SLAVE TRADE - Chapter IV: ROBIGO

Previously

20 SEP 3305, system Robigo.

This is Jav Marlo, on board the Scourge, approaching Robigo Mines. I have fly here in hope of finding a slaver that works for the Robigo Cartel who abducted some prisoners from the Sunflex Group Limited at Asimov Bastion maximum security prison in order to sell them as slaves. My mission is to find and rescue them and, in order to do that I must find the slaver first.

Robigo a system out of the fringe of civilized space. No allegiance to any of the superpowers, but Sirius Corporation holds a tight grip over the whole place. Less than half a million habitants, committed to the extraction and refinery business, spread through a planetary port, an Orbis station and a couple of outposts. What the Inara database does not mention is that this system used to be the main hub of slave traffic in the galaxy not so long ago. And Robigo Mines was the place where all the deals were closed. So there I go.

Tegan Brennan told me that her superior at Asimov Bastion maximum security prison has been dealing for years with a slaver from the Robigo Cartel that flies a Keelback. She thinks he abducted the Sunflex prisoners, that meaning they can be anyplace right now, but the slaver knows. And I intend to find him. It all makes sense. Some years ago a huge scale operation for smuggling slaves into the Bubble was organized from here by the Robigo Cartel with the collusion of Sirius Corporation. The destiny of most of this slaves was to work in extraction or refineries in systems of the Bubble that presume of being civilized, but are not so much when it comes to profits. Many independent commanders made fortunes and bought themselves fancy Cutters thanks to this hideous trade. The situation became so scandalous, with Robigo having more traffic of commanders from the Pilots Federation than Shinrarta Dezhra, that the authorities had to intervene and end the business. But maybe there are still some remnants of the old ways.

I feel I lost a lot of time at Calhuacan and Asimov Bastion. That gave the slaver the advantage and he escaped me. I do not know his identity yet, but at the Robigo Cartel offices someone must know about who he is and, more important, his whereabouts so, on this occasion, I have decided to opt for a more direct approach. I am going to interrogate the Robigo Cartel representative here, a man by the name of prospect Art Lester, and I am going to extract the information I require, one way or the other. I am fastening the Ghurka knife and the pain stick to my belt and heading towards the station hall. I will record the conversation, just in case.

Welcome to Robigo mines, what can I do for you?

My name is Jav Marlo, independent commander. I’m looking for one of your operatives.

And who this operative might be?

I don’t know his name. He flies a Keelback.

I see. Any reasons for looking for him?

He stole something from me.

You’ll have to be more specific sir.

He stole some slaves from me.

You must be mistaken sir, there hasn’t been any slave traffic here in a long time. Everybody knows! We’re legitimate now.

Are you calling me a liar?

Listen carefully fool. I don’t know who you are. But I know a thing. You’re not slaver. I can see crystal clear it’s a pose. That looks of you may be the last scream of fashion in the Pegasi sector, but here, you’re totally out of place. It’s true there used to be a slave business here, but all the operations were about smuggling. You see, you’ve mistaken the disguise. We were smugglers here, not slavers. So you better leave before I become upset. I don’t know your intentions, but you shouldn’t talk about slavery here, not anymore, it can be… dangerous.

Now listen you to me moron. You’re right, I’m not slaver. I’m a bounty hunter. And that operative of yours is on my list. You don’t fool me too. I know your faction still does some slave smuggling from time to time so, here is the thing, if you check the dock roster you’ll see I’ve come in a fully loaded and packed Python with many big guns, and it’s my intention to camp here on this shit hole and hunt any ship from the Cartel with a bounty on it until I find the man I’m seeking. I just asked you because I thought you could save me some time, and save you and your faction many troubles at the same time.

…

Wait. I need to do a call.

Do whatever you need to do. I’ve got excellent relations with Sirius Corp, by the way. I’m sure they’ll appreciate if I get their system rid of some criminal scum.

…

The man you’re seeking goes by the name of Galbraith. His ship is called the Dark.

How do I find him?

Sooner or later he’ll go to the nav buoy of the system. He organizes his rendezvous there.

Thanks. That was very helpful.

One last thing commander Marlo. My superiors say that Galbraith has become sloppy, that he has brought undesirable attention upon us, your attention so, you may do whatever you must do with him but, we don’t want him back.

…

Resuming log. The meeting with the Robigo Cartel went better than I expected. I guess they do not want to be associated with slaves smuggling again and got rid easily of their operative. The concern of the faction for its personnel is very… touching. Anyhow, here I am, lurking at the nav buoy of Robigo, scanning every ship that flies by, waiting for this Keelback, the Dark, to make its appearance.

…

And here we go. A Keelback just jumped out of supercruise close to the nav bouy. Intercepting course. It is him. The Dark, with Galbraith piloting. He just passed over me. And there is a reward on him. That is perfect. I guess sometimes the stars align. I am pursuing.

This is commander Jav Marlo, on the Scourge. I seek information on the Sunflex prisoners you abducted from Asimov Bastion. Power down your ship.

Do not run away. Lower your thrusters and power down your ship.

(sighs)

Damn! He is running away.

I need to stop him before he jumps. I think I could follow him, but I do not want to take the risk… These beam laser turrets are priceless. Their arc of fire is great and they are so accurate. I can target the different subsystems and disable the ship. My hope is to capture Galbraith alive, but if that is not possible I think that I can extract the flight logs from the black box of his ship. That would tell me where did he sold the Sunflex prisoners.

Damn, he is going to explode… (sighs)

Well, what it will be, the man or the black box?... Lucky bastard.

Finnally. He is mine. I am thinking that maybe the torture room of the Scourge will be useful after all.

…

Resuming log. I have interrogated Galbraith. He may deal with slavers, but he is not one of them. Like the Robigo Cartel representative said, he is just a smuggler, used to avoid danger, not confronting it. I guess finally my new looks and the appearance of the Scourge were useful. The shock of his ship exploding and being expelled to the void inside a metal coffin probably helped too. One way or the other, Mr. Galbraith wet his pants the moment he regained conscious and found himself tied inside the torture room. My looks and the pain stick I wielded did the rest. He did not hesitate and told me that the Sunflex prisoners are now slaves of the Black Gang, a pirate clan that operates in HIP 17519. That he was paid to take the prisoners there by a representative of the Gold General Partners, just as Chief Aiyanna Winters suspected.

…

I have put Galbraith into one of the cages of the cargo hold. This Black Gang Pirate clan worries me. HIP 17519 is quite far of the borders of civilized space and, according to the Inara database, there is just an asteroid base there, the Pirate’s Lament. I guess its name is quite self-explanatory. There are no other factions there. The pirates rule uncontested. Contrary to Galbraith, these people probably are seasoned killers. I must plan my next step very carefully if I want to rescue the Sunflex Pilots.

To be continue…

SLAVE TRADE - Chapter III: Asimov Bastion

Previously

15 SEP 3305, system HIP 32135.

Resuming log. I have arrived to system HIP 32135. The government is a confederacy and they have no allegiance with any of the superpowers. The controlling faction is the Privateer’s Alliance. Mercenaries! The nav beacon is compromised, so I cannot get the system map from there. Let’s see what the Galactic Mapping Project database has to say about this place. I see, there are just two bases here, an orbit outpost controlled by the mercenaries and Asimov Bastion, the maximum security prison managed by the Saptara Colony, which is on the surface of the fifth planet.

HIP 32135 5 A is a small, low gravity, rocky body, quite far from the main star. A barren and freezing place good for nothing, but for installing a prison colony. Truly nobody will bother them here. In fact, the only jobs with a prospect on this system seems to be bounty hunter or jailer.

I can see the outpost now. It is in the middle of a crater. Several landing platforms around a hub of buildings that must be the Saptara Colony. There is a wall surrounding the complex. I see some solar panels and many more security turrets. Between the large landing platforms there is a big bunker. That must be the prison block.

Landed. Now I must find out if the real slaver has arrived and who might him be. Then I should eliminate and supplant him in order to buy the Sunflex prisoners myself. I better wander a bit around the docks and check the system traffic information. I must admit I look quite menacing with my new Mohawk hairstyle and war paint. I have decided to fasten the big Ghurka knife Anahi gave me on my belt, along with my pistol, since I already carry a tactical knife concealed inside my boot. I have found a pain stick in the torture room. I guess that could complete the disguise.

…

16 SEP 3305, system HIP 32135.

Resuming log. I have wandered along the docks for hours. Nobody tried to stablish contact with me. It seems that my attire not only identifies me as a slaver, but also scares the hell out of the locals. Everybody avoids me. I checked the system traffic information but found nothing interesting. I tried to look for any logs from the prison block, but it seems that all information regarding the prisoners is classified. Maybe I should try a different approach.

…

I have decided to take the SRV and drive around the installation. My hope is to find a data terminal and be able to crack it. Wait! What the hell is that!... The moment I left the dock platform a huge Goliath class skimmer started following my vehicle. Now it is scanning me. It could tear me to pieces in a matter of seconds with its missiles and plasma repeaters. (sighs)

Ok. It is leaving. I am glad I have no bounties on me. Maximum security they said. I guess a surface runaway is not contemplated.

