Freelancers. Scum of the Universe to most, unsung heroes to the rest. There really is no middle ground as far as most people are concerned. You either love us or hate us.

Freelancing. The only job where you can get paid by someone one week and kill him the next. It’s all about the credits. Nothing else matters.

Freelancing. People with souls need not apply.

Chapter One – Haunting Memories.

Stokes Mining Station, Leeds System, Bretonia Space

Vince O’Hara sat at the bar onboard Stokes Mining Station waiting for something to come up on the automated mission vendor. He was dressed in the traditional garb identifying him as a Freelancer. A gun for hire if you like. In this instance a ship for hire really. Of course the ship was equipped with guns. Brown wasn’t exactly the most beautiful colour in the universe but it was one that commanded respect in most places. Anyone can don a colourful uniform and fly with ten other ships to protect a freighter. Freelancing though was a totally different ball game.

“There’s one for you Vinnie” said Miles Cranford, the Stokes barman pointing at the large screen hanging from the ceiling.

“It’s Vince.” He stated coldly. “I prefer to be awake for a mission. Those pansies would send me to sleep. I’m sure some wet behind the ears Rookie will accept though. You know I don’t launch for less than 5000 credits these days.” He replied.

MISSION ACCEPTED. CPL A. Barnes.

“CPL Barnes report to briefing room 3 immediately” blared over the Space Stations speaker system.

“What did I tell you! I’ll have a Bretonian ale. None of that watered down crap either.”
Miles stooped down and selected a bottle from a small cold storage unit, poured it into a frosted glass and handed it to Vince.

“That’ll be 2 credits my good friend.” Said the barman handing over portable Neural Net machine.

“If we’re that good friends then I shouldn’t owe you a single Credit!” he joked as he pressed a series of buttons too quickly for the eye to follow.

Miles grabbed the small white towel draped over his right shoulder and proceeded to wipe the bar down, despite the fact there hadn’t been many customers since dinner time.

“People are starting to say you’ve gone soft Vince. Been workin’ out of Stokes for too long. You know you could get better work elsewhere surely.” Miles said as he continued to wipe the polished wooden surface. Vince stared down into his beer almost trancelike before looking up.

“Stokes gave me my break. I feel I owe them for that. Most places wouldn’t let me dock for more than long enough to re-fuel after the Yukon incident.” Vince paused, taking a moment to reflect on what was the worst week of his 28 years of existence.

“Ah yes. The Yukon incident. I was keeping bar on LD-14 when that went down. Remember it as though it were yesterday. No one tells it like you Vinnie.”

“It’s Vince” he screamed slamming down his mug, smashing it and sending amber liquid all over the freshly wiped bar. Being reminded of the day he was kicked out of the Navy always brought the worst out of Vince O’Hara, regardless of who was around.

“Sorry Miles. Get me another. Anyway, I was assigned to a squadron of Defenders onboard the Yukon. My wing was on a routine patrol in the Tahoe Ice Cloud to keep the Rogues in check when we came under fire from several cloaked ships.” he stopped to take a gulp of his new beer.

“The Order.” The bartender said as he began wiping up the mess.

“So the rumour goes. Three of my wingmen were destroyed before we could react. When I regained my senses I made a dash for my escape pod, lowered my shield and ejected from my ship seconds before a missile hit, destroying the outer hull. I drifted in Limbo for a few seconds before that all too familiar sound of a tractor beam pulled me toward one of the unknown ships. What happened next I can only assume. My assailants gassed me in my pod and took my docking codes as well as all the other military secrets I had stored in my memory. They proceeded to destroy another patrol of Defenders but this time they captured one intact and put me in the cockpit and left me to drift. I emitted an emergency beacon and was picked up by a Navy search and rescue unit and taken to a hospital on nearby Planet Los Angeles(Dockable??).” Vince paused again, the pain in his eyes obvious to the few people in the bar who had gathered round to listen to his tale.

“But in the mean time the Yukon was attacked from within right?” Asked another newly arrived patron.

Vince nodded his head and sipped his beer before continuing.

“The faction that acquired my docking codes all boarded another Defender they got their hands on. All but the pilot were in the cargo hold equipped with a field dampener that was strong enough to resist the routine scans conducted by the Yukon prior to docking. A series of bombs were planted in strategic locations around the huge Battleship. I assume they had a set of blueprints of the Yukon’s layout prior to the attack. The whole command section was destroyed, killing the CO and several other high ranking officers and officials."

“So why did they implicate you when you were just an innocent in the whole mess?” asked another customer.

“Someone had to cop the blame. Even after the whole Freeport 7 fiasco nobody can trust the Order. The board of Enquirer’s assigned to investigate my story refused to believe I would be spared when so many others had been killed. They also found it odd that there were no other ships present in the usually popular area. I was tried on conspiracy as well as aiding and abetting the enemy. Naturally I was found guilty and discharged without honours from the Navy. If it weren’t for my good Service Record and the element of doubt one member of the board had, I would have been hauled off to LPI Sugarfield. Word soon spread that I shouldn’t be trusted in any capacity. I had enough credits for a Starflier and tried my hand at Freelancing.” Vince motioned to his brown clothes.

