Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Categories
- 965 All Categories
- 17 Games
- 1 aw2-mapbp
- 365 Richland
- SDHSR
- 4 two-detroits
- 96 aw2e-dvfp
- 53 ISS Tsiolkovsky
- 82 Fury
- Urban Shadows
- 24 LadyB
- 11 AnR
- 4 Junk World 2.0
- 68 PnR
- 23 DRYH
- Jeffland
- The Few
- 11 Other
- 11 General
- 576 Complete
- 12 burning-empires
- 8 aota-jam
- 17 Uncharted Worlds
- Uncharted
- 23 nullptr-veil
- 9 ajax-motw
- 2 tqy-am
- 52 NOVA
- 11 Serene Apocalypse
- jenn-soti
- 63 SWAW
- 13 Blades
- 2 Fall Of Magic
- 12 Generations
- 25 LA Monsters
- tqy
- 32 nupocalypse
- 120 Snowpocalypse
- 136 Junkworld XIII
- 27 Big Maul
- 6 ESC
- 1 Murderous Ghosts
- 17 ANN_pilot
[SWAW] Pursuit (10)
Hoping to avoid obvious routes, Leeadra plotted a course along the Outer Rim. She actually hand-plotted it, not even wanting to use the navcom that Squall cooked up. You sat in the dead of space long enough for Jojee to sober up, then Jojee got back in the pilot's chair, a bit shaken by the sudden change in the crew but not saying anything. Lee took over down in the Engine Room, working with Seesk on the last touches on the back-up hyperdrive.
After a week, you come out of hyperspace at Eriadu, the trade planet that sits right at the nexus of the Hydian Way and the Rimma Trade Route. It's a populous world inhabited my primarily humans, one of the most prosperous places outside the Coreworlds. Lee's hoping it will be safe.
It isn't.
After coming out of hyperspace, Jojee called over the intercom, "Two bogeys following us in. Lee, they were sitting and waiting."
Leeadra asks, "Ladro, can you head up to the bridge and help Jojee while I work back here? Can you send Hosk to the turret?"
That's when the autocannons of the pursuing ships start firing, sending the ship rocking. You are still functional, but things are definitely bumpy.
What do you do?
After a week, you come out of hyperspace at Eriadu, the trade planet that sits right at the nexus of the Hydian Way and the Rimma Trade Route. It's a populous world inhabited my primarily humans, one of the most prosperous places outside the Coreworlds. Lee's hoping it will be safe.
It isn't.
After coming out of hyperspace, Jojee called over the intercom, "Two bogeys following us in. Lee, they were sitting and waiting."
Leeadra asks, "Ladro, can you head up to the bridge and help Jojee while I work back here? Can you send Hosk to the turret?"
That's when the autocannons of the pursuing ships start firing, sending the ship rocking. You are still functional, but things are definitely bumpy.
What do you do?
Comments
I do what I'm told. I call Hosk to the turret over the comm while I run to the bridge to take the copilot's chair. "What do you need, Jojee?"
"They're coming at us as hard as they can. See that gas giant right there?" Jojee gestures with her head, both hands on the controls moving with fluid motion. "Eriadu Defense Force protects from that planet in. It's a race, and these guys are packing some serious ordinance. Throw up my shields aft, and see if you can get the EDF on the horn, sweet talk them to stretch their boundaries since we're obviously under attack." Jojee's talking fast, but there's this undeniable joy on her face. She is absolutely loving this moment, Ladro.
Over the comms, you hear Lee, "Jojee, I'm rerouting non-essentials to primary engines. This waste is too karking heavy to give you more..."
"Just give me what you can, Lee!"
You feel the deck humming under your feet as you reach your seat.
I throw up the shields, full aft, then get on the horn. "Eriadu Defense Force, this is cargo hauler Serendipitous Libation, in approach, coming out of hyperspace. We are being pursued and fired on by two unknowns. Mayday, mayday."
The ship shudders from a couple of blaster shots. The shields barely held.
I open the channel to accept the incoming audio.
"EDF, we've got a hold full of toxic waste, en route to an approved disposal site on one of Devaron's moons. We need your help. Repeat, we need your help."
(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 6, 4. Total: 12)
From behind the gas giant, you see two medium-class frigates with very large ion cannons, come into view. Jojee starts hooting excitedly while still flying like she's on fire (she nearly is)
The pursuing ships break off without a word and head for the jump point.
