Day 5 // 1110P

This day pretty much went from good to bad to us running for our lives.

After we left Sun’s place, we followed a course that would avoid Dominion Sector Patrols and also get us to Neva in time for our meeting with Pitt. The course horseshoed us through the Void and then back through the Navbar Region. Definitely not as quick as a straight line from point A to point B, but we couldn’t afford the delay that a random ship inspection would cause.

I was mentally drained from the argument with Sun, and decided I would take a nap until we got within earshot of Neva. Fresno wasn’t tired so he just lounged on our makeshift hammock and scanned the tele-portal channels. A few hours later, Fresno nudged me awake. Neva was coming into view. I jumped into the cockpit and released the autopilot, and guided the ship down towards the planet’s surface. In a few minutes I could see Neva’s calm green seas (anyone with eyes could -- the whole planet is covered entirely by ocean). I set a course for Illiasa Port. Illiasa Port is a domed, bee hive-looking structure that sits atop an elevated platform that juts out of the ocean. The dome is dotted with thousands of circular openings that serve as entrances and exits for the internal landing bays.

It only took a few minutes to reach the port, which was packed. We had to park the Jackyl on one of the upper levels, since most of the lower levels were filled. I told Fresno to stay with the ship, in case any Dominion or Port Guards were doing random ship scans. While most of the items in our cargo bay aren’t cause for concern, I do have a few pieces, like my Dominion-outlawed long-range rifle that could easily send up a red flag during a ship scan. Because of that, I told Fresno to also make sure to cover the cargo bay with the cloaking tarp I had just picked up a few weeks ago. As far as investments go, that cloaking tarp is the best investment I have ever made. The funny thing is that I almost passed on it when the merchant who sold it to me refused to drop the price. Only when I stopped haggling and started to walk away did he finally cave in.

I took one of the thousands of tube elevators down to the main level, which was cluttered with thousands of merchants, restaurants and shops. I pushed my way through the thick crowd of humans and aliens until I finally arrived at the Blue Nebula, which was tucked away in a dark corner of the square. I took a deep breath and entered the bar. If the Blue Nebula isn’t the seediest bar in the galaxy, I’d like to see the bar that is. It’s not the building itself that makes the Blue Nebula a decrepit hole, but the clientele. Since the Blue Nebula is at the crossroads of the galaxy, it has become home to drifters, criminals, and outcasts. I wasn’t surprised Pitt chose a place like this to conduct business.

The inside of the bar was darker and noisier than I expected, and it took a few minutes for my eyes and ears to adjust. I quickly scanned the bar: a table of Comaglions in one corner, snorting and yelling, a table full of Stiks seated across from them, a table of Pirates, acting drunk and rowdy, and a central bar area surrounded on all sides by an assortment of other scummy bastards. Pitt, however, was nowhere to be found.

I quickly made my way to the counter, pushing between two large Skarabans who didn’t seem to notice me. I ordered a brew from the thin Balo bartender, and waited while I swigged my drink. I didn’t have to wait long. A few minutes later a large, metal hand grabbed my shoulder. I turned to see a large, lanky robot. The robot introduced himself as Ott Revo, Pitt’s personal robot assistant. Ott’s body had seen better days; it was thin and rusted and some of his armor had fallen off, leaving his internal circuitry to show through. Ott motioned for me to follow him, and I did. He took me to a room in the back of the bar, hidden behind a large curtain.

I spotted Pitt immediately -- He was seated in the center of a large table filled with food platters, most of which had been eaten clean. Pitt was a sight to behold: Yellow and frog-like, with a large belly that bounced when he talked. Pitt motioned me to sit down, but I declined, telling him I’d rather stand. I didn’t feel comfortable in the bar, and wanted to get the business over with and get out as quickly as possible.

“Not much for conversation, are you?” Pitt barked in between bites.
“Just anxious to start the job,” I replied.
“Ah, eagerness. I like that.” Pitt reached into his vest and pulled out a holo-card. He slid it to me across the messy table. I picked up the card and activated it. A holographic image of the galaxy appeared -- a glowing red dot indicating the exact pick up location on Tanar.

“Lose the card. Lose the job.” Pitt barked. He stuffed a lump of food into his big mouth. I had to look away to keep from being sick.

I told Pitt I would need to purchase a fake Ship ID if we were to avoid any problems with the Dominion, and I was hoping for a credit advance, since money was tight. He was hesitant at first, telling me that a Cargo Runner of my stature should have those types of resources at his disposal. I must have caught the fat bastard on a good day, however, because he finally decided to front me some money. “A show of good faith,” he burped. “You’ll get the rest when the shipment is made.”

