08-19-2010, 03:58 PM
Growing up on Manhattan was a luxury. Our apartment was nice and posh, and the scenery was a grand view of the Sleeper ship our ancestors traveled to Sirius in. Though the location was terrible, being unbearably noisy as a result of living below the landing pad, and even more so by living above the bar that I hear Edison Trent still visits from time to time. I grew up living a relatively stable life. My mother, Jillian Orville, often complained that she missed the Sidewinder Fangs that Bretonia is famous for, but that's what she got for marrying my dad in Liberty, I suppose. My father, Jack Lord was a Middle Manager for Interspace Commerce. In fact, he worked right at Newark Station right off of Manhattan. My parents were often busy, leavign me home alone at the apartment. What I did miss was some sort of fun to do.
You see, Manhattan isn't exactly the best place for a child to be entertained in. Sure there were copies of all the cool games lying around, but alongside all the extravagant clubs and shady taverns, there was nothing I could do. Nothing I could legally do anyway.
I could remember from the nearly-intangible threads of my young memory, that I wanted to pilot a ship. That's what I wanted since day one.
My first ship was a Starflier. Most of the kids at my high school laughed at me for owning such a ship. It was a used ship, but I guess that's as far as a few thousand credits will get you. The engine periodically backfired and the magnetic interference somehow managed to get ahold of my Neural Net and disrupted it from time to time. But as it stands, to this day I can remember proudly flying that ship.
After graduating from the Greater-Manhattan University (With a Master's Degree in Sirian Commerce and Trade, no less.) at the age of 27, I flew to Erie on my Starflier and began to apply for a job there. Somehow, I couldn't find one. So I set off and tried to seek my fortune in the stars. I started by buying a Basalt on Bethlehem Station. I asked a few of the locals and they directed me to the Ralston Ice Field behind Erie. There I could manage too eek off some form of livable condition with the proceeds.
After a few months mining in the ice field, I managed to save enough for a Rhino. I continued to work the field, and sold it Erie, managing to land me a small apartment there with basic amenities. No longer was I confined to live in my ship. As soon as I started moving my bedding and other things off my ship and into the apartment, I received a neural-net message from my uncle Max.
Transmission Incoming
From: Uncle Max
Accept Y/N?
Accepted...
Transmission Buffering...This may take a minute...
Matching Quality...100%
Henry, Your dad has passed away. Meet me at your old apartment ASAP.
Transmission Ends.
Closing Neural Net
Have a Nice Day!
At the sound of that news, I nearly fainted on the spot. Through my tears, I managed to get back on my Rhino and sped off.
When I arrived, my Uncle told me everything. How he had been killed by rogues after trying to resist a boarding party, and how his mom had vanished as soon as she heard the news. I wanted to disappear. I wanted to run away from it all. But I couldn't and I had to do something. But I didn't know what. My dad was a trader as well, but I could barely bring myself to realize what he had been carrying to instigate a boarding party. I wanted to honor him, but didn't want the same sort of trouble he had gotten himself into.
In the preceding months, my inheritance had arrived. 13 Million Dollars. Enough to grab me a brand-spanking-new Albatross. So that's what I did. I got my ship from Baltimore and ventured off. Using my degree, I started going on trade routes. Each more profitable and dangerous than the last. Until finally, one day, I was stopped by a Pirate. Never happened to me before. Apparently, he wanted my Gold Ore that I had worked so hard for. I told him to bugger off, and that was the last thing I remembered before waking up in the ICU.
I didn't know what was going on. Did the pirate kill me? Was I in heaven? Or was I in hell? In my dazed state, a Navy Officer stepped into my room. He said he found my ship, cut in half, floating near the Texas Jump Gate. He asked if I knew what had happened, and I hadn't the slightest idea. He also said that my ship was being repaired in Baltimore as we spoke, but all the cargo in my manifest had mysteriously vanished. With the proceeds of my trading totaling about six million, I could barely afford to pay for my medical bill and the ship repair. I regretted doing that route and decided to never venture even near Texas or any non-house systems.
Soon after, I married Victoria Osawa. She was Kusari, and I remember first seeing her out in Narita Outpost. She said that her dad worked there and she was really bored, and that she wanted to live in Liberty, but her father forbade it. I asked her if she wanted to go with me, and she shyly said a yes. I took her to Manhattan and had a few drinks with her. After taking her back to Narita, she said she didn't mind spending time with a foreigner as her dad told her she would, and how she wanted to Live in Liberty. Things picked up from there, and now I have two kids, and a decent apartment on Denver, although the downside is that I'm subject to all the Xenos in the system.
