Blog » X3TC » Way of the Gun Chapter 3

Posted by Kirlack on Wednesday 13th March, 2013   ·   1 comments

Chapter 2

Chapter 3: Zippidy Doo Da

(yawn)

Mornin'. Urk, my head feels like a dog shat in it. That's the last time I drink that much frakkin' whiskey. Had to try'n' blot out the image o' them Khaak though, ya know? After staggerin' out o' the bar at silly o'clock this mornin' I slept in the Hermes. Saves shellin' out fer a room. Made sure I'd proper booby trapped the airlock though. Cos a girl can never be too careful.

Actually, snaggin' the Hermes yesterday was a huge bonus, fer all kinds o' reasons. Firstly it gives me a bit o' storage space for any excess gear I might pick up, and that's somethin' I desperately needed. Secondly, bein' a personnel transport it can serve as a mobile home. There's quarters and facilities aboard which mean I can live outta the TP, which also means if my relationship with the Argon goes south I can just up sticks and move on. Finally, it'll be instrumental in gettin' me some trained psychopaths for boardin' operations. In fact, that should prob'ly be one o' my goals fer today.

So, once again nursin' cup after cup o' hot sweet coffee to beat off my ragin' hangover, I took a shower on the Hermes and even cooked myself some breakfast! Been a while since I've been able to do that. By the time I was done I felt a whole helluva lot better and started sortin' out some more pressin' business. I'm takin' Violent Tendencies out fer a test run today, and whilst I'm out 'n' about I've got plans for my other ships. Creed is gonna get fitted with some nav-sats so I can keep a remote eye on the stock levels at the local docks and military bases, while the Hermes is gonna pick me up a stock o' e-cells and mosquitos so I can top up as needed. That'll likely soak up the last o' my cred, so I'll be off lookin' fer work, or a few muppets I can tap up for their swag. I'm still gonna be needin' some proper storage, so TS class ships will be very much on the menu. I'm also gonna need to acquire myself a bioscanner if I'm gonna be hirin' mercs, and that means a trip right through pirate alley to the Terracorp HQ in Home o' Light. With this in mind I jet off into Hatikvah's.

I spend a good bit o' time bangin' on the hulls of' passin' Boron and Paranid freighters in a bid to force at least one o' 'em to bail, but no dice. They're all too happy to punt their fighter drones outta the airlock though, so it's a good thing I opted for PRGs. On the whole I'm rather impressed with Tendencies' capacity fer destruction. Despite bein' considerably slower'n Creed and havin' a fat ass to boot she's got meat where it counts and can clearly take a beatin' without fallin' apart. She can also lay out some savage punishment, and this honey's got some moves. Heh. I wonder if that's how my last lover woulda described me?

Eventually I get bored o' hittin' soft targets that ain't got nothin' worth stealin' and decide to play with some tech and weapons dealers. It's not long before I come across




this lot and when I peak in his hold I find an Ion Disruptor and a smattering of PRGs. Expectin' at least some o' 'em to be equipped imagine my surprise when it turns out he's got a PAC and a pair o' IREs? So I lock up his escorts, rinse the lot and turn my guns on the Pleco while




demandin' his cargo. Now that's a nice haul. There's not much point in me collectin' the Mass Driver ammo, seein' as how I ain't got the guns to use it, plus I'm workin' with limited storage space. So I grab the Ion 'n' the PRGs. I was about to swing north 'n' collect some o' them Banshees when I spot another Boron




with more Ions. So I scoop them up, finally collect some o' the missiles and then spot an




Octopus that bailed when I was shredding that Pleco's escort. As M5s go the Octopus is pretty damn quick, so I think I'll sell the Pegasus I picked up yesterday and use this'n fer my scout.

