After several strategic, touch-and-go deep missions with Bowex into the hinterlands, and given my allegedly steady command of Shire transport vessels with Bowex, I was approached by a cadre of BAF officers today requesting my assistance flying strategic supply missions in their Merchant Navy.
While I am loath to surrender my autonomy as a trader, the pay and profit-sharing income is potentially life-changing and could vault my private enterprise to stratospheric new levels. Provided we don't get ourselves killed, of course,
I think that I must try!
Once again, Angels and Ministers of Grace Defend Us!
I'd like to think that our sometimes valiant efforts in the Merchant Navy had something to do with the removal of Gallic Forces from Her Majesty's hereditary systems. While there are still Gallic incursions into those areas, they are not nearly as large or frequent as previously seen, and something resembling stable borders have returned.
The damages to our lanes and infrastructure are being repaired, and even expanded.
Also, some good trading relationships within friendly houses have been made that will serve us all well into the future, I suspect.
There is cause for Hope.
On another note, piloting a Transport in a convoy under the protection of BAF fighters, gunships and even capitol-class ships is AWESOME!
It is a matter of comfort and great pride to be involved in House level strategic personnel and materiel transfers while under the protections of the BAF. We've even pulled some duty transporting Royal dignitaries and Diplomats, a high Honor.
We have a saying:
"No matter where we are, all space within the firing range of Her Majesty's Navy IS Bretonia!"
Shelton has expressed zero interest in driving a large transport, so I kicked down the cash from my recent profits to purchase a small Gull transport for him to use via a Bowex connection where a contractor of theirs was shuttering his business. It's a really nice ship and he's as happy as a lark about this turn of events.
He's getting on in years, being about the same age as my father. His wife has already passed on, so he's living the lane life aboard his ship and has fixed himself up a nice cabin on board.
I let him do what he wants for what money he can make for himself. He only has to pay for the ship's expenses, I let him keep what he makes.
He's more like a beloved Uncle than an employee, so I'm happy to help him live well in the years he has left.
Meanwhile, I'm flying either the Percheron or the Shire, depending on Bowex's needs of the day. Looking back at Starfliers and that little shop on Leeds seems like an eon ago now.
How am I doing, Dad? <smiles>
I've been running with Bowex for a good while now, but the opportunities there are beginning to dwindle. I've had some contact with pilots from Universal Shipping, and they're making some pretty good offers. I managed to stash away a sizeable nest egg over the last few years and am closing on the ability to upgrade to a 5k transport.
The civilian Stork transport is very ubiquitous, and both repairs and parts are easy to come by.
Being able to haul 5000 units of cargo would be a game changer in my world, and combined with the opportunities on offer from Universal, the profits would be amazing.
Selling off my smaller ships would almost get me there. I'm seriously considering it.
It's been a seriously long time since I've had the heart to make a new log entry.
So much has changed.
The glassing of Leeds, my home planet, was like a stake through the heart.
It may sound cold, but I'm glad that my parents didn't live to see that. Or even worse, suffer that fate. Fortunately myself and Shelton weren't present when it happened, but my uncles and cousins were. Shelton lost his entire family. He hasn't been the same man since then. Can't blame him though.
We both worked under the wings of the BAF during the attacks on Leeds, frantically relocating refugees. I had some time during this work to grab important items and paper from dad's old shop there. We still lost a lot though.
The war with Gallia didn't last much longer. I heard that their brutality at Leeds incited a coup attempt. I hope that those responsible met a fitting end. I have memories now that are only ghosts.
Shelton doesn't really fly anymore, and has relocated to Planet Harris to live out his days in relative peace. He putters around with the Gull occasionally and I let him do what he wants. He put me in contact with an old ship's mechanic who has a garage in Tau-29 who is looking to retire. It's a rather shabby old garage in the depleted field across from Nago Station which was
used to service the Kishiro ships working the field there. It's not much, but the price was good, and we've got to start again somewhere. At least we have the ships needed to make the necessary money to make a go of it.
The purchase of the Depot in Tau-29 didn't really live up to my expectations, but it does provide a modest income as a mining storage point and garage for hire to provide the regional miners and transporters with repair services.
