*click* 'I left the black box on my other ship when I sold it.. bad move on my part, but I don't need the logs from there. They weren't worth anything to begin with.
Right...I forget I have to introduce myself with the new ship. That is where the hard part comes in. I don't really have a name anymore, at least, not a true one. People call me Phoenix, though why, I will never understand.
*a sigh is heard, follow by some shuffling of materials. Paper?* 'As for a backstory, I will not give one for this box. Not interesting enough anyway. I just gathered what funds I still have from small deals from the Zoner populations and bought this...Osprey for cheap, from an ace who was ready to retire. It has a dent in it from what looks like a high speed collision, maybe another ship, but it can be mended with a little work. The turning is more sluggish than what I am used to, but it will do. It has enough weapons to outgun a House gunboat anyway. I'm not sure what this Zoner Ace did for a living, but it apparently required a uh...
*more shuffling of items* 'Nova Torpedo Engagement System. Heavy weaponry for a Zoner, right? Well, it doesn't matter now. I bought it already, so I might as well get used to it.
*click*
*click* 'Today was interesting for me...I took a few hours to myself and explored 'Tau-29' and.. well...I met someone there. Not surprising, considering it is contested space for everyone now, but this was...different. I cruised to one of the Jump Gates, which the AI did not consider letting me sit in peace, so I had to do evasive maneuvers, sluggish ones at that. I was almost to a blind spot when I run into... a Sotra Cruiser. First off, I was wary. Most Outcast Sortas do not care of your standing, and the captains piloting them love to play 'cat and mouse' with small ships. This one was different. Despite showing up as a Sorta, the IFF displayed them as a Freelancer. I never got the name of the captain, but I got half of a ship name on the bow. 'Sho-' was all I could see at that moment, but it did not matter. He seemed.. a calm person, although he was dealing with 'Gallic Royal Navy' pilots that were attempting to arrest him. I do not care for the Gallic forces, mostly because they attack me for no reason. This man, this Sorta captain, a-
*a low rumble mixed with static echos into the microphone* 'Looks like that Ion Storm hit us..should be over now... Now..where was I?
*a small period of silence*
[FAST FORWARDING TO NEXT INTERACTION] 'I forget my thought, but I would enjoy conversing with this captain of the 'Sho' sometime soon. He seemed nice enough..
*click*
*click* 'When you fly in the unclaimed sectors of Sirius, you would expect skilled pirates and cutthroat mercenaries, right? Well uh, I ran into someone who makes that ideal complete garbage. Anyway, let me explain. I was heading from Java Station in Tau-23, when this guy, Jack Bloomwell or something, comes out of the jump hole from Kyushu. Nothing wrong with that, he looked harmless enough in his Sunburst, but then he stops his engines and says something like 'You should be smart enough to know what this is.' Now, imagine this: An Osprey armed to the teeth in the process of being pirated by some guy in a Sunburst. After I firmly informed him of his folly, he seemed less willing to extort money from me. He seemed lost after that, so I decided to help him out. I took him under my wing and decided to head for Maltese space. About halfway there he starts getting evasive from the nearby Maltese patrols. Turns out he is wanted by the Maltese government for some reason I sill care not to know. I still upheld my word though, so while he was hiding from the patrols, I was bringing him Cardamine shipments. After we were loaded up, we set course through Kusari, and into Liberty, heading straight for Manhattan. While I am indifferent on the idea of Cardamine, the local law enforcement is, luckily they were busy with some more skilled pirates than who I had with me. Guess he has a long way to go before actually being something to fear...'
*click*
*click* 'So uh...good news and bad news for everyone, despite no one being able to hear me...I'll give you the good news first. After I left that Sunburst guy at Manhattan, I went to make a deal for some Helium with the local Libertonian pirates. After I did the simple job and got paid, they sent some search-and-destroy hunter team after me. Guess they didn't like one time transactions.
*the sound of coughing is heard* 'Right...now the bad news. The hunters finally found me around Inverness, and while I had the upper hand in weaponry, they had numbers. Right now I am sitting in a Junker spaceport with bandages everywhere, and without my Osprey. They shot it full of holes, and one of their missiles happened to meet my engine, sending me into this station. Either way, at least I am alive. Had some Junker offer me a deal for a replacement ship, it was cheap, so I couldn't complain. Some scouting vessel they found in the nearby asteroid field. They say it is an Order ship, but not much else. I don't trust their claim about them just finding it around, but I will check in with the actual 'Order' forces to see if they won't mind me using it... Hopefully they won't have any problems. I would hate another team of fighters hunting me down.'
