P.I.M

[pim]

Well... Here I am, so many time has passed... So many Ks... Let's start by the beginning ! I reallised that my whole life, before this one, could have been the origin of my current name... I wasn't thinking about all of this when I choose it, but, looks like,...
Hum ! Let's start ! It is my name, here is my life :

[size=small]P.I.M

I born in California Minor, and grow up with no special goals, living day after day... Quite precocious, I was sent after my studies in unexplored places, as a pioneer. This part of my life, before I went into space is not really impressive : I was a picturesque pack ice man, like the ones you see on postcards...
One day, I was doing my stuffs, repairing an antenna damaged by frost, when a message called me back at home (a metal igloo containing cultures and some houses). A prospector from the Powerfull Independent Mining guild had been sent on our planet to see if there were some interesting minerals here.
I was the one chosen to escort this Pedestrian Independent Miner. Escorting is a great word, I only had to tell her (yes, a girl, some isolated people are... basic, and she was the first working lady I've ever see) what were the dangers on the ice, and, the rest of the time, sit and look this Plodder Independent Miner work, in the case of she had an accident.
She had some, daily things for me, not for her, so I had no matters to help her each time. Getting really impressed, she told me I could be useful for her Prestigious Independent Mining Guild (as she said). Not really crazy about this, I stayed cool, but took my decision while we were coming back home : if THIS was my life, I'd better change quick !
The following months are blur in my memory. I only remember I made lots of things, like a perfectionist, to earn enough money to go in space. Finally, I grant a ticket to New London and, as I planned, leaved during the resupply at Freeport 4. There, I passed theoretical tests to enter IMG on, easily due to my experience with the IMG girl. I was going to be the Promissing Independent Miner, that was my goal, my first step...


Then, I carried on all the tests they could put in my way to evaluate and, maybe, unsuccessfully reject me. The evening, I was watching my results. A whole life isolated inside a half-sphere isn't the best way to develop human relationships, and my only contact with outer world was a 22'' computer screen, that I learned to use well. Consequence : pirating Freeport's datas was easy and locked Proofreaders files were just a little practicing. Polite, Pleasant, Proeficient, Painstaking, lots of words that meant only one thing for me : Independent Miner !
I was Peripatetic, doing anything, anywhere, anyhow to earn the Pittance of starting Independent Miners... After a few time, someone, remarked me and, thinking about my potential, decided to raise me. I was happy, not the others... The Prejudiced Independent Miners weren't agreeing with this Privileged one, and called him : the Pushy Independent Miner. Some of them learned about my past, and things changed, I was now called Popsicle.
This hurted me, if things had to get worse each time I would raise, would this stop ? Or would I become the new Sir Edmund Graves, initiator of mollies' hatred ?.. This apart, I was happy, new ship, new missions, new role in the guild, I was sent all over Sirius to do my job. In truth, no base could handle me a long time because of my fast raising.
One day, sent to Cardiff, next to Cambridge, me and my current patrol received a message from colleagues attacked by Corsairs nearby. My leader had only one sentence in private comm as an answer : they're lost, continue patrol. I couldn't help it; I answered that I spotted enemies and started running to the place the SOS came from. With my engines at full speed, I arrived quickly, enough to see 4 Corsairs against 1 starflyer left and 3 asteroid miners. I was knowing Corsair's strength, as well as I knew my chances of survivability, but I would let enough time to the miners to get out, no matter what !
Starting the attack, I saw all my wingmen around me, ready to get some fight...
Then, The Prodigy of Independent Mining was born... After we entered the fight, it was like if the Corsairs had lost their talent. No one could aim one of us more than 2 secs before having to quit to stay alive. Balance : 8 dead, 15 wounded, 7 ships down, and merchandise safe. Instead of punishing me for having put my wingmen's life in danger by ignoring orders, other Independent Miners were now calling me Pal.


