Ugly sweaters and gift deliveries
17 Dec 2022Ember Lacson
[Author's Note: This entry contains mild spoilers for the 2022 gift delivery event, since everybody gets the same ones.]When I took a look at the data for the AXI's current primary target for evac, Vukurbeh, and saw that it was out of harm's way, I decided I'd head over to Frost Dock and see what all the hubbub was regarding the Corrs Toy Emporium needing delivery pilots for all the good little children in the galaxy. When I read the GalNet article I decided I would do it in style and procure my very own "RuDOLPH" to guide my proverbial sleigh. So, I hopped over to Ray Gateway, plunked down a few million, and got myself a shiny new Dolphin. I've always been interested in the Saud Kruger ships, but I've never really had a purpose for them. Virtually all the passenger missions I've flown were evacuating refugees from burning stations, for which the Python is superior. Kind of ironic that this Dolphin was bought for cargo runs. But she has a pretty awesome jump range with the quick and dirty engineering I did, about 55 light years even without experimental effects.
I pulled a Santa sweater over my suit, loaded up the gifts, and started jumping around the galaxy following the clues in the letters. I'd been to a few of these places before, so some of the clues were pretty easy to get. It was nice to have a chill time for the most part, though I did find myself in the sights of a few pirates. I never did meet any of the kids in those letters, but it did warm my heart to know that I was helping them have a great Christmas. It's kind of interesting how the gift boxes had blank tags when I loaded them, but had the names of the correct recipients written on them when I delivered them. There are still many unexplained things in the universe, and as Arthur C. Clarke once said, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. So, I'll chalk this one up to a Christmas miracle.
I decided to take a break before the last one, which I'm going to do tomorrow, and I'm going to bring Nicole along for it as well. The Dolphin, unfortunately, has a single seat cockpit. But on the bright side, I was able to yank a small cabin from Queen Motesh for the last remaining module slot I had onboard. It's a class 2, so it's just enough space for the two of us to stretch out, chillax, and take a nice nap. Not the smartest idea if there are pirates on the prowl, but I knew this was what I had to do when I read the clue. This poor girl lives on an isolated station around a place called Eden, and she mentioned getting a mug for Christmas every year. When I read about the mugs, my spirits fell. There is only one remote place I can think of where a mug would be the default gift, and sure enough, when I searched the Galaxy Map for Eden, it came back with Alpha Centauri. After I finished cursing, I turned around and headed back to the Morningstar to fit that cabin. This is my first time going to Hutton, so I need to make it one to remember. I'm reasonably sure this girl isn't going to be reading this, but if you are, Ellie, I'm going to help Sandra make your Christmas extra special this year.