Lacham and I walked towards the commercial sector of the station. It was here that deals were done, ISK made, alliances forged or destroyed. We passed ship dealer offices, interstellar customs offices, ISK provider offices and offices for the protection of interstellar animals. The walkways were crowded with busy people, on the way to check newly delivered merchandise or whatever it is people do.
We walked along the boulevard towards the lower section of the sector until we got to an office with blacked out windows. There were no signs to say what type of business the owners of this office engaged in. No evidence that anyone even used it. Not from the outside at any rate. Lacham passed a datakey over an electronic pad and the door slid open. Even though the light from the windows was blocked by the blackened glass the interior was well lit and surprisingly orderly. A number of people were sat behind the desks, using datapads and computers. What they were doing was a mystery. Playing the markets? Lacham turned to me and raised an eyebrow.
‘Well, what do you think? This is headquarters of The Guristas Associates. This is the nerve centre of our alliance, where we collate data from our pilots on enemy movements and prime targets. If anything is going down within a 10 system radius, we know about it. We also have members of the White Rabbits in here, constantly checking and rechecking the market prices in the area. Buying and selling equipment and arranging transports. We keep our ears to the ground at all times, checking reports coming in from other alliances and factions, friendly or not. Basically, anything you need to know will come through here.’ Lacham explained.
‘It’s a lot more organised than I expected to tell you the truth.’ I admitted
‘The logistics of running an alliance this size is amazing.’ Lacham clarified, ‘The White Rabbits do a great job of keeping the rest of us in business. Without them the alliance wouldn’t exist. Most of The Black Rabbits and the Academy are ‘shoot on site’ if we enter concord controlled space due to being wanted men and women. Makes getting new ships into the system a real pain in the ass’ Lacham smirked.
‘Right’ I said lamely,
I remembered thinking about The White Rabbits when I was doing my research into The Guristas Associates, wondering if they had been duped or blackmailed into working within the Pirate alliance. My thoughts then had been wrong; they were a huge and very important part of the alliance.
Lacham wondered over to a desk in the corner of the room. Unlike others this one was a bit of a mess. An ashtray was over stuffed with cigarette buts and there were empty coffee mugs and files all over the desk. Shifting a pile of papers out of the way Lacham unearthed a datapad which he then thumbed into life.
‘Your application has been reviewed and I have decided to offer you the chance to fly with us. However be aware that flying with us means that you will become ‘Shoot on sight’ for most of what we call ‘High Sec’
‘That’s fine, is there anything I should know?’
‘Of course there is. Here is a datapad with all the basic information you will need.’ He tossed me a datapad’ Included in there are the passkeys to the private communication channels used by the academy and the shared alliance channel. This is where a lot of the data amassed in this office will be broadcast. Also the Pirates Warren is our unofficial meeting place, we have a special room in the back for conferences and for when other alliances come to meet with us. There will be guard duties involved but most of the time you will not be involved in any of that.’ Lacham said, lighting a cigarette. ‘One thing I have noticed from your file is that you seem to have a good aptitude for learning new skills. This will help you greatly within this alliance. I suggest you study this closely’ he tossed me another datapad.
‘What is it?’ I asked
‘This is the holy bible of ship-to-ship combat. This will tell you the weaknesses of every vessel in the universe. It also tells you how to tweak your ship to get the best out of it, more power, more computer memory, and the best weapons to use. Things that you need to know to fly effectively. It will take you a while to get the hang of it but I’m sure you’ll get there sooner or later.’
‘Thanks’ I said, pocketing the datapad.
‘One other thing, that business in your past, only I and Gig know about that, you can keep it from the others if you decide, but I will tell you this, keeping secrets from people you will, one day soon I am sure, need to trust with your life may not be the right thing to do, think about it.’ He got up and started to walk away, towards the back of the office.
‘Now get out of my sight,’ he said over his shoulder, ‘I have thing to attend to. Be at The Pirates Warren at 1800 and I will introduce you to some of your wingmen.’
Showing posts with label Story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Story. Show all posts
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Mail Lite's Back Story Continued
Once in Ishomilken I rented a small apartment close to the hanger where my ships were stored and kept functioning by the repair crews. After unpacking I decided to try the local bar. On arrival the place was empty, not surprising for the early morning, most of the patrons would either be nursing a hang over in their bunks or started out early to make some ISK. No one was in sight to serve me so I sat on one of the stools and started pursuing some logs I had downloaded.
