Chapter 3.2 - Getting Started 2

After stepping out of Grizmok's Electronics I walk over to a public bench and sit down. I still had a couple of things to do before picking up my starter ship, like opening a bank account. But before I do any of that there was one very important thing to do. I pull out the [Data Chip] with the Celeste diva package on it and slip it into the proper slot on my [Personal Computer]. The holographic display lights up and asks me if I want to install new software, obviously I select yes.

Once the installation is complete I go through the user settings on the device and change the computer voice option from default to Celeste, and set the computers avatar from none to Celeste. Time to test it out, "Computer, plot a course to the nearest branch of the GalNet Bank that's on the way to Grizwalds Discount Ship Emporium."

A small woman appears as a fully colored holographic display above the computer on my forearm, she's a beautiful woman with long dark hair and bright green eyes wearing a simple white sundress. "Sure Thomas, is there anywhere else you would like to stop along the way?", the voice on the computer now is so much nicer, kind, sweet, but clear and easy to understand. Her way of speaking had even changed.

Oh yes, this was much better than the dreadful default settings. I can't help but smile because if I didn't know better I would swear I was having a conversation with a real person now, "No, but thank you for asking. By the way, is it alright if I call you Celeste from now on?"

The holographic image of the woman gives me a radiant smile, "It's no problem Thomas, and you can call me anything you like."

I keep smiling as I converse with my computer, I can't help it. The personality change is pretty drastic and is making using the computer much more enjoyable to speak with, "Then from now on, I will call you Celeste."

I eject the [Data Chip] and store it in my [Utility Belt], at the same time I retrieve the package with my earpiece in it. After removing and discarding the package in a nearby trash bin I turn it on and get it into a comfortable position in my right ear. "Celeste connect with my earpiece and give me verbal directions to the bank."

The holographic woman nods and the next time she speaks I hear it from the earpiece instead of the computer, "All set Thomas."

A short time later I'm leaving the GalNet Bank after opening an account. The process was pretty simple, just a D.N.A. sample and my name were all I needed to open the account. Apparently when my character was created all relevant legal information had been added to the game to make me a legitimate citizen. So when they checked my name it gave them my information. The D.N.A. sample was a security measure on my account. I had all the relevant information now and had given it to Celeste to store, well everything except the password.

"Celeste, forward the necessary information to Grizmok so he can make deposits into my account. Then tell me how to get to Grizwalds Discount Ship Emporium from here."

Celeste responds with a chipper, "No problem Thomas."

Following the directions Celeste gives me I make my way Grizwalds, it takes me about an hour and another two credits for public transport to get there. By the time I arrive the sky is turning red and the sun is about to set. The storefront isn't very large, but the lot behind the store is massive with a large array of different looking ships of all shapes and sizes. Some look brand new, others look like they're only being held together with prayers.

When I step into the store and see the individual behind the counter I have to wonder if all the shop owners in this city are monsters of some sort. The... man behind the counter is massive. I don't mean muscular either, I mean fat. He has to weigh at least six hundred pounds while being no more than five feet tall making him look extremely wide. His entire body juggles with every movement he makes. On top of that he looks like a pig, and no that isn't a euphemism for how fat he is, his head literally looks like a pig. His skin is dark green and despite his animal look, there are very definite signs of intelligence behind his beady little eyes. "Ah, welcome welcome. How can I help you today good sir?"

I can't help but be a little surprised at the being's voice, it's smooth, strong and masculine. It gives off a no-nonsense businessman sort of vibe. It was a little surprising that he could speak so clearly with a snout instead of a normal mouth. I move closer to the counter and give him a smile, "My name is Thomas Darkrose, I believe you have a ship here for me?"

The pig-man waddles over to a console and types in my name, "Oh yes, Mr. Darkrose it seems I do indeed have a ship reserved for you. It seems you paid for a Light Freighter, is that correct?"

I didn't technically pay for it, but it seems like that's how the game plays it out so I nod, "That's correct."

He nods his piggy head and his jowls continue to shake for a few seconds after he stops. You would think someone so fat would be equally dirty, but he was wearing a pair of black overalls and a gray tee-shirt without a single stain on either, "Excellent. If you will follow me I'll take you to your ship."

I nod and follow him as he steps from behind the counter and leads me to a door heading out to the shipyard in back. I am shocked when I see his legs, they can't be more than a foot long and end in small hooves. I can't even begin to imagine how he manages to stay standing with such small feet holding all that weight. Outside he steps on a small railed platform with some driving controls on it and gestures for me to join him. The platform looks like it could hold half a dozen people my size, but the sheer bulk of the pig-man makes me have to stand uncomfortably close to him.

