Homeworld Again
18 Mar 2016TheDarkLord
Leopold Heckmann Ring, Malaikudi. January 3302
The 9th Legion was afforded the system of Malaikudi by then-Emperor Hesketh Duval in 3218. However, as a group, we remained under the radar. Our Special Operations designation was repeatedly re-earned through reigns of successive Emperors, and we worked (and continue to work) tirelessly in support of the Emperor. As such, many of us lived a nomadic life, resident in our ships, visiting stations only to restock, refuel, rearm, and trade. We would buy and sell assets and commodities, doing personal missions on an even more mercenary basis. But we had no political base, nowhere to publicly exist, and nowhere from which we could project power. We needed to become incorporated as a Minor Faction. We needed to move more into the open, if we were going to build a sustainable operation that could start to emulate the larger ‘minor’ factions in the galaxy.
And it would be nice to put down some roots. As a group, it was time to move to the next level.
Bored on his exploration trip, Wing Commander Nathan de Verne completed the reams of documentation that were required to apply for Minor Faction status, sending them over the hyperspace comm link to the powers that be. In January of 3302, The 9th Legion became formally recognised as a minor faction, with Malaikudi as its home system.
I had purposefully remained without any permanent operating base, preferring the freedom of just doing what I felt like, wherever I was at the time. My ships remained stationed in Arissa Lavigny-Duval’s headquarters in Kamadhenu. But with The 9th Legion now incorporated as a faction in Malaikudi, it was time to move there. Weirdly, it felt like a homecoming. Seeing our legion described as the controlling faction of the system made me almost fit to burst with pride.
The process of moving ships was fairly dull, but completed without incident. The last ship to make the journey, the Type-6 transporter “TDL ManicMiner” dropped into dock with 100 tonnes of garrison supplies. It seemed that most of us who were moving ships to Malaikudi had loaded up on these supplies for the journey, and the system was showing a healthy level of fortification.
We had an Inquisitor resident in-system, who’d rented some space for an Officers’ Mess once the announcement had come through. I grabbed a shower and dressed. It was time to go and meet these pilots I’d been flying with for so long. I picked up some snacks and beers and plastic glasses to drink them from, and headed along to our new digs.
When I arrived, I was far from alone, and far from the best-prepared. The place was almost literally overflowing with booze. Some of the truckers in the Legion had brought Kongan ale and Lavian brandy from distant systems. There were temporary trestle-style tables, and someone had brought a hifi. A father and son team liberated some sofas from somewhere, and we all piled in. It was our first real party as a group. For many of us, there were unfamiliar faces that matched voices we knew from the comms. It was a celebration, an outpouring of joy. We had a place we could call home.
So late that it was becoming early, I staggered down to the dock, looking for PhotonFlinger. I needed somewhere to sleep, after all, and I hadn’t sorted out any accommodation. Tomorrow, I’d take some long-term quarters for the first time since my world fell apart in a Coriolis orbiting Leesti.