[IC] My name is Taylor Vauban

pippo

pippo
9th September 3301 - 23:52

This beast is a big ship, I have to say. Thankfully, every single instrument is of the finest made, and leaving Goldstein Port was a cake walk.
Mukesh Premji walked onto the flight deck after the first jump out of Lembava, carrying two glasses of what seemed to be an expensive liquor. He handed one of the drinks to me arguing he didn't like to drink alone and stood by my jumpseat. I offered him to strap into the navigator' seat for safety, in vain… he seemed far too concerned by the recent event while pretending to be absorbed by the view…

View attachment 61530

He remained silent, watching the rising star over the horizon, yet I had this feeling that he was dying to talk.
Our next destination was finally in sight and I engaged the Frame Shift Drive…

View attachment 61533

The Frame Shift Drive's charge drowned Mukesh Premji' self spoken words;
"Ever since the Empire Honcho got out of his coma, they got in a panic… You would think his assassination would have made it…"

I couldn't make out the rest as the Frame Shift Drive's loud blast abruptly sent us into Witchspace.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
Last edited:

pippo

pippo
11th September 3301 - 21:38

On the way to Alpha Centauri, Premji apologized for sending me to LTT 11478's conflict. Visibly embarrassed, he insisted that the Sirius Corporation was also accountable in some respect. According to him, communications between Dinda and Lembava's Head Quarters had been drastically deteriorating since I had got to Ravenclan's Astro Lab, and while they were urging for military reinforcements in the system, they had failed to express their wish to exclude me from the operation.
The conversation was getting a little uncomfortable and Premji retired to the main lounge.

Soon after making it to Alpha Centauri and while lining up the ship with Hutton Orbital, I recognized Commander Nosscar' signature on the contact panel and opened communications with his ship…

View attachment 61863

The comms systems seemed to be playing up and I couldn't get a decent lock on his ship. It took me a while to realize that he was extremely far from my position and a little while longer to understand that Hutton Orbital was actually even further away.
The constant breaking of communications didn't stop Nosscar from warning me that I was heading for a relatively small outpost that would make it impossible for the Melville to dock. I immediately informed Mukesh Premji through the public address system but he firmly instructed me to remain on course.

An hour later, we dropped out of supercruise and Hutton Orbital did indeed reject our docking permission. Dr Premji stormed in and barked: "Dock the bloody thing!"
… so I maneuvered towards the outpost and deployed landing gear…

View attachment 61872

Docking successful.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
Last edited:

pippo

pippo
14th September 3301 - 21:12

Without question, we had made a remarkable entrance as the presence of our ship on Hutton Orbital triggered quite a debate.
The good thing about working for Mr Premji and Dinda Universal Industry is that I didn't have to deal with the consequences myself, leaving me free to head to the nearest bar again. I am confident our unauthorized docking won't be too much of an issue as the local authorities seem to already have their hands full, dealing with an unusually large scrap delivery…

The bartender told me that one of the finest gin was produced right here, in Hutton… Shame they had to serve it in one of those horrible metallic mugs.
Nosscar too was at the bar but did not seem too bothered with his drink… says it is part of Hutton Orbital's charm, sort of a tradition.

Something else Nosscar said between two sips:
"Hugh Caplin is alive."
He explained the name 'Caplin' was just a alias, and finding this out had made it a lot easier to track him down. According to one of his sources, Caplin was located in a small settlement, on an airless planet somewhere in Imperial space. Whether he was hiding there or being kept against his will was uncertain.

I spent the entire trip back to Dinda repeating these four words:
"Hugh Caplin is alive."

View attachment 62272

If Caplin is alive, then why exactly am I hiding…
I think I'll be heading to Lembava next. If Premji won't give me the answer, someone at the Sirius Corporation might.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
Last edited:

pippo

pippo
19th September 3301 - 22:36

Mukesh Premji formalized my new position as captain of the Melville as soon as we got back to Ravenclan's Astro Lab, apparently satisfied with the way I handled myself during the rather sensitive docking at Hutton Orbital. Although he wasn't short on praise, his mind seemed elsewhere, whether still preoccupied with the death of Captain Edward Smith or with the recent catastrophic figures from Dinda Universal Industry that Shiv had just brought to his attention, he excused me from duty.

I used the opportunity to go back to Goldstein Port in Lembava and to the Sirius Corporation head quarters. I met with one of their representative who admittedly said they had been wondering how long it would take me to come up here.
"You must have many questions." He said.
"So many questions, in fact, I wouldn't known where to begin, but I came with an information: Hugh Caplin is alive."
"Yes, we know."

They had done their homework. Not only they already knew Caplin was alive, but they were also aware of his real identity and were actually closing in on his location. A contact within the Tangaroa Jet Organization, in Sovica, was in possession of valuable information. But all good information comes with a price.

