pocket. Like hell it has sensitive material on it. Nobody's that stupid. She picked it up anyway and it activated in her hands, loudly chirping,
"TGFT Council only. Level Twenty access required. Please enter your quantum encryption key, councilor."
She dropped the datapad to the bar counter as if it were a hot coal. What the hell was Leber doing with something containing information that sensitive? Level Twenty access was reserved only for the commander and a certain few councilors. Not even TGFT's lieutenants had access keys for this datapad. Whatever was on it, it was sensitive, it was important, and Leber probably was not supposed to have it.
And furthermore, it was probably useful.
She picked up her PDS and was about to start writing a response to Joyce's message when she saw movement from the table where she had put Leber. She hopped off her stool and filled a glass with cold water, putting it down on the table in front of him as she sat down with her PDS and the TGFT datapad in her lap.
"You know," she said, pushing the water to him as he looked up and squinted at the bright interior of the bar, "even though your alcohol tolerance is pretty high, don't you think ten bottles of tequila is just a tad bit much for even you?"
He groaned, closing his eyes.
"Seriously. Drink this."
She pushed the glass of water towards him until it was pressing into his forehead. He groaned again.
"It won't make you feel better right away but it's better than sitting there with a massive headache for the rest of the day, ne?"
He took the glass, his hand shaking violently as he did so, sloshing a bit of the water onto the table. It took him a few tries, but he managed to get about half of the water into his mouth and the rest went all over his flight jacket and the rest of the booth.
Miharu got up and refilled the glass of water when Leber put it down, filling a pitcher as well before bringing both back to the table.
"You told me the why last night with the long sob story. Want to explain the what?"
He looked at her, puzzled.
"Namely, what the hell you're doing with this datapad?" She held up the TGFT datapad and turned it so he could see the bright error message on the screen. His eyes opened wide as soon as he realized what she was holding and he made a grab for it. She pulled it away.
"Well? Why do you have it? You know, the amount of trouble you're already in with Obsidian is probably *nowhere* near the amount of trouble you'll be in if she finds out that I've seen it, whether or not I've seen the contents. I'm tempted to give it back to her."
"I shaw it *hic* in the fridge next to the *hic* limesh..." he mumbled, taking a gulp of water. "It wash right *hic* there... even had my *hic* name on it!"
Miharu could barely understand him through the slurred words and hiccups, but she got the gist of what he was saying.
"Leber, I don't see your name anywhere on this datapad. At all."
"It'sh right *hic* there!" He pointed at the screen of the datapad, which had reverted to the animated TGFT logo. Miharu rolled her eyes.
"Leber, this isn't yours."
"Yesh it is!"
"No," she said, putting it down on the table, "no it's not." She refilled the glass of water.
She sighed and looked at Leber. He usually looked rather unkempt, his flightsuit usually wrinkled, his hair often a mess, but today he really looked horrible. Much worse than normal.
"I am a little curious what's on the datapad, but in the interest of staying on relatively good terms with TGFT, I'm not going to pursue it." She pushed the TGFT datapad aside, and pulled the tequila bottle in front of her.
"However," she continued, "I am more curious about why MysticRogue is interested in recruiting you." She fished the card out of the bottle carefully and pushed it into Leber's hands.
"Wha...? Whash thish?"
Miharu shrugged. "I was hoping you would tell me."
Leber shook his head and put the card into his pocket after staring at it for several minutes. "I'm no pirate," he mumbled. "I'd probably pay the *hic* target inshtead of hailing them!"
"You're not much of a trader, either, it seems," she said, smirking.
"No..." He took another gulp of water.
"But you're dependable in a pinch," she continued, fishing around in her pocket. "Sigma could use that."
She pulled out a small card, roughly the same size as the one Mystic had crammed into the neck of the tequila bottle, and handed it to Leber.
"Here," she said. "take this."
He looked at the card and blinked. Miharu picked up the TGFT datapad and held it out to Leber.
"I hope you'll do the right thing. Let me know how it turns out, okay? And don't be afraid to call the number on the card. We'd be glad to have you."
Leber cautiously took the datapad and hiccuped.
He swayed back and forth and gathered the datapad up in his arms, poking at it curiously. He turned it over in his hands and noticed a small blinking light on the bottom of the datapad. He looked closer, squinting. The raised type around the blinking light said "Active Subspace Tracking Beacon." Hunh.
The station shuddered once, twice, and then alarms started going off. LeberMac stood up, smashed his head on the light hanging above the booth in the Makchuga, and fell over, clutching the datapad. Corvus troops rushed to their Vultures to repel whatever it was that was blasting the station; LeberMac went to see what the hell was going on, headed for the giant vismetal window that looked out into the orange haze of Kraz.
Ominously, a Pink Axia Guardian Wraith rose up outside the station and hovered, face to face with him. Behind the Wraith was a myriad of Territorial Defender Warthog fighters, some Raptor Interceptors, and at least 6 TPG Teradon Warships. LeberMac didn't need to see through the cockpit to know who was piloting that ship. The weapons bristled; as if informed by a single command, the armada swiveled in their orbits and aimed their menacing weapons at the vismetal window, making it clear their intentions. Through the hangover, LeberMac realized that he was in mortal danger, and did what any sensible pilot would do when faced with these kinds of odds.
He ran.
Miharu had already activated the bar's powerful force shielding and was burying herself in further protective encasements, LeberMac gave her a quick glance of apology and bolted out of the bar, down to the docks to make his escape. He had to get the hell out of Dodge, before this station was swarming with [TGFT]-sponsored TPG Assault Troops intent on finding the datapad. He stuffed it into his pocket along with both business cards, leaping and bounding through the panicked throngs of Corvus Hold station.
The station shook with more blasts from the Teradon's main guns and the explosions of battle coming from outside. The docking bay had not been breached, but would be soon - as LeberMac skidded around a corner to the docking bay that held his racing Orion Hornet, he saw TPG ships making their landing on the opposite bay. Thanking his good luck, he sprinted across the bay with other pilots in the confusion, and made it to his ship, scrambling into it like a hunted animal.
He fired the ship up and checked the most important thing: the in-ship tequila supply. It was full. All systems go! Without another thought, he launched, and the stars greeted him as the Hornet smoothly cruised out of the dock. Immediately, he heard the proximity warnings of hostile bogies and the saw fuzzy blasts of close AGT fire across his bow. He rolled inverted and pulled up into a dive across the surface of the station as one of the TPG TD Hogs broke off in pursuit, shaking his ship with sunflare rocket bursts.
This ship was fast, if he could just get clear of the asteroids, he could jump... but to where? His hazy mind raced as fast as circumstances allowed. Blasts of neutron fire, sunflare rockets, and the gleaming golden orbs of death from the Teradons's guns arced in his direction, but he stood on the ship's turbo and the trusty Hornet boosted him out of harm's way and off to the Bractus wormhole. Some of the faster ships followed, including a Pink Axia Wraith which broadcasted a sector messsage: "The datapad. Now. Or face destruction." LeberMac warped away to Bractus in response. He was home-free, for now.
Meandering through Pelatus, he realized the perfect place to take the datapad, which was now also acting as a beacon, and had been ever since Miharu activated it. He plotted his course to Metana, and the remnants of his Deep Blue supercomputer, in the electronic stasis field that he'd kept it in ever since it was decommissioned. This field could... should... might... prevent the subspace beacon from transmitting. Regardless, it was his best hope. He plotted the course, finished the second-to-last of his tequila bottles, and jumped.
