I've found that junker base, but this ship's auto pilot is, as artificial intelligence, the least intelligent... I heard a strange noise in the ship and I wanted to check it, I set the auto pilot to keep it's route, to where was supposed to be that base and went to see what happened... It was a toolbox that I forgot to close before launch, and all my tools were scattered floating everywhere... Meanwhile, the ship's auto pilot started to avoid the metal chunks that were around the junker base, heading straight to an anomaly below it... I got to the escape pod by miracle, the radiation made my ship to explode. The second time I didn't let machines to do my work, and I've been able to reach that base safely
Now is when I recognize that I've never been scared like now... I've seen this docking bay, I've seen these corridors... This is the station I've dreamed with! Even the cold was the same, but at least there was an engineer trying to fix it, the ventilation system seemed to have problems. When I got in the bar, everyone seemed to be expecting me, and started to laugh. The waiter said: "So, you wanted to see if that anomaly was an entry point to another universe?" Really? This was his most witty comment? "Strange things that happen when you buy a ship that looks like a moth and you turn on the auto pilot, it behaves like a moth and goes straight to the light" I answered smiling, but everyone went silent, like if they were thinking if it was an offense or a joke. "It's me who almost died out there, you can laugh at me but I can't take it with humour?" They started to laugh again, and everyone returned to their stuff. Then I asked the waiter for a glass of rum. He served it and said that he invited that one: "You've made me win a lot of money, we placed bets about how much time would pass until another pilot would fly trough that anomaly, and you've just made me rich! When there were only six hours remaining to my bet be valid. You're the fifth in losing his ship here since I came working here a month ago." A month ago? Then he wouldn't know anything... I asked him if he knew who had been working on this base the longest, and headed me to the ship dealer, but he wasn't there, there only was a sign: "Back in two hours" Seems that I'll have to wait.
What is going on? who goes out for two hours and a day after hasn't came back? I got bored of waiting, so I went to pirate close to the trade lane to planet Denver... Worthy enough, but I found that it's easier to blast them down and take their cargo than talking to them, I don't have that much time for talking. Back to Foster, I noticed that he wasn't there yet. Maybe something happened to him... I heard a rumour of the Lane Hackers about something big that they were on, and I decided to show up there to see if I could help them and earn some credits. I was talking to one of them, and everything looked fine, until I had to dock at Beaumont because of a malfunction in the air filter, when I got it repaired was too late, they departed... Seems that today is not my day, I won't spend much more time here in Beaumont, it's less scary than Foster base, but I want to go back there to sort out what happened to the ship trader, people doesn't dissappear without leaving a trace...
Foster base could feel like home, all the base personnel knows me and treat me almost like one more of them... Except for a new face here, the ship trader... I headed directly to him and asked if he could know where could be the old trader, at least his answer allowed me to relax a bit... "Ray is not here, but he said that a young man, that fits exactly with your description would come for I don't know what of a box he had back there, he told me to give it to you." He went to look for the box, and returned with it, it had blood marks in the bottom, something that distracted me from hearing what was he saying... something about Inverness and his predecessor... I'd like to ask him to repeat it, but an engineer called him, and seemed to be urgent because he took a toolbox and ran to him. Well, at last I have my father's mysterious box, I only hope not to find a human head inside... I opened it, and found a customised pilot suit, and a helmet with an inscription:"A step closer to the end, is a step closer to a new begginning" What does it mean? I took the helmet, then something fell to the ground, it was letter. I decided to read it later, also saw where the blood came from, the suit had laser burns, and was soaked in blood, I'll have to clean it, but I'll also do it later, I've had a hard day and needed to drink something. Something that wonders me, is the ability the Junkers have for recycling, I bet that you can leave three of them in a debris field and within a month they could build a fully operational station.
First of all, apologies for not being with you as much as I would wanted, I tried to keep you out of knowing my real life because I was afraid that you could follow my steps, and that kept you away from me.Now that I'm dead (because if you're reading this, means that I've died, and you started to explore the universe, as you ever wanted, what finally brought you here) I give you my suit and my helmet, the suit is covered with blood of when I got shot down and had to land in a remote area of Los Angeles, sorry for that. All that of the coordinates was only to make you think a little, they are the coordinates of this base. Now, the explanations, Do you remember the story I used to tell you when you were younger? It's happening again, we still behaving like monkeys, but now have new technologies, all of them focused on destroying environments to gather minerals to build bases, ships, weapons, all this only to get rich and destroy who doesn't agree with this lifestyle. While it was at my hand, I fought against all that to delay the poisoning and corruption of the world, to keep it from reaching the levels that did almost a millenium ago, and I did it trough terrorist attacks: Destroying everything that feeds that poisoning, and everything that protects that corruption. That's why I appreciate the Junkers, nothing is left over for them, they don't have the need of destroying anything to create, and why I thank the Lane Hackers, for creating reliable software avalible to those that don't want to subsidize greedy corporations. I understand that you can think that this war is not yours, or that you don't want to risk yourself for an idea that I don't know if you would share with me... I decided to do it, and I don't regret for that. Choose the way that you think is the right one, and take care of yourself son.
