Evangeline Anastasia McDowell

[Bazza]

Entry#: 035
Date: 30 - 10 - 817 AS @ 18:27 SUT
Title: New member of the Family

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I would like to introduce you all to Koneko-chan. She is a Combat Service Vessel outfitted with a full remote control system. In open space she can be controlled from the Alsatia up to 2,000km away, less in asteroid or gas clouds, depending on composition.

Her current duty involves flying into the radioactive soup of the Grande Negra, latching on to a random chunk of metal and towing it back to us a safe distance away. She then chains the scrap onto the towing points at the back of the ship, which is then taken to the Culebra smelters first for radiation treatment and then recycling.

So far there have been a few issues. The main being the ship is so horribly irradiated we can't ever bring her back. Everything relating to her has to be done from a good distance away or from within a radiation suit. Refuelling is a right pain the the arse. Every time she needs fuel, one of us has to go out and manually change the canisters over, before discarding the expended canister back into the dark matter cloud.

I don't like having to leave her in the dark matter cloud, either. I fear I'm going to go see her one day and find she has cerebral damage, or even worse, isn't there at all. I feel more attached to this ship than any of the rest, I think it's because I know the poor thing was destined for an early grave from the day we bought her.

But, on the plus side, she's pulled out enough junk to pay for herself twice over at least. The little monster dragged out an entire transport hull the other day. And the components have proved to be pretty reliable, no failures yet despite the agricultural installation.

And here I was thinking I'd managed to get above collecting scrap. I'd forgotten just how bothersome it was, but at least this time around I have company. The goods have started flowing into Vieques, eating up the money I had stashed away.

I should be able to start reconstruction of the Maelstrom shortly. Still haven't entirely decided what I'm going to do with it, yet.

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