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Post by Dota on Feb 20, 2013 21:04:30 GMT -5
Regal turned to retrieve his bag from the seat, Akello already on the move.
"Wait. I have to ask first. Why all of this? There are other ways to get around the galaxy."
"There are..."
He hoisted the bag over his shoulder as he caught up with Akello.
"Some draw more attention than others, and I need my cargo moved quietly..."
There had been an nagging feeling that Regal's contact might have been selling him false promises for the sake of profiting from a rookie's stumbling first steps.
"...You can transport a bit of cargo, right? Outside of the human realms?"
Doubts began to gnaw at him. An elusive, wanted man casually appearing for a business meeting in a public terminal and dropping his name without hesitation.
Maybe he's an imposter making use of an established name. Or, he just works for him. Probably a dozen 'Akello Ts'ao's' out there working right now, and none are the real deal.
Regal's dark, foresty-green irises were beginning to show a subtle hint of a light blue hue around the edges.
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Post by Trunks on Feb 23, 2013 21:13:13 GMT -5
"Some draw more attention than others, and I need my cargo moved quietly...You can transport a bit of cargo, right? Outside of the human realms?"
Kell looked at Regal, then at the bag, and finally back to Regal, taking note of the changing eye color. He shrugged nonchalantly.
"Sure, no problem."
The walk back to the ship was uneventful. They slipped past security without having to show ids. The brand new shipment of guns for the security officers probably had something to do with that. Kell walked Regal up the ramp into the cargo bay of the ship.
"Say hello to Sadame. She's a good ship. The bottom deck is the cargo bay, the kitchen, medical bay, bathroom and lounge. The middle deck is the maintenance and the engine room, and finally the top deck has the bridge, bunks, and second bathroom."
As he explained the decks Kell pointed to the walkway the hugged the wall of the cargo bay which was the only way to access each of the decks.
"Arthur, unlock the ship and unseal bunk number two for my new friend here."
"Yes, sir."
"Arthur will tell you most anything that you need to know."
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Post by Dota on Feb 24, 2013 23:05:43 GMT -5
Sadame was a more expansive ship than Regal had envisioned. He'd never really been one for talking to machines, though.
"I'll toss my bag in my space, then. Two, I believe you said. And if you need, we can discuss the finer details of our trip. Time frame. Payment. Whatever."
Regal assumed Kell at least knew their destination, having agreed to the job. If not, he figured the human would ask.
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Post by Trunks on Feb 25, 2013 9:18:44 GMT -5
"I'll toss my bag in my space, then. Two, I believe you said. And if you need, we can discuss the finer details of our trip. Time frame. Payment. Whatever."
Payment? I need to be more concerned about things like that.
"Well, for a time frame I'll need to know where exactly we are going. As far as payment goes I was going to ask you about that. We can waive any sort of payment if you have any skills that would benefit this ship. I'm looking for a crew to help out around here."
He didn't know why, but he had a good feeling about this guy. Plus he was scrawny. He'd taken down plenty of people four times his size.
Kell grabbed a tablet that was mounted to a wall. He flipped through the documents from this last shipment. Periodically he would look up to Regal to make sure that he knew he was still listening.
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Post by Dota on Feb 25, 2013 17:42:58 GMT -5
No payment? Just like that? And without even knowing the length of the trip or the value of the cargo?
"Really? And here I thought it'd be difficult to get someone to take on a shipment of Al'Xen* sacrifices...even with a large cut of the profits. I'll be back to discuss."
With that, Regal turned to find his way to his bunk.
*Al'Xen are a fairly well-known race, famed in the underground trades for paying fantastic sums of money for the delivery of almost any living, intelligent species. The Al'Xen have a deep belief that consumption of the various parts of the body absorbs the essence of life, wisdom and power, but only if consumed while the victim is still alive.
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Post by Trunks on Feb 25, 2013 18:10:22 GMT -5
"Really? And here I thought it'd be difficult to get someone to take on a shipment of Al'Xen* sacrifices...even with a large cut of the profits. I'll be back to discuss."
Kell laughed assuming he was joking. When he was out of earshot he talked into the tablet.
"He's joking right? He better be joking or he might just take a trip out our airlock. Take a picture of him and run it through our database. Also, scan what you can of his bag. I want to know what's inside."
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Post by Dota on Feb 25, 2013 21:12:07 GMT -5
"Very good, sir."
There was a brief pause as the best shot of Regal was captured and run through the top few tiers of galactic databases.
"While it appears that the Vuulaps are not without their own assortment of wanted criminals, there are no records of your new passenger, sir. A partial inventory of the bag is as follows, sir: a mass of mixed synthetic and organic fibers presumed to be an assortment of clothing, cellulosic polymers molded into basic hygienic tools, unidentified liquids, a circuit-laden apparatus that is either a portable VR system or a sophisticated detonation device, and one RENG-flerovium case containing an as-of-yet disassembled plasma pistol plus two cartridges. Advanced, given the Vuulaps' native technology level, but only just enough to get through common terminal security, sir."