“And here I am today.” He swigged the last of his beer and stood up. “I’ll be in tomorrow Miles. Maybe a job worthy of my attention will come up. See you later.”

All eyes in the bar followed him as he left the bar and headed toward his small apartment.
He had told the story a hundred times in a hundred bars, always portraying himself as the victim. The truth was that the Navy didn’t pay too well. The Rogues did. As far as Vince O’Hara was concerned the Order was there to be blamed for anything that looked out of place. The ships weren’t cloaked, just fast and transmitting Navy Transponder Codes.

It’s all about the credits. Nothing else matters.

Chapter 2 – The Truth.

Vince lay awake on the bed in his temporary home onboard Stokes. He was in constant thought about what had really transpired that fateful day. The truth was that there was another ship traversing that part of space. Steven Norris, a seasoned Bounty Hunter was flying his heavily armed Barracuda reasonably close to Vince’s patrol. Bounty Hunter ships were common place throughout the universe so no one even bothered to mention it. Everyone was killed before anyone could question why the vastly superior ship had failed to provide any assistance. Norris just happened to be in the right place at the right time. From that day forward he would contact Vince demanding a substantial cut from every mission knowing full well that if the Freelancer refused, the truth behind the Yukon incident would come out.

Whilst posted as a CPL onboard the battleship, Vince found out that the Liberty Rogues were looking for the Blueprints for the Yukon and were offering a large sum of Credits. His interest piqued, he managed to track down the Rogue’s contact onboard, Dan Cortez. The Blueprints were easily obtained with Vince’s relatively high security clearance and the transaction with Cortez was completed. Not settled with just being the “guy who sold the plans” Vince convinced the Rogue he could be a key player in bringing the Yukon to its knees.

Vince was happy to sell the plans as he didn’t think the Rogues were any threat to the Battleship as even a small fleet of Wolfhounds could be easily dealt with by a scrambled wing of Defenders with support from the Yukon’s huge weaponry. It was only after a few weeks that he learned that the Outcasts were running low on Cardamine and had made an alliance with the Rogues in return for a steady supply of the drug they were so reliant on. In return the Rogues were given Outcast ships to use to protect the Mule’s they used to haul the Cardamine through the back alleys of space. These Outcast ships would also be used in the attack on the Yukon, albeit not directly.

The Outcast Sabres easily outclassed the Liberty Navy Defenders in every aspect so destroying Vince’s patrol as well as two others was almost too easy. Vince’s intimate knowledge of patrol paths and routines meant that the Rogues knew when to attack so the absence of the patrols wouldn’t be noticed for several hours.

The rest of the plan went off without a hitch as far as the Rogues were concerned. But even they didn’t take any notice of the Bounty Hunter Barracuda that was flying so close to them. That’s where things went wrong as far as Vince O’Hara was concerned. He just had to hope he could eradicate the Bounty Hunter before he thought of telling the Rogues.

Chapter 3 – You’ve come a long way.

Despite Steven Norris taxing Vince’s mission Credits he had come along way from the Starflier he had used to get his new career up and running. Despite the lucrative payoff from the Rogues for the Yukon job he was forced to keep the Starflier for a few months so as not to alert his former employers to his new found wealth as questions would certainly have been asked. This also prevented him from going after the Bounty Hunter but he was confident the Credits he was paying would keep him quiet for a while yet.

Initially he flew a few low paying, low risk solo missions out of Stokes Mining Station before Planet hopping his way around Liberty and Bretonia. He slowly but surely gained a reputation as a capable Freelancer who could be trusted to do the jobs no one else could be bothered with. Vince didn’t care so long as he got paid.

After a period of four months Vince travelled to the Hamburg system in Rheinland. The Unioners posed too much of a threat to a tiny Starflier so he sold it off at Planet Manhattan in Liberty Space for 800 Credits. Paul Hastings, an old friend of Vince’s from his days at West Point Academy had left the Navy and signed on as an escort pilot for Deep Space Engineering. Paul secured Vince a cabin on a DSE train convoy headed for Rheinland. The convoy was very well protected so Vince knew that there was almost no risk involved and the 1350 Credits it took to book his passage was well worth it. Vince’s flying experience was even called upon when one of the Freelancer escort pilots suffered a minor heart murmur and had to be treated onboard the huge Train. Vince took his spot piloting the Patriot Light Fighter for three days. Unfortunately he didn’t get to see any action but just the thrill of sitting in the cockpit of something better than his old Starflier reminded him why he was making the long journey to Rheinland.

