A teen missing on Peria (Part 2)

"I swear the 'acquisition business' was easier when I was smuggling things for the Rebellion!"

Wilanto felt like punching his computer screen for its temerity in showing just how much he had lost in the last year or so. While far from going broke, he was losing money more rapidly than he would have thought possible. And on one of the wealthiest planets in the galaxy, too! But in a thrust of irony, that was exactly what was costing him money. When he scrounged and scraped what he could during the war, money wasn't the issue. Nor was it the main currency. Fair exchanges and future favors to called in later were worth more than Imperial credits.

Once the war had ended, however, he had called in many of those favors to begin his legitimate business, figuring that he could leverage his contacts to get his foot in many proverbial doors.

Unfortunately, many of those potential, very wealthy clients on Peria had sided with the Empire, hedging their bets that they could ride out the upheaval the Rebellion was causing. The fall of the Empire and the end of the various hefty Imperial contracts left a sizable number of families broke or near broke, compared to what they had been previously. Some of them had even been arrested for war crimes.

And for a former ally of those who had brought about their near ruin...

Wilanto did not regret what he had done for the Rebellion. It was evil, pure and simple. Even those who thought that the Emperor had not done anything to them directly were just not looking out far enough or had blinded themselves to the truth. He just wished that they were not so damned petty.

Still, there had been some who had supported the Rebels and had aided his efforts. Many of them were still customers, thankfully. They just weren't as large a group as he wished.

So, though he refused to acquire anything truly considered illegal, he wasn't above dealing in 'questionables', items which might raise eyebrows in possession even if there was no law against possession. Such jobs paid better, but the expense of obtaining these things often are into the profit. Heck, every now and then, he actually managed a good deed in the process!

Nevertheless, good deeds did not always pay the bills.

With a sigh, he shut off the accounting program he had been staring at with deep regret; nothing more was going to come of musing where things seemed to be going. He switched to the network where he found most of his potential jobs and began looking for his next paycheck.