A Higher Calling
03 Apr 2016Aaron Starr
This is the continuation of my "catch up" logs for the past few months.After I had joined E.X.O, I was able to meet up with a number of other members. My new flight leader, Angus, was very welcoming. I worked for a month or so on scouting missions for both him and one of our Operations Officers named Larzok. Since I was one of the only members who had extensive experience with planetary landings and orbital maneuvering, I was able to survey a great deal of E.X.O's territory.
All that changed, however, during an event that is now referred to as the Great Schism of 3302. After returning from an exploration trip to a distant nebula, I decided to stop by Modar's Bar on the way to my apartment to meet up with some friends. I pulled up a stool and had just begun discussing politics with E.X.O's Ambassador, Benjamari, when I heard a slug rifle discharge into the ceiling. Instantly, ten armed members of our faction stood up. They began shouting for everyone to get down on their hands and knees, and told us to keep our eyes on the floor. Before I knew what was happening, I heard Larzok's voice calling for silence in the room. "Was he a part of this?" I wondered, hoping against hope that this was all just a sick joke.
"Furr-iends," he began. "You may be purr-plexed by what is happening, but don't worry your whiskers. As long as you all paws what you're doing right meow and listen carefully to what we have to say, you won't be harmed. We are the Church of the Space Cat, and this station is now under our control."
Benji looked at me out of the corner of his eye and whispered, "I think they've had too much Wolf Fesh."
Larzok continued his tirade for some time, and to be honest, I stopped listening. I was too busy trying to find a way to take control of the situation. But before I could come up with a good plan, a tranquilizer dart whizzed through a crack in one of the ventilation ducts and struck Larzok squarely in the neck. He had just enough time to pull out the dart and glance at it before falling off the table he was standing on. The rest of the terrorists immediately turned around, looking for the source of the interruption. It was then that the Wing Commander and his Deputy, wearing combat vests and masks, broke open the door to the bar and subdued the perpetrators.
Seconds later, the station alarms began to sound. Lights were flashing everywhere, and a voice on the intercom repeated the phrase, "Defense procedures initiated, this is not a drill." My ship was undergoing repairs, so I grabbed one of the slug rifles that had been dropped and joined the Commander and the Deputy. We quickly cleared the rest of the station, sending the zealots down to Navia in escape pods for the authorities to process.
There was a large battle in the space outside the station as well, but E.X.O was able to push back the terrorists within a few hours. Many of the members who hijacked Modar's Bar had been well respected leaders of the faction, and the vacuum that they left was noticeable. Later on, I was paged by our Commander, DrunkRenegade12, who asked me to stop by his office at my earliest convenience. I had no idea what to expect, but I rushed over there as fast as I could.
He offered me a position as an Operations officer, which I gladly accepted. I worked for a few weeks with GrumpyInUt, another good friend who had also been promoted, to improve E.X.O's influence in the systems under our control.
Since then, I suppose things have progressed fairly well. We've been attacked many times, but our navy always manages to keep our systems safe. After one of our Joint Chiefs of Staff retired, I was given the opportunity to sit at his desk. I now work side by side with Nerth and Zartonis, the man who first invited me to join E.X.O. so many months ago.
I'm not sure what's in store for our great faction, but I have every confidence that we'll overcome each challenge that the galaxy sends our way.
CMDR Aaron Starr,
Logging off.