Discovery Gaming Community

Personal Information:

Name: MCDOWELL, Evangeline Anastasia.
Birth date: 02 / 12 / 796 AS (SUT).
Birthplace: St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington W2 1NY New London, Bretonia.
Age: 22.
Family details:

Mother: MCDOWELL, Sheena.
Father: FREIDRICH, Ludwig.
Siblings: None.
Spouse: MIKOTO, Misaka.
Children (Biological): MCDOWELL, Sanya
Children (Adopted / De Facto): KINOMOTO, Sakura

Marital Status: De facto marriage.
Eye Colour: Blue.
Hair Colour: Blonde.
Height: 158cm.
Weight: 53.5Kg.
Address: No fixed address. Resides on-board a mobile spacecraft.
Employment: Self-employed transport commander.

Known Ship Information:

Ship Name / Call Sign: Alsatia
Ship Class: Transport
Ship Model: Pirate Transport
Transponder: Junkers / Junkers

Ship Name / Call Sign: The.Working.Girl
Ship Class: Transport
Ship Model: Salvage Frigate
Transponder: Junkers / Junkers

Ship Name / Call Sign: Maelstrom
Ship Class: Destroyer
Ship Model: Scylla
Transponder: Junkers / Special Operative

Ship Name / Call Sign: Evangeline.McDowell/Mikoto.Misaka
Ship Class: Freighter
Ship Model: X-11 Shuttle
Transponder: Junkers / Junkers

The words short, skinny, potty-mouthed, rude, arrogant, flat-chested, detestably adorable and little brat basically describe the wonder that is Evangeline McDowell.

Born-and-Bred Junkess I am. My mother is an Independent trader who calls Trafalgar Base in New London home. I grew up surrounded by scrap metal, junked ships, weapons, engines and some of the finest fixers the world had to offer.

The ships coming in and going out of Trafalgar always fascinated me, and as my age reached double digits I took up a practical pursuit of my interests helping the lads out with making and breaking their ships in the dry dock. I learnt how to do an oil change at the tender age of 12. I made a right mess of it, but I had the technical procedure down at least. I do believe the oil stain is still on the workshop floor at Trafalgar.

One particular boy was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of a pre-teen girl's puppy-love crush. I managed to convince him to take me on an illegal lane-racing event held by the local no-good-nicks in his highly customised Marauder. My fate was sealed then and there. I would be a pilot. I have fond memories of that race, which put him in lockup for the night and earned me a hiding from mum, who I had forgotten to inform of my whereabouts.

The next few years would be spent increasing my skills and knowledge in the fields of space ship service, repair and modification. The young lads were all to happy to help me out, especially as I grew older and my modest womanly features started to appear.

I applied for and earned my probationary pilot's license from the New London Spaceship registry on my 16th Birthday. I passed both the written and practical tests with near full marks. Of course by that time I already had 2 years' illegal flight time under my belt courtesy of the same lad who I had fallen for 4 years ago. Such a nice bloke and an excellent pilot, but he was as sharp as a sack of wet mice outside of his ship.

As a reward for earning my wings mum handed down a somewhat crusty CSV freighter. With some all-too-willing assistance I patched the ship up and made her spaceworthy. With registration papers and a transponder in hand I set out to make my own life.

The early days were spent working with a variety of people combing the Southhampton scrap field and reselling scrap metal to the smelters. It wasn't the best of earners, but for a young lass it was a good, honest income to get started in life.

My introduction to smuggling came in the form of running H-Fuel to a large mobile headquarters style station belonging to the Molly terrorists. I, along with three other similar ships, loaded up on fuel canisters and headed for the station tucked away in an asteroid cloud.

A healthy paycheque later and I had become a smuggler. I expanded my network amongst the Molly faction, securing permissions to trade to many of their bases and hideouts, including the infamous Belfast Production Facility.

Using the Junkers ability to penny-pinch, stinge and lowball to the max along side my... feminine... charm... I was able to amass a small fortune. Without the effects of alcohol, drugs or women draining my account I was among the richest of the residents of Trafalgar beside my mother, who continued her trading to the Corsairs and their allies.

