Entry#: 019
Date: 04 - 09 - 817 AS @ 18:15 SUT
Title: Misaka is a popular girl
After all but abandoning the log for the last fortnight or so I feel the latest events warrant an entry. Turns out Misaka is a very popular girl amongst pirates, adding the other day to the tally it makes 4 people who've demanded her and one more who has pictures of her birthday suit pinned to the wall of his quarters somewhere.
I was pelting down the trade lanes in Shikoku after a world-speed-record dash across the rest of Kusari when I encountered a defunct ring, caused, unsurprisingly, by the ship immediately nearby. The scanner returned a call sign of Nova OPGsomethingorother. I had no idea who the pilot was or what his plans for me were, but I figured I'd be leaving sans money or blood.
The pilot demanded I drop my cargo, something I've heard a fair few times in my life. I didn't want to get myself in trouble in Kusari (again) so I obliged. It was only some Niobium I picked up from the Tau border worlds a week or so ago after offloading the fully legit cargo I bought in Liberty. Rather than collect it as most pirates do he simply shot the containers in space and destroyed them, spilling their ore contents into space. Rather unusual, I thought, but I wasn't going to push the issue lest I get the same treatment..
He then demanded I "hand over the Golden Chrysanthemum I had on board", that being Misaka.
Of course, there ain't no way in hell I'm handing her over to anyone, as I've said on multiple occasions and I made this known. I don't care who a guy is nor how many guns he totes - I'll fight back or run like all hell first.
He said something about taking Misaka back to Ainu base. That, his accent and the ship - which I saw a few of during my pilgrimage across the Kusari badlands - led me to believe the pirate was a Blood Dragon. With this changed way of thinking I told the pilot a greatly shortened version of how Misaka came to be on the ship. I told him how we had the Golden Chrysanthemums' approval to leave the base and how we had sought permission from the station's Patriarch herself.
My hunch paid off and the demand changed from "hand her over" to "take her to safety". It also explained why he had destroyed my cargo - the Dragons don't care much for foreigners, after all.
I agreed to the unusual demand and left the pilot to himself at the tradelane. I flew through open space to more comfortable territory in the independent worlds before rejoining the tradelane network in Kepler and heading back home to Rochester.
I think I should get a big sticker that reads PROPERTY OF EVANGELINE McDOWELL DO NOT TOUCH and affix it to Misaka's buttocks. According to her it's a dumb idea and I should turn the computer off and come to bed. Which I think I will do....
Entry#: 020
Date: 10 - 09 - 817 AS @ 21:06 SUT
Title: Going home...
After leaving Rochester with supplies I flew more-or-less non-stop all the way back to Omicron Alpha. I keep breaking my own record - it now stands at 122 hours and 37 minutes from clearing the Rochester docking bay to receiving docking permission from the goons on Malta. Looking back I don't know how I managed to take a full fortnight to do the trip.
A couple hours ago I received a rather unusual communication whilst in Tau-37. It was a guy I never heard of from Trafalgar Base back in Bretonia, he called himself Taffic and is part of the logistics team. How he tracked me down is known only to him and I dare not ask. Never had a logistics team when I was there, either. Things must be going pretty well for them in that industrial wasteland called New London. He mentioned that I'd become a stranger at the station. I can count how many times I've gone back on one hand, so he's certainly not wrong there.
I think it's time I finally introduced Misaka to mum... and I suppose "come out" at the same time. Unavoidable, really. She'll find out sooner or later anyway, the Junkers always have their ears to the ground, especially for information regarding one of their own.
I'll have to run the Kusari Navy's blockades in Tau-31, nothing new really. Dumb bastards will be too busy polishing their decorative swords and I'll just float past giving the lot a 1-finger salute.
Then there's the issue of the fact Kusari aren't exactly welcome in Bretonia... that's going to take some smoothing over. And the Corsairs likely won't be too pleased to see the Alsatia either. Seems I've made a lot of enemies in the wrong places.
Entry#: 021
Date: 23 - 09 - 817 AS @ 18:31 SUT
Title: Reunion... not.
Well, after completely ignoring the log for almost 2 weeks I feel it is time to post an update.
