"Alright, be gentle with me, little one"
It had been a little more than a week since Mark and the little one had fled the mining outpost and finally Mark's paranoia and the little ones tuning had both run their course, so now it was time to leave behind the asteroid belt. Mark flew the Sparrow clear of the belt and let the little guide him
[Confirmed, preparing drive for FTL cruise… Completed, final confirmation handed to pilot]
"Punch it"
[Confirmed]
A moment passed before Mark felt it, as the Sparrow's FTL drive kicked on it accelerated to high fractions of the speed of light and left the asteroid belt behind
"This feels weird…"
[You are doing fine so far Mark, please follow the displayed navigation points towards Creh main SubNet satellite array]
Mark steered the Sparrow towards Creh, the star that the system shared its name with, commonly the main star of a system had a series of satellites near it that handled system to system communications, making it a natural hub for people that wanted to send messages out of the system or get access to a fast SubNet connection which was what the little one needed
[Please watch the approach vector carefully, if we violate the exclusion zone around the satellite array we will be fined or even engaged by the automated defenses]
"Got it…"
Slowing his approach a bit, Mark lined up on the satellite array before dropping out of cruise and back into real space
[SubNet link confirmed, starting operation…]
Mark pulled back on the throttle and stopped the ship in place, however only a few moments passed before the little one spoke out again
[We are receiving short range communication from a nearby craft]
"Put them through"
A moment passed before a voice echoed out inside the cockpit
[Unknown contact, this is convoy protection detail to your direct left transmitting, identify yourself, or you will be fired upon]
Mark clicked his tongue before he spoke
"Fuck off, this is public parking… I have no interest in you or the ships you are escorting"
[...Alright, keep your distance… We won't warn you again]
After telling the convoy escort off, Mark waited for the little one to finish up as he kept an eye on the convoy, 8 crafts were formed up in a defensive perimeter around 2 larger transport crafts in the center of the formation, one of which was undergoing what looked like emergency repairs
'Makes sense they are tense… I still don't appreciate their attitude though'
[Operation completed, 13.893 credits have been secured and successfully laundered]
"Nice going, how much is that worth?"
[Enough for docking and refueling fees at the nearest station, we should be able to secure more funds there… But that will be mostly up to you]
"Got it, let's get out of here then…"
Mark spun the Sparrow around and began acceleration away from the satellite array when the same merc contacted him over the radio
[A word of advice, there's no real order in this system so get out of here as soon as you can, fearless guy]
"... I normally don't take advice in public parking spaces this late at night… Still, thanks for the advice"
[FTL drive ready, entering cruise]
"Punch it"
At Mark's words the Sparrow accelerated to FTL cruise
[I've plotted a route to Creh-2 trade hub, according to the data acquired while I was securing funds the security rating have fallen to a 4 out of 10, while it isn't pure anarchy anywhere other than government secured housing and administration and essential infrastructure have essentially no security]
"Well, that sucks… However, it should be a good springboard, no?"
[Yes, it will work well, however only if we extend our stay to a couple of weeks]
"That's fine, I should be able to occupy myself in the meantime"
A few minutes passed before Mark arrived at Creh-2 trade hub, as the Sparrow arrived back in real space the trade hub came into view, the space station was around a kilometer wide and had a spherical form with docking ports in the middle of the station
[This is Creh-2 trade hub, unidentified contact, identify yourself and state your purpose for visiting]
"This is Sparrow, I am here to refuel and resupply"
[Alright, Sparrow keep your approach speed at 50 m/s and dock in hanger 2, pad 41, pay your docking fees within an hour, or you'll be fined and kicked out]
"Got it"
[Communications with Creh-2 trade hub have been closed, let's dock Mark]
"Alright, easy does it…"
Keeping his pace slow Mark passed through the transparent atmosphere shield that separated hanger 2 from the void, inside the hanger numerous piers floated in open space, each had a number of docking pads with the free ones lighting up with their numbers
'41… 41… There it is…'
Flying the Sparrow over Mark managed to land it on pad 41, a moment after he touched down he felt the craft shake as it was secured
[Docking confirmed, local SubNet connected]
"Alright, how do we pay our bill?"
[I've already taken care of that, the refueling will take a few minutes at the most]
"Alright, open up the hatch for me, I'll take a look around the station"
[Be sure to return in a timely manner, I believe the Sparrow will be targeted if it is left alone for too long]
As the cockpit opened up Mark manipulated the screen of the terminal on the wrist of the red vacuum suit he had salvaged and had the little one repair and flew out of the cockpit, after nearing the pier his boots magnetic attached to it
'Oh… Neat'
Mark looked around, about a dozen other ships were docked in the hanger, making it essentially empty
'Well with the security situation it is no wonder there's so little traffic…'
Walking along the pier Mark reached a air lock and after stepping through into it and waiting for it to cycle he stepped out into the pressurized colony section
'There's a gravity field too…'
Looking around Mark had the feeling of stepping into a shopping street in the bed end of town, and a metallic cave at the same time, a few shops and entertainment facilities were open, however most of the streets were made up of closed shutters. The ceiling was around 8 meters up and the street was about the same width too, ropes and wires were strung across the ceiling and signboards shone and dazzled the street with different colored lights
'This place seems nice'
Even with his helmet still secured he could smell it all over, dark desires littered the entire station, he could feel a dozen gazes filled with ill intent land on him as he walked down the street, and it wasn't long until someone walked up to him and called out
"Hey, how about spending some time with me?"
