02-24-2009, 10:55 PM
Born on planet Houston in 797 A.S., James Blaine struggled to make ends meet when he met and married Evelyn May at the age of 19. Almost 15 years later, he landed a hard-earned job with DSE as a lowly stocker and inventory taker in their largest plant in Liberty. With three children and a wife to support, he was forced to work twelve-hour shifts in horrible conditions just to put bread on the table.
Things were going barely well until one day he arrived at work, back-broken and tired from the grind the day before, only to see a pink slip inside his storage vault. Jim opened the letter to reveal his worst nightmare – the company was cutting his wages by nearly a quarter. Infuriated, he stormed the automated secretary demanding to speak with his ward boss. Even pleading for a couple of credits leeway was useless. “Deep Space Engineering, with the restricted goods unable to reach Rheinland per the Embargo, must now cut costs in whatever way they see fit, including wage reductions. We apologize for any inconvenience. Have a nice day.” That was the only response he received.
Jim returned home as dusk approached, too exhausted to even remember the news he got earlier that day. He flicked on the holovision included in his apartment as he laid on the floor, unable to afford a decent bed. Evelyn, sitting quietly in a corner, began to sob. The last of their food rations had just ran dry. Jim’s news was the last thing she needed. In a sense of helplessness, Jimmy flipped through the channels on the unit. Murder, war, and famine. Everything was the same as it had been his whole life. Something caught his eye, however. A smoking ship, Starblazer class, docked on Huntsville came into view, with numerous police vehicles surrounding it.
As the police forced the rear airlock open, they dragged out a scruffy figure who looked like he had just committed a murder. The officers proceeded to grab him, and take him to the vehicles. He spat on one of them with a bitter look on his face, and started rambling about politics and corruption to the cameras, who were broadcasting live. Jim was about to change the channel, as he heard something that made him realize his whole life had been a lie. “Dem Libertay companies have been keepin’ us ter do tha dirty werk while dey reap in da profits! Ah’ve worked ma whole life fer dose bastards at da DSE an’ wat do dey do ter thank me? Dey fire me on ma 40th anniversary of bustin’ ma balls fer dem wit garbage payin’. Join da Xeeners an’ save Liberty from dis greed an’ corruption! Do it now er ye’ll -- *static***TRANSMISSION LOST*”.
Sitting up now, Jim thought for a moment. What the hell could the “Xeeners” be? Unable to sleep now, he went to pay a visit to his city’s electronic archive banks for some more information. It seemed like he spent the whole night finding what he was looking for. However, he found it eventually. The next day, Evelyn woke up to find a pink slip and a bundle of soggy crumpled credits rubber-banded and left on the floor where her husband usually slept. She read the side that had the news Jim dreaded. Evelyn broke out in tears as she turned the slip over to reveal a note signed by Jim. His wife couldn’t bear to make it through the whole letter. When the children woke up, Evelyn told them their father had run off to join a pack of crazed terrorists.
With a sick feeling in his stomach, Jim awaited at the spaceport with his a copy of the transmission he sent in hand.
He felt he had betrayed his family, leaving them to starve, and lying to the Xenos about his past. Jim reassured himself that the credits he left behind would be enough at least until his wife found someone else more capable of caring for them than him. He needed to be involved in order to help forge a future for his children in a world where fair pay and job security was unheard of. As he nearly drifted to sleep on one of the many benches in the spaceport, a flight worker notified him that his ride had arrived.
Oddly enough, it was a CTE 1440AV Starblazer. The starboard airlock opened with a hiss, and he stepped inside. Looking around, he noticed that the ship was empty. Luckily, something which seemed to be an autopilot engaged. An automated voice suddenly was heard from the cockpit control panel: “Cockpit pressurized. Atmospheric escape sequence initiated. Waypoints successfully set. Destination: Ouray Base, Colorado System.” The ship rocketed off the landing pad. Jim began to lose consciousness as the ship reached superluminal speeds.
