The Rake at the Gates of Hell
16 Dec 2017-ry-
I was working on getting my "frell you" money hauling tourists and cops from Allen Hub to Smeaton Orbital in my brand new Python Looks Legit, when I got the news. The Oracle, out in the Pleiades, had been hit hard by the Thargoids. The Pilot's Federation was calling for help from any pilot available.
Now, I don't know what to think of Aegis, honestly. I hadn't been to The Oracle, but I have been to Artemis Lodge, and it seemed a little... fancy. I couldn't help but think maybe all the credits they were spending on spit and polish would have been better spent preparing for what the Thargoids might do.
Still, as the ancient politician said, we have to hang together or we will surely be devoured separately. If you've ever been rescued from a disaster in space, you know how that reprieve feels, and you will jump at the opportunity to pass that feeling on to someone else.
So, I sighed, dropped my last group off at Smeaton, then headed back to Allen Hub where What's That There? was parked. It can't haul as many folks as the Python, but that Asp X has over twice the jump range, which was a factor, seeing as I was heading around 350 LY to Pleiades Sector IR-W d1-55.
I got to the Oracle rescue ship and was glad to see that there was an ample supply of heat sink launchers. I'd heard on the Canonn channel that the temperatures in the Oracle were high and heat tended to build up quickly. There were also plenty of passenger cabins, so I made sure to put everything non-essential into storage and make as much room as I could.
I took a deep breath, and launched for The Oracle. I have to say, I wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted me when I dropped back out of supercruise. The Oracle was wrecked. Fire gouted out of rents in its hull, and about a third of the annular ring was missing. It wasn't clear how much longer the station could hold together.
Flight Control hailed me to tell me that the station was dangerous, and that I shouldn't request docking unless I was there to help evacuate. Normally, that would get a smartass comment, but really, I admired the guy too much for the way he was staying calm under what had to be nearly unbearable pressure. If anyone gets to state the obvious without smartassery in response, it's him. I told him why I was there and he assigned me a landing pad; then I passed through the airlock into Hell.
It was incredibly, insanely hot. My Asp runs on the cool side, but even it was overheating before I reached the pad, so I launched a heat sink. Wow, those things are great! I don't typically run a lot of heat-generating gear, so this was my first experience with them. I had a brief moment of panic when the canopy iced over briefly -- would I be frozen? Nope, but it did get the heat down quickly.
I landed, and checked the passenger terminals. They were choked with people trying to get off the stricken station. I took as many as I could in my Asp (no easy feat given that the computers in the terminals were constantly glitching,) and flew out. I was taking heat damage as I lifted off the pad, so I triggered another heat sink. I was in such a hurry to get out that I missed the airlock and smacked into the station wall. My shields held though, so I thrusted down and through the slot.
The rest of the trip was routine; I unloaded the passengers, fixed the heat damage, replenished my heatsinks, and headed back out.
After a few trips, I realized that I was hardly making a dent, and that I needed to carry a lot more passengers in a run. I looked up the closest shipyard, and headed to Merope to get Looks Legit shipped to Alcazar's Hope. On the way, though, it occurred to me -- it would probably be cheaper to use some of that "frell you" money to buy a Type 7, then sell it when I was done. So that's what I did.
There's not much to say after that. I ran refugees between The Oracle and the rescue ship; eventually the flow of refugees slowed. Once I shoved off from an empty passenger lounge, I began to think about my other obligations. It was time to pass the torch. So sold the Type 7, and made ready to head back toward the bubble.
Checking my logs and manifests, I see that I made a dozen trips into The Oracle, and saved 1125 souls. While I may never feel I have paid off the debt that I owe to my own rescuer from so long ago, it feels good to have paid so many installments.