First Reply Echoes in the Swamp

[Edward Ashcard]

Location: Mijos — Legacy Landing Pad
Tag: Pal Veda

Edward saw the Rubicon on the old landing pad as Pal started to slow down in front of him. After spending so long in the ruins, he was glad to see a working example of technology. It was the kind of ship he had expected from Pal and Edward was sure it had some special modifications. Pal did not seem like a captain who flew a stock ship. Edward could just make out a bipedal figure by the ramp of the ship. His nose filled with a faint industrial smell, but he had been away from the Galaxy too long to remember if it was the smell of the Rubicon's fuel or just something collapsing inside the landing pad.

He was surprised when Pal came to a stop not because he wanted to talk about payment, since that was bound to happen, but because Edward had forgotten just how many cards Pal held and how few he had. This was the time to choose his words carefully, if Pal was ever going to change his mind, it was at this moment. He planted his feet into the more solid ground around the landing pad.

"Your assessment of my situation is very accurate, Pal. I will gladly pay your price. If you let me on your ship and grant me access to a HoloNet terminal, I can have those 8,000 credits transferred to you and if you allow me to confirm my suspicions with a bit of browsing, I might be able to offer you a more significant reward. Once the tense business of credits is behind us, we can discuss my plans and your journey. I would offer to pay you here, standing on this hard mud, but attempting to wheel or roll out a terminal would be too comical considering how long I have been here and how close we are to your ship."

 

[Pal Veda]

Location: Mijos
Tags: Edward Ashcard

“Well, that was easy,” Pal replied, frankly a little surprised Edward had not tried to haggle. I should have started higher! 8,000 credits was already a lot, though. No need to be greedy, especially when he was already flush with credits. Puffer pigs get fat, puffer hogs get slaughtered.

Pal led Edward the rest of the way to the ship, calling out to B1-D1 ahead of time. “We picked up a passenger, don’t shoot this one — yet.”

“Roger, roger!” He could already hear BB-99 whistling and whirring inside, cursing Pal in binary for actually bringing this stranger on board.

”Calm down, BB,” Pal assured the astromech, “He’s gonna pay, and part of that is going to upgrade your processor. This is good for you!”

Beep beep! Boop! BB-99 changed his tune with the promise of an upgrade.

“Show him the data terminal in the galley, and facilitate the credit transfer. Eight thousand, you got that?” Beep boop! “I’m gonna clean up real quick. I’m covered in this fethin’ muck.“ Pal turned to B1-D1. “If he does anything funny, shoot him.” The captain winked at Edward, signaling that he wasn’t interested in being double crossed.

“Roger, roger!”

Pal left them to finish the transaction, quickly stripping down and washing off the mud. He tossed his shirt — covered in blood, guts, and Force knows what else — straight into the incineration bin. Even though he trusted his droids to handle things in his absence, and he mostly trusted Edward, he didn’t want to be gone too long. Within five minutes, he reemerged, fresh as ever.

”If you’re done,“ he paused to look at his astromech for confirmation that the credits had been transferred, ”the refresher’s right back there. I set out some clean clothes, should be a decent fit, we’re about the same size. I’ll get us off this rock, and when you‘re done, we can talk about where we’re headed.”

 

[Edward Ashcard]

Location: Mijos — The Rubicon
Tag: Pal Veda

Edward happily entered the Rubicon and smiled as he stepped across the threshold. He was sure that there would be additional complications, there always were, but his life and his mission could resume at that moment. He was no longer a wild man in a swamp but Edward Ashcard, a man with a duty and, critically, at that moment, a man with bank accounts. Furthermore, he spent none of his attention on the droids as he walked over to the data terminal.

Looking down at his hands, he rubbed them on his leaf poncho, but it was not enough. Edward reached under the poncho for the tied stomach around his neck and poured water onto his hands to wash off the blood and mud. He would have liked to think that wasting water was symbolic, but in reality, once he had got a steady fire going and had found a waterproof container, boiling swamp water was never much of an issue.

Edward quickly worked on accessing the HoloNet. He did not try to access the external Eternal Network as he did not need to access his Vexillium account, but he was also concerned that Pal's droid might see it as a slicing attempt and blast him in the back. Edward's eyes moved across the screen as his fingers moved across the keyboard, but it was not good news. His Vexillium accounts were frozen. Those accounts held both his Blackwatch and technical advisor pay. For a second, Edward panicked and glanced over his shoulder at the droid.

"Scipio, yes, Scipio," Edward whispered.

Edward quickly shifted his activity to a much less robust looking page on the HoloNet. He had a small 'non-stop reserve' account with a minor bank on Scipio. He paid the 8,000 credits he had sworn, but there was not going to be much left.

