Drunken Fish Civilian Installation, LTT 14976 - 3307-07-27 08:58 GST
David Matano walked into the Drunken Fish bar and looked around as he approached the bar itself. The establishment was empty aside from the barman, Antonio, which wasn't that unusual given the time. David was uneasy, though, as he was there to meet Ramesh Kattimani at 09:00, and Ramesh was never late in all the times David had worked with him. He was normally very reliable, a rare trait for a thief and pirate. The two had pulled off a number heists together over the past few years and the old goat always held up his end of things. It helped that he flew an A-rated Vulture, but the old man's skill wasn't lacking either. He didn't have David's reflexes, but had a knack for being in the right place at the right time. David braced his lanky 190cm frame onto a stool in front of the injection taps and ordered coffee and some empanadas. While he waited for Antonio he took in the decor. It had been a while since he had visited the Drunken Fish, but it was mostly the same. A think coat of clear resin had been added over the bar's metal top, probably to stop it rusting any more than it had already. A small holo projector had been embedded in the bar just in front of the taps with the words "Never forget" stencilled around its base. It wasn't displaying anything. David tapped it to activate it. A floating head of a man with a mohawk hairstyle was projected along with the text, "Dwayne Roberts: 2974 - 3306". David tapped the projector to dismiss the image as Antonio handed him the coffee bulb and box containing the empanadas. David ate his food and drank his coffee. He was considering asking Antonio if he had seen Ramesh, when another man entered the bar. The man wore a charcoal grey suit, with a cut that was fashionable amongst corporate executives from the Federation, and sported a very short blonde haircut. His broad shoulders, upright posture, and poised movements, didn't match that of a corporate executive, in David's eyes, unless the man was seriously into adventure sports. They fit a soldier better or a Federal special operative. David was on his guard.
The man sat down two stools away from David and ordered a bulb of coffee. David continued eating slowly and pretended to ignore the man, but noted the man's mild Federation accent and the small bulge on the man's left side as he sat down: the man had a small pistol in shoulder holster. David and the stranger ate in silence for a few minutes. Then the man turned towards David and spoke.
"I am just thinkng that you might be able to help me with something. I am looking for an acquaintance of mine. I was hoping to find him here, but it looks like I am out of luck."
"I am not really from around here. I am just passing through.", replied David.
"It's a bit out of the way, for a rest stop, isn't?"
"Good empanadas.", said David, chewing on the last mouthful.
"I can't fault you on that.", the stranger said. "Listen. We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot. My name is James, James Bond."
The stranger held out his right hand, a friendly, hopeful expression on his face. David shook it cautiously.
"And you are?", the stranger asked.
"Tokumei", said David, "Tokumei Wasabi". It was a name his grandfather used to use, when he didn't want to use his real name. David kept up the family tradition. The wise would know it was a false name, take the hint, and stop asking questions. The foolish, well they got laughed at when the asked others about him.
"You see, I really do need to get in touch with my friend. It is very important. It could be a matter of life or death.", James said, "His name is Ramesh Kattimani."
"Never heard of him.", said David, with a shrug. He drained his coffee bulb and tried to keep a blank face. His mind was racing. He needed to get away from this guy, and warn Ramesh that a Federal Agent was on his tail. He suspected that if he just got up and left now, he'd arouse suspicions and be tailed. The may even monitor his comms: this was a Federation controlled system now, after all. He decided on a different approach.
"What did this guy do?", David asked, "I have been know to claim an odd bounty from time to time. Perhaps I could help you track him down, for the right price, of course?"
"Oh nothing like that. Do I look a Federal agent or, something?"
David shrugged.
"Interesting. Well, I just have a business opportunity for him, that's all. So, are you a famous bounty hunter? Have you claimed any big bounties?"
"Nothing worth talking about. I take the opportunities that pass my way. Mostly, though, I deliver rare commodities, when I can get the work. I wish I had some exciting stories for you, but it is mostly g ive system security a bit of backup to ensure pirates don't get to high wake away."
"Oh, that doesn't sound too bad. Whatever pays the bills, eh?"
"Something like that, yeah."
"Well, it was nice talking to you 'Tokumei'.", the man said with a chuckle. He walked got up and walked towards the door to the back rooms, giving Antonio a nod as he did so.
David sat on his stool and considered his options. He could just leave, and hope he found Ramesh before Mr. Bond did. That was leaving too much to chance, though. Another alternative would be to kill him here, but he was unsure of the man's skills. Besides, he may not be alone. He knew very little about the man other than he suspected he was a Federal Agent. Overt action against the man was risky without knowing more. David decided to wait. If Ramesh arrived before the man left the private rooms, David would warn him and they could escape together, even if they had to shoot their way out. Two guns were better than one, after all. If the man left before Ramesh arrived, then he would follow him and see if he could learn some more. David ordered another coffee, browsed news on his hand terminal, keeping a discrete watch on the door to the back rooms.
Antonio had just placed the fresh coffee in front of him when the door to the back rooms opened and Ramesh walked out. Ramesh was a short and portly man with dark skin and a long glossy white beard decorated with rings. His hair was completely hidden under a blue turban, which matched his blue trousers. He also wore a light brown leather jacket, cut in a fashionable Imperial style.
"David, my good man!", he boomed across the bar, in the plumiest of plumy Imperial accents. David glanced back at the door, behind Ramesh. Ramesh nodded and raised his hands in a placating gesture.
"Apologies for being late. My business associates wanted to meet you before permitting me to describe the nature of our latest business."
"Are you working for the Feds now?", David asked.
