Into the Black

While I rode the tram over to the docks, I took a look at the information nets, now that I was out from under the watchful eye of the military. I needed information in a bad way.

First, I checked the status of my ship. The Harlot’s Ruse was apparently a MT-234 series light freighter. Normal crew of 2 to 6, though it could be run by just a pilot if necessary. The MT-234 was known for being fast, and had a few places that could be converted for smuggling purposes. While the armor wasn’t bad, it wasn’t a military ship, to be sure. If something got through the shields, damage could rack up fast. But other than starfighters, there wasn’t much that could catch a MT-234 if it was in peak form.

Second, I saw that the existence of players had been leaked to the NPCs. We were being called Nomads in the Empire, and the fact that we came back after death, and would sometimes disappear for hours or days when we ‘logged out’ was already known. That would make some things easier. Telling people I was a Nomad would eliminate questions on why I didn’t know certain things, for instance.

Third, I saw a job board, where ship’s captains could arrange for cargo and passengers that were headed along their planned routes. You could also look for crew there, if you wanted. From the patchy records I had, the only current crew of the Ruse was the ship’s AI. I’d need to get a couple more if I wanted to be really effective.

On the other hand, the ship was, apparently, ready to fly and had all the maintenance done, which is why Kickass was in the bar. He’d come to celebrate putting the finishing touches on a ship he’d won in what sounded like an interesting story about him shooting the former owner repeatedly. Since the other person had shot first, it was ruled self-defense. Well, in that case he could hardly complain if I robbed him blind a bit later, right?

Hmm. Better change the ship’s name while I had the chance. After paying a 100 credit fee, the Harlot’s Ruse became the Starlight Raven. Much better name for a ship.

While trolling the job boards, I came across something interesting.