#1.3.07

Ending Balance: 15m

Sometimes, life takes you in unexpected directions. Every space-faring independent pilot knows this. Jobs coming from unlikely places, finding valuable salvage when you weren't looking, detours to avoid pirates/bounty hunters/police, beautiful stars & planets popping up in a field of dead stars.

Either you roll with it, or you miss it.

In this case, I had some opportunities crop up that I simply couldn't pass up. But in grabbing life by the reins, some things & people in my life fell to the wayside.

That hot bartender from the station in Diso? I barely said goodbye to her that morning, thinking I'd be back in her bunk when I returned later. I haven't been back & a short text message (not even a holo, what was I thinking?) apparently didn't sit too well with her.

I had to sacrifice a couple ships in the pursuit of ever-grander (& sometimes not-so grand) ships.

I had to drop a couple tons of precious cargo when the pirates were on me. I turned on them while they were distracted by scooping up my lost goods. The clients weren't happy I vaporized their goods in the pirates' hold, but a share of their bounty monies pleased most.

And my journal, my log & memoirs, suffered most. When all that's left of me is a black box floating in space, I want these thoughts & experiences to live on.

So let's play catch-up. And I can rid myself of these scribbled notes from the last two months...

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Before I blather on about the minutia, here's the highlights:

Bought a brand-new Diamondback Scout (Defiant)

Explored 400 systems with it, including scoring first discovery on the bodies in V0376 Andromedae

Bought a brand new Imperial Courier (Clarity)

Earned Ensign rank with the Federation

Bought, flew & sold the remaining major ships (Orca, Diamondback Explorer, Adder, Type 7, Federal Dropship)

Purchased my own Anaconda, which I named the Avarice

Took the Clarity out hunting & found *THREE* Unknown Artefacts, more than any other known hunter (losing two of them to other commanders)

The ship "stable" looks completely different than it did since my last entry. I sold the ships I had & now have:

Avarice (Anaconda - trading & bounty hunting)

Clarity (Imperial Courier - odd jobs & UA hunting)

Defiant (Diamondback Scout - exploration)

ASV Oasis (Orca - Research & science vessel, under the guidance of Dr. Arcanonn)

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Rather than try to recount everything, I'm just going to focus on the highlights. I'd fail to remember everything anyway, since more time has passed since my last entry than in all the days I journaled before it.

V0376 Andromedae

This one is huge to me. I had signed on with a big exploration project for the Sirius Corporation. I was trying to push myself, go further from human space than ever before & head to the Lagoon Nebula. Halfway there, near the edge of the arm of the galaxy & facing the great inky blackness in between, I got jumpy & decided to head back. I took a long route home & in the process, found myself in a big name system with no one's name on any of the bodies in it. Hard to believe, but no one had ever stopped in V0376 Andromedae, which is a shame because it's a gorgeous system. Two bright blue Class A stars & lots of other interesting bits. I scanned everything I could then rushed home. The first-discovered bonus + the rest of my data earned a payment so fat, I was able to buy a brand-new Imperial Courier & A-spec it outright.

All 20 major ships flown

Every ship that they'll sell new on the galactic showrooms has now been mine, including the dreaded Anaconda. That Courier I bought with my expo credits has paid for itself several times over. It helped my get my Federal rank up to Ensign (hilarious in itself, completing Fed tasks in an Empire ship), enabling me to purchase a Federal Dropship as the last ship. Most, like the Adder / Type-7 / Dropship, I'd never willingly fly ever again (terrible bricks, one & all). But given my family's humble means, I accomplished something I could only dream of as a child. Which leads me to...

The Avarice

The Faulcon de Lacey Anaconda, the biggest & baddest "freighter" in the galaxy & the largest combat ship a private pilot can own, is mine. And the power trip that is sitting on the bridge, hearing the ship's voice actually echo around you, the roar of 8 lasers flashing out & reducing pirates to wreckage. It's no wonder so many pilots covet this ship.

Sure, she's a bit of a boat. But flying smartly (toggle that Flight Assist Off to bring her around) plus including 4 turreted pulse lasers in my loadout makes even the most nimble ships fear me.

Add in that massive cargo hold (second only to the Type-9) as well as the ability to maneuver in/out of dock far faster. The trading profits I've made fit her name (which is a synonym for "greed") very, VERY well.

It was a little sad to part with the Phantom (my beloved Python) & to sell the other ships, but I promised myself I'd hunt them back down & buy back someday, provided they were still in one piece.

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The last big thing, the Unknown Artefact, will have to wait until tomorrow. There's simply too much to say about the last 26 days to finish before I crash in my bunk tonight.