EV/EVO Chronicles: Stori. Chapters One and Two

Chapter One

The Dailight Bar on Rosine is a small, run-down establishment behind Section 12 of the east corridor. It is approximately four-hundred square feet. It has two bathrooms, one for each sex, both in horrible condition. It has one bar, which stretches the entire length of the north wall. Seven stools are pulled up to it. On the main floor are six tables, seventeen chairs, and an aging sound system. In the rear of the room there is a secret door, leading to an illegal gambling casino. The outside is the color of coal stained steel. To the left and top of the door there is a fading red painted "Dailight Bar". There was once a light above it to make it visible to passer bys, but the bulb had burnt out long ago, and there is no near sign of its replacement. Inside the bar there are an average of eight people, two of which are drunk. There are two bartenders, and one owner, but at any given time only one is present. The three switch off on eight hour shifts, so as to keep the bar open all day and night. One of the bartender's names is Zan Eyl. It is this bar Zan Eyl decided he no longer wanted to work in.

New Paris is an offset city on the northern continent of Rosine. In it's four-hundred and thirty day year it sees fifty days of rain, two hundred fifty cloudy days, thirty sunny days, ninety-nine days of nothing much, and one day of spectacular northern lights. Once upon a time it was a prosperous mining colony. As time went on, its resources were slowly mined out, and mining activities were relocated to more 'profitable' locations. Now it is far past it's prime, only employing a few scattered mining stations. Its population at this time is 3.44 million people, 400,000 of which are unemployed. It is divided into 13 sections, with sections 1-5 dealing in residential, 6 in government, 7-10 industrial, 11 and 12 commercial, and 13 as public works. It even has its own mafia. Once they were a proud and powerful organization, smuggling millions of credits in goods through security lines. Over the past few years, however, their numbers have dwindled. Now it is poorly organized, and quickly falling apart. It is this city Zan Eyl decided he no longer wanted to live in.

Rosine is currently owned by Planetary Mining, Inc. It is a largely populated mining colony that is quickly being converted to more of a commercial center as its resources are slowly expended. Its total population at this moment is 2.71 billion people, 2.5 billion of which are employed by Planetary Mining, Inc. With the exception of New Paris and Syron, most cities have a very low unemployment rate, averaging around 1.1%. Its gravity is 89.91% of Earth's, with its average day lasting around 31 earth hours. Despite only 30% of the planet being covered by ocean, it is quite wet, and in most places, very humid. It is this planet Zan Eyl decided he no longer wanted to live on.

Far above the planet Rosine is the Planetary Mining, Inc. Stardock. It costs a man twenty credits for a passage from Rosine to the orbiting structure above. Its permanent population is considerably smaller than the planet, only measuring about twenty million. Its passing population, however, with all traders and wandered aboard, measures around one-hundred million. It is the largest commercial station for twelve systems in any direction. And it is this station where Zan Eyl decided to change his life.

Chapter 2

The ship was ugly. At one-hundred thousand credits it was a rip off. But very beautiful. And at one-hundred thousand credits it was a steal. A beauty in the beast. Externally, it looked like a piece of trash. Once upon a time it was a light freighter. Now, it was a monster. What was left of the original outer paneling was green with an aged gray tint. Four proton turrets stood out like cancerous lumps, while laser burns dotted the hull, both relics of the previous owner. A pirate maybe? The engines looked like they were of a trashed Argosy, and had twice as many laser burns as the rest of the ship. How they weren't disabled was a mystery. Someone had even found a joke in placing a few pieces of duct tape on the outside hull in 'x' patterns in an effort to make it look like they were covering air leaks. From all appearances, it was a piece of junk. When looking casually at the inside, it was no better. Upon examining it, however, it could be quickly discovered that the seemingly trashed ship was a diamond in the rough. The gray hull hid a layer of tritanium armor, while layer of standard durasteel reinforces it with extra layer of protection for the command sections of the ship. The engines were stolen from a Rebel Destroyer and painted gray, making them look like they came from a stock Argosy. This was far from the truth, however. The power in those engines on a vessel this small could drive the ship to speeds comparable with a Defender. Definitely a pirate. The warp drive and sensors were both 'acquired' from a Confederate cruiser. And both highly illegal for civilians to own. And although the salesman would never admit to knowledge of the presence of these systems, they obviously influenced the price. It could mean life imprisonment if you were caught and convicted of possession.

