Bora Bora - Printable Version +- Discovery Gaming Community (https://discoverygc.com/forums) +-- Forum: Role-Playing (https://discoverygc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=9) +--- Forum: Stories and Biographies (https://discoverygc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=56) +--- Thread: Bora Bora (/showthread.php?tid=9860)

Bora Bora - Tenacity - 06-27-2008 ((// Continued from this story: http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18620 //)) <One Week Later, Rochester Base, New York System> A week and no hits, no offers, nothing. She had this advanced peice of equipment and nobody wanted to buy it... piss poor luck. All the pirates refused it because they were afraid it'd turn around and shoot them for bounties. The lawfuls didnt want it because they were afraid they couldnt control it. Nobody wanted to spend money on a crippled psycho killer robot ship. Rikku slammed back another shot of de-greaser, or whatever the rochester bartender called it... whatever it was, it burned, bad, and it got you messed up quick. Rikku didnt drink often, drinking made people aggressive, but she was down on her luck with no ship, no money, and no offers for the peice of scrap Chris had helped her haul back from Maine. She stared longingly out the viewport at the stars beyond the scrap field. The nebulae wisping around the far corners of sirius coupled with ancient stars that had gone supernova aeons ago, but were still visible due to light-lag, as they called it here. As she turned back to take another shot, she saw a man in a very fancy blue suit approach her table, briefcase in-hand. He had grey hair, but it was cut short and bold... an intimidating look, one of professionalism - everything about his appearance and stance told her that this guy meant business and was serious about it. "Ms. ..." he paused a minute, holding up a datapad and reading it before proceeding, "Rikku? I presume." Rikku nodded and motioned for him to sit down. She held a shotglass out as an offer, he shook his head and waved his hand at it. "No thanks, I dont drink. Ms. Rikku, I'm here to offer you a proposition for that ship you've been trying to sell." She sat up with a snap, at full attention, "Really? I was starting to think nobody would buy that hunk'a'junk!" "Yes... we realize it is old, and not exactly controllable. That is not our concern. You see, I work for a company with a very large amount of money at it's disposal, and we're willing to offer you almost anything you want in exchange for that drone, whole and intact." She formed a puzzled look on her face, "Why? What makes it so valuable to you guys when nobody else wants it?" He set his briefcase on the table, and clasped his hands together as he looked her in the eyes, "The company I work for is called Orbital Spa and Cruise. We offer luxury trips to those who can afford it, but lately we've been forced to deal with more and more criminal and terrorist attacks on our luxury liners operating in deep space. Some of the engineers in the company believe that they can 'reverse engineer' the ship you found, and from it create our own drones with programming to defend our ships. This would be expensive at first, no doubt, but in the long run it saves us the hassle of trying to hire escort pilots that demand daily wages." She leaned back in her chair, "I see... so what can you offer me for it?" "What do you want? I have been authorized to give you almost anything you desire in exchange for that vessel. Within reason, of course." He said with a stern look. She thought for a moment, then looked back up at him; "I want a ship, a big ship.. a fancy ship, you folks got all sorts'a fancy ships right? I always wanted to go see the stars without the scrap fields being in the way, maybe make a little money while I'm at it, live my life in comfort like all them rich folk on manhattan y'know? Why's they gotta be the only ones with money, they dont even work for a livin! While we're all out here sweatin our bee-hinds off just tryin t'make enough scratch for dinner." The man smiled, "This is a fair deal, we have quite a few luxury yachts we could part with." He opened his briefcase and turned it around towards her, the computer screen inside showed a list of various ship models. "Pick one, and we'll get started on the paperwork Ms. Rikku." The list was extensive, and all the ships looked beautiful... she had trouble deciding. Most were a little too small for her tastes; she had been cramped up in a CSV for almost her entire life, she wanted something big... grand... majestic. And, well, if the ship was big enough she might even be able to make money taking those fancy folk out on day-trips, just like spa and cruise did! She cycled through each ship, looking at it's specs... how big it was, how many rooms it had, what engines it used... she paid close attention to the engines, she knew which ones wouldnt last a month and which ones were likely to last longer than she would. Finally she settled on one design - a modified series ST borderworlds transport. The interior had been completely made-over. Most of the cargo space was gone, replaced by the most luxurious rooms she had ever seen. There was a central dining area, and the "bridge" area was huge - large enough for passengers to admire space without being in the way of the pilot. She turned the briefcase back around towards the man, "that one! and one other thing..." "Yes, Ms. Rikku?" "Can it be sponsored by Spa and Cruise? I want to start up my own private sight-seeing thing, take folk up in the ship for a while and show them the stars, make a little money on the side, y'know?" "Absolutely, Spa