Bad Influence

[sindroms]

Bad Influence





[img float=right]http://i.imgur.com/ubmwUsM.png?1[/img]Darin Wilton
Age: 38
Occupation: Freelance Merchant
Status: A passenger onboard the ITG-Solstice
Location: En-route to the New York system from the California System







Rowan Zachariah
Age: 30
Occupation: Bodyguard
Status: Keeping an eye on Mr. Wilton onboard the ITG-Solstice
Location: Ditto.

Chapter I

The hum of hyperspace travel persisted everywhere, much to Mr. Wilton's annoyance. Even with his eyes closed and his arms folded over his chest and the vest that was considered a rather acceptable choice when it came for fashion in the year 824, it did very little to distract him from the low hum that seemed to travel through his scull. A shame, he thought to himself, as he shifted around in his seat without opening his eyes as the modest travel time from the Coronado System had given him plenty of time to burn the view of the transports bridge into his memory. Mr. Wilton was tired. The temptation of sleep had struck him a while back, perhaps even before departing the dock on Barrier Gate - but it was the kind of indulgence the man was never given a chance to enjoy as the owner of the ship that he was on never did grasp the idea that Mr. Wilton could not do so with the constant chatter and talk that the man was so inclined to pass the time with while on the bridge.

He did not even need to bother lifting his eyelids to know that, from where he sat - on a rather long row of seats on either side of the corridor that lead to the bridge itself, the rather spacious illuminators on the front and side portion of the bridge itself were inclined to reward the gaze with nothing more than the swirling brightness of the artificial wormhole. A truly remarkable and beautiful sight in of itself, though alas - for someone his age, it had become a remarkably common occurrence. Equally, he did not need to open his eyes to know that the man sitting on the opposite side of the narrow hallway had no such issues. Even with the dull hum of the surroundings, Mr. Wilton's senses could easily tell apart the quiet snoring coming from the much more youthful-looking man in front of him. Surely the merchant had nothing to worry about onboard the "Solstice", but even so his forehead seemed to exhibit more wrinkles than usual at the sound of his bodyguard.

Mr. Wilton's mind, in the meantime, seemed to continue coming back to the familiar sense of uncertainty that the visits to the New York system would often bring. The slight nervousness that filled him at the thought of the upcoming deals that would take place in the heart of the house of Liberty. Even despite his mood, the man could not help but to quirk the very edges of his lips at the notion. The name somehow managed to fit perfectly with the culture of the house, but even so - at the same time it could not be more deceiving. These thoughts, however, were quickly dismissed as the voice that came from across the small corridor indicated quite clearly that his slight daydreaming had been enough for him to miss the fact that the snoring had stopped some time ago.

"Think the delegations will go 'aight? Wouldn't be the first time that the pis...your client starts tryin'ta change the terms while we are mid-way done with unloadin' the cargo."

The bretonian heritage in Rowan's voice was as remarkable as it was annoying, and this was by far not the first time Darin took note of it. He expected his younger helper to keep his mouth shut during their travels, but it seemed as though the man was enjoying his own little pang of anxiety at that point. Something Darin had no intention to display mutually. He, once again, did not bother to grant his accomplice with a gaze of his own, instead allowing himself to shift around a little and assume a more comfortable position, even as his mind took the time to figure out a response that would be meaningful and somewhere within the boundary of polite.

"Do I need to remind you.." Darin began, giving a slight sigh as he did - an excuse to pause as he had to restrain himself from snapping at the man in front of him - the question posed by the other being one he had to hear quite often these days. And the reply he was about to provide was also rehearsed beyond the point of the usual sort of repetition. "..That you have more immediate issues to concern yourself with? Whatever percentage of income is lost, it will not affect the price we agreed on for your services." he finally chose to assure the other.

The expression on Rowan's face told Darin that indeed the man expected a retort of a much more cruder kind. The stumble was quickly dealt with as his eyebrows lowered to their usual position upon his forehead, the younger man simply smiling a smile that did not at all suit his face.

"Ya' know me." he shook his head lightly "I enjoy consistency and efficiency above all else. Ah find it a real shame if things are not set in stone, ya know? Ambiguity? Variables, 'n stuff?" he ended with a slightly inquisitive tone.

