RP [Lands End] Business deals

[Nashoba]

A Jinsoku-Class Cargo Runner dropped out of FTL at the Hills Sphere for Lands End. Its hull was faded and scored with scratches and assorted weapon damage. A testament to the busy life this ten year old ship had lead. Painted on the white hull were black letters still mostly legible - GREY FINCH.

On the bridge of the ship sat Neil Burns. He adjusted the controls of his ship opened a comm channel.

"Lands End, this is the Grey Finch. Requesting permission to land." He sent.

"Hey, was wondering when you would turn up Neil. What is the status of the Finch?" same a female voice from the speakers.

"Dana, you sound almost concerned about my well being."

"Only because you still owe me a case of whiskey."

Niel laughed, "And here I thought it was my personality. Well fear not, I have your whiskey.

As for the Finch, no major repairs after this run. Just some basic maintenance and refurbishment."

"Okay, set her down on pad three. The Boss wants to know if you had any luck with his order."

"Tell Jacob yes. It was expensive, but I got everything he asked for. And I paid for all of it. Before you ask." Neil said with chuckle as switched off the transmitter.

Setting the Finch for re-entry he engaged the computer. He activated the ship intercom. "We are starting our landing. Best strap yourselves in, it will get a bit bumpy towards the end."

He switched the intercom off and thought about his passengers. Six people coming to Lands End to disappear. He did not bother to ask them what they were running from. It would not have mattered. Besides Lands End had a very simple policy. No Questions Asked. So once they got off his ship, they were Boss Talbot's problem.

The Finch dove through the atmosphere without incident. Neil watched the various indicators and tapped one of the warning lamps a few times and smiled when the lamp illuminated.

Looking through the view port he could see Lands End. The space port was circular by design. It was located on a cliff that overlooked one of the seas of Lands End. The eastern part of the port hung over the sea. Neil could see a couple of other ships. None of them looked familiar to him, there was one ship in the repair yard. Someone had a bad run. Hope that the crew is okay.

At 300 meters above the landing pad Neil took the controls of the ship. The onshore wind started buffeting the Finch and he was not willing to trust the computer to put her down safe. He made adjustments to her speed and attitude without looking at the displays. He knew his ship and the winds, he should he had been landing at Lands End off and on for five years. Lands End was a good place to lie low, or get his ship fixed with no questions. He had the Finch modified twice since his first time here.

He felt the landing gear touch down and let the ship settle on the pad fully. He switched off the engines, and left the generator running.

He looked at the weathered sign mounted on the entrance of the space port.

Welcome to the free port of Lands End.
All arrivals report to the port master's office.

Neil stood up and made his way into the back to escort his passengers to the port master.

 

[Floodwaters]

A well-built, tall and lean Nepleslian man with dark brownish-blond hair and a full, short-cropped beard snorted as the buffetting hull shook him awake in his seat. His mouth felt dry and his nose stuffy - he must have been snoring again. He rubbed the roof of his mouth to get some saliva going as he groggily looked around the small passenger compartment with his motley assortment of travel mates. There was one man there he knew, a stocky one with black hair and built like a bull he'd worked with on his last job. He knew his name, but not much else about him, only that he'd come from the same place and for the same reasons. The other four were strangers to him. A couple of them looked jittery and uneasy; he deduced they hadn't travelled this way much before, if at all.

He yawned loudly as he reached for the safety restraints on his seat and strapped in, rubbing his forehead and blinking a few times to clear the sleep from his eyes. Patiently, he waited out the turbulence, and in minutes the ship seemed to steady and he felt their momentum slow. Soon there was a dull thump and a final jolt. They were on the ground.

He felt the LCP-9 strapped to his hip, checked the clasp, and patted it with satisfaction. It was one of the few precious possessions he had left. Unfastening his restraints, he rose out of his seat and stretched, yawning again as he dragged the backpack carrying the rest of his only possessions out of the luggage compartment and slipped his muscled arms through the straps, cracking the knuckles on his calloused, masculine hands.

Hopefully this Talbot fellow would have some work for him, otherwise, he'd have to make it up as he went. His previous employer had sold him out, so there was no going back where he came from. But he felt fairly sure that if there wasn't any need for his services as a mechanic, there'd be a market for his other talents in a place like Lands End.

 

[Nashoba]

Neil made his way past the galley and entered the lounge. He looked at the people he had picked up.

"Grab your bags. Welcome to Lands End." the brown haired, blue eyed Nepleslian said.