The information I had downloaded were the new list of ships destroyed by The Guristas Associates over the last 24 hours. I started with the most recent and looked and the list of people and ships that were involved in each engagement. Most of the Alliance seemed to favour larger ships. They seemed to use large numbers of Battle Cruisers, Heavy Interdictors and even the awesome Battleships. I clicked my screen over to show the ships available for sale in the region. I had had experience flying Gallente ships in the past, the Vexor being among them, after scribbling down some details I decided to see about getting myself something to eat.
As no one had yet appeared to serve me I clicked into the station database to see if there were any other establishments around where I could find some food. There was one other. The Pirates Warren. On the other side of the station. I decided to give it a try. I pocketed the datapad I had been reading and patted my pistol holder to assure myself that I was there and left the deserted bar. Walking for about 10 minutes to the other side of the station I saw barley a soul. The station seemed deserted. I had looked through the details of the station before arriving and knew that there was not a lot of money to be made in this system. Not from legitimate sources anyway.
Upon arriving at The Pirates Warren I almost ran head long into a young woman as she left. She had the look of a Caldari, high cheek bones, small mouth, large blue eyes, and her long black hair was scooped back into ponytail. She wore the overalls of a ship mechanic. She glanced at me and smiled before hurrying towards one of the stations many ship hangers. I entered the bar to find it a lot more active than the last. I placed my order with the rough looking bar assistant. Lighting a cigarette I took a look around the bar. Focusing on each patron for a second to commit there features to my cortical implant and assessing any threat levels.
There were a few men in one of the booths that lined the walls of the bar. They were wearing long tatty brown leather coats over black overalls. Some adorned with decoration or armour plating, some not. All had holstered pistols at there waists. They were talking in hushed voices and pursuing a datapad and a number of parchments. Even with a hearing implant I could not hear their discussion.
I moved on to the next patron. He was also wearing a brown leather jacket but this one had yet to lose it’s new shine. He wore black denim trousers and black boots. A silver chain hung from his left wrist. He has no visbale weapons and was reading a news sheet while sipping a coffee. The last two customers were female. They seemed to be mechanics of some sort. Tool belts at there waists and grey overalls. Not ship mechanics as they normally wore black overalls and didn’t carry their tools with them, station maintenance probably.
The bar assistant arrived with refined bacon, genetic eggs and wheat toast all washed down with some coffee. It wasn’t bad, well worth the 20ISK paid. I ordered another coffee and started reading a news sheet which had been left on the table next to mine. I started with the sport pages as normal the Minmitar league had started the previous evening with all 40 teams in action. My money was on the Ualkin Dogs this season. There starting line up was one of the best in years. I thought I better try and find a betting shop sooner rather than later to make sure I got in while the odds were still high. The Ualkin Dogs had one there first game 23-0 with no disqualification or losses of life. Not a bad start at all!
I was just finishing reading about the destruction of one of the other teams when the lone customer finished his coffee and stood up. He glanced around the room, nodded to the bar assistant and started toward the door. His path took him past the group of three men, they stopped talking as he approached and their hand started to lower towards their weapons. ‘Guristas Scum’ one of them muttered as he passed. The man carried on walking but I did notice his eye’s flash. He must of heard the insult but decided not to react.
‘Did you here me you pirate scum?’ asked the man who had already spoken.
‘I did, whats you problem?’ asked the pirate.
‘One of your fucking pirate friends destroyed my Hoarder last night. It had over 20 million ISK worth of cargo! You owe me that money!’
‘I’m sorry but that’s the law of space. If you were stupid enough to lose it then you don’t deserve to be flying out there. I don’t owe you a penny. Take it up with the station officials.’
‘You…’ The man who had lost his ship and his two friends shot out of there seats and un-holstered their weapons.
‘You fucking will give me back my money you piece of shit.’
The pirate gave a sigh but stayed completely still ‘Trust me you do not want to do this. You will not win’
I had seen enough. I started to rise from my seat; my hand on my weapon but the pirate gave me a look that plainly told me to stay where I was. Winked and then, with a flick of each wrist a knife appeared in the throats of 2 of the men. The third man, the one who had lost his ship and cargo, raised his pistol to fire but the bar assistant was quicker. Lifting a projectile shotgun from under the counter he shot the pilot in the chest, lifting him up and slamming him against the wall.
