Freelancer Mission 6 - Wedge009.net

Juni: Trent, I have news. Doctor Sinclair has made good progress in analysing the artefact. But she’s now reached a point where she can’t continue without the help of Quintaine. Our best lead is a pilot Quintaine sometimes works with, a guy named Dexter Hovis. He’s running a gambling operation on an abandoned battleship in the Dublin system. You should start there.

Battleship Hood Bar

Trent: I’m looking for a guy named Dexter Hovis. Have you seen him?

Hovis: Yeah!

Trent: You Dexter Hovis?

Hovis: I’m Hovis.

Trent: I’m a friend of Quintaine’s. I understand you do some work for him every now and then. I’ve got a message for him.

Hovis: Ah, you know, I’d love to spend all day jawing with you, Bretonian, but I really only talk to racers. Unless of course, you are a racer and you’re looking for a challenge… say, me, perhaps. In that case, I’ll talk to you all day – providing, of course, you live. You see I have a hard time finding people who’ll race against me. What do you say, tenderfoot?

Trent: You’re on!

Hovis: Good! I’ll meet you outside!

Battleship Hood Orbit

Announcer: We have a challenger! His name is Trent – against our very own Dexter Hovis! Place your bets! Make it quick!

Hovis: I was beginning to think you were scared!

Trent: Not a chance. I said I’d race you. Here I am!

Hovis: I like your attitude, Bretonian. It’ll be a shame to see you burn! But hey, that’s the price of sportsmanship.

Trent: I may surprise you, Hovis.

Hovis: We’ll see soon enough, won’t we?

Computer: Welcome, racers! You have selected a one-lap race. Do you need a review of the regulations?

Hovis: ’course, I don’t; you hunk o’ junk. I built this damn thing, but its memory banks are busted. Simple rules, Bretonian: one round, no shooting or bumping – and if you stink it up or chicken out on the course, you’ll make me angry! And you don’t want that! You ready?

Announcer: Racers, on your marks! Three! Two! One! Go!

Hovis: Yee haw!

Announcer: They’re off!

Announcer: Trent leads after the first quarter!

Announcer: The newcomer is leading at the half-way mark!

Hovis: Ha! My grandma is faster than you, Bretonian!

Announcer: Trent leads as they come down the final stretch!

Hovis: Damn! Give him something to think about, boys!

Announcer: The newcomer has won! Unbelievable!

Hovis: Cease fire, boys! Trent, no hard feelings! Right? Okay, I’ll tell you want you want to know – but not over the comm channel. Meet me on the deck of the Hood.

Hovis: Okay, boy. You first.

Battleship Hood Landing Deck

Hovis: A fine race, Bretonian! I haven’t felt a challenge in years.

Trent: Now tell me about Quintaine. Is he here?

Hovis: Here? No. He contacted me to take him even further into the asteroid field to an abandoned mining station called The Glorious. He’s holed up with the pirates that took it over. He said he needed to disappear for a while. But, naturally, you didn’t hear any of this from me.

Trent: Naturally. Now, how do I get there?

Hovis: Take the old trade lane into the asteroid field, but be careful: the lane isn’t stable – sometimes the asteroids can get through. And watch out for a group of Rheinlanders that was headed that way. They didn’t look too friendly.

Trent: Did they race?

Hovis: Ha! No. Too yellow! Hey, Bretonian. If it don’t work out, you know you can always come back and race with us!

Mining Station Glorious Orbit

Glorious: Negative! Leave the area at once!

Rheinlander: This is your last warning. Surrender Quintaine, or you will be destroyed.

Glorious: All turrets, open fire! Jarvis, Foshko: take out the gunship. Sanchez, Barrera: engage the fighters.

Rheinlander: As you wish. Destroy the station. Make sure there aren’t any survivors.

Glorious: We got the gunship!

Glorious: One of their fighters is down!

Glorious: We got another one!

Glorious: There’s only one of their fighters left!

Glorious: Thanks for your help, stranger. You’re cleared to land.

Mining Station Glorious, Dublin System

Trent: Whoa! Easy with that!

Pilot: You fought well out there. C’mon. Someone wants to have a look at you.

Trent: Doctor Quintaine.

Quintaine: And who are you?

Trent: The name’s Trent. Doctor Sinclair sent me to find you.

Quintaine: I find that hard to believe since she has no idea where I am. Now, who sent you?

Trent: I already told you.

Quintaine: Enough! You do understand that with the appearance of our Rheinland friends, I’m hesitant to take too many chances.

Trent: But I fought them, too!

Quintaine: Yes, and I wanted to thank you for your help. Push him out of the airlock!

Trent: Wait, wait! I have to Daam-K’Vosh artefact.

Quintaine: What did you say?

Trent: I have your artefact. The one Sinclair lost on Pygar, I’ve found it. That’s why I came.

