[14:43] I just arrived back in Brunel City, my adopted home, with the Mineral Oil I bought at Drew Terminal still safely stowed in my cargo bay. For now, General Inc. is not offering any missions. Instead of waiting for something to show up on the bulletin board, I think I'll head out to my local mining spot to see if I can strike another rich load to fill my Adder with.
[16:25] With the cargo bay full, I begin my short journey back home. This was a very lucrative mining trip, having collected 3 units of Platinum and 9 units of Painite. I ended up having to vent some Palladium to get all the Painite into the cargo hold - can't wait to get a larger ship. The proceeds from this little expedition ended up at roughly 383k. A few more trips like this and I will be able to afford a larger ship pretty soon. Can't rest just yet though. The medical center in Brunel City is need of Performance Enhancers and General Inc. is offering me a reward for bringing some back. Lucky for them, I think I found a place not too far away that will sell me some - off to Strekalov Dock.
[16:48] Turned out there were no Performance Enhancers to be had at Strekalov Dock so I went with plan B which was to travel to the next outpost in the system and hope they had some. Just under 2000Ls from Payette Vision, I got pulled out of super cruise by Ray Lord. A capable enough pirate but luckily for me not that great because I was able to escape without my having my shields fully compromised. I have now arrived at Payette Vision and found out to my dismay that they don't have a commodities market. Time to begin searching for another port.
[18:26] I am back in my home city. I was able to find some Performance Enhancers at Newcomb Docks. Not only was I paid a nice amount for delivering the supplies, I am also happy to note that I am now on friendly terms with General Inc. I think it is time to catch up on some local news and get some rest.
Today was an action filled day. I left Brunel City early in the morning for Martin Enterprise on the other side of the system to switch from my Adder to my Viper. Why? Well, upon waking up this morning, I found a message from the Commander of Brunel City waiting for me in my mail slot beside the door. He was offering a nice reward for the termination of one Christopher Jarvis. Now I had never heard of this man before, but I guess he was terrorizing people in the Lenca System and people were afraid to "take to the stars" as the Commander put it. I was unsure what kind of reception I would receive in Lenca due to me being wanted for another 2.5 days - a misunderstanding I assure you - but I was optimistic. Turns out, I only had one encounter with the authorities before I found Mr. Jarvis. I am however sad to admit that he got the better of me and I had to quickly disengage from the fight or risk losing my ship and probably my life. I was, obviously, fortunate enough to get away. On my way out of the Lenca System, I came across several people who were on their way out of the system until peace was established again, but more on that in a bit. One person had a name that I recalled from a story in a childhood book that is almost two millennia-old, Robin Hood.
Once back in my home system and on my way back to pick up my Adder I came across a signal approximately 3Mm away. I decided to check it out on a whim and came across the criminal Tiger Shark Studios. He was quickly put out of commission. Shortly thereafter I arrived back in Martin Enterprise but instead of going out to the mining rings I found myself heading back towards the Lenca System. This time however, it was not to assassinate someone. While I was away, a system malfunction in the docking management software caused the destruction of some ships and their cargo. I expect some people lost their jobs over this embarrassing incident. I however, have to travel to the recycling plant at Yu Relay to delivery the Scrap leftover from the broken ships. At least this time I encountered no difficulties while in the Lenca System.
Now that I have arrived back in Martin Enterprise and secured a room for the night, I have had time to investigate the situation in Lenca. I was confused why so many people seemed to be leaving the system, it couldn't just be because of Christopher Jarvis. Yu Relay (the outpost pictured above) seemed fine while I was there and indeed it seems to be the only safe place in the system for most people. Here is what I learned in a nutshell:
There are 5 different factions in Lenca: People's Unionists (Communism - controlling party at 34.8%), Gold Raiders (Anarchy), Aristocrats (Feudalism), Gold Creative Network (Corporate, and Hu Jun Crew (Anarchy).
There are 2 different stations/outposts: Yu Relay (controlled by the People's Unionists) and Champlain Survey (controlled by the Gold Raiders).
As if the different governments didn't propose enough of a problem, both the Gold Raiders and the Aristocrats are in middle of a civil war and, at the time I was there, the Hu Jun Crew was looking to expand their influence. Throw all this together in a small system that supports only 39,670 people with a medium security force and it becomes clear why people don't feel safe. For now, I can only wish them luck and hope they stay safe. I may be able to help more once the bounty on my head expires. For now, it is time to get some rest.
Woke up early again and picked up two missions: deliver a Food Cartridge to Yu Relay in Lenca and bring back two Performance Enhancers for the medical center in Brunel City. I guess my last shipment two days ago didn't last too long. Below I have included a photo of my home in the early morning before the sun was up. You can see the closest planet, B5, as a black space in the bottom right corner of the picture. The other two planets are B3 and B4, below station to the left and right respectively.
I was able to pick up some Performance Enhancers at the same place as last time. From there, I headed back towards Lenca to drop off the Food Cartridge. Six jumps later I finally found myself the system but on my way towards Yu Relay, I had two attempts to pull me out of super cruise. The second attempt succeeded but I only received a couple of hits to my shields before I jumped again. I don't think I'll return to Lenca again until the bounty against me expires. The rest of my trip back to Brunel City was quiet.
And it looks as though I won't be taking my own advice. I am headed back to the lenca System. General Inc. wants me to delivery patens to Yu Relay and Champlain Survey. They also want me to help clear their trade routes through Lenca by eliminating a pirate since the local police are incapable of doing so. I was headed to Martin Enterprise to switch my Adder out for my Viper when a pirate managed to surprise me and pull me from super cruise. Luckily I was able to get away unscathed again.
Only had two minor encounters in Lenca while delivering the patents. One was right before Yu Relay where I made a quick getaway. The other was just before Champlain Survey where I met the pirate Anna Manini. She was no match for me however, and as soon as I got to the outpost I had been heading towards, I turned in the 24.5k bounty.
I once again returned to Yu Relay after having a short break in Brunel City. This time I am delivery Water Purifiers and Scrap. Yet again I was pulled aside by the police, who me off and caused me to fire upon them, thereby resetting the bounty on my head for another 4 days. I think this time I really won't come back to visit the Lenca System while there is a price on my head. I do admit it is funny, in a humorless way, that while I must deal with the actual pirates in Lenca, the police always seem to be stopping me. Why can't they just go after the real pirates? Just before returning to Martin Enterprises back in my home system, I came across a funeral procession which must have been transporting the body of someone important to have such a big escort. May they arrive safely to their destinations - both the living and the departed.
Arshur out.
