Passage To Zun-Kulla (Short Story)

Here's a scenario I thought of today as I was getting on with a few things, I thought of a conversation between two characters and then wondered what happened before, and what happened after. Once I had the time I got on and started writing.

This is the first story I have written in about 3 weeks, and it feels good to be back at it.

Source

       "The meeting has been arranged. Head to LZ-23, you can see the ship for yourself and talk with the captain."

       A ship that is given an entire LZ is either big, valuable, or both. It was the only thought that went through Merrick Avison's mind. A typical ship was usually docked on one of the smaller pads that dotted most districts on Jex. Landing Zones, however, were few and far between, and were expensive to rent on account of the engineers ready to carry out repairs, and general maintenance upon arrival.
       An odor of oil, steel, smoke, and junk filled the air as Merrick made it to the LZ. It was row upon row of ships, both large and small. The place was alive with people, from holidaymakers to workers, and everyone in between. Proud captains stood talking, and hired guns stood as statues watching over the ships they were hired to defend.
       Just beyond the front gate was a transit station, with a small collection of transports waiting to carry foot passengers to their LZ. He approached, mentioned the name, and moments later he was in the air, now overlooking the impressive fleet of ships. After about ten minutes, he was coming in for a landing and could only guess which ship it was that he was to travel by. A Confederation cruiser by the look of it, although, it had clearly gone through many coats of paint, distancing itself from its original affiliation.
       Staring up at the ship, he was filled with old feelings, loss, hate, guilt, sadness. All this and much more. Memories, and regret; all of these thoughts he'd locked somewhere deep in the back of his mind. The door was fit to burst as a tidal wave of thought attempted to crash out and drown him.

       "Are you Merrick Avison? Come about some trip you need to make." A voice echoed, pulling him from his absent-minded dreaming.
       He saw the speaker. A Zun-Kullen, his green skin covered with patches of dirt and grime, his clothing was ragged and torn; old military garb by the look of it, mismatched as it were, and most likely someone else's.
       "That's a Confederation ship." Merrick whispered as he turned back to the old mound of steel and exposed wiring.
       "A little gift for my contributions back when. You have an eye for em' then, T1-37, although, the ole girl doesn't resemble her model much anymore. A friend has done some tweaking over the years; modifications, and the like. She's fast and reliable, but a ship's just a ship, and all ships are useless without a good captain. That's me, Captain Zebulon Machesky; I'll get you where you need to go for a fair price." Zebulon grinned as he finished speaking, folding his arms and leaning back against the landing gear of his ship.
       "In saying that though, a captain is only as good as their crew, and mine is excellent, and most importantly, obedient and loyal." He continued, interrupting the silence that filled the air between them.
       "Keep the cocksure attitude to yourself. I'd rather not have to listen to the incessant drivel of yet another star jumper. All I need is passage to Zun-Kulla, and at that, I want to get there quick." Merrick stated matter of factly.

       The captain stepped away from the ship with a grin on his face. He then looked up at it with pride and extended his hands.
       "You've come to the right person. Some of the modifications made to this bolstered the engines. I like speed, more than I like firepower, of which we have battle capability still, but she doesn't have as much bite as a standard model. In my mind, what's the point of outgunning people, when you can outrun them instead? A beauty like this is better without scars." The captain started to laugh as he finished.
       Merrick didn't respond in kind, and instead just waited until the captain settled down.
       With a slight cough, the captain waved them over to the entrance of the ship and welcomed him to step aboard in front of him.

       The corridors were clean, for the most part, although, upon closer inspection years of grime was present; it undoubtedly gave the ship a bit of character. There were a few panels missing, but for the most part, it was as good a ship as any.
       "Would you like a tour?" Zebulon asked as he stepped aboard.
       "No, I want to see my quarters though," he said as he tightened his grip of the handle of the case and lifted it briefly, hoping to make it clear that he was carrying a heavy load and was feeling wary.
       "Sure, follow me, I'll get you acquainted with your room. But, before we do that, I'm sure you discussed payment with our mutual friend." The Captain asked as he lightly rubbed his hands together.
       "We discussed it, and the fair seems reasonable for the voyage," Merrick placed his case on the ground to allow himself some respite.
       "Good, I'm glad you think so. If you don't mind, I'm going to need that payment upfront," Zebulon said with a smile, which concealed an awkward expression.

       Merrick shook his head lightly, as he looked the Zun-Kullen up and down. Now that he thought about it, the man seemed unfit for the job, wearing old worn-out clothing before, made him look distinguished, but now, it made him seem down on his luck; too much so to trust completely.
       "I'm not handing over any money until I reach my destination, I worked out the deal prior to coming here, and I won't be parting with anything in some new arrangement." Merrick was agitated by the audacity to change the agreement now that he was on board and felt it was a way for the Zun-Kullen to rip off an old man. "Do you think I would allow myself to be intimidated by someone like you, there are plenty of other Star Jumpers out there, I can take my custom to them if it's what you want!" He lost control of his voice at the end, and he almost made himself jump as he heard the echo of his own voice resonating down the corridor.
       "No, that won't be necessary, I'm sorry to have asked you. I just figured since we're on the ship now, we may as well do the exchange." Zebulon tried to backtrack.
       "Don't think that I can be pushed around, and don't think that I would try to skip out on paying you, I've always paid my way. You'll have your payment when the job is done, and not before, now, show me to my quarters."
       Zebulon nodded to that, and seemed to look a lot more awkward. The bravado had almost completely disappeared, replaced with a child who just got in trouble.

       "Right this way, sir," He said after a brief pause, Zebulon then turned and started walking up the corridor of the ship.