TARGET ID: Rheinland Classifieds SUBJECT: Drive Engineer Looking for Work ORIGIN: Heisenberg Research Station, Koeln ATTACHMENTS: None.
"So, here's the thing about Freelancers. People - usually us - like to say we're unique, and special, and God's gift to the universe. Really, the truth is that we come in three categories." The bittersweet smell of cheap coffee drifted past as a man in a stained security uniform set a tray down behind Sparks. She turned away from the camera for a moment to watch. The security tough was packing, a bulky pistol resting at his hip like a caged rhino. But who wasn't, these days? Soft smiles were rarer than hot lead. Most cases, seemed they were more dangerous too. Satisfied that the man was more interested in the sports vids than her, Sparks returned her attention to the recording, raised three fingers.
"Number one." One finger dropped. Her nails were rough, bitten short. Sparks couldn't remember chewing them. Hadn't since she was a girl. Seemed she was slipping back into a lot of old habits lately. The cafe was the sort of dump you only got on freelance stations, all greasy filters and greased palms. The sort of place you could slap down three credits to stare out the window until security decided it was time to move you on. A mecca for the lost and lonely; and for those who wanted to join them. It was a long way from the gardens of Manhattan, in more ways than the physical. "Heroes. Your Edison Trents, your Winston Tobias's, your Rachel Wethers. People who are either suicidally brave or just plain suicidal. The sort of people who'll stand up and take on a fleet because it's the right thing to do, if you believe the stories. Probably more story than truth at this point, if we're being honest.
But this message isn't about heroes."Perhaps it was, once. A second finger dropped to a callused palm. "Two. Well, kinda-self evident after heroes, isn't it? Villains. People who slide in a freelancer transponder for the anonymity of it, who aren't so much human beings as animals looking for an excuse. People who'll burn a convoy as easily as escort it, buy a new identity with the proceeds, and head right out and take another run at the same.
Funny thing, this message isn’t about them either." Sparks smiled at the camera, a tired grin that was more muscle memory than mirth. "This is about the third kind of freelancer. What they do is really, really simple. They choose a job. They do it, and then they get paid. Easy. No high-minded ideals, no low-minded villainy. I’m Sparks, and I’m one of those freelancers.
Mechanic, engineer, and a little bit of everything else. I’ve worked on pretty much everything from a mail-runner to a combat-capable cruiser."For a little over a week. Sparks pushed on, perhaps a little too quick. There were some things you didn’t say at a job interview. "Not so crash-hot with jumpspace navigation, but I’ve worked on conventional courses pretty frequently. Chemical rockets and old-school dynamics I can do too, along with the usual fusion drives. Patched up a few commsats, too. Just about the only thing I can't do is fly the things.“ She shrugged. "No big deal. Always preferred the engine room anyway.
I’m looking for work. A transport’d be nice, but anything big enough to take on an extra hand’ll do. Don’t have a ship of my own burning holes in the wallet, so we can talk about wages when I know what you’ve got available. I’d prefer something headed out to Barrier Gate, but right now I’m willing to settle for anything that’s not here.” Sparks waved a lazy hand toward the grimy bench. "That’s pretty much the gist of it. Have vaccsuit, will travel. Let me know if you’ve got anything. I’ll be at this address until, well. Until I get a job.”
Or until she ran out of money. Sparks hit a button and killed the comm.
Hey, folks. Just a quick note to clarify. The 'payments' in the post are inRP only - I'm not actually expecting anyone to wire credits for the privilege of RPing with me! Just looking for someone who might be interested in having another character tagging along on board.
"This is really sort of a personal project of mine."
- James Arland, on single-handedly engaging an enemy regiment.
Frau Sparks, I found your motives not only a narrative, but also a relevant. You see, I too fall under this third category of Freelancers, in a sense. Either way, we have a bit in common.
However my work is based in and out of Rheinland, you see. Trips from the Omegas, pit stops and family reunions in Rheinland, then it's off into Kusari and Liberty to seek profit and business. A lot of my stock and origins, both historical and entrepreneurial, are in this Vaderland of ours.
