Outsider

[Laowai]

The Xibanya Nuren's engines throbbed deeply as she cruised slowly towards the Planet Crete. She had completed a patrol from Omicron Delta to Omega 5 and aside from a few minor brushes with some Hessians and Bounty Hunters, including a hapless Bounty Hunter gunship, she had little to report. The crew were winding down and finalising their pre-landing shut downs, and looking forward to getting paid.

Though that pay, with no major combat, and thus, no major plunder, would not be as high as they had hoped.

Ben Laowai sat reclined in the captains chair in the middle of the bridge. The trip had been a taxing one for him in another way. It had been his first voyage with his Nephew, Donny Ren on board, and regretfully, the boy had survived. Aside from that, he had appeared to have flourished, several of the crew had reported that he appeared to have a strange affinity with the ships computers, and was also quite adept in Corsair weapons systems. Which was strange, considering he had never set foot on a Corsair cruiser before.

Just what else did his sister teach the boy? he wondered.

He was studying a data pad containing information from the engineer on fuel consumption. It was dry reading and he was reading the same sentence for what seemed like the 6th time when the crewman at communications broke his thoughts. "Captain" the young woman said, "we're being hailed".
Laowai sat up, only slightly, a hail was not much news. "Who is it?" he asked. The crewman looked down at a screen in front of her, her already green Corsair make up turning a strange fluorescent as the light of her screen hit it. "It's an unregistered ship, showing pirate ID" she called out. Laowai swiveled his chair around to face her. "Ship class?". The crewman looked down again, "She's a civilian sir, an Eagle by the look of it".

Laowai raised an eyebrow. A generic pirate, loyal to no one, drifting through space. Hardly worth his time, or bother. He was tempted to ignore the hail but protocol demanded otherwise. He sat back into his chair, slouching into its padded cushioning. "Put it through" he said in a monotone... Lets do this so i can get drunk he thought

"This is the Corsair Cruiser Xibanya Nuren, State your business here".

There was a pause, a faint static hiss echoed from the speakers in the ceiling above his chair, indicating an open channel. "I want to buy that mini razor you have in your hold" came the reply, the voice, metallic over the comm channel.

Nice to meet you too.. laowai thought again. "The Mini Razor is not for sale, it's being used"

Indeed it was, that weapon was being held to be mounted onto his titan, after the last one had been shot off in a skirmish in New Berlin. The pirate vessel spoke again. "I'm prepared to make an offer, i'll send it, check your screens". Laowai swiveled his chair around to face the crewman, Lucia Mendez, one of the newest recruits on board. Young, but talented with communication equipment. And like all the crew on his ship, from the poorest, nameless parts of Crete.

"Is he sending data?" he asked her. She nodded, still staring at her screen. "Yes captain it's coming up no..." she stopped suddenly and then said quickly "Oh my god!". She sat up straight. Laowai sat forward, his brow creasing "what? what did he say?"
Crewman Mendez looked at him, her mouth agape, "he, he sai.." Laowai stood up and walked across the bridge to the screen she was looking at stunned. "Let me look" he said, he brushed her aside and looked at the screen.


40,000,000.

He stood back startled, and looked at the crewman. He looked again. Yes, it was there, he'd read it right.

He stood back, his hands on his hips. "Pirate Vessel, please confirm amount, did you say FORTY million?"

The comm line crackled again, "yes, thats right, do we have a deal?"

Who was this fool??? Laowai thought, the weapon was only worth a few million. He was caught off gaurd and his face mirrored his young crewmembers'. Who pays 40,000,000 for a weapon available on the common market for a tenth of the cost?


"Pirate Vessel, yes we have a deal, prepare for transfer"

He turned back quickly to crewman Mendez. "set it up" he said quickly, "send him the transfer details, ready the cargo transfer pods"

She did has he asked, by now, there was a tangible air of energy on the bridge, the crew, on the edge of their seats. Below decks, unaware of the events unfolding above them, other crewmen were man handling the heavy Mini Razor into a cargo transfer pod, to be shot out at lighting speed to the waiting receiving lock of the pirate vessel.

"He's got it" Said crewman Mendez.

"And the money?" Laowai asked.

There was a pause, no one spoke. "It's in" Mendez said quietly, looking up at Laowai with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"open the in ship comm system" Laowai said to her quickly. Her hands, danced quickly across her control panel, "open" she said.

"My crew, My brothers, My Fellow Corsairs" Ben spoke out loud. "Tonight, you, and your families, dine at my pleasure, all may eat and drink their fill. And you.." he paused, looking around at the smiling faces of the young Corsairs around him. "You all just got a bonus"

A loud cheer went up around the bridge and echoed around the ship. Laowai, seating himself back down in his chair smiled one of his rare smiles. The life of a Corsair still never ceased to surprise him.

"Alberto" he said out to his jubilant Helmsman, "Alert Crete docking ring, we are coming in to land, they had better have stocked up on drinks"

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