I never did manage to find mum. All I could gather from the boys on Trafalgar was that she left literally minutes before Taffic arrived to relay my message to her. Which means she's probably on another long trip to Crete. At least, knowing she's still hooning around the place is some comfort. If I wasn't shoot-on-sight across Corsair territory I'd go after her. I'm still kind of bummed that I wasn't able to show off my catch, we went to all the effort to make Misaka as pretty as possible and it's all gone to waste. Unless.... I get the cat's ears headband out of the cargo bay. I think I might be on to a good thing here. I'll be sure to report back later.
Aaanyway, I'm going back home to Rochester. While it was nice to catch up with old times in London I am starting to miss my mates in Liberty.
But before I go back to Rochester I'm paying the girls on the Matsuda a visit. The grapevine tells me they've been having a hard time so I'm going to go and win the heart of another pretty young girl. Or two.
Misaka tells me if I bring another girl on board I'm going to be shanked. Bugger.
Entry#: 022
Date: 03 - 10 - 817 AS @ 19:44 SUT
Title: Bictoabe. Because I can't think of anything better.
I just had a massive I CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT AWAY WITH THAT moment.
So there I was, floating in high orbit over Manhattan, not doing much of anything, when along comes a Navy yacht and asks me, of all people, to hold onto one of his cargo crates whilst he fetched another ship, supposedly to save on docking charges or some such bulldust. Honestly, 500cr an hour? That's chump change for a ship like his. My pennypinch-o-meter went off the scales as I set the navmap to Rochester in anticipation. Not a single shred of an honest intention resided within my soul as I agreed to his request.
The bloke ejected the cargo pod into space, I scooped it up with the utility arm. He instructed me to fly to a nearby ship which was idling in space.
I engaged the ships' cruise engines and royally cheesed it to the Jersey debris field. The poor bastard had no chance. I was outside of radar range before he even knew what was going on.
Got back to Rochester, cracked the crate open and lo-and-behold, it's a Light Mortar. That'll surely be worth a pretty penny to one of the goons around here.
I'm sure someone, somewhere will read this entry millions of years in the future after humanity is extinct and think "what a roosterhead". If you're dumb enough to hand over something to a Junker without any material guarantee you deserve never to see it again.
Oh, I may have forgotten to mention I went to Okinawa, met some really pretty young girls, got into a spat with Misaka over aforementioned girls, sold them a lifetime supply of MOX, gotten into a fight with the Kusari Navy, gotten into a fight with the Hogosha, etcetera, etcetera.
Entry#: 023
Date: 05 - 10 - 817 AS @ 11:43 SUT
Title: [27th] Brigade.
Rather interesting day today.
Misaka and I were idling outside the Jersey debris field earlier in the evening compiling our thoughts for the next flight out. Alsatia's radar picked up some familiar and unwanted signals, the Navy git who I stole the Mortar off of and one of his goons. With that I promptly flew the Alsatia out of sight and the both of us piled into the Sabre and prepared for a battle.
Before today I had never taken up arms against any Liberty Police or Navy ship. I prefer staying under their radar and on the odd occasion where I've been caught with my pants down I've always obliged their requests, usually to vacate the area and/or forfeit my cargo. I've met some dodgy cruiser captains in my time but this guy takes first prize.
Him and his lackey didn't waste any time letting loose with their laserspam, giving not a single word of warning. Guess they remembered the ship from the last time. Not that it really mattered because both ships were clearly piloted by incompetent monkeys. The cruiser captain was too busy navigating his phallus through the debris field to get any good shots in, and the bomber he had escorting him couldn't hit the broadside of Alsatia if I flew it into him.
I was at the helm and Misaka was cramped up beside me in what was designed as a single-seater. I chose the bomber as my target, mainly because I knew Rochester's defences would chew the cruiser a new one if it strayed too close.
A few minutes into the fight one thing became clear. The cruiser was beyond my reach, but for lack of fire-power, however the bomber pilot well and truly on the way to his death. I was wearing down his shield with the Debilitators I had equipped, whilst at the same time the Sabre's exceptional manoeuvrability, even when overloaded, allowed me to all but completely avoid any fire.
The bomber pilot was so awful, in fact, that me and Misaka had the time to talk about his abilities whilst unloading Krakens into his hull. The cruiser wasn't much use either. He was getting himself stuck in the debris field and couldn't get a straight line in to fire.
