Note: the text uses Star Citizen typical expressions. These are explained in the Footnotes at the end of the document.
The original german text was edited by Brubacker.

Criminal Tendency

Miners are nice and harmless people? Not if they have to defend their treasures. Like a secret deposit of Agricium⁵

by Chhris

Finished! After a day full of hard work in the mining business I’m gliding through the asteroid belt of Yela¹. There’s only one thing now I want: relax and a cold beer at GrimHex². I’m sitting in the panorama cockpit of my Prospector³, feet up and my view slides over the beautiful belts of the Crusader⁴ moon while I’m flying back to the old mining station². It’s an amazing and wonderful view out here, which I will never get tired of to see. I am very happy with my today’s yield of mined raw materials. Short time before, I had discovered an unknown deposit of Agricium on Yela, the exact location of which I’d not even leave on my tombstone for sure. It’s a find that will make me rich. Very rich! Some days are simply too good to be true. And I’ll have a nice drink on that tonight at GrimHex.

More due to habit I looked at my Mobiglass⁶ – and my mood couldn’t rush faster down to cellar. Damnit! Some Nova pirates caused trouble since a couple of hours around Yela and Crusader Security wringing hands was looking for some freelancers to get rid of them as quickly as possible. Novas – that plague regularly haunting throughout Stanton⁷ system. Many people think they’d come over from Pyro⁸-System to stir up trouble and vanish again quickly if ground under their feet gets too hot for them. Crusader Security, being responsible for safety in this part of Stanton system, had sent their inquiry over the ECN-network to occasional bounty hunters like me.

I’m pondering – looking at the inquiry. Damn, just now! On the other hand: A little bit of distraction after fulfilled day’s work and stone starring for hours could not be the worst, right? But most important: Now, where I had found this Agricium, deposit I’d never let it to those darn pirates, if they got wind of it. I stretched in my cockpit – and accepted the inquiry. Even if my relaxed evening thus certainly would be over. To what extent, I didn’t have any clue at this point of time.

However: Pirate hunting in a Prospector is not the very best idea. To accomplish the job I had to change my ship first. Thank God, due to my little Agricium treasure I had relocated my ships a couple of days before to GrimHex. Short ways after all are of great strategic advantage in the mining business of course. And the risk to get caught by pirates there, was – well, at least for me – controllable. I was even already thinking to build a mining outpost on Yela. And my Agricium treasure came back to mind. Smiling – rosy prospects. Those couple of Novas, I’d finish them in a breath.

Arriving at the old asteroid mining station, I changed to my Super Hornet. For purposes like this, I had let her get equipped with neutron repeaters especially. Weapons giving short shrifts. The hangar personal provided good service – if weapons and other grubby business come into play, they get really speedy at GrimHex. They immediately started preparing my fighter and I decided to eat something in the meantime. Empty belly won’t like fighting, right? And while having at least my little dinner beer, it suddenly came to my mind: Wasn’t it here at Grimhex, where they sold that fancy clothing stuff, I wanted to buy since quite some time? Next to others, there are these cool pirate caps, one of wish I desired to have since long – even if I am certainly not a pirate. 

I finish my beer and go over to that cloth store. Surely there’s still time enough. And yes – there they are. “Looks cool” I think, holding one of them in my hands. A real pirate hunter cap. Exactly what I need for the upcoming hunt on the Novas. I put my new cap on and look into the mirror. And in this moment it was absolutely not in my dreams I’d turn into a criminal pirate very soon myself. I paid the cap and went over to the hangar. My Super Hornet already awaited me. I brought the ship computers up, started thrusters and was gone seconds later with ultrasonic speed, flying to the way point and ready to receive further mission details.

I meet the Crusader Security informant in a Herald⁹, hidden close to an asteroid in the belt around Yela. He had already located several little Nova squadrons, each one consisting of two to three ships. After identifying me as legal contractor, he transmits the coordinates to my ship computer. I get to work and some short time later only a couple of debris is left from the first Nova squadron. My neutron repeaters pay out. I see my reward already beckoning. The day’s getting better and better. 

At a second location three further Novas are making trouble. I pick up the first as target, her front fire running into void for my smooth strafing. My turn, I take her under heavy attack. Her shields go down in seconds, my six neutron repeaters already eat up her chassis, ready to break her backbone as suddenly – out of nothing – a Crusader Security Cutlass crosses my firing lane. Immediately I take my finger off the trigger – but it’s already too late. The Cutlass got a full broadside. Damnit! There was nothing of her on the radar before. My cockpit shouts at me: “Caution: Friendly Fire! Friendly Fire!” And next moment the Cutlass’ pilot starts returning the favor, opening fire at me. I don’t believe my eyes! And try to catch him on radio, while flying one after another evasive maneuver. “Hey man!” I’m shouting in my cockpit. “You’re crazy? Look at your damn radar. I’m playing in your team!” But: no reaction.

