User:Marcus Langley/Journal/Archive 1

First archive (1-21)

Entry 1
Mid-Flight Finally got the 24 hours required for mission work. Took a simple search and destroy from the guy at Midgard. Score so far is looking okay. Downed a Thor and more Goldfish than I care to count, but I had to bail from a Mastiff that was a little tougher than I anticipated, though that didn't stop me from giving the bugger a black eye. Made some in-flight modifications to the machinegun after that fight and it's shredding goldfish even faster. Greased it up, added a recoil compensator and explosive rounds. They hardly last under that kinda fire, lemme tell ya.

Just fried another goldfish. Grabbed some pretty fancy-lookin' grease too, wonder what he was doing with this stuff. Should be handy for later. Almost done with this hunt, thankfully. At least the kills an' salvage'll cover repairs. I get the feeling if I pull too many maneuvers in this condition, the Wisp'll break up in mid air.

Entry 2
Olio/Mid-Flight Finally ditched the old CR-4P in favour of a Thor. I prefer maneuverability to durability so far. After all, the less damage you take, the less you have to pay for repairs. Already dropped a Goldfish - no surprise there. Need to find new mods for the guns. Wide gap between 'em is a little unnerving but lets me use the maneuverability more, and the side means I don't have to go straight at them and can come in at an angle, which is nice for those rear arcs. Buzzing around to pick up some more ore to make up for the loss of buying this thing.

Still gotta get used to the handling, but the speed boost is wonderful.

Entry 3
Mid-Flight Put a four-pack of Goldfish down and followed it up by icing what looked distinctly like a frakkin' Requin of all things. Silly bugger must have thought he could get lucky taking the Whisper on... I didn't let him get any good volleys in though and stayed inside his turns mostly, so he was almost always on the defense and then he went down with a bit of hammering... and some lucky shots, I'll admit. I didn't even suffer major armour damage.

Entry 4
Mid-Flight Just took out my first Halifax. Surprisingly easy! I got into a perfect position and just tore it up with both machinegun banks at once, went down surprisingly fast, scored nearly 1,500G off it. All the more reason for me not to fly one, I guess. Not that I intended to anyway. I'm a fighter, not a trader. Sure, I trade on the side when and where I can, but still...

Been dropping Mastiffs and other Thors, so the Halifax was a surprising change of pace. I expected to get beat up, guess I got lucky?

Entry 5
Mid-Flight Okay, that... that was just too damn easy. Dropped a Valkyrie - the white biplane sort, yes. Got in behind her, matched speed and just opened up with one of the banks. Poor guy must've panicked and locked up, I think; he wasn't even trying to evade me there. I must have gotten about 1,200G from that all told. Pretty nice but not as much as those Halifaxes... downed a second one earlier too on that note. Got a bit cocky and lost a mill' of armour, nearly lost two mill', but it couldn't get out of both MG arcs again and went down fast as the first.

Entry 6
Isla Di Pisa Switched out the Whisper for a new Valkyrie I've called Whisperwind for now. Time to take her out for a spin... that wasn't easy on my wallet! Here's to the future~

Entry 7
Mid-Flight Lost journal after moving to the Crimson Breeze - a Valk Mark II. Rather dashing red colour too. Found journal hidden in a pillow. Questioning sanity.

Had the Crimson a few days now. She's a decent step up from the Whisperwind and quite the brawler in the right circumstances. Just gotta handle well. Free crew seat and bunk as ever, not sure what I'll do with that. Maybe find a Mechanic to help keep this thing in shape. Good navis are hard to come by, so I hear. Doing well enough at that by myself though.

Patrolling around Steppe earlier. Caught a few pirate convoys smuggling stuff in and out. Didn't get any good loot, 'part from a couple of gun mods and some salvageable components/misc. trinkets to sell between runs.

Went on a 'Great Crusade' shortly before picking up the Crimson too. Had'ta nail and verify 50. They left more'n'enough scrap for that, though.

Entry 8
Mid-Flight Moved on from the Crimson already. Heh. Now flying a Phantom; Iron Wind. Making my way up in the world... the Phantom's larger fuel tank means I can get out of the southeast and up towards the faction headquarters. I imagine I'll have to find one soon, but for the time being I need to officially graduate my ass outta flight school. Then maybe I can think about joining one proper. Still wondering how the Court have a grip on the southeast... I guess those guys're just mesmerized by all the fancy talk. Eh. If ya need t' say something, make a point of gettin' it across quickly and without unnecessary delay. No confusion that way.

Just gotta recover my losses... better go hunting soon. Checking out Alpha 2 before I work up northwest, I hear they're close to pirate territory.

Entry 9
Mid-Flight Whew! Certainly an interesting flight up so far. I ran into a Leviathan earlier... I can see why some people call 'em Levipedes. Also ran into a Barracuda. Easier than I anticipated since I didn't have to rely on lucky shots like I did with the Leviathan, but bloody hell if it wasn't tough too. I got into a nice position right behind it but out of it's guns arcs and must have been unloading non stop for a good couple of seconds to bring it down. Nice salvage too.

