It's All Going To Hell In The Bubble
07 Dec 2020Scubadog
I've gotten to the point where I don't even want to listen to the news coming across the wave anymore. This is really insane. With the Thargoids not only seeming to get more invasive, there are rumors of humans being in cahoots with them to develop weapons. If that wasn't stupid enough, it sure sounds like the Empire and the Feds are on the brink of war....with the Alliance playing some sort of role in all this.I don't think I've ever been so glad I live in Colonia as am I right now. Seriously. I've got almost an entire galaxy between me and all that moronic shenanigans. My fellow Silverbacks are maintaining independency from all that, but the fact is that Arexe is in prime space. The Alliance was just the latest group trying to get their grubby paws on our home system.
The be honest, the bubble is HUGE, so it's hard to say exactly how widespread an inter-power war would be. It's not impossible that Arexe would be largely left alone. But I'm doubting that. Meanwhile, out here in the quiet of the Colonia bubble, I've just been spending a lot of time recently cleaning up around a compromised nav beacon out in the Tenjin system. It's been really profitable, I gotta say. Exhausting...but profitable.
So, I ran myself ragged tonight and decided I didn't want to fly all the way back to the Benzaiten system. I sent a wave out to the Balakor Research station that orbits a nearby ammonia world (yeah, I know, scanning that planet would fetch some high-demand data of late) that I needed to park for the night. Busy place, that. I dropped in close to the station and had to wait while another ship offloaded some cargo.
Took that commander what seemed like forever to take care of business. But, finally, I was given clearance to set down. After I got The Ceti Rebane secured below, I cashed in my bounties and started scoping out the food options. As a research station, Balakor's was extremely sparse. In fact, it's damned tiny. The only place there was to eat was a commissary. There weren't any accommodations, either. Any living space was completely taken up by the scientists, administrators and stations support personnel. Talking with one of the researchers, I found out that only the higher-ups had space to bring some of their family, so for most this was an unaccompanied assignment. This also meant that I'm having to spend the night my ship's stateroom. Which isn't horrible, in spite of the fact that quarters in a Gunship are decidedly utilitarian compared to non-Federation ships. Hells, even the little Sidewinder's quarters have more personality. Of course, I've customized mine as much as I feel I need to. I don't use this thing for leisure trips, after all. So, it makes little sense make huge investments for creature comforts.
I just finished shutting down most of the bridge systems, so I'll be signing off and heading to my room for a bite and some sleep. Sure would be nice if I could shut down the lights in the hangar--the cockpit glass and the portholes amidship only go so opaque.