Like if fighting was my true purpose in life, I became the Pitiless Independent Miner, no enemy fled away fights with me in one piece... When they successed at it. After a while, I was Practiced enough to enter an elite group : the Platoons of Independent Mining. My wingmen were all good fighters...heh... I will never forget them...
First, Williamson (pharmacist will). This Bretonian guy could have been nicknamed :the Philantopist Independent Miner. He was our Medic, saved my life few times and was as panicky as someone can be. Instead, in fight, he was a support god : with him behind you, you were unstoppable. Acting like a gun (to tell it his own way), he couldn't handle a one-to-one fight, but he rocked at covering (no one think about aiming the gun, or few, so, let me be your gun guys !).
Sigmundt (joker Sig), this Rheinland's freak killed people with his jokes... the Parrot Independent Miner was as protractor as able of annoying people in two words. Pert, he couldn't stand a fight without talking, and aimed any target who had misfortune of being in his sight (army studies showed that human brain can't integrate a stupid information and act at the same time... So, I always say banana chewing gum before hitting).
Maverick (maths Mave), he was the Punter Independent Miner. Tactician of our platoon, we always asked him, when we had time, to determine what to do. He was thinking in terms of probabilities, and attacked... Let's say... With a wall of shots. Portly and Pretentious were what people said about him, Prepaid was his main way of life (there are 83.54% chances of dying during a mission, each shot has 1/5413 to hit at 400 meters, this guy has 100% chances to die if I sit on him, and I'll do if he don't leave).
Oru Ishigawa (Oru), the Punk Independent Miner. Puny, quiet, intelligent, fast. No one could aim him, no one could see him when he was fighting. As Punctual as a clock, respected in the whole guild, this Kusarian was knowing the secret about how enlight the flame in people's heart (one word can say more than ten sentences if you use it right).
We were patrolling the Parkway of Independent Miners: Holman/Cardiff to protect as much territories as possible. Escorting was for others, and, apart some missions, that was all we were doing : keeping the way Passable, with our Patented Independent Mining equipment. This was Peerless, talking the whole day with members of the platoon, Pouncing in pirats like a curse, making some highly-risk missions some times... I was the Proud Independent Miner during this period of my life.


*Sight*... Life is so Predictable... Happiness can't stand a while... One day, things always stops to be the same.
We were sent in a mission at Omega 5, via a freshly-discovered Jump Hole, to see if there were any minable ressource around. We had been the Perfunctory Independent Miners this time. When we arrived in the system, lots of radar spot were around; but, after a few secs, nothing left... We thought that was due to the fact we were in an asteroid field, and the scanners had to adapt to the nature of asteroids...
Without letting any good next to the Jump Hole or sending any message at the base, we went deeper in the system. Something was definitely Peculiar about this : we had unknown spots on radar appearing and disappearing any time. If we had consult, we would have understand we had the same ones and then check them... But we continued our way.
After a few time, we saw a big asteroid, big enough to hold our future base (because there were enough water here to etablish a base and claim this area was ours), and approached it to scan it's size and mass. The asteroid was already claimed. A scan could have reveal it to us earlier, but we realized our mistake only when corsair ships went out of their base.
Used at quick fights against patrols, we striked first, and kept fighting even when all the spots we had saw became hostile ships running on us. I was the Panting Independent Miner, each move was harder than the previous one; There was just too many of them ! My engines exploded. I was Petrified, awaiting the death, in one sec, two sec,... Silence... No more shots in space. I saw two corsair fighters towing the wreck that used to be my ship into their base...


Will was Plaintive (I don't wanna die), Sig was Peevish (grumph !), Mave was Peeved (I had told you we were lucky since now !), Oru was Perishing (...), I was the Peaky Independent Miner. We were all alive, we were all prisoners of the Corsairs, in Cadiz, their well-known base, finally located by us...
We knew their way of thinking : If IMG agreed with their requests, we would be free in no time. A corsair, the one who interrogated us previously arrived. We were all Pale, due to our treatment; he told us we were dead, my friends became Pallid, me too I guess... We, the strongest team of the IMG were just abandoned by ours... We were fears before, now, we were the Powerless... Poor... Piffling... Piteous Independent Miners...


