Orrick strolled through the bazaar on Sigma Starion 3. He looked on incredulously as shoppers perused meaningless trinkets in the spaceport. One bickering woman was upset at the apparent ineptitude of a cashier. “These people have nothing real to worry about.” Thought Orrick. On his home world, people didn’t go shopping. They only ventured outside in EVA suits to protect them from the brutal cold. Resources were scarce and life was hard. At least it had made him strong. People noticeably gave him a wide berth as he passed down the corridor. He wasn’t even physically imposing, it probably had more to do with his take no prisoners style and rebel without a cause demeanor, he thought. Oh, and maybe the four-foot vibro-saw slung across his back.
“Courynna’s Antiques” said a cool blue sign over a small shop that specialized in furniture and gifts made out of actual wood. Orrick sauntered into the place as casually as he could, looking like an armed guerilla entering a children’s tree house. “uh, hi.” he stammered to the young woman at the counter. “I think I know why you’re here” she smiled, “right through there.” She pushed a key and a service door opened at the back of the store. “Thanks” he said in his most dashing manner.
Through the door and up a narrow stairway Orrick found a table where three other individuals were sitting, apparently at a loss for conversation. They were quite a rough looking ragtag group he had to admit, not at all the inexperienced punks raised in luxury on one of the Unitron worlds like he was expecting. “So, where you from Orrick?” said the only female of the group, an attractive blue-eyed blonde in a utilitarian gray flight suit. “Oribo Numina Four” he responded. After a few seconds of blank stares he sighed, “Ice Planet” and saw recognition seep into their faces. “I’m Sonya, captain of the Retaliator.” Orrick fought to keep his eyes on her face as she spoke. She seemed confident and level headed, a natural leader. “This is Boyd, our pilot.” Sonya gestured toward a lean tattooed man with close-cropped dark hair and sharp handsome features with a face that suggested anger was his most commonly expressed emotion. Boyd immediately stood and shook Orrick’s hand firmly. His outstretched arm revealing a green and red tattoo bearing the letters I.P.F. “A cop huh?” smiled Orrick. “Indeed, I just finished my first tour six months ago. I’ve been with Sonya and Mark ever since.” Boyd smiled back. “And this is Mark, our engineer and tech expert” Orrick proceeded to shake the hand of the overeager Mark, noticing that his clean cut hair and appearance were betrayed by clothing looked like it was more used to wiping down combustion engines than actually being worn. “So, anyone wanna tell me what we’re supposed to be doing?”
Mark pushed a few buttons and the door slid open into launch bay 7. “Hmm, not bad for an independent ship.” remarked Orrick upon first examining the Retaliator. The ship was an old StarDefender 200 series assault transport, but had obviously undergone major retrofitting. Orrick sort of zoned out as Mark began prattling off all the systems upgrades and improvements he had completed on the ship. Sonya keyed in the security code on the ship’s door and they boarded the craft. The interior was clean, well organized, and spacious enough for four people to live in relative comfort. The bridge was a small room with three control stations and a captain’s chair. Each member of the crew took a spot and Sonya brought up a planet on the viewscreen.
“This is Kodika Minor in Sector 374, 3 million people live in a colony on the northern hemisphere. It is the only settlement on the planet, and is currently under Blacktron rule. Our customer fled from this world about a month ago, and he’s learned that his family is being held in an interrogation facility about 2,000 miles from the colony. He’s offered us a significant amount of compensation for their safe return.” Boyd was the first to respond. “I like it, those bastards break interstellar law more than anyone, and they never get caught. I’m ready to shoot some scum bags.” “Sounds good to me.” replied Orrick. “Of course I’m in.” commented Mark. “Just give me an hour to prep the ship.”
“Courynna’s Antiques” said a cool blue sign over a small shop that specialized in furniture and gifts made out of actual wood. Orrick sauntered into the place as casually as he could, looking like an armed guerilla entering a children’s tree house. “uh, hi.” he stammered to the young woman at the counter. “I think I know why you’re here” she smiled, “right through there.” She pushed a key and a service door opened at the back of the store. “Thanks” he said in his most dashing manner.
Through the door and up a narrow stairway Orrick found a table where three other individuals were sitting, apparently at a loss for conversation. They were quite a rough looking ragtag group he had to admit, not at all the inexperienced punks raised in luxury on one of the Unitron worlds like he was expecting. “So, where you from Orrick?” said the only female of the group, an attractive blue-eyed blonde in a utilitarian gray flight suit. “Oribo Numina Four” he responded. After a few seconds of blank stares he sighed, “Ice Planet” and saw recognition seep into their faces. “I’m Sonya, captain of the Retaliator.” Orrick fought to keep his eyes on her face as she spoke. She seemed confident and level headed, a natural leader. “This is Boyd, our pilot.” Sonya gestured toward a lean tattooed man with close-cropped dark hair and sharp handsome features with a face that suggested anger was his most commonly expressed emotion. Boyd immediately stood and shook Orrick’s hand firmly. His outstretched arm revealing a green and red tattoo bearing the letters I.P.F. “A cop huh?” smiled Orrick. “Indeed, I just finished my first tour six months ago. I’ve been with Sonya and Mark ever since.” Boyd smiled back. “And this is Mark, our engineer and tech expert” Orrick proceeded to shake the hand of the overeager Mark, noticing that his clean cut hair and appearance were betrayed by clothing looked like it was more used to wiping down combustion engines than actually being worn. “So, anyone wanna tell me what we’re supposed to be doing?”
Mark pushed a few buttons and the door slid open into launch bay 7. “Hmm, not bad for an independent ship.” remarked Orrick upon first examining the Retaliator. The ship was an old StarDefender 200 series assault transport, but had obviously undergone major retrofitting. Orrick sort of zoned out as Mark began prattling off all the systems upgrades and improvements he had completed on the ship. Sonya keyed in the security code on the ship’s door and they boarded the craft. The interior was clean, well organized, and spacious enough for four people to live in relative comfort. The bridge was a small room with three control stations and a captain’s chair. Each member of the crew took a spot and Sonya brought up a planet on the viewscreen.
“This is Kodika Minor in Sector 374, 3 million people live in a colony on the northern hemisphere. It is the only settlement on the planet, and is currently under Blacktron rule. Our customer fled from this world about a month ago, and he’s learned that his family is being held in an interrogation facility about 2,000 miles from the colony. He’s offered us a significant amount of compensation for their safe return.” Boyd was the first to respond. “I like it, those bastards break interstellar law more than anyone, and they never get caught. I’m ready to shoot some scum bags.” “Sounds good to me.” replied Orrick. “Of course I’m in.” commented Mark. “Just give me an hour to prep the ship.”
Last edited:
)
