[ W I L H E L M - R U P R E C H T ] "Rock and stone break... but we do not."
I D E N T I F I C A T I O N Callsigns: BWU|-Eisenfaust
BWU|-Wilhelm_Ruprecht Affiliation:Bristol Constructions Role: Senior Miner / Salvage Operator Origin: Planet Hamburg, Rheinland
P H Y S I C A L - D A T A Age: 36 (Born 800 A.S.) Height: 1.80m Hair: Blond / Full Beard Eyes: Crystalline Blue Build: Heavy Labor / Muscular
// PERSONAL LOG No. 1
They say the space is the coldest thing in Sirius. Nein. Those idiots never looked a Daumann Heavy Construction shift manager in the eye while begging for a clean air filter.
I drew my first lungful of industrial smog on Planet Hamburg back in 800 A.S. Dad worked logistics,
Ma kept the heat on, and Franz... my brother was always gonna be the soldier.
We grew up in the shadow of the shipping containers, watching the wealth of Rheinland leave orbit while we scraped rust. After the 80-Years War,
the credits dried up and the economy tanked. We were just dust on the ledger.
I ended up on the line at The Ring. Working for Daumann... it changes a man. I watched good mates die just because safety gear was "too expensive" to ship out from New Berlin.
The Suits call us "human resources," but let's be real - to Daumann, a miner is cheaper to replace than a drill bit.
Then '23 happened. Franz went 'MIA' when the Battleship Westphalia went down in Bering. That was it.
Something inside me snapped. I wasn't gonna dig another ounce of ore for the bastards treating us like cattle.
I didn't run. I just walked off the job.
Now? Now I fly for Bristol Constructions. We're staged out of Bristol Bay Station, deep in the Independent Worlds. We ain't House lapdogs.
We salvage, we mine, we build. We take the jobs the big corp cowards are too scared to touch, usually fighting the Junkers for scraps in the war-torn dark.
It’s rough out here. The Rogues are like rats in the walls, and don't expect the Navy to save your skin.
But at Bristol, when a man goes to work, he knows his brothers are watching the sensors. We put the crew first. Always.
Name's Wilhelm. I'm looking for my brother's ghost in the wreckage of Bering. Until I find his pod, I'll keep the drills spinning.
Funding the search for Franz, one rock at a time.
STATUS: Working Class / Dissident • MEDICAL: Healthy • MENTAL: Melancholic •
[ W I L H E L M - R U P R E C H T ] "Rock and stone break... but we do not."
I D E N T I F I C A T I O N Callsigns: BWU|-Eisenfaust
BWU|-Wilhelm_Ruprecht Affiliation:Bristol Constructions Role: Senior Miner / Salvage Operator Origin: Planet Hamburg, Rheinland
P H Y S I C A L - D A T A Age: 36 (Born 800 A.S.) Height: 1.80m Hair: Blond / Full Beard Eyes: Crystalline Blue Build: Heavy Labor / Muscular
// PERSONAL LOG No. 2
Finally scraped enough credits together. Today I bought a DL-A Series Border Worlds Armored Transport. We call it the "Armadillo." It’s ugly, but it’s tough.
I am sick of hustling my arse off just here in Bering. I need to see what else the Void has to offer.
In the meantime, I will make some cash hauling for Bristol Constructions with my 2,600 units of Cargo Space.
Fun side note: the ship dealer told me his buddy, an equipment dealer named Jackson, had a spare "VP-T2 Engine Mk I" lying around.
A perfect fit for a born Rheinlander like me!
I also signed up with the newly formed Bristol Workers Union. Me and a few buddies got tired of seeing good men go down in "work accidents."
We figured a union is the only way to keep Bristol Constructions in line. Can't let them turn into another Daumann.
On my travels, I bumped into an LSF patrol right before the Texas Jump Gate. Tagged DEA|>.
They scanned me for contraband and let me proceed towards Liberty. Clean as a whistle.
Offloading my shipment of 2164 "Engine Components" at Battleship Alma netted me a total profit of 23,804$. Not bad for a first run.
After dumping the "Engine Components", I loaded 1.664 units of "Deuterium" for 166,400$.
Let's see if some drunken pilot at the bar can tell me where to sell this stuff.
Met an old trader named Nahigata in the mess hall. Decent guy. He told me I could sell my "Deuterium" at a station called "Niigata Star City",
owned by the Gas Miners Guild in the "Sigma-59" System. So, the journey goes on!
Man, the cold vacuum feels good when you're blasting through these systems. Saw some pirates clashing with Law enforcement and bounty hunters out there.
