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Chapter 5: Ranking Up
Ken made good progress in the next few days, and as he got his Traders 1 rank, he saw new opertunities coming his way.He took a courier mission to a new station that he had never been to before, and that helped relieve the monotony of doing the same things over and over, but as he made his delivery, he heard a sound and he turned from the dock to see a young woman, dressed in what might have been old bags or drapes, all ripped up and filthy, begging for money or food, and a big man acting very high and mighty, demanding special ‘things’ for any help he might give.
“I’ll do anything, but please help me, my mothers starving, we haven’t eaten in 3 days...please...” she begged as Ken felt badly for her. It happened from time to time. People come out here to make a better life then get lost, or have everything taken away by con men or hoods, or fall into some other trap, and wind up desperate and alone.
“How did you get this way?” He asked as he walked up but the big man demanded he wait his turn, as Ken turned on him and gave him a very serious and dirty look.”go away....” He whispered as the man looked angry but he did and as he left Ken helped her stand, and she did, looking a little wobbly but he asked where they were living, and was surprised and embarrassed to find her mother living in a old crate under a stairwell not too far away.
“What happened to you?” He asked as they woofed down some meal bars he provided.
“We came out here after I graduated, two years ago,” the girl, Melanie said,” I was doing OK as a miner, with my old shuttle, but then the station manager got greedy and started charging for every repair, and kept raising our room rent until I couldn’t pay it anymore. Then he took my ship as payment, and just left us to die.”
“You should have left when you had the chance,” Ken mentioned but she reminded him that the station manger had a private security patrol that kept the station safe, and had people watching day and night for any trouble makers.
“After what he did, we’d never get out of the system alive,” She said sadly as Ken felt more angry than any time before.
”If you can get out of here, you can get another free shuttle and then make a living again. All you need is to make it to the jump point.”He mentioned, as she looked sad.
“They stole our ID’s and without those, we have no rights, no names nothing. If we had the money we could get new ones, after a DNA check, but we can never do that here, he wont alow it.” She said as he nodded he understood.
“So...he’s a petty little dictator then, making peoples lives miserable and then letting them to die.” he said angrily as Melanie agreed, “ I was never into slavery, come with me...” he said as they got to their feet and he led them to his ship, and they drifted out into space.
“Trader, stop! You have something on board that belongs to me...” Ken heard as a mans face came on the link and he looked very serious.
“I think you’ll forgive me this once,” Ken said smiling as the man looked more than upset,” I’m not a nobody like these two. I have rank and people know I’m here, so maybe its in your best interest to let this go, having a government investigation into your activities might not be in your best interest.” Ken mentioned as the man looked shocked and angry at the same time.
“You’ll not leave here alive...” he demanded as Ken laughed out loud at him seeing that he was more than half way to the jump point already.
“I think you better not do that, heres the deal. I’ll see to it they never come back here again, or press charges,and I wont either. In exchange, we go free. If there’s an attack on this ship. I will retaliate, and that will cost you right there. If you attack and I survive, then I’ll report it to the Traders Union, and they’ll investigate, and then pass the info up the ladder. I don’t think you can afford to have too many eyes watching you for the rest of your life, can you?”
The coms got quiet and Kenneth saw the jump point approaching fast and then the man finally spoke.
“Alright, but you have made an enemy here today,” He said as the link went closed and Ken sat back looking tired.
“You might think the same,” he whispered and he made a change on his maps, showing this was a hostile sector and him and his passengers jumped away and returned to the core sector, where he had his ‘offices’ set up.
They docked and Ken got them some clean cloths after they got a decent meal and a shower. He then offered them a job, mining for him and Melanie agreed, happily, and he set them up in his old shuttle, until they could afford to get new ID’s made for themselves.
“50/50 for now. You’ll use my ship, stay right in this sector, do missions when you can and then get yourselves new ID’s and accounts. I promised we wouldn’t press charges against him, so don’t, if there’s too big a fuss, he’ll hire someone to silence you both, and this will all be for nothing.” he added as the older lady, Chris asked why he had done this and made himself a serious enemy in the process.” I hate bullies...thats enough reason.”
“Until you get new ID’s, everything you mine will go to my account since the ship is registered to me. So once a week I’ll check it and divide the profits up. then you should be able to get reestablished.” Ken mentioned as Melanie agreed. Right now with no ID’s to show who they were, they were dead, as far as the government was concerned. So they were at the mercy of anyone or anything that helped them but Melanie knew that Ken wasn’t like some of the others, and that they would be alright.
Ken made good progress in the next few days, and as he got his Traders 1 rank, he saw new opertunities coming his way.He took a courier mission to a new station that he had never been to before, and that helped relieve the monotony of doing the same things over and over, but as he made his delivery, he heard a sound and he turned from the dock to see a young woman, dressed in what might have been old bags or drapes, all ripped up and filthy, begging for money or food, and a big man acting very high and mighty, demanding special ‘things’ for any help he might give.
“I’ll do anything, but please help me, my mothers starving, we haven’t eaten in 3 days...please...” she begged as Ken felt badly for her. It happened from time to time. People come out here to make a better life then get lost, or have everything taken away by con men or hoods, or fall into some other trap, and wind up desperate and alone.
“How did you get this way?” He asked as he walked up but the big man demanded he wait his turn, as Ken turned on him and gave him a very serious and dirty look.”go away....” He whispered as the man looked angry but he did and as he left Ken helped her stand, and she did, looking a little wobbly but he asked where they were living, and was surprised and embarrassed to find her mother living in a old crate under a stairwell not too far away.
“What happened to you?” He asked as they woofed down some meal bars he provided.
“We came out here after I graduated, two years ago,” the girl, Melanie said,” I was doing OK as a miner, with my old shuttle, but then the station manager got greedy and started charging for every repair, and kept raising our room rent until I couldn’t pay it anymore. Then he took my ship as payment, and just left us to die.”
“You should have left when you had the chance,” Ken mentioned but she reminded him that the station manger had a private security patrol that kept the station safe, and had people watching day and night for any trouble makers.
“After what he did, we’d never get out of the system alive,” She said sadly as Ken felt more angry than any time before.
”If you can get out of here, you can get another free shuttle and then make a living again. All you need is to make it to the jump point.”He mentioned, as she looked sad.
“They stole our ID’s and without those, we have no rights, no names nothing. If we had the money we could get new ones, after a DNA check, but we can never do that here, he wont alow it.” She said as he nodded he understood.
“So...he’s a petty little dictator then, making peoples lives miserable and then letting them to die.” he said angrily as Melanie agreed, “ I was never into slavery, come with me...” he said as they got to their feet and he led them to his ship, and they drifted out into space.
“Trader, stop! You have something on board that belongs to me...” Ken heard as a mans face came on the link and he looked very serious.
“I think you’ll forgive me this once,” Ken said smiling as the man looked more than upset,” I’m not a nobody like these two. I have rank and people know I’m here, so maybe its in your best interest to let this go, having a government investigation into your activities might not be in your best interest.” Ken mentioned as the man looked shocked and angry at the same time.
“You’ll not leave here alive...” he demanded as Ken laughed out loud at him seeing that he was more than half way to the jump point already.
“I think you better not do that, heres the deal. I’ll see to it they never come back here again, or press charges,and I wont either. In exchange, we go free. If there’s an attack on this ship. I will retaliate, and that will cost you right there. If you attack and I survive, then I’ll report it to the Traders Union, and they’ll investigate, and then pass the info up the ladder. I don’t think you can afford to have too many eyes watching you for the rest of your life, can you?”
The coms got quiet and Kenneth saw the jump point approaching fast and then the man finally spoke.
“Alright, but you have made an enemy here today,” He said as the link went closed and Ken sat back looking tired.
“You might think the same,” he whispered and he made a change on his maps, showing this was a hostile sector and him and his passengers jumped away and returned to the core sector, where he had his ‘offices’ set up.
They docked and Ken got them some clean cloths after they got a decent meal and a shower. He then offered them a job, mining for him and Melanie agreed, happily, and he set them up in his old shuttle, until they could afford to get new ID’s made for themselves.
“50/50 for now. You’ll use my ship, stay right in this sector, do missions when you can and then get yourselves new ID’s and accounts. I promised we wouldn’t press charges against him, so don’t, if there’s too big a fuss, he’ll hire someone to silence you both, and this will all be for nothing.” he added as the older lady, Chris asked why he had done this and made himself a serious enemy in the process.” I hate bullies...thats enough reason.”
“Until you get new ID’s, everything you mine will go to my account since the ship is registered to me. So once a week I’ll check it and divide the profits up. then you should be able to get reestablished.” Ken mentioned as Melanie agreed. Right now with no ID’s to show who they were, they were dead, as far as the government was concerned. So they were at the mercy of anyone or anything that helped them but Melanie knew that Ken wasn’t like some of the others, and that they would be alright.
So there is no such thing as DNA or fingerprint records in this version of the universe? Or is it just that going through the process to get a new ID card carries a fee, creating a catch 22 for people who cannot work since they lack ID?
Relax Leebs... it's not like its a biography.
Getting better... keep it up.
ok, listening a bit, trying to add a little more detail...
Chapter 5: Ranking Up
Ken made good progress in the next few days, and as he got his Traders 1 rank, he saw new opertunities coming his way.He took a courier mission to a new station that he had never been to before, and that helped relieve the monotony of doing the same things over and over, but as he made his delivery, he heard a sound and he turned from the dock to see a young woman, dressed in what might have been old bags or drapes, all ripped up and filthy, begging for money or food, and a big man acting very high and mighty, demanding special ‘things’ for any help he might give.
“I’ll do anything, but please help me, my mothers starving, we haven’t eaten in 3 days...please...” she begged as Ken felt badly for her. It happened from time to time. People come out here to make a better life then get lost, or have everything taken away by con men or hoods, or fall into some other trap, and wind up desperate and alone.
“How did you get this way?” He asked as he walked up but the big man demanded he wait his turn, as Ken turned on him and gave him a very serious and dirty look.”go away....” He whispered as the man looked angry but he did and as he left Ken helped her stand, and she did, looking a little wobbly but he asked where they were living, and was surprised and embarrassed to find her mother living in a old crate under a stairwell not too far away.
“What happened to you?” He asked as they woofed down some meal bars he provided.
“We came out here after I graduated, two years ago,” the girl, Melanie said,” I was doing OK as a miner, with my old shuttle, but then the station manager got greedy and started charging for every repair, and kept raising our room rent until I couldn’t pay it anymore. Then he took my ship as payment, and just left us to die.”
“You should have left when you had the chance,” Ken mentioned but she reminded him that the station manger had a private security patrol that kept the station safe, and had people watching day and night for any trouble makers.
“After what he did, we’d never get out of the system alive,” She said sadly as Ken felt more angry than any time before.
”If you can get out of here, you can get another free shuttle and then make a living again. All you need is to make it to the jump point.”He mentioned, as she looked sad.
“They stole our ID’s and without those, we have no rights, no names nothing. If we had the money we could get new ones, after a DNA check, but we can never do that here, he wont alow it.” She said as he nodded he understood.
“So...he’s a petty little dictator then, making peoples lives miserable and then letting them to die.” he said angrily as Melanie agreed, “ I was never into slavery, come with me...” he said as they got to their feet and he led them to his ship, and they drifted out into space.
“Trader, stop! You have something on board that belongs to me...” Ken heard as a mans face came on the link and he looked very serious.
“I think you’ll forgive me this once,” Ken said smiling as the man looked more than upset,” I’m not a nobody like these two. I have rank and people know I’m here, so maybe its in your best interest to let this go, having a government investigation into your activities might not be in your best interest.” Ken mentioned as the man looked shocked and angry at the same time.
“You’ll not leave here alive...” he demanded as Ken laughed out loud at him seeing that he was more than half way to the jump point already.