Well, as expected, I could not find any breach in the station’s security nor accessible data terminals. That leave me no other choice. I must find somebody at the station that has access to this information and gain his confidence. I am sure they have some dirty jobs appropriate by somebody like me. They always have.

…

Resuming log. I came back to the dock facilities and located the Saptara Prison Colony representative. Her name is Tegan Brennan. Trustee Tegan Brennan. Trustee. A curious tittle. I cannot figure out her ranks on the organization, but I bet is low, she looks very young. Young and pretty, if it wasn’t for the buzz head and the Mohawk hairstyle. She tries to look hard, but I can tell it is a pose. There is something in the way she looks at me, but I cannot tell what it is. She offers the usual crappy jobs for newcomers without any status within their faction. I have no other chances, so I play along.

…

19 SEP 3305, Prison of Asimov Bastion, system HIP 32135.

Resuming log. I have expended the last few days carrying things and recovering black boxes for Tegan Brennan. She still looks me in that weird way. It is like she cannot stablish eye contact with me, it feels like she is looking over me. Strange girl. Anyhow, I have made no progress here. There is no signal of the slaver, nor its contact from the prison, nor any information regarding the Sunflex prisoners that I came to rescue. I am stucked. This whole operation was a horrible idea.

…

One opportunity might just have arosen. Tegan Brennan just called me and asked me to meet her at the colony hub. That is very irregular. We always meet at the Saptara office in the docks facilities. For business? Is this a date? Maybe she wants to show me her apartment? Why she…? It does not matter. I am coming.

…

I met Trustee Tegan Brennan in bar by the name ‘The gallows’. I am afraid the meeting was strictly business. It seems that Brennan is quite career driven and had made a mistake that could jeopardize her ascend goals. Somehow she has misplaced a prison convict by the name Manchester. He managed to run away hidden in a transport ship of his fellow HIP 33368 Purple Riders and now has found shelter in of their installations by the name of Drake Base. I told Brennan that if I take her back the convict Manchester I will require in exchange some information regarding some prisoners that are into custody at Asimov Bastion. She accepted, so I am going to pay a visit to this Drake Base in HIP 33368.

The have a Hauler patrolling around the base. A Hauler! Not very threatening. There is a wall around the facility and several defense turrets too. Brennan warned me about this HIP 33368 Purple Riders. They are hideous criminals, she said. Pirates of the worst kind. She said I will never get any information from them at their base. That they will probably tear me apart. What I did not tell Tegan is that I had no intention of asking the pirates straight.

Contrary to Asimov Bastion, Drake Base datalink is in a building outside the wall perimeter and quite accessible. I managed to hack it and discovered, as expected, that the convict Manchester was not there anymore. He departed recently on a Cobra MkIII. If I run, I may find him before he leaves the system. Wait! Alarms! They are firing at me.

…

Lucky for me there was not a Goliath skimmer patrolling the pirates base. I managed to run away amidst the fire and arrive to the Scourge. I am looking for the convict Manchester now within the system… and… there he is. Probably looking for some helpless traders. Activating frame shift drive interdictor… Gotcha!

This is commander Jav Marlo. I’m here to take you back to Asimov Bastion. Please comply and surrender your ship.

Do not deploy weapons.

Well! I did not expect this to work anyhow.

Beam laser turrets aiming the power plant. Let’s see if I can get deliver him alive.

Mission accomplished. Let’s see if there is something to recover. Hum. An occupied scape pod. I think I will deliver you just like that: wrapped for gift.

…

Resuming log. The convict Manchester is back where he belongs and Tegan Brennan asked to meet again tonight at ‘The Gallows’ bar for celebrating, so I am driving again towards the habitational complex of the colony hub.

…

20 SEP 3305, Prison of Asimov Bastion, system HIP 32135

Resuming log. I am driving back towards the docks. I have spent the night with Tegan at her apartment. I think I screwed up the whole operation. We had some drinks, maybe I left my guard get down. We walked to her apartment. She played a quite disturbing holog video showing a full grown polar bear inside the bridge of a Cutter tearing apart some guys that were shooting each other. Then there was an explosion and all of them, bear included, were sucked backwards into the void through the canopy breach. Tegan thought it was hilarious. She has quite a twisted sense of humor… Anyhow, I think we both relaxed too much. She was not the cold operative anymore and I probably went out of my character. She also told me that there were no records of the Sunflex prisoners on the prison logs. I guess this whole operation was condemned to failure from the very beginning. It is useless to continue posing. I better come back to Wolf 406.

…

Resuming log. This is Jav Marlo onboard the Scourge. I am ready to depart this forsaken place. I bet I will go to Calhuacan to recover my Cobra and from there back to Wolf 406. I still do not know what to tell the people from the Sunflex. Damn it!... Wait! Tegan is outside… She wants to come in… I guess problems never end…

Hi flyboy, were you leaving without saying good bye?

Listen Tegan, I…

Jeez! This cargo hold is a mess. This whole place stinks. Look at this cages… And… what is it behind that door?

Torture room.

… I don’t want to know it. Where did you get such a boat? It’s clear to me you’re not a slaver.

I got it from some pirate at Calhuacan. I wanted to pose as a slaver in order to rescue some prisoners from the Sunflex Group Limited. They shouldn’t be here, or wherever they’re now. My information was wrong and they probably ended in another maximum security prison and by now they must be cracking rocks as slaves in some asteroid base out of the fringe. I guess I’ll never find them.

That may not necessarily be true. How many were them?

Fifty.

Well. I dived deeper today in prison logs and it seems that the logs of fifty prisoners were recently erased. It happens from time to time.

How is that so?

It happened days before you arrived. Fifty prisoners simply vanished. You know. I have a boss. His name is Marshall Bruno Garrett. I know he has trades with a slaver and, from time to time, prisoners that nobody will be looking for disappear from the installations.

And you know who this slaver might be…

… Well, I don’t know his name, but I'm sure he flies a Keelback. He has been coming here for years, and anytime that Keelback appears, some prisoners disappear.

That’s not very helpful. There’re lots of Keelbacks.

But I know which faction this Keelback is. It’s Robigo Cartel.

ROBIGO.

Yes, I've got a hunch you will find your slaver there.

Why are you helping me Teagan?

I’m helping you because Marshall Bruno Garrett is a pig and I want his post. This is just a way to undermine him.

Is that all?

Well, I must confess there’s another reason. It’s a kind of weakness of mine. I’ve got a hung for bad boys with Mohawk hairstyles.

To be continue…

SLAVE TRADE - Chapter II: The Scourge

Previously

15 SEP 3305, Sakers Holdings, system Calhuacan.

(Thump) Is this thing working? (Thump) I think so. This is Jav Marlo, on board the Scourge, or what is left of it, this ship is a derelict. Well, I think I have managed to restore power and to activate the main console. All these systems are pre holofac display technology. This piece of junk has probably been in service since the days of the Galactic Cooperative of Worlds. It is a miracle it holds together. Most systems are inoperative, the hull is totally corroded and full of breaches negligently covered with patches, and the cargo hold is a gallery of horrors. They lied to me. This Python was not a slave trader. This was a slave hunter.

This devious ship is equipped with beam laser turrets, multi-cannons and collector limpets. The cargo hold is filled with cages, and I have found a room fitted with all kinds of instruments which only purpose must be torture. I have reviewed the records of the ship and I must say that its list of previous commanders is quite colourful, not precisely model citizens, and the number of bounties on it is unattainable. It seems that in the pass years it has operated mainly in the Pegasi Sector; not precisely a vacation destination. It is a miracle it has survived so long. I cannot imagine the horrors that this cargo hold has witnessed.

Time is of the essence, they said. I need to get to Asimov Bastion before the real slaver arrives and abducts the Sunflex pilots. But I cannot fix this ship. Not here. And I cannot carry this mission with the ship in this state. I am not even sure if it will be able to take off. I have no time, nor the necessary pieces and systems in this port. And that is not all. Anahi Bailey, my contact with the Golden Dragons, called me and said she was coming to help me with my looks. She says that I do not look like a proper slaver, whatever that means.

…

Resuming log. Damn it! Nothing is working here. I do not know what most of this levers do. I wonder how could they operate these things before holofac tech? I need to get this ship airborne and fly to some place where I can fix it properly. Wait. Anahi Bailey is outside. She wants me to let her in. I should have brought a pistol with me! What was I thinking when I accepted coming here? That woman gives me the creeps.

(loading ramp opening noise)

To what I owe the pleasure of your visit Ahani?

Shut up and follow me. You’ll not get very far with that looks of pretty commander.

You see this scar on my face. It was a bar fight.

…

Ok. I follow you.

Torture room? I’m not su…

Shut up and sit on that stool.

(sound of a knife unsheathing)

…

That’s it. And… for the final touch, I need some engine grease… Perfect. Not so pretty now. That’s it? They said you’ll help me build my slaver character. You’ve just cut my hair and stain my face. How I am supposed to act, to walk, to talk?

