Back in Black
05 May 2021Shredwick
5.5.07I thought I was retired. It's been a few years since I sold my ship for nearly double what it was worth at the time. I thought I could live a life of ease off of my pension from the Federation safely inside the bubble, perhaps open up a pub on a station somewhere and coast for the rest of my life. However, like in most things, security is never guaranteed. Damn NMLA.
The attacks affected some database somewhere, and with it, all records of my past were gone. My rank, my achievements, but most importantly, my pension. I still had enough to get by for a while, and if I wanted to coast the bar life, I could, though I'd have to make some cuts. What really got to me was how it felt like the years of trading, mining, smuggling, bounty hunting, exploring, and freelancing seemed like it was all for nothing. I took great pride in the three Elite badges I'd earned, and, while yes, to me it still mattered, I had no intention of ever running the risk of being called a fake.
So now here I sit at the cockpit of a MKIII yet again, and, I won't lie, it felt pretty good to be back in the black. It felt more like home than the home I'd been living in for the past few years. The controls came back to me as though my last flight had been the day prior, and before I knew it, I was hauling tons of cargo all throughout the bubble, seeing both familiar and new planets and stations alike.
I don't think I'll ever work for the Federation again, but don't tell them I said so. The Alliance seems appealing, however. I've also met up with a few boys from a squadron called "The Fatherhood", they seem fine, if a bit unfocused. They have promise. I think I can fly with them for a while.
The easiest way to make money is hauling goods, and I need it to upgrade my MKIII to where I'll need it for combat. I feel like things are worth more now than they were then, with a full cargo hold of just about anything worth upwards of 300,000 credits.
Honestly I've been wondering, these past few years, whether or not it was a good idea to retire. Yes, once you make Elite, there really isn't all that much to do besides the riskier missions, but there's a real sense of accomplishment seeing those three badges on your ship's hull. The bragging rights aren't so bad either. Getting back out there was a pain, since the Pilot's Federation are still making you start out in a cheap little sidewinder. Once I got my Cobra, though, I really felt like I was getting somewhere.
Up until this point, I was still unsure if I should be back out here, until I saw it.
It was a white dwarf star, small, bright, and utterly beautiful. Trails were coming off of its surface, stretching ribbons of light halfway to the orbit of its first planet, like the wings of an angel. I almost didn't realize what I was seeing until I got some distance away and turned back so that the whole scene fit in my window. It was breathtaking, and a striking reminder of what I'd been missing these past few years.
This time, I don't think I'll retire.