Things were going barely well until one day he arrived at work, back-broken and tired from the grind the day before, only to see a pink slip inside his storage vault. Jim opened the letter to reveal his worst nightmare – the company was cutting his wages by nearly a quarter. Infuriated, he stormed the automated secretary demanding to speak with his ward boss. Even pleading for a couple of credits leeway was useless. “Deep Space Engineering, with the restricted goods unable to reach Rheinland per the Embargo, must now cut costs in whatever way they see fit, including wage reductions. We apologize for any inconvenience. Have a nice day.” That was the only response he received.
Jim returned home as dusk approached, too exhausted to even remember the news he got earlier that day. He flicked on the holovision included in his apartment as he laid on the floor, unable to afford a decent bed. Evelyn, sitting quietly in a corner, began to sob. The last of their food rations had just ran dry. Jim’s news was the last thing she needed. In a sense of helplessness, Jimmy flipped through the channels on the unit. Murder, war, and famine. Everything was the same as it had been his whole life. Something caught his eye, however. A smoking ship, Starblazer class, docked on Huntsville came into view, with numerous police vehicles surrounding it.
As the police forced the rear airlock open, they dragged out a scruffy figure who looked like he had just committed a murder. The officers proceeded to grab him, and take him to the vehicles. He spat on one of them with a bitter look on his face, and started rambling about politics and corruption to the cameras, who were broadcasting live. Jim was about to change the channel, as he heard something that made him realize his whole life had been a lie. “Dem Libertay companies have been keepin’ us ter do tha dirty werk while dey reap in da profits! Ah’ve worked ma whole life fer dose bastards at da DSE an’ wat do dey do ter thank me? Dey fire me on ma 40th anniversary of bustin’ ma balls fer dem wit garbage payin’. Join da Xeeners an’ save Liberty from dis greed an’ corruption! Do it now er ye’ll -- *static***TRANSMISSION LOST*”.
Sitting up now, Jim thought for a moment. What the hell could the “Xeeners” be? Unable to sleep now, he went to pay a visit to his city’s electronic archive banks for some more information. It seemed like he spent the whole night finding what he was looking for. However, he found it eventually. The next day, Evelyn woke up to find a pink slip and a bundle of soggy crumpled credits rubber-banded and left on the floor where her husband usually slept. She read the side that had the news Jim dreaded. Evelyn broke out in tears as she turned the slip over to reveal a note signed by Jim. His wife couldn’t bear to make it through the whole letter. When the children woke up, Evelyn told them their father had run off to join a pack of crazed terrorists.
With a sick feeling in his stomach, Jim awaited at the spaceport with his a copy of the transmission he sent in hand.
Quote:
I've toiled and sweated for these pathetic wages far too long! Now these damn bastards here wanna spread us out even thinner! All you gots to do now is tell me how to sign up, and I'm yours. Don't care where I go. Don't have a family to take care of... they were killed by the corporate villains long ago. Said to let "nature take its course", when they came down with a damn illness I ain't never seen before. Anywhere but this hellhole is better. Hope ya gots some room for me in there. I've already packed my bags.
He felt he had betrayed his family, leaving them to starve, and lying to the Xenos about his past. Jim reassured himself that the credits he left behind would be enough at least until his wife found someone else more capable of caring for them than him. He needed to be involved in order to help forge a future for his children in a world where fair pay and job security was unheard of. As he nearly drifted to sleep on one of the many benches in the spaceport, a flight worker notified him that his ride had arrived.
Oddly enough, it was a CTE 1440AV Starblazer. The starboard airlock opened with a hiss, and he stepped inside. Looking around, he noticed that the ship was empty. Luckily, something which seemed to be an autopilot engaged. An automated voice suddenly was heard from the cockpit control panel: “Cockpit pressurized. Atmospheric escape sequence initiated. Waypoints successfully set. Destination: Ouray Base, Colorado System.” The ship rocketed off the landing pad. Jim began to lose consciousness as the ship reached superluminal speeds.