“I think you better not do that, heres the deal. I’ll see to it they never come back here again, or press charges,and I wont either. In exchange, we go free. If there’s an attack on this ship. I will retaliate, and that will cost you right there. If you attack and I survive, then I’ll report it to the Traders Union, and they’ll investigate, and then pass the info up the ladder. I don’t think you can afford to have too many eyes watching you for the rest of your life, can you?”
The coms got quiet and Kenneth saw the jump point approaching fast and then the man finally spoke.
“Alright, but you have made an enemy here today,” He said as the link went closed and Ken sat back looking tired.
“You might think the same,” he whispered and he made a change on his maps, showing this was a hostile sector and him and his passengers jumped away and returned to the core sector, where he had his ‘offices’ set up.
They docked and Ken got them some clean cloths after they got a decent meal and a shower. He then offered them a job, mining for him and Melanie agreed, happily, and he set them up in his old shuttle, until they could afford to get new ID’s made for themselves.
“50/50 for now. You’ll use my ship, stay right in this sector, do missions when you can and then get yourselves new ID’s and accounts. I promised we wouldn’t press charges against him, so don’t, if there’s too big a fuss, he’ll hire someone to silence you both, and this will all be for nothing.” he added as the older lady, Chris asked why he had done this and made himself a serious enemy in the process.” I hate bullies...thats enough reason.”
“Until you get new ID’s, everything you mine will go to my account since the ship is registered to me. So once a week I’ll check it and divide the profits up. then you should be able to get reestablished.” Ken mentioned as Melanie agreed. Right now with no ID’s to show who they were, they were dead, as far as the government was concerned. So they were at the mercy of anyone or anything that helped them but Melanie knew that Ken wasn’t like some of the others, and that they would be alright.
Chapter 5: Ranking Up
Ken made good progress in the next few days, and as he got his Traders 1 rank, he saw new opertunities coming his way.He took a courier mission to a new station that he had never been to before, and that helped relieve the monotony of doing the same things over and over, but as he made his delivery, he heard a sound and he turned from the dock to see a young woman, dressed in what might have been old bags or drapes, all ripped up and filthy, begging for money or food, and a big man acting very high and mighty, demanding special ‘things’ for any help he might give.
“I’ll do anything, but please help me, my mothers starving, we haven’t eaten in 3 days...please...” she begged as Ken felt badly for her. It happened from time to time. People come out here to make a better life then get lost, or have everything taken away by con men or hoods, or fall into some other trap, and wind up desperate and alone.
“How did you get this way?” He asked as he walked up but the big man demanded he wait his turn, as Ken turned on him and gave him a very serious and dirty look.”go away....” He whispered as the man looked angry but he did and as he left Ken helped her stand, and she did, looking a little wobbly but he asked where they were living, and was surprised and embarrassed to find her mother living in a old crate under a stairwell not too far away.
“What happened to you?” He asked as they woofed down some meal bars he provided.
“We came out here after I graduated, two years ago,” the girl, Melanie said,” I was doing OK as a miner, with my old shuttle, but then the station manager got greedy and started charging for every repair, and kept raising our room rent until I couldn’t pay it anymore. Then he took my ship as payment, and just left us to die.”
“You should have left when you had the chance,” Ken mentioned but she reminded him that the station manger had a private security patrol that kept the station safe, and had people watching day and night for any trouble makers.
“After what he did, we’d never get out of the system alive,” She said sadly as Ken felt more angry than any time before.
”If you can get out of here, you can get another free shuttle and then make a living again. All you need is to make it to the jump point.”He mentioned, as she looked sad.
“They stole our ID’s and without those, we have no rights, no names nothing. If we had the money we could get new ones, after a DNA check, but we can never do that here, he wont alow it.” She said as he nodded he understood.
“So...he’s a petty little dictator then, making peoples lives miserable and then letting them to die.” he said angrily as Melanie agreed, “ I was never into slavery, come with me...” he said as they got to their feet and he led them to his ship, and they drifted out into space.
“Trader, stop! You have something on board that belongs to me...” Ken heard as a mans face came on the link and he looked very serious.
“I think you’ll forgive me this once,” Ken said smiling as the man looked more than upset,” I’m not a nobody like these two. I have rank and people know I’m here, so maybe its in your best interest to let this go, having a government investigation into your activities might not be in your best interest.” Ken mentioned as the man looked shocked and angry at the same time.
“You’ll not leave here alive...” he demanded as Ken laughed out loud at him seeing that he was more than half way to the jump point already.
“I think you better not do that, heres the deal. I’ll see to it they never come back here again, or press charges,and I wont either. In exchange, we go free. If there’s an attack on this ship. I will retaliate, and that will cost you right there. If you attack and I survive, then I’ll report it to the Traders Union, and they’ll investigate, and then pass the info up the ladder. I don’t think you can afford to have too many eyes watching you for the rest of your life, can you?”
The coms got quiet and Kenneth saw the jump point approaching fast and then the man finally spoke.
“Alright, but you have made an enemy here today,” He said as the link went closed and Ken sat back looking tired.
“You might think the same,” he whispered and he made a change on his maps, showing this was a hostile sector and him and his passengers jumped away and returned to the core sector, where he had his ‘offices’ set up.
They docked and Ken got them some clean cloths after they got a decent meal and a shower. He then offered them a job, mining for him and Melanie agreed, happily, and he set them up in his old shuttle, until they could afford to get new ID’s made for themselves.
“50/50 for now. You’ll use my ship, stay right in this sector, do missions when you can and then get yourselves new ID’s and accounts. I promised we wouldn’t press charges against him, so don’t, if there’s too big a fuss, he’ll hire someone to silence you both, and this will all be for nothing.” he added as the older lady, Chris asked why he had done this and made himself a serious enemy in the process.” I hate bullies...thats enough reason.”
