My real name is - was - Selvia Donan. I'm going to start with that, just so I don't forget who I was, or where I've come from. That's important to me...so as I fly to Manhattan in my broken-down CSV to meet the leader of the NLH Gaians, I'm going to write it all down.
I was born thirty-one years ago to BAF parents stationed aboard the Battleship MacDuff. We left there by the time I was twelve, but the beautiful, barren planet below had already made a lasting impression on me. So when I turned 18 and bought a beat-up CSV from the Junkers, that's where I went. I didn't really think about what I'd do for a living; I loved the place to death, I'd find something to do.
Making a home planetside wasn't easy - I learned a LOT about hostile environments, about how unforgiving they can be...it's not an easy life, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything else in Sirius. The solitude of walking across the surface, nary a soul in sight; the glittering of the ice fields when you enter orbit, and late at night from the surface they outshine the stars...I found a job harvesting water for Holman Outpost, and fighting off the occasional pirate. Didn't make much money, but I didn't need to.
And then Planetform arrived. They made all kinds of wonderful promises, but they all involved completely ruining the planet! They wanted to make it into a clone of every other planet in Bretonian space, veiled in smog and covered in a sea of metal and concrete. I wrote many elegant protests to the government, to Planetform, even to the Queen herself! Nothing came of any of them, and I was essentially informed that I would have to leave.
Well, I didn't. I stayed. I would stay with my beloved planet until the end. Or, so I thought...then came rumors of some kind of experimental virus run amok, but I was convinced that it must have something to do with the no-doubt toxic terraforming gases those awful PF pyramids were spouting all over the place. Eventually, it became obvious to me that I had to leave, and find another way to fight...perhaps literally.
That was when I found out that someone I'd known and worked with on occasion, someone who loved the planet as much as I did, had gone to the Gaians; I chose to follow his lead. Specifically, to Sean and the NLH.
I almost wasn't allowed to leave. Somehow, some military folks got wind of my intentions...I bet it was Kim on Holman. That jerk always hated me. I shouldn't have started making a fuss, but I had no idea they'd actually try to STOP me from leaving! Once I got into orbit, a patrol of Templars demanded that I heave to and prepare to be boarded. I told them my airlock was malfunctioning; my old CSV's unreliability was near-legendary, and for awhile, they bought it. Just long enough for me to get 1k distance between me and them.
I ignited my cruise engines and dropped CM like made, barely managing to escape into the dubious safety of the ice field. I say "dubious" because they'd actually placed mines there! The kind that gets put around top-secret military facilities. I was lucky to escape that alive...if the minefield had been any thicker, I'd never have made it. I was terrified, then, sure they'd kill me if they caught me.
I ran, and ran, sometimes even eschewing the trade lanes in favor of the anonymity of open space, and finally made it to Liberty space. Liberty not being on terribly good terms with Bretonia, I felt reasonably safe. My CSV had been badly damaged by the mines in my escape, though, and so I was barely able to limp the rest of the way to Manhattan to await contact by Sean.
And that's where I am today. I bought a Starflyer - it must be the second-worst ship ever made, after the Startracker, but it'll fly at least. My poor, poor CSV I had to sell for scrap...but at least I got some good pictures of her before I put her to pasture.
I've decided to christen myself Silvanus. I know it's the name of a male god from Earth's mythology, but shorten it to "Silvy" and it sounds a lot like my real name. Not a lot of change there, in a good way. I'll be updating this thing periodically...
What a time it's been here...Islay is amazing, the people inside are even more amazing, and the sights I've seen are perhaps the most amazing. Moira's taken me on a few "grand tours" of some of the more exotic and remote reaches of Sirius, places I hadn't even heard about in books...for a girl who's spent most of her life in Tau-31, it's hard to imagine so many things!
I've moved up a bit...I have a bomber now, though it's in need of more equipment; and I even command a gunboat. Had to make an agreement with the IMG, however...I can't raid their shipping using the Demeter. She's a smart little ship, somewhat small for a gunboat, but well-protected. I like that she only needs two other people besides myself to keep her running smoothly, even in combat. I've never been comfortable with large numbers of people in confined spaces.
It also means less waste, of course. She's only got two engines, and I work on them myself to ensure that their emissions are as low in pollutants as possible. With some help from some of the other mechanics and technicians on Islay and Skye - and a few pointers from the Corsair shipbuilders at Tripoli, even - I've managed to keep the Demeter's exhaust signature lower than most bombers!
Islay....it really is like a small planetoid. It's got a north pole, and a toasty core. It's got day and night, it has its own native plantlife, and there are even rumors of small animals and insects that've become so adapted to life on Islay that they couldn't live anywhere else.
As incredible as Islay is, it pales in comparison to Gaia. I made a pilgrimage of sorts there two weeks ago, to see the pristine beauty that we fight for...in all of Sirius, I can't imagine that there is a single other planet like Gaia. The ground practically pulses beneath your feet from the sheer volume of living things on and beneath the surface! Immense trees, elaborate systems of vines, and an ecosystem that's so unbelievably intricate and dependant upon itself...I don't think anyone could come to completely understand it even if given three lifetimes!
And the newest addition to our allies...Marburg is an interesting sort. Still so much I don't know...I'll have to ask Moira at the Festival tonight. And the Festival is something that is probably best left off paper! Some secrets were meant to be kept.
