Renee Thorpe

[Backo]

Backup Plan

Barrier Gate Station's Storage Deck 14, Coronado
April 8 821 A.S.

"So?" Renee mumbled as they turned corner around yet another big crate stack. The man leading the way continued his usual pace without much care. He looked relatively young, perhaps a man in his late twenties. His attire was of a simple mechanic and the various black dots on his sleeves from various hydraulic fluids further pointed to the fact his profession might not be far from that. "So what?" his answer came delayed, like one of a person who's mind was occupied with other more important matters. Though that wasn't the case for Miguel, his "latency" was a characteristic he was well known about. That and flexible morals when it came to customers. "You said you found what I was looking for." Renee quickly continued with a tone of mild annoyance at his attitude towards things. She wasn't too keen on dealing with an Outcast, but he was the only dealer she knew on Barrier Gate that could get people whatever they need if the price was right. Miguel on the other hand didn't care much about who he dealt with, he was working independently on Barrier Gate for more than five years now, supplying cargo and hardware alike to anyone with the credits. The only thing that was left to give away his Maltese roots was the cardamine breather he always wore. "Aha. Don't know why you wanted it exactly manufactured there and not maybe one of the ships the Mactan bunch made while they still had access to Vespucci. Are you perhaps superstitious?" he grinned as he finished his sentence. Renee's response was a frown, followed by a bitter remark - "What I am isn't any of your business. I don't want any second grade hardware and I don't trust the design the Hackers used being the same!" The man let out a slight chuckle since he found her answer really amusing. "That's what I call superstition. And before you say anything in your defense, we're here so just check if this is what you wanted and save me the lecture you're about to dish out." he smirked as he turned one last corner, revealing the Sabre fighter in front of them that was nearly buried between the stacks of crates, which made it impossible to spot from outside the warehouse.

The ship looked in top condition. No battle scars or plates with mismatching color on it's hull. It was factory fresh, even missing essentials like the countermeasure flare and the shield system. Renee's eyes sailed along the ship's contours. She knew the Guardian she was currently flying wasn't going to last forever, especially with the incompatible engine it was using. The Junker who repaired the Guardian did a miracle, but even a miracle wasn't going to fix all the gaps that a Sabre's engine connected to a Guardian's power core created. That was exactly why this new Sabre had to be in top condition. "So this one's build on Malta, 819 AS?" she broke the silence of the quiet warehouse again. Miguel swiftly rotated his head in Renee's direction, snapping out of his daydreaming. "820AS, Mosta planetside ship factory. Close enough? Or are we going to get picky about the hour it was build on as well?" his voice was cheerful, the act was probably his sarcastic way of dealing with customers. He didn't care much if she turned the ship back - by the same time next week he could sell it to at least 5 other people. Though that wasn't in his interest - Renee didn't want to purchase a new ship to fly, she wanted to buy a backup plan, a ship she could always come here and pick up in case the current child of a naval wreck and junker genius finally kicked the bucket. And storing something this big on a popular base like Barrier Gate meant a lot of extra money for the rent. Renee ran her hand through the ship's metal surface, feeling the texture of the plates. Her doubt turned to certainty, as if feeling how the metal plates felt was enough to judge if the ship was the right one. She reached in her pocket pulling out a data storage device along with a card. "Looks good enough. The card should have enough money to cover your expenses up until now plus a month's worth of rent for the storage. Oh and one last thing - wipe whatever software the ship is currently using and install this backup." she finally let out a smile, she was pleased with the deal. Miguel grinned as he took the items off her hands and nod his head. He was equally pleased with the deal. Worst case scenario was that he had to babysit the ship for a month, best case scenario was that she'd die somewhere in space and never reclaim the ship she already paid in advance for. Though that was her risk, nor his.

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Republic of the Sword and Sun