Another Miracle of Sirius

[AngelofMercy]

Crete News Service: Today our beloved Crete became a witness of yet another miracle the Sirius Star Cluster has to offer.

An unidentified ship of gallic origin approached Crete and was intercepted by a fighter squadron out of Tripoli Shipyard. The pilot identified himself as Benito Huarez using an old and obsolete clearance code. A scan of the ship revealed nothing out of the ordinary concerning unknown and probably dangerous technologies, but it's cargo hold was filled with commodities always dearly needed on Crete. Some of them nigh to impossible to come by for any Corsair. Food Rations, Pharmaceuticals, Rice, but also Rum, Tobacco and Furs, as well as some rare minerals and alloys for our shipyards.

Yet the miracle was the pilot. Benito Huarez left Crete about 10 years ago and since then he was counted for lost without a trace or MIA as the military calls such cases. A year after his disappearance he was declared KIA, Killed In Action, because no source Corsair have within the houses was able to follow any leads concerning him.

After his arrival at the main military spaceport, following Crete's security protocol, he was taken into protective custody for interrogation, inquiry and a medical check. It does not happen all day, that a long believed dead is back among the living.

Many of our brave fight and die and many are recorded as MIA. What is so special about him?
Since the capture of the Schiller, his family was involved in the development of our mighty fleet, our enemies have come to fear and Benito Huarez, DNA analysis has confirmed it is him, was seen as the next leader of the design team at Rhodes Shipyard. That all has changed due to his disappearance.

So what did happen to him?
The following excerpt is from the interrogation protocol:

About ten years and four months ago I departed in a freighter, with a shipment of Artifacts for the Xeno Base Milford in the Pennsylvania system. Although Zoner Space, Liberty authorities consider it to be their sovereign territory.
The route to Pennsylvania is not an easy one.

Omega 41 and 47 are contested by the Red Hessians.
Omega 49 had a strong Coalition presence.
In Dublin the Molly's and the Bretonian government are neither happy to see one of ours.
Leeds was simple. Except for a small trade lane gap the route between the jump holes is always covered by smog clouds.
In Magellan and Cortez I had to avoid the Lane Hackers and Liberty Rogues, allies of our Hispanic "brethren".
From there I went to California, Liberty Space, on my way to the Pennsylvania jump hole.

Within the Tahoe Ice Cloud I deviated from the usual route, because my advanced sensors picked up a huge facility, the Corsair Intelligence was not aware of. Then my ship was struck by an EMP mine. All systems went dark and I lost my conscience.
The next thing I remember hardly was some kind of interrogation room. They must have put me on some drugs to extract informations. My full awareness I regained on the transport to the LPI installation Sugarland. I was told, I had been trialed and convicted in "absence" for a variety of crimes, most notably the illegal import of extremely hazardous materials. The sentence: Ten years of prison labor.
The first two years I tried to find a way to escape and to return, but the LPI had moved the only assets for Corsairs in Liberty to another prison. So there wasn't even the slightest chance to escape. The next four years I just did my time, indulging in resignation. The remaining time I began to listen, to study the houses more thoroughly. I picked up every information and detail, that leaked into the prison, of what was going on out there. I heard of the different wars and the existence of Gallia. I was woven into an unquenchable curiosity. The Corsair view of Sirius suddenly seemed so narrow and small.
When I was released I did not feel the urge to return home immediately any longer. I wanted to see all the wonders and strange places I have read and heard about. After all, my record was wiped clean and I had the opportunity to go almost everywhere I wanted. Fortunately I gained access to an old secret bank account of my family. It was enough to purchase a small freighter. So I wandered around for the last months, exploring, freelancing and trading, which turned out to be profitable enough so that, when I entered Gallia, I could move up to a transport vessel.
The vessel I came here with. They call it the l'Ane, Ant. The Gallic authorities were always wary, when they checked me. Turns out the class is almost exclusively used by their criminal gangs. However, since they had no file about me and I was able to provide the logs, perfectly forged, of how and where the ship was acquired, they always did let me go, with a grim look on their face. Not without a fee though for the use of grey market equipment.
When I started feeling guilty for neglecting my duty to the Corsair family I knew it was time to go home. I purchased the goods I brought with me and set course to Omicron Gamma.


Everything else within the interrogation protocol is classified.

From the military we have been informed, that Benito Huarez is not deemed fit for military duty yet and thus he may not even wear the Corsair badge. More exams have to be conducted in the near future. Nevertheless he and his ship were put into service to supply and support our brave men and women in Sigma 17 for the time being.

Even though some of the quoted protocol might incense a good portion of our glorious family, we from the News Service think, he deserves a chance to prove, that his commitment to the Corsair cause is as deep as it was before. We hope to get a statement from him personally after his current task.

More Crete News after the military award ceremony.