I was so wrapped up in my conversation with Pitt that I had failed to notice that the bar had practically fallen silent. I turned from Pitt and pulled back the curtain. A group of Dominion Guards had entered the bar, and was moving quickly from table to table. Searching for something. Turns out they were searching for Pitt. Most likely tipped off by a local scummer trying to make a quick credit and gain some favor with the Dominion.

I turned to Pitt, who continued to slobber over his meal, and informed him that Dominion Guards were in the bar, searching for something, and headed our way. Without hesitating, he waved Ott over and pulled from his vest a small triangular device. “Sorry, but only room for two. Make sure that shipment gets delivered, or it’s your head!” Pitt yelled to me. He pushed a button on his device and disappeared in a flash of light. Before I could even react, a DG had a gun shoved into my back. I was told not to move while his partner patted me down. Less than a minute later, two more DGs had joined us in the back room. The guard patting me down felt the holo-card that Pitt had given me, and pulled it out. He looked at it, twirling it in his fingers, before handing it to his superior officer. At this point, the shock of being captured had worn off, and I started to panic. “What seems to be the problem, officer,” I blurted. A rifle butt to the head was my answer. For a minute everything went white, and I fell to a knee, grabbing my head. Before I could fully recover I was dragged back up to my feet. The lead DG finally spoke: “Where’s Pitt Crater? We know he was here.” I tried to plead ignorance, but he wouldn’t buy it. Finally, the leader gave the order to cuff me. I had to act fast. Once the detainment cuffs were on, I was as good as dead. That much I knew. The Dominion had killed people for less-serious offenses. Being an accomplice of the galaxy’s most-wanted fugitive would certainly earn me more than a slap on the wrist.

One of the DGs grabbed my arms and pinned them to the back of my head, which was still hurting like hell. I could feel the cold titanium of the detainment cuff as it was slipped onto my wrist. There was no time to waste. In a single desperate move, I jumped up, planting my feet against the near wall and then kicked off. The momentum drove three of the guards and me backward into the far wall. The move had caught the DGs by surprise and gave me the split-second I needed to recover. The DG bastard who was trying to cuff me fell backward, stumbling over some discarded chairs. Somehow I ended up on top of one the soldiers, pinning him to the far wall. Without hesitation, I elbowed the scummer in the face, grabbing his blaster from its holster. The force of the blow must have knocked him unconscious, and he fell into a heap at the base of the wall. The other guards stumbled to their feet only to find themselves at the wrong end of my new blaster. “Don’t move.” I yelled. The guards froze. I ordered them all to get down and put their hands on their heads, which they did. I used their own detention cuffs to bind them, and tucked the blaster into my pants. I then picked up the discarded holo-card and exited the back room. Fortunately for me, the curtain had hidden the commotion, and I was able to make my way through the now half-empty bar and out into the main square on the first level.

The square was still packed, and it was easy for me to get lost in the sea of humans and aliens. I quickly made my way to the tubes and threw myself into the first available one. As I shot up towards the upper level, I could see a garrison of DGs rushing into the Blue Nebula. With no time to waste, I ran at a full sprint to the Jackyl, and popped open the hatch. I startled Fresno, who nearly fell out of his seat. “Time to go,” I yelled. I was out of breath, and would have collapsed if my adrenaline wasn’t pumping steadily. Fresno looked out the viewport and saw a sea of DGs in the main square. He shot me an angry look, and demanded to know what happened, but I didn’t answer him. There’d be plenty of time to explain later, if we made it out alive.

We took off quickly and blasted into space. With all of the ships entering and leaving the port, it was easy to get out unnoticed. I would imagine it took the Dominion a few hours to shut down all traffic and sweep the port looking for me, if they even did at all. But by that time Fresno and I were long gone.

Once we were out of Neva’s atmosphere, I set a course for the nearest empty starfield and punched the jumpers. It took me about a half hour to fill Fresno in on what happened, and another hour to talk him down off the ledge and convince him that there was nothing to worry about. He’s okay now, but he still believes the Dominion will eventually find us and kill us. I’m sure the Dominion wasn’t able to get a scan of my face during the fight and they sure as hell didn’t get a scan of the Jackyl, with how fast we high-tailed it out of Illiasa. Also, the DGs didn’t activate the holo-card so the location of the shipment (and our retirement) should be safe.

When I was sure we were not being followed, I brought the Jackyl down in a dark crevice of a large asteroid, and out of sight. The plan now is to lay low until tomorrow night, when we have to meet our contact in Tanar. I should probably contact Pitt now to let him know we’re okay, but I’ll let him sweat it out for a little while before I do. It’s the least I can do for the fat deserter. My heart is still racing. If I never see a DG again, it’ll be too soon. Going to ice my head and then try and get some sleep.

- Colum

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