The Cash Cow chugged on its way to Islay, parting the dust cloud in it's not-so-graceful manner as Ben "Old Eppy" Epstein briefed his first mate. The old man sipped his beer (a fine Rheinland ale; none of that Liberty Bat Urine) as he explained to Gary his situation.
"We're going where?!"
"Islay, Gary, like I told ya. I got a call from Clover saying Sean wants me out here."
"And that's it?"
"Pretty much, bud. You can take care of the Cow while I'm gone, can't ya?"
"Eppy, you can't just run off to join a bunch of crazy disowned teachers every time some chick with a Gunboat calls for you! The pirates are so thick lately there's no way I can outfly all of them! They haven't even told you what they want, they just call and you come?" Gary tossed his hands up in the air. "Oh, why do I even bother? What a waste of time."
"What's so wrong about it, Gary? I owe these people my life, and hell, they got a cause worth fightin' for, for once. Could be one'a those crazy Xenos up in Colorado, for God's sake, cut 'em some slack."
"Uugh..." Gary slumped. "Fine, go, but if the Interspace inspectors show up while you're gone there's gonna be some explaining to do about that Cruiser Inferno you've got up on the bow."
"With luck I'll only be gone a few days. Don't worry, Gary, if the Interspace inspectors show up you can just pass em a few bucks...they'll go away."
"We don't HAVE a few bucks!"
"Sssh...check under my bed, I've got a bit more stashed away than the kids know about..."
"Uugh..."
"Destination is in sensor range." chimed the computer "Islay Base in Five Minutes."
"Unidentified Advanced Train, this is Islay Base. Identify yourself or be destroyed."
Eppy stepped up to the cramped bridge. "Islay, this is the Cash Cow. Sean's expectin' us."
"...Roger that, Cash Cow, you're cleared to moor. Watch out for the rocks."
"Thanks, Islay. Cash Cow comin' in."
Quote:Quick comment - we thought that Panzer was the Leader, Swift. -Agmen
At the same time at the pilots bar in islay. The usual furniture, somewhat old tables and chairs and a floor that looks as if it was used by too many feets allready. Yes, Islay has been a home for many gaians for such a long time. Pictures of old time heroes of the war the gaians are fighting for decades pinned to the wall and a panorama window showing whats outside of islay. - but there is nothing to see but the dense cloud glimmering in purple and pink shades.
Clover sat alone at a table in a far away corner of the room. It was somewhat quite here at least, as again, most pilots were hanging out in islay rather than fighting for the good of nature. But of course, - that was just too understandable, seeing that all the effords of the previous years had brought nothing to the cause of Gaians.
Planetform expanded more and more, - they were reaching for planets well outside the bretonian territory and who would stop them as the gaians were too short in numbers and not wealthy enough to afford some REAL support. unlike other political groups around sirious, they had no wealthy sponsor giving them means to fight their war. Cash had to come through petty piracy, - how she hated that.
Piracy was highly unpopular of course and not at all good for he cause of the gaians. and there were those new recruits that would not care about nature so much anyway but only use islay to hide out.
suddenly the alarm rang, and the voice of the base commander said that there was a new ship incoming. Clover drank the last bit of her drink and headed to the airlock to check if it was those she had been expecting for so long...
Sean was already waiting in the bays, walking up and down impatiently, his eyes pointing downwards. He was thinking about if the operation could go well.
Suddenly, he heard a slight tone coming from his headset-goggles, and a female voice talked: "Mr. Dawson, the Cash Cow arrived. It is moored on Mooring point A." - "Understood, thanks for informing me, Kendra." ((Side notice: Kendra is one of the operators of Islay.)). Sean walked to Mooring Point A, finding a Train and some people getting out of it.
It took not long that Sean noticed an old man. His name was Ben "Old Eppy" Epstein. He was the one Sean looked for. Sean talked to him with a handshake: "Welcome on Islay, home of many Gaians of Bretonia. You must be Mr. Epstein. I am Sean Dawson, chairman of NLH. I need to talk with you about something, please follow me to the bar."
Eppy strolled into the darkened bar behind Sean, the cool blue and violet tones of the light synthesizers doing dances on his retinas. The younger man led him to a corner booth, where Epstein plopped down on the left bench and lifted the cocktail menu to his face.
"So, Mister Dawson, what did ya need me out here for? Clover called and said she'd appreciate it if I showed up right 'bout now, but 'seems like she's not much fer specifics..." Eppy's eyes swept the room once more; that looked like the little lady in the opposite corner booth. Maybe she'd join them, if she felt like it. "The boys back on the Cash Cow are worried 'bout me gettin lost, too..."