Richard Tann So my father was a terrorist... I don't really know how I should react to this, but being a terrorist is something that is out of my reach right now, I don't see myself mentally prepared to slay thousands of people... Otherwise, I've thought more than once in bombing a base, and I agree with my father about that the corruption of selling at a low cost, chunks of an once beautiful land destroyed for greediness, should be erased. I have a lot of work to patch and clean my father's suit, and a lot of things to think about, so I think I'll sleep well tonight, I'm getting tired only thinking about it.
I had curiosity for knowing what was going in Inverness, why Ray, the old ship trader was there, so I went there. There was an enormous freeport, built by the Junkers, there I found Ray, he invited me an ale and smiled. "Finally you will follow your father's steps, he would be proud of you... I think, first..."I interrupted him, when did I say that I was going to become a terrorist? I don't remember that. Then he explained himself "Well, the boy that gave you the box, the new ship trader, remember him? I told him to tell you that if you wanted to take over from your father, you should come to see me here" I should pay attention more often... In the first moment, my thoughts were like "I can't do that", but thinking it coldly, if I don't destroy it, some day will be destroyed by a war, probably caused by them, anyways, they have money to rebuild it, but hitting them hard enough, maybe they'll see that money doesn't mean a thing when everything else is over... I said "Count on me". He started to laugh really loud, he was crying with laughter: "This is YOUR stuff, hahaha boy, leave me out of this, what yo have to do now is to get a powerful enough vessel and train hard to improve your skills, you fly worse than a stone, and when you feel prepared enough, decide what will be your target, and go on." So that's it, it's me and my decisions... Fine, that means that I have all the time I want to think about it... I left Inverness trough Vespucci to go to Pennsylvania, It's a safer path... or at least I thought it was, I didn't have Kansas charted yet, so I got there and headed to where were supposed to be the jump hole leading to pennsylvania... but I found an LSF battlecruiser which crew had very little desire to talk, I saw something in the screen, it was a Rogues' pilot's escape pod. I switched the scanner to look for it, and also found the jump hole leading to Pennsylvania, I tractored the escape pod and flied away from there. On the other side of the jump hole,I saw some nuclear devices. I know that they're expensive, so I tractored them, but then I switched the scanner to normal status and saw that there was an Outcast pilot there... Damn it, if these devices are theirs and thinks that I'm stealing them he will blast me away... Finally he said that I could keep them. I know that they could be hard to find, so I won't sell them, only for if he regrets for giving them to me... When I got to Niverton, the Rogue pilot was still unconscious... I hope that he's okay, I have a lot to think about, a week ago I was a space explorer, and now I'm debating whether to be a terrorist or not... everything has happened really fast, and I need time to assume all that things.
I've received a call from Ray, seems that all the engineers of all bases where I have been have told him the size of the repairs they had to perform on my ship... He was disappointed, and I understand him. I didn't chose wisely neither the ship nor the equipment, even that I didn't get killed. "It's not about getting the best ship and equipping it with the best equipment avalible that you can purchase, try getting one in which you feel comfortable, a vessel in which you fit well and vice-versa". He sent me to Puerto rico, to Vieques shipyard, and made me a proposition: Joining the Junkers temporarily and check their job board there for tasks I can do, I'll earn money and skill... Also said that I will love one of the ships they sell, he said "It's your style, also it has enough power output and a more-than-acceptable cargo hold, but don't get disappointed if the ship you like is not the one you're looking for". When I got there, I started all the paperwork to join them, and I dropped myself in the ship trader... Ray was right, I've fell in love with the gunship there! I've spent all my money on it, I've tested it and it's awesome... Feels like flying a heavy armed transport, and I'm used to fly transports... So I don't think that will be too hard to handle... By now, I'll go to sleep, tomorrow at first hour of the morning I will see that job board, But this time, let's start step by step, I won't put in my mouth something that I can't chew.