A quarter hour later, smoking and burning from numerous weapon hits, his Hornet tumbled into the dock in Metana's Sorus Hold. LeberMac glanced nervously over his shoulder and jumped out of his destroyed racer. He set the self-destruct timer and activated the launch sequence before the dockmaster could object. His beloved #22 Anevitt Trading Co. Racing Hornet exploded 500 meters outside the station as he walked over to the dockmaster, last tequila bottle in hand. The dockmaster of Sorus hold was an old friend from LeberMac, from his days in Pelatus, and they had remained friendly, mainly because he'd never tried to dock a Behemoth here.
"I don't think that pilot made it..." he said, handing the dockmaster the bottle. It was like giving away his firstborn.
The dockmaster looked at LeberMac, at the bottle, and at the expanding cloud of debris outside his dock. "No, no I don't believe he did, pilot." Sorus Hold's dockmaster took the tequila and canceled the "Arrival" entry he was about to make in the station logs. "You've got maybe 24 hours until the error-checking routines discover your whereabouts. Oh, and thanks for the bottle...."
"Right. 24 hours." LeberMac gave a quick wave and made his way through the corridors of Sorus Hold to the remote storage facility that held Deep Blue, the old Itani supercomputer, which was in a state of disrepair since he hadn't been able to keep up with the repair bills. The stasis field was active, and he hurriedly placed the datapad into the field and began his work. Straining against the massive headache and blurry vision, he powered up Deep Blue and heard the melodic chime indicating successful initialization. Greeted by the pale blue glow of the interface, he got to work at disabling the homing beacon first, and then moved on to cracking the code.
19 hours later, thirsty for tequila, exhausted, and almost blind from looking at code, he thought that he'd had the encryption key. He pulled out the business card from his pocket, and punched up the comm interface. It came up audio only.
"Hello." a female voice on the other end said.
LeberMac spoke breathlessly into the comm, "OK, I've almost got the code hacked, this thing is gonna be HUGE! It appears to be a high-level communique from a [TGFT] councilmember to the [TGFT] commander, along with a couple petabytes of vector and routing data linked with static locations and value lists. This looks like the [TGFT] database, with all of their routes, jump points, and profit centers! The NEW trade goods as well! Apparently this datapad was being sent to the commander for final revisions and comment before being posted. It's even got some preliminary crafting information in it - This thing is a goldmine! We're rich!" LeberMac stopped for breath.
The voice on the other end purred into the phone, "Why, I do believe that it *is* a goldmine, sugar... Now why don't you tell me the best way to use that information, hmmm?"
LeberMac shook his head. He'd gone almost 30 hours without a decent drink and had a helluva hangover, in addition to eyestrain and some seriously smelly clothes. What was going on? "Wha.. Who IS this?" He demanded from the comm signal.
"Hey, YOU called ME. And just as I was about to give up on you... you drop this in my lap. Good timing, too - our little green friend thought that it was going to be best to eliminate you instead."
Oh, sweet Eo - what had he done? He looked at the front of the card in his hand, it read:
Mystic Rogue
[CLM]
With her number scribbled underneath the words "the second chance." on the reverse side.
He looked in his pocket - Miharu's card was still in there.
"So, how about we meet in Deneb to discuss... things?" Mystic said over the comm.
"Uh.. I.. uhhh... I don't know if I can... I mean..." LeberMac stammered.
Mystic's voice became as hard as steel, "Do not make me send tumble for you. Remember... it's impolite to keep a lady waiting..."
The comm signal vanished.
LeberMac gulped hard.
The station shuddered once, twice, and then alarms started going off. LeberMac stood up, smashed his head on the light hanging above the booth in the Makchuga, and fell over, clutching the datapad. Corvus troops rushed to their Vultures to repel whatever it was that was blasting the station; LeberMac went to see what the hell was going on, headed for the giant vismetal window that looked out into the orange haze of Kraz.
Ominously, a Pink Axia Guardian Wraith rose up outside the station and hovered, face to face with him. Behind the Wraith was a myriad of Territorial Defender Warthog fighters, some Raptor Interceptors, and at least 6 TPG Teradon Warships. LeberMac didn't need to see through the cockpit to know who was piloting that ship. The weapons bristled; as if informed by a single command, the armada swiveled in their orbits and aimed their menacing weapons at the vismetal window, making it clear their intentions. Through the hangover, LeberMac realized that he was in mortal danger, and did what any sensible pilot would do when faced with these kinds of odds.
He ran.
Miharu had already activated the bar's powerful force shielding and was burying herself in further protective encasements, LeberMac gave her a quick glance of apology and bolted out of the bar, down to the docks to make his escape. He had to get the hell out of Dodge, before this station was swarming with [TGFT]-sponsored TPG Assault Troops intent on finding the datapad. He stuffed it into his pocket along with both business cards, leaping and bounding through the panicked throngs of Corvus Hold station.
The station shook with more blasts from the Teradon's main guns and the explosions of battle coming from outside. The docking bay had not been breached, but would be soon - as LeberMac skidded around a corner to the docking bay that held his racing Orion Hornet, he saw TPG ships making their landing on the opposite bay. Thanking his good luck, he sprinted across the bay with other pilots in the confusion, and made it to his ship, scrambling into it like a hunted animal.
He fired the ship up and checked the most important thing: the in-ship tequila supply. It was full. All systems go! Without another thought, he launched, and the stars greeted him as the Hornet smoothly cruised out of the dock. Immediately, he heard the proximity warnings of hostile bogies and the saw fuzzy blasts of close AGT fire across his bow. He rolled inverted and pulled up into a dive across the surface of the station as one of the TPG TD Hogs broke off in pursuit, shaking his ship with sunflare rocket bursts.
This ship was fast, if he could just get clear of the asteroids, he could jump... but to where? His hazy mind raced as fast as circumstances allowed. Blasts of neutron fire, sunflare rockets, and the gleaming golden orbs of death from the Teradons's guns arced in his direction, but he stood on the ship's turbo and the trusty Hornet boosted him out of harm's way and off to the Bractus wormhole. Some of the faster ships followed, including a Pink Axia Wraith which broadcasted a sector messsage: "The datapad. Now. Or face destruction." LeberMac warped away to Bractus in response. He was home-free, for now.
Meandering through Pelatus, he realized the perfect place to take the datapad, which was now also acting as a beacon, and had been ever since Miharu activated it. He plotted his course to Metana, and the remnants of his Deep Blue supercomputer, in the electronic stasis field that he'd kept it in ever since it was decommissioned. This field could... should... might... prevent the subspace beacon from transmitting. Regardless, it was his best hope. He plotted the course, finished the second-to-last of his tequila bottles, and jumped.
A quarter hour later, smoking and burning from numerous weapon hits, his Hornet tumbled into the dock in Metana's Sorus Hold. LeberMac glanced nervously over his shoulder and jumped out of his destroyed racer. He set the self-destruct timer and activated the launch sequence before the dockmaster could object. His beloved #22 Anevitt Trading Co. Racing Hornet exploded 500 meters outside the station as he walked over to the dockmaster, last tequila bottle in hand. The dockmaster of Sorus hold was an old friend from LeberMac, from his days in Pelatus, and they had remained friendly, mainly because he'd never tried to dock a Behemoth here.
"I don't think that pilot made it..." he said, handing the dockmaster the bottle. It was like giving away his firstborn.
The dockmaster looked at LeberMac, at the bottle, and at the expanding cloud of debris outside his dock. "No, no I don't believe he did, pilot." Sorus Hold's dockmaster took the tequila and canceled the "Arrival" entry he was about to make in the station logs. "You've got maybe 24 hours until the error-checking routines discover your whereabouts. Oh, and thanks for the bottle...."
