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"I've got something your store might be interrested in," said Pilot 13 to Smittens one day, in the docks on Azek M4.
"Oh? You know we specialize in samo..." replied the young egocentric pilot
"Of course, but all the same, check this out"
Pilot 13 lead Smittens over to his ship, and stepped inside for a moment. When he returned, he had a small duffel bag.
"I don't think a bag would fit with our other merchandise..." muttered Smittens.
Pilot laughed, and set the bag on a nearby table, unzipping it. Inside was a small cylindrical rod, filled with a turquoise gas spinning around madly. Next to it were a few other circuits and gadgets that Smittens was no where near tech-savvy enough to identify.
"What is it?" he asked bluntly.
"Not sure exactly. I was entrusted with it by Biocom, for a special mission. Still, I never liked those pirate-sympathizing pieces of crap, so its yours...for the right price. They would have paid me nicely for delivering it, and I've always been interested in their posis."
"Not even a name?"
"Prototype NTK-11, they called it. Beyond that, good luck figuring it out."
There was silence as Smittens looked it over, tapping the rod.
"I'll give you 100k for it."
"Are you kidding? After what I'm gonna lose giving it to you? Not a credit under one mil"
Smittens laughed loudly. "You gotta be kidding me. For all we know this is just a pile of junk they're using to test you're resolve. For all I know, this is just a pile of junk you're using to get some nice cash outa me."
Pilot growled. "Fine, 500k"
"I'll give you one fifty. I'm all outa samo until Lecter looks me up again"
Pilot thought about it for a moment. "Fine, fine. But you look me up if you're ever looking for a secondary source of samo. Deal?"
"Deal."
Smittens quickly transfered the funds to Pilot's account, and took the bag to his ship, smiling.
----
Three Months Later
----
With the samo business all but done (Smittens had made more money than he ever thought possible, and saw little need to keep it going), Smittens hadn't thought much about the NTK-11 since he realized no one would buy it.
After a particularly vigorous fight, Smittens docked at his favorite Corvus Station to assess the damage on his ship. He swore as he spotted a large hole near the front of his brand new Warthog.
"I always forget how strong those N3's are..." he muttered to himself. As he looked into the hole he swore again, the sound echoing in the chasm. The shot had punctured his own neutron blaster (though only a mark two), and circuits were spraying sparks all over.
Smittens froze as his eyes rested on the core of the blaster. He could just see the edge of a large cylindrical rod, filled with a diluted green gas, slowly moving through it. His amazingly crappy memory astounded him by reminding Smittens that the ruined circuits resembled remarkably the ones in the bag given to him by Pilot 13.
Without hesitation, he bought a small Vulture, and undocked, setting a course for Azek M4.
As he exited the wormhole from Latos, now in Azek, the first sign of something out of the ordinary was shown. At least two squadrons of station guards were waiting for him at the border.
"Halt! Cut your engines and prepare for cargo scanning!" one yelled at Smittens through the comm.
"What's up? You guys know I've got my standing..." replied Smittens, slowing his ship.
"About a month ago, Biocom reported highly classified goods stolen. They claim that the perpetrator left UIT space with it, and they've been laying down some serious threats unless we do all we can to retrieve it. I don't even know what I'm looking for! Still..."
A ship moved next to Smittens', and he saw a red light sprayed on his hull.
"You're clear, sorry about the trouble," said the officer.
As Smittens docked in M4, and he ran to make sure the bag was still there. Thankfully, it was still in his safe (Smittens' memory luckily remembered the code...1-2-3-4-5), and he ran back to his ship. As he entered, he deftly hit a few keys, and a terminal opened in his quarters. He opened the bag next to it, and examined all the pieces inside. Putting them back in, he started a remote connection with Deep Blue (he had never got used to the Drupal interface of the Itan computer) and typed in all the specs he could find on the pieces, and hitting enter.
As the computer spat back some readouts, Smittens looked on dumbfounded. He had no idea what it meant, but he knew someone who might...
Sleeping at the station, he awoke the next day to a ringing phone.
"What the hell is this!?" yelled LeberMac when Smittens picked up.
"Whuh?" blinked Smittens (the sort of night owl that feasts on early birds).
"Those specs you sent me. What the hell is it?"
"Well if I knew, why would I have sent it to you with a subject of 'What do you think this is?'"
"What do I think it is!?" yelled back Leber, so loudly Smittens had to move the phone from his ear. "Its the greatest thing we could possibly have! Smitt, this could be the key in developing the Neut 4's!"
"N4's?"
