Breaking Ground

Posted on Fri 5th Mar, 2021 @ 5:22am by Sipov Boros & Ignatius Collins
Edited on on Fri 12th Mar, 2021 @ 8:26pm

3,512 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Business Not At All As Usual
Location: The Hangman's Noose
Timeline: MD 3 - 2312 Hrs

While he hadn't been back to the Noose since his initial visit the morning before, Sipov had taken some time after meeting Renato to take a walk and think about what the two men had discussed. With his mind wandering and still pondering the initial meeting with Tieran and Jade the day before Sipov's mind was a flurry of thoughts wondering what may or may not materialize, and when.

A late night drink and perhaps a snack seemed to be in order. The soup he'd consumed a couple hours ago was quite good so while not in search of a full meal Sipov had recalled some of the items on the menu that he hadn't tried. Along with their beer selection it seemed like a perfect place to go at this point. Part of him also didn't want to go back to his temporary quarters in the Brown Sector sooner than he had to as part of him hoped most of the vagrants that lived in the hallways had either passed out or gone to sleep by the time he made his way down there. Stalling longer was always a good idea but that wouldn't change the time he'd be forced to wake up and vacate the quarters the next morning.

Walking up to the large wooden entryway he stepped through and this time decided to sit at a small table in the bar area and took his jacket off while leaning back in the seat as he waited patiently for someone to come and take his order. It was time to wind down for the night.

A slender, middle-aged woman with curly, black hair pinned in a coil at the back of her head approached Sipov's table and smiled at him. She wore the black t-shirt and slacks common to the Noose's staff. "Good evening, sir. My name is Lifiaden, and I'll be your server this evening. What may I get for you?" Her voice was low and pleasantly accented as she glanced at Sipov.

He looked at the woman as she approached and gave her a general once over, nothing intrusive. He wasn't in the mood to try and pick up any women at the moment but instead felt calm and relaxed. "Hi Lifiaden, I hope your night's going well. My name is Sipov. I'd like your darkest beer on tap in the largest stein you have. And if you happen to have some sort of warm pastry in the back I'll take a few of those as well, if not it's okay." This place was already very close to becoming two for two in regards to excellent service in his book.

"I'm glad to meet you, Sipov." Lifiaden offered him a warm smile. "If you're in the mood for dark beer, you'll want an imperial stout; those are the darkest beers we have. They are also the strongest," Lifiaden warned Sipov. "We have Guinness Bourbon Barrel imperial stout, and Sam Smith's imperial stout. Would you like a taste of them both, to help you decide? And for pastries, do you prefer savory or sweet?"

"You don't have to worry about providing a taste for them, I'll simply take one of each imperial stout, please." He figured why not just have both and call it a night along with his snack. He'd sleep well and be able to wind down easily. "Sweet pastries please." The pocket of his jacket vibrated causing him to reach for his PADD to check it to see that new piloting jobs had been posted. He'd look through them later.

"Coming right up," Lifiaden said. "I'll bring out the Guinness first." She danced her fingers over the PADD she used to take orders and then left to see to give Sipov's order to the person behind the bar.

As she walked away Sipov took a deep breath and let out a sigh before looking at his PADD once more and scrolling through the listings. A number of them he simply scrolled past as the payout wasn't even worth the time alone, they were side jobs to take when one already had a primary charter so they could make a little extra scratch. And considering he didn't have his own ship to begin with it wasn't even an option. As he continued to look however one job in particular caught his eye. It looked simple enough and there were worse things in life than busting rocks. Mining at times was boring work but if you found the right vein there was a payday in store. The name Ignatius Collins was listed as a primary point of contact. While he had no clue who that was, it was possible his waitress might. He'd ask when she returned.