When Pal returned, Edward turned around to greet him and noticed that Pal had changed and looked down at his own clothes before saying, "Paid as promised, Pal, but I have a problem." Edward stepped to the side to reveal a basic looking HoloNet page with an awful green and pink theme. It was a bank balance, and it read '500 credits'.

"My other accounts have been frozen. That is not… ideal," Edward paused to let Pal have a real look at the HoloNet page. "Now, if you would let me, I would like to make use of the warm shower and those clean clothes. Then we can have a proper discussion about what happens next. And how we can avoid you having to push me out of an airlock once I'm officially rescued."

 

[Pal Veda]

Location: On the greatest ship in the galaxy, the Rubicon
Tags: Edward Ashcard

Pal leaned in and squinted at the screen, reading the small balance of 500 credits remaining in the account. His hand started drifting toward his blaster, but a glance at BB-99 confirmed that Edward had at least transferred the eight grand already, so he eased back from his weapon.

“BB tells me you’re paid up with us. I’m not gonna throw you out just ‘cause you can’t pay the next guy.“ The captain stroked his chin with his forefinger and thumb, thinking about his passenger’s situation. He wasn’t keen on going (any further) out of his way for Edward, especially if he was just a broke exile that really had no place to go at all. But taking him to Corellia or dropping him off at a stop on the route wasn’t any trouble.

”What about your folks at Tygeria Dragon? Surely you could call them for a loan big enough to get you to where you’re goin’?” If that part of the story were even true. Then again, that had not been something Edward ever volunteered, but instead a fact BB-99 and Pal had uncovered on their own. “Maybe even introduce me while you’re at it. Somethin’ tells me we’d make fine business partners.”

The stink of the swamp was starting to infect the galley of the Rubicon, so against his better judgment, Pal encouraged this conversation to take place later. “You need to clean up, and we need to lift off before we sink. Wash what you can, and throw the rest in the incinerator.“ He turned to his droid and added, “Double the circulation rate until we clear this smell out of here, eh?”

 

[Edward Ashcard]

Location: Mijos — The Rubicon
Tag: Pal Veda

Edward nodded at Pal's words. He had let himself get overwhelmed by his situation. He never felt defeated, but he had foolishly believed that he was at Pal's mercy, and he had shown it. Edward respected Pal after their short time together, and he knew that Pal had a card heavy hand, but Edward still had cards of his own. Without saying a world he turned around and closed his session on the terminal.

"I will do just that." Edward said as he walked away to literally wash away the stains of his long exile. Everything apart from his pistol and holster were going in the incinerator. Others may have kept the old uniform, but he did not need some ruined fabric to remind him who he was. Really he did not need reminding at all. The list of ten in his mind was as clear as ever. He spent much time committing them to memory and every day in that ruined spaceport he had written the names on a log and thrown it into the fire before he went to sleep. He put on whatever simple clothes had been left for him an emerged from the bathroom and tracked down Pal.

Edward stood straighter than he had in a long time, his jagged, rock-cut beard and hair had been replaced by a military regulation style. "Captain Veda, I see that you are interested in what Tygeria Dragon Armaments can offer. Your curiosity has served you well, as we can offer an independent like you a lot; from weapons to ships to expand your fleet, if you are looking to expand. All this without the tiresome oversight of the Alliance or having to deal with the Sith and their Imperial fools," his voice was confident and a smile grew on his face.

"By the time you complete your business on Corella, Tygeria Dragon Armaments should have an office there due to some creative real estate expansion. Perhaps then we can come to a deal in my office?"

 

[Pal Veda]

Location: The Rubicon
Tags: Edward Ashcard

“Now we’re talkin’,” Pal replied with a sly grin. The League of Autonomous Worlds was always looking for ways to secure additional resources while bypassing Alliance and Imperial entanglements. They preferred to operate outside the conventional vendors under regulatory oversight of whatever government dictated their business at that time. While the Captain preferred to stay out of politics himself, he was not immune to the realities of the difficulties faced by their little free trade collective based on Toshara. Negotiating this channel for additional ships and weapons for the LAW would earn him some favors with Aerin Denno that he may need to cash in later.

By now, the engines were hot and Pal was guiding the YT-2400 through the lower atmosphere of Mijos. He flipped a couple of switches as they entered real space then looked back at his passenger. “Not a bad idea, makin’ yourself more presentable,” he commented on Edward’s new, clean look. “More officer, less vagrant. They might let you in the front door now.”

BB-99 beeped and booped, alerting Pal to the readout on the screen. Hyperspace coordinates were plotted and ready to go. “To Corellia, then?”