Vignettes and Ephemera

[Benguela]

We've all read about the heroes and legends. Perhaps some of us are those legends. But what about the little guys? The chaps you fly past - maybe even blast into atoms - without a second thought?

I thought it would be interesting to have a little glimpse into the lives of those around us through a series of letters, articles, pen-portraits and vignettes. Lets start with an urgent communique from Captain Graff Iquarte, Master of the SS Marske Lave. Marske are a major intergalactic freight company with their headquarters in Xexedi. Like many corporate monoliths, the men who command their vessels don't have as much autonomy as lone-wolf Commanders take for granted. However, there is a steady salary and a comfortable pension at the end of an unassuming career.

Here, the SS Marske Lave has been ambushed by pirates on entering a system and following the skirmish Captain Iquarte must report to the Security Divison of his company.


URGENT COMMUNIQUE
To : Abbe Starfyre, Head of Security, Marske Galactic Transportation.
From : Graff Iquarte, Master, SS Marske Lave.
Location : Off Witchspace Beacon, RIISER system.

REPORT
At 2084273 23:58:44 GST our vessel - a Python Class freighter, serial 2BLY2 exited witchspace in the RIISER system whilst en route to REBIA from BEENRI, manifest as follows:

3080 grams Gem-Stones (bound REBIA)
660 kilograms Platinum (bound DITIZA)
29 tons Furs (most profitable sale)
31 tons Computers (most profitable sale)
42 tons Luxuries (most profitable sale)

Upon exiting witchspace First Officer Ga Unlarge performed a routine scan of all vessels within scanner range. Two vessels were detected - a Fer-De-Lance class 'PHOENIX' and a Cobra Mk III 'SS INSCRUTABLE'. Our on-board Threat Detection Systems identified them both as having OFFENDER status, and I was summoned to the bridge.

As per company procedure 3734 I immediately instigated a defensive manouevre, placing the hostile craft to my stern and targeting the nearest target 'PHOENIX' with the aft beam laser. This tactic caused 'PHOENIX' to perform a 180 degree turn and evacuate on thrusters. However, 'SS INSCRUTABLE' continued her attack and a combination of laser-fire from both hostiles caused a loss of rear shielding and subsequent hull damage, cargo loss and malfunction of the Witchdrive Fuel Injectors.

The loss of injectors removed the possibility of fleeing, so I turned the ship and began an aggressive approach on the 'SS INSCRUTABLE'. This manoeuvre caused her to evade, but a second burst of laser fire destroyed the target. An escape pod was observed but - despite company procedure 878 (Apprehension of Hostile Targets) - I decided to concentrate on eliminating the remaining hostile.

Once again placing 'PHOENIX' astern I reduced speed and allowed the hostile craft to approach to a range of 8 kilometres before opening fire. This time we were successful in eliminating her. No escape capsule was observed.

Due to the time-sensitive nature of the cargo I have elected to continue with all haste to RITILA system, where we will conduct repairs to the Witchdrive Fuel Injectors before continuing to DITIZA.

As well as the damage to the Injectors we suffered the loss of 2 (two) tons of Furs and 1 (one) ton of Luxuries. Minor injuries were suffered by First Officer Ga Unlarge, and he is currently undergoing treatment in the on-board medical suite.

I recommend an urgent Fleet Safety Circular is dispatched with alacrity, given the potential for further ambushes of company vessels. Hoping you have a pleasant day.

Kind Regards

Graff Iquarte
Master, SS Marske Lave

[Disembodied]

Hi, Benguela, welcome to the forum! That's a very entertaining little snippet view into the everyday lives of today's merchant spacers - thanks for that! I look forward to reading some more ...

[Cody]

Aye, I like the style - welcome aboard, Benguela.

[Benguela]

Cheers Disembodied! I'm a navigator on large container ships, and when I play Oolite and see normal freighters going about their business I think "Wow, that's me in 2000 years!" I thought I'd transfer some of my real-life experiences hauling shipping containers around the world into an intergalactic setting. That last one was based on the sort of report we have to write following the all-too-common 'incidents' in the Gulf of Aden/Somali coast region. Of course, my container ship doesn't have Beam Lasers or Witchdrive Injectors, but the format remains the same!