“Until you get new ID’s, everything you mine will go to my account since the ship is registered to me. So once a week I’ll check it and divide the profits up. then you should be able to get reestablished.” Ken mentioned as Melanie agreed. Right now with no ID’s to show who they were, they were dead, as far as the government was concerned. So they were at the mercy of anyone or anything that helped them but Melanie knew that Ken wasn’t like some of the others, and that they would be alright.
don't know how I got 2 number 5 in there sorry...this finishes it, sorry to be an amateur, but I'll remember some of the things that were mentioned for other things I write later.
Chapter 6: Incorporating
For two weeks they worked the core sector, doing mining missions and helping get Ken’s rank up even higher. They also were pretty happy when he gave them their first pay, after not being able to trust anyone for so long.
“It wont take long until you’ll be set up again with full sets of ID’s, congrats,” Ken said as he handed them a debt card made out to cash and carrying a new account number so they could have an account of their own again after so long,with their weekly profits on it and they cheered. “Once thats done, you can get another shuttle of your own, or stay and use mine. I’m thinking of starting my own mining Corp. If you want I’ll hire you full time as soon as you get new ID’s, what do you think?”
“Doesn’t sound too bad, we’ll talk about it and let you know.” Chris added as he agreed and went his way again, heading back to the office and some more business while letting them do what they wanted for a while.
“What’s the matter mom? He’s been really good to us after all we’ve been through.” Melanie asked, as her mom nodded looking at the green debit card in her hand.
“But is this the real him or just being nice until he feels we owe him enough?” She asked as Melanie refused to agree. “people like us don’t get many second chances, not without strings attached.”
“I refuse to think that way, Ken’s been nothing but nice to us, and I’ll believe in him until he makes me not....you’ve been sick and tired and under nourished for too long, but here, things are better. Your getting well again, we’re eating regularly, and now we can buy whatever we want, with our own money. For the last year, this was my dream, just give it a chance.” Melanie begged looking very sad as Chris smiled and agreed maybe she was just paranoid, and they went to see how much Ken thought they had earned, and Chris was very sure they’d be shorted badly by the man her daughter trusted so much.
But it wasn’t true...this time... as their new account had more in it than what even she thought they had earned. It wasn’t enough for their new DNA tests, but it was a real start. They got a few simple things they needed and then went back towards the docks, and even as they walked out to the shuttle, Melanie was munching on an ice cream cone, a real luxury after all these months having nothing and she was enjoying it to the fullest, all smiles and making sure she didn’t miss a single drop.
“Told you...” She whispered as they drifted away from the station, and took another new mission to mine 200 units of Carbonate ore.
“We’ll see,” Was all she heard and even she gave a deep sigh at her mothers insistence that everyone was a villain.
Ken was also busy, he had his own ship to run and he did, and then he had a person doing all his Corporate paperwork, and he named it the Mega Corporation, it sounded a bit too serious, but thats what he wanted. He wanted people to hear the name and think that it WAS a serious deal, no matter how small it might be now.
He was pretty sure that Melanie and her mother would stay with him after this and he knew there were others that had been wronged or messed with and lost nearly everything too. He wasn’t being a minister or anything, but if he got the reputation of helping people and making it work, then the word would get out, and he wouldn’t have any problem finding people to make his Corp as big as he wanted.
The day his Corporation paperwork cleared, he started getting deals that he had not seen before. Ships at a discount, weapons too. Even if he only had a few people so far, the stations were giving him the benefit of the doubt, and he wanted to make sure he took advantage of it.He bought himself a new ship, a freighter with better cargo space and a shield turret. Then he made sure his old one was fixed up and offered it to Melanie and her mom, and after a little negotiation on wages, they agreed, and his Corporation started looking like it had a chance.
He also made up a notice, and had it placed on the jobs board, under ‘employment’ and he offered ships to people that would work for him, and contracts that might not show up on the regular job boards for just everyone. It went over pretty well, and another young man signed on a day later,and got a new Revenant for himself, that belonged to the Corp of course. But that and a contract that never seemed to run out, and he was set for a long time, as Ken sat back behind his desk looking at the blue computer screen, and information on everything they were doing so far.
Now the Corporation’s name got around and Ken saw that as he got more warm greetings than before, no matter where he went, and everyone seemed to be doing well as he was told, and his deal with his employees started becoming the new standard for company’s in that sector, and a few moved on instead of sharing the wealth with their employees, and that left even more work for Ken and his team.
Chapter 7: Company Problems
But things couldn’t go smooth forever and one new man Ken hired got his ship and went mining for silicates, but every day he came back, he was shot to bits, and since Ken made the deal to repair his own ships for free, this was costing him big time. As the man came on one day Ken was right there, and he didn’t look at all happy as the man walked off the ship.
“You went mining, how can you get shot up every time? Are you mining in a drone sector?” Ken asked as the young man swore he wasn’t they just jumped him every time they saw him and Ken saw there was more to it than this as the man refused to look him in the eye, so he repaired the ship again and the man went back out, but this time,Ken was right behind as he jumped to a sector that had Mk 1 drones he went about stealing the cargo from them, and getting shot up again just like last time. He wasn’t even very good as a pilot, since the Rev he was flying had a Mk 2 plasma cannon for defense, he should have been doing alright against these little drones, but he didn’t even try. He just ran in, blew up any he caught sitting, mining, and then ran away when he was loaded, and he got combat experience while Ken got some ore and a big repair bill every time, as drones ran to help their friends and shot up the freighter before it could get away.
Well, that was the end of that, because even before he got done getting loaded from his last attack, a drone exploded right along side him and he looked around to see the Boss, in his ship, watching him and he knew the jig was up.
“From now on,”Ken called across,looking very,very upset, ” I tell you what sector to mine and you listen, understand?” and the man nodded and looked sick that he had been caught.”now follow me back to the docks, this isn’t over yet.”
With that they went back to base together, and Ken made sure this guy knew that his job was hanging by a thread. He checked to see what ore he was supposed to be mining, and then assigned him to the same sector the station was in. He never had to see another drone again. If he wanted that kind of experience, he could buy a ship of his own, and go out and get killed, but Ken wasn’t going to foot the bill for it anymore.