It soon came time for me to leave the nest. With my credits in hand, I departed Bretonia and headed for the house of Liberty - to Rochester Base. I set up shop working as a recycler contracted to Deep Space Engineering for the cleanup of the Pittsburgh Debris Field. Together with a new group of mates we earned ourselves a decent chunk of credits before the contract expired.

From there I hooked up with the Liberty Rogues, and later the Outcasts and Lane Hackers. I traded in basic supplies such as food and water alongside things such as engine components and ship panels.

As the months came and went the little CSV started to show her age. The final nail in her coffin was the appearance of a Bactrian-class freighter for sale on Buffalo Base. With an impressive cargo bay and weapons to protect it it was a no-brainer. With some forged paperwork and transponders I was now flying a ship many times larger than the CSV I had called home for so long.

As I gained notoriety amongst the Liberty pirate factions I steadily increased my zone of operation. One of my biggest stepping stones back then was permission to trade directly to the Outcast homeworld. With a ship full of a wide variety of supplies ranging from steel plating to Boron ore, using bought maps, I embarked on the fortnight-long journey to Malta.

Now linked with almost the entire Outcast side of the pirate factions in Sirius I was able to rake in credits faster than ever before. Everyone wanted a reliable transport to satisfy their most basic needs, and they were willing to pay. My ability to traverse House space with almost no chance of reprisal ensured a constant flow of business which helped push my bank account to milepost after milepost.

The extra space on board the Bactrian gave rise to my preferred function, the carting of scrap metal to the Culebra Smelters of the Junkers. I would bring in steel, have it smelted into a variety of shapes, and then on-sell the new material to anyone who wanted it.

As with the CSV, the time for the Bactrian to meet her maker eventually arrived with the commission of what was for me, a gargantuan leap up. A fully customised transport based off the Bactrian's design profile.

In a mere 3 months the ship was prepared out of readily available snap-and-go parts and a bare minimum of electronics.

The Alsatia was born.
_____________________________________________________

This post last updated on 23/04/819AS

Entry#: 001
Date: 12 - 06 - 817 AS @ 15:04 SUT
Title: First entry!

Well, I've never had one of these before but I figure now that I have a proper transporter to fly it would be a good, idea in case this log and some charred remains end up being all that's left of me.

I decided to name the ship "Alsatia", which means "a place where law cannot reach". I think it fits quite well, considering both the people I bought it from and what I intend to do with it.

I'm going to be heading out into the Omicron Border worlds with a supply of Superconductors for the Outcasts. I've had plenty of dealings with them before but only once in their sovereign territory - I hope they don't take offence. I'll be smuggling cardamine back into Liberty space on the return, which I've been told is pretty dangerous if you're not careful. I'll probably end up paying for an escort or something, I'm not up to shooting things down when I can barely manage the basic controls by myself.

I've set this log to record everything in standardised universe time, too. No point recording to Manhattan days if I'm in Omega-whatever.

Entry#: 002
Date: 25 - 06 - 817 AS @ 08:34 SUT
Title: Land!

It's been almost 2 weeks without setting foot on solid ground. I've made it to the Outcast home world and thankfully they are appreciative of my cargo. It was actually a very quiet trip - to the point of being boring. I did encounter IMG vigilantes as I'd feared, but they seem only to be interested in the Outcasts themselves. I was warned if I came back with "spice" I'd get the same treatment - that just means a little detour is in order.

I've been told by some Outcast higher-ups that I'm welcome to become a regular shipper for their cause. Although I'm not terribly fond of criminal gangs the opportunity is simply outstanding. If I work regular trips I can have the ship paid for in under a year... and that's a pretty big chunk of credits.

I'll be taking the detour through Kusari space. I've heard of the Hogosha and their ties to the Kusari navy and police, but if I keep off the trade lanes I should be fine.

Entry#: 003
Date: 27 - 06 - 817 AS @ 23:42 SUT
Title: Things just got really messed up

Things have gone terribly wrong for me now - I'm not sure what to say first - I'll just type everything out and sort it later.

I was flying through the Kusari system of Kyushu. I was way outside the civilised areas inside a heavy gas cloud which messed up my scanners pretty well. It had been a quiet flight up till then, no sign of the IMG that had pestered me earlier. I had stopped the ship to plot a course into the computer when out of nowhere a Kusari navy patrol showed up. I just about had a heart attack - my ship was sitting there, completely vulnerable and I had no way of defending myself.

