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Year: 3790 AD

Location: The City Planet called Elsmersa II.

Time: 2:34 AM

Isien dashed around a corner turned and trained his pistol back where he had just come from. Two figures emerged and stood for a second as if to catch their breath.

“Where is that runt? I saw him come around this way.” The first man said.

“I don’t know check over...” Isien fired two rounds each striking its designated target. Isien ran over to the bodies and checked them for any signs of I.D. He was astonished to find two security force badges on the inside of their ribbed jackets. What! Security officers but I just watched them kill my father this can’t be happening. Why would the government want my father dead? Isien took the pair blasters, and the key to the speeder they came on, and headed back towards the parking complex adjacent to the apartment in which his family lived. If the government killed my father they will probably confiscate all of our possessions. I can’t let them have the ship. It's my only way off this planet and I don’t know if I have much of a choice except to flea. Isien made a stop by his apartment to gather the credits that his father always kept stored in the vault in the back of the apartment. Isien found the speeder without conflict straddled it, inserted the key, and headed for the public docks where his father’s intersystem transport was stored.

Arriving at his destination Isien confronted the lady at the front desk

“Ma'm...excuse me”

“O yes hello how may I help you?” The lady inquired

“I would like access to my ship” Isien replied

“Ahh yes, alright please enter your ID number into the key pad” she said gesturing towards a small panel with the standard 1 through 9 keys. Isien entered the number and waited....

“...ah wait there seems to be a problem. This ship has been land locked and access to it is limited to security personnel only...”

“Open the door now” Isien said as he drew his blaster from its holster.

“Yes...yes alright. Don’t fire please!” the lady said in a terrified voice.

 

“Hey........hey...wake up......Isien wake up, you’ve gotta get up........”

“What...ooo man my head hurts...ah”

“Nother dream?” Aryan asked

“Ya.......”

“Bout what?”

“The day my parents died.......”

“That the third time this week....you need to see a shrink when we get down to the surface. Speaking of which Kuni told me to come wake you up since we’re gunna need your voice print to let Joab know it’s us....”
“Ya hang on. I’ll be up to the cockpit in a minute...”Isien replied.

Aryan walked out of the room towards the hold of the Ithilien. Isien dragged him self out of bed and pulled a shirt over his head.....it’d been four months since they left Telleos for Darian Prime with a load of chem. products for a company called Interchem Galactic. Isien stumbled forward into the main corridor that ran from the engine room forward through the common lounge and up to the cockpit.

“Hey sleepy head, finally decided to join the land of the living?” Kiyan poked.

“No....I’d still be asleep if it weren’t for our sorry excuse for a mechanic” Isien said sarcastically

“Right......ok, I won’t say anything about your piloting skills captain...” laughed Aryan.

“Ok ok...you win. You’re a better mechanic than we could hope to find on any planet.” Isien replied.

Kuni poked her head around the corner and said “Hey captain, I could use your help up here. The security guy wants the voice sig. before he gives us the docking code or the flight plan so I can’t go any further until we do this thing....”

“Ok let’s go” Isien followed Kuni up to the cockpit and gave the designated voice print. The GFRS or the Galactic Federal Republic Senate had passed a bill near to 200 years ago mandating that all ships carrying any sort of chemical, biological, explosive, or human cargo had to give the captains or first officers voice print to avoid being quarantined and searched by the GFR’s military presence of the planet.

“This is Captain Duaro of the GFRSF please input your voice print ID.”

“This is captain Isien of the intrepid class transport Ithilien, requesting permission to land at dock number 934-C.”

“Permission granted.....We are sending you the docking codes and entrance flight plan.”

“Thanks you very much captain Duaro, Isien out.”

Within a few seconds the codes and the flight plan for entry were downloaded and entered into the navicomputer. The autopilot took over and the ship veered off to the right following the prescribed route.

“Kuni, get Joab on the line so I can go over the unloading and payment procedures with him”

“You got it captain.” Kuni replied

The intercom crackled, then cleared up and Joab's voice came across.

“Ahh captain Isien, I see that you have arrived.”

“Yes, we are landing at dock 934-C just as you requested. I would like to go over the unloading and payment procedures.”

“When you land you will disembark from your ship along with your crew, leaving my men to handle the cargo. Once all of the shipment has been accounted for and stored, you will be paid in full along with any damages.” Joab said

“Alright, we are still set on the agreed amount then?”

“Yes, 3000 credits plus fuel.”

“Good, I’ll see you on the ground, Isien out.”

“Roger, Joab out.”

The Ithilien made wide arcing turns as it followed the route down to the dock where Joab and his men were waiting. The crew was elated to finally be rid of the load of chemicals that they were carrying for Interchem. Nitrogen oxide is very corrosive and in its gas state explosive, and poisonous. Unfortunately, the officials at Interchem had insisted upon it being transported in its gas state. Isien walked back towards his quarters to dress for the landing.

