"[font=Book Antiqua]Can I sit down?" The boy heard a woman behind him and turned around. A Middle-aged Lady was standing behind him. "um ... sure!" The boy said and waited for the woman to sit down in front of him. "Thank you." The woman said with a warm smile, but the boy was confused, "What for?" he asked, "Well, I'm Ralph's wife, I think that explains enough..." The woman said, "Ah... I see..." The boy said and nodded, The woman chuckled and said "That stupid man will get himself killed one of these days... Thank you for saving him. Everyone tells him those stupid Guns he is looking for do not exist, but he keeps looking and looking and looking...." The woman sighed and then looked at the boy and said, "Can I ask you something?" The boy didn't know what to say, "Depend on what it is..." he answered, "Well, I know its so much, but..." The woman said and then continued after a short pause, "...But, if you can look after Ralph for a while, and fly around with him to make sure he wont get himself killed, maybe even convince him that those Stupid guns don't exist..." The woman stopped and stared out of the Bar window without a single word. The boy didn't know what to say, he was just looking down at his hands and thinking, after a minute or so he looked up and noticed the woman is pressing her lips together, maybe trying not to cry. "Sure ma'am..." The boy said, The woman looked back at the boy and smiled, then shook her head and said, "Stupid me! I even forgot to introduce myself! I'm Suzanne, Don't call me 'ma'am' ..." She then took a deep breath and said, "And Thank you! I know it's really selfish of me, but I seriously don't want Ralph to get himself killed in a place like this... We don't even have enough cash to buy a better ship, and now that his ship is left in the nowhere, I don't even know what he's gonna do anymore, But keep an eye on him please, he is crazier than you think..." Suzanne said and stood up, then said, "Again, Thank you!" and walked to the Elevator without a word. The boy grabbed his glass again and started drinking, He was thinking to the endless blue of the cloud he had seen when he first jumped to Sigma-13, it was just hours ago, but already felt like months ago. He was thinking and drinking, unaware of his surroundings as his mind drifted back to his days in Freeport 9, as he suddenly heard some whispers from one of the tables.
Probably two men were talking, but what got his attention was name of his Ship, "That Roc seems to survive pretty well around here, I think we should ask the Guildmasters to buy us some of those." The first man said, "What do you mean? Wasn't that ship on of ours?" The second man replied, "Nah, That kid over there is the one flies that ship! He is a Freelancer or something." The boy took his Notepad out and pretended he is typing something in it, buy all he was doing, was to listen to the two men's conversation. He heard the second man chuckle and say, "You kiddin', right? How can that kid even know how to fly a Ship?" The First man answered, "I don't know, but he seems to be pretty good in it! He is the one that saved the Old Retard ya know!" "Old Retard? What do you mean?" The second man asked, then the first man chuckled and said, "You haven't been around long enough to know him, Saw that guy who was shouting all like crazy in the corridor? He is the one, his name is Ralph, but we call him Old Retard, cause he really is!" The first man laughed and started tapping his fingers on the table. "Oh, Him! So What is he doing around here? He is not one of ours, is he?" The second man asked. The first man chuckled again and said, "No, He is a Freelancer as well, but he haven't left Sigmas for the past Eight years! He is looking for... Codenames!" "And what the hell is that?" The second man asked, The first man lowered his voice and started to explain, and the boy had to listen more carefully to catch it all, "Well, I don't even know if they exist, I mean, It might just be a fairy tale and all, But some say Codenames are some type of Experimental Weapons that in the Eighty Years War, some of the Old Imperial Guard Ships used to have them mounted on their Ships, But that was only for the High Ranking Pilots, thats why they are so rare that some even don't believe they might exist. I mean, even if they -Do- exist, they are worth a Huge Price! And that Old Retard is not the first one who had heard about them, right? Even I know about it! So, he came here long ago, with his Wife and only Son, and came here to find those Codenames. I mean, come on! Eight Years and he doesn't want to admit they don't exist! His Son left him, His Wife nearly did the same twice, but returned again, cause knew he will get himself killed if no one watches after him, And she is right. Poor woman! Anyway, Time to get back to work, come on!" The boy heard them get up and move for the Elevator.
----Loading Log Entry #10----
"Codenames" "Experimental Weapons" "Old Imperial Guard"
"High Ranking Pilots" "Huge Price" "So rare" "The First one"
"Long ago" "His only Son" "Poor woman" "Get himself killed"
"Time to get back to work"
----End of Log Entry #10----
After they left, the boy looked down at the Notepad he was holding and realized he had typed in some random words of the conversation without knowing it, so he shook his head and put the Pad back in his bag, and went to the Elevator as well.