The navy ships opened the comms. and told me to sit still, I replied saying that I was surrendering and I had no intention of running or fighting. The navy commander told me to open the cargo bay and eject the cardamine canisters I was carrying. At this point I didn't think I had a choice so I obliged. Sure, it was bad that I had lost most of my earnings for the month, but the officers seemed reasonable.

The cardamine was sent into space and I was told to leave immediately. I had begun to manoeuvre my ship when, out of the blue haze, a large train-like ship emerged. I watched the ship collect the contraband I had dropped seconds ago. I thought that strange, as usually contraband is destroyed on site.

I was about to ask what was going on when, over the comms; I heard "kill her", emanating from the unknown ship. I immediately panicked, hit the thrusters and tried to slink into the haze as quickly as possible. But it was no good. The agile fighters the navy possessed easily caught up with me and begun pelting my ship with cannon fire.

Although I had powerful shield generators on board I knew they wouldn't last forever. I aimed my ship in the direction of the sun, which I knew would lead me close to the planet Kyushu. I set the autopilot and jumped to the fore control station. I had never actually used it before, but thankfully I had learnt the theory behind its' use during my spare time.

I had opened fire on the navy ships, and although my accuracy was shocking, I was, at least, intimidating them to the point of backing off a bit. The unknown ship had vanished, presumably taking my cardamine somewhere safe.

I noticed something about my ship at that time - the shield generator and weapons power generator are one and the same. If I fired, I lost shields, and vice-versa. I was running out of batteries when, to the starboard side of my ship, a barrage of laser fire poured down onto the navy ships. Quickly checking my scanners revealed a total of 9 new ships, all seemingly on my side. With the attention of the navy ships turned from me I could afford to fire my own weapons liberally. In the next 10 minutes all 3 of the navy vessels would be destroyed.

The cardamine was gone, but I was still alive and - more importantly - my ship had not so much as a scratch on it. The extra credits I had laid down for that generator seemed totally worth it now.

The comms. flared up again, and a female voice enquired if I was OK. To that I replied something along the lines of "I am fine", but using far more colourful language. The other pilot identified herself as being a member of a group called the 'Golden Chrysanthemums', who I had only vaguely heard of in the occasional news report. She offered me an escort to their base, which I accepted.

Before leaving the site, I, by chance, looked over the scanners again and found an escape pod belonging to the pilot of one of the navy ships. My panicked state gave way to a want of revenge, so I decided collecting this man and returning with him to the GC base was a good way of getting it.

I'm writing all this from the docking bays of Ainu Depot, a small station run by the GC in Hokkaido. I think I'll be staying here for a few days - I feel like giving a bit back to these Kusari "lawfuls" who stole my cardamine.

Entry#: 004
Date: 28 - 06 - 817 AS @ 02:14 SUT
Title: Revenge

After getting everything back in order it was time to get my revenge on the Kusari state. Myself and a handful of GC fighter pilots left Ainu and headed for Sapporo station. It was there we would perform the good old smash-and-grab, that being the GC wreak as much havoc as possible and I would scavenge any useful items left behind and high-tail it back to Ainu.

The target station was completely enveloped in the same gas cloud that obscured Ainu, and as such we were basically invisible to electronics until we were just about on top of the station. The GC ships targeted and quickly destroyed a transport which was moored at the station, some of its cargo was destroyed but there were two intact containers left, which I picked up whilst the GC dealt with the escorts. Another transport stumbled into scanner range, the GC pilots disengaging and quickly disposing of that ship too.

I noticed that, although the cabin and engines of the second transport were destroyed, the main chassis was intact. Thinking quickly I hooked it up with the tractor beam and towed the hulk into the purple mist as fast as the ship would manage. I shouted over our private comms to disengage since I had already a full cargo bay and excellent loot. Together myself and the GC ships fled into the gas cloud and set course for Ainu base. We returned with close to 350 tons of useful cargo in my bays, and a heavily damaged Albatross-class transport complete with its own full load. The GC congratulated me very well that day, and I was now accepted as one of their own - despite my having blonde hair. I actually think they liked me a bit too much - some of their clan are getting awfully friendly.