I kept on pummelling the bomber, it was only a matter of time before it fell.
The ship started smouldering, I knew it was close. Launching a few disruptor missiles into the battered hull finished the deal. The ship was disabled, the pilot most likely already dead from decompression. With one final barrage the ship exploded in front of me, taking the pilot with it.
That was the first officer I'd ever killed. The battlecruiser was still being a right pain in the arse, but there wasn't anything I could do about it in a fighter. I got out of there and run back to Rochester.
What really miffs me is these two were more concerned about a freakin' cannon than their own lives. I just killed a man, a navy officer no less, because he tried to get a gun back.
I don't think this will be the last I hear of the 27th brigade, either. Time for another escort I think....
Entry#: 024
Date: 07 - 10 - 817 AS @ 20:51 SUT
Title: "Kagaku no Railgun" is born.
A quick trip down to Puerto Rico and Vieqeus shipyard was in order. I needed a bomber capable of getting rid of that Navy lad who was so madly in love with me. I remembered from when I bought the Alsatia, there were a handful of Recyclers sitting in the docks. I was intending on buying one of them, or having a clone built.
It so happened that when I arrived there was a single ship currently for sale. A "standard issue" (if it can be even called that, given our nature) Junker Recycler. Like the rest of our shipline, generous armour plating and a heavy duty shield generator were a trade-off for the generally sluggish nature of the ship.
A quick once-over to ensure the ship was space-worthy preceeded the flight test. With the ship cleared of any (major) defects I handed over the fee (at a considerable mates' rates' reduction) and took the keys. We had the ship loaded into the Alsatia's cargo bay and left the shipyards.
As is the case when buying used goods it pays to thoroughly inspect them before purchase. We discovered very quickly the comms system was, at best, unreliable. It would work for a while, then cut in and out randomly. Both rear turret mounts were also non-operational. Any weapon placed on them was not detected by the shipboard computer. To top it all off the shield generator, upon inspection, had been swapped out for something off a fighter and was running at about 30% capacity; the scanner was omitted entirely and the batteries in the power plant were completely rooted.
With all that said, I wouldn't be able to call myself a Junker if I wasn't able to fix all these issues. The comms was rewired to a failsafe "always on" mode in 10 seconds, the shield and power plant were repaired using parts we had in the hangars and the scanner was installed in no time. We also serviced all the fluids, filters and other consumables the ship uses.
Then came the critical job of naming the ship. We had a brainstorm and came up with a few different ideas, I of course wanted a cool name like "Cutey Honey" or "Awesome Ship of Death and Destruction" or some such. Misaka was intent on calling it Kagaku no Railgun. Apparently it means "scientific railgun", or something. The inspiration for the name comes from the pulse cannons mounted to every flat panel of the hull.
So Kagaku no Railgun it is.
Stick this in your pipe and smoke it, Liberty Navy.
Entry#: 025
Date: 10 - 10 - 817 AS @ 18:30 SUT
Title: More dumb Liberties.
We all know the LSF is short on pilots, but I dare say they should not be lowering their standards to the level the captain of the Huragan.
It was yet another case of being too stupid to interpret his scanner results correctly. The scan would have shown fuel, oxygen tanks, food containers, water canisters, myself, Misaka and a few piles of junk. Two people and some crates. Yet somehow he got the idea I had an extra two people on board, and as I was leaving Manhattan orbit he disrupted the ship's cruise engines and demanded I hand them over.
How he figured out I was a kidnapping terrorist using only the scan results was beyond me, but I simply wasn't in the mood for handling idiots.
I explained to the man via comms. that there were only two people on board and suggested he either fix his scanner or learn how to use it.
Didn't go down well at all. It served only to enrage the intellectually-disadvantaged captain and cause him to open fire on us.
Trenton's radio tower had been listening in on the entire conversation, and I vaguely know the headmaster of the station through the occasional fuel purchase. So I made haste and got the ship into the no-fire zone of the station. Luckily the Huragan's captain was smart enough to figure out pursuing me any further would only result in a lot of hurt on his part.
I contacted the guys on Trenton, hid the ship inside the docks for a few hours and once my "little birdies" declared the area clear I cheesed it back to the Jersey debris field. I was quite fortunate to leave when I did, because the same "little birdies" alerted me to an armada of Navy gunships entering Manhattan orbit within minutes of my leaving.
