Log Entry #001
Pete Conroy – Class E Freight License (50 – 499 units)
Location: Planet Manhatten, New York System, Liberty Sector
Date: 29 November, 816AS
Uh...what happened? Oh, right. Cleaned out...again. Shouldn't have bet the ship on that tweaking Hacker in the Connecticut Races. I loved that Whale. She was the best ship I ever flew. Quick, responsive, and solitary. Not like those monstrosities plying the lanes nowadays...Advanced Trains. What's so advanced about 'em? Can't turn, no maneuvering through asteroids, and for what? A little extra carg...
This isn't helping. I need to figure out what I'm gonna do now. What was I thinking? Oh yeah. Universal fired me for some of those less-than-legal dealings I did in their Whale when I was between company jobs. One of the good parts of working for Universal, they let you freelance as long as it's within company morals. Guess heading to Crete with some food and weapons wasn't part of company morals.
So here I am, 31 years old, been flying transports since I was 20, and now I gotta start over...again.
Log Entry #004
Pete Conroy – Class E Freight License (50 – 499 units)
Location: Planet Manhatten, New York System, Liberty Sector
Date: 2 December, 816AS
I knew old Markus would come through. But four hundred points a week is steep, even for a guy with my record. But it's all I can get. Two hundred thousand credits won't buy much though. Time to see what it's like, and how the little people haul freight.
Best thing I got going for me now is my knowledge of the tradelanes and prices.
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Ship dealer wasn't too thrilled when I walked in either. What is it with people? They see a guy down on his luck...again, a little scruffy around the edges, hungry, and looking over his shoulder and assume the worst. Bah, just let me get a ship and get outta here.
I could have picked that StarTracker, all the guns it could carry, and go hunt down criminal. Be a Bounty Hunter. But that's not me. I can't abide killin' someone over a few credits...just hope Markus feels the same way.
No, that CSV is more my style. It'll take most of my credits. I'm going to have to sell the shield and buy a smaller one...damn, same goes for the scanner. I gotta have some money to buy cargo.
Log Entry #005
Pete Conroy – Class E Freight License (50 – 499 units)
Location: Planet Leeds, Leeds System, Bretonia Sector
Date: December 2, 816AS
Well, I got me some credits now, but not without peril. My insurance premiums are gonna be so high. Took my first trip to LD14 in quite a while. What a cesspool. Dirty, smells like a forgotten synth-meat factory, and full of irradiated people that won't live 10 more years. They don't tell'm poor souls that when the sign on at that place though. Pay's good, but not worth it.
They took my cargo just the same, and filled my hold full of MOX bound for Stokes. I finally got a CM dropper on Stokes so those fraggin' pirates at least have a little work to do. Where they found a CM dropper on that smelter I'll never know. They sure needed the MOX, even the little my CSV could hold. Some big order for more Dunkirks for the war effort. Picked up some excess Beryllium from Stokes for the return trip, then made for Leeds and a night's sleep.
Ship: CSV Armament: Scanner, Lvl2 Shield, CM Dropper Money: 136800
Log Entry #008
Pete Conroy – Class E Freight License (50 – 499 units)
Location: Newark Station, New York System, Liberty Sector
Date: December 3, 816AS
Fraggin' pirates. Not just the recruits either. Usually they stay away from small-time traders like myself.
...Hmm. Small time. Didn't used to be that way did it? That's all changed now I guess. But at least I work for myself now. Freelance work. For now, I suppose that's the only way open to me...
Anyway, got a tip from an old Universal friend about a jumphole that would cut two systems and hours of travel off my route, but it went right near a Hacker base. Markam...Maltan...Mactan, that's it. I guess I was overconfident in my little CSV's abilities. I'd been flying it a bit now, and thought I was quite familiar with it and could outrun or outsmart the recruits there. Didn't plan on an elite.
Phate saw me on scanners, and so did his recruit wing-mates. Apparently he didn't have much control over them, because as we were “negotiating” a price (I still can't believe he stopped me!), his wing-mates blew up my CSV. Man I need to get a new shield...and now a new ship too. My insurance premium is going to skyrocket.
Finally made it the old fashioned way back to Trenton (man Cortez is beautiful), and made a few more small runs. I remember seeing somewhere that they've automated those big Armored Transports now so that one man could run them. And the hold size I hear is almost five times as big as this little CSV. But almost three million credits. <sigh> I guess I should quit daydreaming and get back to work.
