"What do you mean, you quit law school, Quinn?" My father yelled at me after I told him. He had thought that I was just visiting, as I had told him. He had paid for the whole thing, my education, and had sent money whenever I needed some, most of which I'd saved in order to buy my new ship. Well, it'd been new to me. I'd bought the old thing at a scrap yard. She was a Type 2 Shu-Fu class transport that I'd gracefully named Lady Azure, due to the blue paint that the dealer had put on to make her more appealing. She wasn't much to look at, but I saw the potential in her.
"Yes, I quit. I don't want to be a lawyer, I want to be a ship captain! I want to see the stars! I want to see the black of space!" I yelled at him, arguing my point. I knew he wouldn't listen to me. He never did, but I always hoped he would.
"Tah-shr suo-yo dee-yure duh biao-tze duh mah!" My father cursed loudly.
"Honey! Language of that manner is not acceptable in my house!" My mother scolded. She'd just been watching silently, which was never a good sign.
"No, I will use whatever language I like! That was over two hundred thousand credits!"
"Is that all I am to you? Credits? Don't you want me to be happy?!" I asked angrily.
"Bizui!" He yelled at me, telling me to be quiet.
"No, you shut up, you gorram kuh-ooh duh lao bao jurn!" I spat back spitefully. My mother started to cry and left the room, while my father looked stunned at my rebellion.
"Get out." He muttered, pointing toward the door, "Leave my home. You are my son no longer."
"Father, I-"
"I said get out! I did not fight in the War so that my only son could disrespect me!" He yelled this time.
"I wish the gorram independents had won!" I screamed as I charged out of the house. It didn't matter. I had a new home now, and her name was Lady Azure.
After heading down to her in the shipyard and cleaning her up a bit. I decided I needed a little drink. I was starting to get mighty sad, and heard about tales of vagabonds such as myself drowning their sorrows in a bottle. So there I was, sitting at a scrappy bar in the poorer part of town, nearer to where my ship was parked and at a place where I wouldn't see anyone I knew. I was on my way fourth drink, when a man wandered over to where I was sitting.
"Well, I ain't seen a happy man drink that much on a central planet in a long while." He said, sitting next to me. I just gave him a look, don't really remember what kind of look. He extended his hand. "Name's Faron Meg."
"Quinn Weisha." I muttered, taking another drink of my cup. Stuff tasted like garbage back then, when I was used to the fine and fancy wines of the rich folk.
"So what brings you here, Quinn-buddy?"
"Family stuff." I muttered again, this time with more friendliness in my demeanor. It was the whisky taking over my system.
"Ah, makes two of us. Course, yours is prolly more severe. After all, you are drinking quite a bit for a rich folk." Faron said, getting his own drink from the bartender.
"So what 'bout your troubles?" I asked. I had tried to start talking like a real Captain, or least what I thought a real captain was to talk about.
"Well, the situation I'm in is complicated. I'm a pilot, y'see, best ruttin' one in the verse, but the problem is that I can't get a job. You crash one gorram ship during the war, and you get blacklisted by the whole gorram verse. Shoulda never signed on with the 'liance. Anyway, my wife and daughter want off of this ruttin' planet, but we can't 'ford to get off." He said, then taking a long swig of his whisky. By now I was starting to get interested in this man.
"You're a pilot?" I asked excitedly.
"Yup, as I said, best one in the verse."
"Well, I have a ship that's been needing a pilot!"
"Really!? I mean, we did just meet, and how do I know I can trust you? You could be just plannin' on luring me somewhere and taking all that I hold dear."
"I'm not!" I drunkenly insisted, "I don't even have a weapon. Ta ma de! I don't even have a weapon!"
Faron laughed. Not at me, but at my drunken honesty. His laugh was hearty and deep.
"Tell you what, Quinn. I'm deciding to trust you. Hell, I'll even take you to a guy that sells guns. What's your offer?" Faron asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Say... 100 credits a month?" I offered. This time it wasn't the whisky talking, but it was actually me, "Plus a room big enough for you and your family?"
"Wow... Good deal. You sure you don't want to wait till you're sober 'fore you start makin' deals like that?"
"Nah. I know what I'm offering. You got a family to take care of."
"Generous. You won't last long in the Black."
"Well, that's why I have you. I'll get myself a few other crew members, might actually survive out there." I explained, standing up.
"Sounds good, partner. Where's your ship? Meet you down there, and we'll get you some heat and some more people." He said, standing up as well.
"She's called Lady Azure. She's a Type 2 Shu-Fu Transport. Down at the docks on Shadow street."
"A Pillbug, eh? Never flown one of them. Anyway, I know the place. See you tomorrow, Cap'n."