"Lee! Ladro pulled it off! They're breaking away! How's the engines?"
Lee responds with a bunch of background noise, you hear alarm klaxons and beepers, "The shields did a good job, but we're limping along. Got some repairs. We'll need to check her out when we land. Just get us to port."
I guess we score one for toxic waste. I blow out a breath, relieved. Wondering, now, if that was hangover from Squall's kark-up or some new and glorious mess.
On the comm, "Score one for the good guys?"
Is this worth it? Look at the losses. Squall, on zir own, will probably wind up selling zirself for spice, if not dead. Five of Jabba's thugs killed, and who knows if there were people that depended on them for food and shelter? For karking spice. Which is the root of Squall's problems.
Just to Jojee, "I'm sorry. I could have just turned Hontu down, but... I thought I should give Lee and the crew a choice. The payout..."
Jojee still looks a little wild-eyed for a moment, but answers, "She could have said no. You just offered her more creds than she'd ever seen. I tried to talk her out of it." There's a moment, where she's thinking about saying something else. Instead, she huffs a sigh, looks over at you, "Ladro, you're a buzzkill. Did you see my flying?!?" She swats at your arm playfully, blowing off whatever it was before.
Sithspit, I needed that call back to the present. "Jojee, your flying was epic. I bet you could've done that with your eyes closed."
"Heh, I kinda did for a bit there." She gives a tight grin. "Never been in a chase like that. I mean, Secundus was wild, but that was hairy! You ever been in a battle like that?"
"Not in a ship, Jojee. Planetside, yeah, I've had a few scrapes that were that close, and there wasn't any Defense Force to save the day."
"Ladro," Jojee says after a brief conversation with the EDF Command and Control to gain a flightpath for landing. "You think there's any way Lee will back off on Squall?"
I sigh. "Jojee, I know you have some sort of mission from her uncle, but Leeadra shouldn't back off on Squall. I've tried and tried, and she... ze keeps tying zirself in knots and winding up karking us up the wrong hole."
I hate it, what I'm saying, but sometimes, you have to cut the cord.
We cut to the Libation, on a landing platform. The platform itself is moving, sliding down into a large multi-ship bay. The platform is a gigantic hoverlifter that rises up to the open space at the top of the bay, just long enough for the next ship to land. Once the ship is secure, the entire device slips down and deposits the landing pad on top of a permanent holding structure.
Imagine a jukebox where landing pads are the records, sort of
The Libation is docked in Bay 420. Lee's already given everyone permission to disembark. She's staying behind to keep an eye on Squall and check out the damage to the ship.
"You heading out?" Jojee asks. "I'm going to get some food and bring it back, help Lee out."
"I'll go with you, grab some food and head right back. No more intoxicants until we get rid of our cargo, at least for me." As much as I might like some alcohol, we're in crisis mode until that happens. I made the mistake of thinking otherwise, once already.
"Ladro, got a minute?" Lee asks. I assume you head back to chat with her. She looks up at you, a bit of grease on her cheek. "Listen, I could use an extra hand here. I know Eriadu has an Engineering School, so there has to be some mechanics looking for work. Can you snoop around for me? I'm stuck here for a bit until I'm sure my ship's alright. I can give you a data crystal with some details of employment if you find someone good."
"Jojee's your First Mate. Why aren't you asking her?"
She answers with a sharp question, "She's a kriffing drunk?" She pauses, looking away for a second, then shakes her head, wiping at a mess of her unwashed hair to get it out of her eyes, "I don't trust her like I trust you.... I know, who would've guessed?"
I'm watching the Libation fall apart in front of me. Not the ship. The crew, the clan. "Well, that's... unexpected." I reach out to accept the crystal. "I'll find you some candidates." I think for a moment, then, "Lee, as soon as we get rid of this druk, you need to take some time. Maybe on Kiffu. You should take a while and look at what's going on with the Libation. Make some decisions about where you go from here."
I'm not saying it, but the seed is planted, somehow, in my mind. I'm not sure that I'll be leaving Kiffu with the Libation. I hope that Hosk will stick with me, and that I don't burn any bridges, but I'm just not sure anymore.