[font=Book Antiqua]The boy walked out of the elevator and stood there for a moment, thinking where to go. He decided going to Medicals to check on that strange man would be a good idea. So he looked around and noticed one of the engineers at the other end of the corridor and walked toward him, "Excuse me..." The boy said, "hmmph?" the engineer mumbled without looking up, "erm... What's the quickest way to Medicals?" the boy asked him, The man chuckled and shook his head, and said while still doing something to the wires on the floor, "You feelin' sick or somethin' kiddo?" The boy cleared his throat and said, "Eh, No... I... just want to check on a 'friend' of mine..." The engineer suddenly looked up and raised an eyebrow, "-You- are the one who saved that old retardo?" He said and grinned, the boy paused for a moment and then said "well... yea, as they say..." The man put his tools on the floor and stood up, he was much taller than he seemed to be when he was kneeling on floor, so the boy had to take a step backward so he wont need to look up much, The man put a hand on the boy's shoulder and leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "Just a friendly suggestion kid. If you're trying to help him, Don't!" The boy took another step backward and asked "Why?" The man stood straight again and said "Well... Just to let you know, he does some seriously retarded things. You try to help him, you'll sink into same crap he is in. Last guy who tried to help him lost his Ship and all he had, and had to start over again from scratch. But if you wanna get yourself killed, I'm not the one to stop you, Go ahead but good luck." and returned to his work without a word, the boy stood there for a few seconds. The engineer looked up again after a short moment and said, "Oh and... Medicals is in Fifth floor, corridor C-5.2." The boy nodded and returned to elevator. After the doors opened, he walked in the elevator and raised his hand to press 5th floor's button, but after a few seconds of holding his finger in front of the button, he lowered his hand and touched 'Close Doors' button instead, and the doors closed behind him right away. He just stood there for a minute, staring at the screen in front of him, displaying a video of the gas clouds outside the station. After a few more minutes, he sat on the floor and pulled his pad out of his bag and turned it on.
----Loading Log Entry #11----
That man -was- strange, but not as much as everyone says...
All these creepy stories everyone whisper to each other about him
makes a part of me push me back to my Ship to just leave this station
and don't come back every again... But, the other part of me wants to
help that man, and I don't know why...
There is Someth-
----End of Log Entry #11----
But as he was writing his note, the door opened and the same engineer was standing outside elevator and looking at the boy with a strange expression on his face. "You're still here kiddo? I thought you left for medicals ten minutes ago!" The man said and entered the elevator and touched the button marked as 5th floor and said, "And on a second thought, I thought it might be a good idea if I join you... cause ya know, that poor man might be a bit spooky, but is a nice dude after all... Its sad if we lose him like that." Then as the doors closed, the boy put the pad back into his bag and stood up, the man looked away and chuckled. "So, what are you gonna do anyways?" The man asked, the boy looked at the tall man and nearly whispered, "I don't really know...."
[font=Book Antiqua]As the doors opened, they both walked out of elevator, "This way." The man said and pointed at a door on their Left. They walked to the Medicals together. A nurse was sitting behind a desk on their left, the Engineer talked to her and whispered something, she nodded and walked to one of the beds without a word. "Mr. Steelman, There is someone here to see you." The boy heard Ralph yell "Ghaah, Another Doctor? Just tell 'em to knock off, I'm all Fine!" then muttered something. "No, It's two of your friends." Ralph pulled the curtain from front of his bed and then grinned, "Oh My Savior!" he said and waved at the boy, then looked and the Engineer and said "eh... And Hi mate." and lay on bed again. "How are you feeling?" The boy said and walked to his bed. Ralph laughed and said "Paah! Do I really look -That- old, kid?" The boy grinned, The Enginner cleared his throat and said, "Well, Time for me to go now. I still have some work to do." Ralph chuckled and said "Always on the run, eh? Alright, thanks for checking on me mate!"
After they were alone, The boy lowered his voice and said, "Well, Can you now tell me what exactly were you doing out there?" Ralph looked at the boy, then leaned forward and looked at the nurse sitting oh the other end of the room reading a book. He grabbed boy's arm and pulled him closer to his bed, then pulled the curtains, "There, Now we have a bit of privacy." He said and released the boy's arm. "Alright," he took a deep breath and said, "All the Station call me Crazy for this, You've probably already heard about it but I don't care. Alright, here's the story." He cleared his throat and continued, "During the Eighty Years War, some of the Imperial Guard Fighters used some Rare Experimental Weapons on their Ships. Some say the weapons are already destroyed, some say they are already stripped from their Ships and sold on Black Market. Also, Some say they don't even exist! But I don't care. Even if there is even One in a gazillion chance me gettin' my hands on One of those Weapons... Yea, I'll even risk my life for that!" The boy looked at Ralph and asked "What's so 'Special' about these guns?" Ralph grinned and said "They are worth millions of credits! You hear me? Millions!" The boy took a deep breath and said "I see... So, How are you going to get them now? Your ship is not... Well... 'Flyable', anymore you know." Ralph scratched his chin and said, "Yea I've been thinkin' about that too. I'm thinkin' about talkin' to one of the dudes around here to borrow their ship for a while." Then he chuckled and said "But first, I have to get out of this Hell!" and grinned. The boy chuckled and said "I'll be around for a while, so If you need help or anything, you can find me." then chuckled and said, "And I know you're not old or anything! But you need to rest a bit. So I'll be off for now." Ralph smiled and said "Alright lad, See ya around... And, Thanks for... you know!" then winked and put his head back on pillow and closed his eyes. The boy sighed and walked to the door, the nurse stood up and walked to him before he reached the door, and whispered "Whatever you do, make sure you wont end up on a bed next to him..." and walked back to her desk without another word. The boy looked at her for a second and then walked out of the door.
