Gran Canaria, is a beautiful planet. Not as nice as Iota, as i’ve learnt it is called, but not much is.
Sat in the bar on Freeport in Delta this morning, drinking coffee while checking my star charts and notes. Nothing too taxing for early start activity, just casual researching of what i could do today. By chance there were people talking in the bar, about Gran Canaria in Omega 48. Something about combining different elements to produce engine exhaust trails of varying colours. Something to think about, for sure.
I kept at my task, looking for discrepancies, anomalies on the charts available here and the ones i had. I couldn’t find any. Returned to my ship and spent most of the day listening to my audio logs previously made. They held some memory surprises. And some fond reminders of my past.
By the time i had finished with them, it was already late. My mind flicked back to the bar chat i overheard. Must admit, it was tempting to go and see what they were offering. If only for the looks. Plotted a course back to Omega space, planning a shortcut through 52. No harm in cutting through coalition space. Seemed like nobody was home, anyway. Not sure id be wanting to meet any of them though.
With Omega 52 out the way, Gran Canaria was only a short in-system cruise away. It was a beautiful sight. Habitable, lush planet beside a pearly white nebula. Sirius does seem to have a few hidden gems out there. Docked, headed to the equipment dealer and browsed his selection. The range of colours was definitely appealing… but they just didn’t… feel right. I left Gran Canaria and returned to Delta with exactly what i went with.
Upon my return, i briefly saw the engines of an Order fighter craft. Past exploration of Delta told me that the Order had a base in the same asteroid cluster as the jump hole i had just exited. Didn’t take me long to make up my mind. The dealer there told me he couldn’t officially sell the engine to me, but he showed me a selection of de-listed stock. Its not the real deal, but its close enough. Back at Freeport, Revenant was there. A little chat before she disappeared on me again, for some unknown reason. Again.
Barely moments later, rusty appeared, as well as several technocracy and AI vessels. They all went the same way, except rusty. I decided to follow them. From Delta, to Theta, to… Gamma. Approaching Crete… a large scale battle was seeming well underway. Corsairs and Outcasts…. They do not seem to stop no matter how many are lost. Typical. On my return, yet more flocked to the fray. Let em blow each other up… not like i care. Set course for Pygar, want to give my ship a good clear out. It wont take long, unless something crops up…
Received a mail, while working on my ship. Of course, i hoped it was Cat getting back to me. It wasn’t. Something about a package being delivered to Delta, a 50,000 package, at that. I hadn’t ordered anything. The only thing that sprung to mind was my strange weapons expert. But even then, we used other communication methods. Cat? More than likely she would send something to Daros, instead of me. Crowley? Doubt it.
Well, the ship maintenance was at a decent enough point to stop for now and reassemble. It didn’t take long and i was curious. What was this package? Where did it come from? Why was it sent to me?
Arrived in Delta, two other messages. Package arrived, and delivered to one Hans Meiser. Who? Who is this guy? And how were they able to get a package taken for me, when i don’t even know who they are?? Guess ill find out. Freeport was in sight. So was an AI drone, and Daros. Good. Some who may know and have more than likely seen this Hans guy.
Well apparently not. Daros didn’t know, and the drone was occupied with data analysis it seemed. I docked with Freeport to see the ship dock manifest and those who had stayed. Not one single Hans Meiser on the list. So if they were here, they didn’t dock. Always when my curiosity is focused, does the thing i’m focused on either disappear or change course. Damnit. Returned to space, Daros was asking the AI more questions, about a ship called the Halcon. A ship i had seen earlier, in the battle in Gamma. Why did he want to know about that ship specifically?
I told him it was destroyed in combat, and that may be why the drone couldn’t find it. Which was true. I had gotten close enough to see the ships name on the hull, and it had blown its engines, the ship being adrift, disabled. Not like it mattered. He did however confess to being Hans Meiser. Shoulda bloody guessed . Ah well, at least it want some random parcel thief. He started querying about Cat to the AI drone, it gave us a last known location and an audio file. Delta. Right outside Freeport, talking to Empress. The Order….
Their last known conversation was about music. And Kepler. Why Kepler? While i thought about it… i opened the package and sent payment to the courier. 50,000, for? I didn’t quite believe it… my family’s heirloom of sorts… Blue Diamonds. Passed down from Generation to Generation as the last moves on. It was the realisation that now i was in possession of them, i was more alone than i ever realised. And yet… i didn’t feel sad. Just, stunned.
Daros was more curious about the drones knowledge of Cat, and me with the diamonds, that we didn’t really pay much attention to the approaching nomad. Then.. more. Daros left me to try and.. i dunno. Gather intel from the AI. But i don’t know how to communicate with them. I just know how to take my ship apart and reassemble it, among other things. Neither of us got anything from either of our tasks. But there were several nomads.
