Entry 123 - 06.11.3304 Back in the Deep Black
11 Jun 2018MBaldelli
Current System: Coalsack Dark Region JM-V c2-23After 6 months of recovery, staying in the Bubble and grinding my way through Federal and Imperial ranks for eligibility for the top tier ships that only the affluent and influential could possibly attain -- let alone afford -- I have finally moved my home (once again) somewhere new...
Shinrarta Dezhra.
It's funny, the ground crews at Newholm Station were remarkably warm to the thought that I wouldn't be coming back here ever and seemed to give me a fonder farewell than I thought that I deserved. I guess that they knew that while I had served the Federation as loyally as any enlisted (or commissioned) officer ever could, I was part of the Pilot's Guild and ran by different rules they might never understand.
Coming down the gantry of the Eiriksson, once I had performed the landing on Jameson Memorial, I had instinctively headed in the direction of the Federal Post Offices, only to remember that neither the Federation nor Empire on this station. It was after all, neutral ground and no one other than Pilots and their respective administrations running these facilities.
Stopping at an Info-Kiosk, I searched out the offices for the base commander's office to register my move and all the ships that are registered under my name.
Surprisingly once I inputted that form of inquiry, the kiosk began to automatically begin the necessary processes to register the ship moves, the berths, even assign the dock managers to each of the ships. It even assigned me quarters -- in the residential district of the base -- confirmed the unlock key by fingerprint at the end of the transaction. At the end of the very short process, it inquired whether I still wanted to meet with the Base Commander.
I requested one of the Commander's assistants, which the Info-Kiosk informed me a meeting later in the afternoon.
Getting the directions to my new home, I stopped by the Eiriksson for my duffel bag of clothes and belongings. I locked up the ship as I normally would and put the AI on standby.
My quarters were in one of the towers overlooking the landing bays of Jameson Memorial. I noticed immediately they were more spacious than the billet I was assigned in Janes Horizons and Newholm Station. In fact, there was even more room then the apartment that I owned at home.
There was a pad on the desk, which I picked up and activated. There was a weekly cleaning service along with routine grocery deliveries which I could request special items to be delivered based on schedule or special needs.
I called home to inform my parents I had arrived at Jameson and would be relocating there. I also told them to sell my apartment at home as I wasn't planning on coming back more than just for a visit or a vacation.
While they both attempted to dissuade me from this decision, they gave up rather quickly because they could tell by my stubbornness this wasn't something I was going to change my mind on. They wished me well, asked that I stay in better contact with them and even promised to come visit me some time in the future.
Some hours later, my meeting with the assistant to the Base Commander went surprisingly well. She was a younger woman draping the Aiguillette of Duchess rank within the Empire from her right shoulder appellate, and wearing the pin of service to Aisling Duval even though most of her uniform carried on it the ranks and mission pins of one of the Elite of the Pilot's Federation. She had black hair so dark, it had a blue highlight to it and no greys to be seen and eyes as sharp as an eagle's.
Her name tag read as Masterson.
"Kate Masterson," she said as she extended her hand for a handshake instead of the perfunctional salute I had gotten used to in more military oriented bases.
We went through the usual introductions and pleasantries.
Masterson confirmed that there was positively no need for the formalities of rank or position within the Pilot's Guild nor at this station. That as an Elite -- no matter whether it's one Elite Pin or all Four -- that any pilot that has been invited to the system will be greeted with both the same respect and the same courtesies regardless of active status or retired. Housing can be provided at station or planetside with nominal fees or both at standard charges.
Finally after asking a couple of the more pertinent questions about ship berths, limits as well as the discounts for purchasing at the station -- all of which were either nominal fees, free, or a 10% discount on all purchases -- she informed me that there was no real need for me to meet with any of the staff. Everything can be handled from any of the Info-Kiosks because everyone understood, sometimes pilots value their privacy and seclusions overall.
I smiled, thanked her, shook hands with her once again and headed out and down to the docks to obtain an ETA on when all the ships and equipment would arrive at the station.
I met with the dock workers and various ground crews, introducing myself to the dock managers that I would be closely working with in conjunction with my ships. The managers and their subordinates were as friendly as expected, sometimes even more so than the crews I had been familiar with at Newholm Station.
All ships had been already delivered to Jameson and were all in more-than-expected working condition. I got onboard the Zheng He and began the prepping and planning for the next big trip into the Deep Black: visiting a Wolf-Rayet star, almost 15,000 LY from my current location.
And with that, I blasted off, into the unknown.