April 24th 3302. A weekend to forget
24 Apr 2016Torrente
Mundjiga has turned to be a freaking nightmare. Let me elaborate.I was flying the San José, my beautiful Anaconda. On my third trip from a nearby planetary outpost, bringing in Gallium and other metals required for Patreus' new Interdictor Class ship, I close in on the station, Sagan Port, and enter the no-fire zone.
An idiot suicides into me. I was doing more than 100 on the approach, but I almost had the mailbox aligned. The frakker dies so in addition to the fine... Sagan Starport unleashes hell on me. San José, destroyed. Over 7 million losts on the rebuy.
My crew and I manage to get the hell out at the last second. Dreadlocks managed to save his ass by an inch, getting on time to the emergency pod.
The recovery crew got a hold of them, and we got deported in a Hauler to the last destination. Shirley Terminal in Mutujiali.
I said "I'm in for a last drop and then I'll return home to Paras or Kamocan". Big mistake.
This time I managed to come on my own, untimely hours and taking good precaution that no one else was nearby. Traffic was light. And I... was an idiot.
I don't know what got me but I didn't have clearance to get through the mailbox. Capital offence, most Commanders will remember. Now, pulling a Crazy Ivan inside a station is the new definition of suicidal. Even more so when the station crew, high on coffee and other drugs, stressed and on the edge from the recent events (the suicidal pricks have hit plenty of other commanders, I read on the news), start firing at me. Again.
This time I pulled out by the skin of my teeth. 57% on the hull and a bounty on my arse.
But, in retrospective, what happened next pretty sure places me on the "Freaking insane" bunch. I decide "screw it. I have a cargo of Gallium and I'm freaking delivering". I modify the ship registry on the go. Punch in my forged Pilots' Federation license, used by most smugglers with a bit of common sense, and drop out of supercruise again.
"Falcon Delacey Tango Oscar Romeo, welcome. You've entered Imperial Sovereign Territory. Please approach at a safe speed and comply with station regulations".
I reckon everytime I hear that and I'm smuggling in I have to change my pants after docking. I request docking.
"Permission granted. Land on designated pad number 2-5." I go as fast as humanly possible. No need to go on silent running, the security detail is busy scanning a T-7 that appears to be complying with the halt. Not that I would stop to eavesdrop, anyway.
I finally land. Customs officer waiting for me at the hangar with the usual paperwork "Commander... Torquemada? You've got yourself quite a ship. Thank you for contributing to the effort. I see you've encountered pirates?"
-"Yes" I reply "I'll be needin' a repairs crew pronto".
Thank goodness he bought it. But the worst happened when the repairs crew began working on the ship. Don't ask me how, the damages have reached the power plant. One of the two cooling systems was all but gone. The damn ship would have blown on me again had I taken a hyperspace jump, so for once my instincts and stuborness saved my life. The reactor can work, otherwise I wouldn't have made it to the station in one piece, but it's definitely not space capable. At least we're hooked on Station power, so I can stay inside it. I have the repairs as an excuse not to leave the ship.
But basically until the engineers put some damn thermal paste and repair the cooling systems, the San José II, temporarily renamed Can Josephus is grounded, and so am I. I'm not leaving until the ship is space worthy again. And I'm damn sure I'm not leaving it on a system where I'm wanted right now.
I definitely need me a vacation.