Chapter 10 Negotiations

I watched Tasha close the door, satisfied only after the lights on the panel changed indicating it was locked. Then I headed back down the hallway toward the main lifts.  That is where I would find a public computer terminal.  I wanted to get some information before I went storming into Geklov’s office.   

Like before, the area became more congested with people the closer I got to the lifts. People lived on stations for a variety of reasons. Some came because it was where their corporation was based. Many more came because of the job opportunities and the chance to be away from the political situations on the planets.  It was the illusion of a better life.  Politics and religion still reached to the stations but it was an easier place to hide from it all.   

I had a message from Pelton on my communicator.  I checked it as I headed for a station public terminal bank.  He left me the location of Geklov’s office and a reminder to come as soon as possible.  I memorized the office location and stepped up to the nearest terminal. 

I let the terminal interface with my communications band and paid for local access. Some of the data was free, but anything good was going to cost me.  After the scan was complete, the welcome screen popped up and provided me with my current location and the environmental settings for this particular area of the station. I quickly typed in Geklov's corporation name and waited for a response.  Eventually all of the corporation’s information that was available through public channels filled the screen. Currently there were one-hundred and fifty-two members. They were recruiting pilots that could fly Jump Freighters and Capital Industrial Ships.

I called up the station schematics and plotted multiple routes between Tasha’s room, Geklov’s office, and the docking bay.  I downloaded the corp information and the lift schedule then disconnected. 

The lift arrived and several of the station workers got out leaving three tired looking men standing inside. I entered, and after punching my destination into the keypad stepped to the back of the lift. After about three minutes the doors slowly closed. During heavy use hours the lifts have scheduled times of departure like the shuttles on planets.

I leaned against the back wall and closed my eyes.  One breath is all it took to slip out of my Lakasha state of mind and into my pirate persona. I didn't let the pirate completely take over, but I needed her calm and killer instincts. A cool detachment washed over me and a smile spread across my face. She was ready, and knew it was only a matter of time before she was in charge. It was creepy that I felt like I was two different people. Honestly though, there was less Lakasha and more pirate all the time.

Eventually the lift made it to the floor I was waiting on.  I shoved a couple guys dressed in business suits out of my way as I stepped forward. They started to protest, but I glanced back at them with dead pirate eyes and they found something interesting on the floor to look at. I heard myself laugh as I exited the lift.  As I walked down the corridor people instinctively made a path for me.

I walked toward the confrontation with Geklov and my mind stayed clear and cold. The coming conflict felt good; there had been too much sitting around and waiting.  My heart pumped a little faster and I was ready for the fight.  I wanted to kill him more than anyone I have ever wanted to kill. That is saying a lot.  The pirate protested, but I let some of that cold anger slip away because I had to keep my head straight and remain calm as I could.  He had left an order that if anything happened to him Tasha was to be killed. 

After walking a quarter of a kilometer I turned the corner leading to Geklov’s office.  There was one guard standing outside the door. He was young and taller than average. As I walked up he nervously fondled the gun in his holster. I kept a close eye on his hand in case he decided he would be doing his boss a favor if he shot me. He wouldn't have a chance, but I didn't need to deal with station police for hours while we sorted the whole thing out. I probably wouldn’t win big points from Geklov either if he had to remove splattered body guard off the walls outside his office.

I walked up nice and slow, stopping about ten feet from the door. He put his hand firmly on the butt of his gun.

“I am here to see Geklov.”

“He already has a guest, you will have to wait.”

Slowly I walked closer to the door and rested my back against the wall. I put one foot up and let my arms hang loose at my side.  I made an effort to not to pay too much attention to the guard. I could see his hand and gun out of the corner of my eye. He relaxed and moved his hand off of the gun, resuming his position at the door. As I stood there I started to notice a muffled shouting on the other side of the door.

“So, who is Geklov with?”

“Herrier is in there with him right now. I am sure he will be with you momentarily.”

Herrier was one of Geklov's lead guards. We fought together against the Blood Raiders on a station in null sec to help sneak Geklov's people out that were trapped. During that fight Geklov had managed to work a deal to sneak himself and another guard named Antov off the station. The coward ran away and left his people there to die.

