From the logs of Cmdr Maelmorda
02.28.3301
So, there I was, with a boatload of rare goods just out of Orrere. The Lavian brandy in my cargo hold was tempting me with its sweet honey-like syrupy goodness, Mmmmmm… but it was just too valuable to waste when the only intelligence conversation I could have would be with Amy, my ship’s A.I.
I’d managed to accumulate 48 tons of the rarest commodities available at my last four stops and was quite excited about the credits that much rare’s would bring in. So, with the luck I was having with acquisitions this trip, I decided to make one more stop. More than a bit off the beaten track at 4,300 Ls from the Nav beacon, but the Guest Installation in Uszaa usually has some pretty unusual wares, and I had 8 tons of space left in the cargo hold, so I made the jump to USZAA, set a course for Guest Installation, kicked ‘er into Super-Cruise and went to get a cup o’ tea.
I was adding a bit of Azure Milk (my personal stash) to a cup of Machucos High tea when “Commander, I have something on my mind” came the lovely voice of Amy through the comms panel. “Ok, I’m listening” I relied. This was an unusual development of late. Ever since her software was updated to 1.6.3, these kinds of weird rather one-sided conversations have become more frequent. “What is it Amy?” I asked again. No reply was forthcoming.
I was just about to initiate a diagnostic when the interdiction alarm rang out. I put my tea down and sprung for the cockpit. “Defense Protocol Beta!” I yelled. The ship started to squirm in the abnormalities in my frame shift field; an effect produced by the FSD Interdictor someone was squeezing me with.
Once again, there was no reply from Amy. Damn, that’s great I thought as I reached the cockpit and jumped into the pilot’s seat. This is the perfect time for her to take a vacation! I grabbed the joystick and concentrated on the bright blue frame shift field gimbal. If used skillfully, one could avoid the abnormalities created in the field and prevent the frame shift drive from overheating. Otherwise one gets unceremoniously blown out of hyperspace, spinning out of control; a sitting duck as they used to say.
It was too late. The field was too badly degraded and I strapped myself in for the wild ride that was to follow. After a brief struggling to gain control the ship rolled to a standstill in the middle of nowhere. “Sir, can you listen to me for a moment”? “I’m all ears, Amy” I swore gruffly. No reply.
The comms panel crackled with life “Do you have any goodies for me?” the snide voice of a Cmdr. Simversomething cackled. “Typical pirate” I thought. I hate turning tail, but this Cobra had no armaments or shields, just a couple o’ point defense turrets. It was all sacrificed for cargo space. A risk for sure, but most of the time these types aren’t too skilled with their interdictors or weapons (or brains). I wanted to trade one them point defense turrets for a Chaff launcher (an aid for defense against Gimbaled weapons) but none were available at Ridley Scott Space Station at the time.
I smacked the throttle into full and kicked the afterburner. I tried some slick maneuvering while the frame shift drive cooled down, but this guy had track-assisted, gimbaled beam lasers, and they were tearing through me.
I did my best to stay out of range of Simversomething, but he was hot on my tail. “78% hull integrity “was announced when the FSD (frame-shift drive) kicked into life. I smacked the Jump button and anxiously waited for the four second countdown to finish. Wham, I was thrust back in my seat as the FSD kicked in and we back into SuperCruise. I flip the ship around and back on course for Guest.
Normally, that’s about as exciting as these encounters get. Not today.
One minute later the interdiction alarm rang out once more. Once again the ship started to squirm. Once again, I grabbed the joystick and concentrated on the bright blue frame shift field gimbal. I struggled to keep the gimbals aligned for what seemed like an eternity. This is guy is unusually practiced at this I mused. I couldn’t best him.
When I came to a stop the comms panel woke up once again with “where are you going in such a hurry? The party was just getting started.” It was then I realized this guy was no ordinary pirate. A quick scan of his Cobra showed me he had no kill warrants but the comms panel was showing me he was blue frequency. Not the frequency those anarchy clowns use. I was dealing with someone as good a pilot as me, almost as good anyways.
I didn’t bother answering. There was no point in reasoning with this one. He was a ‘drop-all-your-cargo-or-you’re-dead’ type. I kicked the afterburner and took him by surprise. Flew right at him and just kept going. Set the throttle at full and hit the afterburners again when the capacitor recharged.
“Warning, Under Attack” came Amy’s voice from the now smoldering comms panel. “66% hull integrity”. I hit the afterburner again and threw in some lateral thrusters too, but there were no evading Simversomething’s beam lasers. “37% hull integrity”.
The FSD sprang into life and once more I was back into SuperCruise and somehow already on-course for Guest installation.