All that because some guy thought I wasn't me.
But! On the plus side, I've found a good method of increasing my goodwill amongst other factions. I buy captured pilots off of independent traders and return them to their base. I didn't think it would work at first but I was surprised by how easily non-affiliated traders will sell their captured pirates. Perhaps it's because I offer many times what LPI pays for criminals.
Often times the rewards I get immediately don't quite make up the cost of getting them on my ship, but the extra connections I open up will easily pay for them in the future. Got a tank full of fuel for nothing from a Hacker, some interesting information regarding the location of a wrecked Rogue capital ship (which I will be investigating) and the location of a secret jumphole in Colorado.
Let's not go forgetting the two fine young Golden Chrysanthemums who I recently rescued from an Interspace Camara. 20,000cr each and it's already proven worth it. They seem mighty pleased that I came along, two vulnerable Kusarian girls being surrendered to the LPI... would not be very pretty.
Misaka, however, is not happy nor pleased that I have acquired my own personal harem of Kusari girls. Time for another trip to the biodome project I think.
Two weeks in space, two girls and only one spare bed. I hope they're friendly.
Entry#: 026
Date: 11 - 10 - 817 AS @ 13:13 SUT
Title: Untitled.
I managed to get the names out of the two new girls yesterday - Kana Fujiwara and Fumika Minami. Kana is about the same height as me, with a slim build and not much in the way of assets. She has shoulder-length brown hair and her personality seems.... absent. More often than not she's mentally a million miles away and enjoys sleeping a lot. Fumika was a bit more lively, however. She's a good head taller than I am, features jet-black hair all the way to her butt and bears a personality almost the opposite of Kana; loud and proud.
Seems having a taste for girls is rather common amongst the Chrysanthemums - the two didn't have any issues with sharing a single bed, rather they seemed pleased I'd provided just the one. I suppose I should expect that, given the 100% female population of their bases. Then there were the suspicious sounds and voices coming from their quarters after we'd moored at the Barrier Gate for the night. I think they thought the walls were soundproof... that or they didn't care. Not that it's really any of my business.
It also turns out being disowned by your family for being so inclined is a lot more common than it should be in Kusari society. I was told an abridged version of how the two came to be, their story almost mirroring Misaka's - an everyday, upper-middle class family ejecting their daughters because they discovered their preference for other girls, who then turned to the much publicised Golden Chrysanthemums for refuge. A horrible thing to do to your own flesh and blood, really. I couldn't ever imagine my mother doing something like that - I think she would probably be a bit shocked but she would easily accept me and the other half.
However with every cloud there is a silver lining. They have a home amongst the Chrysanthemums, and despite the propaganda by the Kusari government most of the girls in the faction are not the hardcore terrorists they're made out to be. Misaka stands as testament to that fact. With that said, and although I'm in no position to be ordering them around, I believe things would be a lot better for them if the higher-ups of the group abandoned their terrorist methods and chose a more peaceful method of getting their point across.
That, and the cardamine. Every day I see more and more of what it does to people, and each trip to Tau-65 re-teaches me how vile it can be. It can take a sweet, innocent young girl and make her into a hideous monster in just a few months of continuous use.
There are still many people within the GC who refuse to use it though, - especially the newer recruits. Misaka, for example. Unfortunately the twisted rituals the girls take to gain full membership usually end up in addictions. It varies between people - some can take a much bigger dose before becoming hooked, others are lost from the first breath.
I don't want to hate the GC, but after being exposed to their inner workings, I am starting to believe many of them are a lost cause. A lot of their members are now more concerned about their next ritualistic high, rather than their political agenda.
I'm thinking of not going back to Tau-65. I want these two spared the hazards of the slippery slope presented before them by the Chrysanthemums. I wonder if they'll work for me? I'm sure I could find them something to do here. Teach them how to weld, how to navigate, how to fly a fighter, hell even collecting scrap metal. Anything's got to be better than lying in a heap in the corner of a dark room drooling over yourself with an inhaler stuck to your face or needle in your arm.
Kana and Fumika are still asleep, it seems... they would have to be very tired after the crap they've gone through in the last few days. Alas myself and Misaka are wide awake, having well adjusted to living in almost permanent sunlight by standard universe time. I'm going to get myself lost while they're unaware. I really don't want to go back to Kusari now.
