Initiation
27 Apr 2022Iridium Nova
My studies here at this place of learning have frequently prompted me to look back upon my past, to understand what changed me from that naive little girl into whatever it is I have become. When I first got my ship and applied for my Pilot's Federation license, I had no idea what the universe was actually like. I'd been brought up on stories and holos depicting grand space adventures where the good guys always won and nobody ever died, at least on screen. I think that kind of media was common back then. People needed a break from the atrocities of war and didn't want to think about reality, but they also wanted to believe that there were heroes out there, fighting for humanity and all the good things. So I got a skewed version of reality. History was at least a little more accurate, but often too boring to keep my attention, the way it was taught back then. My initiation assignment for the Pilot's Federation was pretty simple, at least it was supposed to be. Yeah, heard that one before.I was supposed to go make contact with a guy in Barnard's Star, at a mining camp on Birmingham World. This guy was supposed to give me a package which I was then to deliver to a corporate office on Lave Station. At that point, I would be directed to the PFed office on Lave Station to receive my license. Well, the guy on Birmingham World didn't have the package, because apparently he gave it to another courier who he thought was me. Fortunately he had the ship's ID, which he gave me. I tracked the ship to Reidquat, back then one of the most notorious pirate havens in the known galaxy. My ship wasn't nearly tough enough to survive getting to the station, and I didn't have the skill needed for it back then. I might have been impulsive in my youth, but I wasn't stupid. So I headed to Lave, without the package, which I figured was fine because it was still close to Reidquat, and maybe if the guy left, I'd be able to track him from there. While I was there, I decided to visit the office and let them know what happened to their package and that I was still working on it. Well, that news didn't go over well. I thought they'd appreciate the heads up, but somehow all of this became my fault. Apparently I was supposed to somehow get that package even though the guy gave it to someone else, or maybe they expected me to commit suicide by flying a stock Cobra into Reidquat, the notorious pirate haven of the Old Worlds (the region wasn't actually called that back then - despite what some history books say. Why would you call them old when they weren't old yet?). Back then, this was the core of the Galactic Cooperative, and the existence of Reidquat irked the entirety of GalCop and their police forces who couldn't understand why they were supposed to just let this system exist within raiding distance of Lave, but that was the way things were back then. And let's face it, Lave was no paradise either.
Anyway, I got a call a bit later from one of the security enforcers at the corporation who ran the ID on the ship and managed to track it to Reidquat but not to the station. Apparently the ship stopped transmitting somewhere near the hyperspace drop point. Probably got jumped in a pirate ambush. That was common in systems like Reidquat. Pirates would set up little ambushes around the arrival point and attack ships as soon as they entered. These days they at least have to interdict you first. So, whoever this idiot with my package was, looks like he got what was coming to him. But the news of his fate left more questions than answers. Why was he going to Reidquat? Why did he get my package? If he was a pirate, you'd think he'd have been better prepared for the welcoming party, maybe have some of his own boys there to warn off any competitors. Maybe he did but they failed, or turned on him. Lot of possibilities, especially with anarchies. You can't trust anyone, and my naive self didn't really understand this.
All I knew was that I couldn't get in there alone, especially without PFed support. I still don't know how I even got moved up on the waiting list. Some people wait their whole lives to get a chance to join the Pilot's Federation, others seem to get in without effort. All these years later, their mysterious methods haven't changed. The fact was, I needed to get to Reidquat if I was going to get my license. Sure, you can fly a ship without a PFed license, plenty do, but everyone wants to get into the Pilot's Federation because of those wonderful benefits. Being a pilot without that beautiful license is hell. It's hard work, terrible pay, and no safety net. Insurance will ruin you with one little mistake, and that's only if you somehow survive. If you don't, your family is left holding the bill. With the Pilot's Federation license, you have access to the best ship insurance in the galaxy, access to exclusive mission postings, and a robust rescue service that is legendary for getting PFed members out of unbelievable scenarios. So yeah, I was going to play it safe until I got that license. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long.
A group of local bounty hunters was planning to launch a raid into Reidquat. One of them had been tracking me since I first blabbed the word "Reidquat" in the middle of a crowded concourse, like the idiot I was back then. She'd been following me since, and spied on my conversation with my contacts. She pulled me aside as I was heading to an accommodations desk.
"You want to go to Reidquat? Don't want to get killed?" She asked
"Yeah, that'd be nice." I said
"Good. We need bait. They're probably expecting you, so that works. Don't worry, we'll make sure you don't die." She was grinning, which the naive version of me took for confidence.
"Well, okay. You sound like you know what you're doing." I said like the idiot cannon fodder I was back then.
"Great. My boys are gonna launch at oh-seven hundred. Be ready, we'll let you know when to jump.", She said.
"Okay..." I figured these guys were the real deal, pro bounty hunters like in the holos.
They looked a little more rugged than those holos but fit the part pretty well. I got some rest and prepared to play my part. I had no idea what was coming. I'm not sure they did either...