Sadly, most didn't reply to my hails - probably too stuck in their work trying not to die.
Finally arrived in the "Sigma-59" System and docked at the station.
Offloading my 1.664 units of "Deuterium" brought me 404,352$. What a huge paycheck!
Risking my neck in space to haul commodities seems to pay off! That’s a total profit of 237,952$. Friggin' insane! That funds a lot of search probes.
I also heard from the old man that the whole system of Pennsylvania is dry on H-Fuel and would pay a pretty good price for a load of it.
Time to visit the marketplace!
I was able to buy 4127 units of H-Fuel in total with the money I made!
I just hope I make it home alive.
I offloaded my H-Fuel at Bethlehem Station for a total of 486,986$. That accumulates to a profit of around 82,686$! What an awesome day. Time to get a "Mütze voll Schlaf" before making more cash!
STATUS: Working Class / Dissident • MEDICAL: Healthy • MENTAL: Melancholic •
[ W I L H E L M - R U P R E C H T ] "Rock and stone break... but we do not."
I D E N T I F I C A T I O N Callsigns: BWU|-Eisenfaust
BWU|-Wilhelm_Ruprecht Affiliation:Bristol Constructions Role: Senior Miner / Salvage Operator Origin: Planet Hamburg, Rheinland
P H Y S I C A L - D A T A Age: 36 (Born 800 A.S.) Height: 1.80m Hair: Blond / Full Beard Eyes: Crystalline Blue Build: Heavy Labor / Muscular
// PERSONAL LOG No. 3
Woke up with the itch. Not the rash from the suit liners, but the urge to make some serious credits.
The search for Franz ain't cheap. So I flew the Armadillo to "Cleveland" Station above Planet "Erie" and loaded up on cheaper Deuterium.
A full load of 2,600 units. It cost me a verfluchtes fortune - 338,000$ I had to pay! Daumann would have docked my pay for a year for spending that much.
Need a drink after that hit to the wallet. In the bar, I met some dude called Michelangelo.
He asked if I ever saw the beauty of Planet "Yuma". Sadly, I had to tell him I've never been.
The man just handed me the route data so I could plot it in my nav computer. Sick.
I undocked and blasted through Liberty space. Saw briefly the wonderful Planet "Curacao" from the viewport!
I will need to visit that one day when I'm not chasing ghosts.
I landed on Sabah Shipyard. After comparing prices with Planet "Yuma"s marketplace, I decided to sell right there at the shipyard.
I made 512,200$ total offloading my shipment of Deuterium, netting me a profit of 174,200$. Awesome payday I call that! That funds a lot of sensor probes.
Got a secret hint from some bystander that there was a station selling good copper at cheap rates. Verdammt yea I say.
Off I am, landing at the coordinates and buying a whole shipment of 2,600 units of refined Copper for just 260,000$.
A friggin' steal that was, not gonna lie there!
Met a Freelancer called Jack. Nice lad. Said he'd take me on a trading run to make some serious cash with said Copper.
Holy shyte, Jack brought me all the way to the Omicrons! Very neat systems, though I was never this far out in the Void.
We met Zoners and Freelancers out there. Hell man, this is a fun trip,
even if he told me to overload my reactor for some more speed heading into Omicron Mu!
We visited some crazy cool station where I was able to sell my shipment of 2,600 units of refined Copper for a total of 938,600$,
netting me a total of 678,600$. To fly back, we took some crates of "Water" costing me 195,000$.
We sold said "Water" for a total of 743,600$, netting me a total profit of 548,600$.
Directly invested that back into new Copper in the same system, costing me 260,000$.
Time to take a nap!
STATUS: Working Class / Dissident • MEDICAL: Healthy • MENTAL: Melancholic •
[ W I L H E L M - R U P R E C H T ] "Rock and stone break... but we do not."
I D E N T I F I C A T I O N Callsigns: BWU|-Eisenfaust
BWU|-Wilhelm_Ruprecht Affiliation:Bristol Constructions Role: Senior Miner / Salvage Operator Origin: Planet Hamburg, Rheinland
P H Y S I C A L - D A T A Age: 36 (Born 800 A.S.) Height: 1.80m Hair: Blond / Full Beard Eyes: Crystalline Blue Build: Heavy Labor / Muscular
// PERSONAL LOG No. 4
Nap did me good, but I woke up with an ache for home. For Rheinland. But since I can't fly through there empty-handed,
I figured I'd take a trip to the Sigmas. I know they usually buy Copper for the work going on out there.