Just remember… try not to be yourself… (chuckles)

…

Look, I really doubt you will complete this mission. And this naive Sunflex friends of yours used to pay me well for information regarding slavers routes in the past but, since their recent demise, I don’t think they’ll be paying anymore in the future. So I’m not putting more effort on this affair. It’s not worth it.

Perfect. That’s just perfect. Then leave me. I’ve got a lot of work here fixing this piece of junk. I bet you have important criminal stuff to do somewhere else. I'll carry on alone.

…. Damn it! Now she’s laughing at me.

(loading ramp closing noise)

…

11.82 light years. Yes, that might serve. Just 11.82 light years. Maybe I could make it there. I have been working for fifteen hours straight on the ship thrusters and FSD. There were some modifications there that I did not understood. There is an industrial system nearby, LTT 1739, which seems to have a Coriolis station, Clarke Port, very well equipped. A much more civilized place. If I only could make the 11.82 light years to there I could buy new systems for the Scourge and outfit it properly. I have no time to travel there with the Electra, buy the parts and came back here for the repairs. And, besides, I need the dock facilities too so, I will have to take the Scourge there. I just hope for a quick death if this ship has a malfunction in the void.

…

I think I am ready to depart Sakers Holdings. Yes. Maybe there is a chance I could survive the trip to LTT 1739. If I manage to arrive there it will be fine. Before leaving I visited a weapons dealer and got myself a pistol. Small and manageable, easy to unsheathe. Anahi Bailey came to see how I was doing. She seems to know her way around a ship and carefully checked all the modifications I made to the Python. I told her that I was continuing with the mission and I will be departing within the hour. She detached the big Ghurka knife from her boot and gave it to me. “To complete your disguise”, she said. I thought I saw a glint of respect on her eyes when she left, or maybe it was just disbelief.

…

Well. I managed to take off so far. All systems holding or, at least, not exploding. No hull breaches too. Wait. What is that? That must be that modification I saw in the thrusters. My contrail is red. What can be the purpose of that… well, I guess it makes the ship look more dread. Locking on system LTT 1739. The moment of truth. 3, 2, 1, engage.

…

I found almost everything I needed at Clarke Port. I was able to change most critical systems in a matter of hours. I changed the control console, installed an A rated power plant and distributor, a proper frame shift drive and decent thrusters. I switched the multi-cannons for fragment cannons, personal choice, and tinkered with systems to the best of my abilities to improve the jump range and cruise speed. I did not touch the hull in order to keep the dreadful slaver appearance of the Python. Anyhow, despite all its patches and breaches it made it so far. Feeling much safer, I departed Clarke Port.

…

Plotting a course to system HIP 32135. I am surprised I made it this far. I managed to fix the Python and in a couple of hours I will arrive to Asimov Bastion, the maximum security prison where the pilots from Sunflex Group Limited are being held. Maybe there is still an opportunity for these guys. The mission seems simple: locate the slave trader, eliminate him, pose as a slave trader myself, make a deal for the prisoners of Sunflex, take them on the Scourge and deliver them back to Nauni. Something tells me it will not be so easy.

To be continue…

SLAVE TRADE - Chapter I: Idealistic folks

14 SEP 3305, Hamilton Gateway, system Wolf 406 (Headquarters of the Alliance Elite Diplomatic Corps)

This is Jav Marlo, on board the Electra, landed at Hamilton Gateway, the headquarters of the Alliance Elite Diplomatic Corps, in system Wolf 406. I have received a quite intriguing message. Chief Aiyanna Winters, from the Sunflex Group Limited, just contacted me with a request for assistance. He said it was of the upmost importance. That they were preparing a covert operation for rescuing some of their pilots and my cooperation was needed. He asked me to come to system Nauni and said that they will make the trip worth.

The Sunflex Group Limited is an anarchist faction that is proudly Federation an operates in the Nauni system. Their principal goal is to rid the galaxy of slavery. Besides that, they also claim to turn a blind eye to criminal activities. Some weeks ago Beaufoy Terminal, a Coriolis station in Nauni, was attacked by the Thargoids and I came with my brother, Zal Marlo, and rescued many of their people with my Beluga. It seems that they need assistance once more. I do not really know these faction, and their request for assistance came by unofficial channels, but I got the impression that they were good people, kind of idealistic folks, so I have decided to pay them a visit and see what they are up to. I will keep a log about my steps on this matter, just in case.

…

14 SEP 3305, Beaufoy Terminal, system Nauni.

Resuming log. I have landed at Beaufoy Terminal. The Pilot Syndicate 4 faction seems to keep the control of the station, like when I was here for the first time. Chief Aiyanna Winters is waiting for me at the landing pad. They must have contacts at the station traffic control because I did not tell them if I was coming. He is calling me and requesting to came on board. That is odd. He insists.

Commander Jav Marlo, thanks for answering our call. Please let me board your ship. I am unarmed.

Hello chief, I didn’t expect you personally waiting for me. How are things going for the Sunflex Group Limited?

Not well, I won’t lie to you. Since the attack of the Thargoids we’ve been in war with the Gold General Partners and the Jataya Democrats. We lost both. Our organization is barely surviving.

Why cannot we meet at your facilities?

The walls have ears here. It is of the upmost importance that our dealings remain secret. Please, let mi in.

(sound of rear door opening… footsteps)

Thanks for letting me in.

Be my guest. So, what do we do now?

Please set course to Rothman Terminal. It’s a planetary post in the third planet within the system. We will brief you there.

…

Resuming log. We were received by a group of Sunflex Group Limited operatives upon our arrival at Rothman Terminal. These ones carried handheld weapons. They said that since the last war it is more secure to meet in the surface than in the space station. They took us to some small dependencies within the landing platform and exposed the situation.

According to Sunflex agents, there was a war against the Gold General Partners, a Corporation from the federation that is expanding its influence within Nauni. The Sunflex Group Limited lost it and, soon after, there was an inquiry and many of the pilots that participated in the war were accused of smuggling and some other illicit activities and taken prisoners. With their forces diminished, the Sunflex has been unable to hold its ground against the other factions and they are now in the verge of collapsing.

But there is more. The Sunflex believes that the inquiry and imprisonment of their pilots was due to a plot of the Gold General Partners. They may be involved in some illicit activities like smuggling, but nothing so serious as to involve imprisonment. They claim the trial was a farce and the punishment extremely severe. All their pilots were taken to Asimov Bastion, a maximum security prison in system HIP 32135. But that is not all. They say that they have discovered a plot to sell their prisoners as slaves. Somebody is clearly upset about the ideals and anti-slavery agenda of the Sunflex people, and must have thought that it would be quite ironic and exemplary for these pilots to end as slaves in some forsaken system.

And here is where I come in. They are not sure they will be able to keep track of their pilots if they are sold as slaves. The want them to be rescued before that happens. Time is of the essence, they say. So, the mission, if I am willing to accept it, is to pose as a slaver and buy the Sunflex prisoners. Me. To pose a slaver. They say that I am perfect for the role. An independent commander of the Pilots Federation with no ties with the Federation nor the Empire. I do not see it so clear.

And there is one more thing. They do not know who might the real slaver be, so I am supposed to identify and eliminate him in order to prevent the transaction before I rescue the Sunflex pilots from Asimov Bastion.

They have a contact, Prospect Anahi Bailey, from the Calhuacan Gold Dragons, a criminal faction based deep in Empire space that has a lot of experience dealing with slavers. They say she can help me to build my character. They also have a Python there that they ‘liberated’ from a slave trader some years ago and could be used for the mission. The payment for my efforts is the Python. (sighs) I need to give this a thought. This plan seems to have too many loopholes.

…

14 SEP 3305, Sakers Holdings, system Calhuacan.

Resuming log. I have accepted to travel to Calhuacan and meet their contact from the criminal underworld. I will decide there if I carry on with the mission. I am not really interested on the reward, I could afford a Python if I wanted one, and I think this plan is madness. I do not have a dilated experience in black ops myself, but all this looks like a clumsy operation with many untied details made up by a bunch of people with too many ideals and not much experience organizing cover missions. But I think they really care about the fate of their people. And I do not like what happened to those pilots. One thing is exploding in a ball of fire with your ship in the void as a result of combat, that comes with the job, but being trade as a slave because you were on the losing side of a war is not part of the deal of being a pilot. Not at least in civilized space. Not where I am from. So I am going to meet this Prospect Anahi Bailey and take a look at this Python.

Sakers Holdings is a huge planetary port. There are some imperial factions present, like the Guardian Angels, but the pirates from the Calhuacan Gold Dragons have their grip over the whole system. This city is the kind of place where imperial slaves destined to serve in fancy families are misplaced and end being delivered to mine colonies in anarchy systems out of the fringe of civilized space. I better find my contact.

