From humbled beginnings to a wretched living.

[D.Q]

Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.
Sir Winston Churchill


Chapter II: Yanagi's gem

The trip from Texas, Liberty, to Yanagi Depot in the Sigma-13 system is not a short trip by any standards. While getting to know each other, Dafa and the Junker pilot of the Genuine.Miner discovered they had a lot in common. Both were students on Houston and had average upbringings and each fellow had a hard start to their new lives. Though it would be safe to say that the Junker hadn't killed any Rogues, and wasn't terribly wanted for anything in particular.

They arrived at Yanagi and Dafa was in awe of the gas nebula's. He had only ever read about them back at school and was taken aback by the sheer density and level of profit that the locals were able to make here despite the hostile environment. Explosive gas pockets, mine fields, unstable warship wreckages and worst of all, pirates. But one thing was for certain: There were no Rogues here.

The first thing Dafa did once he disembarked from the Genuine.Miner was report in and find accommodation. That was easier said than done, there was no vacancies and worse yet, there was a waiting list for the next room thirty people long. Luckily for Dafa, he had no need to store his gear, only the worn shoes and filthy parker he was given were his only possessions. "Take a ticket, and find hallway space till we have a room for you" the orderly instructed him. 'So much for being a Junker' he thought to himself, 'there is no glory here'. With that he discovered a hardly walked corridor and a small crevice underneath a warm pipe that lead who knows where. He got himself comfortable and settled himself in for a quick nap.

He was awoken some forty minutes later by a kick from what appeared to be a tall Hispanic man, a mouth piece covering his lower jaw. "You, get the hell out of my sleeping spot, ya heathen!" Fearing another confrontation, he got himself up and apologized for his intrusion. He made his way back down the corridor and saw a station map. 'DOCKING BAY' was imprinted in bold letters to the left of the map, so Dafa made his way down to the landing deck. He arrived and his jaw dropped. There were a collection of ships he'd never seen before. They were low profiled and in a DPM colour scheme, and looked like a bomber but smaller. He'd seen pictures of the Havoc, and seen the occasional Guardian, but nothing ever looked like this. He spotted a mechanic on the floor, and he called out and asked if there would be a problem is he was able to go and take a closer look at those spacecraft that caught his attention. The mechanic was one of the friendlier folk this station had to offer, and so waved Dafa down with a warm smile and a beaconing gesture.

After fifteen minutes of getting lost, Dafa finally made it to the landing deck and was greeted by the friendly mechanic. "Jynx the name is" the mechanic introduced himself, "I'm the head mechanic around here currently. I see you like these Bulldogs?" Dafa was beside himself, not only was he being spoken to in a friendly manner, he also wasn't again fighting for his life and better yet, getting close and personal with what would appear to be his new favourite ship. "Yes sir! I think these machines are amazing!" Dafa replied in earnest.
Jynx laughed heartily and queried "You haven't been in space long, have you? How long you been here on Yanagi? You're a new face, can't say you've been here longer than a day." Dafa was a little anxious, but replied in a not quite so confident voice "No sir, not been here more than an hour. Still trying to find a safe place to sleep. Uncannily, I haven't any gear to stow as it's already been pinched. I had some nice clothes before some baffoon on Beaumont mugged me like a Gypsy. And unfortunately, it just gets worse from there..."

Jynx just laughed, and he opened his arms wide open. "Welcome to space my friend, where only the tough survive and the dumb make do. I take it you're in need of a job then, kiddo?" Dafa's face lit up, finally a break from what seemed like a bleak and short future ahead of him. He readily agrees with out knowing what his job is, but at this point in time, Dafa hasn't any other choice. No home, no job and no possessions.

The landing bay deals with all sorts of ship types landing, and all of them need some level of maintenance. Jynx was an old and skilled mechanic, but he wasn't trained to do the jobs of three people. Dafa's inclusion on the roster was not only a good thing for Dafa's new career, but for the old timer himself as well.

Weeks went by, and Dafa got acquainted with his new life with only a few hiccups. One hard lesson learned on Beaumont saved his bacon many a time in Yanagi's mess area. Corsairs, Outcasts and other pirates, radicalists and terrorists all making a stop and a quick drink before carrying on their miserable lives. Most of the time they come into the bar looking for a fight, and quite often the Junker guards were quick to dispel any undue behaviour. One thing he did learn was to not back down, keep his back to the wall and if things looked like it was going out of control, he simply tell them he'd sabotage their ships. No one wants to lose oxygen a million miles from the nearest base. Dafa eventually got given his own bed, shared with other lower class workers on board the station. Home sweet home, and not a thing more.

It started to look promising for Dafa until the the Kusari Navy decided to pay undue attention in the Sigmas.

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