View attachment 63218View attachment 63219

The Sirius representative invited me to go to Sovica and meet with their contact. He also assured me I wouldn't be working alone as one of their most trusted agent would be joining me in Sovica.
An unregistered ship was waiting on the docking bay for me to take to Sovica…

View attachment 63228

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
Last edited:

pippo

pippo
22nd September 3301 - 15:45

Tangaroa is only a short jump away, yet such a foreign and out of place system. Reaching this Imperial stronghold had me thinking for an instant of a Frame Shift Drive malfunction. I had to double check on my position in the Galmap to ensure I hadn’t misjumped.

Sovica is in sight…

Imperial traffic control really do have a special way about them, I don’t know if it is the all too often plummy voice of their staff or the slightly over the top politeness but they always manage to snatch a ‘much obliged’ from me…

View attachment 63736

All I have to do now is wait for their man from the Tangaroa Jet Organization to contact me and for my wingman to arrive.
I decided to stay aboard the ship for the time being as being back in this Imperial environment is making me somewhat uneasy.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
Last edited:

pippo

pippo
24th September 3301 - 18:21

I had to leave the ship eventually as no one had bothered turning up yesterday. Thankfully, I had not spent my time simply waiting. I went through every system inside the Diamondback Sirius Corp had provided in order to familiarize myself with this new vessel. A very different ship indeed and it seemed pretty clear what the purpose of this one was going to be, just by going through some of the installed modules… A cargo scanner, hatch breaker, heat sinks and some more… I was beginning to appreciate the fact nobody had come forward so far.

I was finally about to take off and leave Sovica when a Python came in to dock and opened comms with my ship…

View attachment 64143

This good old Cmdr Matzov once again, had just arrived and instructed me to set the comms systems on a special frequency. The voice of a third man came through:
"Greetings gentlemen, I can see your employers have finally came to their senses. You can already tell them that I don't know where your precious professor is hiding but what I do know on the other hand, is who is holding him… and I'm not sure how much they're going to like this."

Of course, our anonymous contact needed something in return, a little favor on the side as he liked to call it.
An important set of blueprints were to leave Sovica and smuggled out of Tangaroa by a group of newcomers, self-proclaimed pirates. The blueprints weren't exactly sensitive material, but the Tangaroa Jet Organization needed to send a message across to any outsiders, while maintaining a low profile in Tangaroa.
They needed us to disrupt any pirate activity outside the Jet Organization. We were free to keep any stolen cargo for ourselves as payment for the operation.

Our faceless contact ended up the conversation by stating we would no longer hear from him as he would be contacting the Sirius Corp directly after the job was done.
Ivan Matzov locked onto my Drive and said:
"Let's get to it, shall we?"

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
Last edited:

pippo

pippo
24th September 3301 - 18:57

We've been stalking outside Sovica for about half an hour now and still nothing…

View attachment 64146

The colonel is stationed just a few kilometers away, monitoring security activity and overall traffic, while I'm discreetly scanning the cargo hold of every single ship making their way out of Sovica…

View attachment 64148

The Diamondback is running so cold, I don't think the starport security patrols have even begun to suspect anything…
Granting I am just a glitch on their radar, and trying to stay in the shadows as much as possible, it's only a matter of time until one of them manages to spot my ship… the sooner we find those blueprints and who exactly we're after, the better.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
Last edited:

pippo

pippo
25th September 3301 - 1:15

"Did you see this one go!" said Matzov,
I could have easily missed the Asp leaving the station if it wasn't for the loud thump of his boost piercing my eardrums. This one was in a rush. We decided to follow him and scan his cargo before he could jump away. I don't think he realized he was being followed, as he slowed down once at a good distance from the station…

View attachment 64216

As soon as the cargo scanner initiated, the Asp picked up speed and engaged his Hyperdrive. This had to be good…

View attachment 64217

"Bingo! I think we found those blueprints, Colonel."
"Good, but this one is cleaner than a priest on sunday…"
Clean as he may be, Joe Collett disappeared in front of us leaving only his wake.

View attachment 64218

"Baldr System… next door. Are you locked?"
"Of course I'm locked, let's go…"

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
Last edited:

pippo

pippo
28th September 3301 - 15:23

We found Collett in the Bladr System… Just a blip on the radar, seconds before he dropped out of supercruise, obviously aware of being chased.

View attachment 65064

We then patrolled Baldr and Tangaroa with the colonel for days without docking, expelled Collett's known accomplices out of the region without failing to collect their stolen cargo every time.
Ivan Matzov's much larger ship allowed for deep space resupply when I would run out of hatch breaking limpets or fuel…

View attachment 65067

Robbing those guys didn't quite feel right, though. I did ask the colonel if he too, felt that we weren't worth more than the bandits we were bullying…
"Ah, man up Taylor. You know they're scum."
Before adding:
"Don't let those credits make it to the Bank of Zaonce just yet and I'll show you the difference between us and them."

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom