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+--- Thread: K's Personal Log (/showthread.php?tid=140417)
K's Personal Log - eigos - 06-18-2016
Date: 18-FEB-823; Time: 11:27
K’S PERSONAL LOG
![[Image: Nl6trXy.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/Nl6trXy.jpg)
K’S PERSONAL LOG
Unbelievable… absolutely unreal. I was bored before in my life, during my student years, at social events and especially when listening to a certain someone’s nagging sprees. But damn, after just two weeks since my arrival at Barrier Gate, the word “b-o-r-e-d-o-m” is now officially outdated to describe how I feel here. And after some extensive thinking (which I am also new to), following that bartender’s advice – I am starting a personal log just so I can let some time pass.
So, here I am on “The Barrier”… expecting to see and meet some sophisticated freelancing entrepreneurs - the kind of success stories everyone wants to see and get motivated from, people to look up to. And what do I find instead? A whorehouse… a long line of trashmobiles parked at every dock… an entire floor dedicated to the art of “gambling your worries away” and “drinking ‘till your liver goes in a plasma state”. I will not even bother describing all the “lifeforms” that inhabit those establishments. If it’s not the smell that kills you, then the bacteria from the restrooms will do it for you.
What pisses me off the most is this - having visited Kreuzberg and having worked at Rochester, I bloody well know what a junker base looks like. For most people, these are the best known examples of the word “rathole”. But now… I can write a damn doctor’s dissertation about how the above two examples are actually a pillar of modern science, compared to Barrier Gate! At the Junkers, you’ve got your repair bays, external mooring points, engineering sections, material storage depots, scrap sorting facilities, recycling machines, maintenance decks – everything you need to craft, to create, to build and repair your ship! And the people there are capable engineers! They know their stuff! Something goes broke, they fix it! You try comparing them to those thugging, brawling, drinking and technically illiterate loaf-forms here on The Gate! You CAN’T!
Which brings me to the problem I currently have – there is absolutely noone here capable of quality repair jobs on a bigger scale than a freighter! I have seen those “engineers” patch up a transport and the final result was a leftover pile of parts, that is supposedly “totally unneeded and safe to remove”. I have already placed an ad on the neural net for a repair crew, capable of high-end quality… no idea how much it would cost, though. But that can wait.
Right now, I am concentrated on selling all the loot I’ve got left from the mission in Gallia… some of it was actually very lucrative and the commodity dealer dropped me a nice chunk of deneros. Most of the equipment however is a slow-seller. Good news is, I am making progress every day and my money is gradually multiplying itself.
![[+]](/forums/images/collapse_collapsed.png "[+]")
Stuff for SaleI have already paid for a two-month stay for my ship, which is moored to the side of the station. Hopefully I won’t have to stay here longer than that.
RE: K's Personal Log - eigos - 06-18-2016
Date: 11-MAR-823; Time: 12:19
Finally a remarkable day that’s worth my time to write about in my log. Mixed feelings are involved, but it’s definitely writing material here.
My garage sales - done, the stuff is sold. Most of it, anyway… those gallic plasma cannons were only good enough for scrap it seems. Nobody managed to fine tune them at a reasonable power output (mark the word “incompetent” in that conjunction). What’s more important was that experimental weapon – the DULZIAN. Turns out, it was of such a high quality – it didn’t need any manual setup, it automatically adjusted to all the powercores we tested it onto! I had to create an auction just to contain all the people who wanted it! This thing sold for a whooping $16,750,000, effectively putting me at just over $20M credits total cash!!! Man, right about now, I feel like all the sweat and nerves finally paid for themselves.
However, there is also bad news – the price quotes I’ve been getting for my ship’s repair are absolutely @#$%^& up. The best deal I could get was between 17 to 26 millions, depending on whether I wanted basic alloy or the reinforced variety for the hull repairs. Why? Because “they” would have to haul all the required materials and equipment that’s needed aaand the fact that my ship is unusual didn’t help either – they must think I’ve got more money than the president of The Barrier! I don’t even want to think what a good forged license for The Shovel would cost… and that’s also something I need!
