As the day spent slouched over your ship's multitude of controls and buttons and levers and adjusters drags on, your shoulders slump. You decide to lay back on the seat of your ship, for a little while to ponder your current circumstances, and what exactly led you to this point.
The infinitude of stars zoom past your ship, as they always do, you're very often in a hurry to get your job done. The plenitude of vibrant colors from the distant clouds that surrounded your place of birth have always been a little inspiring for as long as you can remember. Even during the darkest days, your dreams of finally becoming a spacer and leaving everyone behind were always accompanied by the vivid thoughts of brushing your nails against the mystifying Barrier, or maybe even going on a long journey across the breadth of the Walker and maybe even become a scoundrel worthy of becoming the talk of Sirius in one way or another.
But alas, once those lofty dreams and high expectations were met by reality, a more approachable mindset of chasing credits rather than chasing dreams began to slowly creep in, and what felt unique about the looming colorful nebula clouds in the distant unknown simply became an everyday occurrence to you as you continued to work on spaceships. The alacrity of climbing inside of a cockpit every day for several hours is beginning to gradually ebb.
You were taught about the people that inhabit them, and you've also learned to quickly adapt to the dangers that lurk around Sirius in one way or another. Being a spacer isn't safe, and it's hardly even rewarding sometimes. But it feels good to be up here, away from all the people and the boring drivel about stock prices and the everyday complaint from some acquaintance about your local government.
Nevertheless, you are making ends meet. But at what cost?
The questions briefly dance around your mind for a while, more of those fancy gas giants and monumental planetary grids simply flying past you, as you prepare yourself to unplug your brain yet again to successfully dock within a trade lane ring which will carry you from point A to point B, as it often does.
But then, something catches your attention - a red light, some kind of radio beacon of sorts. Your comms devices are deafened - you can't bear to listen to the drivel all around you, so instead you choose to transmit the radio station to your high-fidelity audio devices.
This is unusual, you think to yourself. You've never seen this station's frequency before - it must be new. You decide to tune in, there's nothing to lose by killing boredom by tuning in a simple radio broadcast. It's signal can be traced back to Liberty - they're known for their somewhat reasonable taste in music.
As the station displays its frequency and point of origin, the buffering completes, and the broadcast begins.
The voice of a very jovial, somewhat bretonian male radio host welcomes you. His voice isn't loud, and he doesn't sound like he's forcing any kind of radio personality either. Your burdened spirits are momentarily lifted, as your interest is somewhat piqued by his calm and charming mannerisms.
BROADCAST TYPE:MX1(Long-range Radio Station)
BROADCAST RUNTIME:98:23:01
BROADCAST POINT OF ORIGIN:Li-27-mnb4 RELAY
BROADCAST INFORMATION:Crest FM will provide you with occasional updates and plenty of assorted Old-Sol era beats that'll get your heart pumping! Stay safe, and stay tuned, folks! From Liberty, with love.
--And that my friends was Life on Mars, by David Bowie. The title itself calls back to an era when interplanetary travel technology was not believed to be feasible, and instead a remote fantasy and maybe even written off as an unattainable dream. But they clearly pushed past their limits, since we're here today, living and kicking. Mostly. Can't say the same for the poor chaps in the Omegas lately.
[The broadcaster cleared his throat.] Ahem. On a more serious note, I must spend a few minutes for our occasional news segment, so stay tuned.
Uhhh... the recent drought in silver around Liberty has been met with an excessive amount of crazed traders lately. Some of the dock workers have had numerous spats with Rheinlanders who couldn't speak basic Sirian sometimes, some pilots even tried to haggle their silver bars to the highest bidder. The audacity! The stuff people do for money, I swear!
There... have been some sightings of a self-proclaimed Lane Hacker group "full of besties" as of late. And what's worse than a failed college dropout? A failed college dropout piloting gunboats and other things that can deal some real harm. Stay safe, stay vigilant. And keep your shields up.
Uhhh, let's see... oh, right. The news channel probably talked about this a bazillion times by now, but it turns out the Kaiser himself is going to pay a visit in Gallia one of these days. If you're fancying watching a diplomatic incident unfold, you're more than welcome to visit the Throne's convoy - just stay at a reasonable distance, and don't get yourselves killed.