And off I go, blasting through Liberty and Rheinland space until I arrived at "Wichter Station" in the "Sigma-15" System.
Offloading my load of 2,600 units of refined Copper made me 756,600$. That netted me a total profit of 496,600$. Verdammt yea!
I would never have made this kind of serious cash scraping hulls in Bering to finance my personal endeavor.
Lets see, maybe the locals can give me a tip on what I can haul out of this system. To the bar!
Here I met a miner called "Markus". Very nice guy - one of the good ones.
I paid for the drinks and he told me that I can get cheap ass "Aluminum" of high quality in this System.
But he said if I want to fly past "Bering", I should take some "High-Temperature Alloy"s instead. So off I go,
purchasing a whole load of 2,600 of said Alloys for a total of 78,000$. What a damn steal that was!
And once again off we go into the cold space, enroute to "Bristol Bay Station"!
Landing at "Bristol Bay Station", I decided it was time to upgrade.
Excluding my ship and cargo value, I am now netting 2,322,567$ personally.
The only financially reasonable choice here was the "Border Worlds Transport".
After deducting my old ship's worth and its components, it cost me 319,434$, setting me back to 2,003,133$ Net Worth.
Also "Robert", the ship vendor, told me that "Jackson" had held back some "VP" Engines from Rheinland.
What a lucky dude I am - he got an engine for my new transport! Set me back a further 95,000$ and I still had to get four more turrets at a price point of 2,300$ each,
setting my Net Worth back to a total of 1,898,933$. I hope this was better be worth it!
I pulled out my datapad and calculated some filler cargo to get.
I decided to settle for "Engine Components" - the commodity which got it all started! Depending on where I can source them,
they net me a good profit for the rest of my route.
Off we go!
On my way to the hangars I met an old man, "Karl", flying a "Stork" Train. He needed to get rid of a wrongfully bought shipment of "Engine Components".
What a friggin' lucky guy I am these days! I immediately purchased 1,000 units off of him for just 62,000$. Talk about steals earlier!
And off I go, with a fully loaded ship again in the deepest corners of space!
Holy shyte, seeing "Planet Yuma" is just beautiful! Nevertheless I docked at "Sabah Shipyard", paying good for my shipment.
The 1,000 units of "Engine Components" sold pretty fairly for 136,000$ and the 2,600 units of "High-Temperature Alloy"s for 491,400$,
making me a total of 627,400$. That is netting me a total profit of around 487,400$, stocking up my Net Worth to a fascinating amount of 2,464,333$.
This calls for some deluxe dinner in the bar and a nap. OFF I GO!
STATUS: Working Class / Dissident • MEDICAL: Healthy • MENTAL: Melancholic •
[ W I L H E L M - R U P R E C H T ] "Rock and stone break... but we do not."
I D E N T I F I C A T I O N Callsigns: BWU|-Eisenfaust
BWU|-Wilhelm_Ruprecht Affiliation:Bristol Constructions Role: Senior Miner / Salvage Operator Origin: Planet Hamburg, Rheinland
P H Y S I C A L - D A T A Age: 36 (Born 800 A.S.) Height: 1.80m Hair: Blond / Full Beard Eyes: Crystalline Blue Build: Heavy Labor / Muscular
// PERSONAL LOG No. 5
What a time to be alive, eh? Rolled out of my bunk, choked down some synth-cereal, and blasted off to a Copper supplier.
Loaded a full cargo of 3,600 units of "Copper". Cost me 360,000$. A damn fine steal.
Left Bretonia behind and hit the "TAU" Sector. Nothing but rocks and bad memories out here. I wondered what I’d find.
Saw a destroyed station, the wreck of the "Indochine" - whatever that was. Space is just one big graveyard if you look hard enough. Well, off we go. Need to find a way out of here to other stars.
Found a jump hole after a while. Let’s see where it goes. Verdammt, my NavMap reads "Orkney." Beautiful, I admit. Stark.
Saw some GNI and Maquis transponders clashing on the sensors. The GNI had some sleek fighters, not gonna lie.
After some time in the void, I found a minefield around a jump hole leading to "Languedoc." Sounds Gallic. Whatever, let's jump.
Stranded me in some red nebula. Plotted a course out using the NavComputer and landed right in front of the "Provence" Jump Gate. Never heard of it. Jumped through and was immediately welcomed by a squadron of Corse fighters. They asked where I wanted to go in their beloved Provence. Honest as I am, I told them I just want to find a good place to sell the shipment of "Copper" I have on board. They told me to follow them. What could go wrong, right?