The ship swept down pulling up and releasing the air brakes at the last second for a smooth landing square in the middle of the landing pad. Isien and the entire crew were waiting at the ramp as it opened revealing the smog covered sky and the roughly hewn stone buildings that made up the houses on Darian Prime. Joab and his unloading crew stood behind the blast shield waiting for the departure and chemical sweep of the crew. Every time a crew disembarked from a ship carrying a dangerous chemical they were scanned to be sure that none of the chemical was release into the atmosphere of the planet. After the sweep was completed, the crew was released and Joab’s men moved forward towards the cargo hold. Joab motioned to Isien.

“Aryan, go ahead and do the write up for me would ya?” Isien asked.

“Ya sure....come on guys.”

Aryan and the rest of the crew headed over to the Interchem office to fill out their individual reports and the ship report. Isien walked over to speak with Joab.

“Phew, I’m glad to get that stuff of my ship. Some of my crew didn’t sleep during the trip...”

“Ya... I know that feeling knowing that at any moment those containers could blow and your life would end before you could do any thing about it....” Joab said

“So you got any more crud that needs to be moved from one of these pits to another?” Isien asked.

“Yeah, in fact I do but we need to talk it over....privately.” Joab said lowering his voice

“What do you mean privately? If its Interchem stuff, just give me the rap sheet and I’ll get to work.” Isien said looking puzzled.

“No....no it’s not for Interchem. That the deal, it’s kinda under the table business.”

“Whoa, you know I don’t deal in any thing that’s gunna get me in trouble with the GFR. I don’t want to end up on one of those mining planets working 20 hours a day.....”

“Well it’s not really illegal. You’d just get a smack on the wrist and they’d let you go...”

“You sure?”

“Ya, I’m sure. Meet me at the cantina later today say around 5:00. Sound good?”

“I’ll be there” Isien said looking some what worried.

Isien turned around and headed towards the office to fill out his report.

“Hey Aryan.”

“Ya, what is it boss?” Aryan asked as he walked over to Isien.

“I’m gunna meet Joab over at the cantina later this afternoon. I want you to make sure the crew doesn’t get themselves into trouble. The people here will kill you and take your wallet without even thinking about it, got it?”

“I got it don’t let them go doing stupid stuff” Aryan retorted as he walked back towards the ship to grab his gun and his pack.

“And make sure they go out there at least in pairs....OK!”

“OK, OK don’t worry.” Aryan said half laughing as he walked up the load ramp into the ship.

“Hey captain, wait up.” Kiyan said running up beside Isien. He already had his gun and comlink and was ready to go out into the city.

“Oh, hi Kiyan” Isien said

“I was wondering if I could come with you to get some food. Then I was gunna go see if I could get some new clothes? These ones and my one other pair are wearing through...”

Isien chuckled and said that that would be fine.

“Where do you wanna go eat?”

“Well I heard from one of the Interchem guys that there’s this really good place down by the shopping district. We might wanna catch a ride there though; it’s a long walk....”

“Ok sounds good.” Isien said as he looked at his watch. It was just eleven o’clock he had plenty of time to enjoy a good meal and still be back up to meet Joab for dinner at five.

The pair grabbed a shuttle down to the shopping district. On the way down Isien’s comlink started to buzz.

“Hello?”

“Oh good you picked up, it’s Joab, we can’t meet tonight. I’ll meet you in the upper district cantina at 3 a.m. tomorrow morning. Don’t ask questions just meet me there....”

“Joab....what’s going on?”

“I can’t answer questions; just meet me in the cantina at 3 tomorrow.” Joab said. Just then the sounds of shouting and gun fire came across the air waves. The link crackled and died.

That was weird.....three in the morning something must be up. Well at least now I’m free for the night but still I’m not gunna be able to get this off my mind......

“Hey who was that?” Kiyan asked

"It was Joab just letting me know he needed to talk to me.” Isien answered plainly.

“I see,” Kiyan said with an air of suspicion in his voice.

The pair hopped off the shuttle at their stop, and headed for the restaurant that Kiyan had recommended. They put their names on the list and decided to browse around the shops for the 30 minutes the hostess said it would be before they could get a seat. Kiyan saw a clothing shop and said he was going to get some new “threads”. Isien walked down the street to an old book store. He had recognized it by its familiar signage. Books-A-Billion. He browsed the selection. There were books on literally every topic you could ever wish to read about; and some you didn’t. After nearly 15 minutes his comlink droned to life

“Hey, where are you? Our table is ready...get over here before they give it away to some one else.” Kiyan’s voice blared.

“Ok, Ok, don’t go nova on me.....” Isien said calmly

“Just hurry, I’m starving...”

“I’m on my way.”

Isien jogged off in the direction of the restaurant putting what he had just read into the back of his mind.

 

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