*click*
[ACCESSING FILE...]
[2%...16%...46%...71%...93%...]
[FILE ACCESS COMPLETE]
[BEGIN PLAYBACK]
*click* 'So uh, no word from the Order about the ship yet, but uh...it seems that wherever I go with it people will think I am trouble. Some Crayterian commented on the outdated software I am currently using on it for being 'counterfeit.' I'm not one to complain about it, it keeps life support running, I am looking into the Barrier Gate Station out in Coronado to see if someone can get me a public software that can work with this, maybe one for an 'Arrow' or something. If no one can fix it, I can go and find another ship if need be.'
*click*
[END OF FILE]
[ACCESSING FILE...]
[16%...71%...97%...]
[FILE ACCESS COMPLETE]
[BEGIN PLAYBACK] *click* 'When in Baffin, you respect the area. What happened today was...uh...bad, very bad indeed. So uh, I found some Order members who were uh...not pleased to see me, like I expected. However, they were busy fighting the local freelance group for some reason. After the local enforcement separated them, the Others arrived with their own Followers. A fight ensued afterwards, spilling out into the neighborhood Tau system, and returned back to Baffin in larger force. One of the Order ships, uh, 'Destiny's Embrace' began to flee from the Followers of the Others, and told me if I could disrupt their engines, I would revive full title over my current vessel. As I began to assist, I realized that the software that replaced my old operating system was built for a racer's chassis and frame, and the ballistics computer was not calculating the shots correctly. In the end, uh, the 'Embrace' met a foul end, and the Followers retreated from the nearby Coalition capital vessel.
*silence ensues* 'Uh...anyway, I hope my inability to assist to my full limit doesn't change the mind of the Order on my current condition. Once this waiting is over, I need to contact an engineering corps that builds and programs these scouting vessels...'
*click*
[END OF FILE]
[ACCESSING FILE...]
[2%...30%...73%...]
[FILE ACCESS COMPLETE]
[BEGIN PLAYBACK] *click* 'A representative of the Order finally contacted me, and uh, I had to send my limited IFF files to them so we can continue conversing about the ship. They seem wary about me, like expected. But uh, anyway, I sent the files and uh...now we wait, I guess. I tried to visit the Order pilots in Inverness, but they seemed less happy to see me than the others in Baffin. So I am sitting here, trying to talk to the local pilots in Coronado. They seem rather knowledgeable about the Order as well, save for the obvious quests to remove the Others. They don't really like to talk unless you wave a Credit pile their way. Not really into paying people for information, but I guess I will remain in the dark until I have the spare credits to find information..'
*click*
[END OF FILE]
[ACCESSING FILE...]
[1%...60%...80%...]
[FILE ACCESS COMPLETE]
[BEGIN PLAYBACK] *click* 'Asking around in Coronado finally paid off for me, and now I am...in far lands indeed. Some freelancer was trading Helium that was willing to take me as far as Sigma-19 to help me find a more direct route to the Order. She pointed to an area that contained a jump hole and departed for trade. After that, I was guided by vague directions and locations, and I was slightly worried until I found the Others. They were a faint signal, at first, then they came closer at alarming speeds. They were obviously not in the mood to let me pass, and I was about to return the way I came when these pilots came out of nowhere and engaged the Others. A skirmish ensued, but these mysterious pilots were skilled and eliminated them. Afterwards, they introduced themselves as members of the 'Core' and questioned my ship, like everyone else does. They didn't give me a chance to explain much though...they opened fire. I was almost sure I was going to become debris when more of the Others arrived...the warp core was overloaded and the failsafes enabled, leaving me adrift in the nearby nebulae.
