Wanderlust: The In-Flight Magazine of OSC

[Jonathan Seabourne]

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Wanderlust Magazine


"Tales From Where Angels Fear to Tread"
A White Star Lines Publication, A Division of Orbital Spa and Cruise
1 September 827 A.S.

A Mistaken Identity

The investigation into the disappearance of Captain Orzel Faststar along with his liner Baltic Sea has been simmering on the back-burner of Orbital's security division for weeks now. The Shukensha class vessel vanished without a trace while traversing the Tau systems. No debris fields, no transponders, no sign of a struggle, and precious little for SPA-SEC to go off on. Various freelancer and zoner groups such as MFE, The Sirius Syndicate, and the Free Trade People have lent their services to the search. However, a recent "discovery" by Mick Tynchler of FTP only ended up creating more questions than answers.

While flying through New London, the FTP deputy stumbled upon a missing passenger liner in sector 3E, deep in the Devon Asteroid field. While the mysterious vessel did not broadcast any identifying information, it did appear to have active docking facilities along with defensive weapons platforms. Somebody lost this liner, and somebody was now occupying it.

Orbital's James Blackwood flew out to the site to verify the Freelancer's claims, but any hopes of solving the mystery of Captain Faststar were quickly dashed. "After further review I'm not entirely sure this is our missing Liner," said Blackwood. "At a quick glance, [this] appears to be an Oasis Class."

Oasis class vessels are the workhorses of Orbital Spa and Cruise, supplying affordable yet comfortable transit between houses for customers who care more about the destination than the journey. Most Oasis-class vessels flying Orbital colors are engaged in routine service between planets, most of which has been suspended to New London since the Gallic invasion. While a battle-damaged Enterprise could be mistaken for her leaner sister class, there is no mistaking the hull in New London for Faststar's missing Renzu-built vessel. The ship also matches none of Orbital's intact records, though admittedly the Gallic assault on Curacao leaves pre-war archives worryingly incomplete.

FTP set out to resolve a missing liner and succeed in adding another to list, and it seems like SPA-SEC will have more questions than answers for some time yet. "I know things have been turbulent as of late," said Blackwood, "but I don't think this one is ours. And if it's not ours... whose?"

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A Doctor in the House

Orbtial aims to bring our legendary hospitality to every corner of Sirius and beyond, but we are far from the only organization that tries to make space a little more hospitable. Human bodies evolved for planetside toils are a poor fit for low gravity living. The brilliant doctors of the sector's medical services keep the human elements of the sector running despite the many ailments and physical strains that spaceflight places on the human frame. Countless innovations and treatments have transformed the deadly into the mundane, but new treatments cannot be discovered without cross-disciplinary collaboration in a sector that seems to increasingly favor petty tribalism.

Med Force Enterprises (MFE) recently took a stand against such factionalism with its 4-day Sirius-Wide Medical Conference. The medical meet-up was held aboard Triton Expedition's Red Velvet Club in Omicron Theta. "To sum things up, the conference is a huge success," said MFE's Jill Xi, the Chief of Medicine for Med Force General-B and organizer of the event. "So much that neither myself or Doc Holliday can find time to write even the smallest conference update. Suffice to say, we have been overrun with the success of it all!"

The conference featured an eclectic group of medical professionals from house space and beyond, allowing for healers from nominally hostile groups to share their knowledge freely for the betterment of all. "The one thing I truly love about these conferences is the people who come to it, sharing their experiences with the rest of us," said Doc Holliday, the well-respected face of MFE. "Seeing returning attendees from our last conference is indeed refreshing. Each brings a new idea and/or experience and with our staff, we try to incorporate some of what we learn into our database and bring aboard new people. I take pride in that just when we think we have found all of the answers, a new question comes along. That is what makes medicine so special...there is always something new out there."

The most talked about "something new" at this conference seemed to be the "Independent Synthetic Artificial Intelligence" named One Love. Opening with a display of artificially constructed organs that were seemingly indistinguishable from the "real deal," One Love proceeded to discuss their collaboration with MFE in Omicron Kappa to create their own artificially derived but undeniably human body. While One Love's language might have been a little too formal to pass a Turing test, they certainly displayed a flair for the dramatic as they pulled back a sheet to reveal a fully formed yet inanimate artificial human body. The macabre theatrical technique felt more at home in a horror movie of old than a medical conference, but the audience seemed properly enthralled with questions flooding in about the possible application for organ transplants and beyond.

