The tale of the smuggled ship
01 Nov 2024Romeo India Charlie
Somewhere in the dark, about 8,000ly from Sol, and hopefully en route to the Elysian Shore.But to be honest, I don't know where I am, exactly. My brain is swimming in dopamine and my spinal cord is full of adrenaline. Let me tell you the whole story. An acquaintance of mine contacted me about some new ship Zorgon Peterson was releasing. I have a love-hate relationship with Zorgon Peterson. On the one hand, I love my Fer-de-Lance. It is the only fighter I have in my hangar. On the other hand, the day I sold my Mamba was one of the best days of my life! The only thing I hate more than the Mamba is the bubble.
All of this is to say I was 50/50 on the excitement level. Was this new Zorgon Peterson following the excellence of the Fer-de-Lance or the lunacy of the Mamba? My acquaintance said it was a ship particularly good for exploration and the word on the bubble was that it was one of the most exciting and maneuverable ships ever designed. Since exploration is what I do, I was interested.
"How much will that cost me?" - I asked. My acquaintance replied he owed me one from when I saved his butt against a pirate and that these things are being sold so fast that, and I quote "no one will notice if one goes missing." And indeed no one did. Yesterday a brand new Zorgon Peterson Mandalay arrived at my fleet carrier and I took it for a ride.
And this is it, in all her glory. Allow me to introduce you to Falcon, my Mandalay. It is very small for a medium pad ship and has a yaw almost as fast as its pitch, making it perfect for scouting, exploration, and exobiology. SCO is also a plus and, unlike a Cutter with SCO, it flies in a straight line, going from one side of a solar system to the other in seconds rather than long, long minutes.
I am going to fly this thing a lot. It is a joy to handle, a thrill to fly.