[RW] Pegasus Trading Company - Rimworld 1.7

[MonochromeClown]

"It's been a few weeks sir, are you sure they're still out there?"

"I'm not giving up hope Eddie..."

"Sir as much as I would love to see.. give anything to see Richie again I just don't know if-"

Ringing interrupted Eddie, the coms console was ringing. The sound of an incoming call, I looked at Eddie almost dumbfounded and he looked just as surprised as me. I quickly answered the call.

"This is Stardust Base, Captain Petre speaking."

"Petre... Petre it's- gh... It's Ragnar."

"Ragnar! You're alive, where are you!?"

They sounded injured, Eddie grasped the coms console, leaning in close to listen. I quickly started punching in commands to track the source of the signal.

"Captain, I'm... I'm not sure, I escaped... ugh"

"Hold on Ragnar, we're on the way, keep the signal open."

"Can't... Don't know if they're... tracking."

"Wait Ragnar!" Eddie cried.

The line went dead, for a moment both me and Eddie stared in horror... but the com's console pinged, showing a location on the map, the signal had been located. We both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sir we have to-"

"Get Victoria, get in the shuttle and find them."

"Right away!"



EDDIE'S POV

"Eddie, they're going to be okay." Victoria reassured me, placing her hand on my shoulder as she piloted the shuttle.

"I know... I hope so." I managed.

As a hussar, this kind of empathy was supposed to be suppressed behind walls and wall of genetic aggression and apathy for death. I've always been different, wrong... At least that's what my drill sergeant always told me. Here I am, tears in my eyes at the thought of Ragnar dying alone, I shake my head to force them back. I have to be strong for that kid, their parents likely didn't make it... an adult has to be composed, ready. I'm a hussar, this is my nature.

The shuttle landed with a thud, I saw Ragnar lying there in the dirt and immediately ran out.

"Eddie wait!" Victoria cried.

As I turned the corner of the shuttle I was face to face with a militor's shotgun. It fired, barely missing me. I brought out my pistol to shoot it but it crumpled to the ground with a hole in it's shoulder. Victoria shot an annoyed look at me, I cringed and thanked her under my breath before returning to Ragnar

"Ragnar, buddy... are you with us?"

"Eddie... Yeah..."

Without a second word I grabbed the kid, shoving them as gently as possible into the shuttle while rushing. Victoria hopped in the back with them, beginning to patch their wounds. As the shuttle took off I shot a look back.

"Ragnar is..."

"Focus on flying, Eddie!" Victoria shouted.

"Right, right, sorry!"

The flight back was short, thankfully. Ragnar was brought into the hut and laid down. Victoria passed him to me and I begun tending what she couldn't with the medicine we'd scavenged from the ship.

"Ragnar, you still with us?"

"Mhm.. yeah, it's okay Eddie it's just-"

"Someone's beaten you pretty badly."

"Y-Yeah... but I got away."

"Who did this to you?"

"Ugh.... pirates I think, didn't really... catch their names."

The captain entered the room, wide eyed staring at the kid. I applied the last of the tends to Ragnar, sitting back and letting the Captain approach.

"Ragnar you're alright?" He said.

"Was just telling Eddie I'm fine... just bruised."

"And the others?"

"They weren't with me, I'm sorry..." Ragnar looked at me.

I understood what he was saying, he wanted me to be with Richie as much as I did. I tried not to think about what could have happened to him, what could be happening to him... I tired to just be relieved that Ragnar was safe.

"Thank you Eddie." Ragnar smiled.

"And me?" Victoria glared at the kid, though she didn't mean it.

"Yeah yeah... and you, of course." They shook their head.

"You're welcome kid." I patted their head, my heart beat fast in my chest.

The others were out there, I knew it, the captian knew it... We just had to keep looking.



PETRE'S POV

Staring at the golden communicator I decided it would be time to make those new friends of ours, pressing a single button the communication device connected instantly to another. Music could be heard from the other side of the call, grandiose and loud. It reminded me of the noble lady.

"Good day sir! Am I to believe you are Captain Petre?" The man on the other side spoke, with a strange accent.

"Uh yes, I am."

"Good good! Finally calling to receive your title?"

"That I am."

"Are there currently any visitors in your settlement we should know about?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Yes yes you know, those filthy outlanders or heaven forbid those tribal primitives."

"Uh..." I felt stunned by the casual bigory. "No I don't... think so."

"Good! and you have a throne room?"

"No? Is that... necessary?"

"Hm, no not yet but sir you really should think about building one, it's not right for a noble to be without a throne!"

"I shall look into that then, thanks."

"Very well, you are cleared for a bestower to visit, I will send Madame Fabia right away!"