Once in Elevator, he thought "Where now?" But couldn't think of anywhere to go, so he decided to return to his ship. After the door closed, he turned and looked at the screen again, and after a short while, the doors opened again and he walked out of the elevator and moved back to his ship. He stood in front of his ship and looked at it for a while, then climbed to cockpit, smiling because he was flying a wonderful ship. He took the small Roc and his notepad out of his bag and turned the pad on.
----Loading Log Entry #12----
----End of Log Entry #12----
He couldn't think of anything to write, and was feeling so tired as well. So he just saved the blank entry and decided to sleep in his Ship. He looked at the small Roc next to his seat and whispered "Good Night!" then chuckled, realizing how stupid that was, so he shook his head and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep.
[font=Book Antiqua]He was walking in the Station corridors when he heard a familiar voice behind him, "Oh Look who's here! I thought you liked moving around instead of staying in one place?" The boy turned around and found Mark behind him, So, he chuckled and said "Hey! And I thought you had work to do in Ogashawa?" Mark chuckled and said, "Yea, but right now, I'm here to fix one of the Miners out there." The boy grinned and says, "Good to know!", Mark smiled and asked, "So, what keeps you here? I thought you'd be half way around the Sirius by now!" The boy chuckled and answered, "Well, I'm trying to help someone...!" Mark grinned and said, "Maybe you can help me then!", "uhh... Sure, why not!" The boy said. Mark pointed at a room next to them and said, "I have to move some tools to one of the shuttles, so I can take 'em to the Miner and fix the broken part, But seems no one cares to give me a hand, maybe you can?" then walked to the door before waiting for the boy's answer, so the boy followed him and in there Mark picked up a Heavy-looking bag and pointed his head at a toolbox next to him and said "Will you bring that for me?" "Sure." The boy answered and grabbed the toolbox and they walked to the airlocks together.
After they put all the things they needed in the Shuttle's cargo hold, Mark looked at the boy and said, "Hmm... Ever been inside a Gas Miner?" The boy raised an eyebrow and said, "erm... No?" Mark chuckled and tapped the Shuttle's Hull and said, "Hop in then! It'll be fun!" The boy grinned and followed Mark into the shuttle. After a few minutes, they were right next to an nonoperational Gas Miner and the pilot was placing the shuttle right next to the air-shaft. After the air-shaft was connected, Mark opened the Cargo bay and took the bag again and pointed at the toolbox again. So, they both picked up the tools and climbed to the Gas Miner. "You see, unlike normal Miners that are more of a 'Stationary Ships', Gas Miners are actually Stations! They don't move unless they need to be moved, So welcome to our little station!" Mark said as they got into the miner and laughed. Then they walked to a small elevator together and Mark tapped a key tagged as 'Level B-2', and after a few seconds, the door opened again and they walked out. "So," The boy said, but before he could continue, Mark pointed left and said "This way!" and the boy followed him without a word. After going around one of the machines, Mark put the bag down and said, "I'll be probably busy here for half an hour or so, Then I can come and show you around. Why don't you keep yourself happy meanwhile?" And looked at the boy with a wide grin. The boy chuckled and put the toolbox down, and said, "Alright, tell me if you need any help." Mark mumbled "Mhmm" and went to work as the boy walked back to elevator to return to top floor. On their way in, he had noticed a small hall in the end of the corridor, probably the only place the workers could rest on a Miner like this. After he was out of the elevator again, he walked toward the hall, and he was right. Nothing too fancy, but a place to rest for sure. An old-looking sofa and a few chairs around the room, a table in the center and a coffee machine in the corner, he also noticed a small window showing the endless blue outside. As he sat down on one of the chairs, facing the window, he reached for his bag and took his notepad out, adding a new entry.
----Loading Log Entry #13----
Yea, I probably should have been halfway across Sirius by now, but who knew?!
