Smittens sat in an annoyingly uncomfortable chair that squeaked every time he tried to lean back. He'd been waiting for ten minutes, and it would likely be a lot more. Whatever, the price of working out of a no-name system in Cantus that could barely afford two docking ports.

Finally, the one he'd been waiting for knocked on the door, and enterred before being asked to.

"commander sir, what's with all this cloak and dagger stuff? first you've got some coffee pirate slip a message under my jacket while distracting everyone else by pretending to kill me, then you've got me flying half way around the universe to meet in some small office in cantus with no air conditioning?"

"Sorry UC, but this is about Mogul. And you know how Leber is about that. And with all these recruits HE'S bringing into the guild, I wouldn't feel safe mentioning something on guild chat and trusting them not to repeat it to him."

Calming slightly, upper case sat down in a nearby chair. "i'm sorry sir. i should've known you wouldn't go to these lenghts without cause."

"It's no problem. Just keep that in mind next time."

"of course. so this is about mr. velaio? i assume you want me to contact him but, i don't have any direct methods of doing so."

"And I'm sure you had good reasons for saying that. But I know you do. YOU came when Mogul helped me...with my brother...I know it was you, even if the situation is still a bit fuzzy. He's got some way to contact you, and judging by the small beeping thing you've got hidden under your gun that Starbucks saw, I know you've got a way to contact him. I'd say 'It is so cute you guys still have each other's numbers' but Mogul's actions have put a dangerous count down on everything we do," replied Smittens a bit impatiently, taking only a few breaths throughout the entire speech.

upper case looked back at Smittens with a hard expression that would've proved unreadable to most people who hadn't been around as long as the (admittedly young) Commander. upper case was good. "i'll say it again sir: i don't know what you're talking about, i haven't seen mogul in a long time. it must've been someone else."

"Dammit UC! I'm on Mogul's side, that's why you're here. He's in trouble. I caught Leber putting out a death sentence on him, and knowing Leber 'You asshole don't ever do that without my approval' isn't gonna stop him! We need to contact him NOW, and you NEED to give me the device!"

"sir, even with a direct order, i wouldn't be able to directly contact mr. velaio."

Smittens looked at uppercase and realized how serious he was about protecting Mogul. It was clear that upper case was a perfectly loyal individual. both to his friend, but also to the commanding officers. Smittens decided to play upper case's game.

"This is a direct order, upper case. Establish a link with Mogul. I dont care how you do it. NOW."

Glaring, upper case took a moment to respond. But still, Mogul had brought him into the world of piloting with his generous donations. UC wouldn't push it. Slowly he reached inside his jacket, pulled out his gun and, after a moments hesitation handed it to Smittens, handle first. Smittens recognized Mogul's taste of ancient guns. This one, too, was ceramic, like the one he had once pulled in that Corvus station. He took the holster off and held it upside down, bashing the bottom a few times until a small, round, silver gadget fell out, a red light flashing. "here," he said, handing it to Smittens.

"Thank you. Do you want to be here for the call?"

upper case shrugged, so Smittens pressed a tiny button on the back. Nothing happened. "How...?"

"you have to attach it to a working comm system, then hit the button..."

"Ah, right, crazy new technology..."

Following these instructions, Smittens hit the button again and his Porta Comm (tm) beeped on, and started calling.

"Now what?" asked Smittens.

"we wait, sir. this is only a beacon. he'll answer only if he establishes a link."

Moments passed and, to upper case's surprise, Mogul answered unusually quickly.

"What is it uc?" came Mogul's voice abruptly, with no traces of the insanity it had been so filled with recently.

Smittens beckoned upper case closer, and whispered to him, "Tell him not to panic or hang up, but that I'm on the line to help."

upper case did as he was told (the perfect soldier), and Mogul replied angrily. "You told him about the caller? Why did I even trust you with this thing?"

"It wasn't his fault, I guessed, he was willing to take it to the grave." Smittens inserted quickly, as upper case opened his mouth for an abashed response.

"Listen, Mogul, if you don't want to tell me what you're doing, that's alright. I, at least, know you're helping our nation. But Leber's still pissed. You need to watch yourself. He tried to get you KO-****in-S, and I'm quite sure he's not gonna stop just 'cause I told him to."

"Thanks for the info, but we're perfectly capable of--"

"Mogul, what the hell are you doing?" cried Smittens, unable to stop himself.

"You'll know soon enough."

"And what are you doing with Borb? With ****in Borb?"

"Hey, Mr. I-work-with-Lecter, shut up a minute. He's got the same thing in mind I do, and he can help me do it."

"So this isn't for the Itani. Borb would never help us."

"As you said, I've got the good of my nation at heart. You just have to trust me, Smitty. Please."

