A flower in the briar-patch
23 May 2022Willow Thorn
Ok so I’ve been working my ass off to earn enough credits to get a ship like the one I saw owned by that Imp woman with the carrier. After like a million reactor re-starts and a warehouse worth of salvage sold, I got the stacks to dump on the salesman. So I used the info-web to find out where I can get everything I want, but I’m building a like combat ship this time and no one station will sell everything I want. So I was sifting through the stations and I found out some places offer a discount. Its like 15% and when your shelling out for a new ship and headwear, that’s a lot of wedge saved.
Yeah so I found a station that has everything but the plasmas and boosters I want so its time to part with my heard earned.
Its like, I’ve never had this much cash before, and just like handing it over to some dude is heavy you know? But like I want the ship so whatever I guess, so after configuring the Mamba the way I want, I press confirm.
Woah, I own a Mamba! So just like that its mine and like, a team of engineers are down there outfitting her the way I want. Like the salesman wasn’t into it, and just comes up saying like “Oh I see you have some advanced options for you FSD available. Would you like to have that work done while your new ship is being outfitted?”
I’m like hey dude my moment is gone now, but like yeah I guess and next time someone buys a dream ship off you, get with the program and let it linger you know?
So whatever, I got some time to kill while my ship is being outfitted, and I’m like looking into this discount thing. Its all about this Li Yong-Rui guy and some system governing thing. Its like if his people are in charge of the systems economy or something, they give everyone a discount on ships and headwear.
So yeah I’m down with discounts because I’m like gonna be buying things left and right. So I ask around and all I have to do is deliver literature to other systems where Li yong-Rui wants to gain some influence. So after doing a few runs in The Wisp, I come back and my Mamba is ready. All they need now is its name, then I can pick the serial number and I’m good to go.
Ok so that Imp woman with the silver Mamba was right not to let me board her beautiful ship. I come down to the bay and there’s my new ship sitting on the pad without the majestic silver paint or the extra bodywork hers had, and I’m like Oh my god! Have I made a big mistake shelling out all that money? But when I was sitting in the cockpit with my hands on my controls looking out between those sleek mandibles, that dream ship feeling was back. If she had let me sit in the seat weeks ago, I’d not have this feeling now.
But like I’m not done yet. I still need the plasmas and beams and a few utility modules fitted. So Ocotillo’s first flight is going to be to another Li Yong-Rui station, and her first job is cargo running. Not the most dramatic first flight, but I may as well if I’m going to another Li station right.
Oh man the feeling of flying her is sooo different to the Wisp, a Diamondback. And the sounds she makes are so smooth, almost like sexy and like, I may not have that expensive silver paintjob, but oh man watching the light play on the mandibles and the fins on their peek will never get old.
I’ve still got a few million to spend on her but there is no way I regret it, and I got to go back and see the Imperial woman and thank her for like, not letting me see too much of her ship.
Yeah that flight was so good, but now Ocotillo is armed and shielded. Like the idea of getting this bird of paradise was to have something that can deal with the raiders that keep getting in my face when I’m trying to work. So yeah now I got the tools and a thing I could be doing for Li, so I switched out a module for an interdictor. That’s got to be like, a good first step for learning how to pirate the pirates right?
So like, after weeks of work, I got what I wanted, and that’s why I left moms’ company Thorn Reclamations, and dads protection in the first place. Ok so does that mean I’m done? Like, I don’t think so. Talking with other pilots that think differently about making a living amongst the stars has made me realize I need more than like just the tools I can buy, I need the skill to use them.
I also need to check my attitude, especially while I’m still green behind the stick.
Additional
Yeah ok, plasma didn’t work out. Like the first ship I tried to pirate after it they tried to pull me out of super cruise kicked my ass. It was only a Type 6 and I like, couldn’t get a hit in before Ocotillo’s hull was taking a beating. Like it was the same story with the rail guns. I couldn’t even get the shields off an Eagle with them.
So I ask like whats a good choice of weapon for a new pilot and I’m told its multi cannon and laser, so I try them and I’m still losing hull before I manage to make my opponent jump out of there. Like its not until I put on the type that track a target for you before I get somewhere. The auto tracking weapons maybe weak, but at least they hit. Maybe I should give turrets a try next time.
Whatever. I’m glad I saved so much buying from a Li Yong-Rui station because I brought so many weapons before I settled on something I could actually like use.