Eh, Maybe I should be done with it faster and leave... No matter how nice people
around here are, I don't want to become yet another Miner myself!
Well, Not unless I've seen rest of the Sirius!
Maybe afetr taht erfsafvc
----End of Log Entry #13----
He suddenly jumped to his feet as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Mark was standing next to him and laughing. He rubbed his forehead and told him after a long yawn, "What?!" Mark started laughing harder and said, "-I- am the one who was working on that damn machine for Four Hours straight, and -You- are the one who falls asleep on a chair? Oh thanks for your sympathy!" The boy was a bit confused, "Wait, What?" He said just before he realized he had fallen asleep on the chair for four hours, so he chuckled and shook his head, then reached down to pick his notepad up from the floor, when he noticed the last line which made him chuckle, he had probably bashed his finger over the screen as he was falling asleep which turned into those meaningless words. So he saved the Entry and put it in his bag and turned back to Mark, "Ok, What now?" Mark grinned and waved his hand toward the Elevator and said, "This way! I wanna show you this place as I promised!"
"[font=Book Antiqua]Alright, So..." Mark said as they left the elevator and entered Level B-1, then pointed at a computer on their left and said, "This way!" The boy followed silently and waited for Mark to continue, "So, This little thing is what controls this whole Place." Mark said while patting the monitor gently and chuckling, then added, "But you can never trust a Computer, can you? Thats why we have some crew around each Gas Miner as well." then started typing something and said, "The Machine you saw earlier, The one I was fixing, is more of an 'Engine'... You know, The Generator that keeps this whole place running!" And then as he tapped Enter, and turned back to the boy, three of the machines around the room started working with a loud roar, which nearly made the boy jump. Mark chuckled as he saw the boy's reaction and said, "Don't worry, these things are just getting a bit old! That's all!" then put a hand on boy's shoulder and walked to one of the machines, "See? This thing is the pomp. We take the gases in through the vents on different parts of the Miner, and pull them all in to 'Refine' them..." Then paused and continued after a short chuckle, "Or whatever you may call it!" and walked to another one of the machines as he said, "To bring it all here! This," he continued as he tapped the body of the machine he was standing next to, "Is the Compressor! We compress all the gas so it'll be easier to work with. If we didn't have this little piece of junk here, this single miner would've been larger than the Naha itself!" and pointed at the next machine and said, "So, That is the Boss! Without that, this whole Miner would've been built for nothing! There, is where we ditch the 'trash' and keep the gas that can be turned into clean H-Fuel! You might have also noticed the vents on the other parts of the Miner that throw this trash out!" Then grinned as he turned to the boy and said, "And from here, the rest happens underground! The other useless junk you saw in B-2. There is not much to see, and I'm kinda tired..." and said after he smelled the collar of his work suit, "And definitely need a shower! So We're gonna go... Up!" And walked toward the elevator while laughing. The boy stood there looking at the glass tube linking two of the machines, and noticed the light blue liquid running through it. "Hey! C'mon!" Mark yelled and waved toward the elevator, "I'll tell you the rest of the story on our way back!" So, they both walked back toward the shuttle when the boy realized Mark is not carrying anything, "You forgot your things!" He told Mark, but Mark chuckled and shook his head without saying a word.
Once back in the Shuttle, Mark started again as they sat down, "So, from there, The Gas goes to B-2, and as you can guess, it's generally the Machines doing all the job! They take the Gas, Refine it or whatever, and turn it into H-Fuel, Then! You can fly ships!" They both chuckled, and after a few silent minutes, the boy asked, "But you said there are a crew on each Miner, how come I didn't see anyone down there?" Mark grinned and answered, "Because the Damn thing was not working genius!" "Oh, yea, That!" The boy chuckled and scratched his head, then Mark said, "Well, yea. When we get to Naha, the other's gonna back to work with this same shuttle, So don't worry, you won't run out of Fuel!" And started laughing, the boy chuckled as well although he didn't find it funny, and after a few silent minutes, the shuttle finally docked with Naha and they got out. Mark turned to boy and said, "Alright, I'm gonna need a shower now, then catch ya at Bar!" The boy scratched his head and said "erm... Yea sure!" So Mark grinned and said as he was walking to the door, "Don't worry, The Drink is on me!" The boy grinned and said "Alright then!" and headed toward his ship, he was thinking about putting his bag in his ship and going to Bar, but just as he climbed back into his cockpit, he realized how tired he was, which was strange because he hadn't done anything that day, so he sat on his seat, thinking 'Ok, I'll take a short nap then catch up with Mark at the Bar.' and closed his eyes.