Coincidentally, there was a Bounty Hunter with the old Hitman Insignia just turned up from Theta way, and two Outcast capital ships. I didn’t have the patience to be dealing with them, nor watch as they chose to engage the nomads… there were more than just the three who had flown around Freeport earlier… and they clearly didn’t intend on leaving us alone. I chose to fly away to Theta. To where i was met by a familiar corsair. Nina.
I had Daros with me, and there was another Corsair who showed up. Talks were brief, and somewhat humorous from what Daros was doing. I was amused. Don’t think Nina was though. Nor her friend. Lots of back and forth about Freeport Nine, Nina left and… i couldn’t tolerate anymore of this “justified acton” crap. I had to leave. Pygar was starting to become a frequent spot, and it was losing its calming sense of security. Not that it mattered right now… i just needed to sleep…
A quiet day and a fairly lengthy flight. With Singularis.
Delta had its spike in strange activity yesterday… todays Delta was almost silent. Until Singularis took off from Freeport. At first i didn’t recognise him. He was in a smaller craft for a start. But when he spoke. I recognised his artificial voice. A friend. He wanted to return to Earhart, and see what i had seen through the unstable jump points there. I don’t blame him.
I offered to go with him again, and he seemed more than pleased for the offer. He seemed concerned that his vessel wouldn’t be enough if it came to combat. I hoped it wouldn’t come to combat at all, but better safe than sorry. He told me he needed to stop off at a base in Inverness to acquire and install a cloaking device. I didn’t mind the detour. It’d be useful for us both to be cloak equipped for this trip.
We set off, directing towards Theta, and then Omega 41. This route would give us two options. Jump holes or Jump gates. By how… uncertain i felt Singularis was about not being aboard his cruiser… Jump gates was the best bet. It'd keep us away from pirates and speed up the journey. A quick stop off at the Freeport in Omega 3, then a direct course for Cortez.
It felt strange to return to the place i had found so many stations and yet so little interest to be. I hasn’t before checked the home of the Starfliers, so it was something new. I also didn’t know much about them. Only that they tended to also be explorers. As we began landing sequencing, he informed me of possible delays to install. That was fine, something so sophisticated would require ship circuit integration. I wonder if they have a bar here… and somewhere to sleep.
Woke up from sleeping in the seat again, docked aboard the Starfliers base in Inverness according to the log. A message from Singularis that the integration of the cloak was complete. Ship launched, and we met just outside the station once more.
Quick tests of the device, and a brief chat with a Spa and Cruise pilot, commanding a less luxurious vessel than I’m used to seeing them in. The storage tanker Barge vessel. They seemed cheery though. We discussed the route, and the plan. Singularis needed time at the Jump gate to Earhart, to scan for data. And time to process said data. I didn’t mind. It was an interesting functional…. Supergate? On the way through liberty, i received a long range message from Daros. Wanted to know when we returned. Maybe something about Cat?
The trip through Alaska was uneventful with cloaks and we arrived in Earhart once more. Such a beautiful place. Not quite as pretty as… Iota. But definitely elegant. We looked around, finding the unstable jump holes and the ways back… were different. What… what if you got stuck in one of these pockets of space… could you make it back? I shook the thought away. I didn’t wanna find out.
We poked around, Singularis scanned the middle structure again and we headed to the uncharted space…together this time. The first, was the same as my first. Similar structure in the middle, strange moving, metal panels? I couldn’t tell. Seems like the structures themselves don’t change. Data is data though. With that we returned to Earhart, and braved the second system. This one was… different. A seeming large nebula, strange shaped rocks, much like in Minor and other such omicrons. Explosive gas field, nearby to a planet. Aside from these, nothing of note.
Singularis wanted to return to the first uncharted sector. To explore a little closer to the structure there. I decided that it was safe enough, so i made myself useful by finding the ways home. Both were fairly close to home. Tau 31, and Minor. Singularis went and got closer to the structure, and found a semi “hole” in the protective barrier. He was still only able to get so far before the barrier stopped him. A weakened portion. But not breached.
We rendezvoused at the Minor jump point. Headed through and found ourselves at the Tarancon Base wreck. The old Junker installation. Not too far from Toledo… which i knew now to be the nomad Retaliation against the Order, thanks… to the nomad communications i’ve… experienced. Singularis mentioned he needed to process the data he gathered from our joint excursion into the unknown, and he would do so aboard Omnisciens. This served to remind me that i should contact Daros that we had returned. Docked with Freeport for refuelling and repairs. Then sent the message. Guess that soon I will find out what he has to say.