"Madame who-"

The line went dead, I stared dumbfounded for a moment and pocketed the thing. I stood outside, near the ongoing construction of our kitchen. It was only a few moments later that a shuttle thudded onto our makeshift shuttle bay. A group of soliders spilling out, I startled, ready to face certain death when a lady dressed in all red wearing a veil exited. In her hands a staff of some kind.

"Are you Madame uh..."

"Fabia! Madame Fabia, hurry and gather your people, I do not want to be here long."

"S-Sure... Where do you want to..."

"The beach will do, hurry hurry!"

The ceremony was completed in less then an hour, Madame Fabia was clearly uninterested in this performance, and neither were any of the soldiers... my crew didn't look impressed, except Eddie who was immensely curious.

"Oh yes, lean forward young man." Madame Fabia ordered.

"Alright?" I did so.

Before I could even ask why she shoved a device over my eyes, with a click I felt hundreds of microfiber wires rush through my eye sockets and into my brain, the process was painless but I could feel all of it and it was over so quickly by the time I flinched I could already feel the new connection in my brain.

"Wh-What was that!?" I yelped.

"A psylink, are you daft boy?"

"A... Psylink, wait... are you-"

"Enjoy your new title, goodbye."

"Wait!"

But she was gone, I'd never seen an old woman move so fast. I was left speechless on the sand, my crew all looking at each other and then me. The old woman had done something irreversible to me... and I had no idea what it was.



With the bestowing behind me and the feeling that something in me had been deeply changed forever I continued on, I don't understand what has happened to me but I have been too focused to talk about it, the kitchen must be built. I could use the communicator to ask questions but... I don't want to deal with those strange people right now. Banz keeps looking at me funny... But I don't ask him why, I just work.

A day later more people come to our settlement, Eddie drags in a large fox lady who fell from space, she can talk but she can't move. Paralytic abasia she said, I understood right away. Thankfully the disease isn't fatal but the healing process is disgustingly long and painful, she'll be unable to move except to speak and move her eyes for a month, less if she gets lucky... We'll take care of her in the process.

Then not to long afterwards a young woman approached, naked as the day she was born but she didn't seem bothered by this fact. Her belly was round, she was visibly pregnant. She claims to have come from a covern of her kind, bloodfeeders who were hunted down, she wants to lie low with us... It's risky to bring troubles to our doorstep but I am not turning down a heavily pregnant naked woman in the middle of nowhere.

Later that day Banz approached me, standing a distance away so he didn't have to crane his neck to look up.

"Captain er, Petre... You know the Empire, they're uh... They're not the easiest people to get along with." He says, doubt on his face.

"The... Empire?" I asked.

"Yeah, the Sophiamundan empire? The one that got torn apart hundreds of years ago?"

Realisation dawned on me, the empire from Sophiamundan had shattered, it was modern enough to be relevant history but long enough ago to be considered past. Though the Empire had pulled itself back together within the glitterworlds, there were parts of it that had broken off, fled into the Rim to escape the calamity. The noblelady, the bestower, they must have been part of that broken off part of the empire, whatever version of it that was left on this planet.

 "You mean, those people were Imperials?" I say.

"Yeah, pirates are bad but... the Empire it's-"

"I saw those soldiers..."

"Do you know what the bestower did to you?" He asks, a glint of worry in his eyes.

"N-Not really... I know the empire has, strange and... overwhelming technologies."

"Right... Well, you surely felt it right? What it did to you?"

"The... Connection?"

"Do you know what you are connected to?"

"It's... It's been too overwhelming to fathom."

Banz sighed, sticking his hands in his pockets. As he spoke my eyes grew wider and wider, the connection in my brain buzzed loudly, pieces were clicking into place.

"Petre your psylink, it doesn't just give you magic powers from nothing... You're connected to an archotech through your mind, you can borrow the archotech's power to... essentially make miracles happen, rain fire down, freeze people, send them beserk, even resurrect them..."

"I... I can do all that?"

"I mean not yet, you have to hone it, and it's up to you what powers you focus on obtaining but... that's the gist of it."

"I don't know how to feel about all this."

"From what I hear meditation helps. Nobles use their thrones but you don't really need one to do it."

"Huh."



After my talk with Banz I couldn't get my mind off my psylink, it started to affect my work, I would drift off mentally trying to come to understand my new brain, my connection to this distant archotech. Meditation felt impossible when all I could do was ruminate, these supposed abilities I could access... What would I do with them?

My rumination was interrupted by a voice calling out to me, I turned to see a new figure standing in our camp. An impid lady, she smirked.

