Grover Platform, V774 Tauri System, July 3rd, 3302
Skyler Jones stepped off his ship, and into the gravity-less1 deck plating of the small outpost. The system he now found himself in was technically Federation Territory2 so it in theory would be safe, but there was always something about the small outposts that made him feel uneasy. Maybe it was just the fact that any prolonged period of time in these places made his stomach go upside down, which was weird because it wasn't like his ship had any sort of artificial gravity on it either.
No, the lack of gravity wasn't it. It was the fact that no matter how upkept and maintained these stations were, they always reminded him of his Federal Navy days. Of docking at stations of the same type, only with less... reputable owners, usually as part of some inspection team or some investigation he had to conduct. Not all of those boardings had gone to plan, and more than once he had narrowly escaped death on them- or worse.
Setting his unease aside, Jones made sure that his magnetic boots were keeping him adhered to the deck plating properly, and then proceeded to seal up his ship and put it in standby. While not the latest and greatest example of her class, Jones's Asp Explorer had gotten him out of many tight scrapes before. He just hoped he wouldn't need her services again this time. After making arrangements with the dockmaster for a refueling while he was away, Skyler left the hanger and headed for his intended destination aboard.
A few minutes later Skyler had reached the main bar on board Grover Platform, however ridiculous the idea that such an establishment would even exist on a station with no centrifugal gravity. It didn't take long for him to meet his contact either. A short, grizzly man who looked out of place for the respectably clean and upkept bar. In fact he looked like he'd fit in better at the place on that god-forsaken slavery hub Robigo Mines. Still Skyler knew the man, and while he didn't trust him much, he also knew he wouldn't call him all the way out here for a courtesy call.
Walking nonchalantly up to the bar, Skyler ordered himself a drink. After it arrived he paid the tender and made his way over to his contact. Upon spotting him, the man gave a toothy grin. His teeth were surprisingly white for a man who looked like he got chewed up by a thruster manifold.
"Ah! Commander Jones! I was wondering when you'd arrive! Please, please. Have a seat, my friend," the man cooed at Skyler the moment he was within earshot, gesturing to the spot opposite him at his corner booth.
"Hello Ric," Skyler replied cordially to the man before taking the offered seat and stapping himself in so he wouldn't start floating away. For the hundredth time since he landed, Skyler privately cursed the lack of gravity on the station. "I'm surprised you're not at the ass-end of the Bubble3 for once. What brings you this close to the core?"
"Business," Ric replied with a grunt. "Namely business between us. I've got information that could help you with your search."
"Yeah I gathered that from your message. Are you telling me that after 20 years you've finally found my daughter?"
20 years ago while Skyler was still a young lieutenant in the Federal Navy, his wife had decided to take a transport back to her home system so she could spend time with her parents while he was out on a patrol. Unfortunately, the transport's route had taken it through a small patch of anarchic systems. Usually the systems were circumnavigated, but do to a previous navigational error, a shortcut through the systems had to be made for the reach a scoopable4 star before they ran out of fuel. While en route the transport was interdicted and brought out of supercruise.5 After disabling the craft the pirates who attacked it boarded and attempted to take control of the vessel, taking prisoners back to their own ship along the way. Thankfully Federal Navy ships picked up the distress signal and jumped in to assist, but not before the pirates made off with 22 passengers and crew of the transport, including Skyler's 2 year old daughter.
Federal authorities did their best, but the quickly lost track of the pirates and their cargo. Before too long, it was considered too late. Anyone who the pirates had taken had to have been sold into slavery. Skyler had attempted his own search, even resigning his commission with the navy in order to achieve it. However, after 5 further years of fruitless searching, he gave it up. He put feelers out along the known major slavery rings around the Bubble, but none of them had come up with anything. Before now.
Ric grunted again at Skyler's question. "Not.. exactly. But!" the man exclaimed, holding up a finger to emphasize his point- "I do have a promising lead!"
Skyler rolled his eyes "That's something you told me the last time we spoke and it ended up being a dead end."
"Right... but this time I mean it. I thin I may have found someone who knows where your daughter is. Who she was sold to."
"Yeah?" Skyler asked skeptically, "And how much extra will this info cost me? As if the rate I already gave you wasn't enough."
Ric waved a hand dismissively "You know I hate slavery, Commander Jones, just as much as the next loyal Federal Citizen," he said, giving off a small chuckle as he did. "There's no extra charge save my usual... ah- finder's fee. Plus uh, you know, the rate we had already agreed upon."
Skyler nodded, expecting the conversation to go something like this. He was prepared to pay though- one of the benefits of working as an independent ship captain for the Pilot's Federation was money was usually no object if you were even decently successful at what you did. And even 20 years on any info on his daughter was worth more to Skyler than maybe even his ship. But he wasn't about to let Ric in on that little revelation. Instead he played coy, "Hm. I don't know... this info better be damned good for that kinda price. How do I know it isn't some codswallop you made up just to waste my time?"
If Ric was insulted at the suggestion that his info may be false, he didn't show it, "Ah Commander Jones," he said playfully "You wound me with you accusations. I assure you, the info I'm offering is one-hundred percent genuine. I'll tell you what. You pay me half of just the finder's fee now, and after you check on the lead and find out it is genuine, you can pay me the other half, as well as our agreed upon rate. Deal?"
Skyler pretended to consider the offer for a moment, though secretly he though it was a really good offer. After another moment of pretending, he nodded and said "Alright Ric. Deal," before offering the grizzled man his hand to shake. Ric took it and after a brief clasping they mutually let go and got down to business.
1. In the Elite universe, the only way artificial gravity is generated is by rotating large circular sections of space stations. As a result, smaller stations and things like starships have a hard time creating the centrifugal force required.
2. Don't let the name fool you. The Federation of this universe is nothing like the Federation of Star Trek. They're far more authoritarian and overt in their control of their citizens.
3. The Bubble- The area of interstellar space that contains the colonies, worlds, and star systems humanity has expanded to and settled on. Somewhat centered around Earth and Sol.
4. Aka a star that could be used to refuel the transport via a device called a fuel scoop. It works by collecting the hydrogen gas that has escaped the star and transferring it to the ship's fuel tank to be used in its fusion reactor.
5. Aka warp or Alcubierre drive. Used to move between bodies within star systems while hyperspace jumping is used for traveling between star systems.