Author: Leprekawn

49.22 light years Djabara from Paresa where loyalists to Hadrian Duval are marshaling their forces. Too damned close.

I watched as the technicians replaced a cargo bay with the necessary SRV hangar for surface operations. Almost as an after thought I had them pull out another cargo bay for bulkhead reinforcement. Better to go heavy and prepared I thought.

Refitting the ‘Augur took longer than I expected and in those very short hours war erupted in Paresa.  Whatever window I had was gone.  Now I was going to have to dodge imperial patrols looking to catch fleeing stragglers.  What worried me more that if this was a trap I’d be facing twitchy Imperial Security Forces and whatever surprise was waiting for me.

353 light-years later I was descending onto the dark side of Djabara 2’s 4th moon.  The rocky surface pushed up at me as I dropped down closer to the planet, the Relentless Augur groaned unnaturally as I descended.  The Python wasn’t ever intended for extensive operation in a gravity well.  It handles better than some ships, sure but it’s no ballerina .  I wasn’t far from my noted coordinates and within a few minutes I found the site in question.

A quick flyby of a mysterious structure showed me a number of docked ships and an excessive amount of defensive positions for anything I wanted to get mixed up in.  My first guess said this was a pirate operation but some of the structures looked too robust for a fly-by-night smuggler’s den.  No, this had secret government facility written all over it.  I didn’t know what I would find here but I landed with the intent to find out.

Almost like it was laying there for me a fragment of message buoy lay on the ground.  Waiting.

I pulled down what data I could and killed the lights.  I wanted to keep as low a profile as possible.  Not that it mattered.  As soon as I approached what seemed to be a quiet vector, sentries lit up and started swarming my direction almost immediately.

I bugged out.  This was beyond just me and I made a note to ask around before I came back.  It was lucky I left when I did, my SRV shield buckled quickly and armor started flaking away as the sentries chased me beyond any typical patrol distance.  Someone clearly wanted visitors kept at bay.

Djabara had been on my mind for days. I was out of the ‘bubble for almost a week, outside radio contact and isolated from anyone or anything familiar. I was hardly in the bubble for a day when the message came through encrypted channels without sender or subject. Djabara 2, it said, was important. And a series of coordinates that would guide me to a surface location.

This smelled like a trap. I jumped three systems just to distance myself from the point of reception before I stopped to consider the mission. Alix scanned the file seven times that I know of and probably a dozen more I didn’t. It wasn’t a honeypot. It wasn’t a trojan. The file was safe.

So that meant the coordinates were likely a trap. So I sat on the data while I considered what to do.

Meanwhile reports of Duval and Patreus posturing in the Empire started sounding more and more like civil war. Djabara was smack in the middle of Empire space. If I was going to go I had to go soon, before the shooting started.

Back in the swing of logistics and economics, I was moving cargo when an agent of my organization approached me. I should note that I’m abnormally cagey about revealing who I work for since I have enemies, they have enemies and I’d would behoove me to avoid openly discussing their habits using pronouns and titles. Suffice it to say, I met with a person and they offered me some work.

Seems a group of pirates, not necessarily aligned with each other, had taken to harassing a nearby system and my name came up in conversation. While the technicians looked over the ‘Augur I carefully considered the contract. I’d done a minor refit two stations back so while my jump range wasn’t as robust as it usually is, my defensive measures were more than adequate. Loaders heaved 70 tons of Gold out onto the dock and with a resounding clunk completed their task. With little else on my plate I accepted all the contracts and set course.

The fight itself was almost boring. Two of the would-be assassins jumped me almost immediately. As though working in tandem they arrived at the Nav Beacon just after me and began their campaign of harassment. My shields, reinforced with some unusual tech I picked up along the way, repelled their attack with such ease I hardly noticed. “Weapons Hot” I called out. Alix, my smart agent and COVAS responded by allocating power from engines to defenses and weapons in equal measure. Laser-fire flared out and railguns hammered one target then the other and amidst the fray transports, explorers and other travellers near the beacon gave us wide berth. Within a minute it was over. Normally I’d feel accomplished but these targets were too easy. So bad at their job they were barely pirates. I noted the idea that this was a setup as I conducted a short-range scan for my other targets.

In all I think I was in-system less than 20 minutes. Quiet work, relative ease and minimal danger. I collected my bounty and loaded more cargo for another hop out-system. Keeping on my toes and moving, keeping trouble a step behind me.

Deep Space is quiet. Treacherous and exciting. Preparing for an expedition beyond the reach of Humanity requires careful planning. No laser will fight off the boredom, no shields will deflect the feelings of loneliness or isolation. You’ve got to prepare your mind. Pack sufficient distractions and enough trappings of home. You’re likely to be out there a while. ~14,000 light-years to the Heart and Soul Nebula. I went, I charted some worlds and scanned many systems. Through this I achieved Elite Exploration and learned a thing or two about myself.

Firstly, I’m no explorer. Too many hours in deep space, too long away from a station with cold beer and a warm bed.

Second, I’m a Python guy. The Krait is a fine ship. Thrusters amenable to landings, adequate maneuverability for asteroid fields. No, there’s nothing wrong with the Krait Mk II. I’m a Python guy.

So once I returned to the bubble I put a word in with a guy I know and trust. He arranged for me to buy a fresh Python in exchange for this well used Krait I was looking to get rid of. I paid a premium for fresh tags and identification codes. Overly cautious but I’m doing everything I can do discourage my pursuers.