And nearly unlimited freedom if you could stay free.

And who could resist that?

Definitely not I.

Here's a quick 101 on how things work at a shipyard. The salesman pretends not to know about the illegal systems, while the customer, in this case myself, also pretends to to have no knowledge of any added bonuses. The truth is we both know, and we both know the other knows about all of the ships capabilities. It's just a matter of deception. Not that it's necessarily needed, no one could hear us right now. It's just the way to conduct deals such as this one. And it's like this all over the galaxy. To purchase certain 'special' goods, one needs to know the language of business.

The rule is, neither of you talk about the object directly. Never ever. Not to anyone. Not to your family, not to your friends, and especially not to the police. If you wish to tell a story about a sale or purchase you conducted, there are codewords that must be used. For example, weapons are always some alcoholic drink. The destructive capacity of the weapon is related in the strength of the drink. From water to pure alcohol, from knives to nukes. The entire scale works like this. And who is to know about it? Medical supplies are always described in the terms of throwing a party. The number of people is often the tonnage, while the food served has some relation to the drug or item of the sale. Anything having to do with opiates are nuts. The size and number is relation to the strength. For nanos, it's pie. The fruit in the pie relates to the color scale. Red to Violet. Destructive to healing. Cherry pie is assassination nanos, while blueberry pie is medical nanos. Any mix in between, such as apple pie, are usually physical enhancement nanos. Elaborate? It's completely necessary. Confederate police have absolutely no tolerance for businessmen of this type.

In my case, it's the weather. A sunny day might mean a shuttlecraft or a courier. Cloudy weather, a clipper maybe. Chance of rain, a good sized fighting ship, maybe a destroyer. Rain is known as a low grade warship, while a thunderstorm is a something along the lines of a Kestrel. The highest scale is a hurricane. This is used strictly for governmental ships, such as 'Fed or Rebel Cruisers. Such is the etiquette of the black market.

The forms are easy enough to fill out. My salesman is just as eager as I am to get this business deal complete. He's in just as much trouble as I am if we're caught. With his assistance, it's done in no time.

Finding a crew for these ships is a little more difficult. The men you hire must be not have any immediate family to care for. And on ships where there are more than seven crewmates, it is absolutely necessary to equalize the sexes. You should be able to figure out the reason for this.

My ship requires eight.

I guess that means some women.

Not that I'm complaining.

One captain, a first mate, one navigational officer, a cook, an engineer, two weapons officers, and a comm officer. Me, woman, woman, woman, man, man, man, woman. Yeah, that should work.

The best place to find them: the local bar.

When hiring crew, just as any other art, one must keep a few things in mind. First, no family. Maybe a distant sister or brother, but no immediate family to care for. You don't want to leave in the middle of a firefight because someone's daughter has the flu. So definitely, no family.

Two. Never name a hiring price. As soon as you name anything you are stuck with it. If its lower than they expected they'll try to negotiate for a higher wage. If its higher than they expected they'll try to negotiate for a higher wage anyway. You always want to have the advantage. Have them name a price. If it's higher than you want pretend to be poor and name a lower price. Most will end taking it anyway because they have no jobs in the first place. If it's lower or the same as what you want, never quickly agree. This will be seen as a weakness and they may try for a higher wage. The best method when accepting prices you want on the first name is to take out your PAs and pretend to check your account. Take a deep breath and sigh when you pretend to see your balances. Look up, look doubtful. Ask them "Are you good at your job?". No one ever answers no. Then, hesitantly, take them on.

Three. With the exception of the above, never, ever, ever, ever appear weak. Men want a captain they can follow. If they are doubtful of your skills you may find yourself subject to mutiny rather quickly. And that is never a good thing.