Lee looks at you for a long moment before she answers, "With this payday, maybe I can afford to take some time. Kiffu sounds nice." She looks at you for a moment, really looks. Then, something happens, maybe Jojee moves a bit, and she looks away.
"Good luck. And thanks." She heads for the lounge.
I follow Jojee out into the world. Whichever world it is. Leeadra revels in every new landfall, even when she doesn't feel she can leave the ship to enjoy it. Jojee loves the challenge of piloting her craft past obstacles and enemies to reach that landfall. What is it that I treasure, in this life? I have to wonder. What joy have I felt, that actually had anything to do with the 'job'?
"Hey, Jojee. Wait up." I glance at the data crystal in my hand. "I hear the street market by the Engineering School is amazing."
As she's eating some kind of sweetmeat on a stick, walking with you among the stalls, Jojee says, "This whole business we're in. I don't really want to do it. Not at all, Ladro." Do you think she remembers her confession to you, Ladro?
I think she does. She may not remember the specifics, but she remembers saying something that might have given away her true feelings.
I pick up some produce. Something green, and a few bright red fruits that look ripe and sweet. After I pay the vendor, I turn back to Jojee. "It's a terrible way to make a living. What business do you want to be in, Jojee?"
"Ladro, you never listen to me." Jojee chides with a grin as she offers you a bite of her food. "I want to race starships. Own my own someday. But in the meantime, I've liked working with you."
"Race?" I totally didn't understand that it was just speed Jojee was looking for.
"I thought you were looking for fast courier business, or to be a blockade runner like Ahj... like the Millennium Falcon..."
She holds out the meat for a moment longer, shrugs and takes a bite herself, "Well, a courier business is a logical thing. What I want is to race. Carrying poodoo is just an excuse, you know? Blockade running is... interesting. I'd like the challenge, I think."
She swallows her bite, then turns it back on you, "What about you? What's your dream job?"
"Really? My dream job is drinking klava and watching holovids. But... seriously? I have no karking idea. I'm making it up as I go along, Jo."
Jojee rolls her eyes, "You're a mess, Ladro." She stops at a stall with some jewelry, tries on some rings and shows them off. White gold, they look nice, but she puts them away. "Tell me about you and Ahji Dar? And don't play coy, I see the stars in your eyes whenever you say her name.... or when you drink klava." She grins and takes the last bite of her treat.
I puff out a breath. "Do you remember that old story? The Captain that chased a cloud whale through the atmosphere of a gas giant? And how it was never clear if the Captain caught the whale, or if the whale caught the Captain? That's sort of... us. Two times, and both seemed like random chance. Words were said, but I don't know what they mean to her." I do, actually, or at least I think I do, but some things are best kept in the heart and not in the mouth, as my mother would say.
You're standing by a lift waiting for your turn as you tell her what your mother said. Jojee grins this girlish little grin, her eyes dancing happily. "I think you're really adorable. When you're in love, Ladro." She chuckles, elbows you once as the lift doors open and she steps on.
As you're headed up to the next level of the market, in an empty lift, she asks, "You ever thought about moving on? From the Libation, I mean?"
Have I? More than once, but it's not so simple, is it?
"Often. History, entanglements. Even the cost of renting the shuttle. In flat credits-per-week, Hosk and I could do better, if we stepped up our game..."
After a pause, and a bite of fruit, it occurs to me to ask, "How about you? I mean, I know your long-term goal, but I also know it chafes, playing second-fiddle to Lee. Do you ever think you've done enough to protect Chaddith's favorite niece and his spice-addled charity project?"
She closes her eyes for a moment when you talk about "second fiddle". "I used to love working on the Libation, Ladro. It was a really great place, a family. Now..." She shakes her head slightly "no". "Lee will never give me the Libation. She can't afford to. If I stay, I'm stuck I cal pull all the hours I want, but at the end of the day, there's no way I can afford a real ship working as a pilot for a tramp freighter. I thought I could stomach big paydays with the kind of business we're doing now. But it's not for me. Seeing what spice did to Squall, then hauling so much of it to new customers... it's a bad way. You know?"
The lift doors open.
As we step out, I think about what Jojee's saying. "I'm regretting not just turning Hontu down flat, myself. I think this is my one and only excursion into this particular business. Have you ever thought about going corporate? Less freedom, but more predictability, and the money seems to be good..."
