Squiddy McSquids possibly short life - {Possible spoilers inside}

[NUKLEAR-SLUG]

I thought I might try a new start with a ground rules in place to make things a little more interesting. I've seen a few people try a dead-is-dead approach so I thought I'ld give that a go and pick the Boring Boron start since that's the one that seems to start you off with the least to your name.

Rules:
1. Dead-is-dead
2. No buying ships. If I want it I have to persuade the owner they'ld quite

like to donate it.
3. No reloads. If I lose an expensive ship then that's tough.
4. Personal ship repairs only, anything else gets paid for.

So this is going to be the exciting (if possibly quite brief) series of events to follow.

Zero-time puts me in Kingdom End, a nice tune playing in the background.

Total Assets:
1x Octopus
1x 1 Mj shield
2000cr

Right, I've got no weapons, a miniscule hold that can only hold S-class freight and bugger all cash. This severely limits the mission options available. Looks like it's going to be a trader start for me.

So with that in mind I decide to head down to Herrons Nebula and see what the current price for space-fuel is. On the way I stop at Three Worlds equipment dock, sell my 1 Mj shield and buy a duplex scanner. I'm working to the theory that if I die it's game over so the more intel I have the greater my chance of not having something nasty creep up on me. Seems my luck is in and SFD-beta has rock bottom prices. Spend a little time zipping back and forth with the trading station selling fuel and slowly upgrading my Octopus. Eventually some git comes along and buys up the lot but not before I've made 28,000cr and upgraded some.

Space-fuel trade opportunites are a bust so what to do next? I really don't fancy trading e-cells in an Octopus so I decide to head down to Elenas Fortune and see if the pirates are causing any trouble. Might be able to pick up a few dropped missiles. Decide to stop off on the way and grab a couple shields and IREs. You know, just in case...

Elenas Fortune seems kinda quiet. I'm assuming that's due to the Titan, three Cerberus and two dozen escorting smaller craft that are stationed around the south gate. I pop down into Split Fire to see what's around. Seems the pirates are all blue to me at present and really aren't interested in me so feeling brave I head into Brennans Triumph. Again pirates have no interest in me but are jumping the odd transport group. Manage to snag a couple missiles from destroyed escorts. Continue on into Dannas chance and going thru the gate take a hit from the rear turret of a Paranid transporter which puts my hull to 85%. Good thing I bought those shields or that would have really hurt! Note to self: be wary of Paranids.

A quick run away and repair and I'm into Nopileos Memorial, which seems to have changed colour these days. Think I preferred the blue. Paranid task force in the distance, Deimos and escorts. I'm wise to them this time so trail along behind at a respectable distance. Halfway thru the sector I get a missile-warning. Gravidar says I'm clear, sector map says nothing unfriendly nearby. Bleeps are getting faster. Looking ahead I suddenly spot the missile, so a quick turn and run. Target computer says it's a Tomahawk. Encyclopaedia says it does 625k damage. I have 2mj shielding. It's moving faster than I am...


{Topic title amended - Nanook}
{moved from X-Universe; see note - Carlo}

[Mopy]

[JCTiger]

Damn cliffhangers!

[NUKLEAR-SLUG]

Fortunately the Tomahawk was still a few km out so I've got time to do something about. I've got a couple IRE's so spamming fire at it is an option, on the other hand I've watched the AI hit things with them before and they seem to make quite a bang and I'm not entirely sure if they have a blast radius. So plan B, hide behind a rock. Fortunately Nopileos has quite a few asteroids so a quick jink to put one between me and it and all was well. There was a hell of a bang behind me. I didn't look but I suspect there wasn't much of that asteroid left.

Decided cowardice was probably the best approach from here on in so scarpered back to Argon space to see if i could find any missions I could do. Found a couple ship recovery for 3-4k each rescuing M5's then hit the jackpot with an 11k recover Argon Express Hauler. That's handy, I've got a single octopus, in need of a transporter class and they want me to go recover a TP for them... and they expect to see it again.. Ok! Slight catch, it's in Empires Edge. Paranid territory. Same guys that just recently tried to shove a thermonuclear warhead up my jacksie.

