It was nearing the close of the Nomad Conflict. Liberty Cruiser captain Taden Harrs had just ordered his ship moored at planet Miura for resupply and some light repair. The rugged captain with his salt-and-pepper beard and scarred but charming face made his way to a well refuted pub and made his way to the bar for a drink or two. It was his off-time and the road here had been stressful and wrought with danger. He was just settling into his second Kusari Zinger when she caught his eye from across the room. She was the stunning, wealthy daughter of a high level family in the ranks of the Gas Miners Guild. She was young, beautiful, intelligent, and completely swept off her feet by this suave charming Liberty captain, and it wasn't long before he was giving her a 'tour of the ship'... A tour which mostly took place in the captains private quarters!
And then he was gone, left to fight the aliens in the Nomad Conflict. She heard some time later that his ship had been lost after a very dangerous battle, but Mishiga Setsugi was already too emotionally overburdened to get all of the details right. She found out that she was pregnant shortly after Taden had departed for battle and she knew that even if he did return, he would not be coming back to her. She was disappointed in herself for giving in to him, but she was more terrified about what would happen when her family found out... She was the daughter of a very important GMG executive after all. This could ruin her family and her future. Mishiga went to the only person she thought could help, her father. Matsura Setsugi was always very close with his daughter and they shared a special bond. Being neither the oldest, or a male child, she was under no pressure to take on the family responsibilities or spend time in the public eye, so her father had shown her a softer, more caring side than he did to her more 'important' siblings. So, when Mishiga came to him with tears in her eyes and confessed her weakness, Matsura embraced her and held her tight. He patted her head as she sobbed into his chest, and when she was finished, he held her fragile head in his strong hands and looked right into her eyes and said to her, "It is ok, my daughter. My love for you grows as does my grandchild within you." And she cried again. Not from fear, or sadness, or despair, but from overwhelming love.
Soon after, Matsura arranged for Mishiga to move to a property in the city, away from the rest of the family and their gossip. He continued to support her throughout the pregnancy and birth, and he was the only one at her bedside when little Selesti was born. Though he loved his granddaughter very much, she was born out of wedlock, and could not carry the familt name. So, it was Matsura that decided for the little one to bear her mothers name as her family name, so that her memory would be carried forth forever into the universe, as long as the line of Selesti Mishiga continued.
As a child, Selesti was fascinated with space. She loved to watch the ships move in and out ov the spaceport and she dreamed about one day flying amongst the stars. When she became older, Selesti expressed her interest in becoming a pilot. Her mother was strongly against this idea. Being a pilot was dangerous, did she want to get lost in space like her father, Mishiga would ask. But Matsura was more open minded. He made a deal with Selesti that if she went to a university to study business and management, he would select one that was a top collegiate pilot school as well. Not only did she study her business classes, she excelled at them. She graduated in the top of her class both in her academic studies and her pilot training! Her grandfather couldn't be more proud... and her mother couldn't be more worried!
On her graduation day, Matsura called Selesti over to his private getaway home. When she arrived, he told her that there was a surprise for her waiting around the back of the cottage. But behind the cottage was the private landing dock, Selesti thought, what could possibly be back there? When she got around the corner, Selesti immediately dropped to her knees. There, sitting on the landing pad, was a brand new 'Kestrel' personal mining vessel! "Its all yours", Matsura said, and once again, his chest became the beach where a sea of salty tears fell in happiness.
Along with the 'Kestrel' Mr. Setsugi had paid for an apartment, docking bay, and operating offices in Niigata Star City for Selesti. He had essentially given her the start-up for her own independent Gas Mining business, and right in prime territory! The time for Selesti to start her future was now. She couldn't wait to get started, little did she know what the wild world of 'Big Business' had in store for her!
First Ship - First Crew
The 'Kestrel'... What could she say? It was free, a gift from her Papa Matsu! She loved it! She loved its cramped quarters. She loved its mediocre handling. She loved its small powerplant and even smaller cargo hold... She loved it, but this 'Kestrel' had got to go!