"Lands End consists of two parts. The is the space port where the majority of business transactions take place. The other part is the town, that is where the folks who have settled here live. They pretty much keep to themselves, some of them work here in the port. But if you know what is best for you; do not mess with the Townies. They are under the Boss' protection.

You can get a room at one of the inns if you are not planning on staying long. Otherwise you can rent a place in one of the two apartments in the port.

There are plenty of merchants, and tradesmen in the port to take care of most of your needs."

He lead them to the airlock and extended the ramp. The smell of the sea wafted into the ship. When the breeze abated the aroma was a mixture of other less pleasant smells.

A Kodian walked up to the airlock from the other side. It carried a small box that clanked with the distinctive sound of bottles and tucked in under his arm.

"Careful with that Baka, or Dana will want your fur for a coat." Neil said to his partner.

"Don't worry. I won't mess up your chance with the red head. You're a bigger pain the ass when you don't get laid." Baka replied.

Once his passengers were off the ship, he secured it and they walked across the tarmac. The space port had a definite sense of age. The outer surface was worn and repaired in many places.

When the group got closer they could see a small sign next to the door.

* Hard currency, trade goods or labor only for all transactions.
* No electronic currency, and no credit unless you have collateral.
* All transactions final.

Opening the door a short corridor lead into the atrium, and a neon sign flashed above a doorway flashed, Port Master's Office. A pair of what could only be ID-SOL's stood on either side of the doorway.

Looking around the atrium, a number of booths lined the walls. There were a variety of species present.

 

[Floodwaters]

The man, with his pack slung over his shoulders and sidearm worn openly, followed the small group of passengers across the tarmac, taking in the local scenery. Least this place stinks less than Haven, he thought to himself.

"Hey Shelton," a gruff voice behind him called. He frowned; No-Neck hadn't spoken to him the entire trip, so why would he suddenly want a conversation now? Glancing over his shoulder with a disinterested expression, he saw the squat, bull-like man quicken the pace of his short legs to catch up with him. Had he known where he was going, he'd have picked up his pace just enough to make it uncomfortable for the black-haired man, knowing he would have to practically run to keep up with his long strides. "Ya think Peanut will be able ta find us 'ere?" the stocky man asked.

He groaned at the mention of his previous employer, still unable to keep from shaking his head disdainfully at such a stupid choice of a street name. He still couldn't figure out if it was supposed to be ironic or clever in some way, but even if it was, it was far too esoteric to be understood by anyone. Anyone with a brain stem, anyway. But then again, Peanut was a dangerous man, and notorious for exacting violent deaths upon those he considered a threat to him. Or just whenever he thought he could get away with it, really, which was quite often in his sphere of influence. Maybe that was the joke.

"We got at least ten systems between us," he replied with an exasperated sigh. He lowered his voice, keeping his eyes straight ahead rather than giving the shorter man the courtesy of eye contact. "Besides, if I were you I'd be more concerned about the law than Nutty."

The stocky man snarled. "Yeah, yer right," he replied in a low growl. "Rat bastard. 'E better 'ope I never get my 'ands on him for tossin' us under tha bus like that. I'll feed 'is bollocks ta 'is mother."

The tall Nepleslian chuckled derisively. "You be sure to let me know how that pans out for you," he replied.

"Ya mean ta say ya isn't sore about takin' the fall fer that prick?" No-Neck said incredulously. "He makes off with tha payday an' throws the cops off on us after we did the dirty work?"

"What, did you expect him to follow his profound sense of honor?" the tall man said sarcastically. "I mean to say I dunno why you're so hung up on it. He fingered us, end of story. Who cares about that now? We're off his radar with our hides intact. Wash your damn hands of it already. Plenty of other paydays out there."

No-Neck just grumbled and said nothing further.

The man followed the ship captain and other passengers between two towering ID-SOLs and into the port master's office.

 

[Nashoba]

Neil listened to the talkative pair of his passengers. It was not a new story to him. He probably heard it a couple of dozen times. The names might be different, but pretty much the same.

As he was about halfway a red head with short straight hair, with blue eyes came walking up to him in a grey body suit. "That my whiskey?" she asked.

"Yeah Dana, it is your stuff. Made sure to get your the good stuff." he handed her the box.

She lifted one of the bottles to check the label. "You did good space jockey." She moved in closer and gave him a long passionate kiss. "When you get done here, come on over to my place. I have a new outfit I have been waiting for a reason to try on.'

"Sure thing, I don't think it will take long before I conclude my stuff with Boss. I'll grab some take out on the way there." Neil said with a smile.