[Commander McLane]

Of course, my container ship doesn't have Beam Lasers or Witchdrive Injectors …

I bet you sometimes wish it had.

[Diziet Sma]

Thanks, Benguela! I enjoyed that.. you may want to consider contributing to the Tales from the spacelanes thread as well.

[Benguela]

There is more than just cargo travelling around the universe. Despite modern communication technology, it is sometimes still necessary for a person to be somewhere else. Who are the people that eschew the glory and the financial rewards in order to eke out a more humble living transporting people from one side of the chart to the other. Let's meet Gar Alacrity, a young owner/operator of a luxury passenger vessel.

Hi, my name's Gar, but you're probably more familiar with my Pappy, Finn. Finn Alacrity? Alacrity Passenger Transportation?

No?

Well, it doesn't really matter. You all own your own ships, so I don't suppose you'd have needed my Pappy's services. Well, Pappy has retired now, and handed the controls over to me. Now I'm the Commander of Alacrity I, the Executive's Choice for long-distance Luxury Passenger Transportation.

You have to admire my Pappy's optimism there don't you? When he bought the Alacrity he was thinking big. That's why he called her the Alacrity I, and not just Alacrity. He could see a bright future with a fleet of vessels, all ploughing the spacelanes full of passengers travelling in comfort and safety to their destinations. I know that was his dream, because he told us every day he was home, over and over again.

I don't mean to run Pappy down there. It was his dream, and every man needs a dream don't they? He never neglected the family though, not once. Even though he was away a lot we always knew he loved us.
And now Pappy's dream is my dream I suppose.

Our family are from New London, on Beusrior, an icy world slap-bang in the middle of Spaceway L2. An ideal position on which to launch a passenger transportation business I hear you cry, and you'd be right. Pappy went to the Lave Academy, just like so many others. There was no Cobra Mk III waiting for him though, his grades just hadn't been good enough, so Pappy had to start out in business in a little ol' Cobby Mk I. He traded for a while, but having grown up on Beusrior he always had one eye on the passenger market, and so whilst many of his buddies from the Academy went looking for laser fire and adventure, Pappy saved up and fitted out his Cobby I with two passenger berths.

I must have been two, maybe three when Mammy took me up in a shuttle to the Main Station to see Pappy's ship. I remember the excitement in his eyes as he showed us where his customers would stay as he shuttled them around the Galaxy.

He worked hard, my Pappy. I remember seeing Mammy in floods of tears at some of the places he took people, and I now know how many risks he took to build his business. The Devil's Triangle, the Tortuga Expanse, nothing was too scary for my Pappy, and no-one can say he didn't earn what we have now.

Anyway, to cut a long story short Pappy eventually saved enough to expand. Being a man of big ideas he didn't try and size up, he went for a bit of class. Mammy had wanted him to get a Python or a Boa, some big beast and start shipping cargo. The money being earned by some New London spacefarers back then was ridiculous, but Pappy wouldn't budge. He was a passenger man at heart, and again we traveled up to the Main Station to see his pride and joy.

The Alacrity I, a StarSeeker Personal Shuttle, sat in beautiful white splendour in the docking bay. There were tears in Pappy's eyes as he caressed her hull, and tears in Mammy's too - probably of despair. He didn't let us down though, and the business went from strength to strength.

Don't get me wrong though, we weren't millionaires, but we had enough to send me to Lave Academy when I was old enough. There was no scholarship for me however, no Cobra III like some of my classmates. My family weren't combateers - we carried people. I did well in the Academy though, and I can't deny I didn't think about enlisting with the Navy, or becoming a Galcop, but there was no way I was going to let Pappy down.

So I got my wings, and came home. It was worth putting aside those youthful dreams for the look on Pappy's face as he handed me the access card, and transferred ownership of the Alacrity I over to me. It was time for him to take his wings off, he said, and spend a bit of time with Mammy.

So that's how I ended up here, in a small suite of rooms I've rented for myself on the Main Station at Teraed, right up on Spaceway L3. Out of the viewing port I can see the blue-green planet turn beneath me, and in my hand I hold a glass of well-deserved Lethal Brandy. My first contract int he passenger carrying business is complete, and Alacrity Personal Transport is two thousand credits richer.

