"It's settled then, Mr. Vierst."
Ah.. yes, his name was indeed Vierst. Albert Vierst. At least for now. A man in his position had to keep certain precautions.
"Yes. It was a pleasure.", replied Albert with an almost unperceptile delay.
Both men were now shaking hands, concluding the tiresome negotiations of the last hour. The Molly ship trader was grinning; congratulating himself for the deal he deemed so lucrative. Albert knew this grin, he had seen plenty of them. That was the whole trick: let your oppenent think that he's the smart one, and you can do whatever you want.
Albert jumped in his just purchased transport, the "Heimdall". Named after the god of protection of the old Aegir, the name once should have symbolized the protection the ship gives to its cargo and pilot. Nowadays, it was just a big flying piece of junk. Albert couldn't imagine a single threat this ship would actually shield from. But it was nevertheless perfect. Hardly noticeable in the middle of space junk, and with the right toys installed, this ship would be the perfect vessel for his needs. And it was virtually for free. No, even better!
This Molly was so euphoric about finally selling this piece of junk, that he didn't even thought about that he was actually being robbed. Albert smiled at his prize: a 10 million credit card, taken from the Molly when he was showing him the ship. Yes, this was a triumph. He's really getting better.
Albert looked one last time to the Molly, who still didn't notice the absence of his purse.
"Farewell then! And thanks for the ship!", he called, while undocking from the station.
"Yep, good flight. You won't regret your purchase!", replied the Molly, still grinning confidently.
The ship took off and lauched into space. Albert headed directly to the next jumphole out of the system.
He decided to be as far away as possible, when the Molly finds out...
But the Raven, sitting lonely on that placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered; not a feather then he fluttered--
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "Other friends have flown before--
On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before."
<blockquote>Then the bird said, "Nevermore."</blockquote>
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It is commonly assumed that Junkers know over a dozen of different terms for the word "junk". But the only one a real Junker would ever use is "treasure trove".
The Heimdall was moored at the docking bays of Helgoland Station.
Albert checked the award from his latest salvage tour in the Yanagi debris field. It included a nearly unscratched CM-5 Heavy Countermeasure Dropper, as well as several optical chips and engine components. He was satisfied. The ALG workers would pay a nice sum for the engine components and electronis, and he had already reserved a nice hardpoint for the CM-5 on his ship.
Albert was just unloading his cargo bay as another ship entered the docking bay. The radio transmission of its captain resounded in the large hall.
"This is Captain Bernado Ramirez, I am requesting emergency docking permission.. My ship took severe damage in the nebula and my engines are falling apart."
"Here Helgoland flight control, permission granted. But you've got bad luck.. we're out of spare parts, so we are currently unable to repair damage of this scale."
The ship almost crashed on its landing pod and dark smoke was pouring out of its engines. Apart from its obvious damage, it was a seemingly normal transport train, but without the usual corporation tags.
Its captain deboarded and headed furiously toward the repair shop, while swearing in a foreign language. Albert seized the chance and intercepted him midway.
"Ah, hello... Quite some trouble you're in, huh? But you're lucky. I think I'm able to help you."
"Who are you?" replied Bernado gruffly.
"Doesn't really matter, you'll only need to know that it happens that I'm in possession of some engine components along with the skill to repair your ship."
"Really? Phew.. Thought I'd be trapped here.. So, I don't think you're doing this just for fun. What do you want?"
"Your cargo."
The strange accent and the appearance of the ship told Albert that this was no ordinary trader, but it was still a shot in the dark.
"What!? Are you insane?"
"I'm not asking you for the whole cargo.. Just as much as my ship can carry. That will still leave you a good portion. Sounds like a fair trade for me."
"Eh? No way! You don't even know what you're talking about!"
"Trust me, I've got a good idea of what you're hauling. Quite dangerous to appear here with that stuff... Well, anyways, it was only an offer. Good luck with finding your engine components elsewhere. Oh... and by the way, I heard that the police will come for a general inspection in a couple of hours."
The last sentence was a hit in the face. Bernado was petrified.
Albert knew he had won.
A couple of hours later
"This is Albert Vierst onboard the Heimdall. I'm taking off, Helgoland."
The Heimdall launched into the nebula of Sigma-13 and set course to Liberty.
With a full load of cardamine.
But the Raven, sitting lonely on that placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered; not a feather then he fluttered--
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "Other friends have flown before--
On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before."
<blockquote>Then the bird said, "Nevermore."</blockquote>
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