Now I need a reliable source of income and trading is the only viable option. The plan – acquire a Freelancer ID, look for good deals on transports, lock-in a well-paid job and think about other options for The Shovel’s repair. Something to keep in mind – must spend less than 10 million on the transport, as I am going to need a good cash buffer for cargo purchases, rent for my destroyer on the barrier, consumer spendings and maintenance for the transport. And who knows what else might pop up to eat on my tight budget…
RE: K's Personal Log - eigos - 06-18-2016
Date: 18-JUN-823; Time: 19:23
![[Image: OKRQZN7.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/OKRQZN7.jpg)
So much time has passed since my last log entry and I never thought my life would lead me to this… I have an official flight record as a transport pilot for three months now. Not a smuggler, not a mercenary (been there, done that) – a lawful working man. And three months is exactly the time since I last slept in my destroyer back at Barrier Gate. A lot has happened and now that I have given myself a break from work, it’s time to write about it.
On the 14-th of March, I paid a guy from the bar to take me with him on his trip to Pennsylvania. Got a basic Gull 1k transport from there and started to trade with Helium from Bethlehem Station, all the way to planet Miura in Okinawa. A long trip? Hell yea, but I thought that was the cheapest way for me to fill in my navmap with all the base info for trading, instead of paying for a database upgrade. A huuuge mistake on my part – should’ve paid for a full house nav-pack, like 7 millions or so. I ended up spending a month on that very first trip, effectively slamming my possible day-to-day profits into the ground (never doing that again).
A huge turn of luck in my favor was when I talked to a guy about switching to a bigger transport. Turns out, the CT transport line (from Gull’s to Stork’s) is modular and you can upgrade them fairly cheap! So I went to California Minor, upgraded my Gull with two more sections and turned it into a full Albatross large transport in just a day’s work! Even more incredible, it cost me only 5 millions for an effective double cargo capacity. A new 2k transport would have set me back at least 3 millions on top of that.
Next thing I did there was to look for a job contract. I heard some of them paid really well and there is a huge benefit of making some connections through it all. Good connections may even get my destroyer back at The Barrier repaired for cheap! And here is the second lucky strike – I landed a contract to supply a newly built small base over in Rheinland. An easy job, cheap cargo, low risk and just two system jumps to traverse along.
Shipping Industrial Hardware to the station and Synth Paste on the way back made me enough profit that I could afford a CT-53 Train (3k hold) by the time I got midway through the contract. With that extra 50% cargo capacity above my previous CT-39X, I finished the job with 3 less runs than anticipated and the employers put me on high priority for further work when available.
I took my leave and arrived at the Barrier Gate Station yesterday to check on my destroyer and pay rent for an extended stay with possible 3-day termination notice. If the money comes as easily in the next few days, I see myself becoming rich in no time.
RE: K's Personal Log - eigos - 06-20-2016
Date: 20-JUN-823; Time: 20:29
The last few days were full of work running those random shipments between Newcastle and Omega-7, but it was all worth it. I was practically swimming in money and decided to spend it two ways for very good reasons. First things first - I am now the proud owner of a new transport.
I sold my Train and bought a Serenity out of Barrier Gate. Now, this thing is a whole other beast entirely... modern, large interior space, lots of options for customization, relatively small size and an internal cargo bay - a great relief for unloading cargo at smaller bases. Those cargo pods on the train were always a pain in the *** to remove, empty and mount back on again. But that is not the reason I bought it, the 20% bigger cargo hold is! So, from 3,000 to 3,600... which is the maximum allowance for self employed freelancers. This will ultimately save me a few runs when I catch a new big 'ol contract like last time and I will be making money with a little less effort and sleepless flight hours.