Quintaine: I don’t suspect you have it with you, no, that would be too easy. So, where is it, then?

Trent: Sinclair is working on it back on Leeds, in hiding. But she can’t decipher it on her own. She needs your help.

Quintaine: Very well, Mr Trent! I will go back with you, but on one condition.

Trent: What’s that?

Quintaine: That we not go alone.

Trent: All right.

Mining Station Glorious Orbit

Quintaine: Mr Trent! Quintaine here. I’m flying this armoured transport. I know it’s slow, but it contains all the equipment I need for my work.

Albertson: I think we’re in luck. The intermittent jump-hole to Leeds is phase-aligned right now. We should be able to take it safely. I’m uploading the co-ordinates. Mr Trent, you take point.

Quintaine: So Sinclair wants to meet on Leeds? That blight on our culture? All right.

Albertson: It’s an ambush!

Quintaine: I’m hit! My cruise engines are down!

Albertson: Perez and Wallace, protect Quintaine. Mr Trent, let’s take down the gunship.

Albertson: Quintaine is taking hits!

Quintaine: The gunship is down!

Albertson: Target the nearest fighter. We can win this one. We have to.

Albertson: We got one of their fighters.

Quintaine: My cruise engines are back on-line. We have to get out of here.

Albertson: The last fighter is down! That was close! Let’s get out of here. Mr Trent, take the lead.

Albertson: There’s the jump-hole– damn! Enemy ships jumping in, they’ve seen us!

Albertson: That’s one down. Don’t let them near Quintaine!

Quintaine: You got him!

Albertson: All right. Let’s get out of here.

Quintaine: Mr Trent, you dock first and we’ll follow you through.

Leeds System, Bretonia

Albertson: We’ll be at Planet Leeds before you know it, Professor.

Quintaine: We should be safe now. Let’s get back on solid ground.

Albertson: Mr Trent, you have the co-ordinates to Leeds. Take point.

Quintaine: I actually haven’t seen Doctor Sinclair in years. She sent me a message a while back that she had made a discovery on Pygar. Finally, a Daam-K’Vosh artefact that’s still active! I can’t wait to see it. Albertson, turn around. See you later. I’ll meet you down on the planet, Mr Trent. You go first.

Planet Leeds Equipment Room

Tobias: Wonderful doing business with you. Good night.

Trent: Tobias!

Tobias: Here, who’s this then?

Trent: This is Doctor Quintaine. He’s a professor.

Tobias: Him? No… what field?

Quintaine: I’ll have you know, sir, I am the foremost authority on Xeno-Archeology.

Tobias: Oh, I’m sure you are. <laughs> Come on, Mr Wizard. I expect you’ve come to see the missus.

Sinclair: Quintaine! I am mad as hell at you. What happened? Where have you been?

Quintaine: I had to go away, Kendra. Not long after you made your discovery, things… began to happen. People around me started to go missing, then I came back one night to find my lab turned upside down and I noticed I was being followed.

Sinclair: By whom?

Quintaine: A man named Kress. He told me I was on a list, that my work had put me in great jeopardy. I left that night and didn’t look back. So you see, I couldn’t tell anyone… especially you! I thought you’d become a target as well.

Juni: She already is. We all are. Because of this!

Quintaine: This is it? May I? It’s magnificent!

Sinclair: Yes, it is. But it’s obviously part of something more significant. It’s time you and I worked out what that is.

Trent: Look, I hate to rush this reunion along–

Tobias: Someone’s here. I’ll take care of it.

Tobias: Hello, my friends. What is it I can get for you today?

Rheinland Agent: We’re looking for a man. We have reason to believe he’s in the area.

Tobias: Ooh. Nice looking chap. Sorry, haven’t seen him.

Rheinland Agent: He is considered an enemy of Rheinland. Anyone caught hiding him would face severe consequences.

Tobias: Listen to me. You are not in Rheinland now, you’re in my shop. I already told you the man you’re looking for isn’t here, so unless you’d like an education in foreign policy that you won’t soon forget, I suggest you move along. Now!

Rheinland Agent: We can be patient, Mr Tobias. Rest assured, we won’t be far.

Tobias: No, I’m sure you won’t be.

Juni: It’s just a matter of time before they’ll be back.

Tobias: She’s right. Now that they’ve got your scent, it’s not safe here any more.

Quintaine: Kress! The night he came, he offered me a place to hide in the Border Worlds. Maybe now is a good time to take him up on it.

Juni: But do you trust him?

Quintaine: I’d rather take my chances with him than those Rheinland agents.

Juni: We need you now, Trent. Ready?

Trent: All right. Let’s go! Now I want you to get clear of this place for a while.

Tobias: I’m not gonna be–

Trent: Just until this blows over! I’ll be back when I can. Take care of yourself, old man.