Kamitra - the end of a long day
12 Oct 2020Eagle 5
The young deck officer greeted me with a look of pure horror and shock. My quantum entangled journey through the center of a Brown Dwarf left the Liberty looking like the steak you drop through the grille and onto the charcoals. To make a terrible situation even worse stress cracks had formed on several panels giving the ship's charred appearance an even more ominous look to it.
"What the hell happened to you?!?"
> Well you know... it turns out you can be at two places at the same time... but only briefly tho.
"No shit!"
> Yeah we kinda missed a stellar object on system reentry so things got a bit.... heated so if you would....
"Absolutely we'll get a team on it immediately! Do take time to recover and visit some of our recreation facilities before you get back out there.
> Thank you I believe I will.
One last look at the services menu revealed that while Liberty's modules and outer hull had miraculously resisted the shock of reentry through the L type, ship's integrity didn't. This meant I had to overnight at Hammel Terminal as most of the ship's outer panels would have to be systematicaly removed inspected before the worker bees could get in and seal up the damage underneath the Cobra's skin.
Like a real snake this "molting" would allow the ship to continue to operate for decades the way it had already. The modular nature of the design allows for virtually every part to be installed, repaired and overhauled at just about any repair facility across the bubble extending service life practically indefinitely.
It had been a while since I took a good walk.
The last few weeks were very stressful. I practically lived out of the cockpit of the Testarossa and the Liberty so I didn't get much of a chance to stretch my legs. I opted for a short hop on the shuttle to the outside of the docking ring area and from there I'd walk over to my accomodations for the night located between the docks and the habitat ring.
The short drive afforded me with plenty of opportunity to see the station's inner workings. Kamitra was very well known for being one of the prominent tobacco producing systems in the bubble. The Winged Hussars made this one of their protectorates as the cigars produced by facilities throughout the system were in extreme demand all across human space.... and at a particular high profile funeral.
Hammel Terminal looked very much the part. Hydroponic facilities were just about everywhere and tobacco was the only staple here. Production of the plant was so critical that even the docking ring section had to accommodate for it. The air on the platform smelled of ionized hydrogen fuel and tobacco and growing facilities extended between ship docks.
Even the lighting was somehow diffent making the whole place seem like the biggest greenhouse in the universe.
> K-13 this is my spot...
My PF's license unlocked the door to my overnight room. It looked more like a dorm-room than a hotel but there was a place to shower, a sufficiently comfortable looking bed and a small coffee table with small cylinder containing one Kamitran cigar and a note saying "compliments of the house".
>Not bad...
Considering I was almost vaporized ealier today this sounds like a good reason as any to celebrate. From my backpack I slipped one of the bottles of Lavian Brandy I took from one of the crates. I poured myself a double and lit the cigar.
> To Harold the oddball... rest in peace you crazy bastard.
I took one good puff from the cigar and immediately started feeling the rush of the nicotine as it permeated my bloodstream. It felt good... the best I felt in a long while actually. I should have stopped there but decided to chase it with the double brandy.
I could see in the distance the dock where repair work was being carried out on my ship.
> And may the wings of Liberty never lose a feather...
If the cigar did its job by taking the edge off an eventful day, the drink finished it off by taking me off my feet.
I had just enough energy to set the glass down and the stogie in the ashtray.
Then... lights out