Second and more important sinkhole for my savings was my decision to move my destroyer out of The Barrier and over to the junker shipyards of Invergordon Space Port. After four and a half months of just sitting moored outside Barrier Gate, it was starting to turn into a huge ice block from all the water crystals floating onto it... thankfully the shield got rid of all that. Amazing how I didn't get this idea months earlier - the junker space port has a full-sized shipyard dock, it costs almost nothing to rent a place there, it's away from nebulae and other sources of space debris, and most importantly - the guys there can repair ANYTHING. You choose the materials, their parts stock is massive and you get some serious engineers working on your machine for a very reasonable price, which I even managed to negotiate further down! Had to speak to their tech manager, Bart Loweston and showed him my Outcast ID card, the guy instantly said "I'm personally gonna take care of the ship, you just spread the word about our quality of work here and we're in business!".So what did it cost for all the hull repairs? Peanuts - just over 12 mills, with reinforced alloy and engine maintenance included! They said a week was due 'till they finish it all up, because they are quite busy at the moment, and frankly - I am fine with that. Quality requires time and I will use it to make up for the loss of credits by doing some cargo shipments in my new Serenity transport.
RE: K's Personal Log - eigos - 06-21-2016
Date: 21-JUN-823; Time: 21:32
Crazy day… but successful, nevertheless. I managed to land another shipment on the contract for Dimond drop off station, this time it was Optronic Arrays from Honshu and back to Stuttgart. A hefty profit of $3,250 per cargo unit, for 4 system jumps with a full tradelane coverage… Synth Paste on the way back for half the price. The total pure commission was a little over 17 million credits!
But then, on my second trade run, something very weird happened. As I was passing by planet New Berlin, a Rheinland Police Officer showed up and started following me! I assumed he wanted to scan my cargo hold full of Synth Paste, so I stopped. He asked where I was going and I told him. In that moment, the guy blatantly told me “I’m coming with you, mein Herr.” Wha-a…? Now that I looked at the rear view camera, he was already following me in the trade lane and ended up jumping in Frankfurt with me! Then on to Sigma 13….on to Honshu…and he waited for me in the planet’s orbit while I loaded the Optronics for the return trip. Man… I don’t remember the last time I felt so weird in my life, like all of a sudden the world stopped making sense! Get this, a police officer, no – scratch that, a Detective even – decides to escort some random trader, “because the way was dangerous”, all the way from New Berlin to Honshu and back, up until Stuttgart to the drop off point! I kept a log of the whole communication, because man – if I told Diego what happened, he wouldn’t have believed me if I didn’t keep the log!On the way back, while we were travelling with the trade lane to planet Baden Baden, Detective Kruppstahl, out of the blue, asked me for my first and last name! Now, that was unexpected and in such a short notice I came up with a lie, telling him my first name was Kay and kindly refusing to spill out my last name for personal reasons. Luckily, he didn't push the issue and let the whole subject be... I was already starting to sweat for a minute.
It's not that I have any legal issues attached to my real name... but sharing that with a total stranger - a police detective even - is never a good idea for the long haul. Who knows what might happen, I am still unfamiliar with all the regulations and contraband laws in Rheinland. Should a time come when I would need to slip out because of an infraction, then I'd better hold onto my real name - it's easier to rename the ship than myself.
I decided to stop my shipments for the day and told the officer I was about to take a sleeping break on the station. A juicy profit of 34 million credits was good enough for now - I had something more important to look into anyway... finding a software specialist, capable of programming my destroyer's IFF systems. And I think I found somebody...
RE: K's Personal Log - eigos - 06-22-2016
Date: 23-JUN-823; Time: 16:10
My extensive search across the less popular places of the Neural Net brought me to a promising result for a guy, who is supposedly very good at handling IFF transponders. The info about him is scarce to say the least, but I did read through the positive reviews of his “customers” – he looks like the right dude for the job. There is one detail that maybe confirms his expertise – he never does “home visits” for his clientele, nor does he care about “their convenience” in choosing a place to meet. And it makes perfect sense, if you are walking the thin line between the law and chaos – you just don’t take unnecessary risks with people.
I managed to get a hold of him on his secure voice chat and recorded the whole conversation just in case.
