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Bounty Hunting
Sector B-8, Sedina System
The day was just like any other day. Or night. Abstract concepts in the vastness of space. I sat in the cockpit of my idle Itani Border Guardian, floating near the wormhole pocket leading to Latos, waiting for the inevitable. An unlucky soul to jump through, and transfer all goods and credits in return for life. In monotonous moments like this I already miss being retired. The waves hitting the beaches on Jallik echo in the back of my mind, and the Itani woman... It was a good 2 years. Out of the corner of my eye I see something drifting by. A chunk of painted gold debris from the Guild of Free Traders ship whose pilot refused payment a few hours earlier. Poor lad probably couldn't even afford payment anyhow, that corporation is known for underpaying its couriers.
Static from the radio interrupts my thoughts, "Mayday, Mayday, this is MaxTradewind, I am a UIT courier, I'm running a scientific mission for the Serco Dominion, I'm under attack in the Sol system!" Another voice bares through the speaker, "Your records indicate you are an enemy of the Serco Dominion, the Sky Command Assault Regiment has initiated elimination procedures."
Odd, that voice sounds familiar.
No matter, not my problem. I mute the speaker and check my radar for any readings. All clear. Might as well check the Corvus channels for the current Bounty list. I scroll through and see a fairly short list, *100k for the head of YT-1300, the head of La Familia, though they are publicly known as Family Galactic Travel, a front selling ship warranties,. posted by Viper123*
* 10 Million to eliminate a TGFT capital ship, posted by Blaqk*, former Commander of VOID and former partner. My ears perk up as I chuckle. That's a good payment, but alas I have no crew to take down a cappie, and it's been years since I've seen Blaqk. And seeing as how last we spoke we were actively trying to take each other out, doing business with him might lead to a knife in my back. Literally and metaphorically. "Shame to pass", I sigh.
*1 Million for the death of Spiderbait, Commander of Sky Command Assault Regiment, posted by MaxTradewinds* That's the voice! It's been years since I faced Spider. I nervously hover over the "Accept Contract" prompt. It's been a while, and retirement has taken its toll on my prowess.
"Fuck it"
"Contract has been accepted", droned the on board AI
"Plot a course for the Ukari System, Sector A-10", who knows, maybe I'll get lucky. God knows I cant show my face in Serco space anymore, something about a Generals daughter and a flower. Or deflowering? Who knows, the race transition surgeries to UIT and then to Itani have taken their toll on my memory.
A few hours and many jumps later Ukari A-10 flashes into my view. "Shit"
Itani Military are everywhere. There's no way Spider will travel this way.
Spider travels this way. The flash of 2 jumps brighten the roids around my ship. I look at my radar, Spiderbait shines brightly in the sector list, as well as Zhylaw, affiliation listed as ONE. I was expecting him to be alone but no matter. Zhylaws weapon ports slide open, I ready myself. But wait, those aren't weapons? The Serco Dominion national anthem blares from the speakers installed in his weapon ports! He veers off maniacally past the Itani blockade, leading them away. At this time Spiderbait has already dispatched the few forces that detected his presence, taking minimal damage. "2 million and I let you live" I tease through the receiver with a smirk. "You have been found to be an enemy of the Serco Dominion, die" Spider stiffly retorts. Not surprised by his answer, my smirk disappears. I grasp the joysticks and focus the targeting computer on his rapidly approaching ship. 500m out I begin turboing towards the Serco Vulture Guardian, I see the barrels of 2 Neutron blasters pointing out of the ships wings. I look wearily at my single occupied small port. The Corvus Widow maker Is a masterpiece of black market design and power, but in order to output the damage it does, it draws an insane amount of power, so much that any normal ship only has enough grid for a single blaster. I'll have to be make my shots count. 