‘Cheers Reciter, I wasn’t sure if I could get that last one before he got me. He was quicker than I thought he would be.’
‘Not a problem dude, they picked the wrong bar to threaten a pirate in. you would think the name would give it away wouldn’t you?’ said Recieter, the bar assistant with a laugh and while putting the shotgun back under the counter.
The pirate was leaning over the corpses of the dead men, withdrawing his knives from the throats of the two he had killed. Wiping the blood off the knives on the trousers of the dead men ‘Yeah, you would think so wouldn’t you’
The pirate stood up and looked over at me. ‘Reciter, can you drag these guys out to the refuse shoot. I think we’ll get rid of them without inviting the autorities in this time. Also make sure you get their tags and codes if you can. Might as well have a look who they were and what they fly’.
‘Sure, no problem’ Reciter agreed and started to get large black bags from under the counter to wrap the bodies in.
Meanwhile the piarte had started towards me. I lowered my hand to my holster, just in case it was ‘get rid of the witness’ time. The two female mechanics had barely looked up during the fight, used to it I guessed, maybe they were friends or family. The pirate sat opposite me.
‘Mail Lite right?’
‘Might be, who’s asking?’
‘My name is Lacham, I fly with The Black Rabbits Academy and I read the application you made to join us. I noticed you as soon as you came in. You can take your hand away from your weapon now.’
I did, I had read of this pilot whilst researching the corporation and alliance. He had a long list of kills, longer than most within the academy.
'How did you know it was me? I didn't provide a description or holopic.'
'You think we don't have ways of screening pilots who have applied? Just take it all at face value and bleieve everything you say on your data pad? You think we're that lax about security?'
I guess that made sense.
'Did you go all the way back?'
'Yes' Lacham confirmed, looking me directly in the eye.
'So you know...' I hesitated.
'Yes we know, but we will discuss that later' Lacham looked at the datapad he had just taken from his pocket.
‘Why do you want to fly with us, and more importantly why would I want to fly with you?’ Lacham asked. In the background I could see the bodies of the three men being wrapped in black plastic by the bar assistant.
‘Because I want to learn this way of life. I want to prove myself in combat against the biggest ships, show that strategy overwhelms might. You will get a dedicated, hardworking wingman in me. You will get support and loyalty. And if everything works out. You will get a pirate’
‘Come with me’ said Lacham.
I stood up, left a few ISK on the table as a tip, and followed Lacham out of the bar, stepping over the last of the bodies on the way out.
The information I had downloaded were the new list of ships destroyed by The Guristas Associates over the last 24 hours. I started with the most recent and looked and the list of people and ships that were involved in each engagement. Most of the Alliance seemed to favour larger ships. They seemed to use large numbers of Battle Cruisers, Heavy Interdictors and even the awesome Battleships. I clicked my screen over to show the ships available for sale in the region. I had had experience flying Gallente ships in the past, the Vexor being among them, after scribbling down some details I decided to see about getting myself something to eat.
As no one had yet appeared to serve me I clicked into the station database to see if there were any other establishments around where I could find some food. There was one other. The Pirates Warren. On the other side of the station. I decided to give it a try. I pocketed the datapad I had been reading and patted my pistol holder to assure myself that I was there and left the deserted bar. Walking for about 10 minutes to the other side of the station I saw barley a soul. The station seemed deserted. I had looked through the details of the station before arriving and knew that there was not a lot of money to be made in this system. Not from legitimate sources anyway.
Upon arriving at The Pirates Warren I almost ran head long into a young woman as she left. She had the look of a Caldari, high cheek bones, small mouth, large blue eyes, and her long black hair was scooped back into ponytail. She wore the overalls of a ship mechanic. She glanced at me and smiled before hurrying towards one of the stations many ship hangers. I entered the bar to find it a lot more active than the last. I placed my order with the rough looking bar assistant. Lighting a cigarette I took a look around the bar. Focusing on each patron for a second to commit there features to my cortical implant and assessing any threat levels.
There were a few men in one of the booths that lined the walls of the bar. They were wearing long tatty brown leather coats over black overalls. Some adorned with decoration or armour plating, some not. All had holstered pistols at there waists. They were talking in hushed voices and pursuing a datapad and a number of parchments. Even with a hearing implant I could not hear their discussion.