Herrier had led the assault forces that protected the station from the Blood Raider boarding parties. He proved to be an exceptional soldier and during our time trapped there we built some mutual respect.  He seemed to be too good of a man to work for a piece of shit like Geklov.   I guess if the money is good enough you can overlook a lot of things.  Mercenaries rarely concern themselves with the poor moral decisions that their employers make.  It’s not good for business. 

As I stood there waiting my turn I mentally reviewed the routes to the lifts and the things I was going to say. There wasn't any doubt in my mind that I was going to get Tasha out of here and safe. It was just a matter of what lengths I would have to go to get the job done.

I crept closer to the door. The kid didn't seem to notice. He had slipped back into that passive “spending my time until shift change” attitude. It was good to see that he wasn't much of a guard. I would keep that in mind if I needed to pick which shift to return on.

The door opened a crack and Harrier’s voice boomed into the hallway.

“That is bullshit. There is no way you can pay me enough to keep saving your ass when you do stupid shit like this.”  Then the door shut again leaving me with nothing to listen to but muted voices.

Finally, the door opened and Harrier came out. He was shorter than me with a tight military haircut. He was one of those guys that you can tell is dangerous. A completely oblivious person could sit down next to him in a bar and immediately get up and leave. They might not know why they decided to move but they needed to go somewhere else.

He was dressed in combat pants and a plain black shirt. His military issue carbine was secured in its holster on his left side. It was the only weapon visible but people like Harrier never stopped at one. Weapons are like drugs and a security blanket all rolled into one. At least that is how I feel about them.

“Get lost,” he barked at the kid standing next to the door. The kid jumped and mumbled a startled “yes sir” before grabbing his bag and hastily heading down the corridor.

I relaxed and gave Harrier a friendly smile. A few days ago he and I were on pretty good terms considering we had been working toward the same goal, but it was hard to say if any of that mattered now. Mercenaries had rapidly shifting loyalties.  He shook his head back and forth and blew out a deep breath of air. Then he nodded back.

“He is expecting me? I assume that is why you are guarding the door.”

“Yep.”

I walked past Herrier and through the door. A large ring of furniture occupied the area just inside. It served as a little meeting place for business clients, but it also blocked easy access to his desk.  The walls were covered in all kinds of semi expensive looking art.  Behind the furniture were a few short steps that led up to an enclosed business area. Geklov's desk and a single chair were offset into a corner.

Geklov was sitting at his desk with a welcoming smile on his face.  I'm not sure if it was possible or not but I could swear he had gained ten pounds in the few days since I last saw him. His hair was greased back again and he was wearing another all white business suit.

He stood behind the desk and said, “Welcome Lakasha, I have been expecting you. I have been looking forward to establishing a promising business relationship with you.”

I smiled back, but it wasn't a happy smile. I knew the smile held no warmth and my eyes would be cold as well. It didn't make him drop his though. To him I was just another business associate who he thought owed him.

“Me too Geklov. I have been looking forward to this for days,” I said and my heart sped up as I tried to stifle the thought of choking him to death with my fist. 

He gave me a little wave indicating that it was fine to come up and sit down. I accepted the invitation and walked around the furniture and up the stairs.  The room was empty and his back was to the wall.  He probably had a gun behind that desk somewhere. He was also standing behind the most expensive thing in the room. All the art and furniture wouldn't add up to the cost of the desk. I recognized the make from some of the offices I visited as a pilot in the Caldari military. On occasion, I had the opportunity to meet with high ranking officers or even a member of the Caldari government. They all had desks that resembled this one.

It was made by Rohm United, a company that specialized in protection services. If he was sitting behind that desk he would be safe from almost all firearms. If he paid enough, he would be protected from a pretty significant bomb blast. All he had to do was recognize he was in trouble and dive under the desk. Then his guards could come in and take care of assailants while he was safe on the ground.

The desk was a good piece of protection. There were probably plenty of other little safety devices around the room too. Some things are harder to see than others. Then there was the sleeping area off to the side where guards could be posted.  I mentally gave him credit for a pretty good setup.

