Prologue
The wisp of
light sneaking in view from the eastern shores of the Amarrian Capitol Oris meant
that night was coming to an end. He knew that his counterpart was tired as she
had been helping him haul cargo boxes all evening. Even though the boxes were made from a light
weight carbon alloy the goods that were heavy.
While hover lifters made work easier it just meant they could move more
cargo than people of the old earth.
That evening
was the last of long line of transport missions between the expansive but
extremely populated continents of Oris.
The missions had been to transport components for the construction of
Amarr fleet frigates to be used in the war against the rebellious Minmatar slaves.
Of the four
decendant races from old Earth, the Amarr believed that they were the most
righteous. They believed the Gods of New
Eden had given them the rite to rule over the other three races. Their rise as the superior race eventually
led the Amarrian Empires to enslave another of the races, the Minmatar.
The Minmatar
while seemly primitive in many respects were faster and strong than their
Amarrian slavers. This had helped to
lead to an uprising over the last few hundred years recapturing much of their
old territory.
It was now
the responsibility of all Amarrians to do their part in the war to reinstate
their race as the dominate race in New Eden.
Materia Stone was a transport pilot that came from a long line of Amarrian
loyalists. A skillful pilot he had scraped
enough cash from years of work to buy a new Minmatar Shuttle and a Gallente
industrial ship known as a Nereus. The
Gallente were known as a people of traders with proficient skills in mining and
manufacturing. The Nereus while small
was fast and tuff allowing it survive assaults from the most ruthless pirates. It was this Nereus that they were hauling the
last shipment for the night.
Looking at
his friend and confidant he knew she was tired.
Her long blond hair while regularly tired up had become coarse over the
years. While her soft pale skin had
become somewhat rigid, her blue eyes were still as beautiful as the first day
they had met in their early years. A
stranger would think this pair a romantic couple but these childhood friends
had decided many years before that their relationship would be equal to that of
siblings. Materia had although often pondered
what would have happened if they had of formed a romantic relationship, but was
glad it never transpired as it would only have complicated their now strong business
relationship.
The business
had been flourishing as far as planet side businesses were concerned. While the hauler itself was designed for
interstellar travel Materia and Andrah had very rarely ventured outside the
Amarrian captiol system. Their main
concern like many others was the war that had been raging for so many long
years. The Minmatar had revolted many
years prior and taken back many of their traditional homelands. They were ruthless. Their ships looked like they were pieced
together from a junkyard, covered in rust and while riddled with technical
issues were built for combat efficiency.
The fighters themselves were cunning and ruthless. Their fighters would fight to death not cowering
from fights even when hopelessly outnumbered.
The war was
not the only threat in the cosmos. Pirates and mysterious invaders, known as
drifters, were stretching their influence, raiding even in the heart of capitol
systems to keep their massive covert operations growing. The larger pirate groups such as the Sansha
and Angel Cartel had been in existence for thousands of years. Their influence had spread throughout New
Eden with the formation of many large pirate alliances such as Pandemic Legion. Though Amarr itself was rarely ravaged by
this great alliance the war effort in the adjoining region of The Bleak Lands
was constantly put under the strain by their massive fleets of capital ships.
Both friends
had longed to fly in the battles for control over systems in New Eden but had
never had the money to make the necessary changes. This day was
to be different. Today they were to be
heading to largest trade hub in all of Amarrian space, The Emperor’s Family
Academy that orbited the same major planet they had been making hauling runs on
for the last 20 years. Today they were
to make a run between Oris storage yards and the Amarr shipyards in
Emrayer. Emrayer was one of the major
training system for new capsuleers.
To join the
capsuleer program was to become immortal in the stars. The process to become a god was just the
beginning. Capsuleers commanded massive
ships into battles none larger than the Amarr’s Avatar class Titan. A ship that commanded respect wherever it was
found in space. Shaped something between
a nail and a long mushroom it was a ship so large it dwarfed any other capital
ship in any fleet.
Today
Materia and Andrah were to meet with Nehrnah Gorouyar of the Emperor Family
security forces. He was to be the one to
give them a mission that would finally afford them the means to leave Oris and
join the capsuleer program. While both
were respected on Oris and wealthy in terms of the planet side populous it was
widely known that you needed a lot more currency to purchase a ship that was
able to with stand pirate and enemy militia attacks while going about your
business across New Eden.
The Nereus
class hauler was a great workhorse. It
was small and fast but held a reasonable amount of storage is in its cylinder
shaped hull. With the right upgrades the
hull was also known to be quite a robust blockade runner. Materia knew that they needed to invest in
these upgrades to be able to survive hauling into the depths of New Eden. Upgrades that were not your standard
upgrades, upgrades that were retrofitted by pirates and the secret factions of
the four races. These retrofitted ship
modules would improve the Nereus’s shields and allow it run from interdiction
devices such as warp drive disruption arrays.
Before the
mission that Nehrnah would likely request of them Materia would need to see
some old associates. Associates that
lurked in the shadows, associates that may not easily give up the upgrades
required, associates that had links to the Angel Cartel and the Minmatar
Militia, the notorious Pandemic Legion. Materia
had a contact in the notorious pirate armada in the nearby low security system
of Egghelende. This contact would be
able to get them the parts they required but would Andrah agree?
At this
stage Andrah’s head was loosely bobbing around with the odd bump through an air
pocket while heading for the upper atmosphere of Oris. She loved to sleep while flying as she found
it quite relaxing with the low hum and slight vibrations caused by the thruster
drives. Materia knew this and decided to
leave the necessary conversation for later that evening…
**************************************************
The cold
chill of space was not all that familiar to Andrah. She had been in space before but not all that
often. She knew where they were headed
this morning as they needed to see a work agent to collect payment for the
goods that they had been transporting the night prior. Payment that would afford them the ability to
take the hauling business to its next phase.
Opening her
eyes, she could see the tip of the north communications spire. The spire in
itself was 3 times the size of the hauler they were in. It alone was almost 300 metres long and 20
metres wide. The array controlled most communications
between the vastness of New Eden and the Amarr population. As they passed the antenna the full length of
the station came into the view. Even
though Andrah had been here before she was still in awe of the size of the
station. Over 5 kilometres in length
from top to bottom the stations almond shape was still one of the most
magnificent in New Eden, or atleast the Amarr thought so.
She did not
like visiting this trade hub it was full of Amarrian loyalists that believed
they were the centre of the universe.
While Andrah was part of a loyalist family she did not believe in
slavery. She had also heard whispers of
the many war crimes committed by the Amarr council in the war again the
Minmatar people. She thought to herself,
‘Am I a sympathiser?’. Suddenly she
realised she was and shoock off the thought…
She knew it was not a good idea to express sympathy for the Minmatar
people especially where they were headed this evening. Nehrnah was known for arresting anyone who
showed any sympathy with treason. It was
time now to pick up her share of the payment and move on to her next chapter…
Materia
noticed the glazed look on Andrah’s eyes…
He knew what she was thinking and thought he better remind her where
they were headed.
‘Hey bud,
you know shou…’ As quickly as he started talking Andrah cut him off who piped up
in a frustrated voice…
‘Yeessss, I
know… You don’t need to say it.’
But he felt
he should finish anyway… ‘shouldn’t
discuss the war at the Academy, especially with your views.’
As much as
Materia cared for his friend’s safety he didn’t agree with her views. They debated the war on almost every hauling
run.