My picks:

First officer: Gorgeous brunette by the name of Robyn Eul. Very articulate and great with other people. She seems to be the type who wishes to command, but is not ready for the responsibility of directing large groups of people. Good for me because of a less chance of mutiny.

Navigational Officer Helen Giæ. The æ threw me off, too. At first I thought it was a typo, but sure enough, its part of her name. Must be Norse or something. The best item to test your navigational officer with is a deck of playing cards. Memory is essential in this job, and a good navigational officer can remember the last thirty jumps you made. What you do is take the card, shuffle it, and then show each card in order to the person being tested. Show each card for a short time, maybe two seconds. After this is done, have them read it back to you. This is really tough, but if they can get the first twenty or thirty cards in a correct order, you're set. Di made it to card forty-two before she repeated six of clubs.

Cook Ylde O'Brien. She was originally on the staff of the bar I went searching for crewmates in. I took one taste of the food she made and offered her nearly twice the pay of what she was currently making in the bar (which really is no sweat of my back, she still cost less than Di and Robyn). She accepted. One of the best finds of the evening.

Weapons officers Chad and Doug Rockford. These two were actually commons at the Dailight Bar. They're plans to join a merchant ship crew fell through, so I got 'em. The brothers themselves couldn't be more different. Chad is a beast. 6'3", 230 lbs. Doug .....is not. He's only 5'6" and 140 lbs, but his aim is dead on. I hired Doug because he'd be more helpful in a ground fight, despite his size handicap. What's better, they're both equally smart, and since I knew them I could offer them a lower wage without any guilt. Not that I'd lose much sleep over it anyway.

For my engineer, a short mouse of a man named Wilson Sheik. When he applied at first I considered him for communication. He speaks eight languages and is very, very well read. He really isn't much of a people person though, so I left him in engineering, which he also happens to be very good at.

My final pick of the evening was communications officer Lori Lee. She doesn't have the language fluency that Sheik does, but she has a beautiful face and a great voice. Both of those are just as important for first contacts with other ships.

Zan Eyl, Robyn Eul, Helen Giæ, Ylde O'Brien, Chad Rockford, Doug Rockford, Wilson Sheik, Lori Lee. The crew for the piece of junk I purchased six hours earlier.

"My ship still needs a name" I announce to those present. Ylde had to tell her boss she was quitting, and wasn't here at the moment. "And since your all her crew, I think you have just as much of a right to name her as I do."

Doug Rockford leans forward placing his weight on the table. "How about..... the Holy****ingShiznetKaZipZapZoomPirateKiller?"

Chad bursts out laughing. Robyn raises one eyebrow. Sheik chuckles. Helen giggles. Lori stays quiet.

I say "What?"

Doug says "Or not."

"I propose that we name it the Hyde." That was Sheik. "Definitely fitting for a monster such as herself, sir."

The table is quiet for a moment. No one wants that name, but no has anything better.

Chad leans forward and makes his suggestion. "How about the Athena?"

Helen giggles again over nothing.

I nod. "I like that."

Ylde returns and tells us everything is taken care of as she takes her seat at the table.

Robyn looks around the table. "Does anyone have another suggestion?" No one makes one. "Well captain," she turns to me. "I think we have our name. The Athena."

"Alright then, you have seventeen hours to get everything you need together." I stand up. "We'll leave tomorrow at noon. Our first mission is a cargo run of medical supplies to Darkstar. Its a long first trip, and we will be near pirate territory, but it has a hundred-thousand credit pay off which we need to upgrade the ship. Anyone who doesn't want to do this needs to say so now."

Fortunately, no one goes.

I continue. "Excellent. Then I'll meet all of you in dock nine tomorrow at eleven hundred hours. Don't be late, we leave at twelve."

With that, it's off to my quarters for some rest.

(This message has been edited by moderator (edited 01-14-2002).)

Very good: descriptive, detailed, flowing... all in all good writing. Write Chapters 3 and 4! Can't wait.

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The answer to life, the universe, and everything is...42.

I agree, exceptional. I await more chapters.

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Get a life, a cyberspace life.

Wuts up wit all the "it is this bar Zan Eyl decided he no longer wanted to work in."s?