"I thought you were in politics once...'Tanis and Sercs aren't just racing over cap ships, they're also both after the Neutron 4. The government is saying it'll have the speed and weight of a neutron three, the power of a gauss, and the drain of a phase blaster!"
"And this'll help develop it?" asked Smittens, waking up a bit more.
"As long as you didn't just make these up as an idiotic prank, YES!"
"Roger that, get the word to Mogul. I'm gonna need an escort getting this out, and it'll have to be through grey space. UIT have a blockade over stolen parts, which is probably what I've got."
"Got it. He's with his family today, but expect a response tomorrow."
Smittens spent the rest of the day pacing around his apartment and planning this out... if it worked, Itan, and he especially, would be the most recognized and famous Itani since Eo himself, not to mention the fact that Itani pilots would gain supreme dominance over Serco with a neutron 4... possibly enough to win the war. However, if it went bad... stories Smittens had heard suggested Biocom prisons to be comparable to those of Serco. Assuming he'd live long enough to get out of one...
That night, his dreams were filled with blue valks squaring up against red vultures--that were getting torn apart, and a loud guard yelling "Hey, that's not allowed!"
When Smittens woke the next morning, he grinned, seeing a message from Commander Velaio awaiting him on his phone.
"Oh? You know we specialize in samo..." replied the young egocentric pilot
"Of course, but all the same, check this out"
Pilot 13 lead Smittens over to his ship, and stepped inside for a moment. When he returned, he had a small duffel bag.
"I don't think a bag would fit with our other merchandise..." muttered Smittens.
Pilot laughed, and set the bag on a nearby table, unzipping it. Inside was a small cylindrical rod, filled with a turquoise gas spinning around madly. Next to it were a few other circuits and gadgets that Smittens was no where near tech-savvy enough to identify.
"What is it?" he asked bluntly.
"Not sure exactly. I was entrusted with it by Biocom, for a special mission. Still, I never liked those pirate-sympathizing pieces of crap, so its yours...for the right price. They would have paid me nicely for delivering it, and I've always been interested in their posis."
"Not even a name?"
"Prototype NTK-11, they called it. Beyond that, good luck figuring it out."
There was silence as Smittens looked it over, tapping the rod.
"I'll give you 100k for it."
"Are you kidding? After what I'm gonna lose giving it to you? Not a credit under one mil"
Smittens laughed loudly. "You gotta be kidding me. For all we know this is just a pile of junk they're using to test you're resolve. For all I know, this is just a pile of junk you're using to get some nice cash outa me."
Pilot growled. "Fine, 500k"
"I'll give you one fifty. I'm all outa samo until Lecter looks me up again"
Pilot thought about it for a moment. "Fine, fine. But you look me up if you're ever looking for a secondary source of samo. Deal?"
"Deal."
Smittens quickly transfered the funds to Pilot's account, and took the bag to his ship, smiling.
----
Three Months Later
----
With the samo business all but done (Smittens had made more money than he ever thought possible, and saw little need to keep it going), Smittens hadn't thought much about the NTK-11 since he realized no one would buy it.
After a particularly vigorous fight, Smittens docked at his favorite Corvus Station to assess the damage on his ship. He swore as he spotted a large hole near the front of his brand new Warthog.
"I always forget how strong those N3's are..." he muttered to himself. As he looked into the hole he swore again, the sound echoing in the chasm. The shot had punctured his own neutron blaster (though only a mark two), and circuits were spraying sparks all over.
Smittens froze as his eyes rested on the core of the blaster. He could just see the edge of a large cylindrical rod, filled with a diluted green gas, slowly moving through it. His amazingly crappy memory astounded him by reminding Smittens that the ruined circuits resembled remarkably the ones in the bag given to him by Pilot 13.
Without hesitation, he bought a small Vulture, and undocked, setting a course for Azek M4.
As he exited the wormhole from Latos, now in Azek, the first sign of something out of the ordinary was shown. At least two squadrons of station guards were waiting for him at the border.
"Halt! Cut your engines and prepare for cargo scanning!" one yelled at Smittens through the comm.
"What's up? You guys know I've got my standing..." replied Smittens, slowing his ship.
"About a month ago, Biocom reported highly classified goods stolen. They claim that the perpetrator left UIT space with it, and they've been laying down some serious threats unless we do all we can to retrieve it. I don't even know what I'm looking for! Still..."
A ship moved next to Smittens', and he saw a red light sprayed on his hull.
"You're clear, sorry about the trouble," said the officer.
