Neo Chronicles: Black Void
Episode 44: Business as Usual
Table of Contents
Business as usual? Business as usual. This life—God—I can't take it.
I stare down this big ol' long conference table an' see the look of disgust in FengRi's eyes. He trippin'. He always be trippin', but it never seems t'reflect on his face until I start speakin'.
I didn't ask for this. He certainly didn't want it for me. But here we are. I'm the captain of this ship, an' I think it's about dang time, I started flexin' on it.
Rutra t'my right sittin' here lookin' tuned out. I don't even know why he comes t'these things. He says he always kept an ear t'the happenin's, but he sure don't act like it.
I'm also surprised t'see Mera still taggin' along. She ain't even sittin' outta sight like she usually do. Nah, she right up front, t'my left. Don't know if this is her tryna support me or what. She ain't said nothin', but she never says nothin'. Don't know her game jus' yet.
But that's all whatever. They ain't the reason I'm standin' up here. Nah.
I blink an' then look on back down the table. Sittin' right next t'FengRi is Scion an' Kal-Artang. All three of them together is where the money is. They the brains of this whole operation.
They look annoyed. I know they'd rather be dealin' with whatever crisis they was discussin' before, but this is important. I had t'interrupt they lil' whatever t'make a stink about this.
Crud.
This is the life I live now. I'm standin' here, all eyes on me, tryna convince a group of lowdowns one of the most fundamental rules in life.
Killin' is wrong.
“But it don't make no sense!” I shout, bangin' my hand on the table. “I ain't even tryna bring morals into this.”
Rutra sighs. Dude look like he jus' wakin' up, but he groggily states, “Frankly, it's just part of the job description.” He then starts out like he got somethin' more t'say, but gets interrupted.
“You have to understand,” Scion says. “Our survival is entirely dependent upon us leaving no one behind. If anyone were to survive and place a call out to our last known coordinates, everything we've worked for would come crashing down.”
FengRi bangs his end of the table as he storms t'his feet. “We barely survived our last encounter with the law enforcers. You want make their jobs easier?”
“And to be fair,” Mera starts out. “We do give them a say in the matter.”
I did not expect that. I mean, I did, but not from her. I look her in the eye, an' I don't see her blink, fidget, or flinch. It throws me off my game. I start stumblin' over my words for a minute, then come back t'reality.
“That whole 'join or die' thing?” I turn my gaze from her an' focus in on Kal an' Scion. “C'mon guys, you gotta know that's wack. So we either kill everyone we run into, or build our crew outta the people who hate us? Is that how y'all got brought in?”
I look back at Mera an' say, “Didn't you used t'hate everything these people did t'you? Have y'all been here so long that y'all forgot? Or did you jus' learn t'deal with it? There was way too many people here t'try an' take on at once, right? You had no choice, right? Well guess what?” My focus turns back t'the big three. “All those numbers is gone. If we try pullin' that same junk, all it'll take is one good mutiny an' we done!”
Rutra starts t'chuckle, but then tries t'mask it with a heavy cough. “Well with that said, maybe we shouldn't even give 'em a choice. Kill 'em all.”
Scion places his elbows on the table, an' places his fingers together. “I admit, it's a delicate situation that is not entirely ideal, but it's the system that works. Anything else has been proven to be wholly ineffective.”
“I don't buy that,” I say, shakin' my head. “I mean, we've built up a rep. Everywhere the pirates go, nothin' gets left behind. Now if I'm some regular ship who gets ambushed by pirates, knowin' that I'm gonna die, I'm gonna fight like my life depends on it. An' if I know they're after my stuff, I'm gonna make sure it ain't around either. Now, as those said pirates, how the world are we s'pose t'mange that situation?”
I take a moment t'gauge the responses. It gives them pause, but no one seems t'be budgin' on where they stand.
Watchin' Kal look away for a moment makes me think this is resonatin' with him the most. So I direct my attention towards him, then go on.
“I know y'all done ran into it plenty times before. Wouldn't it be better t'at least give the folks some sense of easiness. We get in, we get out, nobody gets hurt. This is jus' logic. Like I said, I ain't even tryna bring morals into this. It's better for business if we change jus' a couple of our practices here an' there. Everybody benefits from it. C'mon, Kal!”