Entry#: 027
Date: 11 - 10 - 817 AS @ 19:38 SUT
Title: Addendum
I've figured out what I'm going to do. I'm going to go and find that wrecked cruiser the Rogue told me about, the Maelstrom, as it is known. It's supposed to be in a system called Yukon. Problem is I have no idea where that is. Better start asking around...
According to the Rogue it got into a fight with a group of mercenary gunships and was heavily damaged to the point where it was infeasible to bother repairing it. It's been left to drift in space for a couple years now and so far as he knew no-one's touched it. The engines are apparently destroyed and the hull has been breached in a number of places.
It should have something worth taking on it... problem is finding the damn thing.
Entry#: 028
Date: 12 - 10 - 817 AS @ 17:08 SUT
Title: Yukon System
Well, it may have cost me a pretty penny, but I did manage to find a map with Yukon on it. It's a desolate system far removed from everything and is connected to the rest of the universe only by jumpholes. A good couple weeks flight in open space. The problem is the map is hopelessly outdated so I have no idea if the jumpholes are still there, whether they are stable or not or if there are any new residents in the systems I have to go through. For Yukon the map shows two planets, uncharted, and no discernible human habitation but all that could have changed in the 4 years since the map was made.
Putting that aside I may have a bigger issue on my hands: keeping where I'm going a secret from Kana and Fumika. We told them we had to fly through open space to get back to Kusari without being detected, and that it would take a few weeks. But I don't think they completely bought it. For the moment, at least, they are playing along. The two are helping Misaka do a stocktake on the stuff we have in the cargo hold now, after that they are going to be doing some general cleaning around the place.
It's nice to have some time to myself, haven't had much of that the last couple days. 4 people on the ship makes me realise it's not as big as it used to be.
Getting close to the end of the Barrier Pass, time to turn off autopilot and take control.
Entry#: 029
Date: 14 - 10 - 817 AS @ 19:35 SUT
Title: Take the first left, then the second right, then...
The tradelane and jumpgate are amazing pieces of technology. What we covered in 2 days of open-space flight at cruise speed, the tradelanes cover in just a few hours. Unfortunately, we've reached the end of the tradelanes for this flight. The Alsatia is currently moored at Toronto Station, in high orbit over Planet Huron in the Ontario system. I had to buy a heap of supplies, the two tagalongs are eating us out of house-and-home.
According to the map I have, this base and the lane we took here doesn't exist. Only the gate and one small outpost nearby. Shows you how useless it is.
If I am to believe the map I must leave the lane network and fly in open space for about 24 hours in cruise, which should bring me to the location of the jumphole to the Alberta system. Once in Alberta, I must fly in open space, for another 30 hours or so by my calculation to reach the jumphole to Yukon. That's assuming it's the stationary, stable type. Knowing my luck it won't exist any more or take the ship and turn it into radioactive dark matter when I use it.
Update on the two love birds, they seem to have adapted well to life on board rather well. The place hasn't been this tidy since.... since I bought it, really. The two don't seem too worried about where I'm going, I was expecting to have to answer at least a couple questions... they are either totally oblivious or have already got me sussed.
Fumika has a new nickname, too. Hence forth and forever forward she shall be known as Firecracker. She's got a really short temper and is quick to bear her teeth at the slightest provocation... but usually turns soft as butter within minutes, especially if whatever she's mad at concerns delicate Kana. Fumika is constantly trying to hide her affection for the poor little thing, but the second she returns the slightest hint of it Fumika goes beet red and becomes a stuttery mess.... gotta wonder how those two, of all the people in this universe, ended up together. But I suppose I'm not one to talk, considering how I caught mine.
Strange girl, that Fumika. Strange indeed.
In other news, got about 6 hours of dead space ahead of me, at which point I'll be bestowing control of the ship to the night shift, a.k.a Misaka. I don't trust the autopilot any further than I could throw it (the case it's in weighs 2 tonnes, to give an idea). Assuming I get a good night's sleep I will wake to relieve Misaka at 9AM tomorrow SUT time. Hopefully I'm still alive. I don't like sleeping in space, but I can't afford to fart around any more. Not having done any real work for a long time has caused a black hole to appear where my credits used to be.
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