A Crisis of Faith
29 Oct 2015Monolith Preacher
I awoke today next to Herschel in the Lagoon Nebula, 5000 light years from Sol. Perhaps I should back up a bit.Last cycle went a bit sideways. Those imperials were so busy parading me around in the Courier they told me I had to buy now I was one of the gentry that I didn't get back home in time to start my duty to the Archon. Beyond that, I missed my wages from Harma as well.
When I accidentally got promoted from an Archling to an Archon Knight a few cycles ago, I told my contact, Springheel Jake, that I wouldn't be able to sustain it forever. "It's fine," he said resignedly "most people don't bother chasing their Lordship once they've got a taste." That being said, I could've hoped for a more graceful demotion.
I checked my status screen on my way back to meet Hammer in HR 571. Seems all my parading around must've gotten back to the Federation, as they'd demoted me from an "ally" to a "friend". Demotions are too much work for the big wigs, so they just act passive aggressive and give you bad contacts for a while. Either way, I was starting to feel snubbed.
Hammer was raving when I met him. He was drunk, as usual, but more than usual. He was raving about his life choices, having a rather early-onset midlife crisis considering he hadn't hit thirty yet. By the time I settled him down, he seemed to remember why he did what he did: he enjoyed the money, and he enjoyed the flash rides that came with it.
Did I even know what I wanted? I was feeling lost. But the Monolith moves in mysterious ways. As I was looking through my messages, I caught wind of The Hutton Truckers Galactic Intrepid Mug Proliferation Project, or GIMPP for short. I've been a Hutton Trucker since the mug run, but life has gotten in the way. I missed the convoy, and what's worse, I missed the rebuttal against CODE. I didn't see them on the way in, and whilst I tend to let pirates be pirates, that specific blockade was unbecoming.
This was an opportunity to finally earn my stripes for the Hutton Truckers, whilst taking a break from the politics of the bubble and undergo the pilgrimage to Sagittarius A* that the Monolith Master foretold I must make. So I took it.
I made my way out via Werber Station, which unfortunately meant I had to forgo the customary last drink as they were out, but they had a magician of a mechanic that managed to fix my Cobra's CMDR log. From there, I headed out towards the Red Spider Nebula for my first night's rest, and The Lagoon Nebula for my second.
Today, I woke up without a direction. I had been trying to plot my own route, but I was finding too many dwarven fields. I decided to pick up the scenic route about 1K into my own route planning. I also decided to test my limits as reparation for being unable to go my own way.
I had slept late. It was already lunchtime. I crossed the Sagittarius Arm to NGC 6537 by tea time. I took it next to a black hole I found there, as I'd never seen one before today. After tea, I crossed the Norma Arm via Daughter's Reach to The Norma Southern Gate, which is where I lay me down to sleep tonight.
By the time I return to the bubble, no doubt my reputation within the political scene will have decreased, but the Monolith shines brightly upon my pilgrimage. A preacher must have his priorities, after all.