Career & Retirement, Part 3: Alone in the Black
07 Sep 2018Tango Indigo
I didn't leave Cleve Hub aimlessly, far from it, I had a destination already set in my mind: Imperial Space. Some would say it was my home calling, but the reason was far more simple: I had tasted combat and wanted more of it and for that I would need a better ship.Still struggling with cash, I plotted a route with the lousiest fuel scoop the change in my pocket could by, and make what for many would be an exploration trip in and on itself: 200LY with an Eagle with less than 10LY jump range later I arrived at Fabian City at HIP 20277, famously known as one of the best stations in the galaxy for those wanting that little extra firepower. My goal was simple: I exchanged the Eagle for it's buffed up version, the Imperial Eagle.
HIP 20277 had another great advantage at the time: a resource extraction site beaming with miners. And you know the saying: where there are miners, there are pirates.
That specific RES has responsible for an incredible boost both to my account numbers as to my combat skills. In no time I was soloing Anacondas with the nimble iEagle. Naturally I've been also introduced to my insurance representative. We actually became good friends, so often I had to talk to her. "Mr. Indigo, I must say, as much as I like the premium they pay me for your claims, I'd like you not to take such risks so often. If we ever can't recover your ejection capsule, my finances would suffer a lot...". I'm pretty sure she actually cared for me.
During that time I even took the role of a Pilot's Federation Recruiter and introduced a few acquaintances to the vastness of deep space. Some of them stuck for some time, before returning back to their old lives, some didn't even completed basic training. I felt even more alone as I understood that the call of the black was not for everyone and that I was one in a million to hear it, and one in a billion to answer it. Was I destined to live alone for the rest of my days? I didn't care, for the right people the black is a company enough.
Months later I was flying a Viper Mk4 (which I named "Dodge" as a lousy pun with an old machine from the pre-interstellar travels). Not so fast as the iEagle, not so sleek, but tough as nails. Because I was already mastering the most advanced combat techniques and enforcing the law in HIP 20277 and vicinity, I decided to make another lead: I would enlist to Lavigny's Legion and start fighting for the emperor.
Days later I was granted access to their comms channels and set my way to the nearest system the Empire was striking.