I moved on to the next patron. He was also wearing a brown leather jacket but this one had yet to lose it’s new shine. He wore black denim trousers and black boots. A silver chain hung from his left wrist. He has no visbale weapons and was reading a news sheet while sipping a coffee. The last two customers were female. They seemed to be mechanics of some sort. Tool belts at there waists and grey overalls. Not ship mechanics as they normally wore black overalls and didn’t carry their tools with them, station maintenance probably.
The bar assistant arrived with refined bacon, genetic eggs and wheat toast all washed down with some coffee. It wasn’t bad, well worth the 20ISK paid. I ordered another coffee and started reading a news sheet which had been left on the table next to mine. I started with the sport pages as normal the Minmitar league had started the previous evening with all 40 teams in action. My money was on the Ualkin Dogs this season. There starting line up was one of the best in years. I thought I better try and find a betting shop sooner rather than later to make sure I got in while the odds were still high. The Ualkin Dogs had one there first game 23-0 with no disqualification or losses of life. Not a bad start at all!
I was just finishing reading about the destruction of one of the other teams when the lone customer finished his coffee and stood up. He glanced around the room, nodded to the bar assistant and started toward the door. His path took him past the group of three men, they stopped talking as he approached and their hand started to lower towards their weapons. ‘Guristas Scum’ one of them muttered as he passed. The man carried on walking but I did notice his eye’s flash. He must of heard the insult but decided not to react.
‘Did you here me you pirate scum?’ asked the man who had already spoken.
‘I did, whats you problem?’ asked the pirate.
‘One of your fucking pirate friends destroyed my Hoarder last night. It had over 20 million ISK worth of cargo! You owe me that money!’
‘I’m sorry but that’s the law of space. If you were stupid enough to lose it then you don’t deserve to be flying out there. I don’t owe you a penny. Take it up with the station officials.’
‘You…’ The man who had lost his ship and his two friends shot out of there seats and un-holstered their weapons.
‘You fucking will give me back my money you piece of shit.’
The pirate gave a sigh but stayed completely still ‘Trust me you do not want to do this. You will not win’
I had seen enough. I started to rise from my seat; my hand on my weapon but the pirate gave me a look that plainly told me to stay where I was. Winked and then, with a flick of each wrist a knife appeared in the throats of 2 of the men. The third man, the one who had lost his ship and cargo, raised his pistol to fire but the bar assistant was quicker. Lifting a projectile shotgun from under the counter he shot the pilot in the chest, lifting him up and slamming him against the wall.
‘Cheers Reciter, I wasn’t sure if I could get that last one before he got me. He was quicker than I thought he would be.’
‘Not a problem dude, they picked the wrong bar to threaten a pirate in. you would think the name would give it away wouldn’t you?’ said Recieter, the bar assistant with a laugh and while putting the shotgun back under the counter.
The pirate was leaning over the corpses of the dead men, withdrawing his knives from the throats of the two he had killed. Wiping the blood off the knives on the trousers of the dead men ‘Yeah, you would think so wouldn’t you’
The pirate stood up and looked over at me. ‘Reciter, can you drag these guys out to the refuse shoot. I think we’ll get rid of them without inviting the autorities in this time. Also make sure you get their tags and codes if you can. Might as well have a look who they were and what they fly’.
‘Sure, no problem’ Reciter agreed and started to get large black bags from under the counter to wrap the bodies in.
Meanwhile the piarte had started towards me. I lowered my hand to my holster, just in case it was ‘get rid of the witness’ time. The two female mechanics had barely looked up during the fight, used to it I guessed, maybe they were friends or family. The pirate sat opposite me.
‘Mail Lite right?’
‘Might be, who’s asking?’
‘My name is Lacham, I fly with The Black Rabbits Academy and I read the application you made to join us. I noticed you as soon as you came in. You can take your hand away from your weapon now.’
I did, I had read of this pilot whilst researching the corporation and alliance. He had a long list of kills, longer than most within the academy.
'How did you know it was me? I didn't provide a description or holopic.'
'You think we don't have ways of screening pilots who have applied? Just take it all at face value and bleieve everything you say on your data pad? You think we're that lax about security?'
I guess that made sense.
'Did you go all the way back?'
'Yes' Lacham confirmed, looking me directly in the eye.
'So you know...' I hesitated.
'Yes we know, but we will discuss that later' Lacham looked at the datapad he had just taken from his pocket.
