all feedback much appreciated
[Steve, tried improving my frequent repitiion of names!]
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Chapter 3 - The Old Friend
"There has to be an invisible sun,
It gives its heat to everyone,
There has to be an invisible sun,
That gives us hope when the whole day's done". The Police.
In his rush to get back to the docking bay Piotr had completely forgotten about the upgrades he'd ordered for his ship. When he made it to the Lifter several minutes later he almost didn't recognise it - part of the full upgrade deal had been a complimentary cleaning of the ship, both inside and out.
'Wow, it almost looks like new! Wonder how it flies?' he wondered aloud.
He was further amazed by the difference the cleaning crew had made to the ship interior - his aunt had fought a losing battle against Piotr's untidy habits for years and 3 hours earlier you would have been hard pressed to see any of the now shiny clean floor.
Feeling like a new man, having gone through a baptism of fire at the hands of the Piranha and once again about to head out into space in his newly cleaned ship, Piotr asked for docking clearance.
"Argon Lifter AM4PK-12 you are cleared for departure" the station docking contoller replied.
As soon as he'd cleared the docking tube Piotr hit the booster and started doing some experimental turns. The Lifter responded as the simulator ship had but this time it was for real and he was very pleased with the results - especially since he knew he should now be able to outrun many pirate ships which were rarely fully speed optimised.
"Ship scanned" announced the ships computer.
"Argon Lifter AM4PK-12, are you in trouble? Your ship is behaving erratically."
Piotr looked over at the HUD and saw that a Discoverer had left the trading station and was heading his way. He briefly felt a stab of fear but then realised with relief that it was one of the station defence force.
"uh, no, thanks...I was just trying out the new upgrades to my ship's engines" Piotr replied.
"Do you know how many accidents are caused by people like you, mucking around with their new toys in major trading lanes?" the Disco pilot sounded irritated, "stop pissing about and be on your way!". The comm clicked off.
Piotr meekly slowed his ship to half speed and straightened his course, heading for the wheat farm. He decided not to reply to the disco pilot in case he got into more trouble.
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Piotr made it to the wheat farm far quicker than expected with the new ship upgrades and was able to take his time on the way to his aunt's. He noticed some commotion at the end of the docking bay and went to see what the excitement was about.
A Xenon M! It was an M4 equivalent medium fighter that was constructed by the enemy of all known races. Piotr had seen holopics of theses ships and even 'fought' them in the arcade sims but he'd never seen one in the flesh. It was a pretty intimidating looking craft and he knew that although it was similar in performance to the Argon Buster or Boron Piranaha he had to admit it looked better.
After gawping at the unusual ship Piotr decided he better get moving if he wasn't to be late for dinner, his stomach rumbled at the thought as he realised he hadn't eaten since the half finished meatsteak that morning.
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As Piotr entered the apartment he heard his aunt talking to someone, 'must be the friend of Unlce's', Piotr thought to himself, 'better go say hello'. They were both sitting down by the fire, the man was facing away from him.
"yes, Piotr has been doing quite well at the trading business, why recently he...", his aunt broke off mid-sentence as she saw him enter.
"Piotr, you're here at last! Here is the friend of your uncle's I mentioned. Nivick, here is Piotr." Aunt Petuniac gestured to the stranger who got up and turned to face him.
Piotr blinked in surprise, he had seen this man's face before!
"Well, Piotr, aren't you going to say hello to an old friend of your uncle's?" the man had a gruff voice and a weatherbeaten face that crinkled into a smile as he held out his hand.
"Wow! Captain Slanton! It's an honour to meet you sir! I hadn't realised you and my uncle had known each other!". Piotr grasped the man's hand to shake it. He could not believe that a renowned hero of the Xenon incursions into Argon space was in his aunt's front room.
"Oh?", Slanton sounded disappointed, "I suppose that's my fault really, I should have visited sooner, after your uncle died..."
Aunt Petuniac quickly interrupted, looking a bit flustered, "Nonsense Nivick, you have been a good friend to us with the help you gave me in continuing the business whilst Piotr was still at school".
Slanton's smile returned as he looked back at her. "Petuniac, it was the least I could do, your husband saved my life more than once when I was a green rookie pilot back in the old days!"
Piotr was gobsmacked - his uncle had fought against the Xenon with Captain Slanton?
"Is that your Xenon ship in the docking bay Sir?" Piotr blurted out.
