Chapter 1.2 - "First Contact"

I laughed. It was a good joke after all, even if it came from an ugly son of a bitch like him. The bartender in this seedy little watering hole looked like he took a plasma torch in the face, but for all that he was pretty charismatic. I reached into my pocket and dropped a handful of planetary currency on the counter, not bothering to count it but judging the weight to be more than sufficient.

This was not an establishment frequented by my kind. I wore a heavy jacket that covered up the implants and jacks in my neck. It was best to avoid anybody who might be interested in my presence. The bartender got more words out of me than anybody else: 'Thukker whiskey'. I looked around the bar again, wondering how in the nine hells of Rancer this place managed to stay open on the Inner Circle station.

While it was no secret that you could bribe your way into the good graces of CONCORD and their associated organizations, it was by no means a cheap feat. Clearly this little den of iniquity had some big backers or good cash flow on the side. The few scruffy workers and shady characters could hardly be drinking enough to pay for the lights let alone weaseling your way into the bank account of some bureaucrat.

As my eyes wandered over the various patrons, rough decor, and odd assortment of stains on the metal flooring, a nervous looking ship crewman walked in. He wore decent livery bereft of any official insignias, so clearly working for somebody with wealth yet not affiliated with one of the empires. Likely employed by another capsuleer...

And clearly not part of the agreement. To make matters worse, the fool had told him who to look for, since his eyes lit up with relief when he spotted me furtively glancing at him. I shook my head slowly and sighed, spinning my stool back to the bar. I reached into my pocket and tossed a small electronic chip onto the counter.

The bartender looked down at it, squinting his eyes. The numbers were small, they were jammed in... and suddenly he gasped, seeing ISK printed beside the rather large number. Swiping the token swiftly, the scarred and ugly fellow only had time to look up and drop the chit into his pocket when he heard a violent and unexpected bang.

Old slugthrowing weapons could be made out of crude and simple enough materials that they would not set off station defense sensors. They were generally inaccurate at range, and lacked any punch against armoured targets. Modern variants of projectile weapons still existed, but not like this old hunk of metal. I actually found it in Nefantar ruins in Metropolis, and with some minor tweaking it was an ideal weapon to use onboard a supposedly secure station.

The crewman lay splayed out on the floor, having toppled back when a heavy titanium slug entered his forehead. The instructions were clear and straight forward. It seems the client required a refresher on the issue. Nothing else would drive the point home like a shot to the head.

Chapter 1.1 - "Pack Your Bags"

 Yulai VIII - Inner Circle Tribunal

 

It takes a special human to say that to the kind of person I am; a capsuleer of many years experience. Summoning all the courage and conviction the mousy junior bureaucrat could muster, he told me in no uncertain terms to 'pack my bags'. It seems I was to be escorted off the station by him and two rather daft looking security guards. These were not your top grade meatheads, which led me to believe this was not a serious show of force. This was a power play.

Some CONCORD middle management buffoon thought he could impress his superiors by corralling a handful of underlings into removing a possible security threat. The file on me isn't really flattering, despite the fact that on the surface my credentials are spotless. They can't openly move against me since I haven't tripped up, but they are watching. This goon, whomever he is, just crossed the proverbial shit line.

I went along without much of a struggle. We operated in this station quite openly, and though we lacked any official sanction for our presence, the truth of the matter was quite different. It didn't take too long before the problem was solved. We had just exited a lift to the central station hub when they arrived.

Approaching from an entrance passage leading deeper into the central hub, three Inner Circle agents flanked a tall and imperious looking man. The sigil of the Inner Circle was stamped lightly on the breast of his jacket, but otherwise he wore no distinguishing uniform or badge. A more serious response than I anticipated. Clearly the power play was over, and the fool who ordered it was about to find out the kinds of people we had befriended.

I found out his name later that day; Jesmal Charret. Seems Mr. Charret lost his recent appointment to the internal security division. I am told he now manages the janitorial staff of the 47th level of the CONCORD Logistics station here in Yulai. Somebody must have taken pity on him, he got off light...

Introduction - "The Business"

Though I have been wandering the space lanes for a while now, I am a recent addition to the roster of Es and Whizz. This name may be familiar to some of the older pilots out there. In the early days of boosters and drugs, we were the only show in town. We made headline news when we carved a swath of destruction through customs agents and pirates alike in order to deliver a massive freighter load of drugs to Jita, which to this day remains the single largest smuggling operation in New Eden history. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9nrkQVOj60)

Though the intervening years have seen a marked quieting of our bombastic business model, Es and Whizz has been churning away. When the SCC allowed the open trade of boosters on the marketplace, we encountered competition from numerous little outfits scratching a living out of hobby-level production. Despite this, when it came down to serious business few could sit at our table.

Now my job is to continue that tradition of excellence and style. Not only that, but I intend to bring to bear my years of experience at the helm of industrial operations ranging from mining fleets in Laurvier to jump logistics in Branch. New Eden has been somewhat slow to fully take advantage of the power of boosters. They are a decisive edge when you plan their effects and abilities into the design of your ships.

I hope to do my part to change that ignorance. It is the business I am in now, pushing these drugs and their potent combat effects. It is my business. I am your local and friendly triptech, and I am here to make it happen.