"Right. 24 hours." LeberMac gave a quick wave and made his way through the corridors of Sorus Hold to the remote storage facility that held Deep Blue, the old Itani supercomputer, which was in a state of disrepair since he hadn't been able to keep up with the repair bills. The stasis field was active, and he hurriedly placed the datapad into the field and began his work. Straining against the massive headache and blurry vision, he powered up Deep Blue and heard the melodic chime indicating successful initialization. Greeted by the pale blue glow of the interface, he got to work at disabling the homing beacon first, and then moved on to cracking the code.
19 hours later, thirsty for tequila, exhausted, and almost blind from looking at code, he thought that he'd had the encryption key. He pulled out the business card from his pocket, and punched up the comm interface. It came up audio only.
"Hello." a female voice on the other end said.
LeberMac spoke breathlessly into the comm, "OK, I've almost got the code hacked, this thing is gonna be HUGE! It appears to be a high-level communique from a [TGFT] councilmember to the [TGFT] commander, along with a couple petabytes of vector and routing data linked with static locations and value lists. This looks like the [TGFT] database, with all of their routes, jump points, and profit centers! The NEW trade goods as well! Apparently this datapad was being sent to the commander for final revisions and comment before being posted. It's even got some preliminary crafting information in it - This thing is a goldmine! We're rich!" LeberMac stopped for breath.
The voice on the other end purred into the phone, "Why, I do believe that it *is* a goldmine, sugar... Now why don't you tell me the best way to use that information, hmmm?"
LeberMac shook his head. He'd gone almost 30 hours without a decent drink and had a helluva hangover, in addition to eyestrain and some seriously smelly clothes. What was going on? "Wha.. Who IS this?" He demanded from the comm signal.
"Hey, YOU called ME. And just as I was about to give up on you... you drop this in my lap. Good timing, too - our little green friend thought that it was going to be best to eliminate you instead."
Oh, sweet Eo - what had he done? He looked at the front of the card in his hand, it read:
Mystic Rogue
[CLM]
With her number scribbled underneath the words "the second chance." on the reverse side.
He looked in his pocket - Miharu's card was still in there.
"So, how about we meet in Deneb to discuss... things?" Mystic said over the comm.
"Uh.. I.. uhhh... I don't know if I can... I mean..." LeberMac stammered.
Mystic's voice became as hard as steel, "Do not make me send tumble for you. Remember... it's impolite to keep a lady waiting..."
The comm signal vanished.
LeberMac gulped hard.
Moby Dick was sitting at the terminal in his office, reading the trade reports, and sipping on his morning latte. It was just another normal morning for the commander of TGFT.
His terminal beeped, notifying him of a high-priority encrypted communique from Obsidian.
The communique consisted of one line:
Boozer on the run with bottle in hand.
Moby took a long draw from his latte.
Operation Drunken Bewilderment was going according to plan.
His terminal beeped, notifying him of a high-priority encrypted communique from Obsidian.
The communique consisted of one line:
Boozer on the run with bottle in hand.
Moby took a long draw from his latte.
Operation Drunken Bewilderment was going according to plan.
Once again Mystic had spent most of the night in her office, seemed every time she thought things were done something else came up. Ready to face another day, at least as ready as a she could be, only so much a hot bath could do.
She had only just settled at her desk with a nice hot cup of coffee when her comm announced a caller. "No rest for the wicked I suppose,"she stated out loud as she turned to answer. "Hello"
Mystic recognized Lebermac's voice almost immediately, though he sounded out of breath, probably from chasing his tequila bottle around the Makchuga, she almost laughed out loud, but then what he was saying caught her full attention.
".......got the code hacked, this thing is gonna be HUGE! It appears to be a high-level communique from a [TGFT] council member to the [TGFT] commander, along with a couple petabytes of vector and routing data linked with static locations and value lists. This looks like the [TGFT] database, with all of their routes, jump points, and profit centers! The NEW trade goods as well! Apparently this datapad was being sent to the commander for final revisions and comment before being posted. It's even got some preliminary crafting information in it - This thing is a goldmine! We're rich!"
Now he definitely had her full attention...and he was right, this could be huge, and the potential.....
"Why, I do believe that it *is* a goldmine, sugar... Now why don't you tell me the best way to use that information, hmmm?" Mystic dropped her voice down as she always did when she wanted something, and she wanted this information.
"Wha.. Who IS this?" He demanded from the comm signal.
"Hey, YOU called ME. And just as I was about to give up on you... you drop this in my lap."Mystic said "Good timing, too - our little green friend thought that it was going to be best to eliminate you instead." This wasn't exactly true, yoda hadn't mentioned anything of the sort....but Leber didn't know that.
Mystic was sending out messages to a few people she knew she could trust. She just had to think of where Leebs might feel comfortable meeting her, Odia wasn't any good, too much chance of being noticed. Then it dawned on her.. "So, how about we meet in Deneb to discuss... things?"
LeberMac started stammering, "Uh.. I.. uhhh... I don't know if I can... I mean..." Ok enough niceties, time to get serious with this.
Mystic allowed her voice to become hard , "Do not make me send tumble for you. Remember... it's impolite to keep a lady waiting..." With this she shut the connection and smiled.
Leber would be in Deneb, she had no doubt, not many would want to face tumble's wrath, and if Mystic asked tumble to bring Leber to her, he would, and enjoy it immensely, although Leber would probably not be in too good a shape when he got there.
Finishing up what she was doing, Mystic went down to the CLM dock and checked her ship before strapping in. CLM had secured one of the Xang docking bays strictly for guild use. In her line of work you never knew when you might have to launch quickly, and not having people around to hinder you was most desirable.
The trip to Deneb was fairly uneventful, Mystic docked at Aeron's Patience without incident. Walking into the bar, a few people seemed to recognize her but no one made comment. She had changed just for the occasion, and she knew the males were paying much more attention than the females, Mystic just smiled. Taking a seat in the back corner of the room with a clear view of the door she ordered a drink and sat back to wait on Leber. Mystic knew he would show, maybe hesitate a bit, but he would show....
She had only just settled at her desk with a nice hot cup of coffee when her comm announced a caller. "No rest for the wicked I suppose,"she stated out loud as she turned to answer. "Hello"
Mystic recognized Lebermac's voice almost immediately, though he sounded out of breath, probably from chasing his tequila bottle around the Makchuga, she almost laughed out loud, but then what he was saying caught her full attention.
".......got the code hacked, this thing is gonna be HUGE! It appears to be a high-level communique from a [TGFT] council member to the [TGFT] commander, along with a couple petabytes of vector and routing data linked with static locations and value lists. This looks like the [TGFT] database, with all of their routes, jump points, and profit centers! The NEW trade goods as well! Apparently this datapad was being sent to the commander for final revisions and comment before being posted. It's even got some preliminary crafting information in it - This thing is a goldmine! We're rich!"
Now he definitely had her full attention...and he was right, this could be huge, and the potential.....
"Why, I do believe that it *is* a goldmine, sugar... Now why don't you tell me the best way to use that information, hmmm?" Mystic dropped her voice down as she always did when she wanted something, and she wanted this information.
"Wha.. Who IS this?" He demanded from the comm signal.
"Hey, YOU called ME. And just as I was about to give up on you... you drop this in my lap."Mystic said "Good timing, too - our little green friend thought that it was going to be best to eliminate you instead." This wasn't exactly true, yoda hadn't mentioned anything of the sort....but Leber didn't know that.