It wasn't completely plain sailing however. I'd picked up the passenger back home at the Main Station. A chap called It Tharling wanted passage to Teread. He was a normal looking man, of normal height wearing normal clothes, and it was a normal job. Straight up Spaceway L2, get onto Spaceway L3 at Zadies and the money's in the bank, thank you very much.

Well, everything got off to a wonderful start. The ship flew like a dream, and there were no problems at all mechanically. If there's one thing you can say about my Pappy, it's that he never scrimped on maintenance, a lesson I intend to heed. Sticking to the Spaceways as I was, there was almost no need to travel in-system to the Main Station - by each Witchpoint beacon there was either a fuel station or a fuel satellite, and where these facilities weren't available I just made for the nearest Constore. That's the benefit of travelling in civilised systems, it minimises risk. Most of the trip was spent in Witchspace, and that means plenty of sleep.

So if there was anything to complain about as we entered the Arexe system, it certainly wasn't tiredness. Now Arexe isn't an uncivilised place, of course there isn't the stability you get visiting a Corporate-run system, but lets be honest here, we aren't exactly talking about a pirate hot-spot. It was without a care in the world that I adjusted my Advanced Navigational Compass to lead me to the Constore.

Pappy told me that a lack of concentration kills, but I have to be honest - after nine days of almost permanent Witchspace I wasn't being the most careful of pilots. The first I knew of danger was the sound of laser fire hitting the shields. At first I didn't know what was happening, as I'd never been shot at before. A glance at the scanner showed me the terrifying truth. We were under attack.

Now it says a lot about my Pappy's influence on me that the first thing I considered was passenger comfort. Should I make an announcement? A fresh blast of laser fire soon knocked those thoughts out of my mind, and I eased the Alacrity I around to get the measure of my foe. I could feel my stomach churn as the scanner came back with our attacker's details - Chimera Gunship named The Light of Virtue. Status - Fugitive.

When it was all over I thought about the name of the pirates vessel. Was the rotter trying to be ironic, or was he a good man gone bad? I still don't know. At the time though that was the last thing on my mind. I'd never seen a Chimera before, but even at a range of 10000 metres I could see the boxy, ugly, menacing profile. It looked like what it was - a killing machine.

That's where the fight or flight instinct took over, and being a youngster I opened up on the Chimera with the Alacrity's Beam Laser. Lack of experience in combat and a large dose of nerves made my hand shake, and easily half the energy was expended into dead space. My burst was enough to cause the Chimera to pull up, and as my laser overheated I turned and ran for the Constore.

The Chimera wasn't beaten however. Switching my screens to the rear view, I watched as that ugly craft came into position behind me. With bile rising in my throat and close to panic I flicked over to the front view. The Constore couldn't have been more than ten clicks ahead, but the Chimera was punishing me, with the aft shields almost depleted. My mind was a blur, I had serious doubts about my ability to dock under such sustained attack, and such thoughts were rendered irrelevant when the Chimera struck yet again, wiping out my aft shields and letting the tongue of his laser play over my beautiful ships unprotected hull.

I had no choice, I was going to die, and so was poor Mr Thurling. My Pappy had spent years carrying passengers around the Galaxy, and I'd only spent little more than a week doing the same before reaching what I thought was my doom. These thoughts of my Pappy filled me with resolve. There was no way I was going to let him down, so I swung my craft around and faced my foe.

With suddenly steady hands I caressed the controls, ignoring the laser denuding my forward shields as I lined up on the Chimera. The reticule went red, and I depressed the trigger. My sensors gave of the satisfying screeching sound as my weapon struck home, and the Chimera rolled away, streaming plasma from her damaged hull. I was now calm, the prey had become the predator, and with no small amount of satisfaction I fired the shots which destroyed the Chimera.

I saw an escape capsule I'm sure, but the pirate must have ejected too late as it seemed to get caught up in the bright white glow of destruction, and explode itself. I don't know how I feel. Perhaps I have no killer instinct, but I wanted to cry. I held my emotions in check, and brought the ship in to the Constore safely.