He takes the controls and begins to drive us through the shipyard. There are dozens upon dozens of ships here in all shapes and sizes. I see some that are sleek, aerodynamic, and look like oversized fighter jets, some that look like large rectangles with windshields, and one that looks like it's made out of crystals sticking out at sharp angles giving the ship an aggressive look. That last ship glitters menacingly in the red light of the setting sun. It doesn't take very long for the pig-man to drive me to a ship and park the platform near it, "Here she is Mr. Darkrose."

I look up at the ship and study it. It's not very big, maybe a hundred feet long in my estimate. It looks more like an ancient Earth shuttle than any kind of freighter I'm familiar with, given the size of the ship there definitely wouldn't be much room for cargo. The ship has a rounded nose that sweeps back in a somewhat aerodynamic design that looks like it would be equally good at flying in the atmosphere as it will in space. All in all, it looks like a good ship, if it was a hundred years younger. The entire thing is covered in splotches of rust and the landing gear looks like it's going to shatter and collapse under the weight of the ship. Just about everything about the ship screams that it's a piece of junk, I think I even see a bit of duct tape holding parts of it on!

I look at the pig-man, "Are you sure this is the right ship? It doesn't look like it would be very safe to fly."

The pig-man looks at me and I can instantly tell he's insulted, "I'll have you know that all the ships in my lot are certified by the highest safety standards. Any one of them will get you from here to the other side of the galaxy without any issues!"

He huffs and crosses his fat arms over is even fatter chest and glares at me. I decide it's best to smooth things over, "Sorry. It's my first time owning a spaceship," in this game, "so I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Just to make sure though the ship is equipped with an Arcane Corridor Core yes?"

The pig-man harrumphs and nods, "Yes, the ship is equipped with an A.C.C. and shields to protect it at faster than light speeds. Though, it's just a basic model and doesn't include any armaments. You can purchase weapons for it here if you need them. It also has two single person cabins, but not much else. These are the specifications you sent when making the purchase you know."

I didn't send jack shit, must have been the game again to keep the immersion for the NPC's. I hold back a sigh and nod to answer yes to his question, "Alright I'll take her. Is there any paperwork or anything we need to do?"

The pig-man shakes his head, "Nope it's all taken care of. When you get on board though you will need to name the ship and register it with the Pact authorities, they'll issue you a registration number to go with the ships name. Once that's done you're free to take off and head wherever you wish. I would suggest hopping on the local network though and seeing if there's anyone that wants deliveries or has jobs that need doing on the way to your destination."

I see so that's how I can pick up quests. I nod to the pig-man and give him a smile as I step off the platform, "Thanks for all your help and advice." I turn to start heading to the ship.

"Wait!", he calls out to me while digging in one of his pockets.

He pulls out something that my skill ranks in [Computers] tells me is an electronic key, basically a small device you plug into something to show you have the authorization to use it. Kind of like a key to a car. He tosses it to me and I catch it easily, "If you want to go anywhere you're going to need that to open the ship and start it up."

I give the pig-man another smile and wave while he turns his mobile platform around and drives back to his storefront. I turn around and face my ship, "What a piece of crap."

Quest Complete Now that you have arrived in the city of Varion head to Grizwalds Discount Ship Emporium to claim your free basic starter ship.

Having met with Grizwald you have claimed your first ship. You are now free to take jobs, travel, or just explore as you desire. Rewards: Minimally equipped Light Freighter New Quest Congratulations on claiming your first ship! Now it's time to put it to good use. Accept any quest that requires the use of your ship and complete it. Rewards: Experience

Shaking my head I walk all the way around the ship to examine it, the more I look at it the more I'm worried it will fall out of the sky or just flat out explode on me. After a full walk around I step up to the back of the ship and insert the electronic key into a small slot. The entire back of the ship begins to open so I make sure to step out of the way to keep from becoming a stain on the pavement. When the back finishes opening it forms a ramp about forty feet wide. I pull out the electronic key and walk up the ramp and into the ship.

The back of the ship is just empty space, cargo space, about forty feet wide by fifty feet long, or two thousand square feet. From top to bottom it's about ten to twelve feet, so I could fit at least a little bit of cargo into this thing. At the end of the cargo bay is a door leading to the interior of the ship, so I head that way and open it. The door leads to a corridor about twenty feet long that begins to angle up about halfway along it, at the opposite end of the corridor is the door to the cockpit. About five feet in front of me on my left and right are two doors that lead into small cabins with beds, a small desk, and a small bathroom with a toilet and shower. There's a hatch built into the ramp leading up to the cockpit that leads down into the engine room where the A.C.C. is located.

