W.W.J.D.
11 Sep 2020Eagle 5
The general consensus among spacers and far flung adventurers is that there is nothing better than a good catastrophe to score some fantastic gigs. To the eyes of the uninitiated this sounds awfully callous and opportunistic, however... that is only if you consider the monetary aspect of the matter at hand.
The fact is... if you have coolant in your veins and a taste for the void you relish the opportunity to put your skills to the test and emergency SAR ops are exactly the sort of thing to do just that.
Haunted by the memory of the young mother in distress, I was compelled to action... the mere thought of individuals stopping at nothing to achieve political traction, regardless of legitimacy, is beyond repulsive and needs to be dealt with. Make no mistake.... the prospect of watching the Empire implode and see it replaced by a democratic institution is far too tempting of a goal but, as I said before, that cannot be achieved through the blood of the innocent.... like the girl on the Galnet feed.
The pragmatic side of me is also wary of the consequences of a fallen Empire... "Nobles" would rise up as warlords imposing their own vision of rule (and justice) unimpeded by the unifying factor that is the Emperor, crime, famine, disease...
Change would have to be gradual but sweeping.
The Testarossa is not your average Asp Explorer.
The old "Asp in front of things" axiom typically refers to long range exploration missions, the kind that are full of wonder and the comfort of solitude at best, or the company of like minded explorers at worse. Gone are the days of the old Galcop and early Federation Mk.II military combat variants. Over time, the aging design inevitably grew weight and aerodynamic appendages in an effort to position itself as a civilian allrounder with a heavy focus on long range expeditions, rather than an all out assault vessel the way it used to be.
That doesn't mean that the old Asp couldn't still be made to throw a punch... or get out of its own way quickly.
My recent experience in Thargoid space taught me that while survivability was high on the Blackjack's list of party tricks, running costs and manouverability were not... I'd seen things.. stations on fire, their atmospheres ablaze saturated with pure LOX spilling from damaged conduits. They were built to last centuries and as such there was enough fuel for fires to rage on for weeks or months before the superstructure would collapse from heat fatigue. I knew my ship would have to be tough and quick on its feet and the Testarossa had the right stuff to pull it off. Unlike the Lone Star, my other Asp, this one had weapons, reinforcements, shields and a good helping of guardian and human tech to brave most threats.... and when you can't shoot your way out of something you best be ready to outrun whatever that is. With Farseer's crews I was able to up both speed and manouverability while keeping the ship cool... it's the benefit of clean tuning which brings a level of efficiency to the power transfer systems that allows for lower operating temps.... perfect!
Let's add 2 heatsinks and roll.
I admit trading my shielding and (some) weapons for cabins was not what I had in mind when I built this old bird... but it would have to do for this time and call me cliche` or whatever but that's exactly what Jameson would do.