[font=Book Antiqua]He woke up as he heard a knock on his cockpit window. After rubbing his eyes and trying to figure how long had he been asleep, he noticed Mark on a ladder outside the window, sticking a piece of paper to his cockpit. The handwriting on the paper was messy, so the boy had to lean forward to read it. 'Yo Boy! You owe me a Drink!' was written on the paper, which made the boy laugh. So he climbed out of his Ship and waved at Mark and said, "Yea, I'm awake now. Wanna go to bar?" Mark laughed and slid down the ladder, saying "Do you always drink 6 A.M in the morning?!" "Wait, What?!" The boy said and checked his watch, and realized Mark was not joking. "Yea LazyArse! I'm the one doing all the hard work and You're the one falling asleep like a bear!" The boy grinned and said, "Alright, Later today then?" Mark shook his head and answered, "No, Not really. I'm heading back to Ogashawa now, But sure, if we meet again, We'll have a drink together." And then said as he punched the boy lightly on the chest, "But then, The Drink would be on you!" Then laughed and said "Alright, Gotta run now. See ya later!" And said as he ran toward a Griffin parked on the other side of the hangar, "Yea, See you!" The boy said and climbed back into his Ship.
"Hmm... What to do now?" The boy asked himself as he reached behind his seat to take his bag. After checking to make sure he has everything he might need, he got out of his ship again and walked to the elevator. After standing there for a few seconds, he decided to go to medicals to visit Ralph, so he entered the elevator and tapped the 5th Floor button. As the doors opened, he heard a familiar voice shouting, and after he walked out of elevator he recognized it's Ralph's. 'Look! There is nothing Wrong with me! We both know you want to keep me here so I can't get out there!' He was shouting, as the boy walked toward the medicals, he saw Ralph and one of the doctors standing at the door and arguing. "Hey Boy! Good that you're here, we need to talk!" Ralph said as soon as he saw the boy, "Hey! You feelin' better?" the boy asked him. "Yea, but these Doctors won't let me leave" and started shouting again, "Cause they think if they keep me here they can do me any good!" Then the doctor put a hand on Ralph's shoulder and said in a calm voice, "Mr. Steelman, Stress is not good for you in this condition, and although..." but Ralph cuts him and says "Oh, Stress is not good?! I say what's good for me and what's Not!" But the doctor raised a finger and said, "Let me continue... So, as I was saying, It's not good for your current condition, and we were trying to keep you in a peaceful atmosphere which seems we had failed, and staying here is causing you more stress than if you try to fly back into space again. So, I will let you go, but you have to promise you wont do anything stupid again. Alright?" Ralph sighed and shook his head and said, "Yea, whatever!" and then walked toward the boy and put a hand on boy's shoulder, nearly pushing him to the elevator, "Alright, Let's go to the Bar."
After the elevator door opened and they walked into the bar, Ralph put a hand on the boy's shoulder and walked to one of the tables in the corner or the room. After they sat down, Ralph leaned forward and said, "Lad, I need your help!", "Hmm... And what is it?" The boy asked. "Remember the ship I wanted to borrow?" The boy nodded and waited for Ralph to continue, so he said, "Well, turned out the dude needs the ship himself... Or maybe that's just an excuse he made up to say an easy 'No' to me. But anyways," So he lowered his voice even more and continued, "Well, I will need your ship! I mean... That's my best bet, and your ship is strong enough to survive all these blasted gas packs around the place!" Then leaned back, cleared his throat and said, "So, What you think?". The boy scratched his head and thought for a moment, then looked at Ralph and said "Alright, But you're not going alone!", "eh, What you mean?" Ralph asked with a confused expression, the boy chuckled and said "I'll Pilot, Simple as that!" Ralph paused for a few seconds and then said, "Well, Alright! After all you know how to fly that thing better than I! So, what about we do it tomorrow morning?", "Yea, Sure!" The boy answered and then said as he stood up, "So I'll go to check my ship to see if it's ready for tomorrow's trip!", "Sure, Sure. Thanks lad!" Ralph said as the boy walked to the elevator again.
----Loading Log Entry #14----
Well, I can give him Co-Pilot controls, but if things go out of hand
or I see he can't handle it, I can just start the AI again to get us
out of there... But I kinda Hope that I won't even need that.
I just wonder what he'll do if he doesn't find what he wants,
But as far as it's about me, I'm doing it just this once.
----End of Log Entry #14----
The boy looked at the short entry he had added to his notepad and then put the pad beside him without turning it off. Everything was in order and they've decided to leave early tomorrow, so he had decided to go to sleep early. But he's been in his ship for two hours and couldn't fall sleep, but knowing he has to sleep so he won't be sleepy tomorrow, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, trying to fall sleep.