“Sorry Boss, it wont happen again,” the man said looking embarrassed to be caught, and not too convincingly and left the dock to resume gathering ore as Ken went back to see what everyone else was doing.
The old Revenant he gave the lady’s was out next to the sector edge and they were mining away, and as he pulled up along side, seeing the mining beam eating away at a large asteroid, they called over, saying they found some good ones out here.
“Thats what I like about you two, you get the work done and don’t cost me a fortune in repairs.” He said as they all got a good laugh and Ken told them what had just happened.
“Unbelievable, he was just using your free repairs to help him gain combat experience.” Chris added as he agreed. “Probably thinking he’d leave later when his experience was high enough.”
“And he’s not very good at it either, the ship your using can easily kill a drone, but he wasn’t trying too hard so long as he could find enough willing to just sit there and wait on him.” He mentioned as they got a good laugh.”if your ever attacked, try your best. If its something large, run thats the Company line.” Ken said as they smiled and agreed to his new rule.
“We don’t want to get killed either, we’ll do our best.” Melanie added as he waved and turned his Atlas freighter away and started back towards the station while the ladies returned to their work of emptying this rock of its riches.
“Some people...” Chris said,shaking her head sadly as they went back to work, and Melanie saw that her mom had finally seen Ken for the nice guy he was.
One day the guy didn’t come to work at all, and when Ken checked he found he was just getting out of the resurrection chambers. He had taken his old shuttle out to shoot drones himself after work but with his severe lack of skill, had gotten himself killed. Now he had a bill to pay and his savings went down by a nice amount and he called and swore that he’d be back to work tomorrow, and Ken agreed and then hung up the link and smiled like he’d burst. 10,000 credits for a resurrection isn’t easy to pay if your goofing off all the time, and he felt maybe this guy had learned a lesson after all.
Chapter 8: Next Wave
Ken had things working for him by now. Stations made him special deals, his people were well known and his name and Corporate name were on all the job boards. His contracts were getting done regularly and on time,and he paid well, with the benefits that he gave them all. But as a Corp they were still new, and small and he knew that hurt them if even a little, but he had plans for that too, and as he sat back one day, looking at the date on the calender, he made a video call and his mom answered and smiled and asked how well he was doing, and after a short talk, he asked if his brother, Carl was around.
“He’s been watching you closely, since you started your own business out there, he’s hoping for work after graduation, I think.” She mentioned as Ken smiled and nodded he understood. It took a few minutes to get him online, but they laughed and talked and Ken did offer him work and any of his friends he thought would make good employees as well.
“I’m trained as security, and have a few friends that are too, but you know how it is, we all have friends, so how many do you want to hire, or can afford to?” Carl asked as they had a good talk, with Ken letting him know that security is good but miners help pay the bills,and he said he’d see to it, and they’d see each other next week, and the link went down as Ken decided that he needed some more income, if only for a little while to help out, and he took his own ship and went mining, and did a mission or two to boost his account balance, and get ready for his Corps next big expansion.
When the day came, he was right there, dressed well and looking professional with a fine looking blue suit and looking clean and well groomed, when that door opened from the transporter room and out walked his brother, and 5 others right along with him.
“This is my brother, Ken,” Carl said as everyone stopped to shake hands. “He’s the family big shot right now, so we’ll be working for him and his Corporation.”
“Whats the Corps name?” One asked as Ken just smiled.
“Mega Corp, a big name for a small Corporation...so far, but you will all help us become more serious around here. What specialties have you got?”
“Three security men, and three miners,” Carl said with a wink, as Ken nodded happily.
“Welcome, and come with me,” Ken said as they lined up behind him and walked out to the docks. There they found three light fighters, all set up and ready to go, and Ken gave them each codes for the new ships.”Carl is wing Captain, so I want the three of you to work together for a while, cover each others backs and come back in one piece, no big repair bills for a while, got it?” He asked as they laughed and agreed. He then turned his computer screen to show them the sector and made a notation where he wanted them to train.
“Go to the job boards, get the basic combat missions for new pilots, and go to this area. There are a lot of Mk. 1 drones there, get some practice, some experience and gather any Synthetic Silksteel you find, if any. It’ll help cover your repair costs, any questions?” There were none and the three of them ran to board their ships for the first time like children on Christmas day, to check them out and see what weapons and equipment they had, as Ken led the miners away.
Carl stood there with his friends all smiles, Centurians, 3 of them sitting there waiting. 10 meters long, bright red trim and white bodys, with one small weapon mount up front,and a cargo hold of 8 units. Most people starting out used shuttles for a few months then got these, but thanks to Ken they got theirs the first day, and he smiled until it looked like he’d burst.
“Mk 2 Ion Cannons right off the bat, and a real fighter not a shuttle, I told you guys Ken was a good man.” Carl bragged as his men agreed wholeheartedly. “Lets go get signed up for work,and see how these babies fly! We’ll be gathering profit and experience the first day, you cant beat that.” And he led his team out towards the jobs boards, laughing about good times to come.
While that was going on, Ken took his new miners to the job boards too and got them signed up for basic mining classes. They got their basic shuttle, and mining scanners and beams and he led them to the dock where they could find their ships. They were pretty happy the way things were going, and as they talked about getting started a Revenant pulled into slip 32, right next to them and they stood there all smiles as it started getting unloaded and two women walked out, wearing the plain yellow jump suits that many workers used to save their better cloths, and waved and stopped to tell Ken they had just finished their mission.
“These are two of my employees too,” Ken mentioned as the new kids just smiled,” this is Melanie and her mom, Chris, they are far more experienced than any of you, so if you have questions ask them or me, if you’d like, and we’ll get you up and running in no time.” He said as they all shook hands and he went back to his office while they went out on their first mining mission and he started seeing the first returns from his latest set of hirings.
Carl was back with his men a couple hours later, one needed some repairs, nothing bad but then thats what light fighters do so Ken wasn’t upset. They had run up a good total, and brought in 3 units of Silksteel, and Ken had them drop it in the Corporation’s storage locker.