Jojee makes a face. "Thought about it. I have a checkered past, mostly because of poodoo my cousin Pem dragged me into. Plus, I like a little danger." She heads for a pastry shop, but looks over at you with that little secret grin of hers, "What do you like about Ahji Dar?"
Why not? "The contradictions. I mean, all women are a collection of paradoxes, but Ahji Dar... she is fierce as a wildcat and gentle as a kitten. Independent, but willing, even anxious, to be claimed. She travels with only droids for company, but never seems lonely...." I taper off, lost in thought for a moment.
The grin softens and she looks at you fondly for a moment, enjoying your description. "I need to apologize to how I acted a few months ago. I knew you and Lee were tight, and it really bothered me. You know, she still loves you, right? If she'd hated you, she'd never let you stay aboard."
"You've got nothing to apologize for, Jojee. I was being a sleemo, even if Lee wasn't exactly guilt-free in the matter... I think she and I have found our level, now, though. And I'm glad we're friends, Jojee, you and me."
"I'll miss working with you, Ladro. Maybe as much as I like flying the Libation."
"The galaxy is smaller than it seems. Whatever happens, you've got an ally, and I hope I do, too." I catch a directional sign for the Engineering School and touch her shoulder. "Hey, Lee asked me to look around for... well, for an engineer to replace Squall. If you want to come with me, that would be great."
A little background on Eriadu and the Engineering School:
- There is a placement program for promising young engineers; the students come with letters of recommendation, have trade experience from working with local shops, but are on the high end of the scale
- There is a job board for post-graduate and out-of-work engineers; a mixed bag, but they're all looking for work, ready to move and in a job market that isn't that favorable for their line of work
- Jojee can reach out to Pem, who "always knows a guy"
What do you do?
I'll leave Pem as a last resort. First stop, the job board. I'll take a look through the advertisements, looking for recent graduates whose notices have good spelling and grammar, then narrowing it down from there to the most promising two or three, if there are that many.
* Lestru Dystra - recent graduate, excellent grades, full ride scholarship, letters of recommendation from teachers as well as small tooling factory where Lestru worked as an intern. No picture included
* Rana Mas Lesob - Currently working in a local gambling hall, recent graduate, middle-aged Duros male
* Nuvei Nado - female Ithorian, recently quit her post at a major shipping company, has one cycle left on her sojourn before she returns to the herdship
"Want to interview these three?"
"Sounds good. The Ithorian only has a year left, but Lee's going to need someone soon, even if they're not in for the long haul. Let's take them in that order? Dystra, Lesob, Nado?"
Lestru Dystra shows up fifteen minutes late for the agree meeting over dinner. He shakes your hand, then hesitates before shaking Jojee's. More like he's unsure of the protocol.
"I'm interested in a position on a medium class freighter. What is it that you guys haul?"
Wow, leading off with a question for us? And fifteen minutes late? "Before we talk about us, let's talk about you... are you usually late for your commitments?"
He sits down, straight posture, doesn't flinch at your question, "No." He looks at you, then Jojee.
Not defensive, which is good. "I'm Ladro, and this is Jojee. Why don't we order dinner and talk a little about your training and experience. We'll cover the Libation over dessert."
Over dinner, I ask about his studies and training at school, and particularly about his work interning at the tooling shop. Leading questions about coworkers and such, trying to gauge his personality and... style, I guess?
He's pretty short, to the point. It's a little off-putting, like the guy isn't socially aware. He doesn't brag about his work, but he gives details. He knows what he's doing. But his style is pretty direct.
Jojee doesn't seem to like him, but she makes noises of approval when he walks through the fine points of the hyperdrive Lee and Squall just rebuilt.
Over dessert, Jojee and I tell Lestru about some of the more interesting hauls we've taken on recently. The weapons shipment to Raxus Secundus, and the pursuit. The water, and Seesk's amazing engineering job.
Finally. "We're looking for someone who can start pretty much immediately. Our current engineer will be dropped at Devaron, but ze's confined to quarters until then, for an infraction that needn't concern you." I look at Jojee, inviting her to jump in before I wrap things up.
More trying to get a sense of character and reliability, how he'll act when the chips are down.
(Rolled: 2d6+1. Rolls: 2, 6. Total: 9)
That said, he'll never miss a day of work, and he doesn't get discouraged easily.
