"This is worth thirty at MOST." Faustus argued. Faustus, covered in oil and grease and wearing coveralls, was not pleased. They stood in a crowded market place holding what seemed to be a piece of machinery. They held it up to the vender, a slightly nonhuman fellow who refused to sell something at regular retail price. Faustus' face held disdain for the man and they would probably give the greedy b*****d what he deserved. The market place was too crowded for that.
"Well that piece is brand new. I got it today. And it is quite a rare find on Virtue since that model of ship has been out of production for at least ten years." The vender man was obviously lying through his teeth. Many of the merchants seemed to have ganged up of Faustus, learning of their predicament when collaborating notes on who bought what. The merchants figured they could get more money out of a person desperate to repair a ship as old as Mephastophilis.
"You just sold one to that man over there! For only ten no less!" Faustus yelled at the vender.
"His was used." the vender replied.
"This one is used!" Faustus was at the end of their patience. How can a collective of bullshit small time venders bully them in such a way?
"I think not. If you wanted a used one you should have gotten the one that man had taken." The vender crossed his arms, "Now if you want that part it will be 70. No more, no less."
Faustus was ready to scream. The ship was so close to being done. Mephastophilis only needed a few other parts, which were in Faustus' bag, and this one part. This part was the most important one of the bunch (a hydro-deca fuel pump: needed to get the fuel into the engine so the ship could fly). The old pump was toast. It had been completely destroyed in the landing. This part was the one reason Faustus hadn't left yet. Like the vender did claim, this part was indeed a rare find on Virtue. It was a rare find anywhere but a junk yard. Mephastophilis was a QRRW3-668, a model of ship not found anywhere but in the hands of the rich who restore and the smugglers who smuggle. The QRRW3-668 had been the prime transporter ship ten years ago before the 887YR-O77 came about (887YR-O77 is much like histories Titanic, with no flaws from its prehistoric predecessor. Thousands of rooms, each comfortable to each class as the third class rooms are like the first class rooms from the old Titanic. The 887YR-O77 could carry much more people then the QRRW3-668. Thus out went the old and in came the new).
Faustus was frustrated. They did not know when they would see this part again, and it as the most important part their ship needed. They could attempt to make one out of the scraps of the old parts of the ship, but it was highly unlikely they would be able to find this part again. Deciding something that would probably make them unable to shop from the venders from this point on, Faustus reached into their bag and pulled out a envelope, thick with some currency. Roughly handing it to the vender, Faustus turned and walked away.
Looking into the envelope, quite proud that he had cheated a desperate customer, the vender saw nothing but a good sized handful of paper the same colour as currency. In anger, the vender called out for the guards. As Faustus heard the man's yells for the authority, they ran quickly to their ship. With a few hours of tinkering, Faustus would be able to get off the planet and get back into business.
"Well that piece is brand new. I got it today. And it is quite a rare find on Virtue since that model of ship has been out of production for at least ten years." The vender man was obviously lying through his teeth. Many of the merchants seemed to have ganged up of Faustus, learning of their predicament when collaborating notes on who bought what. The merchants figured they could get more money out of a person desperate to repair a ship as old as Mephastophilis.
"You just sold one to that man over there! For only ten no less!" Faustus yelled at the vender.
"His was used." the vender replied.
"This one is used!" Faustus was at the end of their patience. How can a collective of bullshit small time venders bully them in such a way?
"I think not. If you wanted a used one you should have gotten the one that man had taken." The vender crossed his arms, "Now if you want that part it will be 70. No more, no less."
Faustus was ready to scream. The ship was so close to being done. Mephastophilis only needed a few other parts, which were in Faustus' bag, and this one part. This part was the most important one of the bunch (a hydro-deca fuel pump: needed to get the fuel into the engine so the ship could fly). The old pump was toast. It had been completely destroyed in the landing. This part was the one reason Faustus hadn't left yet. Like the vender did claim, this part was indeed a rare find on Virtue. It was a rare find anywhere but a junk yard. Mephastophilis was a QRRW3-668, a model of ship not found anywhere but in the hands of the rich who restore and the smugglers who smuggle. The QRRW3-668 had been the prime transporter ship ten years ago before the 887YR-O77 came about (887YR-O77 is much like histories Titanic, with no flaws from its prehistoric predecessor. Thousands of rooms, each comfortable to each class as the third class rooms are like the first class rooms from the old Titanic. The 887YR-O77 could carry much more people then the QRRW3-668. Thus out went the old and in came the new).
Faustus was frustrated. They did not know when they would see this part again, and it as the most important part their ship needed. They could attempt to make one out of the scraps of the old parts of the ship, but it was highly unlikely they would be able to find this part again. Deciding something that would probably make them unable to shop from the venders from this point on, Faustus reached into their bag and pulled out a envelope, thick with some currency. Roughly handing it to the vender, Faustus turned and walked away.
Looking into the envelope, quite proud that he had cheated a desperate customer, the vender saw nothing but a good sized handful of paper the same colour as currency. In anger, the vender called out for the guards. As Faustus heard the man's yells for the authority, they ran quickly to their ship. With a few hours of tinkering, Faustus would be able to get off the planet and get back into business.
