Log #011: Pushing Limits, Chasing Rewards
17 Nov 2024Bobby Brightside
(The audio begins with a low hum of ship systems, followed by a quiet exhale from Bobby. His voice comes through steady but tinged with fatigue.)Bobby (grizzled, reflective):
Commander Bobby Brightside here. Another day, another set of tasks checked off the list. Let’s get into it.
Finished up my exobiology scans today. I’ll be honest—snooze-worthy work, but the credits don’t lie. Couldn’t track down one species—Frutexa Acus. Still, what I managed to gather adds up to 33 million credits. Not bad for a few hours of trudging around alien landscapes.
Ran a few more trips between Ray Gateway and Jameson’s crash site. It’s been a grind, but the payoff was worth it. Traded enough data to finally have what I need to engineer The Red Razor. At least, almost everything. Stopped by the material trader to square away the manufactured mats. All that’s left now are five Pharmaceutical Isolators and a heap of raw materials.
[Beat]
When I got back to Shajn Market, I got cornered by the Emperor’s power contact, Royal Cole. She wasn’t thrilled with my recent lack of contribution to the cause. Gave me a proper dressing down, reminding me of all the benefits of sticking with the Emperor. Fair enough—she’s not wrong. Figured I’d do something about it.
Outfitted The Wanderer for salvage and rescue work and set out to gain some merits. Visited a couple of systems, rescued eight escape pods, and even picked up some Imperial Shielding—exactly what I needed to trade for those last Pharmaceutical Isolators. Quick stop at the material trader, and now all I need are those raw mats to start the upgrades.
[Transition Sound: Thrusters Firing]
Next, I headed to the Triton system for more rescue work. Picked up another four escape pods. The local power contact, Alden Richards, told me I was just one step away from unlocking new objectives—selling rare goods in an acquisition system. Simple enough.
Picked up some Duradrives at Cowper Dock in the Anima system and sold them in LPM 229. That wrapped up my objectives for the Emperor’s power play team. Got a message saying I’d reached Level 2 membership. Means I’ll now get a 20% discount on ship rebuys in Imperial territory—a nice perk, but I’d rather not need it.
To boost my influence further, I sold some cartographic data to the Chapterhouse of Inquisition in Hisaaka. Should mean better payouts on missions next time I stop by Shajn Market.
[Beat]
When I docked back at Shajn Market, Governor Peck was waiting for me with an Imperial Navy Strike Contract. That was music to my ears. Building rep with the Navy as an independent pilot can only open more doors down the line.
Jumped into The Red Razor and headed to Calennero to hunt down the pirate Morgb. Didn’t take long for Morgb to try and interdict me. As soon as we dropped out of hyperspace, he bolted. But running won’t save you when you’ve got The Red Razor on your tail. My beam laser stripped his shields, and my multicannons finished the job. Quick, clean, efficient.
Handed in the mission and got the word—I’m now ranked Outsider with the Imperial Navy. Small step, but it’s progress.
At the bar, I heard about a crashed Anaconda known as “The Bug Killer” in HIP 16613. Supposed to be rich with raw materials, so I plotted a course. Waste of time. The site was cleaned out, and to make it worse, it was too close to Thargoid territory for my liking. Hate that feeling of unease out there.
Last chance for raw materials took me to HIP 36601. Heard the system was crawling with what I needed, but it’s 2,000 light-years away. I’m not one for deep space travel, but I didn’t have a choice. Plotted the route—29 jumps, including using Neutron stars to boost range.
Jumping with Neutron stars is rough. Ship takes a hit every time, and it’s nerve-wracking work. Still, it shaved a lot of time off the trip. When I finally arrived, I found the planets I needed orbiting the third star in the system—150,000 light-seconds away from the entry point. Typical.
Harvested some Grade 4 raw materials from two planets before calling it a day. There’s more to be done tomorrow, but for now, I need some rest.
Commander Bobby Brightside, signing off.
(The audio fades with the faint hiss of life support systems and the sound of Bobby leaning back into his chair.)