First day working for the Junkers, I will learn a lot of interesting things with them. The Vieques shipyard job board is empty, they don't have much work to offer at the moment, and they have more experienced people to do it ... Culebra smelter is almost the same, all the work they had for me was to fly through debris fields in search of still useful components and not too shattered hull panels. Something that won't help me improve my fighting skills ... At least I found someone who could give me some tips: a young Junker told me to go to Rochester, in the New York system, and give some help there, they have been bothered by the Bounty Hunters lately, and want someone to do some housecleaning tasks. A really annoying behavior, even for the Bounty Hunters ... They were sweeping the Jersey debris field with massive squads in search of unlucky outlaws whom to overwhelm in numbers to get some credits, like they tried to do with me... The first time they almost achieve it... If it weren't because we were near Rochester, that sent a rescue team to get me to safety. I forgot that they attack from all sides, just like the vermin they are, so next time I just had to keep them grouped and avoid getting surrounded by them. I love how this ship flies through debris as if each movement were the wiggle of a ballerina. Finally, those badass scumbags got a message from the Junkers, and pilots who survived, also a one-way ticket to a slave liner. Back in Vieques, I found Ray, with two teenagers whom he intended to assign me as my co-pilot and my rear gunner: "Let me introduce you Nick and Helen, they aren't aged enough to own a ship, but they are really valuable as crew. Nick is the Vieques lead engineer's son, he is already an expert in ship subsystems enhancement and can do almost all kind of repairs, and Helen... she was going to be sold as a slave when she was about five or seven years old, we couldn't know it exactly, and I couldn't allow that, so I payed for her freedom. She is autistic, so don't expect her to talk too much, but I've set her to test in a simulator, and resulted to be a sharpshooter." Ray got closer to me and whispered in my ear. "Don't do anything that can make her angry, the last one that I saw annoying her was found gutted in an airlock." Fine, so I'll share the same space with someone that can kill me if I make her angry... I asked him if he knowed what could annoy her, to avoid behaviors and expressions that could do it, but he answered laughing, something like "I'd wish to do so" and left. I don't know a thing about kids, I only expected to not having to babysit my new crew. Nick looked at me, and said that he was ready to launch. I stared at him, at least he seems motivated for working. "Well, we will depart as soon as we have a new assignment, I'll show you the ship later. By now you can go play over there or have a drink in the bar, something alcohol-free, I don't want to have to drag you to the ship, I already have enough having an underaged crew to take care of." Helen looked at me, turned her eyes to white and left saying: "I'll be in the deck." Starting well...
I didn't completely agree with taking those two kids with me, so I headed to the engineering deck in search of Nick's father. As I entered there, I smelled something strange, a smell that was also known to me... Was that cardamine? I wanted to see where that smell came from. I found a man fitting cardamine inside some manifolds storage containers. I asked him if he was the man I was looking for, his answer was much more that what I wanted to know: "I'm Simon and yes, I'm Nick's father, or at least that's what I've been told ha ha ha..."I didn't find that comment funny enough to laugh, something that he seemed to wait for."It's a joke... Well, Ray has told me that assigned your son as your co-pilot, you won't regret it, he has been doing this since he was nine, he uses to come with me in some smuggling runs, he has an innate ability for navigation... I can swear you that if neither your scanner nor his eyes can see it, it's cloaked or it doesn't exist. About the girl, Helen... She's dangerous, and has problems with receiving orders... What really happens is that Ray payed a lot of money for her, he wanted her for... hmm... for having fun, you know what I mean... and seems that she's tired of this. The same day he bought her, about half an hour later, I saw him with a knife nailed in his leg, very close to... He told me that she attacked him because I don't remember what story he told me, but everyone in the shipyard knew why. I think that will be great for her that you take her away from Ray, a few days ago she was in the medical unit, with whip wounds. And I'm worried because I know that she can focus all that resentment against anyone, if you've been here long enough, you've surely heard the story of the man that appeared slaughtered in an airlock..."I nodded."And she will be out there with my son, who can be a bigmouth, sometimes more than I'd like... About taking care of them, just bring them back in one piece, for the rest they can fend for themselves." I guess if they can take care of themselves because the ones that should do that aren't fit to do it. It's time to work, let's see where are these two... Anyway, I don't think they've assigned two inept to a rookie's gunboat, unless they want to get rid of them...
When I entered the landing deck, there was a lot of noise, and a lot of people surrounding my ship. Close to it, Nick and Helen were shouting to each other, they were about to fight. I asked one of the men that were there what was happening. Seems like he called her psycho, and that she was going to end as amusement in Sugarland, and she answered that Simon was a junkie Junker, that taught him the job for when he was too drugged with cardamine... I stood between them and put the hand on my gun: "Alright, pipe down and get behind the cockpit, we have work to do... By the way, while you are part of my crew, you will respect each other, if I see another show like this one, I won't care about who started, I'll tie both of you to the ship's hull, right behind the engines, and I'll have roasted kid for lunch, understood? Go" Nick ran into the ship, but Helen grabbed me by the collar of my jacket, and pulled down to put my head at the height of her's: "I won't let ANYONE to misrespect me, not anymore, the one who does, will do it only once. the only reason for not killing you nor Nick, is that you're my way out of here." She pulled up her shirt, enough to let me see that she was wearing a knife, then she went inside the ship. I think that instead of a babysitter, these two need an anti-riot team... I won't get killed because of their quarrels, if they start again I'll stun them and shut them in the cargo bay.
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