“But you're wrong,” Kal responds. He turns an' leans in t'look me in they eye an' goes on, “It simply doesn't work that way. I know you mean for it. I know you want it to, but believe me, I know it doesn't.”
“There's just simply too much risk involved,” Scion adds on.
“Says who?” I throw my hands up in disbelief.
“Says history!” FengRi shouts. He balls his hand into a fist an' slams it on the table again. “Says facts. Says our former captain.”
“What was that?” I cup my hand around my ear, an' lean in his direction. “Former?” I repeat. “That means he gone. I'm the captain now!” I pound my chest for effect. “An' what I says goes!”
“Not exactly,” Scion meekly interjects.
“Not at all to be quite honest,” FengRi says.
I scoff. “You still sayin' I'm a 'figurehead'?”
“Well, you are, but even if you weren't, a decision like that would have to be settled by vote, and as you can gather from this impromtu meeting, you've already been outvoted.”
“By jus' you guys. You forget, I know these people. I've walked with 'em. Bet if we did one a' those all hands meetings, you'd see otherwise.”
“That would be such a waste of time!”
“Fine! Fine! We'll do it,” Scion says. “Now can we please get back to the real reason we're here? Are there any objections to that? Mallec's supplies were only enough to keep us afloat, but they have only postponed our situation. We need to plan our next raid.”
“Why do we even need t'do that? Why can't we jus' go legit?”
I think I see a vein bust out of FengRi's dome.
“Are you serious?” he shouts.
*/
So I lost that vote.
Soon after that borin' meetin' of the minds, we set if off right. Got the whole crew in the mess hall together. I made my pitch. Sure, I stumbled a bit over my words, but that's public speakin' for you. It ain't my thing. But regardless of my antics, the word was out there.
I pitched it like my life depended on it. There was passion! There was vigor! There was showmanship!
T'think, after all that, doe.
But I wasn't stressin'. So what if ain't nobody wanna go legit for real. I mean, some of 'em do, but the opposin' argument that it's way too late for that even got me second guessin'. We jus' in too deep. Piratin' is in they blood now. It's how they walk an' how they talk. We try goin' planetside askin' for a decent livin', imagine what'll happen.
Yeah, nobody in they right mind gonna hire an ex-convict. You think they gonna hire an ex-pirate? Nah.
Then I tried t'get people on the side of raidin' dead ships, but ended up losin' that vote, too. Random space monsters aside, dead ships usually mean broken things, an' wastin' time on junk that don't work is pointless.
Was hopin' that if I carried myself like the law givin', confident pirate captain that they think I am, I'd some garner support off of charisma.
I thought I'd do better with the 'no killin' thing, but these lames ain't about that life, neither. That one wasn't even close. These lames is so desensitized. I brought it up, an' they acted like the concept was so foreign to 'em.
“It jus' baffles me,” I say aloud.
I've since retreated t'my room t'think it over. I'm layin' flat along my bed, arms tucked behind my head, starin' at the ceilin'.
“Well ya gotta admit,” Rutra says, “those were some terrible ideas.”
I still don't know why this bug keeps buggin' me. He saw me leave the mess hall all defeated an' junk, an' jus' wanted t'tag along t'rub it in my face. I hate this dude.
“How were they terrible, doe? They woulda helped all of us out in the short an' long run. Dude, yall are the worst.”
“Whatever. At least you know which people are on your side.”
“You mean I know which people here got some brains. Somethin' I noticed you don't seem t'have.”
“Hey, I voted on what was right, but that's not what I'm gettin' at. Half the people here don't care what's goin' on. They're just tryna get by. So whenever these grand decision making elections take place, they pick a leader and follow him.”
“So you're sayin'?”
“I'm sayin' you're that leader. You don't have many followers, but if it ever came to an us versus them situation, you'd know which us and which them to share a bunk with.”
“You crazy. Get out my face!”
I don't wanna give the dude any sorta positive reinforcement, but he is kinda right. I don't know what I'mma do with this newfound info, but jus' knowin' that I've got some sorta followin' on this ship is bound t'come in handy eventually. I mean, we are still one good mutiny away, right?
