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Fly Free or Die [IC thread]

The BD514 came out of the drift above Akiton. They were in a high orbit and would need to land on the planet itself. "Looks like weather down there is good." Drisala said as they began the transition to the surface. "It will be a nice and smooth landing."

From orbit, Akiton was an uninspiring image of red rock and desert sands. It was easy to wonder if there was any life there at all. But as Vask knew, appearances could be deceiving. Despite the scorched surface of this dying planet, life indeed thrived below. They had only been out of the Drift for a few moments before the ship's comm unit lit up with a waiting transmission from their Company dispatcher, Tarika.
 
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"You haven't been to Akiton before." He said in response to Drisala's talk of the weather. "The only two weathers it has are clear or sandstorm. Windstorm if you are in the winterlands." The planet was a shit-hole to be certain though that didn't mean he didn't hold some measure of fondness for it all the same considering it was his home. Or at least it used to be. Nevertheless, his point was more the fact that the odds of there being a sandstorm around one of the cities was fairly low; it was more the desolate plains that had to suffer the effects of the planet's devastation in that regard.

As his terminal beeped with the incoming message he tapped the screen to accept it. Fumbling slightly due to the sheer size of his fingers before getting it to respond properly. "You have some explaining to do for stuffing me in this can, Tarika." He grumbled as his opening words. He did blame her for his circumstances to some extent but figured the truth of the situation was mostly out of her hands. Getting a ship at all was an expensive prospect and the company certainly hadn't given him the impression that they'd spend a single credit more than the bare minimum necessary.
 
"No need to jinx us sweetie," Gabby teased Drisala's early confidence. The goblin wasn't really that supersticious though, not anymore anyway, she figured none of the gods were petty enough to change the weather just because someone commented on it.

As Vask took the call, the goblin would lean in her chair, listening in. He was the captain and it was his right, but, well she couldn't help but like to be nosy and try and smooth things as needed.
 
"No. Never been there before." Drisala replied. "But by the decription you give, I can't say that I regret it. It sounds almost as bad as Apostate. I mean appart form you do have weather and can move about outside without a spacesuit." She joked.

As Vask took the call, a brenneri with sleek brown fur appeared on-screen, wearing an olive-green flight suit emblazoned with the EJ Corp logo and fidgeting with a worn wrench. All of the crew recognized her immediately as Tarika, the Company dispatcher and, for some, an old friend. She was based on Absalom Station, so this transmission must have been sent days ago.

Tarika looked anxious, and her image was barely visible before she blurted out, "Howdy team! I'm just checkin' in on y'all. If you're receivin' this, you must have arrived at Akiton. Your drop-off site is in Hivemarket. Now, you can't miss that place - just look for the biggest damn mountain on the entire planet. That'll be Ka, the Pillar of the Sky, and Hivemarket is around its bottom. There's a business there called Ka Imports, and Siski, the manager, is your contact. You can collect payment from her and maybe get a nice little bonus for rapid delivery."

"Be careful on that dust bowl of a world, though; there's no real law on Akiton, and the desert is no place to go explorin'. I'm lookin' for your next job, and I'll send a transmission when I have somethin' for ya. If you haven't heard from me by the time you're done on Akiton, come on in to Absalom Station. And Vask, before you complain again about the tight-fitting accommodations, I just want to remind you of your own words, 'Fuck, it's so tight. I love it.'" Her transmission ended.

The transition to the planet's surface went, as predicted, without incident.
 
"Damn it, just a recording." Vask was slightly upset with himself for not realizing but, considering how pent up and cramped he felt on this ship, it couldn't be helped that he'd jumped on an opportunity to express his displeasure. In any case he fell silent in order to listen, expecting the information provided to be important and indeed it was. Once the message finished on an attempt at humor regarding his disposition, clearly Tarika remembered him well enough to guess how he'd react to the situation, Vask just grumbled and shook his head slightly. It wasn't funny to him but clearly it was to others.