“That was fun,” Carl said as he sat there across the desk from Ken who just laughed at him.
“You’ll kill hundreds of those, for missions and practice,” Ken said as Carl nodded he understood,” but don’t get too relaxed, they can kill you quick if your not paying attention, and you’ll see missions with a lot bigger drones than that, and pirates and mercenarys that hunt people for their drops, so be careful and come back every time.” He said very seriously.
“We will, I promise,” Carl added as he got up and waved good bye and then left, and Ken sat back in his chair looking at the blue screen and its forever changing information,things had started out well for his new employees. The miners had finished their basic training now and were doing missions of their own, and the security men were training to be ready for convoy duties, or escorts for the miners, when materials were needed on far away stations, and the price made it impossible to refuse. But this was his job, to decide what missions were worth it, and who to send,and he would make sure that his people were ready or they wouldn’t go, and that was his promise to himself. To be a good CEO and not let profit alone lead him and his future plans astray.
With this new bunch of manpower, Ken’s little Corp became something much more. It had some say in what missions the local station had, since if he threw his weight behind it, he could do nearly all missions available in a few days. That made him some friends from the Traders Guild, and some enemys from the other miners and freight haulers, but he made sure they knew that he wasn’t there to put them out of work, and he had an entire galaxy to work in, and a few agreed that he was going about it just right, and even they wondered if working for him wasn’t easier than working alone.
By now, Carl and his team were well on their way towards being good combat specialists and Ken’s miners found new asteroid fields that left them gather more exotic ores, and at better prices. Mega Corp was on its way to become a real power in the galaxy, and he could only feel relief that it had turned out this way. When he told his parents his plan, they looked shocked that he could think so far ahead, but he had been very sure that working hard and making a new company that treated its employees well, would do the trick, and it had.
In just a few years, his name spread across the galaxy, and his people became well known. Melanie and her mom got their new ID’s almost right away, and Ken gave them jobs for life, and they never had to spend another day wrapped in rags again. Carl stayed for a while, then went out and started his own combat Corp, and Ken smiled the day he said he’d give him a contract for escorts for life, and he agreed and drew up Carl’s first contract.
Now, with over 20 miners and pilots working for him, Ken was set too, and his account went up and up and even repairs on ships and replacements from time to time didn’t faze him, and many of his people flew the best, and earned them daily. With contracts from the home system all the way to the frontier, Ken had done what he promised himself all those years ago. Now he could relax and settle down, and he had an old friend from back home,come for a visit, and she was more impressed than she had ever been, seeing him as a young businessman, and not the stubborn kid that she had known him to be.
Their childhood friendship had helped spawn his ambitions, and now she joined him as his wife and they got a nice place on a safe station in a safe sector, and Ken moved all his business offices there. From here, he could rule his little empire and have his family, and then, someday he’d have that talk with his son, or daughter, and they’d tell him what their plans were going to be, and like his father before him, he’d give them that little shove to get them started and then sit back and watch as they earned the respect of the universe.
There, I kept it short.
Chapter 6: Incorporating
For two weeks they worked the core sector, doing mining missions and helping get Ken’s rank up even higher. They also were pretty happy when he gave them their first pay, after not being able to trust anyone for so long.
“It wont take long until you’ll be set up again with full sets of ID’s, congrats,” Ken said as he handed them a debt card made out to cash and carrying a new account number so they could have an account of their own again after so long,with their weekly profits on it and they cheered. “Once thats done, you can get another shuttle of your own, or stay and use mine. I’m thinking of starting my own mining Corp. If you want I’ll hire you full time as soon as you get new ID’s, what do you think?”
“Doesn’t sound too bad, we’ll talk about it and let you know.” Chris added as he agreed and went his way again, heading back to the office and some more business while letting them do what they wanted for a while.
“What’s the matter mom? He’s been really good to us after all we’ve been through.” Melanie asked, as her mom nodded looking at the green debit card in her hand.
“But is this the real him or just being nice until he feels we owe him enough?” She asked as Melanie refused to agree. “people like us don’t get many second chances, not without strings attached.”
“I refuse to think that way, Ken’s been nothing but nice to us, and I’ll believe in him until he makes me not....you’ve been sick and tired and under nourished for too long, but here, things are better. Your getting well again, we’re eating regularly, and now we can buy whatever we want, with our own money. For the last year, this was my dream, just give it a chance.” Melanie begged looking very sad as Chris smiled and agreed maybe she was just paranoid, and they went to see how much Ken thought they had earned, and Chris was very sure they’d be shorted badly by the man her daughter trusted so much.
But it wasn’t true...this time... as their new account had more in it than what even she thought they had earned. It wasn’t enough for their new DNA tests, but it was a real start. They got a few simple things they needed and then went back towards the docks, and even as they walked out to the shuttle, Melanie was munching on an ice cream cone, a real luxury after all these months having nothing and she was enjoying it to the fullest, all smiles and making sure she didn’t miss a single drop.
“Told you...” She whispered as they drifted away from the station, and took another new mission to mine 200 units of Carbonate ore.
“We’ll see,” Was all she heard and even she gave a deep sigh at her mothers insistence that everyone was a villain.
Ken was also busy, he had his own ship to run and he did, and then he had a person doing all his Corporate paperwork, and he named it the Mega Corporation, it sounded a bit too serious, but thats what he wanted. He wanted people to hear the name and think that it WAS a serious deal, no matter how small it might be now.
He was pretty sure that Melanie and her mother would stay with him after this and he knew there were others that had been wronged or messed with and lost nearly everything too. He wasn’t being a minister or anything, but if he got the reputation of helping people and making it work, then the word would get out, and he wouldn’t have any problem finding people to make his Corp as big as he wanted.
The day his Corporation paperwork cleared, he started getting deals that he had not seen before. Ships at a discount, weapons too. Even if he only had a few people so far, the stations were giving him the benefit of the doubt, and he wanted to make sure he took advantage of it.He bought himself a new ship, a freighter with better cargo space and a shield turret. Then he made sure his old one was fixed up and offered it to Melanie and her mom, and after a little negotiation on wages, they agreed, and his Corporation started looking like it had a chance.
