Log #2: Interdictions, blunders and lessons
14 Dec 2020Immehi
3306.12.14HIP 16914
Darn greedy Imperials. I nearly lost my ship to the bandits, no thanks to their request to source gold to earn my knighthood. So much for the largest cargo ship known to mankind. I often wonder why I pursue this task when Bubble's Depo serves me just fine. Bragging rights? Sense of pride and accomplishment perhaps? Who knows anymore. All I know is I don't leave things halfway, I see my mission to completion.
Like supporting Aisling, delivering her media to various systems (I swore I'd read an artifact saying that this was the norm a millennia ago). What do I even do that for? The weekly pay? With Bubble, I make twice that amount in a night's work. The charismatic shield generator? I'm the first pilot to initiate FSD when I smell danger, I'm no fighter. No, I do these things because I've committed myself to it. So maybe it is that sense of pride and accomplishment after all.
CERONIR
Perhaps the Imperials aren't the only greedy one. I too, am greedy when it comes to taking on missions for my clients. I left my client's base with five missions and I was interdicted three times.
It could be the shifty heavily-scarred man that I dropped off two systems ago, or the corporate secret in my hard drive, it could very well be the pilot I slighted during dinner. Wouldn't it be funny? All that maneuvering simply because I bought the last can of bean soup. Good thing my passengers were none the wiser, sacrificing space for comfort on Abbud was the right choice. Free flowing liquor, lush leather seats and they all forget the view outside.
HIP 16914
I figured it out. It was neither the shady character, nor the scandal, nor the barely edible soup. It was the 10t of gold bricks leftover from my Imperial Knighthood mission. Again, darn greedy imperials.
On a different note, my client's economy is booming and they're looking for pilots to do delivery for them. Normally, I'd stay away from these missions as I park Bubble in a distant, non-imperial controlled system. However, these missions will put me in the imperial's good book faster than the covert data missions could. A cool 2.5 million credit to transfer the monstrosity that is Bubble. Not that long ago, when all I had was little sidey, I'd never imagine I could shell out that much credit to transfer a ship. I'd pilot it myself, jumping 9 Ly at a time.
GABJAUJIS
Who exactly are these aid workers that I'm transporting? There wasn't one, but TWO wings of heavy hitters sent after them. Abbud isn't built for combat, the only reason she even has a shield is to give my passengers some sense of security. My evasion skill is the true shield of this ship. I'm beginning to wonder if this journey within the empire's rank is even worth it.
HIP 16914
Just as I feel more comfortable traversing the vast galaxy, I'm reminded how much of a greenhorn I am. Bubble has arrived, however one thing I didn't take into account is the fact that she's a Type-9 Transporter. She's not welcomed in the smaller outposts, the very same outposts where my clients need to send supply to. Failure builds experience.
Off to my home system to retrofit Worker Bee with cargo racks.
MAL YARR
Switching gears from passenger missions to cargo sure pays off. I'm now 75% of the way to becoming an Imperial Lord. I did run out of time to earn extra credit on my last mission. Not hurting me financially, although my ego is slightly bruised. I take pride in always meeting my customers' demand, barring those ridiculous passenger requests to visit conflict zone. My only consolation is that the last demand was unreasonable. I mean, 5 minutes to cover 1000 ls and land on planetary surface? I might as well jettisoned the cargo from the atmosphere.
VOLCANI
There's no place like home. Another excerpt that I learned from one of the millenia-old artifacts. Can't agree enough with that statement. Today's journey has been filled with interdictions, blunders and lessons. Looks like my standing order has changed as well. It appears that one of our more important clients has requested a long-term engagement. Something to do with mutual benefit or another. This client is also aligned with the Empire, which means that I get to continue my rise within the Empire. I opened this log today being Knighted, I hope to open tomorrow's log being Lord(ed?).
India Mike Mike, signing off.