I step into the cockpit and sit down in the only seat in it. I stick the electronic key into the slot and the ship comes to life with a soft hum of computers booting up. Soon several screens light up and begin displaying diagnostics of the ship's systems. Fortunately, I have the [Ship Repair] and [Ship Modification] skills so I can understand most of the readouts as they scroll by. Despite the look of the ship, all the systems seem solid. Once the boot up is complete I look at my [Personal Computer], "Celeste can you connect with the ship's systems so I can issue verbal commands?"

"Sure Thomas, give me just a second aaaaand... done!", the word 'done' echoes from the loudspeaker system of the ship.

"Nicely done Celeste. Can you confirm the ship's systems are all functioning properly? I'm pretty sure they are but a second set of eyes inside the electronics never hurts."

"Sure Thomas.", again her voice is over the loudspeaker, "Looks like you were right. I'm not detecting any faults in the systems, everything is green."

"Okay Celeste, connect us to the Pact authorities so we can register the ship and get our registration number."

She doesn't say anything for a moment and then I hear a rough sounding man's voice coming over my earpiece, "This is Private Maenard of the Pact Ship Registration Office. Your computer contacted us and said you wished to register a vessel?"

I nod, then realize the man can't see me, "That's correct."

"And it's the ship you're contacting us from?", he asks.

"That's also correct.", is the reply I give.

"Just a moment while I pull up the information on your ship, may I have your name for verification?", he asks.

So I give him my name and spend the next minute waiting as he does whatever he needs to do, then he speaks up again, "Alright I've got all the information and a new registration number ready for you. What do you intend to call your ship?"

I grin, I can't help it, I've thought of a truly terrible and lame name for this flying deathtrap called a ship, "I'd like to register it as 'My Little Pile'."

The man says nothing, not even a snicker. A few seconds later he speaks up, "Alright your registration is complete. Be sure to contact us, or have your computer contact us, to submit a destination when you leave the planet."

I have to tell them where I'm going? That's annoying, so I ask, "Why do I have to submit a destination?"

"Technically you don't have to. However it is strongly recommended that you do so that if anything happens and you do not arrive when expected we can calculate possible routes you took to rescue you.", is his reply.

"Understood, thanks for your help.", I end the call there.

I lean back in my chair and sigh. Now that I was done with that and my ship was registered I could contact Reginald and find a way to meet up with him to get a real ship. "Hey Celeste, how do I make an interplanetary call?"

"You just need to connect the ship to the FTL-CN, that's the FTL Communications Network.", she replies.

I nod and type in the contact info Jeff gave me for his character Reginald into my [Personal Computer], "Connect to the network and contact Reginald."

I sit in silence for a few minutes then I hear a familiar voice on my earpiece, "Hey man. I've been waiting for you to contact me."

I smile, Reginald sounds pretty happy, "Hey Reggi, I just got my ship registered and need to know where I'm going if I'm going to pick up any quests on the way there. Right now I'm on Gharstavh."

Reginald coughs, "Reggi? The hell man?"

I laugh, "What? It's your fault for picking such a weird name."

He laughs, "Says the guy who only ever uses one name!"

I shake my head while smiling, "So where are we meeting up?"

"Just a second.", there's silence for a few moments, I assume he's looking at a map to figure out where we should meet. He speaks up a little bit later, "Alright, it looks like the best spot to meet up is at Valencia-5, the fifth planet in the Valencia system. It should be roughly six hours at FTL from you, about seven from me."

"Alright, I'm going to see if I can pick up any quests on the way to Valencia-5 then. Just don't forget to bring what you promised me alright?"

Reginald laughs, "I won't forget. I'll have your freighter, MCU's, and gear with me when I arrive, plus a few of the guild members. We'll also have you join up while we're there. So how was your tutorial?"

I grin and regale Reginald with the full unedited story of what I did in the tutorial, from my daring rescue to detonating the ship to wipe out the pirates. When I finish my story he speaks up, "Jesus man. You actually blew up two ships?"

"Yup. I hacked the A.C.C. core and made a sort of self-destruct out of it. The explosion wiped out the New Dawn and the pirate ship. I got a ton of experience for it."

Reginald laughs, "I bet, what level did it get you up to?"

"I'm level three and a little over a third of the way to level four. I figure if I can get a decent quest or two I can be up to halfway to level four when we meet up."

