4
It was a long walk back to where he had parked his airship; the supplies getting heavier by the minute. By the time he reached the base of the entry ladder on the side of the ship to rest, he was yawning widely and his shoulders were aching. He managed to flip open the protective cover for the intercom system and leaned his elbow against the call button. He waited a long moment, shifting the box’s weight from hip to hip, before the camera zoomed in on his face and the speaker crackled.
“Sup, cap?”
“
Open the side door and lower the ramp from the cargo bay, please. Before my arms fall off.”
The man chuckled. “Will do. Half a moment.”
The intercom shut off. Tal struggled to close the protective cover again. With a tired and slightly annoyed grunt, he smacked it with his elbow and was rewarded with a loud click as the cover snapped back into place. He readjusted the heavy supply box once again and then made his way to the back of the ship. As he rounded the corner, he saw the regular-sized door open and a ramp slid down for him. “
Thanks, Rei.” He walked up the relatively steep incline onto the ship.
The silhouette of a tall, broad-shouldered man formed in the soft lights from the cargo hold, his face shadowed because of the low light. He retracted the ramp and shut the door. “Want me to take that? You looked wiped.”
“
I am. And, please.” Tal handed off the box of supplies to the taller man. He followed him to the elevator and stepped inside, massaging his shoulders. “
I saw Owner at the shop.”
“Mm… How he’s doing?”
“
He’s doing pretty well. I told him to keep an eye out for any odd jobs that we could take on heading to Galeton. Probably gonna get some new crew for a bit.”
Rei raised an eyebrow. “Oh? We in the hiring gig now? Thought you said we’d hold off for a while.”
Tal rubbed his face and stepped out onto the main level. He made his way to the small kitchen and rummaged in the fridge. “
We could use the extra income with Danny and her books on hiatus for a few weeks. You know things have been a bit tight with Rin’s expenses. Anything’ll help for now until Danny gets back.”
Rei carried the box over to the low step-stool and set it down. He looked through the items and moved the perishable things to the fridge. “D’you know how many? We only got so much room on this rig.”
Tal pulled out a bottle of flavored water. “
I am well aware of that, but, like I said, it’ll just be until Danny gets back. You can leave the rest for later. We had better turn in or we won’t be up for the meeting tomorrow.”
“Roger that. I’ll do the last rounds and make sure we’re locked up for the night.”
“
Night.”
--- ---
Owen made his way towards the docks early the next morning. He had a shipment coming in by water and was anxious to make sure it had arrived. The last time he had purchased any of his merchandise from their neighbor to the south, his items had arrived four months late, soaked, and could not be sold. As he passed the large collective of bulletin boards lining the entrance to the dock walkway, he decided to see if anything new had popped up for his favorite shippers. He perused the many slips of papers, a thin curl of smoke from his cigarette trailing upwards. After a moment, he reached up and smoothed down one of the newest notes. He took a deep breath of his cigarette while he thought. Then he slipped the note off of the bulletin board and took it with him, tucking it down into the inner pocket of his jacket.
After checking on his merchandise, Owen headed back to his little shop. He reached into his inner pocket for his lighter and rediscovered the bulletin note. He pulled it out and looked at the contact number. He slid his communicator out of his other pocket and flipped it open. He dialed the young captain’s code and waited for someone to answer. After a moment, he heard someone pick up.
“Good morning. Sparrow Transport Services. How may I help you?”
Owen chuckled. “Mornin’, Rei.”
The voice on the other end snorted. “Hey, old man. What’chu want?”
Owen stopped outside his shop and finished up his cigarette. “Might have found a job for you kids. Is your cap around?”
“He’s just finishing up some notes from the meeting this morning. Half a sec. Lemme see if he can come chat.” There was the sound of muted footsteps across polished metal flooring and a door sliding open.
Owen waited patiently and in within the minute, he heard the young captain approach the communicator.
“
Hi, Owen?”
“I got a crew looking for a trip to Galeton,” Owen said, reading off of the note in his hand. “Three members: pilot, mechanic, and navigator. Says they need transport for large parts and will negotiate a price. You got any interest?”
“
Large parts? How large?”
“Doesn’t say specifically. Interested?” Owen finished his cigarette and switched his communicator to his other hand. There was a long pause. He could swear he could something vibrating near the microphone and then realized it was a cat purring. There was a crash somewhere in the background. When Tal spoke again, he sounded as though he were anxious to get off the com.
“
Find out what they’re willing to pay - specifically find out their highest and their minimum. Contact me when you know. Don’t tell them who you’re calling for. I need to go.”
“Got it. Take care.” Owen had barely finished talking when he heard the connection drop. The shop owner sighed and closed his communicator. “Busy kids.” He read the contact info on the note and took a deep breath. He inputted the code into his communicator and waited for someone on the other end to answer.
::
See OOC post 2 ::