As Smittens docked in M4, and he ran to make sure the bag was still there. Thankfully, it was still in his safe (Smittens' memory luckily remembered the code...1-2-3-4-5), and he ran back to his ship. As he entered, he deftly hit a few keys, and a terminal opened in his quarters. He opened the bag next to it, and examined all the pieces inside. Putting them back in, he started a remote connection with Deep Blue (he had never got used to the Drupal interface of the Itan computer) and typed in all the specs he could find on the pieces, and hitting enter.
As the computer spat back some readouts, Smittens looked on dumbfounded. He had no idea what it meant, but he knew someone who might...
Sleeping at the station, he awoke the next day to a ringing phone.
"What the hell is this!?" yelled LeberMac when Smittens picked up.
"Whuh?" blinked Smittens (the sort of night owl that feasts on early birds).
"Those specs you sent me. What the hell is it?"
"Well if I knew, why would I have sent it to you with a subject of 'What do you think this is?'"
"What do I think it is!?" yelled back Leber, so loudly Smittens had to move the phone from his ear. "Its the greatest thing we could possibly have! Smitt, this could be the key in developing the Neut 4's!"
"N4's?"
"I thought you were in politics once...'Tanis and Sercs aren't just racing over cap ships, they're also both after the Neutron 4. The government is saying it'll have the speed and weight of a neutron three, the power of a gauss, and the drain of a phase blaster!"
"And this'll help develop it?" asked Smittens, waking up a bit more.
"As long as you didn't just make these up as an idiotic prank, YES!"
"Roger that, get the word to Mogul. I'm gonna need an escort getting this out, and it'll have to be through grey space. UIT have a blockade over stolen parts, which is probably what I've got."
"Got it. He's with his family today, but expect a response tomorrow."
Smittens spent the rest of the day pacing around his apartment and planning this out... if it worked, Itan, and he especially, would be the most recognized and famous Itani since Eo himself, not to mention the fact that Itani pilots would gain supreme dominance over Serco with a neutron 4... possibly enough to win the war. However, if it went bad... stories Smittens had heard suggested Biocom prisons to be comparable to those of Serco. Assuming he'd live long enough to get out of one...
That night, his dreams were filled with blue valks squaring up against red vultures--that were getting torn apart, and a loud guard yelling "Hey, that's not allowed!"
When Smittens woke the next morning, he grinned, seeing a message from Commander Velaio awaiting him on his phone.
The message was short, but enough to leave Smittens with a grin on his face.
"Smitt, hold tight, if UIT are after it and possibly you, we're gonna have to be careful with this. I'm on my way down with Dani, we need to do this fast. More than three pilots'll draw attention. Work on some way of barricading yourself against their scans. Be there in a few hours."
However, this left him with a new quandary: The covering up of his illegal goods. Of course, there was always one person who could get Smittens out of this kind of trouble...
He picked up his phone again, and dialed up his old friend, accomplice, guild mate, enemy, guild mate, enemy, friend, semi-enemy.
"Hey man, what's up?" asked Borb Sarken.
"I need you to do me a favor..."
An hour later Smittens heard a knock at the door, and he opened it to Borb's grinning face.
"I got just the thing for you..." said the pirate in his dark, attempted-scary, voice.
Smittens followed Borb out to the docking bay, and into the cargo hold of Borb's Corvus Marauder. Borb pointed out a few crates that were glowing silver.
"Splash some volatile chems on those and they'll glow metallic blue. I've got enough to line your hold, and in their activated form they'll repel all scanners. But you gotta be careful, it only lasts a few minutes. Try and use that Ninja skill you always pretend you have to get past without it. Sure I'm charging you a butt load, but you don't want to use these until you have to."
"I get a refund if I don't use 'em"
"No you don't. I'll just pick them up, where they'll be floating in space next to where you were blown up."
Smittens shook his head, and decided to move Borb back down to "enemy" when they finished.
After he paid for the goods and loaded them in his ship, Smittens asked, "So how'd you get down here anyway? Never mind the cargo, or the Corvus ship, but just you getting by?"
"Who said they let me through?" asked Borb with a wicked grin. "Don't count on the path being clear though, as I left I saw some warp sigs of more filling the gap. Many more, from the looks of it."
"Well, it was...erm, just like always, seeing you again Borb. Thanks for making sure I don't have enough money that I need to worry about it getting stolen," grimaced Smittens, as Borb laughed.
"I'll see you around. You know, its a shame we never put our egos aside. If we had worked together..."
"Who could've stopped us?" finished Smittens, finally sharing Borb's grin.
Smittens strode back to his room as Borb left, pondering how many more station guards were about to meet their demise.
As a few more hours passed, and finally, a much more serious sounding knock echoed through his appartment.