Entry#: 005
Date: 29 - 06 - 817 AS @ 07:35 SUT
Title: I have a new pilot. And she's a real cutie too!

The Golden Chrysanthemums allowed me to stay on their base for as long as I wished. I had gotten most of the money I lost on the cardamine back from the half a dozen or so smash-and-grab operations I've been in. It's rather nice here, but some of the customs these woman have are unnerving. Their addiction to cardamine was starting to worry me, I've seen what an overdose can do and the way they use it is simply irresponsible.

I had been sitting in the bar on Ainu enjoying a dinner with real food (something of a rarity amongst pirate clans), when one of the girls sat beside me. We had the 'cordial stranger talk', about the usual unimportant things. The bar room was now completely devoid of any person, even the bartenders had left. The girl explained it was for a ritual of some description, I didn't ask the details.

After some more meaningless conversation, I decided I would do a bit of probing. I didn't know very much about this girl, beyond her name - and I figured getting some friends here couldn't hurt.

I asked her why she was with the GC, and I was completely taken back by her response. Apparently she'd been abandoned by her conservative parents after she'd told them she was only interested in girls - something I wasn't expecting to hear such a sweet girl say.

Misaka, as her name was, had fled to the much publicised Golden Chrysanthemums after being kicked out and left with nothing. The GC had given her a home and were now the closest thing she had to a family.

She was about to continue her story when the room was suddenly filled with people - it seems whatever ritual had occupied them had finished. Unexpectedly, Misaka grabbed me by the arm and towed me back to her room in the living quarters of the station. The room, on inspection, was barely big enough for one person, much less two to fit in. We ended up sitting on her bed, leaning against the wall, a total lack of space left us no choice.

Behind the privacy of closed doors she confessed to me her hatred of the GC's way of doing things - theft and murder simply weren't her style. I had wondered how such a small girl became a terrorist long before we ever talked. She was breaking down as she told her story - I knew then I wanted to help her.

It was decided. I would take this girl as my co-pilot.

I told her, abruptly, I'm leaving in 12 hours and I want to take you with me."

Perhaps not the best choice of words, but at the time it was all I could think of. She looked at me, stunned, for several seconds before jumping across the bed and applying the biggest bear hug her small frame could muster.

I explained to her what I did for a living, (with notable exceptions of what I had done in Kusari), and how I needed a pilot to assist me. Misaka was all too happy to become my new partner, she agreed to the terms I laid down with tears in her eyes and a big smile across her face. After further discussing our plans we retired to bed, myself borrowing space on the floor of the cramped cabin.

Despite her disdain for the GC she insisted on getting the station Matriarch's blessing, as opposed to just running away as I had planned. We approached her after our sleep, and I suspect she got the reasons for my taking Misaka totally wrong - the way she spoke was like a mother giving approval for her daughter to be wed as opposed to employed.

I'm writing this up as the ship flies through more gas clouds en-route for the Independent Sigma systems on autopilot. Misaka is exploring and, I think, lost in the ship somewhere now. I just hope we don't get discovered by any more Kusari forces - I've had enough of them for a long while.

Entry#: 006
Date: 5 - 07 - 817 AS @ 18:17 SUT
Title: Untitled

It's been about a week since we escaped Kusari space now, I find myself resting on board Freeport 10 in the Tau-37 system. Far removed from Kusari's influence but relatively close in terms of actual distance.

After leaving the GC base with my new pilot, I set course for the Junker base in Sigma-13. I've been there a couple times before and it seemed the only friendly place within reach of my fuel supply. We'd snuck out of Kusari space without incident, which was a huge relief. The last couple days in space had been spent plotting our course of action from here on.

I decided to travel to the Rheinland system of Dresden, where I knew I could buy supplies for a good price. After refuelling we departed the Junker base and headed via. Frankfurt and Berlin to Leipzig Station, owned by D.H.C; in the system of Dresden. There I purchased a shipment of Alloy metal, which although I told them was bound for Kusari, would actually be flown to the Outcast shipyards in their home system in the border worlds.