…

14 SEP 3305, Sakers Holdings, system Calhuacan.

Resuming log. I found my contact from the Calhuacan underworld in a dark cantina by the name of Tenochtitlan, and I must confess she did not disappoint me. She was exactly as the picture I had, not precisely looking like a prospect but more like a pirate, with many tribal tattoos on her face that I do not know how to read, a dyed pink hair, and a pistol on her hip. She also carries a huge Ghurka stile knife attached to her right boot, the tang reaching way over her knee. I bet she could severe an arm with one single cut of that, or a head. There was an announcement at the door of the cantina stating that weapons were not allowed inside, but Anahi Bailey seemed to not care. She was not the only person there carrying weapons ostensibly there though and, besides, I carry a small tactical knife concealed inside my boot too.

I approached her and used the code phrase the Sunflex gave me: there is a fog covering Chione’s surface. She acknowledged and asked for a bottle and two glasses. I do not know what they served us. Some vile liquor harsh, unflavoured and with too much alcohol. We walked to a table in a shadowy corner that seemed to be ready for us and talked about the details of the mission. She drank glass after glass. I swallowed a couple of gulps of that venom while trying to look dangerous. I could see the disdain on her eyes. When I told her that I wanted to see the Python she called it a piece of junk and said it probably could not fly anyway. I insisted and we went to one of the most remote docks of the station. I must confess that I felt like I needed another drink the moment I saw the Python. She was right. It was a piece of junk.

To be continue…

PARABELLUM

2 SEP 3305, Dyomin Ring, system Cybele.

After the events of Dav’s Hope I decided to take a rest in my base of Hamilton Gateway, the Headquarters of the AEDC, and put to good use the materials I was able to collect in that cursed mining post. I have had in mind for a long time the idea of building a conflict zone dedicated ship. My Cratos is one hell of a ship, unmatchable in single combat and for bounty hunter missions, but with its frag cannons it cannot hold for long in a fight against multiple targets that come in waves. No, on this occasion I had another build in mind. I wanted to build a war machine.

I took a walk to the shipyard of the station and set my eyes on a beautiful and shiny Fer-de-Lance, the pride of Zorgon Peterson, a heavy combat ship which design has been in production for over two centuries. I talked to the dealer and took a walk inside. Despite the fact that this ship was designed with the only function of killing in mind, the crew quarters and the cockpit are incredible luxurious, all fitted with top of the line components and devices. The ship of choice for bounty hunters. Rich bounty hunters.

For the next two weeks, I engineered every single component of the ship. I liked to be a mechanic and to tinker with a ship’s systems. It felt nice being able to do it again. Indeed, it felt even better than before knowing that, on this occasion, I was working on my own ship. I installed four beam lasers for sustainable damage and made them as efficient as I could. A huge multicannon overcharged would help me to chew the big boys. I installed the heaviest shields I could and pushed the thrusters to the max. Finally, I added some personal touch and painted it black. I called it Nemesis, the goddess who enacts retribution against those who succumb to arrogance before the Gods.

Satisfied with the results, I took the Nemesis on tour around the Bubble seeking for help of some engineers that would push the specs of my ship beyond my abilities. Only one thing rested to do. The final test. I needed a war.

I saw in GalNet that the Sap Core Legion faction had launched an initiative to build a state-of-the-art medical facility in the Heike system. Heike, that is Alliance space, there is a species of tea plant native to that system that played a vital role in the development of a cure for the Cerberus Plague that devastated dozens of systems four years ago killing tens of thousands of people. I understand why this detail makes Heike an ideal location for the new installation. Well, one thing is for sure, whenever an announcement like this is launched, hundreds of independent pilots come attracted by the possible rewards. And wherever hundreds of independent pilots gather, local factions destabilize and wars trigger. So to Heike I headed.

I landed in Braun Enterprise Coriolis Starport and witnessed the huge traffic of the dock, with a constant stream of freelancer cargo ships bringing loads of advanced medicines, thallium and medical diagnostic equipment. I was greeted by manager Arlen Guerra, from the Sap Core Legion and he told me that there was a war ongoing between Heike CO, a local independent corporation and the Heike Revolutionary Party, that pledged allegiance to the Federation. The Feds never miss a chance to set foot on Alliance territory. It was an easy choice, so I offered my services to executive Zion Fischer, from Heike Co. Zion told me that they were losing ground on several combat zones over Heike 7, a high metal content planet. She also offered me 13 million credits if I was able of shoot down more than 70 enemy ships.

Along the next eight hours, I fought against wave after wave of enemies in two conflict zones and I estimate that my role on these battles was pivotal to make the Heike Revolutionary Party retreat. The performance of the Nemesis was beyond my expectations, with it shields holding against every attack while its lasers shred through the ones of the enemies. With two battles won, I refitted the Nemesis at Braun Enterprise and headed to a high intensity conflict zone where things were not going good fort the Heike CO.

When I arrived, the combat was clearly unmatched favoring the Heike Revolutionary Party, and things were just about to get worst. The COVAS warned that a massive jump was about to happen and suddenly, out of thin air, a huge Farragut Battle Cruiser appeared and started to tore apart the Heike CO ships. The vision of the two kilometers long ship against the planet was quite intimidating. It fired lasers in every direction, and I could hear the screams of the Heike CO pilots trough the comms before exploding in balls of fire. Those company hired pilots were clearly not prepared for facing a Federation military combat operation of this scale.

I diverted all power to shields and faced the Farragut Battle Cruiser. It was impossible to destroy it but, if I could destroy enough of its exposed Heat Relays, maybe I could force it to retreat. The question was if I was going to endure time enough under that fire.

It worked. After several flybys, the Farragut Battle Cruiser retreated from combat. It was glorious. The Federation ships ran away and me along with the few Heike CO survivors headed back to Braun Enterprise. I had shot down way more than 70 ships so I had a 13 million credits reward waiting for me. Alas, our arrival celebration was bitterer than expected. It seemed that, despite our efforts, the Heike CO had been forced to retreat from the other conflict zones and, finally, they had surrendered to the Feds. The war was over. We had lost.

Executive Zion Fischer, from Heike CO apologized for not being able to pay me my 13 million credits, but offered 2 million credits for my combat bonds as a compensation. A meagre compensation. Like that, I left Braun Enterprise and headed back to the AEDC headquarters in Hamilton Gateway.

I was two jumps away from Wolf 406 when I received a message from commander Khorolev, a diplomat from the AEDC. He wanted me to join him in a Combat operation in Cybele system to protect some Wolf 406 Transport & Co assets. That was going to be my first shared operation with another member of the AEDC.

I met commander Khorolev in deep space in Cybele. He was flying a massive Type-10 Defender, the Stakhanov, armed with lasers and cannons. He called it the fortress. Later I was able to understand why, when I witnessed the amount of punishment that his ship could endure. My tiny Fer-de-lance, that I thought so fearful and menacing, looked ridiculously small in front of his hulking ship.

Khorolev and I exchanged the compulsory salutations and I followed him to the nearest conflict zone. Straight to the task. For the next hours, Khorolev and I fought in several combat zones in the Cybele system on behalf of Victoria Wolf and Wolf 406 Transport & Co. I must say that his Stakhanov is fearsome. A true fortress with huge shields and hull that causes mayhem in the conflict zone with its three medium beam lasers and four big cannons. I guess its name pays homage to the Alexsei Grigoryevich Stakhanov a Russian Soviet miner, Hero of Socialist Labor in the twentieth century.

We made the Feds of the Green Party of Cybele retreat from three conflict zones. At the end of the third battle Khorolev hailed me and requested my assistance because he was having problems with his thrusters and needed to repair them. Somehow someone was able to penetrate the hull and snipe the systems of his ship. Probably railguns. I approached his vessel in order to protect him, but the enemy was already in retreat. That allowed me to take a close look to the Stakhanov. I could see Khorolev inside the cockpit running repairing routines.

When his thrusters were functional again, we both headed back to Dyomin Ring Orbis Starport. That has been my first combat experience with another commander of the AEDC. I hope to have been up to the task and I am looking forward to joining again my comrades in the future for more missions. I thank commander Khorolev for the opportunity.

On the side, the Nemesis has proved herself to be a formidable war machine. I am sure she will fight many more battles on behalf of the Alliance.

Jav Marlo signing out.

THE MYSTERY OF DAV’S HOPE

8 AUG 3305, Hyades Sector DR-V c2-23 A5.

I did not expect to find this. I knew that this was some sort of cursed place. But the register I have just heard gave me the creeps. (Sighs). I think I should record this.

Let’s commence for my reasons for being here. My recent diamond mining operation has allowed me to start thinking about scaling the range of my operations. There is always a conflict or a war in some system where the AEDC may be involved, and it is about time that I participate on these missions. But in order to do that I was going to need a new ship. A war ship. My Chieftain, the Cratos, is an incredible fighter, unmatched in single combat, but not fit to sustain a long battle. I have been thinking in building a shield tank with heavily engineered lasers. A ship able to spend long periods of time in a combat zone. But engineering requires materials, and high tier materials do not come easy. And that is how I got to know about this forsaken place.

