Commander's Log: 17 August, 3302: The Start of Something
17 Aug 2016Cartlidge1000
As of today, I have decided to keep a log of events, both minor and major, during my career as a member of the Pilot's Federation. In the time I have spent from my first day as a pilot, to the writing of this log, I have earned the rank of expert (as well as the trading and exploration equivalents), purchased half a dozen ships, and made enough money to start making a name for myself. Most of my funds have been procured from bounties, though sometimes I long for the peaceful career as a merchant.As I write this, I am hunting down a wanted Viper Mk IV. It doesn't take long for the ship's hull to cave under the pressure of my Vulture's guns, and in a few seconds the poor pilot is killed. It is times like these that I start to wonder about the sources of these bounties. Why do some of these ships have bounties like these? For many ships, the obvious answer is the excessive amount of piracy that these ships commit. For them, I only feel pleasure as these pilots are killed in a fiery explosion as I gun them down.
Some ships, however, like this harmless type 7 I am now targeting, seem unusual. When I fire upon them, they seem more terrified than the usual pilot, who often screams, "I'm gonna boil you up!" just before their shields pop. Sometimes these harmless targets have fairly substantial bounties, giving me the impression that there is more to the story than simple smuggling runs. Sometimes I wonder if these targets are merely victims of corrupted governments; governments that use us pilots and bounty hunters to do their dirty work.
It is because of this that I sometimes long for the quieter life of a trader. I could use my asp to carry cargo in relative safety and speed. But then a wanted anaconda shows up, scanning me for cargo, and I feel the adrenaline coursing through my vanes as I dodge the ship's plasma charge. After a few moments of focused fire on the ship's power plant, the pirate is rendered helpless, and I earn a lovely 150k for a minute's work. It is then that I remember why I do this job.