Outsider

[Laowai]

Vessel registration and administration (Tripoli sub branch) was a small office on deck 12 corridor 4b of Tripoli shipyard. A nondescript room, dissected by a counter in its center that had transparent super alloy windows (the super alloy was designed to handle blaster bolts, such is the known respect corsairs have for red tape), several chairs for waiting were scattered around the room, several (fake) shrubberies lined the walls. Behind the screen there sat that most rare of Corsairs; the Corsair bureaucrat.
In a people that often defined themselves by plunder, power, violence and honour, the Corsair bureaucrat was indeed a remarkable specimen. Like in any technological society with a government, they were essential to the daily running of the Corsair state; though should you ask any of them what they did for a living, they would never tell you the truth.
This led them to being a generally surly bunch, added to that, the universal constant of the mindless adherence to regulations that was the hallmark of bureaucrats everywhere.

Despite the blaster proof screens, Vessel registration and Administration (Tripoli sub branch) was usually a quiet, calm place.
Its calm was shattered by its door being kicked in violently and one of its hinges breaking free, causing the door to sway violently and then hang slightly out from the lintel.
Ben Laowai stormed in behind the stricken door and slammed his hand down on the bench top, only slightly startling the clerk who sat behind it who looked up with a blank expression.
“Is this where you people process ship registration??” he growled. The clerk, sensing a dispute, straightened the papers in front of him and said “Yes sir, it is, how may I help you?”
Laowai produced a crumpled slip of paper and banged it down on the counter top “THAT” he said, more heated this time “Is the latest Council Brief that was sent to me this morning from this office listing registered vessels”
The Clerks expression didn’t change; “Yes sir, we are required by council regulations to keep all Council Elders informed about changes to the registry, was there a problem with yours?”
“A problem?!!” his temper was now well and truly raised, and the calm, unflinching face of the desk jockey in front of him was making it worse “Yes there is a damned problem, my ships are ON it!” He pointed to the text on the sheet in front of him; the clerk however merely gave it a cursory glance and continued his blank, bored expression. “I never registered those ships! I made it perfectly clear to the council and to you bunch of paper pushers that I would never register my ships, so how the hell are my ships on the registry!!!”
“You must have registered them sir, there is no other way for them to be on the list”
Laowai banged the sheet down on the counter again; “I tell you I did NOT register those ships, it had to have been done here and you know damn well I have not set foot in this office before, I want you to tell me who put these ships on here! And I want them taken off this blasted piece of paper”
The clerk flicked a control on the screen and a form appeared. “We cannot remove your ships sir, under the Tripoli registration code section 26A we are unable to remove ships from the registry without the ships being decommissioned, unless we receive a unanimous council vote, or until the captain in question is deceased, and in that eventuality the ship still be on the registry until its recommissioning, or decommissioning is finalized”
The clerk then slid a piece of paper under the screen “This is a copy of the Council registry act of 816, you can see all the relevant information there, as to…who registered your ships, I would suggest perhaps it could have been a member of your staff?”

Growling Ben snatched the paper and tossed it aside; “I don’t need to read the act you weasel! I was there when it was voted on and I voted against it!”
He leaned into the screen, attempting to intimidate the Clerk who wasn’t in the least bit intimidated “NO member of my staff or crew would dare put my ships on this blasted thing out of fear of their lives, now WHO DID IT?!”

“I’m sorry sir, but you will need to calm down, if you are unable to do so I will be forced to call security”

Standing up with indignation Laowai continued to shout “SECURITY?? I am a Council Elder for Crete’s sake!”
The Clerk, now seeming extra smug, for surely he was enjoying the old Corsairs impotence, smiled slightly. This was his domain, and he didn’t care who walked through that door, in here, regulations were on his side, and no amount of shouting and screaming would change that.
“Yes sir, I do know who you are, unfortunately, we don’t keep records of who does the actual registration, and if you don’t know, that is unfortunate, again sir, im going to need to you calm down or we will have to call security, council regulations are clear that in…..”

“BAH!” Laowai growled, he turned and stormed out of the office.

“and a lovely day to you too…” the clerk muttered, rolling his eyes he went back to his filing.

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