"Wanting my dick in tight spaces is different than the rest of my body." He stated grumpily and somewhat quietly but obviously didn't expect and answer from the recording; or the rest of the crew really but he figured either Drisala or Gabby wouldn't be able to resist chiming in to some degree. Pushing his focus back to business, the sooner they landed the sooner he could get out and stretch, he tapped his screen to send over the data that Drisala would need for the landing; the location of the Hivemarket. "The desert is a suitable place to test yourself and grow strong but she is right; the city people have few laws they won't bend or break. Each city runs itself and all are constantly at war, stabbing each other in the back. Conflict is common but if you remain close to me you should not be bothered. My kind are well-respected by the city people for our ability to deal death and I've worked in near every city on the planet. Do NOT..." He paused to cast his eyes around the bridge to land on each other individual under his command before continuing. "... travel anywhere alone. All three of you would be caught down an alley and raped senseless if not robbed or killed as well." He knew this as a fact because he would do the same to them were he still working as a hired gun here; simply because mercenaries in most cities on Akiton could get away with such things.
 
Hearing the recordings closing joke, Gabby couldn't help but giggle. 'Girl after my own heart.' She did not say anything thing though, letting Vask speak and give his expertise. He was a local while she had spent most of her life in and around Absalom, sheltered in her cultish life. It was a rather direct warning and while a twisted part of her found the frightful idea of being snatched in a backalley exciting, it was only a small part and she knew better.

"We'll stay close to you Skipper. Rather not tempt fate and the calculations of thugs if it's just me and Tani or me and Dris alone." She figured the hardened mercenary would be their best form of deterrent.
 
Drisala was surprised by the lack of traffic control as they entered the airspace of Akiton. It was more a matter of setting the spaceship down in an uninhabited place near the Hivemarket.

The Hivemarket wass a permanent marketplace that had developed along the southwest side of the Pillar of the Sky, where the underground lava tunnels that snaked through the mountain lead out into the desert. Hivemarket wasn't large enough to be a city, or even much of a town, but its status as the mercantile center of largely lawless Akiton made it a perfect place for traders and caravans to acquire and unload cargo. Most of Hivemarket's population was transient, but various corporations and other merchant interests had permanent buildings here, and, between them, they settle disputes, maintain order, and provide some basic services. The most distinctive feature of Hivemarket was the khulans - floating incorporeal beings who enforced the law in Hivemarket but did not interfere in legal transactions, no matter how immoral.

As they came closer to the massive sandstone walls that mark off Hivemarket proper, they could see the sea of sand beneath them becoming littered with visiting starships. Beyond the walls, market stalls of every imaginable color, with all manner of strange symbols, crowded each other along haphazard pedestrian paths and a few narrow roads. Amid all the colorful chaos stood dozens of permanent buildings, most made of the same sandstone as the settlement's walls. There were no official landing facilities, so Drisala claimed a piece of desert outside the walls. Once they had landed, the walk or drive into Hivemarket were short.
 
This landing was indeed much smoother, though Drisala seemed to have some hesitation about finding a place to put the ship down without full traffic control or dedicated pads, and once everything was settled Vask had a small internal debate about what the best plan of action was. While much of the Hivemarket was rough-shod and hap-hazard in its operation he figured that having a shipment directly to a proper business on behalf of the company meant that there wouldn't be any strange delays; that they wouldn't go through the process of bringing the cargo over only to be told that they needed to wait in order to actually process the shipment.

"Time to get the cargo loaded on the trailer again. No reason to waste time talking to Siski in advance." The lower gravity and cooler temperatures of Akiton promised to make this a much easier endeavor though. Once the artificial gravity of the ship was disengaged he already felt back to his full potential; like he could grab an entire crate with just one hand and sling them over to the trailer at incredible speed compared to the last time. Tani would no doubt recognize the Hivemarket as well. Even if he and Vask hadn't spent much time here it was where the shobhad had purchased the femboy after all. Slavery was fairly common on Akiton in general but where better to find foreign wares than here?
 
