The Neverfall

After the shower, Edward cut his long, messy hair and trimmed his stubble to make him appear clean and hygienic again. He normally did not take care of his appearance, but as he was planning on buying a spaceship today, he had to look presentable. Opening a small cupboard beneath the bed he took out some fresh clothes. A black shirt made from flexible but tear-resistant fibre, and grey trousers that work well against the environment. Alongside a special military belt that held his gun holster on the right, and his tactical knife on the left side. He wore black combat tactical boots made from a futuristic material that resisted external forces. They were his boots from the time when he was a soldier. At last, a grey jacket coat that hid his weapons and let him blend into crowds easily. His appearance was reminiscent of a certain replicate.

Traversing the dystopian living space once again, Edward reached the Elevator. He rode to floor 86, the last floor from the lower decks. He had to go to the middle decks, to use public transport to get to the dockyards of the mercenary enclave. At the elevator, that went to the middle decks, stood two guards. They wore white and blue colored uniforms that had the symbol of the enclave engraved at the area where the heart lies. It was an upside-down triangle with a circle inside of it and a smaller triangle inside of it. Both guards had plasma rifles that were colored white, to appear less dangerous.

They demanded an entrance fee of 2 and a half Credits to enter the middle decks. Edward paid with his Credit card, which was left in his apartment when he was on the mission. He did not fear, that it might have been stolen, as the card only works in his hand, due to the DNA protection. The card was of a simple design. Golden and with the Credits symbol atop, while Edwards' fingerprint and name were on the back.

The elevator was much cleaner and more stable looking than those from the lower decks. The middle decks were painted white and had subtle overhead lighting. While the hallways were kept much cleaner and lacked beggars. Sometimes, singular cleaning robots could be seen.

Edward garnered little attention, even though his looks were out of place. That was because, it was the mercenary enclave, no matter how much the inhabitants acted as if it was a normal habitat. He saw many mercenaries in inconspicuous garments but with their weapons displayed. They lived in the middle decks and acted rich, but their income would be shortened in not too long. Edward and many other mercenaries were aware of it, that's why many lived on the lower decks, to save on cash. The reason for it, was the demand for mercenaries sinking drastically the closer the Xenary were to defeat. Less fighting chances lead to less income. So while the mercenaries live comfortably now, they would soon have to spend less, to be able to keep their lifestyle.

Thou it may not be like this for everyone, as many mercenaries had gathered enough wealth to not have to work any longer. And once the war with the Xenary ended, many mercenaries would sell their vessels.

Either way, Edward wasn't planning on staying in the mercenary enclave once the war ended. Thus he needed a ship, that wasn't suitable only for military purposes, but could also work as an explorer vessel or for guarding jobs.

He used the metro that went around the floor and even further into the working spaces and the dockyard of the enclave. It was similar to earth metros, just faster and more efficient.

Not long after, Edward arrived at the dockyard. It was a large hexagonal station that housed many spaceships in specialized hangars, while larger ships were docked at special welding stations. The dockyard was mostly used for tending to the ships of the mercenaries, as well as keeping ownerless ships intact. Thus if someone wanted to buy a well-functioning ship, they had to visit the dockyard.

But the dockyard had one major disadvantage, as it wasn't constructing ships. In the Galaxy, the term of the dockyard was split into two.

Dockyard and Shipyard.

Both terms could mean the same, but in the galaxy, the term dockyard was used for a place where ships dock to be repaired or upgraded, while shipyard describes the place where ships were constructed. But one can repair and upgrade his ships at a shipyard as well.

So Edward couldn't commission a ship but instead had to buy one that was most likely already used and sold. This also means, that there will be fewer ships that fit the demands of Edward, if there will be any at all. In that case, he would have to either settle at the best available or go to a shipyard of the Republic. 

At the information center, Edward asked the clerk for directions. As he arrived at the part of the dockyard, where gunboats were tended to, a worker stopped him, to ask for his purpose. Edward waved him off and instead looked around by himself. The gunboats varied in size and shape, some were long but thin, while others were rather bulky. The armaments also varied, but most followed an aggressive design, with turrets and missile launchers. Having all the blind spots covered and deploying an armored hull. 

Yet, they weren't interesting for Edward, as they would be great on the battlefield, but outside rather less. The fuel consumption was too high, the interior spaces too small, and they weren't suited for planetary environments. Edward at least deducted that, from how much he saw. He did, after all, spend three years in a military academy, where he had to study ship design.

Moving further he saw some intact ships standing in empty spaces. These were the ownerless ships, that were being sold. They varied in size but were of one color, a metallic grey. If he so desires, someone would have to paint them on his own.

One of the ships garnered Edward his attention. The reason behind it was the rarely seen design. It was an avian design that gave the ship bird-like features. Avian races mostly designed their spaceship in this way, the nearest avian race, however, was on the other side of the galaxy. Thus, barely any ships of their design were found in the Republic.

"The Neverfall. The designer was inspired by the avians and copied their design. It was built in the Carameth System, seven years ago. The owner was an explorer who lacked funds and became a mercenary. He was however inexperienced and killed off on a ground mission. Leaving that beauty behind." The worker who tailed Edward explained.