Selesti had gotten straight to work on her new mining business. Setting up trade agreements and carefully calculating costs and shipping details. She knew that she would be shipping these first several orders herself, and she was both excited and terrified! She had never been out of Kusari space before she moved to Niigata city, and now she was preparing for a journey all the way to planet Pittsburgh in the New York system... All the way into Liberty space! Steadfast and determined, she pushed through her fears and set out on her first mining excursion.
Lucky for her, everything went very smoothly on that first excursion. She didn't encounter any pirates or have any difficulties while mining, and the trip to New York was long, but without incident. While there at Pittsburgh she loaded her tiny hold with consumer goods to sell back at Niigata city. They would fetch a good price there. The return trip was just as uneventful as the trip here, and soon Selesti had grown quite confident in her business and piloting abilities. She made a few runs with the little 'Kestrel' But it was slow going and profits were minimal at best. She decided to invest the credits she had earned so far into upgrading her capabilities.
She took her first profits to Honshu and the Aomori station, where she had been offered to buy a fully staffed 'Garanchou'! When she first stepped foot on the bridge, surrounded by her new crew, nestled at the command center of her new investment, Selesti felt right at home. Her crew was mostly young pilots and cadets strait out of training, but she wan's much further along than them anyway. She had a natural charm and sharp wit and the crew soon became very comfortable with her at the command. This new vessel was an entirely different game than the single pilot 'Kestrel'. After filling their hull with H3 gas in Sigme-59, the long haul to Pittsburgh didn't seem quite so monotonous or boring with a crew to talk to and keep each other entertained. Selesti soon found that she was really bonding with this group of hard working people, and she knew that this crew and her would be doing great things in the name of BIG Credits! They were on their way up and nothing could stop them... or could it?
And for some time, things were good. Selesti re-named the Garanchou as The MishiGas. Its hull was a decent size and it was quick to fill. The crew functioned smoothly and they were always on their toes whenever even the smallest issue came up. Selesti was bonding well with her new crew. They genuinely enjoyed her relaxed demeanor and she was proving to be a very competent mining ship Captain. But she was about to face a test that would challenge her leadership skills, and could tear her very ship apart!
The MishiGas was great for harvesting Helium 3 from the field in Sigma-59. It sat there floating in the cloud and gobbled up gas efficiently and effectively. Selesti had never given much thought to the fact that the ship was slow, or that it lacked heavy armor, or even that it boasted practically nothing in terms of active defense. To her, it was all she had dreamed of and more. Freedom to surf the stars and pushing a good profit to boot! Selesti was sitting high in her mind... Until the universe gave her the first look at its dark underbelly, and it was only just a small taste of what was lurking there!
As The MishiGas had just set up mining procedures in the Sigma-59 cloud, the onboard [IFF] scanner let out an alarming PING. It was a sound that Selesti was unfamiliar with, but before she could ask the scanner operator for clarification the crewman made it clear.
"I believe we have company, Captain," he said calmly but with an obvious tension in his voice, "Hostile company". Selesti opened her mouth to respond, but was short on words for a split second when the comms operator spoke up.
"We are being hailed." she enthusiastically interjected, "Should I put it through?"
Selesti nodded approval. Her mouth was dry and her hands were sweaty. Her mind raced as a hundred fears washed over her. She worried for her ship, for her cargo, for her life, and most of all for her crew. The few seconds of silent anticipation felt like an eternity to the young Mishiga, then the comm crackled to life and a calm female voice greeted the bridge.
"Well, well , well... Whats a little gas miner like you doing out here all by yourself?" Though the voice on the comm did not feel threatening, it was clearly meant to be a menacing innuendo. The [IFF] had identified the ship ID as a Corsair, and Selesti was certain that they weren't there to chat.
"Uhhh, we're mining...?" Selesti answered without a hesitation.