I stood in front of the desk and tried to slip into my most cold mental state.  It was not a good situation and I was not in a strong position for negotiation. Tasha owed him a lot of money and was a valuable asset. If he was worried she might get away or some harm might come to him he would be willing to kill her as an example.   Now it didn't matter how fast I could shoot or how reliable my friends were.  It was all up to me.

Chapter 9 Reunion

I didn't run into any issues on the way to Aikantoh. A few months ago the trip might have been an adventure, but I recently started doing jobs for the Caldari government to raise my sec status high enough to enter .5 systems.  My associates had convinced me to do it so I could help with a little POS removal project they had planned.  I uncloaked and warped away from each gate without so much as an attempted lock ringing in my head. For a moment I let my mind fill with memories of roaming around and hunting targets with the Hellcats. That didn’t last long though as the newer memories of the fight with the blood raiders seeped in. Maybe it was time for a vacation after I settled this mess with Geklov.

Aikantoh local wasn’t very busy.  The only ships I scanned in system belonged to Geklov's people.  After warping around making some safe spots, I headed to the Bio hazard Containment Facility. I made my final safe one hundred and fifty kilometers outside of the docking bay in case my security status wasn’t the same when I left as it was when I went in.

I was hesitant to go in. It wasn't the encounter with Geklov that I was worried about. It was meeting Tasha that had me all wound up. This time was worse than usual. I really wanted to understand what all I had missed that led her to make such shitty decisions. How the hell did she get to the point where a slime bag like Geklov owned her?

I shook the thoughts out of my head so I could focus.  Why could I never let go of us and just accept whatever it was that our relationship was about? I spent months telling myself she was a friend I cared about but didn't need in my life. Yet here I was again, running across half of known space to save her ass and buy her out of a bad deal.  When was I going to learn?  Someday I would have to let her go, but today was not going to be the day.

I warped back to the station and initiated the docking sequence. I handed over control of the ship to the stations docking computer and started the power down sequence. I felt the pods systems go offline as I mentally pulled the plug on each of them. After the docking sequence was complete the station machinery gently lifted the pod out of the ship and placed it on the ramp.

As soon as the pod was resting on the ramp I started the checklist for the power up. In my world you never know when you are going to have to get off a station in a hurry. I carefully placed each of the wires in the same order, same place, every time.  It was a habit that could be a life saver when seconds to launch could mean life or death to my fleet members.

I hurried over to the nearest communications panel and entered Tasha's number, waited about a minute, and disconnected.  I didn’t expect her to answer but I knew Geklov would be monitoring her communications and would now know I was here.  While I waited for some kind of response I watched the station’s massive machines move ships from one area to the next. The station’s network tracked everyone inside and it was virtually impossible to hide. The docking computers always knew when someone was headed toward the hanger and the machines made sure the ships were ready.

After about ten minutes one of Geklov's lackeys appeared in the hanger looking for me. I didn't recognize him from the assault on the science station but he was so obvious there was no doubt. I scanned the area to determine if he was alone then clicked my blaster off of safe and walked to meet him.

Up close he was not much to look at. He looked kind of like an earth worm. His bald head was wrinkled and he was so skinny that it looked like he had been working on a slave ship. He was wearing a white toga that did nothing to compliment his pale complexion.  I have no idea how I could be Caldari. I will never get their sense of style.

I walked up to him and waved. He flinched a little bit and stared back at me.

“Looking for me?”

“I am truly not sure. Are you Ms. Nachthexen?”

“Yep.”

 “You are to come with me to speak with Mr. Barkly immediately. I shall show you the way.”

That was cute. Geklov wanted to see me immediately. I wasn’t going to meet him without checking in with Tasha first and making sure she was okay. Besides, I needed to know what Geklov had said to her since I’d been gone. It hadn't taken long for me to finish the fight with the Blood Raiders and get up here, but several days had passed since both Tasha and Geklov left the station.

“I am afraid I will need to speak with Ms. Amira first.” I gave him my best “I am in charge here look” and waited for his reply.

He seemed to consider my statement for a second, too briefly, then nodded and started walking to the far lift.

“As you wish.”

I allowed the worm to lead and followed.  It was the first time, of many, that I felt tendrils of anxiety spread into my chest.  Geklov expected me to want to see her first, of course.   I could only guess at how he saw this as a tactical advantage.  As much as I hated the man I knew he was good at what he did. It would be a mistake to become arrogant.  He was as deadly as I, but in a more cowardly way than I was used to dealing with. 

