CMDR Eldrich Thames Logbook, entry #5, February 14 , 3303
14 Feb 2017Eldrich Thames
Well, it seems Mr. Grom (or at least one of his mid-rank bootlickers at EGP/Kokojina Conservatives) did read my last log entry, or least the short paragraph before the big Gladsden flag at the end of it where I basically promised to pop every single wanted EGP vessel I encountered. Because now they send two agents to scan Greedy Mamba every single time I enter or leave the Ring's NFZ - even having the audacity of flying just a few meters from my canopy while doing so! I feel... honored!
One thing is claiming you'll start a war with someone. Another thing is actually starting it! Now don't get me wrong; I have kept my word and destroyed a few EGP ships (and their associates in neighboring systems), but let's face it: Greedy Mamba has a lot of firepower for being a dedicated trading vessel, but I need a true warship if I want to make any significant dent in Grom's operations.
I'm talking about something Anaconda or 'Vette-level here. The kind of firepower that sadly doesn't come cheap.
As I said previously, I'm not exactly a poor guy, and this past weekend my wealth reached new heights, sitting currently at 435 million Credits. I could buy one of the big ones if I wanted to, but I would need at least twice as much to outfit it with some A-grade gear, not to mention having still enough Creds for at least two rebuys! Better safe than back to a Free-winder, as mom used to say. And then find the time (and materials) to earn the trust of a couple good engineers to buff it to illegally fearsome levels.
So I've come with a nice little plan to get my hands on a fully armed, shiny Federal Corvette: I'm currently a Post Captain in the Federal Navy's reserve corps, and some of my trading contacts in Kokojina have influence over some key Fed Navy bigwigs. They've asked me to handle their top priority deliveries (plus giving them a few thousand Creds in "donations" every now and then) and in return they will do their best to get me an special assignment for the Navy. Do this special mission without botching it and you'll get your Rear Admiral clearance, they said, as well as access to one of the Navy's mothballed 'Vettes for my personal use. Not too shabby!
That's only half the plan tough. The second half involves grinding my ass to dust to get my Elite trader rank and access to the Pilot Federation's exclusive club in Shinrarta. I'm quite close to become a Tycoon, but getting to the final rank will be a huge pain in the rear, to say the least. Once I get my Shinrarta permit, I can get the Corvette and her outfitting with a discount.
The best part of the plan? I'll keep doing trading runs for the Conservatives and other Grom fan clubs around, while boiling one of their ships once in a while so they don't forget about me. And the Credits they give me will contribute to my future Corvette purchase.
In sum: EGP will end up buying a significant part of the ship I'm going to use to pester them! Genius!!
Just to make sure they don't start sending three agents to scan my ship, I'll encrypt this entry.
CMDR Thames signing out!