Minutes passed as Smittens tried to open his clamped jaw, to say *something.* He could get a trace going, keep Mogul on the line, and swoop in to save him from whatever he was planning. Or he could do like he kept telling everyone else, and trust Mogul.

"Fine. But Mogul, will you be alright?"

There was no response.

"Mogul?" asked Smittens again, getting everything set up for a trace, though not yet hitting "Activate"

"I'm sorry Smitty, I can't let you trace me, but I'll just say this: I'll soon be able to tell if Oernon Karun is your bro or not."

"What does that mean?" asked Smittens desperately, as a click came through the line. "Mogul?"

"the line is closed sir. it can only be established from his end" said UC. "commander sir, what's he trying to pull?"

Smittens tried hitting the button again, but nothing happened. "Could he have done something to block it?"

"he simply turned it off sir. we can beep him but until he activates his, but until then we're not going to hear from him."

Smittens ran over dozens of possibilities. "Leber is the main issue. He knows Mogul isn't gonna waste time, so he's going to move even faster. If I try anything openly against him, it'll hurt Itan. Thus the only way to stall Leber..." said Smittens worriedly, brow furrowing and leaving the sentence trailing...

"...is to placate him?" finished upper case with dread.

Smittens nodded solumnly. "We've still got command here, but dammit. Alright UC, spread the word. Itan is after Mogul, shoot first ask questions later."

Quirc Taranis watched as the Corvus deckboys loaded the cargo onto his Centaur. They didn't tell him what was inside (as usual) and they had false paperwork for it already prepared (of course). Another cargo of "Itani Wheat" to take into Nyrius. Another job, another day... another strange day. All that Mogul business was beginning to ruin HIS business; Serco bounty hunters, Itani investigators, UIT mercenaries, all crowding up his sky. The back of his mind churned over the rumors he'd been hearing as the rest of it kept his face customarily impassive. A stolen Avalon, escaping convicts, both Serco and Itani militants after the famous.. now imfamous.. Mogul Velaio. Thanks to all those politicians and terrorists, the grey was getting crowded. Too crowded for Quirc's liking. So why was he so curious... why was he so interested? No matter how many times he told himself to forget it and focus on the job, his mind kept wandering back between jumps. Wandering so much it even convinced him to get involved... Rule 1, stay under the scanners. Rules may be made to be broken, but not his rules... not his. Rule 1. Rule Number One. Why break a rule never broken... thrice? First trying to contact Mogul himself, then his friend in ITAN, then LeberMac himself..?

Profit. Yes, his information brought profit. And perhaps some objective reasoning to those overzealous monks. So long as his trading permissions keep, he had no reason to worry anyway... although... when IS that monk gonna fork over the cash...?

Rumors can lead to profit. Rule 3. Break Rule 1, uphold Rule 3... What a strange day... "Sir?"

The deckboy looked at Quirc with an impatient expression. "Sir? Here's the documents you'll need if anyone asks."

Quirc blinked and came back to the task at hand once again. "Yes, yes.. thank you. You can tell your boss the cargo will be delivered reliably, as always."

"We wouldn't be loading it if not for your reputation, sir. Cargo secure, you've been cleared to undock."

"Right." Quirc tossed the kid a cred stick (Rule 4: Money is both the means and the end) and made his way to his ship. His eyes swept over the battered bluish paint and dented armor plate, scrutinizing the repair work done by the nanobots. Satisfied, he quickly made way inside and through the living area to the forward flight deck.

"Good day, Quirc." The mythical image flickered dimly on an archaic holoscreen bolted to the main panels. The AI was archaic, too, but Quirc looked and responded with friendly reverance, the entity being his only companion for the better part of his days. "You seem in a good mood." "Well, they finally repaired my aft plating. That pirate took awfully nasty potshots, you know." "Yes, of course I know, and yes, it made you grumpy. Glad to see you're feeling better." The flickering face moved in what Quirc interpreted as a smile. "Much better. I'm also excited to be leaving the station. Speaking of which, shall we..? "Yeah, sure. Go ahead and take care of it... I'm gonna go make me somethin to drink." The face nodded and grinned. "Always makin me do all the hard stuff..." "Hey, at least I can make a decent brew." The eyes on the screen briefly flared as the ship came to life around the smuggler.

The Centaur left dock and promptly made out to a safe jumping distance before the customary blue lightshow swallowed it into the black. Quirc Taranis sat at the small table, sipping at the tea in it's handleless mug. Itani convicts, Serco bounty hunters, UIT mercenaries, all crowding his sky.. the sky that held his Centaur... his home... his life.

Space is big.

Mogul Velaio had read about this before and, obviously, also had first hand experience.

But you dont get to realize it until you've traveled more than a million meters, backward, staring at both a wormhole and gravity measuring devices.

