More Junker Tales - "Back Again"

[Hawk]

In a dark corner of the Inverness system a Renzu liner appears from a gas cloud. In the upper most deck of the ship a man sits staring out into space. He sips from a crystal glass filled with rum, enjoying the comfort of his chair. His concentration is broken by the comm in his chamber beeping. He signals with a remote control and a voice is heard in the room. "Sir, the Metaphysical has come alongside. They have signaled us that they are ready to receive you."

"Excellent. I guess it's time to get this show on the road. Let Stephen know that I'll be aboard soon."

"Will do sir."

The man got up from his chair and downing the last bit of rum he set his glass on the table. He then stepped into his closet. He was dressed in very fine clothing, the finest he had ever worn in his life. "This stuff isn't me anyway, " he thought to himself as he began to remove his clothing and hang it up. From the back of the closet he began to remove older, more rugged clothing. It was mostly black. He put an old pair of boots on and a long black coat. He pressed his palm to the wall and a hidden compartment opened up. From it he removed a gunbelt and sidearm. It was a long time since he had worn anything like this. "Just like my early years." he thought to himself. As he was leaving the room he picked up a small bag and threw it over his shoulder.

As he approached the airlock that would take him off the ship he noticed a woman standing in the corridor waiting for him. "I guess you are really going through with this then?" she asked him.

"Have you ever known me to back down from something like this?"

"No, not really."

"It was nice of you to come see me off though."

"See you off hell, I'm coming with you."

"You sure you want to do that?"

"You don't think I'm going to sit around on this shiny nugget while you go out to have all the fun."

"I wouldn't call this fun. Flying as a renegade in foreign space with no support at all."

"Isn't that how we started way back when?"

"Yes, I believe it is. Ok, you can come. I'll probably have a need for your skills anyway, although you probably won't like it."
"So what else is new?" The two of them stepped into the airlock and left the comfort of the liner behind them. They emerged into the dark greasy chamber of an old pilgrim class liner. A uniformed Junker stepped up to greet them.

"Jack Crow and Mackenzie Mason, requesting permission to come aboard."

"Jack and Mac, " The Junker replied, "the old man is going to be so happy to see the two of you. He's in the executive lounge. I assume you still know how to get there."

"I'm sure we'll find it, "Jack replied as he and Mac walked down the corridor and found their way to an elevator.

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The doors opened and the two of them stepped into one of the few parts of the ship that looked more like the liner they just left than a pilgrim transport. This was the executive lounge directly above the ships bridge. Jack knew it well. He had designed it himself in the days when this was his personal flagship. As he stepped into the light he saw a familiar face stepping to greet him. The man stepped forward and hugged him. "Good to see you old friend. So this is what it takes to get you back here again."

"JT asked for my help. I'm not going to turn him down."

"Well you're definitely in it now. This is going to be a wild ride."

"Are we ready to get going?"

"We are. We just received word from our agents on Cali that Lije has jumped into Languedoc."

"No turning back now I guess."

"Nope, here's where the fun begins." He then turned to the woman with Jack and hugged her as well. "I was ready for one reunion, but I didn't expect Mac to be joining us as well."

Jack answered him, "Well, if we're going to be getting into the type of trouble we did when we were young, is there any better way to do it?"

"No I guess not."

Jack Crow, Mackenzie Mason (Mac), and Stephen Cruz were together again. Before they joined the Junker Congress they had flown as smugglers in an old junk heap that barely survived being in space. As they sat down together for the first time in years there was a very somber mood. They all realized that flying that old rusty deathtrap so many years ago was a lot safer then what they were about to do.

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