- You know what? I'm actually a close friend of Lloyd Rath, the pilot of the Pie Rat. He told me about a little adventure in Omega-41.
It's that system with the neutron star in the Omegas. You usually don't want to stick around there for too long, but they did, and it paid off for them. The radiation is a pain in the ass, surely, but there are some things hidden in the outer regions of the system. Maybe you should give it a try, too.
- You're new here, I can tell. Look, all you need to know is this: Don't piss anyone off. Don't stare at anyone. Don't make a scene. Do your business, enjoy a drink, get your equipment, then move on. Some of our visitors have a really, really bad temper and are just waiting for a noname like you to make the wrong move.
- Earlier today, the Gargantua was visiting Ithaca to drop off some loot. Quite intimidating to see an Aquilon-class Carrier get this close to Ithaca. Little is known about the ship, actually, apart from it being by no means related to the Zoner community. We tried to find out a bit more about it, but the people at Livadia deny this ship's existence. If it wasn't build there, though, where then? And by whom?
- You know what you have in common with the Unioners? The lack of intelligence.
- Nice to meet you. Always refreshing to see some new faces here. Maybe you'll end up as one of the people out there. Big ship, many turrets, strong crews. Living as a pirate is dangerous, but look at them. These people are legends.
- The Siren rarely docks at Ithaca, and whenever it does, the people coming over are fully hidden in those tight softsuits and masks. I know softsuits are very trendy lately, but damn, they really reveal everything.
One of the guys is extremely gifted, if you know what I mean.
- You know, when you showed up here for the first time, I didn't really expect to see you a second time. Kinda glad that first impression was wrong. Anyway, another Schleimwein Spaetlese for you? Hardrada got us a batch from 800 A.S. - great year.
- Basker was here again. He somehow ended up as pilot of a Plover. You know, these boxes they sell at the Newport Radio Station. Heard he found some riches among huge rocks in the Omicron Beta system. Told people about large crystals growing out of these planetary fragments, and other cool things. Maybe you should give Omicron Beta a try yourself, huh? As they say, exploration can often be very rewarding.
- Alright, you win. Go to Omega-5. At the bottom of the Hammen Hole is a big rock. It is a fragment of a much bigger one far away from the center of the system. Stick to the big rock and look for another big rock. It's a bit tricky with all the other debris around, but you are definitely persistent enough to pull it off. Just keep flying from one big rock to the next. It's a long chain, but at the end you will find the shattered remains of a big comet as well as a wrecked Serenity. I left it there because I don't need it. Killed the pilot and his crew. They thought they could steal from me. Take what you find there, and don't bother to come back and tell me. Please. Just stay away, okay?
- Captain Emma Gum pilots the Railgum, the Ceres Attack Transport out there. Funny lady, if you ask me. One of her signature moves is to drop sticky chemicals on unsuspecting ships that react with engine blasts.
She lost her wife and her son on Leeds. Sad story, really. She blames Bretonia for not surrendering before the beams started to heat up the planet. Despite knowing that it won't bring any of them back, she admitted to find a lot of motivation for her raids on bretonian ships in the simple concept of revenge. Many people love her for it.
- Oh god, they really allow anyone on this station, huh.
- Two-Bite James isn't actually a cannibal. The name simply fits the idea of his ship, the Cannibal. He takes the guns and turrets of his prey and brings them here. Not a small amount of people upgraded their ships with his help.
His reputation actually saved his ass one time. Captain Donovan of the Gangrene Chaser got extremely mad when his girlfriend vanished for a night on the Cannibal. The Ithaca Council intervened in James' defense, as James had no idea who she was already taken. In order to keep one of the most important blockade runners of Ithaca, the Council assisted the Gangrene Chaser in that legendary HMS Cloverfield Heist in the Taus. Donovan got a new ship for his personal fleet, Cannibal got the guns and Ithaca solved a silly conflict without anyone dying. Except for the Cloverfield crew.
- Hey, good to see you again. Listen, I got something for you. Come a bit closer.
