Thread: Heartless Alliance (Mr Master and Oreo)

On and on he went explaining each little sore spot of his day. Like he was the only person in the galaxy with problems. Was he attempting to garner sympathy? Lya knew races that tried the tactic, but the only thing that concerned Lya...was Lya. Her day had been no A class paradise either. That was the way of the universe Luck and the Great Scales. Sooner or later everything balanced. Except for those few individuals that seemed to wallow in muck like a Dilbian slime worm, bad fortune following them at every turn. Lya tried several times to intervene his little tirade, but in the end just let him continue until he ran out of steam. As his last statement fell like a demand she simply smiled. Perhaps he would be more reasonable after venting his anger. It worked for her, and if it brought her closer to making a deal with him, all the better. My, how you do go on, Mr. Underhill. Or is it Frodo? Odd name. Do you know that on Vendar 6 that's something someone's mother...well, that's beside the point. No sense starting off on the wrong foot, is there? It sounds like you're not having too good a day either, Frodo. Lya tried to not snicker, but the image his name kept producing, held an element of pleasure she was finding difficult to contain. My day has been less than desirable, too. Ever been chased across two sectors and into a high-inclination group in the inner part of the main belt of an asteroid field by Imperial androids intent on annihilating your species? Hmmmm? I can't return home until I dump my cargo. Now I'm stuck in this waste hole of a quadrant, dickering with a hapless human over an apparently worthless jump drive. My cargo is my own. The spaceport officials had no right to say they would confiscate what is legally mine. Her anger was re-surging at their presumption. They could have just allowed me to leave. If not for my good nature you would never have gotten the information you received from them. Because all I would have left was a gaping hole where your precious Daltron Delta 7 spaceport used to be. As for them coming after me, all I have to do is jettison that jump drive, and blow it straight to the last remnant of the big bang. In fact at the moment that is beginning to sound like the best solution to the whole problem. I've been shot at enough for one day, thank you very much. I'm sure with the proper alignment we can shove you out the airlock on a direct course back to that ship you came from. Though I'll be sure to stick around long enough to make sure you're safely back aboard. I wouldn't want to be known across the sector as the person who abandoned poor Mr. Underhill! Lya leaned in toward him, On the other hand, this could become a very...lucrative day for the both of us. I need a way to sell my merchandise, a middle man if you will. Your jump drive means nothing to me. We could both come out of this travesty with... Lya we have received an encrypted message, playing back now. This is Jediah Erhart, Captain of the Federated Alliance battlecruiser 'Heracles'. You are receiving this message on a two-way encrypted private channel. My ship's sensors have detected your cloaked vessel. You have five minutes to respond to this hail or you will be fired upon. Frodo, do you have anything to do with this? If they're sensing me because you gave them the information, I'll dump you and your tachyon leaking jump drive out the airlock and let your own people blow you to subatomic particles. If not, I'm getting the hell out of their firing range. Not that they could substantially harm me, but I hate being shot at!