I have to give it to that guy – he knows his stuff. In that kind of business he is in, there ain’t much competition… so he can make his own rules and I’m sure most clients follow them. I rented a Kingfisher fighter for the trip to Manchester and managed to arrive early at 12:11 inside Holmfirth Base there. Met the guy in person… what can I say – big, bald-headed, tattooed, walked around like he owned the whole bar (and I think that’s not far from the truth). I told him what I wanted done: a Freelancer IFF tag, ship’s name showing up as “The Shovel” and classification set as “Heavy Gunship”. Gave him the transponder, paid 50% of the sum in advance… he didn’t like that, but it took just one joke from me to convince him otherwise. Either way, if I ended up unable to pay the rest, he was getting a blank transponder that can fetch him a few millions - these are always in demand. Especially the ones like mine, with no manufacturing details, no hidden software and fully able to be reprogrammed for whatever purpose. The deadline for this to be finished is a week from now and he told me to wait for his message about when and where our next meeting will be. Looks like I will have to busy myself with trading in the mean time… that will make up for the hole in my pocket (again). But if this works out, first thing I'm doing is sending Diego a message back home. I am starting to miss that old fart and I sure as hell have a lot of things to tell him.
RE: K's Personal Log - eigos - 06-29-2016
Date: 29-JUN-823; Time: 17:40
I find myself in Sigma-19 after a tough week that taxed my nerves in too many ways. Can’t help but feel a sort of depression coming over me, after what happened just 5 days ago. Maybe writing about it in my log will help overcome those mixed feelings I’m currently experiencing.
![[Image: Q2aUFAx.png]](https://i.imgur.com/Q2aUFAx.png)
![[Image: skfl1PD.png]](https://i.imgur.com/skfl1PD.png.html) |
Things went even worse after a nomad-infested Kusari Battlecruiser showed up. The station dispatched their own heavy battlecruiser in response, but from the looks of things, it wouldn’t be a fair match. Now, I was already reaching out to the Bretonian Armed Forces in hopes of securing a reinforcement to save whatever is left from the convoy, but by the time they arrived, the fight had moved over in range of the weapon platforms around Aland. There were two BAF ships – a Templar fighter and a Dunkirk Battleship. Both of them got beaten to a pulp and decided to retreat while they still could… a wise decision, especially after the rest of the IMG escorts got pulverized, along with their heavy battlecruiser. Nobody, save for the few transports who ran away with me earlier, survived this extermination. The only thing that saved us and the base from annihilation were the robust weapon platforms, which were armed with battleship-grade weaponry. The nomads destroyed one platform, but lost one fighter, leaving their infested kusari capital ship and the other fighter remaining… they left after that, thankfully.
So, what did I learn from this… all it took was three nomad entities to wreck a well-armed IMG convoy, send two BAF navy men running for their lives and even cause immediate danger to a large space station with hundreds of people in it. Now, I’ve heard plenty about those beings in my time back in Omicron Alpha. Some even worship them… I must admit, I am impressed, stressed out and pissed off - and all of those things at the same time.
Note to self: if I ever see anything like this again, I am bugging out at the speed of light and I’m gonna be feeling real good about it. If that’s not possible, then I’m popping a six-pack of “Whoop-Ass” on them until either of us turns into a gaseous substance – not a particularly tempting choice for me. In any case, I am looking into this matter seriously – there’s got to be some badass guys out there who can handle those pink-looking pests and survive to feel good about it. If I find guys like this, I am definitely hooking up with them – I need a chance to dish out some justice for all those IMG boys who were brutalized that day. Nobody can blame them for it, they are not equipped to deal with this… neither were the BAF (not impressed by them at all). Next time I'm calling the Mollies for assistance.
RE: K's Personal Log - eigos - 07-10-2016
Date: 10-JUL-823; Time: 12:02
![[Image: eH8IF9K.png]](https://i.imgur.com/eH8IF9K.png)
Today I cross off a major setback on my list - the IFF transponder for my destroyer is finally acquired. Thanks to the recent nomad rampage across the Omega systems, I was forced to almost emigrate into the Sigma sector for safety reasons. And another thanks to this - I missed the deadline to pick up the hacked blank transponder from Jett Tao, who I am sure is feeling very lucky about it. But if anyone can come back from a situation like this, it's this guy right here - me!