Myself and Misaka loaded the ship up and left Leipzig. The return trip to the Sigma border worlds proved uneventful. The way day-to-day life operates within Rheinland it was easy to forget they were at war with Liberty. Not a single military ship or profiled transporter to be seen - I suppose they were all hiding in the independent worlds linking Rheinland to Liberty.

We reached the GMG station of Naha inside the Sigma-13 system, and left the safety of the trade lane network for the jump holes I had become so familiar with in my 'previous life'. We crossed the Sigma-17 system and crossed into Outcast territory, Omicron Beta. The radiation saturated asteroid field used to be somewhat intimidating in the little Bactrian I once flew, but the Alsatia, with her heavy armour plating, made easy work of the foreboding green haze.

Within an hour we had crossed the system and jumped into the homeland of the Outcasts. I set course for planet Malta and eyed the scanners for any incoming ships - I've never had confrontation with an Outcast before but they can be quite edgy when unknown ships pass so close to their planet.

As expected, I did eventually run into an Outcast pilot. I was given the usual pop quiz on my destination, cargo etc; and was granted passage. I docked with their shipyards, unloaded my cargo and received my payment. For pirates they are quite respectable, I've never found myself short-changed when dealing with them directly. I suppose they want to keep that trickle of supplies coming, there aren't many people game enough to fly along side an Outcast.

Normally I would fly back to the planet and collect a shipment of 'spice', but my newly acquired persona disallowed that.

I departed for Freeport 10, in the neighbouring space of Tau-37, which is where I am now. I'm going to be loading up on Niobium from the Independent Miners' Guild base in the system after a good rest. You never really get used to the permanent sunlight of open space, but I've been doing my best to adjust my sleeping pattern to suit SUT time.
Entry#: 007
Date: 18 - 07 - 817 AS @ 21:58 SUT
Title: Home!

It's been as-good-as-makes-no-difference two weeks straight in space. Excluding two stopovers for fuel we've been on the move more or less constantly since we left. But, thanks to that, we are now only a relative stone's throw away from Rochester Base. It's the first time I've been back since I bought Alsatia, and it is a huge relief being in familiar territory after the drama I've been through. I think a holiday is in order - I mean no offence to her but I've been staring into the same console for over a month with no respite.

Misaka would probably enjoy a holiday too, I don't think she's had much joy in her life recently and I actually wonder how long it's been since she was on solid ground. I think a trip to Denver is in order. I've always been a bottom-end girl and the likes of Curacao just don't appeal to me in the slightest. Denver, for me, has the right mix of upper-class hospitality and lower-class functionality which allows me to relax without fear of committing some obscene social faux-pas. Like walking around in yesterday's underwear and nothing else.... or eating breakfast. In yesterday's underwear and nothing else.

On the topic of Misaka - and I do hope she never reads what I'm about to put here - I'm starting to take quite a fancy to her. I've never thought about 'batting for the other team' - as they put it - before, but I can't say I'm opposed to the idea and I've realised it's been a very, very long time since I last had a relationship with someone. And I can't get around how utterly adorable she is either. I promised I'd never speak of it again, but seeing her face when I retrieved her from the cargo hold she locked herself into just made me want to give her a massive bear-hug. Which I did. She evokes the same feelings from me as a baby Gaian wildcat. I wonder what she'd look like in a catgirl outfit... there has to be somewhere in this useless universe that sells them. Let's see how things pan out on this holiday, anyway.

Entry#: 008
Date: 20 - 07 - 817 AS @ 20:05 SUT
Title: Holiday begins now!

So here we are, Planet Denver. The vast majority of it is entirely unremarkable terrain, with the cities dotted across the more habitable locations. It must be summer in this hemisphere - there isn't any snow around anywhere within sight, and according to the gauges it's 28 ambient temperature outside.

I have no intention of staying in a motel, or even a hostel for that matter. Alsatia has VTOL and I plan to make use of it. We're stopping in town to buy supplies but after that I'm flying us out and putting the ship down somewhere with a nice view. I don't think a holiday needs huge sums of money spent on it to be enjoyable - I've got some plans for our time here but I'll keep them to myself for now.

Misaka, on the other hand, seems to be asleep. I happen to have in my possession a permanent marker. Time for evil, I think. I'll report all my wrong-doings tomorrow, assuming I survive.
Entry#: 009
Date: 21 - 07 - 817 AS @ 22:32 SUT
Title: Day 1

The different passage of time on this planet irks me a bit - according to SUT I should be talking about yesterday, but it's still "today" by Denver time.