He also made up a notice, and had it placed on the jobs board, under ‘employment’ and he offered ships to people that would work for him, and contracts that might not show up on the regular job boards for just everyone. It went over pretty well, and another young man signed on a day later,and got a new Revenant for himself, that belonged to the Corp of course. But that and a contract that never seemed to run out, and he was set for a long time, as Ken sat back behind his desk looking at the blue computer screen, and information on everything they were doing so far.
Now the Corporation’s name got around and Ken saw that as he got more warm greetings than before, no matter where he went, and everyone seemed to be doing well as he was told, and his deal with his employees started becoming the new standard for company’s in that sector, and a few moved on instead of sharing the wealth with their employees, and that left even more work for Ken and his team.
Chapter 7: Company Problems
But things couldn’t go smooth forever and one new man Ken hired got his ship and went mining for silicates, but every day he came back, he was shot to bits, and since Ken made the deal to repair his own ships for free, this was costing him big time. As the man came on one day Ken was right there, and he didn’t look at all happy as the man walked off the ship.
“You went mining, how can you get shot up every time? Are you mining in a drone sector?” Ken asked as the young man swore he wasn’t they just jumped him every time they saw him and Ken saw there was more to it than this as the man refused to look him in the eye, so he repaired the ship again and the man went back out, but this time,Ken was right behind as he jumped to a sector that had Mk 1 drones he went about stealing the cargo from them, and getting shot up again just like last time. He wasn’t even very good as a pilot, since the Rev he was flying had a Mk 2 plasma cannon for defense, he should have been doing alright against these little drones, but he didn’t even try. He just ran in, blew up any he caught sitting, mining, and then ran away when he was loaded, and he got combat experience while Ken got some ore and a big repair bill every time, as drones ran to help their friends and shot up the freighter before it could get away.
Well, that was the end of that, because even before he got done getting loaded from his last attack, a drone exploded right along side him and he looked around to see the Boss, in his ship, watching him and he knew the jig was up.
“From now on,”Ken called across,looking very,very upset, ” I tell you what sector to mine and you listen, understand?” and the man nodded and looked sick that he had been caught.”now follow me back to the docks, this isn’t over yet.”
With that they went back to base together, and Ken made sure this guy knew that his job was hanging by a thread. He checked to see what ore he was supposed to be mining, and then assigned him to the same sector the station was in. He never had to see another drone again. If he wanted that kind of experience, he could buy a ship of his own, and go out and get killed, but Ken wasn’t going to foot the bill for it anymore.
“Sorry Boss, it wont happen again,” the man said looking embarrassed to be caught, and not too convincingly and left the dock to resume gathering ore as Ken went back to see what everyone else was doing.
The old Revenant he gave the lady’s was out next to the sector edge and they were mining away, and as he pulled up along side, seeing the mining beam eating away at a large asteroid, they called over, saying they found some good ones out here.
“Thats what I like about you two, you get the work done and don’t cost me a fortune in repairs.” He said as they all got a good laugh and Ken told them what had just happened.
“Unbelievable, he was just using your free repairs to help him gain combat experience.” Chris added as he agreed. “Probably thinking he’d leave later when his experience was high enough.”
“And he’s not very good at it either, the ship your using can easily kill a drone, but he wasn’t trying too hard so long as he could find enough willing to just sit there and wait on him.” He mentioned as they got a good laugh.”if your ever attacked, try your best. If its something large, run thats the Company line.” Ken said as they smiled and agreed to his new rule.
“We don’t want to get killed either, we’ll do our best.” Melanie added as he waved and turned his Atlas freighter away and started back towards the station while the ladies returned to their work of emptying this rock of its riches.
“Some people...” Chris said,shaking her head sadly as they went back to work, and Melanie saw that her mom had finally seen Ken for the nice guy he was.
One day the guy didn’t come to work at all, and when Ken checked he found he was just getting out of the resurrection chambers. He had taken his old shuttle out to shoot drones himself after work but with his severe lack of skill, had gotten himself killed. Now he had a bill to pay and his savings went down by a nice amount and he called and swore that he’d be back to work tomorrow, and Ken agreed and then hung up the link and smiled like he’d burst. 10,000 credits for a resurrection isn’t easy to pay if your goofing off all the time, and he felt maybe this guy had learned a lesson after all.
Chapter 8: Next Wave
Ken had things working for him by now. Stations made him special deals, his people were well known and his name and Corporate name were on all the job boards. His contracts were getting done regularly and on time,and he paid well, with the benefits that he gave them all. But as a Corp they were still new, and small and he knew that hurt them if even a little, but he had plans for that too, and as he sat back one day, looking at the date on the calender, he made a video call and his mom answered and smiled and asked how well he was doing, and after a short talk, he asked if his brother, Carl was around.
“He’s been watching you closely, since you started your own business out there, he’s hoping for work after graduation, I think.” She mentioned as Ken smiled and nodded he understood. It took a few minutes to get him online, but they laughed and talked and Ken did offer him work and any of his friends he thought would make good employees as well.
“I’m trained as security, and have a few friends that are too, but you know how it is, we all have friends, so how many do you want to hire, or can afford to?” Carl asked as they had a good talk, with Ken letting him know that security is good but miners help pay the bills,and he said he’d see to it, and they’d see each other next week, and the link went down as Ken decided that he needed some more income, if only for a little while to help out, and he took his own ship and went mining, and did a mission or two to boost his account balance, and get ready for his Corps next big expansion.
When the day came, he was right there, dressed well and looking professional with a fine looking blue suit and looking clean and well groomed, when that door opened from the transporter room and out walked his brother, and 5 others right along with him.
“This is my brother, Ken,” Carl said as everyone stopped to shake hands. “He’s the family big shot right now, so we’ll be working for him and his Corporation.”
“Whats the Corps name?” One asked as Ken just smiled.
“Mega Corp, a big name for a small Corporation...so far, but you will all help us become more serious around here. What specialties have you got?”
