Tumbling
16 Jun 2023Ryuko Ntsikana
Tumbling
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There was a lot to be said about immersing oneself in beautiful places. The last time I was around these parts I was focused more on my job than taking in the view. Sitting in the Orca’s cockpit, looking out at the carrier contrasted by the hues of the gas cloud surrounding it, I couldn’t think of a more beautiful scene or a place I would rather be than here.
Though not as glamorous as pirating pirates, raiding settlements, or messing around with the alien Thargoids. Places such as this had their own appeal. To be in a place that most would never venture out to, though there were several capital ships and explorers moving through the area.
The moment was interrupted by Avery. I read her message reminding me of the weekly pay cycle. I always gave a small bonus each cycle. The norm was a modest 1 or 2 percent bump for the Chiefs and a little more for the lower-ranked members. With all eyes turned outward, at the colorful scenes surrounding them, morale was higher than the distance between ourselves and human-inhabited space. My reply would send that further still, as each member would be a 3x bump in bonus this cycle.
As much as I would have liked to have stayed here and gazed at the scenery, I had to focus my thoughts on providing for my clan and the carrier. I had identified a nearby system with a rich Tritium ore deposit and would focus my attention on mining additional fuel for storage while plotting where we should go next.
Not every destination would be as scenic as this. Most would be a view of the lonely stars beyond surrounded by the blackness of space. Fortunate for those within my reach, whose signal could be detected. Since arriving here I had already rescued sixty-seven escape pods and knew there would be more. Fortunately, there were a few places within a few jumps which had search and rescue services, where I could deposit the ones I had rescued.
The wonders of this place were in the skills that needed to be developed to survive. Like precision Newtonian physics flight drills, or what many would recognize as “flight assist off,” to keep a specific side of a tumbling asteroid in front of you, so you could mine the subsurface deposits. Nothing like watching a Python’s reactive control systems overwork themselves, attempting to maintain its station with a rock while tumbling around in a moving ring filled with other tumbling rocks.
The adrenaline dump is all the same. Whether riding the fire against ships high above or maneuvering against hostiles on the planets below. Dancing with a rock while attempting to avoid other dancing rocks, still produces pucker. The trick is making sure your suit PWMS (Personal Waste Management System) is in working order before leaving the ship. What the ancients called “wearing your brown pants.”