Outsider

[Laowai]

The loud clang of metal on metal echoed throughout the hangar as one of the technicians hammered a hull panel into the cut had been prepared for it, the clanging paused for a moment and Ben Laowai peered across the seam; carefully noting its consistency. "Good" he said, "good, now level it out and then coat it with the rest of this area of the ship, I want this thing like new before it heads out."

The technician nodded and went back to his hammering, a little more gently this time, making sure this, the last of several layers of super alloy hull panels was precisely fit.

The gunboat Outsider was sitting high on the several hydraulic pylons looming out of the hangar floor, her outer hull, crawling with technicians and one concerned captain.

"Make sure the Solarises are properly aligned as well" he shouted to no one in particular. "The last few weeks they have been out and are hitting right of where the targeting system tells me they are."

A few days earlier, Laowai had taken her into Omega three and successfully hit several Brettonian bound convoys, several of the trains he had aimed to cripple and found out out to his chagrin that his systems were not what they said they were, the twin rapid firing Solaris turrets had shredded the outer cockpit armour of several ships and decimated their crews, leaving nothing but a mass of floating gore and spherical globules of blood. This would have been fine; had he been aiming at the cockpits, he had been however aiming behind them.

He had no qualms about killing when he needed to, but living civilian pilots are worth money; dead ones weren't.

The communicator that he wore on his belt chirped. He cursed; a drawback to a position of responsibility was that he noticed that recently that thing never stopped. He slipped it off his belt and spoke at it, "Laowai" he said abruptly.

It was his sister.

"Its done" she said simply, "they are ready and we are in position..."

"Hmmm ok he said thoughtfully, The money has been transferred, you know how to reach me if its not enough."

She grunted an affirmative and he added: "good luck".

"Thanks" she said "oh... and Ben"?

He moved away from the technicians a little; "Yes?"

"You owe me big time." she said and the call cut off.

An aide approached him from the makeshift cordon of cubicles he had set up beneath his mezzanine for the half a dozen helpers he had been forced to hire. "Elder" he said quickly, balancing a pen in his mouth and a sheave of papers in his arms "You just got a message in from the Venganza, the second round of engine tests are done and the cruise engines are running at peak - they want to start weapons trials, should they go ahead?"

Ben shook his head "No, Ill come on board and take care of that myself" he said, " if someone asses that up then it should be me who gets it."

The aide nodded and scurried back to his cubicle. Ben creased his brow with his hands; tired, he thought, worried for his sister, wanting a drink..

"Captain?" A voice behind him spoke. He turned and a young man in a Corsair pilots uniform stood waiting. It was Phillip Alberto, helmsman of the Outsider and the Xibanya Nuren. Laowai nodded to him; "Phillip I have a job for you."

He reached into his jacket and withdrew a crumpled sealed envelope and handed it to the younger man. "Those are your orders" he said.

Phillip glanced at the envelope but didn't open it, "Can I ask for a brief before I read these?" he said.
Laowai gestured to the Outsider: "Long story short, You're to take command of the Outsider and take her to Tau 44."
Alberto raised his brows in surprise "Me? Take command?.... I"

Ben cut him off, "dont worry Phillip, you have earned it, and Ive seen you take command when you have had to, you will do well."

Phillip nodded, looking a little hesitant, "Tau 44, that's Remnant and IMG space close to Alpha, what will I be doing there?"

Laowai smiled, "The details are in the envelope, but the mission I know you will enjoy." He handed him a command card for the ship which Phillip took without looking at it. "You'll be taking out Cardamine. Your orders are: destroy the cargo, and if those carrying it dont drop it, destroy them."

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