The end of an era - and towards new Horizons
15 Jul 2017FalconFly
I'm sitting on the Pad. I've planned everything. What could go wrong?...alot.
Almost 2 years I've worked for Aide Selene Gruber. HIP 61061 for Equality. Damn long time.
I know every Planet, every single Moon, every single Faction and documented Volcanism on almost every Planet in the area that had any to offer.
I know that neighbourhood like the Cockpits of my very own Ships.
And now I'm leaving it all behind. The time had come. Fate really has a weird way of pushing life into new directions...
But I'm not leaving behind any loose ends. I never do.
Waypoints have been carefully chosen, the first Ships are ready. Hell I thought I was done with Engineers. And hell... was I wrong.
Compared to where I'm going, those 1000LY round-robin trips just to see Professor Palin's weird smile now seem like a trip into the local bar.
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Waypoint 22.
21999 Light Years. Glad it isn't a full 22000, that could have pushed me over the edge
Colonia...
I have doubts, but then - when was I ever really fully certain? Looking back, most things I've done weren't fully planned out at the start.
It all came together over time. Always has.
Fernanda Gruber. Selene's daughter. She's onboard and waiting for Departure - she's my Crew.
No Neutron Jumps, so much is for sure. They're there and could accelerate things quite a bit. But I don't want to. Not with her onboard.
Her mother didn't comment on my decision. Neither did Ferdie (she hates it when I call her that).
I don't know if she sees a better future for her daugher in Colonia... or if she's worried about the recently re-emerged Thargoids.
Selene herself can't leave and she knows it. She's managing 29 Systems. Whatever fate awaits, I got a feeling that she has accepted it.
Knowing her daughter safe might help to ease her mind. I don't know... she won't talk about it.
But she knows something is coming since a long time. Many feel it - but she seems to know. Something bad. Real bad, even by fringe Standards.
I've been to one of these places. Now I'm just a Commander of the Pilots Federation... but to me these places seemed like an eerie calm before a cold storm.
Either way, I'll get her daugher to Colonia sound and safe. We've been through tough situations together and she always stayed on my side, never let me down.
So I won't let her down either.
She's earned nearly 400 Million while in my service but still sticks around. I've grown attached to that kid. She's a damn fine Crew Member to have around.
I didn't tell her... but I built the Aurora only for this single purpose. To get her out of here and into a better place.
Fully Mil-Grade, heavily Engineered, fully Weaponized, Combat- and MultiRole-capable.
Redundant SRVs, Redundant Large AFMUs, SLF and even Mining Lasers. She's got it all, the best kit Credits could buy.
That cost me a few Credits and what felt like a damn Type-9 full of Engineer Materials, I didn't care.
And the procedures are clear... No fooling around over High-G Planets , strict discipline, no unneeded risks.
I'm looking at the Cartographics Data and - to be honest - for the first time I'm a little bit scared.
I've plotted the Course through Sectors and into Systems I've never even heard of. One Waypoint every 1000LY. And the next. And the next.
Being an old Hutton Mug runner, I've done plenty of what most Pilots would call "insanity runs", but this clearly takes it to a new level.
This one won't be done in 85 Minutes.
To make things worse, I crunched the numbers on my Finances.
No matter how I put it... Despite being a Billionaire, hauling that Fleet over via Transfer is impossible. I simply don't have 6 Billion Credits to spare.
So here's me feeling "wealthy - but still poor".
That'll be more than 1 trip then. Upto 10 trips it could be. My only hope is that each trip nets me sufficient Cash to cut down on a few. Fingers crossed.
Until that is done, the remaining Fleet will have to rely on the safety of this Ocellus Starport in a High Security System.
That thing has more firepower than all of the dreaded FNS Battlecruisers I've sent back to where the sun don't shine combined - and that'll have to do.
Good thing is, that I'll at least have a Point of Contact at Colonia.
Someone who knows the area and many of its Pilots in and out. And arguably, someone who's a far better Explorer than I'll ever be. Fine chap.
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One last Detail I didn't forget. Space Madness. I've experienced it 1st hand and read more than enough reports from other Pilots who were less fortunate.
Meet : Wilson, my silent companion in the Cockpit.
This little one shall remind me where I came from and where I'll need to go. Help me stay focused.
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New Horizons await... Unknown, distant. But I shall not fear.
New Horizons await... Unknown, distant. But I shall not fear.