Eman's Dream Cruise

[Knucklehead]

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...)

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It's official, I have too few ships now...