Ah, uhh... hrmm. Oh, there has been this very funny broadcast near Denver these days. Something... about Xenos... I think? Yeah, they were trying to fix their radio antennas, and they didn't know they were broadcasting the whole time, and it was very funny. If you ask me, they don't know a thing about engineering. It went something like "Where do I plug the long-range adapter?", or "You moron, that's not an adapter, that's a sparkplug". If anyone is interested in swiping their stuff, they sound like easy pickings. Can't... exactly share their coordinates though, or they'll have my head.
Alright, this has been your solar host Solar, and let's get things cookin' with some more energetic beats. Let's quit thinking that space is an endless void full of morons killing each other for a while, and instead pretend that there's a shiny Mr. Blue Sky like in Tau-37. Enjoy!
[Another track played immediately after the previous one, leaving an almost seamless transition between the two.]
Only Time Will Tell by Asia, my handsome listeners. Another masterful group from old Sol gents making music so unbelievably great it made it all the way in the Liberty's databanks. If you think about it for a moment, the sheer amount of things we may have left back home is simply unreal.
Asia used to be one of the many major continents back in the ancient days of Sol, back when we all came from the same cradle and still killed each other. A few thousand years later or so, and now we've learned to kill each other in lavish triple tachyon style. Truly, we've changed a lot since then.
How are you all doing on this fine day/evening? Good, I hope. And if you're down with the blues, you've totally connected to the right station. I'm your host Solar, and this is Crest Radio, from Liberty, with lots of tender, loving care. Within reason!
I think the old disc reader has earned herself a little coffee break, don't you think? Let's all go over some news together.
This just in: a Cryer transport crashed somewhere in the Silverton field one hour ago. My sources out there say that some kind of tradelane malfunction caused the ship to land itself straight into an asteroid, causing the pilot to lose control of the thing and activate his distress beacon. Poor chap probably got his head smashed in. Oh no. Anyways, if you are pining for some easy credits, that might be a good place to investigate, whether you're with a repair crew or a boarding crew doesn't make a difference to me. Screw Cryer and their exorbitant healthcare prices.
Uhh, let's see... ah, yeah, right. Remember that Xeno antenna array transmission I could pick up all the way from Denver? I talked about this a few hours ago, remember? Well, it turns out it's still online, the morons forgot to turn it off. Sounds like they are playing cards and drinking beer and shooting bottles around a cozy campfire instead of doing their jobs. I wish I was invited.
Mmmm... oh... yes. This might interest you: West Oaks in Houston is about to open their "Flip The Squelom" contest. Feel free to sign up if rolling huge animals while being knee deep in mud for money is your sorta thing. I hear it's some kind of family tradition that became something of a local ritual. This is what boredom and the lack of fertile lands can do to unemployed farmers, people.
I think it's time for something a little more relaxing for this time of day. Let's kick things back with some Wild Cherry, Playing that Funky Music. Enjoy.
Hello, my wonderful listeners. Solar here, and you're tuned in to Crest FM Radio. Or just Crest. Or just Crest Radio. Your best, most loving, most heartfelt source of comfort and safety for these trying times.
Gather 'round, because we've got our regularly scheduled updates to go through.
Funnily enough, one of our listeners reached out to me about the squelom flipping contests happening on Houston - they asked if it's possible to participate if you're "not a heavyweight champ when it comes to my physique". And my answer is - go for it! The competition is about having fun, and it's less about the credits this time around. Lots of squelom ranchers from all over Houston like to join up for these games, so the more the merrier, I say.
I've got some juicy news for the more militant folk out there. The Minneapolis may or may not see a full refurbishing and re-deploying in the following year or so! According to a press statement released this morning by a rather stressed out Navy Commander Ethan Anderson Rivera, he states that "Pennsylvania has to receive a stricter deal of attention by our forces", end quote. If I may be completely honest with y'all, this may be a hoax and a half, possibly meant to sedate last week's public outrage over a Synth Foods convoy being attacked and dismantled by the locals. They were supposed to deliver some rations to the population of Erie, so who can blame 'em for getting riled up?
Mmmm... now for something less political, we've received news about a local incident involving local Junkers claiming to have found the "biggest source of mineable thermal materials yet". It turns out, they went straight for Zone-21. And mining high-end explosives... well, doesn't usually end well. If you are in the mood for some grave robbing, they are ripe for the picking. Assuming there's anything left.
Well! I think that's been enough boring stuff for the time being, so let's have ourselves a little guest here, live on radio from the Colorado system! Here we have the Mito Maru, a Samura transport haulin' merch from A to D, skipping B and C. How are you doing today, miss?