Nomads, Daros and a Bounty Hunter. The same one from the other day.
The comms line came through from Daros. He wanted to check on me, apparently. Well. A bit strange to randomly wanna check on me as i leave for maybe the most dangerous areas of space. But i suppose its reasonable concern. I did leave without saying anything.
Launched after the repairs were complete… to see a Nomad on. Sensors, close to Freeport and the No Fire Zone. Not a good sign. Especially when it was trying to lure me away. Into the purple nebula. Probably to try and kill me away from Freeport. Daros showed up not long after, and we talked a bit about the visitor. He thought it was a dangerous type, and despite my curiosity, i decided against it. We sat and talked a bit, about the Nomads.
He asked me how i was doing, and i told him the truth. My mind wasn’t settled, probably because of stress, overthinking and the like. Talked some about feelings too.. towards these nomads. Then about what Rusty told me about them. Daros told me about one of his encounters, and how the Order know nothing on them. Or at least make out they do. On Harbinger at least. More nomad talk, and moved over to Revenant and how Daros doesn’t trust her approach. Or Harbinger for that matter.
Occasional visitors popped by, one of them called Daros “nomad whisperer.” Guess he couldn’t help trying in front of many others. Our chat led onto the Order and their tech. And possibly finding out what kinds of tech they have. It got to the point where we considered running some contracts for them. Clear out some of the more… dangerous and threatening presences of the system.
Afterwards, he had to do some routine maintenance or something. I chose to look into getting some self-training done. It was going fine. And a Bounty Hunter stopped to watch. It got to the Fourth attack group, and i was suffering immensely. Out of repairs, ship hull deteriorating. They moved in to assist, making quick work of the ships. Afterwards… we got talking. Turns out he was the same one i saw the other day, the one with the Hitman Insignia.
His story, it seemed… intriguing and yet. Didn’t feel totally true. It was probably to do with the distrust i had for most around these parts.. and for the fact that they were aligned with the Core. They seemed to be… more concerned that they were the last of the hitmen alive than anything else, though they had a new recruit in the last few weeks. They told me they were around to see if their other missing hitmen were here in hiding, and to see if there were more who could be recruited to his cause.
When i spoke about the nomads and why i was fighting out here, he showed an immediate suspicion of me, specifically mentioning “infected”. Seems no friendship should be formed here. Especially considering if i let slip what I’ve seen, where I’ve been and what I’ve done… he would probably have me executed. He also told me his name. Lock. No harm in him knowing mine. Not like he can research and find out I’ve communicated with Nomads before.
We parted ways, and i went out on another self-training exercise. More to try and prove I didn’t need help. Well, turned out that was a mistake. They didn’t look like much… but they for certain were not the usual small variant. They didn’t seem to be fazed by my weapons fire, or even damaged. I sent a distress signal out, in the hopes that someone would answer in time. And guess who showed up? Lock.
Together, we singled out each form one after another. It took time, and an attack group of the small craft i was assuming the contract would have been to begin with showed up. Tough, but manageable. Sometimes… just have to be a little more cautious. I thanked Lock for the second time this evening, and heard him speak of the past. Which reminded me… of my own past. Suddenly i didn’t want to be anywhere. So i took my leave to Freeport.
After yesterday, i slept long, yet fitful. Thoughts were not my friend, dreams all had twisted meanings. Nothing really made total sense, and i couldn’t tell if it was to do with the nomads, or something more. Took myself out for a bit, to test myself. My battle capacity grew just a little. At least i think it did. Wouldn’t know unless i was truly tested.
After several excursions out, fulfilling these contracts, i needed some time away from the intensity of combat. I needed, a break. Got myself out of my ship and headed towards the equipment dealer. Asked him if he knew about Orders current tech. He responded with a shake of the head. But then he told me that the Lane Hackers might know. Back in Liberty. Worth a thought, they are well known for technological expertise, and spying on people.
Made some notes on it, then took the time to make some form of plan for a future trip. When the time arises of course. Also planned a stop-off near to Kepler, remembering the audio file of Cat. The events that had led me to now, and the people i had met. Crowley. Haven’t seen them in too long. Maybe if i don’t see them soon in omicrons, ill try a trip around the places I’ve seen them before.
Took a short sleep after, a quick recharge. It was one of those moments that you wonder if you should have, or would have been better off sleeping through. Because i was greeted with Revenant, a Zoner and a Nomad. A brief chat with Revenant, asking if they knew what was going on. Nothing. Well. Either that she didn’t know, or she did and just didn’t want to tell me. Either way, i didn’t press. Theres no point trying to probe when theres no need.