‘Why do you want to fly with us, and more importantly why would I want to fly with you?’ Lacham asked. In the background I could see the bodies of the three men being wrapped in black plastic by the bar assistant.
‘Because I want to learn this way of life. I want to prove myself in combat against the biggest ships, show that strategy overwhelms might. You will get a dedicated, hardworking wingman in me. You will get support and loyalty. And if everything works out. You will get a pirate’
‘Come with me’ said Lacham.
I stood up, left a few ISK on the table as a tip, and followed Lacham out of the bar, stepping over the last of the bodies on the way out.
Mail Lite's Back Story Continued
The travel distance to The Citadel should of taken years, if not centuries. However the Stargates which now connect all the occupied regions of space have made what was once a life journey, into something that takes mere hours.
I had a severe hangover that morning due to the 2 bottles of Rum last night. I reread my application to The Black Rabbits Academy. And decided I probably couldn’t do any better sober than I could drunk so left it as it was. After a quick Bio Shower and a cup of hosgage tea to help ease the hang over, I packed my case, loaded my Rifter, Riffy I and set of for Ishomilken, a system in the Citadel Region . Home system of The Guristas Associates.
The Journey was uneventful until a system only one jump out of my destination. Nikkishina. After almost a year behind the controls I have become accustomed to activating my directional scanner on a regular basis, just to keep an eye on who, and what, is around me, assessing threat levels automatically and keeping my eye’s open for targets or signs of aggression.
My system wide broadcast receiver showed only one pilot other than myself was currently in the system. All ships automatically join this channel upon entry to new systems. You can not get around this so it is a very useful tool, especially if you know how to access a pilots personal information using this link, as I do. I set my destination for the Nikkishina – Ishomilken stargate and engage my warp drives. At the same time I activate my directional scanner. I have another Rifter on scan within 14AU of my current position. Interesting. I decided to investigate this further. I cancel my warp drive activation and adjust my scan range. He’s out that way. Excellent. Towards planet three. Yes. I can’t scan him down to any one astral body as they are all aligned from where I am. It was time for a new plan. I engaged my warp engines and set heading for one of the moons around Planet Three. From there I was able to can the individual orbital bodies of Plant Three, looking for this Rifter pilot. I decided to take a second and check this pilot’s file.
I selected his file. Not a member of The Guristas Associates. That was good. A member of Empire Assault Corp. That was bad. I had heard of this corporation, they had the reputation of putting one ship in a sytem to be engaged by pirates, then jumping through with a number of other ships. He had been a pilot for three months. That wasn’t too bad.
Asteroid belt one.
Excellent, engage warp engines. I landed in the belt 10km from the Rifter. He had renamed his ship in an archaic language, after the fight I found it meant, ‘don’t kill me’. I targeted the Russian Rifter pilot and engaged the warp disruptor. He was locked and he could no longer get away. I approached at full speed. Weaving from side to side to make sure that, if he got a lock he wouldn’t be able to track my small frigate class vessel. At 2000m he finally reacted, turning away from me and trying to make distance. Trying to break my lock and disruptor. Not going to happen, I was faster; I had enough experience with high speed manoeuvres to close the gap to 1000m. My group of 200mm Autocannons engaged and ripped into his shields. He was taking a pounding. He decided to lock and engage his own guns. They did moderate damage but I had enough faith in my Riffy I to shrug and carry on the attack. As he started taking damage to his Armor I noticed another pilot had entered the system. I took a second to bring up his file. Russian. Same corporation as the pilot I was currently engaging. Not good. No ship on directional scanner. Good. The Russian pilot had started taking heavy damage to his structure. His engines were flaming and there was air escaping from the hull of that ship. With a flash, what had once been a majestic Minmitar frigate became scraps of metal littering the number one Asteroid belt at Planet Three in Nikkishina.
I checked my scanner for any incoming ships. Nothing. His back up had decided it was a lost cause and not to get involved. Unfotuantly my little Riffy I was full with my own supplies for my move to Ishomilken so picking through the wreck was not an option. I blew the wreck and anything of worth up and proceeded on my Journey to Ishomilken and the Black Rabbits.
To be continued...
I had a severe hangover that morning due to the 2 bottles of Rum last night. I reread my application to The Black Rabbits Academy. And decided I probably couldn’t do any better sober than I could drunk so left it as it was. After a quick Bio Shower and a cup of hosgage tea to help ease the hang over, I packed my case, loaded my Rifter, Riffy I and set of for Ishomilken, a system in the Citadel Region . Home system of The Guristas Associates.