[font=Book Antiqua]Next morning, the boy got out of his ship after checking his Ship Console and setting up the Manual Co-Pilot controls, but he raised an eyebrow when he say a Startracker parked on the other end of the room. 'How can one possibly even think he can survive in such place in a Startracker?!' he thought to himself and chuckled as he shook his head, then reached up and tapped his ship's hull with a smirk on his face, thinking 'Well, I have a Roc, so who cares?!', "Your Baby is ready?" He heard and turned to find Ralph entering the room, with a heavy looking backpack on his shoulder. The boy nodded and said, "Yup!" then pointed at the bag and asked "What's in the bag?", Ralph chuckled and shook his head and said, "Snack!" then laughed and said with a shrug, "Wives, you know! And Suz pretty much likes you, so yeah, she filled the bag though I told her we won't really get a time ta eat!" The boy chuckled and said, "Who knows?!" and got on his ship with a grin. After putting the bag back in the Cargo hold, Ralph got on the ship and sat on the Co-Pilot seat, "Ready?" The boy asked, Ralph said with a nervous chuckle while looking at the console, "Eh, this thing looks complicated!" "Don't worry! I can just activate the AI again if it gets... 'too complicated' for you!" The boy smiled and answered.
"Freelancer vessel Euros, You're cleared to undock. Safe Journeys!", "Thanks!" The boy said as the Control gave them clearance to undock. So, after they were in Space and the Engines were up and running, the boy killed the engines and turned to Ralph, and asked "Ok, Where to now?" Ralph scratched his forehead and started tapping on the console and said, "Well, to be honest, I couldn't get too deep into that cloud in C4 in that Piece of Junk I was flying!" How he said 'Piece of Junk' as if he seriously hated his old ship made the boy laugh, so he turned back and sat straight on his seat and said, "Ok then, let's go!" and kicked the Engines back to life. "Yeh, you fly, I'll check the Scanners." Ralph said and leaned forward and started watching console carefully. "Mhmm... Good idea!" The boy said and activated cruise engines as he thought to himself 'Let's see how it goes.' After a boring travel, as they got off the patrol routes, they finally entered the Gas cloud, and even though the boy was trying to remind himself they are in an explosive gas cloud after all, the first few blasts and the ship shaking made him jump. "Eh, I think it's better if we kill cruise now..." He said and continued navigating carefully at impulse. "Keep your eyes on the Shields Status, activate Batts if they get too low." He told Ralph, but sounded more like he's talking to himself. After a few more minutes of flying around the cloud, Ralph finally shouted "There!" and pointed at the screen. The boy nodded and flied toward a wreck that scanners detected on distance, but after they flew a little closer, he suddenly noticed half a dozen more wrecks appearing on the scanners. "Hmm... No visuals ye-" He wanted to tell Ralph, but before he could finish, they got close enough to see an outline of a whole teared-apart Rheinland fleet floating around the empty space. "-woa!" he said and carefully flied closer to a massive wreck which seemed to be a part of a Cruiser or larger ship, "Is that a Rheinland Cruiser?!" The boy asks, Ralph chuckles and says "Was, actually! And yeah, them Miners did a damn good job, didn't they?" Then chuckled and marked one of the nearby wrecks on the scanner and said, "Yeah, let's start with that one!" The boy nodded and flied close to the wreck, so after they get close enough, he kills the engines and turns around to Ralph, who's sitting silently and scanning the wreck carefully. After a few seconds, he shakes his head and says "Nothing worth taking, next one." and marks another wreck on Console. After checking nearly every single wreck in the area, both of them were starting to think maybe the Gun they're looking for is already taken, or was never there in the first place, but when checking one of the last wrecks, Ralph suddenly shouts and says in an excited voice, "There!" and continues as he points at the screen, "Bet that one is what we're looking for!" So the boy leans forward to check scan records of the wreck, and notices a signature-less Gun mounted on one of the slots, so he flies the Ship closer and looks at Ralph, "What now?" the boy asks, but Ralph starts typing on the Console without a word as if the boy haven't said anything at all. After a few seconds, Ralph activates the Tractor Beams and says, "Now it's the tricky part!" "What exactly are you doing?" The boy asks and watches Ralph tinkering with Console without a word again. So, he turns around and watches the console again, movement of the Beam was like if Ralph is trying to cut a circle out of the Wreck hull, so the boy whispers, "You can't Cut a metal that strong with a Simple Tractor beam you know!" But Ralph mutters without even looking up, "I know, I know... But trying to pull the Gun itself out might ruin everything! I'm just trying to find a loose part on the Hull so we grab the whole slot and get someone to unmount it later." and continues tapping on the screen silently. After a few more minutes, he finally takes a deep breath "There!" and leans back as he points at the boy and says, "Activate the Beam, I think we got it!" So the boy nods and punches the screen and watches a large part of the Wreck hull, along with the Gun being sucked into the Cargo Hold. After the bay closes, Ralph laughs and says "Time to eat!" but noise of the gas cloud exploding nearby makes them both jump again, so Ralph laughs and says "Bad Idea! Back to base!" And the boy activates Cruise as he chuckles and shakes his head.