It looked inactive. Didn’t seem to be threatening in any shape. Just, almost resting. Calm. I watched, maybe even stared a little. Of course, my reasons for that were because it was within the no fire zone. Not by much, but enough. Maybe the nomad could feel me staring a bit, because it touched my mind. And… that strange familiarity id felt from one before… that told me enough. One that had been around a few times, and hadn’t engaged me.
What i didn’t understand, was whether its briefness was due to disinterest, or being preoccupied. It didn’t seem to have anything to focus on. But… the Zoner had been relatively quiet. In fact. He hadn’t spoken at all. My best guess is that it was occupied. But i also guess that it isn’t my place to prod snd poke. So instead, i powered down my weapons. No need for them to be potentially misfired and endanger Freeport.
Revenant seemed bored, almost as disinterested in the goings on as the nomad might have been in me. She soon left us to sit there in our own, almost calmed silence. Thinking about it… it was getting late. I wondered if i should sleep myself. Well, that was until Lock departed from Freeport’s mooring fixture. He seemed surprised at the nomad presence as i was. And i almost right away blurted out that it was safe, that i had met this one before and it wasn’t going to endanger the Freeport. But then i remembered yesterday, and chose a more careful approach.
He got closer to it than any of us before, and the nomad… began glowing differently. It was small, and far away, but the shift was noticeable. I barely reacted, assuming it was more defensive for in case Lock got any closer. I wouldn’t find out though. Sleep had begun to call me, more than before. The luxury yacht remained stationary, and silent, and Lock didn’t seem to want to attack the currently-peaceful nomad. So i bid them goodnight, and even directed a roundabout form of goodnight to the nomad. Risky, but i did make it sound more like an attempt at relief it hadn’t attacked me. Lock didn’t seem to react either. Not like it’d matter, either way. With the formalities of departure out of the way, Freeport gave me clearance to land once more, for much-needed rest.
Set myself up with a self-training exercise, plenty of threats, limited repairs, no ally support. This time…. This time id make sure i did what i needed. Fighter attack groups. Seven contacts. Normally i wouldn’t fancy my chances, but i was determined. Some quietly whispered words to myself, just a boost to counter my own mental uncertainty. One group, then another. Shields wavered a bit, and some minor holes in the wings. Nothing Freeport engineers couldn’t fix.
Returned, got fixed up, refuelled. Checked to see if Cat had left me a message. At this point i should have expected exactly what i saw, but i guess i’m more concerned shes in need of me n Daros to help her. Except we cannot seem to find out where she went. Launched and was met with Order. I remember them from awhile ago. They went missing for a time. Wondered if some nomad had gotten them alone. What i actually asked was if they’d annoyed the wrong superior. The response was pretty much yes.
I sat there, perusing my charts and notes, making plans for tomorrow after some more training, to go and explore Omegas some more. Something didn’t add up. There was a gap in my systems. one of the Omegas was missing. Might be worth investigating why. Checked sensors, Lock and Revenant. Need to keep more aware than that… if they were nomads… i would probably be dead about now…
Neither of them seemed to be focused either though. Revenant was her usual, cryptic self and Lock seemed to have matters to deal with in relation to the Hitmen. We did talk a bit about the surrounding groups though, and the Coalition. For what good that’ll do. Talking about them wont change how they are. Nor solve the problems. Revenant departed, and Lock got a call too. Something about a ship and being ready. Probably some sorta anti-pirate tech? I dunno. Not my place to query. Not sure i really care either.
Alone once more, Freeports steady shipping traffic being quite intermittent. Couldn’t concentrate. Figured with there being such silence around Delta, that my usual spot round the back of the sun would be a good place to hold out. It was, for about as long as it takes one to settle down to relax. Locks voice. Seemingly close, yet… how? He would have been at Durban by now. More than likely out of hearing range.
He spoke again, and his “right-hand” responded. Close. And yet they weren’t anywhere to be seen. Did a lap of the planet, and. A disturbance. A ship, materialising. Large capital, Carrier class. He called it the “Bastion”… and i must admit i was quite surprised to see such a vessel in the Bounty Hunter forces. I wasn’t even sure they were able to run such a ship to its full effectiveness. Maybe they’re leaning on the core for support. He told me a bit of the ships past. How it had been in a losing battle, repaired then abandoned, re-found and returned to service.
As much as i’d liked to have remained, it was getting late and i was planning a trip for tomorrow. Rest and provisions.
