Winters Wolves (21/12/3304)
21 Dec 2018Archived
Suta 4A300m above the surface
Suta System, Federal Jurisdiction
James finished his whiskey bag with one long sip and tossed it behind him. He watched the folded film as it slowly descended to the ground. The gravity was negligible but did exist so close to the surface. He sighed and turned his attention to the flickering lights of a small base up ahead. "Base" was actually too big of a word to describe what he saw - one building with two silos and some underground facilities. A desolate outpost on a remote planet. Perfect place if somebody wanted to stay out of sight...
He looked at the scanner. Nothing. He flicked the Night Vision mode, a recent addition to all ships registered with the Pilots Federation, and scanned the perimeter. Empty. No defences. And yet, according to Winters Wolves representatives in Kaduvumbaa, this place was a source of coded transmissions sent directly to their enemies.
"Our enemies" - Barrett corrected himself in his thoughts. Yes, he joined the ranks of Winters Wolves - because he owed them big time. After escaping from the hospital and wasting 6 months on a paradise planet in an affair that never had any chance from the very beginning, he gathered his senses and returned to 41 Lambda Hydrae and enlisted. It was in his blood. His father back in Dublin Gateway was the same, and so was his grandfather. This sense of loyalty and commitment to one's word actually brought the latter's demise, but that didn't stop the rest of the family to ingrain into little James' consciousness the important of paying ones debts and keeping promises. So here he was, a recruit - or a pup - with a Federal faction.
He didn't like the rigid structure of the organisation or clear orders what to do and what not to do. Where to trade and which systems to omit, whom to fight with and which missions to take. It wasn't his style, but he had to adopt. On the other hand, everything seemed to work very well with the way it was organised - mostly thanks to the efforts of the Elder Pack Lead, N.R. Crosby. The amount of work this man put into keeping the Wolves work as a well-oiled machine was just insane. James suspected that the man never sleeps, ever watchful and vigilant.
Barrett sighed again and extended landing gear, and then graciously put his Imperial Eagle on the dusty ground. Damn, he missed flying... he didn't realise how until he got back to his pit. He got up from his seat and went to the Scarab hangar. He had a job to do. And he was determined to do it well.
(OOC - if you want to learn what happened more than 6 months before, here is a summary of a long playing session involving many great commanders).