"That sounds about right Thomas. Get your quests and get into FTL, then I suggest you log out for a bit and get some dinner and do some stretching. We'll talk more when we meet up.", he ends the call there.

"Celeste, connect to the local network and pull up any jobs in the direction of Valencia-5."

Celeste projects her avatar out of one of the projectors in the cockpit, "Sure thing Thomas. I took the liberty of excluding jobs for deliveries that wouldn't be able to fit into the cargo space of the ship."

Damn, she's good. I nod in approval, "Show me what we got."

Available Quest Varax Industries needs 1 bulk of construction supplies delivered to the VC-5A Orbital Station orbiting Valencia-5. Rewards: Experience, 5,000 Credits Failure: Compensation for lost goods Available Quest Draeivian Tech needs 3 bulk of electronics delivered to their satellite office on Valencia-5. Rewards: Experience, 12,000 Credits Failure: Compensation for lost goods Available Quest Exolt Vahn needs 4 Bulk of items discreetly delivered to Valencia-5. Rewards: Experience, 25,000 Credits Failure: Compensation for lost goods

This was a small sample of possible jobs. Though I would be avoiding ones like that last listing like the plague. It just reeked of smuggling and I didn't have the ship, skills, or disposition to get into that kind of thing. I ended up taking the first two jobs. From what I could tell one bulk was about fifteen by fifteen feet, so I had enough space to store the items they wanted to deliver and then some. From my math I should be able to fit about six bulk in my cargo bay.

New Quest Varax Industries needs 1 bulk of construction supplies delivered to the VC-5A Orbital Station orbiting Valencia-5.

Varax Industries has been notified of your location and will arrive within the hour to load their cargo onto the My Little Pile. Rewards: Experience, 5,000 Credits Failure: Compensation for lost goods New Quest Draeivian Tech needs 3 bulk of electronics delivered to their satellite office on Valencia-5.

Draeivian Tech has been notified of your location and will arrive within forty-five minutes to load their cargo onto the My Little Pile. Rewards: Experience, 12,000 Credits Failure: Compensation for lost goods

Forty-three minutes later a representative for Draeivian Tech shows up with the cargo on pallets being pulled by a remote-controlled drone. I wave at the representative, "Welcome to the My Little Pile."

The human looking male representative takes a long discerning look at the ship and sighs, "Just to be sure, you are aware that if anything happens to the cargo you are responsible for the cost of the lost goods plus compensation right?"

I turn my head to look over my ship, it definitely still looks like a piece of crap even in the last rays of light from the setting sun, but I turn back to the representative and smile, "Don't worry, she may look like this but she flies just fine."

Okay, truth time? I have no idea how she flies. Frankly, I'm not even sure I can fly her properly since I have no skills related to piloting spaceships, just memories from a previous game or two. It would just be monumentally stupid to admit things like that to a customer so I decide to go with a little white lie. I mean, how hard can flying a spaceship really be? It's not like it's rocket science. It's probably closer to nuclear science.

The representative sighs and shakes his head then uses the remote control to pilot the drone and deliver the cargo into the cargo bay of the ship. He does a good job of it too, two of the large containers are placed on the port side of the ship close to each other and the third is placed on the starboard side of the ship. This leaves just a bit of room to walk between them to get through the cargo bay and keeps the load on the ship relatively balanced between the port and starboard sides.

After dropping off the cargo the rep has me authorize some paperwork taking the cargo into my custody, along with responsibility for it, and leaves. A few minutes later the rep for Varax Industries arrives with another drone pulling a single container. I go through the same song and dance with this rep before she loads the container into the cargo bay taking up the space next to the Draeivian Tech supplies on the starboard side. The four containers leave just enough room between them for me to walk from the ramp to the door that leads inside of the ship. And enough room at the back of the ship for at least two more containers. I would have taken more quests, but they all were going to different areas or required much larger cargo space than I had available. After I give my authorization and the last cargo container becomes my responsibility I'm ready to begin my first interstellar flight in StarPath.

I get settled in my seat in the cockpit and close the rear hatch of the ship. I'm actually feeling a little nervous, I can feel my weird heartbeat pounding away down by my stomach. I take a few deep calming breaths and begin my pre-flight preparations. First I go through the processes of getting the thrusters started up, they take around two minutes to get fully warmed up and ready for use. While that's happening I have Celeste use the ships navigation system to plot a course from here to Valencia-5. The calculations the ship's computer has to make are massive so those won't be done for a little while yet, it looks like being able to jump to FTL isn't a quick or easy process.

