It was just another day in Kreuzberg. Ships constantly coming in and out, shady deals going on in almost every corner. It was just the way Andrew liked it. The reason of his visit was still unknown. It was rare for Karl to call Andrew like this, without saying why.
Andrew headed for a hidden corner inside the station. It seemed like a simple wall, except for a small console partially hidden by cables and pipes. He turns his head to check if anyone was watching and pressed a few buttons on the console. Suddenly the wall backed up a little and then was lifted up, revealing a hidden room. Only a few select people knew of this secret passage, and, of said people, Andrew only knew two, himself and Karl.
The door closed shut behind him, revealing a similar console on that side of the wall. All this was a usual routine from when he lived in Kreuzberg. Karl used to call him whenever he had a job he could do. This years before Andrew had established his own web of contacts and informants
Andrew kept walking through a long, strangely decorated corridor until he reached the meeting room. Karl was already comfortably sited on his big armchair. He must have thought that it gave him an important look, but all it did was make his already small stature look even smaller. Andrew sat on one of the many chairs on the other side of the conference table which filled most of the room.
“Andrew, my boy, am I glad to see you. I trust you still remembered the code?”
“I am happy to see you as well Karl, it has been quite some time since I have been here. Also, I never forget useful information.”- Said Andrew, as he took one beer from the cooler situated below the table , which was also fairly well hidden- “Anyways , why have you called me? I don’t think you ever called me with such urgency, especially without a motive”
“I see you still remember about that cooler. Well, beverages aside, there is something that I want you to see.”
Karl tinkered around in the console sitting in front of him. The hologram of a ship was projected in the middle of the conference table.
“This, my boy, is an old Vidar Cruiser. I think they call them the Rheinland Pirate Cruisers now. Are you familiar with it?”
“Yes, it is a former Hessian design. That one isn’t that old either...”
“You are correct. The ship that you see has just been decommissioned. An old friend of mine within the Hessians gave me word that it is about to get scrapped.”
“And how does that concern me?”
“Well, I can get it for you, free of cost. The captain of the ship is an old friend of mine, from the old days. I personally don’t possess the manpower to drag such a big ship to the Vieques Shipyards, but you might. What you do with it is up to you. Scrap it, fix it, whatever. I just thought you might be interested.”
“And you would trust ME with a warship of this caliber?”
“I have watched you grow here in Kreuzberg all those years ago. I know what kind of person you have become. Besides, I know what kind of blood runs in your veins. You are the only person I would trust this with.”
Andrew pondered for a moment. It was indeed a big ship. It would require allot of favors to drag it to Vieques undetected. An opportunity like this wouldn't present itself to him ever again. What he did with it at that time was not important, he would have more than enough time to think of that once he dragged the ship across seven systems, across a warzone and through an embargo. A bit of a turnoff somewhat.
“I feel honored that you trust me to such degree. I accept.”- Said Andrew with a slight tone of reluctance- “Now, where can I go pick it up?”
Karl let out an ear to ear grin across his old and wrinkly face.
“Am I glad to hear that, boy! The ship is at Vogtland. It is meant to be scrapped within the next month. Relieve the Hessians of the burden of disposing of it until then and it is yours.”
The two men exited the room and went their separate ways. Andrew quickly headed for his Salvager and undocked. As soon as he was out of the debris field, he began a conference call.
“Ruben, Joshua, I have a favor to ask both of you”
“A favor? Well, shoot mate.”- Said Joshua
“Ahh , I don’t know if you noticed or not , but I'm a bit in a tight spot here.”-said Ruben, a multitude of plasma shots and missiles zooming above his head. The bumps in the armor were audible from across the line and the shots could be seen due to the angle of his camera.
“Caught smuggling again, Ruben?”- said Andrew with a sarcastic tone on his voice.
“Yeah lad, you seem to be in trouble all the time. You really should be more careful”- Added Joshua
“Oi get off my back, both of ya... Ok, I seem to have lost them. Now, what’s the favor, Andrew?”
“I need both of you to come to Rheinland. Bring the ship that you own that can drag the most weight and bring as many trusted friends as you can.”
“Alright, I can do that. What’s the situation? Found some big chunk of scrap you want to drag somewhere?”- said Ruben with a chuckle
“Well, I did kind of had plans, but if it's important, I can cancel them”- said Joshua
“Well, I would classify the situation as both big AND important. I have a Rheinland Pirate Cruiser that I want to drag to Vieques, and I need your help."
“A warship, of Hessian design no less! How did you get your hands on that?”
“Remember me saying that Karl dragged me to Kreuzberg with no good reason? Seems that was the reason. The cruiser was about to get scrapped, but then Karl intervened. The ships captain was an old friend of his within the Hessians, so they let him take it. There is only one problem, we need to get it within the next month. Are you guys up for it?”
“Are you kidding me? I would love to see one of those things up close.”- said Ruben with an excited tone
“Same here. I think I can make it on time. Give me a week to gather a wing and I will be there”
“I knew I could count on you guys. We will meet at Kreuzberg. From there we will head to Vogtland to pick up the ship. This is supposed to be a secret operation. Only we shall know about it. I have already set a route that should avoid contact at all times.”