Arrived at the coordinates, not knowing where the hell I was - my NavComputer and map were mysteriously fuzzy. Scramblers, probably. I was told to land at the station in front of us and that "Lisandru," the local market administrator, would take care of the shipment and my payment.
Said "Lisandru" paid me a generous 871,200$, netting me a total profit of 511,200$. Credits spend the same, no matter who signs the chit.
I was warmly "recommended" to haul some "Consumer Goods" as my leaving shipment. When a man with serious firepower at his disposal suggests you buy something, you listen. Bought a whole shipment for 360,000$.
On my way back to the "TAUS," I stuck with the trade lanes, which brought me to the restricted "Tau-23" Jump Gate. Told the local authorities a sob story about how I ended up there, naturally leaving out the Corses involvement. They allowed me passage once - once only - without applying for permission. I thanked them and got out of there before they changed their minds.
Looking for somewhere to dump this shipment without much questions, I ended up in "Newcastle," coming in from "Tau-31." Weird routes you have to take these days to stay breathing.
After some time I landed at "Fort Bush." Went up to the local authority's office and explained most of what happened - leaving out exactly who "recommended" I take the cargo, naturally. They thanked me for coming here instead of, say, Planet "Manhattan", since they found traces of some drugs, lucky me, that I came there on my own - I do not want to imagine what some Pirate, Police or Navy Officer would have done to me if they would have found out - and handed me a cooperation reward of 727,200$. That netted me a total, unexpected profit of 367,200$.
Saw "Baltimore Shipyard" right next to "Fort Bush." Figured it was time to upgrade the rig. Let’s see what they got in the yard.
Had a look at the few hulls the dealer "Matthews" had in stock. Finally decided to settle for the "Bison", a Liberty Heavy Transport. Price tag of 1,086,006$. A bit heavy on the wallet, but I need the tonnage.
After some back and forth bargaining, he took 841,752$ off me. Fair deal in the end. Basically another steal.
For now, I feel like visiting "Planet Erie".
As soon as I arrived, I searched for a decent hotel. Took a long break. Real steak dinner, fine whisky, and a bed that doesn't smell like engine grease.
STATUS: Working Class / Dissident • MEDICAL: Healthy • MENTAL: Melancholic •
[ W I L H E L M - R U P R E C H T ] "Rock and stone break... but we do not."
I D E N T I F I C A T I O N Callsigns: BWU|-Eisenfaust
BWU|-Wilhelm_Ruprecht Affiliation:Bristol Constructions Role: Senior Miner / Salvage Operator Origin: Planet Hamburg, Rheinland
P H Y S I C A L - D A T A Age: 36 (Born 800 A.S.) Height: 1.80m Hair: Blond / Full Beard Eyes: Crystalline Blue Build: Heavy Labor / Muscular
// PERSONAL LOG No. 6
The air recyclers on Cleveland Station wheeze like a dying man, reminding me too much of home.
But I wasn't there for the atmosphere. I slapped 559,000$ on the counter for 4,300 units of Deuterium. Watching that much credit leave my account hurts, ja, but you have to bleed to heal.
I needed to clear my head. The cold space was calling, and I had a sudden ache to see Planet Yuma
hanging in the black again. So I pointed the nose toward Sabah Shipyard. The view didn't disappoint,
and neither did the market - sold that Deuterium for 847,100$.
Didn't waste time looking at the stars, though.
Turned right around and bought a load of Copper for 430,000$.
Hauled it over to Pueblo Station. My "Bison" groaned the whole way -
flying that ship is like wrestling a drunken ox -
but I unloaded the metal for 868,600$.
Grabbed Superconductors next. High-tech, high stress. Cost me 129,000$.
Ran them back to Sabah Shipyard and sold for 434,300$.
Loaded up on Copper again for 430,000$. I was at the bar, knocking back a synth-beer,
when some Kusari stranger leaned in. Whispered about a hidden station deep in Sigma-59.
Now, I'm a cautious man - Bering teaches you that - but the credits in his eyes looked real. Off I went.
He wasn't lying. Sold that load somewhere deep in the Sigma-59 mists for 1,247,000$.
Verdammt, that is a serious payday.
Checked the datapad. Net Worth: 4,349,981$.
Back at the station bar, the adrenaline wore off and the anger set in.
I started ranting about the "Bison" I'd bought at Baltimore Shipyard.
I shouted to anyone listening that this Liberty junk heap couldn't fly in a straight line if you paid it.
It drifts, it creaks, it handles like a brick wrapped in lead.