Mystic was sending out messages to a few people she knew she could trust. She just had to think of where Leebs might feel comfortable meeting her, Odia wasn't any good, too much chance of being noticed. Then it dawned on her.. "So, how about we meet in Deneb to discuss... things?"
LeberMac started stammering, "Uh.. I.. uhhh... I don't know if I can... I mean..." Ok enough niceties, time to get serious with this.
Mystic allowed her voice to become hard , "Do not make me send tumble for you. Remember... it's impolite to keep a lady waiting..." With this she shut the connection and smiled.
Leber would be in Deneb, she had no doubt, not many would want to face tumble's wrath, and if Mystic asked tumble to bring Leber to her, he would, and enjoy it immensely, although Leber would probably not be in too good a shape when he got there.
Finishing up what she was doing, Mystic went down to the CLM dock and checked her ship before strapping in. CLM had secured one of the Xang docking bays strictly for guild use. In her line of work you never knew when you might have to launch quickly, and not having people around to hinder you was most desirable.
The trip to Deneb was fairly uneventful, Mystic docked at Aeron's Patience without incident. Walking into the bar, a few people seemed to recognize her but no one made comment. She had changed just for the occasion, and she knew the males were paying much more attention than the females, Mystic just smiled. Taking a seat in the back corner of the room with a clear view of the door she ordered a drink and sat back to wait on Leber. Mystic knew he would show, maybe hesitate a bit, but he would show....
LeberMac mashed the turbo desperately, attempting to put some distance between him and his pursuer. The IDF Valkyrie roared with the surge in power and stars streaked by as he accelerated. The ship was damaged, but pilot-able, the previous weapons hits had not damaged any of the propulsion systems. He glanced over his shoulder... the ship was still GAINING on him... but HOW?
His weapon fire hadn't even scratched it, even a point-blank shot of tri-gauss. The ship had shrugged it off and pursued him relentlessly across the galaxy. He'd led it through solar flares, he'd fled into the Leviathian's home sector to throw it off, but it had destroyed everything in its path in its pursuit. With no refuge left, he was streaming at maximum boost speed in his 240 m/s Valkyrie, and the pink axia wraith closed on him.
It was upon him in an instant, the wormhole still too far away for escape, no help in sight, and his battery was drained. The gigantic Pink Axia Wraith roared and opened its mouth of razor-sharp teeth. It bit down with a vengeance, slicing open the canopy of LeberMac's Valk, exposing him to vacuum and cutting him in half in an interminable moment of agonizing death.
He screamed and woke up to the dim blue glow of Deep Blue's interface. The storage area was quiet, save for the hum of electronics. Drips of cold sweat made the only other noise in the room as they rolled off his brow and splashed heavily onto the floor. In a panic, he looked at his watch. He'd dozed off apparently after the call to Mystic.
"Mystic. Oh hell." he said, surprised by the volume of his own voice echoing in the chamber. He briefly scanned the net for information before logging off, and he could see obvious electronic attempts by the [CLM] pirate tumblemonster to locate him. Well, tumble was never subtle. Only one thing to do: go speak to Mystic Rogue.
He shut down the supercomputer, hands still shaking from the nightmare, and covered Deep Blue with its cloth shroud again, leaving it in storage for a little while longer.
He made his way to the docks and purchased a nondescript Hornet Mk. II for his trip to Deneb. He entered the cockpit without banging into anything, and he realized his head was pounding. Sweet Eo, he hadn't had a drink in over 24 hours. He should be able to get something after the meeting with Mystic, for sure. He looked at the datapad, and even though he'd disabled the tracking mechanism, the thing still felt like an albatross around his neck.
He boosted out of Sorus Hold and flew a slow flightplan along with an Itani convoy headed for Deneb. Apparently no one had yet found him, which was good. He drifted into Deneb O-3 and put into dock slowly and carefully. He sold off the Hornet and picked up a combat-ready IDF Valk, just in case. As he left the dock, he was immediately contacted.
"I'd been waiting at Aeron's patience for several hours, and decided to check the wormhole for you. I was beginning to think you'd stood me up, sugar." the voice of Mystic Rogue slinked into his comm channel.
"Of course not, how could I refuse such a compelling offer?" LeberMac countered.
"Glad you can see things my way, that shows... promise," Mystic purred, "Now I think we should revisit our previous conversation. I'd like to acquire the datapad you spoke of... whatever can I offer to persuade you to part with it, darling?"
LeberMac checked quickly to make sure that Mystic's pheremones hadn't gotten into his cabin, composed himself, and then replied, "I intend to break this code myself and use it to punish [TGFT] for firing me. I can't part with it. At least not now." LeberMac's hands were shaking, but not from fear or trepidation. He felt extremely thirsty.
"Now, that is unfortunate. I think it's time I made my intentions clear," Mystic said plainly while twirling her hair with her pinky finger, "I do not intend to allow you to leave this sector with the datapad."
"That's crazy, Mystic. No one needs to get hurt here, the data on this pad isn't worth killing over," LeberMac said, "I'll have it decoded soon and I'm sure whatever information that's on it... " he gulped to try to quench the thirst, "... can be obtained afterwards."
"I'm a rather selfish pirate, hon," Mystic said matter-of-factly, "and I'm afraid that I really must insist." She powered up her Marauder's weapons and maneuvered outside the 2000m safezone, luring LeberMac into her trap. It was actually all too easy, taking advantage of him in his exhausted, hung-over, alcohol-craving state. She depressed the fire trigger.
Two sunflares launched from her ship and impacted Leber's valk square in the nose, sending it reeling. She opened up with the phase blasters, peppering him, and moved her finger to the emergency beam-out switch she'd had installed at considerable expense.
"What the HELL?" LeberMac screamed, the blasts of the sunflares still ringing in his ears. In a murderous rage he fired a full pulse of gauss, flechettes and positrons that he had into Mystic's ship, damaging it badly. He missed the Itani protection warnings that blazed on his HUD. She countered with a net of flares, positioning him for another hit that spun him around. Down to his last legs of hull, he made one more pass at MysticRogue, lining her up perfectly.
"Now you're mine." LeberMac said under his breath and he fired off the kill-shot with his shaking hands, obliterating the Marauder in a shower of gauss weaponry.
"Now you're MINE." Mystic Rogue said as she pressed the beam-out switch a fraction of an instant before his gauss destroyed her ship. She grinned upon awakening in Latos, knowing that now he'd HAVE to come to her for help, after killing an Itani Pillar of Society citizen in full view of the Itani nation's largest military station.
LeberMac watched the expanding cloud of Marauder debris with satisfaction, then noticed the massive strike force launching from Ellias Stand. Realization dawned on him as the comm signals blared at his ship: "Attention Pilot. You have committed an act of murder in the Itani Nation. You are now considered an enemy of the state. Leave Itani space or die."
The Law-enforcement Neutron hits began to rain down on him, and it was time to go. He kicked the Valk into gear and made a plot to Itan... but he would be KOS there as well. He looked toward the warzone of Deneb B-12 and Serco space, and realized that the only way out of this mess would be to traverse Serco dominion territory into grayspace.
This was not good.
He warped into Geira and pushed his Valkyrie through avoidance patterns, his head throbbing, his senses dulled from the lack of alcohol, all the while both cursing and admiring Mystic Rogue for her trap. His hands shook with a combination of rage and withdrawl as he spent all his energy to focus on maintaining his serpentine course through Serco space.
