Read The Flipping (Operational) Manual - The Cazaril Anniversary - Part 1/2
15 Jan 2022HaypocH
There are times when a Commander would be better off just calling it a day, disabling notifications and sit back in their quarters.This was definitely one such time.
Part 1 - Read The Flipping (Operational) Manual
The Cazaril materialised just above A 2 in Laksak, the jump efficient enough that despite the low orbit planetsiders would have hardly noticed its appearance.
The location had been selected for two reasons. I needed to visit Lei Cheung to make adjustment to the shields of The Auger, the newly operational mining Cutter. And it was a charming view over a terraformed Earth-like world, fitting to celebrate the carrier's first year of operation since its commissioning.
Captain Claudia Warden had been running a tight ship during that time. She had been a far better hire than I could have ever wished for: excellent captain, and a motherly disapproval keeping me in line without overstepping her boundaries.
As I took her call from my quarters, I noticed her rather formal tone. Nervous, as usual when social events were involved.
"Commander, The Cazaril has arrived. A reminder that the festivities will commence in 2 hours sharp. The Officers' chef reminded me that the old earthian dish on the menu is best served straight from the oven, and any delay would impact its quality. I recommend you expedite your errands in the system, or better yet, delay them by a cycle."
"Claudia. Thank you. I understand the chef's concerns but Pizza is just fine reheated the nex.. Was that a loud sigh? I won't be late, don't worry. Lei Cheung is quick and he knows I'm coming."
"Thank you. Captain Warden out."
I grabbed my PDA and keyed-in the automated shipyard to prepare The Auger.
A message prompt showed me a 25 minutes timer counting down. Wait, transfer time? Did we forget to load the ship back on the carrier after its last visit to Jameson? Ok, right. 'I' had forgotten. Well, no undoing this now.
As my trusty DBX The Fixer was ready for take off, I decided to drop by the closest station and see if I could complete a quick mission to busy myself during the wait.
Littlewood Gateway was surprisingly unremarkable. The terminal offered all sorts of quick jobs from the various factions. One mission though seemed generous, offering 5 Operational Manuals, a handy currency I had on my shopping list for a while. Professional Takedown, that should be quick and still give time for shields upgrade and be just fashionably late for the party.
Only as I keyed the destination and launched the DBX out of the mailslot did I notice the not so little distance to the settlement: 342k light seconds.
A chuckle escaped me.
The conversation played in my head, as it had for real on previous occasions.
"No", Claudia would firmly say, she would not be jumping intra-system just so that I could go kill some poor sod. "Target," I would remind her, "it is a contract, not a whim" while knowing full well that she was right. The jump preparations would take as long as the time in supercruise anyway, with the added benefit of making everyone late for the celebrations.
342k light seconds. Yeah, I definitely should have read the fine print.
(Part 2: https://inara.cz/cmdr-logbook/269208/66279/)