He watched her walk away. Then turned back to his passengers. "Let's get you settled."

He walked into the office past the ID-SOL's. "How's it going guys?"

"The usual." they both said at the same time.

He looked at the man sitting behind a large wooden desk. He had salt and pepper hair cut in a flat top. A pipe protruded from the left side of his mouth. "So Boss, when do you want your supplies off loaded? Hopefully tomorrow as I have some R&R to attend to."

Jacob stood up to his full two meter height and clapped Neil on the shoulder. He took his pipe out of his mouth and put it on his desk.

"No problem, I interfere with Dana's plans. She'll make my office a nightmare for at least a week."

He turned to the six people standing before him.

"Welcome to Lands End. I am Jacob Talbot. Everyone here has their reasons for being here. We have smugglers, pirates, guns for hire, merchants who come here. Whatever problem you had out there. Stops here. We operate by a simple rule. No Questions Asked. Some people come here for repairs, some to purchase stuff.

A good number of our folks are here to avoid the police, avoid criminals, the military. Whatever your reason, as long as you stay here, you are safe.

Lands End can always use people with skills. So if you find yourself a bit lean in the pocket. Check the boards. You will always find people looking to hire people. Some jobs are temporary for a specific task. Other jobs are as permanent as anything is in this life.

There are plenty of ways to get into trouble here in the port. If that is what you want, then I am sure you will find it.

Don't mess with the Townies. Most of them come from bad situations and just want to live and let live.

Slavery and rape are not tolerated.

Any questions?" he said

 

[Floodwaters]

The tall, bearded Nepleslian shrugged his face in muted surprise as the port master introduced himself. Jacob Talbot, he thought. Good name.

He listened to the speech that Talbot had probably given dozens of times before to the rabble passing through these doors, if not hundreds. The blunt presentation was refreshing to him. No nonsense, no frilly pleasantries, no spins or unnecessary embellishments. Just the facts, exactly how they were. Precisely how he preferred it.

When Talbot asked for questions, there was a hushed silence over the passengers for a moment as one or two of them looked at one another, No-Neck included, but the rest of them simply stared straight ahead, saying nothing.

Just as the man thought they were finished and prepared to make his way over to the job boards, No-Neck spoke up. "Aye, who are the Townies?" the stocky man asked.

The bearded Nepleslian sighed and rolled his eyes up towards his brow. He figured that was self-explanatory enough, but apparently it needed to be clarified for his thick-headed travel companion. Even if it wasn't, he should have known better than to ruffle anyone's tail feathers around here, at least for the time being. Stupid man. It was a wonder he was still alive at all.

 

[Nashoba]

Jacob looked at the man who asked the question. There was usually someone who would ask the question.

"Apart from the obvious that they live in the town just outside of the space port. They are people who came from bad circumstances that unlike most of our visitors. They were not at all responsible for their plight.

They are a mix of regular folk that fate dealt a cruel hand. Some are witnesses to crimes that the people responsible for them own the local police. Some of them are family members of politicians or corporations that pissed off the wrong people. We even have a fair share of war refugees.

They all have one thing in common. Someone from Lands End found them and helped them to get here before something worse happened to them.

They are free to leave any time that they choose. But most of them prefer to stay here safe. They usually keep to themselves.

Some of them have farms that our facilities buy stuff from. They run your more basic shops, both here in the Port and in town. They have a nice restaurant and hotel.

Townies all have a green holo-bracelet that shows their face, name and who sponsored them. You will find that a good share of them have me as their sponsor.

So if you decide to interact with them, remember that their sponsor will not take kindly to them being hurt."

Jacob reached down to his desktop and picked up a silver flask. He opened it and took a swig.

"Now if there are no further questions, we will get you folks processed. Each of you will be assigned a number. That number is what is used to record any transactions you make. Your actual identity is stored in Tin Man over their in the corner." He said pointing to a Custodian War Android. "He only listens to me so your data is secure.

Once we get done issuing ID cards, you can go and avail yourself of Lands End's facilities. Make sure when we process you, that you give any useful skills that you want to share. For example our clinic can always use folks with some medical training."

Neil pushed a table away from the wall that was on rollers. "Okay here is the paperwork. It is fairly simple. Name - what you want to be called while here. It can be your real name or not. We don't care. Under that the next fields are self-evident. Race, gender, age. After that is the talents and skills section. Share what you want, but when someone comes to Boss Talbot looking for talent. Well I think you can figure it from there. You can put down any job experience you have, no details.

