On the road to the Empire
14 Oct 2015Desert Fox CXVII
Commander, I listened to your speech. It was very moving. You're getting quite good at this.Thank you Lisa. Although you can only speak about the "tyrant Archon Delaine" so many times before people stop getting bored. I'll talk about Emperor's Dawn next. That'll get the people's attention. Everyone loves to hate the Dawn.
Very good Commander. Now, perhaps you'd like to finish your log entry?
[There is a sharp exhale, a pause, then the clink of glass and the gurgle of liquid being poured from a bottle]
Is that advisable, Commander?
Lisa, I just spoke in front of 100,000 people, with billions listening on the GalNet. I think I deserve a drink.
[There is a sharp intake of breath]
Wow. Ok, Lisa, start recording please.
At once, Commander
Right. So. I had just purchased a viper. Wonderful little ship. Faster than sin and it could pull ten G turns with it's eyes closed. Only issue was that its mostly a mid range fighter, not made for the type of journey I was planning to make. But I didn't know any better. All of my time behind the stick had been on short range trips; you know, patrolling a system, flying in a fighter screen, going to and from an asteroid belt, the usual. But this journey I was going on was upwards of 150 light years; now I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but I was in a ship with a max ten light year jump range, 4 tons of fuel, and no fuel scoop. And to compound the problem, I still thought taking the economical routes was the best plan.
So there I was, having to plan my stops so I wouldn't run out of fuel in an un-occupied system. It took me weeks. Finally though, I made the last jump into Imperial space. I thought I was home free; I had this huge stupid grin on my face like I had just wont the lottery or something.
That feeling was immediately cut short when I dropped out of supercruise, spinning like a top, with seven angry ISS ships all blowing up my comm unit trying to figure out who the hell I was. Looking back, it's pretty hilarious, but at the time, I was terrified. I had no idea what was going on, I had seven sets of high powered weaponry trained on my tiny ship, and the ISS agents were getting angrier by the second. I mean, now that I know what I know, I understand why they reacted the way they did; a lone combat capable ship crossing the border between the two most hostile factions in the galaxy? Hell if the roles had been reversed, I would have blown that little viper out of the sky. It's easier to explain your reasoning than let a possible terrorist pass unhindered.
That's not to say I don't appreciate the restraint those ISS agents showed; I'm glad they didn't turn me into dust. All I'm saying was that I was suspicious as hell.
Thankfully, I was able to squeak out that I was an Imperial citizen, a vet of the navy, and a Commander in the Pilot's Federation. My ID checked out, and the agents apologized to me; they actually said they were sorry for the inconvenience, and sent me on my way? I had never been apologized to by ISS agents. It was only later that I realized that my Pilot's Fed credentials actual hold a lot of weight with the authorities, even if I was just some greenhorn from Azrael.
So there I was, back in Imperial space. And what did I do? I flew right back home to see my parents. I suppose I wanted to show them that I was doing alright for myself, that I would be ok. And of course, tell them about the adventure I had just been on. My mother almost had an aneurysm when I told her, but my dad got a kick out of it. I could tell they were both proud of me though; later that day I took them on a little tour of the surrounding systems in the viper. Its not a huge ship, but there was enough room for them to stand behind my chair while I flew. I think they liked it, even though my mother said my flying was reckless.
The next day I set off, promising to visit whenever I was in the sector. I didn't really know where I was going, or what I'd be doing, but somehow, I knew it would all work out.
It most certainly did, Commander
Yeah... It did, didn't it? Not really at first though. I still didn't know what the hell I was doing. I kept taking courier runs and cargo missions in my viper. Doesn't make much sense does it? Eventually I figured out that my ship was a dedicated fighter, and since I had prior experience as a fighter pilot, the only logical progression was to become some sort of bounty hunter or mercenary. The only issue was that to land the really good mercenary contracts, you needed to build a reputation as a combat pilot. The only way to do that is to do something we like to call "freelance reaping."
I found out about this concept in a pub commiserating my failure to find work; to pilots were sitting at the bar, bragging about all the money they were making hunting pirates near extraction sites. I couldn't believe this idea never occurred to me; my father always said that he stayed away from the marked sites because they attracted too many pilots looking to make a quick score. A miner's nightmare turned into a bounty hunter's wet dream. I payed my tab and sprinted back to my ship, ready to find the closest asteroid belt.
It wasn't long before the money started rolling in. I made my first million within two weeks, and the more money I made, the more I could upgrade my ship. The more I upgraded my ship, the bigger targets I could take on.
And then... the Emperor was murdered. On the day of his wedding to Florence Lavigny, no less. Now, I had always been a supporter of the Lavigny family; I grew up in their space, I payed my taxes to them, and they kept my home peaceful and prosperous. Like any good citizen, I was outraged at the Emperor's murder, but what made everything worse was that I knew, like everyone else living within Lavigny borders, that whoever killed the Emperor also had something out for the Lavigny family. This couldn't stand! This was an affront to every person who held the Emperor dear! I couldn't just sit by, making my money while the Empire was brought down around my ears. I had to do something.
But what could I do? I wasn't in the navy anymore, I wasn't a political figure, I didn't have vast stores of money that I could loan to the government. I was just some nobody bounty hunter blasting strung out pirates into dust.
So I resigned myself, thinking there was nothing I could do, telling myself that the situation would resolve itself eventually. But then, one day while I was flipping through the channels looking for something to keep me entertained, I saw Commander Corrigendum on GalNet. He spoke about the virtues of the Empire, about how we are only strong when we band together, about how we will stamp out tyrants and despots. But he wasn't speaking from the safety of the core world; no, he was in the thick of combat, fighting on the front lines of the Pegassi pirate war. He was doing something great for not just the Empire, but for the Lavigny family. He was one of the first Independent pilots to sign up with Lavigny's Legion, which had been the private guard of the Lavigny family for nigh on a thousand years.
Everyone knew about the Legion, about their heroic exploits in the first war with the Federation, and how they had almost been annihilated and never reconstituted. Apparently though, following the assassination of the Emperor, Senator Arissa Lavigny-Duval had given the order for the Legion to be reformed, and cleared the enlistment of independent pilots.
Finally, I knew what I had to do. I would join the Legion, and bring justice and order to the Empire.
It comes naturally to you, doesn't it?
[A pause]
What do you mean?
The speeches. You don't have to try to write them. They just come naturally to you.
I mean... I suppose...
Commander. Listen to what you just said. That was a speech. You really do believe in what you're doing, don't you?
[Another pause]
Yeah, I really do.