[OLD ERA] PERSONAL LOG #13 - 20 AUG 3305
20 Aug 2019Kaparov
Starting DISCOVERY.LOG...Opening telecomms to 4 CAMELOPARDALIS:LOW STATION...
[OK] Telecomms connected to 4 CAMELOPARDALIS:LOW STATION.
Forwarding traffic to BEOWULF:BLACKBOX...
[OK] Connected to BEOWULF:BLACKBOX.
Writing to CMDR.KAPAROV.13...
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This is Commander Kaparov, reporting in today from Low Station. A lot happened while I was gone. According to the squadron, I took off too early; the conflict in 4 Camelo was neck and neck by the sixth day, leaving the Movement to fend for itself without any support. Mick was pissed that I had been gone so long. Took the brunt of the conflict alongside some other Commander, a doctor. A doctor Commander. A doctor Commander with a Federal Corvette under his control. I've... I suppose I've heard stranger things.
The after action reports detail the losing of our blockade over Ibold station and the use of a defensive ring over Laval at the peak of the conflict. It wasn't until Mick undertook some wetwork jobs against ranking members of the Cartel that they were routed; no leadership meant no direction, no direction meant no win. Regardless, I'll need to be more careful next time. I nearly lost us the whole damned war by leaving the system. Emotional mistake. I cannot let that happen again.
...
Industry's booming. High demand for performance enhancers and consumer technology. Narcotics and tobacco. I imagine the station's having a hell of a celebration inside, but I can't bring myself to leave the ship this evening. Morning? My downtime's been spent between the trip to visit dad and the minor outfitting adjustments I made along the way.
For the books, we're computing a thirty-three percent approval rating for the OSLM. That's roughly ten percent higher than it was a week ago during the war, so I imagine the population's riding on the victory high. Good on them. I think I've done the right thing.
...
I didn't visit long with dad. It's rough enough seeing home and knowing that it's not home any longer, yet... yet I know that if push were to come to shove, I could always go back. It's not as though my reputation with the Empire's tarnished, I just... I've changed. I can't agree with how the Empire operates. The Movement, the OSLM? They've petitioned to allow the trade of imperial slaves to stations in the system. They plan to allow the indentured men and women to work alongside the rest of the Movement to earn their freedom. Seems like a fair out to me, for those slaves that are sick of their servitude. Imperial "honor" be damned.
I had asked dad if he had considered moving away from the bubble. Told him a little about the work I had been doing out here. He... he was skeptical, you know, skeptical at best, but I can't blame him. He's nearly thrice my age and still going strong. Worked his way from the bottom of the Imperial rat race to make sure mom and I'd have a place to be. Always. I... respect that. I appreciate it, even if I think I'd rather die than go back.
...
Sometimes it can feel like I'm fighting a losing battle out here. Not against the cartels or nearby anarchy systems; not against fringe theocracies or obscure rim factions, but against the big guys. The Federation and the Empire. Whole damn bubble's still eating out of their palms and I imagine it's just a matter of time until the Feds makes a harder push on the systems I've been working in. For now, the Witchhead Nebula's going to be a real god damn drain on them, but what about in five years? It took less than that to kill all the fucking barnacles in the Pleiades. It's just a matter of time until they run the Witchhead dry.
... on that note, I'll mention that I'm still not so sure about the Thargoids. I've been interdicted a half-dozen times, now, even visited some of the encampments that've gotten hit over the past couple years, and it always seems like the hits result from humanity mucking in someone else's business. Always the corvette or megaship that's been carrying Thargoid candy, you know? Always the colony that's benefited the most from crunching barnacles.
It makes me question the stations that got hit in bubble space. Barely any of them were military installations, far as I can tell. Barely any of them had reason to take a punch. Then why? What am I missing? What are all of us missing? It's right there. It's right fucking there, and we still can't see it.
...
I'll keep thinking on it. I can run an analysis on the remaining stations that are undergoing repair, but a load of them have already been fixed up by now, so there's no pulling a definite thing out of this. Maybe these were just the unfortunate stations to receive the meta alloy treatment before it was common place. Or maybe... ah...
I'll keep it in mind. For another time.
Kaparov out.
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[OK] Written to CMDR.KAPAROV.13.
Disconnecting from BEOWULF:BLACKBOX...
[OK] Disconnected from BEOWULF:BLACKBOX.
[OK] Terminating telecomms connection to 4 CAMELOPARDALIS:LOW STATION...
[OK] Telecomms connection terminated.
Stopping DISCOVERY.LOG...
[OK] Stopped DISCOVERY.LOG.