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+phthalo::buenaventura#IGSS_SIERRA

-indigo::T%822::toyon#SISKIYOU

SUBJECT: Re: here's those tracks

Indigo,

Thanks for sending the tunes. They sure help make the repetition of

this job feel less monotonous. It's not so bad, it's just that it's

basically the same route over and over, hundreds of times a shift

even. And it's not like it's very scenic. You don't get that simple

joy of watching the scenery change or looking forward to what's

around the bend like you would flying terrestrial. Anyway, having

something good to listen to has given the void of deep space some

texture.

Must be lonsome just stowing away on your ship all the time.

Don't you get restless being cooped up by yourself?

Well, I have been making it onto the SS a little more lately.

Mostly just for supplies. But occasionally I'll stop by a few Inns

here and there. Trivia night is kind of fun. It is nice hearing

stories from some of the old timers, guys who know their way to the

outpost by memory. It sounds pretty rough, actually. It puts in

perspective why there's so much money behind all this--it's a

gamble, every time. All these barflies I've been talking to have

outlived most of their comrades and crew. It's scary out there, but

the way they talk about it...I'm not gonna lie, I really want a

taste myself. I think I mentioned about maybe getting a charter out

there someday. But I'm not so sure now, at least after the

incident.

Yeah...so I've been going to these Inns like I said, and well...the

thing is you get to drinking and you don't really want to just

sleep in some capsule, not once you've gotten used to having a

whole damn ship to yourself! It's not a big deal, I guess. I've

slept in plenty of capsules. But it's not exactly where you want to

take a hot date... (You see where this is going?)

This girl was hot dude...I mean, maybe that was the glug in me, but

damn. She was like fantasy pretty, you know??? WAY out of my

league. So like, a capsule was out of the question! haha I have

this whole ship to myself (well apart from the onboard. Oh yeah,

did I mention I have an onboard? He's called Serpentine...anyway!).

It would have been fine if we had just stayed moored for the night,

but come on...what's sexier than space?

Anyway, I pulled out of the slip too soon and mangled one of the

stays. It's a dumb mistake to make, but really, shit like this

happens a lot around here. But it's a mistake a pilot shouldn't

make, so I got a good swat on the nose for it. So yeah, the outpost

will probably just be something to bullshit about on trivia night

for me, at least for the foreseeable future. Oh well...

This girl's been ghosting me ever since. We had a good night,

like...a really good night. But she was gone in the morning. I

never figured out how she got back to the SS. I don't remember

giving her a lift, and Serpentine just snickers about it when I ask

him, so who knows. It's too bad. She was something else...

So yeah, that's what's been going on here. I'm gonna get some shut

eye if I can. There's another wave coming in from across the void

tomorrow, so I'll probably be pulling a double shift. Better sleep

while I can.

Take care, Dig.

- Phthalo

P.S. I'm working on getting my own transmitter setup here, so we

won't need to mess around with this god damn Mailman business. I'm

getting close to my quota, so pretty soon they'll start showing ads

I guess.

/---

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