Family Ties

[Knucklehead]

Incoming Transmission
Name: William "Knucklehead" Modnar
Comm ID: Knucklehead
Encryption Key: Public
Access Granted
Begin Log

Seeing as how I've been around the galaxy a few times, I thought I'd start making a list of what I've been doing these last few years.

I started my career as a mercenary, with a bit of a taste for rounding up pirates and hauling them to wherever they'd pay for them. I've also been known to park myself around various asteroid fields and shoot the rocks to see what comes out. Of course, not long ago, the license for hunting those pirates also kept me from hauling the rocks around, so I gave up on it for a while.

Life as a mercenary was all well and good, but work got a bit scarce, and I had to give it up. With my oldest boy just about ready to start flying on his own, I decided I'd build up a supply of cash to give him the advantages I didn't have when I started. So I turned in my Mercenary License and became a trader. Fortunately, I knew of a couple places I could grab some valuable stuff from those rocks out there, and where to take them.

In a few months, I managed to scrape together enough credits for a Kushan Freghter to make the job a bit easier. Before long, I had enough saved up for my son, Eman Modnar, to buy himself a brand new Transport over at Pittsburgh. I gave him a few pointers and let him head out to pursue his dream of becoming a Luxury Liner pilot for Spa & Cruise. Personally, I never was one to join the big corporations, but he seems to be doing quite well for himself.

I've always had a soft spot for those who are just starting their exploration of Sirius, and have even put my own routes on hold to help them out. Met a few of them recently; one called himself "LightMan," another, "GerbilZ." Seems LightMan had gotten in over his head out in the Texas system, so GerbilZ and I went out to give him a hand. They were fresh from the pilot school at Manhattan, so after finishing the little scuffle LightMan had gotten himself into, I offered to help them get into some better ships and help watch their backs as they tried another job for the LPI.

We headed over to the New York system, and were joined by another fairly new pilot, this one in a Defender. We decided to get together and head for the California system to pick up some better equipment, after a brief stop at Battleship Missouri to get LightMan and GerbilZ Defenders to fly. Once we got to California, an old friend of mine decided to join us. (I forget the name, my memory isn't the best at times. All I know is the pilot's related to a trader who goes by Caribe.) We met above California Minor and headed out to the Magellan system to see what Freeport 4 had to offer.

Before long, we headed out to take on a couple of weapon platforms and some ships that were sent to guard them. The plan was that the three newer pilots would take on the platforms, while the veterans took on the ships. Unfortunately, some temporal distortions being caused by the weapon platforms proved to be too much for one of the pilots, and even caused significant damage to my vessel. Seeing the problem, I turned my heavy weapons on the platforms, reducing them to scrap and ending the temporal distortions. We quickly mopped up the remaining ships and headed back to the station to regroup and get some repairs.

At this point, GerbilZ and the third rookie pilot went their own ways while the rest of us went on to Rheinland. It was LightMan's first trip that direction, and was quite an experience for him. To mark the occasion, I gave him enough money to buy himself a Falcon at Hamburg. After a little business in the Frankfurt system, we all parted ways and I pulled into Holstein for the night.

A few days later, the third rookie contacted me and asked me how things were going. I decided to give this pilot the same treatment I gave LightMan, but was a little short on funds myself. So I radioed my son, Eman, to meet the pilot at Hamburg and help him out.

I still see the pilots logging into the neural net from time to time, and wish them luck on their journeys. It's always good to see new people enjoying the thrill of spaceflight.

At any rate, I've been in dry dock for a couple days, planning my next trip out to the Tau systems or to Dresden. In the mean time, I've been trying to get my IFF board straightened out, as my computer keeps wanting to link me up to one of the house police or military groups. Must be all the pirates I've blown up over the years. Now it's got me stuck with Cryer Pharmaceuticals, so I've got my work cut out for me. Might have to lay down some credits to get the thing straightened out. Oh well.

This is Knucklehead, signing off.

End Transmission

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It's official, I have too few ships now...