HAWKER
23 August 3067International District, Solaris City
Solaris VII, Lyran Alliance
23 August 3067
Jacob Hawker aggressively shifted the drive of his Hughes-McCandleless Streak and gunned it as he moved into the fast lane on the southbound track of the International Expressway. No longer able to enjoy the thrill of piloting a Mech, darting around Solaris City in his sleek sportscar served as a poor substitute. The radio in his car blared the morning news as he weaved in and out of traffic.
“In a surprise move, the Flaming Devil Monkeys, one of the more colorful stables on the game world, announced yesterday their decision to turn mercenary. We caught up with Jacob Hawker, the general manager of the Monkeys, last night to find out more information about this surprise move.”
“The decision was reached unanimously by all Monkeys personnel after extensive discussion. It was driven in large part by a desire to contribute to a greater purpose than the bloodlust of the game world…”
Hawker couldn’t help but smile at his own somewhat disingenuous remark. The decision had been Taharqa Bane’s alone, but the rest of the Flaming Devil Monkeys would follow him to the pits of hell, regardless. They were “kindraa” after all, to use Taharqa’s term. The simple truth was that the game world no longer held any interest for the former Fire Mandrill. What exactly Taharqa was seeking, Jacob was not qualified to answer, but his own background as a former clanner made him suspect that the leader of the Flaming Devil Monkeys was seeking nothing more than simple respect.
The blinking light on Hawker’s dash interrupted his thoughts. He shifted into a lower gear and slowed down as he voiced “Answer.” It looked like business was about to overtake pleasure.
“Incoming call from Flaming Devil Monkeys Corporate,” his car soullessly intoned.
“Receive. I will be there shortly, Nora. This cannot wait? “ He asked briskly. Nora knew how much he enjoyed his morning commute.
“Sorry, sir. We have a visitor and I thought you would like to be informed before you arrived. He represents a company called Interstellar Expeditions and is interested in discussing a potential contract offer.” Nora delivered her information without a pause, unrattled by Jacob’s cool tone.
Hawker glanced out the window at the sleek mirrored tower that was his destination and stroked his blonde goatee with one hand. Less than twenty-four hours since Taharqa had announced that the Flaming Devil Monkeys were going mercenary, and people were already showing up on their doorstep. That boded well.
“I assume you have already collected a dossier on the company,” he asked Nora.
“I already patched it over to you, sir.”
“Excellent, I will see you in fifteen minutes.”
“Retainer services? “
The man sitting across from Jacob shifted in his seat uncomfortably at the rather sharp tone of Jacob’s question. “Yes. You see Interstellar Expeditions is really a loose conglomerate of a variety of business and archeological interests. As such, we like to maintain several small mobile units that can be used both as security for our main operations and that can be loaned out to our various affiliates. Your unit would fit that description quite nicely.”
“You will understand I am sure, Mr. Romo, that our organization is not particularly pleased to be ‘loaned out’ for unspecified activities.” Hawker leaned forward slightly in his chair. He was certainly not above using intimidation as a negotiation strategy when necessary.
“I can assure you that we have no intention of placing your unit in any difficult situations. Most of our affiliates require nothing more than garrison and cadre duty. Furthermore, as you will note in the contract proposal, the salvage and compensation terms are quite generous in the event of any serious action.” Mr. Romo smiled appeasingly.
Hawker made a show of glancing at this electronic tablet. “I think you misunderstand me, Mr. Romo. The captain of our little outfit is a clanner and he has no anxiety about serious action. In fact, it is quite the contrary. I fear that garrison and cadre duty will seem a bit pedestrian for his tastes.”
Mr. Romo paused briefly as if to gather his thoughts. “If you don’t mind me saying so, I think that statement is a bit bold considering your unit’s current strength. The majority of your machines use outdated technology at best and, aside from Bane and your XO, very few of your pilots have much experience at all. In fact, I have heard that one of your mechwarriors was a DJ in his previous career and another is a washed-up model. Don’t get me wrong, my company certainly sees the potential here, but frankly your unit needs seasoning, Mr. Hawker. Interstellar Expeditions is offering them that opportunity, on very good terms. It would be very foolish to turn this offer down.”
Hawker adopted a grave and serious look, “Very good points, Mr. Romo. I certainly understand the benefits of this contract. I am just not sure how easy it will be to convince my CO. Now, if we were to make a few adjustments to the contract to sweeten the deal a little bit, I might be able to convince him that this is a palatable assignment.”
Mr. Romo smiled, “That sounds promising, Mr. Hawker. Allow me to discuss the contract with my superiors and send a revised version to you. How does tommorrow morning sound? “
“Tommorrow morning would be perfectly fine. A pleasure, Mr. Romo.” Outwardly, Hawker was as cool as ice, but inwardly he smiled like a wolf. He just hoped to hell that Taharqa knew what he was getting into.