The group I contacted almost 4 weeks ago... Battlegroup Auxesia, did in fact come through, with quite a considerable delay in communication. Gotta add that as an excuse the next time I am late for something, especially if it involves Diego in any way.
There were two messages from them in my inbox, the first one being from their leader herself. Very polite, short and straight to the point. I was not prepared for what followed next, though. When I opened the second message, my head just about exploded right then and there - I have never seen a more technical bit of text in my life. All the pain and anguish I experienced in my school years, when I was taking those engineering exams - it all came back at me with a progressively increased force. Good news is, I am 40% through the process of forgetting all that (again).
It has all been worth it - the communication between me and the group yielded results far better than what Jett Tao had to offer. The equipment I got from the deal was FAR BEYOND just a regular IFF transponder. Providing that I keep enough distance between my ship and anyone else, I can practically become one with the universe, completely invisible and untraceable. There is a whole operations guide on this device and I cannot wait to dig through all its options and settings.
What this all amounts to is very fortunate - I can see myself able to upgrade my ship with all kinds of useful gadgets and pimp the hell out of it, with some expert help from here and there. The Auxesians are definitely one good option to barter with, as long as I have something valuable to offer them. I really feel credits won't cut deals with this group... they want exotic stuff... technology.
I will see what I can come up with for our next "exchange".
RE: K's Personal Log - eigos - 11-14-2016
Date: 01-NOV-823; Time: 22:06
![[Image: J1mMxH6.png]](https://i.imgur.com/J1mMxH6.png)
Today I remembered something… this log has been sitting here, collecting dust for a long time and I was just about to delete it from my database.
To me, it is useless now – it has served its purpose to keep me from getting depressed while I was still climbing up from rock bottom and it helped me build my new perspective on life.
I dedicate this last entry to you, Diego. As of writing this, I am still trying to hack into the Tau Com-Sat network in order to contact you. It is a matter of time, as my decryption software works its magic.
After my deal with Battlegroup Auxesia, I spent the rest of July adding a few other useful goodies on my destroyer – the best armor upgrade I could find on the market, along with a cloaking device (that I paid zero credits for), thanks to a lucky gambling session I had at Trafalgar Base. Speaking of Trafalgar… I have obtained an official permission from the Bretonia Armed Forces to fly within their borders freely, like a boss. Don’t believe me? Then check it out below.
The month of August was easily the most intense period of my life thus far. It started with a brawl at Barrier Gate Station between the Crayterians and some shady-looking “agents”, that later turned out to be infested by the nomads.
![[Image: UgeChmP.png]](https://i.imgur.com/UgeChmP.png) |
![[Image: C4ncNUi.png]](https://i.imgur.com/C4ncNUi.png) |
12-th of August. There was another notable skirmish, this time in California. As an affiliate of Battlegroup Auxesia, I decided to lend a hand to their close allies, the Hellfire Legion. There was some turmoil in among the Liberty Navy’s different divisions and I guess the Legion saw this as an opportunity to challenge their authority. I proved myself in battle against a Liberty Dreadnought and forced him to retreat with his hull barely holding together. My payment arrived shortly after and I made my way out of the system before the Bounty Hunter Guild arrived.
![[Image: e8nUjDl.png]](https://i.imgur.com/e8nUjDl.png) |
After all of this, I decided to leave Barrier Gate Station and look for a better, safer place to dock at. I left my destroyer at Planet Curacao and went back to work on my transport. I felt the need for some peace and quiet to get my thoughts straight after all that happened. Work does indeed help in lifting one's spirits up and the profit was not bad either. There was so much money on my account now, that I simply decided to take a long vacation on Curacao Resort and delve into the depths of Xenoarcheology. There were just too many questions on my mind and I needed to know more about the Nomads and the race that created them.
Diego... this topic really is controversial and I know you don't like talking about it. But you don't need to be a scientist to realize how much the Nomads have evolved in the short period since their emergence. If this continues... then it won't be long before humanity faces a war like we haven't seen before. If we are to survive, then we'd better come up with some fresh products of the engineering kind.
Be seeing you, old man... reeeal soon.