Jack's Back in town

[Hawk]

http://discoverygc.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=115440

http://discoverygc.com/forums/showthread...738&page=4

Jack stepped once again into the executive lounge of the Metaphysical. Waiting for him were his friends, Elijah Tallwood and Stephen Cruz. He looked at Elijah, "You're off your ship. How will they ever get along without you?"

Elijah gave him a smart look, "They have a cloak. They also have a damn good first officer. I think they'll do fine. In fact, I could retire tomorrow and the ship would still serve you as well as it is now."

Jack answered quickly, "You're not retiring yet. If I'm still here and back to work, then you're here with me."

"I'm older than you Jack."

"Yes, but admit it, you love it out here."

"You are right about that. I will probably die in space rather than on some planet. Enough of that however, you know why I'm away from my beloved Ocracoke and now sitting here. How was your meeting with the new guy?"

"It was very enlightening. He is indeed an interesting character and will bring a great deal of new life to everything we are doing."

"Does he really wear a mask all the time?" Stephen asked.

"It appears he does. He exposes his mouth to take a drink, and I suppose to eat. Not at all what I expect from Junkers."

"How so?" Elijah asked him.

"The mask makes him high profile in a way. When I walked in, he was sitting at a table in the middle of the goram bar. Everyone was watching him. I couldn't tell if that was his intention or not, or if he really likes that. I suspect he does. The point is, everyone was watching him and taking note of what he was doing. I moved our meeting to our usual place, but I suspect the damage was done."

Elijah looked back at him, "There is something to what he's doing there."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"You know, he could walk back into that bar without the mask after you were gone, or even while you are sitting there and no one would know it was him. That's a lower profile than any of us have."

"Maybe, " Jack answered, "but what is he going to do with it. He can't conduct business without giving himself away. Everything he does as the leader of the JM is incredibly high profile. It's more attention than Junkers usually have."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Stephen told him.

"It is a bad thing Stephen. We aren't meant to be in the spotlight. That's why I feel the way I do about their pirating activities in the border worlds. Let's forget the fact that they sometimes rob our allies, people who bring cashflow to the Junker economy. Let's just look at what they are doing in general. They are quite open about pirating. How long before that comes back to bite us all? Sure, I've looted enough traders in my time. We all have. However, aside from a few odd Hogosha, and the rare unlucky Samura transport, no one who lined my pockets ever went away knowing that he had been robbed by a Junker. That's why I'm still here. That's why we're all still here."

Elijah leaned in a little closer, "The real question is this Jack. What are you going to do about it?"

"Not a damn thing."

"I don't hear you say that often."

"He's a Junker. We take care of our own. We will support what they are doing. If they cause harm to Junkers, they will answer for it, but we will not create a Junker civil war. Not under any circumstances will we be the cause of that. It won't come to that anyway. I understand him now. I see what he is. He thinks he knows more than he does and that's just fine. I thought I knew a lot more than I did when Tinkerbell first recruited me and even when he promoted me to deputy arbiter. This guy will get where he needs to be. If not, then he won't last long and it won't be any of our doing. He was pretty dishonest about one thing though. He claims not to have allies. You know as well I as do that he would not have survived to where he is now if that were true. Still, I can 't blame him for not wanting to give that up. Lije, do you think you can find out who he's dealing with?"

"Did you really just ask me that? Of course we can do that. Let me get back to my ship and we'll get it all set up."

"Glad to hear it. On another note, my meeting with Doc went well. He's got some interesting new projects. He's trying to relocate a lady doctor friend of his from Gran Canaria. They need a place to establish a new clinic."

"Let me guess, you already have a role in that."

"Not directly, but there will be plenty of work for Junkers. We need someone to help coordinate with this doctor and help her get what she needs. I'm guessing you're going to be a bit too tied up for something like that."

Elijah answered him. "Probably, but that sounds like something that is right up Mac's alley. You should give her a call."

"That's actually not a bad idea. I haven't talked to her in a while. Let's she what she's up to."

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