"You look like the man in charge, are you the man in charge big boy?" She spoke with a sultry tone.

"Uh, yes ma'am. I am the boss."

"Good, I heard you had a shuttle, I'm a sailor at heart but I also know how to fly a ship... You need someone to fly a ship?"

"Not exactly. Most of us know how to-"

"Alright, how about some muscle, I know I don't look it but I pack a real punch."

"We got that covered pretty much too."

"Damn."

"Ma'am why did you come to our settlement?"

She clicked her tongue, shifting from side to side where she stood. She looked around, then back at me.

"If I'm being honest... I just got sick of my old life, I heard there were new folks around... Thought I could find some fresh faces to uh. Get to know, yknow?"

"I'm not sure I follow?"

"I ditched my husband to come here, I'm looking for love sweetheart."

"You ditched your husband."

"Yes I did."

"To come join... us?"

"Mhm, Yessir."

"Ma'am I don't think we're ready for couples just yet we barely got room for-"

"I'll sleep on the floor if I have to! I can work, I mean... I'm not stupid, I can't do much but I can fight, I can clean- Don't make me go back to my husband."

Noticing desperation in her tone, I relented. I wasn't going to pry further, whatever she left behind had made her come walking out into the woods to get away.

"Alright, welcome to Stardust Base miss..."

"Brandi Gillispie."

"Welcome, Brandi, I'm Petre."

"I'm looking forward to getting to know you Petre."

She winks at me and walks off, a buzzing in my brain makes me feel woozy. I make a mental note to expand, we need more beds if more and more folks were going to show up for whatever random reason.



Not long after Brandi arrived a group of pirates followed her, I pulled everyone inside as Veronica and Eddie went out to meet them in the fields. After a volley of gunshots it went quiet, Veronica appeared in the doorway not long after.

"Sir, we dispatched the pirates."

"And they're...?"

"Dead sir, there were two of them, we sustained no serious injuries."

"Right... We should... Bury them then."

"Sir I suspect they followed Brandi to our settlement."

"What!?" Brandi cried.

"Veronica, are you sure?"

"Heard them talking about an Impid lady as we approached." Veronica nodded.

I turned to Brandi, she was backing away and shaking her head, terrified.

"Brandi, could they have followed you?" I asked, trying to sound neutral but it didn't help.

"I swear I wouldn't have led them here on purpose!"

"You were tailed, you weren't careful." Veronica glared at the woman.

"I had no idea how could I have!?" Brandi shrieked.

"Both of you calm down." I spoke up, trying to keep my voice steady. "Veronica do you think more are coming?"

"Hard to say sir... No idea if they were working alone or with a gang."

"And Brandi, you don't know them?"

"No! I come from an outlander settlement we- we don't deal with pirates!"

"It's alright... You're not in trouble."

"You're not going to kick me out?"

I shook my head. "Of course not, we're just going to have to keep an eye out for potential follow up raids."

"Yes sir..." Veronica's voice was low. "I'll ask Eddie to take the corpses out into the field... We'll bury them."

"Thank you Veronica, you and Eddie did good."

Veronica just nodded, and left. I sighed with relief, trying to untense my shoulders. The buzzing in my head seemed louder somehow.



Though I had no acquired a throne or any formal place to mediate I spent my time in the grass, meditating while sitting and taking in the sounds of the waves, birds, leaves rustling in the wind. At some point the buzzing in my mind quieted, and another part of the psylink clicked for me. I felt the connection grow stronger and as it did it became obvious what powers I wished to use.

I wanted to protect my crew, my budding community. If pirates were going to follow the people coming to us for aid, I want to be able to defend them. All at once I felt it, I didn't know how to explain it but I knew then that should I wish the Archotech would obey my desires to help my people, though it wasn't much yet... The promise of more power was there if I wished to grasp it.

I looked at my hands, with a simple touch I could block pain, I could prevent bloodloss and I could assist with the healing process in our patients. Though I didn't wish for the opportunity to test these powers, I felt great relief knowing they were there.

"Ey captain. Don't know if you noticed but a shuttle just landed in our port." Banz poked me in the shoulder.

"Oh uh, thank you Banz, I'll go talk to them." I nodded, standing up.

The trading shuttle turned out to be from the GTG Traders, folks we'd traded with before on the CS Pegasus, they were solid and we were able to acquire some chemfuel for our shuttle, but not much else. We'd have to start producing goods to trade with the locals soon, our silver was starting to run low... and we didn't have much in the way of trade otherwise.

With two expert crafters, it didn't seem daunting. Banz and Flint were bred to craft, if I threw them at the workshop we'd definitely make bank, we just needed the resources.

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(Art by Pantheon System)