I go back to huntin' fer a bit which turns up exactly squat. I'm just thiknin' about movin' into Nopileos' when this guy shows up with a mother lode o'




PACs in his hold. After a short convo which consisted of 'Oi mate! Yoink!' he coughed up




every one o' 'em. By the time I'd scooped 'em all up Tendencies was almost stuffed to the gills with swag, but I was still huntin' fer a TS captain who was willin' to exchange the capacity to take another breath fer ownership o' his vessel. Since I'd had such luck in Nopileos' yesterday I made my way towards the west gate, when




this lot show up down south o' the sector. I don't much fancy tanglin' with that many fighters, plus the bombers and the M6, so I slipped across the event horizon.

Quite comfortably cruisin' across NM 'n' takin' pot-shots at the odd freighter, I'm just hittin' the mid point of the sector when the Nemesis and his pals creep through the east gate. I'm none too concerned seein' as they're 20 klicks away, but then I spot a load o' red blips up




in front o' me 'n' all.

Crap. Not wantin' to get caught between two hostile war bands I spin 90 degrees starboard and pitch the nose up to give yon battlegroups some clear space. The Nemesis group make their way outta the sector first, bein' a mite faster than the Heavy M6, but as the second group nears the east gate I start closin' the gap. I'm not plannin' to take 'em all on, but since they've forced me outta the trade lanes I'm gonna remind the Paranid why they don't like me. I let the M6 go first and it's swiftly followed by it's fighter wing. In typical Paranid military doctrine though, the M8s hover at the gate, preppin' for a jump to the next sector. Waste o' bloody energy cells if you ask me, but no one thought to. Odd.

I hit the first hard, hammerin' his shields down in a matter o' heartbeats with my quad PRGs. As rounds start bitin' into his hull I comm him 'n' demand he surrender, but the stubborn prick's havin' none o' that and I'm forced to gank him. The second jumps out before I can reach him, but he's clearly now holdin' up the gate queue as the last'n is still hoverin'. So I lay into him 'n' all and give him the same deal I've been offerin' to folk all mornin': Surrender or die. It's a pretty simple choice, but I'm guessin' the three eyes don't teach basic survival in their temples, and I'm forced to waste him too. At least I got




a few nukes fer my effort.

So I get back to preyin' on all manner of weapons and tech traders fer a bit, and rackin' up some more loot in the sector. I'm all outta space now though, so I call in Creed to pick up a few choice missiles. While I've been shootin' up the sector she's laid out satellites at OTAS, the military outposts at Aladna and Ceo's and the EqDs in Light o' Heart, Thuruk's Beard and Company Pride. Now I can keep an eye on what's in stock and buy most o' the gear I might be needin'. While she's busy packin' up swag I make a play fer a




Paranid energy freighter.

Score! Now that'll def'nitely sort out my storage problem. I know it's risky, but I send her off without patchin' her up. The hulls on TS are reasonably thick, and gettin' it fixed up would leave me out in the cold fer frakkin' ages. If she can make it back to Aladna Hill then I can start relaying some o' the swag I'm baggin' and even clear a bit o' room on the Hermes. And considerin' the loot




cloggin' up the system I'm gonna need it!

Leavin' Creed to work I slip through the west gate and run into a Boron Angel and it's




Hydra bodyguard. Wantin' to see how Tendencies compares to Creed after hittin' that one in Thuruk's Beard yesterday I shredded the Hyrda's two fighter mates first and pulled in under the M6 to riddle it with PRG fire. The shields are gone before my generator's even down to 30%, and then switchin' to the EBCs finished it in no time. Havin' a clear shot fer the Angel I blaze into it, but again, no luck. Frakkin' Boron. All I want is the ship, if they'd just gimme it I'd leave 'em alone!

......

That last part's prob'ly not true. Nevermind.

I catch up with a passing weapons trader and convince him to part with some very nice guns includin' a brace o' HEPTS and a load of FBLs that I can snag, and then get a call from the Rehab Facility fer




a convoy hit. Cool man, I can use 400k right now. My four targets are makin' their way from Clarity's End to Thuruk's, so I figure I'll catch up to 'em either in Paranid turf of in Hatikvah's, so no worry about rep loss with the Split. Not that I'm really bothered, but they got some nice tech I can buy right now. Still, if I fall outta their good graces I can just stick 'em on the piratin' list and get my goods that way. All's fair in love 'n' piracy.