300m away I prepare myself. A stream of neutron blasts impact my ship immediately. "Not good", I astutely observe as I dodge the rest of the barrage. Perching in Sedina all day took its toll on my reflexes. Bits of debris and flames flicker on my centurions narrow wings. I return fire, the Widowmakers rate of fire is noticeably slower than twin neutrons, while noticeably louder and faster velocity-wise. At this point we are fully engaged, the sleek black of my IBG rolling and diving in comparison to the dark space around us, the bright red of Spider's SVG contrasting the dull meteors blurring past my view. I notice the weight missing from the other small port giving me an advantage dodging the steady streams of neutrons coming from the Serco. Both our ships light and thin make for a ballet of sorts, a dance of birds, hurling light and fire at each other. The fight has been going on a dangerously long time, flames are rising on both of our vessels, and any time now I'm sure backup from ONE or SCAR will show up. I need to finish this. I shift the thrusters to reverse, retreating 500 away, Spider turbos forward, hungry for blood. I smile as I slap the thrusters forward and to the left, rolling towards a turboing Spiderbait at 70m/s. I let go a flurry of shots, the first 2 miss as Spiderbait realize what's happened and rolls, but lands right in the path of 3 more shots, at this point our ships had to be 40m apart, close enough to where I could see the SVG pilots outline as he frantically tried to regain control of the fight. He dodges another stream and fires a shot directly at my cockpit window. The viewpoint holds, but the damage is enough to cause critical alerts. I frantically maneuver, weaving in and out, and suddenly panic sets in. I start to feel an all too familiar sensation. Dust from my old Holodisk collection had been set loose in the fight, and a large piece had just entered my nostrils. I reverse immediately, trying to get to a safe distance to let out a-"ACHOO!" I suddenly sneezed, the spasm causing me to hit the joystick trigger. The bright orange of the flames lit up the space where an SVG used to be.
I completed the contract. On fucking accident. "I'll never tell a soul", I swear to myself, as I confirm contract completion and send the logs to Max. 1000000 credits roll I to my account. I smile, and head to the closest station with a bar.
The day was just like any other day...
The day was just like any other day. Or night. Abstract concepts in the vastness of space. I sat in the cockpit of my idle Itani Border Guardian, floating near the wormhole pocket leading to Latos, waiting for the inevitable. An unlucky soul to jump through, and transfer all goods and credits in return for life. In monotonous moments like this I already miss being retired. The waves hitting the beaches on Jallik echo in the back of my mind, and the Itani woman... It was a good 2 years. Out of the corner of my eye I see something drifting by. A chunk of painted gold debris from the Guild of Free Traders ship whose pilot refused payment a few hours earlier. Poor lad probably couldn't even afford payment anyhow, that corporation is known for underpaying its couriers.
Static from the radio interrupts my thoughts, "Mayday, Mayday, this is MaxTradewind, I am a UIT courier, I'm running a scientific mission for the Serco Dominion, I'm under attack in the Sol system!" Another voice bares through the speaker, "Your records indicate you are an enemy of the Serco Dominion, the Sky Command Assault Regiment has initiated elimination procedures."
Odd, that voice sounds familiar.
No matter, not my problem. I mute the speaker and check my radar for any readings. All clear. Might as well check the Corvus channels for the current Bounty list. I scroll through and see a fairly short list, *100k for the head of YT-1300, the head of La Familia, though they are publicly known as Family Galactic Travel, a front selling ship warranties,. posted by Viper123*
* 10 Million to eliminate a TGFT capital ship, posted by Blaqk*, former Commander of VOID and former partner. My ears perk up as I chuckle. That's a good payment, but alas I have no crew to take down a cappie, and it's been years since I've seen Blaqk. And seeing as how last we spoke we were actively trying to take each other out, doing business with him might lead to a knife in my back. Literally and metaphorically. "Shame to pass", I sigh.
*1 Million for the death of Spiderbait, Commander of Sky Command Assault Regiment, posted by MaxTradewinds* That's the voice! It's been years since I faced Spider. I nervously hover over the "Accept Contract" prompt. It's been a while, and retirement has taken its toll on my prowess.
"Fuck it"
"Contract has been accepted", droned the on board AI
"Plot a course for the Ukari System, Sector A-10", who knows, maybe I'll get lucky. God knows I cant show my face in Serco space anymore, something about a Generals daughter and a flower. Or deflowering? Who knows, the race transition surgeries to UIT and then to Itani have taken their toll on my memory.