His weapon fire hadn't even scratched it, even a point-blank shot of tri-gauss. The ship had shrugged it off and pursued him relentlessly across the galaxy. He'd led it through solar flares, he'd fled into the Leviathian's home sector to throw it off, but it had destroyed everything in its path in its pursuit. With no refuge left, he was streaming at maximum boost speed in his 240 m/s Valkyrie, and the pink axia wraith closed on him.
It was upon him in an instant, the wormhole still too far away for escape, no help in sight, and his battery was drained. The gigantic Pink Axia Wraith roared and opened its mouth of razor-sharp teeth. It bit down with a vengeance, slicing open the canopy of LeberMac's Valk, exposing him to vacuum and cutting him in half in an interminable moment of agonizing death.
He screamed and woke up to the dim blue glow of Deep Blue's interface. The storage area was quiet, save for the hum of electronics. Drips of cold sweat made the only other noise in the room as they rolled off his brow and splashed heavily onto the floor. In a panic, he looked at his watch. He'd dozed off apparently after the call to Mystic.
"Mystic. Oh hell." he said, surprised by the volume of his own voice echoing in the chamber. He briefly scanned the net for information before logging off, and he could see obvious electronic attempts by the [CLM] pirate tumblemonster to locate him. Well, tumble was never subtle. Only one thing to do: go speak to Mystic Rogue.
He shut down the supercomputer, hands still shaking from the nightmare, and covered Deep Blue with its cloth shroud again, leaving it in storage for a little while longer.
He made his way to the docks and purchased a nondescript Hornet Mk. II for his trip to Deneb. He entered the cockpit without banging into anything, and he realized his head was pounding. Sweet Eo, he hadn't had a drink in over 24 hours. He should be able to get something after the meeting with Mystic, for sure. He looked at the datapad, and even though he'd disabled the tracking mechanism, the thing still felt like an albatross around his neck.
He boosted out of Sorus Hold and flew a slow flightplan along with an Itani convoy headed for Deneb. Apparently no one had yet found him, which was good. He drifted into Deneb O-3 and put into dock slowly and carefully. He sold off the Hornet and picked up a combat-ready IDF Valk, just in case. As he left the dock, he was immediately contacted.
"I'd been waiting at Aeron's patience for several hours, and decided to check the wormhole for you. I was beginning to think you'd stood me up, sugar." the voice of Mystic Rogue slinked into his comm channel.
"Of course not, how could I refuse such a compelling offer?" LeberMac countered.
"Glad you can see things my way, that shows... promise," Mystic purred, "Now I think we should revisit our previous conversation. I'd like to acquire the datapad you spoke of... whatever can I offer to persuade you to part with it, darling?"
LeberMac checked quickly to make sure that Mystic's pheremones hadn't gotten into his cabin, composed himself, and then replied, "I intend to break this code myself and use it to punish [TGFT] for firing me. I can't part with it. At least not now." LeberMac's hands were shaking, but not from fear or trepidation. He felt extremely thirsty.
"Now, that is unfortunate. I think it's time I made my intentions clear," Mystic said plainly while twirling her hair with her pinky finger, "I do not intend to allow you to leave this sector with the datapad."
"That's crazy, Mystic. No one needs to get hurt here, the data on this pad isn't worth killing over," LeberMac said, "I'll have it decoded soon and I'm sure whatever information that's on it... " he gulped to try to quench the thirst, "... can be obtained afterwards."
"I'm a rather selfish pirate, hon," Mystic said matter-of-factly, "and I'm afraid that I really must insist." She powered up her Marauder's weapons and maneuvered outside the 2000m safezone, luring LeberMac into her trap. It was actually all too easy, taking advantage of him in his exhausted, hung-over, alcohol-craving state. She depressed the fire trigger.
Two sunflares launched from her ship and impacted Leber's valk square in the nose, sending it reeling. She opened up with the phase blasters, peppering him, and moved her finger to the emergency beam-out switch she'd had installed at considerable expense.
"What the HELL?" LeberMac screamed, the blasts of the sunflares still ringing in his ears. In a murderous rage he fired a full pulse of gauss, flechettes and positrons that he had into Mystic's ship, damaging it badly. He missed the Itani protection warnings that blazed on his HUD. She countered with a net of flares, positioning him for another hit that spun him around. Down to his last legs of hull, he made one more pass at MysticRogue, lining her up perfectly.
"Now you're mine." LeberMac said under his breath and he fired off the kill-shot with his shaking hands, obliterating the Marauder in a shower of gauss weaponry.
"Now you're MINE." Mystic Rogue said as she pressed the beam-out switch a fraction of an instant before his gauss destroyed her ship. She grinned upon awakening in Latos, knowing that now he'd HAVE to come to her for help, after killing an Itani Pillar of Society citizen in full view of the Itani nation's largest military station.
LeberMac watched the expanding cloud of Marauder debris with satisfaction, then noticed the massive strike force launching from Ellias Stand. Realization dawned on him as the comm signals blared at his ship: "Attention Pilot. You have committed an act of murder in the Itani Nation. You are now considered an enemy of the state. Leave Itani space or die."
The Law-enforcement Neutron hits began to rain down on him, and it was time to go. He kicked the Valk into gear and made a plot to Itan... but he would be KOS there as well. He looked toward the warzone of Deneb B-12 and Serco space, and realized that the only way out of this mess would be to traverse Serco dominion territory into grayspace.
This was not good.
He warped into Geira and pushed his Valkyrie through avoidance patterns, his head throbbing, his senses dulled from the lack of alcohol, all the while both cursing and admiring Mystic Rogue for her trap. His hands shook with a combination of rage and withdrawl as he spent all his energy to focus on maintaining his serpentine course through Serco space.
Here was the waitress again, offering what she called coffee. Mystic smiled slightly as she declined. More than two hours had passed since she arrived, no way it has taken Lebermac this long to get here. She tossed a couple credits on the table as she stood to leave. A plan had been forming as she sat waiting, but first to find her target.
As usual the dockworkers were friendly, smiling as she approached. Mystic returned the smile and tossed the worker that had been playing lookout for her a nice bonus, though he really hadnt done much, she had no doubt that should Leber have arrived, she would have known before he was docked completely.
"Now where to find him", Mystic mused as her ship coasted toward the jump mark. Coming through Serco space wasnt a very feasible idea, so she set her nav to the opposite direction, Deneb O-3. Arriving at the station she was just in time to see the hornet dock. Verifying the signature, Mystic waited and watched as a few minutes later Lebermac undocked in a Valkyrie.
"I'd been waiting at Aeron's patience for several hours, and decided to check the wormhole for you. I was beginning to think you'd stood me up,sugar." Mystic stated.
"Of course not, how could I refuse such a compelling offer?" LeberMac countered.
"Glad you can see things my way, that shows... promise," Mystic purred, "Now I think we should revisit our previous conversation. I'd like to acquire the datapad you spoke of... whatever can I offer to persuade you to part with it, darling?"
"I intend to break this code myself and use it to punish [TGFT] for firing me. I can't part with it. At least not now."
The idea she had been mulling over suddenly came into perfect focus, just had to handle it correctly. Lebermac looked a little worse for wear, with just a very slight tremor to his voice. Fear or withdrawal, Mystic wasnt certain, either way it worked to her advantage.
"Now, that is unfortunate." She paused," I think it's time I made my intentions clear, I do not intend to allow you to leave this sector with the datapad."
"That's crazy, Mystic. No one needs to get hurt here, the data on this pad isn't worth killing over," LeberMac said, "I'll have it decoded soon and I'm sure whatever information that's on it... " he paused slightly "... can be obtained afterwards."
