A Trip Worth Taking, Part 4

He could not stop smiling.

He tried to, he tried to make the transaction with debonair and eloquence.   The reality is, though, Tripper had been smiling since he had the money to buy the ship he had his eye on. 

His final cargo run was the same one as the ill fated one that made his first million, except this time, he didn’t run into any pirates.   Tripper was accompanied by a trader who hired him, a man named Harus.   Harus was looking for some advice on a good trade run, and Tripper told him about the ore run to New Tokyo, and offered his services as an escort.  Surprisingly, Harus agreed.   So, while Harus went to get his ore, Tripper went with him and filled his own cargo bay up.  On the way there, Tripper did the math and realized he would have enough credits to buy the ship he was saving for.  He was so excited, that he didn’t charge Harus for the escort. 

So, here he was, standing in the ship yard of Java Station, ogling at the brand new, jet black, Ravi’s Talon.  Tripper stood there, grinning like a child with a tall ice cream cone.  The man next to Tripper was smiling just as big; he knew the sell was a done deal. 

“So, you like her?”  The salesman asked tripper. 

Tripper didn’t hear him.  “How fast is she?”  He asked without looking at the salesman.

“Well, that depends on what thrusters you equip on her.”

“Does she have leather seats?”

“No.  Poly-Carbon fabric.  It’s stout, stain and tare resistant, and very comfy.”

Tripper smiled “oh, it’s just that my last ship had leather seats.”

“That Garanchou you flew in?”  The sales rep smirked. “Hate to say it to you, but that’s not real leather.  Synth Foods have a meat product they grow that has a thick skin on it.  The GMG then buys that skin at a cut rate because it’s trash, then use it for their ships interior.”

For a moment, Tripper’s smile broke.  He’s been trying to figure out what animal that leather came from, but it was actually a food byproduct.  A herd of creepies ran up Tripper’s spine. 

The sales rep asked again:  “So, do you like her?”

Tripper turned to him and smiled.  “Yeah, how soon can we close the deal?”

“All we got to do is some paperwork, and transfer the credits, and you can have the keys.”

“Wow!”  Tripper smiled and looked at the Talon.  “It uses keys?”

“No. . . no it doesn’t,”  the salesman sighs, “just a figure of speech.  Now, can I see your License?”

Tripper, with a smile on his face, pulls out his license and hands it to the sales rep.  No more cargo runs, no more running, no more hiding.  He has a fighter and a pretty one too.

***

 Dave lets out an impressed whistle, “Wow, Trip.  It’s beautiful.  How much did it cost you?”

“Oh, just the other side of two million credits.”

Dave whistles again.  “That’s more then I paid for my bar!”

“That may be true, but people don’t shoot at your bar every time you open for business.” 

David looks sideways at Tripper, “People shot at you already?”

Tripper smiled (actually, he’s never stopped).  “Kind of.  The first group of pirates I came across after I got the ship high tailed it away.  They ran from ME!  One of them said: ‘It’s getting too hot for me,’ and jumped on his boosters.  Two of his three buddies followed suit.  Then, I found an employer.  He offered me three million credits to escort him on a trade run.”

“Holy. . . Tripper, Three million?   Man, I’m in the wrong business. ”

Tripper shrugged, “Don’t get all sprinkle eyed on me yet.  The run was to Rhinland.  We had to shoot past the front lines, and that wasn’t easy.  We made it though.”

Dave glared at Tripper, “You’re playing dangerous games, aren’t you?” 

“Yeah, but it’s what I want.”  Tripper looked at his feet.  “I think it’s what I’m supposed to do.”