Blue Star Enterprises

The Fox popped out of FTL and glided into Epsilon Indi. When Vitor thought of a place where he could shake the corporate bloodhounds, he knew of only one system in STO space that fit the bill.

There would still be corporate spies here, there was no doubt of that, but their power here was far less than any other system.

Unlike most systems that had habitable planets, which usually spawned a systemwide level of government to go with them, Epsilon Indi was ruled by a loose collection of criminal elements from small-time local syndicates to major criminal elements from other worlds who ensured they had a presence in the one system where anything went.

He wasn\'t being facetious when he made that claim. If you had enough credits, you could buy anything in Epsilon Indi. It was the black market hub for the entirety of human space. The STO knew this and tried multiple times to rid the system of criminal influence, but it always returned. The most they could do was try to restrict what left the system, a losing battle in Vitor\'s mind.

"Well, we\'re here," Kaela said in disgust. "What shithole station do you want to visit?"

"I have a contact on Pardat Station."

She sighed. "Please don\'t tell me it\'s Paresh. You know he\'ll just fleece you on anything you buy and probably sell you out as well."

"Ok, I won\'t," he said, earning a disappointed head shake from the woman.

Paresh was an old acquaintance to both him and Kaela. Back then, the man had simply been an information broker, and a chance run-in at the man\'s business was how Kaela and he first met. Compared to some of the people who made their livelihoods out here, Paresh was a saint. That didn\'t mean he could be trusted though.

Vitor didn\'t need trust at the moment, he needed a ship, preferably one modified for smuggling, armaments would be appreciated as well, but he doubted he would be able to afford anything like that. He much preferred to be invisible, and that meant the ability to disable the ship\'s transponder at will. He knew Paresh always had a ship ready to go for someone desperate enough to pay the exorbitant fee.

Originally, he planned to find a smuggler to take him to Eden\'s End. Preferably one he didn\'t know personally. Kaela would take him the entire way if he asked her, but he didn\'t want to paint a target on her back. The corporations would already know she took him here, but he was hoping to make enough noise in the system to at least alert a few of the headhunters in the system that he was leaving via alternative means so they didn\'t bother trying to question the woman.

There were plenty of drifter smugglers and he was sure at least a few were in the system at the moment. For a single person, that would have been easy enough to make happen. His plans changed when his previous crew turned up.

A smuggler might agree to take one or two people, but not all of them, especially since it was clear that they were former Navy. And Vitor wouldn\'t trust any smuggler who said they would take the entire crew. No, it was better to find his own ship. The cost would be astronomical, likely bankrupting his entire savings, but if it paid off, he would be clear of the corporations.

Money wouldn\'t do him any good if he was dead anyway.

As the ship neared the station, he made his way back to his bunk to grab a few things.

"Need company, Captain?" Parson asked.

The man had finally gotten over his hangup and just decided to call him Captain again.

"No, I don\'t want to spook my contact. You can do something else for me though, get everyone ready to move quickly. Once this deal is done, I want to be out of here as soon as possible. I don\'t want to give anyone out here the time to come after me if there is already a corporate bounty on my head."

The man rose from the cot, "I\'ll make sure we\'re ready to go, Captain. Um, what about Captain Voss?"

"Kaela and her people will be fine. I already told them what I planned on doing. She did more than I could have asked for by taking us all the way here. It was more than what I originally asked for." When he had originally reached out to Kaela, he told her he only needed to go a few systems over. Of course, that was a lie. He just didn\'t want to alert anyone who was reading his messages to know where he planned to go.

Kaela wasn\'t stupid though, she knew something was up from the moment he contacted her.

Vitor stuffed the small handheld flechette pistol in his waistband. He felt woefully unprepared to be in space in just civilian clothes, but he didn\'t have a vac suit or armor.

If he had any money left over after speaking with Paresh, he would see about outfitting his people just for some peace of mind. He was sure whatever bucket of bolts his acquaintance managed to scrounge up and sell to him would not be very space-worthy. Having suits would at least make him feel slightly more optimistic that they might reach their destination alive.

Despite the criminal nature of Epsilon Indi, as Vitor stepped off the ship, he found the station to be well-lit. That didn\'t have anything to do with actual lighting though.

The place was bright and garish, with flashing advertisements filling up every available space along the walls. The advertisements promised anything from drugs to first-rate plastic surgery as well as other darker pleasures.

He ignored them as he walked through the docking ring with his hood up and his eyes scanning everyone he saw.

Vitor didn\'t hunch over and try to keep out of sight. That worked in civilized worlds, but here it would just make him look like an easy mark. He stood tall, and his walk was more of a strut, telling people he knew what he was about.

This wouldn\'t deter everyone, but it would give them pause. His baggy clothes could also be hiding any number of weapons, adding additional unknowns for anyone who thought to test him.

