Outsider

[Laowai]

The fire could be seen in the distance, a faint pinprick of orange light in a sea of darkness, visible from miles away.There were several smaller glowing shapes nearby that could be seen through the magnifying eyes of a pair of optical scanners. They were men, probably traders. This route through a sharp valley between the high Ferdinand mountains was sometimes used by caravans from Corsair Capital city to many of the smaller outlying settlements that were scattered around for miles. These caravans were made up of poorer Corsairs mostly, unable to afford trade ships and vessels, shipping non taxable goods or just small amounts not worth the H Fuel. So they did it the old fashioned way, horse, mule and manpower. Many of them had dreams of a greater future, hopes to take to the skies like the Corsair heroes of old. Many others, were just trying to eke out a living.

These men had no inkling that they were being watched. High up in the mountains, an old but steady hand held a pair of Order issue optical scanners and surveyed the men carefully. They carried few weapons, save a few antiquated low charge blasters used for fending off the odd scavenger that might come sniffing around. Seeing that there was no cause for caution, Laowai switched off the scanner and resolved to get himself some rest. He had two rolls of cured Sloucher hides that he had hoped to peddle off if he crossed a caravan such as this. He would head down to their camp at dawn.

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As the sun broke its first rays over the mountains he approached the camp quietly, not wanting to alarm the men within, He unslung his blaster and called out "Coooooeeeee!". He waited a moment, and from the within the camp he heard a hesitant voice holler back. "Err.. who goes there?" Laowai called out in response - "Trapper - i have hides for sale".

He waited a moment, scanning the scrub in front of him he knew the path to the camp was clear. These men were not cautious, and had posted no guards. A voice called out again from in front of him "Ok senor, you can come in, but come in slow, Si?"

"Si" Laowai called out in return. He slung his blaster rifle back over his shoulder but carefully unclasped his blaster pistol holster on his hip. This was hardly the most dangerous of situations a Corsair would face, but Sloucher hides were valuable, and poorer men had been known to kill for them before.
He walked slowly towards the camp and entered the clearing that he had thoroughly reconnoitered the night before. The traders were standing around the smoldering remains of last nights fire, 4 of them, standing, eying him carefully, behind them, a small boy lingered nervously by one of the tents holding a leash on which a small hunting dog sniffed excitedly.

It was up to him in this situation to prove he was who he said he was. So, visibly, so none could mistake his intent he unslung the two roles of hides from his side and they slipped down into the dust. "Sloucher hide" he said calmly, "pure, cured and ready".
One of the traders, a squat man standing in front of him, whom laowai had already pegged as the leader, nodded, and making a grunting sound, flicked off the power latch on his blaster, its power drooping with a quiet barely audible descending hum
"Have a seat Senor" The man said, gesturing to a log sitting by the remains of the fire. Laowai nodded and seated himself down. The trader turned to the boy behind him, "Eh, you, get the man some food".
The boy scurried off behind the tent.

The trader smiled "So, you hunt these yourself?". Laowai nodded. The boy returned with a metal plate of what looked like chicken and a few small tomatoes and vegetables, he handed it to Ben timidly who accepted it with a small smile. He turned again to the trader. "Yes i did".
The trader raised his eyebrows and nodded "Si, si, you don't say." He picked up some food from a plate sitting next to him and took a bite, chewing loudly he continued. "Sloucher, he is not an easy beast to find senor, and i did not know anyone to hunt them this far out" He spat out a small piece of bone as he spoke and said "how is it you have so many and are finding us all the way out here?"

"i like the solitude and quiet" Laowai replied, "and the sloucher is not that hard to find, if you know where to look"

The trader nodded, "fair enough senor, fair enough" He tossed aside the boney remains of the chicken leg he had been eating. " I will need to look at these hides before we talk price, Si?". Ben nodded, "Of course, Please" and he gestured to the hides lying on the ground between them. The trader stood up, groaning as he did so and picked up the rolls, nodding to Laowai he took them over to a portable wooden bench that had been set up near one of the side tents, unrolling them he and his companions began to look them over.

Ben sat quietly eating his meal. The boy was standing nearby, eying him nervously. Ben smiled at him. "Are you a Corsair?" the boy said. Ben smiled again, "Yes i am". The boy moved closer now, curious. "But you don't look like a Corsair" he said, "You look different".
"Looks can be deceiving my friend" he said with an amused chuckle. "Are you a Corsair?" The boys brow creased defiantly "I am! and i have my own Titan!"
Laowai chuckled again, "A Titan? well, then i am speaking to a brave Corsair pirate no less!"

The boy came over and sat beside him. He pointed to a scar on Ben's hand. "Whats that from"?

"Why that?" Ben said, holding his hand out flat. "that was from an Outcast, do you know who they are?"
The boy nodded. "I heard they don't like Corsairs, i heard that they want to kill us".
Ben nodded and leaned close to the boy, "Thats right, they do, but they won't, you know why?"
The boy shook his head and Ben pointed to the sky above them and said "Because all the other Brother and Sister Corsairs will fly their Titan's beside yours and won't let them!" The boy stared wide eyed.

Ben chuckled again, and looked up as he heard the trader walking back over to him. "Senor" the trader said "these are prime quality hides, I'm afraid i cannot pay you what they are worth". Laowai nodded, he had suspected as much. "Give me 10,000 for half, and I'll throw in two for free for the lad here." The trader raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Senor, two? for free?" Ben stood up, brushing the dust and crumbs from his pants. "Yes, for free, an investment if you will, towards the boys first flying lesson".



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As he climbed back up into the mountains he turned and watched as the Caravan, now packed and traveling again moving off into the distance down the valley trail. The hides had been worth far more than he had charged, but he knew they would be put to good use. He wondered if the boy would ever one day get to fly his own Titan, and if he did, would he do it with honour?
He smiled to himself and took a deep breath, ignoring the pain in his side that this action seemed to always bring. The view from up here was fairly spectacular - a small benefit of living on a barren sparsely populated world was definitely the views.

He turned back and began to make his way back up the mountain. His cabin was about 3 days hike away and he decided it was about time he made some calls.

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