The lift was a solid tube of shinny steel that spanned the entire length of the station. The stations are enormous and have a lot of angles on the outside so sometimes you have to use more than one lift to get to where you want to go. The docking areas normally had access to a station spanning lift. The one we were walking towards however was not one of those. I reasoned that Tasha’s room must be located at one of the angles near the outside of the station.

Was that important to know? Probably not, but it was a part of that obsessive paranoia that kicks in whenever I am in a situation that might go bad. You never know what little piece of information will be the key to saving your ass. As we walked, I observed my surroundings and started filing away little bits of information that might come in handy later.

“So...what is your name?” I asked, trying to get the little man to talk. Maybe if he relaxed he would let something slip.

“I am Pelton Freree”

“Well Pelton Freree, can I get you a couple more vowels for your name?” 

Okay, I said it in a dry sarcastic way. Because that is how I like to talk to people. It took the little guy forever to figure out the joke. He nodded and then I waited until a little spark of light shined in his eyes.

“Umm, no that won’t be necessary.  I have many already.” 

“What do you do for Mr. Barkly?”

“I provide administrative assistance”

“Aren't you a little too cute for that?” I said as flirty as I could.

He looked at me and I could see the wheels turning as he tried to decide if I was making fun of him or not. Before he decided, the lift arrived and the doors opened. Realizing I wasn’t going to get anywhere with the conversation, I followed him in and resigned myself to gathering as much other information as I could.  Pelton carefully entered our destination into the control panel and stepped back as the doors closed.

The lift rose smoothly up the tube. They were quiet, but I expected them to be loud. Or maybe I was waiting for the grinding and screeching as the lift fell to the bottom of the shaft killing everyone on board. I didn’t like the lifts, but I wasn't willing to give into fear and walk up seventy flights of stairs. I occupied myself with happy thoughts of blowing up squishy pods and waited for the ride to be over.

The lift reached Tasha’s floor in under a minute and we stepped off into a residential area. It was busy with people going about their daily routine.  By the look of their clothes they were probably lower middle class.  Tasha's standard of living had dropped since returning to the station. I followed Pelton as he danced around the crowed and headed down the corridor. At each intersection the corridor became less crowded. 

Finally, we stood in front of a metal door leading to a living quarters. My heart pounded and my stomach gave a little roll to remind me it was there.  I didn’t know what to expect, a feeling I don’t like.  I didn’t know what shape Tasha would be in when the door opened, or if this was a trap. I smiled as a little burst of adrenalin hit my system and I moved my hand to rest it on my blaster.

Pelton entered a code and the door slid open reveling Tasha at a table reading on the other side.  Relief washed over me when I could tell she was alone and looked physically okay. Tension seeped out of the muscles in my back and I took a deep breath not caring if anyone noticed.

“I will leave you two. Mr. Barkly will be waiting. Please don't take too long,” Pelton said, and headed back the direction we came from. The next thing I knew he had melted into the small crowd near a lift. Maybe he was a little more than an administrative assistant.

I looked back in time to brace myself as Tasha wrapped her arms around me and held me in a tight embrace.  I returned the hug, relieved she was okay.

“The room is bugged,” she whispered as she let go and backed up a step.  I reluctantly let her slip free.

I looked into her tired eyes.  A light pink lined the beautiful green making them seem even brighter. It looked like she had been up crying for days.  Once I would have seen her soul by looking into those eyes but now all I saw was the reflection of her physical exhaustion.  A little of that heavy feeling returned to my heart as I thought about how much she had been through and how things had changed.  I knew she was worried about her association with Geklov, the loss of her research, and about a million other things. I let out a little sigh followed her into the room.


The room was a step down from where she was living before. The small living room led to an attached area for cooking. Off to the right was an entrance to what appeared to be a little bedroom. That was all there was. Geklov was the type who would consider a smaller living space punishment, but the way I saw it if he wanted to punish her she would be living with him.

The room was sparse but everything about it screamed Tasha. Back when we were in pilot training she liked to buy a lot of stuff.  As the years passed physical items never compared to the joy she got from being in a lab so those habits had changed.  She did however love art, and that was something that had never changed.