Smittens opened the door to Commander Mogul Velaio, former recruiting target of his, and Dani Ei, one of Smittens' wing mates during his days in IA.
They cast stern looks at each other for a moment, then simultaneously burst out laughing.
"Ready to change the fate of the universe?"
Dani grinned widely. "Smitt, if I had a credit for every time you're ego tried just that...well, I supposed I could buy the UIT myself to get us out of this."
"Smitt, hold tight, if UIT are after it and possibly you, we're gonna have to be careful with this. I'm on my way down with Dani, we need to do this fast. More than three pilots'll draw attention. Work on some way of barricading yourself against their scans. Be there in a few hours."
However, this left him with a new quandary: The covering up of his illegal goods. Of course, there was always one person who could get Smittens out of this kind of trouble...
He picked up his phone again, and dialed up his old friend, accomplice, guild mate, enemy, guild mate, enemy, friend, semi-enemy.
"Hey man, what's up?" asked Borb Sarken.
"I need you to do me a favor..."
An hour later Smittens heard a knock at the door, and he opened it to Borb's grinning face.
"I got just the thing for you..." said the pirate in his dark, attempted-scary, voice.
Smittens followed Borb out to the docking bay, and into the cargo hold of Borb's Corvus Marauder. Borb pointed out a few crates that were glowing silver.
"Splash some volatile chems on those and they'll glow metallic blue. I've got enough to line your hold, and in their activated form they'll repel all scanners. But you gotta be careful, it only lasts a few minutes. Try and use that Ninja skill you always pretend you have to get past without it. Sure I'm charging you a butt load, but you don't want to use these until you have to."
"I get a refund if I don't use 'em"
"No you don't. I'll just pick them up, where they'll be floating in space next to where you were blown up."
Smittens shook his head, and decided to move Borb back down to "enemy" when they finished.
After he paid for the goods and loaded them in his ship, Smittens asked, "So how'd you get down here anyway? Never mind the cargo, or the Corvus ship, but just you getting by?"
"Who said they let me through?" asked Borb with a wicked grin. "Don't count on the path being clear though, as I left I saw some warp sigs of more filling the gap. Many more, from the looks of it."
"Well, it was...erm, just like always, seeing you again Borb. Thanks for making sure I don't have enough money that I need to worry about it getting stolen," grimaced Smittens, as Borb laughed.
"I'll see you around. You know, its a shame we never put our egos aside. If we had worked together..."
"Who could've stopped us?" finished Smittens, finally sharing Borb's grin.
Smittens strode back to his room as Borb left, pondering how many more station guards were about to meet their demise.
As a few more hours passed, and finally, a much more serious sounding knock echoed through his appartment.
Smittens opened the door to Commander Mogul Velaio, former recruiting target of his, and Dani Ei, one of Smittens' wing mates during his days in IA.
They cast stern looks at each other for a moment, then simultaneously burst out laughing.
"Ready to change the fate of the universe?"
Dani grinned widely. "Smitt, if I had a credit for every time you're ego tried just that...well, I supposed I could buy the UIT myself to get us out of this."
Nice job, keep it up.
Too bad its speed is 10 m/s =P
LeberMac was at the control node of Deep Blue again, immersed in its virtual engineering environment. He examined the holo-display of the NTK-11 object, lost in the virtual interplay of its swirling turquoise gas, and wondered what BioCom techniciam had managed to create such an efficient killing device.
"Hrm, Neutron Blaster Core, the probable Mk. IV device we've been catching snippets of on our eavesdropping posts scattered throughout Serco/gray space," he mused.
The simulated Mk. IV specs were impressive: 800 damage, 220 m/s velocity, energy usage rate of 15 per shot, a refire delay of only .10 seconds, all in a neat and tidy 450 kg package. Nice. Energy usage would not sustain prolonged firing rates, but with a fast charge battery and short, controlled bursts, this weapon would be fearsome. As long as the reality matched up with the simulation.
He wondered what the hell Pilot 13 had been thinking, selling this to Smittens of all people. Hrm. Regardless of HOW [Itan] had received it, very soon work would begin on construction and experimentation. Soon after that, LeberMac would be paying a visit to Serco space for a test run, he was sure...
LeberMac turned off the simulation, mentally disconnected from Deep Blue, and went to get some lunch. It was going to be an interesting week.
"Hrm, Neutron Blaster Core, the probable Mk. IV device we've been catching snippets of on our eavesdropping posts scattered throughout Serco/gray space," he mused.
