The Best Revenge, Part 27

Previously, on MinerBumping... aiva naali was out of patience. After months of waiting to be granted his security clearance, aiva demanded to be allowed into the Imperium. But first he would need to leave Conoco., a large Russian corporation that he belonged to for some reason. However, aiva's departure drew the attention of Ygritte Pava.

aiva was eager to be granted access to Goon space. Upon insisting that Agent Aiko Danuja give him an invite to Goonswarm Federation, aiva was unexpectedly contacted by a member of the Russian corp he'd abandoned.

Now aiva's full attention was diverted to dealing with this new problem. For Aiko, the timing could not have been better.

aiva's friends in the New Order--also serving as liaisons to Imperium High Command--might have assumed that aiva was entirely preoccupied with developing secret weapons and earning money for supercaps. But it seemed that aiva had a bit of a double life.

The circumstances surrounding the convo invite from Ygritte, a.k.a. "nina", were also suspicious. Indeed, one might be tempted to ask whether Ygritte was in league with Aiko herself. Wheels within wheels!

Ygritte confronted aiva. But the aspiring Imperium flagship pilot refused to sell out the Goons. No one must know his true plans until he was safely ensconced in Goon space.

Although Ygritte seemed to know more than she was letting on, aiva wouldn't budge. He could not allow his former corpmate to know of his secret identity. Pandemic Horde might have spies among the Russians.

Ygritte didn't buy aiva's excuses for leaving the corp. She claimed to have eyes and ears everywhere. Was she a member of the New Order, too?

aiva played the part of the innocent miner who didn't invent secret weapons for the Imperium. Surely a Russian corp with thousands of members wouldn't miss him. Ygritte demanded that aiva return to the corp, though. If aiva agreed, it would certainly take pressure off of Agent Aiko.

In his private conversations with Aiko and friends, aiva presented himself as totally loyal to the Imperium. To Ygritte, he showed a different side: He had his own agenda and would link up with anyone who would help him achieve his objectives.

After being a member of Conoco., aiva was used to dealing with Russians. He didn't speak Russian, but he could tell that Ygritte sounded like one.

Despite Ygritte's pleas and threats, aiva was determined the leave the corp. His future was with Goonswarm, come what may.

Finally, after several rounds of Ygritte's abuse, aiva let his mask slip. This was no ordinary miner.

aiva was, in fact, the most dangerous man in nullsec--though technically he lived in highsec. aiva had the ability to destroy any alliance or coalition. Even the Imperium was at his mercy; he could dismantle it in the same amount of time that it would take him to build a digital camera. So if Aiko Danuja had any intention of double-crossing him, there would be hell to pay.

To be continued...