A few hours and many jumps later Ukari A-10 flashes into my view. "Shit"
Itani Military are everywhere. There's no way Spider will travel this way.
Spider travels this way. The flash of 2 jumps brighten the roids around my ship. I look at my radar, Spiderbait shines brightly in the sector list, as well as Zhylaw, affiliation listed as ONE. I was expecting him to be alone but no matter. Zhylaws weapon ports slide open, I ready myself. But wait, those aren't weapons? The Serco Dominion national anthem blares from the speakers installed in his weapon ports! He veers off maniacally past the Itani blockade, leading them away. At this time Spiderbait has already dispatched the few forces that detected his presence, taking minimal damage. "2 million and I let you live" I tease through the receiver with a smirk. "You have been found to be an enemy of the Serco Dominion, die" Spider stiffly retorts. Not surprised by his answer, my smirk disappears. I grasp the joysticks and focus the targeting computer on his rapidly approaching ship. 500m out I begin turboing towards the Serco Vulture Guardian, I see the barrels of 2 Neutron blasters pointing out of the ships wings. I look wearily at my single occupied small port. The Corvus Widow maker Is a masterpiece of black market design and power, but in order to output the damage it does, it draws an insane amount of power, so much that any normal ship only has enough grid for a single blaster. I'll have to be make my shots count. 300m away I prepare myself. A stream of neutron blasts impact my ship immediately. "Not good", I astutely observe as I dodge the rest of the barrage. Perching in Sedina all day took its toll on my reflexes. Bits of debris and flames flicker on my centurions narrow wings. I return fire, the Widowmakers rate of fire is noticeably slower than twin neutrons, while noticeably louder and faster velocity-wise. At this point we are fully engaged, the sleek black of my IBG rolling and diving in comparison to the dark space around us, the bright red of Spider's SVG contrasting the dull meteors blurring past my view. I notice the weight missing from the other small port giving me an advantage dodging the steady streams of neutrons coming from the Serco. Both our ships light and thin make for a ballet of sorts, a dance of birds, hurling light and fire at each other. The fight has been going on a dangerously long time, flames are rising on both of our vessels, and any time now I'm sure backup from ONE or SCAR will show up. I need to finish this. I shift the thrusters to reverse, retreating 500 away, Spider turbos forward, hungry for blood. I smile as I slap the thrusters forward and to the left, rolling towards a turboing Spiderbait at 70m/s. I let go a flurry of shots, the first 2 miss as Spiderbait realize what's happened and rolls, but lands right in the path of 3 more shots, at this point our ships had to be 40m apart, close enough to where I could see the SVG pilots outline as he frantically tried to regain control of the fight. He dodges another stream and fires a shot directly at my cockpit window. The viewpoint holds, but the damage is enough to cause critical alerts. I frantically maneuver, weaving in and out, and suddenly panic sets in. I start to feel an all too familiar sensation. Dust from my old Holodisk collection had been set loose in the fight, and a large piece had just entered my nostrils. I reverse immediately, trying to get to a safe distance to let out a-"ACHOO!" I suddenly sneezed, the spasm causing me to hit the joystick trigger. The bright orange of the flames lit up the space where an SVG used to be.
I completed the contract. On fucking accident. "I'll never tell a soul", I swear to myself, as I confirm contract completion and send the logs to Max. 1000000 credits roll I to my account. I smile, and head to the closest station with a bar.
The day was just like any other day...
Excellent, albeit insulting 100k for the Don...
Time are hard for poor Viper123, he's a consistent customer of mine.
Also, sorry for the poor formating, I'm not a writer by any stretch.
Also, sorry for the poor formating, I'm not a writer by any stretch.
Awesome. I'm glad to see some writing in RP again.
^
Even being poorly formatted it was a good read.
Even being poorly formatted it was a good read.
Are you negging Jordan/14/f, Luxen? Pretty sure he's taken.
I am married, but there's always room for Luxen in my cargo space ;)
Sorry, I don't swing that way, I think. Swinging in space can be dangerous. Singing, on the other hand...
IN SPACE NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SING
Or scream for that matter
You outta charge more.
Where did I mention how much I charge?
Nice.
Do you have food stuffing in your cargo hold?