Episode 44: Business as Usual
Table of Contents
Business as usual? Business as usual. This life—God—I can't take it.
I stare down this big ol' long conference table an' see the look of disgust in FengRi's eyes. He trippin'. He always be trippin', but it never seems t'reflect on his face until I start speakin'.
I didn't ask for this. He certainly didn't want it for me. But here we are. I'm the captain of this ship, an' I think it's about dang time, I started flexin' on it.
Rutra t'my right sittin' here lookin' tuned out. I don't even know why he comes t'these things. He says he always kept an ear t'the happenin's, but he sure don't act like it.
I'm also surprised t'see Mera still taggin' along. She ain't even sittin' outta sight like she usually do. Nah, she right up front, t'my left. Don't know if this is her tryna support me or what. She ain't said nothin', but she never says nothin'. Don't know her game jus' yet.
But that's all whatever. They ain't the reason I'm standin' up here. Nah.
I blink an' then look on back down the table. Sittin' right next t'FengRi is Scion an' Kal-Artang. All three of them together is where the money is. They the brains of this whole operation.
They look annoyed. I know they'd rather be dealin' with whatever crisis they was discussin' before, but this is important. I had t'interrupt they lil' whatever t'make a stink about this.
Crud.
This is the life I live now. I'm standin' here, all eyes on me, tryna convince a group of lowdowns one of the most fundamental rules in life.
Killin' is wrong.
“But it don't make no sense!” I shout, bangin' my hand on the table. “I ain't even tryna bring morals into this.”
Rutra sighs. Dude look like he jus' wakin' up, but he groggily states, “Frankly, it's just part of the job description.” He then starts out like he got somethin' more t'say, but gets interrupted.
“You have to understand,” Scion says. “Our survival is entirely dependent upon us leaving no one behind. If anyone were to survive and place a call out to our last known coordinates, everything we've worked for would come crashing down.”
FengRi bangs his end of the table as he storms t'his feet. “We barely survived our last encounter with the law enforcers. You want make their jobs easier?”
“And to be fair,” Mera starts out. “We do give them a say in the matter.”
I did not expect that. I mean, I did, but not from her. I look her in the eye, an' I don't see her blink, fidget, or flinch. It throws me off my game. I start stumblin' over my words for a minute, then come back t'reality.
“That whole 'join or die' thing?” I turn my gaze from her an' focus in on Kal an' Scion. “C'mon guys, you gotta know that's wack. So we either kill everyone we run into, or build our crew outta the people who hate us? Is that how y'all got brought in?”
I look back at Mera an' say, “Didn't you used t'hate everything these people did t'you? Have y'all been here so long that y'all forgot? Or did you jus' learn t'deal with it? There was way too many people here t'try an' take on at once, right? You had no choice, right? Well guess what?” My focus turns back t'the big three. “All those numbers is gone. If we try pullin' that same junk, all it'll take is one good mutiny an' we done!”
Rutra starts t'chuckle, but then tries t'mask it with a heavy cough. “Well with that said, maybe we shouldn't even give 'em a choice. Kill 'em all.”
Scion places his elbows on the table, an' places his fingers together. “I admit, it's a delicate situation that is not entirely ideal, but it's the system that works. Anything else has been proven to be wholly ineffective.”
“I don't buy that,” I say, shakin' my head. “I mean, we've built up a rep. Everywhere the pirates go, nothin' gets left behind. Now if I'm some regular ship who gets ambushed by pirates, knowin' that I'm gonna die, I'm gonna fight like my life depends on it. An' if I know they're after my stuff, I'm gonna make sure it ain't around either. Now, as those said pirates, how the world are we s'pose t'mange that situation?”
I take a moment t'gauge the responses. It gives them pause, but no one seems t'be budgin' on where they stand.
Watchin' Kal look away for a moment makes me think this is resonatin' with him the most. So I direct my attention towards him, then go on.
“I know y'all done ran into it plenty times before. Wouldn't it be better t'at least give the folks some sense of easiness. We get in, we get out, nobody gets hurt. This is jus' logic. Like I said, I ain't even tryna bring morals into this. It's better for business if we change jus' a couple of our practices here an' there. Everybody benefits from it. C'mon, Kal!”