Ship: CSV Armament: Scanner, Lvl2 Shield, CM Dropper Money: 496800
Log Entry #011
Pete Conroy – Class E Freight License (50 - 499 units)
Location: Aomouri Station, Honshu System, Kusari Sector
Date: December 5, 816AS
Another good day of trade, and without a lot of the headaches I've usually had. I heard that Ageira had some need of polymers at their Colorodo facility. It's pretty expensive buying that stuff from Trenton, but as long as it turns a profit.
As I undocked from Trenton, I said my goodbyes to Control and noted that New York was quiet today. A good thing too, usually I squelch the comms passing through here.
Got to Pueblo without incident, although there were some Xenos lurking about. Lucky for me I wasn't sighted, this little CSV wouldn't be able to take much. Slim pickin's at Pueblo though, and only thing that would turn a profit where I was headed was some Lane Parts. Headed out toward Kusari space and Roppongi Station, which I arrived at without incident. Something must be up, it's never this easy. Either that or I'm getting jumpy. Headed to the bar at Roppongi hoping to finish out the night in the plush Interspace Commerce base, but I heard a gentleman looking for a ship. After introducing myself, the gentleman said that he was looking for transport for himself and nineteen others to Honshu, but they HAD to leave tonight. For the money he was paying, I couldn't resist.
We went back to my ship and made haste for New Tokyo where the gentleman's group waited. These people, let me tell you. They thought themselves pretty important, and wouldn't leave without their Luxury goods and foods, which I had to make room for as well. Nasty stuff that Luxury food, goes bad so fast and smells vaguely like bad fish. Well, we made it to Honshu, and after I was paid, I decided to make way to Aomouri Base. The GMG know how to get that smell outta my hold.
Ship: CSV Armament Scanner, Lvl2 Shield, CM Dropper Credits: 694,000
Log Entry #014
Pete Conroy – Class E Freight License (50 – 499 units)
Location: Gran Canaria, Omega 49 System, Edge Worlds
Date: 6 December 816AS
Whew! What a trip this was. Where to begin? Well, I got some new equipment...wait, no that's not the beginning. Oh yeah. Heard from someone on Aomouri about an opportunity to haul some pretty caustic cargo, but the pay was amazingly high. So I headed back to Honshu for some Plutonium. Now I know, that's some dangerous cargo, and one false step and I'm dead. Not to mention all the terrorists and criminals out for you to get the stuff. I figured if I was going to be hauling this stuff, I'd better get some equipment. I was loath to spend the money I've been saving for that Armored Transport, but it was time to arm my CSV against those pirates.
I stopped off on several spots along the way, the first being the Luxury Liner Hawaii. What a place that is. About as high and mighty as you can get on a spaceship. Niobium and Gold trimmed rails, even in the hanger bay! And some nice weaponry too they were willing to sell to someone as non-established as me. I picked myself up a couple of Chainguns and a Debilitator turret to discourage those cusses on my tail.
Next stop was Freeport 9 on my way through some of the Edge Worlds. Thank the spirits that Universal let me keep my logbook and sector maps, or I'd just be lost out here. The Zoners are known to sell a lot of their best stuff to a lot of different people, and I was no exception. I finally feel a little safer after picking up a Barrier Shield for my freighter. I might be able to last more than ten seconds out here now. Upon seeing the cargo in my hold, the dockmaster mentioned to me a place where I could get eight-hundred more credits per unit on my Plutonium then Dortmund, but it was quite a dangerous trip through hotly contested systems and past a Neutron Star.
But with only a couple hundred credits left after buying the Barrier Shield, I didn't have much choice. I was just lucky that Freeport5 was where it was, and made a quick stopover there to dodge some OPG and other Corsairs operating in the area. I made it through OK (if you can call having one quarter of my hull obliterated by the Neutron star) and after a jaunt through some very contested, but very desolate, Omega47, I found myself in a system of amazing beauty. I made my way to where the dockmaster told me, and as good as his word, made a good amount on my cargo. I undocked empty and headed to the planet in the system, but beforehand, found a wreck in the Barrier field and salvaged some pretty expensive hardware, which I sold on Canaria.
This place is wonderful. Peaceful, vibrant, and green. And something called a Sophie's apple pie? I gotta try one.