To this day, I continue being pirated. Again and again. Often by the same people, so much that I might consider asking for a "repeat customer" discount. I either cough up the dough, or I luck out and a Navy patrol happens to be nearby.
To this day, I'm trying to save up for a shiny new Train. It's a great idea to invest in, so you'll probably find me doing one low-profit, mundane route after another to get that elusive Train. I have a few mil on me. Just enough to cover for my wife and kids, but nothing more. So please. When you see me on my Albatross. PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
You see, Manhattan isn't exactly the best place for a child to be entertained in. Sure there were copies of all the cool games lying around, but alongside all the extravagant clubs and shady taverns, there was nothing I could do. Nothing I could legally do anyway.
I could remember from the nearly-intangible threads of my young memory, that I wanted to pilot a ship. That's what I wanted since day one.
My first ship was a Starflier. Most of the kids at my high school laughed at me for owning such a ship. It was a used ship, but I guess that's as far as a few thousand credits will get you. The engine periodically backfired and the magnetic interference somehow managed to get ahold of my Neural Net and disrupted it from time to time. But as it stands, to this day I can remember proudly flying that ship.
After graduating from the Greater-Manhattan University (With a Master's Degree in Sirian Commerce and Trade, no less.) at the age of 27, I flew to Erie on my Starflier and began to apply for a job there. Somehow, I couldn't find one. So I set off and tried to seek my fortune in the stars. I started by buying a Basalt on Bethlehem Station. I asked a few of the locals and they directed me to the Ralston Ice Field behind Erie. There I could manage too eek off some form of livable condition with the proceeds.
After a few months mining in the ice field, I managed to save enough for a Rhino. I continued to work the field, and sold it Erie, managing to land me a small apartment there with basic amenities. No longer was I confined to live in my ship. As soon as I started moving my bedding and other things off my ship and into the apartment, I received a neural-net message from my uncle Max.
Transmission Incoming
From: Uncle Max
Accept Y/N?
Accepted...
Transmission Buffering...This may take a minute...
Matching Quality...100%
Henry, Your dad has passed away. Meet me at your old apartment ASAP.
Transmission Ends.
Closing Neural Net
Have a Nice Day!
At the sound of that news, I nearly fainted on the spot. Through my tears, I managed to get back on my Rhino and sped off.
When I arrived, my Uncle told me everything. How he had been killed by rogues after trying to resist a boarding party, and how his mom had vanished as soon as she heard the news. I wanted to disappear. I wanted to run away from it all. But I couldn't and I had to do something. But I didn't know what. My dad was a trader as well, but I could barely bring myself to realize what he had been carrying to instigate a boarding party. I wanted to honor him, but didn't want the same sort of trouble he had gotten himself into.
In the preceding months, my inheritance had arrived. 13 Million Dollars. Enough to grab me a brand-spanking-new Albatross. So that's what I did. I got my ship from Baltimore and ventured off. Using my degree, I started going on trade routes. Each more profitable and dangerous than the last. Until finally, one day, I was stopped by a Pirate. Never happened to me before. Apparently, he wanted my Gold Ore that I had worked so hard for. I told him to bugger off, and that was the last thing I remembered before waking up in the ICU.
I didn't know what was going on. Did the pirate kill me? Was I in heaven? Or was I in hell? In my dazed state, a Navy Officer stepped into my room. He said he found my ship, cut in half, floating near the Texas Jump Gate. He asked if I knew what had happened, and I hadn't the slightest idea. He also said that my ship was being repaired in Baltimore as we spoke, but all the cargo in my manifest had mysteriously vanished. With the proceeds of my trading totaling about six million, I could barely afford to pay for my medical bill and the ship repair. I regretted doing that route and decided to never venture even near Texas or any non-house systems.
Soon after, I married Victoria Osawa. She was Kusari, and I remember first seeing her out in Narita Outpost. She said that her dad worked there and she was really bored, and that she wanted to live in Liberty, but her father forbade it. I asked her if she wanted to go with me, and she shyly said a yes. I took her to Manhattan and had a few drinks with her. After taking her back to Narita, she said she didn't mind spending time with a foreigner as her dad told her she would, and how she wanted to Live in Liberty. Things picked up from there, and now I have two kids, and a decent apartment on Denver, although the downside is that I'm subject to all the Xenos in the system.
To this day, I continue being pirated. Again and again. Often by the same people, so much that I might consider asking for a "repeat customer" discount. I either cough up the dough, or I luck out and a Navy patrol happens to be nearby.
To this day, I'm trying to save up for a shiny new Train. It's a great idea to invest in, so you'll probably find me doing one low-profit, mundane route after another to get that elusive Train. I have a few mil on me. Just enough to cover for my wife and kids, but nothing more. So please. When you see me on my Albatross. PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!