The simulated Mk. IV specs were impressive: 800 damage, 220 m/s velocity, energy usage rate of 15 per shot, a refire delay of only .10 seconds, all in a neat and tidy 450 kg package. Nice. Energy usage would not sustain prolonged firing rates, but with a fast charge battery and short, controlled bursts, this weapon would be fearsome. As long as the reality matched up with the simulation.
He wondered what the hell Pilot 13 had been thinking, selling this to Smittens of all people. Hrm. Regardless of HOW [Itan] had received it, very soon work would begin on construction and experimentation. Soon after that, LeberMac would be paying a visit to Serco space for a test run, he was sure...
LeberMac turned off the simulation, mentally disconnected from Deep Blue, and went to get some lunch. It was going to be an interesting week.
Hmmm...
Zoras wondered what was going on, he hadn't seen Lebermac in quite a while... something must be afoot.
In any case, if that recent failed delivery by Pilot 13 of a BioCom shipment was anything to go by... it might be involved... meaning... that it was a more than just "special" delivery.
And in that case, Zoras could see a pending lawsuit about stolen technology...
Zoras called up Dr. Lecter and told him of his suspicions... he also broadwaved a small encrypted text file that he would be sure only Jex Kerome would be bored enough to decipher. After all, Zoras wasn't a big fan of the old codger, but he figured that if he was still out there... then he could be used to cause Pilot 13 some trouble.
(OOC: This post assumes that Jex, In his Garbage convoy, has some means of getting broadwaved transmissions... which shouldn't be too much of a stretch... And I am NOT bored enough to create that file for all of you to decipher )
Zoras wondered what was going on, he hadn't seen Lebermac in quite a while... something must be afoot.
In any case, if that recent failed delivery by Pilot 13 of a BioCom shipment was anything to go by... it might be involved... meaning... that it was a more than just "special" delivery.
And in that case, Zoras could see a pending lawsuit about stolen technology...
Zoras called up Dr. Lecter and told him of his suspicions... he also broadwaved a small encrypted text file that he would be sure only Jex Kerome would be bored enough to decipher. After all, Zoras wasn't a big fan of the old codger, but he figured that if he was still out there... then he could be used to cause Pilot 13 some trouble.
(OOC: This post assumes that Jex, In his Garbage convoy, has some means of getting broadwaved transmissions... which shouldn't be too much of a stretch... And I am NOT bored enough to create that file for all of you to decipher )
A-Dawg sat back in his seat, a wide grin came across his face. By pure luck a reconisance communication bouy was able to pick up a transmission from Lebermac to Smittens. Something about a new and powerful weapon, something they were calling the "NTK-11."
This new weapon, if Leber and his feeble oversized-calculator were right, could be devastating... or liberating, depending on you're viewpoint. If the Serco's could get a hold of the NTK-11 it could very well mean the end of long bloody war, and the final conquering blow to the Itani.
By whatever means possible, the Serco had to get ahold of this awesome new weapon. All the neccessary information needed was were it was held, and when and where it would be moved. A task force could be set up and the device captured, simple, he hoped. The Serco Dominion is also on good terms with Biocom, the tables could be easily turned in Serco favor.
A-Dawg leaned forward and opened up the private SCAR channel, "Mecha, I've got some great news. Just intercepted a conversation between some smurfs about a new weapon."
Mecha Touruias, SCAR's Lt. and A-Dawg's long time colleague replied inquisitively, "Really? Anymore information than 'a new weapon?' We intercept tons of transmissions like that all the time."
"This one's from Lebermac to Smittens. They were talking about some sort of stolen good from Biocom. It's called the NTK-11. They were quite excited about it." A-Dawg stated.
Mecha replied, "We've got to get on this fast if we're to capture it."
"Aye, already alerting the private SCAR channels, keep you're ears open, and keep a closer eye on our spy bouys." A-Dawg said hastily, he sat back in his chair, his excitement growing.
"Roger, 10-4." Mecha replied as the comm channel clicked off. A-Dawg leaned back further in his chair and took a sip of his iced-tea. Every now and then the wormhole would open and a guise controlled Serco transport would come through outside the viewport at Initros O-12, SCAR HQ. The sooner the filthy Itani menace was defeated, the better.
This new weapon, if Leber and his feeble oversized-calculator were right, could be devastating... or liberating, depending on you're viewpoint. If the Serco's could get a hold of the NTK-11 it could very well mean the end of long bloody war, and the final conquering blow to the Itani.
By whatever means possible, the Serco had to get ahold of this awesome new weapon. All the neccessary information needed was were it was held, and when and where it would be moved. A task force could be set up and the device captured, simple, he hoped. The Serco Dominion is also on good terms with Biocom, the tables could be easily turned in Serco favor.
