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All was quiet.

And Gary was sitting again. Delia was not on speaking terms with him any more today. Maybe it was just as well. After that mess with that client she was hollering about, he just was not in the mood for her temperament.

Resting with his feet up on the controls of his ship, he was humming his current favourite tune while he whimsically gazed off into the stars floating about him on the 3D transparent screens which curtain around his reclining captain's chair. They hung in the air with his projected trajectory plotted up all nice and neatly against the sparking blue backdrop in a flashy yellow.

He liked the colour yellow, he mused. It had such a friendly feel to it. Like sunflowers. Some people were like sunflowers. There was only one sun for them and they followed with absolute conviction.

Gary thought this was nice, though not at all like him.

Or perhaps he just hadn't found his own sun?

He smiled at this thought.

"I don't even know how to imagine such a sun."

He paused, sitting up and scratching the back of his head.

"Probably a sunny yellow, to start with and some nice curves might help."

He grinned to himself, but his grey eyes slid to the side as a signal beeped red.

"Gary." Delia's voice came over the com. "Gary, are you there?"

Gary's grin became chagrined.

"What's up, Delia?" He asked, after snapping his fingers together to open the com. "I thought we had enough drama for today?"

"Had enough of you too, Gary, but we've got a new Deal sent." Was the explanation. Surprisingly, Delia's voice was less irked than he would have thought she would be and even tending towards excited.

"What's the Deal?" He asked, leaning forward, elbows on his knees and peering keenly into the starry veils around him.

"It's straight from the Centre." Delia breathed, apparently beside herself with delight. "Bypassing the Guild, they came straight to us. They want us."

"Alright." Gary said slowly, "To do what?"

Catching onto his tone of voice, Delia seemed to compose herself.

"459 batches of highly restricted cargo. Shipped to the Reunion System, Section 33-6, Planet Dromeas." She said.

"Planet Runner?" He asked, eyebrow raised. "Is that a thing?"

"Yes," confirmed Delia, after a pause, not bothering to ask how Gary knew. She knew enough to know that he knew a lot of odds and ends. "It'd be a tight fit onto the Caradoc, but it's manageable. Not near maximum weight, so it should be aright."

"And what are these 'highly restricted' items I would be so graciously cramming up my pipes with?" Asked Gary.

"Biological specimens, plant materials and preserved rodent samples, from one of the biggest research facilities on Centre Prime." Was the dismissive answer.

"Hu-huh." Gary grunted. "And how much are they paying especially us to do this service?"

"Enough for both you and me to retire and never have to talk again; 2, 300, 000 Bits, with 500, 000 up front if we accept."

"Right, so what's the catch?"

"There is no catch." Replied Delia. "I've checked and double checked. Quadruple-checked. Everything's legit. Coming straight from Centre, Admiral Lucas' own secretary. I have all the papers K-O-ed by our people. It's all up-front and legit, straight from the Centre."

"The Centre can make anything look legit Delia." Gary said. "What's so special about this cargo, even us, right? Why did the Guild get bypassed and us targeted. It's highly irregular."

"Gary," Delia's voice sounded frustrated. "It's the Centre. They can't be shoddy, they're calling the shots. And we've got a good record."

"Nothing much above ordinary." Retorted Gary. "And what makes you think the other top 50 runners didn't get the exact same 'special' offer? We don't have the Guild papers to show otherwise because they bypassed it. The Guild's there for a reason, Delia. As much as I hate their asses, they are our back-up, like it or no."

"If we say no to the Centre..."

"Then they can find someone else." Gary said, feeling that Delia was starting to smell the rotten fish that was stanching up his own windpipes. "And I'm pretty sure they have. They won't be interested in us. They will probably lure someone with better Time Stamps, and our little excuses of not being able to comply because we've got pre-existing won't even register with them."

"But over 2 million Bits..." Delia seemed on the verge of crying.

"We'll get those some other way." Gary comforted her. "Slower, but we might just live long enough to enjoy them after, right?"