I take the slow flight down towards Clarity's which gives my freighter a chance to get to the trading dock with the Hermes, and Creed plenty o' time to hoover up all those yummies litterin' Danna's and Nopileos'. My targets turn out to be a




group of Split. In some very slow ships. They were still idlin' in the middle of Clarity's when I arrived. When I spotted the Dolphin Hauler in the middle of the group it all made sense. Right, best way to handle this lot is a fat warhead. Luckily I have




a hammerhead in my bay. It only killed three o' them freighters, I had to finish the last'n up close, but it had been proper singed by the explosion. Job done and I get a message and 400k to




pad out my bankroll a bit.

As I'm cruisin' back towards Hatikvah's I switch some o' the collected gear around. All my excess energy cells, weapons and missiles have been shifted to the Demeter, while anythin' I'm not gonna use, firelance missiles, FBLs, cyclones, all get shifted into Creed's bay and sold at the military base, nettin' me a nice




wedge o' cash. That'll go a long way to nettin' me some mercs. And I've already got a ship and the weapons for attemptin' ops...

Life is good. It's about to get better. I head back to Aladna to offload some o' the hardware I've looted, replenish my ammo supply and pick up a few more choice missiles. I've got 11 fighter drones now, so I'm gonna take 10 o' 'em along in case things get hairy. I got enough jump fuel to get 5 sectors away in a hurry and a few mossies to keep my ass clear o' enemy bombs. Now I've got the TS I need to get the rest o' the way to the Argon core worlds for some tech. A transporter device or two would make scavvin' a shitload easier than relay jumpin' Creed.

I jump as far as Danna's and run into a Boron with some very




tasty lookin' missiles. So I give him a good tap on the shoulder and say 'Mate, gimme them bombs or I'll shred your little ship'.




He happily complies and then I shred him anyway. Never leave an enemy at your back. I scoop up most o' the warheads and call Creed in fer the rest whilst I slip through the north gate into Brennan's Triumph, and almost right into that




same Nemesis patrol I was evadin' in Nopileo's earlier. A quick boost away from them and I check to make sure they ain't of a mind to follw me, but the corvette's linin' up on the south gate, so I give 'em some room. The local pirate base is still standin' and it looks like they're offerin' work, so once this Paranid patrol frak off the way they came, I'll go and see what's what.

Or that was the plan anyway. What actually happened was more, 'ooh look, M8s hoverin' at the gate' and then a whole lot o' shootin'. Neither o' them bailed, and neither of 'em left me any missiles either, but in the process o' wastin' 'em I musta




clipped the gate with a few rounds...

Bollocks.

Now I'm gonna have to try'n find a hacker, as that's one o' the local stations that had mercs fer hire, and by reputation there's usually a few decent guys available. It's not all bad news though. As I'm cutting across the sector and givin' both the base and it's angry lookin' laser towers a wide berth I spot a contract fer a hit on an escaped crim. The government agent offerin' it




must be desperate though. Nearly 2 million for this guy's head?

You got yourself a contract sir.

The mark's up in Elena's Fortune 'n' flyin' a Hades. I don't have jump coordinates for Elena's yet, but I do fer Split Fire, so I jump to the north gate and spin right around. Elena's is an important sector for the Argon, and they got a lot o' hardware knockin' about the system, so I'm gonna need to nail this mark, and fast. Thankfully he's a little way outta the trade lanes and nobody but me is payin' him much attention. He's got some pals along too, a pair o' M3s. a couple Busters and a pair o' Harriers. I don't wanna have to tango with the lot at once, and I don't have to.

Busters don't have turrets, so I bracket one o' them little M4s and unleash a hammerhead. The whole wing's flyin' in a fairly tight 'X' formation, meanin' when the missile makes the target the whole wing should go up. I tracked in behind it at




a safe distance and a




few moments later...