Captain Nathan of the Belisarius returned from an expedition to Omicron Kappa a few days ago and got drunk beyond recognition. Seriously, he was absolutely shitfaced. He told me a few stories about Kappa. You know, the Core on Gammu and all that. There are plenty of wrecks out there in the wild. Nathan said there are a bunch of hollow asteroids, and some of them ended up as tombs for Gammu vessels. He mentioned that he saw two crazy things, though. One was a giant hollow comet he only found accidentally by following a trail of bigger ice crystals that split off of it. Inside the comet was some kind of hidden depot. He said it was torn apart from the inside. He wanted to take a closer look, but something showed up on the sensors and he figured it would be best to run before he would get spotted. The other thing... well, it is better if you don't know, I guess. Nevermind, forget about it. I'd rather have you come back and buy another bottle, my friend.
- Remember Basker? Turns out he joined another ship. As janitor. What a poor soul.
- I remember you, you were here before, right? Well, welcome back, then. Not many people have the guts to come here a second time. Guess you're seeing through the shroud of intimidation at the hangar deck. Don't get me wrong, the guards down there are badasses. They will rip you apart if you start trouble. Basker's guys found out the hard way. Took him a while to find a new crew.
- My daughter sent me a message on the neural net yesterday. Cute as a button, really. She doesn't know I'm here on Ithaca. I told her I'm working in Bretonia, and that she can't really visit me there because, well, you know, it's Bretonia. Like, who the hell would want to go to Bretonia. New London is still in shambles, Cambridge and Sprague are overcrowded and that planet in Newcastle is a death trap. Without a wonder, Bretonia will never be able to recover from the war with Gallia. And all the other conflicts they started before the war ended.
- Kind of random of you to just walk up in front of someone and expect they want to talk with you.
- "Ripper" Thorn is probably the hottest topic right now. That's the Captain of the Grand Serpent, that Judicator out there. You know, the big cruiser with the spinning section.
Nobody knows the full story behind the ship. People assume the previous crew was trying to flee from Vespucci during the bombardement of that planet there. Others say the Grand Serpent was already actively pirating before Liberty invaded Vespucci. People are desperate to find out more about it, but the crew of the Grand Serpent keep their lips sealed. I bet they have some amazing stuff on that ship.
- Still snooping around here, eh? Listen, one of the people you should avoid is the pilot of the GS Halligan, that gaian ship out there. Right there, out the window. He often comes over here to the bar. His coat reeks of old bretonian tobacco and he usually orders a "pittsa". For whatever reason, he pronounces it that way.
It's not exactly that he is dangerous, but he often rambles about esoteric nonsense. Tarot cards, astral projection and what not. I can't even imagine how the other four people of his crew can handle this guy.
- I kind of live on this station now. Got myself a little business here. It's not the best, but it's a living. Certainly better than anything Basker is going through right now. He joined a ship as janitor. It blew up in a fight with a Rheinland Bomber. You know, these huge, massive bombers. Well, he survived it among four other people, was returned to Ithaca with his rescue pod and the first thing he does is getting eletrocuted when he leaned against a shocked door. He survived it, though.
- See that Hel out there? That's the Walker Wraith. Officially, it's the only ship the Ithaca Council hired as local garrison. The Lichtenberg Twins are known for an absurdly high kill count with the Wraith. Seriously, in the past few years, the Wraith destroyed more ships than many of the other Ithaca Council members together.
There, at the wall. That's the scoreboard. One for kills, one for raids, one for captures. Walker Wraith is rank four on the kill board. Current leaders are Gold Brick on kills, Rotkehlchen on raids and Gangrene Chaser on captures. You should avoid all of them.
- Did Dario not tell you to avoid pissing people off?
- I'm not sure if Basker is the personification of luck or of bad luck at this point. Guy accidentally shot a guy at the targetting range at 3. Hilarious, actually, I saw the footage of him sneezing. Anyway, just as the guards were about to push him out of the airlock, the Ithaca Council intervened. Apparently, he killed an MND spy who tried to infiltrate the Council.
- If this station wasn't plastered with turrets, I'd have introduced you to my little friend.
- Don't get on my nerves.
- What does a woman need to do to get rid of you?
- ... You don't really get it, huh? I don't want to talk with you.
