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RonSWEF
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Nathan Bendes - Logs
This be a string for the musings of Nathan Bendes, wanderer and erstwhile herder of cats...
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"Define interesting."
"Oh God, oh God, we're all gonna die?"
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12/Jun/06, 11:40 pm
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RonSWEF
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Re: Nathan Bendes - Logs
The hatch clunked open, in much the same way as all such hatches, and Nathan climbed into the cabin. He was starting to regret turning on the artificial gravity, considering how many stairs and ladders there were on board this ship. On the other hand, using the engines without the inertial compensation the gravity fields provided would have been …messy.
Nathan looked around slowly. Near as anyone had determined so far, this cabin had belonged to Milo Krench, the former captain of this vessel. The room was a mess, with bedding and small objects thrown all over the place. Nathan’s guess was that whatever had burst the main fuel tank had sent things flying, and freefall later had only compounded the problem. Or maybe Krench was just a slob, there was no way to be sure. Still, the cabin looked like it could have been very comfortable once…
Sitting down at the desk, Nathan looked carefully for the computer terminal he was sure would be here somewhere. It wasn’t until he found a button hidden underneath the desktop that the terminal revealed itself, though, as the center section of the desk folded up to become a screen with a keyboard underneath it. The terminal booted up, and a few moments later Nathan was delving through every personal file he could access. Some were password-locked, and those he left alone. The rest, though, he skimmed regardless of actual significance. A couple hours passed, and Nathan slowly got a feel for the man Milo Krench seemed to have been.
Milo Krench was a career merchant captain. Before the War, he’d worked aboard medium to large freight haulers, and when the War hit he’d volunteered to command a small blockade runner. Afterward he’d gone into business for himself, first leasing a ship and then buying a new Epona-class transport a couple years later. A lot of money had gone into building new hull sections onto the ship, but if the financial records could be believed it had all more than paid for itself. There were some oddities, though… Six months ago, Captain Krench had stopped his mercantile activities completely. A lot of money had been withdrawn from his accounts to pay for …something, but Nathan couldn’t for the life of him say what. The ship had gotten its maintenance, the crew had gotten paid, but for some reason a very successful trader had stopped trading altogether. The last financial entry was a docking fee on Bernadette two months ago. It was a mystery without clues.
Aside from the mysterious career shift, Milo Krench seemed to be an open book. He regularly wrote letters to a widowed sister on Whitefall. He was a member of the Trader’s Guild, and regularly submitted articles to a Cortex journal called Horse & Hydrogen. He had never married, and had no children, but regularly gave small presents to the children of business contacts. He’d hired a small but capable crew, most of them former Browncoats, and paid them well. In the years since hiring on only one of them had left, for personal rather than professional reasons. Nathan took a closer look at the records, out of curiosity. Joey and Fei Wachachynzkyk had hired on together, and a quick query to the Cortex confirmed that they’d gotten married two days before signing on – and divorced less than a month before Captain Krench’s sudden change of heart. According to the outgoing mail files, she was living on St. Albans now.
Nathan made a note on his list. As soon as they reached Beylix, it would be time to start making decisions. What to do with the ship, for starters. Captain Krench’s message had left it to them, and the paperwork really was just sitting in the computer waiting for the transfer of ownership to be filled out. Still, were there folks who needed it more? Nathan couldn’t speak for his fellow castaways, but he was doing alright. He still had a few hundred credits saved up, and he knew enough to find work most anywhere he felt like going, especially on the Rim. If they sold the ship and split the proceeds, they’d each have more than enough to make a new life for themselves. On the other hand, there was something about this boat that kind of appealed to Nathan. Perhaps she was odd-looking and lopsided, with an internal layout designed by either an aerobics instructor or a Gothic novelist, but she showed every sign of being a good ship brought down by a spot of bad luck. Maybe it was the mystery of it all calling to him, or the fact that she’d rescued him and the others from certain lingering death. Or it could be that he was still looking for his own answers, and none too ready to stay in any one place just yet. Nathan had to face the truth, he didn’t want to give up this ship.
It wasn’t solely up to him, though. Running his hand through his hair, he settled in to complete his list of next of kin. Even if he didn’t have the answers, there were surely people out there who deserved to know something had happened to their loved ones…
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"Define interesting."
"Oh God, oh God, we're all gonna die?"
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12/Jun/06, 11:41 pm
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RonSWEF
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Concerning Some Orphans...
Some bosses liked to interrogate their underlings in big imposing offices, or in a formal audience chamber. Sheridan Woo, on the other hand, preferred a little private kitchen in his manor house. It was private, it was quiet, and there were more than enough sharp objects handy if he wanted to make a point. Of course, if his underlings were still in his good graces by the time they were done, they just might get invited to lunch.
