Saddling up
29 Sep 2020Eagle 5
Watching The Liberty lose the bright blue camo it sported for years since joining the Canonn to go back to the Navy special requisition 03 (Urban Ops Camo) was... unnerving.
With each misting of the gray/black slop on the Liberty's hull I felt a weird mix of nostalgia and dread.. like a recovering alcoholic tasting the fire of an aged bourbon after years of being sober.
The deck officer called in.. "What'll be boss?"
> Let's make it mean. Combat ranks on both sides, pilot wings and FNS Logos... keep the font legible, I want them to know who hit them.
"You got it boss!"
Hmm.. maybe Slone had a point about me...
The Sarge was right...
The Triangle turned out to be the perfect place to get me started back up on the FNS success ladder.
Ochosi and its neighbors were typical far flung frontier systems that the Federation would colonize in order to push the boundries of the bubble and to gain more territory out and away from the Empire perhaps in an attempt to establish a more defensible area should the permament cold war turn hot. You'd expect a significant investment from Earth but that was never the case. Disease and famine typically plagued these sytems which were often left to themselves to fend off adversities...
...with the help of pilots like me of course.
As it so happened with pockets of civilization the power plays would be laid out early enough to form a clearly defined structure... In this case the not too distant Chapka system, rich in resources, had a strangle hold on Ochosi and its economic output. Several missions would require me to literally rob Paul to pay Peter... I'd be bouncing back and forth between the systems in the triangle carrying logistics and triage data from one system to another in order to give the contestants of this economic struggle just a bit of headway in what ultimately turns out to be a zero sum game.
I spent a week doing this type of work.. opting to be paid in gratitude and engineering materials rather than cold hard cash... it seems even in 3306 cash is king... and the less you take away to those struggling the more grateful they'll be... the better the chances you'll have to get a new commission.
A week is all it took to start getting the more interesting work... Data recovery.
Typically I'd fly down to the surface of a moon following a 30 degree glide descent keeping me about 50 clicks outside the security zone... scanner at full range that way you can spot the edges of the detection grids.. The rest was textbook hit and run via SRV... I always felt my flying was a bit better than average.. but my wheelwork was exemplary. I spent a lot of time behind the wheel before taking up flying so what I learned on the plains of Lave came in handy later on in my career as a.... recovery specialist.
Even by best humanitarian efforts couldn't keep me from lining my pockets. Even opting for gratitude and recommendation you'll still make a lot of money whether you want it or not. Just a few runs slicing terminals here and there I had enough to buy a new Asp.
--- FEDERAL NAVY PRIORITY CHANNEL ONE ---
That didn't take long...
"On your feet Commander.." sneered Slone from his digital soapbox
>It's an SRV sir... not an SRO
"Indeed! you look right at home crawling in the mud."
>No water on this rock.. just silica and dry ice... can't have mud with that but thanks for trying.
I wanted to punch his fucking teeth in so bad.. but kept cool and collected as that pissed him off more.
"It's time for you to stop pretending you give a shit about the Navy and actually do something to prove it.. and it starts by seeing exactly where your loyalties lie Commander"
Slone's face had a hint of perverse contempt to it.. I knew I wasn't going to like this.
"President Hudson will be making a statement with condolences to the imperial family for their loss... as it is customary to do, but he's going to want more boots on the ground to check on the pulse of things within the Empire and we have prime opportunity to do that with Harold the Oddball's funeral."
... I knew it ...
"You're to go back to that podunk planet you're from and pick up a cargo hold full of Brandy for the ceremony. From there you will record, analyze EVERYTHING that's going on in the Baal system, which is your dropoff point for the goods. Find whatever means you can to keep going back and keep a log of what you find. I heard all about your gift... so with your recent actions in Cemiess you should be a welcome sight in Baal... but don't push your luck like a dumbass. You won't get much traction with the Imps going in looking like the Butcher of Lugh so you better get some fresh paint on that junker of yours"
--- END OF LINE ---
He'll get his... Sooner or later and I'll be there to make sure he does.