The moment I got back to the ship, I immediately connected to the Colony’s network and gathered some useful intel. I went at it for a few days.
Naturally, it wasn’t through honest means, but an (il)legal one. I hacked into the network channel used by the Port Security Department to monitor the Colony and gather vital information. I particularly aimed for the access records of the Security Department’s network manager and gathered intel from that.
The first thing I looked up was info regarding the surrounding star systems and the interstellar empires which govern each of them. I prioritized getting myself familiar with my current location.
First, the star system I was staying at right now was apparently called the Termaine Star System. It was centered on the Type B star Termaine, and housed four planets. Termaine I, which was closest to this system’s parent star, sported extremely high surface temperatures and held practically no value. The next planet after it, Termaine II, was a gas planet whose atmosphere was mainly made up of hydrogen and helium. It seems that Helium-3 was harvested from this planet as an energy resource
An asteroid belt was situated near the three celestial bodies, and materials and resources such as rare metals were mined from it. Further out were two planets named Termaine III and Termaine IV respectively – a testament to the people of this system’s exquisite naming sense.
Termaine III was a planet with a toxic atmosphere frequented by deadly acidic downpours, but the rain in question seems to have value as a naturally occurring chemical compound and there were valuable metal alloy deposits either formed on its surface or buried under its crust. A mining station was located on the planet’s satellite orbit, which apparently doubles as a space prison where convicts were subjected to harsh labor in an unforgiving environment.
It seems Termaine IV was a gas planet like its sibling Termaine II. But its location was far from the Trading Colony, and Termaine II was closer to the asteroid belt and offered easier access, so Termaine IV remains largely untouched.
To sum things up, it appears that this was a very resource-rich star system. Due to this fact, a lot of commercial and mining starships of all shapes and sizes frequent the system on a regular basis. But there were also a lot of space pirates lurking about the system as a result. In other words, there’s no shortage of mercenary work.
There’s also another factor that contributes to the proliferation of the mercenary industry, but let’s talk about the interstellar empire in charge of this star system first.
The name of the empire governing a significant portion of this system was the Graccan Empire. All the vital functions of the state were completely controlled by the Emperor and the aristocratic families under him, so it was a place brimming with a domineering atmosphere.
They have been locked in conflict with the neighboring Vereverem Federation for years, and border skirmishes were a frequent occurrence. This is the other element that contributes to the proliferation of mercenary work which I mentioned earlier. The sector where the main star of the Termaine System was located actually serves as the said border between the Graccan Empire and the Vereverem Federation.
“The longer I stay in this particular star system, the higher the chances of me getting caught up in the conflict.”
Yeah. I’ll get caught up in it for sure. Even if it does present countless opportunities to make money as a merc-for-hire, getting involved in a war between two powers while remaining clueless about the overall situation was way too risky for my tastes.
Getting involved in a war means fighting against the regular troops of a proper Interstellar Army. It’s a whole different thing from fighting pirates sporting outdated, rickety ships.
“Should I try moving to another star system? But that lady…”
It really seems like that lady named Serena’s got her sights locked on to me after the earlier fiasco. They’ve never made contact directly, but I’ve noticed people who look like members of the Sector Guards keeping their eyes on my ship.
If I really went and left this star system, I have a strong gut feeling that I’ll get in deep trouble with these guys. Guess I’ll just go and destroy some pirates like a proper mercenary while waiting for things to cool down or something.
“Anyway…”
I moved my gaze to the Galaxy Map. I tried to input the names of several star systems I’m familiar with from playing Stella Online, but none of them appeared on the search results.
I tried investigating some more and found some things quite odd. For example, the starship models and specs published by various shipbuilding companies as well as the optional equipment inventories and item lists available on the market contain many parallels with the things available in Stella Online. The info I have on them from the game seems to be mostly applicable.
But on the other hand, there seems to be a lot of unfamiliar ships, items, and equipment present as well.
And the biggest problem was the various powers controlling each region. For example, the Graccan Empire ruling this system seems to be an interstellar empire boasting a considerable scale. But as far as I remember, there was no interstellar power named Graccan Empire in Stella Online. At least, there wasn’t within the areas the players have managed to reach.
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