Locale: Outskirts of Manhattan, roughly 15K away from Rochester base:
.. A thick, dark voice begins to mutter coldly, distastefully even into the commsystem of a beaten, worn CSV freighter; "Say, who the hells would willingly pay for a bloody Xeno, anyway..? What use could a sacrificial lamb who's clearly suicidal actually serve..?"
.. His tone was one of sheer mockery as the young blonde-haired pilot gazed over the scene before him with a blank, vacant expression on his facial features; at the fore of his freighter the only sight visible is the daunting Prison Liner Utopia, a ship he was very eager to tag as an "ally" of sorts the moment he laid eyes upon it back in Manhattan's orbit. The ship itself didn't look so imposing, or atleast.. Not until you were in range of what he had estimated to be at least 7 or 8 strategically mounted turrets, all of which appeared to be far more than your typical transport setup. Ryan killed his engines as the Bounty Hunter gunship approached, allowing himself to drift backward and ultimately vanishing from sight behind the Utopia's abusively sleek silhouette.
.. "Well, the Slavers buy Xeno pilots from me all of the time. and I definitely don't mind selling them either, since.. As you said, they're worthless." .. The pilot of the Gunship responded in a calm, cool-measured nature as his words conveyed an obvious lack of concern, or compassion for the souls in his cargo hold. "Are you going to buy these scumbags or not, Slaver..? 100 thousand and they're all yours."
.. "Deal." .. Cain replied simply, appearing entirely satisfied with the Mercenary's offer. "And yes, Ryan, we do have clients who commonly request Xeno pilots.. Specifically. They actually sell for quite alot, as you can see already. I'll have Stan meet you at California, Mercenary. We'll be off now, farewell."
Ryan was hesitant on following the Utopia any further, afterall the whole three hours that he had spent with it's elusive Captain had so far consisted of nothing but vile deeds. They had easily destroyed an entire armada of Xeno fighters, and an unfortunate encounter with an overzealous gathering of Navy pilots had resulted in utter chaos as the Utopia decimated the entire fleet, even going so far as to tractor in the pilots afterwards to add to his lucrative collection of "products."
Ryan was expecting the entire Liberty Military to appear at any moment, he could only continue to down a bottle of scotch and pray that his opportunity to become one of the Slavers wasn't spoiled already. Afterall, he had alot riding on this deal; he had invested his every credit into affording the needed bribes to contact the Union to begin with, and had saved only enough to purchase a decent rig - not to mention his debts, which only continued to become increasingly worse as each day went on. He knew this was the opportunity he needed, though he wasn't sure if the effort would result in equal gain...
.. "We're going to New Castle. We need to get you in a Bactrian, that CSV isn't going to do. First we need to stop in Manchester though, there's a storage depot there that's regulated by the Bounty Hunters - we're going to take it out." .. Cain spoke out to Ryan expectantly, rather casually however as it was apparent that Cain had done these sorts of "missions" many times before; the ex-smuggler had already learned more from the three hours he had spent with Cain than he had in five years of Cardamine smuggling. Perhaps the wheel of time was now spinning in his favour, he thought..? A sly, cool little smile began to play over his features as he felt a sense of relief consume him.
.. "Welcome to the Union, Ryan Valtheran. Just one thing, though..." .. Cain added-on politely, rather sweetly even before suddenly pausing in his words entirely; allowing a moment of silence so as to allow Ryan's mind to wander a little.. ".. Don't fail Seth, Ryan. Especially if you don't intend to be around to face his punishment.."
Ryan shook his head somewhat, his expression suddenly beginning to darken climatically as his wishful thinking had suddenly dissipated, being replaced with the strife and discord of overwhelming anxiety. He had received these sorts of "subtle hints" so many times in the past, and unfortunately for Ryan.. Each time it had always proven to be an accurate advisory, as he always seemed to attract the absolute worse sort of company; it was needed to survive, afterall..
