No one tells me what to do!
15 Oct 2019Trampyjoe
Currently I'm in Diso and surrounding systems helping haul goods for the people whose crops have failed. It's the usual monotonous station hopping, finding goods at the right prices then going fetch them. The monotony is occasionally broken by pirates trying to take my cargo and, even though I'm not the best combat pilot, I'm in a fully armed (but not fully engineered) Cutter so I can still pack a punch before I run away. Saying that, the last few pirate attacks have been quite easy to deal with so I've collected a few bounties - and frustratingly a few pirates run away. Cowards.In Shifnalport out on the landing pad whilst checking the the ships landing struts I was approached by another commander. Scruffy looking chap (yes, scruffier than me!) who didn't seem to understand that outside of his own ship other people would come close to him and have to put up with his odour. Anyway, appearances aside he wandered up to me and tried to engage me in conversation "Oh Seven, Commander" he managed around a mouthful of something gray and runny, "helping the cause are ya?" To this I just nodded. I'd noticed my ships paintwork needed touching up again, I like to keep my trader looking neat even if I'm not, and i also didn't really wanted to engage in conversation. "You seen the price you can sell fertliza for here?" He pushed on completely missing my body language that was shouting I wasn't interested in talking to him, but now I would have to engage him a little even just to get rid of him.
"I have, yes" was all I offered inspecting my ships paintwork.
"Worth the trip to Marshal I'd say, 'specially in a beast like that" he pointed up at Sweet Transvestite "how much you managing per trip in that anyway?" Clearly my hint hadn't worked.
"Enough to help the locals, not enough to make them happy" I turned away from him.
"nah nah, how much vis eh vis credits" he pushed on whilst filling his mouth with more grey stuff.
"You are aware that piracy is illegal and that I will happily report you?" I said curtly before striding across the pad to check the second strut.
"Ha! nah brother, I don't mean it like that" he shuffled along strangely and quickly behind me, clearly gravity wasn't a friend to him, "alls i'm saying is that I can show you a route that will make you over 15 million per jump, init!" he beamed at me like some kind of unintelligent space goo.
"I'll bear that in mind, now if you don't mind I have things to do." Surely this would get the point across.
"Y'see with the price of fert so high here" he pushed on before I stopped him short.
"Clearly you are not getting my point, sir. I am here in system to help the people that are going without the most basic of staples in their diet." I gestured at the station around us "There are countless other commanders that are here for the same, although I do understand that there are many many pilots, such as yourself, who call themselves commanders but lack basic decency and any shred of human emotion", I leaned in close to him "Now, I suggest you clear off of my pad and pray that I do not find your ship out in the black" With this I turned on my heel and made my way into my ship. I didn't bother to check he had cleared off when I fired the ships thrusters.
This interaction made me think about why some of us do what we do.
I do it for the pleasure of being in the black, mostly alone with no one to answer to unless I choose to run missions. I have a fleet of ships that I have slowly built up and can fly any of those ships when I choose.
I realise others are in it for the credits. I read the dispatches and the notice boards of commanders sharing their tips to make so many credits per hour running rares or mining Void Opals. Don't get me wrong, I would never tell those commanders they shouldn't do those things. If that's what makes them happy then more power to them. But none of that is for me. I like doing what I do, I just don't appreciate others trying to tell me to do it a different way.
I had a run over to Marshall Dock, loaded up on Fertiliser and was interdicted.
Made a nice little profit on the run and collected a bounty too.
I never said I was against making credits.