Once you fill out the form. Take it over to Tin Man. He will scan it and your biometrics. Then he will destroy the form, and issue your ID card. You will note that it only has a bar code, and a color dot next to it. New folks get blue dots. The longer you are here, and the more successful you are. You will get a different color dot."

 

[Floodwaters]

The bearded Nepleslian held his breath, giving a sidelong glance to No-Neck in anticipation of another stupid question, but thankfully, Talbot's reply was thorough enough for him and he said nothing further. He followed the other passengers over to the table, crossing his arms as he waited for his turn.

He caught a glimpse of one or two of the others' paperwork, and at first he couldn't help but smirk a little and shake his head at how thorough they seemed to be, giving all sorts of extraneous information that wasn't asked for. It seemed to him that if someone wanted to disappear, they wouldn't leave such a detailed paper trail. But then it occurred to him that perhaps they were more clever than he was giving them credit for, and all of the information they were giving was little more than an elaborate cover identity. It could happen.

With a mental shrug, he stepped up to the table when it came his turn, picking up one of the overused pens available and began to fill out his own. He'd gotten out of scrapes before, and the universe was big enough to have plenty of other places to hide. Land's End certainly wasn't the only one. And anyone that would come looking for him here wouldn't be thrown off by a fake name, so there wasn't much of a point in wasting his time on one. He'd probably forget it anyway. All the same, he kept his answers brief and clear.

NAME: Jacob Shelton
RACE: Nepleslian
GENDER: Male
AGE: 27
WORK EXPERIENCE: Security, loan collection, asset retrieval, salvage operations
TALENTS: Mechanic, electrician, hand to hand combat, light arms, small scale demolitions, small spacecraft pilot

 

[Nashoba]

Jacob leaned against his desk watching the people fill out the necessary forms. He already knew that two of them were destined for Town. Niel had already passed on their information.

When the couple had their cards, Niel walked up to them and escorted them over to a man with long brown hair. His hair was best described as shaggy, but he had a trim beard that outlined his jaw line.

"Thomas, there are our two newest Townies, Sarah and Micah." Niel said to the man. He then turned to the couple. "Thomas will escort you through the Port and over to town. He will see that you are given some extra stuff to help you settle. Let him know if you have any special needs."

The couple thanked Neil and the woman gave him a hug. Then they walked off with Thomas who started chatting with them.

Niel turned to Jacob, "Need me for anything else?"

"Nah, I got thing covered. Go grab yourself a shower before you go see Dana." Jacob replied.

With a wave Niel turned and walked briskly way with bounce to his step and whistling a tune.

Jacob meanwhile took another sip from his flask watching the last two fill out their paperwork. He was interested in the last person, his demeanor showed he was a thinker. Probably should keep an eye on him, could be useful or trouble. Time will tell.

 

[Floodwaters]

Jacob Shelton finished his paperwork a few seconds after No-Neck did. The stocky man moved right on over to the android to get his processed, but as he picked his own up from the table and took one step towards the war android in the corner, he hesitated. Narrowing one eye, he turned to Talbot.

"You say our data's secure," he asked casually, "and that your bucket over there only listens to you. I gotta ask, though," he continued. "What's to stop someone from getting it outta you?"

 

[Nashoba]

Jacob looked at the person before him. Been a while since someone asked that question. Guess it was about time.

"I had you figured, always trying to figure things out. Every so often someone coming here wants answers.

'How can the information out of me?' Well that's easy. First how are they going to do that. Try to threaten me? Tin Man and the twins they make it pretty hard for anyone to get close to me that I don't want. Plus there are other people that no one sees on my pay roll to make sure I'm not bothered.

Or I could say that most people here have a vested interest in keep the status quo.

But the simple truth, while all that is true. The best answer is this. I do not have the information to give. "

He turned towards the android. "Tin Man, the gentleman who just gave you his data. Tell me his name, and occupation."

"Command accepted. Response - 187321. End." the android said with clearly electronic voice.

"What does he look like?"

"Command accepted. Response - 187321. End."

"You see when it comes to accessing personnel records Tin Man has all the data. But he's been programmed to only supply ID numbers.

Tin Man, skill query ship technician."

"Command accepted. Response, 148273, 11002, 00387"

"Disregard query Tin Man." he turned back to Jacob.

"So does that answer your question?"