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

All was quiet.

And Gary was sitting again. Delia was not on speaking terms with him any more today. Maybe it was just as well. After that mess with that client she was hollering about, he just was not in the mood for her temperament.

Resting with his feet up on the controls of his ship, he was humming his current favourite tune while he whimsically gazed off into the stars floating about him on the 3D transparent screens which curtain around his reclining captain's chair. They hung in the air with his projected trajectory plotted up all nice and neatly against the sparking blue backdrop in a flashy yellow.

He liked the colour yellow, he mused. It had such a friendly feel to it. Like sunflowers. Some people were like sunflowers. There was only one sun for them and they followed with absolute conviction.

Gary thought this was nice, though not at all like him.

Or perhaps he just hadn't found his own sun?

He smiled at this thought.

"I don't even know how to imagine such a sun."

He paused, sitting up and scratching the back of his head.

"Probably a sunny yellow, to start with and some nice curves might help."

He grinned to himself, but his grey eyes slid to the side as a signal beeped red.

"Gary." Delia's voice came over the com. "Gary, are you there?"

Gary's grin became chagrined.

"What's up, Delia?" He asked, after snapping his fingers together to open the com. "I thought we had enough drama for today?"

"Had enough of you too, Gary, but we've got a new Deal sent." Was the explanation. Surprisingly, Delia's voice was less irked than he would have thought she would be and even tending towards excited.

"What's the Deal?" He asked, leaning forward, elbows on his knees and peering keenly into the starry veils around him.

"It's straight from the Centre." Delia breathed, apparently beside herself with delight. "Bypassing the Guild, they came straight to us. They want us."

"Alright." Gary said slowly, "To do what?"

Catching onto his tone of voice, Delia seemed to compose herself.

"459 batches of highly restricted cargo. Shipped to the Reunion System, Section 33-6, Planet Dromeas." She said.

"Planet Runner?" He asked, eyebrow raised. "Is that a thing?"

"Yes," confirmed Delia, after a pause, not bothering to ask how Gary knew. She knew enough to know that he knew a lot of odds and ends. "It'd be a tight fit onto the Caradoc, but it's manageable. Not near maximum weight, so it should be aright."

"And what are these 'highly restricted' items I would be so graciously cramming up my pipes with?" Asked Gary.

"Biological specimens, plant materials and preserved rodent samples, from one of the biggest research facilities on Centre Prime." Was the dismissive answer.

"Hu-huh." Gary grunted. "And how much are they paying especially us to do this service?"

"Enough for both you and me to retire and never have to talk again; 2, 300, 000 Bits, with 500, 000 up front if we accept."

"Right, so what's the catch?"

"There is no catch." Replied Delia. "I've checked and double checked. Quadruple-checked. Everything's legit. Coming straight from Centre, Admiral Lucas' own secretary. I have all the papers K-O-ed by our people. It's all up-front and legit, straight from the Centre."

"The Centre can make anything look legit Delia." Gary said. "What's so special about this cargo, even us, right? Why did the Guild get bypassed and us targeted. It's highly irregular."

"Gary," Delia's voice sounded frustrated. "It's the Centre. They can't be shoddy, they're calling the shots. And we've got a good record."

"Nothing much above ordinary." Retorted Gary. "And what makes you think the other top 50 runners didn't get the exact same 'special' offer? We don't have the Guild papers to show otherwise because they bypassed it. The Guild's there for a reason, Delia. As much as I hate their asses, they are our back-up, like it or no."

"If we say no to the Centre..."

"Then they can find someone else." Gary said, feeling that Delia was starting to smell the rotten fish that was stanching up his own windpipes. "And I'm pretty sure they have. They won't be interested in us. They will probably lure someone with better Time Stamps, and our little excuses of not being able to comply because we've got pre-existing won't even register with them."

"But over 2 million Bits..." Delia seemed on the verge of crying.

"We'll get those some other way." Gary comforted her. "Slower, but we might just live long enough to enjoy them after, right?"