"HA!" The pirate let out a curt laugh. "Oh I can see that." she replied. After a slight pause, she added, "You know its awfully dangerous for an undefended mining vessel out here" she coolly implied, "You could be attacked by Dragons or Chrysanthemums"-
"Or Corsairs, it would seem." Ms. Mishiga cut in, "Yes it would appear we are quite vulnerable, as you so eloquently point out." The wheels in Selesti's head spun and her mind bubbled as she formulated a plan that would result in safety for her crew, and could even see her still turn a profit on this trip! "Perhaps we can turn this cosmic meeting towards a mutually beneficial outcome?"
"Oh?" Came the pirates inquisitive response, "What did you have in mind, Captain?"
Selesti knew that the pirates fighter ship couldn't hold a fraction of the cargo necessary to make a good profit, and also that the Corsair would have a hard time finding a good market for the H3 outside the main commerce channels. BUT she also knew that these 'sniffers' were dangerous and would not hesitate to cut down an obstinate target even if it meant not being very lucrative. She spoke quickly, trying to entice the pilot and get her turned on to the deal without hesitation.
"Well, since we are so vulnerable and unprotected, you could just destroy us and take our cargo, but that wont make you much cred. So, instead of being a threat and intimidating me and my young crew here, how about we turn the tables and I give you a chance to make some real scratch?" There was no immediate response from the Corsair, so Selesti continued, "I propose to pay you a handsome sum of 2.5 million credits to look the other way. Now I'm sure that is more than you can pack into that tiny hold, but I'll sweeten the deal still!" Mishiga raised the tone, tempo, and urgency in her voice, "I'll double it, 5 mil, if you watch our backs and keep any of those other pesky pirates off our hull till I'm safely out of the system!" She ended her proposal with her energy and her hopes high, "Well, what do you say, Corsair, does the money speak?"
The response came slowly. At first, Selesti was unsure if she had been successful in persuading the pirate pilot. Her fists were clenched so tightly that the nails bit into her palms when the comm chirped.
"Send the 2.5 mil, Captain, and you've bought yourself protection this time... At least until I see you out of Sigma." Selesti knew that the pilot was trying to sound menacing still, but it was clear that the possible profit had softened her trigger fingers. "Mine quickly," she added, "I don't mean to be sitting in this cloud all cycle!"
And with that, the comms were cut. Selesti let out a huge sigh of relief, and nearly suffered a heart attack when the bridge around her erupted in a grand cheer! She had been happy to get out of that without a scrap, but she had to sacrifice some credits to ensure their safety. The crew never gave a moments thought to the 5 million cred though. They knew that if push had come to shove it would most likely have ended in the destruction of The MishiGas and that most of them would not have survived. The fact that Selesti hadn't even hesitated to ensure that the safety of her crew was the topmost priority was paramount in the minds of the bridge crew. They looked upon her with new understanding of her place with them and even more respect and admiration than before.
The mining personnel kicked into high gear and The MishiGas's cargo hull was filled in record time. The H3 laden mining vessel took off headed for the jumpgate, with its Corsair escort. The pirate pilot must have been beaming in her cockpit, because there was absolutely no incident the whole way. To the Corsair, it must have seemed like an easy 5 million credits! They made a short turn to 'wave' after receiving payment at the jumpgate before activating their cruse engines and flying into the distance.
Though it was scary and could have been terribly dangerous, Selesti was grateful her first interaction with pirates ended in such a way. Million credits was a small price to pay for the safety of her ship and crew, a very small price indeed. The MishiGas was on its way to the Liberty system once again with a full hold and high spirits. Who could tell that the first interaction with pirates would soon be followed by even more threatening encounters!?
Stay tuned for the next chapter: The Garanchou Evolves!