Despite a few minor trade lane disruptions the DSE convoy arrived safely in the Hamburg system and moored at Planet Hamburg. Vince left without saying any goodbyes; after all he had paid for his passage and didn’t feel he owed anyone anything more than that. He quickly made his way to the local ship dealer. He spotted the ship he wanted right away, as their was no mistaking the magnificent presence of the Falcon. Fitted with 5 guns and a turret it was equipped with an awesome amount of firepower. Vince had dreamed about the day this purchase would be made. All the hours flying low paying missions had paid off. It had taken some time to amass the 252000 Credits the Falcon would cost, but the money from the Rogues certainly got him on his way. At times, the Credits from the Yukon incident would burn a hole in his pocket and he was tempted to buy a better ship than his trusty old Starflier. Now he was glad he had resisted the temptation for so long.

Ship purchase complete.

Vince’s mind returned to the present. Usually at this point in the thought process he would turn his attention to how to rid himself of the overbearing Bounty Hunter. Tonight he decided plotting revenge could wait. The credits were running low as he hadn’t taken a mission for almost a week which meant Norris would start with the threats that always accompanied a dry spell. Maybe Miles was right. It was almost time to leave Stokes for a while and venture off to somewhere more profitable.

Vince yawned and gave up the fight against the darkness that was blurring his vision and lapsed into what would be a sleep filled with all manner of nightmares.

Chapter 4 – One last job.

Vince woke up the following morning just before 0700 as he always liked to. Despite having slept in his browns, he knew getting them cleaned would be a waste of time as he was certain he would launch today, either for one last mission for BMM or to another quadrant of space. Only a trip to the bar would decide which. The Freelancer quickly stripped off his clothes and showered. He always though at least some amount of personal hygiene was necessary. After washing he donned the same clothes and made a quick check of his personal possessions before heading to the bar.

When it came to bars all throughout all of free space the time never mattered, they were always open. Many bars now employed an android for a barman for this specific purpose. Vince didn’t have any time for artificial intelligence as far as conversation went, but he didn’t care who poured his beer. Miles Cranford and Vince O’Hara had a fairly solid friendship. Vince would never admit that deep down he didn’t mind being called Vinnie, but his tough Freelancer persona always made him make a scene whenever Miles called him that. The barman used Vinnie to get a rise out of the often sullen Freelancer to liven him up. It always seemed to work.

The bar was normally busy early in the day. Mining crews were scattered all over the room eating meals before heading out to mine the ??name?? asteroid field for ??Alloy??, the very reason Stokes even existed. Vince normally flew missions commissioned by Bretonion Mining and Minerals to get rid of any Molly’s that might be looking to steal the precious ??Alloy?? or just destroy mining equipment.

“Hey Miles, anything decent on the job board this morning?” asked Vince whilst deciding what he wanted to eat.
The routine had been the same all week so Miles didn’t even wait for Vince to decide before dishing up the usual bacon, eggs and a glass of juice.

“Take a look. That ones been up for a couple hours already. Might be too tough for most of the ships here. I bet that Falcon of your’s would be up to the challenge though.” he hinted.
The Freelancer looked up at the AMV whilst chewing a mouthful of bacon.

Commissioned by BMM: Our patience with the Molly’s has grown thin. We can’t tolerate their actions any longer. Our profilers have identified one of their operatives, Wallace Braunstone, as a viable target. We believe him to be vulnerable, in Sector 5E right now. You have orders to terminate him with extreme prejudice. His execution will send a clear message from Bretonian Mining and Minerals. Use caution, though. We believe that some Weapons Platforms may be in the same area as your target and could be a danger.

Vince walked over the console below the AMV and punched in his ID Code to accept the mission.
“7000 credits ought to be enough for me to leave Stokes for a bit.” He yelled at the bartender.
Miles smiled and turned to address another customer.
“Freelancer Silver Six dash Two to Dock Two immediately.” Erupted over the speakers.
Vince stuffed his mouth full of bacon and eggs and washed it down with his juice before giving Miles a wave and running toward dock two.

Vince’s Falcon was being prepared by three dock hands when he arrived.
“Hey Vince!” yelled Sean Eaton, the lead dock hand. “You’ll get you’re mission briefing and waypoints once you launch.”
Vince nodded and gazed over his ship, making sure everything looked okay. He hadn’t upgraded his weapons since purchasing the Falcon but the Liberty Rogue weapons he had managed to obtain hadn’t failed him so far. Beside they would have to do until he could afford or acquire some more powerful ones.

Vince climbed into the cockpit and put on his helmet. After flipping several switches and pushing some buttons the Falcon roared into life. Out of the corner of his eye he could see that the young dock hands were in awe of the sheer noise coming from the powerful engine. Ships as capable as a Falcon were rare in this part of space.

The Falcon eased forward before the thrusters ignited and he was clear of dock two.
“Freelancer Silver Six Dash Two this is Stokes Smelter, everything’s go for launch. Good luck out there.” Said the Space Traffic Control Centre.