Entry 10
Mid-Flight Just left Arcadia. Joined up with the Armada a couple've days ago and I've been stationed on Fuseli for the time being. The pirates are getting pretty audacious hanging around the Fuseli like that... I hear they're trying to besiege the place and stop supply convoys from arriving. You wouldn't believe how much these guys like their stroganoff. Crazy buggers. Also won a bet with some of the older guys in the ship's bar - silly gits bet I couldn't take down fifty pirates without being shot down, something about a 'Grand Crusade'... they never said anything about stopping to repair, and admittedly I had to make a couple of close landings, but I beat 'em fair and square. I heard lots of mention of someone with the callsign 'Crusader' over comms, maybe they were talking about me?

Either way, they owe me a good word and a few drinks. Bartender told me about this nice little skylet out in the middle of the arse end of nowhere where one can usually find a quiet place for a drink, so I might check that out sometime. The Fuseli's bar is way too noisy for my tastes.

Armada brass has me doing recon flights down south right now with a pair of even-newer recruits in the Wind's free seats, mostly 'conning out the capitals. I expect they did this to keep me busy for a few hours as well as let me see some sights and get used to potential threats during peacetime, rather than having a rough brief in war. Arcadia was all very fancy. I left the rookies with the Iron Wind and orders to beat the stuffing out of anyone who tried to tamper with it whilst I checked things out... I don't trust those artsy fartsy types any farther than I could throw 'em, even if some of 'em do look pretty lightweight. Ha!

Gave their blockade a scare too, and obviously dropped a few pirate convoys. A minor show of force and unnecessary, as I'm sure they well know who they're dealing with. The guy at the ATC didn't sound like one of those Court loons and at least seemed to appreciate the effort, which was nice.

Next stop is Fuel LIX, then on to Lhasa. I get the feeling the Order'll be more tolerable than the Court, if only because they don't seem the type to mince words. I can respect that.

Entry 11
Mid-Flight Almost to XLI now. Lhasa was okay, but kinda quiet and rather simple - unsurprising for a bunch of monks I guess. Had a wander around the temple gardens to stretch my legs and get some fresh air, tried not to make too much of a nuisance of myself. Left the recruits at the hangar again, didn't want them causing problems with the locals. After XLI, we head to New Hovlund. Scheduled for a short stop, and it's Armada territory so I can let the recruits run loose without too much worry. Then we get to haul ass back up to the Fuseli, I hear a few more assignments are piling up on my desk. Never a dull minute in the Armada, I guess.

Entry 12
New Hovlund - Midnight? I'd make an awful pun about dams here but I'm at a loss for words, too tired for this... Just stopping off quickly. Got a comm on the way in; Governor of the place wants me to play freight to Echo. Seeing as it's on the way back I cleared it with HQ. He says it's pretty fancy stuff and I should be really careful with it, promised to pay a fair amount for safe transit. Should be easy. I stowed it in the armoured compartment. Off to find those recruits and head on to Echo, then back to Fuseli for some debriefing and R&R, probably in that order knowing the brass, but it's an eight hour flight back - four to Echo and then another four on to Fuseli... I'll probably catch a nap and leave one of the new guys in control. As long as he doesn't do anything stupid we should be fine.

Entry 13
Mid-Flight Well, the trip back up to Fuseli was alright. There were a few pirate attacks on the way up to Echo, I guess they were trying to get ahold of the stuff the New Hovlund governor wanted moving. They didn't get it of course. Managed to get some decent sleep on the way back too, so I didn't look like I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards by debrief time. Debrief was uneventful, since nothing serious came up. Got a couple more hours of sleep. Off on patrol to a fuel station now, then back to the Fuseli again...

Entry 14
Fuseli Finally hired on some crew - in this case a rather excitable navigator who calls herself "Moon Tao". Apparently some minor officer's kid with a knack for maps and they want to see how she handles in the real world, but she futzed Flight School on Echo. Our first trial run will be a riskier flight out to one of the fuel stations to try and hunt down more pirates. Hopefully with someone to keep on the radio and the maps we can track 'em down more easily.

The Crusader callsign seems to have stuck after I did another one of those hunts for fifty kills, although it was ordered this time, not a bet. Had a nasty fight with a Leviathan and ran into a Vengeance earlier - it wasn't too tough and I expected it to be worse, just had to stay clear of that overgrown peashooter it sports. I ordered some refits to the Wind too, and replaced the MMGs with some cannons. I swear the thing shakes every time I fire 'em, but the increased firepower's worth it even if they do miss fairly often right now. I'm tired of seeing my shots ping off Leviathans, and these should make the difference up. If I can hit something, it's pretty much a goner, especially if the shell manages to penetrate armour and goes off somewhere nice 'n' crunchy. Reminds me of the old cannon we had on the family Dauntless... that was a good few mill' bigger though, and had even more kick.