A-Dawg leaned forward and opened up the private SCAR channel, "Mecha, I've got some great news. Just intercepted a conversation between some smurfs about a new weapon."
Mecha Touruias, SCAR's Lt. and A-Dawg's long time colleague replied inquisitively, "Really? Anymore information than 'a new weapon?' We intercept tons of transmissions like that all the time."
"This one's from Lebermac to Smittens. They were talking about some sort of stolen good from Biocom. It's called the NTK-11. They were quite excited about it." A-Dawg stated.
Mecha replied, "We've got to get on this fast if we're to capture it."
"Aye, already alerting the private SCAR channels, keep you're ears open, and keep a closer eye on our spy bouys." A-Dawg said hastily, he sat back in his chair, his excitement growing.
"Roger, 10-4." Mecha replied as the comm channel clicked off. A-Dawg leaned back further in his chair and took a sip of his iced-tea. Every now and then the wormhole would open and a guise controlled Serco transport would come through outside the viewport at Initros O-12, SCAR HQ. The sooner the filthy Itani menace was defeated, the better.
"So where to?" asked Mogul.
"Erm..." started Smittens, and he realized that after all his pondering, planning, and plotting, he hadn't gotten past the wormhole from Azek to Latos in his planning. "Itani space?" he through out after thinking about it for a minute.
Mogul and Dani eyed each other in the way any two people Smittens talked to would end up doing.
"Gimme a sec," added Smittens.
He walked into the back room of the appartment, trying to think of where to go. Itan would be good, but then they'd have to fill out lots of forms to get near anyone they would have to give it to. No, it was better off going to someone with that sort of clearance already...and luckily, Smittens knew just who, from his old days as a politician in Divinia F6.
He activated his comm and called up Oran Solarius. Solarius was the deputy station manager at F6, and had been a major help for Smittens' start.
"'Ello?" said Solarius in his gruff voice.
"Hey man. It's me," answered Smittens, hoping that Solarius remembered his voice.
"Smitty! What's been goin' on?"
"Not much, not much. I've killed over five hundred Serco, but--"
"WOAH! We knew you'd left to go down south, but jeez! Anyway, if you're anything like you used to be, I know that you wouldn't call just to brag and up your ego, so what's up?"
Smittens smiled to himself, but decided not to comment. "Well, me 'n Itan've found...something. I'm not gonna say too much more, but it could help in Operation Duck Face, at least according to LeberMac."
"You kiddin' me? Well where are you? We'll send the Itani military down to escort you!"
"Can't do that, unless you want to piss off the UIT. I'm trapped in their space, and need to smuggle the materials out. If we have more than a few pilots together, its gonna be really shifty. No, I've got some nice Itan escorts, I'll be fine."
"You sure? Well, what can I do?"
"Can I bring the stuff to you, and you bring it all over to our capital?"
"Sure! I'll alert some high ranking guy you don't know about. There should be some Itani waiting for you in Edras, and even more to move yours truly to Itan."
"Great. I'll find you when I get to the station. Cya then"
"G'bye man"
Smittens hung up, and strode back to the main room with a confident swagger. "This is gonna be no problem," he told the others, grinning. "We've got an escort once we hit Edras, not that there'll be any worry past Azek..."
"Still, we should get out of hear as quickly as possible..." said Mogul. "You've got a nice full cargo hold, with the only legal thing in it being the air between all the other stuff."
"Ooookay. Lets do it then..."
The three walked as casually as they could to the docking bay, and climbed into their ships. They made it out of the station and sector without incedent, but again were stopped by a brigade of UIT strike force.
"Cut your engines, prepare to have your cargo holds scanned..." said one, in an exhausted voice.
"Wait, but we didn't come in with the illegal stuffs, so how're we supposed to leave with it?" asked Smittens in his best poke-the-authority-in-the-stomach voice.
"Just hold still sir. We've had nine convoys before you, and each ship in it needs a scanning. We, and especially I, are not in the mood at all."
"It was worth a shot..." muttered Smittens to Mogul and Dani, unbuckling and racing to the cargo hold. He splashed volatile chemicals over every surface he could, holding his breath, hoping that he'd live to see if this worked. The cargo hold was soon glowing brightly, so he figured he had been exposed to enough toxic fumes for one day, and dashed back to the cockpit, sealing the hold. He buckled in again, just in time as the red beam of the cargo scanner passed over his ship. Smittens glanced around and saw a similar one searching Mogul and Dani's ships.