I attempted to springboard from this minor success by acquiring another small depot in Sigma-15, which succeeded for a while as storage for Iridium miners coming from the Omicrons, but the costs of running such an outpost so remote from our other location proved to be too much, and I sold off that asset to finance an aspect that has become more urgent to the continuance of our enterprise.
Survival.
With the recent onset of Rebellions and Insurgencies with some house systems, the simple movement of the Ores and Metals which Redline Inc. has historically busied itself has become a bone of contention in the Borderworlds. While we are simple miners and Ore Haulers, busting rocks and spending our days hauling around what often smells like a giant can of farts, where we are hauling it and for whom becomes a salient issue for many.
The fact that the Iridium that we once held in Sigma-15 is often used in the making of both Cloaking Devices and Cloak Disruptors brought on great scrutiny and often consternation from various entities, both lawful and otherwise.
This was the primary reason that our large scale traffic in Iridium was abandoned, and also the reason that the proceeds from it's sale are being spent on another new necessity, Security.
The House Governments can currently be seen to be investing in the localization of metals production, and the building of multiple refineries within House space areas is plainly evident. This portends an extended need for Ores & Metals hauling and this could be quite a boon for Redline Inc. and other such transporters. However the competition for these materials may become quite fierce and likely to draw intense interest from the unlawful groups throughout Sirius, in additional to creating new and exacerbating old regional rivalries.
As such, we have made inquiries of various groups throughout Sirius who are likely to be experiencing the same difficulties with Security as are we, and have attempted to open talks with these affected parties regarding cooperation in securing the transportation of what are quickly becoming materials important to the efficient operation of the several House economies.
We do this in the hope that the House Governments themselves work out amongst themselves agreements which will prevent the transportation and use of these materials from becoming a chaotic free-for-all.
Meanwhile, we at Redline Inc. are hoping for the best while preparing for the worst.
There's no other way to say it. It's a catastrophe. My attempt to push our envelope further by extending our reach into the Sigmas and capitalizing on the needs for additional materials within our existing area of operation in the western reaches of Sirius was not successful.
While we were eking out a decent profit, there just wasn't enough local demand to make it a worthwhile adventure. Then came the disastrous hyper-magnetic Ion Storms that swept through parts of Sirius like a Tsunami. Both Intra and Intersystem communications were spotty at best for a few weeks afterward, and then we started hearing tales of the aftermath.
Many ships were lost entirely. Many more mangled wrecks were found either abandoned in the chaos or with their crew having perished aboard. But that's not all.
The storms also affected not only tradelanes and jumpgates many of which had to be repaired or replaced, but no small number of jumpholes were also adversely affected. Several once busy transit points are just gone. Some reportedly are still present and connected but ships that enter them are spat out the other side as pulverized debris. Others simply swallow ships that are never heard from again. The crews of countless ships and stations which are lying on the other side of broken holes would now be stranded in deep space systems that would take decades to return from without the resources to make such a trip, or survive long enough. Poor Bastards.
The rest of us now have to deal with a changed Sirius. We've lost contact with systems that were reliable sources of building materials for our society. Even now, the hunt is on for new sources and ways to squeeze more from what were once secondary, low yield fields. The competition for these new resources will be fierce since some areas that once had sufficient supplies of metals, minerals and gases locally will now have to go farther afield to attend to their needs. There have already been skimishes and even full on wars over the existing fields before, so who knows what is coming?
The distribution of resources has changed and the Houses of Government are adapting to a new reality. Old enemies may have gained new strength, or perhaps become further removed from the things that made them stable. The deck has been re-shuffled, and all the players are waiting for the drop. There is serious talk from the governments about the losses to their economies and that a re-monetization of the Sirius Credit may be required. Instability may breed chaos. Everthing's up in the air.
Redline Inc. is fortunate that we had recently divested ourselves of our ventures in the Sigmas and reconstituted ourselves back home in the western reaches. New factories and refineries are springing up everywhere to reconstruct broken supply chains, and it certainly looks like there will be much work for us to do in the months and years ahead.
Redline Inc. has pivoted from setbacks into successes previously, and we do love a challenge.
It looks like we may have our work cut out for us.
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