Galactic Date: December 14 3305 | Location: Fabian City, HIP 20277
18 Sep 2024Nathan "Spacecowboy" Anvar
Nathan awoke calmly in a bright lit medical bay, much cleaner than any he had been in. Nate immediately heard Rex radio out to Maddog via voice comms. "He's awake and alive," Maddog said gruffly. His voice low thundering in the Industrial halls of the medbay. "Bet ya got a lot of a questions, kid. Before ya get fussy let us at least explain ourselves . After all, it seems you got some not so friendly pals back in Mawson, so just hear us out." Rex finished, just as Maddog came into the wide open patients’ quarters. "You suffered massive gravity sickness due to the high G burn maneuver Commander Rex had to make to get you all out of the station. This made you pass out for a week or so. Our doctors have been running some tests in your mental absence and we might be able to find a solution." Maddog began with the posh Imperial I-know-it-all tone, carefully pronouncing and with careful enunciation of each word."Why help me…?" Nate feebly asked, staring at two men that he never thought he owe any thanks too.
"We're in a bit of a spot, ya see," Rex explained, "we need to move 4,000 tons of Prototype Tech to the Salya System from here but it's on a tight time crunch: 24 hours." Nate nodded and Maddog continued the conversation. "We just need another ship and can pull it off, and your sidewinder can help. The system is 76.76 light-years away. But the payoff is 20 million credits per pilot and I reckon if you elect to assist us and accept the mission, I might have an experimental flight suit that could assist with your condition as well to keep you conscious on the trip." Nate sat silently, taking everything that was just laid out in front of him. He had options now, no longer restrained to a floating ball of forged metal. However, years of looking over his shoulder got the best of Nate.
“I still don’t understand - there are 100’s of Hutton Truckers out there that are better equipped to handle this than me. All I have to my name is a loaned sidewinder and about 1,000 credits.” Nate said plainly, feeling some focus come back to his mind. Maddog shot Rex a stare that seems to convey the same Imperial posh attitude of his. “Yes Rex, why are we helping him?”, Rex thought. After a brief but uncomfortable 3 or 4 seconds, Rex broke the silence.
“Ya got balls from what I seen kid, figured we give ya chance is all. Almost painful seein’ young talent wastin’ away in the depths of a floatin’ tin can an’ such”, Rex stated, leaving out all emotion from the sentence. “And honestly, Ida figured it'd just be fun for ya to try and make yourself not explode this time!” he suddenly exclaimed, shrugging his shoulders and raising his hands as if there was no need for more of a reason. Maddog’s datapad chimed - he grinned and nodded to Nate, “Your record is clean as well, a courtesy we had a contact of mine work on since we went with the obscene Federal strategy of going-out-with-a-bang back at Mawson. You're in Fabian City, HIP 20277 System - over 110 lightyears from Dromi. Think of this as a Base of Operations we can generally be found in. You're welcome through anytime - or to stay as long as you like - whether you take the mission or not. If you ask me, one station is just like them all - floating prisons. The real galaxy is out there, not in here. I recommend you take the chance Commander Rex is giving you. You might die, true, but at least you get the chance to pilot that death.” Maddog finished, with an even, careful tone.
Maddog and Rex then left, leaving Nate to think it over for the day.
“You think you could’ve left out the lecture back there? He needs to cut loose and have fun!” Rex scowled Maddog once out of earshot of the room. They walked out of the medbay and walked the corridor along the outside of the station, where the gravity was strongest. They instinctively shifted their weight as they met a corner of the station’s octahedral shape and continued walking up the rest of the station. They came to open the foyer with a large window next to the express lifts to the concourse.
“Sometimes Rex, men just need the stern and honest truth of the matter, all the options laid out in front of them. Even if they think it is unfair or unjust.” Maddog affirmed, as they walked to the large window.
“It seems like the Imp is just wired in directly to the personality with ya, huh?” Rex grinned, giving Maddog the same Federal sarcastic chuckle he’d heard for hours on comms on their hastily planned “adventures” - as Rex would often put it. Maddog's mind thought back to the one time they went out to the Crab Pulsar. A trip they made about 4 years ago. Maddog’s stern face soon broke the silence and they both laughed at the shit they always seemed to get themselves into over the years - and the wisdom to laugh at it.
Both gazed out into the faintly spinning void, with each rotating motion the view filled with inky blackness fading through to a cosmic cloud of light from the span of the galaxy. Oranges and reds flowing seamlessly into a blue outline of the planet below.
"Nature in all its chaos...", whispered Rex, then a a few moments later “And chaos makes me very thirsty”, giving Maddog the stare he already knew was coming. The view went back to blackness once again and they left the window for the station's bar, retiring to their ship quarters after a few drinks to get some much needed rest.
---
Back in the medbay, Nate fell back into his thoughts after they left, trying to play out the options of this crazy ride he found himself on now. “A hundred light years…”, the thought echoed in his mind. Nate was at his metal limit. The people he hated most in this galaxy have shown him more humanity than anyone he’d ever known. His mind swirled, a whirlpool of thoughts that seemed to go on forever. The hum of the station around him soon faded until Nate squeezed his eyes shut so tight, he quietly faded off to sleep.
An automated voice chimed through the medbay, announcing the time and date along with the rest of the typical morning Galnet updates. Nate had his answer for Maddog and Rex.“What the hell”, was the only logical reason his mind came to his conclusion to say yes. With 20 million credits, Nate could pay off his debts and be free, that was the obvious thought. He couldn't shake the feeling what he was doing was not just a bad idea, but against everything he thought he knew. There had to be a catch, there always was - but he figured the price of his freedom was at least worth the attempt. The feeling came from deep in his core and coursed down his spine, gnawing at his mind. Its source, where it was the most intense - also where his back had broken in half so many years ago. It always seemed to flare up when in these situations. “Man, I could use a drink.”, Nate thought as he took a deep sign as he realized this was the longest in months he had gone without liquor. His mind was healthy and clear this time. He swallowed the lump of emotions into his stomach. And finally walked over to the address they had sent to his personal dataslate. He wore a plain, solid colored flight suit, an almost skin tight leotard that almost made Nate feel embarrassed for needing to borrow, he decided to ignore that feeling this time, stuffing it down just like the rest of the emotions. Just as Nate arrived, Rex and Maddog were already right outside the lifts to head to the concourse, a few floors above the interior sleeping quarters.
“Well look who got ‘em some beauty sleep and is back to the land of the livin’”, Rex shouted as Nate walked up.
“I’m in.” Nate said his jaw tightened and he held out his hand as a gesture of a contract sealed.
“Are you sure…”, Maddog asked humbly, but seeing the glint of determination in the kid’s eyes made him second guess his next words. He paused before he began, keeping his eyes locked on Nate. A few second stare into Nate’s hard hazel eyes were all the answer he needed.
“Well let's get you suited up. I’ll call my techs to get you fitted with some Imperial upgraded exo-suits we found just floating in space, it was old Federal military tech from decades ago. I had my techs repurpose it for lower back injuries found in some mining operations. After the techs release you and approve you to fly well be off. You're docked in pad 2.”, Maddog finished, waiting for a reaction.
Nate simply nodded and left, the tense air leaving with him. Nate, still with no idea what he was doing, rode the lift about halfway up the interior of the station from where his ship would be docked. The techs worked with speed and accuracy, taking 3D scans of Nate’s lower torso. The exosuit was less of a suit but more of an exo-skin. It was razor thin and had the Imperial white hue that was almost reflective. The suit was to be worn directly on the user's skin. The techs informed Nate that while permanent, the pants-like exo-skin would tap directly into his spinal cord where the separation happened. The suit will automatically tap into the nerve receptors in between the vertebrae and interface all neural input. Not only does it amplify the signal, but it uses organic carbon nanofibers to form a custom fit around the user's legs, mirroring the push and pull motion of his own. The design even allowed for aging of the user and adapted accordingly due to Progenitor Cell technology. The one custom adjustment for this model was a built in micro-capillary system that would push blood to his heart and mind when more than 1G was detected. The whole system was powered by hydrogen, the easiest fuel to get in the galaxy - same as each and every ship too. Nate scanned his thumb to a dataslate to complete the consent and was instantly put to sleep for the operation. A few hours later, Nate woke up naked with a strange tingle in his right big toe. He hadn’t felt his right leg since the accident. He looked down, and saw from the waist down to his individual toes was slightly irregular imperial white shine. He didn't really care, his legs were scarred from wounds that didn't heal just quite right. But Nate could feel his toes. He could feel everything now, from the fibers of the bedsheet to the cold railing his toe rubbed against. The doctors discharged him after some hurried workouts meant to ease Nate into the exoskins mechanics and do final adjustments. Nate didn't need it though. He quickly dawned his flight suit and ran to the lifts, feeling his legs get lighter and lighter as the suit adjusted to his thoughts for the first time as his excitement settled for a moment. He felt the course flightsuit rubbing against his legs - “haven't felt that in some years” - he thought, a small grin forming.
A month later Nate stepped out onto Pad 2 from the lift bays, he at first noticed how much bigger the bays felt now. As his gaze took in the hissing pipe and stacked cargo containers in the corners, Nate then saw it. A new model sidewinder -
Rex had sent the wing invite to Nate. Within seconds, Rex and Maddog’s names and ship indicators flashed in the holo view control hud, right above his sightline. A secure comms channel instantly linked all 3 ships. Next, a message appeared in Nate's transactions panel for the acceptance of a shared cargo mission and all the contract details. He accepted and initiated the mechanical autoloader that filled his cargo bay with the mission specific item.
Once loaded down, Nate entered the navigation coordinates into his ship’s computer and hit the launch button. The whole platform shuddered as the platform that his ship clung to raised up and out into the empty center of the station. The huge empty interior that was his relative “up” quickly fell away as he felt the magnetic clamps disengaged from the landing pad, making sure he was clear of the tow strap. As he flew through the warbling force field and entered into space for the first time once again in his new sidewinder loaded to the brim with 16 tons of Prototype Tech he heard the silence. The odd lull that he heard right as he left the regulated atmosphere of the station. His hands gripped the flight stick tighter as he entered the eerie silence of cold vacuum mere inches in front of him. He drew in the deepest breaths he had ever taken, filling his lungs with the crisp-oxygen rich recycled air flowing through the cockpit deep into his lungs. He looked out into the vast darkness, peering further than the ships around the station - his mind racing past planet after planet in the system and even further until a chime toned out from his console and a voice fill the air.
“Your clear of the station, commander, fly safe out there” sounded a young imperial female voice, the accent diminished through the electronic noise of the speakers.
Nate let out the breath he had been holding as his focus came back to the moment he was in. His muscles went on auto pilot now, moving before the mind registered a thought. Aligning to the first waypoint felt effortless as he engaged the FSD. Nate felt something akin to static electricity all across his skin. The tingling increased as he watched the loading bar fill his HUD. Nate wet his lips, tasting the iron in his blood. The starfield ahead of the ship began to condense around the speck of light that was the waypoint star. The ship shuddered and for a second Nate’s heart skipped a beat. He was still conscious of this jump. In the gap of a second: Nate, the ship, and all its cargo dropped from all known space and time and punched a hole in reality, seeming to accelerate off into deep space with incredible speed in the trails of light. But this wasn't just regular space, this was witchspace. It was a tunnel, and Nate felt as if he was moving but he could barely move anything on his body.. He saw swirls of color and light that had structure but at the same time seemed to flow like water. The starfield turned and twisted as the waypoint flickered a bit, still just a point of light. Nate firmed up his grip, remembering his training from a lifetime ago. Just as that second came to a close, everything sunk back into normal space just as fast. The light from the star of the first waypoint system filled the cockpit. The rays of new light hitting Nate’s face from a sun he had never known before. Nate marveled to himself on what he had just experienced and seen but didn’t hesitate on his actions. Simultaneously realigning for the next jump, banking around the primary star and activating a discovery scan of the system all in one smooth motion. Once cleared of the sun and the FSD cooldown timer hit zero, Nate charged it up again and prepared to feel wonder and amazement once again and everyday since.
The delivery went off without a hitch, and Nate was instantly a millionaire from his payout. Nate kept communications open with Maddog and Rex for some time. Over the next few months Nate eventually ran enough jobs with them to outfit an Asp Explorer. Through some of the extensive commander networks - Nate was able to engineer his new ship, Sightseer, to push well over 60 Lightyear jumps at a time. One day, Rex met up with Maddog and Nate met down in the bar of the Fabin after a long day of the group bounty hunting around the local Gas Giant in HIP 20277.
“I know that look cowboy - somethin’ on your mind ain’t it?” Rex said as he slumped into a chair around the table where Nate and Maddog were talking about the potential spec upgrades for the Asp.
“I never could get anything past you, you damn Federal spy!” Nate shot back loudly, locking eyes, then cracking a smile and standing to embrace Rex with their now signature handshake. They exchanged the usual verbal abuses that had now become a habit of old friends.
Once they all sat back down, Nate looked up at the station entrance and the faint stars turning beyond the transparent blue hue of the station airlock forcefield.
Nate sighed, “I hate to do this to you guys but I’m leaving soon. Going on a trip of sorts… I feel… closed in again round here and-”
Rex cut him off “Don’t worry about it kid, we’re commanders. We’re prolly bout the only folks in the galaxy that get to go where we want and when. Hell, that's why we bailed you out of that rusty bar in Mawson! Your one of us now, kid and we get how ya feel”
“Every commander paves his own path in this life, it seems that the wheels of time have come for you to go find out what this galaxy entails for you, young Commander Anvar.” Maddog tagged onto Rex’s interruption, nodding in Nate’s direction.
Nate cracked a crooked smile once again and looked back to the station entrance, and beyond. Something called to him out there in the void of space, he felt it, not completely knowing what it was. All he could do now was ride the light and find out.