Around the room was a collection of very Tasha like art. Every wall had at least one painting. Each painting was a different artist but all of them were Tasha's style.  Everything was her style except for a hideous blue neon lamp on one of the tables. I never thought in a thousand years she would buy such garish novelty item. I turned my head eyebrows raised, and looked at her.  She gave me a noncommittal shrug in return. It probably involved a lot of Gallente alcohol.

We moved to the center of the room and sat on the small blanket lined couch, “Are you okay?” I asked.

“I am doing okay so far.  I didn't think I was going to live until you got here”

“Well I am here now, and I will take care of this. Okay?”

She nodded and slid over next to me on the couch resting her head on my shoulder.  I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. I needed to get to Geklov and make this okay so she would be safe.   I hadn’t been there for her like I should have been.  I could be there for her now.

“I haven’t been able to sleep,” she said as she snuggled closer.  I reached up and ran my fingers through her hair, not sure if I was comforting her or me.  Her body relaxed as she practically sank into me.  An old feeling of longing stirred that I had shutoff many years ago.  I stopped it cold but not before the memory of holding her against me as she slept flashed through my mind.

Those precious memories were all I had left of the one time in my life when I felt hope for myself.  I would lie next to her long after she had fallen asleep and run my fingers through her hair.  Never before or after had I felt such love for someone and felt loved as well.   I would close my eyes and feel like there were good things in the universe and I could be happy.  Peace, I guess is what people call it.

“I’ve missed you,” she sighed.  I missed her more than I thought was possible.  It broke my heart to know that it had all changed and we could never seem to get back to that special place again. Now wasn’t the time to think of that though.  I had a job to do to keep her safe.   

“Do you think you can keep Geklov from killing me?” her voice was a whisper and I hated to hear her sound so afraid.  Hatred filled me in a way I had never felt before.  I wanted to make sure he paid for all he had done. Not just to Tasha, but also to his people. The first thing I needed to do was get her free of him then I could worry about bringing a little balance to the universe.

“I think I can get him to let you go. He should be willing if I give him the right motivation.”  I said it as confidently as I could. There were a lot of factors involved in this deal.  Money wasn’t going to be enough to make him let her go. She was too valuable. Her research had the potential to make billions of ISK if she could find a way to finish. Even if she couldn't, she would come up with another profitable invention.  He had realized her profit potential and convinced her to sell her soul.  She hadn’t realized until too late what that bargain had cost her.

“I should go see Geklov.”

“Okay. Should I come with you?”

“No, stay here and lock the doors.  Don't let anyone in.”

I stood and pulled my blaster from its holster making sure it was fully charged.  Carrying a loaded blaster was illegal on the station but rules rarely applied to my kind. If I needed it I wasn't going to have time to load it because most people who carry a gun on a station already have it loaded.  The “good” citizens probably aren't carrying one to start with.

If I got caught, and that was a big IF, I would pay a fine.  The security forces on the station couldn't care less who was carrying a weapon let alone if it is loaded or not. Most of the security was automated anyway, and security guards didn’t get paid enough to take a blaster bolt to the chest. There were sensors to detect weapon discharges and panic buttons for station dwellers to alert security if something bad was going on.  Security never showed up until they were sure they wouldn’t get hurt.

“Anything else I need to know before I go see Geklov?  Has he said or done anything to you?”  She thought about it for a second and shook her head.

“He hasn't said much to me since we got back. He told me to stay on the station and he would see me after you got here. I think he wanted to see what kind of money you had to offer.”

I guess that made sense. He could talk to me first and see if I would offer him enough to make it worth letting her go. He knew if he hurt her before I got here I would kill him. It was better for him to keep his cards hidden and see what I was bringing to the table. Make me make the first move. He was smart. I just hoped I was smarter.

Chapter 8 Reboot

Even though I was in a hurry to get to Tasha I took a few minutes to enjoy the feel of my new clone.  I stood in the shower soaking in the hot water trying to feel each drop as it slid down my body. I was lucky to have survived the rocket blast in the hanger.  It had been a long time since I was hurt that bad.  Normally I do my fighting in a pod and I’m dead before I even know I’m hurt.   As the water pounded my back, a wave of anxiety washed over me as I thought about dying on that station and leaving Tasha to Geklov. 

