A Day in the Life

Author: Jack Carrigan

Original post: https://jackcarrigan.wordpress.com/2012/10/25/a-day-in-the-life/

Entry for the YC114 Pod and Planet Fiction Contest in the A Day in the Life category.

“Life, even when granted as damned near immortality is still something that leaves one to seek thrills.”

POTEQUE PHARMACEUTICALS BIOTECH PRODUCTION
AUGNAIS SOLAR SYSTEM
SINQ LAISON REGION
GALLENTE FEDERATION

Having spent a good amount of time working on various projects for my Corporation’s welfare and the profits and expansion of the Alliance, I decided that it was a good time to spend some time doing something I enjoyed doing. I was standing on the gantry that extended from my quarters and took a look at my capsule, and pulled up the ship hangar interface. Trianna walked down toward me and saw the interface, shaking her head, “Jack, I don’t see why you have so many ships in here, you can only fly one at a time.” I laughed, “I know, but something about having a ship that can fill a vital role in just about every fleet type makes me feel better.” She struck her palm to her face and reached into my vest pocket, retrieving my pack of cigarettes before lighting one, and then handing one to me. I lit it and took a drag before taking a closer look at the inventory. “So,” she said, “What’s on the agenda today? Fuel running? Mining? Agents?” “None of the above,” I said as I swiped the inventory, bringing up the loadout on Mimir, my Federation Navy Comet, “I think I’m going to take a trip through low security and do a little bit of hunting. Lately some of my friends have been complaining about pilots from the Amarrian militia trying to seize a foothold in Metropolis region. Figured I’d help them out a little.” Trianna looked up at me, “Uh, can I come with?” “With what’s been going on out there, I’m going to say no. This time,” I replied. She sighed, “Well come back with your ship in one piece, okay?” “That’s the plan,” I chuckled.

As I confirmed the selection of Mimir, the loading mechanisms in my hangar lowered Gefjun, my Taranis-class Interceptor to the hangar floor, and brought the Federation Navy Comet-class Frigate up to the end of the gantry. My crew started running pre-launch checks on it, and after a few moments, my lead engineer came up to me, “Mimir is ready to launch when you are.” I nodded my silent approval and made my way down the steps leading to my capsule before locking myself into it. The amniotic fluid started to fill the sealed capsule as the last neural interface linked into my spinal cord, making me one with the egg-shaped pod. External loading mechanisms then moved my capsule up into the control port of the Comet, and locked it into place. Seconds later, Aura’s clear computerized voice came across and my vision was filled by the external camera drones and various telemetry readouts, “All systems functioning at one-hundred percent.” I obtained clearance to launch from Scotty, the docking manager, and was soon in warp to the Audaerne gate, the first jump gate in my trip into low security space.

AUDAERNE SOLAR SYSTEM
SINQ LAISON REGION
GALLENTE FEDERATION

The trip through Audaerne was uneventful, as expected, and I jumped into the Avenod solar system.

AVENOD SOLAR SYSTEM
METROPOLIS REGION
MINMATAR REPUBLIC

Upon arrival, I willed the tiny frigate to enter warp to a navigational “safe spot” that I had set up between about six celestials, making it so that I would have time to do some scanning while monitoring local traffic. Nothing on scan, so I set a course for the next system in my route.

ASET SOLAR SYSTEM
METROPOLIS REGION
MINMATAR REPUBLIC

Aset was clearly as dead as Avenod, so without hesitation, I made a jump into the next solar system.

FLOSESWIN SOLAR SYSTEM
METROPOLIS REGION
MINMATAR REPUBLIC

Floseswin had some promise, as I observed a Merlin-class frigate on my directional scanner within five degrees of the Minmatar Minor Outpost which was approximately six point four astromic units from my present location, so I set into warp. Upon arrival, I discovered the pilot was attempting to capture the outpost, and was evading all of the Republic forces trying to secure it. I fired my afterburner and was on an approach vector that would leave me in a one thousand meter orbit of the frigate which were notorious for their capability to stave off damage and put out some decent damage. I engaged Mimir’s warp scrambler, only to observe the pilot entering warp. I laughed, “Of course he’s warp stabbed.” A message popped up through secure comms, “Nice try scumbag. You’re never going to get me.” I sat approximately five kilometers from the outpost for a few minutes while I tried scanning down another target. But it was obvious that they were now wise to my intentions, and probably wouldn’t be operating as long as I was in the system. Not usually one to give up very easily, but I didn’t have the capabilities to snare a dual warp stabbed vessel at present, so I resigned myself to checking the next system along my route.