A few minutes later Lifiaden returned to Sipov's table with a tray containing a mug of Guinness Imperial Stout and a plate of fruit or cheese-filled pastries. "Here you are, Mr. Sipov," Lifiaden said and set the stout and plate in front of him. "These are called kolaches. They're a pastry from Earth. The ones here are filled with peaches, poppy seed filling, blueberry, apple, and cherry, and this one is filled with cream cheese." She pointed out each one as she named its filling. "They go really well with a glass of ice-cold milk."

He took a moment and considered her offer. While milk and stout beer normally weren't something mixed, neither were pastries. "I'll take you up on that, a glass of milk would be great." Sipov didn't want to impose any further as the hospitality had been quite good especially for this time of night. He thought about not pushing about Ignatius but then figured he'd give the woman a bigger tip, after all so far she was likely to earn it. "If I may ask, do you know by chance who Ignatius Collins is? I am interested in talking to him about a piloting job and I just saw his name on the postings. I won't go wake him up at this time of night but will likely try to make contact in the morning." He knew it might be a long shot considering the size of the station but this establishment seemed to be quite popular so he figured it was worth a try.

"Mr. Collins? He's a regular, and he's actually in here right now," Lifiaden said. "Let me find out if he'd be willing to speak with you, and if now isn't a good time for him, I can at least let you know what time he'd be available to meet. Deal? And I'll bring a glass of milk for you in just a moment."

"I would certainly appreciate it, thank you," Sipov replied before picking up his drink and taking a long sip. It was frosty, heavy and tasted very very good. It was just the thing to top off the day and toast to what he hoped was another business opportunity.

Lifiaden brought a glass of cold milk to Sipov's table and then walked over to one of the booths that lined the inner front wall of the Noose's taproom. A man with graying hair sat at his usual table with his--girlfriend? Betrothed? Lifiaden wasn't sure. The woman had pure black skin and long hair that was straight as a board. The pair stopped talking to each other and looked up at her as she approached.

"Mr. Collins? Miss Addams? Forgive me for intruding. Mr. Collins, one of the other guests here, a Mr. Sipov, wishes to respond to an advertisement you placed, and he wants to know when at your convenience he could meet with you."

Purulence Addams' eyes lit up. "Could it be, could it possibly be--a pilot? Because I'll be honest with you, Ignatius, I really don't want to learn piloting. I really, really don't. Not even to challenge myself."

"Not even a little?" Ignatius wheedled.

"Not even a nanoparticle's worth. I could be painting. Don't force a round peg into a square hole. I've never been a mathematician, and I don't plan to start now."

Ignatius sighed. "Oh, all right. Shall I ask the guy to join us now?"

"Now sounds good to me," Purulence said. "The sooner you hire someone, the better." She grinned at him. "And you will have my eternal gratitude--and that of your family for not putting your life at risk."

Ignatius looked back at Lifiaden. "Please bring the gentleman on over. Purulence and I will just rearrange our seating." He glanced at Purulence. "Come sit on my side, and--feel free to doodle idly as we talk."

Purulence beamed at him. "There, you see? Round peg, round hole. Works much better," she said with a nod and promptly joined him on his side of the booth and moved their dessert plates around.

Lifiaden went to Sipov's table. "Mr. Collins and Miss Addams would be pleased to have you join them," she said. "I can bring your pastries and milk over there and keep this table for you to return to."

He was a bit surprised at such a quick response at this time of night but he also knew better than to pass on a good opportunity. "Thank you, if you'll point me in his direction I'll make my way over." Sipov picked up his beer and slid out from behind his table.

Once he saw the other man the Vulcan made his way over. He also took note of the striking woman sitting with him, making a mental note to take some time to pay more attention to the women later in the evenings. Stopping in front of the table "Good evening, I'm Sipov Boros, Lifiaden was kind enough to make note of you being here. I apologize for such a late introduction but I saw your ad for a pilot. And I'm a pilot that happens to need some work."