I was in the planetary outpost of Webb Enterprise, in system Nabygold, Alliance Space, having a drink at the local bar when I overheard a heavily drunk woman whispering a local folk a tale about a mining settlement where she used to work that had to be evacuated in a hurry. The patron did not look interested on the story, but the part about the company leaving tons of valuable materials behind caught my attention. I approached her and introduced myself as a fellow miner and freelancer. I think she liked the first part, and offered to tell me the whole story in exchange for a drink. Her name was Lucy. She was middle-age, hardened by work, retained some beauty, but looked like she has aged very fast. I attributed it to alcohol. I paid her another ale and listened her incoherent narration full of babbles, sorrow and regret. The only thing that I got clear was that she felt guilt about something that happened there, the name of the system and, most important, the coordinates where this facility was. This were not fresh news though. I checked the GalNet and could see that the place Lucy was talking about was discovered abandoned a couple of years ago. And, besides, it seemed that poor Lucy used to tell her story to anyone willing to hear. When I asked the bar attender he told me that everybody around knew about that place, but few were willing to talk about it, and even less were willing to fly there, like if there was a pact of silence about what happened.

Well, I do not believe in ghosts and I cannot resist a mystery, so I decided it may be worth it to take a look to the place. I took my Diamondback Explorer, the Hyperion, and travelled to system Hyades Sector DR-V c2-23. The installation was easy to find right before the slope of a huge mountain. It was abandoned so hastily that the emergency beacon announcing the evacuation was still working. From above, it looked like one of the ancient settlements that thrived in the American west back in the nineteenth century. A small town with some buildings aligned along a central road. It even had an arched door with the name of the place: Dav’s Hope.

I left the Hyperion outside and ventured into the village on my SRV. An automated alert voice indicated through the comms system that the cause of the evacuation was a compromise of the mine structure. It was a scarce explanation, so I tried to dig more.

I found a personal data recorder that belonged to someone called Franklin James, a foreman of one of the mining teams. The last log said:

Team 6 to base, what the hell was that?! It felt like the whole planet was going to come down on top of us! Base do you read me? Base are you there? Guys, pack it up, we’re heading back to base! Something’s not right here, comms are down and with that last quake, I’m calling it. Follow me, we’ll head for shaft 48, there’s a wired comms station there, maybe we can find out what’s happening.

That quake was probably the cause of the compromise of the mine structure. Nothing really mysterious about that. Meters away there was a comms console from where I could extract the following exchange of messages:

Sent: 23 May 3286 15:19 UTC To: Nicholas Baker: Corporate Liaison Site Report Log: Sir, seismic activity has increased and we’re seeing cave-ins in sections 3, 4 and 6 now. I would like to request permission to pull all mining teams out until we can secure the site. Lucy Minneux: Site co-ordinator

Sent: 23 May 3286 15:30 UTC To: Lucy Minneux: Site co-ordinator Have you lost your senses? Do you know how much it will cost us to shut this place down while you “secure” the site? We’ll lose billions of credits every hour. I can’t authorise that. No, the miners keep on going, they know vhat they signed up for. Nicholas Baker: Corporate Liaison

Sent: 23 May 3286 15:32 UTC To: Nicholas Baker: Corporate Liaison But sir! With this level of activity it could bring the whole installation down, not just the mine shafts, we have to evacuate, the site is no longer viable. It’s just too dangerous. Lucy Minneux: Site co-ordinator

Sent: 23 May 3286 15:34 UTC To: Lucy Minneux: Site co-ordinator Who do you think you’re talking to Miss Minneux? What you need to do is do your job or we’ll have to renegotiate your contract. I trust I have made myself clear. Nicholas Baker: Corporate Liaison

Well, there you were Lucy. And you have a beautiful family name. So, you were co-ordinator here, a quake happened and the man from the corporation did not want to shut down the place. Typical. Always looking after the security of workers. According to the date, whatever happened here it happened nineteen years ago. And there are still tens of tons of valuable materials lying around. After so many years. Without being reclaimed by the corporation. There had to be more, and the answer was in a call log I found:

Shaft 48 Call Log: Team 6 to base, can you read us? What the hell is happening? We’re trying to evacuate section 4, but all access tunnels must have collapsed in that last quake. We’re stuck down here. Repeat, access has collapsed, team trapped in Shaft 48. When can we expect a rescue crew? Base are you reading us?.

One section tunnels collapsed and left some miners stuck. Damn greedy corporations. I looked for another comms console trying to find more information about the fate of the miners. I found another message from Lucy to the man of the corporation:

Sent: 23 May 3286 21:59 UTC To: Nicholas Baker: Corporate Liaison Sir, Team 6 did not report in at shift change and our survey team have reported that the cave-ins are more widespread than we first feared. There’s a very high possibility that they are trapped somewhere in section 4. I’m prepping the rescue team now. They should be ready to leave within the hour. Lucy Minneux: Site co-ordinator

It seemed that Lucy organized a rescue operation. But there was more. A corporate memo by the company man stated the following:

Corporate Memo: Sent: 26 May 3286 06:23 UTC Ref: Mining Operations no longer viable. Site shut down with immediate effect. All resources and confidential materials to be move to alpha site. Regarding ongoing situation: Mining Team 6 Missing, considered acceptable loss. No further action. Commence site shutdown immediately. Message ends

A mining team missing is considered an acceptable lost. I must confess that it does not surprise me. I had to knew what happened to the miners. The last piece of the puzzle was in another comms console:

Sent: 26 May 3286 15:30 UTC To: Lucy Minneux: Site co-ordinator It seems like corporate agree with you, Miss Minneux. This site is no longer viable and is now closed. Shut it down. Shut it all down now. Give the order to detonate the charges, collapse the site. Nicholas Baker: Corporate Liaison

Sent: 26 May 3286 15:35 UTC To: Nicholas Baker: Corporate Liaison You can’t do that, damn you. We have twenty people down here! You can’t just leave them to die like this. They have families, children. What are you going to tell them? Those charges are only meant to be used at the end of the operation. We have to do something to get our people out first! We can’t just leave them buried alive down there. We have a responsibility! Lucy Minneux: Site co-ordinator

Sent: 26 May 3286 15:35 UTC To: Lucy Minneux: Site co-ordinator My responsibility is to this corporation and its shareholders. There are plenty more miners to take their place, and yours for that matter. If you won’t follow orders, we’ll just find someone else that will. Now do it! Nicholas Baker: Corporate Liaison

THE DAMN BASTARDS. That is why nobody wants to talk about this place. THEY LEFT THE MINERS BURIED ALIVE. Poor Lucy. She never got over it. Not even after nineteen years.

After all this time, it amazes me that most systems of the settlement are still working. The place has clearly been sacked recently, but there are still lots of materials lying around. According to Cannon Research, Dav’s Hope was discovered two years ago. The company probably managed to bury the logs about what happened here along with the bodies of the miners. I understand now why pilots do not want to fly here, even knowing about the abandoned equipment. This place is a ghost town.

This is Jav Marlo, on board the Hyperion, landed at the abandoned mining settlement of Dav’s Hope, in system Hyades Sector DR-V c2-23.

Signing out.

DIAMOND RUSH

4 AUG 3305, Hamilton Gateway, system Wolf 406 (Headquarters of the Alliance Elite Diplomatic Corps)

This is Jav Marlo, on board the Plutus, landed at Hamilton Gateway, the headquarters of the Alliance Elite Diplomatic Corps, in system Wolf 406.

After the events of the Witch Head Nebula and the combat with the Thargoid Cyclops, I think I have developed a rapport with commander Zal Marlo, my alleged brother, so I thought it was time to check on his story and pay him a visit in his home base of Herbert Dock in Wolf 906.

I took the Cratos and flew to system Wolf 906, in Federation space. Upon my arrival I was received by Zal himself flying in a super engineered Sidewinder, the Orestes. I am still amazed by the fleet and the resources Zal owns.

Herbert Dock is a Coriolis Starport aligned with the Federation with a High Tech economy and a democracy government. Right now, it is ruled by the Values Party of Wolf 906. There is a planetary outpost within the system too, Rice Hub, and between the two of them they hold a population of over five million people. The place has all the amenities a commander may need and a reasonable security. A nice and cozy base of operations.

Zal had a nice surprise for me when I landed. It seems that he has been talking with the local Federation authorities about our rescue of the refugees from Beaufoy Terminal, and the Federal Navy was willing to grant me the rank of Chief Petty Officer for my efforts. It is true that they asked me to do some easy tasks in return, the kind of deliver this and that to some nearby outposts, but having a military rank with the Feds has its advantages, being the most important of them the permit to visit Sol system, birthplace of humanity and one of the systems with the tightest security in the Galaxy.

In the following two days Zal showed me the scope of his operations. He has quite a fleet at his disposal and is focused mostly in trading. He has managed to amass quite a fortune. It surprised me how eager he was to share the secret of his business with me. I truly think now that he is looking for a partner and wish to see me thrive. Apparently, he has specialised in Low Temperature Diamonds Mining, and has vast knowledge about the best planetary rings to find them and the best markets to sell them. He even gave me some hints to start my own diamonds mining operation myself.

