Shadows of Bankor

Daunt halted the speeder seeing a lone traveller along the road out of Rygor, toward the wilderness. "Do you need a lift?"

The woman looked up in surprise; Ela had not taken her ship so as to not draw attention or give away her connections... but she hadn't expected someone to mistake her for a hitchhiker. Still... this might be fortuitous; After all, it was probably free unlike the public transit.

"Um... Where are you headed, if I may ask?"

"In the general direction of where this road leads." He showed toward the forested area while looking at her with eyes of molten uranium, the only thing that distinguished him truly from the dusk around. "Your call."

Thinking a moment, she gave a shrug, "Deal. I am heading that general direction as well."

The woman hopped into the speeder with a nimble vault; She wore a thick form-fitting work suit and goggles, a scarf tied on the top of her head.

Daunt sped up. He was driving with assumption that he knew the road, as if he had crossed it many times already. "You're one of those people who enjoy forest at night?" Her scarf started to flutter.

"Not really," she spoke up over the sound of the wind, "They are nice enough when a star beats down and you wish to escape the heat, but I prefer the open plains. Nothing beats a view of the sky when it is clear, especially at night. You?"

"I like most uncrowded places, but I like my hunting grounds close." He mused, raising the volume of his voice in sync with the speed. "Do you hunt?"

"Like... animals? No, not really. I used to be around animals all the time when I grew up. Was never much of a reason to hunt when you live on a ranch. Well, not how I think of hunting anyways."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but on a farm you just kill them penned after you have made them believe you're not a threat but a friend." He mused. "Hunting seems fairer, and killing an opponent feels better than killing a slave."

"I do not believe fairness is much of a concern for food. Then again, I know there are species with individuals who feel otherwise. Meat is simply a resource, and there is no reason to artificially hobble the resources of the Ascendency in the name of some emotional ideal. At least, that is how my people see it."

It was unclear if she meant the Chiss as a whole or just where she grew up. Frankly, she wasn't 100 percent sure either.

He snickered. "And people think me cold when I consider putting a Mon Cal in my fish roll."

She opened her mouth to speak but seemed to think better of it after a moment.

"...yes, that would likely be unethical. I suppose. Although..."

She shook her head.

"No, never mind. A clinical appraisal of such things likely falls into objectively bad taste."

"I honestly prefer clinical appraisal over good taste but I don't want to make you needlessly uncomfortable discussing how we're all nutrition and the boundaries of phagic ethics being somewhat sketchy in a multi-species galaxy." He chuckled. "At least no more than I already have made you with my speeder trunk and backseat quite bloodstained. No worries, it's from game I usually hunt down for a community kitchen in the slums."

He took a turn toward a country road.

"What are you about in general? I think I saw you several times at the Salty Nerf, but you're not exactly a criminal material, are you?"

"Were you there for that little meeting thing that so many others were there for? I did not get a good look in on that; I was there for the Utinni Kids and such. I do so like live music. Strange that those criminals would schedule their meeting for the same time, when people would be there for the concert. Then again, what do I know about such things? About as much as I know about hunting and how to keep blood off one's seats from such activities."

"I was there for the meeting. What can I say, I am a man for odd jobs." He nodded, accepting her words on face value. "So just a music enthusiast. What do you do for living then?"

"Mechanic. Fix ships, weapons, armor... heard there was opportunity here on Bankor for such things. Especially weapons and armor I am thinking, with things as they are. I have debts to pay, very important ones. So I try my best to make good on by seeking such opportunity."

"Has Bankor lived up to your expectations with regard to such opportunities?"

A short grunt, "It has been... complex. Perhaps if I had not taken shortcuts, tried to speed things up, they would have stayed simple. But I am not one for just sitting and waiting when I feel I could do something. And cost cutting measures here, they are not always what they seem at nose value. A simple scavenging trip or a new business contact can lead to a world of complications."

"Sounds like Tuesday." He chuckled. "Few things are as clinically simple as we picture it in our heads. Right now the primary source of scrap is under Imperial lockdown, right? Do you have an alternative source?"

"There are shops, no? That is how most people get their parts and materials. Saves the hassle, I suppose, even if they charge too many credits. That would have been the slow and traditional way of doing things that I was talking about; Worse bottom line, but predictable and safe."

"You say it like lack of hassle is a bad thing." He shrugged. "Not that I can offer a meaningful extra-procedural alternative to that. All I know is that there has been some nuclear conflict here less than a bit less than a millennium ago that must have rendered a lot of spare parts available somewhere. Maybe on those other continents."

"Perhaps that is a reason for such heavy Imperial presence? I suspect they too need raw materials and specialty parts for yheir war machine."

"Makes me wonder whether there is a bigger prize underneath all this."

She thought a moment, "...they did mention names when they were interrogating me. So there is that. But, I think it more likely that there are things they are looking for, yes. From what little I know of this planet's history, that seems more likely. You know more about Bankor than me, perhaps?"

"Not in particular. I think it was a very contested place once, so there may be some natural wealth in addition to the hypermatter that gets those with guns greedy. Or it's just hypermatter, but secondarily - cashes of military equipment or installations left behind." He tossed an aged datapad onto her lap. "Check this out, maybe you'll figure out something interesting. I found it among piles of bones in some built-over battle site in Rygor just after the earth had cracked."

[DD for questions, I was told it's a memoir of someone.]