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Eman's Dream Cruise - Knucklehead - 07-01-2007
Chapter 1
Eman Modnar had always been fascinated with the wonders of space. From the mysterious vortices of jumpholes, to the eerie darkness of Liberty's badlands, to the wonderous Tohoku Planetary Arch, he had dreams of seeing them all first hand. His father had once been a mercenary and had seen many such wonders throughout Sirius. He shared his many tales with Eman.
Eman was particularly enchanted by the tales of the luxurious resorts on Planet Curacao. The vast oceans, the beautiful sunsets, the glitter of the sun against the ice clouds at night. He knew he wanted to be a part of the company that owned them, so he could see them first hand.
Eman's father had left the mercenary life a few years ago to pursue a lucrative yet dangerous trade route through Rheinland and Kusari. When the time came for Eman to become a pilot, his father gave him enough money to purchase a full sized transport of his own. He knew what he wanted to do, so he set out for Curacao to apply to Orbital Spa & Cruise.
When he arrived, the representatives there told him they needed a supply vessel like his, but that he should go to the Luxury Liner Shetland in the Edinburgh system. Eman had heard about Orbital's luxury liners, and was excited to see one in person. He loaded up on supplies and headed for Bretonia.
After a relatively uneventful trip through Manchester, New London, and Leeds, Eman arrived in the Edinburgh system. The bigwigs on Curacao had told him that the Shetland was stationed in orbit of one of the most pristine planets in the sector, Gaia. He scanned the area carefully, finally spotting the planet off in the distance. With no trade lanes between the jumpgate and the planet, Eman fired up his cruise engines and settled in for the long flight to Gaia.
At around 10K from Gaia, Eman finally spotted the Shetland. Eman was immediately awestruck, as he saw the sheer size of the vessel. He noted the numerous turrets scattered around the exterior of the ship. Why would a ship like this need such weapons? Eman had heard of various pirate groups around the sector, but who would think of attacking such a marvelous ship?
Eman would find out soon enough. After docking with the larger vessel and unloading his cargo, he set out to find the captain of the liner.
"Welcome to the Shetland, me boy," the Captain said by way of greeting. "I was told to be expectin' ya. The boys in corporate tell me you've got quite a future ahead of you."
"Thank you, Captain. I must say, I'm quite impressed with your ship here."
"Aye, she's a fine ship in one o' the finest places in the galaxy. Even better than her sister ship, the Hawaii, if I do say so meself."
"The 'Hawaii?'" Eman wondered.
"Yes, named for one of the finest tourist destinations back on old Earth, before the war that forced our ancestors ta flee out here to Sirius. She's stationed just outside Kusari space, orbiting Planet Hiran. Although, I must say, despite the danger here, Gaia's a fair sight prettier than Hiran."
"Danger?"
"Ah, yes, it seems a group of what you could call Eco-Terrorists calling themselves the Gaians have taken objection to our presence here at Gaia. They claim we harm the natural development of the plants and animals that live down on the surface. A bunch of nonsense, if ya ask me."
"I noticed you have some fairly hefty turrets on here. Do you really need them?"
"Aye, those Gaians are always tryin' ta disrupt our operations here. Ya know, we could use a bit o' help with 'em. Could help prove yer loyalty ta the company, too, if ya know what I mean."
"I'm not exactly flying a combat vess-"
"Oh, don't worry about that. The Gaians around here are a sorry lot. Yer transport should be able to hold 'em off. Besides, no pain, no gain, right?"
"I guess so. So what do I do?"
"Go check the Mission Computer over in the officers lounge. They should have somethin' that needs done."
"I'll get right on it. Thanks."
"Not a problem. Good luck out there. Oh, and welcome to Orbital Spa 'n' Cruise."
(To be continued...)
Eman's Dream Cruise - Knucklehead - 07-02-2007
Chapter 2
Encouraged by the Captain's words, Eman followed his suggestion and headed for the Officers' Lounge. While the lounge wasn't the greatest place he'd been in, the view of Gaia out the viewports was amazing.
"Can I get you anything?" the bartender asked.
"Just a glass of water, thank you. I prefer to keep my wits about me."
"Suit yourself, sir." The bartender reached over to the water supply and filled a glass. "Haven't seen you around here before. First time on the Shetland?"
"Yeah. The Captain said I should come up here and see what odd jobs needed done. Any idea where I should start?"
"Well, the Mission Computer's right over there, but you might want to try talking to some of the other patrons. Some of them are high-ups in ship security. They probably have a few things that need doing."
"Thanks," Eman said, taking the glass the bartender had just handed him.
After browsing the computer, Eman found something that caught his interest. Turns out the Gains were building a station of some kind off in the distance. It didn't look too difficult, and the pay was decent enough.
Eman left the glass and a tip on the bar and headed back toward his ship. After running through the preflight checks, he eased the ship away from the Shetland and headed for the station.
It didn't take long to reach the target at cruise speed. As the station grew larger in his viewscreen, Eman wondered how the Gaians had managed to build it so quickly. He didn't have too long to think about it though, as the threat board was lighting up like a Christmas tree.
"You'll never take down our base," one of the inbound pilots called out. Big talk for someone in such a small ship, Eman thought to himself as he let loose with his turrets.
Thanks to the upgraded shield his father insisted he get when he bought the ship, the Gaians' shots bounced harmlessly off the energy field. While he had the Gaian ships outgunned, the battle was not easy, as their Startrackers were surprisingly agile and took quite some doing to take out. They all fell in time, leaving the station wide open for a direct attack.
All told, it was over in a matter of minutes, leaving behind a scattering of leftover 'bats' and 'bots where the station was. Eman scooped up the escape pods and headed back to the Shetland.
"Fine job out there, m'boy," the Captain said as Eman stepped out of his ship. "Really showed them they can't scare us out of here."
"Thank you, Captain. I did manage to pick up a fair number of escape pods from the ships they had defending the station. What should I do with them?"
"Just hand 'em over to the dockmaster over there and he'll see to them. We clean them up, treat any injuries they have, and get them ready to take back to the authorities. Although, between you and me, the facilities on Baden Baden are much better for treating them. With all the attacks from the Gaians, Outcasts, and Corsairs around here, we have too many of them to deal with.
"But enough about that. I've gotten word that the Hawaii is in need of some more of those delicacies that Cambridge is famous for. Would you mind going over to Cambridge and picking up a load of the stuff?"
"Certainly," Eman replied. "What's the best way to get there?"
"Well, the trip to Cambridge is fairly straightforward. Just head back toward Planet Leeds and take the tradelane to the New London gate. From there, it's just a couple tradelanes to the Cambridge gate, and another couple to Planet Cambridge itself. Now, once you pick up the stuff, you'll have to double time it to the Hawaii, as the stuff spoils in a hurry. Spoiled food is no good to anyone, so you'll have to try to shave as much time as you can."
"Anything else I should know about?"
"Yes, keep your eye out for pirates trying to take your stuff. Most of them aren't worth the time it takes to finish them off, especially between Cambridge and the Hawaii. There are a number of nasty ones out there though, and if you run into them, just keep running."
"Got it. See you around, Captain. And thanks."
"Don't mention it. Good luck, Mr. Modnar."
With that, Eman launched himself into a hopefully long and prosperous career as a supply ship captain. Eman still has a dream of flying a Luxury Liner of his own, and perhaps some day he'll get that chance. Only time will tell.
The End...
Or is it?