"Alright, you're free to go," said the same member of the strike force, and Smittens let off a soft "Woo" as he sped to the wormhole.
"We did it!" cried Dani on their private channel, and Smittens agreed entusiasticly. Timing it, just to be pretty for the strike force, they all jumped through at once."
Not-so-coincidentally, they all yelled "****" at once, as they came out on the other side. Rockets had battered Mogul half way to death, and four rails had smashed into Smittens' cockpit. Dani hadn't escaped either, as streams of neutron fire were unloaded on his ship.
"What the hell is happening!?" yelled Smittens into their channel.
"Serco...and UIT by the looks of it!" replied Mogul hastily. "How'd they know about this!?"
"Beats me, but we gotta get out of here. Jump to...P4 to regroup!" ordered Dani.
It was aweful, as Serco and UIT swarmed over the small battered ships that were trying to run. Smittens took a few more rails, but Dani and Mogul made it to the 3000m without further incident. The three jumped out as a few rockets and more rails were shot at their earlier position.
As he enterred the system, Smittens swore into the sector.
"They'll have stations covered, we just have to power through..." said Mogul hopelessly.
"They're all going to go for me..." said Smittens worridly. "No, I'm not just being selfish here, we need to get the parts to Divinia."
"He's right..." added Dani.
"Yes, he is right. They'll all target him once we jump back. It was probably just disorginization that lead to us taking fire, Dani."
"Okay, here's what we're gonna do..." said Smittens, hoping he could think of a plan by the time he finished the sentence.
"Erm..." started Smittens, and he realized that after all his pondering, planning, and plotting, he hadn't gotten past the wormhole from Azek to Latos in his planning. "Itani space?" he through out after thinking about it for a minute.
Mogul and Dani eyed each other in the way any two people Smittens talked to would end up doing.
"Gimme a sec," added Smittens.
He walked into the back room of the appartment, trying to think of where to go. Itan would be good, but then they'd have to fill out lots of forms to get near anyone they would have to give it to. No, it was better off going to someone with that sort of clearance already...and luckily, Smittens knew just who, from his old days as a politician in Divinia F6.
He activated his comm and called up Oran Solarius. Solarius was the deputy station manager at F6, and had been a major help for Smittens' start.
"'Ello?" said Solarius in his gruff voice.
"Hey man. It's me," answered Smittens, hoping that Solarius remembered his voice.
"Smitty! What's been goin' on?"
"Not much, not much. I've killed over five hundred Serco, but--"
"WOAH! We knew you'd left to go down south, but jeez! Anyway, if you're anything like you used to be, I know that you wouldn't call just to brag and up your ego, so what's up?"
Smittens smiled to himself, but decided not to comment. "Well, me 'n Itan've found...something. I'm not gonna say too much more, but it could help in Operation Duck Face, at least according to LeberMac."
"You kiddin' me? Well where are you? We'll send the Itani military down to escort you!"
"Can't do that, unless you want to piss off the UIT. I'm trapped in their space, and need to smuggle the materials out. If we have more than a few pilots together, its gonna be really shifty. No, I've got some nice Itan escorts, I'll be fine."
"You sure? Well, what can I do?"
"Can I bring the stuff to you, and you bring it all over to our capital?"
"Sure! I'll alert some high ranking guy you don't know about. There should be some Itani waiting for you in Edras, and even more to move yours truly to Itan."
"Great. I'll find you when I get to the station. Cya then"
"G'bye man"
Smittens hung up, and strode back to the main room with a confident swagger. "This is gonna be no problem," he told the others, grinning. "We've got an escort once we hit Edras, not that there'll be any worry past Azek..."
"Still, we should get out of hear as quickly as possible..." said Mogul. "You've got a nice full cargo hold, with the only legal thing in it being the air between all the other stuff."
"Ooookay. Lets do it then..."
The three walked as casually as they could to the docking bay, and climbed into their ships. They made it out of the station and sector without incedent, but again were stopped by a brigade of UIT strike force.
"Cut your engines, prepare to have your cargo holds scanned..." said one, in an exhausted voice.
"Wait, but we didn't come in with the illegal stuffs, so how're we supposed to leave with it?" asked Smittens in his best poke-the-authority-in-the-stomach voice.
"Just hold still sir. We've had nine convoys before you, and each ship in it needs a scanning. We, and especially I, are not in the mood at all."
"It was worth a shot..." muttered Smittens to Mogul and Dani, unbuckling and racing to the cargo hold. He splashed volatile chemicals over every surface he could, holding his breath, hoping that he'd live to see if this worked. The cargo hold was soon glowing brightly, so he figured he had been exposed to enough toxic fumes for one day, and dashed back to the cockpit, sealing the hold. He buckled in again, just in time as the red beam of the cargo scanner passed over his ship. Smittens glanced around and saw a similar one searching Mogul and Dani's ships.