“Three security men, and three miners,” Carl said with a wink, as Ken nodded happily.
“Welcome, and come with me,” Ken said as they lined up behind him and walked out to the docks. There they found three light fighters, all set up and ready to go, and Ken gave them each codes for the new ships.”Carl is wing Captain, so I want the three of you to work together for a while, cover each others backs and come back in one piece, no big repair bills for a while, got it?” He asked as they laughed and agreed. He then turned his computer screen to show them the sector and made a notation where he wanted them to train.
“Go to the job boards, get the basic combat missions for new pilots, and go to this area. There are a lot of Mk. 1 drones there, get some practice, some experience and gather any Synthetic Silksteel you find, if any. It’ll help cover your repair costs, any questions?” There were none and the three of them ran to board their ships for the first time like children on Christmas day, to check them out and see what weapons and equipment they had, as Ken led the miners away.
Carl stood there with his friends all smiles, Centurians, 3 of them sitting there waiting. 10 meters long, bright red trim and white bodys, with one small weapon mount up front,and a cargo hold of 8 units. Most people starting out used shuttles for a few months then got these, but thanks to Ken they got theirs the first day, and he smiled until it looked like he’d burst.
“Mk 2 Ion Cannons right off the bat, and a real fighter not a shuttle, I told you guys Ken was a good man.” Carl bragged as his men agreed wholeheartedly. “Lets go get signed up for work,and see how these babies fly! We’ll be gathering profit and experience the first day, you cant beat that.” And he led his team out towards the jobs boards, laughing about good times to come.
While that was going on, Ken took his new miners to the job boards too and got them signed up for basic mining classes. They got their basic shuttle, and mining scanners and beams and he led them to the dock where they could find their ships. They were pretty happy the way things were going, and as they talked about getting started a Revenant pulled into slip 32, right next to them and they stood there all smiles as it started getting unloaded and two women walked out, wearing the plain yellow jump suits that many workers used to save their better cloths, and waved and stopped to tell Ken they had just finished their mission.
“These are two of my employees too,” Ken mentioned as the new kids just smiled,” this is Melanie and her mom, Chris, they are far more experienced than any of you, so if you have questions ask them or me, if you’d like, and we’ll get you up and running in no time.” He said as they all shook hands and he went back to his office while they went out on their first mining mission and he started seeing the first returns from his latest set of hirings.
Carl was back with his men a couple hours later, one needed some repairs, nothing bad but then thats what light fighters do so Ken wasn’t upset. They had run up a good total, and brought in 3 units of Silksteel, and Ken had them drop it in the Corporation’s storage locker.
“That was fun,” Carl said as he sat there across the desk from Ken who just laughed at him.
“You’ll kill hundreds of those, for missions and practice,” Ken said as Carl nodded he understood,” but don’t get too relaxed, they can kill you quick if your not paying attention, and you’ll see missions with a lot bigger drones than that, and pirates and mercenarys that hunt people for their drops, so be careful and come back every time.” He said very seriously.
“We will, I promise,” Carl added as he got up and waved good bye and then left, and Ken sat back in his chair looking at the blue screen and its forever changing information,things had started out well for his new employees. The miners had finished their basic training now and were doing missions of their own, and the security men were training to be ready for convoy duties, or escorts for the miners, when materials were needed on far away stations, and the price made it impossible to refuse. But this was his job, to decide what missions were worth it, and who to send,and he would make sure that his people were ready or they wouldn’t go, and that was his promise to himself. To be a good CEO and not let profit alone lead him and his future plans astray.
With this new bunch of manpower, Ken’s little Corp became something much more. It had some say in what missions the local station had, since if he threw his weight behind it, he could do nearly all missions available in a few days. That made him some friends from the Traders Guild, and some enemys from the other miners and freight haulers, but he made sure they knew that he wasn’t there to put them out of work, and he had an entire galaxy to work in, and a few agreed that he was going about it just right, and even they wondered if working for him wasn’t easier than working alone.
By now, Carl and his team were well on their way towards being good combat specialists and Ken’s miners found new asteroid fields that left them gather more exotic ores, and at better prices. Mega Corp was on its way to become a real power in the galaxy, and he could only feel relief that it had turned out this way. When he told his parents his plan, they looked shocked that he could think so far ahead, but he had been very sure that working hard and making a new company that treated its employees well, would do the trick, and it had.
In just a few years, his name spread across the galaxy, and his people became well known. Melanie and her mom got their new ID’s almost right away, and Ken gave them jobs for life, and they never had to spend another day wrapped in rags again. Carl stayed for a while, then went out and started his own combat Corp, and Ken smiled the day he said he’d give him a contract for escorts for life, and he agreed and drew up Carl’s first contract.
Now, with over 20 miners and pilots working for him, Ken was set too, and his account went up and up and even repairs on ships and replacements from time to time didn’t faze him, and many of his people flew the best, and earned them daily. With contracts from the home system all the way to the frontier, Ken had done what he promised himself all those years ago. Now he could relax and settle down, and he had an old friend from back home,come for a visit, and she was more impressed than she had ever been, seeing him as a young businessman, and not the stubborn kid that she had known him to be.
Their childhood friendship had helped spawn his ambitions, and now she joined him as his wife and they got a nice place on a safe station in a safe sector, and Ken moved all his business offices there. From here, he could rule his little empire and have his family, and then, someday he’d have that talk with his son, or daughter, and they’d tell him what their plans were going to be, and like his father before him, he’d give them that little shove to get them started and then sit back and watch as they earned the respect of the universe.
There, I kept it short.
Oh, and the reason they had trouble getting enough money for new ID's is...nothing was free once you leave the core sectors, even the shuttles that were made and given out by the government had free repairs, but not every station accepted that, so they made rules of their own. Thats also way resurrection costs, paperwork, storage, etc, instead of being free. If any government gave away so much for free, it couldn't stand long, so it 'mentions' lots of free things but doesn't enforce it on the outer stations.
great story thanks for writing it