These last few days have been a rush! But I'm not complaining; on the contrary, I'm pleased to see that we have a lot of work to do. However, I won't report the details of the deliveries here. This is already duly recorded in the files of our cargo delivery section. What I would like to report here is what happened on one of the deliveries that left Sigma-15 and was destined for Provence.
Well, the route was very calm and that's exactly why when I was in Kyushu I decided to shorten the route and take the jump hole to Tau-23 and from there pass through the restricted access gate to Languedoc, since =IT= has authorization to do so. I confess that I always feel a bit tense when I sail through TAU-23. That system seems like a perfect place for pirates to ambush merchants. But everything was going so well that I felt confident enough to take this shortcut.
As soon as my ship left the jump hole and I found myself on Tau-23, I set the navigation systems to the coordinates of the gate to Languedoc and sat up straight in my chair, trying to focus all my attention on the onboard computers and the view I could get of the outside. I know that the corridors in the middle of the asteroid fields are quite safe to navigate. But I usually take a straight line from the Java station to the gate to Languedoc, which means that in this part of the route, instead of using the corridor, I navigate between the asteroids. So all my concentration is necessary.
It didn't take long after passing the Java station and entering the asteroid field towards the gate to Languedoc to feel an old and pleasant sensation: piloting the Serenity using its maneuverability to position myself on the paths I could find among the asteroids. How I love this ship!
I was focused and entertained with the navigation when I began to visualize, still in the distance, the shape of the gate that was my destination. I was calculating where I would turn left to get out of the minefield and use the corridor for the last few kilometers of the trajectory when I noticed a contact on the scanner and almost immediately a request for me to stop and turn off the engines.
What I immediately thought was that my intuition, or overconfidence, had deceived me. I began to mentally calculate what would be feasible to pay as a fee to the pirate who was approaching, preparing myself for a negotiation.
To my surprise, before I had finished doing the calculations, the pilot seemed friendly. In fact, he was patrolling the area. He belongs to the Unione Corse faction and the name of his ship is "Bastia". He offered me the favor of escorting my ship to its destination and then to the limits of TAU-23 again, which I gladly accepted. We talked for the rest of the journey and, finally, this conversation might lead to a business opportunity.
It turns out that his faction is interested in developing projects for the construction of some kind of modular facility in Provence. And since our partners in this region are also partners of his faction, we thought that perhaps we could extend this partnership to a joint effort. He agreed to talk to his boss and I to mine. And here I am reporting this to =IT=.
I have attached below the details of the conversation taken from the black box communication log. I hope this bears fruit!
[21.02.2025 02:32:07] =IT=Njord: Greetings!
[21.02.2025 02:32:10] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Salute, Freelancer. Please halt your engines for a Border Control please.
[21.02.2025 02:32:20] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: We are not going to pirate you, do not worry.
[21.02.2025 02:32:27] =IT=Njord: Lets just get out of this field
[21.02.2025 02:32:37] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Please shut down your engines.
[21.02.2025 02:32:46] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Merci.
[21.02.2025 02:32:48] =IT=Njord: Done
[21.02.2025 02:32:52] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: So, where are ya coming from?
[21.02.2025 02:33:05] =IT=Njord: Im coming from Sigma-15
[21.02.2025 02:33:16] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: I see; where are ya headed?
[21.02.2025 02:33:29] =IT=Njord: To Mecachrome Station in Provence.
[21.02.2025 02:33:39] =IT=Njord: And Yhen I will go back eith cigars
[21.02.2025 02:33:42] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Oh, Provence; we will escort you there if you want.
[21.02.2025 02:33:49] =IT=Njord: Sure!
[21.02.2025 02:33:52] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Ah, si; cigars back to Sigma-15?
[21.02.2025 02:33:59] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: What station if I may ask?
[21.02.2025 02:34:04] =IT=Njord: Cigars to Syracuse in Colorado
[21.02.2025 02:34:18] =IT=Njord: Station in Provence?
[21.02.2025 02:34:21] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Ah, Colorado. Then Sigma-15, and then, Provence, and again?
[21.02.2025 02:34:28] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: I meant Sigma-15 sorry, hah.
[21.02.2025 02:34:56] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: We can talk while moving, don't worry, let's keep going, let's not stop our economy from moving!
[21.02.2025 02:34:59] =IT=Njord: Sigma -15 I bought this cargo to deliver in Provence
[21.02.2025 02:35:17] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Si, but what base in Sigma-15, I mean.
[21.02.2025 02:35:23] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: I'll jump after ya.
[21.02.2025 02:35:29] =IT=Njord: Wichter Station
[21.02.2025 02:35:38] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Ah, si. Thanks for the info.!
[21.02.2025 02:35:47] =IT=Njord: No problem.
[21.02.2025 02:36:28] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: It's awesome that our partners in Provence have your company as partners!