After I was finished showering I wanted nothing more than to run straight to the hanger, grab a fast warping ship, and take the quickest route to Aikantoh.  But there were a couple of things I needed to do first.  Geklov wasn’t going to smile and say, “Thanks for saving my ass.  You and Tasha can leave now. Oh and here are a few million ISK to help Tasha get back on her feet .”  I went to my room and grabbed a few things I might need later then went to my office.

My office was in the same general disarray as it was when I left. There weren't many of us left now days, but we had a saying, “Once a Hellcat, always a Hellcat”. I had what I called an open door policy.  Anyone that ever held the title of Hellcat could come and go as needed.  I was always willing to use what resources I had left when one of the girls was in need. The only thing that had changed in my office since I left was a note stuck to my communications monitor.  Written was a barely legible note from Vicky explaining she had used my secure communications system, but not to worry because the deal was pretty legal.

Vicky was one of many who had come through the corporation only to move on to grander schemes.  I really liked her, which was a rare thing anymore.  She was a sharp pilot and always seemed to be at the right place at the right time. That of course had nothing to do with skill. She was the luckiest person I ever met.

Some of my instructors in pilot training use to say it is always better to be lucky than good.  I wasn't so sure about that. I figured my luck would run out right when I needed it the most, but I worry like that. Vicky was a more relaxed easy going person. Me, I work hard at what I do and Vicky makes a career of pushing her luck and winning every time.

The first order of business was to get some money together.  I was a little low on cash as I invested most of my ISK in the alliance. What was left was invested in a little cooperation located in high security space. High Security space or High Sec is where a lot of large scale alliances make the lion’s share of their money. It’s safer there because it’s where the “universal police” known as CONCORD provide the most protection.

Each of the four races went together and created the CONCORD organization. It is surprising they cooperated on the massive scale required to establish such an extensive police organization, since they hate each other so much.  In the interest in making money, and let’s face it all scum bag politicians want to make money, they agreed on a multiracial organization to police the large expanses of High Sec.

If you take the time to get to know the right people, such as those who are greedy and a little looser in their moral foundation then there is the potential to make a lot of money in High Sec.  Usually that included screwing over any number of corporations in any number of ways. Unfortunately for Tasha, a good chunk of my money was tied up in one of these little black operations.

I needed leverage with Geklov.  Like most shit bag business men, that leverage would probably come down to money.  I didn't have time to call in my resources that were invested in High Sec, so I started calling everyone I knew that could potentially loan me some ISK.

I’m sure you’re thinking it's unlikely that a pirate would trust another pirate with their money.  You would be wrong.  In general we are lying, cheating, killing, bastards. But we do form pretty close relationships under the right circumstances. There are several of my pirate friends that I would be more than willing to lose a ship for, and even a couple I would die for.

Most of my contacts are not that close, but we all like to make money.  If there is a chance for profit there are plenty of people that will loan you the ISK. I didn't have a good way to sell the idea that there was profit to be made by helping Tasha, but I could offer the money back with interest. For my closer associates that would be enough.

I contacted my closest friends first. Of the ones I could get a hold of, I managed to accumulate about five hundred million ISK. That with my own recourse left me slightly over one billion. After my previous meeting with Geklov I doubted it would be enough. I knew he was going to make this hurt no matter what I showed up with, but it would be enough to start. If needed, I can be pretty pushy when it comes to negotiations. By pushy I mean scary.  All I had to do was make a deal to get Tasha free and I could make him suffer later.

The next problem I needed to deal with was figuring out how Omir managed to get two Titans on the field. Okay, I didn't need to deal with that problem, but it was driving me crazy. There was no way a Blood Raider, even one as famous as Omir could get his hands on a Titan. It’s not only a matter of the billions upon billions of ISK needed to build one, but also the facilities and resources that are needed to produce a super capital ship.

During the fight I managed to get a good scan of the two Titans transponder readings. Each ship has a unique code that identifies the owner and ship type.  It’s continually broadcast throughout the system you are in, and picked up by receivers on the warp gates. It’s a way for CONCORD to keep an eye on all of the pilots out there. They collect the data for various reasons including commerce, statistics, and to be a general pain in the ass. The two massive ships transponder readings had been scrambled, of course.

