Roth Likonis
Industrialist
Out here in the depths of the Pacanth reach, there was nothing but stars - distant specks of light that twinkled against a backdrop of nebula and the spiral arms of the galaxy. Who knew what splendor those distant planets held...what strange species, foods, and cultures orbited around those distant spheres of hydrogen fusion. What love and romance could be found? What riches and glory? Why, the brave adventurer could set out in his starship, jump to hyperspace, and never ever have to look back -
<<JASHIN. STOP YOUR DAMN DAYDREAMING!!!>>
Jashin startled so violently he practically fell out of the pilot's seat, spilling a good half a cup of caff onto his lap in the process. "Dank fragging ferrick!" Cursing, he hit the comms. <<Aye foreman! Repeat that last order, sir?>> As he spoke, he frantically tried to wipe some of the dark liquid off himself - it was cold, at least, as if that was some small comfort.
<<I said, ninety degrees to port, coordinates mark two, three, one.>> Rasped out the impatient foreman; the Nikto's voice was phlegmy from heavy smoking, and the order was followed by one of the foreman's patented "HUUU-CK!" gargling spits in the background. The sound made Jashin's neck crawl.
<<Aye sir, ninety degrees to port, coordinates mark two, three, one.>> Jashin replied. To either side, the two sensor operators - an unpleasant human woman by the name of Gartha, and a thin Rodian who only went by Zrd'nl - chuckled. Jashin didn't take it personally; asteroid mining was long, dull, grueling business. You had to find humor in the little things, even if that was the minor misfortune of your coworkers. Taking the stick, Jashin gently spun the Y-8 Mining Vessel on its axis.
"Clearance portside, about...thirty meters." Said Gartha, her voice bored. The woman was filing her nails absentmindedly, though Jashin thought this was more than a little useless considering the dirt under her nails and the grease lining her face.
"Clear on the starboard. What a snooze." Lisped Zrd'nl. The Huttese accent thick and heavy. Combined with the lisp, it had taken some getting used to - but after five years, Jashin understood him well enough.
"Snooze is an understatement." Replied jashin as the ship slowly spun. Unlike the holodramas most belts were stable, with very little movement between asteroids that were often kilometers apart and rather moderate in size. "Wonder what Han Solo would say." The bridge crew chuckled collectively - a joke they had heard a hundred times, on a job they had performed a thousand times. The ship completed its rotation, the retro-thrusters firing to bring it to a stop. Through the large transparisteel deck canopy, three asteroids hung in space, about a hundred meters across. "A hundred credits on...the left one."
"A hundy on the middle one." Replied Gartha, a finger in her mouth, gnawing on a hangnail.
"Fifty and my chrono on the right." Lisped Zrd'nl.
Collectively, they waited for the sensor teams to finish their scans. Thirty minutes later, they had their answer <<Middle asteroid, zero, twenty, zero.>>
"Dank Farrick." Swore Jashin.
"She's a Jedi." Retorted Zrd'nl.
"Told you..." Said Gartha, unsurprised.
Silently, Zrd'nl dragged a lightpen through one of his holograms, adding a new hash to Gartha's winning streak of five correct guesses.
<<JASHIN. STOP YOUR DAMN DAYDREAMING!!!>>
Jashin startled so violently he practically fell out of the pilot's seat, spilling a good half a cup of caff onto his lap in the process. "Dank fragging ferrick!" Cursing, he hit the comms. <<Aye foreman! Repeat that last order, sir?>> As he spoke, he frantically tried to wipe some of the dark liquid off himself - it was cold, at least, as if that was some small comfort.
<<I said, ninety degrees to port, coordinates mark two, three, one.>> Rasped out the impatient foreman; the Nikto's voice was phlegmy from heavy smoking, and the order was followed by one of the foreman's patented "HUUU-CK!" gargling spits in the background. The sound made Jashin's neck crawl.
<<Aye sir, ninety degrees to port, coordinates mark two, three, one.>> Jashin replied. To either side, the two sensor operators - an unpleasant human woman by the name of Gartha, and a thin Rodian who only went by Zrd'nl - chuckled. Jashin didn't take it personally; asteroid mining was long, dull, grueling business. You had to find humor in the little things, even if that was the minor misfortune of your coworkers. Taking the stick, Jashin gently spun the Y-8 Mining Vessel on its axis.
"Clearance portside, about...thirty meters." Said Gartha, her voice bored. The woman was filing her nails absentmindedly, though Jashin thought this was more than a little useless considering the dirt under her nails and the grease lining her face.
"Clear on the starboard. What a snooze." Lisped Zrd'nl. The Huttese accent thick and heavy. Combined with the lisp, it had taken some getting used to - but after five years, Jashin understood him well enough.
"Snooze is an understatement." Replied jashin as the ship slowly spun. Unlike the holodramas most belts were stable, with very little movement between asteroids that were often kilometers apart and rather moderate in size. "Wonder what Han Solo would say." The bridge crew chuckled collectively - a joke they had heard a hundred times, on a job they had performed a thousand times. The ship completed its rotation, the retro-thrusters firing to bring it to a stop. Through the large transparisteel deck canopy, three asteroids hung in space, about a hundred meters across. "A hundred credits on...the left one."
"A hundy on the middle one." Replied Gartha, a finger in her mouth, gnawing on a hangnail.
"Fifty and my chrono on the right." Lisped Zrd'nl.
Collectively, they waited for the sensor teams to finish their scans. Thirty minutes later, they had their answer <<Middle asteroid, zero, twenty, zero.>>
"Dank Farrick." Swore Jashin.
"She's a Jedi." Retorted Zrd'nl.
"Told you..." Said Gartha, unsurprised.
Silently, Zrd'nl dragged a lightpen through one of his holograms, adding a new hash to Gartha's winning streak of five correct guesses.