[21.02.2025 02:36:44] =IT=Njord: Yeah, nice business opportunity
[21.02.2025 02:36:46] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: It would be nice if you would also extend your partnership with us!
[21.02.2025 02:37:02] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Should the Commission contact you, or some way other?
[21.02.2025 02:37:18] Attention! Stand clear. Towing UC/-UCS-"Bastia"
[21.02.2025 02:37:20] =IT=Njord: OH..thas my Boss business
[21.02.2025 02:37:29] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Ah, I see; well, tell your boss!
[21.02.2025 02:37:31] =IT=Njord: I can talk to him about it.
[21.02.2025 02:37:49] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Merci! That would be nice, we have some development projects in Provence for our own Modular Installation.
[21.02.2025 02:38:11] =IT=Njord: So I ask him to look for Union Corse?
[21.02.2025 02:38:29] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Si, and its Union*e* Corse. Or Govt. of Provence, both works!
[21.02.2025 02:39:10] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Welcome (back) to Provence!
[21.02.2025 02:39:11] =IT=Njord: I dodnt know you guys police this are.
[21.02.2025 02:39:22] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Of course we do. Provence has its own code of laws.
[21.02.2025 02:39:23] =IT=Njord: Thanks!
[21.02.2025 02:39:57] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: The Gallic Union devolved the government back to its rightful owners; the people of Provence, so we police our own home!
[21.02.2025 02:40:09] =IT=Njord: Thats nice!
[21.02.2025 02:40:31] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: And Provence is a demilitarized zone, so no capital ships is allowed above a gunboat, unless a state of emergency has been
[21.02.2025 02:40:34] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": -declared.
[21.02.2025 02:40:59] =IT=Njord: I need to check some papper stuff before landing.
[21.02.2025 02:41:16] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Haha, I was doing that too!
[21.02.2025 02:41:18] [OOC] =IT=Njord: Willt ake like a minute to organize the screenshot
[21.02.2025 02:41:19] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Don't worry!
[21.02.2025 02:41:24] Death: Barry.McCockiner was put out of action by a hostile vessel.
[21.02.2025 02:41:26] [OOC] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": no worries
[21.02.2025 02:41:35] /time
[21.02.2025 02:41:35] 2025-02-21 02:41:35 SMT
[21.02.2025 02:42:42] =IT=Njord: All good to land.
[21.02.2025 02:42:48] =IT=Njord: Docking now.
[21.02.2025 02:42:56] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Got it!
[21.02.2025 02:42:57] 2025-02-21 02:42:57 SMT Traffic control alert: =IT=Njord has docked
[21.02.2025 02:43:38] =IT=Njord: Now Im going to Avignon Station to pick a load of Cigars.
[21.02.2025 02:43:56] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Sure thing. We'll wait for ya here, next to the trade lane.
[21.02.2025 02:44:03] =IT=Njord: OK.
[21.02.2025 02:44:33] 2025-02-21 02:44:33 SMT Traffic control alert: =IT=Njord has docked
[21.02.2025 02:45:10] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Maybe think about setting up a Modular Installation here; the fee is 0 credits for life! You just need to submit an-
[21.02.2025 02:45:26] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": -application before building said base, there's a guideline in the laws section anyway.
[21.02.2025 02:45:36] =IT=Njord: Thats very nice!
[21.02.2025 02:45:40] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: If you don't have a Modular Inst. yet of course.
[21.02.2025 02:45:53] /time
[21.02.2025 02:45:53] 2025-02-21 02:45:52 SMT
[21.02.2025 02:46:03] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Si, it helps with commerce and trade; so all these bases pay 0 credits, both for the license, and the time.
[21.02.2025 02:46:44] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Uh, by the way, why don't you buy Cigars on Monte Carlo? It costs, if I remember correctly, 39 credits/u.?
[21.02.2025 02:47:05] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: My bad, it's 65/u.
[21.02.2025 02:47:23] =IT=Njord: Ah
[21.02.2025 02:47:31] =IT=Njord: Because Im filling a contract.
[21.02.2025 02:47:43] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Hmm, I wonder where... Nah nevermind, it must be sold elsewhere-- oh I see, with Avignon? Awesome!
[21.02.2025 02:47:56] =IT=Njord: The contract is with Avignon
[21.02.2025 02:47:57] CONSOLE: Possible cheating detected: DSM-89
[21.02.2025 02:48:09] =IT=Njord: The station is exporting xigars,
[21.02.2025 02:48:29] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Si, si. That's awesome! I see =iT= has a few contracts with our partners! I'd love to have your company become a partner-
[21.02.2025 02:48:31] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": -with us!
[21.02.2025 02:48:56] =IT=Njord: Yeah, I will talk with my Boss for sure.
[21.02.2025 02:49:10] CONSOLE: Possible cheating detected: DSM-89
[21.02.2025 02:49:11] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Merci; and I'll talk with mine too! Haha
[21.02.2025 02:50:02] =IT=Njord: Hows the pirating over here?
