An Imperial Review: James K. Winston
05 May 2020Mosselle
Just outside the Bubble, there’s a system called Exphiay. In the center of it lies Discovery, a pretty little vacation world that’s becoming more popular with each passing year. There’s a small chance you might have seen pictures of its mountains in a tourism brochure somewhere. Perfect for skiing, I’ve heard. Just like the Swiss Alps on Earth- before the nukes at least. The agencies are very proud of their neutrality. I mean, I guess it’s good business sense to widen your customer base, but they take it a little too far. “You won’t hear a single word about the superpowers!” I heard an ad say, which is hilarious, since the first thing most visitors see after jumping into the system are the telltale red lights of a Federal starport.Discovery is attended by two stations. There’s Worlidge Hub, which is the main terminal for tourists. Every week, hundreds of thousands of families arrive aboard an Orca or Beluga. They might spend a day or two in orbit, so the kids can have fun in low-G playground, and the dad can get some shut-eye in a king size bed. The mom can get some decent coffee. When everyone’s freshened up, they board an atmospheric craft set for the surface, ready to dive into the reasonably priced getaway package they bought.
Slightly further from the planet, however, is the James K. Winston spaceport. It handles most of Discovery’s freight. In my opinion though, it’s the nicer place to arrive at. There’s fewer crying and sniveling children, fewer peddlers, and because the station is an Orbis-type instead of a Coriolis, it has stronger gravity on the ring, which is a blessing for us planetary-born commanders. The only thing it lacks is a good view of Discovery, but seriously- just look at the map if you want to see it so bad.
Most importantly for any budding commander: the station is always full of delivery contracts. Big ones. And many of the contractors have close ties to the Federal Navy.
I first touched down there in a Cutter, eager to rise through the ranks of the Federal Navy Auxiliary. The image of a brand-new Corvette was fresh in my mind. The dock master was quite friendly to me, which was strange, since I was flying an Imperial ship in Federation space. Turns out it was the perfect ship to bring: good cargo space, high mass lock factor, shields as hard as stone, and a clean exterior that doesn’t scare any visitors glancing out the window. I left an hour later with a cargo hold full of explosives to bring to the neighboring system of Canopus.
And that’s the grind. Bring explosives to Canopus, return with a few hundred tons of gold and silver, all the while juking pirates left and right. Idiots- they always think they found fresh meat when they get the interdiction off, only to be dumbfounded when I jump off a few seconds later. All the heat I’m getting is probably because like to top off my runs with as much data as possible, even from factions that I’m not interested in. You never know where your next paycheck might come from.
In the meantime, I got to know James K. It’s a good station. The streets are relatively quiet, the people are friendly, and the traffic flow is never too bad. The advertising I mentioned earlier seems to have paid off- I haven’t seen a single drunken fistfight between a Fed and Imp yet. There’s a bit of the rough-and-tumble feeling that you might find at Colonia, but it’s mixed with the smell of big money, corporation money. It’s comforting. You know you’re not wasting your time here.
If there’s one thing to complain about, it’s the selection of cuisine. I walked around the whole length of the station, looking at every restaurant, before it hit me. Half of them are Federation fast food joints. Bleh. In the end, I settled for some steak and grits from a small diner; it was the most authentic thing I could find. Just to make sure, I peeked in the back to see of the chefs were actually cooking in instead of using a printer. Thankfully, they were. I guess if all else fails, the bars can rinse any bad taste out of my mouth.
I swear, sometimes having superior Imperial taste is a curse.
Overall, I would rate James K. Winston a four out of five. It strikes a good balance between a frontier station and a civilized one. If I ever find myself passing it by while returning from a long exploration trip, I’ll make sure to come back. Maybe I’ll even drop onto Discovery, and see what the fuss is all about. Of course, the biggest benefit that station brings is that it makes appeasing the Federal Navy much easier. For that, I’ll give it an extra point.