Merchant
You can feel the mechanical rumbling of the hydraulics on the boarding ramp as it descends. You glance at the monitor, which reveals two people slowly making their way up the ramp. Your ship’s engineer had disembarked from your vessel a couple of hours ago to go get a raktajino and some relaxation, ‘R&R’ as he was calling it. He’s come back to the ship, but he isn’t alone. The other person with him is swaying slightly with the all too familiar gait of one who is inebriated.
You open a comm channel to find out what’s going on.
“Hey Chief, any luck finding a decent raktajino?” you inquire, your voice crackling through the ship’s intercom.
“Aye Captain, apparently they serve them in the bar down in the casino. While I was there though, I ran into someone you might know.”
Recognition dawns on you as you squint at the monitor. You recognize the drunken individual from his bald pate. He’s the merchant that runs Gadgets N’ Outfits.
Continuing, your engineer explains, “He’d been there for quite a while, and, well, he believes that I may have tipped him off on his last hand of cards while I was walking past the card table. Afterwards, I might also have bought him a couple more drinks. He started raving about all these simple enhancements spacers could make to their ships but never bother to.”
“It’s ridiculous,” the merchant slurs, his speech thick with the effects of alcohol. “Spacers just don’t have a clue how to use their stuff e-fish…e-fish-ent…efficiently.” It takes him three tries to complete that last word, which detracts somewhat from his bluster.
“So Captain, when I was telling our local merchant about our ship he had all kinds of ideas on how to improve it, but I don’t think we should push our luck too much on his generosity.” The engineer leans in closer to the comms, his voice dropping to a near whisper, “Also, I doubt he’ll stay upright long enough to help us with more than one of his brilliant suggestions.”
You quietly ask your engineer, “Do you really think this is a good idea?”
Continuing to whisper, your engineer responds, “He might be a conceited drunk, but he’s also a genius. I’ll check his work to make sure that we don’t end up regretting his assistance.”
Understanding the situation, but also wanting to know your options, you raise your voice, ensuring the merchant can hear you clearly. “What kind of improvements are we discussing here?”
With a slightly exaggerated gesture, the merchant squints at the ship and begins to list his offer. “Well, I could improve your FTL drive. I could get you a little more storage space on this tin can. I could even reinforce your hull for the next time you find yourself in a scrum.”
Your engineer asks, “So Captain, what do you think?”
If you choose to not accept any help at all and send the merchant home to sleep it off, the story ends here and you may continue your turn.
If you want to improve your engines, listen to/read Story 97.
If you want to gain some extra storage, listen to/read Story 98.
If you want to improve your ship’s hull, listen to/read Story 99.