First and foremost: Misaka spent most of "yesterday" walking around the ship with whiskers drawn on her face. Never have I met a challenge greater than "not falling over laughing". I felt so bad for the poor thing I eventually folded and told her what the big fuss was. I think she wanted to be mad at me, but couldn't muster the rage amongst all the giggles.

Aside from the whiskers incident, not a lot happened "yesterday". We set the ship down near what I assume to be an underground bore supplying a lake, nearby containing about the only properly green foliage this side of the equator. Our internal clocks tell us it's time for sleep, it's still bright outside and not even close to getting dark. Just how long is a day here?
Entry#: 010
Date: 22 - 07 - 817 AS @ 15:32 SUT
Title: Day 2

Bugger it, mid-afternoon for us turns out to be around midnight for Denver.

On the upside, the lake we are next to, upon analysis, is perfectly safe to swim in.

On the downside it's cold rather than a hot spring.

On the upside, the cloud cover has kept the heat in overnight, it's still over 25 outside.

On the downside it's pitch black out there.

On the upside Alsatia has spotlights.

On the downside, I don't have any swimwear.

On the upside, Misaka doesn't either.

This should be entertaining.

Entry#: 011
Date: 24 - 07 - 817 AS @ 04:17 SUT
Title: Bounty Hunter Incident

Rather interesting thing happened to us just now... we were headed for Rochester base returning from the holiday. As we got closer the fellows on the station sent me an emergency comms stating they were under attack by a bounty hunter ship. I checked my scanner and lo and behold, a single Hunter fighter was firing torpedoes at the station and picking off the fighters attacking him.

I dropped out of cruise and opened fire. There was no way in hell was I going to sit there and let this bastard shoot up my home, regardless of his reasons. The bounty hunter ship was flying in a very erratic fashion, not evasive or tactical, but completely uncoordinated. He wasn't talking either. When I started shooting he spun around, flew directly towards my ship and fired one of his torpedoes. Seems that my laser fire connected with his torpedo after it left the protection of his shielding and detonated. He went poof in a spectacular explosion, leaving nothing but fragments of his ship behind.

The fight lasted all of 30 seconds. Still don't know what the hell the guy was thinking. I suspect he might have been suffering from a bad cardamine trip or something... but he's very much dead now. The station is a bit charred but hasn't suffered any serious damage.

I do believe this hunter was the first person I've killed since I brought Misaka on board. I'd rather not have to show my aggressive traits again, she doesn't seem to like it very much.

In any case, we're going to Manhattan after we've had a rest here on Rochester. There we will pick up some supplies for the GC bases in the Tau-worlds. It'll be the first time I've been there, so Misaka will be showing me the way. It also means flying through Kusari space again.
Entry#: 012
Date: 1 - 08 - 817 AS @ 10:31 SUT
Title: Kusari Navy, Hogosha - one and the same.

We made it to the Chanai Biodomes, but it took a couple attempts to get past the Kusari Navy. It seems just about every single officer is in the pockets of the damn Hogosha. I found myself being chased out by a bomber for simply being in Kusari. If it weren't for the Mafia infiltration of the police and armed forces, navigating through Kusari would be no more dangerous than anywhere else.

This one particular bomber pilot kept ranting on about "honour". What part of an officer working for the Mafia is honourable? My hatred for the navy and police grows every time I pass through Kusari space. I can understand why groups like the Blood Dragons and GC exist, if the people responsible for policing the nation are more corrupt than the criminal gangs they fight against. Honestly, I've seen Rogues with more honour. At least they wear their stripes on their shoulders instead of their underwear.

Entry#: 013
Date: 02 - 08 - 817 AS @ 16:40 SUT
Title: Untitled


First mistake: Entering a jumphole without knowledge of the destination.

I found a jumphole in a nearby asteroid field on the way to the Chanai Biodomes, turns out the Blood Dragons had a secret base in the system it led to, and weren't too happy about me showing up out of the blue. It took some damn fine explaining to get me out of that one. I found my way to another jumphole which, thankfully, lead to somewhere I was familiar with - the Blood Dragon home system.