and Cruise would love to have another independent vessel sporting our name." He turned the briefcase back around, this time the screen was full of 'paperwork' - titles and such to be altered, "If you'll fill this out, we can get you a transport out to the ship's current location on curacao and you can get to flying." Rikku giggled as she started filling out the forms... finally her dream was coming true. Bora Bora - Tenacity - 06-27-2008 <The next day, Planet Curacao, Cortez System> "there she is..." The dockworker said, as he pointed Rikku towards the ship she had selected the day before. It was beautiful... shiny and polished, sitting there on the dock platform just meters above the crystal clear waters of the planet. Rikku approached it and opened the entry ramp at the front of the ship. Walking inside, there was a straight hallway that ran clear to the back of the ship. Doors along the left and right of the hallway led to the private rooms for passengers; there were ten rooms here total, five on each side of the ship. At the back of the hallway was a door that entered the engine room... of course Rikku had to check that out. The door whooshed open, revealing a large cavern beyond, with three huge engine cylinders sticking out of the wall. "Wow... these are some serious movers..." she mumbled to herself, running her hand over the side of one engine. There was a control panel up against the starboard wall to maintain the engines. It was all fancy and high-tech, most of this was automated... not something Rikku was accustomed to. By the end of the week she'd probably have the engines torn apart and re-assembled better-than-new. A stairway back at the door to the engine room led up to the mid-deck, directly into the huge dining area. The room was dominated by a huge, elaborate gold-plated table with enough room for a dozen people to sit at once. The sheer size and luxury of the dining room was enough to take Rikku's breath away. A door at the forward section of the dining area lead to two master bedrooms for the ship's command crew. Of course, the second wasnt needed - the ship could be operated by a single person. Rikku peeked into one of the rooms and gasped... They were bigger than any single room she had seen on rochester and beaumont base, other than the pubs. At the back of the dining area was a spiraling stairwell that went up to the bridge. She climbed up and got her first look through the cockpit of the ship. The bridge was a single, large room with two seats at the forward section, both held in the crescent of the primary control board. The rear of the room was taken up by two small tables and chairs for observers. Rikku walked up to the pilot's seat and slid into it... it fit her perfectly. The chair was the most comfortable she had ever sat in before. She spun around to face the viewport and took ahold of the control stick. She had to hunt-and-peck for the buttons on the control panel that closed up the entry ramp and started the engines... it'd take a while to get used to the controls of the ship, but at least everything was labelled. The engines went from silent to a low hum, making the ship seem alive as it warmed up. Rikku held down the commlink button on the dash in front of her and spoke, "Curacao control, this is luxury yacht Bora Bora, requesting authorization for launch." Letting off the button she giggled to herself at the name. Her last name was Bora, and she had heard about an ancient earth vacation retreat that went by the name bora bora, it seemed to fit and she liked how the name rolled off the tongue. A moment later, a voice responded loud and clear through the comm speaker, "Affirmative Bora Bora, you have clearance to launch, proceed to sky-vector 3931 to avoid incoming traffic, the docking ring will guide you out." She smiled and pulled back on the double-handled control stick. The ship lifted effortlessly off the docking platform, straight up into the air as if the several-hundred-ton vessel weighed no more than a feather. She moved one hand to the speed control lever at her right and slowly moved it up, sending the ship gliding forward towards the stars. Bora Bora - Tenacity - 06-27-2008 <Curacao Orbit, Cortez System> As the Bora Bora slowly orbited the oceanic world below, Rikku spoke over the comm to a woman working for Orbital Spa and Cruise, her face showing up on the video screen attached to the comm panel. A video screen! None of the junker ships she had flown or been in were that fancy, except the Tenacity... but it was something Thorn had to add to the ship himself. "Alright Ms. Rikku, we've got all your paperwork sorted out and entered into our database. Transmitting new Identification sheet to you now, please ensure there are no errors. If you find anything wrong, respond on this frequency at any time in the future and we'll get it fixed. Orbital offices out." The transmission cut and her personal files loaded up on the vidscreen. ...Uploading personal identification files now. Please hold... Orbital Spa and Cruise, Sponsored independent employee #2391 - Rikku Bora Employee Photograph: Age: 19 standard Sirius years Gender: Female Eye Color: Green Hair Color: Blonde Height: 5'6" Genetic Profile: Kusari/Hispania Parents: Unknown Affiliation: Civilian, Orbital Spa and Cruise Criminal Record: None on file. Employment Record: Space construction work for Baltimore and Norfolk shipyards, Salvage work for Beaumont Base, Current Orbital Spa and Cruise sponsored self-employed luxury yacht owner. Vessel(s) Owned: Luxury Yacht Bora Bora, Registered to Orbital Spa and Cruise, ST Series converted transport vessel. End of Personal Identification File