The Journey was uneventful until a system only one jump out of my destination. Nikkishina. After almost a year behind the controls I have become accustomed to activating my directional scanner on a regular basis, just to keep an eye on who, and what, is around me, assessing threat levels automatically and keeping my eye’s open for targets or signs of aggression.
My system wide broadcast receiver showed only one pilot other than myself was currently in the system. All ships automatically join this channel upon entry to new systems. You can not get around this so it is a very useful tool, especially if you know how to access a pilots personal information using this link, as I do. I set my destination for the Nikkishina – Ishomilken stargate and engage my warp drives. At the same time I activate my directional scanner. I have another Rifter on scan within 14AU of my current position. Interesting. I decided to investigate this further. I cancel my warp drive activation and adjust my scan range. He’s out that way. Excellent. Towards planet three. Yes. I can’t scan him down to any one astral body as they are all aligned from where I am. It was time for a new plan. I engaged my warp engines and set heading for one of the moons around Planet Three. From there I was able to can the individual orbital bodies of Plant Three, looking for this Rifter pilot. I decided to take a second and check this pilot’s file.
I selected his file. Not a member of The Guristas Associates. That was good. A member of Empire Assault Corp. That was bad. I had heard of this corporation, they had the reputation of putting one ship in a sytem to be engaged by pirates, then jumping through with a number of other ships. He had been a pilot for three months. That wasn’t too bad.
Asteroid belt one.
Excellent, engage warp engines. I landed in the belt 10km from the Rifter. He had renamed his ship in an archaic language, after the fight I found it meant, ‘don’t kill me’. I targeted the Russian Rifter pilot and engaged the warp disruptor. He was locked and he could no longer get away. I approached at full speed. Weaving from side to side to make sure that, if he got a lock he wouldn’t be able to track my small frigate class vessel. At 2000m he finally reacted, turning away from me and trying to make distance. Trying to break my lock and disruptor. Not going to happen, I was faster; I had enough experience with high speed manoeuvres to close the gap to 1000m. My group of 200mm Autocannons engaged and ripped into his shields. He was taking a pounding. He decided to lock and engage his own guns. They did moderate damage but I had enough faith in my Riffy I to shrug and carry on the attack. As he started taking damage to his Armor I noticed another pilot had entered the system. I took a second to bring up his file. Russian. Same corporation as the pilot I was currently engaging. Not good. No ship on directional scanner. Good. The Russian pilot had started taking heavy damage to his structure. His engines were flaming and there was air escaping from the hull of that ship. With a flash, what had once been a majestic Minmitar frigate became scraps of metal littering the number one Asteroid belt at Planet Three in Nikkishina.
I checked my scanner for any incoming ships. Nothing. His back up had decided it was a lost cause and not to get involved. Unfotuantly my little Riffy I was full with my own supplies for my move to Ishomilken so picking through the wreck was not an option. I blew the wreck and anything of worth up and proceeded on my Journey to Ishomilken and the Black Rabbits.
To be continued...
Mail Lite's Back Story Continued
I killed him, an innocent miner, not hurting anyone. I am sitting in my home station in Malkalen again nursing a large dark rum, neat. I am staring at the log of Spectre again and rereading his musings and list of accomplishments. I feel bad for that Procurer pilot. Why am I doing this?
As I read through the log of Spectre I notice that, under all the text and useless date, buried in the annals of that log is a link to another, a link to the leader of a feared and respected all female corporation. Mynxee and the Hell Cats.
I scan through the logs, finding inspiration and yet another perspective of the life of an outlaw. As I am reading, my mind started looking for the specific piece of code. The piece of code I need to be able to hardwire my onboard communicator into the radio links of the Hell Cats just as I had done with The Python Cartel. Got it.
I swig back the rum, stumble out of the bar and out towards the docking bay, mumbling excuses to people I’ve knocked into. Once in my rusty Rifter I inserted the code into my receiver and it has worked. I was now able to listen into the Hell Cats channel whenever I wanted. While still in the grasp of the marathon drinking binge I undocked my Rifter and made my way back to Aurohen, freshly galvanised, and very drunk.