First I let off the Novas, get radar focus on the Cutlass. Scan her and can see the damage now. Her right engine is gone, torn to pieces, sparks and flames sputter out of what was its former chassis attachment. “Doesn’t have to be from me”, I still think. Giving it another try to hail the Cutlass. Nothing. I want to identify me, say sorry and tell the pilot to get the hell out of here until I’m done with the Novas. Still nothing. Around me laser fire of them, catching each moment of weakness and distraction to their advantage immediately. Novas! In the meantime two of them stick to my tail. I raise the rear shields und hit full afterburner. Maybe out of more distance I can see what’s going totally wrong here at the moment. And then the Cutlass pilot hails me. Tells me in short words, I am on first place of his hit list now. Objection is futile. Even more: Suddenly I see a second Crusader Security Cutlass appearing on my radar while the first missile warning screamingly flashes in my cockpit – that simply can’t be true!

To get rid of the missiles I decide for “Run & Roll”, a proven defensive maneuver to shake off missiles while firing a couple of flares. I am informed that due to opening fire on a Crusader Security Unit I had received a crime stat level one. As if I myself didn’t know that! I’m cursing into myself. Just a moment before I was an upright member of the society, an honest and hard-working miner. And right now I am on the WANTED list of my customer!

With thoughts buzzing around in my head my Super Hornet rushes through the asteroid field. Intuitively I avoid those pieces of rock floating around everywhere. Finally I choke the engines and reduce speed, to order my thoughts: Where the hell suddenly Crusader Security came from? Did they really intend to conduct a ship control in the middle of a fight? They can’t be that stupid. And now I’m having a crime stat in fact, because not standing still during a massive battle in order to get scanned for identification, for open stuff on my record or illegal goods I could have onboard? “Completely absurd” I think – but basically it could have been like that simple and a different interpretation wouldn’t come to my mind. A control out-of-control, so said.

Whatever. I had five ships against me and already a crime stat, stamped as a criminal. What to do? Give up? Run away? Don’t show up for a long time around Yela? And let my fruitful and still secret Agricium deposit go until someone else stumbles over it? No! Won’t come that far! I decide to clean up. A letter of complaint can be written afterwards still to Crusader Security. Even if from inside the Klescher¹⁰ prison.

I tag the next target, just a quick turn and I open direct and heavy fire on the second Cutlass. My neutron repeaters speak a clear language. Didn’t I mention that we miners from Yela are also excellent pilots? We are used to drift, turn, roll and strafe only meters off the ground with two third of sonic speed. Not much others can deal with us in that. The Cutlass, in short distance, doesn’t get me off her tail. I avoid her explosion with a strafe maneuver easily. Next is a Nova. Directly ahead. I switch all energy to the front shields. This time and by intention I won’t change flight course. The repeaters do their work, bright explosion, just a click ahead. Next Nova, same fate. The third one has faded away already. My fire on him, when suddenly crossed by the other Cutlass seems had given him the rest. And last is my friend. Guess what, I do it slowly. Using only front weapons, cutting him piece by piece. And finally a missile, no need really, but it feels like a good kick into his stubborn ass. Gone.

My task is not yet finished. The informant sends me the last coordinates over radio. Seems he didn’t take notice yet, I gave his colleagues a free flight adventure in space today. “Hopefully they have enough oxypens¹¹ at hand”. I grin, certainly somewhat cheeky. Two more Novas at the given location didn’t make any problems, seems they were beginners and luckily no more Crusader Security ships appear.

A bit muzzy, sitting in my Hornet. I take a deep breath. And another. Around me only the depths of space. Impassive, as always. My mobi beeps. I open the message and can’t bite a smile, even if it appears quite crazy to me: the reward for the inquiry is credited to my account. Thanks to the delayed information transport over the satellite’s COM link. 8000 Credits. I shake my head and throttle up. Only a short way back to Grimhex.

It will take some time until Crusader Security will possibly uncover, what was going on here. Until then I’m going to be an upright miner of Yela again for long. A miner, with a huge, secret deposit of Agricium. Yes, sometimes you need to defend your treasures with claws and teeth! I put my new pirate cap right. Hadn’t thought, it looked so good on me.

Foot notes:

^[1]Yela is a mineral rich moon around the gas-giant Crusader in the Stanton solar system with an impressive asteroid belt around.

^[2]GrimHex is a former asteroid mining station with habitations, shops etc. and a couple of flight decks and hangars. It is located in the asteroid belt around Yela. Today it’s also typical to have outlaws around hiding from Stanton’s security forces.

^[3]The Prospector is a dedicated mining ship.

^[4]Crusader is one of four planets in the Stanton solar systems. His moons are Cellin, Daymar and Yela.

^[5]Agricium is one of the most valuable and expensive raw materials in the Stanton system.

^[6]The Mobiglass or Mobi is the Smart Phone of the future. Worn as a wristlet and with holographic  display and interaction.

^[7]Stanton System is a solar system with planets and moons.

^[8]Pyro System is the neighbor solar system of Stanton.

^[9]The Herald is a data ship.

^[10]Klescher Prison, a rehabilitation facility in Stanton for criminals

^[11]Oxypens provide enough oxygen to refill breathing air stock when necessary, e.g. in EVA (extra-vehicular activity in space).