I thank Lestru for his time, and indicate that we're done. "We'll be in touch, either way." After he walks away, I turn to Jojee. "He's no charmer, but maybe that's a good thing. What do you think? And who should we talk to next?"
"I'd hate to be stuck working with that guy and Seesk." Jojee remarks. "I'd claw my eyes out from boredom." She finished her drink, gets up to get refills for the both of you. "Why not Nuvei Nado? I'm curious why she quit, if nothing else."
I nod and arrange the meeting. While we're waiting, "It seems like you've made up your mind to leave, Jojee. What do you think you'll do? I hope you stay with me... us, until Devaron, at least. I'd love to show you Kiffu, too."
Jojee raises a glass, "How can I say no to that?" She takes a drink, a big gulp, swallows it down. "I'll stick around for the rest of this haul as long as we don't have too much more trouble. And Kiffu sounds like a pretty great place." She fires off a toast to your homeworld, and takes another swig.
"Greetings, gentlebeings." she says in a slightly accented Basic. "Are you Ladro and Jojee? I am Nuvei Nado." She stands at the table waiting for an invitation.
She's wearing a simple silky blue frock with a thin belt. She doesn't seem like an engineer. Her movements are slow but precise, her eyes are very expressive. She seems gentle.
Yeah, such a great place that I took off as soon as I could. But, I'm going back. What does that say? I'll let Jojee finish this drink, but then suggest that we've got two more candidates to interview, and maybe she should slow it down. I'll get firm if I need to be.
When the Ithorian arrives, I stand. "Nuvei Nado, I'm Ladro and this is Jojee. Please, sit. Thanks for joining us."
She moves to sit, "Many thanks. I am blessed to meet you both." She inclines her head in an Ithorian greeting and sits calmly, those large eyes watching each of you.
Jojee starts asking her some basic questions. Nuvei reiterates her idents calmly, not pointing out you already should know this.
I'll let Jojee re-cover the ground for a bit before interrupting. "So, Nuvei, why did you leave your last position?" I "absentmindedly" grab Jojee's glass and take a tiny sip, then set it down on the side away from her.
She explains, "My last employer was asking me to make changes in my designs that I didn't agree with. I lodged several complaints and was told to continue with the changes as directed, so I tendered my resignation, effective immediately."
Jojee reaches for her glass, brings it back in front of her, but doesn't drink it. It's a possessive move, taking the glass.
I let Jojee bring the glass back, despite the fact that I could've stopped her. "Do you have any experience on a working ship, Nuvei? The Libation gets herself into some scrapes, and she needs an engineer that can handle the pressure."
A soft hoom-hroom chuckle sounds from her, "It has been some cycles. But on the herdship, before my sojourn, I apprenticed with the wheel." She gestures softly, hands in the air as she talks. There is something like a smile on her face, "The wheel is the herdship grouping of engineers. It was a very enjoyable experience. It is joyous to travel among the stars."
Leeadra would like that sentiment. And it's true, it is joyous to travel among the stars. "So... let's deal with a practical question." I describe the Libation and then the situation we were in during the first run to Raxus Secundus. "You need to provide the thrust to escape from pursuit. How do you do it?"
After a moment of contemplation, "I assume that all wise courses of avoiding this threat have been discussed, so I will not offer them up. After re-routing non-critical systems to the repulsor engines, I would utilize a programming array to deploy shields in the correct arcs to improve survivability. Also, if this counts, I would have the turrget gun's computerized aiming assist calibrated. That particular model is a little twitchy."
It's a solid answer. Conservative, to be sure, but it shows an understanding that not all situations are optimal, text-book cases. "I don't know if it's rude to ask, Nuvei, but have you enjoyed your sojourn? What will you bring back to the herdship that you didn't have when you left?" I'm not talking about trinkets, of course.
Nuvei makes a rumbling in her throat like she's considering the answer. She looks at you, answering with some emotion, "Perspective."
'Perspecitve' is an interesting answer, especially from one whose eyes are set so far apart. "That makes sense. Are you looking forward to the end of your sojourn? Do you feel you've achieved the perspective you wanted?"
"I look forward to the choice. I anticipate the moment when I am no longer on a sojourn, but either a traveler returning home or a leaf that has left the tree, never to return. I do not know which I shall be when I come to the sojourn's end. And it is very exciting."
