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It wasn’t far to his | It wasn’t far to his hangar, only a kilometer or so. But when you spend your day (and sometimes days) in a small pod the idea of exercise can seem a little foreign. He walked in silence. Occasionally, he would pass windows with views out to space. He remembered as a new pilot excitedly looking out of those windows and impatiently pestering his teachers to let him go out. He ignored the windows now; he’ll be out there in a few minutes anyway. | ||
He stepped gingerly into the | He stepped gingerly into the hangar section and headed toward his hatch. Gravity was hit-or-miss here due to the large amount of ships floating in their hangars. Gravity fields held the ships in place and prevented them from running into the bulkheads. Protecting ships is much more important than personal comfort. | ||
“Aine Mindwolf” he said to his hatchway. The door slid aside and he stepped through. He was inside a small room that started rectangular at the hatch and ended round at the other end. It was designed to provide an airtight seal to his pod so he could enter and leave with being exposed to vacuum. The pod was there, sitting open like a lotus flower. His seat was the stamen. The seat began to retract into the pod immediately as he climbed into it. He adjusted his position as it did so. The petals closed and the pod began to hum to life. | “Aine Mindwolf” he said to his hatchway. The door slid aside and he stepped through. He was inside a small room that started rectangular at the hatch and ended round at the other end. It was designed to provide an airtight seal to his pod so he could enter and leave with being exposed to vacuum. The pod was there, sitting open like a lotus flower. His seat was the stamen. The seat began to retract into the pod immediately as he climbed into it. He adjusted his position as it did so. The petals closed and the pod began to hum to life. | ||
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Inside the darkness, the pod began to integrate him. The catheter and suppository tubes found their way and inserted themselves with some minor discomfort. Hair thin filaments snaked towards him from behind his head. They probed and connected to barely visible ports on the back of his neck. This literally connected him to the pod and ultimately to the ship he was piloting. As the connections were made his senses came alive. Even without a viewscreen or port, he was able to see outside the pod. The overview, station information, sensor readouts and other local data appeared at the right. At the bottom was statistical information about his pod. Shields, Armor and Structure were measured and depicted in this readout. Pods do not have shields so the bar remained red. At the left was a menu bar that contained all the functions he can carry out from within his pod; everything from reading mail to buying and selling on the market. He was fully connected to his pod. | Inside the darkness, the pod began to integrate him. The catheter and suppository tubes found their way and inserted themselves with some minor discomfort. Hair thin filaments snaked towards him from behind his head. They probed and connected to barely visible ports on the back of his neck. This literally connected him to the pod and ultimately to the ship he was piloting. As the connections were made his senses came alive. Even without a viewscreen or port, he was able to see outside the pod. The overview, station information, sensor readouts and other local data appeared at the right. At the bottom was statistical information about his pod. Shields, Armor and Structure were measured and depicted in this readout. Pods do not have shields so the bar remained red. At the left was a menu bar that contained all the functions he can carry out from within his pod; everything from reading mail to buying and selling on the market. He was fully connected to his pod. | ||
He floated free of the hatch room and the gravlift system nudged him towards the active ship in his | He floated free of the hatch room and the gravlift system nudged him towards the active ship in his hangar. He could have as many ships in his hangar as he wanted, but only one active at any time. He never understood how they came up with the storage space to store everything. The hangars had to be finite. Didn’t they? | ||
Hovering now above his Mining Barge he had a good view of it. It’s probably the best barge made for mining, a Hulk, and it definitely shows its use. It appeared dirty from the dust that clung to it. Sections had slag, melted ore and asteroid bits, stuck to it that had cooled in place, never to be removed again. | Hovering now above his Mining Barge he had a good view of it. It’s probably the best barge made for mining, a Hulk, and it definitely shows its use. It appeared dirty from the dust that clung to it. Sections had slag, melted ore and asteroid bits, stuck to it that had cooled in place, never to be removed again. | ||
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A realization came to him that he had spent most of the day recalling back to days when he was new to the Capsuleer program. He wondered why he was doing it even though he knew the reason. He’s only been a Capsuleer for a little while and a miner even less. Isn’t it too early for regrets? | A realization came to him that he had spent most of the day recalling back to days when he was new to the Capsuleer program. He wondered why he was doing it even though he knew the reason. He’s only been a Capsuleer for a little while and a miner even less. Isn’t it too early for regrets? | ||
Hangar command reported that he would be placed in line to leave the station in another 18 seconds. Which is exactly the amount he was willing to devote to regrets today. He tried to put it out of his mind. | |||
The Hulk started drifting toward the | The Hulk started drifting toward the hangar exit. | ||
“Good,” he thought. “Perhaps I can get something done instead of wallowing.” | “Good,” he thought. “Perhaps I can get something done instead of wallowing.” | ||
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“Could I have been a trader?” He thought. “I’ve been trading for quite some time now I considered it a second income. Should it be my first?” He imagined selling off his beloved Hulk, and moving to the nearest trade hub. To sit there all day. To buy and to sell. To buy and to sell all day. Never leaving, just buying and selling. “It’s like a nightmare!” he said, putting his hands to his face. | “Could I have been a trader?” He thought. “I’ve been trading for quite some time now I considered it a second income. Should it be my first?” He imagined selling off his beloved Hulk, and moving to the nearest trade hub. To sit there all day. To buy and to sell. To buy and to sell all day. Never leaving, just buying and selling. “It’s like a nightmare!” he said, putting his hands to his face. | ||
“How about mission running? That seems popular.” He in fact had done some mission running earlier in his career. That was only to build standing to get better rates for his ore refining. His Drake was still mothballed in his | “How about mission running? That seems popular.” He in fact had done some mission running earlier in his career. That was only to build standing to get better rates for his ore refining. His Drake was still mothballed in his hangar. | ||
But then he remembered why he mothballed the Drake. The agents; those damn agents control everything! You beg and plead for a mission where you can take out some pirates or liberate a gate camp. But you get: Tobacco! ''Take this crate of tobacco 14 jumps for me. Those Amarr sure love to smoke!'' If he wanted to haul he would have become a hauler. A job that he would not even consider. | But then he remembered why he mothballed the Drake. The agents; those damn agents control everything! You beg and plead for a mission where you can take out some pirates or liberate a gate camp. But you get: Tobacco! ''Take this crate of tobacco 14 jumps for me. Those Amarr sure love to smoke!'' If he wanted to haul he would have become a hauler. A job that he would not even consider. | ||