The Rat in a Viper
09 Jan 2018Kowgan
I know it's a little late to start recording myself in this, but at least I'm doing it now. I was gifted with this little personal audio recorder on the new year by my fellow friend Jimbo, and as such, I thought I'd better give it some good purpose.Well, here's how I got here, then. My name is Kowgan, I'm 26 years old. I was born in Furuhjelm III-674, at Tshang City.
Up until last year, I've been working on my family business, as a luthier. Being the boring person that I am, I always loved the routine of slowly molding and placing pieces together; then, after hours and hours of work, finally experiencing the rewarding feeling of playing the first notes on a freshly crafted instrument. And I would probably and happily do that for the rest of my life.
Fortunately for me, there's no big turn of events or plot twists here. Business are still doing okay, and I still like what I do. But as I grew older, I started slowly developing this curiosity about flying around in ships, getting to know other stations and even systems. Combined with that, I've started hearing stories and seeing more and more ads from the Fuel Rats as the years went by. And that really peeked my curiosity. I was really appreciative on what they did and still do.
One day, 3 years ago, I got some concerning news from Jimbo. I heard he got out of fuel during one of his trips at Alrai Sector LC-V B2-4, and the Fuel Rats immediately came to my mind. To my relief, he told me I could calm down, as he had already contacted them. A few minutes later, they were already at his location, refueling him.
I think that was the crucial moment that made me realize how I care about friendship, and how I'd like to pass it forwards.
I was decided: I would combine business with pleasure, starting to experience the life of a pilot, and having the chance to aid those in need. Plus, despite an initial investiment being necessary, I would hopefully increase my family's income and comfort.
After two years of savings, I managed to join and eventually graduate at the Alliance School of Space Flight. Then, I bought my first ship - a small Sidewinder -, and headed out to space.
It was beautiful! I couldn't believe I was really doing it. When I learnt how it felt to fly freely, I realized I wouldn't change this life for anything.
So we started expanding our family's horizons. It wasn't easy at first, but eventually we managed to get clients at different stations, and just recently we've started having our clients on different systems! It's really exciting times.
Anyway. By the end of the last year, I managed to upgrade ships. I was REALLY in love with this Viper MKIV the moment I saw one landing at Tshang, a long time ago. So I bought one, and I'm happier than I could ever be. This ship has everything I need! The perfect Cargo space, the speed, and I even managed to fit a Fuel Transfer Limpet Controller in it!
So, after reading their New Rat guide over and over and practicing by myself for a drill, last month I finally took the courage to go there and apply to become a volunteer. A Rat.
At first (and so far, this still happens sometimes), they were surprised, and maybe even upset about the fact that I'm Ratting with a Viper. I don't understand why don't they like that. But I really love this ship; I don't feel the need for any other ship at all. So that's what I went for, despite many weird looks.
Anyway, with one or two mistakes here and there, I successfully passed the drill, and got accepted! I am officially a Rat!
I now spend my time between transporting cargo or passengers, helping the local security at relatively safe opportunities, and aiding at rescues with the Rats.
But that's a story for another day. Let me wrap this up, because not only this has gotten too long, but I also have to load up some cargo for delivery.
I can't promise I'll keep recording myself in this. We'll see how it goes. CMDR Kowgan out.
--- End of Log #1 ---