It was a woman wearing heavy makeup and not that much else, the fabric of the little clothes she wore reminded Mark of the thin plastic of shopping bags. Seeing her approach him like this made Mark show a thin smile before he spoke
"I am far too broke for that"
The woman clicked her tongue before she waved him along and turned her attention towards someone else, the stench of greed on her wasn't as strong as the deep set despair. She smelled good, but it wasn't time to eat yet
'Patience… I need to look around some more…'
After walking around the station for a few hours, Mark eventually found a waterhole to rest his feet, the bar was filthy, and every single patron was armed. However, the music that was blasting over the speakers wasn't too unpleasant to Mark so he walked in a took a seat at the bar, the bartender called out to him as he sat down
"What can I get you?"
"Something light to start off with"
"Got it"
As the bartender pour Mark a drink a metal square of the bar popped up, having already heard of this before Mark touched his wrist against it and a moment later the little one's voice echoed out in his mind
[You're drinking, Mark? I've completed the transaction]
Mark removed his helmet and placed it on the bar beside him and took a swig of the drink, it tasted pretty bad all things considered, but Mark still found it passable. He responded to the little one under his breath
"Yep, I figured it was worth trying out"
[According to a quick SubNet search, the price of 50 credits is a 100% inflation over the average price of the surrounding systems, it should normally cost 5 credits total]
"...Are they ripping me off?"
[Yes and no, the normal price for the station seems to be 30 credits]
"Got it, I'll drink a bit more, find some food before heading back to the Sparrow"
[Confirmed, please be careful Mark]
Finishing up his drink, Mark signaled the barkeeper over before he ordered
"Give me something stronger this time"
"You got it"
The metal square popped up again and Mark paid another inflated drink cost, after tasting his drink which reminded Mark of cleaning spirit he asked the barkeep
"Is there anything interesting going on around here lately?"
The barkeep flashed a smile, her jagged teeth metal teeth seemed to shine menacingly for a moment before she asked
"You are not from around here, are you?"
"Nope, I've just arrived in the system… I am properly moving on if I can't find any work"
The barkeep pulled a chair out from under her side of the bar and sat down across from Mark, placing her elbows on the bar she cradled her chin as she looked over Mark once more and asked
"Got a ship?"
"Yep, combat capable too"
"How's your flying?"
"Good enough"
"How can you be sure about that?"
Mark showed a thin smile, the ill and greedy intent he smelled from the rest of the bar was completely absent from the barkeep
"Come on now, can't a guy have a little confidence?"
The barkeep flashed a smile before she stood up again and spoke
"In that case, I might have something for you, I'll send it to your terminal later, Flyboy"
"I'll look forwards to it"
Finishing his drink Mark stood up and left the bar, walking towards the hangar someone called out to him
"Hey you"
Turning his head towards the person that had called out to him, he saw a large man standing at the entrance of ally, Mark stopped walking and asked
"What?"
Unsurprisingly, this wasn't the smartest decision to make as the man moved his coat a little to reveal a laser pistol pointed at Mark
"You and me are going to take a walk, got it?"
Mark showed a thin smile before he nodded and walked over to the man that backed up into the alley behind him, once the two were about halfway down it the man pointed towards the ground
"Alright, on your knees, keep your hands where I can see them"
Mark followed the man's orders and kneeled down before he spoke
"What do you want?"
The man walked closer to Mark and placed the barrel of the laser pistol to Mark's forehead before he spoke
"I want to know why the fuck you are wearing Xavi's vacuum suit"
Mark's thin smile widened before he muttered
"So that's what that smell is…"
"What the fuck are—"
Before the man could react, Mark moved with inhuman speed and grabbed his wrist and crushed it before pressing his palm against the man's chest with immense force and forcing him against the wall of the ally
"Argh! You fucker—"
Mark remained silent for a few moments as he consumed the negative emotions of the man, however to his surprise he didn't immediately perish, increasing his pressure on the man's chest Mark squeezed his lungs closed and made him pass out a few moments later
"Hmm… Strange"
Mark looked over the man, as far as he could tell feeding on him didn't seem to have any immediately adverse effects
"Hmm…"
Casually pushing a little further Mark crushed his chest completely and finished him off, a moment later the corpse began letting out a delightful scent again
"Interesting"
Mark touched the corpse and after feeding on it for a few moments he concluded
"So corpses are better than people that are alive… Noted"
Casually picking the laser pistol up from the corpse, Mark turned around and continued towards the hanger