"Glad to meet you, Mr. Boros," Ignatius replied. He stood and shook hands with Sipov. "This is my friend, Miss Purulence Addams. I'm an asteroid miner who happens to need a pilot," Ignatius said. He gestured to the side of the booth where Purulence had been sitting. "Come join us, and we can talk over kolaches."

"Enchantée," Purulence said and also shook hands with Sipov. "I'm an artist, so please don't mind me if I draw things while you two talk. It keeps my mind off the pastries they serve here. If I ate as many as I want to eat, I'd be as big as this starbase."

He gave a nod "It's a pleasure to meet you both." Sipov grinned at the statement made by the woman as he slid into the booth and set his beer on the table. "So asteroid mining then? Is there a field near here or is it a trip? And do you do your own ore processing as well?" He knew it could be tedious work but if one managed to find a vein that was rich it was a quick trip. Almost like fishing with a net or crab pots. You were either on the money or you weren't.

While running raw materials back and forth wasn't his preferred line of work, it usually came with a good bonus if one knew where to mine. Time was money and if he kept the expenses for Ignatius down while out on his runs, Sipov could make bank. As for a crew, maybe he could work a deal for those he was considering hiring in the event he managed to procure his own craft. He'd know them and could manage payroll a lot easier. Presuming the other man didn't already have his own picked out.

"There is a field near here, which makes it worth my while to stay at 109 and develop it," Ignatius said. "I'm also looking farther afield. My company normally does do vertical integration, but we don't yet have an ore processing plant close to 109. One issue that's making me hesitate to build such a plant near 109 is that the starbase has an active local pirate population. Processed ore and helium-3 are much more valuable than unprocessed. I'd rather keep my cargoes not worth the trouble of stealing for as long as possible. If you want the job, consider that a warning of the possible dangers. Have you ever had to defend your ship against being boarded?"

Chuckling "That I have. I've also been boarded a time or two due to my own...decisions. But I do have experience running unsecured lanes and fending off or outmaneuvering other craft although not always with success. I can promise I'll do my best but if it becomes more feasible to take a beating and give up the cargo...well I'd rather walk away with my life, nothing personal. But I'll do all I can to make it as tough as possible for any pirates. How far away would the ore need to be run? And do you by chance have any sort of crew line-up or am I first in line?" Sipov took a sip of his drink as the other man responded.

"Yeah, I've had experience being boarded, too. It wasn't fun, and I was lucky to escape with my life," Ignatius said. "I agree with you that a raw ore cargo is not worth your life if you come across pirates--unless you just mined 16 Psyche, and then we might have to talk." The amused look on Ignatius' face told Sipov that he was kidding. "We would be disappointed at losing a profitable cargo, but we'd be more upset if we lost a capable pilot. No cargo is worth an employee's life." He nibbled at a cream cheese kolache and swallowed some coffee with it. "Our closest processing facility to 109 is at Regulus."

Picking up one of the desserts he followed suit. While he was unsure what 16 Psyche was in particular Sipov returned the grin. "Fair enough, I've made plenty of trips in the past so running some ore shouldn't be too tough, considering I've spent days on end in my own company on a bridge. Gives a guy plenty of time to come up with ideas for other business endeavors. What are your rates typically for compensation? And what kind of ship do you have? I myself have piloted a number of craft from smaller sub-orbital shuttles to large yachts and waste haulers." He picked up the glass of milk placed on the table a moment ago and took a sip, washing down another bite of the pastry.

"My ship is an Edward-class mining freighter, the Nameless Grace. She's parked in the docking bay here," Ignatius said. "I wouldn't call her the most maneuverable ship out there, but you can do some surprising things with her. I was able to make her do a barrel roll, which I didn't think she'd manage, but she came through--she wasn't carrying cargo at the time, though. If she were fully laden, that might be a different story. As for rates, Collins-Griffin typically pays in Federation credits, which can be readily converted into GPL or other hard currency. What are your piloting credentials?"

