My apologies for the original brief message, I was getting called to the ship as I was preparing it. I have more time now to expand. One clarification I must make before continuing, I did not mean to imply that I had command of the Reckoning or the Ascension. I was working as a gunner on the Ascension and am currently the gunner on the Reckoning. I've now decided to go fly a ship of my own.
My origins are fairly boring hence my omission. I come from a Zoner family, mostly life on Freeports and a few visits to Gran Canaria. Family made a living shipping essentials between Freeports in a Dromedary. It just went south one day... My father and I were attacked by unknown forces. No responses to hails, ship profile matched nothing in the database and they were unbelievably fast. I was just a kid but I will never forget that shade of blue...
My father threw me in the escape pod and hit the eject button. "Get in there! Don't worry, it'll be okay." My last memory of him is through that port hole. After he flew away to draw off the unknowns, his ship was never found.
My mother and I needed a change of scenery, so we went to Freeport 2 for a long while. Around 4 years ago, I went to Freeport 11 on a heavy transport. That's where I found the Ascension moored. Beautiful Zoner deep space dreadnought. Talked to the captain, got a post on board and slowly worked my way up. Eventually I got to be gunner on her, and boy does she pack a punch. That's when I realized that Delta was contested space. An alert sounded, all crew to battle stations. This being my first engagement, I was a bit jumpy. When I was just a crew hand, we were told to shelter in the secure rooms of the ship while the crew with battle stations stayed at their posts. I got to my post and then looked to the exterior cams and froze. I saw those blue ships again. My mate next to me said it, "Damn nomads... Gene, light up the turrets."
Luckily, it was only a few fighters, but I had to know more. I talked to him again after we stood down. "I'm surprised you don't know about them. They're all over this area and have only been getting more active." My father had never really let me hear the stories. Told me I'd sleep better if I didn't know and my mother never wanted to talk about it. That's when I delved into the Ascensions records. Encounter after encounter, and that was just the records I was authorized to see! I figured we had been sheltering from pirates, not these....things.
As the months went on, he told me more stories, things they thought to be true, things that were just speculation and then about the Order. I could hardly believe it. Not only that house space was beginning to be infested, but that my parents had warned me of nothing. Here was I, until now believing that I had a decent grip on what was going on in the sector to learn that I knew nothing.
Enter the Reckoning. We were in Omicron Zeta when we encountered. Picked up a Hathor on long range scanners and they requested to meet with our commander on the Ascension. After the meeting with captain, they stayed for a bit to shoot the breeze. Apparently it was a calm day and they had finished their patrol. I talked to their captain and we exchanged contact information. He told me if he needed a gunner in the future, I could send my stats down to him and he would see if I could cut it manning the battery on a Hathor. I thought that was the last I would hear of him.
The years go by until we get to just 8 months ago. I receive word from the Reckoning, their gunner has R&R coming up, they need to fill a slot. I briskly take my stats from the Ascension logs and send them to him. A few days go by when the comm room radios me, "Gene, you got a tight beam. Direct to you." I check my logs and there is a message from the captain. Short and sweet.
"The Order can always use good agents.", it read. "We'd like for you to join us."
I sat there reading that over and over again. I realized this would be my best chance to learn more about the Nomads and to help defend against them. I requested from the commander that I be granted leave to join the Order. He smirked and granted it. He told me, "I always knew it would be you. Tell navigation where you're meeting."
We met on Freeport 11 and I first set foot inside a Hathor. I was overwhelmed. The Ascension had been well armed to say the least, but this technology looked to be developed at a military level. My new captain pats me on the back, "Like what you see? She's going to be a bit more responsive than your dreadnought battery.", he says sarcastically.
I'm taken to Akabat for training on the Hathors systems as it's completely different from a dreadnought battery. After I had passed my training, I was with the Reckoning full time and I discovered the full breadth of the dangers in this region of space. Nomad activity trying to push further into the neighboring systems. The despicable Core hunters who stop at nothing for even just a hint of the technology. This is truly a dangerous frontier, and I'm in the heart of it.
I don't regret a single decision I've made. I don't expect to regret this one. My captain has granted me transfer to fly my own ship should 141 accept my application.
