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Trade Windows : Chapter 4
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Smee



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 2:58 am    Post subject: Trade Windows : Chapter 4  

Chapter 4

One recurring thought kept coming back to him. They needed time! With some time he could think through things more clearly, or at the very least, equip his ship for a better chance at a gate run.

"Mart?" He had re-connected the comms between the two ships before he'd even fully realised he had an idea.

"Yeah, I'm here, although I wish I be somewhere else right now!"

"I need some way to stall us for a few hours. Didn't you mention that the exhaust manifold on that beast of your was getting clogged, and was due for a clean?"

"Ack, now is hardly..."

"Think you could arrange for a convincing display of it being fully blocked?"

"Er, oh! Oh! now I'm with you. Yeah, gimmie a minute."

Targh disconnected the comm and accessed the camera view that centred on Mart's ship. A few moments later a cloud of steam billowed out the back of the ship causing it to buckle convincingly against it's docking clamps.

With a small smile, Targh submitted a request to re-dock with the station. The approval came quickly and he made his way back inside the giant structure, manoeuvring the small ship into his allotted space with ease.

His smile faded as he realised he had to exit his pod so soon. As his ship powered down, the amber liquid that surrounded him began to drain away. The sensations in Targh's mind seemed to drain in the same way, like colour leeching from the world. His own senses began to take over, dull lifeless things in comparison. His awareness of the ship, and all around the docking area vanished, replaced with the blurry darkness of the ship bridge with the flickering of some blue console lights. As the last of the liquid drained away, warm water jets started up all around him, vigorously spraying him clean of the sticky goo. Finally the arm crane lifted him out of the pod and set him down on the deck, his legs a little wobbly, but nothing compared to the first attempted steps after several months in the pod.

After undoing the harness straps, he staggered to a wall cabinet and pulled out a pair of overalls, clean but shabby. They'd do. He dressed quickly and had a token attempt at tidying his hair. After grabbing a comm piece and fitting it to his ear he left the ship, heading quickly to the busy central deck.

~

"And you're quite sure?" The voice was smooth, and almost impossibly calm, but at the same time managing to convey an implied threat should the answer be unsatisfactory.

"Of course." The short response came back quickly, a clipped tone trying very hard to mask any unease.

"And do we know yet who has the temerity to be dealing in my sector without my permission?"

"We've traced it down to some trader doing the pickup, we don't yet know who he's working for, or if he's just another link."

The owner of the smooth voice considered his subordinate for a moment, looking him up and down with calculating black eyes to the point the man shifted on his feet, feeling he'd been weighed to the ounce. He was useful, especially for a Caldari. A bland face, utterly normal, and completely unexceptional. He blended into any crowd. Able to get certain places, ask certain questions no respectable Amarrian could without drawing questions of their own. He didn't balk when the orders got a little uncomfortable either.

"Where is this trader now?"

"Still here, at the pickup. His industrial is having some engine trouble it seems, they're making repairs now."

"And the goods have already been transferred over." The voice was just as smooth, yet now held an edge of intensity.

"As best we can say, yes."

Leaning back in his deep leather chair, and putting his feet up on the desk, the man considered again.

"I would like a word with this trader. Bring him to me."

"At once." A brief nod acknowledge the order, and the Caldari left the office swiftly. A soft chuckle filled the air. It was doubtful this trader would know anything but with a bit of luck his suspicions as to the true mastermind behind the shipment will be confirmed, and if this trader got caught in the crossfire it was of little note.

~

The marketplace was as busy as it had been for the last week, and Targh was well familiar with it by now. In just a few minutes he had acquired the parts required to make a convincing display of repairs, and arranged for them to be delivered to Mart. A few more minutes and he had a mid-range warp stabilizer, a 10mhz afterburner and enough nanofibre membrane to replace his hull plating with the significantly lighter material. Not as strong, but the extra speed would be more than worth it. No amount of armour would make any difference if it came down to running from CONCORDE. If they got a lock on their guns would cut through anything he could buy. But they couldn't lock on to something they couldn't keep up with.

The buzz of his comm unit interrupted his shopping. It was the 'Boss', causing an instant wince from Targh as he realised.