But in saying that, I have moral values. If you're looking for Barrier Gate, I can drop you off there while you seek journey elsewhere, or you can tag along with me on my business trips around the Houses. While my ship is relatively new, the engines and other components of the controls contract dust and even take on stray asteroids while the shields kick out due to unfortunate drink spillage over the console. An engineer to fix this, among other issues on the ship, would be fantastic and much appreciated.
So there you have it. An offer. Two actually: I can drop you out Barrier Gate, or you can tag along with me. Up to you.
Now that's interesting. There is always a lot of spam on the Neural Net, people asking for jobs, people trying to make their way in life, although you never.. Almost 'never' see someone who's versed in the fields of engineering. I find it very strange. Society is awkward enough to the point where it should be rather common.
My name is Rachel Winterton, nice to meet you.
I'll be honest with you dear. In most cases, i'd merely look back to the college graduates, rather than being interested in the freelancer engineer market. Halfway because we don't like to share our big project currently. Although you struck me as someone interesting. Philosophically inclined people tend to be rather smart. Although lets take a step past that for now, it's a personal reason afterall. You're here to look for work. Not have a conversation.
The IRG is a small group. We're not militant. We're not political. We build things. Big things. Naturally, along with this sort of thinking, we need engineers and scientists alike. Right now, our main attraction which requires maintenance is by no means stable. We require a lot of people who are smart enough to actually upkeep the thing. Regretfully, the fields which it's good to know usually comes at a high asking price for the labor around Sirius. Trusting someone who came out a university, asking for a large amount of credits isn't someone which you can put faith into very well.
Freelancers on the other hand, I know to be one of two things. Reliable, or very unreliable. You've caught my interest. We need someone of a caliber who can get things done, and if they decide to leave, keep quiet.
You're going to have to learn a few extra concepts, although i'm sure you're smart enough to get over that hurdle.
I'm sure you're going to get quite a few other offers from around the place. If you're interested in more details, respond back. I'll see about dropping some more information.
Ahh, lets see.. The basics I suppose I should give before I'm finished up here..
The vessel which you'll be working around is rather dynamic in it's location. It doesn't stay in Rheinland very often. If you have a grudge against some other house, you may not like the job. We're usually moving for some reason or another
Beyond that, you'll be kept busy. You'll also be accommodated.
I'll be watching to see if you're interested. McCool probably would give me a look for this, but hey. I'm having a gut feeling right now.
Rachel Winterton
Co-Founder
Ingenuus Research Group
A slight figure appears on screen, a woman with cropped auburn hair and a perpetual smirk on her face.
Good day, Miss Sparks. I'm Leslie Durant, Independent Contractor and Supplier.
The smirk grows wider.
Just a fancy term for Freelancer, really. I'm a one-woman business, proud owner of the Adventure Galley. I spend most of my time travelling the four colonies, soliciting work and carrying out supply runs for interested parties who are in need of an independent element. The conflicts and wars of the colonies are something I avoid, content to keep my relationships neutral and stay out of trouble. It's been going well so far, and I have a few permanent contracts under my sleeve. Most of my business is carried out in Rheinland and Kusari, for the moment.
The smirk fades, and she looks at the camera more seriously.
I'll be honest with you. I am currently flying my transport alone, which mean I am footing a decent repair bill after every run and that cuts into the bottom line. Hiring an Engineer would help me with maintenance, and also with setting up security measures in case things go south. Those are the things I require. Very simple requirements, and you're definitely overqualified for what I require, and probably have some bigwig offering you a much better deal. But I'll make the effort. I'm willing to offer you free room and board on my ship for the duration of your employment with me, a tentative salary of two hundred thousand credits per month for your services and free reign to do as you wish while we're going through downtime. Job will entail keeping the ship in order and preferably at a low price, and if you have a penchant for talking...help me wrangle business and credits out of people. I have a clean rep sheet in all houses except Gallia, so there won't be any trouble with the law.
She smiles again.
Those are the tentative details, open to negotiation. I'll pick you up on my next run through Rheinland if you're interested and we can work out the finer points then. And if my hunch is right and you do have better offers, then I wish you luck in whatever you choose to do.
TARGET ID: Niklas Posse SUBJECT: RE: Classifieds ORIGIN: Heisenberg Research Station, Koeln ATTACHMENTS: None.
