05.10.3306.2
I finally made it home to Robigo, and I had no more than stepped foot out of the Skutlbug when Andy came to find me. I showed him my “souped up” Sidewinder, and he laughed, and laughed. And then I told him about Glen, and my diamond hunt, and he laughed… and laughed… You know, Andy is kind of a dick sometimes. I told him he HAD to see this ridiculous thing I bought. I didn’t tell him what it was, but I had the “conda” shipped to Houser’s Reach, and tucked away in the family shipyard. A few hours later after we had a bite to eat, I took Andy down to the very last stall in the shipyard, what should have been the darkest, most secluded place in the yard, but it wasn’t. It was calling attention like a spoiled child. There it was. My bright yellow, impossible to ignore shame ship. And Andy? He laughed… And. Laughed. This guy… Right?
Anyways, Andy tells me he knows a place that I could probably sell it, before it becomes “that thing” that everyone associates me with, and they just happen to have an old taxi Dolphin for sale. There’s one issue. The place is 300+ light years from Robigo, and it seems like I must have flown that far just to get here earlier in the day. Now I have to turn around and leave. I’ve saved up a few million from bounty hunting and this Dolphin is exactly what I need to make some money without putting my dick on the table in a dog fight.
I got a good night’s rest, fired up the Adder-Con for her last trip across the stars (with me at the helm anyways), and made a quick trip to Ceos to upgrade my fuel scoop before the long trip, Then I spent the next few days making the… star trek. It was a decent trip, with little to talk about, unless you want me to describe the Mega Dip-You-Dip-We-Dipper constellation.
So I get to the Tote system, and find my way to Whitelaw Enterprise. I almost missed it, it was tucked so neatly right behind a little dirt ball in the black. When I was allowed docking, I sold some of the maps I made along the way for a pretty penny, and made my way over to the shipyard, where I met a woman called Janice, and told her my situation. “I got swindled on this Adder, and I’m just looking to get my money out of it.” yadda yadda. She says she has to inspect it for damage, and that she’ll queue it on the lift. The floor opens with a hiss, and this bright yellow sunflower of a ship rises, with the word “ADDERCONDA” emblazoned on the sides, and Janice just laughs, and laughs. I mean here’s this little, round, otherwise lovely lady, doubled over laughing at my dashed dreams… I’m so glad I’m selling this thing.
I guess she can sense that I’m shook, composes herself, and asks if I happened to buy this ship off a guy called Glen, and I nod, at this point speechless. She says “wait right here”, and I already know there’s more people coming to have a good chuckle at my expense. A moment later, Janice returns holding the hand of a frail old man. He introduces himself as, and I’m not even kidding, Catfish. Catfish tells me that the Adderconda was his ship, and Glen bought it off him a few years ago when Catfish stopped flying. He asks me why I’m selling it, and I tell him about my mining misadventure. The whole time his head is shaking slowly back and forth, and of course he laughs dead ass in my face… I can’t escape this hell… He says “Son,” which I typically hate, but is somehow endearing coming from ol’ Catfish “Problem is, this baby weren’t never meant fer that!” as he slapped the ass-ugly side of the ship.
He explained that Glen was half right, but it never held honors in any jump range drag races. That is exactly what he built it for though. Jump range. He said it used to be a “work truck”, whatever the fuck that means, but then he stripped everything out of it. Like EVERYTHING, and kitted it with cores that produced the longest jump range he could get. We’re talking high 30’s in an Adder. THAT is how it got its name. He used it to go “dock hoppin’” which I gather to be getting drunk and doing loops of shame through the bubble, but I’m not here to judge, I’m here to sell this thing. He also said that when Glen got the ship, he made a lot of cosmetic and core changes, like that god awful color, and some of the mining stuff, and that he left all the old stuff behind including the original body mods. Then Catfish made me an offer. He said if he could keep the parts he took out, and exchanged, to cover the cost of conversion, he would restore the Adderconda to its original “hot-rod” condition, including the original paint, which is much more tasteful. Unfortunately that includes the nose piece staying on but whatever. He said to try it out, and see if I could discover what it was that he loved about this little star skipper. If not, I could bring it back to him, and he’d pay me retail value for it. I said, if he added some flight assists I’ll give it a shot, and since it doesn’t affect jump range he agreed that it was still “in the spirit of the build”.
So I guess I still own the Adderconda… This thing is like a haunted doll that you can’t get rid of, except worth less. I did take it out for a spin, and knowing what it’s for, and why makes all the difference. I also worked out a sweet deal on that Dolphin, so I consider the trip a win.