Looking for home
11 Mar 2022Fallharbor
*Sounds of equipment being set on the table can be heard as footsteps pace towards and away from the microphone. Finally a chair groans under the weight of someone sitting and thumping of elbows hitting the desk too close to the microphone. There is a sigh...*Personal log for Commander Fallharbor on...
*Various items can heard heard shuffled around the table before continuing*
Ahem, March 11, 3308.
*There is a short pause until a light sob can be heard. Then a sigh*
I didn't think my home was still around. There wasn't any reason to believe it was. When my parents jettisoned my escape pod from Hecate's Rest all I could do is watch as the pirates swarmed and then, just before the pod entered Witch-space, a Thargoid entered the field. I was sure that was the end for everyone. But now, after 20 years I'd heard a rumor of a fleet carrier with the same name and description as my home. For the past year, Jennifer and I have be working as tourist pilots out of Robigo Mines. It was on one of the runs to Sothis that a passenger had mentioned a fleet carrier coming back from the black and causing trouble. A carrier called Hecate's Rest....
Hecate's Rest. My parents had a hand in naming it that. Mother was obsessed with the ancient religions and father obsessed with his study of Witch-space. They thought it a clever name, a resting place from the travel of Witch-space out in the black. Or, a campfire in the void as mother would say. The carrier wasn't theirs but they had enough pull on the board that owned it to name it. By the time I was born on the carrier we were far out away from the bubble and for 12 years it was my home. The only place that felt like home since then. And then, it was gone. Gone to me. I was too young to remember what system it was where it all went down. But back in the bubble there were no records of the carrier, no news about it's attack. I looked for 10 years before giving up.
Until 10 years later, on this random tourist run. Although they don't like it, I asked to speak to the Imperial passenger. Thankfully my reserve navy rank was enough to grant an audience. They said they'd heard of a pirate fleet carrier named Hecate's Rest having returned from the black and was currently stationed somewhere in Tamar. I thanked them for the info and waived their fee in payment for it. They of course scoffed and payed me anyways. Jennifer and I finished a the remaining runs we had that day before returning to The Tavern. If Hecate's Rest is rumored to be controlled by pirates we'll need something better than the Hermes, the passenger cabin filled Python. No, we'll need our trusty old ship.
We docked at The Tavern and had a drink at the bar while we waited for our ship to be brought out from storage. Jennifer put an arm on my shoulder and gave a rare smile, "It'll be ok. We'll get there and survey the area. We'll do whatever needs to be done." It was comforting to know she was coming with. I'm not sure I could handle going with just Freya alone. Not like the cat can't steer the ship but an extra set of human hands I can trust is much more helpful. I smiled back and nodded, extending the drink with a cheer, "Thanks, Jenn. Thanks for sticking around this long with me and Freya." She chuckles and taps her glass to mine. "I'm really here for Freya," she says with a wink before taking the shot. I chuckle along before receiving the message that the ship was ready. We pay up and head over to the hangar. It'd been almost a year since we'd seen the Arbmos. Jennifer even has them give a new paint job. One fit for a king returning home she says. I'm no king though. That carrier wasn't mine or my family's but it was our home. We boarded and took our usual seats. Freyja took her old spot next to the coffee machine. It was comforting to hear the roar of the engines as we took off and boosted away from the The Tavern.
A few hours and the next jump was Tamar. Jennifer squeezed my shoulder and started the FSD. "We'll still have to find it," she says before taking a seat. Freyja had taking a seat on my lap and purred. I'm sure she could sense my anxiety. The jump through Witch-space was no different than any other but to me felt like a lifetime before the star came into view. We flew to the Nav Beacon and as soon as the scan ended it was there. Hecate's Rest VFM-60J. It was still listed as an exploration vessel. My heart felt like it wanted to burst out of my chest. Freya's purring grew stronger. Jennifer set us into super cruise and pointed the ship towards the nav point. She walked over and offered glass of bourbon. "Whatever it is, whoever it is, we'll face this together." I smiled at her and downed the glass as we exited super cruise. There she was, Hecate's Rest. She looked...old and broken but functioning and vibrant, lit by the star. As we inched closer we saw the lasers and the fire fights. She was in trouble...
*The log ends abruptly after a distant knock is heard.*