“But you're wrong,” Kal responds. He turns an' leans in t'look me in they eye an' goes on, “It simply doesn't work that way. I know you mean for it. I know you want it to, but believe me, I know it doesn't.”
“There's just simply too much risk involved,” Scion adds on.
“Says who?” I throw my hands up in disbelief.
“Says history!” FengRi shouts. He balls his hand into a fist an' slams it on the table again. “Says facts. Says our former captain.”
“What was that?” I cup my hand around my ear, an' lean in his direction. “Former?” I repeat. “That means he gone. I'm the captain now!” I pound my chest for effect. “An' what I says goes!”
“Not exactly,” Scion meekly interjects.
“Not at all to be quite honest,” FengRi says.
I scoff. “You still sayin' I'm a 'figurehead'?”
“Well, you are, but even if you weren't, a decision like that would have to be settled by vote, and as you can gather from this impromtu meeting, you've already been outvoted.”
“By jus' you guys. You forget, I know these people. I've walked with 'em. Bet if we did one a' those all hands meetings, you'd see otherwise.”
“That would be such a waste of time!”
“Fine! Fine! We'll do it,” Scion says. “Now can we please get back to the real reason we're here? Are there any objections to that? Mallec's supplies were only enough to keep us afloat, but they have only postponed our situation. We need to plan our next raid.”
“Why do we even need t'do that? Why can't we jus' go legit?”
I think I see a vein bust out of FengRi's dome.
“Are you serious?” he shouts.
*/
So I lost that vote.
Soon after that borin' meetin' of the minds, we set if off right. Got the whole crew in the mess hall together. I made my pitch. Sure, I stumbled a bit over my words, but that's public speakin' for you. It ain't my thing. But regardless of my antics, the word was out there.
I pitched it like my life depended on it. There was passion! There was vigor! There was showmanship!
T'think, after all that, doe.
But I wasn't stressin'. So what if ain't nobody wanna go legit for real. I mean, some of 'em do, but the opposin' argument that it's way too late for that even got me second guessin'. We jus' in too deep. Piratin' is in they blood now. It's how they walk an' how they talk. We try goin' planetside askin' for a decent livin', imagine what'll happen.
Yeah, nobody in they right mind gonna hire an ex-convict. You think they gonna hire an ex-pirate? Nah.
Then I tried t'get people on the side of raidin' dead ships, but ended up losin' that vote, too. Random space monsters aside, dead ships usually mean broken things, an' wastin' time on junk that don't work is pointless.
Was hopin' that if I carried myself like the law givin', confident pirate captain that they think I am, I'd some garner support off of charisma.
I thought I'd do better with the 'no killin' thing, but these lames ain't about that life, neither. That one wasn't even close. These lames is so desensitized. I brought it up, an' they acted like the concept was so foreign to 'em.
“It jus' baffles me,” I say aloud.
I've since retreated t'my room t'think it over. I'm layin' flat along my bed, arms tucked behind my head, starin' at the ceilin'.
“Well ya gotta admit,” Rutra says, “those were some terrible ideas.”
I still don't know why this bug keeps buggin' me. He saw me leave the mess hall all defeated an' junk, an' jus' wanted t'tag along t'rub it in my face. I hate this dude.
“How were they terrible, doe? They woulda helped all of us out in the short an' long run. Dude, yall are the worst.”
“Whatever. At least you know which people are on your side.”
“You mean I know which people here got some brains. Somethin' I noticed you don't seem t'have.”
“Hey, I voted on what was right, but that's not what I'm gettin' at. Half the people here don't care what's goin' on. They're just tryna get by. So whenever these grand decision making elections take place, they pick a leader and follow him.”
“So you're sayin'?”
“I'm sayin' you're that leader. You don't have many followers, but if it ever came to an us versus them situation, you'd know which us and which them to share a bunk with.”
“You crazy. Get out my face!”
I don't wanna give the dude any sorta positive reinforcement, but he is kinda right. I don't know what I'mma do with this newfound info, but jus' knowin' that I've got some sorta followin' on this ship is bound t'come in handy eventually. I mean, we are still one good mutiny away, right?