Vince looked around the dusty space outside the Mining Station. Sometimes the Molly’s would send in a raid to make life uncomfortable for the miners but today this wasn’t the case. He was almost disappointed.

“Freelancer Silver Six Dash Two this is Stokes. You’re target can be found at the mission waypoint. Refer to the Nav Map for specific instructions. Mission Commission out.”

Vince pressed the buttons to bring his two Usiel lasers online. Once clear of the Station he fired at some small asteroids as he was feeling a little rusty. He then brought the three Drail’s online and fired at a few more asteroids until he felt confident. Vince hadn’t had enough credits to purchase a turret and he was running low on Countermeasures so it could be tough battle indeed.

Now that everything was in order he selected the mission waypoint and pressed the go to command on the ships computer. The Falcon’s cruiser engine engaged and Vince clenched his teeth as the ship sped up at a phenomenal rate. Once the ship was as full speed everything returned to normal. Now came the calm before the storm. The silence was only short lived though, as the ships Comm System beeped to signal an incoming message.

“You should be in range. We’ve painted you’re target to make him easier to Identify.”

Vince’s computer had identified all of his targets so he cut his cruise engine. He targeted the closest enemy ship and prepared for what could be a suicidal pass as it was four ships against one. The scanner showed no other ships in the immediate vicinity so he was definitely going solo.

“Time to die Freelancer!” Screamed Wallace Braunstone.

Braunstone’s Wolfhound wasn’t the ship Vince had chosen to target first. He hoped that if he could destroy one or two of his cronies first he’d make a mistake that would make Vince’s job easier.

Not bothering to reply with words, the Freelancer used his thrusters to close the gap and opened fire on the Bloodhound he had targeted. The aim of the first pass was usually to get past the enemies shields and inflict some minor hull damage before finishing the job off in a dog fight. This was made more difficult with multiple targets, but not impossible.

The ships computer showed that the current target’s shields were no longer functioning. The Falcons shield was far more superior and had only sustained minor damage. Vince was happy to let it regenerate normally rather that using any shield batteries.

The Falcons shield rapidly regenerated as Vince made a sharp twisting downward turn. The Bloodhound was in his sights again. Opening fire on the enemy ships tail soon had it in flames. A scream went out over the open comms channel followed quickly by another threat from Braunstone.

“You’ll have to do better than that to take me down.”

Oh I will, Vince thought to himself as he brought his ship around. He used the ships computer to target another of the Bloodhounds. In the meantime his shields took a severe beating and he was forced to use a few shield batteries. The Molly ships would have drained a lot of weapon power in the attack so Vince knew now was the time to strike.

The Bloodhound he had targeted was trying to take evasive action but Vince used the thrusters to get him within laser range and opened fire. The Rogue weapons ripped through the shields and outer hull in just seconds. Two down. Now it was Braunstone’s turn.

The Molly captain didn’t seem deterred by the loss of his two wingmen. His Wolfhound was a more capable ship that the Bloodhounds but he knew that the Freelancers Falcon was even better. Braunstone issued an order to his remaining wingman to flank the Falcon from the left whilst he came in firing from the right.

Vince had already made the decision to engage the leader and turned hard to meet him head on. The timing couldn’t have been better as Braunstone dropped a Drone mine. Vince locked onto it and blew it to pieces before it could do any serious damage. Slamming down on his thrusters he flew through the explosion and let fly with a barrage of laser fire on the Wolfhound. Braunstone’s shields were momentarily down before he had repaired them with batteries. In that instant Vince had managed to damage the rear port quarter, but not enough to destroy him outright.

In the meantime, the remaining Bloodhound had done more damage to Vince’s shield. Confident it would regenerate he again opted not to waste any precious shield batteries.

The Falcon performed another sharp turn, this time upwards. Braunstone was in view again. The bright light emanating from his thrusters signalled he was trying to go into cruise and make an escape.

“I think not Wallace.” Vince fired a Wasp cruise disruptor and pounded on his thrusters again. Braunstone had to take his weapons offline to go into cruise. That was the mistake he was hoping for.

“You know you’re only worth 7000 Credits to BMM. That’s pathetic. You should be honoured I even bothered launching!” Vince taunted as he finished off the Molly group leader.

Vince turned his attention to the last ship and saw he too was trying to run.

“Run you bastard! Tell you’re fellow Molly’s that Vince O’Hara sent you packing.”

Not wanting to waste a Wasp he was happy to let him flee. Besides the commission only required Braunstone to be eliminated. As if on cue the Comm Unit activated.

“Freelancer Silver Six dash Two this is Stokes. We show target destroyed. 7000 Credits have been transferred to your Neural Net account. Mission Commission out.”