[A woman is on the other end of the conversation - she appears to be using her ship's comms to calmly respond. Her tone is quite relaxed and easy-going, and she sounds quite intrigued by Solar's questions.]
I am doing great, thank you! Today is a calm day for our shipping.
Good, good. Let's hope it stays that way, Liberty has quite a few ornery people, rangin' from profiteers to opportunists. But I don't mean to scare you - there's also plenty of good in our Colony. Say, I have a huge question for you: have you heard of the Kaiser of Rheinland himself mobilising to have a talk in Gallia? This seems to be the scoop lately, and we'd like to hear your thoughts. If you ask me, it's a diplomatic incident just waiting to unfold!
I have indeed heard that. The news reached Kusari quickly.
Ah! And what do your people think of this? Your relationship with Rheinland ain't the softest one out there now, is it?
We in Samura have no reason to believe that there will be any incidents.
Mmm-mmh. What leads you to believe that? Are you a... gal o' Kaiser, so to speak? Do you believe in the Throne being kept relatively safe?
We have a long history with Rheinland, we know what they're capable of. I am sure they have taken every neccessary security measure available. This is just a educated guess though. Who knows what dangers they will be facing?
I see! Total trust in the new government, they /do/ want to impose an image of safety and security! Nobody knows who will be out there waiting for the Kaiser. On another note, does Samura also have a stance on Liberty's recent Silver Drought? The stock prices hint towards an approaching surplus of silver in the economy. I'd say that drought has been sated by now!
Samura has of course provided aid to the Libertonian corporations seeking Silver.
I see, I see. One last question, if you don't mind.
Of course.
For any poor spacer out there looking for some easy credits, what would you personally recommend? There are no wrong answers here, don't you worry.
There are no easy credits in space. You either live poor, get rich, or go back planetside. If you are looking for wealth, benefits, stability and safety though, I recommend to join up with Samura. We make life in space, and life in general, more easy for you.
I see! Truly spoken like an economic darwinist. A... great sponsorship here from the Mito Maru in Colorado, ladies and gentlemen. I am Solar, and I thank you for lending me your time. This is Crest Radio, and we're here from Liberty, with love.
I think it's time for something a little different. Here we have a request from one of our listeners on Denver. Her name is Monique, and the song's called... Safeword, by Torii Wolf. Hmm, I haven't heard this one before. Let's have a listen, shall we?
You're listening to Crest Radio, and I'm your host Sol. It's been a while since our most recent updates. Did you think I'd let the disc reader do all the work all by her lonesome? Didn't think so.
And you may be wondering: "Where the devil have you been, Sol?" It's been a couple of busy days for us here talking to you from our broadcast station, we had to do some quick and swift renovations, so that we could get back in the swing of things right away. So, let's kick it right off with some news that gathered over these past days like dust on a shelf.
This year's Flip the Squelom competition has drawn to a close, and our winner for this year is, for the fourth year in a row, the Gulfton farmer Jessica Alvìnos, from Houston, except this time she limped towards the finish line, both literally and figuratively. Seems like the competition is drawing some real tough farmers from all over the place, trying to dethrone the queen of squelom flipping. Buuuuut unfortunately, she is still mighty and strong, and now endowed with the precious pot of 10,500 Sirius Credits, now tucked in her pockets.
Here's a little warning, for you dastardly swashbuckling people out there in space: a Rheinland Tirpitz popped out of nowhere in Texas a few days ago, and was not intercepted by the local authorities, but instead by the New Republic-- I mean, FREE Republic people, who tore it into bits in a handful of minutes. My word of advice: keep it icy, men. No daydreaming while you're around them. Or better yet, no daydreaming at all while you're in space.
On a completely unrelated note, I don't think I really need to say this, but if you EVER see those annoying pop-ups about free supplies of Rheinbier, sent by "naughtysquelom.nn", do NOT send them your information. It's obviously a hoax, and it's been sent to millions of people last night, somehow bypassing modern neural net pop-up security technology. Some tinfoil hats think it's the work of mischievous but talented Lane Hackers, but I beg to differ. Don't trust anything on the neural net, people. Trust only your ears, and your local radio system.
