Tough Little Ship

Posted on Sun Jul 3rd, 2016 @ 9:09am by Commander Jordan Gunning & Traxx
Edited on on Wed Jul 6th, 2016 @ 3:57pm

Mission: Lie Of Omission
Location: Cestus III
Timeline: Three and a half weeks after departure from Starbase 332

Previously...

The rain began in earnest as it always seemed to the minute you stepped into Pike City's streets. He turned the broad collar of his coat up against the driving sheets of rain and sprinted across the boulevard to one of the city's many so-called 'Comms Cafés' where, for a small fee, you could make a call to anywhere in the galaxy.

The screen lit up as the call tried to connect. He had no faith that he would find Traxx at his showroom on Starbase 332 but it was worth trying. The Bolian shipwright - although in truth he was more of a dealer - had premises both on the surface of Archa IV and on the station but he could be a tough man to track down.

Once a salesman, always a salesman, Traxx couldn't help but be out on the show floor. While he did tend to commute often between his facilities on the surface and the station, the station was becoming his premiere showroom. He found that most people interested in buying a ship ended up on the station first, though that wasn't always the case. His ground based facilities housed most of his merchandise, but thanks to agreements with the station traffic control, getting his wares to his station docking bays only took a few hours at worst. He had been just finishing up a conversation with a nice Tellerite man looking for a recreational shuttle when he was paged by his administrative assistant. He excused himself from the customer, with a financial associate taking over to finish the sale, and made his way back to his office. He opened up the comm, hoping that he hadn't made a potential customer wait for long. "Traxx's Personal Spacecraft Emporium. This is Traxx speaking. How may I help you today?" he answered enthusiastically.

"Traxx, Jordan Gunning. Sorry for the interruption. I'm hoping you might be able to help me out with some equipment." He hoped he would remember his name although they had only ever met in passing. Traxx seemed to be that rarest of things on a frontier base - a businessman with nothing to hide.

Traxx had an expression of sudden recognition as he put the name to the face. "Ah, Commander Gunning. It's so good to speak with you. I heard you had left the station." It wasn't always good business practice to pry into one's personal affairs, so the Bolian didn't inquire as to why he had left. His departure was sudden enough that he wasn't sure it would be appropriate to ask. "I would be happy to assist you. What kind of equipment are you looking for? If I don't have, I'll find a way to get it."

"I'm looking to purchase a ship. Specifically a Romulan ship. I've looked into the specifications I need and I think it suits my needs the best." Gunning knew the likelihood of there being a Romulan shuttle lying around were slim but if he was ever to move out of Federation territory, the last thing he needed was to turn up in some recycled Federation junker. The Romulans were an unknown quantity in the region and any ships they sent seemed to be able to move with relative impunity.

"Hmm," Traxx muttered, stroking his blue, hairless chin. He also knew that asking why a potential customer wanted something wasn't good business practice either, so he didn't ask. "Romulan ships can be difficult to come by. Of course, military models are strictly illegal. I'm sure you know that as well as anyone. But even with the trade restrictions, some civilian models make it into the Federation and available for sale. Rarely are they new. Usually something like that is coming second, third, or even fourth hand. I have a buddy that I trade with from time to time. Anything Romulan that I get from him will be used, and isn't always in the best of shape. He usually has good stuff, but the Romulans tend to be rather possessive, and the trade embargo makes new models difficult to come by." Theoretically new models would have been impossible to come by with the embargo, but Traxx was not going to insult Gunning by pretending that there weren't ways around the restrictions. "Would something like that work for you? I might not be able to find exactly what you are looking for, but my people are quite good at restorations and customization. We might be able to come up with something that meets your needs."

"That would do the job nicely. I have some interior specifications and outer colourways on a PADD here, can I transmit them to your terminal?" Jordan had got what he'd expected, largely speaking, a new Romulan shuttle - if it had been possible to get would have bankrupted several small star systems so he would take what he could get. As long as it ran it would do the job.

"Of course, of course! Please, send away," Traxx replied excitedly. As the specifications scroll on to his terminal, the Bolian nods along and rubs his chin. "This should be manageable. There's a licensing fee for the defensive systems, but that shouldn't be a problem. I'll have to work with my friend and verify that I can get a hold of one, but that shouldn't take too long. Is there a way that I can contact you, or would you like to check back with me in a couple of days?"

Anyone interested in Gunning's shuttle (I mean, why wouldn't you be?) can check out the database entry here

Traxx [NPC: Von]
Owner - 'Traxx’s Personal Spacecraft Emporium'

Jordan Gunning
Private Investigator