Anyways I scoot on down there, all goes well. Express is right by the gate as I jump in, couldn't be better. As I'm busy securing it tho a couple of the local customs take an interest. Only an M4/M5 duo and I could probly take them ok if I wanted, but I'm doing crime and I'm trying to do my crime quietly and shooting up the place doesn't feature in that plan. Fortunately they seem only interested in me so I lead them off a ways while the Express slips thru the gate. I've only got 20 mins to get to the pirate base and the Express is so damaged that will only be just enough.

Next sector doesn't go so well, halfway across the sector and then border control shows up. This time it's two M3 and despite my best efforts to draw them off they decide they want my TP first and the Express goes down in a blaze of HEPT fire. Nothing for it, I'm going to have to run. I'm not thinking my client is going to be too happy and the rep-loss on a TP is likely to be painful. I'm pleasantly suprised however to get a message regretting the loss and small %10 payment for my time. No rep-loss! Guess they appreciated my attempts to bring their property back. Good thing they didn't realise what I had in mind for it..

Heading back to Argon space I pick up yet another recovery mission but this ones for 33k. I'm thinking it might be a problem but it's just an M5 and it turns out it's in the next sector over. Cakewalk.

Total Assets:
1x Octopus
2x 1 Mj shield
2x Ire
34000cr

Head up to Atreus Clouds Pirate base grab me a freight scanner and now I'm all set to do crime.

[GCU Grey Area]

Excellent stuff eagerly awaiting episode 3...

[NUKLEAR-SLUG]

Right, Octopus is fine for tooling around but is very limited so what I really need is a TS to allow me to take on all these lucrative delivery missions.

Unfortunately I'm not thinking I'm going to find one just floating about which means I'm going to have to "liberate" one and be careful about doing it. I've got paper-thin hull and only one chance to get it right so careful target selection required here. What I'm looking for is a nice super-freighter, preferably under-shielded and no fighter drones on board. Parking up by the north gate I start scanning passing Split Caimans looking for a potential candidate. Sadly most of them seem to either have a boatload of drones on board or they've got escorts which is more than I'm inclined to tangle with in an Octopus.

After a bit a lone tech freighter wanders in scan range. Motherload. This guys got about 4 Mill in weapons and shields on board. Sadly most of it is M class so worthless to me. On the plus side tho he does have 10 Mass drivers on board, and they're S class.. Oh, and there's the small matter of the 9 MKII fighter drones. Now I've seen the MKII in action, a careless pirate group attacking a freighters that had some onboard and the pirates came off worse. But 10 Mass driivers.. Dilemma.

After some careful consideration unadulterated greed triumphed over common-sense and self-preservation as it so often does in these situations and I decided to implement a two-part plan of the utmost cunning. Part 1 proceeded well as I boldly blazed into action and hammered away the shields of my target... The Splits response was to yell abuse and jettison the MKII's at which point I implemented part 2 of the plan and ran away like a girl.

Now MKI drones are fast but weak. MKII's might be hard as nails but they're slow. A lazy trek around Atreus Clouds and they eventually ran out of fuel. Problem sorted. Caught back up with my target and we then negotiated from Rolks Fate south gate all the way to the Ceo's buckzoid west gate, me demanding he cough up the goods, him telling me to go take a long walk. Finally just as I'ld decided he wasn't going to cooperate and was going to let him escape thru to Ceo's he gave up and spewed crates all over the sector. Success!! 10 mass drivers worth a cool million. Time to head back to Rolks fate equipment dock and sell my ill-gotten gains.

Total Assets:
1x Octopus
2x 1 Mj shield
2x Ire
800cr
10x Extremely hard fought for Mass drivers.

[Yeorin]

This is awesome! Keep it coming

You've inspired me to do something simmilar for my next game which I plan to play as a pirate.

[Necrosexual]

This is very entertaining. The way you play it truly X at it's finest! Bravo!
Please continue.

''BUMP"

[stg1969]

Great stuff mate, quick question, are you going to continue piracy, or will you settle into something else when youhave bit more dosh..

Ive often fancied piracy, problem is when you get big and get assets, your ships cant go anywhere without seas of red everywhere, Do you plan to only piss off 1 or 2 races?

[Necrosexual]

[Aloid]

[em3e3]

And people say that there are no challenges in the game...

Way to go NUKLEAR-SLUG!

[mattythedrunk]

U write well, keep it coming.

Particularly liked the thermonuclear warhead reference.

[Tiedyeguy]

[jp]