I managed to make it back to my boat safely enough, though when I got there I did throw up a few times. I made myself an empty promise to never drink again, prayed to be sober again, even promised the lord above that I'd give up my life of crime before it even started. Glad to say, none of that worked.
I woke up the next morning to yelling outside of Lady Azure. Not loud yelling, but it seemed louder to me, the hangover was so bad. Eventually I managed to get myself presentable and opened the loading bay of my ship.
"Well, if it isn't the Captain himself! How're you feelin'? Not well, I'd imagine!" Faron yelled, clearly feeling better than I was.
"Bai-tuo, An-jing-eedyen..." I muttered, telling him to shut up, somewhat kinder than he deserved.
"Well, that's one way to get lots of friends!" He sarcastically bellowed, "C'mon, let's go get you some iron."
I followed him all the way to the poorest part of town. This was a place that I wouldn't dare to go, but most of the authorities in town wouldn't either.
"Wait here." The man at the door of the shed we'd approached said, as he entered the building himself.
"What are we doing here?" I whispered to Faron.
"Getting you a gun." He laughed back, mistaking my innocence for a joke.
"Why don't we just get one from a different store? One a little less... Scary."
Now he knew I was serious. He looked at me like I was mad. Faron thought that I was some kind of crazy person.
"You want your gun licensed? Anytime you fire a shot off with that Fei-oo, the 'liance is gonn' know. Obviously, the stuff you're plannin' on doing with that boat is... Less than legal (otherwise you woulda signed on with the 'liance, rich kid like you)."
The man came back out and ushered us in. This place was filled with mercenaries, heavily armed. There were enough weapons in there to take over a large moon.
"Welcome to my business, gentlemen." An old man greeted as we approached his desk. He looked sort of like a lizard, or at least how a lizard would look if it were human. He was also very well dressed, meaning that he sold a lot of his merchandise. "Did you have anything in particular in mind, or are you needing some assistance finding a suitable weapon?"
"Boy's lookin' for some heat. A proper weapon for a Cap'n." Faron explained, eyeing some guns on the wall rack.
"Perfect. What kind of gun do you want? A rifle? Or a shotgun? I have many."
"I want a pistol." I said, looking at the pistols on display, "Something I can keep on my person, easily hide, but at the same time, I want something big, with a lot of power. A weapon that people would fear."
The old man smiled and told us to wait there. He retreated to a back room and after some shuffling we heard, he returned holding a dark wooden box.
"Now, this piece is expensive," Lizard-Face said, placing the box on the counter, "but by the looks of you, you've got the money."
He opened the box to reveal a revolver with a twenty centimeter long barrel. It was painted a matte ebony color and had a chamber that held eight shots.
"I believe this is the weapon of a captain." He said in a satisfied tone. He knew that I would buy this gun. There was no question about it. I felt like I was in love, without any of the complications.
"How much?" I hastily asked, making it even clearer that I wanted this piece.
"Well... This gun isn't something for just everyone, you know. Of course, I am no thief, and I am well aware that you may not have the most money, considering that you just bought a ship. Let's say... Two thousand credits. I'll even throw in the box."
"Two thousand?!" Faron exclaimed, nearly passing out from shock.
"A piece of this magnificence is easily worth five thousand. I am giving you a steal."
"Two thousand is just too-"
"I'll take it." I said, interrupting Faron. I had thought earlier that he was looking at me like I was mad, but now he was staring at me like I had decided to run away and join the circus.
"Very good. I promise you won't be disappointed. You take care of this gun, and it will take care of you."
After transferring the money to the Arms Dealer, he gave me the box that held the gun, and agreed to have a crate of ammo sent over to the Lady Azure later that day, in exchange that I take some of his other goods to Persephone. I didn't know exactly what the goods were, but he said it was better that I didn't.
Once we were out, Faron decided to speak up, saying, "Well, now that you got the most expensive gun in town, we need to get you a new wardrobe."
"What's wrong with what I have on the ship?" I asked protestadly.
"Nothin'. But they ain't the duds suitable for a Cap'n. They're for rich folk to wear, not a boat cap'n. Nah, a cap'n needs clothes that're better than his crew, but don't make him look too rich."
"Well, what would you suggest?"
"Come. I know a guy." He claimed as he ran down the street. I made haste to follow him, and we quickly got to a clothing store that wasn't half bad.
"Welcome, Sirs." The Chinese Woman at the front counter said as we entered. Faron was going kind of crazy with buying clothes. We bought 5 linen shirts, 1 flannel shirt, 2 pairs of boots, and 3 pairs of canvas pants.
"Now you just need a jacket. Somethin' to make you look all official-like." He explained as we brought my new wardrobe up to the front counter. I looked around for a few seconds, but my eyes eventually got stuck on a black cow-hide duster with a hood and shiny brass buttons.
After buying the clothes, we decided to head back to Lady Azure to get settled.