The Krait, Wings and Other Things
02 Aug 2018Scubadog
Sure, I sound a bit like the proverbial broken record (I had to look up that reference, since records were way before my time), but why am I keeping the Krait? I must be some sort of a masochist. I want so badly to love this ship. The module capacity is decent--one less slot than my Python but one of those slots can carry a fighter (the Python can't). I am very comfortable in the cockpit of the Krait, although it doesn't have the visibility that my Chieftain has. In supercruise the ship handles a lot better than most. But, oh, merciful heavens, when you drop out of supercruise....it handles like walking through tar. And that's with thrusters engineered! True, I only have them tweaked to level 3, but even that should be an improvement. I've really been exercising this ship on successive missions, to include bounty hunting and even some HazRes locations, thinking it's probably me and not the ship. Still not convinced. I think maybe it's time to breakout my Python again and do the same thing and see if m opinion changes.
So, in other news, the wing I official belong to, The Silverbacks, is looking to go legit. I can't really say we've been hiding in the shadows--heck, we're all too old and jaded to give much care to getting notoriety or avoiding it. We're just happy to be doin' good works. We're not out there blazin' any glorious trails, and most in the wing are content to do their thing (as long as Doin' Their Thing doesn't come at the expense of other upstanding citizens), but when the call goes out to help someone, commanders are quick with the "where and when....and who's bringing lunch?" Since I'm a colonial, I don't get to wing up with our commanders much at all, and while I am very proud to call Colonia Dream my home station, I'm curious to see where The Silverbacks will call "home". Since I also support Inara and am an Elite Explorer I made a point of keeping a token ship from my fleet at Citi Gateway and Jameson Memorial, respectively. If The Silverbacks do end up with a permanent home, I may have to make one last trip back to the Core Systems to park a ship there, too. Exciting times!
I'm hearing rumors of another Alliance ship being worked on, but nothing beyond that much info. No word on the size or capabilities. It seems like it may be another in the lineage of the Chieftain and Challenger. I love the Chieftain, but I'm not taking a shine to the Challenger...it just doesn't look right. The rumored name, Crusader, sounds interesting all by itself. I wonder how it will be postured as far as mission types.
In that same vein, there are rumors of a Krait variant called the Phantom. This choice of a name makes me think of a more stealthy ship...something the Krait MkII definitely is not. If this turns out to be a real thing I may end up trading in my MkII for the Phantom. We'll just have to see.
So, I've really been missing being out in the black, having been sidelined for over a week due to something I picked up during my diving excursion on a new earth-like world I found a month ago. Their reef system was gorgeous and unique and I couldn't resist gearing up. I guess I didn't have my exposure suit sealed properly, so some little bugger got under my skin, wreaking havoc with my digestive system. I couldn't keep anything down except water or light juices, and at first I thought something was wrong with the food processor on my ship (yes, I'm talking about my Krait). Turns out I dodged a bullet. I'd contracted a little microbe that was never registered in medical databases, and I was lucky it was nothing fatal. The docs have basically been flushing my system, running all my body fluids through filters to eliminate the threat. While the minor weight loss didn't hurt me none, it's good to be back on solids. They tell me just a few more days and I'll be cleared for general population and I can jump back in the cockpit.
None too soon, either.