After restocking at the Blood Dragons base I found myself another unknown jumphole and, still feeling adventurous, entered it. This time I popped out at a rather unexpected location - the now derelict Tekagi's Arch. At least, I thought it was derelict. I had no sooner set new coordinates than I was attacked by what seemed to be a Kusari Navy ship, but the profile when scanned was completely messed up. It was dispatched of fairly easily - Alsatia won't fall to a lone ship, no matter what it is. I don't know what was flying that ship, but I doubt it was human.

Second mistake: Entering a jumphole without knowledge of the destination.

This time I got myself into a seriously bad situation - the space I ended up in was a dark green gaseous cloud interlaced with large asteroids. The navigation system was useless - I had no idea where I was. I tried the scanners, but that yielded more trouble. I picked up what appeared to be a ship belonging to "The Order". I don't know very much about them beyond what the media says, but I knew then it was time to get out. My exact words were "To hell with this. We're getting out of here.", as I turned the ship around and flew down the throat of the same jumphole I'd just exited.

Pelting across the system I had just left I picked up the ship that I had seen in the unknown system - he was following me. Or was he? I hadn't noticed it at the time but there was another ship in the vicinity - I never identified it but it seemed to be a transport or gunboat by its' size. The Order ship seemed more interested in the unknown, I didn't stop to find out. I flew into another particle cloud, and to my surprise I encountered another jumphole - this one leading to the Hokkaido system. I made it back to Ainu base intact after flying through the gas clouds as I've done several times before.

Note to self: Entering jumpholes without knowledge of the destination will get me killed one day.

Entry#: 014
Date: 03 - 08 - 817 AS @ 08:27 SUT
Title: Back to Liberty

It seems every time I enter Kusari space I come back with one less of my 9 lives. We're leaving Ainu this morning and making a bee-line for Liberty. It's open space until the Galileo system, then the trade lanes for the rest of the journey. I just hope I don't encounter any more Kusari police or Navy. I'm sick and tired of them.


Entry#: 015
Date: 08 - 08 - 817 AS @ 11:52 SUT
Title: Joe Young; Liberty Navy

I've always had some respect for the Liberty Police and Navy. We keep to ourselves and they generally don't interfere with us unless they have a reason to. They are usually fairly reasonable people - I've been caught smuggling a few times and they tend to let you go sans your cargo if you cooperate.

But this particular rogue officer seems to have issues abiding with the Navy codes. I happened upon a fight between Young and another Navy officer of all people. Why they were fighting was and is still a mystery, but Young killed the other officer.

The fight wasn't any of my business but the debris was. I scooped up the remains of the dead ship and took off with it. Young took offence to this and opened fire on the Alsatia. I hit cruise speed and got out of there, with the navy officer still shooting at the tail of my ship. He engaged his own cruise engines and chased me back to Rochester base; thankfully the crews on board didn't hesitate to open fire - and scare him off.

Later the same day I happened upon Young in orbit over Manhattan. He was dishing out some punishment to an unarmed civilian weapons dealer for stealing state secrets or some garbage. I've had some cordial conversations with the weapons dealer before and he's barely smart enough to sell a mining laser; much less classified information. The weapons dealer ship dive bombed into the atmosphere, got no idea what happened to him after that, but Young didn't chase him. I got out of there rather quickly, shooting at a navy ship - regardless of the reason - is instant death this close to the planet.

The Alsatia didn't suffer any real damage, and I still have the wreckage of the navy fighter in my hold. I also have the suspicion the Liberty Navy higher ups would be interested in the story of how it came into my possession.

But I get the feeling this guy is going to give me a lot more grief in the future. I wonder if Misaka can fight... I think an escort ship might be in order.

Entry#: 016
Date: 16 - 08 - 817 AS @ 17:40 SUT
Title: Outcasts and Misaka

I find myself short yet another of my 9 lives, and I came uncomfortably close to losing the whole lot earlier this week, too.

I was taking ship hull panels to the Outcast shipyards in Omicron Alpha when I was intercepted by the commander of one of their battleships, the [RA]ATOM. Now, I rather often get stopped and quizzed by Outcasts - understandable given I'm an outsider in orbit over their home planet.