I look at Jojee, see if she's sharing my reaction. That answer is an unexpected moment, a window into a world that is unfamiliar to me, and I have to wonder... am I merely a falling leaf that is drawn past the trunk of its tree in this moment by a stray gust, or am I returning in some significant sense?
There is a moment where I can't help but show the question in my face, which has nothing to do with Nuvei, but everything to do with what Nuvei just said. "Jojee, do you have anything else?"
Looking at Jojee, "No? Nuvei, anything else you'd like to say? The Libation is a tramp, living on the edges. Are you comfortable with that?"
Another soft hoom-hroom sounds, "I could use some edge, Ladro." She winks at you. She rattles off a few questions that gently needle at the level of upgrades and patchwork holding the Libation together. You and Jojee are able to tag team your way through them, but it's pretty obvious she's able to pick up the areas where the ship is probably lacking. She doesn't have a judgmental tone, but she's analyzing.
Oh, Jojee's nearly done with her drink when it feels like the interview has come to a natural conclusion.
As the waiter approaches, I hand him my cred chip, forestalling Jojee ordering another drink, if I can. "Nuvei, you're the front-runner, as far as I'm concerned, at the moment. We've got one more candidate to interview, but I'll be in contact soon. Are you ready to move out on the Libation... tomorrow?"
She shifts a bit, eyes blinking with a hint of excitement. "I am ready, Ladro." She stands, shakes your hand and Jojee's, then bids her goodbyes.
I assume you set a meeting with Rana? The same night? Anything happen in between?
I do set a meeting with Rana, but if Jojee's in drinking mode, she won't be in attendance. I'll do my best to send her back to the Libation.
"Hey, Ladro, I'm not going back to the ship. I'm fine." She's finished her glass, only her second, she seems relatively ok.
Fine. I know I was overreacting, thinking about Lee's "junkies and drunks" comment, and I let it go. "Sorry, Jo. Let's talk to Rana."
Rana Mas comes walking in quickly, scans the restaurant and finds the two of you. He crosses the floor directly, stopping to grab a half-empty glass off of a recently vacated table that needs to be cleared. He grabs a seat beside Jojee, "Hoi chummer. I'm Rana Mas. Glad to make your acquaintance. I hear you need a ship's engineer. I'm your guy."
Jojee chuckles lightly, "You're not the only candidate. Let's chat, first, alright?"
"I understand you just graduated recently. Mid-life career change? What did you do before getting your engineering training?"
Rana Mas clips out, "You name it, I did it. Ran numbers for a bookie local when I was barely old enough to run. Paid my way through my first degree, in cooking, as an escort. Worked as a chef for about five years, the place went out of business. Joined SecOps to pay for my second degree, business management. Worked in an office as a sarariman for... six years, the company got into some trouble on some shady accounting practices and I was laid off there. Tried hunting bounties, didn't like trekking to the middle of nowhere to shoot scummy beings. Worked as a bodyguard, hated my spoiled clients, moved on. But the credits were good and I'd bought myself a nice little speeder. Turns out it was a lemon, so I got some manuals and fixed it myself. Found out I really liked the work, so I took a loaner and a job at the gambling hall down the street to pay my way through. Now, I'm looking for a good job on a ship, see the galaxy, fix hyperdrives, find somewhere new to live eventually. Maybe meet a nice girl on the way. You know, the brochure stuff."
He stops when the server comes by, showing her his glass, "Heya sweetie, think you could refill me here?" She looks at him quizzically, takes the glass and heads off to refill. Jojee is about to bust out laughing at this Duros. He seriously talks a mile a minute.
This Duros is a force of nature. I think it's time to repeat the "practical question" I threw to Nuvei. I describe the Libation and then the situation we were in during the first run to Raxus Secundus. "You need to provide the thrust to escape from pursuit. How do you do it?"
Rana Mas answers, "If it's just speed, then I'd re-route all systems save life support and overclock the repulsor engines. They're built to handle 25% overload, so you can really squeeze out more speed. I figure the base systems on a model like that will give you a good twenty percent or so. Now, I'm going to adjust your question and assume I've been your engineer for at least a week before we get caught with our pants at our ankles like this. That means I've hooked us up with my family's fuels, which are not only efficient, they have a binary polymer that I can trigger with a secondary additive. It'll burn out some of the gaskets and hoses with extended use, but you talk about suping up an engine, I'm your guy." He pauses to take the fresh glass from your server, takes a quick swig, then continues, "See, I've got some second cousins who let me work at their garage and my aforementioned family, they all up into fossil fuels and have a lock on a few dead worlds where they process the dung. Literally. It's good stuff, but they don't have an in on the market or the refinery scale to buy in, so they deal on the periphery, Outer Rim stuff. I've got a main line there, save us say fifteen percent." He takes a longer drink, signifying he's done.
