The Call of Duty
22 Apr 2020Flambard Quinceteth
Hah! I reckoned right: Farseer found my the Mendicant's name hilarious. I've met a fair few deep space explorers now and, I've gotta say, I like them. There's a certain nihilistic humour to them that I can relate to. Maybe gallows humour is just how folk deal with being alone for a long stretch?I stayed a few days at Farseer Inc., touring the operation and generally just keeping myself occupied while Farseer had a rummage around the Mendicant. Couple of times I tried to head in to the workshop and see what she was up to - thinking maybe I could learn a thing or two - but let me tell you: that woman is a demon when she's working, and the wider berth you can give her, the better. Once she was done, she was back to her usual pleasant self.
We chatted over some more of her home brew, and I told her about my plan to take the Mendicant out into deeper space. She was overall pretty enthusiastic about the plan, but recommended I get in touch with an old friend of hers: Juri Ishmaak. Apparently Juri is the man to beat when it comes to eking out every last whisper from my scanners - certainly a worthwhile endeavour for a budding explorer! I mentioned that I wanted to pay Elvira Martuuk a visit, as well, which got some response from Farseer, make no mistake! "She barely knows more than half of what I do about Frame Shift Drives!" Hah!
Took some coaxing and a hefty bit more drinking, but old Farseer ended up admitting that Martuuk did in fact know her business when it came to getting more from an FSD but, where Felicity specialises in getting them to go farther, Martuuk's area of expertise is in getting them to charge quicker. Given my recent experience with pirates, I reckon being able to get the hell out of dodge more quickly ain't a bad idea. One thing, though: Felicity mentioned if I'm planning on having all these experts making alterations to my ships, then it's going cost me a fortune in parts. She recommended I spend the time upfront getting what materials I need, and I ain't gonna turn away free advice. My plan was to take the Mendicant out and gather resources from some High Grade Emission sites, but that all got a bit waylaid.
See, I was heading out from Farseer Inc. when one of the Commanders from Newton's Gambit got in touch over the subspace network. Apparently some local faction declared war on them out in the Jimara system, and they've been putting out a call for help. Put me in a bit of a bind; I already know first-hand that the bio-flash system works, but I still don't necessarily want to die again. I'm just a damn trucker of a different colour now, warring's not in my nature, and I don't really see myself as the killing type. Hell, I've sold the stock lasers on every ship I've bought so far! I'm hell on wheels if you're a slow moving rock in an asteroid belt, but I'm sure I'll be a sitting duck against combat pilots...
Still. Newton's Gambit did me a good turn, and I don't see how I could live with myself if I didn't repay that. So now I'm at Matthews Station, sitting it my fresh bought Vulture, about to head out to war. I've christened it the Impetuous Gaffe, because it really fucking is...
Flambard out.