Vince smiled at the thought of what 7000 Credits could do for him right now. In the big scheme of things it wasn’t much but it would be enough to get him to Liberty Space, maybe even Rheinland, where the big paying jobs were. He hadn’t really taken any hull damage so most of the money he just earned was his, rather than for repairs like after most missions. He thought perhaps he could keep doing low paying jobs like the old days, as Molly’s and Gaian’s were no match for the Falcon but decided against it, as being a big fish in a little pond wasn’t always a good thing. Eventually they would hire a team of Outcasts or Bounty Hunters to take him down.

Vince used the ships computer to scan for any loot worth salvaging. He tractored in a two Angelito MK I turrets and a single Nanobot. One turret he would fit to his ship, the other, once repaired, would be sold for over 2000 Credits, not a bad haul at all. Now all that remained was to set a course for Stokes and tell Miles all about his latest exploits over a cold Bretonian Ale.

Chapter 5 – A new dawn.

“It was almost too easy Miles, I tell ya.” Vince explained to the Stokes Barman as he sipped at the cold Bretonian Ale he had been thinking about on the journey back to the mining station. “Four against one and they didn’t have a prayer! I can’t begin to explain how happy I am with the Falcon. All I need now are some better weapons and I’ll be set for a long, long time.”

“Give it some time and you will want to upgrade to an Eagle. I know your types well enough. Never happy until you have the best there is.” Replied Miles.

Vince nodded his head and took another mouthful of beer.

Beep Beep.

He looked down at his portable Neural Net to see a message had been sent to him. He immediately knew who it would be from.

‘I know you are 7000 Credits richer than you were this morning O’Hara. You know our little arrangement. You can transfer 3000 Credits to me within the next two hours or I spill the beans to the relevant authorities’

The message was always similar. It always ended with the same idle threat. Vince thought about sending a message asking where the Bounty Hunter was at the moment so he could hand the money over in person but knew he wouldn’t be stupid enough to fall for that. 3000 Credits was a lot of money. The time for this to end was now. It’s time to pull out all the stops and track the bastard down.

Vince transferred the Credits and finished his beer.

“I’m outta here Miles. Take care buddy and I’ll swing by Stokes again in the next few months.”

“I assume that was some important message for you to be leaving just like that.”

“Something like that.” With that the Freelancer turned and left the bar. When he would return he couldn’t know for sure.

As Vince strode toward his cabin he saw the CO of Stokes Mining Station walking briskly toward him.

“Freelancer, a moment of your time if you don’t mind.” His tone suggested there was only room for one answer.

“Sure, but be brief if you can as I’m headed out for a while.”

“That’s why I need to speak to you. You did a job today getting rid of Braunstone and the Molly’s will be reeling from his loss for a short while. In short I don’t want you to be seen leaving Stokes in your ship. You leaving would alert the Molly’s that they can begin attacking us again as they are much more evenly matched with our ships.”

“I’ve already made up my mind. I’ll be flying out of here as soon as possible. If the Molly’s know that I’m gone then I’m sorry but my work here is done.” Vince started to leave but the CO’s stance told him he wasn’t finished.

“Look, I’m the CO of this base and I don’t appreciate your tone but right now I couldn’t care less how you address me. You will be leaving Stokes very shortly but you and your ship will be onboard a Train convoy headed for Liberty Space. Once clear of the Manchester System you will be free to leave.”

“I see. Look I’ll agree to it just save some H-Fuel, but I’m assuming there’s something big going down that you aren’t going to tell me. There must be a reason that you don’t want the Molly’s to attack so soon. Am I right?” he asked.

The CO nodded. “You’re on the right track but that’s all you need to know. I’ll also credit your account with 2000 Credits for your troubles. Do we have a deal?”

“We do. I’m willing to bet my ship is already on board that BOWEX train that’s moored through there.” He said, pointing to a window with a view of the mooring area.

“Perceptive aren’t you? Good day Mr O’Hara.” The CO continued on his way leaving Vince to ponder what just happened.

Overall the deal was a good one. His luck seemed to be changing for the better which was a rarity in his life. Vince left the corridor and went to his small apartment to collect his few belongings.

Two uneventful weeks later Vince’s Falcon and he were unloaded at Planet Manhattan in the New York System.

Chapter 6 - ????????????

Happy to be back in Liberty Space again, Vince sat at the Bar on Planet Manhattan. The Train journey was extremely boring and the Freelancer was left with a lot of time to think. Unfortunately the crew on board the BOWEX train were no help trying to find Steven Norris’ current whereabouts. He could be anywhere. The Bounty Hunters Guild was a huge organisation. If something important happened in Bretonia then Bounty Hunters in the Omicron Systems would know about it hours later. Vince didn’t really know how Norris got his information. He may have been able to hack into the AMV’s and discover who accepted what mission. Maybe he just had a lot of contacts. Probably both.

Vince drained the last of the Liberty ale that was in front of him and walked over the AMV. Regardless of whether Norris could hack them or not he needed some more Credits. The Rogues were small fry compared to the criminal factions of Rheinland and the outer systems, hence the commissions were always small. Vince selected a mission at random, entered his ID and headed toward the launch pad.