I was thinking I haven’t been in any scs this close since the war of 2787. Status… I was now still 2,356 Ls from Guest installation. I had a lot of damage and my hull was down to 37%. Guess what happens next…
Yep.
Interdiction alarm. “You have got to be f-ing kidding me.”
I state to no one, as a matter-of-fact. Once more I struggled to evade the interdiction, but Simversomething had tasted blood. He knows he has me and he’s not going to give up now. I wouldn't if I were him.
Wham, bam, and back out into normal space. There was no conversation this time. He was foaming at the mouth and he wasn't going to let me get away again. Not when he was this close to 48 tons of rare goods, worth almost a million credits.
“Warning, Under Attack”. “Warning, 22% hull integrity”. My cockpit window started cracking. I took one more volley from the beam lasers and my power distributor failed. I was in the dark, blind. All my cards were dealt.
I was contemplating self-destruct “Maybe I could at least take him out with me” when the power distributor kicked into emergency mode and shut down the lower priority systems that were damaged. This provided enough juice to power the only remaining system on the ship that was still operational… The Jump drive.
I could not believe it! :S I hit that bloody jump drive button and the system glitched… No four second countdown! Just “…One…” Wham! The jump drive just kicked in. I was slammed back into the back of the seat. The cockpit window cracked even more! It was almost ready to give way. I was in hyperspace this time, Not Super-Cruise.
Before I could even collect my wits, the jump drive disengaged again and I grimaced as I expected the jolt back to normal space to do the windshield in for sure. This ship only has a 4:30 emergency oxygen supply, you see.
But the cockpit window held. When I check the charts, I was back in Orrere!
My hull integrity was 1%
Sharon Lee Free Market was a haul at 963 Ls and I had a feeling Simversomething wasn't done with me yet, so I pointed the ship at the Diso system, closed my eyes and Jumped again. Unless he has a Wake Detector and some luck he won’t be able to tell where I jumped from here if he pursues.
I made it to Shifnalport in Diso (window intact) at 1% hull integrity. And somehow my cup of tea was still sitting there!
The repairs were roughly 9,000 credits and I installed a Chaff launcher. I made the rest of my run without incident (I didn't go back to USZAA) and cleared nearly 900,000 credits profit on that particular run.
But I intend to return to UZAA one day… in my Viper.
Simversomething has not seen the last of me.
Who says trading is boring.
02.28.3301
So, there I was, with a boatload of rare goods just out of Orrere. The Lavian brandy in my cargo hold was tempting me with its sweet honey-like syrupy goodness, Mmmmmm… but it was just too valuable to waste when the only intelligence conversation I could have would be with Amy, my ship’s A.I.
I’d managed to accumulate 48 tons of the rarest commodities available at my last four stops and was quite excited about the credits that much rare’s would bring in. So, with the luck I was having with acquisitions this trip, I decided to make one more stop. More than a bit off the beaten track at 4,300 Ls from the Nav beacon, but the Guest Installation in Uszaa usually has some pretty unusual wares, and I had 8 tons of space left in the cargo hold, so I made the jump to USZAA, set a course for Guest Installation, kicked ‘er into Super-Cruise and went to get a cup o’ tea.
I was adding a bit of Azure Milk (my personal stash) to a cup of Machucos High tea when “Commander, I have something on my mind” came the lovely voice of Amy through the comms panel. “Ok, I’m listening” I relied. This was an unusual development of late. Ever since her software was updated to 1.6.3, these kinds of weird rather one-sided conversations have become more frequent. “What is it Amy?” I asked again. No reply was forthcoming.
I was just about to initiate a diagnostic when the interdiction alarm rang out. I put my tea down and sprung for the cockpit. “Defense Protocol Beta!” I yelled. The ship started to squirm in the abnormalities in my frame shift field; an effect produced by the FSD Interdictor someone was squeezing me with.
Once again, there was no reply from Amy. Damn, that’s great I thought as I reached the cockpit and jumped into the pilot’s seat. This is the perfect time for her to take a vacation! I grabbed the joystick and concentrated on the bright blue frame shift field gimbal. If used skillfully, one could avoid the abnormalities created in the field and prevent the frame shift drive from overheating. Otherwise one gets unceremoniously blown out of hyperspace, spinning out of control; a sitting duck as they used to say.
It was too late. The field was too badly degraded and I strapped myself in for the wild ride that was to follow. After a brief struggling to gain control the ship rolled to a standstill in the middle of nowhere. “Sir, can you listen to me for a moment”? “I’m all ears, Amy” I swore gruffly. No reply.