A girl named "Yuzuki" looked up from her drink. She told me to quit whining and go see "Hishiro,"
the local ship dealer. Said I should get an "Akegata". Said it flies like it means it.
I took her advice. Went to the dealer and stripped the Bison down. Bought the "Akegata".
In the end, it cost me 460,001$. But a ship needs teeth in the Independent Worlds,
so I replaced 16 of the hardpoints with Kusari transport turrets.
My Net Worth took a hit down to 3,858,480$, but looking at her... she looks mean.
She looks ready.
Bought some Technology for 348,500$ to break her in.
Ran it to Barrier Gate Station.
The Akegata hums where the Bison rattled. Sold the tech for 869,200$.
Grabbed another load of Copper for 410,000$.
My eyes are burning and my hands are shaking from the stims. Time to sleep.
Franz is still out there, but he's not going anywhere tonight.
STATUS: Working Class / Dissident • MEDICAL: Healthy • MENTAL: Melancholic •
[ W I L H E L M - R U P R E C H T ] "Rock and stone break... but we do not."
I D E N T I F I C A T I O N Callsigns: BWU|-Eisenfaust
BWU|-Wilhelm_Ruprecht Affiliation:Bristol Constructions Role: Senior Miner / Salvage Operator Origin: Planet Hamburg, Rheinland
P H Y S I C A L - D A T A Age: 36 (Born 800 A.S.) Height: 1.80m Hair: Blond / Full Beard Eyes: Crystalline Blue Build: Heavy Labor / Muscular
// PERSONAL LOG No. 7
"The Chairman" of the Union called. Seems the construction crew messed up the schedule and went ahead and built "Vemork Station" - the Union's new HQ in Pennsylvania - ahead of the plan. Typical. Now we have to scramble to fill it.
"The Chairman" needs me and the boys to haul materials to keep the construction stable. I don't ask questions, I just fly.
Got a tip that "Baltimore Shipyard" had what we needed. I dumped my load of 4,100 Units of "Copper" at "Planet Pittsburg" to clear the hold, then burned hard for "Baltimore Shipyard". Picked up 4,100 units of "Hull Panels".
It was a grind. In total, I hauled about 7 loads of "Hull" to "Vemork Station". Then I pulled a double shift, running 9 loads of "Industrial Materials" out of "Trenton Outpost" in the "New York" System.
Finally took a breather, then organized 3 loads of "Robotics" from "Flight Valley Flightschool".
In the meantime, "The Chairman" chimed in personally. Congratulated us on the hard work. Said our sweat put around 40 million credits of value into the Union from outside donations. He promised a bonus for the earlier runs and a raise for the future ones. Workers first. A lovely man who respects our time - unlike the slave drivers at Daumann, or even the suits at Bristol Constructions proper.
Next up was "Construction Machinery". Ran a few loads from "New York. Then came the order that nearly strangled us: "Optronics" from "Kusari.
Off I went. Source said "Noshima Freeport" via Galileo was the cheapest route from Pennsylvania.
But there was a major issue. The embargoes "Liberty and Kusari" have slapped on each other meant I couldn't exactly fly straight. Had to smuggle it. Poked around a bar and met an old Freelancer from Bretonia. After a few shots of sake, he told me the "Kepler" System was my only way through.
He gave me some scanner calibrations and told me to be careful in "this maze of death." I thought he was just being dramatic.
I jumped in and - holy scheiße! He wasn't being dramatic. It felt like an eternity navigating that mess to get into Colorado. Lucky me, I mapped a route, more or less, but some equipment got damaged and I was absolutely exhausted. Unloaded the "Optronics" at "Vemork Station" and crashed for a nap. Ran it a few more times after that. Each trip got less exhausting, and I scraped less paint. I'm learning the path through the "death maze" of "Kepler".
"The Chairman" contacted us again. Told us about a comms burst from the "Bristol Constructions & Machinery" department. Our early prevention system flagged their message as "imposing spam." Ja, quite funny. They act like they have authority over us. Can you believe the audacity? "The Chairman" also said he's entering negotiations with "Liberty" regarding the early construction. He's willing to pay whatever reasonable fine they demand, just to stop them from physically deconstructing the station.
After final calculations, I am now netting 9,201,456 credits.
My brother may soon be found if this continues.
Sleep well, my dear personal log. I need to rest. Luckily this is possible, because "The Chairman" has contracted "Omicron Supply Industries" at our same
fair rates to give us a rest during further constructions, what a man, a man of his
words, workers first.
STATUS: Working Class / Dissident • MEDICAL: Healthy • MENTAL: Melancholic •
