The Diary of a Space Scoundrel: Diamond Crowns and Fly Swatting
22 Mar 2020Seth Bradwell
I passed a milestone in my career as a pilot yesterday. Thanks to all my efforts in mining, I have become Elite in trading, having made a small fortune with low temperature diamonds and other rare minerals. The bulk of my journey to Elite though was mostly several months of grinding in a T9 many moons ago, as I worked to raise the money for a decent ship that would hold its own with even the most skilled of pilots, plus having a safety net of the equivalent of a dozen insurance claims. For all my cynicism at the beginning, mining is somewhat more rewarding, and, at least on the frontier, the markets tend to remain stable, unlike with trading in the core, where today's lucrative route is tomorrow's credit sink. When I came to cash in my hard work on the rings in my favourite hotspot (location classified) I had made 83 million credits and got a message from the Pilots Federation informing me I was Elite and could now go to the fabled system of Shinrarta Dezhra and mingle with my fellow Elite pilots. However I had no real intention to going there any time soon, in fact I found the achievement underwhelming, just another day at the ice ring.
The message from the Pilots Federation, captured for posterity
Earlier on I decided to get a dedicated ship for mining, to save having to swap out modules and reconfigure firegroups whenever I wanted to go from doing combat to mining. Since my Python served the role of mining ship very well, I decided to buy another one, dedicated to mining. So I present to you, dear diary, the Kellingley:
She isn't as fast as the Edge of Sanity nor does she handle as well as her, in fact I fitted her with the lowest class modules I could get away with after having them engineered to handle the demands I would place upon them. Everything is D-rated for weight bar the FSD and the mining modules, but she isn't meant for combat, although I have equipped her with a large pulse laser which I had the Dweller modify to speed up its rate of fire, as well as apply Flow Control so it will just remain within the limits of the power plant which barely powers everything in spite of monstering and overcharging. He seemed rather bemused by my request, questioning whether the one pulse laser would be enough against a determined pirate, even a modified Class 3 one. My response was that I wasn't intending to be in any combat in this ship but I still felt naked without any weapon, and it would still prove its worth against smaller ships. To date I have not used it in anger, with this loadout I am barely a match for a Cobra so running away is the best I can do, and there is just enough room in the power distributor's capacitor for one boost - and with 5D thrusters she will be outmanoeuvred by most other ships (probably everything bar a T9 and possibly a stock Anaconda), and the Python isn't known as a nimble ship to begin with. This was something I learnt all too well when a pirate in a Federal Dropship jumped me during one of my first outings in her, I initially considered fighting back but I would not even be able to bring my gun to bear upon him so started frantically boosting till I was out of mass lock. I lost a lot of hard earned cargo plus half my hull strength due to hatch breaker limpets whilst making my escape. Since then I avoid visiting rings whilst I already have cargo in my hold, and boost away from my initial arrival point as quickly as possible. Since that incident, I have had a peaceful life on the rings, peaceful, yet sometimes frustrating, as I have spent what seems like aeons trying to find a crackable asteroid with the pulse scanner. So no sooner was I told that I was now an Elite trader that I decided to switch back to the Edge of Sanity and see if HIP 71938 needed an enforcer.
Looking for combat work in '938 can be hit and miss, however these past two days Blue Vision Services have kept me busy. For starters I was given some "wetwork", going over to '931 where on arrival I was told I had to take out civilian ships from the Dukes of HIP 71931 - apparently there had been a disagreement between the two and the Dukes were encroaching on Blue Vision's interests, so they wanted to send a clear message to them. A dirty job, but, well, you know. After taking a detour to have my record cleaned by an interstellar factor I returned to collect my fee. After that I was given more legit work, taken on the Camorra of '931 pirates. This was easier still, most of the targets being either Mostly Harmless or Novice, with a few Competent, and the most experienced Camorra pilot I could find was a Master in a Python, but nonetheless all were reduced to a molten hulk within 30 seconds max. The most challenge I had was going up to the RES at HIP 79138 4, where the Edge of Sanity's ability to hull tank proved mighty useful when it came to taking down pirates of various factions. Maybe I was a little reckless, not boosting away to avoid the full burnt of their guns, activating a shield cell just that bit too late, and keeping fighting until I was down to 17% hull strength, but at the end I returned to Moon Camp with 1.5 million credits worth of bounty claims, and I was not wanting for a drink that evening down the LT Diamond Moon.
With all this being said, I am starting to reflect on my life. Mining is very lucrative but what's the point of making all those credits if you are just going to spend your life in one planetary ring after another? Earlier on in my career I would have jumped on the opportunity to do something that would allow me to buy The Edge of Sanity plus several insurance claims after a few days' work. But I can now, should I choose to, buy an Anaconda with A-rated everything and still have plenty to spare. Thing is, I don't really want an Anaconda, sure they pack a massive punch when appropriately equipped but they handle like a dog so I have heard, and are real sluggish, and they are too big for the outposts where the most lucrative markets are. Give me a Python any day. I then look back to what I have left behind, the Empire, my homeworld, or what is left of it, my foster family, and my exploits in Bakas which led to my eventual betrayal. Someone somewhere was giving the orders which led to me spending the whole of 3305 drifting in vacuum in a Remlok, and now I have recovered I have some scores to settle there at some point. Also I have been reading up on what's been going in the Empire since my absence - including another attempt to usurp Arissa Lavigny-Duval as Emperor by this Nova Imperium outfit. They were eventually ruthlessly dealt with - I give ALD her due, she does not mess around when traitors are afoot. Yet this hasn't been the only attempt to overthrow Her Imperial Majesty (bask in her glory). Two years previously there was Emperor's Dawn, and whilst Nova Imperium are set to go the same way as them, the environment which causes such groups to rise in the first place has not gone away, and the remnants of both groups will still be plotting, indeed possibly even building alliances. Of course I am utterly jaded with the state of the Empire, but there are friends and family (foster family but still the only family I have) who could still be swept up in political turmoil, indeed one of the most dangerous roles in the Empire right now is that of a noble or senator who stands in the way of Denton Patreus' ambition - and it does not take much to fall out of favour with him, as I learned from Old Man Leroy last month. Lastly, I keep hearing the call of the unknown - that is the vast expanse of the galaxy that a ragged band of explorers have only just scratched the surface of. Often I feel like just getting an explorer ship together and taking off out there. I did once fit a Hauler and take a trip out to the Bubble, not quite Sagittarius A* distance but several days away from the Bubble nonetheless. One day I might head out to Sagittarius A*, then on to Beagle Point and indeed beyond. But first, I have business to take care of, even if I am not sure exactly what business that is.
I leave you with this view from outside Moon Dock, with the moon's planet on the horizon. Looking at that expanse of stars never grows old, and I consider myself fortunate to be among those privileged few who are able to travel among those stars, us merry band of space travellers...
