Day 1 – The ISS Scraprunner Begins Its Journey
“These are the voyages of one unprepared Commander. Their mission: to survive the Milky Way, avoid fiery death by sun, and boldly fail where no pilot has failed before.”
From Training Wheels to Scraprunner
After proving I could pilot a Sidewinder without immediately crashing — and sticking the landing at Mawson Dock thanks to the autopilot, not my skills — I was officially promoted to Commander. To mark the occasion, I christened my first ship the ISS Scraprunner, registry SCR-01. It rattles like it’s made of leftover bolts, but it’s mine.
First Jobs, First Mistakes
Career options were thin on the board, but I spotted two missions in the Orna system: a Conflict Training Area exercise and a Courier Job. Both in the same system? Easy credits. I accepted both, queued for launch, and let auto-launch guide me out of Mawson Dock. Only as I sat in the departure queue did I realize I’d forgotten to refuel. A promising start.
Upon arrival in Orna, two revelations hit me at once: first, I wasn’t actually allowed to train in the Conflict Area; second, the courier job wasn’t in Orna at all, but at Aldrich Station in the Otegine system. While pondering my career choices, I drifted a little too close to the local star and nearly cooked the Scraprunner. Luckily, I pulled away before it became a barbeque run. At least the courier job got done, which earned me the rank of Mostly Penniless. A fine promotion.
Out of the Nest
My next opportunity came in the form of a mission called Exploring the Galaxy. The deal: leave the Pilots’ Federation District, earn 100,000 credits, and never look back. Naturally, I accepted. The credits had nothing to do with it. Definitely.
I prepped the Scraprunner with a full refuel and minor repairs before setting off on the 14-jump trip to Rattus Mischief in the Col 285 Sector FO-I a39-0 system. After six jumps, I docked at Sasaki Horizons for a quick refuel, only to get a message that my Pilots’ Federation permit was revoked. No going back. Four jumps out, I stopped again to avoid calling the Fuel Rats for my very first rescue. Crisis narrowly avoided.
The Mischief Managed
I made a pit stop at Bluemoon Starport in LHS 3484 for fuel, then continued on my way. Finally, I arrived at Rattus Mischief. Despite my assumption, it wasn’t a person but a starport. I engaged Supercruise Assist, admired the view, docked, and turned in my mission reward. To top it off, I sold my Universal Cartographics data for a tidy 50,908 credits. That little haul bumped me up to Mostly Aimless. Not bad for a ship named Scraprunner.
Next Time
The galaxy awaits, and with the ISS Scraprunner still in one piece, I’m ready to see what kind of trouble I can find. Hopefully, not the sun again.
Survivor Incognito 