While the ship class was something Sipov had yet to hear of, he was confident he could handle it. "Well, in truth I'm not sure what the Federation equivalent level is, but under the standards set forth by the Breen Consortium, I have a level 5 piloting certification." He pulled out the PADD from his pocket and handed it over to Ignatius to look over. "It allows me to fly any size of non tactical craft in their space as long as I follow established routes and flight plans, as well as submitting any craft I'm flying for standard scans at established check points. If you scroll down you'll see my piloting history as well." It contained the history of his piloting jobs for personnel transports, yachts, waste haulers, and anything else he did. There were a few notable gaps without him working but no information was provided as to their justification.

"Federation credits I suppose are fine for pay since they can be converted. They could be worth having in my pocket as it is, it's always good to have some of the local currency in your pocket." The Vulcan took another bite and waited for the other man to look over his records.

"The Breen Consortium? I'd imagine their security measures are even more stringent than the Federation's." Interestinger and interestinger, Ignatius thought as he read over Sipov's work history. He too noted the gaps in employment and the lack of explanations for them. However, it looked as if Sipov also used those gaps to increase his credentials, so that was a good sign. He was at least worth taking a risk on.

"Hm," Ignatius said as he continued reading. "I like a lot of what I see here, Mr. Boros. I'll have to research what the Breen credentials mean, but just from this work history, I'd say you are probably well qualified to transport anything that my business might need. What training do you have in handling hazardous materials, and what has been your typical pay rate? I can work out conversions later."

"For hazardous materials most of my training has been around containment versus handling, in the event there was some sort of leak on the ship from a containment pod we'd engage secondary containment systems and forcefields, and if it became necessary attempt to jettison the material into a star or at the very least away from a populated area. But I never handled loading or unloading in any traditional means. As for pay, I was thinking with mining it could be best for both of us if it was say, incentive based? A flat percentage of each haul, the better quality veins of ore I find and mine quicker, the less you operating costs are and the more I stand to earn as well as put into your pocket. The same goes if I don't do so well, you aren't stuck shelling out money for a poor performance as well as your normal costs. What do you think about that?" While it wasn't something he normally did, in this business it seemed a better motivator for the Vulcan than a standard rate.

Ignatius nodded at Sipov's remark about containment versus handling. "Good. Yes, containment is standard procedure, and your methods of disposal are spot-on. I don't usually mine for hazardous ores, but sometimes they are concealed by other minerals that interfere with scans, se we have to be prepared. I would like to start you at standard rate for an advanced pilot, 420,000 credits, for one month, with half of that amount being paid on the first and 15th days of each Federation standard month. If I like the work you do, then we can negotiate a payment contract based on percentage of ore findings at that time.

"This job posting will be open for a week. I hope to hire another pilot, so we'd have enough to work shifts and allow for adequate rest. That would allow me to concentrate on the actual mining, getting the drones calibrated and working out where they need to be placed on the asteroid I've just completed surveying."

Sipov gave a nod in agreement. The pay rate sounded good even though he was unsure of the exact conversion, which likely fluctuated on any given day as it was. Considering he had no other source of income at the moment the man wasn't going to turn it down. "Agreed, I think it's fair for both of us. Managed risk on either side and working with a second pilot and yourself sounds like I'll have an opportunity to familiarize myself with your shipboard operations and procedures too." Finishing his beer he set it on the edge of the table.

With that kind of money he could likely afford to at least rent somewhere to live and while he didn't know if he was possibly being shorted or not, knowing he was starting over and being given the chance to prove himself was an opportunity he wasn't going to pass on. "I'll make myself available whenever you want to do the ship familiarization, that is, if you'll have me."

Collins looked at Miss Addams, who glanced down at her sketching for a moment and then nodded back at him. "I think I will have you, Mr. Boros." Ignatius extended his hand. "We'll see how you do, and at the end of the month, if it all looks good, we can negotiate a percentage contract. Welcome to Collins-Griffin Mining Ventures. Glad to have you onboard."

 

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