Unbuckling from the seat and climbing out, Gabby couldn't help but quietly groan at the decision. Oh she understood the need to load the cargo, but she had been holding a rather small hope they could talk some employees of their target into doing all the heavy lifting; it had been a rather thin hope. "Well no rest for the wicked I guess, break time is over." Hopefully nothing would go wrong in their delivery this time.
 
The unloading process went surprisingly smooth. The gravity of only 50% of standard made it so much easier. Even if the mass of the crates hadn't changed and their handling was just as difficult, the reduced weight made up for a lot.

The ship had made a fast transition in the drift and they had arrived head of schedule. The berries would be good for a week and between loading, unloading and flying they had almost five days left to hand over the berries.
 
Vask was indeed pleased to consider how good of time they had made. Sure there was an element of luck involved when it came to the drift travel but the fact that the ambush cost them nothing was a big victory as well as they fact they had managed to avoid any hassle with the authorities in the wake of that. While the cargo wasn't delivered yet, he still couldn't help but feel a little smug for how things were panning out. All they needed to do was to finish this delivery off and they could collect that bonus for quick transit... as well as find a buyer for their extra crate of berries to pocket a little extra on top of it all.

"I'll drive. I know the area better." Which wasn't to say that he doubted Drisala would do just fine but the roads, if you could call them that, were narrow and winding and people often filled them with foot traffic. Driving through places like this on Akiton require a slow but steady pace and the understanding that any vehicles were going to continue forward whether or not you were in their way. He wasn't sure if the drow would be able to handle the idea of not pumping the brakes constantly should anyone be slow on the uptake and he'd rather not find out honestly. "Though keep an eye out for our place all the same. I've only been here maybe twice."
 
Though Gabby appreciated the lower gravity, the boxes themselves still had plenty of mass to mess with her and the size was troublesome. But she didn't complain, getting to work in helping load things up, though obviously she ended up carrying the least boxes out of the lot of them.

Climbing onto the rig and settling in, she'd give her weapons one last worried glance. Tani had recharged her main weapon, and it was now joined by one of the looted firearms from the Goblins. She was still wary about the thought of violence, but determined she would not put the crew at risk... at least tried to. "Aye Skipper, will keep an eye out."
 
Tani were a little nervous about being back on Akiton. He remembered his time there as a slave and how he were purchased by Vask. He had a good life with Vask and wouldn't change it for anything, properly, not even for freedom. So one of his greatest fears was not having his master or even worse, being sold off. And being back where he was purchased was igniting that fear.

Luckily the ride to Ka Imports was uneventful. It was about 20 minutes ride on the rig with the cargo. Ka Imports was a large, square, three-story building made of local sandstone with oval windows. There was a wide double door up front and a loading door in the rear, away from the main street. The building's metal parts long ago rusted over, and as they arrived, a handful of Hylki construction workers lowered to the ground a neon blue sign that read "Ka Imports." A new sign that read, "Ichihara Imports" leaned against the building, ready to take the original's place. The business was currently closed, and most of the interior is dark.

All of them had a vague recollection that "Ichihara Holdings" were a well known corporation in the pact worlds. Both Gabby and Tani also knew that it was a corporation that had it's base on Akiton and that it had ties with the Golden League crime syndicate.
 
As they pulled up to the location a small knot began forming in Vask's stomach. He knew nothing about this change of ownership, such things were never much his concern as a hired gun, but something felt off about the situation and he'd long since learned to trust his instincts. "Something isn't right." He stated simply. The words would serve as a well-known code to Tani by now to be alert and on edge even though that wasn't Vask's intention in saying them. "Let's hope our delivery hasn't been lost in this exchange."

With a small huff he parked the rig out front for the moment but kept the engine idling as he pushed open the door and stepped out to speak with the construction workers. He doubted they knew much regarding this change-over but they appeared to be the only ones around for the moment. "Business get bought out?" He asked, not intending to seem aggressive or hostile considering the reputation his people had on this planet. Stoicism was good in the eyes of the locals; a Shobhad that raised their voice even slightly though was a sign to run for the hills. "Have a delivery for Siski. If she's no longer in charge then I need to speak with whoever is."
 
