Ungrateful passengers
26 Nov 2020Seth Bradwell
25 November - 15:00 GMT, Kepler OrbitalI land on my designated pad at Kepler Orbital for the 12th time today, and the emergency protocol automatically lowers me into the hangar. Once docking is completed I make my way over to the passenger lounge, noting the increased security detail from Atropos and Co. I walk in and start to make my way to the contracts desk when one of the security guards takes me aside. "Be careful, pilot." I am warned. "We appreciate the work you have done, but there are a lot of people here who want to take advantage of your good nature. Yesterday there was an attempted spacejacking, and we have reason to believe that this was aggravated by the fact the pilot in question is an Imperial, like yourself. Thankfully the attempt failed and the perpetrator is now in our custody awaiting charges, but the pilot still got pretty beat up, and we are advising all pilots to exercise extreme caution on evacuation runs."
"Thanks for the heads up." I reply. "Be rest assured I have dealt with my fair share of cut-throats in my time, and well prepared for anyone wishing to stab me in the back - wouldn't be the first time either."
"Good. We appreciate the assistance of all pilots during this difficult time, although I am sure you have your own reasons for helping us. We certainly do not condone anyone who wishes harm on a pilot who has contributed so much to saving the lives of people on this station."
"I am just doing my bit for humanity. Now, if you excuse me, there are passengers awaiting evac."
I walk across the passenger lounge, still heaving with refugees awaiting a ship off the station as the room shakes and judders from ongoing explosions. News has it that the station authorities may be able to bring the fires under control and neutralise the corrosive agents within 24 hours, which will make evacuation easier for those that still want off this station. Next will come the repair work and the shipping in of raw materials and equipment, something I am happy to leave to the Federal pilots. I aim to save lives, not mop up after their mess.
"Who needs a ship?" I ask Martha, the woman responsible for issuing contracts on this station.
"Atropos and Co have 54 total, Values Party of Atropos has 43, Leviathan Scout Regiment has 31, Bureau of Atropos Conservatives have 22, Atropos Major Network have 17, The Peculiar Brotherhood have 15, and finally Atropos Gold Ring have 12. Total payout will be 1.2 million on arrival, plus an extra 800k potential bonus for a prompt arrival."
"Excellent." I say. "How many more are there left?"
"I do not have access to exact figures, but according to my estimate, one-third of the station population accounted for remains here. Many are considering staying put should the station be stabilised, although even before then many will still want to leave for neighbouring systems until major facilities are brought back online."
"Thank you. Seems like we are turning a corner here, though there is still much work ahead. I'll get the ship ready."
I make my way to the hanger to await my latest consignment of refugees when one of the waiting passengers suddenly lunges at me. In a spilt second I side-step and he barrels harmlessly past me, before turning around, clenched fists raised.
"IMPERIAL SCUM!" he yells. "Don't think you can fool us with your pathetic charity! I know what you lot are about. You deliberately sent the NMLA into our systems, so they would lay in wait for the order to attack. Well I am not standing for it, the only good Imp is a dead Imp, and that goes for all those so called 'refugees' that traitor Winters so eagerly welcomed. DEATH TO THE EMPIRE! DEATH TO WINTERS! DEATH TO ALL IMPERIALS!" The thug attempts to make another swipe at me, but I easily dodge it, grab his arm and pin it behind him, and then sharply bring my knee into the small of his back, causing him to crumple to the ground in pain as station security arrive.
"What seems to be the problem?" I am asked as they restrain my assailant.
"He just jumped at me. Took issue with my Imperial background."
"It's HIM you should be arresting, officer! His kind are behind all of this, colluding with Winters to bring down the Federation! Let me teach that smarmy Imp a lesson." shouted the deranged thug.
"Yeah, sure. Off to the brig with you, you can take the prison transport out of here." The station security the proceed to drag my assailant away to the detention block. I make my way to the hanger, annoyed at this pointless delay.
10 minutes later - Hangar 17
"You took your time!" a officer from the Values Party of Atropos said indignantly.
"Sorry, was outside my control. Some dunderhead in the passenger lounge decided to try and pick a fight with me - apparently Winters is colluding with the Empire to bring the Federation down for reasons beyond the comprehension of my tiny Imperial mind, and I am right at the heart of this collusion. All I can say is, where's my pay check, Winters?"
"Humph. Wouldn't surprise me if Winters is colluding with the Empire, particularly with that pretty girl with the blue hair of yours, but I don't see how that has anything to do with you. All the same, the fact that I am being fished out of the frying pan by a fricking Imperial of all people causes me great dismay..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Relax, I am not going to sell you into slavery - the Empire strictly prohibits selling non-Imperial citizens into slavery anyway. The sooner you take a seat the sooner we can all leave this hellhole."
I make my way to the Libertas' bridge, locking the door behind me. I do a routine check for anyone who may have been able to bypass the security codes, ready to draw my sidearm. After I am satisfied the bridge is secure I request launch clearance, and lift off once she is raised into the docking bay after firing a heatsink in order to combat the already dangerously high internal temperature. Comms start chirping to alert me that many of my passengers are getting impatient. I swerve to narrowly miss a large piece of station wreckage before fighting with the controls in order to get the Libertas back in line with the mail slot. An explosion sends me veering to one side, and I slam on the opposite lateral thrusters and point her back on course whilst applying forward thrust, and just about make it through without scraping her on the sides. Immediately I apply boost out of mass lock and prepare for the brief supercruise to the rescue ship.
17:30 - Kepler Orbital passenger lounge
"Go piss off back to Achenar, slaver swine!" I hear as I exit the lounge. I turn around, assuming the insult was intended for me (yet again), only to see two burly men in Atropos and Co overalls squaring up to a much more lightly built man who was cowering in fear.
