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[b][u]Friedrich Lochland
Ragnorak Station Approach Vector[/u][/b]

MSV [i]Friedrich Lochland[/i] inched its way towards one of the stations docking bays, now on the final phase of its approach. It was generally considered good policy to maneuver on thrusters only this close to a station, lest a stray misfiring of a main drive melt a hole somewhere where holes should not be melted.

MSV was perhaps a misleading prefix for the Friedrich Lochland. It was indeed registered with the Commonwealth Ministry of Commerce as a “Merchant Space Vessel”, but it was considerably faster and better armed than most ships of the same designation. Friedrich Lochland was in fact a decommissioned Unyielding class heavy cruiser, purchased and refurbished from the scrapyards above Bravia. Formerly named RCNS Impatient, the vessel’s original hull was over a hundred years old, and it had been mothballed for 50 before being refurbished and renamed. The Unyielding class predated Commonwealth Gamma lasers, so its turrets were less potent Xray lasers. Combined with the removal of its axial weapons, it was cleared for civilian ownership and operations, but it was still very much a warship. Just a very, very old one.

The expense of purchasing and maintaining such a vessel exceeded the costs of a more traditional freighter, but the Friedrich Lochland’s captain had come to possess it under some interesting circumstances. The captain himself was an interesting man, engaged in all sorts of interesting business. His name...was also Friedrich Lochland. Lochland was a bit of everything; innocent cargo hauler when it suited him, smuggler and gun for hire most of the time. He occasionally took passengers as well; there wasn’t much of a market for high security high discretion personal transport, but those few who needed the service tended to pay well.

Lochland prowled around the bridge, deep within his ship’s armoured bulk. He was a male Vit’azny, a touch over 70. He was a little on the tall side and a little on the thin side. His frame was lithe, but well muscled, and he twisted a stylus between his fingers with tremendous dexterity. Shutting down the IDC always left him feeling vulnerable and therefore fidgety. “Status?” he called out.
“We’re about 500 meters out, Captain. Shutting down thrusters and letting station tractors take over,” Vana replied with a touch of exasperation. Vana Sadi was a Yanissan woman who served as Lochland’s pilot and first officer. On most ships, the two roles were filled by separate people, but Lochland insisted that he was the only one allowed to walk around the bridge looking ‘captain-y’.
“Well I’m sorry that my concern is bothering you Vana,” Lochland replied sarcastically. “We’re just a little exposed here, and starships are very expensive. I think about these things Vana, that’s why I’m Captain and you’re...well, definitely not Captain.”

Lochland’s sarcasm blew over his XO like so much hot air, the woman having long since gotten used to his eccentricities. Something on the display gave her pause though. Vana frowned. “Freddy, can you confirm? It looks like there’s an outbound craft on main drives”

A holographic depiction of the ship’s AI construct flickered into existence beside the Yanissan woman. It closely resembled Lochland, except it was a touch more handsome and gallant looking. “I see it too,” Freddy confirmed. “It’s coming right this way. Idiot can’t drive a boat.”
“Indeed. Hold tight for a moment everyone.” Vana reengaged thrusters in an instant and pushed the [i]Friedrich Lochland[/i] just in time to clear it of the small yacht’s reckless flight.

Lochland swore. “Freddy, open a channel, blast them with whatever loud shrill noises you think might be most annoying.”

Horns, of course, didn’t work in space, but filling the radiowaves with obnoxious noises could be just as satisfying. Without any further delay, the [i]Friedrich Lochland[/i] resumed docking.

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Despite earning the nickname “Coalition of Reasonable People”, the Coalition remained a prime market for Yanissan narcotics. It was a cargo hold full of such narcotics that brought Lochland and his crew to Ragnorak station. Well, technically his hold was full of industrial chemicals, but they were laced with all kinds of drugs that could be extracted and made ready for consumer use quite easily. It was a fairly standard smuggling trick, and it certainly wouldn’t have worked if he was going to say, Praetoria, but customs on Ragnorak station were considerably less existent.

Lochland and Vana were just finishing up business with their local buyer, a member of the Syndicate of course, when he was interrupted by a call. The two of them made a show of not eavesdropping while they desperately tried to eavesdrop; Lochland did it because it was a bad habit, while Vana was more concerned their deal was about to go south. Fortunately the call didn’t seem to be about their current deal, though Vana had noticed their contact giving them meaningful glances.

Their contact, named Slarty, sidled over and spoke up. “Lochland, you’ve got a pretty fast ship, good crew, and some nice firepower. You’re a great smuggler-”
“That’s, ‘honest merchant Captain’, Slarty” Lochland interjected.
“Right. Anyways, how do you feel about bounty hunting? There’s some particular people the Syndicate wants brought back here, and they’re willing to pay nicely.”
“It’s not my usual gig, but for an old friend I can look into it.”

Slarty scribbled a number on a data pad and slid it towards Lochland, whose eyes visibly bulged. “Yes, yes I can [i]certainly[/i] look into it.”
“Excellent. We have every reason to believe the targets have left Coalition space, which incidentally is why we need you. We’ve confirmed they’re aboard this yacht, the [i]Father’s Delight[/i]” Slarty called up the yacht in question on the pad.

Lochland laughed. “Oh perfect. That’s the ship that almost ran into us on the way in here. I do love it when the gods have a sense of irony.”

It didn’t take them long to work out the details. Time was of the essence, and before they knew it, Lochland and Vana were back aboard the [i]Friedrich Lochland[/i] and preparing the ship for departure.

“Freddy,” Lochland called out, “did you get a good read on the emissions from that yacht that almost hit us earlier?”
“Course I did, it nearly flew up my nose didn’t it?”
Lochland grinned. “Well, set a pursuit course. We’re going bounty hunting.”