As far back as he could remember frustration was an emotion that he seldom felt but now was coming upon him rapidly. The green glow of the cogitator screen bathed his face completely and shadows played across his face as the information changed. He placed the glass he had been holding down onto the desk and rubbed his eyes. The desk was over six thousand years old but to those who did not know that it looked brand new, its heavy Nalwood build allowed it to stand the test of time. He was still finding intricacies on the desk even when he thought he had found them all. It must have taken a lifetime to build and carve the desk he thought. The most noticeable design of the desk was on the front, his family's coat of arms and the names of his predecessors carved on either side allowing for those who sat before him to see the history of his family name.
He picked up the glass again but the sound of ice against the crystal alerted him to the fact that it was empty. He looked at the glass and turned it in his hand and watched as the light moved and changed along with it. It was almost as intricate as the desk he mused, almost. It was part of a set of four identical glasses all handmade and cost him more than a quarter million credits. It was a reluctant purchase in order to help him maintain his family's reputation and prosperity which he had already tarnished but cared little about that. First impressions made or broke deals he knew that well enough so he would humor his predecessors and prospective clients when he needed to.
Another glass of the vintage spirit would be needed if he was going to finish what work he had left in a somewhat timely fashion. Pressing a rune on the panel embedded in the desk called the servitor off to his left to become alert to its master's request and promptly shuffled over to him.
"Another glass, same as before." He commanded and placed the glass on the polished silver tray that the servitor was holding.
There was no reply from the servitor only an immediate processing of the order it was given and shuffled off to the cabinet where the spirits were kept. A slight grin played across his face as he remembered the last words the servitor had spoken, "no", that was of course before the body that was now a servitor was one. It was an old client and rival who had failed to keep his word on an agreed deal. With that failure he had him hunted down and lobotomized into a servitor. It amused him that for the rest of its life it would only be acknowledging commands, never able to say no again.
The servitor returned with the glass refilled with the golden brown liquid and placed it on the desk. He dismissed the servitor with a wave of his hand and it shuffled off into a corner of the chamber until it was called again. Taking the glass up he took a small sip and felt the warming burn of the spirit pass through him putting his mind at ease and granting him some sense of focus to return to the task at hand.
Looking back up to the screen in front of him his frustration began to mount again, the numbers were not adding up. Looking back though each expense of the last month and remembering perfectly what each was and why it was needed whether he agreed with its necessity or not. Those figures added up correctly as did his income for the last month, every job that was completed and paid for from simple transportation of clients to larger bulk loads and everything in between. What frustrated him to no end was that he was coming up at a loss, something that never happened to him. His frustration quickly becoming anger as his grip on the glass became tighter and tighter. For a moment he nearly threw the glass at the servitor but restrained himself just before he did, more because he was not finished with the drink than destroying an immensely expensive glass.
Just as his anger was clouding his mind came a moment of clarity and hope. Punching in several of the runes on the panel on the desk opened a small panel on the wall behind him. Pushing his chair back quickly he got up and opened the panel revealing only a small circular input device. Raising his left hand to the input he pressed the ring on his ring finger to the input and was met with an authorization beep and the sound of a lock disengaging.
Immediately to the left of the input panel a section of the wood wall recessed and slid down revealing a strongbox within the wall. This time pressing a ring on the index finger of his right hand to the input device opened the box.
What lay inside was exactly what he wanted, a black leather leader book. He grabbed the book and returned to his desk flipping through the pages until he reached the final statement for the current month. Adding the numbers to the ones on the cogitator screen he felt relief spread through him and took another sip from the glass. Not only had he come out of the month in the black but nearly tripled what was spent. Some months were just better for off the book deals than others he thought. The ledger only contained the figures for deals made under the table and was only known to him and his most senior and trusted companions.
He got up again to place the ledger back into the strongbox and sat down again. He keyed a few more runes and the panels closed and melted back into the woodwork of the wall. No one who did not know they were there would suspect anything lay behind the wall. Just as he was beginning to recline in his chair and finish off his drink a red light began to flash on the control panel followed by a soft double beep indicating that someone was trying to vox him. He leaned forward and pressed the rune that opened the vox channel between him and whoever it was on the other end.
"What is it?" He asked a slight hint of annoyance flowed through his voice.
"It's me," Came the reply. It was Anastasia. She was his right hand his whole life and left it to her to run the majority of the passenger service since she had the personality and looks to attract those looking for passage. "We'll be returning to the ship late tomorrow morning. Only one group looking for a ship and they are willing to pay for service, I guess it is what they are used to. Anyways, there are four of them. The head of the bunch requests a meeting with you in private once aboard. Best prepare a formal welcome for them if I were you."
"Fine, but it is not going to be anything over the top though." He replied annoyance even more noticeable. He disliked formal welcomes and was reluctant to grant one unless he knew the status of the people who deserved one. He could hear a faint giggle from her before she replied.
"I know you too well but just humor them. If you offend them then you hurt your chance for future business. I will see you tomorrow, and wear something nice."
She did know him to well he thought and chuckled at her final words to him. If it was not for her putting him in line from time to time he would be much less well-off but the thought of that did not bother him. He leaned back in his chair and took a few sips from his glass and contemplated heading to his bed chamber to head to sleep when the vox beeped again.
"What now?" Irritation the dominate trait in his voice.
"Shall I order a security sweep of the ship before the arrival of the guests Lord?" Came the answer from Jak-Sun, the head of security and protection.
"Might as well. It wouldn't hurt."
"I will have the sweep commenced at once then." His voice trailed away as he issued orders to his subordinates.
"And, Jak-Sun, we will be giving our passengers a formal welcome so have some of your men and yourself present and appropriate tomorrow morning."
"It will be done Lord."
With that said he keyed a rune and the vox unit became silent. He was done talking for the night regardless if anyone wanted to talk to him.
He rose from his chair weary and a little woozy and crossed the main chamber slowly and stopped to warm himself by the hearth and watched as the shadows cast by the warm orange-red glow of the fire danced about off the chairs and wooden tables nearby. The hearth was nearly twice as wide as he was tall and carved from a single piece of obsidian and finished with veins of gold and silver. He continued on towards the staircase leading up to his bed chamber hearing the wood floor creak and moan under his presence. At times he would easily forget that he was aboard his ship orbiting a planet or traveling through the void or the Warp. His private chambers would not be out of place in one of his villas or estates.
He reached the base of the stair and gripped the railing in his right hand firmly. The drinks had made his legs protest at the notion of ascending the stairs. Nevertheless he made it to the top and into his bed chamber without incident. Tomorrow was going to be a busy and exhausting day for him. They were leaving the system and he would be flooded with reports from all areas of the ship from the engineering to stores and cargo to the weapons decks, each sector would make its pre-departure report to him. On top of that he had guest passengers to welcome and entertain, he was however looking forward to the dinner they would be having together with his guests and his senior companions it would be the final part of the welcome and it would be exquisite as always.