ARDAR SOLAR SYSTEM
METROPOLIS REGION
MINMATAR REPUBLIC

As I entered the system, I did a cursory check of my directional scanner at fourteen astromic units set for three-hundred sixty degree coverage, and upon the revalation that there was a very well organized anti-frigate fleet in the system, I snarled. My communications officer laughed, “Calm down Jack. Can’t win ’em all. Let’s find something to kill, and maybe make some money off of.” I nodded my silent approval. As I was aligning to warp, telemetry feeds started popping up and my short range scanners started picking up a large number of neutral and hostile vessels. I knew that it was a good time to leave at this point, and jumped to the next system.

FRERSTORN SOLAR SYSTEM
METROPOLIS REGION
MINMATAR REPUBLIC

Empty. I started laughing, “What the actual fuck?” I aligned the vessel toward the Eszur gate, and entered warp, jumping on arrival at the gate.

ESZUR SOLAR SYSTEM
METROPOLIS REGION
MINMATAR REPUBLIC

Another empty system. “Well fuck, this is not working out very well at… well hello…” I said to myself as I noticed the local communications fluid router had picked up another pilot in system. I aligned to a customs office, and warped to it within one-hundred kilometers, and started burning away from it at full afterburn. I ran my directional scan at maximum range at three-hundred sixty degrees. Nothing. I ran it again, and was pleasantly surprised, “Hey boys, looks like we have a Mackinaw by itself in the system. Let’s see if he’s paying attention.” “Aye aye commander,” my engineer replied, “Damage control system online, weapons armed, drones ready for launch, and all defensive systems functioning at one-hundred percent effectiveness.” “Good, let me find him,” I snickered.

After a few moments of scanning, I had the Mackinaw narrowed down to within five degrees of Eszur I. This narrowed it down quite effectively to two asteroid belts, the planet, or a moon. I checked the first belt, and was met with negative results, but upon warping to the second belt, I found myself within twenty kilometers of the exhumer. As I started my approach, I was informed by incoming telemetry feeds that a flight of Tech II Valkyrie drones was targetting Mimir and was approaching for an attack. I locked the Mackinaw and engaged the warp scrambler, and set into a closer orbit before opening fire with the pair of neutron blasters on board. I focused my stasis webifier on the incoming drones, and launched my own flight of three Tech II Hobgoblin drones. After the first of his drones fell, and he realized how quickly I would be able to dispatch them, he started to recall them as they took damage. I was paying close attention to the telemetry feed on my falling shields. “Commander, shields are at fifteen percent and falling,” the engineer called out. “It’s fine. He’s pulling his drones which will give us some leeway,” I replied.

The next volley before his drones disappeared into his drone bay bled over into my armor. His shields were failing, and there was no way to escape. Call it a sixth sense, but I had a feeling that he was already on his comms screaming for help. And last I checked Ushra’Khan didn’t take kindly to their exhumer pilots getting killed. But in my defense, he was the one that attacked me.

My armor was at approximately forty-five percent when his last drone exploded, having been swiftly dispatched by my Hobgoblins, which I was then able to focus on the Mackinaw-class Exhumer which had made a mistake that would prove fatal. His shield envelope had already collapsed, and the punishment coming from the antimatter charges striking the vessel were bleeding over into his structure. A matter of moments later, a blue-green blossom of flame and debris escaped the vessel as the hull breeched. The crew of the vessel was sucked into the unforgiving vaccuum of space to be flash frozen, floating around the destroyed exhumer like a macabre ring. The capsule aligned for warp, and then telemetry feeds displayed from the local fluid router that six others had entered the system.

A quick run of my directional scanner revealed a Vagabond-class Heavy Assault Cruiser, a Stiletto-class Interceptor, a Hurricane-class Battlecruiser and three Rifter-class Frigates. I took this as my cue to leave the system back the way I came.

POTEQUE PHARMACEUTICALS BIOTECH PRODUCTION
AUGNAIS SOLAR SYSTEM
SINQ LAISON REGION
GALLENTE FEDERATION

Carbon scoring covered the armor plating of Mimir and my hangar crew was already in position to begin repairs on the vessel. Trianna stood at the end of the gantry and waited for me. I walked up with a smirk on my face, “Looks like hell, doesn’t she?” Trianna laughed, “Looks like you got into one hell of a fight.” “More like I got attacked and destroyed the aggressor ship,” I said with a laugh, lighting a cigarette. The foreman of my load crew came up to me, “Jack, what you want us to do with the strip miner and the rest of the modules? We could repair and sell them, or reprocess them.” I thought about it for a moment before replying, “Melt that shit down for the minerals, and put it aside for PROJECT: Obsidian.” “You got it boss,” he said as he walked to get one of the power loaders. Trianna looked at me, “Strip miner? You took out a mining barge?” “Exhumer,” I replied curtly. She snickered, “Nice. By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you, as I don’t have the permissions for security, what the fuck is PROJECT: Obsidian?”

I patted her on the rear as I walked by, “One day you’ll see. But you’re going to have to be patient.”

END