Hmm... oh, yes, I suppose this is important, too. The stock prices for silver all around the Federal Republic have begun to plummet, as the huge drought in the supply has been met with excessive force, turning it into a surplus. This means that your daring-do efforts of hauling your silver hauls in Denver will likely yield you little results for the foreseeable future. And if you've already invested in silver by this point, well, for... lack of a better word, you're fucked. Start selling while you still can.
But fret not, because as a door closes, another opens: I hear a Junker smelter somewhere in the Border Worlds may or may not have happened upon a load of military salvage about to be processed back into tetra-alloys and other construction material. If you are fancying a garage sale like never before and looking to embellish your ship with a decorative gun or two, I'd head there right now before it ends!
Ooooh, that's right. The new DI-MG7 "Mage" hovercar model has released today from the trustworthy Derrington Industries, and has been hitting every hovercar dealer store in Manhattan, soon to be shipped to California and Colorado as well. The price is still a bit steep if your virtual pockets are feeling tight, but give it a little more time and this new workhorse will take you wherever you want in comfort and with a pinch of style to go with it. Don't worry, I'm not being paid to do any advertisement: I just think it's a great model.
That's all I've got for now, I am Sol, and this is Crest Radio. And we're here from Liberty, with love.
You are listening to Crest, and I'm your host Solar, here to give you some good company for your cold, cold travels in the middle of space.
Let's take a break from our beloved classics, because I've got a few important things to go through. One of these may or may not be important for any of you folks out there currently headed to Rheinland, so pay attention.
Our eyes in the stars have caught some rather drastic events happening a few hours ago! Remember all of those comments and interviews that were made regarding the Kaiser's visit to Rheinland, and do you also recall how I prognosticated incidents of drastic magnitude unfolding? Well, someone take my crystal ball away, because I was right on the credit: the Kaiser's transport was unfortunately attacked by a large group of Bundschuh fighters, followed by some kind of unholy matrimony between militant, seemingly recusant Gauls and Rheinlanders, and last but not least even the Gallic local terrorists gave the convoy the what-for right around the finish line. Talk about being hated... glad I'm not that guy. And you should be too, because some veritable witnesses at the Oerlikon Observatory claimed that the transports of the Daumann, Kruger and RGS top dogs were all blown into smithereens by this unprecedented attack. The Kaiser's ship, the Burghausen, received some significant damage along the way as well, with a Maquis suicide bomber that recklessly detonated itself on the Kaiser's ship right on the orbit of New Paris as a cherry on top.
It's safe to say that the sole mobilization of the Kaiser from one point to another brought droves of Bundschuh rebels to be slaughtered among with countless others, as well as the millions, if not billions of credits wasted in property damage. RGS stock prices have reportedly plummeted by 21% in just a few hours, there were some pretty darn important people on that ship that seemingly kept the corporation up in the competition. Needless to say, condolences go to the families of those poor souls involved in this incident. And to any of you wise guys out there hankering to take a little souvenir home from the crash sites, you should probably reconsider, because Rheinland SAR operations are likely to be still on-going. And you don't wanna ruffle the feathers of those Rheinlanders who nearly got their most important political figure assassinated. Unless you want to be arrested for snooping around!
Now that the heftier stuff is out of the way, let's pay attention to our local news. It is with a very heavy heart that I must inform you that synthoguitar rockstar Gaius Emmerick, known as "the Toothpick", has passed away at the age of 83 due to a prolonged coronary disease. He was a stoic bastion of the modern resurgence of synth rock music, as well as... oooh, a whole plethora of other genres from old Sol he boldly brought into the hearts and minds of us colonists. He was an inspiration to us all, and we'll never, ever forget you. Rest in peace, Hoss.
Ah, here's a little word of warning from a minor shipping incident that happened on Manhattan. Now, you won't hear this on the news because Synth Foods has a HUGE damn finger in the pie that is today's stock market, but according to some LPI reports, about 33 synth paste dispensers and a few fast food restaurants have reportedly distributed the infamous Synth paste Batch PBX781, one that has caused a bit of a scare because it's causing some crippling dysentery to the poor people who were unfortunate enough to consume it hours before the LPI could recover all of the tubes from the downtown area of Lenox Hill. Locals were somewhat amused by seeing badges picking up wheelbarrows full of rotten synth paste. And to be honest, I'd be too. This goes without saying, but Synth Foods holds no responsibility over the consumer's health, and blah blah yadda yadda. It's probably all written behind the tube in those miniscule letters. Squint your eyes next time, folks.