"Aah, Mr D'yer. I can't help wondering why it is you haven't yet departed with the cargo? I'm sure you're aware that I don't get paid until you complete the delivery, and I'm not a man who likes to be kept waiting for his kredits."

If the man had been on edge at the end of their last conversation, he was all confidence again now.

"I'm surprised you hadn't noticed yourself actually, being just the other side of the docking port. The Bestower's exhaust manifold has backed up, and blown out. A dumb thing to overlook, but I've had a lot on my mind this last week. We're fixing it up now and expect to be on our way shortly."

Targh heard muttering on the other end, but could make out nothing from it.

"How unfortunate. Perhaps I can offer some assistance with repairs?"

"No, no need, we have it well in hand. Thanks for the offer. I'll contact you should we be in any need. Targh out."

He had babbled that last sentence, he knew it. But done was done. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Targh left the crowded marketplace and headed for a quiet corridor to contact Mart and update him.

"Yeah?"

"Hey Mart, it's me. How goes repairs?"

"We be good to go whenever, but I can continuing making convincing banging noises for about another hour at most."

"Another hour... good. My ship will be fitted shortly, I have a plan should we be forced to make a gate run. But for now I will use the time we have to try and boost our odds, or find an alternative."

"You going to talk to J'iony?"

"Yes, he owes me a favour or two. If he'll arrange us an escort, just a couple of other ships, we stand a much better chance."

"So you plan to complete the deal?"

Targh sighed. "As I see it, it's the only way we get out of this with anything. It stands to reason we've been setup to make this delivery, so whoever wanted those mining lasers, actually wants what we now have. We don't deliver, we don't get the Isk to pay for the 'lasers' which means we lose our collateral. I can't start from nothing again, Mart. It's too much."

Mart sighed too. "Ack, you be right. Do you know where to find J'iony?"

"Yeah, rumour had him up on deck 3, playin... eugh oomph"

"Targh! Targh?"

Hmmm... something's happened to Targh! So this DP will come from Mart, what is he going to do?

Happy Playing :)
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Crunchyfrog



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Posts: 3998

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 3:27 am    Post subject:  

Haha, Knew you could do it!

So, Targh's been aprehended, but Mart doesn't know that. Hmm, not sure how Mart would react, though. He's loyal, he realises that they have no choice but to continue with the delivery.

He only has an hour or so before he starts looking like he's overstaying his welcome. He can't leave before then either because that will blow the illusion of the repair job and cast suspicion. I'm not sure whether Targh has managed to arrange for the boosters and nanofibre membrane to be sent, so I don't know what chances Mart would have against CONCORD if he did fly.

But who's J'iony? I checked the earlier chapters and there's no mention of him/her, although it is obviously someone Mart wants to find - although I'm not sure why.

He seems an unflappable type, not one to panic, so based on what little I know about him I'd say that he would continue to look for J'iony, and just keep trying to re-establish contact with Targh periodically until he eventually realises something is up.

Couple of grammatical hiccups but I'm sure you'll find them on a second read. Good chapter! :tu:
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Smee



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 3:34 am    Post subject:  

Just to clarify, the afterburner/nanofibre stuff is for Targh's ship - there's nothing that could make Mart's tub go fast, it's a big heavy cargo ship.

Targh mentioned in the chapter that he has a plan for how to make the gate run - and it would involve himself acting as a decoy in his faster ship, to draw the gate officers away, whilst Mart wallowed through unmolested. Mart doesn't know that yet, but could probably work something similar out.

And no - J'iony hasn't been mentioned before. Just someone Targh knows on the station who owes him a favour.
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DeadManWalking



Joined: 24 May 2006
Posts: 1005

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:41 am    Post subject:  

Pretty cool Smee!

I think Mart's priority is to figure out what happened to Targh. Because Mart would know that he has no chance without some kind of decoy or diversion, since his ship is pretty slow. Thus, he would of course need Targh or some other pilot who can drive in the tank thing. Which i seem to remember Mart not being able to do. And as i believe it also said that the pilots in the tanks are better than manual steering. (The reason i say Believe and Seem is not because I'm trying to sound pompous, but rather simply the fact that i don't trust my vague recollections). Also, he'd want to know Targh's plan (although, as you said, he could probably come up with one on his own) as well as wanting to rescue his friend.
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The Meaning Of Fear



Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 980
Location: In a deep, dark corner of the universe, plotting.