I take a few moments to read through some basic directions on flying this ship. The control inputs are pretty simple and it looks like there are several systems in the ship designed to simplify the process of flying it. That's going to help me a lot. The controls I will be using primarily are a throttle and a joystick. The throttle's forward and backward movement controls thrust in those directions while a pair of buttons on it control up and down vertical thrust. Meanwhile, the joystick controls pitch and yaw of the ship. With a simple setup like this, I shouldn't have too much trouble flying it.

I take one final deep breath to calm my nerves and press the vertical thrust button. The whole ship vibrates and I can hear a dull roar coming from the thrusters outside as they ignite and begin to push against gravity. Slowly the ship begins to ascend into the air and gradually picks up speed. Through the window of the cockpit, I can see the ground slowly growing further and further away. Oh yeah! "Hey Celeste, just this once register our flight path with the authorities. Just in case something happens to us on the way."

"Sure thing Thomas."

While she does that I watch our height on the altimeter, once we're about three hundred feet into the air I slowly push the throttle forward to begin accelerating in that direction. I can feel the large engines at the aft of the ship ignite and begin to push the ship forward, pushing me back into my seat. The ship quickly picks up speed as I continue to slowly inch the throttle forward. I pull back on the joystick to pitch the ship upwards and start a steady climb to escape the atmosphere of the planet. While I do that I also keep an eye on my scanners to make sure no other ships are in my projected course, the last thing I needed was to blindly kamikaze another ship.

I continue to pitch the ship up while increasing my speed until I hit maximum velocity. The ship shakes every now and then as I fly through the atmosphere of the planet. It takes less than two minutes overall for me to lift off from the ground and blast through the atmosphere and into the black of space. Once the gravity of the planet begins to fade off the artificial gravity of the ship kicks in and keeps me comfortably grounded. I keep the ships acceleration at maximum so that I continue to accelerate faster and faster in space.

New Skill Piloting (Light Freighter) 1/100 (+0 Agility)

As I fly I adjust my trajectory to the one the ship's computer has plotted for me so that I can get properly aligned in the direction I need to go to reach Valencia-5. "Hey Celeste, how much longer until the jump calculations are complete?"

Celestes small avatar turns to me and smiles, "The calculations will be done in less than a minute Thomas."

I nod and make sure the ship is on the proper trajectory while I wait for the calculations to complete. In the reading I had done to prepare for my first flight I had noted that using an A.C.C. too close to a planet could potentially cause stress to a ship that could do anything from lightly damaging the hull to completely sheering a ship in two. I didn't want to experience any of that so I made sure we got as far away from the gravity well of Gharstavh as we needed to.

True to Celeste's word less than a minute later the computer shows a message letting me know the jump calculations are complete and the ship is ready to engage the A.C.C. I triple-check that we're on the right course and engage the A.C.C. The view of the black of space sprinkled with the bright specs of stars shifts drastically as the A.C.C. engages. All the specs of light from the stars vanish as I enter the Arcane Corridor that allows for faster than light travel. It's nothing but pitch blackness, no light, no stars, not even a feeling of actually moving. It's creepy, almost like the entire universe has ceased to exist except for me and my ship.

I double check all of the computer screens and everything is green, the shields are up and protecting the ship, the ship is calculated to be on course and on time. Nothing is wrong, I'm just in the emptiness of the corridor.

I unbuckle myself from the pilot's seat and move out of the cockpit to head into the cabin on the port side of the ship. Both cabins were the exact same so it didn't really matter which one I took, I just randomly chose this one. Inside of the cabin is a lot like the inside of my cabin on the New Dawn when I first logged into the game. I walk over to the twin sized bed and lay down on it, "Celeste I'm not going to be available for a while. If anything happens or there are any communications let me know when I return."

"Return?", I can hear the confusion in her voice over the loudspeaker, "How can you go anywhere? We're in the corridor now."

I can't help but laugh, "Let me rephrase, when I wake up give me the information I asked for."

"Oh... okay Thomas.", I can still hear the confusion in her voice.

I lay my head on the small pillow, "Logout."

I sit up on my couch and carefully remove the headset and set it to the side. I stretch and get to my feet to look around my apartment. Of course, nothing had changed in the few hours I'd been logged into StarPath. I had about an hour and a half in real-world time before the ship was scheduled to arrive, I should get back a little early though so I can be in the cockpit on arrival.

I spend the next hour making myself dinner, taking a shower, using the facilities, and in general doing some of the things human beings just have to do.