"As you can see, the ship seems to lack weapons, having them inbuilt, so it has low firepower and only a few mercenaries desire it. Besides, it has a great interior and many systems necessary for exploration, thus the cost is quite high. Many see it as a waste of Credits to buy it, only to expand more for changes and weapon systems."

"But what does the ship contain? How many weapons, how much interior space, how much cargo room?" Edward turned to look at the worker. 

The Neverfall was about 16 meters long and 28 meters wide. From the top down it was reminiscent of a swift bird. With the biggest difference being the direct connection between the wings and the head.

It was about 4 meters tall and without any protrusions. But one could see slim lines in the hull, that indicate movable parts. Most likely hiding weapon systems or small thrusters. The aerodynamic design was efficient in atmospheres but trivial in space. So the hidden weapons systems were unnecessary and possibly disadvantaged in actual space combat.

As having to bring them out would take time and energy. And while it wasn't much, any little can decide over life and death. The advantage of a hidden system lies mostly in them being hidden. They could surprise enemies or were hidden when being inspected.

"If you are interested, then I can bring the overseer to show it to you." The worker said to Edward, as he wasn't sure about the details of the ship. To which Edward answered positively.

The overseer came shortly after, wearing a black suit with the enclave symbol engraved. He greeted Edward with a smile, before cutting to the point, being all businesslike. "The Neverfall, built 11473 AP in Carameth System. It was the exploring vessel of Xee-Dignal, who decided to work as a mercenary and succumbed not long after. The interior space consists of seven rooms alongside a cockpit. The weapon systems include a twin-barrel turret on top, two autocannons at the front, two missile launchers hidden in the wings, and five bomb dispensers beneath. The ship has artificial gravity and enough oxygen for a year. Fuel storage and consumption are enough for the ship to last three months at full speed. As you can see, it has great survivability, but long treks are arduous without a comfortable living space."

The overseer led Edward to the back of the ship, where he could see the four large thrusters that propelled the ship. At the stern of the ship was an elongation that was reminiscent of a bird's tail. The major fuel container was inside, with two smaller backups deeper in the ship.

With the click of a button, a boarding ramp descended from the tail-like structure. Steam bursts out to regulate the pressure. Edward stood at the foot of the ramp, looking into the dark interior of the spaceship. On the right side, he saw the button panel for control of the entrance and lighting.

Without waiting for the overseer, Edward entered the starship and turned on the lights. Light from side panels filled the interior space. The main room of the starship was adorned with a sitting area, that included a table, a cooking area, and a holo table at the front. The sitting and cooking areas were at the sides to leave ample space, while the holo table was at the front, right before the blast doors that led into the cockpit.

Two doors were at the side, before the holo table and the other areas. Behind both were small hallways, which led to one room on each side, with another door on the far end.

"The rooms closer to the entrance are the crew quarters. There are two beds alongside a sizable wardrobe for the crew members. On the left hallway, there is the bathroom, while the right holds the captain's quarter. There is enough space for four crew members and the captain, so five people in total." The overseer explained to Edward while showing him the rooms.

"What's behind the doors at the end of the hallways?" Edward asked the man.

"Those would be the cargo rooms, that also hold the life support systems and minor fuel tanks each." The overseer showed Edward one of the rooms. It was decent enough for a storage room, having enough space for whatever a crew of an exploration vessel might need.

At last, Edward visited the cockpit of the ship. It had strong glass windows at the front, with enough range of visibility to operate the ship without problems. There were five seats in total inside the cockpit. The pilot seats at the front, larger and more comfortable than the other seats. The gunner seat right behind the pilot seat, it faced the wall, where the turret controls were, but could be rotated. The two last seats were the crew members' seats. They were behind the seat of the co-pilot, on the right side of the cockpit.

The Neverfall may not be the strongest, fastest, or most durable ship, but it covered the needs of Edward nearly perfectly. With some small adjustments, the ship would be more than Edward had originally wished for, thus without further ado, Edward asked the overseer for the price. 

"Without ammunition, cargo, and fuel, it would be...let me look up the price real quick. Ah yes, it would be exactly 265.000 Credits. However, due to it not being a very desirable ship, we can cut down the price by 5.000 Credits, but no more." The overseer smiled and showed the price to Edward.

Edward was a bit stunned by the price. Normally gunboats had a price range from 150.000 to 250.000 Credits, which as a reminder, were about 2.5 million dollars. So having the Neverfall priced at 260.000 Credits was a bit more than Edward would expect. He wasn't even sure. If he had so much money.

225.000 Credits from his last mission in Sograda, 5.000 Credits from Ragus for the Xenary Fighter and he should have about 30.000 Credits from before on his account. So theoretically speaking, Edward should have enough to buy the Neverfall, but as stated, he would need to make small adjustments and buy ammunition, cargo, and fuel. And maybe two crew members, one co-pilot and a gunner.

This would put him on a minus, so his only option would be to borrow money. As a mercenary who did not officially live inside the Republic, he could not ask the bank for a loan. Besides, mercenaries weren't known for repayments. Thus he would have to ask one of the numerous gangs that live in the enclave, which was more often than not a bad idea.