Luckily he was left unmolested as he made his way to Paresh\'s shop. The garish holo display above the entry flashed in every conceivable bright color to grab your attention to the sign above the door. The words \'Paresh\'s Fine Goods\' were written in bold letters of gold that sparkled as the colors reflected off of them.

If Vitor was sure of one thing, it was that the sign contained no gold. If it had, it would have been stolen long ago. Gold might not have the same value as it did in ages past, but the precious metal was still used for electronics and jewelry.

He stepped inside the store and did his best not to cough as the haze of narcotic smoke wafted through the air. The ambiance of the establishment wasn\'t helped by the music either. Vitor didn\'t know what type of song it was, but it was certainly an acquired taste.

A few of the patrons glanced over at him, but quickly lost interest as they continued to browse through the items on display. While the sign might say \'fine goods\', Paresh\'s shop was a pawn shop. Everything on display was second-hand at best.

He waited for the dumpy-looking man behind the counter to finish the transaction before he walked over.

"Can I help you?" Paresh asked as he took a deep inhale from a pipe and blew the smoke into the air.

Vitor pushed back his hood. "Been a while, Paresh."

The man looked at him for a second before chuckling. "Oh, that it has. What brings someone of your illustrious career out here, hmm? Or should I say previous illustrious career? I hear you\'ve had some recent setbacks in that regard. Looking for work perhaps?"

It was no surprise that Paresh had heard about his situation. The man had always been well-informed.

"I\'m looking for a ship," Vitor stated, not answering the man\'s other questions. "One that won\'t draw attention outside of the normal routes."

"Ha!" Paresh exclaimed as he pounded his meaty hand on the table. "Had someone bet me that you would take up smuggling, I would have laughed in their face and lost a bet."

Vitor winced at the man\'s volume but didn\'t glance around. The mirrored walls behind the counter let him see everyone\'s reaction behind him. Most seemed uninterested, but a few kept glancing over.

A fresh captain going to claim a new ship would make a good target to rob.

Paresh continued as if nothing had happened. "I have a ship that fits your request… I can even offer security services to get you there in one piece. The question is, how much is it worth to you? I hear the corporate goons are looking for you, old friend."

He should have figured Paresh\'s outburst was staged. The man didn\'t stay in business in one of the most dangerous systems around without knowing how to play the game.

"How big a ship are we talking about?"

"Big enough for everyone aboard the Kitsune. How is Kaela, by the way? Bit rude that she didn\'t come to say hi."

Fuck! Just how much information about their arrival was already out there?

"She\'s not planning to stick around long." He needed to move this conversation along. The longer he sat here dithering with Paresh, the more likely it was that someone would locate him. "How much for the ship?"

"How much you got?" the man asked with a greasy smile.

He didn\'t have time for this, and he couldn\'t call the man out on his bullshit because it would only make him stall even longer. One of the interested parties had already left the shop. That person was probably going straight to another information broker or their own people.

Gritting his teeth, Vitor threw out a number just to get the conversation moving. The sum was more than he wanted to spend but less than he had.

As expected, Paresh tsked. "Vitor, you wound me with this lowball offer. I thought we were friends?"

Vitor wanted to laugh at that. If they were friends, the man would have given him a counteroffer. Instead, he left Vitor hanging to force him to make a better offer. He raised the sum by five hundred thousand.

The man tilted his head back and forth in thought and Vitor watched the second person who had shown interest in him walk out.

He swore to himself he would come back here one day and show Paresh the error of his ways as he stated his final price. It was a full million and a half more than the last offer, and it left him with very few credits remaining.

"Wonderful!" Paresh exclaimed as he clapped his hands together. "You\'re in luck as well, my friend. The ship just came in, so I haven\'t even had time to sell off anything aboard. You might even find a vac suit or two if you\'re lucky. Now, before I hand this over," The man performed some sleight of hand and a fusion activation crystal appeared in his meaty palm. "We just need to do the paperwork."

Even though the STO let this system continue to exist, they drew their line on ships being sold here. More than once, Vitor had been part of teams that raided stations that were providing undocumented ships. After shutting down station after station, the criminals finally changed how they did things and started following the law as it applied to ships. Not that Vitor thought they came about these ships legally.

Most had probably been sold to them by pirates, with forged documentation, but Vitor couldn\'t be choosy at the moment.

He pulled out the data chips loaded with his credits and handed them over. Paresh quickly fed them to the chip reader and smiled before handing over the activation crystal. "An extra half a mil will get you three of my best men," Paresh offered after the deal was concluded.

Vitor snatched the item out of the man\'s hand before replying. "I\'ll pass," he stated flatly.

Paresh shrugged. "Suit yourself, Vitor. I wish you luck staying ahead of the corporate goons. As a friend and valued customer, I hope to see you back here again someday." The man had the gall to say all of this with a big grin.

Vitor turned and hurried out of the shop. He needed to get back to the Fox quickly, and then figure out how to get his crew across the station to the ship, which was nearly on the opposite side of the docking ring.