Orbital even managed to supply its own contribution to the medical field. "My ship's doctor, [Andrew] Connor delivered a speech about the potential of medical marijuana and its use in the future," said Captain Caitlyn Cross, the master of Red Velvet Club and co-sponsor of the conference as Director of Triton Expeditions. While the medicinal benefit of extinct terrestrial marijuana is well known to medical historians, the medicinal applications of its synthetic descendant are still not widely understood. Cross's attempts for licensing the drug for use in house space was sadly met with firm disapproval, but it is hoped that with more academic attention on the topic, Orbital vessels will soon be able to offer a wider array of treatments for medical tourists.

"I have to admit, I was at one of the speeches and didn't understand a word," said Cross, "but the Docs seemed fascinated. I was able to make the evenings more entertaining than the speeches, at least for me." No Orbital hosted event would be complete without the food, entertainment, and amenities the corporation is known for and Cross did not fail to live up to our well-deserved reputation. Jill Xi seemed to agree with Cross's assessment of the amenities provided. "The crew of the Red Velvet Club really outdid the expectations!" said the conference's master of ceremonies. "Apart from a great buffet with delicacies from each and every sector, the attendees were entertained with a Zero-G Escape-Room, Exotic Dancers, Live Music and of course some great liquor from Doc Holliday's private store."

While there is no word on whether Doc's beverages were considered celebratory or medicinal, it is fair to say that everyone at the conference left it better equipped to heal the wounds of a war weary sector.

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A Cordial Invitation

The saga of Captain Theobald Franklin's Reverie is a well known story to avid readers of Wanderlust. The liner found herself on the verge of total annihilation but managed to limp back to a friendly freeport. Lacking the structural integrity to safely travel to Liberty, the captain had to arrange repairs in-situ, which serendipitously put him in the hands of the Junkers. Now after weeks of repair, Junker ingenuity and Orbital style has turned a crisis into an opportunity, and Reverie is ready to rejoin the luxury fleet at last.

"We are done!" exclaimed an overjoyed Captain Franklin. "Everything is ready. The ship is running smoothly, we are restocked and ready to set out again. This calls for a grand party! I have already set everything up. so the only thing that is missing is you!"

Reverie's re-christening is set to kick-off on September, 12th at 7:00pm UTC at Freeport 1 in Omega-3. Where and when it ends is left to the Captain's discretion, but it will likely involve showing off the unique upgrades to the ship's engines. Reverie features a one-of-a-kind power core for a Renzu built liner which should leave all watchers suitably awed. Or as a giddy Franklin put it, "Let us rock the Omegas all together and give the Zoners and all the other people out there something to watch and talk about!"

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A Need for Speed

Not all of Orbital's customers are content to sit in a conference room all day. For those who feel the need for speed, only the thrill of red-lining a ship to shave hundredths of a second off a rival's time will do. Fortunately, Orbital prides itself in its ability to cater to all needs.

The third stage of the Community Culture Rally saw the aspiring champions gather at the luxury world of Baden Baden in Stuttgart for a quick sprint over to New Berlin to pick up Rheinbier. Erwin Tobin, Stan Stone, and Anthony Stout set off for the tradelanes in a staggered start under the watchful eyes of the liner Tierra del Fuego. Orbital's own Stan Stone, fresh off his thoroughly celebrated victory in Bretonia, ran into some misfortune that quashed his potential win streak. A stray pirate patrol managed to down a lane and catch both Stone and Stout, leaving Tobin's Korsuner's Luck to live up to its name and take the checkered flag.

Even the largest of Orbital's ships are getting into the racing spirit. Captain Jonathan Seabourne's Breezewood, an Enterprise-class liner, recently took to the Dublin race track to prove that racing is not just a snub craft's game. Admittedly, the liner had trouble fitting through four of the gates, requiring the captain to slide the nose through the gate, reverse out, and fly to the next target. "Breezewood successfully triggered all the gates in 3:30.99," said Seabourne. "If you get anything bigger while flying anything smaller, you might do yourself a service and consider a career elsewhere in the corporation."

After 3 stages, the racers are neck and neck in the points for the grand prize of 450 million credits and a capital armor upgrade mk 8. There is still time for new applicants to throw their hat in the ring before the next stage launches from luxury liner Hawaii in Sigma-19. Whether you follow Stone's or Seabourne's example, newcomers are welcome in all classes of vessel.

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OS&C|Breezewood

Captain Jonathan Seabourne, Editor-in-Chief, Wanderlust Magazine

"Where Angels Fear to Tread"

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Orbital Spa and Cruise

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