Now I only needed a proper mining ship, and I took a look at the offer of the local shipyard. My recent rank with the Federation Navy gave me access to some military vessels and I set my eyes in the Federal Dropship, the navy’s workhorse. It was perfect for the task: fast, nimble with plenty of hardpoints for all the mining tools, capable of carrying a significant load and with a good armour in case of pirates come sniffing. Its only setback is its tiny jump range, but nothing that a visit to Felicity cannot fix. I bought one, painted it white, added the Alliance decal and named it Plutus after the Greek god of wealth. The final touch was adding big turreted burst laser in the spare hardpoint. There are many occasions when having a big laser may come handy, especially when traveling with a belly full of diamonds.

Now I needed to try my new toy, so I asked Zal for the nearest pristine ice ring and headed there. I had postponed a visit to Bill Turner for a long time, and I needed 50 tons of Bromelite in order for him to receive me. The Plutus behave exemplary swiftly navigating among the asteroids and in less than a working day I was able to collect the bromelite.

I headed to Alioth system, to Turner Metallics Inc, base of operations of the Engineer Bill Turner, son of the famous Mic Turner, hero and one of the founders of the Alliance. On my way there I could only think about the words professor Palin told me about him: “Mark my words. Do not believe everything that Bill Turner tells you, if he tells you anything at all. He is more than he seems”.

I landed and delivered the bromelite. For my disappointment, I was received by and android, and when I requested to see Bill Turner, it told me that in order to do that I had to develop a stable business relation with him. It seems that he only handles personally the top tier engineering modifications and that I still had no enough rapport with him to meet personally. Frustrated, I abandoned the base thinking about if any of my contacts in the AEDC could help me to circumvent these requirements.

I returned to Herbert Dock in Wolf 906 and took again my Cobra, the Electra. I trusted Zal now, but it is never bad to double check things, so I headed to Sol system, the political capital of the Federation. Upon my arrival, I could not help to indulge myself and did a fly by Earth. I had never contemplated it before, and I must admit it was beautiful. It was night over Europe and I could see perfectly the contour of the Mediterranean Sea. On its shores, several ancient civilizations thrived, probably stablishing the first trade and colonization routes of humanity. The cauldron where the first travellers sailed looking at the stars to not lose their aim. And now, thousands of years later, humanity has reached the other side of the galaxy. It made me feel so proud and so insignificant at the same time. I promised myself to visit the planet as soon as possible. But I had urgent matters to attend.

I landed at Mars High, an Orbis Starport above Mars. The station is crowded with businessmen and tourists looking for passage to the surface, so I posed like one of them and booked a passage in a shuttle to the capital city of Olympus Village. That is where Zal’s mother is, the second spouse of my father that he never told me about. But I did not want to visit her. Not on Zal’s back. So I headed to the Federal Congress, seeking to whatever information they may have on Cisco Marlo, my father.

The military record file of my father, Cisco Marlo, was public. According to it, he had been in the Federation Navy long before my birth. He had the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Mostly scout operations in deep space. All track of his whereabouts was lost one year before I was born. First I thought he might be a defector, but that could not be possible. He raised a family in Mars after that. Zal mentioned that he disappeared when conducting a cover operation in Merope. A cover operation. That could only mean the Federal Intelligence Agency. Maybe he was a double agent that infiltrated in the Alliance. I felt I was walking on thin ice, and my flamboyant Chief Petty Officer rank in the Federal Navy was not enough to access the confidential parts of the files, so I left it there, for the moment. At least Zal’s story concurs so far. I needed to find more about my father whereabouts in the Alliance in order to connect the dots.

I headed back to Herbert Dock and took the Plutus. It was time to enter in the Low Temperature Diamonds business. I flew to one of the hotspots usually exploited by Zal and expent the next hours mining the ice rocks. Sometimes a mining laser is needed to scratch the surface of the rock and cut the chunks of minerals. Other times the diamonds appear in clusters in the surface and I can cut them with an abrasion blaster. When I locate diamonds deposits inside I use sub-surface displacement missiles that are equipped with a drill and can dig into the asteroid before exploding. But the most satisfactory of all is to crack the whole rock using seismic charges when they have a low temperature diamond core.

The average price of a ton of Low Temperature Diamonds can rise over the million credits if one is willing to travel a little in order to sell them. Searching in Gal Net, like Zal has taught me, I found a planetary starport, Webb Enterprise in system Nagybold, very near to Wolf 406 and controlled by Wolf 406 Transport Co, that was paying a high price for diamonds. It was perfect. During the next three days I was able to sell them 300 tons of low temperature diamonds, earning more than 300 hundred million credits on the way. I never thought I could make money so fast in my life. My account almost rose again to the point it was when I returned from Distant Worlds 2. I had paid my last four ships with just three days of mining. It is true that I was attacked once by a pirate while I was mining, but I could manage him quite easily with my burst laser. Pirate ships never expect to find heavy resistance from a miner.

Well, thanks to Zal it seems that money will not be ever a problem again. I even got promoted to Tycoon by the Pilots Federation. That means bigger ships, better equipment and endless possibilities to scale my operations. This current Diamond Rush has provided me with a new beginning, a mystery still unsolved and a recent found brother to help me. Business is going well.

Jav Marlo signing out.

FIRST BLOOD

31 JUL 3305, Acropolis VR57 megaship, system Witch Head Sector LC-V c2-10 (Witch Head Nebula)

This is Jav Marlo, recording this log on board the Cratos, in the Witch Head Nebula, during the Thargoid raid.

Soon after professor Palin’s megaship, Carson’s Spring, arrived safely to the Arche system, the Thargoids emerged in the Witch Head Nebula aggressively attacking the new human stations. I guess they wanted to defend the barnacle sites. A request to the independent pilots to help in the repel of the Thargoid menace was promptly issued. I finished the engineering works I was conducting in the Cratos, installed two large Ax multi-cannon turrets and a remote release flack launcher and headed to the Witch Head Nebula. It was time to fight back.

After the 1000 light years trip, my first stop was Jackrock Outpost, a tiny planetary outpost controlled by the Alliance that contains the only shipyard in the vicinity. From there, I checked the status of the systems raided by the Thargoids. They had already been repelled from Federation territory, but the Alliance system of Witch Head Sector HW-W c1-9 still had active combat zones.

The moment I jumped into the system I received the distress signal of Sherrill Orbital, an Ocellus Starport of the Alliance that had been attacked. I wanted to check if rescue operations were ongoing, so I headed there.

I could see a worrying flashing blue light visible in the rear of the station, and I approached to take a closer look. It was the power core. The power core of the station was exposed, launching vast amount of radiation to the space. All my ship systems blurred when I closed, and the temperature started to rise. The damage taken by the station was devastating.

Some rescue ships were coming and going from the station, but it was clear that the whole system was in chaos. There were non-human signals and combat aftermaths everywhere.

I decided to look for the nearest combat zone and join the fight. There were some Alliance forces there trying to repel the attack of a swarm of Thargoid scouts. I found the scouts to be very vulnerable to AX multi-cannon fire. They are very nimble but weak. Their major threat is the caustic damage and the acid clouds they leave on exploding that slowly eats through the ships systems. Decontamination limpets are mandatory.

We repelled wave after wave of scouts, but our numbers diminished too. I may have killed more than thirty scouts when the big ones came. The sensors detected a frame shift anomaly, and two Thargoid interceptors made their entrance. That was a totally different business. They quickly overwhelmed our forces and I was forced to flee with a Cyclops in pursuit. That is when Palin’s thruster modifications showed their value.

I came back to system Witch Head Sector LC-V c2-10 to lick my wounds. I was landed at the Acropolis VR57 megaship, still ashamed for my recent retreat, when I received a message from Zal Marlo. He had seen my beacon in the Witch Head Nebula and was travelling here. He wanted me to help him hunting a Thargoid Cyclops. It seems that he had a new ship that he wanted to test. He would arrive here in the next eight hours, so I waited for him.

I could see Zal approaching the megaship the moment he dropped out of supercruise. He was flying a huge Type 10, white and yellowed stripped, that he called the Dynastes. It carried four large AX multi-cannon turrets and had a huge armor. Damn, where does he gets his resources? Every time I see him he is flying a new ship. And that was an incredible expensive one.

Zal told me that he had avoided fighting the Thargoids all along the war because he was not ready, but now he had built an anti Thargoid ship and that he wanted to kill a Cyclops. I told him that I have seen some big Thargoids myself, but never actually killed one, besides scouts, and that they were very dangerous. He said that was the reason he was seeking my help. He looked pretty determined, so I decided to show him what a Thargoid can do to big ship like his.

I looked for the signal of a combat aftermath and soon found one. When we arrived, I saw the wreckage of many ships, a Type 9 cargo transport very similar to Zal`s ship among them, so we took a closer look.

The hull of the ill-fated vessel had the green marks of severe caustic damage. A big hole was visible underneath, still in fire, probably where a missile had penetrated the hull.