'After nearly an eternity of waiting, I was discovered by an Order patrol from a nearby battleship. They seemed less aggressive than the ones I encountered, maybe because I was willing to comply with them. The engines are going through mandatory thrust recalibrations right now.. I had a discussion with the engineers there and they told me they would talk to a few people so I can remain within the area without major problems. I still get a few looks from the Order members on the ship.. there is a spaceport nearby here, I may want to stay there so I can figure things out. Maybe I can get directions back home as well...this trip was bad planning, but I am here now, and now that I am here, I guess I can ask around about the ship and get answers faster...this place is uncomfortable, dark and I would enjoy the peace of Baffin again.'
*click* [END OF FILE]
[ACCESSING FILE...]
[35%...69%...98%...]
[FILE ACCESS COMPLETE]
[BEGIN PLAYBACK] *click* 'More explorations led me to a Freeport a few days back, a sight for sore eyes indeed. They were nice enough to let me occupy one of their hangar bays for a time, until I could find someone to help me. My exit was in the form of a Serenity captain, uh, Cannish or something. Some strange name, but he agreed to take me back to Bretonia, and from there I made my way back home. On our trek back to New London, we were ambushed by a large patrol of gunboats, all bearing Molly IFFs. While the Serenity somehow got away, I had to take aggressive maneuvers to leave. Somehow, when I escaped, one gunboat was on fire, most likely the fault of the two Bretonian Police craft that was there as well. We were chased for awhile, until we reached New London, where the BAF was waiting for the Rogues. On my trip home, I encountered the Auxesians again, not surprising, really, just that they were in greater numbers than usual.
'The Onuris is uh...not in good shape. A mechanic in Coronado had to replace the armor plating on the back of it, from where one of the gunboat missiles connected. The thing has given me more trouble than it is really worth now...I'll look into returning it, stolen or not. At least then I will not get shot at for nothing...'
*click* [END OF FILE]
[ACCESSING FILE...]
[35%...69%...98%...]
[FILE ACCESS COMPLETE]
[BEGIN PLAYBACK] *click* 'The uh...Order got back to me...apparently they mistook my message and thought I wanted to purchase another one of their vessels...uh...I won't complain though...I didn't exactly ask for this one. I'll hand this one back when they see me next...although this does feel like a trap.'
*papers are shuffled*
'The Onuris actually survived through it all, though...I just went and polished out the burned marks on the rear plating...maybe they will appreciate it. I may uh...I might consider signing up for the Order patrols as well...if they will let me. I feel oddly indebted to them for saving me a few times...I don't know...'
*click* [END OF FILE]
[ACCESSING FILE...]
[35%...69%...98%...]
[FILE ACCESS COMPLETE]
[BEGIN PLAYBACK] *click*
*a cough is heard, as well as the gentle hum of the engines in the background. A metal plate shuts before someone takes in a breath.* 'This seems to be missing some of my more recent recordings...must have been the ion storms...or something. Uh, anyway...the Order didn't seem to mind my will to join them, and I went back to Mu once more. Training, classes, the whatnot. After those classes, my first deployment is the most unknown; the House of Gallia. I made a stop on my way there back to Baffin...seems my sect either dispersed or move elsewhere, and now there are only the uh, Discordants. Confusing group, those pilots. Anyway, they are gone now...I would have assumed as much after I left. Anyway, I stopped at the nearby Freeport, took some supplies, then took a few holes the uh, miners pointed out. They took me to uh...'Orkney' as they called it. Used to be a Bretonian sector, I think, but it changed with the Gallic invasion.
Anyway, I scouted the local areas, trying to avoid the patrols...and silencing the ones that I can't. I uh, found the Council 'Redemption' class battleship hiding behind one of the moons of the system...they seem nice enough to let me in as another Zoner... I think I'll be launching recon from there for the time being. The Others are nearly unheard of to the pilots I talked to...why I don't know.
These 'Council' of Gallia is much like the Blood Dragons, or Hellfire Legion, or that 72nd Outcast group that hangs around Delta...against the larger group. The Council say they don't attack the civilian transports, which seems promising, but they told me of one of their subgroups, some terrorist organization that fights the government of Gallia through transport attacks and terror tactics. These terrorists are disturbing to think about, to say the least. I found a Sirian transport pilot smuggling criminals out of Gallic space...he pointed me to a jump hole located in a large minefeild, but I have yet to go check it out fully. I'll need to send my findings with my normal report to the Order as well...but when I will be in communication range again, I don't know. Maybe I'll get a miner to help me out or something.'
*click* [END OF FILE]