And for a time, things were good. Selesti and her crew made several successful trips from the gas cloud in Sigma-59 all the way to Planet Pittsburgh and had made a nice little chunk of profits. The crew was working well together, but Selesti could see signs of fatigue and she feared stagnation in the ranks. She knew she had to keep moral up, so she made it a point to begin asking around casually to find out what would make her crew-mates more happy. She received lots of different suggestions, but there were two main themes that kept seeming to come up far more than any others. To tell the truth, one of the suggested requests didn't surprise her at all, while the other had been a complete mystery to Selesti until she was enlightened by her crew.
The first thing that most of the crew nearly all met eye-to-eye on was the desire for some extended time off. The crew worked hard, but since they only had enough employees to crew the ship sufficiently with not much room for overlap in scheduling work detail or sleep shifts. Selesti put it in her mind to organize a ship wide vacation in the near future. Their profits could stand to take a short break.
On the other side of the coin, Selesti could not have been more surprised or elated to hear so many of the crew expressing their vision for the future of the company. The very near future at that! She was told by a significant number of crew members, across all departments of the ship, that they felt they could perform better and wanted to take on more responsibility! They wanted MORE work! They already worked harder than any corporate mining crew she had seen when growing up, but they were ambitious and hungry! As the crew learned that the more profits they make the more it directly impacted both their pay and their quality of life on-board the ship they began to put even more effort into growing those profits to the limits. But there was an exciting general consensus forming; The MishiGas just wasn't big enough for the job anymore! Many of her colleagues had mentioned getting a larger ship and possibly hiring on additional crew. While the thought had crossed Selesti's mind a time or two in the recent past, to hear so many of the crew suggest it as well was awe inspiring!
Selesti was soon hatching an elaborate plan that would have her coworkers in sky-high spirits. She kept her plan secret and played it close to the chest, only letting on to a very few people that were crucial to the plan. The MishiGas did a couple more runs from Sig-59 to Pitt and back, and when they arrived at Niigata Star City the final time, Selesti made a ship-wide broadcast as soon as they were docked.
"Attention crew of the MishiGas this is your captain,Selesti Mishiga. It has come to my attention that some members of the crew have been experiencing some feelings of melancholy and unrest. It has been made clear to me that some changes must be made to maintain the efficiency of the company. First of all, you will all be given 2 full work-cycles off as a paid vacation!"
Selesti paused for a few moments as she had heard a few excited exclamations from the normally very self-controlled members of the bridge. She could only hope that their reaction had been mimicked with less restraint in other portions of the docked gas mining vessel.
"Secondly, while you all take some time away from theMishiGas I will be hard at work... Selling her! That's right! Make sure you say a fond farewell to the ship that you have made your home-away-from-home for so long now! Pack and take everything you wish to keep, make sure your personnel quarters are clean and your work areas are put up. Shed not a tear for her, the MishaGas has served us well, and her sacrifice will not be in vain! When you all return here at the end of your vacation time, you will see a brand new KUJIRA transport mining freighter hot off the shipyard! I'm taking the profits we have made so far and reinvesting them into a new ship. I'll be holding off on hiring on the new crew necessary until your return. I value the input of my section heads and will be relying on you to help me hand pick the new members of our illustrious crew."
Selesti had to pause again, but this time even the bridge crew was unable to control their excitement! Several let out loud hollers and a few even came to their feet at their stations. Selesti's face beamed with joy. She knew she had made the right choice.
"Now, please, go! Enjoy your vacations. Visit your families, have a party. Get some sun on the beach somewhere or take in some holo-vids. You have all done an amazing job and have gone above and beyond my expectations. I couldn't have a better crew around me and I look forward to enjoying a long and prosperous career with you all!"
With that Selesti keyed the shipboard comms off and looked around at her bridge. The members of the bridged-crew all stood staring at her with varying expressions of ecstasy on their faces. All at once they let out a grand cheer! Selesti was shaken with surprise. Her heart could barely take the shock and joy of the whole situation and the reaction it got. She sank into her captains chair and gazed out at her bridge-mates smiling.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Clear out so I can get this bucket of bolts sold!"