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 8:03 pm    Post subject:  

Pods, Deady, pods, although it would be awesome if you could float around space inside a tank. :lol:

I'll F5 Deady on this one. Targh's safety is Mart's priority at the moment, and not just bcause Targh is the main character ;) .
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Smee



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 5:27 am    Post subject:  

Couple more days for comments folks, then we'll head to the poll.
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Smee



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 4:50 am    Post subject:  

Poll's up - not the most exciting poll perhaps, but it's up. ;)

I'll give you until about Tuesday ish to vote, then we'll get going on the next chapter.

Happy Playing :)
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Reiso



Joined: 27 Oct 2004
Posts: 917
Location: Western North America

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 8:29 am    Post subject:  

Ack, missed the discussion phase.

Ok, were I Targh, and Mart didn't come after me, he would have a lot of explaining to do. That's how friends roll. Unless there's way in which seeking out J'iony could mean faster, better help for Targh (which Mart seems unlikely to be able to know), then I want to say that is what Mart will do.
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scissorkitty



Joined: 04 Mar 2008
Posts: 789
Location: Escaping the Hair Lair

Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:08 am    Post subject:  

Woops! Tied you back up there, Smee!

I think Mart would understand Targh's need to get the shipment fulfilled, and he'd also understand that this J'iony person might be of some help. He'd be filled with fear for Targh, but would carry on- he seems like a pretty steadfast sort of guy. Who's to say that he doesn't have some tricks up his own sleeves? He's been a little one-dimensional so far, so I'm hoping the next chapter is actually written from Mart's main perspective. I suspect there's more to our little prospector than meets the eye, Aye?
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Smee



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:13 am    Post subject:  

The next chapter will mainly be from Mart's PoV. Lets hope he isn't quite so 1D by the end of it. :P
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scissorkitty



Joined: 04 Mar 2008
Posts: 789
Location: Escaping the Hair Lair

Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:14 am    Post subject:  

YAY!


And.. i didn't mean the 1D thing in a bad way. I meant to imply that I find him a very interesting character, and want to know more about him. Bring him up from the background and make him a major player, is all.
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Smee



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 1:11 pm    Post subject:  

Ok we're tied... I'll see if we can't try and do a bit of both.

Poll closed

:)
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TruePurple



Joined: 18 Sep 2008
Posts: 256

Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 4:20 pm    Post subject:  

Very nice so far. I am not just saying that.(not that I ever) I especially like the decision point of chapter 3. Where you decide what a character is going to do, not what is going to happen. And it isn't arbitrary decisions either (like which road to take at a fork, when you don't know much about either path) Definitely going to be my vote for best DP unless I find better (am reading as many sci-fi stories I can to help with the IF'n awards)

Quote: It was doubtful this trader would know anything but with a bit of luck his suspicions as to the true mastermind behind the shipment will be confirmed, and if this trader got caught in the crossfire it was of little note.

Not quit completely satisfactory. At the very least you need a comma break after "know anything", maybe even a sentence break. I assume the suspicions are of the mysterious person. But the way it is worded, it could be the traders suspicion. The wording of this whole quoted bit is such that it requires too much effort to sort out the meaning.
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DeadManWalking



Joined: 24 May 2006
Posts: 1005

Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 4:24 pm    Post subject:  

If you really like the DP's you should nominate it in the IFy's, TP!

(Sorry Smee, but i just thought that needed to be said.)
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Smee



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:28 am    Post subject:  

Haha, no problem Deady.

Thanks TP, nice to have a new reader and especially one who enjoys the story. I've always been a vocal supporter for the 'what the character does' DP's rather than 'what happens next' kind. I'm not a fan of the latter at all.

You comment is a valid one too, I'll get that looked at when I have chance.

I have about 500 words of the next chapter languishing 15 miles away at home, and thus being completely useless as I sit here at work with some amount of free time. But Chapter 5 isn't too far a way folks.

Happy Playing :)
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