"Oh no, definitely not. My new business associates pay much better."
"But that Fed agent?"
"Mr. Bond is definitely not a Federal agent, though he can be a passable facsimile of one when he needs to. You passed their interview, by the way. To quote Mr. Bond, 'You are the right kind of stupid'."
"I'm not any kind of stupid", David replied.
"David, my good man, everyone is some kind of stupid. Take me as an example: I could sell my Vulture and together with the funds I have laid away, retire to nice beach somewhere and have a comfortable, if modest, life collecting sea shells. But, my stupidity is that that kind of quiet life bores me to tears. Instead, I live a dangerous life, hanging out with dangerous people, doing dangerous things, and indulging my expensive tastes. The simple life would be cleverer and wiser. But here we are. This too, is the right kind of stupid, for my new associates' ventures."
"So, if we are the right kind of stupid, what does the wrong kind look like."
"Being too reckless, too curious, or too talkative. Taking Mr. Roberts here,", Ramesh said activating the holo projector embedded in the bar, "He picked a fight with a stranger without any clue of the strangers capabilities. He ended up being pinned to the bar by a dagger driven through his neck. His own dagger!"
"Not the cleverest move, that's for sure. You said, your new associates, plural?"
"Indeed. You have met Mr. Bond. There is also a Miss T'Soni."
"Odd names!"
"Not their real names, though they are backed up with very good credentials. Even the Pilots' Federation would accept them as being who they claim. Do you remember Saul Brambling?"
"Tech head in Deciat? Into Old Earth art and literature? He disappeared a few weeks ago. I've been looking for him: I have a sniper rifle I want to upgrade."
"That's the chap! Well he had done some work with a few agents of this organization. He told me that all their names are from Old Earth entertainment media: characters that were spies or secret agents. He was planning on looking to see if there were more of these fictional character names in circulation than the ones he had already met."
"That sounds like the wrong kind of stupid, to me."
"Indeed! I suspect you'll need to find someone else to upgrade your weaponry, I'm afraid. Beyond that, all I know about these people is that they are independent, prefer to act hands off, and are very well funded. The current operation will be my third for them. They agreed that some back up might be prudent for this one. I was thinking it might be something that you would be interested in."
"I don't know. I didn't good vibes from that Bond guy."
"You weren't meant to. They were looking to see if you were reckless or skittish. And also if you were talkative or disloyal."
"I am not sure if I need scary spooks in my circles, to be honest. Besides, I have a very lucrative heist opportunity of my own."
"You do? I am all ears my good man!"
"I did a small heist job at Rodgers Dredging Reserve in HIP 82030. Along with the Faction Donator List that I was hired to collect I found a set of Financial Projections. They indicated that the demand for low temperature diamonds was likely to spike in Tewanta next week. That would be the ideal time to swoop in, pirate a mining ship or two on the way to Tall Base, and make off with eight to twelve tons. More if you could come along and add your Vulture's firepower and cargo capacity."
"That would tempting in a place other than Tewanta. But in Tewanta, that is a rather high risk proposition."
"It's a high security system, but nothing we couldn't handle. And it would be at least 4 MCr each for a quick raid. Tewanta is independent, so we have no superpower bounty to worry about. We'd just need to stay out of Buurian Protectorate space for a while and to pay some lawyers to remove the bounties. There's risk, but the reward is good."
"I think you have underestimated the risk. True, we could get in quick and we'd be able to handle regular security forces. However, that's not what worries me."
"Are you thinking about Advanced Tactical Response teams?"
"That's one worry. Another is the Wyvern Wings: think ATR teams without their merciful or indecisive natures. I got my hands on some footage of them in action. They are a little scary."
"Okay, we'd need to keep an eye out for them and abort if they show up."
"If we can. Their ships are very fast and use FSD disrupter missiles."
"Ah! That will be awkward!"
"Unfortunately, my good fellow, it gets worse. The Tewanta system has been adopted by a grouping of independent pilots called The Buur Pit. Nothing too bad about that you say, except many of these pilots are billionaires. For reasons of their own the keep a vice like grip on Tewanta and its commodities market. They have at least three fleet carrier mega ships in system at all times and often patrol the system looking for pirates in heavily engineered warships. They are not looking for the bounties. They do it for fun."
"If we tie things right we could avoid them. They can't be vigilant all the time. We can uncover their patterns."
"Yes. That is true. And normally you'd be correct. However, if they take it personally, then nowhere would be safe. These people jumped two fleet carriers out to BRSO 14 to collect an explorer. There were multiple Corvettes and Cutters on board, with twenty three CMDRs there in total. There was enough firepower there to dominate whole star systems and the cost of the operation was in the millions just for the carrier fuel alone. The scariest part is that nobody can figure out why, other than that they wanted to. These people aren't rational and they have an irrational attachment to Tewanta and its low temperature diamond market. I can't stop you from trying your plan - who knows, you might be lucky - but it is far to risky for me, dear fellow."
"With this new information, my plan isn't looking so good. What did you have in mind?"
"An assassination. A former member of my associates' organization, flying a DBX, though he may have switched ship since then. We have a set of leads to follow. It shouldn't be to hard to track him down as he is not expecting trouble. We are delivering his notice, so to speak. However, if he does get away from our initial attack, he'll go to ground and be quite difficult to track. The contract is for 10 MCr and is exclusive to us for 30 days."
"And our target? How skillful a pilot is he?"
"He has a Pilots' Federation combat rank of competent."
"Easy enough! And his name?"
"Mr. Morden."