"Hi, Nick." The faint glow of the screen silhouetted the same two-credit café, same pitted plastic cutlery and patterned polymer floor. Nightfall on Heisenberg, and the station’s internal lights had faded to dull glow; simulating the night-day cycle of a world no human being had seen outside of history vids in more than eight hundred years. The phrase ‘old habits’ seemed completely inadequate to describe that sort of determination, but it was the best Sparks’ sleep-addled brain could throw up. Her own sleep cycle had been drifting steadily out of sync with the station’s, mornings slowly drifting into evenings, until she’d given up on keeping track altogether. Who cared if she got up at six in the evening? It wasn’t like she had anywhere else to be. Sparks swallowed a mouthful of something that looked like coffee and tasted like biohazard-grade waste and glanced back at the camera.
"Thanks for the offer. I’m honestly surprised at how much attention this little ad got." Sparks spared a look behind her. Except for a bored-looking drone and a pair of waste-disposal techs poking at what could have been sandwiches, if you closed your eyes and didn’t chew too thoroughly, the café was empty. That was good. An empty café meant fewer potential eavesdroppers. Or someone else is clearing the field. She shook the idea free. Stars, when did she get so twitchy?
"Farther afield sounds good, actually. I’ve been here for long enough already. Too much longer and I might start to put down roots." Sparks smiled, but she said it as though she were a doctor identifying a tumour. Mhm, it’s in deep, but if we operate now, we might just save her… "Er, that said… Like I said, I’ve had a few more offers then I really expected. I was thinking one, maybe. If I was lucky. Some old lady who needed a corridor swept out in zero-G for a buck-fifty an hour-type work. So to have had a number of people come back offering postings on fully operational starships…
I’m a little surprised, I guess, is what I’m getting at." She raised her arms in a helpless shrug, bones made thin by years in low gravity. "And as much as I wish I could accept all the offers, yours included, I can’t split myself in that many directions. One’s just about all I can manage these days.
So, sorry Nick, but I have to politely decline. At least on a full-time basis. It’s nothing against you."At least, nothing against you personally. The man was a Rheinlander. Sparks had had enough of Rheinlanders and their Fatherland to last her a lifetime. No, signing on with one was too much risk for too little reward. "Depending on how things work out, I might still have time for a bit of freelance repair work here and there. You know, if you’ve got an odd job here or there that doesn’t need me to stick around. Drop me a line. You’ve got my comm codes."
She raised a hand to her forehead in mock salute. "Good luck out there, skipper."
Message Ends.
"This is really sort of a personal project of mine."
- James Arland, on single-handedly engaging an enemy regiment.
"Rachel, hi. Sparks here. I got your message a few days back." Sparks had found a booth in the café, had settled comfortably into the gel-padded seats, her back to a corner. Even the service drone had drifted back to its charging port, wherever in the maze of the station’s maintenance corridors that was, and the only noise was the steady hum of the life support. Sparks felt it like a pulse, the drone of fans, the almost-imperceptible pushes and pulls of attitude control thrusters. The constant noise was as reassuring to her as a mother’s heartbeat.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, and nice to meet you too. I’m not going to play about too much here, you and IRG make a great offer. Hope you don’t mind, but I did a little bit of digging on what you guys do. Couldn’t find much, funnily enough. Still, going off what you said? Large scale construction? Cutting edge research?" Sparks’ grin was reminiscent of the cat that got not only the cream, but the cow and dairy too. “So, am I interested? Oh, hell yes. But.”
Sparks’ grin dropped by degrees. She forced it back up and tried not to think about what she was saying. Here it was, an opportunity she would have killed for a few years ago. Still would have. Work out on the edge of human space and the edge of human knowledge. Wasn’t that what she’d wanted? Yes, but… And there it was. That ‘but.’ That moment’s niggling hesitation. She exhaled, couldn’t meet the camera’s unblinking stare. Found something interesting among the coffee stains on the table instead. “But, no. Ingenuus isn’t for me. Sorry.”
A long moment, and Sparks returned her eyes to the camera.