That's... just wow. I'll run through some more questions, then throw it open to Jojee. "Jojee, anything you want to ask?"
"Yeah, I've got one," Jojee says, taking a sip off her recently refilled glass. "Within the space of a few minutes, you've told us that the only jobs you've held down for a few years were with companies that failed. That you've quit more things than anyone I've ever known. Also, at the first opportunity, you've tried to land your own family a sweet deal. This sounds pretty sketchy to me. Why should we trust you?"
Again, Rana Mas sucks his teeth. Then he takes a drink, enough to wet his lips, then answers, talking with his hands, "Yes, I've done lots of different things. I'm blessed and cursed with an overabundance of competence. I find that I'm pretty good at most everything I try, and well, since I'm not so bad at it, then I go ahead and do it. Some of them I like, most of them I hate. Restaurants fails. Businesses close. I gave each of them plenty of years to prove my reliability. The average tenure of an engineer on a tramp freighter is about forty months. As long as I live that long, I'm willing to sign a two year contract, and we can negotiate after that." His rapid fire speech slows a bit and some emotion leaks through, "As for a sweet deal, I won't lie. I'm of a mind to look for situations that benefit both sides. I wasn't lying about my family's fuel. You can test it, run the numbers. If that bothers you, then to be honest, Jojee, I hope you're not lining up hauls for the Libation. I doubt you are, though. You've got the look of a pilot. Which is fine by me, but I wouldn't step on your bridge and tell you how to fly. Get me?" He sighs, seeing Jojee's little look of warning, holds up a hand. "I'm looking for a place to hang my hat. I feel like I've lived half a lifetime searching for my thing, and guess what? I found it. I'm good at this. I won't settle, at least I don't want to settle if I can make the ship run better or smarter. That's... supposed to be my job, right?" He looks to each of you.
Hmm. "Any questions for us, Rana?" It strikes me, finally, that Jojee and I are both ready to jump the ship that we're recruiting for, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't show on my face.
For a few beats, Rana Mas looks at you, then Jojee. His eyes narrow a bit, then he asks, "What aren't you telling me about this job?"
Well, okay. "The engineer you'd be replacing is a spice addict that makes bad choices, and you'd be signing on with a hold full of toxic waste and questions that won't be answered. The Libation operates on short margins and occasionally has to take sketchy work to get by, but it's never boring."
Rana Mas finishes his drink, then leans back, "Well... I do love a challenge. Just let me know if you need anything else, and you know how to get hold of me." He rises from his seat, and he'll leave unless you ask him to stay for something. Jojee seems done.
I let him leave, with a thank you and a nod.
"So, Jojee, any of those three could do the job, I think. Who's right for Lee and the Libation?" I'll give Leeadra my own opinion in the end, but I want Jojee to have her chance to say her piece.
"Rana Mas." She answers pretty quickly, "Lestru might be a better engineer, but he'd never fit in. Nuvei is meant for better ships."
Actually, I think Rana's the right fit. Just enough sleemo in him to help while Lee and the Libation are running on the edge of legit (well, over the edge at the moment, but that doesn't invalidate the point), but ambitious enough to want better things. "Don't you think Lee will hate him? If she'd interviewed all three, who do you think she would pick?"
After a long drink from her freshly refilled glass, she answers, "Lestru." She answers pretty quickly, "She'd think he was cute, ignore his weirdness and convince herself he'd keep things neat and tidy. No offense, Ladro, Lee has poodoo taste in men."
I chuckle. "No offense taken. So, I'm going to suggest Rana Mas and handwave the other two. I think he's the best actual fit, and Lee kinda needs some friction to keep her honest. I'll talk to her myself, since she asked me to look into it, but I can trust you'll back me up if I need you?"
She nods, giving you a wink, "Of course, Ladro. We're partners, right?" She raises her glass for a toast.