Once I have jumped through the mountainous Stargate I immediately warp to my favourite hidey hole. Not far from planet three and it’s surrounding orbital bodies. I immediately started to scan the system however I was having problem with my vision and thing we’re not going well. Was that another Rifter over there? Nope it is a Retrubution. Drake? Yeah that’s a Drake. Only 20km from me apparently… that’s not right… ummm…
Then my senses started to solidify again. Yes there was a Battlecruiser sitting only 20km from me. Yes he did have me targeted and no… I couldn’t engage warp drives as they did not seem to be responding. However I was not taking damage and I had started moving out of his range. Then the Drake seemed to come alive. He turned towards my Rifter and engaged his engines. His drake was faster than my Rifter. Some how he was managing to gain on me… 19km, 18km, 17km He was not going to let me get away so I decided to do the only thing that made any sense to my drink addled brain. Engage engines and move TOWARDS the Battlecruiser. 10km, 9000m, Engage Autocannons and fire!
I think he wanted to test his shield. He let me shoot him for about 3 minutes. He then engaged his engines again. 10km, 11km, 12km… Bang! One salvo from his massive missile launchers and I had lost my first ship to piracy. I warped my pod out of harms way in seconds… but not before I heard a ‘Good fight’ echo through my speakers. I went back to Malkalen and started researching the market for another Rifter and all my fittings. This is not over…
After a night of sleep my head felt better. I barely remembered my encounter of the night before but the sight of a brand new Rifter and all the trimmings brought it back. Drake. Toying with me. My rusty Rifter being engulfed in flames. I got the ground crew to get started on my new Rifter straight away. I was looking forward to getting back into the fray. It took them 3 hours to get my ship ready for departure. I got in my pod and fused it with the newly built Rifter. Time to get back to Aurohen, time to see if I can make it as a outlaw and a pirate.
I decided that the deadspace hidey hole I had been using was probably not a good idea so decided to search for a new one. I chanced upon a nice place between two of the planets where my scanner could pick up a number of belts, stargates and also the stations. I also found that, with a bit of computer wizardry I could gain details on the people who we’re currently in the same system as me. I started trawling through employment histories and biographies to see who was around. I noticed that a few of them seemed to be in the same alliance or corp.
Intrigued I started a secure ship to ship call with one of them. I explained I was new to the system and the way of life and asked what the benefits of being part of a larger group would be. As he was a Pirate I had to descipher his ramblings as they were filled with lots of ‘Yarr’s’ and ‘Oo Ahh’s’ but I got the gist of it. He was telling me that space was a lonely place for a pirate and the best thing a youngling could hope for was for a more experienced pirate to show him the ‘yarring’ ropes.
I cut the pirate I was talking to off mid ‘yarr’ as I had just seen a prime target. An Imicus had just landed at one of the belts… I hacked into his files and checked his alliances. Nothing, School of Applied Knowledge. The starting school, learning the basics. Good.
I start my warp towards the belt he is at. I land 30km away from him. Not great but not to bad. I engage engines and turn towards him. I don’t know if he’s noticed me yet. I was now in targeting range. But I decide to leave it a few beats.. 22km, 21km, 20km, 19km, targeting computer active and locked. Warp disruptor comes online. I’ve got him. He has now turned toward me and we are racing towards each other. At 1000m I engage my guns. The pilot engaged his guns. We are both running through shield and into armor. I activate my armor repairer. He is still steadily falling into low armor while mine is now slowed as the robotics do they’re job.
He’s in structure, and I am only 500m away from him when his ship explodes in a flash of brilliant light. His pod sits in the middle of the wreck. He must be dazed by the explosion as he doesn’t warp away immediately. I check my scanner. Nothing on scan. Locked and Warp Disrupter active. 500m away. Autocannons activated and his corpse flies lonely in space. My first real ‘Kill’
The Hell Cats channel suddenly activates with a 'Roar'. Someone is actually shouting 'Roar' down the communicater! His name is Gilgamesh1980
To be continued…
As I read through the log of Spectre I notice that, under all the text and useless date, buried in the annals of that log is a link to another, a link to the leader of a feared and respected all female corporation. Mynxee and the Hell Cats.
I scan through the logs, finding inspiration and yet another perspective of the life of an outlaw. As I am reading, my mind started looking for the specific piece of code. The piece of code I need to be able to hardwire my onboard communicator into the radio links of the Hell Cats just as I had done with The Python Cartel. Got it.