Got my stocks ready on Freeport, prepared some Cloaking power cells and coffee reserves, as a backup. Hit the bar early to see what was going on, if there were some hearsay to look into, or some trailed rumours to follow. Nothing. Launched, all prepared for my voyage. Freeport was clear. Performed some systems checks before i headed out, cause what good is finding a malfunction halfway in the middle of nowhere? Sensors gave a light ping; Revenant. A brief exchange of pleasantries, and a chat about Theta before the Freeport team alerted everyone around the station that there was an imminent ion storm
Not the greatest start to the day, but at least i was not in Omega 41 already. For sure i would have not found out and been caught out in it. As it stood, i was able to dock and remain on the Freeport. Of course it’d be nice to watch from Freeports bar. Armed with a coffee and my notepad, i watch and wait for the storm. Twenty minutes pass. Half an hour. Still nothing. When will these predictions be accurate? I mean, look at Kepler. How many years late? Still nothing. Maybe it was just in a different sector.
There was, however, someone seeming quite shook up. A Zoner. They told me one of their transports had gone dark abruptly, in the system. Sat down and talked with them, told the Zoner i would go look for them, just needed a last known location and a direction of travel. They only were able to give me a last known. But its good enough. Launched and went out. Left my cloak. Charges and supplies at Freeport. No need for them with a simple rescue mission. Well. It would have been simple if it weren’t for the fact the ship was destroyed, and the debris was watched over by a nomad… one of the larger variants…
Of course, it made its move towards me. I had enough time to run, but. I felt… an anger. That i didn’t before. Someone who was just living their life, trying to earn some credits… killed. For the first time… i felt like Fighting. I felt a rage build that would only be sated by either mine or their death. Targeting systems primed, evasion patterns planned and ready for execution.
All nomads are painful to fight and down… this one… it had manoeuvrability… and seemed to be able to punch through my ship easily. I wasn’t going down without a fight, though. The more-familiar flashes of my own armaments connected, over and over. The nomad didn’t seem to be affected. Just… focus, Jack… focus damnit! Work your core efficiency, remember what you practiced. Its probably the most important time to remember all which you’ve trained with. When it looks like its actually hurting… dump the core on it, get in close enough to not waste it.
Several minutes of intense combat, spare shield cells and repair bots were gone, coolant was leaking. The Nomad seemed to tire of my will to want it dead. Its firing became less frequent. Until… well. The organic vessel seemed to… detonate in some fashion… quite spectacularly. Blue caustic slime plastered one side of my cockpit and i could only imagine the state of my ship. Readings and sensors were utterly fried. The atmosphere seemed to be heated up quite considerably. I needed to get home. Alls i had access to was manual controls. Whole ship was just…. Dead. Spose i better hope that after my heroic deed theres enough to get back to Freeport…. Though i also… feel…
Still feel hollow.. even after there being no real reason to be…
Manual flight was something im certainly used to. But not quite in the conditions i was in. Ship had nothing. No map, no sensor array. Not even the comms relay was intact. I did however have thrust controls, so i could point and crawl home. Some good news at least. I was basically trapped flying a metal coffin at as fast as she would allow me, which was about half impulse speed… better than no engines at all. Weapons systems had died by now too, and the integrity of the ship read “Critical, 0 Percent” on anything that had a half-intact display. There was enough of my transponder to gain docking clearance. That was it.
Freeport engineers turned down the restoration project. Told me that my hunk of scrap couldn’t even be made into decent salvage. And that assistance to Pygar was too risky with the nomads more active than usual. Great. So not only would they not get my life support to a manageable level, but they wouldn’t even supply me with an escort to get to Pygar! At least the Zoner in the bar could grieve, knowing that their friend was avenged. Of course there was nothing else i could do for them. They paid me for the kill and for the news, despite me requesting them not to. They lost a friend. Thats a burden on anyones mind…
Launched in what remained of my ship, if it can even be called that, to be greeted by the Order and Daros. To which both were shocked. To be honest, i was too, to be alive. But that didn’t stop the feeling of guilt. I did my best to hide it from them both, once i’d told them. The Order guy, yeah i’m sure he’s convinced. Daros… i think he knows. He didn’t press me either. Probably because of our present company. But. I did want to get somewhere i could at the very least reinforce my hull.
Daros wanted to escort me, didn’t trust the vessel to make it out through the light Radiation zones that were among Theta. Probably smart he came with. The creaking sent shivers down my spine, but i had the support of the friend i wholly trusted. And with much less excitement than a burning vessel through a hotspot would usually provide, we made it to Pygar. A cautious landing, and several minutes of fire suppressant.
The engineers told me they’d be able to make enough repairs to get me to Gran Canaria. Best news today, that. They also told me it would take a while, so I’m stuck here until they give me a call. At least I’ve got things i can do here. And they have coffee.