“I’m sure you do good work, important work and, if you’d asked me a year ago, I’d probably have been hammering on the hull for a half hour by now. But, really, here and now, I’m not looking for important. I’m not looking for firsts, or cutting edge, or keeping secrets.” Sparks smiled, flippant again. “Got enough secrets of my own to look after, thanks. It’s a great offer, Rachel, and I’m honestly tempted, but where I am right now…
Where I am now, I’m just happy to keep a ship flying.” She shrugged like she was shrugging off bad weather. “Thanks again, and I wish your group the best. Really, I do. Who knows, maybe we can work together some time in the future. Just not right now.“
Sparks raised a finger to the datapad and cut the video. It was a long minute before she made herself hit ‘send’.
Message Ends.
"This is really sort of a personal project of mine."
- James Arland, on single-handedly engaging an enemy regiment.
TARGET ID: Leslie Durant SUBJECT: RE: Classifieds ORIGIN: Heisenberg Research Station, Koeln ATTACHMENTS: None.
"Hi, Leslie." Sparks gave the camera a tired grin. She'd left the cafe behind, driven out by an influx of night workers changing shift, and found a public bench pushed up against a corridor wall in the station's lower levels instead. Gravity was spotty down there, walking the borders of the station's fields, somewhere between the suggestion of force and total weightlessness. Sparks didn't mind. It was quiet and, if she dimmed the lights she could almost convince herself what she was feeling was the thrust of a ship, rather than a temperamental generator.
"I got your offer a couple of days back. Fairly obvious, I guess, given as I'm calling you back, but cut me a little slack. It's been a busy night." She nodded towards the datapad, and paused halfway when she realised Leslie couldn't see it. "Long story slightly less long, I had a few more offers then I had any real right to expect. Not that I'm complaining in the slightest, but it's more comms traffic than I've had in a while. I'll spare you the grisly details, but the general gist of it is that you've got a deal."
Sparks panned the camera around the bare, empty corridor. "As you can see, I'm not too caught up on luxury right now. A room and board on the Galley sounds pretty good, assuming you're not one of those captains that likes to make use of every square inch of spare space on a cargo run. But I'm sure we can work that out if it comes up. I can talk, and I don't think there's a ship in Sirius that has a clean sheet as far as Gallia's concerned, so that's hardly a point against you.”
The reclusive kingdom made a habit of shooting down anything that so much as jumped across the border without a permit, from what she'd heard. Perhaps the only power – only human power, she corrected – in the sector more trigger-happy was the Coalition, and at least they had the decency to keep to themselves most of the time. No, Sparks was in no hurry to pay King Charles a visit.
"It's not as though I'm at tremendous risk of going anywhere, so just let me know when you'll be Rheinland and I'll make sure I'm at the terminal. If you could shoot through the ship's ID beforehand so I can get in, that'd be great.” That, and it would prevent Sparks having to present her own outdated and, if you were being particularly picky, falsified, ID to station security. Freelance security and mercs were no-one's definition of through, and independent stations were notoriously lax when it came to access, but that didn't mean she had to invite trouble. "I'll see you there. Look forward to working with you!"
Message Ends.
"This is really sort of a personal project of mine."
- James Arland, on single-handedly engaging an enemy regiment.
-_-_-_-_-: Secure Channel Open :-_-_-_-_-
-_-_-_-_-: Encryption Level Beta :-_-_-_-_-
-_-_-_-_-: Audio Filter: Engaged :-_-_-_-_-
Hey there dear. Thank you for getting back to me. To be completely honest with you, I never wanted you to work under the legitimate Ingenuus. I suppose it was more of an interest check more than anything to present the slightly.. lower attention that I was thinking of. I indeed got my answer in the interest department, eh? Granted I have to make it sound that way when I do things from work like I did. The technology is.. Well. Near the same. McCool has too many variables which don't let me reach out on these channels. The Sirens Bell really doesn't give a good way to reach out either. I was trying to put you somewhere else, but keep you on a nice enough pay-grade. That's afterall what freelancers looking for work sorta care about vaguely.
I suppose I can't say I tried, huh? Two people managing a more or less sketchy copy with a few addons can get tiring, although it looks like i'll make do. If you're ever interested in the future, you have this channel saved down I hope.
I understand. There aren't many times where Freelancers who seem legitimately genuine actually roll around. It's probably my loss in the end. Good luck with whatever you pick up dear. You'll do fine.
