Cmdr. BVit's logs: The Winter Solstice
26 Dec 2015Nova Cassidy
Today is that special day of the year. Back on old earth they used to call it Christmas. A few people still do but it's often called the Winter Solstice festival now. You know, I always preferred Christmas. I don't know what that word means, but I know that today is supposed to celebrate the solstice on Earth, all the way over in Sol. It's tradition, though. One we've had for thousands of years. I'm not sure why we renamed it to something that only applies to one planet now that billions of them are within our grasp.I've always been a fan of Old Earth history, specifically around the early 2000's when the human race was really starting to make discoveries. Back when we used to burn mineral oils for energy and used uranium in nuclear reactors. I don't know why, they always seemed like the most interesting years. Leaps and bounds were made around that time and it's nice to see all the mistakes we made, all the discoveries that came out around that time. Oh. I should stop before anyone who reads these starts thinking I'm a huge nerd.
I still like to call today Christmas. Not everyone celebrates the holiday, fewer still even know what it is we're celebrating. A lot of us just call it an archaic holiday of consumer bullshit. I don't think these people have ever experienced Christmas. When I was a kid, me and my family still celebrated it. It was the best thing ever. My mom would tell me nothing made her happier than seeing the bright eyed look of joy on my face when I fist tore into that box and pulled out my gifts. We were never a rich family. We didn't live in poverty or anything, so I treasured everything I got. It's a time of cheer and good will, they used to say. A time of giving, friendship, family, and togetherness. I always loved Christmas. I loved seeing the looks on people's faces as I gave them a gift.
Where was I even going with this... Ah!
Today is just another day for me. While I like this time of year for the spirit of things, up here in the middle of nowhere with no home other than my own ship, old 'Saint Nicolas' doesn't deliver me any presents. Haha, as much as I would like to crawl out of bed in the morning to find a plasma accelerator under my tree, I doubt it will ever happen. I spent a lot of time around Wohler Terminal today, outside of the ship. It was nice, really. I didn't have anyone with spend the day with myself, but seeing smiles on people's faces as they exchanged gifts was heart warming. I'm used to famine and depression, the effects of war. I kind of needed my spirits lifted. It almost looked like how I remembered it from when I was a kid, looking up at the stars and wondering if they have Christmas up there, too.
It looks like today has been a good day for the fledgeling pilots. It seems that a pilot's federation licence has been at the top of everyone's wish list this year. All those bright eyed hopefuls making their first jumps in their 'new' sidewinders. I'm in Kremainn, just a single jump from LHS 3447 for most ships, so I'm seeing a lot of them... I hope they'll be alright. The Galaxy isn't a kind place and I'm worried how many of them still believe the commercials the Pilot's Fed puts out. I was wondering about them as I made my way back to my ship.
I climbed back into the Bluebird, and checked the bulletin board. Bounties. Heartless bastards across the galaxy have been taking advantage of what's supposed to be a special day. Transport and cargo ships have been prime targets for pirates wanting to steal gifts and take people's families hostage. New pilots are being hunted down for the sport. Of course they are. Of course evil, shitty people have been using one of the happiest days of the year as their opportunity to profit from some misery.
I won't stand for it. Not today. I've just accepted some jobs to destroy as many wanted ships as possible. Honestly, today I would have done it for free.
Merry Christmas.