Commander's Personal Entry - November 7th, 3303
07 Nov 2017Orion Starhunter
While it has been a few days since my last entry, there has been quite a bit happening in the Universe as we know it.Let's start off with where the crew and I are...
After purchasing a Beluga Liner, the crew and I began the routine visits to the various Engineers to upgrade the ship to the best of our abilities (and for what materials we had to offer the engineers to make this happen).
Several months ago, we had acquired our permit for the Sirius system, in which our original goal was to contact Marco Qwent for Power Plant and Power Distributor upgrades. What was required was 25 Modular Terminals to seal the deal. Fortunately our good friend Cmdr. Indigowyrd, helped out by running a majority of the missions that rewarded him with these, and then offloading them to us in space, using Collector Limpet Drones to pick up the dumped cargo in space.
Once we did this, we then outfitted the Aurora Sagittarius, Widowmaker, and the Microscopium (Beluga Liner), and followed the good commander to his home system of Avalon.
The Avalon System is controlled by the Empire, of which we need to become a bit more friendly towards. That being said, Avalon is also a place of refuge from the ongoing battle with the Thargoids, which continues to this day. From the sounds of things, there doesn't appear to be any peace in sight.
The crew and I are explorers, not soldiers, and while we still follow the chain of command, I have spent the last few days roaming the decks of our newly acquired ship, The Microscopium (a name chosen by my fiancee and first officer, Trysha Sagittarius). I can't help but notice the fear in the crew's eyes. I have personally had one encounter with the Thargoids in the Pleiades Nebula, and it was one I will never forget.
Being ripped out of witch space during a jump between systems, hearing the computer state that we are having a Frame Shift Drive malfunction, and just spinning to a stop, losing all power, really lets you appreciate how small you are in the universe. Shortly after, you hear a beacon sound, it's soft, non-threatening, and then you see it...
The ship that pulled you out of witch space, now gracefully floats past your cockpit windows and in front of you. It looks like an organic flower, and appears to have some sort of propulsion that we've never seen or encountered. Then it turns 180 degrees and faces your ship, lights up and emits this piercing loud grumble sound, that echos... as if to say, "Now do I have your undivided attention?"
As you sit helpless on the command chair, you soon realize that whatever this thing is going to do, you have no defense for it. No shields, no weapons, no nothing. You are now completely vulnerable. This is followed by a beam that emits from the ship, scanning your ship, you, and everything within it's reach. Once again, you sit and stare, able to do nothing.
Then, just like that, it's all over, the ship moves off and warps out of sight. Your ship powers back up, and you can resume your course to your destination. Like nothing ever happened, but in your head, all you do is replay the event. Ask, why me, what do they want, are the hostile, etc.
This is not something I wish to subject my crew to. We signed on as explorers, and from time to time will engage enemy ships, but nothing of this grand scale. As the commander of the crew, I have to know when we are outmatched, and when we are out of our league. As a commander, I am out of my league, and I cannot ask the rest of my crew to face something we are not even remotely prepared for.
So now, we sit in Avalon, and make it our home for the time being. While I know that members of the crew are mainly from Sol, I can't help but read the reports about the war, and what direction it's heading, only to think Sol will be next.
I have had the Aurora Sagittarius and the Widowmaker transported to the Avalon system as well, just in case we need them.
All in all, things aren't too bad. I hired on a new crew member whom we picked up in the Sirius system. He's a fighter pilot, and we have outfitted the Microscopium with a 6D Fighter bay. This is some protection in the event pirates decide to show up. The ship, like the others, is also armed, but it's mainly a transport ship. Hauling Cargo, people, and that's about it.
As I said before, our reputation with the Empire is considered cordial, but I would like to make them an ally, just like the Federation is at this time.
For now, I'm going to head to the observation deck, get some coffee, and look out at the ships entering and leaving the station. In a large place such as the Universe, it's comforting to know we are among friends...
Commander Orion Starhunter
Commanding Officer
USS Microscopium - YF-103
Beluga Class Liner