One Billion Credits [Dust and EternalFire]

[Dusty Trails]

Ruined. He was ruined. Ricky was a gun for hire, though admittedly not the best around. But now, he'd reached an all time low. A job gone horribly wrong, unnecessary deaths, and his best employer very unimpressed. Not to mention the massive debt of one billion credits he now had to pay in one years time. Rick let out a long sigh and lifted his head from the bar to look around. He was currently sitting in the bar of a space station orbiting Polaris IV, the latest target of the intergalactic gold rush. Plenty of other species besides humans were seated around the bar, conversing, drinking, or gambling.

Ricky swore. From the half hour he'd been here, it didn't look like he'd be finding a job here. He should probably checks somewhere, but first a smoke break. He dug into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter from his pants and lit it. Something squeaked from his lap, and he leaned back to look down at the long white rodent in his lap. Patches the ferret was looking up at his owner with a disapproving look. Really, Ricky shouldn't be smoking. He'd been trying to quit for a long time, but after the loss of his only steady gig and the massive debt looming over him, he'd picked up the habit again.

"It's okay buddy, when I'm done I'm sure we can pay for a system cleaning," he mumbled to the ferret as he pet it, knowing damn well that he couldn't spare the credits. One billion credits was a lot to make in one year.

 

[Eternalfire61]

Septimus J'arbax was a not exactly a gun for hire, but he was more like a "pay me to do something and it will get done." He did plenty of work around the system. He did more jobs related to picking up people and giving them to the various mafias, or crime syndicates that they were requested to be put. Sep never worked for any of those guys because it was too binding. If we was caught while helping them he would just say he was hired, and he was doing his job. Most of the time he got out of what ever he was involved with at the time, but when he met Ricky it was different. On his way back from a drop off he was requested to smuggle some illegal "things" into the next system but he was caught. Ricky happened to be there to help and Sep got off scot free. Since then the pair had been inseparable until now. They had ruined their business and what they were going to do for the rest of their lives.

"ONE MILLION DAMN CREDITS RICKY!" Sep slammed the table and began to swear in his language. He sat down next to Ricky and ordered a drink. "I couldn't have been a million tortoises or maybe a couple guns, but we ruined it!" Sep received his drink and immediately tossed it back. He didn't want another he just wanted something to get him started before he really got angry. Sep looked down Patches and shook his head. "We might as well start thinking about how we are going to fix this. It's not like we can start a monopoly in a year." Septimus chuckled to himself then put his head in his arms. "Ricky what are we going to do?"​

 

[Dusty Trails]

Ricky flinched as his partner Sep suddenly yelled out, but he had a point. One billion space credits was a LOT, even when he was doing less than legal work.

"I... Dunno, man." He said, lowering the cigarette. "I'd say the first thing we should do though is find some job. Even if it isn't much, it'll still be something." Ricky looked back to the entrance of the bar and frowned. "There has to be someone on this damn station who needs work done, right? How about we find them?" Ricky stood up from the bar and took another drag of the cigarette before sticking it in the ashtray to snub it out. He let Patches crawl up his arm to sit on his shoulder, adjusted his jacket, then spun around to face the door. "Let's find something local, if we can. I don't want to have to pay for long-distance travel." Ricky stepped out into the hall and smoothed back his black hair.

This part of the station was where most of the stores were, and hordes of people were making their way to and from the different shopping options while holographic advertisements played out their personalized messages to passersby, even calling them out by name. "How's about we meet and old friend of mine? I'm sure he'll have work for us." Ricky said, starting down the hall.

 

[Eternalfire61]

Sep shrugged. What was the point of this anyway. If there were jobs they weren't paying enough for them to make up the money. They needed a heist, something to get them leverage. "We have time to get paid, but we need to do it big." Sep exited the bar then shoved his hands into his pockets. He didn't like the station, it was too crowded. All the people swarming around different shops like ants to food. It was disgusting, but it was human. On his home planet he had to work hard for things, and so did many of the other inhabitants of his planets. The simple people of his home cluster made him humble, but he wanted more. That's what made him leave. All the people there were so helpless. Helpless to attacks, raids, and the destruction of villages. Sometimes he missed it, but only when he was drunk.

Sep wasn't sure about this contact that Ricky had in mind. If it was small money they were looking for, they could have done more work in a mining cluster than here. "Your contact better be good, because I'm getting shittier by the minute.​

 

[Dusty Trails]

(Oh, I forgot to write Patches into the last post. Fixed it.)

"I think for now, for now, we should play it safer than usual. We're in deep shit, and I don't want to get any deeper." Ricky said. He stopped in front of a lift and pressed the button. "It's WAY down there, but this guy is good. He can get us a job that'll pull in some good money, and it won't be... too risky. Trust me." He shot Sep a smile and the lift behind him dinged as the doors slid open, letting out a small cluster of people. Ricky stepped back to let them out, then forward again to enter. He pressed the button for the bottom floor of the station and took Patches from his shoulder.

"Hey lil' guy, ready to go say 'hi' to Chaser again?" The ferret made a small squeak and nodded. Ricky turned the ferret to Sep and grinned. "See, Patches likes the guy and his judgement is a million times better than mine. If you don't trust me, trust the ferret." After what seemed like forever, the elevator stopped and opened to a part of the station definitely not meant to be pleasing to the eye. The floor was just a metal walkway suspended above bare components of the ship covered by wire-mesh walls and metal panels. Ricky knelt down and let's Patches crawl to the floor, where he crawled ahead and turned a corner. Ricky followed, turning back to Sep. "I gotta let Patches go in first, old joke." he said. The corridors of this part of the station had many twists and turns and split paths, but the ferret seemed to know where he was going. Eventually, they came to a plain door with a few metal boxes outside. Patches squeezed in between the boxes and disappeared. "And now we just gotta wait a bit."

((Do you want to be Ricky's contact? He's a fixer of sorts, and he helped Ricky get his start. The 'joke' is Patches jumping down from the vent above him to scare him, which really only Ricky finds funny... One day that guy is gonna get his ferret killed. Otherwise I can play him.))

 

[Eternalfire61]

(I don't know where the plot is exactly intended to go so you should play him.)

What the hell was wrong with Ricky. Wherever this place was it sounded like a hell hole. If it was risky why were they doing this. Ricky may have known this contact but it sounded shady. Sep stepped to the side when a group of people exited the elevator. He glared at Ricky once everyone had exited the elevator. Ricky began to speak to Patches which made Sep uncomfortable. The concept of talking the animals was weird to Sep. On his planet that would be the equivalent of speaking to your food. Whoever this "Chaser" was already wasn't on the best side of Sep. This idea of being able to get us out of this would be completely insane and unorthodox. The money they had to pay was already mental and this "plan" wasn't going to help them. Chaser may have had better judgement, according to Ricky, but Sep was clueless in the situation.

Then it became ever more awkward for Sep. An old joke must have been something that Sep didn't understand. Letting your ferret go around by itself was too odd. "Ricky I know that you have a scrambled brain, but this is insane." He watched as Patches went along the metal walkway and shook his head. Even now he couldn't understand his human rituals and how they worked. Maybe he would try it when he went to see his parents once he was able to get home. If he gets home...​