I think I'll get a Dauntless as soon as I can on that note, though probably not with a cannon, but we'll see. I have some plans for an extensive refit I found in the old workshop back at the mansion. Pretty crazy stuff and it could just be wild theory that'll never work, but it'd be nice to give it a try... it called for the main gun - a howitzer or flak cannon depending on circumstance, the former for ground assault and the latter for air-to-air - to be put under the nose and the top mount used for an air-to-air quad 2cm MG turret! It looks like my father's and brother's handwriting - I'll bet it was my father's ideas and my brother's workings... he wasn't much of a fighter but he was a good mechanic. No idea where I'll find a turret like that though, but the mechs on the Fuseli'll know if anyone does. If not, I guess there's always Uurwerk, but the storm blew that place out of reach of the top planes.

Entry 15
Mid-Flight Hired on another crewmember, a mechanic called Francis Dinsdale. He was about to finish up his service on the Fuseli as a repairman and I got a notice on my desk about it, forwarded on from one of the higher-ups. I met him in the hangar later and we had a little chat, worked things out. I pay him more than the Armada does in return for him helping keep my ride in top condition, as well as help patch her up in-flight with scrap metal we salvage.

Tao seems to be living up to her reputation and we've been doing trips to and from the fuel stations for patrols. Definitely seem to be running into more pirates. So far so good, and she's learning fast.

Entry 16
Mid-Flight Turns out Mr. Dinsdale was trying to find a quick way out after some... misunderstandings with the provosts (OOC: effectively military police) onboard the Fuseli. I turned him over and found a new mechanic (an energetic grey/black lynx) who insists that her name is 'Felonious Pausch'. We spent some time planning things out, and she really seems to have taken a liking to me, though I can't say I see why. I call her Kay for short - unrelated to what she insists her name is, and nowhere near as much of a mouthful. She doesn't seem to mind, and is doing a good job keeping the Wind in top condition. She has this uncanny kinda affinity for plane hardware.

Entry 17
Mid-Flight Well, so far so good. I took the crew over to Islo and we picked out a new Dauntless. I came up with the 'Storm' part, but Kay suggested 'Sanguine'. The word has lots of meanings; cheerfully optimistic (that definitely fits Kay and Tao), hopeful or confident, and blood-red. Sanguinary means bloodthirsty to boot. She's in the stock grey with two diagonal 1' thick red lines painted behind the cockpit area, and another around the nose, plus some bands on the tail structure and wings. Armour's a bit thinner than I'd expect but the cargo capacity is decent. Hopefully I'll be able to get customizing her soon... the hull's just begging for it, and I know Kay'd love to do some work on it.

Entry 18
Mid-Flight Really liking the Dauntless so far. Managed to get my Flight License updated too. Now that I've done that, Command want me to take a shipment of booze out to Tortuga. Beer rations for our troopers stationed there trying to keep the peace with the pirates, apparently. As long as I fly safe I should be fine, I doubt it'll be quite so easy hunting out near the Pirate base of operations. I wouldn't be surprised if I was stationed there after this...

Entry 19
Mid-Flight, Tortuga Approach Hah, I called it. Command have altered my station to Tortuga here. I'm to remain at the garrison and patrol/hunt regularly. This place really is swarming with pirates. It's nice to finally have a challenge in a fight. We've had a few close shaves and this thing doesn't have much combat endurance, but the quad cannon we put in the Dauntless' semi-turret is really effective. I'm not sure on the exact model, but Kay tells me it's a fairly uncommon imported model from further-off skylands, similar to my marksman's rifle. I have to hand it to those guys, they really know how to make good weaponry. Ammunition is surprisingly abundant over here, and these 2cm HE rounds are nasty. Bounty pay is significantly increased out here... dangerous work to be sure, but rewarding. Every less pirate in the skies is one less smuggling goods or harassing innocent traders... as much as I find the Hand's underhanded dealings distasteful, without some of them, I get the feeling the economy could grind to a halt.

Entry 20
Mid-Flight, 1 hour after Tortuga Departure Command has called me back to the Fuseli on urgent notice. Things have been shaken up is the word I've heard from others. Seriously shaken up at that. I don't know how and I don't know why, but this can't be good. Six and a half hours 'til we're there, only two stops. I wish this thing could go faster.

Picked up a diplomat on my way out of Tortuga too. Grumpy fella by the name of Maksim Chernov, hails from Alpha 1. He has a unique brand of diplomacy that generally involves threats with large blunt objects and soft-spoken words that's a wonder to behold. I'm glad he's on my side.

20a
Mid-Flight, Fuel XXII Approach I talked things over with Tao. If we push it, we can shave an hour off our flight time. It'll be risky but time is of the essence and the Storm can handle anything the pirates out here throw at it... should be a cakewalk compared to Tortuga.

Entry 21
Mid-Flight, Fuseli Departure Switched out of the Storm into a new Bolo. Definitely a different fighting style, but some really interesting possibilities. I've rigged her up with four flak cannons. The coverage is nearly 360 degrees, and it tears up enemy aircraft. The Storm is being kept in a private hangar I'm renting on the Fuseli. I'm not ready to part with her completely just yet.