‘Better see what this job is all about I guess’ Vince thought as he strapped himself in. His eyes glanced at the nav map. It seemed he had selected a simple assassination mission.

“Freelancer Silver Six dash Two you are cleared for launch. Good flying.”

As soon as he was clear of the docking ring his comm unit beeped. Before the hailing party could speak Vince made a transmission. “Save it mission commission; I could do this one with a jetpack strapped to my back. Just get ready to transfer the Credits. This will all be over within the next 20 minutes.”

After you’ve been Freelancing for a while you get sick of the stock standard mission briefs. Vince would prefer it was all fully automated and there was no human contact at all.

His weapons offline and engines in full cruise mode, Vince could sit back and relax whilst the ships computer did all the work. The Freelancer quietly backed himself that this would all be over in one head on pass.

Normally by now the comm unit would beep but experience told him that they wouldn’t bother after his rudeness. They were probably hoping he would fail. That was never going to happen.

The Falcon slipped out of cruise mode and Vince brought his weapons back on line. Despite being loosely allied with the Rogues he doubted his name was known outside the Montezuma base in the Cortez system. His reputation might suffer a little but a cheap hack would fix it if need be.

The scanners lit up with three Liberty Rogue ships. He wasn’t sure which one was the target but it didn’t matter as they would all be scrap metal in two minutes.

“I’m not engaging, that would be suicide.” One of the Rogues said over the comm channel.

“It’s time to die boys.”

Vince fired a Wasp at the Bloodhound that was turning away. Engaging his thrusters he barrelled toward the three ships and commenced firing. One Bloodhound was destroyed by his lasers at maximum distance. Breaking off his thrusters he slowed down and ripped into the two remaining ships. The Rogue ships were never going to be a match for the Falcon.

“Area clear. Transferring Credits now. Mission commission out.”

Brief and to the point, just how he liked it. The job only paid 2500 Credits but that was about as good as it got in the New York system. Now all he had to do was head back to Manhattan and wait for Norris to ask for his cut. The greedy bastard would probably want the lot.

OK, this is where i began writing two different ways the story could go. Some of it, especially the Rogues story line is missing stuff at the beginning so it wont make complete sense, but you'll get the gist of where i was headed

Storyline ONE

‘I see you’re flying a big boys ship now O’Hara. This sends me a clear message that you haven’t been paying me enough Credits for my silence. I’ve decided that I will take your ship then you will be free of me forever. Deliver the Falcon to Planet Curacao in the Cortez system within the week. Don’t try anything stupid. Also you can keep your 2500 Credits from today. Choose to cross me though, and I’ll have half the Bounty Hunters Guild chasing you down.’

Sitting back at the bar on Manhattan, Vince read the message over and over again. How could have been so stupid to have left Bretonia. Whilst Bounty Hunters were everywhere, they were less abundant in Bretonia. He should have known his ship would be the next thing Norris would want.

The way he saw it he had two options. One was to do as the message said, and deliver the Falcon to the Cortez system. The other was to have him eliminated, but he couldn’t do it himself. Running low on Credits meant he couldn’t sponsor an assassin to do it either. Perhaps the Rogues could help. He could always twist the story to make it sound like the Bounty Hunters somehow found about the plans for the Yukon job. If he delivered the ship he would probably be killed the second he disembarked. Alternatively he could have the ship delivered by a third party. A few more missions for the LSF would pay for its passage.

Vince was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the stranger that had sat on the stool next to him.

“Problems friend?” asked the newly arrived man.
Startled, he looked at the man who had just spoken. He was dressed in brown’s, not unlike Vince’s own.

“Problems are one way of looking at it. We all have them though, right?” he replied.

“Indeed, although not everyone is wanted by one of the Bounty Hunters Guild’s top pilots.” The stranger ended his phrase to gauge a reaction from the Freelancer’s face.

Vince shook his head. “It seems I can’t keep anything from anyone these days. Is there some new neural net machine out that can read people’s minds or something?” he joked.

“We have come to know about you Mr O’Hara.”

“It’s Vince.” he interrupted. “Mr O’Hara was my father.”

“Vince it is. Anyway, you are of some interest of us. We shouldn’t talk here.” The stranger stood up. “Meet me in space.” And with that he walked away.

Vince wasn’t in the right frame of mind to try and follow him. The way things were shaping up he didn’t have anything to lose by not launching. Vince finished his beer and headed for the launch pad.

Vince selected the all ships filter on his scanning array and looked for the man who had approached him in the bar. All he could see were LSF, Police and some train convoys.

Beep beep.

‘Meet me sector 3A’

Vince shrugged his shoulders and brought his cruise engines on line. After setting a way point to the centre of sector 3A he sat back and listened to the comm channel. If for nothing else than to fight the boredom of free flight the comm channel could be quite entertaining. Group captains would often pep their wingmen up with jokes and stories, some of which were very interesting. Sometimes you could get an advance warning of an attack or even distress calls.