Seeing their destination shut down didn't bode well for their plans. Seeing that it was being replaced by a potential front for a crime syndicate? That certainly made Gabby nervous, this would need handled carefully, cautiously and... Vask was stepping out and barging right on in. "Shit!" The Goblin clambered down and hopped on over to Vask. Hopefully this went well and his brusk nature wouldn't step on anything.
 
Tani was immediately alert at his master's comment. He checked his pistol yet again to make sure that he was ready if a fight broke out. And Drisala, sensing the danger also readied herself for potential confrontation. In her mind, being with a Shobhad should always be considered as being partially in a violent confrontation.

The workers looked at Vask. Not surprised seeing a shobhad. They shrugged, "We just work here man. It seems like the company was bought out a few days ago. But go around the back. There might be someone around there that knows more." The workers continued on their job to replace the signs.
 
He hadn't expected the workers to have much info for him of course but being told that someone was around back was useful indeed. Vask paused to look at the small goblin that had hopped out of the vehicle with him, then turned to take a few steps back towards the rig where Drisala and Tani were. "Stay out here and keep an eye on the cargo. Gabby and I will see what we can find out. Don't let anyone try to take it no matter what they say unless you hear directly from me first; face to face."

He didn't trust all of this but he needed some answers and planned on getting them one way or another. He wasn't about to let this deal get fucked over and so he'd turn to head around back as suggested, ushering Gabby to come with him as they went to speak with whoever was available to shed some light on the situation. Vask didn't much care who the berries were sold to just so long as they got their contracted price and could satisfy the deal in the eyes of the company. Anything less than that though, well best not to get ahead of himself.
 
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Tani nodded to his master. He pulled out his pistol and checked it an extra time. Drisala smiled at the shobhad captain, "Sure boss man. And if you hear our signal, then we might need some backup." Arkiton was known for its lawlessness and Drisala suspected that they'd not likely get away from this planet without violence.

As Vask and Gabby approached the rear of the building, they saw an armed and armored Shobhad guard standing at the rear door, smoking. He looked at the strange couple with suspicion. "What are you doing here?" He asked in a rough voice.
 
While other people would be easily bothered by a shobhad guard, Vask was obviously not. "Here with a shipment. Need to speak with whoever's in charge." His voice was less gruff perhaps but just as deep, if not moreso, and he made a point to keep walking forward towards the door. If this guard had any problem with his response then they'd have to physically stop him, or try to, because he wasn't waiting for permission or any other sort of pathetic reaction.
 
Gabby didn't need to be told twice, quickly coming to walk by Vask's side. Even with the Shobhad's enormous frame, she wasn't worried about getting stepped on by accident, by now quite used to navigating around larger people. Still, the rest of the situation made her nervous, wondering why their client had gotten replaced by a criminal front. 'Possible criminal front, this could be all legitimate.' Still, it had to be recent for them to get no forewarning of this.

As they approached the new Shobhad and Vask seemed determined to brute force his way through, Gabby gave a small sigh. Her captain did not have the best people skills in the galaxy. So she took a half step forward and gave a small smile up to the guard. "If you could kindly inform your boss that we'd like to meet with them. We have quite the deal that cannot afford to wait." As usual she'd flutter her lashes up at the enormous man, hoping her usual femanine wiles would help her get her way.

Diplomacy: [1d20+10]=20+10=30
 
The large Shobhad enforcer were naturally alert at the presence of one of his own kind. As Vask knew only too well, the way to assert dominance and compliance in shobhad society was through violence or sex, sometimes both at the same time. But luckily Gabby's physique and demeanor was appealing to more than one shobhad there at the entrance. He gave what would be considered a smile in shobhad society, with plenty of tusk and a lewd stare at Gabby. "Of course ma'am. Follow me."

He opened the door to the building and inside stood his comrade, another shobhad, just as heavily armored and brandishing a twelve-foot pike. "Dese are goin' to see the boss." He said as he led them inside.

The rear of the darkened Ka Imports warehouse was filled with crates and boxes stacked over ten feet high. The shobhad led Vask and Gabby a rear office, its large windows the only source of light in the whole building. "Miss Ainsley," said the first shobhad, "These people are asking about you."