During their conversation, Mystic had been slowly easing around, getting Lebermac in just the right position. "I'm a rather selfish pirate, hon," she said matter-of-factly, "and I'm afraid that I really must insist." The weapons came to life with a slight touch as Mystic glanced to be sure they were outside the safety zone she fired directly into the nose of the valk, watching it spin, added a bit of her sparrow fire.
"What the hell?!!" As his return fire started hitting the maud, Mystic fired again watching his ship spin wildly as he struggled to regain control, she knew now was the time.
As the valkyrie recovered she prepared to leave her beloved ship in pieces, at least she had taken the older one, it wouldnt be as big a loss. "Now your mine," as she saw the fire coming and escaped just as gauss started ripping the ship apart.
Waking up in Latos a bit later, she smiled, she would have what she wanted now, he had no where to turn. Itani didnt look favorably upon people, even their own, blasting those favored highly. Mystic sent out a message, "I am expecting Lebermac in gray space soon, possibly needing help, assist him please."
Mystic had decided to make Leber an offer, one he would be foolish to turn down when he came to her. He might want to handle this alone, but he was going to get help...CLM's kind of help. With this thought she headed to her apartment from the medlab, after assuring everyone she was just fine.
A while later she was relaxing with a decent cup of coffee and the last box of Divinian chocolates Lebermac had sent to her,when the call came in.
"Lebermac has been sighted"
Mystic smiled, and waited....
As usual the dockworkers were friendly, smiling as she approached. Mystic returned the smile and tossed the worker that had been playing lookout for her a nice bonus, though he really hadnt done much, she had no doubt that should Leber have arrived, she would have known before he was docked completely.
"Now where to find him", Mystic mused as her ship coasted toward the jump mark. Coming through Serco space wasnt a very feasible idea, so she set her nav to the opposite direction, Deneb O-3. Arriving at the station she was just in time to see the hornet dock. Verifying the signature, Mystic waited and watched as a few minutes later Lebermac undocked in a Valkyrie.
"I'd been waiting at Aeron's patience for several hours, and decided to check the wormhole for you. I was beginning to think you'd stood me up,sugar." Mystic stated.
"Of course not, how could I refuse such a compelling offer?" LeberMac countered.
"Glad you can see things my way, that shows... promise," Mystic purred, "Now I think we should revisit our previous conversation. I'd like to acquire the datapad you spoke of... whatever can I offer to persuade you to part with it, darling?"
"I intend to break this code myself and use it to punish [TGFT] for firing me. I can't part with it. At least not now."
The idea she had been mulling over suddenly came into perfect focus, just had to handle it correctly. Lebermac looked a little worse for wear, with just a very slight tremor to his voice. Fear or withdrawal, Mystic wasnt certain, either way it worked to her advantage.
"Now, that is unfortunate." She paused," I think it's time I made my intentions clear, I do not intend to allow you to leave this sector with the datapad."
"That's crazy, Mystic. No one needs to get hurt here, the data on this pad isn't worth killing over," LeberMac said, "I'll have it decoded soon and I'm sure whatever information that's on it... " he paused slightly "... can be obtained afterwards."
During their conversation, Mystic had been slowly easing around, getting Lebermac in just the right position. "I'm a rather selfish pirate, hon," she said matter-of-factly, "and I'm afraid that I really must insist." The weapons came to life with a slight touch as Mystic glanced to be sure they were outside the safety zone she fired directly into the nose of the valk, watching it spin, added a bit of her sparrow fire.
"What the hell?!!" As his return fire started hitting the maud, Mystic fired again watching his ship spin wildly as he struggled to regain control, she knew now was the time.
As the valkyrie recovered she prepared to leave her beloved ship in pieces, at least she had taken the older one, it wouldnt be as big a loss. "Now your mine," as she saw the fire coming and escaped just as gauss started ripping the ship apart.
Waking up in Latos a bit later, she smiled, she would have what she wanted now, he had no where to turn. Itani didnt look favorably upon people, even their own, blasting those favored highly. Mystic sent out a message, "I am expecting Lebermac in gray space soon, possibly needing help, assist him please."
Mystic had decided to make Leber an offer, one he would be foolish to turn down when he came to her. He might want to handle this alone, but he was going to get help...CLM's kind of help. With this thought she headed to her apartment from the medlab, after assuring everyone she was just fine.
A while later she was relaxing with a decent cup of coffee and the last box of Divinian chocolates Lebermac had sent to her,when the call came in.
"Lebermac has been sighted"
Mystic smiled, and waited....
Eize Ryda, while not an active TGFT member anymore, still has a few contacts with members.
"Eize! EIZE! HEY!"
I turned around, "Hey Obsidian, what are you doing here at Geira?"
She said "ahh, TGFT business... its classified"
"oh.. sometimes I miss the laid back trading and mining... You can't talk about it?"
"Nope, but have you seen Lebermac, that drunken racer recently?"
"Uh, Leber.. in Dominion space? If he came through here, I'm sure I would've heard about it"
About this time, I receive a transmission to my brand-new integrated communications system from SkyCommand "Attention all pilots, we have a breach at the Geira wormhole, repeat, we have a breach at the Geira wormhole, all pilots are to initiate search and destroy, ship schematics uploaded to your microprocessors"
"Hold on Obsidian.. I might have spoken too soon.. we just had a breach"
Obsidian says "oh? what kind of ship?"
"A valkyrie.. lifescans indicate one Lebermac at the controls. SHIT he's fast.. he's no longer in the system, you'd better hurry" Eize Ryda says, then bolts for the launch bay, and boards his Vulture Guardian with dual Axia positron blasters.
As soon as he gets clearance from flight command, he gives it full boost and is doing 200m/s before even getting thru the atmospheric force shield.
Damn.. those light Axia positrons really let this baby move!
"Eize! EIZE! HEY!"
I turned around, "Hey Obsidian, what are you doing here at Geira?"
She said "ahh, TGFT business... its classified"
"oh.. sometimes I miss the laid back trading and mining... You can't talk about it?"
"Nope, but have you seen Lebermac, that drunken racer recently?"
"Uh, Leber.. in Dominion space? If he came through here, I'm sure I would've heard about it"
About this time, I receive a transmission to my brand-new integrated communications system from SkyCommand "Attention all pilots, we have a breach at the Geira wormhole, repeat, we have a breach at the Geira wormhole, all pilots are to initiate search and destroy, ship schematics uploaded to your microprocessors"
"Hold on Obsidian.. I might have spoken too soon.. we just had a breach"
Obsidian says "oh? what kind of ship?"
"A valkyrie.. lifescans indicate one Lebermac at the controls. SHIT he's fast.. he's no longer in the system, you'd better hurry" Eize Ryda says, then bolts for the launch bay, and boards his Vulture Guardian with dual Axia positron blasters.
As soon as he gets clearance from flight command, he gives it full boost and is doing 200m/s before even getting thru the atmospheric force shield.
Damn.. those light Axia positrons really let this baby move!
OOC:
Does that mean you're back, Eize? Haven't seen you in quite a while :)
:OOC
Does that mean you're back, Eize? Haven't seen you in quite a while :)
:OOC
OOC: I've never really left, just havent been able to keep my account active due to financial difficulties.. I've been skimming the msg board and posting occasionally, I may start playing again soon, but no promises yet/OOC
Not to worry, LeberMeat! Some of us Serco still hate ye.
He hit the turbo and gave the Serco strike force the slip for the last time, boosting into Helios and making good time towards Latos.