"I am trying to get home, just let me be and I won't bother you anymore -"
"Too right you won't bother us! We are sick of you Imps, thinking you can stick your nose in wherever you like, thinking you own this galaxy. Well my friend and I are going to teach you a good lesson in manners..."
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" I shout as I face them down. The two brutes suddenly turn to face me. "Oh, come to save your chummy eh? Well too bad, we are going to teach you some manners too!" I dodge his initial strike and land a uppercut of my own, before swiftly delivering a roundhouse kick to his friend. The first thug runs up at me but I grab him and send him spinning into the bulkhead. His accomplice struggles to get on his feet, but is swiftly knocked back down. "Stay down till we are gone, and then make yourselves real scarce!" I demand. My attention now goes towards their intended victim. "I have one spare cabin on my ship. Lets get you out of here. No questions asked."
"Thank you, sir, thought I was never going to get off this flaming coffin in one piece. I thought we would all be safe here, after what happened -"
"The less I hear about why you are here the better. I'll take you to the rescue ship, and from there Federal authorities can arrange for you to get out of this system."
"Fair enough. I am just grateful I am getting away from here. Lead the way."
18:00
I return to pick up more refugees, but in the end I made a detour to Euler Hub so the Imperial I rescued could seek transport elsewhere without waiting for the rescue ship to depart. He was relieved to not have to deal with Federal authorities. I hope I did the right thing, I deliberately didn't want to know whether he was just a visitor from the Empire who was in the wrong place at the wrong time or one of the Marlinist refugees, legally I am supposed to apprehend any suspected Marlinist fugitive and bring them back to the Empire regardless of whether they are NMLA or not. I wasn't about to interrogate him after what had happened, and I doubt any NMLA sympathiser would have readily walked onto an Imperial vessel.
"Hello again." I ask Martha. "Who will I be moving this time?"
"125 total passengers, 47 from Atropos and Co, 34 from Values Party of Atropos, 22 from Leviathan Scout Regiment, 11 from Values Party of Atropos, 7 from The Peculiar Brotherhood and 4 from Atropos Gold Ring."
"Great stuff. Always glad to see supply outstrip demand in this case." I smiled.
"Can I ask something?"
"Go ahead, just don't disappoint me with some of the predictable biowaste I've heard these past few days."
"Why do you do this? You are from the Empire, and this is Federal space. I am sure there must be something other than pure altruism guiding you and the other Imperials who have helped here. If your aim is to embarrass the Federation then you have succeeded beyond expectation judging by some of the abuse you Imps have had to deal with. Yet you are still working around the clock in order to rescue us. What drives you to do this?"
"They are just people, and I am a rescuer. If you want something more deep than that, yes, I do take some pride in helping save Federal citizens from a mess of their government's own making. But I distinguish between a Federal citizen who is trying to survive in an increasingly hostile galaxy and the actions of his or her government. However what really drives me is who was behind this - the NMLA. They came from the same Empire I do, and the Empire for better or worse helped create the conditions that gave birth to them. It is now well known the NMLA does not care who it hurts, be they Federal or Imperial, so therefore neither should Imperial pilots care who they save from the actions of the NMLA."
"That sounds extremely noble indeed, almost on the par of that famed sense of honour you Imperials claim to have. Alas, I have grown to expect far less from people on either side of lately. I don't trust Arissa Lavigny-Duval to not brutally suppress the cries for freedom that are becoming all the more louder. At the time I agreed with Winters' stance. Yet now I feel she was naive at best to not call for more rigorous screening for undesirables taking advantage of our goodwill. Maybe Hudson had a point after all."
"I am not overly keen on the people on my side either. But right now we are both on the same page when it comes to dealing with terrorists and helping their victims. With that in mind, I have passengers to transport out of this furnace."
"Good luck Commander. By the way, I have just assigned you another 32 passengers who have just passed clearance. They should be heading for your hangar now."
10 minutes later - Hanger 2
"Attention all passengers." I announce. "As you are all aware, I am hardly from around these parts. Yes, I am an Imperial - but that does not mean I agree with everything that Arissa Lavigny-Duval says and does any more than you Feds will agree with everything that Hudson or Winters says and does. Therefore anyone wanting to make any jokes about me wanting to sell you into slavery can go back to the passenger lounge to await the next Federal pilot willing to pick you up - I have it on good authority that there's a Federal Corvette due to dock here in about three hours time. My main purpose here is helping the victims of a vicious organisation that poses a dire threat to the lives of the citizens of Federation and Empire alike - the accursed NMLA. Now everyone who just wants off out of this blazing wreck as soon as possible please board your cabins, the sooner you settle in, the sooner you can get to the safety of the rescue ship. Any further questions? No? Good!"
My charges board the Libertas without a word spoken. Five minutes later and I give a request to launch, and the gantries raise me into the docking bay. I carry out the usual procedures as I negotiate the mangled docking bay for the 18th time today. Skilfully I manoeuvre the ship around, and get her through the mail slot to the sound of a standing ovation. With a smile I boost her away from the station and wait for the mass lock indicator to go out, before engaging the FSD for another brief jump into supercruise to the rescue ship to deliver my latest group of relieved but grateful passengers.
Big shout out to CMDR Cayce Luther, who was the target of the attempted spacejacking I mentioned at the beginning of this log, who appreciated my work so much he made reference to it, to which I am much honoured! Additional shout out to Cayce's second in command, Phoenix Sonne too. Both CMDRs have made some great logs, so I recommend checking them out.