Mr Thurling, as it turns out, was completely oblivious to the combat. He'd slept right through it all. Being the professional that I am I wasted no time in refuelling and continuing on my route. That's what being in the passenger business is all about, getting your guest to his destination with speed, safety and comfort. As he disembarked the Alacrity I at the Teread Main Station Mr Thurling thanked me for the peaceful journey. That made me happier than surviving my first combat.

Pappy would be proud.

[Shipbuilder]

Benguela - A couple of excellent tales.

It was also great to unexpectedly find one of my oxp ships incorporated in to one.

You're right about the Chimera Gunship's appearance. It was intentionally designed to look ugly and threatening.

I look forward to reading some further tales.

[Rese249er]

I would call these tales classic!

[Disembodied]

Nice one, Benguela!

[ClymAngus]

Nice one, Benguela!

Yes, I agree excellent work.

[Benguela]

Thanks for the feedback guys, very much appreciated. Shipbuilder, your Chimera reminds me - in mood as much as in appearance - of the Mil-24 Hind helicopter gunship, the most evil looking machine yet made by Terrans!

Anyway, lets meet another of the billions of inhabitants in the Ooniverse. A less savoury character than we've met so far. You've probably seen his type yourself, all swagger and very little to back it up.

I started hauling Narc the minute I left the academy. Straight over the Diso Constore, a word in the right ear and I was on my way back to Lave with a hold full of the good stuff. Frak working for a living, I want the easy life, it's no more than I deserve. A wise man once said 'there's your ship, there's the universe - off you go' or some such kak, but he wasn't far from the truth. I've never worked for my money up before, so why should I work now?

My family have got money you see, and growing up on Zadies I had whatever I wanted. I went to the best parties, hung around with all the right friends and put no effort into anything. Life was pretty hoopy my friend, I can tell you. Of course, my Uncle was always there to spoil things. My Mum and my Dad, they gave me what I wanted, I was their special boy, but my Uncle Lark, he made it his mission in life to spoil my fun.

So anyway, I got into a few scrapes of course, GalCops don't like rich boys - pure jealousy I say. Whenever they got too interested in me and my droogs Dad was always there to pay off the law. My Dad and my Uncle, they're brothers obviously, and have this business selling power converters to the Navy for the Bohemoths coming out of the yard over in Xeer. Means they've got a bit of pull with the Cooperative, if you know what I mean.

My Dad, he wanted me to come work with him, had all these ridiculous ideas about Working My Way Up, and Learning The Ropes, but frak that. Like I said to him, why work for the company when one day I'll own it?

Well Uncle Lark, he hated my guts. Seemed to resent the fact that my Mum and Dad treated me good. Of course they should, no-one forced them to have me, did they? I managed to avoid my Uncle all the way through Technicon - Dad insisted I go study Engineering, and I didn't really mind - some of the ladies there were unreal. So at the end of my first semester I decide to hold a party at my family's summer house down by the lake. My Dad and Uncle are off-world, Xexedi I think it was, and my Mum was away at some spa getting her skin lightened or darkened or tinted green, whatever her and her pals were into at that time.

So all the droogs from my Technicon class, we assemble at the lakeside house. We've shipped in some girls, the Lethal Water is flowing like... well, water I guess. The sun goes down, and things start heating up. There was this one girl there, beautiful yellow eyes, magnificent black fur - she was one pussy I wanted to stroke my friend, sweet Feline meat.

I knew I was playing with fire. Don't get me wrong, my old man isn't down on other species, hell, some of his best friends are Lizards, but he didn't believe in contaminating the line. Inter-species relations were a big no-no, but frak it, he was light-years away and the Security Bots were powered down. I mean, do I look stupid? Anyhow, the forbidden fruit always tastes sweeter, you know?

So I give this chick the eye, and like I expected she comes waltzing over, showing me her pretty little fangs between the sweetest black lips. She's rubbing against me, her tail stroking my face. I felt like I was going to burst my friend, I had to do it. It's not like I had a choice, a man's gotta do and all that, right?

So I take her by the paw and lead her into the house, looking for an empty room. I find one and try and drag her in, but she resists the saucy minx. Takes me further down the corridor and into my parents room. Now this is really going too far, but hey, thinking about the look on my old mans face if he ever found out about it, well my friends, it just made me hotter.

So we're on the bed, this girl is all over me, grinding her hips against me, tail going to work in all the right places. It was so sweet my friend, I thought I was in paradise.

