CMDR Eldrich Thames Logbook, entry #10, March 03, 3303
03 Mar 2017Eldrich Thames
The last three days I've worked Greedy Mamba and myself really hard, hauling medical supplies to Smith Exchange, and hauling what little the station's market was providing at the time to wherever Algreit Blue Comms wanted me to take it. They also had me deliver lots of requests for aid to all Federation and independent organizations in the sector. I was interdicted frequently by "rogue" Nationals of Algreit ships during those runs, in a desperate bid to prevent the outbreak they caused from being contained. A few of them met their demise at my hands.
Despite the Nat's best - or worst - efforts, and whatever off-the-record help EGP was willing to provide them, it all ended up being fruitless. Fortunately for the people of Panmore the bio-weapon used was an old strain of a relatively common virus, acquired by the Nats through the black market. Pretty soon the antidote for it was found, and it was dispersed through the planet's atmosphere. Thus the worst part of the situation was finally getting under control. The medicines brought into Smith Exchange were promptly distributed among the planet's population, saving a lot of lives. Still there were several thousands of casualties.
Once the outbreak was under control, ABC switched its relief operations from medicines to farming equipment. It was imperative to restart Panmore's production as soon as possible. Me and hundreds of pilots did our part, bringing in tons of gear and other supplies (and a lot of biowaste too!). ABC's technicians worked around-the-clock, and soon Smith Exchange's market was restocked with the standard agricultural fare.
Back to business as usual, in record time. And I'm proud of doing my part to help my people move past this rough patch. I earned my fair share of Creds for that too, but I would've done it anyway even if it were for free. Home always comes first!
With the money I've saved up during these last days I finally have enough to finish Gipsy Danger's outfitting. So I returned to Ali Ring to prep for the trip to Coke Dock. But his time I didn't go there alone...
Lara Jules - or rather Jules Lara, as she insists on using her family name first; I suppose has something to do with her Imperial upbringing and all that - is 28 years old, and started flying when she was just 16. Earned her PF license at 18, and has since then made a name for herself as a formidable combat pilot. She has worked mostly as a bounty hunter; her Fer-de-Lance was a force to be reckoned with. Three years ago she associated with some fellow hunters to form a group known as the Black Paladins. They had a few successful contracts, until a job went terribly bad and most of the Paladins were killed. Jules' FDL was destroyed, but she managed to eject on time. She and another guy were the only survivors. After paying the contract abandonment clause fees, she ended up broke, and had to take any gig she could find just to make ends meet. She ended up in Ali Ring hoping to land a job as security pilot for one of the local corps.
While being born in an independent system thirty-five years ago, Khalia Davis was forced to serve for six years in the Imperial Navy's Engineering Corps under a slavery contract - when asked the reasons she pushed aside the issue, saying she will tell me when the time is right for that. She has a solid background in weapons systems, and knows exactly how many nuts and bolts a Majestic-class Interdictor has. While it was a satisfying job, Khalia soon discovered an interest in flying. She earned her pilot wings, and while she doesn't have much combat experience, she knows a lot about speed flying. As soon as her contract was fulfilled she left the Imperial Navy to seek her true destiny - which might or might not have to do with why she ended up being an Imperial slave in the first place.
Leland McMillan is the least experienced pilot of the three, despite being the oldest at 39. While he comes from a family with a long-standing spaceflight tradition, he decided to settle in Reorte, his home system, to work as a miner. Everything was fine with his life until two years ago when his wife simply decided to leave him for no apparent reason - Leland says everything seemed great until that day. Interestingly enough, they are still technically married, and he hasn't heard anything from her since that day. He was naturally devastated by this, so much that he decided to leave Reorte for good. Sold everything he had to buy an Eagle, and learned to fly her the hard way. Turns out his family's legacy still runs through his veins, and made a bit of a name as a racing pilot. His greatest racing achievement so far is ending within the top 250 of last year's St. Valentine's Regatta - a race Khalia also participated in, though she ended up in the 934th place.
These three disparate guys, hailing from across the Bubble, with really interesting backgrounds, but above all sharing a common thirst for adventure, are now part of Eldrich Thames' crew. I'm sure we will become more than just four people living in the same ship in time. More than just a good team: a family.
As soon as we arrived at Coke Dock we headed to the drydock where Gipsy Danger was still waiting for me... I mean, us - gotta get used to that fast! My new friends were impressed by it - Leland the most. He was eager to try one of the two F63's sitting inside its launch bay. I also equipped her with a vehicle bay big enough for two SRVs, but I decided to buy a single Scarab, hoping to fill the other slot with another type of SRV, perhaps a combat-oriented model, as soon as they become available. She also has a cargo hold big enough for 32 standard cargo canisters.
While my crew will serve primarily as pilots for the twin Condors, I didn't want them to simply sit there twiddling their thumbs while we were out of combat - that would be a gross waste of their talents. So I gave them official positions in my ship: Jules will serve as my XO, since she's the most experienced of the three. Khalia's experience with weapons made her an obvious choice for the Gunnery role, while also having priority access to the Condors. And while Leland has no formal training in ship systems, he knows his way around them. For now he will serve as our main Engineer.
After buying the pending modules and ending with a little more than 90 million Creds - still enough for three rebuys, just in case - I ordered my team to prep Gipsy Danger for departure while I made arrangements to have Greedy Mamba transported back to Kokojina. By the time I returned to the bridge everything was ready for departure.
I took my seat, the one reserved for the helmsman, right in the center of the bridge, and as I excitedly put my hands around the throttle and the stick, I said:
"status report."
"Engineering's A-O-K, Commander!", reported Leland from the Engine Room.
"Weapons and shields operating at full capacity.", reported Khalia from the Gunner's seat, also on the bridge, but on the port side.
"All secondary systems operational.", said Jules, sitting in the XO's chair, located to the right and slightly behind the pilot's. "Ready to depart on your command."
"Let's punch it then!", I gleefully said as I hit the "Launch" button in the holo-display in front of me.
The elevator descended, and the platform our ship was sitting started to move forward. Jules turned the headlights on as Gipsy Danger emerged from the hangar pit to the doking bay above. As soon as the platform was secured station traffic control released the clamps, and the 'vette started to slowly float up. I gently applied a bit of upward thrust, gaining altitude. As we aligned with the mailslot I used a bit of starboard thrust to roll the ship so it was properly aligned with the exit. I raised the landing gear and pushed the throttle forward. The engines roared and the ship stated to move forward.
"Speed steady at 80.", Jules reported. "Clearing the mailslot now..."
As soon as Gipsy Danger was a couple kilometers from Coke Dock's mailslot I move the throttle full forward. The ship roared loudly and her hull moaned as she gained speed fast.
"Now that's a sexy engine sound!", Leland reported.
"Sure it is.", Khayla chuckled.
As we moved past the 4 kilometer mark, station control reported that we had left the NFZ. One more kilometer and the Mass-lock indicator turned off. I ordered to turn off the headlights and plot a course to Kokojina.
"Flight route plotted. 12 jumps to reach our destination.", Jules informed.
"Ready to enter witchspace at your command.", Leland confirmed.
I activated the frameshit drive, and the charge indicator started to fill up. As it spooled up, the drive started to hum louder. Once it was fully charged it started to tear the spacetime right in front of us, and as a flash of light engulfed us, Gipsy Danger disappeared from Coke Dock's scanners, leaving only a faint wake behind her.
CMDR Thames signing out!