Thread: An Eclipse of Corruption (Vuxayl x Cricket)

The dried food can that Xayun threw back bounced on the hull of his ship and landed on a small pile of rubbish that tended to reform when he was out working for days in a row. Something in the back of his head was telling him that he really should be treating what costed him years of mercenary work to pay off a little bit better, but a couple of cans and wrappers weren't going to do any damage. And he wasn't really willing to bother with that anyway. It was time to do a bit of RR, floating around in the middle of space, after successfully escorting a transport ship between two rather hostile systems. He did really competitive prices for almost all kinds of jobs. Reliable, with a record. And no paperwork involved. Xayun had decided years ago that if things had to be done right, he had to go out there and do them himself, even if that often required him to err on the morally grey side of things. His permit to fly in this area? Could have been forged. The custom weaponry mounted on the wings? Well, effective, but not exactly legal. And all those damn patrols, what a pain in the ass... he thought with a sigh, rubbing his face. And yet, unlike them, he was out there actually doing what needed to be done. Digging himself further in his padded chair, Xayun grabbed his old PDA, which he had managed to have hacked after paying a hefty sum of money to one of his connections. He turned it on and started flicking through the offers, the light-blue screen shining on his face and eyes. Uhm... he groaned, looking at the news section which once again convinced him that the political world out there was a shithole, one he was glad to be able to bypass most of the time. Lots of spam in his mail folder as well, but that's what you get when you hand out your contact to less than scrupulous aliens. The ore exchange seemed to present some good opportunities for sulfur trading... he circled and bookmarked it just in case. You never know when you find that kind of cargo, and he still had to earn a living. He skipped the product market, And then a quick browse through the classifieds... Twin Goi'kah Sisters, Searching for Special Entertainment... Hmmm.. Well, why not bookmark that as well. Might be worth a look. And now, the military and police feeds. The list of pendingon-course operations seemed to be pretty much the same as it was when he browsed it this morning. No real eye-catchers, and while there were a couple of notes pointing out multiple situations that were still available, they didn't seem particularly appealing. Actually, he noticed as he looked at the list a bit closer, there were indeed a couple of new entries. Exploded Engine, Debris Recollection, Sector 27-AH-90-QU one of them mentioned. No, thank you! Xayun said with a tired chuckle as he flicked the list down with a finger. Way down and probably abandoned was Frequent Raiding of Proprietary Solar Panel Array, Sector 10-HJ-74-QE.. The alien scratched his face, contemplating the details of the entry. Well I guess I'll end up doing that one later this week... he said, a tinge of weariness on his voice. And, finally, Emergency Towing Ship Signal, Planet 89-PG-28-HI. An emergency crash signal from a mining ship, a relatively rare - and profitable - occurrence. He ought to pay real close attention to this one. It took him quite a few swipes back and forth of the star map before it dawned on him. That planet... it was THE planet. They had been on the planet, the missing crew. It was real. Xayun jumped on the chair, the sudden rush of adrenaline making him look all over the place and wave his PDA in the artificial atmosphere. Once he had recovered from the shock he brought it back under his gaze, studying the details page a bit more. Freelance Crew Operators - Recruitment Link mentioned one section, pointing to a link for a public recruitment line. Xayun never sent an application faster in his life. He grabbed the thruster control and yanked it to full speed, heading towards the nearest planet. RR was officially over.