So many years spent on Calypso and I've never taken the time to fight the greatest threat we have, at least not directly. I know my work has contributed to the weapons we use against them and I have been with someone who was shooting them, keeping them alive, but never had I been so closely involved that I felt like I was doing my part. So finally I got the chance, and how do you think I started my campaign? Big.
One of the friends I've made here has a ship, not the largest out there, but much bigger than my quad. He took a handful of people with him into the depths of space to show us a secret spot he had found. I had heard of his love of hunting in space, but I never knew what he hunted, and I knew there were dangerous things up here, but I had always avoided them. I also knew that what I've seen isn't much of a secret, so if he had a secret spot then I knew it was something special, and I also knew it was likely dangerous. I was to meet up with the group on Next Island, this was where they were currently stationed and my trip here was non-eventful, though I did take my time to look at a couple of strange things in space, a green pulsating light and a grouping of space rocks. I have plans to get a closer look at these things in the future, but I didn't have the fuel to waste too much time out there this time. My few days on the planet were spent unsuccessfully trying to make a living, but it just wasn't happening. I've felt off lately, which is why I agreed to go on this trip.
When the time finally came to leave there was little time spent in preparation, all of us had what we needed and anything else could be purchased from the ships on-board trade terminal. The inside of the ship was amazing, I had never been in one of the bigger ships. I walked around for a bit familiarizing myself with where things were and imagined that this thing could work just as well as an apartment to live in, though I'm quite sure I couldn't afford it at this point. As we got ready to jump to our location I was offered a seat by our pilot so I could see what it was like. As I sat there the ship rumbled and the computer's voice spoke of what was going on, but the synthesized feminine informant faded into the background as the swirling portal opened before us. In moments the ship lurched forward with great speed and I watched as countless stars sped by. Of course they weren't moving, we were, but from my perspective they were lines, not dots, so they seemed to be the ones going at great speeds past us. Seconds later the ship left the jump and we were close to our destination. I left my seat and made my way to the lower section of the ship to do my job, which would be to keep the ship from exploding.
After some time doing light work I made my way up to see what exactly was causing the damage and saw quickly that I was finally participating in the war against the machines. Before me were several dropships, though most did not seem to be moving or have noticed us. I watched them for a moment as my fellow crew members shot a couple down and then made my way below again to ensure we survived our ordeal. A little while later our pilot asked if I'd like to take control of the ship for a bit. By the time I could word the reply that I would enjoy it I had stumbled up the stairs and was standing beside him as he got up. He wished me luck and I sat in the captain's seat. The ship was much larger than anything I had piloted before, so I took a moment getting used to how it handled and then followed the instructions of our leader to find the next ship to shoot down. When we found a ship I made my approach and quickly saw the shots being fired from our guns at it. The ship fired back, missing quite a few shots and landing others, but in the end we were victorious and I was in love with piloting. I steered the ship around some more, putting us in position to take out several of these massive ships and imagined how many robots we were destroying in the process, though I knew it paled in comparison to their real numbers, I was just proud to be finally helping. In the end the ship had never reached any point of danger from the damage it took and we reduced the stress of the Calypso military by a bit. I knew that if I got the opportunity again to go on this hunt that I would readily accept, especially if it meant I could steer the ship once more.