"Alright, you're free to go," said the same member of the strike force, and Smittens let off a soft "Woo" as he sped to the wormhole.
"We did it!" cried Dani on their private channel, and Smittens agreed entusiasticly. Timing it, just to be pretty for the strike force, they all jumped through at once."
Not-so-coincidentally, they all yelled "****" at once, as they came out on the other side. Rockets had battered Mogul half way to death, and four rails had smashed into Smittens' cockpit. Dani hadn't escaped either, as streams of neutron fire were unloaded on his ship.
"What the hell is happening!?" yelled Smittens into their channel.
"Serco...and UIT by the looks of it!" replied Mogul hastily. "How'd they know about this!?"
"Beats me, but we gotta get out of here. Jump to...P4 to regroup!" ordered Dani.
It was aweful, as Serco and UIT swarmed over the small battered ships that were trying to run. Smittens took a few more rails, but Dani and Mogul made it to the 3000m without further incident. The three jumped out as a few rockets and more rails were shot at their earlier position.
As he enterred the system, Smittens swore into the sector.
"They'll have stations covered, we just have to power through..." said Mogul hopelessly.
"They're all going to go for me..." said Smittens worridly. "No, I'm not just being selfish here, we need to get the parts to Divinia."
"He's right..." added Dani.
"Yes, he is right. They'll all target him once we jump back. It was probably just disorginization that lead to us taking fire, Dani."
"Okay, here's what we're gonna do..." said Smittens, hoping he could think of a plan by the time he finished the sentence.
Ghostie was enjoying a book when suddenly his Com rang. He picked it up and answered it.
'Hello?'
'Hey Ghostie..its Smittens'
'Er...you don't usally call me...'
'Yeah, i need you to do me a favour'
'Sure, what is it?'
'Alert the Itani to send down all their ships to give us support'
'Er...why?'
'Don't ask questions! Do it!'
Ghostie stared at his com and dialed the Coalition of Itan number, a scruff voice answered.
'Yeah?'
'Smittens asked me to pass you guys a message to bring down all avalible ships to help him...'
'Sure! I'll send down everyone now.'
Ghostie then laid back on his bunk thinking about trading, then it popped to his head.
'If theres gonna be a battle...that means lots of scrap metal!' thought Ghosite out aloud.
He jumped up and ran to his belmoth, he gave it a quick spray of black paint and undocked from the station.
'Hello?'
'Hey Ghostie..its Smittens'
'Er...you don't usally call me...'
'Yeah, i need you to do me a favour'
'Sure, what is it?'
'Alert the Itani to send down all their ships to give us support'
'Er...why?'
'Don't ask questions! Do it!'
Ghostie stared at his com and dialed the Coalition of Itan number, a scruff voice answered.
'Yeah?'
'Smittens asked me to pass you guys a message to bring down all avalible ships to help him...'
'Sure! I'll send down everyone now.'
Ghostie then laid back on his bunk thinking about trading, then it popped to his head.
'If theres gonna be a battle...that means lots of scrap metal!' thought Ghosite out aloud.
He jumped up and ran to his belmoth, he gave it a quick spray of black paint and undocked from the station.
Meanwhile, a lone skycommand flew into an iceyo and exploded.
Meanwhile, Seta chuckled at the mustard on LeberMac's lapel... and thought about the monkey passing through Deep Blue's gates with Lebe's ID...
Meanwhile, SmittensTehRacer kindly asked FM to remove the posts of those horrible thread jackers
But... c'mon... you've gotta love that mustard all over Leber... :)~
Somehow... Zoras managed to warp in to the [Itan] messhall...
He had only time for one outburst before he was warped back to wherever it is he was...
"Bang bang!
Gavrilo Principe!
Bang Bang!
Shoot me Gavrilo!"
/Zoras woke up from that odd... odd dream.
He had only time for one outburst before he was warped back to wherever it is he was...
"Bang bang!
Gavrilo Principe!
Bang Bang!
Shoot me Gavrilo!"
/Zoras woke up from that odd... odd dream.
where is the FM?
On vacation, like the brains of the posters in this thread.
Vacation? I thought it was retirement...
Retirement is a permanent vacation, so what I stated holds true.
As does yours.
As does yours.
Personally, I think they are retired and on life support.
/me tosses in his two pennies
/me tosses in his two pennies
HELP!