Thread: The Final Frontier (Wingshadow & I)

And just like that, Leonard's day turned to shit. Just as he was about to give the order to take off, the message light went off and Misty informed him of just who was making contact. The moment he heard 'Higashi Syndicate', he sunk into his seat with a groan of disapproval. You've got to be freaking kidding me... he uttered under his breath. He didn't like having to deal with these lowlifes, but for some reason, his old man did and his dealings with them usually required some kind of restitution of which he was unable to pay off before his death. From what he knew about the Higashi Syndicate, they valued honor above all else. Every deal, every promise, every interaction with them required that they be shown the proper respect at all times. Anything that could be considered an insult to them was punishable by death if the grievance was extreme enough. If a clients debts were not repaid due to death, then it would fall to their kin to carry the burden. There were no exceptions. Leonard finally sat up a bit, coming to terms that his days of peace and quiet would, for the time being, be coming to an end. Send it to my conference room, Misty, he ordered with a bit of reluctance in his voice. Chiharu, you come with me. Since you probably have something to do with this, I'm gonna need your expertise. Tina, you keep an eye out for those ships. If they decide to pull some crap like attacking the ship, you put up the shields and get us the hell out of here. For a moment, it seemed this young man was actually trying to act like a captain and not a lazy dumbass with little manners around women. He rose to his feet and, after a quick stretch, made his way to a room he wish he didn't have to use so often, the conference room which was basically a big table and several chairs. When it came time to conduct operations or discuss whatever predicament they were in, this was the place the crew would have to come. There was a monitor on the table of which the outside communication would come through with a simple press of a button. Leonard did just this and, after a bit of static, a person appeared on the screen. His name was Josuke Higashi. Chiharu's uncle and high ranking official within the syndicate. Leonard didn't know much about them personally, only how they operated as a group. But if his uncle was as much of a hot head as his niece, then this conversation wouldn't be pleasant. So you're the son of Richter Bryant, eh? the deep, aged voice billowed through the speakers. You look like a little turd I could step on with my boot and the stink would last for weeks on end. Fortunately for you, I need you alive because that's what my brothers and sisters wanted. Leonard didn't care how powerful this syndicate was supposed to be. He wanted to punch this guy right in his ugly, bearded, Asian-looking face. Silently, beneath his seat, he clenched his hand into a tight ball and squeezed it with every word this guy spoke. By the way, Josuke continued. How's my little niece? You're taking good care of her, aren't you? Because if you aren't, I can always give the order for her to blow your brains all over the place. You may owe us financially, but there is no price you'd be able to pay if any harm came to my little Chiharu. Yeah, she's fine, Leonard replied, doing everything he could to keep from punching the screen out. So what do I owe the pleasure of this little visit? You got some kind of mess you need me to clean up or something? You know you kinda caught me at a bad time. I was about to take your little Chiharu to a jungle paradise. She would have loved it there and maybe gotten one of your underlings to build a summer home out there. But now you had to go and ruin our trip... It appeared that Leonard was trying to take advantage of Josuke's love of his niece to perhaps guilt trip him in to going a little easier on him. For all he knew, this guy had some kind of dangerous, life threatening mission lined up for him. If he were able to calm him somehow, then maybe he'd change his mind and give him something a little easier to deal with. Heck, he might even cancel the mission and just go back to whatever hole he crawled out of. Unfortunately... Oh, I'm so sorry about ruining your little getaway, Josuke replied in a sarcastic tone. Maybe after this mission I'm about to give you, I'll tell you the location of one of the other ten thousand jungle paradises we have summer homes built for us. The old man laughed a cocky laugh as if to flaunt his financial superiority over this young upstart. When he finished, he finally got down to business. Ahem. Anyways, about that mission. We have suspected that within the past few months that one of our competitors has been quietly looting one of our carnium mines located on the planet Argus. As you well know, we had deliberations with the Galactic Military and eventually came to an agreement in which the planets vast mineral resources would be divided equally between us. We now believe that these underhanded bastards are using some kind of new technology to sneak inside and mine without us noticing. We've sent some of our men to investigate, but so far, none of them have returned. We want you to find out what happened to our people and who is responsible for the thefts. The Higashi Syndicate would be...most pleased if you were to succeed in this mission.