Posts: 6,308
Threads: 329
Joined: Aug 2007
Staff roles: Story Dev Economy Dev
Good day to you, Ms "Sparks". As it happens, your classified was noted by our regional office on Bonn. I'm contacting you on behalf of Borderworld Exports; perhaps not what you were originally anticipating when you put your message out, but we have an offer for you nonetheless. Regardless of background, our talent scouts are looking for two things in principle: experience and expertise.
So far as we can see, that's two criteria you comfortably check. As it happens, we have several projects on the near horizon that require capable engineers to oversee and maintain. As a short list, we have a newly operational convoy command carrier that is taking on engineering staff, R&D technician positions on Scarborough and station maintenance roles on Canary Wharf. Bowex opens doors that previously you wouldn't even have known existed, believe me.
I understand that "going corporate" may not be what you have in mind, however, we have the resources and the capability to ensure that our engineers are pushed to fulfil their potential. Instead of surviving, why not thrive? Do something that fascinates you instead of something that'll simply earn your next dinner. The other thing that Bowex has going in its favour is the way out of Rheinland.
We run a multitude of shipments out of Rheinland daily. If you want to test the waters so to speak, we can arrange to have you put aboard one of our superheavy transports for one of the return trips. We can then run an apprisal of your skillset, you can decide whether it's an atmosphere you'd be interested in working in, and we can drop you off on Waterloo for you to make your mind up.
Do get back in touch to let me know how you feel about our proposal.
Kind regards
Henry Morrison
Recruitment, HR, Services
Borderworld Exports
TARGET ID: Henry Morrison SUBJECT: RE: Drive Engineer Looking for Work ORIGIN: ITV Adventure Galley, Stuttgart ATTACHMENTS: None.
"Mr Morrison. Henry. Sorry to keep you waiting on this reply, I’ve had my hands full with work lately. Hardly an excuse, I know, but bear with me." Sparks was slouched in one of Adventure Galley’s two bridge terminals, half a dozen glowing screens arrayed before her like a multi-million credit cinema. Given an eternity and a shot of hallucinogens, she still would have struggled to think of anywhere she would rather have been. Sparks grinned and minimised everything except the basic readouts and the recording. “First up, thank you the invitation. I barely expected to draw the notice of a freelance hauler, much less an organisation as big as Bowex.”
Sparks glanced back down the hallway behind her, a door hissing shut as Leslie moved about somewhere below decks. “I’m flattered by the offer, and if I’d got it a few days earlier, I’d probably be on that transport by now. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still really interested in working with Bowex, and I’d love the chance to talk to you about it, but-”
She raised a hand, waved the camera at the ship’s bridge. "I’ve already signed on to fly here, and I wouldn’t feel right walking out here to come and work full-time for you guys. That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t be interested in doing some contract work for Bowex. We can work pretty much anywhere, I’m just not willing to put on the company uniform just yet.
I’m not sure if Bowex is looking for contractors, but I know that we’re looking for work." Sparks’ fingers tapped a steady beat on her arm-rest. She kept her face impassive, casual, trying not to let slip just how much she wanted the work. Freelancing was all very well and good, but she knew a steady wage paid the Galley’s bills a lot better, and as long as the Galley was making money she got paid. Sparks couldn’t afford not to be making money right now. “So, if that’s an option, I’d definitely be interested.”
The camera trundled back towards Sparks. "If that sounds workable to you, the Adventure Galley’ll be coming into Cambridge on the twelfth. It’ll be taking on cargo for a day or two, so we can either meet on Cambridge or, if you can spare a freighter, we can come to you. Whatever’s easiest. They’ll just be the two of us; Leslie Durant and I. We don’t take up much space, I promise."
Sparks’ thin shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "Looking forward to hearing from you.”
Message Ends.
"This is really sort of a personal project of mine."
- James Arland, on single-handedly engaging an enemy regiment.
![[+]](/forums/images/collapse_collapsed.png "[+]")
OOC
![[Image: 1v3uTfr.png?1]](http://i.imgur.com/1v3uTfr.png?1)
![[Image: ZFE4gFw.gif]](http://i.imgur.com/ZFE4gFw.gif)
![[Image: JlWhM.png]](http://i.imgur.com/JlWhM.png)