The C-2 station was where he'd have to be. The Cargo Liberation Movement's HQ. Mystic would be waiting for him, he was sure. Oh, he was in a fine mess now. Quite frankly, the only people who would be in a position to help him now were the two pirate organizations, and he wasn't exactly on speaking terms with any of the Syndicate. Not that he was on speaking terms with the CLM folk, either, but they would have to do.
He was having trouble focusing, and the shaking in his hands was getting worse. Through Ukari, he realized how physically sick he felt, and his soul ached for a drink, it had been almost two full days. It was becoming hard to concentrate on the controls of the Valkyrie, the stars blurred a bit. LeberMac blinked and made it through the Latos wormhole, coasting sideways into the system. He licked his lips, the trembling became worse, the world around him grew dark, and he finally surrendered to exhaustion.
The ship maintained its course, and once it reached the 3000 m clear jump point, the autopilot folded space around him and LeberMac, passed out in his Valkyrie, warped into Latos C-2 and CLM Headquarters. The ship drifted slowly towards the station and gently tapped the station's hull five minutes later.
Inside the station's lounge, Tumblemonster looked up from his "How to Keep a Harem" manual and gave Mystic a glance. "I suppose you win, Mystic," he said, "I never figured he'd make it here." Splash and Malicious, who were playing a game of Go in the corner, paid little attention.
Mystic accepted the single credit winnings from her wager, and made ready the airlock for the retrieval of LeberMac's ship.
"LeberMac's a pretty predictable type, tumble. He always takes the easiest and most direct way." Mystic cracked a small grin, "He saw that, at least for now, we're his easiest way out of the mess we've essentially maneuvered him into. Consider: He wants revenge against TGFT for his 'early release.' We're the logical group to align with. He wants help cracking the datapad; we have the capability to do that here as well. He needs protection from the law; we've been doing that for ages. All that was required was to apply the proper pressure at the proper time."
Mystic Rogue watched as the station's robotic arms brought LeberMac's ship in for a gentle touchdown.
Yoda (recently of Borg) strode ito the room and observed the scene in the docking bay. "That's gotta be the best landing that chap's ever had." He looked at Mystic with his non-cyborg eye, "You sure this'll pay off? What if he doesn't want to part with the data?"
"Well, then we'll do what we always do," Tumble said, "We'll take it by force and space his body in Odia somewhere."
"No, not this time." Mystic said, "This time we'll need to proceed a little more delicately. Think of it: We'll have the ex-Lieutenant of a major Itani military guild amongst our ranks. Granted, it *is* only LeberMac, but if the information on that datapad is for real, then having HIM announce it will be a public relations coup. The Guild of Free Traders will be disgraced, by the word of an ex-Itani Lieutenant, and by the use of their own data."
"And we'll be the only ones who win, by bringing this information to light..." Yoda said, "But, how do you expect to get the Cargo Liberation Movement's name into the limelight, red?"
"Simple." Mystic turned and revealed the last part of the plan to them, "He'll just have to join us."
Yoda turned greener than normal. Tumblemonster, who had been leaning back in his chair, fell over. Splash coughed and spat out "What?" Malicious incredulously exclaimed "I'm sorry, I thought you said he can join?" as he cleaned out his ears.
Mystic looked each of them in the eye and repeated herself. "Yes. He'll have to join, in order to make this seem as legitimate as possible." She waited for this to sink in. "Don't worry - I know exactly how to control our Itani friend."
The barrels of tequila were rolled into the cafeteria by workers, tapped, and set up in preparation. LeberMac was moved to a secure medical room in the station, waiting for his second chance.
Yoda looked at Mystic. "I hope you know what you're doin'..."
The C-2 station was where he'd have to be. The Cargo Liberation Movement's HQ. Mystic would be waiting for him, he was sure. Oh, he was in a fine mess now. Quite frankly, the only people who would be in a position to help him now were the two pirate organizations, and he wasn't exactly on speaking terms with any of the Syndicate. Not that he was on speaking terms with the CLM folk, either, but they would have to do.
He was having trouble focusing, and the shaking in his hands was getting worse. Through Ukari, he realized how physically sick he felt, and his soul ached for a drink, it had been almost two full days. It was becoming hard to concentrate on the controls of the Valkyrie, the stars blurred a bit. LeberMac blinked and made it through the Latos wormhole, coasting sideways into the system. He licked his lips, the trembling became worse, the world around him grew dark, and he finally surrendered to exhaustion.
The ship maintained its course, and once it reached the 3000 m clear jump point, the autopilot folded space around him and LeberMac, passed out in his Valkyrie, warped into Latos C-2 and CLM Headquarters. The ship drifted slowly towards the station and gently tapped the station's hull five minutes later.
Inside the station's lounge, Tumblemonster looked up from his "How to Keep a Harem" manual and gave Mystic a glance. "I suppose you win, Mystic," he said, "I never figured he'd make it here." Splash and Malicious, who were playing a game of Go in the corner, paid little attention.
Mystic accepted the single credit winnings from her wager, and made ready the airlock for the retrieval of LeberMac's ship.
"LeberMac's a pretty predictable type, tumble. He always takes the easiest and most direct way." Mystic cracked a small grin, "He saw that, at least for now, we're his easiest way out of the mess we've essentially maneuvered him into. Consider: He wants revenge against TGFT for his 'early release.' We're the logical group to align with. He wants help cracking the datapad; we have the capability to do that here as well. He needs protection from the law; we've been doing that for ages. All that was required was to apply the proper pressure at the proper time."
Mystic Rogue watched as the station's robotic arms brought LeberMac's ship in for a gentle touchdown.
Yoda (recently of Borg) strode ito the room and observed the scene in the docking bay. "That's gotta be the best landing that chap's ever had." He looked at Mystic with his non-cyborg eye, "You sure this'll pay off? What if he doesn't want to part with the data?"
"Well, then we'll do what we always do," Tumble said, "We'll take it by force and space his body in Odia somewhere."
"No, not this time." Mystic said, "This time we'll need to proceed a little more delicately. Think of it: We'll have the ex-Lieutenant of a major Itani military guild amongst our ranks. Granted, it *is* only LeberMac, but if the information on that datapad is for real, then having HIM announce it will be a public relations coup. The Guild of Free Traders will be disgraced, by the word of an ex-Itani Lieutenant, and by the use of their own data."
"And we'll be the only ones who win, by bringing this information to light..." Yoda said, "But, how do you expect to get the Cargo Liberation Movement's name into the limelight, red?"
"Simple." Mystic turned and revealed the last part of the plan to them, "He'll just have to join us."
Yoda turned greener than normal. Tumblemonster, who had been leaning back in his chair, fell over. Splash coughed and spat out "What?" Malicious incredulously exclaimed "I'm sorry, I thought you said he can join?" as he cleaned out his ears.
Mystic looked each of them in the eye and repeated herself. "Yes. He'll have to join, in order to make this seem as legitimate as possible." She waited for this to sink in. "Don't worry - I know exactly how to control our Itani friend."
The barrels of tequila were rolled into the cafeteria by workers, tapped, and set up in preparation. LeberMac was moved to a secure medical room in the station, waiting for his second chance.
Yoda looked at Mystic. "I hope you know what you're doin'..."
LeberMac woke up, feeling... good.
He did not recognize the place he was in, it looked to be a kind of... medical lab. He had an intravenous line in him, and some monitoring pads with wires connected to a small device attached to the bed, which was now beeping. He sat up to turn off the infernal alarm, removed the device from its attachment, and dashed it against the floor. It made a satisfying shattering sound.
"That's comin' out of your salary, you realize." a smooth voice said from behind him.
