A long time back in The Bubble.
06 May 2020Junagu
I'm sat in one of the bars that look in on the docking bay at Xiaoguan City, Panorua, near Borann; a part of The Bubble that I, like many, many other CMDRs, have now become very familiar with. The LTD boom of 3306 has seen huge concentrations of the galaxies pilots swarm the rings of Borann 2. I have joined the throng, not only to save up for the long awaited fleet carriers being manufactured by the Brewer Corporation, but also to finish off a fleet of ships to go with it. I never thought I'd get there but I've managed nearly 8 Billion, which I estimate should see me a fleet carrier and a years upkeep. Assembling a fleet of ships has actually been the more arduous task; there's always improvements to make and engineering to be done and that takes a lot of time, especially the fine tuning. When I think back to when I donned the Remlock suit again after a 4 year hiatus and all I had was an unengineered Python that I'd hardly flown.... well, it seems like a lifetime ago. Then I was just a lone wolf; no loyalties and no home. And it took me a long while to settle in to the Silverbacks, having been on some long distance expeditions since joining and with a few months spent in Colonia; though that's how I ended up with them in the first place. In fact, another DistantWorlds2 CMDR from the DW2S squadron has recently joined us. I've crossed paths with quite a few of the CMDRs that took part in that epic journey since being back in The Bubble.The squadron has changed quite considerably since I've been back at Arexe this time. There are more than a few new recruits and The Silverbacks are becoming quite a solid force. For instance we've been heavily involved in the fight against the Thargoids down in Celeano; among some of the most successful groups fighting down there. I've put together some ships for those encounters; glad that I've had chance at long last to have had my initiation and glad that I've had some chance to put together some ships that stand a chance against the Thargoid vessels. There hasn't been any major incursions by our old enemy of late and things seem to have settled into a fairly static situation. Nevertheless, I am reminded that one of the reasons for trying to get the resources together for a fleet carrier was as a getaway should the situation become catastrophic; and we just don't know for sure what we are involved in. The next wave of attacks on stations could be much more widespread and deadly than the last and having a self-sufficient vessel on standby is likely to prove a prudent move.
There is also, of course, the growing call of the road. Sitting here in this station amongst all the hubbub and petty concerns of the greedy and powerful and remembering some of the journeys I've been on gives me a funny feeling. I've been sat here so many times over the last couple of months in this CMDRs respite, watching and waiting for the right moments and trying to maintain. Today, near the end of this long stint in The Bubble, putting creds into the old fashioned jukebox, playing every song that I could stand to hear even once. I've heard "Love Will Keep Us Together" five or six times more than I wanted to. I'm finding it hard to ignore the call of the road. I think there are a few in the squadron who feel the same way. But there are more than enough new recruits this season that should be able to help with the harvest, as the old saying goes, and perhaps a few of us taking our leave for a while wont be noticed so much in the home systems.