[font=Book Antiqua]After spending two more months on Naha and finding 3 more codenames with Ralph, it was finally time to leave. "Thanks lad, you helped even more than anyone would've ever thought!" Ralph said with his arm wrapped around his wife's shoulder. "No problem man, I did what I could!" The boy answered with a smile and waves once as he got on his Ship. After launching from Naha, he headed straight to the close by Lane and headed toward Honshu Jump Gate. 'Hmm... Now to see all that fancy 'House Space' everyone talks about!' he thought to himself as he activated the Jump drives and entered the Gate. Once on the other side, he marked the Trade Lane Ring on his scanner and flied toward it. It was funny how spending a few months in a System deep in Crow Nebula made him get used to flying 'blind' with using Scanners only. He got on the lane, shaking his head to the thought, and leaned back as his Ship sped up and moved toward where scanners indicated to be 'Akita Border Station'. "Woah...!" He whispered to himself as his ship got out of the nebula, seeing a whole bright system in front of him, after spending few months deep in dark nebulas and explosive clouds made him smile. So, he got on the next lane which led to Planet Honshu with the smile still on his lips.
"Understood, Stand by. Pattern is full. You will be cleared to proceed when it's free." A robotic voice said as the Auto-pilot positioned the ship behind a queue of Kishiro freighters landing on the planet. After all the three freighters and their escorts had docked, same voice said "Freelancer Alpha Seven, dash Twelve, your request to land is granted, proceed to land." as the ship entered the Docking ring. 'Hmm...' The boy whispered to himself and leaned back as the ship got closer to the ground on the Orbital Elevator. It was his first time on a planet, and even though he had heard many things about it before, but being actually there himself was interesting for him. After landing was complete, he turned the engines off and got out of the ship. The spaceport had a nice view at the close by city and the distant mountains. He was standing there for a few minutes and taking deep breaths, after all, natural air felt much softer than the recycled Oxygen they used on the stations, and although the difference was not much, but having the planet gravity pulling him down instead of the artificial gravity they used on Stations made him feel 'Real'! Looking around, he noticed the Spaceport Bar at the top floor of one of the buildings nearby, 'Yeah, I could use a drink!' he chuckled and walked to the elevator, and after waiting for a few seconds, the door opened and he walked in. The Elevator had full glass walls and the overview of the city turning smaller and smaller as the elevator was moving up made him chuckle. He had been much 'Higher' than this before, but being on a Planet was exciting. After the doors opened, he walked out of the elevator and followed the corridor entering the Bar. The room had a traditional Kusari design, with round tables spread around the room. "Konnichiwa young man," He heard the Bartender say, "Have a seat and I'll be with you in a minute" and waved his hand toward a group of empty tables. "Haven't seen you around before, You new here?" A young woman sitting at the next table asked the boy as he was putting his bag down, "Uhh... Yea?" The boy answered and sat down, "Well," the woman said "You seem to be a freelancer, right?" the boy nodded and waited for the woman to continue, "I work for the Kusari State Police, and might have a job for you if you're interested in earning a little credits and the Emperor-sama's trust?" but before the boy could answer, the Bartender walked to them and told the woman with a chuckle, "Oh, come on Yuki, trying to recruit more people into your boring every-day job? Give the young man a rest!", "Well Hito, we keep this place secure and clean, so mind your manners!" Yuki told the bartender with a smirk on her face and they both chuckled together, then she turned back to the boy and asked, "So?" The boy cleared his throat and said, "Well, no thank you... Nothing against your Emperor, but I'm not really looking to work for someone." then turned to the bartender and said without pausing "And only a glass of water please..." Bartender nodded and walked away and the woman got up after a few seconds and said, "Very well then, your choice. But stay out of trouble!" and walked away. After Yuki left the room, the boy reached down for hi bag and took his Notepad out of it, and created a new entry.
----Loading Log Entry #15----
I don't believe I haven't written a single entry since the last one!
It's been a few months, but yeah, I was just too busy to even think
about writing something down. At least now Ralph can go leave his
life and stay out of trouble... I hope those guns were worth enough
so he can live without needing to worry about money for rest of his
life... He said he's gonna take his wife and spend a few weeks in
Hawaii! The old man is starting to burn all his money even before
he got the cash from the dealer who bought the guns! But well,
It's his choice to live his life as he wants!
----End of Log Entry #15----
"Why don't you try our fine Sake sir?" The bartender said as he put the glass of water in front of the boy, "Well, I've heard it's a strong drink, and won't really want to fly right after drinking that, you know!" The boy said and chuckled as the Bartender shook his head and said "Well, Enjoy your glass of water then, but try Sake sometime, you won't regret it!" and walked away.