Inside the office, a crimson-skinned human woman reclined in a chair with her boots perched on the edge of a large desk cluttered with stacks of paper, unopened mail, and some empty coffee mugs. She looked up from a printed spreadsheet and exhales an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Thank you, Grandmother! I am bored out of my mind and could use a distraction. What is it?"
 
Vask shook his head slightly at the reaction from the guard, being so easily won over was unbecoming of a wastelander, but he didn't feel any reason to interject when they were ultimately getting what he wanted by being led inside. That said, the grin from the other shobhad drew attention to the fact that Vask lacked tusks like most of his kind sported; all his teeth were inside his mouth but no less sharp. This fact wasn't truly a problem on its own but it brought back difficult memories of his youth as it was a spot of contention with the other youths he was raised alongside. His first true kill was a result of bullying about it. That honor duel would forever be burned into his memory as a sweet success... but the hatred and abuse was always just around the corner in his thoughts.

Despite his small grimace, he did his best to focus back onto the present and shake it off; though it was hard to say if Gabby might notice the subtleties of his expression with her inquisitive nature. When they arrived to the red-skinned woman, certainly an unusual shade of flesh in his experience, he waited for her outburst to fade before speaking his piece. Obviously Gabby might choose to try and smooth over his words should she desire, and he felt no real reason to stop her, but he would stick to his ways rather than cow and grovel to the softness of the city-people any more than he already did by necessity.

"I had a contract with Siski, the former manager as it appears, for a delivery of Yaro Berries on behalf of the EJ Corporation. The new owner inherits such contracts and will honor them will they not?" Of course Vask was just as armored as the other shobhad they'd dealt with on the way here, and could easily be forgiven as one of her guards considering, but he spoke better than most thanks to the time spent among the city-people and carried himself just a bit straighter of posture, a bit more proud despite the bestial rot that clung to his brain in times of battle. His armor was of kasatha design and normally the slit-visor of his helmet would reveal only his eyes but he hadn't put that on yet today and felt little need to do so when the likelihood of conflict was low.
 
Seeing Vask's expression was unexpected for Gabby. Not quite discomfort, but certainly something triggered by being around others of his kind. 'We all have a past.' Brushing those thoughts aside for now, she focused on the task at hand and looked over the human woman they'd been brought to.

The Goblin stepped forward, ready to introduce themselves and get started on figuring this situation out. But Vask beat her to the punch, direct and blunt as usual. She winced slightly but couldn't really complain, he was in charge and it wasn't like he'd come off as too aggressive or anything. Plastering on a smile Gabby gave a small nod. "As my Captain says, we had a delivery on behalf of Evgeniya-Jaimisson Company originally for Ka Imports. It seems things have changed since we originally took out the contract, so we are hoping to take care of things with you Miss Ainsley."
 
The red skinned woman shrugged. "You might have had a shipment for Siski, but you don't have any for me. I don't need any more inventory." She looked at them with a disinterested look, "All of Ka Import's outstanding contracts were canceled when the change of ownership occurred. I could say I'm sorry, but honestly, I really just don't care."
 
He felt the darkness bubbling up from within, the urge to rip and tear, to beat and bludgeon, to ravage and defile, but he suppressed them for the time being as there was nothing to gain but short term satisfaction. Instead he scowled and then began to laugh in a deep, haunting toll. "Ha, hah, ha, hah... you want to play games? I'll enjoy making you regret this decision."

He had the makings of a plan and an idea how to execute upon it but, for now, he couldn't contest her decision directly. It angered him but his gut feeling had been proven correct yet again and like the hells would he even attempt to bargain with her. Anything less than the contracted price was unacceptable and, if it did come to having to unload the cargo to someone else, he'd not play with the likes of a child like this woman; at least she was acting like a child anyways. "Come. We have work to do." He said to Gabby in the hopes of preventing her from debasing herself in negotiations. Though, ultimately he couldn't exactly prevent her from giving things one last try on the way out if she wanted to.
 
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