- Your mark seems fine. I guess that's why you're still alive. We don't really have a No-Fire-Zone around Ithaca, but the Grand Serpent and the Walker Wraith will definitely take out anyone that risks harming Ithaca. We're not like Zoners.
- Sebastian Scharlach captains the Rotkehlchen. He's one hell of a guy. He has that calm yet stern voice. People call him a gentleman psychopath. Apparently he recites poetry during fights to focus his thoughts? No idea how that is supposed to work. It is, however, entertaining.
One would assume a man of his caliber would join the Bundschuh, since he opposes the government of Rheinland. But apparently he has his own plans.
- Captain Wolpertinger has specialized in hunting down smaller military patrols. Her Dunlin will shred anything smaller than a gunboat.
Nevertheless, she took on one of those. The Spandau-2. She outplayed the gunboat by leading it into the explosive gas field near Ithaca, trapping it between it and Ithaca. By the time the Walker Wraith arrived to assist the Dunlin, Wolpertinger had already punched a hole in the bridge of the gunboat, killing the crew that way. The Wraith and the Dundercat then towed the gunboat to Ithaca, where it got restored and sold to Captain Rush. If you see the Spandau-2 out there, you can be sure that it is not piloted by the Rheinland Military.
- I really pity Basker. First his crew, now his new crew and his ship. He was captaining a Dromedary called Cash Explosion. Poor guy was trying to have a little bit of a good time on the Slut Machine, and in the meantime, his crew picked a fight with the Four Fangs. Basker came back from his little day off, not only lost a fortune to the robotic women and at gambling, but also had to face the fact that his ship got blown up, with no survivors. Not only that, but he is in debt now. I'd probably just take a flight to Stuttgart and start anew as farmer.
- Look's like you're still alive. Congratulations! How about you celebrate your return with a bottle of Schleimwein Spaetlese? Currently very popular among the high society of Rheinland. Captain Hardrada made sure they would get to enjoy a bit less of it.
- Ah, you again! Getting used to this place, huh? Can't blame you, Ithaca has a certain charm to it. And once you know the rules and the people, it is actually a nice place to live. The gas pockets out there make it impossible for capital ships to enter the Ithaca cluster, and anything smallers gets quickly picked off by the Ithaca Council. As long as you can afford it, you're definitely safe here.
- Before the Ithaca Council was founded, the people running this base had a massive streak of bad luck. Maybe they were just incompetent, who knows. Right now, with the Ithaca Council, Ithaca is booming. The ships out there are tuned beyond what is considered to be safe, but their captains know what they are doing. Clever tactics and overloaded guns, my friend. That's how they do it.
- Ah, you again! Have you been to Omicron Kappa yet? Captain Nathan made it sound like the system is a treasure trove with all these wrecks from the battles between Gammu and the Core. If you could bring me some sourvenir, too, I wouldn't say no to it. Can't really leave the bar unattended, you know.
- Every now and then we get visited by a captured OS&C yacht called "Slut Machine". The name kinda tells you all you need to know about it. If you aren't into flesh, the robots on that ship are exactly what you're looking for.
- What part of "I don't want to talk with you" did you not understand?
- Most freeports don't allow people to walk around with sidearms. Ithaca is a bit more liberal when it comes to guns. Look at the people here in the bar. Everyone has a gun. Look above you - my bar has three turrets, too. Turrets like these are all over the station, just to make sure we are all on the same level. You can have guns with you, but there is always a gun around that will respond if you use yours.
- Only few people know how far Ithaca reaches into the asteroid. It is really not that it is a well-kept secret, but more a matter of survival. People are welcome to try and reach the inner areas of the asteroid, but let's just say that the robots carving the tunnels and assembling the corridors and rooms are not entirely without protection.
- See the Gaian Gunship out there? It's the GS Halligan. I've been wondering what the GS stands for. Gaian Ship? Gunship? It's a gaian design, yeah, but the ship is the antithesis of what the Gaians want. Have you seen the engines? That thing intentionally leaves toxic trails when thrusting. That's how he deals with cruise disruptors and missiles. Apparently, the toxic sludge this thing produces messes with targetting systems.
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