Blackjack and White Sparrow arrived about an hour later. They grabbed plates and went to sit with Braxton. Braxton showed his copy of the contract to the two. "I'm a free man." He said with a grin.
"Nice! How'd you pull off this miracle?" Blackjack replied jealously after reviewing the contract.
Braxton leaned across the table and said quietly, "I gave him a dragon's eye gem. It was one a guy named Blaster had given the chief of the tribe where I got my mount. With some luck they will have the gate up shortly."
"Wow, Blaster was the leader of the reserve forces. He was a badass fighter too. We looked for his body for years. It was believed he had a whole gate." White Sparrow stated quietly.
"He was wounded badly but he recovered. The chief said the last time he saw him was around two years ago. Or something like that. If he is as good as you say, he is probably still alive." Braxton paused for a second, then asked. "What do you guys know about someone called Specter?"
"Specter was the last scout. His armor ability was pretty cool. It gave him what he called Scout Vision. The UI could zoom like a sniper scope. He could check things out up to five miles away. Where did you hear that name?" Blackjack asked curiously.
"I found his armor. I got his comlink too. My armor absorbed it and the channel is open. I can hear the Major and Raven's conversations." He said in hushed tones with a grin.
"Damn, what the hell else did you find? You had more luck in one short trip than most of us have in years." Blackjack could barely contain his jealousy.
"Quiet a bit actually. I found a journal that gave me a lot of knowledge. I got that off Racal's body. It was a goldmine. If things work out with this gate. I might try to invest time and gather equipment. We can turn around and sell it to people when they start playing this like a game. The first people they open this up to will likely be rich assholes. We could make a stone cold fortune off high end gear. I need to recharge cells too. But even empty ones can be recharged. The station can make money too. Trading charged cells for empty ones. I would like to invite you both to help run the business with me. What do you think?" Braxton pitched his idea.
"Sounds like you have big expectations. What makes you think it will work?" Blackjack asked intelligently.
"I can't do all this myself. I need people I can trust. You two have been kind and helpful since I got here. Things are about to change. You will have the option to return soon. I'm guessing you might want to have kids when you return. This would be like eight hours a day. You come in and trade/sell stuff. I got the hook up." He said as he pulled out a large clay jar filled with whiskey.
Braxton popped the seal and poured himself a glass. He handed it across the table. "Take a whiff of that."
Blackjack inhaled the intoxicating scent. Then he took a mouthful. "Oh my god! This is so good!" He said as he passed the glass to White Sparrow.
"Wonderful, how much of this stuff do you have?" White Sparrow asked with a gleam in her eye.
"Right now, just what is in this jug. Blood vials are currency right? You don't get much out of them after you max out a skills potential. So when new people start coming we can get them a jumpstart. I can get much more of this stuff. We can sell it for blood vials. This one can be spread around. I'll let you two handle that you know every here. I've got some other stuff to go through still. I'd like one of you to help me sort though it. These two items are something I collected. I'd like your opinions on them now." He place the cylinder and the necklace charms on the table.
"That cylinder might be a toxic bomb. I'd put that away. If it went off in the cave it could kill everyone not wearing a helmet before they equipped it. The charms look like shaman items. I think they use different ones for different creatures. They are trinkets as far as we are concerned. They are souvenirs, some people will want authentic items." White Sparrow responded knowledgeably.
"You got an eye kid. The toxic bombs are stock and trade Blood Lizard weapons. They are immune to the toxin. When they want to take over an area and they can get close, they use these. They would've killed the Tritops happily with this. I wouldn't be surprised if they were the ones that suggested it. Tritops think death in combat let's them enter some heaven." Blackjack added.
"You know humans killed one of their King's sons right?" Braxton inquired.
"When did this happen?" Blackjack asked.
"During the great battle. Someone shoved a grenade into his chest and it blew up." Braxton replied.
"That was Blade. I was right beside him when that happened." Blackjack started. "That was the breaking point that allowed us to retreat. None of us would be here now if not for that action? I had to drag him away. His hand was blown up and he passed out." Blackjack finished staring off into space.
"What is your next stop?" White Sparrow asked, firmly interested in the prospects.
"Well back to the village. I don't know how much more of value I can get out of them yet. Some more whiskey for sure and a few more mounts is my goal for starters. I got armor that I need to repair. I don't know if you know but, you can learn new armor skills if you equip a new set. They have to be fully repair before that happens. I found two sets on my trip. Both are prototype and damaged. I'm also worried someone will come looking for me. I was offered a reward if my actions got me back out of here. Do you know what company owns this project?" Braxton inquired.
"We were loaned out to Blackhawk Gaming. We stand to reap ten years of back pay when we get back and almost a full year of vacation time. Maybe even a fat settlement." Blackjack replied.
"I was afraid of that. My father owns the company. I ran away and don't want to go back. This gig can make me independently wealthy. It's another reason I need friends to help. Everyone knows me as Ace and I'm keeping it that way. Will you help me build this little empire?" Braxton inquired.
"Sounds like it will be pretty safe and profitable. Once we get things sorted we can talk things over again for sure. We won't rat you out." Blackjack confirmed.
"Yeah, your dad is a prick anyway. The only reason he kept sending people here was to try and protect his investment. Storage space on mules is more than a standard troopers. Mine only had ten slots when I came in. Now that I'm level ten I got sixty." White Sparrow added.
"Blood Lizard blood absorbed. Antitoxin ability acquired level 1. Vitally increased." Alpha chimed in.
"That was fast." Braxton muttered more to himself than his companions. He pulled out another vial and drained it.
"Yeah, they absorb a lot quicker as you go along. For me it's only about five minutes now. The trick is finding something I haven't maxed out on." Blackjack stated blankly.
"We've been stuck in this area so long it's hard to get new blood types." White Sparrow said in agreement.
"I might be able to help with that too. The Hazuls can't make use of blood. That is why they trade it. If I can link up with a few different settlements of theirs, I should be able to get new types for you both." Braxton said to sweeten the deal.