When Jack woke up, he felt the most comfortable he had ever been since waking up in the world. Everything was warm, fluffy and he could hear the faint chirping of birds coming from the outside. The smell of coffee and fried eggs reached his nose and made him slowly open his eyes.
The sun was shining outside and he had to blink a few times before he could make out the room he was in.
He lay in a big comfortable bed, there was sunshine coming in through a big window on one side of the room and a desk on the other side, there was breakfast waiting for him.
He slowly sat upright, closed his eyes again and just enjoyed the warmth of the sunrays on his face. As he was about to slip back into sleep's embrace, a thought crossed his mind. Where in God's name was he.
He opened his eyes again, shielding them from the sun with one hand.
Even on closer inspection, he could not find anything that could help him find out where he was.
Reluctantly, he swung his legs out of bed and stood up to look out the window.
From the looks of it, he was on the first floor of a villa. Outside the window was a well-maintained green park with a fountain in which a few birds he had never seen before were bathing.
Jack stood there to see if he could spot anyone and bask in the sun a little longer, but after a few minutes, he gave up and turned around to inspect the room once again.
It was a little strange, but he didn't feel unwell or in danger in this unknown house, there was a sense of peace and safety here, that he couldn't really describe.
When he walked over to the table with the food, he noticed a piece of paper on the desk. He picked it up and began to read.
"Hello, Jack
how nice of you to visit me. I sure flying around in space for months on end is a hard task, but next time please don't take it out on my poor security guard. I had to buy the man a new uniform and also give him a small bonus payment to stop him from complaining about you.
Anyway, feel free to visit me when you wake up, but do me a favour and take a shower first."
Jack put down the letter and glanced at his body and clothes. There were bits of an undefined mass, that had dried up on the front of his overall and after the letter had mentioned it, he became aware of his smell. He could feel the heat on his face and neck as he got red as a tomato. He was glad there was nobody there to witness his embarrassment.
Luckily there was a bathroom adjacent to the room he woke up in. When he entered there were fresh clothes placed on a stool and a set of white towels waiting for him.
The shower revitalized him more than he would have thought. Temperature and Water pressure were easily adjustable and made the whole process a bliss. The shower even had a built-in drying function, that worked like a whole-body blowdryer. It felt a little strange, but he had to admit it was very efficient.
When he stepped out of the shower, he took a moment, to admire his new body in the room high mirror, that was part of the bathroom wall.
His heigh was about the same as before, but his body was fitter and more defined than it ever was back on earth.
He was not overly muscular and far from being a bodybuilder, it looked more like he was an athlete like a runner or something. This was strange considering, his job was to sit in a chair and look out into the abyss.
His face had remained largely the same, if anything it had gotten slightly more handsome. His hair and bear were brownish blondes and trimmed short. It looked a bit strange to him, but he could appreciate that it was easy to handle and maintain.
With a shrug, he turned around and put on some clothes. The fabric was pleasant against the skin and Jack suspected that it cost considerably more than the uniform he usually wore.
When he left the bathroom, there was already a servant waiting for him, to guide him to the master of the mansion. Jack already guessed whose house he was in, so he just gestured to the man, to lead the way.
It took them a solid ten minutes to arrive at the homeowner's office.
The guide announced Jack's arrival at the door and a voice from the other side bade them in. The large double-winged door opened somewhat overdramatically and Jack entered.
The office on the inside reminded him of a baroque palace. There was an abundance of ornamentation and everything was done in gold and marble. In the middle of the room was a massive wooden table, big enough for several people to fit without issue. A Fat Man was sitting behind the desk. He had never seen the man before, but he knew the voice.
"Cornelius Carassus Vallian, it's good to see you."
The fat man chuckled, which made his whole body move in not so fortunate ways.
"Jack Halo, you seem to have gained back your voice after crashing in yesterday looking for a map, puking on one of my security guards and then refusing to speak at all."
Jack stood there, red as a beet, inwardly wishing for a hole in the ground to hide in. But no such thing was available, so he had to face the consequences of his drunken stupor. He bowed slightly to the man before he spoke again.
"I'm deeply sorry for my behaviour, truth be told I had not planned to visit you that evening, but my crew got into a fight with some of the locals and on my way to bail them out, I somehow ended up on your doorstep."
The man laughed heartily and the still bowing Jack could hear the fat man's hand hit the table a few times.
"Ahh, no worries my friend. The face of that guard was priceless, he had no clue how to deal with a voidfarer. You may not know this but down here it's all about prestige and your standing in society. You Voidfarers don't really fit into that system, because you make deals with everyone and just leave if something bothers you."
Instead of making him relax, Jack now felt even worse for the poor guard. He straightened his back and was about to say something but the fat man was faster.
"I can see the worry on your face. There is no need, as said in my letter, I got him a new uniform and some spending money as well."
Jack sight, but knew there was no point in arguing with the man. His planet his rules. Voidfarers mostly stayed out of politics and in return the governors, rulers and other important people did not try to force their beliefs and systems on the visitors.
"Did you bring the usual?"
The fat man's eyes shone with anticipation.
"Of cause, how could I forget your special order?"
In-game, the fat man was one of the easiest NPC to get a high reputation with. One only needed to bring him exotic foods from all corners of the galaxy and after some time he would offer the highly valuable and sought after Tier 4 Trade license.
"Very well, very well. I assume you also want to buy some of my products?"
Jack could not help but grin. Now they were in a situation he was deeply familiar with from his gaming experience. The rest of the talk would be a piece of cake.
After three days in the holding cell, Maya was about to doubt the trust her crewmates had in her father when there was suddenly a commotion in the hall leading to the cell block. Everyone got up and pressed their faces against the bar in an effort to see what was going on.
"How dare you keep the crew of my poor friend prisoner for so long?"
"Sir, I am very sorry, nobody told us."
The second voice belonged to the chief warden, that would come by daily and lecture them on the laws of society.
"I am not the slightest bit interested in your sorry excuses, I demand their immediate release."
"Yes Sir, of cause, Sir."
Moments later a shocked Warden appeared in the corridor, followed by a smug grinning Jack and a pompous looking fat man. The warden opened the cell door and gestured for them to walk out.
Maya was a little taken aback by the sudden change in behaviour from the warden, but the rest of the crew acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, so she decided to just follow them.
Jack turned to the fat man and offered him his hand.
"Thanks again, for resolving this misunderstanding for me."
The Fat man took his hand without hesitation and shook it.
"Ah think nothing of it, my friend. As a chosen leader of the local populus, it's my duty to mediate between Voidfarers like yourself and the sometimes slightly overeager law enforcement. Also, this is where we part ways I'm afraid, as I will have to stay behind, to deal with the paperwork of this incidence."
"That's too bad, but worry not I will bring you new delicacies when I visit next."
With that, Jack turned to leave and his crew followed swift. Maya shook her head and wondered how anyone could take a system serious, where such obvious abuse of power and bribing was allowed.
She didn't have too much time to spend on idle thought tho, because when they got to the ship there was another surprise waiting for them. Workers were loading crate after crate with trade goods into the cargo bay and an orderly line of twelve new recruits stand attention waiting for the captain to take them in.