Getting ready to head to the store, and this just ripped itself out of me into the keyboard. No idea where it came from, but I figure a few people ( George, Jim, Scott, Jacob, Greg and others) would appreciate it- Let me tell you a little something about my life. You- especially those in the Core Worlds where the constant bombardment of the hustle and bustle of life creates a never-ending cacophony of stimuli- will never understand the lure of the quietness of space. Sound does not propagate out here, outside of EM waves rebounding off the hull on occasion, so if the ship is quiet there is a silence unequaled on any world with an atmo. The lack of sound sharpens the other senses, however, and brings into sharp focus the raw cosmic beauty of the universe. How many of you dirtbound plebeians even look up at the stars? I have sat for hours cooling down from a long-range jump in the heart of a nebula, staring out as the glowing gasses and dust slowly floated by in soundless whisps and sparkling motes. I have sat on the bridge with full transparency on so that the hull no longer blocked my view of the glittering gems and veins of light your cities create as they spread across the nightside of a planet. I look down on your skyspiercers, highrise buildings that penetrate the upper atmosphere into orbit in a vain attempt to give you a taste of the freedom I enjoy flying about the soundless depths of the cosmos. I am a stellar mariner, captain of a ship that sails upon the black gulf between islands of stars. You look upon mountains thousands of kilometers in height with awe. I gaze upon and fly through mountains of gas, rock, plasma and dust that make up stellar nurseries light years across with the same awe. Mine is a world of vast scales, all while flying around in a ship not much larger than a four bedroom hab module. My life is about the stars, traveling between them, marveling at them, and exploring new ones as the Human sphere expands along the galaxy’s arms. I sleep in a bunk in quarters smaller than many Core Worlders’ bathrooms, but I count myself lucky. I share a tiny galley with an autochef and two-burner thermal unit with my two crew and relax in a lounge smaller than some closets I’ve seen, but I am blessed. My ship is equipped with top-notch stealth gear and armed to the teeth because of the numerous threats we encounter out here, but I am fortunate beyond measure. You see, my bunk and quarters may be small, but I work in an office designed by the Divine on a scale of incomprehensible proportions. My tiny home in space is shared by two others, but they are my best friends for whom I would gladly give my life as they would do for me, and our bonds are tighter than any Core Worlder will ever understand. We have to be able to fight like lions or hide like thieves in the night to escape at least once a month, but that is the price we pay for living free and experiencing the ecstatic rush of escape or victory- not to mention the hefty bounties many of those victories bring us- that the sheltered and pampered dirtsiders will never know. I live a life of freedom in the wild Beyond so many of you think of as empty. I live a life where I chart my own course and shape my own destiny, beholden to none but myself and my crew. I live a life where we fight and party with wild abandon and the ferocity only the Ahruga and Namaran can best. I may die tomorrow and leave nothing but a cloud of dispersed atoms and debris where once a captain flew, but if that happens I do so with no regrets, because my life has been full beyond my years. I am a Freetrader, and my life is my own.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:07:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015