Planet Manhattan soon disappeared from view and Vince was left alone. Even the comm channel went silent. There was nothing of any interest to anyone in sector 3A. Could well be a trap. At least he could try fight his way out.

A few minutes later his comm unit lit up.

‘Glad to see you could make it Vince. Keep heading the way you are going. In a few minutes you won’t be able to miss us’

Boy was the stranger right. Within a few minutes a huge craft that could only be described as a Battleship came into view. Vince looked down at his scanners and couldn’t believe that nothing was on screen. Soon after a ship did show up but it wasn’t one Vince had ever encountered before. Mind you he had never been to Kusari or any of the Edge Worlds.

“Don’t be alarmed. Form up with me please.”

Vince put his ship in formation with the strange ship and held his breath to see what would happen next. The formation flew toward the Battleship. Back in Navy days he would always be launching or docking at Liberties Battleships so what happened next was no surprise. The formation flew beneath the huge ship and Vince was sucked up into the ships docking bay.

Once on board Vince looked around, trying to take in his new surrounds. The dock hands and everyone else seemed to be wearing black uniforms. No faction he was aware of wore plain black. Guessing he had nothing to lose he powered down and left the cockpit of his ship. He moved slowly down the ramp and waited at the bottom. Now he was out of his ship he could have a better look around. There must have been at least ten of the strange ships that the stranger from the bar was flying. Whatever they were they looked very capable. Even the weapons were not recognisable to the Freelancer, who prided himself on his weapon knowledge.

“Good to see you made it here ok. I’m sure you have a lot of questions but first come with me.”

Now that Vince had a better look at the stranger he couldn’t sense anything suspicious. If they were still at the bar on Manhattan he would just assume he was a fellow Freelancer.

After being led out the docking area the two men followed a twisting corridor and went into a lift that took them up several decks. Upon leaving the lift Vince assumed they were in the command portion of the ship.

“Almost there Vince. Soon you will get some answers.”

The two men followed another corridor. This time it ended in a solid steel door. The stranger swiped a card and pressed some numbers on the keypad that was on the door. It slid open revealing a room full of people and a lot of high tech equipment.

A bald headed black man wearing a black leather cape walked toward them as they passed through the doorway.

“Orillion, this is Vince O’Hara, from the Yukon.”

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That's as far as i got with The Order storyline.

Storyline TWO

Rochester Base, a Junkers Station located behind Planet Manhattan was his best bet. Hopefully his contacts there would still be friendly.

Vince had a fairly good reputation with the Liberty Rogues after helping them on the Yukon job but the criminal elements of Liberty shouldn’t ever be trusted for too long.
Back in space up above Planet Manhattan he set a course for Rochester Base. The ships computer took his weapons offline and went into cruise mode. Looking out the window at the ??debris field?? Vince didn’t spot anything of real interest. His scanners only showed some Liberty Police vessels but they were headed the opposite direction. Some Rogue ships would show up once he was far enough away from Planet Manhattan.

Whilst Rochester Base was technically run by the Junkers, the Liberty Rogues were the ones who issued the jobs on the AMV and provided most of the commodities (with the exception of scrap metal) that were available to purchase.

Cruise Disruptors were outlawed in the New York system which meant this was the easiest quadrant to escape from if things got too tough. A group of four Rogue ships showed up on Vince’s scanners and he waited for his Comm Unit to beep.

“Freelancer, this is Rogues Gamma Six. What brings you to this part of space?” Asked the Rogue captain.

“This is Freelancer Silver Six dash Two. I’m headed for Rochester Base to gather information. I highly recommend not getting in my way.”

The Rogue ships broke off and resumed their patrol, whether they were satisfied with his answer or intimidated once they discovered he was flying a falcon he couldn’t be sure.

Rochester Base was built into a huge asteroid. It was a very impressive sight, and it came into view after a few minutes. This was one of the few places in the New York system where easy money could be made, provided you had the balls. A lot of men and women made serious Credits hauling Cardamine from Rochester to the rich youth of Manhattan. The profit wasn’t huge but you could do several runs in a day. Unfortunately a lot of men and women ended up at LPI Sugarfield after being scanned by the Liberty Police.

“Rochester Base this is Freelancer Silver Six dash Two. I need to land.”

“Freelancer Silver Six dash Two this is Rochester. Permission to land granted.”

Vince cut his cruise engines and breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t expected to be able to get here so easily. Normally when he came through these parts he was hauling some valuable cargo but this time he was empty. Not even the Junkers were desperate enough to attack an empty ship. The Falcon slipped into docking sequence and was soon on board the asteroid base.