He craned his neck around to see Mystic Rogue approach the medical bed. She sat down and looked at him analytically. "You seem better. Looks like the tequila's just what the doctor ordered."
"Wait..." Leber shook his head and things started to make sense. "Salary? Tequila? OK, I admit to being outsmarted back in Divinia, but what's going on?"
Mystic rolled her eyes, "All too easy. With no nation to back you up, and being hunted by Obsidian, you're in a bit of a tight spot. You'll need a guild to call your own for protection, and someone to help you crack THIS." She laid the datapad down on the bed.
"Ah, yes..." LeberMac weighed his options. It was true, CLM was one of the organizations that could protect him while he was in grayspace, it would also allow him an opportunity to obtain a measure of revenge against TGFT. But... a pirate? He knew that essentially he had only two options. Outside the room he could see the shadows of others waiting for his decision. Tumblemonster looked through the door's window, smiled evilly and gave him a wave. Whether the wave was a hello or a goodbye depended entirely on LeberMac's next words.
MysticRogue looked LeberMac in the eye and held his attention. "Well, what do you say?"
He blinked, "Aye, I'll do it."
"Good!" Mystic immediately perked up and increased LeberMac's tequila drip. "I'll just need your fingerprint on the datapad and we'll get started..."
LeberMac did as he was told, and activated the datapad. The bystanders at his door shuffled away as if disappointed. "So, what do you expect of me?" he asked of Mystic.
"Oh, nothing that the rest of us don't do. Make the spacelanes dangerous, Yarrr it up, and above all, don't be an embarrassment." Mystic looked skeptically at LeberMac. "If you do all this, the tequila keeps coming and we keep working on this datapad. If not... Well, let's not discuss that."
She left in a whirl of pheremones and flowing crimson locks, abandoning LeberMac in the medical room, alone with his thoughts.
And so the days flowed, one into the other, and LeberMac slowly but inexorably began to find himself adopting the pirate lifestyle. He made his living with the other CLM renegades, picking off the scraps of behemoths, catching the occasional unlucky trader, avoiding his one-time Viper friends, and continuing to make progress cracking the TGFT datapad. He settled into his new, darker lifestyle, almost forgetting his previous existence. Until one day...
He did not recognize the place he was in, it looked to be a kind of... medical lab. He had an intravenous line in him, and some monitoring pads with wires connected to a small device attached to the bed, which was now beeping. He sat up to turn off the infernal alarm, removed the device from its attachment, and dashed it against the floor. It made a satisfying shattering sound.
"That's comin' out of your salary, you realize." a smooth voice said from behind him.
He craned his neck around to see Mystic Rogue approach the medical bed. She sat down and looked at him analytically. "You seem better. Looks like the tequila's just what the doctor ordered."
"Wait..." Leber shook his head and things started to make sense. "Salary? Tequila? OK, I admit to being outsmarted back in Divinia, but what's going on?"
Mystic rolled her eyes, "All too easy. With no nation to back you up, and being hunted by Obsidian, you're in a bit of a tight spot. You'll need a guild to call your own for protection, and someone to help you crack THIS." She laid the datapad down on the bed.
"Ah, yes..." LeberMac weighed his options. It was true, CLM was one of the organizations that could protect him while he was in grayspace, it would also allow him an opportunity to obtain a measure of revenge against TGFT. But... a pirate? He knew that essentially he had only two options. Outside the room he could see the shadows of others waiting for his decision. Tumblemonster looked through the door's window, smiled evilly and gave him a wave. Whether the wave was a hello or a goodbye depended entirely on LeberMac's next words.
MysticRogue looked LeberMac in the eye and held his attention. "Well, what do you say?"
He blinked, "Aye, I'll do it."
"Good!" Mystic immediately perked up and increased LeberMac's tequila drip. "I'll just need your fingerprint on the datapad and we'll get started..."
LeberMac did as he was told, and activated the datapad. The bystanders at his door shuffled away as if disappointed. "So, what do you expect of me?" he asked of Mystic.
"Oh, nothing that the rest of us don't do. Make the spacelanes dangerous, Yarrr it up, and above all, don't be an embarrassment." Mystic looked skeptically at LeberMac. "If you do all this, the tequila keeps coming and we keep working on this datapad. If not... Well, let's not discuss that."
She left in a whirl of pheremones and flowing crimson locks, abandoning LeberMac in the medical room, alone with his thoughts.
And so the days flowed, one into the other, and LeberMac slowly but inexorably began to find himself adopting the pirate lifestyle. He made his living with the other CLM renegades, picking off the scraps of behemoths, catching the occasional unlucky trader, avoiding his one-time Viper friends, and continuing to make progress cracking the TGFT datapad. He settled into his new, darker lifestyle, almost forgetting his previous existence. Until one day...
Finally!
He had it. The secrets of the trade guild were his. With the help of firsm, Racer, Yoda, and others within CLM, he'd gotten it. All he had to do was unescape the text, and the message would be clear. Over 16 quadrillion petabytes of data, the sum total of TGFT's accumulated wealth, information, and secrets. He would steal their money from their accounts, sell their information, and make off with their secrets like the Grinch who stole Christmas - it would be beautiful.
He took another swig from the tequila. Being provided all the tequila he could drink was certainly quite the side benefit, and he'd worked his way up to around 6 bottles a day, but who was counting? It was great, over at the Makchuga, Miharu would get stingy after his third bottle and give him that disapproving look that he hated so much; when all he wanted from her was the next damn bottle. He drained the last liter from the bottle.
He packed several bottles into his Corvus Vulturius, along with the almost-cracked datapad and his most powerful broadcasting/wiretapping device. He'd make the announcement of the TGFT data, and then proceed to steal all of the guild's funds and watch as the panicked traders tried to account for their disappearing billions.
Now THIS would be payback on the grandest of scales. He almost felt sorry for the poor TGFT saps...
He had it. The secrets of the trade guild were his. With the help of firsm, Racer, Yoda, and others within CLM, he'd gotten it. All he had to do was unescape the text, and the message would be clear. Over 16 quadrillion petabytes of data, the sum total of TGFT's accumulated wealth, information, and secrets. He would steal their money from their accounts, sell their information, and make off with their secrets like the Grinch who stole Christmas - it would be beautiful.
He took another swig from the tequila. Being provided all the tequila he could drink was certainly quite the side benefit, and he'd worked his way up to around 6 bottles a day, but who was counting? It was great, over at the Makchuga, Miharu would get stingy after his third bottle and give him that disapproving look that he hated so much; when all he wanted from her was the next damn bottle. He drained the last liter from the bottle.
He packed several bottles into his Corvus Vulturius, along with the almost-cracked datapad and his most powerful broadcasting/wiretapping device. He'd make the announcement of the TGFT data, and then proceed to steal all of the guild's funds and watch as the panicked traders tried to account for their disappearing billions.
Now THIS would be payback on the grandest of scales. He almost felt sorry for the poor TGFT saps...
Note: LeberMac sucks.
That is all.
[EDIT] You're putting waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much faith in LeberMeat, RR[/EDIT]
That is all.
[EDIT] You're putting waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much faith in LeberMeat, RR[/EDIT]
[criticism retracted with apologies]
Next week, on "As the Agave Turns", Lebermac finally gets his Christmas wish: an official Red Ryder carbine action 200 shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock. Will this finally put an end to his unhappiness? Were his parents, teachers, and Santa right? Will he shoot his eye out?
Find out next week. Same Leber time, same Leber channel.
Find out next week. Same Leber time, same Leber channel.
A for effort, humor and suspense, F- for execution and results. >_>