A few weeks had past, and Andrew had been sitting patiently in Karl’s hidden quarters. It had been a while since he had a little time for himself. The routes coordinates were uploaded to his ship, a Heavy Lifter that he acquired temporarily, and everything was set for him to leave as soon as possible. Karl didn't mind much of Andrews’s presence. He was always travelling back and forth on business. He payed a few visits to Vogtland to check up on the ship, make sure they didn’t scrap it before time. The ship was even bigger than he though, maybe the help of Ruben and Joshua weren’t enough? No, it needed to be. This would be a once in a lifetime chance. No time to assemble a bigger fleet. He even had the Lifter and everything...
At last Andrew heard the awaited knock on the wall, followed by Joshua and Rubens mumbling.
“Why the hell did Andrew ask us to go to an empty corner inside the station...? Maybe there is a switch here or something...”-Moaned Ruben, groping around the walls trying to find something interesting
“I have no idea...”-replied Joshua, leaning back on the wall, lighting a cigarette
Andrew dashed towards the console, opening the door and revealing the secret passage to Joshua and Ruben.
“Hey guys! Took you long enough!”
“Hey Andrew. Is this your place? It's ... uhm, well hidden ...”- said Ruben, quickly disguising his search, leaning on the wall with one hand
“Oi, watch out next time, you almost made me fall!”-Said Joshua, peeking inside the now revealed room-”Nice place you got here”
“This isn’t my place, its Karl’s. He doesn’t know you are here though, so don’t mess anything up. Do you have your ships ready? I want to get this over with as soon as possible. I even managed to get a Heavy Lifter for the job.”
“Yeah, my buddies and I are waiting on the docks. You think that five ships will be enough?”- replied Joshua, putting out his cigarette
“I've brought five friends as well. Some of which I think you know from back in Beaumont. So, let’s go?”- said Ruben, pointing in the general direction of the docks.
“Very well, let’s get this over with...”
Once in Vogtland , Andrew stared upon the behemoth of a ship that he would have to carry across space. It was miles bigger than any ship he had ever piloted. Then he gave order to begin the arduous task of undocking the cruiser.
Its damaged sides scrapped even the biggest docking point while undocking, leaving small amounts of debris. Nothing was to be wasted, every bit saved was another bit Andrew wouldn’t have to purchase, or that he would not be able to sell.
The second of the arduous tasks was to drag the ship through the Ruhrfield. The corrosive radiation quickly ate through the heavy cables that connected the lifter and the other ships to the Cruiser, but a dash to the Hamburg jumphole followed by some quick repairs stopped them from breaking. It would be a nightmare to stop a ship that size if it got slingshoted in the middle of nowhere and kept on its momentum-driven trajectory.
After traversing several debris fields, one of which filled with radiation and bribing off one Rogue patrol in Hudson for them to keep silent, the ship finally made it to Vieques dry dock. Sure, the ship came back with less one tenth than when it exited Vogtland , but all of those spare parts were safely tucked in Andrews cargo hold. After the celebrations in Vieques bar were done, Andrew dismissed his friends and focused his mind on the purpose of his new ship.
“That settles it then...”-Andrew mumbled to himself.
This past week had been a rather empty one. No special jobs, no news from the Congress. Just some good old smuggling and trading. Some would call it a “good” week, but for Andrew it had been most tormenting. All the time he had while his ship flew through space served mostly to ponder on what to do next. Scrap ... or fix? He finally made his decision.
“... I will fix this baby up and use it as a last resort defense of Puerto Rico and other Junker stations. Perhaps do some deep-space reconnaissance or tactical missions for the Congress in which large weaponry is needed"- he said, in an unusual act of selflessness and heroics
He leaned back upon his chair, opening yet another beer can
"Why the hell do I always find myself spending exorbitant amounts of money...”- he said with a sigh
This, however, was not the only thing troubling Andrew. With his decision firmly taken, he now had to find good pilots, mechanics and overall crew for his ship. A Cruiser, unlike all other ships Andrew had ever flown, is not a one man ship.
He would have enough time to think that through. Right now, he had to find a way to fix the ship...
It took several engineers, several tons of materials delivered to Culebra to craft the bits and pieces needed to fix the cruiser and several months of work, but the Ferocity was finally fully repaired. Its majestic presence stood in Vieques dry docks, bigger than any other ship in that station. Now there was only one thing left to do: find a capable crew to find it. Fortunately, that wasn’t as hard as gathering the resources and manpower to fix the ship was. Andrew stood on the bridge of his newest ship, starting a conference call.
“Hello Ruben, Joshua, Karl. I have good news. The cruiser is finally fixed. I named it the Ferocity. My plan is to use it as a last line of defense in case Junker bases come under attack and the occasional strike mission, just in case some superior firepower is necessary. I have one last proposition for you guys. How would you like to occupy key positions aboard the Ferocity? It would not be a full time job, of course. The use of the Ferocity would be rare. The last thing I need is a repair bill for the bloody thing.”- He said
“That is indeed good news. I will be honored to fly that ship. I need to keep an eye on my investment after all!”- Karl said, with a chuckle
“Count me in! I can’t wait to see that thing ripping the Xenos a new one!”- said Ruben
“Why not… It’s not like I have anything better to do. It will be nice to see a little action every now and then.”- said Joshua
“That is indeed great news. I will warn you if when the Ferocity is used. Try to assemble your teams as soon as possible. You never know when we will need it.”
And now, with its hull repaired and its crew assembled, the Ferocity stood in the dry docks of Vieques, standing vigilant and ready to counter attacks against the Junkers and the Congress.