The Imperial Invite
18 Oct 2022ASmallerMolecule
With a fuel tank half full, my Frame Shift Drive releases a mechanical screech, halting my ship near a star. But when you're an explorer, all you can do is move forward, so I throttle forward right above the star's exclusion zone for a quick refuel. A quick hold on the trigger button actives my system scanner, mapping any stars or closeby planets in the system. The scanner reads nothing, but there are a few planets multiple hundred light seconds away. They might not be very interesting, but I get to put my name on them when I visit Explorer's Anchorage near Sagittarius A*. "Fuel scopping," Archer says, like he always has been on every expidition. My fuel scoop rapidly accerlates the refuling process as I draw nearer to the star's corona. Whenever Im in supercruise, I disable modules that I wont need. I turn off my SRV bay, my shield, my power distributor, and my sensors. I dont need those unless I want to land somewhere. It also decreases my heat generated, so I can stay near stars and refuel longer. Just explorer's advice...I've been jumping across the galaxy for over 3 days. My next desitnation is Sagittarius A*, and Im halfway there from Colonia.
"Fuel scooping complete," Archer affirms. I pull away from the star and prepare to start scanning the bodies in this sytem, but Archer interrupts. "Incoming message."
"Incoming message? How?" I ask. There is nobody to answer but myself, but nobody would contact me out here. I stop what im doing, and check my communications panel. "How'd these people even find me?"
I begin reading the mysterious message.
"Hello, Commander. This is Commander Victor, a member of the Nova Navy."
Nova Navy? What is that? Some cult or whatever?
"I have sent you this message for your efforts. Your bravery, and talent in combat. We've been looking for somebody like you. Created by Hadrian Augustus Duval, the Nova Nava is an Imperial faction dedicated-"
How did they even know about me? Why are they inviting me? I only really fight pirates.
I continue reading this lengthy message. "-to remaking the Empire into something greater and better, and we need you to help us. Nova Navy belives that corruption needs to be rooted out, better treatment for slaves, and more."
So... an invite to an Imperal squadron beliving in rights. This anoynamous contact seems untrustworthy, but I save the message for later when I actually have time to read the rest.