There might have been an emulation of pride run with that report.
"Shall I delve into the local Nmoa Jepyasaul records, sir?
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Post by Trunks on Feb 25, 2013 22:09:17 GMT -5
The images of hundreds of Vuulaps flashed on the screen and then the descriptions of the objects began to scroll down as Arthur read them off. When Arthur finished Kell replaced the tablet back into the wall.
Unknown liquids and a possible detonation device. Well that's no fun.
"Inform me immediately if he starts to do anything suspicious with those liquids or circuitry. Also, seal the second deck. He doesn't need to be in there quite yet."
The gun really didn't bother him. It was a smart move. There are a lot of people out there trying to take advantage of others.
It was time to get off this planet. The Alliance was never somewhere that he wanted to stay long. Kell jogged up the stairs to the bridge. He tried to convince himself that he wasn't following Regal, but the bridge just happened to be right outside his bunk.
As he entered the bridge the righthand control panel lit up. Kell sat down and began pushing buttons on the touch display.
"Close the cargo bay door and request permission to leave the station."
"Yes, sir."
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Post by Sakabatou on Feb 26, 2013 16:51:49 GMT -5
"The captain has returned, sir."
"W-w-w-what?!" This startled, stuttered stammering was followed closely by the sharp thud of a head against the underside of an engineering console. "But he just left! Why is he back already?"
"I am not privy to the nature of the captain's comings and goings, sir."
Somehow, the droll accent (maintained and localized through the universal translator) made the Virtual Intelligence's emotionless delivery all the more irritating. Two hands, clad in silky but simple white gloves, clasped the top of the console from below, then pulled their owner up to stand. The young woman, human by all outward appearances, had shoulder-length disheveled hair secured with a hairband: a shade of scarlet tinged toward magenta that was clearly not a natural human hair color. Of course, you could make your hair any color of the visible (or nonvisible) spectrum these days with a simple, over-the-counter genetic infusion, so that was not the kind of thing to draw attention. Her eyewear was another story: clear glass lenses held by a thick black polymer frame that rested on the bridge of her nose. She had only ever met one person within the Alliance who had recognized what her bifocals were, and he had been an archeologist.
"I was talking to myself, Arthur. And I told you to stop calling me 'sir.'"
"Indeed you did, sir. And now that the captain has returned, I have decided that you are not actually the captain. I suppose the bust should have alerted me. I shall inform the captain of your presence."
Shit! The young woman threw herself back under the console, grabbed two dangling cables from the myriad she had disconnected, and inserted them hastily into new conductive-gel receptacles within the console. "Don't do anything of the sort, Arthur!"
The computer didn't respond for several seconds. For a VI to exhibit any kind of perceptible processing delay was testament to her sloppy hacking job, but she didn't have time for anything better.
"As you say, sir. Although I would really feel better if I could inform the captain."
The redhead sighed with relief as she hauled herself back up. "You can't 'feel' anything, Arthur. And anyways, why do you keep calling this 'Kell' guy 'captain?' I seriously doubt he has any sort of military rank. He doesn't even have a crew."
"Indeed not, sir. However, I have been programmed to appease his vanity, and he is fond of the moniker. Ah. You should know, the captain has just sealed this deck."
"That's not a problem. It was sealed when I got here."
"Indeed it was, but that was when I believed you to be the captain, sir. I have come to realize that this is not the case, and although I have been programmed to accept your commands, the captain's commands take precedence, sir."
That made sense. Still, nothing she couldn't work around... eventually. From the little she had gleaned from Arthur before his return, she didn't think Kell was the type to visit the engine room unless he had to. Hopefully that would keep her undiscovered at least until they left the spaceport. At that point, she'd just have to deal with problems as they arose. It's not like he would throw her out the airlock, after all.
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Post by Trunks on Feb 26, 2013 20:12:46 GMT -5
"Permission granted sir."
"Sweet."
Kell ran his hand over the touch display. The takeoffs and landings could all be fully automated, but he liked to control the ship when he wasn't busy saving the planet from evil alien races.
The ship was out the hangar bay and about to leave orbit.
"So, how is our guest doing?"
"Which one sir?"
Kell shook his head. Sometimes he really wished he chose the female version of the VI.
"The only guest we have. Regal. The Vuulaps."
"Oh of course."
There was a brief pause.
"He seems to be doing fine. He is getting acquainted with the accommodations that we have provided him."
Something was off.
"Arthur, who is on this ship?"
"Well sir there is the captain, the Vuulaps, and the captain."
Kell stood up.
"I will delete you. How many life forms are on this ship?"
"Shall I include bacteria sir?"
"ARTHUR!"
"There are three."
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