Blomar adjusted his tie again. Doubt crept up from his feet to his neck in a paralising sensation. Here goes nothing he thought.
'We will be participating in the Rim Job challenge'
Silence gripped the room. Someone chuckled.
'Cap'n, I don't think you think.... what we think... what ought to be thunk of .... what is thought .... what people think that means' Rackham stammered, and continued on;
'Is just, you see, what you do with Lt. Streets in your quarters isn't really our business ain't it?'
'Bloody hell Rackham keep your damn imagination in check.' Sybill blushed.
'No Mr. Rackham, the Rim Job Challenge is a rally. It is a traditional pirate race, once around the rim of the galaxy. It was first proposed by the legendary pirate Klaus Störtebecker the 7th who laid out a course for the race and died trying to complete it.'
'Cap'n that seems a bit excessive doesn't it, our old rustbucket is barely spaceworthy, how is she ever gonna hold up in a race? and what do we even want with this racing business, it lacks incentive don't you think?' Someone said.
'Ah but thats the beauty of it. It is not widely know but there is supposed to be a treasure hidden away that will reveal itself to the winner of the race!'
'what kind of treasure? better be something good.'
'well that is not something to be discussed here. However, you may rest assured that your efforts will be rewarded handsomely. We have a bit of a betting scheme backing us up and in the case of success it will pay off'
The Nori had remained silent during the speech but began to experience a sensation akin to fear. She? She was supposed to race around the entire galaxy. Against other ships. The idea had its charm for sure. In a way she was a bit of a workhorse, strong but slow and build for getting a hull full of heavy cargo from here to there and never, in her entire life, had she ever unleashed the raw power that her reactor held and went all out on the speed pedal. The thought roused her and she spontanously fired up the engines. The crew, taken by suprise by the sudden increase of downforce, hit the deck with a uniform thud, like puppets that had their strings cut. She realised her mistake after she had made it but thought nothing more of it. She was ready to go.
Blomar had managed to keep standing and continued unabashed. Infact he couldn't have wished for a better opportunity. With his superiority impressively demonstrated, the moment needed to be leveraged.
'We will be arriving at Haradhere shipyard in a couple of days and will stay there until the neccessary modifications to the ship are in place. Everyone that wishes to leave us at that point will be compensated fairly. Those of you that stay with us, I commend your courage and dedication and promise you, on my honor as Captain of this vessel, that you will not regret your choice.
Take the time you need to think on this and make a decision, but know that you will not get a second chance like it. Neither to leave, nor to come back.
Dismissed.'
As the congregation dispersed, Kumar stepped up to the Captain.
'Nice speech boss, I liked the cruelty bit, that really got them riled up. Very piraty'
'Why thank you.'
'But ehm Cap, goals are nice to have but how are we even going to afford upgrades to the Nori. As far as I know we have just enough money in the accounts to buy some general supplies, maybe throw in a little repair job here and there, but certainly not enough to pay for a major rebuild. And we surely are going to need substantial upgrades if we want to make this thing work long term.
'Who said we are buying?' Blomar smiled his tightest tie smile.
Bonnet and Rackham were shocked. They had signed up for a little pirate adventure trip, to live the good life for a couple of years. Never would they have guessed the grand ambition that their Cap'n had held, it was inspiring. And to celebrate they could think of nothing more appropriate than a nice chewGar and a couple of drinks, so they headed over to Sgt. Sniggers Waste'O'Nutri so that Rackham could work his magic on the machine. They waited until the officers left the messhall and Rackham got to it.
His method involved bridging the machine with a little copper wire that would neatly allow him to bypass its security measures and use a terminal on it. With the machines full cooperation he could use it to fabricate almost any organic matter that it had the supplies for. The admiration he gained from the remaining pirates for this feat was incredible. But the trick itself wasn't too complicated so others had used it after he had first shown it off, and now all that happened was that he short circiuted, and got a yanking shock from it.
The circiut board lit itself up in a smoldering burst of violence, and, with an almost instantanious reaction, the Sgt. Sniggers service representative hologram appeared before them.
'Hello how can I help you today'
The smoke was slowly sucked away by the air scrubbers and the general coughing toned down a notch.
'Oh hello Sir' The Gentleman reacted quickly.
'Your machine seems to be having difficulties'
'Ah yes, the old model S35, don't worry we will have her running again in no time.'
Apparently the Ai rep was too stupid to realize the machine had been tinkered with. It was all the better for them.