But in the end, the IMG gunboat was still a warship at heart, and Silvy's modifications just didn't work for long. She wound up exchanging it for a Spatial - which really couldn't do anything her bomber couldn't do better. She was flying her new Griffin around Islay, getting a feel for the light fighter, when a TAZ vessel appeared on her scanners...and not just any, but a familiar signature.
"Hi, Linus! What brings you out here? And...what's that?" As the Zoner's trademark Mammoth heavy transport came into view through the thick clouds in which Islay hid, it became apparent that there was another, larger ship behind it...as it approached, the vague form became recognizable as a badly damaged Kusari Explorer.
"Howdy, Silvy! Well, that is what brings me out here. See, I heard ya had a li'l trouble with yer IMG gunny's engines bein' too dirty. And, a young pal 'o mine bought himself this here Explorer, plannin' to do some huntin' with it...but, turned out it wasn't much good fer that. Ze'ev's gunboat trashed it pretty bad, so I bought the hulk an' he went an' got an Orca.
"Now, I WAS gonna fly it myself, but I got my a nice piece of Liberty hardware instead. So, I got this beat-up Explorer, an' nothin' I can think of to do with it. Until I hear some GMG flunky talkin' 'bout how efficient the durn thing is, an' then I thought of you. Turns out they really cut down on how much of the reactor's output goes to the engines; so it gets out-turned by a Bretonian gunboat, buuuuut puts out a fraction of the junk without any modifications. Keep low-power usin' turrets on 'er, and she'll be even more efficient. Anyhow, she's yours if ya want 'er. As an aside, heh, the KNF didn't much mind me haulin' this thing to Bretonia once they found out who it was for..."
Silvy killed her engines and massaged her thruster controls to drift around the craft, looking at it from all angles. I would normally decline the offer...but after talking with Moira the other day...with her and Marburg leaving us, it's gotten pretty lonely. Been thinking about going on a vacation of sorts...and that ship might be just the ticket. Made for long-duration trips and whatnot. "Alright, Linus. I'll take it. And...thanks again. And...Linus?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask a favor?"
"Sure thing."
"I know Moira's doing something with the TAZ, and little else...can you please watch out for her? She's a good friend, and she's been my mentor in the NLH. I don't want anything to happen to her."
After a brief pause, Linus replied, "You got it, Silvy. Take care of yerself too, eh?" With that, the Mammoth broke the tow, leaving the Explorer adrift near Islay for the Gaians to moor.
The woman known as "Silvy" paused, perched like an insect roughly midway up the craggy slope, and looked back the way she'd come. Nearly a thousand meters below, her fighter sat in a small clearing...it was an old Viper Mk1, well-used but in good overall shape, she'd purchased from the Colonial Remnant as they phased in the newer Viper Mk2 for their standard VHF. Silvy missed her Griffin, but the little bird just couldn't pack enough firepower using the efficient - but weak - photon guns the Gaian movement favored.
Besides, the Viper had proved a surprisingly efficient bird, and the Colonial mechanics had been quite willing to show her a few tricks they'd learned in decades of working on the older Vipers to further decrease the pollution the fighter inevitably put out. They'd used it for stealthing purposes rather than due to care for the environment, of course, but the end effect was the same. The three engines were much easier to work on than the Griffin's deep-seated single unit, and as a result Silvy had soon regained her reputation as Islay's resident grease monkey.
Its atmospheric performance was somewhat lackluster, though, probably due to the small wing surfaces. Whereas the Griffin could positively dance through the sky, the Viper pierced it like a needle through silk. Landing in the small clearing had proved an interesting challenge, but Selvia knew she'd improve with practice. If she kept the Viper long enough, that is...she liked the Mk2, but the Mk1 was smaller and cheaper, and she thus far had no reason to try to convince the IMG to give her one of their newest fighters again.
She shook her head to clear it, and returned her attention to the path ahead. It was decidedly rough-hewn, as she and a few other Gaians were the only ones that walked it, and were careful to disturb as little of the native vegetation as possible. And what amazing vegetation it was...it never ceased to amaze Silvy every time she visited. And she visited more often than some of her colleagues - most Gaians visited the planet whose name they'd taken and cause they'd championed at least once a year. Silvy visted monthly.
But she wasn't just there to enjoy the scenery, though she most certainly did. She was there to catalogue, research, and of course...take lots of pictures. It was an important part of the movement to educate the largely clueless public on just why Gaia had to be protected, why it was so special. Of course, one-hour pieces broadcast on public channels about the planet's plants and animals were only a part of what needed to be done...there were many other unique places in Sirius that needed to be properly surveyed, or that had been but might well reveal new surprises to someone willing to give the place a closer look...
Which was also why she'd accepted Linus' gift, and had her refitted as a survey ship at Tripoli shipyards. Of course, she now mounted Corsair turrets as a result, but there was no doubting the pirate nation's engineers...their handiwork was superb. Silvy could scarcely wait to take her on a grand tour of Sirius' outer territories, particularly in the Nomad systems. First, however, there was the business closer to home.
Which, of course, brought her back to the rocks at her feet and the instrumentation on her back. Her goal was to place some weather recorders and a seismograph atop this particular peak, which she'd long suspected was actually a dormant volcano. Other than the few areas that OSC had cleared of potentially dangerous wildlife (according to their opinion), most of Gaia was completely unexplored. It simply wasn't commercially viable for the OSC to study the whole planet when they only needed a handful of landing sites for high-paying customers.
The twin suns were well on their way to completing their daily march across the sky...Selvia picked up her pace. She wanted to be back to her ship by sunset.