I asked Zal if he was going to risk losing his ship. Mine can outrun a Cyclops, but his Type 10 is too slow to run away if things get nasty. He said that he was determined to kill a Thargoid.

I proposed to kill some scouts before facing one Cyclops, in order practise our tactics, and Zal agreed, so I looked for a low threat signal. Zal found one before me and I followed his beacon to join him. When I dropped out of supercruise waiting to find some scouts I saw Zal confronting a huge Cyclops that was in the middle of the wreckage of several ships. Probably collecting bodies. We were in trouble. I scream to Zal not to provoke the Thargoid, but he was already spitting fire into the Cyclops. The big hunt had commenced.

For the next forty minutes we hold fight against the beast, suffering considerable damage to our vessels. The Thargons were the biggest threat. These little critters are incredible hard to avoid, and terribly difficult to shot down. The missiles took their toll too. But we persevered, destroying heart after heart of the Cyclops until it exploded in the middle of a big green and corrosive cloud. We had done it. Our ships were battered and covered in caustic substance, but we had survived.

I must admit that, after the first instants of euphoria, a sense of discomfort invaded me. The remains of the Thargoid looked more like the carcass of a huge animal than the wreckage of a vessel.

The marks of our weapons seemed like open wounds, and the petals looked like bone-broken wings. It was a very discomforting sight.

I mean, I have no regrets about what we did. We are at war with these aliens, and the fight has been ruthless. But I am used to fight pirates flying combat vessels. And… and that felt more like hunting and killing an animal. A huge, threatening and majestic animal.

We returned to the Acropolis VR57 megaship and celebrated our victory. We even were awarded a decal for our ships. I guess we are xeno-hunters now.

I guess our Thargoid blood thirst was satiated, because we said we both will be returning to the Bubble soon. It seems that there is an Alliance Festival of Cultures ongoing, professor Palin wrote me a message informing about his new base of operations in Arque and… and maybe I could do a long time postponed trip to Sol and learn more about my father’s business with the Federation.

Jav Marlo signing out.

QUID PRO QUO

27 JUL 3305, Hamilton Gateway, system Wolf 406 (Headquarters of the Alliance Elite Diplomatic Corps)

Many things have happened in the last two weeks. I will try to tell the course of events since my last log.

I was working in the Cratos, trying different engineering modifications to increase its considerable tested combat power, when I heard the news. The Thargoids were withdrawing from the core systems. We had won the war. Mankind had defeated the aliens. They were retreating to the Pleiades. Everybody was exultant. Well, everybody but professor Palin.

I was about to head to a bar to celebrate the news properly when I received a message from Zal Marlo. He wanted my help. It seemed that Beaufoy Vision, a Coriolis Starport in the system Nauni was burning after a Thargoid Attack, and there were thousands of people in need of evac. Zal has some ties with the Sunflex Group Limited, a local anarchist faction, loyal to the Federation, almost criminal, but definitely against slavery. And they were desperate. Well, the first time we met, Zal really impressed me with his rescue of the people of Leclerc Terminal. It was pretty heroic. And I was not equipped for the task. On this occasion, I wanted to impress him.

I made a lot of money during Distant Worlds 2 and I thought I could invest some of these credits in a good cause. I went to the shipyard looking for big ships suitable to be converted into a flying barge, and I found the biggest of all. A Beluga Class Liner. The huge cruise liner manufactured by Saud Kruger. There was one in offer. I thought that I could convert the luxury ship into a flying hospital, so I bought it, equipped it with as many cabins I could, installed a tiny shield, powerful thrusters and a decent FSD, and painted it red. I thought that Asclepius, the Greek God of medicine would be an appropriate name.

I was amazed when I entered my new ship. I have seen Beluga Liners many times, but never been inside one. It was huge, with space for 180 passengers. It even has a small auditorium. And the captain quarters are incredible big and comfortable. I could live here instead of the room I have rented at the station. My enthusiasm changed when I saw the huge cockpit and I realized that I was going to pilot this ship without help and with no experience flying big ships. The biggest thing I have ever flied is a Keelback. The entrance of Hamilton Gateway looked so tiny from there. I ran to the hangars again and installed an automatic docking computer. I did not want to get stuck in the entrance to the base. Starport authorities are very serious about these things.

The assistant docking computer worked properly and I was able depart Hamilton Gateway with no problems. Used to much nimbler ships, I felt incredibly clumsy flying the Asclepius. Some jumps later I met Zal outside Beaufoy Vision. He was thrilled when he saw my new ship. I think I impressed him. He was flying his rescue Type 7.

Zal requested to join me through telepresence in the cockpit of the Asclepius in order to brief me about what to expect once inside. The temperature beyond the entrance is incredibly high and can melt the systems in minutes, heat sinks are mandatory. There is a lot of debris floating around to be avoided. And random explosions occur that can damage the ship and take it off course. I told Zal not worry since I had an automatic docking computer, and there came the surprise. Automatic guidance systems were not available during emergencies. I would have to do it all manually.

I got ready to die. At least it would be a heroic death, a stupid and heroic death I thought. Zal returned to his ship and aligned with me for the operation. He asked me to go first. I guess he realized how nervous I was. He would be after me guiding. I took a deep breath, accelerated to one quarter impulse, aligned with the station and approached slowly until… (sigh) until I got stuck in the entrance.

Temperature started to rise and I must confess that I panicked. Zal screamed me through the comms channel to release the landing gear and to launch a heat sink. Miraculous it worked. It seems that the fins in the top of the Beluga fold when the landing gear deploys and that unstuck the Asclepius. Zal Marlo clearly is familiarized with transport ships.

Once inside it did not get better. It was very difficult to maneuver through the debris with such a gigantic ship. As soon as I landed, station control took me to the interior of the hangar before I roast myself. There were, explosions, fire and sparks everywhere.

There were hundreds of refugees from all the local factions looking for passage to the nearby rescue megaship. I hastily loaded the Asclepius and readied for departure. I was not planning in getting stuck again, not with a ship fully loaded of people. I carefully headed to the entrance, avoided the debris, adjusted course after a huge explosion and aligned the ship. Then I hit the boosters and the Asclepius left the ill-fated station at full speed.

Satisfied, I delivered 180 refugees to the nearest rescue megaship, and there I received a message from AEDC command. It seemed that the three main powers, the Federation, the Empire and the Alliance, were striving to expand their presence to the Witch Head Nebula, where the new source systems for meta-alloys are, and there was some sort of rush for resources in order to build some stations there. The problem seemed to be that the parts for the Alliance station were being constructed in Judson Station, in Mizar, a starport that is 161,536 light seconds away from the entrance point of the system. A huge distance to be covered for the transport ships, putting the Alliance in great disadvantage with the other powers. All Alliance commander were being asked to help, and I was in the middle of a rescue operation and, again with not a proper ship for the task. I had to make a decision.

I made a deal with Zal. I would help him to finish the evacuation of Beaufoy Terminal and, in exchange, he would help me to transport the resources needed at Judson Station. In the next 24 hours we did more than ten rescues and I managed to save more than 2,000 refugees with the Asclepius. Grateful, Zal Marlo told me how to equip a Type 9 transport ship for heavy hauling and promised to meet me at Mizar the next day to help with the Alliance campaign. A really nice agreement of cooperation.

Back at Hamilton Gateway, I got to the shipyard and bought myself a Type 9. The ship dealer told me that I was becoming one of his best clients. Understandable after buying two incredibly expensive ships in less than 48 hours. And what can I say, the Beluga may be bigger and heavier, but a Type 9 is much bulkier. Or at least it seems to me.

This beast can carry more than 700 tons of merchandise and it has a cockpit with different levels that could accommodate my Diamondback Explorer, the Hyperion, inside. I painted it dark grey with some yellow strips and called it the Atlas. I guess the name is quite self-explanatory.

With some difficulty I flew the Atlas to the nearby HR 5451 system to load some superconductors and headed to the Mizar system. This ship takes ages to turn. Zal was waiting for me near the nav buoy, as promised, flying a huge Type 9 too himself that he calls the Megasoma filled with Palladium. It seems that Zal is quite fond of Entomology, and likes to name his ships on insects. Quite a curious hobby for a space trader.

Together, we did several transports runs to Judson station along the week. and contributed to the goals of the Alliance towards the expansion to the Witch Head Nebula. Zal is the hell of trader, knowing were to find every merchandise.

We were finishing one run, carrying Palladium, when we heard the news about the Thargoids returning to the Pleiades Nebula and the attack on Palin Research Centre. I told Zal that I needed to go there and check what was happening, and he said he was coming with me. I told him that I was taking the Electra, my Cobra, because a superfast ship was needed to survive this trip and offered him a seat. He told me not to worry about him and promised to meet in the next 12 hours in Maia.

When I arrived to Maia I detected Zal’s beacon in the signal of a listening post. He had made the trip faster than me. When I dropped out of supercruise there I found why. He was flying a heavy modified Imperial Courier. He said it was his personal transport. I had the chance to see his ship boosting and I must admit it is clearly faster than my Cobra. There was a message in loop transmitting. It said that Palin Research Centre had been evacuated.