[font=Book Antiqua]The boy looked down from his cockpit window as the ship took off and the landscape of the port city got smaller and smaller second after second. After a few seconds, the ship came to a sudden stop and the boy heard the AI saying 'Entering queue', and noticed he had reached the Orbital Elevator already. After waiting a few seconds behind a group of freighters, he finally entered the lift and was pushed upward through the atmosphere. "Freelancer Alpha Seven, dash Twelve, This is Planet Honshu. Planetary Docking Clear. Good luck out there." After leaving planet orbit, he started the engines and moved toward the lane on his right, and sat back as the ship sped up through the lane. 'Hmm... Are lanes always this crowded or is it just for around here?' He thought to himself as he watched the ships on the opposite lane speeding past him. As soon as he got out of the lane he noticed the Shipyard the shipyard on his left, with 2 Kusari Gunships in the dry docks, he chuckled and said "I've seen better!" and tapped on the screen to load a 3D Render of Norfolk Shipyard with the Liberty Dreadnought in its dry dock, that he had downloaded from Net a few years ago. Then he checked his NavMap and told himself "Hmm... It's only a few Systems away... And with all these Lanes, I'll be able to get there fast enough!" and took the next lane heading to New Tokyo Jumpgate. As he was less than 25k away from the Gate, the Ship started shaking and was knocked off the Lane as the AI said 'Disrupted Lane Detected.' and as soon as the boy activated the Scanners he noticed 3 Hostile Ships in front of him. "Hold it there gaijin." Pilot of one of the ships said with strong kusarian accent, as he fired a Cruise Disruptor at the boy's Ship. "Uhh... Yes?" The boy said as he tried to take a quick look at scanner logs from the hostile Ships. The Ships had Blood Dragon transponder, while two of the three were Katana Class Fighters and the third a Nodachi class Bomber. 'This is gonna be easy!' The boy whispered to himself with a nervous smirk. "What is your business here?" The same Dragon asked, "Eh, nothing... just passing through?" The boy answered and pointed at the direction of New Tokyo Jumpgate. As the Dragon said "Well then gaijin... What about a small donation to our cause?" The boy whispered "Hmm... Pirates!" to himself, but seems it was a bit loud and the Dragons heard it too, which made their leader flip out and shout "We are no Pirates you dishonored Rat! Akiha, Kazuya, Take care of him!" The two other pilots both yelled "Hai Senei!" and charged toward the Boy's Ship. 'Crap!' the boy muttered and switched the AI Mode to Combat after activating the Weapons system. All he was doing for a few minutes was dodging their fire and trying to decide which ship to target. The Katana was small and agile, and would have been a hard target if the boy decided to try his luck with Snac, and other the other hand, the Bomber would have been more or less useless if the boy didn't give her a clean shot... So he decided to try his luck and activated targeting systems and locked it on the Katana. After doing an early turn and out-turning the Bomber, he killed engines and started turning to face the Katana as he drifted away, and then kicked engines back to life and started shooting at the Fighter shield with the EMPs. After a few minutes the boy noticed the Katana is also going on long Engine kills, which gave him a good chance to Snac it. So, after the shields were down and the Ship was out of Shield batteries, the boy charged the Snac and did an early turn as he passed the Katana, and as soon as the Ship was in his view again, he fired the Snac and watched the projectile hit the shieldless Katana and the explosion of the ship fading in the light from Antimatter's explosion.
"Hold." The first Dragon pilot they called 'Sensei' said in a calm voice as he raised one hand signaling the other ship to stop and activated the tractor beam with his other hand to pull in escape Pod from the other Ship. "You showed Honor and skills of a Warrior, nothing we had ever expected from a gaijin. We shall leave you now, but pray to whatever God you worship that we don't meet again." And activated cruise right away, and the boy sat there with a puzzled expression and looked at the scanners as the other ship activated cruise as well and both Hostiles disappeared from Scanner range. After he was sure they were away and not coming back or trying to play any tricks on him, he returned to the lane and got to the Gate. 'What the Hell...' he finally told himself, and activated jump drives without another word. After he was finally in New Tokyo, he simply flied to the Lane and flied toward where scanners stated is Shinagawa Station. His left hand was still shaking a bit from tension of the fight, and he knew he needs a short rest and a cold drink to calm down, so, he followed the Next lane toward the main planet in the System. After getting out of the Lane, he pulled over and stopped his engines. For some reason, he didn't felt like landing on the New Tokyo. Maybe it was because he was looking for a 'Less Crowded' place, to have a little privacy in. So he headed toward the Interspace Station orbiting the Planet and waited for Station Control to grant him access to Dock. He knew Interspace Bases are usually business places, so no one would've even noticed a freelancer sitting in a Corner of the Station Bar, and that was what he felt is best for him.