Selesti let out a hearty laugh, and the rest of the crew present joined her. Soon they were busy with the task of cleaning out and saying goodby to the MishiGas one last time. It would be a new beginning for all of them when they next returned.
Stay tuned for the next chapter: The KUJIRA Rises!
At the time of Selesti's grand speech aboard the MishiGas she had actually already put the order for the new Kujira. Once the crew had vacated the Garanchou Selesti did one final walk through, both to make sure everything was in top form for the sale and to say goodby to the ship that she had called home for the past three years. The vessel had treated her well and she hoped it would go on to hauling Helium for many more years to come. When she was satisfied that everything was in order, Selesti signed off the comms and wiped her personal business records from the computer system. The Garanchou was the MishiGas no more.
Selesti met the ship dealer on Niigata and finalized the deal on the used gas miner. He thanked her, and the credits were deposited straight into the business account for Mishiga Shipping & Gas. Another surprise she was saving for her dedicated crew. She believed the next step forward would be a powerful message for them and any future staff that would be joining them soon. With the sale complete, she signed the final release and shipping order for the new Kujira and was assured that it would be arriving within the next couple weeks. Perfect timing, she thought, for the crew to return to a nice shiny new ship.
"Thank you. It was a pleasure doing business."
With her ship swap dealings taken care of, Selesti was free to actually enjoy herself and some free time for the first time in a long time. She first took some time to visit her mother on Miura. Mamma Setsugi was very pleased to see her daughter safe and happy. They shared an afternoon reminiscing about old times and regaling each other with stories of their current endeavors. Selesti told her mother of the new ship and her plans for the crew after they returned, and Mishiga told her daughter about the garden she was growing this cycle, and the spiritual support group she had become involved with. Selesti was a tiny bit skeptical of the Peace of the Zone group that her mother was becoming involved with, but they seemed harmless and it gave her mother some much needed social interaction. Selesti didn't want to get wrapped up in any spiritual movement, and her mother didn't push her, but Mishiga did mention something that stuck in her mind. Her mother had mentioned something about the groups belief that all beings were connected or something like that, but Mishiga had somehow related to this idea in a personal way, and explained her feelings on it to her daughter. Selesti had never known her father, Taden Harrs, and Mishiga had only met him a very few times, perhaps just the once, but both women had an overwhelming assertion that he was still alive somewhere in the vastness of the cosmos. Neither one could explain it, but it was as if they could somehow feel the tug of those connections between their bloodline despite the untold multitude of light-years between them. Mishiga told had told her daughter as much as she had known about her father when she was growing up, but her new connections at the PotZ had encouraged her to do some research. She had been unable to locate Taden, or any records of his whereabouts, but she did learn that he had a wife back in Liberty space... and another daughter! Mishiga had been surprised to learn about Misha Gottlich, a Liberty born Bounty Hunter just a few years older than Selesti was. That had been all she could learn, but Mishiga implored Selesti to try and find out more. Perhaps even meet her long lost half-sister if that was even possible. Selesti had always felt a strongly about family, and she agreed to do what she could to learn about her half-sister.
It didn't take long. Selesti had the itch, and that night while she relaxed in the hotel suit she had rented for the visit with her mother, Selesti got on the Neuro-Net and did some searching around in the public records. It was not even difficult to find. Since she had the names she was looking for and the approximate ages of the people in question, it was fairly simple for Selesti to find the information she sought. She learned that she did indeed have a half-sister, Misha Gottlich, who was an independent bounty hunter. Not only that, but she just happened to be not far from GMG headquarters at Niigata! It turned out that Misha was currently operating out of Nobeoka Platform. Selesti decided then that she would spend the rest of her vacation time trying to find and connect with her mysterious half-sister. Hopefully she wouldn't be too hard to locate. Selesti had never been to an actual Bounty Hunter installation before... and she had no idea what was in store for her!
Stay tuned for the next chapter: Long Lost and Found!