"Now lad, no more of that 'Captain' nonsense, call me Nivick - all my friends do! Yes, she's an old trophy I captured that the Navy let me keep. So tell me, how are things with you?" Stanton looked at Piotr keenly as he asked this question.
"Oh, not so bad Sir. Trading can be a bit tough just staying in Argon Prime but at least it's safe!" Piotr replied, wondering exactly why this war hero had turned up at his aunt's place just a day after the Piranha attack.
"Really?", Stanton's eyebrows rose a bit at Piotr's reply but he said nothing more.
Aunt Petuniac didn't notice the exchange and began sheperding them both into the kitchen - it was time to eat.
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A couple of hours later Aunt Petuniac had gone to bed and Piotr and Nivick were sat down in the kitchen with an open flask of Space fuel.
"I hope you like this Piotr, I've been saving it for a special occasion. Matured for 10 years back on Argon Prime."
"Oh yes Sir, I mean, Nivick...it's really good", in fact it was also pretty strong stuff and Piotr could feel himself relaxing properly, for the first time, since the Piranha attack. The space fuel and the company of this gruff old fighter pilot who had told them funny tales from the Xenon war over dinner were really calming after the recent events.
Nivick took another sip of his drink and then looked thoughfully at Piotr.
"Piotr, you must be wondering why I have suddenly appeared to say hello after all this time?"
Piotr was surprised at the sudden turn in conversation, but took his time in answering - after all this was a question he'd been pondering all evening.
"I think it might have something to do with a trade run to Ringo Moon I did yesterday", Nivick smiled at the straightfoward response, "thanks for not mentioning it to auntie - I didn't want to worry her".
Nivick laughed, "Hah! I like that, lad. At least you're straightforward with your replies! Yes, that is why I'm here. You probably know that I'm retired from active military duty?" Piotr nodded, he hadn't known but could have guessed that from Nivick's age.
Nivick took another sip of his drink. "But I still have some good friends in the military and asked them to keep tabs on the Lifter that your uncle had. Your uncle was a good friend and mentor to me and I wanted to look over you and your aunt. Well, I got a call last night telling me all about your little encounter with a Boron Pirana and the pilot's threats. And so here I am! I want to give you some help." He looked at Piotr expectantly.
"ermm, thanks Nivick, but I don't know how you can help me. I've upgraded my Lifter's speed and bought some more drones, but I don't think I'll be leaving Argon Prime again in a hurry" Piotr replied glumly. he took a big gulp of the space fuel and regretted it as soon as the fiery liquid went down his throat.
Nivick snorted at his statement, but this quickly turned to laughter as he saw Piotr gasping for air.
"I don't think you know what you're talking about, lad. Come on!", Nivick stood up from the table and put on his jacket.
"Huh? Where are we going?" Piotr managed to wheeze out as he got over the space fuel.
"To a bar of course! You need some more to drink and I need to drum some sense into that thick skull of yours!"
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"So..so what you're saying", Piotr paused as he tried to clear his head from the excessive amounts of alcohol Nivick had forced on him, "you're saying I SHOULD go out of Argon Prime sector and do some long distance trading?"
Nivick was sat back comfortably, with a nearly empty glass of space fuel, leering at some of the serving girls at the bar. He'd already done the dirty old man routine and got half their names. Having said that, in spite of the large amounts of strong liquor he'd consumed, he seemed remarkably sober.
"Nice bar this!" Nivick focussed his attention back to the converstation. "Yes! You should start doing some serious trading. Get yourself a good fast ship to escort your transport. That way you can at least defend yourself properly rather than relying on those damn drones", Nivick practically spat the word, " and you can run away from trouble if you're outnumbered and outgunned!"
Piotr tried to clear his head, "OK, so I run away - then I'll lose the cargo ship! What will I do then? And besides, I only have a grade F pilot's license, I'm not even allowed to fly with weapons." Piotr drained his drink. After he'd finished coughing he carried on, "and I'm not even sure I want to go around fighting people and risking my life!"
Nivick looked disappointed for a second, but then his face lit up.
"You need another drink, your glass is empty! Hey, Sharen! Another round please, and get one for yourself" Nivick shouted over to one of the more curvaceous serving girls at the bar.
'sheesh, this is going to be a long night, does he ever stop drinking?'. Piotr perked up though at the sight of the serving girl coming towards him with a smile on her face.
