Part the Second
I emerge into Ensoreus space, and there's nobody - no, hang on, there's a blip at the far edge of the scanner. It's a lone Sidewinder, the Ninth Murder. Not a nice name for a ship. I hunch over the controls, ready for trouble, and approach with caution. But despite the name he seems non-hostile, and a couple of Vipers arrive on routine patrol and put my mind at rest. I catch sight of a few laser flashes in the distance, but nobody seems to be upset out here.
There's plenty traffic: I encounter a Cobra III, the Brass Talisman, and a Python, Samuel's Cantata, along with the Boa The Amethyst Machine. The Ninth Murder and The Amethyst Machine either form or renew a partnership, and close up in formation as I cruise by.
There are some more flickers of laser fire, far ahead, and as I'm waiting for a bit of clear space so I can hit the torus drive, a lone cargo pod drifts by. More cops, more convoys: the Ensoreus market is booming right now, clearly! Any pirate coming here would have to be crazy, or desperate - but obviously, some are. I spy a large asteroid, on a slow tumble, just off-lane. I nose up out of the traffic to give it the once-over: maybe it's a Rock Hermit. I hope so: I've got booze, 13TC of it, and a quick glance at the Ensoreus market prices tells me there's fat profits to be made at the station right now on the shiny things Hermits have for sale: Platinum is Cr79.2 per kilo, Gold a nice round Cr40, and gemstones are Cr22.6 per gram ... my avaricious thoughts are spiked by reality, though: it's just a rock. I burn it for a buck, and fly on, at last free to use the Torus drive.
A white blip sweeps by - let's check that out. Another cargo pod. Someone died near here, most likely, and not too long ago. Uh-oh, ships ahead, a tight little knot of - oh, it's OK, it's a Boa, the Starry Fiesta of Bemaera, and friends. I'm safe, pirates never fly in Boas. I wonder why not? Must be a union thing. Anyway, I'm back in the traffic, and we're angling up, away from the planet and towards Ensoreus's magnificent Dodecahedron station. I overhaul another Boa, the Indigo Bell, and a lone Anaconda, the President of Atriso II. When Anacondas fly unescorted, you know you're in a safe zone. And then I'm inside the station aegis, and signal chatter fills the cockpit. "No worries," someone says, and I nod in agreement. Give me friendly skies, for now at least!
There is a downside, of course: there's a queue at the dock, and the Python Starboat Drowsy is living up to its name in front of me. C'mon, grandma! Shift that old scow! Tss - I've got two kills to my name, me, and to hell with docking protocols: a twist, a shimmy, a dab of thrust - I'm in, and maybe the heart attack will wake the Drowsy's commander up. No problems finding buyers for the cargo: I sell the Food for Cr8 per TC and the Liquor & Wines for Cr37.6 per TC, and suddenly I've got over Cr500! OK, back down to Cr493.6 after refuelling, but it's still enough to afford an upgrade for the Beginner's Luck ... like an Extended Cargo Bay, for example!
I don't, of course. I'm not nuts. Ensoreus is an Industrial planet, and I'm looking to fill up with Computers. At Cr62.8 per TC, I can only afford 7 TCs as it is: no point in spending money on an expanded bay if I can't afford to fill it with anything, is there? So, 7 TCs of Computers. I've got enough for 1 TC of admirably cheap Machinery, at Cr48 per TC ... but I think of the Beginner's Luck, and her one solitary missile. I could, instead, buy another missile. I got lucky on the last run to Isinor, thanks to that one missile I had; two missiles would be twice as lucky. And it would balance out the ship: I think maybe she's just a little side-heavy just now, with only one pylon loaded up. Just a little. OK: I fit another missile, and have Cr24.6 in reserve.
A glance at the local chart tells me I've got two Poor Agricultural systems in range: Isinor, or Ararus. I've never been to Ararus, what's it like? It's a seething Anarchy, is it? Well, let me tell you, I've killed two Sidewinders all by myself, one of them without even using a missile ... Uh-huh. I set the Witchdrive co-ordinates for Isinor again. It might not be the most perfect milk run in the galaxy, but it's the best I'm likely to find right now.
mn thing wouldn't die! After something like six attempts at whittling down all his/her wingmen I could get as far as sparks occasionally but by then laser temp was too high and his/her shields would regen faster than two mil lasers could cool and thats all I had on the Asp. In the end I tweaked the OXP temporarily to simulate a catastrophic shield bank failure ie I dropped the regen rate and shield energy figures.