Chapter 43: Of Course We Would
"Why don’t you talk to me like I am someone completely new to the universe and have no idea what you are trying to say," I said with a roll of my eyes. I knew that I was going to have to study all the different alien species out in the universe, but that was lower down on my list of priorities than I might like to admit.
"Remember how I said that I had experienced a blast that spun me around in a circle?" started Jun Li.
I took in a deep breath and prayed for patience.
"Yes," I said, just now realizing how strong that blast would have had to have been in order to move a giant thing like Jun Li.
"That blast came from planet W59271, also known as Thuzirus. It has been classified as an outlaw planet due to the fact that the government does not enforce, or even have, any laws or legal system. Everything and everyone are up for grabs. Not even the Alliance is willing to send people there to enforce a new system of governance."
"Okay, Thuzirus is bad," I said with a nod. "But we will still have to go."
"Yes," agreed Jun Li. "If we are going to become arms dealers, then it is required that we become a frequent visitor to the planet. Please make sure to brush up on your Thuziruanian as it is the only official language of business for the entire planet. You will also want to become acquainted with the locals."
"Alright," I said adding that to the list of things to do on my tablet. It was becoming an extremely long list.
"All that aside, that is not the bad news that I was necessarily talking about," added Jun Li, turning back to his console and refusing to look at me.
"What’s the bad news?" I asked as I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"The bad news is that I ... well, the Sisalik that were piloting me at the time... was caught transferring goods and weapons into my hold without first paying for them," he started.
"Wait... you stole from an outlaw planet?" I asked incredulously. I might only have a basic understanding of what an outlaw planet is, but even I am aware that it was an incredibly stupid idea to steal from one.
"Not me," Jun Li stressed, "Captain Zonax stole from the planet in my ship."
"So... as far as they are concerned?" I asked raising an eyebrow.
"As far as they are concerned, I stole a bunch of weapons, armor, and supplies from them," admitted Jun Li finally. "And there may or may not be a warrant out for me."
"I thought you said that there were no laws on the planet," I said, not understanding how there could be a warrant out for him if there were no laws to be able to issue that warrant.
"A warrant from Thuzirus simply means that they can shoot first and then ask questions," finished Jun Li. "Which means that we would need to steal... I mean, get, another ship in order to be able to get close enough to the planet to be able to supply our customers with the weapons they desire."
Of course, we would.
Why did no one warn me that trying to start my own criminal empire was not going to be as easy as I thought it would be? I mean, seriously. We have a whole bunch of weapons that we don’t need so it made sense to sell them for a profit.
But could it be that easy?
Of course not!
No. In order to do something illegal like sell weapons in shady places to people that I don’t even know their name, I have to first try to steal a ship.
Why, do you ask?
Because my ship got caught the last time it went to this planet as was considered to be a persona non grata.
"Any idea on how to steal a ship?" I asked with a sigh, my mind still trying to wrap itself around how complicated it was to get into illegal activities. And here was me thinking that it would be easy!
"Yes," said Jun Li spinning around quickly to look at me with a giant smile on his face. Just by that alone, I already knew that I was not going to like the plan.
Spinning back around, he typed something and all of a sudden, a picture of a ship appeared on the main bridge screen. "I’ve wanted this ship for a while," admitted Jun Li as he spun back around. I guess I was not the only one to spin around in happiness. I just didn’t understand why he was so happy.
I stood up and walked towards the giant screen in front of me and studied the ship. It was silver with sleek lines and what appeared to be four engines in total. Two engines on both the right and the left and one was on top of the other, almost creating what looked to be an X.
"What am I looking at?" I asked with a sigh. I mean, I didn’t know anything about spaceships, but even I could admit that this looked cool.
"This is a Sisalik X94 fighter craft," said Jun Li with a smile. "It is one of the top fighter crafts within the Sisalik fleet going at speeds 5 times faster than me and capable of withstanding multiple rounds of fire. Not to mention it is small enough to be able to fit easily in my launch bay."
"I see you have thought this through," I muttered under my breath as I continued to look at the ship. I mean, it would make sense to have a secondary ship that we could easily hide. That way, if any of my clients wanted to track me down, they wouldn’t be looking for Jun Li, but rather this ship.
"Okay," I said, my decision made. "Where do we find it?"