"Now, what can I get for you boys?" The waitress had arrived.
Eppy smiled at her, his crinkled face stretching into a smile. "Gin and Tonic, little lady. Sean?"
Quote:Quick comment - we thought that Panzer was the Leader, Swift. -Agmen
Sean told the waitress: "beer, one of the best ones, dear."
He turned back to Eppy. "Now, I know from anonymous sources you were the captain of the Luxury Liner Red Royal of OSC, but were fired some time ago. I offer the help of the Gaians to take back what you surely miss. We can help you getting back the Red Royal under our control. The operation will not be a piece of cake, as we have to sneak into the station where the Red Royal is currently stationed. But first of all, do you accept my offer?"
Clover nipped her drink again, an azure blue one, - and she spat it out again
"bah, tastes like fuel, time we get some real drink"
she let a moment pass as she looked around for the waitress...
"ah, finally we re all here. somthin to break the very boredom of that station life. ya know boys - i haven t been out there for quite some time, i m still waiting for the KNF to respond to my message i sent them, but there you are.
by the way, sir, - you have been captain of a liner? quite a responsible job eh? personally, i don t feel very fine in anything bigger than a fightercraft. tried it, didn t like it. and here we go - ..."
She turned to the waitress who just turned up ...
"ah, bring us another round of that green stuff, you know, the one that doesn t taste like its allready been digested, - and make sure we re not disturbed"
so she turned back to the others
"whats the plan then? i don t think we can walk into it and steal such a ship from under the very nose of those spa and cruise guys. - you know, they don t like us very much.
so i do hope, you allready spent some thoughts on a plan - if we sit here much longer, i ll become an alcoholic for sure."
Eppy frowned. The Red Royal? Hid old Red Royal? Hell Yes. He'd poured his life and soul into that ship, fallen in love with her more than life itself. It would be a great joy to have her back, and hurting those bastards that had taken his life from him.
"You bet yer ass I'm in, Sean." Eppy grunted. "First thing ya gotta do is get fourteen good engineers. I imagine that ain't too hard, with the background people around here got. The full crew complement is a hundred-thirty-seven, but that's all fer the amenities they give ta the rich *******s that like to ride. Fourteen's all ya need to make her move and fire her guns. Now, just tell me where she'd at, and I'll get ya in; I'm already seein' a way this could work..."
Quote:Quick comment - we thought that Panzer was the Leader, Swift. -Agmen
"Engeneers and personell is no problem. We have more experienced pilots and crewmen than we have ships - and i am certain that most of them are more than glad to move out."
Clover looked into the faces of the others - all looking anxious and determined - about time for something like that, haven t seen them like that for quite some time, she thought.
"... errr, one thing i still don t know is - what about a hiding place. you know - a big ship means that we are easily to find." - she paused there .. "it also means that its quite a big target and makes a good public relations kill for those powerhungry goverment scumbags that want to tell the bretonian people that the army is as strong as ever, especially now that the kusari war isn t really turning out the way they like it."
She looked out of the window into the nebula...
"we cannot hide a liner in the nebula here - the BAF knows about our place too well..."
"Yes, the nebula is not a safe place for a stolen Luxury Liner. Gaians have a secret hideout in the far Lewis system, though. Chances are it could be NLH's new core system. There is also a small base, with a mooring point though. The best and most skilled Gaians patrol around the base. We can hide the ship there."
Sean took a sip of his beer. Then he contacted Kendra, one of the operators of Islay:
"Kendra, would you gather 14 engineers around my ship tomorrow? Thank you, dear. *turns to Eppy* The Red Royal is currently stationed at Southampton Shipyard. It is being maintained there for a few days. Tomorrow it will leave Southampton, but we'll strike a few hours prior to that. They will be unprepared for our attack, we'll set up a decoy above Kensington. If everything works fine, the Red Royal is yours again."
Eppy grinned. Oh, this would be fun. "Yes, I'd think Lewis'd be a better place fer the old girl than here anyway. Too many stinkin' rocks. Now, if she's at Southampton, that makes our job a whiole lot easier. THeir security is lax around there. I think what we're gonna need to do is pose as safety inspectors, get all the personnell offa that thing-except for the captain. We're gonna have words. Then our force comes and attack. First priority is the Communications array. Leave it intact and we'll have the Suffolk ridin' up our asses faster'n you can say Effed. In the confusion Royal can get out without any worries." He sipped his drink. "Better call up the boys on Crete or summat, get us some better guns than OSC makes standard these days."
Quote:Quick comment - we thought that Panzer was the Leader, Swift. -Agmen
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