And Mogul had done just that. Many times over. This week alone.

Space is big.

But somehow, people come together, still, as if steered-in by some unseen force of attraction. A good friend actually spent more than an hour over-heating her turbo just to bring in some supplies. A whole eight hundred thousand meters. Full of attention. That the roles been swapped, he would have probably killed her. That's probably the difference between a bar tender--always an ear out, and a warrior--always a gun out.

But of all the people that should be pissed at him, Miharu actually showed mercy. Comprehension. Nearly compassion. Oh she was pissed all right. And yet, very... sympathetic... Something had changed in her but he could not quite pinpoint what it was.

Despite the vastness of space, there were always someone at the turn of the next corner. This time around, the corner was the Corvus station in Sedina. Mogul had just warped in for some supplies and, seeing he wasn't alone, warped out immediately on his pre-planned route--Mogul was always precautions.

But seeing Quirc Taranis in there took him off guard. Still thinking of Miharu, his exit jump was a direct path.

When Mogul jumped out of Sedina D14, he was within meters of the Apus. His new pride. As he docked, he could see Quirc warping in. He had followed him!

"Leave sector immediately or we will fire on you!" he warned.

No answer. A blue flash followed.

Mogul warped out with Constellation Apus on a pre-programmed multi-point course.

Satisfied he had lost the UIT "trader" (of course... Mogul saw his "paperwork" go by... one of Corvus' weekly job for Mogul was to fix the paperwork for them), Mogul decided to kick back a little and wait a while before resupplying.

Soon, though, he'd have to pay a visit to Borb... just to show him the bumper sticker... Mogul always loved a good laugh...

"You know, the Constellation isn't exactly a toy.. it CAN kill us." Extraxi's image flickered onto the screen with an apprehensive expression. Quirc sat up in the seat, one hand on his stick, the other on the nav thruster controls. "Yes, I know..." He watched as the stolen vessel warped away, and sat back, smirking. Extraxi's firey eyes narrowed at him. "Don't be getting that lo-" "Hey, I know what I'm doin'. There's profit to be made in this." The image sighed. "Fine. Want me to access open channels so we may announce the sighting?" "...no. No, open nothing." "You are sure?" "Of course I'm sure. When haven't I been sure?" "Well, there was that job through Ukari with the pirate blockade, then your first docking experience in Helios, that one Itani female in Edras, the shoddy repair job made in Sol II, the..." "Okay, okay, fine. But I'm sure this time. Promise." "Alright, kid." The image flickered a moment before Extraxi spoke again. "Mogul has initiated a complex warp path. I can't track it." "That's quite alright... I have the information I need. The question is, who'll pay the most credits...?" "Stop being so dramatic and lets head back to Corvus Hold." "Fine, ruinin' me moment.." "Hey, you aren't the one taking the hits." Quiet laugh. "Yeah, yeah..." With that, Quirc left the flight deck and sat down in the dining area. Out of green tea again. Wonderful.

Quirc sat in the Corvus Vulturius just outside Corvus Hold as the vessel approached. Identical hull type.. but it wasn't Corvus. Quirc smirked. For all their talk, those Serco sure kept to the cheapest designs... the mutant's voice crackled in over the comms. "Consider this a down payment from ITAN." Quirc stared in surprise at the ship only meters away, facing him. A Serco contracted by the Itani? Now he's seen everything... and the half million credits was enough to... "You have my attention." "You have mine." "Mogul is in possession of the stolen TPG Constellation boat. I tracked him in Sedina D-14 and followed to F-16. As for his broadcast, either he lies to me or it ain't no bluff." A moment of silence. "Good, this is useful information. You will await contact from LeberMac here." "I'm sure I can find something to do." The dark Vulture sped under him without further reply and sped off into the black. Quirc turned back towards the dock. The Corvus fighter wasn't his style, but Extraxi wanted to do some diagnostics... besides, it was a gift, personally outfitted by ol' Baral himself... and it was intimidating to look at. Always good to use every edge you can... the game he was playing was dangerous, playing sides against each other, but Quirc knew the credits waiting beyond the scanners. Get them all to trust you, and you get double the cash... Quirc hit the navigational assist and slowly moved into the docking bay. An interesting turn of events... first giving information to the Itani, then never being paid... siding with Mogul, listening to his broadcast about cutting one of his most profitable supply routes. Quirc wasn't too happy about hearing that... but if he made enough cash on the situation, it wouldn't matter, would it? He could sit like the other fatcats in Corvus Hold.. though maybe not as fat... definitely not as fat...

Quirc sat down at the bar and threw a leg up onto it. Miharu glared at him. "Off." "Yeah, yeah..." He dropped his foot to the floor and, now with his drink and minus a few creds, he got to work on his commset. Yeah... this really was getting interesting now.