 

[Floodwaters]

Shelton shrugged his face, only mildly impressed. "Hence the wristbands with barcodes," he replied, though in a way that was not so much a response as it was thinking out loud. He cleared his throat and smirked as he twitched his eyes over to Talbot, nodding once. "Yeah, it does," he continued, his voice a bit more solid and obviously intended for the Boss. "Thanks."

The smirk didn't fade. He'd met several people in the past who also were smugly secure about how hard they would be to get to. Two had given someone else up to save their own skin, five had been forced to flee, and one was dead.

"Guess I'll just turn my homework in, then," he said, stepping over to the Tin Man and offering his paperwork.

 

[Nashoba]

As with the others, the android read the papers, promptly incinerated them and issued Jacob a plastic card.

"If you want to look for a job, just check the boards. You can review what is being displayed which are your more basic jobs. If a job comes in to me, Tin Man will post your number on the board in the lower left.

You can also come down here and ask if there are any openings. I suggest you go get yourself some grub, a room. Get settled."

He picked up a small disk and tossed it to the other Jacob.

"That will get you a free dinner at the diner."

 

[Floodwaters]

Snatching the disk from the air as it sailed towards him, Shelton nodded a single nod of thanks to the Boss. A meal and a bed sounded good to him right about then. Checking the straps on his pack, he turned to head out of the office and out into the Town. He'd get some food and stretch his legs a bit, then he could have a look at what kind of work this place had to offer.

 

[Nashoba]

Leaving the area Jacob entered the main concourse of the Port. At the far end an illuminated sign that said "TOWN" was clearing visible.

The sides of the concourse on this level were filled with shops. There were shops the offered to sell, repair and modify weapons. Another shop offered specialized body armor. There was a clinic 'Patch U Up' that was offering discounts on gun wounds.

Further down there was a shop 'The Nu Yu. that offered to remove unwanted identifying features. There were several bars, two of which had talented ladies calling from the upper level of the concourse to those who passed by.

 

[Floodwaters]

Jacob made note of a few of the more interesting-looking bars as he strolled down the strip. With an unassuming glance around the crowd, he scanned the area for his bull-shouldered travel companion, relieved to see he was nowhere in sight. Perhaps he could have a meal in peace after all.

His stomach growled as he pushed through the grave-faced people milling about, occasionally brushing shoulders with passerbys. It was a welcome change to be in a place where everyone seemed to want only to mind their own business, and weren't itching to pick a fight with anyone who stepped in front of them or looked at them cock-eyed. Anyone he came in close contact with didn't even so much as look up, let alone glare or demand an apology. For such a crowded street, even though the cries of vendors hocking their wares or screeching at patrons to try their seedy services echoed about, there was very little in the way of idle conversation. Even though this place fancied itself as a safe haven, he couldn't help noticing that it felt oddly like a city of corpses even with the lights and noise.

Following the directions the Boss gave him, it was a short walk to the diner he'd been given the coupon for. Pushing the door open, he walked inside. A hot meal would do him some good, then he'd find a place to stay before he started looking for work.

 

[Nashoba]

The smell of food would be the first thing to hit Jacob. There was a juke box in the back of the dining area playing some Nepleslian music. The atmosphere was much more jovial, with people talking boisterously over their food.

"Just you honey, or you meeting a friend?" a blue eyed, black haired Nepleslian woman said walking up wearing an green top and an apron. Her hair appeared to be long, but was pulled back into a bun to keep it out of her way.

She had a friendly smile, a pretty face even without make-up and held a menu in her left hand. "We have a place at the bar, we also have a booth or a table if you like."

 

[Floodwaters]

Jacob gave the waitress a confident smirk and shook his head once. "Just me," he replied. When she offered him his choice of seat, he nodded towards an unoccupied booth in the far corner. "That booth back there looks good, if it's fine with you."

 

[Nashoba]

"Sure thing, follow me. Haven't seen you in here before." She navigated past the various tables and dodged a number of wandering hands deftly. She then stopped by the booth and pulled a set of utensils that was wrapped in a napkin. She put it on the table and placed a menu next to it. "My name is Myrna, I be taking care of you. Let me get you a glass of ice water while you review the menu. Then I will let you know what the specials are."

 

[Floodwaters]

Jacob nodded wordlessly as Myrna led him to the booth, not bothering to respond to her observation of him as a newcomer. He figured it was really just idle chatter anyhow. He took a seat with his back to the wall so that he could be facing the entire room, leaving no possibility of someone observing or approaching him unnoticed.

He gave the waitress another half grin and nod of thanks as she placed his utensils and menu before him. "Bring me a pint of whatever you got on tap, too," he added.