Today, such an invitation was not likely to be in the offing. Mr. Woo had a chef knife in his hand, busily chopping an onion, but the expression on his face was a mix of anger and disappointment. “I have received a very dire report of you from my aunt, Ping,” he said as he scraped the heap of onion into a bowl. “She says that you were verbally abusive to her as well as unwilling to perform your duties.”
Sitting on a stool across the counter with his sister beside him, Ping snorted. “It’s partially true. I did use a few choice words with her, although not until after she had given the order to abandon Han to certain death. After that she had no interest in my services.”
Mr. Woo grabbed a green pepper and cored it neatly. “Let me see if I have correlated the data correctly. The transport followed White Dragon’s aircraft to a new rendezvous location,”
“With Madame Bai’s approval.” Ping added.
“There, the delegation prepared to disembark. As is her duty, Han went first, and signaled Madame Bai when she detected the ambush. The ship’s doors were closed, but she remained outside to hold them off. Then Madame Bai tried to order the captain to take off, correct?” Ping nodded. “Did it ever occur to you that Madame Bai was fully within her rights to abandon her? Han is her bodyguard, it is her duty to ensure her employer’s safety. If her death would have kept the White Dragon busy long enough for Madame Bai to escape, then it was her duty to sacrifice herself.”
Ping turned red with anger and opened his mouth to speak, but Han’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. “it is so, brother”
Ping swallowed. “There was a low-grade landlock on the ship, which took some time to break. More than enough time to stage a rescue, in fact.”
“Which was done, according to your report,” Mr. Woo commented as he cut the pepper into thin strips. “It would seem that the crew of Fenghuang have a surprising amount of experience in gunplay. The presence of a MedAcad-trained physician was another nice bonus. How are your wounds, Han?”
Han kept her eyes focused on the counter. “they are nearly healed, sir. i will be back in training soon.”
“That is all well and good. However, my aunt informs me that she wants the both of you dismissed.” The peppers joined the onions, and a chunk of partially-frozen pork replaced them on the cutting board.
“Sir?” Ping asked, confused. “Han has not offended her, as far as I am aware of.”
“Well, it seems that she chose you two because you were a, as she put it, ‘matched set.’ According to her, a failure on the part of one half of the set is indicative of a flaw that will prove to spoil the other half as well. Personally, I think she is being silly, but Bai is Bai and I can’t afford to aggravate her at this time.”
“What does this mean for Han and myself, Mr. Woo?”
“It means that I must decide if I wish to retain you for another position. Aside from your regrettable lapse of manners with my aunt, who admittedly could push a boddhisattva to violence, both of you have served very well. With a war between Red Horse and White Dragon about to break out, however, I am not certain I could continue to honor your contractual stipulation of being assigned together. Your older sister has looked after you for several years now, Ping, but she cannot protect you in a fight and you don’t seem to have learned how to protect yourself.”
Ping sighed. “I don’t want to cost Ping her job, Mr. Woo. I’m no fighter, and while I have been practicing with a pistol I am still not good enough to cover her. Keep her on, and I will resign.”
Han shook her head firmly. “our contract remains. we work together or not at all.”
Ping looked at her incredulously. “Han, don’t do this. I’m not your snot-nosed little brother anymore, you don’t need to look after me. A good clerk can get a job anywhere.”
Han frowned. “we are all the family we have. we stay together.” She turned to the Tong boss and bowed politely. “with humble apologies, sir, we resign.”
Mr. Woo slid the sliced pork into a skillet and began cooking it in sesame oil. “I suppose I’m not surprised. You do realize, however, that leaving the Red Horse won’t necessarily keep you safe from White Dragon. She did cut down several of their men, they might hold a grudge.”
“we will be fine. we have somewhere we can go.”
***
Nathan accepted the package from the Red Horse messenger, and listened to it carefully for ticking. Satisfied that it wasn’t blatantly a bomb, he carried it up to the common room and opened it on the dining table. Inside were a sack of platinum coins and a note. The note simply read “For firepower rendered.” Shaking his head, Nathan started counting coins. He whistled as the final stack formed. “This will pay for most of our refueling…”
Jed poked his head in the room. “Hey, Cap’n? We got some raggedy-looking orphans knocking at the front door. They wanna know if we’re interested in buying some matchbooks and cookies, you want me to show them in?”
Nathan shook his head and sighed. “Send in the sob story, Jed. And watch the silver.”
Jed laughed. “Somehow, I don’t think our silver’s in jeopardy so much as our cook…” He vanished, heading for the main doors.
A few moments later, Han and Ping walked into the room…
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"Define interesting."
"Oh God, oh God, we're all gonna die?"
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23/Jul/06, 10:37 pm
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