I swig back the rum, stumble out of the bar and out towards the docking bay, mumbling excuses to people I’ve knocked into. Once in my rusty Rifter I inserted the code into my receiver and it has worked. I was now able to listen into the Hell Cats channel whenever I wanted. While still in the grasp of the marathon drinking binge I undocked my Rifter and made my way back to Aurohen, freshly galvanised, and very drunk.
Once I have jumped through the mountainous Stargate I immediately warp to my favourite hidey hole. Not far from planet three and it’s surrounding orbital bodies. I immediately started to scan the system however I was having problem with my vision and thing we’re not going well. Was that another Rifter over there? Nope it is a Retrubution. Drake? Yeah that’s a Drake. Only 20km from me apparently… that’s not right… ummm…
Then my senses started to solidify again. Yes there was a Battlecruiser sitting only 20km from me. Yes he did have me targeted and no… I couldn’t engage warp drives as they did not seem to be responding. However I was not taking damage and I had started moving out of his range. Then the Drake seemed to come alive. He turned towards my Rifter and engaged his engines. His drake was faster than my Rifter. Some how he was managing to gain on me… 19km, 18km, 17km He was not going to let me get away so I decided to do the only thing that made any sense to my drink addled brain. Engage engines and move TOWARDS the Battlecruiser. 10km, 9000m, Engage Autocannons and fire!
I think he wanted to test his shield. He let me shoot him for about 3 minutes. He then engaged his engines again. 10km, 11km, 12km… Bang! One salvo from his massive missile launchers and I had lost my first ship to piracy. I warped my pod out of harms way in seconds… but not before I heard a ‘Good fight’ echo through my speakers. I went back to Malkalen and started researching the market for another Rifter and all my fittings. This is not over…
After a night of sleep my head felt better. I barely remembered my encounter of the night before but the sight of a brand new Rifter and all the trimmings brought it back. Drake. Toying with me. My rusty Rifter being engulfed in flames. I got the ground crew to get started on my new Rifter straight away. I was looking forward to getting back into the fray. It took them 3 hours to get my ship ready for departure. I got in my pod and fused it with the newly built Rifter. Time to get back to Aurohen, time to see if I can make it as a outlaw and a pirate.
I decided that the deadspace hidey hole I had been using was probably not a good idea so decided to search for a new one. I chanced upon a nice place between two of the planets where my scanner could pick up a number of belts, stargates and also the stations. I also found that, with a bit of computer wizardry I could gain details on the people who we’re currently in the same system as me. I started trawling through employment histories and biographies to see who was around. I noticed that a few of them seemed to be in the same alliance or corp.
Intrigued I started a secure ship to ship call with one of them. I explained I was new to the system and the way of life and asked what the benefits of being part of a larger group would be. As he was a Pirate I had to descipher his ramblings as they were filled with lots of ‘Yarr’s’ and ‘Oo Ahh’s’ but I got the gist of it. He was telling me that space was a lonely place for a pirate and the best thing a youngling could hope for was for a more experienced pirate to show him the ‘yarring’ ropes.
I cut the pirate I was talking to off mid ‘yarr’ as I had just seen a prime target. An Imicus had just landed at one of the belts… I hacked into his files and checked his alliances. Nothing, School of Applied Knowledge. The starting school, learning the basics. Good.
I start my warp towards the belt he is at. I land 30km away from him. Not great but not to bad. I engage engines and turn towards him. I don’t know if he’s noticed me yet. I was now in targeting range. But I decide to leave it a few beats.. 22km, 21km, 20km, 19km, targeting computer active and locked. Warp disruptor comes online. I’ve got him. He has now turned toward me and we are racing towards each other. At 1000m I engage my guns. The pilot engaged his guns. We are both running through shield and into armor. I activate my armor repairer. He is still steadily falling into low armor while mine is now slowed as the robotics do they’re job.
He’s in structure, and I am only 500m away from him when his ship explodes in a flash of brilliant light. His pod sits in the middle of the wreck. He must be dazed by the explosion as he doesn’t warp away immediately. I check my scanner. Nothing on scan. Locked and Warp Disrupter active. 500m away. Autocannons activated and his corpse flies lonely in space. My first real ‘Kill’
The Hell Cats channel suddenly activates with a 'Roar'. Someone is actually shouting 'Roar' down the communicater! His name is Gilgamesh1980
To be continued…
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