The two dockhands came back to the bay and went over to where Hortan was standing with the chief artificer of the Latos Stations Custom Designs. Apparently they were haggling over the price of a new suit of armour for the "Certain Death IX"
"I don't care about the new lightweight streamlined chrome covered armour plates, I am happy with the standard plates, preferably painted yellow, but really any colour would do."
"But you save the craft for about 120 kg, and the new rounded angles makes it much easier to dodge the harmful effects of impact weapons. The chromium finish reflects up to two percent of the energy from positron weapons, and we can for a small extra fee put a coating of neutron absorbing material underneath as well."
Hortan sighed loudly. "Listen, I do not care. I just want the cheap and easily replaceable panels installed. I only use it for running, and if the guild needs it for transporting healing nanites. It is never meant to come into combat, nor even a combat zone. How long time will it take you?"
"Well, I do not have any of the cheap Xang Xi plates lying around, my customers are usually willing to pay premium price for the products that we install on their ships. But I will see what I can do, maybe strip some other ship of the factory plating maybe. So, it depends really."
"On the price too I can imagine?" Hortan raised his eyebrows at the man who smiled back at him broadly.
"Well, it depends on how many guys I put on it. For something like this, and in a hurry too, I'd say around 25k would do the trick."
Hortan sighed and grabbed his cred stick. "25.000 it is then, but then I want it yellow as well."
"Yellow indeed. Do you want to see the range of patterns we can make at a fraction more?"
Hortan shook his head and turned to the two dockhands. "So, is she coming?"
"Three hundred first, or we won't tell you that."
Hortan sighed once more. These stations in grey, they only lived to pump the average trader for money. "Not until she is here, that was the agreement. Now, here is a hundred, the rest is when she arrives, agreed?"
The dockhands nodded greedily, and accepted the hundred credits each.
"Aye, she is coming, but she didn't look happy at all. So, you need help unloading that ship?" He indicated the smashed up Atlas with one greasy finger.
"Nah, I do not have any cargo aboard it. Too many pirates around here for that."
The dockhands shrugged and walked over to their pet project in the corner, an Ineubis defence bot they were modding heavily with the addition of an Orion needle gun.
Hortan sat down on an empty crate that was lying on its side, the TPG marks proudly displayed on the side of it. Hortan scratched bit in the residue that was covering the label to see if it had been in a ship he knew of. Time passed slowly with that, accompanied by the hammering of the dockhands as well as the sizzling from his ship. The hammering stopped, as well as the noises from the ship, and Hortan looked up, initially at his Atlas but when he realised that all the mechanics were looking in the same direction, he did the same. Azumi, in a long flowing black lace dress with a bodice that was tied in the front with a red silk ribbon that continued up and was strung around her neck several times before being locked with a needle that was adorned with a single black pearl. She had her raven black hair made in a towering bun netted with a platinum string with white pearls, framed by a blood red gemstone in each ear. Her otherwise bare arms were covered in black silk gloves from her elbows and down. She was looking directly at Hortan with a small coy smile.
"You wanted to see me?" she said in a low husky voice.
Hortan snapped out of the trancelike state he had entered when he saw her. "Ms Azumi, I am so glad to see you. I need to see yoda, can you help me?"
"You need to... right. I should have known." Her voice changed, as did her facial expression. It was like donning a mask, and her piratess’s face was now on. Only showing slight disappointment, she walked over to Hortan. "And what do you want him for?"
"I need to discuss the behaviour of one of your pilots with him."
"Oh, and who might this be?"
"Lebermac."
"He is beyond reach. What do you want to discuss about him?"
"He shot me without hailing, and he almost killed my passenger too. It was really quite frightening."
Azumi couldn't help smiling, sometimes he was so innocent and....well, cute.
"Hortan, don't you know anything? Come with me and I will see if he is in." She turned and showed the twin red ribbons that ran from her neck to her waist, each adorned with a small kitty; the ribbons that only partially concealed the rolled up whip attached to her lower back in a single ring, and led him into the station. He entered the trancelike state again, his eyes fixed on her heels as he was used to. He hardly noticed the small gold skull that adorned the hilt of the whip. And definitely not her back that was so enticingly almost covered. He blushed, and remembered who was in front of him. The sense of having an important mission with the associated sense of urgency that could bury his insecurity vanished with the presence of her.
"Ehm, ah...Ms Azumi, I am very thankful that you are helping me like this, I really need to talk to yoda about it, I think that it is a horrible mistake, if only..." Hortan blabbered on, and Azumi smiled to herself. Now, that was the Hortan she knew.