I don't know what the bastard was thinking, but when he opened the comms channel he only told me to, of all things, give them Misaka. I was simply dumbfounded. Why would the captain of a Maltese battleship be asking me for my girlfriend?

Not to say that hasn't happened before, There is a particular Liberty Rogue gunboat captain who was quite fond of her - I ended up sending him the photos I took while we were on Denver. Reasonable chap, just a bit lonely. Although I hear he's bought himself a wife recently.

Getting back on the main story, here I was floating in orbit over Planet Malta with an Outcast battleship, gunboat and bomber escort demanding I hand over the one thing I wouldn't.

I am pretty sure the captain was strung out on spice, to the point of being unable to function normally. He wasn't making much sense when he spoke. The gunboat pilot decided he didn't want any of it and left, leaving me to figure out a way of escaping the predicament I found myself in.

The captain was blaring over the comms telling me to hand Misaka over, as he was in the middle of a sentence I opened the throttle and cheesed it. The battleship fired a single round from the forward cannons, which I dodged around as I shot off into the dust cloud containing the jumphole to Tau-37.

The bomber escort never gave chase, neither did any other ship within range. So I guess the rest didn't care about this "rule" the captain was ranting on about, something about protecting our allies? Obviously he missed the memo regarding the Junkers' relations with the Outcasts. What a complete drongo, putting that lightly. I don't know how people that incompetent could be allowed access to the pride of the Maltese fleet.
Entry#: 017
Date: 16 - 08 - 817 AS @ 18:02 SUT
Title: Addendum

One important thing I did forget to mention: I bought an Outcast fighter the previous time I was at Malta, before all the crap started. Fully kitted out with the finest Outcast weaponry an outsider could ever hope to obtain; I gave it to Misaka to learn how to fight. It's stashed in the cargo bay for now, she needs to learn how to handle it before I'll send her out on her own. We still need to give it a name, too

We're back in Bretonia now - I think I might see if I can find mum. I haven't seen her in years. On top of that the Alsatia is in dire need of some maintenance. Set course for New London!

Entry#: 018
Date: 21 - 08 - 817 AS @ 19:30 SUT
Title: Typical day in the scrap fields

Unfortunately I was unable to track down mum in New London. She's probably on assignment somewhere. In any case I left a message on Trafalgar for her to come visit me if she ever gets the time.

I flew back to Liberty immediately thereafter and I decided to sign up as a contractor in the Pittsburgh debris field clean up operation. Sure the money isn't as great as what I could make trading but I don't feel like putting what remains of my life count at risk.

A couple days went past, with not much to report on. The occasional Rogue or Outcast would show up, but they were usually chased away by the other ships working the field. But thanks to the gallant actions of one particularly stupid lot I am now in the possession of a few million credits worth of stolen cargo.

We were returning home after a stint at the coal face, and when we approached the Ft. Bush area, the scanners picked up two ships - one Rogue carrack and an Outcast fighter of some description. The two ships were in the process of shooting down civilian freighters in the area.

Us Junkers usually get lumped together with the pirates in situations like these regardless of whether or not we are involved, so I was planning on just flying past, but in the end the allure of the debris proved too much. The Outcast pilot opened a secure comms channel to my ship and made a very tasty proposition. "All the free gear you can handle and we get a cut off the top later". With that I halted the ship, wheeled over to the manual control panel and started pulling things into the Alsatia's hold.

I had managed to scoop up a decent haul of cargo when, as expected, reinforcements spat out the ends of the tradelanes. Luckily for me at the exact time they did I was just sitting there, if I'd been caught in the act we would both be dead or in prison by now.

At that point reason took over and I promptly legged it. As I was cruising away towards the Pittsburgh debris fields my scanners lost both the Rogue and Outcast ships - they had been destroyed by the backup.

My heart was beating a million times a minute as I hightailed it into the debris clouds, fortunately the ships didn't cotton on to me and I got away. I flew to the safest place I knew of, the Rogue's forward base of operations in the darkest part of the field.

I am now the owner of 2 complete containers of robotic components and as-close-as-makes-no-difference the same amount of Super Alloy. Misaka doesn't seem terribly impressed that I nearly got us killed... again.