I figured I would start keeping these as a reminder. Just to myself, and whoever happens to receive they cypher when I die. I'm just a rouge trader and colony overseer under Julius to the galaxy, but that's not all I am. This is encrypted out of necessity. The reader will have to understand, this information could change the galaxy, bring factions to their knees, and generally shouldn't be openly shared. It could also get me in a lot of trouble. Either way, it's encrypted like this for good reason. I guess I could start with my arrival in this corner of the galaxy. That was a stroke of luck far greater then I had originally foreseen. Thank the throne it was Julius. My ship's navigational logs were about 200 years old, so it was a wonder I survived the jump here at all. But I did, and when I made a call for help, Julius showed up in his stout cargo hauler. For a ship that size, he needs to learn how to optimize space. Anyways, he was a boon. Gave me the maps I need, co-ords to all the major colonies, and even a chance to work for him. I refused the job offer at the time and he told me I'd be back. Damn right too. But this isn't a love letter. Throne help me, that's the last thing this man needs. I jumped around for a while, checked out the den, a nice little beach resort, and Taranis. I found no other work so I jumped back to New Chicago and took a job there. It was a while afterwards, when he asked me to make a run of his tobacco products to the den. I took the delivery, and as I was making ready to leave, the Pharmacist Shogunu asked to ride along. Apparently he had a side thing as some fancy biologist. I agreed and allowed him to ride there, and accompanied him on a scouting run across the planet. Though it is an icy, throne forsaken, mockery of a habitable planet, he managed to find some plants and study some of the wild life. He was pleased. Unfortunately, I didn't know He was a "he". The boy has guts and balls of steel, but he is very in-touch with is feminine side. That threw me for a wringer and it wasn't until later I learned the truth. So I take Shogunu, who I thought was a woman, to a few other planets on the way back. They were all along the way and gave me a chance to get a feel for this segment of the galaxy and keep my scouting skills in high order. She (Shogunu) handled herself well, and when I returned her to New Chicago, I invited her along with me should i go on any other such errand runs. She thanked me and went back to her work. The next run was anything but like the first. It was an order of lumber for one of the new colonists that are STILL flocking to New Chicago. He needed it for a building project and offered to pay me for the shipment. I took it because I had nothing better to do and let Shogunu know I was headed out and offered her a ride along. The first jump was in system, to what I thought was going to be an uninhabited forest world. It was a forest, but it wasn't uninhabited. It was not only inhabited, but inhabited by the foulest creatures in the galaxy. Apparently the seat of power for a prominent Floran Tribe, the place was massive. We scouted a while until we came to the throne room. That's when I couldn't take it any more. The things have killed many of my friends, and eaten them in victory celebrations. I wanted nothing more then to set the place aflame and leave. Shogunu just wanted to leave and I begrudgingly obliged. We should have just called it a day there, but we foolishly decided to make another jump to a neighboring system. I choose another potential uninhabited forest world and we beam down. That's when things went from bad to worse. The landing zone was a military bunker. the entire area was fortified, mined, and built for defense. Shogunu took three steps and set off a mine. I had provided protective gear and "she" was able to keep going with only minor injuries. We set out again and came to an abandoned town. Apex in design, but clearly re-purposed by someone else. There were more mines too. I set off one, but my scout armor took the blow. Shogunu wasn't so lucky. She didn't see two more mines and took them both full force. My armor I had provided did some help, but she obviously was pretty banged up. claiming she was fine, we continued a little further before the town came to an abrupt stop. We had to drill through a wall to continue, and it opened to a sheer cliff. I fell and was bruised up pretty bad. Nothing serious though, and without thinking, I called an "all clear." Shogunu dropped down after me and broke her legs. I didn't know and she didn't say, about 3 seconds later we were ambushed by wild beasts, who cut her up pretty bad, and managed to knock me around pretty bad as well. I finished them off and walked away with a concussion, bruised ribs, and some minor cuts and scratches. Shogunu just dropped. I rushed her back to New Chicago and Julius met me at the hospital in response to my urgent pleas for help over the radio. After getting her onto the robotic surgery table, I started telling him what had happened, and we prepped Shogunu for surgery. It was then when I rather harshly discovered Shogunu wasn't a she at all. All the same, I stood by the table for the next three hours as the table removed each of the 27 shrapnel fragments from the landmines, set each of his legs, and cleaned and sealed each of his dozen or so cuts from the beast attacks. A soldier never leaves a squad mate behind. I was ashamed of my failure to keep Shogunu safe on that trip. I still am. BUT I did learn he is, in-fact, a he, and that he has balls of Fething titanium. Long story short, I apologized for the mix-up and my failure to keep him safe. He rather awkwardly accepted the first and readily refused the second. All the same, the boy was my responsibility and it won't happen again. I'll cut this one here.... the hour is long and I have a cargo run to make.
