Destiny, Loyalty, and Faith: Part 6

I've been spending a lot of time with the people that live at 'Altus Mining' station, and I feel I'm finally starting to develop a rapport with some of them. When I first arrived, people peered at me through the windows in their living quarters as I walked through the hallways, and everyone I spoke to stammered and fumbled their words as though I might execute them for saying the wrong thing. This troubled me deeply, and is due no doubt to the portrayal of Amarr capsuleers in the media. Holders are seen by many as slave driving gluttons consumed with power and riches. For most, it's quite the contrary. So I made a personal vow to show them that while we posses untold power some capsuleers wield it responsibly and lead with the good of the people in mind, and ultimately to show them the way to God.

Tonight, after bringing the fuel in, I brought some of the crew along for inspection of Altus' line of Exhumers, after which I brought them aboard my personal Exhumer, the 'Altus Maximus I'. I showed them how to maintain the specialized strip miners that require focusing crystals for the beams. Most of them had never seen this type of strip miner before. I promised the ship maintenance crew that I would take a few of them out to an asteroid belt tomorrow and actually get some mining done. They were more than excited.

Turns out that one of the crew has actually been with me since my first 'Omen' crew. His name is 'Ulias Naida'. After crewing the Omen, he was aboard my first mining barge and eventually the 'Altus Maximus I'. When we formed Altus he was re-stationed at 'Altus Mining' station due to my constatnt activity in the Crusade and my mining activities falling to the wayside.

After learning of Ulias Naida's continuing service and loyalty, I approached him about attending Hedion University to become a capsuleer. He was speechless, before he excitedly accepted. I also told him that I would personally fly him to Hedion to begin his schooling. He told me that he never dreamed that he would rise above his current station in life. And I told him that, "Service, be it to the people, or to God will always be rewarded in time."

Destiny, Loyalty, and Faith: Part 5

It was 111.03.11 when the reports started coming in about the wormholes popping up all over the cluster. This both excited and frightened me. Of course I was anxious to research and explore these new anomalies, but I could sense this was a foreboding event. It was like the pink sky during a morning rain on Kador Prime, telling all who witnessed it of the tempest to follow that afternoon.

However, I was not deterred. I knew this had to be the event my dream told me of, so I went straight to it.

At first, I found only what others are reporting; evidence of some ancient peoples whose technology surpasses our own. Then, after nearly three weeks, I found something of note. I located a deposit of strange gasses called fullerite-c60 and fullerite-c70. My databases showed no records of these gasses in New Eden, and my scans determined them to be pure and volatile. So I returned to known space to get a proper ship and some help from my corp mates.

I refit "The Scientia" with some gas harvesters, and rallied Darth and Zyra to go with me. Darth was to bring the industrial ship to haul the gas back to Empire. We set to harvesting the gas, when almost immediately, a small group of Sleeper drones warped in.

"Strange that they would still be protecting these deposits.", I thought.

Darth, immediately got the gas to a safespot, while Zyra and I made quick work of the Sleepers. I gave Darth the all clear to bring the industrial back in. Knowing the space wasn't safe, I was also directionaly scanning every few seconds. This helps in a lot of situations, but not when ships are cloaked.

Darth had them on scan moments before I did. He called out, "Broadsword, Scorpion, and Eos on scan!"

I commanded, "Get out! Get the gas out of here, now!"

No sooner than the last word had left my mouth, the Broadsword landed right on top of me and dropped a warp disruption sphere just in time to see Darth disappear from the overview with our gas safe in hand. We had already won the fight, even though I new this was the end for my Harbinger.

I burned for the edge of the sphere's effect range. Then I saw the Scorpion, Eos, and a Baalghorn land a few short kilometers from me. Missiles and lasers rained on "The Scientia" for almost five minutes. Although I was on the brink of escape several times, my Harbinger simply couldn't out maneuver the smaller, much more nimble Broadsword. Eventually, "The Scientia" was no more.

In a stroke of luck, the Broadsword had switched from using his warp distruption sphere, to a focused script. That allowed me the opportunity to escape in my capsule, as there was not enough time to drop a new bubble before I could get out. I smiled and told the pirates, "Good fight." I new we had protected the harvest and I knew they had enjoyed destroying my ship, even if they didn't get much from it...