The comms panel crackled with life “Do you have any goodies for me?” the snide voice of a Cmdr. Simversomething cackled. “Typical pirate” I thought. I hate turning tail, but this Cobra had no armaments or shields, just a couple o’ point defense turrets. It was all sacrificed for cargo space. A risk for sure, but most of the time these types aren’t too skilled with their interdictors or weapons (or brains). I wanted to trade one them point defense turrets for a Chaff launcher (an aid for defense against Gimbaled weapons) but none were available at Ridley Scott Space Station at the time.
I smacked the throttle into full and kicked the afterburner. I tried some slick maneuvering while the frame shift drive cooled down, but this guy had track-assisted, gimbaled beam lasers, and they were tearing through me.
I did my best to stay out of range of Simversomething, but he was hot on my tail. “78% hull integrity “was announced when the FSD (frame-shift drive) kicked into life. I smacked the Jump button and anxiously waited for the four second countdown to finish. Wham, I was thrust back in my seat as the FSD kicked in and we back into SuperCruise. I flip the ship around and back on course for Guest.
Normally, that’s about as exciting as these encounters get. Not today.
One minute later the interdiction alarm rang out once more. Once again the ship started to squirm. Once again, I grabbed the joystick and concentrated on the bright blue frame shift field gimbal. I struggled to keep the gimbals aligned for what seemed like an eternity. This is guy is unusually practiced at this I mused. I couldn’t best him.
When I came to a stop the comms panel woke up once again with “where are you going in such a hurry? The party was just getting started.” It was then I realized this guy was no ordinary pirate. A quick scan of his Cobra showed me he had no kill warrants but the comms panel was showing me he was blue frequency. Not the frequency those anarchy clowns use. I was dealing with someone as good a pilot as me, almost as good anyways.
I didn’t bother answering. There was no point in reasoning with this one. He was a ‘drop-all-your-cargo-or-you’re-dead’ type. I kicked the afterburner and took him by surprise. Flew right at him and just kept going. Set the throttle at full and hit the afterburners again when the capacitor recharged.
“Warning, Under Attack” came Amy’s voice from the now smoldering comms panel. “66% hull integrity”. I hit the afterburner again and threw in some lateral thrusters too, but there were no evading Simversomething’s beam lasers. “37% hull integrity”.
The FSD sprang into life and once more I was back into SuperCruise and somehow already on-course for Guest installation.
I was thinking I haven’t been in any scs this close since the war of 2787. Status… I was now still 2,356 Ls from Guest installation. I had a lot of damage and my hull was down to 37%. Guess what happens next…
Yep.
Interdiction alarm. “You have got to be f-ing kidding me.”
I state to no one, as a matter-of-fact. Once more I struggled to evade the interdiction, but Simversomething had tasted blood. He knows he has me and he’s not going to give up now. I wouldn't if I were him.Wham, bam, and back out into normal space. There was no conversation this time. He was foaming at the mouth and he wasn't going to let me get away again. Not when he was this close to 48 tons of rare goods, worth almost a million credits.
“Warning, Under Attack”. “Warning, 22% hull integrity”. My cockpit window started cracking. I took one more volley from the beam lasers and my power distributor failed. I was in the dark, blind. All my cards were dealt.
I was contemplating self-destruct “Maybe I could at least take him out with me” when the power distributor kicked into emergency mode and shut down the lower priority systems that were damaged. This provided enough juice to power the only remaining system on the ship that was still operational… The Jump drive.
I could not believe it! :S I hit that bloody jump drive button and the system glitched… No four second countdown! Just “…One…” Wham! The jump drive just kicked in. I was slammed back into the back of the seat. The cockpit window cracked even more! It was almost ready to give way. I was in hyperspace this time, Not Super-Cruise.
Before I could even collect my wits, the jump drive disengaged again and I grimaced as I expected the jolt back to normal space to do the windshield in for sure. This ship only has a 4:30 emergency oxygen supply, you see.
But the cockpit window held. When I check the charts, I was back in Orrere!
My hull integrity was 1%
Sharon Lee Free Market was a haul at 963 Ls and I had a feeling Simversomething wasn't done with me yet, so I pointed the ship at the Diso system, closed my eyes and Jumped again. Unless he has a Wake Detector and some luck he won’t be able to tell where I jumped from here if he pursues.
I made it to Shifnalport in Diso (window intact) at 1% hull integrity. And somehow my cup of tea was still sitting there!
The repairs were roughly 9,000 credits and I installed a Chaff launcher. I made the rest of my run without incident (I didn't go back to USZAA) and cleared nearly 900,000 credits profit on that particular run.
But I intend to return to UZAA one day… in my Viper.
Simversomething has not seen the last of me.
Who says trading is boring.
