Chapter 26. On the Way
06 Apr 2021Black Llama
April 5, 3307Eudaemon Anchorage, Rohini system
I finally did it. I'm on the road to Colonia.
The time felt just about right. During March I ran rescue missions and delivered medicines for all three superpowers - out of a sense of duty but also as a kind of tribute for Tania. It's the type of thing she would have done, though I think she would have refused any payment for it (from the Empire, at least). Still, she would have been proud, I hope.
Then, another turn ferrying passengers in Robigo. In Hauser's Reach I overheard a guy talking about making easy millions by patrolling resource extraction sites. The thing was, he said, to pack a Type-10 full of turrets and point defense, plus a fighter bay. Grab some cargo, park in the middle of the extraction site, then pick off the pirates one by one as they try to steal your stuff. I had bought a Type-10 back when Lakon was desperate for cash, but only ever used it to store modules. I decided to give the idea a try: I flew back to Zandu, configured the ship, then off to the extraction sites in the rings of Tao Ti 1. Many factions in the nearby Nandjabinja and Al-Qaum systems were interested in getting rid of the Tao Ti Jet Boys pirates, and paid handsomely for that. I did make a reasonable amount of money (all going to the 'Llama wants a Carrier' benevolent fund), but now the surviving Tao Ti Jet Boys have put a price on my head. Well, some distance from the Bubble may help cool things down, I hope.
To add to that, the Federation has gone full Big Brother mode. I tend to move within Flotta Stellare's space, an independent faction, and I'm still an agent for Sirius Corp, but I do a lot of business in Federal systems and I don't like the idea of being watched too closely. Skinner -who is ex-FIA- says that she kind of expected this, once she knew Archer was elected as VP, but she's surprised at the speed with which the surveillance bill passed through Congress. "It's like they had it prepared beforehand", she said. Ok, if I go away then there's nothing for them to hear, I hope.
So here I am in the Rohini system, about a third of the way out to Colonia. I've modified The Distant Dawn's loadout from its standard exploration configuration, as I'm packing a couple hundred tons of cargo plus other equipment - I intend to pay a visit to all the engineers in the Colonia region, and I followed a famous commander's advice to bring along all the stuff I needed.
As I was preparing to head out I heard the news about the Order of Mudhrid openly declaring for the NMLA and attacking the Empire. As usual, both sides are recruiting mercenary pilots. Normally I try to participate in these events, but I'm getting a bit tired of all this. I decided to sit this one out. In an age of superluminal transport I'm not surprised that out here, seven thousand light years away from the Bubble, people are also commenting on the fighting and following updates. I joined a group of people in the starport's pilot's lounge who were watching Galnet and discussing the events: there I found out that the Neo-Marlinists seem to be losing badly, with the Imperial forces and their supporters outnumbering them five to one.
That does not surprise me at all. What does leave me scratching my head is, what on good old Earth's name is this guy Delacroix thinking? He calls out to "rise against the corrupt Duvals", but who does he expect to follow his lead? The logs from the crashed Valkyrie are now public knowledge, so he's not precisely the Galaxy's most liked man. With the NMLA's indiscriminate terror campaign he's unlikely to find sympathizers anywhere, even among people who dislike the Empire. When Jupiter Rochester went rogue, at least he managed to get the support of many who favor corporate governments. But this? Why stand virtually alone? Galnet claims the campaign will be over in a couple of days. If things continue like this, Delacroix will be defeated, maybe captured; we can expect a very short trial and a very public execution. However, there's the possibility of the strike team that hit Serene Harbour coming to Delacroix's rescue...
I don't know how all this fits within my 'Thargoid connection' theory. I admit I don't have much evidence for it, other than the NMLA's actions harming Humanity as a whole. But apparently some people heard about it, and found it intriguing. There's even one commander who reached out, and asked me to consider if it isn't actually the Corporation's hand behind all this. Could it be? They did give a lot of support to the regular Marlinists. There's a lot of people these days pointing the finger at the Marlinist colonies, accusing them of sympathizing with -or supporting- the NMLA. Certainly the presence of NMLA elements within the new Marlinist government cannot be ruled out.