Scrambling a transponder code is not as easy as you think. Sure you can do it, but it’s a waste of money to pay a hacker to hide your transponder readings. Even pirates don't really do it much. The data that CONCORD gets is usually delayed by hours. Also, CONCORD doesn't give a shit about what we are doing anyway. They long since quit caring about law enforcement preferring to concentrate on their goal of becoming the wealthiest and most powerful organization in the universe. They probably already are.

It was likely that whoever paid to have those transponders scrambled was pretty important somewhere. It was probably someone who did not want anyone making the connection between them and the Blood Raiders. Maybe someone who was in the middle of some great political or corporate takeover plan and wasn’t ready to show their hand.   

The more important question is why do I care? I guess there is something about a fleet of people trying to kill me and my friends that pisses me off. You could say that I am a bit vindictive. Whatever the reason, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to let it go. So I punched one last number into the communication system and waited for a response.

After about five minutes Karver's fat face appeared on the video screen. He looked more pissed than the last time I talked to him. The last time was after one of my corp mates had blown up his very expensive hauling ship. Then for fun, she popped his pod too without giving him a chance to pay a ransom. The clone she killed had several billion ISK worth of implants in its fat little skull. 

At the time Karver was under the impression that he was safe in our system.  He had paid us for protection in the areas under our control.  He should’ve kept track of the agreement better because his protection ran out two days prior.  As soon as his pass expired I changed his status back to neutral making him fair game for anyone in the alliance.  It’s not my fault that he doesn't keep track of his books as well as I keep track of mine. I mean, piracy is a business just like any other.

He stared at me and I stared back. Sweat poured down his face but I doubted it was an indication of any emotional response.  Fat just likes to sweat, and he was huge. I’m positive someone had to stuff him into his pod and ram the canopy down around his flabby ass. 

His size really wasn't much of an issue though.  Karver rarely left his pod. He spent most of his time in space, as he suffered from a phobia that revolved around the fear of being killed. Pod pilots have clones that are waiting for them on stations when their pods get destroyed.  Quite a few scientists have worked on ways to make clones viable outside of a pod, but so far none have been successful.  The need for an immediate brain scan at the exact time of death makes it an almost impossible dream. It’s easy to do with a pod because all of the equipment is right next to your skull and the computers know the instant the hull is breached to start the scan.  

Since I was the one needing a favor I put on my biggest smile and started the conversation.

“Hey Karver, how are things?”

“I thought I told you to fuck off,” his pleased smile made me want to go find him and give him another loss. I could take care of that later though and it wouldn’t hurt me to be nice for now.

“Well, that is one of the things you told me.” I kept smiling and waited for him to calm down.  I guess some people don't forget a fifteen billion ISK loss.

“I need a favor and you are one of the few people I know that might have the contacts that can help.” I threw it out there to see if he would take the bait.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Why would I do shit for you?”

“I have two transponder signals that I need unscrambled. I want to know who the ships really belong to.”

He pursed his lips as he thought about it for a second.

“What kind of ships?”

“Two Leviathans.”

He started laughing and it was the highest pitched girly laugh I have ever heard come out of a man. I jumped a little in surprise, but he didn't notice.

“Oh my God, that is funny. Tell you what, just because I am pretty sure that anyone who would feel the need to scramble the transponder signal on two leviathans will find you and cut your head off I will do it for free.”

He leaned back and grinned ear to ear. I knew he was right. Anyone who had the resources to field two titans and went to the trouble to hide who they were was not going to be happy that I knew. But there was a part of me that needed to know.  There was a chance that knowledge like that could come in handy. Of course, that was assuming that Karver didn't stab me in the back. Yeah, right.

Karver assured me he would let me know as soon as he figured out who the owner of the ships was. I ended the convo and grabbed a few data drives with documentation of my current available assets.  I also threw a couple of extra knives in my flight suit and two extra blaster charges for my gun. I wanted to be ready because there was a good chance I would end up fighting my way out of the Biohazard Containment Facility in Aikantoh.