We soon detected a distress beacon. It was from Palin’s personal megaship, Carson’s Spring. It was under attack. When we arrived at its position, we found that the megaship was devastated, floating adrift in a green mist cloud. But it was holding. There were no Thargoids around, but they would be probably preparing a second wave assault. Many independent pilots were arriving in order to defend Palin. Zal and I were not equipped for helping in the defence, nor for rescuing the megaship, so we decided to split and keep in touch.

I am back now at Hamilton Gateway finishing engineering the Cratos. I have decided to adapt it for fighting Thargoids. I want to take part on the fight. I am tired of running. Right before I started to record this log GalNet published the news that Palin’s megaship has reached Arche system. I am glad to hear that. The news said too that the Thargoids are raiding the Witch head Nebula. They probably want to stop the colonisation efforts. All Alliance commanders have been asked to help defend our new systems there. I must hurry up with the Cratos modifications.

Jav Marlo signing out.

GEARING UP

07 JUL 3305, Hamilton Gateway, system Wolf 406 (Headquarters of the Alliance Elite Diplomatic Corps)

This is Jav Marlo, on board the Cratos, landed at Hamilton Gateway, the headquarters of the Alliance Elite Diplomatic Corps, in system Wolf 406.

This has been a very strange week. I must confess that my trip to system Hoff and my encounter with Zal Marlo, my alleged brother, has affected me. Besides the fact of discovering that I might have a family after all, based on what Zal said, my father could be a Federal. How can this be? It is true that he was always absent, flying missions, but he was a high rank Alliance operative. That I know. Maybe he was not running missions but raising a family on Mars. Or maybe he was a cover agent. That would make him a traitor, instead of a hero of the Alliance. I needed to find answers so, right after leaving Zal at Oluwafemi Terminal, I headed towards Dublin Citadel, to the place where I grew up, seeking for answers.

Zal said that our father disappeared while conducting a cover operation in Alliance territory. That does not match with what they told me. According to the Alliance Defence Force, my father’s Asp Explorer was found adrift in Merope with no signs of him or his body. I did not think it was appropriate to tell Zal Marlo about this. I barely know him. I am going to need to learn more about him too. In the following days, I went again through all the files about my father services for the Alliance. Most of the information is classified, specially his mission logs. Nothing there. I tried in the past to contact the Alliance Council of Admirals looking for answers about my father disappearance with no success. It was my plan to get some notoriety among the Alliance factions in order to try again, but now I cannot do it. What would happen if I discover that he was a spy for the feds, that he was a traitor? That would put me in a very difficult position. I am a member of the AEDC militia now. I have met again with all my father’s contacts and friends here at Dublin Citadel. I cannot tell them about him maybe being a Fed, so I tried unfruitfully to get information from them while concealing my suspects. Another cul de sac. Professor Palin suggested me in my last trip to the Pleiades that maybe I should ask the notorious engineers Bill Turner and Lori Jameson about Alliance cover operations that my father might be involved in. He also warned me about Bill Turner. It does not matter now. Both engineers are still way out of my reach. The only thing that was clear for me was that I needed to discover who my father really was, if what Zal Marlo told me about him was true, before digging more on his disappearance in the Merope system.

After three days in Dublin Citadel, I was going mad. Many of the things I gave for settled were being questioned now. I felt like a foreigner in my own hometown. Not that I was never very attached to any place, but I grew up here, and now everything seemed a lie to me. I was getting paranoid. I even thought that I was under the eye of the Alliance Interpol. So, I decided that I had to leave. I had heard that Aegis Research had issued a statement about growing concerns that meta-alloy harvests in the Pleiades Nebula had slowed dramatically. And that they were asking pilots to hand exploration data to The Oracle in the Delphi system. I discovered many ammonia worlds on my way back from Beagle Point and I still got that data, so I headed for the Pleiades again. At least, this way, I could contribute a little bit to the war against the Thargoids.

The trip made me good. I remember that going to the Pleiades seemed like a huge adventure time ago. Now, after being in Beagle Point, it seemed like a turn around the block. Anyhow, I did not stay there for long. After cashing the remains of my exploration data, I headed back to system Wolf 406, to Hamilton Gateway, my new home. I needed to think what would be my next step. Maybe I should go to Mars and see if I could find information about my father there. But Sol is a permit locked system. You need to have a rank in the Federation Navy to be allowed to travel there. And, besides, with everything that is happening now, it seemed too dangerous.

While I was thinking on my next steps, I decided to concentrate in my role as part of the AEDC militia. I took some petty courier missions for Wolf 406 Transport & Co, and move around some systems in the surroundings. Doing that I started to take conscience that the scope of the AEDC operations is vast, and that most of these operations involve defending the Alliance territory and its factions from pirates and worst. If I wanted to really contribute, it was clear that I was going to need a bigger ship. One that would be capable of sustaining heavy combat. It was time to gear up.

I acquired my only experience in combat during my first trip to the Pleiades. I expended a week there helping the local security force fight the pirates that were attempting to take over an asteroid ring in several skirmishes. That got me a reputation among the local factions and the rank of Expert in combat. I flew a Viper Mark III that I called the Achilles and collected 481 bounty-vouchers on it. But, to be honest, the local forces did most of the job and I had never pull the trigger again after that. Now, with the credits I earned on Distant Worlds 2, I thought I could afford a bigger ship. And there was only one ship I could think of. The true war horse of the Alliance: The Chieftain.

According to Lakoon Spaceways, the Alliance Chieftain has been designed not only to dish out punishment, but to avoid it. The Chieftain is more manoeuvrable than ships of similar size and weight, and its combat profile means it can more than hold its own in a fight. I A-rated every system of the ship and mounted three multi-cannons and three small railguns. I installed some surface reactive composite armor and reinforced the hull along with the modules. I added some countermeasures too, a FSD interdictor and a fuel scoop. I wanted it to be difficult to spot in a fight, so I chose a dark paint, but added some green stripes. After all, I meant to use it for defending the Alliance space. The only thing left was to choose a proper name. And, being this a ship created with the only purpose of combat, I decided that Cratos, the personification of power, strength and dominium in Greek mythology, would be a proper name. Now it was time to try it.

That is the biggest ship I have owned. And the most expensive. Everything in the Chieftain is combat oriented. No room for luxuries. The crew quarters are Spartan but appropriate. Just equipped with the basics. They clearly were not thinking in long trips. The canopy is incredible spacious. Or it seemed to me, used to smaller ships. It holds space for a co-pilot and offer great views. I must confess that I love the thrill of testing a new ship.

I took the Cratos out for its first flight and confirmed that the Chieftain is incredible nimble for its size. They say it was designed to counteract the agility of the Thargoid interceptors. I wanted to get used to fly on it, so I decided to visit some of the engineers in the surroundings and see if they could tinker a little bit with its systems. And that is when the Chieftain proved that it was designed just for combat. Accustomed to the Hyperion and the Electra, the Cratos is a real pain to move around the Bubble. Even after Farseer increased its jump range, the tiny fuel tank makes necessary to fuel scoop at every star, and the overcharged power plant overheats easily, at least compared to a Diamondback Explorer.

I have engineered the Cratos to the limit that my resources allowed me. Modifications do not come cheap, but I must say that I put the Painite Zal Marlo gave me to a good use. The engineers are very demanding. It seems that I am going to need a lot of materials if I want squeeze the whole potential of this ship. But I am quite satisfied with the results so far. I guess this is a work in progress.

It was time for a real combat test. There is always a Compromised Navigation Beacon someplace in the Alliance space, where wanted vessels piloted by criminals have overcome the security forces and fly around harassing the disgraced pilots that arrive there. This places are ripe for bounties too. They are really dangerous combat grounds, with no backup and, usually, they should be avoided at all costs. The perfect set up for a ship like the Cratos. I found one and dropped to normal space. Seconds later a Krait Phantom approached and scanned me. On this occasion, instead of running, I deployed my hardpoints.

In the following days I fought every wanted ship I could. I challenged Kraits, Clippers, wings of Eagles, Cobras, Anacondas and even Type 10 Defenders. During the first encounters I had to retreat several times with my ego wounded and my ship scratched, but I went to Todd “The Blaster” Mc Quinn and overcharged my multi-cannons. After that, with their new incendiary rounds, they started to melt the enemy ships shields. Then I could snipe through their systems with my rail guns. I lost my shields many times, but the reinforces to the hull always managed to resist until the shields recover. After three days, I was able to defeat Elite Anacondas, Kraits and Type 10 Defenders. Most of the encounters with these incredible dangerous enemies left me bruised and battered and in need of patching at the nearest station. It seems that the Chieftain has a tendency to take all the strikes to its canopy. It did not matter to me. I took the scratches as a badge of honor. They were the marks that proved my progress as a combat pilot and, as I have said, this is a work in progress.

Jav Marlo signing out.