Still feel hollow.. even after there being no real reason to be…
Manual flight was something im certainly used to. But not quite in the conditions i was in. Ship had nothing. No map, no sensor array. Not even the comms relay was intact. I did however have thrust controls, so i could point and crawl home. Some good news at least. I was basically trapped flying a metal coffin at as fast as she would allow me, which was about half impulse speed… better than no engines at all. Weapons systems had died by now too, and the integrity of the ship read “Critical, 0 Percent” on anything that had a half-intact display. There was enough of my transponder to gain docking clearance. That was it.
Freeport engineers turned down the restoration project. Told me that my hunk of scrap couldn’t even be made into decent salvage. And that assistance to Pygar was too risky with the nomads more active than usual. Great. So not only would they not get my life support to a manageable level, but they wouldn’t even supply me with an escort to get to Pygar! At least the Zoner in the bar could grieve, knowing that their friend was avenged. Of course there was nothing else i could do for them. They paid me for the kill and for the news, despite me requesting them not to. They lost a friend. Thats a burden on anyones mind…
Launched in what remained of my ship, if it can even be called that, to be greeted by the Order and Daros. To which both were shocked. To be honest, i was too, to be alive. But that didn’t stop the feeling of guilt. I did my best to hide it from them both, once i’d told them. The Order guy, yeah i’m sure he’s convinced. Daros… i think he knows. He didn’t press me either. Probably because of our present company. But. I did want to get somewhere i could at the very least reinforce my hull.
Daros wanted to escort me, didn’t trust the vessel to make it out through the light Radiation zones that were among Theta. Probably smart he came with. The creaking sent shivers down my spine, but i had the support of the friend i wholly trusted. And with much less excitement than a burning vessel through a hotspot would usually provide, we made it to Pygar. A cautious landing, and several minutes of fire suppressant.
The engineers told me they’d be able to make enough repairs to get me to Gran Canaria. Best news today, that. They also told me it would take a while, so I’m stuck here until they give me a call. At least I’ve got things i can do here. And they have coffee.