Our guards let us a big meal and leaved us alone for a while... of course ! I had things to tell the others, I opened my mouth, almost crying...
Oru : -Shut up and eat! (We're not toasted yet ! I'm thinking about a way to get out of here ! let me think quietly ! We will need our whole strength this time !)
4 words and we were all revived ! The Potty Independent Miners were back ! Will checked the food, and put soporifics food out of the plates; Sig thought about what he would tell to Corsairs to disappoint them before fighting, smiling in advance about it; Mave thought, concentrated; Oru smiled, we were saved ! Me, I was doing my flexibility exercises.
The main plan : food was poisoned, we ate it and laid on the ground. Corsairs would see us, open the gate to bring us to a sas... Perfect ! We took their weapons. This Plucky Sig wanted us to kill anybody around, Oru told him to shut up (we're no match for them, let's leave this place !), we started run to a safer place and arrived to... the engines room.
We were not in Cadiz anymore, but in a battleship, moving far away from the place we came from, maybe... Mave explained his new plan, we implemented it. Kill any engineer(silence was the main word), then, initiate self-destruct (turning all button until computers get crazy), and flee by the docking bays. Oru stayed in place, as a Patronizing Independent Miner :
go ! (they can inverse the process, run ! I cover this place ! It's been an honor to know all of you... Good luck boys !)
-I stay with you ! answered Will.
We ran away, and, thanks to an emergency ship's plan, arrived to a docking bay. Lots of Corsairs were guarding it, no chance to reach a ship remaining unseen. Before I could ever think, what I was fearing happened :
Hey, anybody ! Come ! They're here !
Talking loudly from the other side of the bay, Sig locked his weapon, hided in a corner, and awaited the first one...
*PAW* See ? We are here ! Come and get us ! If you can ! *PAWPAW* A little question, are you sure you can ?! *PAW*...
No time to think, me and Mave ran to the nearest ships, entered inside, unmoored them and leaved the battleship in no time, while Oru, Will and Sig were fighting for our lifes. After a few metters, I heard Mave's voice in comm :
45 fighters... 1/45 chance to take the one Packed in... I DO love my luck, hehe...
I would have liked to help him, push him away from this place, but there were thousands of turret's shots around me, I couldn't. The Pained Independent Miner hited the thruster and had just the time to see his last friend alive explode before a huge light cut the Battleship in two pieces, and the same for his own ship...
Still alive... Lucky... Persistent Independent Miner... Fool. What a Paltry Independent Miner you are in truth ! Letting your wingmen, your friends get killed for your safety ! Hey ! Safety ! You're talking alone, in an unknown hostile system, with a screw as a ship, a survival system almost down, and ships looking at you suspiciously...Ships... ZONER ships !
While Zoners were tracting me to one of their Dromedary, I gave a thought for 4 Praiseworthy Independent Miners. Safe flight guys, good luck to you... I fell asleep for 1 month...

When I woke up, I was in a hospital, on a planet. After a few questions, I had plenty of hits to acknowledge :
-I was in Gran Canaria, ZONER's planet in some system named : Omega 49.
-I had been found in Omega 47, by Zoners attracted by a huge explosion (the battleship).
-There were no survivor except me.
-The whole system was GUARDED by Corsairs, AT THE REQUEST OF ZONERS.
Totally lost, Penniless, I thought about contact my guild... That abandoned me earlier... The Poor Independent Miner became a Pathetic Panhandler. For months, I was sitting in the street, asking for money everywhere. I had nothing left, no friends, no guild, no home,... Only the space I would never reach again. As paradoxical as it looks, it's a Corsair who got me out of this situation, by kicking my butt away of the bar she used to enter...

I never knew her name. I was looking for a meal with the money I had harvest during the day, she entered the bar, saw me, took me by the neck and throw me out of the bar. Then, she pulled her gun on my head, telling I would be a less junk in the world. I awaited her shot, grateful... It never came... She offered me a meal, I explained her anything I had in my heart, she did the same...
Corsairs' life wasn't that easy after all... Survivors of the Hispania, they were lacking anything. There was a disease on their home world, a famine too, their ARMY had a hard time to push Red hessians away...
I realized that they could have some use for someone like me, when I remembered the face of my four friends... No ! I could work for them, now that I know what they really are, but I couldn't BE one of them ! I'll never let someone sacrifice himself for me anymore !
The way of thinking of Zoners started to suits me : Work for anybody to get what I need, but stay FREE to their rules, and attachments. I worked harder than ever, negotiated my money in banks to get more, did any job to get this money. Then, I went back in space, became a mercenary and continued working... Alone. Tired of being alone, I looked around me where I could use to go. No place to make friends without belonging to an organization, with it's own rules and restrictions. No place ? One suited me.
I was back at Gran Canaria, my new Home, when I saw an advertise :

Being a mercenary has its good and bad points. You get to travel the galaxy in your own terms. You are not ordered around. No one bothers you about your business.
Being a mercenary has its bad aspects too.... primarily, you are by yourself.
Jupiter Guild was formed in 812 AS to bring these mercs under the same umbrella. Jupiter Guild strives to stay as much neutral as possible as this provides the guild more flexibility in acquiring contracts and doing odd jobs all over Sirius !
Jupiter Guild also sits on the council of Zoners.

I had no care about the council of Zoners, but the remaining of the advertise pleased me. I went to the employment office, submitted my application and, at the moment of writing my name, stopped...
I had changed, no past, no future, I wouldn't forget who I was; but I wasn't him anymore...
I wrote without even thinking of what I was doing. When I recovered my mind, there were three letters in the paper P.I.M. I signed Pim and gave the paper back at the hostess. I was now Mr Pim...
[\JG/] Pim !

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OK for gentle RP, OK for gentle PvP too. What do you prefer ?
Hurk hurk hurk...

[\JG/]Pim (mercenary, ex-IMG)(Raven's talon, New London and New Berlin mainly)
John Smith(independant trader, ex-contract killer on Manhattan)(Heavy Tanker)