Alright! Now that's how a girl likes to do business. Hard 'n' fast.

With anonther successful kill chalked up I make my way across President's End and finally dock up at Terracorp, which lands me both a bioscanner and a transporter device. Decidin' I'll need at least one more TD I jumped Creed in from the far side o' pirate alley and fitted her up too. Now anytime either of us are busy scavvin' I could just jump my TS to a nearby gate and beam over the loot, keepin' plenty o' space free in our bays.

For now though I've got no more business in Argon turf, so I head back towards President's End, where I encounter a lone Hades who's apparently




lost his battlegroup. Now there's an oppo'tunity. I make a run on him, but he refuses to jump ship, so I waste him. One o' these days though...

Whilst I've been busy jumpin' bombers I've sent the Hermes off to the Rehab Facility in Danna's to pick me up a few mercs. The selection was pitiful though, only two of the 17 were worth hirin' and even they weren't great. So I jump my TP down to Hatikvah's and pick up a few more from the pirate base. I would have gone to the Brenna's base after that, but there was a slight misunderstandin' earlier involvin' the gate ring, so for now the five I've got will




have to do. Now I just need somewhere outta the way where I can train 'em up a bit and prep 'em for boardin' ops. I think a scoutin' mission is in order. I'll prob'ly do that some time tomorrow.

I skip across Elena's and head outta the sector via the north gate. A spot o' piracy in Farnham's through to Olmancketslat's Treaty should hopefully net me some more swag, and I need to scout out those sectors anyway. Almost immediately I




force a Caiman pilot to bail, which gives me a TS with a fair bit o' speed. I might fix this up as my loot collector once I source a couple o' shields fer it. It's a long way from my base o' operations though, so I beam my jumpdrive across and give it orders to head for the Elena's military outpost. It can hang out there fer a while until I get Creed to jump over and bring some e-cells. After that though, no bugger's willin' to jump ship, although I do manage to bag some




very nice swag. By the time I've near finished pickin' that lot up though, there's a large group o' red blips up by the north gate.




Trouble? Yikes! Exit, stage right!

Bala Gi's Joy proves to be a bust as well, on account of the Boron Heavy Hydra and his fighter wing that are patrollin' the sector, so I cruise on into OT, which is quiet as ever. There's very rarely much traffic in the sector and today's no exception, so I slip through the south gate into Brennan's, give the stil angry lookin' laser towers a wide berth and wind up back in Danna's Chance. It's not long before a Boron weapons dealer in a TM drops through the north gate, and whilst I'm forced to shred him as he won't give up his goods, I did at least force one o' his




Mako wingmen to bail. So I fix that up and send it on it's way to Aladna. It's not gonna be vital to my long term plans, so I don't bother to escort it and go back to piratin'. It's not long before I've bagged




another freighter and then tango with a Paranid tech trader in




a Scorpion. After that, the sector's quiet, so I decide to head back to Aladna and call it a day. As I was passin' through Hatikvah's though I ended up baggin' a second Mako and then noticed a Pegasus that'd bailed during my piratin' earlier and finally claimed it, so that got fixed up 'n' all and sent through the gate.

Once I'm back with my little fleet o' ships I start sorting through all my gear and stash the




bulk o' it on the XL super freighter. That's a pretty impressive lookin' array o' guns 'n' missiles. Add that to my fat wallet, 5 mercs and little clutch o' ships...well.




My oh my, it's been a wonderful day!

Assets:

'Violent Tendencies' – Skate
Fully tuned
3x 25 Mj Shield
4x PRG
4x EBC
2x PAC

'Assassin's Creed' – Mamba
'Tools o' the Trade' – Caiman
Octopus
Hermes
Demeter Super Freighter – Storage
Demeter Super Freighter XL – Storage
Pegasus
Scorpion
Mako x2

2,691,664 Credits

Interlude

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