Then the lights went on.

The Cat jumped off me, paws trying to cover all eight nipples at once. I'm confused, I don't know what's going on. Then the screen on the wall powers up, and who is staring down at me but my Dad and my frakkin Uncle. I tried to stammer an excuse, but he wasn't having any of it. I'd never seen my old man so angry, and my Uncle just sat there with a smirk all over his stupid frakkin face.
He'd set me up, I knew it. That miserable old nadsak had done a number on me, good and proper. I knew there was no way out of this one, and I was right. A week later I was on my way to Lave.

Life goes on of course, and I applied myself to my studies in the Academy about as much as I had to my engineering studies at the Xadies Technicon. I didn't. Now I'm not a stupid guy, and even with zero effort I did just enough to get by. The times when simply showing up to class wasn't enough? Well, a phone call home sorted out any 'confusion'. He's still my Dad, right?

So I graduate, and again Dad comes into his own and I'm down to receive a Cobby Three. Usually only the guys with top combat grades get one, and I certainly didn't fall into that category, but my Dad, well - he said he wanted me to stand on my own two feet. So like I say, I jumped into that Cobby, jumped into Diso and met up with a Narc connection one of the guys back on Zadies had put me in contact with.

Don't let anyone tell you smuggling is dangerous, or difficult. I've done seven runs now, and I haven't had a single problem. If spiders could survive in the vacuum of space there'd be one spinning a web in the mouth of my laser, you know what I mean my friend?
Anyway, I got a decent few creds together, spent a bit on the Cobby. First thing I got was a spray job - skull and crossbones bru, all the way. Kitted her out nice too, decent lasers, bigger cargo bay - economy of scale my friend, learnt a few things from my Dad after all eh?

Only one downer on my life at the minute - my Elite Rating. Now I don't have my family fortune to fall back on, well, I need something else to impress the chicks with. Believe me my friend, having Harmless splashed all over your ID isn't a sure-fire way of attracting the kind of girls I'm interested in. Neither is the Cobby to be honest. I know some real bad dudes fly one, but I'm more of a Ferdy guy myself, but that's for the future.

Right now, it's that combat rating that's on my mind. The thing is, I could have the most iron-ass ride in the Galaxy, and no chick is going to want to hook up with me. All the nice girls love a Dangerous guy, and right now I'm small fry.

All that death-or-glory stuff, that's not me my friends - I saw them at the Academy. The guys with laser fire gleaming in their eyes. I called them Tionisla Dreamers - full of ideas about a glorious death in battle with the Thargs, and a monument in the Orbital Graveyard. And what has happened to them?

There was Luke, Luke the Duke. Signed up to be a GalCop, and in his first trip out in his brand-new Viper he's taken down by some Offender in an Adder. An Adder man, can you believe that? Then there's Christina, she could fly like a dream but had a face like the back end of a Python. She got her Cobby, and jumped straight out for Riedquat. Said she was going to get herself some kills, start up as a bounty hunter. Jumping into Riedquat in a factory spec Cobby Three, with one pulse laser with which to smite your foes? Needless to say, none of us have heard from her since.

Frak that, danger isn't for me, and a decent combat rating is one thing that my Dad's connections couldn't get for me, even if he wanted to. Which he doesn't I'm sure, not with Uncle Lark whispering poison in his ear.

So that's where I'm at my friends, on my way in to the main station in Zaonce. Need to pick up some kit that I just can't get back on Lave - I need me some injectors my friend. So yeah, here I am, cruising in, five clicks behind an Oohaul, just me and him on the scanner. Not an escort in sight, the big, dumb, unarmed nadsak. No Pain, No Gain she's called... His Pain, My Gain might be more apt. No doubt she's full of fine merchandise, and my hold is empty my bru, just waiting to be filled.

I reckon the crew on there are getting twitchy, with me sat behind them like I am. They'd be worse if they knew my thumb was hovering over the trigger of my unused, box-fresh Beam Laser.

Frak man, I'd be Mostly Harmless in no time. A kill's a kill right?

[Cody]

<chortles>

[Disembodied]

Yup, another good one, Benguela!

[Rese249er]

Feelin MY trigger finger itching to shoot this bugger down... Well done.