[21.02.2025 02:50:47] =IT=Njord: So, hows the pirating over here?
[21.02.2025 02:50:56] CONSOLE: Possible cheating detected: DSM-89
[21.02.2025 02:50:59] =IT=Njord: I guess is qquiotem safe around here.
[21.02.2025 02:51:05] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Gallia is pretty quiet. No piracy has been detected and reported for a very, very long time now.
[21.02.2025 02:51:15] =IT=Njord: Thats cool.
[21.02.2025 02:51:31] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: But that's why we escort ya; could happen. The Maquis are in jeopardy, same for the Brigands.
[21.02.2025 02:51:40] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: However - Tau-23 is a hotbed for piracy.
[21.02.2025 02:51:56] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: If you'd like, we'd love to escort you to your next stop after Tau-23
[21.02.2025 02:51:59] =IT=Njord: Im having luck then
[21.02.2025 02:52:04] Rules Tip: A single player running two or more instances of Freelancer is against server rules and is regarded as cheating.
[21.02.2025 02:52:07] =IT=Njord: Sure!
[21.02.2025 02:52:14] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Si. Same for the Gallic Royalists; it seems they disappeared.
[21.02.2025 02:52:52] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: So business is at an all-time high, and no piracy for a long while; but like everything, it'll stop one day... I hope not.
[21.02.2025 02:53:36] =IT=Njord: We heading to Kiusshu JH.
[21.02.2025 02:53:38] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Next stop? Kyushu Jump Hole?
[21.02.2025 02:53:47] =IT=Njord: Yeas
[21.02.2025 02:54:00] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Hah, we thought of the same, we'll escort you to the Jump Hole and let ya go of course.
[21.02.2025 02:54:33] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: You'll be fine in Kyushu and Kusari - however piracy rates here have still been high there.
[21.02.2025 02:54:41] =IT=Njord: Yeah
[21.02.2025 02:54:50] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Blood Dragons; Golden Chrysanthemums... Independent Pirates...
[21.02.2025 02:54:57] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Hogosha as well.
[21.02.2025 02:55:33] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Same for Liberty but at least there's law enforcement presence there.
[21.02.2025 02:56:15] =IT=Njord: Yeah, but sometimes the pirates really do a mess.
[21.02.2025 02:56:31] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Ah, sorry, I rambled a bit about the various info. we have from our representatives in Sirius.
[21.02.2025 02:57:08] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Well, good luck!
[21.02.2025 02:57:16] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Safe skies! Take care!
[21.02.2025 02:57:20] =IT=Njord: I appreciate the escort!
[21.02.2025 02:57:33] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: No problem! It was a pleasure to help our partners!
[21.02.2025 02:57:35] =IT=Njord: I will have a word with my Boss.
[21.02.2025 02:57:49] =IT=Njord: I hope we can do things together again.
[21.02.2025 02:57:54] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Merci beaucoup! Remember about the clause for Modular Installations if your company thinks about it!
[21.02.2025 02:58:04] =IT=Njord: Sure.
[21.02.2025 02:58:10] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Of course! We hope for it too! We look forward to it!
[21.02.2025 02:58:13] =IT=Njord: Fly safe out there friend!
[21.02.2025 02:58:15] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: Alright, safe skies!
[21.02.2025 02:58:22] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": CIC: You too friend:
[21.02.2025 03:00:29] 2025-02-21 03:00:29 SMT Traffic control alert: =IT=Njord has docked
[21.02.2025 03:00:29] Auto-Buy(Countermeasures): Bought 1 unit(s), cost: 4$
[21.02.2025 03:04:15] CONSOLE: Possible cheating detected: |I|-Cometa-1
[21.02.2025 03:11:35] Death: Vardekxx was put out of action by a hostile vessel.
[21.02.2025 03:12:09] /leave
[21.02.2025 03:12:16] Rules Tip: This is a roleplay server, so keep your ship's name in line with the setting. Do not use references to pop-culture such as memes or distasteful subjects.
[21.02.2025 03:13:18] [OOC] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": Thank you for letting me have some RP with ya and escorting ya, it was fun! And thanks again for not just cruising away ^^
[21.02.2025 03:13:44] [OOC] =IT=Njord: Thank you too! Was fun indeed!
[21.02.2025 03:13:49] [OOC] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": (It happens many times, even TheKusari have done it, apparently a lot of people don't like being checked at the border hah)
[21.02.2025 03:13:59] [OOC] UC/-UCS-"Bastia": No problem! ^^ have fun and see ya around! <3
[21.02.2025 03:14:10] [OOC] =IT=Njord: Cya
[21.02.2025 03:15:45] /1
[21.02.2025 03:15:45] =IT=Njord: Greetings!
[21.02.2025 03:15:56] Stellar: H: Hello
[21.02.2025 03:15:58] 2025-02-21 03:15:57 SMT Traffic control alert: =IT=Njord has docked
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