Vince was greeted by some scruffy looking youths acting as dock hands. The poor kids were probably abandoned by their parents or got on the wrong side of the law. The Rogues and Junkers used some pretty low methods to recruit. Often they got them addicted to Cardamine then forced them into manual labour to pay the debt back. Sadly the cycle normally ended in death.

As a Freelancer, Vince had a certain anonymity that served him well in places like this. The Rogues involved in the Yukon incident were heroes at ??name?? base in the Cortez system. Whether or not Vince got a mention he didn’t know as he had been forced to cut all ties with them, until now.

Not trusting the dock hands one little bit, he secured his own ship and ran an encryption program on the Falcon’s computer to prevent anyone flying off with it. He wouldn’t bother in most places but ships disappearing from criminal bases such as this one weren’t exactly uncommon. Satisfied that it would still be here when he got back he headed off in search of the bar.

The corridors were littered with all manner of filth. Every second person looked like a Cardamine junkie and every other person looked like the type that you’re mother was always telling you to keep away from. The Rogues were a rough bunch. The whole world was against them, just ask one of them.

The bar seemed to be equally filthy. Nothing like the bar on Stokes he was so accustomed to. As a Freelancer he had visited these types of places fairly frequently. Everything was for sale in bars like this: Cardamine, rep hacks, jump hole locations, the list was endless. There was nothing that couldn’t be sold. Information was the most sellable commodity though.

Vince scoured the room looking for anyone he knew. He spotted a few familiar faces but none of them he knew well enough to approach directly. Being alone on board a criminal base meant he would have to be careful as no one was watching his back. That was what Freelancing was all about. In the end he made a beeline toward the bar and took up an empty stool.

“Something brewed in the edge worlds.” He grunted at the bartnder.

By ordering an “imported” drink Vince was indicating that he had some Credits to burn to those within earshot.

The barman handed him a “Von Rohe”. The Hessians in Omega 11 brewed this stuff. Rumour had it that the bottles they exported to the houses were hauled through the edge of the infamous Von Rohe belt, just enough to give the drinker mild radiation poisoning. Vince seriously doubted the claims as he had downed several and never felt more that a mild headache. The hangover the next was a doozey though!

“I’ll have the same.” Said the Rogue seated next to him. “Good drop that ****.”

The barman handed the two bottles over and produced a neural net. The Rogue grabbed Vince’s hand as he went to grab the machine.

“This one’s on me O’Hara.” The Rogue transferred the Credits across and the barman left them in peace.

“I see my reputation precedes me. Who the hell are you and how do you know my name?” He asked, a tinge of disdain in his voice.

“Don’t get testy with me Vinnie.” he paused to gauge what reaction the Freelancer had when he called him his hated nickname. When none seemed to be coming he continued. “I know all about you through Dan Cortez and some of the others from the Yukon job. Been keeping track of you since you re-appeared in the New York System. It seems there are a few people that want you dead Mr O’Hara. Why would that be?” The Rogue took a large swig of his beer and waited for the Freelancer to reply.

Vince held his bottle to his lips, wondering what he should say. It was important not to give too much away when he still had no idea who this man was.

“I’m a Freelancer. I’ve no doubt pissed off several factions in my time. I’m sure that at least a few of those want me dead.” He replied calmly.

“Hmmm, how did I know that was going to be your response?

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And that's where i got up to with that storyline.

SYNOPSIS AND OTHER RANDOM BITS:

“Mind if I take a peek in you’re hold?”
“You can take a peek in my hold any time Amy.”
“Even our equipment cant find anything that small” she quipped.

Change Hood incident to a Liberty battleship (Yukon) to incorporate Navy and west point academy ties.

Do the LPI bases have different functions? Ie drugs, murderers etc..??

The Order or the Order?? (Grammar)

Synopsis: Vince, former Liberty Navy pilot (Defender) based at Battleship Yukon in the California system. Gets sick of life as a Navy pilot and sells important information about the Yukon to the Liberty Rogues. The Rogues are allied with the oucasts, in exchange for Cardamine the outcasts allowed the Rogues use of some outcast ships (Sabres?). A bounty hunter ??name?? witnessed Vince’s betrayal to the Liberty Navy and now takes some of his Credits after he does a mission in exchange for his silence. After his expulsion from the Navy, Vince bought a Starflier and freelanced missions in Bretonia (to lie low for a while). He has since used the money from the Rogues to purchase a Falcon from Planet Hamburg and now plans to eradicate the Bounty Hunter.

We'll that ends that. All of the above was as far as I got.

Im really not sure which story line i was going to go with. At the games peak I would have gone with the Order I think, as they were hugely popular.

Now that most gamers have moved on, i'd probably go with the Rogues storyline to keep all the characters my own.

For anyone that bothered to read it all, thankyou. I hope it was at least slightly enjoyable!

Any criticism and feedback is welcomed.

I have read alot of fan fiction on this site over the years and theres a lot of good stuff out there.

Brad K.

None too shabby. As you said, the rogue option would probably be the better way to go...