I followed the orders they gave me and jumped into Reidquat like a good little bait. Sure enough, there was wreckage all over the place. If I was going to find the package in this mess, it'd take a while. Assuming it didn't get destroyed. I didn't have time. Laser blasts immediately flashed around me, some screeching against my shields. This was my first combat and I panicked. I whirled around, firing blindly, hitting wrecks as much as nothing, then freaked and hit full acceleration. I had no idea what I was doing. I couldn't even tell the pirates apart from the wrecks. At least my run like shit instinct was completely healthy and responsive because that's what I did, and luck was on my side in that I miraculously didn't slam into any large bits of debris as I careened at breakneck speed though the graveyard of ships. At some point I was aware of multiple ships shooting at each other and comms coming though.
"...she keeps zipping around like that, they'll never kill her."
"Doesn't matter. These rats already have enough of a bounty. We're gonna eat good tonight boys."
Of course, I was supposed to die. The bounty hunters wanted to pump up the bounty on the pirates just that little bit more by letting them kill me. That wouldn't work quite as well these days since bounties are system-issued for the most part now and killing in an anarchy jurisdiction doesn't count, but back then the watchful, Quirium-powered eye of GalCop was everywhere. In any case, my frantic refusal to die somewhat thwarted the plans of these less-than-noble bounty hunters, but they were still going to profit nicely from this escapade, which is more than I could say for myself. And that's when things got complicated.
A Python moved into the area. This one did not look like the other pirate ships, which looked like bits of debris. This one was very much noticeable, it's golden paint job shimmering in the light and shadows cast through the debris. A fleet of support craft accompanied the ship and added to it's ostentatiousness. As I saw it, I became aware that I was suddenly alone. The bounty hunters were gone, the pirates were gone. It was just me, the debris, and this golden Python.
"Finally. I have your package. I suggest you come aboard so that we can work something out. Or you could run away like your friends, but you won't get far. Not in that ship, I can smell the fresh upholstery from here. Haha.", The voice from the comms was snarky and confident, a little high pitched and nasally. I didn't like this guy already.
There's a lot of different kinds of bad guys in this 'verse. Some are just run of the mill thugs. They'll kill you as soon as look at you, and usually all they want is your stuff. I was scared to death of people like that back then. These days, I fear another type: the bad guy who invites you into his parlor, not so that he can kill you for your possessions, no - this kind of bad guy is more interested in you. I accepted his offer, thinking he was some kind of heroic adventurer who scared off the bad guys and was about to save my bacon. These days, I know better. Had I known then what I know now, I would have spotted the tell tale signs of a slaver crew the instant I saw the ship.
He was a nice guy, if a little blunt. Oddly, I appreciate that now. He had a gold tooth. Back then, I didn't think much of it. These days I know how tacky that is, but this guy has apparently read the same stories I had growing up. The offer was simple: He'd give me the package after I provided a certain "quantity of work" for him, an amount determined by the value of the package. Honestly, it was a fair offer - based on what I know now about the slave trade. Back then, I was appalled. This wasn't the hero I was expecting. This isn't how the stories go. He wanted me to debase myself for the package? And truth was, I didn't even know what was in it. Neither did he, but I didn't want him to open it because that'd break the mission contract. And because we couldn't open it, there was no way to determine it's value. Which meant, he'd have to assume it contained something extremely valuable in order to ensure he got a good deal. I refused his offer, but the only difference my decision made was the difference between being a regulated slave and an unregulated one. You see, if you agree to become a slave, you can file paperwork which ensures your rights and increases your value since you can be sold in more affluent systems. If you don't agree, and they enslave you anyway, well, then you're fucked. Turns out, this guy dealt in both types.
I spent a few days there, learning hard lessons about reality, before my notorious luck kicked in and I found myself floating in an escape pod in the Diso system. The ship had been destroyed by none other than the notorious Commander Daz and his Salacious Crew, famous pirate hunters in the GalCop core. Turns out the slavers had picked up a nice bounty for carrying slaves through places where they're not wanted and Daz had picked up the trail. From the wreckage, Daz had scooped me up along with a bunch of other stuff, including my package. Daz didn't talk to me directly but I met some of his merry band of misfits. I told them I was on my PFed initiation run and that got them talking about their own initiations, and we all got drunk together on some of the "liberated" wine from the slavers.
One of Daz's crew, a snarky Krait Lightspeeder flyboy by the name of Guts McGee, agreed to give me a lift back to Lave, with the package I had gone through all of this for. I considered these guys heroes back then but they're a rare breed. Funnily enough, you only really see this type of person in the Pilot's Federation. They're that kind of adventurous and some degree of crazy person who probably can't be fully accepted into society because of certain quirks, but they have a home and a community that enables them and unleashes their full potential on the galaxy thanks to the Pilot's Federation. But there's just as many villains as there are heroes in their ranks, and all kinds in between.
The contact was somewhat annoyed by the state of package on delivery but it was intact and the vintage media collection inside was in good condition, so my mission was complete. I received my license that day and finally could start working for myself. There was just one problem: Where the hell was my ship?