One glance at Mr.Wilton told Rowan that the gist did not go by unnoticed by his patron, as the significantly older man now was looking at him with one open eye with a brow lifted as high as his own had been a moment ago. Luckily for them both, the owner of the ship was too busy with his own chatter between them and the other two crew members to take note of the quiet fit of laughter that, without a sound, passed between their passengers. Renting the cargo space of larger transports was a very common thing for freelance merchants. There was no short supply of ships belonging to individuals or small companies between the houses and other destinations and all once had to worry about was the payment and, in the case of the port on the Barrier Gate - the validity of the captain's reputation.

In the case of the "Solstice" - a borderworlds transport belonging to the Independent Traders Guild, a guild in name only, the captain's reputation (within Liberty at least) seemed to be agreeable for what Mr. Wilton had in mind. The cargo that he had asked the owner of the ship to tag along with their own was the sort and of the amount nobody would care to barter about. As it turned out quickly enough, the "Solstice" had loaded up with its intended cargo and the remaining spot was almost as if meant to be taken up by whatever the merchant had.

The conversation between the two men had shifted to the topic of the Tau region and the goods rumoured to be in high demand there, when the dull hum of the travelling ship began to change pitch, causing the two men to look up from their position - both with their elbows resting on their upper thighs, both leaning forward in order to keep their noise to a minimum as they conversed. The hum continued to change tone until it turned into a deep rumble, the color swirl visible outside of the monitors changing as well, until finally there was a loud groan and grumble, the ship shaking ever so gently as the bridge suddenly turned much darker. They had arrived.

The two men instantly reached into the inner pocket of their vests, drawing out their own holo-tablet device which, almost instantly, connected to the N-Net and began to fill with all of the information a traveller needed to know about the system, including a nifty section of the log that showed the surrounding solar installations, ships and other items of interest - most often used by touring companies and their excursions. Both Rowan and Darin were quick to begin tapping in their respective commands into their respective devices - their chitchat seemingly long-forgotten that they did not even look up as the owner of the ship finally tore himself away from the company of his crew, his steps bringing him closer to where his patron and their bodyguard sat, giving a wide, almost proud smile.

"And here we are, gents." he spoke in the same tone that Darin had only needed to hear once in order to become very unkind to. The self-assured tone of a man with less experience they themselves wished to believe in. "We are going to take a quick stop on Norfolk Shipyard before we drop you off on Newark. Our cargo was loaded last, so we will need to unload it first. Won't take more than a hour or so, but promise me you will not leave the ship during this time. The cargo..."

Rowan and Darin did not get to hear what the cargo was as Darin's expression had grown stony, his head lifting up and twisting to look towards the right. The owner of the "Solstice" could only be under the impression that the man had, finally, turned his attention to him - but only for a moment, as it did not take long for the captain to note that Mr. Wilton's gaze was fixed at a spot somewhere over his right shoulder, towards the huge, proud illuminators at the front of the bridge, the man's eyes squinting as if he tried to make something out in the distance. The captain wasn't left guessing for too long as the direct comms channel lit up soon after.

"Civilian transport G-1859-C-T, bring your engines to idle and engage your drift suppressors and prepare for scanning procedures. Please transmit your cargo manifest to the data channel of this transmission."

The frown on Darin's face seemed to deepen ever so slightly, before he looked up at the captain of the ship with a rather judging gaze, the which of the man endured for a brief moment before spinning on his heel and walked hurriedly back over to his console in order to open up a return transmission, all the while instructing one of the two personnel to prepare the data transmission that they had been requested.
Rowan's expression hadn't changed during this time. Even more so, the younger of the two men hadn't even looked up from his data pad and it was only until the captain of the ship was out of ears-reach when he looked up and at Darin.

"A slight holdup then, 'ight?" he asked curiously. "We sh'be on our way in a moment, right?" he continued, though the tone of his voice hinted that it wasn't so much a question, but rather a request for acknowledgement.

"Something tells me we might have picked the wrong transport." answered the older male, still frowning as he lifted his hand and pointed with his data-pad towards the image displayed on one of the monitors further away, towards one side of the bridge.

Rowan squinted for a moment, trying to figure out what was it about the digitally-zoomed in picture of the vessel belonging to the Liberty Police Incorporated that would have hinted at a problem.
And it took him only a second.
For the ship so very well detailed on the display lacked the sleek, fine curves of the Liberator Police Interceptor. In fact, the ship that was slowly closing in towards their transport was larger, more angular, its wings flared out omniously and locked in a threatening mannr. For it was quickly made evident that the ship that was staring their transport down was not a Liberator, but a Guardian.
And that realization made Mr. Zachariah suddenly take up an expression very similar to that of his employer.

"Ah bullocks..."

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